The reason I’m blogging about this now, is because I just got done watching the story on “Good Morning America” which explores HER side of the story.  If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it, but not for any reason that would make the mistress, Brooke Hundley, look any better.

Shoot, she can’t look too much worse.  Ladies, even you have to feel me on this.  Steve Phillips is a good looking guy.  His wife is pretty hot, especially for her age.  Brooke?  Well, to quote Jay Leno in the clip used in the GMA piece… “What was he thinking?????”

If you google a picture of Brooke, you’ll see why that’s the general reaction.  Guys typically have a 1-10 scale when grading the hotness quotient of a woman.  Phillips’ wife is probably a 7.5 overall, a 9 for her age.  Brooke?  I’ve discussed this with friends.  Probably fair to say she’s a 2.5.

Personality-wise, she doesn’t seem to have the most redeeming qualities either.  She says in the GMA piece that she’s been called a homewrecker and that’s hurtful, but that’s kind of reality if you think about it.  She acted like a woman scorned – allegedly facebook-stalking Phillips’ son, and then driving to the Phillips residence with a letter detailing her sexual encounters with Mr. Phillips.

If that sounds like the personality of a real keeper, more power to ya.  It’s a free country.

Another thing in the  GMA piece – Brooke Hundley says she had established herself as a “media professional.”  As somebody in the biz with friends who are production assistants at ESPN, I know that those are jobs that anybody can get straight out of college that HOPEFULLY, but not often at all, lead to bigger things.  My point is that Ms. Hundley was trying to make herself out to be a little more than what she was.

I’ll also say Brooke Hundley is not alone in her faults.  Steve Phillips is equally to blame.  They had CONSENSUAL sexual relations.  She didn’t mind doing her thing with a married man.  He didn’t mind cheating on his beautiful wife.  This has led to unemployment for both and divorce proceedings, not to mention some HORRIBLE street cred in judgment for BOTH OF THEM.

So again…

WHAT WAS HE THINKING???????

And I tell you what, the best Toledo Chinese restaurant is only a couple of weeks away from making a comeback.Here’s the secret with Chinese restaurants in Toledo and Northwest Ohio.  They scale back their authentic cuisine because they know that authenticity doesn’t sell to a largely non-Chinese demographic.

Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy General Tso’s Chicken very much, but you can get that at your neighborhood Magic Wok.  In other words, it’s EVERYWHERE.

Authentic Chinese food is not everywhere around here.  Jing Chuan on Secor has some solid authentic cuisine, but as much as I love the ownership there, they do scale back the authentic selection even though they are quite capable of cooking authentic food.  New Empire has dim sum for lunch, which is tremendous, but those of us from big cities know that it’s not the authentic dim sum that’s pushed around in carts.  Rather, it’s pretty much thawed-out stuff and served to order, which is still delicious, considering you can’t get it anywhere else.  Other than that, Ipoh is respectable, but limited.  And the same with Flower Drum.

Wei Wei Noodles completely took it to the next level in authenticity.  They did it, so much so, that they had an entirely different menu of authentic Chinese food.  And this menu was extensive.  When my parents visited from Houston, the chefs at Wei Wei actually customized a vegetarian meal for my dad and my sister because they’re vegetarian.  They actually created authentic vegetarian food that my family has never had before and enjoyed very much.  To be able to do this is pretty amazing considering that it’s VERY convenient to eat Chinese vegetarian food in Houston.

Unfortunately, a few months later, and this was a few years ago, Wei Wei Noodles had a kitchen fire that had an estimated $50,000 in damages.

When it first happened, I was a little heartbroken.  After all, the owners and chefs there had always treated me with the utmost respect.  They treated me like family.  They welcomed me in during late hours and encouraged me to eat with them like a family.  I, in turn, was a frequent customer because they were the only restaurant to cook noodle dishes the way I like it.

I had given up on the restaurant ever coming back.  Turns out I was wrong.

Recently, I tweeted that I saw a “Coming Soon” sign on the Wei Wei building (http://www.twitter.com/ho_chen), and this definitely intrigued me.  Today, while driving by the restaurant on the way to Rogers High School to preview the playoff football team, I saw a few cars at the restaurant and decided to stop in.

Sure enough, Mike (the owner and executive chef) was there preparing his restaurant to be re-opened.  I can tell you that the lobsters are in the tank, ready to be used in dishes.  The kitchen has been re-modeled.  There are new stoves.  The dining room looks close to being completely ready, and the same goes for the bar area.

Mike told me that he’s been in the refrigeration business these last few years, and that’s been easier on him and his family.  Plus, it’s more profitable.  However, the restaurant business is like his baby.  He missed it.  So now he’s back, and the rest of Toledo should seriously be thankful.

In case you’ve never tried Wei Wei Noodles, it’s located on Reynolds close to Dorr, right next to the Japanese restaurant formerly known as Fujiyama (I think it’s now called Domo).

And no, I am NOT getting commission from this.  I just sincerely believe this is a restaurant that was only recognized by the few who appreciated authentic Chinese cuisine.  Others should totally try it.

And in case you’re wondering, yes you can still get your dose of General Tso’s Chicken there if you choose to.  It’s just on a separate menu.

Yea, as if there wasn’t already enough, right?  Baseball just finished.  Football’s a beast.  Hockey just started.  And now, basketball is upon us.

Honestly, this was the first year I didn’t have the time to do a pre-ranking for my two drafts, and then one of them autodrafted and for the other one, my computer bugged out enough that it pretty much autodrafted too.

So now’s the time to give up, right?  Not so fast.  Now’s the time to REALLY scour the stats and take advantage of some undrafted gems.So here are some thoughts after the NBA’s opening night of action:

1) LeBron is still LeBron, only scarier.  Yes, it’s possible.  Shaq really didn’t cut into his stats, but instead seems to create more opportunity for the King to add on to his already lofty status atop the league.  38 points, 8 dimes, 2 steals, 4 blocks, 4 three’s, nuf said.

2) Gilbert Arenas looks like a steal, no matter where he went in your draft.  My guess is that Agent Zero didn’t go in the first round of your draft.  His game 1 play suggests he should’ve been up there.  29 points, 9 assists,  with only 3 turnovers.  Remember, Arenas isn’t a point guard.  He’s just playing like it.  If your SG can produce above 5 assists a game, you are soooooo golden.

3) Sticking with the Wizards, Andray Blatche is looking like one of those gems.  Uncover him please!  He’s always had the potential.  Blocked shots, steals, solid rebounds, points mixed in.  On Tuesday, off the bench, he had 20 points, 7 boards, 2 blocks and a steal.  Pick him up.

4) Keep an eye on Houston’s Kyle Lowry.  I love Aaron Brooks’ speed and his ability to score, but Lowry’s 8 assists to 1 turnover off the bench, along with 12 points and 2 steals in 15 less minutes made him more efficient.  With ten more shots, and those 15 extra minutes, Brooks scored 19 points, with 5 assists, 2 turnovers, and was 0-6 from behind the arc.  Brooks will still get his minutes, but Lowry will also still produce.

5) And now coming full circle with that Cavs-Celtics game, Rajon Rondo is a beast.  He’s only going to keep getting better, especially since the pieces around him are so darned good!!!  Rondo is excellent himself, and you can’t help but fall in love with the way he plays.  Very well-rounded game.  So what if he only scored 8 points?  He had 6 boards, 10 assists, only 2 turnovers, and 3 steals.  Talk about filling up a statsheet.  Fantasy gurus everywhere love this guy.

If you haven’t been inside the new home of the Walleye, I highly recommend you give it a looksee.

Seriously, the place is state-of-the-art.  The decor adds so much.  And the structures built outside?  Let’s hope the Walleye can put on a good show.

Judging from this past weekend, they certainly can.  But honestly, this venue is so nice that it almost doesn’t matter if the team wins or loses – as long as the entertainment value’s there.  For example, six fights in a period will satisfy the non-hockey enthusiast or the Toledo youth, I’m sure.  I’m saying this in a complimentary way, by the way.

But really, I gather a sense of hope in the Toledo public.  During game-opening night, numerous people were walking around the arena, just waiting for the place to open up.  They were all super eager to check out the new digs, and the new team as well.

Let’s face it, Toledo: this city is in need of buildings like Lucas County Arena.  Combined with Fifth Third Field, it should revitalize downtown businesses, encourage people to come downtown, create more jobs, and do what it has done already – give the city a pick-me-up.

Sports is a way people can escape from the daily grind.  It offers much more than just going to the mall or going to the movies, and it creates a precursor to maybe a little more Toledo nightlife.  We’ll see if that part improves downtown.

Considering how much the city’s economy is riding on this, seriously, the next time anybody tries to downplay the importance of local sports, just think back to the Toledo Walleye’s opening weekend, the opening weekend of Lucas County Arena, and how that improved the city’s spirits, among other things, and try to say that local sports is not important.

The proof is in the pudding – local sports IS important to the city of Toledo.

But here’s the deal.  We’d be straight-up ignorant if we took Toledo head coach Tim Beckman at his word that his starting quarterback is “probable” for this Saturday’s game against Northern Illinois.  Is it just a bruise like they say?  Maybe.  I do believe the part where they say that nothing’s broken and that nothing’s torn.

College coaches don’t need to give out the real injury information to the public, so they don’t.  Remember a few years ago when Toledo was preparing for a nationally-televised game at Fresno State?  Tom Amstutz did NOT want Fresno to realize that Bruce Gradkowski was hurt as badly as he was.  Amstutz didn’t want to give Fresno the chance to prepare for Clint Cochran.  Of course, he told the media that it was a day-by-day thing, that pretty much things were fine, and it sounded like things were normal in Rocket land.  Of course, that was NOT the case.

Amstutz isn’t alone.  Trust me on this.  I’ve never met a college coach that was forthcoming about his team’s injuries unless it’s clear the player tore an ACL or MCL and will be out for an extended period of time, if not for the entire season.

It’s totally strategic.  Why let the opposition fully understand what’s going on in-house if there’s no real need to allow that to happen?

What I know is this: I woke up to a phone call the day after Opelt had his MRI and had my sources tell me that it really didn’t look good for Opelt to play this week.  The same source told me that the senior from Fremont Ross isn’t done for the year, but at least for this week, let’s just say his chances of playing are not “probable.”  Sounded more like doubtful to me.

Of course, I believe the part where Opelt said he was going to work his tail off.  Who knows?  He could definitely work himself into playing shape.  A diagnosis can change day by day.

I’m totally pulling for Opelt to make it back on the field because, as good as Austin Dantin looked in the second half, he isn’t Opelt on several levels, be it experience, arm strength, comfort level with the playbook/receivers, etc.

So if Opelt comes back, I WANT THAT TO HAPPEN.

I just don’t believe that on Monday, Opelt could be called “probable.”

I think it’s more “probable” that he won’t play.

In other words, I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid they’re feeding me.

As a result, nobody gave the Twins a shot.

But the Twins are used to being the underdog.  They’re a small-market team.  They rely on genius moves from the front office instead of overpaying superstars and buying your way to success (cough, Yankees, cough!).

Justin Morneau was gone for the year.  He was the protection behind Joe Mauer in the batting order and, even still, the Twins persevered.  Michael Cuddyer became a huge force.  So did Jason Kubel.  Denard Span stepped up.  That Twins bullpen worked wonders.

Meanwhile, the Tigers slowly buckled as the Twins picked up steam.  Detroit’s bullpen, even without the presence of Todd Jones, was  a frequent disaster waiting to happen.  Fu-Te Ni was solid but couldn’t be relied on past an inning.  Ryan Perry could be spectacular but was also wild.  Fernando Rodney and Brandon Lyon were just straight-up unpredictable.

And the offense?  On the brink of the AL Central title, Miguel Cabrera goes and hangs out with his buds from the White Sox and underperforms the entire series, to put it mildly, and he’s the guy that carried the Tigs offense all year.  Do you think the Twins would do this?  Well, they weren’t pleased with Jose Mijares in the Tigers series, but they got over that and united as one for one cause – to keep the hope alive.

Sure enough, the Tigs lost the lead and the AL Central title boiled down to one game.  Detroit fought valiantly.  They had their chances.  They had the lead more often than the Twins did.  Magglio Ordonez flashed the power that was so rare during the regular year, but little details – Curtis Granderson getting doubled off first… Ryan Raburn maybe going for a bit too much sliding to catch for a ball that turned into a Cuddyer leadoff triple that led to a tying run… Gerald Laird not showing enough plate discipline with the count at THREE balls with the BASES LOADED in the 12th.  And finally, in the bottom of the 12th, after pulling a Houdini about ten times (slight exaggeration), Alexi Casilla lifted the Twins to victory by driving home Carlos Gomez.

It was a microcosm of what had been taking place the entire final month of the regular year.

The Twins just wanted it more.  Sorry, Tigers fans, the Twins totally deserve this AL Central title.

Now, the focus is on the NFL’s truly horrible – the Cleveland Browns.

There.  I said it.

You can hate me all you want, but it’s true.  Just watch the games.  Even before the season, before any football was played, I have a question for Browns fans: was there seriously any reason for optimism?

Let’s see here… Brady Quinn was in a quarterback battle with that stud named Derek Anderson.  That says something about Quinn the way the Browns WANTED to hand the job to him but couldn’t because he couldn’t actually truly win it.  Of course, he still got the job nonetheless.  Then you have an aging running back who was great about five years ago when he was running over, who else, the Browns.  A good tight end, albeit a very disruptive one, leaves, but another disruptive passcatcher (Braylon Edwards) remained.  Actually, if I was a Browns fan, I’d probably have the most pride in Shaun Rogers and Phil Dawson before the regular season.

And hey, a few games into the season, I’ll even give props to Abram Elam.  He’s played extremely well.  And we can’t forget Josh Cribbs.  Field position is so key, and Cribbs does his best to put the Browns offense in good position.

But that’s where it all stops – the Browns have no offense.

When the Tigers score more runs than the Browns score points, and the Tigers didn’t have a huge day at the plate, that’s not a good thing.  While it’s very early to judge, Quinn’s inability to throw the ball downfield after a few years in the league is disturbing considering all the hype surrounding his league entrance and the talk of being a league cover boy.  I’ll give Quinn that much, about going to the weight room – the guy is ripped.  But that’s not translating where it’s really important – on the football field.

And if you’re a Browns fan, get ready for a long season.  The Lions at least have a quarterback who can zing it downfield, although Matthew Stafford does throw the ball inaccurately quite a bit and he makes some bad decisions.  But it does look like Stafford can grow.  And the Lions offense will grow too.  Megatron is just too good.  Kevin Smith is young and exciting.  That offensive line will be built.  The defense signed a good number of solid veterans.

Just to let the reading audience know, I sincerely am not a Browns hater and I sincerely am not a Lions fan.

I’m just an NFL fan keeping it real.

Anyway, this town is definitely still riding a high coming off Toledo’s big win over a Big XII opponent – Colorado.  Not only did the Rockets beat Colorado, they dominated that game.  The Buffaloes truly had no answer for the Rockets offensive attack.  On the flipside, even though Toledo gave up as many points as they did, the score may have been a bit deceiving because the defense did come up with some big plays.

Unfortunately, now they go against a whole different beast entirely when Toledo travels to Cleveland Browns Stadium to take on The Ohio State University.  First off, we’re talking about a Buckeyes team that is hungry to redeem themselves after a loss to USC.  Secondly, this Buckeyes team is definitely a top-ten team, although right now, they sit at #11.

The key to pulling off an upset is for Toledo to somehow contain Terrelle Pryor.  UT head coach Tim Beckman said as much during Monday’s press conference.  He didn’t hesitate when he said it, actually.  I think there are some keys outside of that too, such as stopping Boom Herron because he is a punishing runner.  That UT defensive front seven better fill the gaps and prevent runs averaging 6 yards or more, otherwise Toledo is in trouble.

I do think that Toledo will put up some points against Ohio State, although not at the same clip as they did against Purdue and Colorado.  I don’t expect Toledo to score over 30 points.  My guess is that 20 points would be a very generous expectation, while 13-17 points might be what the Rockets actually get.

This is a big stage for the Rockets to step up.  Stephen Williams and Barry Church will have NFL scouts watching.

But can an upset truly begin and end this week with the letters UT?

Well, in more ways than one, it really depends on what happens in between the beginning and the end.