Yours truly? Best Daily writer?

According to polls of both the paper’s business and edit staffs, yes.

This past week, surveys were taken for the paper’s “Best of Ann Arbor” section due to come out in a few weeks. First the business staff ran a survey of the paper’s “readership,” which is actually one of the most rigged surveys around as the paper’s advertisers have a surprisingly high amount of the accolades. But under the term of Best Daily Columnist/Writer, I won. The paper’s edit staff ran its own survey. I won in that as well, “in a landslide” according to election officials.

While I don’t think I’m the best writer at the Daily, it’s great to get recognized. It feels pretty good.

Team Maneater’s season ends

Team Maneater lost in the playoffs tonight 3-1 to end its season. We controlled the run of play, but just could not score. I played goalie in the second half and gave up a goal. It was fun while it lasted.

Team Maneater 5, Puckin Trojans 1

Team Maneater took another step Tuesday night to solidifying its place it the IM Broomball universe with a regular season ending 5-1 smashing of the Puckin Trojans (1-1-1). Despite having to play shorthanded for the game’s first four minutes due to a lack of female players and giving up an early soft goal, Team Maneater (3-0) enforced its dominance throughout the contest.

In his first shift at forward all season, Bob Hunt opened the scoring for Team Maneater to go into halftime tied at one. But Team Maneater – using a new short-shift substitution system – kept the ball on the other half almost the entire second stanza. Goals by Chris Ivezic, Kevin Ford and Elizabeth Balten blew the game open, while Hunt went back in between the pipes. Hunt enters the playoffs with a 0.67 GAA.

Playoff brackets come out Tuesday, with action beginning later that week.

I chill with a girl whose five years older. That's not too much -- right? 

I pose with some athlete's girlfriends. Bill Martin must be so proud. 

Girls dig the photog 

Must-see TV Alert!

There are few must-see television events these days, but next week could be one of them. Next Wednesday, MTV will air the Orange Bowl episode of the Ashlee Simpson Show. In the preview, which I caught last night, Ashlee talked about how she had to change the lyrics of her song leading up to the big event. Why? I have no idea. Guess I'll have to watch (or tape it) to find out.

My near-death experience (kind of)

While I was about to leave from Ann Arbor to Chicago today, I was joking with my roommate Brian, who was coming with me, that he was going to be in for more than he bargained for. It turns out that I was right – a little too right.

It all started when we pulled into the Meijer gas station, and I opened the front hood of the car to put in wiper fluid. After placing in the fluid, I closed the hood lightly where it seemed shut. You see, my hood latch is abnormal, so one cant just slam the door shut.

Well, everything seemed fine, until I was 15 miles outside of Ann Arbor when my hood started to shake slightly. I pulled off to the shoulder, only to find that my latch was broken. I still have no idea how it happened, but it did. There was no way to close my hood. After fooling around with it in while the truck whizzed and the snow fell, I decided to drive about a quarter-mile to the next exit and pull over.

About two seconds later, the hood flew open (which, by the way, is NOT COOL), I pulled over again, and Brian went in from the passenger side to slam the hood. The hood shook slightly under I pulled into a Farmer Jack parking lot. There we learned the hydraulic thing that holds the hood up broke, so now the thing can’t really open or close.

Brian and I then went to the hardware store and got lots of duct tape, and then we taped the hood of the car.

So now I sit here in Ann Arbor – and not where I should be. We’re going to give driving to Chicago, duct taped hood and all, tomorrow morning. Wish us luck.