As we scored a huge win over the Chargers last Sunday, I wanted to give all JETS and football fans great tips as they watch the game this Sunday and prepare for their upcoming Superbowl parties.

Playoff parties are a great way for friends and family to get together and enjoy football, food and fun. However, there's often a bit of stressed involved in the planning the menu. Me being a avid foodie I know how to throw a great at-home party and have a few pointers to share.

1. Grill outdoors if possible, using charcoal (never gas). It'll make your party feel more like an at-home tailgate.
2. Make sure the beer is SUPER cold, and try to have a variety of beer types- maybe an American brand, a light beer, some German, something dark, and maybe a Mexican beer with some limes. You may also want to have some hard cider or lemonade on hand.
3. Beforehand, create your own signature barbeque sauce. Experiment with different ingredients... ginger, pineapple, cinnamon, peppers, etc until you have something that your friends will keep talking about. It'll add something personal to fish, chicken, ribs, etc.
4. Spice things up with different ethnic foods... or at least sauces. Sushi is really popular these days, maybe have a few types of rolls on hand. Also consider hummus in addition to your regular dips and salsa. In stead of regular chicken fingers, maybe do a chicken Satay instead. If you don't want to go that far do sauces with various ethnic inspirations for your wings. You can offer Caribbean jerk, Italian parmesan & basil encrusted, Asian Teriyaki or sweet & sour, or any other variations. Use your imagination
5. Remember that not everyone eats red meat- or meat period. Be sure to serve a variety of non-meat foods. Grilled or sautéed veggies can be good. Also, make sure you isolate the fish, chicken and other meats from each other AND from the veggies. It may sound crazy, but cross-contamination can make some people really sick.

-Bonus tip, don't get so caught up in hosting that you don't sit and enjoy the game with your loved ones.
There's no use in hosting the party if you're not going to watch the game and cheer us on!

Also check out what meal I eat before my games on Sunday: http://www.ediblemanhattan.com/index.php?option=com_wordpress&p=596&Itemid=400001

What's up yardbarkers? CP here, and as everyone is aware, football season is basically upon us. The dreaded time for training camp is here
too. I truly am excited about this upcoming season with the new regime
at the helm, and I know we are going to make all you Jets fans proud.

I really am happy that Micheal Vick was reinstated yesterday after
serving his prison time. The man has paid a very dear price for a
mistake that he made. We all have done something that we aren't proud
of, so we all need to understand that people really do deserve second
chances. I just hope that a team gives him a genuine shot to rebuild
his career (hopefully not in the AFC East because I don't want to have to play against him lol). I
feel that he still has great talent and can contribute a lot to a team.
I truly think that if given a chance to play again that his story of
redemption will outweigh most of the negative that has been said about
him.

On that note I want to shout out T.O. for speaking his mind on the
issue. I think alot more players with his credentials should speak
their minds on issues that they feel strongly about, especially
regarding our industry and sport.

Finally I want to say rest in peace to Vernon Forrest. I had the
opportunity to train with Vernon last summer before his fight with
Sergio Mora, and the sport of boxing and the world in general lost a
really good guy to a dumb act of violence. It's a shame that someone
felt the need to take a man's life over a material object. Hopefully
one day senseless deaths will cease.... Get back at me with your views.

Also I forgot check to mention to check out my interview on one of my favorite dishes, Yogurt Marinated Chicken http://behindtheburner.com/video/watch/yogurt-marinated-chicken-with-ny-jets-calvin-pace

I cant believe my alma mater went down to Cleveland St. I'm not going
to lie that was a very disheartening loss and not to mention that they
were never in the game, I just don't understand how a team that was
previous 16-0 and ranked number #1 in the country could never be in the
game against the less known Vikings. I'm definitely not taking anything
any from Cleveland State because they whipped Wake from the opening
whistle but you would think that a grueling ACC schedule would prepare
the Deacons for a game like this. I guess not but to be honest that
is the reason why college athletics is such a big draw because any
given game anyone can win. Now I guess I will be rooting for the North
Carolina Tar Heels for the rest of the tourney or anyone really except
Duke......who doesn't hate Duke?

My question for you guys is one that I have had for a while, does it make
sense for a team like Morehead State or Kentucky St to go to the NCAA
tourney or any other 16 seed to play in the tourney when it seems like
they are so over matched that its a cake walk for most teams? To me it
would seem more reasonable for them to compete on a lower level so
that they can actually play for a championship instead of just saying
that they made the field of 64 just for the sake of saying that they
made it. I think that they could have let Penn St, Miami, or even Notre
Dame in at that 16 seed and that would make for some better opening
round games.

whats up yardbarkers? i hope this finds everyone in good health and spirits. Sorry for the super long delay on a new post for the blog but i REALLY have been enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation as the off season conditioning program approaches. As everyone knows i love food and it loves me back so i gotta give my newest critiques on the food scene.



1. katz's deli- One word to describe this place "crazy". i gotta say the best corned beef and pastrami sandwiches that i have ever had in my life, i really dont think that ive ever had meat that moist and tender on a sandwich. If there is a better deli sandwich in NYC someone please let me know because katz's is number one on my list. The only draw back is the unorganized counter at which orders are placed especially on a saturday, if you havent been just expect to have a large group of people trying to place orders to 5 or 6 guys making sandwiches which ends up being total chaos but im not going to lie it was worth it.

2. Craft(atlanta)- Craft is one of the hottest new restaurants to come to Atlanta Chef/owner Tom Colicchio has other restaurants in NY and vegas and he delivers a solid meal. i started with the marinated/cured hamachi with pineapple. The dish was light and flavorful and the curing process made the fish somewhat sweet, definitely a good starter that didnt get me too full for the main course. I had the Waygu skirt steak for my main course and it turned out to be good but not great. i mainly chose the dish because it was waygu but i think that the fact that it was skirt steak and skirt steak is a tougher cut of meat made the texture for me a little disappointing but hey it was waygu so i figured i had to order it. The best part of the meal was without question dessert. i ordered a sorbet trio(grapefruit, honey tangerine, and pear) and i swear to you guys i thought i was eating the real fruit and im not even a sorbet fan but they definitely get 2 thumbs up for the dessert.

So people always sleeping on us Deamon Deacons and this past year they had a great season and fellow linebacker, Aaron Curry is a top 5 pick, maybe even the #1 pick. My question is should Aaron be #1 pick for Detroit making him probably the highest Deacon drafted? even better than my pick?, and what do you think of the free agency that the JETS have done so far?


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whats up yardies.....sorry for the long absence but ive been relaxing and trying to enjoy my off season as much as possible. im sure most of you guys are a little disappointed that the football season is over with just as i am but i want to shout out my ex teammates for the Az cardinals on a season that no one(including myself) couldve ever believed that they would have had. Having played in the valley of the sun for 5 years i know how the hard it was to earn respected from other football teams as well as fans but i think that they have earned respect and showed the world that theyre not a joke anymore. With that being said now comes the hard part of trying to keep the nucleus of the team together with adding a few pieces through the draft and free agency. There are 6 guys on their roster who's contracts are up(karlos dansby, antonio smith, and kurt warner) or are underpaid based on performance(adrian wilson, anquan boldin, and darnell dockett). If they can find a way to keep these guys on the roster they really can make another legitimate run again next year but if not this years success will be for nothing but thats just my opinion....holla back and tell me how you guys feel.

Also as some of you guys know eating out is one of my favorite things to do and last night i think i might have stumbled up atl's best restaurants called holman and finch. The restaurant has a nyc vibe and the food is crazy, if you go try the whole roasted garlic, roasted pork belly, roasted sunchokes, or poached egg with bacon and foie gras and you wont be disappointed the only downfall to the restaurant is that they dont take reservations so seating can be limited.

Yo Yardbarkers,

I'm down here in Tampa (or rather Clearwater beach) for Super Bowl weekend, And I have been enjoying myself during my first Super Bowl experience.

I did radio row at the Tampa convention center and had a great time. Since it was my first time, I was shocked at how many requests there were for me to do interviews. Shout out to all Arizona media and fans who showed me love the whole day.

Yes, I am feeling a little jealous my boys are in the Super Bowl now that I'm on another team, but I am happy for them. They all earned it.

Now, since I'm in Florida I had to taste some of the food and experience restaurants. (You know I'm a foodie.) Everyone raves about Frechy's Restaurant, so I gave it a try. I ate the grouper sandwich and fries. The sandwich was pretty good... better than I expected. It was well seasoned, and the fish was really fresh. Shout out to Frechy's for the bomb sandwiches.
 



Has anyone tasted their food and what was your favorite meal there? Any other spots in Tampa you guys can recommend?

whats up yardbarkers.....im a big college basketball fan and ive been following my alma mater (wake forest) and it looks like we might be legit. Do you guys think wake is the real deal or the teams that they have been playing were over hyped....holla back?

whats up yardies....tonight will be the best game of the year....way better than Texas vs Texas tech but i the end i think Florida on defense led by brandon spikes will match up better than any team in the big 12 has this year vs Oklahoma. i will say i think it might come down to the wire sorta like Texas vs USC a couple of years ago. Also i think Tim Tebow will continue to show everyone that he is a really is blossoming into a good QB and not just a big guy running the ball all the time....holla back with your thoughts.