Are They Who We Thought They Were?

To paraphrase Dennis Green, are they really who we thought they were?  Did you recognize what you saw last night?  The Mavericks resembled Elaine Benes' herky jerky dancing from Seinfeld.  Seriously.  And like Elaine's dancing, it's impossible to figure out just what this Mavericks team is.

Is it the one that beat San Antonio by six in Game 1 and looked dominant?  The one that failed to show up in Game 2 and lose by 14? Or is it the Game 3 group that battled but didn't have anything left late in the game?  Even CBS11/TXA21 photographer Bill Ellis remarked while looking at the video he shot of Game 3 that the Mavericks looked confused.


I get the sense Dallas thought the Spurs would be an easier bunch to deal with.  Even after last night's loss, I still sort of feel that way.

The Mavericks have to make shots down the stretch.  They made only seven of their 22 shot attempts in the final period.  Would making a substitution have helped?  Rick Carlisle stayed with small ball for the majority of the fourth:  Jason Terry and JJ Barea to start the fourth, along with Jason Kidd.  Dirk Nowitzki started the fourth on the bench, like he usually does.  It's easy to understand why Carlisle went with that group the majority of the second half, they had a 17-0 run in the 3rd quarter, built a nine point lead and entered the fourth quarter with 70-66 lead.

"In the fourth quarter, we had too many empty possessions," Nowitzki said after the game.

You have to wonder if it was as effective as it could have been.

Caron Butler sat the entire second half. A starter.  Yes, I get he struggled,  going just 1 for 3 with two points.  Don't you at least give him a few minutes?  Now you have to ask where his confidence is.  Will he be pressing in Game 4?

This much I do know about the Mavericks: they need to win Game 4 because based on what they've shown, combined with the way the Spurs are playing, Dallas doesn't seem have the constitution to come back from a 3-1 deficit.

Please Stop!
Finally.  Stop.  Just stop about the refs.  It's so junior varsity.  Sure, the Mavericks are a whine-inducing 1-17 when Dan Crawford officiates games.  It's a bitch.  I get it.  But deal with it and move on.  It's an excuse that's old, tired and nothing more than a lame reason for the Mavericks to feel something was taken from them.  Take responsibility and deal with it.

No More Masked Mavs Man!!!!

I seriously had a dream about Jason Terry in that damn mask.

Get your mind out of the gutter! 

Nothing inappropriate at all!  It was more like a Jason/Friday the 13th/scary sort of dream.  I even told  him about it last week and he mentioned that he was ready to be done with that thing. 

Well after he played without on Sunday in game 1 against the Spurs, he's says he's done for good.  "Keeping my fingers crossed I don’t get hit or anything but no mask," he said after shootaround on Wednesday.

No doubt he's looking for a better performance in Game 2.  Terry was 2/9 with 5 points, with both of those shots coming in the final 6:05 of the fourth quarter.

"I'm definitely going to be more aggressive than I was in that last game," he said.  "Watching the tape, I let the defense dictate how I was getting my shots."

Did You Know:
The Spurs have not won a playoff game in Dallas since Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals on 5/19/06.

If You Want to Meet the Hotties, You Gotta Take Pilates

An NBA player, I am 90% certain you know, told me that.  I had heard he was taking classes at a popular gym.  I asked him about it and he simply responded with "If you want to meet the hotties, you gotta take pilates!"  Then he proceeded to form a wide sh!t-eating grin which led me to believe that he did, in fact, meet some hotties.  

Player A wasn't alone.  He took pilates with another more famous, more successful NBA player I know you know.  Joining them were the expected soccer moms and MILF's along with a member or two of Dallas' SWAT team.  I'm talking serious, athletic guys participating in a workout that many out-of-shape guys I know think is a bit girly.

Pilates is a method of exercising that builds flexibility, endurance, coordination and strength without adding bulky muscles.  The primary focus is core strength: stomach and lower back.  A solid workout will also hit hips, legs, buttocks and upper back as well as focus on controlled breathing techniques.  This can help produce a fabulous physique.  Think long, lean and sinewy muscles vs stocky, thick ones. 

I have to admit, my first couple of pilates classes were awful.  They were taught by instructors who either a) didn't know what they were doing or b) too fearful of challenging the class.  Recently, I have been taking group classes at my personal gym and we are blessed with a phenomenal instructor.  A well-taught one hour class hits almost every major muscle.  You definitely "feel the burn" but it's a sensation different from that "pump" you get when lifting weights.  It's a true burn, a good one, that will stick with you for 12-24 hours.  I consider myself to be in pretty good shape but after a good class, I feel it.

There are a two primary ways to practice pilates.  Many people (like me) take classes on mat using their own body weight for resistance along with a few tools.  This pilates ring looks painfully simple but can be painfully challenging when properly used.  Exercise bands are also helpful for adding resistance.

Another method of training involves using what's called a reformer.  This adds additional resistance and allows a person to focus perhaps a little better on developing proper alignment, core strength and flexibility.

Here is a link to a Pilates-based workout I profiled in 2009 for CBS11/TXA21's Get Healthy Texas segments.  The story was targeted to get women bikini ready in a six-weeks.  Trust me, you can get there with these moves.

Pilates isn't for wimps.  It's a phenomenal way to get in shape regrardless of your fitness level and gender. With practice and dedication, it will improve your strength, flexibility and physique.  And if the latter is true, Player A's line appropriate for both men and women.

Have any clue who my pilates-practicing NBA guys are?

Some Spurs Perspective Down the Stretch

With five games left and the Mavericks impersonating Sybil, the Spurs are quietly playing some good basketball at the perfect time of year.  They're only two and a half games behind Dallas in the Southwest division.  San Antonio is 7-3 over its last 10 games with impressive road wins over Boston and the Lakers and home wins against Cleveland and Orlando.  Interestingly, they do have a stinker loss against New Jersey serving as the only blemish during a 5-1 stretch.

The DMN's Brad Townsend breaks it down here.  Long story short, if the Mavs tank and the Spurs win the regular season finale, by virtue of a few tiebreaks, San Antonio could win the division.

The Spurs had just a 4-4 record when they came to Dallas on November 14th.  They actually dropped to 4-6 and back to 9-9 in November.  I asked Tim Duncan about that .500 mark and about their general approach on the season.  He told me that they don't get too concerned with the first few months of the regular season.  "We want to be playing our best basketball going into the playoffs," he deadpanned, looking over to his PR guy hoping that he would end the interview after just the third question.  (The PR guy didn't)

Duncan's bunch doesn't seem to have that identity crisis that's plaguing the Mavericks.  Will it get them any a first-round series win?  Who knows but theirs is certainly a good philosophy to have.

Mavs Knock Nuggets Down and More.

After Dallas' win over Denver, coupled with Utah's win over New York, the Nuggets fall to 5th in the Western conference.  They entered Monday's game tied for 2nd in the West with the Mavericks.  How crazy is that?

Detes on that, Dirk's triple double and more after the Mavericks 109-93 win over the Nuggets on Monday night here in YouTube video blog.

One thing I didn't touch on: Rodrigue Beaubois.  The hot topic this morning was just how much Roddy B would play vs the Nuggets.  The pre-game media throng that included, the Dallas Morning News' Jean-Jacques Taylor, the Star-Telegram's Jen Floyd-Engel and Dallasmavs.com's Earl K Sneed set the over/under at 14 minutes.  A number of people, including Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and yours truly, took the over.  Turns out we were right just by a hair.  Beaubois' line: 14 minutes 56 seconds, five points, three steals, one assist and two fouls.  This prompted my partner in pre- and post-game crime Derek Harper to remind everyone who had just punched Beaubois' ticket to the basketball hall of fame that "40 is hard to follow-up" and that it "doesn't happen every night".  True that but I think we can all agree there's a lot to look forward to with the 22-year old Guadelope native.

Mindless Trivia Time:
Now from the dumb question department: without checking Google, do you know what a Guadeloupe native is called?  Guadelopian? Not sure.

What I am sure of, though, is that those indigenous to the US territory Guam are called Chamorro.  How do I know?  Because for six months I lived right on the Phillipine Sea on that tiny little island. 

And with that, I bid you a good night!

10 Games To Go And What Do You Know?

Two things I've noticed:

1) Taking a break from blogging blows.  I missed it.  I had a very entertaining stretch that included a FABULOUS 80th birthday party for stepdad, Ed Hipps.  A Marilyn Monroe impersonator made his night. 

2) During the Mavericks 2-4 stretch, they haven't been pushing the ball enough.

Dallas has only two wins in its last six games with those wins coming over the Clippers and Bulls.  In that span, the Mavericks have been putting up just 13 fast break points a game.  You could argue they hit rock bottom against Portland when they laid a goose egg.  ZERO fast break points compared to the Blazers' 16.  Ouch.

During their 13-game win streak, Dallas put up 20.15 fast break points a game.  Fast break points are just one element but it's definitely a strong contributing factor to this six-game span.  Add to that, Dallas has taken less free throws lately with no more than 20 in the last four games heading into the Warriors game and there are some points lefts on the court that they were getting during the win-streak. 

So what the hell is going on? 

The Mavericks, the most veteran team in the NBA, are struggling at one of the most important times of the season. This is when their experience should be paying off yet it seems to have disappeared.

My Mavs Game Night partner, Derek Harper, is adamant that successful veteran teams team should place emphasis on closing a season strongly.  No doubt the coach is placing an emphasis on this but are the players?  The timing of this stumble is concerning.   Where will the Mavs be at the end of this 10 game stretch?  I don't know.  And I am not sure if anyone knows which version of the Mavs team will show up once the playoffs begin.

Mavs Beat Bulls and A Bull Almost Beats Harp!

Does Dallas lack a killer instinct? Dirk says kinda sorta. Why was Jason Terry all stopped up? PLUS, which Bulls player shot Derek the devil eyes?

Check out my latest video blog for the answers to all those questions and more!


One Addendum:

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said after the game that Jason Kidd asked to sit out at the start of the fourth quarter because his knees were sore.  Kidd after the game that it wasn't an issue,  the game was in hand and that he wanted to "let the other guys play".  The Bulls did get to within seven, so the game wasn't quite that in control.

 Ok, there's a disconnect. 

Simple miscommunication?  Perhaps.  The real story might lie somewhere in between.  Right now, I'm not losing sleep over it.

OH!  One more from the RANDOM department: 
Former Nets coach Lawrence Frank was at the game.  He came up to Harp after the game to say hello.   Remember New Jersey fired him in November?  He said life is great right now.  He's being paid to hang.  Nice.

I happened to see him sit down in the stands during the pregame show and I was like "is that Lawrence Frank?!?!?".  He's all of 5'7 so he's kind of hard to pick out of a crowd.

Why in the hell I kind of know him is because he was an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee under Kevin O'Neill when I covered the Vols.  MAN, could I tell you some stories (about O'Neill, not Frank).  They would all involved some serious curse words and questionable behavior.

Anyway, Frank doesn't remember me at all and has no clue who I am because I was as low-level and spare as they come.  That being said I never, ever felt comfortable around that Tennessee coaching staff.  Just saying.

And To End on a Positive Note: 
Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro couldn't have been nicer.   He came up to say hello to Derek (which almost everyone does - players & coaches LOVE him).  Del Negro has had a tough few months and admitted as much.  He was so nice to introduce himself to me and say hello.  Just saying.

Chewing the Straw with Caron Butler

I didn't really know what to expect when I sat down for an interview with Caron Butler.  Aside from a brief introductory "hello", teaming upwith him to play ping pong, and a few media scrum interviews, we hadn't chatted much. 

So when we took over the AAC's main media room, delaying the poor production folks who were trying to set up for Tuesday night's Stars/Sharks game, I came away from our 10-minute interview impressed and intrigued with the just-turned-30-year old's perspective on a number of things.

Here are some highlights:
-He doesn't think that Kobe Bryant was blowing smoke when he told me during All-Star weekend that the Mavs/Wizards trade puts Dallas up there with the NBA's elite.  He said that Kobe isn't in the business of saying things he doesn't mean.  In fact, Kobe texted Caron as soon as the trade happened. Tune in tonight to find out what Kobe said.
-He explains why this trade has worked so quickly for Dallas and how much it's reinvigorated him as a player.
-When the trade happened, Mark Cuban wanted to Butler to fly to Dallas immediately and hang out with him during All-Star weekend.
-He outlines the parameters of "strawgate", when he can and can't chew straws and how he started the whole straw-chewing business in the first place.
-And, I know you Tony Romo fans will hate this, he says Romo is a phenomenal athlete and killed his team one time in a basketball game.  His Racine high school team used to play Romo about 3 times a year in high school.

You can hear the rest of Butler's interview on Mavericks Game Night with Derek Harper and me tonight at 7pm on TXA21.

JET Back on the Runway, PT II

Sefko has Rick Carlisle talking about it here.

I talked to Jason Terry on Sunday at Carlisle's ping pong tournament.  He told me point blank he's shooting for a Wednesday return against the Bulls.  Detes of that conversation here. What was interesting is that Terry offered up his return plans.  I didn't have to ask.

Derek Harper and I return from an extended Mavericks Game Night layoff and offer up pre- and post-game coverage of Mavs/Bulls on Wednesday night starting at 7:00pm.

JET Back on the Runway???

A very fragile-looking Jason Terry made an appearance at Rick Carlisle's ping pong tournament on Sunday.  I say fragile because I was almost scared to give him a hello hug.  His face was a tad swollen after having facial surgery on March 5th.  A smidge puffy, would best the way to describe it.

He told me he expects to be back in uniform against the Bulls on Wednesday.  He and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones are the most optimistic people I know. 

"You sure?" I asked.  "Yep." he assured me.  "Wednesday."

I like the effort.  We'll see.

Ain't No Party Like a Ping Pong Party

And what a party it was. 

Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating but the first-ever Pancreatic Cancer Network's Purple Ping Pong bash at SMU's Moody Coliseum was a blast.  Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is a ping pong fanatic and hosted the event.  He recruited Dirk Nowitzki, JJ Barea, Matt Carroll, Derek Harper, former Ranger Jeff Russell, Olympians Nastia Luikin and Carly Patterson, SMU men's basketball coach Matt Dougherty, Texas running back Tre Newton, Popeye Jones, Mark Followill, Emily Jones, Bob Ortegel, Chuck Cooperstein, yours truly and many more. 

Honestly, when Carlisle called to ask me to play, I thought I was in trouble for something I said.  No joke.  It took me a while to call him back and he texted me telling me to check my voice mail.  "UH-OH!" I thought.  Turns out, it was a gracious invitation to be a part of the event and I was so honored he thought of to me.

Needless to say, I stunk.  Completely totally sucked.  Dirk Nowitzki killed me. I joked with him that the MVP was going down today.  Not so much.  The Big German is ping pong master and has a table in his living room.  He event went to playing with an arm behind his back to give at least me a fighting chance.  Not so much.

My team consisted of Popeye Jones, who was fabulous, Caron Butler, who didn't play because of a tight lower back, the fabulous Emily Jones and a pancreatic cancer survivor.  We lost in double elimination.  No worries.  It was worth the embarassment.

JJ Barea and Dirk were the two best Mavs ping-pongers.  Jeff Russell, Bob Ortegel and Derek Harper were also incredibly good.  I think people who have offseasons are much better ping pong players than those who have full-time jobs. One Mavs player, who will remain nameless, told me he was much better at beer pong than ping pong. Touche.

Roger and Marianne Staubach were so generous, once again, to be one of the event's sponsors.  Roger's mother died of pancreatic cancer.  He never ceases to amaze me.  I was chatting with him when a representative from the Pancreatic Cancer Network thanked him for his support.  He told her to call his office on Monday because he wanted to send them more money.  So impressive.

My takeaway: 1) I suck at ping pong but want to get better.  It's nice little workout and great for hand-eye coordination (in fact Mark McLemore told me would start playing in January to get ready for Spring Training).  2) I want to be in the position to be as philanthropic as Roger and Marianne Staubach.  Not a bad position to be in.

***Special double, triple, quintuple thanks to Kerry Randel for taking some FABULOUS pics of the tournament today!***

Mavs/Hornets Mixed Bag PLUS Attack of the Drunk Chick

Mavs get their 7th win in high blood-pressure inducing fashion. Plus - what goes on AFTER Mavs games???? The attack of the tipsy Mavs fan might be the more interesting story.

A couple of notes...Eduardo Najera said after the game, the Hornets zone defense was effective. The Mavericks recent success has been impressive considering that, according to head coach Rick Carlisle, they've had only one "semi-normal practice." I asked Carlisle before the game if he was impressed with how the new players (Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and Deshawn Stevenson) have integrated into this system and if the streak was a sign of their comfort level. He said I was focusing too much on the results and needed to look closer at the games. Fair enough. The fact that New Orleans cut a 25-point deficit to just four points supports his answer. Still, the results still don't suck.

Lots of people are drinking that Mavs Kool-Aid and jumping on the bandwagon. Are you or do you think this is all fool's gold? Or have you already been there?

DFW, We Have a Leader

FINALLY!

For a particular story I am doing, I have been asking a number of Rangers about who their leader is.  I have asked Manager Ron Washington  and GM Jon Daniels who they look to when they need to impart a message to the team.   The unanimous answer, on all fronts, has been one man: Michael Young.

This shouldn't come as a shock or surprise; but I will tell you it's impressive.  He leads by example and does it vocally, as well.   Pitcher C.J. Wilson might have said it best: "He's made so many sacrifices for the team.  To keep his bat in the lineup and keep his different positions, win a gold glove at short, now he's playing 3rd.  He can win a gold glove there you know."

Young's willingness to do whatever it takes and ability to excel at each attempt isn't lost on his teammates.  "Everyone's going home and looking at himself in the mirror saying 'what can I do to push the team over the top?' Wilson added.

Why does that impress the hell out of me?  Because for years I have asked just about every key player on every pro team in Dallas who the leader on his team was.  EVERY, single player gave me a different answer or named a few guys.  Some players (dallas mavericks) named the owner (mark cuban)!  It's so refreshing to have a team that knows who that guy is.  What's even more refreshing is to have a guy who's willing to put himself on the line to do it.  Many players aren't brave enough to do that and for Young to do is a testament to his character. 


Almost More Impressed by the Peeps
While I've been busy dissing the autograph flies at spring training, I must give huge kudos to the fans.  They are a loyal bunch.  I have asked Rangers execs asked if the number of fans is lower than in years' past given the economic climate.  Overwhelmingly the answer is no.  Fan turnout is impressive for a team not named the Cowboys, Yankees or Packers.  There's something to be said for the loyal baseball fan.  Even more impressive is the loyal Rangers fan.  There have been some rough years in the Arlington.

BTW, my personal favorite, The Cookie Lady, is in Surprise with her husband.  I did a story with her years ago and received about two dozen cookies for my colleagues at the station.  Here's hoping we see some of her sweets in the next few days! ;)

U Can't Control What the Ball Do (or the Hooch Apparently)

So Josh Howard's "stomach illness" that  forced him to miss the Wizards game on January 20th was possibly a raging hangover?  Does that surprise you at all?  Lord knows I've been there (the raging hangover part) but at least I'm enough of an adult to get my job done.   

Eddie Sefko has the detes on something that doesn't surprise any  of us.  I remember reporting the "stomach illness" when I first heard the details that day and Derek Harper's first words were "he is outta here."  At least Howard's passion to party is consistent.  Sources have told me he was taking advantage of the Dallas nightlife until 5am just about every night during All-Star weekend.  (not passing judgment there....just reporting)

Howard is a player who repeatedly did not take responsibility for his actions.  He blamed the media for his wrongdoings and was constantly enabled by the Mavericks and his hangers-on.  He went from being the untouchable commodity to a player who's more of detriment than asset.  

Are you disappointed his departure didn't happen sooner?  Did the Mavs reluctance to trade him sooner hurt this team?   I had heard he was on the block for a while.  Perhaps other teams were wiser in their unwillingness to take him on a player.  Regardless, he's the Wizards problem now and he might  continue to be just that: a problem

Blueprint Cleanse Day 3: To Break or Not to Break

Day 3 on the Blueprint Cleanse

This one was the challenge.  Days 1 & 2 were routine workdays and presented no social challenges.  Day 3 was a bugger not from a hunger or craving standpoint but from a "let's deal with reality" perspective.  I had a big, bad (actually fun) event Thursday evening.  Dilemma: do I continue with the cleanse or do I break it?

The day itself went wonderfully.  I exercised, doing an hour of a killer pilates class, a 40-minute walk with the dog and 15 minutes of jumping rope.  A lack of energy was never a factor for me on the Blueprint Cleanse.

I continued throughout the day on the juice cycle, downing them as needed, waiting about and an hour and a half to two hours between juices.  Then came decision time.

It was 6pm and I was drinking my last green juice of the cleanse.  I had gone 72 hours without food, essentially the recommended time for a full "Blueprint Cleanse".  I left for the event, which was a party honoring former Texas governor Bill Clements and his wife, Rita, for their contributions to the University of Texas system.  It was an assembly of some of the state's most interesting and educational, philanthropic and political minds.

Long story short, when the salad course came, I ate it.  I broke the cleanse.  I really felt fine about doing it.  That night I ate salad, fish, a bite of some yucky, generic chocolate flourless cake and a glass of wine.  I didn't feel badly or gross, I felt great.

Friday came and I still felt great.  I actually froze my cashew milk, the final juice of the cleanse, and drank it on Friday.  I juiced the entire day until dinner, which was an evening out with friends.

All told, the Blueprint Cleanse was a success for me.  The pre-cleanse puffiness I had was gone.  My stomach was as flat as it has been since bathing suit season.  I felt amazing.  I worked out every day while on it and, although hungry, I never lacked energy.  I thought it was a good, easy effective way to cleanse and jumpstart some water weight loss.  It was quite pricey, in my opinion.  Maybe it's a twice-a-year undertaking.  It inspired me to get back to juicing on my own.  For ease of use and an absolute idiot-proof way of getting introduced to juice fasting, it's excellent. 

Postscript:
After a weekend of roadtrip indulgences and an excellent Super Bowl party, I'm ready for another juice fast.  The interesting thing is - 2 of my girlfriends have gone Blueprint crazy.  They signed up to do it, too.  I think it would be fun to do it together with a group of folks.  That way we can be social and drink our juices together in wine glasses! (a girl can wish).

Blueprint Cleanse Day 2: A Lesson Learned & Gubnatorial Challenge

Day 2 was the same juice routine: 3 green juices, 1 pineapple/mint/apple (I wish it was a mojito) juice, lemon cayenne pepper and cashew milk.

Late in the evening, around 7:45 during our TXA21 broadcast, I was starving.  Absolutely starving and while I thought I brought my final juice of the day, the cashew milk, with me to work, I realized I hadn't.  Horror, panic and fear all set in.  My arm is looking appetizing at this point.  I decide to go for a double: green tea and some of that nasty, sugar-free hot chocolate we have at the station.  The tea is usually a good choice to satiate my 300-pound lineman appetite.  The interesting thing is that I started to drink the sugar-free hot chocolate and I couldn't finish it!  I was so surprised and downright happy that I thought it was ......wait for it.....TOO SWEET.  I'm a certified sweet/sugar addict and I couldn't get it down.  Hello, progress!

So our TXA21 broadcast ends and I am racing to get out the door and drive the 30 minutes back to Dallas and devour that cashew milk when I look below my cubicle and see it: that poor, little 16-oz bottle of cashew milk.  I knew I had brought it with me to the station!  It had fallen out of my cooler.  At this point it was warm.  That didn't do much for me.  I race home, get back around 9:30 and savor that beautifully cold cashew milk from the fridge.  By this point my hunger had subsided. 

I think that's a key lesson.  I am a HIGH volume eater.  While I eat healthily, I eat a lot.  I will generally snack on something when I have a craving and many times that could be something sweet: whether it's fruit, a Kashi bar or some of those damn M&M's my colleague has on his desk.   This was a big step for me, feeling that powerful hunger subside over time was something I am not used to doing.  I hope it's something I can carry over to my non-cleansing life.  

On the scale Thursday morning, it showed I've lost four total pounds.  I don't have really much to lose, just water weight to eliminate.  Tonight will be a challenge: a cocktail party and dinner honoring former Texas governor Bill Clements for his contributions to UT.  Do I drink the seltzer and say "no thanks" when the rubber chicken arrives?  Or do I freeze my evening juices for tomorrow, break the fast tonight and juice till dinner tomorrow?  Decisions, decisions.  Stay tuned!

No More Staypuff Marshmellow Girl: Blueprint Cleanse Day 1

I have been an indulgent little piggy lately and had been looking to depuff.   A friend of mine, who just had the most beautiful baby girl, did a 5-day Blueprint Cleanse last week and as soon as I saw her Facebook post on it, I was like "done"! 

I ordered a 3-day cleanse, which you can pick up at Exhale Spa in Dallas.  It's not cheap.  Delivery to my door in Dallas is $255, pick-up at Exhale was $225.  I googled and found an online coupon which brought the total down to $205.50.  Still expensive. 

I chose the 3-day Foundation Cleanse. Their website says it's for "active, busy people who exercise and have tried many different diets but either can’t get their hands on fresh, whole food, or simply don’t have the time."  That's me to a T: exercise freak, love to diet but am constantly slammed and barely have time to walk my dog.

I actually have a fabulous juicer at home but I was happy with the portability of the Blueprint Cleanse.  The 3-day cleanse comes in three separate lunch bags which feature each of my six numbered drinks that I am supposed to drink during the day.  It's idiot proof and easy to carry around.  I run around all day: I can go from Mavs to Rangers or Cowboys or Stars or some random high school before heading into the station, so the ease of carrying is a plus.

In preparation for Day 1, the BPC people advise you to eat pretty raw and vegan for a few days, which I essentially do.  I eat a lot of seafood or chicken but the raw, vegan thing is not a challenge for me.  I did have a ton of candy the day before my cleanse started and a crabcake but it was a pretty vegetable-filled prep day.

I picked up my juice at Exhale Spa around 10am and had my first green juice.  It made of the juices of romaine lettuce, celery, cucumber, green apple, spinach, kale, parsley and lemon.  It was actually much sweeter than I expected.  I make a green juice many times in the morning consisting of lemon, apple and kale which is much tarter and more "green".  The Blueprint Cleanse's was sort of green "light".  It was good.

Next was a pineapple, apple and mint juice.  It tasted like a mojito without the rum.  It was FABULOUS.  Seriously, put some rum and crushed ice in there and watch me get delightfully tipsy.  A few hours after that was another green juice.  I had half of it before I went to Mavs practice and half afterwards.  I wasn't hungry at all at this point. 

Around 5-ish, I had my 4th juice of the day which was water, lemon, cayenne pepper and agave nectar.  This was wonderfully refreshing lemony drink with a spicy kick.  The Master Cleanse has you drinking a lemon, cayenne pepper and maple syrup drink throughout the day.  To me, that drink is heinous.  Maybe I'm too heavy handed on the cayenne pepper or maple syrup but that Master Cleanse drinks SUCKS!  The Blueprint Cleanse's was great.

Around 7 it was another green juice, followed by my last juice of the day around 8:30pm.  The final one is a cashew milk, vanilla bean and cinnamon juice.  Many who have done the cleanse say it's their favorite drink and they love it.  For me, it was just ok.  There were milky, cashew remnants in the drink.  It definitely had a wonderful vanilla/cinnamon flavor but I don't like milky, creamy drinks at all, so this kind of fell flat for me.

I wasn't ever really hungry on Tuesday.  I was tempted (as I always am) by the bowl of M&M's our assignment editor keeps on his desk right behind me.  Wednesday, I woke up a little lethargic and felt I needed a triple green tea cocktail in the morning (which I'm drinking now).   I did hop on my enemy - the scale - and found myself three pounds lighter.  No doubt it's water weight but I'll take it.

A Crescent City Getaway

I love so many of the Spanish influences in New Orleans.

I recently made my 20th trek to New Orleans. Not my 20th overall, my 20th in the last 3 years. I didn't realize it until I started checking back through my Southwest airlines travel history. I've actually been back 27 times since Katrina ravaged the city in August of 2005. I'm officially giving myself expert status!

New Orleans, in my opinion, is the most unique and charismatic U.S. city. It's architecture, food, people, music, lifestyle, even the smells are as close to an old-world European city you will find in the states. It's such a great melting pot. I've run into former mayors, neighbors of mine from Dallas and New York City hedge fund guys who just needed to get away. People seem to let down their guards when they visit New Orleans. Certainly, a cocktail or two might help but when you're there, you almost get a feeling of belonging that is shared among anyone who visits the city.

Those who haven't traveled there since Katrina ask if "it's ok" or "if it's safe". They seem to think FEMA trailers still line Canal street and that looters are hanging outside Galatoire's waiting for diners to leave. In my opinion, it's safer and cleaner than it was pre-Katrina.

I first went back there about five months after Katrina. I stayed at the W Hotel in the Central Business District. THEN were FEMA trailers lining the city. You could still see signs of the flood all over the CBS and French Quarter. There was a distinct water line along the buildings on Canal street. The majority of businesses were still closed. The majority of just about everything from restaurants to hotels and gas stations had yet to reopen. The few places that were open were grateful for the business. At Emeril's eponymous restaurant, the sommelier told of me the wine from the cellar that was floating in ground-level restaurant in the days after the storm. Certainly not a tragedy but definitely a perspective gainer.

I could feel the city's will to rebound from the disaster. I could sense the focus and see determination in the eyes of the people that had come back. I heard stories of those were dead set on returning the city to the magical place it was.

At that point I fell in love. I didn't go back for another year but since then I've done just about everything you can without getting thrown in jail. I've caught beads at Mardi Gras, run a half-marathon, held a cocktail party at my hotel and ate my way through the city without gaining 50 pounds. It's such an easy trip from Dallas' Love Field. Typically, I can get to the airport 30 minutes before my flight and two hours later, I'm having champagne at my hotel.

So these are generally the follow-up questions I get when I tell people I go so frequently: what do you do? where do you stay? where do you EAT? Here you go:

Hotels:
Ritz-Carlton: Typically, I stay here. It's one of the most affordable Ritz-Carltons in the family. I've stayed there for as little as $129/night. It's right on the edge of the Quarter and just across Canal from the CBD. It's beautiful, gracious and smells AMAZINGLY (you'll know what I mean when you get there). Only downside is that there is no pool. The bar gets crowded every night. It's a hotspot. You can enjoy the more subdued Club Level which is offered by every Ritz-Carlton for an added fee. They do five food presentations every day and offer complimentary cocktails. I prefer that because it has more of home vs hotel feel. You can play backgammon in the library while having breakfast or simply read a book in the afternoon after a long day of exploring.

W Hotel, French Quarter: This is such a cute, boutique-like hotel. It's like walking into an actual Quarter residence with the beautiful courtyard. It's small and can get loud at night but a fun little spot. You'll feel like you're staying in someone's Quarter apartment.

W Hotel, CBD: this one is located near Harrah's casino. Looks like an old office-building converted to a hotel. Typical W - very cool. Fun pool

International House: I've stayed here a few times. This is a beautiful Beaux Arts-style boutique hotel in the CBD just a few minutes from the French Quarter. It has a very big-city feel that reminds me of the Dylan Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

The Roosevelt Hotel: This is perhaps the most famous/infamous of New Orleans hotels. The CBD spot reopened this summer after a multimillion dollar renovation. The lobby area is stunning: gilded ceilings, beautifully restored murals and rich hardwood floors. It's an historic preservation marvel. The Sazerac bar is a great scene. It serves period cocktails that are dangerously strong (hello, blackberry julip!). You get a real sense of being transported to a bygone era. It ends there. The room remodels were really disappointing. I stayed there in November, a little more than four months after it opened. The furnishings are cheap, the bathrooms are tiny and the overall feel is more Homestead Suites than Waldorf-Astoria collection Roosevelt. Still there are some good deals to be had at the hotel if you book at the right time. Definitely get a cocktail in the bar.

Some other hotels to consider: Marriott or Sheraton on Canal street, the Renaissance Pere Marquette downtown and the Windsor Court or Lowe's near the Casino.
AVOID: Doubletree near the Casino. I couldn't sleep and stayed up all night at that hotel because the Casino noise was so bad. Our company booked us there for the NBA All-Star game - NIGHTMARE. The walls were so thin, I could here EVERYTHING the person in the next room was doing (Janet had fun that night). I rolled by bag along Canal street at 6am and checked into the Marriott. That particular Doubletree is a rat-hole.