I Met Josh

In the late 2000s through mid-2010s, there were thriving blogging communities in Pittsburgh and Washington DC / Northern Virginia and I imagine other places as well. While there were various in-person events (such as happy hours and blogger nights at grand openings for venues), there were also online directories and groups for bloggers and guest blogger exchanges. Through these online activities, I got to meet some really cool people though rarely in person with a few brief exceptions. I met Nicolas of Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies fame at a Penguins-Islanders game and had brunch with Heidi of The Steel Trap and John of Ya Jagoff!

One of the people I got to know over the years is Josh of Josh's World. Josh is one of the few people from over a decade ago who still maintains a blog, but we also participate in multiple fantasy sports leagues and Oscar pools together. Plus, Josh is always up for participating in any of my silly predictions blog posts. Despite being Facebook friends, we never actually met in person.

Last month, Josh announced that he bought a restaurant. Although I don't think there will be a movie about this starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, this was very exciting news, and I was and am very happy for Josh.

With spring break approaching, I decided that I wanted to support Josh and visit his restaurant. I also wanted to attend a Penguins game and buy some cheap T-shirts in the Strip District, so I took a road trip to Johnstown and Pittsburgh with The Moose (now 15!!) and Luigi.

We got on the road a little later than I wanted thanks to some type of blade in my tire and the time it took for the repair. Because of this, we didn’t arrive at the Corner Coffee Shoppe until after 2:00. About a half-mile before the restaurant, we passed a Long John Silver's. I love this chain, and since there are no franchises near me, I briefly considered stopping there instead. But no. We were on a mission!

Corner Coffee Shoppe is located in the corner of the Bel Air Plaza. The shopping center also has a Dollar General, Japanese restaurant, an escape room, and more but there's a big vacant spot in the middle in what might have been a Value City based on my 45 seconds of internet research. The restaurant itself is unassuming from the outside but is very cool once you go in. There’s an old-fashioned diner counter set up on the right part of the restaurant, and booths and tables for the rest. 

Although I sent a message to Josh a few days before letting him know that I planned on visiting, I didn’t give him an exact day or time of when we would arrive. Not that we were invited to the festivities, but we missed the new ownership ribbon-cutting ceremony. Josh made the news! 

The crowd from that event died down by the time we arrived, and I didn't see Josh when we were seated. I was actually a little nervous about meeting him. I was basically showing up at his job somewhat unannounced. I wanted to say hi, but I didn't want to bother him. After we got drinks, I saw Josh go back and forth between the kitchen and a table where he was eating with his family. I definitely didn't want to interrupt that. Maybe 15 minutes later and when we were finishing our meal, Josh walked towards the front of the restaurant by our table and I introduced him to my two kids with me and we talked for a few minutes. It was a fairly brief conversation since Josh was heading out, and again, he was with his family and already had a full and eventful day. Still, it was cool meeting him in person and checking out his restaurant. The food was good (I need to get dessert next time!) and very reasonably priced. Plus, I love the placemats highlighting local businesses. More places need to have this. 

Once things settle down for Josh, I'd love to interview him about the experience of owning a restaurant. In the meantime, if you're in or around Johnstown, please support Josh and enjoy a meal at Corner Coffee Shoppe!

Dark Knight Rises Looks Unrealistic

If you haven't seen the trailer for Dark Knight Rises, please watch the video below. While the film certainly looks cool, I can't get past two portions of the trailer that seem completely unrealistic.

1. Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl kicking for a professional football team (1:08 mark).

2. Hines Ward returning a kick-off for a touchdown (1:21). He hasn’t returned a kick-off since 2000!



I'm not sure how I can even see this movie now. Maybe I'll see something more believable like Matt Damon buying and operating a zoo where Scarlett Johansson works or singing and dancing chipmunks.


Deadspin also has some great analysis of The Dark Knight Rises football scenes.

Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place Review

Perhaps you have heard the news that Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds are engaged. Who would have thought ten years ago that the star of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place would be engaged to one of the hottest young actresses in Hollywood? The answer would be no one since Johansson was only 13 at the time. That would be like a 14 year-old Katie Holmes saying that one day she would marry Tom Cruise, 16 years her elder. Ridiculous! Anyway, 10 years after the debut of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, let’s take a look back.

The plot of Two Guys (I’m going to shorten the title instead of typing it over and over again) was simple enough. There were three twenty-somethings, ironically one girl and two guys, who lived in the same apartment building and hung around a pizza place. The guys were Pete (Richard Ruccolo), a neurotic architecture student and Berg (Ryan Reynolds), the laid-back pre-med. Sharon (Traylor Howard) was a tough girl with a soft center. (I took this line as well as the descriptions of Pete and Berg directly from the IMDB plot summary). In my mind, Two Guys was an underrated show. ABC never knew exactly what to do with it and the show was somewhat limited by the long and self-explanatory title. By the third season, the show was re-titled "Two Guys and a Girl" and later moved to an awful Friday night timeslot. Two Guys may have been a precursor to How I Met Your Mother. If you think about it, would there have been a HIMYM without Two Guys? The answer is probably yes, but I like asking nonsensical questions occasionally.



The cast of Two Guys has done quite well from the humble beginnings. Reynolds is now engaged to Scarlett Johansson (if you happened to miss the first line of this post) and has had a very successful film career. Although he is not an A-list actor, Reynolds would definitely fit in the A- or B+ category. Reynolds starred in Definitely, Maybe, Van Wilder and Just Friends and had significant supporting roles in Smokin’ Aces, Blade: Trinity and The In-Laws. With Reynolds starring in the 2009 release of X-Men Origins with Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber coupled with the fact that he is engaged to Johansson, the future is very bright for Berg.

Unless you count the quickly cancelled Bram and Alice (not this Bram), Traylor Howard has had only one noteworthy role since Two Guys. However, the role is in the critically acclaimed USA show Monk starring Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub. In my book, 50+ episodes on a sitcom is a success.

Nathan Fillion, who was neither of the two guys in the tile, is one of those actors that you know by his picture but not by name. He’s been on Desperate Housewives, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Drive (which did not last as long as Bram and Alice) and an episode of Lost. Fillion also played the leading male role in Waitress and is the voice of Sarge in Halo 3. That would be a cool gig.

I would write that Richard Ruccolo, the guy in the title not named Ryan Reynolds, has not had a successful post-Two Guys career except that he was engaged to Tiffani-Amber Thiessen. That has to be worth something, right?

Suzanne Cryer also appeared in 39 episodes as Berg’s girlfriend who fought regularly with Pete, but let’s not talk much about her career. Actually, she has had roles in dozens of television shows included Desperate Housewives, Frasier, ER, Grey’s Anatomy, Bones and the Drew Carey Show. Unfortunately, she only seems to appear in one episode.

Based on my trip down the Two Guys memory lane, I’m sure that you share the same question that I have: will Howard, Fillion, Ruccolo or Cryer be invited to the wedding?

Fantasy League Champion

Were you curious how I did in my fantasy celebrity league? Well, even if you were not (which is very likely), I am sharing the results anyway. After losing year after year in fantasy baseball and football, I think I found my niche. Yes, you are reading the blog of the fantasy celebrity champion! Thanks primarily to Anna Nicole Smith with some assistance from Eddie Murphy, Ellen DeGeneres, Helen Mirren (great free agent pick-up), Scarlett Johansson and Mary J. Blige, I won the league my a huge margin. I am now going for a repeat against a formidable group of opponents. This season should be more difficult since the Grammys and Oscars have passed. It could come down to whoever has Anna Nicole or Britney.

Maybe this victory is a good sign for the upcoming fantasy baseball leagues.