Tag Archives: Top 5

Top 5 Sports Bar Chains for Chowing Down on Hot Wings

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Is there anything better on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon than grabbing a frosty cold beer and some wings at your favorite sports bar?  We all know a few sports bars that you can always count on for great buffalo wings and a good time no matter where you happen to be that weekend.  This week, we’re going to rank the best franchised sports bars based on the deliciousness, consistency, and quality of the wings, as well as the overall sports bar atmosphere. With a number of regional and nationwide wing joints to choose from, here are our top five: 

#5- Fricker’s (19 Locations)
With the majority of locations coming in the Buckeye State, Fricker’s is always a great place to catch an Ohio State game.  Known for their jumbo wings, Fricker’s breaded, boneless, or bite-sized “Frickin’ Chicken Chunks” are the wing choices to choose from.  With thirteen different sauces their Frickin’ X-Scream sauce trumps them all.  My personal favorite is the Fricker’s located in north Dayton, Ohio on Miller Lane just off I-75.  With forty-seven TV’s and sixteen beers on tap, the experience I had there watching the Cincinnati Reds was well worth my time.    
 
#4- Tilted Kilt (73 Locations)
With locations all over the continental U.S. and a few in Canada, Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery is a must-stop for any wing-eating fanatic.  The Tilted Kilt Girls (the servers) may quite possibly have the best serving outfits out of any sports bar in the U.S., with their “mini-kilts.”  My personal favorite location in Hendersonville, Tennessee is a great place to stop if you’re headed towards the Nashville area.  With twenty-four beers on tap and twenty-eight TV’s, it’s hands down Hendersonville’s place to watch a game at.  I recommend the TK’s Irish Nachos as a pre-wing appetizer.   
 
#3- Wild Wing Café (34 Locations)
With the majority of Wild Wing Café’s locations in the southeastern part of the U.S, it’s a great place to stop on the way to the beach.  With countless HD TV’s in each location, the wings are downright delicious and, if you’re picky, they offer thirty-six differnt flavors.  Having the option to choose the hottest flavor, “Braveheart,” or the least hottest, “Virgin” (which has the description: “The perfect choice for wimpy wing eaters”), all wing- eaters will feel right at home.  My personal favorite location in West Knoxville, Tennessee has one of the best University of Tennessee watch parties.  Before and after UT games, the party is always going on at Knoxville’s Wild Wing Café location.  I watched Kentucky beat Baylor in the NCAA Tournament here, and I personally recommend the Holy Jalapeño Burger.
 
#2- Buffalo Wild Wings (833 Locations & counting)
With the most locations out of any sports bar franchise nationwide, Buffalo Wild Wings is more than likely in a city near you.  With sixteen flavors to put on your wings, “B-Dubs” is a must stop when a big game is on!  My personal favorite location just having opened in Johnson City, Tennessee is the hands-down best place to watch a game in the Tri-Cities area of East Tennessee.  With the most TV’s out of any East Tennessee sports bar along with music jamming out of the speakers, it’s a great atmosphere to watch a game or just hangout at.  An order of twelve mango habanero boneless wings is my personal favorite dish.
 
#1- Hooters (455 Locations & counting)

Hooters in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia is my favorite place for a hooterific time.

Since 1983 at its original location in Clearwater, Florida, Hooters has been the staple of all other wing locations to match up to.  With attractive servers, fried-pickles, breaded wings, & cold beer, what more can the average American guy ask for?  With some locations offering all-you-can-eat wings on Wednesdays, Hooters is a great place to feast mid-week.  My personal favorite Hooters, located in downtown Atlanta, has the best big-game atmosphere I have seen at any Hooters.  And for a wing-eating fanatic like myself, trust me, that’s saying a lot.  When the Miami Heat beat the Celtics during last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, my ten hot wings, order of fries, and the atmosphere at this particular location made the experience perfect.

What’s your favorite wing joint?

By: Craig Emmert

Top 5 (Active) Men’s NCAA Tournament Coaches

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It’s one thing for a college coach to win a lot of games over a career, but it’s another thing to have great success in the NCAA tournament over that same span.  Any coach will tell you that winning games in March is much more meaningful than winning them in December or January. In honor of the NCAA tournament coming to a close tonight, here is my list of the top 5 active men’s NCAA tournament coaches. Notably, we may just have to make room for another certain coach on this list if Kentucky wins the national championship tonight.  

5.  Jim Calhoun (Connecticut)
National Championships – 3
Championship Games – 3
Final Fours – 4
Elite Eights – 9
Sweet Sixteens – 13
Tournament wins – 50
Tournament Appearances – 23
Avg. Win Per Tournament – 2.17
Years Coaching Division I- 40

Coach Calhoun has never lost in an NCAA championship game in three tries.  If  he makes it to a Monday night championship game, odds are he is going to come out on top victorious.  The Huskies haven’t always had the nation’s number one team coming into the big dance such as 2011’s national championship team.  They got hot at the right time and won the Big East tournament with Kimba Walker and then went the distance in the NCAA Tournament.
 
4.  Rick Pitino (Louisville)
National Championships – 1
Championship Games – 2
Final Fours – 6
Elite Eights – 10
Sweet Sixteens – 10
Tournament wins – 42
Tournament Appearances – 17
Avg. Win Per Tournament – 2.47
Years Coaching Division I – 24

Just think Kentucky fans, what if Pitino would have stayed at Kentucky after 1997 and not left for the Boston Celtics?  Who knows how many more NCAA tournament wins, Final Fours, or National Championship games Pitino and Kentucky would have right now?  Pitino has said that leaving Kentucky was the biggest mistake he’s made as a coach.  Lucky for Kentucky fans, Coach Cal has you them on top of the world again, and it looks like they’ll be happy for awhile.  Pitino’s most amazing stat as a great NCAA tournament coach is that he has NEVER lost in the Sweet Sixteen round of the tournament.  His team always makes it to the Elite Eight if they make it to the Regional Semi-Finals.  Remember this next year when filling out your brackets.
 
3. Roy Williams (North Carolina)
National Championships – 2
Championship Games – 4
Final Fours – 7
Elite Eights – 11
Sweet Sixteens – 15
Tournament wins – 61
Tournament Appearances – 22
Avg. Win Per Tournament – 2.77
Years Coaching Division I – 23

Since Coach Williams took over Kansas in 1989, he has only had two seasons in which he didn’t make the NCAA tournament.  Coach Williams has NEVER lost a first round game in the NCAA tournament which is pretty remarkable in twenty-two tournaments.  He is the only coach on my list to win two national championships with two different teams.  He’s also the only coach to make the title game twice with two different teams.  It’s safe to say that if Roy Williams is coaching a team, odds are they’re going to be in the NCAA tournament and probably win a game or two, or three.
 
2. Tom Izzo (Michigan State)
National Championships – 1
Championship Games – 2
Final Fours – 6
Elite Eights – 7
Sweet Sixteens – 10
Tournament wins – 38
Tournament Appearances – 15
Avg. Win Per Tournament – 2.53
Years Coaching Division I – 17

Coach Izzo has won the most tournament games with the least amount of overall talent available on his teams compared to the other coaches on my list.  He has only had one player (Zach Randolph) be a one and done star headed for the NBA.  Every other star player he has had has at least stayed through their sophomore year.  Coach Izzo’s most amazing stat as a great tournament coach is that ANY player he has coached for all four years in his program has been to at least one Final Four.  I don’t know about you, but that is a pretty good sales pitch for him and his staff when they are out on the recruiting trails.

Despite losing in the first round to Lehigh this year, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski's numbers are undeniable. He's the best active NCAA tournament coach there is.

1. Mike Krzyzewski (Duke)
National Championships – 4
Championship Games – 8
Final Fours – 11
Elite Eights – 12
Sweet Sixteens – 20
Tournament wins – 79
Tournament Appearances – 28
Avg. Win Per Tournament- 2.82
Years Coaching Division I – 36

Hands down the greatest coach EVER in the NCAA tournament and in my opinion college basketball history.  He has more tournament wins, Final Fours, Elite Eights, Sweet Sixteens, and Tournament Appearances than any coach in college basketball.  Since 1986, his teams have only lost in their opening NCAA tournament game three times.  Making the Sweet Sixteen twenty times out of twenty-eight attempts is his most amazing stat regarding his tournament coaching success.  I believe he will surpass the great John Wooden in Final Four appearances (12) before his coaching career is over at Duke.

Honorable Mention – John Calipari (Kentucky)
National Championships – 0
Championship Games – 1
Final Fours – 4 (1996 & 2008 are considered vacated)
Elite Eights – 8
Sweet Sixteens – 10
Tournament wins – 38
Tournament Appearances – 14
Avg. Win Per Tournament – 2.71
Years Coaching Division I- 20

At this time tomorrow, Coach Cal may crack the number five spot on my list.  His 2.71 wins per tournament is third only to Williams and Krzyzewski.  He quite possibly is the best college recruiter of top NBA talent.  He very well may have a national title to his name tomorrow, and he’s officially clean (at this point) to any violations.  His two vacated teams (1996 & 2008) hurt his notoriety, which is why he misses the cut at this time.
 
Honorable Mention – Jim Boeheim (Syracuse)
National Championships – 1
Championship Games – 3
Final Fours – 3
Elite Eights – 5
Sweet Sixteens – 16
Tournament wins – 45
Tournament Appearances – 29
Avg. Win Per Tournament – 1.55
Years Coaching Division I – 36

With just a 1.55 average wins per tournament to his resume, Coach Boehiem just misses the cut.  Syracuse fans got their one national title in 2003 with Melo and Hakim Warrick, but before and after, there has been much disappointment and longing for another title in up-state New York.

By: Craig Emmert

Top 5 Commercials of Super Bowl XLVI

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With the game coming down to a final Hail Mary play, Super Bowl XLVI lived up to the hype.  Eli Manning made some great throws and his receivers made some great catches.  Tom Brady went on to set the record for consecutive completions (16) after an intentional grounding call on his first offensive play.  Rob Gronkowski’s ankle turned out to be as big as a factor as the media led us to believe.  After dominating the regular season and playoffs, the Gronk had only two receptions for 26 yards. 

As with most Super Bowls, just as hyped as the play on the field are the commercials throughout the game.  This year, a commercial during the Super Bowl cost $3.5 Million for 30 seconds.  So were any of the commercials worth it?  In a total dollars spent versus money made equation, I guess the answer is “probably.”  But more importantly, were any of the commercials any good? 

One of the more talked about commercials featured L.A. Galaxy’s David Beckham, who essentially appeared in his underwear for thirty seconds.  I made sure to take a trip to the fridge during that one, but the ladies seemed to love it–although, when asked, none of them could recall what the commercial was for. 

Another notable sports figure in commercials during half time was Danica Patrick in the GoDaddy.com commercial that featured her and Jillian Michaels painting up a seemingly naked chick.  To me, those GoDaddy commercials are simply played out.  Does anyone really think that if you visit GoDaddy’s website, that you’re going to see Danica–or anyone else–naked?  That may have worked on the initial GoDaddy Super Bowl commercial seven years ago, but now it’s just old news. 

Although there were definitely some busts, there were a few good ones.  Here is a list of my Top 5 commercials from the Super Bowl:  

5. Fiat Commercial

This was a pretty good one.  I had no idea what the commercial was going to be about but, as a guy, it kept my attention.  Also, the humor at the end definitely helped as the ladies let out a collective burst of nervous laughter.  Fiat did a good job in that respect in playing to it’s major market (females) while also giving the guys something to stay interested. Nice tag line, as well: “You’ll never forget the first time you see one.”

4. Bud Light – Rescue Dog named WeGo

Everyone in the room was thinking the same thing, “I’ve got to teach my dog to do that.”

3. Toyota Camry’s “Reinvented” Commercial

Pretty hilarious.

2. Volkswagon’s “Dog Strike’s Back” Commercial

Animals were a trend in this year’s Super Bowl commercials. This one not only played to people’s emotions for their love of animals, but also people’s love of the literal “underdog” who was too fat to make it out the doggy door. Of course the pup worked hard and achieved his goal at the end.  A success as almost everyone at the party I attended cheered at the end of this commercial. The Darth Vader part was a little weird, but you can’t expect perfection from a commercial. 

1. Acura’s Seinfeld Commercial

This commercial was great and also showed how the target market was obviously 30 and up.  Although some of the younger people probably had no idea who Seinfeld is, most people got it and loved it.  The lead character from the most popular sitcom ever is still a hit wherever he goes, and the commercial even featured the notorious “Soup Nazi.”