Here's a map of all the places I've been in North America, thanks to TripAdvisor:

Hopefully this isn't the end of the road for Kobayashi, who has an arthritic jaw and may not be able to participate in next week's hot dog eating competition.

If so, this would be Kobayashi's only career loss... against a bear!

After softball practice yesterday, Allen, Ryan, Rex, and I went to Palace Buffet to gorge ourselves on Korean BBQ. The sacrifice, dedication, and teamwork required to eat an extra 5 long ribs was one of the crowning achievements in all of our eating careers.

Here's an excerpt from the post-meal interview:

Why were you victorious tonight?

"We came to play tonight since it was a must-win game. We just had to send a message. Nobody gave us a chance, and we had our backs against the wall. But we overcame adversity and brought our A-game tonight.

We just played within ourselves, and remembered what got us here. We all did what was good for the team and made it a team effort. I think we just wanted it more tonight.

And my teammates gave 110 percent. They just know how to win. They really stepped it up, brought out all the stops, and took their game to the next level. But we're just taking it one game at a time."

The gyroball has nothing on this pitch.

Unofficial top 10 famous alumni of UC Berkeley:

1) Jack Bauer, M.S. "Criminology and Law"
2) Earl Warren, B.A. 1912, J.D. 1914 - 14th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1953-1969)
3) Scott Adams, M.B.A. 1986 - creator of Dilbert
4) Jason Kidd (attended) - professional basketball player with the New Jersey Nets
5) Eric Schmidt, M.S. 1979, Ph.D. 1982 - CEO of Google (2001-present)
6) Tony Gonzalez - NFL Tight End with the Kansas City Chiefs
7) William Randolph Hearst, Jr. (attended) - newspaper publisher
8) Gregory Peck, B.A. 1939 - actor, won the Academy Award for portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
9) Beverly Cleary, B.A. 1938 - author of books for children and young adults
10) Walter A. Haas, B.S. 1910 - Co-founder of Levi Strauss & Co.

I'm heading to the Canadian West Coast next month for a 10 day missions trip with some of my friends from NAIM.

I'll be going from July 7-17 and will be helping out on the Native reserve of Klemtu.

I'll also be stopping by Vancouver. Along with my recent stops in Chicago, Montreal, and Toronto, I'm adding to the list of large cities that I've visited.

So to copy Basile, here's a list of the metropolitan areas in the US and Canada that have at least 2 million people, and if/when I've visited them.

Rank	Metropolitan Area	Population	Last Visit	Purpose
1	New York	22,747,604	2003	Vacation
2	Los Angeles	17,989,605	2007	Visit Nephew
3	Chicago	9,510,060	2007	Vacation
4	Baltimore-Washington	8,197,384	1995	School Trip
5	San Francisco Bay Area	7,719,730	2007	Live Here
6	Philadelphia	6,268,176	2005	Vacation
7	Toronto	6,241,695	2007	Work
8	Dallas/Fort Worth	6,175,243	Never
9	Boston	6,167,292	1999	Family Trip
10	Detroit	5,925,157	Never
11	Houston	5,406,390	2006	Stephen's Wedding
12	Atlanta	4,973,243	Never
13	San Diego	4,922,723	2004	Holiday Bowl
14	Miami	4,825,569	Never
15	Phoenix	4,026,207	Never
16	Seattle	3,810,856	2006	Vacation
17	Montreal	3,635,571	2007	Work
18	Minneapolis-Saint Paul	3,200,507	Never
19	Cleveland	2,955,641	Never
20	Denver	2,703,766	Never
21	St. Louis	2,631,462	Never
22	Tampa	2,619,414	Never
23	Portland	2,508,535	Never
24	Pittsburgh	2,324,155	Never
25	Vancouver	2,170,976	Upcoming
26	Cincinnati	2,049,364	Never
27	Las Vegas	2,039,947	2004	Mejeld's Bachelor Party
28	Sacramento	2,017,345	2007	Passed Through

2007 Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks!!!



I've been a Ducks fan since their inception. I'm out of town on business this week, and I got to watch the Cup-clincher in a lively bar in the biggest city (Toronto) of hockey country (Canada).

Talking with people passionate about hockey and celebrating the championship in front of them was pretty sweet. The best part about it was that everyone in the bar recognized that the Ducks were truly the best team in hockey this year.

Off to Canada for work this week:

Here's my itinerary. All of the client meetings are in different locations.

Monday: Fly to Montreal

Tuesday: Attend 3 client meetings, drive to Ottawa, attend 1 more client meeting, fly to Toronto

Wednesday - Friday: 3-4 client meetings each day in Toronto