5 Concerts To See This Summer

1. Jimmy Buffett

I saw Jimmy at Jones Beach on Long Island last summer and it was incredible. The most fun concert I've ever been to. Everyone was there for one reason, to crush life with Jimmy. Also- who knows how much longer he'll be playing, godda make the most of it while he still is.

July 17th at Comcaster Center in Boston

Boat Drinks- Jimmy Buffett

2. Zac Brown Band

Zac Brown Band was a close second to Jimmy last summer. ZBB is incredible live, 100% the best live band I've ever seen. Also as Shark said  seeing him play "Chicken Fried" to a sold out crowd is nuts. I'm seeing ZBB at Fenway on Friday night and cannot wait.

6/29 at Xfinity Theatre Hartford

Chicken Fried- Zac Brown Band

3. The Avett Brothers

I've never seen the Avett bros live but it's something I plan on doing very soon. They're one of my favorite bands and the word on the street is that they put on an incredible show. Definitely need to see them ASAP.

08/08 Toyota Oakdale Theatre

At The Beach- The Avett Brothers

4. The Wood Brothers

Unfortunately every time that The Wood Brothers have been in town I've missed it. They've been one of my favorite bands for a long time and I'd love the opportunity to see them. Such an incredible band. 

08/14 in Simsbury

The Muse- The Wood Brothers

5. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

I know this one isn't quite in the summer but it's close enough. Tom Petty is an absolute legend who I'm sure puts on a great concert. He has so many classics that it would be impossible not to have a good time. 

XL Center Hartford 9/13

American Girl- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Top 10 Concerts of the Summer

I'm a little bias to country music in this Top 10, but as you will see the top two are pop titans. Bring on the summer concerts.

10. KISS and Def Leppard



Are you kidding? Who wouldn't want to see these two classic hard rock bands on stage together? I love Def Leppard maybe more than any other 19 year old in the country and Kiss is pretty good too. Who doesn't want to see "Rock and Roll All Night" live? People go nuts for that shit even if these guys can't sing anymore. Def Leppard has a good number of absolute classics, and then sooo many underrated/unknown songs.

9. Dierks Bentley



Dierks just came out with a killer album Riser and the tour to go with it should be pretty sweet. There's already no reason to be sober at a concert (especially a country concert) but when "Drunk On A Plane" is one of your hits, there shouldn't be a sober soul in the crowd when it comes on.

8. Zac Brown Band



I've never seen ZBB live but I hear that they're freaking awesome. I'm not even a huge fan of them but I can definitely see them killing it live. Just hearing a crowd's reaction to "Chicken Fried" starting might make me pretend it's 2005 and it hasn't been overplayed 8 billion times and sing along.

7. Luke Bryan



Luke Bryan is one of my favorites and I have seen him live before. It was definitely one of the best times I've had at college. Getting drunk with a bunch of your buddies and crushing every song he plays is obviously gonna be a great time. Couple that with the amount of tail in the crowds and Luke Bryan concerts are a winner.

6. Linkin Park/30 Seconds To Mars/AFI



First of all, I don't know shit about AFI except for that Miss Murder song. Secondly, look at Chester absolutely crushing it in this picture. Dude's got some vocal chords. Thirdly, Jared Leto coming off of an Oscar win means 30 Seconds To Mars is gonna kill it. And can I just say that Linkin Park is fucking awesome and has been since "In The End" or whatever their first hit was. What an amazing band. I would be going mainly for them and it would be cool to see a couple of 30 Seconds To Mars hits like "The Kill" and "Kings and Queens". Fuck AFI.

5. Jake Owen



Jake Owen is becoming a superstar in country music, and for good reason. The dude put out back to back awesome albums with Barefoot Blue Jean Night and Days of Gold. There's not too many songs on those two albums that I don't like. I gotta give a little shoutout to my Clemson Club Baseball guys here. "Beachin" was our favorite song to cruise to on road trips. Nothing better than putting on that song 8 times on your way to Myrtle Beach.

4. Dave Matthews Band



DMB was the first music that I loved. I remember crushing "Ants Marching" and "So Much To Say" in the back seat of the car when I was like 5. I've always wanted to see them live but I never have. It's honestly amazing music and fuck anyone who doesn't like DMB. And unlike the majority of performers these days, Dave is probably 5 times better sounding live than the studio version. Doesn't mean I don't have like 10 studio albums by DMB though. Just saying the Central Park concert DVD I have is better.

3. Jason Aldean with Florida Georgia Line



Sorry for the picture choice other dude from FGL, but you don't sing that much anyway bro. I saw Jason Aldean last summer and it was a blast. He's a personal favorite but the fact that FGL will be with him is why I've got this tour so high on the list. The FGL guys can put on a show that's for sure, and almost every song is sick. Aldean is a superstar. FGL is a superstar duo. Great recipe for one helluva show.

2. One Direction



That's right. 1D. Forget that it's annoying hearing chicks talk about them. Forget that they're British and wear stupid hipster European clothes. Let's just look at the positives. Every song they've ever written, recorded or performed has been absolute dynamite. The guys can make music people. The amount of chicks at these shows is off the charts. So there's a few 13 year old girls at the same concert you're attending but put that aside and go hit on some age appropriate tail, or better yet a clueless mother who brought said 13 year old girl to the show. And if you don't know any of their songs, don't worry. You'll be singing along by the second chorus they're so damn catchy.

1. Katy Perry



Is one of the reasons she topped this list is that she topped my other top 10? Yes. But the main reason is that this girl can flat out sing, she makes incredible music and looks like she puts on a very entertaining show. I don't know if she's any good live, but if the VMA performance of "Roar" and the AMA performance of "Unconditionally" were any hints I would say that yes she is good live because those were both fucking sweet. I'm absolutely going to see her this summer. I have to. I've been too much of a supporter of her for too long not to go. It's my duty as a fan.

Flesh Eating Cocaine... Awesome!

source- Cocaine cut with the veterinary drug levamisole could be the culprit in a flurry of flesh eating disease in New York and Los Angeles. The drug, used to deworm cattle, pigs and sheep, can rot the skin off noses, ears and cheeks. And over 80 percent of the country's coke supply contains it. "It's probably quite a big problem, and we just don't know yet how big a problem it really is," said Dr. Noah Craft, a dermatologist with Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute.

Oh well that's absolutely terrifying. It's literally like that shit you see in movies. 80 PERCENT OF THE COUNTRY'S COKE SUPPLY CONTAINS IT. That's an insanely high amount, jesus. So basically if you have any plans to rail some white pony coming up, you should cancel them because you are going to get your flesh eaten and turn into a monster/zombie. It's these god damn South American drug cartels that are too cheap to just use baking powder, just screwing everyone over. thanks guys. Now that I typed that i'll probably have my head cut off within the hour (it's 10:53) Also how about Dr. Noah Craft, yeah no shit it's probably a big problem, it's flesh eating cocaine bro. 

P.S. This whole thing kind of reminds me of the saddest movie ever I Am Legend. Coke heads around the country are gonna end up like this guy. 

Pimping Homers

Just a general blog today, no story behind this. However, there was a particular occurrence that has me writing this tonight. Dioner Navarro, career fatass and back-up catcher just hit a three run bomb off of David Phelps in the Yanks-Jays game. Being a Yanks fan, I wasn't pleased anyway but this dude took it to a whole other level. The majority of the people that will read this probably have absolutely no idea who Dioner Navarro is. And for good reason. The dude sucks. Anyway, I digress. This guy pimps the shit out of this home run that he hits and takes about a half an hour to round the bases. Now I love a good pimp job on a dinger every now and then, but not from benchwarmers like Dioner fucking Navarro. It's one thing if you're Manny or Griffey or Cano or anyone but chodes like this. Hell I'd take Puig pimping fly outs over Jordany Valdespin pimping a pinch hit home run. I'm a huge fan of pimping home runs, but it better be by someone who knows how to do it.

P.S. It's probably not a good idea to write every time I get pissed like this. I'd start flooding the Top Cheddar page with blogs of nothing but bitching. But I had to do it this one time.

Summer of Bron Bron Part 2

Let me preface this by saying, I know Lebron is a god damn freak of an athlete and an incredible basketball player. If you deny that you obviously have mush for brains. I hate Lebron as a person, it's killing me to even be writing about basketball or Lebron. But if you're one of those idiots tweeting out that "you don't want Lebron on your team" you're stupid and hate winning. Obviously you want Lebron on your team. He has won the NBA championship 2 of the last 3 years. I consider myself a fair-weather Celtics fan, I'll cheer for them if they're in the play offs and maybe even watch the last minute game. I would be pumped to see Lebron go to Boston just to see if he could really make the team so much better. I really couldn't care less about what Lebron is doing next season though, just felt that needed to be said. It's gonna suck to have to hear about Lebron James every single time I turn on Sports Center now. It drove me absolutely insane last time and that's what will happen again this summer. You're a real jerk Lebron.

The Whitest Playlist You'll Listen To All Day

Are you bored at work and looking for a killer playlist? Boom. Here ya go. Here's the whitest playlist that I could put together. Full of all my favorite songs from ever. I guarantee you'll be dancing in your seats.

2014 Hockey HOF Inductees

Dominic Hasek

Hasek was an absolute brick wall in his playing time. He won the Vezina 6 times in 16 seasons. That's pretty damn impressive. He is also the only goalie to win the Hart trophy more than once. He won two stanley cups with the Red Wings and led the Czechs to a gold medal. That's quite the resume if you ask me. 

Peter Forsberg

Forsberg was one of my favorite players when i was growing up so I love this. He dominated the game. He won the Calder, a gold medal, the Hart and two stanley cups. Not too bad for a guy who's career got cut short by injury. He had 885 pts in 708 games. He also had 171 pts in 151 play off games. The 11th most all time.

Mike Modano

Mike Modano is in my top 5 all time favorite hockey players. He's an American guy that put a beating on the league. He tore it up. Modano holds the record for most points and goals by an American born player. For a long time when people thought of NHL stars they thought of Canadians, Modano changed this. He really helped elevate hockey in the United States. He registered 1,374 points in 1,499 games.

(P.S.- Modano had an awesome cameo in Mighty Ducks when he chirped at Gordon Bombay)

Rob Blake

I don't have a ton of memories of Rob Blake but he's another one of those guys that I remember from the early 2000's Avalanche. He won the cup with them in 2001 and played a major role by recording 10 pts in 13 games after being traded. That was the only cup that he won. He had 777 points in 1,270 games. For a defenseman, that's not bad at all.

Also being inducted into the HOF are Coach Pat Burns and Referee Bill McCreary. 

Guy Calls In A Fake Death Report On His Roommates

source - WEST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A West Haven man angry at his roommates over an eviction notice called in a false death report about them, police said. Gordon Byers, 39, is charged with threatening, breach of peace and falsely reporting an incident. According to police, Byers was told he was being evicted and he was upset about it. He made threatening calls and texts to the roommates, saying they were both dead. Around 3 a.m., someone called 911 and said there were two suicide victims on the back porch of a Fairview Avenue residence, that there were gunshot wounds and blood was everywhere. A large number of police and firefighters responded, but when they arrived they found it was a hoax. “Upon police arrival, and securing the scene, no bodies were found and it was learned that mud was smeared on the door that appeared to be from the family dogs,” police said in a news release.

Absolute savage move by Gordon, huh. Absolutely 0's fuggs given by him. Kind of a genius move at the same time though. Oh you're gonna screw me over? Well guess what, you're dead now. Boom. What did he expect was going to happen when the cops showed up? Was he planning on getting some hobos to play dead or something? That part is pretty confusing. Either way, I love it. This bro is just showing that NOBODY should cross him. 

NHL 2013/14 Awards

The award ceremony for the NHL is tomorrow so I'm gonna go ahead and give you who I think should win each award.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

This trophy is awarded "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability," which usually means it goes to a player who has one of the lowest PIM totals in the league. However, just having the fewest PIMs isn't the only factor, as they also consider playing ability, so a player needs to also play big minutes and put points on the board.

Finalists: Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks, Ryan O'Reilly of the Colorado Avalanche, Martin St. Louis of the New York Rangers. 

My Pick: I'm gonna go with St. Louis. After the year he's had I think he's well deserving. He lead the Rangers in the play offs even after the death of his mother. That takes some serious dedication. He played 1,696 minutes this season but was only assessed 10 PIMs. He also recorded his 7th 30+  goal season. Pretty impressive if you ask me. 

Calder Memorial Trophy

This trophy is awarded "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition," so the standard Rookie of the Year award. There is a heavy bias towards forwards and the primary focus is on offensive output, which means it is not surprising to see there were no defensemen or goaltenders amongst the finalists. 

Finalists: Nathan Mackinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, Tyler Johnson of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ondrej Palat

 My Pick: I've got Mackinnon here. The guy was fantastic this season. He was playing like a veteran, not a rookie, which I suppose is kind of expected for the 1st overall pick. Still the guy was great and I hope he keeps it up in the future. Some of the things I saw him do with the puck absolutely blew my mind. 

Frank J. Selke Trophy

This trophy is awarded ""to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game," although in practice it really goes to two-way forwards who are good at both ends of the ice.

Finalists: Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings, Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks

My Pick: Godda go with my Boston boy Patrice on this one. I may be a little biased but god damn was Bergeron good in his own end this year. The guy just doesn't lose face offs, it literally does not happen. He also had one of the best plus/minuses in the league which just shows he is great in his own end. I think what will give Bergeron the edge on Kopitar is how good he was on the PK.

Vezina Trophy

This trophy is awarded to the best goaltender of the season.

Finalists: Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins, Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche

My Pick: Although my personal favorite goalie is Rask. I godda go with Ben Bishop. The guy stood on his head this year. He started 63 games, which is the most out of the three finalists, and he finished with a 37-14-7 record. I'm not picking Rask because I don't think he was all that great in the play offs. He wasn't the star that the Bruins expected. 

James Norris Memorial Trophy

This trophy is awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position," although more often than not all-around ability takes a backseat of scoring ability, so usually this trophy actually winds up going to the best offensive defenseman in the league.

Finalists: Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins, Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks, Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators

My Pick: Going with another Bruin here. Big Z was an absolute rock on defense for the B's this year. He lead a group of young defenseman and showed them the right way to play the game. He also chipped in on offense. The Bruins put him in front of the net on the PP so they would have a big body up there and Chara adopted well. 

Mark Messier Leadership Award

This trophy is awarded "to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."

Finalists: Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings, Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks, Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks

My Pick: This is a tough one. All of these guys are great hockey players and incredible leaders. I'm going to go with Dustin Brown for this. He lead the Kings to the cup and that speaks in volumes. Getzlaf and Toews are great leaders as well but being the captain of the Stanley Cup winning team is huge. 

Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy

This trophy is awarded "to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."

Finalists: Jaromir Jagr of the New Jersey Devils, Manny Malhotra of the Carolina Hurricanes, Dominic Moore of the New York Rangers

My Pick: This is an easy one for me. Dominic Moore 100%. The guy came back to the NHL after his wife died and that's just incredible. If you haven't seen the Dominic Moore story yet, check it out here.

NHL Foundation Players Award

This trophy is awarded to "an NHL player who applies the core values of hockey – commitment, perseverance and teamwork – to enrich the lives of people in his community,"

Finalists: Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins, Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks, Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks

My Pick: Once again, I'm gonna go with Patrice Bergeron. The guy eat, sleeps and breathes Bruins. He doesn't care about anything else. I think he proved that in their 2013 Stanley Cup run, even though that doesn't matter for this years' awards. 

Hart Memorial Trophy

The Hart trophy is awarded to the player that is deemed most valuable to this team. 

Finalists: Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks, Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers

My Pick: I'm gonna go with Getzlaf on this one. I'm sure most people are taking Crosby but I think his play off performance wasn't what it should be for such a superstar. Getzlaf really stepped up and lead the ducks this year. He took a slap shot to the face and kept playing. That takes quite a bit of perseverance.

Ted Lindsay Award

The Ted Lindsay Award is voted on among the players of the NHL and given to the most "outstanding player"

Finalists: Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks, Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers

My Pick: It pains me deeply to type this but, I'm going with Crosby for this. He had 104pts in 80 games. That's pretty damn impressive. He also averaged 1.30 PPG. 

Jack Adams Award

The Jack Adams award is given to the coach that contributed the most to his team's success. 

Finalists: Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche, Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings, Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning

My Pick: Gonna go with Patty Roy for this one. It was his first season coaching and I thought he did a great job. The players respected him and listened to him because he used to play and the guy knows what he's talking about. I thought he also did a great job with superstar rookie Nathan Mackinnon. In one of the first games he showed that he cared about the team and would fight for them when he shoved the glass partition in-between benches towards the Anaheim Ducks bench when he was arguing with Bruce Boudreau.