Thursday, April 17, 2014

Jimmy Buffett Alpine Valley 2014 | Kiss With Def Leppard 2014 Tour

Jimmy Buffett tickets
The great Jimmy Buffett will again grace the stage of Elkhorn's Alpine Valley Music Theater this summer. Joining forces with the Coral Reefer Band on his 2014 “This One's For You” tour, the timeless performer will return to the venue for the fourth time in as many years on August 23rd. His annual shows at Alpine Valley have become one of the theater's most popular concerts of the summer, always selling-out fast.

The 67 year old Buffett has been playing his own unique blend of southern folk and country since the early 1970s. Born in Mississippi, he eventually moved to the beaches of Florida, where he found the easy-going tropical lifestyle to his liking. Buffett's Caribbean surroundings soon entered his music, a career that had already seen him release six full-length albums, none to critical acclaim. It wouldn't be until the release of his seventh studio album, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, which featured his first hit “Margaritaville”, which Buffett would really come onto the American folk scene.

Since that release in 1977, Buffett has expanded his discography to over 25 albums and has gone on tour every year. Eight of his biggest hits, including “Margaritaville”, are now expected to make up a good portion of his live shows, routinely referred to as Jimmy Buffet's Big Eight.

Beyond music, Buffet has delved his talents into an array of outside businesses ventures. Restaurants, casinos, beer, board games, sports, and even a number of clothing lines are either owned by Buffet or bear some form his brand. Even the former Madison-based minor league baseball team the Black Wolfs had ties to Buffet, partly-owned by him along with the Fort Meyers Miracle.

Buffet has also forayed into other art forms over the years. He has written three New York Times best sellers since beginning to author in the 1980s, writing both fiction and non-fiction, and even releasing a pair of children's books. He has been featured as a cameo in numerous television and film projects, including South Park, Sesame Street, and Hawaii 5-0.

Buffett is the second announced concert at Alpine Valley Music Theater for the 2014 summer season. KISS and Def Leppard will open the venue on August 15th.

Alpine Valley Music Theater 2014 Summer Lineup

August 15th – KISS & Def Leppard


August 23rd – Jimmy Buffet with special guest The Coral Reefer Band

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Detroit Lions Mock Draft 2014 | Ticket King Green Bay



Lions Mock Draft
As we continue or mock draft extravaganza, we move back to the Lions for our second version of a mock draft.  Detroit made the big move of getting rid of their head coach. Will the new coach use that stockpile of talent and take the NFC North title? We shall see.  For now, they need to fill just a few key positions.  

Round One: Taylor Lewen/OT/Michigan State- The Lions have a big need along the offensive line. They got better at protecting Matthew Stafford a year ago, but they can still improve. Lewen would be able to step in immediately and start from day one, which is what you are usually looking for in a first round draft choice. If Lewen is off the board, look for the Lions to take a strong look at Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert.

Round Two: Jimmie Ward/S/Northern Illinois- The Lions second biggest need in this draft is cornerback. However there are none slotted to go in this area of the second round that will still be on the board when the Lions draft. This is also a deep draft for corners so the Lions do not need to reach here. Rather, Jimmie Ward fills their third biggest need and can also start immediately.

Round Three: Bashaud Breeland/CB/Clemson- At some point high in the draft, the Lions do need to fill their big need at cornerback. Breeland fills the Lions need because he has nice size and is technically sound, which is something that is needed to cover the wide receivers in this division- Jordy Nelson, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, etc. He also brings a focused and hard working attitude, which are attributes the Lions need in more of their players.

Round Four(A): Jared Abbrederis/WR/Wisconsin- The Lions also need to add to their pass catchers because right now, they are just a one trick pony in the passing game. The signing of Golden Tate filled a big need, but they need more. What they specifically need is a slot receiver who can work to get open, is smart and sneaky, and has good hands. That is Jared Abbrederis in a nutshell.

Round Four(B): Ricardo Allen/CB/Purdue- The Lions received two compensatory selections last month. They need to put them to good use. We will use the first one on another cornerback because with all of the wide receivers in this division, the Lions need as much help at corner as possible. Allen fits because he is coordinated, believes the ball is his when it is in the air, and has speed. The Lions got burned in the playoffs because they did not have someone with enough speed to run down the field and go after the ball when Rodgers threw it up to Randall Cobb.

Round Four(C)- Devin Street/WR/Pittsburgh- So far this offseason they have signed Golden Tate and we have them drafting Jared Abbrederis. Okay, they still need more. Street has nice size and would make for an excellent project.

Round Six- Anthony Fera/K/Texas- The Lions need to find a long term solution at kicker. Fera might be the best kicker in this draft.

Round Seven: Tre Boston/FS/North Carolina- The Lions should use their last selection here to add some depth at safety.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Packers Free Agent Moves In 2014 | NFC North Trades And Moves



Packers Free Agent Moves 2014
The NFC North was definitely involved in free agency this off season in a major way. Heck, even tightwad Ted got involved. Here is our free agency review for each team.

Minnesota Vikings:
The Vikings were, as usual, the most active team during free agency in this division. In addition to signing a pair of their own free agents, wide receiver Jerome Simpson and defensive end Everson Griffin, the Vikings also added defensive tackle Linval Joseph and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn. We like the signing of Linval Joseph. The Vikings run defense, which used to be known as the Williams wall, and was the best in the league, slowly deteriorated over time and was one of the worst in 2013 league-wide. The Vikings needed to address that this off season. Yes, they drafted Sharrif Floyd in the first round in 2013 and are expecting big things from him in 2014, but they needed to do something more. Joseph is a proven run stopper who will fit right in alongside Floyd.

Detroit Lions:
Jim Schwartz was fired for one reason and our in-house guru T.J. Bryce summed it up like this- “I have never, in my lifetime, seen a coach do so little with so much talent at his disposal”. The Lions are talented; there is no doubt about that. But under Schwartz, they underachieved and were poorly disciplined. Entering the off season, they needed to diversify their offense, which as of the end of last season, was a one-trick pony. As a result, the Lions went out and signed free agent wide receiver Golden Tate. Breath Packers fans. In out, in out, there you go. As Luke Skywalker says, let go of the hate. Tate will certainly help the Lions achieve their goal of diversifying this offense.

Chicago Bears:
One thing is for certain, the Bears are always entertaining this time of year. The Bears cut loose defensive end Julius Peppers after Peppers had what was his worst season as a pro citing age and contract, and replaced him with Lamarr Houston. So what do they do in addition? They add aging pass rusher Jared Allen on a four year contract. They also had a need at safety, and filled it by adding Packers castoff M.D. Jennings, who graded out as the worst safety in the league last year. As we said, the Bears are entertaining this time of year.

Green Bay Packers:
The Packers, as usual, devoted a lot of time re-signing their own players. The big one was cornerback Sam Shields. With each passing day and each new contract being handed out, Shields’s contract is looking better and better. Thompson also broke trend by adding Julius Peppers to the team, and the early reports are that Peppers will play the “elephant position” for the Packers. More on this and what we think Peppers will bring to the Packers later on this off season.