“I’ve Got Gas!” “No, I’ve Got Gas!!”

It’s on. Actually, it’s been on for years. Call it Knoxville’s own version of the Hatfields and the McCoys. You know it as Weigel’s vs. Pilot. I’ve been frequenting these places now for almost 30 years and I’ve never really spent time to think which one is better. Well, those days are over. I’m going to do a side by side comparison and come up with a winner. A couple of ground rules.

- I’m going to pick a few intersections around town where both places are in full view of each other. That will keep it fair.

- I’ll also make sure that I choose stores that are similar in age (again, trying to even the playing field.)

- Lastly, I won’t be judging these stores on gas price. It changes too much and frankly, the less I have to think of gas prices, the better my blood pressure will be.

Here’s my judging criteria:

- Quality of hotdogs
- Shlushee/Icee quality/availability
- Cleanliness of bathrooms (that should get interesting)
- Quality/appearance of staff
- Variety of merchandise
- Overall appearance of store

That’s a shortlist. If I think of other items during the judging, I’ll add them.

Stay tuned….

America’s Cup Excursion Way Worth It

Brian and Jake heading out to sea on the NZL-12

Originally uploaded by bwbizzle

It looks like America’s Cup is going to the Swiss again. The New Zealanders made a good try at it, but the Swiss boat is too strong and fast. I bring this up because I’ve actually been on a New Zealand boat recently. Well, it’s not the actual America’s Cup boat used in a race, but it’s one they used for training. I took my father-in-law and son on the NZ-14 in Nassau this past June. Talk about fun. If you get a chance to do an America’s Cup excursion on your next cruise or vacation, don’t hesitate to pay the $75 +. It’s an incredible experience.

Rocky Top League Features Local Talent

If you live anywhere near Knoxville and you are a fan of basketball, the Rocky Top League at Bearden High School is a CAN’T MISS.

The Rocky Top League consists of 6 teams comprised mostly of college players (see rosters below). There are also a few exceptional local players along with Jalen Rose from the Suns so it’s a great opportunity to see a lot of incredible talent. From what I hear, Jalen is only going to make a few games. These 6 teams play each Monday and Wednesday in the Bearden gym from 6 – 10:30 until July 18. The July 4th games will be played on July 5th instead.

Cannonball!!

Summer’s were awesome growing up. No school. Ice cream trucks. Baseball. And most importantly, it meant that the pools were open.

I had a taste of my youth recently when we attended a birthday party for my 5 year old niece. My sister had the event at Inskip Pool in North Knoxville. Everything from the parking lot to the pavilion was old school. In fact, my mother who grew up in Fountain City, mentioned that, except for the fresh coat of blue and white paint on the main building, it hadn’t changed since her days in high school in the early 60’s.

You learned that in Montana?

I went with some friends once to a Japanese steak house in Nashville and someone asked the chef where he learned how to do all of his tricks (flipping the shakers, knives, wads of rice, shrimp, etc.) and the chef said “Montana!” We all looked at each other in disbelief for a few seconds until someone pointed out he was saying McDonald’s in a heavy Asian accent. We all had a good laugh.