Ike's Korner Kitchen has taken the burger crown!

During a month and time where most want to get healthier, it's tempting to step out for a cheat. This is what I did over the weekend. I finally tried Ike's Korner Kitchen in Spartanburg.

I have spent a lot of time in Spartanburg the past six years and have tried nearly every restaurant there. This one was harder to try due to its erratic hours. On Fridays, as most restaurants are, it's slam packed.

It's a very intimate place with a small bar and a huge grill steadily filled with burgers and other various food items. I have tried many burgers but I think I have found a place that tops them off. Ike's has that fresh (not frozen) taste and enough grease to lube your car. It's simply a good place with better food, great atmosphere and a good, attentive, polite staff.

I would recommend to get there early to avoid a crowd and order takeout if you're cutting it close to closing time. They are also not overly priced either for the quantity.

Give them a try if you're in Spartanburg sometime, especially if you're a burger lover. You're sure to enjoy it!

Y'all mad over hamberders?

Maan not hamberders!

Look I have never been a fan of Donald Trump, not even as a child.  I definitely am not a fan of his as president. However, serving the Clemson Tigers an array of fast food at the White House is certainly not the worst thing he or any previous presidents has did.

Yes he could have served them higher quality food or had some fine cuisine catered in. However, you need to understand some logistics here. One, championship teams usually don't even eat at the White House on their visits. And when they do, you don't hear about if they did and what. Two, these are college students we're talking about, athletes at that. They are broke for the most part and are forbidden from even accepting a chicken sandwich from a booster. So yeah they will enjoy fast food (and they did). Third, being that they are athletes, their regimens have to be strict, so much so that during the season they aren't allowed a lot of greasy or fast food. Trump gave them the chance to really unwind and celebrate.  Lastly, let's be honest, Trump wanted to turn the attention on himself, the government shutdown and the reasoning behind it. It took away from Clemson's moment but it wouldn't have mattered what he would have served, people would have complained.

Therefore, let's find solutions to survive this shutdown instead of surviving R. Kelly. There are bigger matters at hand.

That said, I remember most of the people that complained during this week. I better not see any of you having a fast food buffet or the like at even a child's birthday party or consider yourself called out. Period.

Binge watching

I have actually been binge watching shows since I was a little boy. During summers I would tape all of my favorite shows and cartoons and spend many days watching them.

30 odd years later, here I am. 

I stream stuff from Netflix and Hulu, plus I have my DVD collection. It's a good way to unwind and remind you why a show is so good.  It is also a good way to catch up, spoiler free.

Sometimes you don't want to be out at the clubs or the bar watching the games.  Just some old episodes/marathon of a classic show will good.

Football is getting down to the wire and is almost over.  Basketball is still on but it seems there are more gaps. Most likely I will spent Valentine's weekend in Charlotte for All-Stars or binge watching a show. It's all in how I feel really.

We are divided on so much in this country. Most can agree a good TV/movie marathon with junk food and snacks can be relaxing and therapeutic.

Playoffs? All sports need them

We're almost near an awesome time if you're a sports fan. The Super Bowl, March Madness and then the NBA playoffs. And (as the Grammys would say, that's just the first half of the year.

Yes I know tomorrow is the college football national championship game between Clemson and Alabama. But this matchup came as a resulted of a flawed playoff system.

Many cynics and critics said that Notre Dame didn't belong in the College Football Playoff because they don't belong to a conference. Others said UCF and even Georgia belonged. Either way, the past few years have showed many holes in the current playoff format.

One, there is no set criteria. A committee of experts chooses the four best college football teams at the end of the season. Secondly, conference championships or appearances do not matter. Third, four teams is far too few. This is only a couple of steps up from the BCS.

A possible solution would be to expand to eight teams, five teams being the Power 5 conference champions, and three at large teams. Criteria would include quality wins, SSI rankings, strength of schedule, rank in conference, good and bad losses. People will still argue and complain but this improves things.

And to those that say the regular season does not matter, refer to the introductory paragraph. People still watch football of all levels every weekend. NASCAR fans still watch races weekly. A small playoff is usually better for a sport like baseball with a lot of teams that play a lot of games. It doesn't work for a sport that only plays about 11-13 games, period.

Finally, before you judge which teams do or do not belong in a playoff, think carefully again.  College football (the Division I) is the ONLY sport that suffers from this. Money aside, what is everyone else doing right and what all is college football doing wrong?