Underrated

Here are a few things or people I think are underrated:

Taylor Hicks - I have Taylor Hicks' first album and I love to listen to it. It's a mix of soft rock, funk, R&B, soul, and jazz. It's all over the place but the common theme is music that makes you want to tap your feet and start dancing. Now I'm not into dancing at all, but I'd have to say if I was going to hire someone to play at my private party...I'd hire Taylor Hicks.

Longhorn's - This is a great restaurant. You go in and the cowboy hats, colors, spurs, and pictures on the wall of the American West give it a great atmosphere. Their steak selection isn't the cream of the crop but it's pretty good and they've got some great add-ons such as crab, shrimp, etc. Great meal if you want something nice but don't want to pay a lot.

Craig Bolerjack - I've already stated in my best and worst announcers that I think he is great at what he does. He's got a great voice and is solid to listen to during a game. I wish he was the #1 guy at CBS for the SEC game of the week.

Eric Church - Some of Eric Church's songs have made their way onto the radio but I've found some of his best are the album cuts. He fuses country themes with great guitar solos and creates a great sound. He's very country but even the rock fan would like his stuff.

Electric grill starters - It is hard to find electric grill starters unless you hunt them down at Home Depot or Lowe's. Lighter fluid is an awful way to start your grill and the cylinder that you put coals in and light using newspaper is hard to start and you risk getting the paper in the fire. With the electric starter you don't effect the taste of your food or risk getting foreign elements in your fire, and it's easy to start.

Tennis - Tennis is a great sport and there are a lot of great players right now. Unfortunately it doesn't get much attention and so I think people don't even know when a grand slam is going on. For anyone who has ever played tennis you can really get an appreciation for just how amazing the shots they can make are.

Indoor smoking bans - I never really realized how much I enjoy going to a place without people smoking until I go back to a place that allows smoking. When I was in college I would wake up on Saturday and my room would smell like cigarette smoke just from the clothes I had the night before, which were now in the dirty clothes basket. They passed a law in Starkville that you couldn't smoke in public places anymore towards the end of my college time and it was tremendous to feel clean later that night or the next morning, free from the horrible smoke smell.

My Boys - They only do about 10 episodes a season and the seasons are a year and a half apart but it's a funny show. And it's a show that both men and women can watch so that is always good.

Matt Diaz - Diaz has been a platoon left fielder for the Braves the last 5 years and he's one of my favorite players. He always hustles and he's a very good hitter, especially against lefties. He has a lifetime .301 batting average and every year he's gets unbelievably hot for about two weeks. Bobby doesn't take him out of the lineup during that time because he goes about 20 for 40 before he cools off. And on Monday night he was in left field when a Phillies fan ran out onto the field, the security guard fell down so Matt walked over and tripped the guy, it was awesome.

JB