Precious metal

Metallica ripped through its library of hits and a few new cuts in a two-hour performance at Allstate Arena last night. The California foursome took the stage at about 9:15 for the second of two shows in suburban Chicago. Despite the dysfunction evident in the brilliant documentary "Some Kind of Monster," the band has aged pretty well. They took the stage all smiles and enjoyed themselves right through the whole set. Their energy is unbelievable for a bunch in their mid-40s.

The stage show was impressive--massive coffins hanging from the ceiling, black beach balls bouncing around, lasers and pyrotechnics. The evening culminated with the band playing one of its old face-melters with the house lights on--the bloodshot-eyed crowd in full display. As noted by the Tribune's Greg Kot, the band has actually allowed its bassist to be heard--former Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo's low-rider approach rumbled through the arena loud and clear all night. The show was performed in the round--an egalitarian approach for sure.

I could grouse about the bizarre shuttle bus system at the arena (crowded with drunk metal-heads at midnight), but I am accentuating the positive this evening.

Cardinal crest

A couple notes on the Super Bowl...first, a much better name for the Arizona Cardinals would be the Arizona Pyrrhuloxia. The cardinal-like birds reside in scrubby areas of southeastern Arizona.

Second, a fun item from the New York Times. Several players share their "Welcome to the NFL" moments. I like Bryan Robinson's story the best.

Lifting confusion

I'm going to get my ass kicked at the gym one of these days.

Loyal readers know that I previously worked out at a small Park District gym. In a final attempt to rehabilitate my knee, I got a membership to a "real" gym recently. I figured the ease of access, space and amenities would make going to the gym easier. I just couldn't bring myself to go to that cramped park gym any more with rickety treadmills that were mostly out of service.

The etiquette of the big gym is overwhelming at the moment. Strangely, the constricted space and simple machinery of the park gym made everything easier. It was clear who was doing what; the protocol went unsaid.

My first trip to the new gym I mistakenly stepped in to use a piece of equipment only to realize that someone else had been using it. The person using it was wearing a hood and weightlifting gloves. Rather than specifically note that I was cutting in line, he grunted something that drew my attention--only after I had replaced some weights. I immediately apologized but he signaled that I should continue.

I vowed to myself that I'd be more diligent in the etiquette department.

Workout machines these days are hard to figure out. I feel like Borat when he was in Miami Beach.

So I made another misstep on Monday.

I went up to a machine and looked around to make sure no one was using it. I've found that people at this gym have fiefdoms to themselves--at 5 p.m. Johnny goes to this one spot and works out EVERY DAY. Don't invade Johnny's space. So I looked around carefully and only saw one guy nearby, probably 10 feet away. I trusted that my piece of equipment was free and began to look for a 25-pound weight to add on. I grabbed what appeared to be an available weight and placed it on my machine. I noticed that the nearest guy was looking at me, and I looked up and briefly made eye contact. He looked away.

I sat on the bench and prepared to lift the weight and was interrupted by a small noise from a few feet away. The man was indicating to me some sort of displeasure. He gestured toward his machine. I had taken off one of the weights while he was in between sets and placed it on mine. The complicated machinery had confused me--what I thought was a stationery weight was actually the one he was using at the time. I apologized profusely and laughed about the confusion. He mostly ignored me.

I think what's most funny to me--other than that you should secure a 25-yard perimeter around every machine before lifting--is that both of these people were so damn passive-aggressive. They watched me remove their weights and never said anything until I made the gaffe. I don't get it.

Picture time

I can't resist sharing this. I like the child on the floor the best.

Fabio's remorse

I haven't paid much attention to "Top Chef" this season, but here goes with a somewhat-live blog:

8 p.m. -- Wow, I think this is the Gail Simmons wedding shower episode. And I just realized that I'm watching a rerun. Oh well, blog on.

8:02 -- Stefan inexplicably has a crush on Jamie. Yech.

8:03 -- This cast includes several well-trimmed beards.

8:05 -- Damn. I just realized I forgot Worcestershire sauce in the meatloaf I'm cooking.

8:06 -- Carla could pass for Scottie Pippen's sister.

8:09 -- Stefan and his Jamie love fall to Hosea in the Quickfire.

8:13 -- Ariane says that because she's married she understands the "Something borrowed..." saying. Memo to Ariane: I'm married and have never heard of it.

8:15 -- Gail's shower. Damn this is pressure.

8:15 -- I like the "Top Chef" Fabio more than the guy on the romance novels.

8:17 -- Carla's anecdote is funny because my wife and I have our own whistling call for locating each other in grocery stores.

8:21 -- Rice is so darn hard to make. I feel for Eugene.

8:32 -- Gail has a lot of friends.

8:33 -- I love it when Tom is stalking around the kitchen, inspecting dishes and scaring the cast.

8:36 -- The editor of Food and Wine has sort of a Julius Caesar haircut, I believe it's called. Kind of like Burt Reynolds in "Deliverance."

8:40 -- Fabio uses his Italian accent to win over the crowd only to fall on his face when it comes time to taste the dish.

8:52 -- My own meatloaf is good. I fear the judges would describe it as "old people food" which is what they said about the dish by Fabio & Co.

8:59 -- And another well-trimmed beard is eliminated.

Mountain best

Dan Wetzel hits the nail on the head with this post on Yahoo! Sports about the University of Utah and how they are getting derailed by the BCS. Not unlike the patternless area post about Heisman hype. One thing I hadn't thought of: big networks promote the conferences that they have agreements with. So the ABC and Big Ten and CBS and SEC and ESPN and Big 12, etc. So who's going to promote the Mountain West Conference? No one.

Classic winter

Today dawned with the sound of a helicopter hovering over the North Side as part of the coverage of the Winter Classic hockey game. The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4 outdoors at Wrigley Field before a crowd of more than 40,000. This is the second straight year the NHL staged a game on New Year's Day outdoors (last year's was in Buffalo). While I wasn't able to get a ticket, it's a lot of fun to watch these games. The Winter Classic tradition may be pushing college football bowls out of the spotlight on Jan. 1--the bowls are now so spread out and diluted that the first day of the year is just another day with a bunch of bowls.

I think my favorite part of the telecast today was the presence of The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore. The broadcasters play up the impact of the elements a bit during these games (today it was a mild 30 degrees and overcast, though windy), but Cantore makes weather even more interesting. He was able to reference the "altocumulus" clouds while sitting on top of the centerfield scoreboard.

I heard a rumor that the NHL made snow to fill up the area around the rink but within the ballfield; I'm guessing this makes the Winter Classic more wintry. The truth is there's hardly any actual snow on the ground right now and we are in one of those typical Chicago phases of limited snow and cold temps.