The Riverside Times

Green Day - "Father Of All..." Green Day has an amazing knack for writing songs that both, a) sound like nothing they've done before, and b) sound like classic Green Day the moment you hear it. And they've done it again with their latest single, "Father Of All...", the title track from their upcoming album due out February 7, 2020. The new track takes the slightly-controlled chaos of the Foxboro Hot Tubs and smashes it up with a rip-roaring chorus, where the guitars double as buzz saws that not-so-much slice but carve the melody into your head, where it will stay; This is a tune you'll be humming for days. Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong recently told Rolling Stone that he "wanted to do something different," but if the song "Father Of All..." is any indication, there's one thing about Green Day's new album that is definitely not going to change: it's going to rock. by Nate Spade   Follow @nate_spade

The 1980s represented a high point for the baseball card industry, both in terms of mainstream popularity and in terms of card design. Many of the most popular and recognizable card designs of all-time were produced during this decade. Below are my Top 10 baseball card designs of the '80s, based on overall attractiveness, creativity and/or innovation, and my own personal preferences. Card backs are not weighed as much in these rankings, but I like to read the backs of baseball cards, so bonus points are given to good design there as well.  So without further ado... 10. 1989 Donruss  The '89 Donruss set is easily distinguishable for the multi-colored borders at the top and bottom of the cards. This gradient effect (which Donruss debuted in 1988) would be emulated many times by many companies in the decades that followed. I also like the way Donruss utilized the space on the back of the cards. A maximum of five seasons worth of stats are displayed along w...

Although it's a given that baseball players are going to get hurt, there are some ways that Major League Baseball could make the game less hazardous for it's athletes. Here are a few practical ideas to help make the game safer without changing the way it's played. 1. Foam rubber outfield walls. Why are the outfield walls in major league baseball parks covered with padding the thickness of an oven mitt? In some spots there is no padding at all. Wrigley Field literally has a brick wall out there. Players get hurt crashing into these walls all the time. Earlier this season, Yankees OF Jacoby Ellsbury received a sprained neck and a concussion slamming into a wall. He made the catch, but landed on the DL. Clearly, the "warning track" is not enough of a deterrent. Outfield walls are bad for your health. Photo: USA Today My suggestion: 3-foot-thick foam rubber outfield walls. This would prevent countless serious injuries every year, and it wouldn'...

NBA D-League MVP Vander Blue / Photo: NBA.com The NBA's minor league could be bigger than college hoops within 10 years if it just makes one change... I'm bullish on the NBA G-League. It's expanding to 26 teams next season, with the Bucks, Grizzlies, Hawks, and Clippers being the latest NBA teams to add a minor league affiliate to develop their young players. Existing, unaffiliated minor league teams are also being scooped up, and soon every NBA team will have it's own G-League franchise. And that's when things will get fun. Minor league basketball will soon be like minor league baseball... except way better. While minor league baseball has multiple levels (Rookie ball, AA, AAA) the G-League will be all AAA, stocked with players on the brink of the big-time. Soon the nation's top high-school recruits won't be one-and-done's at Duke or Kentucky, they'll be going pro in the G-League. All the league needs to do is give it's players ...

Spider-Man #16 RANDOM THOUGHTS ...  Spider-Man #16 was published in November 1991 and was the final issue for this title written and illustrated by Todd McFarlane . Months later McFarlane headlined a collection of artists that founded Image Comics , where he launched his own title,  Spawn . Spawn went on to become the most successful Image Comics title, and McFarlane revolutionized comic book merchandising  along the way. •  This is a special sideways issue; All pages are written and drawn in a landscape layout. In this book, it works, and as you might expect, McFarlane fills the frames with awesome images.   • The fact that #16 is McFarlane's last on the title is acknowledged in several places throughout the issue:  On the cover, Spidey says "Bye, Todd".  On the last panel of the issue, a fantastic 2-page mural featuring Spidey and X-Force , there is a message thanking the fans for reading, signed by Todd McFarlane. In "Crawl Space", ...

Eddie Murray 1989 Donruss Traded #T-12 This was our first look at Hall of Famer Eddie Murray in Dodger Blue. "Steady Eddie" was traded by the Orioles to his hometown L.A. Dodgers following the 1988 season, after 13 seasons and 333 home runs with Baltimore. He was 32 at the time, but would remain productive at the plate for the next 5 years, averaging 21.6 HR and 94.4 RBI during that span for the Dodgers (1989 to 1991) and Mets (1991 and 1992). Murray also had stints with the Indians and Angels, and a second-go-round with both the O's and Dodgers before retiring after 21 years in the bigs. He finished with a .287 BA, 504 HR (26th all-time), and 1917 RBI (10th all-time). ...  This was the first and only Traded set that Donruss printed  to compete with other limited run extended sets like Topps Traded and Fleer Update. Other notable players appearing in this set include Nolan Ryan and Rafael Palmeiro. Apparently, card collectors didn't like Donruss Traded sets bec...

I’m sure I’ll catch all kinds of guff and/or flak for saying this, but here goes: I hate hot coffee. But you know what I love ? Warm coffee. Same thing with hot chocolate. Hot chocolate: Bad. Warm chocolate: Best thing ever. Hot coffee is too damn hot. It’s like sticking a branding iron in your mouth. You need a NASA-designed thermos with inch-thick styrofoam walls just to hold it, yet I’m supposed to drink this stuff? What the heck is the point of pouring a cup of coffee if I can’t drink it for two hours? Can’t they figure out a way to serve it at room temperature so I can drink it right away? And how is it that every time I take a sip to see if it’s cooled off enough, it’s still too hot? Doesn’t matter how long I wait. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. Ninety minutes. It’s always still too hot. Every. Single. Time. People are always trying to sell me on hot coffee: “ Hot coffee smells soooo good! ” Yeah, well so does a lilac bouquet, but I don’t want to drink it. “ Hot coff...

Here are my favorite prospects in the 2016 NFL Draft. This isn't a comprehensive Big Board, because I don't watch every game and I don't grade every player. But as a college football fanatic, these are the guys that jumped off the screen when I watched them play. If your favorite team snags one of these guys, they're getting a great player. Offense 1. Laquon Treadwell - WR - Ole Miss ... My favorite player in this year's draft, this guy catches everything thrown his way. He's big, he's strong, and he comes down with the ball in traffic. Yeah, I know, he didn't run the fastest 40-yard-dash, but did I mention he catches everything thrown his way? I think the Michael Crabtree comparisons are spot-on; Crabtree was also a big, strong, super-productive college receiver and has become a super-productive NFL pass-catcher. I expect the same from Treadwell. I'm a Vikings fan, and they need a receiver: I hope they get this guy.  2. Derrick Henry...

When I was a kid, I loved He-Man . The cartoon, the action figures, and the phrase "By the power of Grayskull" were all a big part of my day. Here are my Top 10 favorite He-Man characters.  Now I'm not counting the main characters here, like He-Man, Skeletor, Man-at-Arms, or the lovely, lovely Teela... ahem, so um, just the secondary-type characters and such. Here we go: 1. Moss Man • His action figure was sticky and it smelled like shit. When you're a kid, that's a good thing. Moss Man 2. Mer-Man • If you didn't like Mer-Man when we were growing up, we probably didn't hang out much. Mer-Man 3. Two-Bad • The action figure was completely indestructible. Two-Bad is a bad-ass. Two-Bad 4. Stinkor • His special power was smelling so bad it could actually maim someone. I'm all in. Stinkor 5. Man-E-Faces • One of the coolest characters ever; He could be a human, a robot, or a demon. " His strong...

Blue Oyster Cult - Take Me Away RANDOM THOUGHTS ... Great song. In fact, I think I like this one more than any of their other, more well-known singles like "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Burnin' For You". The guitar riff (0:11) is amazing. The chorus is great. A lot of really cool guitar stuff going on here.  ...  The song was released in 1983, as the first track on BOC's ninth studio album,  The Revolution By Night . The album may not have been a massive success, but this song is a keeper.  ... This tune was written by Aldo Nova and Eric Bloom, who sings lead vocals on it. Aldo Nova also plays guitar and synthesizers on this one, and the mere fact that he's involved here makes me like the song even more.