Forget about April Fools posts, it’s kind of a big day for Philadelphia sports. The surprisingly competent 76ers take on the New Jersey Nets tonight at 7PM and can clinch a playoff spot with a win. A Charlotte loss gets them in as well and while I’m not expecting much in the postseason, this team did beat San Antonio, Chicago and Boston this season. They were even able to hang with Miami until the Heat decided they wanted to win that game. That’s just the tip of the Philly Sports iceberg though.

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Nicole Atkins is a singer songwriter who grew up in Neptune, NJ.  I lived in the area when I first heard her music back in 2007 – a little song called Neptune City.  Something about the song just grabbed me immediately – something about the way she connected with her hometown and was able to put into words the changes that have taken place over the years.  There was intense nostalgia in her music.  Soon, I was hooked – got several chances to see her live, photograph her shows and meet her in person.  The performances were always amazing, her voice is ridiculous and her band had great stage presence.  I love to support local talented artists, so I quickly became one of her biggest fans, even attended one show while battling the flu, and emailed Perez Hilton until her music was featured on his site.

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A portion of the MLD staff spent yesterday at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey.  We splurged for the Flash Pass to get as many rides in as possible, but this gave us little time to recover between trips to the upper atmosphere.  It was a full day of thrill rides and junk food that left us all reeling.  Here’s a recap of the day.

Superman: Ultimate Flight – Good ride to start the day with.  Not sure I like the position you’re in to simulate flight, but it sets the ride apart from other coasters.
Flash Pass – An absolute necessity after waiting in the Superman line.  Could have been a lot worse, but being able to book yourself into a ride for a given time made for a much more productive (even if it was only producing nausea) day.
Nitro – This ride is a classic and I think the favorite of most of the group.  High speeds, big drops and great turns.  Couldn’t really ask for much more.
The Dark Knight Coaster – Speaking of turns, if you like them this is the ride for you.  All it does is make a series of sharp lefts and rights.  Probably the worst ride of the day for nearly everyone at the park as we overheard someone say “Let’s go on The Dark Knight, so I can show you how much it sucks.”
El Toro (which means “the bull”) – A wooden coaster that totally knocked us for a loop.  Similar to Nitro, but far more savage.
Johnny Rocket’s – Yeah, this may have been a mistake as it impacted all rides for the rest of the day…
Kingda Ka: Easily the highlight of the day, although I may be alone in that assessment.  Like being shot out of a cannon up a 400+ foot hill and dropping back down.  Even though we didn’t/couldn’t, I put in my vote for a return trip.
Bizarro – So, this was the old Medusa ride painted purple and given a few new accents.  Too long and too much head trauma for my tastes.  I’ll avoid this one in the future.
Batman the Ride – Always fun, and it’s neat to see all the Micheal Keaton/Val Kilmer/George Clooney era Bat-decorations.  Almost bailed on it after the bad experience on Bizarro, but I’m glad I held out (opinions expressed represent those of the brain, and not other organs).

Other highlights included: nylon capes that I really wanted to convince Angie we should buy, a tiger habitat with cats that made Sammy‘s paws seem proportional to his body, a dolphin show which could have used some better writing, and Kevin’s offer to challenge the Flash to a race (but he was too consumed flirting with a clearly underage fan and adjusting his pants (The Flash that is, not Kevin)).