Just Being a Bum In the Bahamas

Okay, it took one day for me to orient myself down here at Atlantis… but, ‘net is now good, and I’m ready to post.

Where to begin…

First of all, Atlantis is phantastic! (That’s phenomenal swirled with fantastic). Now that I’ve been, I know this much: If I’m going to the Bahamas, I am either staying here, or I am staying home.

Sol Kerzner is the hotel bigwig behind the property, and much like other resorts that are the personal “baby” of rich businessmen, his maniacal passion for excellence in the details shows.

The submerged “city street” of the mythical lost city of Atlantis is perhaps the best attraction to the resort. It teems with fish of all sizes, and includes a giant 12-foot manta ray that glides back and forth just beneath the surface. I look out my window at night, and can see the large dark shadows moving beneath me. It’s wild. I’m not sick of looking at it yet. Give me a few more days.

Kerzner’s vision for the resort, is getting ramped up to an even more exclusive level this spring, when they open “The Cove” portion of the resort. It’s mostly for adults, with all-suite hotel rooms, a private European bathing beach (ahem…..) and an adult only pool. God knows how much a night they will charge, but I bet it will be suite.

Watching the video on how Atlantis was made on the in-room hotel channel, reminded me of other men like Kerzner who go out of their way to make a resort spectacular, not just great.

Men like Joe Hardy at Nemacolin Woodlands outside of Pittsburgh, Herb Kohler of the Kohler Club up in Wisconsin, Steve Wynn out in Vegas, or (to a lesser extent) Donald Trump. These are all guys who say: “You know, we could do this just a little bit nicer!”

Luckly, your schmoozing author here, has been to all of the above places via his media and PR connections, thus not having to go to the wallet. Perhaps if I had chunked down $750 a night, I would start seeing where the dirt is on the marble floors.

Day 1 was pretty much a waste for me at least. The weather was “bad” for Bahamas standards. Only about 70 with pretty strong winds. I got done doing my shows around noon, hosted a “NFL Skillz Seminar” down by the beach, and got back to my room around 2:30.

After watching something from NFL Films, I laid down for a little nappy.

And woke up at 9:30 at night. Oops.

Too late do really do anything like go out to dinner, and having to now get up again at 5 a.m., I just said ‘screw it’ and stayed in, watched wrestling ordered a pizza and answered emails.

I’ll be honest. I was pretty happy. How can you not be happy after taking a nap? Naps are great. They don’t cost a thing, and you feel great when you wake up. Sadly, once you are an adult with a job (or two, or five) and kids, you don’t get to nap much. If ever. Even on weekends.

In fact, right after I woke up from my nap, I read a piece in Sports Illustrated about – you guessed it! – NAPS! Apparently pro athletes are champion nappers, thanks in large part to the nature of their jobs. They are often on the road, and don’t report to “work” until 5 p.m. After waking up for the obligatory meeting and walk through, what else is there to do? Nap!

George Costanza made famous the beauty and luxury of a mid-workday nap in the office. Larry King was allegedly famous for being able to take “micro-naps” of as little as 1-minute while during breaks in his radio show. And guys like Tracy McGrady of the Rockets even have the nickname “Sleepy” for his excellence at snoozing.

My problem – as evidenced by my 6-hour “nap” – is that once I get “rollin’” with my eyes closed, it’s hard to stop me. I sleep hard, and I sleep deep. I suppose I should consider myself blessed. I know light sleepers like my wife, are constantly tormented by the slightest of baby cry, cracked door of light, or even ticking clock in the bathroom.

Should I feel bad that I essentially SLEPT away a full afternoon here in the Bahamas in the middle of winter? Nah. Not really. For one, I am here on “business” (snicker) so I’m not paying for this. And also, there is plenty of week left for me to frolic in the sun and sand.

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Here’s your Super Bowl thought of the day – at least for me. Can you imagine what would happen if the Bears win this game? Forget the Windy City’s joy, go back to the Colts. If they lose – no matter how they lose – the “goat” and “choker” tags go right back on Dungy and Manning.

Right back.

I mean, I think the media will KILL both guys even worse than had they simply lost to New England last week. So that’s pressure right there, and I do think both men (and the Colts) are aware of it.

It’s also a disservice to the Bears, who at 13-4 are hardly chopped hash. Yes they have flaws, but certainly them winning this game wouldn’t have headline writers reaching for the 48 point bold type come Monday morning.

The problem for the Bears, is that the Colts will be nearly impossible to “rattle” in this game. Get them down 14-0? Big deal? Last week was way worse. On the contrary, I think a 10 point lead at any time in this game, is lethal for the Bears.

I’m working up the full “prediction” for Friday. See you then.

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AND NOW YOUR PIC O' THE DAY!!