Let me start a ways after the beginning. Treme is fantastic televsion. Music, cops, lawyers, restaurants. Best of all TV worlds. Smart, sharp writing. Makes you realize why you loved TV in the first place. Reminds me, at least, why I picked up a pen in the first place (more on that coming soon). The love for New Orleans oozes out of the pores of this show.
I have to say, I've never been more wrong. That hockey game I wrote about last night was out of this world, and rated as highly as any in 36 years. Deservedly so!
In the middle of an episode of Treme when our intrepid hero, a Chef who has been dealing with city gas giving out on her on a regular basis in a high pressure situation comes through.
Not unlike the refs, the league, the players and the fans in that high class affair in South Philly. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. I acknowledge its majesty, and thank all for wonderful fun. As my little bro would say, Hawks, City of Chicago -- Mazel, Mazel.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Finals
Is there anything more exciting? Well, lord I hope so, since I'm not playing, and really don't even have a rooting interest in either of these teams. Oh, and #hockeyblows.
That said, as far as sporting events go, a game six in Philly, practically sudden death as they trail 3-2 with under five to play. You kind of knew this would happen. Great series.
But the omnipresent sense of, well, finality, is really the overwhelming emotion. Particularly at home, for a team that has done nothing but come back time and time again. Shootout with the Rangers months ago just to get in.
Down3-0 to the Boston Bruins, that first win seemingly an anomaly till they strung together three more and made history.
Now an enormous underdog to the West's best. Not really the West, but Chi-town. A team without a title since '61. Knick-esque in their fecundity.
Overtime now, hanging on by a thread.
And it's over. In the blink of an eye names are etched forever onto that noble cup. Even for non-hockey fans (a group which I count myself among) it's clear that this is a special moment in time. To be the best team after a marathon season. Names like Kane and Toews bring joy to hockey fans in a city that has not shared in supremacy for half a century. That will make you a hero fast, and Chicago is a town that loves its sports heroes.
But seriously, though, NHL. Does your sport truly move so fast that there is no technological means of determining whether a goal was scored or not? Can the entire season be decided in so anticlimactically that the vast majority of fans, players and officials had absolutely no idea it was through.
That to me reinforces every rating point lost by this sport over the past 25-years. Even as HD reigns supreme and the game moves further down the cable dial (how anachronistic is that thought) there is just no way to present this sport in a meaningful way to a broader audience.
Bring back the Hanson brothers, and thank God this crap is off TV for a few months, to be honest. How come the Olympics were pristine and perfect, and the majority of these playoffs, even with amazing storylines and great towns involved, were so thoroughly unwatchable...
That said, as far as sporting events go, a game six in Philly, practically sudden death as they trail 3-2 with under five to play. You kind of knew this would happen. Great series.
But the omnipresent sense of, well, finality, is really the overwhelming emotion. Particularly at home, for a team that has done nothing but come back time and time again. Shootout with the Rangers months ago just to get in.
Down3-0 to the Boston Bruins, that first win seemingly an anomaly till they strung together three more and made history.
Now an enormous underdog to the West's best. Not really the West, but Chi-town. A team without a title since '61. Knick-esque in their fecundity.
Overtime now, hanging on by a thread.
And it's over. In the blink of an eye names are etched forever onto that noble cup. Even for non-hockey fans (a group which I count myself among) it's clear that this is a special moment in time. To be the best team after a marathon season. Names like Kane and Toews bring joy to hockey fans in a city that has not shared in supremacy for half a century. That will make you a hero fast, and Chicago is a town that loves its sports heroes.
But seriously, though, NHL. Does your sport truly move so fast that there is no technological means of determining whether a goal was scored or not? Can the entire season be decided in so anticlimactically that the vast majority of fans, players and officials had absolutely no idea it was through.
That to me reinforces every rating point lost by this sport over the past 25-years. Even as HD reigns supreme and the game moves further down the cable dial (how anachronistic is that thought) there is just no way to present this sport in a meaningful way to a broader audience.
Bring back the Hanson brothers, and thank God this crap is off TV for a few months, to be honest. How come the Olympics were pristine and perfect, and the majority of these playoffs, even with amazing storylines and great towns involved, were so thoroughly unwatchable...
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Reunion weekend begins
with a separation. Beautiful wife, staying home. Maybe catching a movie with my brother. The ladybug and I head north a click, to Freehold Boro by way of Old Bridge. Big night. ha!
Should be interesting though. FHS Class of '90. A stalwart bunch if ever there was one. I'm a proud representative!
It's interesting to note, that without FB these things might be much different. You at least have a working knowledge of where your closest acquaintances have ended up.
Your friends, one assumes, you would know where they lived, worked, wed, etc.
Long list of former high schoolers, you expect a pretty good deal of attrition. Proving that the class President title lasts a lifetime, Kerri Martin is doing a wealth of the organizing.
All I'm doing is showing up. Well, bringing my iTunes and my notePad. Check in tomorrow for more. And @bitterbill.
PEACE
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
woefully underprepared
I realized today that this is very often my issue, and was with the proposed tournament of cities as well as the bachelor party that preceded it and the home flooding that followed.
I had no pump, no generator, no nothing. I get a foot of water in my basement after this tree snaps an overhead electrical wire and lands on my yard looking like this
and my basement like this
What can you do? People make plans and God laughs. More on this to come. City Sixty-Four needs to be put on hold for one year...
I had no pump, no generator, no nothing. I get a foot of water in my basement after this tree snaps an overhead electrical wire and lands on my yard looking like this
and my basement like this
What can you do? People make plans and God laughs. More on this to come. City Sixty-Four needs to be put on hold for one year...
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Automatic berths begin rolling in, selection committee hard at work
So I’m stuck on a plane in Harrisburg (which has no shot of making the tournament by the way) and wanted to get this out before I take off again. Flight diverted from Indy, which made a great case this weekend for a high seed.
A couple of automatic berths surprised me this weekend. Santa Barbara, incredible beach town, makes the grade and lives to fight another day. Other similarly sized automatics include Roanoke, VA and Charleston, SC.
This is going to be fun. The full field is listed out below, bracketology to follow…
So there you have it. The 70 plus cities that have a chance to make it into the final grid. Any automatic berths I’m missing? Send ‘em in.
This includes a play in game between Fresno and Sactown, too good to pass up. There are probably other cities that deserve that type of offer, but my heart leans to @Tlack415 Homerville.
Basic rule. Any city that you don’t inherently know what state it’s in is pretty much automatically ruled out (sayonara LBC, California, by the way). Other unwritten ruled include uniqueness, lack of suburbia. Baton Rouge may get an automatic berth for that reason, even though they didn’t rank high enough for inclusion in the at large field.
A couple of automatic berths surprised me this weekend. Santa Barbara, incredible beach town, makes the grade and lives to fight another day. Other similarly sized automatics include Roanoke, VA and Charleston, SC.
This is going to be fun. The full field is listed out below, bracketology to follow…
New York | Phoenix | Orlando |
Miami | Washington, DC | Tampa |
Los Angeles | Boston | New Orleans |
Chicago | Seattle | Detroit |
| | |
Cleveland | Dallas | Buffalo |
Portalnd | Houston | San Diego |
Philadelphia | San Antonio | San Francisco |
Charlotte | Oklahoma City | Minneapolis |
| | |
Atlanta | Milwaukee | Indianapolis |
Cincinatti | Providence | Jacksonville |
St. Louis | El Paso | Hartford |
Kansas City | Baltimore | Pittsburgh |
| | |
Nasvhille | San Jose | Omaha |
Memphis | Columbus | Newark |
Denver | Albuquerque | Las Vegas |
Oakland | Tucson | Reno |
| | |
Sacramento | Anchorage | Billings |
Austin | Lexington | Salt Lake City |
Tulsa | Birmingham | Sioux City |
Honolulu | Boise | Bismarck |
| | |
Raleigh | Rochester | Louisville |
Colorado Springs | Irvine | Fresno/Sacramento |
Wichita | Spokane | Long Beach |
Madison | Des Moines | Virginia Beach |
| | |
So there you have it. The 70 plus cities that have a chance to make it into the final grid. Any automatic berths I’m missing? Send ‘em in.
This includes a play in game between Fresno and Sactown, too good to pass up. There are probably other cities that deserve that type of offer, but my heart leans to @Tlack415 Homerville.
Basic rule. Any city that you don’t inherently know what state it’s in is pretty much automatically ruled out (sayonara LBC, California, by the way). Other unwritten ruled include uniqueness, lack of suburbia. Baton Rouge may get an automatic berth for that reason, even though they didn’t rank high enough for inclusion in the at large field.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Home of college hoops
So the day of flight begins. Difficult at first, then beaming into a bloody mary, the stewardess having to hold back a grim excitement. Perhaps she now realized it was almost noon on Friday. No, we still have Chicago to get to, flip an hour back, then down to Indy. A short 55 minute flight. Who knows what to expect.
I do know that I have six more drink tickets, scratch that seven. Each drink is only one here at @southwest! Yeah!!! I don’t fly Southwest that often any more, living, as I do, in the Northeast. But enough about that, that’s @bitterbill territory.
I’m here to focus on the brackets. March Madness is in full swing if you look at the calendar and caliber of play. Big East Tourney and Big 12 surely to make headlines. Going to Indy, home of the NCAA and the Big Ten tourney. Hoping to catch a game.
Basketball’s birthplace, or close enough. Rabid fans in the year I know more about hoops than in any time during my sportswatching life. I’m on a fantasy team.
But this is just one factor of many. Only fitting that this journey begins as I visit a new city for the first time. Stopover in Chicago, one of my all time favorites and a most likely 1 seed, to Indianapolis. A solid mid major, but where will she go? Shall I wait till after this weekend? I believe I shall.
So here is how it is going to work. I’ve got probably 70-80 cities on a list. This week we have to figure out who is on the bubble and get rid of them.
Rochester, Irvine. Do we even bother? No suburbs, Evansville, Tucson. Right?
Anyway, with no further ado. The field as I see it.
Not going to influence seeding yet, but do with this what you will.
New York
Los Angeles
Miami
Chicago.
See a top seed I’ve missed? Talk about in the comments.
I do know that I have six more drink tickets, scratch that seven. Each drink is only one here at @southwest! Yeah!!! I don’t fly Southwest that often any more, living, as I do, in the Northeast. But enough about that, that’s @bitterbill territory.
I’m here to focus on the brackets. March Madness is in full swing if you look at the calendar and caliber of play. Big East Tourney and Big 12 surely to make headlines. Going to Indy, home of the NCAA and the Big Ten tourney. Hoping to catch a game.
Basketball’s birthplace, or close enough. Rabid fans in the year I know more about hoops than in any time during my sportswatching life. I’m on a fantasy team.
But this is just one factor of many. Only fitting that this journey begins as I visit a new city for the first time. Stopover in Chicago, one of my all time favorites and a most likely 1 seed, to Indianapolis. A solid mid major, but where will she go? Shall I wait till after this weekend? I believe I shall.
So here is how it is going to work. I’ve got probably 70-80 cities on a list. This week we have to figure out who is on the bubble and get rid of them.
Rochester, Irvine. Do we even bother? No suburbs, Evansville, Tucson. Right?
Anyway, with no further ado. The field as I see it.
Not going to influence seeding yet, but do with this what you will.
New York
Los Angeles
Miami
Chicago.
See a top seed I’ve missed? Talk about in the comments.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
It's been too long
I've not posted for months, and I'm about to rectify that situation in a big way. Something I've never tried before. A real-time top 64. March Madness in a US way.
What city will rank above all others? Who will make it into the big dance?
The nation is massive, and so many considerations. At the end of the day the final decision is mine, dear reader, but I look forward to any thoughts you might throw my way. Remember, this is just the start.
As I look in live at Syracuse/Villanova from the Carrier Dome, I'm overcome by the passion of the fans, the packed house. Yet they are very far from the closest Top 64 city.
Philly is going to be a low seed, but really, can they be better than a four seed?
We'll see.
A few automatic bids from cities you might not expect, but all in all I think we know who the finals will come down to. Miami looks great, Chicago is always strong. Dark horses everywhere, but if it's not LA/NY at the end of the day, it's a huge upset.
As Canada and the US set to square off in Olympic hockey, remember just that the Russians, with Ovechkin, Malkin et all went packing early. Will Boston do the same? What about Frisco? If you call it Frisco you probably won't enjoy the rest of this tournament.
Highlights of the Top 100, and a little bracketology tomorrow.
What city will rank above all others? Who will make it into the big dance?
The nation is massive, and so many considerations. At the end of the day the final decision is mine, dear reader, but I look forward to any thoughts you might throw my way. Remember, this is just the start.
As I look in live at Syracuse/Villanova from the Carrier Dome, I'm overcome by the passion of the fans, the packed house. Yet they are very far from the closest Top 64 city.
Philly is going to be a low seed, but really, can they be better than a four seed?
We'll see.
A few automatic bids from cities you might not expect, but all in all I think we know who the finals will come down to. Miami looks great, Chicago is always strong. Dark horses everywhere, but if it's not LA/NY at the end of the day, it's a huge upset.
As Canada and the US set to square off in Olympic hockey, remember just that the Russians, with Ovechkin, Malkin et all went packing early. Will Boston do the same? What about Frisco? If you call it Frisco you probably won't enjoy the rest of this tournament.
Highlights of the Top 100, and a little bracketology tomorrow.
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