I have been told that some folks (which can only mean, like, 3 people I don’t live with) miss my postings. I have been remiss — blame poor educational services in US urban areas — and plan to make this up with more than quick hit videos. Therefore, beginning this very moment, and continuing every workday (various deities permitting) through next week, you’ll get a short post on one of the groups in the upcoming World Cup.* I’ll try to talk about every team, but I’ll admit, I don’t know much about half these squads. If they...
Continue reading...Sport
“The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.”
It’s like bringin a knife to a gunfight, pen to a testYour chest in the line of fire witcha thin-ass vestYou bringin them Boyz II Men, HOW them boys gon’ win? – Jay-Z, The Takeover When I moved to Boston, I lived in East Somerville. It’s a working class neighborhood full of Brazilians and Portuguese, and in any other soccer story, any other match preview, I might write about the sounds and sights of East Somerville in June 2006. But this is a story about tomorrow’s match, the first US match of this World Cup, against England. So it’s...
Continue reading...A lesson in sportsmanship: Dominant high school softball team forfeits to help out struggling new team
Because, sometimes you just want to hear a story of people being great: It happened at a junior varsity girls’ softball game in Indianapolis this spring. After an inning and a half, Roncalli was womanhandling inner-city Marshall Community. Marshall pitchers had already walked nine Roncalli batters. The game could’ve been 50-0 with no problem. It’s no wonder. This was the first softball game in Marshall history. A middle school trying to move up to include grades 6 through 12, Marshall showed up to the game with five balls, two bats, no helmets, no sliding pads, no cleats,...
Continue reading...President Obama backs Phoenix Suns' protest of Arizona immigration law
It’s NBA play-off time, and the Phoenix Suns (playing the Los Angeles Lakers) donned their “Los Suns” jersey for the home games. Usually, they only wear the jerseys for games celebrating Hispanic heritage. This time, it was in protest of Arizona’s new immigration law. And supporting the protest is none other than the President of the United States: “I think that just because somebody’s a sports figure or you’ve got a sports team doesn’t mean that you’re not part of the community and you’re not part of our democracy,” Obama said during a halftime interview on TNT....
Continue reading...Champions and Also-Rans
The British Parliament is holding elections on Thursday, with perennial majority Labour looking certain to lose 10 Downing St. to the Tories, or perhaps the Liberal Democrats. Today, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City — the English football teams supported by Ghost of Hemingway’s Gun and Estes, respectively, square off in Manchester to potentially decide who finishes fourth in the English Premier League, reaping the financial windfall (and prestige bump) of appearing in the Champions League, in which neither has appeared for at least a decade. Estes and I are here to guide you through both of these...
Continue reading...My First Derby
Before Saturday, I had never watched the Kentucky Derby, even though I grew up just a few hours north of Louisville. I guess I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. But after reading Ghost’s charming paen to Mint Juleps, I figured I ought to try one, and check out the race while I was at it. One of my favorite alcohols + one of my favorite herbs + tons of sugar = what not to like? The real question is why I’d never sipped one before. Anyway, the julep was delicious, though my friend R., who’s...
Continue reading...Opening Day
Ah, yes, it’s Opening Day. The weather outside: delightful. The weather inside: oppressive. Regardless, baseball is started, there shan’t be more snow blizzards, and everything is back to being right with the world. In keeping with custom, President Obama took the mound today to throw out the first pitch at Nationals Park. The park, in keeping with recent custom, was already filled with more Phillies fans than those for the Nationals. Now, I can’t begrudge somebody for supporting their favorite team, even while taking part in a game between two different teams. And, I know that the...
Continue reading..."Where Did All These Baseball Players Come From?"
The 2010 Major League Baseball season will be upon us in a few hours. As one of the few sports fans in the country who opts not to follow the NFL through the cold and lonely winter, I remind myself that it’s not interminable by keeping up with the off-season moves of all 30 clubs. Since you likely don’t, here then are 30 haiku to get you ready: Arizona Diamondbacks: Still full of promise Like a gift left unopened Unlike Webb’s shoulder Atlanta Braves: 90s run is over Only Chipper can tell tales No new ones this...
Continue reading...Things I Drink And So Should You: The Charles River Highball
It is Easter weekend, which is about the busiest my calendar gets every year. I have hardly had time to breathe this week, let alone read this blog, never mind contribute. The craziness of my schedule has even prevented me from doing that which I love most: watch sports and drink. And that all ends Sunday afternoon. Every Easter, I throw a Resurrection Barbecue, where we throw some ham on the grill, dressed in our Sunday best, drinking beer and, more importantly, breaking out the greatest summer drink you\’ve never had: The Charles River Highball. The Charles...
Continue reading...1,000 lawyers in a deep sea trench…
I think I’d like to make basketball the subject of my inaugural post. You see, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the negotiations leading up to agreeing on a new collective bargaining agreement. There a lot of points of contention, lots of issues to be hashed out, but the gist of it is that the owners are feeling pinched by decreased revenues owing to the recession, and are looking to cut their personnel costs. This, to sort of stop before I even start, is total nonsense, see here. But what’s interesting to me is the owner...
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