What I've been reading lately....
* James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales: THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN: INSIDE THE WORLD OF ESPN (2011) -- A 750-page "oral history" of sports network ESPN, from its founding up to a few years ago. I skimmed over their tales of corporate struggles, but you'd never guess there could be such wild stories and such controversy involved with a cable TV channel that just broadcasts sports and sports talk. It's all here -- from Keith Olbermann's departure to Mike Patrick's "retirement" to Hannah Storm's wardrobe choices, and it's all great, hilarious stuff. As an oral history, the book tries to track down and interview everyone who ever worked for or appeared on-camera for ESPN, and though I've sometimes disliked this format for a book, this one puts you right inside the studio. You feel like you know these people. Which led me to re-read....
* Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller: LIVE FROM NEW YORK: AN UNCENSORED HISTORY OF SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (2002/2003) -- I remember reading this a few years back and feeling mildly disappointed that the book wasn't big enough, that somehow it didn't do justice to the great comedy show that's been rolling since the mid-'70s and keeps coming back from the dead. But maybe that was just my uneasiness with the "oral history" format. This 2003 version (600 pages) includes some new interviews -- but of course, they're not set aside in a new spot; you have to re-read and find them. I had a great time, this time around. Although Eddie Murphy isn't interviewed anywhere in here, LOTS of other SNL veterans are, and there's some great backstage gossip. And controversy, too. A great way to blow off a few hours, if you were ever a fan.
* Rick Reilly: THE LIFE OF REILLY (2003) -- This is a best-of from when Reilly was writing the back-page column for SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. My only serious disappointment was they didn't include Reilly's coverage of the 1986 U.S. Open -- a golf piece so hysterically funny I still laugh 'til I cry whenever I re-read it. Who knew you could make golf so funny? (This piece was brought to my attention by my old Air Force boss and writing coach Gary Pomeroy, who was always looking for funny stuff and taught me that the one place you could break the rules in a military newspaper was on the sports page. As a result, I went looking for my own funny golf stories -- and then just funny stories, period.) They also left out Reilly's column "Nobody Loves a Blit," a classic about REALLY stupid team nicknames.
But the stuff that IS here is pretty great -- especially the pieces about how taking part in sports or just being a sports fan helps hold people together. Some of this stuff will tear you up. Which leads me to....
* The annual BEST AMERICAN SPORTS WRITING, series editor Glenn Stout (2005, 2007-2010). Amazing what you can find at Goodwill. After reading Reilly and remembering the way I got sucked into the YEAR'S BEST MUSIC WRITING series awhile back, I tried these. And man, was it worth it. Each volume assembles the best sports writing the editors can find each year, from national magazines down to local newspapers and Internet blogs. There's a lot of writing here about repetitive brain injuries to football players (before the NFL finally agreed there might be some brain damage involved with concussions), and about broken-down old players who gave their bodies for a few minutes of excitement for fans on the football field. There are lots of stories about drug- and steroid-abuse by players who then spiraled further downhill -- and about athletes who were able to come back from that. There are many stories about how sports holds people together -- one of the best is about a woman college basketball star who suffered a quadruple amputation ... and how her recovery helped hold her teammates together. There are amazing and moving stories of achievement and sacrifice here, superb and deeply human writing. The funny pieces are a real hoot. Overall, the stories are better and more human -- I hate to admit this -- than almost any in the BEST MUSIC WRITING series.
* Robert Young Pelton: THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS PLACES (Fifth Edition, 2003) -- I read an earlier edition of this a few years back and thought it was kind of thin and stupid. Not this one. In more than 1,000 pages, Pelton and the MDP staff look at dozens of global hotspots and tell you everything from getting there and getting out safely, how to exchange money, whether to drink the water, and how to place bribes in the right places. And they do it all with a grim but hilarious sense of humor. It also helps that one of the most dangerous places they go into detail about is the good old USA. I'm sure there's a newer edition out there....
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Monday, April 25, 2016
Mopping up
PRINCE: Well, how 'bout him? He did some great stuff, though I wasn't that big a fan back in the day.
I played "Purple Rain" a couple times at work last Friday night. The first time through I got all sad and nostalgic, but the second time was pure exaltation. It always was a gorgeous song. And that guitar riff at the end keeps going round and round in my head....
I always loved "1999," too. "Kiss" and "When Doves Cry" have grown on me over the years. "Sometimes it Snows in April" is a nice low-key piece off of PARADE. "Anotherloverholeinyohead" is interesting, too, also from PARADE, sort of an echo of "When Doves Cry." Some of Prince's more sexually-oriented stuff was just too in-your-face for me, and I don't think I even HEARD him after about 1989....
I heard "I Wanna be Your Lover" for the first time EVER on the radio last Saturday night (it came out in like 1978), and it sounded good, cute, solid. The guy was obviously meant for bigger things. He had a great few years there, from '81 through about '86 or so.
This has sure been a bad year for musicians. Keith Emerson and Paul Kantner were the ones that hit me hardest, but this one was also a shock. No more for awhile, OK? (Sorry, no breaks -- blues guitarist Lonnie Mack died this past week, too. KPLU's "All Blues" ran one of Mack's songs, "Stop," which is pretty freakin' great....)
GOOD NEWS FOR SEATTLE-AREA ROCK FANS: "Little Steven's Underground Garage" is back, starting at 11 p.m. Pacific Time Sundays on KZOK-FM 102.5 (I assume they also stream over the Internet). In the three weeks they've been back around, Steven and friends have done a two-part salute to The British Invasion that included great stuff by second-tier bands like The Searchers, The Pretty Things and Creation, and a salute to The Ramones -- in the middle of which up popped The Ronettes' great "The Best Part of Breakin' Up." Steven didn't understand why that song only peaked at Number 39, either....
CHECK YOUR GOODWILLS!: In the past month-plus I've found an amazing amount of good CHEAP music and books at my four area Goodwill stores. The books would make too long a list, but the CD's I've bought (or at least seen) include half a dozen Beatles albums (ABBEY ROAD, WHITE ALBUM, SGT. PEPPER, REVOLVER, HELP!, PLEASE PLEASE ME, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR), Van Morrison's MOONDANCE, ASTRAL WEEKS and BEST OF, Moody Blues' DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED, Todd Rundgren's SOMETHING/ANYTHING?, Al Green best-of, lots of later Bob Dylan, a brand-new solid eight-CD set of early-'60s folk music for a ridiculously low price, lots of various-artists hit-singles collections, TONS of '60s and '70s jazz (Miles, Coltrane, Mingus, etc.), some earlier jazz (Ellington, Louis Armstrong, etc.), Can's CANNIBALISM 1 best-of (how the HELL did that get here?), Prince's PURPLE RAIN and ULTIMATE best-of, RAMONESMANIA best-of, Sex Pistols' NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, Clash's LONDON CALLING, Dave Edmunds' best-of, Rolling Stones' FORTY LICKS best-of and EXILE ON MAIN STREET, Santana best-of, lots of later Pat Metheny, and a whole lot more.
Course the vinyl bins are worthless -- that's all Jim Nabors and Ray Conniff, with only a VERY rare surprise....
I try to give my area stores at least a week to re-stock, and then I go hit 'em again. It seems to be all about the timing. Lately it's sure been paying off. If you're on a tight budget, you might want to check your local Goodwills out. They're practically GIVING this stuff away. But you probably already know this....
TELL ALL: Spent most of this past week re-reading former major-league pitcher Jim Bouton's excellent BALL FOUR (1970), which I seem to re-read about once every 20 years and get more out of each time. It's a hilarious, quick, easy read. And I'm not that big a baseball fan....
The first of the "tell-all" sports books, BALL FOUR was revolutionary because it treated professional baseball players not as the stainless All-American heroes they'd been held up as in the '60s and before, but as real men: They chased women, drank, partied, used performance-enhancing drugs, worried about their careers, didn't get paid enough (back in the stone age), had marriage and family problems, didn't always get along with each other, played hideous practical jokes on each other, and basically behaved with all the maturity you see at your average local high school. What a bunch of characters....
The baseball establishment was shocked, and more sports-tell-all books followed. Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn asked Bouton to sign a statement saying that he made the whole thing up. Bouton refused, and instead wrote a sequel, I'M GLAD YOU DIDN'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY. I'd like to find another copy of that, now. It's been years since I read it....
I played "Purple Rain" a couple times at work last Friday night. The first time through I got all sad and nostalgic, but the second time was pure exaltation. It always was a gorgeous song. And that guitar riff at the end keeps going round and round in my head....
I always loved "1999," too. "Kiss" and "When Doves Cry" have grown on me over the years. "Sometimes it Snows in April" is a nice low-key piece off of PARADE. "Anotherloverholeinyohead" is interesting, too, also from PARADE, sort of an echo of "When Doves Cry." Some of Prince's more sexually-oriented stuff was just too in-your-face for me, and I don't think I even HEARD him after about 1989....
I heard "I Wanna be Your Lover" for the first time EVER on the radio last Saturday night (it came out in like 1978), and it sounded good, cute, solid. The guy was obviously meant for bigger things. He had a great few years there, from '81 through about '86 or so.
This has sure been a bad year for musicians. Keith Emerson and Paul Kantner were the ones that hit me hardest, but this one was also a shock. No more for awhile, OK? (Sorry, no breaks -- blues guitarist Lonnie Mack died this past week, too. KPLU's "All Blues" ran one of Mack's songs, "Stop," which is pretty freakin' great....)
GOOD NEWS FOR SEATTLE-AREA ROCK FANS: "Little Steven's Underground Garage" is back, starting at 11 p.m. Pacific Time Sundays on KZOK-FM 102.5 (I assume they also stream over the Internet). In the three weeks they've been back around, Steven and friends have done a two-part salute to The British Invasion that included great stuff by second-tier bands like The Searchers, The Pretty Things and Creation, and a salute to The Ramones -- in the middle of which up popped The Ronettes' great "The Best Part of Breakin' Up." Steven didn't understand why that song only peaked at Number 39, either....
CHECK YOUR GOODWILLS!: In the past month-plus I've found an amazing amount of good CHEAP music and books at my four area Goodwill stores. The books would make too long a list, but the CD's I've bought (or at least seen) include half a dozen Beatles albums (ABBEY ROAD, WHITE ALBUM, SGT. PEPPER, REVOLVER, HELP!, PLEASE PLEASE ME, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR), Van Morrison's MOONDANCE, ASTRAL WEEKS and BEST OF, Moody Blues' DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED, Todd Rundgren's SOMETHING/ANYTHING?, Al Green best-of, lots of later Bob Dylan, a brand-new solid eight-CD set of early-'60s folk music for a ridiculously low price, lots of various-artists hit-singles collections, TONS of '60s and '70s jazz (Miles, Coltrane, Mingus, etc.), some earlier jazz (Ellington, Louis Armstrong, etc.), Can's CANNIBALISM 1 best-of (how the HELL did that get here?), Prince's PURPLE RAIN and ULTIMATE best-of, RAMONESMANIA best-of, Sex Pistols' NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, Clash's LONDON CALLING, Dave Edmunds' best-of, Rolling Stones' FORTY LICKS best-of and EXILE ON MAIN STREET, Santana best-of, lots of later Pat Metheny, and a whole lot more.
Course the vinyl bins are worthless -- that's all Jim Nabors and Ray Conniff, with only a VERY rare surprise....
I try to give my area stores at least a week to re-stock, and then I go hit 'em again. It seems to be all about the timing. Lately it's sure been paying off. If you're on a tight budget, you might want to check your local Goodwills out. They're practically GIVING this stuff away. But you probably already know this....
TELL ALL: Spent most of this past week re-reading former major-league pitcher Jim Bouton's excellent BALL FOUR (1970), which I seem to re-read about once every 20 years and get more out of each time. It's a hilarious, quick, easy read. And I'm not that big a baseball fan....
The first of the "tell-all" sports books, BALL FOUR was revolutionary because it treated professional baseball players not as the stainless All-American heroes they'd been held up as in the '60s and before, but as real men: They chased women, drank, partied, used performance-enhancing drugs, worried about their careers, didn't get paid enough (back in the stone age), had marriage and family problems, didn't always get along with each other, played hideous practical jokes on each other, and basically behaved with all the maturity you see at your average local high school. What a bunch of characters....
The baseball establishment was shocked, and more sports-tell-all books followed. Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn asked Bouton to sign a statement saying that he made the whole thing up. Bouton refused, and instead wrote a sequel, I'M GLAD YOU DIDN'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY. I'd like to find another copy of that, now. It's been years since I read it....
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
#734: Lemmy at 'em!
Hey, you know Lemmy, from Motorhead? He wrote a BOOK! It's called WHITE LINE FEVER! It's really great! It's really funny! It's really easy to read! It's got pictures and everything! You should get it! You'll like it, even if you're not a Motorhead fan! And if you aren't, why aren't you?!
The book follows Lemmy through 30+ years on the road with his band Motorhead, and with his earlier bands like the notorious heavy-space-rockers Hawkwind, and with unknowns like Opal Butterfly and The Rockin' Vicars! I gotta tell ya -- I started with the chapter about Hawkwind, 'cos they've always been one of my faves! And then I read the rest of the book, which is all about hittin' the road with Motorhead! It's all right! Lemmy doesn't exactly tell you how it FEELS to be in a heavy-metal band, but he definitely tells you about all the things they did, and the craziness and chaos comes across LOUD and CLEAR. Lemmy also talks about some of the drugs he did -- he proudly admits he's a speed freak -- and a few of the many women he made it with. Not that I was keeping track or anything! Neither was Lemmy!
I also gotta tell ya that I didn't read the first chapter or two, about what little Ian Kilmister was like as a boy. To be honest, if Lemmy WASN'T born 6 feet tall, wearing black leather, with a bass in his hand and a Bad Attitude, I don't really wanna know!
I think you'll have a good time with this book! At least you'll laugh, almost as much as when you listen to Motorhead's albums! Whatta band! "Killed by Death"! Great song! Funny! "Born to Raise Hell!" Great song! Funny! "Ace of Spades"! Great song! Not too funny, though.
Not sure what this chick Janiss Garza -- the co-writer who got her name on the front cover with Lemmy -- DID other than switch-on the tape recorder, type-up Lemmy's comments, and make sure the book was sorta in English before she sent it to the publisher ... but she did a great job!
You should get the book! And you should buy some Motorhead albums, too! I've tried, but there are never any at the Goodwill store! What the fuck is up with THAT?!
...Oh, I also finally finished Hunter S. Thompson's THE PROUD HIGHWAY, a HUGE collection of his letters up through 1967, after he finished writing his breakthrough book, HELL'S ANGELS. And HIGHWAY shows clearly that ANGELS didn't make HST rich!
Best thing in the book is a series of letters to and from old-time writer Nelson Algren -- Thompson wants to quote some of Algren's stuff in ANGELS, Algren gets snippy, and HST fires back in full wrath -- it's freaking hilarious. The whole book's worth it if you're a big HST fan, but it's a LONG read....
Have been continuing with THE VERY BEST OF DEEP PURPLE. I'm sort of surprised how much I like them. "Child in Time" teeters on the edge of unlistenability and comedy, and then they pull it back with that great middle-break guitar freakout that I've loved ever since I heard a piece of it in the movie TWISTER and didn't know what the heck it was, though I knew who the band was. I mistakenly thought it was "Space Truckin'" -- which is great silly fun, too!
These guys were pretty freakin' great. Too bad it took me 40 years to "discover" them....
Have also been listening to The Pretenders' GREATEST HITS. Not everything I want to hear by them is on it, but it's great to hear "Message of Love" and "Back on the Chain Gang" and "Kid" and "Stop Your Sobbing" while I'm working. I've underrated "Don't Get Me Wrong" for years. I always thought it was good, but I LOVE the way Chrissie Hynde sings "Who can explain the thunder and rain/But there's something in the airrrrrrrr...."
I'm 80 pages into Ken Dryden's THE GAME, written the last year he was an NHL goalie, 1979. I was never a Dryden fan when he played for the Montreal Canadiens -- he and they were WAY too good, and they beat up my beloved early-'70s Boston Bruins too often. But everybody knew Dryden was a sharp guy. And his book -- which offers a lot of great funny stories and behind-the-scenes looks at the guys he played alongside -- is beautifully written.... However: the ending of the book is an anti-climax. Dryden never even SAYS that Montreal won their fourth straight Stanley Cup at the end of the season. Maybe it really WAS time for him to retire....
Things have changed a little around here. I currently don't have any easy Internet access -- but I'll be posting here as often as I can manage. And I've now got three different writing projects I'm making some progress on, so I'll keep you posted....
Have you bought any of my books yet? And why haven't you?
More soonly....
The book follows Lemmy through 30+ years on the road with his band Motorhead, and with his earlier bands like the notorious heavy-space-rockers Hawkwind, and with unknowns like Opal Butterfly and The Rockin' Vicars! I gotta tell ya -- I started with the chapter about Hawkwind, 'cos they've always been one of my faves! And then I read the rest of the book, which is all about hittin' the road with Motorhead! It's all right! Lemmy doesn't exactly tell you how it FEELS to be in a heavy-metal band, but he definitely tells you about all the things they did, and the craziness and chaos comes across LOUD and CLEAR. Lemmy also talks about some of the drugs he did -- he proudly admits he's a speed freak -- and a few of the many women he made it with. Not that I was keeping track or anything! Neither was Lemmy!
I also gotta tell ya that I didn't read the first chapter or two, about what little Ian Kilmister was like as a boy. To be honest, if Lemmy WASN'T born 6 feet tall, wearing black leather, with a bass in his hand and a Bad Attitude, I don't really wanna know!
I think you'll have a good time with this book! At least you'll laugh, almost as much as when you listen to Motorhead's albums! Whatta band! "Killed by Death"! Great song! Funny! "Born to Raise Hell!" Great song! Funny! "Ace of Spades"! Great song! Not too funny, though.
Not sure what this chick Janiss Garza -- the co-writer who got her name on the front cover with Lemmy -- DID other than switch-on the tape recorder, type-up Lemmy's comments, and make sure the book was sorta in English before she sent it to the publisher ... but she did a great job!
You should get the book! And you should buy some Motorhead albums, too! I've tried, but there are never any at the Goodwill store! What the fuck is up with THAT?!
...Oh, I also finally finished Hunter S. Thompson's THE PROUD HIGHWAY, a HUGE collection of his letters up through 1967, after he finished writing his breakthrough book, HELL'S ANGELS. And HIGHWAY shows clearly that ANGELS didn't make HST rich!
Best thing in the book is a series of letters to and from old-time writer Nelson Algren -- Thompson wants to quote some of Algren's stuff in ANGELS, Algren gets snippy, and HST fires back in full wrath -- it's freaking hilarious. The whole book's worth it if you're a big HST fan, but it's a LONG read....
Have been continuing with THE VERY BEST OF DEEP PURPLE. I'm sort of surprised how much I like them. "Child in Time" teeters on the edge of unlistenability and comedy, and then they pull it back with that great middle-break guitar freakout that I've loved ever since I heard a piece of it in the movie TWISTER and didn't know what the heck it was, though I knew who the band was. I mistakenly thought it was "Space Truckin'" -- which is great silly fun, too!
These guys were pretty freakin' great. Too bad it took me 40 years to "discover" them....
Have also been listening to The Pretenders' GREATEST HITS. Not everything I want to hear by them is on it, but it's great to hear "Message of Love" and "Back on the Chain Gang" and "Kid" and "Stop Your Sobbing" while I'm working. I've underrated "Don't Get Me Wrong" for years. I always thought it was good, but I LOVE the way Chrissie Hynde sings "Who can explain the thunder and rain/But there's something in the airrrrrrrr...."
I'm 80 pages into Ken Dryden's THE GAME, written the last year he was an NHL goalie, 1979. I was never a Dryden fan when he played for the Montreal Canadiens -- he and they were WAY too good, and they beat up my beloved early-'70s Boston Bruins too often. But everybody knew Dryden was a sharp guy. And his book -- which offers a lot of great funny stories and behind-the-scenes looks at the guys he played alongside -- is beautifully written.... However: the ending of the book is an anti-climax. Dryden never even SAYS that Montreal won their fourth straight Stanley Cup at the end of the season. Maybe it really WAS time for him to retire....
Things have changed a little around here. I currently don't have any easy Internet access -- but I'll be posting here as often as I can manage. And I've now got three different writing projects I'm making some progress on, so I'll keep you posted....
Have you bought any of my books yet? And why haven't you?
More soonly....
Saturday, February 4, 2012
#525: The Stupor Bowl!
Hey, hear there's some big football game coming up this weekend, Giants/Patriots, a lotta people R Xcited....
Yeah? So what? Who cares?
The Giants won the Super Bowl last year, the Pats have won a buncha times. So what? It's the same old guys in there. Big deal.
Won't miss NOT seeing it. Glad I'm workin.
I hear that big-screen TV sales go thru the roof in the weeks leading up 2 the Super Bowl every year.
I also hear that more & more people suffer heart attacks every year during the game -- especially if it's really close. They just can't take the stress.
+ it's a fact that there R more Domestic Violence incidents reported on Super Bowl Sunday than on NE other day of the year.
So, since we're having all this "fun" already, I've thot of a way the National Football League can hype their annual championship game even more. If the NFL's smart -- & they usually R when it comes 2 $$$ -- they'll adopt this idea....
Why not have the 2 WORST teams in the league during the regular season face-off in a sorta pre-Game game, & have the prize B who gets 2 pick the 1st college draft-choice in the off-season?
Of course the "winner" of this game would havta B the LOSER, Bcos the worst team overall always makes the 1st pick.
THERE's a game even "my" Seattle Seahawks would B thrilled 2 play in -- would B thrilled 2 LOSE -- Bcos even by losing they'd win, if you see what I mean. + they'd B on national TV & all -- & losing, something they usually do, would B a worthwhile goal in this match.
They could call it The Stupor Bowl -- a chance 4 the 2 teams who faced the utmost futility during the regular season 2 fight it out 1 last time 4 "bragging rights"....
MayB the Seahawks weren't actually bad enuf 2 B "invited" 2 The Stupor Bowl this year -- but it sure SEEMED like it. MayB they didn't go 1-15 for the season. Maybe they were only 4-12 or 6-10 -- doesn't matter. Who cares?
My point is, a pre-Game game like this would get some NEW TEAMS in the spotlight, some folks you don't C all the time -- 4 obvious reasons. Some teams that got overlooked in the pursuit of Xcellence.
Let's see -- I'm thinking Seahawks/Raiders, maybe? Or Seahawks/Bills? Who was REALLY BAD this past season? Detroit? Cincinnati? (I didn't really pay much attention....)
Look, I useta B a BIG football fan. For YEARS. Back when I was married & spent mosta my Sundays doing laundry, that TV was tuned 2 football from 10 am 2 10 pm, & I yelled & cheered & screamed when my favorite teams did well. There was nothing on TV as pretty as seeing Joe Montana complete an 80-yard pass over Jerry Rice's right shoulder just as the clock ticked down 2 the end of regulation time.
But a couple days B4 the Super Bowl of 2000, it was like I OD'd on football. I called the cable company & told 'em 2 pull the plug & come get the equipment cos I was done.
& Xcept 4 the Seahawks' wasted trip 2 the SB a few years back, I haven't watched a single game all-the-way-thru since.
& I haven't missed it.
In fact, most sports events seem more & more pointless the older I get.
Basketball season was almost cancelled this year? So what?
Baseball? They're all WAY overpaid.
Jeez, I don't even watch HOCKEY anymore, & I thot I'd NEVER break THAT addiction.
But I think The Stupor Bowl has possibilities. I'd switch-on the TV 2 C the 2 worst teams of the year face-off 4 1 last all-or-nothing match-up. & if I would, I'm sure there's 1,000s of others who'd watch, who mayB don't give a crap about the Real game....
R U listening, NFL? Give me a call or drop me an e-mail & we'll do lunch....
Yeah? So what? Who cares?
The Giants won the Super Bowl last year, the Pats have won a buncha times. So what? It's the same old guys in there. Big deal.
Won't miss NOT seeing it. Glad I'm workin.
I hear that big-screen TV sales go thru the roof in the weeks leading up 2 the Super Bowl every year.
I also hear that more & more people suffer heart attacks every year during the game -- especially if it's really close. They just can't take the stress.
+ it's a fact that there R more Domestic Violence incidents reported on Super Bowl Sunday than on NE other day of the year.
So, since we're having all this "fun" already, I've thot of a way the National Football League can hype their annual championship game even more. If the NFL's smart -- & they usually R when it comes 2 $$$ -- they'll adopt this idea....
Why not have the 2 WORST teams in the league during the regular season face-off in a sorta pre-Game game, & have the prize B who gets 2 pick the 1st college draft-choice in the off-season?
Of course the "winner" of this game would havta B the LOSER, Bcos the worst team overall always makes the 1st pick.
THERE's a game even "my" Seattle Seahawks would B thrilled 2 play in -- would B thrilled 2 LOSE -- Bcos even by losing they'd win, if you see what I mean. + they'd B on national TV & all -- & losing, something they usually do, would B a worthwhile goal in this match.
They could call it The Stupor Bowl -- a chance 4 the 2 teams who faced the utmost futility during the regular season 2 fight it out 1 last time 4 "bragging rights"....
MayB the Seahawks weren't actually bad enuf 2 B "invited" 2 The Stupor Bowl this year -- but it sure SEEMED like it. MayB they didn't go 1-15 for the season. Maybe they were only 4-12 or 6-10 -- doesn't matter. Who cares?
My point is, a pre-Game game like this would get some NEW TEAMS in the spotlight, some folks you don't C all the time -- 4 obvious reasons. Some teams that got overlooked in the pursuit of Xcellence.
Let's see -- I'm thinking Seahawks/Raiders, maybe? Or Seahawks/Bills? Who was REALLY BAD this past season? Detroit? Cincinnati? (I didn't really pay much attention....)
Look, I useta B a BIG football fan. For YEARS. Back when I was married & spent mosta my Sundays doing laundry, that TV was tuned 2 football from 10 am 2 10 pm, & I yelled & cheered & screamed when my favorite teams did well. There was nothing on TV as pretty as seeing Joe Montana complete an 80-yard pass over Jerry Rice's right shoulder just as the clock ticked down 2 the end of regulation time.
But a couple days B4 the Super Bowl of 2000, it was like I OD'd on football. I called the cable company & told 'em 2 pull the plug & come get the equipment cos I was done.
& Xcept 4 the Seahawks' wasted trip 2 the SB a few years back, I haven't watched a single game all-the-way-thru since.
& I haven't missed it.
In fact, most sports events seem more & more pointless the older I get.
Basketball season was almost cancelled this year? So what?
Baseball? They're all WAY overpaid.
Jeez, I don't even watch HOCKEY anymore, & I thot I'd NEVER break THAT addiction.
But I think The Stupor Bowl has possibilities. I'd switch-on the TV 2 C the 2 worst teams of the year face-off 4 1 last all-or-nothing match-up. & if I would, I'm sure there's 1,000s of others who'd watch, who mayB don't give a crap about the Real game....
R U listening, NFL? Give me a call or drop me an e-mail & we'll do lunch....
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Justa coupla things....
THE REAL COST OF HEALTH CARE is stunning, w/ health-care re4m or not. & I'm 1a those 30 million people who doesn't have/can't afford health insurance.
I went 2 C a doctor this past wk, 4 the 1st time since I got outta the Air Force in 1992. I wanted 2 get a physical/check-up, I'm 50, I've got some minor little concerns, & the last time I got looked-at I was 32 & knew everything was working pretty well.
These days I'm wondering why I'm ALWAYS tired, why I can't sleep ENUF, if the massive amounts of coffee I drink (& the TRULY massive amounts of sugar I take w/ it) might B coming back 2 get me. I'm wondering why it takes me 4EVER 2 wake up & so long 2 wind-down 2 sleep at nite, why it Cms like I NEVER wake-up on cloudy days -- or all winter. I'm wondering why my legs so often feel numb or achey or cramped (EZ, I'm on my feet 8+ hrs/day). Is this just what Growing Older feels like? I mean, I dunno. So....
Cost me $100 up-front 2 C the doc, which I was actually OK w/. Other places wanted 2wice as much. He Cmd a Good Guy, sharp, knew his stuff. & we talked 4 about 45 mins, which I thot was pretty amazing. I think we talked over almost everything that was on my mind, + the nurse who checked me in told me I had the blood-pressure #'s of a 35-yr-old, so overall I felt a lot better, comforted.
The doc knew I had no medical insurance at all, so he immediately dropped the idea of lining me up 4 a colonoscopy, which he said he'd normally recommend 4 some1 my age. (Ugh. & do they use a wide-angle lens w/ that camera? Never mind, I'm sure I don't wanna know.)
NEwho, he printed-out a list of about a dozen routine tests he wanted 2 run on me, 2 C if I might B pre-diabetic or possibly anemic. Some day when I could face the traffic on nothing but black coffee, he invited me 2 come back & the lab'd take some blood & a urine sample & he'd get back 2 me a coupla days later & let me know if they found NEthing significant.
I'd bn advised when I learned how much it was 2 C the doc that if I called the medical conglomerate's billing office I could get 40% off NE future tests, so naturally I called them & asked if there was NE way 2 know up-front how much these tests might cost me.
Estimate: Just short of $900.
If I could pay them within 30 days they'd drop the cost by 40%, down to about $525.
& again, this was just 4 a buncha routine tests, just 2 C if I'm actually healthy & just kidding myself about NE weirdness, just 2 put my hypochondriacal self at-ease.
I started laffing uncontrollably, Bcos THERE'S NO WAY. If I was BLEEDING FROM MY EYES I wouldn't B able 2 afford this stuff.
MayB if I dropped my rent, food budget, junk-food budget, gas budget & used-music-&-book budget 4 the next 3 mo's & lived under a bridge I might B able 2 swing it. My income-tax return already went 2 other stuff (new cheap washer, new cheap lawnmower....). MayB the doc lined me up 4 this 2 C if I was SERIOUS?
The operator at the med office Cmd 2 get the msg from my howling laffter & offered 2 send me a financial-aid package. I've looked at it. It looks like yr basic loan application, basing yr possibilities on yr gross income B4 yr bills, & offering no odds on approval. I hava lotta overhead & past bills that there's not even room 2 mention on this 4m. I am not hopeful.
So 4 awhile I was thinkin mayB I'd just bite the bullet & plow on until something REALLY backs up or I'm really in pain. After all, I'm still functioning. More or less. MayB not like I did at 35, or even at 45. But I'm still here. & I've already cut back on the sugar by 1/2. But not the coffee....
Then my girlfriend reminded me that as a military separatee I could probly get looked-at thru the Veterans' Administration.
I don't know why I didn't think of that -- mayB cos I Got Out so long ago & I've tried so hard 2 put most of it Bhind me.
& Bcos I'm senile, of course....
I called the local VA Hospital about 35 miles down the rd from me. They said they Rn't sure if I qualify 4 their svcs & they won't know 4 sure til they look at my separation paperwork, but most likely I DO qualify 4 at-least SOME svcs, & based on my current income, NE work they do on me would likely B on a sliding scale.... Which means if I qualify, NE work I have done will at least partly B paid-4 by YOUR TAX DOLLARS.
Hahahaha. Now that's what I call REFORM.
Not sure if I'm gonna go ahead w/ this, tho whatever the VA can offer has GOTTA B cheaper than $900, or even $525. But if I've gotta go 2 Tacoma 2 fill-out paperwork, I'm gonna make a Day of it, hit the good used-bookstore, dump off some music I can't hear, make it worth the trip & the gas $$$.
I'll keep U posted. But my point was: Cheezus, health care is crazy Xpensive. Thank Ghod I don't have NEthing life-threatening. Just a few dozen minor complaints....
GUNNING FOR THE RECORD: I'm not mucha a sports fan NEmore, but I C the New Jersey Nets hava shot at turning-in the worst NBA season-record EVER, eclipsing the old futility record set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia '76ers (who went 8-72 or something that yr).
All the Nets have gotta do is lose 10 of their last 12 games. Should B EZ, right?
If I were sitting on the Nets' bench, I'd B gunning 4 the record. If U're gonna B really bad, B RECORD-BREAKING BAD. Don't waste the season. Nobody remembers who was 2nd-worst ever. If yr gonna B terrible, go 4 the record books. That's a record I could get Bhind & cheer 4. Seriously.
Remember a few yrs back when the Detroit Tigers were within reach of the 1962 New York Mets' record 4 worst MLB season ever (42-120)? If I'd bn in the Tigers' dugout I'da bn urging my teammates 2 throw the games. Again: If yr gonna B really bad, don't waste it. B the Worst Ever. At least get SOMETHING outta a terrible season -- yr name in the record books! Salvage something from the humiliation. Other than a paycheck.
But the Tigers couldn't bite the bullet. They Nded-up merely the 2nd-worst ever. Not much applause 4 that.
I C the "Nots" have already won 1 of their final dozen games & may Nd up dodging the record, & I think that's 2 bad. I think it shows a real lack of courage. A criminal lack of willingness 2 join basketball's Hall of Shame. They could B the Bob Ueckers, the New York Mets of basketball. (Didn't the San Diego Clippers hava run at that title awhile back?)
Who wouldn't B ... honored ... 2 wear a title like that?
...My outlook here may stem from the fact that I was always a klutz at sports while growing up, & back in my newspaper daze I always had more fun covering the losers than the winners -- & THEY Cmd 2 B having more fun, 2.
Summa my fave stories ever were the 1's about the intramural baseball team of Brits who lost every single 1 of their 18 games & hoped 2 at least have the rules of "American baseball" down by the next season; or the AF volleyball team who lost nearly every game, Nded up in the cellar, & had players go on-leave rather than face another loss....
But I got warped in this area WAY back. Someday I'll tell U the story of how in junior-high I helped my team lose a basketball relay by missing at least 37 consecutive shots at the 2nd hoop (after getting the 1st 1 on the 1st try), still standing there making shots in an MT gym as the relay Nded & everybody headed 2 the showers w/o me....
I think it was probly at that Xact moment that I Bcame a reporter, put here 2 watch other people do fun things & then write about them. U do NOT want 2 hear this story....
I went 2 C a doctor this past wk, 4 the 1st time since I got outta the Air Force in 1992. I wanted 2 get a physical/check-up, I'm 50, I've got some minor little concerns, & the last time I got looked-at I was 32 & knew everything was working pretty well.
These days I'm wondering why I'm ALWAYS tired, why I can't sleep ENUF, if the massive amounts of coffee I drink (& the TRULY massive amounts of sugar I take w/ it) might B coming back 2 get me. I'm wondering why it takes me 4EVER 2 wake up & so long 2 wind-down 2 sleep at nite, why it Cms like I NEVER wake-up on cloudy days -- or all winter. I'm wondering why my legs so often feel numb or achey or cramped (EZ, I'm on my feet 8+ hrs/day). Is this just what Growing Older feels like? I mean, I dunno. So....
Cost me $100 up-front 2 C the doc, which I was actually OK w/. Other places wanted 2wice as much. He Cmd a Good Guy, sharp, knew his stuff. & we talked 4 about 45 mins, which I thot was pretty amazing. I think we talked over almost everything that was on my mind, + the nurse who checked me in told me I had the blood-pressure #'s of a 35-yr-old, so overall I felt a lot better, comforted.
The doc knew I had no medical insurance at all, so he immediately dropped the idea of lining me up 4 a colonoscopy, which he said he'd normally recommend 4 some1 my age. (Ugh. & do they use a wide-angle lens w/ that camera? Never mind, I'm sure I don't wanna know.)
NEwho, he printed-out a list of about a dozen routine tests he wanted 2 run on me, 2 C if I might B pre-diabetic or possibly anemic. Some day when I could face the traffic on nothing but black coffee, he invited me 2 come back & the lab'd take some blood & a urine sample & he'd get back 2 me a coupla days later & let me know if they found NEthing significant.
I'd bn advised when I learned how much it was 2 C the doc that if I called the medical conglomerate's billing office I could get 40% off NE future tests, so naturally I called them & asked if there was NE way 2 know up-front how much these tests might cost me.
Estimate: Just short of $900.
If I could pay them within 30 days they'd drop the cost by 40%, down to about $525.
& again, this was just 4 a buncha routine tests, just 2 C if I'm actually healthy & just kidding myself about NE weirdness, just 2 put my hypochondriacal self at-ease.
I started laffing uncontrollably, Bcos THERE'S NO WAY. If I was BLEEDING FROM MY EYES I wouldn't B able 2 afford this stuff.
MayB if I dropped my rent, food budget, junk-food budget, gas budget & used-music-&-book budget 4 the next 3 mo's & lived under a bridge I might B able 2 swing it. My income-tax return already went 2 other stuff (new cheap washer, new cheap lawnmower....). MayB the doc lined me up 4 this 2 C if I was SERIOUS?
The operator at the med office Cmd 2 get the msg from my howling laffter & offered 2 send me a financial-aid package. I've looked at it. It looks like yr basic loan application, basing yr possibilities on yr gross income B4 yr bills, & offering no odds on approval. I hava lotta overhead & past bills that there's not even room 2 mention on this 4m. I am not hopeful.
So 4 awhile I was thinkin mayB I'd just bite the bullet & plow on until something REALLY backs up or I'm really in pain. After all, I'm still functioning. More or less. MayB not like I did at 35, or even at 45. But I'm still here. & I've already cut back on the sugar by 1/2. But not the coffee....
Then my girlfriend reminded me that as a military separatee I could probly get looked-at thru the Veterans' Administration.
I don't know why I didn't think of that -- mayB cos I Got Out so long ago & I've tried so hard 2 put most of it Bhind me.
& Bcos I'm senile, of course....
I called the local VA Hospital about 35 miles down the rd from me. They said they Rn't sure if I qualify 4 their svcs & they won't know 4 sure til they look at my separation paperwork, but most likely I DO qualify 4 at-least SOME svcs, & based on my current income, NE work they do on me would likely B on a sliding scale.... Which means if I qualify, NE work I have done will at least partly B paid-4 by YOUR TAX DOLLARS.
Hahahaha. Now that's what I call REFORM.
Not sure if I'm gonna go ahead w/ this, tho whatever the VA can offer has GOTTA B cheaper than $900, or even $525. But if I've gotta go 2 Tacoma 2 fill-out paperwork, I'm gonna make a Day of it, hit the good used-bookstore, dump off some music I can't hear, make it worth the trip & the gas $$$.
I'll keep U posted. But my point was: Cheezus, health care is crazy Xpensive. Thank Ghod I don't have NEthing life-threatening. Just a few dozen minor complaints....
GUNNING FOR THE RECORD: I'm not mucha a sports fan NEmore, but I C the New Jersey Nets hava shot at turning-in the worst NBA season-record EVER, eclipsing the old futility record set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia '76ers (who went 8-72 or something that yr).
All the Nets have gotta do is lose 10 of their last 12 games. Should B EZ, right?
If I were sitting on the Nets' bench, I'd B gunning 4 the record. If U're gonna B really bad, B RECORD-BREAKING BAD. Don't waste the season. Nobody remembers who was 2nd-worst ever. If yr gonna B terrible, go 4 the record books. That's a record I could get Bhind & cheer 4. Seriously.
Remember a few yrs back when the Detroit Tigers were within reach of the 1962 New York Mets' record 4 worst MLB season ever (42-120)? If I'd bn in the Tigers' dugout I'da bn urging my teammates 2 throw the games. Again: If yr gonna B really bad, don't waste it. B the Worst Ever. At least get SOMETHING outta a terrible season -- yr name in the record books! Salvage something from the humiliation. Other than a paycheck.
But the Tigers couldn't bite the bullet. They Nded-up merely the 2nd-worst ever. Not much applause 4 that.
I C the "Nots" have already won 1 of their final dozen games & may Nd up dodging the record, & I think that's 2 bad. I think it shows a real lack of courage. A criminal lack of willingness 2 join basketball's Hall of Shame. They could B the Bob Ueckers, the New York Mets of basketball. (Didn't the San Diego Clippers hava run at that title awhile back?)
Who wouldn't B ... honored ... 2 wear a title like that?
...My outlook here may stem from the fact that I was always a klutz at sports while growing up, & back in my newspaper daze I always had more fun covering the losers than the winners -- & THEY Cmd 2 B having more fun, 2.
Summa my fave stories ever were the 1's about the intramural baseball team of Brits who lost every single 1 of their 18 games & hoped 2 at least have the rules of "American baseball" down by the next season; or the AF volleyball team who lost nearly every game, Nded up in the cellar, & had players go on-leave rather than face another loss....
But I got warped in this area WAY back. Someday I'll tell U the story of how in junior-high I helped my team lose a basketball relay by missing at least 37 consecutive shots at the 2nd hoop (after getting the 1st 1 on the 1st try), still standing there making shots in an MT gym as the relay Nded & everybody headed 2 the showers w/o me....
I think it was probly at that Xact moment that I Bcame a reporter, put here 2 watch other people do fun things & then write about them. U do NOT want 2 hear this story....
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