Rejoice! For the first time all year I went 3-0 for the weekend. It was a combination of smart starts, luck and bad games by opponents. At this point, the playoffs are in sight for two teams. More importantly, the nine game losing streak is over. On top of that, the Patriots got demolished by the Saints. Stop for a second and savor the highlights below.
Not pictured, the severe hit on Kevin Faulk from Darren Sharper. It was awesome to see the Saints’ offense firing on all cylinders and they proved they are the most explosive team in the league. More so, the game exposed a weak ass Patriots defense that looked utterly confused. Sure the Pats will still probably win the AFC East but that’s really just delaying the inevitable. Every team in the league saw last night’s game and this morning every coach got the game tape. The best part was how the genius coach pulled his golden boy QB with still five minutes left in the game. It’s one thing to accept defeat but at least go down fighting with some pride.
It was a great weekend overall for football, Thanksgiving and food. Not so much for Tiger Woods. It’s officially December and so begins the end of the year countdown. The month will mostly consist of “Best Of” lists for 2009 and the decade. Yea, ten years gone and we should reflect. To start quickly, the top five things about this past Thanksgiving:
5) New York City: All other cities are pussies compared the Big Apple.
4) Whatever it was Called I Drank On Thanksgiving: Ginger Beer, Absolut and Lime. Solid.
3) UCONN Fans Representing in the Garden: Husky faithful traveled well to NYC and it was not pleasant for Duke fans. Despite the loss, we still made Duke and their fans feel like the pompous assholes they truly are.
2) Good Company: Always give thanks for friends and family!
1) FOOD: Diesel, as always.
And now, I can officially embrace the Christmas spirit.
Friday I was in New York City at a hotel when ESPN broke into the basketball game I was watching with news that Tiger Woods was in “serious condition” after crashing his car near his home in Florida. Naturally, at the time I felt bad and hoped for the best. But as more information has come out about the incident, the less it seems we’ll ever really know what happened. Was Tiger unconscious in the street? Did his wife “save” him by smashing out a window with a golf club? Were his facial lacerations caused by the accident or a domestic altercation? Will he ever talk to the cops about the circumstances of the accident? Why did he lawyer up and only release a statement through his website? Did he really cheat on his gorgeous wife? Did he really tell a friend he needed to get a ‘Kobe Special’? Keep reading →
I finally saw Glassjaw last night. I’ve been a fan since Worship & Tribute but have never had the chance to see them live. The Long Island based band has become legend within the hardcore scene for their intense live shows despite rarely touring and only releasing two full length albums. Seeing Glassjaw perform live is a rare treat that few get to experience.
As the band set up their own gear and checked their levels, I got the sense that the overly hipster scene oriented audience had no clue what was about to be unleashed upon them and how privileged they were to witness a band that was going to absolutely destroy the headliner (Brand New).
A green Puerto Rican flag (one of the many Glassjaw logos) was raised behind them, guitarist Justin Beck said he was ready, Daryl walked out and they tore right into “John Fucking Lennon.” No lighting. No talking, just complete core. The band’s unorthodox stage set-up created an interesting vibe in the room. With the drums angled to the side, and monitors placed around the kit facing out, the rest of the band face inward, ignoring the audience. This arrangement made the show feel more like an intimate practice jam in a rehearsal space. The musicians were playing for themselves and didn’t care about crowd presence or reaction. They were there to play their songs and fuck it if the audience was watching. Pretty fitting for a band that usually keeps fans in the dark about the band in general. The whole set was no frills and stripped down, as it should be.
The House of Blues sound system is amazing and the rhythm section completely destroyed. For the specific type of melodic hardcore the band plays, I was skeptical they could pull off the intensity and proficiency as a quartet, but they were easily the tightest band I’ve seen in the last two years. There was a good mix of old and new in their set list, but because GJ is so erratic with their releases, the young crowd seemed unfamiliar with most of their material.
Below is a video of “Jesus Glue” from a few nights before in Philadelphia. It’s great quality and shows the stage set up I was talking about. Hopefully Glassjaw can carry the momentum of this tour towards a new album and future shows to show all these new pussy bands how it’s done.
It’s Wednesday. People are still talking about Bill Belichick’s call to go for it on 4th and 2 from his own 25. It does not help that I live in New England.
I already had an impacted ass full analysis on Monday morning. Enough already. The Patriots are still going to win the division, the game wasn’t a playoff loss and Belichick has enough cache to make this call. So what? Yea, he probably should have punted but he didn’t. Oh well. Move on. Next game.
Now to be honest, I went to sleep when the Patriots led 31-14. I missed the play and awesome comeback by the Colts, but it was great waking up the next morning to find out the Patriots lost, even better when I heard how. But really, this story is so fucked out. I don’t care if the D thinks it was a slap in the face or if the odds were in their favor or if Kevin Faulk was juggling the ball as he fell. Unfortunately, I get the sense that this will be the story of the year in the NFL. Teddy Bruschi is getting more mileage out of this story than his stroke.
Over the past couple years, media over saturation has become a big problem for me. I watch sports to try to be entertained and relax, not to be berated with opinions of talking heads and ex-players with their own agendas. The Patriots lost on an odd play call, play Monday morning quarterback and move on.
The big fantasy story from the weekend though was obviously Maurice Jones-Drew taking a knee at the one yard line when he had a clear path to the endzone. It was a great move for his team to win the game, but as many of you have probably already heard, it killed thousands of owners out there, MJD included. I happened to being playing against MJD in two leagues, and while his selflessness was appreciated at the time, the play did not change any outcomes. And really, this wasn’t the first time this has happened. Brian Westbrook did this a few years back. The difference was that this time MJD acknowledged that he screwed his owners. Oh, and I went 0-3 on the weekend, losing by one point in one money league (with points on the bench) and lost my eighth straight in the other money league prompting a ‘fuck it’ trade–sending Marques Colston and Marion Barber away for Beanie Wells and Jeremy Maclin. Fun.
After a decade of ups and downs, Rustic Overtones have released The New Way Out, a sprawling and ambitious album two years in the making. Maine’s favorite sons have managed to combined rock, funk, psychedelic, jazz and pop to create thirteen tracks incomparable to anything else in their catalog or existing in the current musical landscape. Keep reading →
I love throwback uniforms. Just watch the video above of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and tell me their uniforms didn’t play a part in their upset win of the Packers. Some people whine and complain that throwback uniforms are ugly and just an excuse to sell more merchandise, but they also evoke nostalgia and team pride. There are some teams that should have never changed their uniforms (Patriots, Elway-era Broncos, Seahawks, Buccaneers) and then their are teams that have probably benefited from the face lift (Cardinals, Eagles, Falcons). The NFL may be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the AFL with “legacy games” (sweet Oilers jerseys!), bringing more attention to specific teams’ uniforms, but I don’t think throwbacks are going anywhere. There’s always more cash to be made and dumb die-hard fans willing to shell out the dough. Keep reading →
After one listen to “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To,” it’s clear that Rivers Cuomo knows how to write a huge pop-rock hit. But that’s never been Weezer’s problem–the band’s past is filled with strong lead singles like “Hash Pipe” and “Pork and Beans.” The problem for most Weezer fans is that, in their minds, nothing has lived up to Pinkerton, the initial flop, turned must have album for any emo kid and cred-searching hipster. Rivers has always written poppy songs with quirky lyrics. Pinkerton was a little more dark and personal, but not a severe departure from their overall sound when looking at their catalog. I think all of these obsessive fans and rock journalists have it wrong. Pinkerton is the anomoly, not the measuring stick for the career. Keep reading →
