The Music CITY!!!

Living in the internet age these days, there aren’t really that many great mysteries out there anymore.  I mean, of course there ARE great mysteries and perhaps, now that I think about it, there are probably a great many more mysteries now than ever before BECAUSE of the internet age (notice I’ve just changed my mind after writing that first sentence.)  BUT, let’s just say that in the spirit of that first sentence, sometimes there are factoids and queries that persist in the back of our minds somewhere for years that we just let sit there unknown… (probably because they aren’t important enough to look up. ) But they’re still there… every now and again dropping in to remind us of our trivial ignorance… and then slipping away as quickly as they came.  Too Dramatic?  Perhaps.  But, long story short – too late – I, myself, happen to have a number of these said suppressed queries nestled here and there in my subconscious, and two have come up lately.  The first was in the Music City. 

We got to Nashville, last week to play the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (Or the TPAC if ya hip ;) and it was clear right away that this is a pretty cool town to visit.  Throughout the downtown area they have speakers mounted on their traffic light-poles playing songs from their hometown heroes and there is live music Everywhere.  Every bar or restaurant on Broadway has a stage (or an apple-box) sporting at least 5 guys (or gals) all crammed up there Jammin out (even if there’s nobody in the establishment… doin’ it for the love baby! :)  And I’m talking like all the time… even noon on a Wednesday.  You can tell that music is just different in this town.  And country is KING.  SuuuuWEEE!  We dun heard us some sweet and low-down, honky-tonkin, blue-grass-pluckin, Down-home-pickin’, hilly-billy-fiddlin, Yee-HAW Yappin, and red-neck-croonin “music” at Legends Corner, Tootsies, The Stage, Bailey’s, and Roberts Western World.  

We dined on some smokeTacular BBQ too (what up Jacks!?), and even hit up the Musicians Hall of Fame (Circa 2006) which basically honors all of the session players, who you’ve never heard of, but have pretty much played on every song you’ve ever loved (what up Funk Brothers!?) 

But, in the spirit of that first sentence again (remember?  That one that I immediately second-guessed?), most significantly, this town was able to finally shine the light on one of those not-so-important-but-equally-annoying-mysteries that has been lurking in the back of my silly little brain since high school.  

This is my admission: Every year when the Gators play at Vanderbilt and I catch it on TV or something, I momentarily wonder… where in the devil is VANDERBILT???...  But then, almost as quickly as it popped in, the question magically dissipates and I’d get distracted by something else… (Squirrel!!!)  And the mystery remains.  So, anyway… long story – short…  (All together now :)  DUN Dun DUUUUUUUNNNNN!... Vanderbilt is in Nashville.      

All SEC people, even the ones who don’t know where the heck Vanderbilt is (not me anymore :) know about that bizarre stadium they play in.  It’s the only basketball arena I’ve EVER seen that has the players benches located on the Baseline, not the Sideline, and the court itself is even elevated above portions of the crowd.  Maybe that’s why I never had time to figure out where this University was… I was too busy wondering how two teams can play a basketball game with no coaches or bench players… and where on earth would they go if they wanted to Check In to the game???  Such a curious place.  Seeing it on TV is the basketball-watching equivalent of a ufo sighting, or like the Twilight Zone (remember in the movie from the 80’s?  That girl without a mouth… creeepy) there is something straaaaaNge about it.   Anyway, that place is the historic Memorial Gymnasium on the Vanderbilt campus.  Since 1952 it’s been the home of the Vandy Commadores and throughout the years when they've played there they have won 78% of the time.  

Unfortunately, because of a 101D matinee, I was unable to go to the game against Auburn on Saturday (probably couldn’t have gotten a ticket anyway) so I just took a jog around campus beforehand as the Commadore faithful were filing in.  Currently they are ranked at #21 and are undefeated so far in the SEC… until the GATORS come in there that is, to take them OUT!  (um… actually, I just realized, they already lost here. Shhhhhh) 

Anyway, the Vandy Campus is quaint and memorable, and Nashville was a good time for everybody.  Hopefully I’ll make it back there sometime to hear more of that HangDanglin, RingRanglin, Hoot an HOLLerIn-juke stuff.  In the meantime, at least I can rest assured that one of life’s great mysteries has finally been alleviated in my mind.  The second one is coming next.

Nashville is the Capital of Tennessee.    

Capital of Michigan anyone?? 

UnderD's 

We OUT! :)

Rickwood Field on Martin Luther King Day...

The oldest Baseball Park in America is in Birmingham, Alabama, which is also our current stop on tour.  Rickwood Field, built in 1910, sits quietly in a residential area just southwest of downtown.  On a beautiful Martin Luther King Day in 2010 there is no fanfare, no raucous cheers from the grandstand; there is no movement at all.  It's as if the ghosts of this hardened relic, a testament to both the wonderful and terrible aspects of our country’s history, aren’t even here anymore.  The place is devoid of life.

The Birmingham Barons were the home team here, and over the years they served as  a minor league affiliate for the Cubs, Reds, Pirates, A’s (Kansas City and Oakland), Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, and finally the Chicago White Sox.  The Barons called Rickwood home from 1910 until 1987.  But by the time a thirty-year old Michael Jordan became the clubs most famous (and tallest ?) Right Fielder in 1994, they had long since vacated this old park for a more spacious suburban home in a town called Hoover.  If MJ had tried out fifty years earlier however, he would not have been allowed to join the Barons.  If he made a roster at all it would have been with the Birmingham Black Barons of the American Negro Leagues, who also played in this stadium from 1920 until 1960.  

It was here that the immortal Satchel Paige won countless games, and Ted Radcliffe, Willie Gleason, Sam Streeter, and other brilliant baseball players performed infinite feats of greatness forever left out of official Major League Baseball stat books.  Baseball’s history, like our country’s, will always be stained in this way.  Great Major League players who played here at Rickwood (in games played “on the Road” to increase revenues for their respective ballclubs) like Dizzy Dean, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio all played in a “whites-only” league.  And even after beginning integration in the late 40’s, one could argue that baseball wasn’t really represented by the truly great players for at least an era.  I wonder if they mention that when you first walk into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  Are there any asterisks next to any of those early baseball heroes and their gaudy numbers? 

Right around the time when Jackie Robinson was finally breaking the “color barrier” in the Majors, a hometown, 16 year old rookie named Willie Mays led the Black Barons to the American League Championship in 1948.  The Negro leagues played until 1960, but segregation lived on at the ballpark and around the community far past that, as the country’s evolution continued to lag significantly in the south. The right-field bleachers (colored-only seating) weren’t demolished until 1972, and area schools didn’t fully integrate until the 1963 school-year.  And just a few miles away at the 16th Street Baptist Church, perhaps the most horrible of all of the terrorist church bombings took place in September 1963 claiming 4 young lives.  Across the street from the church today is the Civil Rights Museum and Sculpture garden, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stands for all time with a bible in his left hand.  Other statues in the garden feature police attack dogs and high-powered water hoses and their victims, and other infamous images of the savagely troubled times.  On a beautiful Martin Luther King Day in 2010, we remember.  For many in Birmingham, Alabama, I doubt that it’s ever slipped from memory.       

Thanks to Dr. King and a great many others, Alabama and the nation started on it’s long and tedious road to some semblance of equality for all.  And Willie Mays, of course, went on to an incredible career in the Majors, finishing second to Babe Ruth in all-time home-runs (until Hammerin’ Hank Aaron passed them both.)  In addition to their obvious inductions into Cooperstown, Aaron and Mays are both enshrined in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame a few miles away... right across the street from our hotel!) Never a big fan of Alabama sports (Note this last years SEC championship game) I went somewhat begrudgingly to this place... and I have to admit I was impressed.  I didn't know that Aaron,  Joe Namath, and Ozzie Smith were from here.  The extensive exhibit and collection also includes Bo Jackson’s Heisman Trophy from 1985, Charles Barkley’s 1992 Dream Team Jersey, and of course, one of Bear Bryant’s Hats.  

Surprisingly, there is no inclusion or even mention of famous Alabama Crimson Tide Running back, Forrest Gump, from Greenbow.  I guess the fact that he didn’t play pro ball hurt his chances with the voters.

Today Rickwood field is used for promotional events and amateur leagues, and every year the Barons play a traditional “throw-back” game there where they and their opponent wear old school uniforms and pose for pictures.  Rickwood has also been popular with filmmakers looking for an authentic location for their period films; A League of Their Own, and Cobb (starring Tommy Lee Jones) most notably.  And no, I’m not sure if this is where Tom Hanks famously and incredulously whined, “There’s no crying in baseball!”… but wouldn’t that be great?  I do love that line.  (Or maybe he said "Stupid is as stupid does."  Something like that... wow, lots of Tom Hanks in this post.)  aaaanyway,

As we all know, baseball has gone on to field more and more problems as the years have rolled on.  The first Dominican player was finally allowed a slot on a Major League roster in the mid 1950’s; as once again, baseball proved a microcosm of our Nation’s prejudices and embarrassing ignorance.  But however difficult, it also represented our hopeful progress forward toward a better future.  If this past century has proven anything, it’s that we had a very long way to go.  Which leads us to today and the current baseball atrocity… The Steroid Era.  Rodriguez, Bonds, Palmeiro, Maguire, Clemmons… Ugh.  Anybody order more asterisks??

But don't be fooled into thinking that this game has been utterly tarnished from something pure or virtuous, because the game was never innocent.  Those bygone years of "the good old days" were wrought with much worse.

Happy Martin Luther King Day, 2010!

Here’s to the future!

Underdogs Out. 

GatorCountry!!!

Hey Hey Hey!  Welcome back to the UnderDogs y’all!

So on The Great UnderDog Road Trip of 2010, up the state of Florida from Miami, The Lady-Underdog Kisha, and I made stops in Ft Meyers (to chill with our rockin’ friends, Todd and Flopy and their brilliant kids, Lucas and Sebastian - pictured above... incase that was unclear :), St Petersburg (to visit with Kisha’s, Marine-Biology-Major and Way-cool, Cousin Ben at Eckard College) But our final stop on the way up to the panhandle-Gulf Coast was an UnderD MUST stop.  Back in the heart of swampland; Gainesville, Florida… Home of the Gators. 

Since I graduated from the, oh so esteemed :), University of Florida, back in… um… well at some point back there on the timeline…  I have only returned to the thick of GatorCountry twice, and the last time I had been there was 2003… which was a number of years ago.  And a number of years beFORE Gator sports teams became something of ULTIMATE favorites (um… which is technically the opposite of an underdogs … shhhhh :)  it's been GooooD to be a Gator.

So on our little tour of campus I showed the Lady-UnderD my old digs; Century Tower, Plaza of the Americas, the French Fries, the Reitz Union, and of course the Swamp... Ben Hill Griffin Stadium - Home of the ‘06 and ‘08 National Champion Football squads. And Naturally Right across the street from there lies the Stephen C. O'Connell Center (or the O’Dome if you’re hip :) where the UF Men’s Basketball team dominated the NCAA for Two National Championships of their own in ‘06 and ‘07! For the whole year in 2007 the Gators held both the National Titles in Football AND in Basketball. (Never in history has that happened before... And really, nobody's ever even been close!)  That’s how good it’s been to be a Gator fan this past decade.  We’ve been sooooo SPOILED!!  :)  It's Championship or BUST these days. 

As we passed the O’Dome entrance I noticed two peculiarly lonely ticket takers standing by the main door… and directly to their left an even lonelier ticket window. I asked the nice lady in the window what was going on. She said, “Girls Basketball game against Auburn.”  I said, “Oh cool, when?”  She said, “ It just started.” I said, “Oh cool, how much are tickets?” and She said, “Four dollars.”  FOUR dollars??   So then I said, “Oh cool, I’ll take two.”

The instantly obvious difference between a men’s and women’s basketball game at the O’Dome on the UF Campus is the significant difference in the amount of fans in attendance. I mean, I know that Men’s basketball is much more popular than their female counterparts, but c’mon people!  Let's say the men’s team enjoys about a 90-95 percent crowd turnout (certainly 100% during the Championship years) the women’s team on this night, against conference rival Auburn, had about 10 percent of the arena filled... And maybe it was less than that. There was NOBODY THERE!  I hope that most of the fan base hadn't returned to classes yet (the game was on January 7th) but Still!  It’s like friends-and-family night or something.... C'mon Gainesville! These girls are workin’ it out here! Come support!

I know there is an ongoing debate about whether or not female basketball is financially viable (because it is much less popular than guys bball) but that’s really an argument for or against the WNBA.  These are student athletes, who play technically- sound, team oriented ball.  No Posterizing Alley-Oops or Powerful Blocks into the tenth row, or showy chest-thumping, just solid basketball… Fun for me to watch, at least :)  Oh and Miss LadyUnderD got me a new camera for Christmas! A Nikon Coolpix P90 with 24x Zoom.  By far the best camera I’ve EVER had!  And since there was nobody there and we had such great seats, I decided to try my hand at sports photography… Man, it’s a tough thing!  Here are some of the ones that turned out.  Thank God for Digital right?    

The result of the game was a dramatic DOUBLE-overtime victory for the Lady Gators, over the Lady Tigers (or is that Tigresses and Gatoresses) 71-68.  The fans that were left at the end must have been extremely excited about the thrilling finish.   Well, except for those Auburn backers who sadly sulked away into the darkness (‘Sup Mike Masters :)  It takes a big man to admit that we, the UnderDogs, were not there to support the Gatoresses at the end of the game (because we had to get back on the road)…  I am NOT a big man!  Underdogs don't leave Early... that's for FairWeathers!!!  Shhhhhhh... 

Thanks for reading

Birmingham and Nashville are next!

Peace out Y’all!

Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat

Welcome back UnderDogs!  This post is coming to you from the glorious land of Birmingham, Alabama.  The people here are wonderful so far.  On the way up here from Florida however, I was (un)fortunate enough to get a speeding ticket from an Alabama State Trooper who ONE HUNDRED PERCENT lived up to (and possibly exceeded) the stereotypical caricature expected (both in stature and extremely diminished communicative ability.)  It’s an experience everyone should have, seriously.  You haven’t been to Alabama until you’ve received a speeding ticket from one of their… um, finest?  (Side note: if getting speeding tickets was a sport, and percentage was based on amount of times pulled over to amount of times getting a ticket, historically I'd be 4-4.  Batting 1.000 people!  Maybe I need to learn how to cry better :)

On a serious note though, there has been some recent outcry, from people in the UnderDog Universe, that in the last post I may have come down a little bit hard on one, Brian Scalabrine.  And while I stand by my assertion that he has certainly been of the 6 worst players in the league for the last 10 years (not debatable in my mind) I might have crossed over the line by dedicating three paragraphs to that fact.   After all, it’s not his fault that Danny Ainge was dumb enough to give him $22 Million over 5 years, and maybe he wasn’t informed in advance by the Celtics PR department that he was going to be singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town on camera, and maaaaybe he needed the lyric sheet because he resists silly-market-capitalistic-pop-culture-Christmas songs as a rule.  And I can get behind all of that.  So, Brian… here you go buddy… From all of us here at the Underdogs… we are sorry that we Dogged you.   There… everybody happy?  Good. Oh and Brian, congrats on the START last night against the Nets in Jersey (KG and Rasheed are injured.)  And those Eleven points.  Not bad.  (Even though you were only 4-12 from the field with ZERO offensive rebounds in 28 minutes… at 6-9???  No Offensive Rebounds???  And against a defacto-high school team at that (the Nets are 3-35)  Yea, REAL good job, Bri!  Lucky for you the NBA has guaranteed contracts right?  I mean, have you guys SEEN his statline for the season???  1.7 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.1 blocks per game???  22 Million Dollars, people.  UGH! …  oops, looks like I Dogged him again.  Sorry Bri :-)

(Oh and while I'm apologizing (again,) I'm sorry I misspelled your name for the entire last post.  I spelled it the way it is pronounced.  My Baaaad, Pigeon.  Fact Error!)

So anyway, before we left Miami, the Lady-Under-Dog (Lakisha) and I were able to swing down to American Airlines arena to see the 2006 NBA Champ Miami Heat take on a 25-13 Atlanta Hawks team (Good enough for 4^th best in the East) on Monday night.  What a game!  The Heat were able to neutralize Atlanta’s high octane offense early while building a big lead riding some super-hot shooting.  And then they cruised, very effectively, to the end (avoiding an oft-endured NBA-third-quarter-let-down.)  Everybody was on their game that night for Miami, who dominated in every way.  And holy SMOKES... Dwayne Wade is FAST!  Wow!  Seeing him in person for the first time was amazing.  He can pretty-much get to the rim whenever he wants to, NO one can guard him one-on-one after he turns on those afterburners.  He just makes everything look way too easy :)  It’s a little bit like the few times I was able to see Jordan in person… he looks like an upgraded model in contrast the other (more mortal) guys on the floor; like he’s about 6 notches above everybody else!  (I said a little bit, because DWade is probably not in Jordan’s class… but then, nobody is, really.)  Oh and by-the-way... Jordan's Bulls Number 23 is hanging in the rafters.  Pat Riley retired a jersey number from another TEAM!  Has that ever happened before??? :)

Miami was a really fun place to see a game too.  I'd definitely recommend it to anyone on the fence.  Good production value at the arena, kind of like a fan-friendly minor league team (probably a necessity to keep their dwindling fan-base coming back) with a DJ, Dancers, and fun jumbo-tron shots of crazy fans.  Also, there were a whole bunch of University of Iowa Alumni there, in town for the Orange Bowl the next day, and the DJ played their Fight Song during a time out!  Wow, that guy was ON it!  Heat win 92-75.

Next the Underdogs went North... to GATOR COUNTRY!

stay tuned :)       

Boston to Miami... and remembering the Celtics.

Hello UnderDogs!!!  Happy New Year from Miami!  2010 anyone??? :)

As I write this I’m watching the Miami Heat in a close one against the Charlotte Bobcats on tv… some would consider the Bobcats the underdog in this game, but the Heat really haven’t been that much better this year.  (Although the announcer just said that the Bobcats have only won ONCE in their last 15 road games.  Ouch :) Yea, the East is pretty weak, as usual.  But the cool thing about this game is that, as we are chillin’ in-between shows at the hotel, I can see American Airlines Arena, where they are playing, from my 28^th floor balcony!  It’s trippy.  It looks so small and quiet from here though, it's surreal… or maybe it's because nobody ever goes to the games in Miami!  ooooooooO!  Haha, yea, I went there!  (The three Miami Heat fans in existence were just offended.  Or they probably just nodded in agreement :)  Oh I kid Miami.  I mean it is an Amazing Place, but really, other than Dolphins and Hurricane’s Football, it may be one of the worst sports cities in America.  Not much love there right?  InSPITE of Two Marlins World Series Titles since ‘97 and a Heat NBA Championship in 2006.  The Cubs haven't won since 1908.  Youch!

Miami is, however, a GREAT place to spend New Years.  The weather’s been soooo beautiful since we got here on Tuesday… a welcome relief from the frigid north indeed, and a reminder of how the warmth of the sun does WONDERs for mental health!  Maybe that’s why the locals can’t be bothered to go to games and be tortured Sports fans… they’re too busy being Happy!  :) Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Buffalo, Baltimore, Phili… take note.

Ten years ago Boston would have been on the top of that list, but during the past incredible decade of success, the Bean-town faithful have officially removed the (some thought permanent) giant chips off of each of their respective shoulders, and passed it (back) to the city of Chicago.  While in Boston last week Kisha and I went to the Bull and Finch Pub just north of the Public Gardens (better known as Cheers to… well pretty much everybody.)  I had been there before in 2000 and the most notable difference in the place (Other than Norm’s curious absence) was the vastly changed nature of the sports memorabilia adorning the wall.  Wow, All those Championship Banners!!! Three Patriot Superbowl championships (their first ever), Two Red Sox World Series Championships (breaking the 86 year drought) and even the Celtics returned to prominence at the end of the decade winning the NBA championship in ’08 (after almost 20 years of being terrible.)  And the BRUINS haven’t been that bad either!  Who could have guessed it??? 

Suddenly the Boston 'cross-to-bear' has become the 'kiss of the beloved.'  It’s so odd to talk to Boston sports fans these days.  They don’t know how to be :) After a near century of heartbreak, there’s nothing to complain about anymore.  It reminds me of that brilliant line from The Princess Bride, when after Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) finally kills his father’s killer (the Six Fingered man, played with delicious apathy by Christopher Guest) he admits, “I’ve been in the revenge business for so long, I don’t know what to do with the rest of my life!”  Certainly one of the most wonderful lines in the history of film, I love how it so beautifully points out the absurdity of obsessive revenge.  And then Christopher Guest says… “Six Fingers?... These go to Eleven!”…  And then Rob Reiner says, “I’ll have what she’s having!”… ugh… sorry.  This could go on all night :)

Aaaanyway, so after missing two chances to see the Mavericks in Dallas, me, Kisha, and Jimmy Ludwig (Pongo of the 101D clan) ventured into the cold night air to the famous Boston Garden (although it is currently called either the td waterhouse center, the fleet center, or the United-Integrated-Organization of Cooperate-Associations-Center… or something like that) to see those very (Best record in the NBA East) Boston Celtics… and their New Big Three! It turned out to be a really fun game to watch; a spirited come-from-behind victory for the C’s (who were without Kevin Garnett) playing down against the overmatched (and under-gifted) Indiana Pacers.  In fairness, the Pacers were without their best player Danny Granger, but still… Ugh.  What a bad situation that has turned into.  I mean since the infamous “Malace at the Palace” against Detroit in ’04 has ANYthing gone right for the Pacers???  The only thing they have going for them these days is the fact that Isiah Thomas isn’t their coach anymore, and that’s been like 7 years or so.

Yesteryears hero, Larry Bird’s latest problems as the Pacers GM aren’t the concerns of current Celtics fans though.  These days they are more worried about the health of their aging veteran core as their “championship-window” gets smaller with every passing day.  Paul Pierce, noticeably a step slow that night has since gone on the injured list with knee problems, Rasheed Wallace (some would say still coasting on his reputation) refuses to go inside the three point line, and Brian Scalabrine, well… he… he, uh… well… he tries hard, right?  I mean, that night he didn’t really score or anything, but I think some of his shots might have hit the rim (sometimes twice)… OH!... and he might have almost grabbed a rebound at some point during his 20 or so minutes in that game.  And he WOULD have gotten it if there wasn’t an opposing player in the way, right?  Ugh.  Well, stats just aren’t Brian’s thing I guess.  Maybe, you gotta dig deeper… it’s uh… well, I don’t think anyone has figured out what his thing is actually… well, aside from that red hair of course.

Oh the kids do love Brian Scalabrini in Beantown!  Jimmy and I were discussing the children’s cheers for Big Red whenever he touched the ball… followed naturally by the obligatory disappointed exhale when he either dropped it, clanked a brick off the rim or clumsily passed to a teammate who wasn’t ready for it… Painful to watch?  Sure!... but he’s a fan favorite at the Garden!  An inspirational beacon or something… like Rudy… but more realistically, he’s an over-paid mascot.  What in the WORLD was Danny Ainge thinking about with that contract?  He was grossly overpaid (and therefore immediately untrade-able) and he repaid the Celtics with years of worse-than-mediocre play.  Oh, and as IF his dismal performance on the hardwood wasn’t enough, throughout the game they kept showing videos of some of the players singing Christmas Tunes on the JumboTron, and there he was!  YOUR Brian Scalabrini, there on the mike, singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town… with a LYRIC SHEET!  He was blatantly reading (while tone-deafly singing) “he sees you when your sleeping, he knows when you’re awake…”  He needed a LYRIC SHEET people!!!  A LYRIC SHEET???  What??? 

Okay, Okay… If you think I’m being a little hard on ya boy Brian Scalabrini… well, what can I say?  He deserves it!  I’m sorry but it’s true.  Even if he is the most miserable waste-of-space player to grace the NBA stage this side of John Konkak, at least he could learn the words to Santa Claus is Coming to Town!!!  RIGHT???  Ugh.  

All of that being said, he must have some kind of an upside right?  If I had to say one good thing about Brian Scalabrini…  I’d say… uh… well, I can’t come up with one…. But they do say sometimes that he has a “high basketball IQ” :-) and that always makes me laugh.  What the Devil does that even mean?  It’s one of those silly basketball buzz phrases that is really code for, A) the tv announcers can’t come up with anything good to say about him, 2) the GM’s are trying to delude themselves into justifying a ridiculous contract, or, lastly) he would really be a better coach than a player.  Okay?  I just want the people of Boston to admit it.  He’s no good.  He’s proven it every day for the last 10 years.  Stop cheering for him.  And tell your KIDs to stop cheering for him!  Oh, and teach him the lyrics to Santa Claus is Coming to Town, for crying out loud!!!  No lyric sheet.  Ugh.  Sorry for the Negativity :) Moving on…  

The last thing we did in Boston before heading here to Miami was to visit the Boston Museum of Science where they are currently housing the new Harry Potter exhibit until Feb 21^st (Remember the Hungarian Horntail from The Goblet of Fire?)  And while that specific exhibit wasn’t really science per se, it was really fun… I liked it… so I’m a geek.  (And so is my girlfriend  :)

Anyway,

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season and a great New Years!

All the best from one Underdog to another!
Oh, and your Charlotte Bobcats ended up winning today against the Heat, breaking that dismal road streak.  Anyone thinking playoffs for these Bobcats???  Anyone?  Nope.  Me either.

Thanks for READING!  :)

Jeff