My favorite sports blog in Philadelphia is undoubtedly Beerleaguer. The guys on there really know their baseball, and commiserating and cheering with them through the ups and downs of this incredibly ulcer inducing season has been a lot of fun. And a glimpse at the comments in yesterday’s thread could tell you the angst, inherent sarcasm, and exultation of what it’s like to be a Phillies fan better than just about any other writing could. It is borderline poetic. I picked out the ones that told the story from beginning to end as we all experienced it while watching the Phillies coming back from being down 6-0 late in the game and posted them below. Enjoy.
Mind Boggled
I first saw my challenger from a distance, and I must admit that I figured I would win at Boggle easily. No-one shorter than me has ever beaten me at Boggle, and neither has a female. This young lady was both shorter than me and, I’m fairly certain, a female. I had this one in the bag. We went to Rum Bar, which has Boggle to offer its patrons (as well as pretty good drink specials: $3 Dark and Stormy’s on Sundays and 1/2 price Mojitos on Mondays). I ordered a Dark and Stormy, and just then it began to rain outside. Fitting, since I was planning on raining on this young ladies parade with a decisive win.
It was about midway through the first round that I noticed that something was wrong. We had been playing for about a minute and a half, and she had never stopped writing words on her paper. “Probably just trying to psyche me out,” I thought. “Those probably aren’t even real words.” But it was unnerving. It became more unsettling when I realized that they were real words, and I was trailing 33-13 after the first round. “Lucky round,” I told myself, unconvincingly. The next round contained a lot of consonants, and not a lot of points were scored. Then round three, and all hell broke loose. Her hand couldn’t keep up with her mind, as she had trouble writing words down as quickly as she could see them. I was starting to unravel. Seeing her write word after word had thrown me off my game, and the letters all began running together, and I froze. I needed something, anything to call off this game. Hurricane, riot, fire, something had to stop this word massacre! But there was no divine intervention, and after the round, we tabulated scores. 79-19 was the final. Oh, well. I’m better at Scrabble anyway.
Willie Gee: Cowboys to Win Super Bowl
Often referred to as “The Amazing Kreskin of the Sports World”, Willie Gee’s picks of sporting events are borderline legendary. And if he’s right again this year, God Bless Us Eagle fans.
Perhaps the greatest gift given to WillieG the sports analyst is his special ability to predict the future in certain instances without the help of ESP (or ESPN for that matter). Although I am by no means always right, I have been right on many occasions over time when others shunned my predictions and believed that they had virtually no chance whatsoever of coming true. My greatest prediction probably came around 2002, when Brett Favre first began to talk retirement. I boldly predicted that Favre would essentially become a “retirement redneck” in that he would not leave the game anytime soon but would continue to talk about it every chance he got for years just as many everyday rednecks do. Rednecks are always like, “Maaan, I think I’m about ready to hang it up”, and then they work until they’re like 70 some. I just had the feeling Favre would go that route, and well, look at him now. Favre is slated to be Green Bay’s starting quarterback for the 2007-08 season. That pick really came to fruition, did it not?
Jams Win (Repped by Malia)
Who played Vincent, the boy who shoots Dr. Malcolm Crowe at the start of the 6th Sense?
Young Old and Restless win at O’Neals
What private school in Lower Merion did M. Night attend (and is also the alma mater of Lionel Barrymore and Brian Tierney)?
This weeks pics
Today is M. Night Shymalan’s birthday, so we’ll do our questions on him and his movies. One gess per person. No cheating!
The Week in Review
The week began on Monday, when I revealed how John Keats failed to score me a #. Then, on Tuesday, it was time to review Philly Mags Best Of Philly issue. On to quizzo. It was an extremely competitive week that saw 4 matches determined by 5 points or less, and nobody win by more than 7. Tuesday at O’Neals, the Young the Old and the Restless held off Nothing Says “Hetero” Like 3 Guys Huddled Around a 3 by 3 Table, 98-91.
On to the Bards, where the Sofa Kingdom scored their 4th straight win, a 99-92 effort over Matt Carlson Is a God Among Men. No surprises at the Vous either, as the Jams (aka the West Croaked Offense) withstood an impressive performance from Ante Homeless, Auntie Homeless Anti Homeless, 103-100. It took us until the Black Sheep to find an upset. Flander’s Vegas Wife, a couple of guys from old school quizzo legends The Goats, got 50 in the final round to edge the red hot Duane’s World, 100-95. It had been over two years since the team, regulars at the Bards and part of the infamous Western Omelette-Goats rivalry of 2004, had won. It was also on Wednesday that I returned home to discover that someone had apparently melted on my doorstep (above). I mean, seriously, who leaves jeans on doorsteps?
Another old favorite at the Good Dog on Thursday. The Axis of Evil Knieval, who are a little bitter that there is no more MAGMA to knock off, edged Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water, 99-94. “If MAGMA ever decides that they want to go back to being smacked around by us like in the good ol’ days, have them get to the Good Dog ASAP,” stated one unnamed member of the Evils.
A thriller at the Bards, as three teams finished within three points of the titlebut in the end it was Saint Anne’s Mini Onions, a conglomaorate inclding some of Satan’s Minions, that edged the Hurtin’ Bombs and the Sofa Kingdom, 103-100-100.
Constitution Center Quizzo
Alright, gang, it’s time for Round Two of Constitution Center Quizzo. Gonna kick it off at the Constitution Center tonight at 6:30 p.m. Each member of the winning team gets $20 gift certificates to Stephen Starr restaurant of their choice. All questions will be America related, which leaves me plenty of wiggle room to get creative. And yes, they will be serving alcohol. Hope to see you there!
The Metro Article
In case you missed it yesterday, click “Continue Reading Metro Article” below to read the article I did for the Metro. It had to do with strange Atari games. Here’s some more video game weirdness:
-There was Beat ‘Em and Eat ‘Em, another Atari porno game you need to read about to believe.
-Pac Man, where the ghosts are controlled by crickets.
-Ok, this is downright amazing. An entire website devoted to the dumping of the ET cartridges in the landfill in 1983.
–Custer’s Revenge was one of Seanbaby’s 20 worst video games of all time.