hockey, futons, poetry, softball and politics (9-23-08)
There are 2 parts to this blog: an update on what I am up to and a political part where I whine about America and McCain. I'll put the political stuff 2nd since my last blog was political as well.
So here's my update:
For those of you who came out, I'm very thankful but reading my poetry for the 1st time ever at the Allen Street Hardware open mic last week didn't work out as planned. It turned out that the show was not an open mic despite it being advertised as such so I couldn't sign up and couldn't perform but I did however manage to recite my "Hope Dealers" piece in front of a few people on the corner of Allen and Cottage against a stiff "Ike" wind and then again at Faherty's right after that in a light drizzle on the front patio area. I am still writing a few pieces here and there on the side and perhaps I will perform them somewhere else in the near future. I'll let you know where and when if you are interested in seeing me perform.
This past Saturday was the return of the Buffalo Sabres sponsored Streetfest Street Hockey tournament. Two things were different this year. 1- The Streetfest had been split from the 18 and under crowd which had theirs last month and is now an 18 and over event only. Previously everyone competed on the same day. 2- They've further split the 18 and over division into 2 levels: Competitive and Recreational. This is awesome because we were always playing some 19 year olds who are taking it too seriously. As it turned out the Recreational division was a solid split between younger people who wanted to be physical and slash with their sticks and older or passive people who were just out there to have fun, like us! Our team is called "Thunderlips" like the character Hulk Hogan portrayed in Rocky 3. He was Thunderlips, the Ultimate Male. Of course we had been anything but in 2 years of play having lost all 6 games we've played in 2006 and 2007. This year we had a plan though. It was an unusual plan that I bet a lot of other teams in the tournament hadn't had the foresight to think of: no practice.
We didn't practice, get together, plan or do anything remotely resembling preparation, except maybe deciding we wanted to play again, registering and then arranging rides the day of the event. Upon entering year 3 of our team playing in this tournament I had both an individual goal and a team goal. The individual goal was that I wanted to score a goal. In the previous 2 years I had hit the crossbar, shot wide, saw a goalie make a great save, etc. So I really wanted to score a goal. The team goal was that I wanted our team to finally win a game. In 5 of our 6 previous games we weren't even competitive losing 11-2, 15-3, 14-1 and so on. I threw on my soccer shin guards, volleyball knee pads, hockey gloves and cup and hoped for the best.
I stepped out there and ran around for 2 minutes and checked out for a sub. Being that I am a bit out of shape I decided not to push it, not to mention the fact that I was under the weather with a nasty cold. I came out for my 2nd shift and before I knew I cranked a wrister in the net for a goal. There was no parade, no hoopla, and no celebration. Before I knew what happened I simply turned around and went back to center ice. Then a minute or two later I scored again. If that wasn't enough a few minutes later I added a third. We went into the halftime break part of the game with a 5-0 lead and I had a natural hat trick.
When it over we had won 9-3 and I ended up with 4 goals. My mind was blown. I joked about being all set and ready to go home and not play the last 2 games. To make a long story short, we tied the next game 6-6 and I scored 3 more times. In the final game our out of shape butts fell behind 3-0 pretty quickly but to our credit we scrapped and fought hard and only went down 5-3. I added my last goal in that game. So we ended up 1-1-1 and I notched 8 of our 18 goals. I went from sheepish defensive player to confident, crashing the net opportunist. On top of all that I got to sneak inside the arena in between games and catch a little Sabres practice and the unveiling of the new 3rd uniforms. Damn it was fun. Thunderlips will be back for a 4th time next summer.
To finish the sports section of this blog, my football team, which played at the same time as the street hockeyfest won their game too so now we are 3-0 and looking very impressive. The fact that we won without me and 3 other regulars is very reassuring about how good we can be this season. On Sunday my softball team came from behind to win our quarterfinal playoff game 16-15 despite my having the game from hell at shortstop. I am a very good 1st baseman and that's where I usually play but one of the guys on our team tore up his shoulder a bit and where so you put someone where they won't have to throw too much? That's right, 1st base. So I was moved to short where I can be shaky at times. It was drizzling, it was slippery and it was hell. I must've made 7 or 8 errors. I didn't give up though and my hitting was solid, I was running well and my teammates picked me up when we scored 11 or so runs in the last few innings. So we live to play in the semifinals and potentially the finals on Sunday. I've got a priest coming in on Saturday to exorcise the demons in my glove so I should be all set for Sunday.
In the odds and ends department I still don't have my new futon yet. It's close I think and I am definitely tired (no pun intended) of sleeping on my old ass couch. Once I am able to get the futon I'll be accepting applications for sleepovers but you have to bring the snacks.
I'm currently caught in an internal debate about whether to get a haircut.
I'm also caught in my end of summer/beginning of fall thing where I'm wanting to grow a beard but trying to talk myself out of it.
Okay no more personal stuff. Now you get politics and topical opinion.
The big story in the news is this $700 billion buyout/bailout plan by the Bush Administration. It's in Congress right now and they are debating it passionately while the financial institutions and Wall Street sweat it out. They'll tell us that if it does not pass that we will certainly go into a recession. They also say that if the government buys them out of trouble it may or may not work. They think it will work. Where is all this money coming from? We are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq, we just bought out Fannie and Freddie, AIG, and whoever else for billions more where does the buck stop?
For many years big business and private greed took advantage and fattened their wallets. The deregulation of the rules put into place to protect investors from the creditors and more importantly themselves have eroded our financial system and put us into this mess. In my mind, bailing them out almost seems like rewarding this crooked industry for its' greed. You've destroyed the economy and middle class, mission accomplished here's your golden parachute. I thought conservatives were against big government by nature but this corrupt administration is the biggest government I've ever seen! With the way things are going Barack Obama won't be able to do anything his first 2 years of office because of all the spending the "tax cut and spend" GOP has done of late.
On lighter political/topical news I can't wait for the debates! I really can't wait for them. I'm expecting Obama and Biden to deliver because in this forum the dialogue is not one sided as it is in the vicious attack ads the GOP and McCain have paid to air spreading lies and misinformation about the Democratic ticket. In this forum, any lies or exaggerations of the truth will be called out immediately by the other person which makes me think advantage Obama. McCain is a hothead and while Obama is not someone who would push someone's buttons to rile them up I almost wish he would so we could see McCain lose it on television. I know what you are thinking, Eddie you've convinced me, I want to watch these debates, when are they?
Three presidential debates:
THIS Friday, September 26, 2008 at the University of Mississippi's Gertrude C. Ford Center in Oxford, Mississippi, moderated by Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of The NewsHour on PBS. This debate will focus on foreign policy and national security.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at Belmont University's Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee, moderated by Tom Brokaw, special correspondent (and former evening news anchor) for NBC News. This debate will have a town-hall meeting format.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at Hofstra University's Hofstra Arena in Hempstead, New York, moderated by Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and host of Face the Nation. This debate will focus on domestic and economic policy.
One vice-presidential debate:
Thursday, October 2, 2008 at Washington University in St. Louis' Field House Gymnasium in St. Louis, Missouri, moderated by Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent on The NewsHour and moderator and managing editor of Washington Week on PBS. The vice presidential debate will cover both foreign and domestic topics.
There are 2 parts to this blog: an update on what I am up to and a political part where I whine about America and McCain. I'll put the political stuff 2nd since my last blog was political as well.
So here's my update:
For those of you who came out, I'm very thankful but reading my poetry for the 1st time ever at the Allen Street Hardware open mic last week didn't work out as planned. It turned out that the show was not an open mic despite it being advertised as such so I couldn't sign up and couldn't perform but I did however manage to recite my "Hope Dealers" piece in front of a few people on the corner of Allen and Cottage against a stiff "Ike" wind and then again at Faherty's right after that in a light drizzle on the front patio area. I am still writing a few pieces here and there on the side and perhaps I will perform them somewhere else in the near future. I'll let you know where and when if you are interested in seeing me perform.
This past Saturday was the return of the Buffalo Sabres sponsored Streetfest Street Hockey tournament. Two things were different this year. 1- The Streetfest had been split from the 18 and under crowd which had theirs last month and is now an 18 and over event only. Previously everyone competed on the same day. 2- They've further split the 18 and over division into 2 levels: Competitive and Recreational. This is awesome because we were always playing some 19 year olds who are taking it too seriously. As it turned out the Recreational division was a solid split between younger people who wanted to be physical and slash with their sticks and older or passive people who were just out there to have fun, like us! Our team is called "Thunderlips" like the character Hulk Hogan portrayed in Rocky 3. He was Thunderlips, the Ultimate Male. Of course we had been anything but in 2 years of play having lost all 6 games we've played in 2006 and 2007. This year we had a plan though. It was an unusual plan that I bet a lot of other teams in the tournament hadn't had the foresight to think of: no practice.
We didn't practice, get together, plan or do anything remotely resembling preparation, except maybe deciding we wanted to play again, registering and then arranging rides the day of the event. Upon entering year 3 of our team playing in this tournament I had both an individual goal and a team goal. The individual goal was that I wanted to score a goal. In the previous 2 years I had hit the crossbar, shot wide, saw a goalie make a great save, etc. So I really wanted to score a goal. The team goal was that I wanted our team to finally win a game. In 5 of our 6 previous games we weren't even competitive losing 11-2, 15-3, 14-1 and so on. I threw on my soccer shin guards, volleyball knee pads, hockey gloves and cup and hoped for the best.
I stepped out there and ran around for 2 minutes and checked out for a sub. Being that I am a bit out of shape I decided not to push it, not to mention the fact that I was under the weather with a nasty cold. I came out for my 2nd shift and before I knew I cranked a wrister in the net for a goal. There was no parade, no hoopla, and no celebration. Before I knew what happened I simply turned around and went back to center ice. Then a minute or two later I scored again. If that wasn't enough a few minutes later I added a third. We went into the halftime break part of the game with a 5-0 lead and I had a natural hat trick.
When it over we had won 9-3 and I ended up with 4 goals. My mind was blown. I joked about being all set and ready to go home and not play the last 2 games. To make a long story short, we tied the next game 6-6 and I scored 3 more times. In the final game our out of shape butts fell behind 3-0 pretty quickly but to our credit we scrapped and fought hard and only went down 5-3. I added my last goal in that game. So we ended up 1-1-1 and I notched 8 of our 18 goals. I went from sheepish defensive player to confident, crashing the net opportunist. On top of all that I got to sneak inside the arena in between games and catch a little Sabres practice and the unveiling of the new 3rd uniforms. Damn it was fun. Thunderlips will be back for a 4th time next summer.
To finish the sports section of this blog, my football team, which played at the same time as the street hockeyfest won their game too so now we are 3-0 and looking very impressive. The fact that we won without me and 3 other regulars is very reassuring about how good we can be this season. On Sunday my softball team came from behind to win our quarterfinal playoff game 16-15 despite my having the game from hell at shortstop. I am a very good 1st baseman and that's where I usually play but one of the guys on our team tore up his shoulder a bit and where so you put someone where they won't have to throw too much? That's right, 1st base. So I was moved to short where I can be shaky at times. It was drizzling, it was slippery and it was hell. I must've made 7 or 8 errors. I didn't give up though and my hitting was solid, I was running well and my teammates picked me up when we scored 11 or so runs in the last few innings. So we live to play in the semifinals and potentially the finals on Sunday. I've got a priest coming in on Saturday to exorcise the demons in my glove so I should be all set for Sunday.
In the odds and ends department I still don't have my new futon yet. It's close I think and I am definitely tired (no pun intended) of sleeping on my old ass couch. Once I am able to get the futon I'll be accepting applications for sleepovers but you have to bring the snacks.
I'm currently caught in an internal debate about whether to get a haircut.
I'm also caught in my end of summer/beginning of fall thing where I'm wanting to grow a beard but trying to talk myself out of it.
Okay no more personal stuff. Now you get politics and topical opinion.
The big story in the news is this $700 billion buyout/bailout plan by the Bush Administration. It's in Congress right now and they are debating it passionately while the financial institutions and Wall Street sweat it out. They'll tell us that if it does not pass that we will certainly go into a recession. They also say that if the government buys them out of trouble it may or may not work. They think it will work. Where is all this money coming from? We are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq, we just bought out Fannie and Freddie, AIG, and whoever else for billions more where does the buck stop?
For many years big business and private greed took advantage and fattened their wallets. The deregulation of the rules put into place to protect investors from the creditors and more importantly themselves have eroded our financial system and put us into this mess. In my mind, bailing them out almost seems like rewarding this crooked industry for its' greed. You've destroyed the economy and middle class, mission accomplished here's your golden parachute. I thought conservatives were against big government by nature but this corrupt administration is the biggest government I've ever seen! With the way things are going Barack Obama won't be able to do anything his first 2 years of office because of all the spending the "tax cut and spend" GOP has done of late.
On lighter political/topical news I can't wait for the debates! I really can't wait for them. I'm expecting Obama and Biden to deliver because in this forum the dialogue is not one sided as it is in the vicious attack ads the GOP and McCain have paid to air spreading lies and misinformation about the Democratic ticket. In this forum, any lies or exaggerations of the truth will be called out immediately by the other person which makes me think advantage Obama. McCain is a hothead and while Obama is not someone who would push someone's buttons to rile them up I almost wish he would so we could see McCain lose it on television. I know what you are thinking, Eddie you've convinced me, I want to watch these debates, when are they?
Three presidential debates:
THIS Friday, September 26, 2008 at the University of Mississippi's Gertrude C. Ford Center in Oxford, Mississippi, moderated by Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of The NewsHour on PBS. This debate will focus on foreign policy and national security.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at Belmont University's Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee, moderated by Tom Brokaw, special correspondent (and former evening news anchor) for NBC News. This debate will have a town-hall meeting format.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at Hofstra University's Hofstra Arena in Hempstead, New York, moderated by Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and host of Face the Nation. This debate will focus on domestic and economic policy.
One vice-presidential debate:
Thursday, October 2, 2008 at Washington University in St. Louis' Field House Gymnasium in St. Louis, Missouri, moderated by Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent on The NewsHour and moderator and managing editor of Washington Week on PBS. The vice presidential debate will cover both foreign and domestic topics.