for whom the bell tolls

in case you haven't figured it out by now, i am a deeply passionate sports fan. that comes off as totally weird to most people that only know me for my poetry, as someone who is creative "shouldn't" be passionate about anything other than that. i prefer to think of myself as the caveman refined. i like to drink and cuss but can also tell you about Monet, Beethoven, and Bukowski.

so, i just spent the past 10 hours or so watching trade deadline coverage for the NHL. it was a little surreal that the first move of the day was the New York Rangers trading away their captain to Tampa for their captain. now, Martin St. Louis is 10 years older than Ryan Callahan. that being said, the Rangers did trade for the 5th leading scorer in the NHL. but, they also gave up potentially 2 first round picks. i'm torn as much as i'm excited. if this gets the Rangers deeper into the playoffs than last year, great. if it doesn't bring them a cup in a few years, fuck. they will be more exciting to watch. they also made a depth move on defense that should only amount to something if there are injuries. hopefully there won't be. huge game tonight against Toronto at home. the private jet picked up Marty, so let the fun begin.

sometime around 9 i'll flip over to start watching the Dayton Flyers take on the 17th ranked team in the country. if they can win this tonight, i feel really good about their chances of going to the tournament.

not sure if i'll actually get to watch Duck Dynasty, Legit, or Ali G tonight or not. not like i sleep anymore, so who knows.

earlier today i caught little bits and pieces of the USA losing to Ukraine, 2-0 in an international friendly in the buildup for the 2014 World Cup. from what i saw, i wasn't impressed. but honestly, i didn't see enough to truly get a sense of the game. i'm sure Ukraine had much more to play for, given what is going on in their country at the moment.

i did catch The Voice last night. Blake now has the 2 best singers i have seen so far this season. hopefully he won't be stupid and pit them against each other in the battle rounds.

the 2 comedies after The Voice are pretty good. i have enjoyed both episodes so far.

that's all for now. i need to get ready to watch the Rangers pregame shit and start to digest that the captain is gone.

hope this finds everyone well. until tomorrow, probably after i wade through the mud and snow and get the birds all fed again.

music:

Metallica - Ride The Lightning

"If you spend a lot of time lying to people, you think a lot about what the truth means." - Penn Jillette

some days just bleed together

i was up way too late last night and up way too early this morning. needless to say, i feel like i have been in a damn fog for the last 18 hours or so.

first off, i did send out 12 poems today. 6 to ZYX and 3 each to Dead Snakes and The Camel Saloon. when i hear back from these places i will pass along the verdicts.

i did watch most of the New York Rangers 4-1 loss last night. too many fucking mistakes, too many defensive lapses, too many mind cramps, and way too soft at times. a thank you to Rick Nash for dropping the gloves last night when none of his pussy teammates would. mostly, a thank you for the 5 penalty minutes. much needed for my fantasy team. hopefully they get Captain Cally back by Monday and figure some shit out or the 9 game road trip to start the season could be really fucking ugly.

The Big Bang Theory was hilarious last night. really great writing. nothing else really struck me as funny on television last night.

i did watch a good portion of the NFL game last night. i picked the right team to win but i didn't care for how they won. i'm now 41 points behind in fantasy football. that's a big fucking hole to climb out of. especially when your QB is facing the best defense in the league. so much for my momentum from last week.

i actually had to turn on the A/C today. first week of October and it's in the mid 80's. fucking ridiculous.

not sure what i'm watching this evening. i might just turn on some baseball so i can fall asleep.

i'll be back on here after the Manchester United game tomorrow afternoon. if they lose again, expect a rant that might get me banned from the internet for life.

hope everyone has a great weekend. or at least a better one than the assholes you hate.

music:

Beastie Boys - Solid Gold Hits
Jay Z - Hard Knock Life
Outkast - Aquemini
Run - D.M.C. - Tougher Than Leather

"Evil is always possible. Goodness is a difficulty." - Anne Rice

the aftermath and then some random bullshit

so after a night of shit sleep if you can call it sleep at all (more like what if Cally wouldn't of hit the post, what if Fatso wouldn't have stopped Richards, what if we had a power play that could score, etc, etc.) and then some bizarre dream of me in high school but being cool and confident, there really was only one thing to listen to this morning.

John Lee Hooker - The Best of Friends
Son House - The Original Delta Blues

the playoff beard is now some funky goatee. my hair is back to permanent bed head. somehow the sun did come up. and man, it's fucking hot. if anyone has any rain to send my way, please do so. crops were planted 2 weeks ago or more and it hasn't rained a drop. if this keeps up... well, you can imagine the bitching and whining coming.

is it a coincidence that i took all my Yankees out of my fantasy baseball lineups and they now have won 4 games in a row. i think not. they won't be coming back on my teams anytime soon.

congrats to the University of Dayton baseball team on their first A10 championship and their first trip to the NCAA tournament.

nice win by team USA tonight over Scotland. didn't know the team had 5 goals in them. very nice.

looking forward to watching Kevin Steen and Davey Richards tonight on ROH. oh yes, i've been a fan of pro wrestling for over 30 years. so don't be shocked when i write about it. i've earned the sophisticated white trash label, it's not a gimmick for me.

so, i guess, all in all, while the loss still burns me and makes me feel numb and wish to die, it's not the end of the world. there's always next year, as i've said each year since 1994. one day, hopefully.

and to end this post out, a quote from one of my favorites

"After the first blush of sin comes its indifference." - Henry David Thoreau

cats and hockey

i never thought of it when i named them, though i really should have. and i have written about it since, but there's still a mind fuck in it all. i fed the cats this morning and laughed when i saw t.s. eliot sniffing the ass of langston hughes. all i needed was some charlie parker and some heroin and i would imagine a good time would be had by all.

doing my best to stay in a positive frame of mind for game 6 tonight. and i'm trying to not think about the 18th anniversary of Messier's guarantee. but if Cally scores a hat trick tonight the spooky shit will officially be on. and my beers tonight will be singing Matteau, Matteau, Matteau!!!

and i will close this with one of about a trillion Tom Waits lines that make me smile

"Don't you know there ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk"