when the good meets the bad and it snows

i was completely dialed in for the Manchester United vs. Real Madrid match yesterday in Champions League play. i was a little surprised when Wayne Rooney wasn't starting. but, after watching the first 20 minutes and seeing what the plan was, defend and counter with speed, i understood the decision. i love Wayne, but speed isn't something he is blessed with. 0-0 at halftime. then, United goes up 1-0 on an own goal from Madrid. and then, the ref decided he was going to decide the game. if you have any interest in this at all, you've already seen the red card given to Nani. should it have been a card? yes, yellow. the red card sent me fucking flying off the handle. i might have spent the next 20 minutes or so pacing and screaming at the television. no one will ever question my passion about anything i'm passionate about. Real Madrid of course wins 2-1. i expected it when they were essentially given nearly 40 minutes of being a man up. i'm happy that CR7 is advancing. i respect the fact he didn't celebrate scoring the winning goal against his former club. i'd take him back in a heartbeat. sadly, no treble this year for the red devils. hopefully, they will have all their wounds licked by Sunday when they play Chelsea in the next round of the FA Cup.

thankfully, the New York Rangers won last night in their game against Philly. never a dull moment, which really helped me get my mind off the crushing defeat earlier. helps when Rick Nash scores 2 more goals. crazy enough, all 7 of his goals this season have come in the third period. i didn't enjoy watching Marc Staal take a puck to the face. it didn't look good seeing where it hit him. near his right eye. i haven't seen any updates, but i am certainly hoping for the best. not only for the player, but for the person. i won't post a video of it here, but you can certainly find plenty on the internet. just nasty as hell.

so, after a victory beer and responding to a few needless emails, i decided to hit the bed. below is what i woke up to this morning.

not nearly as bad as i thought it was going to be. but, just enough that my back felt it while shoveling. that's always fun. but, mom made it out with no problems. i think i will wait until tomorrow to hit town for the mail.

not sure how the rest of my day will go. i have some books to finish up and maybe if the creativity urge hits me, i'll break out the watercolors. i won't be holding my breath though. and neither should you.

music today:

The Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole
Lana Del Rey - Born To Die

"Me shooting 40% at the foul line is just God's way to say nobody's perfect." - Shaquille O'Neal

a recap of the weekend

first off, the huge game the Dayton Flyers had on Saturday against Xavier. former Flyer and NBA rookie Chris Johnson made a surprise appearance before the game and got the crowd going. the students were in ape shit mode and loud from 30 minutes before the game started. and thankfully, the players decided they wanted to play like they actually had some balls. they only trailed once in the game and won it pretty easy by 11. always nice to start off the weekend that way.

next, off to meet my sister at the favorite sports bar. we had the same waitress we had the week before, someone i find incredibly attractive. (i've already written one poem about her) so, it figures i would be with my mother and sister. a good time, especially listening to my sister whine about having to pay taxes. god forbid someone with a six figure salary has to pay a little back.

didn't watch much of the NBA All-Star Saturday night as most of that shit doesn't interest me anymore. i watched the Beyonce documentary instead and my sister was shocked that i never changed the channel. i told her i was tempted when Beyonce was talking about her miscarriage but decided against it. i'd like to think i've matured a little in 37 years.

Sunday was hockey day in America. so, after getting the cats fed and the trash picked up, it was time for a nice triple-header of hockey. the night ended with the third game being the New York Rangers vs. Washington. a nice rematch from last year's playoffs. and holy shit, when a power play goal leads to a 2-1 win for the Rangers, i'm beyond ecstatic. that was a nice victory beer.

i didn't watch much of the NBA All-Star game at all. i decided i was much more interested in my Sunday night shows. and judging from the highlights i watched this morning, i think i made the right call.

today was about Manchester United in FA Cup action. a nice 2-1 win over Reading. the good Nani showed up today as did Chicharito. now there's about a 99.9% chance their next game in the FA Cup will be against Chelsea (hopefully not). but, that game will be at home and i like their chances against just about any team in the world at home.

on the poetry front, i finally heard back from killpoet.com on my poetry submission from April 2012. they have decided to pass.

i've got a shitload of poems to go through and maybe i will find some poems to send out either this week or next.

on the fantasy hockey front, i squeaked out a narrow victory last week but am now 3 games out of first in the division. i play the first place team this week. so, this morning i picked up one of my old favorites, Mike Richards. hopefully his little hot streak from Sunday will keep going for me this week. i'm going to need it.

on the fantasy Nascar front, somewhere i do believe Danica Patrick winning the pole for the Daytona 500 is surely one of the signs of the apocalypse.

crazy weather ahead this week, so i imagine plenty of back pain as well. plus, mom gets the results from her tests tomorrow. needless to say, i'm not expecting to sleep well tonight.

and it won't have anything to due with an underwhelming Monday Night Raw i'm expecting tonight.

hope this finds everyone well. hopefully, i will have some good news to report sometime this week. hopefully.

music today:

Charles Bradley - No Time For Dreaming
Bettye LaVette - The Scene of the Crime

"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." - Toni Morrison