Back when I lived in Washington, Stella and I used to join a few friends for poker evenings. We’d get a bottle of scotch, a pack of cards and some poker chips, and spend a couple of hours chatting and playing Texas Hold ‘em. These evenings were usually more about conversation than about serious cards, [...]
Archive for the ‘Sports’ category
Surf’s up!
Have you ever watched surfing on TV? You see those buff guys gliding across the glassy water and think, “That looks easy! And fun!” Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Then I took a lesson.
RB and I went down to Santa Monica last week to try our luck in the roiling Pacific. Tip #1: If [...]
Why the Olympics totally blow
Ugh.
Has it been four years already?
Yes, as you all know, the Olympics are here again. (Well, not here but in China or wherever.)
Apologies to Dave, whose (admittedly tepid) “love” for the Olympics was captured earlier this week, but here’s why I pretty much loathe the Olympics and why I hope they never come back to [...]
It’s because of Nadia Comaneci, isn’t it?
We’ve talked here before, right, about what makes you cry? Emotionally manipulative movies, weddings? For me, it’s the Inspiring Sports Story.
It works every time, in all its variations: Overcoming Adversity, the Nice Guy You Can Relate to Despite His Being a World-Class Athlete, the Ragtag Team that Comes from Behind, etc. I get a little [...]
The garland briefer than a girl’s, part 1
Carlos Boozer.
Quick, what comes to your mind when you read that name?
Off the top of my head, I’d tell you that he’s a power forward for the Utah Jazz who averaged an incredible 24 points and 12 rebounds a game in the playoffs last year. That he’s an injury prone bum [...]
Ode to America’s Pastime
The scenario: Cleveland Indians vs. NY Yankees, game 4. Yankees are down 2-1, must win this game to stay in the playoffs. Watching the game in my living room.
Inning 1:
What the hell! The first Indian batter hits a home run. Yankees are in a hole from the very start. More hits, another run scores. Pull [...]
Crab camp
The Question: How has a mild-mannered boy like me, never prone to guns or fishing or traditional masculine sport in general, wound up each summer on the hunt for crabs near the San Juan Islands on the Washington coast? That’s what I love to do come mid-August, and have done half a dozen times since [...]
I have measured out my life with Dodger Dogs
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a thing for baseball. I grew up in Cooperstown, also known as “The Home of Baseball.” However disputed the origins of the game actually are, enough people in a position to judge were sufficiently convinced of a very sketchy story to credit the town [...]
Rising up through the talons of the tiger
or to the challenge of arrival
or to the challenge of our rivals.
Whatever.
Bryan at 2:20 am: “2006 is my bitch, yall!!”
Happy New Year from Rocky Balboa and the Garden State Chorale, Inc.
And from all your best friends at The Great Whatsit.
Stella at the races
Escaping the humid Washington summer, Stella had occasion to visit Saratoga Springs for a day at the races earlier this month. A couple of years ago, she had developed an interesting betting scheme that was yielding a 15-20% return. The system consisted of betting to win or place on three horses per race, two favorites [...]
