Everything Old is Really Old Now...

This used to be right up there with my Favorite Times of the Year. In high school I was a huge hockey fan, one of maybe a dozen or so in my school. Also having been fortunate enough to grow up during the end of the Magic/Bird Era and the beginning of the Jordan Era, I was a huge Basketball fan. Through the formative years of my life I was lucky enough to watch the Lakers/Celtics series's, the Bad Boy Pistons shutting young MJ down, Dino, Donny Beaupre and Rod Langway with the Caps, Gretsky pre-LA, the unstoppable Jordan Bulls teams (the Phoenix series, the Knicks games, the Starks dunk) Shaq entering the League, A.I. at Georgetown (I knew he was leaving but it still broke my heart when he went pro) and countless other moments.

After the Super Bowl every year I feel relieved that I still have the NBA and NHL to lean on, and as they both go into their playoffs around the same time I would endure a full-on Sports Nerdgasm until both Finals were over. Then came the ugly hangover of nothing but Baseball for months until the NFL started up again. Dark days, indeed.

So here we are, playoffs are a go. Yet I haven't managed to catch more than a quarter or two of any game so far, and even less of the Stanley Cup games. I mean, I caught the Detroit game after it went into the 12th overtime or something like that, but that's only because they were talking about it on Sportscenter. I guess my point is that I have so far failed to enjoy this glorious time of year. I do have a bit of a crush on Golden State right now. I hope they smoke Dallas. I have nothing against Dallas; I actually kinda like them and was rooting for them last year, but good for the Warriors.

Getting back to my point: It seems like with any Basketball or Hockey game I can tune in to the last 5 minutes and see everything I need to see. ALERT: POTENTIAL OLD-GUY RANT STARTS........NOW Basketball these days isn't the showcase it was when I was coming up. Salary caps and trades and so many freakin' teams means that talent is so spread out that it's tough for any one team to create an identity for itself, let alone anything really new or exciting. That the Suns are what they are is such an anomaly that I can't help but love watching them. Hockey is much the same with the talent dispersion, except much worse. I mean, Colombus Ohio has a team. Come on. All it takes are one or two above-average players to make any team a contender. The Lakers went 42-40 this year (same as Golden State, mind you, but they're Golden State) and CLINCHED a playoff berth. With what? Kobe and Lamar Odom. In fairness, I love watching me some Kobe. He's as sick as it gets. Still, my Bullets (I will not call them the Wizards until they win something) went .500 and got in. Guess who else did? The Nets. The friggin' NJ Nets. Kidd, Vince and Jefferson and they go .500.

With the possible exceptions of Phoenix (7 seconds or less) and San Antonio (Tim Duncan and grinding people out in the most restrained and common-sense way possible) can you name any team that isn't interchangeable with any other? The difference between the Bullets and the Pistons is that our two main guys are hurt. You take Chauncy Billups and Sheed out of that lineup and see what happens. It's brutal.

The old Lakers were Showtime. The Bad Boy Pistons. The angry chip on their shoulder Knicks. Hell, the old Suns team that never broke through with Barkley and Kevin Johnson and Dan Thunder Marjele! These were teams with identities and when you looked ahead in the playoffs you got giddy thinking about potential matchups.

No more. We watch one or two teams and wait for them to meet up in the Finals, which are slow and plodding and uneventful because someone threw a drink at Ron Artest a couple years ago and god forbid anyone plays with passion. Defense as a rule is almost illegal now so everyone takes every open shot they can. I mean, why bother playing a true team game, why go in and take the hits if you don't have to? I could gather a group of my friends and coach a team into the second round solely by telling them to shoot if they can and if they can't to run the lane and draw fouls off people. It's that easy. It's not right. It's not Basketball. Today, Scottie Pippen dunking over Ewing would get Pippen suspended for a game or two during a series. Not to mention Longley's steal attempt at the beginning would probably be called so the dunk would never have happened. This was only back in '94.

It wasn't that long ago. To me, it seems like a lifetime. I think that's the point. All of the things I loved, that got me through school days I dreaded, that bored me to tears, are long ago and now perverted, stagnant, dull. Basketball, Hockey, music.

At least I still have comics. And this. Time to crack a beer and find a game.

Late Night Love

The following takes place a little after 3 am this morning: I have rolled over while trying to sleep and the Gergle has stirred somewhat awake...

Gergle: "I have to pee."

Me: Well, don't do it here.

"Shut up."

So Gergle goes to the bathroom and comes back to bed...

"What the hell are you doing up at 3 in the morning anyway?"

Can't sleep

"Clowns will get you?"

What like that Simpsons episode?

"No, the Shining. You know, the kid?"

Ok. I thought you were talking about the Simpsons where Bart and Lisa live with the Flanders' and Bart's stuck in this old scary looking clown bed and can't sleep and keeps saying 'Can't sleep. Clown will eat me'.

"You haven't seen the Shining?"

Of course I've seen the Shining. I'm surprised you have.

"Well someone told me I had to see it. I've seen 'IT' also."

End scene.

Wow. That's love people. That part at the end where she mentioned the movie IT since we were on a Stephen King riff was gold. Everyone who's thinking about taking their relationship to the next level (whatever the fuck that means), be prepared for many conversations like this one in the middle of the night. I find them entertaining. But then again I am awake at 3 AM for no reason.

Tech

This world can just break your heart sometimes.

All day yesterday (the store's closed Mondays) I was watching this and hoping against hope for some kind of mistake. I mean, the numbers went from 1 dead to 22 dead to 32 dead and I was just irrationally hoping for some kind of correction, the kind that only comes on election night apparently.

I'm pretty sure everyone I know who went to Tech is no longer there. Thankfully I haven't gotten any calls about someone I know being involved. But not too long ago most of the people I consider good friends were going to Tech or living in Blacksburg. I can't imagine what the families and friends are going through right now trying to sort this out and make sense of this madness.

There is something in the air more dangerous than carbon; in the water more dangerous than toxic chemicals and waste. There is an anger in this world at this time that is driving people past sanity and basic human consideration. We see it every day and don't know what we can do about it except hope for the best. But every once in a while we are forced to look it in the face. School shootings, workplace shootings, random violence, the riot as sports victory celebration, Torture Porn (Saw, Turistas, all that crap), all of it symptoms and results of this overwhelming anger. And this anger is the result of something fundamentally wrong with our society.

I don't know where to start. I don't know where to find it or how to fix it. All I know is that capable people are deciding that their lives are over and the way to end it is to take as many others with them as possible. When Columbine happened it was chilling because I was a bad influence or two away from being one of those kids myself once upon a time. I'd daydream about scenarios eerily similar to what ended up happening to those poor people 8 years ago. I was 11 at the time. I was having a rough go of it. And I could kick my 11-year old self for not having written down what it was that brought me out of it because something did. What got me thinking straight again? I watch what happens on a day like yesterday and I wish I had it. That lightning in a bottle, a clue to something that might help us all, might make us all a little safer, a little better to ourselves and each other. All those families and friends didn't deserve to suffer because someone's girlfriend dumped them, or because someone merely wanted to kill themselves. Think about the gall, the lack of humanity it takes to make the leap from suicide to what happened yesterday. I have. Of course all of my best wishes and condolences to the families and friends of those who died and were injured yesterday.

This world just breaks your heart sometimes.

I Read Your Bumper Stickers

And sometimes they make me laugh. Seen today heading into McLean:

"Welcome to Northern VA
Expect Delays"

Good for a chuckle.

Dear Georgetown:

I'm sorry. I mean it. I sat down and watched a whole basketball game start to finish, and when I do that things go wrong. I should have grabbed the remote the second Hibbert picked up that first foul. I felt it coming, but I was selfish and wanted to watch a game, so I did and now we have to sit through OSU/Florida.

I am willing to accept this as my fault and if you, the loyal Hoya fans of the world, can find it in your hearts to forgive me, I promise to only watch future important games in a bar setting, or drunk at home (paying half-attention to everything), or ignore the game all together.

Thank you.