What Really Grinds My Gears

Yea my picture has a dog in it. I love dogs. Got a freakin problem with that??

(1) I am not even a Mets fan but the Mets not even talking to Manny is so idiotic it borders on insanity- This is becoming so absurd it is now comical; that is unless you are a Mets fan. Fuck that, I’m upset about it even as a Yankee fan! I just can’t understand why the Mets won’t even talk to Manny. It’s pretty simple, if the Mets get Manny they become the best team in the National League hands down. Manny almost took LA to the World Series with a significantly less talented roster. The Mets always seem to pick the wrong player and the wrong time to Penny pinch (see Guerrero 04).



(2) Dream week becoming a nightmare- Ugh; the Laker game really and truly does not bother me. The Lakers just went into Boston and ended the champs 12 game streak. This LA team might beat Boston in this year’s finals. The Knicks are supposed to get blown out in that game. However, the loss to Cleveland Wednesday night was an absolute heartbreaker as far as regular season games go. Down only 2 with about 1:10 left, Al Harrington misses a wide open 3, this after already compiling 39 points and shooting almost flawlessly throughout the balance of the contest to that point. Then, down 4 with 40 seconds to go, he misses another wide open 3 that would have made the game a virtual deadlock. Say what you will about not doubling Lebron and letting him score 50, if Al makes those two clean looks, the Knicks would have already guaranteed the 1 win it needed during “Hell week.” That said, I am eerily optimistic going into tonight’s contest, which I am attending with White Girl, due to Boston being fatigued and/or lacking in motivation after a brutal overtime loss to the 2009 NBA champs, there I said it.



(3) Stop with the 04 Jeter Sox July play canonizing!- Okay, Donny “Pucks” Lagreca nailed it a few minutes ago on 1050. He said, “When that guy said that the 2004 Jeter catch against Boston made him go from an icon to a legend, I nearly threw up in my mouth.” I love Derek but that was one of the most overrated plays in sports history. It won a regular season game and Jeter didn’t dive into the stands. On this play, Derek made a running catch and because he was charging so hard his momentum carried him into the first row of seats forcing him to leave the game with bad facial cuts. That is actually what happened (watch the replay people!). Donnie was right that the only thing any Yankee fan thinks about when they recall 2004 is that they regret that this year has not yet been expunged from his/her memory.



(4) When Olberman and Maddow are on vacation, they need wayyyyy better replacements- David Shuster?? Ariana Huffington??!! Are you kidding me???!! Ariana Huffington is a fine writer and blogger but she is a horrid speaker and host. Her voice never changes pitch or tone and she struggles putting sentences together orally. However, at least she is good at something unlike David Shuster. This guy is, simply put, really boring. Say what you will about Keith but he’s very entertaining if not easy to make fun of (see very funny SNL skit with Ben Affleck.) WFAN employs the right strategy of moving everybody up a slot when Mike “ I need a co-host because my show sucks ass right now” Francessa goes on one of his much needed vacations. MSNBC, take your cue from WFAN. (Wow I never thought anyone would type that sentence)

(5) Thanks Metallica for Ruining the Superbowl and thanks Super bowl for ruining my only chance to ever see Metallica- I realize that I could have just chosen one of these two options on Sunday night and just enjoyed whichever event I chose to focus on. However, I took the, “I’m going to try and experience both and be bitter that I missed out on key elements of both of them approach”. The guy who comes up with the names is on vacation. Although I now understand how amazing the Prudential center is and it is phenomenal, I couldn’t enjoy the concert that much because I was obsessing about what was going on in the game. Then, after Ben led the Steelers down the field for another impressive game winning drive, I was a bit down the rest of the concert because my one year of bragging rights over Mahatma and Iowa were a thing of the past. By the time I got past this, Metallica was already into its encore of songs from Garage Inc. I have never heard before. Would it have killed you to do a song from “Ride the Lighting” like For whom the Bell Tolls or a classic like “Battery.”?? That said, it was a great freaking Superbowl and I got to see my favorite band live. But would it have been better to see them before Hetfield’s vocal range was cut by 2/3 of its previous size? Sure. Would it have been better if both Zona won and I didn’t miss most of the 4th quarter? Yea.

Bonus neutral comment- I realized while eating at my favorite Puerto Rican restaurant, “El Molino Rojo”, a place right outside Yankee Stadium that my father and I affectionately refer to as “Cuchi Fritos”, that the first CD to be released by my new band, “The Jerry Jones Experience” (See some post I did in December) will be titled, “Greetings from El Molino Rojo.” I greatly apologize to the late great Jimi Hendrix and the living legend Bruce Springsteen for blatantly ripping you both off.