Hi kids. Sorry about my lack of entertainments for you this week. I've been a busy beaver getting the groundwork laid for Il Tacchino Ciclocross. Now don't get all excited and go register, because you can't. The details on that page are liable to change for a few more weeks, and it isn't open for registration. But I'm letting you know it's there, and that barring natural disaster, we'll open for business on Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 8:00 PM ET. It's going to be a cracker this year. I think we're going to get amazing support from our beer sponsor for master's races. We're going to deal with the pedestrian traffic issue. Yeah, we'll have the Suitcase of Sausage again, and we'll use its contents to compensate some lucky midpack grinders for emptying their Suitcases of Suffering. And the excellent Gallons-to-Ounces will be there to put some funk in your trunk once again.
I'm also working on some new treats. I think we'll probably have a Huffy Toss for valuable prizes. Looks like we may have a moon bounce lined up for the kids. And about four or five other perks that will blow your mind.
One thing bugs me though: when are we in this area going to get around to doing something nice for single speeders? There's a whole crew of riders out there dedicated to the proposition that One Gear Is Enough. I'm talking about the Single Speed Outlaw's Crew, W.U.S.S., and a bunch of less organized boys and girls who bring the heat but leave the derailers at home. They rock at grassroots MTB races; but is there room for them in USAC sanctioned cross? I think there should be, and I believe I'm not alone.
Is that a hint? I dunno. You want to know the answer to that, you better buy me some booze and try to wheedle it out of me. More details to follow soon.
Meanwhile, the musical pickings are going to be scarce. My theme for today is hockey.
Gotta start with the greatest Hockey Team Theme of all time, Brass Bonanza. It's what the Hartford Whalers rolled with for a long time and it has the most pleasantly dated 70's vibe this side of Starsky & Hutch reruns.
That is so good, it's a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL! Now I'm not a big Bruins fan, but they have a classy horn, and when there's a goal, you gotta get the horn.
They also have a classy theme song.
God that's awesome. Almost enough to make me root for Boston, if I didn't despise most of their fanbase as only a born & bred Yanks, Jints, Rangers Knicks fan can. I'm not all about the Celtic Punk approach to hockey songs though. This one's a good one, and it's old school down to the bone, starting with a reference to Hockey Night In Canada, which pretty much sucks the air out of the Hockey Broadcast Universe. There really isn't another show that can match it on game night, right down to the preposterously Canadian Don Cherry, who I love even when he makes me cringe. It's from Dr. Stompin Tom Connors.
Shit, hockey's such a cool sport even the groundskeeping equipment is a object of desire. as the Gear Daddies will tell you.
You know hockey's awesome when Warren Zevon recorded a great song about it, an ode to a goon who finally... well, listen to it. It's enough to bring a tear to Claude Lemiuex's eyes.
Yeah, that's awesome.
But everybody, everybody who is a hockey fan, knows that there's really only one song that is The Greatest Hockey Song of All Time.
Other than right there, you know there's only one time you get to hear it.
Ps. If you just stood up in your cubicle and started dancing and clapping just now, I won't tell anybody. Yeah, football season is starting and I'm happy about that, but hockey is coming back in a couple months, right about the time that 'cross season turns bitter cold. I can't wait.
9 comments:
How is it that if someone tells you he's a Rangers fan, you automatically know he's a Giants and Yankees fan too? That arc is like the most sacrosanct thing in the entire planet. Being from Long Island and having been blessed with availability to Islanders season tickets every year back when, you know, they owned the freaking universe, I'm on the Mets-Isles-Jets side of the field. Still always Knicks, though. God do they ever suck as a franchise.
The Arlington Rap guy has a local take on the Hockey Song. I'll admit - it's close to, but not exactly, "meh." Perhaps it's more of a shrug-shouldered "eh?" Remy gets a pass for giving the world the Arlington Rap, though.
Chuck Wagon - I've always had a hypothesis that the NY sports divide has its beginnings in the MSG Network / Sports Channel (was that what the other one was called?) lineups. Didn't Time Warner deny one of the networks from their viewers for a couple of years over a fees battle? In addition, you could see the Mets, the Jets, and the Isles without leaving Long Gilund.
Man, was it fun to watch hockey during the Trottier/Bossy/Billy Smith/Potvin years.
You know the best thing about that Bruins horn? Low mileage, gently used!
I first knew heartbreak when they traded Chico Resch. And then Smitty stepped into his own and became such a thing of wonder - how many ex-NHL'ers still wake up screaming, thinking about his goalie stick aiming straight for their heads?
When you go back long enough, Yankees and Rangers were on Channel 11 and Mets/Isles were on Channel 9.
The SS class can be catching, but are going BIG and do Tandem!!!!!
Shoot, CW, a Billy Smith / Tiger Williams battle? A thing of BEAUTY!
Wow. That's some old time hockey you boys are talking about. Eddie Shore. I went to the office kitchen and now I'm sitting here typing this all foiled up. Old Time Hockey! Yeah.
I hope Remy was insulting the Stompin' Tom Hockey Song, and not Warren Zevon's. 'Cuz if he insulted Zevon, well, that's fightin' words.
RTW - the comment about the Bruins' horn frickin' killed me. Co-workers started poking their heads in wondering what the howling was about. Nicely done.
Chuck - the reason for that, I think, is (Long Island + Queens + Staten Island + North Jersey) vs. (The other Boroughs + Upstate). Youse guyse went Mets/Jets/Isles&Devils/Nets. That's just how it broke down. You will notice it's old school original franchises, versus new school. Old School Representin!
Darren - doesn't Gunnar spell it "tandumb"?
Ed Sanders CX is offering a discount for multiple entries. What are the chances the Tacchino race of Sausage & Coppi will do the same? One race is just a teaser on such a great course.
The possibility of a day-of, cash, second entry for fields with spaces remaining is [shakes Magic Eight Ball] Pretty Frickin' Good!
That will be a day of decision though and it will depend on field size, the registration workers not being swamped with 241 elite riders showing up out of the blue to do day-of registration, and so forth. Thanks for asking that, it's a darn good question and a discount for second races is something I favor, though a lot of promoters don't like the idea. I figure once we've got your waiver, it's easy for us to pay another couple bucks to MABRA and sell you another number to pin on. More racing = more fun.
1. you should do a discount for doubling up.
2. i bet i can toss a huffy pretty far.
3. looking into some velocity escapes. good call.
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