The People in Charge

I don't get very political here, unless ranting about the Mets and their inability to do anything correct qualifies.

Anyway, we had a BIG SNOW EVENT in NJ, which resulted in a state of emergency being called by Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester)who was in the role of acting Governor.

What?

We have a Governor, Mr. Chris Christie. And we have a Lt. Governor, Ms. Kim Guadagno. And both decided to take vacation at the same time. What?

Simple terms - it doesn't take a genius to know if you run a store (or a state), the manager (or Governor) or asst. manager (or Lt. Governor) has to be in the store (or the state) to run things. If both managers are away, then the store is closed.

So you are telling me that the Lt. G couldn't take vacation the week after the Gov went on his? What?

Bad management. Good job by Mr. Sweeney.

At least we're not in NYC!

Achy Breaky Back

Not so much, but I was wiped like a counter last night. Got a sweet night's rest and I'm in the office today. Slow-time says it best. Still a lot of unplowed areas that I can see. Everybody is telling SoulSlam that his neck of the woods got 30" or so. I didn't measure.

Going to Hershey for the New Year. The family is heading out Thursday and coming back Saturday. So we've got that going for us.

Anyhow, the New Year is approaching. 2011. That Mayan calendar thing better not be right.

Snow What?

We had the snowpocalypse event that all the highly coiffed weather-speakers predicted. BLIZZARD, no doubt.

Go out last night about 7:30PM to do a lap with the snow-thrower and...no snow being thrown. Hold on, I just changed out the shear pins, oiled and gassed this behemoth up, what gives?

Belt snapped. The belt that turns the good stuff. So since it was late, dark and cold, I thought I would give it a valiant effort in the AM.

MacGuyver'd the belt around 7:30AM, got it running and away we go. Throwing snow as far as the eye can see. For about 8 feet. Then nothing. Belt is wasted.

Let me 'spain something. The House of SoulSlam doesn't have one of these 50 ft straight driveways. We have a circular driveway that circles the house with the 50 ft part going off to the Garage of SoulSlam. Big job.

So it was some shovelling to get the Tahoe of SoulSlam unburied, then over to my parent's to get them out from under. Borrowed my pop's snow-blower after that. Total time outside in this mess -about 6 hours. Little sore right now. But my driveway is done.

Snow.

Day After

Christmas is always a whirlwind and by 6PM (or earlier) you can't wait to relax.

Boys got a lot of stuff, games for the systems, baseball gear, cash and giftcards, etc. It's all for them.

Now we wait on a blizzard coming up the coast. Got my Ariens Snowthrower ready, picked up 50lbs of salt, been cleaning out a storage room and now I'll take my Mrs. SoulSlam to the Christmas shop so she can walk the aisles. 'Cause I'm good like that.

Check you later.

BTW, saw this a couple of nights ago. Can't wait for the invasion:

US vs. the Aliens!!!

Ready Time

So Christmas Eve is here and I'm as ready as I'm gonna be. Will be pretty low-key here I think...dinner and church tonight, boys ripping open the gifts tomorrow and some family here for dinner tomorrow. Nothing to crazy. Told my wife to tell Santa I wanted nothing this year. Let's see if Santa listened.

Merry Christmas to all from SoulSlam.

Eve of the Eve

Day off, office closed. Ran some errands, gotta finish up shopping tonight or tomorrow. At least I'm 90% good.

Hiding Behind Your Mascot

So I got an electronic holiday card from the NY Mets...


And I opened it (virtually I guess when I think about it). And what was inside? Just a happy holiday message from Mr. Met. I guess that way Met fans couldn't rip the team a new one. How can I hate Mr. Met? He's one of the only people who hasn't let me down in this organization. Here's what he looks like in the card...


Merry Mr. Met. A man's man. Greatest mascot of all time. Happy Holiday to you sir.

---

BTW, word is we still haven't offered a contract to any of the pitching re-treads available. I guess we're gonna wait until the bitter end.

Travel Hoops Update

So you longtime followers of all things Slam know I coach a little basketball know and again.

I have a 4th grade team - first time on the travel circuit for these guys. Played our first game last Saturday - lost 20-13. Considering tow kids on the other team scored 15 of their total, we were in it for the most part. A couple of rebounds go our way and maybe we pull it out. We play some tough D.

I also assist on a 7th grade team that is playing in a league open to 8th graders. Played a team from a local town/city last night. We looked like a midget-festival. These guys showed up (probably in their own cars!) with facial hair including a pretty grown-in goatee. Our boys never gave up and played hard for 32. Lost 37-18. Whatever they do this season against older comp will be a benefit next year. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Reggie

Caught a great sports movie/documentary on ESPN last night:

Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks

Guess it's been on before, but last night I finally saw it. Great stuff. Makes you remember the way the Garden used to be.

Best line - "Reggie looked like Mr. Potato Head on a stick!"

Do I Look Like A Moron, Sandy?

OK. I might have been born on a Saturday, but it wasn't last Saturday.

This really pisses me off. As a Met fan. Especially since we DO NOTHING!


I'll tell you where my MLB dollars are going next season:
Camden Yards
Whatever that ballpark in DC is called
Pittsburgh maybe

So I'm sure I'll go to CitiField once or twice. But I won't be killing myself to get tix.

yin yang

Pretty simple. Put a Phillies uniform on it and what do you get. The finally-over Cliff Lee saga.

In 80's teen flick terms, the Yankees wanted to take Mr. Lee home from the prom, but ended up alone. And the Phillies get their date, errr man.

So as a Mets fan, one has to feel a little ambivalent here. So he doesn't go to Yankees (YAY!) but ends up on Phils (BOO!) Anyway, not like we are in this thing to win in 2011.

Which leads me to point #2 - so it looks like (and sounds like) Mr. Alderson is prepping us for the inevitable, namely a looooong season. But the light at the end of the tunnel is a cool $60MM coming off the books for 2012. So who's available then? Lets see (just the studs):

Pujols (unless St.L locks him up first)
Fielder
Phillips
Cano (never gonna happen)
Oswalt
Wilson, CJ
Broxton
Papelbon
Carpenter
Reyes

So unless I'm missing something...what exactly are we waiting for? I would take a Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford over anybody on this list (except the Machine). So we'll have a king's ransom to spend on...nobody.

Can't Keep a Good Man Down

Back and talkin'! I missed this veritable fountain of blabber.

How about this one with regards to Cliff Lee (use your Frog from Courageous Cat voice here):

“For somebody of that stature, it would certainly behoove him to be a Yankee, which would probably be for the rest of his career.”

Behoove. You don't get to use that word everyday. Nice work, Mr. Webster.

I'll bet he's a freakin' killer at Scrabble.

Head Down Stupid

Have smartphones and the like begat the latest in disassociated mortals?

I'm talking about people who shuffle along, head-down while they check their communication device like some Harvard scholar inspecting the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Are you that shallow and insignificant that you have to constantly be in contact with your BFF so you can tell them about how your day is crap OMG LOL!

You will be the first to go when the Apocolypse comes. 'Cause you wont see Death riding up to you!

Dirt Pile

Mets signed Boof Bonser.

Way to go. Are you effin' kidding me?


To Mr. Met - you've done your duty big fella. Go get a job as a mascot for a real franchise!

Plus Minus

What?

Sitting in the man cave with the laptop on my lap (wow). And watching MLB Channel from the Winter Meetings. Rumors swirling about Mr. Cliff Lee. Trades being discussed, little movement. But it's baseball, and that makes it great.

So some random thoughts:

I guess the Jets and that fat**s Rex Ryan showed the Patriots something, huh?

I see the Mets signed Ronny Paulino to a one year deal. Playoffs here we come!

The Walking Dead season finale was awesome. And now we wait.

Rec-level basketball is terminally frustrating.

LeBron might be the bad man, but he's a bro to us all.

Christmas will be here soon. I am getting all my shopping done early this year.

SoulSlam loves Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura.

I am addicted to this website...and made to know it!

I'd like to see the Yankees leave empty handed.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

In the immortal words of one Pyle, Gomer USMC -

Jeter is a Yankee!!! Hallelujah.

Go away. Your shortstop sucks. No range. Dead stick. You'll be killing the guy by Memorial Day.

The Mullet Equation

I'm sure I don't have to explain that the mullet is the hairstyle of the gods, but what the hey.

And the folks that wear their 'dos that way deserve our applause. Because if you're stylin' the Tennessee Tophat, the Wisconsin Waterfall, the Camaro Cut, the Seven, the Canadian Passport, the Barry Melrose - you are a righteous bro. As they say, business in the front, party in the rear. So what's the point here, SoulSlam?

It's a weekend to fund raise for our basketball program. Shake the can at a local market. Great place that has been there since forever. Got everything. Not one of your super deluxe markets. Local flavor. Friday night, the YSSS (Youngest Son of SoulSlam) has a shift with a pal, with me being the parent on the premises/bouncer. Little bit cold, but it's an hour, we tough it out.

So I've done this enough to rate the customers - most guys generally give 80% of the time, and it's usually a buck or more. Ladies are fickle, some do, some don't. Probably 50-50. Younger ladies are usually a yes, older a no.

But back to the guys - the ones with mullets rarely dip in and give. They come out with a couple of six-packs of tall boys and a half pint of rum and can't drop a quarter in the basket. I know times are tough, but maybe if you got a real haircut, there would be a little upside to your Friday night.

The Heel

Do you watch pro rasslin'? The "real" kayfabe type where you had faces and heels?

I was always rootin' for the heel. Superstar Billy Graham, Legion of Doom, The Four Horsemen, to name a few. Not the neo-heels like HBK and HHH. The heels of yesteryear. I had no time to root for the good guys.

So now we have the new heel, the bad guy. LeBron is his name, and outside of Southern FLA he's vilified, despised, cursed. So he's now my go-to guy. Expecially since everybody is pilin' on the rabbit, so to speak.

Heat come to Cleveland tonight. Them Cavs fans want blood. LeBron's blood.