Special time, special day, special ice cream dishes; we have it all

Yeah, we are all over the map today, what with no real basketball news to impart, or care a lot about.

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Remember back in the day when I had an affinity for the Red Sox?

Well, after all the hell they put me through until 2004 – and I’m talking decades of heartbreak – I’m kind of gleeful at watching what they’re doing right now.

Once seemingly a lock for the post-season, as a wild card if not the division champ, they’re lead on Tampa’s down to three games and they have three against the Rays this week. Seeing how they were swept in Tampa last weekend and drilled at Fenway last night, I bet the collars are tight.

Now, Griff details some recent collapses here but he doesn’t go far enough back for a Red Sox fan and last night’s game got me thinking about the greatest folds of all time, the Bucky Effing Dent Game that finished the 1978 AL East season.

Anyway, more on that when the Sox do fold up but the whoie process of collapsing is rather cool, no?

And one of the best parts about baseball: The races and the possibility for outright collapses over the stretch of a month or even a couple of weeks.

You don’t get it in the NBA – most playoff spots are solidified by about March – and you don’t get it in the football, although there have been last-weekend games that have provided drama. You don’t get it much in the hockey, although one final game can be kind of exciting for a team chasing the eighth playoff spot, and I’m not even sure if MLS has playoffs.

But in baseball?

There are often slow, painful, hurtful collapses that are the stuff legends are made of. It’s what makes September so good around the game.

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Hey!

Know what I found in Hazelville?

A traffic circle!

Right by Square One on one of those streets whose name I don’t know and I’ve driven through it a few times and have never once seen an accident or any measure of carnage.

Yet.

Wonder if they got the idea from my lament of their demise here a while ago? Probably.

We have some power here.

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Sure, you can watch this morning’s EuroBasket semifinals if you like, but we already know who the winners are, right?

It’s written right here.

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If you spend enough time in cars driving to and fro and listening to the radio you find out all kinds of tidbits that you can use that will perhaps bring joy to Irregulars.

Happy birthday, B.B. King.

And now I wish I was at his joint at the top of Beale Street in Memphis, sitting in the balcony upstairs eating barbecue and listening to music; it’s about the best thing about a road trip there.

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An early glimpse at some of the mail; you gotta love Irregulars:

Q: Doug, Stephen Colbert has a signature Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavour, and he donates the profits to charity. AmeriCone Dream is vanilla ice cream with fudge covered waffle cone pieces and a caramel swirl. If you were to get a signature flavour, what would it be called, what would be in it and what charity would you give the profits to (or would you just donate them to the irregulars?)?

Lee Z, Ottawa

A: I think it should be Irregulars, no? You deserve capitalization.

Well, isn’t this a challenge.

First off, it’s served in a pint – plastic or glass, depending on the establishment.

And if was a nice healthy helping of chocolate and vanilla swirl soft ice cream topped with a few M and Ms and a fair amount of cracked Oreo cookies with a swirl of whipped cream to finish it off, that’d probably work for me.

How about A Grunt’s Delight?

Profits? Well, I don’t think Stumpy’s opened the Home For Indigent Sportswriters yet so I’m thinking Canadian Cancer Society would be a good, legit beneficiary.

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I can remember, late last season, standing in front of the scorer’s table before yet another ho-hum, play out the string HOTH game talking to an NBA referee friend of mine.

Of course, the impending labour doom was among the topics, besides travel and family, and the guys says to me:

“We don’t have a contract. We’ll be locked out as long as the players.”

Or not.

The refs got a new five-year deal yesterday, which shows the league is capable of reaching labour peace, and they can breathe a bit easier.

And we won’t have to worry about The Replacements any more.

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Things that should absolutely not be allowed:

Super Son playing Ice, Ice Baby on the computer while having breakfast at 7 a.m.

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Hey, check this out.

You know that the only thing I don’t know about fashion is that I don’t know anything about fashion, right?

Well, I have mentioned in the past that the Big Fella, Kevin Willis, is a bit of a fashionista, right? He’s been designing clothes for years, I know more than a few Raptors coaches have received ties from his line that they’ve worn on game nights.

Well, Kevin has his own show at New York’s Fashion Week this week.

Pretty cool, no?

A Kevin story, and I love Kevin to death.

The Big Fella had a bit a problem remembering our names, it would seem. For about four years, we’d see him and say hello every single day and we’d almost always be wearing credentials with our names emblazoned upon them, really hard to miss.

Well, I’m not sure I once heard him use any of our names, we were always: Big Fella.

Last year, I think it was, I ran into him at a game in Atlanta, where he lives. Big hug, handshake, glad to see each other, he looks at me and says:

“How’ve you been, Doug?”

Almost did a spit take with my coffee.

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More mail?

If you’ve got some, I’ll take it.

Here, thanks.

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No, I haven’t mentioned the two NBA meetings yesterday – union members in Vegas, owners in Dallas – because, shockingly, both sides emerged to say they were united in their stands and everything was okay.

Yawn.

One thing I wonder, though.

My Man Asch was tweeting about Michael Jordan being at the owners’ gathering and I wonder how he’d react if a star player, say a Kobe Bryant, came out during a particularly contentious period of negotiations and told Jordan that if he wouldn’t agree to player demands that he should sell his team.

You know, like Michael did to Abe Pollin a few years back.

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Comments

[Boko]

I'm not a Fisher-on-the-hardcourt fan, but his letter yesterday had a ring of truth to it ... it felt like he was frustrated trying to negotiate with a owners that themselves didn't agree on many items. I admired him for his letter, its intent, and its probable effectiveness in that regard.

[LeeZ]

One man's pain is another's delight. When Bucky (Russel Earl) Dent hit that homer, you could have heard my screams of joy on Mars! One of the greatest sports memories of my life! And before you castigate me for being a fan of the Evil Empire, I went through two decades of humiliation and suffering cheering for a HORRIBLE (albeit loveable) Yankee team. It was only once they became the Evil Empire that I stopped being a fan, in fact.

[Bart]

How much truth is there to Fisher's letter? It seems to me if the owners did disagree in-front of the PA, this has to be a huge point for the players. Depending on what exactly the owners were disagreeing on, and how many owners are on each side, this looks as if the owners are cracking before they missed a single game.

Blogger's note: No one knows for sure what happens anywhere; it's all behind closed doors. Imagine there's snippets of truth in all leaks. Like anything else, there three sides to the story: Theirs, ours and the truth

[Lorie]

Doug!!!
Fashion! And not JUST the mere mention of it, but a photo! How glorious! Now for those Irregulars (and aren't we always capitalized - or is that just my spelling?) looking to see more of Willis' designs the website is here: www.willisandwalker.com. And your "A Grunt's Delight" sounds fabulous (and thanks for not offering it as a politically correct "De-Lite" dessert: if you're going to do it, do it right - with at least 50% of one's daily requirement of saturated fat). Now, may we have a cherry on top? And to bring back memories, it absolutely must be eaten with one of those little wooden spoons. Cheers! And Vamos Calderon!!!

[Jeff D]

I thought for sure your Ben & Jerry's charity would be something do with the Proudfoot Santa Clause Charity. I think that time of year is just around the corner!

[Wayne Matheson]

Thanks for the BB video. The Dude can play. On the fashion issue, have you seen the video of The Hump getting a pedicure. Unreal.

[Tim]

Anybody know a good website for streaming Euroleague games? I'm looking to tune in for the finals on Sunday.

[avinash]

Speaking of ex-raps, did you hear about Dee Brown & Roy Rogers getting added as assistant coaches for the Pistons?

Blogger's note: Good for Dee, Roy's worked with Frank before, I believe

[Brad]

Been to the Blues Club, sat in the balcony with a big stogie, watching some good motown blues. We were a group of about 7, pretty much the only whiteys in the place. Were made to feel right at home, great night. Would love to go back!

[From Spain]

Hi Doug:

Yesterday you wrote about European Championship and your prediction was Spain by seven. It wasn't bad. Spain won Macedonia: 92-80. Here you have stats of match:

http://www.marca.com/deporte/baloncesto/eurobasket/2011/directo/estadisticas-esp_mcd.html

Have you seen Navarro's stats? He played a fantastic game and he achieved an exceptional three point basket in advance. It was fantastic!

Macedonia has been the great surprise in this championship They play an strange basketball but they play hard and with intensity.

Greetings from Spain

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Chocolate, coffee and caramel, piled high, please, and yes, with a cherry or two on top, thank you very much. If there's anything better in this world than ice cream, I'm not sure what it is.
Today's headlines are putting a whole new slant on "Smelly Ford Focus", aren't they? Should be an interesting couple of years in The Big Smoke...
Cheers.

[Eric]

I can't wait to hear announcers say, "World Peace for 2"...