Well, yes, I've been slacking, so here's a bunch of random thoughts thrown together in no particular order…
As Samichlaus mentioned, the Dear, Dear Abbey Tavern has closed down. Not only did the place serve excellent burgers and perfect Guinness, but after going there week in and week out for years, they actually treated BDF like the rock stars they totally were not. Including occasionally playing BDF songs through the stereo and consistently offering up frosty pints of Guinness "on the house". Hell, two BDF tunes ("Dear Abbey" and "This One's On The House") were directly inspired by the Abbey. And countless other tunes were penned sitting at the tables there, swigging pint after pint. The prototype for the BDF mascot, Swilley, was first scribbled on a half-used Abbey napkin. It was the perfect place to get some food in our stomachs and, more importantly, a nice buzz going before heading to practice across town. And, lest he forget, the Abbey Tavern was the site of the awarding of prizes to Mr. Samichlaus when he won the First Ever BDF Contest. Rumors abound that the legendary practice session that followed is still somewhere in the archives, just waiting to be rediscovered and unleashed on the world…
But, yes, we will miss the Abbey Tavern. And although I have no great sports stories about the place (I doubt Steve would consider witnessing the Scott Brosius and Derek Jeter homers off Byung-Yun Kim there considered "great"), it really is the type of place that will be hard to replace.
Onto sports news… The Contender came to a close last week with a rather unheralded Live from Las Vegas finale. It was on Tuesday night, which seemed kind of random, especially since the regular night for the show was Sundays. The final fight was mostly one-sided, though still pretty exciting. They also threw in the "consolation fight" between the other two semi-finalists, and that fight was pretty good too. Oh, and the fact that they had Sly and Sugar Ray doing color commentary live during the fight just added to the whole thing.. Or was it detracted?... They were AWFUL, often not able to muster up much more than ooo's and ahh's when big punches landed. It was one thing to kind of edit in their comments from the stands during the taped matches. It was another debacle altogether to allow them to actually attempt to give commentary during a live fight. And, after the final fight was over, it seemed a bit odd that they did not even interview (and barely mentioned) the losing boxer. All through the season, they basically spent the last 5-10 minutes of every show in the loser's locker room, getting his thoughts, watching his family comfort him, sometimes even catching them break down and cry as they wasted their chance to "make it." Yet, in the finale, they didn't even talk to him at all. How'd that happen?
That said, the series was wildly entertaining. Sadly, it looks as if the ratings kind of sucked, so it might not be back for another season. But just think of the continued careers of the boxers from this show though. I mean, they were all pretty good (and evenly matched) fighters. It wouldn't be unheard of for one or more of these fighters to wind up with a title shot somewhere not too far down the road. It gives you the kind of background into a fighter as a real person that makes you appreciate them (and maybe even the horribly corrupt and monopolized sport) a bit more. Anyways, if there is a season 2, watch it. :P
And, lastly.. Say goodbye to spring! With Memorial Day comes the unofficial start to summer.. Which means we're closer to football season! I must say though, I'm a bit disappointed with the idiots over at MLB who planned a Memorial Day baseball schedule where neither the Yankees or Mets even played! I was forced to watch the Braves vs. the Nationals and the Cubs vs. the Dodgers. Not exactly riveting games to drink beer to.
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