to live in this town,
you must be tough, tough, tough , tough, tough (Jagger/Richards)
Mick Jagger may have said it first, but this Saturday JC Cadotte, Steve Mac and SHADOOBIE will add the exclamation Point. The lads make their debut performance in Redbank NJ at the Redrock Tap & Grill , showtime right after the derby at 6:45.
You got rats on the West Side
Bed bugs uptown
What a mess this town's in tatters, I've been shattered
My brain's been battered, splattered all over Manhattan
Long time passing.
Where have all the flowers gone ?
Long time ago (Pete Seeger)
i had the good fortune of seeing the great Guy Lafleur fly up and down the ice at Madison Square Garden many a times.....blond hair flowing behind him as he accelerated up the ice, that intoxicating Red Sweater...he was a step ahead and level above everyone else on the ice.....he was hated, but not by me......even when he beat the Rangers in the 1979 finals....my admiration and respect for him and the rest of the Habs just grew.
I went to Montreal with the NY Ranger fan club in late January early February of 1985....I remember the feeling of awe that i felt walking inside the Forum for the first time. We had standing room only tickets and gravitated to the upper tier and stood behind the last row of seated patrons......conveniently the Molson Stand was right next to us......I sipped my beer and stared at the Banners of Champions and Retired Legends. I do not consciously remember thinking about Guy Lafleur that night , but i am sure the recently retired icon was on my mind and mentioned in my toasts.........Two things i do remember from that night.....St Johns & Chris Mullin had defeated #1 Georgetown earlier Saturday afternoon, thus becoming the Top team in the Nation, and the two thousand Ranger fan club members started the famous "We ARE.....St Johns" chant during the pregame.....and i am not sure how many of the frogs knew what it was in reference to.........also towards the end of pre game warmup the Pride of Staten Island....Nicky "Octogon Head" Fotiu grabbed all the leftover pucks after the rest of the Rangers headed back to the locker room and as he did at MSG he starting tossing them to the fans.....but almost all the Ranger fans were in the rafters.......and so of course Nicky Began firing pucks towards the roof.....us Rangers fans went wild , howling with delight....and of course most of the pucks fell short of the standing room rafters and came flying down towards the expensive seats as dangerous projectiles.... good clean fun......Rangers played well.....lost a close game....3-2....i had to look it up......i also was curious when exactly Guy retired......two months earlier he asked for trade and HC Jacques Lemairre and GM Serge Savard said No way...and so around Nov 24 1984 he hung up the skates.......it would have been nice to see him just once on forum ice in a white sweater.........of course he came out of retirement a few years later to join the Rangers and then Nordiques....but he looked like a fish out of water without his Montreal Sweater.
Guy Lafeur died on Friday at the age of 70.....he had 5 bypass surgeries in his late 50's and smoked like a chimney and suffered from Lung disease, but at one time he was the greatest hockey player on earth and he raised the Cup 5 times ( 4 straight at one stretch) He scored one of the most memorable goals in League history . In game 7 of the NHL Semifinals his Canadiens were trailing 3-1 in the 3rd period at home against the hated Bruins......a trip to the finals and a date with the Rangers awaited the winners.... .....Montreal tied it 3-3...but Boston answered with just 4 minutes to go....taking the lead on a Rick Middleton goal.....and then while killing the clock, Boston was called for too many men on the ice....the Habs power play went to work ......with just over a minute to play Jacques lemairre streaked over the blue line and left a drop pass for GUY..........he one timed a bullet over Gille Gilberts' right shoulder.......and Gilbert fell backwards slowly with his goal stick extended ...as if he were shot with by a snipers rifle...and in some ways he was.....,,,Yvon Lambert scored in OT and the rest is history.....they would beat the Rangers in 5 tough games......Dryden and Lemairre retired after the season, and the Habs have only won 1 cup since that season...43 years ago this May...........i'm glad i lived it, i am glad i saw it......and again, i wouldn't trade my time of the planet for any other era....
Soldiers have gone to graveyards, everyone
Oh, When will you ever learn?
Oh, When will you ever learn?
I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow (Dylan)
I remember a forgotten time on the friendly streets of Bayridge Brooklyn.....a mere youth of 16(maybe 15 or 17 not sure) , strapped for cash and looking to double the little funds that i had........I withdrew precious sheckles from the Bayridge Savings bank and walked a brisk pace to 69th street and 4th avenue and the storefront next to Lobianco's Jeweler....for although i hated the Miami Dolphins, I knew they would absolutely crush their instate rivals in the silly creamsicle jerseys on MNF.......I walked through the smokefilled card game upfront, past the stogie smoking horse players and proceeded to the back room where i placed my bet on the Fish and laid a few points on the road , put my little pink slip from the bookie in my wallet and proceeded to Teddy No Kegs deli on 73rd and 3rd.......i held back a $10 spot....chippped in for some weed with the usual suspects and bought a six pack of Knickerbocker Natural.......it being a Monday afternoon we didn't pack coolers....we had a nice arrangement with Teddy.....we would pay for a six....but leave the beers in the deli fridge and retrieve them one by one for the remainder of the afternoon.......Teddy was busy and didn't keep track, so that usually meant 8 or 9 beers for the price of six......and when it was time to smoke we would go into the schoolyard and stand behind the garbage dumpster next to the hockey court......simpler times.............i remember later that evening in the Liev with my former head linesmen Chaz, drinking $3 pitchers of beer; and i watched as Tampa Bay soundly defeated Miami....thus bringing the hammer down on the rest of my social schedule for the foreseeable future............but hey, it was still a pretty good Monday for a high school lad in the 80's..........today as we wake up both Gambling and Marijuana are Legal in the Garden State...and although that is convenient.....i can't help but think that some of the electricity that surrounded both activities is lost forever on the youth of today....i wouldn't change my time on this planet for any other era...
Ah, but I was so much older then
I’m younger than that now
reckless and hot,
You keep firin' glances across the room
And I can't stop wonderin' just what you got
I get the feeling I'm goin' to find out real soon ( Barlow)
the NHL is heating up.....forget what the schedule says...playoff hockey has begun.
I just finished watching On the Fly.......everyone jockeying for position and the races are getting tight. I usually root for upsets in the playoffs but out west i am really hoping that Calgary and Colorado meet in the Conference finals....no disrespect to Viva Las Vegas, but i want to see 7 rounds of a heavyweight bash between the Flames and the Lanche.
Back East i don't think there is a boring first round....all the potential matchups are good.....Caps came back to life and may pass the penguinis for 3rd......Rangers and Canes are neck and neck, but who knows who the div winner will play......and a Tampa-Toronto first round would be must see TV........October is exciting.....World Series-NFL- College Saturdays.......but May is my favorite sports month....hockey playoffs-the triple crown-and MLB........ice down those coolers and buckle up for a bumpy ride............back in October i predicted a Panthers-Flames final.......but that was before Mr Quinville was suspended.........i still think the Flames come out of the West, but the East is Up for Grabs.
Feel like a stRANGER......long, long, crazy crazy night
For them that think death’s honesty
Won’t fall upon them naturally
Life sometimes must get lonely (Dylan)
watching reruns of the sopranos...it struck me that Joe Biden is nothing more than Uncle Junior.
After Jackie Aprille died there was a vacuum at the top....and then Tony realized that the title of mob Boss was really a lightning rod for the authorities and that it would be better to have a fake figure head at the top taking all the heat, while he continued to run the family without all the Federal agents tracking, logging and recording his every move. Let the old Man Uncle Junior enjoy the pomp and circumstance in the neighborhood, let everyone pay their respects to him as if he were running the Family; but at the end of the day Tony and his crew enjoyed all the money and Junior had all the headaches.
Old man Joe Biden was dangled the title of President....for a lifelong loser.....3 or 4 failed attempts at the presidency and now suddenly the party says you can be our guy........BUT......we still call the shots....Joe took the bait....he goes to all the dinners....his son shakes down foreign businessmen, and when he walks in a room they play hail to the chief........and all the horrible socialist agenda items that are being implemented.....well, history books will record them as Joe Bidens' legacy......and obama and susan rice will never face the music......they get to play Punctus Pilot and was their hands of this administration.
but alas......all good things come to an end......i fully suspect that shortly after the mid-terms.....sleepy joe will be forced to step down and the left will get their First Black Female President ...the demonrats will pat themselves on the back and pander to the blacks......and kamala will know she only has 24 months to put her stamp on the country and without fear of having to run for a re-election she can not win....she will instead steer the ship further left.
i hope i'm wrong .
side note.....the youtube videos of the subway shooter ( Frank James) are very entertaining.....in one video he has photos of 8 or 9 psychiatrists that treated him , taped to the wall behind him....and in the middle of his rant he points to their pictures and says .."Look at them, their worse than me" .........i must admit, i love crazy people who know they are crazy.....it's the fabric of our nation......nothing better than a good old fashioned nut case that knows it.........when we were back in the office i always interacted with the mailroom.....for some reason the mailroom was like a breeding ground for Crazy in Brokerage Houses, and i was always there to stir the pot and watch the insanity boil over......i don't miss the train yet....but i do miss some of the wackos i worked with.
An’ though the rules of the road have been lodged
It’s people’s games , that you got to dodge
Pig’s head and a loaded gun
Day by day things are going faster
Get off the street the killing’s begun ( Brewer & Shipley)
as i sat at my computer yesterday and watched the horror unfold at 36th street and 4th ave in my beloved Brooklyn....i couldn't help but think about the classic Brewer & Shipley song above......and before the blood dried on the platform the police rushed to put out a statement declaring this was NOT terrorism....without a suspect identified they were still ready to declare this was NOT terrorism.....why?
Because terrorism has lost it's meaning...it now apparently only defines attacks by Arabs against everyone else...and the media and Police are so concerned about these poor sandjigs that they rush to denounce terror ties for fear of upsetting our moslem inhabitants. the attack yesterday was terrorism, the victims did not know their attacker, were randomly selected and were most absolutely terrorized and traumatized by the events.....but society today is more concerned with the criminals than they are with the victims.
case in point.....a 16 year old hispanic girl was shot and killed by a stray bullet on her way home from school friday in the Bronx.......Toni Yates of ABC news on saturday morning went to great lengths to tell us the shooter had NEVER been in trouble before ( tell that to the corpse ) and now he was facing murder and his live was over........seriously ? why don't you interview the grieving Mother and see if she cares about the piece of shit that got high and murdered her daughter ?
dementia joe can give a million speeches about ghost guns and kathy hocul can stand on 36th street and say "this stops now" blah blah blah......we do not need new laws.....we need to enforce existing laws and send the criminals away for a long time....we need to prisons to be switched from modified country clubs to a place that nobody wants to visit....let alone be incarcerated for any length of time....we need to stop defending and excusing the criminals and start standing up for the victims........it sounds o simple, how did we loose our way ?
i hope when they catch the miscreant , that they keep him alive.....i want to hear what he has to say....and i want to see how they spin it.
Downtown it’s the first and last chapter
Ape man tearing limbs from the trees
inside the Coliseum,
Dodging lions and wastin’ time
Oh, those mighty kings of the jungle, I could hardly stand to see ’em
Yes, it sure has been a long, hard climb (Dylan)
the world of sports....often a punching bag of mine, but still a source of humor , enjoyment and inspiration on occasion.
Brian Boyle.....i was watching highlights on the NHL network the other day and they showed a young boy....8 or 9....front row.....holding a sign proclaiming that he beat Cancer and asking for players in warmups to sign his poster.......Brian Boyle, an all around good guy and one of my all-time favorites did more than that ....he came over to the boards and had a private chat.....gave the boy a fist bump through the glass and posed for pictures.....Boyle himself is a Cancer survivor....a lukemia blood cancer threatened his life in 2017......and i will never forget his first night back in the league.....on Hockey Fights Cancer night, he scored the game winner.....for a guy who has been playing over 15 years for 7 or 8 teams and has a total of 140 goals...that was a big deal.
Seth Beer.....it was opening Day in Arizona.....it was National BEER day....and so it was fitting the Seth Beer came to the plate in the bottom on the 10th of a tied game....and well the rest is the stuff of which legends and funny tales are born....of course he went yard and won the game with a Homer.......the Dbacks play by play guy reacted as if it was Mazeroski's homer in game 7 to beat the Yanks...but why not, it is opening day.
the Masters.......wish it was a little warmer yesterday, but i managed to pack a cooler and sit in the yard and watch the final round....i had Sandgae IM in the infamous Br Murphy pool.....and although the little korean came up short, at least he gave me hope for 4 days........something very American about sitting in the yard on the Sunday evening of the Masters.....of course i reached into my golf bag and took a few swings with a 3 iron.
talking hockey playoffs......be careful what you ask for ....so i'm not asking for anything....just some observations.....the 4th place team in the Adams family will probably swing over to the Patrick Division and vice versa ...so personally i would rather finish 2nd and play the penguinis and or Caps.....let the Canes win the division and face either Boston or Tampa in the 1st round.......Boston will wear down and become easier to beat as they playoffs get to the 2nd or 3rd round......and although TB is beatable...i would never want to play a defending Cup Champion in the 1st round.
10 games to go and Kreider is sitting at 49 goals.......i mistakenly thought Adam Graves was the single season Goal leader for the Rangers when he netted 52 in 1993-94.......totally forgot that Jagr reset the mark at 54 in 2005-06......i can't even remember that now....but let's hope Kreids gets 55 or more.
can't really root for the mets until they get rid of the BLM cancer in the clubhouse , but i still love baseball and i'm glad its back....especially working remote and sitting in the yard watching wed and thurs matinees......also something very American about that.
sail around the world in a little gondola,
of to be back in the land of coca-cola
while the majority of professional athletes in the other 3 sports are collective bunch of arrogant, overpaid, drug saddled thugs.....who hate the country, the press, the National Anthem and the fans.....who struggle to feed their families while collecting 100 hundred million $$ contract and see themselves as the true victims in this cruel world........on the other end of the spectrum we find our Hockey players............good natured, fun loving lads from various countries who are genuinely excited to be playing professional sports, that still put winning a title as their main objective and still form a bond of brotherhood with their teammates...and they never lose that sense of humor.
last night after the Broadway Blueshirts dispatched of the penguinis w clam sauce.......Igor Sheterkin pitched a shutout and Artemi Panarin scored a big goal......(2 Russian born players that could have easily stopped talking to the media after the war in Ukraine began) instead they faced the local media like they always do..........Panarin made a joke that Shesterkin said he would share some of his contract if he started to score more goals.........and then the quiet Rookie Shesterkin quipped that he "would share , except Biden is squeezing me on taxes". ya gotta love that......this is a team that is easy to watch and fun to root for...good natured banter and great Chemistry.....watch out is all i have to say to the rest of the NHL
And the way is hard to see;
When tomorrow comes,
Will you remember? (Jorma)
the winner and still champion....the world....it's undefeated really.......it doesn't matter who you are or what you do, this world will beat you down eventually.......it wears you out until you just can't fight back...until there is no peaceful place to hide, no respite from the harsh realities and constant bombardment of life and death......the never ending stories of stray bullets and street shootings in broad daylight.....the subway slashings and rapes....the hit and run drivers..the elderly pusched to the curb, punched in the face or thrown on the train tracks....the fires, famine and plagues.
and the knee jerk reactions, the talking head politicians with their talking points, they are soft on crime and criminals but real tough on punishing corporations, taxing the hard working and penalizing law abiding citizens because the bulk of our miscreant population ignores their laws......just take a look at old Smiley Martin....he was one the shines arrested in Sacramento for opening fire on a crowd of bar patrons with a machine gun Sunday night.......and our dear demented leader who says we need stronger gun laws.......California has the strongest gun laws in the nation...they don't work......Smiley is a convicted felon and under california law can not own a weapon....didn't matter......machine guns are not permitted to be owned by the general public....didn't matter.......but hey let's pass new regulations to make it harder for law abiding citizens who live in the mountains or somewhere remote to own a rifle for their homeland protection......or anyone that lives in a lawless denizon of a city to perhaps protect themselves.
lets open our borders and let every sister raping, lowlife scumbag from the shithole countries to our south, to just waltz across the border and apply for housing, welfare and food stamps.......who knows maybe they will smuggle some fentanyl in from china...fentanyl is synthetic man made opioid...it was responsible for 100,000 overdose deaths in the USA in 2021....last month in Florida 6 West Point Cadets overdosed ( 2 of them football players) while snorting cocaine that was laced with Fentanyl.....they are poising and killing Americans ever fucking day......how many speeches has biden given on Fentanyl ? too bad Fentanyl wasn't a white Cop, it would be villified as the number 1 threat to America......and the official response is to classify fentanyl as a schedule 1 drug with no medical merits (like Heroin and LSD) and tougher sentences for those selling it.......they don't seem to understand.......nobody goes to a dealer and asks for an ounce of Fentanyl....it is being laced into street drugs to kill Americans.....and still Nero Fiddles........look over there, not over here......voting laws are Americas biggest threats and cross dressing athletes are hailed as winners.............maybe it's the rain, maybe it's all the horrific news that rolls in daily and never seems to end , but i feel today that we are collectively starring into abyss......i don't see the light today, despite Jorma's urging
Now don't you know the world don't care,
Just what we're livin' through?
It's spinnin'; just keeps takin' you for rides.
Don't you know you've gotta keep on fightin' through?
The last frontier is flying deep inside!
