Almost Heaven

 West Virginia

Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, growin' like a breeze (J.Denver)

Whatever you think or feel about Soccer, you have to love the spirit of a team of men representing the USA in the World Cup. On home soil, in the summer of our 250th year.....this has a story book feel to it.

Last night the boys in Red, White and Blue survived the refs and Bosnia.........the zebras disallowed 2 of our goals for offsides , and i am in no position to argue about the validity of those calls ( most bizzare offsides rules in all of organized sprts) and we also had to play a man down for most of the 2nd half after a questionable Red Card was issued to one of our star players ( Balogun, for those of you keeping score at home) .....and unfortunately he will be suspended for the next game..........could you imagine Messier missing a playoff game because of a penalty he took in the prior game ? ....absurd sport.

If it's Tuesday weld, it must be Belgium...............or something like that.

Monday night we take on the belgiuminians .....and it feels like we just lost to them in the last world cup.......nope that was the Dutch in 2022.........mustve been 2018...........nope, we didn't qualify for that World Cup......... in yet another episode of where does the time go.....we lost to Belgium 12 years ago in the knockout stage of the 2014 WC........I do know that i was in the Dubliner on Stone Street for the game with my former Head Linesman and a crew.....not 100% sure who else was there.....feel free to add a comment below if you were there......2014 was a good World Cup....watched most of it in Texas-Arizona in Hoboken.....but we gathered on Stone St for the knockout stage.

anyway God Speed to the Lads.......

I.........I

I Believe...........I Believe

I Believe that we will win.........I Believe that we will win

stock market disclosure.....although i was touting a DJIA melt up with the conclusion of the war......and it still may happen.....but i am taking a cautious path......i moved an additional 20% out of equities and into Money Market yesterday.....i think the country is starting to suffer from Trump fatigue.....I still support him , but i am disappointed in POTUS and the Republican party.....they had 2 years to get the important stuff done and they failed miserably......i think we get slaughtered in November and then things will grind to a halt.....def no rate cuts this year....B of A still predicting 2 or 3 hikes instead.....i'll put a nice nest egg on the sides gaining 3.5-4% interest........i also still buy the series I bonds through Treasury direct.......i am waiting/expecting for that one event that sends the markets tumbling...hopefully nothing bad happens around this weekend....but hey, we are at War....and we know there are plenty of Loyal Iranians living on our shores....so stay safe.......at some point most likely i will put that 20% back in at a deep discount......just pray its not at anyone i know expense.

I can't be a hypocrite and complain about the Scotus decisions handed down , especially Comey-Barret......there is a difference between common sense logic and deciding Right from wrong, and interpreting the constitution ......SCOTUS job is NOT to write the laws....but rather to decide legality.

Birthright citizenship may very well destroy the Country.....but it is up to Congress to amend that ......and take it away.....the 14th amendment was put in place after the civil war to grant Citizenship to the children of freed slaves( the parents were not citizens) and that was the right thing to do at the time.......they did not envision global travel or our enemies trying to manipulate that.....but it is NOT the role of SCOTUS to make that decision......just as they must uphold the 2nd amendment and not except the argument that the framers could not envision automatic weapons......it is the role of Congress to write the laws.......but just as they slept for the past 50 years and did nothing about abortion, immigration or even gun control....they certainly will not get anything done on Voting or Birthright Citizenship.....but to get mad at Scotus would be the equivalent of blaming a meter maid for not catching the Son of Sam..............when we all know it was Charlie Higgins Sr that eventually caught the Son of Sam.........who knows, maybe he was hanging out in a shoe bar .

side note.....it is interesting to see the leftist democrats getting devoured by the further left socialist's and communists in their own party........seeing Jewish Congressmen Dan Golden being barred from a coffee shop in downtown Brooklyn because he supports Israel.....or the other fruitcake in California getting chased out of a park ....he supports lgbtq-lmnop ......he decriminalized the act of knowingly giving someone aids through sex.....he backs trannies in all sports.....but he is obviously a jew ....and so the Hammas wing of the demonrat party chased him away.......it would be hysterical if it wasn't so frightening.........Schumer and Jeffries say NOTHING.......but they wil probably expect us to stand up when the crowds come for THEM.....

anyhoo......i'll be back with a Patriotic ....AMERICA 250 message before the 4th.....stay safe, drink plenty of icey cold fluids.....and remember that  2+3=250

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads

Then time will tell

 just who fell

And who’s been left behind
When you go your way and I go mine (Dylan)

ah yes, time will tell whether I or Chris Drury was right.......i am not a hockey scout but i know how to read a scouting report. It is clear to me by the transactions of the past 72 hours that Chris Drury is trying to keep his job in the short term......and may not have the long term health of the Blueshirts in mind.

I read the mock drafts and i was hoping one of the two Defensive studs would fall to number 5........imagine my shock when both Carson Carels and my choice Chase Reid ( a 6ft 3 American born stud who will a Norris someday)were both still on the board........now imagine my utter despair when Drury passed on both of them to take a Albert Smits from Latvia........the good news is he is a Defensemen and most scouts think he can step in a play next year......the bad news is he is NOT Chase Reid or Carson Carels.....he does not have the upside potential of the other 2.......i personally think Drury is trying to get back in the playoffs to keep the wolves at bay and buy himself some time.......i hope i am wrong.

The bean counters at the NHL network gave us a poor grade of C- ,  but at least they seemed to have a plan......their first 4 picks consisted of 3 defensemen and a Goalie.......they then went out a and traded for a much needed Goal scorer in Pavel Dorofeyev from Vegas....... they gave up quite a haul, they are getting back a young 25 year old scorer (30 goals a year) with playoff experience and coming from a winning culture...18 points in 31 career playoff games.......and Free agency opens this week , so i will reserve judgement.....but they gave up two 1st rounders and a 3rd to Vegas.....so again it feels like Drury is mortgaging OUR future to benefit his present.....

my gut tells me that in 10 years we may look back on this draft and weep...........like watching Brett Howden tear up the Playoffs this year for the Golden Knights.......another guy Drury gave up on....oh well...time will tell.

side note....i think the USA mens team can advance to the elite 8.......if not further.....

side note....mandani got his rent freeze.......can't wait until January when the residents of rent controlled apartments are crying because they have no heat, nobody is shoveling the sidewalk and the elevator is broke......but hey, you get what you pay for...

The judge, he holds a grudge
He’s gonna call on you
But he’s badly built
And he walks on stilts
Watch out he don’t fall on you

every time i think about back home

 it's cool and breezy 

I wish that i could be there right now

just passin time ( N. Young)

well, unfortunately i will not be able to come home this weekend for the PC's Monmouth Park trip, and i will not be returning to beloved Brooklyn for the 250th Birthday of this great nation......all my grand , delusional plans about revisiting the Bicentennial were met with shrugs and yawns.....and so i have now set my sights on Blisstock.

I have been assured that Blisstock will happen on Saturday Sept 19th, and the following day is the annual Chris Hoban run at Xaverian High School......I am busy booking trains and hotels and i now expect t o be in Brooklyn the 17th through 20th........Thurs 9/17 is shaping up as a Bayridge day drinking day......Friday holds the possibility of Golf ....stay tuned

I saw a pathetic advert on Instagram from the 9/11 Museum....they are now selling engraved cobblestones for anywhere from $125 to $2,500 (depending on placement) so you can honor a loved one forever........not trying to be cynic....just envisioning NYC in another 20, 30, 50 years.....controlled and run by moslems.....holding picnics on the WTC plaza.......urinating into the fountains and mocking the dead cobblestone remembrances.........I purchased a brick at the entrance to MSG about 25 years ago.....it was to benefit their Garden of Children foundation and i paid homage to my favorite MSG moment.....MATTEAU MATTEAU.........my brick would be on the steps leading into the main entrance forever.........yeah, never forget too........it lasted 10 or 15 years until they redid the entrance and decided NOT to put the bricks back down.......oh well.....like PT Barnums says "there's a sucker born every minute"  

i remained thoroughly disappointed with POTUS.....it is clear to me that he is entering this 60 day rain delay with Iran to lower gas prices before the midterms.......he didn't drain the swamp, he's drowning in it..........well, as PT Barnum says......yeah, you know the thing.

wish me luck....this Saturday in Southport NC i will attempt a 5K........i have not run a race since the Spring Lake 5 over 2 years ago.........but i am in the gym 4 or 5 days a week and have been laboring on the treadmill, so  i know i will finish......just hope i don't finish last.

2+3= BEEER

Everybody seems to wonder
What it's like down here
I gotta get away
from this day-to-day
running around,
Everybody knows
this is nowhere.

Once i thought i saw you

 in a crowded hazy bar,

dancing on the light from star to star (N. Young)

we have been saying it for years, but here we go again.....Hockey is different.

The Carolina Hurricanes and coach Brin'Damor have been flirting with the cup and building to this moment for the last 8 years......many of times the press and most fans have said they will NOT win the Cup without a legit goalie.........Freddie Andersen just wasn't the Goalie to get it done...

This year again they entered the playoffs with Andersen between the pipes....and i said in private that they are good enough to get to the Conf Finals, and may the Cup Finals; but they won't win with Freddie in net.

This year through the first 3 rounds he was unbeatable.....came up huge in the clutch and help carry the team through the first 3 rounds with a 12-1 record........BUT......suddenly in the finals he was human....the Golden Knights put 5 on the board in the opener and seemed to have his number....in a wild period of game 3 they put 6 pucks in the net (2 were disallowed ) in the 2nd period and Freddie was lifted.

In stepped Brandon Bussi......a 26 year old journeymen minor leaguer with 0 post season career wins...a kid from Long Island that had bounced around the minors after college and was picked up off waivers back in October.........and he shut the Knights down in the 3rd period and first OT before giving up a fluke goal in double overtime........so he earned the right to start game 4 and was brilliant......same in game 5.....and last night earned the shutout in the Cup clinching game.

a strange turn of fortune for Andersen who was an incredible 13-2 before being yanked......but he didn't sulk, hang his head, bitch to the media or complain.....he was part of a team and so was Bussi.......like Taylor Hall he wanted to win a cup by any means, whatever role was asked.

Last Night after Winning on the strip....the Stanley Cup was handed to Captain Jordan Staal.....after skating around triumphantly with the Chalice raised high for all of Nevada to see, it was time for Staal to pass it off to a teamate........guess who ?      Yes, of course....Freddie Andersen.......and nobody was more pleased that Brandon Bussi ......yep....Hockey is different.

You are like a hurricane
There's calm in your eye
And I'm getting blown away
To somewhere safer where the feeling stays
I want to love you but I'm getting blown away

GoNYGoNYGoNYGOOOO

 

Congratulations to the Original Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam and to Knick fans everywhere....hard fought, well deserved title to a good group of guys that really earned and deserved this title.....Jalen Brunson stands in complete contrast to all the imposters of other NY teams that accept Millions of Dollars and shrink and implode in the spotlight....he scored 45 points (15 in the 4th quarter) of a championship closeout game.......that is a star worthy of his contract......

watch out now, take care

 Beware of greedy leaders

They take you where you shouldn't go
While Weeping Atlas Cedars
They just want to grow, grow
Beware of darkness (Geogre Harrison)

Although the ink on the deal is not dry, and we are still dealing with leaks and nobody knows for certain what the final deal will look like......i have to say the POTUS is making a critical mistake if he follows through on any deal at this point.

I am very dissapointed with the Donn.....i hope he proves me wrong, but it sure feels like he is following in the steps of Bush and Obama....right off the cliff.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has more power now than before this conflict started in late February ( if thats possible) stories coming out of Tehran tell of the militia and IRG cracking down on the people....enforcing the Hijab rules, jailing and killing citizens for no reason, taking control of food and money........the clerics that are trying to make deals with the great satan are NOT in charge.....they will roll over immediately to save their own necks.

We have come this far.......fuck the deal, fuck the midterms......it is time to start wiping out the IRG, destroying the infrastructure and providing small arms to the general public so that they can finally rise up and challenge the powers that be.......level the playing field.....back off....and let their civil war play out.......think i'm crazy  ?  

The only time the Iranian war machine was quiet or held in check globally was when they were preoccupied fighting Iraq for 10 years........no money or time to spend on fighting Israel and everyone else.......but of course the first of many critical mistakes by the USA was when George the father drummed up and ignited the Persian Gulf War...........Iran must've thought they were dreaming.....the Great Satan in America wiped out their heated rival next door............as Mick Jagger would say, they found someone to do their dirty work, found some sucker, found some jerk......and not coincidentally in the early 90's is when the Iranian proxies sprouted up.....Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi Rebels. If they have a civil war on their hands, they will not have time, money or energy to pursue nuclear weapons or sponsor attacks in the Middle east.

If Trump signs a deal it will bail out the bad guys.......nothing will change.....it will be just another rain delay in the great nuclear weapon ballgame...it will send/reinforce the message to both enemy and allies in the region that the USA does not have the stomach for prolonged conflict....for all his bluster , Trump is just another cut and run Biden clone if he signs a deal.

We should be assembling a coalition of Arab nations to step in and rebuild the country after we cripple Kharg Island.....the CIA should be on the ground working with/creating an opposition leader to take the reigns when the dust settles......but i am afraid we are doing nothing........i am afraid we will sign a meaningless deal.....lift some sanctions....and walk away.........and the Clerics and the Army will be twice as strong as before......and the people of Iran will dare not rise up for another 100 years.....the darkness in the desert will be twice as bleak, and our partnership in the region will be viewed as a curse......I hope Trump has the courage to admit this and do everything in our power to prevent this.........but like most Americans......my patience is running out.

side note....to the talking heads on the business channels that see no down side to the Administration taking Govt Stakes in Publicly traded companies.....what could go wrong ?   well the most obvious problem will be when the next Democrat becomes POTUS....and then increases the govt steak to 51% (with your tax dollars) and then decrees that the board of directors need to be woke, blue haired females and trannies..........yep, what could go wrong with the Govt ( any Govt) getting involved in the private sector ?  Lord help us.

2+3=BEEER

Beware of sadness
It can hit you, it can hurt you
Make you sore and what is more
That is not what we are here for

In a soldiers stance

 I aimed my hand

At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I’d become my enemy
In the instant that I preach (Dylan)

Watching the Knicks game 3 of the NBA finals and i was getting aggravated and quite frankly sick to my stomach. The false idol worshipping of Patrick Ewing and his era of Knick underachievers....they went to the finals twice and lost both times.....his entire tenure was one of high expectations and bitter disappointment. Broken promises and worthless, laughable guarantees.

Now i am old enough to remember the 1973 Championship team very well, and i am grateful that my brothers woke me up for the 4th quarter of the clinching game from Los Angeles, after midnight on a school night.....and i was lucky enough to go to a half dozen reg season games at MSG and sit in the Red Seats that year , compliments of Pfizer pharmaceutical ......but the real era for me came soon thereafter......in my teen years i was blessed to watch perhaps the Greatest Knick of them all.....or at the very least a stone chiseled member of Mt Rushmore.

Bernard King was the best i ever saw wearing blue and orange.....he did not have the supporting cast that Frazier, Monroe, Bradley, Reed and Debuscherre had.......he had to carry the Team and he did.....the bigger the game, the better opponent, the higher stakes........the brighter he shined.......I specifically remember the 1984 playoff run......he broke fingers on each hand and played the last week of the season and the playoffs with soft casts and fingers taped together......imagine having to live like that ?  imagine trying to dribble a basketball or shoot around.......now try to imagine doing that against Parrish and Mchale............after knocking off the Mighty Pistons by avg 42 points a game and shooting 60% from the floor, MR King carried the Knicks up to Boston.....in an epic 7 game series against the eventual champs....Bernard avg 29 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.........with their backs against the wall and facing elimination in game 6......He scored 44 points and willed the team to victory.

I watch the Knick fans today, fighting each other and the Police in Bryant Park and Times Square and i just can't relate.......the night of that game 6 in 1984 I was in the Old Imbiberie Pub.....we did not have MSG or Cable in Brooklyn yet and so the game was NOT on Television........so they muted the televisions and put the Knicks on the Stereo Radio.........we hovered under a speaker at one of the high tops and listened time and time again as Marv Albert punctuated each of Bernard's shots with his signature YES !!......King drives the lane , YES..........Bernard from the corner, YES......Bernard with a running one hander, YES !......it was the greatest game i never saw.........i went onto you tube TV about 15 years ago and finally found the extended highlights of the game......heart stopping, breath taking, a one man show..........they went up to Boston 2 days later on Palm Sunday , on the fabled parquet in a Garden matinee ; they came up way short......Bird went Off and Bernard was double and triple teamed....Truck Robinson and Rory Sparrow couldn't help at all....the C's of course went on the defat the lakers and win the Title......but i still feel that Bernard was the best player on the court that spring and he should've been the league MVP.

I wish this current team well......hopefully they can get it done.

today is June 10th......41 years ago this morning I left Brooklyn for the Great Lakes Training Facility.......where does the time really go ? 

2+3=BEEER

 My pathway led by confusion boats

Mutiny from stern to bow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I’m younger than that now

i'm out here

 a thousand miles from my home
Walkin’ a road other men have gone down
I’m seein’ your world of people and things
Your paupers and peasants and princes and kings (Dylan)

next month i am going to see MR. Bob Dylan in concert in Wilmington.......on the under card he has 73 year old Lucinda Williams, she is recovering from a major stroke a few years back and can no longer play guitar...but she still sings.......followed by the 75 year old Jimmy Vaughan, he had a triple bypass 3 years ago and last year had a battle with cancer..........and finally, the headliner;  85 years young Mister Zimmerman has been around for more than 1/3 of this Countries 250 years.....think about that ...amazing

He has contributed the soundtrack to the lives of more than a few generations of Americans and keeps right on chugging.....i think back to the early 1970's in my parents house, listening to Bob Dylan on the stereo, well before the bicentennial , never imagined that after the semi-quincentennial i would be seeing Bob in concert in North Carolina.......life is strange.

I think of all the other times that i have seen him live......i think of all the times i played his music on a jukebox in a bar......or listened to his music standing around a keg in the park, or the Top of the Stairs or at the beach....of all the old friends that bonded over his lyrics and or laughed over his quirks and quotes........i have zero expectations for the music....whatever we get will be greatly appreciated and accepted.....i just want to have a few beers and the near the stage, along the Cape Fear River, and take it all in...

Here’s to the hearts and the hands of the men
That come with the dust and are gone with the wind

well the last thing i remember

 before I stripped and kneeled

Was that trainload of fools bogged down in a magnetic field
A gypsy with a broken flag and a flashing ring
Said, “Son, this ain’t a dream no more, it’s the real thing”  (Dylan)

if you have not accepted it yet......if you refuse to believe how dire the circumstances are......if you are still rationalizing that this is just a phase......a bad case of TDS.....and that the Demonrats will soon come to their senses.....i have to tell you....it is none of the above.

Yesterday in the Garden States 12th Congressional district primary, the demonrats selected adam hamawy as their nominee.

 In 1991, Hamawy (then a medical student) took a 13-hour road trip with Omar Abdel-Rahman ( The Blind Shiekh)  to attend a Detroit conference where the cleric delivered speeches about jihad. Later, during the cleric's 1995 terrorism trial for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Hamawy testified as a defense witness for the sheikh.....he denied ever hearing the sheikh speak about jihad , and when the prosecution presented the text of that speech that was given in Detroit to hamawy, he claimed it was a misunderstanding or it was taken out of context......the seeds of the first Trade Center bombing were planted in 1991 during that trip to Detroit....and 1 of the 3 people in that car is going to be elected Congressman from NJ. The other person in the car was an FBI informant (Emad salem) that testified that Omar spent the majority of the ride trying to convince the informant to assassinate Hasni Mubarak.

In 1994, Hamawy volunteered with the Benevolence International Foundation, an organization that was later shut down and designated by the U.S. government as a covert front for al-Qaeda.

 During a 2002 raid on BIF's Bosnian offices, authorities discovered weapons, false passports, an Al-Qaeda organizational chart, personnel files of fighters trained by bin Laden, and early foundational notes of the terror network. 

Hamawy secured high-profile endorsements from prominent progressives like Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib. 

this is really it.....we have allowed our borders to be compromised, our education system to become a brain washing experiment and our media to stand guard and reinforce the false narrative........our votes and our intentions no longer matter...WE are the insignificant minority in the Northeast.......i include myself in this because i too allowed it to get this far.....it feels like it is time for the right to start encouraging the mentally ill on our side of the fence to take up arms...you know....they way the left sends infantry line after infantry line over the hill to attack and try to kill the Trumps and Charlie Kirks, the Police and ICE agents,  maybe it's time the moslems got a taste of the anti Semitism that flows freely on the left.......but if it happens , there will be no turning back.....i don't support violence or violent rhetoric...(except in the NHL) but a wise old t shirt once screamed the obvious "Go Down Swinging"

 Señor, señor, let’s disconnect these cables

Overturn these tables
This place don’t make sense to me no more
Can you tell me what we’re waiting for, señor?

The best is always yet to come

That’s what they explain to me
Just do your thing, you’ll be king
If dogs run free  (Dylan)

Fresh off a successful jaunt to Raleigh and feeling good about the Canes chances verse Vegas.....at the start of the playoffs i questioned their defense and goaltending .......i no longer do.........I must admit that should they loose, i will be very happy for Coach John Tortorella.....the beloved former Blue shirt coach.

The Lenovo Center was a gem......they had 2 makeshift bars in the parking lot at the main entrance to the arena and were slinging ice cold cans of Beeer for $5....and since were staying in a hotel we did not have a car or cooler....so this was ideal.......once inside the place was impressive.....felt much smaller than the 18,500 capacity.......we sat in the upper tier in the St Patrick section (317)..........sections 318 & 319 were removed last year and replaced with an open air VIEW BAR with a railing overlooking the ice....pub tables, and flat screen TVS along the walls.....and amongst other things they were serving STORM BREW on Tap.....The Raleigh Durham brewery brewed this beer especially for the arena and Canes fan were allowed to pick the name.......we stayed in a Ramada on the campus and a short walk from the arena.....great experience.

Saw a hysterical interview with Doctor Jill......obviously she has a new book coming out and so now she's talking......she swears that during Joe's debate meltdown she thought he was either drugged or having a stroke.........now most ordinary citizens know; if a person is having a stroke, time is of the essence and every minute counts............so what did Doctor Jill do ?    she took Joe to the Atlanta Waffle House in the middle of the night to shake hands with the natives.......and the next morning she paraded him onstage and praised him for "answering every question" from the night before.......hmm......dam video evidence is hard to argue against.....guess she wasn't too worried about that so called stroke she thought he was having.

Mandani....the Mayor for ALL of NEW YORK......will become the first sitting Mayor to skip the Israeli Day Parade since its' inception in 1964....i hope the tarlovs of the world are happy.......but hey.....when someone tries to tell you WHO they really are......you should listen.

POTUS has accepted an invitation from Jim Dolan to attend one of the Knicks games at MSG in the finals.....must see TV.......hopefully be brings  Tom Homan and has ICE arrest Wemby during the pregame shoot around.

This morning me and my Pal were taking a stroll along the golf course as the sun came up.....he really took his time...sniffing everything....taking it all in......we both watched golfers stretching and prepping by the first tee box....envious perhaps of those that are on the front 9 of life....while we both are somewhere between 17 and the clubhouse........slainte....breathe it all in.....enjoy what you can.

True love can make a blade of grass
Stand up straight and tall
In harmony with the cosmic sea
True love needs no company
It can cure the soul, it can make it whole
If dogs run free

 

going down the road

 feeling bad.

don't want to be treated this way (Trad: GD)

Big win for the hometown Canes last night..........an Overtime W in the Bell Centre in Montreal to remain unbeaten on the road in these playoffs...........5-0 away from Raleigh........10-1 overall in the postseason.....total domination...........i have tickets for game 5 at the Lenovo Center on the campus of the NC State Wolfpack..........it will either be a pivotal game 5 in a 2-2 series.....OR.....Dare i say......a chance for the Hurricanes to capture the Prince of Wales trophy and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals...in any event, Raleigh sb Rockin....and it seems as though Taylor Hall is on a mission to finally raise the Cup....God Speed.

don't want to jinx the Golden Knights, but up 3-0 and things are looking really good for Johnny Torts...a class act, sorely missed by most of Blueshirt Nation......

I'm reading that zohran the idiot is opposed to watch party's around the city for the Knicks during this historic run at a title......he says they are too loud and disruptive.........he is however a BIG proponent of watch party's and relaxed restrictions around the city for the World Cup soccer next month( even though NY is not a host, but NJ is) ....just another example for the argument that he is hellbent on tearing down the old city and replacing it with 3rd world ideals....one big arab bazar and toilet bowl........everyone smoking Hookah and peddling fake watches............hopefully ICE is resting up for a blitzkreig during the World Cup.

I am a little surprised at the ongoing negotiations in Iran.....but i am not conceding.......POTUS and his entire cabinet are headed to Camp David tomorrow for a cabinet meeting.....I have to believe that if Iran does not capitulate to the deal that includes surrendering their uranium and giving up the notion of a Nuclear weapon, and does say by today or tomorrow.......i still feel the Big Hammer is going to drop......these iranians are not reasonable, they see themselves as martyrs, let's make it so........they are hoping that our congress eventually stops funding the military.....not that far fetched......i think Trump really wants diplomacy to prevail, but even he must admit that you can't trust or negotiate with these people....it's way past time......they still think WE are the paper tiger.....let's dispell that notion and dispell a few hundred thousands skulls while we are at it.....

2+3=BEEER

Going where the water tastes like wine
Well I'm going where the water tastes like wine
Going where the water tastes like wine
I don't wanna be treated this a way

There's a battle outside, and it's ragin

 It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls

For the times they are a-changin’ (Dylan)

As i sit here on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, i am both wishing i was in BAR A and also a fly on the wall of the situation room. I think somewhere in the next 24-48 hours the US will strike IRAN and strike them very hard. I Believe Sen Wicker from Mississippi was on the mark when he criticized and warned POTUS to NOT make a deal with Iran (as they can never be trusted) and to instead "Finish" the job that was started.

Trump said on Friday that he was NOT going to attend Don Jr's wedding on Saturday because he felt the need to remain in Washington, and also on Friday the Dir of National Intelligence abruptly resigns to care for her husband that is battling cancer...........but we also know that Tulsi Gabbard is the loudest anti-war voice in the cabinet........coincidence ?   maybe not. 

In any event.....i think after a long cease fire and talks that are going nowhere, it is time for Trump to raise the stakes, attack their energy plants and make the Iranian public uncomfortable.....this is war, not chess.....it is time to go after the Revolutionary guard and start wiping entire divisions off the map.......he can't risk any more defections and another war powers vote;  after yet another recess.....i fully expect the hammer to drop this weekend.

say a little prayer for the Carolina Hurricanes tonight if you can......i have tickets for game 5 next Friday in Raleigh......so long as the Habs don't sweep.

2+3= DEATH to IRAN

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’

Happy 60th Dano

 oh, we would have raised quite a few glasses celebrating your 60th today , rest easy Dano, you are missed.

Matteau Matteau Matteau

 back by popular demand after a few years respite........

Feel free to add comments as to where you were and what you were doing when Matteau Matteau Matteau struck Gold......

Matteau Matteau Matteau

It was the Friday Night of Memorial day weekend,  the City was electric and pensive,  nerves were on end….. I was scared out of my boots as I walked out of 44 Wall street and  rode the subway up to Mustang Sallys, our traditional pregame watering hole in the spring of 1994…for 5 or 6 weeks we had been coming here before and after the games for burgers and a few beers….but on this night I couldn't even eat…..just stood by the door with Donn and Craig , washing down Budweiser beer like it was going out of style (as if that would ever happen)...Penn Station was abuzz with Commuters getting out of town... happy , smiling travelers with their weekend bags had no idea what kind of sh*t was about to go down, while upstairs in the World’s Most famous Arena the Broadway Blueshirts were about to take the ice for a critical game 7 of the Eastern Conf Finals against the hated, HATED  NJ devils……..I settled into my seat in section 419, row f ,  put two full buckets of said Budweiser Beer under my aisle seat,  rose for Mr Ammorante and the singing of our National Anthem…..and I remember thinking to myself, for the rest of my life, whatever happens tonight, will come flooding back to me every Friday of Memorial Day weekend …pain or glory, we will never forget this game…we will never celebrate this holiday weekend the same way..a small part of me was convinced of pending doom, fearful I would never again enjoy a memorial day bbq, ..we have to win……….first period was a scoreless draw…..more buckets of  Budweiser beer…….getting more nervous as the night wears on, which of course leads to faster drinking…….out to the rotunda between periods…scoreless………staring at the Post office…….please God……House lights come back on, crowd roars, back to our seats…nerves...…..midway through the deuce…….Brian leetch skates in from the circle……broduer defending 7th ave…….Leetchie pulls a spin-o-rama----lets go with a bullet….the light goes on……….the Garden erupts……YES !!!!!................the period ends…….more beer….not celebratory beers, but definitely happy ones….can actually breathe now..back to the rotunda……20 minutes from the finals…..the City knows it…….people are now gathering on the Post Office stairs across the street…….people without tickets are coming to the garden area to share in the celebration, the streets are filling up….I had chills on my neck……I ran into Kenny Coco (the CFO for Waterhouse Securities)…….the last thing he says to me is that when we hold on to win 1-0 , Richter will tie the record for most shutouts in the postseason……..Richter……The Rock of Gibraltar…our MVP....he was going to single-handedly win this thing…….very nervous to start the 3rd period…..it only gets worse….every shift….every dump in…..every whistle…..the crowd is bezerk……watching the clock….praying for an insurance goal…no such luck…gotta sweat it out, ranger style..….10 minutes…get a few more buckets of beer before last call…I will drink these beers during the post game ceremony I tell myself with a silent chuckle, would never say that out loud …for the hockey Gods to hear and strike me down with justifiable lightning…....8 minutes…6 and a half minutes ..5 minutesto play…I start allowing myself to dream…we are soo close……..2 minutes……the place is on its feet……..can't hear the whistle….can't hear yourself think……high fives all around……"THIS IS THE LAST MINUTE TO PLAY IN THE PERIOD"…….BEDLAM…sheer total BEDLAM…the upper tier of MSG is literally shaking…Christmas like  joy on the faces of so many…...goosebumps….chills…..sweating……nervous………30 seconds………broduer to the bench……they dump in…..one last push…….i'm squinting toward the 7th ave net from my 8th avenue seats, glancing at the clock…slowly tick, slower  tock…. tick……tock……..10 seconds……loose puck…mad scramble…..can’t follow the puck……the devils are jumping up and down….why?....the light is on…WTF ?....7 seconds….tie game……..

It was like being kicked in the stomach……..stunned silence……from the summit of Mount Everest to the depths of hell in a single moment..…I left my seat and walked to the rotunda before they had the faceoff……..stood starring at the post office………watching TV Crews with live reporters waiting on 8th ave for the delighted faithful to exit the building…..word spreads that they tied the game….the lights for the cameras start getting turned off…it really just happened.....we are going to OT……..a sad sickness and eerie silence hovers in the building……we are never going to win this damn cup….i said not a word…but I made a promise to myself….if they loose this game, I will never set foot in this building again…..never…for any reason…NEVER.


Me , Donn and Craig barely said a word to each other during intermission……it was like Clavins Funeral home up there……somebody must have died…somebody popular..…we retook our seats…..I could not concentrate…..the first ot was a blur……..I watched the red light behind richter fully expecting to see it go on, kinda wishin it would, so it would end my misery…….everytime they came into our zone I was sure the game would end……….midway through the period , the faithful woke up………”Lets Go Rangers” chants were back……we were exhausted and angry…….but we could not score…….back to the rotunda…..back to the window….this could go on all night..

House lights on...Back to our seats…….double OT …….wornout….feel like I went 10 rounds with Tyson….not sure how much more of this I can take…nerves are shot…..my eyes are tired..…Devils are shooting at 7th ave…….blueshirts are attacking our 8th ave net…..we get a chance, they get a chance…..back and forth and back and forth……3 minutes in.. the puck dances through our crease….it's going in ……..out of nowhere comes leetch……he swats it away…it hits a devil and is heading back towards the empty net….where is Richter?.......I am still not sure what really happened….to this day I think it hit the post….but somehow the light did not go on……somehow the puck did not go in…I can't take this…I really can't…..someone please end this game……..we dump in….they dump out….BUT NO …..we keep in and redirect around the net……not sure who is chasing the puck, watching Tikanen sneak in from the point for a pass……someone is emerging from the boards behind the net with the puck….a devil is hounding him……pass it to TIK I scream inside my head……..NO…..he attempts to stuff it in ……YES !!!!!!!!... YES….YES...

MATTEAU MATTEAU MATTEAU………..STEPHANE MATTEAU…………..and the Rangers have one more hill to climb baby..and it's Mount Vancouver……the Rangers are going to the finals………..the rest is beautiful history……..at 4 minutes and 24 seconds of Double overtime, the Rangers ended the greatest playoff Hockey Series in NY City history……emotionally and physically DRAINED…

As for me……we stayed and watched the trophy presentation without beer…….the Garden was electric again….like New years eve…strangers shaking hands….7th ave outside the garden was a crazy, crazy scene..the busiest streets on the planet were closed to traffic by a Mob of Hockey Fans…Chaos…back to Mustang Sally's….Met half of Bayridge there....a cab back to Brooklyn..…..cars honking horns on the Brooklyn Bridge…….went to PJ's Pub……was still there at 4:00 a.m. …bought beers in the bagel store for the walk home…….people walking up and down 5th ave with beers, stopping traffic..chanting lets go rangers…we want the cup...…..it was crazy…I walked all the way to my apartment on 95th & Shore rd……took a long time….seemed like the whole neighborhood came out to celebrate.

NOPE…..I will never ever allow the Friday of memorial day weekend to pass without reflection on that night….

round and round and round we spin

 To weave a wall to hem us in

It won't be long, it won't be long
How slow and slow and slow it goes
To mend the tear that always shows
It won't be long, it won't be long (N. Young)

I continue to be amazed by the amount of talking heads on TV that continue to question Mandani's intelligence.........the guy is NOT stupid......he does NOT believe that Socialism is the answer, he does NOT care about the future of NYC.....he is the first wave of the demolition team, his goal is to disrupt the Big Apple Cart.....to bankrupt the city and to make day to day life unbearable for the decent hard working people.......he wants to drive out the rich and the blue collar folks alike......he wants to turn NYC into a Sharia Law Paradise......and horse face hochul is along for the ride.

Last week he announced that they balanced the NYC budget........a closer look reveals that is NOT entirely true.........the 2 biggest issues.......they recd an 8 Billion dollar grant/subsidy from Hochul and the State.....AND......they deferred their contributions to the NYC pension funds till 2037....this will cost NYC approx $10 Billion more for the deferral.........the state gave them 8 Billion because Hochul is up for election.....she needs mandani to stay quiet and not drastically raise taxes......until after her election in november......remember this is the same horse face that "paused" congestion pricing......until 2 weeks after her last election.........i'm sure next year the state will not be so eager to cough up another $8 billion..........so just like in the 60's-70's when Lindsey deferred the cities obligations , so that he could fund his social agenda; and the city went bankrupt under Mayor Beam......mandani is kicking the can down the road for the next sucker.........so he can

Open another subsidized grocery store...... again....he is not naive enough to believe that opening grocery stores ( at the cost of 30 million a pop) and then using taxpayer dollars to cover part of the costs for the groceries is going to be a financial success......but again.....it's not supposed to be.......it is nothing more than an illegal tax of 99.5% of the population to provide cheap groceries and buy the votes of the handful of neighborhoods that get a grocery store.

but hey...the Knicks are looking good....so who cares....who's keeping score ?  not me.

2+3=BEEER

It's hard enough losing the paper illusion
You've hidden inside
Without the confusion of finding you're using
The crutch of the lie

Went to the fortune teller

 Had my fortune read

I didn't know what to tell her
I had a dizzy feeling in my head (Rolling Stones)

how this for a prediction market ?

Trump to Xi Xi Ping Pong :  " Stop Buying Iranian Oil.....buy from America and i'll give you a discount"

Ping Pong to the Donn :   "ok.....but we're taking Taiwan next month, stay out of it "

Rubio to Everyone :  "Deal, but then we're taking Cuba at the same time"

Fang Fang :   DEAL

Brendan Murphy:  Did someone say Deal ? ? ? 

and that friends will be the End of Iran and send the DOW to 60 or even 75K.......peace on earth, goodwill towards man, who cares if it only lasts a few years.....get in the deep end with the Blue chips and get out before they blow.

Dum Spiro Spero........while i breathe, I hope

2+3=BEEER

Now I'm a happy fellow
Well, I am married to the fortune teller
Well happy as me can be
Now I get my fortune told for free

while the firelights aglow

Strange shadows from the flames will grow
Till things we've never seen

Will seem familiar ( Hunter-Garcia)

shortly before his passing, Bobby Ace Weir did an interview and was asked about the legacy of the Grateful Dead music......and he seemed to be greasing the treads when he spoke of the where the locomotive was headed after "HE" passed........he was obviously comfortable and even encouraged at the thought of John Mayer driving the ship........he marveled at how the GD music was indeed built to last for at least 300 years.......not hubris......just honest observations....unlike their peers, the GD felt that after the sounds left their instruments they belonged to the universe.......and if you came to one of their shows you were welcome to "tape" it and bring the music home with you......provided you were willing to share it with others........Bob talked about how the original band members always collaborated with their fellow bands and played every benefit or festival that they were invited to..and after the passing of Jerry Garcia, Bob said he felt the responsibility to play with the next generation and find someone to shepherd the music after he was gone...

anyone raised in the 20th century can attest to how quickly music evolves and changes.......parents and their children rarely have similar tastes.........kids tend to reject their parents music as too old or old fashioned to be enjoyed or taken seriously...it's normal.

Last Sunday i was at the Grand Strand Brewery......the Owners/Brewmasters are also amateur musicians ....they have formed a GD cover band.....and on the first Sunday of each month they perform a free show on the plaza-public park outside the Brewery......as i was enjoying a Beach Haze Wheat Beer, half a block from the mighty Atlantic, a warm May breeze waffling across the plaza and the sounds of Samson & Delilah in the air.........i did a 360 and took it all in........and i took particular notice of those enjoying the music........seriously a range of toddlers to Senior Citizens......it's fun music.....incredibly American .....easy to sway to the beat,  or allow it to warm your soul........and i think and pray that Bobby is right.........We will survive, We will get by.

 

Inspiration, move me brightly
Light the song with sense and color
Hold away despair
More than this I will not ask

Faced with mysteries dark and vast
Statements just seem vain at last
Some rise, some fall
Some climb to get to Terrapin

derby Rant 2026

 i am SO HAPPY to be back here talking about the Derby.....a few years back i was a little INTREPIDO about posting such a silly ALBUS of jibberish, as some of my critics called it.... buy one little sip of CORONA DE ORO and i am back like a PAVLOVIAN dog  with a ROBUSTA prognostication....it's funny how these run on analysis seem to revolve around Booze....it's no WONDER DEAN sticks to his DANON BOURBON , a very POTENTE and somewhat INCREDIBOLT cocktail for certain......but gals like the PUMA  are all about their RIGHT TO PARTY and consider it a LITMUS TEST to drink at SIX SPEED and somehow stay ahead of the EMERGING MARKET, so she prefers a shot of GOLDEN TEMPO and a vintage bottle from the GREAT WHITE winery. OCELLI the troublemaker interrupted the party and shouted, give us your picks without FURTHER ADO in the direction of the honorable CHIEF WALLABE....but know one paid heed , all could see he lacked authority to give such orders, he was just a RENEGADE barking a false COMMANDMENT.

and that's how i see it......6-1-12    Commandment then Renegade followed by Chief Wallabee.........alas, i have been very , very wrong the past 4 or 5 years.....

for those keeping score at home, the Derby Rant is celebrating it's 16th iteration ........i can't wait till the martians read this in 250 years and try to figure it out........

2+3= BEEER