Sticking to your guns

It's 1am on May 5th and I can't sleep. Not for any reason in particular, I just can't, but while I was up I figured I might as well comment on the state of things.

I went and I saw a show today called The Mai, it's an Irish play in the style of Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa - which is to say there's a narrator on stage looking back at their fucked up Irish family and sometimes being a part of the action and sometimes not. I liked it more than I thought I was going to, as I went into it thinking it would be a blatant rip-off, but the writing is strong (until the tail end of the play), and the acting was strong, as were the dialects. The direction did not serve the show at all, but beggars can't be choosers.

The Mai though, is really just a lead in to more of the world of sports. Of which I have three issues I need to cover, in three different leagues...ok, four in three, but whatever. Initially I did not want to go to the Mai because today was a BIG day in the world of sports, and to capitalize "big" like a douchebag really doesn't do the day justice. The Atlanta Hawks were trying to oust the heavily favored Boston Celtics, the New York Rangers were trying to avoid elimination from round 2 of the the NHL playoffs, the Yankees were going for their first sweep of the season, and Greg Maddux was going for his 350th win...holy F'ing shit. How do you pass up a day like that?

Easily, you have tickets for a show with your girlfriend and you have mutual friends in the show. I lamented the day, but I knew that in the long run, I could get the low down on these events, and the Mai would only be around for a couple days. And thank god I didn't waste my afternoon with my head in my hands lamenting my decision...let's go over why I made the right choice, shall we?

Only one thing went right - the Yanks swept the Mariners. We needed this, we needed this bad, especially on the back of a strong performance by Darrel Rasner, who was little more than a blip on most fans radars last year, though was posting a stud-like year at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre...can any one city have more hyphens? Initially, I predicted the AL East to end as 1) New York 2) Boston 3) Toronto 4) Tampa 5) Baltimore. This was before the Yankees decided to have an injury party, before Toronto cut the only real bat in it's lineup, and before Tampa started looking like it could pitch. Then, last week, in a moment of weakness after Tampa was gaining ground and the Yankees had been devoured alive by the Tigers, I said to a buddy of mine, "You can have it in writing, 1) Boston 2) Tampa 3) New York 4) Toronto 5) Baltimore...as you predicted, Tampa is legit, and the real deal - they will not make the playoffs, but woe be the idiot who crosses them."
...You gotta stick to your guns. Will the Yankees make the playoffs this season? Probably not, is Tampa the real deal? Not quite. I even bought into the hype of Scott Kazmir coming back, but he got eaten alive by the Sox today, and for good reason...people are adjusted, he is not, it will take time, but he's not going to be mowing them down from the get and go. Are the Yanks a lost cause? No, they're proving, by beating the lowly Mariners, who I think I outlined to be year long punching bags in another post, they can win the games they need to win. They are not a star team right now, but to count them out completely is lunacy. They are the Yankees after all, and they have allowed me to stand on third base my whole life thinking I'd hit a triple. I will, I'm sure, over the course of the year, flip flop on this and offer anyone 4 to 1 odds on Tampa making the playoffs, and will readily accept even 3 to 1 on the Yanks making them, but this is why I'm not a professional gambler.

Which I am thankful for, because I would have lost my shirt on the Atlanta game this afternoon. Atlanta got beat soundly, as they should have, and in a great article on ESPN, it was pointed out that regardless of the outcome, it was still the most lopsided series in the NBA playoffs. The margin by which the Celtics outscored the Hawks was daunting, and the Celtics publicly humiliated the Hawks on Sunday, much as the Hawks had done to the Celtics on Friday night. I watched the game in bar and saw an Arena, nay, an entire city, uniting around a team in the NBA which I no longer thought possible. I have long posited that the decline of the NBA can be seen in the fan base, and watching old clips of Jordan you see goofy middle-aged white guys and people of all races, genders, and social classes jumping up and down in the stands as Jordan made some poor slob trip over his own feet and somehow get called for a foul. No longer do we see this phenomenon, though it was present Friday night in Atlanta. I thought riding that, the Hawks had some magic even playing in Beantown. Boy was I wrong. But there is a chink in the armor, and I am excited to see Cleveland vs. Boston - my money's on LeBron, which means Boston is probably the safe bet to win.

The Rangers also got beat pretty soundly today, and I was hoping they wouldn't, because I still hadn't really gotten to take in a Rangers game this season and I wanted one more chance to get one in, but alas, New York's other Big Blue will have to go home for another three months until the regular season starts up again. They're not getting any younger, and it will be interesting to see how things develop in the upcoming season (as if I really know). I could have told you the Penguins were going to skate away with this, I just wished there was a little more fight involved. This Crosby character is scarily good, and by the time he can legally drink I am afraid for anyone who will have to skate toe to toe with this kid. He will save the game the way Lindros was supposed to, only he will be the Jordan to Lindros' Penny Hardaway (back in the day buffet).

And finally, Greg Maddux, once again, got shut down in his bid for 350. God damn, it's a huge number, but why is 350 so much more fucking difficult than 348 or 349? Maddux is pulling a Clemens, running into a veritable brick wall trying to accumulate his 350th win. Granted, he isn't taking steroids or throwing his wife under a bus, and should therefore be doubly appluaded, but I'm starting to really feel for this guy. I'm hoping he draws the Nationals soon, who have no hope of ever contending that they might just give the guy the game the same way Mickey Mantle was gifted the homer that passed Jimmie Foxx on the all time list. But Greggers has a lot more life in him at 40+ than Mickey did in the twilight of his career.

Maddux will make his 350 and be a lock for the Hall, as if he wasn't already. Darrel Rasner will pitch again soon and have a shaky start but get backed up by some hitting. LeBron will make it an interesting series, while Crosby will gear up for the cup run that he was hired to provide. Clemens will be forever tainted by this foul year of Our Lord, 2008, and maybe, someday, they will re-evaluate Horse Racing where all the money and care that goes into breeding a great animal like Eight Belles, my pick to win this year, and results in a horrific euthanizing on the track. And maybe someday we'll come together as a society, and stop worrying about what a tragedy it is that horses have to get put down after a race, when we have thousands upon thousands of people living in our cities without a roof over their heads...goodnight, America. And good luck.

-Jobimoto out.
"When you speak of me, speak well."