I Closed Out the Spectrum With a Little Help From My Friend Bruce

"...fuckin history makin..."- Bruce Springsteen, ultimate American, coolest dude ever.

I finally saw Boss live and he and the E Street Band did not disappoint in their last show ever at the Spectrum. A near three hour, 26 song set complete with such classics as Spirit In the Night, Born To Run and Thunder Road had the Spectrum crowd rocking out all night. They even covered The Clash's London Calling. Great night for both the young and old Springsteen fans.

For future trivia, Bruce's final song at the Spectrum: Kitty's Back.

Bruce is confirmation that New Jersey is better than the other 49 sorry excuses for states.

Fun With Nittany Lions

My better half went to Penn State and she claims it's the greatest place on earth. So, thanks to her invitation, I went back to school last weekend and made my first trip to Happy Valley for Penn State's annual Blue-White Weekend. I told everyone I met that Michigan and Ohio State don't even know what Penn State is. Penn Staters don't like to hear things like that.

It was the perfect weather weekend to be out and about. We checked in Friday afternoon at the beautiful and luxurious Days Inn. Ate dinner at the Corner Room. Had dessert at the famous Creamery. Got our drank on Friday night at the G-Man and Dark Horse. Friday night consisted of several shots of alcohol, which is what probably lead my friend to hop on one of those hotel luggage carts and ride it down a flight of stairs, proceeding to break his face. Yikes.

On Saturday, with the stomach still feeling the effects of Friday night, I managed to only eat a hot dog and a salad all day. Good nutrition right there. I walked to Beaver Stadium to catch some of the Blue-White game. After the game, I went to Mad Mex to watch the Flyers lose to Pittsburgh with a bunch of folks from PA's left coast. Worst. We then moved on to Cafe 210, where we hawked out a table outside and stayed there all night.

It was a solid weekend in State College, PA. I'll be mailing my undergraduate application shortly. Hmm. 25-year-old undergrad. Creepy or awesome?

April Heat Waves Can Suck It

Worst night of sleep ever last night. I opted not to install my window unit air conditioner last night, given that it's only freakin April. And thus began my sleepless night.

Here's a setup to go along with last night's events:
When I moved in to my place in July '07, my bedroom already had an AC unit in the wall below the window. It still works. However, its signature move is shooting out tiny pieces of frozen water, otherwise known as ice, onto my hardwood floor. Annoying after about 30 seconds.

Last summer, I purchased a window unit, as the AC/ice machine was driving me bonkers. I kept the other unit in the wall for one reason: if I remove it, there's a large hole in the wall. When the warm weather ended last year, I removed the new window unit. The room looked a little odd with one AC on top of another.

Fast forward to yesterday. A heat wave in an old house is rough and I don't want to call the hotline that's reserved for senior citizens without air. I tried to get through it with the window open and fan blowing but eventually had to make a move. It was 1 am and I had no desire to install the window AC, which was sitting in a far away land in my basement. So I plugged in the old wall AC.

Four hours of ice on floor go by. I can't take it anymore. I open the window. Loudest bird in the history of ornithology decides to settle outside of my window. Monster-sized bird chirps are then followed by what had to be an army tank driving down my street. There's only one option left to get some sleep before the work week officially begins. I shut the window. I sweat it out for a few hours in silence.

I am falling asleep at my desk today. I despise heat, birds, air conditioners, ice, and traffic. Good night.

Mets Fans Boo Blind Man

The New York Mets opened their new ballpark, Bailout Field, last night with a 6-5 loss to the San Diego Padres. That's swell news.

What's better is the fans booed New York Governor David Paterson, who is legally blind:

Wow, there is someone Mets fans hate more than Oliver Perez: New York governor David Paterson. Paterson was booed mercilessly when introduced before the game. So was just about every other state politician they announced (you get the feeling fans didn't necessarily know all of them, and didn't really care. when in doubt, boo the pols).

I don't want to hear any complaining when Philly fans boo Vince Fumo during pre-game ceremonies. Got it?

Harry Kalas, A Childhood Memory

I've lost a piece of my childhood today. Harry Kalas, longtime Phillies broadcaster, passed away at the age of 73.

As a 25-year-old Phils fan, I didn't have many great baseball memories prior to 2007 and with the exception of the '93 season. But Harry was the one constant. No matter how many losses, Harry's voice always made it better. It is irreplaceable. For me, it represents the voice of summer and the nights when I could stay up late as a child and watch all nine innings.

It sounds corny but perhaps Harry's passing today was the reason the Phils were able to pull through last year and win the World Series. Someone up there knew it would be his last October on Earth and rallied the team to a championship. It is only fitting that Harry went out a world champion. He will be missed. My summers will never be the same.

Easter Resurrecting?

Fact: Easter is the weakest of all holidays in terms of fun and general awesomeness. No time off from work. No office holiday parties. Wearing nice clothes. No presents, at least for someone my age. The only good part is the airing of The Ten Commandments starring that gun-toting Moses character.

Despite all of the holiday's shortfalls, yesterday's Easter Mass delivered beyond all expectations as Reverend Vincent was a regular Don Rickles on the stage, er, altar. He began with this gem:

A couple is killed the day before they were to get married.
They see St. Peter in Heaven and tell him they want to get married.
St. Pete says he'll see what he can do.
Ten years later, St. Pete approaches the couple and says it's time for them to get married.
Not longer after they are married, the couple finds St. Pete and asks for a divorce.
St. Pete says, "It took me ten years to get a preacher up here. How long do you think it will take me to find a lawyer?" ZING!

He ended Mass with some cautionary advice:

"Don't drink and drive. There are alot of cops around."

Awesome. Easter, you just moved up on my list.

Amen.

Fan Misbehavior: It Happens Everywhere!

It happened several decades ago. Yet, the Santa/snowball incident is still the first thing many sports journalists refer to when covering a game in Philadelphia. As a Philly fan with a sense of humor, I can usually laugh it off, until it segues into a lecture about how awful the city's fans are (I'm looking at you, TJ Simmers). Because, let's face it, incidents happen everywhere. In Chicago. In L.A. Even in sweet, old Minnesota. Just a few examples.

I am in no way saying all Philly fans are angels. Things happen. I was disappointed to see fellow Phillies fans getting into a scuffle during the World F. Champions banner-raising ceremony at Opening Night. Seriously dudes? It was supposed to be a time of joy where grown men, strangers even, say "I love you" to one another.

But picking on Philadelphia seems to be the national pastime for journalists everywhere. So with that said, I'll be keeping a list and checking it twice (see what I did there, the Santa reference) of all the wild fan mishaps in other cities.

And what a way to start. North of the border. Toronto:
Beer and alcohol sales were banned at the Tigers-Blue Jays game Tuesday night, a day after their season opener was delayed when unruly fans littered the field with baseballs and debris.

Let me get this straight. We're one game in to the season and there's an alcohol ban already? That's awesome. And the Blue Jays won the game!

Documenting My 2009 MLB Predictions

Last year, I picked Detroit to win the World Series so I'm obviously pretty awesome at forecasting success.

Division Champs
NL East: Mets- it hurt to type that
NL Central: Cubs- division stinks
NL West: Dodgers- only team that can hit baseballs
AL East: Red Sox- best pitching staff, worst accents
AL Central: Twins- I have an inexpicable love for Minnesota
AL West: Athletics- Bobby Abreu is the Angels' new RF

Wild Card Bitches!
NL: Marlins- Hanley Ramirez is sweet
AL: Rays- banking on last year not being an aberration

LCS
NL: Cubs over Dodgers- the stars are aligning
AL: Rays over Red Sox- Rays officially become more hated in New England than the Yankees

World Series
Rays over Cubs- stars stop short of aligning

See what happens when you let Pat Burrell walk? I'm talking to you Ruben Amaro.

Important Things On the Mind

Flipped through this week's City Paper this morning. On page 3, we have an ad for an Allman Brothers concert in Camden this summer. Two pages later, we have an ad for a New Kids On the Block concert, also in Camden, this summer. That's two different audiences, neither of which are probably reading this fine alternative news weekly. But hey, it's all good. The Allman Brothers were great back in the days before my conception and before Duane was killed. And NKOTB kicked it funky-style when I was a young lad. I don't even know what that last sentence means.

Mailed a check for my parking ticket yesterday. On the memo line I wrote, "Parking in Philadelphia is awful." I sure showed the PPA with that one! But seriously, parking in this city blows chunks.

So NBC finally pulls the plug on ER tonight. Ha. Unintentional euthanasia jokes rule! I feel like I've been hearing about the ER series finale for five years now. Glad to see Doggie Howser, MD is returning for the last episode.

Seriously can't get over the ShamWow guy and his little run-in with a prostitute. This of course put in him jail. It also got me thinking about the world's greatest infomercials. For me, nothing tops this guy and the product that makes you look extremely awkward as you exercise.

Not happy about the latest news from Sixers camp. Thaddeus Young will miss the last few games of the season and possibly some of the playoffs. That really hurts the chances of pulling a first round upset. Side note: I have not attended one Sixers game this season. There's something about this team I don't like.

Lastly, there's a pretty sweet exhibition coming to Philaldephia this weekend. Galileo, The Medici and the Age of Astronomy hits The Franklin, April 4 - September 7. As an asipiring astronaut, I am excited.