When the hunt eats you

Went to my off the beaten patch record store today to do some digging. And dig I did. For a change, I went in with a list of four records and ended up finding three of them. Purchased two since one of them was not in decent condition.

I’ve written about and told others about Memory Lane Records before and how it is so quirky. The owner is a fair man who today was in the rum and cokes. We were talking about a singer/songwriter who neither of us knew or could find out any information about. He somehow scored a single side of a five disc collection on VJ Records. It could have been a misspelling on the label, because I found a Wikipedia entry about this dude, Bobby Jameson. But the cataloger in me cannot find a true connection between the songs on the record and the songs he wrote. So be it.

Found five records to buy, and here is where the fun lies in this place - none of the records are priced. One of the records was a copy of Los Bravos’ Black Is Black in very good condition.

“Where did you find this?” Al asked as he marveled at its condition while turning the pages of his price book.

It had a book value of $75, he was going to charge me $50 and I passed on that. Al said he was probably going to take it home with him. He did play a couple of songs from it and may be still. It’s a very good record in excellent condition. I would have been thrilled to own it.

When I left I thanked him and said I was glad I could find that record for him. I’ll be back, but damn.

The state of the sportball

Spent the week recovering from driving the length of Pennsylvania twice in five days. I've written about it before, and will probably never make that drive again. The rain over last weekend seems to have doubled its way back to Ohio the last couple of days. We had a gutter fixed in the back of the house, now there are still leaks in the basement but they're not as heavy as before. The joys of having a ninety year old house.

Currently listening to the Mets getting their asses handed to them by the Angels, who are ahead 9-0 in the third inning. Injuries and bad managerial decisions have decimated the pitching staff this season. Once again, frustrated and Bitter Mets Fan is not having a good spring.

Everton have finished their season in seventh place, which is probably the best they can do with the talent on the team at this time. Manager Koeman has his work cut out for him in talent acquisition over the summer. They are in Europa League competition next season, which means they get to go to places like SK Brann in Norway on a Thursday night in November.

Meanwhile up in Scotland, Celtic have been a buzzsaw in the Scottish Premier League this season as they finished at the top of the table with 34 wins, 4 draws and no losses. Going undefeated in any league is quite the accomplishment and Brendan Rodgers and his team are to be commended. Maybe next year they can get through the group stages of the Champions League and once again get pasted by a team like Juventus.

Getting worn out by those who think our president is becoming more presidential when he does not fling his own poo for twenty four hours. He's no statesman, but a con man.

2015 slideshow

For the past four years I've been making slideshows and setting them to music. This year is no exception. It's been a year of a lot of loss. Friends, a co-worker, my Brother and my biological father just died on Sunday. It adds up.

The music is Nobody's Empire by Belle and Sebastian and it's a very appropriate song that resonates this holiday season.

A Coronation is Not an Election

On Tuesday, those who vote in Columbus will be voting in primaries for Mayor and City Council. I will not be voting. Mainly because in order to vote in an Ohio primary, you have to register for the party whose primary you will be voting in. My views belong to neither of these parties.

For most of my voting life though, I have been a registered democrat. No more. They abandoned any form of progressive ideas in favor of banking, insurance company and military support. Great for them when they’re able to swim in donor cash and give them influence. Bad for me who does not have the financial means to purchase my own political candidate. That’s the way it seems now though and I do not foresee a time when that will change. And I’m fed up with voting for the lesser or two evils, even with the supreme court set to change dramatically in the next decade.

Locally, there are three democrats running in the mayoral primary and one republican. All male.

Terry Boyd, the republican, is being sent out by the local GOP as the under funded sacrifice as Columbus’ current political climate will have a democrat as Mayor. This is not a prediction, but as nearly solid fact as you get today, barring major scandal - and I mean major.

Zach Scott is the county sheriff. His plan is essentially hope for the best and continue the status quo, which is a great climate for developers to line their pockets. Not so good for the neglected parts of the city, which includes my area of Briggsdale in West Columbus.

James Ragland’s enthusiasm masks his political inexperience. I have not been impressed with his arrogance on social media and local message boards. He comes off to me as a theocrat, even though he’s backed away from his stance against gay marriage. He may challenge Scott for second in the primary and you may not see the last of him in local politics.

Andrew Ginther is the party endorsed candidate. Mayor Coleman has all but given him the job, especially since Ginther has become Coleman’s shadow. Ginther has developer support on both sides of the political line, a school board scandal in his open closet (as does Boyd) that most do not give a crap about and will be the next Mayor of Columbus. I’m still trying to figure out what exactly the man has done for Columbus besides ride Coleman’s coattails.

Regardless of who the next Mayor is, life in Columbus will continue as we know it. The boners of the developers will point to what they want the Mayor and city council to do next. And they will abide, oh yes they will. Little will be done for the neglected parts of Columbus other than lip service and some asphalt in the occasional pothole. The casino the west side did not want is not bringing in the expected revenue. Sure, we have some interesting ethnic food available but Four String Brewery joining Dirty Franks West and Cream and Sugar is far from enough to make West Columbus the vibrant community other areas of the city that have benefited from tax reduced development and gentrification have become. After living here for twelve years I’m tired of waiting. My patience is done, and my vote is for none of the above.

Edit: I was mistaken about having to declare allegiance to a particular party to vote in this primary. It was an open primary. Also, Ginther won handily, with Scott coming in a very close second to Boyd. So two democrats are going to be running for mayor this year.

A few short takes and two wakes

I really hope that 2015 does not turn out to be the Year of the Wake. Tomorrow will be the second in two weeks. My neighbor died a couple of weeks ago, she was 86 and in frail health. Yesterday, a former colleague from the Statehouse died. As you get older I guess you meet more people and the chances of them dying increase. No one said this is what happens when you age. I've family and friends struggling with all kinds of diseases right now. Me? I'm just tired from lack of sleep and have a kid that stays in his shell and we can't get him out of it.

Today we found out that Harper Lee will be publishing a new book later this year. This news was received with a lot of positivity, especially from the book industry who can use a new blockbuster. After a bit of time more than a few recent articles about Lee and her health were released and rehashed. Not much of it good. I just hope that this book is being issued with Lee's full consent and knowledge and she was not forced or tricked into it due to her age.

Still trying to figure out what the Hell Pete Carroll was thinking when he sent in that pass play that led to an interception to end a very dramatic Super Bowl on Sunday. I get that he may want to pass, but what the heck was the slant pass over the middle at the one all about. Call a fade to one of your receivers. Throw over the middle to the tight end in the back of the end zone. But it went into traffic and the New England defensive back picked it off. Then again, Carroll will always have at least one more Super Bowl ring than me, so what do I know?

Saturday is another Super Bowl as Everton take on their arch nemesis, Liverpool. The Toffees have been struggling this year and are languishing in the lower parts of the table while Liverpool are doing a bit better. I hope it's better than last Sunday's match between Celtic and the club that may still be known as Rangers (but now have a bit of Newcastle in them). That match was a horror show of poor soccer and a crappy pitch.

The new Belle and Sebastian is great to listen to, as is the Sleater Kinney. We're seeing B&S here in June and are excited about that. The Dylan is, um, his Christmas album of Sinatra covers. I'll leave it there.

There's something about loss

I've probably seen more loss than victory, and not just from the world of sports. 

Redman Street 

High school was a barrage of

Friday night parties I was not invited to

On Monday the sounds all around my desk

were laughter, all the drinking, fun and vomiting I missed

It's said the diploma was the goal

More important than a degree was

four more years of directionless loss

Administrators pushed me through second grade

because I could read

In third grade I learned how to hate myself

In fifth I learned how power can abuse

If seventh grade went as quick as sitting next to a pretty girl

in ninth grade science class

eleventh grade would have been more tolerable

I'm not even going to mention any more even numbered years

Every Saturday afternoon I heard the marching band play

at halftime from my backyard

I'd been beat up under those bleachers too many times to see them filled

Had lockers broken into more times that I want to remember

Problems were solved with withdrawal, not a gun

another shot of whiskey means

another game of dodge ball forgotten

There's not enough whiskey

but there's plenty of time to move forward

Jürgen's Boys

So proud of the U.S. Men's Soccer Team, even after their defeat by Belgium today. They worked hard today, and in every game this World Cup, but even that is not enough.

The team lacked an attack, possession time and timely scoring, which is exactly what Belgium did to win. Tim Howard made a World Cup record 16 saves, which shattered the old record. Without him, the match never would have went to extra time and it would have been a lopsided defeat. Truly a performance in goal for the ages.

This team displayed a lot of grit though, lesser teams would have given up when they were down two goals in extra time, not this one. They fought, got a goal back and nearly pulled out the tying goal late. Not meant to be. Not enough polish to get through. Fair play to Belgium, who seem to have a penchant for late, dramatic goal scoring during their run this tournament. Best of luck to them against Argentina.

As for the U.S. Team something to build on for 2018. Klinsmann and his staff have some tweaking to do. A few players are likely to leave, Tim Howard will most likely step aside for Brad Guzan, and some attack needs to be developed.

No idea if this team, this World Cup is going to increase the interest in soccer here. I've heard all the jokes for the past 12 years about how boring soccer is, they have not changed. The fan base though, is on the upswing. If you were watching this match and not freaking out in joy and the potential of belief during the last ten minutes of this game, you have no soul. How can that not grab your attention and make you want more?

Circling the wagons

The NHL is now in playoff season and for the second time in franchise, the Blue Jackets are in the dance. They're playing the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are on paper a much better team. This is why the game is played though, after four games of a seven game series the teams are tied at two wins a apiece, which means the Blue Jackets have won their first two playoff games in franchise history.

Last night's game was quite dramatic, the Blue Jackets were down 3-0, on home ice, with about ten minutes gone in the game. I was a bit distracted setting my my new laptop to get bummed, although I did suggest the team replace their goaltender to, perhaps, shake the team up. That did not happen.

What did happen was a slow, grinding comeback the Blue Jackets have become successful at. They picked up a goal late in the first period, another late in the second and tied in on a brutal mistake by the Penguins goaltender with about 20 seconds left in the game.

It was quite the moment. A moment that, for me, removed the curse of so many horrible things in franchise history; the last second defeats, the routs, the use of Boomer the Cannon as a mascot, Doug MacLean, the time the team let a person in the opposing teams jersey ride around on the zamboni between periods, all of the failed first round picks, the time the team played the opposing teams goal song after they scored, all of the failed trades and on and on.

The game went to overtime and the Blue Jackets won it three minutes in. I have not seen a team so resilient since, well, the Buffalo Bills of over twenty years ago.

Anything can happen in a best of three now. Both sides are bruised, hurting and willing to battle more. Because it's the Cup.

After almost seven years, my trusty Macbook that I have taken so many places was finally slowing down. I'm not sure if the hard drive (the second one) or the logic board were beginning to fail, but I was not going to put any more into it. So I picked up a MacBook Pro last night (thanks Mom!)

It's quite the device, with a lot of processing power so we can really use Chromecast to watch A Trip to Italy and Mastermind with no buffering problems. It has Pages so maybe I can get off my ass and put desktop publishing to use.

Wide right in one case, the crossbar in the other

Got to the Schott today to see the Ohio State Hockey team take on Penn State. It was also an afternoon in which the program celebrated 50 years of Ohio State Hockey, which has been operating my whole life now it seems.

Before the game, the team honored a couple of dozen of former players by bringing them out to center ice. It was cool to see them all, but hard to hear all the names due to the muffled sound system. In a perfect world, it would have helped to have the player named, then the years they were in the program, for additional historical context, but that may have taken more time.

It was very nostalgic to see former players Ryan Jestadt, Craig Patterson, Lee Spector, Jeff Maund, and a few other players from the mid-nineties represent. This was the time I started following the sport.

Between the first and second period the All Buckeye Team was named. On the team are goalie Jeff Maund, defensemen Greg Kostenko and Jim Witherspoon and forwards Hugo Boisvert, Paul Pooley and Paul Tilley.

Most of these players were a bit before my time in Columbus but not Maund and Boisvert. Those two were an key part of the Buckeyes only Frozen Four appearance in 1998. I have Hugo's game-worn jersey from that year and wore it today.



The game itself had Penn State jump out to a 2-0 lead after the first period. There must have been some words said in the locker room since the Buckeyes scored two quick power play goals early in the second period and added a late period goal to take the lead for the rest of the game. Final score was 5-2.

In other nostalgic Hall of Fame news it was great to see Andre Reed finally selected to the Football Hall of Fame. Reed was one of the best wide receivers of his era for the Buffalo Bills as he helped his team to that four in a row Super Bowl run in the early nineties. He would have been in sooner if they won, just one.

That brought back a flood of memories on a day in which was filled with bittersweet things. Back to a time when the Bills were probably just a little too important. Which was followed by a time where college hockey was also a little too important.

5-7-5 night

Last night was First Draft Poetry's Nuku Haiku Night. All Haiku. All new. Had a few written out that I was going to read, then I was asked to be in the Death Match so I had to write more.

Not very good with Haiku, and in a head to head best of five battle I was even worse as I lost 4-1. When you lose though, you want to be beaten by the best and I lost to Dan the Lawyer, who won the coveted crown. Always a fun night. Here's what I put together.


Submit your poems to
The Columbus Arts Festival
You have one week left

Thick hair on the soap
That we found in the bathtub
Is that yours, or mine?

Vladimir Putin
Half naked, killing a bear
Don’t molest children

The haiku battle
I look forward to the shit
Not cleaning it up

Delayed orgasm
Oh the waiting, the waiting
Like health care dot gov

Remember that time
We were all so pissed off at
Ani DiFranco?

What death really is
A totally accurate
Mayan calendar

Artisan condoms
Made from things around the house
Just like McGuyver

When Peyton Manning
yells Omaha, a Cleveland
Brown gets arrested

100 reasons
Why we’re dumbing down quickly
Buzzfeed can suck it

Your haiku is weak
Did you write it at your desk
The same way I did

I never win these
Three lines is so hard
Seventeen sylla-

Which castaway will
Die alone on the island?
Maryann? Ginger?

Every NFL
Player wants to see Denver
It’s reefer madness

There is a sex doll
That is made out of bacon
Hipster obsessions

An IPA beer
Whose spare gas fills bike tires
Hipster obsessions

I have lost enough
Of these to know for certain
I will lose again

All too familiar territory

The Columbus Blue Jackets are in the midst of a five game losing streak, have lost their third straight game to a backup goaltender, have not held a lead in 14 periods and sit three points from the bottom of the league.

This is not 2004, or 2008, or 2012, but now and once again.

Once more the guys that should be playing defense are not, the guys that should be scoring are not and the fans are not coming to see this nonsense. We've seen it before.

I doubt the injuries of Matt Calvert and Boone Jenner are why this team is sucking so badly so early in the season. I doubt Nathan Horton's presence would add a win or two to this season. I do not know what's going on in the locker room, but that Coach Richards has not named a full time captain speaks volumes about the lack of accountability among the team.

Remember when there was a voice in the locker room that held his teammates accountable?



Yes. Vinnie Prospal, but he's gone now and not coming back. GM Jarmo Kekalainen put the match to that bridge. So what does the brick by brick braintrust of Davidson and Kekalainen do now that their project is off the rails in early November? How do you shake up a team that needs a dose of finding itself?

Hoping they have Peter Laviolette's phone number real close.

The true north strong and free

We got incredibly lucky with the weather over the past weekend and had an amazing road trip to Western New York with a trip to Toronto as part of the itinerary.

Everyone had their passports this time as we made the border crossing. Last time we went to Buffalo one of our party had to have his passport sent to the U.S. Embassy to get a visa for a trip to Africa. This time, there was a misplaced passport of another member of the party that was found with little stress and no tears.

My friend said that there would be a longish line at the border because of the holiday (Thanksgiving) weekend in Canada but when we crossed the Peace Bridge, there were no cars in the booth, just a border guard who examined our passports and let us in with no problems.

I keep forgetting that there are a few other large cities in Canada. I knew Hamilton was big with over half a million people, but Mississagua with over 700k, that shocked me. I was reminded that 40% of the country's population lives along the southern part of Ontario.

Our first destination was the Hockey Hall of Fame. Just outside the entrance is a display of goalie masks over the years. Here's Jacques Plante's. He was one of the first goaltenders to regularly wear a mask.



I believe that was a type of fiberglass. The HOF has a number of cool interactive exhibits as well, and some nice displays of the great players in the game.



There's a very cool exhibit where you can call a play and have it played back. I did it to one of Rick Nash's great goals when he was with the Blue Jackets. A lot of fun.

Hockey has the best hardware in any sport. All of the trophies (or their replicas, shh!) are kept in a hall that was once a bank.



It's an impressive display of the history of the game, and I'm glad we finally got to go there.

It had been well over twenty years since I've been to Toronto. There's a lot of construction going on, big buildings!



We took the subway, then a streetcar to the whiskey bar I found online. The Caledonian is a great place. It's run by a lovely Scottish woman who uses the words "Sweetie" or "My Love" in every sentence. She and my wife started talking, turns out she's from the same small town where my wife's Grandparents are from. Small world! The food was authentic Scottish.



Yes, they had haggis, and steak pie, a signed picture of Andy Murray on the wall and a very good whiskey selection. In selling the deep fried Mars Bar dessert, the owner said it's, "The best thing out of Scotland." Here, I had to correct her, because that would be my wife.



There's a billboard you can't see in America.

After a rare brief visit to IKEA we headed back to Buffalo.

We arrived the Canadian/U.S. border reentry point. There's not a long line. Guy in the car in front of us is getting questioned a very long time. After a couple of minutes I see the siren light over the booth go off, then the gate go down behind his car. My friend has been over the border hundreds of times and has never seen this happen. Border guy gets out of the booth, is on his radio, points to where he wants the driver to go. Driver goes to an unknown fate.

We pull up, tell him one place we went to was IKEA. Guard asks us if we spent $2,000 there. Four of us in a KIA Soul. These are strange times we live in.

We had a great time. Went to my alma mater for a too brief homecoming visit on Saturday night and headed home on Sunday morning in a bit of rain, but it was not snow or ice. The Subaru was magnificent, averaging about 30mpg the entire trip.

Just do not mention what happened to the Buffalo Bills.

Tripping in the Steel City

Life goes on. After finding out my friend Mike died on Thursday night, with a heavier heart we headed to Pittsburgh for a planned well in advance weekend.

It's a very easy drive from Columbus. A trip that is a bit quicker now that the speed limit on Ohio highways is up to 70 miles per hour. If I had not missed an exit in the strands of spaghetti roads that is downtown Pittsburgh, we would have made the hotel in about two and half hours.

The hotel was in an odd area, just north of downtown, with high rise public housing across the street. There were no problems though, other than one guy asking for change on the corner, like that's never happened in Columbus.

The room was small, but cozy. The shower was quite small, but there was plenty of hot water. The room itself was rather noisy as we found out at 1:30AM when the room upstairs from us was having sexy time. The iron framed bed was rather old and loose in construction and did a lot of bouncing and banging. I hope there were two people up there.

The level of service at this hotel was excellent. There was a free shuttle that would take you anywhere within the city. One of the drivers was quite knowledgeable and friendly as he took us to a restaurant before the baseball game.

There were a number of recommendations for Meat and Potatoes on the Columbus Underground messageboard, so I made reservations a couple of weeks in advance. There was a crowd of people waiting for the five o'clock opening. Our names were called right after opening and we were taken to our seats as the bar instantly filled up.

Extensive cocktail menu, the drinks were excellent. My wife had a slow gin fizz with authentic Plymouth Sloe Gin. The cheery with her drink she said was the best ever. It was an amaro cherry from Italy, we were told.

My mussels came, it was an entire dish filled with them. Not many tiny ones either, all rather substantial. The only minus was the fries, I thought they would be cut thicker but while there were plenty, they were rather tiny.

I had a few bites of my wife's pannacotta dessert, which was light and tasty. I ordered an Oban off their whiskey list. It was pricey, but what the heck. It came in a Glencairn glass which is always a touch of class. What shocked me was the amount of whiskey in the glass. I know what an ounce and a half in a Glencairn glass looks like, this was about double that. That impressed me, and I was not driving!

The stadium was a short walk from the restaurant. Very impressed the city closes off the Roberto Clemente Bridge to cars and lets pedestrians have the whole thing.



The experience outside the stadium is impressive. Fans tailgate, they play whiffle ball in the parking lots along with cooking out and drinking. I respect Pirate Fan.



In addition to the Clemente statue, there is one of Honus Wagner, Bill Mazeroski and Willie Stargell. Two tipsy Pirate fans offered to take a picture of my wife and I with it, but seemed to be so drunk they could not press the button on a digital camera. It was the thought that counted.

A friend of ours gave us his tickets. His seats are incredible.



PNC Park is stunning even without the amazing views of the Pittsburgh skyline. There does not seem to be a bad seat in the house.

We saw Jeremy Hefner pitch for the Mets. He made one bad pitch to Alcarez and the visitors were down 2-0. They fought back to tie it up and send the game into extra innings. We left after the tenth and got back in time to see the Pirates win in the bottom of the eleventh watching in the hotel bar. That's how close things are in Pittsburgh.

The hotel breakfast was ok, not great, but the courtyard is pretty. We asked the driver to take us to the Fred Rogers statue.



Mister Rogers Neighborhood was filmed in Pittsburgh.

The riverfront is quite scenic.



We walked back to the hotel to rest for a bit before meeting a friend of mine at a coffee shop and then hit a deli next door. Down the street is a theater that may or may not be renovated. It was once a porno house.



After saying goodbye we rested up, had some dinner at a mediocre pub then headed to Stage AE for the Belle and Sebastian show. We met an old live journal friend of ours who was also going to the show. Before he showed up, my wife and I rated the attendees on the amount of tweeness in their clothing. The winner was a girl in front of us, who had birds all over her dress.

The venue is very similar to the LC in Columbus, it may be a bit steeper. Yo La Tengo opened and did not impress me much. They even had spinal tap guitar moments as Kaplan flung his guitar around, causing the annoying feedback. He then put his guitar down while it was still sustaining and picked up another guitar to make his noise.

Belle and Sebastian were impressive. It was fun to see my wife finally see a whole show from a band she loves.



Their back catalogue is large and they were digging out some nuggets from the first record. Stuart Murdoch made reference to the baseball game happening next door by playing Take Me Out To the Ballgame.



Fireworks were happening after the baseball game while the band was playing.



The band did not hear it as they were playing, but could smell the gunpowder. After the fireworks were over, the band's string section did a few snippets from the 1812 Overture, which was quite sweet.

It was worth the trip. A weekend we needed as we prepare for the rest of the summer. I've started 42 days in which I will be in the hospital with my son as he is in intensive in-patient feeding therapy or at work.

But Pittsburgh though, I'm not sure if it's a grass is greener thing, but I like the vibe of the place and can't wait to go back.

All the people I know are beginning to fade away

This morning I received word through a Facebook update that a college friend is dying of cancer. I wish his family and friends peace during this difficult time. Mike and I connected again through Facebook. We shared jokes, stories, movies, music and politics. I now seriously regret not being able to speak to him more during the reunion in Fredonia in 2010. It was a crazy, busy night and you talked briefly to everyone or no one. A few days later, in a Facebook message, I did make mention of that and he agreed. A few months ago I heard he was ill. He slowed up his posting to Facebook. I figured he had more important things to do. Did not realize the severity of his condition until hours ago.

You always think there’s going to be another time. There may not be. Everything can be lost in a moment. Have to be a bit thankful for social media though, none of the connections would have happened without it.

This is the second friend of around my age to be claimed by cancer this year. It’s hard to come to terms with aging. It sucks and it’s getting me down.

Out of right field

The Columbus Blue Jackets find themselves in the unfamiliar position of being in a four game winning streak. In two hours there game two of a home and home series against the Red Wings. Yesterday afternoon, the Blue Jackets spanked them 3-0 in front of a joyous home crowd. It got a bit testy when, late in the game Justin Abdelkader got in a tussle with Vinny Prospal. While skating away Prospal pointed at the scoreboard, and got a deserved ten minute misconduct. After years of getting the crap beaten out of them by the Red Wings, I can understand the reasons for release, even if it was a schoolyard move. Going to be fascinating to see how the Red Wings react on their own ice, with their own crowd of lunatics behind them.

Everton are in a bit of a free fall. After an embarrassing and disgraceful 3-0 defeat at the hands of Wigan at Goodison Park that knocked them out of the FA Cup, I'm wondering how they react next week against Manchester City. The team is in disarray. There's little creativity in mid-field, the defense is woefully thin with the injury to Jagielka and Jelavic has not been effective up front in weeks. Plus you have the off again on again situation with Fellaini wanting to move to a bigger club. He was booed off the pitch yesterday after a passive performance against the Latics. If he continues like that, no one will want his services. Another reason this team is in crisis mode is the uncertainty of manager David Moyes. His contract is up at the end of the season and his stay at Everton will be reviewed at the end of the season. I'm not sure how much Moyes wants to stay in at Everton now. He has had little financial support from management in building a team, but when he does acquire a team, his tactics belie their abilities. He continues to rely on veterans who may be past their prime (Tim Cahill and Phil Neville) ahead of young players who are hungry for a chance to prove themselves. The last third of the season will be very telling. If Everton do not earn play in Europe I think Moyes leaves for another team.

Celtic are in first place in the Scottish Premier League, and are likely to be league champions for a second straight year. They were eliminated by the much in form Juventus from Champions League play this week, but gained some experience at top level play. A couple of players are likely to move on at the end of the season. Wanyama and Hooper are said to be moving on to England. Celtic are in the position of bringing in players cheap, then selling them at a good profit after developing them into quality athletes. An easy thing to do when, sadly, you are the only decent team in a poor league.

We're off to Glasgow next month and I have a ticket to the last game of the season against Hibs. I'm very excited to see a match in Celtic Park even though there will be little for the home side to play for.

The Crew have started play with a win and a loss. Still too early to tell what this season will bring.

Baseball's spring training has started. The Mets still do not have an outfield. General Manager Sandy Alderson has my number.

December updates

Been listening to a few sports on the internet the past few months. It's a little easier than heading out early to a sports bar or finding a dodgy pirated link to the game.

Never minded listening to football on the radio, and I like hearing John Murphy doing the Bills play by play. Plus, I can turn it off when the game is over early. Too many times this season though, the Bills have found defeat where there should be victory. Under Chan Gailey, they're now 15-30 during his regime with poor coaching and play execution as the norm. Gailey calls the plays, and is reticent to use C.J. Spiller, his best weapon on offense. After yesterday's loss, he was saying Spiller was "winded" after two runs in the first half. He must have been so winded that Spiller only had one touch of the ball during the last 22 minutes of the second half, a crucial part of the game where you need your best players to produce. Unfortunately for Spiller, his coach is not giving him that chance.

The Bills have not had a decent coach since Wade Phillips, who is now enjoying some success at Houston. To have him back would be a plus, but there's something up with the organization. Probably starts with the 92 year old owner of the team, Ralph Wilson. A lot of poor judgement and no plan for the franchise after he dies means a lot of dread in Buffalo.

In better news Everton has been enjoying a very decent first half of the English Premier League season. The Toffees currently sit in fourth place after a dramatic come from behind stoppage time winner by Nikica Jelavic to defeat Tottenham. It's been a great start, and midfielder Marouane Felliani has been outstanding so far. So good that rumors of him being sold are flying around. I hope the money being thrown does not get in the way of what could be a historic year for Everton.



The efforts of Celtic FC have been happily surprising in some aspects. The Glasgow team has had some success in the Champions League, defeating Barcelona and sweeping Spartak Moscow to reach the round of 16 for the fourth time in team history. Not sure who they're going to play next, the draw is on December 20th, but Neil Lennon's team will be prepared. The SPL season, thought to be a laugher without Rangers in the league, has been anything but. The Hoops are still in first place, but only by a couple of points over Inverness.

The big disappointment has been the NHL not playing due to greed. Another hockey season is in danger of being cancelled due to the owners and players not being able to share millions of dollars. It's come to the point where I'm done caring. I suspect that the season will be a loss, which will be a damn shame for the Blue Jackets and the businesses that surround the arena. I'm preparing a lengthy post for when the season is cancelled, as it will mean the end of my support of the National Hockey League after three decades of being a fan. I have better things to do with my time.

The Columbus Arts Festival has been keeping me busy. Working on confirming jurors or the auditions. Working on finding poets to audition (Spin your browser to www.columbusartsfestival.org to fill out the application!) and programming for Friday and Sunday. It's going slow, but definitely in a positive direction.

Can it get any worse? Why yes, it can!

The NHL trade deadline passed yesterday and Rich Nash remains a Blue Jacket. It is understood that the price General Manager Scott Howson was asking was too high, which is all good and fine.

Then Howson had a press conference and announced that Nash was the one who asked to be traded.

I'm still trying to figure out why he did that. To me, this lowers the asking price for Nash. Twenty nine other teams are now certain that the player is the one who wants out, and what team wants a disgruntled player? A franchise player. A team captain.

How does Nash keep the "C" on his jersey after this?

It's going to be another sad ending to a Blue Jackets season, there are still twenty games to go.

How Howson can be given the keys to reassemble a team that is now shattered is beyond me. He is an architect of failure, what type of ownership would let him have the responsibility again?

I think I know the answer to my own question.

Gotta See it Die!

With two days left in the NHL Trading deadline the Blue Jackets have been quite active. Already Antoine Vermette and Jeff Carter have been jettisoned, with draft picks and the question mark that is defenseman Jack Johnson coming into the fold.

Anyone on the team is fair game for a trade. Whatever they can get for Pahlsson is the best deal for an over priced player who has never really shown any worth in his time here. And what of goaltender Steve Mason? How much longer must we continue to watch him fail and flail in net?

But what of Rick Nash? What happens to the face of the franchise?



Rumors of a deal involving Nash have been going around for weeks, but nothing has been done yet. It is said that GM Scott Howson has been asking too much for the captain, and that's alright by me. Maximize his value, get the most you can. It's also being said that if Nash is not dealt by the deadline he will almost certainly be gone over the summer.

I'm still not sure if he needs to be dealt. When the season started Carter, Wisniewski and Nash were being marketed as the cornerstones of the franchise. Tickets were sold based on their potential. As of Monday afternoon, two of these three players may no longer be on the team. What does that say about marketing and management of this franchise, that has had very little success in its ten years in the league?

I give you the record of the last two seasons of this team.

32-35-15

34-35-13

And this year

18-36-7, with 21 games left, a quarter of the season.

To me its clear that the architect of the team, General Manager Scott Howson, has a lot to answer for. The teams he have assembled have frankly, sucked and he's still being trusted to disassemble and polish the turd he has made. For this, I blame team owner John P. McConnell for allowing bad business to continue. Getting next year's All Star Game is not enough. This franchise is inept from the head on down. Moves at the top have to be made. Howson and Team President Mike Priest must go, along with noncontributing players.

The winds begin to howl

The big news out of soccer yesterday, aside from Newcastle's thumping of Manchester United was that Tim Howard scored a goal for Everton.

No big deal you say?

Tim Howard is the goal keeper.

Here's a link to the goal if you have not seen it already.

There was little skill involved. A lucky bounce and a gusty wind did the trick. Howard himself, played down his goal and felt sorry for the Bolton keeper. Howard becomes the fourth goal keeper to score a goal in an English Premier League match.

Unfortunately for Everton, Howard's goal was not enough as they lost 1-2 to Bolton. This is what bugged me. Everton is a mid-table team, and is struggling to stay there. Bolton is in the bottom three. Everton were at home and should have won this match. They're so weak on offense, they're goal keeper scores and they still cannot win. Manager David Moyes is still relying on Tim Cahill and Louis Saha to provide the offense, but they're well past their expiration date. In fact, Cahill has not scored a single goal since 2010.

Adding to Everton's woes is that three players, Leon Osman, Jack Rodwell and Phil Jagielka went down with injuries. Jagielka's injury concerns me the most as Everton have no depth on defense. It's no coincidence that after he left the pitch, the team gave up the game tying and winning goals for Bolton.



The Toffees play an F.A. Cup match this weekend and a league match against high flying Tottenham next Wednesday. It could be a long second half of the season for Moyes and company if the gaffer does not alter his offensive tactics and get some transfer help from an owner who pleads poverty and every opportunity.

Not even Sophia can help this team

After five games the Blue Jackets finally broke an 0 for 20 streak and scored a power play goal. It was not enough as they lost 2-4 to the Dallas Stars. The team is off to an 0-4-1 start to the new season, the worst start in franchise history.

In fact, if you go back to last season and include this year's start, the team is on a 3-16-8 run, with only one win in regulation.

Why even question what is going on anymore?

Despite the additions of new defensemen, a trade for a number one center, and a new goaltending coach, the results have been the same. Loss. Defeat. With little hope in sight.

I can't put the woes on Steve Mason alone. He has not been the sole reason for the team sucking. Being 1 for 21 on the power play this season, not managing to score more than two goals in a game, getting only one shot on goal in the third period in one of the games - these all add up to a completely inept offense. No goalie can compensate for this ineptitude. Is Mason playing well? No, but he has four lines of offense and three pairings of absent defensemen who are contributing to some serious futility.

Nationwide Arena was at less than half capacity for the last home game. I cannot expect it to get any better. Why should it? Who in their right minds will pay to see this team deliver another defeat?

I'm at a total loss for answers. Do you fire coach Arniel this early in the year? And who do you bring in to replace him? Ken Hitchcock? Please, no. Who do the Blue Jackets have to trade? Anyone?

Is there a lack of leadership in the locker room and on the ice? I see nothing wrong with taking the captaincy from Rick Nash and giving it to Umberger. As a friend said last night, it's been the one constant in the last few seasons of loss - other than team president Mike Priest.

Just when you think the franchise has hit its lowest point, it finds a way to dig deeper. It's a very sad culture around this team, and I no longer have a clue, as a fan, what to do to stop the bleeding.