Gary Bettman Is A Douchebag...

...but this has already been well established. The latest is this farce of an opening of the season in London, England. While I'm all for spreading the game, and developing new interest, Britain seems to be about the last place that would make sense to go. Are there even any active British players? Doubtful. Sure the 2 games between the Ducks and Kings have sold out, but on multiple networks I tuned into yesterday there was speculation about perhaps having a group of teams in Europe as part of the NHL as well. If Gary Bettman thinks he can compete with soccer, cricket and rugby in England, and most of the rest of Europe, he is going to be shown, once again, how wrong he really is.

He can't even get it done right in a bunch of American markets, nevermind the complete shunning of Canada. What's that you say? You are a billionaire investor looking to grossly overpay just so you can bring a team up into a market where people will actually go out to the games? You sir shall be cockblocked. Twice.

And don't think I didn't notice that the pre-game opening of yesterday's game included the British and American national anthems with no sign of standing on guard for thee. A cookie goes to the first person who correctly responds with the country that 12 of 24 of the Kings, and 16 of 27 of the Ducks come from.

I'm fully in support of another player strike just to see Bettman take a walk. The NHL's players (for the most part) aren't involved in murder trials, its referees aren't involved in game fixing, sure some of its owners may be tied up in gambling rings, but the hockey pool is the one thing the NHL has and always will have going for it. It was fantasy hockey before fantasy hockey. Despite all this, the NHL still is pretty much ignored anywhere but Canada. But lets not bring a team up here Gary, lets look at Las Vegas and London, England. Just ask the Coyotes how well a hockey team in the desert works.

Who's Idea Was This Whole Work Thing Anyways

I'm feeling kind of dead after putting in a ton of hours already this week, but I'm sure I'll find some energy somewhere for tomorrow's Logan Day festivities. Its funny/sad that I was complaining about my thesis in the post from this time last year, and its still not done.

Anyways, the bar night is gonna be held in the former stripper room at the Huether again, and promises to be a good time. Dodging thesis supervisors at the day's activities might not be as much fun, but I did finally legitimately start looking at my project again, so I have that.

I could write a much better thesis on how much the Edge replays garbage music in a given work day after spending the past 3 listening to it while doing field work. But we all already know this. I swear if I hear that goddamned Silversun Pickups song one more time I am going to go postal. Most. Annoying. Vocals. Ever....and the rhythm isn't much better.

Although it did remind me to go check out the Barry Bonds homerun ball vote that was also discussed frequently on the radio in the past few days. Awesome on Marc Ecko for having the money, stupidity, and yet brilliance to pull this off; though I'm sure its not hurting the marketing department either.

Go Vote. That is all.

Parabolic Annoying

I'm all for technological advance in delivering better sound and video to me at home infront of the TV, particularly when it comes to sports coverage. But all day today I've noticed, particularly in the NFL coverage, but also baseball, that they've taken it too far. I don't mind the features where they mic up players and take soundbytes though a game. Interviewing baseball managers early in innings is also tolerable. What I can't take now is listening to the fucking 13 year-old kid in the second row screaming incoherent gibberish repeatedly and it being picked up on the game audio and getting pumped into my rec room.

Also, the 49ers are now 2-0...NFC Championship is next!

For the non-sports inclined...I picked up tickets to the Matt Good stop in town the other day, and am pumped for that. That is, if I'll be in town. The prof I'm working for this term wants to meet this week, presumably to discuss upcoming work in Wisconsin, South Carolina, Florida, Wyoming, and/or California; all of which I will do my best to avoid.

Until then, someone please shut up this goddamned kid in Miami.

I Say Taco, You Say Tuesday; Taco

You know you've let yourself become grossly out of shape when you pull a muscle in your shoulder reaching across your room to hit the snooze button on your alarm clock. Those 8 extra minutes before shoving off to work this morning seemed glorious at the time, but the pull that I felt all day long while moving desks, monitors and CPUs wasn't quite as much to be celebrated.

It was nice to be actually hard at it though after a pretty dry first day back in the working world. Being around the University again has been good to, and has gotten up a little bit of motivation to get my thesis officially done and move on to the grad school application process.

Taco Tuesday today at the Bomber though was more of a disappointment. What used to be something like $3 for a well stuffed taco has become a shell with lettuce that leaves you searching for anything more than a biteful of meat (or beans for those hopping on and off the vegetarian train) for $4.75; the extra cost presumably to help cover last year's Boston Pizza style makeover of the bar. The first thing a student going to a student bar wants after all is a nice wood finish, not cheap food and drink on their student budget. Never mind the loss of the couches and projector on which student requests for movies could be made throughout the afternoon.

Being that I'm working again, I am in no position to complain too much, but I'll be looking for something more fulfilling, and more quickly served with the same $4.75 for the rest of the term; likely some cold barley sandwiches at Kickoffs.