I love hockey. It's right up there with my family, whiskey, baseball and women. The speed and intensity of this game makes it one of the world's best sports. It's a full contact sport with a gracefulness not seen in football or even basketball. The violent aspect has been inspected and criticized as unnecessary and pointless by the mindless fucks who don't watch and understand the game, and then the bloodthirsty morons who only come for the fights and yell "Shoot" 50 times a game don't help the cause either.
Fighting in hockey is around for a purpose within the game, it's to let the players police themselves and hold themselves accountable for dangerous plays and cheap shots that may occur. If a random player takes a run or a whack at the opposing team's superstar player, there should be a retaliatory consequence of that player facing off with one of the team enforcers, who's main job is to protect his teammates.
Well thanks to NHL Commish/Resident Asshole Gary Bettman, and the Instigator rule that has been a headache for nearly 20 seasons now, and after the lockout, his addition of suspensions and fines for starting a fight in the last 5 minutes of a game, Rules that were ment to keep the dirty plays and bench-clearing brawls that ruled the ice in the 70's and Early 80's eventually led to the help of a new breed of dirty hockey that cannot be policed on the ice. Scumbags like Sean Avery and Raffi Torres, to name a few, can run around and take cheap shots like a video game and maybe worry about a game misconduct or a small fine, but what they need as a real punishment, as my good friend would say, is the credible threat of violence reciprocated unto them.
So where have these dirty players come from? Well you have the european players (who invoke the scrutiny of many fans, mostly canadiens) that come over here, rarely if ever being in a hockey fight before in their entire lives. They see North American Hockey as a slower, more physical game, but they have to adapt to the intricacies of the physicalness of our brand. As a result of the famous european styles that leaked over the years, the younger generations started to look up to Jaromir Jagr and Sergei Federov in the 90's instead of a Bob Probert or a Jeremy Roenick. While Jagr and Fedorov are world-class talent, the style of a Probert, who was a fighter that had the hands to put away 10-15 goals in a season while consistently standing up for his teammates and putting up 300+ penalties in minutes. Or in Roenick's case, a 50-goal scoring talent who could get dirty in the corners, throw and take a big hit, and wouldn't shy away from dropping the gloves if need be.
So now, states-side, we have this influx of youth who are taught the offensive elements of hockey ad nauseam, but lack the physical and defensive fine-tunings that are not empathized until later in a player's career, if at all. The grooming comes from what we see every night on the highlight reels. If we show kids 11 goals a game and lots of dekes and spin-o-rama drop passes, then they will try that on the rinks instead of taking the knee and blocking a shot or throwing a good clean bodycheck in the neutral zone. Bettman wanted to make the NHL some sort of pinball, free for all type sport like basketball, and was willing to sacrifice the strategic plays and formations that made hockey unique for decades.
Then you have the parents who couldn't eat a clue and pull it out of their ass an hour later, they don't want their children swinging fists at each other. Really? because last time I checked, hockey is requiring them to use sticks and stand on sharp blades on a hard surface. Danger surrounds this game based off of its element, so to worry about fights that are as a result of a more dangerous even usually, it's the pot calling the kettle cookware.
Parents should use fighting in hockey as a teaching tool. When you go against the rules in this game, you don't have to just worry about the penalties, but you have to be mindful of the others on the ice who will defend their teammates. Just like in real life, if you attack someone, not only could you get arrested, but someone who's with the person you attacked just might come fuck you up for what you've done. Conversely, you can teach them how teamwork and camaraderie is built by standing up for someone when they are taken advantage of in a situation
So now what do we have on the ice? A bunch of small, fast, cheap shot artists who's idea of playing tough, intimidating and physical hockey is by elbowing guys to the side of the head and slamming players to the boards from behind. It's fucking disgraceful, and to make matters worse, the disciplinary board leader, former NHL player Brendan Shanahan (who, for the record, is the only NHLer with 600 Goals and 2,000+ Penalty Minutes, and let me tell you, those weren't all tripping calls) is basically blowing off his responsibilities by setting inconsistent fines and punishments for dirty plays. I understand that his job was created out of fear from the consequences from the new findings on concussions (something that, I'm sorry, is just going to fucking happen in a full contact sport. If you play hockey and worry about concussions, stop and fucking take up curling)
So if we don't curb the dirty shit on the ice as it happens, or properly curb it after extensive video review by an (alleged) expert of the game, then where the fuck does it stop? To take all the fights and hits out of hockey makes this soccer on ice, which no one outside of Gary Bettman and his army of biscuit soft hockey moms who have groomed these male figure skaters in expensive pads, would want to see.
We need to bring the game back to what is has been and always will be. Tough, Physical and Intimidating. And we can start by making the new crop of players out of that mold. Show these kids clips of Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Bobby Orr, Mike Bossy, Cam Neely, Jeremy Roenick, Bob Probert, Keith Magnuessen, Billy Smith, Stu Grimson, Bobby Clarke, I could name hundreds that played the game with Grit, Intensity, Balls, but could still put the goddamn puck in the net (or in Battlin' Billy's case, keep the goddamn thing out)
Once Bettman (dies) leaves office, we need a new commissioner who understands these values and acts accordingly. Eliminates the instigator rule, sets firm penalties for cheap and dirty play, and doesn't try to soften the product millions of us love worldwide.
April 17, 2012
Grab Bag #7: Fuck Brendan Shanahan, Subway needs to fuckin quit with the BBQ disasters, and a new drink I tried
- Brendan Shanahan is a former hockey player, winning championships as a member of the Detroilet Red Wings (yes, Detroilet as in Detroit + Toilet). Nowadays, he is in charge of Disiplining NHL Players for dirty plays and so forth. All season long he has been inconsistant with the suspensions and fines for these calls. Nashville defenseman Shea Weber takes a player's head to the rail of the glass and slams it, causing a minor injury but intending to hurt the player. All he gets is a cash fine. Hawks forward Andrew Shaw make incidental contact with Phoenix goalie Mike Smith while in the trapezoid behind the net. Smith dove and flopped like a 4 year old, seemed really hurt but got up and finished the game. Today, Shaw is issued a 3 game suspension. There's another two dozen instances of this babyshit where the punishments and crimes do not fit each other. I'm glad he's not a real fuckin law judge let me tell ya.
- So I got excited earlier when I heard of Subway doing a BBQ Chicken Sandwich. I know their other chicken sandwiches are good, and Barbeque sauce is epic (when done right) so this should be as good as their world-class Steak Sandwich. Man I was so fucking wrong. I should have learned my lesson from the Pork Sandwich failure they had a few months ago, Subway is not a Barbeque joint. But what they need to do is bottle up and sell that sweet onion sauce they have. That shit is fire and I would put that on damn near everything I eat.
- So I was listening to an old Young Jeezy mixtape on my laptop this weekend and I heard the track "Start It Up" and he mentions in a line "I'm on that new Thug Passion, Belvidere and Sake". While we all know that real and hologram Tupac coined Thug Passion as Alize and Cristal, I went and got a bottle of Belvi and some Cherry sake and I'll be damnned if that isn't a badass drink. Very refreshing but will get you fucked up quick.
New Thug Passion
2 oz Belvidere Vodka
2 oz Fu-Ki Cherry Sake
Pour over ice in a rocks glass, stir with straw
- So I got excited earlier when I heard of Subway doing a BBQ Chicken Sandwich. I know their other chicken sandwiches are good, and Barbeque sauce is epic (when done right) so this should be as good as their world-class Steak Sandwich. Man I was so fucking wrong. I should have learned my lesson from the Pork Sandwich failure they had a few months ago, Subway is not a Barbeque joint. But what they need to do is bottle up and sell that sweet onion sauce they have. That shit is fire and I would put that on damn near everything I eat.
- So I was listening to an old Young Jeezy mixtape on my laptop this weekend and I heard the track "Start It Up" and he mentions in a line "I'm on that new Thug Passion, Belvidere and Sake". While we all know that real and hologram Tupac coined Thug Passion as Alize and Cristal, I went and got a bottle of Belvi and some Cherry sake and I'll be damnned if that isn't a badass drink. Very refreshing but will get you fucked up quick.
New Thug Passion
2 oz Belvidere Vodka
2 oz Fu-Ki Cherry Sake
Pour over ice in a rocks glass, stir with straw
April 11, 2012
Grab Bag #6: Ozzie Guillen & Future Blog Attractions
- former White Sox and new Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen is in hot water with the fans and media over his comments about Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. He said that he respects Castro because he's still in office despite the millions of people who want him dead. I understand how the cuban populus of Miami is upset by that statement but at the same time, he wasn't condoning what Castro has done, he was just admiring how people dislike him and his beliefs and yet he still does his job, just how Guillen was constantly criticized in Chicago, even though he brought us a World Series title and 2 Division Titles. Case in Point: Free Speech = Leave Ozzie the fuck alone.
- I got some Bar & Restaraunt Reviews coming up in the next few weeks. Fujiya, Wild Tymes and Kelly's Depot in St. Paul will be covered.
- Had some delicious pancakes from Mickey's late this evening / early morning.
- So with summertime on it's way, it's time to move out the heavy dark liquor and bring in some crisp, refreshing light drinks to sip on. I'm working on my Top 5 summer drinks list and will reveal it this week.
- Check out my Brother, Chuck West, he has a music blog on this same network called Audible Reflections. Go to audiblereflections.blogspot.com and inform yourself even more :)
Be great, talk to y'all later.
- I got some Bar & Restaraunt Reviews coming up in the next few weeks. Fujiya, Wild Tymes and Kelly's Depot in St. Paul will be covered.
- Had some delicious pancakes from Mickey's late this evening / early morning.
- So with summertime on it's way, it's time to move out the heavy dark liquor and bring in some crisp, refreshing light drinks to sip on. I'm working on my Top 5 summer drinks list and will reveal it this week.
- Check out my Brother, Chuck West, he has a music blog on this same network called Audible Reflections. Go to audiblereflections.blogspot.com and inform yourself even more :)
Be great, talk to y'all later.
April 5, 2012
The Bitchification of the National Football League
Note: this post, and the subsequent audio clip both have "Strong" Language, or however the fuck you want to classify that.
Ever since I could walk and crawl, there has been one sport that was always talked about everywhere I went. It dominated sundays in my house more than Church, Breakfast and the overstuff Sun-Times combined.
Football. More specifically, Chicago Bears Football.
But even if the Bears had a 12pm game, we'd still see the west coast game at 3, the night game at 7 and definitely tuned into Monday Night Football on ABC (the way it should still be to this day)
Over time, my early obsession for football dwindled. The Bears kept sucking in the 90's (although I still love the bastards) and the changes in the game were becoming more prevalent, even to someone my age who only saw past clips and reels of the Golden Era of Football (1952-1986)
Fast forward to the 2000's. I started to watch a ton of College Football thanks to the expansion of cable coverage, and I only watched the NFL under 3 conditions:
1. Bears are playing
2. Have money on the game
3. It's the playoffs
While I discovered betting on football at a young age, I realised that I needed something to supplement the weaker talent on the field in order to commit 3 hours to a game.
It's well documented that football players have become softer than in year's past. Guys who used to play with several broken fingers, scrapes, cuts and blood running down their arms and faces have given way to guys sitting on the bench over a sprained wrist or turf toe. All of these things are painful, granted, but when your job is to hit, punish and sacrifice the body, and your job pays very well (at least 6 figures) you better get your tender ass off that heater and get on that line.
Which leads me into the hottest NFL topic of the off-season. The New Orleans Saints alleged bounty scandal. The reports are out and Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams was running a bounty system for his defensive players to earn extra money for taking out key players on the opposing team. When word got out on this, the NFL started an investigation and led to the indefinite suspension of Williams, a Year-Long suspension to Head Coach Sean Payton (who covered up things to block the investigation allegedly), large cash fines for the team and loss of draft picks.
This past week, This Audio
was leaked by a film maker who was traveling with the team working on a new project. It was Williams' walk through Saturday speech before their Playoff game vs the San Francisco 49ers.
For anyone who has played football at a High School level or higher has heard everything that Williams has said on this clip. The only mildly questionable comment is when he talks about blowing out a guy's ACL. But everything else that is mentioned, "Kill the head and the body will fall", "don't fucking apologize for the way we play" ,"we need to see if (Michael)Crabtree (Wide Receiver coming back from a concussion injury) is going to be a fake ass primma donna or if he's going to be a tough guy." This kind of shit is said in the locker room all the time.
And there's nothing wrong with it, because it's Football.
This sport was built on blood and violence, it's the ultimate contact sport. It was so violent in the early 1900's that death was a common occurrence and that President Teddy Roosevelt decided to either force rule changes in the sport or ban it altogether. Over time, equipment became more prevalent and sturdier and the game went on. Yes, people got hurt, that is inevitable in any sport, but especially in a contact sport
If you've watched a NFL game in the last 5 years, and this is super true if you saw any games from last season. Contact with Quarterbacks are drawing more and more penalties. It seemed that last season, every decent hit on a QB was a roughing the passer call, and every great highlight hit that SportsCenter rolled 684 times that overnight into monday morning, would lead to a tuesday phone call from the Commissioner's office and a fine or suspension from the league was handed down.
The point of Football from a defensive standpoint is to get the ball back for your offense. One of the top ways to achieve this goal is to Hit the Ball Carrier. The Quarterback starts the play with the ball 98% of the time, so he should be hit accordingly. And I understand protecting players from serious injuries, but you wanna know why these QB's and Wideouts and Kick Returners get hurt all the time?? Because They Can't Take A Fucking Hit!!! The only way you learn to absorb contact is to take contact, and the NFL, with all of it's corporate family flash bullshit has, for lack of a better term, Bitchified this game to a weak version of 2 hand tag, and even then, I've seen tougher games on playgrounds.
This is a tough sport made to be play by tough men. If you can't handle the sacrifice of the body and mind that it takes to properly perform and win ballgames, then go ride a bike or work in a office, and leave football to the tough guys.
And to Mr. Roger Goodell (NFL Commissioner) and all the other Suits in the NFL who sit in a nice chair and collect the blood money while feeding the public contradictory bullshit, I would like for you all to sit and watch Hours and Hours of back film from real quality football games and players, clips from Dick Butkus, Mean Joe Green, Chuck Bednarik, The Purple People Eaters, Ronnie Lott, Dick "Nite Train" Lane. Go back and watch what make this game popular and take close notes as to how this game was ment to be played and needs to still be played.
As for Williams, the only thing I don't understand is why he had to offer extra incentives to get the desired and deserved effort out of his players. What he said in that locker room, shouldn't even have left that locker room, but since no one gives a fuck about the sanctity that is a locker room anymore, we're going to hear stuff. What he said in that locker room, in my opinion, isn't crossing any lines. The objective is to hit the ball carrier and play as hard as possible. If he gets hurt, chalk it up as a loss to the game.
"Don't fucking apologize for the way you play the game." - Gregg Williams.
Ever since I could walk and crawl, there has been one sport that was always talked about everywhere I went. It dominated sundays in my house more than Church, Breakfast and the overstuff Sun-Times combined.
Football. More specifically, Chicago Bears Football.
But even if the Bears had a 12pm game, we'd still see the west coast game at 3, the night game at 7 and definitely tuned into Monday Night Football on ABC (the way it should still be to this day)
Over time, my early obsession for football dwindled. The Bears kept sucking in the 90's (although I still love the bastards) and the changes in the game were becoming more prevalent, even to someone my age who only saw past clips and reels of the Golden Era of Football (1952-1986)
Fast forward to the 2000's. I started to watch a ton of College Football thanks to the expansion of cable coverage, and I only watched the NFL under 3 conditions:
1. Bears are playing
2. Have money on the game
3. It's the playoffs
While I discovered betting on football at a young age, I realised that I needed something to supplement the weaker talent on the field in order to commit 3 hours to a game.
It's well documented that football players have become softer than in year's past. Guys who used to play with several broken fingers, scrapes, cuts and blood running down their arms and faces have given way to guys sitting on the bench over a sprained wrist or turf toe. All of these things are painful, granted, but when your job is to hit, punish and sacrifice the body, and your job pays very well (at least 6 figures) you better get your tender ass off that heater and get on that line.
Which leads me into the hottest NFL topic of the off-season. The New Orleans Saints alleged bounty scandal. The reports are out and Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams was running a bounty system for his defensive players to earn extra money for taking out key players on the opposing team. When word got out on this, the NFL started an investigation and led to the indefinite suspension of Williams, a Year-Long suspension to Head Coach Sean Payton (who covered up things to block the investigation allegedly), large cash fines for the team and loss of draft picks.
This past week, This Audio
was leaked by a film maker who was traveling with the team working on a new project. It was Williams' walk through Saturday speech before their Playoff game vs the San Francisco 49ers.
For anyone who has played football at a High School level or higher has heard everything that Williams has said on this clip. The only mildly questionable comment is when he talks about blowing out a guy's ACL. But everything else that is mentioned, "Kill the head and the body will fall", "don't fucking apologize for the way we play" ,"we need to see if (Michael)Crabtree (Wide Receiver coming back from a concussion injury) is going to be a fake ass primma donna or if he's going to be a tough guy." This kind of shit is said in the locker room all the time.
And there's nothing wrong with it, because it's Football.
This sport was built on blood and violence, it's the ultimate contact sport. It was so violent in the early 1900's that death was a common occurrence and that President Teddy Roosevelt decided to either force rule changes in the sport or ban it altogether. Over time, equipment became more prevalent and sturdier and the game went on. Yes, people got hurt, that is inevitable in any sport, but especially in a contact sport
If you've watched a NFL game in the last 5 years, and this is super true if you saw any games from last season. Contact with Quarterbacks are drawing more and more penalties. It seemed that last season, every decent hit on a QB was a roughing the passer call, and every great highlight hit that SportsCenter rolled 684 times that overnight into monday morning, would lead to a tuesday phone call from the Commissioner's office and a fine or suspension from the league was handed down.
The point of Football from a defensive standpoint is to get the ball back for your offense. One of the top ways to achieve this goal is to Hit the Ball Carrier. The Quarterback starts the play with the ball 98% of the time, so he should be hit accordingly. And I understand protecting players from serious injuries, but you wanna know why these QB's and Wideouts and Kick Returners get hurt all the time?? Because They Can't Take A Fucking Hit!!! The only way you learn to absorb contact is to take contact, and the NFL, with all of it's corporate family flash bullshit has, for lack of a better term, Bitchified this game to a weak version of 2 hand tag, and even then, I've seen tougher games on playgrounds.
This is a tough sport made to be play by tough men. If you can't handle the sacrifice of the body and mind that it takes to properly perform and win ballgames, then go ride a bike or work in a office, and leave football to the tough guys.
And to Mr. Roger Goodell (NFL Commissioner) and all the other Suits in the NFL who sit in a nice chair and collect the blood money while feeding the public contradictory bullshit, I would like for you all to sit and watch Hours and Hours of back film from real quality football games and players, clips from Dick Butkus, Mean Joe Green, Chuck Bednarik, The Purple People Eaters, Ronnie Lott, Dick "Nite Train" Lane. Go back and watch what make this game popular and take close notes as to how this game was ment to be played and needs to still be played.
As for Williams, the only thing I don't understand is why he had to offer extra incentives to get the desired and deserved effort out of his players. What he said in that locker room, shouldn't even have left that locker room, but since no one gives a fuck about the sanctity that is a locker room anymore, we're going to hear stuff. What he said in that locker room, in my opinion, isn't crossing any lines. The objective is to hit the ball carrier and play as hard as possible. If he gets hurt, chalk it up as a loss to the game.
"Don't fucking apologize for the way you play the game." - Gregg Williams.
April 4, 2012
Abstinence makes the brain grow smaller
3 things I try to avoid in conversations is Politics, Religion and Medicine. But I'm gonna have to jap down on 2 of these non-political topics today.
I had 2 conversations recently, one was about relationships and the other was facebook chatter about a purity ring (I thought "I Will Wait" was a reference to The Rapture. Who knew, eh?)
In convo 1, I made a comment about how Sex is made out to be this giant, magnificent, clusterfucked ball of unity between two souls at all times and really sometimes it's just a commercial unit available for trade in goods (which is why I support the stance of legalizing, regulating and taxing Prostitution, but that's for another post)
While I was called cynical for stating this (as we all know, cynicism is in the same aisle and on the same shelf as realism and pessimism)
What I'm saying is that as amazing of a feeling that you get from Sex, it's just like eating a delicious meal or watching a great game, It's not going to be that wonderful every single time. Nor is it going to be with the same amount of meaning every time.
We all need to keep our genitals out of harm's way and be safe, but just because you don't drive a car, doesn't mean you can't be in an accident. The extremity of no sex doesn't help promote the necessary lesson that is Safe Sex. The "all or none" mentality that has been taken by many upon many of today's youth has led to inept education and sheer ignorance of sexual health and consequences and has been shown in the spike of STI's and Children born within the last couple of decades.
I feel that if we stop putting sex on this mighty hill of measurement within a relationship, then not only will we be safer physically by taking a fresh view on it, but we will save ourselves emotionally for the things that really count in a relationship. Sexual compatibility is a key factor in dating, but it's not the main factor in a healthy, solid, loving relationship.
If you want to fuck away, have fun and feel free, just bag it up(men), wash the pill down (ladies) and keep your junk clean everyone.
I had 2 conversations recently, one was about relationships and the other was facebook chatter about a purity ring (I thought "I Will Wait" was a reference to The Rapture. Who knew, eh?)
In convo 1, I made a comment about how Sex is made out to be this giant, magnificent, clusterfucked ball of unity between two souls at all times and really sometimes it's just a commercial unit available for trade in goods (which is why I support the stance of legalizing, regulating and taxing Prostitution, but that's for another post)
While I was called cynical for stating this (as we all know, cynicism is in the same aisle and on the same shelf as realism and pessimism)
What I'm saying is that as amazing of a feeling that you get from Sex, it's just like eating a delicious meal or watching a great game, It's not going to be that wonderful every single time. Nor is it going to be with the same amount of meaning every time.
We all need to keep our genitals out of harm's way and be safe, but just because you don't drive a car, doesn't mean you can't be in an accident. The extremity of no sex doesn't help promote the necessary lesson that is Safe Sex. The "all or none" mentality that has been taken by many upon many of today's youth has led to inept education and sheer ignorance of sexual health and consequences and has been shown in the spike of STI's and Children born within the last couple of decades.
I feel that if we stop putting sex on this mighty hill of measurement within a relationship, then not only will we be safer physically by taking a fresh view on it, but we will save ourselves emotionally for the things that really count in a relationship. Sexual compatibility is a key factor in dating, but it's not the main factor in a healthy, solid, loving relationship.
If you want to fuck away, have fun and feel free, just bag it up(men), wash the pill down (ladies) and keep your junk clean everyone.
Back to the Blog!
Hey everyone.
It's been awhile since I have worked on writing anything. For those of you that didn't hear on the facebook, I had emergency surgery to have my gall bladder removed. Basically, it had gotten so inflammed, that it ballooned to the size of a shoebox, and it formed gall stones that were pushing onto my pancreas, which had me screaming in pain.
Now after a week and a half, I am doing much better and near a full recovery. My wounds are healing nicely, I can move around well (but no lifting and have to ease back into drinking and fried foods)
I want to thank all that have sent me their well wishes and thoughts/prayers/kind words. It's great to know people do care sometimes :)
It's been awhile since I have worked on writing anything. For those of you that didn't hear on the facebook, I had emergency surgery to have my gall bladder removed. Basically, it had gotten so inflammed, that it ballooned to the size of a shoebox, and it formed gall stones that were pushing onto my pancreas, which had me screaming in pain.
Now after a week and a half, I am doing much better and near a full recovery. My wounds are healing nicely, I can move around well (but no lifting and have to ease back into drinking and fried foods)
I want to thank all that have sent me their well wishes and thoughts/prayers/kind words. It's great to know people do care sometimes :)
March 19, 2012
Food Review - Brasa
One of my favorite spots to eat in St.Paul is a small wonderous gem called Brasa. It's a Tex-Mex styled rotisserie with an amazing array of choice cuts of meat and premium side dishes. I went with a friend and we ordered a bunch of different items. One of the nice things about Brasa is that you can choose the size of what item you want, which makes this place perfect for a group of friends or a chill date night spot. The small dining space (both locations are build within like an old fire station styled garage, and have decent sized patio seating in the summer months)
We ordered the catfish fillets, the pulled pork and the shredded beef. All 3 items were super fresh and perfectly seasoned. The pork and beef was juicy and had the right kick of savory spice to compliment any of the sides on the menu (I ordered the sweet candied yams and a corn muffin, my friend had chips and fresh guacamole). They also have some neat drink options, from a pineapple-ginger soda made from scratch, to Mexican Coca-Cola and Dr.Pepper, and a short rotating selection of local craft beers. All of the food is locally grown and organic (if you care about that kind of thing) and they even have vegetarian and gluten free options (if that tickles your fancy as well)
Brasa has it going on. Fantastic food, wonderful decor, just an all around great dining experience. 5 Flames for Brasa and the Black Star winner for my top restaurant choice in St. Paul.
Brasa Rotisserie
777 Grand Ave
St.Paul minn 55105
651-224-1302
(Also have a location on Hennepin Ave in Minneapolis)
We ordered the catfish fillets, the pulled pork and the shredded beef. All 3 items were super fresh and perfectly seasoned. The pork and beef was juicy and had the right kick of savory spice to compliment any of the sides on the menu (I ordered the sweet candied yams and a corn muffin, my friend had chips and fresh guacamole). They also have some neat drink options, from a pineapple-ginger soda made from scratch, to Mexican Coca-Cola and Dr.Pepper, and a short rotating selection of local craft beers. All of the food is locally grown and organic (if you care about that kind of thing) and they even have vegetarian and gluten free options (if that tickles your fancy as well)
Brasa has it going on. Fantastic food, wonderful decor, just an all around great dining experience. 5 Flames for Brasa and the Black Star winner for my top restaurant choice in St. Paul.
Brasa Rotisserie
777 Grand Ave
St.Paul minn 55105
651-224-1302
(Also have a location on Hennepin Ave in Minneapolis)
Grab Bag #5: St.Pat's Recap, New Blog Features and I wanna bang a softball player
* St.Patrick's Day was absolutely awesome. After dealing with some illness and a back injury earlier in the week, I battled to get healthy in time and I had tons of booze and fun with my best friends up here. Breakfast was great (I am a beast at French Toast apparently) and I'm already waiting for next year's celebration (Buy the booze early, it falls on a Sunday, but that law might get tossed out by next year for this reason alone)
* One new segment I will be adding to the blog is music reviews. People can suggest/submit albums for me to listen to and review. The first set of albums I will review in April is the new release, "MMXII", from my all-time favorite band Killing Joke. And in May, the long awaited release from 90's band Garbage, with their CD "Not Your Kind Of People" I'm open to all genres of music and it can be local or national or international. One album will be chosen per month to be reviewed. E-mail any suggestions to courtsideseatstohell@gmail.com
* If you read the Brasa review, you'll see I gave it an award called the Black Star. I will be giving out these awards to some of my favorite stuff in the cities over time.
* A friend of mine once joked that I have a "Sports Fetish" because of my devotion to all things inclusive of the subject, but I defintely have notice that I have a pretty strong attraction to any women involved in sports. Most crack jokes that women playing sports such as hockey, softball or basketball are mostly into other women, but a lot of them actually are into men and they struggle because lots of (bitch ass weak ass) men can't handle being with a woman who is more athletically competitive than them. I wholeheartedly disagree. I would definitely be down with getting it on with a tall volleyball player or a cute, well built softball player. Extra points if they keep the hair up and wear the uniform to bed ;)
* One new segment I will be adding to the blog is music reviews. People can suggest/submit albums for me to listen to and review. The first set of albums I will review in April is the new release, "MMXII", from my all-time favorite band Killing Joke. And in May, the long awaited release from 90's band Garbage, with their CD "Not Your Kind Of People" I'm open to all genres of music and it can be local or national or international. One album will be chosen per month to be reviewed. E-mail any suggestions to courtsideseatstohell@gmail.com
* If you read the Brasa review, you'll see I gave it an award called the Black Star. I will be giving out these awards to some of my favorite stuff in the cities over time.
* A friend of mine once joked that I have a "Sports Fetish" because of my devotion to all things inclusive of the subject, but I defintely have notice that I have a pretty strong attraction to any women involved in sports. Most crack jokes that women playing sports such as hockey, softball or basketball are mostly into other women, but a lot of them actually are into men and they struggle because lots of (bitch ass weak ass) men can't handle being with a woman who is more athletically competitive than them. I wholeheartedly disagree. I would definitely be down with getting it on with a tall volleyball player or a cute, well built softball player. Extra points if they keep the hair up and wear the uniform to bed ;)
March 14, 2012
Sooo excited for St. Pat's Day
March is here. The snow has melted, the air is warm and my favorite holiday is here. March 17th: Saint Patrick's Day. Not many people here in the US know why St.Patrick is celebrated more than any other saint in history. And damn near anyone knows what was so special about a priest who was a former slave in Ireland who found God and used a shamrock in his sermons. No offense, but this snoozefest story isn't why I love this day.
Some of you might know that I am a fan of drinking alcohol from time to time. And with the change of the season and the lack of enforcement of public drinking (something considered illegal the other 364 days of the year) makes this day absolutely spectacular. My favorite kind of booze is irish whiskey. I love the color Green, I have an attraction to redheaded women (usually an irish trait) and the Irish accent is one of the coolest ever (next to the "Chicago Accent" that some say exists. I dunno what exactly that is)
Every year since moving to St. Paul and living near the route for the downtown parade, I have thrown a breakfast party. I wake up around 7am, shower and open up a beer, then proceed to cook for my friends and we drink and eat before going to the parade. While I understand this holiday is mildly religious based (although it's not my observed religion) I feel that having friends together and enjoying a great time on a nice warm day brings great karma and peace to the rest of the year. And I enjoy drinking all day :)
So I'll leave you with my favorite toast:
"Sine metu, Sine amore, Sine dolore"
"Without fear, Without love, Without regrets"
Slainte! Have a safe & awesome St. Patty's Day. And call a fuckin' cab.
Some of you might know that I am a fan of drinking alcohol from time to time. And with the change of the season and the lack of enforcement of public drinking (something considered illegal the other 364 days of the year) makes this day absolutely spectacular. My favorite kind of booze is irish whiskey. I love the color Green, I have an attraction to redheaded women (usually an irish trait) and the Irish accent is one of the coolest ever (next to the "Chicago Accent" that some say exists. I dunno what exactly that is)
Every year since moving to St. Paul and living near the route for the downtown parade, I have thrown a breakfast party. I wake up around 7am, shower and open up a beer, then proceed to cook for my friends and we drink and eat before going to the parade. While I understand this holiday is mildly religious based (although it's not my observed religion) I feel that having friends together and enjoying a great time on a nice warm day brings great karma and peace to the rest of the year. And I enjoy drinking all day :)
So I'll leave you with my favorite toast:
"Sine metu, Sine amore, Sine dolore"
"Without fear, Without love, Without regrets"
Slainte! Have a safe & awesome St. Patty's Day. And call a fuckin' cab.
March 7, 2012
caught in a slump...
So, as previously mentioned, I live in the worst dating city in america. Saint Paul, Minnesota.
In addition to being one terrible place to attempt to find a date, it's a really awful place to try and find a "hook up" as well.
I am currently on a near 11 month run of no sex. I feel like a priest, or a monk or any other person who goes through this type of purgatory on earth. I have lowered, raised and re-lowered my stances on who'd I sleep with. Basically now at the point where any girl between 18 and 42 without any sexual diseases who's "DTF (as the kids call it)" is open tryout.
Now, I would love to find the super awesome girl of my dreams to date forever, but that hasn't really materalised up here at all (all the cool attractive girls I've met are taken or un-interested) but I don't get why it's so hard to find clean, non-slutty women who want fun, unattached sex. (I'm beating a dead hoar, just read "Worst Dating City in America")
But one question I have is, what do women do to break sex slumps? Granted, it's pretty hard to be a girl and not find someone who wants to sleep with you (date article covers that too) but when it does happen, do chicks do like most guys do?
In the baseball (and other sports) communities, there's a time when a player falls into a slumping streak, and said player will go into a bar or club and find an very unattractive female and sleep with them in an effort to bust the slump.
While the nature of "Slumpbusting" seems very mean-spirited, it makes one wonder if this is a solid method of reversing a string of bad luck.
Sure, I would feel pretty bad about possibly crushing someone if they mistake my sexual advances for an emotional attachment (even though the odds of sudden emotional attachment are on the same par of the T'Wolves odds to win the NBA Title)
But at the same time, dealing with a sex slump is painful in its own right. I wouldn't wish this kind of bad luck on my 2nd worse enemy (my 1st worse, probably, but that guy's an asshole for sure). The mental aspect is what makes it difficult. Am I really that bad looking? Hell, I've had some drunk chicks shut me down during this slump. It makes your re-tool your approach and overthink things, when it all should be simple.
In closing, I realise, like everyone else that steps in the batter's box, I have to keep swinging and eventually one will connect.
In addition to being one terrible place to attempt to find a date, it's a really awful place to try and find a "hook up" as well.
I am currently on a near 11 month run of no sex. I feel like a priest, or a monk or any other person who goes through this type of purgatory on earth. I have lowered, raised and re-lowered my stances on who'd I sleep with. Basically now at the point where any girl between 18 and 42 without any sexual diseases who's "DTF (as the kids call it)" is open tryout.
Now, I would love to find the super awesome girl of my dreams to date forever, but that hasn't really materalised up here at all (all the cool attractive girls I've met are taken or un-interested) but I don't get why it's so hard to find clean, non-slutty women who want fun, unattached sex. (I'm beating a dead hoar, just read "Worst Dating City in America")
But one question I have is, what do women do to break sex slumps? Granted, it's pretty hard to be a girl and not find someone who wants to sleep with you (date article covers that too) but when it does happen, do chicks do like most guys do?
In the baseball (and other sports) communities, there's a time when a player falls into a slumping streak, and said player will go into a bar or club and find an very unattractive female and sleep with them in an effort to bust the slump.
While the nature of "Slumpbusting" seems very mean-spirited, it makes one wonder if this is a solid method of reversing a string of bad luck.
Sure, I would feel pretty bad about possibly crushing someone if they mistake my sexual advances for an emotional attachment (even though the odds of sudden emotional attachment are on the same par of the T'Wolves odds to win the NBA Title)
But at the same time, dealing with a sex slump is painful in its own right. I wouldn't wish this kind of bad luck on my 2nd worse enemy (my 1st worse, probably, but that guy's an asshole for sure). The mental aspect is what makes it difficult. Am I really that bad looking? Hell, I've had some drunk chicks shut me down during this slump. It makes your re-tool your approach and overthink things, when it all should be simple.
In closing, I realise, like everyone else that steps in the batter's box, I have to keep swinging and eventually one will connect.
Grab Bag #4: it was nice out today...
* - There is peace and solace in shaving. I'm not good at it for some reason (I don't want to cut my fuckin face open) but lately I have been opting to shave at home instead of getting it done with my haircut. Something about playing music, pouring up a shot of whiskey and doing some manscaping (as they call it) is really calming, especially before bed. I understand why chicks are into the whole makeup/spa/face stuff now.
* - What's the obsession with these competitive cooking shows? I remember the boom of the Food Networks and I enjoyed watching one cook in a kitchen who knew what the hell he or she is doing, and they plan a dish, cook it and show you in detail how to make it. Now it's all this time clock, surprise ingredient bullshit. If I want to watch a competition, I'll cut to the game, otherwise just show me how to make eggs benedict and fuckin french toast.
* - Ok, I did watch 3 hours of Chopped, and it was kinda good. But still, enough with the damn king/queen of the kitchen shit.
* - I'm getting really fucking sick and damn tired of the homeless people up here in st.paul. They take begging to a new level. What's with them asking for cash, then when you say "I don't have any cash on me" they ask to walk to an ATM with you. The Fuck? No person of the street has ever made such an obnoxious request of me yet, and thank Tebow because I would pose the question of how long have they been homeless, only to answer it myself with long enough to not realise that you can only get 10 or 20 bucks minimum out of an ATM. And I'll be dammed if I give someone on the streets out here 20 bucks. Fuck that.
* - This summer, I will be able to accomplish a wonderful feat that has been nearly 2 and a half decades in the making. I am 8 sporting events away from 500 games in my lifetime. I counted up all of the sports events I've been to from Sox games to Hawks and Wolves and all sports in between. I plan on having a big group party for Game No. 500. I want to thank my wonderful parents who made majority of that happen. It will be one of my proudest moments in life.
It's hump day, go make it happen ;)
Later y'all.
* - What's the obsession with these competitive cooking shows? I remember the boom of the Food Networks and I enjoyed watching one cook in a kitchen who knew what the hell he or she is doing, and they plan a dish, cook it and show you in detail how to make it. Now it's all this time clock, surprise ingredient bullshit. If I want to watch a competition, I'll cut to the game, otherwise just show me how to make eggs benedict and fuckin french toast.
* - Ok, I did watch 3 hours of Chopped, and it was kinda good. But still, enough with the damn king/queen of the kitchen shit.
* - I'm getting really fucking sick and damn tired of the homeless people up here in st.paul. They take begging to a new level. What's with them asking for cash, then when you say "I don't have any cash on me" they ask to walk to an ATM with you. The Fuck? No person of the street has ever made such an obnoxious request of me yet, and thank Tebow because I would pose the question of how long have they been homeless, only to answer it myself with long enough to not realise that you can only get 10 or 20 bucks minimum out of an ATM. And I'll be dammed if I give someone on the streets out here 20 bucks. Fuck that.
* - This summer, I will be able to accomplish a wonderful feat that has been nearly 2 and a half decades in the making. I am 8 sporting events away from 500 games in my lifetime. I counted up all of the sports events I've been to from Sox games to Hawks and Wolves and all sports in between. I plan on having a big group party for Game No. 500. I want to thank my wonderful parents who made majority of that happen. It will be one of my proudest moments in life.
It's hump day, go make it happen ;)
Later y'all.
March 4, 2012
fuck a house party...
So, I'm writing this at a bar. I just left a pretty fucking boring house party for the 9,635th time in 4 years here in min-ah-soo-tah. I've probably been to about 30 good house parties (24 of those I've hosted)
Not to blow my own horn, but I'm a decent party host. I know what kind of food and drink to serve, I know what kind of music to play and I know what groups of people to put together. Pretty much the 3 key elements of throwing a party.
Most college parties, despite the depiction in TV and Movies, are utter fucking garbage. Here's the breakdown of a typical college party here:
* Beer: Keg of crappy shit (gotta buy a cup) or everyone brings crap (keystone, mich golden hell, the rare pack of Red Dog, 211, or Mickey's) and they play Beer Nazi with their shitty selections.
* Booze: Phillips vodka, McAdams or Windsor Whiskey, Ron Diaz or Sailor Jerry's (if your lucky) for rum, and Cuervo gold for tequila. All guarenteed to give you gut rot/indigestion/horrible hangovers
*Music: Wiz Kalifah to Lil' Wayne to Dubstep. Stays on dubstep until someone requests a decent song, then back to Wayne and back to Dubstep. Rarely, a Britney Spears track will appear, if enough girls present.
*Other: I don't smoke weed, which means there will be tons of weed. Probably pills too. Drugs are bad, m'kay.
*People: Ok, we got about 6 classifications of people at an average College party.
1. Douchebag (male): He's digging the beer, loving the dubstep, and hitting on every girl in an obnoxious manner. I wanna fight these guys at a party.
2. Drunk Slut (female): She's hammered, probably between a 5-8 on the female scale, and 3 scenarios will happen at the end of the night (A. You take her home, bang her, and catch something. B. You get rejected by her, and she pukes, saving you from trouble. C. You hang with her, starts making out with you, then stops for whatever reason, only to bang some other guy, and/or puke)
3. Stoner/Druggie (male): He's there for one thing and one thing only. "Where's the weed at? " is his rally cry. Don't let him drink, he will puke everywhere. He's a douche, but not THE Douchebag.
4. Bougie (female) Kanye West nailed this femme fuckup on the head. "Bougie girl, grab her hand, fuck that bitch, she don't wanna dance." Since I am in minnesota and not paris, no french will be excused. This lady can seriously go freeze in the cold. She's there with a group of drunk sluts or dating a douchebag. She will ask for a beer and look at you like a bleeding quadriplegic leper when you try to start a convo with her.
5. Chatter (male): "oh hey, you play music?" "What kind of beer you like?" "They got some weed here?" "Where are the bitches?"
Shut. The. Fuck. Up.
You are talking too much. No one cares that you downloaded the new Mumford and Sons single, or if you love Summit's new Spring IPA. Get out of my face, pronto.
6. Anti-social (both): Ok, you are at a party. Probably by choice, maybe not. But either way, at least make the effort to give a fuck about where you are. If you want to not be around people, then leave. Otherwise you are being a fuckin douche.
I am tired writing about these assholes, so I will wrap this post up. I dunno how to end this post other than with a little quote my departed uncle used to say, "Stay with your own party."
Not to blow my own horn, but I'm a decent party host. I know what kind of food and drink to serve, I know what kind of music to play and I know what groups of people to put together. Pretty much the 3 key elements of throwing a party.
Most college parties, despite the depiction in TV and Movies, are utter fucking garbage. Here's the breakdown of a typical college party here:
* Beer: Keg of crappy shit (gotta buy a cup) or everyone brings crap (keystone, mich golden hell, the rare pack of Red Dog, 211, or Mickey's) and they play Beer Nazi with their shitty selections.
* Booze: Phillips vodka, McAdams or Windsor Whiskey, Ron Diaz or Sailor Jerry's (if your lucky) for rum, and Cuervo gold for tequila. All guarenteed to give you gut rot/indigestion/horrible hangovers
*Music: Wiz Kalifah to Lil' Wayne to Dubstep. Stays on dubstep until someone requests a decent song, then back to Wayne and back to Dubstep. Rarely, a Britney Spears track will appear, if enough girls present.
*Other: I don't smoke weed, which means there will be tons of weed. Probably pills too. Drugs are bad, m'kay.
*People: Ok, we got about 6 classifications of people at an average College party.
1. Douchebag (male): He's digging the beer, loving the dubstep, and hitting on every girl in an obnoxious manner. I wanna fight these guys at a party.
2. Drunk Slut (female): She's hammered, probably between a 5-8 on the female scale, and 3 scenarios will happen at the end of the night (A. You take her home, bang her, and catch something. B. You get rejected by her, and she pukes, saving you from trouble. C. You hang with her, starts making out with you, then stops for whatever reason, only to bang some other guy, and/or puke)
3. Stoner/Druggie (male): He's there for one thing and one thing only. "Where's the weed at? " is his rally cry. Don't let him drink, he will puke everywhere. He's a douche, but not THE Douchebag.
4. Bougie (female) Kanye West nailed this femme fuckup on the head. "Bougie girl, grab her hand, fuck that bitch, she don't wanna dance." Since I am in minnesota and not paris, no french will be excused. This lady can seriously go freeze in the cold. She's there with a group of drunk sluts or dating a douchebag. She will ask for a beer and look at you like a bleeding quadriplegic leper when you try to start a convo with her.
5. Chatter (male): "oh hey, you play music?" "What kind of beer you like?" "They got some weed here?" "Where are the bitches?"
Shut. The. Fuck. Up.
You are talking too much. No one cares that you downloaded the new Mumford and Sons single, or if you love Summit's new Spring IPA. Get out of my face, pronto.
6. Anti-social (both): Ok, you are at a party. Probably by choice, maybe not. But either way, at least make the effort to give a fuck about where you are. If you want to not be around people, then leave. Otherwise you are being a fuckin douche.
I am tired writing about these assholes, so I will wrap this post up. I dunno how to end this post other than with a little quote my departed uncle used to say, "Stay with your own party."
March 1, 2012
Food Review - Fogo de Chao
So one of the things I realised today is now that I have this blog, and I go out to eat and drink a lot, I can start doing reviews of restaurants and bars that I go to
Yesterday, I visited Fogo de Chao for the 1st time. I went with a friend for lunch, walked in without reservations (place is really large with plenty of tables) and we were promptly greeted by friendly staff and a pleasant ambiance.
How Fogo's menu works is you have a coaster-like card that signals the Gauchos or Meat servers (giggity) and when you flip the coaster to Green, about 10 gauchos will approach you within 5 minutes, holding different cuts of meat from Top & Bottom Sirloin to Filet Mignon to Pork Ribs and Sausages and Chicken wrapped in Bacon. You can mix and match and load your plate up. What's neat about the meats is that they are cooked to different levels on each side or each piece. For example, my friend had Bottom Sirloin cooked medium rare, which was cut off of a side up top from the spit. I had a well done piece cut from the bottom.
Another neat attraction is the giant salad bar. Now as a strict carnivore, usually the salad bar is just something that I walk past when I'm looking for the restroom, but here, they had a fantastic spread that might even please some of those vegetarian people (maybe). I built a large salad with boston lettuce, mango-tomato type of chutney, cucumber onion vinaigrette, and (the best part) 5 full strips of perfectly cooked bacon. They have over 20 types of toppings to choose from, even a spread of deli meats and 3 types of chicken salad.
I had 5 different cuts of meat (Filet Mignon, top + bottom sirloin, prime rib and Pork ribs) along with the 3 sides they bring to the table (seasoned mashed potatoes, polenta cakes with parmesan and, my favorite choice, fried plantains with brown sugar)
The food was hot, well seasoned and filling. While the ribs were a bit overcooked and dry (naturally, no sauce due to the serving style) the steaks were on point. The servers do a wonderful job of helping to guide you through and if you're looking for a certain kind of meat, just ask and they'll bring it to you. (Looking back, it's kind of like the strip club of restaurants, the way they come around and whatnot)
After a wonderful lunch, I topped it off with a slice of magnificent, freshly made Key Lime Pie (my favorite dessert, by the way), served with a fresh lime syrup lightly drizzled on top, this was a heavenly finish to an exquisite meal.
Lunch time is a fantastic time to check this place out, with the tab coming in around $35 per person, you realise that you can eat a world class steak, and as much as you want of it, for a bargain price. Just make sure you come with an empty stomach, because you'll definitely leave this place full.
I give Fogo de Chao 5 out of 5 Flames (that's the unit of measurement here at CS2H)
Fogo de Chao
645 Hennepin Ave
Downtown Minneapolis
612-338-1344 (make reservations if you plan on having dinner there)
Yesterday, I visited Fogo de Chao for the 1st time. I went with a friend for lunch, walked in without reservations (place is really large with plenty of tables) and we were promptly greeted by friendly staff and a pleasant ambiance.
How Fogo's menu works is you have a coaster-like card that signals the Gauchos or Meat servers (giggity) and when you flip the coaster to Green, about 10 gauchos will approach you within 5 minutes, holding different cuts of meat from Top & Bottom Sirloin to Filet Mignon to Pork Ribs and Sausages and Chicken wrapped in Bacon. You can mix and match and load your plate up. What's neat about the meats is that they are cooked to different levels on each side or each piece. For example, my friend had Bottom Sirloin cooked medium rare, which was cut off of a side up top from the spit. I had a well done piece cut from the bottom.
Another neat attraction is the giant salad bar. Now as a strict carnivore, usually the salad bar is just something that I walk past when I'm looking for the restroom, but here, they had a fantastic spread that might even please some of those vegetarian people (maybe). I built a large salad with boston lettuce, mango-tomato type of chutney, cucumber onion vinaigrette, and (the best part) 5 full strips of perfectly cooked bacon. They have over 20 types of toppings to choose from, even a spread of deli meats and 3 types of chicken salad.
I had 5 different cuts of meat (Filet Mignon, top + bottom sirloin, prime rib and Pork ribs) along with the 3 sides they bring to the table (seasoned mashed potatoes, polenta cakes with parmesan and, my favorite choice, fried plantains with brown sugar)
The food was hot, well seasoned and filling. While the ribs were a bit overcooked and dry (naturally, no sauce due to the serving style) the steaks were on point. The servers do a wonderful job of helping to guide you through and if you're looking for a certain kind of meat, just ask and they'll bring it to you. (Looking back, it's kind of like the strip club of restaurants, the way they come around and whatnot)
After a wonderful lunch, I topped it off with a slice of magnificent, freshly made Key Lime Pie (my favorite dessert, by the way), served with a fresh lime syrup lightly drizzled on top, this was a heavenly finish to an exquisite meal.
Lunch time is a fantastic time to check this place out, with the tab coming in around $35 per person, you realise that you can eat a world class steak, and as much as you want of it, for a bargain price. Just make sure you come with an empty stomach, because you'll definitely leave this place full.
I give Fogo de Chao 5 out of 5 Flames (that's the unit of measurement here at CS2H)
Fogo de Chao
645 Hennepin Ave
Downtown Minneapolis
612-338-1344 (make reservations if you plan on having dinner there)
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