Once Upon A Time In Allentown.
Once Upon A Time In Allentown
The Cast
Date: 08/11/2019
FILLERBUSTER’S ELEVEN
BACKGROUND: This started as a long-winded numbered blog. It transformed into an organized long-winded category blog. Now, it is a quick-hitter to ease your pain. I lack time. So, the preparation of the blog actually made me procrastinate from writing the thing. Let’s see who makes the cut. Barely edited as usual unfortunately, so please excuse any mistakes during my stream of consciousness. I feel the need…the need for speed. Let’s turn and burn.
SETTING: This is written while Lindsey was napping on Saturday before our night festivities. Hour door to door.
NOTE: No spoilers on the Once Upon a Time or Stranger Things reviews. Read on, and I won’t ruin anything.
- EVERGREEN: Players are bowing out of the FIBA team. The masses will have to learn new names of possible future stars. People will Google Derrick White. The world will be gunning for us as usual to beat us in our own sport. Pop giving snippy interviews. Melo being turned down (smiling while writing that). What does the FIBA World Cup mean though? The USA could simply NOT enter and there would be no downside. There is ONLY downside. There is downside if we barely win, but we must throw ourselves out there. But, think about this. We will watch it regardless. It will be closer games. It will be learning curves. And, don’t just watch the USA players, folks. Know this. Aside from my boy, Luka Doncic, the international pipeline has stalled in the last few years at first glance. Don’t blink, and watch the OTHER teams in this tourney. Next year’s draft will have at least 3 players in the top ten that you will also have to Google. The pipeline is cyclical, and know it is coming back around. We all hope the USA wins of course, and destroys everyone. That won’t happen (the destruction part), and learn about our players, and also THEIR players. The World is onto us, and our superstars apparently have better things to do.
- (I was going to write something deep on the shootings. It would have been from the mind and heart and maybe even good, but other non-sports blogs would write it better. Scary stuff, hope it changes, tired of hearing about the events, and I will leave it alone this time around.
- NFL: (in fluid fashion) Preseason football is practice with cameras and television coverage ONLY. The Panthers called a timeout so the Bears could kick the ominous 43-yard FG that haunts their nights. You need to be reading Why Your Team Sucks on Deadspin. Daily. Or at least when your team rolls around. Or go back and read it. Whatever. Kaep tweeted he is ready to play still, and the only downfall of this story is that Trump backed him. But, as you know from my vantage point, he SHOULD have a job. There is no way that he is not better than the worst QB’s on a roster right now. As a Steelers fan, I am kind of hoping for Antonio Brown’s failure, as you know. He is starting well. Take his helmet complaint to the league (with threat of retirement?), and move on to his frostbite problem in his feet, and he is covering problematic behavior head to toe. Yes, I chuckled when writing that line. Baker Mayfield shotgunning a beer at an Indians game was off the hook. Dude is so cool-read my last blog. The Redskins will begin prop betting on screen soon, and I would assume the winning fans will just choose bad things happening to the Skins. An ex-rugby player for the Bills scored the first time he touched the ball. Stellar. Almost as stellar as the Browns WR who slept on the street because he was out of money, used his last $20 on workout help, talked the team into letting him tryout, and then scored in a preseason game on his first touch with a punt return TD. Beyond stellar.
- COLLEGE FOOTBALL: I suppose I could have sweet things to say about the USC offensive lineman returning after donating bone marrow, or have jokes about Mike Tyson addressing the Bama football team, but let me just keep it simple. I will be out of pocket when college football begins, so just know I am SO excited to kick this season off. Whether you talk about a pretty much identical top five to start the season, UVA’s possible improvement finally in a very weak conference division, or my wife’s undying excitement about a good again Sooners with another Heisman hopeful new QB, I am READY.
- NBA
- We all doubted they could find a way to make everyone happy. But, they have done it. The Warriors signed on Draymond Green to an extension, and this keeps the core and heart and soul of the original, pre-Durant team, in place, and they have also plugged some holes on the bench. What this means is this. They aren’t the super-scary team with Durant, but they are still mildly frightening.
- Carmelo Anthony wants back in. He wants to play in the NBA, probably for winner. He wanted to play for USA basketball at FIBA, but got shot down. This is starting to remind me of Allen Iverson in some ways. We all knew that AI should have retired about 5 years earlier (actually dipped his career average to under 30 pts per game in staying in the game too long). Melo isn’t old, but apparently his jab step isn’t what it used to be, and he isn’t even being considered as a role player and locker room presence, probably because the ball never comes back when passed to him, and he isn’t beloved or respected in the locker room. Both are similarities to my boy, AI. Hang them up, Melo.
- Speaking of people who should hang it up, respected IS what Udonis Haslem is, and we loved his run with the title team. But, coming back for a 17th year is probably not a retirement tour we need to see.
- The next time you hear someone say once you turn 40, it is physically over, ponder this. Vince Carter will be back for the Hawks next year. He is 42 years old. I assume him and Robert Parish are having a cocktail right now.
- Not only is the new NBA agent rules a shot at Rich Paul in particular (no college education), but just plain embarrassing for anyone in the business. If you can make people money like Jerry Maguire, then let them make people money. Stupid new rules.
- MLB: (in fluid style) Find a way around the legal rules, the Phillies without the Phanatic is like macaroni without cheese. Indians pitcher Shane Bieber has a baseball card, which is great, and the back of the card refers to him as Justin. The Yankees broke the all-time record for home runs against the same team in a season with 5 HR’s in their last game. 52 for the season vs. the Orioles. And they have one more four game series to go. Speaking of the Orioles, I would think, with the contract the way it is and him producing 9 HR’s this season, that the manager of the Orioles would be mad at Chris Davis, not the other way around. I was wrong-apparently the Mets DO know what they are doing. Dammit. They are hot. The Yankees are playing the White Sox next year at the Field of Dreams. And I will be looking into tickets. I want to be there. Bo Bichette, son of Dante, hadn’t even hit in 15 Big League games when he broke the all-time record for consecutive games hitting a double. NINE. Not only does he have a record, but that will stand for the rest of my life I presume. As you know, Bill Walton is one of my favorite announcers to listen to. Because he is ridiculous. Anyway, the reason he is in the MLB section is because he A) single-handedly delayed a Padres game (Grateful Dead night at the ballpark) and B) will apparently announce an Angels game. He is ridiculous, but like a car wreck, we can’t turn away.
- TBT: The ending of The Basketball Tournament was this week, and I thoroughly enjoyed the final, aside from the Buckeyes’ alumni taking the $2 million prize (to be split of course). Anyway, it was high quality basketball, defense did exist, it was a trip down memory lane for wondering where anyone who graduated from Marquette or Ohio State was in the last 15 years, and I look forward to next year. I love the groupings of guys, and how the schools all get together. Good stuff.
- MISCELLANEOUS: In case you thought we had seen the last of Ryan Lochte, we haven’t. He is done his ban, and just beat the best of the best in his specialty at the Worlds, the 200m IM. He will be in the Olympics, and the only good thing I can say about this is I look forward to him saying or doing something really bad or illegal, as there is a much higher than average chance of that happening. He does make it fun, I will say. He is an idiot, but winning that event after a 14 month layoff commands respect. Other note in miscellaneous? Neymar just got off the hook for his rape allegations. This follows Ronaldo’s “innocence” by a month or so. So, we can surmise that high amounts of money have been mailed, and all victims are rich and sad.
- ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was very, very well done. My thoughts are as follows. First of all, there were people in that movie I didn’t expect at all, even though admittedly I did no research before viewing. Pacino out of the gate? Damian Lewis from Billions as Steve McQueen? The guy who played Bruce Lee? Brilliant stuff. I hear critics saying that Tarantino provided a “mainstream” ending and that this was a fault of the movie, but I thought it worked out well. The things I always count on Tarantino for were all in here. One very awkward scene where you had no idea where it was going. One absolutely brutal scene, although this was definitely on the lighter side for his movies. And one rewrite of history, with great creativity and accuracy. The dog should win best actor, but if he doesn’t, because he is not a human, than I give the nod to Brad Pitt slightly over Leonardo for actor. Best Pitt stuff in quite some time. Overall? I give it an A-. I think the minus was for the run time. Long movie.
- THIS AND THAT: Movie dates with couples are goofy. You are meeting up to go into a room where you can’t talk. Then, you say goodbye. We just had one. I spoke about three sentences to the dude I was looking forward to hanging with. We finished Stranger Things, and it wasn’t a letdown. You hear the plot about a small town with aliens, and you have no idea that this historical accuracy, the brilliant plot twists, and the quality-done story could entertain you so much. If you aren’t on this train, you are sincerely missing out. Not too late. Catch up. To add to their legacy as a hard rock band, a Canadian hiker started playing Metallica when a cougar approached her, and the cougar ran away. Don’t Tread On Me, cougar. The Toyota Corolla commercial with the guy stopping at train stops to see his woman is dumb, because he could just drive the girl instead of packing her on a train. There is a line to doing reboots, and Disney is crossing it in making Home Alone again. Why don’t people change phone numbers when they live in a place for over 15 years? There are two types of people in the world. People who have 3000 emails in the inbox and find stuff by searching, and those like me who refuse to have a scroll or 5 or more in there at a time. Frontier is offering free flights for people with “green” in their name, but I wonder if they are still charging for the seat, the carry-on, the checked bags, and every article of clothing you wear on the damn plane. There is a study that deduced cats do know their names and just choose to ignore us. Our cats definitely know their names, and won’t leave us alone, so that study is off, or our cats are just friendly as hell. The Stones are in town, and evidently Mick Jagger was down the street from my house Thursday ordering a Voodoo Ranger IPA at the speakeasy William and Graham. He is probably pretty easy to notice given his age. We would have gone to see the Stones, but although I don’t dislike them, I barely can name five songs that I truly, truly like. I think Paint It Black would be my captain. No Backstreet Boys, Zac Brown, Stones, or Chappelle for us two, as we decided to hit Billy Joel. He was awesome. And any problems I had with him could be written off, considering he is SEVENTY years old. His set list was very similar, crazy similar, to when we went to see him at the Pepsi center four years ago. Same order for Vienna and Entertainer. Same order for Scenes and Piano Man. Same openers, same closing. In fact, when my wife asked me if we wanted to start towards the exit near the end to beat the traffic, I said yes mainly because we were betting on the closers being the same songs. We were right, and we got a non-surging Uber on a school night. Anyway, great show though, although the sound on the field was TEN times the quality as anyone sitting above. Those people should have thrown a little more money down. I play piano and am from the Jersey/ NYC region. Billy Joel is my king.
- THE FILLERBUSTER: We leave for St. John and Key West on Friday. And we booked the trip to Ecuador (February-that is what I love about me and Linds) spontaneously last weekend. I sometimes complain my wife is rushing me at TJ Maxx and Ross, but then wonder what would happen if I didn’t have a chaperone. We bought the Alexa, and I don’t use it very much, but do like hearing songs on the fly after a beer or two. Loading up for the trip, I re-upped my cargo shorts arsenal, just in case anyone thought THAT fashion was being deleted from my day to day. Tougher to find those things, but I track them down. The options are less, so it is the same thing as my fashion in shoes. Since I am a Size 14, my fashion is dictated on whatever is on the shelf in that size. Usually not that much. Someone asked me the other day what I have given up to be with my wife happily. Somehow, I conjured up an answer in about 20 seconds. Backwards hat (unless playing pool), my soul patch, and Golden Tee. Not sure if you all like Iced Tea as much as me, but your top three spots for that liquid in Denver are Bar Dough, The Range, and Beast & Bottle. Bar Dough has the best pizza special in the city for happy hour, if you care. I have also started a Google Doc list on my IPA’s, as I forget sometimes what I like and don’t like. Bought one I didn’t, so therefore the created list now. Still reading Origin, very occasionally. Still great, and very educational. When I go to work next week, since the 3rd floor is suddenly overtaken by a massive number of clichés, I can’t wait to hear next the line “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” Very sarcastic about being excited for it. You should walk down the Denver alley that is called The Dairy Block downtown. Man, that place is beyond cool these days. Like a mini-city in an alley. The Refinery not only has the best prices for drinks downtown (we ALWAYS meet people there if doing something downtown), but the most skilled and efficient bartenders in the city. I met a guy named Blake there. Blake not only is called Blake when I met him on Blake Street, but he is a regular at the bars on Blake Street, and has a condo…on Blake Street. Hitting for the cycle, Blake. I met some old friends at Billy Joel the other night, and the dude is a Slipknot fan, scary, huge beard mammoth of a dude. He was drinking White Claw…Black Cherry. Odd mix, and funnier since my wife is Global CEO of White Claw. Seriously. I had a French Dip at the LoHi Steak Bar Friday. It was delicious, but once again, The White House in Aspen has ruined my eating of these sandwiches forever. The thing was so good in Aspen that I can’t really enjoy French Dips anymore. Shame. Finally, my wife and I have decided on our Halloween costumes this year. Scoops Ahoy from Stranger Things. Not sure how I will get Steve’s hair going, but we will give it a shot. Google “Stranger Things scoops ahoy steve outfit” and you will see a picture if you hit Image.
- TWEET OF THE WEEK
ALTERNATE CATEGORIES
- THE BEST WORKOUT SONG EVER FOR THIS WEEK (because the best song this week IS the best song ever…for now):
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK
- LINKS TO SAVE YOU TIME IN LIFE
- TRAVEL
- THIS WEEK’S LIST
- MY NUMBERS
- GONE FISHING (the riddle for money):
- PICS BY MY PIXEL (pictures from my phone):
- LIFEGUARD ENTRY:
- COLLEGE BASKETBALL
- NHL
The theme? Easy one. I merged Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Billy Joel, and he DID play Allentown.
NOTE: I will release a mini-blog before my big trip next Friday. Like, a mini-version of this mini-version. 11 things. Promise. My Executive Priority (inside work joke) is to write a current one before leaving for two weeks and going off the grid.
And our weekly reminder of the greatest sequel ever made coming out next summer… Top Gun 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVRHG6z7sN8
We are going to the anniversary thing for Wheatridge, CO. Fireworks, Kiss tribute band, stupid rides, $18 circus, beer garden, and dumb fun.
That’s it for today. Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed. Remember two things. First, feed yourself, feed your family, but always, always remember to…feed the wolf. Second, if you can’t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker. Will I blog again? That is a CLOWN question, bro. As one shepherd said to the other shepherd, let’s get the flock out of here.
Some pics from the week before I go:
| THROW IT BACK IN THE POND |
#1 2020 prospect commits to usc hoops
| meyer texts smith to spurn bama |
| navy drops gun logo after sensitivity |
| morgan in for next cup for uswnt |
| ufc releasing cyborg |
| protective netting helps gio |
| messi banned for 3 months |
| velasquez lf |
| yanks torres-core injury |
| astros combined no no |
| Hof gonzo |
| Mayfield beer chug |
| cliff branch dies |
| Cruz 3 hrs again |
| Contreras il |
| ngakoue ends holdout |
| asap prison sweden |
| lightning sign shattenkirk |
| ravens cut lewis after passing physical, trade to jets instead |
| si writer dan banks dies |
| john wall says he deserved supermax contract |
| phils had swine flu during 2009 world series |
| cano back on IL |
| marlins irvin tweet |
| jj watt ruins kids bike |
| texans lonnie johnson sent to showers for tackling in no tackle scrimmage |
| no deal for crabtree-cards |
| usa bball dropouts |
| mariners beckham ped violation 80 games |
| rooney leaving for player-coach position |
| AB frostbite during cryotherapy |
| ex-msu dean neglect |
| texans mccarron injures thumb |
| hornets offered walker much less than max |
| durant doesn’t blame warriors for achilles |
| ncaa doesn’t implement ncaa football injury reports |
| pressley-orlando pride cancer |
| jalen ramsey college trash talking surfaces-girlfriends |
| biles blasts usa gymnastics for no protection |
| pro bowl to remain in orlando 2020 |
| joe girardi to manage team usa |
| xfl send invites to draft-eligible players |
| dabo says Bryant won’t get ring |
| boys de Quinn suspended |
| bosa injury |
| chiefs sign cb clairbourne |
| lions kearse breaks ankle |
| wr stills-dolphins owner |
| rangers ban fan racist |
| wr Callaway banned 4 games |
| mets sign panik |
| cleaves trial starts |
| Hof Gonzales others |
| pats extend brady two years |
| lv stadium to be called allegiant stadium |
| zeke won’t play without deal |
| brady puts up home for sale $39.5 mil |
| josh gordon applies for reinstatement |
| browns trade duke johnson to texans for pick |
| Kyler murray impresses |
| Daniel jones impresses |
| ben simmons says he was racially profiled when not allowed in australian casino |
| lakers-clips to open season also, as well as xmas |
| pop calls out lawmakers after shootings |
| lions sign Josh Johnson |
| bama loses Trey sanders rb |
| Brian cashman gunpoint stolen vehicle |
| byu bans childs 9 games |
| premier league |
| astros combined no no |
| nick kyrgios consults fan before ace |
| dj cooper fails bosnian drug test using girlfriend’s urine (pregnant) |
| dj cooper fails bosnian drug test using girlfriend’s urine (pregnant) |
| tiger still bothered by back-withdraws tournament |
| you should still be reading deadspin even i don’t provide links |
| premier league transfer window closing |
| llws |
| more shootings Dayton el paso |
| dog bounty hunter colorado store burglarized |
| dengue disease phillipines |
| legionnaire atlanta |
| immigration problems usa |
| mass shooting scares |
| going to be busy hurricane season |
| what year did paragraphs stop being indented in emails? |
| pinche |
| air day |
| shopping online |
| Sam’s club |
| suitcase-gold |
| jimmy johns |
| eating on weekends with my wife |
| orange new black-wife on it |
| air bnb guests cancel, immediately book |
| trash disposal |
| cubes for packing |
| st. john |
| san diego remote |
| poker tourney? |
| rodizio |
| one person not knowing Joel taking forever |
| eleanor |
| jp eileen |
| blank space I prevail |
| style swift |
| bar crawl valerie |
| private party rino |
Panama-boxing song
Jeffrey Epstein dies in prison-clinton?