Phew! It was a rather eventful weekend what with the big fight in Las Vegas and putting up the Christmas decorations and all of that.
But aside from the Bonnie & Clyde kids or "Rittenhouse Swindlers[1]" as they could be called, and the Eagles loss to the Giants, not much happened in these parts. In fact, it seems as if the Philly folks were looking to get their names in the papers they had to leave town this weekend.
Yes, it seems that not only was Bernard Hopkins making the scene at Oscar de la Hoya's party before Floyd Mayweather dropped Ricky Hatton in 10 in Las Vegas, but also Ryan Howard was on the prowl, too. According to the gossip columnist in Vegas, the Phillies' slugger was at the Tryst nightclub [2]inside the Wynn resort with ex-Phillie Kenny Lofton. Charles Barkley was there, too, the paper reported.
Apparently, Sir Chuck was spotted at a lot of places in Vegas during the weekend before the fight. So too were Will Ferrell, Lennox Lewis and Sylvester Stallone.
Who knows, maybe Howard also hit Vegas to try and lure back local resident Aaron Rowand to the Phillies. That seems doubtful, though. Maybe Ryan was too busy in the hotel gym getting in shape for spring training?
Around these parts we got the ol' tree up and all of that mess. Ever the traditionalists, a few years ago we bought a tree that appears to be made from the old turf they used to have at the Vet. I walked by it this morning and strained my anterior cruciate ligament.
If only it came in martini blue...
Aside from that I went in for a little A.R.T. on my tight-as-a-drum hip flexor. It's a funny thing... I can run, walk and stand just like anyone else, but if I sit on a soft chair or the couch, the hip tightens up so much that I can't get up and I'm left to sit there like a Buddha or Bill Conlin. It's pretty damn frustrating.
What's that about? I can run 90 miles per week but I can't sit on a recliner?
Such a mess...
Finally, Ted Leo and his outfit, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, wrapped up a seemingly never-ending tour in with shows in New York City and Philly last week and a pair over the weekend in Washington, D.C. After playing and touring the United States and Europe quite continuously since 2005, Ted and the gang say they are going to take a bit of break to recover, rest and make another record.
The rest of us are left to ponder a world where the Pharmacists aren't out there plotting and scheming their moves and walking that line for us. Yes, it's a well-deserved and needed break, but we are weaker as a culture when Ted isn't out there in the night on some stage playing as hard as he can. The Pharmacists go to work every time -- it's just so inspirational and so beautiful.
*** Michael Vick got 23 months! What's that line from D.L. Hughley: Somewhere O.J. is watching and saying, "Man, I'm glad I didn't mess with any dogs..."
*** Happy birthday to Meg White, Michael Clarke Duncan, Bobby Flay, Nia Peeples, J Mascis, Susan Dey, Emily Dickinson and Mark Aguirre.
[1] Isn't that redundant? And did I make that up? It has a nice ring.
[2]
Is it me or does a nightclub named Tryst sound like something out of George Carlin bit?