Sports in Short

Alrighty, I got the music post out of the way. Time for an introductory sports blog. And let's get the first fact out of the way...

• Yeah, I'm gay, and this blog will be about sports sometimes. No, this isn't a joke. While I admit that the majority of men in my community don't really care who's doing the 10:00 SportsCenter on ESPN, I actually do. Whether this makes me a leper or not is up to you.
  
• I'm a Cubs fan. And no matter how hard I try and wash the stink off, I'm always going to be a Cubs fan. My parents, high school mates at the time, met as ushers at Wrigley Field. To say that the Cubs are in my and my sister's blood is somewhat of an understatement. And as much of a fan as I am, you're mostly going to hear me complain. Probably not this year, though. No point in it. The team's bad, and we know it. Who am I kidding, I'll complain.
• While college sports such as football and basketball are fun to watch during the postseason, I'm not an avid follower. First off, anyone who's any good will probably end up in the pro league, and I'll hear about them then. Secondly, as Northern Illinois University had an awful sports program while I was there, and Columbia College doesn't even HAVE a sports program, I was never really into the whole deal from the jump. Can't teach an old dog new tricks.
  
• As I post this, we are in the midst of the greatest fortnight of this and any other calendar year: The Championships at Wimbledon. If you're a tennis fan, you'll be in for some fun commentary during the Grand Slams, and even during some of the Masters tourneys. My being a fan of the Cubs is akin to some of the folks I've admired in professional tennis. I'm a huge Tim Henman fan. Anyone who knows his career gets the comparison to the Cubs. In today's game, I'm a fan of Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal (what's not to love?), Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and a lesser known American named Mardy Fish on the men's side, and the Williams' sisters (2nd-half of their careers more than their first), Kim Clijsters, and... well, there's such a jumbled mish-mosh at the top, I can't really tell you who the heck else is at the top at the moment.
• Golf: Yyyyyyyyyup, I'll watch it. I've never played 18 holes in my life, but I do enjoy watching the major tournaments, and a few of the ones that are held closer to home. When mom and dad got divorced, dad and I would hang out on Sundays. This almost invariably meant watching the final round of whatever tournament was going on that week. At first when you just blindly stare at something, you don't care. Then, by osmosis, you may not begin to care, but you begin to know. Then you begin to care. Welcome to my love for the PGA. Favs include Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy (so much upside), Camilo Villegas (watch how he reads a putt), Ian Poulter (the guy will wear ANYTHING), John Daly (the guy will do ANYTHING), and many others. Oh, and Matt Kuchar's got a really nice smile.
  
• Soccer: look, I've tried. Like so many other youth, I played soccer in a park district league as a kid, and abandoned it after just a couple of seasons so I could go be more of a sissy in the performing arts. It involved things I've just never done well: running with precision, and the ability to kick a ball and not, say, your opponent's knee (it happened... I still feel badly about that, whomever-you-are-whose-name-I-can't-remember). After graciously retiring from the sport before hurting myself and everyone around me, I attempted to care about it on a professional or world-wide level. Every four years, I'll try and get myself enthused about the World Cup. Then I remember: I just... don't... care...
• Hockey: never tried it, but not a huge fan. Easier to watch now in HD, but still not my favorite sport in the world. I pay some attention, but not a ton. I'm still open to conversion if anyone can assist.
• Poker: alright, look, I don't consider it anymore of a sport than you do; however, ESPN insists on showing it and covering it as if it were a sport, so we'll talk about it here. I'll play Texas Hold 'Em with some friends eeeeeeeeeeeevery now and then. It's been a long time, actually, since we've played. And the sad fact of the matter is, every fall, I will watch the World Series of Poker coverage. I just will. There's 2 things at play.
  1. You can pick up strategy and betting tips from the commentators, and just by watching how the action plays out.
  2. It's TRUE Reality TV. Reality isn't dumping a bunch of strangers on an island with a film crew and a hot host doing challenges like running across a fiery bridge. White trash putting up money they absolutely shouldn't on a gunshot straight draw against other white trash? That's reality, folks. That's America! And I stand by it, and will continue to watch it. That all said, anyone in the Chicago area want to play poker?
  
• Cricket: are you kidding me?
• The Olypmpics: Just like anyone else, I love the Olympics. But I have to say, I truly enjoy the fringe events more than the ones the rest of you enjoy en masse. Don't get me wrong, I love gymnastics and figure skating, but I also love the intricacies of Curling, Speedwalking, Table Tennis, Biathalon (who can't get behind a combination of cross country skiing and firing a weapon?), and so many others. Even though I love the Olympics, and I love tennis, I still wish they hadn't made it an Olympic Sport in 1988. Every four years, the tennis season gets totally rocked on its side because of it, and you don't even always get the best players because each country can only send 3 players in each competition. Do you even know how many Russian women could easily make the Olympics right now?
• And until the NFL gets their act together and signs a collective bargaining agreement, I'm not even giving them more than this mention.

Okay, I think that's enough, and my brain is sore. Besides, I've got some Wimbledon to go watch while I eat dinner. Oh, look, there's Lindsay Davenport on the coverage for Tennis Channel, I adore her.

Overture

“You should just write a blog.”

I’ve heard that all too often in the last four or five years, but it was when my boyfriend recently said it that it started to make the most sense. I had figured a whole bunch of reasons why it would never work, and it’s entirely possible that those reasons are entirely valid. However, without giving it the ol’ college try, I can’t say I can or can’t.

Most of the time, when I’m bitching or praising something, it’s music or sports, so that’ll more than likely be the bulk of the blog. That said, I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce my musical tastes and dislikes. Well do sports on the next blog. Anyone who knows me understands the list you are about to read is a truncated version from something that would be as long as an average insurance policy rider. Here we go…

· ***My iTunes library would overflow your computer. That is, if your computer’s hard drive is 350GB or less.

· *** In my digital music collection -which, these days, is the only game in town- Prince and Miles Davis take up the most room of any artists (almost tied). However, Miles has more studio albums than just about any artist in history, so you can imagine how many live shows of Prince I have. He’s probably my favorite musical artist, but I keep a cautious ear on all material that’s been released since around the turn of the century, even the mid-90s. As far as I’m concerned, “Chaos and Disorder” never happened. You hear me? Never… happened…

· *** I am a Joni Mitchell apologist. Most underrated songwriter/singer of her generation. Her worst album is better than your best. That’s right, yours.

· *** I just don’t get Neil Diamond. Look, you can talk to me all you want about this and that, and I will admit he’s a heck of a songwriter. But the voice is just non-chalant, and his fashion in the 70s was criminal for a man of his particular look.

· I jumped off the Pop Music train a long time ago. That’s not to say that I don’t listen to/purchase/desire to purchase some pop music from time to time. We all need our fluff. However, I guess in my later years, I need something more substantial on a regular basis.

· I’m also a Beatles apologist. That said, I think that The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” is the most important album in Rock and Roll history, and really where the whole game began in earnest. Without that album, the Beatles wouldn’t have been motivated to compose their masterpiece Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

· *** Even with what I said about Sgt. Pepper’s being a masterpiece, I still like Abbey Road and The Beatles (White Album) better.

· *** Here’s where I come down on Lady Gaga: she was cuter as Madonna, and I really haven’t heard much meaningful come out of her mouth that didn’t come out of Madge’s first.

· *** Me: gay. My musical taste: not as much. Sure, I like the occasional dance music, but I’m not the biggest fan of musical theater or the staples in the gay community like Cher or the like. And since I like segues…

· *** I’m a closet Metallica fan. Say what you want about heavy metal, but there is nobody who writes for or plays the genre better on the planet. They don’t just shout, they have things to say, and their musicianship is top-notch. Not too many heavy metal bands could pull off a spectacular performance with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

· *** I used to be a vocal major, so I do enjoy some classical music. While I once performed things primarily between the 14^th and 18^th centuries, my listening tastes tend to border on the modern. Pretty much anything post-Romantic gets my attention. Gavin Bryars, John Adams, and Philip Glass are a few folks I dig.

· *** Quick likes: Radiohead, Talking Heads, Tears for Fears, Diana Krall, Adele, Herbie Hancock, D’Angelo, Erasure, Jamiroquai, George Michael, Neil Finn related work (Crowded House being the most familiar to any of you), Pizzicato Five, Pink Floyd, The Cure, Tom Waits, They Might Be Giants.

· *** Quick dislikes: boy bands, bland uninteresting music disguised as power-ballads, meaningless metal (Metallica brings it, some bands just don’t), new country (80s pop with a fiddle, as far as I’m concerned), and anything without a soul.

Alrighty, that’s enough for now. Perhaps we’ll do a second-part to this music entry, but next up will be sports. I’m a Cubs fan. Stick around, I get angry.