Friday, April 20, 2012

Rest In Peace, Post Entitled Rest In Peace, Manute Bol (And Other Ephemera You Probably Don't Care About)



In 2010, I noted the passing of Manute Bol. I published a post about his death, and I said some nice things about him. For some reason, that post keeps getting boatloads of hits every day. I'm not sure why. I'd like to think it's because the people clicking onto it enjoy reading about Manute Bol (nice person that he was) but the number of hits it gets, and the short duration of stay for most, leads me to believe that there is something else happening. I haven't the slightest idea what that something else could be, though.

In any case, I have decided to pull the post. Anyone who needed to be made aware of Mr. Bol's passing has certainly found out about it by this late date and, while I don't like to delete stuff, especially a tribute to someone I admired, if I can't figure out why it gets hundreds of page views a day, then maybe I don't want to be party to whatever in hell is going on. So, the post is now gone.

 (If somebody is really interested in seeing it, feel free to e-mail me. I'll send a copy.)

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 Next on today's list of things nobody asked me about, the M Street Softball League begins its 43rd season of play on Monday. My new team, Quencher Tavern, plays in the opener. It's a step up in class for me. Quencher played in the "A" division last year. My previous squad, which I managed and played for the past two seasons, was a "C" team. In baseball terms, it's like going from a double-A minor league team to the majors. I've played on "A" squads before, but I was younger then. Come Monday, we'll begin to see if my 55-year-old ass is up to the task. The mitigating factor is that I'm going to be the backup catcher on this squad, not the starter. And that's fine by me. The returning starter, Nate Spada, is a good one; a better hitter than I am at my advanced age, for sure. So, I'm more than happy to be Bob Montgomery to his Carlton Fisk.

 (My numbers for the past two seasons look good enough compared to his, but he was facing mostly top-flight pitching and, for the most part, I wasn't.)

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Meanwhile, The Bombers will not begin actual league play until May 20th. It's no fault of the guy who serves as our commissioner - he's a nice guy, does a good job, and has to deal with the restrictions placed upon him by the city of Boston and its parks department permits - but I think that start date sucks.

I would dearly love to see the league begin in April, and end later in September or October, getting at least four or five more doubleheaders in. I love getting out on Sunday mornings in the summer when much of the rest of the world is quiet and drowsy. I'm a Christian, but I feel no guilt about missing church on these Sundays. I really do thank God from deep in my heart when I'm on that field. It's much more of a real religious experience for me than if I were sitting inside somewhere and wishing in my heart of hearts that I was somewhere else, playing ball. Anyway, we at least have a pre-season scrimmage this Sunday, so I get a chance to knock some more rust off before the Monday evening opener at M Street. Here's hoping I don't cripple myself before either season truly begins.

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Finally, today I ate a Krispy Kreme donut that had a sardine, some tuna, hot sauce, an anchovy, and a hunk of salami on it as toppings.




Yes, I did. If any of you doubt the veracity of this claim, I will post video, on Monday, of me accomplishing that gustatory feat. All I'll say for now was that I did it of my own accord and it was delicious. Yup. It's not easy getting in shape for the season, but I'm giving it my best shot.

Soon, with more better stuff.

P.S. The new Blogger interface SUCKS. I've ended up posting this four times before it came out how I wanted it to look, approximately. SUCKS, SUCKS, SUCKS, SUCKS, SUCKS. Thanks for listening, and have a nice weekend!

24 comments:

innominatus said...

Similar thing at my place. I put up a not-that-funny post about Charlie Sheen, back when he was in the midst of his freak out. That post still gets 300+ hits a week - easily 10X more than any other post.

Maybe I should do a post about Charlie Sheen and Manute Bol. Blog-traffic dynamite! :)

The Broad said...

I can not imagine any good reason for eating a Krispy Kreme donut with sardine, tuna, hot sauce, anchovy, and salami as toppings -- however, it is apparently still a free country! Hope you have the best season ever, however.

Sorry you feel you had to cut your post. Very strange goings on though.

I am liking the new interface more and more as I use it. But then I haven't had any problems!

stephen Hayes said...

This sounds like the horrible stuff the judges eat on "Chopped," where they make poor chefs whip up something from ingredients taken from the bottom of monkey cages. Yet you say this was good, and you aren't a man to be contradicted....

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

Yeah it took me a while getting my blogs to post correctly too. I like the new thing now though after learning it a little better, easier to flip between blogs for me and the stats seem to be more up to date.

The salami I could probably stomach but all that fish related accoutrement just kinda made me a bit sick. Not sure I'll be able to handle the vid.

Glad to hear you're playing again, even as a backup you're still out there enjoying the game!

Craig said...

I've had many occasions to be grateful for Saturday evening masses, when I really need one. . .

;)

Sarah said...

Ya know... I saw your co worker post photos of Sardine Fest 2012... and as much as I miss y'all... Well... GROSS!!!!!!

Maggie May said...

What a strange concoction you are eating! I think it would make me sick!

Blogger is certainly making it difficult at times.
Sometimes I cannot comment and the worst part of all is that you never know which blog this will happen on. It seems random!
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Sueann said...

Took me half and hour to figure out where I could read the blogs I follow!! Sheesh!
Why can't people just leave things alone?? Why, I ask...why????
Hugs
SueAnn

Shrinky said...

That's really, really weird about that post thing, if you ever DO find out what caused all the interest be sure to let us know, huh?

Sully, you must have the cast-iron constitution of a Vietnamese Pot-Bellied pig - are you SURE you're not pregnant? What else could produce such a craving??

Michelle H. said...

I ditto Limes comment. Are you pregnant? Because that Krispy Kreme sounded absolutely vile.

Oops! Sorry. I usually do ask before now about your softball teams. Good to hear you're still up for another year.

messymimi said...

Glad to hear your season is starting up again soon, i know you love it.

Did you lose a bet to have to eat that? Or worse, win one?;)

Karen said...

I'll eat just about anything, but yuk.

CiCi said...

I don't know if the thought of the donut with sardine was what made my stomach queasy, or the fact that a Krispy Kreme donut was covered in "sardine, some tuna, hot sauce, an anchovy, and a hunk of salami on it as toppings."

That is some weird meal. Usually I like weird.

joeh said...

SALAMI...Yeeech!!

Cranky Old Man

(not necessarily your) Uncle Skip said...

"...SUCKS, SUCKS, SUCKS, SUCKS, SUCKS..."

AMEN!

BTW - Manute Bol was one of my favorite Warriors players ever.

Oh, and I like my salami with butter on SF sourdough french bread (no Krispy Kremes, sardines, tuna, anchovies, or hot sauce. Though I like them, too.)

Babs said...

This was an interestingly odd post. lol. Nothing personal of course.
I have never heard of that man you pulled the post of..was he famous, or a ball player or something??
I've heard of pregnant cravings of pickles and peanut butter as well as other oddities in the culnary world but that is weird. You must have been born with your own antacid flowing through those veins as well as dripping in your stomach as needed. I can't imagine the sardines ...not ever...the Krispy Kremes only on occasion and my teeth hurt thinking of them.
Ones things for certain...you get your "monies" worth when reading your posts..
Thanks for a good time. :)

Absolut Ruiness said...

Please send me a copy of the Manute Bol post at ruhi1984@gmail.com. I want to analyze.

notactuallygod said...

Funny you talking about Bol now. I read something about some new guy being the tallest in basketball and it made me think of him. I didn't know he had passed, nor did I know he had a rep as one of basketball's nice guys.

You've piqued my interest to go and read his Wikipedia page... Gone at 47!?! Damn! I'M 47 this year. But my kidneys are fine. And though I've had a few rollicking cab rides I've never been 'ejected' from one via drunk driver and guardrail. Piqued curiosity -now satisfied.

Henceforth I shall think of you as Sully the Knowledgeable, shepherd of minutiae, duke of de minimis.

Jackie said...

I'll be rooting for you beginning at 6 PM this evening. Go Quencher Tavern!

Buck said...

Grats on making it to the softball Majors... that's pretty cool for a guy "of a certain age."

I still have the old Blogger interface on my laptop and will use it until they pry it from my cold dead hands. Which is soon, from what I hear.

Barbara said...

Kudos to you for playing on two teams at your advanced age. :) I'm serious... just playing as backup catcher on one is impressive! Congrats on making it to the A Team! I'm not going to comment on the Krispy Kreme bit .. okay, yes I am. Ugh!

IT (aka Ivan Toblog) said...

I'm steaming about the blogger interface being hijacked so suddenly. I can't even use HTML the way I used to.

Jackie said...

It's 7:07 P.M. EST, and I'm thinking that the game must be in full swing as I type. I wanted to let you know that I'm doing a cheer over here (a rhyme.) :))

Ra Ra Ree
Kick 'em in the knee.
Ra Ra Rass
Kick 'em in the other knee.

OK...that's the only cheer I remember from high school, and I don't even think it's an appropriate one for your game this evening...but it's a cheer, my friend!
Go Quencher Tavern!!!!

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure which is worse: the new Blogger interface or the fact that you ate that horrible concoction!

Blech!

heh heh