Fish Fry, Absent Friend, and Other Ramblings

A general hodge-podge of Sunday morning ramblings......

Our Fish Fry tour this past Friday took us to the American Serbian Club on Sarah Street on the South Side.  This Fish Fry benefits St. Suva Orthodox Church, home parish of our friends and neighbors, George and Barb Topich.  This is the fourth year in a row we have gone to this Fish Fry, and it is another good one.  One thing that separates this one from other Fish Fries?  There is a bar in the Serbian Club, so I was able to wash down my fish sammich with a cold Iron City Beer.  Hard to imagine being able to get an Iron City on the Sahsside, but there you are.

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To Absent Friends.  Ralph Wilson, owner of the Buffalo Bills passed away this past week at the age of 95.  Wilson's death is noteworthy because he was the last remaining founding owner of the American Football League, which began operations in 1960.  In that sense, Wilson was the last of a pioneering bunch.

RIP Ralph Wilson.

Wilson's death comes in a week when the family of Bills Hall of Fame quarterback, Jim Kelly, is experiencing a relapse of cancer, and that the cancer is "aggressive and spreading".

A sad week for football fans in general and Bills fans in particular.

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While I no longer participate in the North Park League of Fantasy Baseball, I do still attend and help out with the annual draft by league members.  It is a way to keep in touch with the guys and have a fun night out.   The Draft was held this past Friday Night, and just for fun, here is how the order in first round of selection went by the ten teams in the NPL:

Mike Trout

Miguel Cabrera

Andrew McCutchen

Clayton Kershaw

Paul Goldschmidt

Hanley Ramirez

Chris Davis

Robinson Cano

Adam Wainwright

Joey Votto

The Big Train for 2011

There he is - Albert Pujols, Major League Baseball's best player and the man who will lead The Big Train to fantasy baseball glory in the North Park League in 2011. Realizing that nothing turns people off more than hearing about other people's fantasy sports teams, be assured that I will not be beating you over the head with Fantasy Baseball stuff for the next six months. Unless, of course, my team, The Big Train, happens to kick ass in the League. Then, you will get regular updates.

I will brief in saying that I did use the first overall pick to select Pujols, despite his 0-for-5 day in the Cards' opener. Somehow, I think he will overcome that start. I also drafted two Pirates - Pedro Alvarez and Lyle Overbay. Overbay was picked as a replacement to the DL'd Kendry Morales.

Regardless of how well or poorly your fantasy team may fair, Draft Night is always one of the more fun nights of the year, and last night was no exception. Good luck to all in the NPL this season.

And speaking of baseball, a very nice Opening Day win for the Buccos yesterday. You can't win 'em all if you don't win the Opener. As Bob Prince used to say, "we may never lose another game."

Opening Day and Other Thoughts

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box on Opening Day while listening to the great Bob Dylan on the iPod:

• Opening Day for the Pittsburgh Baseball Club. Today, all things are possible. Not probable, but most certainly possible.


• Perhaps the most memorable quote from Spring Training came from Bob Nutting when he told that team that starting in 2011 "incremental progress will not be acceptable." Personally, and maybe I've just been totally beaten down by this bunch, I would be thrilled to see even "incremental progress" by the Pirates in 2011. Lord knows we haven't seen any such progress during the PNC Park era.


• I am guessing that that "incremental progress" quote will be thrown back at Nutting more than once as the season progresses.


• Setting a moderate goal, I said back in December that if Clint Hurdle could coax 70 wins out of this team, he should be Manager of the Year. That would be a 13 game improvement over 2010, so what the hell.... 70 Wins or Bust in 2011!!!


• When I am looking for a specific game score or result, the crawl at the bottom of the screen on ESPN is terrific. When I am not looking for a specific score or result, the crawl is extremely annoying.


• Just finished reading "True Grit" by Charles Portis. Had I read this novel when it first came out in 1968, I'm not sure that I would have thought "Wow, this would book make a great movie."


• Next on my reading list: "Branch Rickey" by Jimmy Breslin, and "Rawhide Down" (about the assassination attempt on President Reagan) by Del Quentin Wilber.


• Speaking Bob Dylan, my issue of the AARP Magazine (insert appropriate smartass comment here) arrived yesterday, and it includes a feature story commemorating Dylan's 70th birthday on May 24. Yes, Bob Dylan will be 70 years old next month!!


• Tonight is Fantasy Baseball Draft Night. I have the first pick in the North Park League draft, which I earned by finishing last in 2010. Just like in real baseball, all things are possible on Draft Night. I can tell you that Albert Pujols will be my first round selection tonight. After that, who knows?


• Readers of this blog know my abysmal track record making sports predictions, but last October 26, I predicted that the NBA Finals would be contested by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Bulls (you can look it up). As of this morning, the Lakers are #2 in the West and the #1 team in the East is none other than the Chicago Bulls. Still a lot of grass to mow until the Finals, but How 'Bout Them Bulls?


• Purchased the DVD set of Mad Men Season 4 yesterday. Looking forward to settling in with that.


• Bad news is that Mad Men Season 5 won't start until 2012. Will jumping an entire season mean jumping the shark for this great series?


• Welcome news for North Hills residents in the PG today. Cinemark will be building and opening a new, modern 12 screen movie theater complex in McCandless. Finally, modern comforts and amenities for movie goers in the North Hills, and good-bye to the dumpy Rave (formerly Showcase) Cinemas on McKnight Road. The bad news is that this complex won't be open until Fall, 2012.


• I am looking out my window as I type this and watching it snow. Wish I could say "April Fool's" to that one, but it is all too true.


• Enjoy the Bucco Opener today. Eighteen - and counting - seasons of ineptitude can't stop you from being a fan. Let's Go Bucs!!!