FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2009

JUST ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE LONG STRANGE NIGHTS....(long post)

Last night was one of those nights where you couldn't help but to ask yourself on more than one occasion "WTF?". Between the bizarre behavior of some of the patrons, my run-in with MANHOLE-COVER MAN and the thrilling (and very long) 6-overtime classic between Syracuse and UConn, it was simply one of those nights that left you scratching your head afterwards.

Let's start off with the bizarre. There's this old guy who recently started coming to the bar, usually during the early evening hours. He's a nice enough guy who really means no harm; he'll engage pretty much anyone who comes around him. However, he's got this habit that is innocent enough at first, but becomes rapidly annoying after awhile. The habit? He always has to shake your hand whenever he sees you. I didn't mind it at first because I was thinking that this is just a friendly old guy. But after about the tenth time you start to get tired of shaking the same hand. Now imagine seeing this guy three or four times a week, on average ten handshakes per day... that comes out to a lot of handshakes.

So last night I asked him: "If you don't mind me asking, why do you always have to shake my hand when you see me?" Of course, he didn't answer the question because he was busy shaking someone else's hand. So I asked him again: "Why do always have to shake hands everytime you see someone?". Again he ignored my question, while at the same time, shaking my hand. I asked him again and again until finally he said "Hey just relax, it's no big deal". Come again???? He then shuffled off to the bathroom as I'm thinking to myself "Did he just give me the high hat?" I think the old guy gave me the Heisman!

Later on that night when he came back from the bathroom, he reached out to shake my hand again and this time I was hesitant about shaking his when he said to me: "What's wrong with shaking hands? Why do you gotta call me out?" I looked at him with a startled look and said to him that it just seems kinda strange for a person always having to shake the same hand over and over. He said to me: "I'm just a friendly guy. What can I say? Don't be so uptight." Then he shuffled off into the crowd, and I couldn't help but to think to myself "Damn I think this old coot just gave me the Heisman again!". WTF?

Minutes later I got summoned outside and there he was: MANHOLE-COVER MAN, pitching a fit. As it turned out, he had been sleeping out on my stoop and decided to take a piss in the middle of the street. When I confronted him about it, he FLIPPED OUT. Started screaming about his rights and public property and that I and (I quote) "the bitch that had you" need to go to hell. Yay. This was turning into one of those nights.

Then to make matters worse, these guys came in to watch some west coast hockey on our NHL Center Ice feed. While that was no big deal (I appreciate a good hockey game as much as anyone), they ordered some food. Normally that's not a big deal either as people bring in food all the time. However, these guys ordered some Korean-style fried chicken. Again, no big deal (they even offered me a sample, which was very good by the way). It wasn't until they broke out the side of pungent cabbage that things went downhill. The smell of the cabbage was so STRONG, that it literally cleared out half of the bar. I didn't notice it at first until I went outside for a moment. When I came back in, the smell hit me like a Mike Tyson uppercut. By then, the boys had finished eating and I literally had to take the garbage bag with their leftovers and throw it out, THEN open the doors to air the place out. You can't make this stuff up.

By then the bar had almost died out, with only those few diehard Syracuse fans choosing to sit through the smell of the cabbage to watch their team. By then the game was almost over and I figured that what started out as a good night was going to end with a whimper. But then the unthinkable happened: Syracuse and UConn decided to go into overtime. Then another overtime. And another. And as this was going on, the bar began to fill up again. By the fifth overtime, the bar was full again, fans glued to the TV's and hanging on every shot.

By the final overtime I was ready for the game to end. I couldn't take the roller-coaster ride anymore. When all was said and done, Syracuse finally pulled out a 127-117 hard-fought 6-overtime victory. A game for the ages. Here are some fact about that game:

Inside the numbers

• 6: Overtime periods, tied for second-most in Division I history.

• 3:46: Length of game.

• 67: Minutes Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn played (out of 70).

• 88: Percentage the Orange shot from the free-throw line (23-for-26) in overtime. Syracuse was 17-for-25 (68 percent) in regulation.

• 244: Total points scored, a Big East tournament record. Previous mark was 189, a double-OT game in 1998 between Pitt and Villanova.

• 102: Overtime points scored, an NCAA record, as was Syracuse’s 56 points in OT.

• 8: Players who fouled out.

• 5: UConn players with 10 or more rebounds. Syracuse had one. (source: Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports)

Like I said before, simply one for the ages. An instant classic.


WEEKEND HAPPENINGS

FRIDAY: "After-Work Happy Hour" (5pm-10pm), featuring $4.00 draft beers and mixed well drinks! More NCAA Championship Week action all night long!

SATURDAY: "Kick the Keg" Saturdays (12pm-8pm), featuring $2.00 mugs, ALL BEERS ON TAP! Following that, there's HOCKEY NIGHT in NEW YORK, featuring $15.00 buckets of Molson Ice, Molson Golden and Labatt's Blue (8pm-Midnight)!

SUNDAY: "Sunday Funday", with $4.00 domestic drafts ALL DAY LONG! Don't forget to catch the Selection Sunday Show (6pm) live!

NEXT WEEK: Third and Long's Hoops Madness Pool! Win a free bar tab if your team makes it to (AND WIN) the NCAA Finals. Free to play, first 64 people to sign up on Monday night will get to participate! Rules are simple: Sign up to play, randomly select a team and whatever team you select, that's your team for the tournament. If your team makes it to the NCAA finals, you have a chance to win! Stop by on Monday and take a shot!


Have a great weekend!



Nuff Said