LONG OVERDUE WEEKEND RECAP (long post)

Sorry for the late recap; It's been a busier than usual week for yours truly.  We find ourselves dealing with more traffic of late, thanks to the influx of great sports taking place.  Between the baseball season, Champions League and both the NBA & NHL playoffs heating up, it's getting harder and harder to keep up with everything going on.  Add to that, all of the international newsworthy items dominating our TV's this weekend (Prince William and Kate's wedding, Pope John Paul's beatification, the death of Osama Bin Laden), and you can see how this has been a whirlwind weekend of sorts.

On FRIDAY, the bar hosted a Viewing Party for the New York Mets.  It was sponsored by SNY TV and Hometown Beverages (Hometown NY Lager), who provided giveaways, including SNY Gift Bags and Hometown swag.  We even had a guest appearance by the "Cow-Bell Man", who is frequently seen at Citi Field.

SNY TV were there taping highlights of the Viewing Party to air sometime this week...

"Cow-Bell Man" playing his famous instrument...

It was also the going away party for one of our own, CHEVON (aka Shivank K.), who was preparing to move back to the Windy City.  He was only with us a short time, but he made an immediate impact with the bar.  A great guy with a great personality, he left his mark at Third and Long and he will certainly be missed.  Good luck in your new endeavors, Shivank! 

The Viewing Party had a great turnout and the bulk of the fans there were having a good time, until Ryan Howard stuck a dagger into their hearts with two home-runs (the second being a grand-slam).  That took the wind out of the sails of Mets fans and more or less sent everyone home.  Another typical Met loss.

SATURDAY was another day dominated by sports as the 2nd round of the NHL Playoffs kicked into high gear.  Boston routed Philadelphia 7-3 on the road, while Nashville stole Game 2 from Vancouver in the night game, 2-1 in double OT.  The highlight of the evening, however, was the long-awaited return of the UFC to Third and Long.  A star-studded card was in place for eager patrons including the much anticipated title matchup between Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields.

While the early start time threw off some folks (9pm PPV card as opposed to the usual 10pm start), overall it was a great card.  GSP ended up holding on to his title, though his match was kind of boring.  He really has to start stepping up his game or else he might start losing supporters.  I'm just saying.

SUNDAY was by far the best day of Spring yet, in my opinion.  Not too hot, not too cool; the perfect day to be out and about, which is what I would have love to have been.  Instead, I found myself behind the sticks for what turned out to be a 13-hour marathon shift.  Thankfully I was blessed with an afternoon filled with great games and a history-making evening, thanks to the news of Osama Bin Laden.

It was a fairly quiet night, with a couple of small groups enjoying conversations or watching the Mets/Phillies game.  Some of our hockey buddies returned from a game over at Chelsea Piers and began talking about their game when someone sitting in the back came up to me and asked if we could put CNN on with sound.  I asked why and he showed me a text message he received on his phone about the death of Osama Bin Laden.  I put the TV's on CNN, and almost immediately, the bar became quiet as everyone took in the startling news.  As Wolf Blitzer shared the news of what happened, the reaction in the bar ranged from shock to elation. And when you saw the scenes from the White House, Time's Square and Ground Zero, folks really took to the news.  Of course, there were some skeptics in the house, wondering where the body was, and if in fact Bin Laden was indeed truly dead.  In any case, it certainly made for a surreal evening. 

And if that wasn't enough, I was sad to hear the unfortunate news about one of the legendary bar/restaurant institutions in the NYC area: O'Neills in Maspeth, Queens burned to the ground in a late-night fire.  

A staple of Maspeth for over 75 years, O'Neill's was the perfect place to watch sporting events or get together with friends or family for dinner and special occasions.  The O'Neill family are genuinely good people and you hate to see something like that happen to anyone, let alone them. Thankfully, no one got hurt in the fire. I'm sure that I speak for a lot of people by hoping that they are able to rebuild and reopen soon.  Best wishes go out to them.

That's it for the recap!  Another busy week ahead, with Champions League re-plays on Tuesday (Real Madrid vs Barcelona) and Wednesday (Manchester United vs Schalke 04) afternoon; NHL & NBA playoffs, CINCO de MAYO (Thursday) and of course, our annual Kentucky Derby View Party on Saturday.  Add to that mix a steady stream of baseball and bad decisions and you have the ingredients for another fun week at 3& L!


Cheers!