AN INTERESTING CHAIN OF EVENTS...

Just as the title of this post says, it has indeed been an interesting chain of events over the course of the weekend.  In the sports world, we find the NBA playoffs finally producing some interesting drama in the two Conference Championship Series.  What was expected to be a cake-walk for both the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat has all of a sudden, become a dogfight as both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics rediscovered their game.  Now both series are tied at 2-2 and and everyone's interested in what happens next.

Meanwhile, the Stanley Cup has produced two straight overtime games, with the L.A. Kings winning both games on the road.  Now they go back home with a 2-0 lead and have the NJ Devils on the ropes, needing only two more wins to hoist the Cup for the very first time.

Now, as expected, with the NY Rangers out of the mix, the crowds have been much lighter than normal.  Much of that had to do with the fact that many of our diehard NJ Devils fans went to the games in New Jersey.  In fact, it's safe to say there were probably more L.A. Kings fans in the bar than NJ Devils fans.  However, I expect things to change for Game 3, especially with the Devils being on the road.  The fans should band together as their team faces a very critical situation.  Should the Devils lose and fall behind 3-0 in the series, you can all but call it a wrap.  History dictates that it's almost impossible to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a seven-game series, so it is imperative that New Jersey steal one, if not both games out West.  Tonight's game will be critical, to say the least.

The weekend itself was pretty tame.  The weather had much to do with it, with thunderstorms peppering the area off and on throughout, thus interfering with the flow of the nights.  Friday night actually turned out to be a pretty good night as many of our patrons chose to stay at the bar rather than try to deal with the pouring rain.  They also got to witness some history being made as JOHAN SANTANA pitched a no-hitter for the NY Mets, the first one in the team's 50 year history.

Saturday night, on the other hand, was pretty quiet, sans for the crowd we had for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup and Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals.  We had a group of revelers show up at about midnight in one of those Mexican party buses, but they were in for a quick round of drinks, and made more of a mess than they were worth.  Nothing exciting other than that.  Neighborhood was that dead.

Sunday was a total waste of a day for me as I think I may have contracted food poisoning.  Woke up with aches, chills and the worst case of diarrhea known to man.  We are talking projectile proportions.  That bad.   I was scheduled to open that day; couldn't make it out of the apartment; then tried to shoot for a later opening, hoping that I would feel better by the afternoon, but no shot.  I spent pretty much the whole day either lying in bed or praying in the bathroom.  Simply brutal.  Still not 100% but I am hoping to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This is going to be a busy, BUSY week at the bar.  Between the hockey, the NBA playoff, we also have the start of the EURO 2012 soccer tournament from Poland/Ukraine.  16 of the best teams in Europe go at it and it always draws a crowd.  Matches run from Friday June 8th, through the end of the month.  Two matches each day (12 noon/2:30p) during the group stage, and we'll carry EVERY match of the tournament.

Then you still have PUB TRIVIA on Thursday; Interleague baseball kicks in again this weekend, with the Yankees/Mets Subway Series taking place; Then there's the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, with "I'LL HAVE ANOTHER" shooting for the elusive Triple Crown.  Oy.

After all of that, I'm going to need a vacation.  Catch you tonight for Stanley Cup/NBA Playoff action!  By the way, we're raffling off an autographed photo of LA Kings great, MARCEL DIONNE during tonight's game.  So catch the game with us!

Oh and sorry, no boob sightings in Murray Hill this weekend.



Cheers!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

CATCHING MY BREATH.....

This week has been a whirlwind of activity, with the reopening of the bar, re-establishing ties with the neighborhood (yes it's only been two weeks, but that's an eternity for the bar business), tying up loose ends, etc. etc. etc. It's been great to see the response to the work we did on the place, especially with the downstairs area. Good stuff.

Yesterday I spent a rare afternoon away from Murray Hill by going to the U.S. Open. In the twenty-plus years that I've lived in New York, I'd never attended the Open. I've always meant to go, but every year, something would come up and I'd end up not going.

This year, however, I got an offer I couldn't refuse. A day of tennis in the Heineken Suite. Now when I got offered these tickets, I wasn't sure what "Club Suite" meant. Boy did I find out quickly. When I arrived, I was immediately impressed by the size and the beauty of the venue.




I walked around the venue and was impressed by the sheer number of people who were there to see some tennis. I knew it was a big deal, but damn! The USTA really knows how to market this event. With food kiosks filled with expensive foods/drinks at every turn, there is money to be made and they (USTA) sure are raking it in.

I'm a lost puppy here because I'd never been here before, so trying to locate the Heineken Suite was a bit of an adventure. But with a bit of assistance, I finally made my way to "the Promised Land". And soon as I walked in, I was blown away. The Heineken Suite looked like a living room, filled with plushy couches, great food and of course, tons of Heineken products. The front end of the living room was a wall of glass, facing out onto a small patio of tables and chairs.... looking out onto CENTRE COURT!


The pictures don't do the distance from the court to my seats any justice, but trust me, it was impressive.

I spent a few hours at the U.S. Open before trekking back to Murray Hill to get ready for the evening's activities. It was Game Night at Third and Long and we hooked up the Nintendo Wii for some Wii Sports. We also finally mounted the AOL "Best Sports Bar in NYC" plaque and the regulars got a kick out of that.

*note the '70's style moustaches that the Swanfather and Fire Marshall Ed were sporting...

T-BILL, AFRIKA BAMBATTA and NAPOLEON DYNAMITE catching up after a long, hot summer...

*BLONDE CHATTERBOX holding court on her last night in NYC...

* a couple of cute Nintendo Wii participants....

The night itself was pretty laid back and eventually got busy, so overall it was a good night.


TONIGHT:

"Bucket o Lights" (5pm-10pm), with Buckets of Miller Lite, Michelob Light, Coors Light, 5/15.00 and $4.00 pints of Heineken, Brooklyn Pennant Ale and Sly Fox Royal Weisse!



Nuff Said

IT'S OFFICIAL

THIRD AND LONG NAMED BEST SPORTS BAR IN NYC!!


Well ladies and gents- after much anticipation, it was announced today in the NY DAILY NEWS that our little neighborhood pub, THIRD and LONG was named Best Sports Bar in NYC!

On behalf of the staff of Third and Long, we want to thank all of you- the ardent supporters of our bar and our blog for all of your help in making this possible. Thanks for believing in us and supporting Third and Long through thick and thin. We are always appreciative of the love that you give.

We also want to give a quick congrats to JACKSON HOLE, our next door neighbor, for garnering the BEST BURGER IN NYC award! It looks like our block is filled with winners!

Now, it's time to party! Don't forget about DOLLAR DRAFT MADNESS tonight ($1.00 Bud/Bud Light mugs ALL NIGHT LONG), and stay tuned for details of the upcoming victory party!


Once again, THANK YOU for all of your unwavering support! You can read the full NY DAILY NEWS article HERE



Nuff Said