Tag: Tottenham Hotspur

  • ODDS and ENDS: Gym, Tottenham, and Naps

    (Yup…)

    I’m not a fan of working out, but I went this morning, thus completing the goal that I had set out for myself; Just Show Up. I showed up, and did thirty minutes on the treadmill. I mean, I’m not stupid – I haven’t worked out in five months, so there is no point in me killing myself on the first day. I will say, there were a crap ton of people at the gym. Yes! All of us lazy ass people are trying to start the year off on the right foot. (Let’s see how many of you are still around in February.) Anyway, it wasn’t that bad, and I know that I am starting our slow. Trying to work my way back to four days a week. Just need to keep showing up.

    With the World Cup over, I am back to following Tottenham Hotspur. The last three matches have been a bit of a letdown with a win, loss and a draw. Sure, the last outing was a win, but they are playing like they did before the Cup break – they go down in the first half, and then have to dig out in the second. It’s like I’m better off if I start watching them after half time, as that’s when the team shows up. Frustrating is putting it mildly. But, on Saturday, they have the FA Cup match against Portsmouth, and then the big one on the 15th – The North London Derby. A big test against a rather unstoppable Arsenal. It’s about to be a very tough month for Tottenham, so I hope they can figure out their first half issue.

    And… I might take a nap today.

  • It’s Thanksgiving, Ya’ll!

    Yup, it’s Thanksgiving, and I can say that I do have many things to be thankful for. My amazing wife, wonderful daughter, family, and friends. I did want to also say thank you for taking the time to read this silly little blog. I also wanted to mention that I am thankful for the bots, from China, Vietnam, and Croatia, who continue to check out my posts for some reason. Maybe you’re looking to hack me, or maybe you are a real person who finds short story reviews, Ikea essays, and general bitching about the state of Tottenham Hotspur highly entertaining. Either way, thank you, all of you, for taking your time and spending it on me.

    Now, here’s to the Cowboys beating the Giants!

    Happy Thanksgiving!

  • ODDS and ENDS: Times Square Casino, ANDOR, Tottenham, and UK Prime Minister

    (A Certain Point of View)

    As a New Yorker who stayed here during the Pandemic, I watched the City empty out, especially in Midtown. Though things are getting closer to being how they were before, there are still neighborhoods in Manhattan that have not economically recovered. Office buildings are sitting semi-empty, and ideas have been kicked around for the past two years about changing these spaces into apartments as there is a housing crisis in NYC. (Though I just read that landlords are warehousing 60,000 rent stabilized units that they refuse to rent.) But the idea that seems to be picking up steam is a casino in Times Square, because, clearly, there are not enough tourist there. Or the old Times Square hookers are looking to make a comeback. If this were to happen, I know two things will come true; One, no self-respecting New Yorker will be setting foot in Times Square (not that we ever did), and Two, the Disney-ifcation of Times Square is officially over.

    I have noticed that when my friends recommend a new great show, they always add the qualifier – get through the first three episodes. I have heard this more times than I care to count, and sadly Andor on Disney+ is following the same pattern. I think it is the reason they released the first three episodes when the show debuted. That having been said, I am truly enjoying Andor. This is the Star Wars for grown-ups who grew up with Star Wars, and now know that not all issues are light and dark. This is a universe that thrives in gray. Diego Luna is great as Cassian Andor, which is not surprising as Luna is an amazing actor. (Check out him in Y tu mama tambien if you haven’t already.) As the show has progressed, I have found myself more interested in the B-plot; Mon Mothma forging and leading the rebellion. It helps that Genevieve O’Reilly has the ability to play the smartest person in the room who is hiding the fact that she is the smartest person in the room. Not to mention that there is this whole subtext of the difficulty a woman faces trying to lead an ideological and physical movement. It seems the patriarchy needs to be fought all over the galaxy as well.

    Okay, I’m going to lay off the Tottenham stuff. It’s not because they lost to Man United, and Ronaldo walked out the end of the game like a little whiney bitch. No, it’s not that. The team has taken up a great deal of my mental space, and I think I need to narrow it down to a more compact form. That’s not to say that I won’t be writing about the World Cup in November, or any of the Champions League stuff… It just might be a little more truncated.

    My opinion: Ozzy for UK Prime Minister.

    (Speaking of Ozzy. The life blood of any blog is engagement. So please, make sure to like this blog, or share it, leave a comment, and if possible, follow it. And for doing that, I will remind you that Randy Rhoads was one of the greatest guitarists of all time!)

  • ODDS and ENDS: Not a Tottenham Blog, Sweaters, and Call Your Mother

    (Don’t Believe the Hype)

    I lied. I will talk about Tottenham, because they beat Frankfurt in their Champions League Group match. It didn’t start off well, with Dier giving up a stupid pass in their own box which allowed Frankfurt to score a pretty easy and embarrassing goal. But, Spurs rallied and didn’t go down the rabbit hole of self-destruction. Finally, the Kane/Son Rainbow connection of goal scoring showed up, and Son looked back to true form with a goal in the 19’ and 35’ minute. Harry Kane scored on a penalty shot, but uncharacteristically missed a second penalty kick by sailing the ball over the goal. On the Conte front, I appreciated the amount of substituting he did, getting Gil and Lucas on the pitch. (I do have a soft spot for these two players and hope to see more of them, as they are aggressive and tenacious players that I think Conte would want out there more.) Now, Spurs did give up a late goal in the 86’ minute which did put the fear of God in me, as I started having flashbacks to their Sporting CP match earlier in the group stage, when they blew that game in the last few minutes. This time around, they held it together to get the three points. Tottenham is currently sitting on top of the stage with 7 points, but Sporting CP and Marseille are right behind them with 6 points apiece. I didn’t think this would be an easy group, and with two matches to go, any of these teams could still take this.

    As for Spurs in the Premier League this weekend, Everton comes to play at Tottenham Stadium. Being that Everton is middle of the table, and Spurs are playing good football, I expect Tottenham to win. AND, NBC is showing the match on NBC, so I might actually be able to watch this one live.

    *

    The majority of the sweaters I own are pilly. You know, the sweater material in certain spots has bunched up forming little spots, or balls. This is caused by too much wear or cheap fabrics, and when I looked it up on the internet, the word “unsightly” was used often. Funny, but in my dynamic vision, I see a pilly sweater as one that is well worn and loved. Not a thing of unsightliness, but a badge of many a survived Fall and Winters. Instead of calling these sweaters unsightly, I think they should be referred to as “active vintage.”

    *

    Don’t forget to call your mom. She’d love to hear from you.

    (It’s Friday, which means this will be my last blog post for the week. If you’d like to give me a good send off, please take a moment to like, share comment, or even follow this blog. If you do, I promise I will redesign it to look really cool and engaging.)

  • ODDS and ENDS: Apple Picking, I Like Teams that Frustrate Me, and Halloween Costumes

    (By Mennen!)

    It’s Fall, which means apple picking. This is the one stupid Autumn tradition we have that I cannot quit. It’s… it’s just dumb. We go to a farm and pay the farmer to go out and harvest his crop for him. It feels like such a con, but damn do I love doing it. And we do take it too seriously. We’ll get up at the crack of dawn and drive way out to a farm in upstate New York, so we can be the first people there. And we’re gun’na buy a pumpkin too, maybe pickles as well, because I think we did that last time. The dog will be with us, and we’ll wander around the orchard, picking, then sampling apples, and if they don’t meet our standards, we’ll toss the half-eaten fruit on the ground, like some inconsiderate Patrician. Then for a week afterward, we’ll find a way to work apples into every meal. But the wife will make a really great apple pie, so that does make it worth it. It is a little bit of a cliché thing to do, but aren’t stupid traditions the ones we love the most?

    Oh, I sure know how to pick sports teams that end up confounding and frustrating me. I will say this, Tottenham accomplished the bare minimum in their Champions League Group match against Frankfurt – They didn’t lose. At the half way point in the group stage matches, Spurs are in second place with four points, so they are not out of the woods, and could still blow this. And that is the thing with this team – they still don’t seem to have found their groove. The Kane/Son duo still hasn’t shown up this season, and I think without that threat up front, it gives opponents the confidence to try added pressure against Tottenham’s back line, especially in the final ten minutes. And this Saturday will be another test against upstart Brighton, who is in fourth place behind Tottenham in the Premiere League. With only a month left to go before the World Cup break in November, Conte has to get this club into some cohesive championship form. The goal this season wasn’t to just be good, it was to win trophies.

    And, I spent two hours this morning searching and ordering a Hermione Granger costume for my daughter. Not that tie and robes boarding school stuff, no sir! She wants a very specific version of Hermione from a certain scene from a movie. I didn’t mean to, but I think I am teaching my daughter how to Cosplay.

    (Don’t forget! If you are enjoying this blog, please be kind and give a like, share, comment, or even start following! It would help my case to the wife why I need to stay in my pajamas on the sofa all morning writing this stuff.)