Green Day

A few months ago, I paid a visit to my good friends Reggie and Sarah on the occasion of meeting their new daughter, Zoe, for the first time. Cute kid by the way. It was during the NCAA tournament and my UConn Huskies men's team had just lost to powerhouse (sarcasm intended) 13-seed San Diego in the first round. A couple of other friends, Vince and Kerry, were there as well and Vince noted the humbling loss. "What Happened to UConn?" he asked and I shook my head, unable to offer an explanation. "Maybe your run is over," he added, referring to the recent successes by the New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox. I wondered myself if this was the beginning of the end. After all, don't you know these things go in cycles just like Bobby Brown was just ampin' like Michael ("A Tribe Called Quest" reference for those old school rap fans in the audience). Was this loss an omen for what was to come in 2008?

Well, Vince, might want to hold off on the post mortem for Grant's favorite teams. Last night, the Boston Celtics routed (and I mean routed) the Los Angeles Lakers 131-92 in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals and won the 17th title in the franchise's storied history. It took a record 26 playoff games (Two 7-game series and two 6-game series) to get the job done and it is the C's first championship since 1986, when yours truly was a mere 14 year-old aspiring blogger walking tall in suburban West Hartford, CT. As always, ESPN's Bill Simmons sums up the night better than I possibly could in his column "Notes from a good ol' fashioned Garden party".

It was the culmination of a record-setting season in which the Celtics improved by 42 games over last season's dreadful 24-58 mark, going a league best 66-16 in the regular season. Following the 2007 regular season, the team somehow missed out on both Greg Oden and Kevin Durant in the draft (shades of 1997 when they missed out on Tim Duncan) despite having the best odds in the lottery, and all seemed dire for 2008. However, GM Danny Ainge traded for veteran sharpshooter Ray Allen on draft day. This was followed not long after by the blockbuster trade for forward Kevin Garnett that changed everything. With these two All-Stars now paired with talented forward Paul Pierce, the team made it clear they were going for it this year and the stage was set for a memorable 2008. While it is the first NBA championship for all three guys, I am most happy for Finals MVP Pierce as he endured some absolutely dreadful seasons and plenty of trade rumors in his 10 years with Boston. More than any other current Celtic, he earned this.

With the Red Sox currently in first place, the Patriots poised for another run in the fall and the UConn men looking loaded for 2008-09, I'd say my sports run is far from over.

U2 Live at Red Rocks: The 25th Anniversary

I was listening to my iPod on the way home from work the other day, and I decided to fire up the legendary 1983 U2 show from Red Rocks in Colorado. It had never been released on CD and the VHS version cut out a few tracks for some reason, but I found a bootleg of the whole show on the Internet being the intrepid U2 fan that I am. As I was rotating through the playlist I got to the show and noted the date: 6/5/83. I thought about it for a second and did the math. Today is the 25th anniversary of the show. After getting over the fact that I was old enough to remember something 25 years old, it stirred up my long running frustration over the fact that this show has never gotten a proper DVD release. One of the most famous concerts in not only U2 but rock and roll history, only available on VHS. Criminal, absolutely criminal.

Fortunately for U2 fans such as myself, this situation is being remedied. In honor of the 25th anniversary the band is releasing a remastered version of the concert on CD with a bonus disc, due in stores June 24, and finally releasing “Under A Blood Red Sky” on DVD in August. While surfing the Internet for more information I found an interesting piece by G. Brown, former rock critic for The Denver Post who was an early advocate of the band and attended the show, as well as a look back by the Post's current pop music critic Ricardo Baca. When you read these articles you appreciate just how many things had to go wrong for this show to play out like it did, and how the combination of band, venue and conditions set the stage for what would be a defining moment in rock and a seminal moment for U2. 4,400 fans braved the cold and rain that night, but you'd better believe that a whole lot more have claimed they were there. Sure wish I had been one of them.

Barack Rocks!

History was made Tuesday night when Chicagoan Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for president, the first black candidate to lead a major party ticket. A combination of superdelegate commitments and those obtained in the final two primary states, Montana and South Dakota, put Obama over the top for good. “Tonight, we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another — a journey that will bring a new and better day to America," Obama said to a packed house in St. Paul, MN. "Because of you, tonight I can stand here and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States of America.” I literally got chills as I watched Obama's speech. What a moment for our country. His is the kind of story that could only happen in America.

You would have hardly known he was the victor based on the "non-concession concession speech" given earlier in the evening by his rival, Hillary Clinton, who is clearly angling for the VP spot at this point. She did not help her case and in fact pissed off a lot of fellow Democrats with her performance. Instead of holding to party tradition and graciously congratulating Obama on his win, she proceeded to deny reality, talking about herself and why she is more qualified to take on John McCain in the fall. It felt like the Bush "Mission Accomplished" speech all over again, and either Clinton is in deep denial or she got some terrible advice (yet again) from her advisers on how to approach the speech, or both. Whatever the case may be, she came off as petty and small.

Either way, it is over for Clinton now and on Saturday she will reportedly do what she should have done last night - endorse Senator Obama and begin the process of unifying the party.

Boris to Enforce New Booze Ban

While watching "The Daily Show" tonight I caught a piece on the recent enactment of a drinking ban on all public transportation in the city of London. Apparently, new London mayor Boris Johnson announced the ban on consumption of alcoholic beverages within days of taking office in an attempt to curb crime on trains and buses around the city. I'm sure not even Boris could have imagined the monster he created when revelers decided to hold the mother of all cocktail parties in Tube stations throughout the city on the last night before the ban took effect on June 1. Thank God there were only 17 arrests, the assault of 4 train drivers, 3 other Underground staff and 2 police officers, 1 police car damaged, fighting and vomiting on the trains and the eventual closure of 6 stations. Way to take a bite out of crime there Boris.