EL BARRIO, EL FALLS – Apparently, I have been made a full-timer again. I didn’t ask for it, nor do I want it but since it is the holiday season and I am feeling charitable, I will comply for now. So, until I quit in protest or take a knee (see what I did there?), you are stuck with me. So let’s not waste time and get to my tried-and-true formula of a Song of the Week, followed by Sports Stuff. Here is what is on the menu for today’s Stuff: Dick Enberg, Michael Beasley, Bowl Weeks.
Song of the Week: I will get a little political and say I was not happy to hear of the tax bill that was in the headlines all week get passed. All I could think was ‘those greedy bastards.’ That of course led me to making a song about money my Song of the Week. Coming in 3rd was Abba’s “Money Money Money.” Runner-up was Pink Floyd’s “Money.’ However, because I grew up in the house of a soul music loving man, the money song of the week goes to The O’Jays, “For The Love of Money.” Put on your headphones on and take a good listen.
Dick Enberg: Age-wise, I am somewhere in the middle when it comes to the MTM staff. I am younger the Marble Hill Wrecking Crew of Angry Ward, Cheesy Bruin, Tall Matt and JG Clancy, but older than the Young Punks of DJ Eberle and Buddy Diaz. However, this is how I know I am getting old: I heard Dick Enberg died earlier this week. Dick was one of the voices of my childhood. I remember him covering the Olympics and Super Bowls and the NBA on NBC. So, his passing reminds me how much older I am getting and how much all these new play-by-play commentators genuinely suck.
Michael Beasley: There is a wonderful article in the USA Today, about NY Knick guard/small forward Michael Beasley. It is just one of these funny stories of player growing up. Beasley admits to the pitfalls of being 19 and rich, such as buying 9 cars. He literally saw one car while driving and pulled in, bought it and drove away, while covering for a friend to take a cab and drive home his old car back from the dealership. The other thing it talks about is how with the loss of the Unicorn (Krystaps Porzingis) for a few games, Beasley has taken on the scoring load, including scoring 30+ in back to games for the Knicks. You walk away thinking he is a character, but you also realize like you and me, he matured from 19 to 32 and now drives 1 car; a simple family car like the Chevy Tahoe.
College Bowl Weeks: Does anybody remember when all you had was New Year’s Day to watch bowl games? You got like 9-10 bowls and that was it. Now you get weeks of them. They have them everywhere from the Bahamas to Idaho. This is just further proof that NCAA Football is a business and the kids should be paid accordingly.
That is it for now, leave your thoughts below and come back tomorrow for another gem of a column by Cheesy Bruin. You can also find us on Twitter – @JunoirBlaber, @MeetTheMatts & @Matt_McCarthy00, Instagram – @MeetTheMatts – and Facebook – Meet The Matts.