FT. LAUDERDALE, FL – I’m writing this Monday and hoping, with the promise of some snow coming in, that my flight gets out of LGA tomorrow. Anyway, if it’s Wednesday, and I’m not in Florida enjoying a Gosling’s rum, you can bet your a$$ that I am angrier than usual. Don’t feel like writing much of anything this week, but have been thinking a bit about music.
For those of you too young to have experienced it, I grew up in the age of vinyl. That’s tangible, grooved records with cool art work and liner notes. It was also still the time of the 45. Those were those tiny little records that featured a hit on one side and what was a lesser-known song, called a B-side, on the other. I still remember the first 45 I purchased. It was “The Theme to S.W.A.T.“, an ABC Cop Show theme song. Pretty lame, I know. But the B side was even worse. It was an awful synthesizer instrumental mess called “I Wouldn’t Treat a Dog the Way You Treated Me.” Not all B’s were bad though. The B side of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” was “We Will Rock You.” And even Ringo Starr pulled off a nice one on the B for “The No No Song” with a pop-spiked little ditty called “Snookeroo.”
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, in Florida… hopefully. Here are some Sports B-sides. Some good, and some god awful.
Alvin Harper. The Cowboys wide receiver who played opposite Michael Irvin. He was no great shakes. Had one pretty good year and playoffs and the Tampa Bay Bucs bought high on him. He barely even registered as a B side. I’d rate him somewhere around “In Mazatlan” which was the forgettable flip side to War’s hit “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”
Don Strock. I hated him, but this Miami Dolphins relief QB was the consummate B-sider. Didn’t start, but was always great coming into a game when guys like Bob Griese or David Woodley weren’t getting it done.
Rick Cerone. There was just no chance for Cerrone to follow Thurman Munson as the NY Yankees’ starting catcher. It was like asking REO Speedwagon to step in for the Bee Gees. Speaking of New York…
Henrik Lundqvist. Unlike Swedish supergroup ABBA, King Henrik really hasn’t been able to break through on the charts. For better or worse, he’s still playing second fiddle to the memory of Mike Richter.
Venus Williams. An underrated B-sider if ever there was one. She just lost the Aussie Open to her Top-of-the-Charts sister, Serena, but Venus is still an ace. Without Venus there would most likely be no Serena. The oldest kid always takes one for the team.
Oh man, I got plenty more of these, but I need to pack up my gear and hope for no delays at the airport. Come back tomorrow for TOP-40 mainstay Buddy Diaz, who sang the hit single, “Matts the Way Uh-huh, Uh-huh, I like It.” And you can follow us on Twitter at @Angry_Ward & @MeetTheMatts, Instagram @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts.
