MySpace

"Be a fan!" - Dan Pfeifer


MySpace.com | rss | sign in
January 5, 2009 - Monday 3:43 AM

Current mood:  refreshed
Category: Sports
Hello, denizens of The Bubbler.  I'm watching the ...

... wait, Jerel McNeal just hit another three. 

Woah. 

Today's Marquette victory over Cincinnati was one of those wins that just kind of made you go, "Whoa." 

I did say yesterday that I thought Marquette wouldn't have much trouble with the Bearcats, who have a lot of raw pieces but only started one senior and are quite young when compared to Marquette.  Nonetheless, this was the kind of game I've been waiting for Marquette to play for a while, and it came against an opponent whose name recognition alone gives it a lot of credence. 

No, these are not your father's Bearcats, or, more notably, not Bobby Huggins'.  But they're still Cincinnati and they're still a Big East opponent.  They still beat Texas Southern by 31 and have wins against UNLV and UAB.  They still have a lot of size and, on the basis of personnel alone, would be the kind of team I would be afraid of this Marquette team losing to if they had a little more experience. 

Instead, Marquette played 25 minutes of unbeatable basketball today and blew the Bearcats right back to Cincy, sans plane. 

Really, who shoots 60 percent from outside?  I know, the answer is Marquette, but c'mon.  That was almost ridiculous today.  Four threes for Lazar Hayward, fresh from a five-three performance against Villanova?  Two for Wes Matthews.  One apiece for Dominic James and Maurice Acker? 

And, perhaps most stunningly, seven threes for Jerel McNeal? 

I know he's a good shooter.  But seven threes?  That's not human.  It's hard to go 7-for-7 just shooting in practice.  McNeal did it with the Bearcats' defense ... well, somewhat close to him. 

In all seriousness, the first six or seven minutes of this game concerned me.  Yancy Gates is going to be a beast when he gets a few more pounds and years on his frame.  He was having his way with Marquette early on and all it appeared the Golden Eagles could do was foul him.  Cincinnati had the early edge big-time in the rebounding category and it almost looked like Marquette had forgotten how to defend the post. 

We got an early taste of something I've been discussing:  The fact that Jimmy Butler reminds me a lot of Lazar Hayward as a freshman.  Hayward got two quick fouls, forcing Butler to play the four-spot Hayward usually occupies.  Butler looked a little lost at times, letting a man cut to the basket wide open during one possession, but did alright on the offensive end.

Furthermore, we saw Dominic James struggle a little defensively in the first half as well.  The Bearcats had Marquette well scouted and used a lot of screens to force Marquette to switch defenders often.  Dion Dixon and Deonta Vaughn were running off baseline screens and James was caught trailing a lot. 

Sometimes, though, it's as simple as who shoots the ball better.  When Gates drew his second foul and was forced to the bench, it changed the complexion of the game.  Steve Toyloy and Anthony McClain were nowhere near as skillful as Gates was down low, forcing the Bearcats to try and shoot from outside.  The three-point shooting for Cincinnati was pitiful today, though, as the Bearcats hit on just 1-of-9 threes in the first half and got just two more in the second.  Not only was Cincinnati missing, they were missing badly.  Vaughn and Dixon were hitting the far-side of the rim, the foam on the underside of the basket and pretty much anything else that was attached to the basket and wasn't the inside of the net.  I heard a rumor they thought about rolling up the Bradley Center's Admirals' banners in the second half, just in case. 

Meanwhile, McNeal already had five of his threes before they brought Laura Boyer out for today's halftime ceremony. 

(Congrats to Boyer, by the way, on winning Marquette's prestigious McCahill Award.  She was a stellar keeper for the Marquette Women's Soccer team and I had the pleasure of getting to introduce her during her final season in blue and gold.) 

While nothing would fall for Cincy, everything the Eagles threw up went through the basket, including another one-footed, end-of-the-half prayer, this one off the hand of Maurice Acker.  Marquette has hit one of these in three different home games this season, to the point where you would think teams would start realizing you need to defend those shots because MU hits them. 

As well-scouted as the Bearcats seemed to have the Marquette half-court offense and defense (they did a real good job of anticipating locations and jumping to spots), they seemed to really get away from their gameplan when it came to getting the ball down low, as well as forget about what Marquette can do when they distribute the ball well.  You've gotta pop out on Golden Eagles taking three-pointers.  Worse comes to worse, they'll make a ball-fake and try and drive, but that at least gives you time to recover.  Cincinnati was nowhere near active enough with their feet and they paid the price.  Marquette was clearly the superior team athletically, as well as with their shooting. 

Oh, and one more thing you don't want to let Marquette do:  Go on a confidence-building run that includes a huge highlight.  There's too much energy in the Bradley Center and Marquette can do way too much when they've got a lot of confidence. 

The gameday script for Marquette games has a number of songs they can play when the opposing team calls a timeout -- Cotton-Eyed Joe, Kernkraft 400, etc.  At one point today, after a tremendous dribble-drive and dish by Jerel McNeal to a slashing Wes Matthews for a layup, just a fantastic team effort after a tremendous ball-fake by McNeal, the Bearcats called time out.  You kind of knew the Bearcats weren't coming back when Matthews picked out that the song of choice in this particular break was Jump Around and he started emploring the fans to get jumpin' by heaving his arms up and down to the rhythm before he headed into the huddle.  When things like that start happening -- when you get the big threes, the big dishes, the impressive passes, the half-court baseball tosses that lead directly to layups (there was another one today) -- and you start seeing a lot of Marquette chest-thumping and fan interaction ...

... it's like the video they show at the end of halftime.  There's only one thing you can do, and that is pray. 

I was even impressed by Chris Otule today, who showed us a couple little turnarounds and post moves in garbage time.  It was good to see him getting some time against the young big men of the Bearcats because that's a battle we're likely to see a lot of in 2010 and beyond. 

(Man is it weird to type anything with a '2' and without two zeroes after it for a year.  I'm getting old.) 

The win today reminded me a little of the Pittsburgh win I was sad to have missed last year, or perhaps the Notre Dame win last year where Marquette similiarly blew the Irish out.  I understand those two opponents are far better than what Cincinnati is this year, but this was a no-let-down, we're-taking-care-of-business thrashing that had the Eagles at their unbeatable, top-of-their-game best. 

The unfortunate thing is, I know Marquette won't shoot 60 percent from three-point land in every game they play.  Something tells me the first 10 minutes of the game are the ones Buzz will key on when the team takes a look at the film tomorrow -- at least if he's smart. 

Nonetheless, this was Marquette's way of serving notice to the rest of the Big East.  When you come to the Bradley Center this year, you better play your best game if you expect to have a chance. 

Keeping all of this in mind, it's important to note that you still have to take care of business at The State University of New Jersey Wednesday night.  West Virginia will be a huge game, but you can't look ahead of the Scarlet Knights.  Marquette has lost at Rutgers before.  I don't think they want to let it happen again. 

MU fans -- enjoy this tonight.  It's time to get back to work later this week. 

An amusing note before we move on:  JSOnline still has the AP story for the Marquette game posted on their site, meaning that the only thing put up for the game by the fine folks at Journal Communications was their game blogs.  That also means that the front page of JSOnline's Sports section has no fresh local content from anytime after I did my 'Drops' feature last night.  Way to go, guys.  If you wonder why your company is hemmoraging money and losing readers, it might be because you're not giving us any reason to read. 


That said, let's look nationally. 

It's appearing as though my prediction about the road teams in last night's 'Drops' feature is going to come true as the Ravens defeated the Dolphins earlier today while the Vikings are struggling against the Eagles as I type. 

The Ravens are one of those teams that you're just not quite sure about yet.  They seem to have that defense back to the fine form it was known for in the first half of this decade and they appear to be a dangerous group, particularly now that the powerful offense of the Colts is no longer in their way.  My suggestion to the Titans is to run the football and try and grind out a win.  The Ravens gave Chad Pennington way too much trouble today and are too good at forcing quarterbacks to put balls into the adept hands of Ed Reed. 

The AFC is fascinating to me.  I could very well see the Ravens pulling off the upset against the Titans because I see that game being very low scoring and fun to watch.  Meanwhile, the Steelers should be a strong favorite against the Chargers, but there are X-factors, like how well Ben Roethlisberger bounces back from that big hit in the last week of the regular season, as well as whether or not LaDainian Tomlinson will be available to the Chargers, or if they even need him with as well as Darren Sproles ran last night. 

Meanwhile, I kind of forsee a Giants/Panthers NFC Championship.  As well as the Eagles have come on in the last couple weeks, the Giants are just too good in big games and have too much going for them, while the Arizona Cardinals always have been and always will be the Arizona Cardinals in my mind and, as such, should never advance to a game of any real importance like an NFC Championship game, particularly against a team that was atop what was perhaps the toughest division in football this year. 

Bill Cowher will continue to be the coach in the studio for CBS Sports next year.  He will lead them to a 9-7 record but they will just miss the playoffs.  Phil Simms will throw for 30 touchdowns, 10 of which will go to Armen Keteyian. 

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Washington Wizards today when James was called for a travel with 2.3 seconds remaining.  David Stern's head exploded shortly afterwards, while a quick survey of other NBA referees after the contest revealed that only 41.4 percent of them actually know the traveling rule.  James even said "it looks like I'm traveling."  Given what passes for traveling and not traveling in the NBA, my guess is that he was traveling, or at least carrying the ball.  I'd like to see LeBron try and dribble a ball with laces and under the rules they had for the game back when that was the case. 

I repeat:  I am an old fogey. 

Note as well, though, that the loss was to the Eastern Conference's worst team in the Wizards.  This is something to note for those of you thinking the Cavs have a shot at the Celtics. 

Sidney Crosby, the NHL's lone marketing piece, started a fight last night to try and get his struggling Pittsburgh Penguins going.  It wasn't exactly what you expect from a hockey fight as Crosby seemed to have needed some time to think about when and how he was going to drop the gloves so he had the least chance of getting hurt.  Rather than it appearing to be something building between enforcers that just kind of erupted, as is normally the case in hockey, Crosby had a faceoff, where he very calmly approached, tried to win it, then, before the other guy had moved, threw down the gloves and started trying to pull the guy's jersey up.  Also for the record, I don't think I've ever seen officials step into a hockey fight faster.  Two reasons:  One, because Crosby's face has to appear on anything and everything involving the NHL, so they probably don't want it getting messed up.  Two, because it really was a pretty weak fight.  I almost sense Brett McLean of the Florida Panthers was aware of who he was fighting and just kind of let him do his thing.  After all, what would be done to you if you were known as the guy that knocked the NHL's golden boy out? 

Lastly, the Oakland Raiders have recieved permission to interview Kevin Gilbride, who ran the run & shoot with the Oilers, was nearly punched by Buddy Ryan when he was coaching in Houston and went 6-16 over the course of two years as the coach of the Chargers.  Yup, Al Davis is really turning things around. 

Ah ... man, if everyday was a fairly warm Sunday in January where Marquette wins a Big East game by 30-plus.  Life is good. 

More soon. 

Photo:  Maurice Acker is lifed off the ground in joy by Lazar Hayward (Morry Gash/AP/Yahoo! Sports)
Photo:  Ed Reed (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/Yahoo! Sports)
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
January 4, 2009 - Sunday 5:40 PM

Current mood:  mellow
Category: Sports
Outline format.  I haven't used it in a while.  I enjoy the "unordered list" and "list item" tags.  They're useful. 

I choose this format because I spent a lot of today doing other stuff -- getting a haircut, taking Dad to church, etc. -- so I'm not going to say I spent today looking at a ton of stuff and trying to form broad-based opinions.  So, instead, let's keep it quick as we discuss some of the issues of the day. 
  • The top story when I first logged onto JSOnline's Sports Section was Bob McGinn's grades for the Packers.  Really?  The season's over.  Deal with it.  This shouldn't be the top story.  At least put the two playoff games ahead of it. 

  • Mike Stock, Packers special teams coach, "retires."  He was fired.  As undisciplined as the Packers were at times this year, the fact there are victims in the coaching staff shouldn't come as a surprise.  I think the pieces are there -- Will Blackmon has big-gain potential every time he touches the ball and Mason Crosby, despite the Bears' block, still has to be considered one of the top kickers in the game right now (imagine if he'd have hit that free kick against the Lions).  Much like with a healthy defense next year, the Packers just need to find the right brains to put the pieces together.

  • Penn State falls to the Badgers at the Kohl Center.  Please, Big Ten opponents, beat the Badgers when they're at your gym (I'm looking at you, Michigan).  I say this because I know it's way too flippin' hard to do it in Madison.  I beg you, beat the Badgers in your gym.  Thank you. 

  • The Bucks drop the back-half of the back-to-back with the Charlotte Bobcats tonight.  It's a disappointing loss, but as well as the Bucks have been playing lately, and as badly as they destroyed the Bobcats in Milwaukee last night, this isn't a complete failure.  I like the fact Scott Skiles is making sure he lets his guys know that he's let down by the loss, but I'm OK with the Bucks finally letting one go.  They're not the Celtics.  If anyone isn't impressed by the Bucks' start to this year, they need to start watching more games (or at least listening to Ted Davis more, which I strongly encourage).  Furthermore, when you decide to start Dan Gadzuric over Andrew Bogut, yes, there will be a significant dropoff.  I know the Bucks have a ways to go to catch up from the period where they were missing Michael Redd but I don't think this loss should be seen as a huge setback.  I know a lot of people aren't taking notice yet, but there's been a major attitude shift with this Bucks team and it's fantastic to see. 

  • The headline for Michael Hunt's column in tomorrow's paper says Packer & Badger football fans might be losing trust in their teams.  If you're a Packer fan who's lost faith because of this season, you're both not very bright and not very loyal.  If you sat through 29 seasons of despare between Super Bowls and you leave after one bad year, give me your season tickets or let me take your name off that list.  And if you hopped on the bandwagon only because of a quarterback, fine, jump off, we don't want you anyway.  As for you Badger fans considering losing faith, let me remind you that the NFL is the most successful pro sports league in the world, college football has a lot of player rotation and is very hard to keep up with, and Marquette is always looking for new season ticket holders, so you're welcome to trade in your cardinal & white for blue & gold. 

  • Marquette/Cincinnati, tomorrow at the Bradley Center.  Cincinnati ain't what it used to be in basketball.  I expect MU to win by 14 and make a nice statement to the rest of the Big East by starting 2-0. 

  • A vote on JSOnline asking fans who they think has had the best college basketball season thus far has Wes Matthews beating out Marcus Landry, 40 percent to 30 percent.  I just take pleasure in this.  In fairness, though, Wes is having a great year and deserves the credit he's getting from the fan base. 


  • UWM is 4-0 in the Horizon League after sweeping a mini-road trip through Chicago.  You knew the Panthers were talented, but you have to be impressed with the way they bounced back from their early-season adversity.  UWM now plays five-straight games at home and is in position to get some momentum and establish themselves as a team to beat in the Horizon League.  Don't forget, the top seed in the Horizon League tournament gets to host the final games, so it's really important to have a good regular season in that league.  It's a great system and you know Rob Jeter will keep on cracking the whip through a stretch of games they could easily go at least 4-1 on. 

  • The Admirals have won 10-straight at home.  I know we don't spend much time at all talking about the Admirals here, but a lot of you are fans and I give you credit.  The Ads are having a heck of a season and if you haven't gone out to see them yet, you should. 


  • Darren Sproles and some help from the boneheaded Colts' defense pushes the 8-8 Chargers past Indianapolis in overtime.  The phrase of the week in Indy is going to be "Let the facemask go!"  Meanwhile, the Chargers prove that anybody can beat anybody in the National Football League, so that's why 8-8 teams shouldn't be allowed in the playoffs.  It seemed, at times, as if the calls were all going the Colts way, but the Chargers fought through.  My heart goes out to Nate Kaeding -- after all he's been through, you love to see a guy hitting a field goal like the one he hit to tie the game and there might not be a sweeter fist-pump you'll see all year than his.  Nonetheless, if Roger Goodell had a brain on his shoulders, he'd consider changing up the division lineup so a team like the Chargers wouldn't even sniff the playoffs after this.  My suggestion:  Do something you haven't done in a while and give a nod to the league's history by taking the eight-division setup and cutting it down to four, renaming each division after the divisions in the NFL between 1967 and 1970 -- the Central, the Century, the Capitol and the Coastal.  The Central can consist of the NFC North and East, the Coastal can consist of the NFC South and West, the Capitol can have the AFC East and North (it would be a little odd not having Washington in the Capitol, but you would have Baltimore, you wouldn't want to move the 'Skins away from their traditional rivals and the NFC North can't be anything other than the Central) and the AFC West and South can become the Century.  The two division winners get the byes and everyone else is up for Wild Card spots.  You play the teams from the four-team division you just left twice (six games), all the other teams in your division once (four games) and you play two random teams from each of the three other divisions (six games, totalling 16).  It seems so easy, but I'm sure there's some corporate reason why it wouldn't work. 

  • The Falcons and Cardinals played an NFL Playoff game in something other than Madden 09.  I'm still kind of in disbelief, though it was a well-played game and Kurt Warner certainly made a case for being the MVP over Peyton Manning.  Even the Yahoo! Sports headline reads "Cardinals win rare home playoff game," which says a lot.  The Cards now move on to lose to either the Giants or the Panthers. 

  • Pittsburgh beats Georgetown to assert itself as the best team in a Big East Conference that is very difficult to interpret.  Here's to Marquette knocking them off later this year, then losing to a nothing team like Rutgers or something to throw the world off its axis.  In all seriousness, though, Pitt is looking like a very complete, very deep team with size and poise.  No one's going to have an easy time beating a team like that.  Nonetheless, we'll see what they do against Notre Dame and the big lug that is Luke Harangody at a Joyce Center that's been just as unfriendly to opponents as the Verizon Center was for the Hoyas. 

  • Kansas beats Tennessee at Allen Fieldhouse.  I don't care how good you are, it's very tough to stop them from chanting "Rock chalk, Jayhawk, KU" at the end of games.  Bruce Pearl and the Vols will learn from the loss and we'll keep rooting for them, unless they play Marquette again. 

  • UConn beats Buffalo in the International Bowl.  I had the Bison as my top pick in a Yahoo! Confidence Pool, figuring they couldn't struggle in nearby Toronto.  The Bison gave up 261 yards to the Huskies' Donald Brown.  I probably shouldn't enter college football confidence pools anymore after that pick. 

  • Vikings/Eagles and Ravens/Dolphins tomorrow.  Look for both road teams to have success.  I don't think the Ravens are the type of team that will get too fooled by the Wildcat offense in the big stage of the playoffs.  Meanwhile, I have faith that this is Donovan McNabb's year.  The Eagles have a lot of momentum after that huge win over Dallas and I think that could be a fun game to watch. 
OK, that's all I've got.  More soon. 

Photo:  Wes Matthews shoots over Villanova's Corey Fisher on Thursday (Darren Hauck/AP/Yahoo! Sports)
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
January 4, 2009 - Sunday 5:01 AM

Current mood:  impressed
Category: Sports
I won't have nearly as much fun with this here in The Bubbler as I'm having with the E-mail thread involving this article and a number of my Marquette co-workers.  Nonetheless, I think this might get referenced at a later date, so I figure I better post it here.

[Soccer] match stopped after ejected player returns to field with sword (from Telegraph.co.uk)

I'm not sure how I would handle this if I were announcing.  I'm kind of hoping I'll never have to.  The title of this entry might describe it pretty accurately. 
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
January 3, 2009 - Saturday 8:59 PM

Current mood:  groggy
Category: Parties and Nightlife
I've got a little bit of time before I head off to get a haircut, so let's see if we can squeeze one swing set in before I go.  I'm still dragging a little from last night's First Friday dance.  Last night was a more interesting experience than most First Fridays are nowadays.  There was laughter and tears last night, as well as meeting new people and saying good bye to old friends.  Not your same-old, same-old. 

Anyhow, we set the Wayback Machine to the day before Thanksgiving with this one.  With the holidays all falling on Thursdays this year (not that Thanksgiving falling on a Thursday is unusual), it kind of messed with things in the swing scene a little when it came to scheduling events. 

Nonetheless, having a dance the week of Thanksgiving is something that can be a really good time.  The reason?  A lot of old friends come home that week. 

I flashback to 2004, when I spent Thanksgiving in Seattle and got to dance with all kinds of people from around the western half of the United States on the night before Thanksgiving, many of whom had just gotten back home earlier that day to celebrate the holiday.  Or I go back to 2005, when the then-long-lost Michelle showed up at the Ale House on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, bringing some brightness and giving me one last chance to dance to Moondance in the gloom and doom that was most of that year. 

I volunteered to do a pre-Thanksgiving dance in 2007 and lucked out that Paul didn't have anything going on at Hot Water that night.  Thus, the Turkey Jive was born.  That night, though, didn't exactly meet my high expectations:  Attendance was low, my decorations kept falling off the walls and the upbeat, happier-sounding music I had planned for the crowd that night didn't exactly match the mood of the room, which was actually kind of looking for slower, blusier stuff. 

Nonetheless, I liked the concept, so we ran with it again this year.  The week prior to Thanksgiving, I asked Paul if the space was available to do another Turkey Jive and he said it was.  We were good to go, right? 

Just one problem:  Paul had forgotten that he had booked the salsa group in the Wherehouse and the West Coast Milwaukee Rebels in Hot Water proper already for that evening. 

At first glance, this might appear to be a problem.  However, there's a fact that I think a lot of Lindy Hoppers are kind of unwilling to admit:  Their dance and West Coast aren't that far off. 

I understand that a lot of Lindy-ers like to tout the traditional nature of the dance and the fact they've been doing it this way since Frankie Manning was in Hellzapoppin'.  That's great and all, but the fact of the matter is we have put about 75 years between us and that time and it's OK to acknowledge variations in the dance, as well as different types of music. 

West Coast is kind of a hybrid of Lindy Hop and disco.  The one thing the two dances generally don't cooperate on is where you hit the beats -- Westies tend to like the upbeat while Lindy Hoppers hit the down.  Nonetheless, what Westie dancers call "the whip" is an important part of West Coast and what they call "the whip" is almost precisely what us Lindy Hoppers call "a swingout," which anyone reading this blog should know is the core more of our dance. 

As a matter of fact, I danced one dance with the organizer of the Westie event, and she danced far better Lindy than a lot of the folks who attend Lindy Hop events exclusively here.  This isn't a knock on her but a knock on our scene:  I was a little disappointed that a person who had never taken any class I had been a part of but was a Milwaukee resident was beating the pants off a lot of the dancers who have been around here a long time.  C'mon folks;  this means you need to take lessons and get better. 

That aside, I will also say that anyone I've ever danced with who had a West Coast background also was a ridiculously good dancer.  I think everyone knows Becky is an award-winning Westie, and I don't think there's any lead in town that doesn't enjoy dancing with her.  Anna, too, and I could plausibly go back in time and name even more dancers who I know have a Westie background who definitely are or were among my all-time favorites. 

All this aside, there was still the question of what to do with three groups of dancers and only two rooms to put them in with the triple-booking on Paul's part.  The answer, though, was to leave the salsa dancers alone and have us 'swing' dancers alternate:  Two songs of West Coast, then two songs of Lindy Hop. 

To say it was a challenge as a DJ puts it mildly.  Furthermore, you feel really lame when the Westie DJ gets to play typical Westie music -- as a more-modern dance, stuff like Disturbia by Rhianna and Forever by Chris Brown are all fair game -- while I play the tinkly, Honky Tonk-piano, 70-year-old sounding stuff that I usually play to warm up a Lindy crowd.  And I do mean really lame, since that's the kind of music I listen to outside of swing, that's the kind of music I like, that's the kind of music I wish I could play all the time at swing, that's the kind of music I play at Marquette Soccer matches and that's the kind of music that makes outsiders think we're out of our gourd for playing Django Rinehardt after all these years.  It's comical. 

Nonetheless, with a lot of off-mic comments on my part to key individuals explaining what happened, I think we placated the regular swing dancers enough to have them fit in with the Westies and, believe it or not, I think the double-the-size crowd actually made for a better atmosphere.  There was a buzz.  We had something different going on and people who dance getting to meet a lot of people who also dance whom they've never met before.  It was good cross-pollenation and good for both of our scenes.  I think, believe it or not, a lot of folks liked it. 

The other nice part, though, was the timing:  Apparently the Westies usually end their night at about 10 o'clock or so, so we did get to make it exclusively swing after that.  It was only an hour we had to split, but it was still a fun hour and I made the most of it, mixing in a little of my swingable pop and even throwing in a Cupid Shuffle in an effort to get all dancers, Westies and Lindy Hoppers, out on the floor at once. 

When the dust settled at the end of the night, the set was seen as spectacular.  We had a great crowd, due in large part to some great promotion on the part of Patty at ccswing.com, and I think that made a difference as I saw a few dancers out that hadn't been out dancing in a long time. 

I also had the good sense to just have fun with the set after having to basically scrap my plan and come up with a completely new one after finding out about the double-booking.  Considering I would call this one of my toughest challenges as a DJ, trying to mix styles of music and make dancers whose dance I know very little about happy in addition to dancers whose dance I know a lot about, I don't think a little self back-patting isn't deserved for this set, which still extended out 37 songs, not including anything that was played on the Westie side.  Considering they probably got about 10 songs or so in before I took over full-time, we're talking about a 50-song set, which is a tremendous night.  I know we were out until midnight at least, which is always something I consider an accomplishment when it occurs. 

I'll post the set list with a caveat:  I have no idea what was played when from the Westie side since they had their iPod and I wasn't keeping track.  I do remember where our breaks were, though, so I can at least punch those in.  I started with three songs due to some technical difficulties with the Westie iPod during the first changeover. 

All That Jazz - Carmen Bradford & Kenny Rankin
My Cucuzza - Louis Prima
Salute to Harlem - Girls From Mars

[Two-Song Westie Break]

It's De-Lovely - Ella Fitzgerald
Stompin' at the Savoy - Benny Goodman

[Two-Song Westie Break]

Ever Since The World Began - O-Tones
Life Is So Peculiar - Louis Jordan with Louis Armstrong

[Two-Song Westie Break]

Is You Is or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby) - Renee Olsted
Given Up, Given Up - The Ray Gelato Giants

[Two-Song Westie Break]

Cupid Shuffle:  Cupid Shuffle - Cupid
Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) - Us3
Wait a Minute - Pussycat Dolls featuring Timbaland
Birthday Jam:  Barron Plays the Horses - Indigo Swing
Jump, Jive an' Wail - Louis Prima
C'mon A My House - Rosemary Clooney
Babalu - Benny Carter
It Don't Mean a Thing - Girls From Mars
Puttin' on the Ritz - Ella Fitzgerald
Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Michael Bublé
Let the Good Times Roll - B.B. King
How 'Bout That - Louis Jordan
Fever - Michael Bublé
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free - Nina Simone
Jive at Five - Count Basie
Shim Sham:  It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It) - Dutch Swing College Band
Chicken Ain't Nothin' But a Bird - Cab Calloway
Dirty Water - The Standelles
I've Got My Mind Set On You - George Harrison
The Way You Move - Outkast
Hell in a Handbasket - VOltaire
It's Crazy - Sarah Vaughan
Old Maid Boogie - Eddie Vinson and His Orchestra
My Baby Said Yes (Yip Yip De Hootie) - Bing Crosby
Stompin' at the Savoy - Bert Kaempfert
Black Velvet - Alannah Myles
Narrow Daylight - Diana Krall
Goodbye:  The Thanksgiving Song - Adam Sandler

A few notes on this harried night: 

Cantaloop was requested by Mary, one of the few combination Westie/Lindy Hoppers here in Milwaukee.  It was a good call since it's a song that gets played on both scenes. 

The birthday belonged to big Dave Johnson and I think it was neat to expose the Westie dancers to our birthday jam tradition. 

Jump, Jive an' Wail was by request, as was Hell in a Handbasket, which was actually given to me on CD by Jackie.  Nothing personal, dear, but I wasn't that impressed with the results of a song she claimed was a Charleston tune but also regretted to warn me "doesn't pick up until about a minute in" (well after the crowd has given up on the song, as any good DJ knows). 

I committed a major DJ faux pas during the night, or at least what I consider to be one, by playing two different versions of Stompin' at the Savoy (the fifth song with Benny Goodman and the fourth song from the end by Bert Kaempfert).  This is one of those things no one notices but the DJ, partiuclarly when the songs are spaced out two and a half hours apart, but it bugs me that I committed the error.  Whoops. 

The Thanksgiving Song was just a nice touch.  I don't think anyone complained, though a few people did try to dance to it, which wasn't intended and probably didn't produce good results for those who did take the floor. 

Anyhow, the second-annual Turkey Jive was kind of the start of a hot streak for me that has built up some nice hype for my next set (which will be Jan. 15, for those wondering).  I think it was the beginning of dancers starting to really catch on to what I do and how I want to do it.  I'm kind of feelin' it right now as a DJ -- playing good songs, having good sets, building a good vibe out at Hot Water and keeping it fun on the nights I get to spin.  I'm enjoying it, too, which is just as important and is probably part of the positive vicious cycle. 

The next set I'll cover is probably the best one I've done to date as a DJ:  My special Dec. 4, 2008 set, which was set up by request for Frances' birthday.  Frances requested an upbeat set with a good amount of pop for the group of non-dancing friends she had invited out.  GIve me an excuse to play non-swing swing and I'll do it.  Luckily, the crowd was young and in the mood for it, too, creating a fun energy for the night that I don't know if I'll be able to match until her birthday next year.  It was an awesome time and I'm looking forward to writing about it. 

In the meantime, though, Frances cuts my hair -- and I have an appointment with her in about an hour, so I better cut this off.  More soon, kids. 
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
January 2, 2009 - Friday 9:35 AM

Current mood:  hopeful
Category: Sports
Happy New Year, Bubblerites. 

Before I begin with my random thoughts, a thank you to Luke LeNoble, assistant sports information director at Marquette.  Luke hooked me up with a nice ticket upgrade for today's Marquette/Villanova game.  Anytime I can move from the upper level down to the lower level, things are good.  I also was amused that I got the upgrade, even after the last Sportsblog in which I talked significantly about Marquette, wherein I proceeded to somewhat jump on a few areas of game operations.  This signals one of two things to me: 

1. What I do for Marquette Soccer must be halfway decent
2. No one at Marquette reads the blog, which might be a good thing

Anyhow, the good luck of getting that sort of upgrade on the first day of the year is the kind of thing you hope translates throughout 2009.  There's nothing like getting the year off to the right start.  Thanks, Luke. 


Anyhow, to the topic of the game. 

Before I start, I want to reiterate the point I made in the title of the blog:  ALL Big East wins are good wins.  When the majority of the conference is in the Top 25, any games you win are important.  I'm going to start nitpicking a little about the win after this, but I don't want anyone to lose sight of the fact that Marquette beat the 13th-ranked team in the country today on national television.  Anytime you do that, it's a good thing. 

Alright, now to the nitpicking. 

Marquette played very solidly in the second half, particularly in the last five minutes.  The quality of play in the game took a significant step up in the second half for both sides. 

But, in all honesty, it looked like nobody deserved to win the game in the first half, particularly Marquette. 

'Sloppy' isn't the right word for it, because I think a lot of people equate 'sloppy' with turnovers.  I think that it was more a matter of not playing sharp basketball. 

It looked like Marquette might not make a three all day for a while at the start of the contest.  Then they couldn't make a layup to save their lives.  Their free throw shooting was poorer than it's been all year long this afternoon.  Dominic James was a very unremarkable 1-for-4 from the free throw line.  Wes Matthews really didn't show up until the second half of the contest.  Lazar Hayward seemed absent from the offense for a lot of the game, despite the fact he finished up with 15 points.  It wasn't that Marquette wasn't running their offense;  they were.  But it almost seemed as if MU did better when taking shots outside the offense than they did hitting the open ones they got as a result of running set plays.  Everyone who takes the time to watch Marquette Basketball with a little bit of a serious eye knows Marquette is at their best when they're running the break often, but you have to -- and should be able to -- hit open shots when your half-court sets present them. 

The schemes set up for Villanova seemed good today, and Marquette was saved by the fact the Wildcats didn't look any sharper than MU did.  I do give Marquette credit for playing fairly strong defense.  Villanova wasn't hitting shots today, either, and though they did expose a Marquette weakness for popping over to the help side by swinging the ball fairly well today, they seemed like the kind of team Marquette can definitely beat, namely one that doesn't have a lot of size beyond Dante Cunningham.  I don't care how good your guards are, they're probably not as good as Matthews, James and Jerel McNeal. 

I'm fairly sure Buzz gave his kids a curfew last night and, as young men tend to do, I'm guessing they still found a way to ring in the new year.  But a less-than-sharp performance in a game that is played on New Year's afternoon seems a little too coincidental. 

What bugs me about the first half Marquette played is that a good team that hits more of their shots could have put a game away in the first half against MU today.  Villanova did get the first six points of the basketball game, but then things cooled off for them after that.  I thought the first half was all-around kind of poorly played and not very indicative of two teams in the top 25.  Villanova also wasn't playing great defense today, either, committing way too many fouls at the start of both halves, effecting their rotations.  That's part of Marquette's modus operandi, using their athleticism to get to the basket and get guys in foul trouble.  The problem, though, is when you don't hit your free throws.  Then it doesn't really matter how much you get to the line.  Marquette was a dismal 7-for-13 from the charity stripe in the first half.  Ouch. 

There's also something that I'm getting a little ticked about:  OK, I know the strength of the Golden Eagles is never going to be their post play.  But that doesn't and shouldn't mean that your post players shouldn't still be fighting for position.  The mere threat of that ball going down low can effect the way a team guards you, can tire out their big men and can open up more options in the offense.  Maybe it was because Dwight Burke hit the first bucket of the game for Marquette today, but I spent a lot of time focusing on the post play for MU this afternoon and I noticed that both Burke and Lazar Hayward spend a lot of time just ... kinda ... standing there. 

Hayward's best touch comes when he gets the ball in the high post and is able to use some Hakeem Olajuwon moves.  I get that.  And Dwight Burke's best touch is when his patoot is touching the comfy old chairs of the Bradley Center's bench.  A lot of people agree on that. 

But when both are in the low post, there's nothing that says they both can't get low, try and establish position, back down their defenders, use their strength, throw up a hand and at least be seen as an option.  I understand that penetrate-and-kick is a big part of Marquette's game, but why can't the hi-lo be there, too?  Like I said, present it at the very least.  You're out there on the floor -- do something.  At the very least, making yourself big down low does a lot to keep defenders from popping out around you and puts you in a good position to quickly turn around and be in a good rebounding pose. 

I hate to use the Badgers as an example, but I can tell you for absolute certain that anytime anybody is on the low block for a Bo Ryan team, he's putting himself in a position to get the ball.  As a matter of fact, anytime anyone's on the floor for a Bo Ryan team, they're putting themselves in a position to get the ball.  It's the whole premise of the swing -- the idea that skip passes, fade screens, big men that can hit jumpers and guards in the post can create mismatches that frustrate teams out of your building.  There's a lot that can be learned from that. 

Always be working.  The great teams do that because the great teams are relentless.  Think about John Wooden's UCLA teams that just beat everyone and anyone on their schedule.  They never let up.  That's the way you have to be. 

Yes, it's a Big East win, which makes it a good win.  But Villanova could have easily gotten blown out of the building today if Marquette had put up a complete effort.  Instead, they got a good win instead of a statement victory.  We'll take it, but we can always ask for more. 


So we find out today that Thomas Jones wasn't a big Brett Favre fan.  Really. 

Much like with the Marquette talk above, I want to preface this by saying that Jones probably shouldn't be running his mouth to the media, particularly this long after the season is over.  This is the kind of thing that should best be handled internally. 

That said, let's take what was said, both by Jones and by another "unnamed Jets player" at face value.  No, Favre was not his best at the end of the 2008 NFL season.  Sure, he was probably better than any other option for the Jets to win games, but no, Favre wasn't very good.  Us Packers fans saw a Favre that wasn't very good on a lot of different occasions during this decade.  Think about the playoff game in St. Louis.  Think about the Atlanta or Minnesota playoff games we lost.  Think about his last pass as a Packer.  Think about the 4-12 year we had in 2005 and, to an extent, 2004. 

Yes, Brett can pull off miracles.  The price for that, though, has always been the risk of a miraculously large failure.  That risk rose more and more as the years wore on with Brett. 

Furthermore, there is an undeniable generational gap between Favre and his teammates.  Favre is pushing 40 and isn't far away from worrying about his daughters being able to date his teammates.  Even when he was here, he wasn't exactly known as being the most social guy with his teammates after Mark Chmura was pushed out of the league for being a dirty old man and a creep (I don't think anyone should forgive him for that) and Frank Winters ate a few too many bags of doughnuts. 

But a lot of it is just Favre's personality, too.  Somewhere along the line, Favre seems to have decided that he just doesn't fit in with the younger generation.  I don't know why, I don't know how.  Maybe it was the years when he wasn't practicing because he was hurt.  Maybe it's his backlash to Ted Thompson recognizing that the average NFL player doesn't last longer than three or four years in the league.  Maybe Favre was just diappointed about how many players he's seen come and go through the years.  Whatever it is, Favre has always kind of had this "special treatment" since the end of the Mike Holmgren era in Green Bay.  His own press conferences, every other week, when he felt like having them?  Of course.  Even being in the locker room when the other guys are being interviewed by the media?  Unthinkable. 

In a league that traditionally has prided itself on parity and no person or team being no more special than any other, Favre has gotten used to his perch on the pedestal.  He doesn't see himself or act like "just one of the guys," despite the fact that fans relate to that image.  It's one thing to be that way with the public.  It's another thing altogether to be that way with your teammates, particularly when you're with a new team. 

Granted, some of this is because Favre was just that good for three years in the 90's.  But the NFL is also very much a "what have you done for me lately" league and, like a lot of other things in life, how much you did or won before has no bearing on how much you win now. 

Brett Favre now is an injured, old quarterback who is creative when healthy but takes too many risks and acts aloof with his teammates.  He doesn't seem worth it. 

Now consider this:  I said at the beginning of this rant that Jones' comments are better made internally than they are to the media.  Let's say, just for the sake of example, that maybe the Packers do a better job of putting up a front for the media and talking things over with themselves before putting anyone in front of a microphone.  After all, Green Bay is two hours from any major media outlets, it's not tremendously easy for reporters to get to Green Bay and because the Packers are kind of the only game in town for everyone north of Madison, they know they can put a stranglehold on what gets in and out of the organization, lest they give a news organization from Oshkosh or Appleton an absolute death sentence by taking away their credentials (can you imagine not being able to cover the Packers in this state?). 

In short, let's just theorize that maybe -- maybe -- these sorts of things were also being said in Lambeau-land but, unlike in New York, they weren't said to the media (because it would have been certain PR death in the land where Lord Favre reigned) and they were kept internal. 

Notice the reaction everyone's having to the Jets' comments?  "Do you think the Jets might not want Brett Favre back?" 

Remember what everyone was asking last year here in Wisconsin?  "Why wouldn't the Packers want Brett Favre back?" 

I think about how Aaron Rodgers appeared on the Packers' post-game radio show after the last game of the season.  Lord Brett would have never considered doing that.  I also think about Rodgers' numbers, of course, and the fact that he's the same age as most of his fellow teammates and does probably relate to them better than Favre.  He deserved a chance.  He got it and made the most of it. 

What were the two knocks against Rodgers this year?  Fourth-quarter play and not having Favre's "quiet leadership."  Yup, it looks like the folks in New York really respected that "quiet leadership."  I'll acknowledge the fourth-quarter part, but for most guys, that comes with time. 


I know what a lot of you Wisconsinites are still doing -- putting on your green '4' jersey, sticking your fingers in your ears and screaming, "LA-LA-LA, THREE-STRAIGHT MVP'S, SUPER BOWL XXXI, LA-LA-LA!" 

But I think it's time for even the most die-hard of Favre fans to start understanding that there were legit reasons why the Packers would consider moving on. 

How much more proof do we need? 


Alright, it's late and I do have to work tomorrow, so it's time to call it a night. 

I ran into Tom Haudricourt after the Marquette game today.  Known as a bitter man during the baseball season, Tom seemed happy to see me and in a good mood in general.  I think the few sentences I exchanged with him were actually more conversation than I had with him my whole time covering the Brewers.  It goes to show you that as fun as you think covering sports can be, it gets to be a grind.  It's just something in people's blood, though. 

Thanks to those of you who are coming back to the Sportsblog after I took a lot of time off last year.  Here's to a 2009 full of intelligent sports opinion and criticism as we watch the last games of the decade. 

More soon. 

Photo:  Jerel McNeal, guarded by Corey Stokes (left) and Shane Clark (Mark Hoffman/JSOnline)
Photo:  Frank Winters (left) with Brett Favre (Mike Roemer/AP/USA Today)
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
January 1, 2009 - Thursday 10:20 AM

Current mood:  lethargic
Category: Parties and Nightlife
I'm a sentimental sot, so I keep track of these things:  

Last Dances of the Year

2002 - Michelle Seipel, Turner Hall Ballroom (Milwaukee)
2003 - Sarah Nelson, Knights of Columbus Hall (Milwaukee)
2004 - Michelle Seipel, Knights of Columbus Hall
2005 - Meg Meyer, Rickerson Household (West Allis)
2006 - Jackie Kreiter, Hot Water Milwaukee
2007 - Erin Matzke, Bunkeris at Willowbrook (Willow Springs, Ill.)
2008 - Jackie Dethloff, Bunkeris at Willowbrook

Jackie's been a great friend this year and I wanted her to round out 2008.  Carl the DJ wasn't exactly playing swing at that point, but we made it work. 

First Dances of the Year

2003 - Michele Schraeder, Turner Hall Ballroom
2004 - Michelle Seipel, Knights of Columbus Hall
2005 - Michelle Seipel, Knights of Columbus Hall
2006 - Carrie Haessly, Rickerson Household
2007 - Grace Cord, Milwaukee Ale House
2008 - Morgan from St. Louis, Bunkeris at Willowbrook
2009 - Amy Svalenka, Bunkeris at Willowbrook

As I quickly thought about it, I decided on Amy since we did once win an award for our dancing together (fifth-place at an amateur competition at Willowbrook) and I want this to be a year where I accomplish similar feats.  It was a good start to the year. 

That's it -- off to Marquette/Villanova.  Happy New Year, all. 
Currently watching:
Looney Tunes - The Spotlight Collection Vol. 1 (Premiere Edition)
Release date: 2003-10-28
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
January 1, 2009 - Thursday 12:41 AM

Current mood:  rushed
Category: Sports
I'm doing what I can to escape the mania that is the older members of my family gradually moving towards senility and the younger members of my family gradually driving me insane. 

So, headphones in, Complete History of the Green Bay Packers DVD in the computer and Kung-Fu Panda the movie on the TV I'm trying to avoid, I figure I can get a swing dance set in while I have a chance. 

We turn the clock back to Nov. 13 today and a set I really wanted to nail.  Soccer season had been over for about a week and a half at this point and I still kind of had a sour taste in my mouth from Halloween.  Wanting to really send a message and wow the crowd, I put a little extra time into the set and made sure I had plenty of new material picked out.  I also focused in my prep on what I would need to do if the night went in certain directions and how I could potentially change course if people were looking for either faster or slower music. 

The result was what I was looking for:  While the night had some dry spots, I was prepared for them and I was able to lure people back out on the floor when I felt the mood was going in a direction the crowd didn't like.  For the most part, the set was very fresh, consisting mostly of songs I hadn't played before, and I was able to keep the tempo right where I expect it to be most of the time. 

Sometimes, when the set is just up-and-down solid, there isn't much more I can do than just post the songs.  With that in mind, here they are: 

Smooth Sailing - Ella Fitzgerald
Corrine Corrina - Big Joe Turner
One O'Clock Jump - Les & Larry Elgart
Standin' on the Corner (Whistlin' at the Pretty Girls) - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Put a Lid on It - Squirrel Nut Zippers
Jumpin' at the Woodside - Count Basie & Benny Goodman
Rhythm - Casey MacGill
Dinah - Lionel Hampton
Push Out - Benny Carter
Corner Pocket - Count Basie
Let's Take a Walk Around the Block - Ella Fitzgerald
Fever - Ray Charles & Natalie Cole
On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever) - Lou Rawls
I Love New York In June - Stephane Grappelli & Michael Petrucciani
Transition:  Winning - The Natural Original Soundtrack
Tain't What You Do - Jimmy Lunceford
The Way You Look Tonight - Radio King Orchestra
On the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe - Bing Crosby with Six Hits and a Miss
Shake, Rattle & Roll - Bill Haley
Sweet Georgia Brown - Harry James
My Guy's Come Back - Bert Kaempfert
What Now, My Love - Lou Rawls
Broadway - Count Basie
Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead - Ella Fitzgerald
The Game of Love - Santana featuring Michelle Branch
Roam - The B-52's
Hazel Eyes - Bellevue Cadillac
Texas and Pacific - Louis Jordan
Give Me a Kiss (Just One Sweet Kiss) - Van Morrison
Jumpin' with Symphony Sid - Lester Young
Out of this World - Ella Fitzgerald
Meet Me, Midnight - Renee Olsted
Cherokee - Les & Larry Elgart
Come to Baby, Do - Nat King Cole
Hard-Hearted Hannah - Ray McKinley & His Orchestra
Lullaby of Birdland - Duke Ellington & Ella Fitzgerald
Taking a Chance on Love - Renee Olsted
All of Me - Billie Holiday
Turn Me On - Norah Jones
End of Night:  The Closing Song - Red Peters
Happy Trails - Roy Rodgers & Dale Evans

A few little things from a night that was just very cohesive overall:  I kind of started to take to asking the crowd what they were looking for near the end of the night.  When there's a crowd of loyal dancers around, and you want them to stay, you might as well just ask them what they want to hear.  When the answer is "something fun," that usually means pop.  When the answer is rather blah, then mid-tempo is usually the way to go. 

I was a week removed from a visit to Madison for this night and I asked at the end of the evening if the crowd was OK with hearing The Closing Song, which they played at the end of the Friday late-night dance in the capitol.  The Closing Song has a refrain that has a ... well ... check the lyrics.  I made sure to ask and I didn't think I offended anyone.  But, it was worthwhile to note that one of the older dancers gave me a bit of a back-handed compliment earlier in the night ...

"You know, I don't usually like your sets, but I liked yours tonight." 

... and I noticed he was still in the building when I played that one.  My guess is he won't say that to me again. 

I'm running out of time before we start the New Year's festivities, so I've got to cut this short.  My next set posting will be from The Turkey Jive, our pre-Thanksgiving party.  Enjoy it when it comes. 

Happy New Year, all. 
Currently watching:
NFL Films - The Green Bay Packers - The Complete History
Release date: 2003-11-25
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
December 31, 2008 - Wednesday 9:26 AM

Current mood:  annoyed
Category: Sports
Hay everybody.  Apparently I get 20 minutes of computer time while I'm waiting for the assembled mass that is my parents, my sister, my brother-in-law, their two kids and my aunt to figure out just how many funny-looking pictures they want to order from our impromptu photo studio session tonight, which I had to rush out of work and put off some errands for to get to at 5:40, then found to be delayed by 45 minutes.  I love having the kids here.  Really.  I love it.  This is what typed sarcasm looks like. 

Anyhow, I wanted to point to something that I've been reading and hearing a lot about with regards to the Packers coaching staff.  I was triggered by hearing it again tonight on Bill Michaels' show and I think it's worth mentioning: 

The official word from Green Bay is that the Packers are 'evaluating' the situation with their coaching staff and that the evaluations are continuing. 

Really. 

No one has said this yet, but I think that means they're thinking about replacing a couple pieces with a face or two that can't think about working for the Packers just yet. 

This involves a little bit of reading between the lines.  When something gets drawn out like this but keeps getting mention in the media, that usually means that somebody knows something but doesn't want to say anything yet.  It may be for a lot of different reasons and it may be that there truly is evaluation going on at 1265.  Mike McCarthy is notorious for not wanting to take action until he "sees the tape" (which is why the Monday press conferences I went to in 2006 on the days after road games were largely meaningless, since that was the answer we got most often).  But I think something else is afoot, here ...

... something tells me that there's a word leaking out of Packers camp that they can't talk about anyone just yet, but that they have people in mind they'd like to see fill different positions.  Why can't they talk about anyone just yet?  Simple -- out of respect to the fact those folks are still doing work for their teams in the playoffs. 

I'm not here to start naming names, in part because I don't know any and in part because I think guessing games without reports or talking to the people on the inside is futile.  But I'm free to try and read between the lines of what those who do get to talk to the insiders are saying, and the reading I'm sensing is one of "we're going to do something, but not yet." 

No one is talking, which both isn't all that unusual for the Packers and is somewhat telling.  An emphatic "we stand behind our staff" usually ends these sorts of discussions.  We haven't heard anything like that just yet. 

Then again, it's also easy for sports journalists to take statements, or lack thereof, and overblow them when not asking complete and specific questions. 

But I'm hearing a few too many people not saying anything, which you can sometimes interpret better than when people actually are saying things. 

By the way, Brett Favre had a torn bicep.  It can supposedly be fixed without major surgery, but since there was a bit of a hardening of the area around the tear, and since Favre complained of pain in other areas of his shoulder, my guess is they're going to have to go in.  Any surgery done on your arm when you're a thrower will require time to heal and will weaken that area, particularly when you're pushing 40 and you just don't recover the same way you did when you were 24.  I wouldn't be surprised ...

... OK, the kids are here.  More soon. 

Photo:  Mike McCarthy (left) and Ted Thompson (Mike Roemer/AP/NBC Sports)
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
December 30, 2008 - Tuesday 9:47 AM

Current mood:  aggravated
Category: Sports
Happy Firing Day, everybody. 

"Huh?"

Yes, Firing Day -- the day after the NFL season when it's easiest for owners and general managers around the league to wield the heavy axe.  It's almost as if the NFL makes sure its season ends after the holidays so that Firing Day isn't as harsh as it seems. 

Nonetheless, when it's obvious some coaches aren't coming back, there's no reason for it to be held back -- so the firings happen today, the first day it makes sense. 

We'll set aside the firings that actually happened today to tempt fate and discuss one that could have happened, didn't, but still could come about:  The potential firing of Bob Sanders as the Packers' defensive coordinator. 

I'll put this out there:  I'm not for it. 

I got into the injury situation on the defense yesterday, which would be the crux of my argument to keep Sanders around into 2009.  Wayne Larrivee went even further in-depth on the matter this morning on Mid-Day with Charlie Sykes (with Jeff Wagner) and I'll just let you listen to it to get the jist of something I've captured the essence of already. 

Here's the other thing that needs to be taken into account when talking about the defense, though:  Sanders is the same coordinator that, with a far healthier bunch that was essentially a year younger last year, made a group that had been questionable at best in 2006 one of the top defenses in football in 2007.  I recognize that makes just one out of three years that Sanders has had success, but we'll toss out his first year as a transitional one and we recognize this year's injuries, that makes one year under ideal conditions in which Sanders has had the chance to work -- and he had a lot of success in those conditions. 

I'm more apt to blame the personnel than Sanders.  While the first-unit defense was strong heading into the season, the depth of the defense proved to be seriously lacking when push came to shove this year.  Tramon Williams is kind of my secondary scapegoat this year -- yes, if you listen to that above link, Larrivee credited Williams for becoming a good nickelback this year, but I saw Williams constantly getting picked on and burned just like Al Harris was, if not more, as the Packers fell into their mid-season swoon.  Granted, Atari Bigby was my whipping boy in his first season, but he turned things around last year and became a heavy hitter the Packers sorely missed this season. 

If you want a risk-taking, heavy blitzing defense, bring back Bob Slowik.  I personally think the Packers have the right scheme, just a few flaws with individuals.  A.J. Hawk flounders in pass coverage, something that got repeatedly exploited before he moved inside to take Nick Barnett's spot.  Nobody other than Aaron Kampman has the speed or bulk to create pressure on the line.  I don't care what scheme you run, when you have issues like that, you can scrap your 4-3 for a 3-4, a 5-2 or a 36-73.9 and you won't have much success. 

I can't even really blame Ted Thompson all that much for the personnel flaws.  Even the '96 Packers had a few things I would have improved upon.  You do what you can with who you draft or pickup and you take their flaws into account. 

Nonetheless, there do need to be personnel changes on defense.  Just not the coach.  Give the scheme one more chance.  If it doesn't turn around, then fine, let's look elsewhere.  But I'm not about to fire a guy like Sanders a year removed from a great defensive year and just removed from a year where there were enough injuries to kind of call it moot. 

Onto the other firings, starting with the most interesting to all Packers fans -- Eric Mangini, possibly (and I think likely) the last man to (supposedly) be Brett Favre's head coach.  I say supposedly because, like many before, I kind of feel like Mangini kind of bowed at the altar of Lord Favre more than he tried to actually 'coach' him, something that a guy who can be as out of control as Favre can be needs.  In my mind, the only two coaches that really tried to rein Favre in were Mike Holmgren and Mike McCarthy.  I once saw a clip of Mike Sherman sending Favre out onto to the field and telling him to "do [his] stuff."  I cringed and kind of figured that meant Favre threw another interception shortly after that. 

Mangini, younger than Favre, also gave me the impression that he kind of geared the offense around Brett rather than trying to use Brett's skills within a structure, something that ended up failing Mangini when Favre's arm simply started to fail. 

In the meantime, I think there's something to consider in all of this:  The Jets brought Favre in to get to the Super Bowl, and for a stretch this year, they appeared to be on track.  Then, Favre simply got old.  His arm was injured, something that was destined to happen after over a decade and a half of reasonably good help, and the Jets will be watching the playoffs on television as a result.  Favre looked very human in the last few games, prompting a number of New York writers to believe that all the venom they had for Chad Pennington was misguided and -- this is the bigger part, and the better part for those of us who were saying this all along -- that Favre should retire, or that the Jets shouldn't welcome him back. 

Imagine that:  The Jets get Brett, have him for one season, then people start believing that he didn't help all that much and he shouldn't be welcomed back.  Fascinating. 

Plus, let's look at this season for the Packers.  Now yes, with Brett Favre, there's a chance that he could have won you more games than Aaron Rodgers did, who did seem to struggle more in the fourth quarter than at any other time.  But you also ran the risk of Favre losing you games with his picks, so I kind of consider that to be a moot point -- furthermore, with the defense the Packers had this season, I don't think they were going to beat many teams at all.  So when putting one up against the other, who would you have rather had:  An aging quarterback making one final run but really doing you no good, or a young quarterback who's certainly seen enough from the sidelines and can now say he's had a year of reading defenses from under center and dealing with the various stresses of winning and losing? 

The funny thing is, I know a lot of Packer fans would choose Lord Brett, simply because of their sentimentality to Favre and the fact he took the team to the promised land 12, repeat, 12 (twelve) years ago.  There are a few who will argue Favre would have won a few of those close games, but I think that's kind of a weak argument with a defense that got torched by the likes of the Houston Texans, much less Drew Brees and his amazing numbers for the Saints this season.  They had a great passing offense, perhaps the best in the NFL, Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush, and they still finished 8-8.  Goes to show you how much a crummy defense can hold you back. 

Favre would have been a waste of time, money and effort for the Packers this year and the Jets got a few more wins out of him but little more, other than the giant soap opera of "will he or won't he."  My guess is he won't because I think the soreness he's been talking about will require minor surgery for his life to be enjoyable in retirement or major surgery for him and major rehab to be capable of throwing the football the way he wants to.  Anyone with half a brain and Favre's age would take the latter, particularly someone who questions how much he wants to go through the laborious workouts of the off-season as much as Favre always does. 

The man was a legend.  Emphasis on was.  Now, he's as old, gray and washed up as he said he was in his press conference.  Don't get me wrong;  I'll be cheering as loud as anyone else when they do retire his number at Lambeau Field (and this mess this past year shouldn't stop that from happening).  But I am not at all upset at the fact Favre was traded away.  That draft pick will make a big difference next year and I actually give Ted Thompson a lot of credit for standing up to his decision, despite all the heat he took (and still takes, unfairly). 

Oh, and for all the fans that had doubts about Aaron Rodgers:  At press time for this Sportsblog, Rodgers was the leading vote-getter in a JSOnline poll asking fans to name the Packers' MVP this year.  And he was.  The passing game was the strongest part of the Packers' game plan this year.  That's a credit to Rodgers, McCarthy, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson and anyone else you care to mention.  I'm glad most Packers fans have their heads screwed on straight about Rodgers.  It'd be nice if they did the same for Thompson. 

A lot of talk about a team whose season is over, and certainly straying away from Jets talk.  But hey, it all ties together. 

Also gone is Romeo Crennel in Cleveland, along with general manager Phil Savage.  The Browns have way too much talent to be as bad as they are.  I expect a Browns turnaround, with the right staff, in about two or three years.  However, everyone is saying Bill Cowher will not be the next coach of the Browns, which makes me think he either will take the job or the next selection of a head coach will be majorly disappointing in light of such a move.  I think the Browns really miss Al Lerner. 

As for Rod Marinelli ... the Lions may want to start completely fresh next year.  New owners, new stadium, new colors, new city, anything.  If there's a team in sports that needs a Tampa Bay Rays like makeover, it's the Lions.  But this is so obvious that it doesn't even seem worth discussing. 


Now, to an NFL rant. 

I don't like Roger Goodell. 

The NFL is a league built on traditions and things not changing.  It's comforting to know that, year in and year out, the NFL is pretty much going to be the same. 

Someone please tell Roger that's the way it's supposed to be. 

The NFL logo was just fine before this year and didn't need to be painted on every stadium's field in either two small locations or one large one.  The officials uniforms were just fine and they look even sillier now.  Exhibition games overseas were just fine and better than regular season games that steal games from the hard-working, true, hometown fans of teams here in America.  And now, Goodell sees fit to take away a sporting event that has largely been the pride and joy of the State of Hawai'i and instead make it a mere pre-game amusement for the Super Bowl. 

The complaint is that the Pro Bowl has become an anti-climactic end to the season.  Really?  How about a relaxing end for those who care to go?  I don't mind the fact that it's not tremendously well attended and usually skipped by many of the biggest stars.  That's fine.  You know what, it doesn't even matter to me that a lot of fans don't bother to watch.  For the guys that do go, it's a nice reward and a nice way to end the year.  You spend a year getting beat up and working hard to be the best in the business at your very specialized craft and you get the chance to spend a nice week with your fellow pros in one of the most beautiful places in the galaxy, preparing to do what you enjoy most in a far less-pressured environment in front of a crowd that really appreciates having the event around.  So what if Aloha Stadium is a little decrepid?  At it's heart and soul, it's just a good event. 

But no -- Goodell, in making the NFL ever more money-grubbing, would instead like to usher the Pro Bowl in and out in Miami, who doesn't even care to go to most Marlins or Dolphins games, much less exhibition football the week before an even bigger event in the Super Bowl.  Instead of giving the players in the game a chance to go chill in Hawai'i, including the losing coaches of the conference championships (who can probably use a few weeks to catch their collective breaths), he's just going to shuffle them in and out of town so more media decide to go to Super Bowl week and a few more sponsors decide to hop in. 

There's a part of me that wants to become a good enough businessman/executive/sports markerter that someday, I can become Commissioner of the National Football League and simply undo everything Roger Goodell has done that doesn't involve disciplinary action against players. 

The league was perfect -- perfect -- under Paul Tagliabue.  It had just the right mix of dominant teams and parity.  The revenue sharing agreement was awesome, if only for a few little tweaks needed (such as a broader range of things covered by the cap, including signing bonuses).  Monday Night Football was an event on ABC.  Sunday Night Football was worth watching and didn't feel like a thrown-together production like it sometimes does on NBC.  And all the little junky-junk marketing crap Goodell pulls, that's so worthless and meaningless to people who are already fans and only frustrates the core audience, which is the most fiercely loyal to any brand in America, gets me so ticked ...

... sorry.  I know there's nothing we can do about it.  But there's a part of me that didn't mind missing out on more of the NFL this year than I have in pretty much any other year in my life due to soccer, Wolfpack football and other stuff.  I don't like how corporate the league is becoming.  It's no different than the NBA, where teams are increasingly pricing families out of going to games by expanding seating areas in the lower bowls of arenas where only businessmen and sponsors can afford to sit. 

This just in to the NFL and NBA:  Sports are supposed to be family entertainment and their appeal is the sharing of traditions and memories across generations.  Don't screw with that formula -- i.e. if the consumers are loyal, don't change the system, lest you risk losing their loyalty. 

This stuff makes me so stinkin' mad.  People are Packers fans because they've been wearing the same green and gold and playing in the same stadium for over 50 years.  A lot of other NFL fans are fans for the same reasons.  Keep it that way. 

That's what sports are about -- not about how much money is made or isn't made.  Articles like this make me mad, too.  Don't tell me how happy you are with your financial situation because you're selling more tickets off last year.  Every part of a sports franchise is supposed to be centered around winning and bringing pride to their community.  Think you're on good financial ground:  Fine, then take some of that money and sign someone like Prince Fielder to an extended contract.  Reinvest.  Don't tell me "business is better" when the team looks worse than it did at the start of last year.  Rick Schlesinger should never have his name in the paper.  That's behind-the-scenes stuff.  Organizationally, everyone from president to usher should be as happy as the team's prospects for winning and losing dictate.  Nothing more and nothing less. 

Keep the Pro Bowl in Hawai'i.  It's the right thing for the players, the fans, Hawai'i and the nation.  Screw the cash and the marketing for once. 

End rant.  Grr. 


Look out world, here comes Georgetown:  The 11th-ranked Hoyas knocked off 2 UConn, 74-63, to get the 2009 Big East season off to a rousing start tonight.  There's talk that upwards of 10 teams could make it to the dance out of the Big East this year.  What I wonder, though, is how much of a beating certain teams can take, losing repeatedly to other ranked teams, if they plan to have a halfway decent seeding or any confidence heading into the dance.  Marquette has to be careful not to be that team.  Then again, maybe careful isn't the right word -- phrases like sharp, always on their toes or head on a swivel might be more appropriate. 

A quirk in Bill Parcells' contract might allow him to leave his consultant role with the Dolphins next year and still collect $12 million.  At his age, and because I don't care for the guys who treat the media like crud like Parcells has through the years, I suggest he take the Steve Miller route:  "Go on, take the money and run." 

The Red Sox have reached a deal with Brad Penny.  No one is surprised.  In all seriousness, you wonder when the rest of baseball will just get fed up with the Yankees and Red Sox of the world and tell them to shove it with a salary cap.  Mark Attenasio, I salute you.  Now tell Schlesinger to get back to work on the books. 

[Sigh] ... that's enough.  One of the angrier Sportsblogs I've probably ever written, and without even one reference to Ned Yost.  Remarkable.  I'm starting to think I'm just becoming a bitter old man.  I don't like change.  Just a reminder, I still occasionally wear my Milwaukee Braves hat.  I think we, as a society, should make more of an effort to walk in the footsteps of our predecessors rather than always looking for a new way.  Remember, as often as you find something better when you stray from the set path, you find something worse just as much.  Different isn't always better.  Sometimes, not always. 

More soon. 

Photo:  Eric Mangini (Al Bello/Getty Images/Yahoo! Sports)
Photo:  Aaron Rodgers (Morry Gash/AP/Yahoo! Sports)
Photo:  A joint-service color guard at the 2007 Pro Bowl (Tech Sgt. Shane A Cuomo/U.S. Air Force)
Currently listening:
Maroon
By Barenaked Ladies
Release date: 2000-09-12
 
2 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
December 29, 2008 - Monday 7:34 AM

Current mood:  geeky
Category: Parties and Nightlife
Three blogs in one night?  As Cosmo Kramer said of Frank Constanza in the Festivus episode of Seinfeld, "He's so prolific!" 

(Actually, this is largely the product of going for a workout four of the last five days.  When I workout, I have more energy and don't feel like sleeping all the time.  When I have that energy, I want to do stuff.  When I want to do stuff, I end up blogging.  Long story short, if you don't want me to blog, stop me from working out.) 

Anyhow, here's a quick review of my Halloween set at Hot Water, as well as the evening: 

It wasn't much to write home about. 

Then again, I don't think eight songs is enough time to get up much momentum. 

So it goes.  I don't consider it a failure as much as it was just biting the bullet.  DJ Jazzy Justin led off the night and ran a little long.  Then there was the opening round of the Jack & Jill contest, which also ran a little long.  Someone had to shorten-up their set and it just ended up being me.  So it goes. 

That was kind of the theme of the night -- so it goes.  I did enter the Jack & Jill, but I didn't make the finals.  I didn't feel like I danced spectacularly but I also didn't feel like I did poorly, either.  Part of me thinks, with Justin and Adam qualifying, the powers that be just didn't want to have three DJs in the finals.  That's just my opinion, though. 

The contest was a little awkward and left a lot of folks with some hard feelings.  There's always grumbling that goes on when there's a contest, but I think it's a lot easier to have a contest when it's judged by outside dancers than it is when it's judged by the in-town weekly instructors.  I've talked with Karl & Erin about it, so there's no need to belabor it.  I think it worked out OK with Andrea winning, though.  It was also cool that Kerry and Pam won the costume contest.  Eh, contests always involve some hand-wringing because people don't like hearing someone else did something better than them, particularly in a community as small as our swing dance group is.  There's a reason I don't write about my dancing experiences anymore -- I would end up doing exactly that without my knowing it or even thinking about it, and the results usually put me in hot water (no pun intended -- OK, maybe a little). 

My set was simple:  Goes Around, one of my favorite starting songs, three Halloween songs, two swing songs, a Shim Sham and one bit of pop.  Yup, that was it.  No time for more, no time for less. 

Again, there just isn't a flow when you do that.  I can't really complain about it -- I knew it was going to be awkward and it was.  So there just isn't much to say. 

I still had a lot of fun that night.  I looked good in my Brewers uniform, even though I wish I had shed a few pounds before I donned it this year.  The Royals uniform is a little looser -- but I'm kind of vowing not to do baseball two years in a row, so I'll have to come up with something different for next year (or workout more).  Oh well. 

Here's the short set list: 

Goes Around - Bellevue Cadillac
The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
The Munsters Theme - Jack Marshall
Halloween Spooks - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine - Anita O'Day
G.I. Jive - Louis Jordan
Shim Sham:  Shim-Sham Song
Tilt Ya Head Back - Nelly featuring Christina Aguilera

And that was it. 

Eager to get back to business, I put a lot of focus on my Nov. 13 set two weeks later and I was pretty much able to get back on track with that one. 

We'll talk about that more, though, when we get there. 
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
December 29, 2008 - Monday 6:55 AM

Current mood:  argumentative
Category: Sports
OK ... everyone, altogether now ...

[Breathe in]

"WHEW!"

[Breathe out]

In the end, it was a little more nerve-wrecking than I think everyone, me included, wanted it to be, but yes, the worst "epic fail" in recent Packers memory will remain Fourth and 26 while the Lions will remain, well, the biggest epic fail in memory, period. 

(This image is linked from the Booth Newspapers news site in Michigan.  An actual news organization.) 

It's been quite a two years for the extremes of the NFL.  On the one hand, you had the Patriots, who became the first team since those vaunted Dolphins to go perfect through a regular season, only to falter in the Super Bowl on a play that will be relived for ages.  On the other hand, you have the Lions. 

The funny thing is that the Lions don't really seem that bad.  They did give the Packers a game.  There were games this season that they didn't get blown out of.  They lost to the division-champion Vikings at the Metrodome in Week Four by two points, needing a last-second field goal by Ryan Longwell to win it (a rather-common method of Vikings' victories this season, which is why Minnesota will get crushed in the playoffs).  A loss to the Texans, who did in the Packers, came by just four points.  The Bears only beat the Lions by four -- after being down 23-13 at halftime. 

It was more a combination of injuries, lack of talent to begin with and complete mismanagement that led to this Lions team's problems.  I mean, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of 1976 were bad -- legendarily bad.  You all have seen that clip of Dave Green, Buccaneers punter/kicker, trying futily to kick a rolling football as it gets away from him.  There is no moment like that for the Lions, save maybe Dan Orlovsky forgetting where he was on the football field when he stepped out of bounds for the safety that ended up costing the Lions their game in Minnesota.  The fact of the matter is the Lions had a slew of different quarterbacks (Orlovsky, Jon Kitna, Drew Stanton, you, your brother, etc.), a number of other injuries, a lot of guys who are veterans but not exactly stars, a couple of possible stars in Kevin Smith and Calvin Johnson, but a lot of things wrong organizationally, so much so that they would think to trade one of the few talented players they have in Roy Williams to Dallas, where Tony Romo is having his usual December of failure. 

(Aside:  Don't tell me you don't take a little sick pleasure in watching the Cowboys fall on their face in Philadelphia today.  I know you do.) 

So many of the issues with this Lions team go back to people who are no longer with the franchise -- not just Matt Millen, but Dick Jauron, Marty Mornhinweg, Bobby Ross and a lot of other folks -- and there's just no excuse for William Clay Ford's total mishandling of this franchise since he's been in charge.  Between what's going on with the American auto industry and what's happened with the Lions, you begin to wonder if the Fords should really be in charge of anything in life.  (Just check this headline if you haven't heard the old joke.  Also applicable is "Found on road, dead.") 

I keep reminding people that the Lions were a perennial contender -- often a few defensive pieces, a quarterback and an offensive lineman or two away from being a great team -- pretty much through the 90's.  To fall that far in 10 years is a feat that seems Raider-esque, though boht might have something to do with their owners moving into senility (c'mon, Jerry Jones!). 

You know the Lions will look around after a season like this and make a lot of changes.  The fact the Dolphins were still talking playoffs going into this afternoon says a lot about how much a team can turn things around in one season.  But the Dolphins are also a proud organization that knew they had to get their act together and were also very young last year.  They brought in a great new staff and they're on their way to big things.  Can the Lions make the right moves to put themselves in that position ... ?

I don't know.  Part of me says that's just not part of their institutional makeup. 

The Lions just don't feel like a total failure, even though they certainly are.  The problem, though, is when the group on top doesn't know how to win. 

It was the biggest concern on the part of Packers fans today and it was probably the biggest reason why the Packers struggled to put the Lions away:  It's easy to forget how to win.  If you've listened to Mike McCarthy at all this season, he's reiterated time and time again that the team just needed a win.  They needed to remember how to win and what it felt like to win.  Momentum can't be discounted in football.  There's enough time between games that it can start fading together.  When you have the confidence it takes to win in the NFL, you do the little things and you know you're physically capable of doing the big things.  When you're not sure of yourself, you forget stuff and things go awry.  You forget to get a good surge on a field goal and the Bears win in overtime.  You blow a coverage or two that ends up costing you a game like the Texans contest.  It all runs together. 

The Packers, for a good chunk of this year, just weren't real certain about themselves.  I know some, in turn, took the opportunity to blame that on not having Brett Favre's "quiet" (i.e. non-existent) leadership around, but this is the NFL and everyone has to look inside at themselves and step it up, particularly when you have the kind of injuries the Packers had on defense.  Considering how decimated that defense ended up being -- you took major pieces out of the line (Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila), the linebacker corps (Nick Barnett) and the secondary (Atari Bigby) -- while factoring in Al Harris' aging and a lack of push from the middle of the line and the fact the Packers were close in as many games as they were should be seen as a bright spot.  There's a path to success for this Packers' team and, despite what you might think, I believe it's a path that is best followed behind the leadership of Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson.  I'll be upset if Thompson doesn't make a lot of moves during this off-season.  But I wasn't that upset with the moves he made during past off-seasons, including this past one.  The only things he could have seen happening were the line's problems and the fall-off for Harris.  You can't forsee the injuries.  You expect the likes of Bigby to get better.  You expect the offensive line, which was young except for Mike Tauscher and Chad Clifton, to gel and improve a little.  Those things didn't happen, despite expectations.  That's not Ted Thompson's fault.  He played the game his way and it just didn't work. 

Thompson wants to build a Ravens-like defense and have a ball-control, old-fashioned West Coast offense and he wants to do it organically, through the draft, staying away from free agents who are likely past their prime and want more money than their eventual output will generally deserve.  As much as you, and Brett Favre, might hate it, that's not a bad strategy.  I understand what Thompson's trying to do.  It didn't work this year, and there will be years when it won't work.  But I think it could work in the next few years. 

The Packers just needed a turning-point play.  Unfortunately, it didn't come until there was 7:30 left in the season when Aaron Rodgers found Donald Driver for a huge touchdown.  But if the team can make some significant, mood-altering changes during the off-season and can get off to a good start next year, I think they'll be fine. 

We all expected some fall-off this season.  We didn't expect it in the areas where it happened, but we got it nonetheless.  OK.  We can handle that.  We didn't expect to be a Super Bowl team this year and we weren't.  But there's next year, and with a bit of a new look, this Packers team can be good next year. 

But if Ted doesn't make many changes this time around ... then I start putting him on the frying pan. 


Alright, enough about the Packers and the worst team in the modern era record-wise.  I did go and see Marquette/Presbyterian today and it was actually worth it. 

The good news today was the continued improvement of the bench.  Lazar Hayward hit five threes today, Wes Mathews looked good fighting his way to the free-throw line again, Jerel McNeal had a kind of quiet day and Dominic James made a couple plays, but I was more impressed with the contributions of the guys off the pine, particularly Maurice Acker, who made a spectacular play near the end of the first half that I hope you get the chance to see on the highlight shows tonight. 

After knocking the ball out of a Presbyterian player's hands, Acker, with the ball going out of bounds, fell over the ball, but did a Curley Neal-like move to keep his dribble, then get off a nifty pass that turned into a basket.  It was a pretty amazing moment that showed great creativity and athleticism. 

Chris Otule looked a little awkward at times, but showed good fight in picking up a pair of baskets.  You can tell he still is kind of trying to figure things out and needs to realize that he can't do things with his size alone at this level.  It's little stuff, like moving your feet to get a rebound rather than reaching for it, that he still needs to improve on.  It seemed like he got more comfortable as the day went on, though. 

Jimmy Butler is to the point where Buzz Williams doesn't seem to feel the need to have him out there getting a lot of time in a blowout right now.  He looks confident and he looks like he belongs on the floor with this Marquette team.  He makes a good strong forward with his size, though he can handle the ball like a guard.  It's easy to call his eight points today "quiet." 

Buzz might think Joe Fulce is a rebounder first and everything else second, but I like Joe's scrappiness and toughness down low.  He showed a little more energy today than Otule did, which is something the bench players need to have.  They know the stars of the show are Dom, Jerel and Wes, but when they're out there, they need to recognize they're wearing the same uniforms and need to play up to the same level as those guys if Marquette's going to be any good in 2009-10 and beyond. 

The only guy I was a little frustrated with today was Patrick Hazel.  There were a couple of times where he definitely could have moved his feet a little more and got a rebound accordingly.  Hazel better be careful because little things like that could start costing him time late in the season if Fulce can play a little more under control. 

David Cubillan hit a three, which was a bright spot, but I'm still a little surprised he isn't getting more opportunities.  Granted, he's not a great defender and he doesn't have Acker's speed by any stretch of the imagination.  But when Cubillan gets hot, he can hit threes and I actually kind of like the way he runs the offense.  It's been suggested that the surgery Cubillan had over the off-season had an effect on David but I think there's something up with what Buzz wants to do and David not quite fitting in. 

It's all little stuff though.  If Lazar's going to hit five threes, there isn't going to be much any opponent can do.  You could tell today was Lazar's day.  Hayward has struggled some lately and today was kind of his re-emergence.  Having him hit outside shots creates a dangerous scenario for teams trying to defend Hayward:  You have to come out to guard him, but a simple ball-fake can give him the chance to make the move down low where he can use his nifty post moves on you.  Hayward is a very dangerous weapon and is kind of the X-factor in the Marquette offense because he gives you a presence in the post, depending upon how seriously teams take him versus Marquette's other components.  I've always been a big Hayward fan and I was happy to see him have a big day today.  Something tells me he's going to have a bang-up season next year and might have a solid career as a pro in front of him. 

Even Dwight Burke made a basket today.  Yipee. 

It was nice to see a good, clean, 39 point win for Marquette in which they rebounded fairly well and took advantage of most offensive possessions. 

A couple odds and ends, though:  First off, there was a major scorer's table goof in the second half of the game as a foul that clearly should have been credited to Presbyterian's Al'Lonzo Coleman (number 34) was instead credited to Pierre Miller (number four) by public address announcer Mike Jakubowski and, apparently, the official scorer.  The person running the individual stats for the scoreboard, I believe, got it right, giving Coleman a foul and not giving one to Miller.  When Miller got a foul later, Jakubowski announced it was his second when it was really his first;  I noticed two fouls got added to Miller's total on the scoreboard.  Then, Coleman got called for a foul later that should have been his fifth -- the scoreboard still had the foul up for Coleman from earlier.  Instead, it was called his fourth. 

With the point differential in the game being about 40, a stink was not made on either side.  Nonetheless, having been on the scorer's table staff for four years at UWM, I know there would have been hell to pay if we made a mistake like that at any point in time and I did see some confusion down at the table after the final foul on Coleman.  The lesson is check, double-check, triple-check and always cross-check.  I had an OCD-like nature when I was running the player board at UWM men's games, making sure I was on the list of names to get a stat sheet at every media timeout and always making sure my totals matched the official book's -- sometimes to the point where the sports info staff would get annoyed with me.  I hate to be critical of Mike and the table staff since I know a lot of them (and would like to be a part of that group at some point), but for those of us that know about those things, have done them, take them seriously and would love to have the chance to do them at a place like Marquette would like to at least know the people ahead of them are doing the right thing. 

And one more meaningless aside:  Why are the scoresheets in the program not on facing pages?  I have to tear the center four pages out of my program to score, unless I want to constantly be flipping back and forth between two pages in the book.  Yes, people do score the games, but when you put the sheets on non-facing pages, that makes it a lot more difficult.  C'mon, guys;  fix this. 

Sorry, that was inside-basketball ranting there.  I guess I have to find things to complain about when you win by 39. 


The NFL season wound up today as the playoff picture fell into place.  Man, where did that year go? 

The Carolina Panthers won the NFC South while the Atlanta Falcons will be the top wildcard, setting up an Atlanta Falcons/Arizona Cardinals playoff game.  Atlanta/Arizona in the NFC playoffs, hosted in Glendale, Ariz.  Eventually my head will stop shaking. 

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles destroyed the Dallas Cowboys today, putting the Eagles in the playoffs ahead of the Cowboys and matching them up against the Vikings in the opening round.  First off, this is a much more sane playoff matchup than the previous one discussed.  Secondly, count me among the people who thought the Cowboys had a chance at winning the Super Bowl this season, much less making the playoffs, of which they will do neither.  Tony Romo's December failures are starting to stick to his reputation and you have to start wondering whether this kid from Burlington is more Scott Mitchell than he is Troy Aikman.  Romo looked really bad today and while you know he's certainly got an accurate arm and a good head on his shoulders, he's got a little too much Brett Favre in him in that he seems to refuse to tuck the ball under and take a sack while he also seems to throw the ball deep and get picked a lot more than he should (Ed Reed made mincemeat of Romo in Baltimore's win over Dallas).  The Cowboys have been lucky to get off to good starts the last few seasons, keeping Terrell Owens from running his mouth too much.  I can only imagine, though, what it will be like if the Cowboys struggle to start the year in their new Taj Mahal of a stadium next season.  Personally, I'd like to see Jerry Jones and TO get into a shouting match.  Two of the biggest jerks in all of sports yelling at each other.  Great television if they can get it on tape. 

Over in the AFC, the Dolphins have done the job and will host the Ravens in the first round of the playoffs.  How about the Dolphins?  And how about the Jets' fans for giving Chad Pennington an ovation as he walked off the field?  Talk about a guy that got screwed.  The Dolphins did turn things around and it goes to show you that the smallest bit of momentum can mean the biggest of things, even when major changes happen in an organization.  The Dolphins only won one game in 2007, but it was an emotional win over the Ravens on a long overtime touchdown that gave the 'Phins a taste of victory I think they carried with them.  Take note, Packers fans.  Take note. 

The Patriots won 11 games this year, yet will be the second-ever 11-win team to miss the playoffs.  Given the recent behavior of Boston fans, who have rivaled Cubs fans for their utter arrogance with their very recent championship success in football and baseball, I don't think any of us feel sorry for the Pats. 

Meanwhile, we eagerly await the Broncos final collapse as I type this blog to determine who will get the right to lose to the Colts next weekend.  Not much to say other than this about Jay Cutler -- you're not as bad as a lot of Broncos fans say you are, but while comparisons to John Elway are very unfair, you're also not that great, either. 


Not much else to discuss today other than the football stuff and the Marquette stuff.  This blog had a kind of bitter feel to it.  I apologize.  Oh well. 

More soon. 

Photo:  Mike McCarthy (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images/Yahoo! Sports)
Photo:  Lazar Hayward (Darren Hauck/AP/ESPN)
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
December 29, 2008 - Monday 5:45 AM

Current mood:  productive
Category: Music
I wasn't planning on posting a new profile song before the end of the year.  I also wasn't planning on Everything is Different Now getting pulled from YouTube, nor was I planning on any dancing going on Tuesday night at the Ale House (there's going to be some).  So I'm wrong a lot of the time.  Eh, so it goes. 

Anyhow, I wish I had a good reason to post this new song, but I don't -- it's one I heard three times while I was dancing at Swing & Soul in Atlanta and I think I just need to expose you to the sound of new soul.  It's one of those ones that's just bouncing around in my head right now, so I figure I better post it. 

NEW PROFILE SONG

Love That Girl*
Rafael Saadiq
The Way I See It (2008)

Rafael Saadiq isn't a name you probably recognize, but do a little digging and you'll recognize a few of the other names he's been associated with.  After a lengthy period of time singing and playing bass at church, Rafael first made it big as a member of Tony! Toni! Toné! (even though he obviously doesn't have the appropriate first name for the group).  As a lead vocalist and bass player for the R&B trio, Saadiq joined brother Dwayne Wiggins (Wiggins is Saadiq's real last name) and brother Timothy Christian to create one of the best-remembered R&B groups of the post-New Jack Swing era of the 90's.  After that, Saadiq was in Lucy Pearl, a short-lived group that included Dawn Robinson from En Vouge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad from A Tribe Called Quest. 

After producing a litany of albums and even making a few of his own, albeit to relatively little buzz, through the first part of this decade, Saadiq put out The Way I See It this year, which has earned critical acclaim, even if neo-soul has kind of struggled to find airplay in the ever-shrinking world of pop radio.  Love That Girl is the first single off the album. 

Like I said, they played this three times while I was in Atlanta for Swing & Soul.  I actually got a dance in with one of the vaunted Gindele Sisters with this song, which may be part of the reason I remember it, but it was also a toe-tapping, finger-snapping kind of tune that just kind of stuck in my brain.  I picked it up on iTunes the day after Swing & Soul ended and I've since used it once in my Christmas Party DJ set. 

It's just a good tune.  Take a listen and you might want to consider getting the whole album. 

Enjoy. 
Currently listening:
The Way I See It
By Raphael Saadiq
Release date: 2008-09-16
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
December 28, 2008 - Sunday 11:39 AM

Current mood:  bored
Category: Sports
Greetings, Bubblerites.  It's Saturday night, I'm not doing crud, I'm bored out of my mind and the laundry is piling up.  So what am I doing? 

Writing something about sports. 

Oh well. 

Granted, today was kind of a clear-cut day for our local sports teams. 

First off, the Badgers got destroyed by Florida state in the Champs Sports Bowl.  Goodness knows anyone familiar with the Sportsblog knows I wasn't rooting for the Badgers today, and I'm not going to call myself an expert in Badger football, but I kinda saw this coming. 

First off, this is the way the Badgers season has gone.  One letdown after another has kind of been the way of the world for the Badgers this year, so yet another disappointment didn't seem unlikely.  Furthermore, this was a down year for the Big Ten in general -- the whole conference got beaten by an octagenarian man -- and while Florida State considered this year to be a disappointment by their usual standards, you knew what kind of team they were going to have and it's not the kind of team the Badgers match up well against. 

Florida State always has been and always will be a team that is likely more athletic than any team the Badgers will ever put together.  For Wisconsin to beat a team like the Seminoles, the Badgers would have had to have played Barry Alvarez-style football, running the ball like there's no tomorrow and just not letting FSU have much of an opportunity to score, especially since the Badgers' secondary has looked like swiss cheese this season and you knew that any semblance of health for Christian Ponder would mean bad news for the Badgers on the defensive side of the ball. 

(Aside:  Anyone notice that bad secondaries are a trend in State of Wisconsin football this year?) 

What we got instead, though, was what we've seen a lot of this year:  Dustin Sherer underachieving and the Badgers kind of trying to be something they just aren't yet, namely a team with a more-balanced attack than what Alvarez had when he was still in charge. 

It was a little frightening to see the old man on the field as Brett Bielema watched on in the fourth quarter.  I don't think Bielema's in any trouble just yet, but Barry kind of had that look on his face of "this wouldn't be happening if ... "

Florida State clearly had the better players and clearly deserved to win the game, being opportunistic and taking advantage of every Badger mistake.  Wisconsin has a long way to go and Sherer clearly wasn't the answer this season. 

If I were a Badger fan, I'd feel a little sorry for P.J. Hill.  I'm not, though, so I won't. 

One last thing:  Is there anywhere Bobby Bowden goes where he doesn't have a state trooper around him?  I know he's like a god in Florida and all, but c'mon, his protection seems more visible than the president's.  They showed a cut-shot of Bowden entering the Champs Sports Bowl banquet and the trooper was even walking with him there.  It's a banquet, for cryin' out loud.  No one's going to attack you there. 


Anyhow, from a team I enjoy seeing lose to one I don't:  The Bucks also got it handed to them tonight, although it was by the Pistons. 

It's been a while since we've talked about the Bucks, so let's discuss a little:  First off, I don't mind the Bucks falling to the Pistons.  There are kind of three levels that concern me right now in the Eastern Conference:  At the top, of course, are the Celtics, who are clearly the class of the league.  In the second level are the Pistons, Magic and Cavaliers, each of whom has a superstar (Allan Iverson, Dwight Howard and some guy named LeBron) and each of whom I feel the need to take really seriously in the East.  Yes, I know the Hawks have a better record than the Bucks, and yes, the Hawks have a lot of pieces, but no, I'm not that scared of the Hawks.  If they make a run, it'll be more of a surprise than anything else.  Even as improved as they are, they seem to me to have spent a lot of their playoff energy with their current group on taking the Celtics to the limit in the first round last season. 

Then there's the third level, where a lot of teams are just hiding out, like the Hawks, a scary Miami team and, yes, the Bucks.  The Bucks have actually put together a lot of different things this year and it's hard not to like the way they're playing.  They're doing the little things right all of a sudden.  They're definitely rebounding as their numbers are up near the top of the league.  They're playing pretty good defense and staying in games by keeping opponents from getting to the hoop.  Andrew Bogut is kind of coming into his own.  Richard Jefferson has been a big help.  It seems like the team chemistry, while not exactly perfect, seems to have improved greatly. 

I do kind of think the idea of Joe Alexander making it into the Slam Dunk Contest is kind of a joke -- yeah, he's a big-time dunker, but he's also not what I would consider to be an established star and I think the dunk contest has been meaningless since the established stars have been shying away.  Howard is in the contest this year, and it's fun watching Nate Robinson do his Spud Webb impersonation, but Rudy Gay?  I don't think he's selling a lot of sneakers just yet while your choices besides Alexander are Rudy Fernandez and Russell Westbrook.  Nope, not excited about that vote.  I mean, I'll vote for Alexander, but does anyone think he's going to make you want to watch the dunk contest? 

Dr. J, Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins made a name in the dunk contest.  Those guys were stars.  Where's D-Wade?  Why have we never seen LeBron?  Hmm?  They could get hurt?  Last I checked, the NBA as a whole is about entertainment and I'd be far more entertained if the guys who won gold medals this summer were a little more visible when it came to events like this instead of appearing only on SportsCenter and when they happen to come to town.  Alexander isn't even a starter on the lowest-valued team in the NBA.  Sorry -- I wish you had to earn your way into these things by at least having been voted to the All-Star roster a few times rather than just getting in on the basis of being the "next new thing."  (This is part of the reason I don't like the NBA in general.) 

My two cents. 

Anyhow, I digress:  The Bucks have reason to believe they can beat just about anyone on their tier or underneath, assuming they can stay healthy. 

At this stage of the game, I think we'd be very happy if the Bucks made the playoffs and I think they're capable of that and thensome if they keep playing the way they've been playing.  You have to like a team that puts it together like the Bucks do and part of me thinks that it's possible Charlie Bell can start turning it on a little more and/or Luc Mbah a Moute can develop more of a scoring touch to make the Bucks a little more dangerous on the offensive end. 

This Bucks team will be fine, so don't let tonight's performance fool you.  Oh, and that change in chemistry -- that's why they won't have the same swoon we've seen from the Bucks in recent years.  This Bucks team is not only younger but appears to be a little hungrier and has something to prove to a lot of people.  If the Bucks do make the playoffs, the bandwagon's going to get a little tight, so you might want to hop on now. 

I'm faced with a choice tomorrow:  Watch the Packers/Lions game or go see Marquette take on Presbyterian.  I'm probably going to go see Marquette, both because they're the organization that pays me and because I'm that confident -- yes, that confident -- that the Packers will send the Lions to an 0-16 record tomorrow.  As pathetic as the Packers have been lately, the Lions are legendarily pathetic to be just as bad as they are and I think the Packers will see tomorrow not only as their one shot at redemption for a terrible season but know just how important it is to not become a football joke that will last you through eternity.  A big win over the Lions tomorrow, in what will certainly be a hard-fought game, can give the Packers a positive note to end the year on heading into an off-season where I'm kind of hoping Ted Thompson decides to get off his duff and make some changes to a lot of different pieces of the team (the offensive line, the secondary, the depth in the defensive linebacker corps and the defensive line, etc.). 

Quick thoughts.  That's it.  More soon. 

Photo:  Joe Alexander (Morry Gash/AP/Yahoo! Sports)
 
2 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
December 27, 2008 - Saturday 2:25 PM

Current mood:  groggy
Category: Parties and Nightlife
Howdy, folks. 

For the record, we'll get back to Sportsblogging at some point.  There are thoughts I have on the Packers season and I'm glad Mark Attenasio being the owner to finally speak out against Yankee aggression.  I'm battling my every-so-often funky sleep pattern right now, though, which means I'm spending my days kind of groggy and my nights trying to get myself back on track.  That said, I'm trying to stay awake some during the day and evening, but I'm finding my awake time is generally spent kind of brain dead. 

It's a lot easier for me to just list songs I've played at swing events than it is to try and process intelligent sports thoughts.  Plus, I've had to catch up on this stuff for quite some time.  So I'm hammering some of this out right now.  We'll get back to the sports talk eventually. 

Anyhow, we flash back today to October 9, another set during soccer season, which could have meant trouble but didn't seem to this year.  Nonetheless, in my fall/winter streak of good sets, this is probably the least worthwhile of all of them. 

The challenge of the month for October was "fast Lindy," which I knew I could conquer but was still a little afraid of.  My mid-tempo portions of my set tend to take off on me sometimes.  What sounds mid-tempo with the headphones on at the dining room table in Brookfield sometimes comes out as up-tempo at Hot Water.  Unfortunately, that's a transitive thing, which means that my up-tempo set might have been a little too fast. 

A little fun insight:  Here's what an average Radio Kid set looks like, broken down by percentages of the dance I think best fits the song: 

          Mid-Tempo 'Regular' Lindy Hop - 47.7 percent
                           'Slow' Lindy - 12.9
                           'Fast' Lindy - 10.9
                                  Blues - 6.9
                              Six-Count - 6.0
                             Charleston - 4.3
Group Dances (Shim-Sham, Cupid Shuffle) - 2.6
                                 Balboa - 2.5
    Other (includes announcement songs) - 6.3

That said, you'd expect a normal 35-song set to have the following: 

17   Mid-Tempo Lindy Hop songs
Five 'Slow' Lindy Hops
Four 'Fast' Lindy Hops
Two  Blues songs
Two  Announcements
Two  Six-Count songs
Two  Charlestons
One  Group Dance

You can probably imagine how these fall out in an average night, too. 

Now compare that to what I ended up playing Oct. 9. 

10 (28.6 percent) 'Fast' Lindy Hop songs
Eight (22.9)      'Mid-Tempo' Lindy Hops
Five (14.3)       Charlestons
Three (8.6)       Blues songs
Three (8.6)       Announcements
Two (5.7)         'Slow' Lindy Hops
Two (5.7)         Balboas
Two (5.7)         Group Dances

We ended up playing almost three-time as much fast Lindy Hop as we normally do, which was fine because that was the intent of the night.  But the number of Charlestons and Balboas also went up, which means I kind of overshot the speed of the Lindy I was intending.  In looking at the set list, I labeled three of the first six songs as 'Charleston' tunes, meaning I got a little out of hand right in the beginning. 

I got compliments on the set, with people saying it fit the theme well and was an interesting mix.  But I couldn't help but notice that keeping people on the floor was a real challenge.  After my second announcement and a Cupid Shuffle, I pulled out At Last by Etta James and really took the night down a few notches in terms of speed;  the crowd reacted well and I think it kept the night going. 

There's an interesting dynamic at Hot Water when it comes to Charleston, Bal and fast dances:  If they're taught, specifically by a not-every-week group of teachers like Patty & Lars or Adam & Becky, they draw people out to do the dance in coordination with the lesson.  Put out a plug that you're going to have someone different come in and teach Charleston and you'll have people out doing it.  Otherwise, though, Hot Water has a pretty strong Lindy bent.  Ask Karl or me to DJ and there's a good chance people are going to expect, and want, Lindy Hop.  I usually give it to them, but given that month's theme, I tried to oblige.  I was a little off the mark, the theme didn't fully connect with the dancers, and the result was a night where there was a lot of talking by the bar. 

So it goes.  You live and you learn. 

There were still a lot of songs from that set that I will pull and use later.  Nonetheless, it was a set I didn't have a ton of time to plan out ("Ring out ahoya ... ") and I think it kind of ended up being less than my high standards, even if it lived up to everyone else's. 

To the tunes: 

Bone Dry - Louis Jordan
Sunday - Benny Carter
Bob White (I'm Gonna Swing Tonight) - Bing Crosby & Connee Boswell
Prozac - Bellevue Cadillac
Sweet Georgia Brown - Diane Schuur
Apologies - Benny Carter
Ooo Wee - Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
Portrait of Louis Armstrong - Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Sweet Little Sixteen - Chuck Berry
Blue Lou - Django Reinhardt
Dear Hearts and Gentle People - Dinah Shore
Daddy-O - Hipster Daddy-0 & The Hagrenades
Transition:  Let's Dance - Benny Goodman
Shim Sham:  It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It) - Dutch Swing College Band
Splanky - Count Basie
Are You Fer It - Nat King Cole
Dig That Crazy Chick - Sam Butera
Was I? - Madeleine Peyroux
Shake It - Metro Station
Bad Businessman - Squirrel Nut Zippers
Killin' Jive - Girls From Mars
Begin the Beguine - Barry Forge & Roland Shaw
Mine - Bing Crosby & Judy Garland
Transition:  Winning - The Natural Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Cupid Shuffle:  Cupid Shuffle - Cupid
At Last - Etta James
Feelin' Good - Pussycat Dolls
Baby Keep Smilin' - Lou Bega
You Never Can Tell - Chuck Berry
It's Only a Paper Moon - Benny Goodman
Mr. Pinstripe Suit - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
Natural Man - Lou Rawls
If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight - Dinah Washington
Goodbye:  Aloha Oe - Elvis Presley

We had an inordinate amount of requests on this particular evening:  The Cupid Shuffle, Shake It, At Last and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy were all from the request line, so to speak.  Like I said, the crowd in attendance was in a good mood and lively -- just not dancing a whole lot.  I tried a couple different things to pull people onto the floor, but I just was kind of feeling a vibe that said more people were interested in hanging out than dancing.  It's my job to try and change that, but sometimes there's just nothing I can do. 

To borrow a popular phrase from the year 2007, "it was what it was."  Not spectacular, not awful, just ... meh. 

You can't wow 'em all the time, particularly when you're playing out of your element. 

My next chance to hook the laptop up to the Hot Water sound system would come on Oct. 30 as part of the Halloween program.  With four DJs, a costume contest and two rounds of a Jack & Jill competition on tap, my Halloween set would end up being the shortest of any set I've had the chance to do.  There wouldn't really be time to get any momentum going, so the set will read more as a listing of songs than it will a cohesive DJ set because that's pretty much what it was. 

We'll worry about that more, though, when we get there.  And that will be another time. 
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
December 25, 2008 - Thursday 7:49 PM

Current mood:  recumbent
Category: Parties and Nightlife
Merry Christmas, everyone. 

Given that I'm still trying to catch up from my summer away from the blog, I figure I should take this time on Christmas morning before the fam comes over to hammer out another setlist from earlier this year.  We hop in the Wayback machine and head back to September for this one. 

Sets during soccer season scare me because it's my busiest time of year and there just isn't as much time to devote to listening to swing music when I'm trying to make sure I've got scripts all set and current music on tap for halftime and pre-game.  Fortunately, September's set this time around came during a relative lull in Marquette soccer matches, so I was able to hammer out a decent set during the week in preparation for Thursday at Hot Water. 

The set turned out to be more than decent.  It helped, though, to get a little help. 

September 4 at Hot Water was rather pathetically attended on a night when it was raining cats and dogs.  Part of it might have had something to do with the first First Friday of the year being the following night.  Some of it might have been the economy.  Some of it might have had to do with a glut of dancing nights within the swing scene.  Whatever.  It just wasn't a good night. 

The low attendance prompted Kerry to make an appeal to the scene on Facebook to come out the following Thursday. 

Come out they did -- in droves. 

Hot Water ended up being packed for my set and I wasn't going to complain.  My September set ended up being my longest since July 10, a night that ran long because the crowd came late after Jazz in the Park.  A long set means people are out in force and staying late, something I really like. 

It also helped that I changed my plan a little bit going into the night. 

Everyone knows I like to play a few songs every night that you probably wouldn't consider to be "swing" songs.  You know:  Pop.  It's kind of the signature of my style as a DJ.  There's just one problem with pop, though:  You have to play it at just the right time, particularly in Milwaukee, where the scene tends to skew older than it does elsewhere. 

The reasons for this are many.  First off, you need to spend the start of the night establishing the venue as one for swing and you need to show everyone you know what swing dancing is really all about.  Secondly, like any good night, the up-tempo stuff needs to be near the beginning or middle.  It shouldn't be at the very beginning, because you need to wind people up to that point.  But it should be earlier rather than later, because people tire out and don't want to do bal before they go home.  Thirdly, pop doesn't appeal to the older crowd.  They probably don't listen to much current music, or aren't real into it, and there's a good chance many of them come to swing to escape current pop.  Play it too early and you turn them off.  Play it too late, though, and it's after most people really care to dance to it. 

Generally, this meant that my pop section would best be slated about three-quarters of the way through the night:  Kind of as the 'last hurrah' of faster music before we slow things down for the end of the evening. 

There was something I started to discover, though, when I did that through the summer:  A lot of people took the pop as their signal to leave.  Older dancers tended to do this more often.  It was as if the pop was their signal:  The night's getting too young for me now;  I better go. 

With that in mind, I headed into my September set with a plan:  Move the pop up, not much, but slightly, more towards the middle of the set.  That way, most of the folks there wouldn't be satisfied with their night and stick around past the pop section, or at least take it more seriously.  Then, with more standards and regular swing tunes, people would stay later and the night would be even more of a success. 

The results were exactly what I was hoping for. 

Given that most nights average 40 songs or so, I usually place transitions (places where I address the crowd) about 15 and 25 songs into the night and I usually wind up to the pop around song 30 or so.  On this particular night, though, I moved my second transition up a few songs and went pop immediately after that.  Part of the success had to do with the fact I led with two great songs in the wind-up:  Brass 'n' Ivory is an uncredited song off an album of breezy, 60's bachelor-pad kind of music called Further In Flight Entertainment, which has a soulful undertone and a driving horn section.  I followed that with I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch), which everyone loved.  From there, we debuted Shake It by Metro Station to the swing scene, which was also a riotous success. 

Then, though, we brought it back with Bette Midler, Bert Kaempfert and Frank Sinatra, just as a reminder to everyone of all ages why they should stick around and why the night shouldn't end. 

You look at that mix of six songs right there and it pretty much sums up my philosophy as a DJ.  You want to talk about across the board -- to go from Metro Station to Sinatra in four songs is kinda wild.  But that's how I do it. 

We had a lot of fun in September, extending the set to 43 songs.  Without further ado, here's what they were: 

Yes Indeed - Ray Charles
St. James Infirmary - Hot Lips Page & His Orchestra
Sisters - Bette Midler with Linda Ronstadt
Tippin' In - Erskine Hawkins
Duke's Place [Live Performance Recording] - Ella Fitzgerald
Benny Rides Again - Benny Goodman
Sure Had A Wonderful Time Last Night - B.B. King
Whiskey Do Your Stuff - Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
Push Out - Benny Carter
Mildred, Won't You Behave? - The Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra
Can You Take It - Fletcher Henderson
Caldonia - Louis Jordan
Broadway - Count Basie
Opus One - Gene Krupa
Transition:  Let's Dance - Benny Goodman
Shim-Sham:  Shim-Sham Song
On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever) - Lou Rawls
Hi-Fly - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Oh Babe! - The Love Dogs
Rockin' Rollers' Jubilee - Erskine Hawkins
Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Lionel Hampton
All Night Long - Sam Butera
Transition:  Winning - The Natural Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Brass 'n' Ivory - Further In Flight Entertainment
I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) - The Four Tops
Shake It - Metro Station
On a Slow Boat to China - Bette Midler with Barry Manilow
Intermission Riff - Bert Kaempfert
The Way You Look Tonight - Frank Sinatra
In a Mellow Tone - Louis Armstrong
Fire - Babyface and Des'ree
I Wish You Love - Blossom Dearie
Frim Fram Sauce - Diana Krall
There Goes the Neighborhood - Roomful of Blues
(Today's the Day) I'm Glad I'm Not Dead - Indigo Swing
I'd Rather Go Blind - Etta James
Don't Know Why - Norah Jones
The Continental - Les & Larry Elgart
Hello, Dolly! - Louis Armstrong
Tell Me What Have I Done Wrong - O-Tones
Black Beauty - Duke Ellington
The Girl from Ipanema - Nat King Cole
Goodbye:  Happy Trails - Roy Rodgers & Dale Evans

Random notes:  Sisters turned out to be a fortuitous selection since one of the girls in the crowd said that was a song she and her sister kind of shared as their own.  Sometimes, as a DJ, you just luck out. 

I also had a request for things to be blusier later from an out-of-town dancer who seemed kind of enamored with Becky.  He was good, though, and Becky didn't seem to mind, so I was happy to oblige with Fire.  Having seen Doberman Doug at the Christmas party Tuesday night, I suppose I need to credit him for not only turning me on to that song way back when at Red Arrow Park and Lindy in the Dark, but also for kind of influencing my style of playing anything and everything that swings.  There you go. 

I got a much-welcomed resbit from doing the swing DJ thing after Sept. 11, as I would focus on soccer until Oct. 9.  That set would be a part of "Fast Lindy" month with Cream City Swing and while it would earn compliments and challenge me as a slower-music kind of guy, I saw some flaws in things I did that I'll talk through when I write. 

More on that later, though.  Enjoy your egg nog. 
Currently listening:
Hello, Dolly! (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
By Barbra Streisand
Release date: 1994-11-08
 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Dan Pfeifer

Dan Pfeifer


Last Updated: 3/19/2009

Send Message
Instant Message
Email to a Friend
Subscribe

Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 27
City: Brookfield
State: Wisconsin

Blog Archive
[Older      Newer]
 /  / 
>