Monday, February 1, 2010

Beanpot, Burritos, And Bernie

Good morning Fackers. If August is the dog days of summer, then we need a name for this time of year. Spring Training is still sixteen days away and there's virtually nothing in the way of baseball news right now. We have the Super Bowl next Sunday and then football is gone until the fall. I won't care about NCAA basketball until conference tournaments start next month and I have zero interest in the NBA at any time of year. The NHL goes on its Olympic break in two weeks. The Olympics will feature a killer hockey tournament surrounded by a bunch of other garbage I don't care about, out of which NBC will painfully try to squeeze overwrought human interest stories. In short, this is the worst time of year sports wise, and that Old Man Winter has had a death grip on the tri-state area for the past several days makes it all the worse.

That said, this Monday and next will offer a little flicker of sporting hope for me as the annual Beanpot tournament will take place in Boston. Held on the first two Mondays of February each year, the tournament features the men's ice hockey teams from the four major Boston schools: Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern, and Harvard.

Clearly this isn't of major interest to the majority of our readership, but it's slim pickings this time year. Despite what some may say, the Beanpot is a great sporting event. For the schools involved, winning local bragging rights in the Beanpot is as important as winning their conference. For those of you with DirecTV or those in New England, you can catch the games on NESN. Harvard-BC is tonight at five, with BU-Northeastern at eight. The consolation game will be next Monday at five, with the championship at eight. If history holds, it will be BC and BU squaring off for the pot, with my Eagles looking to avenge losses to their arch rivals last Friday and last month at Frozen Fenway. And if you're looking for a remote Yankee related angle on the tournament, Harvard is coached by former Bruin, Islander, and Ranger forward Ted Donato, whose brother Danny spent three seasons in the Yankees' minor league system.

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Of course, the Beanpot is big business for our friends in Beantown, and local business are seizing upon it. Local restaurant chain Qdoba Mexican Grill is sponsoring a Rice & Bean Pot Burrito-Eating Contest for the students of the four participating schools. Aside from being an excuse to binge on delicious burritos, it's for a good cause. Proceeds from ticket sales to the contest finals will benefit the Kevin Youkilis Hits for Kids Foundation. We spew an awful lot of venom at Mr. Youkilis in these parts, but I think we can all agree that this is a worthy cause. If attending a competitive eating contest isn't your thing, you could still get in on the act by purchasing the "Youk Burrito" at Massachusetts Qdobas. Not only will a portion of the sale benefit the Foundation, but consuming the burrito is thought to help you grow hideous looking facial hair and develop a ridiculous looking batting stance. We encourage all our Massachusetts Fackers to take part.

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Lastly, in NYC-based charity news, Bernie Williams be performing tonight at Feinstein's at Loews Regency, located at 540 Park Avenue. The show starts at 8:00 PM, and all proceeds benefit Ed Randall's Bat for the Cure, dedicated to prostate cancer awareness, education, and prevention. Also on the bill for tonight are guitarists John Pizzarelli and Earl Klugh. Klugh has recorded and performed often with Derek Trucks Band drummer Yonrico Scott, but Yonrico does not appear to be on the roster for tonight.

4 comments:

  1. Matt, I've always found The Dead of Winter apt for this snowy, typically cold period. Admittedly, I'm keeping it simple. On the Olympics, I have to confess loving the speed/thrill sports such as the luge, bobsledding, downhill skiing, and ski jumping in addition to hockey, and I've warmed to one or two X-Games infusions such as the half-pipe. People going 80 MPH on/in a sled, skiis, or twirling six times fifty feet off the ground, or soaring like condors on skiis have my respect. Other than that, yeah, nordic combined, ice dancing, the moguls and the like do less than nothing for me.

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  2. Matt-

    As a student at BC, I appreciate this post. We had a tough loss in the first round of the Beanpot last year, but hopefully we'll win it all this year. Rankings-wise, we have the best of the four teams. So here's hoping BC pulls it out.

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  3. Jason -

    "Dead" certainly is an apt description for this time of year. I do enjoy watching the bobsled, luge, and skeleton, but not enough where it outweighs all the crap in which NBC envelops it. I'll stick to the hockey and that's about it.

    Jeff -

    Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Things here are obviously 95% Yankee-based, but I try to sneak something in on the Eagles here and there.

    Record and ranking wise we have the best team, but we've been cold of late. Harvard and BU have both been hot lately, and BU owns this tourney. Hopefully this is our year.

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  4. Matt, it's clear we're family. Take a look at my Facebook status - I wrote it before looking at this blog post today!

    PB

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