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.

---

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.

---

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.

YMCA Is Coming To The New Stadium? Why?

I was watching the updated version of "Cathedrals of the Game: Yankee Stadium" on MLBHD last night and caught this little tidbit from Lon Trost at the end:

(Sorry for the terrible quality)


In light of reading an article this morning entitled "Stadium Laden With Trost's Fingerprints", I would tend to take the man at his word. I'm not a fan of your fingerprints, Mr. Trost.

Obviously, the emphasis was on carrying over traditions from the Old Stadium, but this "tradition" started in 1996. The song had been out since 1978, it's not like it was an original idea. YMCA blared in every roller skating rink I was unfortunate enough to have attended an elementary school birthday party at.

If they had dumped that kitschy convention, no one would have missed it after the third homestand. It was a perfect place to part ways, but now we are stuck with it indefinitely. Is Cotton Eye Joey going to make the trip too? I say that sarcastically, but seriously, if it does, we may have to organize a boycott.

Just like the food options, this is an instance when tradition is a bad thing. Do you think anyone would miss Famous Famiglia Pizza if Ray's got the contract? The Yankees represent New York City, not just the Old Stadium. There should be burrito places, Gray's Papaya, deli's, burger joints, and Chinese take-out in along with pizza, sausages and Cracker Jacks.

There's a difference between tradition and nostalgia.

I guess everyone was going to find out tonight (or maybe not...), but that is still really disappointing.