Hockey
Things On My Mind, Part 4
07/27/08 Filed in: Bunkum
• I’m on my way to recovery from a nasty bout
with the flu. Hit me hard Wednesday evening, and I
was useless for three days. (More useless than usual,
some would say.) I was able to work today, but my
head is still clogged and my throat is scratchy. I
hope I’ll be full rid of it soon.
• I’ve been mulling over my Winter Sporting Event Entertainment Options. Since I’m spending many of my days uptown, a mere two blocks from the arena, I can–if I so choose–attend minor league hockey and major league basketball games without having to pay for parking. Football tickets are not in the picture. How anybody can afford to attend NFL games is beyond me. Hockey tickets are easy to come by and no real drain on the wallet, and I can easily get seats at the glass on the Blue Line for most games, but good basketball seats are another animal entirely. Time Warner Cable Arena is not like the old LA Sports Arena, where one could pay $10 for corner nosebleed seats, but move down several sections when the crowd realized they were watching the Clippers. And though these Bobcats have been Clipper-like in the win column during their brief history, the NBA has changed. Now $10 will get you in the door, but when you do get your corner nosebleed seat, heavily armed security makes sure you stay in your assigned section. Unless you go to the loo, or the concession area. And there’s the answer: Restrooms and concessions are located several times closer to the action than the cheap seats. If one doesn’t mind standing around the nacho stand, one can generally have a good view of the action from the eateries. I don’t know that I’d want to make a habit of it, but security isn’t going to hassle you if you’re spending money on over-priced hot dogs or chowing on same while standing at the rail.
• We seem to have acquired another cat, though not officially. Another male tabby, but larger than any of ours, has been visiting regularly, acting as if he owns the joint. He and Binx got into it last week, and Binx was limping around for a few days, but now seems resigned to being Alpha Cat Emeritus. The new male, whom I’ve dubbed Wannabe, bears a striking resemblance to our Sophie, so much so that each of the girls at least once have let him in the house, mistakenly believing him at first glance to be Sophie. This confuses the other cats, but both Twidge and Cisco appear fascinated by him and follow him at a safe distance to see what he’s getting up to. And when I pulled in the driveway tonight, there was Wannabe trotting up behind the car to greet me. My hope is that he’ll be enough of a presence to ward off the other random one that comes around, the mysterious round-headed black cat. With whom Binx, of course, had a major tussle this morning.
• Bob, I agree that Gladiator vs the Mannings is a million dollar idea. Unfortunately, the medical expenses would exceed a million easily. Puppets, man...think of something with puppets. People fuckin LOVE puppets.
• I’ve been mulling over my Winter Sporting Event Entertainment Options. Since I’m spending many of my days uptown, a mere two blocks from the arena, I can–if I so choose–attend minor league hockey and major league basketball games without having to pay for parking. Football tickets are not in the picture. How anybody can afford to attend NFL games is beyond me. Hockey tickets are easy to come by and no real drain on the wallet, and I can easily get seats at the glass on the Blue Line for most games, but good basketball seats are another animal entirely. Time Warner Cable Arena is not like the old LA Sports Arena, where one could pay $10 for corner nosebleed seats, but move down several sections when the crowd realized they were watching the Clippers. And though these Bobcats have been Clipper-like in the win column during their brief history, the NBA has changed. Now $10 will get you in the door, but when you do get your corner nosebleed seat, heavily armed security makes sure you stay in your assigned section. Unless you go to the loo, or the concession area. And there’s the answer: Restrooms and concessions are located several times closer to the action than the cheap seats. If one doesn’t mind standing around the nacho stand, one can generally have a good view of the action from the eateries. I don’t know that I’d want to make a habit of it, but security isn’t going to hassle you if you’re spending money on over-priced hot dogs or chowing on same while standing at the rail.
• We seem to have acquired another cat, though not officially. Another male tabby, but larger than any of ours, has been visiting regularly, acting as if he owns the joint. He and Binx got into it last week, and Binx was limping around for a few days, but now seems resigned to being Alpha Cat Emeritus. The new male, whom I’ve dubbed Wannabe, bears a striking resemblance to our Sophie, so much so that each of the girls at least once have let him in the house, mistakenly believing him at first glance to be Sophie. This confuses the other cats, but both Twidge and Cisco appear fascinated by him and follow him at a safe distance to see what he’s getting up to. And when I pulled in the driveway tonight, there was Wannabe trotting up behind the car to greet me. My hope is that he’ll be enough of a presence to ward off the other random one that comes around, the mysterious round-headed black cat. With whom Binx, of course, had a major tussle this morning.
• Bob, I agree that Gladiator vs the Mannings is a million dollar idea. Unfortunately, the medical expenses would exceed a million easily. Puppets, man...think of something with puppets. People fuckin LOVE puppets.
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Kickin Ice
01/10/08 Filed in: Bunkum
Nearly every Checkers game has some sort of theme or promotion, and tonight was "Thirsty Thursday", which I think is a two for one beer deal, enabling the many bankers who work uptown to come to the game and get buzzed for half price. Were I a drinker, it would've been a good deal, but I settled for some popcorn and soda. Aside from a couple of goofballs who settled in behind us during the second period, we didn't encounter any untoward behavior, though a guy on the other side of the ice was escorted out by security, which was documented on the jumbotron and seemed to be at least as interesting to the crowd as was the game.
Friday night's big promo is the unveiling of the new Checkers logo. It's felt that the current image is too 'soft', I guess. The team name is a nod to the NASCAR crowd (for the checkered flag that is waved for auto racing), but the mascot, as you can see above, is a cartoon polar bear. A polar bear named Chubby. Chubby Checker. (Yes, The Twist is played at least once during each game.) To my knowledge, polar bears aren't native to North Carolina, and another team in the league, The Alaska Aces, also use a polar bear as their mascot, and Polar Bears have been sighted in Alaska fairly regularly. So, will the new logo somehow reflect the auto-centric culture of the area? A Cars-like mascot? We'll see.
Friday update: Nope. Meet the new Charlotte Checkers logo:
And, for reference, The Alaska Aces logo:
Hmmm. Sort of city mouse/country mouse, if you ask me.
I wonder if the Checkers will alter the mascot outfit, which reminds me of one the Banana Splits suits I wore in my first job years ago at Kings Island? (Ugh. I just looked at the Kings Island site. Understandably, the place has changed so much in 30 years. I doubt I'd recognize it.)
Chubby Checker
Bingo, Snorky, Fleegle, Drooper (seated)
For the record, though not in this publicity still, I was Drooper the Lion. And years later, when I was doing The Adventures of Doc Savage radio series, I worked with Robert Towers, who was inside the Snorky costume for the original series in the late 60's.
