Bring a dish to pass, just don’t dish out any mishaps:
— A number of local sports bars spent the biggest Packer games of the season, or playoffs, by doing things such as hosting pot luck lunches where everyone brought a dish to pass, which was often supplemented by other football-friendly, free food offerings. These have historically included a lets-all-get-along celebration of the twice-annual Viking-Packer contest at the Mallalieu Inn in North Hudson, and homemade Italian fare or hot dogs at Mudds and Sudds, also in the village. However, with no Green Bay in the Super Bowl, the rule of thumb that’s not quite universal is to play this Sunday low-key as far as food — nothing out of the ordinary. As a worker at Sidetrack Saloon in Roberts termed it, a Packer presence would have increased customer traffic several-fold, so much so that they would have gone beyond shared appetizers and brought in a catered meal.
— The Viking guy who hangs out at Guv’s Place in Houlton says that he only gets out his horned Purple Puppet on rare occasions, when he really needs a lift. I wonder what the puppet status is these days.
— As ESPN would say, there is breaking news about Deflategate, concerning the idea that Patriot footballs aren’t the only things that aren’t too pumped up. There is the revelation that Tom Brady has small hands, first reported by his supermodel wife. She should know. (Just kidding).
— Word has it that in recent times out and about, one person fell one story off a bar deck and another one yard off a bar rail, and both got banged up a bit. This brings to mind one time when surprisingly, no one was hurt when a guy who was dancing downtown to a rock band swung his partner over his head — and dropped her! So a word to the wise, have your fun but be careful out there.
— Someone who was less careful while out in the crowd during a Twin Cities gig actually ended up dead. This is reported by a local singer who was onstage fronting his band at the time, and still sounds shook up, since there apparently was some mischief going on. This is surprising, since these low-key guys — in style of music and in character — aren’t exactly mosh pit material, but it still put a chill on them getting gigs for a while.
— Even though this is the depth of winter, there still have been some well-attended events. The Kozy Korner outdoor bean bag tournament drew 36 people, and the registration for bar olympics held at this and other establishments sold out a week in advance. And to think it was less then two months ago that the Smilin’ Moose on a more balmy day had one of its patio doors open a foot to let in the fresh, but not too frosty air.