In a recent Minnesota Twins game, there were, what, eight of them runs that were doubled as they are Twins, as the home team led 16-0 after five innings, as viewed at Hudson Tap. This is not U.S. football with a couple of two-point conversions, and certainly not futbal, though they televise a lot of soccer. If there ever was a reason to invoke the old high school baseball and softball mercy rule, it was time, and I had been on both sides of that many a time back in my playing days. (The other pro ball squad shortly afterward scored a couple off the bench, not at benchmarks a single goal or three-point field goal, to dip just below the 15-run benchmark, so maybe there was still a Devil Ray of hope, but then it stung. It musta been against one of those soft knuckleball shortstops that are brought in to serve as relief pitchers and not waste a closer, or even set-up man.)
— Pier Five Hundred appears to have its deck area completely open, with construction on that done, and the area under a bigger roofed-patio extending eastward and now northward is a renewed attraction early on a summer night, but customer traffic can be spotty. That is the mantra for the entire town right now, as we bake in place.
The heat is on, again, and for those inconvenienced by a lack of air conditioning, the apex of the heat index is again on a Sunday. No library open, and the drug store only for limited hours, for those trying to escape.
And you are invited to roam and to scour food carts and other makers, and grab their veggie-laden wares of various types, on your way to some weekend live shows along the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers.
What caught my eye was a rather vague ad for a reggae fest at the Harbor Bar at Red Wing River City Days, saying a reggae band was on basically open to close, but it wasn’t clear which day, Friday or Saturday. Now I don’t care even if you’re just playing percussion, that stamina is impressive, but I couldn’t verify the start time via an online post, which was not fully opening in my browser. There are a number of bands on the bill, which makes it even more cool, in this heat. —
Just the other night, on the flipside of the two-state area, Milwaukee and its stellar pitching was due for a change-up shut-out, by a hot team that’s been known to do such this season. Meanwhile, just to the south in Chicago, and not just the south side, blowouts were also bestowed. Detroit was in the mix to, maybe on the receiving end. Nearby Toronto was up 5-0 the other day, in just the mid-third. And a man named Cease, ceased to allow a hit, tossing a ceaseless gem.
Such was not the case in the FIFA World Cup soccer finale, where Spain won 1-0. The loser, Argentina, in a replay, was acting like thugs and was down to ten angry men, like a Milwaukee-Chicago rivalry matchup. Not surprising, when you consider the country’s political regimes, if they set an example.
Back to my tenure, my nephews doubt and not daintily that I could dunk back in the day, if only barely, and a relative, actually his spouse, and a veteran of Winterfest past, the family gathering that was centered around sports, still recalls the specialized Horse basketball shots that included a ball being tossed and bounced off a roof on one hop before thus redirected to the basket positioned in the driveway. She also doubted, and said this was decades ago, that there was a time that when one of us had an open three-point shot, just like that, it was down. Like when my brother visited during my first job city and we dueled on three-pointers, and then over in Michigan, he then being on my side set a pick for me specifically to have a step-aside long jumper that swished.
A historical tapestry (is it as big as a basketball court, but really no, maybe pickleball) going back many centuries was recently shipped by methods with wheels, taken in total many times over — unlike modes of transport when it was first produced and included cool figures of knights and such that could have been sports team logos — to the point that we bring in jousting, maybe, as the sports connection.
This was the first time the tapestry has made it back to a place of origin, across countries, under apparently heavy police escort, since the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 when William the Conqueror took control of that European area. My wife claims to have relatives, multiple, from that very specific era, and she even has a family coat of arms. All this goes way beyond The Eras Tour, and Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce reportedly forking out not for dinner, as that would be much more, but for New York City permits, a sum of $160K for their wedding at Madison Square Garden. And Jennifer Lopez rocked that show with another booty hugging dress, some said, even moreso than the ESPYs host (see below) or the Knicks of which she is a fan, no small task. She and Swift still got it. Kamala Harris not so, as Swift kept her event where she decked out the whole garden like a well, garden, and kept it not-political and did not invite her, much to her dismay, even though Swift voted for her.
Everybody in the Twin Cities area has a Prince story. How about this one? Sports related.
An NBA great reflected on renting out his Bel Aire mansion, where he had barely spent any time, to Prince, who promptly redecorated the whole thing with things including a big purple carpet, complete with symbol, with promises that he would restore it before leaving, and coming up the lengthy drive to a motor pool area. Why, except ego and only regard for his own personal taste, would he waste all the time and expense to transform it, and then back again? And who needs a motor pool area?
But … hey, we at HudsonWiNightlife can be about extravagant men’s fashion, too. (I was called out by a holistic healer for only telling women what they should wear, when in reality, hey, I’m just reporting what I’m seeing.)
So there was the ESPYs host. Black shoes with no socks, shown when dancing around, but not patent leather with white. And a white collar that looks like it’s closed by a crossing velcro strip, much like a priest, with a small white appendage dangling downward, also like a priest.
Then enter in, what’s his name, golf’s current winner Ryan Fox, or Bryan Fox, or Dylan Fox, but heavens no, not Megan Fox.
He birdies the “final hole.” Wedged in with an iron, if you get my gist? Last couple on earth, possibly in the mix?
Then there was that legal action over an Ultimate Fighting injury (industry). Could this really happen, like in football and boxing? No … Like soccer athletes and their concussion headers that we haven’t heard much about, but they have to happen often. (See related story.)
It came up again in not-polite conversation; not somewhere you would go on a first date. Dancing Waters, maybe the Native American opposition seen in Major League, but actually a pool maintenance service call that was called out as being outstanding. Hey, maybe Trump should hire them? Waters dancing, or at least having their edges ebbing up, as if someone is peeing into the reflective pool. Then they are taken to the pool peeing prison precinct.