Meat Swap Musings

Another successful Meat Swap is in the books. A day dedicated to pure gluttony, the Meat Swap is the brainchild of Dan Aylward, who loves his meat as much as he loves his authentic Kevin Garnett jersey. The premise of the Meat Swap is quite simple. Meat, meat, meat and more meat. And booze. Vegetables, starches and fruits are forbidden, with meat being the only menu item. Yesterday we saw a forray of dead animal, from steak and lobster, alligator bites, deep fried shrimp, pigs in a blanket and meatballs, among other delicous treats. The day was also spent playing the world’s greatest drinking sport: Polish Horseshoes. Our friend J.T. introduced us to this gem of a game. For those who like bags, or baghole, or cornhole, as some call it, this game is for you as well. Each team of two places a ski pole in the ground with the handle up, placing an empty beer bottle on top. You must always have a drink in your hand, and the goal is to take turns throwing a frisbee at the pole, hopefully hitting the bottle of the pole. You can negate the points by catching the bottle before it hits the ground, but defense can prove to be a little tricky with a drink in your hand. Things got a little out of hand towards dusk, where we really couldn’t see the frisbees whizzing at us. At that point, we were more concerned with just getting out of the way and not taking a disc to the face or shin than we were with saving the bottle from hitting the ground. Good times.

I woke up this morning, sore and tired, and cleaned the kitchen as my roommate Brad slept on the sofa. I attempted to make as much racket as possible, blaring the TV and clanging pots and pans together, but he didn’t budge. I was hoping to wake him and guilt him into helping. Oh well. The story of interest on Sportscenter is the recent hire of Isiah Thomas as the Florida International men’s basketball team. This is the same man that is widely considered one of the worst general managers and head coaches in the history of the sport. He single-handedly destroyed the once-proud New York Knicks by signing free agents to overpriced contracts and missing the mark on draft day. Not that I really cared, I loved seeing the Knicks flounder for years. His private life was also marred with distress, mostly due to a sexual harassment charge that cost him and the franchise millions. The publicity stunt has paid off for FIU, however, with season ticket sales almost doubling from last year and former players, some 350 of them, contacting the program to inquire about the controversial hiring. Equally humorous was the footage of the official announcement as Thomas as coach, where the athletic director introduced him at a press conference as “Isiah Thompson”. Zeke played it off well, but you know it probably chapped his ass. Ladies and gentleman, your 2009 Golden Panthers!

I am going to go take a nap now. Good journey.