Quick Pint&Pen&Paper | Irish Rugby | Method to the Madness March | Wanna Be A Baller | Local Ice Pond Talk | THE PLAYERS Championship
Quick Pint&Pen&Paper Week 10 Vol III Feature
Willie McBride’s 3/6 ‘23
Service & Staff: A+
Guinness: 9.2
Guinness Challenge: I Failed.
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Faye is the bartender. She’s worked here for 2 years. Her favorite meal on the menu is Irish Chicken Club. Her favorite drinks to make are old fashions and margaritas. They have live music every Friday and Saturday night. “Not a Washington bar, if you’re here, you had the intention of being here.” On Saint Patrick’s Day, they have live Irish music. The owner is from County Mayo. They are a sports bar and draw a large football crowd. Willie McBrides is host to trivia on Wednesdays. During the week, HIVE Leagues play beer pong and corn hole in the back. County Mayo pictures are all over the walls. A whole corner of the bar is dedicated to The Captain #Re2pect. They are proud to still sell 20 oz pints of Guinness, as they should.
Willie McBride’s provides a free limo to the pub if you’re in the Hoboken area on Friday and Saturday nights. “There are no strangers here, only friends we have yet to meet” here. Every year around Saint Patrick’s Day they present an Irish Man & Woman of the Year.
This leads to a nice segway into a great humbling tune…
This tune is about a young Irish soldier from “The Great War” as known as World War I.
Not that this really matters, but the real-life “Young Willie McBride” was actually 21 at the time of his death. Willie McBride died in the No Man’s Land of trench warfare in Authuille, France. (Source: Independent.ie)
This has to be one of the saddest choruses ever written and sung, but it does speak to the tragedy of war.
1916 was a massive year for Irish Independence. A total of 206,000 Irishmen served in the British forces during the war, 140,000 of which were volunteers. When the War first broke out, nobody had any idea of how brutal it would become. Technology and weaponry in the early 1900s might seem very simple as compared to today, but this was a time when soldiers like Young Willie McBride may have thought they’d be heroic charging at their enemies on horseback.
My dad’s been playing this tune since I was a kid. When I first moved to Hoboken, Willie McBride’s always stuck out as a great Irish pub, but I’m not sure too many Americans my age have heard the song behind it.
The song's Scottish composer, Eric Bogle, used Young Willie McBride to represent all fallen soldiers of “The Great War” generation.
Interested in becoming a cobbler before war broke out, a teenage Willie would serve his time in the 'shoe trade'. Initially he worked as an apprentice in Aitkens, Cootehill. He then went to Irvinestown for a short time before moving to work in Belfast. Eager to do his bit for the war effort, Willie enlisted in the army in Belfast just nine months before his death. He would serve with the 9th Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers which was formed in Omagh in September 1914 and was known as 'the Tyrones'. Interestingly, the 12th battalion of the Inniskilling Fusiliers fought against the Irish rebels on Easter week in 1916 in Dublin with two of its soldiers dying and seven being wounded. On the day Willie McBride was killed fighting conditions in the trenches were even more devastating and bleak than usual. The rain poured in, men stood in water up to their waist – many half-waiting for death. Furious German shelling came on a continuous basis and sick men tried to hold onto their positions. It simply was hell on earth. The end was inevitable for most, including Willie McBride. (Source: Independent.Ie)
Irish Rugby
Ireland vs. Scotland | Sun. March 12 at 11 AM ET
@YouTheReader in the City area, I’m sure the match will be at a plethora of pubs but I know for sure it’ll be at P. McDaid’s Irish Pub (837 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019). They have a great pint of Guinness too!
Ireland and Scotland first started playing each on February 19, 1877. This will be the 140th match between the two nations. Ireland has won 68 of those contests, Scotland has won 66 of those matches, and they kissed each other’s sister on 5 occasions. Dating back to March ‘18, Ireland has won their last 7 meetings in a row and has actually won 11 of their last 12.
For the Irish, Johnny Sexton is back in the lineup after missing some time with a leg. The Irish captain is just 7 points away from breaking the all-leader point-scorer in fellow Irishman, Ronan O’Gara’s 557 Six Nations points. I don’t want to blow too much smoke up their arses but here is what some foreign press has had to say about Irish Rugby… SENZ Breakfast host Tony Kemp, “I got to thinking about while I was watching the game (between France & Ireland), and you’ve got Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa playing in the Rugby Championship, I think on the back of the European competition is leading us down the drain.” South African journalist, Daniel Gallan, was dumbfounded by the Irish brilliance, “Ireland and France occupy the top two positions on World Rugby’s rankings. This would have blown my mind a decade ago. England has won their last two tours to Australia. Wales has finally triumphed in South Africa and New Zealand’s indomitable aura has all but evaporated, a fact underlined by their near miss against Scotland in the Autumn. The ravens have left the tower. The sun is rising in the east. Nothing makes sense anymore.” Lastly, the Frenchman, Midi Olympique, had an article stating “The King of the world is Irish.” (Source: Six Nations Rugby)
In terms of somebody to score an Irish try, we’re clearly hoping for a Johnny Sexton touchdown (a try is worth 5 points). He could tie the record all on his own if he scores a try and proceeds to kick the extra point afterward (worth 2 points). Ronan O’Gara scored a drop goal in the GIF above to win the ‘09 Grand Slam. A drop goal is worth 3 points and in American football terms would be like if you can punt for a field goal.
Half-ass Opposition Research
The first mention of kilts is in 1538. They were worn as full-length garments by Gaelic-speaking Scots Highlander men. The knee-length kilt that we see today didn’t come around until the early 18th century. 55% of kilt-wearing men say they wear dark underwear and 38% go commando. Scottish women are huge fans of kilts, with 91% saying it is a very attractive look and the majority of them believe that nothing should be worn underneath. (Source: Authentic Vacations)
Method to the Madness March
Selection Sunday for March Madness is at 6 and 8 p.m. ET. The 68-team fields for the men's and women's NCAA DI basketball tournaments will be released on CBS.
So far, the following schools have won an automatic bid to the March Dance…
Kennesaw State (ASUN), Montana State (Big Sky), UNC Asheville (Big South), College of Charleston (CAA), Northern Kentucky (Horizon League), Drake (Missouri Valley), Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast), Southeast Missouri State (Ohio Valley), Colgate (Patriot League), Furman (South), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Southland), Oral Roberts (Summit League), Louisiana (Sun Belt), and Gonzaga (West Coast).
UCLA’s Senior Guard, Jaime Jaquez Jr, was named the Pac-12’s Conference Player of the Year. He is the first Bruin to win the award since Kevin Love back in ‘08.
Gonzaga’s Senior Forward, Drew Timme, is still in school, confirmed. This will be Timme’s final March representing Spokane as Gonzaga’s all-time leader in points scored has declared for the NBA Draft. This season he has averaged career highs in points (20.9) and rebounds (7.3).
Xavier’s Junior Forward, Colby Jones, plays as smoothly as his backdoor cut & pass in the GIF above. He averages 15.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and leads the Musketeers in assists with 4.5 per game.
Texas A&M’s Sophomore Point Guard, Wade Taylor IV, led the Aggies to their first-ever home win against a Top 5 opponent when they beat Bama last week. WTIV dropped a career-high 28 points in the victory.
A local team not listed in the group above, Fordham University, is making noise in the A10 Tournament. Led by Senior Point Guard, Darius Quisenberry, for the 1st time since ‘06 and just the 2nd time in program history, The Rams are in the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball semifinals. Expect a raucous crowd at the Barclay’s Center tomorrow afternoon as they take on Dayton at 3:30 PM ET.
Wanna Be A Baller
Both the Knicks and Nets would still be in the NBA playoffs if the season ended today. The Knicks have now lost 2 straight after a 9 game-winning streak. The Nets are hoping to stay in the 6th spot, as the NBA Play-In Tournament features 7th through 10th seeds.
Manhattan’s Josh Hart
Although Josh Hart has only been on the Knicks for a bit over a month, the guard out of Villanova has already become a fan favorite. He has a knack for always finding the ball and plays with great energy. Even in last night’s loss to the Kings, Hart had 15 rebounds, 8 of which were offensive rebounds. Earlier this week when asked about the Knicks coming out slow, Hart said, "You got people getting up at 6 A.M. doing 12-hour shifts. Those guys are tired. We're playing a game." (Source: @sny_knicks) It might just be time to Tape Up.
Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton
When Brooklyn drafted Nic Claxton out of Georgia with the 31st pick in the 2nd Round of the ‘19 NBA Draft, they would probably admit they were playing the lottery. While Claxton may never be the centerpiece of an offense, he has certainly shown signs that he can be a cornucopia (look it up on The Google) on defense. His 2.6 blocks per game lead the NBA amongst players that have played in 50 games thus far this season. Claxton has also developed a nice finishing ability around the rim and is very good at dunk-shot alley-oops.
Local Ice Pond Talk
Since last Friday, the Devils have lost ground on the Hurricanes, the Rangers have lost ground on the Devils, and the Islanders have overtaken the Penguins.
NJ’s Dawson Mercer
Dawson Mercer just keeps on scoring so that means I’ll have to keep on writing about him. In his last 11 games, Mercer has 11 goals and 8 assists for 19 points. He has scored 2 game-winning goals during his hot streak and keep in mind that every goal he scores from here on out is his career-high as he is only 21 years old & has 22 goals in ‘23.
Manhattan’s Patrick Kane
Patrick Kane has scored his first career goal as a New York Ranger. It helped spark a shootout victory over the Canadiens last night. After scoring 446 goals with the Chicago Blackhawks, Rangers’ fans are hoping there are plenty more to come from Kane in the Red, White, & Blue.