Heather On The Hill | Local Hoops | Local Puck | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune on this satisfying Saturday Sports is Heather On The Hill by Nathan Evans. He is a Scottish singer on the rise. This song came out earlier in ‘24. I hope you like sea shanties. The month of March in the lead-up to Saint Patrick’s Day will be Irish artists (+ Drake features) so this Scottish tune is a close taste.
Nathan Evans caught a break when he covered Wellerman in ‘21 which charted #2 in Ireland and #1 in the UK. There was a Scottish tune called Heather On The Hill written by Frederick Loewe way back in 1947. It was featured in a musical called Brigadoon. In the play, 2 New Yorkers travel to the highlands of Scotland and get lost before they find the small village of Brigadoon. One of the New Yorkers, Tommy Albright, meets a woman there, and they fall in love. (Sorry for spoilers.) The lyrics to that tune are entirely different but it’s a similar Scottish love story. Pretty cool homage to the past.
That’s funny, my mother said the same thing to me!
Here are the fields of Aberfeldy…
…and the shores of Loch Maree…
“Bonny” means beautiful. “Heather” is a pinkish-purple flower. They are only grown healthy in northern climates and a vast amount of them grow in Scotland (their origin) because of its rocky territory.
Hopefully, this is a nice warm-up tune that gets the ladies going!
Caledonia was the Latin name the Roman Empire referred to Scotland, so they danced away under the Scottish skies.
See, if I were writing a tune it’d probably have something to do with how she’s as pretty as the proper pint of Guinness. Same sentiment but I think he nailed it with warm as amber whiskey. This is why Nathan Evans is a singer-songwriter and I’m typing under his lyrics.
Great happy sea shanty! Let’s talk ball…
Since the All-Star Break, the New York Knicks have stayed put as the #4 seed in the East just like the Brooklyn Nets have held firm as the #11.
Manhattan
Jericho Sims came out of nowhere for a putback slam in the Knicks win over Philly this week. The Knicks’ backup center played just 18 minutes but had 10 boards and a block. Sims can infuse energy whenever he is on the floor. With the injuries to Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson, Sims is seeing more playing time. His 6.4 rebounds per game in February is a career-high for a month as the 25-year-old will likely see more steady playing time with Randle & Robinson still a ways away from returning. Precious Achiuwa also played great as he picked up a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The other part of the OG Anunoby trade has played well in February, averaging 11.6 rebounds and 14.5 points per game.
Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Nets earlier this week fired head coach Jacque Vaughn. After taking over as an interim head coach for the team in ‘20, Vaughn served as an assistant on the team from ‘21 to ‘23. Last year’s team was a complete mess but outside of his control as all the stars wanted out. This year the Nets must not be satisfied with the younger player development because I don’t know what they expected. As a player, Jacque Vaughn was a scrappy full-court press defending backup PG for most of his career, including backing up Jason Kidd for the NJ Nets from ‘04 to ‘06. The Nets are a catastrophe at the moment which fuels ownership disarray. Julia Koch of the Koch family is in serious talks of buying a stake in the team as their current majority owner Joe Tsai has spent over $300 million in luxury tax since purchasing the team.
The Rangers are now on a 9-game win streak and are just 1 point away from being tied for the best in all of hockey. Since last week, the Devils and Islanders are now tied in the standings. The Devils went 1-2 and the Islanders won 1 while also losing another OT game to the Rangers outdoors.
Manhattan
Alexis Lafrenière led the charge in the Rangers trouncing the Devils this week. The LW put 2 goals in the back of the net for the 2nd this season. The #1 Overall Pick of the ‘20 NHL Draft is 22 years old and is now aiming to surpass his career-high in goals for a season. His previous career-high was 19 2 years ago and he now has 16 on the ‘23-’24 campaign. After a rough January, the Ranges have bounced back in February and have not lost a game since January 26th.
New Jersey
After beating the Flyers on Saturday at MetLife Stadium, Nico Hischier was interviewed because he scored 2 goals and assisted on another. When over the loudspeaker and on National TV the reporter asked him what he thought of New Jersey, the Swiss Center responded, “Great state. I love it here. It’s my 2nd home so…uhhh…Sopranos, that’s how we roll so… Thanks for showing up, it was fucking amazing…Sorry!” Sorry for cursing Ma, but the Devils haven’t won since and someone has gotta report whenever the F is dropped on hot mic. Also, it’s just great how universally known it is that everybody just shouts out the Sopranos at random whenever Jersey comes up.
Out East
After losing their NHL-most 14th OT game, Adam Pelech had enough when the Isles once again went to extras. The lefty defenseman from Toronto scored his first goal of the season at the perfect time. Pelech is now in his 9th season with the Islanders and is more of a bruiser so it must’ve caught Pittsburgh off guard.
Mexico Open at Vidanta
Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico | Vidanta Vallarta | $8.1 Million Purse | Peacock/Golf
The Mexico Open is played on Greg Norman’s Nuevo Vallarta golf course located on the west coast of Mexico. Mexico has been hosting a golf open since 1944 when this event was called Club de Golf Chapultepec. It was finally established as an official event on the PGA Tour in ‘22. Last year’s winner was Tony Finau.
Alvaro Ortiz
Alvaro Ortiz is from Guadalajara, Mexico, which is about a 4.5-hour car ride from the course. He put on a show for his home country eagling on 6 yesterday. Ortiz shot a 64 going -7 during Round 2 and did so to the delight of his fellow countrymen fans. Alvaro has an older brother, Carlos, who plays for the LIV Tour; however, he is a bit of a surprise to be at the top of the tournament despite his familiarity with the grounds.
Matt Wallace
Matt Wallace is from Hillingdon, UK. Somehow ended up attending Jacksonville State University which is located in ‘Bama. He now seeks his 2nd PGA Tour victory and he shares the lead with Alvaro Ortiz. I’m sure he’s heard Nathan Evans on the radio back home.
Chan Kim
Chan Kim was born in Suwon-si, South Korea, and grew up in Hawaii. Kim has had a ton of success while playing in the Japan Golf Tour, winning 8 events from ‘17 to ‘22. He earned his PGA Tour card for ‘24 by finishing 2nd in the season-long Korn Ferry Tour standings in ‘23 as he played consistent golf last year. Despite being a 33-year-old rookie, he is a potential breakout candidate for the ‘24 PGA Tour season. Earlier in January, he nearly dunked 2 aces in a row on par 3s, the one GIF’d above is tough because it looks like it ricocheted off the lip.
Kevin Dougherty
Kevin Dougherty is a Cali bro who went to Oklahoma State. He turned pro in ‘14. After being 1 over in his opening round of the Mexico Open, Dougherty went on a heater yesterday shooting 7 under par. Way back in ‘17 at the Savannah Golf Championship, a shirtless Kevin Dougherty chipped one in after going into the water. If the Dougherty I know ever goes on a heater on the golf course, it too usually ends up with him being shirtless, but with a flipped golf cart.
Padraig Harrington
Padraig Harrington is a Dublin Man. He comes from a great sports family as his father “Paddy” played Gaelic and hurling for County Cork, boxed, and also had a 5 handicap. (Source: Golf Digest) Harrington has been a steady fixture on the PGA Tour since ‘05, winning 3 majors - the ‘07 Open, the ‘08 Open, and the ‘08 PGA Championship. After shooting 1 over on Thursday, Harrington hit 7 birdies to shoot 5 under par on Friday. He still has a bit of work to do, but he made the cut after a shaky first day. Here’s to another round like Friday!