
Give 'em Hell, Ravens...!!!
And not running as in chicken. I don't go down easy. Okay. So most of the people out here are pretty mellow. And I'm in a coffee shop. The Great Bear cafe so maybe I'll come across some very beautiful --even too beautiful for Beverly Hills--femme fatale types who are irresistible, but as long as I stay out of places serving alcohol all I have to worry about are bruisers wired on caffeine instead of turned into utter knuckle-dragging grunting imbeciles on booze & other depressant beverages, methamphetamines, over-sized egos etc.
Got out of my hovel late. Practicing my guitar. I'm pretty bad. But that's alright. As long as I can hit the chords to establish a melodic line, even if they're not real chords. But I've enough musician friends to assist. And laugh at my attempts. My lyrics are good, if I say so myself & they respect that part of me, though sometimes the grammatical perfectionists question my use of idiom. But hey, this is America! We can pretty much do whatever it is we want. Even build arsenals of military grade weapons while shivering in our boots about gun confiscation.
Got a ride from a nice chap after waiting for about 45 minutes. Told him my Ravens cap is just a hat. He advised me to keep my head down especially if the Niners lose. Told him my lady friend A. told me not to wear it. My buddy Oak gave me a UPS hat. I wanted a Cat hat but you can't have everything.
(And he's loaning me his old guitar that his parents gave hm as a gift 50 years ago. That way I don't have to lug my friend Nathan's guitar down the hill. Its pretty much mine but its still his; we'll see what happens. Its been good luck as far as song-writing goes. Nathan is a fine musician who quit his band but is working currently as a manny in the Redwood Estates neighborhood. I keep encouraging him to come down the mountain to meet others of his kind--crazy musicians that is. "When the weather gets warming." Excuses. Everybody has them. Nathan is a sweet kid. Maybe I'll fix him up...I'm such a Cupid...
Okay. Here's some background on the 49er quarterback, one of the only gladiators on the team I like & respect. Let's just hope he doesn't muck-up. He's young talented & will be very very very very rich, unless he blows it all on a mountain of snow.
Kaepernick was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a biracial child whose birth parents both stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m). His birth mother, Heidi Russo—19, unmarried, and almost broke—took care of him for five weeks while looking for an adoptive couple. She wanted to find a couple that was financially set, had kids, and loved sports. She chose Rick and Teresa Kaepernick, who had two kids already–son Kyle and daughter Devon—and were looking for a boy after having lost two other sons to heart defects.[1] Kaepernick became the youngest of their three children. He lived in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, until age four, and attended grade school in Turlock, California.[2][3] Kaepernick began playing youth football at age eight as a defensive end and punter. He then became his youth team's starting quarterback at age nine, and he completed his first competitive pass for a long touchdown. He went on to win several punt, pass, and kick competitions mainly on his passing ability.[2]
A 4.0 GPA student [4] at John H. Pitman High School in Turlock, Kaepernick was a three-sport star who passed up a promising baseball career as a pitcher in order to play football. Kaepernick was nominated for all-state in football, basketball, and baseball in his senior year. He was the MVP of the Central California Conference in football leading his school to its first-ever playoff victory. In basketball he was a first-team all CCC selection at forward and led his 16th-ranked team to a near upset of the Number 1-ranked Oak Ridge Trojans in the opening round of playoffs. In that game Kaepernick scored 34 points, although that was not enough as Ryan Anderson scored 50 to best the Pitman Pride.[citation needed]
[source: Kaepernick's Early life ]
Therefore? An all-around natural athlete. Nice having titanic parents...
Equal time for Ravens QB Joe Flacco:
Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American football starting quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Delaware. He was the 18th overall pick by the Ravens in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
In his rookie year, he threw for 2,971 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while starting all 16 regular season games, and became only the eighth rookie quarterback in NFL history to start a playoff game. By leading the Ravens to two road wins in the 2008-09 NFL Playoffs, he became the first rookie quarterback in league history to win two playoff games. In his second season, Flacco improved to 3,613 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, and set single season franchise records for completion percentage (63.1) and quarterback rating (88.9). In his third year in the NFL, Flacco became first all time in Ravens history for passing yards (10,206) and passing touchdowns (60). By starting in two playoff games in 2009, Flacco earned the record for most starts by a quarterback in the first two seasons in NFL history (37).[1] Flacco became the first quarterback to bring his team to the playoffs in his first five seasons, winning a game in each. In 2013 ESPN Analyst Ron Jaworski said that Flacco has the strongest arm in the NFL.[2]
A strong-arm man? From an Italian-American family? Family? O c'maaan, gimme a break! "Where do you want it, the head or the arm...?" Joke Joke Joke Alert! (Maybe also a Jerk Alert, me being that...Just overly exuberant as is my wont...) What we have here are two American Americans (America's sons) going to work, head to head. May the best man win.
Had trouble accessing a decent audiostream at KNBR San Francisco just 50 miles away. So much for the City That Knows How! Bad omen for Niners?
Here's a great Baltimore station: WBAL 1090 AM
Since I'm 4 the Ravens today & maybe tomorrow, (will I move to Baltimore? one of the hardest cities in the East? don't think so, except in spirit...or unless they offer me a lifetime supply of Percocet...!) might as well go with the better coverage. Right? Miss the East Coast. Maybe I'll visit again one day. Miss the young women chewing gum & blowing bubbles. And don't ask me who's Bubbles...!
Ravens--the visiting team-- now being introduced in New Orleans. All quiet on the Western Front.
Niners then introduced. Boooo...!
Jennifer Hudson & Alicia Keyes will provide America the Beautiful & the National Anthem respectively. (I think I got that right.)
Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis retires at the ancient age of 37 after an outstanding career. Good luck to him.
The 49ers stand alone: the only team in history to play in multiple Super Bowls and never lose.
The Steelers have won more championships with six. But the Steelers also lost two Super Bowls. The Cowboys have won five Super Bowls, like the 49ers. But they lost three.
Only the 49ers' record is clean. Five Super Bowl trips. Five victories.
49ers have flawless Super Bowl legacy
So what does that mean? Means its time for them to lose, man! Time for the Niners to be losers!
Just got the WBAL stream back. Nope. There it goes again. The wonders of WiFi. Maybe some 2-bit station in the hinterlands with streaming will save my day. Otherwise I have to go into Carrie Nations across the street & get my ass kicked.
Okay. The SF Chronicle reports Ravens 7 Niners 3 in the Second Quarter.
Here comes the WBAL stream again. Demons? Gremlins? Niner fanatics doing Web dirt for the San Francisco Thugs?
Danni, a friend from a town over working as a full-time nanny these days, drops by. My dear friend the artist ex-merchant seaman ex-squid Crazy Vic calls me from a local hospital. Trying to score. Good for him. This local hospital hates giving strong painkillers. Why? Just because some celebrities stop breathing doesn't we have to suffer, does it? Yes, apparently it does! Fug 'em all but six--because we'll need them for pallbearers.
UPDATE: Ravens score another TD. Leading the Thugees 14-3. Go go go...! Vengeance is...Edgar Allan Poe's...!

Anquan Boldin celebrates his 13-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
Anquan Kenmile Boldin (/ˈæŋkwɑːn/; born October 3, 1980) is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football for Florida State.
Boldin was the 2003 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and has been selected to three Pro Bowls.
[source: Anquan Boldin ]
UPDATE: 49ers ball on own 12. 4th and 4. 1st Half coming to an end.
Never in my wildest football wet dreams as long as I've lived in the SF Bay Area did I ever think I'd be rooting against the Niners. I'm no traitor. They are. Moving to Santa Clara, for one. Being A-holes for another. Plenty of other reasons. But let us us leave off with such talk & not wish ill on them. Otherwise ill won't happen. That's in accord with the protocols of the Warshawsky curse.
UPDATE: 21-3 Ravens nearing the end of the 1st Half.
Journalism can be a lonely life. Writing can be. Life itself can be. Therefore, more oxycodone is needed.
Niners driving deep into Ravens turf. In scoring position.
UPDATE: 49er David Akers 27 yard field goal attempt is GOOD. Holder: Andy Lee. Score: 21-6 Ravens. It is now Half Time break.

Ravens QB Flacco has the Football Goddess with him. So far...Offend Her not, O noble gridiron warrior.
Niners will lose this game. Probably by a larger margin than I thought. That's what they get for being a bunch of thugs & bigoted loudmouths. Once the Warshawsky Curse takes effect, that's it. And my buddy Crazy Vic's Albanian Curse might be just as potent. BTW--I've regressed to the Dark Ages for tonight only. (Hoping for an orgy--at least one--in LG here post-game also. Or better yet, during the game. Right here at the Great Bear. Anything's possible on an evening like this. The place is pretty empty tho right now. Kevin here with his cougar squeeze playing his jazz guitar at a window seat. He can actually do fretboard pyrotechnics & talk...& make love? Whaaat? At the same time.)
UPDATE: 49ers ball on Baltimore 49, 1st and 10. Sh!t...! I wanna see a total blowout!
Maybe they can turn the Bear into an exotic dancers bar, just for the night? Not happening, I guess. Not coded for it.
Something sparked a flashback of a bar in Panama City--The Blue Goose--which was a stripper bar whorehouse. Must be my hormonal memory coming to whack me upside the head. Do I have a one-track mind, or what?
UPDATE: 49ers catching up. They scored 2 TDs in the 3rd quarter. Ravens lead 28-20. Anything can happen now. O Goddess, Thy will be done.
WTF! Is Baltimore collapsing?
Avalon Ballroom 9/16/1966
from the "Vintage Dead" LP 1970
I know the Dead are an iconic SF band. But here they dis the City, for treating them like dogs, in real traveling music style. Traveling to Mars & beyond. Pigpen's organ drives the whole damn thing along with Lesh Garcia & Weir on guitars & percussion smashing away the walls! May this somehow bring victory to those most deserving.
UPDATE: Ravens now lead by only 5 pts. 28-23. However, Ravens have the ball on the San Francisco 28 yard line.
2nd and 3. Last Play: Joe Flacco pass to the right to Dennis Pitta for 7 yards to the SF28. Tackled by Patrick Willis. Score dammit! Score. Those bastards don't deserve a win. O Goddess, haven't I suffered enough?
UPDATE: Ravens ball on San Francisco 18. 1st and 10 Last Play: Bernard Pierce rush to the left for 8 yards to the SF18. Tackled by Dashon Goldson.
UPDATE: Ravens ball on San Francisco 1. .4th and 1 Last Play: Joe Flacco incomplete pass.
UPDATE: Last Play: Justin Tucker 19 yard field goal attempt is GOOD. Holder: Sam Koch. Ravens lead 31-23.
UPDATE: 49ers ball on Baltimore 18. 1st and 10 Last Play: Frank Gore rush to the left for 21 yards to the Bal18. Tackled by Corey Graham.
Last Play: Colin Kaepernick rush to the left for 15 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Ravens 31-29. 2 pt. lead. Don't look great for Bal. Niners are tough. Dirty too. Must admit Kaepernick is outstanding. And they love--& are known--to come from behind.
UPDATE: Ravens ball on own 36. 1st and 10 Last Play: Penalty: Pass Interference on San Francisco (Chris Culliver) 14 yards.
I keep playing the Dead doing 'I Know You Rider' over & o0ver & over. Speed. Keeps me going here. Faster faster faster. Ravens better bring in their secret weapons. This Niner team doesn't frickin' deserve squat! But then I guess "deserves got nothing to do with it..."
"The sun will shine in my backdoor one day..."
UPDATE: Ravens ball on own 45. 3rd and 1 Last Play: Joe Flacco pass to the right to Anquan Boldin for 7 yards to the Bal45. Tackled by Carlos Rogers.
Ravens ball on San Francisco 25. 3rd and 7 Last Play: Bernard Pierce rush to the left for 1 yard to the SF25. Tackled by NaVorro Bowman.
"My mind was wandering...like a wild beast in the West."
Last Play: Justin Tucker 38 yard field goal attempt is GOOD. Holder: Sam Koch.
Ravens lead 34-29.
I think I'm having a fart attack...Just like Ben Franklin used to get...
49ers ball on own 36. 1st and 10 Last Play: Colin Kaepernick rush to the right for 8 yards to the SF36. Tackled by Dannell Ellerbe.

O Goddess of Football...
What's happening now? Am I blessed tonight or not?
Ravens ball on own 5. 1st and 10. Last Play: Colin Kaepernick incomplete pass to the right intended for Michael Crabtree.
Now just hang onto the frickin football! No greasy chicken moves! You own this Super Bowl. The fascist bastards shall not pass!
Ravens ball on own 7. 2nd and 8. Last Play: San Francisco TIMEOUT. Their last. But Bal no gain on next play with 50 seconds remaining. Kick & hold the bastards. Niners have no more TOs. Kill 'em!
I know I should be more levelheaded & gentlemanly but...
Safety? Ravens 34-31. .
Ravens ball on own 0. 4th and 7 Last Play: Baltimore TIMEOUT.
This is personal!
However, "grace under pressure" my boy. Grace under pressure.
FINAL: Ravens win it! 34-31. 3 points like I predicted. Ain't I a great handicapper?
Lucky I got a pic of the Goddess of Football up before the end.

The Harbaugh brothers. Sportsmanship is what it all comes down to. At least that's what I feel about it.

The battle joined & the fierce opposition overcome. Time for the victors to celebrate not the enemy's personal pain & anguish, but the victory itself. However, their defeat was a joy! [Acknowledgements to Lord Krishna.]

WTF! Where the hell am I going with this...?
UPDATE: Anyway...as of the morning after I'm still alive & kickin'.
The only question I have is: Now what...?
I guess the best answer is: Life goes on. Until it doesn't. [Acknowledgements to Stanley Kubrick & Frederic Raphael, the screenplay writers of Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut'.]
See you all on the flip side.

Edgar still is way too cool, man.
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