Mid January is upon on us. All the fun of the holiday season has faded, with the trees on the curbs, waiting for pickup, the winter weather escalating, it’s a drab time. Perfect for a grump like me, so let’s do it.

UPSL playoffs are finally getting to the good stuff, with the end of the Fall season coming up. Playoffs have whittled down to the last 12 clubs or so (it’s an estimate, who can tell) but you wouldn’t know it. The league website is pretty but not easily understood, especially when it comes to the playoff structure or how far we’ve progressed in the structure. Our site has been mocked for not following the playoffs, but who the hell knows where we are and who is playing. We follow the sport and can’t figure it out.
Next season the league needs to make it easier to understand. If you go to Wikipedia for the 2019 Spring season, the playoffs are laid out and easy to understand. 2019 Fall page doesn’t exist. Who is responsible for putting out this information and making it easy to understand, the UPSL. So blame us, but maybe you should be looking elsewhere.
Haters hating - Maybe it’s our fault, but the level of expectation on our site is very often not in line with the reality we work within. Our site is a volunteer site and we strive to do great things, but people, no one is getting paid to do this. We’ve got 5 writers generating at this point, so bear with us. Anytime people complain about our content or a miss on a story, I throw my hands up. I always want to tell the person complaining, well write a story and we’ll run it!
By the way, if anyone wants to sponsor the site or advertise, we’re always listening. Money would help a lot.
Bad Music - I know I’m a snob, but the “friend activity” tab on Spotify is hilarious. Some of my friends have terrible tastes. People who I respect in most subjects, simply miss the mark on music. Listen to good stuff, sure have your quirky choice, but please, stop listening to music from 20 years ago that was shitty then.
Hats - I watched this old guy walk by right now and he was wearing a fedora-looking hat, like it was 1955. I wish we lived in an era where a hat was required gear. Of course, 1955 was shitty for anyone not white or male, so I’m not blind to the facts, but a nice hat is a good look. Talk about being old, that’s old!
Other Football - Any thoughts on the NCAA Football Final you ask? Nope. Dumb sport and I don’t watch it.
Shut your mouth - Listening to people complain about their spouses/partners is easily the worst part of life. It’s a situation you’re entirely in control. If you don’t want to be with them, leave them. It’s gross and unseemly to complain about someone who is not there and you’ve made commitments with. I don’t care how much your friends like you, they don’t want to hear it.
MLS Draft - I don’t mention this because I’m a fan of the league, but because it’s cool to see so many players who spent time in the lower leagues moving up. We should all celebrate that sort of movement and be thrilled for the success of the guys putting it on the line for our entertainment. Clubs should make it a bigger deal, if you ask me. Certainly leagues should.
I do have beef with MLS clubs and the league not mentioning the lower league clubs that worked to develop the kid’s talent. Even if you want to argue (like some online have) that the real development happened in his college training, at least have the professional courtesy of mentioning the club that helped. The colleges get a shout out, so why can’t the grassroots clubs that are working so hard, mostly at a financial loss. Getting mentioned on a website, a webcast, a wrap-up, it’s a nice pat on the back and completely deserved!
UPSL Mailing List - Anyone else on the UPSL mailing list suddenly get hit with ads from “league partners” this season? Maybe it’s not illegal and I’m sure they would offer a some logic in defense, but it seems clear the league shared their email list with the people paying the bills. Not cool in my book, just saying.
1917 - I’m headed to see this movie today and I’m so excited. If you haven’t seen a preview or heard anything about it, here’s the trailer. But more than the trailer, look at this behind the scenes stuff. For someone like myself, who loves history, this looks like a winner. I’ll offer my take next week, just to piss off the “stick-to-soccer” people.
Music for your day - “Straight, No Chaser” - Thelonious Monk - A lot of guys my age want to deepen their musical library, expand out into the unknown, forever hoping to be cool someday. There’s no way to do that more than getting into jazz. But for many jazz seems like a foreign country, a place where we don’t speak the language, understand their currency, or have a grip on social norms. So allow me to offer a guy you need to try - Thelonious Monk. Coolest dude in the room. Always. Bad mother on the piano. Just an all-around awesome musician and a great starting point in jazz appreciation. nuff said.