It rained today. A lot. I wanted to get in a round of golf but it wasn’t to be. There were two tournaments at Virginia Oaks scheduled for today and it rained early. I think that was a sign that I needed to do some shopping. Now, I’m a guy. We don’t shop, we buy. We will try to find a good deal, afterall it’s good to save money. But we’ll also realize that, while there might be a better deal somewhere, we don’t have the patience to deal with malls until we find it.

I need a new suit. My brother is getting married at the end of the month and I need a black suit. I have several suits in my closet however there are maybe two that fit me. They were purchased back when I was selling them at a part time job at Kuppenheimer. That was almost 20 years ago. A lot’s changed since then, including my metabolism. My 29-inch waist is a thing of the past.

So off to the stores I went today. I started at the usual places, like Mens Wearhouse and S&K Menswear. I wasn’t impressed with the styles, patterns or features. I still know a thing or two about suits and I know what I like. Jos A Bank was close but not perfect. I ended up at Lord & Taylor. Now I know I’ve grown up. If driving a Volvo wasn’t enough of a clue then shopping at Lord & Taylor sealed the deal. I’m officially middle-aged.

I found a really nice suit that fit me well (with room to grow). I think I got a great deal on it. In the process I picked up another one for a steal. The way I see it you can’t have too many, even if you’re like me and wear jeans to work. I may have a little fun and wear one to work one day. They already know that if I’m in Dockers then I’m leaving early for golf. If I’m in a suit they’ll be sure I’m going to an interview. It’s always fun to mess with people; keep them on the edge.

By the way, I’m playing golf on Saturday. Just wouldn’t be a weekend without at least one round.

I played at Virginia Oaks last Friday morning.  Went off early so that I could be finished in time to leave for Apple Blossom in Winchester.  I was paired with a guy who claims the most rounds ever at Virginia Oaks with more than 1700.  He said he plays five days a week.  I told him that he was in for a long day playing with me.  It turned out that we weren’t that far apart in ability.  The course is getting in pretty decent shape but the rough is long.  In fact it was the longest I’ve seen there.  That really put a premium on keeping the ball in the fairway, which I didn’t do consistently.

Friday night we went to Apple Blossom’s Beach House on the Bloom.  It’s a pretty fun event but I think next year we’ll just tailgate and forget the band.  Inside the tent it’s exactly the same every year.  Saturday we went to the parade.  I’m not a fan of crowds or parades so I was in for a real treat.  It didn’t turn out so bad since we arranged to have rum.  Unfortunately the rum got the better of me.  No sense going into the details about this on the internet.

I played in a tournament Monday afternoon down at The Osprey in Woodbridge with a good friend.  This one was the usual captain’s choice four person teams.  Our team only had two people so they let us have a ghost putt.  That put us at a distinct disadvantage over the other teams that had four shots each time.  Even so we shot a 2-over 72.  Under those circumstances I thought we did well.  We weren’t in last place but we weren’t anywhere near the three leading teams who each shot a 61.  I did walk away with the closest to the pin on one hole (9′ 0″).  I really didn’t think it would hold up and almost left early.  Glad I didn’t.

I haven’t posted an entry since November.  Since then the Caps went from the bottom of the league to the top of their division, gaining entry to the playoffs in the process.  They did fire Glen Hanlon and hired Bruce Boudreau to replace him.  This guy is a great coach and he knew just how to get the most from his team.  Though they lost in the first round to Philly, the future is bright.

My golf game is improving.  In the last month or two I’ve recorded four rounds in the eighties, including an 83 last Saturday.  My last score over 100 was in October at Stonewall Golf Club.  I feel like I’m comfortable out there and, while every shot isn’t great, I’m in more control.  I also decided to join Virginia Oaks as a full member.  This will allow me to play more on weekends, which is something I hesitated to do previously.

The had a pretty active winter.  We hosted the Parrothead’s Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day parties.  We held our own parties for a couple of other sporting events, like the Super Bowl and Daytona 500.  We’ll try to keep things going in there over the summer, although we usually end up outside during the warm weather months.

I’m going to try to keep up on this more than I have been.  At the very least I’ll post the weekly email I send to my golf playing friends.  If you’d like to be on this list, please let me know.  One can’t have too many people with whom to play golf.

Hokies vs Boston College was a tough finish.  I don’t think Ryan is a Heismann candidate, which was proven against Florida State.  The Caps are as schizophrenic as they can come.  They drop to the bottom of the entire league and then dominate the best team in the league in Ottawa.  I just grab some Capt Morgan and watch.  Sometimes that’s all you can do.

We’ll be back in Blacksburg for the Miami game.  After spending the BC tailgate in the cold and rain it’s be nice for Miami to bring some of their weather up hare.  Somehow I doubt it’ll happen.  Speaking of tailgating, Hokies do it right.   I watched the  BC-Florida State game last weekend and they showed BC fans tailgating IN A PARKING GARAGE.  Does anyone have an idea of how WRONG that is?  I like the city of Boston but those BC fans can learn a lot from Virginia Tech.

Now, back to the Caps.   I have to say that Glen Hanlon bought himself a few more weeks of employment by beating Ottawa.  I truly like Hanlon.  He’s a great guy and a good coach.  But when a team that has the talent to dominate decides to take it easy there’s something wrong.  Maybe that victory will get them going.

Well, we’re going to Blacksburg on Thursday for the matchup between Virginia Tech ( and Boston College (2). This should be a good game but doubly so on a Thursday night on ESPN. These games are electric. We should be good and lubed up after starting our tailgating around 2 pm. Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to have lots of bread.

We’ll also be spending Friday in Roanoke. The ladies will go to the mall while the guys play golf. I honestly think we’ve got the better end of that deal. I’d hoped we’d be in one car so that the ladies wouldn’t have a place to out their packages, thereby limiting the purchases. Unfortunately we’ll have two cars. I’ll be sure to leave them mine so trunk space will be almost nonexistent.

Friday night we’ll hit Fiji Island, a Polynesian restaurant that makes very special drinks. My personal favorite is the Zombie. I’m going to try to get the recipe to transfer to O’Raleigh’s. We shall see if I can arrange that.

This should be a fun, adult beginning to the weekend. We’ll be back Saturday for a Parrot Head party and still have a weekend with Alyssa.

This was a great weekend for DC sports.

Friday I played a really nice golf course, Stonewall in Gainesville, VA. This is the kind of course that’s a treat. The level of service and the condition of the course were excellent. That comes at a price however. It cost us $119 per person, which is more expensive than Tierra del Sol in Aruba. I’m glad I played but I can’t do it very often. I just wish my golf game had been as good as the course.

Friday night the Caps opened their season in Atlanta. Perhaps it’s because of recent history, or maybe it’s because it was a long off season, but the Caps looked way good. They dominated the first period and played tough the whole game. The score was 3-1 with the Caps on top.

Saturday was a study in good and bad. Alyssa and I ran several errands, on of which netted me a new TaylorMade Rossa Corzina putter. I really like this thing. Can’t wait to get on the course to really try it out. Then the bad happened. Alyssa landed awkwardly on the neighbor’s trampoline and hurt her elbow. Everyone wonders how we can let her on such a death device but my view is you have to let kids be kids at some point, and kids sometimes get hurt. It could’ve easily been by falling off her bike. X-Rays determined that it’s a broken elbow. We’ll be visiting an orthopedic surgeon soon.

Following the bad portion of the day the Hokies took on Clemson and the Caps played the Hurricanes. The game was at 6 pm and the Caps played at 7 pm. This required a lot of “go back” buttoning. The Hokies started well but began letting Clemson get close. They held on to win in the end. The Caps played another great game shutting out the Canes 2-0. I think I like this team. I do have to wonder how a football game at 6 takes 4 hours to play. Seriously, the entire hockey game was played during the Hokies’ game.

Sunday the Redskins took on the Lions. Detroit was coming in hot. That might have been a bad thing because the temps in DC were in the 90s. With a final score of 34-3 it’s apparent that the Skins dominated. Unfortunately I missed the end of the game due to a prior commitment.

All in all a very good sports weekend.

A few random thoughts for today.

The NFL season starts this weekend. I like the beginning of football season because it’s still warm outside and everyone has the same chance to start well. That’s not entirely true, since some teams are obviously better than others, but the feeling that they all have a chance is a good one. The pub will be ready to go.

The NCAA season started last weekend, with the Hokies getting a hard fought win. I hope the emotional overload was the cause of the problems they had. The LSU game tonight will be a real test. The pub will be ready to go.

Hockey season is just around the corner. Rookie camp starts today and the veterans show up next week. This is what I’m really excited about. Generally the Caps are not considered to be a playoff team yet, but every poll I’ve seen has them as a dark horse, or rather a team that might surprise. Even if they don’t turn out to be a playoff team, this is a group that fights to the end and plays an exciting brand of hockey. It’s too bad the DC area just isn’t a hockey town. The pub is ready for this as well.

Finally, the FedEx Cup playoffs are in full swing (no pun intended). I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m just not that interested. I get the feeling that the players don’t care either. Maybe it’s because the winner doesn’t actually see the money until retirement. Maybe it’s because in golf the majors are more important. I’m not sure but I know I’d rather watch the LPGA sometimes. These girls can play. Too bad they aren’t covered on TV more. The pub would be ready for them too, but they’re rarely broadcast in HD.

I used to love the TV show Cheers. I decided that I wanted to have a place where everybody knew my name. I started hanging out at Bennegins in Fair Oaks Mall and achieved that goal. It was a place I felt very comfortable. In the ensuing years I got married and had Alyssa. Then we met Jerry, owner of Brady’s Irish Pub in Manassas. We’d found a place where we were again comfortable. The evil O’Meara screwed that up for us and the search began again. I think we’ve found it. We built our own slice of pubdom in our basement. It’s not as large as the others but we certainly feel at home. And we hope that our guests feel at home as well. I’ve created a website for O’Raleigh’s Neighborhood Pub to make it easier for our guests to get here and learn what to expect. Rest assured that at O’Raleigh’s everybody will know your name.

Is it really such a controversy to say Tiger is as beatable as ever? I don’t think so. But to the media any “controversy” makes golf seem like more than its image as a boring spectator sport. I suppose it helps to have Rory Sabbatini implode, have a fan ejected, and barely finish a distant second. But does golf really need the help to its image? I don’t think so. Having played the sport for a number of years, I am amazed at the level of expertise that’s exhibited by the pros. That’s why I watch. I have my favorite players and I pull for them to win, but it’s the quality of play that brings me back. My vote is for the dramas to be left to the Hiltons and Lohans of the world and their publicity rehab stints.