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drunkatfenway-blog · 7 years ago

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My Weekend in Las Vegas

Before I begin to write this I would just like to say this is a simple blog about a dark day in American history in which I happened to be in the same city enjoying the nightlife just the same as the nearly 43 million people who travel to Las Vegas annually. My sole purpose of this is so anybody can get a feeling of one person’s first hand experience in the city the Weekend of October 1, 2017. Weather it’s today tomorrow, or 650 years from now, for historical purposes I give everybody permission to use this work.

I departed from Boston to Las Vegas on early Thursday September 28, 2017. Like many other people I just wanted to travel to Vegas to see some shows gamble on some games drink some beers and go swimming. With autumn fast approaching in New England I was very excited to travel 5 and a half hours west to the middle of the Nevada desert in Las Vegas. My weekend went on like most people’s in Las Vegas. I spent time gambling on football, playing roulette, watching the Red Sox and enjoying the outdoors. The weather was beautiful anywhere from 85-95 degrees everyday. Nothing but sun and no clouds in the sky. One great part of Las Vegas is everything is fun. For those who have never been there or are looking back, you can walk around drinking open containers of alcohol. Marijuana is fully recreational & legal though, it must be consumed in a private area (very loosely enforced, nobody ever gets in trouble for smoking pot). Nightclubs and bar rooms are open 24 hours a day for the most part. Nothing really stops. Gambling, strip clubs, and call girls are around you no matter where you are in the city. It’s the city’s economy and it’s why people from all over the world travel to this amazing city.

October 1st started like many other Sundays in the city with everybody waking up after a long Friday and Saturday. The Las Vegas strip was covered with fans from all over wearing their favorite NFL jerseys and drinks in hand getting ready for the 10 a.m. games (there was actually a 6:30 a.m. game between the Saints and Dolphins, so the city was already alive for America’s newest pastime Football). As the day went on and the town enjoyed itself restaurants, bars, casinos, and sportsbooks, were filled to near capacity. The day progressed and before you know it all the games were ending. And their was only one left. The Seattle Seahawks were playing host to the Indianapolis Colts at 5:30 p.m. Vegas time. At this time after a long morning and afternoon of drinking and gambling I headed to my hotel room right in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip, The Flamingo. The Flamingo is pretty much in the middle of town. Dead smack in the middle of everything. It was the first popular resort casino Vegas had, starting the trend of building bright, beautiful buildings, and topping the previous. I relaxed in the comfort of my room and enjoyed the game for a little while in some peace & quiet. I took a quick shower and headed down to the bar right as the game was heading to the end. I went to a bar right in the casino outside of the sportsbook where I was getting a full recap of all the past days game via the many tvs that donned the neon pink walls. This is where things started to get strange. Being a late Sunday night I didn’t particularly find it odd that one of the televisions had the news on. Almost every television in Vegas has a sports game on or a replay of a past game on. But, it was late and the weekend was coming to an end. As the current tourists prepared to leave new ones would be coming in. It was breaking news on Fox 5 Las Vegas “Active shooter on the Las Vegas Strip” the screen read. Now my thinking at the time was that it was casual gang activity or a quarrel between 2 people and somebody got shot and took off. Being that it was the only live thing on it garnered the interest of a few fellow patrons at the same bar as I. About 10-15 minutes later I took a drink over to play some slot machines. That’s when I started to realize something was different. CNN took over a television screen reporting on the story. CNN is one of America’s largest national news networks. They began to report on it but nothing was really out yet. They were still just saying there was an active shooter in the area. No note of casualties, and not really any specifics from law enforcement or anybody of note. At this time pretty much everybody in the Flamingo Casino was aware of the situation but had no detail. As I enjoyed myself playing video poker and drinking complimentary alcoholic beverages the news began to develop. 2 People reportedly shot said Fox 5 Vegas and CNN. Still no word on shooter. Reminder: The Casino was very full. Every table was just about full. People were drinking and enjoying themselves as they became aware of this situation at the top of the Las Vegas Strip. But hotel security seemed very restless. These aren’t rent a cops either. Caesars Resorts security has handguns and are pretty much Police Officers. They were pacing and checking on people and were very noticeable. That’s when it came out next on the news. 20 people shot at a country music concert at Mandalay Bay. This was the first they said the exact location and event of where and what exactly was happening. 20 was a very crazy number. It also said at least 2 people were dead. Now the party I was with (1 other person) had plans to head in that direction and go into many casinos and bar rooms and have as much fun as possible. Drinking, good food, and enjoying Las Vegas were the only things on the agenda.

The time was about 12:15 a.m. Pacific Time. I first called my mother back home in Massachusetts to let her now that before the story got crazy and she woke up to crazy reports that we were alright. 3:15 a.m. Eastern time for you guys who don’t know. When I went to leave the Flamingo Casino we were told by a Las Vegas Police Officer that we were on lockdown. Nobody was to leave or enter no matter what the circumstances. He said that this was the procedure throughout all of the casinos in the city at this time.We felt grateful because we were planning to head next door, and being locked out of our casino would’ve been tough. As time went on the crowd grew more restless as well as security. The worst part was the numbers on the screen slowly began to rise. After about a half hour it was 100% viral on all forms of social media. Casino patrons were on the phone trying to reach people and security grew more and more uptight. A little after 1 a.m. Vegas time one of the bartenders told us his bar was closing per order of management. We quickly grabbed our drinks and headed to another bar in the casino. 2-3 minutes later that bartender told me he was no longer allowed to serve drinks. Next thing we know the tables begin to close and they’re kicking people off of the slot machines.The machines never close in Vegas. Still wanting to drink and still full of energy we retreated to a small general store to grab some cold 22 ounce beers in there. When looking outside at the always bright and beautiful Las Vegas Strip it was black, the first time I’ve ever seen it that dead, and I’ve visited here a handful of times. There were no cars other than police cruisers and ambulances. People from other hotels were mad they couldn’t leave and the scene was getting a bit loud. After not much changing inside and getting dozens of phone calls from back east we decided to retreat to the room for the night and watched the news in the hotel room. 20 people confirmed dead was the last number I remember hearing before falling asleep.

After only about 4-5 hours of sleep I restlessly woke up to hundreds of text messages and about 110 phone calls. I didn’t even know that many people knew I was out of town. I told basically nobody other than immediate family and a handful of friends. As I turned on the television and checked my phone I was STUNNED. 59 dead. Over 500 shot. A man perched on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay sprayed thousands of rounds onto concert goers. For no reason at all. I quickly got dressed and wanted to check out the scene. Walking down Las Vegas Boulevard was very eerie. Police were everywhere. The always energetic and lively Strip was as quiet as could be. The weather was beautiful. But the feeling was slow and sad.

Everybody knew what had happened. Casino signs were giving directions on where civilians could go and donate blood. 800 numbers were blasted all over the Strip to help family members locate lost or unaccounted for loved ones. As I walked up you couldn’t go more than 100 feet without Las Vegas Metro Police standing by assisting the people and visitors of Las Vegas. I was headed to Mandalay Bay because I wanted to see the terrible acts that wrecked havoc on a city I know and love dearly. From about a half a mile away you could see the window the perpetrator shot out of. It was solid black on the very beautiful gold structure of Mandalay Bay. Photographers and media members were everywhere. Spanish and English reporters. I approached Mandalay Bay from the neighboring Luxor hotel. Las Vegas Boulevard was shut down to traffic for about 4 city blocks, So I walked in the street. It was strange walking in the street because Las Vegas Blvd. is massive, 4-5 lanes in most parts. Jaywalking could actually get you killed when traffic is flowing. I took photos and saw the terrible scene that so many who perished just a few hours before had been at. The concert stage just on the other side of the street. A gas station that was clearly evacuated with cars still in the gas lanes, blocked off by police tape. Hundreds were down there observing just as I had and there wasn’t a word being said. No music playing, no street performers. As terrible as it was to be there I figured it needed to see the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history in person. I walked into Mandalay Bay through the connecting Luxor as this was the only way to enter. The Shops at Mandalay were all closed that dreary Monday morning. It felt empty. The city in the desert that never sleeps was well at rest inside of Mandalay Bay.

Hundreds of news reporters and what felt like thousands of police officers held the scene. The whole mood in the city just felt empty. And not in the good way. Vegas is the kind of city where even if you lose a boatload of money and are hungover for the majority of the week, when you come home your trip is always well worth it. Simply put: it’s Disney World for adults. And to say the feeling was sad is an understatement. I flew out at 11:59 Monday Night. The whole airport was silent 24 hours after the shooting. It didn’t feel like Vegas anymore. It felt dampened. And I can’t even begin to imagine what those who lost or have harmed loved ones are feeling.

My point in writing this wasn’t to be political or anything of that nature. I just wanted to leave a first hand account of my night in a casino not too far from Mandalay and walking to Mandalay the next day. As of Tuesday Night there’s 59 people dead (including the shooter). 500 People recovering from injuries, some life threatening. The largest mass shooting in American History, surpassing The Pulse Night Club shooting in Orlando just a mere 15 and a half months ago. The 2 behind that? Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in December of 2012 and Virginia Tech in April of ‘07. The fearful underlying feeling I take from this tragic event? That some day, somebody, somewhere, in the future is going to read what I’ve just written. And The Harvest Music Festival shooting in Las Vegas will no longer be the #1 deadliest shooting in United States history. It’s gotten to the point where as a culture these despicable, tragic events are all too common, and there seems to be nothing as a culture or a country we can do.

-Rob O’Shea

Tuesday October 3, 2017

#lasvegas #Vegas Tradgedy MandalayBay Nevada

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drunkatfenway-blog · 7 years ago

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Sox Yanks Sunday Night Classic

Morning Wood…. Ahhh a great feeling. Waking up on a brisk New England late summer morning after a relaxing weekend. Morning wood is caused when testosterone is at it’s highest usually due to the Rapid Eye Movement period of sleep, prominent in the wee hours of morning. It also may be brought on by remembering that 9th inning home run by not even legally allowed to drink Rafael Devers on the road at Yankee Stadium. Or maybe 7 strong innings of 1 hit ball by Our Ace and Savior Chris Sale. Either way you can’t wear sweatpants while talking about this 3 game series in The Bronx this past weekend.

After a Friday Night bullpen blowup by the Red Sox, The Sox looked like they were headed in an inevitable long weekend in the Bronx. But the Sox didn’t let it happen. After pouring on 10 runs Saturday afternoon the Sox and Yanks headed into Sunday Night baseball with the Sox holding a 4.5 game lead in the division.

In what was the first classic Sox Yanks game in what felt like forever this was the latest the Sox and Yanks met atop the division this late in the season since 2011. Sale vs. Montgomery. Sunday Night Baseball. ESPN. The South Bronx. No bigger stage. As Sale worked 7 full innings and 12 Ks ending the night with a 99 mph (his fastest of the night) fastball to strike out Austin Romine, The Sox could only gather a single run off of a Jackie Bradley Jr. RBI single for Sale’s lone run support. Sale was once again untouchable, reassuring his case for the Cy Young Award. The lone scoring for Jordan Montgomery came off of an error by Mookie Betts that was ruled a triple and allowed Chase Headley to score all the way from first base. As Betts backed up well known baseball douchebag Foul Ball Guy AKA Zach Hample stuck his glove over on to the playing field. Although Betts should have still had the ball Zach Hample should be held accountable. For a guy who knows how to ask for a baseball in 33 different languages he should know all 30 of MLB’s stadium policy rules on possible fan interference.

In the 9th convicted Wife Beater and Yankees Closer came in to close the game out. Only one problem. 20 year old Rafael Devers ripped a 102 mph fastball to left center field for a solo home run to tie the game. The loud stadium went silent as the underaged Dominican prodigy rounded the bases and forced extra innings. In the 10th the Sox loaded the bases and Andrew Benintendi slapped a single into left for a 3-2 Boston lead. Craig Kimbrel came in and well, was CRAIG FUCKIN KIMBREL. Making quick work of the Yankees in a 1-2-3 10th inning to end the game. The Sox took 2 out of 3 in The Bronx and welcome the Yankees back in Boston for a weekend series with Sale projected to pitch Saturday… Boston holds a 5.5 game lead in the very tough AL East.

Other Notes Around Sports…..

-In the bottom of the 9th John Farrell made a typical blunder by tring to take out Addison Reed while Ellsbury had a 1-0 count on him. Only problem pitching coach Carl Willis had already came out earlier that inning and spoke to Reed. Preventing him from making the pitching Change. Safe to say Farrell didn’t know the rule, and should anybody be surprised? A new rule and a not so sharp manager… really no surprise here.

-Chris Sale had 10 or more strikeouts for the 16th time this season. Pedro holds the record at 19 times (1999).

-Andrew Benintendi had 9 RBI this weekend including two 3-run jacks on Saturday. Safe to say The new Yankee Stadium is the house Benny built.

-Aroldis Chapman who should’ve been pitching in a prison yard baseball league somewhere in a Southern Florida penitentiary for domestic abuse got rattled twice by the Sox this weekend. After almost allowing a tie on Friday Chapman was a victim of Domincan on Cuban crime after Devers took him deep.

-Jessica Mendoza and the ESPN guys are crap. Bring back Kruk.

-It goes without saying how great it is but damn what a series. Both The Sox and Yanks have deep postseason potential at the same time for the first time in a while.

-I really miss the Old Yankee Stadium. The Fans. The noise. Everything. A decade removed makes you miss that place…

-The trio of Robertson,Betances, and Chapman is enough to give AL managers nightmares this season. One hell of a bullpen trio.

-Jordan Spieth gave Justin Thomas a celebratory ass smack after JT won the PGA Championship. It was 3 weeks to the day that Jordan sack whacked his Caddie Mike Greller at the British Open. Safe to say Jordan Spieth is pretty much the R.Kelly of the PGA Tour

-Ezekiel Elliot was suspended 6 games by Roger Goodell. Jerry Jones is reportedly furious. Hey Jerry if Ezekiel Elliot is suspended but I can’t buy NFL Sunday Ticket to watch out of market games because I don’t have DirectTV will I even know he’s gone?

-Is Dirk Koetter the best name in sports right now? After being on the first week on Hard Knocks the World was introduced to the Dirty Dirk. The only surprise is he had a full set of clothes on and lacked the 70’s style stache.

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drunkatfenway-blog · 9 years ago

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Meant to say defensive back on opening sentence not D-End

Nate Ebner Takes Leave Of Absence From Pats, Trying Out For US Rugby Team

Patriots defensive end and special teamer Nate Ebner announced yesterday that he will be taking time off from the team to try out for the U.S. Olympic Rugby team for the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Summer Olympics. Ebner, a 2 time All-American Rugby player at Ohio State, said on SportsCenter today this was a lifelong dream of his now that Rugby is an Olympic Sport. So what does this mean for the Pats?

A 6th round pick in the 2012 NFL draft, Ebner has come up huge in the special teams game (see Wes Welker’s muffed punt against Denver 3 years ago) and had his share of huge hits on defense. Ebner, a lifelong Rugby player said he was talking to Belichick and other members of the team about leaving for the Olympics for awhile now. Now here’s why I don’t have a problem with this leave….

Last spring Russell Wilson left the Seattle Seahawks for Texas Rangers Spring Training and I said that I had a problem with it immediately and I stand by it. Wilson of course ended his 2014-15 season by throwing the infamous Malcolm Butler interception. But he’s a Quarterback, Ebners a primarily special teams player. Nate Ebner doesn’t have to memorize routes and blocks for every receiver on the field. That’s why I almost never have a problem with an athlete switching sports. Especially a special teamer (a damn good one at that) who didn’t end his season in the Super Bowl throwing an interception. So I think Pats fans should be excited about this one. Unlike a QB or key skill position player messing around in the offseason. Seeing as the Olympics wrap up on August 21st Ebner could hopefully return about 2 weeks before the season kicks off. There will be no need to worry about Ebner being in football shape as well seeing as he’s trying out for the God Damn summer Olympics.

Rugby is a nasty sport but believe it or not there is a far less rate of injury in rugby than there is in American Football. God Speed Nate Ebner make this country proud and knock around some God Damn communists over there.

#NFL #Patriots #NateEbner

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drunkatfenway-blog · 9 years ago

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Nate Ebner Takes Leave Of Absence From Pats, Trying Out For US Rugby Team

Last spring Russell Wilson left the Seattle Seahawks for Texas Rangers Spring Training and I said that I had a problem with it immediately and I stand by it. Wilson of course ended his 2014-15 season by throwing the infamous Malcolm Butler interception. But he's a Quarterback, Ebners a primarily special teams player. Nate Ebner doesn't have to memorize routes and blocks for every receiver on the field. That’s why I almost never have a problem with an athlete switching sports. Especially a special teamer (a damn good one at that) who didn't end his season in the Super Bowl throwing an interception. So I think Pats fans should be excited about this one. Unlike a QB or key skill position player messing around in the offseason. Seeing as the Olympics wrap up on August 21st Ebner could hopefully return about 2 weeks before the season kicks off. There will be no need to worry about Ebner being in football shape as well seeing as he's trying out for the God Damn summer Olympics.

#NFL #Patriots #NateEbner

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drunkatfenway-blog · 9 years ago

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Patriots Trade Chandler Jones, Sign Chris Long....

Everybody knows the Patriots as a team who almost never make noise in March or April but have made more noise than any other team for the past decade and a half. So it was to some surprise when the Pats made headlines for the biggest trade so far of the offseason, sending Chandler Jones to Arizona for Guard Jonathan Cooper and a second round pick. So let’s break down the trade……

It was absolutely no secret that New England was in serious need of offensive line help after a disappointing loss to Denver in this past seasons AFC title game. Guys of the likes of Marcus Cannon and Sebastian Vollmer (coming off a freshly sprained ankle) were rushed like Pats teams haven’t seen in years. To no surprise the O-Line was top of the checklist for the 2016 Offseason. On the Arizona side there was much doubt that veteran star D-End Dwight Freeney would return for Arizona’s 2016 Super Bowl run. What comes next is a trade that helps both teams current needs.

Chandler Jones had 12 sacks in 2015 and was selected to his first Pro Bowl, which was well deserved. Jones was also coming in to his last season before becoming an unrestricted free agent. And at times devastating DE who was very good in the run game and could kill a QB with one hit would disappear in big moments as well, see this past post season. Demanding a ton of money in free agency was inevitable a la Olivier Vernon Giants ($52.5 million guaranteed). There is no doubt Jones would demand that kind of contract next year, especially with a higher salary cap. The Patriots never sign those kinds of contracts and not to mention Jones just wasn’t worth it. And when you add in that guys like Malcolm Butler (who will be making under $1 mil next season) Hightower & Collins are coming up on paydays. A big fan favorite whose game improved every year Jones was known to disappear just as fast as he could explode for a sack or a huge rush. He was never that Richard Seymour or JPP type force Patriots fans hoped him to be. His time in New England will be remembered greatly especially being a key member on the 2014 Patriots Super Bowl team.

In comes Jonathan Cooper and a 2nd round draft pick which is 61st overall. Cooper suffered a broken leg which caused him to miss all of his 2013 rookie season. Cooper was drafted 7th overall by the Cardinals and was the highest drafted Guard since 1986. Cooper suffered an ankle injury at the University of North Carolina which caused him to miss some time as well. So the injuries are a real problem as he never lived up to potential in Arizona. What Patriots fans need to hope for is fresh out of retirement Offensive Line coach Dante Scarnecchia bring him to the talent Arizona saw in him 4 years ago. Cooper has played on the left and right side in Arizona so who really knows what to expect when he comes to New England.

Now comes former second overall draft pick Chris Long, Defensive End and son of Charlestown Native & Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long. The newest Patriot has also suffered injuries in the past 2 seasons playing a combined 18 games. Long will likely see many snaps at D end along with Rob Ninkovich and Jabaal Sheard. The Patriots bring in another low risk high reward player for a one year deal.

The Big takeaway today is the Patriots got rid of Jones while they still could and got a draft pick in a season where they don’t have a first round pick due to the shit show which is deflategate. There’s little to no doubt that the money they saved not paying Jones will go to paying Collins, Butler, and Hightower. It’s not that Chandler Jones wasn’t as good as those guys but the big thing here is who’s more important? Hightower and Collins look to be a pairing force for many years to come. And Malcolm Butler went from being a one hit Super Bowl wonder to one of the best young defensive backs in football. And for that I’m grateful that all four of these guys won a Super Bowl together. Jones just happened to be the odd man out. And thats the business the NFL is in the salary cap era in 2016.

PS- There is no way the whole “synthetic marijuana” story played any role in this. Pats higher ups and Coach Belichick had their mind made up way before that incident. That being said I wish nothing but the best for Chandler Jones in the future (Just not against the Pats next year).

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drunkatfenway-blog · 9 years ago

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Patriots Trade Chandler Jones, Sign Chris Long....

It was absolutely no secret that New England was in serious need of offensive line help after a disappointing loss to Denver in this past seasons AFC title game. Guys of the likes of Marcus Cannon and Sebastian Vollmer (coming off a freshly sprained ankle) were rushed like Pats teams haven't seen in years. To no surprise the O-Line was top of the checklist for the 2016 Offseason. On the Arizona side there was much doubt that veteran star D-End Dwight Freeney would return for Arizona’s 2016 Super Bowl run. What comes next is a trade that helps both teams current needs.

Chandler Jones had 12 sacks in 2015 and was selected to his first Pro Bowl, which was well deserved. Jones was also coming in to his last season before becoming an unrestricted free agent. And at times devastating DE who was very good in the run game and could kill a QB with one hit would disappear in big moments as well, see this past post season. Demanding a ton of money in free agency was inevitable a la Olivier Vernon Giants ($52.5 million guaranteed). There is no doubt Jones would demand that kind of contract next year, especially with a higher salary cap. The Patriots never sign those kinds of contracts and not to mention Jones just wasn't worth it. And when you add in that guys like Malcolm Butler (who will be making under $1 mil next season) Hightower & Collins are coming up on paydays. A big fan favorite whose game improved every year Jones was known to disappear just as fast as he could explode for a sack or a huge rush. He was never that Richard Seymour or JPP type force Patriots fans hoped him to be. His time in New England will be remembered greatly especially being a key member on the 2014 Patriots Super Bowl team.

The Big takeaway today is the Patriots got rid of Jones while they still could and got a draft pick in a season where they don't have a first round pick due to the shit show which is deflategate. There’s little to no doubt that the money they saved not paying Jones will go to paying Collins, Butler, and Hightower. It’s not that Chandler Jones wasn't as good as those guys but the big thing here is who's more important? Hightower and Collins look to be a pairing force for many years to come. And Malcolm Butler went from being a one hit Super Bowl wonder to one of the best young defensive backs in football. And for that I’m grateful that all four of these guys won a Super Bowl together. Jones just happened to be the odd man out. And thats the business the NFL is in the salary cap era in 2016.

#Patriots NFL ChandlerJones Sports

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