My Dad and Sports

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Ed. Note- This story was originally published in September 20th, 2019, but Joe has republished it so that it appears at the top of the website.


My dad passed away Thursday night.

We all grieve in different ways, and I think did all the usual things, but honestly, after a few hours, I just wanted to zone out and watch a bad football game.

Luckily, the Jags and Titans obliged me, but the game also reminded of all the sports memories I had with my father.

I remembered walking two miles from our parking spot to Super Bowl XXIX in Miami, and making him buy me an Arepa from a guy in a cart along the way. I remembered walking across a bridge in Pittsburgh with him when I was in 3rd grade, after we watched the Steelers win the AFC Championship, singing with a bunch of drunk dudes that the Steelers were finally going back to the Super Bowl.

I also remembered that I had this site, and that writing, though not my profession anymore, has always been cathartic. So, here we go...

My Dad was the Best/Worst Sports Fan

Maybe it's because he grew up poor in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, but my dad never really mentioned his youth sports heroes, and never took pro sports particularly seriously.

He was 19 when Bill Mazeroski homered in the bottom of the 9th to win the Pirates the World Series against the Yankees, but he never even mentioned to me if he watched or listened to the game, though he did have memories of my grandmother screaming when Bruno Sammartino was in trouble against some evil, non-Italian, wrestler.

Still, he would always talk fondly about the 1970s Steelers teams from his 30s, most notably his favorite players, Mel Blount and Donnie Shell, the latter of which he still couldn't believe wasn't in the Hall of Fame.

He also thought the Steelers should have permanently benched Terry Bradshaw for Joe Gilliam, so he definitely had some Hot Sports Takes™ in his day.

My dad is the reason I root for the Steelers. I was born in Pittsburgh, but we moved to South Florida when I was still a baby. I remember the Steel City as a tough, gritty, smoggy place, where we would go to visit my grandparents, and my dad would occasionally take me to see the Steelers or the Pirates play in the old Three Rivers Stadium, or the Penguins skate in the old Civic Center.

The city made me think of my parents as kids, and the toughness they had to have as the son and daughter of immigrants to make it in this country the way they did. I always liked that identity, though it was never really mine, so I pasted it onto Pittsburgh's pro sports teams.

A Big Thanks from SuiteSports!

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The 2016-2017 academic/athletic year was a wild one for me personally, and I dare say, all of us here at SuiteSports.

When ESPN Boston closed down its High Schools section in the fall, it sent shock waves throughout the Massachusetts scholastic sports community, us included. For those who don't know, I was a freelancer for ESPN Boston, as was our Deputy Editor Nate Weitzer, and ace reporter Matt Feld.

We were all sad to see the ESPN Boston High Schools section, run expertly by Brendan Hall and Scott Barboza for many years, go. But, through that loss came opportunity, the opportunity for SuiteSports to expand and cover more events, players and schools across the state. Thankfully you, the reader, has welcomed us with open arms.

Our 16 Most 2016 Stories of 2016

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

So yeah, 2016 was really something, eh?

I know most people are ready for this year to end, what with all the celebrity deaths, political vitriol and whatnot, but there were some good things to come out of 2016!

The Cubs won the World Series and the Cavs won the NBA Finals, remember? I member.

Also, SuiteSports.com enjoyed its greatest year ever, though admittedly that came partly because ESPN Boston stopped covering high school sports, which was bad news for pretty much everybody involved with our site, and local high school sports.

Yep, 2016 was a mixed bag, so I'm not gonna give you a best/worst list of stories, I'm just going to give you the 16 stories we did that were quintessentially 2016.

Carrie Fisher Taught us To Never Apologize for Being Ourselves

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

There is no way around it: 2016 was a kick in the gut for American pop culture.

Still, despite the passing of numerous legends of sport, film and music, none hit home harder with me than yesterday's news of Carrie Fisher's death of a heart attack at the age of 60.

Like most, I was introduced to Fisher as the iconic Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, and I don't think there's any question that Fisher's portrayal of the galaxy's most beloved princess changed American cinema and pop culture forever.

With a blaster at her side and no time to waste, Fisher turned the clichéd "damsel in distress" trope on its head, refusing to be captured without a fight, mouthing off to the most feared baddies in the galaxy, and seizing control of the situation when her would-be rescuers ran out of ideas.

Of course, Fisher was much more than just Princess Leia. She was an ally for those dealing with mental health issues, as she openly discussed her battle with bipolar disorder, and urged people dealing with mental illness to seek help, rather than live in shame and self-medicate.

She did much of the same for those dealing with addiction, as she was never one to shy away from discussing her battles with drugs and alcohol. Above all, Fisher was unapologetically herself, and encouraged us to be the same.

The End of ESPN Boston High Schools

We may not have a High Schools section any more, but at least I got to keep these tiny promotional footballs...

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

If you haven't heard, ESPN Boston officially announced today that it will no longer cover high school sports, effective Saturday.

Obviously, we on the High Schools team would have liked a BIT more than these 34 words inside the official announcement, but our fearless leader Brendan Hall will have a column about the ending of the High Schools section, and will speak about it briefly in our weekly High School Football Preview video as well.

I know this news comes as a bit of shock to athletes, coaches and parents across the state, and I can certainly tell you that nobody on the High Schools team was happy about it. But, this is the reality of the business we're in, and for many years we've been able to use the ESPN brand to deliver our message, so it's hard to be too mad at the mothership for contracting us.

Now please allow me to, as best I can, explain why this happened, thank a few folks, and talk about what comes next.

It Ain't Over, But The Map Looks Bleak for Trump

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

"Trump can say all the crazy things he wants, and he won't lose any votes!"

That's a line I hear all the time, and up until about two weeks ago, I believed it.

But the Republican Presidential nominee has gone off the rails lately, most recently implying that 2nd Amendment enthusiasts should shoot Hillary Clinton. That coming after a week-long feud with the Gold Star family of a fallen soldier, a rally where he kicked out a baby, an interview where he showed he didn't know Russia was already in Ukraine, and a different interview where he said women who are victims of sexual harassment should just find other jobs.

Oh, and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough said on his MSNBC show "Morning Joe" that a national security expert he knew met with Trump, and that Trump asked three times why we don't use nuclear weapons.

So, is Trump still Teflon? And, is he bringing new voters into the fold for Republicans?

Welp, the latest polling map says no.

The Over Thought Podcast: Breaking Down The 100 Greatest Songs of the Modern Era

The gang returns from hiatus to discuss SuiteSports.com's list of The 100 Greatest Songs of the Modern Era.

Contributor Andy Dougherty, who compiled the list, joined editors Joe Parello and Jeremy Conlin, along with their buddy Joe Blake, to break down the list, and discuss the future of music in general.

To see the complete list, click here, and check out the podcast below.

Ed. Note and Fact Check: At 22:25 of the podcast, Joe Parello asserts that "Jock Rock" came out before "Jock Jams," and Joe Blake claimed he was mistaken. Well the joke's on you, Joe Blake, because "Jock Rock" came out in 1994 and "Jock Jams" came out in 1995.

Oh, and we chose "Hotel California" as the image for this article solely because Jeremy hates it. Enjoy!

10 Other Speeches Melania Trump Should Have Plagiarized

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Last night, Melania Trump brazenly plagiarized may have stolen some lines from Michelle Obama's 2008 Democratic National Convention speech, but why stop there?

Check out our video of 10 other speeches Melania should have plagiarized below.

The 100 Greatest Songs of the Modern Era: The Top-20

By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

Ed. Note- We continue our look at the 100 Greatest Songs of the Modern Era with the final installment of our five-part series.

For Part One and Andy's methodology, click here.

For Part Two, click here.

For Part Three, click here.

For Part Four, click here.

20. London Calling by The Clash, 1979

“Without warning, the drums and guitars hit in unison, opening the song and the album with a heavy hammering groove. It’s like an inverted reggae song -- downbeat chords instead of upstrokes -- though Simonon’s spare bass boom gives it a slight dub feel. From there, it’s all Armageddon prophesying and unwillingness to lay down and die,” said Billboard. Pitchfork described the song as “the record’s cosmic lynchpin: Horrifyingly apocalyptic, ‘London Calling’ is riddled with weird werewolf howls and big, prophetic hollers, Mick Jones’ punchy guitar bursts tapping little nails into our skulls, pushing hard for total lunacy. Empowered and unafraid, [Joe] Strummer reveals self-skewering prophecies, panting hard about nuclear errors and impending ice ages.

He also spitefully lodges some of the most unpleasantly convincing calls to arms ever committed to tape.” PopMatters said, “No time before or since has Joe Strummer been more pointed lyrically, or more vocally persuasive, more rebellious in his individualism, howling as it were because he really meant it; a sincerity that makes his shout, “forget it brother, and go it alone," sound like the easiest solution to being let down and left out by the masses…topping it would be impossible.”

The 100 Greatest Songs of the Modern Era: 40-21

By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

Ed. Note- We continue our look at the 100 Greatest Songs of the Modern Era with Part Four of our five-part series.

For Part One and Andy's methodology, click here.

For Part Two, click here.

For Part Three, click here.

Continue reading for Part Four.

The 100 Greatest Songs of the Modern Era: 60-41

By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

Ed. Note- We continue our look at the 100 Greatest Songs of the Modern Era with Part Three of our five-part series.

For Part One and Andy's methodology, click here.

For Part Two, click here.

The 100 Greatest Songs of the Modern Era: 80-61

By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

Ed. Note- We continue our look at the 100 Greatest Songs of the Modern Era with Part Two of our five-part series. To look back at songs No. 100-81, and to see Andy's methodology, click here.

80. A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum, 1967

Numerous sources cite ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ as the most-played record in the UK since the mid 1930s. Rolling Stone called Procol Harum’s surreal debut “a somber hymn supported by an organ theme straight out of Bach,” and noted that it “helped kick-start the classical-rock boomlet that gave the world the Moody Blues.” Said The Guardian’s Richard Williams, “it skipped across centuries with its infallibly seductive Bach-goes-to-Muscle Shoals organ lead and chord progression and a wonderfully dippy lyric which could be taken to mean anything or nothing…[Gary Brooker’s] blue eyed soul voice proved oddly perfect for this eternally enigmatic masterpiece.”

The Lesser of Two Evils

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We hear it during every Presidential election.

Average voters bemoan the two choices placed in front of them, and grit their teeth as they select the "lesser of two evils." It's a tired cliché, usually followed by America electing another President, similar to the last, and our lives go on as usual.

But this election feels a little different, doesn't it?

The 100 Greatest Songs of the Modern Era: 100-81

 By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

Ed. Note: This is the first in a series of pieces by correspondent Andy Dougherty, who has compiled numerous critical lists and rankings with the hope of creating a definitive list of the Top-100 songs of the modern era. Think of this as the Rotten Tomatoes of music, and check back each day this week as the countdown continues.

Over the past few years, I have taken opinions from countless sources and aggregated 60 lists of the greatest songs of all-time, with the purpose of arriving as close as I could to one definitive list of outstanding, important, classic songs.

I have always been a huge fan of rock and pop music with a broad range of tastes. Plenty of websites have great music recommendations, but each of them is biased in its own way. Some insist that all of today’s music is garbage while others are completely ignorant of the past. Some are too US-centric; others are too UK-centric. Many show expertise in one or two genres while overlooking everything else.

I studied music in college, and most of my classmates focused on classical or avant-garde music. But I wanted to study rock and pop music seriously. To help with that goal, I wanted to find a source that factored in as many of these biases and differences in opinions as possible to create a diverse list of fantastic songs to recommend.

I found many sites that tried (besteveralbums.com, vinylsurrender.com, acclaimedmusic.net, to name a few). Acclaimed Music is the most comprehensive music website I have come across. I love the site, and it has helped me discover thousands of great songs, but I found some of its rankings hard to accept: ‘Yesterday’ outside the top 100? ‘Piano Man’ outside the top 1000? ‘See Emily Play’ as the only Pink Floyd song in the top 300 at No. 194?

Unsatisfied with what the Internet had to offer, I decided to try to emulate Acclaimed Music’s mission with my own methodology.

Captain America: Civil War Succeeds in Every Way Batman v Superman Fails

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Statistically speaking, if you are a male under the age of 35, and over the age of 10, you've probably seen Captain America: Civil War.

The superhero mega flick has already taken in over $215 million domestically, and over $765 million worldwide in its first six days in theaters, passing Deadpool at the international box office for the title of top hero flick of the year... So far.

This hot start is made even more impressive by the fact that the film's premier came before middle and high school kids were released for the summer (sorry nerdy adults, kids are still the primary audience for superhero movies).

Cap's fight with his former buddy Iron Man has also drawn nearly universal praise from critics, earning a 90% from critic aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, and garnering glowing reviews from the New York Times, Boston Globe and Wall Street Journal.

But wait, didn't a superhero fighting another superhero movie already come out this year, and didn't everybody hate it?


Minimal spoilers below.

SuiteSports Endorses Donald Trump

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

SuiteSports is thrilled to announce that, on this, the 1st day of April, 2016, we are officially throwing our support behind Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In this time of great danger, America is at a crossroads. What this country needs is a uniter, someone that can bring us all together and keep us safe from those who want to harm us, domestically and abroad.

Furthermore, we can no longer afford to hide behind the cowardly shield of political correctness. Americans must be frank with each other, and tell it like it is with regards to terrorism, trade, race relations and gender equality.

The Over Thought Podcast: PLAYOFFS?!?!

With the Final Four fast approaching, the gang discusses all the different ways we crown champions in sports. From the single-elimination tournament, to the playoff series, to the regular season points system and beyond, which structures do the best job of determining the "best team," and which are just the most fun?

Also, if you could tweak any playoff system to make it better, which would it be, and what changes would you implement?

All that, and much, much more, inside this week's edition of The Over Thought Podcast below.

Batman v Superman v Critics v Attention Spans

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

So, I finally bit the bullet last night and saw the new Batman-Superman movie. I told you I would last week, mostly because these characters are too damn important to miss, especially when this flick is their first meeting on the big screen.

So, was it as bad as all the reviews made it out to be?

Not quite, but this thing has a lot of flaws. Here's a quick rundown, with no spoilers (that aren't in the trailers), but I'll get into specifics, with spoilers, at the bottom. Don't worry, I'll warn you when the spoilers are coming. Seriously, I will.

First, the good.

-I still like Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent. He's a handsome boy scout, and I actually kind of buy his on-screen chemistry with Amy Adams' Lois Lane. When you consider that this could have gone the way of Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman, I'll call it a win that I don't hate watching these two interact.

-Also, Affleck ain't a bad Batman. No, really!

I mean, he's a different Batman. He's a PTSD, "I've seen some $#it" kinda Batman. But, it sorta works.

Just Take My Money, Super Hero Movies

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We've reached a day that many a comic book nerd has waited for with bated breath: The opening of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in theaters nationwide.

But this Good Friday may not be so great for the Caped Crusader and Big Blue Jesus, as critics have been slamming the film for the past week. I've personally watched BvS sink like a rock on Rotten Tomatoes' "TomatoMeter," going from a 45% critic approval early in the week, to the 30% it sits at as I type this.

Still, the same site reports that 74% of the audience enjoyed the movie, so it can't be that bad, right?

Well, no, it can still be awful. If the previews are any indication of the actual movie, it's going to be a slow, brooding, pretentious build to one fight scene between Batty and Supes, before they shoehorn Wonder Woman, Doomsday, Lex Luthor and Aquaman all in at the end.

That all seems to make for a bloated and discombobulated normal film, but it's exactly what I want in a super hero movie.

Bob Lobel: The Red Sox and Republicans are Giving us Plenty to Talk About

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

In a lifetime of hanging around sports venues and being fortunate enough to be there for some of the most exciting moments, it all pales by comparison to the debates on TV staged by the Republicans. 

Send the kids to bed for the 9 pm start. 

They rate it R, and it doesn’t stand for Republican. 

For people to get in and watch in person, be prepared to be carded. The most frequently asked question has been, “have you ever seen anything like this?” The answer, from just about everybody in the know, is a resounding "no!" 

Of course not, you couldn’t make this stuff up! It is a little difficult to see how America will be great again after watching the arguing of these three children and their adult chaperone from Ohio. 

The only bad thing is, we are running out of debates!