Gheorghemas: Day 9

On the 9th Day of Gheorghemas, Big Gheorghe gave to me . . .

Nine Gifts for Friends
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Seven Books for Reading
Six cocktails
Five gooooals / things
Four legal mic drops
Three critters and an otter
Two names for naming
And a fat guy in a jer-sey

After some delay, I'm here to bring you Day 9 of Gheorghemas. Some may attribute this delay to general laziness, or being drunk for the past two days. Those people, while possibly correct, are...well...somewhat correct. I am lazy and I have been consuming my fair share of alcohol the past few days but I've also been participating in no less than three separate Christmas morning (or afternoon) celebrations as well. A byproduct of the varying schedules that both my family and those families around us have to deal with during the holidays.

However we got here, I kind of like the idea of having my annual Gheorghemas gift giving extravaganza on Boxing Day. I mean, why should this blog only participate in American holidays. We're an international set here at G:TB and our holiday schedule should reflect this.

Speaking of reflection, it's been a hell of a year so far. The roster of G:TB has continued to grow as has our influence. We're not at least the 69th most trusted source on the internets for College Football gambling as well as a leading source of hip hop related lawsuits. Who knows what subject we'll tackle (dominate) next? Stay tuned in 2014.  Now on to the gifts.

Clarence- It's undoubtedly been a rough football season for you as the DC football team has struggled to be anything more than a weekly soap opera. Though I don't think you should be surprised. You have one of the most meddlesome owners in all of professional sports and your Offensive Coordinator has another man's initials tattooed on his ankle (not that there's anything wrong with that). You could certainly use (another) drink. With that in mind, treat yourself to a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle. Always a tough find, it's been made even more rare after 65 cases were stolen from the distillery earlier this year. If a bottle of Pappy is too rich (or too hard to find) for you, you can always grab a glass the next time you fly through the Atlanta airport. Just stop By One Flew South in Terminal E and tell them I sent you.

TJ- I gave TJ his present some time ago when he and his lovely wife came down to Florida for a visit in March. We went to a spring training game, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day and we introduced The Teej to Mustard's Last Stand, our local hipster run gourmet hot dog stand. It's delicious, unbelievably unhealthy and they serve tall boys of PBR for $1. I can't overstate how great this place is. TJ…I'll have the breakfast dog before the year's end…just for you.

Zman- As all of you are aware at this point, Zman and I share many loves. A love of hip hop and sneakers chief among them. I was blessed by my dear wife with two very nice retro sneaker purchases this Christmas and I'm quite grateful. So here's a tip on a way to feed your sneaker obsession while saving a little money. Its the clearance section of nikestore.com . I go here about once every two weeks to see what's come up for sale. Sometimes there is nothing of note, sometimes you get a pair of Air Max 95 Tape Camos for 25% off. It's a nice way to waste time while you're running up billable hours.


TR- I've never met you so it's tough for me to pick out a good gift for you. So, I'm going to take the easy way out and give you the gift of schadenfreude. It's one of the best gifts any sports fan can get and you are getting your money's worth in the form of this year's New York Knicks. Just know that while you're eating up on the Knickerbocker misery, I'm right there with you. Cheering against the Knicks while I dream of two top 5 draft picks for the Orlando Magic.

Dave- Another guy I've still never met. But one who I feel like I know pretty well based on his essays here on G:TB. Dave clearly likes to read and is quite accommodating in passing out book recommendations. So I have two books for you, Dave. First is ?uestlove's autobiography 'Mo Meta Blues'. Even if you're not a fan of ?uestlove or the Roots it's a great read for music lovers as the sheer width and breadth of his musical love and knowledge will enrich your own musical life. The second book is 'Hellhound on his Trail', a book I just recently finished that follows the manhunt for James Earl Ray after his assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It's an enriching read historically and as riveting a read of historical nonfiction as I've come across in some time.

Shlara- I think we all know what I'm getting Shlara this year, right? Enjoy.

Danimal- Technically Danimal and I are still competing in our College Football pickstravaganza so I'm not feeling very generous towards my fellow Sunshine State resident just yet. But if I must get him something, we'll go with the return of former Notre Dame starting QB Everett Golson in 2014. It looks like everything is a go for that to happen and after having to suffer through yet another season of Tommy Rees, I'd say Daniela deserves it. Good luck, buddy. Once the bowl season ends, of course.

Rob- As some of you recall, I was astonished at Rob's admission last year that he didn't own a single hoodie. He's since rectified this but is still undoubtedly woefully short of the minimum number of hoodies that a man who lives in a (somewhat) northern climate should own. So I'm sending Rob a hoodie of his own. He probably won't receive it until after the New Year and I don't want to ruin the surprise for the little guy but he's getting an actual present in the mail from me. It aint quite the bottle of whiskey he sent me after my kid was born but it too will help warm him up during the long winter months ahead.

Geoff- Geoff's not technically a member of the G:TB staff but he's a part of the family. Kind of like the stuck up cousin who comes around every once in a while and tells every one else in the family how horribly wrong their thoughts and current path of life is (I think many of us at G:TB may fill that role in our own actual families). Plus, I've always had a soft sport for Geoff ever since my dog attempted to murder him by trying to chew his foot and flip flop off during his maiden voyage to Gainesville. I hope you'll enjoy this picture as much as I do.

Ron thought it was about time for Frank to give back Nancy and it's probably time for me to end this post. If I didn't get you something it's because I'm a bastard, not because I don't love you. Merry Gheorghemas!