Roasting NHL Playoff Teams/Cities

 Hello everyone. As some of you know, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway. So, for this blog entry, I thought I would roast all sixteen teams and cities that are participating in this year's playoffs, which thankfully does NOT include the Florida Panthers.

Let's start with the Eastern Conference. The top seed there is the Carolina Hurricanes. As some of you may or may not know, they are my second team that I root for being my family hails from North Carolina. I didn't have very much beef with that franchise (other than they can't seem to win when it matters in recent years); their fanbase is very loyal and enthusiastic for a metro area (Raleigh/Durham) that is historically known for college basketball (Duke vs. UNC anyone?), however the recent antics of their owner, Tom Dundon (if you are suddenly reminded of the gavel pounding from the "Law & Order," or the Netflix sounder, you aren't alone). Dundon, in addition to owning the Hurricanes, recently purchased the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA, and he's being a royal cheapskate. Dundon incidentally, was the owner of the now-defunct AAF, which filed for Chapter 11 in 2019 (RIP Orlando Apollos). A $180 million lawsuit was filed against Dundon last year. Sheesh.

Their first-round opponent is the Ottawa Senators. Another team I don't have much beef with. Unfortunately for them, their arena is in the middle of nowhere, and most hockey fans up there either root for the Leafs or Canadiens.

Philadelphia Flyers. Well, it's Philly, and sports fans know all about the bad rap Philly gets, but come on, how can you roast a team with Gritty as their mascot?

Pittsburgh Penguins. Two words, Sydney Crosby. It's like we're seeing the Lebron James of hockey, not just he's been good for a long time, but he's kinda long in the tooth. And his flopping? Lebron-esque. Also, those home jerseys ain't cutting it. Piss yellow? Yuck.

Buffalo Sabres. I've never really liked them that much at all. Honestly. I don't know if it was their former play by play guy screaming GOOOOOOAL FOORRRR BUFFALLLLLOOOH, or their black jersey that had a white buffalo that looked more like the mascot for Elmer's Glue, or the fact that they had a man named Satan on their team back in the day. By the way, it was pronounced zha-TAN. Church Lady, your thoughts?

Boston Bruins. Man, it was nice to see Boston miss the playoffs last season. But they're still a pain in the ass to Lightning fans everywhere. 

Montreal Canadiens. For this one, I'm pulling an obscure SNL reference from a weekend update segment around 1989, in which Jon Lovitz portrayed a rather annoying character named Frenchy. Everything good? Good. 

Finally, the team that's closest to me, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hate to have to roast my favorite team here, but I find that their in-game host (Greg Wolf) is somewhat annoying, their public address guy (Paul Porter) is VERY annoying (seriously, stop cheerleading), and they can't seem to win at home in the playoffs anymore (prior to Tuesday night, they were 1-10 in their last 11 home playoff games). I have my own theory as to why that may be, but I'll save it for another time.

Now for the west, let's start off with the Colorado Avalanche. Not much to roast them about other than I'm still bitter about 2022, that and they USED to be the Quebec Nordiques and had the best logo in hockey.

Los Angeles Kings. Will Ferrell, who I cannot stand, is one of the most famous fans.

Vegas Golden Knights. I don't think they've missed the playoffs once in their brief existence, their fans act entitled as a result, and it's in the gimmickiest of all gimmick towns. Not even Orlando, my old hometown, is that gimmicky. Yeah, I went there.

Anaheim Ducks. Radko Gudas, who is a pain in the neck and isn't all that good in my opinion, is on there. On the flip, they do have a well-liked former Bolt in Alex Killorn

Utah Mammoth. Newest team in the league even though they were technically the Arizona Coyotes, which went away when they were victimized by an Acme Catalog ownership group that couldn't get their act together and build them a home in the Phoenix area. Now they are in a land full of canyons, desert beauty, and Jesus freaks. And alleged sibling marriages.

Minnesota Wild. Their goal song (except for one postseason a few years ago when they went with "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince) has always sucked. Whether it's been "Crowd Chant" by Joe Satriani or "Shout" by the Isley Brothers. Do better, Minnesota.

Dallas Stars. Other that they're in Texas, there isn't much to roast about them. Now play me some Pantera.

Finally, we have the Edmonton Oilers, who apparently are still recovering from when Wayne Gretzky was sent to Los Angeles in 1988 (despite winning a Cup in 1990). They lost both Finals to the Florida Panthers, in and of itself an unforgiveable offence. Not only that, but you also have a state-of-the-art arena, yet had Sean McDonough, ESPN's lead hockey play-by-play man, call his games from a table from just outside where your center ice cameras are situated and not a proper press box. Terrible.

So, there is my attempted roasts of the sixteen teams in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs. Who do I think wins? Probably Colorado or Carolina even though I will root for Tampa. I guess we'll all find out when the Summer Solstice arrives.

Bonyscribe

Universe, What Did I Do?

 Good morning. This last week has been rather odd. I was gearing up for a massive day last Friday where I got to see a few old friends as well as my girl. And it was going swimmingly until Friday evening when I went to see my girl. Turns out her soon to be ex-husband showed up. Unbeknownst to me.

Since that time, a package I ordered online for her has been inexplicably delayed by USPS (gee, I wonder why?), a threshold on a money-making app I use has been met, but not credited, and the same thing that I was worried about this time last year has reared its ugly head again.

Tell me, universe, what did I do to deserve this???

Oh well, at least the Rays beat the Yankees last night...

Bonyscribe

We're Burning...Quite Literally

 Good morning, everyone, except for Jon Scheyer. Like last year, Duke had an epic collapse yesterday, and for the third time in four years, the College Basketball Men's Championship could be potentially unwatchable, but it does give me an excuse to post one of my favorite memes:

Huskies are so hilarious, even though they're a bit dramatic. I'm not just talking about the University of Connecticut's men's basketball team, either. I kind of want a husky myself, but down here in this climate, I don't think having a husky would be advisable.

Which leads me to why I'm writing this post. Have you seen the weather recently? Not so much in Florida, because it's usually warm during this time of year, but the rest of the nation, especially in the Plains and the West? Holy hell. Temperatures out west have easily broken triple digits, setting state records for the month of March in Texas, Arizona, and California. Closer to home, it isn't the temperature that's been hellish; there have been wildfires to contend with. By my old stomping grounds near Lumberton, NC for instance, a 180-acre wildfire ravaged the area. Causing evacuations but fortunately not causing any homes to be lost. Right in my backyard meanwhile, some areas around Hernando Beach had to be evacuated due to a wildfire in that area. Fortunately, that evacuation order has been lifted as well. On top of that, seemingly the entire state of Nebraska is on fire.

I wonder if all this heat and fire is karma for us going to war (what is it good for?) with Iran, and I don't really know exactly how that campaign is going because we have an administration that's full of shit and isn't serious in the slightest bit about making the world a better place. Instead, they all want TV ratings and to own the libs because Heaven forbid, we elected a black man as president in 2008. But I'll save that rant about the current US political climate for another time, if I feel like it. Speaking of the current administration, here is a recent photo:

Which is kind of why I haven't posted as much as I would like on here. Perhaps I have been a little uninspired with everything that's been going on in the US and throughout the world. I'm not the astrological type, but it seems like Pluto entered Aquarius last year, things have been slightly off kilter. The energy is just off. Hell, I've been getting yelled at by family members for putting too much creamer (which has zero sugar by the way) in my coffee. At least baseball season is underway. But I'll try to provide more content in the future. For right now though, I may have to summon my version of the Powderpuff Girls (which are three of the hottest bartenders in Tampa Bay) to help fight all these wildfires. Until next time...

Bonyscribe

No News Is Good News...I Guess

 Hello everyone. You know, I can't really watch the news anymore. All news nowadays is either one of a few things: Right-wing propaganda, left-wing propaganda, crime and Florida Man stories, shameless promos for a network that's a glorified TEMU version of Fox News (NewsNation), plus the weather and sports. And in between what garbage is on the news segments you'll get a commercial for one of three things: an ambulance chaser, someone pharma pimping some miracle pill, or a mindless ad for auto insurance. You've heard of insurance fraud, well why can't we get compensation for having to watch their ads? Then again, you'd have Morgan & Morgan knocking at your front door within minutes. No thank you.

So, here's a very condensed version of the news that I would disseminate. Gas is high, morale is in the toilet, our government is crooked, life sucks, and so do our sports teams. Have a good night. Of course I'm being hyperbolic, but at least you have a general rundown of what's going on in the world without the stupid advertisements. If that isn't enough for you, Miss Information (get it) has got you:

This bubble headed bleach blonde doesn't have a gleam in her eye, Don Henley.

Afterwards, I understand she'll be fighting Candy Owens on Celebrity Death Match (which I think needs to come back). Scratch that, it'll be a tag team match with her against Erika Kirk and Sarah Huckabee. All kidding aside, I think we're all better off turning off the news at this day and time, and just listen to music, and if something major breaks, then cut in. But gosh almighty the news sucks.

BonyScribe

Flashback: March 10, 2006

 Holy cow. Has it really been twenty years? Geez I'm getting old. Anyway, welcome to the first regular flashback of 2026. I've already had a random flashback earlier this year, but this one is consistent with the date published, as in earlier flashbacks I've done.

I WAS initially going to do a special flashback based on the firing of noted dog killer Kristi Noem, but let's just say other current events have messed with my mood, and that entry is on hiatus for the time being. I'll probably get around to it soon, but for now I rolled my D20 die as well as a regular die, and it came up 7 and an even number, so we're going back to 2006 for this entry. So, without further ado, here were the Top 40 songs based off data from Radio & Records Magazine for the week ending March 10, 2006. Mar10 Day; itsa ME, MARIO!!

40. Here We Go by Trina f/Kelly Rowland. I don't recall this one, so let me speak about what's going on in the Middle East. A total travesty, and it's for the most part our (US) fault. 

39. Hips Don't Lie by Shakira f/Wyclef Jean. You know who does lie? The American media, all politicians (especially the current administration), snake oil salesmen, etc. Enough to make me pull my hair out...oh wait, my head is currently shaved. But you get my drift. Anyway, one of the more notable events of this skirmish in the Middle East was the bombing of a school that killed 150+ Iranians.

38. Soul Survivor by Young Jeezy f/Akon. At first, I thought that the Israel regime was responsible for it, but after a photo that showed it was actually a US Tomahawk missile that struck the school, I knew it was us. The obscenest (apparently that's a word) part about it was the Department of Defense (more on that in a bit) claimed that the Iranians somehow stole the missile and exploded it on the school.

37. Ever The Same by Rob Thomas. Like COME ON! How in the hell would the Iranians be able to pull that off? Just another blatant lie by the Trump regime, not the first and definitely not the last.

36. Geek In The Pink by Jason Mraz. Speaking of the DoD, notice that per the Trump regime, it is now the Department of War. Another stupid name change along the lines of "Gulf of America." I guess Keg-breath and Trump wanted to change it to sound more intimidating. 

35. Who I Am Hates Who I've Been by Reliant K. Did they do this name change because they knew all along the US was going to create a war, legal or not? I mean it was called the Department of Defense during Trump's first term. They just had to create an "excuse" to send troops/battleships/fighter jets. 

34. The Real Thing by Bo Bice. Sometimes I wonder if our Commander-in-Chief is Emperor Palpatine or Joe Isuzu. Probably both. Enough ranting about this clown show of our administration. Now on with the countdown.

33. We Be Burnin' by Sean Paul. I'm not done ranting, however. Another thing I want to rant about is the obscene amount of AI-generated content online lately.

32. If It's Lovin' That You Want by Rihanna. It seems like every other post I see on Facebook these days is AI-generated. You can't tell what's real and what isn't anymore, and in the age of fake news, that's dangerous.

31. L.O.V.E. by Ashlee Simpson. How interesting I make those comments and a song Ashlee Simpson, who was infamous for lip-synching on SNL around this time, shows up. 

30. For You I Will (Confidence) by Teddy Geiger
29. Savin' Me by Nickelback 
28. Unpredictable by Jamie Foxx f/Ludacris. One more rant while I'm at it. Have you noticed that local commercials are virtually unwatchable these days? On Fox 13-WTVT in Tampa (which my sisters watch for news), almost every other ad is for Morgan & Morgan or Farah & Farah. Morgan & Morgan you've probably heard of, Farah & Farah (for the courtesy for anyone reading this outside Florida) is a Tampa-based law firm.

27. Don't Forget About Us by Mariah Carey. To me, the Tampa market has gotten as bad if not worse than the Norfolk-Newport News, VA market was in the late 90's/early 00's with the plethora of personal injury attorneys that polluted the airwaves then and probably still do now.

26. Crash by Gwen Stefani. Another ad that airs almost everywhere in the Tampa market if you have Spectrum Cable is the one for Spectrum that ends with a cringe-worthy locker room speech where the assistant coach insinuates that bundling your services with Spectrum is more important than winning the game that they're supposed to get hyped up for...YEAHHHHHHH!! Randy Orton, your thoughts?

25. There It Go by Julez Santana
24. Girl Next Door by Saving Jane
23. One Wish by Ray J. You know, if not for Ray J, some of us would have never heard of Kim Kardashian. If you know, you know.

22. Yo (Excuse Me Miss) by Chris Brown
21. Beep by The Pussycat Dolls. This reminds me, speaking of commercials. Back in the day, around 2006 if not earlier, incidentally, Spectrum (then called Time-Warner cable) ran a radio ad campaign promoting their Road Runner high-speed internet service. It featured the announcer and what I assume was either a mentally challenged person or a head injury survivor. Either way, they tried to get him to say "Beep-Beep" before a webpage using Road Runner would load up and every time he failed. Looking back, I felt that this ad campaign was rather exploitive not only to the mentally challenged but also to those who may have had head injuries.

20. Stupid Girls by P!nk
19. Pump It by Blackeyed Peas. I believe that this song was featured in a Best Buy ad campaign around this time.

18. Right Here by Staind. Hadn't heard this song in a while, but I remember making a mixtape and this was one of the songs on it. Yes, I made mixtapes for my own personal use back then, and even one for someone who I had a crush on, but as Garth Brooks sang long ago, one of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.

17. Temperature by Sean Paul. Speaking of which, glad to see that spring is approaching rapidly after a brutally cold (by Florida standards) winter

16. I'm In Luv (Wit A Stripper) by T-Pain f/Mike Jones. Stripper? No, Strip club bartender? YES! Incidentally, her birthday is less than two weeks away and she's throwing a party to celebrate. Her Facebook page has the details of it. I'd really appreciate it if you stopped by. 

15. Because Of You by Kelly Clarkson
14. Shake That by Eminem f/Nate Dogg
13. You're Beautiful by James Blunt. I want to say that this recording has a blooper in it that got left on the final track. The first time he says "My life is brilliant" I don't think was supposed to be on the recording but somehow was. Whether or not it was done intentionally I have no idea. Perhaps I should do a deep dive into it. Guess what? It was a blooper after all. From the song's Wikipedia page:

at the beginning of the song, Blunt sings the first line twice ("My life is brilliant"). The mistimed delivery was left in the final recording...After the initial start, he says, "What, was I too early? Oh, sorry...

...and THAT is editing on the fly!!

12. Everytime We Touch by Cascada. Duke basketball fans rejoice.

11. Run it by Chris Brown f/Julez Santana
10. SOS by Rihanna
  9. Stickwitu by The Pussycat Dolls
  8. Grillz by Nelly. Twenty years ago, most young people wanted grills. Nowadays, they want facial tats. WHY??? Pardon me for having a grumpy old man GenX moment there.

  7. Dirty Little Secret by The All-American Rejects. Sounds good. By the way, their signature song in my estimation, "Move Along," would debut in the top 40 the very next week.

  6. Walk Away by Kelly Clarkson
  5. Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy
  4. Unwritten by Natasha Beddingfield
  3. Be Without You by Mary J. Blige
  2. So Sick by Ne-Yo

and the number one song this week twenty years ago was...

  1. Check On It by Beyonce f/Slim Thug. 

So, there's my flashback/rant for this week. If I can get my act together (which shouldn't be too hard) I hope to have another blog post next week at this time, if not sooner. On top of that, I may on my social media channels link up a post I made three years ago in honor of Samantha's (Vixon) birthday. In the meantime, you can catch me on Twitter (no, Squealon, I'm not calling it THAT) and Bluesky at Bonyscribe. But not outside, that's for that girl in Broward County. In the meantime, have a great and safe weekend.

Bonyscribe

Random Thoughts On President's Day

 Hello everyone, except you Pam Bondi. Nothing else better to do this President's Day but to give you some random thoughts I have had over the past couple of weeks.

Happy President's Day, this is a better dance than Trump's.

Watched some, but not all of the Daytona 500 yesterday, and I have to say NASCAR has become a joke, or at least a shell of its former self. Tyler Reddick won, which gave owner Michael Jordan a Daytona victory on top of his victory in court late last year. It was the typical restrictor plate race from what I saw; pack racing followed by a stupid wreck, followed by more pack racing, followed by "the Big One," followed by more pack racing, followed by several wrecks on the last lap. Just ridiculous. When does Formula 1 start?

Nancy Guthrie has now been missing for two weeks, and I hate to say it, but I don't think she'll be found alive when that case in Tucson, AZ finally concludes.

I had the best Valentine's Day EVER this weekend. Didn't do a whole much, just got to spend time with my boo at work, and that's all that really matters. 

I have only watched a couple of hockey games in these Olympic Games, both US victories. Haven't gotten too much into these games but I do admire members of the US team speaking out on what's going on here, which hasn't been ideal to say to the least.

Along those lines, I don't get why so many people (mainly on the far-right) had with Bad Bunny's halftime show. If people had a problem with the language being spoken in it, why then...

• Did you sing along to La Bamba in 1987?
• Did you dance the Macarena in 1996?
• Did you shake your hips to any song Shakira did over the last 25 years?
• Speaking of whom, just six years ago she was in The Super Bowl Halftime that also featured Bad Bunny...
• Do you seemingly enjoy Pitbull?

Not to mention, the alternative halftime show, which should have been sponsored by Dollar General and Steak N Shake, was woefully performed by a bunch of second-rate country artists and Kid (c)Rock, who despite his claims on Faux News, lip-synched horribly his performance of "Bawitdaba."

On a brighter note, it finally rained here in west central Florida.

In what some would still consider a "cancel culture," I think it's time to cancel the Slam-Dunk contest during NBA All-Star Weekend. I think it peaked about ten years ago when Aaron Gordon dunked over Stuff the Magic Dragon, a performance that, no thanks to Dwayne Wade, got him second (he should have won). But this year's contest featured a scary moment involving Jace Richardson of the Magic. 

Speaking of which, remember the Tik Tok trend early last year that featured audio of that Saturday Night Live skit involving The Maharelle Sisters in their spoof of "The Lawrence Welk Show?" For those that don't recall, it featured concert footage of three singers of well repute, followed by Katy Perry's awkward dancing being performed over the "AND I'M DONEEEESE" part. Well, someone ought to show clips of Dwight Howard, Aaron Gordon, and Max McClung doing their dunk contest performances, followed by that fall Jace Richardson had.

Well, I guess I should do some doom scrolling this remainder of President's Day. I'm not watching the news or Olympics; in fact, my TV is on Music Choice to ensure that I have as peaceful as an afternoon as possible. Until then, have a good one.

BonyScribe

Bony Scribe's Random Top 40 Flashback, Volume III

 Hello once again. If you didn't catch my last entry, we had snow in Florida yesterday, and south of Tampa, there still may be a threat of snow showers believe it or not. Later today, the NHL Stadium Series comes to Raymond James Stadium as the Tampa Bay Lightning face off vs. the Boston Bruins.  As of right now, the temperature in Spring Hill (about 45 minutes north of Tampa) is 31 with windy conditions and going down to about 25 by daybreak. Quite the start to my birthday month. 

Today marks the third edition of my random Top 40 flashback feature. In November, I did March of 1989. Then in December, I did May of 1987. Today, I'm going to do the fourth week of August 1997. For those of you who may be new to reading this blog, the way I do my flashbacks is that I take the data (depending on the date) from either the Billboard (Hot 100 from 1980-91, Hot 100 Airplay from 92 on) charts, the Radio & Records CHR charts, or both. For these random ones, I utilize both. A predetermined point value is given to a song in relation to the position of that particular chart, along with bonuses for longevity, or how long that song has been charting. I wrote how and why I did this several years ago on this site, I might have to repost it to give you a reference. Anyway, from the data given, here were the Top 40 songs for the week of August 22, 1997.

Before we begin, there were fifty songs that charted on the BB Hot 100 Airplay and R&R CHR pop charts, so ten missed the cut. Those were:

On My Own by Peach Union (#40 R/R)
Everything by Mary J. Blige (#40 BB)
Turn My Head by Live (#39 R/R)
Love You Down by INOJ (#39 BB)
What Do You Want From Me? by Monaco (#38 R/R)
Supernatural by Wild Orchid (#37 R/R)
Not Tonight by Lil' Kim (#37 BB)
Happy With You by Samantha Cole (#36 R/R)
Stomp by God's Property (#35 R/R)
Walkin' On The Sun by Smash Mouth (#35 BB)

40. Takes A Little Time by Amy Grant (#33 R/R--8 points)

39. G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T. by Changing Faces (#32 BB--11 points)

38. When I Die by No Mercy (#32 R/R--11 points). While both GHETTOUT and When I Die had 11 points, When I Die was on its ninth week on the R/R chart while GHETTOUT was on its eighth week on the Billboard chart.

37. I Belong To You (Every Time I See Your Face) by Rome (#34 BB--12 points)

36. To The Moon & Back by Savage Garden (#29 R/R--17 points)

35. Barbie Girl by Aqua (#36 BB, #27 R/R--19 points)

34. How Do I Live by Leann Rimes (#38 BB, #26 R/R--20 points)

33. I Wanna Be There by Blessid Union Of Souls (#30 R/R--21 points)
32. MMMBop by Hanson (#30 BB--21 points). MMMBop was a former #1 on both charts. I Wanna Be There merely reached the top 20 on the R/R chart and only charted for one week on the Hot 100 airplay chart. Interesting because IWBT was on its 18th week on R/R while MMMBop was on its 19th on Billboard; it had already reached recurrent status on R/R (Under #20 with 20 or more weeks since its debut). Kinda indicates some vast differences between the BB Hot 100 Airplay, which I assume covers all formats, and the R/R charts, which only covers mainstream pop. I wish I had worked in the radio business so I could better try to explain it and possibly give some insight as to why IWBT didn't get as much run on BB.

31. I Don't Wanna Wait by Paula Cole (#33 BB, #24 R/R--27 points)
30. Mo Money Mo Problems by The Notorious B.I.G. f/Puff Daddy & Mase (#19 BB--27 points). In this instance, the opposite of what occurred with the last two songs appears evident, as this was the only song by Biggie to chart on R/R (it hadn't reached the Top 40 yet), and when it did it only reached #29, doing so in October. I'll have another example of that featuring Diddy later.

29. Fly by Sugar Ray (#25 BB, #31 R/R--28 points)

28. Coco Jamboo by Mr. President (#31 BB, #20 R/R--33 points)

27. The Impression That I Get by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (#27 BB, #28 R/R--37 points)

26. Invisible Man by 98 Degrees (#28 BB, #18 R/R--38 points)

25. Say You'll Be There by Spice Girls (#29 BB, #34 R/R--39 points). Pause here to give some of you some eye candy:

...and you wonder why my affinity towards redheads comes from? Forever grateful, Geri.

24. More Than This by 10,000 Maniacs (#26 BB, #22 R/R--41 points)

23. Building A Mystery by Sarah McLachlan (#17 BB, #25 R/R--42 points). No, there wasn't a sappy commercial from the ASPCA that accompanied this song, nor was it featured in that infamous dead dog dedication. Maybe my next flashback will feature the song that was involved with that.

22. Barely Breathing by Duncan Sheik (14 BB--45 points). Already reached recurrent status on R/R.

21. A Change Will Do You Good by Sheryl Crow (#22 BB, #23 R/R--47 points). The song with one of my favorite lines, "Jack off Jimmy everybody wants more."

20. If You Could Only See by Tonic (#21 BB, #21 R/R--47 points)

19. The Difference by The Wallflowers (#23 BB, #16 R/R--47 points)

18. One Headlight by The Wallflowers (#11 BB--52 points). As was the case with Barely Breathing, One Headlight had also reached recurrent status on the R/R chart.

17. Honey by Mariah Carey (#18 BB, #14 R/R--53 points). I read recently that Mariah has only five Grammy wins. How is that possible?! Then again AMPAS voted Jethro Tull over Metallica for best hard rock performance in the early 90s and in 2001 had an album of the year win by Steely Dan. Steely Dan.

16. Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews Band (#20 BB, 19 R/R--58 points)

15. Push by Matchbox 20 (#13 BB, #12 R/R--73 points)

14. Foolish Games by Jewel (#12 BB, #10 R/R--76 points)

13. Return Of The Mack by Mark Morrison (#16 BB, #17 R/R--79 points)

12. Where's The Love by Hanson (#24 BB, #6 R/R--84 points). Coming off the heels of "MMMBop," this track proved that a strictly pop hit while almost a certain smash on R/R doesn't guarantee success on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.

11. The Freshmen by The Verve Pipe (#9 BB, #13 R/R--97 points)

10. I'll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy & Faith Evans f/112 (#6 BB, #15 R/R--103 points). Remember the earlier example regarding Biggie? Diddy reached #4 on Billboard with this tribute track to Biggie and Tupac (who were assassinated in separate incidents over the prior six months), and surprisingly got some rub on R/R yet only managed #13.

  9. Do You Know (What It Takes) by Robyn (#15 BB, #7 R/R--108 points)

  8. Bitch by Meredith Brooks (#10 BB, #9 R/R--110 points). Don't think that song would work today. Censorship has started to run rampant present day. Case in point, the E****** files.

Seriously, nothing makes sense anymore. That gets bleeped out on TikTok while Chappel Roan practically exposed her breasts on the red carpet of the GRAMMYs last night.

  7. All For You by Sister Hazel (#7 BB, #8 R/R--120 points)

  6. 2 Become 1 by Spice Girls (#8 BB, #4 R/R--137 points). Again, I ask for your indulgence:

  5. Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin (#2 BB, #11 R/R--167 points). Speaking of the GRAMMYs, remember Colvin's win for Best Song in 1998 and her acceptance speech got hijacked by Ol' Dirty Bastard? Come to think of it this was the same GRAMMYs where "Soy Bomb" interrupted a performance by Bob Dylan. Now, the whole WORLD is unhinged...

  4. Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) by Backstreet Boys (#5 BB, #2 R/R--190 points)

  3. How Bizarre by OMC (#4 BB, #3 R/R--195 points)

  2. Men In Black by Will Smith (#1 BB, #5 R/R--210 points)

and my top spot for the week of August 22, 1997 went to...

  1. Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind (#3 BB, #1 R/R--235 points).

A quick word about this week before I wrap things up for this entry. Not only is Sunday my birthday, but it's also Super Bowl Sunday. I pick Seattle to get revenge on what happened a dozen years ago in Arizona to the hands of New England. Friday I'm going to have some fun, but also the Winter Olympics begin in Italy. During the Opening Ceremony, wouldn't it be something if, given the state of matters in the US, a member or several members of Team USA as they're marching into the San Siro for the parade of athletes did THIS gesture:

Food for thought. Anyway, enjoy the week!

Bonyscribe.