Big Football in Little Ohio

Happy New Year! After spending a few days poring over those year-end lists I'm so crazy about, I've finally found my favorite... The Onion 10 Top Stories of 2005, of course. Be sure to click through them all.

Rolling Stone also had a nice round-up... The Mavericks of 2005. I always have trouble getting their site to display correctly, but the print edition was nice. For some reason, I keep getting my Rolling Stone in the mail, even though I stopped renewing about this time last year. Funny, that. Don't tell Jann.

But enough about the worst year ever. What an exciting, breathless week for Ohio sports fans!

It kicked off tonight with a Fiesta Bowl victory by The Ohio State Buckeyes over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. I hate rooting against the Irish, but they suck in Bowl games, and when they're facing the beloved Buckeyes, well, a girl just has to be loyal. Here's a toast to Jim Tressel, the coach with the 49-13 record, three Bowls, a National Championship, and, most importantly, a 4-1 record against U of Michigan! Woot!!

If only they'd beaten Texas.

Now, downstate, we Bengals fans are biting our nails over Sunday's playoff against the Steelers. Hey, Steve? I'd entertain a friendly bet. Five hamburgers says you'll be crying in your terrible towel around, say, 8:00 on Sunday evening. I'll admit that I'm nervous, but I've grown comfortable with the Bengals breaking my heart or pissing me off, so I'm prepared. Still, I think we're going to pull it off. Ya gotta believe. So, five hamburgers. Deal? Any other takers?

There couldn't be anything better for bar business and bartenders than the success of local teams. It's the stuff of dreams for us (we're not terribly ambitious people), so if you happen to have no local interest remaining in the games (or maybe you're just rooting for my broke ass to pay off my holiday bills), cheer the Bengals on past Sunday!

Just consider it a tip?

And for the folks who came for the booze, here's a recipe, one of the Long Island Iced Tea variations I'm so fond of, to toast another great season of Buckeye Football.

The Scarlet and Gray

Build on ice, in a pint glass:

1/2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Rum
1/2 oz Sloe Gin
1/2 oz Southern Comfort
1/2 oz Triple Sec

Re-ice after liquor melt

Splash of sour/bar lemon
Splash of cranberry juice

Generous shake with bar tin

Top with 7-up