The Boss is all over the place.....and other random thoughts

All of a sudden, as if this were October , 1975, all over again, Bruce Springsteen is everywhere and anywhere. For those of you who don't understand the significance of the October '75 reference, that was when a young Springsteen found himself on the covers of Newsweek and Time magazines. For someone who was not a political leader or had won a Nobel prize, it was quite a feat.

Now, I turn on the TV and Bruce and the band are giving a pre-Super Bowl press conference. The local classic rock radio station is blasting non-stop commercials for tickets to the upcoming Springsteen concert in Glendale, which go on sale Monday morning. There seems to be as much hype for Bruce's halftime performance in tomorrow's big game, as there is for the game itself. And, oh yes, there just happens to be a new CD out by Bruce and the band, titled "Working on a Dream," which, while maybe not quite as good as "Magic" and "The Rising", is still quite a good album. The renaissance of The Boss, starting with "The Rising" and the subsequent tour in 2002, continues, and is still in full force.

Your humble narrator, of course, is totally geeked by all this. I picked up the new album on Wednesday and have listened to it about a dozen times. I highly recommend it. Not only that, I've pulled "Magic" out and listened to that as well, marvelling all over again at its sustained excellence. Mrs. Brucefan and I will be going to the Glendale show in April, and of course, I'm looking forward to the halftime show tomorrow. How many rockers from the 70's are still putting out exciting and relevant new material, and touring all over the world, as well? Go ahead, let's hear some names. The Boss continues to blow me away, even after 34 years of loyal fandom. The man is amazing.

Speaking of tomorrow's game, once again the Cardinals are the underdog, not getting much love or respect from the national pundits. Good, that seems to be the way the Cards like it. Keep that chip squarely on your shoulder, Warner and company, and play like you're pissed off and out to prove something. It's certainly worked so far. Here's hoping the Cinderella story reaches a joyous conclusion. Go Cardinals, shock the world one more time!

And, finally, after several months of being in a sustained poker slump, I played in a no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament last night with 90 or so participants. I made the final table and finished ninth. Overall, I was pleased with my performance, although perhaps a little more aggression on my part may have resulted in a higher finish. I think that's a good sign of my progress as a poker player. While I can appreciate a ninth place final table performance, I'm not quite satisfied and think I could have done better. But it'll do for now.