THE 10 DAYS OF PENDLETON

Well, it's been a while. But when you read the next post, you'll know why. At this time of year, everyone starts ranking Top 10 movies, records, people, events of the year. Well, here are my Top 10 days of 2005. You'll notice most of them involve heavy drinking, which is no coincidence.

So here goes, my top 10 days of 2005 (in chronological order)

1. January 2 -- I originally was gonna list Jan 1 - the day I had a neighborhood NYD party at my house, but the next day - when me, my dad and my brother went to a sports bar to watch some NFL action - tops it. Since I work Sundays, I rarerly get to watch entire football games, and I hardly ever watch them with my dad and brother. So it was nice to get out and do it. Plus the Rams beat the Jets that day to back into the playoffs. Not a bad start to the year.

2. March 19 - My friend Steve had a sizeable St. Patty's day party at his house, and I have to say, it's a great day. My kids get to run around unsupervised, my wife can chat with other dames and I can get loaded, play golf and watch the Big Dance in relative peace. Best thing about this party, is he provided plenty of high-class tastes (Harp, Guiness). It's a good day.

3. April 20. I can't remember the exact date, but it was around this time the Allen Oldies Band rolled into Hoboken, NJ. I'm sure you've never heard of this act, but it was the greatest live show I've even seen (including Springsteen). These dudes played for 5 hours with no breaks. They drank Rheingold, rubbed peanut butter in their hair and played great oldies all night.

4. July 9 - Not many men would list the date of child's birthday party as a top 10 day, but this one was. The dude across the street from me has a nice inground pool and it was his son's 5th birthday. Me, the Mrs. and the kids walked across the street around noon and I stumbled back across the street sometime around 1 a.m. In between was some fun with the kids, a pretty good magician, a huge storm that chased away all of the non-entities and plenty of 12 oz. cocktails. I did swear - since I was having my 5-year-old daughter bringing me beers out of the cooler - the next day I would quit drinking. The boycott actually lasted until ...

5. July 26 - If I had to rank them 1-10, this would be in the top 3. Every year, me, my neighbor and another friend drive up to North Jersey for an all-day wiffle ball tourney. Basically, my friend's cousin has built a wiffle field of dreams in his backyard. So it's hours of drinking, wiffle and good eating. It's a tremendous time.

6. August 16 -- Me and the family went to L.A. for a week to visit my brother, who writes for the Simpons. We visited him a work one day and got to see the cast do a table read - which is where the sit around a table and read the script for the first time. We also got to meet Joe Montegna, who was there doing a guest spot. I also saw the dude who played Howard Stern's father in Private Parts walking around the parking lot.

7. Sept 5 - Labor Day in South Plainfield NJ is a huge day. There's a parade, fireworks, the whole nine yards. Well anyway, it was kind of a repeat of July 9 without hte magician. It ended with me drinking beer and talking to a nun watching fireworks in the Church Parking lot.

8. Sept 17 - Any dad dreams of the day he will coach is son or daughter in youth sports. Well, Sept 17 was my coaching debut of my daughter's soccer team. We lost, but I didn't care.

9. Oct 1 - Took my daughter to her first Mets game. Enough said.

10. Nov. 5 - My friend who has the St. Patty's Day, also has season tickets to Penn State. Well, every year I usually go to one game with him and this year was no exception. The day involves a huge tailgate with plenty of great food (yet too many high-class tastes), a great game (PSU beat Wisconsin) and - surprise, surprise, plenty of drinking. The night usually wraps up in the Shandygaffe - a dive bar on the great campus of Penn State. The next day is always usually a tough one, but it's also a top 3 day.

PREDICTIONS FOR 2006
1. Jan 12 - I think I'm gonna get a ticket to Mark Messier night at the Garden.
2. March 4 - I think I'm gonna get a ticket to Carolina at Duke hoops. St. Pat's Day guy might be in, too.
3. Sept 9 - Penn State at Notre Dame.
4. Wiffle ball day
5. Valentine's Day (HEY NOW)

Ok, that's it. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you and yours.