Championsip Party Blog 101...

In a tribute to the Sugar Hill gang of Bloggers, the one-and-only Bill Simmons, I provide the following play-by-play of the annual NFL Championship Party, presented by Antarctica Bar.

Prior to 3:00pm - Anthony and the folks at "the Deli" set-up a huge spread of food, including the best meatballs known to mankind, the best Eggplant Parm in NYC and a 10-foot long hero.

3:00:00 - Arrival at Antarctica, 287 Hudson Street, NYC between Spring and Dominick.

3:00:01 - A big hug to Al the Cop, situated in his bar chair, somewhat like Norm at Cheers. Last year, Al the Cop was in the same spot.

3:00:02 - "Where are the boxes?"

3:00:03 - "Where are the meatballs?"

3:00:05 - Host Tommy and his side-kick, Muggsy, are nowhere to be found.

3:01 - "It's still early."

3:05 pm EST - Kick-off of SD Chargers at NE Patriots. Not a box in sight.

3:15 - Tommy enters to much fanfare and a "Here we go, Fairfield, here we go" chant from the faithful fans. The first of dozens to be shouted during the afternoon.

3:16 - Enter Muggsy with the boxes, marked nicely in magic marker on a office folder.

3:20 - Joe, the pharmacy guy and former pressroom attendant, asks if we can get "the first score, last score" game going? I look up into a sea of bar patrons and all hell breaking loose, and say - "I'll play, but it is impossible to gather the group together." Everyone is just too spread out in the bar. In about 2 seconds, we give up.

"It's not as good as the old days in Tommy's apartment," says Joey.

3:30pm - A cold, crisp Bud Light - the first of the day, served by beautiful Antarctica host decked out in a Nathan Vasher Bears jersey.

3:35 - Repeat activity of 3:30pm, courtesy of my buddy Peter, as he knows I have my hands filled with the finances.

4:15 - Brady connects to Gaffney for the key NE Pats touchdown of the day. Everyone wonders if 'their guy' had the TD. A number of those who had Gaffney rejoice.

5:30 - Open the floodgates for the Game Two boxes. Beer is kicking in all-around and the crowd files over like the stream of cars heading to the "Field of Dreams."

6:00:00 - T. Brady takes a knee. Game Over. NE Patriots win their 18th straight game.

6:00:01 - A number of "real" NY Giant fans head out the door to watch the game in the quiet of their own apartments.

6:02 - It becomes apparent that Marc of the Globe is a no show. "Too cold," he replies to a SMS Text message attempt to summon him from the cozy confines of the Marriott Marquis.

6:05 - The NY friendly crowd begins to surge and create some electricity in the air for the upcoming NY Giants vs. GB Packers game. The cold scenes from Lambeau Field are on the TVs, but the sound is silenced to allow Frank Sinatra songs to boom from the Antarctica sound system.

6:10 - With box duty and financial responsibilities complete, some quality time emerges with Helen, Eric and Spy. It becomes the best time of the day, hands down.

6:20 - T gets to eat. Meatballs galore. Meal consists of; Two large meatballs, a scoop of Eggplant parm. One roll. I pass on the caesar salad but stop for a slice of the 10-foot long hero.

6:21 - T goes for seconds.

6:21:01 - Another meatball, squished into a fresh roll. Two more scoops of eggplant parm. We all agree to do a NY vs. Boston cook-off contest with two or three items eligible:

Meatballs
Eggplant parm and
Chicken dish (Francaise, Piccata, Marsala etc).

6:21:55 - Pam Oliver is interviewing Eli Manning on TV. No sound, but plenty of Sinatra.

6:22 - The last of the 'real' Giants fans depart. One stays. Brendan. I think he is taking a liking to Ms. Vasher.

6:25 - For no reason at all, Sinatra songs gaining momentum and someone cranks the volume. I think, "We're getting old? It used to be Van Halen or the Dead?" But, the pregame ritual builds the vibe, like pre-concert music always carefully selected by the band.

6:30 - Quality time with Kevin(s) and we discuss the state of Louisiana and Louisiana governor Jindal with one Kevin. (B.) And, I discuss Seton Hall, Providence, Harvard basketball with the other Kevin. (W.) We both agree that St. John's stinks and that Norm is in trouble.

6:31 - No Spears?

6:40 - We, miraculously, resurrect an old game we always played when the championship party was a small affair with only 6 to 16 people. Stay with me, okay?

I grab some old business cards and jot out the following on the plain white back, one name or position on each card:

Favre/GB QBs
Grant
Driver
Jennings
GB Field/and all TEs
GB Kicker
GB Def/Special Team

Eli/NY Giant QBs
Jacobs
Plax Burress
Toomer
NYG Field/all TEs
NYG kicker
NYG Def and Special Teams

We round up seven guys (although we used to go as high as 14), everyone ponies up a $ and we toss the GB names into my Texas Rangers "T" hat. Pot is good? We draw names.

Repeat activity with the NYG names toss into the cap.

Everybody set? Two names a piece, one on each team.

Tommy W nails the NYG kicker card and - little does he know - the 2x windfall.

6:40 - Joe, the pharmacy man, comes by asking if we can play 'first score, last score?"

I feel terrible, as we didn't get him in the game.

6:42 - The NFL is finally getting around to getting the game underway, except the kick-off is a 'swing and a miss' as the ball blew off the tee.

6:42:57 - Kick-off of game 2 of the championship party. The place goes wild. The temp says -1 degrees (F) and -23 wind chill.

The game plays on ... the frozen tundra, etc.

8:14 - Someone, probably Kevin and his brother Chris, get the NJ Nets vs. Phx Suns game on one screen. Nobody seems to mind, and they adjust to other screens to watch the NYG game.

8:15 - I think, "Antarctica needs some new TVs?" Two are good wide-screens. Four are old 36-inch antique TVs. None are HD.

8:16 - Chris B has to head home, as his PR firm doesn't give the MLK Jr Day holiday. (Note to head of his firm - you ought to re-think that?)

Negotiations are underway if Chris' cards of Plaxico and Donald Driver come up in the last score game? He won't agree to passing a cut along! I cave.

8:20 - Someone quotes a letter from St. Paul to the Corinthians, and my head snaps, ready to seek out the reason that it came up. We ask? "By the way, where is Corinth?"

8:20:03 - Kevin W. quickly replies, "Greece."

There is no debate.

9:06 - Key NYG TD as Ahmad Bradshaw makes it 20-17 and the NYG take command. The NY faithful are going wild. I find myself realizing that I am going to root for New England in the Super Bowl.

9:20 - GB Field goal makes it 20-20. What a game?

9:36 - I say to Spy, this is great, but the NYG vs. GB game reminds me of the Penn vs. St. John's game for the right to play Michigan State in the Final 4.

9:37 - Tynes misses the possible game-winning FG and everyone moans. Coughlan gives him th look to kill. Everyone now hates Coughlin.

9:38 - People with great 'boxes' like 0-0 and 7-7 ask if they get anything for the game ending or future OTs ending in ties. I say - "you're out of luck." Those numbers are worthless in OT. "You need a 3 or a 6 now," or a 2 would be amazing."

10:05 - Overtime coin flip.

10:15 - Lawrence Tynes hits a 47-yard FG to put NYG in the Super Bowl. Antarctica rejoices.

Al the cop is the big winner on the boxes.

Postgame interviews and assorted rejoicing continue.

10:55 - "I'm on a natural high right now," says an unidentified NY Giant to Foxsports' Andy Adler.

10:55:01 - Click.

The annual Championship Party ...

Every year, either on the NFC-AFC championship weekend or an earlier round of the NFL playoffs, my buddy Tommy hosts a great party for his friends and clients at a NYC watering hole, named Antarctica.

The friends and football are the No. 1 attraction.

The meatballs are a close second.

Stay tuned for a blog update on the party, to come this Tuesday.

Ode to Michael Ray ...

This story caught my eye and was just too much to ignore....

Michael Ray Richardson and NY Knicks fans everywhere read the AP story with interest...

Stricken ship off Antarctica evacuated

By Bill Cormier, Associated Press Writer | November 23, 2007

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina --A Canadian cruise ship struck ice off Antarctica and began taking on water, but all 154 passengers and crew took to lifeboats and were rescued safely Friday by a passing Norwegian liner, officials said.

The passengers and crew from the Explorer were picked up by the Nordnorge, a Norwegian cruise ship that was nearby and responded to the distress call, said Susan Hayes of G.A.P. Adventures of Toronto, which owns the stricken vessel.

The 91 passengers included at least 13 Americans, 22 Britons and 10 Canadians, officials said. In addition to the passengers, there were nine expedition staff members and a crew of 54, Hayes said.

"The passengers are absolutely fine," Hayes said. "They're all accounted for, no injuries whatsoever."

The Nordnorge has enough room to accommodate all the passengers, "so they may very well continue their journey on the Nordnorge," Hayes said.

The Explorer was completing an ecological tour of Antarctica when it struck a chunk of ice that tore a hole about the size of a fist in its hull, Hayes said.

She called the evacuation process "calm," saying pumps were able to deal with incoming water until the Nordnorge arrived.

Still, Hayes said the ship is in danger of sinking.

"It is listing. ... There is a possibility we may lose the ship," she said.

The British coast guard said it was told at 12:24 a.m. EST of the incident involving the 2,646-ton Explorer near the South Shetland Islands and Graham Land, an Antarctic peninsula.

Rescue centers in Norfolk, Va., and Ushuaia, Argentina, were taking charge of coordinating the rescue, the coast guard said.

An Argentine rescue and command center received a first distress call at 11:30 p.m. EST Thursday from the Explorer amid reports it was taking on water through the hull despite efforts to use onboard pumps, said Capt. Juan Pablo Panichini, an Argentine navy spokesman.

A navy statement said the captain ordered passengers to abandon ship about 90 minutes after the first call and that they and the crew took to eight semi-rigid lifeboats and four life rafts, with the captain leaving the ship later.

The statement said Explorer was some 475 nautical miles southeast of Ushuaia, the southernmost Argentine city and a jumping-off point for cruise ships and supply vessels for Antarctica.

Seas were calm and winds light at the time, what Panichini called "optimal conditions for carrying out the evacuation,"

G.A.P Adventures is a tour company that provides eco-friendly excursions with an environmental focus. The Explorer was in the midst of a 19-day circuit of Antarctica and the Falkland Islands that allowed passengers to observe penguins, whales, and other forms of local wildlife.

The Nordnorge, built in 1997, is 403 feet long and has a capacity of 691 passengers in 214 cabins.