JUMPING TO A NEW WEBSITE (see below)

Article On Saturday, April 29th On The "AboutPage" (bottom left)

NEW WEBSITE:   I tried a new 50 megs website which I named www.clifftheking.50megs.com in the hopes that the Guestbook Page of another 50 megs website might work better. I also complained to 50 megs about how the Guestbook Page was cutting off our entries. If you go to the cliff the king 50 megs website (by hitting the tab above) you'll see that there is a Guestbook Page there. If you go into the Guestbook Page, you'll see that a guy named John (evidently from 50 megs) made a couple of test entries. I tried one last test entry and got cut off again. So, there is an entirely new website.   This new website (www.freewebs.com/clifftheking/ has a Guestbook Page which appears to work. The new website is kind of a work in progress, but I believe that at least we'll be able to make full entries there. I still like the 50 megs design and, if they can ever get rid of that security code crap so that we can make full entries, I wouldn't mind coming back and putting the Blacktop League's information with them once again. Put the new website in your "Favorites" tab and you won't have to type in that long title to get there. Or, just hit on the tabs listed here (www.freewebs.com/clifftheking/ . TO GET THE NEW WEBSITE hit above.

www.josethemvp.50megs.com

Rasheed's Expertise Prevents Blank Guestbook Page Entries (see below)  To get directly into the Guestbook Page and just read already printed entries, hit on this: http://dbl.50megs.com/fsguestbook.html  

"Black Cloud" Stigmata (see below) 

****SPEC RETIRES****    article below

        This is the new, official deSilva Blacktop League (dbl) website. It was formed because Stigmata filled up our old Guestbook Page (on the www.chainsaw.50megs.com website). Hopefully, this website can be used to inflict as much aggravation amongst Blacktop members as possible, especially Stephen (Spec) Roberge. Please feel free to enter a comment into the Guestbook Page of this website, especially if you're taking a gratuitous shot at either Spec or Stigmata. 

www.thekidfrombrooklyn.com -If you go to this link, hit on "videos" at the bottom of the homepage. Then, hit on any of the offerings there to watch and listen to the Big Man recite some of what Hamhocks has written.

      Apparently, the Blacktop's own Stephen "Spec" Roberge is retiring from basketball after succumbing to injuries inflicted over the years by Jeff "The Assassin" Gardner. The final, debilitating blow ended up being a bone bruise to the ankle. Yes, that's right - a bone bruise. In the medical world, a bone bruise is listed as third in the order of severe injuries that can be incurred by an individual, right after decapitation and gunshot wound to the temple. The first two are the most prominent life-ending injuries and #3, the bone bruise, is the #1 career-ending injury. How unfortunate that Spec is suffering from such a devastating injury. It all started years ago when Spec was sitting atop a cooler full of drinks adjacent to the Blacktop on a beautiful summer day. Suddenly, and unprovoked, The Assassin attacked Spec and knocked him awkwardly from the cooler. Spec's ankle immediately swelled and, although we didn't know it at the time, he was well on his way to retirement from basketball. Fast forward to the present and we now have the official word, as listed on the Guestbook Page, that Spec is retiring for good from basketball. After reading the Guestbook Page, I contacted a few Blacktoppers to get their reaction to Spec's impending retirement. These are exact quotes from them. Norman "Hamhocks" deSilva: "I never liked the guy anyway, even from the old Freetown days. Good riddance." Ben "Jose The MVP" Gonsalves: "Retiring? Does anybody have a dictionary handy? I don't understand the definition of that word." Rick "J-Man" Jalbert: "Who?" Jeff "The Assassin" Gardner: "It's about time. It doesn't usually take that long when I hit somebody." Chad "Stigmata" Pimental: "I used to trust the guy, but retiring from a bone bruise, c'mon. Hey, maybe I've got a chance to win the BoB this year now, without him as a teammate." Ambrose "Chainsaw" Smith: "Can't say I'm too surprised. I never thought that he'd make it this long." Billy "Bingo" Shea: "Good! I should get more shots now." Billy "Rasheed" Eccles: "I think that he's afraid to face the 2005 BoB champs in 2006 and get himself humiliated." Cliff "The King" Furtado: "Whose shot am I going to continually block now?" I left messages for a number of other unavailable Blacktoppers and their responses will be posted after they get back to me. Although not a Blacktopper, I also contacted UMD Football Coach Bill Kavanaugh regarding Spec's impending retirement. Coach Kavanaugh: "A bone bruise? I'm not surprised. I remember when he sat out the 2nd half of the Bridgewater State game his senior year becasue he broke a fingernail deflecting a pass in the 2nd quarter." So there you have it. On a personal note, although I never cared for Spec as an alleged human being, I will say that he always gave 100% out on the court and was, at best, a mediocre teammate. That being said, I won't miss him. Spec, enjoy retirement and take care of that ankle.

Saturday, April 1st, 2006

     Today was Opening Day at the Blacktop and seven players made their 2006 DBL debut. The seven were: Hamhocks, Adam Cartwright, Ben "Jose The MVP" Cartwright, The Assassin, J-Man, Chainsaw and me. Hamhocks, as usual, briefed us on a couple of issues that we didn't know about. First, Hammy told us about the New Bedford Police and Firefighters duking it out with some street toughs up at the St. Patrick's Day parade in Boston. Then, Hamhocks quoted an article from the New Bedford Sub-Standard Times having to do with a local former basketball player. When a couple of Blacktoppers mentioned that Hammy was misquoting the newspaper article, Hamhocks stood firm and said that he had the actual article in the house and could prove it. When the Blacktoppers asked to see the evidence, Hamhocks said that perhaps Brenda had thrown that article out. Anyway, some spirited 3 on 3 games were played. I was waiting for Jose The MVP to recommend playing full-court, but it never happened. Maybe because it was the first day out of the box and The MVP felt that we weren't up to it. If that was the case, he was right as far as I was concerned. The team to beat ended up being the Adam and Chainsaw and anybody else team. The Assassin started out drilling his first 5 shots, with me "guarding" him of course, and he stayed hot all day. In fact, considering that it was Day 1, most everybody played fairly well, present author excluded. The highlight of the day, as far as I was concerned, came when Hamhocks put Adam Cartwright on the deck using just one finger. Chuck Norris has nothing on this technique used by Hammy. Adam never knew what hit him and all Hamhocks needed to use was his right index finger. Taking my first 2006 look at Hamhocks, it was obvious to me that he's been out on the west coast at the BALCO factory. The man's arms are at least as huge as ever, but the Big Man has even more giguntic shoulders, back and traps than last year. He's like a white Barry Bonds, only with a smaller head. I bounced off of him at one point and it was like running into a brick wall. Chainsaw mentioned that evidently Hamhocks and a friend had gone to see "Brokeback Mountain" on a night recently when Spec and Chainsaw were trying to get Hammy to go over to Smoking Bones for some libations. I didn't have the guts to ask Hamhocks how he enjoyed the film. All in all, it was a successful inaugural effort, mostly because Stigmata and Spec weren't there to irritate everybody. If we can possibly keep these two from showing up this year (Spec should be easy because he seldom came last year), it should be a very exciting season.  

Rasheed Saves The Day - Stigmata "Black Cloud" Ruins It        

                                  "Rasheed" Eccles has advised that by typing in http://dbl.50megs.com/fsguestbook.html into the area of the website that you want to go to you can get right into the Guestbook Page without making a blank entry. Now that I've printed it here, you can simply hit on the above notation and get right in. I'm going to put the same notation at the very top of this page so that, hopefully, there won't be any more blank entries. As much as Rasheeed deserves credit for this revelation, I must admit that that lightweight Spec mentioned last year that by putting the Guestbook Page into your "favorites," while you're in the Guestbook Page, you could also prevent blank entries. I just did that on this computer and now, when I hit on "favorites," I can then hit on the Guestbook Page indicator located in there and get right into the entries on the Guestbook Page. At any rate, thanks to Spec and Rasheed, there shouldn't be any more blank entries on the Guestbook Page. ///// Speaking of blank entries on the Guestbook Page, I would just like to thank Stigmata for the rain today. Whereby I usually blame most everything that happens on either Spec, The Assassin, Jose The MVP or Hamhocks, there's no question that today's inclement weather is directly attributable to the probable presence of Stigmata at the Blacktop today, should it have been playable. This man is a Black Cloud. Doom and misery follows wherever he goes, as illustrated by the fact that Stigmata said that he couldn't make the Blacktop last week (and we were able to play), but that he would be able to be at the Blacktop this week (rain). I want to know who's going to be the one to tell Stigmata that, due to the obvious Poltergeist that follows him, he's not welcome to play at the Blacktop anymore. Remember last year when it rained like 7 Saturdays in a row? Stigmata was available to play each of those weeks, if you remember. The weeks that Stigmata was at boot camp, or otherwise indisposed, it was always decent weather. Somebody must step up to tell Black Cloud that he can't come to the Blacktop anymore. Personally, I vote for Hamhocks to do it, since he owns the place. Any other suggestions should be put on the Guestbook Page.