Nightlife Review: Scoreboard in Binghamton NY

Binghamton NY is a city that recently hit the national news. But the city is far more than that tragic event. Even now the city and its populace are trying to move forward from that day.

One aspect of the city that was not covered by the media is the nightlife. There is a robust college student presence in Binghamton. Like all college students a desire to go out and let off steam is as important as getting good grades. The Scoreboard Bar is an important, if somewhat new, part of that process.

The Scoreboard Bar is located on State Street, downstairs from the street level. It's a sports bar primarily, but also has a nightclub with a dance floor and DJ. The bar is split into 2 sections, which can be traversed with ease. Half is the sports bar with over 8 seperate flat screen televisions covering baseball, basketball, hockey, golf and other sporting events daily. The other half is the nightclub, with a dance floor, DJ booth, strobe lights, and more.

No matter which side you might choose to go to you can find plenty of room for dancing or just sitting at the bar and watching a game. On the sports bar side there is additional seating with booths that are open to the rest of the bar. Both sides feature a pool table with enough room for even the tallest player. And there are bathrooms for men and women on each side as well.

There is a lot that can be said for the Scoreboard, but I think the photos give a better indication of how well liked it is already. I say that because the bar has only opened up this month, and is still not known to the populace at large yet. And there are more things to come in the near future - including a kitchen.

The music is lively on either side (the sports bar side tends to play music later in the night after most sporting events are over) though the nightclub is a bit more danceable and festive. The sound system is powerful, but never so loud that your ear will be spliting. The bars are well stocked, with an attentive staff. Plus there are several bouncers on hand to ensure the safety and good time for all patrons.

In addition to all of that there are the various promotional events from time to time. One example is a wet t-shirt contest that recently occured on the nightclub side. It wa an idea that went over very well as you can see from the video. The entire crowd, young men and women, seemed to have a great time. I would imagine that the event will become more of a fixture in the future based on the response the crowd gave to the show.



There aren't a lot of things you can say about a bar beyond if it's worth going to or not. I would say that the Scoreboard is worth the time. It's safe, well located, roomy even when the crowd comes in, friendly, well-staffed, clean, and good music. There are many places in Binghamton, or any town for that matter, that can't say the same things.

If you are in Binghamton and want to watch a sporting event, or want to go out and dance, or even just want to go and play a game of pool going to the Scoreboard will let you do all of the above and more.

Tiger Woods and GM, Citigroup and the Mets

Today all eyes are pointing towards Citigroup and what they have been doing, or failing to do. Thousands have lost their jobs, tens of billions of dollars are being poured into the company. And unlike AIG, Citigroup is not sending their employees to luxury spas for a breather. Nor are they giving up on celebrity endorsements like GM with Tiger Woods. No, they are putting their name on the Mets baseball stadium for $400 million of your tax dollars.

Wow.

I mean what else can be said here. Citigroup is going forward with putting their name on a stadium (a policy I dislike in all stadiums) with your money as 401k’s and taxes are used to fund it. No wonder they ran through the intial $25 billion the Government gave them. And Congress is asking AIG and the auto industry for reforms and guarantees. For over a year now, no one thought this expenditure was worth noting? Hey Barney Frank, you didn’t get a memo on this – Mr. Head of the Banking Committee.

I mean GM has bailed out of their deal with Tiger Woods. They bought themselves out of their deal a year early. I’m sure it cost them more than a bit to do so, but at least they did something to save a few bucks. And I’m sure Tiger was more than happy to let them do it.

Tiger Woods is too big a brand to be tied to the failure of the auto industry. The last thing he needs is the media tying him to a huge payout funded by an auto bailout. That would be bad for his image, bad for PGA golf, and America. Nobody wins in that scenario. And I doubt he is hurting for the money.

Of course GM is losing the worst. Tiger looks like a hero for saving the company money. He can easily say that he does not want to be paid at the price of workers jobs, or taxpayer debt increases. And that would be true. But GM looks like an idiot for not moving forward sooner. And losing Tiger, the Super Bowl ads, and who knows what other advertising means fewer cars sold.

But at least this looks a little bit better for them after their luxury corporate jet trip to ask Congress for billions of dollars.

Citigroup on the other hand could care less. At least that’s what it looks like. They are spending more useless money than Tiger’s endorsement (the full 5 year deal), buying a new corporate jet, all the Super Bowl ads, and the AIG spa trips put together and multiplied by 10. At the very least will shareholders get a discount to go to Mets’ games in 2009. Even 1 game in the baseball season? I doubt it.

The big question is will this reflect badly on the Mets. They are getting paid a stupid amount of money, as is New York City, to have the field given this dumb name. There are thousands of employees of Citigroup that work in the corporate headquarters in NYC. How will they feel watching the Mets play, knowing that the field’s name cost them their job. Or anyone who invested in Citigroup. They might have lost the ability to go to games, or even to live in their home, because of the stock devaluation due to the mismanagement and they have to watch this team play in a place that sucked their money away.

Mets fans always have had it rough, being in the same city as the Yankees. But this is a new thing that really doesn’t have anything to do with baseball, yet it may well have a massive impact on the game.

And if you are wondering why Citigroup didn’t do something back in January (at the latest) when they knew things were getting bad? Its because they were sure of one thing. They are too big to fail. They can waste money like a drunk pissing on the side of a building. It is wrong, but they don’t care. And the Government knows it.

But let me ask you which you think is worse. Is it worse to lose Tiger Woods’ endorsement, and ads during the Super Bowl and ask for money, or to spend money on the name of a baseball field and demand the public pay for it? Then let me know why you think Congress (especially Chris Dodd and Barney Frank) seems to think GM is the bigger bad guy.

Dave Winfield remembers what Major League Baseball and WWII movies forget

Today is the anniversary of D-Day. The invasion of Normandy. And the major media barely takes notice. I mean in an environment where ultra-liberals are screaming that America turn tail and run away from Iraq, and cities slap insult after insult on our military – refusing to allow recruiters to do their jobs and hiding our Armed Forces in the back doors of airports if they let them into the ports at all [look up San Fransisco or Marines at VASS]– how do we expect more?

But America is not just forgetting to remember the sacrifices of the old and current soldiers that ensure the freedoms we enjoy without a second thought. In our luxury of sitting in our homes and the only bomb blasts occurring on our HDTV screens, we forget that 2302 days have passed without a single terrorist attack in America. If anyone thinks this is not because of our brave men and women, and their sacrifices, they are in my opinion fools and willfully ignorant.

America loves to forget the things in our past that don’t match with what we want to think of today. Like past wars and the soldiers that fought them. Like the decades it took for the Tuskegee Airmen to get the recognition they deserved, or the fact that beyond Spike Lee’s upcoming film I cannot name another major (or minor) movie that recognizes that African Americans served in WWII. Then again you would be hard pressed to find Hollywood mentioning that Blacks have served in ever war or conflict America has ever had including the American Revolution.

Along those same lines of forgetting selected parts of our past, there is an example of someone that is remembering. Dave Winfeild, former NY Yankee, has not forgotten those that came before him and enabled him (and every other non-White pro team athlete) to enjoy being the pinnacle of American major league sports. Who has he remembered that was forgotten? The players of the Negro Leagues.

The original National Association of Base Ball Players, formed in 1867, banned black athletes. In 1920 the Negro National League was formed. It would be another 27 years before Jackie Robinson would break the barrier created 80 years prior. But Jackie Robinson was not a man in a vaccum, nor plucked from some street corner. He was one player among a league of hundreds, a number of which are believed to have been equal or superior to Robinson – each of them denied solely because of the color of their skin.

Today there are hundreds of players that are of virtually every race found on the Earth in American major league sports. Yet even the most avid fans in the nation’s preimer sport are hard pressed to name more than 2 players from the Negro Leagues – Jackie Robinson and Saitchel Paige. Such a shun and a desire to ignore the racist and ill-concieved past of the nation and baseball is maddening. And while it’s many years too late, Dave Winfeild has made sure something is done about it.

30 members of the Negro Leagues, people that I doubt most sports fans have ever heard of – because the history books and stadiums were closed to them – are to be recognized in a way that at least symbolically ensures their place in baseball history. These men will be drafted by the major teams prior to the MLB amateur draft. Emilio “Millito” Navarro, now 103 and the first Puerto Rican to play in the Negro Leagues, will be drafted by the New York Yankees.

In a country finally celebrating the potential of the first African American that may become the President of the United States, finally recognizing that African Americans fought and died as bravely in every war we ever fought, finally recognizing that Blacks have been as integral to the foundation and growth of this nation as any (and perhaps more) other group, I say that such recognition is beyond long overdue.

The major media may feel such events are cursory. They may feel that focusing on a fist bump by Senator Obama on the night he locked the Democratic Presidential nomination is more news worthy. But I will not allow my blog to miss these important facts. I remember those that came before me, I thank them. And I will share that acknowledgement. If nothing else, it’s the very least we can do.

Don’t you agree?

Roger Clemens vs. Congress - 2.13.2008.1

Is it just me, or do most agree that the current Congressional inquiry on steroids in baseball a waste of money and time. I mean I really don’t care if Roger Clemens used steroids or not. It doesn’t change a thing in the world nor improve my life at all.

This is going to cost the American public tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars. It’s taken multiple days so far, and who knows how many more in the future. In the end, nothing dramatic will change. There might be a few notations in the stats, and maybe a player or 2 will be denied entry into the baseball Hall of Fame. And life as well as the MLB will continue unabated.

This is not worthy of the attention it is garnering. It’s not worth the money. It’s really pointless for Congress to delve into this. It’s an internal baseball issue, one that fans can address by refusing to go to games until assurances can be made that every player is steroids free. But the actual fact is most fans don’t care. They just want to be entertained.

If Roger Clemens goes to jail, there will still be steroids in baseball. If he does not go to jail, there will be steroids in baseball. There is too much money at stake for there not to be steroids in baseball, football, basketball and every other professional sport that exists today (with the exception of perhaps curling). That is a reality that invalidates all the hoopla that is surrounding the Congressional hearing today.

But the news is wasting our time covering every word. Congressman Waxman is again involved in an action that serves no purpose beyond wasting the taxpayers’ money. [If I recall correctly Congressman Waxman was involved in the investigation of Alberto Gonzalez and the firing of attorneys that had positions at the pleasure of the President. At the end of that waste of money and time in 2007, the conclusion was that no law was broken – as that was impossible to break a law - and that the individuals were still fired. No change except for spending my taxes and the time that was not spent on important issues like Darfur, or the Child Soldier Prevention Act.]

Am I wrong? Do you care about this? Will this affect your lives in any manner? I really would like to hear a justification for this waste.