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THE PUB..Man, what a great night I had at the Rail. I walked in and d’oh!, that bloody MMA nonsense was on. I marched up to Len and said, when is this crap over? Primordial, mouth-breathing scum looked over with undisguised hostility. Boom, Len puts me in the Rail version of the penalty box…I was given a tiny black and white television in the kitchen to watch my hockey and told to shut up and stay out of trouble. Okay, drunk guy in kitchen…hmmm, how do you think that worked out? Did your burger arrive last night with a bite taken out of it? Just kidding. But I discovered that mistaken orders are placed up on the counter and that staff are allowed to grab a quick bite. Not last night, lads, I ate my freakin’ head off! It was like a backstage pass and I was right in the middle of the frenzied activities of a bar on a very busy night. I was amazed at how hard everyone works. Maria, Natasha and Andre were on overdrive and, no matter how frantic and pressured, remained thoroughly friendly and professional. They are truly incomparable. Len, I gasped, I didn’t realize you actually work for a living! Hey, until I’m barred (imminent?) I’m going to enjoy the best bar in the world…

BEAT POET..Bono has waxed eloquently on the phenomenon in Ireland of these intellectual powerhouses who seem to inhabit every pub. Every bar in Ireland, the U2 front man said, has this unbelievably smart dude who, kind of, underachieved and now spends his nights illuminating and entertaining his mates at the local. It’s true, it really is an Irish reality, and I’ve had the greatest conversations of my life in the pubs of Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Cork with these fantastic creatures. In Ireland, it is cool to be smart and knowledgeable, to be able to express yourself with insight and verve. But listen, I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who compares to the Beat Poet. The mofo was probably destined to solve cancer or something, but became distracted after watching his first Leaf game. He’s taken to sending me these long drunken e-mails (they usually arrive at around 5am) and they are just shocking in their cleverness and acumen. The latest missive arrived this morning and it will take me a few days to digest his argument. Basically, the Beat Poet was fired up by my take on the disastrous reign of Bryan Colangelo and wanted to support (thank god, I don’t need an angry Poet on my hands), and expand, on the state of basketball today. I’ve never read a smarter, ballsier analysis. Ever. It’s mind blowing. I’ll shamelessly steal his ideas and unwrap them in the next few weeks, they are foundation rocking and unabashedly brilliant…I’m just so grateful to be a friend of this messed up, crazed, demented wild man. It’s not always easy. We’ve had our blow ups and fought like siblings, but the soul of the man always compels him to make the peace. The last time we were out, the David Hayes - Nikolai Valuev disgrace was playing at the Rail and, man, he went into bizarro world, anguished that one of our heroes, the magnificent Ron Lyle, couldn’t be fighting right now, punching the snot out of today’s posers and frauds. Suddenly he’s foaming at the mouth, his eyes are rolling back in his head, and he begins slamming me with hay-makers. Don’t watch this, don’t even watch this, he began bellowing. It took a whack from a 20 lb fire extinguisher to calm him down and get him back to his cups…I never met Hunter S Thompson, my idol, but, believe me, I feel like I have, after a night with another legend, the Beat Poet…

GRID IRON..do yourself a favour and watch at least a part of the St Louis - Tennessee game today, just to evaluate Steven Jackson. The best player no one ever watches is leading the NFC in rushing and should get around 25 touches today…

MCCLIN..we went to the studio to record a new song I wrote, “Keys to the KIngdom”, and it was a complete disaster. We argued and fought like junkies, me pissed that he couldn’t understand what I was trying to say, him because he felt I penned lyrics that were at odds with his flow. Great bloody fun, to be honest! He has a big meeting with record company honchos on Monday night and I hope this starts him on the path to the fame and glory he so richly deserves. And yeah, don’t worry, we made up in a heartbeat, or as long as it took for him to buy me a pitcher of Keith’s…

PUG LIFE..huge props to Paul Malignaggi after his scintillating upset of Juan Diaz in Chicago last night. Hey, some bets you like, but this bet, on Paulie to win, is one I loved. I had made two bets on Saturday’s fights and was absolutely disgusted by the Klitschko - Johnson spectacle. I could still make a profit on the day if Paulie came through and he did, easily dominating Diaz for a unanimous score. In their first fight Diaz had received a scandalous hometown decision. I don’t know why punters rushed to make Diaz the favourite in the rematch. My sense was since Paulie had easily dominated the first fight, despite the scoring, why would he not do the same in a fight he absolutely needed to win? Malignaggi couldn’t bust an egg but he consistently dominates foes who are just below elite status…realistically, Diaz has lost his last three fights, losing to Juan Manual Marquez and twice to Malignaggi. His once promising career is in freefall and the intelligent, personable young man should call it a day. I first saw him fight when he put a nut crushing beating on Canadian Billy Irwin. “The Kid” never fought again, and Diaz’s brutal body assaults seemed to promise a long, fruitful campaign as the lightweight champ. Like Fernando Vargas before him, I sense out of ring distractions ultimately proved detrimental to his career. You don’t “play” boxing, and a Diaz who cannot commit 100% to the sport should exit the squared circle forever…

MEDIA..punch “Paul Gogarty” into You Tube and watch a hilarious clip of an Irish parliamentarian freakin’ losing it! You won’t regret it…punch in “drunk guy goes for more beer”, try to get the 10 minute version, for the most unforgettably funny video I have ever seen. A completely blitzed dude tries to look casual and score another case of beer at 10am in the morning. Man, I could relate to his machinations, been there, done that (I did mention the hammered Beat Poet trying valiantly to extricate me from his bathtub, right?)…of course you should be reveling in Lady Ga Ga’s latest masterpiece, her video for the unconscious “Bad Romance”…and, also, I hope you’ve all watched the moving footage of Beyonce singing “Halo” to a terminally ill girl in Australia…