BC’s Patrick Giles sets high aspirations beyond the NHL Draft

(Photo courtesy of BC Athletics)

Boston College forward Patrick Giles is familiar with the NHL Draft process. He participated in the Washington Capitals development camp last summer prior to his freshman season, and knew about the rigorous training and interviews required from potential employers.

Emerging from that experience, the Maryland native remained mindful of his great fortune as an undrafted participant in his hometown’s team development camp.

“I was a huge Capital fan growing up, and have been a fan of how Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie play the game,” Giles told Pucks and Recreation before last weekend’s 2019 draft. “Everyone wants to play for their hometown team so that would be a dream come true. Honestly, though, any NHL organization would be a dream.”

College Hockey Inc. had a hunch he would take a formal first step there, grading Giles as a prospective fourth-to-sixth round candidate. Ultimately, he was passed over, but still had reason to watch. Even going in, he was thinking about more than his own prospects.

“I am definitely going to be following it for my future teammates,” he said before the draft. “I am excited to work with this great group of guys we have coming in.”

Giles did not have to wait long for those current or soon-to-be teammates to be selected. Out of the Eagles’ connections in the 2019 pool, seven were projected as draft-worthy.
 



(Photo courtesy of BC Athletics)

Incoming BC forward Matthew Boldy (Minnesota Wild), goaltender Spencer Knight (Florida Panthers) and forward Alex Newhook (Colorado Avalanche) were all selected in the first round last Friday. Defenseman Marshall Warren was likewise picked by the Avalanche in the sixth round to cap off a stellar weekend for BC hockey. The celebratory news continued after that with head coach Jerry York earning enshrinement as a builder in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
 

Despite the disappointment of not joining the Eagles’ nest of NHL draftees, Giles remains level-headed and committed to improving in his sophomore season. 

“I went through the same process of meeting with teams, participating in pre-draft workouts and I think what I learned is that the draft isn’t the end goal,” he said. “Jack McBain, one of my current teammates who is a drafted player encouraged me just to focus on getting better every day.”

Giles certainly took that advice to heart as he improved once the calendar turned to 2019 this past season. He recorded four of his six points in the second half of the season, and even scored his first collegiate goal in the Beanpot against Harvard.

“Scoring in the Beanpot was definitely the highlight of my first season at BC,” said Giles. “I remember that goal vividly as I got a great pass from Graham McPhee. Even more than scoring that goal, I was just excited to get the win.”

Giles felt that his play improved in the second half of the year thanks to the now-Hall-of-Fame-certified coaching at Conte Forum.

“During the season,” he said, “I felt that I developed my game a lot through the great coaching at BC. I know that I need to keep getting faster and that I need to spend the summer working on my shot.”

Beyond the community of teammates and coaches at BC, Giles has also relied on advice from fellow Maryland native and current AHL Iowa Wild fixture Sam Anas.
 

(Photo courtesy of BC Athletics)



Giles and Anas have a unique friendship. They grew up within 10 miles of each other, with Giles residing in Chevy Chase and Anas in Potomac. Both also attended Landon High School. During his two years there, Giles led the Bears to two straight Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League titles.

Finally, like Giles to this point, Anas went undrafted before realizing his potential as a pro after signing with the Wild after his junior year at Quinnipiac.

Anas, who is seven years Giles’ senior, has yet to see action in Minnesota. But he is currently the best bet to become the first NHL player to have played for and graduated from a Washington, D.C.-area high school. Perhaps Giles can become the second.

“Sam’s been a great friend and mentor,” Giles said. “We went to the same high school and he has told me that the most important thing is to trust the process. We often work out together in the summer and his advice has helped a lot.”

Giles recognizes the support that is present all around him and knows where he needs to improve to have his name called on NHL Draft weekend. Since he will turn 20 next year, he still has an outshot at being selected in 2020. However, free agency is his most likely inlet at this point.

Beyond that, he selflessly recognizes the opportunity ahead of him during his sophomore season at BC.

“We have a great class coming in, and the players we currently have are now a year older and are more experienced,” said Giles determinedly. “Our end goal every year is to make a run at a national championship and I know that we have a chance this year.”

-          John Morton

Wallaby Wednesday: When Virginia Wolfe pulled a Homer

Five years after “Homer Defined” and a decade and a half before Bob’s Burgers, Virginia Wolfe exhibits multiple dimensions of Linda Belcher while pulling a Homer in her most prominent Rocko’s Modern Life segment.

Season 4’s “Driving Mrs. Wolfe” sees Heffer’s adoptive mother enlist Rocko as her unlicensed behind-the-wheel instructor. With presumably no permit in hand, she lets her motherly habits cloud her capacity for literal street smarts.

All the while, she alternates between exuding enthusiasm and scolding her son’s friend when his justifiable fear boils over. The gusto and admonishment are both, most naturally, misplaced in the situation.

The naivete-driven misadventure approaches its climax when Virginia determinedly agrees to “play” with a demolition-derby heavyweight. The start of that confrontation marks a brief fast-forward ahead of the rewind at the start of the episode. It also marks a rare fourth-wall teardown, as Rocko prepares to explain how he got there.

That presentation could be a court-mandated public-safety speech as part of his plea bargain for unauthorized behind-the-wheel training. Rocko gives no indication that he possesses a driver education instruction certificate, and thus should not let Virginia take him on the road.

Both parties should be in legal trouble, but their could-have-been-worse debacle bears several potential cases for a lighter sentence. A clean driving record on the former’s part and sound citizenship on the part of both are safe to presume.

One should also not overlook the neophyte motorist’s impressive performance, both on the road and at the derby. Parking-lot light displacements and railroad-crossing failure aside, the student and the not-formally-qualified instructor avoid doing any harm.

The only visible damage afflicts Rocko’s besieged car. That is until the pair take George Wolfe’s new car on a wrong turn into the demolition derby.

 

Against all odds, all of the destruction at the derby hits those who are expected to take dents in that setting. Virginia and Rocko, however, escape personal injury and property damage without the former even making sense of the peril.

Virginia can therefore say she pulled a Homer — both by driving safely when logic says she will not, and by winning the derby despite not knowing how the competition works.

Strictly speaking, the third-season Simpsons episode that coined the phrase defines pulling a Homer as “To succeed despite idiocy.” Idiocy is a strong word, even for Homer. After all, he averts a nuclear meltdown twice in as many tries by correctly choosing the right button at random. Even if it is dumb luck, multiple strokes of it look less accidental than one ever will.

Besides, “Homer Defined” premiered two years before the title character is found to be working at the power plant despite lacking a requisite college degree. Substandard training is therefore a more operative noun than idiocy when one refers to pulling a Homer.

It is the same situation with Virginia in the driver’s seat. Unfamiliarity with demolition derbies and a dearth of vehicular experience in general are her harrowing flaws on this wild ride. In short, she is driving and doing so harmlessly despite having yet to earn a license.

You could condense those flaws into the word incompetence, which everyone has in certain areas by nature or from lack of education. That is what Virginia hopes to rectify when her biological son Peter expresses qualms about her driving the family car.

“Well, I can learn,” she replies in a tone that adds a silent, How hard can it be?

Naturally, learning is much harder than she assumes, though her confidence does not wane much after she gets behind the wheel. Granted, she does start learning with the help of Rocko later in the segment. Nonetheless, logic dictates that she cannot learn enough in one day to qualify for a demolition derby.

 

Of course, she never does try out, let alone qualify. Instead, she steers into the fairgrounds arena after missing the exit to Rocko’s house and continuing to misread the map. For that reason, you could also substitute absent-mindedness for idiocy, and Virginia is still en route to pulling a Homer.

Whether it is through misplaced attention or an utter lack of knowledge of the event, she does not even recognize the setting when she drives herself and Rocko into the derby.

Yet despite knowing little of what she is doing, she wins, thus completing her answer to “Homer Defined.” Her short-term memory commits enough of Rocko’s reverse-driving, zigzagging and braking lessons for her to outmaneuver every opponent.

Most derby winners, like the last and most formidable opponent standing, thrive on offense. Conversely, Virginia plays constant keepaway, which would ordinarily be maligned as cowardly in this competition.

But being no ordinary, let alone informed demolition driver, Virginia innocently believes she has encountered chaotic traffic and rude motorists. To her credit, and surely to Rocko’s relief, safety is her priority now. (If only she had rated that over politeness when they crossed the railroad.) It works to their advantage and, as a bonus, it keeps George’s car pristine, just as he intends.

With that said, as he hitches a ride home with the entire Wolfe family, Rocko loads up on seatbelts. By that point, George is at the wheel, and will do everything in his power to keep the car and (by default) its passengers unscathed.

But despite winning the derby, Rocko indicates no one is winning his trust in traffic for a while. His greatest source of relief is the chance to quit while he is ahead.

There is no need for him to channel Aristotle Amadopolous, who admonishes Homer for succeeding by happenstance. But given the parallels, this is Virginia’s first of two strikes before the anti-charm third time she drives unlicensed.

She had better achieve that formal training before she causes a traffic accident without even involving herself in traffic.

Jock Rock, Volume 2: How does the Jock series hold up today?

Jock Rock, Volume 2 hit the shelves in October 1995, 11 weeks after July’s Jock Jams, Volume 1. The timing of each all but presaged which half of ESPN’s Jock series was hot and which was fizzling and falling with the leaves.

The new-and-improved Jock Jams would spawn four more branches of its brand on the tree. Each of those sequels came out in succeeding calendar years through 1999. By that point, Jock Rock re-emerged from a four-year absence with a more contemporary compilation.

This is not to say JRV2 was a waste. It just had the misfortune of closing out the shorter-lived side of the experiment. The majority of its tracks still pervaded PA systems at sporting events to one extent or another for the rest of the 1990s.

A few songs from the album still have a respectable position in that regard today. Each of the first three that appear in full or in part were among Billboard’s top 100 all-time sports songs in 2017.

The second Jock Rock also started a custom that carried on for the rest of the Jock series. Whereas each of the first volumes had organs, cheerleaders and crowd noise as interstitials, each Jock Rock and Jock Jams sequel also had the voices of popular ESPN (or, for JJV5, Fox Sports) personalities. In this case, it was Dan Patrick touting the compilation as “Simply en fuego” and Chris Berman calling a touchdown rush.

If nothing else, Jock Rock, Volume 2 valiantly fought to sustain its flame all the way to its end. Here is how every track credited to a recording artist fared in the short or long run as a game-day anthem.

“Sirius”

Just about everyone wanted to be like the Bulls in the ’90s. The easiest way to emulate Chicago’s NBA dynasty was to play the Alan Parsons Project’s repetitive riff while introducing one’s starting lineup.

Not all, but plenty of teams in all sports at all levels did just that. Even if it is not for every night, the practice still lingers at times, particularly during full-roster introductions on opening day.

Though no longer the model for success, the epicenter of the tradition has understandably held on to it. After all, how else have this century’s Bulls been able to establish any common threads with their MJ-led forebears?

Meanwhile, Billboard declares “Sirius” “Still probably the GOAT player introduction song.”

 

 

“Rock and Roll All Nite”

After Patrick’s catchphrase and an abbreviated “Final Countdown” from an uncredited Europe, we go to this pump-up contribution from Kiss. (Both “The Final Countdown” and “Rock and Roll All Nite” cracked Billboard’s sports-specific 100.)

At the time of the compilation, “Rock and Roll All Nite” was one of the younger Jock Rock tunes. It was a sprightly 20 years of age, and came from a still-active band. Add its tempo and lyrical message, and you had an option for those who wanted a game-starting alternative to “We Will Rock You” or “Get Ready for This.”

The song’s place in sports was prominently embedded for the balance of the decade. So much so that the NHL altered the bridge’s lyrics for a Stanley Cup playoff ad campaign. “You drive us wild, we’ll drive you crazy” became “We’ll drive you wild, you’ll get Cup crazy.”

Whether it needed/wanted to or not, Kiss gave its song a boost of athletic association early in this century, playing it at the Salt Lake Olympics closing ceremonies. And as the group prepares to walk into the sunset this year, its all-round nostalgic value is bound to spike.

 

It still does not sound out of place at a game or party. The band even played it live at the Kings-Ducks Dodger Stadium game in 2014.

“Respect”

The late Queen of Soul found her way to the ESPN production with one of her most recognizable songs. It never not got much arena airplay, but those who frequented sporting events in the wake of JRV2 stood a decent chance of hearing it once or twice. Still, compared to most of its Jock series peers, “Respect” has retained prevailing connotations unrelated to sports.

“Wooly Bully”

Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs had produced one of the regal tunes of 1965. With that said, three decades had passed by the time this resurfaced via Jock Rock.

If the group was to be featured on the oldies-oriented sector of the series, this was a more sensible pick than the softer, slower-paced “Li’l Red Riding Hood.” Nevertheless, it never seared on modern PA-system playlists the way it did in his heyday on Billboard. The best thing it ever had going for it was being a de facto theme song for NHL blueliner Jason Woolley, who retired in 2007.

“Hold On! I’m Comin’”

Where visiting pitching changes in baseball had “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” home swaps had this. The titular hook could put a light spin on a situation that has a reliever, aka fireman, racing out of the bullpen.

Other than that, Sam & Dave did not have much of a place in a quickly crowding stadium DJ’s collection. With the passage of time, fresher songs suiting the specialized situation keep pouring in, vying for a turn.

“Low Rider”

Released the same year as “Rock and Roll All Nite,” War’s song about a car did have a life as a short break-in-the-action filler for a time. Beyond that, its unremarkable tempo relegated it to sporting obscurity around the turn of the century.

“Great Balls of Fire”

After a short Ray Castoldi rendition of “The Addams Family Theme,” Jerry Lee Lewis’ magnum opus kicks in.

The unmistakable musical and lyrical opening can explain why “Great Balls of Fire” defied its age (it came out in 1957) and established a more prominent playlist position. In the wake of the compilation, if you heard no other JJV2 tracks in person at a game or in the background during a telecast, you likely heard this one.

In some venues, particularly in the minor leagues, it still creeps out of the morgue on occasion. Much earlier in this century, it was used at a Triple-A ballgame for an eye-rollingly easy finish-the-lyrics contest.

“Get Ready”

A Rare Earth cover released in 1970, this marks the midway point of the album. But before it got lost in the abyss of modern-music domination, “Get Ready” was most sensible as an early pregame tune. With its straightforward directive (“Get ready, ’cause here I come”), it was a decent warm-up for when fans were waiting for players to emerge and for Michael Buffer to do his thing.

“I Want You Back”

A decade after his death, Michael Jackson leaves Americans collectively ambivalent about his legacy. Fairly or unfairly, that stretches back to his day as the baby lead singer of the Jackson 5.

Going on 50 years of age this year, “I Want You Back” was always another middling Jock Rock song in terms of sports play. It arguably saw less action in those settings than fellow Jackson 5 hit, “ABC,” which never appeared in ESPN’s series.

If and when anyone was or is comfortable using Jackson’s output, his adulthood solo hits have been the way to go. For example, “Beat It” made/makes a sound choice for visiting penalties or ejections. Artist’s legacy aside, that has a more crowd-riling tempo than “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” could ever pray for.

“Nobody but Me”

The Isley Brothers, who saw “Shout” land on Volume 1, do come back for the second Jock Rock. But not through this song, for a Human Beinz cover made the cut instead, following Berman’s signature touchdown call.

Intentionally or not, that placement served up a not-so-subtle hint as to when this song worked best. When someone is feeling too old school for “Unbelievable” of Jock Jams fame, this hits the spot for a productive, eye-pleasing play.

“Cool Jerk”

Named after and referencing a short-lived popular dance move of its time in the mid-1960s, this would have appealed to sports fans of a certain age easily. It had that much going for it alone in the wake of JRV2, even if it could not compete with the energizing effortlessness of “YMCA” or “Gonna Make You Sweat.”

But other entertainment crossovers shortly before and shortly after ESPN’s compilation gave the Capitols song extra recognition. Frank McCallister sang it during a silver-screen shower in 1992, and Cool Whip parodied it in TV ads.

If only for a while, that helped “Cool Jerk” as another middle-tier choice to perk up ticketholders who were there for the experience as much as the game, if not more so.

“Devil With The Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly”

A Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels cover of a Li’l Richard creation, this has not even garnered much play in Detroit. (This author would know, having spent some of his boyhood in Michigan and heard an agonizing plethora of local oldies that were never fit for a sporting event.)

If only someone had done a more energetic cover, and if only that had caught a DJ’s attention during former Team USA goaltender Molly Schaus’ hockey career.

“Twist & Shout”

Following Ryder, the last interstitial of the first two Jock Rock albums pertains to bowling. That snippet then gives way to this Isley Brothers song, all but signaling this portion of the Jock series’ surrender. (And Volume 2 was off to such a strong start, as Billboard would surely concur.)

“Twist & Shout” did fill a few stoppages of play when the ’90s were still alive, but not much and not for long.

“Louie Louie”

Animal House had long given this old college-party anthem its second wind before it found its way to arenas. Multiple appearances on The Simpsons could not have hurt the Kingsmen’s cause either.

But these days, the college and athletic connotations of “Louie Louie” are mostly confined to pep-band music sheets. That is still more than most of the song’s JJV2 teammates can boast.

 

“We Are the Champions”

Given its origin as a joint track with “We Will Rock You” on Queen’s News of the World, this gives decent symmetry to Jock Rock’s old identity. While the track listing does not wind down in champion-like fashion, one would be remiss to exclude this song.

At the time of Jock Rock, it was already a long-established staple for trophy presentations. In addition, it was coming off theme-song status at the U.S.-hosted 1994 Men’s World Cup plus the closing credits of two Mighty Ducks movies.

And where else do you put a song about a completed victory besides the ending? If the original Jock Rock felt like taking a ceremonious lap and a bow before ceding everything to Jock Jams, that was its right.

And it is not as if this song has vanished from victory parties at any point since. The latest NBA, Stanley Cup and World Series champions have all blared it.

Wallaby Wednesday: Did Heffer encounter Peaches more times than depicted?

“Have you learned nothing?” asks an exasperated Peaches disguised as Rocko, snapping Heffer out of his nightmare within a nightmare.

Besides his request to stop at Chokey Chicken upon waking up, ample evidence confirms he has not. As “To Heck and Back” demonstrates, Heffer’s conscience does its best work when he is asleep. It lends him a clearer memory and stronger moral willpower than it does in his waking hours.

Yet its best does not suffice, let alone carry much resonance into real life. If it did, Heffer might have been more wary during his only waking encounter with Peaches Rocko’s Modern Life depicts.

Based on that appearance and the preceding one in his dream, he has seen the demon before. His memory of that encounter, however, is only good for creating an accurate rendering of Peaches in his “To Heck and Back” nightmare.

Early in the following season, one might detect a continuity error in yet another dream sequence. Really Really Big Man recognizes an enlarged Rocko as “that kid from the comic shop” and reminds him of his successful Heimlich maneuver. Per Heffer’s dream, that is what salvages the steer’s soul after a brief stay in Heck.

But upon further review, the fact that this incident is shown in one person’s dream and referenced in another’s lends it more credibility, not less. It is a momentous development in Rocko and Heffer’s friendship, even if the latter learns little from it.

Regardless, it is hard to imagine it never infiltrating either party’s minds as they sleep. It does just that for the rescuer and the rescued. Moreover, it need not have coincided with any Heffer-Peaches run-ins to do so. Dreams have a way of combining and revising a person’s otherwise unrelated lived experiences.

 

How many times have you dozed off and drifted into a setting from your first job out of college, only to encounter people you have not seen since your preteen days there? Or maybe you had a disbelief-suspending sequence set in your most memorable childhood vacation spot but inexplicably featuring cameos by high-school classmates who never indicated they have traveled there?

When, how and under what circumstances Heffer first meets Peaches may never be known. That notwithstanding, multiple subsequent encounters stop short of unequivocally confirming the first.

The demon makes a few nonspeaking cameos on Earth, most notably in the crowd late in “Rocko’s Modern Christmas.” In each instance, he sports the same full-body black cloak that leave only his eyes and hands visible.

In “Road Rash” and twice in the fourth season, he is shown in his domain again. As a passing clip in “Mama’s Boy” and the crux of “Heff in a Handbasket” establish, the real Heck is not far off the mark from how it appears in Heffer’s nightmare.

The two key differences are that, in the dream, Peaches runs the place and the lakes of fire are “just for the tourists.” Conversely, “Heff in a Handbasket” depicts Peaches as one subordinate devil, and there is no indication of a more pleasant section of the setting.

What Heffer sees is what Heffer gets when he goes to Heck for real. But Peaches’ appearance and two alternating voices in his nightmare are carbon copies of real life. He must have seen it and heard it all before.

But if his choking scare does not induce that introduction to the King of Eternal Torment, what does? Clues from other outings with Rocko may give away the actual circumstances.

We know from “Carnival Knowledge” that Heffer loves carnivals. He says so himself at the start and behaves accordingly when the funfair comes to O-Town. As he and Rocko explore the rides, he contemplates the Elevator to Hell, then passes due to its price.

 

Clips from "To Heck and Back" and "Uniform Behavior" run back-to-back from 1:47 to 2:43 in the video above.

Then again, who is the say the admission to that ride was not more cost-effective at a previous time? Going on without thinking it through would not be the last time Heffer gets himself an unwitting underworld ticket while trying to have fun.

That is, after all, the premise of “Heff in a Handbasket.” It also plays into the creepy, climactic, unraveling stages of “Uniform Behavior.”

The former episode would not have happened if Heffer’s short- and long-term memory were not insufficient for his own good. Ditto his downfall as a security guard late in the latter.

Otherwise, he would not fall (sometimes literally) into old patterns in new settings, namely Conglom-O and Triple 6. In both cases, he swaps his soul, albeit melodramatically in Season 2 and naively in Season 4.

Although Peaches does not manifest himself outright in one instance, “Uniform Behavior” underscores influence from Heffer’s past demonic encounters. This is furthered by the building’s spooky midnight vibe and Heffer’s greed, gluttony and or lust for authority.

Just like his sleeping nightmare the previous season, his waking nightmare stems from his sins and suppressed guilt. That factor is less explicit here, though likely because Heffer’s mind is not at rest.

Unlike “To Heck and Back,” “Uniform Behavior” sees him out and about and working during his conventional sleeping hours. As long as that is inducing hallucinations, “Lloyd” is more likely to differ from the real devil Heffer subconsciously recalls.

In that instance, Heffer is sleep-deprived, but not sleeping. When he later pounces on the opportunity to fulfill his dream as a game-show contestant, he is wide awake, but too energized and caught up in the moment to take pause.

As such, the unique, familiar appearance, voice and name of Peaches fail to ring any bells. Specifically, Heffer’s exuberance drowns out the kind of bells AC/DC once sang about.

For that reason, it is only as if his first run-in with Peaches never happened. It had happened, but as usual, the most important details stick with him like, well, a snowball in Heck.

Jock Jams, Volume 1: How does the Jock series hold up today?

To most, if not all, millennial sports-music junkies, the triple-ding of a boxing bell was not automatically synonymous with boxing. Ditto the voice and catchphrase of inimitable ring emcee Michael Buffer.

Together, those sound effects constituted, in this author’s father’s words, “proper music” for a drive en route to one’s AYSO soccer debut in late April 1998. That was true of everything we could get out of the car’s cassette player before arriving at the pitch. The 15-minute drive allowed for four full-length tracks of pump-up fodder.

That same school year, the same intro to Jock Jams, Volume 1 was used to kickstart a farewell ceremony for our greener-pastures-seeking, sports-loving principal. The gym hosting the gathering made ample use of the ESPN compilation at high-school athletic contests as well.

That was the best way to emulate a professional atmosphere at the time. Following up on Jock Rock, Volume 1 (revisited in this space here), the first Jock Jams appealed to younger, burgeoning sports fans with more up-to-speed (in multiple senses of the word) content than its sister anthology. Of particular note, it featured two singles that spent at least one week atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1991.

In so doing, it spawned a greater selection for stadium and arena DJs. And while it would inspire fast-growing company soon after its release on July 25, 1995, it enjoyed first-come, first-served familiarity. Comparatively speaking, its tracks sustained more frequent and prominent play while the Jock series was hot.

JJV1 was, as Buffer might say, “the main event” of the eight-part series. And intentionally or not, from Buffer’s overlap with another unmistakable refrain containing the word “ready” onward, it set an example of ideal beginning, middle, late-stage and ending tracks for a sporting event.

Minus the short cheerleader chants and Ray Castoldi organ taps, here is a look back at that very track order.

 

 

“Get Ready for This”

No later than a given sport’s first full season after Jock Jams hit the shelves did the Buffer/2 Unlimited mashup become a go-to tune at opening faceoffs, first pitches, kickoffs or tip-offs. Other facilities used it for starting lineup introductions, allowing for longer play, sometimes even the full song. Some teams from the scholastic to the major professional ranks sustained this practice through the mid-2000s.

A few NHL teams notably misused this as a goal song. Somehow it sounded out of place in that context. But even when the Toronto Maple Leafs scrapped “Get Ready for This” in favor of “Kernkraft 400,” they reassigned the former as part of their last TV timeout. Anyone who watched Hockey Night in Canada from 2000-01 to the 2004-05 lockout will remember that commercial break starting with the opening riff of “The Hockey Song” then coming back in the middle of 2 Unlimited’s breakout single.

Perhaps the twice-shouted “Y’all ready for this?” (which is actually a sample) single-handedly made this otherwise instrumental tune sound best as pregame fodder. Come what may, it quickly became an energizing attention-grabber for sports audiences. Before long, its power spilled over to cinema, as it played over trailers and promos for various movies.

“Whoomp! (There It Is)”

Leading up to this compilation, Tag Team’s magnum opus was already synonymous with sporting success. It was one of the rally tunes of the Philadelphia Phillies 1993 pennant run and the Houston Rockets 1994 NBA championship. In between, hockey fans got to know it from the schoolyard-puck scene in D2: The Mighty Ducks.

With or without athletic assistance, “Whoomp! (There It Is)” hit the summit of genre-specific and overall charts alike. Castoldi and his counterparts across the continent could not help making it a stadium staple for the rest of the decade. As a testament to its stature in those settings, it was among the recycled selections for 2001’s All Star Jock Jams.

“Strike It Up”

Another rhythm fit to precede a big block of game action, this sensibly comes in as the third full-length Jock Jams track. This author’s defining experience with the Black Box song came when the Providence Bruins used it as their skate-out music for the start of every period at every game. The Providence Civic Center was never ready for puck-drop until Martha Walsh told everyone she was waiting on her feelings.

In The Show, and at Castoldi’s workplace, “Strike It Up” remains synonymous with the Rangers. It was the second track on 1997’s New York Rangers Greatest Hits and still accompanies the live “Dancing Larry” videos. (For that piece of multimedia entertainment, it also gives way to a later Jock Jams track. Stay tuned for more on that.)

 

 

“Tootsee Roll”

In the years after the first Jock Jams came out, this author attended at least 350 professional, collegiate or junior sporting events. Yet in contrast to numerous instances of the album’s other tunes, I only remember hearing “Tootsee Roll” in public twice. One of those times was at a junior hockey game in 1998, the other at a school dance in 2002.

Less utilized in the mainstream and less popular than most of its compilation teammates, “Tootsee Roll” was released a mere 14 months before Jock Jams, Volume 1. It had attained top-10 Billboard rankings the year it was released, but perhaps its comparative youth was a disadvantage on the sports compilation.

Everything else on JJV1 had been around for at least two years. As such, they all had more time to cement themselves as tried and true in the overlapping sports-culture conscience.

“Come Baby Come”

Borrowing from their own album’s title, K7 includes the directive, “swing batta, batta, batta, swing!” in one of this song’s bridges. Odds are that helped it land in a TV promo for Mr. 3000 roughly a decade later.

Granted, that baseball metaphor comes fairly late in the track. Some advanced maneuvering would be required to play that part over a PA system in most scenarios. But the opening refrain of “Da ding de ding de ding de de de ding ding” has always been distinctive and catchy enough to fill a 30-second break in the action on its own.

“It Takes Two”

After sampling some of their influences, Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock had their creation sampled and covered many times in turn. Everyone from Jason Nevins to Ciara to the Black Eyed Peas to Carly Rae Jepsen craved a solo or collaborative take.

Whether it is fitting or ironic, the joint sampled parts of the original “It Takes Two” are most memorable in a sporting context. “Yeah! Woo!” can randomly run on a loop to fill the time between plays or specialize in signifying a pair. Maybe a freshly hit double, double play or back-to-back home runs in baseball or an upcoming two-player advantage in hockey.

 

“Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)”

Just like its Jock Rock counterpart, the first cassette of Jock Jams issued a straightforward directive via side one’s penultimate track. On the album, Walsh’s voice reappears and overlaps with the “Gridiron Groove” interstitial before the music kicks in.

Even among non-sports enthusiasts who remember ’90s culture, that riff ought to be familiar. It plays twice in a peak-year Simpsons episode, and was parodied in a Pringles ad.

In popular media, some critics have come to malign C+C Music Factory’s old hit as “redundant.” In the eyes of AllMusic’s James Christopher Monger, it was trite by its 2007 usage in Evan Almighty.

But back at the arena or stadium, this is obligatory any time a team has a nostalgia-themed promotion. At its overall peak, “Gonna Make You Sweat” was one of the definitive tracks between plays or innings.

“Hip Hop Hooray”

In this decade, you can still find at dance studios what you saw at arenas in the second half of the ’90s. One can hardly separate the alternating “Hey! Ho!” hook from back-and-forth left-to-right arm-swaying. That is unless you are a Seattle Mariners fan, in which case you associate it, first and foremost, with Ken Griffey Jr.

Elsewhere in baseball, the Naughty by Nature tune lives on as a New York Yankees home-run song. Its legacy also got a strong 21st-century start when it joined “Whoomp! There It Is” and “Get Ready for This” on the All Star Jock Jams.

“Pump Up the Volume”

The leadoff to side two on the cassette, this M/A/R/R/S single was well-suited for halftime for an intermission. It is not as pulsating as most of its fellow Jock Jams, Volume 1 tracks, but it is not too languid either. It therefore flows nicely with a restful recharge before everyone returns to their seats and the competitors re-emerge.

Back in the song and series’ heyday, this was exactly how the Providence Civic Center was known to use it. Unfortunately for the sake of M/A/R/R/S’ legacy, that was before the Jumbotron age hit every venue with a five-figure seating capacity. These days, the song’s old time to shine is filled by TV commercials on the big board.

 

“The Power”

Whenever someone gets tired of “Bad Boys” (and who doesn’t eventually?), this remains a solid selection when a home hockey team goes on the power play. Through that and other popular arena usage, SNAP! saw its song come back for ESPN’s Stadium Anthems in 2003.

“Unbelievable”

The hook to this EMF gem cements its designation for punctuating highlight-reel plays. With the subsequent “Oh!” giving way to the riff, it is a pulsating gift that keeps on giving.

And if you set it up to start with the hook’s second rendition, you usually buy yourself enough time to hear James Atkin follow up with “You’re so unbelievable!”

This was also another song that could catch the attention of novice spectators, especially young Generation Xers of the time. Besides Jock Jams, a then-five-year-old “Unbelievable” had aged well enough to appear on Livin’ in the 90’s in 1995. There it joined “Strike it Up,” “The Power” and one other JJV1 teammate yet to be named here.

“YMCA”

The second-oldest Jock Jams, Volume 1 track dates back nearly a decade before the third-oldest (“Pump Up the Volume” from 1987). Yet it somehow fits better here than it would on the oldies-oriented Jock Rock.

No matter what place of assembly is playing it, “YMCA” is a self-explanatory participatory dance number. Like almost all of its Jock series brethren, it does not have the same decisive regal position it enjoyed in the latter half of the ’90s. But its long-established reputation makes it an easy choice when sound crews decide to go old school for a minute.

 

“Pump Up the Jam”

From Technotronic, you get yet another unmistakable opening riff. Within a year of its inclusion on Jock Jams, this 1989 house tune was sampled sans vocals for the pregame locker-room scene in Space Jam. (That scene transitions to player introductions, which culminate in a brief “Gonna Make You Sweat” riff for Michael Jordan.)

Even before the movie and the album, “Pump Up the Jam” got the commentators’ acknowledgment when Nancy Kerrigan and the late Chris Farley skated to it on Saturday Night Live. That usage alone all but made it a crime against logic to leave it off game-day playlists going forward.

And to further its association with its first full calendar decade of existence, it too made Livin’ in the 90’s.

“Twilight Zone”

While Walsh appears as a vocalist for both Black Box and C&C Music Factory, only 2 Unlimited gets double credit on any single Jock Jams track list.

How much the album’s lineup influenced common DJ practices or vice versa is tough to gauge. What is clear is that “Get Ready for This” became the logical game-starter while “Twilight Zone” suited the late phases of regulation when everyone could use a booster.

Like the band’s other contribution to the first Jock Jams, this is a less vocal version of the song. Sometimes a different mix still sees action in high-profile settings.

 

Nonetheless, its distinctive instrumental pattern has the same seat-clearing, hand-raising, rally rag-waving effect. And it is still fresh enough in the ears of Castoldi to join “Strike It Up” on the aforementioned “Dancing Larry” routine.

“Rock and Roll Part 2”

This one-time go-to scoring-play or victory tune was a rerun from the preceding Jock Rock album. See our review of that album for an assessment of this song’s legacy.

Wallaby Wednesday: ‘Popcorn Pandemonium’ previews in review

Nearly two decades before Screen Junkies made Honest Trailers a YouTube phenomenon, the cinema industry within the Rocko’s Modern Life universe make little effort to sugarcoat its output. Its best favor to itself is the bare-minimum quantity of films playing compared to the coming attractions.

In Season 1’s “Popcorn Pandemonium,” Rocko and Heffer catch five trailers while theater-hopping in search of a suitable seat. It does not matter where they settle, for all 19 rooms are screening Lethal Odor IX.

For those who never took Latin, that is the ninth installment of the fictitious franchise. Apart from established diehards and fans taking a belated interest, no one is likely to look past the lack of originality.

Despite this, and the false “hundreds of movies to choose from” promise, the Googa Plex Cinema draws substantial crowds. Some theaters are packed, and the line for concessions makes the post office and DMV look tolerable. O-Townies either have a low bar, little else to do or a desperate desire to be at the movies no matter what.

As the trailers tell the ticketholders for Lethal Odor IX, there is not much freshness to look forward to. Adaptations of popular characters and “real-life” events comprise the bulk of the coming attractions. But the candor within the narration confirms the studios’ collective confidence that this will suffice for mainstream audiences.

Based on what the episode shows, how convincing can each of these trailers be to Rocko’s fellow moviegoers? Who do the films promise to appeal to the most, why, how and to what extent?

This author shall answer for each of them, one by one.

Enter the Rodent: Part 7 (or Not Before I Had My Coffee)

Like Lethal Odor, this franchise is emulating Duracell. And apart from the alternate/subtitle to this installment, it does not exactly pursue personality for the names of each chapter. That is, at least, not according to the evidence this episode and trailer divulge.

But through its protagonist, the series gives the impression it is using its latest project to convey its own burnout. After pitting this master-of-martial-arts hamster against a Pittsburgh-area kung-fu group and a Cleveland football team, higher-ups are ready to sit down for something more mundane.

That should suit the Rocko world well enough. After all, many of Rocko’s adventures entail the most basic, everyday activities devolving into chaos.

As for the titular rodent, he is not the type you want to bother before he has had his morning brew. Anyone who makes that mistake can set off a dramatic plot, hence the “Hi-ya!” and presumably more that Rocko and Heffer miss as they go searching for a theater with a better view.

 

The Doo

I have never seen Scarlett Johansson’s Under the Skin, but is this supposed to be along the same lines? Is this another example of the Rocko universe being ahead of ours?

It is hard to tell, especially since this is the shortest trailer depicted in “Popcorn Pandemonium.” That brevity could be because it has the longest waiting period before its premiere date. The narrator says it is “coming this holiday season,” and Mr. Bighead’s football game may be a playoff tilt amidst an unseasonably warm January, a college spring intrasquad exhibition or a taped delay he has finally gotten around to.

Regardless, The Doo is the only film with no readily apparent inspiration or basis. Those who enjoy strange horror of Sharknado proportions will take to it with maximum zeal.

The Cuddly Little Poots

Any discussion thread about this kiddie cartoon flick is sure to include observations of a Smurfs parody. This being the Rocko world, though, movies of this genre are not immune to tragedy.

The joint trailer for this project and the related Das Poot are nothing if not up front about that. In the main film, crossover character Really Really Big Man carelessly squishes at least one Poot. (That would basically be the equivalent of Superman erroneously killing a Smurf.) The other story, set on a World War II submarine, features exploding torpedoes.

Maybe these particular adaptations are not meant for the Poots’ preschool demographics. Perhaps slightly older children, embarrassed by their former fanaticism, can come and take satisfaction in the now-despised characters’ demise. This could be the Rocko-verse’s answer to anti-Barney humor.

Adding to that theory, part of the narrator’s appeal to prospective viewers is the Poots’ “line of expensive licensed products.” Obviously, shelling out for tickets to watch this commercialized crap destroyed will not restore the money parents previously spent on merchandise to please their tots. But perhaps the symbolism will deliver a little intangible satisfaction.

 

Garbage Strike: The Musical

The Chameleon Brothers sure know how to capitalize. While it is unclear whether the titular labor dispute is ongoing or one that has stopped and started repeatedly in recent years, there is already a book about it.

And now, as the closing number to “Popcorn Pandemonium” further suggests, two of the garbage union leaders are portraying themselves in their own story’s screen adaptation. Other than Jackie Robinson playing himself in his first biopic, that tactic has not been tried much.

Entertainment value aside, this implied arrangement does not bode well for those who want long-term order in the trash pick-up department. If these garbage personnel are scoring major movie deals and displaying musical-acting talent, they really can do anything that they like while on strike.

Dracula: Done to Death

The start of this trailer’s narration says it all. “It’s not new. It’s not original. It isn’t even very interesting.”

That last disclaimer comes out in comparatively muffled haste. It is as if the studio harbors collective or individual conflict on how to tout this movie.

For its part, the title carries a frank twofold meaning. Besides corresponding to the film’s implied lack of events, it agrees with anyone who believes there have been too many Dracula adaptations in too little time.

When “Popcorn Pandemonium” premiered, there had been at least seven Universal and nine Hammer screenplays of pop culture’s most famous vampire. In to several looser, further imagination-stretching stories, seven more retellings came out between 1982 and 1992.

Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula was a successful capper on that slew. But barely a year later, in the Rocko world, someone in Hollowood must have sarcastically suggested, “Why not just show a dead Dracula and have Van Helsing and his sidekick go get some bagels?"

Those bagels bring nice symmetry to the coffee the Rodent is settling down for. And if the film’s producers and promoters are beating the consumers to the enough-already sentiment, the hook just might work.