SOL is SOL
Us Against You, Up North Eats, Jess Klein, Phantastic Phillies, Can You Dig It?
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue features the five NFL teams tied with the best record so far, the second novel in a trilogy about a small-town Swedish hockey team, Up North eats, a nomadic singer originally from upstate New York, three Phillies playoff sluggers, and a post hole digger put out to pasture. I hope you like the picks and pics.
Fave Five 55: SOL is SOL. Swedish Sports Story (Us Against You), Six Savory Spots (Primo’s BBQ, Art’s Tavern, Good Harbor Grill, The Mill, Shipwreck Café, Geno’s Sports Bar and Grill), Telluride Troubadour (Jess Klein), Phantastic Phillies (Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Nick Castellanos), and Can You Dig It?
Fave Five Lists: Five-Win Football Franchises
The title of this week’s issue does not refer to my dad, the late Sol Garfield. The expression “SOL” (Same Old Lions) has been a frequent refrain for long-suffering Detroit fans. But that lament may now be SOL (S— Out of Luck).
Since I moved to Detroit in 1986, the Detroit Lions have been a source of disappointment due to their endless failures. On January 5, 1992, they defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 38-6, in a divisional round playoff game. It was the Lions' first playoff victory in more than 34 years and the first time they had hosted a postseason game since December 29, 1957, when they won the NFL championship for the third time in six seasons. They have not won a playoff game since, and went 0-16 in 2008.
Along the way, I adopted a rule: Don’t waste time watching the Lions. I watch the NFL Red Zone on Sundays, and in the past, if a Lions game popped up, it was usually another lowlight moment. But this season, they more frequently are Detroit highlights—something I am not used to seeing.
Can the Lions actually win the NFC North and host their first playoff game in over 30 years? After their tough road win over Tampa Bay on Sunday, coupled with upset losses by the Eagles and 49ers, the Lions are now tied with four other teams with the NFL-best record of 5-1. Let’s Go Lions!
Detroit Lions, NFC North
Kansas City Chiefs, AFC West
Miami Dolphins, AFC East
Philadelphia Eagles, NFC East
San Francisco 49ers, NFC West
Book Best Bet
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
I previously wrote about another book by the same author, A Man Called Ove. After enjoying that one, I read Beartown and watched the TV series based on it before it was removed from HBO. This book is the second part of the trilogy, and it is absorbing and very moving. Neil Smith’s translation from the original Swedish is excellent, although some of the colloquial expressions could be better rendered. The book is outstanding, and Backman has become one of my favorite authors.
From Amazon: The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown returns with an unforgettable novel “about people—about strength and tribal loyalty and what we unwittingly do when trying to show our boys how to be men” (Jojo Moyes).
Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did.
Have you ever seen a town rise? Ours did that, too.
A small community tucked deep in the forest, Beartown is home to tough, hardworking people who don’t expect life to be easy or fair. No matter how difficult times get, they’ve always been able to take pride in their local ice hockey team. So it’s a cruel blow when they hear that Beartown ice hockey might soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in the neighboring town of Hed, take in that fact. As the tension mounts between the two adversaries, a newcomer arrives who gives Beartown hockey a surprising new coach and a chance at a comeback.
Soon a team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; always dutiful and eager-to-please Bobo; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the town’s enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.
As the big game approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt intensifies. By the time the last goal is scored, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after everything, the game they love can ever return to something as simple and innocent as a field of ice, two nets, and two teams. Us against you.
Here is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that give form and color to our communities. With immense compassion and insight, Fredrik Backman—“the Dickens of our age” (Green Valley News)—reveals how loyalty, friendship, and kindness can carry a town through its most challenging days.
Restaurant Recommendations
Up North Eats
Two weeks ago, Barb and I drove to northern Michigan for our annual attempt at a fall color tour. We usually encounter one of two outcomes: good weather but not yet close to peak colors, or good colors but bad weather. This time was the former, so at least we enjoyed the last of the warm weather.
We spent one night in Glen Arbor, where things were quieter than when were last there in August. Then we spent two nights in Thompsonville with our friend Sandy Bromley at her cottage on the Betsie River.
We have favorite spots to eat at on the way up and in Glen Arbor, Empire, and Thompsonville, and returned to two of them this time. We also discovered four new ones to add to our list of favorites.
Primo’s BBQ 916 S. Mitchell St., Cadillac, MI 49601
Sampler: Quarter pound each brisket, pulled pork, and ribs
The brisket and pulled pork were excellent, but the ribs were like leather.
Art’s Tavern 6487 Western Ave, Glen Arbor, MI 49636
Funky Grilled Cheese: with tomato, onion, and mild pepper rings
A family favorite for as long as we have been going to Glen Arbor. The tots are also popular here.
Good Harbor Grill 6584 Western Ave, Glen Arbor, MI 49636
Fresh Baked Cinnamon Roll: House made cinnamon roll topped with Cream Cheese Icing
Ever since Barb’s Country Oven closed, we have wanted another source of great cinnamon rolls. This is a worthy successor.
The Mill 5440 W Harbor Highway, Glen Arbor, MI 49636
Heirloom Tomato Sandwich: white bread, Duke’s mayo, dill, basil, sea salt, black pepper
This was tasty but it suffered from being prepared in advance, resulting in soggy bread. When I return, I will request a freshly made one.
The interior and exterior of this historic old mill are beautiful. It is located right on the Crystal River with a large, pleasant deck.
Shipwreck Café 11691 S Lacore Rd, Empire, MI 49630
Cuban Sandwich: ham, pork, cheese, pickles, mustard, pressed in panini bread
This unassuming spot opened recently, and it was a great discovery. It offers a wonderful assortment of creative sandwiches and delicious homemade soups. The Cuban was a daily special, and it was perfect.
Geno’s Sports Bar and Grill 14848 Thompson Ave, Thompsonville, MI 49683
Personal Pizza with 3 toppings: Italian Sausage, Onions, and Green Olives
This place is a very popular hangout and offers a wide range of good food at reasonable prices. We had fun returning here, and this personal pizza was a winner.
Marvelous Musician
In the last issue I featured five favorite female singer-songwriters. I will add related lists in the future, and Jess will definitely be included in one of them.
I saw Jess perform at Trinity House Theatre in nearby Livonia on Saturday. She put on a fine performance and even attempted to play my request for “Springtime” despite not remembering most of it. I spoke with her after the show and reminded her of the house concert she performed with Tom Freund in our home 12 years ago.
She released her latest album, When We Rise, last month. Jess would love it if you could subscribe to her YouTube channel to help her reach a level at which she will receive income from her videos.
I first heard Draw Them Near on WUMB in 2000 and loved her voice and her songs. I saw her at The Ark years ago and she performed in our home on October 28, 2011.
From Wikipedia: Jess Klein (born January 21, 1974 in Rochester, New York) is an American singer-songwriter. She learned to play acoustic guitar and started writing songs as a college student in Kingston, Jamaica, while working on a thesis "documenting dub poets and studying the musical landscape of that country." Klein moved to Boston upon her return home and began performing locally. After independently releasing her first two albums, winning the Telluride Troubadour Songwriting Contest, and garnering several Boston Music Award nominations, she was signed to Rykodisc in 2000. Klein's first release for Ryko, Draw Them Near, launched Klein on a worldwide tour where she performed before 70,000 attendees at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.
From her site: Jess spent eight years soaking up the live music culture of Austin. She then moved to the tiny but vibrant town of Hillsborough, North Carolina. The Boston Globe described her as "Quite simply one of the most gifted performers this area has produced." Mojo Magazine calls her “one of those voices you want to crawl up close to the speakers to listen to.” Jon Pareles of The New York Times calls her “a songwriter with a voice of unblinking tenacity…who finds parables in the everyday and also finds humanity behind the archetypal.”
Ireland
Shonalee
Fool
Riverview (with a mention of Detroit)
Annie's Place
My Playlist
Sports Stars
Phantastic Phillies
With my son Roger’s Tigers (and mine) enduring a long post-season drought, I am rooting for his wife’s team. Cristi is from Philadelphia and supports her local teams, which have done better in recent years than Detroit’s. I have been impressed by the sensational slugging of three of the Phillies’ regulars, all of whom started elsewhere before landing in Philly. This terrific trio are setting a blistering pace.
I was asked by my Tenafly High School classmate Cheyenne Wilbur why teams like his Dodgers are eliminated early from the playoffs despite having the most talent. My answer was that some players rise up to a higher level of performance in the post-season, and some wilt under the pressure.
Like my Cardinals’ heroes Lou Brock and Bob Gibson, Bryce Harper is one who excels when the lights are the brightest. He left Washington prior to the Nats’ World Series Championship in 2019. This year he might help the Phillies win one.
Going into tonight’s Game 2 of the NLCS, Harper’s career post-season OPS (On-base Plus Slugging) is 1.044. This ties him with Hank Greenberg for sixth place on a list headed up by Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. So far this post-season, he has 9 hits, 4 homers, an OPS of 1.521, and is batting .409.
Why the Nats let Trea Turner go, I don’t understand. I love his all-around game. So far this post-season, he has 14 hits, 2 homers, an OPS of 1.425, and is batting an even .500. Channeling Lou Brock, he also has 4 stolen bases.
Nick Castellanos was one of the few budding stars developed in the Detroit Tigers system since their 1984 championship team, but they traded him before he fully blossomed. So far this post-season, he has 10 hits, 5 homers (one behind Yordan Álvarez), an OPS of 1.414, and is batting .370. It’s good to see this former Tiger doing so well.
Picture Pun
There’s not a hole lot more that could be done with this.
