Go Ahead!

Kick me in the Jimmy!

This is what Coach Bradley Buzzcut used to tell Beavis and Butt-head to try to prove to them how tough he was. Yeah, he was a tough guy.

Or not. Perhaps “stupid” is a better word. Seriously, getting kicked in the sack is the one thing all guys fear. There’s no pain like ball pain. Yeah, you know it, this look:

I don’t know if there’s an equivalent for you girls – those ovaries are pretty well protected – and you know? I really don’t want to know. I don’t know if I want that kind of power.

That’s why stories like this, about the Serial Groin Kicker in Vancouver are just so disturbing. Even from 3,000 miles away, reading about gives me an ache in my pants, and I’m not talking about the good kind. I was going to hotlink it, but that’s not enough, read for yourself from the National Post:

LANGLEY, B.C. – Police in Langley are investigating after a woman kicked a man in the groin so hard he lost a testicle – the latest in a series of similar assaults.
.....“I just want to know what her problem is,” victim Anthony Clark, 22, said this week. “People like her shouldn’t be on the streets.”
.....Mr. Clark was walking in the Brookswood area of Langley in early September when he passed his assailant on the sidewalk.
.....“I was looking down and then I took a passing glance and saw her walk up to me,” he said.
.....That’s when the young woman inexplicably kicked him in the groin hard enough to send one of his testicles into his abdomen. Mr. Clark said he wasn’t aware of the severity of his injury until later that night when he “noticed something was missing.” [ed. “He noticed something was missing? It took him that long to figure out he was missing a ball? I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty conscious of where mine are at all times.]
.....He consulted his doctor and a specialist, both of whom believed his testicle could be brought down again with surgery. It wasn’t until he woke up afterwards that he discovered the doctors were wrong – the force of the assault had caused his testicle to rupture. It had to be removed and will be replaced by a prosthetic before Christmas.
.....“My doctors say I will still be able to have children,” Mr. Clark said. “But at 22 that’s
not something I want a stranger, this woman, to decide.”
.....Embarrassed by the situation, Mr. Clark didn’t go to the police until nearly four weeks after the attack. Constables have told him there have been three or four similar assaults on other men, Mr. Clark said.
.....Langley RCMP said they would like to speak to other victims, although there have been no official reported incidents, spokeswoman Const. Holly Marks said.
.....The suspect is described as a Caucasian woman, in her late teens or early 20s. She was between five-foot-five and five-foot-seven and 130 pounds with a slim build and brown hair.

I’m wondering: Did this chick get dumped while “You Oughta Know” was playing on the stereo? You know, just a little something extra to twist the knife of rejection?

Seriously, Canada, what the fuck’s up with this shit? Is the RCMP going to catch this woman before the world comes for a visit during the Olympics next February? Or will her reign of testicular terror continue?

And, because it’s her birthday, this post is in honor of Shannon, who kicked off (so to speak) her blog way, way, way back when with stories of genital trauma.

Here’s looking at you kid, Happy Birthday Shannon!

Here we go Steelers here we go!

Not going to be a long post today. As I'm sure most of my friends, and everyone who's read this little corner of the Interwebs, knows, I'm a Steelers fan.

I was born just a few miles from Three Rivers Stadium. I grew up rooting for the Steelers, even during the five years I lived in Chicago. I haven't lived in the 'Burgh for more than a decade, but wherever I was I searched out the Steelers bars to watch the games with other Terrible Towel-waving fans of the Black and Gold.

I do not, however, put the "fan" in fanatical. I do not plan my life around games. In fact, I missed most of the second half of the Steelers' AFC championship game to attend the Bloggerational Ball two Sunday's ago. When it comes to games like the championship my theory has always been "If they win I get to watch the next game. If they lose, I didn't want to watch anyway."

Not in a sour grapes kind of way, rather in a it'll hurt like pulling a big Band-Aid off kind of way. And, in this case, I got to see the end of the game at The Reef and watch all the dejected Ravens' fans walk out with hangdog looks on their faces.

But this Sunday the Steelers go for their sixth NFL championship in seven tries. More than any other team. Ever. You can bet you ass I'll be watching.

Running Update
Despite the amazingly horrible conditions Wednesday, I stuck with my schedule and hit the bricks. As I said previously, the only thing I hate more than running is running on a treadmill. No sense of accomplishment.

I did 2 miles over the icy sidewalks and slushy streets (ironically, safer than the sidewalks since they'd been cleared), again running more than walking. At one point during one little stretch I kinda-sorta forgot I hate running and was moving along with my head up and a good, long stride. As soon as I realized what I was doing I thought about throttling it back, but kept going just to see what would happen. A block or so later I settled back to a slower pace, but by choice rather than necessity.

Still having problems with a really tight lower left calf, but I think that has more to do with an atrophied muscle than anything else. The more I run, the less it'll bother me as long as I make sure to stretch it properly.

I have the same plan for this evening: run my 2-mile loop and try to run more of it than I did Wednesday.