Welcome to the Charlotte.com Nightlife blog

Some of my friends are still oblivious to the term “blog,” leaving me to ponder their apparent ignorance of the manifestation of the “web log” internet counterculture.

But perhaps you’ve heard of it. Authors’ musings have manufactured celebrities, uncovered exclusive investigations, and if we’re not careful, they will inundate us to the point of a media backlash. I’m waiting for the first blog reality series.

I have no interest in sharing every excruciating minutia of my daily routine, but I do intend to let you know the next time I observe anything during the Urban Crawl (a new working title for the Nightlife Column; let me know what you think) that rivals the night I watched the patron in the pressed Lee jeans work the worst pickup line of 2005 (Cantina, May 5, “I had a dream about you”).

Now that’s entertainment.

• Email feedback from the Hoops & Dreams review would have me think I was out to throw the fellas under the bus after their recent grand opening of this sports bar at 5^th and Tryon.

Allow me to clarify. It was a pleasant environment; they just need some time to work their jump shot. I affirm some strong opinions in regards to the projection screen (right on the drywall), cheesy menu headings, and cramped quarters as accurate.

But cheap prices, excellent location, and game access will bring the fans. Maybe even the dozens and dozens of Bobcats fans this year might swing by for a coldie.

• Speaking of sports, it’s been a week, and my body clock is back on schedule after last Monday’s thrilling victory over Green Bay.

I’m as big of a football fan as they come, but frankly, Monday Night Football visiting this town simply stinks. Challenging rush hour traffic for a one to two hour pregame festivity on a school night is not the way to do the pigskin. If you disagree with me, you’ve been bamboozled by their production.

ABC even agrees. “MNF” moves to ESPN next year to lose a significant part of its audience without cable or satellite television.

Personally, the tailgate is arguably over half the fun. So I made up for lost time afterwards, watching traffic subside, enjoying one more Sam Adams, and finally hitting the pillow at 3 am.

Big deal that we get the pageantry and a blimp for a night. Believe me, nothing beats nighttime football, but that’s what Saturdays are for, punctuated by a Sunday morning on the couch.

• The addition of a patio to Connolly’s on 5^th only improved on one of my favorite bars downtown. Until we go smoke-free the sipping of a frosty Smithwick’s in the fresh air sandwiched amongst the high rises is tough to beat.

But the extortion of my $5 (when I have to pay it) weekend cover just for the privilege to enter the premises (with no live band) is like pouring a fresh pint right on the sidewalk.

It’s still the best Irish pub in town while watching Ri-Ra’s upstairs bar slip into club status.

• Before casting one of those flyers I found on my windshield like a playing card across the garage, Illusions 1000 (1000 Seaboard St., 704-332-0998) printed the wrong web address on the back (I suggest they get the printer’s money back). Please allow me to publish the correction as www.illusions1000.com, which is correct on the front.

Borrowing a chapter from the Rock Hill scene, this early Music Factory tenant of the upcoming 30 acre campus of nightlife in north downtown stays open ‘til 6 am, seven days a week. What you do after 2 am when the city cuts off the booze is your business.

Nightly themes include Monday Night Football, DJ skillz contests, goth nights, and a monthly foam party. Suds and skivvies!

• I have a handful of gay friends, and observing a couple flirt with our waiter in the breezeway of Therapy Café (401 N. Tryon) equaled the free acoustic entertainment of the evening. Before the fall chill sets in, get out there for Wednesday half-price martinis, and for those of us who are straight and male, I’d call it ladies’ night out.

Keep an eye out for new Crawl updates.