Time Out!!!

OK, the World Series is over and you won't have to dive through any more baseball posts for awhile.

Let's see, I separated a joint in my lower back, the hip from the pelvic bone to be specific. My right leg was actually a 1/2 inch longer than my left and I was in a lot of pain. Doc is taking care of me now, 3 visits in 3 days and ice every hour for 15 minutes. It is also pinching the syatic (sp?) nerve so that my right leg goes numb! Good thing is it is getting better, bad thing is no work since Tuesday, which would be awesome (I haven't had a vacation in over a year) if not for the fact that I am confined to the house and can't stay in one position for too long with numbness, soreness and the inability to stand up.

Halloween is almost here!! We are looking forward to it for several reasons. In New York we lived on a busy intersection and there were no sidewalks on our side of the street. Every year our neighbors to the left, behind and us would go Trick or Treat with our kids in the development behind us. It was always a good time!!! It was usually the last time we would all see each other until Spring, unless it was a wave and shout hello over the snow drifts while shovelling out the driveway. Anyway, aside from our little group we would get less than 3 trick or treaters per year. Our last year in New York we had ONE. So here we are in our new home with a development of 42 homes with 63 kids and we are attached to another development with 175 homes built so far and I don't know how many kids and we laughed the other day after going shopping and realizing that we bought ONE bag of Hershey Mini's Assorted for the Trick or Treaters, sounds like a good way to get the house egged!

This year is also the BIG Halloween Year in that we told the boy he could Trick or Treat with his friends and not Mom and Dad. Should be a good time for him, our little development is all enclosed and you have to pass our house to get in or out. He's growing up to be a responsible young man and will be fine. Just have to check the little bastard for eggs, toilet paper and shaving creme, my Dad would have!!!!!

The Curse Reversed

Boston wins World Series for the first time since 1918

What a fantastic series of ballgames we watched these past 10 days. Unreal when you think my Yankees had these boys down 3-0 then come back not only to win 4 in a row against the Yankees for the American League Title, but then go 4-0 against the best team in baseball!!! During the regular season the Cardinals went 105-57 while the Yankees went 101-61. No one else was better, yet these Sox went on to break the curse and win it all since 1918. I called my Red Sox fan friend and congratulated him for finally being Abel to say "World Champion Red Sox". Awesome.

Two quick observations:

1. I looked for it but could find the picture of the moment the Curse was reversed. And that was in, I believe, Game 4 when Fox Sports took a shot of some guy in a Yankee Hat and sheet with the NY logo on the front and "3" on the back. The ghost of Babe Ruth at Fenway Park. However, the ghost walked along the aisle, waved to the crowds and disappeared down a hallway and we never saw him again. Fox replayed that footage twice during the game. All I saw was the Babino given up the ghost, and moving on!

2. Now that the Sox have won, and I have heard this several times already this morning, they are now just another team in baseball. No mystique, no curse, no Babe's piano, no Buckner Ball, no Dent Home Run, now they are lost in the run of the mill teams that compete every year. No one talks of the Royals or Astros or Blue Jays or Padres like they do the Cubs or Yankees or did the Sox before last night. While I am happy for Sox Fan to finally win, I am saddened that tomorrow's fan will never know of the Curse as an ongoing battle, the long standing suffering of Sox fan is done and they now join the ranks of legions whose teams have won a ring in the past 10 years and still might again tomorrow. At least baseball still has the Cubs!

Fess Up

OK, the test results are in and I am fine. I had a bad case of the something last week, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, etc.....Me freaking out and thinking heart attack. In to the docs in the am, EKG, Blood pressure all normal, still wicked chest pains, go for echo cardiogram, which is pump me full of radio isotopes, jog on a treadmill and take pictures of my heart, everything came back yesterday and I am normal. Good news one: No heart attack or problems, Good News 2: can now start my exercise program at the YMCA. Bad News 1: threw out back on Sunday, now Wednesday and I could not get out of bed this morning. Went to Chyropractor toady and I am home for the next 3 days and have to go back all week. Seems I have a separated Joint in my hip. F'en nice. Now in more pain than last week and I can not lie down to sleep, or sit to watch TV, or stand to read a book, or walk to take a walk. Just plain old PAIN!

Side Note: Here I am freaking out about my heart, is this the last football game with the boy, will wife wake in morning to find me dead, will I never know who will win Survivor??? All important questions!! So I am at the hospital while they are running the tests...All done and the nurse says:

Nurse: "We will call you tomorrow morning with the results if there is a blockage or problem..Oh..Wait, it is Friday. OK They should call you Monday morning if there is a problem. So no heavy lifting or strenuous activity this weekend, nothing to get your heart racing."

Me: (FREAKING OUT, remember)"Um, they do check these right away, it is 9am."

Nurse: "No, the doctor likes to sit down at 4pm and check them all and then they will call in the test on Monday morning. Just relax this weekend, just because the test is done doesn't mean everything is OK, we had one man take the test think everything is fine and went Mountain Biking over the weekend and had a massive coronary. "

Me: (TOTALLY FREAKING OUT) "Don't you think you might want to have Saturday hours for this sort of thing?"

Nurse: (Giggle) "It'll be fine, just take it easy this weekend and then call your Doctor and pretend you are all freaked out on Monday morning and ask for the results ASAP, that should get them for you quicker."

Me: "Don't you worry, I'll be all freaked out come Monday."

Sacrifice....

No not another baseball post! It has been one year since the move to Indy and things are going great. With only one setback in my opinion.

I actually love my work now. I always did in the past but there was always something the company was doing to fuck us over in Rochester. We had to worry about scheduling problems, suspensions, unneeded overtime, layoffs, cut backs, your usual job stuff.

Here in Indy I come in and do my job, collect my paycheck and go home. I am not to worried about what the people upstairs are doing and they are not worried about what I am doing. I do what they pay me to do, take on any extra projects they send my way, come in for OT when available and make sure I am on time and stay until my shift ends. Pretty simple.

Life life is going great too. We now have a beautiful home and live in a very nice community. We are very active in the sports scene, I've coached 2 teams and the boy has played on 3 since moving out here. The school's are another thing. In New York we were active and known in the boys schools. Here the schools are HUGE! And while the kids are well cared for, the parents get lost in the shuffle. That, however, is fine with us, we've been class parents and schools helpers in the past but I like the closeness of coaching with the boy and the wife enjoys just their time together after school.

Which gets us to our one 'setback' and title of this outing. When we got here last year my wife left behind a 12 year career at Blockbuster Video ending in a District Manager position, then a corporate screw. So she started anew and was swamped with offers. She ended up taking a Branch Manager for a non-traditional bank. Great money, good upward movement potential, crappy hours. So after almost a year of working 60 hours a week, EVERY WEEK. She decided to take a look around. With my schedule set (10:30am-6:30pm) and her branch not closing till 7:30pm our poor son was at Grandma's from 3pm till after 7pm every day. Not that grandma's is bad but we did not move to Indy so my parents could raise our son. So the wife found a new job with a traditional bank. Similar position, less pay, Better hours. So now it is time to tighten the belts so we can enjoy more time as a family! The boy is home with mom by 5:45 and we can have dinner between 6:30 and 7:00 instead of 8:00 to 9:00. We can get up in the morning as a family and eat breakfast and do that "TV Family" thing were no one is tired and everyone breaks from the breakfast table like a football huddle and makes a move to school, work, gym with love you's and see you tonights!!!!

One year down, many more to go, and I like the outlook.

Too Much Time on My Hands...NOT!

Wow, the week has FLOWN!!!!!!! Let's catch up:

1. Yankees lose to Red Sox. I will not say the Yankees choked, that would take away from the Red Sox. I will say the Red Sox played great ball and I actually hope they win the World Series. Even non-baseball people at work and Yankee haters were all watching this series. It was just what baseball needed!!!!

2. Almost election time, vote Bush, vote Kerry, just get out there and VOTE!!!!!

3. Had a sickness all week and went for testing, will talk more when results are in (Monday).

Just a I am still here post......Lot's to talk about but I have a 1 year old in need of 'sitting' so off I go.......

Till next time!

Game Over

Today was the final Sunday of Fall Baseball. We had a single elimination tournament. We played the only undefeated team in the league and held them 5-3 until the final inning. They scored one, then had 2 on base. We had two outs on them and a slow grounder back to the pitcher, who might have tossed it a little too hard and a first baseman who might have been a little too short....overthrow into right field and game over. They move on and we go home.

Was it that one play that did us in. Nope, they played great ball today and we (the coaching staff) made sure they knew it!! Were we a little disappointed going home early, yes...were the parents willing to stay till 8pm to play the championship, sure! But I heard a little sigh of relief as parents congratulated players on a good season, thanked us coaches for out time and loaded the kids into the minivan thankful for the extra 6 hours to run errands, go to church and just finally have a Sunday at home with the family.

True Stories

True Story 1:

My mother had to pick up the boy's football gear for practice the other day. It hadn't been washed so was in a bag in the garage. When she picked it up, boy did it STINK (we later realized it was his arm pads that we had never washed after 8 games and 22 practices, P.U.). So she put it on the passenger seat, opened the window, and headed home. Did I mention my 1 year old nephew in the back, pissed off and ready for a nap.

So here is Mom haulin' ass back to her house with angry baby and stinky uniform when the blue and red lights appear in here rear view mirror. After she pulls over the officer approaches in the passenger side as there is no shoulder and it is a busy road.

Cop: "I had to do 60 just to catch up to ...phew......." as he stuck his head in the passenger window.

Mom: "Sorry officer"

Cop: "Is that the baby??"

Mom: "No, my other grandson's football uniform."

Cop: "OK, keep it under the speed limit and just get home right away."

Mom: "Thank you....."

True Story 2:

The wife was getting gas ($2.04) last night when the guy pumping gas in front of her says:

Man: "Hey, Rochester"

Wife: "Excuse me?"

Man: "Rochester, New York right"

Wife:"um, yea, do I know you or is it tattooed to my forehead?"

Man: "No your car is from Dorschel Ford and I know that is in Rochester."

Wife: "You from there too?"

Man: "No Mame, Buffalo, but I am a Navy Recruiter and went there quite a bit."

Wife: "How do you like Indy?"

Man" "Sucks worse than Buffalo!"

Wife: "Suck?!?!? Rochester is better than Buffalo and Indy is way better than Rochester.."

Man: "I am a Navy Recruiter, do you have any idea how far the nearest body of water is?!?!?!"

Wife: "Point taken, take care."

Caught in the Crossfire...

I was a little pissed this morning when a friend fired off a whinny "Yankee's Suck" e-mail. First off it was in response to a "I'm Your Daddy" e-mail I sent off after the Game 2 winover Pedro. But when I read it, it was that straw that broke my 'defending the Yankees' back, I am the lone Yankee fan in a 500 mile radius not including my wife and son, so I do get a lot of shit about being a Yankee fan...

Anyway I though it was pretty good so I figured I use it as today's post, enjoy:

Steinbrenner puts together TEAMS, not over paid superstars, he takes the money earned by the Yankees and does something no one else in baseball will do: he REINVESTS it into the organization: player development, contracts to keep home grown players home, free agent signings.....then pays 'small market teams" like Minnesota MILLIONS of dollars that goes right into the owners pockets, after they get the fat check from George they cry poverty....hey Polhad you just got 56 million in Luxury tax payments how about a little to your team!!!!!!
SO we are rich over paid superstars......OK let's look

1 Ramirez, Manny $ 22,500,000 Boston Red Sox
2 Rodriguez, Alex $ 22,000,000 New York Yankees
3 Delgado, Carlos $ 19,700,000 Toronto Blue Jays
4 Jeter, Derek $ 18,600,000 New York Yankees
5 Bonds, Barry $ 18,000,000 San Francisco Giants
6 Martinez, Pedro $ 17,500,000 Boston Red Sox
7 Vaughn, Mo $ 17,166,667 New York Mets
8 Green, Shawn $ 16,666,667 Los Angeles Dodgers
9 Piazza, Mike $ 16,071,429 New York Mets
10 Bagwell, Jeff $ 16,000,000 Houston Astros

Of the top 10 highest paid players this year.....hum 2 Yankees, 2 red sox, 2 Mets.....And the Top Yankee was a trade NOT a free agent signing, meaning someone else in Major League baseball could afford 22 million a year.......

How about some Awards, these are all superstars, lets try the Cy Young:

2004 Roy Halladay Toronto
2002 Barry Zito Oakland
2001 Roger Clemens New York
2000 Pedro Martinez Boston
1999 Pedro Martinez Boston
1998 Roger Clemens Toronto
1997 Roger Clemens Toronto
1996 Pat Hentgen Toronto
1995 Randy Johnson Seattle
1994 David Cone Kansas City

Only One Yankee and that was Clemens.....the last Yankee before that was Ron Guidry in 1978!!!! So there are better players out there in baseball that do not play for the Yankees...

2003 Alex Rodriguez Texas SS
2002 Miguel Tejada Oakland SS
2001 Ichiro Suzuki Seattle RF
2000 Jason Giambi Oakland 1B
1999 Ivan Rodriguez Texas C
1998 Juan Gonzalez Texas OF
1997 Ken Griffey, Jr. Seattle OF
1996 Juan Gonzalez Texas OF
1995 Mo Vaughn Boston 1B
1994 Frank Thomas Chicago 1B
1993 Frank Thomas Chicago 1B
1992 Dennis Eckersley Oakland P
1991 Cal Ripken, Jr. Baltimore SS
1990 Rickey Henderson Oakland OF
1989 Robin Yount Milwaukee OF
1988 Jose Canseco Oakland OF
1987 George Bell Toronto OF
1986 Roger Clemens Boston P
1985 Don Mattingly New York 1B

How about MVP, with all those Superstar millionaire in the dugout we must have won every MVP award since 1994, um no, I had to go back to 1985 to find a Yankee.....so other players are paid more than us, and other teams have better players than us....what could be the difference......

How about TEAMWORK and the willingness to win, how about taking an OUTCAST, say John Olerud, released from his team and making him a postseason hero, or Aaron Boone, or Scott Brocious, or Jon Leiber........how about going out there and playing quality baseball and worrying about WINNING games for the team and not padding stats or winning awards, or breaking records...how about clutch hits from the 7,8,9 spot and don't tell me Migel Cairo, Homer Bush, Charlie Hayes, Flash Gordon, John Olerud, Shane Spencer, Kenny Lofton, Ruben Sierra, Tony Clark, et al are all Over Paid Superstars, yet everyone of them and others have contributed to Yankee wins and Yankee rings......

Maybe if more owners would reinvest in their teams, and more clubhouses were conducive to promoting TEAM success I wouldn't have to listen to Yankee haters bitch about buying another Ring.........The 1997 Marlins bought their fucking ring but theYankees work hard every fucking year and earn one once in awhile.....

So instead of bashing Yankee and Yankee fan how about slamming your own team for being a bunch of pussies and not committing to the sport of baseball.....

PS other teams that decided to play Yankee ball and win as a team and spend a little doing it: 2003 Marlins and 2002 Angels, EARNED their Rings.....

/rant

PS: No offense intended just an angry Yankee fan tired of the same old buying BS.......

Who's Your Daddy???

Sorry couldn't resist. So the Yankees head to Fenway 2-0 in the ACLS. The 2 pitchers I was worries about we beat but we still do not have anyone to go out there for games 3 and 4!!! This just might go the full 7, never mind they need to win 4 of 5, they could do it!!

Another speedy week, it is already Thursday. Working in TV sometimes blurs your sense of time. I sit in a little room with no windows and do the samething over and over and over again. No meetings, no conference calls, no "The Johnson report is due on Wednesday!" Just news and weather, and mostly the same news. We take stories and replay them to death, then break off from them addition stories covering related issues until it's 5 days later and you are still covering. Plus anything that occurs Friday after 7pm is rehashed and gone indepth with on Monday.

An example: We had an officer shot 2 weeks ago. Two days of coverage of the officer, then the funeral, the memorial fund, the suspect, police training: is it enough, weapons on college campuses, security at said college, mental illness of suspect, gun laws, mental illness vs gun laws, health providers and mental illness (suspect tried to get help previously) and eventually trial and verdict. Each issue there was a story that got usually a live shot and package or live interview, then vo and sot at the next newscast, rebroadcast of either package or vo/sot on the morning show then follow up package or reporter on set at the 5pm newscast. By then end of the week I have heard the story about 10 times and have already forgotten if it started on Monday or Wednesday or over the weekend.

We also usually tune out the news. You see too much shit and it drives you crazy. It also drives the family nuts when they ask about what happened today or what the weather will be like tomorrow. To be honest I stop listening after we start weather because I have stuff that needs setting up, or scripts that need marking or direction to give to the crew. What bothers me is we will always do that story that is different, odd or has great video and that sticks in our mind because it is out of the ordinary and stands out for us from the usual politics, crime, feelgood story, accident, tragedy.

Me: "Man did you see that Hot Air balloon stuck on that 600 foot tower??"
Them: "No, is it going to rain tomorrow??"
Me: "Pass the salt please, thanks"

Make...Hulk...Mad!!!!!

With baseball winding down and the Sheffield article in SI, Bonds being Bonds and Caminiti Dying here is my 2 juiced cents.

Steroids has no place in organized sports, plain and simple. Yet all the organizations must get together and release a clear, clean and standard list of banned substances, period. I think anyone who competes be it professional, amateur or Olympic should pee in a cup regularly during their 'season'. Anyone found using steroids should be immediately suspended and upon return to their sport, regularly tested on and off season. Second offence, suspended for rest of season and third offence banned from the sport. Plain, simple, clear.

Attitudes in sports needs to be curbed as well. I am on the line as to the role model statis athletes are given. While I believe in the right of privacy I also believe it is an athletes responsibility to act accordingly on the field of play. Hundreds, thousands, millions of people have their eyes on you when you play, be it at the AAA Stadium, your home field or on TV on any given Sunday. Sports is a passionate event, tempers fly, emotions are on the edge and they burst through at different moments. Knowing that, athletes should realize they are on display and try and control themselves a little. Bean ball, brawls, arguing with the umpire, and jawing at the pitching are part of the game. Launched helmets, overturned water coolers and being pulled off the field by the coach shouldn't be. Perfect example wa this weekend at Yankees vs Minnesota, and I talked to my boy while they were playing. Two Yanks got called out on strikes that they thought were bad calls, Jeter argued with the ump. No dramatics, no yelling, just a "I don't think so" as he walked back to the bench. No in your face just a quick disagreement in hopes of a better look next at bat. Then the Minnesota pitcher who gave up the tying run is sent packing and rips through the dugout throwing hats, knocking over cups, tossing a coat out of the dugout and sitting in a corner and pouting, The wife commented how much of a baby he was being, and I said they have a clubhouse why not take it inside and rant and rave off camera and out of sight. Sure everyone can understand you're pissed, you just let the Yankees catch up after leading 5-1, but man above you get 1.5 million a season to toss the ball an inning or 2 a night. suck it up. Plus now there are Little Leaguers around the country watching you be an ass after a bad outing and I am sure we will see similar behavior this weekend at our Fall League Baseball Playoffs. Thanks.

Last but not least:
Houston/St. Louis: Cardinals in 5
Boston?New York: Yankees in 6

There is no better/bitter rivalry in sports than that of Boston/New York. I could go into details but if you google it I am sure you will find Thousands of sites set up (mostly from Boston) detailing the 100 year feud..........

Go Yanks

Ken Caminiti, 1996 NL MVP, dies at age 41

Yahoo! Sports - MLB - Ken Caminiti, 1996 NL MVP, dies at age 41

First Rodney, then Janet Leigh, then Christopher "Superman" Reeves, now this......

Blea!

It is Saturday morning and I am up with the rain. We bought a new mattress a few weeks ago, king sized but plush. I do not think I like it.....very achey in the morning when I wake up. Could be my back was used to sleeping on the 10 year old mattress we had 'broken in'.

Now off the football then back here to clean and watch the rain outside......

Baseball Notes:
- Boston beat my Angels last night. Several years ago I was called out on being a Yankee Fan (Easy to cheer on a winner every year) so I told them I would pick another team to be "my team" for the season. I picked the Angels and 2 years later the won the World Series. So now I have my West Coast team and East Coast team, I've been a Yankee fan since 1979. Now I have (or had) two shots at the World Series. Now we just have to beat Johann Santana tonight......

Various Ramblings

- Plain and simple the Twins are a threat to my Yankees and leaving Joe Nathan in for 3 innings was the opening needed to work that Yankee magic. That mistake will not be made again, our pitching needs to step up or it is Minnesota in 4.

- My two favorite TV shows right now are Rescue Me and Lost, mostly because they are not cop/csi/lawandorder/medicalteaminvestigation shows! I believe Lost will become a cult show that has a wide spread audience. While there is the fantasy/scifi element of "Is it Jurassic Park?" for what is in the woods, tonight's episode focused on the survivors and what they were before the crash and who they are now that they have been 'reborn'. Run do not walk to Wednesday Nights at 8pm on ABC!!

- Fall is coming to Indiana and it is not so bad. You can still were shorts and enjoy the deck and grill. And I am looking forward to my first full winter of NOT having over 100 inches of snow!!!!

Comic Rodney Dangerfield Dies in L.A. at Age 82

Yahoo! News - Comic Rodney Dangerfield Dies in L.A. at Age 82

Yes I owned a vinyl copy of Rappin' Rodney....
Yes most of his stuff was old and tired by the mid 80's
But the man could make me laugh!!!!!!
And if Easy Money wasn't one of the best comedies ever!!!!
Music by Billy Joel, Best Friend by Joe Pesci and "Honey there's a Messerschmit in the kitchen could you clean it up!!!" Classic

Karma, Yipeeeee!!!

The wife called me yesterday on her way home. She has a Baby Shower for my sister-in-law today and spend almost 5 hours buying stuff with my sister for this party and then we got stuck with the $300 bill, not including the food she said we would pay for today. Anyway she is on her way home and p i s s e d and ranting on the cell phone:

Her: rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant

Me: Yes dear, uh hum

Her: rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant

Me: You're right, yes, uh hum

Her: rant rant rant rant rant, shit this guy is an ass rant rant rant rant

Me: you shouldn't have to put up with it, yes, uh huh.....

Her: rant rant rant motherf*$#er just cut me off and ran a red light..

Me: you OK??

Her: Nice Assh#$e, what the...??? Oh shit!! Nice, excellent, yippeeeeee!!!! Take that f*#*er!!!

Me: Uh, you OK?!?!?!?

Her: Fine, awesome, best I felt all day!!!! Dumbass just cut me off and ran a red light then got pulled over when a cop came out of nowhere!!!! That was great, be home in a minute, love you!!

Me: uh huh...

/rant

Movie Fun

Saw this this morning and figured with all the Debate Blogging going on I would give you a change of pace read:

TOP 10 NON-OSCAR WINNERS
1) The Shawshank Redemption
2) It's a Wonderful Life
3) ET the Extra-Terrestrial
4) 2001: A Space Odyssey
5) The Great Escape
6) The Wizard of Oz
7) Some Like It Hot
8) The Color Purple
9) Raiders of the Lost Ark
10) Psycho
The survey was based on films which had not won best film, best actor, best actress, best supporting actress, best supporting actor, best director and best foreign language film.

OK, there you have a nice list, the only missing movie I see is Star Wars (1977). I have seen everyone of those and feel each one left some sort of mark on film and the audience. I am surprised there are so many 'non-drama' films on there. Aside from the Color Purple (my wife's favorite) and The Shawshank Redemption (by horrormister King) the others are Sci/Fi, Fantasy, Comedy and the lone Historical Epic (The Great Escape). You can also see why the Oscars just plain suck sometimes, the holier than thou attitude of the "Academy" voters pisses me off almost every year. Why did they wait for The Return of the King to give Jackson Best Picture and Director? Of the 3 movies in the series that was the worst one, a wrap up of the story that was so well crafted in Fellowship and Two Towers, I do not think there was 5 minutes of dialog in Return. But the attitude was he has a trilogy to release so let us honor them all at the end instead of 3 years in a row of him dominating Best Picture and Best Director. In doing so does not the 2nd best picture actually win?!?!?!? Were CHICAGO and A BEAUTIFUL MIND then the 2nd Best Pictures of 2001 and 2002?? Were Roman Polanski and Ron Howard the 2nd Best Directors? We would have to assume so as Return of the King was not the best film in the Trilogy yet that was the one that won all the awards.........

Note to self: add Movie Awards to the Do Not Discuss List after Politics and Religion.

PS: Thanks to Netflixfan for the list!