Where Grown Men Crying Happens

I have never been so excited about the start of the NBA season! Turning on TNT after work yesterday, I witnessed Paul Pierce crying like he had just been stabbed 11 times (wait, that happened) as he received his championship ring. Usually these guys just grab it, wave to the crowd and go get ready for the game. Everyone of the Celtics looked like they truly appreciated what was happening, except for Brian Scalabrine but he never knows whats going on as long as he can pick up his check every two weeks. It almost caused my eyes to water and I wasnt even a Celtics fan. Upon further reflection I made a decision to do something I have never done...jump on a bandwagon. Last season, I hoped the Celtics would win it all so my favorite player of all time, Kevin Garnett, could finally get a ring after carrying the Timberwolves for so many years. After seeing that Paul Pierce and Ray Allen care too, I am on the bandwagon. Call me a Celtics fan...for now at least. I have always been the one making fun of people for jumping on, but I feel as if I had no choice with this one.

In other NBA news, Greg Oden is hurt again. I almost feel bad for the guy, but then I realize ive never liked him in the first place and thought Durant should have been the #1 pick. To dominate in high school and then against a few decent big men once a week in college is much different than 82 NBA games. I would like to see him stay healthy enough so this Portland team can reach their full potential (Rudy Fernandez will be ROY), but I just dont see that happening. Between a surgically repaired wrist and knee, things will go downhill. I think it is interesting that no one has said anything about the impact of his knee surgery. It was the same one that Amare Stoudamire had a few seasons ago and he was out, no bball at all, for over a year, and it wasnt until about 2 years after the surgery that he was back to full strength. Oden only had the surgery a year ago and is already back trying to play 25-30 minutes a night. That doesnt sound like it is going to work out very well, if you ask me.

Tonight, the rest of the teams get going. Quick predictions:
Finals: Utah/Boston
Winner: Utah
MVP: LeBron
ROY: Rudy Fernandez
Best Record: Lakers
Most Disappointing: Detroit

Irresponsible Blogger

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. Over the past two weeks I have had tests in 4 of my 5 classes and have the 5th one on wednesday. Throw in the fact I still cant figure out how to solve the type of problems that are going to be on that test and school is definitely stressing my out more than usual. The good news is my average on those four tests is 81%, and that includes on VERY bad score. Throw out the outlier and it jumps up to an 88% average. Alec, I challenge you to figure out what that other score was and post it in the comments. It will be embarrassing, but also show what a geek my best friend is! :)

Raising the Bar

I dont know how many of you have watch the new TNT show, "Raising the Bar", but it is awesome! The main character is Zack Morris (not his real name) from "Saved By the Bell". He plays a lawyer in the New York Public Defender's office. The main cast all comes from the Public Defender's and DA's offices, plus a judge mixed in there. It comes on Monday nights, but the episodes are replayed many times throughout the week. The few episodes weren't great, but the last two have been amazing. The stories they tell are very interesting. I recommend it to all!

Wal-Mart Hypocrites

I am in class right now and the annoying student (every class has one) out of the blue said the economy is bad because of Wal-Mart. Then, her, the professor, and many others went on a 10 minute rant of why Wal-Mart is bad. When I looked at the girl who started this I noticed:
1. Her backpack is from Wal-mart.
2. She is eating the Wal-mart off brand fruit snacks.
3. Her coffee mug is from Wal-Mart.
4. Her shoes are from Wal-Mart.

I would bet next months tuition that 80% of the people complaining are regular Wal-Mart shoppers. If you really believe Wal-Mart is evil, STOP SHOPPING THERE!

Personally, I only go to Wal-Mart when I cant get things on sale somewhere else. This is nothing against Wal-Mart, but more to support the other places that are trying to stay in business, thus providing jobs to our small town.

Google Game Tag

Destiny tagged me to do the 8 things, but show obviously doesnt know how I feel about being tagged! Instead, I saw a cool thing that Elizabeth did on her blog and decided it would be a good compromise with Destiny.
This is how the game works: Use Google image search to answer each question. Then, out of ONLY the first page of results, choose your favorite or most random image. You are supposed to tag people after, but I dont do that, so if you think its a cool idea, do it yourself!

My Age:


Place I have been to:

(Be careful when you google brazil images!)

Place I Want to Visit:


Favorite Place:


Favorite Object:


Favorite Food:


Favorite Animal:


Favorite Color:

(I put in scarlet, like UNLV's scarlet and gray!)

Birthplace:


Pets:


Past Love:


Best Friend:


Nickname:


First Name:


Middle Name:


Last Name:

(Does it surprise you that we have a diamond named after our family?)

Bad Habit:


First Job:


Grandmother's Name:


College Degree:


What I am Doing Right Now:


I urge all to try this out. It is rather amusing!

The House that Ruth Built

It has taken me a while to blog about the main reason we went to New York, because it is one of those experiences that most people wont really appreciate or understand how great an opportunity it was. I don't want to come off as bragging or anything like that, so don't take it that way. To better understand how lucky we were, read this Sports Illustrated article from a few weeks ago. I am not even a Yankees fan and I think it was one of the best article ever written by SI.

On Saturday, September 20, we boarded the D train uptown to the Bronx. We had been out late the night before, but the anticipation of the days events fought off the heavy eyelids. It was a quick 20 minute ride to 161st street. We got off the train and headed for the stairs back to the street. My first look at her was not what I imagined. Here stood a big concrete bowl, showing every one of her 85 years. I expected the corner made famous on Seinfeld! Across the street was the new, chique replacement. With "Yankee Stadium" scripted in gold and a roman architecture facade, the new girl was much better looking, but we weren't here for her. Under the tracks of the 4 train, which runs almost right through center field, stood all the vendors. White and blue pinstripes could be seen in dozens of storefronts. Even though the first pitch was 3+ hours away, people were already lined up outside of her. We didn't wake up early to stand in line, that's not how we roll. At dinner the night before Jeremy Guthrie offered to introduce us to Yankee Stadium. We met up with him and headed around the concrete bowl, headed for the players tunnel. I was nervous, like what you feel before a first date. There was one huge difference; she is a celebrity, not Jessica Simpson, but Anne Hathaway, a girl with looks and substance.

We arrived at the entrance, it felt like an out-of-body experience. My first time with her, her last time hosting someone under the afternoon sun. With all that has happened inside her walls, she will never remember me, but I will remember that first glimpse of the blue seats and green grass for a long time. There I was, among 20 or so people, about to experience something 10 million New Yorkers would give up their first born to experience. We stopped and took a picture from behind home plate, the perfectly manicured grass sparkling in the background. I would have been happy to leave then, but our date was just getting started...


She led me down the aisles, where I noticed there was a metal bar going through the middle of each section which was odd, through the box seats and onto the field. She was letting me on the field on our first date! I did not know how to react...should I walk over to the dugout, reach down and touch the grass, or just continue to stand there with my chin hanging down? I walked down into the visitors dugout, think of all the legends that have sat there! I didn't care about her past relationships, she was mine for now.


Again, we took pictures in the dugout and standing right outside of it. Then, another surprise. Jeremy had brought a few plastic bags for us to get some infield dirt. I walked across the grass to third base. Rather timidly, I reached down and let the soil run through my fingers. How could she have such a unique gift for me? More pictures were taken around third base, then we headed to left field, where I would really get to know her past flings.

In Monument Park, I found out this girl has a bit of stalker in her. Out here between the left field fence and the visitors bullpen is where she keeps Shrines to her exes that meant a lot to her. Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle; legends who bowed down to my date. She commemorates big events that she has hosted, like Papal Visits and other people who have been influential in who she has become. Not being a Yankee fan, this was the part of our date that meant the least to her, but I was excited that she was willing to open up to me about these things so close to her. It was also in left field where we were able to walk up to the visitors bullpen and look down into the home bullpen.

Again, it struck me how many greats had spent time with her here on these mounds. Before ending the first part of our day together, she let us walk out into left field. My dad tried to impress her by saying he could make a home run robbing catch over the wall, but she saw right through him. After 85 years, she has a pretty good eye for what she wants.


That was it for our private time. We walked back out through the players tunnel, and who happened to be walking in at that same time but Derek Jeter. He is one of the guys she keeps going back to; unable to let go, even when he batting average dips under .250. He will probably end up in Monument Park one day...jerk.

A few hours later, we returned, this time to take in the final game Yankee Stadium will host on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. It was a perfect day, I didn't expect anything less. We made our way back inside, this time with the street folk :), and found our seats. We were at the top of the lowest deck, right behind home plate. Best of all, we were in the shade.

It was different being with her when there were another 55,000 people there. It actually added to the magic. We witnessed a great game, the last walk-off victory at Yankee Stadium. During the 7th inning stretch, she asked us to sing "God Bless America" with her before "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." This tradition started after 9/11, I hope it lives on in the new place. Once the final run crossed the plate, Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" played over the loudspeakers at least ten times. Once everyone cleared out, I had a little bit more personal time with her. She had me come back down the front row box seats, where I witnessed something I never expected. The Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, and their center fielder, Johnny Damon, brought their kids out to hit and pitch. 5 or 6 kids were running the bases and fielding grounders on this piece of history. That is something I will never forget. After a few minutes, she told me that our date needed to end.

She apologized for how much her age was showing, but it was hardly noticeable through all the history oozing out of each crack. We said our goodbyes, and made our way back out to 161st.

They say she has ghosts living inside of her. I don't know if that is true, but if they aren't living there, she at least lets them rent on occasion. I would have been happy to fly out Saturday morning for this date, then fly right back home afterwards. Lucky for me, I was able to experience more of New York, but this date with Yankee Stadium was far and away the highlight of my trip.

Great Speeches in History

Last week I found a great podcast called Great Speeches in History. Obviously, what they are is self-explanatory. I downloaded a few for the trip to NY, listening to them has caused me to reflect. I got through Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down this Wall", Winston Churchill's First Speech as Prime Minister, Malcolm X's "The Ballot or the Bullet" and JFK's democratic nomination speech. I had heard parts of all these before, but it was so interesting to hear them all in their entirety. All day I have been thinking about two things: 1. Why is it that all of these are more than 20 years old? and 2. What would be something could cause such a speech to happen today? As to the first question, I could not think of an answer, but I have spent a lot of time thinking about the second question and have come up with an answer of my own that I would like to share.

One of the main themes of all the speeches was the unification of people for the greater good. I loved how Malcolm X talked about how we let religion seep into too many conversations/debates, when really there are many things that effect our daily lives no matter what religion we are. He also acknowledged his enemies and wasn't afraid to confront their opposing views without attacking them. Ronald Reagan gave a stirring speech to the people of Berlin, pointing out that the very people protesting his presence there would not be able to protest if they got their way. He never spoke bad about the communist people, just about the regime that forced them to live that different lifestyle. Even though I have very little respect and no admiration for JFK, his acceptance speech had nothing of the jabs and twisting of words that accompanies political speeches today.

Barack Obama has been hailed by many as a great orator, which he very much is. Malcolm X was not very eloquent, stumbling over his words and repeating simple phrases over and over, but he spoke from his heart. There is a simple way to explain why these great speeches have survived the test of time, compared to the rhetoric filled "word vomit" we hear all to often; these men were not presenting ideas, but ideals. They all understood we live in a world where there will always be hate and discord, but their understanding of opposition in all things allowed them to present the other side of hate and discord. Malcolm X spoke about building up the economy of black communities, Reagan spoke about reuniting a continent, Churchill expressed his true faith that good would overcome evil and JFK absorbed the religious bigotry to unite his party. None of them said things like, "living in a perfect world" or "a world without hate." They all expressed well thought out plans and desires to make the world better. I was so impressed by some of the things Malcolm X said about differences between religion. He is so right, many times we allow differences in religion cloud the similarities that exist between two people.


After putting these thoughts together, I tried to answer my second question from above; What would be something could cause such a speech to happen today? What Malcolm X spoke about regarding religion caused me to make a comparison to how political party affiliation effects relationships and conversations with those around us, not to mention the decisions made by our elected officials. Regardless of party affiliation, I believe it is easy to see that the political system is not what our fore-fathers intended it to be. It is time to overlook our differences on abortion laws and gay marriage and be united to change a tired system.

It was announced last week that Obama spent over $60 million in August, while John McCain spent over $40 million. That is $100 million spent in one month, while the two argue over who has the best plan to fix the economy. Maybe by allowing that $100 million dollars to go back into the communities it came from? Campaign reform has the possibility to evoke the same lasting speeches as generations before us. It is something anybody can have a basic understanding of. How hard must it be for a father who works 60 hours a week to make ends meet see a millionaire presidential candidate getting off a private jet paid for not out of his own pocket, but by someone who could have used that $2500 to buy something in his community? According to opensecrets.org, a site that tracks where campaign donations come from and how they are spent, the two main candidates have already raised a combined $700 million dollars! Combine that with the $600 million raised by candidates who have already dropped out of the race and that makes $1.3 billion used to campaign for the office of President. Where does all that money go? TV ads, charter planes, meals, campaign buses, salaries, etc. There has to be a better way and that is something everyone, regardless of race, religion, party, can agree on.

At dinner a few weeks ago, we talked about the appeal of a candidate that would not respond to each little jabs and planted rumor from opponents. Take that a few steps further and imagine a candidate who refused to charter a plane to travel from each "swing state", which has to include enough room for all the journalists that track his every move. Or a candidate who doesn't run inflammatory ads during the other party's convention. Instead of traveling with dozens of "advisers", he convinces an airline executive to donate a few seats on a commercial flight instead of money to the campaign. If a candidate could prove to the public they were that committed to improving the economy, then I could start to believe that they truly care about all the people they shake hands with. These ideas should not make people laugh, but should reflect how a campaign works.

Wouldn't it be great to turn on the TV tonight and witness a world changing speech? I am 22 years old and have not experienced that, but I hope my life doesn't pass without that experience. With the technical resources we have at our disposal, Malcolm X wouldn't have to speak to a few thousand people in a Detroit church. It could be broadcast around the country and the world. I hope one day we can experience that and be united in ideals, not broken apart by the empty promises that seem to dominate the nightly news.