The Pay Off

Ok, it has been long enough. I really doubted my testimony of blogging, but my wife has helped me see that I should continue. Lets see if I can keep it up again.

Last night, my sports obsession paid off, literally. I am on a site called Wazzel where you pick the winners of games based on the betting lines. Instead of risking cash, you win and lose points with each pick. They say that in the future you will be able to cash in the points for prizes, like at an arcade. Over the past three weeks, I participated in a contest called Wazzel Madness. While most march madness contests consist of picking all the winners before the tournament starts, this one allows you to pick game by game, again based on the betting line. The amount of points possible to win increased by round, with the first round games worth 2000 points and the championship game worth 10000. Going into yesterdays game, I was winning by 6000 points, with only one other person in the running for a win, who was down by 18000. Since I was in first, I waited until late to make the pick, so no one could make their pick based on mine. Picking UNC at -7.5 wasnt very difficult, it was just hard picking period, knowing what was on the line. I didnt want to be like Tyler and screw up when the pressure was on!

Finally it was game time. After Carolina scored the first basket, the CBS feed went out. It was out on both cable and satellite, I dont know if it was just us or if it was the SLC affiliate, but I wasnt very happy. I was able to get the game online, so that saved a very stressful night. Honestly, the outcome was never really in doubt, but I pushed those thoughts out of my head throughout the game so there would be no jinx. Finally, with about 2 minutes left, I declared myself the winner and broke out the champagne. Actually, there was no champagne, but that would have been fun to spray all over the house. In the end, I won a $750 voucher for the ticket website RazorGator. I thought picking with the lead was tough, but deciding what sporting event I want to go to will be a huge challenge!

It is about time all the hours I have spent in front of the TV pays off. Let this be a lesson to you kids, hard work pays off.

The End of an Era

In sad news for Colts fans, Marvin Harrison was released by the team today. After breaking Jerry Rice and Steve Young's record for most TD connections, it was best to let him go. I am very interested to see where he ends up. Marvin has seen better days but is still a very capable possession receiver.

My Nah Nah Nah

While surfing around the interwebs last night, I came across a sneak preview of a new scrubs episode. What follows is the greatest fantasy JD has ever allowed us to see.

What a Tribute

This is an excerpt of todays SI Peter King column.

The Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks set off on a six-game, 12-day road trip on Nov. 18 -- to, in order, Phoenix, Dallas, Toronto, San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles. (Who thinks of these itineraries? Magellan?) In between a Saturday night date with the Maple Leafs and a Tuesday noon flight to San Jose, the players were going to have their one day off on the trip, a Sunday, back home with family in Chicago.
But the day before they played Toronto, the players learned that Stan Tallon, the father of Chicago general manager Dale Tallon, had died after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease in a rural Ontario town, Gravenhurst, two hours north of Toronto. The director of team services, Tony Ommen, told the captains that he could try to arrange a team trip to the Sunday night wake in Gravenhurst if they wanted to go. But if they did, of course, they'd be giving up their only day off on a grueling trip in a two-week period. It was a day most of the players had plans to do something, if only to watch football on TV, sleep all day, Christmas-shop, hang with family.
"Guys like their time off, that's for sure,'' Patrick Sharp, an assistant captain, said via cell phone. "But this was something, when we got together, we felt we had to do. Dale's a part of us.''
The team meeting was brief and to the point, and there was no objection from a single player: The players would stay over in Toronto, surrender the day off, and bus up to the wake in mid-afternoon on country roads with a fresh blanket of snow. Ommen arranged two buses, one for the coaches and staff, and one for the 23 players on the trip. In all, about 50 members of the Blackhawk traveling party made it to the W.J. Cavill Funeral Home in Gravenhurst, and when they walked quietly through the side door of the place, Dale Tallon couldn't believe his eyes. He tried to say something.
"I couldn't talk,'' he said. "I just started bawling.''
The players and staff all filed past the open casket and paid their respects to the family, including Tallon's 80-year-old mom, whose mood brightened tremendously. She knew the players from watching the games on satellite TV. Now here they were, her heroes! She had a little crush on the big star, Patrick Kane, whom her son had drafted first overall last year. "Patrick Kane!'' she said, and hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Mrs. Tallon,'' Sharp said.
"Ooooh,'' she said. "I enjoy watching you play.''
And then the players sat respectfully among the townspeople for a while, and then they went into a side room to look at the photo display of Stan Tallon's family, which could have been any hockey family in Canada, with shots of Dale as a tyke and moving up through the years 'til he thrilled the family by making the NHL. Before the players left, Dale Tallon told them how touched the family was that they'd make this trip for him.
Last week, Dale Tallon tried to explain why this happened. "I think hockey's unique,'' he said. "In every Canadian town, the hockey rink seems to be the center of the community. Families do so much for their kids and sacrifice for them so they can play. You rise up through different levels, but you never forget how you got there. With these kids on our team, I scouted, recruited and drafted so many of them. Watching them walk through that door made me feel so good about the type of people -- not just the kind of players -- we drafted. I hear so many people talking negatively about the youth of today, but don't underestimate these kids. They're good kids. My mother is there. Her husband of 59 years is laying in a casket next to her. And these kids walked in and she was just on Cloud Nine ...'' And then Dale Tallon got a little misty over the phone.
"I've played for different teams in juniors and the pros,'' said the 26-year-old Sharp, from the Ontario hockey hotbed of Thunder Bay. "And you walk into every locker room and you become brothers. Maybe it's rare in pro sports, but it's not rare in hockey, I don't think. We're all in this together. It goes back to growing up in hockey. My older brother played, I played, and my parents made huge sacrifices to drive us everywhere we had to go. Everyone in this game knows how much family means.''
Said Ommen: "The culture of hockey revolves around family.''
The team boarded the buses to return to Toronto and the charter flight home. But on the way out of town, as happens with two dozen premier athletes who have not eaten in some time, the players saw a McDonald's. They got the buses to stop. Inside, as the Chicago Blackhawks walked en masse into a sleepy McDonald's in rural Canada long after the dinner crowd was gone, a teenage kid behind the register figured out who he was looking at. "Coooooool!'' he said.
"So on the wall there's this big billboard,'' Sharp said. "I guess McDonald's in Canada has hockey cards, and we're looking at this, and there's [teammates] Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, looking at this. They had cards in this McDonald's series. We all had no idea. So a few of the guys bought the Happy Meals, or whatever, trying to get their cards.''
A couple of weeks have passed. The Blackhawks lost all three games on the last leg of the trip, but no one was blaming the Gravenhurst detour. I asked Sharp if the team had any regrets about attending the wake.
"None,'' he said. "No complaints. We were where we should have been. We'd do it again, 100 times.''
And that's my good news story of the week. Be proud, Canada. You've raised some nice boys

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

Football Frenzy

I dove/dived in head first to football over the last 3 weeks and have not been disappointed. The most amazing part of that sentence is understood by UNLV football fans and "not disappointed" in the same sentence. Yes, I was frustrated when they bent over and got their butts spanked in the second half against Utah, but the other 5 halves they have played made up for it. Sitting with my dad in our living room on saturday still seems as if it was a dream. Coming from 10 points down in the fourth quarter? Still no turnovers this season? A one-handed catch in the end zone? By a freshman? From Las Vegas?...I could go on for a while on how surprised I was to even be in that game, much less win! Here are a few highlights.



The Colts almost got off to a 0-2 start, which may have caused me to go into depression. Even though they ended up winning yesterday's stinker against Minny, I had dreams last night of Greg Gumble saying, "Peterson, still on his feet" while I was being dragged by Adrian Peterson for 5 extra yards. That bent but dont break defense will not work against the big guns! I am not worried about the offense. Peyton should be rusty after knee surgery and no snaps in the preseason. Add to him losing half of his offensive line, including the rock Jeff Saturday, and his favorite check down receiver, Dallas Clark, the rocky start is not a big surprise. They looked a lot better in the second half yesterday, hopefully they can put it all together in the coming weeks. I am a bit worried about the defense. Adrian Peterson is good, but I dont know that he was ever tackled for a loss. Bob Sanders needs to step it up!

I am very excited for the Monday Night game. Philly-Dallas. Shay got lucky this weekend that Keith has been taking his meds, or else her questions of, "What city do the eagles play in?" may have led to a homicide in the Las Vegas area. After the boring Sunday Night game, the boys and eagles should provide enough fireworks for the whole weekend.

One thing to think about. With the way Aaron Rodgers has started, do you think the browns are in any hurry to get Pretty Boy Brady Quinn off the bench? They were in similar situations coming out of college, possible lottery pick, but slid to late in the first round. Hopefully teams will start to see the value of a young qb sitting on the sidelines for a few years soaking up information before throwing him into the fire. I think this is a major reason the NFL needs a rookie pay scale, so teams dont feel bad about letting a guy develop instead of having to guarantee 30 mil, only to see him bust out because of the pressure.

Well, thats about it for the first few weeks of football. We planned our flights to and from NY on Jetblue, enabling us to watch the thursday night college game on the flight out there and the nfl games on the way home...thats dedication, homes.

United States Domination

The world is back in the correct order of power after last night's gymnastics competition. Shay gets mad at me when the Chinese start their routines, as I cheer for them to fall. Then, when they actually do, I cheer even louder! What can I say? I want my country to be the best! If the other countries cant handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.

It was great to see Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson go 1-2 in the all-around. Now, if only the US can take Gold in every individual apparatus, wouldnt that be great?
If you want to see a similar reaction to the one I had this morning (I was tired last night so I had to finish this morning via Tivo) watch Bela karolyi in this clip.

Go USA!!!!

Olympic Thoughts

The following are a view thought about the olympics so far.

-Dwayne Wade is so close to being back to 2005-2006 form. The way he is slashing down the baseline and skying for rebounds over guys 6 inches bigger than him has to be very promising to the Heat. Then, consider they have two former rebels also starting for them, which means I may have to make them my early pick for the NBA title!

-It was awesome to see the USA rack up medals last night in swimming. People are talking about how China could overtake us in the medal count this year, but they forget to mention the US Rule that was instituted for this year. In the past, each country could send 3 swimmers in each race, but they got tired of seeing three americans on the medal stand, so now each country can only send two. Americans have said the trials races were more competitive than some olympic finals...that is proof of US dominance in the pool.

-When the French relay team said they would crush us, that quote came from a guy named Alaine. Why would anyone take a guy named Alaine seriously?

-As much as I am cheering against the Chinese, I couldnt help but smile while hearing the crowd go crazy for their Mens Gymnastics. Had they lost, the guy who stepped out of bounds on the floor exercise would have returned home to discover his family had died due to mysterious circumstances.

-Sticking with gymnastics, how could anyone not have a huge smile on thier face watching the reactions of the american men? When Johnathan Horton and Justin Spring threw down the gauntlet on the High Bar I was thoroughly convinced they were going to pull out a win.

-On a final gymanstics note, I am very against the new scoring system. I understand why it was instituted, to take power from the judges, but the difficulty score is way too important. A guy shouldnt be able to improve his teams score after getting an 8.8, but with a high difficulty score that can cover up the mistakes. There should be some reward for difficulty, but the execution of the routine needs to be 90% of the overall score!

-I am going to have to disagree with Alec and Keith. I agree with what they said about Trampoline and Rhythmic Gymnastics, and equestrian but for sports like sailing, shooting and all the swimming and track events, let them have their glory every four years. We worship basketball, football and baseball players all day everyday, when most of the them are overpaid jerks. I have no problem with the guy who only works so he can afford the best equipment and training.

-I am so proud to be an American. Even though I cant stand Michael Phelps, I still cheer for him. When the National Anthem plays as he in on the medal stand, tears appear in my eyes. Another reason to not like Phelps, he doesnt even mouth the words to the National Anthem. I doubt he values Gold Medals anymore, as long as they bring more endorsements...but he better get all 8, or I am gonna pull a Chinese on his family.

Barry Bonds and Almost Witnessing History

This summer I have been in an English class called Writing About Baseball. As the title shows, we have read a few baseball novels and I have had to write about different baseball related experiences. One of the papers had to be about my baseball conversion. As I am not really a baseball fan, just a sports fan, I thought it would be difficult, but then I remembered this experience from last summer. This paper was probably my favorite one that I have ever written, I hope you enjoy it!

Lying underneath the bright California sun, my mind is not lost in thought, as is usually the case while on the beach; instead, it is focused on what I am going to experience later in the day. While the country is split over what to think of Barry Bonds and his chase for 755, my imagination runs away with the thought that I could see him hit the record tying home run. My family___ and a few friends were headed to Petco Park in Downtown San Diego on the evening of August 3, 2007 for a game between the San Diego Padres and my San Francisco Giants. This had become a family tradition in recent years, signaling the beginning of our Beach Week. Little did we know 4 months earlier when tickets were purchased that we had a chance to witness history.

Technically, this story begins on Labor Day weekend of 1998. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire were battling for the single season home run record, then 60, held by Roger Maris. Four years earlier, Major League Baseball lost many fans because of the labor stopping strike. This home run chase was exactly what the league needed to regain pre-strike popularity. As a 10 year-old boy, I followed this story very closely. Each night I would watch Sportscenter, hoping to hear that McGuire still had the lead. To this day, almost 10 years later, I remember being on the trampoline in our backyard when my dad came out and told me McGuire was at-bat with the record on the line. I cheered and ran around the house when the ball sailed over the wall; my baseball conversion had begun.

On July 27, 2007, Barry Bonds hit home run number 754. I was a bit nervous; he had a whole week of games to play before the game we were going to. Then, as if the gods were intervening on our behalf, it was announced he would not play in the Giants’ series against the Dodgers in L.A. Those two teams are fierce rivals and Barry did not want to break the record while being booed constantly. I arrived in San Diego on July 31, the last day of the Giants’ series in L.A. After a day off, they started a three-game series with the Padres. Thursday, we spent the day on the beach, enjoying the sun and sand. Usually, we stay out on the beach until the sun starts setting, but we had to change our routine around when Barry Bonds would be at bat. We would head inside right as the game started, anxiously anticipating that moment he would stand at the plate, elbow and shin pads on tight, waiting to jump on the first good pitch. My family comes from the Bay Area. Barry Bonds was the first athlete I ever idolized. We don’t understand the fuss about him and steroids, we just accept that he did use them and keep cheering. This understanding allowed all of us to really enjoy the moment each time he was at bat, while the rest of the sports world constantly debated whether records should be valid or not. To our excitement, no record tying or breaking home runs were hit that Thursday night, setting up perfectly for our family trek to the ballpark.

Friday morning, my cousin Jake, our friend AJ and I headed out to the beach. We knew it was only a few hours until we would take the train from Oceanside to the Gaslamp District to meet up with my parents for the game. The word excited would not even begin to describe how we were feeling. The night before, we watched the newscasters talk about all press frenzy happening at the park, knowing we would be a part of it. At about 3 p.m., we got all cleaned up and headed for the train station. As a Giants fan, my black and orange hat stood out among all the Padres shirts and hats that slowly packed the train. Padres fans have always been very courteous, but they seemed to be just as excited as me to possibly witness history. In my mind, it was a near perfect situation for Bonds. Other than not playing in his home stadium, he was close to his childhood home, Southern California, in a beautiful ballpark, amongst fans who really understood what could happen that night. We arrived safely in front of Petco Park and proceeded to find my parents and head into the park. The atmosphere and electricity of the game was evident immediately upon entrance. Food and drink vendors seemed to be yelling just a bit louder and every usher ready to help create a perfect ballpark experience for each fan; they did not want to take away from the historic moment each fan was praying to experience.

Finally, the game started. We were seated directly between 1st base and the right field wall, about 10 rows up. Since the Giants were the away team, there was a chance Bonds would be up right in the top of the 1st inning. Once Dave Roberts bunted for a single, we knew the first opportunity for Bonds would be coming soon. After two quick outs, it was time. Everyone in the stadium stood in unison, like there was a choir conductor leading us on the big screen. Flashbulbs started exploding throughout the crowd, adding to the already electric atmosphere. Much to my satisfaction, the majority of the Padres crowd were cheering Bonds, with only a smattering of boos heard. Each pitch brought the crowd to a quick silence, only to exhale with a missed swing. Bonds ended up striking out on a called third strike, leaving the crowd to wait a few more innings for his next at-bat.

When the top of the order came up again in the top of the 3rd, we knew Bonds was just two hits away. Dave Roberts and Randy Winn provided those hits and after a Ray Durham groundout, it was history time again. The crowd reacted the same way as the previous at-bat. Everyone on their feet, knowing that a home run would provide them with a story their grandkids would ask to hear over and over again. Just like before, Bonds did not come through. He grounded out on the second pitch to end the inning. It would not be until the 6th inning that Bonds would get another at-bat, this time fooling the crowd with a long, deep fly ball that was caught easily by Mike Cameron. Three at-bats, three outs. Never did I think we would be let down. In my mind, he was just waiting until his final at-bat to provide the fireworks. It was a close game and what a better way to win than on a history making home run?

That time came in the top of the 8th inning. Bonds was due up second and the Giants were winning 3-0 after a 2 run 7th. This was it! Again, crowd on its feet, cameras flashing in all directions; frankly, it was hard for me to focus on Bonds through all the flashes. All of the hoopla was for nothing, as Bonds grounded out to the first baseman. In the bottom of the 8th, he was replaced by Fred Lewis, manager Bruce Bochy assuming the Giants would take care of business and win the game. The Padres went on to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th, which would lead to extra innings. Of course, the Giants had gone through enough batters in the 9th that would have made it possible for Bonds to hit again in the 10th, had he stayed in the game. This switch would prove to be important our minds, considering how the next day’s game played out.

Again, we all left the beach earlier than normal that night to catch Bonds’ first at-bat. My dad did not think he would hit one that night and stayed out on the beach. I went up to Jake and AJ’s room to watch the game with them and my Uncle Keith. The Giants batters went 1-2-3 in the top of the 1st and the Padres scored one run in the opposite half of the inning. After what seemed like the longest commercial break in history, Barry Bonds was at the plate. There is no doubt in my mind that the stadium reacted the same way we had reacted the day before for each of his at-bats. With the count at 2-1, Clay Hensley of the Padres threw the pitch. Bonds connected and sent it to the opposite field and out to tie Hank Aaron’s record of 755. We ran out onto the balcony of our condo that overlooked the ocean. My dad and his sister were still sitting out there, having missed what just happened. We started screaming to them what had happened like we were 10 years old and our favorite team had just won a championship. The other 100 or so people between us and them must have thought we had lost our minds, but they didn’t understand how we felt about that moment. About five minutes later I realized we should have seen that home run. If the Giants manager had left Bonds in for extra innings, he would have had that at-bat to break the record, instead of waiting until his first at-bat the next day. I was disappointed, but satisfied that he had finally tied the record. Three days later, with the whole family around the TV this time, we watched as Mike Bascik gave up home run number 756, knowing we had come so close to being eyewitnesses to history.

While Barry Bonds walked from the on-deck circle to the batter’s box, as the crowd rose to its feet and the first of many flashes went off, I knew my journey from a 10 year-old jumping on the trampoline waiting for my dad to tell me to come witness history, to putting myself in position to witness it first hand, had completed the transformation from sports fan to baseball fan. It took a long time, but the wait was well worth it. I was born with Giants blood, so it was going to take a Giant to bring those feelings out into the open. I hope this is not the climax of my experience as a fan, but just the experience that will start me on a journey to something bigger and better. If it is the climax, I will always be able to tell my children about the time their dad almost witnessed history. One at-bat later…

Mick, Derek and George

I have been in a picture posting mood lately, here is another one.
Notice Mickey Mantle in the dugout, taking a few warmup swings. My favorite part has to be Dubya in the stands. The best part about this card...its real. Topps actually printed it like this and will not issue a reprint.

EURO 2008

As most of you know, I am what you would call an avid sports fan. Outside of regular season baseball, put a sporting event on tv and I will watch it. I have been very excited about this years European Championships, known as The EURO's, which is arguably the toughest tournament in the world to win...yes, even tougher than the World Cup. There was no clear cut favorite this year, but the majority of people thought Portugal would have the best chance. They have two great offensive player, Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano Ronaldo is different from the other Ronaldo many have heard of. CR is a 23 year old who is the best player in the world. Not only that, but I have heard from many he is stunningly good looking. Last month, he led his club team, Manchester United, to the Champions League title, which is the like winning an NBA title, it is the best club league in the world.

I have been enthralled by the tournament thus far. Since we moved back to Cedar, I have gotten a lot done around the house with the games on. The ones I cant watch, I have tivoed, but that usually doesnt go well because I dont have enough self control to not find out who won. The quarterfinals started a few days ago, and 3 of the 4 matches went to extra time, OT for you yanks. Two of those three went to penalty kicks, which the players hate, but the audience loves. I didnt get to see the pk's between Italy and Spain today, but the Turkey/Croatia game was one for the ages. After going 118 minutes tied at 0, Croatia scored. Since extra time only goes to the 120th minute, things looked bleak for Turkey. On a long free kick by the turkey goalie, one of the forwards turned and shot, rifling a ball into the back of the net...on to pk's. The croatians were stunned and only one guy even made his penalty kick. Two didnt even hit the net and one was saved. The turks score 3 of 4 and won that game.

There are many out there who dont appreciate soccer, but games like this make watching it so satisfying!