Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
NY went down, and with them (perhaps) the era of Joe Torre. It's been a hell of a run. At least ARod seemed to partially vindicate himself, hitting .285 in the ALDS with a home run.
In the end the Yanks just didn't have the pitching to go all the way.
LCS predictions:
Cleveland in 6, Rockies in 7
I think AZ will take the series. They have better fundamentals and a wealth of young talent. I don't predict a sweep, but I don't buy the 'Wrigley Field will save us!" mentality of Cubs fans either.
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Looks like the Rockies will take their series vs. the Phillies. If it comes down to Arizona and Colorodo I side with the Rockies, just because they haven't been to the series before. A lame reason, but there ya go.
In the AL, I think the Yanks will pull it out, and I don't have much of an opinion on the LA - Boston matchup.
Part of me wants Boston to win because the Angels give NY fits, but morally I'm compelled to root for the Red Sox's destruction .
I'm torn.
It's the story of the Norway, Iowa high school baseball team. State champions 19 times, the school is about to be closed as it merges with another district. In the literal final season for the team they attempt to overcome personal adversity and an unsympathetic school board in the search for a 20th title.
I thought it was a fine movie, definitely family friendly and enjoyable. In my opinion it was a tad heavy on the John Mellencamp 'small town as paradise' angle (keep in mind I'm a big city guy) and had an awful lot of scenes devoted to on-field action. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it will narrow its potential audience.
I think the girls were bored, although they claimed to have a good time. With half an hour left YaYa asked to climb on my lap and I spent the rest of the movie rocking her - which made the whole thing worthwhile, even if it had just been a blank screen we were watching.
[keep in mind the movie started at her bedtime and ended a full two hours later. She didn't get into bed until 3 hours later than normal]
The best part: prior to the movie the sponsoring radio station held a baseball trivia contest. YaYa eagerly raised her hand and to our surprise was called upon.
'What Brewer led the team in RBI's this year?"
The answer, whispered to her by her Daddy and spoken softly, was Prince Fielder with 119.
Like I said she spoke the answer softly but they heard her and she won a baseball and tshirt with the movie logo and got a poster on the way out.
I'll try to post a pic of the goodies here later.
A good time, a really nice time. And earlier in the day the whole family had gone out to dinner at Denny's, where the kids behaved like angels. All in all a very lucky, family-friendly day.
Soon, soon.
I've had a good week, post-Baptism, despite a bad cold. One night I took the girls to pick up a pizza and when we were told it'd be a few minutes, treated them to kiddie cocktails as we sat at the bar and talked about school.
A great, great memory.
We've also recently put up our first Halloween decorations around the house . . YaYa's learned to skip rope and is reading like a champ . . Lu loves school . . Parker is all boy, mischeivious and happy and destructive all at the same time, and starting to vocalize (but not talk) far more than before . .Lauren is smiling (tho' she has a cold now too) and seems to have a weak stomach; we are considering switching her to a soy based formula.
Anyhow, last night I watched the fantastic 163rd game of the baseball season - the one game winner take all playoff for the NL wildcard spot.
It was a sloppy, offense minded game to be sure, but the drama!
I thought for sure the game was over when the Padres took a two run lead in the top of the 13th and put Hoffmann on the mound to close it out. Then the hits kept coming . .
Holliday made up for his earlier gaffe in the field with his tying hit, but as thrilled as I was to see him score the winning run a batter later, my inner baseball puriest balked.
Slide feet first man, and do it late, just like Ripken said afterwards. And if you are dumb enough to go head first, be a man and shake it off instead of laying there on the ground watching Barrett retrieve the ball to tag you out.
Of course it didn't matter, he was safe (or at least ruled as such).
I was overjoyed. Nothing against the Padres, mind you, but now at least the Brewers played a role in the post-season, having bumped the Friars into the playoff in the first place.
And what Brewer did it? None other than the son of Padres legend Tony Gwynn.
Sweet irony.
Oh, and Hoffmann?
Best Closer Ever. . . .
My A**
My laptop screen is cracked, and the insurance I purchased on it guarantees it'll be fixed (or replaced) within TWO WEEKS.
When I balked at losing it for that long the customer service operator said if I wanted I 'could take into the store . . and wait a MONTH'. I swear, he said it with the pause and everything, as if we were on a sitcom.
So, with the laptop on the way out for a bit and the home comp still refusing to run AOL, this blog will *probably* go on hiatus for a few weeks.
Not that there's not a lot to post about (up to and including the baby's christening last weekend) but it's just so much of a pain to post from our home comp. Really, it is.
So if you don't hear from me. . . I'll be back. :)
Yesterday was probably the coup de grace (sp??) for the Brew Crew, who played a miserable game with a lackluster offense and a tattered bullpen. Again, for the uninformed, it's not that they're losing - I'm very used to that - but that they gave us such high hopes early in the year.
Because of the 2007 Brewers I'll now have to wait until the second week of September before publicly announcing my confidence in the hometeam.
And folks wonder why I love the Yankees. I need someone to root for in October, don't I?
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The kids have been asking to go to a game as of late. I doubt it'll happen. In addition to a scarcity of tickets (and the time to go and the $ to buy them) it would be rather heartbreaking at this point.
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This was the first year of my adult life that I had full 'basic' cable. Thus I've seen more Brewers games than in any year of my life, and for that I'm grateful. (Even if the color on FSN always seems dimmer than on other stations).
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The literal asterisk on the 756 home run ball (of Barry Bonds)? Cute, but over the top. Count me against the idea.
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My votes (like they count): AL MVP - Arod NL MVP - Fielder NL ROY - Braun.
Beyond those races I could care less.
Oh, and kudos to Corey Hart - the player, not the singer - who has quickly become one of my favorite Brewers.
Ok, first things first. The intent of this post is two-fold: one, to genuinely record a humorous and memorable part of my son's childhood.
The second is to embarrass him in the future.
For many, many months - far too many for my liking - my one and only son trotted around both our old flat and the new house wearing the girls dress up outfits.
Many was the day I'd hear the clip-clop of high heel plastic dress shoes and look up to see the bearer of my name wearing them.
Ditto Princess dresses, skirts, tiaras, clip on earrings, and gloves.
Sigh.
I won't pretend to be so enlightened that this didn't bother me, but I understood he was a little toddler greatly influenced by his two older siblings and the allure of bright, shiny objects.
Didn't make it any easier, mind ya.
Nowadays, all on his own, he seems to have abandoned this obsession, preferring his Spiderman shoes and a t-shirt and shorts and spending his free time happily destroying our house.
I wouldn't have it any other way :)
[Just as with the accident itself I won't go into details here. Should this survive a decade or more into the future, interested parties can track down my two depositions, insurance statement, and testimony to evaluate the incident and my defense of it. ]
I was on the stand on two different days (during one time on the stand I noted it was exactly one week since Lauren's birth) and was called by both sides of the case.
I was petrified when I testified, to the point of stammering when asked to spell my name, but a mere sentence later felt a strange and detached calm descend on me.
I will not say that I was any star witness, as I'm sure folks have been more eloquent and persuasive on the stand, but I think I did more than hold my own. I got in a few points that were clearly in our favor, and I felt good about my testimony.
On the other hand I dreaded the whole week. Every day was an ordeal, emotionally (for obvious reasons) but physically too as I had trouble sleeping and missed my family.
In essense it wasn't just the business on trial it was my professional reputation too, and I had a lot vested in the case.
Before the closing our lawyer pulled me aside and warned that the closing would be rough. He believed the opposition would gouge and rip at my reputation and name to bolster his case.
What wound up happening was this: in the closing the only two times the plantiff's lawyer mentioned me was to comment on my role as a family man and as someone of intelligence and honesty.
I'm sure he didn't buy a letter of what he was spewing, but I think he knew I'd connected with the jury. He didn't want to lose the jurors by attacking someone they viewed positively.
IMO, at least.
In the end we won, and just having it over was a blessing.
