The Road to Gainesville, FL

For the second time this season, we're heading to SEC Country, home of the big boys.

Florida is ranked #2 nationally - but before you jump to conclusions, I am still having a hard time believing we are the second worst team in this Field of 64. Let me explain:

Manhattan (MAAC winner) is 34-17 overall. We're heading to #2 Florida.
Princeton (Ivy League winner) is 23-22 overall. They're headed to #7 Texas.
Maine (America East winner) is 32-22 overall. They're headed to #3 UNC.
Arkansas-Little Rock (Sun Belt winner) is 24-32 overall. They're headed to Oregon State, #13 in the country. The Sun Belt is a very good conference, so that one I can deal with.
New Mexico (Mountain West winner) is 20-39 overall and is heading to Arizona State. Sure, the Mountain West is legit, but at 19 games under .500, you should have to play a national seed, I don't give a shit who you are.

Regardless of the bitching I do and the gripes I have with the selection committee, it is what it is. We're headed to a top-notch school to take on one of the best teams in the entire country. And for a change, there's no pressure on us.

We're headed down tomorrow afternoon, we'll practice on the field Thursday afternoon, and on Friday at 4:00pm on ESPNU, we're going to take on the Gators down in "The Swamp". Here's a look at their stadium:


I mean it's nothing really spectacular if you compare it to the friendly confines we play in over at Van Cortlandt Park (I took that picture, and it may or may not be PhotoShop'd):



We've got quite a task at hand in the Gators, but our guys are up for it. We had news stations at practice today shooting some footage. Channel 4 and Channel 7 were out interviewing our guys, so it's a pretty exciting time around these parts of the Bronx. I missed the segment earlier tonight on the 6:00 evening news, so I am going to cut this short and get in bed so I can catch it on the 11:00 news.

9:30am the bus pulls out of the Draddy Gym lot. I will catch up with you tomorrow at some point.

And don't worry, I will document this trip in it's entirety (more or less).

Good night and travel well!

Location:TV

Recap of 2011 (partially in photographs)

Now that the hard part is over - qualifying for the MAAC Playoffs, winning the MAAC Playoffs - it's off to the Promised Land. The NCAA Tournament.

Let's start this trip way back in January when we were practicing inside the gym at 6:00am, complaining it was "too early" and "too cold inside" - is it worth it now? It was.

February came along and the weather was still pretty shitty - lots and lots of snow kicked out ass here in the Northeast. We were relegated to the gym once again with a scattering of days we'd have good enough weather to practice outside.

First weekend trip for us was to Cullowhee, NC to take on Western Carolina - nothing like a 13 hour bus trip. We went 1-2.

Next weekend we headed to Rock Hill, SC for a tournament with Winthrop and Notre Dame. Knocked off Notre Dame before losing the final two games, one to each. Another 1-2 trip. And only a 12 hour bus trip.

Knoxville, TN was the next trip - 11 hours - to take on the Volunteers of UT. We played tough in two of the four games, but still threw up an ugly 0-4 weekend. Not a pleasant ride home.

Philadelphia, PA was the next stop on the Jaspers trip the next weekend to take on LaSalle (we pissed away a 5-0 9th inning lead to lose 6-5), St. Joe's (we crushed early and held on late, 10-7), and Villanova (lost 7-6 even though we led 6-5 after six and a half innings). Another 1-2 trip.

For our bye weekend we headed to Johnson City, TN to take on the big boppers at East Tennessee State - they beat us down three times, 0-3.

Those were our trips. We've been to North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, before we reached our goal - Trenton, NJ for the MAAC Tournament. I know, Trenton is not an ideal destination and should be visited only when deemed necessary.

Here's a little recap of the weekend that was - May 27th to May 29th - a trip to a shit hole of a city that everyone on this team will surely never forget:

Nolan getting amped up for the first game of the tournament vs. Canisius:


The Jaspers starters getting announced prior to Game 1 - I am not in this, I was in the bullpen getting our pitchers mind right:


Here's a jubilant (yet still with a stupid ass smile) father and coach after sneaking out a 3-2 walk-off walk victory:


Nolan sleeping during the mayhem of the ninth inning of Game 2:


Still in shock of that ending, holding Nolan (notice how excited he was - SLEEPING!):


And the scoreboard after Game 2, an insane 8-7 walk-off win over Siena that was aided by a poor throw from the third baseman and a collision at first base. Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good:


The street sign outside the Trenton Marriott at Lafayette Yard (sounds nice right?):


And through the trees, the golden dome to the court house, I think:


Nolan awake after the game in the hotel. He didn't know what the hell happened but he was happy:


Me patrolling the dugout during Game 3 vs. Siena. Made a quick trip to the pen late in the game to get some arms going (we never needed them):


Mike Giordano, MAAC Tournament MVP, elated after a complete game 3-hit, 13 strikeout performance sealed the win and the tournament (bear hug courtesy of our C, Ramon Ortega):


The bench rushing the field - this photo says it all:


And finally, the champions posing with their trophy. We certainly were #1 this year in the MAAC and I think the best team won:


That's the story of the hurricane, the man the authorities came to claim. (the guys on the team know what I'm talking about). I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. The guys took pretty well to Nolan - I mean shit, the kid is a natural winner. One tournament, one championship.

The best part is, we still have more baseball to play. We're all anxious for 12:30pm tomorrow, because ESPN will have the Selection Show televised and we'll find out where we're headed. They picked the 16 regional sites today and go a little something like this:
Atlanta, GA (Ga Tech); Austin, TX (Texas); Chapel Hill, NC (UNC); Charlottesville, VA (UVa); Clemson, SC (Clemson); College Station, TX (Texas A&M); Columbia, SC (S Carolina); Corvallis, OR (Oregon St.); Fort Worth, TX (TCU); Fullerton, CA (Cal St. Fullerton); Gainesville, FL (Florida); Houston, TX (Rice); Los Angeles, CA (UCLA); Nashville, TN (Vanderbilt); Tallahassee, FL (Florida St.); and Tempe, AZ (Arizona St.)

I have no preference nor do I care who we play - I think with our pitchers and our senior leadership, along with our pretty, sometimes always solid defense, we can compete with anyone. We're a different team than the one that got pasted by Tennessee once and East Tennessee State.

Shit, in 2006 we went to #6 Nebraska and handed Joba Chamberlain his last college decision - a LOSS with a 4-1 victory. Sure, none of these kids were on that team, but they want to put their name in the record books just as bad,

Tune in tomorrow to ESPN at 12:30pm for the show and let me know what you think of our draw.

Hope you all had as good a weekend as we had. We're not done and I think our guys know we have a great shot to win a few more games.

Go Jaspers!

2011 MAAC Champions

With a 5-1 victory tonight, we won the MAAC Tournament. NCAA Regionals are the next stop - where is the question that'll be answered Monday night on ESPN. The selection committee will determine our destination.

June 3-6 is the regional dates. Follow the Jaspers.

Thanks blog friends. Time to celebrate.

Walk Off x 2

Another night of playoff baseball in the books and another walk off win by the Jaspers. This one was a little more exciting than last nights walk off walk in the ninth.

I'll preface by saying this - we were up 5-2 on the Siena Saints going into the 8th inning and the wheels came off. Two on and no out with one of the most prolific home run hitters in NCAA baseball up, Dan Paolini. 2-1 count. We go with a breaking ball instead of a fastball and he crushed it to left field - up and out. Tie game, 5-5. Check swing single, pitching change, hit, hit by pitch, hit - 7-5 bad guys. Pitching change, no further damage.

Bottom 8, we pushed one across to make it 7-6. Top 9, they get a leadoff walk, stolen base (+ and errant throw into center field) so it winds up being man on third, no out, the aforementioned Paolini up. Ground out to the pitcher, one out. Intentional walk puts men on 1st and 3rd. Missile line drive to third baseman Chad Salem for the the second out. Then a harmless ground out to short.

Chasing one in the bottom of the ninth, we have the top o' the order up, just the guys we want up - the seniors (and a sophomore mixed in there). Leadoff double off the wall in left. Sac bunt puts man on third, one out. Walk - 1st and 3rd. Strikeout. Not looking too good for the good guys. Piss rod to third base, takes a candy hop, kid fields, throws a grenade to first, two hops, first baseman can't handle it, and BOOM! Collision at first just past the bag, Sheffield and their guy are piled there. Ball scoots away about fifteen feet, man on first keeps on going, keeps on going and scores the game winner when the throw home sails wide of the catcher. I thought I'd seen a ghost, I was shaking.

A freshman who's been up and down all year stepped up in a big way with two no-hit innings which gave our offense a chance to win it. He grew up a little today, and not a day too soon. He earned his stripes and it's something he can build off for next appearance. He performed in a huge spot for us when his team needed him. Huge effort.

I mean this shit is not healthy, these one-run walk off wins. Why can't it ever be easy? Playoff baseball has a different aura about it, in case you've never been a part of it. Sure, the regular season dictates who makes this four team tournament, but once the field is set, it's a dog fight. It's ten times more intense than regular season games. We're not in an automatic bid league - win and you're in, lose and it's over until next year.

Now we wait on the winner of the 2:00pm game tomorrow and play at 6:00pm with a trip to the NCAA Regionals at stake. We have one in hand - we need to lose twice (which I refuse to believe can happen) and win just one game. A one game winning streak. I like our chances, but I'm saying a prayer that it'll be a little less stressful than the past two games.

We're out for blood! Go Jaspers!

Goodnight.

Location:Waterfront Park, Trenton, NJ

Game 1 W

Got a huge pitching performance from Soldinger and a walk-off walk in the bottom of the ninth. 3-2 final.

And it's a wonder I have so many gray hairs sprouting up.

At the night game now doing a little scouting.

Later goons.

Game Day Central; 3-0

Game Day Central
A beautiful day for a ballgame. BP begins at 1:00pm for us and first pitch is scheduled for 3:00pm.

Last night at the MAAC Awards Banquet, we had some guys win some conference awards:

Second Team All-MAAC: SS Nick Camastro, C Ramon Ortega, LHP Eric Luksis, and 3B Chad Salem

First Team All-MAC: RHP John Soldinger, OF Mark Onorati, OF Mike McCann

We also had the MAAC Pitcher of the Year in John Soldinger. He's starting this afternoon, so hopefully he's in POY form. Winning the first game is the most important thing. It's a hell of a lot harder coming out of the loser's bracket.

The way it works is a double elimination, four team tournament. #1 plays #4. #2 plays #3. That's today's schedule. Tomorrow the loser of both games play at 3:00pm and the winner's play at 7:00pm. Saturday, the winner of the loser's game plays the loser of the winner's game. That leaves one team that is 2-0. They'd play the winner of that first elimination game on Saturday, a 2:00pm game, at 6:00pm. So you can see how (confusing if you've never dealt with a conference tournament format) and important it is to win the first two.

3-0
Besides wanting to go 3 and 0 in this tournament - which would mean an NCAA Regional berth - I am also turning the big 3-0 this Wednesday, June 1st.

Lindsay is getting frustrated with me because I have no idea what I want for my birthday, and this is a pretty significant birthday. So if anyone has any ideas of what I want, let me know, because I truly have no idea.

I have my iPad, my laptop is hopefully getting fixed and Ubuntu getting removed (courtesy of a friend of my father), so my electronics are in order. We have two nice digital cameras, so I don't need that. I have plenty of threads, although I need to go through and get rid of the shit I don't wear. I have footwear taken care of. I really am at a loss for something that I want for my birthday. Is that boring of me?

Time to get dressed and ready for the game. Bus leaves at 12:15pm. Not sure why I always put "am" or "pm" after the time, I guess I just want to clarify things a little bit. This keyboard for the iPad really was a great invention by Apple, it's a lot easier to type my posts.

I'm confident in our team but not overly confident. That's why we play the game, anything can happen. I think it'll be a low-scoring game but we could erupt. We have the ability at the top of the lineup to do some damage and on the mound, we can really limit teams. I will post later on after the game, hopefully a W.

Let's go Jaspers! Day 2 of Phase 2 is here. Take care of business. Happy Thursday!

Location:Waterfront Park, Trenton NJ

Dual Blog Posting Special

Due to a time constraint, this post will be broadcast via both my blogs - WRT and DDP.

I just got out of the shower and am ready for the MAAC Banquet thing at KatManDu - a seedy looking nightclub that the conference insists on hosting this dinner at. It's a buffet and the food isn't half bad, so whatever. As long as they keep it moving and it doesn't take three hours, it's not all bad.

Anyway, when I was in the shower, I noticed something that I'm sure many of you have never even thought about - the placement of the soap tray inside the shower. Typically, they're located towards the lower part of the wall and in the middle of the tub, a terrible place unless you like you some slimy soap. Me, I like when the soap has a chance to dry itself off before the next use. So for this Trenton Marriott, I commend you. You've got a well-placed soap dish within the confines of your shower. There it is, nice and high and out of the way of constant water abuse.


Now since this is Nolan's first real road trip, I had to take a picture of him on the king bed - a bed which I am jealous of since all we have in our apartment is a double. He's been pretty good so far and I hope this continues, because our room is sandwiched between our game one starter and two of our stud outfielders. So here's to a decent night of sleep for all in the 420-424 block.


Lindsay and Nolan are trying to get a little shut eye now, and I can's say I blame them. The traffic they hit on the way down will TKO anyone. That's another thing, I hate traffic and especially traffic in New Jersey. Also, while I'm on the NJ bashing, I can't think of many other states where you're forbidden to make left turns (like Zoolander, you can't turn left). They make you go right and around a roundabout all for a freaking left turn. Hey, New Jersey - just put in traffic lights with left-turn arrows.

OK, time for me to shut it down and play some "Cut the Rope" and "Rat on a Skateboard" on this here iPad. Later on dudes and dudettes.

Location:Trenton Marriott at Lafayette Yard

2011 MAAC Playoff Central

Just got done with practice on this bright, sunny, hot day in beautiful downtown Trenton.

Our slot was 1-2:30pm ... got some defense, PFP's, fly balls, square drill, and a whole lot of batting practice.

Looking for a bite to eat. Tonight at 7 is the MAAC Dinner for the four teams in the postseason.

Lindsay and Nolan are passing the Meadowlands but are stuck in a little traffic.  Looking forward to seeing them.

Time to look for food. And I was being sarcastic earlier - Trenton is a dump.

Go Jaspers!

PPV; Thoughts to Joplin, MO

PPV Porn Titles
OK, so this is a totally unscheduled post about the PPV titles, but I was scrolling though the channels and saw one I'd never seen and thought it was too good to keep a secret:

- "Jiggle Butt Sluts" - Big-bootied babes get their freak on.  Sounds like they got some junk in the trunk.

- "Phat Oiled Booty" - Tramps are oiled up and kinky.  I don't think this is about pirates pillaging any small villages.

Thoughts to Joplin, MO
After seeing these deadly tornadoes rip through this Midwestern town located in southern Jasper County in Missouri yesterday and again today, my thoughts and prayers are with those coping with the disaster.  The twister is said to cut the city in half and has killed at least 116 people, injured over 1,150 people, and ruining 25% of the entire city. 

Let's put this in perspective:  there are just over 50,000 people who call Joplin, MO home, and of those, 1,150 were injured - that's 2.3% of the people injured.  That's like 37,490 people in Manhattan being injured of the 1.63 million who live there.  Unbelievable.

I'll admit, I am a fan of the shows on television like "Storm Chasers" and "Twister Sisters", but when it hits a city and results in deaths and injuries, it's not cool.  It's certainly pretty neat to see when it's ripping through the middle of nowhere where no people are present and all there is are fences and fields of grass.

To the people of Joplin, MO - hang in there and stay strong.  Like the old saying goes: "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger."  Regroup and rebuild.  God bless.

Sigh-tings; PPV Titles

Sigh-tings
- A man in the elevator removing his shoes one at a time and taking the soles out. shaking the dirt/gravel(??) out of them and putting them back on.  For this, I squealed I was trying so hard to hold off laughing in his old face.  Only in the Bronx.

- A 14-year-old (or thereabouts) at the baseball field decked out in the wristbands, an arm sleeve on one arm, nice new cleats, a decent glove and a white baseball.  He looked like a ballplayer but the problem arose when I saw him tossing a ball up to himself - only about 6 or 7 feet in the air - and he proceeded to drop every one.  Hey, at least he looked good sucking at baseball - and coordination.

- A Jewish street fair with a DJ decked out in a yarmulke pumping Jewish beats for all the revelers to hear.  All the women had jean skirts on and/or khaki.  There were a bunch of blow-up bouncy houses that all the kids loved.  Nathan, he didn't enjoy himself - I think the music was too loud and the generators keeping the bouncy houses up scared him.

PPV Titles
Alas, here it is again - the PPV porn movie title section of WRT.  This is a favorite of mine.  This time, I'll put the title and the description given.

"Big Tight Ebony Butts" - Black chicks have deep throats, big racks, and gorgeous behinds.  I'm guessing these behinds are a little too much for one man to handle.

"Hot Bitch Blackout" - Latinas, white chicks, and a horny MILF want big black meat.  A virtual abundance of races looking forward to meat that, if indeed black, is spoiled.

"Full Streams Ahead 2" - POV sex scenes.  I think this one's about a steamboat named "Man Meat" in a special boat lane for ships carrying more than 5 people.

On to Phase 2; Lindsay's Night Out; Tiny Zoo; Pickup Football

On to Phase 2
With us having completed the regular season in the MAAC and finishing as the #1 seed for next weeks MAAC Tournament in Trenton, NJ (at the home of Yankees' AA affiliate Trenton Thunder), today is a day off.  I can't really say it's much needed since the rain earlier in the week coupled with commencement setup in the gym meant that we had two days off from practice (Monday, Tuesday) but it certainly isn't something I'm complaining about.

We had a game Friday and two Saturday with Iona, who always plays us tough, but took care of business and hopefully built up some momentum going into the four team playoff.  With the sweep, our regular season record is 21-2 in MAAC games (31-17 overall).  A pretty good year by any standards, but it really means nothing without some hardware at the end.

And that hardware is the MAAC Championship ring. 

The dogpile after the final out is recorded in the clinching game - that feeling (although I never experienced it as a player since our teams were slightly above average with talent and champions of boozing) was something I cannot explain.  It makes all the shitty practices at 6am in January with snow on the ground worth it.  It makes taking out and putting up the outfield fence (yes, we might be the only team in DI baseball that does this) worth it.  It makes not having music or a National Anthem (definitely the only school in the country not allowed to play it because the parks woman in charge is a complete piece of shit bitch) a little more tolerable.  But more importantly, it's something the players will never, ever forget.
We have a solid core of seniors, and for them, this is everything.  I just hope the rest of the guys realize what these four seniors have done for this program (almost 1,000 hits combined in 4 years) and play with a little pride for them (and themselves).  The most important thing though, is staying loose.  Remain focused on what it is we're there to do - win the whole fucking thing! (to quote the legendary Jake Taylor from Major League).  But we gotta stay loose, play loose, have fun, and just do what we've managed to do all year - win.

We just gotta go out there and do it.  Believe in ourselves. Trust one another.  And throw strikes and get good performances from our starting pitching.  When we go to the bullpen, we need tough SOB's coming into the game to get outs.  We need to scratch across runs anyway possible.  Solid defense needs to be paramount as well.

I can wax poetic about this and that and what everyone needs to do but in the end it comes down to one thing:  who wants it the most?

I'd like to think it's us.

Lindsay's Night Out
Last night was her first away from Nolan.  With me at a doubleheader until 5:30pm, my parents were nice enough to come in and help look after N & N while Lindsay got ready to go out for her friend Rosie's bachelorette party. 

She opted for the dinner portion of the party so she drove into the city to meet up with the girls.  She had some champagne and a glass of vino at dinner (at some Greek place on 60th) and got back to the apartment around 10:30pm. 

She had hangar steak, something I don't think I've ever seen her order at any point since we've known one another.  She never gets steak, but hey, I guess a baby makes you crave different things.

Overall she said she had a great time seeing everyone.  The next time we'll see them all is at the wedding in Syracuse sometime in June.  Jesse and Julia will be traveling with us to take care of the little man while we head to the wedding. 

Should be a cramped 5-hour ride to the Cuse.

Tiny Zoo (for iPad)
This game is seriously a safe version of crack.  The premise is simple - build the best virtual zoo ever!

And I am well on my way.  Call me a loser, go ahead - but you're a loser too because you're definitely checking it out right now.

I've got African elephants, jackrabbits, black bears, chimps, Indian rhino, red panda, an ocelot, cheetah, butterflies, and even a mustang.  I got plenty of shops and food vendors to keep my loyal customers happy.

I am currently waiting for the second expansion of my zoo to be completed (ETA 17h 50m) before I can add some more badass animals.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=9171629383088672152
Seriously though, this game is like crack.  Remember FarmVille for Facebook?  This is that times 1,285.  At least.

Pickup Football
There's a park behind my building where all sorts of crazy shit goes on (see previous posts about boy's softball) but right now, there's a pantheon of men (some young, some with a full head of white hair) playing pickup football.  Maybe they're hoping to get picked up if the NFL is looking for replacement players.  They scream, hoot, and holler - and part of me wants to join the game, but I think I'd be a little too intense for the older guys out there.  I might be compelled to put on on his ass (yes, even though it is two-hand touch).

Sunday mornings year round is football in Riverdale.  There's some yarmulkes (pronouced:  YAH-ma-ka) out there too - I think they know they'll never make it the NFL as a player (however, as an owner, they might have their day). NY Giants QB Sage Rosenfels gives them a little glimmer of hope, though.  After doing a but of research - read: Googling "Jews in the NFL", the results indicate there are quite a few Jews in the NFL (here's a list).  Pretty surprising names on this list - and a lot don't even sound Jewish.  I mean San Diego's long snapper David Binn (apparently Jewish) used to date Pamela Anderson for shit's sake!  Binn there, done that - like most of Hollywood.

Mazel tov!

OK.  Nolan's been sleeping in his lamb swing while I've been sitting next to him writing this post and he's finally starting to stir, so I am gonna get going.  Lindsay is feeling a little worn down lately, so she's still in bed (it's 9:33am, practically a hibernation on a baby's clock) so she is trying to recuperate a little bit.  It wears me out so I can imagine how it must kick her ass - home all day with the dog and the baby.  She enjoys it immensely, I know she does - but that doesn't mean she doesn't get worn out.  I am sure she'll read this when she wakes up - hopefully feeling a little better.

Til next time knuckleheads.

Trending Now; The Sun?!?; The Blues

Trending Now
Thanks to our friends over at bing.com. I'll list some of the things the general public are searching for on the good old Inter-nerd.

- Maya Moore (women's basketball stud from UConn) - She's the first woman to represent Jordan Brand - yes, she's that good.

- Olivia Munn (actress) - She's been tapped for a role in HBO pilot (as of now) "More as the Story Develops", which will revolve around a cable news channel.  Sure, she's nice to look at, but HBO will not get my money.

- Next Top Model (TV show) - Who cares?  Brittani upset Molly.  Congratulations you waif.

- Mildred Baena - Ah-nold's baby momma.  Way to go you dimwit.  Just shut up and clean the house.  Looks like you could probably use a bigger size pair of pants, unless you're going for that "sausage in a casing" look.  Yeah, that's her with T4.

The Sun?!?
What the hell is the sun doing out here in the Bronx?  The last time he/she made an appearance was like 8 days ago.  I feel like I live in Seattle, or in a concrete rainforest.  Either or.

The Blues
Not as you'd think.  I'm talking about the music genre.

Nolan had a rough time falling asleep last night - I think it was last night - so I decided to take a seat in the glider in the bedroom and tune to Channel 887 - Blues.

I think I found a new kind of music I actually can relax and listen to (as opposed to my typically aggressive music/bands/songs).  I even found myself singing the words - to songs I didn't even know!  It's kinda like country songs, it's pretty predictable - there's a lot of repeat lines.

Here's a few of the songs and artists I was belting out last night, much to Nolan's approval (he ultimately passed out in my arms to the blues):

- Big Maceo - "Texas Blues" - sample lyrics: "Well, I'm goin' back to Texas, Just to ride this Texas train"
- Billy Ray Charles - "Johnny Walker Red" - sample lyrics: "I went to bed with Johnny Walker Red, And woke up with Bud Light"
- Muddy Waters - "Rollin' Stone" - sample lyrics: "Well, I wish I was a catfish, Swimmin' in a oh, deep, blue sea"

I mean this stuff is epic, life changing music.  I am officially a blues fan.  Not the recent shit (besides Joe Bonamassa, who's pretty damn smooth) because the recent blues they play on 887 is no good, not to me anyway.  I am going to do some research on the blues (and maybe buy Joe B's new album).

Nolan is sleeping in his lamb swing.  Take a peek:

In the zzzzz-one

Governator, Really?; Elevator

Governator, Really?
Apparently he has a kid with his household staff member, that's 10 years old!?!  Are you kidding me?

Lindsay brought this story to my attention and then made a very valid point - how do you listen to him speak every night and not crack up laughing?  When I think of him, I think of several things:

1. "It's not a tumor!" (Kindergarten Cop)
2. "I'll be back" (Terminator)
3. "Hasta la vista, baby." (Terminator)
4. "I'm a cop, you idiot!" (Kindergarten Cop)
5. "See you at the party, Richter." (Total Recall)
6. "If it bleeds, we can kill it!" (Predator)

I cannot imagine him speaking like a normal person, and that's fine with me.

Elevator
We just got back from Target and were in the basement waiting for the elevator, for about 3 minutes, at least.  We live on the 10th Floor.  A guy was waiting there before we got there, I'd guess for another two minutes.  We all got in and we hit "10" and he hit, yep, you guessed it, "3".  Dude coulda walked up three flights before - oh wait, four flights - the damn elevator came.  He wasn't a fat sack of shit either, as a matter of fact, I think I've seen him in the morning leaving the gym in the building.

Just walk.  If you can't walk four flights, why waste money on a gym membership for $700 a year.  Sloth-ass.

Frosted Mini Wheats; Nolan Rules!; Sunday Night; 30

Frosted Mini Wheats
Now here's a cereal I absolutely enjoy.   Sure, they can get a little dry at times, but damn they fill me up.  Normally, two bowls (and maybe a little into the third) will do it for a normal cereal, but this heavyweight puts me in the comfort zone after a bowl, bowl and a half.

My only complaint is that every one of those rectangular little edible Brillo pads isn't coated with a thick layer of frosting.  Maybe it's the kid in me, but the best Mini Wheats are the ones at the end of the bowl that still have that awesome white, sugary coat on them.  Milk be damned, you cannot wash this coat away.

So Kellogg's, maybe you wanna get on that one.  I mean it's not stopping me from purchasing them - I actually just got the Frosted Mini Wheats Big Ones and the new fruit filled ones - but it's something I certainly wouldn't complain about.

I'm sure other cereal aficionados will agree.

Nolan Rules!
The kid is a stud.  Although he's very unwilling at time to pose for photographs, there's still some shots I can get when he's awake and alert.  His hair is pretty neat too (he's got more than me).

We've got to start bathing him more, but tonight he was pretty good in the bath.  He cried a little early on, but once he was covered in water (no, not his head) he kinda enjoyed himself.

Here's a few photos of our little man:

Fresh out the bath tub - so fresh and so clean!

Chillen' in my tiger outfit

Me (looking tired) and Nolan in the dog run (Nathan not pictured)

Hanging on the Boppy,

Tattoo
When we went out to LI the other week to get Lindsay's push present - another of her wedding band - I was tempted to get a new tattoo, in honor of Nolan.  I did not, however.

I plan on getting a new stain eventually (read: within the next two months) it's just a matter of what I will get.  I have several ideas as to what I wanna get, but I haven't really sat down and thought about it.

Any suggestions you all have, feel free to say them aloud (or type them).

Sunday Night
Right now, everyone is sleeping but me.  Lindsay seems to have passed out in bed with Nolan (who'll move into that crib shortly) and Nathan is at the foot of the bed.

I am out here watching the new Iron Chef America, where it's Battle Mussels.  @bflay is the Iron Chef and I'll be honest, I really haven't paid much attention since I've decided to post.

When I'm done here, I'll key in a little more.

30
I will be 30 on June 1st, and am rather indifferent about it.  I have never been one to make a huge deal out of birthdays (except Lindsay's) but I guess it's a milestone in a persons life - 30 years old.

I am not yet over the hill.  I think those start on your 40th and occur again every ten years.

I'm already legal to drink - 21 was nine years ago.  Holy shit, now that I look at it that way, that was way long ago.

I'm going to pass out out here to ICA.

Be back soon blog-osphere!

Jubilation Day

Three things really.

#1 - Nolan is finally passed out. He's been a pill all night and hadn't slept a wink in five hours, until right now. But I probably jinxed it. Ah well, he's rocking in his lamb swing. Maybe he's actually tired or maybe he's just tired of crying. Either way, I'm OK with it.

#2 - We locked up the #1 seed in the MAAC tournament, a good thing even though we went from 16-0 to 16-2 before deciding we wanted to win again. Weird game...we rattle off 16 straight in conference, then lose two in a row. Rider was in the other dugout today (and tomorrow for Senior Day, if the rain holds off) and they've also locked up a postseason berth. The rest of them have a dogfight to get in. We've been on that side on occasion, and it's no fun (or it is).

#3 - Steve Martin is awesome. Not sure if I've said this before, but he was on Conan the other night with his band, the Steep County Rangers, and they played a song, "Jubilation Day" and I've been singing it to myself everyday. Sick, I know. Here's the link to the video again, in the event that I've already posted on this topic.

And here's to a decent day tomorrow so we can honor our excellent senior class. The four hitters have almost 1,000 career hits in their four years and the lone pitcher (who's career has been on again, off again) got us into the playoffs last year with three perfect innings after not having thrown in several weeks.

If you live near, in, or around the Bronx (I know, I don't admit it all the time either), head down to Van Cortlandt Park around 11:45am to see us honor the seniors.

And to the fans in Heckler's Gap in right center field, great job today. Hope to see you tomorrow, if you aren't hungover as shit.

Mr. Wilson

Catchers mitt sitting in the grass with a little enhancement.  Kind of a cool photo, but that's my opinion. Practice at 2:30pm with a cloud-free sky and the sun beating down. Good thing I threw on a little SPF 30 to prevent burning.

I hate not being able to go home at lunch to help Lindsay out with the N&N boys.

We got some bunt traps, pickoffs, simulated live scrimmage and some batting practice. Hopefully it'll be a crisp two hours or so.  I'd like to be home before 6 so I can spend some time with the family. Even when he's crying, I enjoy seeing the expressions on his little face. Parenthood really is something special and I truly appreciate the time together.

My only regret with what I do is the shit ton of hours I'm away from home. In the gym, at the field - it's easily 65 hour weeks with no days off. It's a constant grind.

Time to prep the field. Enjoy your day.

M Block

Sitting here at the Block M Athletic Dinner for the school year.

So far the roll and butter is the highlight, along with the raspberry dressing on the salad was awesome. It had little pieces of raspberry in it. Now I'm on to roll #2 and #3.

Dinner is typically some sort of chicken dish and it normally squirts some kind of liquid out when you first cut into it. I call it "squirt chicken" but it's usually tolerable.

It started at 5:30pm but didn't start until 5:40pm. Dinner service hasn't started yet though. I'm kinda hungry.

More to come soon.

Sigh-tings; 5 Guys; Only One is Perfect; Graduation

Sigh-tings
On the way back from Buffalo on Sunday - a very long ride given he fact that we blew a 4-run ninth inning lead - we stopped off to eat.  I needed to eat, and the shortest line was at KFC - not my first option, but certainly the best.  I ordered my meal, which came to $6.46 or something like that.  As I'm waiting, a lady walks in with coupons and proceeds to order a shit-ton of chicken and biscuits and sides.  Her total - $64.83.  Are you kidding me lady?  Who the hell are you feeding $64.83 worth of chicken to at 4:30 on a Sunday afternoon?  You're swine?  This is the problem with the country.  Then, she went outside for a smoke while she waited.  This lady has got some life going on.  Not only was she severely obese (which I assume is from eating excessively and/or competitively) but she smoked.  She might be dead in 8 years.  And it's an epidemic in this country - people eat out at fast food chains because it's cheaper than cooking healthy food at home - or is it? 

I am far from wealthy, but I do a pretty good job of cooking at home on a budget.  I mean shit, go on the Internet and type in "cheap dinner ideas" and I guarantee there'll be hundreds and thousands of recipes helping you out.

We went to Long Island yesterday (Lindsay, Nolan, Nathan, and myself) to get Lindsay's push present (for pushing out Nolan).  The ring came out very nice, so now she's got a engagement ring sandwiched between two wedding bands.  She deserves it.

We then took a trip to Target later in the day and as we were parking, the both of us noticed something totally random - two 50-something year-olds having a catch in the middle of the parking lot.  Needless to say, this is one of the oddest sightings I've had in my life.  One was a lefty (had a pretty good arm) and the other a righty (who was terrible).  There they were, throwing a baseball around at 5:00pm in a Target parking lot.  We shook our heads and kept to the course.

5 Guys
Quite possibly the best chain hamburger place around (and they make a mean hot dog too!).  The fries are plentiful as well.  You order - and they do everything for you.  There's a list of 15 or so items that can be added to your burger or hot dog and you just let them know what you want, so your hands stay clean - until you start eating.

The burgers (a regular contains two patties) is $5.29 and the hot dog is $3.49 but it's worth it.

Maybe the best part is that they have Fanta Birch Beer soda on tap, a favorite of mine.  I've stated my opinions on Birch Beer soda several times here on WRT and totally forget that the 5 Guys by my house in Levittown has it on tap.  As far as I'm concerned, it should be standard at every restaurant in America, if not the world.

Go find yourself a 5 Guys for lunch today.  But don't go for the large fries, they'll put you in a food coma.

Only One is Perfect
We lost our first conference game Sunday, making  Bethune-Cookman the only DI team in the country to still be undefeated in conference (and their regular season is complete, so barring a miracle by any of the other MEAC teams, they'll soon secure a berth in the NCAA Tournament.  We were the second until our epic collapse on Sunday.

We have two more MAAC weekends - this weekend versus second place Rider and the following Thursday/Friday versus Iona (who always gives us fits).  The conference playoffs start on Wednesday the 25th down in Trenton (at the home of the AA Yankees affiliate Trenton Thunder).  We need two more wins to secure the top spot in the tournament, which only means we'd be the home team every game.

Graduation
I gotta get going, there's some things to do around here to get ready for graduation - everything basically gets shoved into the back of the gym so that it looks halfway presentable in here.  Literally, everything that is not behind a fence here in this gym gets shoved in a 6' x 50' space behind the bleachers in the back of the gym.  And it's a wonder why shit always gets broken around here.

Anyway, I'm out.  We've got a game at 5pm against Sacred Heart up in Bridgeport, CT.  We leave at 2:30pm and are skipping batting practice.  Today is the last day of class and it's a Friday schedule, so we're able to get a game in.  Looking to get back in the W column before a big series this weekend - Senior Day Weekend.

Later yo!

Believe; Playlist-ism, Pt. 2

Let's try it again. After we scored four in the top of the 11th to break open a scoreless game, we let up five ... all with two outs ... to lose. Demoralizing. Sure. Embarrassing. You bet. Motivation moving forward proving to our guys that any team is dangerous (they were the worst team in the league). Absolutely.

We gotta regroup. We're still in a great position. Our bullpen needs to find their toughness. Strikes early are key. Location late is more important. And you know what? Confidence goes a long way - believing you're better than him. That can take you places. Pitching with intensity. Pitching like you're the best fucking guy on the field. That's what I like. I didn't have the best stuff when I played, but I was a tough SOB out there. I talked shit after I got someone out - I could. I backed it up and I believed in myself. O didn't doubt myself or my ability to execute a pitch. When I was out there, I was accountable for what I did. I wanted the ball. The results didn't always go my way, and when that was the case I was pissed off - at myself. I failed. If you've ever let 30 other guys down, you know what I mean. Unless you genuinely are that selfish and just roll with the "oh well" thing. Not "oh well" - it should fire you up inside when you fail - at anything. The next time out, I'd aim to be even better, tougher, meaner. We'll see if these guys have "it" or not the next time out.

Time for Playlist-ism, Pt. 2.  We've got three and a half MFing hours left. I want to see the family and help Lindsay out with the kid. He's being a handful still. I said a prayer he'd be good until I get home. We'll see if the big dude upstairs can help me (us) out.

Here goes.

- Feeling Good by Muse (1, so not feeling good)
- 6 Foot, 7 Foot by Lil Wayne (3+, just because he amazes me with the lyrics he comes with)
- The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows by Brand New (4, because they rule)
- Rolling In The Deep by Adele (5, this song is catchy and the album (yes I own the album) is awesome)
- Out Come The Bastards by This Is Hell (4+, aggression at its finest)
- Neon Tiger by The Killers (4, because I saw them in Boston and this song was great)
- Hurt by NIN (5+, "I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real" - epic song)
- Where Is Everybody by NIN (4+, they're a Top 5 band and every song is fuel)
- Sabertooth Tiger by Cage the Elephant (3+, fast, electro-rock)
- No Love by Eminem (5+, because all I can think of is Will Ferrell on SNL, ha, makes me laugh. Great song, and Lil Wayne is on it)
- Shake Me Down by Cage the Elephant (4+, love this jam because the lyrics ring true to real f'ing life)
- Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash (5, an American icon who cannot get anything less than a 5)

That's all for this edition. I hope maybe I inspired some to listen to some new music and I'm sorry if I went off on a tangent about believing in yourself.

Coming In

First off, a Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there (especially Lindsay) who has the.misfortune of spending her first alone with Nolan until later tonight when I return from the B-Lo.

The photo is of an airplane coming in for a landing only a few hundred yards away. The airport is right across the street from the hotel.  Lindsay always likes seeing planes.coming in, so this is for her. She hates flying but loves watching them, weird but true.

Speaking of hotels, the Holiday Inn Express has the best smelling shampoo, soap, and conditoner I've ever smelled.  It's a smell that's hard to describe - maybe spiced oranges mixed with apple cider? Whatever the actual flavor is called, I would drink it if they made it into something edible.  Seriously, that shit is awesome.

Tomorrow we go to get Lindsay her push present. I may get myself a tattoo as well commemorating Nolan. The tattoo parlor is right across the street from the jewelry store.  Talk about one stop shopping!

We're headed to the field now so I'm going to cut this.short.  Going for the sweep today over Niagara. We won 9-7 and 4-0 yesterday.  Our bullpen tried to blow it but we had just enough to get it done. Here's to a win today, otherwise that 6 hour bus ride home is going to be pretty shitty.

Once again, Happy Mother's Day! Enjoy yourselves ... you deserve it.

And Lindsay, I hope Nolan let's you sleep a little today since he's been a pill the last two nights. I'll be home later to help.

Much love!

Playlist-ism

Turns out I forgot to bring Swingers, so I'm tuned in to my iPod.

I'm gonna enter each song that comes on, along with a number rating (1=not in the mood, 5=perfect timing).  Gonna get a little vulnerable with some of the random shit on this music maker.

--Born This Way by Lady GaGa (4, oddly enough)
--All Good Junkies Go To Heaven by Glassjaw (5, always 5)
--Invincible by Muse (5+)
--Undisclosed Desires by Muse (3, not back to back, not now)
--How Bout You by Eric Church (4+)
--Boombox by The Lonely Island (4+, hilarious)
--Dead Souls by NIN (2+, need something more mellow)
--Dog Days Are Over (Album Remix) by Florence + The Machine (4, really like this album)
--The Cave by Mumford & Sons (4, cool band, cool sound)

That's all. My head hurts again. May switch over to lullabys next, help ease the pain.

On the Road

Headed up to Buffalo. Exciting. It'll be over in 6 hours.

Holiday Inn Express near the airport.

Just scarfed down a roast beef sandwich with pickles and onions and a .99¢ bag of Doritos. Not a bad lunch. I gotta eat before we get rolling because I'll get headaches, we all know that.

Lindsay is at home with N & N and her mother. They're going to brunch on Mother's Day and then her mom is taking a bus back to MV.

I gotta get off the phone. Staring at these little letters is hurting my head.

Time to put Swingers on.

Bye now.

Wipeout; Buffalo; Mother's Day; Ballin'

Wipeout
Spring Wipeout tonight was amazing!  The spring loaded giant boxing glove knocked the crap out of people - when they least expected it.  Always hilarious when people get knocked down an entire flight of stairs they just climbed.

And then there's the ever-present "big balls".  In case you've never watched it, as many of you never have, there's a series of four giant, red balls the contestants need to try to get over - almost impossible, although it's been done before:

One of the finalists even proposed - right before he got eliminated.  Pretty cool though.

Buffalo
Tomorrow we head up to Buffalo to take on the Niagara Purple Eagles on Saturday and Sunday.

We're 14-0 in MAAC play, but we haven't locked up a playoff spot yet.  Still have 9 games left so we gotta keep these guys motivated and hungry for more wins.  We're 24-15 overall, which is pretty good, but we know we still have a ways to go before we consider this a successful season.

Mother's Day
It also marks the first trip I'll make away from Lindsay and Nolan (I'll also miss a majority of her first Mother's Day).  It'll be tough but knowing that her mother is here til Sunday gives me a little solace.

She's been doing a great job with the little guy, who can be a handful - especially recently.  He's been very fussy before he passes out, but I guess he doesn't know any better, he can't speak so the only way to communicate is to cry.

When he's awake and alert, he makes some pretty funny faces though, kinda like his old man.  Right  now the both of them are passed out on the couch next to me.  I will go to sleep once they wake up so he can eat and I can change his diaper, around 11:00pm.  Then we'll be up for about an hour before he finally decides to sleep until 4:00am.  He sleeps pretty well once he decides to fall asleep, so I won't complain there.

Ballin'
I am still ballin' outta control every morning (except Tuesday, because it was a baseball game day).  My jump shot is getting better which is good, but it's a hell of a workout.

The trickiest part is accounting for the wind, which can be a real bitch sometimes because we're so close to the mighty Hudson River.

Whatever, it's all about adjustments.

I am going to browse the Internet and check out some of my friends blogs and comment, since I've been awful at that of late.

Best Night of TV (Besides Thursday between 8 and 9)

That's when WIPEOUT airs on ABC.  Those "Big Balls", they're a killer.  It's really been a while since they've shown someone getting past those four giant things.  If you've never seen the show, please, do yourself a favor and watch it tomorrow night.

As for tonight, from 8pm to 10pm, there's some mighty fine shows on.  Here's a rundown:

8pm - The Middle - Brick is the best child actor on television, and he was on Conan last night.  Very much like his character on the show, kinda weird.

8:30pm - Better With You - Another show, pretty funny, the parents are the best part (Kurt Fuller and Debra Jo Rupp).  Nick Swisher's wife is in this show, too.

9pm - Modern Family - Get real.  If you've never seen this one, starring Ed O'Neill (Married With Children), I highly recommend this one.  Ty Burrell plays Phil Dunphy, an he's freaking hilarious.

9:30pm - Take a break, Cougar Town is on.

10pm - Happy Endings - A newbie to the Wednesday night circuit but it's a must watch.  A couple breaks off their wedding at the altar and makes things a little uncomfortable for their mutual friends.  Very, very funny.

Good night.  I hope you listen to me.  I wouldn't lead you in the wrong direction.

All Over the Place

Time is a hot commodity lately now that our lives have forever changed with the birth of our first baby, Nolan.

The kid is awesome - he cries when he wants food, needs a diaper change, or is tired - basically all things that us adults wish we could do. 

A lot of shit has been going on in the news lately, so I want to keep everyone up to date.

bin Laden Dead! - Let no one ever say a bad thing about US Intelligence.  Those men and women who work for our intel are amazing.  Not to mention the Navy SEALS (SEAL Team 6) who popped a cap in his head.  Great work!  Sure, the head of this terrorist movement behind 9/11 is gone, but there's plenty of splinter groups.  Terrorism will never be totally eliminated, but justice was served.  They gave him a proper burial at sea, which wasn't all bad - if it had been on land, it'd mark a place to meet and would almost be a tourist attraction of sorts.  He's in a bag, at the bottom of the ocean.  Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

N(issan)YC? - Nissan minivans, currently being produced in Mexico, are the next up for the NYC taxicabs.  I am not sure if they're going to be eco-friendly and electric, but I'm guessing they are.  Nissan makes good minivans?  I had no idea.  I guess with one child, I am not yet in the market for such a vessel.  The CR-V Lindsay is driving around in is family car enough for me.

Three Years for Murder? - A 16-year old has been sentenced to three years in an Indian juvenile facility for slitting his mother's throat in India.  Three years in juvie?  Come on.  He blamed the trauma caused by his parents divorce as the reason.  Really kid, trauma?  Is a divorce less severe than homicide?  I guess this red-headed freak thought so.  Oh, and the kids father is a professor at Pitt.  Good luck with that one.

Speaking of Pittsburgh - Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall is a total douche bag.  The tweets he made after the announcement of bin Laden's death are mind blowing.  Is this guy a fucking idiot or what?  Seriously, if you're a Steelers fan, you might want to think twice about cheering for this douche bag.  I hope Ray Lewis lays his dopey ass out.

Break Up the Royals - The Kansas City Royals are 2nd in the MLB in batting average, at a whopping .274 clip.  They are 4.5 games back of the surprising Indians, who everyone figured would play their season out like a modern version of Major League.  I guess you shouldn't be that surprised - they were 2nd in average during the 2010 season as well, at a .274 clip (not a typo).  Last year, they were 29th in pitching though, which is why they sucked. The season is still young, but enjoy it while it lasts Royals fans.

Ballin' - I was involved in my first pick-up game.  Five Spanish-speaking dudes and me.  I had no idea what the fuck they were saying the entire time, but I said "when you guys figure out what it is you're trying to figure out, let me know...in English" and they all laughed.  I played hard and went after the ball.  They were calling these ticky-tack fouls on one another, and I was really getting pissed.  It's street basketball - believe me, I'm not our for blood (or am I?) but just play the game.  There are NO free throws so what the shit is the point of calling a foul?  It was 3-on-3, my team won, 17-15, and I had 9 points.  I shot the ball a little bit, but my points game on my furious drives to the rack.  One guy on the other team said "this guy wants to win" - well no shit dipstick, what's the point of playing if I want to lose.  I'm a competitor.  Deal with is.  I am sure they'll see me again, and this time, they might want me on their team - unlike this time, when I was just some blanco who had no game.  WRONG pendejo's!

I'm out.  Time for a Guinness. 

Oh yeah, and we beat Fordham today, 8-0.  Our third shutout in the past three weeks.  It was a good win, especially since they're our intra-borough rivals.  They beat us earlier in the season, but we're a different team now.  Heading up to Buffalo this weekend to take on Niagara in a conference weekend - we better be ready to deliver a TKO.  I hate Niagara.  Niagara Falls are nice, but that's all.

And we have a pig roast.  Our third baseman's father is from there and has family there, and every year we go there we have a pig roast.  It really is a nice spread.  And the guys usually enjoy it, which is rare because kids bitch about anything and everything.

OK Guinness, here I come!

Later Bin Laden

We killed you. And we're going to keep your body, you piece of shit.

Thanks to the troops. Your service is always appreciated. Way to bring him down.

Maybe airport security will relax. Ha. Nah, it's good. Keep it safe.

Obama is gonna speak on it shortly. It's breathtaking.

Sleeping well (if Nolan allows).

What the...?

The guy who was eliminated from American Idol was singing with the house band. I was watching it on Leno, and saw this and had to rewind it to make sure I wasn't seeing things. I wasn't. What is "FUCKS" speakers? That's an odd name for a brand. Oh well, I'm glad I saw it.


Late night television is certainly not PG rated. And Leno is hilarious.