5 Read a newspaper Editor's note: since reading about lipstick on pigs and views of Russia from Alaska, and the $700+billion bailout was passed, uh, newspaper is too depressing.
4. Go out to dinner Editor's note: since the $700+billion bailout was passed, uh, can't afford it.
3. Go for a drive in the family car Editor's note: since gas prices are nearly $4/gallon - uh, no driving.
2. Watch Jeopardy! Editor's note: that only kills half an hour. That's like 2 innings. sigh.
1. Mute the TV, change the color settings to black & white, take off your glasses and cheer for the Red Sox! (but not the Phillies, never the Phillies - Hiya Ed Hardiman!)
So yes, what I'm saying is...it's October and I've nothing to watch.
You have to just "turn the page," Ryan Church said in a post-game interview. Indeed.
Turn the page to next season. Close the book on Shea.
I knew – well, almost knew – that the Mets couldn’t last long in the post-season without a closer in the bullpen. But as any good Mets fan would say, should say, “Ya gotta believe.”
Tough for the season to come down to the last game…last two innings of the game, really, once the Brewers won. Too many weaknesses – too many holes in the lineup to overcome. But there’s some glimmer of hope when it’s only a two-run lead. Turns out it was two runs too many.
The post-game “Shea Goodbye” ceremony choked me up a little bit. I can’t imagine what that feels like as a player who had a great moment in Shea – winning the world series…catching the last out in a big game – and to have the place that held those moments, even in just the quiet whispers down dusty corridors , the ghostly echoes of games gone by – to have that place knocked down - that’s got to be tough. Like returning to see your childhood home and seeing instead, a parking lot. At least they’ll have their memories – and probably some momento from the old place.
The fans, of course, have their countless, mostly untold stories of memories at Shea – their first game, time they spent with their families, their fathers – this was a second home of sorts. A place they could come to enjoy a game, forget their problems for a little while but mostly, to have a chance to cheer the spectacular. To be a part of something… amazin.
I’m a relatively new fan to the Mets and baseball – a post 2000 bandwagon fan, I guess. Eight years of fandom in that stadium gave me quite a few good memories.
May 2001 – my first Mets game when I went alone. A nice older gentleman taught me which hot dogs were best (Kosher…grilled) and how to tell whether a fly ball was something to worry about/cheer for, or if it was just a pop-up (watch the outfielder).
Summer 2002 – took my 4 yr old daughter to her first game
2006 Div. Playoffs – upper deck. Could feel the stands quaking as the crowd cheered.
This past Thursday night's game vs. Cubbies. Ryan Church's crazy slide and Carlos Beltran's game-winning RBI in the bottom of the 9th. Even on the field level seats, you could feel the ground shake from all the excitement.
Countless times where I found my heart on the ground, crushed and deflated like so many discarded popcorn boxes.
Countless times where I found myself in leaping, cheering, arms outstretched overhead or high-fiving strangers, screaming so loud I lost my voice.
They’ll be plenty more memories at the new CitiField park. Stadium. Whatever they’ll call it. It looks nice from the outside. The Mets will be back next year. Hopefully, we’ll have lots to cheer about.
The Marist College Women's Red Foxes (7) are playing LSU (2) tonight in Baton Rouge. This is going to be a tough one. Marist has dominated the MAAC this year (32-2 overall) but this is....LSU. Of course, they can't think that when they're playing. I would, but then again, I don't play Div. I ball. LSU has the Southeastern Conference player of the year, Sylvia Fowles. She's big and big. Did I mention she's big?
LSU's coach Van Chancellor called Marist "the best defensive basketball team I've ever seen." That's high praise and I'm not arguing. (They remind me of my youth team, who, did I tell you lost to the first place team in the playoffs by only three points?!! We held them to their lowest offensive effort all season - 19 points! It would've been like Giants vs. Patriots! We ended up third in defensive stats, holding our opponents to low scores all season long. But enough about us...back to Marist...)
My daughter is rooting for Rachele Fitz (same name) and Nikki Flores because she's short and she's good. I'm rooting for a homegrown favorite, Julianne Viani. She's got an evil-good 3-point shot and she went to high school here in town. She was also coached by the Marist coach, Brian Giorgis in high school. They go way back.
My paper's writer covering the Red Foxes, Sean T. McMann said Marist is ranked 22nd in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today national polls and they have longest winning streak in the country at 22 wins.
Marist is fun to watch. The ESPN announcers are calling them "spunky." That's not the right word...it should be "tenacious." I've never seen them get rattled, even when they're down. They had an amazing second half comeback against DePaul on Saturday to get them to this round. They play their game and they're patient, patient and more patient.
Both teams have a ton of key, high-scoring seniors playing. This is going to be an intense game for both the Red Foxes and the LSU Tigers. I've already seen a few rejections by LSU and it's very physical. LSU is forcing turnovers which is quite unlike Marist. They typically have great ball control They're keeping Marist outside, but that's not necessarily a disaster for Marist with a Julianne Viani in the game.
Going into the half, Marist is only down by two...a nail-biter!
Check out my story today on local Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) instructor, Gene Simco. He's a black belt in this martial art (he holds other black belts as well) and for as deadly as he could be, he's a really nice guy.
I observed a recent class that had some law enforcement guys in it. Obviously, the martial arts comes in handy on the job, but they do it competitively as well. It really is a good workout. Nobody came out of that class without a ton of sweat. Except me. Wielding a high-speed pen and digital camera just doesn't burn the calories like you'd hope, ya know?
I told Simco that I'd watched UFC stuff before in TV and I found it brutal and awful. The kind of blood and guts stuff that turned me off, or never really on to boxing, when I took a sportswriting course long ago. Some of the greatest, most eloquent sportswriting stories have come from boxing, but I just never got it.
This MMA stuff, once you understand the strategy of it, is interesting, though. Little guys, big guys, all these different skill sets...boxers trying to pummel the jiu-jitsu guys before they can get them on the floor, because then it'd be over.
Still...it's icky with the blood. Although, from what I understand, traumatic head injuries in the MMA are less than just boxing alone. I think I'd just prefer to watch a non-punching martial arts competition, if any. Or maybe I'll stick to baseball. Then again, with all the mud-slinging and low-blows lately, MMA is looking pretty good.
Anyway, at one point in his career, Simco trained with the Gracie family. That name probably rings a bell to all you UFC fans. His site is one of the leading resources on BJJ..his web site has tons of info, books, DVD's etc. Check it out here.
For a funny recap of my one and only experience with martial arts, check out my Mommy Memoir blog today.
Hey, I heard pitchers & catchers reported...there's one name I'm looking forward to hearing more about...starts with an "S" and ends with "World Series." Er, I mean "-antana."
Photo: That's former Pace University football safety Steven Olivier on the floor doing the flipping...he's a Deputy in the local Sheriff's dept. Um...don't mess with him. Simco is standing to the right. I didn't get the name of the inverted person. It seemed like a bad time to ask...
I have PFSD....(puf FUS dee). It's post-football seasonal depression. It's in the same family as:
Seasonal affective disorder - crops up during the season of fall-winter and disappears during the season of spring-summer. Probably due to the lack of sunlight.
See? That's dead-on. Spring-summer = happy because of baseball. Fall = good because of football. End of winter = bad because no football. A little *#&%$ sunlight would be helpful, too.
Here are some symptoms:
Extreme sleeping or trouble sleeping (yup)
A striking change in appetite results in weight gain or loss (I'm chowin down!)
Exhaustion and Tiredness (yes and yes)
Feeling of triviality, self - abhorrence, and inapt guilt (I'm so small...I'll never be a linebacker...I hate that AND I feel guilty about it!)
Acute difficulty in concentrating (what?)
Anxiety, impatience, and bad temper (Arrrgh, bite me! fast!)
Lack of interest and withdrawal from typical activities (except eating)
Feelings of despair and vulnerability (yes and yes)
Chronic thought of death or suicide (well...not that far...yet! Death to February!)
Low down self esteem is common along with depression. Similar are unexpected burst of anger (BITE ME AGAIN!) and lack of delight from activities that usually makes you happy, including sex. (Um...no comment and also that should say, "unless you're a guy.")
It says I only have to worry if it lasts more than two weeks.
How many days until spring training?
I might try...knitting. Or...curling...or...curling knitting needles. If I was Susie Homemaker, I'd redecorate the house. Then again, if I was Susie Homemaker, I wouldn't care that football was over and I'd have the house perfect so I wouldn't need redecorating.
What are some things you do to keep busy in February when you don't like basketball or hockey? Remember - this is a family blog. Family blog.........
The Super Bowl 'peripheral' entertainment was also Super. Alicia Keyes. was phenomenal. Jordin Sparks ignited the crowd with her powerful and flawless National Anthem. Tom Petty had the crowd in the palm of his hand...a great live performance moment...in the middle of the best Super Bowl I've ever seen. And then...there were the ads...some of best.
Vote here for your favorite Super Bowl Ad. I'm going with the screaming squirrels. Bridgestone rocks. It'll help you get through the post-football depression. As will a parade in New York City. = )
I don't know where to begin. How about THE GIANTS WIN!!!! I'm a Jets fan, but I love an underdog - and the Giants were about as big an underdog as you're going to find - a Giant underdog.
We went nuts...and we're Jets fans! My daughter's teacher is a Giants fan...I think he won't give them homework the rest of this week...maybe this month! She even saved him a Giants cupcake.
I don't know what the Giants defense ate for breakfast - whole cows...double mocha espresso protein shakes...double servings of Wheaties - but they should eat that every day next season. They were on FIRE! A D-Fence possessed! That last sack just said it all for me...the Giants backup def. lineman Jay Alford dragged the offensive lineman with him on the way to sack Brady. That's huge. D-Fence with a capital D. A capital FENCE, even.
Manning...what you can say about him...scrambling out of that potential drive-ending sack...getting grabbed by his shirt...chucking it up there...and David Tyree - OMG - catches it on the helmet!!! HIS HELMET!!! Then the toss to the corner to Burress...beautiful.
Manning said in the postgame, "That's when you want the ball in your hand..."
Amen to that, Eli. What a difference from last September. He's developed such a confidence and maturity that has been incredible to see.
They're showing people going nuts in Times Square right now on the local news. They've got the mounted NYPD down there keeping order, but people are going NUTS!
When the Mets won in 1986, I was in college. When they won, the whole campus went nuts...(a NY State univ.). I called home and held the phone out the window of our dorm...the noise was deafening. It was mayhem. Absolute mayhem.
Parade scheduled tentatively for Tuesday. This would be so worth the trip. I went to the Gulf War ticker tape parade in 1991...very powerful. Um, FoxSports...need coverage? I'd be glad to cover that for you!!! lol
Tough loss for the Patriots. Long way to come without the Super Bowl victory. Hardly a season to hang your head over...but tell that to them.
Congrats New York Giants...Giants fans...commence the mayhem.
Is this not unlike a pitcher's duel? Except of course, that pitchers are offense and this is all about defense...ahem, I mean D-Fence!!! (go Giants!)
Great game, I must say. Unless you don't like football because then you want to see touchdowns, but this is pretty cool stuff happening. Like Brady getting sacked. Often.
Uh - oh...Patriots are hitting their short game now...####. I knew I shouldn't have started to type...
Cool story in the Sporting News on side betting in the Super Bowl. Huge money in this. It says that outrageous side bets are expected to account for 10 to 30 percent of the total amount wagered.
People are betting on the coin toss, the first jersey number to score in the game, QB stats, number of fumbles, receptions - most anything that occurs in a game can be bet on.
I think this is probably appealing to people who don't like football. Maybe they should have more silly bets like...whose hair will be messiest when they take their helmet off. Which guy's socks will fall down first. How many times Eli will have grass stuck in his helmet from getting sacked. How many times in Brady actually looks nervous in the game (never). How many blood vessels Coughlin will bust whilst screaming at his team...or the refs...or anyone who looks at him funny. How many cameramen Belichick will plow over to shake hands after the game is over.
Sure, sure, New England fans are gloating, doing undefeated dances hither and yon. They might even be saying, "hither and yon" for all we know. But we New York fans wouldn't be caught dead saying it! Well, except just then, but that was just to make a point!
They might have won the Division...they might even win the whole Super Bowl...but when you're looking deep into the Food Bowl, New York would take them, hands down.
How are Pats fans going to celebrate? With baked beans? Clam chowda? Salt cod? Indian pudding? (that was completely self-serving...I wrote that story...and look for one on salt cod coming soon to a newspaper food section near you!) Got anything that's not brown or beige?
New York on the other hand - snappy New York hot dogs, Italian subs, pizza, meatball subs, pasta, steakhouse sandwiches, Buffalo (New York) wings, a rainbow of ethnic foods, ...no beige there. With Eli Manning in the house, they'll be Cajun and Creole foods on the menu.
We all know the Super Bowl is about the food...and I think we already have a winner!
Are you ready? It's like Christmas...did you shop? Where are you watching the game? Did you buy matching plates and napkins? Beer cozies? What will you wear? I'm stressed out and I'm just a Jets fan! And I've nothing to blog! Bloglessness again!
Someone clicked on an old post I made for the Super Bowl last year...a "Twas the Night Before Super Bowl" parody... I read it again...totally don't remember writing it! Read it here...
Now I'll have to come up with another one for our NY Giants and those other guys from that New England place with that what's-his-name quarterback...oh, the pressure...
Or a post on Super Bowl foods...that's always fun but they make me hungry.
Or maybe I'll just nap and you guys can write and I'll read it...I'd be fine...with...that....zzzzz..
I took some of my girls hoops team to the MAAC Marist vs. Siena game last night for "Pack the House" night. Marist crushed Siena, 78-48 and at halftime, right there on the Marist court, the two top teams in our league played a mini-scrimmage.
After a few (nervous) minutes of no scoring and a lot of turnovers, they finally sunk their first basket, and the rest kept on coming. All the kids loved having their league's name on the announcements to the record-breaking sold out crowd.
And they liked the soda. And the candy. And the snacks. I liked that the snacks were cheap. I'm so used to mortgaging my house to buy snacks at ballgames, that I forgot I was at a college game.
The girls got to see a zone defense, man-to-man (woman-to-woman) and how fast they pass the ball. Their star guard Nikki Flores was showing off her hot-stuff dribbling, which of course had the girls saying they wanted to do that in the game. OK, that's fine, but learn to dribble without looking first, then dribble behind your back and through your legs.
They noticed, without me telling them, how there were no offensive rebounds. "Why aren't they rebounding, Coach?" It was too noisy to explain. They liked how two really short players were dominating the ball-handling and outside shooting (tons of 3's).
I can't wait to see if I see some better passing today. Or shooting (I pray). If nothing else, they bonded as a group and got a taste of victory.
I had to entertain the kids during the Giants vs. Packers game...so we made some mini-videos of their new Mighty Helmet Races....NFC Championship style!
Check out the silliness on our videos on YouTube. I have no idea who that impressive announcer is. ;-) And Joe Buck is as monotone as ever!
Hey, for those of you wondering about my freelance writing, check out my latest piece, "Virtual play, real workout" in today's Poughkeepsie Journal (Gannett) newspaper. Video games have taken a bad rap when it comes to stealing kids' time and attention - deservedly so, particularly with violent games. But with new gaming peripherals, designed to get you up and moving, exercise is becoming just part of the game.
With Wii sports games, Dance Dance Revolution and a variety of other "exergames," it's becoming easier to mix fun and fitness.
My verbosity bought me a column, too. Gotta love when that happens. ;-)
It was a fun story to research and write. Check it out!
Sports doesn't have to be all numbers and stats and testosterone! I'll share a slightly different angle on sports.
I'm a mom in New York. Go Mets, Jets, Knicks and Rangers.
