Relax - It's the Olympics

Relaxing weekend so far... Olympics on TV, my daughter had friends spend the night and I ran some errands... relaxing the rest of the day... GO USA!

Weight down 1 more pound... Blood pressure still good - have to work hard next week though to beat the 190 pound mark... sitting at 191... Friday and Saturday are usually my worst days but you can't totally deny yourself - reward yourself with a little something after working hard the week before.

Work was tough this past week - lots of escalations but still somewhat productive other than the fact that I wasn't able to talk to my friend much - I hope she doesn't think that I'm avoiding her or pushing away. That's the last thing I want to do.

Strike Three!!

Verdict is in... Matt Holliday didn't win National League MVP...

Shouldn't be surprised, but I am disappointed... 3 times unlucky in the post-season awards.

It sure would have been nice to bring home some hardware after being swept in the series... Oh well, not too much longer before pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training!

Third Time's a Charm (I Hope)...

Tuesday, November 20th is the last chance that the MLB Writers have to make things right by having voted Matt Holliday the National League MVP.

Strike 1 - Not voting Troy Tulowitzki as NL Rookie of the Year
Strike 2 - Not voting Clint Hurdle as NL Manager of the Year

Hopefully the MLB Writers won't strike out...

Unfortunately, this is an 0-2 count and folks in Colorado are expecting a huge hook of a curve-ball for Strike 3. It's a shame that so many people I've talked to already figure the east coast writers have screwed Colorado again for something well deserved.

Stay tuned... Hopefully the third time's the charm!!

More BOOs for MLB Writers

Unfortunately, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle has been passed over as Manager of the Year.

Given the streak at the end of the year, the solid play of the team over the course of the year and the general lack of "drama" on the team during the season, it's truly a shame that he was overlooked - and even worse, came in third in the voting.

Maybe MLB should look at waiting until the playoffs start so that it's truly the Manager of the YEAR and not the Manager of the PARTIAL Year award.

Get it together folks - Hurdle deserved it.

Will the MLB writers get the "hat trick" and screw the Rockies 3 times over by denying Matt Holiday the NL MVP award?

Stay tuned...

MLB Writers - BOO HISS!!!

We've been robbed! That's the feeling I have right now because of the NL Rookie of the Year selection did not go in favor of Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071112&content_id=2298624&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Granted that Ryan Braun had some of the better numbers at the plate, but it's a shame that the baseball writers did not take into consideration Tulo's stellar defense throughout the season.

No one had a better fielding percentage that Tulowitzki and that contributed to his credibility as a legitimate contender for the Rookie of the Year award.

Writers tend to gloss over anything coming out of the Rockies organization as well - that because of the past history at Coors Field... get over it folks!

The only consolation is that the voting was close... small consolation though because I don't believe the better man won in this case.

Thanks For a Great Season

This post is long overdue... but Thank You to the Rockies for a great season.

Ups, downs, frustrations and elations... in the end it would have been nice to have been on the winning end of the series, but there will be talk of "the streak" for years to come...

September 2007 will be a month that many will not forget.

In the face of defeat, the entire team - to a man - was gracious and showed great sportsmanship. An example for all.

Remember what it felt like watching that celebration and bring it on in 2008!

Thanks for a great season to the Colorado Rockies

Is Technology REALLY the Answer?

Unfortunately for the Colorado Rockies, the answer is a resounding NO!

Nothing but trouble all day long with the sale of World Series tickets. 8.5 million hits on the web site that was supposed to facilitate the sale of the high-priced, high-prized tickets. That's 4 times the number of people in the whole damn state! Only 500 out of 60,000 tickets were sold successfully.

So what gives?

My guess is that it was scalpers .. oh - I'm sorry - "Ticket Brokers"

You know - the scumbags that keep us working schmucks from picking up tickets for events at a fair price. The assholes use software to flood ticket web sites so that they can essentially "bump" their way into the line. Then they basically double and triple (legally?) the prices of the tickets. Hmmm.. they can do this legally but I can't sell a ticket for any more than face value? Can you say "racketeering"?

Ticketmaster was the first legal ticket racket. Unfortunately it has spread.

The Rockies should have just stuck to the lottery system for this - there were no compelling reasons to try to do this through the internet.

What a Ride for the Rockies!!

National League champs. Has a great ring, doesn't it?

The scene in lower downtown Denver was unbelievable last night before, during and especially after the Rockies sweep of Arizona. Outside Coors Field after the game there was a reported 30 minute gridlock of people celebrating in the intersection at 20th and Blake - and no one seemed to mind one bit.

The Rockies had just won their 21st of their last 22 games dating back to early September and swept the Diamondbacks back to the Arizona desert. Defense, key offensive timing and superb pitching by both starters and the bullpen gave the Rockies the upper hand on Philadelphia and Arizona.

Now let's keep up the mad pace and beat up on the winner of the Red Sox/Indians series and bring home the BIG ONE!!!

GO ROCKIES!

Cold Night for Baseball

Here in Colorado, more football-like weather than baseball-like weather...

Cold, drizzle... mid to upper 40's... is this really a good day for baseball?

You bet your ass it is! The Rockies are on a major roll, winning 19 of their last 20 games and hold a 2 games to zero lead in the NLCS over Arizona.

The team has a lot to play for - individually and as a team... but not one person on the team is showing up any other... true team effort on the field and off (when dealing with the media).

Baseball is back in Colorado... there's history here for those of you who think we're buried in snow 10 months out of they year. Actually I've played golf on 70 degree days in January and ridden my motorcycle at least one day each month. Granted, the weather is iffy in October (blizzard of 1997 that was followed by a week of mid-70s) but we're talking Rockies playoff baseball now.

Who cares about the weather! GO ROCKIES!!!

A Great Win ... And a Terrible Loss

So the Rockies swept the Phillies in the National League Divisional Series and will now take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the League Championship Series. What a win! 2 - 1 in front of a packed house.

Contrast that with the Broncos UGLY loss today (41 - 3) at the hands of the San Diego Chargers. Ugly in all aspects of the game - offense that couldn't move the ball, defense that couldn't stop a slug moving across the sidewalk and special teams that gave up 7 points on a fumbled kick off return.

The sad thing is that the fans are no longer behind the Broncos. And they (the fans) got called out by members of the team after the game. Good for the players because fans in this city are nothing but a bunch of fair weather fans. They love you if you're good, hate you if you're bad.

For more than 1/2 the season, the Rockies hadn't seen more than 20,000 people at a game - then the Yankees come to town and the prices SKYROCKET! Hey - wait a minute... I thought $20 tickets were $20!?!? What do you mean you're raising the price by 200% just because the friggin' YANKEES are coming to town?

It's too bad there were so many people willing to pay the $$ for those games. I would have loved to see the team suffer a big loss (financially) with a lack of fan support for the practice of selectively setting prices. Gee - isn't that price fixing? Should the government get involved with that? Sounds like a racket to me...

Anyway - Still lots of baseball left in this town - now just hope the snow holds off :-)

GO ROCKIES!

Sports Weekend

This is going to be one hell of a weekend for Denver sports...

Rockies home on Saturday to try to sweep their NLDS against Philly
Sunday the Avalanche and the Broncos at home and if the Rockies need game 4, they'll be at it also...

The sports bars are loving this and so am I...

Go Rockies!!!

THEY'RE IN!!!

The Rockies have done it!

What an exciting game last night. And how fitting that Matt Holiday score the winning run after the problem he had with that fly ball in the 8th inning allowing the Padres to tie the game.

I wasn't at the game, but the excitement was still there in the family room. What a game.

Todd Helton and the whole team deserve this.

Can they make it to the World Series? I don't know, but if they keep playing the way they did over the last 2 weeks (winning 14 of the last 15 games) they have a damn good chance of doing just that.

Four Games and Still In It!!

The Colorado Rockies are down to their last 4 games of the season and still in the thick of this wildcard race in the National League...

Four weeks into the NFL season and we're still talking baseball in the Rocky Mountains - it's strange in some ways.

It's too bad the SF Giants couldn't hold on to their lead in the ninth inning 2 nights ago or else the Rox would be tied for that position with San Diego...

True, the Rockies need help from others, but they've done pretty good by themselves with this 10 game winning streak going into tonight's game with the Dodgers. Longest streak in franchise history - what a great time for them to string together a bunch of wins.

When all is said and done - with or without the playoffs - I think the Rockies have generated some interest for next season already. Now let's hope Dan O'Dowd doesn't go screwing with the roster too much and bring the whole house of cards tumbling down again...

We got a winning team in Denver now - DON'T SCREW WITH IT TOO MUCH!!!

GO ROCKIES!

When You Play With Fire...

Well it happened... the Broncos showed their true colors today and Jason Elam's famed leg wasn't going to save them this week...

No way, no how... I called it out last week in a previous post. See Living on the Edge.

They couldn't get the job done this week on either side of the ball and I'm not surprised. They're not THAT good of a team. They couldn't go in for the kill in weeks 1 and 2 like a good team should, letting weaker teams hang around until the last second heroics by Elam each week.

You can't survive in the NFL by winning games in the last second (not against weaker teams, that is). Against those teams, you've got to recognize the blood in the water and destroy them.

Until today, some of the local media have been optimistic about the team and seemed like they thought the first 2 weeks were flukes. Nope - the Broncos will struggle this year and easily could be 0 - 3 instead of 2 - 1 on the young season.

The thing that may save them is that they are playing in a more surprisingly weaker AFC West. Let's see what happens moving forward.

Living on the Edge

Week 2 of the NFL season. Play looked a little better than week 1 for the most part from what I was able to see on TV, but looking at the home-town Broncos, I'm still not convinced this is a championship caliber team.

Last week's last second victory was non-impressive in that they seemed to be a little frazzled at the end of regulation, barely getting the snap off with 1 second left. But if you listen to the home-town media, it was a great win, all part of the plan. Never mind the defense looked a bit choppy - especially in the middle.

Today, they need overtime and a missed field goal opportunity from the Oakland kicker to give Jason Elam another chance at heroics.

I wasn't impressed - especially since they weren't able to hold a 17 point lead in the 2nd half. I'm sure the homies will all consider it a great win, regardless.

In a way, they're right. Better to have a 2 - 0 record than be 0 - 2. It doesn't have to be pretty, as long as it's a "W".

The Thrill of Victory

Game 2 of my 12 year old's soccer season... the past 2 seasons have been painful - close games, winable games, but nothing to show for it for the kids. They play their hearts out but would always seem to come up just short...

Today - different. There was something about them in this game (and last week's also) that gave me and the other coach a good feeling. The "attitude" was there. They were loose, but ready to play (well most of them anyway).

After going down 0 - 1 they came back and scored two goals in the 2nd half to win the game 2 - 1. The score wasn't important, but it was the way they won it. Last second work, deep in the other team's defensive zone. One pass, two passes, shot - GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!

When I looked at my watch - 3 seconds left. The referee let the other team touch the ball at the kickoff and blew the game down.

The girls had done it. It took a lot of work on their side, but now they see that it is all worth it and I'm sure they'll still be talking about it on Monday at practice.

This should be the start of a good, upward spiral for a bunch of talented kids who just needed that taste of victory.

The Psychology of Pain

There's a parallel between physical pain and emotional pain.

My physical pain is less than that of others with serious issues (auto accident injuries, cancer patients, etc) - mine for the most part is even self-inflicted in some cases. Not because I go out and hurt myself on purpose, but because of the sports activities I take on weekly...

Last night for example - softball game at 9:00 and indoor soccer game at 11:15 (yes - PM!)...

Nursing a bum shoulder, worsening knees and stiff and contorted fingers from multiple injuries over the past 30+ years of playing various sports, I've been asked why I continue to put my body through this.

Simple answer is that I still enjoy it... when you're playing, there is no pain and you're having fun. You play to win - that's what I was taught at an early age. You don't have to be the best athlete on the field, but you have to give 100% and execute. If you do the little things right, you can win.

Last night's soccer game was a struggle for me because my fitness level isn't where it needs to be. We played a better team; faster, stronger, fitter; and we got beat (badly). Every shift I played, I tried to stay just 30 seconds longer, always moving, always trying to contribute. Wound up assisting on a goal so I guess it was OK. That's where you cross the mental/physical line. You start arguing with your body to push more - "get there faster you bastard!" "Block that shot dumb-ass".

Paying for it this morning though. Stiff knees, shoulder sore, limping badly. But it's only temporary. No pain killers, not even aspirin. Work through it. It hurts, but it's not debilitating. It hurts, but I can function. It hurts and it helps me focus on other things.

It's been said that pain is weakness leaving the body. If you have some pain, there's an injury somewhere and that part of your body is weak - work to strengthen it.

The same can be said of the mind - pain, hurt - dig down and figure out what and why. You may have to remove something (or someone) from your life to fix it, to get stronger. In the end, you'll be happier.

Take care of the pain - listen to it, but don't let it run (or ruin) your life. Surround yourself with people who love you and can help (physically and mentally).

People who suffer alone, suffer greatly. People who suffer together share the burden and can help lessen the pain for each other.

Can You Live a Fantasy Life?

(Anyone remember that old Aldo Nova song?!?!)

Fantasy football is back... my 2nd season playing and we went through the draft on Sunday...

Could have been better - got stuck with the 10th pick overall (out of a 12 player league) and all the best running backs and some of the QBs went before my first pick...

Such is life...

As we were going through the draft, there was a lot of chatting going on with the people I used to work with (those that are left anyway)... people wondering if I've landed anywhere yet, wondering what the hell's happening over there and why they're still hanging on...

For some of them, I just don't know why they are still there - the hours suck, management sucks, the pay isn't that great... when I land somewhere, I will certainly be keeping these people in mind as I hear of other positions open ...

It's the least I could do for them...

Some of these people would even make my "dream team" of people to work with - maybe not the most technically sound in the world, but some big hearts and sincere people who work hard...

The Things We Do for Fun...

Everyone has vices... I don't care who you are - everyone has them... booze, drugs, women, fast cars, motorcycles, all of the above... We all have them because it's what helps to define us as individuals and they help us get pleasure out of life...

One of my vices is sport... almost any kind, but in particular soccer.

Growing up on the east coast, I was introduced to soccer late in life (age 13 as a freshman in high school). This is because there were no youth leagues in my town until I was much older (almost 18).

I picked up the game because I wasn't fond of the HS baseball coach and I was big on hockey.. I figured soccer was nothing more than hockey on a bigger field using a ball and you couldn't use your hands... pretty simple (or so I thought)...

I took to the game fairly well although I'm no David Beckham. On Thursday nights I play in an over 30 mens indoor league that can get pretty rough... last week we had one of our team members go down with a torn ACL...

Me, personally, I've broken multiple fingers and dislocated my thumb (tearing the ligaments) along with separating my left shoulder 3 times and busting a couple toes here and there. That's just soccer...

Playing baseball, football, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, softball and others both competetively and recreationally since I was 5 years old, I've had plenty of time to accumulate quite a thick medical folder.

My 12 year old daughter is still amazed when she sees the men play soccer or her old man play shortstop for the softball team ... she can't quite seem to grasp why dad still thinks these things are fun as he limps around the house on Friday and other days of the week...

I would love to play into my 60s - especially since I've seen a 70+ year old soccer player playing in the advanced outdoor league I play in on Sundays...

Whatever the vice - continue as long as you can if it brings you pleasure and doesn't hurt anyone around you...

Keep kicking!