Category: Sports

Feeling Chapped

Yesterday, the Chicago Cubs traded for Aroldis Chapman.

The reasons for the trade were clear. Chapman was arguably the best asset on the trade market, as you would expect from a left-handed relief pitcher whose fastball has averaged 98.7mph over his career.1 The Cubs’ incumbent closer, Hector Rondon, has been fine; he has converted 18 of 22 save opportunities this year and has favorable supplemental statistics. He’s perfectly respectable as a player and has done well enough to maintain his position as the closer on the team. Even his fastball, which averages around 97mph, is fast enough to overpower some hitters at the end of games. Chapman’s fastball, though, has been averaging closer to 100mph over the last month or so and has topped out at 105.

Rondon is fine; Chapman is excellent.  Continue reading “Feeling Chapped”

Writing My Legacy

During the 1995-1996 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls – my Chicago Bulls – dominated the league. They won 72 games out of an 82-game season and lost only three times in the playoffs, beating the Seattle Supersonics in six games to clinch the first of their second set of three championships in a row. That team is considered, if not the best team of all time, at least one of the top two or three, as arguments can be made for the ’86 Celtics or maybe one of those early ’80s Lakers teams.1 The Bulls were led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, as well as one of the strongest supporting casts ever behind sharpshooters Toni Kukoc and Steve Kerr (more about him in a minute) and the versatile Ron Harper.  Continue reading “Writing My Legacy”

We Do Not Hit, No Matter What Greg Hardy Says

Dear E,

I’m angry.

I’m not angry with you, don’t worry. You’ve continued to be the happy, fun-loving, wonderful little boy that you are. You play and you sing and you tell me about the things you’ve learned in school. You’re so eager to show off your new knowledge and the skills you’re developing and I can’t help but be captivated by your initiative and your growth. Even when you do things that are frustrating, the feelings never last long. You remind me every day how thankful I am to have you and how amazing the world can be when everything is new. Continue reading “We Do Not Hit, No Matter What Greg Hardy Says”

Losing Online Friends

It’s weird thinking of myself as an online personality.

I’ve been writing this blog for about two and a half years now, so you’d think I’d be a little more used to it by now. I write these posts about my family, my sports allegiances, my beliefs about parenting, my views of the world around me and, the truth is, nothing much happens afterwards. I get the chance to process my feelings and let people in on the “secret” of what thoughts are swirling around in my head and that’s usually the end of it.  Continue reading “Losing Online Friends”

There’s Always Next Year

The Chicago Cubs’ season ended last night.

The Cubs had a very good season. They had the third best record during the regular season behind talented young hitters and a couple of dominant starting pitchers. Of course, the two teams with better records were Pittsburgh and St. Louis, both of whom are in the Cubs’ division, which meant that 97 wins only got the Cubs a wild card spot in the playoffs. But the Cubs kept going, beating Pittsburgh in the wild card play-in game and then winning three out of four against St. Louis in the divisional round. Their regular season formula had continued, as they rode solid pitching and timely hitting to dispatch their opponents and set up a matchup against the NL East winners, the New York Mets.  Continue reading “There’s Always Next Year”

Don’t Feed the Trolls

Once upon a time, there was a far away land called Tenretni. Tenretni was an interesting place, full of interesting things to see. There were the usual supermarkets and restaurants, movie theaters and sports arenas and even a Red Light District.1 But, there were also zoos full of baby animals doing cute things and libraries dedicated to old television shows and museums just for cat videos. There were gigantic department stores that sold clothes and furniture and toys. There were also other places that sold things that were much weirder, like this or this or this.2 Continue reading “Don’t Feed the Trolls”

Torah Reading and No-Hitters (and Vomit)

This past weekend, T, E and I drove down to Philadelphia to visit my grandparents for a long weekend. They live in a great location; a block away from the funky South Street shops and a short walk from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. It’s obviously always a pleasure getting the chance to spend time with them, but being able to walk around the neighborhood and live the “city life” (albeit, on a smaller scale than New York) has a real allure, as well.

I’m not going to write about our time in the city, though.  Continue reading “Torah Reading and No-Hitters (and Vomit)”

Just For Fun

The other day, I was listening to a podcast interview with Scott Weinger, a Hollywood writer and actor. Weinger is probably most well known for his roles as Steve on Full House (Kimmy Gibbler’s DJ Tanner’s boyfriend) and as the speaking voice of Aladdin in the 1992 Disney movie (the singing voice was a different actor). Weinger was a teenager when he acted in those roles but he starred in a few commercials when he was younger, as well. During the interview, Weinger made a number of references to his wife telling him that he did not have a childhood because he grew up working in show business, as opposed to living a more typical life. He said that she makes that type of comment anytime he mentions working in a recording studio with Robin Williams or something about having a trailer or traveling for a movie premiere. Weinger said that his response to his wife’s comment is always some version of correcting her assessment.

“I had a childhood,” he says. “I just didn’t have a ‘normal’ childhood.”  Continue reading “Just For Fun”

I Know What I Know

I don’t know Ray McDonald.

I know a bit about him. I know he is an eight-year NFL veteran.1 I know he was drafted from the University of Florida by the San Francisco 49ers in 2007. I know he is a pretty talented football player; you’d have to be to make an All-Pro team (McDonald did so in 2011). Some of that production can likely be attributed to the defensive scheme under which McDonald was playing and to the other players on San Francisco’s defense, including Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman and Aldon Smith, just to name a few. But, even with all that extra talent, McDonald deserves credit for his performance on the field.  Continue reading “I Know What I Know”

The Chicago Legacy

Spring is a great time of year to be a sports fan.

March gives us the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments that cripple workplace productivity as people replace spreadsheets and phone calls with box scores and online play-by-play logs. It’s the time of year when NBA and NHL teams really start to jockey for playoff position and NFL teams conduct their player evaluations in preparation for the draft in May. March also marks the start of Major League Baseball’s spring training. Spring training means warmer weather is on its way, along with the optimism that every fan feels at the start of a new season.  Continue reading “The Chicago Legacy”

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