I Have Issues...With Life

Why Larry Bird was a better scorer than Paul Pierce

2012-02-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

Who is the better scorer, Larry Bird or Paul Pierce?

There's been a big push lately to give that nod to Paul Pierce. Not just for passing Bird as the Celtics #2 all-time scorer, but for his versatility. The Truth has a great mid-range game (hello, right elbow jumper). He can shoot the three ball. He can also attack the basket and get to the rim.

Larry Bird was a phenomenal shooter. One of the best of all time. His mid-range game involved backing down an opponent and shooting the fade-away. Bird was not a slasher. Putting the ball on the floor and getting to the hoop was not a strength.

What's a debate without statistics? Let's look at points per game, shooting percentage and individual scoring:

Bird- Pierce
PPG 24.3- 22.1
FG% 49.6- 44.8
60 points 1- 0
50 points 3- 1
40 points 43- 18

With Bird having so many 40+ games, yet a 24.3 ppg career average, we wondered if he was prone to more bad games.

Bird- Pierce
15 points or less 62- 202
10 points or less 16- 72

I'm not a statistics expert, but I believe these numbers disprove that argument.

Even prior to this little statistical experiment, I thought Bird was the better scorer. He was more explosive than Pierce. He would reach that zone more often than Pierce.

Pierce has more ways to score, but Bird is the better scorer. Make sense?

Put away the Christmas tree! It's February!

2012-02-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

Watch what happens when the TV gets unplugged during crucial moments of the Super Bowl. Funny stuff!

Rec Center Basketball Schedules

2012-01-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

Both boys are on the Hoosiers this session. Games started on the 21st. Jackson's team won 22-7 and Jeremy's team won 22-6. The following is the remainder of their schedules.

January 28th
Jackson 9:30 Court 3
Jeremy 11:45 Court 3

February 4th (Picture Day)
Jackson 8:45 Court 3
Jeremy 11:45 Court 1

February 11
Jackson 9:30 Court 1
Jeremy 11:45 Court 2

February 18
Jackson 10:15 Court 3
Jeremy 12:30 Court 3

February 25
Jackson 8:45 Court 3
Jeremy 11:45 Court 1

March 3
Jackson 9:30 Court 3
Jeremy 11:45 Court 3

March 10 (Trophy Day)
Jackson 8:45 Court 3
Jeremy 12:30 Court 3

March Madness in January!

2012-01-08T20:08:00.000-08:00

This is a fundraiser for Jackson's travel baseball team. You are assigned 8 teams (2 in each bracket) that are represented by their seed numbers and regions in the tourney. The 45 highest scores win and the 4 lowest scores win. The cost is $10. The $10 comes in the form of downloadable music at charitystudio.com The best news is you do not have to keep track of your scores. There is a website that does this for you. All you have to do is type in the access code of your card and your score will come up. If you have a team that is eliminated the team gets a zero for any future rounds. Jackson (I) have 20 of these things to sell by the end of the month. If you are interested please respond to this post. You can also call, email, text, or reach me on facebook.

R.I.P. MIKE HARRISON 1958-2012

2012-01-04T18:34:00.000-08:00

MIKE IN HIS BAR

MIKE ON CHRISTMAS MORNING

VINNY, ME, AND MIKE AT MY 40TH

MIKE AND CHERYL AT MY 40TH

MIKE AND HIS SON MATT AT MATT'S WEDDING

MIKE AND HIS GRANDDAUGHTERS- BAILEY & RILEY

MIKE AND MAUREEN- MARRIED 30 YEARS

Here I am again. Staring at a computer screen trying to figure out what to say after losing another friend unexpectedly. The last unexpected loss, Heather on August 20th, was a little over 4 months ago. Mike always greeted you with a smile and an offering of a beer. I always looked forward to hanging out with Mike because I knew it would lead to good times. Mike was my concert buddy. We attended AC/DC, Van Halen, and saw Sammy Hagar twice. Mike, along with Maureen, threw the best Halloween parties. We, the Cresties, would circle the date on our calendar in anticipation of all the decorations and to see what cool costume Mike would be wearing this year. The stories from those parties have stood the test of time. There were enough stories to last until the next party where we would make some new memories. The best part was getting together after the parties to look at pictures and fill holes in stories we may have missed. Things may never be the same again. Mike fell victim to a Pulmonary Embolism. He had a blood clot travel from his lung to his heart.

I have a deep admiration for Mike. Something I wish I would have expressed to him. Mike enjoyed having a drink, sitting around, and B.S.ing with friends. Mike also liked to play darts and bags. Mike also enjoyed a good cigar every now and then. Mike also liked to rock and roll. Mike also shared his love of Cabo Wabo tequila, which may have not been a good thing, partially owned by Sammy Hagar. Then he also enjoyed a little Jimmy Buffet. I wish I could put a finger on what I liked about the guy. The guy was like an older brother to me. Mike was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. His granddaughters, Riley and Bailey, are sure going to miss their paw-paw. I am grateful for Mike's presence in my life and I am proud to call him my friend. In short, I want to be like Mike when I grow up.

Here is a link to his obit:http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailyherald/obituary.aspx?n=michael-j-harrison&pid=155322336&refsvce=facebook#.TwSisxEHxiw.facebook

Avengers Movie Trailer

2012-01-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

Random Cool Video

2011-12-30T08:35:00.000-08:00

Even wonder how it would look if Bird passed to Ray Allen? If Jordan and Rose played together? How about Magic and Kobe? Watch all that and more on this video.

The Packer Stock Fiasco

2011-12-27T13:05:00.001-08:00

ANDY AND I COMMISERATING BEFORE THE GIFT OPENING

POPPA AND HIS PACKER STOCK

NANNA AND HER PACKER STOCK

The Green Bay Packers decide to put up for sale some useless stock to sell their fan base. The stocks sold for $250 and proceeds from the sale are going to building more end zone seating. The stocks went on sale December 6th. I received a call from dad the previous weekend to buy a share of stock for my mom from him. He did not trust his computer skills. I told him I would look into it and found out the stock would go on sale around 9 am. The problem being I'm on the road all day and don't have computer access until 5 pm or so. With the rabid fan base of the Packers I wasn't sure I would be able to get one. I called Andy and asked if he could do it. He then told me mom had called him and asked him to get stock for dad. So, each parent called a different kid to get the same gift for each other. A new problem arose when Andy was out of town for work when the stock was going for sale, so the duty fell to Michelle. Michelle was able to get 2 shares of stock. End of story. Happy ending, right? Not so fast.
Apparently, there was a miscommunication between mom and Andy. Mom wanted info on how to purchase the stock which Andy sent her. Andy thought he was to purchase the stock for mom to give to dad. So, you guessed it, they both got a stock for dad. Dad received 2 shares from mom. So instead of thinking they were paying $250 total. They ended up paying $750, maybe closer to $800 with fees included.
Here is where the fiasco really takes off. Mom sends the share she bought to her own house instead of sending it to me or Andy. Of course dad gets the mail and sees his name on a stock. He calls Andy and says there is a problem. Andy calls me and thinks we have to spill the beans on the whole thing. Not so fast I say. We should be able to lie our way to Christmas. I instructed Andy to call Dad and tell him to wrap the gift as is and we will fix it after Christmas. We also told him to go into the email and delete any tracking from UPS so mom doesn't know its coming. Basically he was deleting the tracking from his own gift and wrapping his own gift. Mom already saw the tracking email and started to worry when the stock didn't arrive when the email said it would. Little did she know it did arrive, but dad got it first. Andy got there on Christmas, dad gave him the "misprinted" stock and mom pulled him aside to complain the share never showed. Mom did tell dad not to open anything from the Packers. This was his clue the stock was really for him, but he was not expecting another one. If she didn't tell him not to open the mail we really could have gotten him good. It all ended in a good story as Andy and I made sure the stocks were the last gifts open. We told the story from our perspective, with numerous interruptions from mom trying to defend herself, which resulted in smiles and laughter. Andy and I can sure tell a good story. If this whole thing confused you at all, trying being in the middle of it.

Championship Game

2011-12-23T10:35:00.001-08:00

POST GAME HUDDLE. BASICALLY ME TELLING THEM WHAT A GREAT SEASON THEY HAD WHEN ALL THEY WANTED WAS THEIR TROPHIES.

2011 FALL LONGHORNS! 5TH/6TH GRADE CHAMPIONS 7-1 RECORD!

I normally don't write about individual games in rec league play. Mostly what it comes down to is who has the most top tier players. The bottom two-thirds of the 10 man roster is basically the same for all teams. A couple sessions ago I had an undefeated team that was stacked. I had number one pick so I was able to team Jack with the best player in the league. My undefeated team would have beat this team. However, this team was special in a different way. I had the 8th, last, pick in the draft. By the time it got to me the impact 6th graders were gone. Luckily, I had Jack with me at the draft who knew more kids than I did. I decided to go with 5th graders who could play rather than lower talent 6th graders. I also got a boost from the waiting list when I was assigned Edwin and Chris, who both came up big all year long. I did not have a full roster when the draft was completed. In fact my roster was at 9 all year. That was OK with me. That meant I got to play my two best ball handlers, Jack and Joe, 3 quarters of the game. Enough about the makeup of the team. Now onto the game itself.
We were playing the Wildcats. The team we played week one and the only team to beat us. We lost week one 26-24 and had gone on to win 6 in a row. A win week 7 meant two things: A championship and revenge of our only loss. I made sure those points were not lost on my boys. The boys were keyed up and we got off to a quick start. This forced the other coach to use one of his 2 timeouts in the first quarter. Things were going our way! Then potential disaster struck. Our inside scorer and best interior defender, Edwin ( the kid barefoot in the team pic), rolls his ankle. He comes down with a rebound and steps on another kid's foot. He is rolling on the ground in pain and it totally deflates our team. Me and his dad help him to the bleachers. He can't put pressure on his foot. I know immediately he is done for the game. Down to 7 kids. One kid, Ryan (kid sitting next to Jack), is on the court ready to go before I get back to the bench. One guy goes down another ready to take his place. Love it! We had an 8 point lead at half 22-14. The Wildcats put in a 3-2 zone to stifle our guards and begin to battle back. Midway through the 4th the score is tied at 24. Thankfully, 4 of our wins have been under 5 points so a tight game does not faze the kids at this point. We grab a basket and Jackson hits a 3 pointer to put us up 5 at 29-24. But it was not to last. The Wildcats come back and tie the game at 29 by stealing an inbound pass and laying it in. 13 seconds remain and I call our last timeout. I tell the boys our main goal is to get the ball inbounds and past half court. If we don't score it's no big deal because we are tied and we'll just win it in overtime. I told them to abandon the offense and play some street ball. In other words, move around and set some picks. Some meaning more than one.Here is where the Wildcats helped us out. They had 4 defenders in the back court defending the inbound pass and only one defender down by our basket. We run a line play and get the ball into Jack. My last guy, Miles (2nd from left), set a pick so all Jack did was run down the line and he was open. I saw him get open and at the free throw line he heaves the ball down to center court past their defenders. Our center, Chris (3rd from left), provided a big target. Chris caught the ball, dribbled to the 3 point line drawing their one defender to him, and threw a beautiful cross court bounce pass to Joe. Joe is sitting 2 left of Jack and was my other ball handler. Joe was wide open. He kept his composure and laid the ball up and in for a 31-29 lead with 6 seconds to go. The other team was out of timeouts. They got the ball in with 2 seconds left and threw a desperation heave that fell way short. We finish 7-1 tied for first. But since we gave the other 7-1 team it's only loss I consider us the champs. I was proud of these guys and how well they worked together. We were solid, deeper, than other teams. They came a long way in 8 short weeks. This championship was special because it was done with less talent, but the chemistry was outstanding. These kids were hungry to learn and gave me every thing they got every time out. As a coach, you can't ask for more.

Night of Champions!

2011-12-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

NAME ON THE JUMBOTRON!

POSING AT CENTER COURT

GROUP SHOT. JACK IS IN FRONT ROW SITTING FAR LEFT.

Jackson attended a Bulls basketball camp this summer. He received the highest score in a drill called Bulls Drive. The video of Jack performing this drill is below. Because he received the highest score at camp, he was invited to participate in Night of Champions on the floor of the United Center. It was a long night. We entered at 7 and Jack wasn't called to perform until 9. Jack had baseball practice at 9 in the morning and a basketball game at 2. By 9 pm he was tired. It shows at the tail end of the video. You could tell he ran out of gas. However, even though he ran out of gas he still gave it everything. I was very proud of the effort he gave as I am in everything he does including his schoolwork. Jack was disappointed he didn't get a medal. I told him just getting to that point was an accomplishment he should be proud of, but he wasn't buying. He wanted a medal. Maybe next year. He did get a cool looking shirt out of the deal.

Jack @ UC

2011-12-18T14:03:00.001-08:00

Click here to view this video

3 Stooges Movie Trailer

2011-12-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

Video cracks me up!

2011-12-03T11:41:00.001-08:00

Jeremy practicing his wrestling moves

2011-11-19T15:19:00.001-08:00

Click here to view this video

Jeremy vs. Optimus Prime

2011-11-19T15:16:00.001-08:00

Click here to view this video

Happy Veteran's Day!

2011-11-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

A big thank you to all who served or are serving!

AMERICAN REUNION TRAILER!

2011-11-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

http://youtu.be/F_9nPMg9ViM

The end of the trailer is fantastic!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

Buckeyes Basketball Schedule- Jeremy

2011-10-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Oct. 15 11:45 Court 1. Today's game was a 22-16 winner. Jeremy had 10 points and 4 steals.

Oct. 22 11:00 Court 3- Buckeyes vs. Spartans

Oct. 29 (Picture Day) 11:00 Court 2- Buckeyes vs. Gators

November 5 11:00 Court 2-Wildcats vs. Buckeyes

November 12 11:00 Court 3- Badgers vs. Buckeyes

November 19 11:00 Court 2- Tar Heels vs. Buckeyes

NO GAMES OR PRACTICE THE WEEK OF THANKSGIVING

December 3 11:00 Court 1- Buckeyes vs. Illini

December 10 (Awards Day) 11:45 Court 1- Hawkeyes vs. Buckeyes

Longhorn Basketball Schedule- Jackson

2011-10-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

Oct. 15 8:45 Court 3- Today's game. We lost 26-24. Great effort by both teams. Came down to our defense not being there when we needed it. Jack scores 13 in the loss

Oct.22 9:30 Court 3- Longhorns vs. Badgers

Oct. 29 (Picture Day) 9:30 Court 2- Longhorns vs. Tar Heels

November 5 9:30 Court 2- Gators vs. Longhorns

November 12 9:30 Court 1- Hawkeyes vs. Longhorns

November 19 9:30 Court 3- Spartans vs. Longhorns

NO GAMES OR PRACTICE THE WEEK OF THANKSGIVING

December 3 8:45 Court 3- Buckeyes vs. Longhorns

Deecember 10 (Awards Day) 9:30 Court 2- Wildcats vs. Longhorns

10 Days of Hell

2011-10-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

10/2- Sunday afternoon. Steelers are playing at the Texans. I picked the Texans because of how banged up the Steeler offensive line was. The Texans won and as my afternoon of Red Zone watching progressed I felt my body become progressively worse. Started with some body aches and a general feeling of blah.

10/3- Monday. Body aches continue. Headache. Maybe a fever. Not sure because I don't check that stuff. Body chills start Monday night. Been here before. Start of the flu, or so I thought.

10/4- Tuesday. Feeling shitty and have to answer a summons to jury duty. Having the flu and jury duty is not the magical combination that it sounds. Released from jury duty early. Got some gas, went home and grabbed a nap. Playoff baseball was on at 1:05 that day and I was excited to be able to watch afternoon playoff baseball.

10/5- Wednesday. Uh-oh. Something wrong here. Feeling worse. Usually I can weather the flu storm and get through work. I did something I haven't done in 6 years. I called in sick to work. In the afternoon, I took myself to urgent care. I must have looked like hell because the nurse kept coming to check on me to see if I needed anything. Anyway, got a flu test that came back negative. No flu, but no answers either. Had a "highly contagious" viral infection. My temp was 103.2 They told me no antibiotics. They gave me Tylenol and told me to get cough medicine on the way home. Fine, I can do that. Also was told, if my condition doesn't improve in 48 hours to come back.

10/6 & 10/7- Thursday and Friday. Condition continues to deteriorate. I honestly have not been this bad in years. Was extremely pale, more than normal for my cracker ass. Still had body aches, chills, fever, and loss of appetite. Basically, I haven't eaten anything more than fruit since Tuesday. Friday night was the absolute worst. I couldn't stop sweating, and thanks to the breathing treatments I was doing, I couldn't slow my rapid heartbeat. This scared the hell out of me. I told Cheryl I would love a ride to urgent care tomorrow. Cheryl says that we are going to the ER now! She knew if I was asking to go to the doctor then something was seriously wrong. It was late, the boys were sleeping, so I talked Cheryl into waiting until the morning when my parents could pick up the boys. Worst, most restless, night of sleep ever.

10/8- Saturday. My "sleeping" consisted of 3-4 hours at a time. Waking up in a cold sweat, having to change my shirt, and proceeding into a coughing fit a 50 year smoker would be proud of. Find energy to roll out of bed around 10:30. Kids get picked up around 11 and off to the ER I go. Grab a bed and get a breathing treatment where the medicine is less intense so my heart doesn't feel like it is popping out of my chest. Went for chest X-rays. They want me to stretch my arms to the ceiling, take a deep breath and hold it, while they take a picture. Right. Instant cough attack. Had to do a couple takes before they got something they could use. Back to bed. Flip on the OK-Texas game (blowout) while awaiting the results of my chest x-ray. Even brought me a turkey sandwich and some OJ (hold the knife please. haha) Then a nurse comes in with a paramedic trainee. I'm the guinea pig so this guy can practice taking blood. Super. Thankfully, I'm blessed with big, thick, hard to miss, juicy veins. The kid strikes pay dirt on his first try. However, he forgot to clamp something or other and all of a sudden I'm feeling my warm, sticky insides leaking onto my forearm. He recovered nicely and mopped me up. They took about 5 vials of blood which they left on my table. The nurse calls the lab looking for my test results. The lab doesn't have my stuff. Anyway, while they were taking blood the doctor's assistant comes in and announces I have pneumonia. Yay me! Since I was already stuck they finished taking blood and hooked an up IV with antibiotics. The more that drained into me the better I felt. I couldn't believe it. I wasn't ready to go out on the town, but from that moment on my flu like symptoms disappeared. All I was left with was coughing, no stamina, and if I pushed it loss of breath.

10/9- Sunday. Back watching Red Zone. Steelers and Titans this week. Back on the Steelers and boy was I right. Anyways, got 5 days worth of roids, 10 days worth of antibiotics, and some generic mucinex. I only have to take the pills once a day and the mucinex whenever I feel necessary. I was a little hesitant about taking the roids. The last thing I need is for my nuts to get even smaller. But as my lifelong friend Jeremy said, at least it will make your wang look bigger. Can't argue with that logic. My flu like symptoms stayed away and my appetite returned. Still not much on the activity front. After I take a shower, takes me another 10 minutes to get dressed. I have to take a break after each article of clothing.

10/10- Monday. Lawn is a mess, so Jack gets to do what he has been bugging me for all summer. Mow the lawn. The entire lawn. All by himself. He did a good job too. I did supervise with minimal instruction. he felt the lawnmower was too heavy to turn. Don't think he will be as eager to mow the lawn anymore. That is one chore I enjoy doing myself anyway. As Jack is mowing the lawn, a rep from a blacktop company wants to redo my driveway. Says he has a crew around the corner and can get mine done this afternoon. Talking about chewing up and disposing of the old driveway. Add materials to smooth it out and laying new blacktop. My driveway was shit so I figured what the hell. Sure enough, he had a crew of 6 guys come over and within 2 hours and $2,000 later I have myself a new driveway. Jeremy sat on the front stoop and supervised the Bobcat as it broke up my driveway. he was mesmerized and thought it was cool. he said he is going to learn to drive one when he becomes a builder. I think he just wants to break stuff. Pappy came over to fix our banister heading upstairs and a rear gate that came off its hinges. He was nice enough to tell me I didn't look as shitty as I did this weekend. Thanks Pappy!

10/11- Tuesday. Follow up doctors appointment. One of the questions I didn't have an answer for this weekend was, who is your primary care physician? I don't have one. I don't go to the doctor. I've never been this sick. So I set up an appointment with a recommendation through the ER. I go to my appointment in my Hines Ward jersey. This doctor comes in, younger than me, carrying a Terrible Towel that he keeps in his office. Odd I thought. Said he saw my colors walking to the exam room. Turns out the guy is from Pittsburgh. We hit it off right away. He gave me a couple more days off work. Scheduled another chest X-Ray for Tuesday, and then we broke down Sunday's game. I guess going to the doctor isn't so bad. As I was leaving he says to stop in anytime, even if I'm not sick and we can talk Steeler football. I think I found my new primary doctor!

10/12- Wednesday (today). Went to work for a hour this morning. Prepared some paperwork for the next 2 days and pulled anything extra I would need to stock my van. Not looking forward to going back to work. I am returning to the busiest day I have ever had there. I was wondering how they would punish me for being sick because that is what they do. I'm coming back early. My Pitt doctor didn't want me back until Monday. I'm not returning from a vacation. I'm returning less than 100%. They combined 2 work days into one and put all of my biggest stops on the same day! Why? Because when someone is gone the supervisors are supposed to pick up the slack and help out. In short, they have to work. I'm returning 75% tops. I still cough and have no energy. Pitt Doc did give me an inhaler so I look like Mikey from the Goonies. My supervisor? 3 stops tomorrow, one on Friday. I have 29 stops in 2 days which is above average. Thanks for the help! Jumping from one hell into another.

Moral of the story: Stay away from Pneumonia! It's not as fun as it sounds.

Red Bullz Sponsorship Opportunities!

2011-09-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

September, 2011

To Whom It May Concern:

Fox Valley Red Bullz is an independent travel baseball team. The organization allows boys within our community the opportunity to play competitive baseball in a fun and instructional environment. Our program stresses skill, teamwork, and conduct in connection with the development of baseball skills so that our youth enhance those life skills to help them reach success in future years. We are comprised of volunteers who love both baseball and kids, and always approach games in a committed and professional manner. This year the 11-Year old Travel Team is seeking the support of local merchants and corporate sponsors. Between April – July 12’ our boys will play approximately 55 games throughout the suburbs of Chicago including 6 tournaments.

As a non-profit organization, the Fox Valley Red Bullz Baseball program keeps fees as low as possible. However, games, practice time, tournaments, umpire fees, uniform and equipment costs and field maintenance require considerable funding. Our boys greatly appreciate any monetary support you can contribute to make it all happen.

There are four-tiers of sponsorship providing you the opportunity to support the youth that we serve:

PLATINUM - for a corporate or individual donation of $1000, we will proudly display your name or company in the most prominent location on our organization's banner that will be visible when our teams play games and tournaments throughout the Chicago Suburbs as well as out of state. Also, your company will have the prominent location of our sponsor section of our web site, which will provide a link to your company's site. Finally, a large sponsorship photo plaque will be yours to keep!

GOLD - for a corporate or individual donation of $600, we will proudly display your name or company in a prominent location on our organization's banners that will be visible when our teams play games and tournaments throughout the Chicago Suburbs as well as out of state. Also, your company will be displayed in our sponsor section of our web site, which will provide a link to your company's site. Also, a large sponsorship photo plaque will be yours to keep!

SILVER - for a corporate or individual donation of $300, we will put your name or company on our organization's banners and website. We will proudly display the banners during the time when our teams play games and tournaments throughout the area. Also, a sponsorship photo plaque will be yours to keep!

BRONZE - for a donation of $150, your name will appear on our banner, you will receive a sponsorship photo plaque and most importantly, you will have the satisfaction of helping a group of talented youngsters play America's game---- THE GAME THEY LOVE!!

PERSONAL - for a donation of $50 your name will appear on our banner and you will have the satisfaction of knowing your contribution made the difference for our talented youngsters play and develop skills that will last them a life time.

Your donation should be made payable to Fox Valley Red Bullz, a not-for-profit organization(tax id # 27-3399836). Thank you for your support and commitment to this worthwhile community organization.

Bob Mandarino
Fox Valley Red Bullz 11U
Red Bullz Travel Team Manager

Team Contact: Bob Mandarino
Phone: 224-388-5500

Hit-A-Thon for the Red Bullz!

2011-09-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family:

This year our team is participating in a hit-a-thon. We are collecting pledges to help support our 11U Travel Baseball Team. There are two ways you can pledge.

1) You can pledge by the foot.

Example:

$0.05 250ft $12.50
$0.10 250ft $25.00
$0.20 250ft $50.00
$0.25 250ft $62.50
$0.50 250ft $125.00
$0.75 250ft $187.50
$1.00 250ft $250.00

2) Or you could pledge a flat amount.

Player gets 5 "hits" and the coach will record the best hit on the pledge sheet.

If the player hits the ball over-the-fence for a homerun, it will go down as 350 feet...so the player can't hit further than that.

Thank you very much for any contribution you can make. The money helps us to buy new equipment, uniforms and helps pay for tournament fees and field rentals.

LET ME KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP OUT JACKSON!

Scarlett Johansson

2011-09-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

Scarlett Johannson had some personal photos hacked from her cell phone. Guess who found them? Looks like she is checking out her figure in the bathroom mirror. Scarlett, let the men of America do that for you. Scarlett was in Iron Man 2 as Black Widow. She will also be in the upcoming Avengers movie. Scarlett is also the ex-wife of Ryan Reynolds.

Number 6

2011-09-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

Jackson usually wears number 5 or number 10 on his jersey. #10 because he likes Santonio Holmes now a WR for the Jets previously of the Steelers. He also got Santonio for Nate and his fantasy football team. Last year in all stars he wore #5 mainly because that was the number range for the size shirt he, or I, ordered. For fall ball he has #6 because the guy in front of him picked #5. Jack was a little diappointed. To lift his spirits, I have decided to do some research and find famous number 6's in baseball history. There are not too many. I have found 5 #6's that have their jerseys retired by teams.

1. Johnny Pesky- Played for the Red Sox and also has the right field foul pole named in his honor. That is right, it's called Pesky's pole

2. Stan Musial- Cardinals. My favorite stat of Stan the man? 3,636 career hits. Exactly 1,818 are singles and 1,818 are extra base hits. Pretty cool.

3. Al Kaline- Tigers. Before my time, but I know he has a statue at Comerica Park.

4. Tony Oliva- Twins. Before my time again. I have nothing.

5. Steve Garvey- Padres. Yes, he was my favorite Dodger growing up. However, it was the Padres, not the Dodgers, who have retired his number. Must have been for his heroics in the '84 NL championship series. Sorry Cub fans.

Out of these guys, can you guess how many are in the Hall of Fame? If you answered two, then you are correct. The only Hall of Famers in this group are Stan Musial and Al Kaline. Looks like Jack has some work to do.

My First Civil Union

2011-09-10T09:24:00.001-07:00

CONGRATS TO KRIS AND JEN!

BETTER AT BOWLING- THE SOFTBALL TEAM! 2ND PLACE REGULAR SEASON. 1ST PLACE POST SEASON TOURNEY!

CATCHING UP WITH MY FRIEND TINA WHO I'VE KNOWN SINCE WE WERE 5!

I was honored to be a part of Kris and Jen's big day. I was humbled that they thought enough of me to play such an important role in their civil union ceremony. Cheryl and I had a fun time.

Jackson's Fall Ball Schedule

2011-09-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

White Sox's Schedule

Sat-Sep 10

2-White Sox

v

1-Hurricanes

12:15 PM

EALL Major

Tue-Sep 13

2-White Sox

v

3-Thunder

6:00 PM

EALL Major

Sat-Sep 17

3-Thunder

v

2-White Sox

10:00 AM

EALL Major

Thu-Sep 22

1-Hurricanes

v

2-White Sox

6:00 PM

EALL Major

Sat-Sep 24

3-Thunder

v

2-White Sox

10:00 AM

EALL Major

Sat-Sep 24

2-White Sox

v

1-Hurricanes

12:15 PM

EALL Major

Sat-Oct 1

1-Hurricanes

v

2-White Sox

10:00 AM

EALL Major

Thu-Oct 6

2-White Sox

v

3-Thunder

6:00 PM

EALL Major

Sat-Oct 15

Winner Game 1

v

2-White Sox

10:00 AM

EALL Major

GAME TIMES AND DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. I WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED ON ANY CHANGES. ELGIN AMERICAN FIELD IS LOCATED ON THE NORTHWEST CORNER OFF 58 OVER BY LORDS PARK EAST OF 25. NOT SURE OF THE CROSS STREET.

Avengers May 4, 2012

2011-09-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

http://movies.ign.com/articles/118/1184869p1.html

The 2nd link is to an article that has the preview and a look at Capt. America's new costume!

FINESTEIN'S PORCUPINES

2011-09-02T07:00:00.001-07:00

I COULDN'T DECIDE WHICH ONE OF THESE TO USE AS MY TEAM LOGO. I ENDED UP WITH #3 FOR NOW. I MAY CHANGE IF I START OFF SLOW.

This is my team in Scott's league. I feel my QB's and Defenses are weak. I will have to do a lot of matchup play with these two positions. I do like the depth of my RB's and WR's. My TE's are solid. I picked 11 of 12 in a straight ladder draft that snakes through. Just like my Steelers, I lost in the Super Bowl. I had 2 Super Bowl losses in one year. That sucked. In this league, I name my team after Three Stooges characters or phrases. Last year I was Trapped Like Rats! and had a picture of Curly. This year I went with Larry. In my opinion, the most underrated Stooge. When he had a stroke and couldn't perform anymore the Stooges stopped completely. Larry was irreplaceable. Anyway, on with my roster. The number in parenthesis is the round they were picked. Big Chief finished up for me because I had to leave early for Heather's wake so some may not have a number.

QB- Kolb (9), Cutler (11), Dalton

RB- Blount (3), D. Williams (4), McGahee (6), F. Jackson (8), P. Thomas (12)

WR- R. White (1), Nicks (2), Britt (5), L. Moore (7), Crabtree (10)

TE- Heeeeeath Miller (13), Cooley

K- Gotskowski, Suisham

D/SP- Chargers (14), Jags (already dropped since they play Pitt when SD is on a bye), Browns

Supplemental- Scott allows 2 free picks on draft day only and I don't like to pass up anything that is free. Getting 2 guys now saves me $2 later. My supplemental picks are Earl Bennett and L. Stephens- Howling, RB, AZ.

We'll see how it goes. Hopefully a return to Super Bowl form. May have to make some trade.

PITFALL!

2011-08-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

Kids were watching the movie School of Rock this morning. One of my favorites. I remembered the first time I saw Jack Black. That's right, the kid at the beginning of this commercial is Jack Black. Remember the game Pitfall? Atari 2600? Check out the graphics.

Heather's Obit and some last pics

2011-08-25T16:33:00.000-07:00

6th GRADE- CLINTON ELEMENTARY. HEATHER AND I ARE IN THE SAME ROW.

I'M NEXT TO THE CRAB. I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT IS THERE. I STOLE THIS PIC FROM SOMEONE'S FACEBOOK.

SHARING A DANCE AT ERIC'S 1ST WEDDING. AUGUST 27, 1994.
CHECK OUT IZZY OVER HEATHER'S SHOULDER. THIS GROUP ALWAYS HAS FUN TOGETHER.

LAST PIC WITH HEATHER AT HER SURPRISE 40TH PARTY ON 7-23-11.

Imburgia, Heather Lynnae 39, Spring, Texas, died unexpectedly on Saturday, August 20, 2011 in Kingwood Medical Center, Houston, Texas. Born September 3, 1971 in Elgin, IL, daughter of Joseph Imburgia and Mary Ann Hokanson Braden. Graduated from Larkin High School in Elgin and Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL. She was a beloved teacher at Grantham Middle School in Houston. Heather was a wonderful daughter, sister, aunt, teacher, friend and a die hard Cubs fan. Her sweet, compassionate nature and beautiful smile are cherished by all who knew her. Survivors include her mother, Mary Ann (Stan) Braden; father, Joseph Imburgia; brothers, Joseph (Heather) Imburgia and James (Roseanne) Imburgia; sister, Samantha Pickett and family; nephews, Joseph, Thomas and Declan Imburgia; paternal grandmother, Carmella Imburgia as well as numerous wonderful friends. Predeceased by her maternal grandparents, paternal grandfather and step-mother. A celebration of Heather's life will be at 11:00 a.m. Monday, August 29, 2011 in Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, Mulford Chapel, 1860 S. Mulford Rd. with Pastor Matt Kitchen officiating. Burial at 1:30 p.m. in Lakewood Cemetery, Elgin. Visitation on Sunday from 4-8 p.m. and from 10 a.m. until time of the service on Monday. Memorials may be made to the family. Express condolences and share memories at www.fitzgeraldfh.com. A separate memorial service will be held in Houston at a later date.

2K for PK!

2011-08-24T15:55:00.001-07:00

Congrats to "The Captain" Paul Konerko on reaching the career milestone of 2,000 hits. He is a solid player who never gets enough credit for his defense in my opinion. There is no doubt in my mind, with all he has done and meant for this organization, that his number will be retired and he will have a statue on the outfield concourse. Both honors will be well deserved. Now the question becomes, is Paulie a hall of famer? My answer- not yet. He needs to reach at least 450 home runs, 2,500 hits, and 1,500 RBI's. Where is Paulie now? 393 HR's, 2,000 hits and 1,242 RBI's. He is 35 now. Can he reach these numbers by the time he hits 38 or 40? I hope so. I would love to see Paulie in the hall.

R.I.P. Heather 1971-2011

2011-08-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

I received a call yesterday morning informing me of the death of a lifelong friend. I'm still in shock and deeply saddened by the news. Heather lived in Houston and came up once a year. During this time we, the Cresties, always made sure to get together. Heather and I attended Clinton Elementary School in South Elgin. The earliest pictures I have seen of us in the same class is 3rd grade. She lived on the same street, Park, but she lived "up the hill". What can you say? What do you say when you lose a lifelong friend. One of the few times in my life that I am speechless. Here is what I know so far. She felt ill after mowing her lawn, went inside and cooled off until she felt well enough to meet some friends for dinner. However, as the night went on, she felt worse to the point where her friends took her to the emergency room. The doctors worked on Heather, but to no avail. To my knowledge there will be an autopsy. What I will do is post these pictures and some words from friends that have been posted on her Facebook.

I'm still in shock and don't know what to say or how to react. It's not everyone that can say they have had friends since grade school. I was/ am proud to call you my lifelong friend. You will be missed. RIP Heather L. Imburgia.- Me

Heather you will be missed dearly by all. Thinking and praying for your family, friends and students. Rest in peace my childhood friend.- Brian Tucker

I am in total shock. You will be missed Heather. Growing up it was us 4 girls...Jenny, Ginger, Heather, and I. We had a lot of good times..spent last night thinking about all of them. My thoughts and prayers are with your family and friends.- Loralyn Franke

I don't even really know what to say right now, I'm still in shock. Heather you were a beautiful and wonderful person. You will forever be missed.- Kendall

Her Facebook page has turned into a memorial wall with lots of sentiments just like these. She touched a lot of people from South Elgin to Western IL to Houston, TX. She will be missed. Her 40th birthday would have been September 3rd. She missed it by 2 weeks. I will keep everyone updated as soon as arrangements are made.

Suspicious Minds

2011-08-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

In honor of Elvis night at the Sox game last night. I thought I would post my favorite version of my favorite Elvis song. This guy has all the moves. I love when he stalks the backup singers.

LONG LIVE THE KING!

2011-08-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

Today marks the death of the greatest entertainer who ever walked the face of the Earth. Even though his physical body may be gone, his music will live forever!

12 Steelers in new Batman movie

2011-08-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bobsblitz.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fheinz-field-blown-up-for-batman-video.html&h=pAQBpteb4AQC9kXpI9wlKti6YxBJBpH19pBIOonqGPlDo6w

This is a link, you may have to copy and paste into your browser, of Heinz field "blowing up" during the making of The Dark Knight Rises! There is a blurb and 2 youtube videos of the fun. Enjoy!

10 Worst Ceremonial first pitches of all time!

2011-08-09T15:55:00.000-07:00

It's Always Sunny in Detroit: 10 Worst Ceremonial Pitches of All-Time: "There is no doubt that individuals who throw out ceremonial first pitches before Major League games are nervous. But these ten abominations..."

Add Another One

2011-08-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

I would like to make an addition to my earlier post concerning all the birthdays and anniversaries at the end of July/ beginning of August. The addition is one Roger Lester Flory. Raj was born on July 23rd and is the newest member of the family. Welcome to the family Roger! (A thousand apologies to whomever may have been offended by Raj's earlier omission)

Birthdays and Anniversaries

2011-07-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

July is a busy month for birthdays and anniversaries in the family. A quick rundown:

18th- Cheryl and my anniversary 1998 ( Yes, 13 years)

25th- Michelle's birthday (Cheryl's sister not Andy's wifey)

27th- Cheryls' birthday (39. Party time next year!)

29th- Pappy's birthday (72)

31st- Paige's Birthday ( My middle Goddaughter turns 15. Driving permit time? YIKES!)

August 1st- Andy (35), Bryan (34), and Nate (30) all share a birthday and yes are from the same side of the family.

August 1st- Michelle and Joe's anniversary (The in-laws. No, I don't know how many years it's been, but I had a drink for them at the Kilt last week.)

Is there a lesson/ moral from all these happenings occuring at this time? Yes. Be careful when that first cold snap hits in October. Take one less shot at Halloween. If you are not careful or do not take one less shot, you will be paying the consequences in July!

I Can't Drive 55- Sammy Hagar

2011-07-20T15:21:00.000-07:00

I have finished reading Sammy Hagar's autobiography, "Red". Cheryl is still reading it. Almost done though. Anyway, here is the story of how he came up with the song. This may be his most famous song, thanks to MTV when they actually played videos, but not his best song. Sammy had just returned from a month long trip to Africa. While he was gone the national speed limit was changed to 55. He returned not knowing about the change. Here is the remainder of the story in Sammy's own words.

"It was two o'clock in the morning when the cop pulled me over. We'd been traveling for 24 hours. I was burnt. The cop starts writing me a ticket. 'Officer,' I said, 'I was only going 62.'

'Around here,' he said, 'we give tickets for 62.' ( here was on his way to Lake Placid, NY where his son went to boarding school.)

" I looked at Betsy, his first wife, and said, ' I can't drive 55.'

"As soon as I heard myself say it, I went, 'Whoa!' Grabbed some paper and a pen. I started writing the lyrics. As he's writing the ticket, I'm writing the lyrics. The cop came back. He handed me the ticket, and I said, 'Thank you, sir.'

"That song changed my relationship with the California Highway Patrol too. At that point in my life, I'd had 36 tickets. My license taken away 3 times. I was paying $125,000 a year for car insurance, because I had all these hot cars. I'd been to traffic school. I had hired attorneys. 'I Can't Drive 55' changed everything. Since I wrote that song, I've maybe had 2 citations. I've been pulled over at least 40 times, stopped and let go."

In the video, that is actually Sammy's car (Ferrari 512) he is driving. The guy in the beginning is Sammy's actual mechanic- Claudio Zampolli.

One more side story. Eddie Van Halen used Claudio as his mechanic too. Eddie asked who owned the Ferrari 512 . Claudio told Eddie that it was Sammy's car and suggested he give Sammy a call. Eddie called Sammy. They met. They jammed. Sammy joined Van Halen. All because of a mutual mechanic.

It is a good book. An easy read. I recommend it. Good summer, beach reading material.

All Star Disappointment Part 2

2011-07-17T14:26:00.001-07:00

JEREMY AND HIS ALL-STAR MEDAL

7/8 YEAR OLD ALL-STARS

To quote Gunny Highway, Clint Eastwood's character in Heartbreak Ridge, Jeremy's all star experience this year was a "clusterfuck". A little back story. Last year our league turned in the paperwork late to enroll these kids in a tournament hosted by Huntley. However, there was an odd number of teams so they let us in anyway. Fast forward to this year. Guess what the league did again? That's right. Didn't turn the paperwork in on time. However, this year Huntley had an even number of teams and didn't need us. We received an email saying our kids were on all stars and then we were told we had to tell our kids they couldn't play. See how much fun you have telling an 8 year old that news. I felt bad for Coach Pete, who coached the team last year, and already went through this once. The league wonders why they scramble for coaches every year. Coach Pete felt bad for the kids and, out of his own pocket, ordered them medals. His theory- even though we didn't play they were still all stars and should get some recognition for the work they put in through the year. Nice move from a nice guy. So, anyway, we are at the Sperry tourney and I'm telling Mike how the league screwed Pete again this year. Mike says he'll look into what he can do. Mike, not the league, sends an email to the surrounding little leagues explaining the situation and wanted to know if anyone wanted to play a scrimmage game. This way our kids get to play and the other team gets to practice for the Huntley tourney. One league responds- South Elgin. I have dogged SE in previous posts, but I will give them credit here for stepping up when they didn't have to. It was a nice move on their part. The plan was to play a home and home series. Play Saturday night in SE under the lights. Play Sunday afternoon at Continental after our game is complete. Everything was set. But hold on, this is where our league drops the ball again. I have been down at the fields since Thursday, our game was Sunday, and I told the league president that it would be nice to have the grass cut before Sunday. He said he would shoot an email to the guy that cuts the grass. I thanked him. Game on Friday- grass not cut. Game on Saturday- grass not cut. Went down to SE to watch the game Saturday night. It was nice to sit back and watch a game for once. Of course I only lasted 2 innings in the chair before I was at the fence positioning kids in the outfield, but I tried. I talked to Coach Pete after the game. he stated he was going to go down there early and cut the grass himself. He takes one swipe around the outfield fence and the riding tractor stalls/ dies. The grass was shin high to the little guys and was so thick it choked out a tractor. We needed some heavy duty landscaping equipment, which the league had been told about since Thursday. Pete had no choice but to cancel the game. How embarrassing for the league. I was going to have some words/ share my thoughts with the league prez after our game completed. However, that douchebag isn't worth my time, energy, or breath. Turns out Coach Pete did it for me. He told the league prez that this was another example of the league not caring about the lower levels. The league prez said he took offense to that comment. Coach Pete told him good. You should take offense and you should be embarrassed. I would have used much colorful language and more choice words. So, if you are wondering why we have no action shots of Jeremy there you have it. We were going to take some after Jack's game. Poor Jeremy gets the short stick again. He did play well Saturday night though. He batted leadoff. He played SS, LF, and pitcher. He also was the vocal leader on the field. That is something I try and get Jack to do more often but he's too quiet. Jeremy has no problem letting his teammates know what should be done. I know, it's hard to believe.

On a side note, I saw a picture of Coach Pete on Michelle's blog. Turns out he was the best man at a wedding for their friend Matt and his bride (don't remember her name). Small world.

All Star Disappointment Part 1

2011-07-17T13:50:00.001-07:00

Where to start? I was pumped up about this team. 13 kids that play multiple positions. 13 kids that can pitch. At least 5 that can catch. This was a deep, versatile team. I could really see us making some noise in the all star tournament that could lead to a state title. In the end, the only sound we made was that of a leaky balloon fluttering away in the air until we floated harmlessly to the ground. It's been a week and I'm still in shock. I knew we would throw strikes and for the most part we did. I was, and always am, concerned about defense. You just never know which kid is zoning out as the ball is put into play. They are 9 and 10 years old. Our defense was above average and at times stellar. There was one aspect that I was not worried about at all- our hitting. This team could flat out stroke the ball. They delivered big hits all season long for their respective teams. Big mistake. Our hitting, or lack thereof, was our downfall. There wasn't one time where we had our "big" inning. We just could not string hits together. The pitching wasn't faster than anything we've seen all year. We would take strike 1. We would take strike 2. Then we would swing at junk. We lost our aggressiveness at the plate. Not sure why. Still trying to figure it out. We were swept out 0-3. We were in every game and just couldn't finish or would have one bad inning. Seems like something always happened that didn't go our way. Jack did pitch the game of his life, so far, in game 2. Jack got the starting nod. He knew enough to throw strikes to keep his pitch count down. Keep your pitch count down and the longer you stay in the game. At his age he gets 75 pitches for a game. After throwing 69 pitches, he was 2 batters into the 6th inning. 3 outs away from a complete game in All Stars! His changeup, he throws a circle change, was nasty. Dipping and diving all over the place. He really had a good feel for it that day. However, he was running out of gas. We took him out and ended up losing 5-4. After the game, the umpires and the opposing coaches made it a point to tell Jack, off the field- in the parking lot, how great of a game he pitched. I thought that was a classy move and made me one proud daddy. However, bottom line, this team underachieved big time. Oh well, nothing to do now but move on. What does the future hold? Travel team tryouts. There is a team in Wasco hosting tryouts the first weekend in August. A South Elgin coach, who saw Jack play at the Sperry tourney, is starting a team and through back channels has asked about Jack's availability. We basically have two tryouts set up. I say we because Coach Mike and I are trying to get Jack and Tyler together as a package deal. We want to try and keep them together to make the transition to travel ball easier. At least they would know one other person on the team. They do feed off each other well. We figure they should make both squads and then we'll have our pick on what we want to do. One thing is for sure. No more Continental for Jack. At least not if I can help it.

Movie Review Time

2011-07-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

I have seen 4 movies so far this summer. 3 of which have been of the comic book variety. I know you all were wondering what I was thinking, or else why are you on my blog, so here goes.

Hangover 2- Cheryl and I went to see this alone, for obvious reasons. I know it got mixed reviews, but I found it funny. Not as good as the first, but anything that makes me laugh is getting a thumbs up. This movie had its moments. I recommend seeing it. I might even buy it when it is released. Besides Empire Strikes Back and Godfather 2 find me a sequel that is better than the first.

THOR- I knew nothing about the background of this story. But I wanted to see it so I am in the loop when the Avengers movie comes out next year. I enjoyed this movie as well. I felt it did a good job explaining the background of the Thor character. I also felt the movie was well cast. The guy that played Thor did a good job. Plus Natalie Portman is in it which is always nice. If you plan on seeing the Avengers next year I would advise you to check out this movie. Thor might be the least known Avenger.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS- The origins of the X-Men series. We do have the trilogy on DVD. This one was interesting to see how they tied into the 3 previously released movies. I actually think they could make another prequel to tie into the trilogy. I like this movie better than Thor I think because I was already familiar with the character background. Like I said, Thor wasn't a bad movie, but I did like X-Men better. It was interesting to see the back story. I can recommend this movie as well.

TRANSFORMERS- This movie was seen as a necessity. It was 90, we have no A/C in our house right now, so we decided to take refuge in a movie theater for an afternoon. We were going to see it anyway. Mother Nature made the decision on how soon. This movie, in my opinion, was the best of the action hero movies so far. Chicago is very well represented in this film. Let me make one thing clear- I DO NOT LIKE THE NEW CHICK IN THIS MOVIE. This new girl has a butter face. Everything looks good but her face (get it). She cannot act. From the previews you know there is a big battle scene so I'm not ruining anything here. At the end of the battle, people are beat up, dirty, and grimy. She is shown wearing her white jacket with not a mark on it and not a hair out of place. She is too prissy/ princess-y for this role. She just plain did not fit. At least with Megan Fox she had a tomboy-ish, tough ass bitchiness about her where you can see her getting down and dirty and surviving like she did in the first 2 movies. Not so with this girl. The movie was 2 1/2 hours long. They could have cut out at least 20 minutes just by taking his parents out of there. They seemed forced in with his mom trying to hit on different one liners. My opinion- their presence in this movie is not needed. This Transformers is better than the 2nd installment.

I did not lump Hangover 2 in with the other 3 because it is a different genre and target audience, but I did like it too.

Up next on my summer movie odyssey? Harry Potter on July 15. I just finished re-reading the book so I'm ready for the movie. After that will be Captain America on July 22. I won't be seeing that until the weekend of the 29th however. Vinny is out of town on the 22nd so we made plans for the following week.

One preview I've been shown a couple times that looks like it could be interesting? The Rise of The Planet of the Apes. Looks like they have a good story written, but most previews look that way. I will be keeping my eye on that film. Not sure if they have a release date yet for that one.

Sperry Update Game 4

2011-07-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Leaving off from my last post, we had made the final 4. We went into this round as the #4 seed so we had to play the #1 seed. The seeding was determined by most runs allowed. Since we gave up the most runs out of the final 4 teams we were seeded 4th. Our defense, not bad but average at best, was probably the weakest part of our team. This team could hit and we had some decent arms. We basically outslugged people and threw strikes. Sound familiar Sox fans? Anyway, the #1 seed was the SE Twins. We lost to the Twins 9-8 in the first game of the tourney. Twins were a good team with stellar pitching. I feel our hitting was better. Only losing by one gave me hope that we could knock out both SE teams. However, the truth is, there is not much to say about this game. It was one sided at best. We came out flat, the Twins took it to us, and we never recovered. If we were able to catch a ball, we would throw it away or throw it around the infield chasing baserunners. The biggest problem was our hitting was nonexistent. The old adage of baseball is true on any level. Good pitching beats good hitting. The Twins are a tough team, they put the ball in play and deserved to win. We did not make enough plays defensively. We gave them extra outs a couple of the innings and to their credit they took advantage. We ended up losing the game 12-2 in 5 innings. We got slaughter ruled. Not a good feeling or a good way to end a successful season, but you have to catch the ball and make good throws. The two runs were manufactured by our two best players-Tyler and Jackson. Ty reached on a base hit up the middle and Jackson tripled him home for the first run. After a stikeout, Jackson was able to score on a fielder's choice groundout to the shortstop. The boys were understandably dejected after the game. I tried to explain that only one team ends their season with a victory and unfortunately that wasn't us. Everybody else loses their last game of the year. I still walked away proud of being 1/3 of the best coaching staff in the entire Elgin Continental with Mike Holte and Brian Frey. I am proud of the season Jackson and Jeremy, who was playing a level above his head, just completed. I am proud of the entire team for trusting the coaching staff to make them better and then going out and executing on the field. We finished the season, including the Sperry tournament, at 17-3-1. A job well done by all involved.

Sperry Update Game 3

2011-06-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

Late game on Monday night. 8 pm start under the lights. Big time. Last game of pool play. The South Elgin Pirates come in with a 2-0 record. The Continental Red Sox arrive at 1-1. Winner moves onto the final 4. Loser goes home. The first tie breaker is head to head. So, if we win both teams are 2-1 but since we beat them head to head- we advance. We had 2 available pitchers- "Awesome" Anthony Holte and Jackson. It was decided that we start Awesome and max out his pitch count. Bring Jack in later, keep his pitch count down, and bring him back later in the week. The plan worked perfectly thanks to some Awesome pitching. Awesome worked all the way into the 5th inning and Jack finished up. Offensively it was the same old story, the same old song and dance my friends. We start off slow. Working the pitch count to the point we left the bases loaded in the 2nd inning. However the Pirate starter only lasted 3 innings before hitting his pitch count. He left the game with a 4-0 lead. The reliever came in and we made our move. Before the inning was over we had our 5 run limit, a 5-4 lead, and the momentum. Awesome comes out and shuts them down in the 3rd and 4th. In that time we pick up another run.

***Let me take a quick second to explain the scoring rules. 5 run limit every inning. So, if you are up more than 5 the other team can't catch up. Stupid, right? It wasn't originally like that. At the pre-tournament meeting, the 6th inning was supposed to be unlimited runs even though the guy running the meeting admitted to not liking that rule. He preferred the entire game to have the 5 run limit, but no house rules were allowed. However, the day of the tourney an email was sent to all coaches saying the 6th inning was indeed going to follow the 5 run rule. A few coaches protested, but since it is SE's tourney and their rule it was kept in even though no house rules were supposed to be used. ***

Fast forward, like they do on ESPN Classic, to the top of the 6th. It is a 6-4 lead for the Red Sox. With the 5 run rule in place, all we needed was 4 runs to go up 6 and essentially end the game. Coach Mike told the team in our huddle that if they wanted it- to go get it. We had the top of our order up. Seven straight kids reach base. The Pirates did not record an out and we got our 5 runs. Now there is no way the Pirates can win. We are headed to the final 4! Jack still had to go out and pitch. He, and the team, were amped up because they already knew we won. However Jack had 25 pitches to use to get out of the inning. I told Mike there is no way he comes close since he just finished an inning on 10 pitches. Well 23 pitches later we officially win. Jack was a little excited, walked a couple guys and started aiming the ball. The Pirates get guys on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Jack strikes out the last two guys to strand the runners and get the save. As the last batter is rung up I get to walk out of the dugout with my 4 fingers held high. WOOOOOO! The best part of the story? The guy running the tourney. The guy who changed the last inning from unlimited to 5 run rule. That guy was the Pirate head coach. That is correct. He ended up screwing his team by making the rule switch. HA HA!

Sperry Update Game 2 Cont'd

2011-06-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

Just published my post and realized I did not include the outcome. I have been having trouble lately editing my post, so I just wrote a new one. The Red Sox won 18-7. We scored our 18 runs on 16 hits. A few walks were thrown in as well. So Monday night is going just as I predicted in my earlier post. Monday night's game is winner take all. Win and we are in the final 4. Jack should take the mound again. I'm ready to play now!

Sperry Update Game 2

2011-06-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

Coming off a tough 9-8 loss I was suprisingly confident going into game 2. Why? Because I've seen the way our team responds when we have our backs against the wall. I've seen the way this team responds when we play below our standards. I've seen the way this team responds after a loss. Granted I've only seen one loss since '09 and I realized I still hate to lose. The core of this team has won 29 games in a row. Not too shabby. Anyway, as far as I was concerned, things were looking up for the Red Sox.

I didn't yell at Jack after our loss and his 0-fer at the plate. I did the opposite. I praised him on not taking his offensive struggles to the field with him. I complimented him on picking up his teammates through stellar pitching. Jack was stone quiet. I could tell he was pissed at himself. Our pregame batting session went well. I told him everything was mechanically sound with his swing. The only problem was him trying to do too much. Relax, put a good swing on the ball, and let things fall where they may. He did just that. His first time up. He hits a ball to the wall in RC with 2 guys on. Inside the park homer- 3 RBI's. Second time up- bases loaded. Same hit. RC rolls to the fence. Inside the park grand slam. 2-2 2HR's and 7 RBI's. Finished the game 3-5. He broke out of his slump with a fury. He also caught all 6 innings and caught a guy stealing. Great turnaround game for him.

Then there is Jeremy. He is the youngest at 8. He has been logging time at 2nd base. He still either walks or strikes out. He may be a little overwhelmed or more likely outmatched. Ages 8-10 is a good size jump in ability. His defense has regressed. He missed a couple groundballs today. They were hardhit, but still catchable. Looks like I need to switch my focus to Jeremy. Need to hit him some ground balls. I do not mean to be too tough on Jeremy. He is playing up a level on where he should be. However, he is here and if he is a little behind on his swing then he needs to contribute to the team through his defense. My job- get his confidence back defensively. We will work on it.

One thing this team needs to do is tighten the screws on defense. The pitching has been decent, solid. We still need the other half of the winning equation (Pitching and Defense) if we expect to win this tourney. Game 3 is Monday night. We have an 8pm start at Concord Park in South Elgin. Winner moves on to the semi finals.

Bracketology- SE Style (RIGGED)

2011-06-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, here is some background for the Sperry tourney in SE. Their are 12 teams that are split into 4 brackets or pools. This means 3 teams a bracket. Every team is guaranteed 3 games. You play the other two teams in your pool and one team from outside your pool. The teams that win their pool make the semi finals or the final 4 if you will. The first tie breaker, because some teams will finish 2-1, is head to head record. Last year only one SE team made the final 4, so this year they got creative to try and get 2 teams in the final 4.
Here is how it broke down:
Our bracket has the SE Pirates, Us, and the Streamwood Royals
The other SE bracket has the SE Twins, Hampshire, and the Elgin Classic A's
The SE Twins out of pool game was us while the SE Pirates out of pool game is the A's.
Undeniably, Continental and Classic are 2 of the weaker leagues around. We are not as bad as Elgin National who only had 8 players show up yesterday and had to forfeit. Hampshire and Streamwood are not exactly baseball hotbeds. For example, neither SE team is scheduled to play Bartlett or Tri Cities. Funny how that worked out. Granted neither do we, but SE isn't far behind Bartlett or Tri Cities.
The SE Twins should make the final 4. They could use their 3 and 4 pitchers and beat the A's. We beat the A's twice this year. I have not seen the Hampshire team play.
Our out of pool game was the SE Twins. The Streamwood Royals out of pool game was a Bartlett team which they lost. The Pirates out of pool game is the Classic A's which the Pirates should win. In other words, the SE Pirates, whose manager made the schedule, has the easiest out of pool opponent from our bracket. This is going to make our game vs. the SE Pirates the game of the year. Going into the game the SE Pirates should be 2-0 while we should be 1-1. WHEN we win we will both be 2-1 but since first tie breaker is head to head we would advance because we beat them. The game is Monday 8 pm @ Concord Park in SE.
We still have a shot at the final 4. The loss last night did not hurt too bad since the SE Twins are out of our pool. We watched the Royals and Pirates play each other yesterday and I was not overwhelmed by either. We have to win the last 2 games. There is no other way in.
The moral of this story: Host a tournament and you can set up your home team any way you want.

Sperry Tourney Update

2011-06-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

We had our first game of the Sperry tourney last night. We played the SE Twins. The scouting report I got on them was they were tough. They had a set of twins on the team (Yes, twins on the Twins) that could pitch, catch, and hit. The report was correct. I was proud of the entire team battling back from a 5-1 deficit to take a 6-5 lead in the top of the 5th. Bottom of the 5th the Twins score 4 to take a 9-6 lead. Top of the 6th we score 2 runs. We have 2nd and 3rd with 2 out. Jack is at 3rd so any type of passed ball/ wild pitch and we tie the game. The Twins are on their 5th pitcher of the night. Instead Jeremy, protecting the zone with 2 strikes, swings at ball 4 and we lose 9-8. Jeremy was pissed, but no tears. I think it helped a couple teammates slapped him on the back and showed him some support. Jackson did his best Adam Dunn impersonation at the plate- 3 K's and a walk. He was overswinging and in the process jerking his head out. Can't hit what you can't see. The good news is he did not carry his poor offense into the field with him-totally. Our starter struggled and Jack came in for 2 solid innings of relief after some subpar play in CF. It was not Jack's best game to say the least. The mood he is in today, I expect him to bounce back. Jeremy, with his tiny strike zone, walked three times and had one miss-timed K. He had one ball hit to him at 2nd base. He bent down to field it, the ball took a nasty hop, and went over his right shoulder into the outfield. The major problem was our defense coupled with nerves. I thought the nerves would pass after their first at bat or first play in the field, but some of the boys played rather tentative who wouldn't normally do so. Oh well, if we were told we were going to be 2-1 this was the game to lose. The Twins are out of our pool play. We can still win the next 2 and advance to the semi finals. However, this does put our backs against the wall to win the next two. I still like our chances. Next game is today, Sunday 6-26-11, 3:15 @ Concord Park in SE. We play the Streamwood Royals who are 0-2 so far. Not sure what they have remaining pitching wise after playing 3 straight days. We shall see.

Sperry Tournament Info

2011-06-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday 6/25

8:30 Tricities vs Steamwood Rays
10:45 Bartlett Red Sox vs Hanover Park
1:00 Hampshire vs. Elgin Classic
3:15 Bartlett Cardinals vs. Elgin National
5:30 SE Pirates vs. Streamwood Royals
7:45 SE Twins vs. Elgin Continental Red Sox

Sunday 6/26
8:30 Elgin National vs. Hanover Park
10:45 Bartlett Red Sox vs. Streamwood Rays
1:00 South Elgin Twins vs. Hampshire
3:15 Streamwood Royals vs. Elgin Continental Red Sox
5:30 SE Pirates vs. Elgin Classic
7:45 Tricities vs. Bartlett Cardinals

Monday 6/27

5:45 SE Twins vs. Elgin Classic
8:00 SE Pirates vs. Elgin Continental Red Sox

We play @ 7:45 Saturday night, 3:15 Sunday, and 8 on Monday. All games take place at Concord Park in South Elgin. This is the 3rd year in a row we have won our league and have played in the Sperry. The first year we got swept out. The second year we made the final 4. Hopefully this year we take another step forward. If you can make a game that would be great. If not, it's your loss. There are some really good 8-10 year old baseball players in the area. Come out and enjoy a game. GO RED SOX!

Harry Potter- July 15th

2011-06-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

NORM!

2011-06-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

Birthday Party 5-28-11

2011-05-29T11:58:00.001-07:00

IT TOOK 6 TO GET ME OUT

THE BOYS' REACTION WHILE THEIR FRIENDS SCREAMED THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG

BIRTHDAY CAKE! IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING, THEY PLAY FOR THE RED SOX

TESTING OUT THE BOUNCY PRE-PARTY

Since Jack's birthday is the 13th and Jeremy's is the 20th we make it simple on ourselves and have a combined birthday party. This is the 2nd year we have rented a bouncy house from www.airtimeinflatables.com and had the kids make out a list of potential invites. At the top of the list goes our friend's kids so we can hang with our friends too. Between the 2 of them they had a list of 26. So I sat down with them and cut out any troublemakers and girls. Things can get a little rough in the bouncy. In the end, we had a total of 16. Cheryl went to the store and got 2- 24 packs of hot dogs and a box of 36 bags of chips. At the end of the day, we were left with 17 hot dogs (31 eaten) and 4 bags of chips (32 eaten). We also had a quarter of a cake left and half a tub of ice cream. These kids can eat! Besides the bouncy we had wiffle ball and basketball games break out. It looked to me, by all the tired faces upon leaving, everyone had a good time. It will also be nice to have a year long rest before next year's party.

On a side note, you may have noticed I included the website for the bouncy house company we use. This is the 2nd year we used them and they are fantastic. You get the bouncy for 24 hours. They deliver, set up, come back the next day and pick up. The only thing you have to do is deflate it when you are finished. If you are having any type of family get together or kid party I encourage you to check them out.

RIP Randy "Macho Man" Savage 1952-2011

2011-05-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

Randy Macho Man Savage Obituary: View Randy Savage's Obituary by Chicago Sun-Times

One of my all -time favorites died yesterday in a car accident. Apparently he had a heart attack while driving. Luckily no one else was injured. He was in my top 5 of all-time. I'm not sure why this is bothering me so much. Maybe because it feels like an old friend has died. I had the pleasure of meeting him once and getting my picture with him. As is the case with most of wrestlers I have met, he was a class act. Very nice and actually seemed thrilled to talk with his fans. Wrestlers get "it" when it comes to fans. They understand without the fans in the seats they can't make money. A majority of the wrestlers I've met have always treated me like a long lost friend. A number of athletes from other sports could learn a lesson in fan treatment from pro wrestlers. When I go to card/ autograph shows you can tell who wants to be there and who is collecting a paycheck by their body language. We last saw the Macho Man in the first Spiderman movie. He was playing the character of "Bonesaw" as he fought Peter Parker inside a steel cage. Thank you for the entertainment through the years. You will be missed. OOOOH YEAH! DIG IT!

http://www.eonline.com/videos/v114304_remembering-randy-savage.html
A video montage- ENJOY!

AN ODE TO FARTS

2011-05-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

A fart can be quiet,
A fart can be loud,
Some leave a powerful,
Poisonous cloud

A fart can be short,
Or a fart can be long,
Some farts have been known
To sound like a song......

A fart can create
A most curious medley,
A fart can be harmless,
Or silent, and deadly.

A fart might not smell,
While others are vile,
A fart may pass quickly,
Or linger a while......

A fart can occur
In a number of places,
And leave everyone there,
With strange looks on their faces .
From wide-open prairie,
To small elevators,
A fart will find all of
Us sooner or later.

But farts are all bad,
Is simply not true-
We must never forget.......
Sweet old farts like you!

Kinda brings a tear to your eye doesn't it?

Thank you Grandma Dee!

BEEEEEEEEEEP- FLATLINE!

2011-05-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

This blog entry has been requested by one of my faithful readers. At Easter I was asked why I haven't commented on the state of the Sox. Because I didn't want to think about them, that is why. The title of this entry should be a clue on how I feel about the season already. I have never seen a team that was so good on paper look so bad on the field. This team is just flat out bad and boring to watch. The starting pitching has stepped up, but we can't hit our way out of a wet paper bag. Is this Greg Walker's fault? No, he hasn't swung at a pitch all year. I think one of our biggest holes in the lineup is the #2 hitter. Ozzie started out with Beckham, but for the second season he has shown he just can't handle it. He looks like a bottom of the order hitter. Now Ozzie is going with Alexi in the 2 hole. I don't like this either. A #2 hitter should be a good bat handler. Be able to lay down a bunt when needed and spray the ball to all fields. Alexi can do neither. He is too much of a free swinger. Our best option is 45 year old Omar Visquel. Problem is he is a utility player. Where do you play him? Much like last year, Teahan is hurt so now Visquel is at 3rd base, but Alexi is still in the 2 spot. When Teahan or Morel play 3rd I have a couple interesting options that may or may not work. A couple years ago A.J. had some success batting second. He can bunt and is at his best hitting the ball from LC to RC. Some people don't like having a catcher that high in the order because of lack of speed. My second option for the second spot is Alex Rios. I know this may be a surprise, but if you switch him and Alexi it could help. Alexi is a run producer so you don't lose anything switching these two. Rios has better bat control and the speed to run in front of the big thumpers behind him in the lineup. I would also flip Dunn to 4 and Konerko to 3 in the lineup with Quentin 5. This will give a righty-lefty-righty middle of the order and maybe force managers to use more arms late in games. The biggest problem of the 2011 season is we just dug ourselves too big of a hole. As of today, we are at 24 losses. We have to get out of May with less than 30 and it's only the 15th. Why 30? Follow along while I do some math. Admittedly not my strong suit but here goes. After May there are still 4 months left in the season June- July- August- September. To win a division you can't have more than 65 losses which would give you 97 wins. You could possibly get away with 70 losses which is good for 92 wins. Anyway with 30 losees at the end of May you only have 40 loses to play with. 4 months remaining and 40 loses = 10 loses a month. You would have to go something like 20-10 every month which would be difficult to do. We did go on a 25-5 run last year and didn't win anything because we couldn't sustain the momentum. You would not be able to afford any type of 5 to 7 game losing streaks. On the contrary, you would need 5 to 7 game winning streaks to keep up the pace of a 92 win season this year. I'm thinking it may be too late. Will we be seeing the Sox as sellers at the trade deadline to rebuild our depleted farm system? Not Kenny's style, but I'm not sure how many choices we have other than going out and winning. I will be watching and cheering the Sox for the remainder of the year because they are my guys and that is what I do in the summer. I will also be keeping an eye towards 2012.

Jeremy's First Communion

2011-05-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

JEREMY AND HIS BEST BUDDY

FAMILY PICTURE

JEREMY AND HIS GODPARENTS- BRYAN AND CARRIE

JEREMY AND HIS BANNER WHICH HUNG IN THE CHURCH

Being in second grade and a member of the Catholic faith, this is a big year. Jeremy gets to make his first Communion. Jeremy did an excellent job performing his church duties. We kept the party small and affordable especially since we just hosted Easter. We still have to host the boys' combined birthday party at the end of the month. Here are a few pictures from Jeremy's big day.

5th Grade Field Trip

2011-05-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

AAA RED SOX REPRESENTING AT THE CUB GAME. WHY IS MY SON WEARING A CUB HAT?

JACK AND I AT THE GAME

BACK OF THE BUS CREW

Last year I went with Jack's class to Springfield for their class field trip. I had a fun time. We got to ride on Coach buses and visit historical settings in our state capital. This year the trip was to Lincoln Park Zoo and a Cub game. Even though a Cub game was involved, I decided to go anyway. Yes, I would even go to a Cub game than my job. That should say something about how I feel about my job! We rode on regular school buses and only got to spend about an hour and a half at the zoo before heading to the dump on the north side of town. I sat in the back of the bus and was entertained by Jack and his group of friends. I also got to witness the beginning of their sophomoric humor with a ton of potty humor. Some of it was actually funny. At the game I got to sit behind a giant I-beam so I couldn't see the batter's box. Best part about the game? Reds win 5-4! NICE! Jack, being the follower that he is, insisted on cheering for the Cubs. He even borrowed a hat from one of the girls in class. I told him to go ahead and cheer, but get it out of your system because once we leave we go back to the good side.

2011 AAA RED SOX

2011-05-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

OK, the 2011 season is off to a fantastic 8-0 start. For some reason the blog is being stubborn uploading pictures so I've just added one. If you want to see the entire baseball album please visit my shutterfly site. A link can be found on the right hand side of this page. Here are some stats from the first 7 games.
BATTING TOTALS
Jackson- Batting Average .666 (10/15) On base % .783 (18/23). Has has 2 HR's and 10 RBI's with 6 Stolen bases. He has score 13 runs, 8 walks and has only struck out once.

Jeremy- Batting Average .143 (2/14) On base % .368 (7/19). He has 1 RBI and 1 stolen base. He has scored 3 runs, 5 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Overall, he is not doing bad considering he is playing up a level against 8-10 year olds.

PITCHING TOTALS
Jackson is the only one who has pitched. Jeremy is still a year away from taking the mound. Here is Jack's pitching line:
In 7 2/3 Innings, he has given up 2 hits, 6 walks (need to get that down), with 17 K's. He has hit 2 batters. He is 2-0 in 2 appearances. He has a 2.49 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP on 146 pitches. He is tied for the team lead with only 2 hits given up, 2 wins, and 146 pitches. His 1.04 WHIP leads the team outright. In his last outing, he threw a NO HITTER!
Jackson's next outing will be Tuesday at Continental vs. the Classic Orioles.

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2' Trailer

2011-04-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

Check out this great MSN video: 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2' Trailer

Coming JULY 15TH!

WWE Edge's Retirement Tribute Video

2011-04-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, I still watch wrestling religiously. No, I'm not ashamed to admit it. I have been watching so long I am on my 2nd generation of wrestlers. My love of wrestling has not diminished.
One of my favorite wrestlers, Edge, had to announce his retirement this past week. Eight years ago he had spinal fusion surgery. He literally broke his neck for the WWE. He had a plate and screws inserted to stabilize his spinal cord. Lately he had been feeling numbness in his arms and hands. He went and got some tests done and found he has a narrowing of the spinal column. One wrong move and he could end up in a wheelchair or worse. The outcomes may be pre-determined, but the bumps (falls) are real. You cannot fake gravity. The bumps hurt. Guys get hurt.
I did have the pleasure of meeting Edge once. It was 2001 at O'Hare airport on my way to Pitt for a Steeler game. It was after 9-11 so no one was allowed past security. The terminal was empty except for us (Andy, Bryan, Cheryl, and me) and 12 WWE superstars. They were traveling from Indy to Minny with a stopover in Chicago. I was in heaven. I spent most of my time talking to Edge and Kurt Angle. Both guys were approachable and guys you wouldn't mind having a beer with if the opportunity arose. It is sad when someone with this much love and passion for the sport is forced to leave. With Edge being Canadian, the next time a Wrestlemania is in Toronto I predict Edge will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. It will be rightfully deserved. Edge will be missed by me and legions of fans. THANK YOU EDGE!

AAA CONTINENTAL RED SOX - SCHEDULE

2011-04-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Date- Day- Time- Location
(CF3)- Continental Field 3
(CLF3)- Classic Field 3 @ Wing Park

April 30- Saturday- 2pm- CLF3
May 1- Sunday- 1pm- CF3
May 3- Tuesday- 6pm- CF3
May 5- Thursday- 6pm- CF3
May 7- Saturday- 10am- CLF3
May 10- Tuesday- 6pm- CF3
May 12- Thursday- 6pm- CF3
May 14- Saturday- 10am- CLF3
May 17- Tuesday- 6pm- CF3
May 19- Thursday- 6pm- CF3
May 21- Saturday- 2pm- CF3
May 24- Tuesday- 6pm- CF3
May 31- Tuesday- 6pm- CF3
June 4- Saturday- 12pm- CF3
June 8- Wednesday- 6pm- CF3
June 15- Wednesday- 6pm- CLF3
June 18- Saturday- 2pm- CLF3
June 21- Tuesday- 8pm- CLF3

*THIS SCHEDULE HAS BEEN REVISED SINCE ORIGINALLY POSTED*
If you have any questions or are generally confused about any of this please let me know and I will do my best to help you. If you have some free time come on out and watch a ballgame. All the kids, from both teams, work and play hard.

AAA CONTINENTAL RED SOX

2011-04-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

This season Continental's 4 teams will be playing games against Elgin Classic and their 6 teams. We have an 18 game schedule with 12 of those games coming against Classic. Elgin Classic play their home games at Wing Park so we will get to travel a little this year. Jeremy and Jackson are on the same team this year which will probably be a one time deal. Jeremy tried out and got to move up a level due to all his hard work. He is the youngest and smallest kid on the team but that does not stop him from talking and getting himself noticed. Playing well helps too.
Now this schedule and the interleague rules have brought up 3 issues for me.
1) They are calling the strike zone chins to knees vertically, and horizontally they are calling it from the inside of the plate to the opposite inside chalk line of the batter's box. So, for a right handed hitter, the inside of the plate to the inside line of the lefthander's batter's box. We are going to have to crowd the plate and drive pitches to RF. Obviously they are trying to get kids to swing the bat and make it easier on the pitcher. However, they are not following the rules of a proper strike zone. When we go to post season/ all star tourneys we are going to have to break down and reteach the kids the proper strike zone.
2) Runners are NOT allowed to advance on a passed ball. RIDICULOUS! Why? So the catchers can get used to catching without the added pressure of baserunners advancing. Isn't this supposed to be worked on in spring training? Isn't the first question asked at the first practice, "Who can catch?" If a kid can't catch why put him there and what would three extra weeks accomplish? Three extra weeks is 9 games- half our season- where we can't run. WTF! Both of these rules are a complete bastardization of the game. I'm not sure which rule pisses me off more, the strike zone, or the passed ball. I'm not quite sure what game we will be playing, but it sure as fuck ain't baseball! These rules are a joke!
3) Now onto the schedule itself, which I will put up in a different post. As I stated earlier, we play 12 of our 18 games against Classic. We play each team twice. I have no problem with this. What I do have a problem with is WHEN we play certain teams. I will elaborate. The first 9 games are nothing more than an exhibition, especially with that passed ball bullshit. The last 9 games determines our league champion and who represents Continental at the Sperry Tournament. The Sperry is for teams that won their league. A tournament of champions if you will. We have gone the last 2 years. The problem is, out of our last 9 games, 6 of these come against Classic. So we are going to determine Continental's champion by playing a majority of our games against Classic. Huh? What? Why? Aren't league champions determined by playing against teams in your own league? Play the first 12 games against Classic and the last 6 in house. This way you have 6 games against your league to determine a champ instead of just 3 games. Just too much logic I guess.
As usual we will play the schedule given to us and most likely win again. Will we be as strong as last year? Hard to be better than 17-0.

Joke of the day

2011-04-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

5 Year Old's First Job

Here's a truly heartwarming story about the bond formed between a little 5-year-old girl and some construction workers that will make you believe that we all can make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time.

A young family moved into a house, next to a vacant lot. One day, a Construction crew turned up to start building a house on the empty lot.

The young family's 5-year-old daughter naturally took an interest in all the activity going on next door and spent much of each day observing the workers.

Eventually the construction crew, all of them "gems-in-the-rough," more or less, adopted her as a kind of project mascot. They chatted with her, let her sit with them while they had coffee and lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs to do here and there to make her feel important.

At the end of the first week, they even presented her with a pay envelope containing ten dollars. The little girl took this home to her mother who suggested that she take her ten dollars "pay" she'd received to the bank the next day to start a savings account.

When the girl and her mom got to the bank, the teller was equally impressed and asked the little girl how she had come by her very own pay check at such a young age.. The little girl proudly replied, "I worked last week with a real construction crew building the new house next door to us.."

"Oh my goodness gracious," said the teller, "and will you be working on the house again this week, too?"

The little girl replied, "I will, if those assholes at Lowe's ever deliver the damn sheet rock..."

Kind of brings a tear to the eye - doesn't it?

Wooooo! University

2011-04-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

THE GREATEST WRESTLER OF ALL TIME, AND MY FAVORITE, HAS HIS OWN LOTTERY GAME. WATCH THE PROMO HERE!

The Green Lantern | OFFICIAL trailer #1 US (2011)

2011-04-03T06:44:00.000-07:00

COMING OUT THIS SUMMER!

The Hangover Part II - Trailer

2011-04-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

OPENING MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Movie Featurette (Behind t...

2011-03-31T15:14:00.000-07:00

Part 2 Trailer! Release date- July 15!

baba booey apology video

2011-03-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

Gary Dell'Abate, producer of the Howard Stern Show, made a video tape in 1988 to win back an ex-girlfriend. The tape was unearthed in 1999. The tape was played on the air complete with cast commentary. Very Funny!

Ed and The Bronze Star

2011-03-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

I tried to download the program from the Bronze Star ceremony, but once again my computer illiteracy reared its ugly head. Instead I will write a synopsis of the program, which contains Ed's military history, for your enjoyment. Ed is currently a CW3.
"Ed entered the Army on August 6th 1992 at 17 years old. He attended Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. Ed had a variety of assignmments. He started as a Light Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic, then from tactical to strategic as an All Source Intelligence Analyst. He had one tour to Bosnia-Herzegovina. He enabled the Brigade Commander to operationally influence critical cities. He conducted theater missle defense analysis to destroy enemy SCUD missle forces. His team identified, located, and provided crucial analysis to the Combined Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) J2, enabling the destruction of the SCUD missle team. The last missle fired was destroyed above the CFLCC HQ building with debris landing on the roof. Since becoming a Warrant Officer, he deployed three more times to Iraq providing targetable intelligence to special mission units to defeat Senior al Qaeda leadership. He has served a total of 28 months in Iraq and 5 in Saudi Arabia."
AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
The Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror (GWOT) Expeditionary Medal, GWOT Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, the NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Service Ribbon, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation.
I would like to say how proud I, and the family, am of Ed and his accomplishments, service, and dedication to this country. Thank you Ed!

*MESSAGE FROM ED. WRONG CEREMONY- STILL IMPRESSIVE*
Hey guys,

This ceremony wasn’t for the awarding of the Bronze Star Medal; I had received that when I was in Iraq.
This was a promotion ceremony for me achieving the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3).

I appreciate everyone’s congratulations and want to thank you all for your thoughts and kind words.

Thanks Craig for the email send… really, you guys are great.

Love you all,

Ed.

Samantha's 2nd Birthday

2011-03-20T09:54:00.001-07:00

PRINCESS SAMANTHA

KIDS WITH GREAT GRANDMA

SAMANTHA AND ME

CAKE!
Samantha turned 2 yesterday. I borrowed these pics from Michelle's blog. My little niece has one mean sweet tooth much to her father's chagrin.

Joke of the day

2011-03-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

A NUN AT HOOTERS
A nun, badly needing to use to the restroom, walked into a local Hooters. The place was hopping with music and loud conversation and every once in a while 'the lights would turn off.'

Each time the lights would go out, the place would erupt into cheers.

However, when the revelers saw the nun, the room went dead silent. She walked up to the bartender, and asked, 'May I please use the restroom?

The bartender replied, 'OK, but I should warn you that there is a statue of a naked man in there wearing only a fig leaf.'

'Well, in that case, I'll just look the other way,' said the nun. So the bartender showed the nun to the back of the restaurant.

After a few minutes, she came back out, and the whole place stopped just long enough to give the nun a loud round of applause.

She went to the bartender and said, 'Sir, I don't understand. Why did they applaud for me just because I went to the restroom?'

'Well, now they know you're one of us,' said the bartender, 'Would you like a drink?'

'No thank you, but, I still don't understand,' said the puzzled nun.

'You see,' laughed the bartender, 'every time someone lifts the fig leaf on that statue, the lights go out.

Now, how about that drink?

Hilltopper (Orange) Basketball- Final Thoughts

2011-03-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

A little behind the times here and I'm not sure why. Anyway we had 4 games on the weekend of the 5th and 6th. We also got an email for a couple extra games this past Sunday. There is a spring AAU team that they are having tryouts for right now. The coaches wanted Jackson to try out, which was nice to hear, but it is baseball time! I only promote one sport at a time basically so I don't have to drive all over hell everyday of the week.
The first four games took place in Genoa. 3 at the middle school and 1 at the high school. All four game times conflicted so I got to coach the entire tourney. I went in undefeated 3-0 and was a little too confident. We lost the first game by 15. The team jumped on us early and we never recovered. We got within 4 but ran out of gas. This team, from Aurora, ended up playing in the championship game. The 2nd game we were up 10 and gave it away. The game went to a 1 minute overtime. We scored a basket and they didn't so we won by 2. The first game Sunday followed our usual pattern. Slow start, catch up and get a lead, then lose said lead. This is another game that went into OT. Unfortunately, we had 2 TO's that led to easy baskets and we ended up losing. Game 4 was at the high school. This was a very well played game. It went back and forth the entire game. Towards the second half of the second half we built a 9 point lead only to give it away. We were up 1 with about 2 minutes to go. I call timeout and tell the kids to go to a stall offense. So, of course, a shot gets fired up after 20 seconds. Why? No idea. The other team goes down and we foul a kid hard. As this kid is falling to the ground he heaves the ball up and in with 2 seconds to go. We lose by one! Heartbreaking! So, we went 1-3 with 2 games ending in OT and one loss on a last second shot. My record ends up 4-3. Still over .500!
This past Sunday we went to Mt. Prospect High School. We played two games in the consolation bracket. Only had one team in this tourney so I got to spectate. The first game we played real well and won by 10. We led the game start to finish. Not too shabby. The second game we had to face a 6th grade team. They were taller but only had 6 players. I hoped we could outrun them and tire them out. We played this game real tough too. Game went down to the wire and we ended up losing by 1. What was our downfall this game? Missing our free throws. Missing free throws drives me crazy. We played hard and were not intimidated by by playing an older team.
Overall, the season was a success. The kids improved tremoundously from tryouts through the season. The coaches did a great job. How do I know? The kids played hard every game from start to finish. Kids play hard for a coach that is when you know the coach has done his job. Looking forward to next season. But first....baseball!

40th Birthday

2011-03-03T19:56:00.001-08:00

THANKS FOR THE SHIRT JOE! YOU KNOW ME SO WELL!
ALL PICTURES CAN BE FOUND ON MY SHUTTERFLY SITE. CLICK ON THE LINK TO THE LEFT.
Last Saturday was my 40th birthday. I know it sounds like a lot, but I don't feel any different than I did last month. I had a decent size turnout. I was surrounded by all the necessary ingredients of a good time- friends, family, good tunes, and beer. I may not have walked into any doors. I may not have been cut off at a party earlier in the day. I did, however, have a great time. I heard more than once from a variety of people how much fun they were having, that I rock, that I sure know how to throw a party. Well, duh! That made me feel good. I want to thank everyone for coming out and sharing my big day. It may be a night that some won't remember. It was a night I'll never forget. Thank you. I love you all!

Andy,,,getting his groove on....

2011-03-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

The Humpty Dance! From my 40th on 2-26-11

Hilltopper (Orange) Basketball

2011-02-20T19:34:00.001-08:00

THE ORANGE TEAM!
I talk about them enough so I figured I should provide a picture. We had another game today. The opponent only had one team so we had to combine our 5th graders. This gave Coach Rick a total of 16 players to rotate in and out. He played one team the 1st and 3rd quarters while the other group played the 2nd and 4th quarters. It was the easiest way to handle the situation. I thought Coach did a good job of getting playing time for everyone. We led this game start to finish and ended up winning 51-43. A total transformation from yesterday's subpar play. It was a nice way to cap a weekend. I thought it was going to be the last game, but it was brought to my attention that we have another tournament in a couple weeks. I say good, I wasn't ready for it to end. I'm having too much fun!

Hilltopper (Orange) Basketball

2011-02-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

Basketball recap time again. Last Saturday we went to Willowbrook High School. We only had one game scheduled. Both teams played at the same time so I got to help coach Jack's team again. This game followed the usual format. We got down early, battled back to build a double digit lead, and held on at the end for a 35-31 victory. What does this mean? It means I finish undefeated as a fill in coach 4-0. NICE!
Today we had our last official tourney at South Elgin High School. The first game we played Burlington and were down 25-15 at the half. Usual stuff. We come back the 2nd half and win 40-36. I have explained in previous blogs about Jack's reluctance at offense. I requested from him 5 shot attempts. I told him I didn't care if he made them or not. I wanted him to spread out the defense to open the passing lanes. If guys run out on him he could always pump fake and drive to the basket. Well he actually listened and (surprise) it worked. He had a season high 9 points the first game including another 3 pointer.
The second game our habitual slow start came back to bite us in the ass. We played South Elgin's "B" team and they ran us off the court. They jumped on us for a 30-11 halftime lead. We ended up losing 49-37. Jack only had 3 points this game. This was another game where our bigs played lazy and didn't really help our guards out down low. I don't know why, but we have hiccups like this every once in a while. Maybe because they are 10 and in 5th grade. The good news is we didn't let it affect us in the 3rd game. We played Bartlet and came out strong.
The third game we started pissed off about our play in game 2. We actually jumped out to a lead and held it the entire first half. We were up 24-17 at the half. The problem was we didn't play a complete game. We ended up being tied at 40 and just couldn't finish them off. The final score was 49-44. Jack shot decent this game too. He finished with 8 points and 2 more 3-pointers. Maybe we are better off starting slow and finishing strong. I don't know. What I do know is the disappointment and frustration of giving a game away. The one thing I was never able to get over when I played any sport was losing to teams I knew we were better than. I knew going in when we would get an ass kicking and I was on the receiving end of plenty. I also knew going in when we would DO the ass kicking. I was involved in plenty of those too, but once in a while we would lose those games. Those are the ones that took me an extra day or two to get over. Man those would piss me off. But I digress, we have one more game to go. Niles North is coming to Elgin Academy tomorrow. we have a noon tipoff. Here's hoping we finish the season on a positive note- with a win!

Hilltopper (Orange) Basketball

2011-02-12T21:01:00.000-08:00

I know this seems to be a recurring theme, but this is what my life has become. I spend my weekends watching 5th grade all star teams play basketball. There are some really talented kids and teams out there. There are worse ways to spend a weekend. I'm not complaining.
Last weekend we had a one day, 3 game, tournament in Waukegan. The worst part of the day was the drive up to Waukegan. How aggravating. There happened to be a lot of people out Sunday driving on a Saturday. I think I was stuck behind ever driver that was going 10 miles per hour BELOW the speed limit- WTF!
Now this tourney only had room for one team. So the coach said anyone and everyone on the roster was invited (17 kids), but if everyone showed then playing time would be extremely limited. Some parents decided that was good enough reason to stay home. The first game we had 10 players- perfect. We followed our customary routine. We got down early and clawed our way to a 21-17 halftime deficit. Then Coach Rick lit into them for there lackadaisical effort and rightfully so. The 2nd half produced a better defensive effort and better ball movement on offense. The result- a come from behind 40-38 victory.
The second game we had 11 players. I started the game as head coach because Coach Rick had to get the 6th grade team started on their game. I proposed to the team that we should start out quick and put the pressure on the other team to come back and see how they handled it. The other team didn't handle it well. We were aggressive from the start and built a 21-10 halftime lead. We ended up cruising to a 34-14 victory with the bench kids getting some valuable playing time.
Our third game we ran into a buzzsaw. We played a run and gun Showtime Lakers type of team and they ran us off the court. Their entire offense was based off the fast break and they could run. The blitzed us early and often. We never got in a rhythm and ended up losing by 30. The final was 60 something to 30 something. It wasn't pretty. Overall, the kids went 2-1 and finished in 2nd place. We had one bad game, but a second place finish isn't bad.
If you noticed I haven't talked about Jack's offense. There is a good reason for that- he hasn't had any offense. He literally attempts one shot a game. If that doesn't go in, he stops shooting. Of course this is my fault. I have drilled into his head that he will not be very tall so if he wants to play basketball he better learn how to handle the ball and distribute to the big guys. I have turned Jack into a pass first point guard who concentrates on defense and getting everyone involved in the offense. He could care less about scoring. I've turned him into Kirk Heinrich. Is that bad?
We had a game today against Willowbrook and have one tomorrow night at 6 vs. Woodstock. Our last tourney of the year is next weekend at South Elgin. I will get a writeup in on this weekend's games later on this week.

(Not so) Super Sunday

2011-02-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

I did not do a Super Bowl preview blog as I did for the Conference Championship games. For the record, I would have been wrong. I was not confident going into the game and I wasn't going to write that the Steelers were going to lose. I had the Steelers winning 30-28. Two things tipped the scale in the Packers favor.
#1 was the fumble. Clay Mathews was a non factor the whole game until he made the hit that caused Mendenhall's fumble. At the time the score was 21-17. The Steelers forced a Packer 3 and out and were driving in Packer territory. Then the fumble. If we go down and score who knows what might have happened.
#2 was the obvious- the turnovers. Can a team overcome 3 turnovers and still win a game? Yes. The problem was we had zero stops after those turnovers. All three went for touchdowns! If we can hold them to FG's or actually keep the Pack from scoring it would have been a different outcome. Was I pissed the Steelers lost? Absolutely. However, I knew it woould be a tough game and I knew either team could win. Let's face it, this wasn't the Seahawks or Cardinals we were playing. The Packers were hot as hot can be. My hats off to the Packers and all my family and friends that are Packer fans. Enjoy your title!

Hilltopper (Orange) Basketball

2011-01-30T16:37:00.000-08:00

After what seemed like forever, the Hilltoppers had another tourney this weekend. This one was up in Deerfield which is about a 45 minute ride. Saturday was a major debacle. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. I don't think it helped having only 3 practices between tourneys, but that is not my call. The first game Saturday was an old fashioned butt whooping. The team we played was beyond aggresive and we were not ready for it. They dominated in every aspect of the game and we did not have any answers. We just took the whooping. The whooping did wake us up a bit. In the second game we were facing a team that we played in Palatine. At warmups the team had a total of 6 players which I thought would work in our favor. By game time the team had 9 players. I later found/ figured out that the other team brought down 3 6th graders to fill out their bench. One of which ran the point. The 6th graders didn't end up hurting us too bad. They did, however, get some playing time during crunch time and came through for their team. We did play better but not our best. Overall, Saturday was a very frustrating day as a fan of Hilltopper basketball. We lost the first game 38-9 and lost the second by 12, but I don't remember the final score.
Sunday was very different. Night and day with Saturday being the night Sunday brought us some light. The first game the Hilltopper teams had to play each other. This time the head coach did not coach either team. He even let me coach one of them. He went and talked to players individually about things he saw in the game and how he wanted them done or how well they did. This seemed to be a better system. Jack's team, the orange team, went into halftiime with a lead. I think they thought the game was over. At the start of the 2nd half, the black team went on a 13-1 run to take a 27-19 lead. I had to call timeout and refocus my boys. After a furious comeback and a scary ending we ended up surviving 35-33. I am now 2-0 as a travel coach. It may be time to announce my retirement undefeated. NAH! I had a fun time and thanked Coach Rick for giving me the opportunity. It was a well played game. The 2nd game was another back and forth affair. I enjoyed this game as a spectator. The kids showed more effort and one of those never say die attitudes. Once again we had to come from behind and hold on for a 27-25 victory. Both games the opposing team got off decent looks. The ball was in the air as the buzzer sounded. In the first game the shot missed off the rim wide right. 2-3 inches to the left and we lose. In the second game, the ball went off the backboard from left to right going around the rim. It was shot too hard. After Saturday's disappointment, we'll take those Sunday wins anyway we can. The next games are Feb. 12th in Willowbrook and Feb. 13th when Willowbrook comes here. A little home and home series. The next major tourney happens in South Elgin on Feb. 19th and 20th. As times become available I will let you know.

Athlete of the Week!

2011-01-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

Congrats Autumn!

Championship Sunday Preview

2011-01-23T10:07:00.000-08:00

Ok, here are my thoughts on the games today. Let's see how wrong I can be.
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP
This game has been overhyped all week and I can not wait until it is over. The Packers have the better QB and better WR's. I do think the defenses are even. So this game will come down to which offensive line can protect their QB better. Both teams play outside in the elements so I don't think that will be as big a factor as people think. The first game these teams played, the Packers committed 18 penalties and it still took the Bears until overtime to beat them. The second game they played the Bears had everything wrapped up while the Packers were in playoff mode. Still the Packers won only 10-3. If this is going to be a close game I think the Bears will pull it out. If it is a shootout that will favor the Pack and their superior offense. I think it is funny that Bear fans were cheering for the Packers in the first playoff game because they were scared to face Michael Vick and the Eagles. Well, you wanted the Pack, Bear fans, and here they are. Be careful what you wish for. I think the way the Packers are playing right now they will be very tough to beat. I think the Packers pull this one out by at least a touchdown.
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP
OK, I'm going to try and be as unbiased and realistic about this game as possible. This game was as underhyped as the Bear-Packers was overhyped. Let us look at my Steelers first. The Steelers have a future hall of famer at QB in Big Ben. Their offensive line is in shambles which is not a good thing against a strong defensive team like the Jets. We lost to the Jets 22-17 in week 15. In that game we were missing Heath Miller, our underrated TE. Ben got us down to the 9 yard line with 10 seconds to go. Without Heath, Ben had to throw twice to Matt Spaeth, our backup, who is no Heath. We lose. Look for Heath to have a big game. You will be hearing HEEEATH a lot today. On defense we have another important piece returning, Troy Polamalu. He is arguably the best safety in the game. I expect our defense to be as dominating as ever. Our biggest problem is the secondary, more specifically our 2nd CB. Ike Taylor, our #1 corner, is decent but the other side is weak. We have Bryant McFadden who lines up at least 10 yards off his guy and his backup is William Gay who has tackling issues. If I was on the Jets I would attack these guys all day. They make my blood pressure rise. Our special teams play is suspect at best. The Jets could break one to the house at any time. Case in point, the Jets ran back the opening kickoff in week 15. That can not happen today. I am not a big Mark Sanchez guy. I do think the Jet WR's are better than our corners and we are going to have to do something to slow those guys down. I am not worried about the Jet running game since most teams have problems running on the Steeler "D". I do think the Jet offensive line is better then the Steeler line so I give them the matchup there. This game is going to be a slugfest. The strength of both teams is their defense, so the team that has the ball at the end will lose the game because they will be facing the other team's strength. I have to admit I fall into the be careful what you wish for category as well. I did not want to go to New England to face the Patriots so I was happy the Jets won. Brady picks us apart. I knew we wouldn't win up there. However, the Steelers are a mediocre 7-7 in AFC Championship games. On the other side, Big Ben is 9-2 in the playoffs. Something has to give today. I'm hoping the Jets played their Super Bowl last week. If you think I'm going to pick against the Steelers, you are crazy. Steelers 23 Jets 14!
IN CONCLUSION
The truth is I can see reasons all 4 of these teams can win. I think the most competitive Super Bowl would be Steelers- Packers. As a Steeler fan I would rather face the Bears because Aaron Rodgers scares me and I would rather face Cutler. I would not want the Jets there for two reasons. 1. They would have to beat the Steelers to get there and 2. It would mean two more weeks of Jet trash talking. KEEP IT! A Bear-Jet Super Bowl would be worse case scenario. I wouldn't have a team to cheer for and no reason to watch. Don't care for either team. I will be at the movies if that happens. Packers-Jets Super Bowl would just be too much green. The question we all must ponder- Is it really a "Super" Bowl if the Steelers aren't involved? I don't think so. Think about it. You know I'm right.

Harrison's Finishing Touch

2011-01-22T16:13:00.000-08:00

This is a business run by friends of ours. They do carpet and upholstery cleaning, and air duct cleaning. They do good work and are trustworthy or else I wouldn't be talking them up. If any of this interests you please check out their website and give them a try.
Harrison's Finishing Touch has a new website and a January Sale in place.
The website link is http://harrisonsfinishingtouch.com
You can book jobs as you need services using the contact form or the
business phone number is the same 224-805-1897.
They have a January Sale going on, click this link to go to the Sale page.
http://harrisonsfinishingtouch.com/sale

Hilltopper (Orange) Basketball

2011-01-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am writing this during the Bear game. Why? Two reasons. 1) It's a blowout and 2) I could care less about this game. I then realized I haven't updated my faithful readers about Jackson's first tournament which took place last weekend. So, here goes.
SATURDAY
We were playing the games at Harper College in Palatine. They hosted 5th through 8th grades. They had 4 courts running non stop. We had two games on Saturday the first of which didn't start until 3pm. We went early to watch our other squad, the black team, play. It was good for our kids to watch the other team and maybe work some butterflies out before our game. It turns out we didn't work out enough butterflies. The first game was tough to watch. A lot of nervous energy with the kids trying to force things and play faster than they needed to play. Of course all this was expected. This is the first time the kids saw a 2-3 zone defense and dribbling into, and hopefully out of, traps (double teams). The Centre, where most of these kids played, is good for building fundamentals but we are not allowed to run zone defenses or trap so this is all new for them. Coach Rick did a good job of preparing these kids for what they were going to see so they were ready. We ended up losing the first game 20-11 and did not play up to our potential.
Our second game Saturday wasn't until 5pm. The games last about an hour and there is a minimum of one hour break between games. The kids got the bad game out of the way early. The came out quick the second game. They played ticked off. Mad because they lost the first game and I think they realized they could play better. It also helped that the team we were playing was playing their first game of the day. We jumped all over them and won 30-15. We led the game start to finish. The team left that night with smiles on their faces knowing that they belonged and could win.
SUNDAY
Our first game Sunday was 2pm. We needed to win this game to have a shot at playing in the championship. We started out slow which looks like it may be a trademark of this team. Another trademark of this team, which I like, is their scrappy grittiness. They don't let any deficit get them down and fight to the finish. This is what happened in this game. We were down at one point 16-6 and came back to win 29-27. It was very exciting and I think the kids proved a lesson to themselves about what can happen if you don't give up. The team was pumped up after this big come from behind win. Our next game was at 5pm and if we win we play in the championship. One problem is having to play the other Hilltopper team to get in. That is correct, the Hilltopper teams had to play each other with the winner playing for the title and the loser playing for 3rd place. Not going to get too deep into this game but we lost by 10 36-26 so we were penciled into the 3rd place game. I say penciled because there was some rumors that our opponents would not want to play in a 3rd place game thinking it is beneath them. They decided to play and we tipped off at 7pm. I got to help coach this game because our head coach was coaching the championship game and his assistant for our team had to leave for work so myself and another parent volunteered. I had a fun time. We started out hot playing tight defense and beating the other team down the court for some easy layups on fast breaks. We built a 14-4 halftime lead and the kids had a seat while we talked to them. As the 2nd half started it looked like our team was still on the bench as the other team closed the gap. At one point we did lead 19-6. We were able to hold onto the game and 3rd place winning 24-20.
The black team ended up losing in the championship so our 2 teams ended up in 2nd and 3rd place in a 6 team tournament. It may not seem like much, but it was the first time these kids played in a tournament setting. I was proud of the way these kids battled as they ended up playing 5 games in 2 days which is another first for them. Jackson played solid the entire tournament. He started every game and only fouled out of one. He didn't light up the score sheet, but played solid defense and kept turnovers to a minimum. He scored 5 points in 2 different games which I think was his high. Both of those games included three pointers so he leads the team with 2. He was 3-6 on free throws through the tournament. He would miss the first and make the second every time. I thought he played very well for his first time against tougher competition. I am looking forward to our next tournament which will take place January 29 and 30th in Deerfield. Once times become available I will let you know.

Happy 76th Birthday Elvis!

2011-01-09T20:27:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the greatest entertainer of all time. When is his birthday going to become a national holiday? It is long overdue.

Vacation Accomplishments

2011-01-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

I have been off since Tuesday. I had 3 days I had to use or lose. Knowing I would be off Friday for New Year's Eve I took off Tuesday-Thursday. I was hoping to have Monday off for Christmas observance, but since Christmas was on a Saturday I got screwed out of a day off. I shouldn't have been surprised. So I had to work one day last week. Here are some of the things I got accomplished. I tried to make the most of my time.
1. Signed Jeremy up for the winter session of basketball. This will be the first year Jack is not playing at the Centre. He is playing travel ball. Jack has 2 games on the 8th and 2 more on the 9th at Harper College in Palatine. Jeremy will be playing every Saturday starting on January 22.
2. Had to get a replacement SS card. Misplaced mine. Time spent at the social security office was...um...interesting.
3. Did 3 loads of the boys laundry. Still don't understand how kids with a dress code have so many clothes. Time to go through the drawers and donate some to Goodwill.
4. Got some salt to eat the ice on my driveway. Mother nature helped me out.
5. Got some new 2011 calendars. If it's not written on a calendar then it doesn't exist.
6. Cleaned out the basement. Man does that place get dirty and gross quick. I just cleaned it before Thanksgiving.
7. Paid some bills. I still have another round to do today. These things never end.
8. Some movies watched include: She's Out of My League, Tron: Legacy, Knucklehead, A-Team
9. Watched Game 3 2005 playoffs vs. the Red Sox and game 5 2005 playoffs vs. the Angels. Sox still won those games.
10. Took the kids to Medieval Times. It was the first time for the boys and me but Cheryl had been there already. They put on a good show with some good food. Was a bit pricey though.
11. Made it up to 1:30 on New Year's Eve. Jack and Cheryl even made it to 1. I stayed up to make good on my New Year's tradition of lighting up a cigar to welcome the New Year and pay homage to Grandpa Kolberg. Joe called from outside a bar while he was smoking his cigar to wish a Happy New Year and make sure I went and got a cigar. Yes Joe, I got mine.
12. Get to watch the Steelers on national TV today before taking Jack to basketball practice at 3. Going for a Super Bowl win in fantasy too. Back to work tomorrow. ICK.

Christmas Pics- Reuter side

2010-12-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

COUSINS!

JACKSON AND HIS GIFTS!

JEREMY AND HIS GIFTS!

SANTA AND GIRLS WITH THEIR NEW APRONS! (THEY WERE A BIG HIT KAREN. GREAT JOB!)

POSING WITH SANTA!
These are pics from Christmas day itself. The day started at our house, naturally, and ended at Nana and Poppa's house. There we opened presents, ate, and hung out with the company of Michelle's parents. Vic, Magic fan, and myself, Celtic fan, watched the game together incident free. Vic enjoyed the outcome of the game better than I did, but we both agreed it was a sloppily played game. Not the best the NBA had to offer. There was plenty of good food around and everyone ate until stomachs were fully expanded. By the time I had any energy left it was time to go home before I started eating again. If anyone wants to see the full albums of any pictures then visit my shutterfly site. There is a link to the site on the left hand side of this blog.

Christmas Pics- Cheryl's side

2010-12-24T19:41:00.000-08:00

JEREMY AND AUNT JOYCE POSING WITH HIS STACK OF GIFTS (THE PENGUIN WRAPPING PAPER). ANY WONDER WHY JEREMY HAS A BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE?

JEREMY AND HIS FAVORITE SHIRT HE GOT- CLONE WARS. SHIRT IS ALREADY IN HIS REGULAR ROTATION OF 4 OR 5 HE WEARS.

GRANDMA AND HER BASKET OF BOOKS- ALL 32 INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED!

THE BOYS WITH GRANDMA WHILE JACKSON WATCHES TV. NICE!

COUSINS! WHERE DID JEREMY LEARN TO MUG FOR THE CAMERA LIKE THAT?
I am way late in doing this considering we got together on the 11th. We did it a little early because that is when everyone could coordinate their schedules. I'm sure the kids didn't mind, it gave them a little practice for Christmas Day. Of course with Aunt Joyce involved they got more than "a little" practice. Joyce said she wrapped 119 gifts this year total- not just our house- but still 119! DAMN! I wrapped a grand total of 2 this year and that was enough for me. A gift limit needs to be put into effect to at least cut an hour into the gift opening. One thing I do like is the family grab bag so you only have to buy for one person and not try and figure out what to get everybody. Plus you get a list from said person and a spending limit. Makes shopping nice and easy. The downside, besides the insane number of gifts, is we have to open one-present-at-a-time. Can't let the kids tear into their pile of presents. Oh no! Instead we have to watch all four of them open the same hat and gloves one by one. Need another beer here! Oh well, it's just one night and the food is always good.

Fun at Uncle Andy's and Aunt Michelle's

2010-12-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

JACKSON IN HIS TUTU. THAT'S MY BOY!

JACKSON DOING HIS BEST "ACE VENTURA" IMPERSONATION
After watching the Loyola- Depaul game, boy are those 2 bad teams, we headed into the city. Actually me, Pappy, and Jackson went to the game while Cheryl and Jeremy drove straight in to meet us afterwards. We got together for some make your own pizzas and some gingerbread house building. I made my own pizza but skipped out on the gingerbread house. I was busy watching NIU beat Fresno State and drinking beer. I'm confident in saying a good time was had by all.

"Airplane!" & "The Naked Gun" Tribute

2010-11-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

RIP Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, and Barbara Billingsly. Very funny clips.

Jeremy Dancing

2010-11-29T20:24:00.000-08:00

Jeremy at Bryan and Mary's wedding this past August. Not only did he inherit my million dollar smile, but he also got my killer dance moves. Did he hit the gene pool jackpot or what? Make sure you blow it up to full screen. It is much easier to watch.

Feast and Fun!

2010-11-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

FEAST!

JOEY CARVING THE DESERT INTO SUPERSIZE SERVINGS!

LISTENING TO BIG SHOW'S PHONE MAKING FART NOISES. ENDLESS ENTERTAINMENT!

CORE GROUP SETTING THE STAGE ON FIRE!

JACKSON ROCKING THE MIC!

FUTURE DRUMMER!
After the Turkey Bowl, we splintered off to be with our immediate families. Joe and his family came over to our house, along with my parents, for some good eats. The food did not disappoint. Turkey, stuffing, vege casserole, mashed potato casserole, spinach casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls, and some kind of pumpkin desert thing. I didn't have the desert because I don't like pumpkin flavored anything. I also broke open my Leinie winter sampler of beer. The case is a little lighter this morning. We relaxed after the game, watched some boring football (Det/NE), and ate and ate and ate.
Afterwards, Jack and Jeremy showed us how to play the newest addition to our Wii collection, Just Dance. Basically you just mimic what the person on the TV screen is doing. You have a danceoff with another person for points. Fun times and some not so good dancing ensued. Including Nana dancing against her grandsons if you can believe that. There are witnesses. I'm glad there were no pictures taken during this time. However, there is a rumor of Autumn taking video on her phone (phones take video?)of Joe and I dancing to Elvis' "Little Less Conversation" I have yet to see this. I having a feeling after seeing this I would like to put it on youtube as a "how to" video.
After everyone was danced out, we continued on to our most recent family tradition. ROCKBAND! The most recent game we have is the Green Day version. The main members of the group include myself, Joe "Joey Vocals", and Joey "Joey Sticks". Autumn jumped in a little before she had to leave. She had to wash her basketball uniform for her game today. Go Lady Bucs! We also had a surprise vocalist and part time drummer this year. For the first time one Jackson Reuter participated in our group. A fun time was had by all. By the time we completed a good portion of the game it was 8 pm. Poor Joe had to leave because of work today. At least I won't have to get a new game before Easter. We still have work to do on this one. I had a very action packed, laugh filled Thanksgiving. I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving as well.

Turkey Bowl 2010

2010-11-26T08:20:00.000-08:00

DARK TEAM!

WHITE TEAM!

LOOKING GOOD IN BLACK AND GOLD!

A PROFILE OF THE KOROTASZ FAMILY. SEXY!

THE CAPTAINS! THE ONLY TIME YOU WILL SEE ME SMILING AFTER A LOSS!
It is the day after and the only thing not in pain are my typing fingers. I'm sure the news has spread that my team lost 7-4. It was a well fought game, but we just ran out of gas at the end. I had a horrible game and cost us in two ways. The first was I couldn't hit the broadside of a barn the first half. I was overthrowing receivers left and right, literally. I flat out stunk. It happens. The second was I signed off on the teams. The difficulty in picking the teams lies in the father-kids combinations. The dads all want to play on the same team with their kids because that's cool. But it leaves little wiggle room when constructing the remainder of the rosters. We have 3 sets of father-kids combos which makes up 9 of the 14 people that play. Jon and I always do the best we can, but there will be some mismatches. My team, the dark jerseys, had the three oldest guys playing on it. Jon's team, the white team (the Crackers), had the three fastest guys on it. I signed off because I liked the challenge- stupid me. It is no secret that I am a competititve person. In fact, I hate losing more than I like winning. We held our own for 3 quarters, but that 4th quarter sucked ass. Like I said earlier, we got tired and ran out of gas. I was feeling good yesterday morning because we had Mother Nature on our side. The field was wet and muddy which would negate their speed advantage somewhat. However, our slowness was magnified to a greater extent. Our defense was pathetic. Oh well, after a 3 year winning streak I guess I was due for a loss. I was able to ice down my knee twice yesterday. I took some Aleve and a 6 pack of beer and I was feeling pretty good yesterday. Now if I want to take a shower today I'll have to ice down again to make it upstairs. While I'm icing I will try and figure out why the top of my left foot is barking when it felt just fine last night. My body sure is glad I only play this game once a year. I need the 364 days to recover so I can do it all over again. I LOVE IT!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-07T07:33:00.001-08:00

Hasselhoff Roast-Lisa Lampanelli

2010-10-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

The Queen of Mean. The best female comic today. She rips into everyone, but remember it is a roast. Very funny- Enjoy!
Lisa will be appearing in Joliet on December 4th for 2 shows. The second show will be taped for a Comedy Central special. Check out her website www.insultcomic.com for more details.

Happy Birthday Kendall!

2010-10-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

KENDALL HOLDING COURT

SPREAD OUT!

CELLI BLOWIN' UP! HOLLA!

KENDALL AND ME

KENDALL AND JACKSON (SURPRISE VISIT FROM KENDALL)

GO RANGERS!

2010-10-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the Texas Rangers and their first ever appearance in the World Series. It is nice to have one new team in there and hopefully the Giants can get in there as well. Let's change things up a little. Good Luck Rangers. Let's keep that trophy in the AL. Fear the Deer!

Jeremy's Basketball

2010-10-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, basketball season is upon us. Actually, it sprang upon us 2 weeks ago. I am a little tardy in the update, but I do have more time now that football is over. I wasn't going to head coach this session because I was still involved with football and didn't want to coach two sports at once. So I threw Jeremy's name in the draft and hoped he got a decent coach. We got lucky because he got a coach that I have been going against since Jack was in K-1 level. He noticed me sitting in the stands during the first practice and asked for my help so I did end up coaching two sports at once. After 2 weeks we still have to work on setting picks and getting within 5 feet of the person we are guarding. There is always something to work on at practice. Jeremy is the only one playing since I didn't want to have Jack in two sports at once. Jack has been going nonstop since January so I figured a couple months of rest won't hurt him. However, Jack is currently in the middle of tryouts for a travel basketball team. He has one more tryout session and then we'll learn if he made it or not. The boys told me they were sick of being the Celtics and having a drawer full of green t-shirts. I figured that was ok. We got Jeremy's schedule and all the teams have been named after colleges not pros. Then I noticed Jeremy is on the Spartans, as in Michigan State Spartans, so yes he got another green T-shirt. All of Jeremy's games are at 11:45 every Saturday at the Centre in Elgin through December 2nd. There are only 3 courts so we shouldn't be hard to find. Look for the Green jerseys. :)

Brett Favre Sex Scandal

2010-10-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

Brett Favre in a sex scandel? Ick. He is a grandfather for goodness sake. He also is a professional athlete. Is it all that surprising? All of this is alleged, nothing has been proven. This hit Deadspin.com a week ago and the NFL is just now "investigating". Why has it taken so long? Why hasn't ESPN been all over this? Could it be because they are partners with the NFL? Nah. Why is this coming out now? Is it because the Vikings play the Jets this week? Nah. Here is the link that the website Deadspin has put together. This evidence includes audio, text messages Brett left for the young lady, and also visuals, pictures of Brett's love muscle (allegedly) that he sent to the women in question. All of this happened, allegedly, while he was with the Jets 2 years ago. Feel free to watch and come up with your own conclusions. Enjoy!

http://deadspin.com/5658206/brett-favres-cellphone-seduction-of-jenn-sterger?skyline=true&s=i

HOMECOMING!

2010-10-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

FIRST ONE THROUGH THE BANNER!

31 DIVE (FULLBACK UP THE MIDDLE)

PROFILE PIC

CELEBRATION AFTER 1ST TD (NOTICE JACK'S MOUTHPIECE PARALLEL TO THE GROUND)

VICTORY CUPCAKES! (THANKS MRS. HILL)
I know it has been a week since the Homecoming game, but not only am I popular I'm also busy. Maybe those 2 things go hand in hand. I don't know. Anyway, to say our offense has been struggling is like saying the grass is green or the sky is blue. It has been no secret. With that being said, our offense exploded in a 25-6 win. The kids played with a passion and intensity that, for some reason, doesn't show up every game. Most of the time the team plays with a just happy to be here attitude. This last game they brought a little nasty with them and brought home a much needed win.