R.I.P. Malcolm Glazer

Thank you Mr. Glazer. You purchased my favorite NFL team and made them a power for the late 1990s until the mid 2000s. We won a Super Bowl with you at the helm of the team. May you rest in peace. And us Bucs fans do forgive you for purchasing that English football team that shall not be named.

The NFL Pinkiller Lawsuit

8 players have filed a new lawsuit against the NFL for giving them painkillers without telling them all the side effects that the medicine could do to them. Allegedly. Also alleged is that the team doctors gave them the medicine without a prescription and that team doctors did not take good enough care of injured players, with the most serious allegations being that the doctors allowed players to play with broken bones. The doctors knew that the bones were broken, but fed the players painkillers so they could play and did not worry about the broken bones, like Jim McMahon's neck or Keith Van Horne's leg. Allegedly.

Found On Twitter: Baltimore Ravens

Janay Rice says she deeply regrets the role that she played the night of the incident.

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 23, 2014

In case the official Baltimore Ravens delete this tweet, it states “Janay Rice says she deeply regrets the role that she played the night of the incident.

So, Janay Rice regrets being (allegedly) abused by Ray Rice? Or just being in the same elevator as him?

Keep it classy, Baltimore. #sarcasm

The Beautiful Game

I’m not sure who did this video, but it is beautifully done. It’s hard to make me forget my Spurs heroes like George Gervin and David Robinson, but the next (almost) seven minutes make me appreciate the past seventeen years.

Enjoy this team while you can – even if ESPN/ABC refuses to broadcast them until they have no choice.

Go Spurs Go!

Well, if she's a Red Sox fan...

If this lady is a Red Sox fan, what's that tell you about the Red Sox and how beloved they are?

This clip is of the daughter of Babe Ruth sitting in the TV booth talking to the Cub announcers after she threw out the first pitch as part of their 100 year celebration of Wrigley Field.

My Addition to Fenway 2014

This trip, as stated in a prior blog, started with Zeb's purchase of tickets to a Red Sox game. I was excited to share his love of sports, namely his love of the Red Sox with him. This being my first game there were several items on the agenda. We arrived early enough to take a stroll down Yawkey Way and visit the store for my first Red Sox t-shirt. I didn't wear it at the game but did wear it for Zeb last weekend... it fits well and I wore it out of the store! 





 

After a quick exit from Yawkey Way while management set up for game entrance we ate a bite for lunch at Game On! Then off to the game!
Our walk around the park would not be complete without a visit to his family's brick.  They truly

are a Red Sox family! I was told, early on in our relationship, to never speak the 'Y' word in a

favorable light... and I never have.  LOL

 

A few more photos of us both and off to our seats...

Once at our GREAT seats we took a selfie (not very good one)  LOL and then let the game begin!

Zeb always gets caught with an awkward expression

Zeb refreshed my memory, he taught me at a minor league game in Portland, for taking score (simplified version).  Below is a picture of the score sheets.  It helped me to understand the game a little better as well as helped me to concentrate on what was going on.  God forbid I started people watching and not get the score right.  :-)  It was great fun and wouldn't mind going again, although I was told I saw a highly active game.  The Bruins information in the background was pretty neat.  One thing I learned was the Boston fans are a unique group!

Thank you, Zeb, for a wonderful time at my first MLB game!

Petco Park, San Diego, Friday, May 9, 2014 (A Woman's Viewpoint of a Baseball Game)

Can you tell by the photo that my husband Ted loves the Padres?  He has been a Padres fan forever!  He has season tickets, but I only go with him once or twice a season.  The decision to go to the Friday night game was made that day, and I'm so glad I decided to go because we had a great time!

We traded in our tickets to get closer to the field, and we ended up in the second row by first base next to the Padres' dugout.

Ted wanted to sit close to the field because Miami's pitcher, Fernandez, was the National League's Rookie of the Year last season.  Well, he must have had an off night because the Padres won the game 10-1.  Jedd Gyorko hit a two-run homer in the second inning.  And later in the sixth inning, the next thing you know old Jedd's a millionnaire 'cause he hit a grand slam!

The Padres pitcher, Ross, almost had a shut out, but a Marlin hit a homer in the seventh.

All in all, I picked a great game to attend because there were lots of hits and homers!  And the Padres won (and that doesn't happen too often)!  Haha! (A little humor!)

Also this weekend, Petco Park is already celebrating their tenth anniversary!  This park is really worth seeing. It is so neat and clean!  And did you know that San Diego is the craft brewery capital of the world?  Well, it is!  You can get about a dozen different craft brews at the stadium.  Ted and I had a Green Flash Pale Ale and a Mission Pale Ale.  I was worried about drinking so much beer when I had a big marathon training run the next day, but I can't go to a ballgame without having a beer -- I repeat -- I can't go to a ballgame without having a beer!

TALLEDEGA, IS IT JUST ME, OR IS NASCAR MAKING THE BIGGEST AND THE BEST BORING?

Denny Hamlin got a well deserved win at the 2.66 mile restrictor plate track at Talledega on Sunday. Now I know plate racing is a different animal and fans have to be ready for changes NASCAR has put in place over the years in the name of safety and speed suppression. A lot of the changes are good, the return of pack racing compared to the two car draft that was in place the last few years, of which there are penalties levied if cars lock or basically touch for extended time is one I found in the whatever category. But some of the racing now appears boring now compared to the short track, mile, and mile and a half tracks. I've always loved Talledega and Daytona, but I'm starting to wonder if some of the changes are giving us an inferior product, well that is just my opinion, we will see after the race at Kansas, now back to the race on Sunday. Denny won the race on a last lap caution which some felt maybe didn't let the best win but I didn't feel that way, I think he had it and it would have taken more than a green, white checkered to change it. Greg Biffle drove a good race giving him second, Clint Bowyer is showing some speed if not wins with a third place finish, Brian Vickers and AJ Almendinger rounded out the top five. Events started early with Brad Keselowski causing a crash on the 15th lap by driving down into Danica Patrick and causing a crash that caused him and Jamie Macmurray losing ground by seven laps when they returned. Keselowski also caused another crash deep into the race on the 137th lap, this one causing problems for many drivers a few of which were wondering where Keselowski was hiding his brain by racing so hard when he was down by six laps. Now I know the opinions of some are he is a race car driver and no matter where he is on the lap board it is his job to race hard and try to get those laps back, and this writer grants this fact, as Jamie Mc. came within one lucky dog of doing just that and getting back onto the lead lap, but after watching replays,(that is why this is so late as I was watching replay after replay for this blog) I felt he was overdriving and did damage where it wasn't warranted. I give the boss his due with Kasey Kahne in the #5 coming in 8th, and Aric Almirola #43 coming in 13th. Is Jimmie Johnson in a slump? Is Tony Stewart slow? I'm going to leave you with those questions and maybe we will have some answers after the first night race this Saturday night Kansas City.

A 2014 NFL Mock Draft

Since everybody is starting to get revved up for the NFL Draft on Thursday, I figured that I would put out a mock draft. Why? Because I can pick them just as well as the major draftniks. And if I do real good for a couple of years maybe, just maybe, I will be invited on a show to look and sound stupid. Anyways on to what I think will happen on Thursday for the NFL Draft.

It’s Fiesta Time For San Antonio

The better team won this first round matchup, but the Dallas Mavericks put up a bigger fight than I expected. Congrats to them for almost pulling off the upset. I’m happy the Spurs only needed five players on the court to finish them off this afternoon.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I thought it was fitting to post a picture of the “Fiesta” colors the Spurs had back when David Robinson asked you, “Can you say ‘kick some butt?’” in his shoe commercials, and Larry Brown was forced to make amends for his infamous guacamole dip remark.

You know what would really hit the spot? Make Mark Cuban drink a glass of that “muddy ugly-ass River Walk” water.

Go Spurs Go! Hopefully back to the NBA Finals.

Fenway 2014

The subtitle to this post should be:  Why Boston is still the best sports town in the US.

You'll hopefully be seeing another post regarding our trip to Fenway, as I've encouraged Shel to do a short one since yesterday was her first ever trip to Fenway as well as her first MLB game ever...this has been many years in the works.  LOL

A little background but only a little:  Most of you know our story and I won't retell it here, suffice to say we've been together nearly 20 years and something always comes up when I've tried to get her to a game with me.  Since my brother as well as good friend AA lived in the Boston area for many years, it was easy to give her an out by me going with one of them, even G and Cuz Aaron have bailed her out a time or two.   But now Bro and AA both have moved to Texas.  So as soon as Sox tickets went on sale, I went and bought a pair of good seats for a weekend I "knew" would work.
So with that weekend approaching, we decided to take Friday off from work, drive halfway down and spend the night in Portsmouth, NH (you'll hopefully see an All Things Zebster post shortly), then drive the rest of the way for the game on Saturday.  Everything is going along perfectly but then her cellphone rings at 3:00 in the morning Friday morning...her dad has been taken to the hospital by ambulance with chest pain.  Tongue in cheek, "Can you believe it?!"  She leaves for the hospital and I'm lying in bed with a huge dilemma -- Sox tix paid for, hotel reservation nonrefundable and two restaurant reservations.  What to do?  I do manage to fall back asleep and awake when she calls at 7 and says to be ready, she's on her way.
Her mom and other three sisters were with her dad, who was doing fine (turns out to be a very mild heart attack) and they're all "making" her go on her trip.  But still, can you believe it?!
I'll talk a little about the trip and share some pics on the other blog.  The game?  Oh, it was a nice day at Fenway, of course; and John Lester twirled a gem, striking out 15 (a career high), walking 1, giving up 1 hit and no runs.  Shel kept score...she's a quick learner.  Here's a pic from our seats

Big Papi, from about 30 rows back at field level

That's Big Papi, of course, who drew a walk during this at-bat but who later put one over the bullpen.  Johnny Gomes hit a grand slam over the Monster in the first inning, David Ross hit a solo over it later in the game; the aforementioned pitching of Lester and a very nice catch by Grady Sizemore.  She had a great time and saw an excellent game.  She'll share a few more pics later.

Oh, the subtitle, you ask?  As you may know, while this game is going on the Bruins are hosting the Habs at the Garden (which sits above North Station, which we came through on our way to Fenway) starting at 12:30.  There's an extra place on the manual scoreboard of the Green Monster to add a non-MLB score.  So periodically the scorekeeper would be updating the Bruins/Habs game as well as the fact that obviously many in the park were listening to the game on various devices.  So either because of that or the scoreboard changing, you'd hear a cheer or groan go up at Fenway that obviously had nothing to do with the Sox game.
So we knew going into the 3rd period that the Bruins were behind 3-1 (they "couldn't" lose both of these home games), and you could feel some tension as a result in the park, despite the fact the Sox had their game well in hand.  Well, suddenly you started hearing pockets of cheers at Fenway and you could hear folks around saying "they scored" and "they tied it up!"  What was greatest, and I hope there's video of it somewhere, is that at the end of a half-inning the scorekeeper comes out of the Green Monster wearing a black Patrice Bergeron sweater, and this guy is confidently and slowly strutting along the front of the Monster holding a big green 3 in his hand that he's displaying to the crowd; and when he places it on the scoreboard to show that 3 meant the Bruins had tied it up, the place went pretty bonkers (you have to remember that he keeps score and had been for the Bruins game from WITHIN the scoreboard).  So this was an awesome touch of theater to have him come outside to do it.  (I'm not smart enough to take a picture)
Then we start hearing more cheers and more buzz and more whispers that they've taken the lead.  Then an inning an a half or so after the first piece of theater, out he struts again.  He's not showing you the card but he's tugging on his sweater to make sure you can see the spoked B.  Then you realize he has the number 5 as he places it next to the Bruins and removes the 3 that went for the third period, meaning it was a 5-3 final...the place absolutely erupts!
So no, we didn't really miss the Bruins game at all.  What a memorable day at the ballpark!
UPDATE:  The post on All Things Zebster is written and the link is in the first part of this blog post.  What follows is a link to a NESN article describing the guy behind the wall.

RACING AT RICHMOND, SHORT TRACK AT IT'S BEST.

I know this is very late and I'm sorry, the weather is sunny and I insured my bike so there you go......! Anyway as far as the racing goes, the win for Joey Logano last weekend was huge, both as a lock into the chase, and showing that some races come right down to the end with five big name racers vying for a win in the last laps of a long race. The final laps also caused tempers to flare in the garage which brought Marcos Ambrose and Casey Mears coming to blows in an after race skirmish which NASCAR viewed with an eye of disdain and made a move to stop any fistfights again by fining Ambrose $25,000 and fining Mears $15,000. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver took advantage of the late race duel to grab the lead then outran Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, and Brad Keselowski. There were more opinions expressed after the race with Keselowski vowing to remember how Kenseth blocked him from a chance at winning, which this writer feels is more crybaby than fact, as Matt was vying for the same win which gives him as much right for blocking and trying to win as bad Brad. I think there will be another name added to the win list before the chase starts, as A.J. Almendinger and the 47 took a sixth place finish and AJ is a fan fave for a win this weekend, and guess where we are this weekend, TALLEDEGA BABY, my fave and probably the best example of resrictor plate racing, Nationwide on Saturday, Sprint Cup on Sunday, Dega baby, I can't wait, and there is rain in our forecast so no time with the Harley this weekend just typing for my friends on the blog, cya Sunday night, maybe Monday,no later than Tuesday or ........................

He Said It

“What I’m hearing is two things. No. 1, when we saw him throw live we didn’t see arm strength and didn’t see accuracy. No. 2, when you draft a quarterback in the first round you expect him to be the face of your franchise, you expect him to embrace the moment. I think people had some concerns about whether or not this young man is ready to step up and be the face of a franchise.” – Mike Mayock, NFL Network draft analyst, May 1, 2014.

To be blunt, I have to disagree not only with Mayock’s assessment but also his accuracy in determining draft talent. Remember what he had to say about notorious bust JaMarcus Russell the year he was drafted first overall? I sure do:

"This year, I can't get over how good and talented JaMarcus Russell is. It just blew me away. If I had the first, second, third, fourth, fifth pick in that draft, I would be tearing apart his personal life trying to figure out whether or not I could trust this kid with $10-million ... From a physical skill set perspective, I've never seen a college quarterback with more ability than Russell. You put the tape on and it's frightening. The only thing that's going to keep [Russell] from being great is him. What it comes down to is you've got to figure out whether or not this kid wants to be the best quarterback in football. If he wants to be the best quarterback in football, he can be."

And we all know how well that draft pick turned out. The holdout. The overthrown five-yard screen passes. The forty-percent completion percentage. And don’t even get me started on the sizzurp and the diamonds and platinum jewelry he wore around his neck at courtside at Golden State Warriors games.

Bridgewater isn’t the “in your face”, “look at me” attention whore Johnny Manziel is, but neither is Drew Brees and he turned out just fine. I can see Bridgewater succeeding in the NFL. He’s a great kid. He can play the game. He wins games. He also stays out of the headlines for stupid stuff.

Who wouldn’t want that type of NFL player on their team?