The Versatile Blogger Award

A big thank you to M. Hufstader for nominating me for The Versatile Blogger Award. She has a great movie review blog at Feed Me a Stray Cat! Go check it out.

Here are the instructions for the lucky recipients:

1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.

2. In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award.

3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.

4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.

5. In the same post, include this set of rules.

6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.

7 Random Things About Me:

1. My Wife and I met at her housewarming party in New York. In search of something to do, I called a couple of friends to see if they might be free. They said they were going to a party. One of them joked that I could be the gift. Little did they know... My Wife has always joked that she only kept me because she couldn't get store credit. At least, I think she's joking.

2. I wish I could be better at many things without having to put in the work. My first choice would be basketball. I adored playing as a kid and probably still would now, given the opportunity. Over time, I got better at aspects of the game - rebounding, defense, passing - but I was never a very good shooter. I love watching people who are really good. In total honesty, if I could choose superpowers for myself, they would be superhuman basketball powers.

3. My second choice would be chess. I think chess is beautiful. As with basketball, I've learned a lot over the years but I'd love to have a more intuitive sense for the game.

4. I've always thought of myself as a dog person but My Wife has converted me to cats. We used to have three cats, which was far too many. But now that we're down to just one, he's lovely - playful at times, affectionate at times but ultimately very independent. I admire such qualities in people and animals alike.

5. Ever since my stint teaching English in Japan (1996-98), my anxiety dreams usually involve trains - missing trains, missing stops, boarding the wrong train, etc. As I was preparing to go to Japan, all of my anxiety dreams involved not having appropriate shoes.

6. Much of the fun of parenting is having a second go-'round with toys, books, children's television and so forth. Unfortunately, my favorite of my daughter's TV shows only survived a run of 13 episodes: The Upside Down Show.

7. My friends and I played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons from the ages of about 9-14. We took many liberties as far as "rules" were concerned. My favorite character was a gnome thief (can't, for the life of me, remember his name) who somehow managed to marry Ishtar. Obviously, what Babylonian love goddess wouldn't fall madly in love with a gnome thief? (In hindsight, Ishtar would have been a great choice for my '80s crush.)


My nominees:

Wikes! Hikes on the Long Trail
Stay on Target...
Exclamation Point (!)
The Ubiquitous Perspective
Analog Breakfast
thecontemplativecat
Geek Banter
| Snap out of it Jean There's beading to be done |
Random Interruptions
Spunk on a Stick
inspire nordic
Drama, Dice and Damsons
Welcome to Author Stephen Tremp's Web Site
Jennifer Lane
The Quintssentially Questionable Query Experiment

On the Coffee Table: Cheap Shot

Title: Cheap Shot: A Drew Gavin Mystery
Author: Steve Brewer


Image via Open Library

Writing a review for a mystery novel is tricky. To write too much is to give too much away. To write too little is to be dull.

I'll begin in generalities. This was my second Drew Gavin mystery. I read and reviewed End Run just over a year ago. As such, I am already familiar with the central characters and interested in their well-being. I enjoyed this book a lot but it has some interesting differences from the first, best discussed after the spoiler alert.

Not long ago, My Wife asked me which among my sports books I might recommend to her. I chose The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski. I'd be interested to know, though, what she thinks of Brewer's books. As I've written before, she's read far more mystery novels than I and might very well enjoy these. They're sports-light, mystery-heavy which would suit her, I think.

Okay, now onto the nitty gritty...


*****SPOILER ALERT*****

There is no surprise twist at the end as there was with End Run. In fact, the guilty parties are, more or less, exactly who you expect them to me. So, the book is less a whodunit mystery than the first. The fun is in watching Drew piece the puzzle together to help exonerate Curtis and in wondering how on earth our hero will make it to the end of the book without getting killed. Enough questions are left unanswered until the end, both in the investigation and in Drew's relationship with Teresa, to keep the reader involved.

Overall, it's a fun read - not quite what I was expecting but fun.

My Tennis Fantasy: Can He Do It Again?

My Final Overall Standing: 15th
My MVP for the Week: Novak Djokovic (Serbia) with $260,000, finishing 1-2 in the round robin stage of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals
My MVP for the Year: Novak Djokovic


Photo via Bettor.com

Without a doubt, 2011 has been Novak's year. Here is Jon Wertheim's nomination of Djokovic for SI's Sportsman of the Year. (I'm betting it will be either Coach K or Aaron Rodgers). The question remains, though: can he keep this up?

My guess is no. Djokovic is obviously plenty good but I think Nadal and Federer will reassert their authority in 2012. If each player is at his best, I think they're both still better than Djokovic is. Yes, Novak's got all of the shots in the book but the Federer/Nadal reign has been about mental prowess as much as physical. I think they both win Slams next year and - ready for it? - Djokovic doesn't win any.

One final bold prediction for 2012: I've said for a long time that I think this next year will be Federer's last and I'm standing by it. But I think he'll leave us with a few final gems to remember him by. I genuinely hope I'm wrong about this one. If anyone deserves to walk away from his sport on his own terms, it's Fed. Even if he plays until he's 40, he'll be sorely missed once he's gone.

As for Fantasy Tennis Tour, I've definitely enjoyed the year but I have been very frustrated by their inclination to change the rules on us mid-season. It happened several times. I've been even more frustrated by their slow-loading website, at least on Safari. I know it's just a beta site this year but I hope they'll shape up for Year 2. And yes, I'm definitely planning to play again. I'm sad not to have cracked the top 10 - a worthy goal for 2012!

Squiddies 2011

The Armchair Squid turns two years old today. As such, it's awards show time. And the Squiddy goes to...


Biggest Surprise: Steve Brewer


Photo via aNewsCafe.com

Back in December, I wrote a review of Mr. Brewer's book End Run and posted links to the review on both Goodreads and Twitter, per usual. Just a few hours later, I got a comment on the post from the author himself! I was tickled pink.

So, be careful what you write, folks. You never know who might read it.

Honorable Mention: Sabermetrics, VCU Basketball, A to Z Blogging Challenge


Biggest Disappointment: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation


Image via R4NT

This past television season, the CBC carried Men with Brooms, a show based on the curling-centered film of the same name. I had a great and glorious plan to post reviews for each episode of the show. While DirecTV, our satellite provider, does not carry the CBC, I had hopes of being able to watch the show via their Website. Denied! Episodes could not be streamed outside of Canada. I was able to watch the first few episodes by pirate streams but that got to be more trouble than it was worth. Hosers!

Honorable Mention: DirecTV's Sports Pack Fake Out, NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Final


Best Match: Roland Garros Men's Semifinal: Djokovic v. Federer



Federer's uncharacteristic reaction at the end of the match said it all. This victory was about a lot more than one match, one opponent, one tournament. The message was pretty clear to Djokovic, and to all of us: "I'm not done just yet." The final was great, too, astonishing in the genius-level of play Fed and Nadal nearly always bring to their rivalry, but the semifinal was the one that really mattered in the arc of the season. Note: that was one of only two matches Djokovic has lost so far in 2011.

Honorable Mention: Roland Garros Men's Final, Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinal: Lafayette v. American


Best Story: The Rise of Djokovic


Photo via Fanpop

It would be cheating to say "men's tennis" but one certainly could. The current narratives of Nadal, Federer, Murray, Fish, del Potro, Tsonga and many others have added up to an absolutely marvelous season. But what can you even say about a man who has done what Djokovic has done over the past twelve months? He has only lost eight matches during that time (interestingly, four of them to Federer) and won ten titles, two of them Slams, plus the Davis Cup for Serbia. He is the undisputed World #1. His ascent has been anticipated for a long time. But who could have foreseen that it would look like this?

Honorable Mention: Butler Basketball, VCU Basketball, Roland Garros


Best Read, First-Time Read Category: Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis


Image via CinemaBlend.com

I will not pretend that Mr. Lewis or any of the authors I've read this year is better than Shakespeare. They aren't. Nobody is. But no book this year has had a greater impact on my blogging than Moneyball. Sabermetrics absolutely blew my mind and has forever changed the way I watch baseball. Moneyball should be required reading for any fan of the game. Even Englishman Nick Hornby raved about the book in The Polysyllabic Spree, though he admitted to not understanding most of it.

Honorable Mention: The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America by Joe Posnanski, Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie by Mark St. Amant


Best Read, Re-Read Category: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl


Image via wikia

Charlie was my only re-read for the blog this year but it seems unfair to compare the other books I read with one of my all-time favorites. No, Roald Dahl isn't Shakespeare, either. But I'm betting Charlie will still be read 400 years from now.


Athlete of the Year: Na Li


Photo via All World Sports Stars Wallpapers

Once again, Roland Garros produced a surprise women's champion. Li was a Curtain Call for me at the Australian Open where she became the first Chinese player to make a Slam singles final. Then, after a miserable spring season, she surprised absolutely everyone by claiming the title in Paris. With all of the moaning about tennis being on the decline in the US, the sport is booming worldwide, nowhere more so than in Asia. Will her RG title prove the watershed moment for the sport as so many believe? Only time will tell. In the meantime, she deserves full credit for her astonishing achievement.

Honorable Mention: Josh Hamilton, Jurgen Melzer, Novak Djokovic


Post with Most Unexpected Consequences: Baseball Tunes: Take Me Out to the Ball Game



My first music-centered post had one most unexpected result: My Wife's first - and so far, only - comment on my blog! I can't complain too much as she is one of my two most faithful readers but I couldn't help celebrating the moment. If you haven't checked out her blog, you should: Wikes! Hikes on the Long Trail.

Honarable Mention: On the Coffee Table: Steve Brewer


Best Family Adventure: The Philosopher's Island


It really was just about the perfect family holiday. We all love the place. We can be equally happy doing things or doing nothing. Cost is minimal. The scenery is stunning. One could hardly ask for more. More photos here, here and here.

Honorable Mention: Side-to-Side Project, Long Trail Project


Best Unexpected Benefit of Blogging: Renewed Appreciation for Photography


The A-to-Z challenge was great for a lot of reasons but perhaps best of all for exposing me to all of the excellent photo blogs out there. They have inspired me to take more of my own and post them. Here are my favorites:

Ben and Carrie Tracks
Oak Lawn Images

Honorable Mention: Networking with Other Bloggers

Just in case you're curious, last year's awards:

Squiddies 2010

30 Songs in 30 Days, Day 17: A Song That You Hear Often on the Radio

Song: "1999"
Writer: Prince
Performer: Prince
Album: 1999



My FM radio station of choice is awesome! MP103 is based in Waterbury, Vermont. Their official format is Adult Hits but their motto is simply "Whatever. Whenever." They mean it, too. Just this past week, they followed "Faith" by George Michael with the theme music from The Exorcist. The "Whatever" part of the motto does mean that one occasionally has to sit through Lady Gaga or that awful fireflies song to get to the good stuff but it's always worth the wait. The best thing about the station? No DJs - most importantly, no morning DJs.

It's actually not easy to come up with a song they play often. Recently, I heard a Culture Club song in exactly the same part of my afternoon commute on consecutive days, but they were different songs. I had a similar experience with Rick Springfield songs not long afterward. The same song twice in one week is as close as it gets so Prince gets the nod.

The song I really wanted to use for today is the following. But while they have played the song in the past, it would be a stretch to say they play it often:



I've always admired Prince. Unfortunately, his showmanship antics make it difficult for some to take him seriously but I consider him to be one of the most talented and dynamic musicians in the business. He is, however, easily parodied as demonstrated in the Dave Chappelle clip below. All of 5' 2", Prince really did play varsity basketball in high school.




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I hope you'll join us for the "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

Stay on target...
Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

It's never too late to post your own. Tomorrow is...

Day 18: A Song That You Wish You Heard on the Radio

30 Songs in 30 Days, Day 15: A Song That Describes You

I was anxious about this one from the moment I saw it on the list. I have no idea how I would describe myself, let alone find the song to match. How can anyone know themselves well enough to fulfill the task? Is how I see myself even the real me? Wouldn't it be more meaningful to let My Wife pick this one for me? Of course, that option is fraught with greater perils...

So, I approached the problem from another angle. There are songs of which I am very protective. While they may be quite well-known, I irrationally think of them as belonging only to ME. I imagine other people feel the same way, if not about a song, then perhaps a book, a film, a painting, a poem or what have you. These songs connect to my essential being, those aspects of self which I don't share easily even with those closest to me. Perhaps those works say more about who I am than anything I could possibly put into words. When I considered the matter on those terms, I knew which song I had to pick.

Song: "Bein' Green"
Writer: Joe Raposo
Singer: Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog



As a teenager, I was deeply affected by the deaths of two famous men. The first was Len Bias, about whom I have written before. The second was Jim Henson. Interestingly, they went to the same high school: Northwestern in Hyattsville, Maryland. Both attended the University of Maryland. Both died far too young.

When Henson passed on, I could not help but feel I had lost an old friend. I can hardly imagine my childhood without Muppets. I was devoted to Sesame Street well past the appropriate age. The '70s were the golden years for the show, when Henson's genius permeated. I loved everything: Mr. Hooper, Super Grover, The Count, the trip to the chewing gum factory, all of it. I had books, records, even the Fischer-Price play set. I first watched The Muppet Show the night Bert and Ernie made a guest appearance and my appreciation for that show has only increased as I've aged.


Photo via Unlikely Words

I have always been especially fond of Henson's amphibious alter ego. Kermit is not the funniest, the smartest nor the cutest Muppet. But he is loyal, dependable and entirely without pretense. He sees his friends through every inevitable disaster: the quiet, humble leader. He is, in short, everything I wish to be.

As for the song, I have to admit that as a kid, I was far more likely to stick out like a sore thumb than to go unnoticed. But "Bein' Green" is ultimately about a longing to be appreciated. Who among us cannot relate to that yearning? In the end, the frog finds fulfillment in a sense of self-worth. So might we all.

A few bonus Kermit treats for the road:





The following was entirely unplanned but the producers knew good when they saw it.




Photo via Flickr

*********************

I hope you'll join us for the "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

Stay on target...
Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

It's never too late to post your own. Tomorrow is...

Day 16: A Song That You Used to Love but Now Hate

My Baseball Fantasy: Zimmermann

Private League: tied, 5-5 (61-35-4 overall, 2nd place out of 10, 0.5 game out of first)
Public League: 3rd place out of 12
My Player of the Week: Jordan Zimmermann (Starting Pitcher, Nationals) with 1 win, 13 strikeouts, an 0.64 ERA and an 0.79 WHIP


Photo via Mr. Irrelevant

Zimmermann had two starts this past week, totaling 14 innings, during which he only allowed one earned run, nine hits and one walk. He is the first pitcher to be my player of the week this season. Playing for an ever stronger, yet still mediocre squad, his 4-6 win-loss record for the season is less than impressive. The 3.10 ERA is more admirable.

The biggest development for me this week was a mega-trade: a 4-for-4 deal in the public league. I got:

Troy Tulowitzki (SS, Rockies)
Ryan Howard (1B, Phillies)
Clayton Kershaw (SP, Dodgers)
Brandon Morrow (SP, Blue Jays)

I gave:

Ryan Braun (OF, Brewers)
Adrian Gonzalez (1B, Red Sox)
Andrew McCutchen (OF, Pirates)
Asdrubal Cabrera (SS, Indians)

For me, it was a pretty straight-forward sell high, buy low, deal from strength for need arrangement. My offensive stats in the public league are rock solid whereas the pitching needs some work. Hopefully, this will help.

***************

Follow Up: Baseball's Quirks

Mock commented on my last post that he enjoys the obvious differences between the leagues in baseball and I would have to agree that in order to truly love the sport, one must embrace its many idiosyncrasies. However, I would argue that some are easier to swallow than others. To me, the most baffling baseball inconsistency is ballpark dimensions. How can a game in Yankee Stadium really compare to one at Fenway?

Yankee Stadium's dimensions:

Left Field Line - 318 feet (97 m)
Left Field - 379 feet (116 m)
Left-Center - 399 feet (122 m)
Center Field - 408 feet (124 m)
Right-Center - 385 feet (117 m)
Right Field - 353 feet (108 m)
Right Field Line - 314 feet (96 m)
Backstop - 52 feet (16 m)

Fenway's:

Left Field: 310 ft (94.5 m)
Deep Left-Center: 379 ft (115.5 m)
Center Field: 389 ft 9 in (118.8 m)
Deep Right-Center: 420 ft (128 m)
Right Center: 380 ft (115.8 m)
Right Field: 302 ft (92 m)
Backstop: 60 ft (18.3 m)

And, of course, that's that massive green wall in Fenway's left field off of which one can't help but smack doubles.

Compare this state of affairs to basketball. The scene in Hoosiers when Coach Dale takes his Hickory Huskers to Hinkle Fieldhouse and demonstrates to them that the dimensions of the court are the same as those of the gym back home is very powerful. The world beyond the lines may be very different but the world within them is one you know well. Even across eras, while other aspects of basketball have changed - the widening of the lane, the addition of the three-point lines, the shot clock, etc. - the measurements from floor to rim ("10 feet") and from backboard to foul line ("15 feet") are exactly the same now as they were in 1954.

In baseball, you've got hitters' parks and pitchers' parks. A home run in one stadium is a fly out in another. Never mind the fact that most Little League fields, including the one behind my daughter's school, don't even have outfield fences.

Don't get me wrong. I'll take our breathtaking view of Mt. Mansfield over the Green Monster anytime.

*************

I hope you'll join us for the "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. My friends Mock (Stay on target...) and Marc (Marc Whitman's Blog) have also taken up the challenge. We're kicking off on Friday. Let me know if you'd like to join us and I'll post your link as well.

March Madness 2011: Tail Between Their Legs

Connecticut wins. What a terribly ordinary end to a terrifically extraordinary tournament. Without a doubt, UConn has had an amazing run through both the Big East and NCAA tournaments. Nonetheless, Butler's loss, not to mention their lackluster performance in the title game, is a horrible let down.



Let us not forget the astonishing accomplishment of the Butler Bulldogs. An awful lot of top-flight college basketball programs have never made the NCAA finals in two consecutive years. Connecticut, their conquerors this evening, have never done it. The University of Indiana Hoosiers, winners of five national titles, have never done it. Neither Purdue nor Notre Dame has ever made it to the national finals even once, never mind twice in a row.

The question, once again, is how long coach Brad Stevens will stay at Butler. One has to believe that he can pretty much write his ticket for any open job in the country. VCU's Shaka Smith passed on N.C. State. Will they make a play for Stevens now? Is he waiting for some unnamed dream job to come open one day? Bloomington, perhaps?

Both Butler's and VCU's runs this tournament were amazing but one wonders if we should expect more of this in years to come. With the high-profile schools unable to hold onto their superstars, will the smaller programs continually be able to threaten the pecking order with well-coached and experienced teams? Butler has fallen one game short each of the last two years but someday, someone's going to pull it off. Given the current dynamic of the college basketball world, perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised.

March Madness 2011: Agnus Dei

My bracket is kaput, as I would imagine most people's are at this point. Kentucky gave me my last points by making the Final Four. On the up side, I can now finish no worse than fifth out of 18 in the group with Mock & Co.

Amazingly, I have a second chance bracket that's still alive. My main one is finished but my fairy tale one is still going strong. If VCU continues its amazing run, I'll look like a genius.


Photo via The Wichita Eagle

The VCU Rams are quite an amazing story. And the discussion about whether or not they belonged in the tournament in the first place needs to stop. NCAA Tournament selection is, even in the best light, an inexact science. As a mid-major conference squad with a 22-11 overall record, VCU was definitely a bubble team. But I've always believed that if a team won its first tournament game, they belonged. Period. Well, the Rams won their first five. VCU has demonstrated beyond any doubt that they are a better team than many seeded ahead of them - a lot better. They have not been merely winning their games. They've won convincingly against outstanding teams.


Photo via DePauw University

The Butler basketball story keeps getting better, too. Clearly, last year was no fluke. Clearly, they're still plenty good even without Gordon Hayward. Clearly, Brad Stevens is a genius. As long as he sticks around as coach, the Bulldogs will be a first-rate national power.

And so, the Final Four are a 3-seed, a 4-seed, an 8-seed and an 11-seed. We all saw that coming, right? I will be horribly disappointed if either UConn or UK, decorated members of the old guard, walks away with the title. If, 20 years from now, the list of champions does not read "2011 - Butler" or "2011 - VCU," will anyone remember what an extraordinary tournament this has been? Will anyone beyond the state lines of Connecticut or Kentucky be pulling for the traditional powers next Monday night?

March Madness 2011: Down to 16

My Bracket

The remarkable implosion of the Big East has surely wreaked havoc upon brackets across the nation and mine was not spared. However, through the help of Yahoo!'s scenario generator, I have figured out that I can still win my group with Mock & Co. if all the teams I still have going continue to win. Here's hoping!

The first weekend of the tournament is always great fun: wall-to-wall games. I love the simultaneous CBS/TNT/TBS/Tru.tv coverage. How can one not? It would seem objectively that the San Diego State/Temple double overtime thriller was probably the most exciting game thus far but I missed it. The game I enjoyed the most was Washington/North Carolina. I have found over the years that sentiment trumps my bracket pick in my rooting interest almost every time. Naturally, I had the Tar Heels winning the game but couldn't help pulling for the Huskies. I love a scrappy point guard and the Huskies' Isaiah Thomas is one of the nation's best. It is sad, however, when a great game ends with a mistake as it did with Washington's errant in-bounds pass.


Photo via TopGoogleTrends

My PE teaching colleague had a bunch of us over to watch the games on Friday night. He needs a pseudonym here. We shall call him Orange Man as he is a Syracuse fan. It was great fun, though I'm sure we spent more time gabbing about work than watching basketball. Orange Man has assembled a new home theater system and is eager to share it. The evening also gave my family what I expect was a welcome break from inane basketball commentary.

March Madness 2011: Tip-Off

Ohio State-Kentucky, Ohio State-Kentucky, Ohio State-Kentucky... I've been puzzling over the potential Sweet 16 game between Ohio State and Kentucky ever since the draw was first announced on Sunday. To me, that game is the key to whole tournament. If Ohio State can win that game, I think they'll run the table. But here's the thing: I think Kentucky will beat them.

I do believe that Ohio State is the best team in the country. But the best team does not always win the NCAA tournament. Ever since the NCAA selection committee introduced the idea of an overall #1 seed for the tournament, that team has only won the title once. Plus, Ohio State ended up in the toughest region of the draw. Kentucky's only part of the problem. The Buckeyes may well have their hands full with George Mason in the second round (I refuse to call it the third round!).

By the time this posts, the first game should be underway. And so, my Final Four picks: Kentucky, Duke, Kansas and Pittsburgh. Duke was my preseason pick and it's difficult for me to let go of that. But I cannot ignore the fact that real live basketball games have been played since then. As such, I feel that Kansas will beat Duke in the finals. KU was my pick last year, too. But this year, the burden of top overall seed will be on Ohio State instead. The Jayhawks will be under less pressure - except from the folks back home, but there's nothing to be done about that. So, that is my pick in my group with Mock & Co. and also at work.


Image via College Basketball Wiki

I did make a fairy tale bracket this year in which I go entirely by my own rooting interest. For that one, I have a Final Four of George Mason, Bucknell, Georgetown and UNC-Asheville. In my fantasy world, the Hoyas shall top George Mason for the crown.

Let the madness begin!

Following Up: The Patriot League

Image via Rush the Court

Last July, I read and reviewed The Last Amateurs, John Feinstein's account of basketball in the Patriot League. My review is here: On the Coffee Table: John Feinstein. Inspired by the book, I watched not only the finals of the Patriot League Tournament this year, but also parts of the semi- and quarterfinals, thanks to the expanded coverage offered by the CBS College Sports network.

I watched parts of the two American University games: a bit of the quarterfinal against Colgate and most of the semifinal versus Lafayette. AU is, in fact, the closest Division I university to the house where I grew up. And yet, I've never paid any attention to the program until now. With Georgetown and the University of Maryland nearby, there was never much reason to follow the many other college teams in the area. Now, of course, it seems a shame. I can only imagine that tickets to AU games would have been a lot cheaper and the arena more accessible.

The Colgate game wasn't too exciting but the Lafayette game was another matter entirely. In fact, I would say that the double-overtime thriller is a serious candidate for game of the year. The Lafayette Leopards are quite a scrappy team, coming into the tournament with a losing record, but they found their groove. Clutch shooting by Leopards Jim Mower and Ryan Willen carried Lafayette through to the final.

I was a bit disappointed in Alaa Abdelnaby who handled color commentary for the game. He clearly had a man crush on AU's Romanian forward Vlad Moldoveanu and wasn't able to change gears when the game narrative shifted in favor of Lafayette. Moldoveanu is an impressive player and probably has a decent future in European pro leagues but it bothers me when announcers treat basketball, a team game, as an individual hero epic.

American will not play in the NCAA tournament but they did leave us this little gift on YouTube:



I didn't watch too much of the second semifinal but enough to see John Feinstein himself doing the color job for the Bucknell-Lehigh match - quite capably, too.

I had a difficult time deciding whom to root for in the final. In principle, I love underdogs and Lafayette certainly qualified in facing regular season champ Bucknell. But I don't like it when teams with losing records go to the NCAA tournament. It just doesn't sit well. Furthermore, in any league where only the conference tourney champ is likely to go to the Big Dance, it seems only right that the best team should go as the league's strongest representative. In the end, I found myself pulling for Bucknell, the ultimate winner. They were never seriously threatened en route to victory.


Photo via Bucknell University

The Bucknell Bison may not make it past the first round of the NCAA tournament but they're plenty good enough to give their opponent a good game. They move the ball beautifully and offer a balanced attack with multiple threats both inside and out. They defend and rebound very aggressively. The league shall be well represented on the big stage.

Unlike Abdelnaby, LaPhonso Ellis did an outstanding job as color commentator in the final. He is both insightful and articulate. I hope that CBS will use him in some tournament games. Plus, he has a great hair style at the moment. Sadly, the photo below does not offer a view of the pony tail in the back:


Photo via Vision Sports Group

Family Adventures: Early February

The snow around here is well past the ridiculous stage at this point. Fortunately, we did get out for some winter fun this weekend. The Green Mountain Club, maintainers of Vermont's Long Trail and, thus, a very important organization in our family, held its annual snowshoe festival this weekend and we went down to Waterbury to join in the fun.


My Wife's writeup of our morning is here:

Snowshoe Short Trail Green Mountain Club HQ

In the evening, a colleague from school had a guys' night at his house as his wife and kids were out of town. I hadn't been on a night out with just guys in years. In fact, I can't remember such an evening since about 1998. It was a particularly silly night to be out on the roads as we got a foot of snow last night, plus lightning. But I took my time in both directions and made it alright.

It was a fun time. We played some table tennis - one of my favorites, though I hadn't played in ages. There's a table at the Tree Farm and I spent many hours of my youth knocking the ball around - definitely a major part of my coming of age in that community. But even up there, people don't play nearly as much as in years past. The table gets plenty of use during potluck suppers but it's been years since I've played a game on it. It was nice to get in a few games last night.

I also played on a Wii for the first time last night. I know, I'm a dinosaur. It took me a bit to get used to the controls but I got reasonably comfortable after a while. I started with golf. I was horrendous in the beginning but birdied the last three holes. 3-point-shooting didn't go so well. Sword fighting brought mixed results. There was some Rock Band at the end of the evening, too.

I don't know about watching the Super Bowl this evening. I'm not a big fan of either team, though I'll admit to being partial to the Packers in tonight's tilt. It would take a lot for me to ever root for the Steelers. I will need to do some shoveling at some point today.

On the Coffee Table: Steve Brewer

I just finished End Run: A Drew Gavin Mystery by Steve Brewer. Mystery is not usually my genre but I really enjoyed this one. It definitely kept me guessing, too. I thought I had it figured out but was wrong. I realized the truth at the same point that the protagonist, Drew Gavin, did.


Image via PaperBack Swap

I picked this book up, along with Olympian by Peter L. Dixon, from a free book exchange shelf at the Tree Farm this past summer. While Olympian was underwhelming, End Run was good fun. Character development, in particular, was much stronger with this one. You don't learn too much, even about Drew, at once and you get glimpses of little quirks here and there: his love for '50s rock'n'roll, his disdain for baseball and so on. I really grew to care about the characters and how the story ended for each of them became important to me.

Gavin is a sportswriter by trade who inadvertently gets caught up in a murder case. He is himself a former college football player and the story centers around a plan to bring an NBA franchise to Albuquerque. The dangers of sports gambling are also integral to the narrative.

I was a big mystery fan as a kid. I liked Encyclopedia Brown a lot, but my favorite series was The Three Investigators. The genre hasn't held as much interest for me as an adult. I've dabbled: a little Agatha Christie here, a bit of Nero Wolfe there. But End Run has me thinking that perhaps I should read more. My Wife is a big mystery fan so we have plenty of them around the house. Sigh... Too many books, too little time.

On the Coffee Table: The Punch

In 1977, the Lakers' Kermit Washington punched the Rockets' Rudy Tomjanovich during an NBA game. He hit him so hard that he nearly killed him. To be sure, Mr. Washington did not intend to hurt Mr. Tomjanovich as badly as he did but there is no denying that the lives of both men and their sport would never be quite the same.


Photo from USA Today

In 2002, John Feinstein wrote a book entitled The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever. (He's a professional writer and I'm not so I won't make too much fuss about the serial comma.) In the introduction, Feinstein tells the story of convincing Tomjanovich to cooperate for the story. Rudy T agreed, he later revealed to the author, because he felt he could trust Feinstein to "tell the story properly (p. xv)." I believe that he did.

Make no mistake, Feinstein's descriptions of the incident and aftermath are quite graphic. I readily admit that I don't have much of a stomach for such things. For instance, I have never actually watched the Joe Theismann leg-break video, even though I sure remember that it was all the talk at school the next day. I haven't watched the punch video either and am certain I won't - ever.


Rudy Tomjanovich Photo via NBA.com

But the book really is about so much more. Both of these men have been haunted by the incident ever since. The punch is in paragraph one of Kermit Washington's wikipedia entry. A Google search for either man turns up both the punch video and a photo of Rudy T in his protective mask near the top of the list. And yet, Feinstein does a wonderful job of showcasing the lives that went far beyond that brief, horrible moment. Neither man is portrayed as a saint but both are revealed to be decent men, devoted to their sport of choice before the NBA became the megastar-studded showcase it is today.


Kermit Washington Photo via The Starting Five

But really, what's most interesting to me in reading the book is the constant revelation of how different things were 30+ years ago, in the sports world in general and the NBA in particular. 1977 was, after all, 7 years BMJ (Before Michael Jordan). The exposure of the league at the time was, frankly, a joke with CBS airing the league finals on tape-delay. In today's NBA economics, a five-time All-Star (Rudy) with a six-figure salary is unfathomable.

It was pre-ESPN, of course, too. When I started following sports in the early '80s, the morning paper was the most comprehensive source of immediate information readily available. Even a box score from a West Coast game such as the Lakers-Rockets tilt would have been a day late. At one point, George Michael, he of Sports Machine and not of Wham, launched a dial-up sports info number for the DC area similar to the one you would call for the time or weather. But even for that, you'd just get a recorded listing of scores. Now, a punch in an NBA game would be on SportsCenter highlights even before the final buzzer. The news and the YouTube video would be passed along over facebook and twitter and die-hard fans in the Philippines would be well-versed experts on the incident within 15 minutes.

All of which leads me to wonder how much things will change in the next 30 years. How will the sports world be different when my daughter is my age?

Anyway, it's a great book, even if your stomach for blood is as weak as mine.

Squiddies 2010

My blog turns one year old today. As such, it's awards show time. And the Squiddy goes to...


Biggest Surprise: Curling

When the Winter Olympics began in February, I was not expecting to become a devoted curling fan by the end but it happened. I like curling for many reasons:

1. It is no end of quirky, as a sport with ice, 40-pound rocks and brooms could only be.
2. Basic sportsmanship is the rule rather than the exception. I particularly approve of the expectation that a team will concede once a win is out of reach. Nothing in sports is more boring than a blowout.
3. The relaxed pace. It's easy enough to imagine all of the curlers standing around the ice with beers in hand.

Anyway, I fell in love and will do my best to follow the sport in non-Olympic years, despite the lack of coverage on American television.

Honorable Mention: Fantasy Football, Butler Basketball, Francesca Schiavone


Biggest Disappointment: Washington Capitals

No contest here. They made quite a convincing impression of the best team in hockey for most of the season but finished with zero Olympic medals and a first-round playoff loss. With so much young talent, I certainly hope they're taking a long, hard look in the mirror this summer to figure out how to turn this team into a champion.

Honorable Mention: The Yankees Win the World Series...Again


Best Game: NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Final

It is not mere coincidence that Duke has played in so many of the great basketball games of the past 25 years. Whether you love them or hate them, there's no denying that the Blue Devils play the game as it was meant to be played. Win or lose, Coach K's teams always play tough, disciplined basketball.

To me, the definition of a great game is one in which both sides play hard and it's a shame that somebody has to lose. Butler's improbable run to the national finals was enough to cement their place in sports legend. But the Bulldogs came ready to play and gave as good as they got against mighty Duke. Let us not forget that Hayward's desperation heave at the end nearly went in. If it had, this would have to be called the best game ever. Period.

Honorable Mention: Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game


Best Story: Francesca Schiavone Wins the French Open

But alas, Hayward's shot did not go in. For two weeks in Paris, Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone made all of the shots when it mattered. I started following Schiavone at the U.S. Open. I really enjoyed watching her play. She is not a physically dominating player in any way but she plays with a competitive fire which is downright inspiring. No one could have expected her to walk away with the singles title at Roland Garros but she did it. Her team's t-shirts said it all: "Nothing Is Impossible."

Honorable Mention: Butler Basketball, Chicago Blackhawks


Best Read: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

One of the best unexpected consequences of blogging is that it has gotten me back into pleasure reading. I've read a lot of good sports-related books this year but I would consider A Walk in the Woods the best of them simply because I expect it's the most enjoyable without an initial interest in the subject matter, in this case hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Honorable Mention: Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi


Athlete of the Year: Vernon Davis

Vernon Davis is, of course, the San Francisco 49ers' Pro Bowl tight end. He was also the MVP of my fantasy football team last year. That really would have been enough to earn my praise but he turned out to be so much more. First I found out he was an art major in college which led me to his excellent website. The website led me to seek out other well-regarded athlete sites (I still say Vernon's is the best). Then, before the Olympics, he was named honorary captain of the U.S. men's curling team. Later in the year, he picked up a tennis racket and played doubles with Serena Williams at a charity event.

In short, he turned out to be a far more interesting person than I would have expected an NFL tight end to be. He was a great story to follow over the course of the year, very much in the spirit of my overall vision for the blog.

Honorable Mention: Francesca Schiavone, Josh Hamilton, Gordon Hayward


Post with Most Unexpected Consequences: South Africa 2010: The Orange Crush

The fact that watching the World Cup got me thinking about my own youth soccer experiences is not so surprising, nor is the fact that such thoughts inspired me to try to get in touch with the members of my first team. But the success I had in finding them and the enthusiastic responses I have gotten from my teammates and their parents have been nothing short of astonishing. Bear in mind, I have not seen some of these folks since the fourth grade. That was 28 years ago! Stay tuned. This story may yet be going places.

Honarable Mention: All Part of My Fantasy: Best 11th Round Pick Ever


Best Family Adventure: The Long Trail Project

My Wife has primary blogging rights on this subject (Wikes! Hikes on the Long Trail) but I figure I can claim a tangential connection. What we're doing is wonderful for many reasons:

1. We're all doing it together.
2. We live in an outdoor adventurer's paradise and we're lazy bums if we don't get out on a regular basis to enjoy it.
3. It suits my larger purposes of getting more exercise.

Honorable Mention: Our Girl's Swimming Adventures, Tree Farm Vacation


Best Unexpected Benefit of Blogging: An Enriched Friendship

At the beginning of this past school year, I'd like to think that Mock and I were already on our way to building a solid friendship. But blogging has definitely played a role in helping us get to know each other better. For that, I am very grateful. If you haven't checked out his blog, you should: Stay on target...

Honorable Mention: Reconnecting with the Orange Crush, Renewed Interest in Pleasure Reading

On the Coffee Table: John Feinstein

I am completely sold on the Patriot League.

I have just finished The Last Amateurs by John Feinstein, another book lent to me by one of the P.E. teachers at school. The book is a one-year study of men's basketball in the Patriot League, at the time of publication a seven-team Division I league of academics-first colleges: Army, Navy, Holy Cross, Colgate, Lehigh, Lafayette and Bucknell. Feinstein makes the case that these seven institutions, along with the Ivy League schools and the Air Force Academy are the only Division I colleges that can be said to have true student-athletes. I, for one, am convinced.

As much as I enjoy college sports, I cannot deny that hypocrisy and corruption are rampant. With so much money involved and the athletes not seeing any of it beyond their scholarships, at least not legitimately, problems are inevitable. Add to that the fact that otherwise under-qualified students are admitted to institutions of higher learning to be exploited for their athletic talents with little care as to whether or not they receive anything approaching an education and the whole system seems a joke. But in his book, Feinstein profiles an entire league where the student part of student-athlete is taken very seriously and I found myself rooting for all of them. As a result, the Army-Navy football game and the Patriot League basketball tournament final are both on my must-watch list for next year.

I feel the book was at its best in the beginning, as the league concept and all of the coaches and players are introduced, and at the end as the story wraps up. The middle is certainly well-written but there is a one-game-after-another feel to it and keeping track of everyone is challenging. That said, I found myself growing quite fond of the various characters. My favorite was Holy Cross's Chris Spitler. He was, by his own reckoning, always the last player on the bench. One learns, of course, that his importance to his team is far greater than he lets on. But his sense of humor about his role is highly endearing.

The epilogue ends with the 2000-01 season. A lot has changed since the book was published. American University has become league member #8. Also, all league members now give at least some athletic scholarships - not part of the vision in the beginning. I wonder if the character of the league has changed as a result. I certainly hope not - or at least not much.

Without a doubt, The Last Amateurs is a great read. Particularly if you're looking for glimmers of decency in the sports world, I highly recommend it.

South Africa 2010: Happy Father's Day

It was disappointing to see Ivory Coast go down so decisively. I had high hopes for that match and it certainly started off well. But how about New Zealand? After all that talk that they were lucky just to make it, that they would have to work not to be the worst World Cup team ever, they manage a draw against the defending champions! Paraguay will certainly make it out of the group and I think the Italians, despite their mediocre play, will ultimately be the ones to join them.

Happy Father's Day to all! The ladies gave me breakfast in bed, some gifts Our Girl had made at school and a basketball. I haven't had my own basketball in years. We went to a book store, too, and I picked up a couple of sports-related titles: Strokes of Genius by L. Jon Wertheim and Satchel by Larry Tye.

Off My Duff: Summer Begins

The last day for our students was on Monday and Tuesday was faculty in-service day. For once, it was actually fun - a sort of field day for the teachers. Group building, you know. After the usual snore-fest in the library, many of us headed to the gym where the P.E. teachers taught us an astonishingly complicated game called, I think, Pins and Hoops. It involved throwing foam balls across the gym at bowling pins. But there were teams. And you couldn't actually peg people but if someone caught your ball in mid-air, you were out. But then you could get your teammates back in by throwing a ball against the backboard. Seriously, I barely understood what was going on but I'm fairly certain we lost. Good fun, though.

Then outside for softball, a game I do understand (but if you want to drive yourself insane, try to explain the rules to a five-year-old). I believe that one can learn a great deal about people in a casual softball game. You learn about their athletic abilities, certainly, but also about their competitiveness, their sense of fair play, their control needs and their pride. Playing with teachers is enlightening. We all try to be encouraging. We want to be inclusive. But at the end of the day, each of us is used to being the one in charge so either you all defer to an amorphous pecking order or no one's in charge.

You can learn about yourself, too. In some ways, I am more coordinated as an adult than I was as a teenager. I am, however, disastrously out of shape, a fact which would become even more apparent later in the day. I learned, too, that at least as far as faculty softball is concerned, I was not as worried about winning as I was about feeling that I was holding up my own end. Losing? Okay. Losing because I screwed up? Not okay. We won so I was off the hook.

As we were helping him clean up, one of the PE teachers suggested a game of HORSE in the gym after lunch. Now, I'm always up for any game involving a basketball. I lost at HORSE but when we switched to two-on-two, the old instincts kicked in. I was never anything but a competent pickup player but I adored basketball growing up. It was always my game of choice and for years, I shot around every day after school - even kept it up in college. If anything, my instincts for the game have improved but boy am I old now. My side won both games we played but I was in some serious pain afterward. One thing that I do love about basketball is that even when your shots aren't falling, and mine often aren't, you can find other ways to be useful: play tough defense, set picks, scrap for rebounds, etc. I was always better at those things anyway.

All of which leads me into my personal plan for the summer: to get more exercise. My intention is to do something deliberately athletic for an hour each day. I'm not looking to lose weight or bulk up. I just want to be healthier and feel that I am living a more well-rounded life. Yesterday, it was a long walk while Our Girl was still at school - her last day. I'm hoping we can find some things that we enjoy doing together.

Final Two: What a Game!

Duke is certainly a deserving champion. A strong case can be made for Tom Izzo but I still believe that Coach K is the best in the sport. His teams always play so hard and so well.

What more can you say about Butler? That is one fantastic team. In truth, they play a lot like Duke: tough, disciplined and coordinated. I think what I admire most about Butler is their teamwork. Someone was always ready to step up when players got in foul trouble or went cold or whatever. I agree with Coach K, this is no Cinderella. Butler's a very good team and with only one senior starter, they could well be back next year. The only question: will Heyward stick around? Heyward's Indiana legend was already secure as a high school hoops star. He has now broadened it considerably.

Just imagine if that last desparate heave had gone in!

Butler coach Brad Stevens can now pretty much write his own ticket if he should decide to move up in the coaching ranks. He took the best coach in the country to the wire and I would bet that Coach K himself would write him a glowing recommendation. Stevens is only 33 years old and it would seem that the future is very bright indeed. Should he stay at Butler, I'd say they're likely to contend for many years to come.