Category: Sports

  • ODDS and ENDS: Tottenham Woes, Submitting, and Ice Cream

    (The past wasn’t that good, and the future isn’t that bad…)

    Though I hate to admit this, I think it is time to say out loud that Tottenham will not make it to the Champions League next season. Ange Postecoglou has done a very good job with turning the team around and stopping the slide to a middle of the table team. And this was going to be a hard season, as it was the first without Harry Kane. But with 7 points behind Aston Villa, and matches against Liverpool and Man City yet to come, the odds are severely stacked against the team. No Champions League for next season, but there will be a birth in the Europa League. But hey, this was a better year, and next year will have extra competition, and more chances for trophies.

    Not on purpose, but I roundabout took the month of April off when it came to submitting stories. But I am coming back for the month of May. I’ve sent out four submissions thus far, and in the back of my head, I have a good feeling that I accidently messed up on somebody’s submission guidelines. Like, I didn’t put the page number in the correct corner. One time, I sent out a story and misspelled the editor’s name in the cover letter. Yeah, there’s no coming back from that.

    And it is true, ice cream does make everything better. Are you having an awful day? Have some ice cream. It won’t solve any problems, but it does make you feel better. And out of all the wonderful joys and experiences I have had with becoming a father, getting ice cream with my daughter is damn near one of the best.

  • I’m a Soccer Dad, Now

    This past weekend, the wife and I reached a huge milestone in our parenting adventure; we attended our daughter’s first soccer match. Actually, it was a mini soccer tournament between different elementary schools, which meant that we sat through seven, ten-minute matches. (It was co-ed teams that played five on five.) Though the day was colder than we expected, we had a good time watching, and the kid’s team came in second place.

    But getting back to the point – the kid is now at the age where she is playing sports that have games. This isn’t like the sports classes we put her in when she was little, where the kids learn how to dribble a basketball, or pass a soccer ball. Nope, she’s on a team that plays games, therefore these kids will experience winning and losing, and all the emotions that come with that. It is a bit of a rite of passage.

    And that passage has begun for some of the families there. When the tournament started, and teams began to be eliminated, kids started crying. By my observation; all the crying was coming from the boys. Even on my daughter’s team, when they lost the final by one goal, everyone was disappointed, but only the boys sat down and cried.

    My kid, and she is very competitive, wasn’t happy at first, but once the sting of losing wore off, she started getting more philosophical about the whole thing. She told us that second place was better than how the four other teams did, and getting to the final is pretty impressive. It also helped that she went home with a medal, which was her first, and is hanging up on her wall.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Project Management, Love for Bill Withers, and Watching Soccer

    (When I wake up in the morning…)

    We are going to try running our family’s schedule and tasks by using a project management app. ( And in a related story; The robots are winning the war against humanity… or I should stop worrying and learn to love the efficiency that our new robot overlords provide.) There is so much going on right now that the wife and I are having a hard time wrapping our arms, and minds, around it all. We started out joking about using a PM app to help us, but then it started to settle in that maybe this wasn’t so terrible of an idea. I’m not totally comfortable with running our family like a project/business as that sounds lifeless and bland. Yet, the other side of it is that I keep running behind on everything, or feel like events or holidays sneak up on me, and then feel overwhelmed with trying to get it all done, but it just feels half-assed. Our hope is that we can get ahead of things, which in the end, will allow us more time to do… nothing. Just sit on our ass.

    The Simpsons Lisa Floreda Sticker - Sticker Mania

    And this is my personal nightmare – That I will forget that I promised the kid I would help her with a project, have to half-ass it the night before, and then I end up sending her to school like this – Lisa’s “Floreda” Costume

    Just felt like today was a good day to remind us all of how great Bill Withers is.

    We are going to watch so much soccer this weekend. No Tottenham this weekend, but the kid wants to watch NJ/NY Gotham, and she’s got a school soccer tournament to play in. I think I am slowly making the kid a soccer fan.

  • ODDS and ENDS: I Felt the Earth Move, Tottenham Home Stretch, and the Dog Got a Haircut

    ODDS and ENDS: I Felt the Earth Move, Tottenham Home Stretch, and the Dog Got a Haircut

    (She blinded me with science…)

    NYC and the surrounding area got hit with a 4.8 magnitude earthquake which lasted for about 20 seconds. The epicenter was about 50 miles west of Manhattan. I was at home with the wife when it hit, and for the first few seconds of the quake, I thought it was come from the construction site behind our building. You know, like they were drilling or something. Then I thought that a truck had hit our building. But my wife was the first one to say, or I guess ask, “Is this an earthquake?!” In fact, it was. Thank God for social media, because within three seconds, people were posting. Funny enough, this is the second NYC earthquake I have been through. Back in August of 2011, a 5.8 quake hit northern Virginia, which was felt all the way up here. I was on the 12th floor of a building in midtown at that time, and all I felt was the building swaying, which was a very strange sensation. But in both occurrences, the overwhelming feeling I had was disbelief. You don’t think about NYC having earthquakes.

    We are down to the final nine matches of the season, and I hate to admit it, but it looks like Tottenham is playing for a place in the Champions League next season. Of those nine matches, three of them are against the teams ahead of Spurs on the table (Man City, Arsenal, and Liverpool), then there is Newcastle twice and Chelsea who both are hanging around in the middle, followed by three matches against teams fighting against relegation. The way I see it, Tottenham will walk away with three wins, three draws, and three losses, concluding the season with 69 points. Will that be enough to get past Aston Villa? I don’t think so as Aston does have the easier schedule compared to Spurs. This will be an interesting two months. Interesting in the sense that it will be infuriating, and gut wrenching.

    My dog got groomed yesterday. She’s very happy about it. She looks like a puppy.

  • ODDS and ENDS: MAGA Hat on the Subway, Baseball Season, Rich Kid Bully, and Easter for the Non-Christian

    (And they tore down the Polo Grounds…)

    I was coming home the other day on an uptown B. The car was maybe half full of people who, including myself, were all a little worn out and just wanted to be left alone. And then a group of people got on, clearly tourists, who looked like a family on vacation – mom, dad, teenage daughter, and a teenaged or young adult son. And this son had on a MAGA hat. I think I was the outlier, because I was the only person on the train that did a double take when I saw that hat. The rest of the people on the train didn’t react at all. Then I reminded myself that people are allowed the have their views, and I shouldn’t judge. And yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this guy might only have that hate on “ironically.” I can’t prove that, just a gut feeling. Either way, they weren’t on that train long; got off at the next stop. And as soon as the family was off the train, and the doors shut, the harsh looks and mumbling started – “What was up with that guy?” “He’s got some big balls to wear that here.” “Maybe he’s here for the trial?”

    Hey! Baseball season started! And the Cubs lost yesterday! Yee-Haw!

    Taking the kid to school, she pointed out to me a boy in her class that goes around and accuses other kids of being poor, and making fun of them. “He made fun of me,” she said, “He said we live in a dumpster.” I then I told her she should say, “Duh! It’s right next door to your parent’s dumpster. Everybody knows that!” That was probably the wrong thing to tell her.

    Easter is this weekend. We celebrate the holiday in the most non-Christian way possible by just eating candy, and deviled eggs and homemade mac n’ cheese. This year we are adding a ground lamb meatloaf. The wife and I were raided Catholic, and we have no intention of raising our daughter Catholic. Now, if she decides that she wants to be Catholic, then I will fully support her in that, but I won’t drop that religion on her. So, when it comes to Easter, we have avoided talking about all the Jesus stuff that’s involved with the holiday, but I know that will change soon. The kid is making more friends who wear their Christianity as a badge. She’s come home with questions, and I have answered them the best I could while trying to stay as neutral as possible. I don’t want my religion hang ups to become her hang ups.