Category: Sports

  • ODDS and ENDS: The End of Summer, Disc Golf, and My Phone Says I’m Healthy

    (You’ll find it funny later…)

    Labor Day is Monday, and as such, Autumn begins on Tuesday. Happy Fall, Ya’ll! I am going to try very hard to not talk about the weather like the old man I am slowly evolving into. (Even though we are about to enter nine days of high heat in the City!) We made it to the start of September, and as soon as Labor day is concluded, the marathon to New Year begins; such is the cycle. Our lives have always been like this, but when we added a kid to the mix, and especially when she started school, it has taken on a stronger relevance in our lives. Labor Day means the start of school, and it takes time for us to get back to that flow of life. Soon, the kid will start talking about Halloween costumes, and apple picking will be scheduled. We’ll fit in a final hike before it starts to get too cold, so we can enjoy the leaves changing color. Then the planning of Thanksgiving starts, and the hope of Christmas is never too far away. Autumn never comes fast enough and it never last long enough.

    I like disc golf. I’m not good at it, and I don’t do it often enough, but it’s an activity that I look forward to doing. I have mention before how I have started watching disc golf tournaments on YouTube, and I even got the UDisc app for my phone, so I am making an effort to be more involved. The newest thought I have been percolating on is attending a local tournament, something that I could drive to, and back in one day. I am curious to see how these things are run. You know, what is it like?

    My phone noticed that I have been more active of late. And like all good friends, it has started encouraging me to keep it going. I have been walking more in the City., that’s true. When I had a job where I went to an office, I walked between 9,000 to 10,0000 steps a day during the week. When Covid hit, I dropped down to an average of 4,000 steps a day. (I can’t prove it, but this might be part of the reason I put on twenty pounds. Just a thought.) With the kid back in school, and walking to drop her off and pick her up, my new weekday average is over 10,000 steps. This is a good thing, and adding that I have returned to the gym, I’m moving in a healthier direction. But my phone has interpreted this development in activity as an invitation to start giving more advice about how I should eat, sleep, and other things to make me “healthier.” The phone is coming on a little too strong. I just want to be friends with “healthier,” not looking for a commitment. Maybe if I drop twenty pounds, we can talk. Until then, I’m just having fun.

  • ODDS and ENDS: The Mugshot, Don’t Get Caught in the Rain, and Fantasy Football

    (Mr. Campbell… who cares?)

    I will admit that I was one of those millions of online leeches waiting for the release of the Trump mugshot. I wanted to see it. I wanted to be there when it was released so I could be one of the first to see it. And I was very pleased with what I saw. A former President was arrested, and he was treated like any other defendant in the criminal justice system which, for me, sent a signal that no one is above the law in this country. I am also aware that not everyone will see it that way. There are a large number of people who will see this mugshot, and project their own feelings on it, to see a system out to punish political opposition. There is another reason why I wanted to see this mugshot, for I believe it is the closest form of justice we will get when it comes to Trump and the crimes he’s accused of committing. Sadly, I don’t believe that he will be found guilty on any of these charges in the four cases. He will be acquitted because deep down in our America soul, we cannot send a President to jail. We treat our Presidents like gods. Each one gets his own temple, though we call it a library. And if they happen to be one of the truly greats, we build a shrine to them in Holy City of DC. So, this mugshot, with his disgruntled gaze, is as close to justice as he will get. This humiliating picture will last forever in American history, never to be forgotten.

    Walking around in the rain with wet jeans on is the worst.

    I will not play fantasy football this season. The league I play in has not reformed, and I fear it is dead. The League is Dead! Long Live the League. I’m not sure anymore, but I think I have played in the league of old college friends, work collogues, and random people, for close to fifteen years. In that time, I have won the League three times, all the while just guessing on who to play each week. What brought about this timely death was the sad fact that everyone has lives that have pulled us in different directions. From marriages, kids, careers, and taking care of parents, we aren’t the same people anymore. It’s a little sad, but it does prove the old axiom that everything changes – nothing stays the same. Goodbye Fantasy Football…

  • Women’s World Cup: Spain v England – Final

    Couple of things here –

    I call bullshit on Prince William not going to Australia to support England’s team. That whole, saving the environment by not flying there, thing is just the laziest of excuses. We all know that shit wouldn’t have been pulled on the men’s team. It would have been an easy win for the Prince to show up at the final with his daughter cheering on the Lionesses. Besides, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia of Spain were able to make it. Just saying.

    Honestly – who picked Spain the win this thing?

    And furthermore, we all should have picked Spain to win this thing. Clearly, they knew something we didn’t.

    As for the match, Spain was the better squad. Really, England was never in this game. Sure, Mary Earps had a hell of a match stopping that penalty kick, England’s only bright spot, but they didn’t start to get their act together well into the second half, and at that point it was too late. Spain was in control of this game from the start, and it never ceased to feel like they knew they were going to win this. In the end, the better team won, which I guess is what you want to see in a final. Nevermind all of Spain’s drama off the pitch, because in the end, what matters is how you play the game on the field.

    And last; I got up at 6am to watch the Final. I also woke up my daughter, and the two of us snuggled up on the couch to watch these two teams play. For all the craziness that happened in this World Cup, this was the moment that I had been waiting for – watching with my kid. I don’t know if this will have a deep impact on her, but it was a moment in time where we were together, watching the best players in the world go at it, and give it everything they had. It was fun and I’m glad that we shared it together.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Spain v England, The Gym, and I Hate Summer

    (You Couldn’t Be Bad…)

    Holy Crap! I do know something about International Football Teams! Or At least I did at the start of the World Cup! And then I changed my mind… But now I am back to my original idea! England will win the World Cup! Unless it’s Spain, which was a team I never had much faith in because everything I read was that Spain was a bit of a shit show that couldn’t get their act together. The point here is that I don’t know anything, and I make predictions, and I am wrong often, but the end result is way more exciting than I expected. It is fair to label me a very enthusiastic fan of football, though not highly educated on the nuances of the sport. Not that it matters as I am having fun with all of it. I really didn’t think England would make it past Australia. As for Spain, I thought there was no way in hell they would get past the Dutch, let alone Sweden… I’ve said this before, if sports was predictable, then there would be no reason to watch it. Looking forward to the final on Sunday morning.

    I went back to the gym this morning. It’s been three months of absence. Even my gym app was asking me if I was planning on going back anytime soon. I’m tying the gym into all the schedule changes we have been making as a family with the kid starting at a new school, at a much earlier time. The goal is to get back to going four times a week. If I lost some weight, that would be cool, but right now I am just looking to get healthy, improve my attitude, and get more focused. Starting this journey today, I did thirty minutes of walking on the treadmill. On the tv in front of me, they gym was playing an episode of The Andy Griffith Show. Not what I was expecting.

    And I want to end on this point; I’m tired of Summer, and I hate the season. Sure, back in March I was all about making vacation plans, sitting on a beach, getting my shorts on, and being outdoors. Now that it’s mid-August in The City, it’s just hot and humid. It’s gross out. I want it to end. I’m an old man bitching, but I don’t care, because I’m dreaming of sweaters, flannel shirts, leaves changing color, the windows being open, and coats – wonderful warming coats. It’s time for a season change.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Harry Kane, Goodbye Japan and England, and Bookstores

    (Witty Quip!)

    After three years, and I believe it has been three years, of me saying that Harry Kane will leave Tottenham for another team; it has come to pass. The Athletic is reporting that Kane is going to Bayern Munich. I wish it weren’t true, but it is. And though I would have liked to have seen Tottenham win, I don’t know, several trophies – the odds of that happening in the near future are slim. If Kane wants to be considered in the top tier of international footballers, then he needs to win some hardware, and Bayern makes sense for that reason. In one year, he could win the Bundesliga championship, and the Champions League. Sadly, Tottenham management, looking at you Levy, couldn’t get their act in gear and deliver a manager and additional players to move Spurs into that level, and hence, why Kane left. I don’t blame him. You compete in professional sports to win, and you have to go where your odds are best for that outcome. I guess I will need to start watching Bundesliga now.

    And Japan lost to Sweden! I didn’t see that coming. I started to think that this was Japan’s Cup, and that there wasn’t another team out there that could keep up with them. But the Swedish women aren’t messing around, and I think they might take the whole thing. As for England – they’re done. The two-game suspension on Lauren James’ Red Card against Nigeria is a team killer. She and that team lost their composure, and that is a fall that is hard to recover from. I see Columbia taking full advantage of this situation, seeing how far they can push England. That having been said, since I am always wrong with soccer predictions, I am now calling a Sweden v Australia Final. 100% Guaranteed. Take it to the bank!

    And in the end; I about to head to the local bookstore with the kid. I’m going to get her a book or two. Maybe one for myself as well. It’s late Summer and the clock is ticking until she’s back in school, and then we start the marathon to the end of the year. So, with that in mind, I want to go to a bookstore. And wander the shelves, and let my kid go forth and discover things that she might want to read. My dad used to do this with me when I was her age, and being lost in a bookstore does somehow slow down time. Nothing happens quickly there, as discovery arrives on its own schedule.