Random thoughts after Game One

Hello again So its been about four years since I last posted. I watched the Cavs lose game one and Kyrie Irving suffered a knee injury. Its almost three am and I can't sleep, hence a renewed effort in blogging and random thought (s) Game one is a loss. They say it becomes a series when the visiting team wins on the home team's floor. It's only one game. The Cavs need to regroup, look at film, and make adjustments. I beleive that they can win the title. With or Without Kyrie. What to they need to do? Play better defense Next man up, with Kyrie its time for Smith or Jones to go off and take up the scoring load The Cavs still have Lebron, he makes others around him better, so now is the time to do so I still have faith, haven't lost hope, its only one game. All the Cavs need to do is win all their home games and one game on the road. Easy peasy right? We'll see. Now its time to try to get some sleep, morning comes early, ie four hours away for wake up call Good nite all

High School Football is Back!

Tonight it begins anew!  High School football is back.  Schools across the state are preparing to send their teams into battle.  Tonight FCA travels to Millersport to kickoff a new campaign.  Mark, now a junior, will see more playing time (hopefully) this year.  I will be back in the tv booth for nine of the ten games.  Once again, the games can be seen on the Lancaster School Network Sundays at 4 pm.  Next week I will have the opportunity to be in the radio booth for WFCO calling play by play.   I will admit, it is a nice perk, to get into high school football games for free, and all you have to do is talk about what you see into a microphone.  Football is back.   To be a small part of it is a blessing from the Lord

Thome's Home

At long last, an Wahoo Hero returns.  Jim Thome was traded by the Twins to the Tribe on Thursday.  Thome, who was brought up in the Indians' farm system and spent 12 years with the Tribe, returns to the Tribe lineup on Friday.  Do not underestimate this move for Tribe fans.  It is huge.  Why?  Let me try to explain.

Jim Thome was a hero to many Tribe fans.  He left via free agency.  After professing his love for Cleveland, he spurned a multi million dollar contract offered by the Indians for more millions offered by the Phillies.  No matter the reason, Indian fans were angry and hurt.  A local baseball icon left willingly, in spite of saying how much he loved Cleveland.  He could have stayed but chose to leave of his own volition. When Thome returned to Cleveland in a White Sox uni, he was roundly booed.  Indian fans let their anger be known loud and clear.

They say time heals all wounds.  I hope it has for many Indians fans.  A local hero returns.  Two of my kids, Emily and Drew, will be in attendance cheering their baseball hero.  I hope Jim Thome gets a standing ovation.  I hope he retires an Indian and is hired by the front office to work for the organization after his retirement.  He should go into the Hall of Fame as an Indian.  One of the greatest players of the modern era returns where it all began for him.  In this era of free agency, it is nigh impossible to hope that a player plays his entire career for one team, as did Feller or Musial.  Maybe this is as close as it gets as the local hero returns.  Presently, Cardinal fans are sweating bullets wondering if their local hero will resign with the team.  If you are Cardinal fan, please know that we Indian fans can relate.  What is going on with Albert is a microcosm of what we went through with Jim Thome.  We feel your pain.  we know what you are going through.  But tonight and for the month of September, there is joy in Cleveland.  Thome's home!  THOME'S HOME!!! Welcome home, Jim Thome, it is good to have you back where you belong.

Broadcasting after a break

As many of you know, I have had the opportunity to participate as a sports announcer for FCA on LSN (TV) and for high school sports in general on WFCO.  After a. break of a few months, I will once again be offered the opportunity to do play by play for high school sports.  On TV, I will be the color man for the telecasts.  Watch LSN on Sundays at 4pm to see the game.

On the radio side, I will be doing play by play for WFCO on the nights when I am not in the tv booth.  Listen to 90.9 FM for my calls.  I will try to post the list of games I will be doing in the future.  It is a nice hobby, a chance to something I always wanted to do, and I get to see high school sports for free!  You can't beat that

So, how IS your golf game?

Fine, just thank you.  I have improved immensely since the start of the season.  My handicap ballooned to a 14 (for nine holes) at the beginning.  I was using my driver off of the tee, spraying the ball all over the place.  I was scoring in the low 50's for nine holes, not a good score at all for me.  But I made a couple of changes, for the better, and now I am scoring 45-48 per nine holes, a 3-5 stroke difference.

What did I do?  For one, I put the driver away.  I am now using a three wood off of the tee, giving me better accuracy as I am now hitting my second shot from the fairway instead of the deep rough.  I am rarely losing balls, now I am trying to just keep it in play.

The second adjustment has been moving the ball back in my stance.  This has allowed me to hit down on the ball, adding to my ball striking consistency.  As I am able to now strike the ball well more often, I am hitting more greens in regulation, giving me an opportunity for more pars and less double bogies.

My friend, Curt Kruse, has offered to give me a lesson or two to help out.  He knows me well, as Curt was my golfing partner for a number of years in church league.  He told me that I am a feel golfer, meaning that when I golf better when I think less of the mechanics of the swing, and just play the game, allowing the feel of the shot to take over.  Much like shooting a basketball well ( when you are in a zone, you are hard to stop) so too golfing by "feel" allows the golfer to just naturally play the game.   I will take Curt up on his offer sooner rather than later (he said it won't be for at least two weeks because our team is playing him), because Curt knows my swing and knows my game.  If he can help me, and if I can put his advice into practice, I should be lowering my score soon.  And that is what makes golf fun.

A Buckeye Update

Alas, there are no buckeyes.  No, I am not talking about OSU Football, I am speaking of my beloved Buckeye tree.  This time last year I found one nut about to fall, and I harvested later in the summer my first buckeye.  This spring, the buckeye tree had CLUSTERS of nuts, I was expecting a bountiful harvest, at least one buckeye for each member of my family (yes, even the Hoosier of the bunch, Binkylu would be in line to receive the first of the harvest).  But alas, no buckeyes this year.  It isn't because of the debt limit debate, nor is it the fault of the NCAA investigation.  I lost all of the Buckeyes during one of the torrential spring storms we experienced.  No buckeyes this year, maybe next year.  It looks like I will be hunting buckeyes from other sources soon.

A Report From Pittsburgh

A couple of weeks ago I was able to go to Pittsburgh with my kids to see PNC Park.  We attended the Cards-Pirate game.  We were all interested in seeing PNC and it is safe to say we were not disappointed.  It is a gem of a ballpark.  It looks like a minor league park as you approach it, for it seems so small.  But it is far from minor league.  It has great sight lines, a wonderful panorama view of the Clemente Bridge and downtown Pittsburgh, and there doesn't seem to be a bad seat in the house.  It is a great venue to watch a game.  I always wanted to go, and after my experience, it is safe to say we will go again.  It was totally enjoyable and a tip of the cap to the Pirate organization for doing a great job.  And this is coming from a native Clevelander!