Phinally, We Win!
The Philadelphia Phillies are the 2008 World Series Champions.
The last time I was able to say that the Phils were the World Series Champs, I was 5 years old in kindegarten, and I got sent to the principal’s office because I didn’t want to do anything else but talk about that in class. So, yeah, it’s been awhile.
Whenever one of our teams would make it, they would not, could not, seal the deal.
I won’t even bother to list the years of angst.
For years we got shit on by most sports media about our attitude. This is a working class city, and everyone who plays here knows we will cheer you when you do well, when you give 100%. Slack off and you’ll hear it. This is a blue collar town, we all work for our paychecks, don’t insult us by rubbing your huge paychecks in our faces by slacking. Players who get that love this town! If the media thinks we should kiss the asses of our players no matter how they act and perform, they will always be disappointed by Philadelphia Sports Fans.
I don’t think I have to tell anyone out there that things kind of suck here in the country. Philly is no different, we have had cops killed, shootings, schools falling apart, unemployment and all sorts of things of that manner. This win could not have come at a better time. Even before the last pitch was thrown, you could feel the optimism of the city rise 900 percent!
Finally, I couldn’t help but think of people who I wish could have seen this:
My neighbor who died earlier this year. He would have lost his mind and bought every single thing with the Phillies logo on it he could get his hands on.
John Marzano. His passing still makes me sad, as it was so sudden and shocking. He would have been running around like a loon and been hilarious. His enthusiasm was always so contagious. I can’t help but think he was cheering from some Phils bar in the clouds.
John Vukovich. A guy who was on that ‘80 team and a great Phils coach. They wouldn’t be where they are without him.
Tug McGraw. One of my favorite memories as a kid is watching him jump on the mound when the Phils won in ‘80. He then was always on local tv, making people laugh and being all around awesome. His son Tim scattered some of his ashes on the mound before a WS game and I think he would have loved that.
Richie “Whitey” Ashburn. Most people I know, including me, grew up watching and listening to Ashburn and Kalas do the Phils commentary. I know he would have loved to call that game. Instead, we got Kalas and Wheeler, I’ll settle for that.
Hopefully, Whitey, Tug, Vuk, Johnny, and Adam are somewhere, enjoying this as much as this city is loving it.
The website Phillies Nation has a Thank You list that covers how most of us feel.
Phinally, a Championship is ours!
Jose, Can You See?
I was killing some time the other night before I was to go to Game 4 of the World Series, and I came across a documentary on A&E about Jose Canseco. Turns out Jose is trying to get of of the steroids he had been taking for such a long time, and no one really knows how that will effect him, because there is no documented cases of someone quitting after so long and the after & withdrawl effects. He had been putting so much artificial testosterone into his body and now his own body doesn’t really know how to produce it normally. Add to that almost being broke, breaking up with his longtime girlfriend, being sued by a Long Beach California Minor League team (he did not fulfill his contract) and being a pariah in the Majors, you have to think life is not so good right now for Jose Canseco.
Some of you out there might think he is getting what is coming to him, because he wrote that book “Juiced” about his adventures in baseball with steroids and naming names. “Keep it in the family” you might think. I am not so sure.
All through the late 80’s and into the 90’s, baseball was full of these giant guys who were power hitters. They started slightly large and as the years went by, these guys got so big, they could barely put thier arms down (see: Sammy Sosa). “I worked out all off season” they would claim. They also claimed they had awesome trainers and took vitamins and ate well. Sure, sure you did. No one believed the rumors, because we all thought that the drug testing would catch the cheaters and that the Commissioner Bud Selig would ban them or suspend them. It never happened. Why? Because as much as Selig would never, ever admit, steroids were great for baseball’s bottom line.
Bart Giamatti kicked Pete Rose out of the game forever in 1989 for gambling. There was a lockout in 1990 and a strike in 1994. To the average person, baseball was starting to look like a bunch of spoiled brats on both sides of the bargaining table. Bud Selig, who’s family has a controlling interest in the Milwaukee Brewers, took over for Faye Vincent, and became the first Commissioner to have owner ties to a club.
Bud knew baseball was looking pretty beat and when Sosa and others started hitting balls farther and harder then ever before, you know he was delighted. People tuned in, they bought tickets and jerseys. Slowly the stigma of labor issues went to the side and people got excited about home runs and breaking records. But slowly, rumors began to circulate about these giant guys. Right then and there, Selig and Major League Baseball should have stepped in, worked with the union and set up bigger and better testing. What happened instead? Nothing.
Mark McGwire, long rumored to be a habitual steroid abuser going back to his heyday in Oakland with the A’s, broke the single season home run record. Cal Ripken broke the Iron Man record of consecutive games. Sammy Sosa and McGwire both broke Maris’ single season home run record and the media just devoured it. The league even added some new teams in Arizona, Colorado and Florida.
Baseball was back!
Why rock the boat?
And then Jose Canseco wrote his book. He claimed something like 85% of players used steroids and admitted he did too. He even claimed he injected them himself. It was a crazy claim that made everyone sit up and take notice. Some of the players included McGwire, Jason Giambi, Rafael Palmeiro, Iván Rodríguez, and Juan González. Palmiero actually failed a drug test and was suspended. McGwire testified before congress and refused to give a straight answer. The Mitchell Report named a long list of players who used steroids. The game, in that way, was a mess yet again.
Many people believe it all links back to Canseco, that he rung the bell that could’t be unrung. This might be true but the book he wrote had to be written. Somebody at some point had to have the balls to come out and admit what they did and point out the obvious: that these guys cheated and cheating was rampant in Major League Baseball. If this was “sports entertainment” like professional wrestling, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. There is no government money (as with the anti-trust situation) involved in that and it is well known that those leagues have writers to figure out who wins, who loses and what the plot is for the night. But baseball has government money tied up in stadium funding, and all sorts of endeavors that depend on a clean game.
Jose says in his documentary that he really regrets writing the book. No one from baseball will speak to him (and he has been playing pro ball most of his life) and baseball in general will not work with him. His intentions when he wrote that book might not have been to protect Major League Baseball from turning into a laughing stock of fake muscle men, but that might just be what he has accomplished. Maybe in 10 years from now, when we look back on this and realize it was the kickstart of tougher steroid testing policies to clean up the sport. Unfortunately, he is paying a big price of being a pariah, the man who inadvertently claimed that the emperor had no clothes.
Losing It
A few years ago I managed to lose 70 pounds. Recently I’ve gotten down to almost 100 pounds (damn that last 5 pounds). While I’m not one of those people who parade around trumpeting my weight loss, when it does come up in conversation, people tend to always ask me how I did it. Did I get Gastric Bypass? Did I puke it off? Did I become a gym rat? Did I only eat lemons for 6 months? No. Noooo.
At one point I had found myself getting too fat for the pants I was wearing. The next size up meant i would have to get a size that only parade floats would be wearing. It was freaking me out. Then my roommate at the time mentioned he wanted to lose some weight and we decided to be diet buddies and started doing Atkins. Yeah, some people say it’s bad for you but if you follow it and do some exercise (and drink lots of water), it’ll help you out. So, I started doing some situps after work and stuck to the diet.
Time passed.
I pulled out my summer clothes and my shorts were giant, my pants were bigger and my winter coat started feeling tent-like. I got myself on the scale and I lost 50 pounds. Then i went to my mom’s house and checked with her scale as well (when you see that sort of change, you tend to not trust the first scale). The deal sealer was my mom’s neighbors telling me how thin I looked.
I managed to keep most of the weight off and as I said above, I’m really close to the 100 pound mark. I am the laziest person you’ll ever meet and if I can do it, so can you. You don’t have to follow Atkins to lose weight tho. When people ask me about what they can do (which is weird for me…still), these are some of the things I tell them.
1. Cut out alot of the useless sugar out of your diet and read the labels.
Check out the sugar content in Vitamin Water, Gatorade and even those frappacino-type coffee drinks. There is enough sugar in these things to last you 2 days. If you have an office job where you aren’t moving around alot, where do you think all that sugar goes? Also, condiments and sauces will getcha too. Ask for it on the side and dip because most places put too much on anyway.
2. Take it easy with the potatoes, bread, pasta and rice.
Again, alot of sugar that just sits there.
2a. I am not saying that you can’t ever have these things, but cutting back to once in awhile and substituting vegetables and maybe some lean protein like chicken and pork will help you out.
3. Eat vegetables & salads.
Yeah, no one likes eating most vegetables, but you know what? Neccessary evil. Throw some butter on them or a little cheese and eat them quickly at the start of your meal to get them out of your way if you really don’t like them as much. But your body needs the fiber to get rid of, literally, all the crap in you. Have fun with salads and try throwing all sorts of things in there. Maybe try making a basic salad and then throwing whatever meat/chicken/pork and veggies you were going to have in there as well. Keep an eye on the sugar content of your dressing and rock on!
4. Move around a little more.
I am the laziest person you will probably ever meet. I am working on that, however after starting to do situps made me feel better. I started doing 5 sets of ten and then moved up. And I did them while watching reruns of Mash, so try to have something to distract you while doing some exercise like tv shows you dvr, or a reality show or whatever. You get the point. Being distracted while exercising really helps you make your exercise regime fly by. Also, if you have digital cable, try the workouts that are on the OnDemand menu, some of them are short and easy to do if you are just starting to get off the sofa.
5. Don’t beat yourself up if you fall off the wagon.
Ok, so you stuffed yourself at Grandma’s house for dinner. Or at Thanksgiving. Or a tuesday afternoon lunch with friends. Keep in mind no one is perfect, and you are no exception. Also, Thanksgiving comes once a year as does Christmas and thinking you’ll be ok is bullshit. You know, I know it and everyone knows it. Just take it easy and get back on the wagon the next day. There’s always a next day.
6. Losing weight is a lifestyle change.
Keep in mind you are not losing weight, you are changing the way you live your life. If you do that you can keep the weight off. Yoyo dieting isn’t too great for you either.
7. Don’t obsess.
Many people tend to obsess over thier “dieting”. You aren’t dieting, it is just something that is. It is what it is. Be Zen about it 
So there ya go. Cut out the sugar, move around a little more, be realistic and see what your doing as a lifestyle change. Be Zen about it. And always remember, it’s better to lose weight slowly, so hang in there.
Oh Music Industry, You Clueless Bastard
Since my life is so exciting, I spent this friday night watching baseball and trying to work on writing my book. By work on writing my book, I mean, of course, procrastinate by surfing around on the web. After hitting my usual twitter/facebook/myspace/fave blogs, I decided to check out Yahoo’s Music section. It almost melted my brain, which is not good considering how little I have left after the long term party of my 20’s.
What was so ridiculous?
Have you ever heard the term “never underestimate the bad taste of the American public?”? The “User’s Choice Award” goes to some band called Saving Abel (clever name). Signed to Virgin, they are the newest version of Creed/Nickelback (in fact they actually say they wish they wrote “Photograph”. I feel dirty just repeating that.). By this I mean bland rock songs with the heartfelt ballad thrown in (in what used to be called “the power ballad”) to show they have a heart. Throw in some Marshall stacks and some body jewelry & tats and you got yerself an arena seller in most of the country.
Obviously, you know that music labels are in it for the cash. It’s called the music business for a reason. However the constant deluge of these middle of the road nasty bands are really grating on my sanity. People my age (in the 25-35 group) are wondering when rock will make a comeback. In clubs I have been in, people are always lamenting how great bands were in the 70, 80’s and up to the mid 90’s. This might be more nostalgia then fact, but the truth remains…the state of rock music in this country is terrible.
So where are the bands? The truth of the matter is, from what I have seen, the music scene is in a state of what can only be called Suck. Yes, with a capital S. Seriously. You have your hipster bands who want to be the next Arcade Fire (not a fan) or The Killers or *insert name of the last breakout band that only gets played on college radio that makes you want to poke your eyes out*.
Sometimes I think that perhaps games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band will open up kids eyes and ears to old songs and bands that might influence them in a positive way. Only, I see the problem is that kids think playing an instrument is as simple as playing Guitar Hero and, indeed, it is not (I say this as a beginner bass player and an old school drummer). So there goes that.
Until some band breaks thru this mediocrity (like Guns and Roses did) and nausea of bands like Nickelback & Staind, I am afraid rock will continue to be ridiculed as middle of the road crap. For once I have to admit, the state of rock radio is awful and I would have to agree with them. However I think it is only a matter of time. People are tired of skinny jeans and too much eyeliner. Something big is in the air, it’s only a matter of time before some A&R guy wanders into some bar to see a band he spotted online somewhere and looses his mind.
Until then, the music industry will continue to be clueless bastards and keep trying to spoon feed you crap. Be a good chap, will ya, and spit that shit out.
The October Season
Between job interviews, I have been addicted to playoff baseball. Usually this time of year I am knee deep in NFL news, but since the Phillies are in the playoffs again this year, I am hooked like a cokehead on teethgrinding.
TBS is broadcasting the ALDS & NLDS games this year and has worked on thier lineup of announcers. This is a nice way for me to say they are way less annoying then last year. Dennis Eckersley, former reliever for the Oakland A’s (and the man who pitched Kirk Gibson the home run ball in the ‘88 World Series. I called that shot by the way, but that’s another story for another time), is intelligent but accessable. Curtis Granderson is well spoken and knows the game well. Cal Ripken is, well, Cal Ripken: a legend (did his and the team’s quest for him to break the Lou Gehrig “Iron Man” streak hurt the team by having some great players sit on the bench for the sake of the streak? Discuss!). This show is anchored by Ernie Johnson, a man who knows when to talk and when to shut up. That is a skill he must have picked up hosting TNT’s NBA Postgame show with (my favorite goofball) Charles “Chuck” Barkley. Throw in guys like Tony Gwynn, Ron Darling and others, and it seems like TBS is serious about not annoying the crap out of thier viewers. And I, for one, salute that.
Fox, on the other hand, is broadcasting the ALCS & NLCS games. This makes me want to just turn off the tv. Seriously. Joe Buck should be beaten with a sock full of nickels every time he opens his mouth. He is not funny, witty or even entertaining. Tim McCarver, while being another baseball legend, should be shown the door. The other guys I can deal with (well maybe not Mark Grace), but who really makes me want to stick a fork in my ear is Jeanne Zelasko.
Jeanne anchors the Fox Pre and Post Game shows. As a quick aside, I hate slamming other girls who are making thier way in the guy controlled world of sports. It is seriously hard to have a career in such a dominated world. However, Fox Sports should have thier collective heads examined for putting her on the anchor desk. I won’t even get into whatever the hell it is they call that wardrobe they dress her in, or how they give her weird hair. She can’t control that. What she can control is her reporting style and her needlessly aggressive way she approaches everything that comes out of her mouth. Ugh.
Fox doesn’t get baseball broadcasting in the least little bit anyway. They have always approached it like football, where you find some guys who used to play and some coaches and pundits, stick them in suits and make them chatter behind desks. That works for the NFL (Terry, Howie, Strahan, and the unholy demon himself, Jimmy Jones) but baseball is a more relaxed, laid back kind of sport. Why not have the broadcasters wear polo shirts and have more on the field segments? TBS has seemed to figure this out, why Fox hasn’t, I’ll never know.
Anyway, I’ll be rooting for the Phils to clinch the NLDS tomorrow and bring on the Dodgers for the National League title and onto the World Series!!
