Two years ago, Angelina graduated from Boston University with her bachelor’s degree. Today, she receives her doctorate in physical therapy and prepares to leave school behind and start her career. Words cannot express how proud I am of her, of the work she put in, both in school and in her skating, to reach this point.
Category / Turkey Talk
Ever Grateful Ever True
On May 18, 1997, I graduated from Purdue University. Today, nearly 27 years later, Danny will do the same. It has been a quick four years, with a freshman year impacted by COVID, three years of football games, a trip to Florida for a bowl game, two trips to watch men’s NCAA tournament games, women’s basketball games in Mackey, and the ever-present band concerts both on and off campus. I could not be prouder of him and look forward to seeing what comes next.
19 Again
No, this is not the same picture we used to kick off the month, but the theme is the same. Unfortunately, due to illness, we don’t have a lot of choices for Michael pictures these days. So, we celebrate Michael’s 19th birthday with another shot prior to his high school graduation last May.
What If… Moises Alou Makes That Catch
Welcome to the first installment of what should become a recurring feature, taking a look back at some occurrence in the world, mostly sports, and trying to ascertain what the outcome would have been if just one thing, a decision or an outcome, went a different way. We start in October 2003, with game six of the NLCS where one particular play, debated for years, may have turned the tide.
On October 14, 2003, the Cubs were five outs away from winning their first National League pennant since 1945. Mark Prior was on the mound for the Cubs and had retired eight straight batters into the eighth inning when Juan Pierre doubled, bringing Luis Castillo to the plate. On the eighth pitch of the at bat, Castillo hit a high foul ball down the left field line, heading towards the stands. Moises Alou tracked the ball and reached, when the ball was touched by a fan. A visibly upset Alou, along with Prior and Cub manager Dusty Baker, pleaded for a call of fan interference, but the umpires ruled that the ball had left the field of play. Castillo returned to the plate and, on the next pitch, walked on a wild pitch, allowing Pierre to advance to third.
Ivan Rodriguez then hit an 0-2 pitch for a single, knocking in Pierre and making the score 3-1. When the next batter, Miguel Cabrera, hit a shard ground ball to shortstop Alex Gonzalez, it looked like the rally was over, but, instead of turning the ready-made double play, Gonzalez booted the ball, loading the bases. Derrek Lee then drilled the next pitch for a double, knocking in Castillo and Rodriguez and tying the score 3-3. At this point, Baker emerged from the Cub dugout to remove Prior, but the damage had been done. The Marlins scored five more times, winning the game 8-3 and forcing a Game 7.
The following night, the Marlins completed the unlikely comeback, beating the Cubs 9-6 and going on the face the Yankees in the World Series. They would wind up winning that as well, defeating the Yankees in six games to take home their second title.
But what if Alou had made that catch? How would the rest of history play out? Let’s take a trip through the multiverse to see what the outcome would have been.
OK, so Alou makes the catch for the second out of the inning. Let us assume Rodriguez still singles, scoring the speedy Pierre from second to make it a 3-1 game. Let us also assume Cabrera hits the same grounder to Alex Gonzalez, but, without the pressure of trying to make up for the missed out, he fields it cleanly, retiring Cabrera and ending the inning. Continue reading →
The End Of The Road
In June of 1954, a new sports magazine hit the shelves. Sports Illustrated quickly became the bible of the sports world, becoming the place to find long-form, in-depth articles about the games that Americans followed, or were about to follow. In 1964, they published their first swimsuit issue, helping to keep interest in the magazine in the down time between the end of football season and the start of baseball season. The magazine continued to be the leader in sports journalism until the late 1990s, when the type of stories long associated with the print world moved to the internet. In 2018, the magazine was sold and then sold again, to a venture capital firm that then licensed the brand name to a publisher that only wished to wring whatever value was left. Today, it all came to an end, as the licensing agreement was terminated and the entire staff of Sports Illustrated was informed they would be laid off.
It’s hard to understand what this magazine meant to people before the internet. I first got a subscription in late 1985 or early 1986. I know the 1986 swimsuit issue, the first cover featuring Elle Macpherson, was my first and, as an eleven-year-old, introduced me to feelings I had not had before. Eventually, I would use the magazine to decorate my bedroom, using my favorite covers to circle the four walls near the ceiling. I got the bloopers video and the football phone, used to entice subscriptions. At some point, the subscription lapsed, probably around the time I left for college, and I can’t remember the last time I bought an issue, let alone read one, but it was good to know it was still there.
For whatever reason, the brand, and all of the cachet that went along with it, didn’t translate to the digital world. ESPN.com was the default place for sports news on the internet and, even if you found yourself on their website, it was severely lacking. While today is the end, I’m sure it isn’t the end the end. Someone new will buy, or license, the name and use it for an AI-generated website, or a sports betting app, or something that will try to extract any worth the brand still has. Those attempts will likely fail.
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Mr. T, Emmanuel Lewis, and I join together to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
A Year Of Activities
For the first time in my 49 years, I managed to attend a ticketed event in every month of 2023. Let’s take a look back and see what I had going on this year.
The first quarter of the year is typically the quietest for me. This year started strong, with a trip to Florida for the Citrus Bowl on January 2nd. College basketball ruled the day in February, with my first trip to Bloomington, Indiana coming that first weekend. The Big Ten Tournament rolled into the United Center in March, making me three for three to start out the year.
The second quarter brings the start of baseball season, which easily knocked out the next three months. I added 19 games over these three months, which included the Orioles against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field in April, the Mets battling the Cubs at Wrigley Field in May, and my first-ever visit to T-Mobile Park in June to see the White Sox play the Mariners. Continue reading →
22 Candles
Today marks the end of Danny’s 22nd revolution around the sun. To celebrate, we head back to last September, when he performed at an early morning Purdue volleyball match.
Turning 24 (and 49)
We celebrate Angelina’s 24th (and my 49th) birthday with a photo from last May, when I was in Boston for her graduation from BU.
Jury Duty 2: Electric Boogaloo
This past Monday, I was summoned to appear at the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse for jury duty in District Court. This was my fifth time being called overall, my first time in District Court, and my second tour of (jury) duty in as many months. Unlike last month’s trial, this go around consisted of a trip downtown on Monday and a lot of reading on Monday before being let go for the day and… that was it. No need to report for the rest of the week. Hopefully, I get a nice long, multi-year break before my number comes up again.