Happy Anniversary! We are 10!!

Ten years.
That's a long time to do anything,let alone something like this.

Ten years ago,I took a idea (with this great start) from the lovely Cherie to write down my travels in baseball and over the years,TRS has ebbed and flowed from different topics and different styles.

We went from daily coverage of teams to general thoughts on personnel.
Some things have come and gone.
Some teams (Seahawks) have come and gone and some teams have arrived (S.F.Giants) and yet others have stood the test of being here for every year (Indians,Pirates,Browns,Devils,Cavaliers and Buckeyes).

Outside of husband and father,this project has been a part of my life longer than anything that I have ever done.Work does not count as things that I want as part of my life-HA HA.

I like to think that reading through the years,that I don't write all about sports,but if you sift through,you could get to know me pretty well and that's part of the process too.
Leaving something behind that says I was here.

It's been a great 10 years,so I'd like to thank a few people.
Let's start with the people that take care of me most-the lovely Cherie and Rachel.
Without them,much of the stuff that I write about doesn't happen.

Ryan was a much larger part of the blog in the past,but some of the stories through the years are often associated with his adventures with me.
Battlin' Bob was around a lot more earlier in the blog's run,but I'm still in touch with Bob a lot,even if we don't see each other as much,
Bob has always given the blog "pub" and I only wish he updated his "Grumblings and Rumblings" more.
It was always a hilarious read and it's missed.

To our two best supporters-Big Don and Fred Landucci.
Don has been our longest booster and his friendship has been appreciated and for Fred,geez what can I say about the blog/podcast/Fightheads biggest booster.
Fred always makes me feel like my work makes his day better and his kindness and support is beyond what anyone can expect.

To my friends (which Fred is one) that give me so much fun on various trips that make the blog and the road trip posts so easy to go on and so easy to write about-Derreck Chupak,Bill Cover,Doug Hopkins,Mike (Miguelito Loveless) Landucci and Kendall Morris.
Those trips are why I work like a maniac in the winter to enjoy those in the summer.
Thanks to all of you for the fun and friendship-anymore with you gentlemen,it's more about the fun than any autographs that we get.

And then there is Denise Nicarry,who treats me like the little brother she never had and gives me the big sister I never had-I like to think we each filled a void like there.
I even get to be the bratty little brother for the first time in my life!
One more thank you to Ramon Malpica,who puts in so much work on FightHeads and allows me to participate in his show.
Fightheads is so much fun to do and I've so enjoyed the experience!

Thanks to all the guests that have appeared here for interviews on the blog and podcast and most of all-thanks to anyone that has read this over ten years.
If I've forgotten anyone,I am so sorry.
Thanks to Verizon,what should have taken a small amount of time has taken five times that.
If I missed you,I apologize.

It's all wrapped up in a ten year ball that is in its own little time capsule and there for me or anyone else to review.
I've enjoyed it all and thanks to all of you...

Live long and Prosper.

Happy Late Anniversary to Us!

I missed our 9th anniversary when we took Rachel to Ohio and wanted to do our annual post,where we thank our friends and readers for what we do.

The past year has been a big year for the TRS empire as we added the podcast to what we do.
I've had some great opportunities to talk to some people that I would never been able to without the podcast and I so enjoy doing it and hearing that people enjoy the show.
Without sponsorship,there could be changes on the horizon,but I like doing it so much,that even without sponsorship-I believe it will continue,just in a reduced manner due to the constraints of bandwidth.
I still have some interesting people that have agreed to do the show and I'm looking forward to getting bring those shows to you-no matter how long it takes.
It still to this day freaks me out (in a good way) when someone says how much they liked a show or know something about my life because they read or listened to my work.
The numbers here might not be Sports Illustrated level,-but I appreciate each and every one of you more than you can ever know.
Day to day coverage of most sports has transitioned away,but things haven't changed that much-They still are the Thoughts of RS.

So without further ado-lets start with the thanks!
Of course to the lovely Cherie,who makes everything run and always receives credit for the original idea of the blog.
Nothing I do happens without her input and whenever I have things on my mind (important or not) she is the go-to person for counsel.
My children aren't exactly regular readers or listeners,but I appreciate having both Ryan and Rachel in my life.
I so miss staying up and watching a late baseball game from the left coast with Ryan,talking about sports or things so mundane as what you did that day and I love watching almost every Devils game with Rachel as she's learned the game and fallen in love with the team.
You don't know how many times I've glanced down the couch and realized the memories being made and that like with Ryan,there will be a day where these times are no more...
I love you all more than words can describe.

Thanks to my graphing buddies that make spring and summer worth savoring-Brad Adams,Derreck Chupak,Bill Cover,Doug Hopkins and Kendall Morris.
I don't know what I'd do without hanging out with you guys in the summer,but let's not find out!
I have a feeling you just might be hearing more from some or all these guys on the podcast soon!

I'd also like to thank Steve Brandenburg.
I know some of you might wonder if Steve and I have had a falling out-nothing could be further from the truth.
Steve's friendship is important to me and I couldn't have gotten the podcast off the ground without him.
Thanks,Steve it was appreciated more than you know....

Thanks to my two big sisters-Denise Nicarry and Krista Anderson,both of who have filled a void in my life that has existed since day one in the big sister role.
Denise reads my stuff and even listens to the show (she fast forwards through the boxing stuff,I'm fine with that) and Krista?
Well,Krista has known me longer than anyone I know outside of family and she has such an interesting and varied bunch of friends that she'd be amazed at just how often I pluck them for items to clean the inbox.
Now if I could just get Krista's sister to do my show! Ha Ha!
Thank you both of everything.

A really special thanks to Fred Landucci and Big Don Cain.
These two gentlemen always read,listen,give me input and their kindness goes a long way when the day is bad here or elsewhere.
Fred and Don are easily the people that tell me quickly when a column or a show was great and even when it's mediocre,because it didn't hit home-because I didn't hear from them! Ha Ha!
Thank you both so much for being such terrific friends and supporters of what I do.

Thanks as well to three people that I have physically never met-Ian McArdle,Ramon Malpica and Julie Kendall.
Ian is the Chico Marx to my Groucho on Facebook and our antics there always makes me laugh for a good time.
Ramon is my boxing ear and it was doing Ramon's show that I enjoyed so much that helped me make the decision for my own podcast.
Julie has done the show several times and rare is the day that she doesn't check on me to see how I'm doing.
When Julie makes it big some day in acting,no one deserves it more...
Thanks to all of you.

I'm sure I've missed some of you and I have some great friends that I haven't mentioned,but I decided to keep it to people near me online or somehow related to the blog in some way.
Thanks to all of you,I hope to keep you reading and listening as the road to year ten begins!

Happy 8th Anniversary to us!

Time to admit it-I've been a bit unmotivated here the last few days.
Things starting to catch up to me,I guess.
I'll try to be more positive as I want to try another health revamp,although as long time readers know,the word "another" shows the lack of success in the past.
However,you cannot just roll over and stop,so lets see how this works out.

I haven't had much to write about either.
Two less than thrilling Devils losses on the road in Washington and Carolina,although the Washington loss was in overtime when my man Steve Bernier tied the game with less than a minute to play to force the extra period,but neither game was anything to write home.
At this point,the Devils are playing out the string (It's possible they could be officially eliminated from playoff contention today) and so am I as I look to the graphing and baseball season for entertainment.

Just when you get down though,you look and it hits you-today is our 8th anniversary!
Yep,eight years of doing this,which is pretty significant to me and covering lots of different stuff.
From various teams to issues to learning a little about me and my past,whether you have been with us from day one or recently,you have had lots of material to peruse.
I'll leave it up to you whether that is good material or not,but the archives are there.

I'm excited about the future here with the blog and the podcast-I'm enjoying doing both and I have some ideas for some fun things over the next year that I hope will be interesting.
It's going to be a good year,I believe.

Time for thanks and the list gets longer every year.
If I miss you,please forgive me,I'm at the road office,the last night of the work week and it tends to wear on you.
Of course thanks to the number one person in my life,the person that hatched this idea and the person that I live to make proud of me-the lovely Cherie.
Without her love and guidance,I would likely be nowhere.
Thanks to my children,Ryan,who sends me ideas for the inbox at times and Rachel,who talks Devils hockey with me as they add to the blog and are both terrific people.
I have been very blessed.
I've made many errors in my time,but all that's good came from one smart and lucky decision long ago.
I love you all.

Also some thanks to my friends.
Battlin' Bob and our sister blog might not get updates much anymore,but when it does I always roar laughing,
Bob plugs the blog and the podcast and I appreciate that and his friendship.

Thanks to my graphing pals,Derreck Chupak,Brad Adams,Bill Cover and Kendall Morris.
I have a terrific time spending my springs and summers on  the circuit with you talking the game and the hobby and you all have become good friends to me.
Special thanks to Doug Hopkins,who always calls me to see how I am,has been a great friend and gets me the soda that I can't find elsewhere!

Thanks to two more people
Denise Nicarry is a Suns fan (good) and a Nationals fan (Nobody's perfect),but I've appreciated her friendship so much and she reads the blog with a quick note when she likes something I've written,which always means so much to me.
Krista Anderson is someone that I've known since I was five and she's always been someone that I admired for being her own person and doing her own thing.
Krista has such an eclectic group of friends on Facebook that I often find things for the inbox just looking at her timeline.
Thanks to both Denise and Krista-you both in many ways are the big sisters that I've never had....

And thanks to our longest running fan in Big Don Cain along with Fred Landucci and Mike Lowry
These three gentlemen always take time to tell me when I write something that they enjoy and add a personal note as well.
With the podcast,I am still getting that type of feedback and it's always appreciated!

Thanks to the two best things that I have found since joining Twitter almost two years ago in Ramon Malpica and Julie Kendall.
Ramon is the boxing friend I haven't had in years and it's due to his example,encouragement and help with the technical issues that I have the podcast.
Julie is a person that thinks of others first and is helping me with better promotion and marketing of the blog/podcast.
Besides that,she is super nice to me and I so hope her career hits it big like she deserves.
Thanks again to both of you.

If I missed anyone,again I apologize.
My sincerest and deepest thanks to all of you for what you do for the blog,podcast and for me personally,you mean the world to me.
I'll keep plugging along on the road to number nine!

27 years

Nope,that isn't our anniversary post for the blog,its 27 years of marriage for me and the lovely Cherie.

Now that makes me reflect in a positive manner because it's been a really nice run.
I've never been overly demonstrative about how happy our marriage has been,because often times the people that brag about how great things are become the same people that proclaim how bad things are on Facebook!
However,when it comes to these type of benchmarks,I attempt to put into writing how I feel about the love of my life.
I have told the story before that saw us get together,but what I'd like to get across is how things never really changed.
My wife is the person that I go to first when I need to vent and the person that I look for first when seeking counsel.
She may not be knowledgeable about everything or I may not even use the tack that she proposes,but her voice is consistently speaking with one intent-whats best for me,even if it isn't the way I'd handle things.

Cherie is the kindest and gentlest soul that I know and I've never met anyone with the grace and heart that she has,but she can be downright dogged in determination if she believes that I've been wronged.
People that think that the little quiet gal is laid back have been stunned to deal with the tiger that comes out when your author has been messed with.
Ask quite a few over the years from the fellow in the middle of a football game that I was playing in to baseball mothers that were overly aggressive to family members-Cherie is not one to be messed with when she comes to my defense.

But those times have been scarce over the years,as she brings such a warmth and spirit to all that know her,Cherie has a calmness that can defuse the upset and she always has what's best for me (you) in the end.
Cherie is quite devout in her faith in God and despite the fact that I don't share that with her,she has never made it an issue in our marriage by being overbearing about it,although I'm sure that she hasn't given up on me yet!
Cherie also has been tireless in her passion for homeschooling both of our children and she believes wholeheartedly in our decision to teach our children at home that has been proven to be the right one.

Cherie has stuck by me as I've changed from the headstrong young man that believed he knew all the answers to the paunchy middles aged man that,well,still thinks that he has all the answers.
I would be the first to say that Cherie has been the difference in a good life for me and she deserves all the credit for keeping me together enough to enjoy it.
Thanks for 27 great years and the numbers are just going to keep getting larger.....