56

     It's that time of year again to reflect on another victory over father time with the "Bulldog" of Ball Four fame, Jim Bouton, receiving the honors to represent 56.

It's been a different year since last July.

My work issues were settled in my favor but I've had a few changes in schedule since then, and while I really enjoy the new schedule as far as time off, I can't say I don't miss the solitude of the overnight shift.

I don't travel like I did previously because most of my autographing days are finished.

Baseball doesn't play on Mondays in the minors, and I work Fridays and Saturdays now, which makes me unavailable for those nights.

I miss the camaraderie of the group but I've found that I don't miss netting around the field, overly officious club employees right out of college, and I don't miss players that act more like businessmen than baseball players.

I still go on the occasional trip but they have to be planned even more now than in the past and when I do go, I find myself having more fun doing anything but going to the game!

My family has gone through a change or two but I'll save most of that for the road trip series that I am in the middle of writing.

I still have the love of my life happy and healthy, who always takes care of me and asks for next to nothing in return.

I'm blessed to have Cherie here with me and our crazy dog, Posey, brings so much joy to my life.

Rachel is doing her work with video editing and YouTube and is doing very well with her job.

Ryan lives in Omaha, Nebraska and while I miss him, I'm lucky enough to live in an age where I can talk to him for free anytime I wish.

Sometimes, I think we all wish for the simplicity of times past and there is much to be said for those days.

However, when you have family and friends around the country, the current technology allows almost the contact and everyday comfort of living a few miles away.

I couldn't be prouder of either of my kids, I worry as all parents do but I couldn't be prouder.

I still enjoy sports and writing about them but my time is limited compared to what it once was and it has affected the blog a little.

I worry like everyone else about the everyday things that affect us all and as we all age, our aches and pains that used to come and go now come more frequently and take longer to leave.

I worry about my weight and wonder how this got to this point yet I move around like a far smaller man and I feel fortunate for that.

I am a fortunate person with family and friends who care about me as I care for them.

Could things be better?

Of course but most of the things that could be better aren't life-changing, they just make life a little easier and a little more fun

Thanks to all of you and I wish I could name everyone but it's getting late and I really want to finish up.

When you think about it that way, life at 56 isn't so bad.

Rachel's Day

Friends and Family Week continues with Rachel's Day.
Rachel wanted me to write about my pets as a child/growing up and I will always try to oblige her requests as I'm sure that she doesn't read many of the posts here, and I'm happy that she is participating!

The lovely picture to the right is yours truly around eleven (That's my guess; I could be wrong) years old as my dad was beginning to have goats around the premises.

The goats weren't really pets but weren't contributing animals, either.
Dad just wanted to have some around, and as a result, we did.

I don't remember either taking this picture or much about this particular goat either, but there was one goat that I liked a lot and was tame enough to come up to you for attention, and even when Dad's goat phase was gone, "Timmy" was still around.
He wasn't over-the-top tame, but not nasty either.
He'd lick your hand and come up to the people that he knew but was laid back towards others.

I think Timmy arrived as a baby from our first goat a year or so before this picture was taken, and he was around all through high school.
One day, I came home, and Dad said he had given him away to someone he worked with (I knew the lady, so it wasn't one of those "ran away" stories).
My dad was like that with things; he would get into something big for a few years and then lose interest.

I was bothered with not getting to say goodbye, but not enough to throw a fit as he was getting older and overweight and I thought it might be better to be at a place with more room to roam.
A few days later, Dad said Timmy had dropped over at the new place and died.
Dad talked about that in one of my last visits there and mentioned that he thought Timmy had died of a "broken heart" away from his family.

30 plus years later, I learned a lesson- don't separate older pets  (and people) from their family, no matter the reason.
Real Families (and not all families have this, so I'm not judging) stick together.

Cats were always around as a kid, but we didn't really have them inside.

There were always 'wild' cats around, but not really in the house as the neighbors fed the cats outside, so they were always around.

There were two that might have made the cut with luck.

The first was a small gold-colored cat that was around when I was in kindergarten.
I'm not sure if it had a name, but when I would come home from school for my post-school batting practice with Edna (really, I came home every day and hit Wiffle balls from her pitching) and this cat would chase the ball and try to stop it.
One day, the cat was gone and in a house across the street where it would live its life for years as I would see her in a window getting fat and hopefully happy.
I always wondered what she thought as she looked out the window.
Did she remember the little boy with the ball and bat that she used to chase, and did she know me from anyone else that she gazed at through her window?

My parents' house was a tough place for animals as the Sharpsburg Pike may not have had a large number of people, but the cars that flew through at fifty-plus MPH were deadly to any animal that dared to cross its path.
"The Pike" was the main reason that I understood why the cat without a name was adopted. It was not uncommon to see animals splayed across the asphalt.
It was never pleasant to see, and you never got used to it, but fortunately, I never had to see a personal pet hit by a car.

The second cat avoided that fate, but he came around often and was quite tame for an outdoor cat, After a while, he quit coming around until one day he was clearly ill before I went to school.
When I came home from school, Edna told me that he must have gotten into something poisonous as he was very sick and then passed away on the porch.

I had three dogs when I was a child. Mikki was an all-white Eskimo that we brought home when we lived in Ohio.
She lived with us inside when I lived there, but Dad moved her outside when we moved back here.
Mikki was an affectionate dog that didn't seem to mind being outside. She grew blind through the years but never got nasty.

After we had been in Maryland for a few years, Dad decided to get a second dog- this one was another white dog a German Shepard mix named Diabolo.
While I know the meaning of the name, I'm not really sure why Dad named him that.
Diabolo tried to be an inside dog, but he was always trying to get over the gate to separate rooms, and he broke his leg once in an attempt.
Dad allowed him to stay inside until his leg healed and then he became an outdoor dog as well.
Both dogs had large outdoor enclosures and weren't chained up, but I always felt bad for outdoor dogs, and if I couldn't keep one inside, I wouldn't have one.
When both were older, Dad decided to send both of them away.

I'm sure with Mikki's age and sight she was euthanized, but I've always had some hope that Diabolo was adopted by someone.
He wasn't young, so that may not have happened, but he was five or six years younger than Mikki, so it was possible.
I missed not saying goodbye, which sadly happened to me once again with a beloved pet.

When I was a senior in high school and dating Cherie, someone dumped two puppies out at the Valley Mall and left them there.
When we walked into the mall, Mall employees were trying to find them a home, and when we left the mall only one remained.
I couldn't stand seeing him sent to the pound, so I took him home, where my parents weren't exactly thrilled.

Named after Livingstone Bramble, who was the lightweight champion of the time, Bramble was likely a hound dog of some kind, and in our early apartments, we weren't allowed dogs.

I cleaned up a large old shed ( where the cows and goats lived in their day) and gave Bramble as good of an outdoor home as I could make for him.
Edna took care of Bramble most of his life after I married Cherie and moved out, but I loved that dog dearly and hated seeing him away from me.

My dad thought that Bramble didn't know me from anyone else, and one day he took him out when I saw him visiting, and when I called to him, Bramble ran to me with such joy that even Dad was surprised.
I would have been more than happy to take him in when dogs were finally approved, but after many years outdoors in a rural environment, I thought it would have been a difficult adjustment for him to move inside a town.

What hurts me most to this day is how I lost Bramble, who must have been nine or ten when he somehow got out of his area and found his way to my grandmother, six houses down the road.
A relative found him, but amazingly no one was smart enough to say that looks like Shawn's dog and call up to ask if he had gotten out.

Instead, they called the ASPCA, and by the time all of this reached my ears days later, Bramble was gone, either adopted or euthanized, as my checking for him in those times was fruitless.
I've always hoped he was adopted, but I'll never know what happened to him after he was sent there.

I have never really gotten past not being able to say goodbye to Bramble and I also admit that I have held it against those relatives through the years.
That's not the best way to handle it, but I've never been able to figure out why no one called to ask if he had gotten out or even mentioned it until well past the time that I could have done anything about it, and I'm not sure it'll ever stop bothering me.

There's a look at my childhood pets.
I hope you know a little more about me and my childhood with pets.
I'll be back next time with another version of Friends and Family.  

Devils throw away victory in opener.

For nearly two entire periods, the New Jersey Devils and their fans could not have scripted a better opening night than they were receiving from their team.
After all, the Devils had raced up, down and around the Winnipeg Jets and built a four-goal lead.
But games aren't won for play over thirty-nine minutes and forty-nine seconds and when Winnipeg's Dmitry Kulikov beat Cory Schneider with just eleven seconds to go in the second period, little did the Devils or I know it, but it was all bad news from there as the Jets would score three times in the third period, almost end the game in regulation and eventually deal the Devils a 5-4 loss via the shootout.
It wasn't all bad news as the Devils at least landed one point on the evening, but this could have been so much more.
Devils goals to Blake Coleman (1 and 2), Nikita Gusev (1) and Sami Vatanen (1).
The Devils travel to Buffalo on Saturday night, so there is no coverage here due to conflict with Ohio State-Michigan State.

Hell Raisers

1) Cory Schneider left the game after the initial goal in the third period by Winnipeg with an undisclosed injury and there is no word at this writing of the injury or its seriousness.
Schneider was good in goal until the Kulikov goal which was soft, as Schneider finished with 19 saves before leaving the game.
I wonder how much the game was affected by the Schneider absence?

2) Considering the circumstances, it is hard to criticize Mackenzie Blackwood too much for his problems in the loss.
Blackwood wasn't stretched and ready physically on short notice and when you add that to the hoopla of opening night for a player going through that for the first time, it's tough to knock anyone's performance- even if it wasn't very good.

3) The defensive breakdowns were glaring, particularly on the game-tying goal where it seemed like the Devils were on the ice since the Carter Administration and simply couldn't get off under any circumstances.
It didn't take a hockey expert to see what was going to occur and sure enough, it did.

4) That breakdown alone should have been on the coaching staff, but one other thing stood out to me.
Remember when I commented in the preview that I was always hesitant to try to figure out lines and defensive pairings because they were often obsolete quickly?
Well, that was true by the first game as the Devils placed captain Andy Greene with new acquisition P.K. Subban, breaking Greene up with his pairing with Damon Severson.
Severson was moved with Mirco Mueller and they were really bad.
Bad to the point that after the game-tying goal, they rode the pine for the rest of the game and deservedly so.
I'm not saying that this is more than a bad night, but even on the surface-Severson and Mueller's strengths and weaknesses don't seem to be a good match.

5) Some good news- I had forgotten how much I loved the grit of Blake Coleman.
Coleman's second goal was one of those that contained a large amount of luck, but luck often arrives through hustle and effort and the pair arrived together as Coleman swatted the puck with one hand, a defender on his back and falling to the ice.
Plays like that don't come often and they come along even less for the high effort players, so it was good to see that work be rewarded.

6) Nikita Gusev is going to be a star.
I know it's one game, but you can see the vision and the offensive skills with the ability to finish that isn't as common for even scorers as you would think.
This guy is going to be a standout and I think it might be sooner than one thinks.
The only thing that keeps Gusev from being a first-line forward is the Devils also having Taylor Hall on the roster.

7) Jack Hughes showed what he'll become, but he seemed a bit jittery and overwhelmed, but that's understandable, he's 18.
I can't imagine being in that situation at 18.
There will plenty of nights that you see the growth and struggles and then there will be others that you'll smile and think forward to the great days to come.

8) The Gusev/Hughes/Jesper Bratt line is going to be exciting to watch grow as well and I hope that John Hynes sticks with these guys as a unit.
The offensive creativity and skills combined with their speed on the ice will cause so many matchup problems for defenses that there will be times that they will seem to be overwhelming to rival teams.
There will be plenty of defensive breakdowns and there will be nights that will cost the Devils a game, but keeping these three together will be worth it.

9) I was surprised to see rookie Jesper Boqvist not dressed for the game and off-season addition John Hayden in the lineup.
Hayden's just a journeyman and even though it was only one game, I hate to already see Boqvist sitting when he could be learning, so that a guy like Hayden can play.
If this becomes a pattern, I would have rather seen Boqvist returned to Sweden for the year.

10) In the shootout, the Devils looked to use their best possible lineup with Nikita Gusev, Jack Hughes, Taylor Hall, and Kyle Palmieri before the game ended.
I'm not sure about the Devils other shootout performers (after missing most of last season), but on the surface, I'd wonder who would be the fifth and sixth shooters?
Just a guess, but maybe Myles Wood or Pavel Zacha?

11) I know it seems that I'm overly bothered about losing an opener with 81 games to go, but I hate giving away points that should have been safely in the pocket.
When you are a team that has playoff hopes, but you aren't a powerhouse that figures to steam into the playoffs with few roadblocks, every point means a lot when April rolls around.

12) Every recap won't be this long, it'll depend on time to both watch and write.

Please forgive a personal note as I wrap up.
I didn't really lose my love for the Devils or the game as part of my hiatus and although there were times that I missed both and especially last winter when I found myself a little bored without the Devils or Cavaliers to watch.
What I discovered that what I missed most was time with Rachel.
Hockey is the only thing that really bonds us together, she likes to spend more time with her mom with more things in common and that makes all the more reason that Devils hockey became even more important to me.
I knew from the first day when she gained such a passion for the team and for Adam Henrique that the day that Henrique left the organization was going to be difficult.
It always is with your first sports love as a fan, it's intense and passionate and when it changes, it changes you as a fan.
The love is never as pure, never quite as intense and it's never the same as that first time.
That doesn't mean that you don't care or lack passion, it's just different.

I expected Rachel to have a hard time with the trade, but I didn't quite expect the long-term issues to the point of rarely watching the team for the rest of that season.
Without watching with her, I didn't enjoy it as much and when she lacked interest for the 2018-19 season, I decided not to pay the money for Center Ice for the first time in close in two decades.
I missed it and watching the games with her.
I'm glad to have that back and to share my thoughts on the season here with whoever reads this.
Anything else that happens on the ice won't be this a bad season for me- Promise.

Shiloh

Last night was another rough night in the household as we lost our only cat Shiloh after a brief
illness.
Many of you didn't know Shiloh because I didn't write a lot about her here, but she wasn't an ordinary cat (some pun intended) and I can say that honestly because I've never been a cat person.
An ordinary cat likely wouldn't have found a home with us and Shiloh found her way into our home and was part of the team at various times with all four of our dogs- Teddy, Chancellor, Big Ed, and now Posey.

The story behind Shiloh coming with us dates back to either our first or second year after we bought our house.
She was just a small outdoor cat that showed up in the yard for a while and played with Cherie and Rachel outside for a bit and then she disappeared for a bit.
Cherie and I went around the neighborhood for a walk one day and this cat was lying on a front porch and it was like she looked at us, thought "Hey, I remember those people!" and followed us all the way home!
Shiloh ( I never liked the name that they gave her, reminded me of Neil Diamond-Bleech) was an indoor/outdoor cat (Ryan had to go out onto the outer porch a few times to break up her catfights at night) for a period before disappearing for a few days.
We figured that she must have wandered off to greener pastures or another home as happens with outdoor cats sometimes Cherie and I were upstairs preparing for me to leave for work and we heard this light scratching at the upstairs door.

Upon checking it out, there was an injured Shiloh with her pelvis and one of her clavicles was dislocated.
A neighbor a few houses down was doing some remodeling and apparently, she had injured herself among the materials and drug herself that distance to our home where she must have on some level known she had a safe haven.
I cannot imagine the pain that she must have felt or the courage that it took to make it here through that pain, but I brought her inside safely and took her to the vet the next day to repair her injuries.
Shiloh would fully recover and I told the family that now she was a permanent member of the family on the condition that she would now be an indoor-only cat for good.

Shiloh would have different relationships with each dog.
Teddy basically ignored this intruder, only acknowledging her when he would stumble into her path to being swatted at and then go about his business, while his buddy Chancellor gave Shiloh a very wide berth and stayed away from her.
Shiloh pretty much had the run of the house until Big Ed arrived and decided she would make a good rabbit and chased her through the house in a memorable run that I only wish would have been recorded!
After that race, Shiloh pretty much stayed upstairs by her choice and even Posey who was far closer to her size and wanted to play, Shiloh didn't want to interact very often.
I suppose that's why some of my friends from the graphing world didn't even know we had a cat because she so rarely came around downstairs around others.
She would come down on occasion, usually in the morning or later evening when things were calm and Posey was in another room.
I'll remember the last time that she came downstairs to hang out with me, as it was just Sunday and she acted just as always, trotting down the stairs and snuggling up to me on the couch as she licked my hand (I've always thought it was weird how rough cats tongues felt) and tried to bite the corner of my laptop as usual as well.
Shiloh didn't act any differently up until yesterday, although she had become visibly thinner over the last six months or so, as when I came back from the Muni to be told she was ill.
I went upstairs to "her" area and she saw me meowed a lot and snuggled up to me on the floor.
Shiloh's eyes didn't seem to have that defeated look that my other pets had at the end, but it seemed pretty clear to me that something was clearly wrong.
Her eyes seemed bright and alert, but she had no interest in food or water and I was unsure of what to do.

I had the feeling that as underweight as she was, her return home wasn't going to be likely, but I did have hope.
However, I was told that the likely news wouldn't be good by the veterinarian and it was back to that awful decision that every pet owner contends with.
This one was easier and harder in different ways than with Teddy and Ed.
It was easier because after hearing what was likely to be done, Shiloh would have basically lived her entire life with only one bad day and wouldn't we all be that fortunate?
One of my college instructors once said that her life motto was "Live Long and Die Fast", which basically meant live a long life and end quickly without pain and suffering, and that always stuck with me.
That helped me with Shiloh, but it was harder in another way as Teddy and Ed each had that look of resignation that they "knew".
Shiloh may have had that in body, but those eyes made me think again and made the decision harder.

When Ed passed, he had a medicine that gave us hope and for a week, he was back to himself.
However, the crash was heartbreaking for him and for us to watch and the one thing that Cherie asked before I left with Shiloh was to make sure that what happened to Ed, didn't happen here with false hope.

I'll miss the little gal and that's coming from a person that never considered himself too much of a cat person.
She had a sweet personality that saw her not mind being touched but on her terms.
She wasn't the type of pet that enjoyed being picked up and carried around, yet she would come to you and nuzzle you when she wanted to.
She'll be missed.

And now for the three of us here, the final link to the days that Ryan lived here is gone and for the first time in roughly 17 years, there is only one pet in the house.
It won't make a difference in noise, Shiloh was a very quiet pet, but it feels a little different this morning.
It's hard to put into words, but it's a different house than the one I woke up to yesterday and we'll adjust, but it's never a breeze in these situations.
But if we just allow time to pass, it'll be ok.

I started to write a road trip post on last weekend's trip to the Hudson Valley Renegades, but this took precedence.
I'll try to work on it later tonight.

Goodbye doesn't mean forever

The NHL season started last night and the New Jersey Devils stomped the defending champion Washington Capitals 6-0.

And I didn't watch a bit.
For the first time in over 15 years, I didn't buy the Center Ice package, so I likely won't have a lot of Devils coverage this season other than trades or the occasional game that I catch against Washington or NHL Network.
The last time that I didn't watch all the teams games, the Devils were playing at the pictured Brendan Byrne or Meadowlands arena and we were living in an apartment before that cable company even offered the package (they did offer it for a few years before we added Directv).

Oh, I'm still a fan and I'll be following the team"old school" style if the old school style can be considered following games online and on the radio, but some things changed and those changes made the difficult decision easier to make.
I had enjoyed the Devils games mostly alone for years, Ryan was a fan of the Ottawa Senators, Cherie never seemed as interested in the team as she did the Cavaliers and Rachel had never been much of a sports fan, so I watched them by myself for the most part.

I breezed along in my Devils fandom, perfectly content to watch arguably (along with Detroit) as the most consistent title contender of their time period battle for championships every year as from 1990-2010, the Devils would miss the playoffs just once, win three Stanley Cups and four conference titles in a pretty good run for a fan of any team, let alone the team that was arguably at times in their history the third team in a three-team market.
The Devils missed the playoffs and then began a miracle run to the Stanley Cup finals where they would lose to the Los Angeles Kings, but in that season things began to change.
Rachel started watching games on occasion and by playoff time, Rachel was cemented with fandom for the team, for Adam Henrique, and watching all the games with me.

Rachel enjoyed that run, but she wouldn't see a lot of success on the ice as the Devils began to make risky moves with veteran players who were washed up or brought injury issues with them and the franchise began to pay the price as the Devils would miss the playoffs for the next five years under a despised coach (Peter DeBoer) and one that we liked, but the team was rebuilding in John Hynes.
Rachel was still a diehard fan with trips to Hershey to see the AHL Devils, the remembered trip to meet Henrique, and more Devils items than I ever had!

We watched the games together and despite the unhappiness with the losing, it was a great time to be a fan as I was teaching Rachel the game and enjoying the one thing that we've been able to share.
Rachel made lots of friends with a popular Devils Facebook page that she produced and I even made a friend as well.
She kept the page current daily and she enjoyed doing the page, and talking to fans, even though the team wasn't a very good one.

I had always admired her dedication to Adam Henrique and remembered how it felt to have that kind of honeymoon as a fan of a player and the team.
I also knew that doesn't last forever and I had talked to Cherie more than once wondering if Rachel was more of a Henrique fan or a Devils fan and sooner or later, we'd find out.
On November 30 of last year, Adam Henrique was traded to Anaheim and I learned just how devoted she was to Henrique as she just didn't want to watch anymore, although she did watch a playoff game or two as they slid into the playoffs as the eighth seed.

What I didn't expect was this- I didn't enjoy watching as much without her and my interest waned despite the Ray Shero revamp into a young and fun-to-watch team with Taylor Hall becoming the Devils first player ever to win the league's Hart Trophy as MVP.
I did watch, but not nearly as much, and by the end of the season, when most Devils fans were sky-high about the team's future, I was wondering about watching the next season.

I waited to see if Rachel was ready to watch again and she just didn't seem to be interested, so instead of tossing 165 dollars for a package of games that I rarely watched (and the NHL is a huge gouger as you pay a separate fee for internet streaming and TV, the NBA and MLB give those to you if you buy the TV package) and only would be wondering why I wasted the money.
So, I reluctantly ended my Center Ice package (and I wonder what I'm going to do without Devils or Cavaliers every night) and I guess I'll get back into something over the winter.

The title is from the 70's film Goodbye Girl and goodbye doesn't mean forever for me either.
Perhaps a year away will reignite my fire and I'll be back next year ready for the season.'

Maybe I'll be returning to watch more college basketball or maybe it'll be nothing at all, but at 50, I never expected things to turn out this way.
To Rachel, Adam Henrique (at that time, at least) was more important than the Devils.
What I didn't expect (on a leisure time basis, anyway) was that watching the Devils with Rachel was more important than watching them at all...

Back later with the PPM and Boxing Challenge.

Happy 21 to Rachel

I feel old today.
I haven't been feeling well, some medication I'm taking isn't agreeing with me and yet I feel pretty good today in a different way.

My little girl turns 21 today.
Rachel's an adult in every way now and I feel pretty good about that.
I've always felt Rachel was special because she was always our "miracle child" because Cherie and I didn't think that we were going to have any other children after Ryan and after nine years, we were fortunate enough to have Rachel come into our lives.

Rachel and Cherie are literally best friends and Cherie says that they click so well together because Rachel has so many of my traits that she loves spending time with her.
My apologies to Rachel for being like me, if that's true, but I find it to be quite a compliment.
Rachel is a person that deals with people with honor.
She takes no quarter and asks none either.
She'll give anyone a chance, but if you hurt her or deal with her dishonorably, it's unlikely that she'll give you a second chance to do it again and if she does and you burn that chance-you might as well not exist.
\
She's also not for sale.
She doesn't go around friends or family just to gain something, if she feels that you aren't a good person, family has nothing to do with it -she's through with you.

All of that is true- so is this- She has her mother's heart.
She is as loyal as anyone I've ever met, like her mother.
If Rachel cares about you, she'll do anything for you and her heart is pure like her mom.
She cares about things that others don't and only people that are privileged to get close to her know that she can be very soft to those that she cares about.

She's the best person with dogs that I have ever seen and if I had the money to do it, I would set her up in a dog business tomorrow.
She cares about animals and I'm not sure she could take being in the animal hospital business, but she would be so good in boarding animals and once she had some training herself, she would be an excellent dog trainer with her ability to communicate and get them to learn commands.

My daughter is 21 today and she's a special person.
Someone Somewhere is going to be a very fortunate person and they don't even know it.
But until then, I'll be happy to keep her with us and enjoy what we have here.

Rachel, I love you more than you can know-Happy Birthday...

Return to the Best Day...

If you've been with me for much of this ride, you may remember a post from almost five years ago, where Rachel said that day was the best day of her life.

I asked Rachel if she came close last Saturday at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention outside of Baltimore and she said that it was different but just as good.

Cherie and I had gone to last year's convention for the first time, and even though I didn't get the main reason that I wanted to go (Robert Conrad of Wild Wild West fame) with our friend Denise, and had a really good time, so we planned on returning this year-if the right guests were attending.

The guests were interesting enough -Patrick Duffy of Dallas and Step by Step fame, Morgan Fairchild (canceled for a job, it's in all contracts for these events, that the guests can leave if they have an acting job) Dawn Wells (Mary Ann of Gilligan's Island) and the big interest for Rachel-Shirley Jones of the Partridge Family.
The Partridge Family is Rachel's all-time favorite job and when I told her that Shirley Jones was scheduled, she was thrilled and immediately signed up for coming to this year's convention.
These things are pretty fun and even though in the two times that I have been there, I've spent a grand total of zero on anything for my collection, it still has been a blast going to the convention.

I was going to go and try to get Dawn Wells since Rachel getting Shirley Jones was more important than getting her for myself, but I decided to pass.
Half the fun is getting to see the stars of the past and since I took care of all of Rachel's Shirley Jones items to be signed and her picture, I decided to keep some of the money that I brought in my wallet!

Rachel rarely gets this excited about anything and the last time that I saw her like this was the day above with Adam Henrique in Hershey.
She was shaking with excitement and she managed to keep things together as she chatted briefly and had the above picture taken.
That lasted for a short period as she moved out of the line and began to cry!

That's the type of thing that makes doing things for your children feel pretty good -I know Rachel's almost 21, but still, anytime that I can do something for someone that I care about, I'm always willing to try!
Denise had a pretty good time too as she was able to get both stars of CHIPS to sign and take pictures with her Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox were both reported to be very gracious in dealing with their fans.
In the two years that I have attended the convention, I haven't seen one person be really nasty to a fan, although Robert Conrad seemed to be a bit salty, I think that's just Bob Conrad!
Coming from the sports world, that's far from always the case with celebrity star athletes!

I was able to catch up with Mike Roseberry for a few minutes there.
Mike is part of the York contingent that graphs games and I always have a good time with Mike, Lefty, and Denny when they come to the Muni or Frederick or when I hit Harrisburg.
Mike must have one terrific collection, I tell you what in my best Hank Hill impersonation!

After we were finished and left the convention, I decided to stop for lunch in Mt.Airy at the Greene Turtle.
We have a Turtle in Hagerstown, but I've only eaten there twice.
It's in an area of town that I rarely get to, but both times I was there, the food was fine.
As I'm sure you know, I try to take pictures when I go out to give Trip Advisor reviews.
The food was decent enough, but the highlight came when I took a picture of some of the jerseys hanging in the restaurant and was treated with a guy picking his nose!
I'm not sure, but maybe that was the reason that Trip Advisor didn't use that one?

I hurried up and got home as I had worked all night and then went to Baltimore so I had not had any sleep and still had one more stop on this evening.
I was able to get a little over 2 hours of rest before setting the timer for Ohio State-Army and getting in the care for the Golovkin-Alvarez party with the Landucci's.

After a one-hour and change drive, I was there for the card and had a good time meeting some friends of theirs and the irrepressible Miguelito and some great food!
Roast Beef  (and other meats too) sandwiches with all the fixings, tons of side items, the lovely Cherie's "Magic Bars" which are generally a hit wherever they travel, and the other star?
My man Fred made sure to order a Key Lime pie from Cootie Brown's!!
I noted how awesome that was on our trip and it was just as awesome in Pennsylvania!
I wrote about the fight already, but I enjoyed my visit to Fred and Linda's home.
Perhaps next time, I won't be so tired before the fights and I'll be better company!

It was a long day, but a fun one, and thanks to everyone that I saw and visited with! 

Father's Day in Harrisburg

I had a long and great Father's Day that saw a visit from Ryan, a trip for the lovely Cherie and me to Harrisburg for brunch with Fred and Linda Landucci, an ice cream cake from Rachel, and a meeting with a should-be HOF member that I'll never forget.

I've never been a person who worried much about Father's Day.
It's nice to have the children acknowledge me, but I look at that as part of the job of being a parent.

However, on this one, Fred Landucci graciously invited Cherie and me to Harrisburg for a brunch on the field before the Senators game against the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

I worked all night and had to leave as soon as I got home from work, if I was going to arrive on time, so it was a bit tiring to be out in the sun on a very hot day.
It really wasn't so bad when the cloud cover was available, but when it wasn't, it was blazing!
The Senators only sold a handful of these packages for brunch, and they placed the tables on the infield, so we were eating on the field.

Harrisburg has a terrific suite area for eating that Fred took us to last year, which is prepared by tremendous chefs, and they did great work again for this event.
They had a steak that just melted in my mouth, and the other items (especially the potatoes) were terrific, and Harrisburg's food in that area ranks at the top of the food chain on the local minor league circuit!
A great event, and thanks again to Fred and his wife Linda for hosting us!

We had about 45 minutes to kill before the gates opened, but the Senators graciously allowed the people from the brunch to stay in the stadium, if they desired.
While I am sure that sounds like a small thing, it isn't.
Most teams would have rushed you out of the stadium and dumped you in line with the other fans after they collected your money.
Harrisburg didn't do that, and on a hot day, it was very much appreciated.

As we sat underneath the stadium in the cool, we noticed Giants roving instructor Kirt Manwaring walking by.
Manwaring works with the catchers, and I have him for my two Score sets.

Manwaring was nice enough, but he lives fairly closely (Elmira, NY was on his baseball card), and when Richmond comes to Harrisburg, the usual rover is Manwaring for that reason, I suppose.
I thought to myself, "Manwaring again. Why can't we ever have one of the other rovers?".

This is mainly because the Giants have some pretty good rovers with not only cards in the sets that I collect, but also excellent big league careers such as Lee Smith, Vince Coleman, and Ellis Burks.
Because I try (not always possible) to see Richmond, I always carry cards with me for the Giants' rovers, but it's almost always Kirt Manwaring.

Well, on this day, whether it was divine intervention, blind luck, or karma-about five minutes after that thought crossed my mind, Lee Smith came out of the locker room, texting on his phone and sat down at the table beside us.

I hate to ever interrupt people when they are on the phone, so I didn't go straight over to him, but I did scurry through the box for the three Smiths that I needed for my set.
With my luck, Lee Smith was in BOTH traded sets for 1988 and 1990, so I needed four cards for him (It was actually three, as I had forgotten that Ed Loyd in Richmond had gotten the 1990 Smith with the Red Sox signed for me a while back) and that's not always an easy get with former major leaguers, let alone one with Lee Smith's resume".

Fred and I waited quietly for a few minutes, and then Linda looked over at Smith and said, "Thanks for signing".
A puzzled Smith looked at her oddly as he hadn't signed a thing, but it did break the ice enough for Fred and me to walk over and ask him to sign -so thank you, Linda, for that!!

What followed was arguably the best interaction that I've ever had with someone since I started this, as Lee Smith talked to Fred and me for 15 minutes and signed everything that we had.
We talked about his days as a Cub, pitching at Wrigley Field, and most of all the Hall of Fame and what he thinks has been held against him by the voters, along with his feelings on the Veterans Committee, where his candidacy will be considered next.

Lee Smith has the third most saves of all time (A few players below him have less) and was the last of the old school closers that pitched more than one inning to get a save.
Smith should be in on those facts alone...
It was fifteen minutes of old school baseball talk with Fred called him "a classic baseball man".
It's times like these that make me glad that I do this often crazy hobby...

I then watched warmups for Richmond and got some guys finished with just two other graphers.
I gained a nice addition in former major league outfielder Jerry Sands, who signed three cards and got to talk for a while with one of my favorites in Richmond pitching coach Steve Kline, who not only is a good guy, but one of the most hilarious people around!

The player that I had the most cards for was Sam Coonrod, a pitcher in the system that I just never seemed to get in various visits.
Coonrod never visited Hagerstown with Augusta, wasn't with Richmond on one of their Harrisburg visits last season, and I couldn't make the other.
Add to the stack of team set cards that he is in two Bowman sets, and I had plenty.
I was hoping for two- his SAL prospect card with Augusta and his 2016 Richmond card.
I settled for one...

I begged off early with the heat and the 90-minute drive home after working all night; I was worn out.
It was in the second inning, and I knew if I had stuck around longer, I would have stuck it out and gotten the rest of my stuff signed.
Instead, I did the smart thing for once and took Cherie home.
Once I got there, Ryan had written me and said he wanted to see me for Father's Day, which was very nice.
As I waited for Ryan, Rachel gave me an ice cream cake for Father's Day, which was very nice.
I'm eating better (38 pounds down!),So I had just a small piece before Ryan's visit, which was very nice and welcome.
Ryan was nice enough to get me an Amazon gift card, which I'm sure will be used someday soon!!
Finally, I went to bed, collapsing and sleeping from 7pm to 8am (with one small break in between) to complete a long day..

A better Father's Day, I cannot remember, and one more thanks to Fred and Linda Landucci for the brunch, my children for visiting with me, the lovely Cherie for coming with me to Harrisburg, and Lee Smith for talking baseball.

The schedule looks like this (breaking news permitting)-another cleaning out the inbox, the NBA draft (Cleveland doesn't have a pick unless they make a deal Hmmmm), the Devils picking first in the NHL draft, and something else from the archives of my past....

Back to normal

It wasn't really a vacation, but I am back from Avon, Ohio.

Rachel had another shoot with the ShurTech/Duck Tape people and I did what I do- make the arrangements with them, drive, and play Strat O Matic while things are going on.
I did manage to do the podcasts while there and I hope you enjoyed those.
The podcast was a little easier to do because I could tuck away and talk for a bit, whereas the blog was hurt by the interruptions that come with being in a workplace environment.

I had a great time in Avon with my favorite ladies and ate at a lot of great places- You can see what I thought of them- here
The people at ShurTech treated us all well and whether Rachel ever does future videos for them or not, I have nothing negative to say at all about how they treated her or us...

I was in Avon during our 9th anniversary here at TRS and with all the hubbub going on,I just remembered that I need to do our annual post talking about the anniversary along with our thanks to the various people that support the TRS empire.
I'll try to do that sometime during the next week.

For those of you interested in my schedule for the first two weeks of the season.
I'll be in Altoona on Tuesday for meet the team,
Hagerstown on Wednesday for meet the team,
Skipping the Suns home opener on Thursday as the pass isn't accepted on opening day and I just don't feel like arguing over it.

I'll then be at Hagerstown Friday through the following Wednesday, but then skipping the Frederick home opening series vs Lynchburg (Indians! Grrr) due to a crazy 48-hour run at work because of some work training, and then I might be able to hit Harrisburg on that Saturday for Vlad Guerrero night!
That is about the only good thing about the trainings-I was able to trade off to get the Guerrero night off!

Keep your eye out for a new feature every three months, which will be our official boxing rankings!
We have three voters right now and look to add maybe two more.
I think the boxing fans will enjoy that feature!

Think that will do it-Hope to be back tonight with our annual anniversary post! 

An evening in Hershey

The family made their annual trek to Hershey to see the Albany Devils.

This wasn't the usual scouting trip to see the Devils of the future.
The Albany team looks headed for the playoffs,which is unusual for them,but the real prospects of the parent team (Pavel Zacha and John Quenneville) are still playing junior hockey,so this is a team filled with lesser prospects and veterans that aren't part of the future.
Add into that that many of the best players of the team were in New Jersey,having been called up to the injury riddled Devils (Including goalie Scott Westwood and leading scorer Mike Sislo) and we didn't have a ton of faith for a Devils win in Chocolate land.

The Devils managed to play a smart and gritty game and hung in there against the Bears to the point of pushing the game through a five minute overtime and to the shootout,where they would lose 2-1 in the shootout and therefore the game 3-2.
Albany goals to Corbin McPherson (2) and Jim O'Brien (17) with Ken Appleby getting the loss in net.
Editor's Note:Thanks to Jason Christensen for catching my typo calling Jim O'brien "Ken".
The game winner in the shootout went to Hershey's Jakub Vrana,a former first rounder of Washington's and the type of player that Albany has lacked due to the Devils lack of impact players acquired through the draft.
Hopefully with Zacha,Quenneville and maybe another top 10 pick (right now the Devils would pick 13th in the draft unless they had some lottery luck) could mean that next years trip might see a more exciting team next season.

However,as with any trip,the story isn't always on the field or in this case-ice.
We had excellent seats just six rows from the ice and were in the club section,which with the food and other options not found elsewhere,I would recommend highly.
The lovely Cherie surprised me with a very nice sausage sandwich with peppers and onions.
I was pretty impressed with the club section as far as amenities go.

I wish I could say the same for the "fans" around us.
I sat beside a very nice elderly couple that rooted hard for their team,but weren't obnoxious with their rooting or got annoyed by ours.
However,we were under a heavy barrage by the four people behind us,who seemed disinterested and downright obtuse about the game in order to brag about such things as (I'm not kidding) "London is so much better than Paris in the summer","I intend getting Eggbert (I made the son's name up) on a summer internship in Belfast" and my favorite a lady older than Cherie and I discussing her "whoring around in her college days at Villanova".
I suppose many go to games for the social aspect of doing something with others and what it is becomes irrelevant,but I wish the good seats could go to real fans that care about what's going on in the game.

Rachel was on the other side of Cherie,who sat between us,so I didn't know that this older (late 50's) guy was annoying her throughout the game.
I had to work right after the game as it being Easter weekend,I couldn't take the night off as I usually would,so I wanted to make the 90 minuteish trip back as quickly as possible to in order to relieve the person being kind enough to allow me to attend the game.
Considering that,the games couldn't have went worse between an unexpected goodbye ceremony to the long time Hershey Bears general manager pushing the drop of the puck back an half hour,overtime and the shootout-time certainly drug as far as it possibly could.
The sellout crowd slowly filed out and this guy kept stopping on a dime going up the arena steps in front of Rachel in the line,which then caused everyone else to slam on the brakes.
Finally,the guy stops in the middle of the aisle again and starts a conversation with someone else to further slow things down.
What I didn't see was Rachel finally pushing this guy out of the way and saying "move!'.
I was a few steps behind her and the guy started to complain "geez,you didn't have to..."
I cut him off with a "Maybe if you wouldn't have stopped three times and then stopped with a conversation,it wouldn't have happened".
He started to rebut and I asked if he had a problem with that and with that he stepped aside.
Had he done that to begin with,I doubt he would have gotten touched.
My daughter truly is her father's child.

I raced down the road and had an enjoyable chat with my ladies as I hit Hagerstown and work at 11;45.
It's funny how games and interests bond us as family and sometimes friends.
In the end,it really isn't always about wins and losses-It's about the memories that you make and the people you share them with.
I'm pretty lucky to have the ladies here to make them with....

Editor's Note:I was told I forgot this part by Cherie and Rachel,so I wanted to come back and edit
In between periods,I saw Dan, a graphing buddy of mine from Harrisburg,so we each moved a bit to chat a while and in Hershey in between periods-a blimp floats through the arena and randomly drops five dollar bills.
As I stood and chatted with Dan,suddenly I felt the tip of something stab my neck.
I wasn't paying attention to the blimp,so I didn't see the five (folded into a paper airplane style point) flying at me.
Fortunately,I grabbed at it instead of swatting it away and therefore earned five bucks!

Cleaning out the inbox-Non-Sports Edition

We start with our non-sports cleaning of the inbox with a word of thanks to Rachel for the awesome wallet of Mr.Spock.
It was a complete surprise and super cool.
Thanks again to my talented daughter...

Speaking of Leonard Nimoy,I read many articles on Nimoy after his passing and the best was this tribute from Grantland.
It's really the best synopsis of a career and yet tells you about the person himself.
I enjoyed the work of Alex Pappademas and hope you will as well.....



Michael Beschloss of the New York Times offers two articles with this one being an interesting article on the friendship between two of my favorite Presidents (Johnson and Truman) and how it helped Medicare pass along with a story of where the bill was signed and how that location was picked.
I love stuff like this and usually make time to read.
The "Paper of Record" may not be of the standards of the past on a consistent basis,but it still provides quality writing,even if you have to shift a bit to find it...

Beschloss's other article is on the looming 50th anniversary of the Astrodome as a facility now deemed "unsafe for public use,but looks back at the opening of the dome with the aforementioned Lyndon Johnson in attendance along with all the bells and whistles that came with such a groundbreaking stadium..
I also liked the note on the Presidential Suite inside the Dome.
It screams 60's,but that's not so bad,is it?

Another Grantland basehit as they ask why aren't more of you watching The Americans on FX.
The 1980's cold war thrillers about sleeper agents from the USSR living in America is one of the best shows on today.
Those of that listened to the last podcast (really? why not?) heard me mention the Americans as one of the shows that I watch regularly....

Letterman Memories,which as you could have figured,is a site that is devoted to the years of David Letterman on television,has an interview with long time media critic Tom Shales.
Shales,formerly of the Washington Post,now is semi-retired,but an unabashed Letterman fan for years ( as am I) and reading Shales memories of the show and Dave were very enlightening...

We wrap up with an article on ESPN reporter Heather Cox from the Boise Statesman.
It isn't as much about sports as it is about Cox,the demands of being on the road and the Boise area.
Pretty interesting in showing that sports and television aren't all glamour and glory....

It's a new world coming

Cass Elliot once sung the title in the 1970 when,indeed,there did appear for a brief glimmer of time to be a new world coming,but today that world caught up to me

A world that,for the first time,made me see that the day of it being just the lovely Cherie and I is coming.
Now,don't jump the gun,it's nothing looming,but when you start meeting young men interested in your daughter-that world is coming,
I'm not running from that world,I've never had that kind of time with my wife,but change is coming and nothing you might try to deter that change will work.

You look back at things and realize that the little girl is now a beautiful woman and you'll never be the top man in her life again.
Oh,you may make the occasional chart in rough times,but if times are good ( and if you are a good parent,one hopes so),you should settle into the number two role or even lower in some cases.

But,it wouldn't be human,if we didn't want to reach back and try to possess things as remember what things once were.
The temptation is to grab the reigns and hold things back,but that's futile and self-motivated to try.
It's always a mistake and far more often than not,we make that error.
You'll never command that type of attention again and I don't think we should,but reflection and memories are all you have of both that young girl and the person that I was.
You might be the person that she comes to when the chips are down and there is a role for that,but that means that you are the person to help in a bad situation that is needed.
Think of it as a kitchen uni-tasker in a cooking dilemma!

Like a spent star,I'm ready to take my place in the new world,whether its today or years down the road and it's not a bad thing.
I'm not sure how things eventually go,but perhaps a day is coming with me becoming a planetary nebula is on its way with a small center yet having everything scattered around you.
The little girl is gone, filed away and never replaced,but one can hope that the adult looks back fondly and remembers that dad is always the old soldier-
ready when needed like a guard stationed alone at a remote post.

I may be back later with Cavaliers-Wizards....

Happy 18th to Rachel

My daughter turns 18 today.
It's a day for celebrations,yet a melancholy day as well.

The miracle baby has grown into a young woman that has overcome challenges and yet has become one of the best people I know by working through them.

Everyone that Rachel says that she has so much of my personality (To my future son in law-wherever you are,I sincerely apologize) and as frustrating as that can be in dealing with someone so like yourself,Rachel has a pureness of spirit that makes her special.

Rachel has a heart that is pure like her mom and those two are the best people that I know and I'm very proud to have her as my daughter.
Her creative skills with her crafts and videos are beyond anything that I could do and someone out there is going to be very lucky someday to have her in their life.
Her work with dogs with the much missed Teddy and currently with Ed is a special touch and I wish that people could see how well she works with animals.

I look back at my children and I am quite proud of both,but we had to go through so much more to bring Rachel into this world,so naturally she is very special to me.
I have had three various parenting runs and each have been different.
Nine years with Ryan in my twenties cemented a relationship that saw Ryan grow up as I did.
The years in the middle having Ryan develop into a teenager and adult with Rachel being in her developing years and the final one right now after Ryan left home with Rachel becoming a young woman have all had their interesting times,but the last few years might be the best of my life.

I'd wasn't fortunate enough to have a sister in my life growing up (my sister died when I was one).so living with a young lady has been a new experience for me,but being taken care of the ladies in my life has easily been the best time for me.
My life is stress-free  as far as the home life goes and when I hear friends of mine talking about this or that,I'm often clueless because I just don't have any of that.
Trust me,they can keep it too!

I wound up almost smashing a mailman on the day Rachel was born and I look back at the person that I was 18 years (I was 28) ago and compare to the person that I am today,the difference is stunning.
Not physically,although that's been a change too,but I've grown up more too,although many would wonder about that!
I've been fortunate enough to have raised my children without any of the crazy things that can happen to any child these days and while some of that has been simply luck,Cherie and I have raised two pretty good people.

Today is a day that makes you tear up a bit,but it's a good tear.
My little girl has now grown into a official adult,but no matter how good or bad the times of her life will be-she'll always be my little girl and have daddy waiting for her call whenever he's needed......

Akron's Canal Park or Downtown is the place to be?

Another stop on my weekend jaunt was knocking a ballpark off my list on Hardball Passport (You really should use this site!) in Akron's Canal Park, home of the Cleveland Indians AA affiliate.

I had been to Canal Park once before as Ryan and I stopped by years ago on a non-game day to buy a team set when we were in the area, but I have two lists for ballpark visits.
The most important is actual game action, but there is a second list that is less prestigious that covers ballparks that I have been inside, but did not see a game there.
That list covers Ernie Shore Field, the former home of the Winston-Salem Dash (then Warthogs), and a bunch of Appalachian league stadiums, so eventually, I would like to eliminate this list altogether.
The only way that Ernie Shore is getting off the list is for me to see a Wake Forest game (The Demon Deacons own the field now) and I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

I originally was going to go to Akron on Saturday for the Joe Walsh bobblehead (I hate the Eagles) and be able to add it to the pile that accumulates of giveaways that I sell at the end of the season, but that game was sold out, so since Rachel was finished with the festival for the day on Friday, I decided to make the 45 minute run to Akron.
Right off the bat-parking is a pain.
Akron is one of the cities using the downtown revitalization reason to put their park there and it did seem to do just that.
The streets were closed around the park for the fan experience and that makes things rough on the GPS as it obviously doesn't deal with closed streets when it calculates directions.
Finally after parking on the roof of a parking deck, which at least allowed us to look straight down into Canal Park for what I hope was a cool picture.

Upon entering the park at the ticket window, I was greeted by one of the nicest employees that I've met, who saw my pass and went to the extra mile to get the best seats possible with three together, which wasn't easy considering that this game was also an eventual sellout.
Very nicely done and super professional.

Inside, the place was a zoo.
I've been to three other Eastern League parks (Altoona, Harrisburg, and Reading) and none of them were like this-lots of people, frenzied activity all over, and simply put-a major league crowd in a minor league park.
In other words, a team's dream and my nightmare.
It wasn't a baseball guy's crowd, it was a party crowd with the park as the backdrop.
Now, I don't blame the Rubber Ducks, it is a business and the object of said business is to fill the seats and make as much money as possible.
The Ducks can check that box for sure.
It did seem more about the peripheral things than baseball, but that's the way it can be at times.
The hardcore baseball fans usually aren't enough to fill the seats on their own, so this is what it is.

For a team with a new name and everything else, you would never know they re-branded things because other than the retained (as one of ) mascot Orbit, they have scrubbed everything that remotely said "Aeros".
Cherie asked how long they had been the Rubber Ducks and the reply that this was the first year surprised her.
In the team shop, normally you see lots of leftover items on clearance and past team sets etc-in Akron-gone.
One would think that perhaps the team decided not even try to get a sliver of clearance sales and move the Aeros to the dust bin as quickly as possible by taking the loss on anything that retained the name.
I'm not sure if this is correct or not, but one urban legend is that the teams held two "Name the team" contests that Aeros won both times, and new owner Ken Babby just decided to change the name anyway, only relenting on the fans pleas to keep Orbit around...
After a team set purchase for Mike Oravec in return for Mike's constant help with 7up 10 and a sharp-looking road alternate hat that was my Father's Day gift from Cherie and Rachel (thanks ladies!), we moved to our seats.

The seats were boxes and nice ones, especially considering the crowd and that we walked up.
The sightlines were quite impressive and the video board was nice as well.
I intended on attempting to graph the visiting Portland SeaDogs, but an EBAY purchase of Henry Owens and his top 100 didn't arrive in time (I bought in enough advance times that it should have been and it was waiting for me in the mailbox when I returned of course), so I didn't lug the briefcase along to weigh me down.
From what I saw, I wouldn't have had a ton of success as there seemed to be a lot of graphers and the crowd would have made things tough.
I'll get another shot at Owens, who is a good signer, in Reading on an upcoming date as long as he isn't moved up by then.

I'd like to report that I stayed the entire game, but I didn't.
Between the long trip, the travel back in forth to Avon, traffic hassles on a Friday in Akron, etc, I left after a few innings, but as we walked out, I saw a familiar face in Mike, who was there with our most loyal reader Big Don!.
After a few minutes of verbal patter, we left Canal Park, but not after giving our seats to Don and Mike to give them an upgrade from general admission, which I imagine wouldn't be fun.

All and all, Canal Park was just a little too busy for me.
Nice park, nice employees, and pretty customer-friendly equals that I would consider a return trip.
IF I could hit a weeknight day or travel with another driver that is!

Perhaps back later with another anniversary from yesterday or more from the trip and if the Cavaliers officially name a coach today (I hear that could happen), I'll be back.
I told you that I'd be back with a flurry of posts!!!  

Duck Tape Madness

After a week away, I plan on trying to catch up over the next few days as I look at my weekend with my ladies that includes a stop in Akron for a first-time visit to Canal Park for a game and a stop at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Father's Day, but we start with the reason for the trip-Rachel's graduation wish for a trip to the Duck Tape Festival...

Now, I normally jump on any chance to hit O H I O even if it's just for a trip for Jones potato chips or a shot at Grandpa's Cheese Barn, but I must admit the Duck Tape Festival truly didn't seem like my idea of a great time from the start.
It didn't turn out that bad though and Rachel wound up getting a nice "haul" for her supply table, so it was worth it to her.

Avon, Ohio is a small city (census estimate is about 20,000) near Cleveland that houses the Duck Tape brand factory and uses the name and product for the reason for the city to have a fair type setting.
Many small towns use a theme for a weekend setting for the town to have a parade and a fair and since the factory is the town's largest employer, what better theme could there be?
I know the true name is DucT Tape, but Duck Tape found a niche' with the mispronunciation of the name and became the name brand of the product.
Think of regular tape is usually called Scotch tape for another example of this...

We rode by the factory on the second day and Rachel along with Cherie stopped and snapped some pictures of the sign in front of the factory.
It really to sum it up was a large carnival or small fair if you prefer with a decent size addition on the end devoted to Duck Tape.
There were large works of art using the tape with the theme of the year being space and some of those artworks were interesting-my favorite was a large Saturn V rocket.

The parking was not done well considering the large ground that they had and on Saturday, we had to park far away (I can use the walk), but was blocked in such a way that I had one small avenue to exit and that was with several shifts and starts.
Fortunately, only a skilled driver as I was able to maneuver my way through in the rented SUV.
Full sarcasm and a nod to First Blood there, for those of you that have seen the film many times, I'm sure you know what I'm referring to.

However, what Rachel enjoyed best was getting tape that wasn't available elsewhere such as scratch and sniff tape (what won't they make?) that has not been released for sale in stores and getting free rolls of "Old School" silver (Excuse me, sir have you gotten your free roll? Of course, not) for her.
The downside? Well, there were two.
The first was the interminable wait for credit card machines to get rolling (hey, when you are spending the money-get those points!), but the lady running the store was very nice and the other was someone named "J Wallets".
I don't watch Duck Tape videos other than Rachel's, but apparently, J is another video person and he obviously has A) Rich parents, B)Parents that spoil him or C) Both as he loaded up a massive basket filled with this stuff while running around pouting that he didn't get enough tape.
There were a few things that could have went smoother on this trip, but now in hindsight (although maybe not at the time), have to spend 20 minutes in line behind a whining J Wallets might have been the worst part of the trip.

All things considered, the festival was tolerable for the old man and I even had a good cheesesteak out of it and Cherie had a nice stromboli according to her for another plus.
I'd do it again IF there were other things to do as well to go with another trip to Avon!

Duck Tape?

Yes.
Duck Tape.
That obscure little tape that was so versatile that you could use it to patch up almost anything,even if it didn't look all that great doing it, has moved from my tool area (I have one,even though I'm not very good at fixing anything) to possibly ranking right with the New Jersey Devils as Rachel's passion in life.

I never gave Duck Tape (the name brand of this item) much thought as the choices were usually black or gray,only was used when needed and was just another tool in the box to be brought out when needed,which is my house was occasionally at best.
But in the last two or three years,this tape has become part of the household vernacular,added to my regular stops in stores and a major portion of making my daughter happy.

Rachel has a talent.
A talent that I just cannot fathom as I have the artistic/craftpersonship abilities of the leopard gecko and things that she does with this little roll of tape that I would use in vain attempts to keep something useful or even taping a package to be mailed stuns me,because she certainly did not get this ability from me.

This humble tape now comes in more designs than you can think of ranging from colors (Neon Pink?) to sports teams,cartoons,etc.
If you can think it,they might have it available in Duck Tape.
The happiest that I have seen my daughter since this day was when we were in a Wal-Mart and watched her discover rolls of a discontinued and rare pastel tape.
Yes,we got them all for the record.

Rachel has made wallets of several different styles,handbag,purses,pillows,flowers and other items that I'm sure are escaping me right now and they hold up very well.
Surprisingly well as usually homemade items simply aren't very durable,but between the hardiness of the product and Rachel's skill in making them,they hold up very well.
I even own one,although I told Rachel that I am holding it in reserve until my wallet dissolves (mine is a Cleveland Browns).

It's funny that something as recent as a few years that I would not have given a second thought to has become a source of income for Rachel.
That's right-source of income as not does Rachel sell her creations at Simply Duck Designs,but she now gets paid by a marketing company for her videos on YouTube.
Check the Simply Duck Designs YT below out and please watch the ad,that's the money maker!
Rachel now has nearly 2,000 subscribers waiting for her words,creations and whatever else she wants to discuss on a given day,which is hard for me to fathom,but what do I know,I have a fraction of that number that read this thing and I've doing it far longer!
I love the tutorial below with the ruler that is so old that it pictures the Los Angeles Rams and the St.Louis FOOTBALL Cardinals!
Rachel even is making an appearance at the Duck Tape Festival in Avon,Ohio for this stuff.
Apparently,this is the Super Bowl of Duck Tape and Rachel selected this as her graduation trip.
Cherie and I are fortunate,other kids are hitting the beach to get torn up and who knows what else and my daughter wants to do the Duck Tape Festival with Mom and Dad.
We've been blessed.

As much as this seems to be a snoozer of a time for me,I did manage to get an Akron Rubber Ducks game out of it and a stop in Ashland for the usual "supplies"-Pizza,Jones Potato Chips and a trip to Grandpa's Cheese Barn,so it'll be some fun,but it is time with the family that creates memories and who knows who you'll meet at a festival.

A tape,a skilled child,the internet age and a little marketing (I need to learn her secrets) and my daughter has created quite a little niche for herself.
I'm very proud.

"The best day of my life"!!

It is not often that a father gets to hear those words from a day with his 16 year old daughter.
It is even less often when those words are written by said daughter online the next day.
That is why as special as last Saturday was to Rachel,it might have been more special to me.

Rachel with Adam Larsson

It is not often that we get to give that type of enjoyment and a memory to someone and it can be just as rare to give it to someone close to us.
That is what Rachel had last Saturday night in Hershey,Pennsylvania and it had nothing to do with the Halloween spectacular at neighboring Hershey Park.

Rachel wanted the New Jersey Devils theme for birthday number sixteen.
From cake to gifts,she wanted Devils items (She is wearing one of her gifts-an Adam Henrique jersey) so I tried to accommodate her wishes.
One of her gifts was to include her in my annual trip to Hershey to scout the Albany Devils and considering the time,I ordered better seats than I usually do as I tried to get as close to the ice as I could.

She was excited,but even more when I explained that the NHL lockout had one small upside-her three favorite players were all going to be assigned to Albany for the duration of the lockout-Adam Henrique,Adam Larsson and Jacob Josefson.
That meant that as disappointed as she was in the lockout,she was rooting for it to continue until she could go to the game (She says it can end now) and with luck meet her players.

The Saturday start was good news for me.
I only autograph the Devils as many games are on work nights and I despise cold weather,so drawing a Devils visit very early or very late in the season always brings a smile to the face of the writer.
For example,the other Albany visit is December 29th-BRRRR....
If you recall,I was able to get some players last season at the hotel in my last trip to see the team,so we were hoping to do that again.
Our friend Tyler Chupak was along to help with graphing in his first hockey excursion ever,so we hoped to make him a hockey (and preferably a Devils) fan,despite his Sidney Crosby jersey,so arriving at the hotel,we saw my friend Mark Bailey.
Mark had guided me along last season in Hershey and he was kind enough to do so again.
Thanks again,Mark!

Adam Henrique with Rachel!

I didn't have a lot of cards,especially with Eric Gelinas being out of action with a broken jaw.
However,all the guys were very nice and signed what I had-All of the NHL players signed,Adam Henrique,Adam Larsson,Jacob Josefson,Mattias Tedenby along with former Senator Bobby Butler and Jay Leach,the Devils captain and husband of our favorite NHL Network anchor Kathryn Tappen.

Rachel with Jacob Josefson

Rachel was able to get all of her 8 x 10's signed and nervously ask for pictures with each,which all graciously took with her as Tyler snapped the pictures as I am ham handed with the camera a bit,so when time is of the essence-it's better to look elsewhere.
Tyler was also able to help with getting items signed as it was Tyler that tracked down Jay Leach to sign his card (Leach was so far ahead,I had no chance of catching him) and Rachel's best friend Courtney's picture of Jacob Josefson signed and personalized to her....

As the players boarded the bus to the arena,we had some time to kill,so we ate at the sports restaurant in the hotel-the Bears Den.
As we wound our way through the hotel to get there,Rachel gave me a hug and said "this is the best day of my life and and you are the best daddy in the world".
You cannot buy that,my friends.
That,as the MasterCard commercial says, is priceless....

Back later or soon with my look at the Albany Devils on the ice and their 3-0 loss to Hershey.

Photo Credits:Tyler Chupak

Cleaning out the Inbox

We start with a pre-Opening Day or opening day inbox cleaning with a tip to my favorite fan of the wrestling game-Rachel.
Rachel out picked Scott Bowden over at my favorite grappling page Kentucky Fried Wrestling at predictions for Wrestlemania.
I entered her (since I wouldn't have the slightest idea) and she earned a mention by the Colonel himself at KFR.
Rachel has become quite skilled at mat wrestling as she demonstrated during a recent visit to our home by the Masked Superstar in the picture shown.
Congratulations, Rachel!!

Time for a few Pirate notes as the Pirates added pitcher Hayden Penn off waivers from Florida and then designated Brandon Moss for assignment.
Moss would have to clear waivers to be assigned to AAA Indianapolis.
I can see Moss being claimed (and then the claiming team would have to make a deal with Pittsburgh) as he still could be looked at as having potential, but it would not surprise me if he made it through at this time of year as teams may not want to acerbate roster problems as they are down to their final few cuts.
Moss has been quite a disappointment as a Pirate and it could as simple as a player failing to handle the pressure of being (along with Andy LaRoche) the most visible part of the Jason Bay trade.
Perhaps a new city could turn things around for Moss.

Penn was a former highly touted arm from the Oriole system and was rocketed through the minors and made his Baltimore debut at 20, but the Orioles seemingly ruined him with the hurried move as his numbers were bad and arm injuries piled up as well.
Penn was one of a few that Baltimore ripped off the vine far too soon around the same period, zapping their young pitching in the process.
Penn spent last year split between Florida and AAA New Orleans and was primarily a reliever in Miami.
Penn is still only 25, so perhaps a comeback is not out of the question and these are the types of gambles that Pittsburgh should take occasionally.

The Pirates hammered out an extension with Fox Sports Pittsburgh for televised coverage of Pirate games and although I doubt they were battling any other bidders for the rights, one thing is a positive for Bucco fans.
FSN will increase its coverage from the 120s to a minimum of 150 games and add a winter "Hot Stove " show to the network as well.
This also should end the monthly Thursday afternoon home game that no one is ever able to see on TV and even though the Pirates are usually long out of the race, the days of next to no games being aired in September are history as well.
Maybe one year down the road, the Bucs could be good enough for FSN to show a baseball game instead of one of those wonderful Steeler pre-season scrimmages.
I won't hold my breath waiting for that one.

The Pirates have also added some new menu items at PNC Park.
Some of the additions seem pretty good, others are not as much.
Check out the new arrivals here.

I realize the Hagerstown Suns home opener is one week from today and the weather over the next few days is projected to be positively fantastic, but guess which day in the ten-day forecast is scheduled to have rain?
Yep, you guessed it-opening day.
One can hope the forecasters are wrong, considering the lengthy time for things to change, but such is a baseball fan's luck...

The end of the Super Six bout between Andre Dirrell and Arthur Abraham ended in controversy when Dirrell slipped to the canvas and Abraham knocked him cold in the eleventh round, giving Dirrell the win by disqualification.

Dirrell was far ahead on my scorecard, so the right guy won, but Abraham seemed to be coming on with a knockdown in the tenth (which was not scored as one by referee Lawrence Cole) and Dirrell seemed to be running out of gas.
The DQ and Dirrell being unable to continue seemed legit to me, but I do think Abraham's decision might have cost him a dramatic come from behind knockout.

One new mail arrival as former Brave pitcher Preston Hanna signed four cards.

Finally, check out the usually hilarious Bill "the sports guy" Simmons take on Wrestlemania.
Simmons's commentary is often great (his top 50 NBA draft moments is an all-time classic) and he delivers again as he looks at the circus that is Wrestlemania...

Photo Credits
Rachel-Cherie Heimberger
Penn-Baltimore Sun