Happy Anniversary

       Seventeen years.

I find it unbelievable that I have done this for seventeen years. 

Through changes in sports, teams, coverages, hobbies, real life, work schedules, and changes in the family, for the last seventeen years, TRS has been part of my life and it's hard to believe.

I haven't written quite as often over the last year, some due to the changes in my work schedule and also my changes in sports.

Baseball barely interests me anymore and I never thought I would write or say those words.

There have been several factors in why that occurred, ranging from the pandemic to the MLB takeover of the minors and their results changes to fan interaction, to their rule changes (I hate the extra innings rule and National League adopting the DH), and just to the general despicability of Rob Manfred.

I don't miss it as much as I would have ever thought.

My Devils interest has decreased a little but that's more because I've found that while I enjoyed watching the team every game, what I really enjoyed was sharing something with Rachel, when her interest declined, mine did as well without consciously knowing!

My Cavaliers' interest and viewing are high but I hardly watch college basketball because of the various problems in college sports with conference changes, lost rivalries, players leaving far too early, and less quality of the game all adding up due to a drop in interest.

I'm still a diehard Browns and Ohio State football fan and while Boxing has its problems, I still cannot pull myself away from the fight game.

The surprising new entry has been, thanks to Fred Landucci, English soccer and Newcastle United.

I have become such a fan of Newcastle that if I had anything to contribute, I would cover them here,

I don't know enough about the game to feel like I was adding anything and for the first time, I can enjoy watching my team and have fun rather than analyze the team.

Outside of sports, I still enjoy the cleaning out the inbox items, the occasional personal piece when the mood strikes me and I've always said when this becomes a grind, I'll stop doing it.

It's still fun for me, I don't always have the time as I once did.

Time to wrap up with the normal thanks to my family, friends, and anyone else who happens to stumble by and give TRS a chance.

It's gratifying when someone tells me that they enjoyed something that I have written and while only a few of you have been around since the beginning, I owe a lot to whomever reads this book of thoughts, memories, and opinions.

It's been an amazing seventeen years with people coming into my life that mean so much to me (and will very soon) and people leaving it as well, some of those dearly missed.

If you know me personally, I'm sure that you know that I struggle with positively looking at things but I'm in a place that is pretty good right now, and while I'll never be one of those "turn that frown upside down" people, I have many people and things around me to be very positive about.

Thanks for reading and onto year eighteen next year with more good news to come!

Happy Anniversary,Sweet Sixteen!

 Wow.

Sixteen years of doing this on a regular basis.

Think of it this way, if TRS was a real person, it could earn its driver's license today.

I've enjoyed doing what I've done here over those sixteen years through the different stages that have been seen here.

The last five months of my life have taken many things away from me due to the changes in my paying job.

We all have our issues with our job and even in the best situations, there are days that we don't like them very much.

While I'm not currently thrilled with the hours that I am working, the bills still need to be paid, no different than anyone else but the stress has taken away other things, and some of that is the time that I spend here along with watching more closely what I often write about as well.

That has something to do with my decreased output at times at TRS but it's not the entire picture as I've had trouble getting motivated on some topics that I once enjoyed writing about.

However, there are other times that I feel more than excited to spend some time tapping the keyboard with my thoughts along with the same vigor that I've had in the past, so I'm not ready to give up yet.

Thanks to all of my family, friends, and occasional readers for paying attention to what I've thought through these years and I'll try to keep hanging in there for another year!

Happy 15th Anniversary

   15 years.

One more year and our little hole-in-the-wall blog would be of age to drive a car!

TRS has undergone many changes through the years from sports, teams, and stories that I write about and things do ebb and flow.

Of late, I've been doing more cleaning of the inboxes and features that take a little longer for me to write, and since I've been writing (and caring) so much less about baseball, it has been easier to do those types of features.

I've always written that except for my job and the somewhat infamous boxing notebooks that TRS has been the longest that I have stuck with something in my entire life.

I try to not write unless I either have something worth commenting about or something that strikes me that I want to write about like a feature that helps to keep things fun.

I will admit as I age and begin to run out of past memories that I want to write about that things have gotten a little harder over the last few years than when I started but I still have plenty of topics that I can write about.

It's hard to believe that I have done this for so long and thanks to all of you for reading.

Family, friends, and friends that became friends from discovering TRS- I thank all of you for the times that you have read TRS and hopefully I've made it semi-entertaining...

Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas to those of you that read TRS on a regular or occasional day.

It hasn't been the best year at TRS or for the country, which constantly takes a step forward and then a step back into ending the pandemic that has taken so much enjoyment from everyone's lives.

As for me, the blog has been more of a slog this year.

I'm not always motivated to write and even though I sometimes want to write, I either don't have time or I don't want to deal with the consequences of my opinions.

Not on sports, mind you, I've been taking those arrows for years but on other topics.

However, the state of the country has drained me and while disinterested would be a term far too harsh, it's difficult when you feel that your point of view isn't being represented by media very often.

I just don't have the energy to argue with people at this stage and considering that I'm not likely to find a home on the left or the right, it has worn me out.

I find it best to stay informed but try to keep things to myself when possible.

I wish I could tell you my plans for TRS in 2022 other than I plan to continue things here.

I want to write, as I noted above, but sometimes I have time and no ideas and occasionally it is the other way around.

I can't lie.

Sometimes sports (Especially baseball) do not feel as important to me anymore.

There are exceptions- boxing. Ohio State football and I am really enjoying the revitalization of the Cavaliers but baseball has gotten me to the point of barely caring, and Rachel doesn't seem as interested in the Devils and without that, I'm not quite as interested either.

Still, I find myself wanting to write more about history in sports and you may see more of that in the upcoming year.

That's enough for now-enjoy your holidays and thanks for sticking with me...

Happy Anniversary- TRS is now a Teenager!

Teenager.
Thirteen Years.
That's how long I have been writing here on this humble bus stop on the internet and it's hard to believe it all started with a brief note on the Yankees signing Carl Pavano.

I asked friends on Facebook last week what entertainer came to mind when using the term "teen idol" and there were a few different answers, but the clear winner was David Cassidy, so it's Cassidy's picture for the 13th anniversary.
Thirteen years is a long time.
I have been writing here longer than almost anything that I have ever worked on other than the husband, father and working at my current employer.
I do it because I like doing it, although I get frustrated sometimes with grammatical errors that I never seem to find the time to correct as many as I see!
And there are times that I'm not always motivated, but I push past them more often than not.
I've been having a hard time of late, mainly because over the Covid-19 pandemic almost everything has hit the brakes and I have to try to generate content consistently.
What usually takes me a day has been taking two and I'm frustrated with whatever has been slowing me down.

I never expected to make thirteen years, I would have likely laughed at even the premise of this amount of time when I started TRS.
My life has changed since the start of TRS and so have I.
I'm a little calmer now, although you would have to have known me a while to see this, friends have come and gone with new friends arriving since then, and I've lost some people in my life too.
My mother and grandfather have passed away and four beloved pets have crossed that "rainbow bridge" so many pet owners talk about when our four-legged friends move on.
I've cut some people out too and while that can be painful, decisions aren't always easy and one often has to cut cancer out to heal the body.

I've had a few revitalizations too as my grandmother and I have reconnected in the last few years.
We once were quite close and I've felt like I've "gotten her back" of late.
The worst part of the Covid-19 for me has been staying away from my weekly visits with her.
The happiness that she shows when I walk in the door is something hard to explain and something that I don't deserve but I'll happily take- I'll be very glad when Covid-19 takes its leave from all of our lives.

I'm fortunate enough to have a wonderful bunch of family and friends that care about me and make sure my life is well.
The internet makes this easier than it would have years and years ago and while some of them are readers more than others, they are such an important part of my life.
From all my family and friends and to those that I've met on the internet and to those that read that I've never met- I thank you very much for taking the time to read my work and I hope I've been able to entertain you on an occasion or two.

Thanks again and see you for year 14...

Happy Anniversary to us!

Yep, that is correct.
We celebrate our first anniversary today of our first post and it was not exactly a thrilling entry.
Far from our best work, but looking back at the last year, I see some pretty good work, some less than inspiring posts, and some that one can see that the blog's style has changed from.
I like to think that if you are a fan of the teams covered here, you get game coverage that you can get other places, but we offer lots of opinions that differ from other spots on the net.
Not always right, mind you, but different and hopefully interesting.
I try to put lots of stuff in Bullpen notes that catch my eye and vary from day to day and hopefully that is fairly good reading as well.

When I think about the past year, we have seen a lot of things come and go.
After spending the first few months of rambling about Captain Dave Littlefield's maneuverings, we saw one final head-scratching deal (Matt Morris) and finally his dismissal.

A few shots at Will Smith and Hagerstown Suns saw some visitors (not all happy), but (and I have no proof of this) some of our ideas have been quietly implemented by the Suns, so someone there is reading occasionally.

Plenty of autographs were gotten at various parks and we talked about who signed, who did not, who was a great guy (Adrian Cardenas), and who was not so good (John Patterson).
Both Ohio State and the Cleveland Browns surpassed expectations in the last year and we covered the Cleveland Cavaliers first run to the NBA Finals.

Some personal stuff happened as well, as the first baseball scouting trip was taken.
My family lost a good friend in John Moser in July and our beloved pet Chancellor.
On one night at the Muni, a fellow visited Hagerstown for the first time and after an evening of baseball talk, I made a pretty good friend, thanks, Luke.
We were able to get to know Erik Arnesen during the last year as well and his interview here brought many kind words from readers.

So I would like to thank a few of you for the past year.
Thanks to the lovely Cherie for the suggestion of starting something of my thoughts.
Although the format was different than the original suggestion, this was all her idea.
Thanks to Ryan, as many of the best opinions, were first discussed with him and bounced off in debate before they ever get to the typed page.
Thanks to Battlin' Bob for being a great friend and sending me many of the links that you see in Bullpen Notes and for being one of our biggest boosters to others.
And a final thanks to all of you that read what I have to say.
Readership is rising every week, but without the mailing list and the few Feedburner guys (whoever you are), the word does not carry as easily.
Thanks again and feel free to offer any comments on the last year!

A pair of interesting stats on the blog

The most visited posts were
1:The season-ending awards
2:Why the Suns do not shine in Hagerstown
3:Baseball Trip-Day 3-Lynchburg

The most visited images
1:New Jersey Devils Logo-Go figure
2:me with Adrian Cardenas
3:Jonathan Towes on his debut night

The New Jersey Devils actually scored some goals, but twice allowed the visiting Philadelphia Flyers to rally and would go to the dreaded shootout.
But all three Devils would whip Martin Biron to allow the Devils to gain two precious points and a 5-4 win that broke the losing streak.
The Flyers struck first on a Vinny Prospal goal (Prospal is another one of those guys that I have always wanted as a Devil) and I was thinking "not again".
But Johnny Oduya was credited with a power-play goal (5)to tie the game that I thought Zach Parise should have credited with, but they all count the same.
Oduya then beat (6) Biron with a shot from the circle that gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at the end of one.
The Captain Jamie Langenbrunner then took advantage (13)of a wide-open net off a Philly miscue to increase the lead to 3-1 before the Flyers trimmed the lead to 3-2 on a goal by former Devil Jim Dowd.
The Flyers then tied the game, but Brian Gionta's goal with 5 minutes (22) looked to be the winner before the Flyers tied the game with a minute to go, setting up the shootout heroics.
A needed win and nice to see the goals coming in again, although not as excited about the defense.
The Devils return to action on Tuesday in Long Island against the Islanders.

Devils Pitchforks
Gold-Jamie Langenbrunner-Goal and the shootout winner
Silver-Johnny Oduya-2 goals and good point work on the power play
Bronze-Zach Parise-Seemed to be all over the ice.

The Xavier Musketeers battle UCLA in Phoenix for the chance to go to the Final Four for the first time ever in school history.
Going to be a tough task, but the Muskies are more than capable of winning this game over UCLA.
The key matchup to me is Stanley Burrell being able to lock down Darren Collison.
If that can be done, this game swings to Xavier in my opinion.

Speaking of UCLA, whoever thought of the idea of replacing the blue C with a yellow one needs to be fired.
The Bruins have such iconic and classy uniforms and now they are ruined.
I am not sure who has the UCLA uniform contract, but that has Nike written all over it.

Memphis reached the elite eight last night.
Here is hoping for a title run (if Xavier cannot) as an old-time Memphis fan from the Keith Lee, William Bedford days.

Sean Burnett is hot about his demotion and I do not blame him.
I would prefer Burnett to either Francelis Osoria or Phil Dumitrait, but I understand why the Pirates made the move even though I disagree with it.
I appreciate the candor offered by Burnett, but I hope that the Pirates do not hold it against him.

Looks like Kent State will be looking for a new basketball coach as Jim Christian appears headed to TCU.
Perhaps former Kent coach Gary Waters might be interested in a return to KSU after a successful return to the area at Cleveland State?

And finally sorry to hear of the passing of a longtime Tigers coach Billy Consolo at the age of 73.
Consolo was a Tiger assistant for Sparky Anderson for many years after being one of the unsuccessful high priced "bonus babies" of the 1950s.

Photo Credits
Flintstones-Happy Anniversary
Langenbrunner-Bill Kostroun-AP Photo
Consolo-Topps