After four days in Pittsburgh, one in Tampa, four more days of company, a night out with friends, and a neighborhood party, we needed some time to ourselves. I watched football all day yesterday and another portion of The Morning Show with our new Apple TV subscription while my wife did her routine activities like water aerobics, food preparation, dog park socialization, and video games. We ate dinner together alone and went to the ballpark to watch the sunset and the Braves. We found a quieter spot away from the band and chatted between songs, then went home to watch two more episodes of Only Murders In The Building. We’re starting to fall back into our normal boring schedule.
Today, we’ll spend by the pool soaking up the sun. I’ll watch football or baseball on the outside TV and she’ll make use of her newly purchased floatation device. It will be a day without family or friends. My run was better this morning, so I think that one trip to the chiropractor next week will only be necessary. Our schnauzer Tally has been often abandoned these past few weeks so she’ll be glad to have us home all week. Our former long lost co-worker, living temporarily in the neighborhood next door, is moving to Orlando, so there will be little interaction for awhile. We’ll probably get together with her and her husband when we visit Disney World around Christmas. My new Pickle Ball partner will be hundreds of miles away until they come back to visit their parents here in Venice.
The Dolphish play today, my son’s fantasy football team that I partner with him on. We’re 2-2 so far this season with another tough match-up today, after failing to score much on Thursday night. IU football was thankfully off this week, giving my frustrations a much needed break. Granted, they’ve lost to three ranked teams, but their efforts have been disappointing after so much promise leading into the schedule. Undefeated Sparty comes to town this Saturday! Meanwhile, the sputtering White Sox have added to the downfall of expectations, falling behind the Astros 2-0 in their bid for another World Series crown. Da Bears have also been mediocre to start the season. As always, I hope that my teams step up this week, but I’m prepared for the worst.
Good news from the doctor on my recent CTA Scan. The aneurism in my aorta continues to remain in the 5 cm range, so surgery will not be necessary. I will continue to have it checked every year, but it has not changed in size since it was discovered 3 years ago. The better news is that the didn’t discover anything new. The old ticker and its highway of blood vessels seems to be in good shape. Maybe all this running is paying off. It better be as painful as it is every day! It’s good to get it out of the way first thing every morning. At any rate, I’m relieved that “The Streak” will not be interrupted by a hospital stay and that I’m free to rumble through the streets every day.
My legs are stiff and sore and it’s hard to get forward momentum. It feels awkward to be off-balance, like I’ve been drinking. My feet often don’t go where I want them to and the pace continues to slow. This morning, I was over 15 minutes in completing the third mile and the first mile was slow at 13’55. I was on my feet all evening last night with our Meet The Borrego Neighbors get together at the clubhouse. There’s also a touch of pain in my right heel the result of a Pickle Ball match the other night. My athletic skills are definitely on the decline, particularly lateral movement, so trying to pick up a new sport at age 70 is frustrating. Losing a few pounds would probably help.
Speaking of frustration, my White Sox are down 2-0 to the Astros in the playoffs and looking like the lesser team. They head back to Chicago tomorrow to don the red, white, and blue throwback jerseys. Hopefully, they can salvage at least one game in front of the home crowd. We’re headed to the neighborhood ballpark this evening for the second of the Braves vs. Brewers series on the big screen. So far, the Red Sox are the only team to win a game on the road, topping the Rays at “The Trop” last night 14-6. The White Sox have had trouble winning on the road all season long with a losing 40-43 record, including these two playoff games at Houston. Their chances are slim now to advance, a second straight year to face an early exit. Craig Kimbrel was his worst self, entering the game in the 8th to preserve a 4-4 tie and giving up 5 runs. His late season move from the Cubs has proven to be a disaster with hopes of backing up Liam Hendriks for a combination 1-2 punch in the bullpen, the weakness in last year’s postseason downfall. The playoff news has not been good for the struggling Pale Hose!
Let the Games Begin! The Playoffs are finally underway, while the Cubs have been put out of their misery. It’s hard to believe the late season success of the Cardinals or the fact that it could all for them end in one Wildcard game. My focus is now primarily on the SOX and their 76-year old manager, Tony La Russa. It’s been 16-years since they last won the World Series, but only 10-years for him in the same role with St. Louis. The White Sox lost two out of three to the A’s in last year’s Playoffs while La Russa was still enjoying retirement. Let’s hope for a deeper run in 2021.
I’m starting today in Tampa after four days in Pittsburgh. It’s a Sunday, but I actually wrote this yesterday on the plane, knowing that I would be crunched for time. I will be trading my family for my wife’s over the next three days as we make our way back to Venice. I’m glad the Braves made the Playoffs since we’ve moved into their Spring Training neighborhood. There will be some watch parties at the Stadium near our home, a great way to start a relationship with my new team. Maybe they’ll even have an afternoon game that I can stay awake to watch. Former baseball home favorites have included Chicago, St. Louis, Texas, and Seattle on our moves across the country over the past 25-years. However, the SOX will always be my favorite thanks to Sherm Lollar and the 1959 crew that become my first childhood baseball love.
It took 54-years of my lifetime for the White Sox to win a World Series and 65-years for the Cubs to claim a crown, although they were primarily my dad’s and son’s favorite. My dad originally tried to coax me into being a Detroit Tiger’s fan, that would have been even more frustrating. He did pry my allegiance away from Mickey Mantle like every other kid my age back then, but I chose the White Sox because he insisted that I support someone closer to home. If I hadn’t followed his advice, I could have been an obnoxious Yankees fan.
The Damn Yanks are slipping in the Playoff race, but the SOX are solidly in the field. The Cubs are on the outside looking in, while my dad sadly died before his Chicago team finally won it all in 2016. I’m ready for some Playoff baseball where the SOX will finally face some competition. They’ve been playing most of this injury plagued season with a firm grip on the AL Central. If they can stay healthy, they have a strong chance of winning it all. If they can’t do it, maybe the Braves can, so Let The Games begin.
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. but I had my first Pickle Ball match at the age of 70. I lost of course, but didn’t get hurt. My body could not move laterally and bending over for a low shot was impossible. I can feel some of the strain in my knees this morning, but I’m glad to have given it a try. I’ll practice some before my next match in two weeks. Does practice still make perfect at age 70? During my time on the court, our Fantasy team, the Dolphish, stretched its lead to 134-115 over Aaron Hernandez Taxi Service with one Tight End each yet to play tonight. We have the edge in improving our record to 2-1.
Today is “Matinee Meatless Monday” with Dear Evan Hansen on the big screen and PB&J for lunch. We saw the Broadway performance on our last trip to New York. Not sure when we’ll ever get back? Pittsburgh is our next stop on Wednesday, with little interest now in seeing the Cubs and Pirates play. After their last two games with the Cardinals, I’m embarrassed to be a fan. The Cards were able to stretch their winning streak to 16 with the 4-game sweep of the Cubbies at Wrigley. The last three games of this “season to forget” will be in St. Louis. There was a glimmer of hope early in 2021, including a 2-1 series victory for the Cubs at Busch in May and a 3-0 home field sweep in June. They tied at one each in July after game 3 was postponed. That’s when the tide started to turn in favor of the Red Birds, taking three of the next four after the All-Star break. Then, the Cubs cleaned house. Believe it or not the New Blue still have a chance to win the overall season series, but regardless the Cards will probably still go on to the Wildcard. They currently have a 6-game cushion over the Phillies and Reds with only six left to play. They can’t possibly catch the Brewers for the Division crown even if they stretch their winning streak to 22 and tie Cleveland’s American League mark for consecutive wins! If they then win that 23rd against the Giants or Dodgers, they’ll make the Playoffs and could challenge the 1916 New York Giants for the all-time record of 26!
Meanwhile on the other side of Chicago, the White Sox are comfortably in the Playoffs. The SOX won the final series against the Indians 3 games to 2 to clinch the Division. They are currently three games behind the Astros to determine which team will have home field advantage in the Playoffs. The Astros have three against the Brewers and three versus the A’s, while the “Good Guys” meet the Tigers and Reds to conclude the regular season. After winning last night, a seven-game winning streak could give the Pale Hose a Playoff edge, but I will assume they will continue to rest their stars during this stretch, while the Tigers have little to play for and the Reds may also be out of Wildcard contention by the time they play in Chicago, especially if the Cardinals continue their record streak.
After all this time of not working, nearly 5 years now, Fridays are always still special. I can feel it in my bones, starting back in grade school when the buzzer sounded signifying the beginning of another weekend. Even though every day is now the same in retirement, the energy of freedom is in the air as the workforce takes a break for a few days. For me, it only means longer lines in the stores, more people at the beach, and more traffic. For them, it’s the magic of the weekend and more time with family, friends, and favorite activities. This is why we’re going to the Mote Aquarium today rather than tomorrow, so we can avoid the crowds even though we’ll pay more.
I had lunch with my son and granddaughter at Firehouse Subs yesterday, and when we got back to their house he turned on the White Sox game just in time to watch them clinch a playoff berth over the Indians (soon to be the Guardians). It was a special moment for me, the first time they won the American League Central division in 13-years, and the first time in franchise history that they made the postseason, let alone the World Series, in back-to-back years, dating back to 1969 when the playoffs first started. Manager Tony La Russa was thrilled – the happy face of a Little Leaguer, as he dreamed about the prospect of a fourth World Series championship with three different teams. He first managed the White Sox from 1979-1986, winning only one post season game. He moved to the Oakland A’s to claim his first ring in 1989, sandwiched between two other American League pennants. Two other rings were earned with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 and 2011 along with a National League crown in 2004. The White Sox hired him back this year at the age of 76 after a 10-year hiatus from the game. As of yesterday, his teams have finished first in their Division 13 times and achieved playoff status 14 times in 35 years at the helm.
Back in 1983, after winning 99 regular season games, a 38-year old La Russa (he’s twice as old now) took the Sox into October but only won one match-up and lost three against the Orioles, who went on to win it all. He had players like Carlton Fisk, Tom Paciorek, Ron Kittle, Harold Baines, Greg Luzinski, Greg Walker, Scott Fletcher, Jerry Hairston, LaMarr Hoyt, Richard Dotson, and Floyd Bannister, to name a few of the stars. They wore the red, white, and blue jerseys when the team was known for “Winning Ugly.” They are not my favorite, however, they’ve brought them back this year in honor of La Russa’s initial playoff success with the team. As a side note, they were first unretired and not so lucky for the 2014 season under Robin Ventura when they finished 4th at 73-89. I’m sure we’ll see them at home this year where they will most likely play the Astros, speaking of ugly uniforms. Let’s Go Sox.
I was glad to see my poetic side emerge again yesterday (See Post #1806). Hopefully, it means that my aches and pains are starting to subside. Maybe I can even get off the Advil soon? Turning seventy and the associated arthritis has hit me hard. Although this morning’s run #4,648 was slow and out of balance, I still felt better than normal. Losing about five pounds would really help, but there are too many cookies and M&Ms in the house. The grandkids were over for dinner last night that concluded with Key Lime pie. The beer can chicken that I prepared was once again a tasty hit. I’m just such a messy cook, even on the grill.
Today will be filled with more frustrating football, although I think I’ll watch outside in the sunshine. My tan is starting to fade when compared to my wife who spends much more time outside. At least there was some sun on this morning’s run, but I’ve spent too much time in the cool darkness of my office. Sunshine is my fuel and I can feel it rekindling my spirits when I bathe in its warmth. Swimming with the kids yesterday was cancelled due to rain, just like about everything else we’ve tried to schedule in advance lately. Trips, concerts, meet-ups have been postponed or lost due to weather, Covid, or fires. This year’s travel miles will be comparable with 2020, less than half of what we’ve done in years prior. At least, 2021 has afforded more opportunities to get away, but each adventure much shorter in length. Hopefully, we can still get to Pittsburgh at the end of this month.
IU football and soccer suffered more losses this weekend. Both programs were looking at national prominence, but have instead faced disappointment. The Colts and Bears will look to rebound from last week, but I’m not seeing much promise out of either team. Only the Ducks have excelled, especially the big win over Ohio State last week. Purdue lost to Notre Dame, despite the big drum controversy. Maybe Fantasy Football will bring a little sunshine into my sports world today?
What do you do on a “Matinee Monday” when you have free movie passes but there’s nothing new to see? You go to something like Suicide Squad! It’s another day of not being in Tahoe, so we’ll somehow make the best of it. Run. Swim. Blog. Word Puzzle. Chiropractor. Movie. My wife is currently at the dog park, getting the full scoop on neighborhood gossip, She’ll then water walk and find out more. We’ll have lunch together so I will know everything she knows and mark my calendar with the plans she’s made.
Retirement can get a bit tedious, as indicative of this blog. Day after day of the same, unable to distinguish one from the other. Today, however, we start fresh on trash, go meatless, and I will call my sister. It’s the start of Monday Night Football, and my son and I can potentially pull out a come-from-behind Fantasy win. Tomorrow, we’ll have clean sheets and our new patio furniture will be delivered after months of waiting. Wednesday my second Ring camera arrives to keep a watchful eye on the back of our house. Thursday I babysit for a few hours with my granddaughter and give blood. Friday we’ll go sightseeing or to the beach because we were too busy to do those things on “Tourist Thursday.” It will be the weekend before we know it.
All my baseball cards got sorted while watching games the past few days. The Sox split while the Cubs lost…IU football won, so did the Ducks, a big win over Ohio State…Da’ Bears were drubbed, as were the Colts. College basketball will start in just a few short weeks, as will the baseball playoffs. The entire family will be in Pittsburg for the last week of the regular season to see the “New” Cubs finish a tough year, after a majority of their lineup was traded away. It’s the only out-of-state travel we have planned yet this year before the house guests start to arrive in October. We’ll be ready with an expanded driveway and patio furniture, along with new lamps, mirrors, and wall hangings. I’ll stop before I keep rambling on!
The last few days I’ve taken a step back sixty years, sitting on my floor sorting baseball cards. I had some unopened packs from 1991 and 1992 to open, including The Babe Ruth Collection. There was a time when I would have left them in their wrappers, hoping they would have more value, but why deny myself the joy of opening them and organizing them into teams. In this case, there was no bubblegum involved. It was fun, until I realized that I was just one card short of completing the Babe Ruth set of 165. Card number 134 was missing, but the next day I found it stuck to another card, just before I was ready to order it on E-Bay. All the Cubs and White Sox players are placed in a special binder while all the others are lumped together in separate books. I can’t bear to throw any of them away regardless of duplicates, knowing that my entire childhood collection disappeared due to good housekeeping.
I’m certain that my now valuable Mickey Mantles were part of that loss, but if everyone had held on to their cards they all would be worthless. #7 Mickey was once my favorite player and his Yankees my team, but they were somehow replaced with #10 Sherm Lollar of the White Sox. I now have a massive collection of Sherm stuff that is only valuable to me. Mickey has made many men rich by simply investing in his memorabilia, or being lucky enough that their mom didn’t toss out their card collections. Right now, I’m even bidding for a Cancer Foundation medallion with the likeness of Sherm on one side and teammate Nellie Fox on the other. Hall of Famers like Fox drive up the value and increase bidding, which makes me think that I will probably not be the winner of this trinket. They both died at young ages due to cancer. The cheek-full of tobacco that became the shortstop’s trademark look probably didn’t help. Most ballplayers were smokers in that era, with little to do in the confines of the dugout.
There is an organization founded by Marv Samuel, a pitcher for the St. Louis Browns in the late 40s and perhaps a Lollar teammate, known as Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities. It is “a 501(c)(3) nonprofit using sports to give back by helping fund cancer research and patient care programs at Chicago-area hospitals, and supporting services to empower kids with cancer.” Billy Pierce, White Sox pitcher and teammate of Fox and Lollar, led the organization after the death of Samuel in 1993 from Leukemia. “Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities has since its founding in 1971 donated more than $11 million to fund cancer patient care, education and research programs at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Children’s Memorial Hospital.” I’m assuming that the medallion was part of the fundraising elements of this organization.
I just ran across a Billy Pierce baseball card last night. He lived to be 88 and was on two World Series runners-up teams, the 1959 White Sox and 1962 San Francisco Giants. It’s amazing what you learn about the good that players do during and after their time in baseball, although Lollar died at age 53 and Fox even younger at 47, so they did not get the opportunity to give as much back. Every card and piece of memorabilia has a story. Collecting is more than just child’s play – it’s part of our history that I enjoy!
September is here and Labor Day has arrived. There was a fun exchange of texts and pictures last night among our group of old college buddies, several extending back to high school and even grade school. We’re all mourning the loss of a spouse that has spurred a string of “Big Chill” gatherings and memories. I filled a couple of pages with dates and places where we got together with her throughout the years and sent a card. I’m feeling bad to be so far away in this time of need. A picture of the two of them appeared on Facebook this morning, bringing even more reality to this stunning loss. I was looking forward to their visit in a few months.
Conditions in Tahoe are still not favorable for travel, so we continue to be undecided on whether or not to go. The resort has only cancelled the first night of our stay with the AQI at 254 – very unhealthy. It was supposed to be a week of family – the two girls and their husbands in Heavenly Valley. The levels are at least down from the 400s that I was seeing earlier this week. Honestly, at this point, I would be perfectly happy staying home and filling out paperwork to claim vacation disruption insurance. Tomorrow will be the last day to cancel airline and car rental plans with penalties.
Our next travel adventure will be Pittsburg at the end of the month with grandkids in tow. We’re off to see the “New Cubs,” who by the way are on a six game winning streak. The new team is without Rizzo, Baez, Bryant, Kimbrel, Tepara, and Schwarber. Names like Wisdom, Duffy, Ortega, Schwindel, and Alcantara will still take some getting used to in the box scores. Cubs baseball has been a family tradition for many years, and my son and his children have visited many stadiums around the country. Two years ago it was Giants’ Stadium in San Francisco, but none of us have been to Wrigley for awhile now. In fact, I think my last trip there was in April of 2019, more than two years ago. I don’t know when I’ll ever go back to Chicago to root, root, root for the Cubbies – Pittsburgh will have to do for now!
For most of my life as an IU Hoosier Football fan, I’ve been plagued with poor results. Yes, every once in a while, there was a glimmer of hope, an upset, or a surprise ending. By the end of every season, I was more than ready for basketball to finally start, with maybe a season saving win over Purdue in the Bucket Game. Most of the time, that was even a disappointment. Now that basketball has sunk to the very bottom of a dark, murky septic pool, only soccer was my annual savior, something to hang my IU hat on with a sense of pride. However, 2021 was beginning to look like the year that football, soccer, basketball, and baseball were all finally coming together. Soccer, in fact, started the season with the #1 ranking, until unheralded Creighton came to town last night. For the first time since 2015, the Hoosiers lost a game at Armstrong Stadium and the unbeaten streak came to a stunning end at 43 matches. In fact, they allowed only six goals during all of last season that ended in a National Championship loss. Last night, they gave up three! Reduced Expectations.
Basketball was also on a new high, with a new coach, Hoosier legend Mike Woodson, and promising exhibition wins over a highly touted Serbian team down in the Bahamas. Unprecedented recruiting is bringing some promising new faces to Bloomington and restoring respect for the recently sinking program. Excitement is building for the upcoming season, but no need to rush into it – there’s actually a football team worth watching. Coach Tom Allen took them to a #10 national ranking and a bowl game last season and has them in the Top 20 to start 2021. The home game against formidable Cincinnati is already an unheard of sell-out This could be the year! Or just further reduced expectations?
We’ll find out this afternoon when the up-trending Cream & Crimson travel to Iowa. A road game against another Top 20 BIG to start the season is beyond bold! The bubble of fan enthusiasm and team confidence could pop quickly or take on new levels. It would be devastating to watch both Football and Soccer fizzle in a matter of two days. All that hype for nothing when we’ve gotten sadly used to mediocrity on the gridiron. Soccer will easily rebound, using the sting of a shut-out loss at home to a non-conference foe as momentum for another drive to the College Cup. However, reduced expectations by the Football team will be a huge setback in a program just starting to show promise. Let’s show them all we’re for real -Go Hoosiers!
