Time Flies

Is it possible that 2010 is halfway over (more or less). By the watch on my wrist (a fashionable Fossil), it is June 30. July starts tomorrow. And it seems like the year is whizzing by.

June Heatwave

Wow, it is freakin' hot!

90 degrees or so with some high humidity. Coupled with some high sun, and you get a scorcher.

Severe thunderstorms in the forecast. Have an 11U game tonight, so hopefully they hold off so we can play.

Oink!

Went to a pal's daughters 8th grade grad party today. Pig on a spit, can't be beat!

Youngest son of SoulSlam patiently waiting for some swine on the right!

BTW, AJ Burnett is certainly worth all that dough, isn't he!

Thirsty Thursday

No reason for the name other than the traditional Minor League promo throughout America!

11U won in extra innings last night after we tried to give it back in the 6th. So we are 1-1 and going into a 4 game stretch next week.

Mets are rollin'

World Cup Soccer. Is it over yet?

True Blood has been super so far. Loved the Snoop Dog video.

My kid's on facebook. I am not. It will be called deadfacebook before I enroll!

School's out. So enjoy the immortal Mr. Cooper.

Shredded

11U lost in a rain-shortened game 11-1. We had nothing. Makes me cranky (or grumpy I hear).

In the good news department, Tom Cruise's new movie apparently sucks.

Summer Baseball Begins

Like another opening day. 9U's took a rival town by the score of 19-13. A veritable pitcher's duel. 11u starts tonight.

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Saturday, my two in-town teams played in their respective Championship games. In game 1, my Boys Minors team played great for a win and the championship. We struck out the clean-up batter with two on (and up 2) to end the game.

In game 2, my Boys Majors fell a little short, losing 8-6. Two bad plays on the bases was the difference. Oh well.

HFD

Happy Father's Day to all, especially to my pop.

CWS

Begins tomorrow in Omaha at the almost late Rosenblatt Stadium- the College World Series.
Eight Teams -

Bracket 1
TCU Horned Frogs
Florida State Seminoles
Florida Gators
UCLA Bruins

Bracket 2 -
South Carolina Gamecocks
Clemson Tigers
Oklahoma Sooners
Arizona State Sun Devils

AZ State is my pick. Not exactly going out on a limb. I like South Carolina as well.

Name Calling

Last year I was a "stacker". This year I'm a "cheater".

That's why I love parents and rec sports. (NOT!)

Anyway, my two rec-type teams, one in Boys Majors and the other in Boys Minors have won their playoff games and are going to the championships. The boys deserve all the credit.

In my Minors game, a game that started at 6PM and had a hard-stop curfew; parents of the opposing team are accusing me of stalling and cheating. Fact: the defense controls the tempo of any baseball game. The opposing coach didn't manage the time (and tempo) when he was in the field.

At 8:05PM we had a "no new inning" rule. After 5 innings (I'm home team), the score is 10-8 for my boys. Some of us had 8:07, ump had 8:04. OK, let's play another inning. But the hard deadline is 8:25.

Opponent goes up 13-10 in his half. But USES TOO MUCH TIME. I get up with 5 minutes to go. We don't stall, we don't rush. We play like we did in inning 1, 2, 3 and 4. They get one out. I load bases. Alarm goes off. Time expires. Since the inning was not completed, the score reverts to last inning. We win. And I am accused of being a cheater.

Eat it.

Unsung Heroes

Since SoulSlam's mind is a maze of knowledge - and I often think of absolutely non-sensical things at any given moment, I am starting my Unsung Heroes segment. These are not heroes like the military, police, fire and EMS; rather some figures (real or not so much) that pique my interest.



Today's UH is Sluggo. Earstwhile male companion of Nancy (the comic strip gal), he was as tough as they come. Well for an 8 year old that is. I'm sure Sluggo grew up to work an endless array and dead-end jobs and died homeless.

SLUGGO!

Graduation

Lots of it going around, so congrats to the grads.

And remember, fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life.

Donuts and Kickball

Worked with 11U team yesterday morning, basically a hitting workout with different drills:

High Tee Drill

Spray Drill

Double Tee Drill

Front Toss

Bunting

So after practice, we got some DD donuts and the boys played kickball to let off steam. They had a tough spring; they're a better team than they showed; and I think some of them have retreated (mentally). So a little fun. But since all of the boys are essentially umpires (not literally), they argue over every play, every kick. Maybe having fun is out of there reach. Hard chargers I guess. A-types.

Poor Ralph Macchio

He was the Karate Kid. Always in our hearts. "Wax on, wax off". Takin' down the bad guy. You know it.

Now he's being relegated to the Heep. By Will Smith's kid. A kid with dreads.

And he doesn't even do karate.

Apparently, the new movie, the Karate Kid is set in Beijing, with Jackie Chan the mentor. So that would mean China. Karate is Japanese (actually Okinawan - though the basis came from China). So this pint-sized Manny Ramirez look-alike is actually the Kung-Fu Kid.

So Ralph has to resort to making You Tube videos to stay current.

Is an Eight is Enough reunion move for behind?

M.I.A (Not Really)

Where has SoulSlam been?

Nowhere special. Busy. Work. Baseball. Sleep.

Couple of tidbits:

Strasburg can pitch, can't he

My investment in the signed Harper ball might pay off

People with agendas are not your friends

Watched a new show called PErsons Unknown or something else on NBC. Jury is still out on this one. Cameron from Ferris Bueller is in it. Looks old

My iPod Nano rocks!

I have to venture to the Land of the Rising Sun in July

I'm looking for a bounce-back season with my 11U Team this summer

Rec baseball is unrelenting

BP is evil

Pool Update #2 for 2010

Since you are most likely asking yourself "how's the pool?", I am happy to report:

Pool water is a perfect 84 degrees

It is chemically perfect, but this is because of my vigilance

It is literally an oasis, but you knew that already

I have some work to do on the stones and landscaping around the oasis

Swimming daily, sometimes with a cold brew-ski after a long day

In other news:
Spent the day at the fields yesterday for in-town baseball leagues. Hot. My oldest guested on a team at noon, then my Majors team laid a whoopin' on a coach that irked me. At 4PM, I donned the gear to ump a game, then my youngest played two games (I coached the first one), one as a guest player.

As for irking me - I was short a player, so we added a guest. When my last player finally showed about an hour late ("thought it stated at 3, coach") the opposing HC wouldn't let the guest continue, even as a DH. I didn't like the response I got, so I put the hammer down for the rest of the game and beat them 16-5. It's best to not irk me.

Trot Slow My Friend

Saw this and thought I'd share. Bakersfield Blaze vs. Visalia Rawhide in a Minor League Game.

Best part is the cowpoke-music in the background the whole time.

Junior

Late on this, but what the hey.

So last night, as my 9U team was wrapping up the regular spring season with a win, I wanted to check the Mets score. I see this as the headline:

Ken Griffey Jr. Retires.

Wow. I still think of him as Jr. A kid. Arguably the greatest ballplayer in my lifetime. Saddled with injuries, he might have broken every record on the offensive side if he had remained healthy. In the steroid-era, he was never accused or linked with the bad stuff. He was an immortal.

And the day he retires, the story is overshadowed by a blown call.

That's OK. Five years to first ballot. Later Kid.

The June Swoon

Don't know why I called it that. It rhymes. So that makes me like Dr. Seuss, but a whole lot tougher.

When last we met - I was 'splainin' about the tournament weekend. Over now. My 11U team will get back on the diamond for some much-needed practice. The 9U squad is on the cusp of some playoff ball - if the t-storms hold off tonight and the other team shows, we will most likely make it.

Articles everywhere in the greater NY metro regarding Mr. Ollie P. and his unwillingness to do what he should. Bad Ollie. He, in a word, sucks.

And the world is all aglow about the World Cup, set to begin in about 10 days. Everybody but me that is. It's not that I dislike soccer. I detest it. It's a trophies for everybody sport. It's the type of sport where some kid runs around for an hour, kicks the ball 2x and people say "great game". Dumb. The fact that it is popular is of no importance. It is dumb. D-U-M-B.

All you soccer fans can send the hate mail.