Is it Miserable Outside? Perspective Matters

I read the following Wednesday evening, prior to our thermometer going triple digits.
Things have been much worse around St. Louis.

"In June, the weather in St. Louis often turns into a blast furnace that lasts until mid September. That year (1934), on schedule, the grass in Sportsman's Park faded to a well-baked brown. Adding to the misery ushered in by the miles-long dust cloud in mid May, the Midwest was now caught in the grip of a heat wave that would last all summer and kill more than a thousand people. A two-year drought caused the Mississippi River to continue to drop and thus led to Missouri's worst farm crisis ever. St. Louis was also registering the highest temperatures since 1871. For thirty consecutive days, the thermometer reached 100 degrees or more."
- from "The Gashouse Gang " by John Heidenry, pp138-139

Albert Pujols - The Choice

On January 6, 2012, I posted this status update:

Albert Pujols is a generous man. I pray that God uses him powerfully in California, as He is still doing in St. Louis. http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2012/01/06/dnt-mo-pujols-surprise-gift.ktvi.html

My sentiments toward that end have not changed. However, reading the following from Albert today kind of altered how I view him:

Pujols says his preference was to stay a Cardinal for the rest of his career, envisioning the day he would be revered in the city, just as Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock and Red Schoendienst were. He would have his number retired and have a statue erected outside Busch Stadium along with the other greats.   (Source: USA Today)

Albert Pujols was already revered in St. Louis. He was a living legend, with nothing but further respect and support to gain as the years ticked passed towards his retirement. He could have coasted into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot, wearing the Cardinals hat that gave him a chance to play, prove himself and become one of the best players in history. He could have spent his entire career with the organization and town that held their breath every time he winced or appeared even slightly injured. He could have been the shining example of how a player can stick with a club that may not be the most glamorous, or have the largest payroll, but is dedicated to winning and representing their city and fans well.

So much could have been different.

I'm not saying that Albert Pujols should have turned down the Angels offer. He is a professional athlete and if he wants to maximize his earning based on his abilities and skills, then more power to him. He has every right to make the decision he made. I'm praying that God uses him to dramatically impact his new hometown.

I don't think the Cardinals should have paid him anything near that contract. It wasn't in the organization's best interest long-term. Did they want Albert to retire a Cardinal? You bet. Could they compete with the big money that was thrown at him from the West Coast? Absolutely not.

Sometimes the numbers just don't compare well, and it appears that this is one of those instances where the disparity between dollars and years in the contract offered were apparently too large to overcome for a smaller ball club. The Cardinals made their stand. The Angels made their offer. Albert made his choice.

And I guess that is what bothers me about this statement in this article. St. Louis did not drive Albert Pujols away. The Cardinals didn't ride him out of town on a rail. It's not as if the extremely loyal fan base of the St. Louis Cardinals collectively removed their numerous Pujols jerseys, set fire to them at first base in Busch Stadium and then march down to the Mississippi River and chucked them in.

I'm pretty sure that Bob Gibson, Lou Brock and Red Schoendienst, along with numerous other former Cardinals all wanted to see Albert remain a Cardinal. In fact, Stan Musial, the man that is, according to Albert Pujols, the only player worthy to be called "The Man" went to the internet to do his part to get Albert to stay in St. Louis.

If Albert Pujols wanted to remain a Cardinal for life, he could have made that happen.

If Albert wanted a statue next to the greats of Cardinal nation, he could have made that happen.

If Albert wanted to see his number 5 retired at Busch Stadium, he just had to keep playing ball.

If Albert wanted to be revered as a Cardinal, then all he had to do was stay in town.

But he didn't choose that for himself.

It was all right there for the taking.

If that was his dream, if that was his hope, then I'm afraid he gave it up for some numbers that the dedicated, hard working, baseball loving, intelligent St. Louis Cardinal fans recognize as detrimental to the team's future.

Albert made his choice. Now he has to work really hard at making that dream happen over the waning years of his career as an Angel. Something tells me that the people of California may have other stars to follow when Albert's productivity starts to decline.

I wish him well, but I wish he would stop talking about how desperately he dreamed of staying a Cardinal for life. You had that choice Albert, and you chose to move on.

And now, so shall we.

Why I Run / When I Run

Today I am sore.
Why?
Because yesterday I ran.

I didn't run from the police.
I didn't run to evade getting tackled by a large man in a helmet.
I didn't run up and down a court to throw a ball in a basket or back and forth across a pitch to kick a ball in a goal.
I didn't run as a part of any team sport.

While all of these things would definitely wear me out, they had nothing to do with my running.

Ridiculously Awesome Frisbee Catch

I used to play Ultimate Frisbee a lot.
I played with guys at every skill level.

Some guys were better at throwing from numerous holds.
- I could only throw 3 different ways.

Some guys were great at making amazing catches.
- I had a few (My most memorable was after a field length run I laid out for the disc and caught it inches above the ground while sliding through the mud).

And that sort of knowledge is what makes me appreciate this video so much.

First off, the throw is absolutely massive.There's no way to discount what the thrower did.

But the thing that struck me the first time I saw this video was incredible skill of the guy who caught it.
He timed his leap perfectly, his angle perfectly, his reach perfectly - and he did it off a moving speedboat.

The fact that these guys do these things to raise awareness for Compassion and children in poverty is an extra added bonus.

How Ridiculous, indeed!

A Year of Running

I just realized that it has been a little over a year since I began consistently running.
To celebrate that accomplishment, I want to recap where I started and where I currently am.
Warning - Since I am recapping an entire year, this is a long post. 

On October 22, 2010, I climbed onto our newly acquired treadmill and started on what has been quite the journey. Over the course of 23 heart-pounding minutes, I ran a total of 2 miles (11:30 minutes per mile pace). My goal at that point was to actually train to run a 5k that I had run several years in a row with only a couple of weeks of "training". I wanted finish the 5k in under 30 minutes. I obviously had some work to do to get to that point.

On October 30, I ran the Eye Run For Haiti 5k in 10:28 - a pace of 10:28 minutes per mile. This was encouraging to say the least. At this point I was dedicated to running 3 times a week on the treadmill and was pushing myself pretty hard.


On November 21, 2010, I ran the Jingle Bell Run 5k in 29:00 minutes (9:29 minutes per mile). At the end of this race, I decided that I would continue running 3 times a week, but I didn't really have a new goal in mind.

Weighing In

A few weeks ago, I was thinking about the upcoming Holiday season and became focused on all of the cookies, treats and snacks that I knew I would consume. Having just started to lose and redistribute some weight through a consistent running program, I kind of bemoaned the fact that I would inevitably gain weight during this time. (I realize that I could choose to abstain from the goodies, but I am being much more realistic in my thinking than that.)  The more I thought about it, the more I disliked the idea of gaining back the weight I have lost already. So I have devised the personal challenge that I am currently involved in.

Here is my simple challenge:
- Weigh in on the Friday before Christmas (December 17th).
- Weigh in on the Friday following New Year's Day (January 7th).
The goal is to maintain the initial weight or lose weight if possible.

That's my challenge. It's not hard, but I think it is already providing me with some extra motivation to keep up with my running. I realize that I am consuming more calories than before, but my running program also has me expending a few more than before as well. This challenge has also caused me to rethink eating that next cookie a couple of times already.

That's how I am attempting to not gain weight over the next two weeks.
My initial weigh in was 210 lbs.

So far, so good.

On a related note, my running has been going really well. I have been able to remain consistent in my running and have seen a great amount of improvement. In fact, to easily see the results, consider this:
- I ran the Eye Run For Haiti 5k on October 30th and finished with a time of 32:28. (10:58 mile)
- I ran the Jingle Bell Run 5k on November and finished with a time of 28:22. (9:09 mile)
- This morning I ran 4 miles in 33:38. (8:24 mile)

 I don't have a firm goal at this point as to any specific race or anything, but I am hoping to reach the place where running 4 miles at a sub-8 minute pace won't kill me. I'm not there yet, but give me a month or two...

Ultimate Catch

As a fan and infrequent player of Ultimate Frisbee, I find this video to be absolutely amazing.

Breathtakingly Exciting

This was an awesome call during an amazing moment in American soccer:

Poetry in Motion

I had a skateboard growing up, but could never do anything but stay upright on it. Of course, I never practiced or attempted much of anything other than that, so it is only natural that I wouldn't be able to ollie, let alone pull off anything resembling any of these tricks.

These two are for Mike, Brody and Bryson - all of whom are much more worthy of owning a skateboard than I ever was or will be.




(HT: Abraham Piper)

Free Fall Dive

Words escape me at the moment...


(HT: Kottke via Dooce)

St. Louis Sports Snapshots

If you are a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, or even baseball history in general, here is a collection of photos from 1940-194 and 1969 that you should check out.

Water Consumption on Ice

From this post:

The water utility in Edmonton, EPCOR, published the most incredible graph of water consumption last week.

Everyone waited to use the restroom until the periods were over! Simply awesome!

From Peanuts to the Pressbox - Book Review

As a person who has always loved sports, I hoped that "From Peanuts to the Pressbox" by Eli Gold would not be entirely focussed on the life and travails of the author, and thus be a total disappointment. What I found was a nice blend of personal biography and opinion, mixed with the kind of stories you hope to hear from someone who has been in the radio/television business for so long. I had never heard of Eli Gold before, which immediately tells you that I am not a die hard Alabama athletics fan, nor am I deeply entrenched in NHRA and NASCAR racing, although I do have a decent knowledge of the latter.

The author has broken each segment of his life down into sections that either break along the lines of different sports that he has covered or different teams that he has travelled with. As such, it is not a long wait until he mentions a famous name or two from a bygone era, as well as those still involved in one way or another in sports still today.

For fans of professional, college and arena football, there is a wealth of stories to be read. For the hockey fan, there are many years spent on the bus and in the dressing rooms with the players. For racing fans, there are stories from when autoracing was frst being broadcast on the radio as well as shown on television. There seems to be a little something in this book for any fan of team sports in America. We are given a peak into the nomadic life of a sports broadcaster and get to hear some fun stories along the way.

Eli Gold has done a nice job of culling some very interesting stories from his vast experience in the booth and his time with the athletes, coaches and other celebrities. If you enjoy sports to any extent, you will probably find thisbook to be an interesting and entertaining read. And if you are and Alabama fan, it seems that you should have already read this book without having to read my review to convince you to.

Josh Hamilton In His Second All Star Game is Second

Josh Hamilton will be in the All Star game tonight for the second year in a row. Watch this video.

More videos like this can be found at www.IAMsecond.com

Phelps' Photo Phinish

If you've been breathing in America for the past week, you've no doubt heard about Michael Phelps and his now successful attempt to win 8 gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Sports Illustrated has a frame-by-frame underwater look at how Phelps won the 100 meter butterfly by .01 seconds. It's pretty incredible.