We had a good storm come through The ‘Ville this afternoon. The kind of good storm that produces some gentle thunder, a steady rain and leaves you feeling refreshed.
Phoebe didn’t see it the same way.
The girl used to be totally unfazed by storms. She’d sleep right through the worst of them.
But ever since the mini-hurricane that hit us in August, not so much.
The town is still recovering from it. Emergency assistance trailers sprouted up in the parking lots the next day and still remain, along with billboards advertising hail damage repair. Conversations about dealings with insurance adjusters and contractors are an every day occurrence. And you can’t take a walk through the neighborhoods without hearing the pounding of workers repairing damaged roofs and siding.
As for Phoebe, at bedtime, every night since that storm, she asks Kates or I, “Can you check the weather?” “Is it going to storm tonight?”
As the clouds came in this morning and especially when the storm rolled in this afternoon, my thoughts were on Phoebe and how she was dealing with the weather.
Under normal circumstances, Phoebe wants nothing than to be free to play. But this afternoon, Kates picked up Phoebe from school and found her sitting on the security of her teacher’s lap.
10.12.2011
10.09.2011
Believing in the Brewers
Still riding high after Friday night’s thriller, we eagerly tuned in to this afternoon’s game. Game one of the National League Championship Series. At Miller Park.
The cameras panned the stadium. The fans were roaring and waving those white rally towels. All of it gave me chills.
I almost couldn’t believe what I was watching.
Kates and I were discussing our feelings about the excitement the other night, and the fact that our adventure has caused us to miss a chance at truly experiencing it. We couldn’t decide whether it's harder to watch, knowing that we could be there. Or if it's easier to watch because we have been there -- and we were there this summer. At the least, we’ve managed to keep up with the team this season in ways that wouldn’t have been possible 10 or 15 years ago. ... That said, it has been tough seeing the pictures on Facebook and hearing about so many of our family and friends going to the playoff games this last week, knowing we could have been there, too. (For the record, I've studied the NLCS schedule, thinking that perhaps I could make a run across the state for a game in St. Louis. But with my work schedule and the games in the middle of the week, there's no way.)
To make this series even more interesting, it didn’t dawn on me until last night that we’re watching a rematch of the 1982 World Series. (We attended the 25th anniversary celebration of that series at Miller Park during our epic baseball summer of 2007: Good times)
(Updated 10.10.2011) More good reads ...
a Brewers, Cardinals to renew their rivalry, and perhaps their bad blood, in NLCS
a Central stage: '82 Series foes clash in NLCS
a In NLDS win, Braun shows MVP-level talent
a Spending big not part of Brewers' winning formula
It didn’t look good for the Brewers early today.
Ryan Braun hit a two-run bomb in the first inning and then the Cardinals plunked Prince Fielder on the next pitch, all of which made for an exciting start. But the Brewers eventually fell behind 5-2.
Then, the bottom of the fifth inning happened.
Watch.
Then, there was Yuni Betancourt. It took me one night -- an epic doubleheader -- to appreciate Yuni Betancourt. And I was quite pleased when he came to the Brewers with Zack Greinke.
Tweeted Joe Posnanski after his home run today: "As I've often said: You can't get Yuni out when it matters."
The Brewers scored six runs and saw 25 pitches before the Cards recorded their first out in the fifth inning. It took just two pitches for Braun and Fielder to turn a 3-run deficit into a one-run advantage.
It was a darn fun game to watch. Here's another good wrap-up from The New York Times.
Speaking of fun. How about those Packers!?
We watched them tonight, too. Despite a rough start to the game for them also, they turned it into a convincing 25-16 win over the Falcons.
The Brewers are up one game in the NLCS. The Packers are 5-0 out of the gate and looking good. And the Badgers are 5-0 and pushing toward a national title after blasting Nebraska last weekend.
The cameras panned the stadium. The fans were roaring and waving those white rally towels. All of it gave me chills.
I almost couldn’t believe what I was watching.
Kates and I were discussing our feelings about the excitement the other night, and the fact that our adventure has caused us to miss a chance at truly experiencing it. We couldn’t decide whether it's harder to watch, knowing that we could be there. Or if it's easier to watch because we have been there -- and we were there this summer. At the least, we’ve managed to keep up with the team this season in ways that wouldn’t have been possible 10 or 15 years ago. ... That said, it has been tough seeing the pictures on Facebook and hearing about so many of our family and friends going to the playoff games this last week, knowing we could have been there, too. (For the record, I've studied the NLCS schedule, thinking that perhaps I could make a run across the state for a game in St. Louis. But with my work schedule and the games in the middle of the week, there's no way.)
To make this series even more interesting, it didn’t dawn on me until last night that we’re watching a rematch of the 1982 World Series. (We attended the 25th anniversary celebration of that series at Miller Park during our epic baseball summer of 2007: Good times)
(Updated 10.10.2011) More good reads ...
a Brewers, Cardinals to renew their rivalry, and perhaps their bad blood, in NLCS
a Central stage: '82 Series foes clash in NLCS
a In NLDS win, Braun shows MVP-level talent
a Spending big not part of Brewers' winning formula
It didn’t look good for the Brewers early today.
Ryan Braun hit a two-run bomb in the first inning and then the Cardinals plunked Prince Fielder on the next pitch, all of which made for an exciting start. But the Brewers eventually fell behind 5-2.
Then, the bottom of the fifth inning happened.
Back-to-back big hits by Braun and Fielder powered a rapid-fire fifth-inning rally, helping the Brewers come back to beat the Cardinals 9-6 for a 1-0 lead in the series. ... The typically light-hitting Yuniesky Betancourt added another two-run home run to cap it. The midgame turnaround came so fast that the crowd wasn't done cheering Braun's big hit when Fielder went deep.Prince's shot was a laser. Per @ESPNStatsInfo: "Fielder's HR traveled at a speed of 119.2 MPH off his bat. That is the highest speed for any HR hit in 2011."
Watch.
Then, there was Yuni Betancourt. It took me one night -- an epic doubleheader -- to appreciate Yuni Betancourt. And I was quite pleased when he came to the Brewers with Zack Greinke.
Tweeted Joe Posnanski after his home run today: "As I've often said: You can't get Yuni out when it matters."
The Brewers scored six runs and saw 25 pitches before the Cards recorded their first out in the fifth inning. It took just two pitches for Braun and Fielder to turn a 3-run deficit into a one-run advantage.
It was a darn fun game to watch. Here's another good wrap-up from The New York Times.
Speaking of fun. How about those Packers!?
We watched them tonight, too. Despite a rough start to the game for them also, they turned it into a convincing 25-16 win over the Falcons.The Brewers are up one game in the NLCS. The Packers are 5-0 out of the gate and looking good. And the Badgers are 5-0 and pushing toward a national title after blasting Nebraska last weekend.
I'd say everything's pretty rosy for Wisconsin sports fans tonight.
Good night.
10.08.2011
Brewers win!
So I had graduate classes this weekend.
One of them went until 9 p.m. last night.
Which meant I had to miss the Brewers-Diamondbacks NLDS Game 5.
I set the DVR. And then avoided the internet and refused to check my phone the rest of the night. When I arrived at my grad class, I walked into a couple of my cohorts talking about the night's games, and promptly told them about my plan. ... There are a few Cardinals fans in my class, and one of the girls came dressed in her Cardinals jersey. There's also a recent transplant from Wisconsin, who understands the Brewers love, too.
Later, one of my cohorts told me he had checked online and knew the outcome. "Don't tell me!" I said, throwing my hands in the air.
By 9:30, I was finally home. I greeted Kates, who had waited patiently for me, and we fired up the game. I noticed my phone had several text messages, which I decided could be either a good thing or bad thing. But I still refused to check them out of fear of spoiling the outcome.
Kates eventually headed to bed, while I held on into the wee hours of the morning.
It was a shame John Axford -- who has been lights out all season -- couldn't secure the win in the ninth. ... But as I replayed the ending for Kates this afternoon and as I explained the final innings to her, I couldn't keep from thinking the Brewers had to pull out that game! There was no way they could lose. They were playing at home! They had the players to do it! It was their game!
When Nyjer Morgan slapped that ball back up the middle in the bottom of the 10th inning, I flew off the couch and started jumping in front of the TV, shouting Go! Go! Go! as loud as I could without waking up Phoebe and Kates, practically waving Carlos Gomez home as if I'd stepped into Ed Sedar's body.
By the time Gomez crossed home plate, I'd sunk to my knees on the floor in front of the TV ... And it nearly caused a repeat of the tears I shed the night KU won it all in 2008. I wanted a Brewers series win that bad.
Then the replays and post-game. When a sideline reporter tried to interview Prince Fielder he was literally speechless and backed away from the mic mumbling, "I can't. ... Wow. ... I can't." ... And then Nyjer Morgan stepped up to the mic and dropped a couple F-bombs on live TV. Nice.
Arguably my favorite shot of the finale was the aerial from the third base side showing the Brewers players jumping on to the field and already waitng at home plate by the time Gomez was halfway down the third base line.
Next up, it's those darn Cardinals. I was up until almost 2 a.m. this morning watching my DVR recording of them knocking off the Phillies -- although I must confess I think I slept through at least the seventh and eighth innings -- and can hardly believe how St. Louis managed to win it by scoring one run in the first inning and holding the Phillies scoreless.
I was sad to see the Rays bow out to the Rangers. I'm thrilled the Tigers are in. ... But the Cardinals are hot, and that has me really nervous for the Brewers.
Good reads ...
a Owner Goes All In on the Brewers
a NLCS rivalry: Greinke calls Carpenter 'a phony'
a NLDS Game 1: Brewers have everything going their way!
a View from Philly: Cards series tougher than expected
a What the Washington Nationals can learn from the Philadelphia Phillies’ mistakes
One of them went until 9 p.m. last night.
Which meant I had to miss the Brewers-Diamondbacks NLDS Game 5.
I set the DVR. And then avoided the internet and refused to check my phone the rest of the night. When I arrived at my grad class, I walked into a couple of my cohorts talking about the night's games, and promptly told them about my plan. ... There are a few Cardinals fans in my class, and one of the girls came dressed in her Cardinals jersey. There's also a recent transplant from Wisconsin, who understands the Brewers love, too.
Later, one of my cohorts told me he had checked online and knew the outcome. "Don't tell me!" I said, throwing my hands in the air.
By 9:30, I was finally home. I greeted Kates, who had waited patiently for me, and we fired up the game. I noticed my phone had several text messages, which I decided could be either a good thing or bad thing. But I still refused to check them out of fear of spoiling the outcome.
Kates eventually headed to bed, while I held on into the wee hours of the morning.
It was a shame John Axford -- who has been lights out all season -- couldn't secure the win in the ninth. ... But as I replayed the ending for Kates this afternoon and as I explained the final innings to her, I couldn't keep from thinking the Brewers had to pull out that game! There was no way they could lose. They were playing at home! They had the players to do it! It was their game!
When Nyjer Morgan slapped that ball back up the middle in the bottom of the 10th inning, I flew off the couch and started jumping in front of the TV, shouting Go! Go! Go! as loud as I could without waking up Phoebe and Kates, practically waving Carlos Gomez home as if I'd stepped into Ed Sedar's body.
By the time Gomez crossed home plate, I'd sunk to my knees on the floor in front of the TV ... And it nearly caused a repeat of the tears I shed the night KU won it all in 2008. I wanted a Brewers series win that bad.
Then the replays and post-game. When a sideline reporter tried to interview Prince Fielder he was literally speechless and backed away from the mic mumbling, "I can't. ... Wow. ... I can't." ... And then Nyjer Morgan stepped up to the mic and dropped a couple F-bombs on live TV. Nice.
Arguably my favorite shot of the finale was the aerial from the third base side showing the Brewers players jumping on to the field and already waitng at home plate by the time Gomez was halfway down the third base line.
Next up, it's those darn Cardinals. I was up until almost 2 a.m. this morning watching my DVR recording of them knocking off the Phillies -- although I must confess I think I slept through at least the seventh and eighth innings -- and can hardly believe how St. Louis managed to win it by scoring one run in the first inning and holding the Phillies scoreless.
I was sad to see the Rays bow out to the Rangers. I'm thrilled the Tigers are in. ... But the Cardinals are hot, and that has me really nervous for the Brewers.
Good reads ...
a Owner Goes All In on the Brewers
a NLCS rivalry: Greinke calls Carpenter 'a phony'
a NLDS Game 1: Brewers have everything going their way!
a View from Philly: Cards series tougher than expected
a What the Washington Nationals can learn from the Philadelphia Phillies’ mistakes
10.06.2011
Another week
This will be known as the week Amanda Knox was freed. Steve Jobs died. And postseason baseball kept getting in the way of other responsibilities that I didn’t find nearly as exciting.
There are dozens of tweets from this week I wish I could re-post. But time’s not on my side.
Like a lot of people, I sat breathless at my desk awaiting the Knox verdict, although I can't be sure why. The case was a compelling one for sure, but it never gripped me as much as it did today. I'm glad for her's and her family's sake their nightmare is over.
Then, I was working in my office Tuesday night, hunkering down for another night of graduate paper writing when I saw the first tweet from a Chicago television station reporting Jobs' death. "Whoah," I said aloud. In another moment it became one of those stories that exploded on the Twitterverse, and tweets were flashing as fast as lightning. ... It was amazing to me how hard some were taking the death of a guy who built computers. And then it wasn't so hard to understand the outpouring when you think of the direct and indirect influence his gadgets have had on our lifestyles.
a Steve Jobs: Thank Him For...
a Steven P. Jobs: His Life, His Companies, His Products ... Cool interactive feature. And it's pretty fascinating to read some of the original reviews of these Apple products, too.
a A Tough Balancing Act Remains Ahead for Apple
a Apple Innovations Include Start of Big-Budget Super Bowl Ads
a Up From Ugliness
a Steve Jobs’ millennial fan club is devoted to Apple, but why?
a Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?
a Political cartooons
Meanwhile, the baseball playoffs were screaming for my attention.
My friend Matt predicted all sweeps. But for as talented and streaky as all of this year’s playoff teams were coming in, I expected all the Division Series’ to be close. For as hot as they were coming out of the regular season, I had the Rays -- especially the way they clobbered the Rangers in game 1 of the ALDS -- and Cardinals pinned as the teams every other team should be weary of.
And for the record, I'm rooting for a Brewers-Tigers World Series. I don't deny my love for either team, buut there's added interest this year because my boss is a Detroit native and die-hard Tigers fan, and our respect is mutual for each other's teams.
Dare I say, I'm quite impressed and pleased with TBS's postseason coverage this year -- something I never thought I'd be saying after the way they stumbled out of the gate in 2007. I'm lovin' the banter before and after games of Dennis Eckersley, David Wells and Cal Ripken.
Then, there's the commercials. Joe Posnanski had a great read yesterday about the most-played ads. ... I for one can’t get David Bowie‘s “Changes” (Thanks to commercial of product I can't remember) or the New Pornograhers’ “Moves” (Thanks to T-Mobile) out of my head. I also enjoy the Chevy Cruze commercial featuring a pregnant couple who is looking for a new apartment, passes on the first one and eventually comes back to it after a frustrating run of lesser apartments.
My favorite commercial, though, has to be the postseason commercial for the Brewers run. Oh, to see those images of the '82 Brewers mixed with this year's characters ... so ... cool.
Then, there's the matter of that Rally Squirrel. ... Thanks to late nights in my office and my attention devoted to the Brewers-Diamondbacks series, almost everything I know about the state of the Phillies-Cardinals series has come via the internet, which almost makes this whole thing even more entertaining for me.
This squirrel made an appearance at Tuesday night's Cardinals game, and my friend Erica wrote about it yesterday afternoon, noting the bold squirrel had its very own Twitter account: @BuschSquirrel. Of course, I started following Mr. Squirrel that afternoon -- when he only had a few hundred followers.
Fast forward to last night when I was working late again and I saw a tweet from Erica referencing another squirrel appearance. Then, I clicked on Mr. Squirrel's account to see, simply "SURPRISE!!" I burst out laughing and could only imagine what I'd just missed.
There's the head-shaking photos. And this video made me laugh more. ... Today, the Post-Dispatch conducted a revealing interview with the squirrel. ... Could it be the Phillies' black cat?
Some good baseball reads ...
a Long-shot Cardinals earning respect
a Where there's smoke, there's the Tigers on fire
a Strong Second Half Lands Tigers at Yankees’ Door
a Bob Gibson endorses Verlander for MVP as well as Cy Young awards
a In Baseball’s Bronze Age, Statues Are Becoming Bigger Part of Landscape
a Milestones to Lose Signature Touch
a A Career Sustained by Unwavering Faith
a A Lou Gehrig Treasure Trove
There are dozens of tweets from this week I wish I could re-post. But time’s not on my side.
Like a lot of people, I sat breathless at my desk awaiting the Knox verdict, although I can't be sure why. The case was a compelling one for sure, but it never gripped me as much as it did today. I'm glad for her's and her family's sake their nightmare is over.
Then, I was working in my office Tuesday night, hunkering down for another night of graduate paper writing when I saw the first tweet from a Chicago television station reporting Jobs' death. "Whoah," I said aloud. In another moment it became one of those stories that exploded on the Twitterverse, and tweets were flashing as fast as lightning. ... It was amazing to me how hard some were taking the death of a guy who built computers. And then it wasn't so hard to understand the outpouring when you think of the direct and indirect influence his gadgets have had on our lifestyles.
"Given Jobs’s storied record, the quasi-religious hosannas were predictable. As Walt Mossberg, the Wall Street Journal’s technology columnist, wrote, Jobs rivaled Henry Ford as an industrialist and Thomas Edison as an innovator. In just over a dozen years, he transformed a foundering computer company into a giant of commerce and culture, with a broad influence on movies, music, advertising and retailing." ~ Paul Farhi, The Washington PostMore good reads ...
a Steve Jobs: Thank Him For...
a Steven P. Jobs: His Life, His Companies, His Products ... Cool interactive feature. And it's pretty fascinating to read some of the original reviews of these Apple products, too.
a A Tough Balancing Act Remains Ahead for Apple
a Apple Innovations Include Start of Big-Budget Super Bowl Ads
a Up From Ugliness
a Steve Jobs’ millennial fan club is devoted to Apple, but why?
a Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?
a Political cartooons
* * *
Meanwhile, the baseball playoffs were screaming for my attention.
My friend Matt predicted all sweeps. But for as talented and streaky as all of this year’s playoff teams were coming in, I expected all the Division Series’ to be close. For as hot as they were coming out of the regular season, I had the Rays -- especially the way they clobbered the Rangers in game 1 of the ALDS -- and Cardinals pinned as the teams every other team should be weary of.
And for the record, I'm rooting for a Brewers-Tigers World Series. I don't deny my love for either team, buut there's added interest this year because my boss is a Detroit native and die-hard Tigers fan, and our respect is mutual for each other's teams.
Dare I say, I'm quite impressed and pleased with TBS's postseason coverage this year -- something I never thought I'd be saying after the way they stumbled out of the gate in 2007. I'm lovin' the banter before and after games of Dennis Eckersley, David Wells and Cal Ripken.
Then, there's the commercials. Joe Posnanski had a great read yesterday about the most-played ads. ... I for one can’t get David Bowie‘s “Changes” (Thanks to commercial of product I can't remember) or the New Pornograhers’ “Moves” (Thanks to T-Mobile) out of my head. I also enjoy the Chevy Cruze commercial featuring a pregnant couple who is looking for a new apartment, passes on the first one and eventually comes back to it after a frustrating run of lesser apartments.
My favorite commercial, though, has to be the postseason commercial for the Brewers run. Oh, to see those images of the '82 Brewers mixed with this year's characters ... so ... cool.
Then, there's the matter of that Rally Squirrel. ... Thanks to late nights in my office and my attention devoted to the Brewers-Diamondbacks series, almost everything I know about the state of the Phillies-Cardinals series has come via the internet, which almost makes this whole thing even more entertaining for me.
This squirrel made an appearance at Tuesday night's Cardinals game, and my friend Erica wrote about it yesterday afternoon, noting the bold squirrel had its very own Twitter account: @BuschSquirrel. Of course, I started following Mr. Squirrel that afternoon -- when he only had a few hundred followers.
Fast forward to last night when I was working late again and I saw a tweet from Erica referencing another squirrel appearance. Then, I clicked on Mr. Squirrel's account to see, simply "SURPRISE!!" I burst out laughing and could only imagine what I'd just missed.
There's the head-shaking photos. And this video made me laugh more. ... Today, the Post-Dispatch conducted a revealing interview with the squirrel. ... Could it be the Phillies' black cat?
Some good baseball reads ...
a Long-shot Cardinals earning respect
a Where there's smoke, there's the Tigers on fire
a Strong Second Half Lands Tigers at Yankees’ Door
a Bob Gibson endorses Verlander for MVP as well as Cy Young awards
a In Baseball’s Bronze Age, Statues Are Becoming Bigger Part of Landscape
a Milestones to Lose Signature Touch
a A Career Sustained by Unwavering Faith
a A Lou Gehrig Treasure Trove
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