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Saturday, August 23rd 2008

10:35 PM

Trash Talking Hockey with Steve Carlson 8-23-08

Steve Carlson interview, Part 3. I’ve saved what I felt was the best for last. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? Save desert for last, save your best wine for a special occasion. I thoroughly enjoyed my time speaking with him, but when we started talking about his feelings about the sport in the US and the NHL today, I realized what so many people don’t know: he’s nothing like his on screen persona.
 
Because I know he spends so much time promoting the game and doing appearances in Canada, I started out asking him as an American, how he felt about the sentiment that hockey doesn‘t belong in some of our non-traditional US and International markets. At first he laughed, then continued.
“The way I look at it is you have so many teams in the US and only a select few in Canada. It’s not our fault. It’s up to the Canadian Government to give these tax breaks. The Government looks its independent owned company it should be self sufficient. Then don’t complain when Tampa or Florida has a team or San Jose or Anaheim. WE give them the breaks. Even at the College route. They do not give scholarships to the Canadian colleges, that’s why many of the Canadian kids come to the US because it’s a free education. And I keep complaining to the people there, why don’t you? Then I reverse my thinking because what they’re doing is giving us all their best college players to filling our arenas. I like the way you’re doing things up there. It’s not only the pro ranks it’s the college ranks. We’re supporting our arenas and giving them a free education.”

Mr. Carlson runs summer hockey schools for both boys and girls from 5 - 14 years old. This summer his school made its way to Wisconsin. The camps are three day, skating only, and no pucks instruction for the unbelievable bargain price of $75 per student. (Oh these non-NY prices make me stutter.) I asked him if he has seen more of an interest in hockey, especially in young girls.
 
“I have a lot of girls that come to my camps. I believe that if you can’t skate you can’t play the game. Good example of a great skater that makes a career playing in the NHL is Chris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings. He has limited hand skills but he is a key element to the Red Wings on the Penalty kill, the 3rd line, and the checking line. You need to be able to skate. And that’s what I really enforce is skating ability. Because you can’t shoot the puck if you can’t skate. You can’t check someone if you can’t skate it’s all balance. With the girls coming in, involved in US colleges, they’re giving scholarships away and it’s getting this huge response. Then here come the Canadian girls, and the Swedes and the Russians. It’s a great opportunity to be able to get an education AND play the game that you LOVE.”

And there was the key word that all true hockey fans understand. “Love.” The LOVE of the game-- the passion for the sport. Mr. Carlson seemed just a little disappointed as he continued.
 
“There is a difference in kids today from when I was younger and I played the game -- and I still feel this way. If I ask my high school kids that I coach, ‘Do you LIKE playing hockey?’ And they say “Yeah. I LIKE playing.” I tell them, that’s the difference between your thinking and my thinking. I LOVE playing. They just LIKE playing. And I see the difference from the kids in the 70s and 80s to those of the 90s and 2000s, where they “like” playing it. So the problem I have with a lot of the NHL players is they believe that the NHL owes them a career. Instead of our thinking, we didn’t make the million dollar contracts. WE didn’t have that. WE believed that it was a privilege to play because not everyone gets to play this game. It’s a privilege to play; it’s a privilege to be selected and the attitude has changed a lot.”

I have heard this sentiment from other “old time hockey” guys. But considering that even with the expanded number of teams, this is an industry with only a little more than 700 NHL jobs. It IS a privilege to play. And it would be good if everyone (players and fans) remembered that.
 
“There are select players that you can weed out, but the average (high school) player is playing because his mother and father just want them to play. I also believe there is a problem with the youth programs where they play year round. They have to get away from that because hockey is a very physical contact sport. When we were playing, when hockey season ended, then there was baseball season. They don’t give their muscles a chance to rest. I believe there is a problem where these kids are getting seriously injured at a younger age because their muscles and their growth plates are screwed up from playing every day the whole year. They HAVE to give that body a rest. The players now-a-days train year round. We used to use training camp to GET into shape. Now they come to camp in shape or you’re in trouble. There’s all this physical fitness stuff which is great, but you HAVE to give your body a rest.”

Here’s where his thinking may not be the norm. I’ve read all the articles on the net about off-season training. Some players never stop. Has it given them an edge to NOT end up on the injured list? Not that I’ve seen. Maybe Mr. Carlson is right about giving the body a rest from this highly physical game. Maybe the year round training is too much for any one…. With the exception of freak-of-nature Chris Chelios.
 
In the last 15 - 20 years of charity work the Hanson Brothers have done, they have raised almost 13 million dollars. Not bad for 3 goons from the movies, eh? I asked him what his favorite charity was.
 
“We do them all. Everything has to do with kids though. We do a lot with Make a Wish, Diabetes; it’s all about kids, because that’s the future. I love kids. I love working them. When I was coaching in Memphis, I made sure my players went to St. Jude’s once a week at least. But I took that one more step because also at St. Jude’s they have the Ronald McDonald house where parents spend months and months, so what I would do is once a week also is have our van go and pick up the parents and take them to a game and give them 2 ½ hours of everything they want. Then after the game, we would take them back to Ronald McDonald house. Because granted, we all feel sorry for the kids. It’s unfortunate that they are going through this pain. But the parents are going through pain also. They feel it just as much as the kids. I wanted to give back to them.”
 
Mr. Carlson has always been very outspoken about the ‘new’ NHL, so I asked him what the one thing he would change about the NHL is. For some reason, I knew what the first words out of his mouth would be. I was right.

“The Commissioner.”

As Mr. Bettman’s personal cheer leader, I couldn’t help but say it, “Damn. I knew you were going to say that.” He chuckled a little and moved on.
“I’ve got many if you want. I’m not going to stick with one anyway. How about this one, I would like to change the rule on how many Europeans or foreigners you can have on your team.”

I had seen that he mentioned that to a reporter previously. I thought it was a very interesting point though perhaps not PC.
 
“They do that to the Americans and Canadians when they go over to Europe to play. When we grow up in the US or Canada, we dream of holding the (Stanley) Cup up. When the Swedes, Finns, Russians or Czechs grow up, they dream of holding the World Cup trophy up. I have a problem in the last five or six years one of the top teams in the NHL talent wise, man for man, talent wise has been Ottawa. Why do they get beat out the first round all the time? They have so many of these players that when they get beat out of the playoffs, they go back and play in the World Cup tournament. They go and play for their country. I believe if you limit 3 Europeans per team to give the Americans and Canadians more opportunity to play because we have the passion and I believe 95% of the North Americans would go through a wall to win that cup.”

“I would like to see Brian Burke as the Commissioner of the National Hockey League. He understands the game. I believe they should let the players decide their instigating fighting should not be punishable. I believe that once a player takes a run at your super star player, that here comes in my day, the Dave Semankos, the Gord Lanes, the Clark Gillies come out there and punish the boy that touched your Brian Trottier or Mike Bossy. Let them score. Trust me, when you see someone like a Dave Semanko (or a laundry list of other names he mentioned that I had no clue who they were) come at you, you’re going to think twice before you do it.”

Since he is coaching kids, I asked him what he felt about making visors mandatory. I was surprised at the answer.

“I have to say that in the junior ranks and the college ranks I don’t believe in the full face shield because there is no respect there. I watch college hockey and it’s like one high stick after another because there is no worries of cutting someone or damaging someone. Go with the half shield, that’s fine. If you don’t want to wear it, sign the paper that says the league is not responsible for any injury.”

He mentioned Brian Berard’s freak accident injury. It happens.

“Keep your stick down. Keep your stick down. Control your stick. When we played and we cut someone… Here they come! And oh boy! Sorry! Not good enough. Gordie Howe. Mr. Elbow, Mr. Stick. I played with Gordie Howe for a year and a half and he was a master at it. You knew you go in the corner, you tick him off, and you’re coming out bleeding. That’s’ just the way the game was. Getting cut is not an injury. You go get sewn up and come right back.”

I told him one of my favorite hockey memories was watching Captain Keith Primeau take stitches to the face in a playoff game, and not even miss a shift. I always felt that was a perfect example of Hockey being the last great Gladiator sport.

 
And lastly, Carlson would change, “Take diving out of the game. It’s gotten so ridiculous, it’s not even funny. If you hit a guy and him goes down like someone shot him. No. He should get an unsportsmanlike conduct for that. If he can get up and skate around… you do a dive and then you’re on the power play? No. Two minute, unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.”

He still plays and still skates, very well.
“Sometimes when I play, my mind says ‘Oh this is great, but my body says you dumb fool you can’t do it anymore. No brain no pain.”

I think your brain is just fine Mr. Carlson. You’ve still got it.
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Tuesday, August 19th 2008

8:54 PM

8-19-08

Deflecting Slap Shots from Hanson Brother Steve Carlson 8-19-08

Steve Carlson’s resume is impressive: Hockey player, actor, humorist, coach, broadcaster, philanthropist, public speaker and entrepreneur. The only thing missing was ‘author,’ but he’s not ready for that. Besides he’s been exceptionally busy coaching a high school team in Kenosha WI, conducting hockey camps, making charity appearances and taking care of things at SteveCarlsonHockey.com and hansonbrothers.net. The only place you can get genuine autographed Hanson Brothers items, as well as have a few good laughs.

So what did Mr. Carlson had to say about his memories of the NY Islanders and our new Head Coach, Scott Gordon? A few things.

Now to prove that Steve Carlson was a no-joke hockey player, let’s look back a little. His playing career spanned from 1973 - 1987. His “cup of coffee” with the NHL came in the 1979-80 season with the LA Kings where he played 52 games and scored 9 goals. That season, he almost broke an NHL record during a playoff game against the NY Islanders with Billy Smith in Goal.

“I was one second short from breaking an NHL record for short handed goals. We had two short handed goals already and I was a penalty killer, and I came across the blue line and I took a shot and I scored but the penalty expired ONE second before. I kinda confused Billy Smith on that shot. I had a patented Louisiana shot; I call it the Blue Bayou shot. That was the year that the Islanders won the Cup. WE had them on the ropes. But that was the year that Ken Morrow came in from the Olympics. What a great year he had that won the Olympics and then won the Stanley Cup. Butch Goring had something to prove against the LA Kings and he completely dominated. He played extremely well against us. My job on the team was to shut down the Trottier, Bossy, Gillies line, which we did a pretty good job doing it. But what happened was that the Islanders had a better second, third and fourth line that pretty much shut down the Marcel Dionne, Taylor, Simmer line. And with Tonelli and Nystrom and Bobby Bourne, they had an all around great team.”

You could tell he was smiling when he mentioned how great it was that Bossy and Trottier are still around the team. It does really mean so much to the younger players to have that connection to the greats of the game.

So that was his memory of the past, I asked him about his memory of our immediate future: new head coach Scott Gordon. The Massachusetts native was signed as a free agent by the Nordiques in October of 1986 at 23. He was named to the Hockey East All-Star First Team during the 1985-86. season and to the East Coast Hockey League All-Star First Team during the 1988-89 season.

“Okay, I was assistant coach in Baltimore in the American league and he was under contract with the Quebec Nordiques and we unfortunately had all these quality guys, veterans that played for us. Then I became head coach in Johnstown (yep… the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL) and we were affiliated with Quebec and was asked if I wanted Scotty Gordon and I took him in a second.

He is one of the hardest working players I had. When we were on the ice during practice, he was out there a half hour before anyone even stepped on the ice and I would shoot the puck around the boards and he would stop it and shoot it out of the zone for one half hour before and AFTER practice. He was a very hardworking player. I followed his career as a coach, when he was an assistant coach out in Providence. I could see him making his players work as hard as he works. He develops players well. He’s walking into a situation where, if the Islanders do what they plan to do with Garth Snow and the youth movement. That’s great! Stick to the plan then! Look at the character players. Everything is character. Character players that will do anything to win a hockey game. Those character players are key elements to a hockey team. Scotty is going to bring that out.”

There’s no doubt that injuries played a large part in where the Islanders ended up last season. It was bad enough losing our scoring power, but to lose Rick between the pipes made it all the worse. So one of the issues facing Scott Gordon will be how much to rest our All-Star goalie.

“ I would like to see DiPietro not play as much. Because even though Marty Brodeur plays 70 games a year, he only faces 20 shots a game. When Rick plays 60 -75 games, he’s facing three times as many shots as Marty does. He’s getting over worked. "

My attempt at humor was just saying. “Haven’t you heard? He’s Bionic now.” (Well, he should be!)

“Well, goaltenders are a little different. They’re a different breed. They have to do the splits and unorthodox moves with their legs. If they can keep the shots down to 30 shots a game and play solid, tight defensive hockey, they’ll be okay. You have to play a 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 game constantly and you have to understand the system that Scotty wants to bring in.”

Having coached youngsters for years, he brought up a very interesting point about the game itself.

“… hockey is a game of mistakes. What you do out there immediately after a mistake is crucial. If you play the game and you make a mistake and you hang your head and pout, you’re in trouble. Get back in the play and try to get the puck back and work your ass off.”

“I believe with Scotty coaching here, they are going to try to outwork EVERY team. They‘re going to have to be in the best shape. I believe he’s going to do that. He understands the young players systems. They‘re going to make mistakes. You just got to keep teaching them, and teaching them. And it‘s very frustrating on a coach when a player keeps making the same mistakes. You have to be patient, because eventually the light‘s going to go off above his head and say OH! That‘s what I need to do. And you become a player than. See it‘s very easy to lose hockey games. It‘s very hard to WIN. What they have to instill in these young players is how to win. They have to teach these young guys pride.”

Hear that boys. Rest up while you still can. Sounds like Gordon isn’t going to accept anything less than he expects from himself, and that would be 100%.

We started to joke about having two ex-goalies running the show.

“Two goaltenders! Oh my goodness! I was a center man when I played. Let’s look at this now. As a forward, I get out of the way on purpose so that an 80 - 90 mph puck does NOT hit me. Come on. Their mentality? ‘I volunteer to step in front of it.’ They’re not sane people. They’re a whole different breed out there. But you have to also look at it that they understand the system because they’re on the ice the whole time. They see how plays develop and they see who they can trust and who they can’t on the ice. So I look at Goaltenders as possibly good, and when I look at them together; okay. We might have one full brain out there on the Island.”

There's that trademark sarcasm. He was just kidding Garth. Just kidding!
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Saturday, August 16th 2008

6:58 PM

8-16-08

Bergenheim paying for the Sins of Mark Gandler? 8-16-08


I had about a half hour in Nassau County today and wandered over to the Islanders team store. As I had been told at the press conference that certainly there was a Bergenheim customized jersey available at the store, I decided to see for myself.


There's a sale going on with 40 - 50% off selected merchandise and a whole raft of new T-shirts and jerseys for Weight and Streit. But I looked and looked. Then I had the little blond sales girl look through every single jersey in the store. Guess what? THERE WAS NO BERGENHEIM JERSEY TO BE HAD!


"You know. I've had some people ask me for them too. But we can make them up if you want." So I told her the story about the press conference. She smiled. "No. I haven't seen one in the store."


"I'm told you can have it made up in two days if I wanted." Again, the pretty little girl smiled at me. "Well, it MIGHT take a little longer than that."


So while two new guys haven't even hit the ice yet have merchandise racks all to themselves, the 2001 First Round Draft pick STILL doesn't have an item in the store with his name on it. I understood this when we didn't know if he was going to be able to cut a deal with the Islanders for a new contract. But now that Garth has given him a two year deal, you would think that custom merchandise should be next.


I know that the t-shirts must be made in no less than 240 pcs at a time. Do they really think Bergenheim doesn't have 240 fans out there?


Personally.... I think this is just a dig for the problems caused by his ex-agent. It's all the little things that have happened to him since the "No, no, he'd rather play in Europe than take a two way deal with the Islanders." fiasco. We all know how that turned out for him.


I don't even think Sean's butt was on the plane to Russia before Park had his number already sewn on his new Jersey. Russia wasn't a happy place for Bergie, so he bolted over to Sweden where his new jersey had so much advertising on it, you couldn't tell what his new number was.


I could go on and on about the little things I've seen that make me believe he's being "picked on" by the organization. But I'll stop here.


There's a new coach and Sean has a new contract. I'll hope for the best and see what happens. But just be forewarned guys. I'm watching you. If I don't like the way you're treating my boy.... you WILL hear about it.... a LOT!


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Thursday, August 14th 2008

7:17 AM

8-13-08

Less "FLASH" more "FAITH" Gordon 8-13-08


Tonight is just more proof that I'm far from being a real "journalist." I can't work on deadline to save my life. It's now 7:52 pm, and I'm just sitting down to write this. Some times I wonder why I (or any of us) do write what was said because ITV always has the entire interview posted on line within hours. So you can hear and see exactly what Scott Gordon had to say at this press conference, even though you can't hear what is being asked of him by the reporters.

He seemed genuinely grateful for this opportunity, but as I said earlier, a little overwhelmed. He definitely doesn't strike me as "flash." Not by any stretch of the imagination. I will say it was a nice little touch to have that orange and blue tie. Probably a suggestion of his wife, Jennifer. He seems to be more the type who is going to do (or try to do) exactly what Garth was looking for in a coach: "Inspire" and "Motivate." He already understands how difficult it is to deal with adversity, and keeping the desire and belief in players to be able to win.

He said there's a light at the end of the tunnel and he's happy to be a part of. Like last year, I'm just hoping that light isn't attached to a freight train heading in his direction. Because he will get crushed. I am worried that his inexperience with the media and a rabid (larger than he's used to) fan base.

According to Gordon, getting acclimated to NY, the travel schedule and the NHL maybe be his hardest task at hand. "Coaching is coaching, it's the other stuff that is the hard part and I feel that I've worked at that just as much as I've worked at anything else." Mr. Gordon, I hope you're right. But we're here for you if you need any help learning about Long Island and dealing with Islanders Country.

Okay, now for my more personal impressions of the afternoon. Considering they served lunch, I guess it was, indeed, considered journalism (as I have been told). There were cameras and cables everywhere. Last year's press conference to announce Guerin and company was separated into two areas, so Webby and I weren't thrown into a room filled with reporters cameras and microphones. We, and other invited guests, were brought to a reception room for our press conference and the media was in the next room, working.

This was one big work room with one table marked "Reserved" for Gordon's family, Mr. Wang, Guerin, DiPietro and the new kid, Bailey. His two boys were fascinated by the Islander glasses that have flashing LEDs in them. They collected them and played with them on the floor.

Brad Kurtzberg and I were asked very politely to move from the seats we were in, and I immediately headed toward the back of the room but was told. "No, right up front. Sit here." I didn't have time to protest as Chris King had stepped up to the podium to begin. At least I was close enough to hear Garth even without the microphones.

I had actually come prepared with one question. I didn't think I'd be able to ask because I knew there were so many reporters in the room, but I figured at least I was coming prepared. Within the first 45 seconds of Garth being up at the podium, he basically asked and answered the question I had typed out for myself. I folded the paper back up and put it back in my purse. So much for that.

I listened quietly and intently as the cameraman sitting next to me darted up and down close to the floor trying to get a good angle for photos. More than a few times, his camera lens that could see to Mars was stretched across my lap. I wish he had introduced himself, it would have made it a little more comfortable.

Once the Q&A portion was over I watched as this hoard of media literally rushed the front area. They had removed the podium and tables so that Garth and Gordon were standing against the logo backdrop. I thought they were going to get crushed. I had never seen anything like it. There were reporters standing on chairs pointing cameras over their heads.

I watched Stan Fischler interview Snow close enough to Tango with him. But he had no where to go. (BTW, it's the best interview out there!) There were arms and cameras and microphones and lights everywhere. Is this hockey or a Brittany Spears sighting? I couldn't tell.


I stayed back and watched CJ Papa film an interview for Channel10/TV55, it was probably his fifth interview on the subject in less than 12 hours. CJ has to easily be the hardest working TV sports guy in the business. Catch him on ITV and the 11pm News.

I stopped to talk to the man in charge of merchandising. Once again, I badgered him about Bergenheim tee shirts and jerseys being available at the store or the coliseum concourse. Once again I got the answer that the tee shirts didn't have enough sale potential at this time, but that his jersey IS available at the Team Store. He also said that since any jersey could be made in two days, he didn't see the problem.

Well, Mr. Goldstein, as I told you, I have been promoting this boy since he came here at 18, and I'm trying to watch out for him. When I mentioned that Okposo's jersey was available on the concourse the DAY he hit the coliseum ice, he smiled at me and said "But yes, he was our first round pick." I smiled back, "So was Sean, in 2002!"

"Oh, I wasn't here then." I thanked him for the information and walked away before he realized he was dealing with a mother bear trying to protect her cub. But no, I'm not done with this. Part of me thinks that Sean is still paying for the sins of Gandler.

I watched as everyone worked and ate. Lunch looked lovely, but the dental work is still making it hard to eat. I stopped to talk to Stan Fischler before I left. He told me to tell my husband to relax about this hiring move. "I had a tip on this guy long before anyone mentioned him. Everyone raves about him." Now that's a glowing review. And after everything I've read, I think I have to agree with him.
Also: Looks like once again Botta was "bang on" as they say in Canada as he picked the day the announcement would be made. Always entertaining reading from a TRULY unique perspective.
Up Next: Don't forget about Next week's Open House. That may be your chance to meet the new coach and chat about the new partial ticket plans available!

Posted at 2:30 pm after the conference:


Just got back from the press conference. I can't write much now, because I'm supposed to be...uh... WORKING.

The press conference went over very well, but I will say that I was surprised to see how reserved and low key someone who has a nickname of "FLASH" was presenting himself for the first time to the NY media. Of course, he must have been a little overwhelmed as he even admitted "There is no media in Providence." Here was room full that almost crushed him during the one on one camera interviews after the official presentation.

If you were lucky enough to see it, let me know if you too had a problem with the audio. I will have the balance of it up later tonight when I get home.

But I'll tell you the item I found the funniest. Garth Snow shut Mark Herrmann down in his questioning. The question at hand for Mr. Herrmann was "What is the 'multi-year' deal." Garth gave his company answer that they keep those types of details in house, and then he gave the look I know all too well and have come to completely respect. Mr. Herrmann is a journalist, where I am not. He did not take to the "I'm not telling you so move on." look. So Garth continued, "Does THAT answer your question Mark?" Oh! There's that glare. Don't poke the Dragon Mark! Don't poke the Dragon.

"No." Mark answered. Duck and cover everyone!

"Mark, I have great respect for you so how can I put this... It's none of your damn business." And there you have it! I found it was funny as hell. I apparently am not a journalist. And I'm not. I'm a blogger with a book in her head who likes to tell stories of what goes on that no one else is watching.

Like the fact that Garth is so tall and so uncomfortable at these things that I could see him kicking the curtain under the table. Oh details, details, details.

One more detail that you may not hear from anyone else. A quote from Bobby Nystrom last night (to an employee) when he heard it was Scott Gordon that was chosen: "GOOD! Not another re-tread!"

Later folks!

Thank you
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Sunday, August 10th 2008

5:20 PM

Re/Max NY Isles Open House 8-9-08

Well Worth the Weight - Open House 8-9-08

I left my house at 9:15 am on the dot knowing I had to be at the Coliseum by 10 am. I got up at my usual time of 6am in order to do this on a beautiful summer Saturday morning. With the lack of traffic on Southern State Parkway heading West, I actually pulled into the parking lot at 9:55 am.


Woo hoo!!! I wasn’t late for a change! There weren’t that many cars there so I figured people were sleeping in and would be there by about 10:30 am. As I walked toward the security guard with my purse open, I noticed there was a crowd in the lobby behind the glass. Uh oh. Maybe I’m NOT that early after all. The line stretched well pasted the box office and down past the far entrance. I looked for a familiar face that would help me get by security since I don’t have permanent media credentials (hint hint hint!).


The SMG yellow jacket at the stairs didn’t know what a blogger was so I was lucky as hell to catch the eye of one very busy Game Ops manager. “Yes! Yes! Send her down!” he told them as he darted off to take care of so many details.


I bounded down the stairs trying not to fall butt over head in my heels. “Hi, Hi, Hi” I said quickly to everyone as I rushed into the main arena thinking I am now dreadfully late. Once inside I noticed I was quite lonely. There were no Tom, no Mike, no B.D., no Josh, and no Brad, only sales people with folders. Once again, “Uh oh.”


As I was calling Tom, Mike was calling me. Seems I beat everyone there and I live the furthest. Two points for Dee being punctual….for a change. So we stood by the entrance to the tunnel to the locker room and waited, and waited, and waited. No one came to retrieve us or point us in the right direction. We were apparently Bloggers-non-grata.



The main arena filled up quickly. What a turn out! I guess this street hockey stick promotion is working far better than any expectations. The kids just love it and they were lined up for their turn on the inflatables.


I watched a woman head straight to the merchandise table to buy a brand new Doug Weight jersey to have signed. She had to wait to pay since there were so many people already at the table. The chairs by the stage were filling up too. I guess the 10 am start wasn’t exactly a detriment.
Mike was a little under the weather and chose to stand pretty still while waiting to get the call to be part of the on stage panel discussion. I made my way around the arena to say my “hellos.”
“Kerry! You have those partial plans for me?” As I was peeking into the folder he was holding.
“No. That’s a sale, not the partial plans.” he told me as he swatted me away from his paperwork.
“Already? That was fast?” I smiled.
“Hey. I don’t waste any time.” No, he doesn’t, as he ran off from me.
I spotted Garth on the opposite side of the arena, down the visitors’ tunnel, and made my way toward him. As I got closer, I could see he had a little blue-eyed buddy with him. Once again, his son had accompanied him to work. Well, actually, he was there to see Sparky.


“Thank you SOOOO much for not taking Tortorella!” I said to Garth grabbing his arm. I meant it. His face lit up as he smiled at me, “Why? You didn’t want him?”
“NO!” I was emphatic. “Why not?” He looked at me quizzically waiting to see if I would answer him honestly. I did. I truly do not believe that John would work out well here. Not at this time. While we were chatting, a man came over, shook Garth’s hand and immediately asked, “Did you pick a coach yet? Who is it?”
“She is!” he said and started to chuckle. I played along. I don’t think he appreciated the joke.



“Soon, soon.” Garth assured the man. “I can only tell you when I make the decision; it will be the right coach for THIS team.” He was serious and adamant and I believe him. That is why he is not rushing the decision. He doesn’t want to make a mistake and I don’t think he will. As a few sources have announced, it may be down to just three candidates. However, we will just have to wait and see who gets the nod. My personal hope is that it is Paul Maurice. I think his NHL experience will placate the Dynasty Era Die-Hard fans (such as my husband and his fire buddies) and his ability to work with youth and management will make him a perfect fit on Long Island. Besides, Paul Maurice is just one hell of a class act. Garth said it indeed should be announced soon. The papers are saying as early as Tuesday. I’m hoping later. (I have dental surgery Tuesday and I don’t want to miss out. Okay, I’m selfish.)


B.D., his lovely wife and I took seats in the second row in front of the stage. I was happy to see my friend Mike from section 210 was there too. He made the trek from far further east than I did. I’m sure a lot of those attending did too. Corey Witt came by to talk to B.D. and within two minutes asked if we wanted to go to the locker room to talk to Doug Weight and Josh Bailey. Considering I thought we were going to do that earlier, I did not want to move from my seat.



“No, you go.” I pouted. (I can be such a baby sometimes.) However, in a very reassuring, somewhat direct voice I heard “Come On, DEE!” B.D. was standing already heading out. I rolled my eyes, gathered my things and followed the two of them a few feet behind. Not wishing to make it easy on me in a skirt and heels, we took the route BEHIND the inflatables, so I had to jump hurdles over the air tubes, hiking up my skirt and hoping not to trip as I struggled to keep up to them.


Once in the locker room, we were introduced to a smiling and engaging Doug Weight. Even though he must have answered the same questions repeatedly, he spoke with us at length. Brad Kurtzberg from Inside Hockey was very proud of me as I actually asked questions and didn’t puke on my shoes. I am getting better Brad, but it was mostly because I knew everyone in the room for a change and I actually came prepared.


“With the worlds’ eyes on Beijing right now, what memories do you have of your 2 terms at the Olympics?” I asked, only backtracking in speech once. (Not bad right? Topical and personal! With one little problem.)


“Three terms.” (Nice Dee. Next time use a little more than wikipedia for your data.) “Winning a Silver Medal in Salt Lake with the miserable, crazy circumstances of 9/, to go there right after that, the security… the feeling was almost surreal. As a team I remember from the ceremony to the anthem before the games, you just felt like part of this country. I was always very proud to wear the jersey but that was an amazing tournament to be part of. We competed very hard, but we just ran out of gas in the third period but we got a silver medal and that was a proud two weeks. It was a great experience, and having it in your home country, and under the circumstances, that is something I will never forget. Herb Brooks was our coach. A lot of things just fell into place. A gold medal would have made it unbelievable, but we played hard and it was a great experience.”
I didn’t know he had played for Herb Brooks. Again, NOTE TO SELF: Read a little more before you ask questions.


I DID happen to know that Mr. Weight was actually drafted by the Rangers and asked him if enough time had passed in order for him to get into the intense rivalry from THIS side of the fence.


“I think so. It’s always fun. Any place you played, whether it was two years, and it was 20 years ago, any time you go back in those buildings it automatically brings your adrenaline up and makes it a special night. Let alone when it’s the Islanders/Rangers. It’s funny to look back and I remember there were more fights in the stands than there were on the ice. I remember calling my father after the first game (and telling him) ’Oh my God! These people are NUTS!’” I assured him, we still are.


“We want to get that rivalry back, its fun. We have to play at a high level on this team and expect a lot from ourselves in this room and hopefully we can have some great games. I’ll have no problem getting up to play the Rangers. It’s always good to see Slats, my old GM from Edmonton. It’s still a competitive edge; you always want to play well in front of those guys.”
Very tongue in cheek he said “I’m guaranteeing 6 - 0.” We all laughed but I know for a fact if that was the case, there are many Islanders fans that would take that over anything else for the season.


Brad, B.D. and his brother’s video camera took over from there (check his blog, it may be posted) and Doug talked about commitment, camaraderie and chemistry. All those things we know that make a good hockey team tick. Nevertheless, he said it all starts at camp, and he is really looking forward to it.


I went out into the hallway to introduce myself to Josh Bailey that fresh faced 2008 number one Draft Pick. I can only say that he is a very focused young man. I asked him since he is one of the younger players, if he wandered the internet looking to see what people are saying about him. He said he wasn’t really that connected to the web and did not engage in chat rooms. He said he did view the Islanders site. Probably for their wonderful coverage, ITV and of course, the entertaining entries of the Blog Box. (Shameless plug for us hard working folk.)


I also asked him what his mother thought of him not heading to college. He smiled at first but then became very serious. “From the beginning I wanted to play in the OHL and the NHL and this is where this could head so that‘s what I‘m focused on right now. My focus has always been the NHL.” He was very serious. There is nothing else he wants to do.


As it was getting late, it was time to head back to our seats for the question and answer portion of the morning. That went very well and was quite entertaining. Captain Bill Guerin (yes, I said Captain as that is how Chris King announced him, so that thread about “Will Guerin Still be Captain?” can die a lonely death.) was there looking very fit to present both new players with their jerseys. Watch ITV for some of the highlights from this portion of the program including an impromptu hug from Weight for his close friend Billy. I hope that he is still hugging him come December, as Guerin was instrumental in bringing Weight to Long Island.


Even though Mike, Tom, and Blair, a poster from Islander Mania did a great job, my favorite part of the Q&A was the two children from the floor that Game Ops picked to ask questions. The two little girls in front of me were so excited about being asked, and the little boy to the right of me was more poised than most adults I have seen in that position.


While Bill Guerin signed autographs on the right side of the stage, I was amazed to see the long line of people waiting for Garth Snow’s autograph. Gee, anyone remember a line for Milbury’s autograph? Um, no. And how many other NHL GM’s would do this? Can anyone see Lou Lamarillo signing sticks and jerseys for 10 year olds? I doubt it.


I did manage to score a set of partial plan information packets. Sadly, I wasn’t issued a decoder ring so I am having a little trouble figuring out how this all works. Nevertheless, there are certainly far more plans available this season than last season, and definitely something for everyone. As soon as I can make heads or tails of it, I will stack them up against some others in the league. Those attendees who purchased yesterday were given gas cards and treated to lunch at Doolans. There were many happy campers at those tables.


After we left the arena, the Blog Box “core of four” headed to TGI to continue to chitchat. It is always great to see these guys. We never run out of things to say. Of course not. We never run out of things to write either. We just run out of time.

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Wednesday, July 23rd 2008

10:27 PM

7-12 & 13/08

BREEZY B.S. 7/12 & 7/13/08




And the Blog Shall Have the Last Word…. The Breezy's Angels Tournament, Bayport, NY

I’m going to go with something different this week. I just have to. I should be writing about the previous tournament about now. But I am so livid with today’s events, that I am forgoing my normal chain of events and going with today’s games before the passion and anger wears off…. Along with the wine.

So, much like a horror movie… which it was… I am going to try something different. I am working a reverse time line. Let’s see if I can put all the pieces of this particular Breezy’s Angels tournament together and see if it makes any sense to anyone. (I have to forego the stats portion because some one I know doesn’t have time for me!!!)

Ok… Let’s begin with the last thing I remember from Sunday the 13th….. Getting yelled at by an overweight Elvira look-a-like as we were exiting the field. (Please, let them be Googling their team name!)

 
“Just shut your mouth!!!” She yelled at me under jet black bangs and thick black eyeliner. This is the first time I have had another parent yell at me. I don’t know enough about the game itself to say too much. But today’s events had me on my feet and ready to fight. Yes… Someone got my “Brooklyn” going and it was the cut-rate, underage CT umpire squad. It was also this woman, 60 lbs over weight and wearing a white tube top that she had no business what-so-ever wearing, yelling and pointing a finger at our OWN Riptide Mike.

WHAT? You’re yelling at OUR Mike? No way, no how!!! Mr. Positive himself? Hey! Elvira! You’re kidding, Right???

As she was telling him to “Shut your mouth in front of the kids.” I thought to myself Mike never once said anything against the girls on the opposing team or used foul language. We were ALL considerably upset with the blown calls and lack of intelligence shown by the umps and coaching staff running the tournament. But I couldn’t remember ANYONE saying anything off color in front of any of the girls… Except, of course, ME… on the bleachers… but that was to the other parents.

I yapped back at this black haired nitwit to which I was then quickly told “Shut your mouth! You just shut your mouth.” How foolish to say to a woman with a pen and a pad. Next… I’m getting that flip camera for YouTube videos. She would have been priceless on it. I can’t even imagine the number of hits it would have garnered.

The Riptide lost by one run in an international tie breaker. It was the first time I’ve ever seen Kira yell back at the officials. “Go back to Connecticut!!” she challenged the poor 15 year-old kid standing 3 feet behind her at 3rd. The poor kid. There were four Blues out on the field for the 2nd game of the day. They were a comedy act that had taken their show on the road. There was Dancin’ Dave on the first base line, Quiet Riot at 2nd, Baby Bobby at 3rd and Ultimate Confusion behind the home plate.

Ultimate Confusion couldn’t figure out EXACTLY where his strike zone should be. It was about four feet in height. Two pitches grazed Kate’s cage on her helmet. They were called strikes. When one hit the dirt in front of her, she turned and asked pointedly “That WAS a BALL, RIGHT???” The girls could never be sure with him. How could they pick a pitch to go after if they can’t tell the balls from the strikes? Impossible!

The Great Confuso also couldn’t keep his counts straight. “What’s the count?” a coach would ask him and he’d say “2 -2... Wait! No… 2-1... NO! Um… 1-2. Help! Anyone else know what the count is?” As Pete said, immediately prior to being ejected from the field, “You’re an EMBARRASSEMENT!” He certainly was if he actually is certified by an agency. We’re not even sure what agency that would be.

I felt bad for Baby Bobby at 3rd. He was no taller than Kira and maybe 18 months older. She gave him an earful and he stayed quiet. Except when ask the opposing coach, “How many outs do you have? Oh… Ok… One…. Thanks.” and he’d hit his clicker.

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it their responsibility to know that little tidbit of info? I mean, after all, they’re being paid to watch the game so they can officiate it properly. Right?

This was the second time Kate’s Dad was removed from the outfield for no reason. I guess he shouldn’t hang out with the Sons of Italy any more! I don’t even know what they said to make one of the Coaches of the Breezy's Angels walk out behind the fence on the far left field side and INSIST to the gaggle of blues that “…unless these guys leave the field, the Riptide forfeits the game!”

Why he had to do that was beyond any of us. They already had the game in the bag anyway. It was painfully obvious on a blown call that had everyone, including the girls of the Purple Storm who were watching the final minutes of the game, shaking their heads and yelling at the top of their lungs. It took six minutes for 12 adults on the field to come to a conclusion on what would be the Angel’s game winning play. It was the wrong call as the Riptide was burdened with two outs on a big hit by Kat that actually brought BOTH Kira and Ray Ray across the plate to bring the score to 4-2.
 
“NO! Wait! That’s not how this was supposed to go.” Interference called on the Angel’s shortstop. Supposedly she could have made a double play out! Kira would have never made it home and Kat would have been out at first. Excuse me? Who grants two outs on an ASSUMPTION that the shortstop COULD have made a double play? That answer would be… NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND.
 
Another answer to that question would be… NO ONE WHO KNOWS THE RULES.
But wait. We are not dealing with Pony sanctioned umpires. We don’t even know if these kids are sanctioned by Kmart. I guess Dancing Dave up the first base line was the only one old enough to have a driver’s license. He must have been driving the SHORT bus back to CT. What he was doing was uncalled for and unprofessional by dancing during every chant the Angels were putting out during our girls’ at bat. Get an Ipod you idiot if you want to dance to your own tune. And do it when you’re not being paid to officiate.
After all was said and done, the head official was asked to show where in the rule book that play was called properly. They didn’t have a rule book among them. Truthfully, they probably have never even seen one.

This was one of the most stressful games we have ever been witness to. Danni B’s Mom now totally understood WHY she doesn’t come to too many games. They give you nothing but palpitations. Usually, it’s the pitcher’s mother who can’t sit still or watch the game comfortably. This game had every parent on their feet, biting their nails or “nervous nibbling.” It also had every parent uncharacteristically talking back to the officials…. And I use that term loosely.

We should have known there was going to be a problem to begin with as this game should have actually started at noon, but was pushed back to 1:30 pm. After a relaxing pizza lunch on the grass in the shade, (not exactly the way I would have wanted to spend MY birthday! But that's how Princess Di did!) both teams took the field and waited… and waited… When the Blue quartet arrived, Ultimate Confusion was yelling at the girls to get out on the field… PRONTO; as if HE was waiting for THEM.

Certainly. The best DEFENSE is a great OFFENSE. YOU”RE late, so make it the GIRL’S fault. Good move. From the first pitch, we weren’t quite sure where the strike zone was. Pitch after pitch, it moved. Up, down, left, right. Now you see it… now you don’t.

“One time today... GET IT RIGHT!” A very frustrated coach Pete exclaimed. That wouldn’t happen. He’d blow a call, and then give it back. Then blow another one and give it to a different runner. The girls made some very good plays in the infield, but how do you fight the officials? You don’t… You can’t.

Game 1 at 10 am Sunday morning was different. That was a game that truly showcased what the Riptide could do. In one inning, the Riptide garnered five runs against the Chargers Greco, 2 alone on a double by Annie. With the Chargers up at bat, Kira made a great play at 3rd freezing the runner and then throwing to Kat at first to get the batter out. With Kate pitching, the next hit brought 1 run in for the Chargers. It was 5 - 1 in the bottom of the 4th. It would be the only run the Chargers would see.

With two outs, and Danni C and Ashley on base, Kira came to bat and brought two more runs in. But Dan won’t give Kira the 2 RBI’s because he said they were really an error. It was 7 -1 and with a sore ankle from getting stepped on at home plate in an earlier inning, Kira slid into 3rd and stayed on her back laying flat in the dirt. The bleacher creatures all held their breath for a minute or so, and I tried not to look. She was out at third, but managed to get up and walk back to the dug out without help. I resisted the temptation to hover over her.

Top of the 5th and she was back at 3rd, scoping up the ball and throwing to Kat at first for a quick 3 out inning. But the Chargers made quick work of our next 3 batters and it was the top of the 6th and it was done in no time without any more runs scoring. This was the Chargers last licks, and even though the score was 7 -1, the Riptide needed really good defense to just end it.

Well, Gabby decided to make all three outs by herself. One on a ground ball, and the next two outs on a double play by tagging a runner between first and 2nd and then throwing to Kat for the final out at 1st base. We gave her a standing ovation.

The 10 am start to this first game was lucky for me as Dan and I didn’t get to sleep until almost midnight. Our little Riptide family bar-b-que turned out to be just as much fun as we expected. With all the Moms helping in the kitchen, Ranger Fan John and Danno running the grills, the girls running all over the yard forgetting about a hard fought loss to end Saturday’s pool play.
 
It was just a great end to a long day in the field. Some of the ladies sat on the edge of the hot tub laughing and chatting while Sandy finished a beautiful little yellow sailor baby sweater. BTW, the socks are done. She’s onto the next project I’m sure. And by the time she comes back from Beijing, that project will probably also be done.
I was glad that the party went off well considering that we ended Saturday on a hard fought 1-0 loss against the Bandits Halpin. We noticed that the officials seemed to be a little young and a little unprepared during that game.

“Dude! Where’s my brush??” The young man with the bad attitude yelled at his 15 year-old cohort. He just shrugged. He was willing to start the third game, even though we had just played on that field, and there were no lines yet. The grounds crew from the 6th grade came pulling up in their golf cart. It looked like a scene from “Napoleon Dynamite.”

Since it was game three, the girls may have been considerably tired because they kept striking out quickly. I thought to myself “Well, this will be good because it’ll get us eating and drinking faster.” But it wasn’t quite fast enough for me, so Patti and I decided to head to the house to start getting ready.
Besides… I was toast. The second game was on that same field which backed up to a horse stable with one big MALE horse and one pony. The male seemed to be ODDLY infatuated with me as he decided to “show off” for me as soon as I walked up to the bleachers. Well, if you could call them bleachers as there were basically trees growing up between the wooden boards. At least they didn’t back up to cows. I can stand the scent of horses and the sound of peeing at the fence, but the stench of cows just makes me want to puke.
Always thankful for small favors, at least they were under the trees with some considerable shade. Ken was too relaxed as he seemed to doze in and out of consciousness. “What inning is this? Is it 3 -1?”
“No Ken. Wake up.”
“Who’s on the field? Are we the blue team?” New contacts were the excuse but the descriptive comment “Welcome to my life.” was for Ken, frighteningly BLOG worthy.
 
The second game on Saturday against Bandits Torlincasi was a beautiful 6-2 win as the Riptide started racking up runs quickly. Danni B did the most amazing impression of Peter Pan at home plate as she leaped into the air to escape a tag at home. That was one for the books that we will probably never see again.
We also found out that there are new ball signs our Riptide coaches are creating, just to confuse the opposing teams. The most prominent and useful one in this heat is the new sign for …. sunscreen. It’s unmistakable.
 
Danni C remained impressive as she saved a run from scoring, had a triple at her next up at bat and then stole home on an error by the catcher. Where’s John? Can he complain about her effort this game? I don’t think so. Kira was robbed of a triple by a great throw from the outfield. Leann came in with a hard hit double and Annie put down a perfect bunt, but it ended up being wasted. The score was already 3 - 1.
 
Kat blew one right by the infield to bring Rachel over the plate, (who was running for Leann) but she did endure a little knee injury. Troupers all, she washed it off with a bottle of water, Joe reached into his red bag of tricks, put a big band-aid on it and she kept going, and kept smiling.
On the sidelines, in the shade, Ranger Fan John reached into one of the rolling coolers to fetch a drink.
“Hey John. Is that a new cooler?”
“No. I got new friends.” he said from behind his dark shades. Speaking of coolers, I missed an opportunity to tell the best story of the summer. So I should take a moment to digress and document for posterity what shall here-to-for be remembered as “Patti and the Cooler incident.”
While standing on the sidelines after a game at the Shoreline Stinger Tourney in CT, eating a bag of potato chips and chatting, she watched the opposition’s coach walk past her dragging a rolling cooler. Far more observant than she lets on, she turned to John and said “That looks like my cooler.” She watched it roll by a few more feet.
“No. I really think he has my cooler.” Moving in for a closer look, she trailed the thief half way to the parking lot. Then she turned to yell across the field to Coach Mike to inquire:
“Mike! I think he has our cooler.”
Coach Mike, being the pragmatic one yelled back, “Then GO GET IT.”
So Patti, feeling somewhat violated by now, chased the cooler thief down and confronted him.
“Excuse me! But you have MY cooler!” As the contents were evidence to the proper ownership, the man shrugged and walked away, leaving Patti with a 50 lb rolling cooler and a bag of chips that never left her hands.
 
Little Ricky to the rescue as he bolted across the field to drag it all the way back across the field. Ladies and Gentlemen, I can only suggest that we start marking these things. They all look alike. Whether we get Riptide stickers or blue duct tape or invest in a $2 sharpie, if we are going to continue to be the pack-mule gypsies that we are (and of course we will be), then we really need to mark our stuff. That way we won’t have to replace coolers, tent bags, chairs and ball buckets.
But back to the game at hand, as the Riptide was up 5-1, the parents on the sidelines shouldn’t have been critical. However, Patti, who is nervous every time little “Lou Lou” is out on the mound mumbled “That was a crappy pitch Ashley.” as the ball was hit into the outfield and caught. But the voice of reason came softly from the edge of the bleachers as Sandy reminded her, “That was a playable ball Mom.” and she never even dropped a stitch.
 
After Gabby took home base standing up to make it 6-1, you could hear Coach Mike exclaim “You’re gonna give me a heart attack!” You would think that this type of lead would give him a little less stress, but for some reason, we all stress at every pitch, every play in the field and every at bat.

The Saturday 8 am Game 1 against The Chargers Greco was a good game, though I didn’t see it. It turned into a 2-1 win for the Riptide and a morning of chores for me. As the only Suffolk county residents on the team, this tourney ½ a mile from home was a God send since I hadn’t washed my floors since the season started (just kidding but it feels that way). Sadly, all the Nassau county families (ha ha for you) had to wake at 5 am to be on the field by 7am.

But this is the price we pay for travel softball where the games are hardly ever dull, especially when they’re close. Every girl on this team is part of an extended family that wins together and loses together. It’s turned into more than just a game, or way to pass the summer weekends. It’s life as we know it. And for the few years we have remaining to watch these girls learn and grow into women, we should cherish every hour.
Even in blistering sun, convection oven breeze and endless hours on the expressway. These are times that will last a lifetime and friendships that are precious beyond words. For all of us.

So as hard as it is, in the long run...
It's worth it.
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Tuesday, July 22nd 2008

4:59 PM

7-22-09

We Interrupt This Blog …

To bring you an unusual commentary.

As I left the hotel in PA this morning, I grabbed the complimentary USA Today that was slipped under my door with the bill for almost $600. I only read USA Today when I’m traveling. It’s not a paper I seek out, but if they hand it to me, I’ll read it.

Somewhere stuck in traffic on I-83, I began to read a commentary by Mike Lopresti called “An Afghan’s Olympic joy turns to Pain.” It’s a very short commentary about three young women from Afghanistan who were nothing more than teenagers when they competed in Athens in 2004. They were the first women from that war torn country to compete and they did it for themselves, women and their country. The best quote I could take from this USA Today article is “This is important,” Robina Muqimyar, the track sprinter, said back then. “The women of Afghanistan will know they can do anything if there is hope in the heart.”

That’s a beautiful sentiment isn’t it? Considering that the three young women who made up that group of hopeful Olympians in 2004 were not much older than my daughter and her friends, who just walked away with 2nd place of 24 14U teams in PA this weekend, I couldn’t help but be overcome with emotion for them.

It seems that since Athens, these girls have been ridiculed, threatened, beaten and one has actually had to go into hiding. Mehboba Ahdyar, at only 19, was the last women left on the Afghan Olympic team, and she has disappeared. She has just vanished while training in Italy in July.

Three women, girls really, tried to promote a better world, but they cannot fight religious militants and extremists and their death threats. To beat a teenage girl because she wants to be an athlete and compete on a world stage should be inexcusable in any culture or religion. What are they beating out of this girl? Only her spirit to succeed.

I think of my daughter, I think of the mothers of these girls in Afghanistan and I think of our own NYIC member, DannyB stationed to police their border, and I cry. Sports are the one thing that are supposed to bring the world together. That’s the purpose of the Olympics. Those three teenage girls knew that in Athens in 2004. They swallowed their fears and competed.

But this year, in Beijing, it may be more about politics and terrorism than it is about our common human bonds. I am worried. I am worried for one of our Softball Moms, a woman I have come to know and call friend; a prominent sports editor who will be stationed in Beijing for almost 3 weeks. I know she will be thinking of her daughter too while she watches so many other young girls compete for a medal. But she won’t see Mehboba Ahdyar standing on the track with the other young women from so many other countries. And that has to break any mother’s heart.

 
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Tuesday, July 8th 2008

11:40 PM

6/28 & 6/29 - NYI at www.7thwoman.blogspot.com

Shoreline Stinger CT 6/28 & 29/08
I’m getting really tired of packing. I’m starting to think I should just leave a suitcase packed by the front door. It was not a good morning for me. I was told we needed to leave no later than 6 am. I should have remembered that when I was still up at midnight working on a vodka and club in the “whose counting” category. Dan was far smarter than I on Friday night; he went to bed by 11 full well knowing he had a long drive ahead of him.

He was out of bed by about 4:30 am to deal with the dog. I reluctantly got out of bed by 4:45 wondering how I was going to make it through the day as well as the night as we had tickets to Mohegan Sun to see Billy Joel. I ate a handful of Advil and washed it down with black tea. I was talking to myself as I was packing everything to go. I had to, or I would have fallen asleep at the kitchen counter.

 
All things considered, we were out the door at 6:07 am. A full seven minutes later than Danno wanted. I heard about it for six more. By the time we hit the L.I.E. I figured it would be a good idea to attempt a nap. It’s better if I sleep when he’s driving anyway. The fact that I have no depth perception is generally cause for argument especially on the bridges.

Kira was with the Ca-Ca-Carmodys, but we had her gear. We were hoping that we weren’t going to be THAT late.
“We can’t be late, there’s Joe and Rachel ahead of us.” Sure enough, they were. We started to tail them. Joe’s GPS was slightly different than my mapquest directions, but sure enough, we found the school without too much of a problem. Finding parking was a different story. But big blue makes its own parking spots.

I scanned the area. Uh oh. Port-o-potties. Stay positive!!! Stay positive!!! Ok. How about a concession stand with coffee? Dear God… PLEASE… at least let there be coffee!! Under a tent, in front of a utility building at the bottom of a hill, there was a table with a few boxes of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Dan already had a cup in his hand.

Okay, so all there was to do was wait for the 9:30 am game against Kaos. It wasn’t a bad way to start out the day as the Riptide ended with an 8 - 0 win as they run-ruled them after only five innings. But I learn something new ever time I watch these games. Just as in Hockey, trying to make the right call is the hardest job. But for some reason the umpires working this game were making calls on assumptions. Coach Pete took exception, and rightly so.

 
It was 4 - 0 by the 3rd. The girls were working hard, but it was the parents who were drenched with sweat. Why is it so damned hot so early in the morning??? I don’t get it!!

Annie’s Grandmother was treated to good game where Annie had some nice solid hits and all the girls did very well. Leann had two RBI doubles, Kat had the same. Rachel made a great catch in left field in the 2nd that had the Riptide parents cheering. Ashley had six strike outs from the mound and an RBI single. Hanna had an RBI single up the middle, Kira turned in 3 put-outs in the field. Kate’s been working on that bunt, and it brought in two runs in the fifth to make it 7 -0. One more run was all that was needed to end the game early. They got it.

 
There were quite a few hours before the second game on Saturday so we wanted to check into the hotel, clean up and grab some lunch. Some of the other girls and their parents decided to hit the beach which wasn’t far. It sounded inviting, but the Advil was wearing off and I really needed out of the sun, and a nap wouldn’t be bad.

 
We drove the 1.5 miles to the hotel only to find there had been some sort of mix up and they were short one room. One phone call to Mama Bear and she was at the desk as if she was beamed down from the Enterprise. “How could you be short one room? I went over this more than once.” As Nancy is very good at this, I knew she was right, and the woman who only worked 4 hours a week was wrong.

 
It boiled down to the fact that they weren’t short one room, the woman had been told not to give out one particular room because something was “wrong” with it… but she didn’t’ know what.
A very nice woman and very pleasant. Not bright.

 
“I’m not sure if the air conditioning is working.” She smiled.
“Tell you what. Can we send the HVAC inspector that I’m married to over to have a look-see at it?” I asked her while Nancy was already on the phone booking another block of rooms. After about 15 minutes of Kevin and Danno looking over the room, they could find no fault with it. Air conditioning… check. Toilet flushes… check…. Nothing dead in the tub… check…. Refrigerator not smelling of rotting deer meat… check… no blood stains on the walls (CSI Sayville at work)… check. Nope. We were good to go! Let’s unpack that truck and shower! So we did.

 
With plenty of time before game 2 we hit the road in search of lunch. While the local restaurants seemed inviting, Friendly’s seemed a better choice for the girls, and Dan had his heart set on a Fribble. Nancy went in search of a replacement cooler as hers seems to have done a disappearing act from the field. It must be with the tent covers we keep losing.

 
I had a lovely time talking old time Italian family style with Sal. We covered everything from cooking snails to grandma’s home made artichokes. Being a Nassau county girl I also grew up spending my weekends at the Farmer’s Market in Bethpage. Those were the days. It was Little Italy in a tin roofed, concrete military compound. If it existed on the planet, you could find it at the Farmer’s Market.

 
Food and conversation still left time for exactly what I needed most… A NAP. Back to the hotel for a little rest before facing what would become an enemy like no other.
NY Times Mike had arrived to cheer on the team and now Annie had both her Grandparents there to watch her play. I looked like a deer in headlights for a few minutes as Sandy tried to trip me up introducing her Dad as a famous Hockey coach. I wasn’t biting though because I remembered she told me the stories of the frazzled phone calls her Dad would get because he shared the same name as a famous coach.
Game 2 was against the Conn. “Terminators”  (as us Bleacher Creatures liked to call them) Red. They went 30 and 0 for the season. They weren’t a softball team. They were a Balco experiment. The Riptide were run ruled in 4 ½ innings with an 8 - 0 loss. Hanna pitched her heart out, and Coach Mike gave her all the possible encouragement from the dugout. But how do you coach against a Red Army? We were looking for some DNA tests just to make sure.
 
Our outfield was very busy. There were some nice catches by Rachel in center field and Annie in right field. Danni C and Gabby had some nice plays in the infield and Kat was solid at first, but the girl on the mound with the scary mask looked like a six foot tall alien, striking our girls out one after another.
“Besides everything else… These girls don’t shut the hell up!” Ranger fan John was disgusted watching the devastation. Sandy kept knitting, but knew exactly what was going on without having to look up. I kept looking at my watch knowing that we had to be on the road by 7 for that 8 pm concert.

#57 on the mound had such a huge stride that it made it difficult for our batters to see the ball. She had 8 strikeouts. Despite it all, Annie’s Grandma was trying to rally the troops, but it was futile. Dan was a little hard on Kira as she stamped her feet and walked away from him. It was one of those “you should’ a” conversations.
Matt Seltz had stayed to watch the last inning, and while Dan was going over all the things he felt Kira should have done differently, I watched that sly smile come over his face.
“Oh really? Look who got the MVP Knucklehead??” And Matt slapped Dan on the back and walked away laughing. Didn’t he feel foolish now as Kira trudged over carrying the medal? He certainly did.

 
We couldn’t believe we had to leave for Game 3, but we couldn’t go to the concert straight from the field, looking the way we did. Or smelling the way we did for that matter.

 
Dan handed Joe the stat book like a passing of the torch and Maureen and I handed over our girls to the parenting advisor. It was a perfect fit. Okay, so maybe Maureen had far more conversation than I did about it. My instructions sounded more like “Mike, she’s got a room key. Just don‘t forget her.” Okay. I was good with that and off I went.

 
By the time we were in the truck heading toward Mohegan Sun, Ranger Fan John was calling us.
“Kate’s junk is working!” he said. Of course it was. We weren’t there, and their bats were coming alive. Of course they were. Danni C had 2 triples, Danni B had 2 singles, and so did Gabby.
Leann, Ashley and Kira all had singles at bat. The Sting pitcher must have been angry with the girls’ skill level because Leann took a beating getting hit by pitches twice and Rachel was beaned once too. Kate pitched a great game, but it was Kira who walked away with yet another MVP with 4 put outs in the field. The game ended after the 4th inning run rule and Riptide walked away with a 10-1 win.
Um… Billy Joel put on a great show and Mohegan Sun is an awesome venue to see a show. I highly recommend it.

Sunday came quickly and we were headed for a different field a few short miles away. This was in a lovely neighborhood in front of a Church. But the true savior of the morning was a Starbucks within walking distance. Caffeine and bathrooms, could we want for anything more?

 
I was sorry that Annie’s Grandparents weren’t there to see THIS game against the Titans Blue as Annie banged out a double to bring Ashley in for a run. I guess this makes up for her missing her brother’s graduation ceremony? I hope so.

 
I had my head down in my notes when Kira hit a double on the first pitch she took. By 10:30 am, Kate was struck on the mound with a hard hit comebacker and she dropped to the ground. She stayed in the game (trouper that she is) but it was a turning point for the girls. Every time one girl goes down hurt, the others seem to get rattled. It didn’t help that Blue missed an out at first by a mile and our coaches went ballistic. Things just soured from there. Errors in the field brought in three runs for the opposition.
With the Riptide up at bat, they were quickly brought to their third out without any runs being scored. You could sense their frustration as Kat tossed the ball back toward the mound in complete disgust. But some how they turned it around, and the wheels were back on the bus and their bats started to get hot. There was more Blue complaining and more discussion.

 
Ashley was brought in to pitch with only minutes left of the game. Wouldn’t you love to know what Danni C and Kira say to each other in the infield while Ashley warms up?
There were two outs, but a ball rolled passed Ashley and into the outfield to advance the runners, now the bases were loaded and the game was on the line. Ashley needed to shut the Titans down there, or we just go home.

 
Just to add a little drama to the morning, a wall of dust blew across the infield and toward our direction. This isn’t literary license; a wave of dust REALLY did rise up off the field. Ashley got the out and the Riptide was back up to bat. They were one minute away from ending the game, but 4 batters were out and now they would have to play the 7th inning.

 
Ashley needed to focus and get 3 big outs. Ken yelled “Tough D!” That was the most important thing. It was how bad they wanted to play Game 2 on Sunday, or if they wanted to get back in the cars with their fathers. Come on! You know how it ended! Riptide won 5 - 3 after 6 ½ innings.

 
Notable stats: Danni B had a great shot to center field but was robbed by a great catch. Rachel had an RBI sacrifice bunt, and Ashley had a single as well as being a force on the mound. Kira had a single, a double and was hit by a pitch. Kat had a bunt single. The infield was very busy in this close game with Kira, Danni C, Ashley and Kat combining for 7 put outs, and while Kate was at the mound, she had 9 strike outs.

 
What a morning, the church bells sounded so sweet as we packed up the cars and headed out to the other field for Game 2. At least we weren’t heading home. They were still in the game and the game would be against… OH NO… The Chargers!

 
Once back on the other field, watching the tents move around looked like an ant farm. Was it hot and the sun was blaring? Of course it was. Even though they were playing the Chargers, they wouldn’t be facing Kira’s close Sayville friend, Marissa. She wasn’t set to pitch that game, so Kira wouldn’t have to worry about that “pudding promise” she made at school.

 
This would turn into one of the greatest games in Riptide history. Well, THIS Riptide for sure.
“One pitch and they’re on first!” Ughhhh!!! Did it have to start this way?

 
The Riptide almost made a double play as Rachel caught a fly ball and threw to home, but not in time. Quick thinking Leann threw to Kira for an out at 3rd. Damage was held at one run.

The Riptide had two outs, and Hanna was already on 3rd running for Leanne who banged in a double. Ashley came up to the plate and knocked in the first run with a single in the second inning to tie the game. These were 1 -2 - 3 innings. Leann had a super game hitting that double and 3 singles, but in the 4th inning the Chargers went up 2 - 1.

 
But Danni C tied it at 2 with a double that brought Annie in to score. Danni B needed to bring Kate in to make it 3 - 2. I held my breath and said “Please, please” about 10 times. She must have heard me as she came away with a single that gave them the go ahead run.

 
Not wanting to be outdone, Kira hit a single to make it 4 - 2. It was more of a “bloop”, but it brought in a much needed run.

It was the bottom of the 7th inning and the Chargers got “last licks.” Their first batter, #7 in their batting order flies out to Kate for out #1.
The next batter was walked. Ashley got an important strikeout for out #2. Then the top of their order came up with two outs. The batter bunts in a single. Their next batter hit’s a single to make it 4 - 3. On the sidelines the parents are holding their breath and pacing.

 
The #3 hitter grounds out to Danni C, who throws to Kat at 1st and GAME OVER!!! The Riptide WIN! There are cheers on the Riptide sidelines while the Charger sidelines were in shock.
“It’s a funny game, this softball.” as Dianna had said to me weeks ago, was never truer. The Chargers came to play that game as the first seed in this tournament. Perhaps they discounted their opponent, perhaps they were a little shot from winning all their other games, or perhaps they just found out that on any given day, any given team can beat the best.

 
The girls’ reward for such a hard fought win? They got to play the Terminators AGAIN! Woo hoo! Weren’t they LUCKY? The thought of facing that masked pitcher again sent shivers through me. And then the rains came. I had a flash back from the tournament that wasn’t.
It only lasted a few minutes to wet down the fields. It thought it would cool things off a little, but that was only wishful thinking!

 
So there they were facing the fierce Amazon women with their non-stop yapping. Their pitcher was just too much for our batters as Kira was the only one to reach 1st base on an error by their infield on a pop fly. Confusion led to the ball dropping behind the pitcher. Although she struck the girls out THIRTEEN times, she wasn’t very agile reaching to the ground.
Ashley and Kate held this team that had beat everyone else the entire season to only three runs over seven innings. Truthfully, I think that really pissed them off. Especially when Kate came in at the bottom of the 4th and was throwing “junk” (her off speed pitches) that just made their hitters look downright silly. Her “junk” garnered three strikeouts and probably put her on the top of their most hated list.

 
Our infield was busy again with 10 put-outs. It was a great effort against a true “14U” team that was undefeated and had been “steamrolling” their competition in blowouts. And here they were, almost two years younger than they, and going toe to toe. Nope. They weren’t going to run-rule the Riptide. The rains came back, but they weren’t stopping. They were playing this one out.
When the game was finally over, the girls were actually relieved. And exhausted. Dan had “bucket butt” and Coach Pete had “bucket envy” but also a smile on his face. They did a great job and were proud of the effort they put up. They were even more proud when the coach of the Eliminators complimented them during the soggy trophy ceremony.
Truth be told, Game 2 on Sunday was really the Riptide’s final. And winning that game, against a local rival was just as good as coming home with first place. It certainly made for a pleasant drive home.
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Tuesday, July 1st 2008

8:30 PM

For Islander Hockey Blog visit www.7thwoman.blogspot.com

June 20 & 21. NJ Hornets


“I see softball people.” Dan said as he pulled into the parking lot of the complex.

Buildings; I saw real buildings. That made me happy because that meant there were real facilities at this park. There were more than facilities; there was also a town pool and stores within walking distance. The cherry on the cake, of course, was internet service. And since it was the second day of the NHL draft, I was very happy about that. However, most of my updates were coming directly to my phone from my friends in Ottawa. It was still a bonus.

Of course, I was harassed by Ranger Fan John who didn’t even say ‘Hello’ before stopping me in the lot.

“Hey Dee! You know Garth Snow. Can you introduce me so I can ask him if he would trade me two $20s for a $10?” The other softball dads got a good laugh out of that, as it was in reference to last night's unconventional moves the Islanders GM made during the first round of the NHL draft. I know. You don’t care. John boy and I do. I resisted hitting him with my laptop case.

Saturday's morning game was actually the Riptide’s 2nd game of the tournament. They played with 9 girls all weekend.  Friday the 19th Kira didn’t make it up so that she could attend her 8th grade formal. This was the graduation weekend that conflicted with many of the girls' social calendars.

The 9 that played on Friday did capture the win at 5 - 1. I received a text message from Maureen on Friday while I was at the Coliseum. It made me smile.

“They won but it wasn’t pretty.” announced the little bright screen on my phone.

Wins don’t have to be pretty. They just have to be wins. Ashley did a great job at 3rd in Kira’s absence and Kate pitched a great game getting herself out of jam after jam and giving the attending parents heart attacks. They played the NJ Sparks with only 9 girls. Annie went 2 for 2 at the plate with 2 singles and 3 RBIs! Rachel had a sacrifice that scored a run and Kate pitched a great game with 10 strike-outs.

They weren’t as lucky with game 2 of the tourney. They lost 5-2 to the Morris County Belles. Ashley did have a shot to right field that brought in the only Riptides runs as the Belles pitcher was throwing nothing but heat.
During the layover I was able to sit under the awning or by the truck and check out what was happening on day two of the NHL draft. I was also getting hourly updates on my cell from my two buddies in Ottawa. I can truthfully say that I was the only person on that field in New Jersey that was having that experience. I can also say that I was the only one on that field that actually cared.

Saturday’s Game 2 vs. the Thunderbolts was a pitcher’s duel. Princess Kate pitched a great game with 8 strikeouts. She didn’t stop there as she also had the game winning hit in the bottom of the 6th inning and the Riptide won 2 -1. It was one of those games that you just couldn’t believe. Leanne went 2 for 3 at the plate with a single and a double. Gabby was 2 for 2 with two singles and a walk. But that hit that bounced up off third base that brought in that 2nd run, well… that’s one for the books for sure.

The drive to the hotel was interesting as New Jersey is the “land of no left turn” that drives every ones’ GPS just a little batty. It seems they don’t like to recalculate after those numerous illegal U turns those of us with New York plates like to make in order to actually GET to our destination.
The hotel was lovely and well appointed, but those at the desk were not exactly bright as they couldn’t give us keys that worked or directions to the room. We wandered like the over burdened, over packed gypsies that we are from elevator to elevator carrying what most people could live a month with. We were staying for only one night. I can’t help it. I like to be prepared.

It was too late and the girls were too tired to go anywhere, so Princess Di put on her cruise director hat and ordered Italian food to be delivered to the lobby for all of us. These impromptu dinner gatherings are actually my favorite part of the weekends. We sit, we drink, we talk and we watch the girls laugh and huddle together in the PJs just enjoying each other’s company. Actually, that’s exactly what the parents do… sans the PJs.

I dragged out my cards and Patti brought out her magic crystal. My cards were dead on for those I read, and Patti’s crystal scared the daylights out of me. Yep, there’s magic on the Riptide, in more ways than one. Sandy was still hard at work on those socks. The Sons of Italy were hard at work on the beer.

The team seeded 5th of 16 and had 9:45 game scheduled against the 12th seed. It had been a long day, so the lobby party ended relatively early by our standards as we had to meet back in the lobby by 7:30 am.

Morning comes too quickly and the mad rush to get three people showered and dressed with one bathroom is always a coordination nightmare. I decided to help out a little. I woke at an un-godly hour and jumped into the shower before either one of them stirred. I even made that small pot of coffee they leave for you.

The breakfast buffet was $12.95 a person, as a team we opted to forgo that expense and head toward the field with a quick stop anywhere … but there. Dan managed to find the only Burger King that not only didn’t have anyone in it; it was also situated between two stop lights and four roads. Ha! Land of No Left turn had nothing on us this time. Heading toward the field in the right direction this time was easy and didn’t even require a GPS, which was good since we don’t have one. I AM the GPS in the truck. I get to read the MapQuest directions while Danno drives. I could make him feel like he has a GPS system and start using some sort of accent or perfect enunciation. But I digress.

 
The 12th seed was the Lady Red Birds from Greenwich. We had a little time before the game, so Patti and I decided to take a little walk up to the shopping center just across the street in search of coffee and ice. We found the most amazing Italian bakery this side of Brooklyn. I was in my glory, but didn’t want to leave more food in the truck, so we only walked back with coffee. I had plans of hitting that shop again on our way out. Visions of a fabulous pasta dinner with really good semolina bread and fresh pastry danced in my head.

By the time we walked back to the field, the girls were down 2 - 0. What? How could that be? We’re the 5th seed. This is the first game, it should have been easy. I think the girls realized that themselves and over took them. Gabby started the game as pitcher, garnering two strikeouts, but Ashley came in to relieve her and landing 10 strikeouts of her own.

After yet another Saturday baking in the sun on the bleachers, my sunburn was getting quite ugly. As I was headed to our cooler for our 30 SPF sunscreen, Joe reached into his red magic bag of tricks and pulled out a bottle.

“Here. Use this, it’s SPF 50. It’s liquid shirt.” I totally needed it, and Dianna helped me out making sure I didn’t miss any more spots on my back that were now pretty much like raw meat. Tending to myself, I missed how Danni got on second base during a particular inning.

Not that I keep a really good eye on these things, but I did want to know. BTGOG was the answer I received.
“What?” I asked thinking it was some sort of softball term I had never heard before.

“By the Grace of God.” was the answer.

The final was 7 - 2, as the two runs they earned early in the game were the only ones the Redbirds would see. Annie had a great play throwing out a batter at first base all the way from right field. Danni C brought in an RBI single getting on that base BTGOG, Kira bunted in an RBI single, Kat had a double, Kate went 2 for 3 and Gabby had a bunt single, but she was so disappointed that she didn’t get to bat while bases were loaded because we timed out. She wanted to see what she could do; whether she could be that hero. We all wanted to see it too.

There wasn’t much time between games, as game 2 was scheduled for 11:30 am against the Howell Heat. They could have been called the Howell Heavies as some of the girls were heavier than me, and I’m pretty hefty. Ok, truth be told, at least one of them was heavier than my husband. Now, I'm not trying to be politically incorrect. I'm trying to figure out how girls who are athletic and playing ball can be THAT big. To me, it's a contradiction.

“I wouldn’t want to get between her and the last donut.” came from the peanut gallery on the bleachers.

Father Dan decided to have a “blessing of the bats. “ This was a first for us. We usually have high priestess Patti throw a little positive energy to the bats, but a blessing? Well, that was different.
With two out in the first three minutes of the game, Kira was robbed of a double, which she clearly beat out, but Blue said “OUT” and even under protest the call stood.

As if the softball gods were angry with the call, the lightening horn sounded and everyone was called off the field. I had never head of this before, but you could hear thunder in the distance. We packed everything up and the team went under the main concession roof and waited.

The delay was short as there was no rain. We knew the field would be fine. I chose to sit in the truck for a few minutes just to let the game get interesting. By the time I decided I was ready to go back out into the elements, the score was 0 - 0 with Kate pitching.

A few field errors and Kate getting smacked in the foot with a ball that took a wicked bounce took the girls off their game and they were down 3 - 0 very quickly.

With the Riptide up to bat, the Howell pitcher was throwing pretty wicked and struck Gabby out and then walked Kira. Leanne was up to bat, but I couldn’t find Nancy. She must have been hiding as usually this type of pressure keeps her as far from the action as she can get without needing binoculars to see the game. A big hit moved Kira to second and Kat came up to bat.

“To the SUN 21, to the SUN!” Hmmm… that was a new chant. I liked it. Much better than the

“Rah Rah, take off your bra.” chant that one of the parents came up with.

Kat responded with a huge hit that brought Kira home and put the Riptide on the score sheet. Next up, Annie was walked and the bases were loaded once again. Ashley came up to bat and landed a really good hit, but Blue had another bad call at home plate. He called Leanne out on HELP from the other Blue who couldn’t have possibly seen reality from his vantage point.

Once bases were loaded… AGAIN… Rachel was up to bat. Quick thinking made Kat steal home on an infield error. It was now a ball game with the Riptide coming back at 3 - 2. The other team began to oppose the call. Oh well, the Riptide got one back.

With runners on 1st and 2nd, Kate was up at bat. “Help yourself out here Kate.” the coaches encouraged her. She has had some really good at bats in key situations. But she couldn’t pull one out this time and was out at 1st.

The Heat were up at bat, an infield hit and a bad throw from 3rd made for a brilliant split save by Kat at 1st.  Despite her efforts the first batter was safe. Their next batter up found a hole in the outfield and the runner advanced.

The third batter in the order laid down a bunt that was scooped up by Kira and thrown to Kat and … here we go again… the horns sound across the field. The lightening detection system senses lightening within five miles of the field, which is very cool. But this was turning into an exciting game, they didn’t want to stop. Danni C had already turned in a double play snagging a line drive and throwing a base runner out at first. Kira had a nice shot to left field, even if she was thrown out at 2nd base. Leanne was 2 for 2 with 2 singles and Kat had an RBI single. These girls were ready to strike while the iron was hot.

Problem was… the iron was drowned out by a monsoon that swept across the field. We sat in the truck for about 15 minutes, hoping for it to stop. But it didn’t. Dan looked out the window at the fields that were dry before, now turning into mud.

We drove around to the other parking lot and started to watch a mass exodus. “What’s going on?”

“We’re done Dee. The fields aren’t playable now. This will take hours. It’s over.” he told me as Kira jumped into the truck looking like she ran around in the shower. I watched the Riptide cars leave the parking lot. I was incredibly disappointed. If I had to be filthy and fried, at least I wanted to know who was going home with a trophy. The answer that afternoon was…. NOBODY.

But it could have been them. But we’ll never know now.

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Thursday, June 26th 2008

6:59 PM

better late than never... Father's Day in Brookhaven!

6-14 & 15 Father's Day in Brookhaven


It’s Saturday, it must be time for softball. I got up even before the alarm clock. I knew it would be a busy day, and after the last fiasco, I intended to be prepared for the Brookhaven Father’s Day go-round. I was up and showered by 6 am. By the time I had to motivate Kira, the cooler was packed the dog was fed and I was dressed. I made a pot of coffee and breakfast and was just the picture of enthusiasm.


It was easy. We had a good 3 game schedule and an R.E.M concert at the Beach that night. This was going to be a good day! So I thought.


Game 1 was tougher than anyone thought it would be, but the girls managed to win in spite of themselves. It was a 9 am game against the Heat Black. For some reason, they all seemed out of sync. There were errors in the field, and a lack of concentration at the plate. At one point Coach Mike actually shook his head and said to Ranger Fan John “Do me a favor, go home and get Danni will ya?” He could have said it to every parent. It was one of those “Who are these girls?” moments. And not in the good way we are used to. Even with a perfect bunt and the few good things, they almost lost the game in the 6th as the opposing team came way too close to tie it at 5-4.


Game 2 was actually no better. It was at 10: 44 am against the Silver Bullets. The sun was blaring already, but the bats were cold. 1 - 4, 0 - 4 0 - 2, 1 - 3, 0 - 3 and so on. It was