Competitive Sports

Anyone that knows me knows that my two favorite things are sports and music. Since moving to Tacoma from Pittsburgh, I've had the opportunity to play a LOT more music, but a LOT less sports. I won't complain much since the music half has been a great opportunity, but this weekend I finally got to catch a rhythm with my competitive side.

The One Awesome Thing from this weekend was competitive sports. I'd specify one, but there were a few examples to note. On Friday, a pair of co-workers and I played some basketball at lunchtime, which is great for the summer because we've got a nice dry outdoor court and a lighter schedule allowing for a little extra lunchtime bonding. We decided to make this a weekly game on Fridays and to try to move forward organizing a game against a team of students. Basketball has always been my favorite sport, so I'm excited to play more often.

Saturday and Sunday continued my pursuit of tennis with Aly. It was the second and third time we'd played, but we noticed a LOT of improvement! Aly's roommate, Andie, joined us on Saturday, which was great because the extra person could retrieve balls and get a break while the other two played. Aly still has my number as I haven't beaten her in a set yet. My day will come, though!

Finally, Sunday morning I got to put on a glove and do some fielding for the first time in a while. Some folks from church have put together a softball team for an adult league and had a practice on Sunday. I cannot play on the team because I'm not free on the nights they play, but it felt great to get out and run, catch, and hit for the first time in several years. I'm hoping to be able to play in future years because I love the excitement, strategy, and drama of softball/baseball. As effortless as professional players make it look, baseball is a game of constant movement and strategy. If someone is out of position for a relay throw or to cover a base, it could mean a run or a rally for the offense.

That's it for now! Thankfully I got to get some of my own competitive energy out as the Pirates blew a 3-game series with the Cubs this weekend.

2012 Pittsburgh Pirates, At-a-Glance

For the superstitious one still existing in my brain, I'm hoping a different home for me means a different result for my beloved Pittsburgh Pirates.

Opening Day is certainly still a holiday for Pittsburghers without any particular reason why. The team has been bad for years and doesn't seem to be turning the corner hard enough to think this year will be significantly different. The difference this year? They know what it feels like. A division lead in July was a real thing last year. One friend of mine suggested he'd buy my plane ticket home for the NLCS if the Bucs got there. Those sort of conversations were really happening last summer. Pittsburgh reminded the league that they're a baseball town. I'm no expert, but let me get into my thoughts on this season.

You could easily consult Joe Starkey or Dejan Kovacevic to reference the stats, the scores, the streak, the reasons why the Pirates will or won't succeed this year. That's not really my gig. However, I will consult some facts. The Pirates have a superstar in Andrew McCutchen. He's a strong defensive CF with some power and a lot of speed. He's young and becoming more disciplined. That could be said of several other important players, like Alex Presley, Jose Tabata, and Neil Walker. Those four together give Pirates fans hope of an entertaining day at the ballpark every day.

Pitching? It was a lot better last year. Karstens, McDonald, Correia and Morton showed some promise that showed their potential. Add the injury-prone Erik Bedard and the currently-injured AJ Burnett and the Pirates rotation has some more depth and promise than it has had in recent memory. I've been one to suggest the Pirates have needed a veteran, like Burnett, to join the team with some experience in winning (World Series with the Yankees), so his leadership in that rotation should show as the year goes on. The bullpen is also pretty talented, led by Joel Hanrahan.

So there are some things that are promising. I won't pull out the numbers because I just don't have time, but I'll say the Pirates will flirt with .500 this year. I don't see them breaking it yet, but if some things fall into place, like Pedro Alvarez erasing his abysmal Spring Training or AJ Burnett regaining his top-of-the-rotation form in a low-pressure environment, then they could easily compete with a weaker NL Central. The 1997 Freak Show Pirates didn't have as much promise as this team and they came close to breaking the streak (79-83, 5 GB in the divison). With that in mind, anything can happen. Let's go Bucs.

Autumn Weekends, or, It's Hard Being a Pitt Fan

My sister just had her first article for the Post-Gazette published this morning! It's about growing up as a die-hard Pitt fan, which is not terribly common. You can read the article here:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11295/1183853-109.stm

This article about autumnal Pitt gamedays reminds me of my own youth; growing up 12-16 years behind my siblings, yet still raised as a Pitt fan. When Sue was in college and I was progressing through elementary school, they sucked. It was not fun to walk into school and talk to my friends who were Penn State fans about that weekends games. Penn State usually won, Pitt usually lost, and that was about it.

I vividly remember the days I would be running around the backyard playing football when I'd get called in for the second half of the Pitt games. I remember trying to go to games against Temple or Rutgers because those were the only games Pitt might win. One of my favorite memories was Halloween Thursday night, 1996, when I came home from trick-or-treating to find the best treat of the night: Pitt on ESPN! They beat Boston College that night for their third win in a four-win season. That same season, my brother took a trip to the Horseshoe at Ohio State to see the Buckeyes trounce Pitt 72-0.

I also remember the rise. Pitt had been bad the whole time I'd been a fan growing, so when a bowl game became a real possibility in 1997, it was something to talk about. After starting 2-1, Pitt upset the once-mighty Miami Hurricanes on Thursday night ESPN, resulting in some torn-down goalposts at Pitt Stadium, if I remember correctly. That season they needed two overtimes to beat Rutgers and two wins against perennial powers, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, to become bowl-eligible. They upset the Hokies, then turned around and upset West Virginia in a three-overtime game that I remember vividly. WVU kicked a field goal in the third overtime. Pete Gonzalez converted a 4th-and-17 to Jake Hofart keep the drive alive before another 4th down conversion to Terry Murphy for the win and bowl-eligibility.

Since then, it's been an up-and-down ride filled with higher expectations. A win in the last game at Pitt Stadium against hated rival Notre Dame, a blocked field goal attempt by LaVar Arrington to preserve a loss at Penn State, Walt Harris' Wide Receiver U putting players into the upper echelon of the NCAA and into the NFL, beating rival Penn State, 12-0, in their last meeting, Pitt garnering national attention, and ultimate under-performance by teams we expected more from over the years.

My memory has blurred a bit since my childhood. I've seen so many games on TV and in-person as a student that I am starting to forget details. I remember seeing some amazing things in person, like most of Larry Fitzgerald's catches, QB Tyler Palko (my favorite Pitt player of all time) running over a Boston College safety, and, of course, Aliquippa alumnus Darrelle Revis' silly punt return against West Virginia. Most importantly, I remember the day Pitt kept West Virginia out of the national championship game in a fluke win at my least favorite place in the world Mountaineer Field.

At the end of the day, sports are sports. They're nothing more and nothing less. Everything was magnified when I was a child, so I remember those events like they happened yesterday. I look forward to the day that I'm raising my kids in Pittsburgh, playing football in the backyard until it's time to come in for kickoff. I miss Pittsburgh today for that reason and for the reason that people honestly care about their sports in the Steel City.

No offense, Seattle, but your sports fans are lame and flaky. Watch your Huskies today, but know that you wouldn't care if they were 3-4 like my Panthers. Hail to Pitt!

Album Anticipation

A few exciting things happened this week, including receiving invitations for interviews for jobs at CMU (Student Activities position that I mentioned last week) and at Pitt.  The nerves are running wild as I get prepared to interview for two awesome positions, but they may have been outshined by the anticipation I had built for the new album from The Strokes that came out on Tuesday, Angles.  Below you can hear the first killer single, "Under Cover of Darkness".


Technology has changed the way we experience new music.  Albums leak, bands put tracks on their Myspace page, or we can see the bands playing tunes on late night shows, all before the album is released.  This has basically eliminated the anticipation we can feel for buying that album the day it comes out, except for the rare occurrences like Sufjan Stevens and Radiohead who keep their release under wraps until a few days before it happens.

Tuesday I went to The Exchange in Oakland and picked up Angles, paying more than I'd like.  It was worth it, though, with the first uber-80s blast that comes from the album's first track, "Machu Picchu" and the soothing calm that overcame me with the second track, "Under Cover of Darkness".  I had been feeling nostalgic (surprise, surprise) about the days when buying CDs was the way to go and there was no way to hear the album before its release.  I can still remember the day I bought Blindside's About a Burning Fire in 2004.  The explosion in my ears from the opening track, "Eye of the Storm", sent chills of excitement up my spine.

I wanted to recapture this feeling, so I do not plan on listening to any album before its release if I plan to buy that album without hearing it anyway.  I'll allow myself one song, just to get that excitement rolling.  Taking Back Sunday, Death Cab for Cutie, Bon Iver, this means you!  You can hear a track from the new TBS here and a live performance of a new DCFC track here.

Job Search

 In other news...the ACPA Conference is this coming week, so I'll be in Baltimore trying to make some connections for possible job opportunities.  Most importantly this week, I'll begin the interview process for the aforementioned Student Activities job at CMU, which is a top pick at this point.  I'd love the opportunity to stay in Pittsburgh longer and get my feet wet with some students with whom I can easily relate in a position that will be busy and far from monotonous.  My love for college radio and student activities at-large are getting me very excited for this interview!

On the other hand, I do have opportunities elsewhere, including a meeting about a career counseling position at Virginia Tech.  I'm broadening my horizons to see what other cities, schools, and jobs are out there, so pray for me during this process!

Sports

Also, did anyone see the Arizona-Duke game last night?  Derrick Williams is a monster.  I am getting stoked for their match-up with Kemba Walker and UConn on Saturday night.  These are the types of players Pitt needs to recruit in order to get to the next level.  UConn is not a better team than Pitt this year, but Kemba Walker is the type of game-changer that Pitt has never had, which is why they're still playing in this tournament.

why we care about sports

today is a big day in the city of pittsburgh. no, there's no election. there's no monumental decision coming from mayor ravenstahl. there is no G20 conference happening or any foreign diplomats having brunch at deluca's or a brew at gooski's. no, today is far more important than that for pittsburghers.

today opens the nfl playoffs in pittsburgh for our beloved steelers. troy polamalu is listed as probable, which means he'll play. the hated ravens are in town, complete with ray lewis and all of his old spice magic. not only that, the steelers game is sandwiched between the cult favorite penguins visiting a recent rival, the boston bruins, and the yuppy favorite pitt panther basketball team visiting new jersey to play seton hall. days do not get much bigger for sports fans in pittsburgh!

as i sit in the benedum computer lab at pitt doing my homework (sort of), i check my facebook to see the statuses flooding with sentiments about the game. "my heart can't take it", "our father who art in pittsburgh", and suggestions that ravens fans are sons and daughters of drug dealers and hookers. part of me can't help but wonder, who cares?

i know it's blasphemous to say as a pittsburger, but in all reality, today's results have little to do with our lives as a whole. to a degree, we base our happiness on the success and failures of our favorite teams, but why? i've debated this plenty before.

so, why do we care about sports?

well, i'll tell you why. the world is a broken place. the economy is in the tank, negative propaganda is around every corner, and people are living in the streets. there's a lot to be upset about in this world. but when it comes down to it, sports rally us together. today at 4:30, none of it will matter. the bills sitting on our desks, the job search that seems to have stalled, the girl or boy who broke your heart, none of it matters. for 60 minutes of football, the only thing that matters is our boys beating their boys.

sports give us a release. for some, like my good blogging friend abby (www.abbynormally.com), running is that release. for my friend charles and plenty of pitt students, that escape comes with ultimate frisbee. for me, it's mostly basketball. for pittsburgh, it's the steelers (and, today, penguins and panthers). the steelers give us hope. we will undoubtably experience some ultimate highs and some ultimate lows today. hopefully we can do the same next week and in 3 weeks at the super bowl. but we get that escape today. today, we are all pittsburghers. that guy in the computer lab spitting into his empty red bull every 3 minutes, the girl tapping her pen in class, and the customers who you can't quite communicate with. today they're wearing a steelers jersey. today we are family.

so, sports are generally pointless in our lives. we get physical and emotional exercise, but at the end of the day they don't solve any problems. in american society today, though, sometimes we need pointless activity to keep going. pressures of accomplishment and success are all around, so for once let's put the pressure on someone else and enjoy seeing what they make of it. here we go steelers.

the curious case of the ohio state buckeyes

by now, the ohio state buckeye football situation is familiar to most of us. if not, the skinny is that 5 players (including stud quarterback, terrelle pryor) were suspended for 5 games of the 2011 season as a result of selling merchandise, such as game-worn jerseys and awards. the players apologized and were allowed to play in the sugar bowl this past week, which is of great debate. why not suspend them immediately? money, that's why. this whole thing is about money. my comments are particularly in regard to the money in the pockets of these players, or rather the lack thereof.

i've always been one to prosecute scholarship athletes. they are being paid with a free education, which costs an average of about $20,000/year for the rest of us average folk. not only that, many of these players tend to receive favor in terms of grading to make sure they remain eligible and graduate. why should we have sympathy for them?

then came a brief portion of the press conference with ohio state head coach jim tressel and athletic director gene smith. in the statement, smith made a very interesting point that these student-athletes may want some spending cash for going places, taking a girl on a date, or buying music, the same things we all want spending money for in college. the difference for these students is that they have a tiny amount of time available for a part-time job (think about your full-time class schedule plus a full-time job with occasional travel). on top of that, so many of these students are coming from low-income households where they simply cannot ask mommy for money to go to a movie on the weekends. this leaves players like terrelle pryor with no spending money and no time to make any.

so what do we do, pay these players? i've never been in favor of it, but it seems only natural that these individuals should be allowed a stipend. many phd programs allow their student-researchers a cost of living stipend while they go to school and work for the university, so why not throw a couple hundred dollars out of the scholarship into their pockets? let them take loans out for those few hundred dollars and pay it back later when they're in the nfl or working at the job they've been allowed thanks to their free education. i rarely have sympathy for these students who are receiving a free education, but with the thousands (or millions) of dollars they're bringing in for their university, they should be allowed a little of the cut to try to live a normal life in college like the rest of us.