Dirty Rotten Son of a Bitch

Pardon that...but seriously.

Where is the loyalty? Where is the integrity? Where is the self-respect? You think you know somebody.

I thought he had it. I guess not. Breaking my heart.

I can't even describe how sad I am.

Imagine your best friend who has never let you down. He has never been anything but the best. He has been reliable and constant and trustworthy.

Now imagine that person stabbing you in the back. He doesn't even have the decency to be open and upfront about it. You find out the horrible thing he is agreeing to over Twitter.

It sucks, huh?

My mom says my dad and I are being ridiculous. But she doesn't understand. She really doesn't

Fenway

I'll start by quoting my papa:

"After a 95 year hiatus, the winning World Series game happened last night. At Fenway Park.

Sure hope they re-sign Jacoby.

Loved that Drew hit that home run. He was due.

Papi got walked to TIE the WS record for walks in a game (a milestone in pitching cowardice).

What a Series.  Just when you think you've seen it all you get an outcome deciding obstruction call in one game followed by a pick-off walk-off in the next.

Molina missed that tag at the plate. Didn't matter, though.

A BALK in the WS?!?! Wow, now I gotta cut my daughter slack.

Parade today in Boston."

Now my own words.

It was beautiful. Koji Uehara - check out his story here -  and also his son's interview here -->
pitching that last pitch to Carpenter was beautiful.

The beards are beautiful.

Boston Strong is beautiful.

Fenway park is beautiful.

Boston fans are beautiful.

Victory is beautiful.
  Jacoby Ellsbury is beautiful and we had better re-sign him. 

There is just a certain happiness that pretty much only comes from your baseball team winning the world series. That happiness is beautiful. 

Much like these bearded men:

It is a beautiful thing

Red Sox are going to the World Series.

It is great. Fabulous. Wonderful. Love it.

All those hours in the union using their TV cause I don't have one have paid off.

Cardinals vs Red Sox. Wednesday. Game one at Fenway.

BE THERE

In case you missed it....Prince Fielders Belly Flop

I am going to rant for a few minutes about the Red Sox...

Seriously?

You go through an entire regular season with stats like you do and then you get to the post season and make the dumbass mistakes that you are making??

Good golly. Let's stop giving Detroit no-hitters and strike-outs like they're candy, why don't we?

Let's watch the ball....

YOU ARE KILLIN ME SMALLS!!



Rant over. Let's do this ISH!

College was not "fun"

You know what?

Until this, my senior year, I never would have used the word "fun" to describe college. It more just "was".

Like, "Yeah. I am in college. I'm studying anthropology. Its cool. I love my classes. Everything else is alright. Could be better, could be worse."

Now it goes more like this, "Yeah. I am in college. I am an anthropology major and I love it! And I freaking love my life. I basically have a 24 hour party 7 days a week. It is so much fun. Holy crap."

As (maybe) mentioned in a previous post (or maybe on my Rocks & Twigs & Things sister blog), I made a goal to be more social this year and I am pretty sure that that is happening and that is why I am having so much fun all the time.
**Now I really do not mind being by myself - in fact I love it. I prefer it most of the time, but right now this whole social thing is working**

Anyway. I have had more fun in the month and a half ish of this semester than I had in the previous two years combined.
Someone finally got me to Country Swing Club this year and that is a beautiful thing. It is a good time and I love it. It is fun.
I also am tutoring for athletics now and I love my football players. They are hilarious and entertaining (and sometimes even focus on doing their school work :) and I love the few hours a week I spend helping them keep up their grades. They are FUN.
Another thing that is making life so fun. I am living in the moment. Very little forethought into my life these days. For example, yesterday. I had watched conference in the morning, Joseph came over in between session and we (aka he) had lunch (when I was supposed to be doing homework!) and then we watched the second session at Cassie's. Afterwards we three had a very long and philosophical conversation about God (when I was supposed to be doing homework!) We left Cassie's and instead of going home and doing homework like I knew I seriously should have....I went grocery shopping with Joseph (...again...). We shopped and then as he dropped me off afterwards at like 10 to 6:00, I got a text from mi amiga Kim. She said she had tickets to this Diwali Night here at UW. The tickets were to the dinner starting at 7:30 but the cultural part was going on from 5:00 onward. So I hurried and texted Zane to see if he was going to priesthood or if he wanted to go to Diwali Night with me. He was in so I took the tickets and we had an awesome time at Diwali Night. I REALLY SHOULD HAVE DONE HOMEWORK. I REALLY NEEDED TO DO HOMEWORK.

I was on the phone with my mom this week and she said to me, "You have been yawning a lot lately." So I kind of explained how I had been of the attitude "What the hey? I am in college! I am young! Let's have some fun!" I then told her how I thought I was done with that lifestyle since I was so bloody tired. She basically chastised me for being such an old lady all the time and that I really needed to act my age and keep making poor life decisions because I wouldn't always be able to do so with so little consequence.

But I have continued on the live in the moment lifestyle where between going to bed or doing homework and going to hang out with Joseph or go to Diwali Night or Shari's for game night with the girls, I choose the non-sleeping & non-homework route. And life has been fun. College is finally fun.

Now it isn't all sunshine and daisies since I am pretty sure my grades are taking a hit. But I sure can hear my mom saying, "It is about damn time."




AND RED SOX ARE KILLIN IT

Public Speaking Speech

I have 4-5 minutes to inform my class about something.

Here is what I have decided:

The Curse of the Great Bambino

General Purpose: To Inform

Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to describe the 3 main facets of the history of the curse.

Central Idea: There are three main phases of time of the curse of the Great Bambino; when it began, the failed attempts at breaking it, and breaking it.

Organizational Pattern: Spatial

Intro: Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Celtics and the Lakers. Real Madrid and Barcelona. Colorado State University and University of Wyoming. There are hundreds of sports rivalries, and each has its own unique history and significance. As sports fans we all know these rivalries make games worth watching. One of the most famous sports rivalries between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees began almost a century ago when Harry Frazee traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees and the curse began. I was in 6^th grade when the curse was broken. At that point I had been a baseball fan my whole life. I grew up watching baseball and loved it with a passion. My dad taught me how to be a Red Sox fan and his dad taught him how to be a Red Sox fan. Today, I will discuss three significant phases of the curse: when it began, the failed attempts at breaking it, and when the curse was broken.

Signpost: To begin, we will go back nearly a century to 1918.

Body:

1          In 1918 the Red Sox beat the Chicago Cubs to win the World Series (Waterman & Springer, 1999).

a.     Babe Ruth pitched 17 scoreless innings for the Red Sox that series  (Celebrate Boston)

b.     In 1919, the Red Sox manager sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees to pay off a debt on Fenway Park (NBCSports, 2004). This began the curse.

c.      After this, Red Sox did not win another World Series until 2004

d.     Yankees went on to win 26 World Series

Signpost: Now that we know when the curse began we will follow the Red Sox in their subsequent World Series appearances

                   The Red Sox made it to the World Series 4 times between 1918 and 2003

a.     They made it in ’46, ’67, ’75, and ’86 and each time something terrible happened and they lost (Celebrate Boston)

b.     Each time the curse was to blame. It could not be broken

c.      Red Sox were doomed by the curse to be a losing team

d.     Meanwhile, the Yankees became an empire that ruled Major League Baseball

Signpost: We now have seen the 4 failed attempts at breaking the curse. Lets move on to when they actually did break it.

3             In 2004 the Red Sox won the World Series

a.     The Red Sox came back from a 3 game deficit against the Yankees in the League Championship Series to make it to the World Series for the 5^th time since 1918

b.     The Red Sox beat the Cardinals in 4 World Series games and the curse was broken after 86 years

c.      Show Youtube Clip beginning at 2:44:16(MLBClassics, 2010)

Signpost: To wrap it up, lets review the three phases of the curse.

Conclusion: We have talked about when the curse began in 1919, how the Red Sox tried to overcome it in their World Series appearances and when they actually did break the curse in 2004 against the Cardinals. So next time you are watching a game between rivals you can think on and maybe dig into the history and significance of that rivalry. You might find out something like the history we discussed today.

Here is the whole 3 hours in case you've got nothing going on today

In case you missed it - Bosox

Boston might not suck this year.....emphasis on MIGHT

Jackie Bradley Jr. and the Red Sox were daring on the basepaths. Jon Lester and the Boston bullpen were aggressive against a barely recognizable New York Yankees' lineup.

The Red Sox looked as if they were in a hurry to put a dreadful 2012 season behind them. They're off to an impressive start, giving new manager John Farrell an 8-2 win on opening day Monday.

"I think how you saw it (Monday) is how we can win a lot of ballgames," new designated hitterJonny Gomes said. "It was kind of all there early."

Shane Victorino led a revamped Red Sox lineup with three RBIs and Bradley walked three times and scored twice in his big league debut. Boston's big day against CC Sabathia (0-1) came a year after it lost its first three games under Bobby Valentine and went on to a 69-93 finish.

Facing a Yankees lineup minus injured Derek Jeterfor the first time since 2001 and just three starters from opening day a year ago, Lester (1-0) gave up five hits and two runs in five sharp innings against the defending AL East champions.

"It's big," Lester said. "It's obviously a lot nicer than the past couple of years to be on top 1-0 instead of going through a whole road trip without a win again."

Yankees stars Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Grandersonand Mark Teixeira also are on the disabled list.

"You're talking about some of the best players in the game. It's going to be a little different," Sabathia said. "But we know what we have to do and who's not here. That's not an excuse."

Bradley, meanwhile, made an immediate impact after earning a spot with a strong spring training performance.

In his first plate appearance, the ever-smiling 22-year-old outfielder worked a one-out walk after falling behind 0-2. That helped Boston touch up the big lefty for four runs in the second inning -- and start the angry rumblings of 49,514 anxious Yankees fans.

Young No. 44 then stole a potential RBI hit from Robinson Cano with a running, twisting grab in a swirling wind in left field in the third. Bradley added an RBI groundout in the seventh.

All in a day's work for the unflappable rookie.

"I wasn't nervous. I was ready," Bradley said. "Just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win."

The punchless Yankees had just one hit after the fifth inning against five relievers in losing a season opener at home for the first time since 1982, after 11 straight wins.

Adding to the tough day all around for New York, rain in the ninth inning sent fans running for cover while the Red Sox scored three times against a mustachioed Joba Chamberlain.

Friendly Confines

Jon Lester struck out seven over five sharp innings Monday to pick up his seventh career win at the new Yankee Stadium. The left-hander easily has the most wins at the ballpark among all visiting pitchers.

Most Wins By Visiting Pitcher At New Yankee Stadium

Pitcher	Wins
Jon Lester	7
Josh Beckett	4
Felix Hernandez	4
David Price	4
-- ESPN Stats & Information

Jacoby Ellsbury had a sharp two-run infield single that first baseman Lyle Overbay, picked up off waivers only a week ago, couldn't handle for his third hit. Victorino singled home Bradley to add to the romp.

"We want to put pressure on the opposition," Farrell said. "And that's not strictly with attempted steals and how we look to run the bases first to third, but the attitude and how we go about our work."

One team in New York won on Monday, though. In a first, the Yankees and Mets opened on the same day at the same time. The Mets finished off an 11-2 victory while their Bronx counterparts were in the eighth inning.

Before the game, the Yankees held a tribute to the victims of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., and honored first responders at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Both teams wore a patch that included the Newtown seal, a black memorial ribbon and 26 stars, one for each victim.

No matter the colorful history between the clubs, the reality in 2013 is this: The two teams that have dominated the division for more than a decade enter opening day with considerably less swagger.

Heck, the Yankees played as if they were still trying to get to know each other -- and they were, with several March acquisitions.

The Bleacher Creatures' roll call was loaded with new names because of injuries and the departures of free agents Nick Swisher and Russell Martin.

"We brought some guys in later into camp," manager Joe Girardi said. "They're going to get a lot of opportunities here, and we're going to need them to perform."

One name the Creatures did include was closer Mariano Rivera, who is coming back from a torn knee ligament and said during spring training he plans to retire at the end of the season.

But he wasn't needed in this one after Boston jumped out to an early lead. That was enough for Lester, who looked more like the pitcher who won at least 15 games every year from 2008-11 and not the one who went 9-14 last year.

Boston wasn't at full strength, either. David Ortiz is on the disabled list with sore heels, the first time he was not the Red Sox designated hitter for the opener since Jeremy Giambi in 2003.

The Red Sox had only four players from their opening-day lineup last year starting in this one:Dustin Pedroia, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ellsbury and Lester, making his third consecutive such start.

Even weirder: former gritty Red Sox star Kevin Youkilis was clean-shaved and in Yankees pinstripes.

"I think we're making it more than it is," he said. "I go out there and play. I don't sit down and stare at my uniform all game."

Making his 10th opening-day start overall, Sabathia settled after the second to allow four runs and eight hits.

Francisco Cervelli, who spent nearly all last season in Triple-A, had a two-run single off Lester in the fourth and made a swift tag on Ellsbury sliding into home plate in the sixth.