Letter Writing

"I don't want to leave tomorrow
Yes I said it all inside of a letter
That I put in your hand when we walked in the sand
Don't you understand"
--When There's No Tomorrow, Peter Cetera

Just tried to find a good one about writing a letter, 'cause today's entry is just a cut-and-paste exercise. Read Sports Guy's column about being put in charge of NBA TV for a weekend and got excited about responding to tell him games he needs to include. I ended up spending like 45 minutes going back and forth on which games to select, finally settling on the following three. The full text of the e-mail I sent follows...

first of all, this is the best decision the good folks at nba tv have made since deciding to televise nba summer league (for die-hards who really care about marcus douthit's line) and the rucker park games (is that really where joe forte ended up?). still don't enjoy the quarter-screen-sized viewing area they give us (never a good idea to complement lakers-pistons '88 with wnba game stats), but i'm definitely tuning in...i have three suggestions, the first two of which displays clearly my so-cal bias. the second, i think you'll agree, shows an understandingof greatness that transcends regional homer-ism.

Lakers @ Clippers (11/6/92): The season opener between the Lakers and Clippers, and a great battle in what would turn out to be a playoff season for the Clips. It was a huge transition for the Lakers, bridgingthe gap between the Showtime and Shaq/Kobe eras, and Larry Brown's squad had a deep enough roster to challenge for city supremacy. Manning dropping 23 a night, Harp adding 18 (and that sweet double-line in his haircut) and Mark Jackson running the show from the point, plus role players like Loy Vaught and Gary Grant. Two of the fatter individuals in league history even got some run on this squad--Stanley Roberts and Hot Plate Williams. Anyways, the game itself was sweet. The Clippers were down the whole way but came back to force overtime by holding their more prestigious opponents to just 14 in the fourth. Manning had26, Harp 22, Jack 17 and 11, and Kiki Vandeweghe came off the bench to tally 16. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. The last vestiges of Showtime, Byron Scott (29 points) and James Worthy (24) combined to make sure the season wouldn't start off on the wrong foot and the Lake Show emerged with a 114-112 overtime triumph. My old landlord has had Clippers season tickets since 1986, bless his heart, and he's since upgraded to courtside, but he's told me about that game countless times--something he'll never forget. Good stuff.

Lakers @ Jazz (Conference Semis, Game Five, May 1997): I've been a Laker fan my whole life, but I think a necessary (and often overlooked) step in Kobe Bryant's journey to superstardom was the "airball game"that closed out this series against the Jazz. The Lakers, even with Shaq, were still a bit short of greatness and the Jazz were en route to their first of two Finals appearances. Mailman was unbelievable, racking up 32 and 20 (including eight points in OT) and Stockton had 24 and 10, going 11-for-13 from the floor. That's stupid. Point guards don't have that kind of shooting numbers. Shaq had 23 and 13 but fouled out and Nick the quick had 26. Kobe shot an airball that would have won the game at the end of regulation and then missed three more shots (two airballs) in overtime. This is important because it's four of the greatest players of this generation going at it and it's a formative moment for Kobe, no doubt. Del Harris gave him the chance to be a hero on multiple occasions and he airballed it. Seeing the fire that burns inside that guy, I can't even imagine the determination this game gave him heading into the off-season.
(This game brought up an interesting side issue as I was thinking back. It reminded me how much I used to hate Karl Malone. Absolutely despised him. As soon as he signed with the Lakers, I took to him pretty darn quickly. I really, really like him now and definitely hope he comes back. Is there a statute of limitations on guys like that? A certain amount of time that has to pass before you can go from hate to love? Who is beyond such a transition? Like if Roger came back to Boston, how long would it take you to forgive him? It's tough.)

Pacers vs. Celtics (1991 Playoffs, First Round): I have no doubt you've already considered this one, but I don't know which games you can omit. You obviously need Game 5, with your boy running back onto the parquet to lead the Celts to the series clincher. I'm saying you also need Chuck Connors Person's ridiculousness in Game 2 in the Garden, knocking down like seven or eight treys and stunning the No. 2 seed. Game 4 wasn't bad either, with both Rifleman and Reggie stepping it up. Tough decisions. I was finishing eighth grade and I remember going out in mydriveway after that Game 2 to practice the Rifleman cock-back, holding my hand up after a jumper to admire its beauty and then cocking back the wrist to re-load like Chuck did. Watched Game 5 at the local pizza place while my buddies played 1942 or some other arcade game; I sat and watched in awe, expressing frustration during commercials that my friends weren't appreciating what was taking place.

Best of luck with the playlist man, you can't go wrong.
--Scott Riddell, Los Angeles

So Long

I know that it's been a long
Time since I've been gone
It's easy to forget
Help me remember
--So Long, Sister Hazel

Um yeah, so I've pretty much been slacking on the blogging aspect of life, but I think I'm okay with this being fairly low on a long list of things to do. A brief rundown of the last week and a half:
-Monday July 19: After a nice long work day, we had a basketball game at 7:15, and by 7:45 I was on the floor, bloodied and bruised. An elbow to the dome (courtesy of former All-WCC point guard Jim Williamson) left me requiring multiple stitches, so I headed up to the UCLA Medical Center after the game (we lost, quite disappointing). Didn't get home until midnight, to sleep at 1 and then up at 5 the next morning...
-Tuesday and Wednesday, July 20-21: Fairly standard work days, up at 5, home around 7 (or 9:30, depending on bible study) and then back to bed around 11.
-Thursday, July 22: Work 7-5 then left extra early to drive through traffic for an hour and a half to get to Descanso Gardens for your father's wedding rehearsal. Went to the rehearsal dinner afterward, then hung out with the bros until midnight or so, at which time I received a phone call changing my call time for Friday morning to 5:30 a.m. Sweet.
-Friday, July 23: After getting home at 1 and getting to sleep at 2, I woke up at 4:30 and got set for a day of work at the beach. We were doing our show on location in Hermosa Beach, in combination with the AVP event over the weekend. Rode my bike down the strand, which was actually pretty fun, and got to work right away. Long, hard day of work (didn't get done until 6:45), but it was so much fun. Tons of people showed up, probably mostly for volleyball, but they certainly crowded our set as well, and some great guests were there as well. Mark Cuban, Emeka Okafor, some Playboy swimsuit models and, of course, our talented set of hosts--Rose, Arnold, Salley and Jason Sehorn (evidently more adept at beach volleyball than at stopping Steve Smith over the middle--nooch). I got to feel pretty important at times, standing with the talent and production staff while the general public was forced to wait behind walls and signs, and pretty humble on other occasions, fetching fruit for Chris Rose or hauling camera stands for our crew. Got done, never having been more physically exhausted in my life, and had to ride that bike back home. I made it, showered and packed my bag for Palm Springs, needing only to wait for a pair of shorts to make it out of the dryer. Sat down on the couch and flipped on the Dodgers and Padres while I waited, but made it through about three minutes of game action before passing out on that couch. Woke up at 10:45, still needing to drive to Palm Springs. Sweet. Made it out there by 2 and fell asleep pretty quick.
-Saturday, July 24: Slept for about four hours before being awoken to go play golf in the ridiculous Palm Springs heat. Had some existing burn to show for Friday's sun marathon, and that obviously helped out a lot. Shot a nice 131 on the day--my first golfing experience in about a year, and my first time keeping score (at a place other than Verdugo Hills) since circa 1993. Had a good time with my bro and your father and had a lovely lunch in the aftermath. Drove home with no air conditioning--pretty much an ideal situation for Palm Springs in late July--and actually managed to get a little sleep for once.
-Sunday, July 25: Up pretty early to shower and shave and get ready for another drive, though thankfully I would be riding in a Jag this time instead of revving up the 'Turn once again. Jason and I drove down to San Clemente to see Mike B preach, which made for a great time. Sat with Bob and Cathie, then headed up to the beach house for a wonderful lunch before we had to head back. Their recently-completed casa is an amazing place, spa on the back deck, pull-out, rotating HD-TV, huge comfortable couches, the works. Wish I could have stayed longer--like three months--but important things were beckoning. Got up to yf's in time to get tuxedoed out and head over to Descanso for the pre-wedding festivities (read: sitting around and sweating). Eventually it was a nice ceremony, good to see family (and wonderful to see happy Dad), and then a nice reception in Old Town to follow. Another late night, home around 12:30 and to bed after 1.
That gets us back to the beginning of this week, which has also been a pretty busy one, but hey, it's the life I'm choosing. No worries. Movies 1 & 2 on the list still have to wait. I'm done.

I'm Your Huckleberry

"Why Johnny Ringo, you look like
Somebody just walked over your grave.
Oh I wasn't quite as sick as I made out."
Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), Tombstone

Yeah, I think the number of memorable quotes goes up as the rankings continue, and this little excerpt is a sneak peak of the next entry in the countdown. I'm feeling like just doing three of them now and finishing off the last two sometime next week. Here goes...
 
5. Tombstone
Why: It might be the quintessential "guy" movie--guns and cowboys and bad guys, girls that are good-looking but more of a distraction than a focal point. Kurt Russell is stellar and Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton are tremendous, but Val steals the show with his portrayal of Doc Holliday. He's sick the whole time, but he's easily one of the coolest dudes in motion picture history. The way he plays cards, draws quicker than anyone, the coolness he showed in the saloon when Johnny Ringo challenged him (twirling his cup instead of a gun), and then the final showdown with Ringo, from whence the above quote came. I never did see Unforgiven, but I'd say this is the best Western ever. One drawback, however: that whole riding sequence with Russell and Dana Delany needs to be stricken from the record. The nice thing about DVD's is the ability to skip right past that scene.
Best scene: That final showdown is epic. Wyatt leaves Doc, sick as a dog in his hospital bed, and heads out basically to be ambushed and killed by Ringo. Instead, Doc somehow beats him there and, despite his obvious sickness-induced frailty, outdraws Ringo and kills him (after delivering those classic lines, of course). Wyatt shows up to find the job done and couldn't be more surprised. Doc's explanation finishes the scene off in classic style: "Poor soul, he was so high-strung. Afraid the strain was more than he could bear."

4. Hoosiers
Why: Because it's the best sports movie of all time, hands down. The story is inspirational without being cheesy (hard to do, but "Miracle" pulls that off as well) and the acting from Hackman and Hopper is top-notch. It was viewed on the eve of the CIF playoffs each year in high school, bringing the squad together and psyching us up for a playoff run (note: it definitely worked my junior year, as Eric Sanchez led us to the brink of the finals, but Mihail Papadopopoopoolous saw to it that the Hoosier effect was negligible my senior year). Jimmy Chitwood (played by a dude who evidently is a golf pro in Orange County these days) is a classic character, dead-eye jump shooter and a very quiet cat. It's funny, he's kind of Amare Stoudamire before that whole switching high schools thing became en vogue. I thought players back then just played, without regard for athletic tradition and possible exposure for D-I scouts. Jimmy's decision to play was the biggest thing to hit the town since...um, something else big in Indiana--Abraham Lincoln? No wait, that was Illinois, never mind. Nevertheless, the Hickory High run to the State championship is one of my favorite stories ever.
Best scene: This is a tough one to pick, but I think it's the defining moment for Shooter (Hopper) and the line your father always repeats: "Run the picket fence...and don't get caught watching the paint dry." It's when Coach Norman Dale (Hackman) is attempting to teach Shooter some responsibility, and he's allowed his alcoholic assistant to toil in relative anonymity next to him on the bench to this point. He asks to get tossed from a game (funny dialogue between Dale and the ref), knowing that Shooter will have to take over and get his act together. He makes it happen, thankfully--uncomfortably at first, but eventually in smooth fashion, leading to a timeout that sets up the winning shot. Of course they knock it down--it's Hollywood.
 
3. Fletch
Why: I can watch this any hour of any day, any number of times consecutively, and I will never, ever tire of it. The humor is subtle, incredibly witty, and, above all, timeless. Chevy Chase has never played a better role--and this was when he was making like three movies every year--and the secondary characters are great as well. George Wendt as Fat Sam? Geena Davis as that young reporter Larry? Tim Matheson is a masterful Alan Stanwyk as well (and a decent vice president in the Bartlet administration to boot). A whole mess of good scenes in this one and several great characters--John Cock-toes-ton, Dr. Rosenrosen, Dr. Rosenpenis, Mr. Babar and so on. Little-known fact here: Phil Alden Robinson, the man behind the adaptation of "Shoeless Joe" into "Field of Dreams," is the guy who turned the mystery novel "Fletch" into this work of art. If only the sequel were as clever...
Best scene: Too many to choose from, like food options on a cruise ship. Despite the comedic genius of numerous scenes and characters, I've gotta go with the dream sequence, if only because it features the late, great Chick Hearn. Fletch is a Laker fan, which scores him points right off the bat, and he's got a life-size cut-out of Magic Johnson on his wall, holding the ball with which he shoots hoops in his living room (albeit on a five-foot-high rim). He falls asleep with the game on and then sees himself as a Laker, 6-foot-5 (6-9 with the afro) and dominant. Chicky baby gives the play-by-play on one spectacular drive to the hoop, and then we see the replay--Fletch biting the guy's arm while he's taking it to the hole. Classic.

Unfortunately I've run out of momentum on the list, still two to go (wondering what they might be??) and they'll hopefully be coming soon. Peace.

Mount Up

"We work for Mr. Tunstall as regulators.
We regulate any stealin' of his property, we're damn good, too...
But you can't be any geek off the street...
You gotta be handy with the steel, if you know what I mean,
Earn your keep."
Charley Bowdre (Casey Siemaszko), Young Guns

Quotability is a huge factor in determining one's favorite movies of all time, and "Young Guns" certainly ranks up there for me, even though it's very cheesy at times. Rewatchability is probably the main element used in evaluation, because all the movies that make my top 10 have had viewings that number well into double figures. The final quality is timelessness, meaning that no matter how old the film is (or how old it will become), the humor, the story and the characters all remain relevant and entertaining.
One thing that sucks about some of these older movies is that the girls aren't as hot as time goes on, like Kelly McGillis in Top Gun or Dana Wheeler-Nicholson in Fletch, so that can't really play into the process. How amazing was McGillis the first time you saw Top Gun? Are you kidding me? But watching it now, she's just a run-of-the-mill chick with bad hair. Weird how that happens.
So here begins the top ten, with only two days of thought about it, meaning that a movie or two could certainly have escaped my memory. If something occurs to me in the near future, I'll be sure to update and explain. Ten through six come in this entry and the top five will come next time...

10. Young Guns
Why: Who doesn't want pals? The essence of that brat pack at their Western best--Kiefer Sutherland as the poem-writing, Chinese girl-wooing Doc Scurlock, Casey Siemaszko (remember him from 3 O'Clock High?) as the wussy Charley Bowdre, Charlie Sheen as the uptight Richard Brewer and Emilio Estevez as the insane William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid. Dermot Mulroney was also sweet as Dirty Steve and Lou Diamond Phillips as Chavez y Chavez. The second one was great too, if only because of the music of Jon Bon Jovi, but this first movie captured the "wild" in wild west (better than WIll Smith and Kevin Kline did, anyway) and gave the viewer six strong characters to root for, no matter if they were breaking the law or not. Their benefactor (Terence Stamp as John Tunstall) was such a great guy that having him killed meant those boys needed to go out and shed some blood in vengeance.
Best scene: The final showdown, where they're totally surrounded in Alex's house by Murphy's boys and the U.S. Cavalry. After it all seems to be over, Chavez somehow escapes and rounds up some horses, then Billy jumps out of the chest they dropped to the ground and opens fire, flanked by the rest of his boys coming out the windows, and the survivors manage to get away. Classic shoot-em-up stuff. Oh yeah, and the last line is pretty sweet, too, voiced over by Keifer: "The epitaph read only one word: pals."

9. Office Space
Why: Mike Judge's sense of humor is incredible, and even though I've never worked in an office environment like the one displayed in the film, the frustrations they experience and the random other events that accompany their money-making scheme (the one from Superman III, if you'll recall). Every character, from Ron Livingston's scintillating Peter Gibbons on down to the neighbor Lawrence (Diedrich Bader) and the "oh-faced" co-worker Drew (Greg Pitts). The humorous moments are too numerous to re-cap, and Stephen Root's classic portrayal of Milton ("Have you seen my stapler?") ties it all up into a nice little package. Naming a character Michael Bolton? Priceless.
Best scene: No doubt it's the return of Peter to the office, bolstered by the Geto Boys, "Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta." His attitude about work has completely changed after a hypnosis session and a ridiculously long night of sleep, and he shows up with complete disregard for authority. Good stuff. He blows off Lumberg, re-arranges his cubicle and heads in for his meeting with the Bobs--"I wouldn't say I've been missing it, Bob." I really can't say enough about this movie and its funny moments.

8. The Shawshank Redemption
Why: It's on a far different level than the previous entry, but its lessons in hope and loyalty are tremendous. Tim Robbins plays such an endearing character and such a cool guy--earning beer for the inmates after their roofwork, getting books and records for the library and setting up the income tax service. All the other guys obviously looked up to him and he looked up to Morgan Freeman's character, Red. Thank God I've never been in prison, but I can imagine the sentiment that Brooks must have felt trying to return to the real world after a lifetime behind bars. Thankfully Red was able to make at least a partial transition before heading down to his tropical paradise.
Best scene: Definitely the escape, when Red stays up all night worrying, then Andy doesn't come out in the morning and they all think he's dead. As the warden realizes he's gone, they retrace Andy's steps from the night before and he is indeed a free man. Quality.

7. The Usual Suspects
Why: One of the great endings in movie history and some awesome characters. The false sense of reality it gives you is a unique thing and adds a lot to the plot. Kevin Spacey is amazing, Benicio Del Toro and Kevin Pollak are hilarious and Gabriel Byrne is solid. Whichever Baldwin it is (Stephen, maybe Billy?--not Alec) also does a pretty good job. The creation of this mythical (or not) character and the build-up to his revelation makes for a great story and the final twist (and re-twist) makes this one quite memorable. The circumstances under which this one was viewed also makes it great: on my birthday in 1995 up at Hastings Ranch with several good friends right after a nice dinner (and some pie) at Baker's Square.
Best scene: Though the final re-cap scene (Chazz Palminteri's Kobayashi coffee mug crashing to the ground while he figures out what's going on) is epic, the one I can watch over and over is the interrogation scene early on, when we're first getting to know each of the characters. They stand in the line-up, reading the "Gimme the f-ing keys, you c-sucker" line in various hilarious ways ("In English, please") and going through various levels of interrogation ("You have a team of monkeys working around the clock on that one?"). Evidently much of that was ad-libbed (thank you, DVD commentary), which makes it even better.

6. Scent of a Woman
Why: Another dramatic entry in the top ten, Pacino's Oscar-winning performance is incredible and the film provides my favorite scene in any movie ever (see second half of this entry). Chris O'Donnell plays a solid Charlie, attempting to figure out his own stuff while helping out this crazy old military guy--nice easy weekend job, he thought. They go through some great stuff together--test-driving the Ferrari, dancing with the girl at the restaurant, having a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at Frank's brother's house (with an appearance by Bradley Whitford, West Wing's Josh Lyman). The conversation about women on the plane is classic and Frank's advice to Charlie about how to handle the "to snitch or not to snitch" situation is well-delivered. Though there are sad turns, the story certainly turns out positively, as Charlie is exonerated and Frank gains a new lease on life--happy is a good way to finish.
Best scene: Unbelievable stuff from Pacino in the student hearing at the Bayard School. He struts in and has Charlie's back, initially by his mere presence, and then with a remarkably challenging diatribe that's delivered to Headmaster Trask. The quotable lines within his speech are innumerable, including his "Out of order? I'll show you out of order!" and the entire harangue on Charlie choosing the right path while his friends chose the wrong.

I think I'm too brief on this first half, but wow, there's still five to go, so that'll have to suffice. Shaq's officially gone now--not sure how it'll be as a Laker fan next year, but I suppose I'll press on. Dang.

Inspiration

"Everybody needs a little time away
I heard her say
From each other"
You're the Inspiration, Chicago

So after like a week of not writing anything, I've been sufficiently inspired by the musings of Bill Simmons, and have decided to get back to the lovely pastime of blogging. Fortunately, my work schedule this week is allowing for such an activity.
Here's how the weekend played out, work-wise, and how I sit this Tuesday afternoon awaiting the start of the MLB All-Star Game with not much else on my plate:
Friday involved a 7:30 p.m. departure from work and a nice dinner with Side and friends at Houston's in Manhattan Beach. B-Shaw was in the house, likely in the midst of angling for a coaching job and convincing Kobe to stick around. Got to sleep in a little bit and headed back up to Fox for baseball from 12-4:30, after which I started scanning Yankees tapes for clips of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez--I suppose there are worse assignments. These guys are really good.
Had a break and hit up the Apple Pan for dinner with your father, which was a nice respite, then headed back to the viewing decks for another five hours or so of logging. Left around midnight and headed home.
Sunday was the actual weekend portion of my weekend--up until the late evening, anyway. Got to hoop in the morning, Brentwood-style (went 3-2), then relaxed at home with some sun, some crosswords and a little Front Office Football. Quick note: Though the real Chargers might be the worst-run organization in professional sports, my computer version is becoming a force in the AFC West. We advanced to the conference championship game my first year, on the legs of LT and on the arm of Drew Brees (draft pick Carson Palmer is breathing down his neck, however), then fell in the second round of the playoffs in year two. Donnie Edwards leads a talented young defense, Quentin Jammer is becoming the shut-down corner we all knew he could be and Marcellus Wiley and David Boston actually care about football in this fantasy world. Now back to Sunday...
Went to Bel Air at 6 and then dinner at Baja in Westwood with some friends before a return trip to the lot and to the A-Rod/Jeter world. Didn't re-emerge from the abyss until 3:15 a.m. Seriously. I got to sleep at 4 and woke up at 6 (attempting to attend my morning workout was pretty much not an option) to get back to work for my edit session at 7.
I wasn't nearly as tired as I thought I'd be for most of the day, and actually ended up being very productive. In addition to the A-Rod/Jeter piece (which turned out quite well), I wrote and tracked a topical (regional daily promo for the show), watched and fixed two segments and dealt with plenty of frustration from co-workers about the inefficiency of the day's broadcast from Houston. Almost fell asleep at my desk waiting for our basketball game to start, then headed up to Westwood Rec and made a solid contribution to a winning effort (improving our record to 4-2). Fell asleep at 9:30, which was the best idea I've had in weeks.
A quick addendum to the Westwood Rec league mention: One of the best basketball players I've had the pleasure of seeing in person was on the floor last night for the game immediately following ours. Former LMU point guard Jim Williamson was a ringer for this team that also features former Lion Jeff Fryer (one of my all-time shooting heroes). Jimmy, a 5-10, 145-pound Ollie-from-Hoosiers look-alike, dominated Stais Boseman, one of the great high school defenders in recent times, in the CIF Finals one year, one of the more memorable performances I've seen in the years I went to those final games. I saw Paul Pierce, J.R. Henderson, Kris Johnson, the Collins twins and many others play in those games, but Williamson was incredible. I think I need to blog sometime about the memories of those championship Saturdays, when Ev and I would sit in the Sports Arena or the Pond from like 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on a Saturday in February or Marcj. Good times.
So yeah, the reason I was going to write was that I went through several of Sports Guy's old columns and saw one about his top 15 sports DVD's of all time, and added 20 of his favorite non-sports DVD's as well. I was going to write up a similar list, but it's hard to be confident that it's all-inclusive, and I know I'll forget one or two if I try today, so I'm going to start a list and post it later in the week.
We're dark today and tomorrow, which is the real reason I've got the time to write right now, and I'll be leaving momentarily to watch the All-Star game on Fox, so more will be coming tomorrow, I hope.
Columns that need to be written soon:
- highlights of watching Southern California high school basketball in the mid-to-late 90's
- my favorite movies of all time (sports and otherwise)
- the most embarassing moments of my life--this one occurred to me because my old boss at LCPC mentioned Marisa Sampley (now Vanevenhoven) to me the other day, and the worst thing I've ever said came flooding back to me
- best video game teams I've coached/managed/played with--obviously inspired by the new-look Bolts on FOF4
- best things about working at Fox (and yes, this will definitely include sharing honey wheat thins with Lisa Dergan)
Hopefully that's enough incentive to check back later this week. Pieces.

Bad Ideas

"I wanna be good
I wanna be great
I wanna be everything except for your mistake"
--Your Mistake, Sister Hazel

Had a nice long weekend and certainly enjoyed my fair share of good things in those three-plus days, but was unfortunately forced to deal with a bad idea or two along the way. Bad civic planning in the hamlet of Carson, CA led to a ridiculous hour-long trip out of the parking lot at Home Depot Center following Saturday night's Galaxy game and ensuing fireworks show. I'm not sure how new stadia are built without a good idea of how to efficiently get people in and out of the enormous parking lots that surround said structures. The HDC is a beautiful bastion of American soccer, probably the best soccer stadium in the country, but its parking situation leaves plenty to be desired. Eric drove us out there, sat in all that traffic getting out, then drove back to Carson to hang out with his buddy Ryan, who played a great game for the Earthquakes in defeat. El Pescadito got two more goals for the home side, spearheading a 2-1 victory for the Galaxy and securing their hold on first place.
Bad idea number two was chronologically bad idea number one for me, but since the construction of the parking lot happened well before my Saturday night activities, I'm listing them in this order instead. After a lovely time at Chris Rose's party, three of us headed back to my buddy Mike's house in Venice, arriving there shortly after midnight. Since I had enjoyed somewhere around seven total hours of sleep the previous week, going home and sleeping would certainly have been the best decision. Not such a good decision was going out to Circle Bar until 1:30, getting a ton of good Chinese food at 2 and not getting home until well after 3. Sleep is far too valuable to be playing around with it like that. Thankfully I was able to sleep in until 10 or so Sunday morning; otherwise I would not be functioning right now.
Bad idea number three actually happened before either of these two things, but it was only this morning that it affected me. A guy at the gym was actually wearing zubaz pants today. You know those tiger-striped looking things? Yeah, seriously. I don't think I can even say anything else about this. Zubaz?
Eric Gagne's streak ended last night, which is definitely a bummer, but it finally allows people to look back at what an amazing accomplishment 84 saves in a row really is. There's no other record in baseball (or probably in any sport, for that matter) that sees such a tremendous gap between first and second place. Gagne's 84 in a row exceeds Tom Gordon's 54 by a whopping 56%. As impressive as they are, Orel Hershiser's consecutive innings (1.7% more than Drysdale's), Cal Ripken's games played (23.6% over Lou Gehrig) and Joe D's hitting streak (27.3% higher than Wee Willie Keeler and Pete Rose) don't even compare in dominance. Even some of the more impressive single-season records (the only career record that measures up is Nolan Ryan's strikeouts--35.7% up on Clemens, but shrinking every fifth day) don't measure up: Bonds' homers (+4.3%) and Rickey's steals (+10.2%) are just two examples. It's an awesome accomplishment, that's all.
Out

No Sleep 'Til...

No!
Sleep!
'Til Brooklyn!
--No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn, Beastie Boys

If only there were an end in sight to my lack of sleep--arrival in Brooklyn, for example. As it stands now, I can't even sleep on weekends, getting up this morning at 7:30 after getting to bed after 1:30. Six hours has pretty much become the norm for me, though this past week saw a couple days with even less than that. I'm not sure when the psychosis is going to set in, but I'm a little worried about possible side effects here.
That being said, it's a great Saturday for baseball (we've got a nice little doubleheader on Fox, Mets-Yankees and A's-Giants highlighting the afternoon games) and the beginning of what will hopefully become a relaxing, restoring weekend.
Friday kicked it off with a productive day at work--my first attempt, a very successful one, at the "Best Damn Moments" segment--and concluded with one of the best birthday parties I've ever had the pleasure of attending. Bowling is always a good idea when parties are planned, and here an entire alley (albeit a small one) was rented out and placed at our disposal. The crowd started as a mix of mid-20's (us) and early 30's with families (everyone else), but the kids gradually drew their parents away and the hard-core bowlers remained until after midnight. I don't look forward to the "young family" stage of my life at all. Kids were all over the place, wandering into the middle of lanes, eating the scoring pencil (I'm sure that's healthy), running into people and trying to steal my ball on numerous occasions.
I can't say I blame them for attempted larceny on my ball; it was worthy of such attempts, the ABA-style, red-white-and-blue basketball trapped inside a bowling ball that I got at one of these Clipper charity events. I've been bowling exactly once in each of the last three years--all with the Clippers--but my game somehow maintained some consistency last night. We bowled six games and I doubt that I've ever been consistent at the alley--not that I've had much of an opportunity, mind you. 135-143-165-178-168-167. That's not a bad run at all, especially considering the lack of frequent competition. I did look more like a bowler than anyone there, however, with all the schwag I've gathered from those Clipper things over the years: my own engraved and drilled ball, a snazzy bag (with another undrilled ball inside), a towel, which I clipped to my waist to give a little cleaning before each roll (could possibly be veiwed as 'dorky,' but I'll choose 'experienced') and a spiffy little bowling shirt. It was fun fitting the part, even if I don't actually.
In addition to the bowling aspect of it, seeing good friends is always a good thing, and several were in attendance. I am happy to trade hours of sleep for hours with friends, especially those to whom I don't live as close anymore. Love.
So before I head off to work, I've definitely got to get some sports in here, and there's plenty to discuss. Coach K to the Lakers? I've had some good conversations about it at work the last few days and one of the main points I've made is that Krzyzewksi has already done everything he could want to do there--in addition to his three national titles, they've been ranked No. 1 at some point in each of the last seven seasons--and recent years have brought about some upsetting personnel losses, highlighted by the one-and-done departure of Luol Deng and the never-got-there defection of high school point guard Shaun Livingston in the last few months. Now is the perfect time to leave, and there's no more high-profile (or high-paying: $40 over five years!!) job than the Laker gig.
It would no doubt be a sizeable challenge, the most susbtantial of his coaching career, no matter which combination of Kobe and Shaq returns. It's looking like it will be harder and harder to move Shaq, so if he is indeed back (and unhappy), Kobe might not return (hello Clipper-land--wow, charity bowling would be so sweet next year!). If Shaq ends up getting dealt (Sacramento? Dallas?) Kobe will likely re-sign and continue his control over the front office, assuming that whole rape trial thing doesn't end poorly for him.
With the two of them there, he'll be faced with something not even the master of egos, Phil Jackson, could handle for the last two years. With either of them gone, Coach K will have to rebuild a team that's been at the top for too many years to just fade into mediocrity and maintain the support of a fan base that won't stand for anything less than a title. I don't envy the decision, but he really can't go wrong either way. Frankly, if there's any college coach that's ready to make the jump, it's him (sorry Monty). He runs a pro-style offense, reportedly runs practices the same way, has experience with the best team of all time (as an assistant on the '92 Dream Team) and has the name and reputation to demand respect immediately. We'll see.
One more note before departure: At the bowling alley, as with many of these kinds of places, there are photos and signatures on the wall of the numerous "celebrities" (and I use that term loosely) that have paid visits to their establishment. Some places have a respectable number of recognizeable faces and it probably lends a little boost to the current clientele, knowing that Mel Gibson bowled here or Frank Sinatra ordered nachos here. This place needs a little work on its celebrity level. Dustin Hoffman, okay. Tony Danza, yes, especially at the peak of "Who's the Boss," which was when, no doubt, this photo was taken. But the guy who used to host "Hard Copy?" Come on. A long list of B-actors, none of which summon even a shadow of recognition? It does my heart no good to know that Rafael Aada (???) bowled at the same alley as I did. Do people like this just have their publicity photos handy and try to convince the proprietors that they're somebody? I should get some made and sign one to put up on their wall, make them think it's worthwhile. Shameless.
Work. Out.