I got an up-close view of Notre Dame’s win over Syracuse, the No. 1 team in college men’s basketball at the time.
It was pretty cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a No. 1 team get beat before, although I did attend the Maryland-Indiana national championship game in Atlanta a while back.
I was there, and yes, it happened.
It was a crazy day, a crazy night, a crazy game and a truly insane finish. Michigan 35, Notre Dame 31. Since I started helping out with Notre Dame sports coverage for notredame.scout.com/IrishEyes two years ago, I’ve seen some remarkable things. But nothing like this come-from-ahead loss.
A true stunner, in every sense.
Posted in Journalism, Notre Dame football, Sports
I had an excellent time playing tennis on Monday night with my good pal Ron Garcia. We played together in high school, and he went on to play at the collegiate level. I hit the ball well, especially since I haven’t played much in several years (although I have a blister on my thumb to show for it).
It was more or less dumb luck that we got together. Ron and his wife Denise happened to be in the area (they live in New England), which I learned after I spotted him on Twitter. We had a conversation through the microblogging platform and planned a get-together. Score one for social media.
Ron, Denise, and the Garcia family are the force behind Team Tobati, a nonprofit that is dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged young people in Tobati, Paraguay, in central South America.
Posted in Digital Media, Social media, Sports, Web/Tech
I always get a good vibe at Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Spending a perfect Independence Day afternoon there with family (Dad) and friends certainly doesn’t hurt the mood.
The home team suffered a come-from-ahead 8-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks after squandering an early 6-1 lead. The last couple of baseball games I’ve attended with Dad were at U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox. A few weeks ago, the ChiSox lost 2-1 to the Washington Nationals in a game we saw, and when we went last year, they were pummeled 13-0 by the Florida Marlins.
Back in Milwaukee, the sausage race is a big highlight, and we had a perfect view as they headed down the home stretch.
Looking back, I realize that I’ve overused the word “awesome” to describe the recent U2 concert that I attended at Michigan State. But it was quite awesome.
I also caught a Chicago White Sox game earlier Sunday. Great fun.
I haven’t done much video posting in a while. This is something I shot and edited from Valparaiso University’s BracketBuster game on ESPN2 in February.
Posted in Sports, Valparaiso University, Video
A good time was had by the thousands of folks who came out for Valpo’s inaugural Commmuniversity Day.
Posted in Sports, Valparaiso, Valparaiso University
My father and I went to Chicago for the White Sox-Marlins game on Sunday, along with my dad’s friend Tom. The day was perfect except for the game’s result: Florida 13, Chicago A.L. zero.
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(Dad’s on the left.)
The ChiSox had won two in a row over the Marlins, so maybe they figured they would take the final game of the series off. In any event, we had fine upper-deck seats in the shade on what was the first truly hot (high 80s to low 90s) day in the summer of ’10.
And then we grabbed dinner along Navy Pier. A great late afternoon and early evening with a light breeze off the lake for good measure.
The lopsided game prompted my dad to remind me of a game that we went to way back in 1988. I only vaguely remembered it until I found the box score online, thanks to Retrosheet.
Reds 17, Cubs 0. Ouch. On the other hand, the Cubs beat the Phillies 14-3 the next day.
1. Rainout at The Steel Yard, Gary, Ind.:
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2. Notre Dame spring football practice:
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3. Hobart High School, post-track meet:
Posted in Journalism, Sports
Did you know that the most famous poem in all of sports is about to turn 100? I didn’t either, until Bill James (subscription) pointed it out recently. Since it’s in the public domain, here’s the piece in full:
“Baseball’s Sad Lexicon” or “Tinker to Evers to Chance”
These are the saddest of possible words:
“Tinker to Evers to Chance.”
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double —
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
“Tinker to Evers to Chance.”
— Franklin Pierce Adams
The poem was first published in the New York Evening Mail on July 10, 1910.
The poem refers to the double-play combination of the great Chicago Cubs teams of the time, shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers, and first baseman and manager Frank Chance.
(You were probably wondering, as was I: A gonfalon is a pennant or flag.)
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