Sports Guy... The Relaunch Part II

So yeah, I blogged about a year and a half ago that I would be chronicling our family's journey to welcoming our twin boys into the world. Sadly, they were only with us a very short while and I've been doing my best to move our family forward ever since. This post isn't about our collective grief- we do miss them tremendously- it's about getting back to what inspired me to start blogging in the first place- SPORTS. Back when I was a student at Endicott College, I was an assistant editor for the school newspaper, The Endicott Observer, and that position morphed into me becoming sports editor. The new title inspired an editorial I called "The Sports Guy Speaks." I offered my take on everything around the world of sports, not caring how anyone felt about my opinion whatsoever. Ten years later, now with a 6-year-old busybody, I haven't been able to put in the time I felt I needed to get my opinion across. Being a teacher and a coach, along with it being my summer break, allows me to get back to blogging. With that being said, the Sports Guy speaks... again!! My inspiration for today's post came from a Facebook post from ESPN, who mentioned that Kobe Bryant felt that the '12 USA men's basketball team going to London in a couple weeks could beat the original Dream Team that blasted through Barcelona back in '92. Ummm, Kobe... REALLY?? You mean to tell me that this generation of "Big Three" wannabes could run circles around MJ, Magic, Larry, and their cast of Hall of Famers (Laettner excluded)?? Maybe you should be reminded of the fact that if they beat a team by 30 points or LESS, it was an off night!! There was better competition during their intrasquad scrimmages than there was during the entire Olympic tournament. Their opponents were more in awe of the fact that they were playing against legends, so they knew walking into the arena that they were gonna get blasted, and without mercy at that. My friend, you might want to take a closer look at your squad and reconsider that statement. No matter how many more NBA players are assembled to represent the USA at the Olympics, there will NEVER, EVER be another cast of superstars ever put together like the Dream Team. You had guys like Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Clyde Drexler coming off the bench!! Need a 3-pointer?? Chris Mullin could handle that if Bird wasn't on the floor. Need a huge rebound?? Patrick Ewing or the Chuckwagon at your service. These guys going across the pond couldn't hold a candle to that crew. If you couldn't figure it out, I may only be 32, but I'm old school. I grew up with the Dream Team. I don't care what anyone says about this latest group visiting Big Ben and the Queen. You can choose any squad you want from this generation, and I'm throwing the Dream Team on the table EVERY SINGLE TIME. So, Kobe, next time you make such a ridiculous statement, be careful what you say. I guarantee you that today's international squads are licking their chops to do nothing more than to take you guys out, and not lose any sleep doing it. Until next time...

Rising Again...

So it's been 18 months since I last posted here, and the word SLACKER doesn't even begin to describe my efforts to keep this blog updated. As 2010 came to a close, I thought about doing what I called "reactivating" my blog because we're entering a new year and it was time to rededicate myself to putting my thoughts and feelings in cyberspace. I sit here now, watching episodes of Card Sharks on GSN (the Bob Eubanks era by the way), beginning my "reactivation" when I should probably be sleeping. Eh, I still have another day or two to get my sleep pattern back into "grind" mode, so who cares, right??

The year 2011 has many changes coming for me. The biggest change won't happen until sometime in the spring, when I go from being a father of one to a father of three (Note: I will definitely post the sexes of our twins when we find out later this month.). When I found out we were having twins back in October, I called my mom, having not fully grasped the concept that I would a father of multiples. Before I continue, let me give you some backstory. When I was in high school, maybe 16 or 17 years old, I hatched this master plan that would take me through college and into my early 30s. I sat down at the kitchen table with my mom and proudly told her the following:
1) Graduate college at 22
2) Get married at 25
3) Have 3 kids: 1st at 27, 2nd at 29, 3rd at 31
I accomplished the first one on time, graduating from Endicott College in 2002. I also accomplished the second one on time too, albeit very uniquely. The third one- well, let's just say I accomplished it, just not on the terms that I set in 1996 or 1997. Ethan joined us when I was 25, and I will be 31 when the twins join us this spring.

Now back to that phone call. Mom had no idea (so I thought) that we were having twins because she was the only immediate family member I hadn't called that day, since she was flying home to Orlando from Kenya. Here's the conversation in a nutshell:
Me: Hi Mom.
Mom: Hi Patrick!
Me: Are you sitting down?
Mom: Yeah, I'm sitting down.
Me: Good, because I've got some news for you.
Mom: You're having twins.
Me: HOW DID YOU KNOW? I TOLD STEPHIE NOT TO TELL YOU!
Mom: Patrick, I've only been on the ground for four hours- Stephie didn't tell me anything. I just kinda knew.
Me (in total disappointment): Geez Mom, way to steal my thunder!
Mom (trying to be consoling and reassuring): I'm sorry, Patrick. Moms just kinda have that sixth sense that their kids will never understand.

Needless to say she was still excited that she was going to be a Nana for three now. After my disbelief, I reminded her of the conversation we had back in '96 or '97, adding that I knew I wanted three kids, but didn't think I would end up going the 2-for-1 route to round out the crew. At that point she reminded me that the Lord hears everything we speak, so He wanted to bless us twofold.

I'm going to have my hands full soon, between getting to know the twins and keeping Ethan's routine as normal as possible while becoming an awesome big brother. But throughout this next stage in my life's journey, I know that I'll have a strong support system of friends and family to keep me as calm and collected as I can be through the onslaught of changes that will hit me within the next few months. I hope those of you that take the time to check out my blog will join me in sharing my life experiences this year and beyond. While I may be off to rest and recharge for the year ahead, the title I chose for this post symbolizes my "reactivation," like the phoenix rising from the ashes. I, the Sports Guy, will too rise again.

Until next time...

The End Is Near

Being a teacher, I've sensed that the end of the school year was near right after Memorial Day. This should be nothing new to any teacher because that's when everything slowly starts wrapping up. Being a grad school student, we reached the last day of our latest course, EDT 532. Outside of the pizza party that capped off the 9-day intensive course, the highlight was publishing my podcast "On The Sidelines" that I did with my classmate John Gormley. Given it wasn't exactly the full podcast that we edited yesterday, but it was still sufficient enough to publish on my new podcast site: http://patdouglas.podbean.com. Now that I have my own podcast site, I'm excited that I'll be able to produce and publish podcasts about sports and for my students. If you get a free moment, please take the time to listen to our "premiere" episode. Also, I've been revamped my 10-year-old website as part of the course as well, so feel free to check out the amazing changes I've made and leave me some feedback: http://www.geocities.com/pdbraves2080. Tonight's a short blog because tomorrow's a long day, so I'll try to post another one soon. Until next time...

Hooked In...

So I've spent the better part of my day watching the Women's College World Series (which I've been hooked on for years), but I also spent it in anticipation of the phenomenon known as Kimbo Slice fighting in prime time on CBS.  Little did I know that I would be in for a treat in the four fights leading up to the main event.  To think, game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final was on tonight too, and I barely watched it because this MMA show completely hooked me in.  It also helped that Crush from American Gladiators was fighting tonight and ended up blasting her opponent.  As I type this blog, I just watched Kimbo come from the agony of defeat to win by TKO in the final round.  He has that Mike Tyson-type ability to capture an audience without the sideshow antics, not to mention he could knock you out cold just by looking at you (this dude is BIG!!).  Anyway, if you didn't watch any of the fights tonight, I recommend checking out Youtube (I'm sure there'll be clips on there within the next 24 hours) to see for yourself.  Until next time...

What I Want To Know...

So I'm taking my EDT532 course for grad school and was asked to start posting a blog during our course. Yesterday's entry was to respond to the following questions: "What do you already know?" and "What do you want to learn in this course?" Two very simple questions, but me being the supreme procrastinator that I am, completely forgot until I was on my way to class this afternoon. So, without further ado, here we go...
Question #1: What do you already know?
Well I've had my own website on Yahoo since I was a freshman at Endicott College in '98, but I've also been using Microsoft Front Page as my webpage editor in the ten years that I've had the site. As a teacher, I wasn't using the Internet for more that just research for my technology classes, but when I was given the title of Technology Resource Coordinator (read: Internet NERD), I began researching for more than just my class. Just last school year ('06-'07) I was intrigued by a Class Homepage Builder provided by Scholastic.com, so I began posting assignments and various websites for my students to my newly-created Scholastic homepage. Now, whenever they come into the computer lab, unless I send them to other sites, I usually have them log immediately into my Scholastic homepage and direct them to specific websites from there. I've also learned how to create podcasts using Audacity, as well as various projects using Adobe Photoshop and Flash. All three programs have allowed me to be creative in utilizing educational materials to benefit my students and others.
Question #2: What do you want to learn in this course?
Since part of its focus deals with creating websites, I would like to learn how to create one using Adobe Dreamweaver, as well as explore other possibilities for hosting my website. I really don't want to move it away from Yahoo if I can avoid it, but if there's another place that offers me more for less, I'll definitely take a peek at it at the least. I also would like to learn how to publish my podcasts to a site for others to download and listen to, which could hopefully lead to my students downloading specific lessons to do on their own.
I guess that just about answers both questions, but we'll see just how much I find out in these nine class sessions. Until next time...

My Favorite Time of Year...

So even though I should be passed out in bed right now, I'm sitting in my living room glued to my laptop listening to a Stanley Cup playoff game between my Dallas Stars and the San Jose Sharks. As I begin this blog, they're starting the second overtime, and hopefully they'll be done before I am!! If there's ever a time of the year that I look forward to the most, it's the Stanley Cup Playoffs. You don't have to worry about games ending in shootouts, and players really earn their paychecks in grueling, exciting, edge-of-your-seat, sudden-death overtime. Just today alone I watched the Penguins beat the Rangers in OT to advance to the conference finals before listening to the OT battle. It's time like these where I miss the Whalers the most, being able to hear Chuck Kaiton beautifully call the game as if we, the listeners, were there ourselves. There's only a select few play-by-play guys that will keep you glued to your TV or radio by the passion they put into the game. I've already immersed Ethan in playoff hockey from birth, putting him in his chair when he was just a few months old and watching Versus until every last game ended. In a way it's killing me that I'm not able to watch any playoff games right now unless they're on NBC, but at the same time it's rekindled my appreciation for listening to all those Whalers games on the radio growing up. I guarantee I probably won't roll out of bed until 6:30 to get in the shower tomorrow morning, but as long as the Stars win and advance to face the Red Wings, it will be all worth it. Even if they don't, and the Sharks force a game 7, that just gives me another chance to lose myself in one of the most exciting traditions in sports. Looks like I'm coming to an end for this blog, and the game rages on- just about halfway through the second overtime and no one wants to go home just yet. Looks like I'll be here for a while because I'm not going to miss that game-winning goal. Until next time...

It Just Doesn't End, Does It?

Just when you thought we would be able to make it through the weekend without someone griping about playing time- here comes Frank Thomas flying off the handle about being benched (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3354449). "I'm angry, I know I can help this team. My career isn't going to end like this," he said. Well when you're batting .167 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 60 at-bats (which was right around my average in two seasons playing in a men's rec league), you really can't complain about being benched, especially when you're on the back nine of your career and you signed a two-year, $18-million contract in 2006. The majority of men in the US between the ages of 23 and 40 would do anything just to have a tenth of what he would make in two years- including me (that's $1.8 million for all you non-math scholars)!! But as the cliche' says, "Be careful what you wish for," the "Big Hurt" got what he wanted- a mutual release from the Blue Jays and a chance to go elsewhere. He'll end up somewhere, but I don't know if he'll necessarily get more playing time...
Switching gears now- I happened to read a story on ESPN.com about the different paths that NBA legends Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan have taken since they retired (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3351892&sportCat=nba&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos2), and it made me proud that I share my birthday with Sir Charles. I completely agree with Gene Wojciechowski about how Jordan can be defined by four things when his life is all said and done, while Barkley continues to evolve into the "role model" he said he wasn't back in the '90s. Barkley may end up being the governor of his home state of Alabama soon if he keeps going at the pace he is, and who's to say he wouldn't make a good governor? I think he'd do a better job than the Governator, and have a better accent at that!! While Jordan will live on forever as a worldwide icon, Barkley's mark on history will be just as broad, provided he can lay off the Krispy Kremes once in a while...
Finally, before I turn in for the night, lots of congrats are in order for IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, who became the first female winner in IndyCar history on Sunday with a victory in Japan (http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/news/story?id=3355226). She's been given so much grief in the media that now she has that first win under her belt and can go along now without having to be scrutinized by critics anymore. Here's to many, many more...
Finally, I mentioned in my last blog that I would give credit to whoever could give me the name of the song and band I used as the subject of Friday's blog, so here are my kudos to Kara and Heather:


Until next time...