It's A Roller Coaster

So much has been going on in the past few weeks. I almost don’t know where to begin the tale of my past couple weeks. I think I will hit you with some great news first. Knock that down with a little bit of crap. Bring it back up the hill with some more good news, a dash more of bad news, and then finish it off with a “What do you think?”

First of all, I am a new uncle. Beth’s brother Chris and his wife Erin had their new baby on the morning 28th of February. Paige Noelle(sp?), not to be confused with sister Paige “Sgt. Carter”, weighed 6 lbs. and 7 oz. The Saturday after she was born I finally got to see her. She is one of the sweetest looking babies I have seen in a while. As I looked down on her in the bassinette, she appeared to me like a doll in the sense that she looked perfect. Congratulations Chris and Erin on your little one. It’s a good thing her big sister Emma has experience at being a big sister. Hopefully, she can help you guys out. Plus, in six or seven years, you’ll have a babysitter other than Grandma and Pop.

On the first of March, Unit 899 was in the hospital for some surgery on what originally appeared to be an appendectomy, but ended up being a partial small intestines removal due to a Crohn’s Disease inflammation. This happened to be a real ordeal for me to handle. At first there wasn’t a great deal information being relayed the night of his surgery. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. There just wasn’t much information to pass on. Out of the hospital now, Joel’s recovery is still ongoing, but he sounds really well when I talk to him on the phone. If you wanted to pick a fight with Joel, now is your chance. I got a feeling, though. He still wouldn’t be the underdog! I hope we will see him this Friday night when Beth and I visit Mom and Dad at the LC Plantation. Maybe, we can get the Cats to win a game that matters and spare Tubby another year at the helm.

And speaking of UK basketball... (Don’t flinch. You knew this was coming.) Another 8 seed for the Cats for a second year in a row in the NCAA tournament is niiiiiice and not niiiiiice in a good way. I guess that is the State of the Big Blue Union these days. I have finally put my finger on the reason everyone is so down on the Tubbster. He placed himself on the pedestal with the NCAA Tourney win his first year of coaching. Then a downturn started when he lost 39 games over the next four seasons. Dissidence began to grow. After a great season in 2003, reaching the Elite 8 (defeated by Dwane Wade and Marquette), and signing the best recruiting class in the nation, pressure was starting to lift. But, with early departures from the NCAA Tournaments in 2004 and 2006 with a 13 loss season and already 11 losses this season, the trend is pretty evident. Someone in the tenth year of tenure at a…well, what used to be a perennial powerhouse, shouldn’t be having back-to-back seasons like this.

There are wars and rumors of war running rampant around the Bluegrass this week. With Charlotte Bobcats’ dismissal of the head coach, Bernie Bickerstaff, there is an opening for the position. If you recall, last summer there were rumors that Tubby would leave UK to take over that position in Charlotte. I am not sure what the circumstances were at that time. The word is Tubby is a real close friend to the majority owner, Robert L. Johnson, quite an admirable fellow with all his charity work. Also, Tubby is in good with the Basketball Operations Manager and “His Royal Airness,” Micheal Jordan. I even heard MJ’s kid wants to play for Tubby at UK next year. The career move is, no doubt, looking better and better. I am sure Tubby Smith will not be fired from his head coach position with Kentucky and he will leave on his own terms.

I am willing to bet anyone any amount of money the Wildcats will win tomorrow night. Any takers? Yeah, I knew it. You guys are so clever. You know Villanova’s mascot is the Wildcat, also. Man, I can’t get anything over on you. Seriously, Kentucky is my pick for this game. Biased decision? Definitely. Care? Not a dang bit. Go Blue!

On the saddest note of the past two weeks, there has been a death I must report. A dear friend of mine died a few days ago. Although we had only known each other since the end of December, we became really close. We had spent hour upon hour hanging out. A few of you had met my special friend who is no more. I know that you, too, had cherished the time spent with the departed. My Xbox 360 is no more. The flashing red lights came on around the power button appeared like a tear on Monday. Then, I shed my tears as a customer service rep from Microsoft said it had to be sent off to be re-instilled with life. The service rep’s thick Indian accent just held no comfort for me as I searched my feeling to see my friend gone. “Why?” I asked, over and over. There was no answer, only promises of free shipping and free repair. Sadly, I had to accept the fate my little Xbox 360 was dealt. Three weeks, including shipping and repairs? Too long, I went to Wal-Mart on Tuesday and bought a new one to play in the absence of my old one. Yep, some friend I am. MWUUHAHAHA!!!

All right, the “What would you do?” portion of the show is now commencing. After filling out the South Regional part of your NCAA bracket and realize you have placed Tennessee and Louisville in your regional championship, which team would you write in as going to the Final Four? Or would you throw your brackets away and start again? Tough questions. I am full of them.

My watch list for the Kentucky Derby starts this week with two dandies. Any Given Saturday, a Distorted Humor colt, is trained by Todd Pletcher. In his short career, AGS is 3 for 4 with wins in a maiden, an allowance, and the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. His only misfire was a second place finish last November in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs. This weekend he is back on the pledge at Tampa Bay Downs in the Tampa Bay Derby. He will be facing some stiff competition in the Breeder's Cup Juvenile winner Street Sense andKeeneland's Kentucky Futurity Cup winner Great Hunter, but my money is still on AGS. The other dandy is a filly (Whoa, you said filly? Yes, I did.) named Rags to Riches. She is out of A.P. Indy(cha-ching) and since breaking her maiden is undefeated and her last two wins were Grade 1's. Her last race, the mile and 1/16th Santa Anita Oaks, she won by five and 1/2 lengths under a hand ride. Also trained by Pletcher, Rags has already earned enough earnings to qualify her in the Kentucky Derby. Will she make it? Time will tell. Giddy-Up!

I Apologize In Advance...

DJ JDeezy here, coming to you live from another dimension. So, make sure you are tuned in and don’t touch the dial, because I will be giving you the word directly. It may not be the truth, but it is just another episode from the Island Pond Zone. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

Last Tuesday, I was made privy to the unveiling of the Roger Clemens, Version 2K.06 Yeah, I had tickets to what will go down in history as one of the most significant baseball events in Lexington, Kentucky. The future hall-of-famer, Roger “The Rocket” Clemens, made his comeback debut at Applebee’s Park on North Broadway and it was quite the spectacle. At the closest point, I was a mere 20 feet away from the brush-back legend (not to be confused with a Lexington Legend) himself. As I watched him “hot toss” with a one-night-only teammate, I realized what kind of cannon one must possess in order to be a hurler in the majors. Roger was standing on the right field foul line while his partner was standing in deep, center field. My line of sight was right over the top if Roger’s right arm. As he threw the ball to his catch-mate, the ball, maybe, dropped 18 inches. No wind-up, no crow-hop, just a quarter turn and a flip of the wrist was all it took for Rocket to achieve that velocity.

The game itself was okay. I had “standing room only” tickets, but it was still sort of hard to see. I think all the spectators 6 feet and over got there before our crew did. At least the stewards let those people with chairs in front of those standing. Needless to say, Beth and Dawn could see the game all right. Brandon and I had to tip toe to see over people’s heads. When we were tired of that, we walked around the park to get different vantage points of The Rocket’s delivery. He was definitely humming. I think one of his hottest pitches was clocked at 93 m.p.h. Heat or not, he still got rang up in the first by Johnny Drennen of the Lake County Captains. There was a mixed reaction by the crowd over the home run. It was 50/50 with some cheering and some booing. So, were there as many people at the game to see Roger Clemens fall on his face, as there were those there to cheer him on? So it seems. I heard several people making ill comments toward him. To each his own, I guess.

The whole ordeal had somewhat of a deeper meaning for me. Roger “The Rocket” Clemens, future hall-of-famer, 7-time Cy Young Award winner, 11-time All-Star, is beginning what will probably be his last season pitching. Why does this have such deep seeded meaning to me?

When I first started watching and playing baseball around 1984(BYF T-Ball), I would hear this name, Roger Clemens, mentioned by the older kids, coaches, and by Skip Carey and Don Nelson on TBS as they covered the Atlanta Braves on television. I never got to see The Rocket pitch then because he played for Boston and there was no inter-league play back then and we all know TBS was the only television station we had that carried baseball. But, everyone affiliated with baseball KNEW who THE ROCKET was.

Twenty-two years later, the possible closing of an era is eminent and looms ever so largely on Major League Baseball. Being an adult (by legal definition-no jokes needed) and having really reviewed the marathon career of Clemens, I, now, really feel the closure of my youth. It really makes me happy and sad to think of it all. Tidal waves of memories from my youth slam me one after the other. There are memories of my family spending summers at the ball fields. All the sacrifices my parents made to make sure we were there for every game and practice tears at my heart and places a huge lump in the back of my throat. The lifelong friends and acquaintances I have met along the way come to mind. The pizza and pool parties at the end of each season were always a blast. The life lessons I learned playing on the dusty fields on the bank of Panbowl Lake behind LBJ Elementary School will never be forgotten.

Hopefully, in the future, I will get to do the same for a child of my own. Just the way my father taught me to keep my caboose down while fielding the ball, I will explain to mine. “Keep your bat back and your elbow up!” “Always keep your eye on the ball” “If it hits you, it’ll only hurt for a minute.” Those are some of my favorites.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for helping me just realize how much more thankful I should be for you. I love you.