7.23.2014

My Weak-ly Thoughts

So many times, I think of something I want to say, but I can never really formulate it into a full post. So, I'm hoping to have a weekly article with all of my, weak thoughts. Enjoy!

Buster Olney is Back on the Braun Offensive:

Buster Olney, on the anniversary of Ryan Braun's admission and suspension for PED use, has put together an article highlighting how Braun is a different hitter than in previous years. I'll admit, fairly topical, and certainly noteworthy, so what's my problem with it? It's the implication.

Olney points out that so far in 2014, Braun has gone to opposite field much more than in year's past. Also, the balls Braun has pulled, have had less distance. .... Olney leaves the rest up to you, stopping short of suggesting Braun, now clean of PED's, is not the same player he was with PED's. Olney does of course mention Braun is having a great year, but it's almost a side thought.

The evidence sounds damning, but take into account Braun's lingering injuries, most notably the damaged nerve in his thumb. Usually player's receive high praise when injury forces them to change up their approach and still succeed, but not Braun. With all of that said, I'm not necessarily defending Braun, it's been rumored he was taking PED's for a nagging injury (which he seems to be prone to), so perhaps this adjustment is still a result. But let's give some credit to a player having a terrific year and making necessary adjustments to help his team win.


The Milwaukee Bucks

Yes, I do have a thought about the Bucks. Don't be alarmed, I'm not sick. I have half a notion to start caring once more about the Bucks, and thus in turn, the NBA. I have very mixed feelings on this. I grew up as many kids of my age did, a fan of the Jordan Era Bulls. Then, as I got older, I became a fan of the hometown team. I got to experience the electric atmosphere as the 2001 Bucks beat the Hornets at the Bradley Center, this is OUR HOUSE! Then, the series against the 76'ers came. You can read about it in Bill Simmons' "The Book of Basketball's Lost Pages" under item 10. NBA was dead to me. It was clear (to me) the game was rigged.

Of course, in the years after we learned of one referee fixing games as a debt to the mob, but that to me, seemed like it wasn't the whole story. Plus, the Bucks were mired in terrible mediocrity, and had little interest in making splashes.

Now, the Bucks have new ownership, and hopefully that means a new direction. While his NBA talent is still unknown, Jabari Parker is a flashy draft pick, and he's said all of the right things, which gives me hope there is a base now to build off of. This almost feels like Mark Attanasio taking over the Brewers and having some young prospects named Fielder and Braun start to showcase their abilities. I was on that train from the beginning and it's been a fun ride. Perhaps I want to jump on the Bucks now, and enjoy the same thing?  I was not a fan of the Jason Kidd hiring, nor a fan of how it was handled....but who knows, no risk, no reward.

Plus, I really need something to do in the wintertime! I've tried to get into hockey, a sport that is super fun to watch....but minor league hockey is hard to get into. I've accepted Milwaukee will not get an NHL team, so I might as well enjoy the NBA team......maybe.


The Brewers

Ouch on that end of the 1st half! It felt like the Brewers were just going to put it on cruise to the playoffs, just keep those 10 game splits in the positive and the Central would be ours. Well, the lead has evaporated, and now the battle is on. I think everyone is done moping about it (I hope). So, let's enjoy being in a real playoff race, 4 teams vying for crown of NL Central Champs.....baseball just got a whole lot more exciting for the final few months! Get out to the Park, avoid the fires and cheer on the team! This reminds me, I need to get to another game.


A New Beer I Tried & Would Like To Talk About


I was just in Florida on a mini-vacation with the wife, and whenever I'm in Florida, I look for anything from Cigar City Brewing. It's a magnificent brewery based out of Tampa. Seriously, if you see some, snatch it up. Better yet, if you have time to kill and you're near the Tampa airport, stop by their facility. I feel like all Cigar City beers have a unique under
lying taste to them that I can't explain. It's smooth, it's mellow, it's freaking delicious! Well, while in West Palm Beach I came across a beer of theirs I haven't had yet. Invasion Pale Ale. It's a session ale, so the low alcohol was handy since I was drinking all day in the sun, but the flavor was still very present. Great hop taste, with a good malty balance.








7.22.2014

The Value of the Game

This month, my dad turned seventy.  He's now entering his eighth decade on this planet. But I'm not here to talk about that.  We're a German family, we don't share.  Every 'I love you' and 'thanks for everything' goes unsaid, we all mean to say it and we all know it's true but it doesn't need to be vocalized.  No - That's not what I'm here to talk about though.

I'm not here to talk about the rough times.  I'm not going to talk about that month in fifth grade when in a span of four weeks we lost two grandparents, one from each side of the family and I remember sitting in a worn out old recliner and having my Dad come sit next to me.  He didn't say anything... I told him 'We're having a bad month' and he said 'We are.'  Because we were. That's not the memory I'm here to talk about.

What I'm here to talk to you about is the beauty of a game.  Of any game.  It's the value of sport, the connection of family and the reason so many of us come to the games we love.  I'm here to share with you memories.  I'm here to help you understand why I love these games - not for the wins and the championships - but for the value they bring to my life and my relationships.

I'm here to talk to you about a season ticket holder.  Of Wisconsin Hockey since the late 60's.  A guy from a small town in southern Illinois who decided to check out something new and four decades later calls his 31-year-old son to convince him to come to town to catch the game with him (the son never goes back often enough).  That's the same son that can vividly remember sitting in the kitchen with his old man hanging on every word of the radio broadcast 20 years earlier, weekend after weekend.

I'm here to talk to you about three kids, and a terrible Wisconsin football team.  See this guy from southern Illinois also had season tickets to football and there was a time not long ago when the Badgers couldn't fill their stadium to save their lives, so we always ended up with better seats and more tickets.  I can hardly remember Tom Brady at Michigan but I can always remember my dad with seat cushions and hot chocolate.

See we went to Badger football games for years and years, my brother, my sister and I. Yet between the three of us, we can barely scare up a handful of results for all those games we invested our Saturdays in. However we can tell you about the brat stand by the train tracks (now bike path) that our dad always stopped at.  The kids didn't often eat there, but dad never missed a chance. And he never forgot sauerkraut.

I'm not here to talk about the dark times.  When I was unemployed and struggling to get back to the field I had worked so hard to break in to, I faced the end of the most important relationship I had to this point in my life.  Marriage can be ugly.  I'm not here to tell you how, when I broke this news to my parents - I broke down.  And my dad gave me a hug and I'll never forget that.  Because, the assumed had met a moment not to be assumed the most important people showed up for it.  That's not what I'm here to talk to you about.

I want to tell you about being a kid and learning to ski.  About all the fear dissipating because as I slid unbalanced and unsteady down the hill I did it with my dad holding me up.  We learned to ski when we learned to walk.  And each one of us three kids will still make time to fly down a mountain with this guy from southern Illinois.

I'm here to tell you about a soccer team without a coach.  And experience be damned, there he was again.  Fostering an experience for a group of kids because every kid should have a team and every team needs a coach.  Was he a good coach?  Probably not, but without those teams I wouldn't have the relationships I have today.

I'm not here to talk about someone who spends his retirement working on his kid's houses.  Be they five minutes away, 25 minutes away or an hour and a half away.  He and his better half will travel the distance to plant flowers, build shelving or even just mow the lawn.

What I am here to tell you about is a man who met his two sons at a bar on a Tuesday afternoon to watch a World Cup soccer game.  A game that resulted in an American loss but not one of the three family members that went to watch the game went home unsatisfied.

I'm here to tell you about why we love sports, and why we will pass that love on to those we care about.  Wins are nice but the experience is what will always be valued most.  All of those games with my dad, I can't tell you which side went home winners.  I can recall a big game here and there but the memories that stay with me are of my family, of my dad.  It's that time spent that gives me a fondness for the sports I love.  It's those times that have shown me why, win or lose, a great time should be had.

What I want to tell you is that I love sports.  I love being a part of a sold-out Kohl Center, watching the Badgers square off against the Gophers.  I love sitting at the 40-yard-line watching Wisconsin battle against Ohio State.  I love sitting at a bar, beer in hand, cheering on USA soccer or the Milwaukee Brewers.  I love lacing up my cleats and competing.

What I want you to remember is that it's not the teams that bring me back.  The names on the back of the jerseys will change.  Teams will win and lose, but there will always be more games.  The experience we have with those important to us will be what we remember most.

For all those Hockey and Football games in Madison, all those games watched at the bar.  I can't tell you who won, but I can tell you that I watched them with my dad. And I wouldn't have it any other way.