I feel so lucky.
May 6, 2009
May 4, 2009
More family photos.
Here are a few more photos from my family’s trip last week:
Ashley at Margie’s Candies which opened in 1921, one year before my Grandmother was born. She got the delicious Swiss Chocolate Hot Fudge Sundae. Yum!
Everyone dining on some delivery from Giordano’s. Yum, again!
My Dad about to eat his first Chicago style hot dog from the Vienna Beef Factory.
Eva says “hello” to Sampaw.
Check out the full photoset here.
And REMEMBER, Ash and Grandma might be seen on tomorrow’s episode of the Oprah show.
May 2, 2009
Grandma, Ash, and the O
Last Thursday, my 87 year old grandmother and sister got the chance to see a taping of the Oprah show. Both are big fans of the O and since I work with her occasionally, I was able to score seats for her last taped show of the season. Not only were the two of them impressed with the show but also the wonderful treatment they received from Oprah’s crew and staff. I believe my grandmother’s first words to me when me and Dad picked her up was “Oh, it was wonderful!”
They told me that they were positioned in the center of the crowd so hopefully the camera got a shot or two of them throughout the show. You can see for yourself when the show airs this coming Tuesday!
Grandma and Ash waiting in line to get into Harpo Studios.
Grandma sitting in one of Oprah’s chair from the 80’s inside the Oprah gift shop.
Grandma and Ash outside the Harpo Studios sign.
May 1, 2009
Sox vs. Mariners – Attended Game #3 (4/29/09)
White Sox 6, Mariners 3
The day after my 32nd (!) birthday me and my Dad caught a Sox victory as the Good Guys took on the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners were (and still are) in first place in the AL West Division, so I was excited about the chance of winning over a number one team. With the 3 game series already split at 1 a piece, I was rooting hard for the Sox to take the series at home and get a win for my Dad.
The last time my Dad attended a White Sox game was on a business trip sometime between 1975-1977. Of course, it was at the Old Comiskey Park. That fact alone make me very, very jealous. As he did back then, we took the train to the stadium. On the way there we sat next to an elder gentleman who was wearing a Sox cap full of pins and buttons showcasing older Sox players (Fox, Appling, etc.), vintage Sox logos, and an Opening Day Comiskey Park commemorative. After complimenting him on his great cap, I asked for a photo.
When we got to the park, we quickly made our way to our seats in Section 130. It was a cool afternoon, and the attendance was a bit sparse but we had a grand time. And our seats were great, as you can see from the first photo. The Wizard of Oz musical was starting its run at the Chicago Theatre that night so to promote it, Dorthy (minus Toto) came out to sing our National Anthem.
The starting pitcher for the Sox was Gavin Floyd. The Mariners weren’t having any problem getting hard hits off Floyd, yet they were finding it difficult to actually generate any runs. Part of this was due to some pretty impressive defensive plays, including an amazing diving catch in the outfield form Jermaine Dye.
At the start of the 5th inning, the Sox were leading 1 -0 due to AJ Pierzynski’s 100th career home run in the 2nd inning.
However, that all changed when the Mariners finally had a break through inning in the 5th, racking up 3 runs aided by a double from Ken Griffey Jr.
Yes, Griffey (who played for the Sox at the end of last season) is now a Mariners, the team he started with in the majors twenty years ago!
At the bottom of the 5th, Dye came inches away from hitting a grand slam to give the Sox the lead. I was more than a little worried that that was going to be our last chance to take the lead.
I was wrong. In the 6th, the Sox scored two runs from a Wilson Betemit double, and two more in the 7th from back to back home runs by Carlos Quentin and Dye. In the 8th, they got an extra insurance run.
They wouldn’t need it. The Mariners never scored after the 5th inning, and closer Big Bobby Jenks got another save for the record books.
It was nice to see the Sox who started the game with a lackluster performance (which the fans let them know of their displeasure) step up offensively and end the game strongly.
Throughout the game, long-time Sox organist Nancy Faust entertained the crowd with some choice numbers, including Led Zepplin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach”. Below is a video of sportscaster and one time Sox pitcher Steve Stone throwing T-shirts to the crowd as Nancy plays “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch:
However, the greatest thrill was getting to watch a game with my Dad. I think the last baseball game we attended together was a Braves game in the early 90’s. Thankfully, we had a great game to watch!
– Did I mention that my 87 year old Grandma also came to visit, and her and my sister went to a taping of the Oprah show? More on that later…
April 25, 2009
Are you ready for some football?!?!
Today, I caught the Northwestern football spring game at Ryan Field in Evanston, IL. The historic stadium (formerly known as Dyche Stadium) opened in 1926 and was once considered for the home of the Chicago Bears after they moved out of Wrigley Field. That was nearly 40 years ago! The fact that the stadium is still home of the Wildcats is rather amazing. As wealthy of a school as Northwestern, you would think that the team would have moved into a new, fancy stadium with state of the art amenities. The current stadium is small with cracks in the concrete and a serious need of a paint job. Perhaps, the school is a bit sentimental. And that is not a bad thing. Not at all.
For the most part, a spring game is really a practice open to the public. Sure, the players run plays but it’s hard to determine how their performances will translate to an actual game. It’s more for the fans and getting them excited about the upcoming season. And with the aid of the band, cheerleaders, and purple clad fans, it accomplished that with me. Hey, it might not be the Tigers or SEC football, but it’s still college football!
Ryan field is not located on campus. Instead, it resides right in a neighborhood. I love that! If one day the Wildcats do decide to leave Ryan Field, I hope the stadium will still be used for years to come. Perhaps, high school football championships?
Below, you can see the stadium at the end of the residential street:
However, I’m hoping the move never happens. I say let the tradition continue!
Photo set here.
April 24, 2009
He works hard for his money…
Sometimes, you work a job and a thought comes over you, “Wow, I’m getting paid for this!” That’s sort of how I felt after I was standing a foot away from Derek Rose as he received his Rookie of the Year award. You see, last night I was at the United Center working with TNT/NBA for the Chicago Bulls/Boston Celtics playoff game. Our job was to get a feel for the game which was easy when during the game, you were stationed right on the court. Check out my vantage point:
At one point during the first half, the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo fell right on top of my cameraman, Steve. Both Rondo and the Steve were a bit banged up but it was Rondo who got it worse, bashing his head against the camera’s lens. He looked straight at me like saying, “Man, that hurt!” I heard the collapse got mentioned during the game coverage.
However, the best look I got was from the man himself, Mr. Derek Rose. I know it sounds silly, but I swear that during the game when he was a few feet from me, he looked straight down at me, and then over at my shirt. I was wearing a University of Memphis shirt!
During the half, we interviewed John Calipari about his thoughts on Rose. He didn’t notice my Tigers shirt but it was a bit hidden by my Media Pass. We were having audio frequency issues at the time, so I had to hard wire the microphone for the interview. If I hadn’t been stressed at the moment, I probably would have enjoyed the experience more. I do remember him saying that his favorite Rose moment as a Tiger was during the Michigan State game in the `07 NCAA tournament. And that all the success hadn’t gotten to his head.
After the game, I caught Calipari talking with Rose backstage. The photo is blurry but you get the idea:
Unfortunately, it was not much of a game. In fact, the Celtics won the game 106 – 87. Ouch.
April 21, 2009
Ban the Chester!
The mere fact that a blog like Rogers Park Cheetos exist seems to prove, for no other reason, that there is a blog out there for anything and everything. If you don’t feel like clicking the above link, the blog is completely composed of photos of discarded bags of cheetos found in the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. Unbelievably, the blog has been going strong since 2007. So what’s the deal? Could this all be the work of one trekking, littering fool? Or are cheetos just the preferred snack for punk juveniles who can’t be bothered with a trashcan.
Either way, I blame the bad influence of Chester Cheetah. Think about it, it was only two years ago that Chester turned from a sneaky yet clumsy hip cheetah (see above) to the extremely vindictive psychopath he is today.
If residents of Rogers Park want to be proactive in stopping the wasteful individual(s), I suggest they set up a series of up check points and catch the culprit(s) “orange”-handed. Just a thought…
April 19, 2009
Rained Out.
Apryl had some girlfriends over the house tonight, so I got tickets for the only game in town, the Cubs vs. Cardinals. Unfortunately, the game was rained out. Hopefully, I will be able to go when it’s made up in July.
More photos:
April 13, 2009
Sox vs. Twins – Attended Game #2 (4/12/09)
White Sox 6, Twins 1
Yesterday on Easter Sunday, I spent the afternoon at the ballpark (along with a relatively small crowd of 25,571) watching the last game of the Sox/Twins series. The temperature was 37 degrees, yet in my seats in the sun, the weather was quite pleasant. As you can see from the photo above, I was a bit further from the action than last game. However, the view from the upper decks still gave me a nice vantage point of the action. And luckily for me (and the team, for that matter) the action was far superior to Thursday’s game against the Royals.
Mark Buehrle, the Sox starting pitcher, had a great day allowing only two hits and striking out five batters. Unfortunately, one of those hits given up by Buehrle was a home run from Delmon Young in the second. But thankfully, the Sox offense came alive in the the fifth inning, and the Sox scored in every inning afterward. Along with the pitching, highlights included a productive day from Dewayne Wise who went 2 for 3, home runs form Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye, and a diving catch in the outfield from Carlos Quentin.
In the 9th, Clayton Richard came on as the Sox closer, and immediately loaded the bases giving the next batter the chance for a home run to cut the lead by 1. And guess who was that next batter? Right, Mr. Joe Crede. There was quite a bit of nervous laughter around me at the thought of Crede hitting that grand slam and being a Twins’ hero. Now, one of the main reasons I wanted to attend the first series against the Twins was to see how Sox fans would react to their once Sox hero taking sides with a rival. As I mentioned in a previous post, the first game back for Crede resulted in a standing ovation from the Sox fans. On Saturday’s game, there wasn’t any standing but still a healthy dose of applause. On Sunday, as Crede was making his way up to the plate for the first time in the second inning, he was once again pleasantly greeted by the fans. The second time up to bat Crede was still applauded but far less enthusiastically. His third time, with the bases loaded, he was applauded by only me and a handful of Twins fans.
Crede didn’t face Richard. After loading the bases, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen took Richard out to put in regular closer, Bobby Jenks. Something about seeing Jenks facing against Crede seemed so odd and wrong. Below, Crede at the plate:
Instead of being the hero for the day for Minnesota, Crede struck out. I never thought I would be pleased to see Crede strike out but there I was cheering for that first out of the inning. Next up, Young (who was responsible for the Twins’ only run) hit into a double play, and the Sox had won!
As for Crede, I think Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said it best, “I love Joe. I’ll never say a bad word about Joe. I wish him all the best. I wish everything for him and his family, but obviously when we’re playing him, we’re trying to get him out. And when I’m up to bat, he’s trying to get me out.”
Below, Sox organist Nancy Faust (who also entertained the fans with her renditions of “I Walk the Line” and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”) leads everyone into “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” for the 7th inning stretch:
