Archive for Sports

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

// February 7th, 2010 // No Comments » // Sports

Me and Coach Rosy

Me and Coach Rosy

As I was entering my freshman year in high school, my uncles (who played professional baseball and coached baseball and basketball for years) suggested I go out for cross country to stay in shape for basketball season. Reluctantly, I showed up for my first high school cross country practice not knowing the first thing about competitive running.

That first practice was running on the track until we got bored. I remember Jeff Kyle, our number one runner and Journey enthusiast, complaining loudly with, “Run? On the track?!” I had never been more sore in my life afterward. Soaking in the tub and nursing tight quads and broken blisters, I didn’t think this was the right thing for me. However, my Dad encouraged me to keep at it.

I ended up twisting my ankle in my first race and finishing dead last. I was inexperienced and had no idea how to pace myself for three miles. Talking to my Dad after my disastrous first race was not fun. Not because he expected perfection or demanded excellence, I was just embarrassed. Vowing to do better, I steadily worked harder in each practice. I never finished last again.

When basketball try-outs came around, I quickly realized I was not going to make the team. Still, I was in excellent shape. Plus, I’d found a way to participate in high school athletics since I was never going to play football or basketball.

The summer after my freshman year, I worked even harder and ran every weekday morning on our home course with my Dad timing me before he went into work. On Sunday’s I’d run five or six miles. For fun. I earned my Most Improved award and developed into a decent runner over my high school career.

I decided at the very last moment if I was going to run cross country in college. I walked down to the union and found Al Rosenberger sitting on one of the couches. He had on an Illinois College baseball hat, a buttoned down shirt and jeans. In his early 60s, he was acting like a kid excited about Christmas instead of what I envisioned as a college coach. It was just the second year of the program and they needed athletes to come out and I fit the bill perfectly.

His sales pitch worked. As a college sophomore, I was the MVP of the team. As a college senior I was the team captain. I ended up being the first four year letterwinner in cross country at Illinois College. I even held the four mile record for a year.

Coach Rosy passed away in 2002. I just recently found out. I was struck, by how much I missed him pushing me to be better as we ran the “serpentine” or hearing his stories of being in Burma and Korea during two wars.

I’ve had coaches who yelled, mentored, pushed and couldn’t care less. I’ve seen my Dad coach a bunch of middle school kids in tournament baseball games and I’ve seen my brother coach up his frosh-soph baseball team and instill a fire in a high school football special teams squad as they played for a state championship.

I’ve been lucky enough to have people in my life who believed in me. Take a moment and thank that parent, coach, mentor or other person who helped, inspired or encouraged you.

Thanks, Rosy.

==

LINKY GOODNESS

SHOUTING AT THE SEA

“If I had rolled along with the strip’s popularity and repeated myself for another five, 10 or 20 years, the people now ‘grieving’ for Calvin and Hobbes would be wishing me dead and cursing newspapers for running tedious, ancient strips like mine instead of acquiring fresher, livelier talent. And I’d be agreeing with them.

“I think some of the reason Calvin and Hobbes”still finds an audience today is because I chose not to run the wheels off it.

“I’ve never regretted stopping when I did.” – Bill Watterson

COLOPHON

Sean McDevitt wishes he was in as good a shape as he was at 19.

Agree to Disagree

// January 24th, 2010 // No Comments » // Books, Comics, Current Affairs, Film, Food & Drink, Music, Religion, Science, Sports, Television

I have a question for you.ebertsiskel

Why exactly do you like the things you do? What makes your favorite music, movie, food, TV show, sports team, author, whatever it is… your favorite? And what do you do when someone tells you what you like is stupid?

Taste’s change. People grow up. I was a huge fan of the Monkees in third grade, but today I’d be hard pressed to listen to “Valerie” without rolling my eyes. Although to be fair, you all are now singing the chorus along with me. I know. It’s okay.

Interests usually get solidified early. For example, I grew up in a house full of awesome silver age comic books. So, of course, I love comics. I also grew up in a house knee deep in St. Louis Cardinals, James Bond soundtracks and Starlog magazine.

For example, I know when I fell in love with KISS. It was 1978 and I learned rock and roll super heroes existed. Come. On. How could I not love that? Especially since one of them looked like he belonged on the cover of Famous Monsters of Filmland and another thought he was from some planet named Jindell. At the tender age of 10, I found something that I’ve enjoyed for 30 years. I bet you have a similar tale.

The real test is how you defend your likes when someone says what you like sucks. Likes and dislikes are all subjective. I may understand why some people like Radiohead, but I just can’t find myself enjoying much of their catalog. Isn’t there a T-shirt with the slogan, “Your favorite band sucks?”

I’ve never been a music, movie or television snob and I think my open-mindedness has allowed me to simultaneously enjoy a serious, well-made, Academy Award-winning film like The Departed along with a not-trying-to-be-anything-but-a-way-to-entertain-you-for-an-hour-and-a-half-movie like Rock Star starring that girl from Friends and Marky Mark doing his best Jeff Scott Soto by way of Judas Priest.

Another good example is how I can’t fathom why anyone is a fan of the Chicago Cubs. They haven’t won anything in years, yet Wrigley Field is filled each summer with fans hoping next year is this year. It would be easy to say (and I’ve said it more than once myself) that Wrigley Field is the biggest beer garden that also happens to have some guys throwing a baseball around in the middle of it all and that’s the real appeal. There’s some truth to it, but I would never tell a Cubs fan they’re stupid for enjoying their team. It is what it is.

Take it one giant step further with topics such as politics or religion and one can quickly see what kind of crazy intolerance is out there. Nobody is born Republican or Protestant at birth. It’s thrusted upon children from the moment they enter the world. In my view, if your religion gives you personal comfort more power to you, but don’t tell me I’m going to hell because I don’t believe quite the same thing you do.

I enjoy debating with my friends regarding political policy especially because my friends don’t treat being intellectually retarded as a virtue. One of my friends is deeply conservative but he would be the first to tell you he’s not a Republican and the Presidency of George W. Bush was a disaster. I’m way more progressive then he is, but neither one of us would slam the other for our points of view – especially if we find some common ground. We always simply agree to disagree and move on. Our whole lives are not wrapped up in finding the right wing or left wing POV of every little detail. How sad would that be?

My biggest pet peeve is willful ignorance. I get a bad feeling around people who are proud of being stupid. I’m no fan of talking heads and other “personalities” who relish in knocking down the intellectually elite because they graduated from an institution of higher learning and studied the world around them. More to the point, you can’t engage these mouth-breathing buffoons in conversation or, better yet, in debate because their “reality” seldom crosses over into my reality. There’s no agreeing to disagree with these people because it’s always their way or the highway, even when information comes along that destroys their tiny little world view. I avoid them.

In fact, it’s more fun debating with my friends whether or not Wolverine is the best post silver age character ever created. Now that’s a way to kill a Sunday afternoon.

==

LINKY GOODNESS

SHOUTING AT THE SEA

“I have masturbated myself out of serious problems in my life. The phone doesn’t pick up because I’m masturbating. And I have excused myself at the oddest times so as to not make mistakes. If Tiger Woods only knew when to jerk off. It has a true market value, like gold bullion. [The reason is] because I want to take a brain bath. It’s like a hot whirlpool for my brain, in a brain space that is 100 percent agreeable with itself,” — John Mayer

COLOPHON

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My Favorite Decade 2000-2009

// January 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // Comics, DVD, Food & Drink, Music, Sean, Sports, Travel

Me & the 2 1/2 Hrs Away GirlMy life from 1990 to 1999 was a whirlwind blur of grad school, graduation, marriage, new baby, divorce, and a series of not so great career decisions. Aside from the birth of my daughter, I don’t have a lot of personal highlights or fond memories for that time period. Bit sad, really.

As this most recent decade ends, I was suddenly struck by all the personally positive events in my life over the last ten years.  Sure, I lost more hair, endured the sting of failed relationships and changed jobs more often than I’d like to remember, but overall I had some real highlights.

The following is a list of events, choices or “things that happened around me” that were my favorites. It’s a nice microcosm of what was important to me over the last ten years. I wonder how indicative it is for the next ten years?

10.) Moving to Champaign, IL

Easily, the best decision I ever made. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for my hometown, but I could not move forward and still live in Effingham. I may have been comfortable there, but never challenged.  So, I moved in early 2001 to an apartment I still live in and have really never looked back. I made a few friends here, but it’s the town and its institutions I love more than anything – Seven Saints, G-Mart, Assembly Hall, Jim Gould’s, Art Mart, Virginia Theatre, Taste of C-U, The News-Gazette, That’s Rentertainment, Smile Politely, Sholem Pool, Jupiter’s, The Great Impasta, Ebertfest and so much more.

9.) Wizard World Chicago (1999 – 2008)

My personal mini-vacation for many years was attending Wizard World Chicago. It reignited my love for comics in the early years and kept it alive throughout. I have hundreds of great experiences and each con was a unique happening. My bedroom wall is a testament to various years of sketches acquired and books signed. I’m saddened at the decline of the convention into mostly featuring D-List celebrities. I’m hoping the first C2E2 in April will become a new tradition.

8.) My Brother’s Wedding

My wedding was a small affair. It was a rushed, panic-inducing time. I never got the bride in a white wedding dress or much of a reception and I never really thought or cared too much about it. However, being the best man in my brother’s wedding was easily my favorite wedding/reception. He had an extravagant and lovely Christmas wedding eight(!) years ago with a massive reception I never had with great food, happy relatives and a great DJ. I gave a humorous and resounding best man speech, danced like a fool and I’m pretty sure a married woman flirted with me. Still, what I remember most was standing next to my little brother watching him well up as his soon-to-be-wife walked down the aisle.

7.) Voting for Barack Obama

I was not really all that political until George W. Bush. After Katrina and the bogus reasons for going to war, I thought Bush was a ridiculous caricature of incompetency. Several years before his announcement, I felt Obama was a legitimate candidate for the Presidency. The historic weight of my vote didn’t move mountains. Nationally, my state has been solidly blue for many elections and whether or not I voted for the man probably didn’t mean much. Nevertheless, participating in the process was exciting. The results were a mandate and even after a year I’m still pleased Barack Obama is President.

6.) I Purchase my MacBook

I bought two vehicles in the last decade, but by far the best major purchase I made was my MacBook. I was tied for too long to a desktop iMac and this new laptop afforded me the luxury of mobility. I’ve taken my MacBook with me on vacation, to the coffee shop, to the airport, everywhere. It’s not quite yet been usurped by faster and fancier machines. I fully expect my daughter will inherit it as soon as I purchase something new… probably a MacBook Pro.

5.) Illinois Basketball in 2005

This one is a bit of a cheat. I didn’t have anything to do with the team making it all the way to the NCAA Tournament Championship game. I had no personal stake in the team. I didn’t even meet any of the players until years later. At the time, all I did was cheer them on. Living in Champaign-Urbana during their magical run was exciting. The town turned orange and blue and everyone was a basketball fan.  I was lucky enough to have been able to score seats to a few of those early games. I’m not a big sports guy, but since I moved to Champaign University of Illinois basketball is one of my true favs.

4.) KISS Releases Sonic Boom

I never thought I’d ever hear a brand new KISS album of original material again. Having the album debut at number two on the charts (Damn you Michael Bublé appearance on Oprah!) was unbelievable. Having the tracks sound like classic KISS right there between Rock and Roll Over and Love Gun was beyond all hope. My fervent wish is the band decides they had a ton of fun in the studio and go back in and do it again. Even better.

3.) Visiting Grant in Phoenix

Since my friend Grant moved to Phoenix he quietly badgered me into coming out and visiting. For years, I nodded in agreement and then never could find the time. Finally, I afforded myself a week’s vacation and flew from spitting rain in Indianapolis to a pleasant 85 degrees in Phoenix. I spent my time with Grant and his amazing family eating awesome barbecue, swimming in their pool, watching The Hangover and getting ready to drive to San Diego for Comicon. Just writing about it makes me want to get on a plane and do it all over again (except for the driving to San Diego part. I’m sweating just thinking about it.).

2.) The Trip to King’s Island with my Daughter

As my daughter grew up, I decided we needed to take a few mini-vacations. The King’s Island trip was the farthest we’d gone for a weekend trip – about four hours. We arrived way ahead of schedule and couldn’t check into our room. Even though the weather was overcast with spitting rain, we ventured over to an adjacent waterpark and enjoyed ourselves on all the waterslides sans long wait times. The highlight for me was my kiddo facing her fear and jumping into 15 feet of water from a platform about ten feet from the water’s surface. I did it first and then watched her make that jump, break the surface, swim over to me and say, “I wanna do that again!”

1.) The Two and a Half Hours Away Girl

I can’t explain to anyone our relationship. She’s been my “girl” friend, my crush, my “one that got away,” my confidant, my advice giver, my lover, my best friend, my girlfriend and basically a part of my life for over 25 years. I broke down when she called to tell me she was going to try and make it work with the long lost college love of her life and I gradually let her back into my life after that endeavor crashed and burned. Today, it’s as complicated as ever and as simple as can be. I have no idea what the future holds for us.

What will be my highlights in 2020 as I look back on my life? What will be the events and moments that marked my time and my friends and family? I don’t know, but I expect it will be wonderful.

==

LINKY GOODNESS

SHOUTING AT THE SEA

“Everything this president sees is a political opportunity, including Haiti, and he will use it to burnish his credentials with minorities in this country and around the world, and to accuse Republicans of having no compassion,” – Rush Limbaugh

How very telling. Rush looks at the devastation of Haiti and sees minorities. The rest of the world sees people. Thank goodness thousands of individuals and companies ignored Rush and pledged money and services. Have you?

COLOPHON

If you like (or don’t like) what I’ve written here or in the past, please let me know. Comments are appreciated.

A Coach’s Life

// September 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // Sports

My brother is a middle-school teacher who also coaches at the high school level in baseball and football. He was always a far better athlete than I was and knows sports, scores and statistics. I can tell you who played Darth Vader and he can tell you who played right field for the Cardinals in 1968.

Today, I received an email from my brother talking about his high school football team, Stillman Valley, and how they handled a team which last year went far in the playoffs. SV has a decent football program and they tend to go deep in the high school playoffs. I’ve never known Ryan to have written anything creativity or with as much “I was there!” feeling as the following:

Well, this was as big a game as we are probably gonna see up this way during the regular season.  Lots of hype.  Richmond was carrying tons of momentum from last season’s 4A playoff run and then blowing out 2 teams this season.  Place was packed.  Media was there and so on.

I’m not gonna lie.  They didn’t have an answer for our speed.  Yeah, we’ve got some speed with our skilled positions, but more importantly they couldn’t respond to our line’s quickness.  Our line which consists of guys all around 210 lbs, blew them off the ball and controlled the game.  In the 1st quarter, we botched a pitch which they scooped and scored to make it 7-0 them.  We took the next drive and scored to respond.  In the 2nd quarter, our little HBs put on a show with some nice moves.  We scored again to make it 12-7 at half.  In the 3rd quarter, our junior FB rumbled for about 60 yards and then our QB on the next play kept an option and scored to make it 18-7.  Under 5 minutes left to go, our defense was getting real tired.  They were moving the ball on us.  They had the ball on our side of the field.  They missed an exchange on a handoff.  Guys went diving after it….from both teams.  Like 4 red jerseys and 4 white jersey are tugging after this thing.  No joke, it squirts out to arguably our fastest DB and he literally just picks it up and runs back 58 yards for a TD.  It was almost comical.  No, it was hilarious.

So here we are, 3-0, just beat a semi-final team in 4A from last season who also might go 8-1 on the season and sitting pretty good.  It will be nice to have Marengo and Lutheran the next 2 weeks.  We won’t be prepping for all-state football players or hall-of-fame football coaches like Duvall (SJO) either.  Time to recover a bit.  Let a few wounds heal up and remain confident.

I’ve encouraged him to keep doing these post-game round-ups. I hope he does.