Cubs pitchers & catchers report to spring training today. Oh yeah...

Cinnamon also scored us some tix...

Life is good.

Sent from Treo.

Labels: sports

First, sorry to Kate & Amy for their loss tonight. Gotta say that I ended up explaining who was who to Ella this way: The blue team is Isabelle's team and the white team is J's team. J's team is on offense...Ella butts in, "And Isabelle's team has to get the ball." Not sure if she picked a team or not, but she was happy that one of her friends is happy.

So...we went to Ella's girl BFF's house to watch the game. Girl BFF's dad got a new 50" projection flat screen TV. I have to admit that the picture is beautiful, simply gorgeous. But each time that I get "that look" and the hubby jumps on it, thinking that I'm finally gonna say, "Yes! Let's go to Best Buy/Abt to get that TV!" He is so painfully wrong.

That look I get? It's from seeing some place beautiful on a state of the art television set.

We stopped at the Sony store once and he plopped me down to watch some DVD about Australia. DUMB...I kept thinking, for three grand we could GO to Australia AND the Great Coral Reef might not last much longer! Today FOX showed some fabu shots of the Arizona desert. The hubby turns to me and says, "Isn't it beautiful?" "Yes, I retort. We must go there."

The hubby huffed & turned away.

But seriously, I'm a gadget gal, I am, but I'd still rather spend my extra money on travel than on a TV set when we have a perfectly good one right now. Sure, I can't count the sun spots on Joe Buck, but I can still watch the game. Sorry, hubby.

Labels: misc, sports

Pitchers & catchers report to spring training in a month. Soon spring will start to bloom and with it the hope that yes, this will be our year. Yet my brain will kick me and say, "Come on, get real!" Then it goes into a "well, maybe..." I've always known that being a Cubs fan was something special. Something only the strongest can endure with hope intact (witness the bitterness of famed Cubs fan George Will). Today I found out that it is an illness as well.

WBEZ's Eight Forty-Eight had an interview with Cubs fan, Dan Gordon, who has edited a book of essays called, Your Brain on Cubs:

A group of today’s leading science writers and neuroscientists explore here the ways that our brain functions when we participate in sports as fans, athletes, and coaches, taking baseball as the quintessential sport for all three perspectives. The contributors tackle such questions as: How does a player hit a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball when he barely has time to visually register it? Why do fans remain devotedly loyal year after year? And what allows them to believe in superstitions, such as a curse? Other topics investigated in the book include how a ballplayer’s brain changes as he gains experience and expertise, why there are a higher percentage of left-handers in the major leagues compared to the general population, and the ethical implications of neurological performance enhancement.

See...it's all neurobiology people! It's in my neurons! In my wiring! I can't be helped!! Does this mean that someone out there might find a cure for this? I hope the hell not.

Technorati tags: Chicago Cubs, WBEZ, neurobiology, baseball, book

Labels: Books, sports

Breaking news:

According to reports out of New York, Kerry Wood is the only current Cubs player on the Mitchell list, but it also includes several prominent ex-Cubs, including Sammy Sosa, Mark Prior and Nomar Garciaparra, along with Rafael Palmeiro.

Other ex-Cubs reportedly on the list are Neifi Perez, Kyle Farnsworth, Jerry Hairston, Felix Heredia, Manny Alexander, Matt Lawton, Julian Tavarez, Ismael Valdez, and Luis Gonzalez.

HOLY COW!

I'm not naive, I knew that some of the guys had to be on the juice, Sammy was the #1 suspect. The hubby & I theorized about others, but all these guys? Dear lord! Of course, outside of Wood, Prior, & Sosa, we have no idea if they did the stuff while being a Cubbie. But who cares, they're all cheaters. I just hope that Mia kicks Nomar's ass big time. And if she was using, I don't want to hear about it. Nope...I don't.

update: the page where I got this from has been taken down by the Chicago Tribune. The mystery thickens!

update 2: I just did a quick search in the full report and Kerry Wood isn't in it. I guess there must had been some bad intell on the report. When will the Trib learn to listen to the CIA? No Nomar, Prior, Farnsworth, Neifi, Lawton, Felix, Tavarez, or Gonzalez. No Sosa either! Other than to say he didn't respond to questions. But there was this:

[Matt] Karchner said that during spring training in 1999, he observed two of his Chicago Cubs teammates inject themselves with steroids in an apartment that Karchner was sharing with them. Karchner declined to identify the players. He said that one of the players brought the steroids to the apartment but was afraid of needles and therefore asked the second player to administer the shot. The second player injected the first player with steroids in the buttocks and then injected himself. Later that season, Karchner was offered steroids by certain of his Cubs
teammates. Karchner would not disclose the names of players who offered him steroids, but he said that the conversations he had with them involved the general cost of steroids and discussions of “stacking” to build lean muscle necessary for pitchers. Karchner did not report either of these incidents to anyone at the time.

Knowing who was living with who isn't that hard to figure out, so it boggles my mind why the names are named and then investigated. Then again, I haven't read this whole thing, so if it's in there, let me know.

I'm a tad disappointed that Mitchell wants to "move forward" and not punish any current players caught in this investigation. I'm not saying they need to be tossed, but a 30-day suspension would be fair.

Labels: sports

As I watch my Bears embarrass themselves on pseudo-national TV (NFL network), I thought I'd post a quick update on my fantasy football league:

• I'm so not winning Amy's pick'em league. Heck I'm just hoping to not end up in last place!
• I'm in the playoffs for my other league!! That's the good news.
• The bad news? I now have to play the hubby's BFF TWO WEEKS in a row. Oy...my ass is gonna hurt for all the kicking.
  
• Since I did make the playoffs that means the hubby just missed out on it. We ended up with the same record, but since I scored more points I get the tie-breaker. So another year and another missed playoffs for the hubby. Someone send him some sympathy, k?
  

Oy...the Bears season just ended. Oh boy do we suck. When the hell does baseball start again?

Labels: sports

(Tribune Photo by Scott Strazzante / November 25, 2007)

The Good - This photo says it all. While the Bears stunk up the first half of yesterday's game against the Broncos, Hester did it again and scored us some valuable points. The man had more yards than the offense! Hello? Use him on offense more often and don't always thrown to him. Duh!

The Bad - I got my butt whooped by the hubby in fantasy football. The worst part? I benched the Vikings defense in favor of the Bears, hoping that the above would happen. What was wrong with that? The Vikings D ran back THREE interceptions for touchdowns. Thus while my Bears scored me a decent 14 points, the Vikings scored 30.

The Ugly - I'm on the cusp of getting into the playoffs despite having a soon-to-be 6-6 record. Hopefully the hubby's BFF wins this week to keep the team behind me, behind me.

Labels: sports

First quarter:
So they are kicking to Hester, but Hester can't seem to find a hole.
wow...the Raiders can't stop the run, Benson looks like a real running back!
Too bad we gave up a field goal.

Second quarter:
Scratch that comment about Benson...he's sucking as usual.
Has anyone seen the Raiders as disciplined as they are when keeping Hester from running? Damn.
GROSSMAN?? That sack on Griese was actually a fork.
OUCH....

Halftime:
Soccer game in the back yard.
The neighbors now hate us with all the noise.

Third quarter:
Missed FG?!? Come on Robbie!
The line to kick Ayanbadejo in the ass starts here.
The hubby & I have joked all season that this was going to be a pathetic game. Reason #1-33 why we're watching this at home instead of in Oakland.

Fourth Quarter
Scary thought...overtime.
Damn...down 6-3, less than 5 minutes left.
Are we really gonna lose against the Raiders?
OMFG!!!!!!!!! TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!
Come on Defense! You get the fumble, but it's only a few yards to the TD..I need them fantasy points.
WOOHOO!! TOUCHDOWN!
Ella's razzing the hubby.

BEARS WIN!!!!!!!!!!

"It's ok, Daddy." *kiss*

Hey, what happened to my chicken fingers?!? *cough*cooper*cough* ha! Just joshing...The hubby made the world's largest chicken quesadillas, his fabu guacamole, and beans & cheese. Oh, yeah, we eat awesome during big games.

It's really amazing that Rex Grossman came to our rescue. Insanity!

Technorati tags: raiders, bears, football

Labels: family, sports

Where: Casa de Roni
When: Sunday
Why: Bears vs Raiders, Roni vs. the hubby

The winner: Roni...cause Ella's rooting for the Bears!

Technorati tags: raiders, bears, football

Labels: sports

Now this sucks. The only woman ump in baseball has been let go:

She was at her offseason job, helping run the music system at the arena where the Quad City Flames of the American Hockey League play, when she got a call Tuesday from minor league baseball's umpire organization.

"They let you know around the World Series about next year. If they want to keep you, they send a letter. If they're going to let you go, they call," she said. "When I saw the number on my cell phone, I thought, 'Whoa, this is it."'

-snip-

"It does feel freeing, in a way," she said. As she spoke, she said she was putting on her Joan Jett-style makeup to go to work on Halloween night.

-snip-

Cortesio started this season as the top-ranked umpire in all of Double-A. If there had been an opening in Triple-A, it would've been hers.

There were no vacancies and when the new ratings by minor league supervisors came out in midseason, her ranking substantially dropped. So, too, did her chance of getting a promotion and possibly making it to the majors someday.

A move up would have greatly changed her status -- umpires in Triple-A are under the auspices of major league supervisors.

"I don't know if they wanted to make a call on me in the majors," she said.

It's odd that her ranking would go down that fast. Perhaps MLB didn't like her getting so much attention in spring training? I dunno...just a knee-jerk reaction. It just really sucks that she's out. She said that she feels like it's freeing. Of course it is. Being a trailblazer is hard work. I don't blame her at all. I'm sure she's tired of the pressure. Damn...I'm depressed now.

Technorati tags: baseball, MLB, Ria Cortesio, women

Labels: sports

It's Sunday which means that Casa de Roni is all about football. And with that comes score board watching for our fantasy teams. But we can't do that because ESPN's scoreboards are down. No scores at all. NOTHING!

I'm developing OCD checking in for any scores. OK, I already have OCD checking scores. It's just more intense this week with nothing to look at.

ARGH!!!!

Labels: sports

I want to pop in quickly to say congrats to Heather, the co-worker, and Ella's girl BFF's mom for running the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. I've never been a long distance runner - HATED it in middle school when we had to run a mile before class. My longest distance in track was the 400m. So to think you all even attempted to run a marathon is amazing.

Heather, even if you didn't officially finish, I'm still proud of you chica.

I was tracking 3 fantabulous women on my Treo Sunday. Yes, I felt guilty when I took a time out from my IHOP breakfast to see that BFF's mom had just passed the 1/4 point.

Technorati tags: marathon, Chicago marathon

Labels: misc, sports

A quick update on the sports in my life:

• + Cubs magic number is 4. This means that with 6 games to play, the Cubs need to win or the Brewers have to lose any combination that results in 4. Cubs win two, Brewers lose two. Cubs to playoffs! Of course, this is the Cubs and nothing is a given. Brewers have 4 games with St. Louis, which is iffy and 4 games with San Dee-ah-go. Cubs have 3 games with Cincinnati and 3 at Florida. Cinci has given us a lot of trouble this year. Again, not counting my playoff tickets until it's all done.
  
• - Speaking of which, I totally forgot to even attempt to get playoff tickets. Lame, eh? Too wrapped up in getting to the zoo yesterday. Not like I would have gotten in anyway.
  
• - Bears sucked ass last night. On NATIONAL TV too! Great, thanks guys.
  
• + Went to Saturday's Cubs game. AWESOME! I love Wrigley on any day, but in this playoff hunt, the vibe is intense. Miss Ella enjoyed it too, especially the peanuts.
  
• + I won my Fantasy League game last week beating the hubby AGAIN!
  
• - I lost this past weekend by 15 points to the hubbys BFF. ARGH. Meaning my Bears & I are both 1-2.
  
• + Before the Cubs game, one of the banks was handing out Ryne Sandberg face fans. He's sporting a pink cap and on the back says, "Real Men Wear Pink." Yes, it's all about breast cancer. He was at the game on Saturday too. WOOT!
  
• - Didn't do so well in pick 'em. I knew the Packers would win!! Damn it. And Amy picked up at least one game on me. Err....GO SAINTS!!
  
• + The Raiders won! Sure, I didn't take them in Pick 'em (I love the hubby, but it's the Raiders!) but it's ok as long as the hubby is happy.
• + GO CUBS GO!
  

Technorati tags: sports, Chicago Cubs, baseball, Chicago Bears, football, Fantasy Football

Labels: sports

Last week I blogged about the new Reebok commercial featuring women celebrating their teams, yet with a big meow at the end. I did receive a response to my letter:

Hello,

Thank you for your e-mail. Reebok appreciates you taking the time to give
us your feedback. It is important to us.

Regards,

name withheld
Consumer Service Manager

And this HAS to be one of the WORST responses I have ever seen. Oh and Ms. Name Withheld also left her phone number. If I can find 10 minutes this week, she's getting a call.

Next...Old Navy has moved their plus size lines to exclusively online. Dontcha love that they use the world exclusive as if it's a good thing? I sent off a short and pissy email to their customer service (inspired by some of you stating that I'm so cordial in my communications. ;) and this is what I got back:

Dear Roni,

Thank you for your e-mail regarding our Women's Plus line. After much
evaluation, and as difficult a decision as it was, we have removed the
Women's Plus line from all of our Old Navy stores. Please accept our
sincere apologies for any disappointment this may cause you. However,
we continue to carry Women's sizes 1-20 in our stores.

Although we no longer carry Women's Plus in any of our stores, the
complete line is still available on our website at oldnavy.com. You can
place an order on the web or by calling 1-800-OLD-NAVY, option one. Our
online representatives are available 24 hours a day to assist you with
questions or order placement.

We hope this information is helpful and look forward to shopping with
you soon.

Sincerely,

Marian
Customer Service Consultant

I have to say that hearing that they were still carrying up to size 20 was refreshing. But if you're going to make clothing larger than 20, they why not carry it in the store? I know, I know, space is at a premium, so why go larger? Victoria's Secret does the same thing. Try getting a good bra in something larger than a D or 36 in the store. Especially bras, you need to try these things on. So...Old Navy, Victoria's Secret, and all the other stores out there with 'exclusive' plus-size stores online, why not pool your money and open up a store together? Fatties-R-Us? Boobalicious Boutique? Dude, I'm totally serious. And imagine the ease of shopping? Over in that corner is our cheap khakis and dress shirts and then head over to the bra section and find a nice lacey bra.

I love shopping, but I hate it at the same time. I never know what to get for myself and when I do like a 'look', I put it on my body and damn, it's so not what I thought. Maybe that's why I love shoes even more. It's easier to find shoes that go with my outfits, especially since I tend towards more classic/retro shoes like Mary Janes. I really do kick myself a lot for not saving my Grandma's shoes when she died. She had a rocking shoe collection.

Technorati tags: Old Navy, Plus Size, Reebok, football, commercial

Labels: misc, sports

I've blogged before about the NFL and other sport leagues going after women as a fan base. I hate, hate, hate the pink line of clothing. When you're a fan, you wear your team's colors NOT a pink version of the logo. So when I saw the new Reebok tag line during today's Bears game "Be A Woman. Be A Fan." I was freakin' jazzed. I thought, whoa...can't wait to see those commercials & ads.

Then I did.

SO DISAPPOINTING!

What was a great ad turned into a sexist & stereotypical painting of women and our relationships. If you watch the ad above, you'll see that one woman is having her girlfriends over for the game. She's a Giants fan. Her first two gfs come in and they do the whole hand thing (high fives, slaps, etc.) in a great welcome and warm up to a great afternoon. Then the last one is decked out in Jets gear. For those not in the know, the Jets & Giants are not friendly to say the least. The two women look each other up and down. It ends with a MEOW! A freaking meow!

I had to watch it again online to make sure it was the commercial and not Annie. Seriously.

It took awhile to find their contact page, but I did. Why not let Reebok and their parent company, Adidas, know what you think of this new campaign to woo us women to buy their gear?

Here's what I'm going to write:

Dear Reebok & Adidas,

You had the BEST commercial until that stupid cat meow. As a life long football fan, I've been waiting for the market to acknowledge me and my sisters. I was excited about your tag line and loved the commercial until the end. I thought it really showed women in the same light as men without the women acting like men. That was until the meow.

Come on! If you're going to market to women, stop using stereotypes like that. When I go up against a fan of a team that I root against, I don't think of a cat fight. Rather our fight happens on the field. The best example was last year when Patriots QB Brady juked my beloved Urlacher. Did my girlfriend & I meow at each other? Would anyone think of our trash talking as a cat fight? Apparently you do and that sucks.

So recut that commercial and edit out the cat call. I think it was pretty good as it was.

Go Bears,
Roni

Technorati tags: Reebok, football, NFL, women, feminism, ads, sexist

Labels: feminism, sports

Does it suck worse when you lose by4 points or 50 points? Well I lost by 4 points in my ESPN league. Damn it!! The worst part is that I had a feeling I should put in Edge (AZ RB) in for last night's game instead of McGahee...but no, I rationalized that since AZ's offensive line is weak, Edge can't get enough yards.

As for Amy's Yahoo! leagues...Pick 'em wasn't too bad. 10 out 16, Amy only got 11 and the best was 13. I can make that up. Survive...I survived. Sadly the hubby didn't. The man has so much faith in his Raiders he picked them to win against the hapless Lions. Sadly the Raiders didn't want the game more than the Lions. If you saw the game, you'd understand.

OK...now to lick my wounds and send Edge an "I'm sorry card."

Labels: sports

Most of us Cubs fans were very ticked off that you did not get a contract extension before the season started. We felt you had earned it. We didn't want to lose you. As the season started and you started to kick major ass, we were happy for you and still worried that we'd lose you. The ghost of Greg Maddux was hovering over Wrigley. After your ginormous contract was signed, we didn't poo-poo the fact that you now make far more money than we'd ever see AND that we have to pay outrageous ticket prices to see you in person. No, we were happy that we'd have you for the long run.

Personally, I love your style. I love that you love to hit & run the bases (althou, you really should pay attention to the 3rd base coach, that's why we have him) unlike the lil baby AL pitchers who hide behind the DH.

But yesterday, yesterday...you just sucked ass, my friend. As I said, I love your energy for running the bases, but come on...you're not Soriano and you should have stopped at 3rd. 1st mistake. I love that you try to field like Maddux, but too often you get just a fraction of a hand on a ball and the runner is safe. Then came all the walks...and of course, the runs.

The fact that the fans were booing was a message to you. A simple message. Get your act together. I thought that your hand gestures as you left the field was telling us that you understood. That you realized that yes, you aren't pitching your best and that you heard us. I gave you many kudos...until I saw you after the game:

'I don't accept the fans booing at me,'' he said. ''I thought these fans were the greatest in baseball, but they showed they just care about themselves. That's not right. When you're struggling, you want to feel support. I'll remember that. I know there will be great moments in my career [to] come.''

If we only cared about ourselves, we wouldn't be there cheering, we wouldn't be watching until the bitter end yesterday's game. We care about winning. We care about the fact that the Brewers & Cards LOST their games before we imploded yesterday. It's September and there's little time for screwing up. Especially against a team that we just might see in the post-season.

In closing, I want to be very clear on one thing. I love ya you crazy fool! I want to see you carry us to the World Series. I want to see you hoist that trophy up. I want to cry my lil heart out as I see you go past me during the celebration parade. But booing is part of the game, especially when you pitch the way you have the last month.

Love your BFF,
Roni

Labels: sports

From the Heckler:

Manning gives Grossman his Super Bowl XLI MVP trophy Says the Bears QB is the real reason Colts won game

"Anytime we had doubts during that game, Grossman gave us whatever we needed," Manning said. "He fumbled on multiple occasions and he threw an interception for a touchdown. The wrong quarterback won MVP." The NFL raised concern about the safety of the valuable MVP trophy and has asked that the hand-over of the trophy from Manning to Grossman take place through a simple handshake. "The last thing we want is for Grossman to fumble the MVP trophy and have it get smashed," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said.

Labels: sports

My beloved Cubbies are currently in second place, only 1.5 games out of first place.

Don't get excited for me yet, ok?

They've pretty much held that distance DESPITE losing almost every game for the past week. The Milwaukee Brewers suck that much.

BUT...the dreaded, almost as hated as the ChiSox, Cardinals are coming up our ass and are only 2 games behind us. AND THEY ARE COMING TO TOWN!!

So, as someone who likes to think they are a real Cubs fan, I say...I will never, ever believe we're winning anything until it's done. I let myself dream it for a second and then everything came crashing down in 1984, 1989, and lastly 2003. In 1998, I pretty much figured we were toast.

I went to the game last night and we lost it in heart-wrenching Cubs manner. We scored 9 freakin' runs and still didn't win the game! As my dad & I were leaving Wrigley I overheard a guy talking to his friend and this my dear readers, is the gawd awful truth:

We're done. I've seen this show before. I've seen it so many times, I have the t-shirt & postcard. Yup, we're done.

I'm not 100% sure we're done, but I sure as hell ain't betting Ella on a World Series ring. So the idea that there are overconfident Cubs fans is a joke. They are either in great denial or mentally ill. And maybe a little of both. And to all the fans who scream "HOME RUN" when it's clearly a fly out to center, calm down! I don't celebrate a home run until I see a fan holding that ball.

And that is more evidence of how cynical I have become as the Cubs continue to break my heart.

On a side note: I gotta say that my new Cubbie tee is a hit. I also saw the BEST tee, but sadly the back was too lame for me to shell out $15. It was the Chicago city flag, but instead of stars there were Cubbies.

Labels: sports

That yelp you heard last night was me in shock over Cubbie Soriano coming up lame after rounding second.

The hubby & were watching the game and I was yelling, "Run, run!" And Soriano starting hopping on one leg. It's a zillion degrees out with 1000% humidity and I kept repeating, "It's just a leg cramp, just a leg cramp." The hubby watched the replay and said, "Nope, it's worse." I shot him the look of death and continued in my denial mantra, "Just a leg cramp, please...just a leg cramp."

It wasn't. He's out 2-4 weeks.
Ah, the life of a Cubs fan. It's never an easy ride folks. How the hell are we going to replace him for that long and stay within 1st place?

His current stats:

Avg	HR	RBI	Runs	SB
.297	18	42	74	18

I'm not giving up that we can win this division, nope...not yet. But it's gonna be even harder now. And Lou doesn't believe in the curse. *shaking head*

Labels: sports

First we sweep the hated ChiSox and shut them out in their home! WOO-Fing-HOO!

Then last night as I was enjoying the highlights over and over I found out that Rod Beck died over the weekend.

OMG, as a Cubs fan we often live and die by our closers. And Rod Beck didn't disappoint in the drama department. He had this weird thing where he'd let his arm dangle behind him while he figured out what he was going to pitch. Oh the intensity! 1998 was his year and it was the Cubs year. We won a spot in the playoffs by winning a one-game playoff at Wrigley against the San Francisco Giants. Damn, that has to be THE BEST game I've ever been at. I get chills just thinking about it. That whole year was amazing.

So thanks Rod. Thanks for the saves. Thanks for making 1998 a kick ass year. You were a sweet guy.

Labels: sports

• Breakfast
  
• Get Ella out the door with my sister (12pm)
  
• Go to post office, pick up mystery package for Ella...It was a present from our aunt in Seattle. Don't know what it is still since Ella's not home to open it.
  
• Go to bank deposit checks
  
• Come home, get lunch
• Finish blog post I've been working on for a week
• Head over to Chicago Force game (hope for no rain)...No rain except the rain of TDs! I left early to come home and get ready for dinner, but the Force clobbered Detroit.
  
• Back home, clean up a little
• Read for 20 Book Summer (hopefully finish Borderlands)
• Blog about 20 Book Summer (it's not too late to join us!)
• Figure out if I'm headed to dinner with family or I get to hang with friends...I ended up doing both. Looonnnnggg story, don't ask unless you're bearing chocolate or beer.
  
• Figure out what to wear for party tomorrow...sun dress to church and then something comfy to the party.
  

Labels: Books, misc, sports

Dear Michael,

While you will always live on in Cubs lore, you really have sucked behind the plate this year. I tried to defend you, but you never pulled it back together. Enjoy San Diego.

Labels: sports

Stories that you might have missed:

1. Rags to Riches became the first Filly (girl horse) to win the Belmont Stakes since 1905 and the first Filly to win any Triple Crown race since the 1988 Kentucky Derby. JFTR, I don't like horse racing at all.
   
2. A filly's owner is being sued after the horse kicked a stallion in the head and killed him.
   "An attorney for Ruth Kay said in papers filed in DuPage County Circuit Court that Kay's mare, Gabby, kicked a stallion named Vinny in the shoulder after the horse approached Gabby from behind and rested his head on her rump.
   

   Kay's attorney essentially called Vinny's behavior equine sexual harassment—an unwanted violation of Gabby's "personal and private space."

Yes, this is slightly tongue-in-cheek. Then again, what do you think?

Labels: feminism, misc, sports

Thanks to Chronic Babe for pointing me to the Women's Sports Foundation's sports quiz. You answer 10 simple questions and it tells you what sport is best for you.

I'll give you one guess what I got:

Baseball.

Now to find 8 other crazy people to play ball with.

Labels: sports

The past few months have been horribly busy at work for both the hubby & myself, so we planned a family day yesterday to give ourselves a break and time with Ella. The plan included a game at Wrigley.

It rained.

It was cold.

It was windy...really windy.

The game started an hour late.

We knew the forecast said rain, heck, even a 100% chance of rain. We peeked outside and it looked dreary, but rain? Nah...it was that drizzly rain that you can't see until you're sitting in it. And boy did we sit in it. We got to Wrigley at 1 pm for a 1:20 start to minimize non-game time at the park. Ah, the days when I'd get there when the gates opened to watch batting practice...Oh, right, back to being a mom. Miss Ella was a tad, er, emotional, I think due to not napping.

The thing with being almost 4 is that she is almost ready to skip naps. Almost. She can be pretty good most of the time, if everything goes right. Yesterday it didn't all go right, so sometimes she just broke into tears. But as soon as Daddy got her nachos, she was fine. We sat in the rain eating nachos bundled up in blankets. I even took one blanket and made a tent out of it.

She had the time of her life!

The hubby & I kept saying, "This is crazy!" Of course, I've sat thru games in weather like that before and yes, as a kid. I have somewhat fond memories of that. He never has and has always considered anyone who would to be certifiable. Hmph...maybe we are.

The game finally started and Ella had a great time. We left before the 1st inning finished. It was that cold and Ella had a bad case of "ants in her pants."

All in all, it was a fun day and it was nice to have a break in all the chaos at work. Of course, now to go back in and catch up from our mini-holiday.
----------------------------------------------
One story I failed to tell about Tuesday night.

There was a line drive foul ball that hit a kid in the section in front of us. A parent's worst nightmare. It was fast & furious, hardly time to really shield the kid. The best thing was that the crowd started cheering "Give the kid the ball!" as some dude ended up with it. After a few minutes of peer pressure, he did. Then someone started a cheer of "Buy the guy a beer!" And yes, someone got up and bought him a beer. Classic Wrigley.

And yes, I think the kid was fine. Security came and checked and I didn't see anything that said medical emergency.

Labels: Ella, family, sports

We went to the Cubs game tonight. It was my first game in just about 18 months.

It was the same old place.

Sure it was spiffed up here and there. The hot dogs carts have new signs on them like "Hey Hey Hot Dogs" or something like that, but it was essentially a coat of paint on an old house. And of course, the team still sucks.

But we had a great time out there with Ella's buddy, J's, parents. We failed to mention to Miss Ella where we were going and as our luck would have it, the babysitter told her. Not like we thought well enough ahead to tip off the babysitter either! She was a tad upset that we went without her.

Gotta say that it felt like I didn't miss a thing in my 2006 boycott of Wrigley. But like I said, not much has changed.

Labels: sports

I really hate American Apparel. But since Miss Ella is so into her roller skates, I want to get her a Windy City Roller shirt. Of course I can't because they use AA. *sigh*

Labels: Ella, sports

I'm still not as strong as I should be to really climb the wall, but I'm getting better. Yesterday we learned how to climb side to side and I have mad monkey skills.

This weekend is uber-packed with fun. We're going to go to a museum on Saturday with my sis & the baby nephew, then a neighbor is having her quinceanera (I guess we need to get a gift or at least a card with some cash!). Sunday we'll head to the zoo with Ella's gang of friends. woohoo! Hope your weekend is lots of fun too.

Labels: sports

Folks those are not your winning Lotto numbers. That is the tale from this weekend's Cubs series against the Reds.

25 innings we held the Reds scoreless
27 innings is what we played
3 games we played
1 win is what we got
4 wins total this seaons
7 losses

Welcome to Chicago, Lou!

Labels: sports

Remember way back in August when I was giddy over my mini-surf lesson?

My gym has one of those climbing walls and I keep trying to talk myself into trying it. Then I walk up to it and I think, "I'm so not strong enough." Well by the end of the year, I hope to at least try it, if not take a few lessons and start rock climbing. Again, I don't kid myself into thinking that I'll be scaling the Rockies next summer, but hey, just the rock wall will be a good start.

I'm not.

Thursday was week 2 of my climbing wall lesson and while I do admit that I got a bit higher than last week, I totally pooped out less than 1/2 way up the 40 foot wall. Heck, maybe even less than 1/3 of the way. What gave? My arms. My forearms to be exact. My feet and legs were their usual awesome selves. They better be as big as they are! But my arms couldn't keep up. At one point one of the instructors and my partner were yelling, "Yes! You got it! Keep going!" And I *had* to come down. I just couldn't pull myself up any further.

And today? Midnight on Saturday morning? My biceps still sting. I'm such a loser.

I've never really had much upper arm strength. I've never been able to do a decent push-up and never ever did a pull-up. And considering how much weight my poor weak arms have to pull, it's no wonder why I failed.

BUT...I will go back next week. Heck, maybe hit the wall again during the week for practice.

There was one bit of glory for me. While we were practicing technique we needed to try to free climb. I got up pretty high without a rope. I'm still a monkey! I'm just a weak lil monkey.

Oh and my nails? They so have to go.

Labels: sports

I'm listening to the Rutgers press conference and they will only allow upperclass students to speak. I can't express what I'm feeling right now, but I am amazed at their pose and insightful thoughts.

Questions have been asked around hip-hop & rap music, women's rights in general, whether the comments were offensive more as a woman or a black person, and what it says if a politician/candidate were to show up on Imus' show in the future. I know that Rutgers press folks have prepped these women, but no amount of prepping can be this good. If so, they need to work for the White House.

One theme that keeps coming up is that utter lack of respect media folks like Imus show to fellow human beings. Not just racism or sexism, but just plain respect. Some of us will excuse people like Imus when they attack politicians, but they are humans too. Personal attacks are not good for us overall. Imus said his remarks based on two things, 1) that he could get away with it (he has in the past), and 2) a disregard for the humanity of the Rutgers women.

FOX asked them what they'd like to hear in replacement of Imus for two weeks and one player said either highlights of Rutgers games or positive women programming. Love it!

They are amazing & strong women. Some of us seek out a niche in this world in hopes of changing it for the better. They have been thrust into that niche. I feel better about the future of our society if they are going to be in the fight.

Labels: feminism, sports

I took my first wall climbing class today.

Gotta say that I thought I might be good at it because I'm part monkey and my legs are pretty damn strong. Of course my hands are weak things and I only made it 1/2 way up. I also got dizzy when I fell and ended up spinning for a few seconds. At least I didn't puke.

It's only a few weeks long, so until next week!

Labels: sports

When I got to middle school, I immediately noticed that the boys were Colts and we were Fillies. Then I was pissed when I realized that once we got to high school, the boys rose to become Broncos and us girls stayed Fillies. My best friend's dad was the AD and I had a few talks with him, but he didn't see things my way. But it still irks me.

Christine Brennan has an excellent column on the term "Lady" in women's college sports:

It's the strangest tradition left in women's sports, this lingering need to add an unnecessary adjective to the school nickname. It comes from another place and time, yet it somehow remains — at least for a few dozen schools, mostly in the south, that somehow cannot see just how demeaning one little word can be.

"On the surface, it seems like a small issue," said Women's Sports Foundation President Aimee Mullins, "but it's symptomatic of a larger pattern of women's programs being viewed as the stepchild of the men's programs. Because men's teams were in place years before women's teams, some women's programs did this to differentiate between the two programs, but I think it's passé now.

Sadly and in reality, the Lady Vols are here to stay. Althou, you know...I don't think of this year's NCAA champs as the Lady Vols, but as just the Vols. But I guess that's more because I don't really follow college sports.

Thanks Women's Hoops!

Labels: feminism, sports

OK...let's get to it. I'll open the PayPal account, you fill it with donations to buy the Cubs. Come on, dontcha think the hubby & I would be way better at this than the Tribune has been? I'll even start accepting applications for all the front office positions. Except the ticket office. They get to stay. ♥ to the ticket office!

Labels: sports

It seems that each week feminists have to shake off the mainstream media annointing yet another degrading act/show/actor as the new feminism. Most recently was the NYTimes pushing the idea that the Pussycat Dolls = empowerment. Um, yeah, right.

Hidden deep in the bowels of the Chicago Sun-Times sports section (not usually the breeding ground of feminism, outside of Carol Slezak's columns) come news from the Williams Sisters:

SERVING THE WORLD : Venus to focus on women's rights
Tennis star Venus Williams has global ambitions.

She is to ''front a joint operation'' of the WTA and the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ''to advance women's rights around the world through a series of programs and scholarship,'' the New York Times reports.

Williams told the paper she wants to ''follow a path paved long ago by Billie Jean King.''

''Gender equity is an issue I expect to be involved in for the rest of my life,'' Williams. ''I know Serena [her sister] and I are well known in African countries. Every one of us is famous somewhere. We should use that to help women where they don't have rights.''

Venus credited former player Zina Garrison for making her more aware of the world's problems.

''She's in touch with a lot more things than most people realize,'' Garrison said of Williams. ''Personality-wise, I've always compared her to Arthur Ashe, and I've told her that I believe in my heart that she has a gift, the capability of being a humanitarian, too.''

The hubby read this to me while I was driving Ella to pre-school and I almost had to pull over to keep from crying. Come on, seriously, when was the last time you heard anyone of this stature - movie star or athlete - talk about women's rights like this? OK, maybe Kate Winslet, who also made my eyes a bit moist.

Labels: feminism, sports

The hubby & I caught the Cubs-Giants game at a bar near work. He got out of work early and came over to my office! How sweet, eh? So we ordered some wings and laughed our butts off as we watched Z fall down as he legged out a triple. At least we know he's in mid-season shape! Oh, he was fine. He even hit a double later in the game.

Seriously folks, it is freakin' gorgeous here in Chicago. Tomorrow should be even better. Spring has sprung! Of course, I won't be putting my snow boots away. It is still Chicago and it's not past June 1st.

Labels: sports

The NCAA Men's Basketball Tourney is just around the corner. With this, everyone and their cat will be filling out a bracket. I will too even thou I only watch the finals and really could care less for college basketball. Instead of dazzling you with my lame picks, I present, Charity Navigator's table of college coaches by salary & then their win-loss record. Enjoy!

Here are some interesting facts:

* The coach with the best record, Duke University 's Mike Krzyzewski, is not the highest paid. Both Marquette coach Tom Crean and Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings earn more from their respective universities.
* The greatest gap between performance and pay seems to be at Northwestern University , where Bill Carmody's annual compensation of $1.1 million lands him at number four on the list despite amassing only 95 wins and 111 losses in seven seasons as head coach.
* While John Thompson, III earns $449,054 as head coach at Georgetown, his father, former head coach John Thompson, Jr., earns $412,121 as "Special Assistant to the President" at Georgetown.
* In what can be seen as a victory for Title IX, while Baylor University men's basketball coach Scott Drew is number ten on the list with a salary of $413,612, Baylor women's basketball head coach Kim Mulkey earns quite a bit more, with an annual salary of $654,290 in the most recent fiscal year.

Labels: sports

Misery.

Yesterday the Bears traded my favorite running back, Thomas Jones, and Lance Briggs wants out...NOW. The front office is destroying our hopes to get back to the Super Bowl because they have their heads up their @$$es.

How sad is it that the best news to come out of yesterday's Spring Training game is that Prior & Wood pitched without pain?

Labels: sports

Today is our household's favorite day of the year. Baseball is back on TV! WOOT! To boot, it's a Cubs vs. Sux game.

Sadly, we're getting our butts kicked by the Southsiders.

Miss Ella is destined for therapy. She's wearing her Sux championship t-shirt under her Cubs bleacher shirt. The hubby asked her who 'we' were cheering for and she said "White Sox!" He beamed. But once the game started, she was excited. I asked her who we were watching and she said, "Cubbies!" How can she really root for a team she can't recognize? *snort*

BTW - Kerry Wood lost A LOT of weight. Gosh damn...must be cutting back on the munchies.

Labels: sports

Is that it is lonely. I can only imagine how Violet Palmer is feeling after hearing the sexist comments by Cedric Maxwell after he wasn't happy with a call she made the other night. For those not in the know, Violet is the only woman ref in the NBA.

"Get back in the kitchen! Get back in the kitchen and fix me some bacon and eggs!"

I don't think he deserves to be fired, but he does need an unpaid vacation for a few days.

He did apologize on-air, so perhaps that will teach him a lesson, but I doubt it.

It's incidents like this that make me realize that I do identify with being a woman first than as Latina. As horrible as it sounds, I don't have as much faith in my fellow Latino having my back as the woman next to me. And having seen many Latinos dismiss Latina issues, I think I'm safe in that conclusion. Thankfully I found one of the good ones to marry.

While we're talking basketball, the WNBA has made their sponsor list public. So keep this list handy when you have to decide where to shop. And tell them thanks for supporting women's basketball. Oh...and the Chicago Sky left me a voicemail the other day. They want to make sure I get back to see a game. Gotta love that they called ME. I feel so wanted.

Hat tips to Women's Hoops Blog.

Labels: sports

Tuesday was such an emotional day for the familia. The elections were right up there, but it was also the day that the Baseball Hall of Fame would announce any new inductions from the Veterans Committee. And for the 3rd straight time (they only vote every 2 years) no one was inducted. That includes Cubbie favorite, Ron Santo. Granted, it's an emotional topic for all of Chicago, but the fact that no one has been inducted makes a lot of people wonder what the hell is going on with the voting. Reaction from Joe Morgan:

"We're being blamed because something hasn't happened," Hall member and vice chairman Joe Morgan said. "If you're asking me, 'Do we lower our standards to get more people in?' my answer would be no."

It's not about more people, it's about SOME people. Any ONE, Joe. The ego on that man is just so gi-normous that I'm amazed that John Miller fits in the broadcast booth with Morgan.

Personally, I do hope that Ron Santo gets into the Hall before he dies. I think he has the stats to get in. But having a group of people who are already in to let others in isn't working. Whether they need to vote once a year or rework the entire system, I dunno. But something isn't working.

If I ever run into Joe Morgan he had better be careful. He dissed my Ryno by snubbing him during HoF weekend. And now he's dissing Ronnie. Don't mess with the Cubs, dude. Ask Pierzynski or the L.A. Dodgers.

Now if only we can harness our bad asses into winning on the field!

Labels: sports

Now that my one-year boycott of the Cubs is over, it's time to get some tickets right?

That is if I can get in to get some tickets. Tickets went on sale at 10 am over the internet & phone. I figured that due to a 10 am meeting, I'd be able to get in around 11 am. No such luck. I should had known better. I guess one year of not looking for tickets makes ya forget how hard it is to get tickets.

All I want are 3-5 tickets for a day game to take Ella. She's been in love with my Cubs cap and last night I finally told her, "You know you have your own Cubs hat." I've told her this before...But she squealed and we ran to her room. She quickly put it on and left my hat alone. She is tooooo cute, folks. Seriously.

Great, now it's time to head off to another meeting. Thankfully the hubby is now in the waiting room. Of course, 1 million behind where I'm about to leave. *sigh*

The life of a Cubs fan...Always waiting.

Don't steal that, ok? That's the title of my autobiography!

Labels: sports