LET ME TELL YOU A STORY

Just got a text message from Magellen and all it said was, "need a new blog." I have been slacking in my posts because I just couldn't find anything to write about. I asked him to give me a topic and he said that he would think about it. I thought to myself, how about if I just open the computer and start writing.

I am sitting with my computer and I have the Grateful Dead on for inspiration and I am coming up blank. I look over to my desk top and I notice the hospital band that I removed on Sunday night and I also see the e-mail notice from Sports Illustrated telling me that my interview for their HBO Series, Sport in America, Our Defining Stories has been submitted and it is now being looked at by the producers. As Eddie Murphy said in Coming to America, "AHA"



On Sunday, I was planning to go to Santa Anita for the day but when I woke up I was feeling a little light headed and I had a massive headache, like I had a hangover. I took my usual Beyer aspirin and I also took a Motrin to get rid of the headache. While I was getting ready, I realized that my left arm was tingling. I decided to take my blood pressure to see what was up. I took my BP and it was 157 over 92. That is extremely high for me. I am in pretty decent shape, I work out at least five times a week and I try to eat normally but Friday night I had to work until 4 o'clock in the morning and then I went to my nephews baseball scrimmage, so I was chalking this up as an anomaly to no sleep.

I pack my things and I start heading to Santa Anita. The traffic was pretty light and I arrived in Arcadia real early. I was not meeting my buddy for at least another hour so I figured I would get a cup of coffee and read the Sunday newspaper. I stopped at a Starbuck's on Huntington Drive, right across from the Derby Restaurant. As I got out of my car, the world started spinning and my head was really pounding. After awhile I realized I was not going to make it into the Starbuck's nor was I going to make it into Santa Anita. This wasn't right so I decided to head back and go to the ER. I stopped at my house first to do a few things and get some phone numbers just in case. Since I was home, I decided to take my BP again and it was now 172 over 100, wow, now we're cooking with heat. I guess I better step it up a bit.

I got to the ER at Hoag Hospital. Let me tell you this, I have been in a lot of ERs but this Hoag Hospital ER was like checking into a hotel. I even had to ask if I was in the ER and the "concierge" said yes. I told her the situation and they brought me in to the nurses station where they did some prelim tests. They took my BP and it was 182 over 115. Call NASA because we were about to blast off.

They get me all hooked up to a machine to take a picture of my heart and they start an IV and they ask all the questions. They hook me up to an EKG machine and start monitoring. I am feeling pretty good except for the pounding headache and lightheadedness. The doctor comes in and starts his battery of tests and questions. He says that I will need a chest x-ray, an MRI and some medication to lower my BP.  He says get comfortable because I will be here for awhile.

The nurse comes in and gives me some medication that she describes as very powerful. She can only administer a little at a time because it has been known to lower the pulse to about 20 beats a minute. OK then. They wheel me into get a chest x-ray and when that is done the doctor comes in and says, "well, you didn't have a heart attack." We're going to have to give you an MRI to see if you have had a stroke. In my mind, I am saying perfect, you are going to shove me into a cigar tube for 45 minutes and at the same time you want my blood pressure to lower. I am hoping this is an open MRI.

The BPAdavant, it will make you drowsy and you won't have a problem." The doctor looks at the nurse and says, "Good idea." Exactly who is driving this bus. They give me the Adavant and I get nice and drowsy and I sit still through the 45 minute cigar tube ride.

Everything turns out negative, no heart attack, no stroke, BP is back down and Doctor Seuess gives me a prescription for medication and really had no idea what caused this. He chalks it up to being a hereditary issue. He asked me if there is a history of this in my family and I say, I don't know, I was adopted. He retorts, you should find out your medical history. All I can say is that I am trying.

It kind of upset me that, I have been trying to find out about my natural parents but I have had no luck. My family has not been very knowledgeable about the adoption. I didn't find out until both my parents passed away so asking the main players is out of the question. I decided that I need to step up the search because I don't need any surprises like this again.

When I get home, I realize that I need to submit my interview to Sports Illustrated for their series that they are doing with HBO. This series is called Sport in America and they take stories from ordinary people about experiences in sports. I submitted my story on how a bunch of us pooled 5 dollars a piece and my buddy and I handicapped the 2005 Kentucky Derby. We put together a few trifecta tickets and we ended up winning. Our winning trifecta ticket paid, $133,000.00. Hopefully the producers of HBO like what I submitted and qualify me to be on the show.

To everyone who is reading this, get yourself a BP monitor and some Beyer aspirin because one never knows when something like this could occur. Without those two things, I don't know what might of happened. Information is powerful and life saving.

LIN-DERELLA STORY

I have been watching the Jeremy Lin saga play out over the last six games. This is exactly what the Knicks needed and that was a shot in the arm. Due to injuries to two of their biggest stars, Lin got his chance and he has shown the NBA what he can do.

How does a kid like this get passed up by so many scouts and how is it that two teams cut him. He was just about to get cut from the Knicks but injuries forced D'Antoni to use him. Jeremy Lin is not your prototypical point guard. He is not that big and he is not that strong but he is a basketball player. He plays the position exactly how it is supposed to be played. He runs the floor, he takes it to the hoop (who says Asians can't drive) and when the big guys sag on him, Lin drains them from the outside but the most important thing that he does is pass. He makes his teammates play the game the way it is supposed to be played, like a team.

If Stoudemire, Tyson and Anthony were winning games as the big three for the Knicks, we would not know who Jeremy Lin is. He would of been cut and he would of been looking for another team. He has pulled the ultimate Wally Pipp. The stars have been sitting and he came in and now he won't leave. His great run has taken a lot of heat off of D'Antoni. Without Lin, I think D'Antoni would have been banished. Don't get me wrong, I still think D'Antoni needs to go.

I think the Knicks need to evaluate this situation. I think the chemistry is great right now but once Anthony returns, it becomes a different team. Lin needs to control the floor but I don't see Anthony letting that happen. Package up Anthony for some good pieces to help out in the long run. I really think that David Lee would of been perfect in this line-up. The Knicks need to be smart and evaluate what the future holds.

Lin makes the Knicks fun again. I am going to enjoy it while it lasts because they still are the Knicks.

LUCK

Horse racing is one of my favorite hobbies and Santa Anita is my favorite track. I was very anxious to see the first two episodes of HBO's mini-series, Luck, this past weekend.

In the past year, when visiting Santa Anita, you saw movie trailers parked by the entrance to Clocker's Corner. When you entered Santa Anita, there was a sign with what appeared to be some legalese from the movie company. The sign basically said that by entering Santa Anita, you are allowing the movie company to possibly catch you on film, whether you like it or not and you can't ask for any money if you are caught on film. These guys were serious about this long filming process.

Last weekend was the first two episodes of Luck and after watching the first one, I wondered to myself whether the general public was going to get lost in the dialog. The degenerate gamblers (And they remind me of The Stooges from Hollywood Park) talk in a vernacular that only a denizen of the track would get.  There is Dustin Hoffman's character, who has just been released from prison and he has some backdoor deals going for putting a casino in place. Nick Nolte is an old time owner/trainer who appears to have found a horse that might run for the roses and Richard Kind is a jockey agent and after the first episode I can see that he is going to steal a number of scenes. I really like the fact that they have placed Gary Stevens and Chantel Sutherland in bit parts to really add to the realistic sense of the show.

All in all I really liked it because it was not a feel good story in the vain of Secreteriat or Seabiscuit.  This is a story that is played out everyday at every race track.  The average person will get a crash course into the handicapping dynamics of a race, the doping end of the game and the real life stuff of horse racing. The makers of this series are not shy about it, they put down a horse in the first episode and it was graphic.

This whole entire gritty show is played against the backdrop of probably the most beautiful race tracks in the country, Santa Anita.  This race track is still carrying its art deco look of days gone by but the most breathtaking aspect of Santa Anita is the track's backdrop, the majestic San Gabriel Mountains.

If you have HBO take a look at this series. Who knows, you might want to take a ride down to the track and pick up a new hobby. If you are going to do this, I will give you a piece of advice, "Don't ever take a tip from a guy with holes in his shoes!"

LETS GO BLUE JAYS!!!!!

LETS GO BLUE JAYS!!!!

Why would a Yankee fan utter these words? Let me tell you a story.

My nine-year-old nephew came to me around Thanksgiving and said, “Nino, can you put me into baseball?”  I told him that I would. I was a bit surprised because he never really showed an interest in the game. I was extremely happy because, I love hockey and football but my passion is baseball.

I signed him up for Cal Ripken Baseball in Long Beach, California. We went to the sporting goods store and he got his first baseball glove. We went to the park and had a catch. For a kid who never played the game before, he appears to have natural ability. He has a real good glove, a decent arm and he is not afraid to put his body in front of the ball. He was having a blast just throwing the ball around.

We went and bought him his first baseball bat and I borrowed a T and a bucket of balls. We worked on mechanics by hitting off the T and he seems to have a natural inside out swing, a la Derek Jeter. I threw batting practice and he was having fun, even when I center-punched him because he was getting a little cocky and talking his mush to me.

He had his tryouts for the league and I sat and watched, never interfering with what he was doing nor trying to correct every mistake. After every fielding drill or hitting drill, he would look over at me and give me a smile and a wave. I would smile and wave back and I realized why baseball is my passion. No matter what age, it just makes you smile. As I sat and watched the nine year olds trying out, my mind drifted back to 1960s.

I remember seeing the older kids playing baseball and stickball on East 7^th Street and in the schoolyard of PS 209. I would hear the older guys talking about this guy named Mickey Mantle. I would hear the Italian guys saying that Joe D was the best. I was amazed how guys would sit around and argue about things that made no sense to me.

My dad took me to Mr. Baccagalupe’s barbershop and on the way there I asked about this Mickey Mantle guy and all this hoopla about baseball. I asked my dad how come we never have a catch, I asked how come we never go to a ball game, I said I want to play baseball and since this Mickey Mantle character seems to be the talk of the town, I want him as my favorite player. My dad basically nodded his head in agreement without uttering a word. Just as we crossed over Ave Y on Coney Island Avenue, I declared, “And I like the Yankees!!!” I looked at my dad to see if he had any input and he just kept walking. I figured he had a lot on his mind, since we were on our way to Baccagalupe’s and according to my dad if you take the wrong seat at that barbershop, you might get whacked. Amazing what grown-ups think about.

Since I had a new hobby, I needed to start somewhere. I got a hand me down glove from my cousin and a Spaldeen. I had no clue how to throw nor did I have anyone wanting to throw the ball to me. I would ask my dad to catch with me and he wouldn’t. I would ask my dad about hitting and he really had no answer. I came to the conclusion that I was on my own for this one. I figured that he just didn’t like this game called baseball.

I would roam on down to the parking lot in the back of my apartment building and I would sit and watch the older kids playing. I would run after the balls for them and I would act as a batboy for them.

One day I was asked if I would like to try hitting and I said sure. They told me to get into the batter’s box and they would pitch it to me. I didn’t know which side of the batter’s box to get into because that Mickey Mantle guy hit the ball from both sides. When I was asked this, I was standing behind the plate and I quickly thought that a lefty should stand to the left of the plate. From where I was standing, the right-handed batter’s box was on the left side. So as not to look like a dope, I quickly picked up a bat and jumped into the right-handed box. I gripped the bat with my left hand on top because that is what felt comfortable and tried to take a practice swing. The older guys made me switch up my hands and said that is how a righty bats. I didn’t want to argue the fact that I was left-handed so I just went with it. (I became a right-handed batter but not on purpose)

I taught myself to hit, catch, and throw. My dad never showed any interest for these shenanigans. I always said that he didn’t know what he was missing.

Fast forward to 1997, my father had passed away in 1993 and I was talking on the phone with an older cousin who had not seen me since I was a baby. I told him that I wanted to come visit him in Woodstock, New York when I was in the City.  I told him that I was coming into NY because I had opening day tickets for the Yankees and I wanted to watch the Championship Flag hoisted. My cousin said to me, “I never thought the day would come that there would be a male in our family that was a Yankee fan.” He went on to say, “If you come to visit me and you are wearing a Yankee hat, I will slap it off your head.” Wow, the hostility from my own family.

He proceeded to tell me that my father would take him to Ebbets Field and they would watch my father’s beloved Brooklyn Dodgers. I told my cousin, “I thought my dad hated baseball, he never wanted to catch with me, he wouldn’t watch a game on TV with me and he never showed any interest.” My cousin went on to say that my father was the biggest baseball fan around and when the Dodgers left Brooklyn, it broke his heart. My father refused to have anything to do with a game that caused him so much pain. My cousin went on to say that when I professed my allegiance to the Yankees, it just about killed him. My father could not believe that there was a Yankee fan living in the same house with him. A boy that loves Mickey Mantle and not Duke Snider. My cousin said that it completely killed my father to step foot inside of Yankee Stadium so I could watch the Yankees. I always wondered why he made me sit behind the girder for both games of the doubleheader. I bet he planned that and Baccagalupe was probably in on it.

When I hung up the phone, I was amazed. I never knew that my father was such a baseball fan. I had mixed emotions on this but I think the emotion that still lingers is the emotion of sadness. My father and I never had that baseball bond. Whether it was just having a catch or sitting around and arguing baseball. I never got the chance to ask him questions about the Dodgers and Ebbets Field. I never got to hear the stories from my dad and he probably had some good ones.  Just writing this makes me sad.

On Sunday night, I received a call from my nephew’s baseball coach. He told me that he had drafted my nephew to play on his little league team. I was excited for my nephew. The coach went on to tell me that my nephew’s little league team is the Blue Jays. My inner Yankee fan said, “The Blue Jays?” but then my memories washed over me again and all I could say to the coach was….

“LETS GO BLUE JAYS!!!!!!”

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2012

After 5 hours and 53 minutes, Novak Djokovic was crowned the Australian Open champion. Once again he came out on top of Rafael Nadal, who did not make the win easy. Djokovic beat Nadal, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5) and 7-5.

This match was far from flawless from either player. Each player had more unforced errors than winners. Nadal had 44 winners and Djokovic had 57. The big number was the unforced errors, Djokovic had 69 and Nadal had 71. Nadal committed one unforced error in the fifth set that changed the outcome of the match.

After Nadal fought back from being down in the fourth set, 3-4 and 0-40 on his serve, he seemed to be taking control of the fifth set. Djokovic looked a bit gassed and Nadal started to press on his neck. With the set at 4-2 Nadal and Djokovic serving, Nadal appeared that he was going to break Djokovic's serve to take a commanding 5-2 lead.  During the rally, that would of put Nadal up 15-40, Djokovic hit a ball to Nadal's backhand. Nadal had a lot of space to Djokovic's left to hit a clean passing shot. Nadal's passing shot appeared to have bounced barely in but after Djokovic challenged, the shot was clearly out. Game is tied at 30 and Djokovic could hear the wind going out of Nadal's sails.

This match will be talked about in the same conversation as Nadal-Federer, 2008 Wimbledon and Borg-McEnroe, 1980 Wimbledon.

Djokovic is on a roll right now. He has won four of the last five Grand Slam Tournaments. The only loss in that stretch is to Federer at last year's French Open.

Hopefully these two guys enter the BNP Parabas Tournament at Indian Wells in March, since we have tickets to the weekends festivities. We would love to see these two go at it again.

WHAT WILL JESUS DO?

Brian Cashman pulled the trigger on a four player trade with the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees needed pitching and they traded one of their top prospects, Jesus Montero, and Hector Noesi for Michael Pineda and Jose Campos. Michael Pineda is a 23 year old All-Star right-hander. He has a fastball that averages 94.7 miles and hour and he strikes out 9.11 hitters per nine innings. His downside is that he gives up a lot of fly balls, not a great thing for Yankee Stadium.

Jesus Montero is a power hitting catcher but the word on him is that he can't play defense. The Yankees are hoping that this will not turn into another Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps trade. The bottom line is that the Yankees needed pitching and if it takes trading a top young hitter for a top young arm, than it has to be done. Pitching is in short supply these days. I want to see what Jesus will do.

The signing of Hiroki Kuroda is a smart move. Kuroda was the number two guy behind Clayton Kershaw and he will fill in nicely at the end of the order.  If all the stars align, the Yankees have a very young starting rotation to go with CC. The youngsters are Phil Hughes, Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova and prospects Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances. The Yankees then have Kuroda, Freddy Garcia and AJ to fill in.
I like the fact that the Yankees went after some pitching and maybe this year they won't have to be such a softball team.

REALLY MORA? SAL ALOSI?

Why does the UCLA football team always seem to get these dolts to coach them.  Every other varsity sport has top notch coaching. They hired Neuheisel and everything was in disarray. You had a head coach that was a quarterback in college and he couldn't teach Kevin Prince to be a quarterback. So, they fire Neuheisel because he couldn't win and they hire Mora. He has been on the job since breakfast and already he is doing things that make the Bruin faithful shake their heads.

Mora hires Sal Alosi as their strength and conditioning coach. You might remember Sal Alosi and his 10 seconds of fame on the NY Jets sidelines about a year ago. Alosi trips a Miami Dolphin who is running down the sidelines in punt coverage. He gets himself fined, then fired and never to be heard from again. Perfect. With all the hooey going on in sports, the last thing you need is a guy like this making headlines for you.

Since UCLA wants to be THE college football team of Los Angeles, they decide that they need to emulate the powerful USC Trojans. They need to cheat and who better to start the cheating off with but Sal Alosi, a cheater caught on television cheating.

Mora, you have not played a down yet, you are months from spring practice and already you are being questioned. What message does that send the athletes?  Are you sending a message that cheating is OK? Mora, I am already not liking what I see.

And from the team that brought you Sal Alosi.....

The New York Jets cut ties with Schottenheimer. They say he didn't want to come back. I say, who cares, he's gone. They have replaced him with Tony Sparano. This is meant to be that Tony Sparano sounds so much like Tony Soprano, and he will be standing in the Meadowlands, the home of Jimmy Hoffa and any other mob informant that went missing. Can you say fuhgedabouit!!!

Sparano, who brought back the Wildcat, is going to definitely tinker with the offense. That Miami Dolphin team that ran the Wildcat was anything but vanilla. Sparano can make it interesting but most important is that he will rely on his offensive line and his running backs to make the Jets offense productive. He is your perfect mastermind for the ground and pound.