Not In My House

Photo by Tom Mills

Congratulations to the Padres on an exciting game, denying the Dodgers' celebration at PetCo. LA Times sports writers gave no credit to the Padres for the win, but we know--we saw--amazing pitching, hitting, and most of all, great defense. Labeled the likes of "lowly Padres" and "next-to-last-place team," opponents don't seem to quite realize how well the Padres have played in August and September. Cabrera may make an error, but he more than makes up for it with dazzling plays. In fact, sometimes I think he makes an error just so he can initiate the double play for the next batter. And, what's with the wrestling move, (ex-Padre) Loretta?

The San Diego Chicken

When the baseball boys disappoint (and the Padres have truly disappointed their fans this season), what reason is there to go to the ballpark? The answer is easy: when the San Diego Chicken is in the lineup. No matter how excruciating the play-by-play becomes, the Chicken can take away the pain and replace it with laughter. The Chicken kept up the visual antics, parodies, and skits throughout the game where the San Francisco Giants prevailed, 3-2.

How painful was the game? you ask. Here are several low lights.

• Giant fans to the left of me, Giant fans to the right of me, stuck in the middle with you (not you, it’s just the song).
• When the score was tied at 1-1, the Giants scored the go ahead run on a passed ball.
• When the score was tied at 2-2 in the 10th, the Giants scored the go ahead run with our hall of fame-bound closer who really should retire on the mound, trying to preserve the tie.
• In the bottom of the 10th, the Padres get 3 consecutive hits but can’t score. Note to Bud Black: When the game is on the line in the bottom of the 10th and your lead base runner isn’t fast enough to send home from scoring position on a hit, consider putting in a pinch runner. Oh wait! Do the Padres have anyone that could be used in that capacity besides Greg Maddux?

Wait a minute? Why did I name Greg Maddux? How many bases did the San Diego Padres steal in July 2008? The answer is 1. Who stole it? The answer is Maddux. Aaaaaaaah!

There is no joy in Mudville

From my Boston-area cross-cultural commentator (raised in San Diego, but living just as many years in the greater Boston area):

Okay, different sport—but New England is in a deep, deep depression right now, and I don't mean an economical one. This game is one for the history books, to be sure; a nail-biter; turning on single plays, where the fortune of the teams turned in a second.

People here were expecting a win. But more than that, they were expecting to argue for their lifetime whether the 2007 Patriots were the best team ever. This isn't just a loss of a SuperBowl with all the hopes that go with that. This was a loss of a version of history—we no longer can discuss if this team is the best team to have ever played.

There's been some comparisons to the loss of the World Series, but it feels so different. One commentator I think was right—that loss generated a lot of anger—it was lost through errors. This is deep depression; no errors were made—the game could have easily gone the other way—if only Manning had been sacked that one play!

Ahhhh, the life of a New England sports fan. I think they're going to revel in this loss for their lifetime!

And I reply:

Very good analysis. The game was amazing. I couldn't figure out who to vote for: Charger fans don't like Eli because he and his daddy snubbed us. Whenever the Giants come to town, Eli suffers the intense roar of crowd disapproval. And, well, Brady is just too good looking, the Pats have already won their share, and yes, thank God we don't have to listen to the New England best team ever blather.

But, Charger fans know in our hearts that with one of the three (Rivers, Gates, Tomlinson) healthy, we would have beat the Patriots. And then we could have finally laid to rest the Manning snub because there would be no way that our defense would have let Eli succeed.

And there you have it.

Rain Drop Pearls Grace a Tidy-Bowl Day

Tidy Bowl day is here and we are looking at a rain-soaked event.

'I can't cancel Tidy Bowl,' laments Paul. 'It's a contradiction in terms.'

Stay tuned for an update.

A Traveling Warrior Returns with a Story

I have a guest post today from my friend and fellow book club member Tom. Here you see him proudly holding two tickets to the upcoming Chargers-Patriots game in Gillette Stadium.

Gail,

I was one of the fans who joined the Chargers officially sanctioned travel agency trip to Indy. My package included a game ticket, a Saturday night bar gathering at Jillian's featuring local media
notables (Hank Bauer, Jim Laslavic, Josh Lewin), the Road Warrior himself, George Pernicano and even team doctor David Chao. Two hours of food and drink and fellowship with a room full of frenzied football fans.

Fine!

After the booster boasting by the media men one fan was given the mike. A big man, Jim is his name, he slowly stood up and proceeded to tell us that he has six season tickets, lives in Alaska, flies to San Diego at the beginning of the season and attends all games here and away. And as a gesture of Alaskan spirit he bought spirits for everyone in the room. Later he told me the tab came to $530. Jim has ordered a special edition Dodge Charger with somewhere around 450 hp. It will be in blue & gold, of course.

At the table next to me a fellow named Jaime sat with his wife and five children. The youngest was 89 months old and all were going to the game. Jaime hails from Riverside. He's going to Gillette Stadium too. I'm still in awe of that guy.

After the win on Sunday we regrouped in the lobby of the Omni hotel and met even more Boltheads who were there on their own. Words cannot describe the gathering. Words are too quiet. Words are only part of song. Words don't hurt your cheeks after hours of grinning while drinking.

I've got my tickets today for the Gillette game. Jim and Jaime are the first two of many I just gotta be with again.

Tom
I took this shaky shot with raised cell phone as we exited the RCA Dome Sunday after it hosted its Colts last stand and our Chargers' next step. It conveys the specter and the energy of the event. Not a good photo for a classy blog but one worth sharing with ardent Boltheads!

A Matter of Pride

Well, we’ve got them right where we want them. Yes, the Chargers beat the Colts yesterday 28-24, a rematch from earlier in the season. That one the Chargers also won, but no one gave the Bolts credit. It was simply, Manning had a bad day (6 picks) and Vinatieri missed a game-winning chip shot (true, he did). However, there was a reason Manning had a bad day: the Chargers have a good defensive line and an incredible pass defender named Antonio Cromartie. (He led the league in interceptions even though he wasn’t a starter from the beginning.) Cromartie has 4 Manning picks this season, one yesterday and three in that first contest.

Manning didn’t really have a bad game yesterday (402 yards passing), but, again the defense came up with the big plays (1^st and goal on the nine and the Chargers keep the Colts from scoring).

Yesterday and today I have reveled in the non-stop replays: Cromartie’s interception run back for a TD—oops! called back by a dubious holding call—it’s nonetheless a beautiful run. Legedu Naanee’s gobbled yards in the crucial game-winning drive. Billy Volek’s gutsy performance as backup QB in the game-winning drive. Darren Sproles’ short reception turned into a 56-yard TD flash in Rivers’ last play of the day. Mike Turner, replacing Tomlinson in the second half, churning out the yards. Mike Scifres’ incredible punt from the end-zone that put Manning and company on their own 30 to start the final bid for points. Rivers’ perfect pass to Chambers for a TD. Jackson’s 10-foot hops for an incredible pull down in the end zone (another perfect pass from Rivers) for a TD. An offensive line that gave Rivers and Volek time and no sacks. Merriman, my buddy, grabbing at Manning’s heals all afternoon.

Yes, we’ve got them right where we want them. You see, the Patriots are expected to roll over the Chargers just like they did in week 2 of the season (that score was 38-14 Pats). Good. Let them think that. No sympathy for the cry-babies who want to see a Manning-Brady showdown. I’m looking for a Rivers-Manning showdown—Eli, that is. And, that’s when we show Archie how thankful we are for the snub.

Searching for the NFL in all the wrong places

I wouldn’t call myself a sports fanatic, but the enthusiasm my husband holds for football and baseball leaks out and infects me. So I pay more attention to the NFL than I might otherwise.

Tonight’s game is being touted as one of the premiere match ups of the season with old man Favre against the youngster Romo. Both teams are 10-1 and it’s likely they’ll also meet in the post season.

Of particular interest is that the game is being broadcast on the NFL network, a for-pay offering that may or may not be something you get in your house. (We actually have a 30-day trial subscription that we opted for on Thanksgiving.)

If you don’t get the NFL network, you might try going to your favorite Sports Bar. On the road in Virginia, Paul did some pre-game sleuthing yesterday to find an appropriate viewing venue. (Reminiscent, perhaps, of our NFL-playoff-sports-bar search last January in London.)

Sports Bar #1
Paul: “Hey, will you be showing the Packers/Cowboy game tomorrow night?”
Sports Bar #1 Greeter: “Sure, look at all our TVs.” (Waves hands around.) “Of course.”
Paul: “So you guys get the NFL network?”
Sports Bar #1 Greeter: “The NFL what? What’s that?”
Paul: “Can I talk to the manager?”
Sports Bar #1 Manager: “The NFL what? What’s that?”

Sports Bar #2
Paul: “Hey, will you be showing the Packers/Cowboy game tomorrow night?”
Sports Bar #2 Manager (by-passing the Greeter): “Absolutely. I’m a Cowboy fan. I’m going to be watching it myself.” (Proudly.)
Paul: “Great, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Sports Bar #2 Manager: “Just to let you know. Karaoke starts at 9:00.”
Paul: “But the game starts at 8:15—wha?”
Sports Bar #2 Manager (shrugs): “Our customers expect karaoke on Thursday nights.”

Sports Bar #3
Paul: “Hey will you be showing the Packers/Cowboy game tomorrow night?”
Sports Bar #3 [ . . . and the search goes on . . . ]

Lost Hope

(And you thought this post was about politics??? Ha!) When did it become so painful to be a sports fan in San Diego? Not only did we witness our inspired and much-cheered-for Padres’ season melt away, but the Chargers have already equaled the total season losses from all of last year and we are but a quarter of the way in (I am including last year’s post-season in that number). I am at a loss for words. Yoga, anyone . . . anyone?

One of Them Spanish-Sounding West Coast Cities

Letter to the Editor regarding: At the Plate: Deathly Numbers, by Roger Angell, The New Yorker, August 20, 2007.

Bonds's record dinger, in the fifth inning of a night game against the Washington Nationals at Petco Park, in San Francisco, came at his third at-bat of the evening . . .

Please tell Roger Angell that PetCo Park is in San Diego, not San Francisco as his article states. While one might forgive and even understand how such an embarrassing blunder could occur given that the Padres were involved in Bonds’s homerun record chase (see my own report here), nevertheless, confusing San Diego’s PetCo Park with San Francisco’s AT&T Park is bush league. I might think that Angell either isn’t a baseball fan or, more likely, such an East Coast-centric fan that to him the National League West Division is the geographic equivalent of, say, Afghanistan. Would the editors of the New Yorker let slip the phrase “at Fenway Park in New York”? I don’t think so.

Being a Part of History at the Ballpark

“Hi, I just landed.” —me, from the airplane, landing at Lindberg Field, San Diego.

“Oh, man! It’s extra innings . . . did you hear what happened?” —Paul, from PetCo Park, Saturday night, August 4, Padres vs. the Giants.

“No, what’s up?” —curious, I’ve been ensconced in an airplane for the past four hours—I have no idea what’s going on.

“Bonds tied the record in the second inning. We are all here—Kellen, the two Kyles and I.” Father-son fantasy realized. Be at the ballpark when Bonds ties the record. Not a Giants fan. Not a Barry Bonds fan. But baseball history is baseball history. In person. They are there.

“Okay, call you later.” . . . thinking . . . He really does not want to leave the game early just to pick me up at the airport. Extra innings. No problem. I’ll get a cab. Pull out cell phone. Redial.

“What’s up?” he asks. It’s still extra innings.

“Hey. It’s me again. Look, I’ll get a cab to the Omni. Meet you at the bar.” I’ve just flown in from Canada, but you’re at the ballgame with our son and the boys. I can chill.

“Yeah! Great idea!” —obviously relieved— “Call me when you get here.” You’ve just flown in from Canada and I’m at the ballgame with our son and the boys. You can chill.

So I share a cab with a charming young woman who lives a few blocks from PetCo Park downtown San Diego. The Padres game has just ended when I arrive at the Omni (which connects to the ball field). The Padres win. Yeah. Here’s to you Barry, but the Padres won. Now you can go home and break the record in San Francisco. The Padres beautiful ball park is on the cover of SI just because Barry hits a home run. The game ran so late that the L.A. Times ran the story about Barry tying the record but did not record the winner of the game. So just in case anybody out there in baseball land doesn’t know: Barry hit his record-tying homerun against the Padres, but the Giants do not win. The Padres beat the Giants.

In fact, a mere three days later, Barry breaks the record in the Giants versus Washington Nationals game. The Giants do not win. The Nationals win the game.

But we aren’t going to remember all that. We’ll remember the father and the son who were able to witness baseball history live, in person, together. How cool is that?

500 Career Saves for Trevor Hoffman

The Padres beat the Dodgers tonight 5-2 at home, but the story was not the win, it was yet another Trevor Time save. And it wasn’t just another save—it was number 500. Trevor stands alone with the best number of career saves ever. It was a sweet win against the Trolley Dodgers, against whom Trevor has earned 58 of those 500 saves. I only wish I had been there—these pictures are simply captured from my TV.

Congratulations, Trevor. Congratulations, Padres. Barry who?

Boobarry Night at PETCO

Compared to last year’s flying syringes, Boobarry Night this year was rather tame. Low scoring, low hitting, it was all about executing the baseball script. With a strange mixture of ex-Padres (Bochy, Flannery, Roberts and others) and traditional Giant foes (Durham and Vizquel both made hit-robbing plays, as well as Roberts’ amazing running catch to the wall in center field), the night took on a “Who are we” and “Who are you” feeling. Barry was a non-factor, even watching him rattle about the left-field corner chasing down Greenie’s double in the 7th (it was a solid double even without the rattling). Kahlil Greene’s long hit proved to be the start of the lone run of the game, helped along by Russell Branyan’s walk and Jose Cruz Jr.’s sacrifice bunt to move the runners up a base, putting Greene on third. Jeff Blum, frequently good for game-shaping offense, delivered a sacrifice fly to score Greene. His long-out fly ball was barely foul, but perhaps too close to let drop by Winn in right field.

Padre starter Chris Young went seven innings (good for the win) and the Padre bull pen continued their scoreless innings stretch (20 2/3 innings and counting), with Cla Meredith and Trevor Hoffman posting zeros each for an inning. Giant pitching was also excellent, with Giant Cain throwing a two-hitter but taking the loss.

For me, two moments stand out from last night. One, it was really nice (really, really) to have a manager call for a bunt (note: non-pitcher up at bat) with two on and no outs: a game-winning decision, no doubt. Bud Black is not Bruce Bochy. Two, long-time Padre player, coach, and announcer Tim Flannery coaching third base for the Giants, seemed uncomfortable during the raucous Trevor Time, a celebrated Padre home field tradition before Trevor takes the mound in a save situation. Our seats just on the left-field side of third (and aided by binocs) revealed a bit of pacing and squirming from Tim during Hells Bells.

The other nicety about this year’s Padres? Two sets of brothers populate the roster: Marcus and Brian Giles and Glenn and Trevor Hoffman. From the right field bleacher seats where I was sitting on Sunday (thanks for the tickets, Rob), a very cool site line shows Giles number 24 in the foreground and Giles number 22 at second. I wish I had carted a long lens on Sunday to frame that image!

Super Day at Tidy Bowl XXXI

Tradition rules at the Tidy Bowl.
(Click the pictures to see a larger view.)
JP, Sam, Brent, Wese, PA, Billy, and Bruce at the very first Tidy Bowl
(Gail took the picture).
Way back in 1977 we had our first Tidy Bowl, a flag football game played on Super Sunday. This picture is Tidy Bowl I (10 years behind the Super Bowl), played bare-foot and in the mud. This is the before-shot—we never took the after shot, since the game ended when I sprained my ankle. At the end of the game, we were covered in mud and the name “Tidy Bowl” seemed apropos. We started the tradition to get us all in the mood to watch the network extravaganza that the Super Bowl has grown into. Over the years we’ve had anywhere from 8 to 30 participants, with the down-side of the participation level now being filled in with next-generation players (our kids). This year we had a great time at Tidy Bowl XXXI and the game, as usual, ended in a tie. Tyler Strause both played and took photographs. Here's the red team in their huddle with Kyle providing patterns for his ends.

Red team in huddle. Photo by Tyler Strause
Each year we have these goals:

Have fun
Don’t get hurt
Make the teams even
Have as many people catch passes as possible
End the game in a tie

Heavy rushing provided by PA and Kellen with JP blocking. Photo by Tyler Strause
We start playing around noon, take a half-time break, and continue playing until the game is tied or until around 2:30PM—time for us to collect our aching bodies and make our way to Chuck and Jocelyn’s for the Super Bowl viewing.

Gail, Sara, Kellen and Paul: a flag football playing family. Photo by Linda Strause

Tidy Bowl XXXI Participants. Photo by Tyler Strause
Tyler has posted his all of his Tidy Bowl XXXI shots online here.

NFL in London

Note that the title of this post is “NFL in London,” not “Football in London.” The term Football is ambiguous—do you mean Football a.k.a. Soccer or Football a.k.a. American Football? While the term NFL may not be as knowable outside the U.S., it is clear to anyone even remotely interested in American Football what is meant here. Righto.

Second side note: This post was very painful to write.

In possession of playoff tickets for the wildly successful San Diego Chargers, we nonetheless relinquished our tickets to our grateful children (who are not children, but offspring sounds way too formal). We are out of town preparing to teach the Sun Java Studio Creator course outside of London. Our mission, should we decide to accept it, was to find a bar/pub/venue of some kind where we could watch the Chargers host the New England Patriots. In anticipation of this event, we packed our powder-blue jerseys to wear during the viewing and used the tool of choice (the internet) to find an acceptable venue. The search term “NFL London” yielded a few possibilities: Cheers London and the Sports Café.

Both venues are near the wild and crazy Piccadilly Circus area and within walking distance of each other. We were in Cheers first (kick-off time was 9:30PM for the 1:30PM Pacific Standard Time start). At 12:30AM with the DJ music blasting all about us, Cheers London turned ON the lights, turned OFF the music and the TVs, and kicked everybody out. It was the beginning of the 4th quarter! We made our way to the Sports Café just in time to see LT score a touchdown for San Diego. Our glee was short-lived, however, as the San Diego defense made a costly mistake and the Patriots took advantage. The Sports Café was packed with both Charger and Patriot fans. When the Chargers game-tying field goal went wide in the last seconds of the game, we cried in our beer, poured out of the bar, and (now it’s passed 1:00AM and the tube is closed) were guided by a savvy American living in London to the proper 24-hour bus stop.
Next Entry: The Essence of London

Trolley Dodgers at PetCo Park

When a friend comes to town and you haven't seen him in 11 years and it's 4:30 in the afternoon and he grew up in San Diego but hasn't yet seen the downtown ballpark and the dastardly Dodgers are in town, whaddaya do? Go to the Ball Game! So we drive downtown and park in our secret parking garage, grab an idle lawyer from his downtown office (just kidding Sam), consume the beverages of our choice and fish tacos at the Tin Fish, procure tickets (the deal was made on the street corner, but it was not illegal), and gawk at the baseball fans streaming in from the trolley.

Here's Big Mike's take on the evening:

A good time was had by all!
Especially the Padres.
Of course, our hearts go out to the poor poor Angelenos and their Trolley Dodgers, who failed to dodge the San Diego FREIGHT TRAIN.

After the Padres built their picket fence (one run in four consecutive innings), closure came in the form of Trevor Time, savored by Padre fans lucky enough to be in the park when it happens!
Next Entry: Happy To Be in North Carolina