What I'm Reading

Well, I'm back home after 2 weeks at the Delaware Shore ... and that means I had plenty of time to read.

Of course, now that I'm home ... I still have plenty of time to read ... but I digress.

I'm a pretty vicious devourer of books, they help me get to sleep at night. I won't profess to reading anything too deep, but I always usually have a book going.

Mostly, I read about sports. Why? Because I'm a guy I guess, and sometimes the stories are good ones.

So, I thought I'd share some of the most recent books I polished off.

The first, was a great little book written by my favorite author ... Carl Hiaasen. For those of you who don't know, Hiaasen was an investigative reporter for the Miami Herald and is now a columnist for the paper.

He also writes crime novels that are very dark and funny. Hiaasen is pretty angry about the destruction of Florida's natural beauty by developers ... and that's a common theme in his books. I saw Hiassen speak at the Akron library recently, and he says he's a big fan of when "nature fights back" ... which is also a common theme. You may be familiar with one of his books, Strip Tease, which was made into a horrible, horrible movie. Trust me, the book is a good read.

Anyways, his most recent effort is a little different. It's called "The Downhill Lie" ... and its basically his writings on returning to the game of golf for the first time in 32 years. His goal was to shoot a better score than he did in his 20's ... and he accomplished it ... barely. It's very funny, touching in spots, and a must read for hackers like me.

I also tore through the third in a series of baseball books written by ESPN columnist Rob Neyer. This book is a little different from the others. Neyer is a big stat-geek, and I'm a fan of his blog on espn.com (subscribers only, sadly.)

Anyways, his new book is called "The Big Book of Baseball Legends." Basically, he takes some of the greatest stories told throughout baseball history ... and debunks them a bit. He does this by diving through old box scores and newspaper accounts. There are a couple good ones about Bob Feller in there ... and of course, he tackles Babe Ruth's famous "Called Shot" as well.

If you like baseball ... and the sport is full of wonderful stories ... many up to 100 years old, then you'd enjoy this book. It doesn't get real heavy into the stats side of things.

So, what's next on my reading list? Well, sitting on my nightstand right now is Jimmy Buffet's new one "Swine Not?".

Why am I gonna read this? It's Jimmy Buffett ... how can it not be a little fun and crazy. Besides, I read his first two novels and enjoyed them. Oh yeah, I'm also insanely jealous of his lifestyle.

Ode To Omar

I couldn't help but smile when I read this piece in the Plain Dealer this morning.

For the record, I'm way too old to idolize ballplayers like I did when I was a kid. Baseball has always been a business, and these guys are commodities. Especially in Cleveland, you can't afford to get too attached to them.

That being said, Omar Vizquel was the one guy I loved to watch ON the field.

We had a rough start however. I was living in Rockford, Illinois in 1994, the year then-Jacobs Field opened. Being a lifelong Indians fan, it killed me to be out of town when the new ballpark swung open its gates. So, I booked a flight, and came back into town to see the place.

The Tribe had the makings of a good team. And we had traded for a good-field, no-hit shortstop named Vizquel.

Needless to say, I wasn't real thrilled to see this glove wizard make not one, not two, but THREE errors in the game I traveled in to see. (A 12-9 Indians loss to the Royals on April 16, 1994)

But, gradually, his plays became more and more amazing in the field. But, it was what he did BETWEEN innings that turned into my greatest memory.

I had somehow gotten 2 passes into my then-employer's loge, and took my buddy Mike. Needless to say, we were greatly enjoying the free food and beer, when the moment happened.

The Indians were warming up in the field between innings, when the catcher (Sandy Alomar, I think), rifled his throw down to second. Omar was fielding at the bag, and as the ball arrived, he just crossed his arms.

He didn't so much catch the ball, as deflect it directly off his glove, right to Robby Alomar, who was standing next to him. Alomar then fired it around the horn to end warmups.

My reacton in the loge was something like "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

That's when Mike said, without even turning to look at me, "I'm so happy you saw that. Because I wouldn't even know how to describe it to you."

We may have been the only ones in the ballpark that day to see it. And it remains a great story to this day.

When Omar's career is done, I'd love to see the Tribe sign him to a 1-day contract, like some others have done, and allow him to retire as an Indian.

(And while I'm at it, good luck to a fellow Kent Stater, Emmanuel Burris, who will likely succeed Vizquel as the Giants shortstop.)

What's In A Name?

So, why did I go with the title that I did?

Simple, It's taken me 37 years, but I now fully understand that I am a geek.

No one WANTS to be a geek, but some, like me, are now old enough and mature enough to handle the reality of the situation.

In high school, I wasn't really a member of the "cool" crowd ... that what reserved for football players (despite the team's losing ways). But I really wasn't a geek, either. I was somehow part of the "sub-cool" crowd ... people that played sports other than football, and did well in class.

And while, throughout my adult life, I fought the "geek" label, it wasn't until 2007 that I realized that I am what I am.

What did it take to push me over the edge? Music.

While some were excited to see The Police reunion tour (which I attended) or the Van Halen reunion tour (which I wish I attended) ... I went into full geek mode for another tour.

Genesis.

I'll say it again.

Genesis.

And not the Peter Gabriel-fronted band that cool people wanted to see. Nope. The Phil Collins led version which moved from progressive rock to pop hitmakers.

Why did this make me a geek? Well, first of all, not a lot of folks admit they like Genesis. Not only do I admit that, but also admit they're my favorite band of all time.

Secondly, I didn't go see them once ... I saw them 3 times ... traveling as far as Buffalo to see a band that doesn't change it's setlist.

I also became somewhat active on the band's online site ... and even organized the Cleveland meet-up for fans coming from all around.

Oh yeah, I also bought a couple t-shirts, the first 2 of 3 re-mastered box sets of their CD's, and a huge coffee table book which basically serves as their biography.

But you know what, it felt right. As I met other Genesis fans. I discovered that, they too, felt like geeks. But, we were all able to share our geekdom together. And, had a great time doing it.

Am I geeky about anything else? You bet!

Want proof? Well, the movie I'm most excited about this summer is the X-Files sequel.

I love baseball. But, not just going to games, but arguing about players, competing in a fantasy league, and devouring just about anything having to do with the sport.

And, I'll be happy to tell you why "Arrested Development" was the greatest television show of the last 5 years.

So, expect to hear about many of these topics, and a lot more, as I dive into this blog.

Welcome Aboard!

Well, I'm entering the world of blogging.

Why? Well, I have some time on my hands!

You see, after a kick-ass 2007, 2008 is kicking my ass!

After 11 years of dedicated service to my place of employment, they've let me go, for apparently no other reason than I make too much money.

So, while I'm job hunting, I might as well keep my writing skills sharp, and this seems like the easiest way to do that.

I've always been reticent to begin blogging, because I'm not really sure I have anything interesting to say.

I remember an old Dennis Miller joke (on his Off-White album I believe), about camcorders. He basically joked that there should be a law that prevents people from buying them, unless they can prove their lives are interesting enough to be recorded.

I kind of feel that way about blogs. They're a great way for eveyone to publish their thoughts, hopes and fears online, but how many are REALLY trying to say something. How many keep me interested?

As it turns out ... there are a lot that really do keep my attention. And there are some I read just because they're authored by friends of mine. Of course, there are others that just come off as rants authored by people I now add to a list of potential future Unabombers.

So, where will mine fall?

I don't have any idea just yet (although probably not on the Unabomber fringe.) I have a MySpace page, and a Facebook page ... and while they're nice to keep in touch with folks on ... I'm quickly losing interest in both.

So, will this keep my attention, and will it keep yours? We'll see!

Oh ... my next post will explain why I've chosen the title and URL that I have! I promise.

In the meantime, if anyone needs a competent writer/producer/public relations/media/garbageman/security guard/urinal disc replacer ... drop me a line!