Category Archives: Sport

Sri Lanka Wins.

21 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by in Civilization, Sport

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I was watching England vs Sri Lanka in today’s World Cup match. Sri Lanka elected to bat first. They did not produce a lot of runs in their inning. I thought England would trounce them. Yet Sri Lanka defeated them through adept bowling and fielding, what we Yanks would consider defence,(borrowing a baseball analogy).

Sport has accomplished things that religion would like to do, and at which it often fails. That is bringing people together in a peaceable pursuit. We can look at the oft-quoted example of truces between warring city-states in ancient Greece during Olympic years. I recall from my childhood USA-USSR track meets during the height of The Cold War. And who can forget ping pong diplomacy? (Forrest Gump.) Savannah is calling me Olivia.

Now apart from the India/Pakistan tensions, no nation in the World Cup is warring with another. There are internal tensions, to be sure, as in Afghanistan or Sri Lanka or tensions within England herself between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. But, by golly, people can make time for cricket.

It’s too easy to think of conflict resolution in such simplistic terms. Then again, there are few things as deadly as preconditions. I think what’s at work here is attraction, much like sex.

Roy Campanella, the American baseball legend once said of baseball, “You have to have a lot of little boy in you to play this game.” So very true of so many games.

No Longer Disinterested In Sport

19 Wednesday Jun 2019

Posted by in #cricket, British Empire, Sport

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There I was congratulating myself about losing interest in sports. Ice Hockey? Really?. Basketball? Meh? Baseball? I suppose. Women’s Softball? I can detect a pulse Doctor. Cricket? Where have you been all my life?!

I just finished watching New Zealand claw out a win from South Africa. They pulled it out at the very end on a “6” from Kane Williamson, their captain, on the last over.

Believe it or not, it’s not that difficult a game to follow. There is a lot of insider language and jargon in the game that is best ignored until you become familiar with the game. I’m growing into the idioms of the sport.

And tomorrow? Australia vs Bangladesh. You’ll find me at home, sitting in my comfy chair, eyes fixed on the 📺 telly.

David-Unplugged

04 Monday Mar 2019

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Not that kind. I have a bad case of media overload, and not just from politics. I went to lunch today and there on all 5,000 TV monitors at Glory Days Grill was baseball, basketball, reports from the NFL scouting combines. And nothing broadcast was in any way important.

The sports guys “debate” questions like “Will the Clippers eclipse The Lakers in the LA market?”. We know how starved for topics we are, if they are reduced to debating this burning issue. I suppose that issue is important to somebody, who precisely, I don’t know. Maybe compulsive gamblers. Maybe thirteen year old boys.

The restaurant’s Monday $5.99 hamburger special isn’t worth this sensory bombardment. When the Cartoon Network’s Tom and Jerry cartoons are the island of tranquility in this media maelstrom, that show indicates how news/sports saturated we’ve become. I’m back home serenely watching the trains. I must also get to work culling the clothes pile on my bed, my Lenten project. Then again Lent has yet to start. And it lasts 40 days.

Sunday Afternoon And Evening, Monday Morning

04 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by in Exercise/ Fitness, Relationships, Sport

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Yesterday, I shared with MrsCorC? my episode of sleep interruption early Sunday morning. She had no idea how her movie watching affected me and resolved to improve. Now twenty four hours later, I again couldn’t get to sleep. I was in pain from my day. My back was simply not cooperating. So I have another morning of insomnia and sleep deprivation. Oh well. But the whole atmosphere is different. I did communicate. She is not to blame. She is again my partner, not my adversary..

Yesterday, I did not make it to Mass. I did watch the Mass on EWTN. It’s not quite the same, but sitting for an hour would have been too much for me.

I did a four mile walk yesterday, completing it in 58 min:33sec. It was my first walk of the year, since I have been swimming for exercise of late. It feels good to walk; it’s different from how I feel after I swim. The muscles worked are different. I experience the sweat from exertion, so I feel like I’ve done something. But in both forms of exercise, I feel the exertion and the endorphin high.

I watched NCAA Women’s Softball for most of yesterday. It has become my favorite spectator sport. I like the enthusiasm of the players and their athleticism.

So that was my yesterday and early morning. I’m feeling sleepy. The Silver Meteor #98 Northbound just passed through Ashland as reported on Virtual Railfan LLC. I will wait for #86 to stop in Ashland, then go back to bed.

Turning the mind off, so I’m not meal-planning, scheduling my day, having erotic reveries (dirty sex fantasies) or otherwise allowing my thoughts to flow full force is a challenge. It’s OK to just chill.

Sunday Break

06 Sunday May 2018

Posted by in cooking, food, Sport

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Today was a repeat of yesterday. Get a meal ready before she decides she wants to go out. This gets me moving around and using my imagination and skills. All around a win. I figured we’ve saved about $70 this weekend with this strategy.

I found a Boston butt section at Food Lion Thursday, It was reduced meaning it needed to be prepared sooner rather than later. With Goya Mojo Criollo marinade I fixed Cuban-style “roast” pork in the slow cooker. It is a) fool-proof, and b) delicious. You can look it up. Hint): Put the meat in the cooker, pour over the marinade. Cook on the “low” setting for 5-6 hours.

I next had some black beans on hand that I then cooked with shallots, garlic, cumin, a dash of turmeric and a couple shakes of Badia Taco Seasoning. Badia is another Latino foods line that has some good products

I had some zucchini cooked with tomatoes, mushrooms, shallots and garlic that I seasoned with Herbes de Provence simmering away.

Lastly I fixed some cornbread. Good. Old. Cornbread. I make it from a recipe I took from the back of a bag of cornmeal. A sure winner. Again easy. Mix 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup all purpose flour, 1/4cup sugar, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp.salt in one bowl. I sift the ingredients, but that’s not necessary. In another bowl, beat an egg ,add a cup of milk (or buttermilk or kefir), and a quarter cup oil. Add the liquid to the dry, mix “real good”, and bake in a greased 8 x8 pan at 425 for 25 minutes or till golden. Foolproof. Delicious. Southern.

I enjoyed our lunch with a glass of hibiscus tea. Luzianne sells hibiscus in tea bags and its red color and tropical flavor is a delight.

I’m sitting, thinking about the bad broadcast coverage of the Kentucky Derby on NBC. The Suits at the Peacock Network thought they could make an interesting 2-hour show out of a 2 minute race. Well they couldn’t. I don’t care who Dale Earnhardt, Jr. or Al Roker thinks might win. Or the profound insights of the owners, trainers and jockeys. I did notice that Bob Baffert has a hairstyle similar to legendary professional wrestler, Ric Flair. Greatness imitates greatness.

As near as I can tell, the jockey gets on the horse, points it in the same direction as all the other horses are running and hopes for the best. (The Best includes horse and jockey living to race again.)

All in all, it was a very exciting race. I don’t follow the horses much, not being a bettin’ man. It is obvious from the desperate attempt to gin up interest that horse racing is dying out.

This quiet Sunday is what I needed. I have had a late sleep, a nice meal and life is good. I needed the rest.

Super (Yawn) Sunday

04 Sunday Feb 2018

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I am currently in my Non-Sports Fan Modality. This phase comes and goes over a lifetime. Last baseball season, when Yankee right fielder Aaron Judge had his breakout year, I got jazzed up about baseball again. That enthusiasm bled over into the NFL season. And then…

I had enough. Enough Takeout Pizza commercials, beer commercials, soft drink, car, truck, smartphone, diamond commercials. Get it? The enthusiasm bubble burst, like a North Korean condom.

And then there is the game itself. Sure the players are great athletes, but then figure skaters, swimmers, bicyclists, and distance runners are great athletes too. Just for starters. There simply comes a time when I get tired of the spectacular catches, explosive runs from scrimmage, timely interceptions, and other superlative adjective demanding feats. It is called overexposure, Sports Fans.

There are the Sermons and Statements, and Gestures. Football has always been associated with Mom, Apple Pie, and The Flag (High Octane Gasoline, too I guess). So when somebody has a beef with the Good Ol’ U S of A, I’m not surprised it gets expressed at a football game. Free Speech means that a person can express what he/she believes, it also means that I get to ignore them. You too. The ignoring is as important as the expressing. Maybe more so. For example, I’ve been a wishy-washy State Of The Union viewer through the last seven Presidents, going back to Carter. I don’t get a knock at the door from an FBI agent asking why I don’t watch (or care). You don’t either, I’ll betcha.

So this wonderful unique American institution, the NFL Championship Game will be…..

ignored by millions.

And that is perfectly cool.

Sunday Well Spent

29 Monday Jan 2018

Posted by in Catholic Life, personal grooming, Popular Song, Sport

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In my fantasy, I am drinking French roast coffee made in a French press pot with freshly ground beans. I am eating a butter croissant slathered with butter and fig jam. I am reading the New York Times at a leisurely pace in no hurry to do anything in particular.

In reality, I made the coffee, prepared the croissant, took the papers off the porch, sat in my “comfy chair” (imagine Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition), found the Mississippi John Hurt Delta Blues recordings on YouTube my friend recommended. As I opened the paper, I acknowledged to my innermost self that I have zero (0) interest in reading the paper. I am not going to spend this Sunday, damp, chilly, and rainy though it may be, getting agitated by current events. Why? I have a whole damn week for that. Shortly after Mississippi John Hurt finishes Sliding Delta and Charley Patton does Jesus Is A Dying Bed Maker, I go upstairs, put on starched white shirt, black trousers, hounds’ tooth jacket, black tie, and shiny black shoes. I’m going to Mass.

My soul needs it all. The time with God, sitting with my friend Madeleine, and watching the families together, especially the children. Unbeknownst to me, it is Catholic Schools Week, so the school children process in and sit together in the front pews. The children are wearing their school,uniforms, the boys with white polo shirts with the St Benedict Crest, while the girls wear the grey plaid jumpers. (Is it really 2018, not 1958?) The oft-satirized Drill Instructor Nuns are a thing of the past. The teachers are all lay people.

The Mass ends just as my back can take sitting, kneeling, and genuflecting no longer. Now comes the piece de resistence. We sing the beautiful Alma Redemptoris Mater for the recessional. Father Tony notes my buzz cut with approval when I shake his hand at the door. He gives my noggin a rub, a most friendly and welcome gesture. He is human. Whaddaya know!

Home. Then we take a trip to a pizzeria for white spinach pizza, then back home. Mrs CorC? has work. I take a nap, debating whether I really want to swim today, aching body and all. I go, complete 2500 meters. I’m glad I did. It means that my average is 5 workouts per week, 20 swims in 28 days. The pain is considerably lessened. Thank you, endorphins.

I am especially proud that I watched no sports this Sunday or the whole weekend for that matter. I have had enough. In my head, I hear Dylan Thomas read:

“I see the Boys of Summer in their ruin…”

It is over.

Instead I listen to Ella Fitzgerald sing Rogers & Hart songs. Such a voice, such delightful songs. I secretly long for a woman who loves Rogers & Hart and Ella as much as I do. That would be, well, perfect.

Simply perfect.

Sunday Morning

10 Sunday Sep 2017

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Mr. Good Catholic here managed to sleep through any chance of getting to 11:00 Mass. There is always the 4:30 Extraordinary Form (Latin ) Mass.  

I woke up fully embracing the gift of being alive. I should eat something, I suppose. The sun is shining, the temperature is pleasant. 

This is the first Sunday of the NFL season. Pro football is one of my guilty pleasures. I admit it.  Other guilty pleasures of mine include fried salt herring,  Looney Tunes from the 30’s and 40’s,  and Krispy Kreme Donuts.

As near as I know, our Florida friends and family are safe.  Several of them are in law enforcement, so I suspect they will be needed. My brother-in-law’s mother lives in Bradenton. She is around 90 and her daughter took her to her home in Georgia. We just hope she has a home to return to.  Praying for the folks in Florida.

Baseball. Why?

14 Monday Aug 2017

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I love this game, I hate this game. Sometimes, I just avoid watching a game, but I get sucked in. My wife reminds me, “It’s only a game.” I suppose. 

So the Yankees and Red Sox are going at it, Red Sox have the bases loaded in a tie game, top of the 10th inning, 1 out. The Yankee pitcher just gave up a single to score the runner on third, Red Sox 3-2.

It’s just not worth riding this emotional roller coaster. 

“It’s only a game.”

3250 Meters Swimming

22 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by in Exercise/ Fitness, food, Sport

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Uh, fascinating. Really? I had last done 2+ miles four weeks ago. It feels great, that sweet exercise high that beats the pants off dope or booze.

I was busy trying to talk myself out of working out today or taking it easy.  But once in the water and moving, all the negative self-talk disappeared.  I actually felt my mind relax, focusing on the laps.

Last week I swam 10,000 meters and to repeat last week’s totals, I needed the 3250 meter distance today. And it really wasn’t hard. I finished, actually lost count of the laps swum. 3250 Meters is 65 laps in a 25-meter pool or 130 lengths. Putting my brain on auto-pilot and just being mindful of my surgical sites (lumbar spine and right shoulder) was my emphasis.

Mrs CorC? and I went to one of our favorite unpretentious restaurants, with good entrees, costing not too much.  I had a blackened rockfish Caesar salad. She had crabcake sliders with sweet potato waffle fries. 

Richmond is a restaurant town. There are lots of start-ups with new concepts. I can tell you that Bruce Springsteen goes to Mama Zu’s on Oregon Hill when he is in town. It’s owned by a buddy of his.

Now FIOS is bringing me a baseball game, Washington Nationals at the Mets. Good game in extra innings. I am at the point where I don’t care who wins. I just want it to be over. My son mentioned to me tonight that the real value of sport is that it is inconsequential. True that.