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Love live television. Big fan of the adrenaline rush. 🙂
Perspective.
I have an awesome job. Really, I hate to brag, but I do. As a “new media” sports reporter, I get to travel, write, shoot videos, edit, report, create and dream up ideas centered around professional sports teams. I meet amazing people and interview athletes daily. I witness the battle on the playing field between success and failure all year long and am inspired by the tiny moments (because it’s those moments that create the big ones) where triumph beats adversity.
And sometimes I complain.
Yep. I know. I’m ashamed to admit it, but it’s true.
You know how it goes. In any job, there are complications. Support you don’t get, resources you need, people who are jerks … Those moments when even though you’ve prepared and lined things up and made seven backup plans, life decides to laugh at you anyways and kick you in the shins and make you pull an eighth out of your butt.
Sometimes, I lose perspective.
Where am I going with this, you wonder? Well, let me explain:
Bill Johnston is the public relations director for the San Diego Chargers. His wife, Ramona, has Huntington’s disease, a genetically caused brain disorder that takes away a person’s ability to walk, talk, swallow, eat and think. Slowly, that person becomes just a shell of himself or herself. It’s such a sad disease, because it robs a person of his or her spirit.
Every year, Bill and his family — along with the rest of the HD community — tirelessly raise money to help find a cure for HD. A few weeks ago, I tagged along with Bill and his daughter, Hayley, as they ran the Rock-And-Roll Marathon in support of HD:
My life decisions often include what I’m going to wear the next day, or if I’ll have carbs for lunch, or whether or not I can cover a story. Maybe *sometimes* I might think about my future, and if I’ll marry or have a family or where my career might be in ten years. Hayley faces a decision of whether or not to be tested for a disease that she very well could have … A disease that would make all other decisions trivial. Stop. Think about that for a second. Think about one of your kids having to face that.
It’s brutal.
And Hayley is so strong.
The thing about Bill and Hayley is that they are two of the funniest, most optimistic, friendly, professional people you will ever meet. They are, for lack of a better word, cool. You’d wanna hang out with them and drink beers and watch the game. Certainly I don’t know what goes on in their personal lives, but I know their courage isn’t an act.
Last night, I went to one of my favorite events of the year — the “Shoot To Cure HD” event. It’s basically a tournament style basketball shoot-off at Chargers Park. People form teams and go at it, and usually they’ve had a few cocktails before they take their shots. 😉 It’s pretty fun. Plenty of Chargers show up, and this year, it was the coaches and defensive line that made it to the end of the tournament. Here’s some sights and sounds (excuse the poor quality — I used my old FlipCam):
Remember what I was talking about in the beginning of this post? How sometimes I forget what an awesome job I have (and life, really) because of a bad day or some jerky egotistical athlete? Well, guess what — my whole family is healthy. I am healthy. I have the choice, every day, to steer my life in any direction I choose.
Ramona does not. And depending on a test result, Hayley might not either.
I’m not trying to give you all the “don’t take life for granted” speech. But I can say that my life is changed because of Bill, Ramona, Hayley and their family. Take a second, go to an event, or simply read more about HD on this website. Help them find a cure.
Side note: I took my first motorcycle ride during the marathon, to try and find Bill and Hayley on the course. Pretty sweet huh???
In the meantime …
I’m back from my week-long road trip with the Padres and will give you guys a post shortly about how all of THAT went. In the meantime …
Free baseball!
So recently, the Padres had an extra-innings game on a night when I was clearly delirious and sleep-deprived. Here’s how it went:
The Padres are going into extra innings. Oy vey!
In between innings, I’ll take a little nap.
Uh-oh. Security was NOT happy about my snooze.
Inning Twelve. Catcher John Baker is on second base! Meditating.
The game is over after 13 innings! The Padres WIN! Yeah!
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My bad.
Soooo … I was so amped to start this blog, and I did well in the beginning, and then BAM! A whirlwind of work hit, and I slacked off.
Booooo. Buddy Black would have kicked me out of the clubhouse already. Norv Turner would have thrown me off the field.
But, I’m back, and I’ll get this thing updated on a regular basis. I just got a little sidetracked this last month, with the Padres starting their season, the Chargers starting voluntary workouts, the Draft, the suicide of Junior Seau, doing some work for Fox Sports San Diego (see picture below) and a case of the freakin’ hives that lasted for weeks. That last one was the worst. I have pictures of it but they might make you vomit, so no link for those.
Here’s a few thoughts:
The Padres are struggling, absolutely. They show shades of excellence (so you know they CAN do it) but it’s muted by their inability to get pitching, fielding and hitting on the same page consistently. Really, it’s muted by errors and injuries. Lots of them. … I wouldn’t count the team out yet. Stop rolling your eyes! … Regardless, it’s been fun to get to know some of the new players, like Yonder Alonso, and talk to injured players about getting back in the game.
I try to get to Petco early, and I always relish moments like these:
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Bliss.
The suicide of Junior Seau was unbelievable. Not only the shock of the news, but the magnitude of how far it reached. So many players — former and current — paid their respects and talked about how Junior had impacted their lives. And it’s crazy, because we’re all so used to seeing football players as gladiators — they don’t really break down — so this was a reminder that hey … they are HUMAN. I saw former Chargers long snapper Dave Binn in the elevator at Qualcomm before Seau’s “Celebration of Life” and he looked at me and said, with the saddest eyes: “It’s been a long, rough week.” And you just FELT it.
The Chargers have started their voluntary workouts. Last year there was the lockout, and I forgot just how much they DO before training camp. It’s been fun to be back on the field at Chargers Park, to see veterans mingling with rookies and trash talking and what not. Plennnttyyyyy of videos to come from there in the near future. 🙂
That’s it for now. Really, I’ll be better at this. For reals. You believe me, right?
Mojo and March Madness
Most people, when talking about the Padres and their struggles last season, mention that elusive word: Chemistry.
Chemistry, like mixing two liquids in science class and getting a gas. Chemistry, like that thing I hear two people have sometimes when they are on a date. Or DON’T have (See: “Woman fakes illness and exits date during middle of dinner”).
Chemistry is an intangible, and you either got it or you don’t. Clubhouse swag, if you will. Mojo.
We don’t know if the Padres will find it or not this season, but any manager will tell you it helps. A lot. It’s usually paired with winning, and I think it’s a chicken or egg situation … Does the chemistry come first, then the winning? Or vice versa?
In the short time I’ve been at Spring Training, I’ve felt it. Swag. It’s not loud or egotistical or pretentious. It’s quiet, comfortable in its own skin.
Buddy Black does a lot during the club’s time in Peoria to encourage camaraderie. During the team’s morning meetings, he introduces new players by sharing something that most teammates wouldn’t know (like the fact that the player used to dress up for rodeos or be on his high school dance team or WHATEVER). He also is part of the annual basketball shoot-out, a tournament-style competition (a la “March Madness) between coaches and players.
Lest any of you tweet or Facebook me and say something silly like, “These players should be in the batting cages instead of on the basketball court,” … Sit down, take a deep breath, hit yourself in the head once and RELAX. This happens before practice starts and doesn’t cripple the team — it builds it.
Today, the tournament came down to two teams: The starting pitchers against the coaching staff. To see who won, scroll to the bottom.
Enjoy the pics!
Okay, so this one was taken yesterday, when the teams were still being whittled down. I love this shot. Remember — Will Venable played basketball for Princeton University. Cory Luebke was a hoops star in high school (along with baseball and football).
The players don’t really “defend” … they sorta stand there and raise their arms (c’mon, no one wants to get hurt). What they DO do is distract. Mark Kotsay is mostly in charge of this. Here he is with a leaf blower, which he aims at players as they take their shot.
Then there’s the bullhorn. Self-explanatory.
But nothing compares to the truck. I don’t know who the truck belongs to, but I can tell you it has a horn on it that is unlike any horn I’ve ever heard. My ears are STILL ringing from it 10 hours later. Big Truck Must Have Loud Noise, I guess. Anyways, it gets blasted whenever a player is about to shoot.
The only time there is silence is when Buddy has the ball. If the Skipper is shooting, there are no horns, no leaf blowers, nothing. Just respect.
Teammates watching the game held face signs, just like this Dave Roberts one.
So who won? The starting pitchers. Cheers to Joe Wieland, Tim Stauffer, Corey Luebke, and Dustin Moseley!
Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, Back To Peoria I Go …
So here I am, back in Peoria, for Round Two of my Spring Training adventure.
Ahh, Peoria. Thank you for not closing down any of your 3,927 chain restaurants and shops. Thank you for driving up prices in hotels near the Peoria Sports Complex, so that I have to stay in a seedy neighborhood in a shady part of Phoenix where some dude asked me if I wanted to see his knife while I was pumping gas at a nearby station. Thank you for making your stoplights into a Russian Roulette game. And thank you for being sticky icky hot, so that I’m sweaty and wondering if I smell or have makeup running down my face or hair sticking to the back of my neck.
But I digress.
No, really … I like Peoria. I do. I like Spring Training. I like the drive on 8 East to get here (just me, my music, my random thoughts and usually an obscene gesture from a trucker at some point) … I LOVE being at the complex, because it’s pretty and fresh and it’s just a bunch of guys playing baseball. It’s awesome. Honestly, if you’ve never been here but you like baseball even REMOTELY, you need to make it out next year. You’ll love it. I feel like it’s the way the sport is meant to be — just a bunch of fellas out on the grass, playing the game they love. The clubhouse is happy, the coaches are happy, the fans are happy.
It’s a hopeful time. I’m a fan of hope.
I like this group of Padres. There is character, there is scrappyness, there is a blending of old traditions and new Mojo. I dig it. You’ve got Mark Kotsay organizing some player bonding time, you’ve got Tim Stauffer pranking Huston Street, you’ve got new catcher John Baker getting into intelligent debates with Carlos Quentin. Like I said … character.
Oh, and they can play a little, too.
While we know Spring Training games are “meaningless”, it’s still worth pointing out that the Padres won 12 of their last 15 games before being blanked today by Chicago. It’s important because of MOMENTUM. I like momentum. I’m a fan of momentum. When I’m shopping, and I find three or four cute things, it gives me the momentum to keep going and find some more. And that’s always fun.
Again, I digress.
Will Venable told me this morning that while he doesn’t like to look back, he remembers Spring Training of 2010, the Spring Training before the season in which the Padres went 90-72 and placed second in the NL West. He said the team won a lot of consecutive games during Spring Training 2010, and that got things rolling for the season. In 2011, the team never got it going during their time in Peoria, and never got it going during the regular season either. So again … Spring Training wins are good for confidence, for camaraderie, and (say it with me now) for momentum. FEELING what it feels like to WIN. (Something I don’t do a whole lot, but I hear it’s awesome. Just ask Charlie Sheen.)
Since we’re talking about Venable, let’s point out how he got two more hits against the Cubs today and raised his batting average to .372, the best on the team. He told me he fixed a few mechanics and feels a lot more control at the plate right now, and also said working with new Padres hitting coach Phil Plantier has helped. Plantier focuses on the positive, Venable said, and when he encourages players to concentrate on the things they do RIGHT, it’s easier to form and maintain good habits. We all need a little Phil in our lives, dontcha think? (By the way, during Round One of Spring Training, Plantier and I talked hitting.)
Lots more to come this week. I’ve got come cool photos and videos, but my internet connection at Hotel Shady is not the best, so it’ll wait for now. I can feel you all on the edge of your seats. Simmer, simmer. Patience.
Spring Training Sights
View from the Press Box during the Padres-Mariners charity game.
One of the best things about Spring Training are the mornings. They are so crisp, so fresh in Peoria, and this year, it seemed like the grass was greener … Cause it was. Arizona got more rain, which meant prettier fields. It’s such a cool, relaxing feeling.
Balls. Everywhere.
Jonathan Galvez getting his hair cut by a barber that Cam Maybin brought to Spring Training. More on that later.
One of the reasons I enjoy reliever Andrew Cashner.
This is what I do for kicks during Spring Training.
This is another thing I do. I bought these during my stay. They were calling my name. It’s an exciting life I lead, huh?
Nick Hundley’s locker. Every season, the players compete in fantasy football. Former eighth-inning specialist Mike Adams started the trophy tradition. Hundley (and pitching coach Darren Balsley) were the 2011 winners.
The starting lineup for the second Spring Training game.
Ok — normally these two rows are EMPTY in the press box. But during the Mariners games, there is a contingency of Japanese press there for Ichiro Suzuki and Hisashi Iwakuma. As soon as those two are out of the game, the Japanese press disappears too.
Me after a ridiculously long drive to Peoria, in which my phone had a hardware malfunction in the middle of the desert and wouldn’t turn on. I lost everything — all my contacts and self-proclaimed wonderful photos of mountains and such that I had taken on the drive up. Anyways, I used a payphone at a rest stop in the desert three times. THAT’s kinda cool, right? Then I went to a Sprint store in PHX, where the employee took one look at my phone and proclaimed, “You’re screwed.” … ‘Nuff said.
shenANNIEgans! 
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