Playoff Bracket Picks

It's time for the hotly debated new Central Massachusetts Football Playoffs. Sadly although I'll be 50 yards away from a great doubleheader basketball tryouts will prevent me from seeing the games. I'm going to pick the entire bracket division by division so taunt me if II miss any. If the games are all played tonight, they'll be played in the snow and it doesn't get any better than that!

Division 1
(1) Shrewsbury 21 (4)Leominster 20
(2) Wachusett 24    (3) St. Johns 21
Championship: (1)Shrewsbury 27 (2) Wachusett 17
The bracket worked out strange here with Leominster and Wachusett getting home field advantage. My ties to Wachusett and history in its hardwood battles with St. Johns legally bind me to pick Wachusett. I think  Shrewsbury got a horrible break having to play Leominster on the road but will squeak it out. I think Shrewsbury-St. Johns is the game people want to see but if the semifinals, play out as I picked them Shrewsbury wins the title.
Division 2
(1) Nashoba 24   (4) Holy Name 17
(3) Doherty 28     (2) Shepard Hill 27
Championship: (1) Nashoba 21 (3) Doherty 12
Holy Name just got into the bracket via power rating tiebreakers and their rushing attack will pose problems for Nashoba but Nashoba's been proving me wrong all year so I'm taking them to win the bracket. I do like Doherty to continue it's magical season by pulling off the home upset and seeing them putting up a good fight in the title game.
Division 3
(1) Auburn 31 (4) Hudson 13
(2)Groton-Dunstable 28 (3) Tantasqua 24
Championship: (1)Auburn 35  (2) GD 14
Auburn is in a class by itself in this division and should cruise through the bracket. Auburn not winning the title would be the biggest upset in the District.
Division 4
Northbridge 28 Milbury 24
Grafton 21 Lunenberg 20
Championship: Northbridge 27  Grafton 21
I think this is one of the most competitive brackets with Milbury, Northbridge and Grafton all strong enough to win the title. The bias from my High School days watching the dazzling Nothbridge offense against Burncoat makes me lean towards them in this great bracket.
Division 5
Tyngsboro 24 Leciester 21
West Boylston 28 Narragansett 14
Championship: West Boylston 28 Tyngsboro 18
Division 6
Littleton 17 Bay Path 10
Valley Tech 20 Assabet 17
Championship: Littleton 24 Valley Tech 21
Let's hope we get all the games in and have some great title games this weekend! 

Thanksgiving Picks

Jim holds a six game late and I didn't realize their were games last week so the pro beat me in the regular season. Excited to watch the highlight shows and look at the playoff bracket, but the best high school season starts Monday!

Thanksgiving Picks:
Lunenberg 21 St. Bernard's 20
Monty Tech 17 Nashoba Tech 14
South 31 North 14
Doherty 35 Burncoat 7
Leciester 24  David Prouty 21
Leominister 28 Fitchburg 27
Holy Name 27 Wachusett 17
Marlboro 17  Hudson 14
Littleton 31 Ayer-Shirley 21
Athol 20   Mahar 17
Milbury 27 Grafton 24
Narragansett 24   Murdock 13
Nashoba 31    North Middlesex 13
Gardner 21    Oakmont 20
West Boylston 24  Quabbin 21
Tyngsboro 28      GD 27
Clinton 20   Maynard 10
Shepard Hill 28 Tantasqua 20
Shrewsbury 21 Milford 14
Southbridge 24 Bartlett 23
Northbridge 31 Uxbridge 17
SJ 35  SPM 14

Week 10 picks

Leaving on an early train for DC tomorrow so doing picks Thursday late night. I went a personal best 26-5 last week, three games better than Jim. Midnight's approaching so onto the picks:
Friday's Games:                                                Saturday's Games:
Shrewsbury 31 Algonquin 17                           Auburn 28 Westboro 14 (Fri.)
Southbridge 17 Ayer-Shirley 14                       AV 20      Bay Path 17
SPM 27 Burncoat 0                                           Holy Name 34  Fitchburg 20
Clinton 21 Hudson 14                                       BVT 24     Worcester Tech 17
St. Bernards 24 David Prouty 21                     Nipmuc 20  Tantasqua 17
Athol 27 Frontier 14                                         Cushing 24  WA 14
Grafton 21 Littleton 20                                    Ware 24 Palmer 20
GD 28 Lunenberg 21                                        Barlett 28  South 24
Monty Tech 17 Keffe Tech 10
Leominster 35  Marlboro 21
Northbridge 35 Millbury 21 
North 28 Murdock 14
Nashoba 24 Oakmont 14
Quaboag 14 Nashoba Tech 13
Gardner 24 Quabbin 21
Doherty 28 Shepard Hill 27
Mahar 21 Sci-Tech 7
SJ 35  Milford 14
Naragansett 24 Tyngesboro 20
Wachusett 24 North Middlesex 10
West Boylston 27 Maynard 15

Week 9 HS picks

This weekend I'm going to go back and check all the records the past three weeks. I think Jim has a four game lead with a month to go. Since I'm returning to the bench I don't know what I'll be able to do for basketball but I would love for it to get a weekly show on Charter 3 like football. On to the picks:
Friday's Games                                                          Saturday's Games
Nashoba Tech 13 Worcester Tech 10 W                       Marlboro 24  Westboro 21 W
St. Bernards 24 Mohawk Trail 20  W                           Quaboag 21 Keffe Tech 7 W
Naragansett 27 Ayer-Shirley 17 W                               South 21  Burncoat 7 W
Bartlett 24  David Prouty 21  W                                  Holy Name 28 SPM 14 W
Ware 21  Dean Tech 6    W                                              BVT 21    Bay Path 13 L
Groton Dunstable 24 Gardner 23  W                            Leciester 35 Uxbridge 21 W
Nashoba 21 Hudson 13  W                                              Tyngsboro 27 Quabbin 20 W 
Shrewsbury 31 Leominster 21 W                                   WA 21      PA 17 NA
West Boylston 28 Littleton 14 L                                    Assabet 20 Mony Tech 17 W
Maynard 27 Murdock 10 W
Nipmuc 24 Clinton 21 L
North Middlesex 20 Algonquin 13 L
Auburn 35  Northbridge 21 W
Oakmont 20 Lunenberg 15 L
Shepard Hill 24 Oxford 21 W
Milbury 21 Southbridge 20 W
St. Johns 35 Fitchburg 21 W
Grafton 27 Tantasqua 17 W
Turner Falls 35 Mahar 14 W
Wachusett 21  Milford 17 W
Doherty 35 North 7 W
23-5 weekly record

NBA Preview

At Midnight the day of the start of the season I give you a 2,000 word NBA preview column that no one can read because the power is probably out. Honestly would you expect anything less from me! Now that Lebron has a ring, there many new interesting stories to follow as the league goes back to a full 82 game schedule. Here are the major stories to follow and my picks for the upcoming season.
1.You Just Can't Kill the Celtics
KG is back for another contract and the return of Jeff Green and signing of Jason Terry make this the deepest Celtics team in years. The departure of Ray Allen to rival Miami seems to have motivated a team whose interest levels seems to wane over the course of a long season. A healthy squad come playoff time seems destined for a Conference Finals rematch with Miami. Look for Rondo to have a monster season and at least a 55 win season for the Celts.
2.Lakers Big 3 best Big 3?
After two years away from the Finals the Lakers are to recreate the early 2000's by getting Dwight Howard to team with Kobe Bryant. The shocking trade for Steve Nash gives the franchise its first real point guard in 20 years and allows mercurial Pau Gasol to fly under the radar as a 4th option and pick and roll machine. Expect some kinks working out the chemistry early in the season, but when spring rolls around the Lakers will tear through the Western Conference and cruise into the Finals.
3.Did Trading James Harden Sink the Thunder
For this season yes, long term no. Trading the dynamic Harden after failing to reach a contract extension, takes away the buffer between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. With an even bigger spotlight on the shoot first point guard Westbrook look for him to take a step back and for tensions in the Thunder huddle to increase. Kevin Martin who came over in the Harden trade is simply not a winning basketball player, but if the teams hit on one of their two rookies Jeremy Lamb or Perry Jones threatening the Lakers is not out of the question.
4.Battle of New York, Rose's ACL
Whether or not anyone outside the top 4 can compete for a title will be determined by how quickly Bulls point guard Derek Rose recovers from a torn ACL suffered in last year's playoffs. If he's back to himself come playoffs the Bulls become a dangerous floater in the bracket that no one wants to play.
After failing to land Dwight Howard the Nets move to Brooklyn with a slew of slightly above average players. Joe Johnson should make a decent enough pairing in the back court with Deron Williams, but the Nets will go only as far as Brook Lopez takes them which is destined to be an early playoff exit. The skilled Center has never been able to stay on the court and continues to be a rebounding liability. The Knicks will grab the back pages but lag behind their city rivals in the divisions as they lack point guard play and the Carmelo Amare pairing is just not a fit.
Teams Trending Up
Utah
Cleveland
Toronto
Memphis
A Step Back
Indiana
LA Clippers
Dallas
My East Playoff Teams
1.Miami
2.Boston
3.Chicago
4.Brooklyn
5.Indiana
6.Atlanta
7.New York
8.Cleveland
My West Playoff Teams
1.Lakers
2.Thunder
3.Spurs
4.Memphis
5.Denver
6.Utah
7.Clippers
8.Dallas
Playoff Results
East Conference Finals: Miami over Boston 4-1
Drawing the Bulls in Round 2 batters the C's and leaves them as easy picking for the Heat.
Western Conference Finals
Lakers over Thunder 4-3
These teams but on a show, but ageless wonder Steve Nash won't be denied his first Finals. He seals game 7 with a big three and sets up an epic battle with the Heat.
Finals Pick: Lakers over Heat in 7
Howard destroys Bosh inside and Kobe gets his sixth ring and cements his legacy just in front of Lebron in the battle for the second spot behind Jordan as greatest of all time.

Week 8 picks

Super busy this week coming off an always awesome New York visit, planning a DC trip and doing some crazy video work on Hudl. Also trying feverishly to get a job at Holy Cross running intramural sports which I would be totally awesome at! Falling way behind on recapping picks, but Jim had a rough week so I'm probably closer than I think. Marquee game of this week is Nashoba vs Doherty probably the most important Doherty game in years. On to the picks:
Friday's Games                                        Saturday's Games
Athol 21 Greenfield 20                             Pathfinder 24   Ware 20
Maynard 27 Ayer-Shirley 20                   Commerce 21  Mahar 7
Leciester 24  Bartlett 19                           Nipmuc 20      North 10
Bay Path 20 Nashoba Tech 17                  BVT 27        Assabet Valley 15
Brockton 35 Leominster 24                       Wachusett 28   Westboro 17
Clinton 21   Tygnesboro 15                        St. Johns 31      Xaverian 27
Shepard Hill 28  Fitchburg 27                    Worcester Tech 21     Keefe Tech 17
Auburn 28         Grafton 10
GD 30              Littleton 17
Holy Name 28    Algonquin 7
Gardner 24        Lunenberg 21
Milford 14          Marlboro 13
Milburt 24        David Prouty 14
Doherty 17       Nashoba 14
Northbridge 27   Oxford 24
Oakmont 17        Quabbin 14
Quaboag 27       Monty Tech 17
Naragansett 28    St. Bernards 20
North Middlesex 24 SPM 20
Southbridge 21        Uxbridge 17
West Boylston 24   South 6

HS week 7 picks

Have to sneak the picks in late night since I'm leaving for a long weekend in NYC tomorrow!
Friday's Games                                    Saturday's Games
Assabet 20 Quaboag 10                       Nipmuc 21 Burncoat 7
BVT 27      NT 14                                  Baypath 24 KT 17
Marlboro 28  Algonquin 7                    DP 21       Uxbridge 18
Oakmont 24    GD 21                             Holy Name 35   Gardner 20
Athol 24          Turner Falls 8                 St. Bernards 17     South 15
North Middlesex 27  Hudson 17            Nashoba 20         Westboro 10
Leciester 21              Southbridge 13      St. Johns 42        Lemonister 24
Littleton 28             Murdock 24             WA 35                 Choate 13
Mohawk 6                Mahar 0
Naragansett 21        Maynard 15
Milford 20                Fitchburg 17
Milbury 28             Bartlett 23
Nortbridge 28        Shepard Hill 27
Clinton 20              Quabbin 14
Doherty 24              SPM 13
Lunenberg 13      Tyngsboro 10
Grafton 31          Oxford 21
   

HS week 6 picks

I had a disaster of a week last week going 21-10, but so did Jim Wilson. With a half a season to go I sit within a very respectable five games and feel quite confident I can out pick the expert over the course of the year. Some notable things learned from last week were that this is the best Doherty team we've seen in a long time and St. Johns has no defense. Nashoba and Auburn are a clear #1 and #2 and I would rank Shrewsbury #3 Northbridge #4 and Doherty #5.

Last Week's Record:21-10
Season Record: 116-43
Jim Wilson Last Week 21-10
Season Record 121-38

Friday's Games:                                                  Saturday's Games:
Athol 27  Sci Tech 12                                           Auburn 28  Leicester 13 
West Boylston 28 Assbet 20                                Northbridge 27 Nipmuc 17
Oxford 17           Nashoba Tech 14                       Ware 17          Franklin Tech 6
Grafton 34       Shepard Hill 21                              St. Johns Prep 42 St. Johns 38
Bay Path 34     Quaboag 13                                    Mahar 21    Belchertown 20
BC High 41       Marlboro 20                                  BVT 21        MT 13  
Milbury 28        Burncoat 0                                      Shrewsbury 35  Westboro 17 
Nashoba 31      Clinton 10                                        Salisbury Prep 21  WA 20
Hudson 21        GD 13                                               Doherty 35   South 6
Quabbin 30       North 21
Fitchburg 34     NM 24
Littleton 24       St. Bernards 21
SPM 20            Wachusett 13
Tantasqua 24    Gardner 20
Oakmont 28       Ayer-Shirley 24
 

While you Weren't Watching 2012 Baseball Playoffs

For reasons I will never understand Major League Baseball started the Playoffs on a weekend against a jam packed football schedule. This combined with the lack of Red Sox involvement lead me to believe that very few people having been watching. I'm going to review everything that's happened so far and preview how each of the first round series will end.

Play in Games:
No matter what people say the games played on Friday were play in games and no part of the real playoffs.
Atlanta who rightfully won the Wild Card by six games were force to play defending champion St. Louis in a one game playoff to advance to in the NLDS. You knew this was going to end badly for Atlanta and it did when a horrendous 4 led to a 6-3 St. Louis victory. The game will be remembered for an awful infield fly call 50 feet deep into left field that thwarted an Atlanta 8th inning rally. It was a poor ending to the career of Chipper Jones who made a huge error that led to a three run inning and left four runners in scoring position.

In the American League play in game Texas completed their choke job and crushed completely out of the playoffs. Cinderella Baltimore got the pitching performance of a lifetime out of August recycle bin pickup Joe Saunders to carry them to a 5-1 victory. Free agent to be Josh Hamilton was a weak 0 for 5 and is someone no team should go near this winter.

ALDS  Tigers vs A's     (Tigers lead series 2-0 will win 3-1)
What did the Oakland A's gain for their miracle run to win the AL West? The right to start the playoffs on the road against Justin Verlander and the Tigers. Coco Crisp lead off the game with a homer, but that's all they would manage in a ho hum 3-1 defeat. Game 2 was a great game but the A's great bullpen blew one run leads in the both the 7th and 8th innings and the Tigers walked off to a 5-4 win on a sac fly in the 9th.
Projecting ahead the A's have the last three games at home but their bullpen looked tired in the first two games and they don't have an ace to steal them a game.
I think they'll win Game 3, but the Tigers will win the series in 4 and with the insurance of having Justin Verlander pitching Game 5 should easily advance.

ALDS  Yankees vs O's (Series Tied 1-1 Yankees will win 3-2)
The Yankees really lucked out with this draw as they entered the playoffs with their poorest starting rotation in years and an offense entirely dependent on the home run but wind up facing a team that can't take advantage of them. Baltimore was kind of a fluke this year riding a great bullpen and tremendous record in one run games to make the playoffs for the first time since 1997. A lineup built almost entirely of swing and miss guys proved costly in Game 1 as their inability to move runners let the Yankees hang around and eventually win 7-2 behind a five rive run top of the ninth. Baltimore used their bullpen depth to hang on for a 3-2 win in Game 2, but seem unlikely to win two out of 3 in New York. Yankee Stadium is just homer friendly for below average Baltimore starter Miguel Gonzalez and Charles Tilman to survive. I say a Phil Hughes gag of a start stretches the series to 5 with the Yanks ultimately advance behind ace lefty CC Sabathia.

NLDS Reds vs Giants (Reds lead series 2-0 will win series 3-0)
This series has been the most one sided and seems destined to end in a sweep. The Giants lineup is so poor it got shutout by Bronson Arroyo. Second baseman Brandon Phillips is red hot and with Cincinnati home for the final three games advancing and a long rest are all but assured.

NLDS Nationals vs Cardinals (series tied 1-1 Cardinals will win 3-2)
The Nationals were lucky to steal Game 1 4-3 after stupidly bunting down a run in the 8th with runners on first and third and no outs. A pinch hit two run single by rookie Tyler Morse bailed them out and gave them a victory. Game 2 was all St. Louis as they cruised to a 12-5 win. Even with the final three games in Washington the playoff experience of St. Louis has been apparent in the first two games and will carry them to a series win. Choosing not to pitch Stephen Strasburg really hurts against St. Louis as they have playoff veterans Chris Carpetner and Adam Wainwright to send to the mound in Games 3 and 5 and the Nationals don't have the pitching depth to counter. I'd love to be wrong and go to Washington for the World Series but I see St. Louis clearly advancing in five.

I'll be back to see if I was right at the end of the round. Lots more posts coming this week including some requested TV and movie reviews. So check back during the week

Week 5 HS Picks

Week 5 High School Picks
Last Week's Record: 24-6
Jim Wilson's Record:24-6
Season to Date:95-33
Jim Wilson to Date:100-28

I had a much better week last week but trail by 5 games because I keep picking against Nashoba. The goal is 3 losses or less this week. On to the picks:

Friday's Games:                                          Saturday's Games:
Nipmuc 24    St. Bernards 20 w                     Holy Name 35        Doherty 21 l
Bay Path 27  Monty Tech 20 w                      BVT 28                   KT 20 w
Gardner 28    Tygnesboro 17 l                     Milbury 20             Leciester 17 l
Algonguin 21  Hudson 15 l                            AV 24                    NT 17
Athol 34         Mohawk Trail 20  w                 Westboro 28        North Middlesex 21 l
GD 21            Clinton 20 w                              St. Johns 35        Shrewsbury 28 l
Naragansett 24    WB 21 l                             Poly Prep 24       Worcester Academy 20 w
Northbridge 24    Grafton 20w                        Leominster 24     Wachusett 14 l
Brockton 42        Fitchburg 14 w                      SPM 20                Milford 17 w
Mahar 20            Frontier 13                         Oakmont 21       South 13 w
Littleton 20         Maynard 6 w                         North 21           Burncoat 13 w
Lunenberg 28     Quabbin 27 w                        Southbridge 20  David Prouty 14 w  
Nashoba 35        Marlboro 14 w
Ayer-Shirley 20   Murdock 6 l
PV 28                    Ware 10 l
Worcester Tech 17  Quaboag 12w 
Auburn 28              Shepard Hill 17 w
Uxbridge 23           Bartlett 21 l

Week 4 HS Picks

Last Week's Record 19-8:
Season Record: 68-28
Jim Last Week Record: 24-6
Jim's Season Record: 74-22

The guys that do this for a living are starting to open up a lead on me as my lack of knowledge led me to terrible picks like going against #1 Nashoba in the first two weeks. With three weeks of box scores to go on I feel like I'm primed for a big week. I hit the Thursday pick of Doherty over Marlboro that I posted on Twitter. The goal this week is four losses or less so without further ado on to the picks.
Friday Games:
Commerce 21     Athol 10 L
Monty Tech 28   Dean Tech 20 W
SPM 35               Algonquin 14   W
Assabet 17          Chelsea 14    W
Narragansett 24  David Prouty 17 W
North 21              Worcester Tech 12 W
Lunenberg 27      Ayer-Shirley 24 W
Tantasqua 38      Bartlett 14 W
Littleton 27        BVT 20 L
Shepard Hill 31  Gardner 27 W
Holy Name 35     Nashoba 31 (going against them again) L
Greenfield 21      Mahar 6                W
Leominster 27    North Middlesex 15 W
Northbridge 31   Southbridge 30 W
Clinton 24           Oakmont 21 W
Shrewsbury 28    Fitchburg 24 W
West Boylston 31 St. Bernards 20 W
Quabbin 28        South 12 W
Saturday's Games:
Maynard 31      Quaboag 21 W
Hudson 24          Nipmuc 20  L
Groton-Dunstable 28 Westford 17 L
Tyngsboro 35          Murdock 10 W
Easthampton 17      Ware 14 W
Bay Path 24            Burncoat 7 W
Nashoba Tech 28    Keefe Tech 0 W
WA 27                     Northfield 14 W
St. Johns 38            Wachusett 17 (hurts anytime to pick SJ over WRHS) W
Auburn 35               Milbury 12 W
Oxford 21               Uxbridge 20 L
Grafton 31             Leicester 28 W

New TV Tuesday Sunday

Tuesday's New Shows to Sample:
Ben and Kate 8:30 Fox
Mindy Project 9:30 Fox 
Vegas 10:00 CBS
New Shows to Skip
Go on NBC 9:00
New Normal NBC 9:30
Returning Favorites:
New Girl 8pm

Wednesdays New Shows to Sample:
Nashville ABC 10:00 (October)
New Shows to Skip
Animal Practice NBC 8
Guys with Kids NBC 8:30
New Neighbors ABC 8:30
Returning Faves
Modern Family 9:00pm

Best Night of Week
Thursday's New Shows to Sample:
Last Resort ABC 8:00
Elementary CBS 10:00
New Shows to Avoid:
None
Returning Faves:
Office NBC 9:00
Parks and Rec NBC 9:30
Big Bang Theory CBS 8:00

Friday and Saturday: Skip everything

Sunday:
All Returning Faves:
Homeland Showtime 9:00
Dexter Showtime 10:00
Boardwalk Empire HBO 9:00
Treme HBO 9:00
Revenge ABC 10:00
I will review all these shows next week, but if you can only watch one show this week make it Homeland It's my favorite show that's airing this fall!

Kicking off TV season 2012-2013 Mondays

Today marks the official start of the new fall television season. As an avid TV watch and DVR master I thought I would go through the programming guide and make some recommendations. I watch just about very scripted show on television but won't watch a second of a reality show or singing competition.
Monday Nights:
CBS:
8pm How I Met Your Mother
8:30 Partners
9:00 2 Broke Girls
9:30 Mike and Molly
10:00 Hawaii Five-O
Tonight marks the final season of "How I Met Your Mother" when of my long time favorites. If you haven't watched before it's too late in jump in but episodes run daily in syndication on FX and local stations. Partners  is a new show about two best friend writers where one is gay and one is straight. I will watch one episode because Sophia Bush of One Tree Hill Fame is on it but after that I'm out. I DVR "2 Broke Girls" despite the bad writing because I totally dig Kat Dennings so I think it's worth a look as it starts Season 2. Mike and Molly sucks we get it the lead couple is fat, so what. Hawaii Five-0 I Don't watch case of the week show.
Fox:
8pm Bones
9pm Mob Doctor
Bones is a long running show that I've lost all interest in now that the two leads have gotten together. "Mob Doctor" might be canceled tonight it's a new show about a doctor in debt to the Mob and forced to do their bidding. Terrible show
ABC: 
8pm Dancing with the Stars
10pm Castle
I have not and never will watch other of these shows.
NBC:
8pm Voice
10pm Revolution (New) My pick of the night
Revolution is one of my favorite new shows and has aired one episode that can be seen both on demand and at NBC.com. Set in a future with no electricity in a sort of colonized America, it stars  a cute newcomer as a Katniss from the Hunger Games like character. It has a lot of action scenes and Gincarlo Episoto from Breaking Bad as a bad guy. This show has potential!
I'll be back tomorrow with Tuesday's lineup

Week 3 HS Picks

Friday Games:
Maynard 24  Monty Tech 14
Ayer-Shirley 17    Nashoba Tech 14
Athol 24                 Palmer 14
Bartlett 24             Nipmuc 20
Leicester 20          Burncoat 0 (drought continues)
Lunenberg 21        Clinton 20
North Middlesex 20  Marlboro 13
Leominster 24           Milford 24
Littleton 31                Narragansett 21
Tyngsboro 27            Oakmont 13
St. Johns 31             Catholic Memorial 27
Wachusett 17          Fitchburg 14
Saturday Games:
West Boylston 28    Murdock 12                      Oxford 20   David Prouty 7
Worcester Tech 21  Assabet Valley 19            Bay Path 27 South 13 
BVT 14                    Quabog 10                         Auburn 35   SPM 17
Shepard Hill 27       Grafton 12                         Arlington 35  Holy Name 30 
Pioneer Valley 17  Mahar 12                            Phillips Exeter 21 Worcester Academy 20 
Uxbridge 22           Milbury 15
Keefe Tech 21       Old Colony 20
Doherty 22             Shrewsbury 21
Southbridge 31       North 12 

Week 2 HS Picks

Week 1 Record:27-6
Jim Wilson Record:28-5

Week 2 Picks:
Northbridge 35 Oxford 12                          Milbury 25  St. Bernards 20
Assabet 13        Ayer 6                                Uxbridge 27 Grafton 24  
Bartlett 20        Quabog 14                          Holy Name 35 Westboro 20
Nashoba Tech 7  Franklin Tech 6               Lowell 27       Monty Tech 21 
Clinton 21            Gardner 20                      Algonquin 24  Wachusett 22 
Auburn 35            Holliston 6                        Quabbin 17   Maynard 15
Leominister 27   Hudson 17                          SPM 21        Shepard Hill 20 
Marian 15           Keefe 13
Littleton 26        Lunenberg 24
Ludlow 20         Ware 16
Mahar 17         Lee 13
Fitchburg 22     Nashoba 17
Shrewsbury 28 Marlboro 7
Doherty 27       Tantasqua 15
GD 17               Murdock 14
Oxford 21         South 13
Oakmont 27      Leciester 24
Longmedow 35 St. Johns 30
North Middlesex 25 North 21
Southbridge 24        Valley Tech 17  

Week 1 HS Picks

 As a newly weekly feature I will pick every Central Mass football game and compare my record against Jim Wilson of the Telegram & Gazette. Feel free to play against me and taunt me for missing picks. For great info on all the teams go to Jim's Extra Points Blog and read the Hometown Magazine.

Weekly Central Mass Football Picks
Shepard Hill 24  Westboro 20                      Leicester 28       North 12
South 17           Worcester Tech 14               Bay Path 27      Oxford 13
Milbury 28       Assabet Valley 12                 St. Johns 27     Holy Name 21 (OT)
Algonquin 35     Burncoat 3                          Fitchburg 24    SPM 20
Northbridge 42   Bartlett 13                         Nipmuc 22        Grafton 21
Clinton 17          Littleton 14                         McCan Tech 6  Ware 0
Tyngsboro 24    David Prouty 7                    BVT 22             Tri-County 12
Doherty 28        North Middlesex 17
Athol 17             Drury 0
Everett 21           Leominister 20
Milford 30          Franklin 6
West Boylston 23  Lunenberg 14
Central Catholic 27 Malboro 17
Groton D 21             Maynard 0
Minutemen 12         Nashoba Tech 6
Quabbin 15             Murdock 10
Naragansett 22        Mahar 8
Pathfinder 17          Quabog 12
Auburn 24               Shrewsbury 12
Southbridge 35        Tantasqua 29
Uxbridge 17             Shirley 14
Wachusett 17           Nashoba 14
 

2012 NFL Preview

Football season is here! After seven painful months reliving another Patriots blown Super Bowl opportunity I am more then ready for the season to kickoff tomorrow night. A month ago I thought the Patriots were the clear favorite to bring home another Lombardi trophy, but a preseason of horrible offensive line play and curious roster decisions has me seriously reconsidering that position.
Let's go division by division through the NFL as give my predictions sure to go wrong and discuss some of the major stories to follow.

NFC East:
Questions: The league's most storied division is filled with some very familiar questions. Can Dallas finally get together and make a playoff run? Will the Eagles finally love up to their talent? Can the Giants become a dominant regular season team after once again winning the Super Bowl with a 9-7 record?
My Picks:
1.Giants 11-5
2.Eagles 9-7
3.Cowboys 8-8
4.Redskins 6-10
The Giants defensive line proves the difference as injuries to Tony Romo and Micheal Vick cripple their closes rivals. A scout defense and sweet deep ball from rookie QB Robert Griffin III make the Redskins a fun watch but the lack of a running game to go with a rookie under center cause them to be a distant fourth.
NFC North:
Questions: Can the Packers rediscover a defense? Can Jay Cutler stay healthy and build off the momentum he had going last season? Can the Lions prove they're not a flash in the pan
My Picks:
1.Packers 12-4
2.Bears 10-6 (wild card winner)
3.Lions 8-8
4.Vikings 5-11
 
Cedric Benson was a huge pickup for the Packers and will finally give them a strong inside runner. That combined with defensive tackle B.J. Raji becoming a dominant defender will carry the Pack to the division title. Cutler staying healthy and pairing with former favorite target Brandon Marshall with lead to Bears making the playoffs, while the Lions take a step back and the Vikings continue to flounder.
NFC South:
Questions: Can the Saints overcome the turmoil of bounty gate? Can Atlanta take the next step? Can Cam Newton avoid a sophomore slump? Can a Rutgers coach win in the NFL?
My Predictions:
1.Saints 10-6
2.Panthers 10-6 (wildcard winner
3.Falcons 9-7
4.Bucs 8-8
I expect this to be the best division in the league this year. Drew Brees is the only coach the Saints need to once again win the division. I like the Panthers to take a step forward and claim a wildcard spot based on improved play from a finally healthy defense. The Falcons miss out on the Playoffs as the decline of Micheal Turner turns them into a pass happy offense that Matt Ryan is not elite enough to handle. The Bucs are going to be hugely improved and rookie runner Doug Martin will take Rookie of the Year honors but the division is so tough they'll still finish fourth.
NFC West:
Questions:When will the 49ers clinch the division?
My Predictions:
1.49ers 11-5
2.Seahawks 7-9
3.Rams 5-11
4.Cardinals 3-13
This will be again be the worst division in football as the Niners will sweep their division schedule behind 11 returning defensive starters and an improved set of skilled players around Alex Smith. Seahawks rookie QB Russell Wilson will be the only other watchable part of this division.
NFC Playoffs:
Wildcard Round:
(4)Saints over (5)Bears
 (3) 49ers over (6) Panthers
Divisional Round:
(1) Packers over (4) Saints
(3) 49ers over (2) Giants
Championship Round
(3)49ers over (1)Packers
NFC Champion: 49ers
After a terrible season old foe Randy Moss makes a late catch to avenge a Week one loss in Lambeau. The Saints are done in my the pressure of playing for a chance at a home field Superbowl and the Giants prove they are better road warriors then home favorites.
AFC East:
Questions: Will Tim Tebow usurp Mark Sanchez? Can the Bills make the Playoffs? Can the Pats protect Brady?
My Predictions
1.Patriots 13-3
2.Bills 10-6 (Wildcard Winner)
3.Jets 6-10
4.Dolphins 2-14 
The Patriots being razor thin on the offensive line is a major concern but the schedule is so easy they cruise to a division title and a #1 seed. The return of Fred Jackson and major free agent defender Mario Willams will lead the Bills to the playoffs barring Ryan Fitzpatrick totally imploding at QB. The Jets will stink on offense and Rex will be fired after Tebow replaces Sanchez and fizzles. After four weeks of watching Hard Knocks the Dolphins are on the clock!
AFC North: 
Questions:Can the Steelers run the ball? Can Baltimore fight father time on defense? 
My Predictions:
1.Ravens 10-6
2.Steelers 9-7
3.Bengals 7-9
4.Browns 4-12
 Injuries in the backfield and on the offensive line cause the Steelers to make the playoffs. The Ravens take advantage and win the division even as they go away from the run and try to convince us Joe Flacco is an elite quarterback. Andy Dalton takes a step back dealing with a first place schedule and the Browns are a total disaster.
AFC South:
Questions: How quick can Luck take over the league? Can Schaub comeback healthy in Houston?
My Predictions:
1.Texans 12-4
2.Titans 8-8
3.Colts 7-9
4.Jags 5-11
The Texans take advantage of a weak division and cruise to a title. Luck shows flashes and the Titans could make a run if both Chris Johnson and Kenny Britt return to form. Jacksonville is a mess because Gabbert is not a starter in this league.
AFC West:
Questions: Peyton Manning's health? Which Chargers will show up this year? Can Oakland overcome Carson Palmer?
My Predictions:
1.Broncos 11-5
2.Chargers 10-6
3.Raiders 7-9
4.Chiefs 7-9
Any of these teams can win the division but when healthy Peyton Manning is always the pick. If Oakland had anyone other than Carson Palmer behind center I would pick them. If everyone gets health the Chiefs are a real dark horse especially with Peyton Hillis and a healthy Jamal Charles in the backfield. As long as Norv Turner is still coaching you can't trust the Chargers.
AFC Playoffs:
Wildcard Round:
(3)Broncos over (6) Bills
(4)Ravens over (5) Chargers
Divisional Round:
(2) Texans over (3) Broncos
(4)Ravens over (1) Patriots
Championship Round
(2) Texans over (4) Ravens
AFC Champ: Texans
Ravens get revenge on the Patriots after injuries on the offensive line leave Brady under siege. Houston was the best team in the conference last year when healthy and will escape injury and claim the title.
Super Bowl:
49ers  over Texans
Alex Smith gets the last laugh and goes from #1 bust to Superbowl Champion. From 1-53 the 49ers are the most talented team and Jim Harbaugh is already a top 5 coach in the league.

UMASS Goes Big Time

Everyone knows that I am a UMASS alum and that my bond with the school is based in large part because of my love of the basketball program. When I was a student hockey became the popular team to follow on campus and the lacrosse program was the biggest national championship contender. The football program never made a major connection with students, the stadium was a dump and it was the team on campus that didn't compete on the Division 1A level. Due to the tremendous scholarship costs and obvious need for a major stadium just over 100 teams play major Division 1 football compared to over 300 in basketball. UMASS competed in division 1AA for schools that competed in Division 1 in all other sports but couldn't handle major college football. They were highly competitive at that level even winning a national championship in the late 1990's but it wasn't the same. To be an elite athletic program you had to play football at the highest level and tonight UMASS finally is. They travel to UCONN at 7:30 tonight for their first ever game as a full Division 1A (FBS) football member.

The road to get there was a long and winding one that did not yield the greatest of conclusions. After years of unsuccessfully lobbying the Big East Conference for inclusion, they will compete in the Mid American Conference (MAC) a Midwestern regional conference of teams largely from Michigan and Ohio. This will lead to increased travel and the lack of any clear rival for several seasons. They will play their home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro after reaching a deal with the Patriots. This is over 2 hours from campus and will limit student support and that of the local Pioneer Valley community that makes up the majority of the fan base. My fellow students and I spent many hours in our sport management classes writing reports and doing projects about how to take Football Division I and there was a never a good way. There was no way to upgrade McGuirk Stadium to a level where it could reach the mandatory attendance for Division I was not feasible. After 20 years of trying and failing they just decided to go for it which is commendable. There will be many bumps along the road but tonight is a night for celebration.

I attended my first UMASS football fundraiser when I was ten years old. They were selling us way back than on the idea of Division I and a night like tonight. It was at a restaurant in here in Worcester and the coach was shaking hands and taking photos. It was in my shy days and when he came to me he heard "Fritz" instead of Chris when I said my name. They ran our photo in the paper with Fritz O'Donnell under the caption. My Uncle Harry laughed his ass off like only he could that night and proceeded to call me "Fritzy" for the next five years always with the dumbest smile on his face. He was a UMASS alum and UMASS athletics was our special thing. As the program takes a big step forward tonight I can't help but think of him. I wish we could be there together in Hartford tonight on the 50 yard line under the name Fritzy but I'll be thinking of him every second of the game. I miss Harry Quick more every day he was my best friend long before I knew what the words meant. UMASS maybe giant underdogs tonight but I know they'll play well and I know someone from above will be watching.    

15 Minute June Recap

June will be remembered as a month of great failure. I lasted ten days on the vegan thing, wrote 8 blogs instead of 30 and got out running a grand total of once. I learned my lesson in when it comes to making promises and grand declarations that's for sure. The only thing I did accomplish this month was plowing through all 100 plus episodes of Dawson's Creek which got me nothing but dirty looks and a record number of questions regarding my sexuality. While I'll be the first to admit it was not the best usage of my time, it took me back to my youth and made me love and cry an equal number of times.

I have always seen myself as a Dawson Leery a smarter then everyone else in all matters other then those relating to his real life and an endless dreamer who masquerades as a melodramatic pessimist. Someone who inspires everyone around him other than himself and someone who is a great friend that never ends up with the girl. I have grown contend to live this existence as long as it comes with great days, memories loves and lost. That was my take away from the month that it was ok to be Dawson Leery my favorite fictional punching bag for the last decade. Like I said it was a slow month would more to want from me?

July on the other hand holds great promise. We stand 72 hours away from the first fully attended family vacation in over a decade which will supply me with endless stories and nightmares. I am scheduled to work 11 days in July, more than I have at any point over the last two years. I'll be back home in the gym teaching the game I love and sharing my great life tales with over 500 poor young souls over the next three weeks. I'll be trying my hardest to break out of the Wachusett shell and show off my coaching skills on the college level for the first time which is awesome. I will continue to try to keep from drifting apart from friends and reconnecting with old ones. In short I cannot promise you anything for July other than saying it sure as hell won't be boring!   

Crappy first song writing attempt

After 20 years of trying to write song lyrics in my head I finally came up with something I kind of like. That's not to say its not awful because it is, I'm just happy I woke up from a drunken haze and actually remembered something I was writing in my head. I wish I knew some chords to go with it but I've been listening to Glen Hansard and Counting Crows and I can imagine them playing something like this. So here is my very lame foray into writing song lyrics with "You Were Always Meant to Break my Heart".
I knew it from the first day The first time you smiled at me
That I was in for a ride that was gonna end badly but I had to just close my eyes and buckle up
Know matter how good things got I made sure my guard was always up
Cuz I know it right from the start......
Chorus
You were always meant to be the one to break my heart breaaaaaaak my heart
no matter how hard I tried to fight it there was no way to hide it
You were always meant to break my heart break my heart
and though I'll love you always I'll love you always until the day my soul departs you were always meant to break my heart break my heart
There's nothing more I could have said There's nothing more I could have done
We shared a lot of laughs and cried a lot of tears but I was never gonna be someone you thought about when you closed your eyes Now I'm left with no regrets cause I kneww where we were headed right from the start
Chorus
You were always meant to break breakkkkk my heart No matter how tried to fight it there was no way to hide it you were always meant to break my heart and though I'll love you always I'll love you always until the day my soul departs you were always meant to break my heart to break my heart you were always meant to break my heart

So as you can see this totally blows but it's the first complete song I've ever written in my sleep so I had to get in on paper. I'm sure some garage band can turn this into two minutes of something. Thanks everybody for putting up with my awfulness!

Fathers Day Blog

In lieu of wasting money on a cheesy Hallmark Card I am sharing my thoughts about my Dad in this space on Fathers Day. I am going to try to avoid as many cliches as possible while still providing my Father the bonus gift of critiquing my work. My Father is an interesting guy and our relationship is clearly unique. Our banter routine and constant battles to verbally one up each other would mortify most but our special to us. I love how we can get more out of ten minutes of conversation getting me in and out of the shower then most people can in hours.

While everyone is bias towards their parents I can tell you honestly that no one works harder then my Father. People can say they work as hard or are forced to perform in higher pressure situations but no one can honestly say they work harder. This is a man who still works two jobs deep into his 50's while carrying the added responsibility of being my care giver. While this takes a physical and emotional toll which can lead to some occasional venting and a higher then we would like frown to smile ratio, he maintains a quiet dignity in everything he does and takes tremendous pride in his work. He might not always get dealt the best cards but he has always been able to roll with the punches and deal with everything you could possibly throw at a person.

I know that there funnier people then my Father, as hard as it might be for him to believe there are smarter people than my Father, some days I know there are happier people then my Father but  there is no one on Earth that could do a better job as a Father. He would do anything for his kids even the things he doesn't agree with that come at a very personal cost. His heart is his greatest wealth and being a Father has always been what he does best and what I think he was put on Earth to do. This family can be totally crazy and no two people could have handled us other than my Mom and my Dad. I know that he knows that he's loved but today I want to let him know that its an honor to be his son and that he makes me proud every day. I know he'll walk around with a big head now but he deserves it today and I love him anyway. Love you Dad! Happy Fathers Day

Burning NBA Final Questions

Some quick things to look for tonight in what should be a great game and a great series.
Who is Lebron James going to guard?
While he should spend time on Kevin Durant, expect him to switch onto Russell Westbrook after Westbrook takes advantage of a favorable match up against Mario Chalmers.
Will the chains be taken off Chris Bosh?
Coming back off an ab strain Bosh came off the bench in the last three games of the Celtics series. The Heat need him to repeat his Game 7 heroics and start the game to keep Thunder big men Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins from setting up road blocks in the lane against James and Wade.
Will Lebron James and Kevin Durant bring out the best in each other?
Let's hope so as these two have a chance to be this generation's Larry vs Magic. Durant is a 3-time scoring champ and proven clutch time performer. Going against Durant should bring out the best in 3-time MVP James coming off two of his best playoff games while overcoming the Celtics. We could be in store for a great finish if these two decide to go toe to toe in the fourth quarter.
Will Russell Westbrook make or break the Thunder?
The biggest individual advantage either team has in this series is Russell Westbrook over Mario Chalmers at the point guard position. While Westbrook is a dynamic scorer and pulse of the Thunder he has a bit of an ego and can tend to look for his own shot over getting the ball to Durant and James Harden in favorable positions. Quite simply off he limits his turnovers and gets everyone involved in the offense the Thunder will win this series.
Can Dwayne Wade guard James Harden?
Harden has been one of the breakout performers of the playoffs and will make Wade defend a lot harder than Ray Allen did in the last round. This might cause Wade some foul trouble and wear him down a little bit affecting his offensive output.
How Big an advantage is the 2-3-2 series format for the Thunder?
It's huge. It's the reason I'm picking the Thunder to win the series in 7 great games. All they have to do is extend the series past 5 games and they will have the last two games at home where they are 8-0 in playoffs. Having three straight games at home makes it harder for the Heat to defend home court and will likely force them to win 2 road games to pull out the series. As good as Lebron has been in these playoffs that seems like too tall an order. The Thunder win this year and these two teams are likely to meet in the Finals again multiple times over the next five years.
    

Stanley Cup Wrap up

The Los Angles Kings crushed the New Jersey Devils 6-1 last night to win their first Stanley Cup. The win capped an incredible 16-4 run through the playoff which included a remarkable 10-1 record on the road. Fellow UMASS alum goaltender Johnathan Quick took home the Conn Smythe Award as playoff MVP. The Kings became the first #8 seed in the history of professional sports to win a championship. The last team to make the playoffs the Kings breezed through the Western Conference knocking out the top 3 seeds without being pushed beyond five games. While the Finals were sort of anti-climatic with the Kings jumping out to a 3-0 series lead before being pushed to 6 games, there is no better scene in sports then saying the Stanley Cup passed around on home ice.

This is the first season where I was heavily invested in the sport outside of the Bruins and I enjoyed every second of it. It helped that it was the first year the league televised every single playoff game which made a huge difference. People point to the league's lack of presence on ESPN limits its popularity but as long as they continue to televise every playoff game and can grow the newly branded NBC Sports Network to the point it becomes available in most hotels it will be fine. I would also strongly encourage the league to add a season long 24/7 show since HBO's annual build up to the Winter Classic is so great.

As this was my first year watching the sport on a daily baffled by the notion that the sport doesn't translate well to TV.  That's not to say that the live product isn't vastly superior but I think the sport makes for great television. From the harsh brutality of the Flyers-Penguins in round one to all the endless edge of your seat overtime games every playoff game was appointment television. While I realize this cannot always be true of the regular season, there are enough of these elements in play to warrant a greater audience.

While the Kings lack of marquee names didn't translate into great ratings, we can hope that bringing a title to LA can strengthen the sports west coast profile and make hockey players sought after endorsers. The league had a strong playoff season and has very accessible stars that it hopefully build on next season. I look forward to attending many more games in person including mixing in some Rangers games. I am going to follow the league more closely in the regular season and can't wait for another playoff run to begin. Congratulations to the Kings and fellow Minuteman Johnathan Quick!

Game 7 Pregame Show

I got to witness Lebron's 45 point beat down of the Celtics in person Thursday night. I still haven't recovered from it and am having trouble thinking of a way the Celtics can win tonight. We can only hope that they can sum up the courage to make the final stand they were unable to make in Game 6. They need to play every possession like it's their last because in many ways it is. Whenever this season ends the "Big 3" era will come to an end. Ray Allen will leave as free agent and Kevin Garnett is also a free agent and is said to be pondering retirement.

If Lebron repeats his Game 6 efforts the Celtics have little chance to win. They have choose to hold down Dwayne Wade by doubling him on pick and rolls but have chose to single cover Lebron even when he catches the ball in the post. I would for them to double Lebron when he catches the ball, move Pierce on to Wade and make guys like Chalmers and Battier make shots to beat them. On offense they have to get the ball to Kevin Garnett early and often and he has to make quick decisive moves in the post. Rajon Rondo also has to finish around the rim and hold down his turnovers.

What will ultimately decide this game though is the play of Paul Pierce. It is actually quite remarkable that the team has gotten to a Game 7 with Pierce yet to have a good offensive game in the series. He seems mentally and physically broken from the pressures of guarding Lebron, but if the Captain and the Truth doesn't come to play tonight we're going to see another blowout.

Keys to victory:
Make at least 7 3's
hold Miami to under 20 free throw attempts
commit fewer than 9 turnovers
win the rebounding battle
get 50 combined points from Garnett and Pierce

Prediction Head: 97-88 Heat
Prediction Heart: 86-84 Celtics

Let's go Celtics!  

Opening up a Vein

"What is happiness. It's a moment before you need more happiness". -Don Draper 
Sorry to go all personal diary on this blog entry but most of these are seen just by me and a few others so I don't see the big deal. This quote is from last night's episode of "Mad Men" by favorite show on TV.  It fits very much with what I've been dealing with the past several years. I have so many boring days, hours and minutes that I spent my entire day seeking temporary happiness and having no idea how to sustain it. In 28 years on this planet I have failed to figure out how to sustain happiness on any kind of professional or personal level.

This has let me to the conclusion that happiness is fleeting for everyone. We really have no other choice but to accept that the vast majority of our days will be unsatisfactory ones and to maximize the happy moments that we are able to make for ourselves. It is my vast hope that through religion, a career you have passion for, the love of another or children happiness becomes somewhat sustainable over time. I have sought happiness out like a drug I am in constant need of a hit of and it continues to be a fool's errand for me. I don't even enjoy my happy moments anymore as I find believe constantly checking the clock all the time knowing hours of unhappiness are just around the corner.

For years I had a horrible gambling problem because I had a notion that money was the key to sustaining happiness. I have put together a pathetic resume in the six year since graduating school guided by the belief that any job that couldn't make me happy on a minute by minute basis would be a permanent obstacle to happiness. I have ruined many relationships in my life by believing that anything less than a sitcom level friendship or storybook romance would doom any chance at happiness.

My happiness is furthered hindered by my own bitterness about my disability. Something I've done a fairly good job of publicly concealing but been tormented by in private. I am haunted by the idea of everything my life could of or should have been and that my life will never ever be permanently in my control and not controlled by others. I have to allow myself to believe if I plan enough vacations, events and activities that all these thoughts will magically fall out of my head. Not only has that not happened they have started to interfere in every aspect of everything I do limiting by ability to obtain even temporary happiness.

The idea that I might be chasing some holy grail that may not permanently exist does little to comfort me. I want to continue the search no matter how fruitless does it may seem. I open myself look this in a somewhat public forum because I am scared shitless of feeling into old patterns and behaviors. I am a lost, lonely unemployed 28 year old disabled person and I have no idea what to do about it. The few good things I have in life I am never satisfied with and always on the verge of pushing away. This is the real me and somehow I hope in sharing that I find some answers from somewhere.    

Day 2 30 Blogs in 30 Days

Encountered major problems on Day 2 of "30 Blogs in 30 Days". 3,000 words about the Celtics and Johan Santana were deleted and lost forever. I'm way too lazy to repeat them so I'll just give you a quick recap. I think The Celtics can win tomorrow and have a chance to win the series if Paul Pierce has a great game and they can continue to get contributions from their bench. I would consider starting Marquis Daniels and freeing up Pierce from having to cover Lebron. On Johan's no hitter it will go down as the biggest regular season no hitter ever. The Mets 50 year history of never throwing one has been one of the most talked about streaks in baseball. Santana has been a major disappointment since coming to Flushing but his 133 pitch effort fresh off of shoulder surgery was nothing short of remarkable.

If you have a blog topic you think would be funny for me to write about this month let me know. I'm spending this entire month tinkering with some new things to keep from going crazy. I'll be adding some book and movie reviews and trying new formats but I'm open to any and all ideas readers may have. It's a cold rainy night here in Worcester and day two of trying to be a vegan has left me quite tired. Be back tomorrow with a better entry and will not erase 3 hours worth of writing!   

30 blogs in 30 days June 1

After a month of floundering professionally and writer's block I'm back committed to this blog on a full time basis. The goal is to post something everyday this month so I'm calling it "30 blogs in 30 days". Not all of them will be good but I will keep posting updates to Facebook and Twitter so you can skim through whatever you want to see and skip what you don't. I know people have a hard time navigating the site as far as figuring out how to leave comments and signup as a follower but we're going to set a very lofty goal of averaging 30 page views over the course of the month.

 June is here and I am just back from another trip to New York City. It was a long day of travel yesterday as I was planning on leaving on the 2:00 train, but they refused to sell me a ticket when I got to the window at 1:47. This forced me to take an Accela for the first time. It was fine enough ride and 45 minutes faster but in no way was worth the $147.50 which is double the rate I pay for the regular train. I usually get off in Providence but was told I have to start coming all the way back to Worcester to get a ride home. They forced me to go the full way to Boston wait another hour to take the commuter rail to Worcester which added another three hours to my travel time. My take away from all of this is that the Accela is never going to be worth the price and they should add nonstop commuter rails. Turning a 50 minute trip into an hour and forty five minute trip by stopping ten times is something I would pay double the rate to avoid.

As for the trip itself, it was nice to finally have great weather to walk around the city in. I spent Tuesday evening walking through Central Park where I somehow failed to find a "Foster the People" concert that was supposed to be going on. There were tons of softball and kick ball games going on which made me laugh for some reason. I then headed over to the pier on 48th to see "Fleet Week" and all the submarines and aircraft carriers that were anchored there. A pending thunderstorm forced us into a bar and after traveling all day I failed to make out past 11pm.

Whenever I go into the city I take in a matinee on Broadway. This month's selection was "Ghost" which I was very skeptical could be turned into an interesting play. I knew things were going to be good when the lack of handicapped tickets forced them to upgrade as to the third row. This was good for many reasons including the fact that the actress playing the Demi Moore role from the movie was a very attractive blonde and had several love scenes to perform in. The star of the show was the actress who pulled the Whoopi Goldberg part who was very over the top and stole the show with several one liners. There were several different visual effects used to go back and forth between the present and ghost world which are not going to fit everyone's taste, but I enjoyed it. I'd rank it a close 3rd out of the four plays I've seen this year just behind Evita and behind "Once". Changing even one thing about "Once" the film is a sin but I love the songs so much I can't rank it anything other then #1.

My brother and I were meeting our cousin Jimmy in the city Wednesday night and he was none to pleased when I came pick from seeing the play and dinner with Colleen five drinks deep. Jimmy who we had just seen for the first time in a long while down the Cape over the weekend was highly amused by my drunken state and bickering with my brother. We went to a Mexican Bar where I stupidly had two margaritas that featured upside down Coronas to boot. The night gets really blurry here as we went to another location and watched the Celtics but I don't remember the game or getting home won't be getting that level of drunk for a long time.

I didn't want to leave early in the morning so when my brother left for work Colleen came over and took me to the 9/11 Memorial which featured several subway trips and my first subway card purchase. It was a stunning sight on beautiful day and well worth the hour trip across the city to see it.

Now I sit here writing on a boring Friday afternoon in Worcester already thinking up my next adventure. I'm becoming crazy impulsive which is probably why I'm rambled on for so long in this space. I promise the 29 others won't be so long! Check back tomorrow for Day 2 of "30 blogs in 30 days".

 

Blog is Back

Finally time for a blog! I've been dismissing my writing recently in my pursuit of becoming the worst salesman of all time. That is going well as I have come nowhere close to making a sale in my time at Aflac. I should have trusted my first instincts and stayed away but as always hindsight is 20/20.

Exciting things going on tonight as I am speaking to the Burncoat High School Honors Society. Ten years later and I still can't escape the world of BHS. This is the first time I've ever been nervous speaking publicly, but all I have to do is be slightly more interesting then the school committee types that usually do this. I will try to recap the event in writing tomorrow as it promises to be interesting.

Not surprised at all that Avengers broke all the records at the box office this weekend. It was by far the funniest of all the comic book movies and the best usage of the "Hulk." I was little disappointed they gave all the best lines to Robert Downey Jr's "Iron Man" but I suppose it makes sense as he is the most talented actor of the group. Here's a great idea for a movie show the group that rebuilds New York every time a superhero destroys it. Those are truly talented people as they must have replicated the city 500 times by now. I wonder if the Avengers have the power to build things at super speed or do this just take off and live it to someone else.

I had a fun sports weekend going to the Celtics game on Friday and Red Sox on Sunday. I'll let you guess which one was better. I had much better company on Friday and at no point wanted to poke my eyes out during the game. The Red Sox are dead to me this season they are boring to watch and hard to cheer for. Bobby Valentine has been a disaster and cannot be fired fast enough. I would actually welcome a rebuilding year watching a bunch of young players play hard.

Back to the Celtics after losing Game 1 and have Rondo suspended for Game 2 everything has turned in their favor. Paul Pierce is playing at an elite level and Rondo is the best point guard left in the playoffs. The draw has really worked out for them too as injuries to the Bulls has left the 8th seeded Sixers as their likely second round opponent. All of a sudden a team left for dead at mid-season is likely to advance to the Conference Finals and is the only real threat to Miami's title chances.

With that I will sign off and be back tomorrow. It was nice to knock the rust off of writing and I promise to be back on a frequent basis.   

Major Life Decision

I am on the doorstep of employment and rather then being excited I am scared to death. I have studied for and passed the state insurance health accident and sickness exam and have a meeting in a couple hours to become a agent for a major company. The problem is the job has no benefits, no employment designation, no salary (100% commission based) and would force to give up my existing income sources, my primary insurance and force me to hire a full time PCA which is no small task. It also an industry (sales cold calling based) that has a high upside but a low success rate and high level of turnover. I would be given no more then three months to prove myself and could wind up out on my ass with no sources of income having paid a ton of out of pocket up front cost. Can a beggar be a chooser? Does someone who's have held down full time employment at the advanced age of 28 really turn down an opportunity? I have two hours to make up my mind and I have no idea what am going to do? I hope I make the right choice!

Red Sox Preview

I hated to say it guys but I've never been so down on a Red Sox team to start a season. I hated the way the team threw a quality manager like Terry Francona completely under the bus at the end of season. It seems like Ben Cherrington has no real power as the team's new GM as he was given no authority over the managerial search. Bobby Valentine is a character but he's a baseball relic who might even have us bunting this season. The team did nothing to improve the bullpen or the starting rotation in the offseason and probably weakened both areas by moving Daniel Bard into the rotation.

There is an extra wildcard spot to play for this season but I see the Yankees, Rays, Angels and Rangers all ahead of the Sox at this point so it seems the team needs to have great health and catch some breaks to make the playoffs. The team's strengths are the top 3 starters Beckett, Lester and Buchholtz and the top five in the batting order. Beckett completely melted down at the end of last season (I was in Baltimore to see it) Lester has never fully lived up to his potential and Buchholtz is coming off a major back injury. Adding to the pressure on the top three starters is the team's totally lack of pitching depth. Felix Doubront has always been a fringe prospect at best and seems unlikely to holding down a starting spot all season.  I will never understand the idea of putting Bard in the starting rotation. He's never been able to repeat his delivery and has had an ungodly walk rate at every level as a starter. Turning a solid closer into a fringe fifth starter is the height of stupidity. Even it doesn't work journeyman Aaron Cook is in the minors along with draft bust and constant tease Andrew Miller. Not to worry though Dice-K might be back in June. (God help us)

The Bullpen is a totally mess as the team foolishly traded for the super fragile Andrew Bailey (already out four months) and the vastly overrated Mark Melacon. Things are so bad that Alfredo Aceves who couldn't win a rotation spot goes into opening day as the closer. The rest of the bullpen is a series of washouts, get ready to cough up a lot of leads this year.

The lineup is solid but there's no way Jacoby Ellisbury can be counted on for 30 homers again and Ortiz is always on borrowed time. Two outfield spots are currently held down by Ryan Sweeney and Cody Ross while shortstop is maned by Mike Alves none of which I trust to be productive. Even if Pedoria and Gonzalez put up monster numbers I don't see the offense being good enough to carry a suspect pitching staff. (see September)    

This seems like a .500 team that lacks chemistry and doesn't yet trust their new manager. I like the Rays pitching to carry the division with Yankees finishing second and getting a wildcard. I don't see third in the division making the playoffs as the second wildcard will likely come out of the AL West with Anaheim and Texas feasting on the bottom of their division to win 95 games. I'm sorry to say it but I don't see the Sox making the playoffs again this year.

Solo Adventure

There is so much stuff going on in my life right now and very little time to write about so I'm just going to ramble on for awhile. I'm going back to New York tomorrow to see my beloved UMASS Minutemen in the semifinals of the NIT. What makes this trip special is that I'll be traveling solo for the first. My parents are nervous and honestly quite upset with me but 28 seems like the right time to prove that I'm an adult. I'll be waking up at 5am packing, getting ready going to Boston on a 7:30am train and then catching a train from Boston to New York at 9:30am. It's going to be a boring morning for me and am spending a crazy amount of money but it feels great to do something for no other reason then I wanted to do it. I was also on a crazy high when I decided to do this from finally getting a job. I have to spend hours cramming for my insurance exam on April 9th but after passing that I will begin working for Aflac.

I'm still not convinced I can sell insurance but it's all commission so I have to learn quickly. After six years of looking when someone offers you a job you take and worry about the details later. It feels weird to be studying again but I've been good at cramming for test all my life so it's kind of fun to be doing it again. If you seeing me writing too much or hanging out on Twitter yell at me to study because I'm really good at putting it off.

It is sad to say goodbye to my Patriots tickets after eleven seasons. I've had been great memories at Gillette Stadium but its time to move on. The days are long and my body completely rejects cold weather at this point. I just couldn't live up to my half of the bargain, if I could have gotten a job years earlier I'd keep them for my kids but I've been hanging my Dad out to dry for far too long now.

My NCAA bracket was totally garbage again with my mother once again somehow in position to pull off an upset win. Nothing in the tournament has really surprised me and it has been void of any real drama. Kentucky should roll to the title without being seriously challenged next weekend as injuries and suspensions doomed biggest threats UNC and Syracuse. I feel great for coach Calipari but hope someone pushes his team to the buzzer and gives us one memorable game in the tournament.

Extremely excited to have Mad Men and Game of Thrones back on the air. Mad Men was decent last night and set the table nicely for the rest of the season. Lane Pryce remains the secret weapon of the show and was given some great moments in the second hour last night. Game of Thrones premieres this week and promises to be awesome so it's nice to having something to look forward to on Sundays again. I might even suffer through season two of the Killing depending on well my studying goes.

I wish I could write more and in much further detail but I have so much work to do today. I can't wait to tell you about my journey later in the week. It promises to be an adventure and it's great to see the Minutemen doing well again. I am also seeing Once on Broadway while I'm there which is one of my favorites movies and has some of my favorite songs so I'm really excited about it. I'm off to study and I'll be back to write when I return home Thursday.

No Dogs Allowed in Milville

The weather was awesome on Wednesday so I took advantage of a rare chance to get outside in the middle of the week and tried my hand at hiking. After breakfast at Lou Roc's Diner Colleen and I ventured out to Uxbridge to see how we could do on the Blackstone trail. That trail was a fairly easy and straightforward two mile walk. The only complication was a step up to a bridge that let to Stanley Mill that prevented us from totally completing the journey. I was feeling confident enough in my new found driving abilities that was decided to make the confusing eleven minute car ride to Milville to try our hand at Milville Lock.

The first sign of trouble was a low gate at the entry point that I failed horribly at ducking under. I managed to squeeze between two rocks and sped my way down the trail getting about ten feet before sinking into a pile of rocks and getting completely stuck. I am famous for not paying attention when driving but that was not the case here. I did see that there was a way to avoid the rock pile but I was convinced I could plow through it. After spinning around a couple times and having my wheels not move at all it became apparent that we were not getting out on our own. After a couple elderly gentlemen passed by with little interest in helping us I was willing to call in the voluntary Milville Police and promise never to show my face in town again.

It was at this moment that our first good samaritan appeared in the form of a 6'4 gentlemen in his forties. I was confident this guy could help pull me out but he turned out to be the weakest man in Milville. After four or five really lame attempts at yanking me out he retreated to his car to go home and get a shovel. I had no confidence that this guy could get me out with a forklift much less a shovel so I prepared myself to spend a long time at the start of Milville Lock. Two ten year old boys came flying down the trail on there bikes and offered to help. One was a little guy and the other was a chubby kid but they took one try at pulling me out and all of a sudden I was free. It was a true King Arthur moment and I feel confident that these young men will soon be ruling over the small town of Milville as they are clearly the strongest in the town. As we were getting in the car the first man returned more ashamed then relieved that we had been freed by a couple of ten year old boys.

After taking a couple of minutes to collect ourselves I decided never to return to Milville. We made yet another pass through Uxbridge to try to find Blackstone Gorge. After several minutes of GPS confusion we made it to the town of Blackstone. The Gorge served as a good photo opportunity and as made our way back up to the car I temporarily got stuck in the sand. At this point we swore off outdoor activities for the day although we did make a quick pass through Purgatory Chasm quickly realizing there was no way that was going to happen.

The rest of the night was spend more in our comfort zone shopping and going to dinner. I enjoyed trying "hiking" since we are always looking for outdoor activities to do. I will give it another shot in the near future but probably won't pass through Milville. There tiny adult male population is just too weak and I get stuck in enough figurative ruts to have to worry about getting caught in actual ones. While the town's future looks bright based on the capabilities of its young children for now I am slapping Milville with the "No Dogs Allowed" tag which will become a running feature in the blog. If you have any ideas of things you want me to try pass them along and I will write about it and see if it passes the accessibility test.

New York State of Mind

I am having a very tough time readjusting to being home after a wonderful trip to New York. I enjoyed very second of my time there and got to do many great things. It was great to see basketball at Madison Square Garden, a terrific show on Broadway and places like the Empire State Building and Central Park. While all of these things were great what I loved most about the city was the freedom. The idea that you could go anywhere at anytime. Our hotel was centrally located on 29th street and we were never more then a few blocks away from something great going on and many interesting people. As someone who never used to walk anywhere I also took great pride in traveling 12.5 miles in the chair during the day Friday.

Allow me to contrast this for a second with being home. I can guarantee you that I won't travel 12.5 miles in the chair during the next 60 days. Living on a dirt road with no sidewalks for miles there is no safe way to get around to get around the neighborhood. Back to being home alone all day and having no way to exit my own house it guarantees that during a 70 degree weather week I will be locked in the house between the hours of 8-4 everyday. This is what I struggle the idea that there is a world of endless possibilities that I thrive in and then in my daily life I am stuck in an empty with TV reruns even though I have no real world responsibilities. It is different when your older have a job, family and other stuff going on but I am stuck in this daily monotony solely because of my disability and that sucks.

What draws me to places like New York is not the bright lights but the idea that possibility is around every corner. After being there it is impossible to believe that anybody is supposed to live out there days on a dirt road left only to ponder the world around them. I miss the walks to get food and getting yelled at for not crossing the street fast enough more then anything else. That just doesn't happen here and don't thinking it's asking a lot to want that.

Now that you have allowed me to complain let me go on about the details of my trip. I left with Jackson from Providence on the 6:15 Amtrax train. It was an easy three and half ride that we passed by him kicking my ass in Scrabble. We arrived at Penn Station around 10 and had to wait half an hour for a ramp to get off the train. It usually doesn't take that long but the people there only heard wheelchair and brought up an actual wheelchair rather then a ramp. Penn Station is really big and hard to figure out so it took us awhile to figure out how to exit on street level. It was a quick two block walk to the hotel the Holiday Inn express where we waited for Matt to come and take us out. He arrived around 11pm and took us to the "Flying Puck" a bar right down the street. I downed two beer felt drunk already and got hit on by a Georgetown fan in a suit. He was giving Matt crap for being a Syracuse fan and really enjoyed touching my leg for some reason. Good to know I can draw attention if I ever have to switch teams and an interesting welcome to the city. We were feeling tired by the travel and left around 1:30 to unpack and get some sleep.

Thursday was Big East Tournament day with the marquee match up being Syracuse-Uconn at noon. Knowing that we made the short walk to Madison Square Garden to trade out the tickets I got on Stubhub. Sadly no one know where to send us because MSG was not in charge of handling tickets to the event. We were assured we would have no problems and went to grab a quick breakfast. We returned at 11:15 and were sent to guest services on the 6th floor who sent us to the 5th floor courtside entrance which got us really excited. The 5th floor guy looked at our tickets and basically laughed at us while sending us to the 9th floor nose bled section. The usher there had no idea where to send us and called for a supervisor. There was a wheelchair section in the 400s and we were sent there as the game was starting. The sight lines were pretty good up there similar to being in the roof boxes at a Red Sox game, but I was disappointed I couldn't pull off my seating upgrade magic.

The game was a good back and forth game that Syracuse pulled out in the last four minutes. They did not shoot great and as usual didn't rebound so it was no surprise to me when they lost the next day to Cincy. The arena was 70% percent Syracuse fans and we enjoyed making fun of the guys in front of us for swearing at the refs all game even though they did it a good job. The energy in the building kind of died for the second game with a good chunk of Syracuse fans leaving. Being in the 400's we had to take an elevator to try to find a bathroom. When we got off the elevator Jackson pointed out Pat Riley was right next to us. I wanted to talk to him but he was tied up in conversation and Jackson was having none of it. Apparently he has a personal code where he doesn't like bothering famous people. The second game was running past 4:30 and we were trying to meet Colleen for dinner before having to return for the night games. Georgetown was up 11 with 7:00 minutes left and made the executive decision to leave. We met up with Colleen a block later and she took us to a Cuban place Havana Central where Matt and her boyfriend John would meet us. We got there just as the game was going into overtime but the food and drinks were good so we didn't care that we missed it. After a very enjoyable dinner we headed back to the Garden.

We enjoyed the Marquette-Louisville game that Louisville won going away and decided to skip the USF-Notre Dame to go out with Matt. We decided to go to a basement comedy show at HA Comedy Club. I was very disappointed no one made a cripple joke since I was a foot in front of the stage and they made fun of the very ten people in the room. They were mostly drunk and foreign people but the best exchanges came from the last comedian putting a very drunk housewife heckler in her place. We left there after 2 and headed back to the hotel.  

Friday was sightseeing day with Colleen and we met her at 10am for a walk to the Empire State Building. After getting our tickets we headed up to the 86th floor which really popped our ears. We let a nice family with Ginger Twins cut the line with us and headed out to see the fantastic view. While all this was going on we apparently missed a marriage proposal going on at the opposite side of the building. That would have been awesome to see so I was disappointed to miss it. We left about 45 minutes later and headed to Times Square Visitors Center to get a listing of Broadway shows. We went through the listing carefully we me pushing hard for "Once" and Jackson hoping for "Spiderman." We spent an hour making a list of 10-12 acceptable shows and headed out to look for tickets. Sadly "No Dogs Allowed" at our top 3 choices including "Once" and the "Lion King". When Memphis was pet friendly (cripple) and could give us four seats close together we pounced. After grabbing lunch at an Irish Pub, we then made the long journey to and through Central Park failing in our attempt to find worthy street artists. I really wanted to feed the ducks but apparently that is frowned upon. My chair was low on the power and would force us back to the hotel before going to the show. It was already 4:30 and we were an hour walk away so we lucky to find a bus I could get on to get us back to Midtown. While charging the chair we failed at several attempts of ordering Pizza before sending Jackson and fresh out of work Matt to go get it. After eating quickly Jackson Colleen and I headed out to meet John at the theater while Matt stayed behind to take a nap.

I encountered a broken foot plate on the way over but still made it with 10 minutes to spare. "Memphis" is a story of disc jockey Huey Calhoun who was first white guy to play black music in Memphis. He was a hard character to root for but the actor had good comic timing and the actress playing his black singer girlfriend was a really good performer. It was a funny show with good musical performances and served as a great introduction to Broadway for me. I highly enjoyed it and look forward to going back again. The show ended at 10:30 said goodbye to Colleen and John who had a parade in the morning and headed back to the hotel. We found Matt half asleep unaware of how longs plays were and not in the mood to go out. Jackson and I headed out to Upright Citizens Brigade Theater but "No Dogs Allowed". By now it was really cold and after searching one block in each direction for something to do we stopped for more pizza and headed back to the room shortly after 1am.

Saturday we had breakfast at the New Yorker Hotel before taking off for Penn Station to go home. I have already made plans to go back again when my mom goes for a few hours on April 7th. Jackson and I really enjoyed everything besides my kicking and snoring at night apparently. I did a get job controlling myself because I had to drive long distances and there were no major disasters. I've caught the big city bug and I'm bound to get in trouble because Worcester is not enough for me anymore. As I seat on the doorstep of 28 I am determined to start exploring it and New York was a great place to start. As Boston people we grow up hating New York but there's an awful lot to love about it and I would be lucky to end up there in the future.