Jers-day

Sadly, I'm on a bus and will miss my high-brow television of choice - Jersey Shore.

I always DV-R it but rarely watch it. Oh well, they'll be in Italy next season. Europeans will hate Americans even more after Snooki, her troll friend, and J-wow's fake rack invade.

OK...time to sleep a bit, or try to until Lindsay calls after JS.

Jers-day; Surprise

I still have to watch the episode of Jersey Shore from last week before I take to it tonight at 10 o'clock.  I am holpeful I am able to stay up tonight, but we do have another 6 am practice tomorrow.  Yuck.  Tomorrow, however, is one week until our first game down in Cullowhee, NC

I slept in a bit today, and am still at home.  As you know, this weekend (Friday to Monday), I spent approximately 50 hours in the gym, so I figured I needed to catch up on some much needed sleep.  Mission accomplished.

It's just me and Nathan hanging out.

I plan on going in at around 1:30 or so today to move some bleachers in the back so that recreation can go off without a hitch tonight.  Big games of basketball tonight for the civilian students.

On a lighter note, I got a text from Verizon this morning letting me know I am eligible for an upgrade - 7 months early!!  Pretty cool, not sure what I plan on doing  yet, but we all know I need a new phone.  If you recall, on January 12, I posted about wanting/needing a new used phone.  I got no help, so this text from Verizon was music to my ears.

I know they got the iPhone now, but I was checking out the Samsung Fascinate, and this thing looks pretty boss.  Gonna head to Central Ave. today to take a look at the Verizon store before I just order online on a whim.


Lindsay has a meeting with a guy they plan on hiring to help her in Academic Advising, and after that she's going to come pick me up to go to work.  For now, I will take Nathan out to the dog park to run with his peers.

Later on.

Twitter-ific Jers-day

Jers-day
Brand new episode of Jersey Shore tonight at 10 pm.  Problem is, I'll probably watch a DVR'd version since we have early practice again tomorrow morning - 4:39 am wake up.  Anyone need a call to wake them up?  Didn't think so.

Then there's a basketball game tomorrow night at seven, so I will be in this gym from 5:15 am to 9:30 pm.  Don't hate.  Ha.  Looks like my Jersey Shore viewing will take place on Saturday or Sunday.

But who knows, maybe I'll suck it up and watch it love tonight.  My head is starting to hurt slightly.

Twitter-ific
For those of you who are so technologically advanced, Twitter is a great means of communicating, as well as a great way to follow celebrities.  It really is something to behold if you haven't checked it out already.

Me, I'm on there @RyanInTheBronx.  I follow a wide array of people, from musicians to celebrities to chefs to athletes and even some brands.  The people who follow me, some of them are bullshit advertisers looking to push a crappy website of some sort and some are friends of mine (only a few). 

Here's a list (and link) of some of the people/places/things I follow on Twitter.

Since it is Jers-day, I'll start there:

@VINNYGUADAGNINO - Funniest member of the Jersey Shore, hands down.  Always posts a lot, along with @DJPaulyD.

@KatyPerry - She always has some funny stuff to say and she posts a few times a day.  I am not afraid to admit I follow her.

@HowardStern - The King of All Media is new to Twitter, but he posts like a mad man.  And he's from Long Island (Roosevelt to be exact.  Rough area.  He was a Jewish kid from a predominantly AA neighborhood).

@tom_coliccho - Top Chef judge.  Awesome chef with an awesome restaurant in NYC.

@NYC_1_trains - In case I need to know if there are any delays in service.  Comes in handy.

@TRINArockstarr - She da baddest bitch!

@funnyordie - They always seem to have some pretty great one-liners.  If you need a laugh, go here.

@MJ_Pluss - Loyal member of my Blog Army.  She seems to me MIA since her trip to Vegas

@thormoo - Another loyal follower.  Links to his posts as well as witty comments.


@Huffy247  - Free Safety for the Oakland Raiders by way of UT.  First-round pick in 2006 (7th overall).  Racked up 95 tackles and 3 INT's this season.

@PauleyP - Pauley Perrette, otherwise known as Abby, from the CBS show @NCIS.  Awesome show - tune in if you're into the CSI, Criminal Minds and Law & Order type shows.

@THISISHELL - Kick ass band from Long Island, fronted by ex-HS classmate @TravisReilly who posts the crap out of it.

@dailyshoot - Neat site giving photographers ideas on things to shoot.  The only way to post to their site is through Twitter.  Good inspiration for budding photogs.

There's a list of some of the people I follow, maybe check them out yourself, if you're on Twitter.  If you aren't, maybe I've inspired you enough to check it out.  I was anti-Twitter for a while, but I've come to terms that it's a great form of social networking (via the computer).

I encourage you to still use your phones.  Do not use just the internet and e-mail to communicate.  You'll have no friends.  Loser!

I'm out this bitch!

Hospital Tour-ing; Andy, You're a Star; Jers-day Nights; Duke Romp

Hospital Tour-ing
We took the hospital tour today of where we will be having our baby.  It's an awesome hospital but they have some pretty strict rules.  Lindsay has to pick two support people and those are the only two allowed in the room with her throughout child birth.  Once she is admitted into a private room, visiting hours are in effect.  If one or both of her "support people" are ill, have to work, etc. etc., she can't add another person.  Looks like I have to stay strong and on my feet.

Also, only still shots are allowed.  No video cameras allowed.  Wrist and ankle bands are put on the baby as soon as it's delivered and warmed up and baby isn't allowed outside the exits otherwise the sensor in the bands locks all the exits to the entire hospital.  This is to prevent child abduction, which is scary as shit, but it's real.  So I'm glad they're on top of that.

All in all, it was a good trip, and although it feels like we've been in Manhattan every day for the past week or so, it's still cool to see everything that NYC offers.  Today, there was a lot of ice - on streets, sidewalks, and crosswalks.  When we were walking to and from the hospital, we saw somewhere around 5 people just bite it.  Some went down gracefully, some just took a dive - one thing about all of them though - it always makes me laugh.

We took the train down, walked across Central Park, and got to the hospital.  We chose to take the bus back.  It was bitter cold outside and didn't feel like walking back across the park.  Oh well.  And there was a Crumbs right next to the bus stop - we mighta picked up a few.

Andy, You're a Star
I got home today from the hospital tour and flipped on my iPad and the ESPN ScoreCenter only to find out that Andrew Eugene Pettitte is announcing his retirement.  After 16 seasons, the first of the Yankees' Core Four is calling it a career.  It was a sad day when he took his talents to Houston in 2004, but it's a sadder day today, as he hangs up his cleats for the last time.  He should be a Hall of Fame'r, and will certainly go in as a Yankee.  He was the big game pitcher for them throughout his career, and with five World Series rings to show for it, it's easy to tell how he fared in those games.

Let's go inside the numbers (which hardly tell the story of what Andy Pettitte meant to the NY Yankees) and take a look at a stellar career:

5: World Series rings ('96, '98, '99, '00, '09)
1: ALCS MVP Award (2001)
3: All-Star Game selections ('96, '01, '10)
6: Post-Season series clinching wins (1st all-time)
19: Post-Season wins (1st all-time)
102: Games over .500 for his career (240-138)
3.88: ERA
2,251: Strikeouts

The city of New York and the Yankees organization will lose a great man and great ballplayer on Friday, when the announcement is made.  You will be missed Andy.  Thanks for the memories - and the signature fist pump that always made me give a fist pump as well.

Jers-day
Speaking of fist pumps, Jersey Shore is on at 10:00 pm.  Don't miss it, even though it's a fair assumption to say I will.  This early, crack of dawn practice thing is throwing off my sleeping (or lack thereof) pattern.  I'd like to get some good zzz's in tonight since I felt like a zombie this morning walking in to practice.  The one good thing about the cold is that it wakes me up by the time I get to the gym.

I follow Vinny and Pauly D on Twitter, and they are both pretty funny guys.  Vinny is hilarious, so if you do Tweet, follow @VINNYGUADAGNINO - you'll enjoy his one-liners.

Duke Romp
Duke headed to College Park and Maryland has one thing on their mind - handing Duke it's first two-game losing streak since February 2009.  Duke was up for the challenge and wound up leaving Maryland with an 80-62 win.  Two 40-point halves and stifling defense in the second half allowed Duke to pull away.  Not to mention the fact that they shot 53% from the floor.

Critics always say how Duke draws fouls because they're Duke - whatever that means.  Well, Maryland attempted 11 more free throws and was +10 from the line. 

The two seniors, Singler and Smith led Duke, again.  Mason Plumlee actually asserted himself and had himself a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) - only his third one of the year.

My ass hurts from typing this - I'm sitting on the floor, so it's time to get up.

Get your sleep.  I will.  It's clean sheet night thanks to Lindsay.  (she did laundry)

Lacrosse - Really?

I am at the gym, setting up for an exciting women's basketball game and the men's lacrosse team is lifting.  All I hear it swearing (which I am OK with), screaming, grunting, and weights getting slammed on the ground.  They must be getting strong.

As far as I'm concerned, this is solely a sport for rich kids who a) couldn't hack it in baseball or b) think baseball is a low brow sport.  Either way, I am glad I never played lacrosse.

Sure, some of them can run.  Sure, they can catch a little white ball in the basket of their stick.  Sure, they can shoot it at a brainless goalie who wears a cup, shin pads and a helmet.

Or maybe it's just our lacrosse team giving them a bad rep.  "I'm a meat head" is the impression they give off (not like the Jersey Shore).

Yeah, it may go all the way back to the 5th century.  It also used to be played on a field that was miles long with 500 to 1000 people per side.  Again, the word brainless come in.

There are 61 men's college lacrosse teams, and this one in this gym right now, they think they're the best.  Which, I guess, is good for them.  If noise generated from lifting weights was how they ranked teams, we would most certainly be the preseason #1.

Walking around twirling a stick with a ball in it, tightening the laces, making the pocket in the lacing - how cool.  Cutting your sleeves off and walking around - even cooler.

I will say this, it is a very physically demanding sport.  It takes tough kids (just like every other sport).  It takes top-notch conditioning running up and down the field.  They obviously play it for the love of the game, because professional lacrosse hasn't exactly taken off in the US.

I have to get back to setting up for this game.  I big you all a better Saturday than I have in store.

Syracuse/Pitt Bloodbath; UConn tops Nova; Jersey Shore

Following up on my earlier post about the Syracuse/Pitt game...

...Pitt opened up the game with a ridiculous 19-0 run.  Syracuse answered with a 17-0 run to make it a bit of a game, but I think the Orange spent too much energy coming back from the early hole they dig themselves.  It was a black and blue (using my dude thormoo's terminology here) game - #3 at #4.  What else would you expect from the Big East?  A 74-66 loss without their top scorer Kris Joseph (14.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG) isn't all bad and neither is their 18-1 record.  Losing to Pitt at Pitt, not terrible - they have won 51 of the past 52 at home.

#8 UConn - with a little help from their guy Kemba Walker - left the Gampel with a 61-59 win over #7 Villanova.  He hit a runner in the lane with 2.5 seconds left to seal the deal for the Huskies.  After a sluggish offensive first half for both sides (22-21 Villanova at the half), the offenses got in gear over the last twenty minutes.  And the difference was the best player in the country hitting a big shot.  How's it go, "Big players make big plays"?  And he sure did.

(You didn't read it wrong, I just spoke on four Big East teams who are ranked #3, #4, #7, and #8 in the country)

As much as I hate the troll party members on the Jersey Shore, I do find comedy in most of what @VINNYGUADAGNINO says.  I am not even sure it's what he says as much as it is how he says it.  Oh, and Snooki is getting arrested right now, telling cops to "get the f*** off!" - claiming she's a "good person".  Calling her a person is the loosest interpretation of the word.

JWow has the worst skin on the show.  Blotches abound on that whore'ish face.

A day off turned into a full day at the gym watching a basketball game that was torturous for all in attendance.  51-49 Manhattan over Niagara.

After the game, I headed to grab a bite with Phil Martelli Jr., a friend of mine from when he coached here at Manhattan for a season.  He's since moved on to the Great White North that is Lewiston, NY and is on the Niagara staff. 

Headed to get some Zzz's.  Later y'all.  (cue the New Yorker's southern drawl)