Day 250

Travel Stories: This blog entry comes from 30,000 feet above. I’m on way to see my family in Arizona. I figured it out the other day; this is the longest Leah and I have been apart since early 1999. Obviously, I haven’t been away from Andrew for this long either. I have been jonesing for him. For Hanukah, we bought web cams for Scott and Lauren, Jessica and Justin, and my in laws so that they could see Andrew from their homes in Arizona and New York. MD already has one for his kids. So while Leah has been in Arizona, we did it a couple of times. Is it possible for a boy to get cuter because he is on my computer screen a couple thousand miles away? So I’m en route to see them. Getting here has been quite an interesting experience. Get ready for a lot of TD minutiae.

My original plan was to fly out after the 12:05 Tribe/A’s game today (4:05 flight through St. Louis. The weather in the Midwest has been bad over the last two days and I had only a 25 minute connection window in St. Louis. Had I been late, I’d be stuck in St. Louis for 4 hours before the next flight to Phoenix. A change had to be made. There is only one non-stop flight on Southwest from Cleveland to Phoenix per day; it’s at 8:40 am. When Leah first got out there, I think not having me around for an extended period of time and with her dad in LA, her grandparents visiting, two puppies running around, and her mom dealing with all of that, it was more than she bargained. Not exactly a stress-free vacation with Andrew slowing adjusting to a time zone three hours different than he is used to. So I decided to skip the tribe game and get on the direct flight at 8:40, where I saw there were seats still available. When I went to change my free ticket, Southwest told me that they had exceeded the amount of “Rapid Rewards” seats on the flight so I couldn’t make the switch. I begged them to make an exception and they wanted no part of it. So my wheels began to turn. I figured out I could get to Chicago direct on one free segment Wednesday night on an 8:25 flight, getting to Chicago at the same time. The next morning I could get on a direct flight from Chicago to Phoenix at 8:30 getting to Phoenix at 10:15 local time, giving me essentially an extra full day out there. So that’s what I did. The plan seemed good in theory. The only negative was that I had to use a third free segment ticket to get this done, but with the amount I fly to Chicago on Southwest, its no big deal; I earn free tickets all the time. I get to the airport at 7:15 last night and my flight is now scheduled for 10:15 and the 6:50 flight is scheduled for 8:30. I waited in a long line for a good 30 minutes to get on the waiting list for that flight standby. As it turned out, a girl I knew from high school (Julie G) was on my flight as well and higher on the list. When her name was called, she told them we were traveling together and I ended up on this flight. As we got on the plane, I ended up having to check my bag, which I knew was bad news at Midway since the baggage claim area is always a zoo. But I was on the plane. Just as we were about to take off, a crazy electrical storm hit and we were held at the gate. About 9:00, they moved us to the runway. There we sat for another hour. We finally took off at 10:10. I then waited for my bag for about 35 minutes. I stayed over at Ags’ place – I didn’t get there until 11:45, and I was getting picked up by a cab at 6:15. Solid. (Props to Ags for staying awake and having to deal with my bullshit). But it’s all working out because I’m on my way…..FYI – I didn’t eat anything from lunch with my grandmother yesterday until these Lorna Doone cookies I am currently burying on the plane.

Out Like Southwest? I have been a very loyal Southwest flyer for a good seven years. Three years in a row while living in Chicago, I earned a companion pass, which is their most elite status. I have flown back and forth to Chicago every other week for a year since I moved back to Cleveland. I have never really had any issues with them out of the ordinary. But their latest treatment of this loyal customer has me with one foot out the door. Leah and I are supposed to come back the 4th, but wanted to extend it a day. So I called Southwest to see if we could move our tickets to the same flight the next day. I was told there were plenty of seats on the flight, but only one Rapid Rewards seat was available. I said “how about doing me a favor here, there are two of us and a baby. I’ll even buy an infant fair for him if you can get us on this flight.” The woman flat out wouldn’t budge. So I called back and figured I’d give it a shot with a different customer service rep, I received the same rap. No way could they do this. So I asked for a supervisor. They gave me the main number for Rapid Rewards reservations. I called it. I was put in touch with a nice lady, I explained to her my situation; I told her to look at my Rapid Rewards history to see what a loyal customer I have been and if there was any way she could make this happen, I would really appreciate it. After being on hold for a while, she came back with the same lame answer – the flight only has one Rewards seat available. Did she not just listen to what I said? Now I am starting to steam. I said “I have spent thousands of dollars with this company and this is the thanks I get?” I was dumbfounded. I asked for her supervisor. She said “I’ll have one call you back in a few minutes.” I gave her my number. Sure enough, two hours go by and I get no call back. So I made another call. Got a different guy. I said I had been waiting for a call back from a supervisor and never received one. He said his notes said they made an attempt and left a message. I was home the whole time and the phone never rang. I asked what number they used; he gave me some random 480 area code number. I said “that’s funny, I’m in Ohio and that’s a Phoenix area code.” I asked for the supervisor’s name and he gave it to me. He then said he was going to check with accounting to see if he could make this work. 10 minutes later he came back saying “accounting is very confident they will sell these seats, so they won’t help you out.” What a joke! He said he’d have the supervisor call me back in the morning – he was gone for the day. So first thing yesterday morning I called and asked for him specifically. They told me he was on another call and would call me back. I said He has to call me back within the hour. Of course no call back. I tried again two hours later and again he was “another call.” Long story long, unless they move us onto this flight on the 5th by the end of the day tomorrow and I get the answer I will be pulling all of my business from Southwest and going Continental exclusively. I’ve taken everyone’s names down and I am writing a letter to them – Mark P style! On top of that, there was a story in today’s USA Today Money section about Southwest making changes. One of which is cutting 39 daily non-stops – one of which is Cleveland to Phoenix. The one we use to visit my in-laws. I told you – get ready for a lot of TD minutiae!

Nice World We Live In: There are three stories I need to touch on that are just awful. First, living in Cleveland, we received extensive coverage of the disappearance and eventual murder of Jesse Davis. The crime went on in Canton, 45 minutes south of C-Town. It just defies logic that someone would kill a nine-month pregnant woman, the mother of his unborn child. The man charged with double murder, Bobby Cutts Jr. is a Canton Police officer. That makes it even worse. After Davis first disappeared, Cutts was a front page story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer titled “Who is Bobby Cutts jr.?” The article touched on his past as a police officer and the fact that he seemed to be visibly shaken by Davis’ disappearance and was taking part in the search. This was the biggest sham since O.J. declared that he would be “searching for the real killer.” Hey Orenthal – the real killer isn’t on golf courses or in Miami, he’s in the mirror. In the meantime, Davis left behind a two year old son who is believed to also have been fathered by Cutts Jr. The kid was found in Davis’ house crying and screaming about his mother being taking. Does this kid have any chance of a normal life? Easy answer – negative. What is wrong with people? Cutts and Scott Peterson can have fun rotting in jail the rest of their lives. This is why I am all for the death penalty. These two committed murders on their pregnant wife or girlfriend, yet they are allowed to live in jail? They should be castrated, and then fried to death.

Now we move to the crazy story that is the Chris Benoit murder/suicide. The WWE wrestler was found dead hanging from a weight machine in his house. His wife and seven year old son were also found choked to death, with bibles lying next to their bodies. According to reports, Benoit first choked his wife to death, than potentially waited another day before dealing his son the same fate before hanging himself. Everyone knows that many WWE wrestlers are on steroids. There is no doubt Chris Benoit snapped in a ‘roid rage. Normal, sane, right in their mind type of person, argues with their wife, strangles her to death, the crushes his son’s throat with a choke hold, and then kills himself. The disturbing trend is that over 45 former WWE wrestlers have died under the age of 40. Steroids have been linked to a lot of them. As a father, how any parent could ever kill their child is flat out mind-blowing to me. I’m not kidding, I have become nauseous writing about this story. The WWE has vowed not to mention Chris Benoit’s name or story ever again. I am taking their lead in this blog.

Lastly – woo hoo! Paris Hilton is free! So the heiress, famous for being famous is out of jail after her 40 day or so ordeal. Nothing better than seeing the hundred or so losers waiting outside the jail to see her emerge so they could yell for her. “We love you Paris!” You know you are a serious P-Rod if you are standing outside a jailhouse waiting for Paris Hilton to be freed. Her first order of business was being interviewed by Larry King. Now I didn’t see the interview, but I’m sure she gave the predictable “I’m a changed person” routine. Now that she is free, she will try to be a better person I’m sure. It will last two weeks before she turns back into America’s favorite party-girl. I’m still partial to Lindsay Lohan. The more times I read she is out until 5 am doing coke and getting loaded, the hotter she gets to me for some reason.

Family: I’ve talked about it at length, but I really have a great family. This past Monday, I went to the Tribe/A’s game with cousin Billy. Bill spent his formative years in the bay area and is an A’s fan. So every year I make sure I get him tickets to see the A’s at the Jake. Not that I didn’t think this before, but after the game, I left thinking to myself – “that is one rock-solid guy.” Seriously, there may be no more solid guy in my family than Bill. The funny thing is, when Bill was first brought into our family by my cousin Susie, MD and I were a little icy to him. It wasn’t anything he did – he just wasn’t Ags. For those who didn’t know, Ags dated Susie on and off for eight years or so. He basically was around my family as much as anyone could be and we became great friends. Susie and Ags split in the fall of 95 for good, but our friendship has remained. To this day, he is one of my best friends. But the more I got to know Billy, the more I realized that he and Suz were perfect for each other. Now that Ags and I are so close, I still don’t know how he and Suz lasted so long. They couldn’t be more different. Regardless, everyone is better off. I love that Billy is a member of our family (has been for 11 years now). I’ll say this, cousin Steve couldn’t have gotten more legit brother in laws than Bill and Steve J. Back to the Tribe, Bill’s boys were derailed by the C.C. express and the Tribe came away with a 5-2 win, moving my record to a stellar 10-1. Bill has a standing invitation to Tribe games with me regardless who they play. As I said before, there is nobody more solid in my family.

Tuesday Night, Uncle Kenny and I met for dinner at the bar at Hyde Park. We were supposed to battle on the tennis court beforehand, but it was 95 degrees with 100% humidity and to quote my uncle “what are you, trying to kill me?” The original plan was to grab a burger at the bar and catch up. It turned into several glasses of wine, scotch, and steaks. You start to drink that wine, and the steaks just call you. I told him, I am following your lead – if you order a burger, I’m ordering a burger. He went for a filet, so I followed. Again, it was so great hanging with him. As always, with KD, you start a conversation, it becomes very long and engrossing and you get off topic several times before getting back to the original point. For example, I asked him how he became the one who had to make the phone call to tell me that dad had passed away. 45 minutes later I was still waiting for my answer. It was vintage KD. Seriously, as different as he and my father were, everytime I see him or talk to him, I feel like a part of my dad is there. Close your eyes when talking to him and it sounds like dad. Regardless, I had an absolute blast with him as always. We shared some laughs and some seriousness, watched the Tribe game (I was home in plenty of time to see the Tribe’s 5 run ninth to win 8-5 on Kelly Shoppach’s three run HR – best backup catcher in baseball), and ran the gambit of topics. He is such a good man. I’m very lucky to have him around. The next day I had lunch with my Grandmother. She was great. She is still sharp as a tack at age 93. Not many people still have a grandparent who is so with it when they are 31 years old, and I’m the 8th of 10 grandchildren. Her oldest great-grandchild just graduated from high school a few weeks ago. Crazy.

Sorry for the length of this entry, but I had a lot to tell you all. I guarantee my next post will be telling you how different Andrew looked to me and how hot it is in Arizona….oh oh oh bye now.

Song of the Day: JFK to LAX by Gangstarr

Sorry for the delay....this week's post will go up later on Thursday....

Day 249

Bittersweet Day: Sunday was my first father's day as a father. As you can understand, father's day is not something that I circle on my calendar every year. But this year was obviously different. Now that I have Andrew, this day that has been horrible for me the past two years turned better. When I woke up Sunday morning, the first thing I did was walk to Andrew's room and take a look at him in his crib. Instantly, it made everything better. Just to look at him laying peacefully asleep was the highlight of my day. Andrew and Casey got me a bottle of my favorite wine, Jordan Cabernet, and Leah got me a Lacoste shirt. We spent part of the day attending the baby naming of Andrew's girlfriend Ella Schneider at Fairmount Temple. Because it was Ella's day, Andrew was good enough to sleep through the whole ceremony and subsequent brunch. How solid is that? Much props out the Fairmount Temple caterers - the food was the whup. Much better than the food at our baby naming. The kugel was legit. We sat with our friends The Frankel's and their five year old son Jacob. I cannot wait for Andrew to be that age. Matt is big on programming Jacob to say things that are hilarious and he just says them and giggles. As they drove past us on the way out Jacob yelled out the window to me "You look like Daniel "Boobie" Gibson." It was so cute.

From there we stopped at Leah's grandparents so they could see Andrew. He was ready to get out of his car seat at that point and was happy just chillin on a blanket on the ground kicking away. Leah and her mom went back to the house and Andrew and I had a stop to make. I have yet to take Andrew to the cemetery to see my father and in fact, I haven't been in quite a while. I have been waiting to go on father's day to take Andrew. He cried the whole time from Leah's grandparents until we pulled into the cemetery. The second we pulled in, he fell asleep. It was odd. So we parked and I took Andrew in his car seat and walked over to my father's grave. I brought 409 and towels to clean off his stone, as well as my grandfather, and my mom's parents. I have my usual routine when I go - I see my dad first, then go over to my grandparents on my mom's side, then my grandfather, and I have now added my neighbors Peggy and Cliff's daughter Lindsay who died 9 years ago of sepsis. I put down Andrew right on top of the ground where my father is, facing his gravestone. I cleaned off the stone and stood with my thoughts. I wanted Andrew to feel the energy and love of his grandfather. Any sort of vibes he could get. I am not one who talks out loud and speaks to the ground, but for the first time, I did. I just said "Daddy, this is your grandson." I did the same at all of my grandparents graves as well. MD asked me how it went at the cemetery and I told him "its just great introducing my son to his grandfather who is in the ground." No matter how far removed I get, I can never get over the fact that he is gone and missing out on this. My kids will never know my father and that just kills me.

Going to the cemetery always makes the rest of my day pretty gloomy, but I had a nice rest of my day. I took a little nap in the basement while watching some Golf and them my mother and grandmother came over for dinner. Leah and her mom (came in town Thursday) cooked me a master feast of my favorites; Flank Steak, Hash Brown Casserole, wine, and a mint chocolate chip ice cream pie for dessert. It was great. I put Andrew down to bed, took a bath, watched Entourage, and went to bed. All things considered, it was a pretty good day. I toasted to new beginnings with Andrew and never forgetting my father; the circle of life.

Bobby D: You all know how much I revere my father. In honor of Father's day, I figured I should give you one of my favorite stories about my father. There was no more unselfish man then pops. He always put MD, Mom, and me first. Every year Dad used to take MD and I to Spring Training games in Palm Beach where the Braves and Expos trained. One year, we went to a Braves night game against the Mets. Like most little kids do, MD and I wanted food during the game. Of course we asked a bunch of times. So during the 6th inning or so, we badgered him again. He said "lets wait until after the Mets bat." MD and I of course couldn't''t wait, so he went anyways. He returned with popcorn, drinks, and hot dogs about 10 minutes later. That was the good news. The bad news was that the Mets hit back to back to back home runs. All he could do was shake his head and laugh. Classic.

Oh Oh Oh Bye Now: This morning Leah, Andrew, and Stacey left for Arizona. Leah had planned this months ago so she could spend extra time there as I have to stay behind and work. This is Andrew's first plane flight. Yes, I am not on the flight, but Stacey is, so Leah has help. I dropped them off at the airport this morning and Leah called after she got through security with no issues. I am anxiously awaiting to hear how the flight went. I got up with Andrew at 4 AM and fed him, I couldn't really fall back asleep and Leah was up at 6, as was Andrew. It was definitely sad saying goodbye to them - I felt like Andrew was going off to camp, but I won't lie, I am very much looking forward to uninterrupted sleep for nine days and attending three Tribe games. Its just me and the Casey dog. I will be joining them on the 28th and looking forward to it (I need to work on my tan).

Reliving the Sickness: I had to go to Florida for a conference for my biggest client from Thursday/Saturday. Randomly, the Tribe was playing the Marlins in Miami Thursday night so clearly I had to be there. There was a little trepidation on my part going to that piece of crap Dolphins Stadium. 10 years ago, the Indians were two out away from winning the World Series and getting me my first ring. Well, we all know what happened, Mesa shakes off Alomar, blows the games, Edgar Renteria in extra innings wins it for the Marlins who win their first title, a mear 5 years after they began play. Of course in typical TD luck, the game I go to is the night they were honoring the 97 Marlins. They brought back all the old players. They showed highlights of game seven on the jumbotron. They handed out replica 97 World Series rings as you walked into the stadium. The Marlisn wore the 97 uniforms they wore duing game seven, and the Indians were in their Blue jerseys as they were that fateful night 10 years ago. I bought a $16 upper deck seat behind home plate. As I sat there watching all of this, all of the awful memories of that series came rushing back. I couldn't look at the jumbotron. The whole thing just sickened me. I called Ags. I called MD. I called Jeremy. I called Fritzer. I had to share this with the others. Jeremy was actually at game seven and for years has been telling me how horrible the experience was. While I cannot even begin to imagine how bad it was for him, it is a little clearer now. You should see this stadium. Its a piece of crap football stadium in the middle of nowhere. There is one parking lot and nothing around it. The Marlins have NO FANS. The ones that were there didn't care. yet they have two championships? Its a sick joke to real long-suffering fans like me. The silver lining was Jason Stanford came up for AAA Buffalo and pitched a gem. Victor Martinez homered off of Dontrell Willis and the Tribe held on for a 3-2 win and exacted a tiny bit of revenge. Its still not good enough, but for one night, it was sweet.

The conference went well. My Florida rep Bonnie won Vendor of the Year for her distribution center for the third consecutive year. My guy George has been on the Atlanta DC for three years. Last year, I got nothing but negative feedback about his work ethic and he was officially on the hot seat. His numbers still aren't great, but he has worked his ass off. To my surprise, he too won vendor of the year for the Atlanta DC. I was stunned and so happy for him. He is really a good dude. I shot my boss and email telling him the good news and later in the day, he fired me back the following: The real credit goes to you and don't think I don't know it. Pat yourself on the back my friend. I believe winning them all is something that has never been done before and you are the guy driving the bus! It was really big for me, especially with the new company taking over. My boss is still in place and hopefully I can now be used in a big role to integrate the Pactiv line into the Prairie line with all of my key accounts. When I got hoime Saturday, I got a treat as my boy Doug was in briefly from Atlanta and he got to briefly chill with his daughter Natalie. Jeremy and Amy and the girls came over as well before we went to Red Robin with the kids for an early dinner. We got some solid photos, one is above.

Down and Out: So the Cavaliers were swept by the Spurs. I say who cares. At the beginning of the season, if you would have told me that the Cavs would have made it to the Finals and lost, I'd have taken that in a heartbeat. This series showed more than anything how flawed this roster is and how much GM Danny Ferry has to do to improve the team in the offseason. We need a point guard badly. We need more shooters badly, and we need Lebron to rest. But I am not bummed out at all. Well, maybe a little - I was offered a ticket to Game 5 Sunday night; a game that never ended up happening. The sweep also cost the city of Cleveland. It has been reported that each Finals game made the cith of Cleveland $4.5 million dollars in revenue. Our city can always use more money pumped into the economy. Bottom line is that with Lebron, anything is possible and we could be seeing more NBA Finals appearances in the near future with the weakness of the Eastern Conference.

A True American: Love him or hate him. Call him what you want. But I call filmmaker Michael Moore a true American. One of the most controversial figures in the country, Moore's movies definitely move the needle. I loved Fahrenheit 9/11. Bowling for Columbine was extremely thought provoking about this country's gun laws, and now Moore is going after the healthcare industry in his new movie, Sicko. Sicko is a documentary scheduled for release on June 29th. It investigates the American health care system with a focus on the behavior of large health insurance companies and contrasts the U.S. system with those of other countries with universal health care coverage. I am very anxious to see this film. I still have yet to see An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary on Global Warming done by Al Gore and will be renting it soon. There is definitely a place for movies like this, as this is for movies like Oceans 13 and Knocked Up (which everyone keeps telling me is great). I am very interested in seeing the Right-Wing spin that is put onto his movie. Moore says at the beginning of the movie, he states, this is not a Democratic issue. This is not a Republican issue. This is an issue for all Americans. It is getting great reviews. I wish I could say I'll be seeing this right when it comes out, but the days of us going to movies have pretty much ceased. Hopefully we can see one or two when we are in Arizona. We haven't been to the movies since Andrew was born. I am a Michael Moore supporter, even though many say he skews the facts. That may indeed be true, but he is out to make the American public think. You gotta at least respect that.

Song of the Day: "Dancin in the Moonlight" by King Harvest

Day 248

Genius or Weak?: I've gotta start with the Sopranos finale. There had been a ton of speculation about how the show's eight season run would end. My prediction was way off - either Meadow or A.J. would get clipped right in front of Tony and he'd end up in jail. So you have all heard by now, the show came to an end with an edge of your seat scene with Tony waiting for his family at a diner and they come in one by one. Just as Meadow enters, the screen goes black. At the time it left me very hollow. I thought it was so weak at the time. It left us feeling hollow, but this is the genius of David Chase. He says screw the Hollywood ending and he will end the show how he wants. He left everyone talking too. With the screen going to black, what does that mean? Was it foreshadowing in the first episode when Tony and Bobby were fishing and Bobby asked Tony how he thought it all ended. Tony's answer? "It all goes to black." The last scene was powerful, yet unsatisfying. I was so nervous every time someone else entered the diner. You were just waiting for someone to walk though that door and pop Tony right in front of his family. And what was it with Meadow and her parallel parking? The more I am removed from it, the more I liked it. I watched the last 10-15 minutes again last night, it gave me more of an appreciation for the way Chase did things. He laid low during the last few months, but gave one interview Monday. Click here to read it. A major negative for me was the song playing during that last scene. "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. Those close to me know there is nothing I hate more than the sound of Steve Perry's voice. Its like fingernails across a chalkboard. And of all the Journey songs, that one rates as my most hated. Regardless, it is the end of an era for one of the greatest TV shows of all time. To me, in the Pantheon of classic shows, you have a Mount Rushmore of Dallas, Seinfeld, and The Sopranos. Then from a character standpoint, you have J.R. Ewing, Tony Soprano, and Archie Bunker as the three most infamous. All three were loathe-able and lovable at the same time. The thing about Tony Soprano is that he was a murderer, addicted gambler, cheated on his wife at will, and yet we all rooted for him. That is what you call brilliant writing. We are all used to life without the show, because they would always take crazy long hiatus' in between seasons, but it will definitely be missed. We now move on to "Big Love" on HBO which started last night.

Mark P in the House: Mark P had been trying to pick out a weekend to come here and visit and he ended up choosing this past weekend. I wanted to have him com e in when the Tribe was in town, but that didn't end up working out. We had an interesting travel experience. I was in Chicago Thursday and Friday for Gregg's 30th b-day surprise party (I'll get into that later) and P and I were going to fly back together on the 4:05 flight. I picked up P at his pad and he met me with the news that our flight was already delayed until 5:30. When we got to the airport, it was now delayed until 6:00 PM. There was an FAA problem on the East Coast that caused a ton of delays and our flight was originating in Baltimore. Another 40 minutes go by, and now our flight is delayed until 6:30. So I call Southwest and they say there are seats available on the 5:50 and it is on time, but we had to pay $54 each to get on. We decided for 40 minutes, we'd just stick on our flight. Another half hour goes by, and now our flight is delayed until 7:30. So we made the call again and got on the 5:50, which was still on time. We board our flight and were ready to go and the flight attendant announces that we will have to sit for a few extra minutes because our pilot was pulled off the flight as he was needed on another flight. We had to wait for another one. Finally we take off. We landed at 8:10. Two hours later than we were supposed to. The good news is that we were on this flight. Our original flight didn't land in Cleveland until after 11.

Because of the flight situation, we had to get Geraci's picked up instead of eating it there (where it is better). We polished off a couple bottles of wine, chilled for a little and called it a night. We wanted to give P a real taste of suburbia, so Saturday we went up to Legacy Village and walked around and had some lunch. The weather could not have been better all weekend. Then P and I walked up to the Tennis Courts in our neighborhood for the big battle. The throw-down in c-town. Mano-e-Mano. On the court next to us was a kid who was probably 12 years old. He couldn't have beaten us both 6-0, 6-0. He had the full tennis regalia on, his ground strokes were immaculate and he had a pretty killer serve. As P put it, I saw glimpses of my youth while watching him, so when we were playing, I was trying to kill everything, the way I did when I was younger. Believe it or not, I was once a pretty good player. Mom buried me Sunday morning when discussing my athletic prowess. She said I had enough skills to be good, but I never put forth the energy and effort to be great. So good enough, was good enough to win. I took offense to that, but there is definitely some truth in her rationale. But I digress. P and I battled on this sunny afternoon in Orangewood. We must have had deuce in every game. I was trying for winners, as I was prone to do as a kid, and it just wasn't working. P held a 5-4 lead. I served to tie it at 5. I broke P to take a 6-5 lead - his first serve (when it went in) was wicked. The problem for P was it went in only 10% of the time. I served out for the 7-5 win. I couldn't have played another game as I was real winded. We would re-match on Sunday morning. P broke me to go up 1-0. We had two epic games back to back where there were 5 deuces in each. I took both games followed by two more to go up 4-1 and eventually won 6-2. It definitely beats beating my 60 year old mom. The bottom line was it was a ton of fun, I forgot how much I love playing competitive sports, and we got a ton of color being in the sun.

Saturday night we went to Sushi Rock with the Bilsky's. Jeremy and P were fraternity brother at Indiana and hadn't seen each other in 6 years. Good food. Good drink. Good company. After dinner, P, Dave (in town for his grandmother's stone setting) and I went to Bar Louie for some drinks. All I can say is thank goodness I'm not single living here. Its a strange scene. Bar Louie was an eclectic group to say the least. I ran into randoms as usual (Robyn Sulzer, Kerry Danzinger, Nick Warner, the orignal Fritzer - Brian Friedman), and then you had your drunken 40/50 somethings in there as well. It was pretty funny. I think overall P had a solid time in C-Town. he got in some sun, some Andrew time, and we got to chill. It was great to see him. Made me realize how different my life is now and how much I miss my friends back in the city. As Leah put it, "I feel like we never left him."

A Grundell Surprise: As I stated earlier, I was in town Thursday night for Gregg's 30th b-day surprise party. A couple of months ago, Gregg's wife Rebecca sent out an invitation to me and said that she knows Gregg would love it if I was there. With the way my schedule works for work, I knew I could make it happen. I flew in around 4 and went to Ags' pad where I stayed. There was 19 people at Scylla Restaurant in Bucktown. We got there at 7:30. Gregg was going to show up at 7:45. As he walked in the door, he was stunned by the surprise. I stood towards the back. As he made his way hugging everyone, he saw me and gave this shocked look. He bypassed everyone else and gave me this huge bear hug and picked me up. It was all worth it right there. We drank a lot of wine and Dave, Taich, and I ended up going out and getting pretty banged up. All I know if I buried a bad burrito from Flash Taco at 2 AM. I loved being back in the city like that. There is such a great vibe in the city during the summer. I still say there is no better place to be in the summer than Chicago.

Cavs vs. Gregg, Cavs vs. Sopranos: I had quite the dilemma on my hands - it was game one of the NBA Finals and the party started at the same time. This was a very small restaurant and they didn't even have a TV. Dave and I were screwed and we knew it. The good news was the Cavs ended up playing like garbage and I didn't have to see one second of it. I figured we'd be done by halftime, but the party ran real long and the Cavs were out of it pretty much by mid-third quarter. Everyone told me "be thankful you didn't watch." Sunday night was game two. The tip time was 9 PM, same as The Sopranos. You know there was no way I couldn't watch Sopranos Sunday night because I couldn't have avoided finding out what happened. So i made the executive decision - I'd watch The Sopranos live, then start the Cavs game on Tivo when the show was over. I'd most likely be caught up by the third quarter. So I was halfway through the second quarter when Leah said "you should fast forward now, they are down 25 at the half." She was right. So I fast forwarded. Bottom line on the series - the Spurs are the better team. No two ways about it. Tonight should be electrifying in Cleveland. Game three. Everyone is excited. I will be watching from home. I think the Cavs win tonight and that is it. They had to steal one of the games in San Antonio and they were blown out in both. No big deal.

MD and Joe Tait: See the photo above. MD with his mentor and career idol, Joe Tait, play by play man for the Cavs.

Later Biatch: You know I had to weigh in on Paris Hilton. Is there anything funnier than this Paris Hilton jail saga? She's in, she's out, she has a "medical condition," she's very sad in jail and won't eat because she's so miserable. Did she think jail was going to be fun? Now she calls Barbara Walters and says she "acted dumb" all of these years and it is not funny anymore because so many young girls look up to her as a role model. She is so depressed and has a medical condition, yet is good enough to pick up the phone and call Barbara Walters? Classic. My personal favorite is that she has now "become more spiritual" and has "found God" in jail. What a joke! I still cannot believe the amount of press this story has gotten. She is famous for being famous. She's a dirty, disgusting, annoying whore and I hope she rots in there.

Song of the Day: "Behind Bars - Remix" by Slick Rick and Warren G

Day 247

One For the Ages: Did you think I would start anywhere but with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the NBA Finals. Lets start from Thursday night of last week. Its game five - Cavs vs. Pistons. You all know what happened by now - Lebron James scored 48 points, 29 of 30, and the Cavs last 25 points in regulation and both overtimes. It was a performance for the ages, something that just flat out does not happen for any team in this city. After his spectacular drive for the win, I just could not believe that the player wears a jersey that says "Cleveland" on the front. It was one of the greatest performances in NBA history and now the Cavaliers were just one win away from the NBA Finals and coming home to close it out. I was so wired after the game (which didn't end until 12:30) that I couldn't to to sleep. My wheels were turning. I just had to be at game six Saturday night. I emailed and texted MD saying "if you have ever done anything for me, this is it - get me in the building for game six!" This was to become the seminal sporting event in Cleveland since 1964. When the Indians went to the World Series in 1995 and 1997, bit ALCS clinchers happened on the road. The city has never really had the opportunity to experience a scene like the one that would occur Saturday night if the Cavs could close out the Pistons at the Q. The same night, the Indians were playing the Tigers at the Jake, right next door to the Q. I just had to be downtown to experience the madness.

Get Me In!: Friday morning, I was all over MD after we talked. I told him whatever he could do, please do it, because this was something that could not be missed. The buzz is this city was like anything we had seen since the 97 Tribe. Around noon, MD calls me and said "do you want to go? I've got the hookup." I had to make one phone call and boom, four tickets were mine. I had to pay for them, but they were very reasonable (below face value) and seeing as though this was my 5th playoff game this year and the first I had to pay for, who was I to complain. Leah decided to stay home with Andrew as I think she has had her fill of live Cleveland sporting events (we were at the Tribe/Tigers game Friday night). My first call was a no-brainer. Last Tuesday, my boy Jared took me to game 4 in his unbelievable seats - 8th row mid court on the aisle in the lower bowl. His father in law was back in town and he had no seat for game six. He is a Detroit native and big Piston fan who lives here. I owed him. So he was in. I also took our friend Shaw. The last ticket was there for the taking. While I was thinking about the magnitude of this moment, I thought of who I wanted next to me for this moment. Times like these are when i miss my father the most. He would be the guy. No doubt about it. MD was already going to be at the game, Jeremy was already there as well, and Ags was in Chicago. There was only one man who I wanted next to me - Uncle Kenny. He was more than happy to oblige. All day Friday I was so jacked and the game was still 36 hours away.

Anticipation: Saturday could not have been a longer day. I was up early as usual with Andrew after watching the Tribe make a sick 5 run comeback in the ninth inning to beat the Tigers 12-11. Side note - yes, I did leave early. We were with the Frankels, we both had sitters at home, both wives (especially mine) weren't crazy about sticking it out through nine innings when were were down four runs in the 8th. I was home for the ninth inning drama. Meanwhile, five people told me they saw me on TV during the game. Funny. I digress. Sean and Nancy were here and we met them for lunch at Fisher's Tavern (their chicken sandwiches are the whup, especially the honey mustard one). MD's kids were in town so we stopped over at my mom's to see them. I got some great pics of Reese giving her baby cousin some kisses and got to listen to a whole host of knock knock jokes. Reese repeats the same one a lot "knock, knock, who's there? Joe. Joe who? Jo Mama." Its so cute. I got in a game of old school Nintendo RBI baseball with Jace and then we headed out. Next was the Bilsky baby naming open house. Andrew was able to see one of his many suitors - Laila. We went home and my boy Mez came over with his girlfriend to see Andrew and the house. He lives in San Francisco. Gotta love The Mez - maybe the coolest guy I've known. In high school every girl wanted him, at KU ever girl wanted him. Great guy with a big heart. All of this went down and I hadn't even left for the game yet.

What Time is It?: Game time! Shaw and Jared picked me up and off we went to the Q. I did the same move that I did for games 3 & 4. Since there were 40,000 people at the Jake and 22,000 people going to the Q, parking was going to be an issue. We parked at the Ritz valet, duked the guy at the door a double sawbuck ($20), and he parked our car right in front. This came in real handy postgame when there were 100 people waiting for their cars. The buzz around the Q and walking inot the building was great. Jared had on a Pistons shirt and he was getting killed on his way in by everyone. Shaw and I loved it. We met Uncle Kenny at will call, got our tickets and walked in. You know I buried a Panini sandy during the pregame. Then came the horn. As the color guard came out for the anthem, the jumbotron camera showed Cavs minority owner and R&B star Usher. The PA announcer said "hey Usher, why don't you sing the anthem?" So he sang it, towards the end, the crowd was cheering, and Usher belted out "and the home...of the...CAVALIERS." The crowd went berserk - side note, that's weak. Don't defame the anthem. They announced the starting lineup for the Pistons and you couldn't hear anything other than boos. The Cavs flames and fireworks show then began and as the PA announcer called out "from St. Vincent St. Mary High School" to call out Lebron, all you heard was "from."

The Game: It was close throughout, so nerve wracking. The crowd was crazy during the first quarter as the Cavs led 27-21 at the end of one. Then the clock and scoreboard went out. There was a 20 minute delay between the first and second quarter. The entire second quarter was played without a shot clock or a scoreboard. It was the oddest thing. Every possession the PA announcer would have to say "there is 10 seconds to shoot.....5....4...3..." Nobody knew the score. They'd announce it after every basket, but you'd forget. It took the momentum from the Cavs and sucked the life out of the building. As my mom said "I thought this was going to jinx us and become the new one - The Drive, The Shot, the Fumble and now The Clock." The third quarter was tight throughout and a lot of my fingernails became shorter and shorter. Like every other game in this series, it came down to the fourth. The Cavs were up 1. Then the Daniel "Boobie" Gibson show began. When Gibson hit his fourth and fifth threes, the Q just exploded like no arena Ive ever been in. I couldn't stop myself from jumping up and down. Poor Jared was in stunned silence while Uncle Kenny and went crazy and Shaw grabbed and shook me. Shaw was big on the "we're going to the finals" talk with 8 minutes left and of course I had to put him in check and tell him that he should no better because he's from Cleveland. "I won't believe it until the clock hits zero" I kept saying.

The End and the Spillout: So indeed the clock hit zero. The Cavaliers were Eastern Conference Champions and Lebron James was still the King. Bedlam ensued. I was choked up. I just couldn't believe this was actually happening. Cleveland hasn't seen an actual trophy presentation in a lifetime. The fans didn't know what to do with themselves. Not a single one left the Q until after the trophy presentation was over. The spill out into the streets was something special. I had goosebumps just being out there. The streets were packed with thousands of people high-fiving and hugging, horns honked on every car, people were dancing on the roofs of their cars. People were driving slowly with other people sitting on the hoods of their cars waving towels. The corner of St. Clair and West 6th was like Mardi Gras. Youtube has several great clips of fans in the streets that you must see. I didn't get home until 1:45 and Andrew greeted me by wanting his middle of the night feeding. I went to bed around 3 and was up at 7:15 with Andrew. I TIVO'd the game so I re-watched it Sunday morning. It was almost as good reliving it on TV. To hear the announcers blowing us and watch in awe as Boobie went off. To see the crowd reaction. To see the trophy presentation. All of it was phenomenal. I must have received 50 texts from different people congratulating me. Like I did anything. All I know is that it felt great to be a part of it all.

MD's Confliction: As many of you know, MD works for the Pistons radio network. He was born and raised a Cavs fan. His idol growing up was the legendary Joe Tait, the only radio announcer the Cavs had ever had. Matt has been friends with Joe since he became a member of the media and he was lucky enough to sit next to his idol during one of the greatest moments of Joe's life. MD knew how special this all was to Joe. In an email, he told me the following about Joe: Sitting next to Joe Tait and seeing how happy he was was the ultimate. He leaned back and looked at me with about 5 minutes left and said "I am glad you are here to see this". I told him "you better smile my friend.. you gotta be so damn excited" and he says "happy, yes.. excited? no". and then he laughed. To hear Joe's calls of the great moment from game six click here and scroll down and to the right. They are not to be missed. Back to MD - this was hard for him as well. I know he was so excited for the city, but as he told me in that same email: I couldn't really say it then or look it then, cuz i was about to go on air and talk to pistons fans AND my boss for Pistons was sitting 3 seats down.. but it was as good a moment as i can remember having at a sporting event. (Brian) Brennan's catch and score vs. Denver (AFC Championship game 1986) was unreal. The stadium was shaking, I was shaking. Tony Pena's home run in the 95 playoffs off of Zane Smith was ridiculous. The Tribe clinching the division in 95 and being there with Todd was unreal. Sitting in the house with dad when (Alvaro)Espinoza threw over to Herb Perry and we were going to the World Series in 95 makes me cry TO THIS DAY when i think about it. THAT was the best. This was cool as i got to experience it with Joe right there and I could look over and see Todd pointing and waving at me as well. Mad props out to MD for being a total professional and for getting me into the building for games 3 & 6. Here is how we know he is good. After game 3, we were listening to his postgame show on Sirius on the ride home and he actually sounded very angry that the Pistons lost. Deep down, I know he loved it. I'm proud to say he's my brother.

The Prediction: So now its on to San Antonio. Most experts say that the Cavaliers blew their wad against the Pistons and celebrated like they won it all. Well, this is Cleveland and we deserved it. As Lebron said after the game, "No fans deserve this more than our city's." Can teh Cavaliers beat the Spurs? I didn't think we could beat Detroit, so why not? We do have the best player on the floor. The problem is the Spurs won't make the same mistakes the Pistons did. They are too well coached and too smart. This has been a great ride, but I think this is still a flawed Cavaliers team devoid of great talent next to Lebron. The Spurs just have too much. They will win in six games.

Prairie Update: This would have been finished sooner, but I was on a conference call learning about what is my "new" company, Pactiv. Tomorrow, the sale goes through I I officially become a Pactiv employee. I was told everything will stay the same for now, benefits, compensation, etc. The offices are staying as they are. My boss has a meeting tomorrow with the higher-ups at Pactiv and it sounded to me after as if he thinks he isn't going to make it. I hope he does as I have a great thing going with him and a comfort zone, but I just don't know. We shall see.

Song of the Day: "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang

Today will be pushed back to Tuesday as I am swamped with work. I promise to have my full experience from the Cavs/Pistons game 6 tomorrow