Lessons from Red Sox Nation

Although I said that I wouldn't mix Red Sox stuff with this blog, I had to write about the mother that I met during the Sox game tonight. As we were sitting there between innings, I started talking about my son and how I wanted to bring him to the game tonight. She asked how old he was and I told her that he was a little over 2 months. Then she told me to enjoy this time because they grow so quickly and to always remember that when children are small; they only have small problems. It was very reassuring to hear her words because as new parents, everything seems larger than life to Tisha and I. If Alex doesn't go to sleep then we make a big deal out of it. If Alex spits up on his clothes then its another big deal. However, this mother of two, was telling me and probably all new parents, to realize that in the beginning all of the problems that arise are usually minor. "Just wait until they get older," was what she continually said. Parents of teenagers have tons of issues and problems to deal with (such as underage sex to underage drinking) on a daily basis. Thus, it is in this context that the thought of a dirty diaper leaking onto a new outfit doesn't seem to warrant such a big commotion anymore.

No Mixing

After the realization that I've been posting a lot of baseball info over the last few weeks, I decided to start a new blog that would be dedicated to my favorite team, the Red Sox. I can't promise that I won't mix Red Sox stuff with this blog but I will try my best to keep them separate. Click here to check out the new site.

Plus, in light of graduation and moving closer to family, I've been wondering about the future of this blog. The main purpose of the blog was to keep family and friends updated on my life in Boston but since I'll be closer to them then ever, I wonder if this blog still be of any use.

Well, at least Alexander can look back at the early stages of his life with one click of a button.

Red Sox Playdate

From Red Sox Playdate

Thanks Courtney for hosting a Red Sox Playdate on Sunday. Courtney is a fellow law student at BC and we became pretty good friends over the last 3 years. Since Courtney and her husband, Josh, are also Red Sox fans and new parents, we decided to schedule a playdate this weekend to watch the ball game on TV.

P.S,
The Red Sox won with a unbelievable come back in the 8th inning to win 6-5.
I know I always talk about Jacoby Ellsbury but I'm really impressed with Dustin Pedroia's skills.

Tour of Fenway

From Sox and Son

The Brooks family took a tour of Fenway for my 28th birthday and it was great. Although we didn't get to go on the field, it still was a awesome experience. We got to sit on top of the Green Monster as well as listen to some great stories about Red Sox history. One of the highlights of the tour came during the Q&A session when I asked the tour guide about Pesky's Pole. When the tour guide responded, "Great question. I forgot to mention it," it made me feel like a true Red Sox fan.

p.s.
I was also the only one in the tour group that knew retired number 42 belonged to Jackie Robinson. His number is retired in all of baseball.

Manny being Manny

Manny Ramirez is in for a monster year in '08 and I have front row seats to all the festivities. Well, actually, I still deciding whether to buy tickets this year (over priced on Stubhub.com because every game is sold out) but in the meantime, I can listen to games online on mlb.com.

More importantly, I decided to take Alex on a Tour of Fenway Park for my birthday. I think you get to walk on the field and see the inside of the Green Monster. I'm so excited!

Sox and Son

I can't wait to take my son to a ball game at Fenway Park. I wasn't a big fan of baseball coming out of college but I absolutely fell in love with the Red Sox when I moved to Boston. They lost that year in the playoffs to the Yankees (2003) but I remember feeling complete solidarity with the city as The Curse seemed to loom even heavier over the team. It truly seemed that the Red Sox may never get over that hump. I remember the endless conversations in Harvard's Mailroom about the Sox and how some of them felt that the team may never win the big one in their lifetime. Fortunately, the team won the following year and the city went bananas. The Patriots also won that year but the Red Sox win was much much sweeter.

Since the Red Sox won last year, (click to see victory parade) tickets are almost impossible to get. I waited in a virtual chatroom for 10 hrs in hope of some tickets to see a game on my birthday and by the time it was my turn to buy tickets, the only seats left had obstructed views.

Well, I may not get to see another game before I leave Boston, but I will definitely bring Alex to see a game at Fenway in the future. Since he was born in Boston (Cambridge to be exact), I will definitely teach him about Red Sox history and hopefully he'll develop a appreciation for the Sox just like his good' ol dad.

Lunch Break

Since I missed the World Series Parade in 2004, I decided to join in on the celebration this year during my lunch break. Click on the photo to see more pictures.

Matty Ice

BC may have another Heisman trophy winner on their hands in Senior QB, Matt Ryan. I remember watching Ryan's heroic comeback a few years ago, when the starting QB couldn't get it together and now he is a full blown Heisman contender. According to ESPN's Heisman Watch, Ryan is number 2 in the unofficial polls. Find out more about Heisman candidate Matt Ryan at MattyIce.

Ryan For Heisman is where you can find cool shirts to celebrate Ryan's Heisman bid.

I love this city. Go Sox! Go Pats! Go BC!

3 for 3

Today I was 3 for 3 in our BC Law Softball game. The score was tied 5 to 5 in the bottom of the last inning. We had two outs and a man on first and second. I stepped to the plate pretty confident. I played well a few weeks ago and I finally started hitting the ball exactly where I wanted it to go. Since I never swing at the first pitch, I took a strike and then swung at a ball that was way too high. Stepping out of the batters box, I gathered myself and mumbled "keep your eye on the ball, Branden." The next pitch was perfect and I smacked it over the third baseman's glove for a single. With the bases loaded, Melissa hit a ball that the pitcher couldn't handle and the guy on third base came home, winning the game for us. Well, not technically winning the game for us. We had to forfeit the game because only 5 players showed up from our team. The rule is that you need at least 9 of your own team players to show up in order to play a official game. Either way it was a great game.

What To Do With 756?

Designer Mark Ecko, who purchased Barry Bond's 756th home run ball, has set up a Web site "Vote 756.com" that lets visitors vote on three options for the ball:

A) Give it to the Hall of Fame
B) Brand it with an asterisk before sending it to the Hall of Fame
C) Blast it into space on a rocket ship


Click on the banner to vote.

Mr. Heisman

Mr. Heisman and I go back a long way. I first fell in love with the trophy in 7th grade and the love affair continued until I got to graduate school. Up until that point, I knew the history of the trophy and could recite most of the winners as if I was reciting a Shakespeare's sonnet.
I even did my final on Heisman Trophy winners for my computer programming class. The final was to create a program that worked and I wrote a simple "If-then" program that computed the Heisman trophy winners when you typed in a year or visa versa. I got an "A" in the class. That's why I was so surprised when I walked into one of the buildings at BC and saw Doug Flutie's 1984 Heisman sitting right there in the lobby. My heart skipped a beat as I examined the trophy that I dreamed about winning in Jr. High school and High School, but once reality sat in, I realized that I would probably never see one yet alone touch one. However, thanks to BC, another one of my dreams was fulfilled. Once again, I think this is another example of God telling me that I'm on the right track of life.

Lax on South Beach

This is a video of CJ and I playing catch on South Beach in Martha's Vineyard. Usually, when we go to the beach, we go to the one in Edgartown but this time we went to South Beach (and we were not disappointed). Although the water got pretty choppy towards the end of the week, the beach was shell free. This is also my first video post on YouTube.

Bonds Hits 756

Click here to read a report from ESPN.

Fastest Game on Two Feet

Thanks to Uzma Siddiqui, my good law school friend, I went to my first Major League Lacrosse (MLL) game this past Sunday. However, this wasn't just any old game but it was the All Star Game. I got to see my favorite lax player, Kyle Harrison, score a goal and I got to spend a nice (hot) afternoon watching great lacrosse. Oh yeah, and to top it off, I caught one of the free MLL T-shirts they were throwing in the stands.

As some of you know, lacrosse has a special place in my heart. I never played in high school and I always regret the decision not to play. The lacrosse coach use to hound me in the halls but I was too busy thinking about to track to start playing lacrosse. What a waste! All I have to show for my 3 years of running track are a few school records.

Brooks On Bonds

As Barry Bonds approaches the 755 home run mark (that would tie him with Hank Aaron for the all time record), I can't help but add my two cents to the hot debate of him tainting this sacred baseball record. Since popular music has been turning me off lately, I find myself listening to sports talk radio and NPR more and more when I drive to school. One of the sports talk guys made an interesting point the other day when he claimed that he only cared about steroid use until somebody starts breaking records. (Now I must note that as of June 25, 2007, Barry Bonds have never tested positive for steroids, thus all of this is speculative until proven guilty.) The thrust of the sports talk guy argument was, "If players want to inject stuff into their bodies to hit more home runs for the sake of filling seats in the stands, but later subject themselves to dangerous side effects and possibly death, then let them do it. Their lost is my gain." However, the sports talk guy was quick to note that once sacred records begin to be shattered, then he has a problem with steroid usage. As I was driving through Cambridge, I had to laugh at that comment and say to myself, "You can't have your cake and eat it too."

 

As with any child whose father love sports, my dad's favorite team and players became my favorite team and players. I don't know why this is true but it's pretty universal across the board. Maybe its because we love and admire our dads so much that we want to be just like them when we grow up. Which means that if a dad cheers for the team with the worst record in the NFL, then you can bet his son will be wearing a #1 finger foam right next to him. In my case, my dad was a Barry Bonds fans so I respectively took him on as my favorite player. I can still remember the day Barry Bonds was traded to San Francisco Giants, which clinched San Fan as my favorite city of all time (my  favorite football team was the 49ers). Therefore, since Bonds is my favorite player, I have to endure the onslaught of hatred and anger towards him as he approaches the record. My words to all of the Bonds Haters out there are "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Just as McGuire and Sosa brought excitement back to the game during that magical year of home run heaven, Bonds is bringing excitement back to the sport. Bonds is filling up the seats with fans who want a glimpse of greatness or who want a glimpse at greediness, but either way you put it, Bonds is filling up seats. Some people want an asterisk next to his name, after he breaks the record, but until he's proven guilty, I don't see a need for the little reminder that he might have cheated. That is not how our legal system work and that shouldn't be how our sport heroes should be remembered. Although, I once admit, Bonds is twice the size of his former self and while most players his age should be slowing down, Bonds  swing is better than ever. However, if the test came back negative then it came back negative.
In conclusion, let's enjoy the moment and celebrate the milestone. Ken Griffey Jr. (who was my second favorite player as a kid) will probably break the record in a few years, which means Bonds will fade into the background and out of the spotlight that he desperately wants to avoid anyway.

To Erg is Human

Erging is my new pastime. I had a special training session yesterday with Pat Hurley (current LSA president) and he showed me a thing or two about erging. Whatever I thought I was doing, I now know that it wasn't erging. Starting with 3x 2minute drills keeping under 2 min/500 meters pace followed by 2x 1200 meter races, I nearly died after the session. I'm going to be so ready to rock and row on the 21st.

BC Law Crew Team

One of my dreams is coming true. Ever since watching "Skulls" starring Josh Jackson, I wanted to learn how to row. Thanks to my Uncle Marshall, I got the chance to row at Wilmington Rowing Club a few years ago. It was a great experience and I am forever grateful for that opportunity.

Well, since BC Law is putting together a crew team, I get another chance to get in the boat. The race in on April 21 and I am working really hard to get in the best shape of my life. I'm hitting the gym 3 times a week and rowing for 30 minutes on my off days.

I hope to post some pictures of us training as well as on race day.
I'll keep you posted.

BC Lacrosse

Thanks to 1L Zack, I got a exclusive seat at the BC v. BU Lacrosse game in the bubble. I'm big fan of lacrosse and I really enjoyed the game. I think my curiosity with lacrosse stems from the fact that I didn't play at Tatnall. The Lacrosse coach always harassed me in the halls to come out for the team but I wanted to run track. Maybe I should have listened to him.

March Madness

Go BC!!!

Coming from Ursinus College (Division 3) and Harvard Divinity School, I never had the chance to root for my school during March Madness. BC Law gave me my first experience of Division 1 sports and I'm loving every minute of it. It's so exciting to watch your own school on TV! Although I must admit that Ivy League football games are shown on local TV, however, it never comes close to the excitement of watching a bowl game on ESPN. So while other people are torn between their undergraduate school and their law school, I will be rooting for BC because they're all I got.