Rise and Shine --- Crack of the bat

Good Morning and finally some warm weather!

This weekend was the annual start of a busy spring. That's right, baseball/softball season officially began in our house.
We had the parade (why is it always so chilly?) and the first game.
The thing that always gets me is the enthusiasm. The players want to be out there on the field.
Here we have a group of 8 and 9-year old girls who want nothing more than to put on a glove and start playing.
Sure, there's the social aspect, but it's about getting outside. It's about breathing in some air after being stuck inside all winter.
The funny thing (at least I find it funny) is how the boys act the same way. For the most part, they would rather sit at home playing video games.
The spring, though, brings a change. Sure, they want to keep playing the video games, but they don't argue as much about going outside.
OK, they argue a little, but once they get there it's all smiles.
Yeah, it's only a couple nights a week, but it really sets things up nicely.

Rise and Shine --- Alarming

Good Morning and what are the MTV Movie Awards supposed to be?




Anyway, I've found the sure way to be tired throughout the weekend: set the alarm every day.

I really hate to have to set the alarm on the weekends. It's one thing to have to get up early every day for work, but it's quite another to have that beep, beep, beep going on when you are off.

Unless, of course, you are going on an exciting trip or something. I wouldn't mind it if, say, I was traveling to London in the morning.

This weekend, though, I knew was going to be a long one. When the alarm went off Saturday morning it meant the whole day at the baseball fields. By the whole day, I mean the WHOLE DAY.

The first game started at 9 a.m., which meant we had to be at the fields by 8. That one stretched to 11. We then had an hour break before the next one.

A win there, would mean a game right after, a loss (which is what happened) forced a 3 p.m. game.

Then Sunday we had to be out at Rose Tree Park by 9 a.m. to set up for our live stream from the Italian festival.

Each event (events?) was fun, but I'll look forward to this weekend for one reason: No alarms.

Rise and Shine --- The Trouble with Triples

Good Morning and doesn't it somehow feel fitting when it rains on a Monday?

The Phillies have been riding a wave of public relations heaven for about 10 years now. To borrow a phrase, their poop didn't stink.
They were winning. A bunch of fans (millions) were coming out to Citizens Bank Park to see the players make a push to a championship. They traded young players for old and kept it going. The owners, who were so hated in the 1990s, were glorified.
It's all pretty good. Still is, but, now, there are some chinks in that armor.
The team took some hits over the weekend for a couple of Inquirer stories. One being on how the use of cortisone injections given to first baseman Ryan Howard could have led to his tearing of his Achilles tendon at the end of last year. The second being how the Phillies kept a reporter from watching Howard rehabbing in Florida.
Having been a Phillies fan my whole life, all I could think was "so what."
This kind of thing happens in professional sports all the time. Teams and players lie or hide from the media. The players aren't really that fan friendly. They do the things the team tells them do to, but get them outside the ballpark and, whew, watch out.
I covered professional sports for many years. Let me tell you a secret: It's not that glamorous.
I've found out what is glamorous, though. It's telling a 7-year old how to hold the bat and seeing her get a hit on a hot Saturday afternoon. It's getting a bunch of 8- and 9-year old boys to make up a cheer for their teammates.
It's being told, long after a hot day in the sun is over, "Thank you for being there today."

Rise and Shine --- Softball and M&Ms

Good Morning and wouldn't it be nice if applications warned you before they changed?

When I got an e-mail last week asking if I would take over managing the 7-year old girls softball team for Saturday's game,  I was excited.
After all, it's not too often you get to take a lead role in something somebody might remember 30 years from now.
In the days leading up to my managerial debut (OK, it's not so much managing as keeping the chaos to a minimum), I started thinking the girls might need a little incentive.
I had told them the previous game if they won, I would make cookies for the next game. That seemed to get them focused on the game instead of the gossip, but they couldn't quite pull out the win.
So, while shopping Thursday night, I saw some Easter candy at a deep discount. Among the offers were those tubes of mini M&Ms. It hit me the incentive has to be immediate.
So, I picked up enough of the candy to cover the team and told them I had a treat ready for a good game. (One thing we are trying to teach this year is it doesn't matter if you win or lose, just have fun on the field).
They went out Saturday and hit the ball, fielded the ball, laughed, cheered and had a fun afternoon.
Oh yeah, the M&Ms were gone before they left the field.

Rise and Shine: The Lure of the Snack Bar

Good Morning and welcome to summer!!

Maybe it's the smell of the fries coming out the window or maybe it's just a right of spring, but the youth baseball/softball snack bar seems to have a pull.
On Saturday, before heading off to the first game of the day, I made sure everybody had a full belly. We ate a big breakfast and had a couple of snacks before leaving.
When we got to the fields, it took about a minute before the first plead.
"Can I get something from the snack bar?"
What. You just ate. In fact, you just told me you were so full you couldn't eat another bite.
"Yeah, but now I'm hungry."
What could you possibly want.
"Ice Cream."
We have ice cream at home. You can wait.
"Cheese Fries?"
How could you eat cheese fries. You just had pancakes, eggs, a piece of cake, some fruit, some Easter candy. You can't possibly be hungry.
"How about a hot dog?"
Did you bring any money? No? Well, we can wait until we get home.
You know, sometimes I give in. Everybody does, but, while the prices aren't bad, you could lose a small fortune hitting the snack bar every day.
Mabye I should use the old doughnut shop lesson. Let them get whatever they want one time, then they'll be satisfied.
Somehow, though, I don't think that would work here.

Rise and Shine --- On the camera

Good Morning and welcome to a steamy Tuesday!

Having spent all of my career at the keyboard, I got an eye-opening experience the last two nights.
For the first time in our history, we did live streaming video on www.delcotimes.com. Sunday night, we had the Daily Times/Exelon Champs 'n' Charity women's championship game and followed up with the men's slow pitch title tilt last night.
So, I dutifully carried the camera and computer to the fields and set everything up, confident we could capture the spirit of the events.
We did that, but, with only one camera, it wasn't always easy to follow the action.
You can watch a replay of both games here
Without being too self-congratulatory, we did a pretty good job. Anthony J. SanFilippo provided the voice (with help from Rob Parent and Terry Toohey). We were able to get a pretty good view of the games.
It's going to take practice, but, after a taste the last couple of days, it's something I think we should do a little more.