source: cbc.ca
L to R: Rob Baker, Paul Langlois, Gord Downie, Johnny Fay, Gord Sinclair
As I updated on August 10 from my June 17, 2012 entry, Tragically Hip lead singer Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer (glioblastoma) in May. Their 'Man Machine Poem' summer tour will be their last. The finale took place last night from their hometown in Kingston, Ontario. CBC aired the concert commercial free. Among those who attended was Downie's oncologist, Dr. James Perry, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
I'll close with a couple of fan favorites.
From "Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)", Courage, my word, it didn't come, it doesn't matter, Courage, your word, it didn't come, it doesn't matter Courage, my word, it didn't come, it doesn't matter Courage, it couldn't come at a worse time...
(Written by Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Joseph Paul Langlois, Robert Baker, Robert Gordon Sinclair)
And, their most popular song, "Ahead By A Century" and one of my all-time favorites: ...Or sit silently and listen to our thoughts With illusions of someday casting a golden light No dress rehearsal, this is our life...
Take a listen to this version from Newcastle Public School in Newcastle, Ontario:
Had me in tears.
source: Rebecca Blackwell, AP
L to R: Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, Dana Vollmer, Simone Manuel
source: USA Today
L to R: Ryan Murphy, Cody Miller, Michael Phelps, Nathan Adrian
A big congratulations to the US Men's and Women's Relay Teams for winning the 4 x 100 Medley Relay yesterday in Rio. My handsome fave, Nathan Adrian (see Aug 4, 2012 entry), got his second gold medal in relays (anchoring both teams), having won a gold medal a few days earlier in the 4 x 100 Freestyle.
What was most notable about both relay teams is that ALL of them had earned medals in their individual events.
Team rosters and order of swim:
Backstroke - Kathleen Baker, Ryan Murphy
Breaststroke - Lilly King, Cody Miller
Butterfly - Dana Vollmer, Michael Phelps
Freestyle - Simone Manuel, Nathan Adrian
For the Baltimore superhuman, Michael Phelps, there's nothing that'll compare to his 23 gold medals, 28 total. My only lame claim to his fame is we share the same birthday.
And, Mr. Phelps's heir apparent, Washington DC native Katie Ledecky. Her 4 gold medals were already impressive. What was so eye-popping was shattering 2 world records of humongous margins of 4.77 and 11.38 seconds. She's only 19.
source: PWBA
Liz Johnson, 2016 PWBA US Open Champion
source: Weber Cup
L to R: Jesper Svensson, captain Dom Barrett, Stu Williams, Martin Larsen
Big day of bowling in Addison (Chicago area), Illinois and Manchester, England.
CBS Sports broadcasted live this morning the PWBA US Open Championship Finals.
Kudos to CBS Sports Network for bringing in Dave Lamont for the play-by-play call. He's very articulate and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the game. Unfortunately, we didn't get to hear very much due to poor audio throughout the entire match.
Liz Johnson began as the #4 seed to step up the ladder to capture her 5th US Open title over longtime Team USA member Shannon Pluhowsky.
Special recognition to Singapore's Shayna Ng (2nd seed, 3rd place finish), New Hui Fen (3rd seed, 4th place finish) and Jazreel Tan (10th) for their strong Top 10 finish.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, Team Europe for the 4th consecutive year won Weber Cup 19-11 over Team USA. As it was last year, Team Europe was the much stronger, more experienced team.
In my humblest of opinions, if Team USA is going to remain competitive in Weber Cup, they need to reassess the team selection. Maybe even bold enough to include a woman. And for those of you who regularly read this blog, you know I'm talking about Marshall Kent's girlfriend, Danielle McEwan.
Why? She's 24, got tons of international experience and has shown she's bowled well with men in PBA League and tournaments outside the United States. Without pointing fingers, let's just say the frequent flier miles for Team Europe are a lot higher than Team USA's.
Below is one of many Weber Cup matches from this past weekend. Big thanks to The European Bowling Channel for getting the videos so quickly to YouTube.
I'll close with the PWBA US Open semi-final match between Liz Johnson and Shayna Ng. I show this match because it was her third match in the stepladder to get her to the finals. She overcame a foul in the 10th frame and still won.
Thanks again to bowlingvideos4all for your tireless work to get these matches to YouTube as fast as you do.
source: Twitter @WeberCup
L: Parker Bohn III, R: Dom Barrett
On Friday, August 5, Weber Cup 2016 begins a series of bowling matches between Team Europe (host team) versus Team USA. First match is Baker format (each team member bowls 2 or more frames).
For Team Europe, Dom Barrett (captain), Martin Larsen, and Stuart Williams return from 2015. Sweden's Jesper Svensson will be making his Weber Cup debut. Earlier this year, Jesper was the youngest player at age 20 to win the PBA Tournament of Champions (see February 6, 2016 blog entry)
Team USA will have 2 returning members, Parker Bohn III (captain) and Wes Malott. Making their Weber Cup debuts are Marshall Kent and Kyle Troup. NOTE: To the Weber Cup webmaster, the US states Marshall and Kyle are incorrectly listed. Marshall is from Washington, Kyle is from North Carolina.
I like that new blood has been brought in. Jesper is 21, Marshall is 23 and Kyle is 24. Last year, Team Europe pulverized (17-8, see October 21, 2015 entry) Team USA and I don't see that it'll be any different this year. Team Europe retained 3 of their 4 from 2015, which gives them a considerable advantage in depth and experience. However, I'd never count out Team USA as underdogs, especially with Marshall Kent.
The other notable change to Weber Cup this year is the World Bowling Tour point system. It was first shown on ESPN in February for the World Bowling Tour Championship (see February 21, 2016 entry).
As explained on Weber Cup's website: World Bowling Scoring maintains the traditional 10-frame scoring format but awards 30 pins for a strike, 10 pins for a spare plus the pin fall of the first shot in the frame, and actual pin fall after two shots in an open frame. The maximum score is still 300 and this figure is based on the player receiving 10 consecutive strikes with no bonus pins being awarded in the 10th frame.
Like the 2-handed delivery, the WBT point system has its detractors. In my opinion, the sport needs to evolve in order to survive. With the PWBA in its second season and the PBA League now considered a success, evolution of the sport is happening whether you like it or not.
source: PWBA
Clara Guerrero, 2016 PWBA Players Championship
source: PWBA
Rocio Restrepo, 2016 PWBA Greater Detroit Open
The international presence on this year's PWBA tour continues. Last month, it was Singapore's Cherie Tan and Bernice Lim (see July 3, 2016 blog entry). This month, Clara Guerrero and Rocio Restrepo.
From YouTube's HappyBowlers.com, PWBA Go Bowling Players Championship:
And from bowlingvideos4all, here's the PWBA Greater Detroit Open:
If you're a regular follower of this blog, it's obvious sports takes up a lot of my time.
An itinerary of my last 3 weekends:
Birthday night at the Giants - A's game at the Oakland Coliseum.
Drove 89 miles to Modesto in 100 degree heat for a 5-game bowling tournament.
Watched ESPN's 30 for 30's latest feature on "Doc and Darryl", a story about New York Mets teammates Dwight "Doc" Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.
After the Padres swept the Giants and no longer in the mood for a movie repeat, I switched to Amazon Prime video. Scrolled the not-so-great choices for over 15 minutes to look for something decent to watch. Finally, a sports documentary caught my eye: "The Identity Theft of Mitch Mustain".
Directed by Matthew Wolfe and narrated by former University of Arkansas men's basketball coach Nolan Richardson, the film examines the promising football career of quarterback Mitch Mustain. His career went completely bust after his first year with the Razorbacks.
For sports fans and Amazon Prime subscribers (statistically almost half of all US households), it's a fascinating look at how difficult it is to pursue a sports career at the elite level. Too many missteps from the "adults" he relied upon for guidance.
As of 2014, Mitch is no longer playing football at any competitive level.
source: PWBA
Cherie Tan, 2016 PWBA Storm Sacramento Open Champion
These women are at it again. For a country with a population of just under 5.5 million (San Francisco Bay Area is over 6 million), they are dominating women's bowling. Two more from the Singapore Women's National Bowling team took 2 PWBA titles this season.
Congratulations Bernice Lim and Cherie Tan.
Here's Bernice in action
Source: YouTube's bosares
And here's lefty Cherie Tan:
Source: YouTube's Mousa Abdullah
This weekend, I was in maximum overload with bowling. No tournaments, only practice. And lots of it.
Yesterday, I bowled 6 practice games.
Today, it was my usual morning practice of 8 games with Wednesday night friends. When I finished, I grabbed a granola bar from the vending machine and caught up on news on my phone. Then I left Classic Bowl and drove to Bel Mateo for fellow Monday night friend Will's 50th birthday.
Wish I'd done what Will and his wife Jules did. They reserved the entire center for 3 hours. If you didn't want to bowl, you could hang out in one of the party rooms, the bar, or like the fanatic I am, roll in my bag and bowl more games.
But first, some much needed food. Then bowled 6 more games with my Monday night teammate Ronnie. Fun, closely fought battles. Probably the most non-league fun I've had since the late Saturday nights at Classic Bowl with Jeff, Burton, and Lester.
In one of the games, it came down to the last frame. I had been ahead most of the way. Ronnie bowled strikes in the 9th frame and 2 in the 10th. In my last frame, I needed to pick up 2 pins (the 4-7) for the spare to win. I picked up only 1. I lost the game by 1 pin.
I finished the afternoon completing 20 games in 2 days. I bowl 3 more games tomorrow night. Can't wait.
As I lick my wounds from tonight's Game 7 Golden State Warriors devastating loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, I'll focus on another Bay Area positive - The San Francisco Giants. Currently in first place in the National League West, the Giants sweep the weekend series over the Tampa Rays (in Tampa) earlier today.
I have never been comfortable with my teams doing too well too early. Case in point: tonight's Warriors loss. Seasons are long and grinding. How a team plays during the regular season doesn't always extend to post-season. Just ask the Detroit Tigers in the 2012 World Series. Or the 2014 Washington Nationals.
I'll end with a personal, quiet campaign to permit Madison Bumgarner participate in this year's Home Run Derby at next month's MLB All-Star Game. Likely won't happen, but what the hell. Perhaps YouTube's MrHighlightVideos featuring Bum's career homers might help.
A few events over the weekend in my small part of the world:
Golden State Warriors won NBA Finals Game 4 over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 108-97. Today, the NBA suspend Warriors forward Draymond Green for his fourth flagrant foul. Golden State currently hold a 3-1 series lead over Cleveland.
San Francisco Giants take 2 of 3 games over arch rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Each of the 3 games were won by a 1 run margin.
Broadway smash "Hamilton" has won (not surprisingly) 11 Tony Awards. I don't follow musicals all that closely, but am among the many that have been taken in by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. and Phillipa Soo.
In about an hour, I'll be off to shower and get ready for work tomorrow. There are 50 in Orlando that won't. It's times like these I'll pause to reflect. What we do and love shouldn't be taken for granted. Ever.
source: ESPN
Ryan Vogelsong, hit by pitch, 5-23-16
On May 23, 2016, former San Francisco Giants/current Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Ryan Vogelsong was at bat against the Colorado Rockies. Rockies pitcher Jordan Lyles had an 0-2 count on Vogelsong when a 92 MPH fast ball beaned Vogelsong in the face.
It has been almost 2 weeks since the accident. I refuse to look at the video. The still picture of his cheek from the ball's impact was more than enough for me to see. Doctors waited a few days for the swelling to go down so they could determine the extent of his facial factures before performing surgery on June 2.
To Nicole, Ryder and the rest of Vogey's family and friends, I wish Ryan a speedy recovery.
I'll close with Ryan's speech in the last home game of the 2015 season. Coincidentally (or eerily), against the Colorado Rockies. It was also his last game as a Giant.
For me, it was with the same feeling Vogey said about teammate Hunter Pence in the 2012 post-season. "It wasn't so much what he said, but how he said it."
Since the injury, I've seen Vogey's 2015 closing speech at least 5 times. And cry every time.
"...I don't know where I'm gonna be at next year. Or what the front of my jersey's gonna say. But I do know one thing. I will always - always - be a Giant."
source: Bleacher Report
The Unworthy One - Warriors owner Joe Lacob, Klay Thompson
Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference final takes place tomorrow, Memorial Day in Oakland, California.
Less than a week ago, the possibility to go to Game 7 seemed very unlikely. A scenario eerily similar to the 2012 San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Like the Warriors, the Giants were down 3 games to 1.
Warriors-Thunder Game 5 took place in Oakland, and the Warriors won, 120-111.
Game 6 returned to Oklahoma City. An away game and having been blown out 2 previous times, the Warriors would have to win, or end a record-breaking 73-9 season and go home.
Go home, yes. Eliminated, no.
Oklahoma City held the lead for most of Game 6. The quieter Splash Brother sinks 11 3-point goals, his most important one, was to take the lead for good at 104 - 101 with 1:35 left in the game. He finished with 19 of his playoff high 41 in the 4th quarter.
This game is adding to the long library of unforgettable games in Warriors franchise history.
Here's a recap:
And, the link to view Bleacher Report columnist Kyle Newport's Joe Lacob video loop.
When I last wrote, the rent I pay for a shared 2-bedroom, 2-bath house was about equal to the median rate for a 1-bedroom in San Francisco.
On June 1, 2016, that will no longer be the case.
Because the house I rent isn't eligible for rent control, my part of the rent goes up $225. So that my housemate and I don't get blindsided with additional rental raises, we signed another 1-year lease to lock in the rate.
Despite the 15% increase (San Francisco rent control is currently 1.9%), this Lakeside district house's rent is still much lower than the median rate for a 2-bedroom.
source: sfgate.com
L: Steve Nash, R: Stephen Curry
It came as no surprise Stephen Curry was named for the second consecutive year as the National Basketball Association's Most Valuable Player. What was surprising was that Steph received all 131 first place votes. Unprecedented, as there is no other NBA MVP that won unanimously.
Timing of the MVP presentation couldn't have been better. Less than 24 hours earlier, Steph returned to action after missing 4 games due to a grade 1 MCL sprain during the first round playoff game versus the Houston Rockets. He would come off the bench for the first time in 4 years.
When Steph came into the game, his shooting was less than stellar, going for 0-for-9. He missed a driving layup to win the game at the end of regulation. It was in overtime that proved beyond doubt why he's the NBA MVP. Steph scored 17 points in overtime to lead the Warriors to a 132-125 win. It boggles the mind when you realize overtime is only 5 minutes.
Wanna see it again? With apologies to Paul Allen and Trail Blazer fans, here you go:
Wishing all Moms, including Fur Baby Moms a great Mother's Day.
With the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Proctor & Gamble released their latest video featuring Mom as the inspiration to those athletes competing. They're very moving, and best of all, they're without P&G product placement or promotion.
Thanks to all Moms, Mums, Mommies and Mamas for all that you do.
Led by Manager/Player/Anchor Bowler Norm Duke, the PBA League's Dallas Strikers bowl the first Baker System Format perfect game. Hover over "Recap on ESPN" and click the link to see all 12 strikes. The atmosphere at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine where all league games were held is like nothing other. Everyone is standing and cheering for all the bowlers.
Due to my trip to Las Vegas last weekend for the USBC Women's Championships, I wasn't able to write a blog posting. Shown above are my scores from the Bowl.com site. As the tournament is ongoing until July, my rankings will lower once additional scores are posted.
Despite the wide range of scores (my highest and lowest games were the last 2 games I bowled), I was very pleased with my results. Total pins in 9 games was 1440, which put me at a 160 average per game. I finished 5 pins above my 2015-16 season average at 155.
Bowling at South Point was a phenomenal experience. They have 2 very large bowling venues: the center for open bowling, and the stadium, where I bowled. Up until South Point, my favorite place was the National Bowling Stadium in Reno. ESPN has televised many PBA tournaments from South Point's stadium, so knowing I've bowled where elite bowlers have is very cool.
It was also nice to see the same teams we paired with over the past 2 years in the hotel or on lanes not too far from where we bowled.
Because of distance, travel logistics and budget constraints, I will be skipping 2017 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I plan on returning in 2018, when the tournament comes back to Reno.
Last week both my 4+ year old laptops (Toshiba Portege and Sony Vaio) died. I spent hours deciding whether or not my replacement would be another laptop or get my first tablet. Must haves: portable, durable with a touchscreen and keyboard. Small and semi-indestructable for travel. Touchscreen keyboards are OK, but I much prefer real ones. I type so much faster and accurately on them. It's one of the features I missed when I switched to an iPhone from a BlackBerry. I like touchscreens because I can touch the link I want immediately without using the arrow keys and touchpad. I want all these features - at a price below $500. With those requirements, the sleek and very cool Apple iPad2 was immediately eliminated from consideration. Microsoft Surface was a strong contender, but the cost did not include a keyboard and was still way over my budget. To help me finalize my decision, I went to Best Buy after bowling practice for a test drive. For over an hour, I went back and forth between the tablet and laptop displays to determine what I liked best.
I decided to get the Lenovo Yoga 11e from Amazon. I upgraded to overnight shipping (thanks Amazon Prime) for only $4.99. Visually as a tablet, it's bland, thick and stodgy. Not exactly pretty in the laptop category either. However, total cost was $1200 less than the second Sony Vaio laptop I bought in 2006. After a few setting adjustments, I'm definitely using the touchscreen and keyboard in ways that work for me. It isn't perfect, but I can live with it.
Not more than 30 minutes ago, the Golden State Warriors won their 69th game of the season. With 4 games remaining in the 2015-16 season, the Warriors would have to win 3 games to match the 72-10 record the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls achieved. One of the players on that team was Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
On a road trip in the 2014-15 season in February, 2015, the Warriors took a break and headed to Memory Lanes in Minneapolis, Minnesota for some bowling (see below video). A brief shot of Steve Kerr, David Lee and Steph Curry with some decent mechanics.
source: youtube
San Francisco SOMA studio loft apartment
Apartments like the one pictured above can usually be found in big cities where space is a premium such as Tokyo, New York, Paris, Moscow, London, Hong Kong, and where I live, San Francisco.
The unnamed apartment complex is located in the SOMA (South of Market) neighborhood. Rents begin at $1500 with 441 square feet of living space. In another pricey city like New York, that'd be considered a bargain.
Currently, the median rent for a studio in San Francisco is about $2700 (source: RentJungle). One-bedrooms, $3096. The first studio apartment (1983) I rented in the Outer Sunset was $350.
Fortunately, the rent for the 1300 square foot, 2-bedroom, 2-bath house I currently share with 1 other person in San Francisco's Lakeside neighborhood is about equal to the median rent for a 1-bedroom. As it is not eligible for rent control, how long it stays reasonable is another story.
In case you're wondering: no, I won't move out of San Francisco.
A few days ago, a former high school classmate posted a picture on his Facebook page posing with singer Rickie Lee Jones. Immediately, I thought of her song, "It Must Be Love" from her 1984 album, "The Magazine" (track #4). Since seeing Chuck's picture, I haven't been able to stop playing the song on YouTube.
The song was featured in the movie "Frankie and Johnny" starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer, and in the ABC TV series, "Thirtysomething". If you were one of those who read lyrics and album credits off the record jacket, you'll notice the musicians who played for Ms. Jones are/were some of the best in the business.
Without further ado, here's the YouTube video (really, it's the audio) of my weekend's earworm:
Tonight I watched ESPN's latest 30 For 30 segment, "Fantastic Lies", directed by Marlena Zenovich. Like so many other sports documentaries in the series, it's an excellent, compelling piece on 3 lacrosse players: Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans being accused of rape and assault by Crystal Mangum in March 2006.
Even if you aren't a big sports fan but enjoy well-told documentaries, I recommend you watch. And if you'd like to catch up on previous stories (all very well done) for a small fee, go to ESPN's 30 For 30 You Tube page.
I am elated to hear my alma mater, Whitehall Yearling High School, now have boys and girls bowling teams. Had there been bowling as a team sport when I attended, I definitely would have tried out. Though the scores I'm seeing from the teams, I'm not sure I would have made varsity.
Thanks to updates from former neighbor and assistant volleyball coach Teresa Flesch-Netotian, I learned the girls bowling team made it to the state tournament this weekend. They bowled well, but missed the championship round by 9 pins.
Best of all, sophomore standout Madison Stiffler (pictured 3rd from right) finished as Individual Girls State Champion with an eye-popping 719 series. Congratulations Madison!
source: oscar2016awards
L to R pictured
Stanley Tucci, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber
Update from January 17, 2016 entry:
Congratulations to Thomas McCarthy for his Oscar, Best Original Screenplay for "Spotlight", which also won Best Picture.
Michael Keaton has now been in 2 Best Picture films (2014 for "Birdman") in the past 3 years.
If you follow my blog posts regularly, I write about these bowlers often. They've been my favorite bowlers in the PBA and PWBA for some time now.
Young, poised, modest, and for the past year, bowling extremely well. So well they finished in the top 3 in the World Bowling Tour point standings.
Dom Barrett, 1st seed, men's division.
Danielle McEwen, 2nd seed, women's division.
The games were bowled in a new World Bowling Tour format. Very easy to follow. Each strike is 30 pins. Spares are 10 pins + number of pins thrown on first ball. Splits and opens are the total pin count after 2 balls thrown. A conventional 300 game is 12 consecutive strikes. In the modified format, 10 consecutive strikes is a 300 game.
Today, the dynamic D's won their respective matches. Dom earned an additional $10,000 dollars for his perfect game. Thanks to YouTube's bowlingvideos4all quick work, they're already available to view.
The remote on most weekends goes into super surfing mode. As it was President's Day/Lunar New Year/Valentine's Day weekend, the thumb press went into overtime.
Last night, the thumb got a 90-minute rest when I found the 2013 movie "About Time" starring Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams. My tear stained face after the film's end managed to see Richard Curtis wrote and directed the movie.
The same Richard Curtis who wrote "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Notting Hill" and "Love Actually". All films that left me with piles of soggy tissues no matter how many times I watched.
What I found most poignant about the film was the lesson Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) learned:
"I just try to live every day as if I've deliberately come back to this one day, to enjoy it, as if it was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life."
Congratulations to Jesper Svensson of Sweden in becoming the youngest bowler (age 20) to win the PBA Tournament of Champions.
As I was at bowling practice this morning, I didn't get a chance to watch today's PBA TOC. It's programmed in my DVR and will likely watch after the Super Bowl.
With the return of the PWBA and PBA's Summer Swing, it's wonderful for pro bowling followers like me to be able to see bowling nearly year round.
From October to April, ESPN or ESPN2 airs PBA matches on Sundays, From May to August/September, CBS Sports Network airs the PBA Summer Swing and will air PWBA matches.
There will always be complainers that want matches to air live on a broadcast network like ABC (as it did 50+ years ago) or CBS (instead of CBS Sports Network).
I'll put it gently. The 20th century ended 15 years ago. There are too many other sports venues with larger markets where bowling cannot compete. Not going to happen.
I realize CBS Sports Network for many of you is considered a premium channel and isn't part of the standard cable package.
Suggestion: Wait a week or so and watch it on PBA's YouTube channel. Nearly all the televised matches can be found there. Best part, most of the commercials have been taken out. NO TV ads. FREE.
Here's last week's DHC PBA Invitational Finals (bummed Dom Barrett lost, but very happy Amleto Monacelli won) :
While racking my brain for the past hour to come up with this week's blog entry, I received a few minutes ago a comment on my February 21, 2007 posting about the Jong Mea sign:
"My dad swore by the eggrolls at the Columbus Jong Mea- we would drive downtown (when I was very young) just to get them. Now get this - I live in a loft above a warehouse- The sign for Jong Mea is here!!! My landlord acquired it long ago and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it amongst his collection. I haven't been able to access a good picture but I will someday soon. A great piece of Columbus history I walk by every day on my way home..."
Very cool. To the person who wrote this, I look forward to the picture. For now, here's a picture of it when big sis Cindy and I graduated from Ohio State.
L: David Duchovny (Fox Mulder), R: Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully)
source: EW
It's been almost 14 years since the hugely popular Fox TV series The X-Files last aired. Season 10 made its return tonight. I considered myself a fan from the second season until David Duchovny left the series. When he left, so did I.
I saw both feature films in 1998 and 2008 and was extremely disappointed. I know they were written to reach a wider audience but I found them bland and unexciting, including the sexual tension between Mulder and Scully. Their chemistry was one of the main reasons why I eagerly tuned in every Sunday night.
Tonight's episode was like watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a reunion of old friends and great memories. Except Han and Leia are no longer together. Neither are Mulder and Scully - a disappointing development for many fans.
I'm one of the few that wasn't disappointed.
Why? It was 2008 when Mulder and Scully were together. In the real world, life happens. You can still be in love but it doesn't mean you'll always be together. Something I find achingly relatable.
Tom McCarthy, director, screenwriter, actor
source: imdb
His face is vaguely familiar as an actor in films and TV such as "Meet The Parents" and HBO's "The Wire".
When you go to his biography on imdb.com or Wikipedia, you'll mumble to yourself, "that's him?" once you read he's been a screenwriter for the Pixar film "Up" and Disney's "Million Dollar Arm".
And for those of you that are independent film buffs, you'll be in awe when you find out he directed AND wrote the screenplays for "The Station Agent", "The Visitor", "Win Win" (which I saw on HBO this weekend and prompted me to write this blog entry).
He also directed and wrote the screenplay for one of the best films I saw this year, "Spotlight", which got an Oscar nomination for Best Picture this past week.
I've been a fan and didn't know it. I've seen all but one of his directed films.
Homeless woman eating lunch thanks to Tennessee Grill
Yesterday, I made my semi-monthly trek for a late breakfast at Tennessee Grill. It's an old-fashioned diner complete with counter seating and booths on Taraval Street and 22nd Avenue in San Francisco's Outer Sunset district.
As I was about to enter the restaurant, there was a homeless woman in her 40's or 50's standing outside the restaurant talking to herself. If you've lived in San Francisco long enough, this is a common sight. Most of us, including me, did the usual: walk past the homeless person and go about your business.
I grabbed a seat at the counter and ordered my favorite, Lou's Special (an egg scramble with corned beef, spinach, onions and mushrooms). A few minutes later, the homeless woman I saw outside was inside the restaurant. She sat at a counter seat near the door, still talking to herself yet wasn't a nuisance or disrupting any customers.
The manager on duty came over shortly afterwards and started talking to her. Within a few minutes, he instructed a waitress to put in a food order for the homeless woman. When I finished my meal, I made a quick run to Walgreens across the street and saw her eating (see above picture). By the time I came out of Walgreens and headed back toward the restaurant to where my car was parked, she was gone.
I can't remember the last time I saw a restaurant feed a homeless person on their dime. This small, but meaningful and very humane gesture didn't resolve her homelessness, nor did it provide treatment for her disturbed mental state. But it's one less day a homeless person goes hungry.
After 12 years and the increasing costs to keep my beloved BMW 325i in working shape, I traded her in for a 2012 Certified Pre-Owned BMW 328i Sport Model on New Year's Day.
Certified pre-owned is like buying a used car with new car benefits. My bumper-to-bumper warranty is almost 3 years. The standard warranty on a new BMW is 4 years/50,000 miles (whichever comes first).
I'd been looking at pre-owned listings (Carfax, Carmax, True Car, Bay Area BMW) for the past 3-4 months. Like my first BMW (318ti) in 1998, finding a new BMW 3-series sedan in stick shift with a real clutch pedal were few and far between. And those I could find were limited to black, white or the occasional gray.
Finally, this past week, I found a lease return/1-owner (Carfax verified) 6-speed manual in blue and in my price range. Two days later, I made an appointment for a test drive at the same dealership where I bought my 325i. When the price was reduced another $1K, and an offer to throw in an additional $500 to the trade-in, I pulled the trigger and bought the car.
The 328i is my third blue BMW. It'll take me another week or two to get fully comfortable with the new technology (I-Drive) and features (retracting side mirrors, power controlled seats, individual climate controls, and auto dimming rearview mirror are among the few).
source: GoBowling.com
Kim Bolleby, Jakob Butturff, Ryan Ciminelli, Gary Faulkner Jr.
The above picture says it all. Yesterday's finalists in the PBA Viper Championship were all lefties. Congratulations to Ryan Ciminelli for winning his second major PBA tournament.
In case you missed it (as I did - upgraded to a new cable box this week), it's now available on YouTube.
source: PBA Tour
L to R: EJ Tackett, Ryan Ciminelli, Gary Faulkner Jr., Scott Norton, Rhino Page
source: PBA
L to R: Norm Duke, Parker Bohn III, Paul Moor, Andrew Cain
This past week, ESPN aired the Rolltech PBA Championship (live - very cool) and the Cheetah Championship from the place I've bowled Labor Day weekend for the past 4 years, National Bowling Stadium in Reno.
Of the 9 finalists pictured, all but 2 of them are left-handed bowlers - Norm Duke and EJ Tackett. I find it funny that both are on the far left-side of the photos. Congratulations to Gary Faulkner Jr. for his first PBA title winning the Rolltech Championship, and to Parker Bohn III for the Cheetah Championship.
Special shout out to UK's Paul Moor, who made his first PBA TV final. Paul's also a former Weber Cup teammate of Dom Barrett.
Also in pro bowling news, Danielle McEwen's hot streak continues. Danielle and Liz Johnson were selected in the 2016 PBA League draft. Danielle will bowl for Del Ballard's Motown Muscle. Liz, for the Portland Lumberjacks.
In case you missed the live telecast of the Rolltech stepladder finals, it's here and on YouTube. Mookie Betts sits in the booth for a bit and shares his WSOB experiences. You'll also see him sitting in the front row later in the broadcast.
source: Bowl.com
L to R: Shannon O'Keefe, Stefanie Johnson, Danielle McEwen, Shannon Pluhowsky, Kelly Kulick, Liz Johnson
Congratulations to Team USA on your gold medal against Korea in the World Women's Championships in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). Special congrats to anchor bowler Liz Johnson for her perfect 300 game in the match.
A few days earlier, hotter than Hades Danielle McEwen and partner Kelly Kulick captured gold in doubles.
Wanna see how The Golden Girls did it? Here's video of both gold medal winning matches:
As Danielle McEwan begins bowling with Team USA in the 2015 Women's World Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, I thought it'd be fun to see Danielle bowl from her youth and college bowling days.
From 2009 Teen Masters (with a 5-step approach and stronger New York accent when interviewed):
And, as the anchor bowler when she was a junior at Fairleigh Dickinson University:
In case you missed my blog entry from last month, here's the link from November 1.
Good luck to you, Kelly, Shannon O, Shannon P, Liz and Stefanie in Abu Dhabi.
Tonight, the Golden State Warriors won their 20th consecutive game in Steph's hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. The Warriors are more than halfway to matching the 43-year record of 33 consecutive wins by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.
Coached by Bill Sharman, the team primarily revolved around 3 players: center Wilt Chamberlain (13), guards Gail Goodrich (25) and Jerry West (44). While most 11 year old girls screamed over David Cassidy, yours truly carried a big torch for Gail Goodrich.
Chamberlain, West and Goodrich are all members of Naismith's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Goodrich and West had a combined scoring average of 52 points a game. For me, they were the Splash Brothers long before Stephen Curry's and Klay Thompson's dads even played in the NBA.
Here's a short video with interviews with the Big 3. They may have played over 40 years ago, but it's clear how well the Lakers could run, shoot and pass the ball.
source: Bowl.com
L; Wu Siu Hong (Hong Kong), R: Clara Guerrero (Colombia)
Congratulations to Wu Siu Hong, who brought Hong Kong its first title, and Clara Guerrero of Colombia, who successfully defended her title in this year's QubicaAMF World Cup.
This is great stuff to watch, especially for those like me that follow bowling outside the United States.
I haven't watched it yet myself, but here's Bowl.com's video broadcast of the semifinals and finals.
A brief post this week. It was a weekend of too many loved ones lost. The attacks in Paris, and the deaths of a former classmate yesterday and another classmate's husband this evening.
Rest in peace, Deb and Bob. Deb will always hold special memories for me. Along with fellow high school classmate Michelle, we stuck to each other like glue when we found each other during freshman orientation at Ohio State. My deepest condolences to their friends and families, as well as those lost in Paris. We will never forget.
Written by Pete Seeger, Performed by The Byrds
Lyrics taken from Book of Ecclesiastes
YouTube video by TsDSeason2BJolly
Ryan Ciminelli, 2015 Bowlmor AMF US Open winner source: Bowl.com
Congratulations to lefty Ryan Ciminelli on winning the 2015 Bowlmor AMF US Open today. He defeated 4th seed and this author's favorite bowler Dom Barrett. Dom defeated defending champion Wes Malott, longtime greats Norm Duke and Pete Weber in the stepladder finals before losing to Ryan, 236-223.
Special recognition to Danielle McEwan, who bowled well enough to qualify for match play, cashed out and finished in a tie for 23rd place with Dom's Weber Cup teammate, Stuart Williams.
If you didn't see the finals today, wait 1-3 weeks and it should be available for viewing on YouTube. As it is with major bowling tournaments, it was an exciting match to watch. So glad CBS Sports got Dave Lamont and PBA legend Marshall Holman to call the action.
I'll close with a slow motion video from the US Open featuring Ryan and my Storm Nation favorites featured right after each other: Marshall Kent, Danielle and Dom.
- Three gold medals (trios, team, Masters) and one bronze medal (doubles) at 2014 PABCON Championships
- Fourth at 2012 and 2013 QubicaAMF World Cup
- One gold medal (team) at 2012 WTBA World Youth Championships
- One gold medal (team) at 2011 PABCON Youth Championships
- Four gold medals (all-events, doubles, team, national all-events) and two silver medals (singles, mixed doubles) at 2011 Tournament of the Americas
Other
- 2012 and 2013 USBC Team USA Trials champion
- Runner-up at 2015 USBC Team USA Trials
- Third at 2013 U.S. Women's Open (see my July 20, 2013 blog entry)
- Bowled collegiately at Fairleigh Dickinson
- NCAA Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013
- First-team Collegiate All-American and Academic All-American in 2011, 2012 and 2013
- FDU Female Athlete of the Year in 2012 and 2013
- 2011, 2012 and 2013 Northeast Conference Bowler of the Year
- 2010 Collegiate Masters champion
- 2010 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player and member of National Championship team
This is all very impressive. The long list continues to grow. For the past 2 months, Danielle's been on another planet.
-Wins PWBA Tour Championship
-Invited to 2015 World Women's Championships for Team USA
-Wins South Point PBA West Challenge
-Wins PBA Team Challenge with her team, Dead Money
What's inspiring about Danielle is her poise at such a young age. Her game should be shown on all bowling instructional videos, as her form is fundamentally sound.
You can see it here in the PWBA Southfield Open (Women's Tour Championship):
And as the only female on a team that bowled against the heavily favored 4 Majors and 100 at 1 (Bill O'Neill, Tommy Jones, Tom Daugherty, Wes Malott and Jason Belmonte), it was team work and calm under pressure which enabled them to win the 2-game Baker System match. For me, a big plus to see 2015 Weber Cup captain Dom Barrett appear as a guest analyst.
While watching the MLB's National League championships on TBS last week, my picture quality was less than perfect.
Flipped over to my local cable sports network and found the picture quality and sound was even worse than TBS.
Time for a customer service online chat. I find it's much faster and responsive than a phone call. After a 15 minute chat and no success with a cable box reset, they scheduled a service appointment 3 days out. I'd have to leave work early to meet the technician. When finished with the chat, I tweeted the problem out of frustration. I am certain the tweet got someone's attention.
The next morning at work, a cable TV technician called me. He told me my issue was "escalated" and instructed me to check my television to see if the picture problem was fixed. I said I'd check as soon as I got home. Sure enough, the pictures on both networks were back to their HD splendor. Best of all, I avoided an early exit from work and cancelled online my service appointment.
This past issue is one of several I've had with this cable provider since my move to the Outer Sunset in 2011. (HINT: it's the cable provider that provides a very fast internet)
1. Added HD about a year after my move into Inner Sunset condo.
Found out later it would have been cheaper to switch to an HD package with more channels. Self-discovery of other packaged/bundle changes or deals that aren't as described would be a recurring theme over my next 2 moves.
2. Added triple-play package when I moved to the Outer Sunset.
Upon my move:
a) landline number I was told I could keep when moving wasn't true, and
b) internet connection went out after a day.
I was told the earliest service appointment was in 3 days. I tweeted this, and got a call from a local technician within an hour. He got my internet back up in 15 minutes. I continued to complain about the phone number issue. Ultimately, I got the service charges waived and 50% off that month's bill.
3. Offered a special double-play package good for 2 years when I moved to the Lakeside District.
Turns out the special price is only for 1 year. In the second year, the monthly rate goes up, but it's still less than the "regular" rate. Again, repeated complaints via Twitter got someone from the executive offices to resolve my issue. They gave me the 2-year double-play package, with each month at the same rate.
For those of you that have given up cable and satellite because of poor service, I commend you. I know there are alternatives. But if you've read this far, you've concluded that I like to argue.
Team Europe L to R: Osku Palermaa, Dom Barrett, Stu Williams, Martin Larsen
source: Weber Cup
For the third consecutive year, Team Europe has captured the Weber Cup (named after bowling legend Dick Weber).
Team USA (Tommy Jones, Bill O'Neill, Wes Malott and Parker Bohn III) was no match for Team Europe, winning in a rout, 17-4.
As mentioned in my July 28, 2013 blog entry, all of the U.S. Open Bowling finalists are sponsored by Storm Bowling. It's the same for Team Europe. Osku Palermaa, captain Dom Barrett and Martin Larsen are also sponsored by Storm. Stuart Williams is sponsored by Roto Grip, a brand Storm owns.
