One quick note, before I unload some pile-up that\u2019s in my head. If any of you use AOL\u2019s Instant Messenger, I now have a screen name: DDBinIndy. Shoot me a message sometime if you\u2019re online.<\/p>\n
Things on my mind:
\nIn addition to being all whacked out about time here, I think there\u2019s some kind of suspension of normal physics laws in Indiana. I\u2019m only exaggerating in the slightest when I say that everyday a large truck flips over on one of the local highways, snarling rush hour traffic for hours. Not that if affects me, since my morning commute involves walking from the bedroom, down the stairs, and opening up the laptop. As an added bonus, yesterday a truck carrying painters and paint supplies burst into flames near the airport, snarling traffic there for several hours. Initial word had it that someone on the truck lit a cigarette. One person died and 12 others who were on the truck are in the hospital, most in critical condition. I just think something very Stephen King is going on here.
\nThe downtown loop in Kansas City used to drive me crazy. All it took was one truck trying to get down to 45 to make those turns, then attempt to reaccelerate up the hills to back traffic up 10 miles. I thought about one day running for mayor on a rush hour platform: no big trucks on the highways between 7:00-8:30 AM and 4:30-6:00 PM. Sure, big business would use all their resources to trounce me like a beetle, but the momentum would start, my friends! You can\u2019t keep the people down!<\/p>\n
I\u2019m working up a rant on preseason football, but it will have to wait until a few of those travesties have been broadcast.<\/p>\n
Tour de France: I read Lance Armstrong\u2019s first book while on our honeymoon. A fantastic read. I remember when it first came out and everyone who read it started referring to Lance as if he\u2019s a friend (I\u2019m doing it by calling him Lance). It\u2019s a must read whether you\u2019re into cycling, have any experience with cancer, or not. He\u2019s really an amazing person. I watched more of the Tour this year than ever before. Mostly because it was on each morning and the TV is only 22 steps away. It was interesting to watch the doubters (at times even Lance seemed to doubt) hovering as he failed to stretch his lead to the length of previous Tours. The day he basically won the Tour, last Monday, with his amazing climb that included one fall and one slip, was the day that will be written about in the year-end columns. Is there any better sports metaphor than falling off the bike and getting right back on? He literally does it, and still manages to absolutely crush the will of his closest competitor. I think I watched the entire time trial Saturday, which was terrific drama with the rain and win.
\nI\u2019m flabbergasted by the people who say Lance and his achievements are overrated or unimportant. First, what better message to the public, who face obstacles like cancer everyday than to beat it and win the world\u2019s most grueling sports event. Five times. Second, I think all the doubters remember the carefree days of riding their bike all day, every day, during the summer. Try doing it for 80 hours over three weeks and 2100 miles, with thousand foot climbs and descents. Then tell me it\u2019s no big deal to win the Tour.<\/p>\n
Finally, local sports brief. I\u2019m sure many of you were interested in my reaction to the Pacers acquiring Scot Pollard. On a personal level, I\u2019m excited. There\u2019s a special thrill to watching someone from your school play in the pros. Even cooler is someone like Pollard that you actually went to school with and saw around campus (He used to harass everyone outside my Sociology of the Family class). I don\u2019t feel like I know the him, but I have a couple good stories I can share in a loud voice at games so people around me think I\u2019m cool (not that they don\u2019t already, it just reinforces the impression). Hell, for all the grief I give Greg Ostertag, I still claim him.
\nHowever, on a purely basketball level, it was not a great move by Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh. Pollard is an effective NBA player, and when he\u2019s been healthy and started, he\u2019s put up respectable numbers (7 points, almost 9 rebounds a game when Chris Webber missed extended time two seasons ago). I think he\u2019ll work nicely with Jermaine O\u2019Neal. However, the whole reason for the trade was the Pacers\u2019 desire to keep old man Reggie Miller around for one more season, rather than resign Brad Miller. Let\u2019s restate: a washed-up, has-been player for one year, or a young, dedicated, 7\u2019 center who was in the All-Star game last year for the next 6-7 years? The math gets even worse when you learn that the Pacers will probably sign Jon Barry as well. One more time: a brittle, geriatric swingman who can\u2019t hit the big shot anymore, plus a bench player to fill Reggie\u2019s role as the defense stretcher for a center who compliments your franchise player perfectly. If the Pacers are so worried about having Reggie around to put asses in the seats, have Larry Bird walk around the court before, during, and after each game. That should do the trick. All that said, I wouldn\u2019t be shocked if Pollard surprises a lot of people here. Anytime you replace a Purdue player with a KU alum, you\u2019ve traded up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One quick note, before I unload some pile-up that\u2019s in my head. If any of you use AOL\u2019s Instant Messenger, I now have a screen name: DDBinIndy. Shoot me a message sometime if you\u2019re online. Things on my mind: In addition to being all whacked out about time here, I think there\u2019s some kind of suspension of normal physics laws in Indiana. I\u2019m only exaggerating in the slightest when I say that everyday a large truck flips over on one of the local highways, snarling rush hour traffic for hours. Not that if affects me, since my morning commute involves walking from the bedroom, down the stairs, and opening up the laptop. As an added bonus, yesterday a truck carrying painters and paint supplies burst into flames near the airport, snarling traffic there for several hours. Initial word had it that someone on the truck lit a cigarette. One person died and 12 others who were on the truck are in the hospital, most in critical condition. I just think something very Stephen King is going on here. The downtown loop in Kansas City used to drive me crazy. All it took was one truck trying to get down to 45 to make those turns, then attempt to reaccelerate up the hills to back traffic up 10 miles. I thought about one day running for mayor on a rush hour platform: no big trucks on the highways between 7:00-8:30 AM and 4:30-6:00 PM. Sure, big business would use all their resources to trounce me like a beetle, but the momentum would start, my friends! You can\u2019t keep the people down! I\u2019m working up a rant on preseason football, but it will have to wait until a few of those travesties have been broadcast. Tour de France: I read Lance Armstrong\u2019s first book while on our honeymoon. A fantastic read. I remember when it first came out and everyone who read it started referring to Lance as if he\u2019s a friend (I\u2019m doing it by calling him Lance). It\u2019s a must read whether you\u2019re into cycling, have any experience with cancer, or not. He\u2019s really an amazing person. I watched more of the Tour this year than ever before. Mostly because it was on each morning and the TV is only 22 steps away. It was interesting to watch the doubters (at times even Lance seemed to doubt) hovering as he failed to stretch his lead to the length of previous Tours. The day he basically won the Tour, last Monday, with his amazing climb that included one fall and one slip, was the day that will be written about in the year-end columns. Is there any better sports metaphor than falling off the bike and getting right back on? He literally does it, and still manages to absolutely crush the will of his closest competitor. I think I watched the entire time trial Saturday, which was terrific drama with the rain and win. I\u2019m flabbergasted by the people who say Lance and his achievements are overrated or unimportant. First, what better message to the public, who face obstacles like cancer everyday than to beat it and win the world\u2019s most grueling sports event. Five times. Second, I think all the doubters remember the carefree days of riding their bike all day, every day, during the summer. Try doing it for 80 hours over three weeks and 2100 miles, with thousand foot climbs and descents. Then tell me it\u2019s no big deal to win the Tour. Finally, local sports brief. I\u2019m sure many of you were interested in my reaction to the Pacers acquiring Scot Pollard. On a personal level, I\u2019m excited. There\u2019s a special thrill to watching someone from your school play in the pros. Even cooler is someone like Pollard that you actually went to school with and saw around campus (He used to harass everyone outside my Sociology of the Family class). I don\u2019t feel like I know the him, but I have a couple good stories I can share in a loud voice at games so people around me think I\u2019m cool (not that they don\u2019t already, it just reinforces the impression). Hell, for all the grief I give Greg Ostertag, I still claim him. However, on a purely basketball level, it was not a great move by Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh. Pollard is an effective NBA player, and when he\u2019s been healthy and started, he\u2019s put up respectable numbers (7 points, almost 9 rebounds a game when Chris Webber missed extended time two seasons ago). I think he\u2019ll work nicely with Jermaine O\u2019Neal. However, the whole reason for the trade was the Pacers\u2019 desire to keep old man Reggie Miller around for one more season, rather than resign Brad Miller. Let\u2019s restate: a washed-up, has-been player for one year, or a young, dedicated, 7\u2019 center who was in the All-Star game last year for the next 6-7 years? The math gets even worse when you learn that the Pacers will probably sign Jon Barry as well. One more time: a brittle, geriatric swingman who can\u2019t hit the big shot anymore, plus a bench player to fill Reggie\u2019s role as the defense stretcher for a center who compliments your franchise player perfectly. If the Pacers are so worried about having Reggie around to put asses in the seats, have Larry Bird walk around the court before, during, and after each game. That should do the trick. All that said, I wouldn\u2019t be shocked if Pollard surprises a lot of people here. Anytime you replace a Purdue player with a KU alum, you\u2019ve traded up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[41,202,86,38],"class_list":["post-33","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-indiana-pacers","tag-lance-armstrong","tag-misc","tag-tour-de-france"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15756,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions\/15756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}