Tag: Great American Family Experience

microeconomy, POV - Content Creation, Sports

Hockey goalies are inspirational, LL triple headers for a Blue, PWHL goes 5 OTs, Congrats!

by gshorkeyblt2Leave a Comment on Hockey goalies are inspirational, LL triple headers for a Blue, PWHL goes 5 OTs, Congrats!

You couldn’t go wrong in describing Montreal Victorie-Ottawa Charge game as a 3-2, five OT rock fight, with real anticipation of more coming. Names and logos and toughness in Year Two is all any sponsors could’ve asked for. With all the acrobatics professional goalies perform, and Maple Leafs Joseph Woll got shelled (37 shots on goal) while surrendering a pair in 2-0 loss to defending NHL champ Florida Panthers, LeSharque’s (moi) #1 Hockey Memory is still being clipped back of elbow by slap shot *first time ever in goal* and thinking it was dislocated while kicking the equipment to side of rink.

Flashed on that when a side-squatting catcher allowed a wicked foul tip to score a direct hit, *just* above knee protection during a Little League triple-header Saturday. At 68, ducking high, wild pitches launched by ten-year olds happens often, and quality level of catchers rotating is a huge variable. Okay, maybe a macho content in my microeconomy still involves taking hits, even if I rubbed it a little. FYI – If you hear it hit, the Blue is usually okay, though umpire support is appreciated.

Calling a player out! immediately for diving head first into home plate was about Best Practices. Its a safety factor discussed before every minor league game. Whatever else is going on in world, the Great American Family Experience continues full speed ahead.

Calling a player out! immediately for diving head first into home plate was about Best Practices. Its discussed before every minor league game. Plays at the plate are why Blues get the Big $$$, right?

Told kid parked next to me post-game Wed. ANY pitcher had most of plate because he stood so far away, so Sat. he stepped right to line, looked at me, went 4-4, and hit every one hard. Yay me!

–5/10/25 Micro-sessions of work, like 6 vs. 8 hrs. for a Work Day seems fine. I rolled 10a-4p Saturday at $30/hr. Outside, sharing the Great American Family Experience – terrific! Foul tip in knee, less fun.

Pro Hoops-Hockey Extravaganza Weekend

Its not some voice saying it, its two voices, just saying same thing about a cold one waiting.

With plenty of snacks and the promised cold ones Saturday, and then a Sunday evening of similar inaction, the question of how much importance should be attached to such athletic events arose. The affirmation was being a sportwriter, and content analyst gig required the input, it wasn’t just surrendering attention all weekend to trump’s minions, which never seem to miss an opportunity to step wrong.

Uh huh, Johnson says you’ve got that Medicaid slash piece ready. But this is about sports, right?

Running back the most recent events, the Celts are still down 2-1 after opening a full can of whupass on Knicks at MSG, before settling for a 115-93 thumping. Having coughed up 20-pt. leads in two game with faulty 3-point shooting, Celtics 50% rate Saturday (20-40) looks like they’ve fixed things. NBA 6th Man of Year Payton Pritchard stroked 23 for Celts, who are favored -6.5 pts, -260 for Monday’s game, O/U 208.5

Out West, Anthony Edwards plunked down his reputation and best practices at clutch time, putting a 36-Pts/4-R/4 Asst line hurt on Curry-less Warriors, even with Playoff Jimmy (33-Pts/7-R/7Asst) Butler and Kuminga contributions (30-Pts/6-R/3Asst) in 102-97 loss. Indiana Pacers breezed, and Cleveland is looking very mortal without Donovan Mitchell (12 pts.), losing 129-109 and facing a 3-1 hole.

Honestly, the Nuggets-Thunder game was unwatchable, the lack of professional flow must’ve set NBA hoops fans back a decade. The 92-87 finale was appreciated more for finality than affirming victory. A similar unfortunate who cares slighting is the timing factor for Edmonton Oilers-Vegas Golden Knight series, stuck in a 10:00-plus start time zone that makes caring about the Knights 2-1 lead difficult.

For all the Caniacs in Raleigh, an SRO crowd roared throughout the game, as their team strutted Warning Flag black outfits and totally muffled the Capitals 4-0, goalie Frederik Andersen stopped a mere 21 shots. https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/car-vs-wsh/2025/05/10/2024030223 The 2-1 Florida Panthers throttled the Maple Leafs 2-0 to create another gut-check moment in the Leafs best season in quite a while. Its a similar same situation for the Winnipeg Jets, down 2-1 in series with Dallas Stars after 5-2 loss. The Jets took the NHL Presidents Cup in 2024-25 as the top regular season point-getting team (56 W-22L-4T), but last NHL team to win regular season points trophy and Stanley Cup was Chicago Blackhawks, 2012-13.

OMG! The PWHL goes into 5th OT

It took 135 minutes for the Montreal Victoire to shake the Ottawa Charge loose 3-2, tying their series at 1-1. In the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s second year of life, the teams have identities vs. just cities on their sweaters, a TV contract, Olympic pedigreed players, and a planned expansion (Seattle, Vancouver) product both America and Canada love.

Four of the six original (2024) teams became playoff teams this year, Montreal-Ottawa in one semi-final, the Minnesota Frost-Toronto Scepters in the other half of draw. Minnesota tied the series 1-1 with a 7-5 win Sunday. The other two original teams are Boston Fleet and NY Sirens.

https://www.thepwhl.com/en/stats/schedule/all-teams/6/all-months?league=1

I’m a fan from way back

My Little Part for Womens Sports, then Boom! (45 Years later) Pro Women’s Hockey League
Panther Football, Thought Leadership

A 15 Year old Time Capsule, Right on UConn win, A BIG Duke Win for Coach K and Schuyer, Zoubek Was The Man

by gshorkeyblt2Leave a Comment on A 15 Year old Time Capsule, Right on UConn win, A BIG Duke Win for Coach K and Schuyer, Zoubek Was The Man

I’d be tempted to throw in the link from 15 years ago yesterday, which credited UConn for its back-to-back titles, the obvious relationship for Duke coaches then and now, and the biggest Dookie, Brian Zoubek. Only time anyone recalls Coach K just pounding you with size, including two Plumlees.

While Kyle Singler and John Scheyer have been quality players for years, Duke wouldn’t have been in the NCAA Finals if Brian Zoubek hadn’t finally played a full, injury-free season. Duke changed from its usual defensive pressure to Playing Big, *really* big with the Plumlee brothers going 6’10” and jumping all over people, but this past month especially, Zoubek (that would be MISTER Zoubek to you Cal fans) showed exactly what being BIG and talented means. Rip down a rebound and everyone around you seems to be only armpit high, that is the epitome of Large. Singler was the MVP of the Final Four, but capping a college career the way he did was great for Zoo.

(Just how precisely the finale mirrored Duke’s loss this year shows how close winning-losing such events often is.)

No problem acknowledging how tough Butler played – even the great Duke champs of the past rarely played in-your-shirt, hand-to-hand-combat intense D better than the Bulldogs did Monday night.

Frankly, if that last half-court heave by Haywood banks in, all the air would’ve come out of Dookie Nation’s chest for well into the future. Nobody would be questioning whether Coach K was full of it by saying this was his greatest championship, though many consider it his best coaching job because the talent wasn’t as overwhelming as past teams…

The bottom line, 5th year useful guy Zoubek earned the ring so many expected freshman Flagg, and a superbly well assembled set of teammates, to emerge from a chalk walk of #1s to the Final Four March Madness in San Antonio with. One short-armed, fallaway J, one bummer of a foul call was the difference. No Mr. Big finale.

The air HAS gone out of Dookie Nation, how and when will anyone know whether Cooper comes back? Yeah, yeah about his NIL value at Duke, $4.8 mill you say? They hustled his incubation time to make him a stud professional NBA legend at 19, won’t another year put a beating on his Year 4 valuations…Blah, blah, blah. Love the commercial where he gets sweated up at bingo. Or did the first 999 times. NBA body and smarts, got it.

Tough to maintain focus in college fishbowl? NBA is eighty-two games, THEN the abuse of playoff *series,* not onesies. Doubters about being ready? Mostly no doubt. Bird-like? C’mon. Stay or go? Pull the ripcord my man, be a great student-athlete example. Hey, that twin of yours who didn’t push up a class, he got any game?

Plenty of time to What If –

Two weeks from NFL draft, the Carolina Panthers don’t have exactly the same falling off a cliff decision with #8 pick as Flagg to NBA. Still plenty of guessing about HOW MUCH defense is enough, enabling the drafting of other than necessary edge rushers and linebackers from a deep group.

The What If – Penn St. tight end Tyler Warren fell to #8 Panthers pick, would Morgan prioritize XYZ (Walker from GA) on defense ahead of selecting ANOTHER tight end who blocks and catches very, very well, and would continue filling RB and a tight end room just about like HC Canales has frequently stated? https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4431459/tyler-warren

While there’s still a quantity of #MrTeppers$ available, Morgan paid up for a LOT of talent in the most necessary places during ‘legal tampering period.’ The Panthers Football Operations people kept Ejiro Evero as Defensive Coordinator after a brutal statistical season – and a previous #4 rated one, before a solid linebacking corps went free agent. Morgan provided the ONE absolute that 3-4 defense required, a nose tackle who is great on holding up double teams with physical dimensions.

If you haven’t heard about a signee from Rams name of Rozeboom, he notched about as many tackles as Panthers D-line had last season (135), you will want to see how he operates.

Don’t sweat the Eagles DT (Williams) who blew Panthers off for $104MM of the Patriots money, *that* friends, is what over-paying looks like.

The Great American Family Experience, 9 am Saturday version

A little Control on the world, maybe

It never hurts to call a high strike to make sure the batter remembers we talked about getting swings vs. looks before the game. I love covering specific situations in pre-game talks, which become easy judgements when they happen (recently). I listen to what a manager wants to fix about something I also witnessed to develop possible explanations/resolutions.

I’ve been the plate umpire every time out because as old-ish veteran, I have the equipment the 15-year olds I’ve teamed with recently don’t. I’ve made a difference with many catchers, telling them to get bats out of the way, so they don’t interfere with a play. I tell the crowd how catchers move the location of pitches (very worthwhile talk). I picked up three games this week, and maintain LL is a healthy outing after WFH writing and blogging.

Pass on a Friday nite gig to play poker? Nahh, no guarantee I’d win big, and there’s those taxes, about two terrific hours of community involvement with the Great American Family Experience will help pay for.

$600 into Umpiring this Spring, I’ve gotten hit kind of regularly, a couple of the ‘particularly close’ genre. When pitcher barely had enough juice to bounce it off the edge of the plate – then right past the catchers ear, never even got a glove up – it doesn’t hurt, but the streak has ended. 4/5/25

The NHL playoffs begin April 19th. Possible latest ending date – June 23rd. I’m not a hockey bettor. Charlotte Hornets (19-61) fans will have open schedules shortly, but they weren’t really bettable either. There might be a reason to talk about LaMelo shortly. Just sayin,’ if Mavs can pull the pin with Luka a season after Finals, LaMelo is not untouchable as Face of Franchise.

I will tell any nice ladies in advance of the much hotter part of LL baseball season, yes, I will always accept a Gator or PowerAde, any flavor. Here’s to the Great American Family Experience.

Two weeks to Morgan Draft #2, not so bad waiting for actual progress vs. fantastical trades and must gets online verbiage. Grab yourself an Ultra (or Dr. Pepper) like Billy Bob in ‘Land Man,’ hang with a bad enough Good Woman you’re sure there’s not a snowballs chance of Happiness ever happening with, but rest assured, Panthers GM Dan Morgan is doing a *fine* job of investing #MrTeppers$, not yours.

If that includes getting a super chunk of ath-o-lete as a first rate, NFL ready offensive weapon for Bryce Young’s upcoming third year, I’ll be good with that.