Celtics Halftime Show to Kick Off 2015

"Dad, what was coach talking about when he said we would have a team field trip to Boston on Friday?" G asked me.  "Are we going to play the Boston Bobcats," the AAU basketball team he faced a couple of times last Spring.  G's basketball coach had talked about the field trip at practice on Thursday.  It was after Free Throw shooting but before the sidelines they had to run.  G would continue to badger me trying to figure out what was going to happen on Friday.

"You'll find out on Friday."  My standard answer to questions like that.  Usually I add a little but of sarcasm to my answer, but this time, I wasn't going to spoil the surprise for him.  Although in retrospect I should have told him we weren't going anywhere unless he read for 2 hours on Friday, I was excited for him.  Although he ended up finding out from one his buddies on the team what they were doing, I still told him to keep it on the down low.  Maybe some of his teammates didn't know what we were doing.

The secret?  His 5th Grade travel team was going to play at half time of Friday's game against the Bulls.  It was going to be the Blue team vs the White team. 6 on 6. Mano y Mano.  Well not really, but 6 on 6.

The Celtics had traded away Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green.  They also traded the some of the Flotsam and Jetsam that they got for those two guys, leaving Brad Stevens and a bunch of D-League guys (Sorry Jared, it's true).  So it was not a stressful game from the perspective.  As an assistant coach on the team, I was nervous for them.  It was going to be a sell out crowd and having gone to these games before and observing the unforgiving nature of the crowd, I was a lot more nervous than I needed to be.  G's biggest concern going to the game was whether he was going to take an NBA 3 pointer or not.

8:30pm.  Boston.  With 5 minutes left in the second quarter, we take the elevator down to the runway below the stands.  You know the stark concrete runways that they show on TNT when stars walk in to the stadium before the game in their suits.  It was just as I imagined it to be.  Large buses, strange paraphernalia, random security guards.  The boys get together for some pictures as a team and with Brandon LaFell who came underneath to say good luck to the boys.  And yes, I thought it was Brandon Browner.  I took some pictures myself so it must have been important.  All the time though, I was watching the game clock count down.


With 30 seconds left in the half we walk out of the tunnel.  As the horn sounds we immediately get going.  The funny thing was, we were 6 on 6.  The emcee helping us out shouted to the boys "Do you want to play 6 on 6?" We thought it wasn't a great idea, but then decided that the Court was big enough to accommodate us.  6 on 6 it was.  The 12 boys got in their positions.  I was not partial to one team over another, I just wanted to see some boxing out and everyone having fun.  When the HC said to not play any defense, I knew this was a perfect situation for G and his jumper.  Who cares that he's our tallest kid and our starting Center.  He could shoot his jumper!  And that is exactly what he did.  He spotted up on the left baseline and took his jumper.  Now normally, the shot would be from 20 feet, but somehow he managed to get to within 6 feet.  The ball clanged around the rim, hitting all sides of the cylinder before dropping in for the first bucket!  I don't know what I was more proud of, the fact that he scored the first bucket of the game on the first shot, or the fact that he took the shot from within 8 feet and not from behind the 3 point line.

The rest of the 7 minutes went by like a blur.  We tried to get everyone a basket.  We told them to stop playing defense any time someone looked like they were going to try and steal.  And we saw a lot of smiling faces.  As we come off the court, the boys were greeted by high 5s by everyone on the Court.  Although the boys weren't playing defense, they still looked fluid on offense.  Everyone was really psyched.  This is something that they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Oh yeah, the Celtics lost by 16 points.  But we weren't there for the big boy game.  We were there for the little kids.

Surprise!

JMR's Top "News" Stories of 2014

I could talk about ISIS, Ebola, Ukraine, Ferguson, Robin Williams and other newsworthy events from 2014.  2014 was not your year if you were a political animal.  Bad news was coming down from all over the globe, and many different discussions had to take place as a result of the news.  Race, war, disease, drugs, suicide, death, and rioting were all central themes to the news in 2014.  It seemed like everyone is just happy that 2015 is coming on us quickly.

But being the optimist that I am, I would rather talk about the biggest "news" events of 2014. JMR news. Whether, sports, pop culture, movies, games, social media, I would rather write snippets about the lighter side of the news in 2014.

8.  Jon Lester and Rajon Rondo are gone; LeBron James is back.  Cleveland finally wins, although they still have Johnny Manziel, but Boston ultimately loses.  The Red Sox don't need Lester and Rondo was perhaps the most overrated star in Boston Sports history.  We all win. 

7.  The Interview.  Honestly, I can't blame North Korea for getting a little high and mighty about this film.  The plot revolves around the assassination of a current head of state.  Even though it is a comedy (despite Seth Rogan's starring role), it's still about killing a non-fictional human being.  And nothing amuses me quite as much as G trying to pronounce Kim Jong Un.

6.  Sochi Olympics.  We were able to enjoy curling, freestyle skiing and the half pipe.  We will not watch those sports again until 2018.

5.  Instagram Generation.  I already wrote about this in some detail, but I thought I would add one more thing to the list.  Although I was the first one in the family to have an Instagram account, I am now the least familiar with the app.  Between C and G's posts and Mom's stalking/lurking, DLG and I are lagging far behind.

4.  Volleyball Firsts.  While Mom started her varsity program, DLG was joining her first team.  Even though she is only 8 years old, she was contributor on a U12 team.  No snide comments, just pride in my daughter.

3.  Swimming Pool.  This really does not count as news per se, but it was a big deal to the JMR family.  Now just have to get the darn thing finally finished and approved.

2.  Basketball and Baseball Championships.  How sweet it was for the boys to win some trophies this year.  G won his travel basketball league and C won his major league championship.  Now we just have to get DLG a trophy and we'll be a sporty family!

1.  Cooperstown Trip.  Although we have already talked about it, C's three home run game, Midnight start time and the Cooperstown Hall of Fame will always be great memories.  And the post of C's home run ball has not been deleted from his Instagram account.  If you are familiar with Instagram, you know that that means it is a big deal.  We might have another chance to go to Cooperstown again in 2016.  Can't wait.

Joining the Instagram Generation One Step at a Time

It wouldn't be right to have preteens in 2014 without having to hear the word (words?) Instagram.  Instagram - IG for short - is the primary mode of communication for adolescents in this day in age.  While celebrities and "wannabe" models use IG to their advantage in the most obvious way, kids will use this app as the central tool of their communication.  I have to admit that this phenomenon is interesting, but its also amusing for several reasons. 

Before we get to the interesting parts, I have to admit that I have an IG account.  I first signed up because some Internet guru told me that it was a good idea as a new social media outlet.  What ended up happening though is par for the course.  No one was interested in buying products or services from my Instagram account or because I had an Instagram account.  I guess the fact that I did not take any pictures contributed to my social media failure.  And once Google started to crack down on link generation, I deleted my account.  Or at least I think I did.  Nevertheless, I partake in IG vicariously, looking at C's and G's accounts when they go to bed.  Pretty mundane stuff to look at (they are just 12 and 10, respectively), but it gives me an insight into their lives - a secret life that they want to keep hidden from me and their Mother.  

Anyway, on to my favorite parts of IG...

1.  The FOMO quotient is off the charts.  "Fear of Missing out" is HUGE on IG.  Everyone is posting pictures of the fun times they are having, or the fun times that they had before.  They tag each other and then in the comments those who are not tagged, ask to be tagged.  If you aren't in the picture, in my mind at least, you should not be tagged.

2.  Another funny thing is the concept of a "like."  Instead of commenting (well except in asking to be tagged - see 1 above), people will like a photo.  If one does not get enough likes, then they delete the post.  Why post something to just to take it down a couple of hours later because only 54 people liked your photo.   And don't you dare like too many photos of kids that you don't know that well.  You will likely get burned or made fun of.

3.  Speaking of posts, one should not post too many times.  Don't you dare post twice in a night and if you do, you have to have a really, really good reason.  Even young adults make excuses for why they make more than one post.  Again, you will get burned by those trolls who notice that you post more than once in 24 hours and will comment on it.  Oh the irony.  (See 2 above).  And yes I am speaking as a parent-lurker.

4.  While the majority of IG post are pictures, some are videos.  Generally the longer the video, or the fact that the post is a video in the first place, the more likely that it is just not that interesting.  The sports and entertainment videos are merely rehashes from Sports Center or Entertainment Tonight and when the boys are watching them in the car, I guarantee that they will hear the words "stop with the data, wait until we get home to watch that video." come out of my mouth.

5.  Everyone on IG did the Ice Bucket Challenge.  Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? And everyone put a video up about it.  (See 4 above) If you asked my kids or their friends what the Ice Bucket challenge was, the words charity, giving and Pete Frates with NOT come up. 

6.  The begging is off the charts.  Begging for likes, begging for followers, begging for a tag, begging to be invited places.  Maybe charity is appropriate (See 5 above).

7.  You have to follow the right people.  You have to follow cool kids.  You can't follow the wrong people or the Juvenile Delinquents.  After a certain amount of time, you have to clear out people you are following so you can gain more IG cred by having more followers than those they are following.

I could go on and on.  But I don't want to seem like more of a lurker than I really am.  Now let me go so I can troll some people on my Twitter account.

'drops mike'

2015 Will Be The Year of Mookie Betts

I watched Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.  I Watched It.  Bob Stanley (we still don't give him enough "credit" for that loss), Bill Buckner, Gary Carter and especially Mookie Wilson.  I watched the whole thing and I'm still scarred.

I have bad memories of Mookie Wilson driving that ball down the 1st base line, jumping up and down as the tying and winning run scored to take victory out of the Red Sox hands.  And while I seriously doubted I would ever meet another person in my life with the name Mookie, I swore that it would not be a good experience if it ever did happen.

Until Jackie Bradley Jr.'s replacement came along.

Now while everyone is talking about Giancarlo Stanton, Max Scherzer, Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, the Panda Guy, James Shields, etc., the player that could have the most impact on the 2015 Boston Red Sox could be Mookie Betts. The 5th Round Draft Pick of the 2011 Amateur Draft who is the size of my 12 year old son could very well be the breakout star of the Red Sox next year.  While he has played too many games to qualify as a Rookie next year, his first year as a major player in the line up could be a doozy.  Coupled with Rusney Castillo, Yoenis Cespedes and a healthy Shane Victorino, Betts could be a part of a tough offense-focused outfield that the Red Sox were sorely lacking in 2014.

His 2014 campaign included a general tearing up the Eastern League until he was called up to Pawtucket half way through the season.  His 45 games in Pawtucket was almost identical to his 55 games in Portland.  His .346/.431/.529 splits in the Minors led to a late Summer call up to the big house.  After Jackie Bradley Jr. crapped up Center Field most of the year, it was refreshing to see Betts play CF.  But he also played 2nd base, and Right Field. A true renaissance ball player.

But he's also the leadoff bat that we needed since Jacoby Ellsbury left for the Yankees (Sorry Brock, you're just not that good) and the spark plug that could lead to runs in the first inning and some pop at the top of the line up. He's hit 31 home runs with a slugging percentage over .500 over the last two years.  He's also a patient hitter, keeping his OBP over .360 over that time as well.

The Red Sox are reloading with a lot of high priced talent, but the key to another playoff run in 2015 might be the slight, 22 year old kid on the team right now.

That's a Mookie I can get behind.

Bucket List - Brittany Maynard Shows Us the Way to Live

I've followed the Brittany Maynard story for a couple of weeks now.  I've read about her terminal brain cancer and her quest to die the way she wants to die.  I've read how she has campaigned for "Death with Dignity" and listened sound bites from Compassion and Choices.  I've seen pictures of her life before the Diagnosis and how she moved from California to Oregon to have prescribed to her the drugs she would need to end her life the way she wanted to end it.  I've read both sides of this combustible issue, the converse of the abortion rights issue.  Some people have called her heroic, some people have called her selfish.  And I've heard her decision in her own words.  All I know is that it is tragic that someone has to die like that.

Maynard - In a Happier Time

I've also read that part of her story that brought us pictures from the Grand Canyon.  Family pictures, pictures of Maynard and her husband and of Mother and daughter.  It didn't matter, pictures from that getaway showed a somber crew, with an expectation of passing.  After seeing those pictures, you knew that the end was coming.  A statement that she was reconsidering her date of death was merely a way to keep her story fresh to add more exposure for her cause.  She was ready to end her life; you could see it in the pained looks on every one's faces in those pictures.  The story of her quest to knock one more thing off of her "bucket list" was one anecdote that brought some lightheartedness to the grim story.  But it was reading about her simple trip to the Grand Canyon that it dawned on me.  The media and Maynard herself was thinking about the end, rather than the way that she got there.  Simply put, most of Maynard's coverage has focused on her death, rather than her life. 

Back to that Grand Canyon part of the story.  We were told that it was part of her bucket list and she was able to finally cross that visit off of her list.  When I said to myself that I wanted to see what a bucket list of a person who worked at orphanages in Nepal and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro looked like, i decided to see what else was on her list.  I couldn't find it.  Does it exist?  Is it a private part of her husband's and family's legacy to keep this to themselves?  Most likely.  But the fact that she had the bucket list at all was an even more tragic story here. 

Many people wait until it is too late to live their lives.  We get stuck in our mundane day to day lives.  Teddy Roosevelt's quote - quoted in Maynard's obituary - to "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" doesn't apply for most of us on most days. Our personal bucket lists get larger and larger every year because we make the time to dream about going somewhere, doing something, but we never take the time to actually do it or go there.  We always take time to fill the bucket, but we never take time to take things out of that bucket list.  We wait until we are ill, or too old to enjoy it, to start thinking about taking some things out of that bucket.  That's no way to live.  Maynard showed us that. 

My Father died of an aggressive esophageal cancer.  He was given months to live after the gold standard of care could not help him.  He was not the kind of person to have a "bucket list;" he was just happy to clean up his garden and have enough energy to mow his yard.  He was pissed that he could not dictate his life any more and he wanted something different.  That's why he stopped the treatments that clearly were not helping him.  And what the end of his life showed me was that we all want to live our lives the way we want to live them, or not live them.  While they thought about the end of their lives differently, Maynard and my Father shared one thing in common.  They wanted to live and die on their terms.

Maynard also showed us that even at the age of 29, we should be thinking about the things in our bucket list. That list can include a lot of different things - traveling, getting a new job, having children.  It just matters that you try to empty that bucket out of tasks when you are still young.  You never know when you aren't going to have enough time to see them all through.

Rest in Peace.