The Ultimate Catharsis: Thursday

The past couple of days have not been good ones.  Yesterday, I, along with the rest of the Philadelphia community, lost Harry.  Today, my grandfather wound up back in the hospital for the third time in 6 months, and in my opinion, he's never making it past a nursing home.  His illness is going to drag out for a long time, and it's not going to be pretty.  On top of that, I had one of those famous 12 hour days at my client site, and it was just an ugly, miserable day.  Needless to say, by the time I left work, I was pretty much ready to explode.

Luckily, I had a solution close-by in my CD player as soon as I got into my car.  I popped in Thursday's new album, Common Existence and just lost myself.  I turned the volume as high as it could go without making me deaf, and rocked the fuck out during the hour car ride back from Princeton.  Let me tell you, there is nothing better for a body cooped up in an office all day with tons of aggression, angst, and anger ready to explode from his body than listening to a Thursday album.  This time was extra special, as I had some serious steam to blow off.  I literally screamed for an hour the entire way home.  And you know what?  As soon as I turned down the radio and stepped out of the car, I felt 1000x better.

Like I said, when you're locked in a conference room for 12 hours straight, you simply want to bounce off the walls, especially when you've been inundated with bad news for 36 hours.  Thursday is a fantastic way to get some of that aggression off your chest.  Their music is cathartic, and makes any emotion you've possibly been feeling spill out with ease.  One caveat though, Thursday isn't for everyone.  There's lots of screaming, and it may come off as a little "emo."  But if you want to get something off your chest without calling a best friend to talk to, I couldn't recommend anyone better.  Trust me, Joe Dopirak will attest.

- Kaps

Song of the Day:  Thursday - You Were the Cancer 

Outta Here: A Great Man Has Left Us

Sorry for all the baseball posts, but this one is absolutely necessary.  Today was an extremely sad day, not only for the city of Philadelphia, but for the entire baseball world as well.  Harry Kalas, the Hall of Fame broadcaster of the Philadelphia Phillies passed away today at the age of 73.  Appropriately, Kalas passed away in the place he loved most, the ballpark, as he collapsed in the press box a few hours before game time.  The game had to go on though, and the Phillies managed to pull out a sloppy 9-8 victory over the lowly Nationals.

Anyone in Philadelphia under the age of 40 has no idea what it's like to watch/listen to a baseball game without Harry's voice.  He's been with us for what seems like forever (38+ years) and has called just about every Phillies game during that time.  I think we all took Harry for granted, and just assumed he would always be there, even though his health was clearly deteriorating over the past few years.

The thing that I keep hearing about Harry, and which makes me extremely proud to be a Phillies fan, is hearing what a great guy he was.  Harry never turned down an autograph, never turned down a conversation, and was generally good-natured towards everyone he came in contact with.  He was truly old-school and loved the game of baseball.  Of course, Harry was also a real man's man.  He could always be seen smoking a nice cigar or sipping on a glass of scotch.  I wish I would have had the opportunity to sit down with him, grab a beer, and discuss baseball for an hour.

For those of you from outside Philadelphia, specifically Pittsburgh, this is the equivalent of when Myron Cope left us last year.  Harry was that loved.  You would probably know Harry Kalas as the voice of NFL Films, and the Campbell's Chunky Soup commercials.  You also may know him from his famous "OUTTA HERE!!!" home run calls, which were imitated all over the country, but never duplicated quite like Harry could do it.  Watch any old NFL Films telecast, and you'll realize what a true treasure the city of Philadelphia was blessed with in the form of Harry Kalas.

Of course, my best memories of Harry came from the last few years, as the Phillies truly became one of the most dominant franchises in baseball.  We would always laugh as Harry would get really excited about a fly ball, anticipating the home run, and then watch the ball come up 50 feet short of the wall.  My favorite Harry Kalas call was from the 2006 season, when Ryan Howard grounded out to the pitcher, and Chase Utley made a huge heads-up play and scored all the way from second base.  After Utley crossed the plate, Harry excitedly proclaimed, "Chase Utley, you are the man!"  He also made other memorable calls, capping off his Hall of Fame career with the call of the Phillies World Series victory last October.  I watched the clinching game from a bar in Center City, and because Fox has exclusive rights to the game, Harry was only able to broadcast the radio.  After I came back from the hours of partying and celebrating, one of the first things I did was go onto YouTube to hear Harry call the final strike.  I listened to it over and over again, and was the perfect end to the perfect season.

Harry truly bowed at gracefully, and at the top of his craft.  The last playoff game he ever called was the Phillies' World Series clincher.  The last home game he ever called was last week, when the Phillies were presented with their World Series rings.  Guess who threw out the first pitch?  As if we would have it any other way.  It had to be Harry.  And the last call Harry ever made was on Sunday, as the Phillies pulled out a dramatic 7-5 victory over the Rockies.  Harry was there to make the final home run call, a Matt Stairs 2 run blast that sealed the deal.  Thinking about these calls makes me feel so empty, still unable to believe that I'll never hear him call another game.

I think Jayson Stark said it best when he mentioned that no moment in Philadelphia baseball was real until Harry Kalas called it.  How true that is.  Now, we'll have to move on without Harry.  The games will go on, but they'll never be the same again.  I'm sure for a while, it's not going to seem real.  I've never watched a game with anyone else behind the mike, and for nearly 23 years, Harry was in my living room 162 days out of the year for 3 hours a day.  He feels like a part of the family, and now it feels like a part of our family is gone.  There's a huge hole in the city of Philadelphia right now, and it's one that will never be filled.  Harry is gone, and there will never be another Harry.  Godspeed Harry Kalas, you will always be missed, and you will never be forgotten.

- Kaps

Song of the Day:  Frank Sinatra - High Hopes (Harry's favorite)

Phillies Live Blog

7:07 PM - Fuck, that was quick, 1 pitch, down 1-0.

7:27 PM - You've got to be kidding me.

7:49 PM - This has been the most boring 12 innings of my life.

8:02 PM - Can we get a hit with runners in scoring position, please?

8:05 PM - I knew Moyer was gonna get shelled, glad I took Chipper Jones in every fantasy game I could.

8:32 PM - Yawn.

8:46 PM - They better play better than this tomorrow.

8:57 PM - Looks like we're starting this season exactly like last season, 0-2.  I guess that's a plus.

9:12 PM - More futility with RISP.

9:30 PM - At least our bullpen looks good.  7 innings pitched, 7 perfect innings.

9:43 PM - FUCK!!!  This is really frustrating, now I know what it's like to be a Pirates fan.  Scratch that, I'll never know what it's like to be that bad.  

9:45 PM - It's official, 0-2.  Time to wake up boys.

9:50 PM - I should go to bed.

Am I Dreaming...?

...or did the Phillies just lose their first game at home since September 25, 2008?  A span of 10 in a row at home without a loss.

...or did the Pirates (no, they weren't relegated, this isn't European Soccer) win their Opening Day matchup against the Albert Pujols-led St. Louis Cardinals...and win the game when they started the 9th inning down 4-2?  A clutch win?

...or did CC Sabathia give up 6 earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched in his Yankee debut?  Didn't he gave up about that many runs total during 18 starts with the Brewers last season?  That $161M acquisition didn't look too good in Pinstripes today.

...or was an Opening Day game in Chicago postponed...due to snow?

I love baseball, and I really love Opening Day.  Welcome baseball season 2009, you've finally arrived.

Kaps

PS - I kissed the World Series Trophy tonight.  Hell yes.

Song of the Day:  The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger

Heartbroken

Words cannot begin to describe what I'm feeling right now.  In one of the best, most well-played, dramatic games in NCAA Tournament history, my team came up on the short end of the stick.  We left our hearts out on that floor, and everyone on the team made some solid plays at one point or another.  Sam Young played another fine game, consistent with his entire NCAA Tournament.  DeJuan Blair showed why he is a human vacuum cleaner and will grab any rebound in and out of his reach.  Levance Fields played an extremely gutsy game, and I challenge any one of you to have to hit 2 free throws with your entire college career on the line.  And of course, he came up successful.  However, the difference tonight of course, was the free throws.  Pitt didn't shoot particularly terrible from the charity stripe, 21-29 (better than 70%), but Villanova would simply not miss from the line.

Of course, the most painful thing about this loss was the final minute.  When you're down 4 points with 47 seconds left against a team who hasn't missed a free throw all night, you don't expect to win, or really even have a shot to win.  But then Sam Young hit a clutch 3, and breathed some life back into our team.  Then Nova hit two more free throws, and Fields missed a 3 pointer.  Again, the game seemed over.  Even when Nova finally missed a free throw, it was still a 2 possession game with 15 seconds left.  Blair hit a wide open layup (he didn't miss all night), but our hopes still seemed grim with 10 seconds left.  And then something miraculous happened.  For some inexplicable reason, Nova decided to go for the touchdown pass...and it didn't work.  And the next thing I knew, I was laying on the floor ready to have a massive heart attack as Levance went to the line.  Mr. Ice came up cool once again, and hit both of his free throws.  At that moment, I knew we were going to OT, and I knew we were going to win.  Nova was out of timeouts with 5 seconds left, and we had the inbounds pass guarded beautifully.  They almost didn't even get the ball inbounds on time.  But then Scottie Reynolds snuck through our defense, and stuck the dagger through the net on a runner with less than a second left.  When Levance's 70 foot Hail Mary missed by inches, it was officially over.  The valiant run our team had made was crushed, and our best tournament chance in 35 years had come to a screeching halt.

This is just awful.  Over the last 20 minutes I've gotten countless text messages speaking of the carnage this has caused my friends around the country.  We are collectively in pain right now, suffering one of the most heartbreaking losses in NCAA history.  Like I said, I can't really describe how I'm feeling right now, just heartbroken for our loss.  At least I can hold my head high, knowing our team played a tremendous game, and left everything they had on the floor.  Maybe one day, we'll finally reach the Final Four.  But it won't be with this team, and that's a shame, because there's something extremely special about this team.  To Sam Young and Levance Fields, it has been amazing watching you guys mature over the past 4 years.  Both of you stepped up your games beyond all expectations, and really characterize what Pitt Basketball is all about, being that gritty underdog who never gives up.  Tyrell Biggs, you played a very solid role off the bench for four years, and always provided some interesting moments.  I wish all of you the best in the future, whether those futures are in basketball or elsewhere.  To the rest of the team, remember this loss.  Remember how it made you feel, and next year, use it for all it's worth.  Use it to motivate you to push through during those tough practices, when you just want to collapse.  Continue the Pitt legacy, and continue to make us proud.

I don't have anything left to say.  I just want to crawl up into a ball and disappear.

- Kaps

Huge Game Today

Okay, maybe the title of this post is the understatement of the season, but tonight's Pitt v. Nova game has huge implications for Pitt's basketball program.  Over the past 5 years, I have felt that our program has gone largely unnoticed and disrespected by most analysts.  I have a variety of theories to explain the lack of respect we receive, ranging from playing in a small city to the insane amount of success experienced by other programs in the Big East to our lack of being able to recruit McDonald's All-Americans to our lack of success in the NBA.  However, when you look at the facts, you'll realize that we've been to 5 Sweet 16s in the past 9 years, have one of the greatest home court advantages in the nation (The Oakland Zoo), and consistently perform well in the best conference in the nation.  Yes, all you ACC readers, the Big East is much better than your conference, and don't give me that shit about we have 4 more teams.  When was the last time the ACC had 4 teams in the Elite 8?  I rest my case.

The thing is, there's definitely a huge distinction between the Elite 8 and the final weekend of the tournament.  No one really remembers the losers of the Elite 8, but you consistently hear about teams reaching the Final 4 (George Mason anyone?) and reaching that plateau absolutely validates your program for years to come.  Pitt absolutely deserves to make this Final Four, to validate everything this program has accomplished over the past decades.  Jamie Dixon is one of the most respected and classiest coaches in the nation, and motivates his players like few others can.

So with all that said, Let's Go Pitt!  I hope you all enjoy the game, unless that is, you're rooting for 'Nova.

- Kaps

Prediction - Pitt 63, Nova 57

Song of the Day:  Blues Traveler - Hook

Wisdom Teeth and Cheat Codes to Life

I was scheduled to get my widsom teeth removed today which meant a couple of things.  Most importantly, I got a day off of work.  It's really sad to say, but I'd prefer to have surgery over spending a day at work.  I was really pumped I was able to have a 4 day week, even if it did mean the extraction of 4 of my teeth with a drill.

Another item that came up throughout this process was an interesting theory that Heath and I developed over the past few weeks.  Heath got his wisdom teeth out a few years back, and was told not to eat anything for hours before the procedure due to complications that could arise with the anesthesia.  He forgot about those doctor's orders and got a muffin and chocolate milk at Wawa around 12:26 AM in the early morning before his procedure.  Heath went through with the surgery regardless, and had one of the smoothest transitions from surgery to normal life.  He didn't have to take any of the pain pills, and was even playing basketball later in the day.

So how does Heath's surgery impact me?  Good question.  As a joke, Heath mentioned that the reason he had such an easy time with the surgery was because of the accidental blueberry muffin and chocolate milk.  A few weeks back, we actually began to ponder if that actually was the reason he didn't experience much pain.  What if, in life, there were actually "cheat codes," that could get people through traditionally difficult situations with relative ease?  That sounds ridiculous, right?  Not so fast.  Anyone remember playing Mortal Kombat or Sonic, and entering a random series of buttons to give yourself unlimited lives or unlock secret levels?  In normal circumstances, they seemed absolutely ridiculous, but they actually worked in enhancing the game experience.   The programmers entered those options on purpose, and we were more than happy to take advantage of them.  Well, what if life's programmer (presumably God or some other higher power) made cheats available in life, but no one ever realized them because they seem so absurd and have no obvious correlation to the activity you're trying to accomplish?  Sounds insane, but it's kind of interesting to think about.

What if the way to cure cancer is to drive your car exactly 10 miles, run around it 7 times yelling "Silly Balls," drink a caramel frappuccino from Starbucks at 3:47 PM on a Thursday, and then watch 3 consecutive episodes of Lost?  You would never realize it because the series of events is so random and has no relation to cancer.  But that's the whole point of cheat codes, they don't make sense and have no relation to what you're actually trying to do.  So the next time something odd or extremely improbable happens in your life, re-trace your steps.  If you know someone who is in the same situation as yourself, tell them to try what you did and see what happens.  You just never know.

Needless to say, last night, at around 12:26 AM, I went to Wawa with Heath and had him pick out a blueberry muffin and chocolate milk for me.  We went back to his house, and I ate and drank away, not knowing what would happen today.  Well, so far, I've had extremely minimal amounts of pain, except for right when I came home from the oral surgeon's office.  I took one pain pill, and I'm not sure how much that is contributing or if it's the chocolate milk and muffin.  While I haven't played basketball or anything like that, I feel absolutely normal except for some minor jaw pain, and definitely feel like I could resume normal life activities tonight.  And come to think of it, I am watching basketball right now (2 boring blowout games between Louisville and Arizona, and also Oklahoma and Syracuse).  Very interesting...

Last item of business related to my surgery is that this was the first time since I was a year old that I had gone under anesthesia.  They told me I was about to go under in about 30 seconds, and I really didn't feel anything.  I was trying to stay awake (absolutely pointless) and was out within seconds.  The next thing I knew, I was in a waiting room with my parents, apparently repeating myself 3 or 4 times.  I guess me repeating myself doesn't only occur when I'm telling strippers how fantastic they smell.  The anesthesia thing was pretty cool because it's not like you're falling asleep and groggy, it's basically just time that is completely lost.  It can best be equated to when you've had a little too much to drink (OK, a lot too much) and you don't remember many hours of the night.  Glad that my surgery was able to bring me back to my college years.  All in all, a pretty successful experience.

You can expect many more posts from me throughout this weekend and this week, since I probably won't leave my couch until Monday morning.  Check back often.  Enjoy.

- Kaps

Song of the Day:  Ludacris - Blueberry Yum-Yum