Welcome to my blog! From time to time, I'll be posting updates, previews from games and sessions or whatever I feel like talking about on here! :-)
Astros Resurrection
Greetings and salutations all, I hope this finds everyone well. Things have been rather busy, but with summer here, I can expect things to slow down a great deal, which will be beneficial with a busy fall ahead. The spring saw me cover a lot of baseball, much more than I have this time last year. And a bit of my time has been spent at Minute Maid park, home of the first-place Houston Astros. No, that’s not a misprint and I am not inebriated. As of this entry (June 2nd), the Houston Astros are in first place in the American League West division. Not only are they in first place in the AL West, as of this entry, they have the best record in the American League overall (and are percentage points behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the best record in baseball altogether).
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Though the 2015 season is only at the one-third mark, it’s an incredible accomplishment for a franchise that had lost 100+ games three of the last four seasons. And it’s been pretty fun watching this young team grow together, led by the timely hitting of Jose Altuve and the solid pitching of Dallas Keuchel. (Oh, and speaking personally, it’s also been fun shooting the games with “new” equipment on hand, improving the image quality and results.) With four months left to the season, it will be very interesting to see if the Astros can keep this pace up and win the division, or in lieu of that, qualify for the playoffs as a wild card (either way, making the playoffs for the first time since 2005). But as it stands now, they are the most interesting story in baseball thus far.
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Anyways with that, thanks for reading my blog, and I hope to have another entry online very soon. Thank you all for your support, and until next time, fare thee well.
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Four Days in March......Survive and Advance
Greetings to all, I hope this finds you well. Once again, I do apologize for a lack of entries lately, but the beginning of the year proved to be busy once again, especially the month of February. A lot has been going on, but things should slow down with my basketball coverage for the year now completed.
The month of March is always an exciting month, with the NCAA Basketball tournaments starting up, and the road to “March Madness” begins with conference tournaments. And last week, I was out in Katy, TX for the Southland Conference basketball tournament, covering the Lady Huskies of Houston Baptist University. A quick recap, after a rollercoaster season in which their best player was lost for the year with a knee injury, HBU won on the final day of the regular season to qualify for the Southland tournament as the #8-seeded team. Despite being the last team in the tournament field, the Lady Huskies were undaunted as they faced off first against the #5 seed, the McNeese State Cowgirls on Thursday, March 12. After building a 17-point first half lead, the Huskies had to hold on down the stretch to pull out a 70-68 upset victory, stunning the favored Cowgirls and advancing to the quarterfinals. The Huskies pulled out another upset the next day, defeating the #5-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 49-48, advancing to the semi-finals. (Personal note: Due to prior commitments, I was unable to attend and cover the quarterfinal matchup, hence no photos, many apologies.)
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In the last four on Saturday, HBU faced their biggest test, the top-seeded Stephen F. Austin Lady Lumberjacks, the winners of the regular season title, led by Porsha Roberts, the conference’s player of the year AND defensive player of the year. The already daunting task for the Lady Huskies looked to be impossible when they fell behind by as many as 18 points in the first half. However, a hot shooting run saw them cut the deficit to four points by halftime, 41-37. The Huskies continued their torrid shooting in the second half while mixing in some timely stops on defense, limiting Roberts to only six points (on one made basket) in the second half. The end result was an upset for the ages as Houston Baptist won, 88-81, to advance to the tournament final. Without exaggeration, it was the best college basketball game, men’s or women’s, that I’ve ever covered. It wasn’t just the comeback that was memorable, it was the way it happened, along with the atmosphere of the arena AS it happened. For example, in the second half, members of the Northwestern State band (in attendance for their semifinal against Lamar) actually went to the HBU student section and cheered for the Huskies. Even the Lamar fans who were in attendance were cheering for HBU as the game came down to the wire.
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With confidence at an all-time high and local and national media now attentive, HBU faced off against the #6-seeded Lady Demons of Northwestern State in the championship game on Sunday afternoon. Sadly, after a back-and-forth first half, the Cinderella Huskies ran out of steam as a cold-shooting performance doomed them to a 58-50 defeat. Despite the setback, two members of the squad made it to the All-Tournament Team, and interest in the program has never been higher. And it was symbolic of two things: 1) March Madness will always be awesome, even the conference tournaments, where a long-shot can ride a wave of momentum to glory multiple times; and 2) In March, much like in life, it takes more than talent to succeed, it takes passion, heart and perseverance, even in the face of nearly certain defeat. It takes all those things to survive, advance and succeed in any venture, especially in basketball and especially in the month of March.
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Thanks again for reading my blog, and I hope to have a new entry soon. Until then, thank you for the support and fare thee well.
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The duality of the wolf
Greetings to all of you, I hope this finds you well amidst the bustle of the holiday season, wherever you are.
As the calendar winds down on 2014, and with a break in my work schedule, I've been looking backwards, not just on this year, but on the last few years in my life. More than anything, I've been looking back at November 2012, which was a critical juncture in my professional and personal exploits. I hated where I was in my life, yet a chance to change it all presented itself and I took it. I wanted to change my life, and I did in many ways and I don’t regret any of it for a second, even though many people who were present in my life two years ago are long gone. Rather than bemoan or prolong this pity party and such, all I have to say is this:
Don’t let yourself be anyone’s physical or emotional punching bag EVER. Never take any form of abuse in the name of “friendship”. If you have a dream, don’t let anyone defecate on it because their dreams and ambition don’t match yours. If you do have a dream, honestly pursue it with all your strength and passion and don’t let up until you attain it…..even if it means pushing everyone you hold dear away.
While I’m not a firm believer in astrology and the zodiac, I looked up the Chinese zodiac and 2015 is the Year of the Sheep, the sheep being a symbol of peace and tranquility. While that is commendable and I do wish for peace for the world and this country, for me, 2015 will be the Year of the Wolf. I love wolves, such mysterious yet deadly beasts, capable of beauty and savagery, be it alone or in a pack. And that’s my thoughts for the end of the year. If you have a dream, a passion, and you want to attain it, be a wolf and do it. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals along the way, or go it alone, but do it as best you can, with beauty or viciousness. Humans only get one life to life, go on and live it……with the heart of a wolf.
And that’s it, for the end of the year. Season’s greetings, many blessings, and best wishes to all of you. Until 2015, fare thee well.
"The Longest Day"
Greetings and salutations, I hope this finds everyone well today. I apologize for a lack of entries, but life has been a rollercoaster ever since the end of July, when regular work started back up for me. But things are tootling along at a breakneck pace. This past weekend was no exception as I had five assignments to cover over a three-day period. The hardest day over that stretch was on Saturday, as I had two football games to cover. While I love football, shooting one game a day is a sincere physical investment. TWO games in one day can be daunting, and that was the task that I faced 48 hours ago.
First up at 11a was Rice University hosting the Mean Green of North Texas at Rice Stadium. After a shaky first half, the Owls kicked it into gear in the second on BOTH sides of the ball, scoring 27 unanswered points to win 41-21 for their fourth straight win. The game was a bit fun, despite unseasonable warm conditions. Seriously, 86 degrees in late October was BS, but it’s Houston, so it should be expected, right?
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Anyways, after editing and image delivery, I packed up my gear and headed to Houston Baptist University for their 7p game against the Nicholls State Colonels. By arrival time (3:30p), I was already feeling the effects from the first game, as I had a slight headache and a sick stomach, to go with sore legs. But I got some quick rest and got ready for the nightcap. In the game, the HBU Huskies hammered Nicholls State on the ground, rushing for over 260 yards, as they rallied in the fourth quarter to win, 31-21. The win was HBU’s first home win in the program’s infantile history and their first Southland Conference victory as well. To say that Saturday was a long day would be an understatement. My day started at 6:30a, and I didn’t make it back home until 11:30p. Long days can be common no matter the profession, but a 16-hour day speaks for itself. But honestly, while Saturday was nothing short of a marathon for me, I would gladly take it over not having anything to do at all.
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The entire weekend has made me realize how far I’ve come in the last two years, as a photographer and a man. I never realized how capable I am of doing what I have been, and while my has involved some painful choices, those changes have been necessary because they paved the road for better times and greater adventures……and the occasional 16-hour day on the gridiron. To those I left behind (well, MOST of them), thank you for your understanding and support.
Anyways, that’s all I’ve got for now. Many thanks, many blessings to you all. Until next time, fare the well.
The Klinsmann Effect and Professional Trolling
Ever since the start of the FIFA World Cup this month, I’ve had this entry in mind. Well, it’s been on my mind for nearly eight years, seriously. The US National Team has advanced to the Round of 16 and nationwide excitement over the team and the tournament has been amazing. Aside from the players, the team has had a major identity shift thanks to their head coach, German-born Jurgen Klinsmann. (Quick bio, Klinsmann was the head coach of the German national team in 2006, leading them to a 3rd-place finish. And his playing career was a decorated one, winning the Cup as a player with West German in 1990.) As the Cup has progressed, he has proven to be a great coach…….which makes U.S. Soccer’s decision to hire him in 2011 all the more puzzling.
Back in December 2006, there were reports that Klinsmann had accepted the USA head coaching job, but the reports were quashed and such, and those reports surfaced after the US’s disastrous World Cup campaign, being eliminated in the Group Stage. And over the next five years, US Soccer was a roller coaster, with a lot of downs along the way (the 2010 World Cup loss to Ghana, the 2009 and 2001 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final defeats to Mexico and the collapse in the 2009 Confederations Cup Final to Brazil). After the World Cup in 2006, it was clear that the US National team needed to go in a different direction, so it’s still bothersome to me that US Soccer didn’t hire Klinsmann then, especially with what he’s done since taking over and with a roster in transition. And not just with his team and the pundits, the energy he’s brought overall has been rather infectious and humorous. (Attached below is a “sick note” he penned to American employers on the eve of the USA-Germany Group Stage match on June 26.) It may be sycophantic to give such glowing praise to one person, but Klinsmann has been a definite shot in the arm, not just for the national team, but for soccer in America overall. All the watch parties nationwide and massive television ratings can attest to that.
Which brings me to Ann Coulter……..how and why, you ask? Well, in the aftermath of the US-Germany match, Coulter brought herself into the spotlight, essentially denigrating soccer fans nationwide, saying “any growing interest in soccer can only be a sign of the nation’s moral decay.” She also added that in soccer, “there’s no “prospect of either personal humiliation or major injury” and that soccer is only popular in the country “because of the demographic switch effected by Teddy Kennedy’s 1965 immigration law.” After reading it in full, I was nauseatingly amused by her remarks, and that’s saying something considering her track record, especially in the wake of her “trolling” Michelle Obama just a few months ago. Rather than dissect the ignorance and hate spewed out by Miss Coulter, I’ll just address it with the retouched pic below, a pic of Miss Coulter herself:
In short, I am enjoying the World Cup and the progress the US National Team has made under Jurgen Klinsmann, the confidence to dig in and fight and win games that they normally would have lost, and that progression has been great for the game domestically overall. Soccer may never unseat one of the “Big Four” in the US, but it’s growing more and more, and I do appreciate that. It’s a shame that in some circles it’s met with such divisive and juvenile vitriol. But that is the world, isn’t it?
Anyways, this has gone on long enough, so thanks for entertaining me. Best wishes for a great end of the World Cup over the next two weeks. Until next time, thank you and fare thee well.