I shall return!

Because of the Olympics, my work schedule got all screwed up, so that's why I haven't been blogging.

And now I'm heading to Little Rock to visit my sister Sue, who is doing OK, considering everything. I was going to wait until Thanksgiving, but thought I should go now, especially since Cheryl and Val are going to be there, along with Sammy's brother Burt. I fly out tomorrow and return late Sunday night.

That also means I won't be going to the Gay World Series in Seattle. Bummed about that, but I can play softball anytime.

So when I return you can look forward to updates on the Cubs, Big Brother 10 (buh-bye Jessie, Libra and April), the new teams of The Amazing Race, and I guess I'll have to mention the Olympics (hello, Michael Phelps? Usain Bolt?)

In the meantime, have a good week and I'll see you all after Labor Day!

Seattle, here I come

Well, it's official: I will be traveling to Seattle to play for Cobalt Big Blue in the 2008 Gay Softball World Series. Reservations are set.

I'll miss one day of round-robin play, but will get there on Tuesday night, Aug. 26 in time to at least play in Wednesday's round-robin games. If not, I wouldn't be eligible for double-elimination, which starts Thursday.

I'm hoping Ed might be able to come too. His brother has a free ticket on JetBlue that he has to use soon -- it would be nice to take a short vacation together, even if it does involve softball (deep down, I think he likes being with all the people, especially those that don't play).

Anyway, I hope I can help Cobalt. I think they asked me because they think I might be able to do just that. Or they just needed a warm body. In any case, I'm getting pumped.

Check out the Seattle World Series site here.

The photo above is from Saturday's CAPS All-Star Game. We -- the A/B Division All-Stars -- beat a spirited C Division 12-10 in eight innings. We actually trailed 5-1 in the fifth inning before getting our butts in gear. And the C team, which included several Cobalt players, didn't give up either, tying the game in the seventh. That's me on the bottom far right.

More to come as the big trip approaches ...

Softball season ends -- maybe

Well, this weekend was the official end of my softball season. Probably. Maybe. Possibly.

My work team's season ended in early July. My gay softball team Nitro ended the season as the B Division champions of the Chesapeake and Potomac Softball league (CAPS), but we're not going to the World Series in Seattle at the end of August. There were too many people who couldn't go, so we just decided to let the Disturbance, which won the B Division at the World Series a couple of years ago, go in our stead.

The season-ending party was held at Nellies Sports Bar in Washington. Ed and I had never been there before, but we had a great time. It's just too bad we live so far away because we'd definitely go there more often if we could.

Anyway, another CAPS team, Cobalt, has asked me to go to Seattle to play with them. Ed and I have talked about it a bit, and while I think he'd rather I didn't go, I think he's OK with it. Who knows how many more World Series I'll be going to? I know next year's Series is in Milwaukee (OK, I like Milwaukee, but how in the world did Milwaukee outbid Chicago???) so there's a chance I could end up going there. So if I can swing the days off and finagle a plane ticket (we have a plan for that too), then I'm off for the Great Northwest.

Ed and I have talked a lot lately about my retirement, which is coming sooner than I'd like to admit. I'll definitely play next year for work and probably a last season with a gay team (Nitro? Capitol Punishment? Cobalt?) before I call it quits. Ed has put up with a lot of softball over the past almost 17 years, and it's time I started giving some of that back to him.

An interesting next few days and weeks are on the way.

A double whammy

Well, my work softball team did not make the playoffs/tournament, the first time in about 10 years that I'll be sitting home instead of playing at Cabin John in the middle of July.

Oh well, it was a good run. We won back-to-back titles, and three of the last five. Despite two convincing victories in our season finales -- 16-0 over Discovery Channel and 14-9 over AOL -- we lost out on a tiebreaker to Team Video, which beat us on opening day. And a 7-7 finish is much nicer than 5-9 or 6-8. We'll be back for another run next year, in what could be my softball swan song. We'll see.

Check out the Media League website here.

And another OUCH. The White Sux beat the Cubs again yesterday 6-5, and will now pull their own brooms in hopes of sweeping. Tonight's game is on ESPN, which is shocking. Hard to believe they're passing up the Yankees-Mets. Uggh.

At least if the Cubs lose again, they'll still be in first place in the NL Central as they head for San Francisco and then St. Louis. Big stretch of games coming up before the All-Star break.

Gotta keep the momentum going ...

The frustration mounts ...

My work softball team is driving me nuts. We're the two-time defending champions of the MMSL, but you'd never know it by the way we've played lately.

We are 5-7, with a week to go in the regular season, and believe it or not we still have a shot at the playoffs/tournament. If we can sweep past Discovery Channel and AOL this weekend, and get some help, we could conceivably sneak in.

We lost twice this past Saturday. The first game was the most maddening. We trailed WTTG most of the game, but scored four in the fifth inning to take a 7-6 lead. Going into the bottom of the final inning, we still led 7-6, but Channel 5 had loaded the bases with one out. But we got exactlly what we wanted -- a grounder to short, the force at second and the out at first -- NO, WAIT! SHE DIDN'T JUST DROP THE BALL! PICK IT UP! THE WINNING RUN IS ABOUT TO SCORE!

And it did. Just like that, from instant victory to instant defeat. I can't recall a more frustrating loss. And I knew we'd drop the second game to WRC. The carryover from the first game was just too much to overcome and we lost 8-3. I can't remember the last time we got swept either. Very tough weekend.

Oh well. We have to sweep this weekend. Even if we don't get in the tournament, we can at least go out with a .500 record. As the two-time defending champs, we have to at least do that.

That's me at left ...

I'm at a loss ...

Well my work softball team in the Metropolitan Media Softball League is driving me nuts. We had a great first game yesterday, an 18-1 victory against post.com, then had one bad inning in a 7-5 loss to the Gazette. A couple of errors, a couple of walks and some timely hitting in the sixth inning plated five runs, proving to be the difference.

I really thought we had turned the corner by our performance in the first game and the way we started the second game. But, here we are 4-4, about halfway through the season. It also didn't help that it was about 98 degrees in the Washington, D.C. area yesterday.

We'll have to suck it up and try again next week. Onward and upward.

My other team, NITRO, isn't playing today, and has decided not to try and qualify for the NAGAAA softball World Series. A bit of discontent has reared its ugly head, I think, and the econony has reared its ugly head. Gas is too expensive airfare too high for people these days. Add the fact that you have to take a week off, and you'll end up spending more than $2,000.

Ah, but it is in Seattle. Oh well. Ed and I will definitely visit there again.

At least the Cubs haven't let me down ...

... I can't say the same about my work softball team.

I really thought we had a pretty good chance for a three-peat in the Media League, but I'm beginning to have my doubts.

We are 3-3 after our third consecutive split. We could easily be 5-1 or even 6-0, but sporadic hitting and terrible defense have cost us several games.

Oh well. The Cubs won again yesterday, beating the Rockies 5-4, and have now won six consecutive games. The Cubs also own the best record in baseball. In an ironic twist, the last time the Cubs entered June 1 with the best record in baseball was 1908 -- the last year the Cubs won a World Series.

Hmmm. Destiny awaits. I think.

And the Cubs? Another victory today against the Colorado Rockies. That's seven in a row, with a trip to the West Coast up next. Bring it on ...

Wow, it has been a while ...

More than a month since my last blog. Sorry about that.

Been pretty busy though. For example:

*Went back to Little Rock to see my sister Sue, pictured, who considering everything, is doing pretty good. She still needs to gain some weight, but all in all, not bad. Doesn't she look cute with that short hair and glasses?

*My sister Brenda graduated from college, which was the main reason for the trip to Little Rock in the first place. She and mom are the only college grads in the family. Congrats!

*Went to Philadelphia last weekend with my Nitro softball team. Not a good weekend. Oh Philly is OK, had a great time while we were there. But we just didn't play all that well. Went 1-2 in round-robin, and actually had a chance to win all three. But we went 2 and out in the double-elimination, scoring a grand total of three runs. In slow-pitch softball. Ouch.

*My work softball team, however, is 2-2. We get back in action this Saturday, weather permitting. We've had two Saturday's rained out in the past month.

So there you have it. I'm back.

Back on the diamond ...

... Well, the Metropolitan Media Softball League started this past Saturday, and my work team split a doubleheader. We beat Comcast Sports Net 14-7 and lost to Team Video 10-6.

Two totally different games. We hit well, pitched well and played very good defense in the first game. But the second game was the total opposite. We jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but walks, bad defense and cold bats doomed us.

We're back at it this week against AOL and the Washington Times, our division rivals. Check out the website. The MMSL does a really good job.

My gay team, NITRO, got the season started this weekend in Philadelphia. Our league season begins the first weekend in May. Hopefully the weather will continue to cooperate. It was in the 80s over the weekend before the monsoons hit yesterday.

The World Series is in Seattle this year. Would love to go back. A beautiful city. But my silly work schedule could get in the way. Policy has it that nobody is allowed off during the Olympics, which is silly and stupid. We'll see what happens. Luckily the Olympics end the same weekend as the opening of the Series.

I could really have something to blog about come August ...

Spring around the house

Ed and I have gotten a lot done around the outside of the house. He's been planting and doing stuff of that nature (he's also the resident firebuilder) while I've been cleaning the gutters, doing poop patrol and raking leaves.

We put the deck table out and cleaned the umbrella, though in some places you really can't tell. The birds around here eat a lot of red berries, and when they poop they poop red. And it stains just about everything it falls on.

Our neighbor Phyllis gave me another lighthouse, too. This one also seems to be an antique, and it came in four pieces that we had to glue together.

Josh and I got out and threw the softball around and went to the batting cages. A little sore today, but it's a good sore that I expected after getting in my first softball action of the spring. I'd like to be able to get out and at least throw the ball around as much as possible in the next few weeks.

And we're only two weeks away from the start of baseball, less than that for the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. Let the games begin.

I'm just a rambler ...

*My neighbor in back of us, Phylis, gave us an old lighthouse that looks like an antique. I love lighthouses -- we have two in the front yard, one being a bird feeder. Phylis is very nice. She and Ed and have bonded in the past over plants.

*I want to go bowling, but nobody wants to go with me. Maybe Josh does. Ed doesn't seem to want to. We used to be in a league, for several years actually. But now it's kind of pain, considering where we live and all. I've got about a 160 average. Which doesn't compare to my softball friend Bobby's 200 or sister Cheryl, who probably comes in close to that. Bitches.

*Ed doesn't want to see 2007 Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men either. That's OK. I pre-ordered it on iTunes, and it is supposed to arrive tomorrow. Josh and I will give it a look this weekend probably. Ed will probably watch too, though he says only because it'll be on in the same room. He likes the Coen Brothers, so I think he'll like this too. I just hope I'm not in for a big disappointment.

*Is the weather ever going to change? After last week's near-Tornado, we had more heavy rain and winds this weekend. And it's snowing everywhere in the country but here. I like winter, but even I'm getting tired of this crap. Bring on spring for God's sake.

*Softball is just around the corner. I'll continue to coach my work team that plays on Saturday mornings for as long as they'll have me, but this will probably be the last year I play for my gay team NITRO, which plays on Sunday afternoons. Believe it or not, I've decided there are other things to do with my weekends.

Did I just say that? I must be feverish ...

Cruisin'...

Three weeks from today Ed and I will be on the Celebrity Century, cruising on our way to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. From there it's on to the Cayman Islands before the return trip to Miami.

Can't wait. I've been driving Ed crazy about hotel rooms before and after the trip, constantly going to the website to check prices (we really got a pretty good deal -- 5 nights, $309 each, not counting excursions, gratuties, etc.). Before the trip was listed as SOLD OUT this morning, Inside Staterooms were going for as high as $800 at one point! They did come back down before selling out.

Anyway, we're going to to a zipline tour excursion in Jamaica. It'll probably be as close as I ever get to actually doing The Amazing Race. In Grand Cayman, we're going to do a Jeep 4x4 adventure. We did one in Cozumel on our first cruise. If this one is anything like that one, it's going to be a blast.

This will probably be our only vacation/big trip this year. Money's going to be a bit tighter since we've had some work done on the house ... and with layoffs/buyouts at work, I think we're going to have to keep a closer eye on the bottom line.

I haven't even decided yet if I'm going to play softball this year. Oh I'm going to definitely play/coach on my work team, but I'm wavering on my Sunday Gay league team, NITRO. I really like the team and those guys will always be my best friends. But you just have to wonder how long the window's going to be open for us to ever win the NAGAAA Gay World Series. We thought we'd have done it by now. Oh well. We'll see.

But you know what? It's too soon to be thinking softball. Our cruise awaits -- and then hopefully about two feet of snow when we get back...then I'll worry about playing with balls.

Timmy the tumor

Well, it's been almost a week and the thumb is feeling pretty good, as you can see by the picture. Had the giant cell tumor removed last week. I head back to the doctor on Wednesday and hope to have the stitches removed then.

I was awake during the whole procedure, which took about a half-hour. Didn't feel a thing, which is good. And while I wanted to watch, or at least catch a peek, they wouldn't let me. Oh well.

They said it would be up to me as far as how soon I wanted to get back to playing softball. Fall ball begins soon, with the Gay World Series in Phoenix just around the corner in early October.

The thumb is stronger than I thought it would be, so I don't think it'll be long before I'll be swinging a bat again.

Not soon enough, I'll tell you that...

We are the champions -- again!

Well, my USA TODAY softball team won the championship of the Metropolitan Media Softball League for the second consecutive year this weekend.

We entered as the No. 8 seed and rolled through our competition, beating CNN 11-7 in the championship game. We went 5-0 in the tournament, avenging all of our regular-season losses in the process (AP, Team Video, Comcast SportsNet, AOL -- twice -- and CNN). It was a great weekend, winning the title after a 10-6 regular-season, and when I think many of the other teams thought we were vulnerable, especially after we won last year as the No. 1 seed.

I did get hurt -- what else is new? In the fifth inning while running the bases, as I headed into third base I pulled my right hamstring. I was so upset, especially because I had already had 2 hits and 2 RBI. But I knew whoever I put in there would do just fine, and I was right.

CNN made it close, scoring twice in the seventh inning, and had the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate. But a bounce-back to the pitcher ended it, and we took back-to-back titles, only the third team in MMSL history to do that.

So my softball season is officially over, as I go into surgery for the tumor on my thumb tomorrow (Ed and I named him Timmy). Timmy, it was nice knowing you for the past two years. Parting is such sweet sorrow -- NOT!

I'll be raring to go for the Gay World Series in Phoenix in October. Can't wait.

If it's not one thing it's another ...

... My softball nickname isn't Dora -- as in Dumb -- for nothing. Something always seems to be going on or wrong when it involves softball or picking up a hammer. And those two things have nothing in common except that I got hurt doing both this weekend.

My work softball team finished the regular-season 10-6, and is the No. 8 seed in the MMSL tournament July 14-15. I think it's a great finish and not a bad seed. But I was hurt in the second game Saturday, pulling my left calf muscle when I hit a divot in left field chasing a foul fly. Two days later and it feels like a bad charley horse. I have no doubt I'll be ready for our four games this weekend in my gay league.

Then, yesterday I was helping Ed with the Deck-O-Vation and hammered my left-flip off finger. It's swollen and blue today.

Now if I can just find somebody to flip off... Maybe Ed, since he went out and bought a new iPhone...

Softball's boys (and girls) of summer

It's almost July, so as one season starts to wind down, the other is going strong and probably will be well into the fall.

My work team started the season 0-3, but we then won eight in a row before getting our butts handed to us last week by AOL in a 15-1 loss. I've coached the USA TODAY team for more than 10 years and I can't ever remember us getting beaten that badly. I just hope we got it out of our system now, before the MMSL tournament gets here.

But we have to get there first. We have two games this weekend, but our numbers are not good at all because of a company golf tournament. I guess if there was a week for this to happen, it's this one because we finish the season with division games against AOL and the Washington Times, two great rivals.

As for my gay league team, DC Nitro, we are going to the Gay World Series, which is in Phoenix this year. It was moved to October (it's usually played in August) to avoid the heat. THANK GOD!!

Check out the Phoenix softball website. It's a good one.

Softball Sunday

Opening day in my gay softball league was not a good one. Frustrating to be exact.

My team, NITRO, lost twice. The team we have to beat to advance to the World Series, DC Disturbance (I like to call them the Disturbed) came back from an 8-0 deficit and a 12-5 deficit to beat us 14-13. We then lost to my old team, the DC Metz, 15-9.

The Disturbed do it to us every time. Seems like we get out to a big lead only to let them back in the game when our butts pucker up late in the game. The same thing happend in our Word Series qualifier a couple of years ago. But that may have been fate -- the Disturbed went on to win the B Division of the World Series that year in San Diego.

Not a good start for a team I consider one of the best I've played on. The World Series is in Phoenix this year, but if we don't come together soon, I'll be making plans for something else to do that first week of October.

Softball Opening Day (kind of)

The first of my two Opening Days for softball happened Saturday, with mixed results. My USA TODAY work team lost a heart-breaker in our first game against CNN, losing 7-6 when CNN scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, all after two were out.

But we bounced back to win the second game 5-4, beating ABC News with a three-run rally of our own in the bottom of the sixth inning.

That makes us -- the defending champions -- 1-3. Not the start I wanted or hoped for. But I think we'll be just fine.

Check out the MMSL website here.

My next Opening Day is next Sunday when NITRO begins its 2007 season. Can't wait. I think we'll be pretty good this season (we say that every year). We have a different attitude and new uniforms -- you can never go wrong with new unies. Hopefully I'll have a picture to post after next week's games.

We'll be traveling to Philadelphia for Memorial Day. We were supposed to go to Chicago for July 4, but that tournament has been cancelled. Oh well.

The big tournament for us, though, is the NAGAAA World Series, which this year is in Phoenix in October.

Thank God. Could you imagine Phoenix in August, when the World Series is usually held?

Softball forfeit

I hate to forfeit softball games. Hate it.

While Ed and were running in the Urban Dare on Saturday, my work team was opening the season in the Metropolitan Media Softball League, where we are the defending champions.

Well, we didn't have enough women (it's a 7 men, 3 women league), but league rules specify that you can borrow or loan another team enough players to play the game. Which makes sense. You give up about 4 hours of a beautiful Saturday, driving around the Capital Beltway, and want to have something to show for it.

Well, the first team we played was cool with that, but the second team we played said they would not loan us a woman player (you can play with 2, we had 1), so we had to forfeit. Granted, it is their right not to loan us a player, but it totally goes against the spirit of the league.

That's all fine and dandy. It's going to come back and bite them in the ass when we end up defending our championship.

Talk about motivation -- they've gone and pissed off the wrong team.

The photo is of me during last year's tournament.

Updates to follow.

Back to reality

Now that the vacation is over and Josh has gone home, it's full-bore back to the gym.

Had another nice workout today. Stepped on the scale when I got home and I'm now at 171. I've lost 18 pounds since Jan. 16. Pretty proud of that. Especially since we ate like pigs on the cruise. I'm aiming for another 5-10 so I can be between 160-165 by the time softball starts April 21.

Speaking of Josh -- it was really nice to see him and get him out of Arkansas for a while. I think he really enjoyed watching the dogs while we were gone, especially Zoe -- Zoe was actually named Origami when Josh and Brenda had him. I felt bad for him though because he was sick a couple of days. He's got a skin condition called cellulitis that really knocks him out when it hits. He was feeling pretty good, though, by the time he left, and he was able to see some sights in D.C. while he was here.

He's talking about coming back and possibly even moving here. We'll see.