Sorry to report the George Mason baseball team didn't make the post-season tournament after all. The Patriots needed to sweep Towson last weekend to get there and didn't. Still, it was a fun season. Dan got to play a good bit down the stretch and we made some new friends among the parents.
So now it's off to summer baseball, as Dan will be playing for the Loudoun County, Va.-based TC Twins in the National Adult Baseball Association D.C. Wood Bat League. First game is tonight and for once no travel is involved. The game is at Potomac Falls High, a half mile from our front door, under the lights at 7:45.
****
Great weekend just passed. Went to Long Island and Mary, Megan and I hooked up with Katie and Nick and Dave to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our favorite aunt and uncle -- George and Bernice Muller. We also went to a party celebrating the second birthday of grand-niece Angie and then went to a hotel in Plainview to celebrate Mary's birthday. Great to be together and have some quality family time.
Only bad part was way too much driving -- about 12 hours round trip. Ouch.
****
Sadly, the next bit of family time was in Richmond Monday at the funeral of cousin Kathy Kirk, who died way too young of a brain tumor at the age of 59. Mary, Megan and I attended. As sad as the occasion was, a nice job was done celebrating Kathy's life, and we did get to see some family members we haven't seen in some time.
RIP, Kathy. You'll be missed.
****
Personal notes aside, I am pumped that the 2014 Super Bowl will be played at the new Meadowlands Stadium. It's worth a role of the dice on possible bad weather. Most years in the past five, it'd been just fine, with temps in the 40s and even 50s.
Now all I need is for the Jets to be playing in it -- and OK, maybe the Giants too.
Later.
5.18.2010
A magic moment well earned
The score was tied 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth inning.
George Mason University was hosting VCU in a big Colonial Athletic Association baseball game - big at least for Mason, which had already lost to VCU on Friday and was in need of a victory to keep its post-season playoff hopes alive.
Up to the plate stepped Dan Lyons, who'd gotten an all-too rare start this sunny Saturday afternoon.
Dan, always a above average defensive catcher, was already having a pretty good game, having blooped an RBI single to right to give Mason a 4-2 lead at the time and having thrown out a runner at second.
But a throw on another steal attempt in the top of the sixth had hit the runner and ended up in center field while a run scored -- an occupational hazard for a catcher throwing to second base.
So now, with the score tied, Dan came up with one out and nobody on.
On the second pitch of the at-bat, he timed a fastball perfectly and drove the ball hard and long to left field.
It was going to be an extra base hit. But might it clear the fence for a home run?
"Get out, get out" I shouted, as if the ball was open to direction.
The outfielder turned, hoping for a play. He looked -- but didn't even jump.
It was gone. Dan had slugged his first college baseball home run.
Later, Dan would say he knew it was gone, but he'd run hard out of the batters box because he didn't want it to "look like" he thought it was gone.
By the time he neared second base, though, it was outta here and he slowed down to a home run trot he'd last used in serious competition at Mount Olive (N.J.) High School.
He clearly hadn't forgotten how to do it.
The Mason dugout emptied and approached home plate, A happy sequence of high fives and fist pounds ensued.
In the stands behind home plate, there were additional high fives between Mary and me, as well with surrounding parents who knew that it was a special moment.
"That's Dan Lyons' first career home run for George Mason," the PA announcer said loud and clear.
Yeah, we already knew that.
What a great moment! Nearing the end of his first season at Mason after two disappointing ones at The College of New Jersey, Dan had done very well in a back-up role, hitting over .300 and playing solid defense whenever given the opportunity.
An injury now has given him this unexpected start, and this was how he had responded.
Unfortunately, that 6-5 lead didn't hold up in the end, so the go-ahead home run didn't have the kind of impact we and fans of storybook ending would have preferred.
But it was a moment Dan, Mary and me will have forever.
Sweet!
Later.
George Mason University was hosting VCU in a big Colonial Athletic Association baseball game - big at least for Mason, which had already lost to VCU on Friday and was in need of a victory to keep its post-season playoff hopes alive.
Up to the plate stepped Dan Lyons, who'd gotten an all-too rare start this sunny Saturday afternoon.
Dan, always a above average defensive catcher, was already having a pretty good game, having blooped an RBI single to right to give Mason a 4-2 lead at the time and having thrown out a runner at second.
But a throw on another steal attempt in the top of the sixth had hit the runner and ended up in center field while a run scored -- an occupational hazard for a catcher throwing to second base.
So now, with the score tied, Dan came up with one out and nobody on.
On the second pitch of the at-bat, he timed a fastball perfectly and drove the ball hard and long to left field.
It was going to be an extra base hit. But might it clear the fence for a home run?
"Get out, get out" I shouted, as if the ball was open to direction.
The outfielder turned, hoping for a play. He looked -- but didn't even jump.
It was gone. Dan had slugged his first college baseball home run.
Later, Dan would say he knew it was gone, but he'd run hard out of the batters box because he didn't want it to "look like" he thought it was gone.
By the time he neared second base, though, it was outta here and he slowed down to a home run trot he'd last used in serious competition at Mount Olive (N.J.) High School.
He clearly hadn't forgotten how to do it.
The Mason dugout emptied and approached home plate, A happy sequence of high fives and fist pounds ensued.
In the stands behind home plate, there were additional high fives between Mary and me, as well with surrounding parents who knew that it was a special moment.
"That's Dan Lyons' first career home run for George Mason," the PA announcer said loud and clear.
Yeah, we already knew that.
What a great moment! Nearing the end of his first season at Mason after two disappointing ones at The College of New Jersey, Dan had done very well in a back-up role, hitting over .300 and playing solid defense whenever given the opportunity.
An injury now has given him this unexpected start, and this was how he had responded.
Unfortunately, that 6-5 lead didn't hold up in the end, so the go-ahead home run didn't have the kind of impact we and fans of storybook ending would have preferred.
But it was a moment Dan, Mary and me will have forever.
Sweet!
Later.
5.13.2010
Glad they're still coming home
Our two youngest, Dan and Megan, had their last final exams of the college year yesterday. Mary went and picked up Megan, now a sophomore to be at William & Mary, somehow managing to pile all of Megan;s stuff into my not overly large Honda CRV.
Dan, wrapping up his juniorr year, is still in his apartment near George Mason University while the baseball season plays out. Big series at home this weekend against VCU. (We still have a great shot at the Colonial Athletic Association playoffs, to be held in Wilmington, N.C. starting May 27.)
But one way or the other, come June, both will be back, for a little while, living under our Potomac Falls, Va. roof.
That's not a bad thing, despite what some may say.
Sure, there are adjustments they have to make after many months of living on their own. We do want to know where they are going and when they are returning when they leave, who they are with, etc.
And sure there are adjustments we have to make after many months as just the two of us, including an understanding that they are pretty much adults now, will keep different hours and not always be around when we'd want them to be.
But overall, we're happy to have them home and they, past experience has shown us, generally like being there.
Will we get on each other's nerves at times? Absolutely.
But fortunately, we have a family that genuinely likes to be together. Time after time, even our oldest in NJ and PA, who are completely off on their own, have shown they will go out of their way to spend time with us and with each other.
Me too. I've done a lot of drives north to spend time with them ..most recently accepting a last minute invite to meet in Philly to see a Sunday night Mets game. A three-hour drive and a loss of sleep the next morning? No problem.
It's family.
So welcome home Dan and Megan. There's plenty of food in the fridge and your friends are welcome any time.
Just make sure you don't leave dishes in the sink or leave food out in the family room.
Later.
Dan, wrapping up his juniorr year, is still in his apartment near George Mason University while the baseball season plays out. Big series at home this weekend against VCU. (We still have a great shot at the Colonial Athletic Association playoffs, to be held in Wilmington, N.C. starting May 27.)
But one way or the other, come June, both will be back, for a little while, living under our Potomac Falls, Va. roof.
That's not a bad thing, despite what some may say.
Sure, there are adjustments they have to make after many months of living on their own. We do want to know where they are going and when they are returning when they leave, who they are with, etc.
And sure there are adjustments we have to make after many months as just the two of us, including an understanding that they are pretty much adults now, will keep different hours and not always be around when we'd want them to be.
But overall, we're happy to have them home and they, past experience has shown us, generally like being there.
Will we get on each other's nerves at times? Absolutely.
But fortunately, we have a family that genuinely likes to be together. Time after time, even our oldest in NJ and PA, who are completely off on their own, have shown they will go out of their way to spend time with us and with each other.
Me too. I've done a lot of drives north to spend time with them ..most recently accepting a last minute invite to meet in Philly to see a Sunday night Mets game. A three-hour drive and a loss of sleep the next morning? No problem.
It's family.
So welcome home Dan and Megan. There's plenty of food in the fridge and your friends are welcome any time.
Just make sure you don't leave dishes in the sink or leave food out in the family room.
Later.
5.04.2010
I know, I know..it's been a long time
OK, so it's been more than a month since I last posted.
To the legion of people who have clearly not been holding their breath, all I can say is blogging has not yet made it to my priority list.
It should. Both professionally at USA TODAY and personally, I certainly read enough of them during the course of a normal day and week.
But gathering my own thoughts and putting them in writing on any kind of a frequent basis has been a struggle.
I used to write a weekly Sunday column at the Daily Record in Morris County, N.J.. But that's been three years now (as of May 14) and I have not missed that as much as I once thought I might.
Maybe it's because I no longer have young kids around providing endless fodder for commentary.
Maybe it's because it's no longer part of my job.
Whatever, let's just say I've not been motivated.
I got to thinking this week that it would be a good idea to make myself get back in gear on this writing thing.
Millions of people, for reasons passing understanding. think it's worth sharing their daily thoughts.
I'm not about to go that far. But I am going to try to do this weekly and see how it goes.
For starters, some thought about my experience this past Sunday night attending the Mets-Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
It was a great night, the seats were good, and oldest son Dave and I had a nice dinner at McFadden's before the game.
His boss had given him the tickets, so the price was clearly right.
The Mets got clobbered -- the Phillies scored nine runs in the fourth inning -- so obviously I didn't enjoy that part of it.
the ballpark, I must say, is terrific -- I like it better than most of the new ones. (Though not, of course, better than Citi Field)
But I do have to wonder about the fans. When the Phillies were bombarding the Mets' alleged ace, Johann Santana, for those nine runs, it was clear they were happier about thrashing him than they were about the great things their home team players were doing.
Shane Victorino hits' a grand slam, and almost immediately, a "Johann sucks!" went up. When the Mets have a game like that - not often enough -- I'm all about how our guy or guys did it.
there were other examples -- but in total, a there was a lot more anti-Mets jeering than pro-Phillies cheering all night long.
Seems like some city's fans, despite all their recent success, still have a giant NYC chip on their shoulders.
Later.
To the legion of people who have clearly not been holding their breath, all I can say is blogging has not yet made it to my priority list.
It should. Both professionally at USA TODAY and personally, I certainly read enough of them during the course of a normal day and week.
But gathering my own thoughts and putting them in writing on any kind of a frequent basis has been a struggle.
I used to write a weekly Sunday column at the Daily Record in Morris County, N.J.. But that's been three years now (as of May 14) and I have not missed that as much as I once thought I might.
Maybe it's because I no longer have young kids around providing endless fodder for commentary.
Maybe it's because it's no longer part of my job.
Whatever, let's just say I've not been motivated.
I got to thinking this week that it would be a good idea to make myself get back in gear on this writing thing.
Millions of people, for reasons passing understanding. think it's worth sharing their daily thoughts.
I'm not about to go that far. But I am going to try to do this weekly and see how it goes.
For starters, some thought about my experience this past Sunday night attending the Mets-Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
It was a great night, the seats were good, and oldest son Dave and I had a nice dinner at McFadden's before the game.
His boss had given him the tickets, so the price was clearly right.
The Mets got clobbered -- the Phillies scored nine runs in the fourth inning -- so obviously I didn't enjoy that part of it.
the ballpark, I must say, is terrific -- I like it better than most of the new ones. (Though not, of course, better than Citi Field)
But I do have to wonder about the fans. When the Phillies were bombarding the Mets' alleged ace, Johann Santana, for those nine runs, it was clear they were happier about thrashing him than they were about the great things their home team players were doing.
Shane Victorino hits' a grand slam, and almost immediately, a "Johann sucks!" went up. When the Mets have a game like that - not often enough -- I'm all about how our guy or guys did it.
there were other examples -- but in total, a there was a lot more anti-Mets jeering than pro-Phillies cheering all night long.
Seems like some city's fans, despite all their recent success, still have a giant NYC chip on their shoulders.
Later.
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