"Atta boy, Mikey"

"Atta boy Mikey".... those were the words that resounded the most to me yesterday when watching the Red Sox capture their second World Series Championship over the past 4 years. The words were said to Mike Lowell, Series MVP, as he came into the dugout after hitting a solo homerun in the seventh inning.

When all is said and done baseball is still 'just a game'. Hearing an unknown player or coach say those words to Mike Lowell reminded me of any extremely proud mother, father, aunt, uncle or grandparent congratulating their Mikey for a job well done on any sports field. Of course MLB is not 'just a game' in so many ways. This is big business with a lot of money on the line. But take that away, forget about that, watch how happy the Red Sox are during all four World Series games and you will see that they play baseball as it should be.... a game.

Yesterday's game 4 had all the drama that is made for TV. The red hot Rockies had their back against the walls at their own Coors Field. The starting pitcher for the Red Sox was a young man who only one year ago was receiving treatment for caner and didn't know if he would ever play baseball again. On third base for the Red Sox was a player who is also a cancer survivor and is going to be a free agent at the end of this season. What more could Fox TV ask for.

Due to a very untimely Microsoft Access training course at work I was unable to 'chuck a sickie' for the second time to watch the Red Sox in the post season. If it wasn't for ESPN.com and their game cast showing every pitch on a computer generated field I would have been pulling my hair out. I did concentrate 90% on the course and the remaining 10% was all Red Sox. When I got home I plopped myself down on my couch, grabbed the remote, and hit the play button..... and yes... there it was..... game 4 in all of its DVD glory. Since I already knew the outcome I was able to scan through most of the game and therefore I wasn't subject to the commentary that Fox was sure everyone watching wanted to hear.

I didn't scan from the 7th inning on and even with knowing the score I had nerves and goose bumps. This is just a game right?! When Bobby Kielty hit that home run I pumped my fist in the air just as I did when Jonathan Papelbon threw that 94 mph fastball by the final Colorado Rocky to win the World Series!

I am so happy that for a few weeks in October from 10,000 miles away from Boston, via the modern technologies of the Internet and DVD recorders I was able to be transported back to Boston and experience what Red Sox nation...nation?.... more like Red Sox universe was experiencing!

Now if I can only figure out how to experience the rolling victory celebration!!!!!!

Let's Go SOX!!!!!

Bring on the Rockies! Bring on the Yankee's..... Bring on anyone right now. Even from almost 10,000 miles away I can sense that there is something special in the air in Boston. The Red Sox did what few teams do in any sport. They came back from a 3 -1 game deficit and won the Pennant for the Championship Series in the American League. So now its on to the big time. The World Series..... try explaining to Aussies why we feel we need to call it the World Series and not just the North American Series. My reply is that World Series sounds better!

At 10:00 am Brisbane time on Monday morning I sat myself down on my couch infront of my TV and for the next 4 hours I was blissfully transported via Fox Sports to Boston and to seeing why I love that city so much! Although the first 5 or 6 innings had me barely being able to watch due to nerves the last few innings were complete joy! When Coco Crisp caught that final out and slammed into the Wall I jumped off the couch cheered and did my own little version of the Jonathan Papelbon Red Sox jig!

I knew when we had Kevin Millar throw out the first pitch that it was going to be a special night. He is a great guy with a great sense of humor and he deserves to be a Red Sox in some form or another (player, coach, front office) going forward! He is our good luck charm. We no longer need that midget that Pedro used to have around. That was just strange. Millar is what baseball and Boston is all about.

My new dilemma is to find out how to best follow the World Series. Game 1 is on Thursday morning here in Brisbane. I can't continue to 'chuck sickies' but I will find a way to follow the game. If there is a will there is a way. If there is another elimination game or a chance for the Sox to win the Series then I will change my schedule at work to be able to follow the games. Until then I am going to see about downloading MLB.com and listening to the game via headphones and watching pitch by pitch on ESPN. I warned Sr. Management prior to coming to Australia that if the Sox made the World Series or the Patriots were in the Superbowl my schedule would be changed to allow me to watch. The good news is that my Sr. Management back in Boston were the ones who told me about listening to the games live and where to watch the games in a local Pub!!!

Here's to hoping that we see the Jonathan Papelbon Red Sox jig one more time in the next week or so!

'Love that dirty water...... Boston you're my town!'

Sydney

This past weekend I decided to take the 60 minute flight out of Brisbane Domestic Airport on Qantas and head South to Sydney. Ever since Sydney hosted the Olympics in 2000 this city has been one of the top tourist destinations in the world. After visiting for 3 days I can understand why.

Upon arriving on Friday afternoon the clouds decided to open up with a rain storm that looked as thought it was something only Hollywood could produce with special effects. The rain was coming down so hard and the wind blowing equally hard that it was very difficult to stay dry.... even inside! As most people know airports have large automatic sliding doors to allow easy access to travelers and their luggage. These doors decided to stay wide open and the rain coming down sideways made it very interesting in getting ones luggage. As with most rain that comes down that hard it didn't last too long but the rest of the day and night was raining on and off so I stayed closed to my hotel.

On Saturday I got up early, and walked a few blocks to the Court House Hotel and Bar which is open 24 hrs and has several TV's showing sports 24 hrs a day also. The previous day I arranged with the manager to have to have one of the TV's showing the Red Sox vs Indians. I sat myself down at one of the tables, looked at my watch which said 9:45 am, looked around, looked at the bar and said 'what the hell... the Sox are on' and proceeded up to the bar to order an ice water and a pint of Twooyes Extra Dry. I managed to nurse the pint for all of the game unlike my fellow patrons who I think may have still been there from the night before! After a great Sox win I set out to check out different parts of the city and do some exploring.

On Sunday I really found the true beauty of this city. Its harbor. After walking from my hotel for 30 minutes or so, taking my time with no set schedule, I rounded a corner of a large hotel and saw for the first time one of the iconic symbols of the harbor.... the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Like hearing a singer in concert sing one of their hit songs that you have heard on the radio for years and years and being blown away because you think to yourself 'that is Paul Simon... singing Mrs. Robinson' is the same feeling I got when I saw the bridge. I have seen the bridge since I was young on TV and movies. It is the center of attention each New Year when Sydney has one of the largest firework displays in the world in its harbor. The bridge, unlike the White House in Washington DC, is much larger than one would expect. It carries 8 lanes of traffic and at least 2 rails of trains!

The only thing that could have outshone the bridge was what I saw after walking a few more minutes.... the Sydney Opera House. This building is amazing. No other word can describe it. It is one of the most photographed buildings in the world and again seeing it in person is so different than seeing it in photographs or on screen. The area surrounding the Opera House is beautiful with cafes and shops and gives off an air of arrogance without being too pompous. You know you are in a special place where the best musicians in the world come to play year in and year out.

After doing the whole tourist thing I was back on a plane to Brisbane early Monday morning!

I will be back down in Sydney for 4 days over the Thanksgiving weekend. I am planning on checking out the famous Bondi Beach area and the Blue Mountains which outline this great city!

Mad As A Magpie

Alfred Hitchcock must have spent time in Australia in the Spring, October - November in the Southern Hemisphere, prior to creating his now classic movie 'The Birds'. There is a handsome bird in Australia called the Magpie. The name is not a fitting tribute to how handsome this bird is. I say handsome because pretty isn't the right adjective. This bird is fairly large as compared to Boston indigenous birds. It is the size of a large crow back in Boston. Some get even larger. They have a sleek body similar to the crow but their coloring is a bright white and black. They also have a nice flute like sound that they emit. Now this all sounds like a nice bird right? It is.... unless its Spring time! This is when the Magpies mate, lay their eggs, and care for their chicks. There is nothing like a Magpie guarding its nest and chicks.

I was forewarned by my co-workers and friends I have met not to get too attached to this bird because come Spring time they will attack you if you come within a distance they deem is too close for comfort. I think that I have been crapped on by a bird no more than once in my life and that is one time too many. But that is just bad luck, good luck for the person beside you, but bad luck for you. Since I have been down here I have been swept at by a bird three times. Same location, same bird, same time of day. After the first time I was determined not to change the course I walked to get to the train in the morning. After all, I am a human, the creme de la creme of the animal world. I am smarter, stronger, and more savvy than a mere bird... or so I thought.

The following morning after my first attack I got ready for work, put on my MP3 player, set on some music to get me going and headed off. At about minute 3 of my walk, out of no where, with my music on low came a swishing sound off my left ear, a brush of air from a flying object coming within an inch of my head, and a shadow flying by me faster than a blink of an eye. By the time I gathered my thoughts I saw the culprit. It was a Magpie gliding up to a branch in a graceful swoop as though just dropping off a laser guided bomb and after finishing its sortie was heading back to home base. After checking for any bird waste on me, which is not the Magpies intent, I could only look at this bird now perched on a branch staring me down and say to myself 'Magpie 2; Ernie 0'. I realized that although I was the bigger and I thought the smarter of the two this Magpie has something humans can only dream of: the gift of flight. Being able to fly up on someone from any angle, at alarming speeds in full control, silent, and then at the very last second change your direction to fly within an inch of your target is amazing! Now as I mentioned I only thought I was the smarter of the two.... this same scenario acted itself out one more time me being totally oblivious to the two previous days events. After the 3rd time I had determined that it was easier for me to change my route and let others feel the wrath of this Magpie than it was to deal with it head on.

I was told by coworkers that this Magpie is nice. Some of them don't change direction and fly full speed into your head beak first or claws first. Most people get wounds after a magpie attack! Sometimes I can only shake my head at this country. Here I am in a major city walking down a busy street and I am getting attacked by birds!

After doing some research I found some interesting facts. Here is the link to the page about magpie attacks.... Magpie facts

Thank You ESPN & the New England Patriots

There is a saying that goes something like 'you don't know how much you care for something until its taken away'. That has been my feelings for many things over the past few months. Not only do I miss family and friends I also realized how much I miss the Fall in New England and the fire that is sparked when the Red Sox begin a march to the World Series and the Patriots start their run dominating the NFL. I have been subject to keeping up with all of the sports in Boston via Boston.com. This hasn't been too bad since both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald have great on-line sports articles. But, no matter how much you read and imagine how the games go and see the pictures there is nothing like experiencing the feeling of being in Boston at this time of year. In the movie 'Good Will Hunting' Robin Williams character criticized Matt Damon's character for being able to tell him everything about the Sistine Chapel from what he read in books but you really don't know what its like until you see it with your own eyes and smell what it is like, and experience it in person. It was one of the most powerful scenes of the movie and that is how I feel when I explain the Sox, the Patriots, and Fall in New England to my Aussie friends.

Last Sunday I was flipping through a cable magazine that was sent to me out of boredom due to going to bed too early on Saturday night and waking up too early on Sunday. I came across the ESPN page with Payton Manning on it. Below the picture was a schedule of the upcoming month. I was elated to see the New England Patriots vs Cincinnati Bengals Monday Night Football game was going to be shown live on Tuesday at 10:00 am. Unfortunately due to a four letter word named 'work' I couldn't watch it live, but I did run out to buy a DVD recorder and was determined to see the game.

After setting up the DVD recorder and obsessing over how to time record to a point where I was going through blank DVD's like the Dead Cats go through Planters Punch drinks at the Boat Slip on a hot Summer Afternoon! With confidence that I was all set to go with the recording I checked it one more time then headed out to work.

I normally check Boston.com during the day at work to keep up on events and scores but today I wanted the Pats game to be a total surprise. When I got home I threw down my bag, grabbed my DVD remote and hit the play button.......... and 'YES' success!! I had the whole game recorded and waiting for me to enjoy!

For the next few hours I was transported back to Boston. I wish it was a home game in Foxboro but just seeing familiar sports faces live (well almost) was good enough for me. I had two Cascade Premium Lagers, cooked up some chicken on my Weber Q grill, and had a smile on my face the entire time. Of course the smile was due to the 3-0 Patriots man handling the Bengals with ease. Randy Moss and Brady are lethal! The running game even with reserves was great and the defense is playing solid. This is going to be a fun season and my DVD player will record every second that it can when ESPN shows the Patriots.

Another good note is that ESPN in Australia is showing almost all of the MLB playoffs. If the Sox get past the 1st round against the Los Angeles Angels I will be able to enjoy the Red Sox as well via DVD recordings. If the Sox make it to the World Series and have a chance to clinch then a DVD recording will not do and I will travel far and wide to watch the game live. Fingers crossed!