Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- Spent the long holiday weekend in New England on the beaches of New Hampshire and southern Maine. The first day we went to Hampton Beach in New Hampshire which was a disappointment because the crowd looked like the rejects from Jersey Shore. Whenever you see an arcade on the boardwalk, I would say that tells you all you need to know about the beach. The rest of the weekend we went to Ogunquit Beach in Maine which had an inordinate number of members of Team Ricky Martin there (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but the beach is awesome. I had forgotten how funny and uneducated the Boston/New England accent is until this weekend brought it back again.

As we’re packing up the car on Monday morning after checking out of the hotel and heading to the beach for the day, a random short little guy in sweatpants with a thick New England accents walks by and randomly starts telling us that the light haze over the city is actually smoke, so be careful with the air conditioning in our room. We’re perplexed, but nod and continue to throw stuff in the car. He gets about 20 yards away, turns back and as if we were still talking to him just throws out there: “Canada’s awn fi-yah! Smoke’s bad. People ahh gonna be lightheaded.” He then disappears into the parking garage. My wife and I look at each other so confused…..did that just happen? And what was he talking about that all of Canada is on fire? Turns out he actually wasn’t crazy and supposedly the wildfires in Canada have produced smoke that somehow had blown down the coast and caused a morning haze over much of New England. Who knew? Canada really was on fi-yah.

- How good is Ubaldo Jimenez right now? The guy has won 10 of his 11 decisions and has an ERA of 0.78. His only loss was a game when he gave up 2 hits and 1 run. The guy has been an absolute monster. It will be interesting to see how long he can keep up this incredible hot pace and what his stats will end up for the season. And he’s doing it with a home field in Denver that has been a nightmare for pitchers over the years. Just an incredible start.

- As much as I would have appreciated Steve Nash and Grant Hill getting a shot a title, it is much more entertaining to have the classic NBA giant matchup of the Celtics and Lakers in the NBA Finals. I will make a prediction for the series later in the week, but I actually just want to point out that I hit both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals on the nose by picking the winners in 6 games. You’re welcome. Three years ago the people of Boston were screaming “Fi=yah Dawk!!” (which is their version of “Fire Doc!” at every game, and now they are in position to win their second title in 3 years. Meanwhile, the Lakers are making their 3rd consecutive trip to the Finals and seeking back-to-back titles.

HATE

- Kendry Morales of the Angels broke his leg when he landed awkwardly on home plate after a walk-off homer. Wow. Somewhere Gus Frerotte is nodding his head in a combination of shame and understanding.

- Enough with the NBA “Power Summit” meeting that is going to take place between LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, and any and all of the potential free agents. Yes, these guys are going to talk to each other about where they are going and who could potentially play together. I hope any franchise that allows these guys to hijack them into changing coaches or directing other signings is ready for the fact that they will have to continue to bow down to these players for their entire contracts. That is a dangerous game to get involved with.