t.w.i.b #2
t.w.i.b
Originally uploaded by nathansean.so this week in baseball was pretty fun.
tuesday the knicks played excellent again... it must be the coaching!! ryder was super pumped after the game because he got to slide twice. anytime a six year old gets dirty it is always a highlight to him.
wednesday the watermark team fell again. that makes six in a row in the losing column... but hey... we did start a new streak of two games playing all seven innings!! ye-ha!! on the personal side i blew a huge opportunity for our team... guys on first and second, no outs, and i popped out to the pitcher!!! the pitcher!!! and really that doesn't do it justice, i actually hit the ball two feet in front of me and the pitcher ran under it. i did hit it high though. :) i guess it was kind of exciting that the pitcher collided with the catcher... oh don't worry... everyone was ok. the catcher was wearing a mask... yes it was a full mask... and yes we do play slow pitch. i guess he had gotten kicked in the head a few years back during a play at the plate. so i'm guessing his wife makes him wear it. :)
thursdays knicks game was pretty fun once again. ryder played first base and had several put outs. he also played catcher which is fun to watch as his little legs attempt to run wearing gear that was made for a twelve year old.
the excitement of the game though took place on the bench... te story goes like this...
i am usually helping the kids at the plate while willis gets the kids in the right batting order. JUST as i am helping ryder at the plate, a few of the kids on the team start messing around. ya know... making dirt piles, throwing dirt, blowing bubbles... the stuff we all did as kids playing t-ball. well, one of the kids, dylan starts KIDDING around with wills. willis plays along.... until the kid starts mocking willis. first it is you smell funny, you have cooties, etc. etc. then dylan starts chanting "willis sleeps with a teddy bear" "willis sleeps with a teddy bear" " willis sleep with a teddy bear"... soon the entire team starts in!! finally they settle down and stop.... but only for a moment.... then dylan starts up with... "willis wets his bed" "willis wets his bed" "willis wets his bed" this time i can tell willis is geting a little uncomfortable, so i walk over and ask the guys to stop picking on willis or we'll have to stop the game. as i'm saying this to the team, all the parents are listening in thinking the entire chant is kinda cute. so there i stand... kids in front of me and the parents just behind them. willis is standing next to me in front of the bench facing the team.... fully exposed!! dylan takes the bat that he is holding and swings full force at willis's balls!!! willis drops to the ground quite quickly! BUT... as he falls he yells quite loudly and quite clearly... "you f***ing little b*****!!!"
oh did i get an ear full from the parents. i am now waiting for a call from the league... and most likely bud selig!
how about that!
johnny bench and the bunch.
t.w.i.b
Originally uploaded by nathansean.i think one of my greatest summer memories as a kid was watching the "baseball bunch" with jonny bench and all the all stars that show up... like reggie, brett, robin yount, gary carter, steve garvey, the goose, and of the real star of the show, the san diego chicken.
i remember that following the bunch was "this week in baseball". i always felt like it was a "big person's show", maybe because it was pure highlights of great plays and collisions and home runs that were in the week previous. it was awesome!!! ya gotta remember, that this was before ESPN and sports center really took off. cable was just being introduced in my neighborhood. (do you rember those boxes with the long cord and the slide channel selecter and all the cable channels were letters...wow!)
with that little memory pressed in my mind i am bringing you my own version of "t.w.i.b". i guess this will be my "twib notes" enjoy.
tuesday:
the knicks had thier first game. (the knicks would be ryder's t-ball team, which i coach) we did a great job. i don't kow what i was thinking, i made a line up through all 6 innings. we were lucky to get three in!! in our league every kid bats...every inning. there are no outs... ever. no matter how far the hits go, which usually isn't more than a ball glove past the pitcher, the players may only advance one base at a time. all that being said... it is a VERY LONG GAME! thankfully there is a time limit of 1 hour.
our kids did a great job. we have the kids "stretch" before the game. we get them to count as loud as they can. i am finding out quickly that we are the only t-ball team in our league, maybe the country, that stretches before a game. but... our yelling is always fun and it proves to be kind of antimidating. (is that ok in t-ball?) before our game i went and met the other coach and he said to me, "hey my guys are a little scared of your guys. they heard you all yelling over there before the game." i replied... "we came to play. don't expect any mercy!" (actually i didn't say that, but that would have been cool.)
of course the game ended in a tie... when you look at the rules... there is no other possibility.
wednesday:
the watermark softball team played better, but we still ended up a few runs short losing 10-8. but on the positive side of the field, we did play all seven innings! hofma must be our lucky field. both games that we played there we went the distance. yes... moral victories may be all we get.
thursday:
game two of the knicks season was AWESOME!! even though we don't record outs, we would have recorded 17 outs!! that is just unheard of in jr. t-ball. it was quite helpful that the opposing team hit 80% of thier balls to the pitcher and to second. short throws are always to the advantage of the defense. ryder played great. he had two put out of his own, one was a hot shot up the middle and he went to his back hand and did a leaping derek jeter type throw from the edge of the grass to beat the runner by a step and the other he was playing second and was going to his right, scooped up the ball and took it himself to get the force at second and just missed turning two... the hitter was a lefty and took advantage of the two step head start. the ryder man has a future in the bigs... heads up jeter!!
NEXT WEEKS GAMES:
tuesday 6pm @ ferrysburg elementary
wednesday 7:30 @ HOFMA
thursday 7:15@ ferrysburg elementary
think of mel allen as we sign off.
"we'll se you all next week on this week in base-ball. take care everybody."
we have a name!!!
WE HAVE DISCOVERED A NAME!
actually the gerald man came up with it.
i knew that when i saw it or heard it we'd know right away... and that is exactly what happened. the g-man called this morning and tossed it out and it stuck like a soggy noodle on the fridge. oh baby is this one HOT!
thanks to those who have been helping with the search and a big thanks to all of you putting up with my obession of names... i feel like sabastian bach... "savage animal"... anyway.....
Abreadcrumb and Fish
CMS
Originally uploaded by nathansean.so i am still on a quest to find a new "brand" or "name" for our senior high community. in that quest i came across this article... it made me giggle a bit.
it is from the site churchmarketingsucks.com
"The Christian Imitation
Have you ever seen a "got pepsi?" T-shirt?
No.
Do you know why? Because Pepsi—and any other company and organization worth their salt—is smart enough to come up with something original. They don't "borrow" ideas from other campaigns and insert their own name. They don't make look-alike logos.
Once in a great while they may spoof another company's commercial or tag line, but usually only the very clever can pull it off.
So why does the church constantly imitate what's already been done?
You've seen the Christianized versions of every corporate logo, changing Subway to God's Way. As lame as it is, it's one thing on a hokey Christian T-shirt. It's an entirely different thing as a church's official marketing.
I've seen so many churches borrowing from the mainstream world, tweaking logos or commercials to promote their own sermon series. How lame is that? Is parody the highest form of flattery? Are people somehow more interested because it not so subtlety reminds them of the Gap? Or is the idea to make them think it is Coca-Cola so they pay closer attention until the deceit dawns on them and they chuckle to themselves about such creative imitation? Or are people so distracted that the only chance to get their attention is to play off the success of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition?
Would the church of God please rise up and be original? We've been blessed with creativity, so let's use it to come up with something that can stand on its own, rather than make sorrowful copies of corporate imagery. "
i couldn't agree more. the only thing i would change is that i don't even like that junk in t-shirts.
i now dub thee...
the-cession-shield
Originally uploaded by nathansean.it has officially begun.
hours and hours of sleepless nights, thinking and staring into space constantly, endless internet googling, the magazine flipping. why do i do this to myslef?
well... because things aren't right.
i would liken our name and image to be much like that of LA GEAR footwear. both were moving along for a little while, gaining some momentum, making a mark... and then faster than tom cruise going wierd it all fell apart. poof! where'd they go?
i have begun the search to re-name our high school community at watermark. for the past three years we have been called "cession", wich means to surrender. but as of late, we need to re-vision, re-focus, and re-name. the process is extremely draining to me, and hopefully in the end it will be a great re-charge to both myself and to the community.
so vast blog world... got any ideas? throw them out there. share your name and maybe what it would mean.
we need help!
