Developing Sports Related Skills

Braden is old enough now that he has basketball goals, a tee ball set, and about 43 other balls of various shapes, sizes, and colors.  All boys that I know like balls.  Many of them choose to make it their first word. That is one of several words that Braden currently spews forth from his toothy grin.

He constantly pics up a ball, or says ball, or points at a ball, or does all of these at once.  Usually when I say throw it to Daddy he winds up and gives his ball of choice a toss.  Sometimes it comes to me.  Sometimes it just trickles in front of Braden's feet. Other times it goes backwards.  But this is just the beginning.

It will take a while before Braden develops his pitching and/or quarterbacking skills.  In the meantime he is working on developing other talents.  Basketball was his first love.  He has had a small goal for nearly a year now.  When he was big enough to sit up we started working on the dunk.  Eventually he would get the ball and dunk it home when asked.

Now we have a little Winnie the Pooh basket ball hoop in the tub.  When I say give me a dunk, Braden searches out a floating ball and turns to throw it down.  He can go either left or right.  Sometimes he can dunk without even looking.

More exciting for me as a huge baseball fan is his new love of his plastic baseball bat. Granted he uses it most often to hit things other than his baseball, as I detailed in yesterday's post.  He hits people, which is bad.  He hits toys.  He hits balls on the ground ala a little Tiger Woods. Once he even whacked a ball right off the Christmas tree. Sometimes though he puts the ball on the tee and takes his cuts.  Braden does not have the technique of an Albert Pujols, but he is able to make contact with the ball.  Eye hand coordination....Check.

I certainly don't want to be a stage dad if that is the right term. I won't be putting videos of his baby sporting prowess on You Tube (at least not yet). Braden can take up whatever interests he chooses. But as a die hard sports fan it sure is comforting to know that he is developing the skills necessary should he choose any athletic pursuits.

Fantasy Sports: Good or Bad?

I start every morning at work with a cup of coffee and a quick perusal of my fantasy sports teams. I play fantasy leagues for all three major sports. Right now I am in the finals of a baseball league hoping to reap the rewards of my hard work by hoisting the virtual trophy and having a champagne bath. That will probably be a "fantasy" celebration to keep with the imaginary theme of these games. I also am in a football league with some friends over at Dad Blogs. In that league I am playing a pretend game with friends that I have never met. You have to love the Internet.

I know that the fantasy sport nerd stereotype is out there. I reject that characterization of myself. To me the real games are immensely more important than the pretend ones. Fantasy is just another way for me to stay in touch with my favorite sports. It helps me follow the sports as a whole rather than just my favorite teams. Also it gives me something to do at work while I try to wake up. For others though it is much more. The fantasy industry is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It is all quite surreal.

What will Braden think of fantasy sports when he gets older? They are such a way of life now for a sports fan that he will probably join in without a second thought. He will have no idea what it was like to become a true sports fan based solely on the merits of the game played on the field. Now with the Internet gambling and fantasy aspects are as big as anything else.

I hope he likes to play. I would love to talk a little trash and show him how fantasy sports are played by us old veterans. Surely this will be another way that dad and son can connect and share even as he gets older. I only hope all these side attractions don't take away from Braden's or any other kid's love for the games themselves. The last thing we need to encourage is further travel down the path towards virtual existences.

We need to always remember real sports, real exercise, real friends, and a connection to the real world.

Watching the Cardinals with Dad or Not

I posted briefly about opening day on Monday. I didn't really do a big baseball post, and that feels wrong. So today I want to visit another area of my baseball conscious. Will Braden be a Cardinals fan like his Dad or not? I am almost certain that he will but let's examine the topic anyway.

For true fanatics sports loyalties are passed along like any other genes. You acquire your team from your Dad or Mom just like you acquire their last name. It comes with the territory. It doesn't work for casual fans. In those cases the child is left to find a team or even a different sport to follow. I became a Cardinal fan because my Dad was a Cardinal fan. My grandparents are also Cardinal fans. You may recall that I live in Arkansas. Why is a guy from Arkansas such a big Cardinal fan? It is the MLB team of choice for a majority of Arkansans. We don't have a team of our own, and St. Louis is one of the closest options. The Rangers are closer for some but they have no history which brings me to my next point.

Before the Dodgers and Giants moved to California the Cardinals were further west than any other team. Teamed up with the powerful KMOX radio station the Cardinals were broadcast all over the midwest and beyond. Our grandparents generation growing up anywhere west of the Mississippi had a great opportunity to become Cardinals fans. Many of them did. Several western states have their own teams now, but throughout the midwest the Cardinals are still king. They are regularly in the top 5 in attendance in a relatively small market like St. Louis. They can accomplish that because people come from Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and elsewhere to watch the Redbirds. I am proud to be a part of that large following.

Back to the subject of Braden joining our throng. He is off to a good start in Cardinals fandom. My brother gave him an Ozzie Smith autographed baseball that he had signed at a local Wal-Mart. Ozzie was my favorite player growing up. I remember my Dad telling me about "The Wizard" when we first watched games together. I played short stop and wanted to be just like Ozzie. Now Braden has this Hall of Famer's autograph. It will be a great time when I get to explain to him who signed his ball.

I know there is no guarantee that Braden will like the Cardinals. There's not even a guarantee that he will like sports in general. My Grandpa watches Cardinals baseball every day. He never misses a game and his son hates sports. I mean he hates them with a passion. So I don't have to look far for an example of what could happen. Still I am certain that Braden and I will share many summer nights watching the Cardinals play on TV. I plan on taking him to games in St. Louis as soon as possible. Doing those things should create memories that will last a lifetime. That is the truly great thing about sharing this interest. The time spent with Braden will be priceless.

Sports in a Marriage

I am a bonified sports junkie. I love the big three baseball, basketball, and football. I have followed a team in each of these sports ever since I was a kid. I still do that today, but some other things have changed. I once heard Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio say that as you get older you have to trim your sports tree. I don't always agree with him but he definitely has this one right on. When you are younger and single you can follow every sport you want. You have no real responsibilities so you can spend every night watching TV. As you get older and have other duties with family and work you have to cut back on following some sports. For instance there might not be time to watch the random Saturday afternoon badminton match any more.

There was a time in my life, during college and shortly after I graduated, that I absolutely watched every single Cardinals game. This was before the advent of Tivo mind you. Every summer night during college you could find me sitting on the couch with a cold one tuned into the game. After I graduated I usually took my party to the bar at Applebee's. There I got control of the TV from the bartender and watched the Cards like it was my own personal viewing room. Everyone else had to watch or go somewhere else.

Those aren't the only sports freedoms the younger man can enjoy. I also watched nearly every single college basketball game on TV. I love college hoops so I would watch Big Monday, Super Tuesday, Whatever Wednesday and so on. I was a little over the top with sports, but if I was home that is what I was watching. I didn't watch TV dramas. I either watched Sports, Seinfeld, or maybe a movie. Now with a wife and kid things are different.

Arica is very understanding. She finds other ways to busy herself when I must watch sports. I have trimmed my tree back to the Cardinals and the Razorbacks. For some people that would still be a ton of sports but not for me. That is the bare minimum. I am not complaining. Spending time with my family is much more important than watching total strangers play games inside the television. I am writing about this today because it is one of the great sporting days of the year. Today is opening day of the baseball season. There was a game last night but it doesn't count as opening day in my mind. Today the St. Louis Cardinals will start the season in pursuit of another pennant. If you are unaware of my love for baseball you can read about it here. Being opening day I am sitting at my desk wearing my bright red Cardinals T-shirt today. I may be a grown man, but much like David Puddy, you gotta support the team. I don't know if many of my readers are baseball fans. I do know that my friend over at Daddy Files is a big Red Sox fan so he is probably excited today too.



Later tonight the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship will be played. I haven't missed a championship game in forever. Now the trick for me tonight is to watch these events while still maintaining my duties as father and husband. It is a tricky thing to pull off but I can do it. I am thankful that I cut back on so many unnecessary sports events. Doing that makes nights like tonight possible.

Spring Training 2009

I love the speech James Earl Jones gives above in the movie Field of Dreams. Baseball really has marked the times in our country. People have been playing the sport as far back as the civil war. The game survived the depression. It helped break down racial barriers in the country with all that Jackie Robinson did on and off the field. It was a huge part of our nation's recovery after 9/11. Baseball still marks the time today. I know we currently live in a world ruled by the NFL. I know that baseball is not nearly as popular now as it has been in the past and currently is undergoing a public relations nightmare with all the steroid news. I also know that there are few things that can create and nurture a more meaningful and lasting relationship between father and son.

As we come to the beginning of spring training for 2009, I wanted to reflect a little bit on what baseball has meant to me and what I hope it will mean to Braden. Four of my favorite words in the English language will be heard around America in the coming days. Those words are "pitchers and catchers report." Those words signal that winter is nearing an end and spring time is on the way. For baseball fans spring training represents a rebirth. No matter what happened last year every fan is filled with the optimism and promise of a new season. My beloved St. Louis Cardinals will report on Saturday to start pursuit of an 11th world series title, however unlikely. Every year I treat the first day of spring training like a holiday and it just so happens that the holiday is coming this weekend.

Baseball has been a big part of my life as long as I can remember. I started playing when I was 6 and played all the way through high school. I was not good enough to continue after that but my love for the game remains. Baseball represented some of the best times my Dad and I ever spent together. He was one of my coaches every year and was my head coach from ages 9-12. Through baseball my dad taught me about team work. Through baseball he taught me about hard work and practice. Baseball teaches young men about dealing with success and failure as well. No one wants to see their child fail but it is certain to happen no matter how hard you try to avoid it. Baseball can help children learn to handle that. My dad and I also went to watch the Cardinals play in St. Louis nearly every summer. We would watch 2 or 3 games on a weekend and do little else. There was nothing we would rather do than watch a big league ball game anyway. The first time I saw the Cardinals play was against the Padres in 1986. Much to my delight the Cardinals won all three games. Arica and I still take a trip every summer to see at least one game. My brother and I also share a baseball relationship. Shortly after he learned to walk I taught him to hit a soft Nerf ball with a snoopy bat in our parents house. We kept playing together until I left for college. Baseball is still one of our favorite topics of discussion.

As you can tell I love the game. It has been a big part of my family and ultimately my entire life. Lessons I learned on the diamond carry on with me today. I can't wait for Braden to be old enough to play with me. I will love teaching him to hit and field. Later we will learn about the small nuances of the game. Hopefully I will get a chance to coach him some too. One day taking Braden to his first Cardinals games will be one of the greatest trips of my life. I have dreamed of bringing my own son to a game since long before I even had a son. This is the power over father and son that baseball holds. I know Braden and I will share it as a part of our life. I hope some of you that read this will share the game with your kids too. Join in the time honored tradition of father and son playing catch. Take the whole family out to a local game. Baseball has stood the test of time and we should all enjoy it.

Super Bowl 2009

The Super Bowl is the most overblown ridiculous sporting event ever imaginable. I say that with an unblemished record as a pure sports nut. I watch sports every chance I get and I have not missed a Super Bowl that I can remember. So I will be watching this year, but I just wanted to note that I think it has gotten out of control. Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest party days of the year right up there with New Years Eve and the 4th of July. People that have no idea what constitutes pass interference have been planning parties for weeks. Everyone will be dusting off their best appetizer recipes and digging the grill out of the garage to get ready for the big game.


The game is incredibly secondary to everything else, but for what it is worth I am pretty sure that the Steelers will win. I will be pulling for the Cardinals because I am more of an underdog supporter. I think half of the people at my brother-in-laws party will be cheering for the commercials. Somewhere amongst the 5 hour pregame, the incredibly important commercials, Bruce Springsteen, and alternating trips to the bathroom and the buffet line there might even be a good game.


With all of this in mind I would like to introduce 2 things that I hope change by the time Braden is enjoying Super Bowl parties.

1. Move the Super Bowl to Saturday: You can't have a great party when you have to go to work the next day. It would be so much better if the big game was followed by a day of rest. After college football is over the NFL plays regular season and playoff games on Saturday so there is really no reason not to move the Super Bowl as well.


2. Stop with the Roman Numerals: We are not Roman for one thing and we have our own system of numbers as well but that is not what I propose we use. How about calling this the 2009 Super Bowl. What a novel idea! When remembering Super Bowls past we remember them by the year not if they were the 14th, 28th, or 43rd Super Bowl in the history of the NFL. This makes no sense so let's stop it now.

This is my plea to the world out there. After all isn't it a dad's job to try and make the future a better place for his children. So help me get these changes made. Don't do it for me. Do it for the kids.

Arkansas Beats Texas

I know this is a new dad blog but I had to write about my beloved Hogs beating arch rival #7 ranked Texas last night. Arkansas basketball had been largely irrelevant for some time but this year's team is trying to change that. Arkansas has now beat 2 top 10 teams in a week (Oklahoma and Texas). This team under Coach Pelphrey plays with an intensity and toughness that hog fans have not seen since the days of Nolan Richardson. Most of that is due to Coach Pelphrey's own personality. He recruits players that will play with the same fire that he played with and currently coaches with. After sleepy Stan Heath and his band of care free knuckleheads it is a treat to watch a team that plays as hard as this one. The Hogs have 2 stars in freshman point guard Courtney Fortson and Junior post player Michael Washington. Fortson makes this team go. Without him they would not win anything. His toughness and leadership sets the tone. He has amazing ball handling and passing skills. Whether he scores or not he is making this team better by setting up his teammates and handling the ball about 90% of the time. He is a true leader and will be a star. Washington sat behind a big group of upperclassmen post players for his first 2 years. He never found a roll with that team. Now he is the entire inside game all to himself. He has good size and great quickness for his size. He has proven to be a difficult match up for everyone we have faced including player of the year front runner Blake Griffin. Washington is currently putting up 20 points and 10 rebounds a game which is enough to put him on the short list of best players in the SEC. This team has proven it can beat anyone at home but the true measure of their success will be determined by how they perform on the road. With the effort and toughness they have displayed so far I would not bet against them. GO HOGS!