CB’s House of Porn and Pancakes

Ok, so in a fit of brilliance I’ve decided I need to get myself in some sort of besides round……. Part of this is trying out this new workout regime. A buddy of mine sent this to me, I thought I would give it a shot, what is there to lose but my gut, right?

One Hundred Push Ups

Wish me luck and check back on my progress……..

So today was the last game of the regular season for Busch Stadium. As I watched it on the TV, I couldn’t help but be over run with memories from the past. The names that I hadn’t heard in so long were appearing on the screen, Gibson, Brock, Coleman, McGee, Clark, Smith, Forsch, Tutor, Landrum, Horton, McGwire, Worrell, Carlton, the parade of names and players kept coming….. I sat and began to reflect on the 3 decades of Busch I’ve experienced and thought I would share some of the more memorable ones……. (Baseball, Football, Concerts and Misc)

I remember:

- It being an icon, immediately recognizable with the arches running around the perimeter and flying over it, knowing you were close to home

- Watching the “Cardiac” Cardinals play there in the dead of winter, freezing, but loving every minute of it, rooting on Neil Lomax and Ottis Anderson…… Unfortunatley they lost, a lot and eventually moved to a warmer climate……… (Footnote, they still suck)

- Watching the first season of the Rams play there, it was great to see football return to Busch, but they weren’t spectacular

- In High School that was the big game (I think it was the Catholic Conference Tourney), CBC vs SLUH, Desmet vs Vianney, lots of football, fights and of course catholic school girls………

- The first concert I ever went to was The Who’s The Kids Are Alright Reunion Tour at Busch, phenomial show! I remember a funny smell in the air, but didn’t know what it was……..

- U2’s Achtung Baby concert, one of the best I’ve ever seen…….

- My first experience of going to Busch and to a Cardinals game, was with my dad, walking up to the main entrance and seeing this bigger than life, imposing statue keeping guard of the gates…. Wide eyed I asked my dad “Who is that?” He proceeded to tell me of the lore of Stan “The Man” Musial, my dad’s personal hero……. The stadium was giant to me, 416 ft in dead center, back then, it wasn’t a home run derby

- In my dad’s old seats, it was row 20, right behind homeplate, I was there with my oldest brother, his wife and a friend of his. Oquendo hit a foul ball that came racing over the screen, it was coming right for me, I tried to get up, instead I realize I’m trapped in my seat! My older brother had jumped up and scrambled over me, in the process, he fell over my legs, trapping me, I see the ball coming right for me, it tags him right in the ribs, some jackass picked up the ball and wouldn’t give it to my brother when he returned from the First Aide station……

- Opening Day usually fell on or around my birthday, so I went to that a lot for my bday. I remember every opening day, 2 things were guaranteed, a back flip by the Wizard and the Clydesdales parading on the field, for a long time with the man himself, Gussie Busch….. As time wore on, both faded away…..

- Being in awe at the way Ozzie would make plays

- One of the best memories I have from Busch was the 1985 World Series against the Royals. Sitting in my Dad’s seats, it was me, my sister, my mom and dad. The game was getting under way, my sister says “Look who is sitting a section over from us!” I look over, it’s none other than Tommy Lasorda, then manager of the Dodgers, who we beat out in the NLCS. Me and my sister walk over and ask him “Mr Lasorda, can we have your autograph.” I have to say he was beyond nice to us, he graciously signed our World Series Programs and invited us to sit down and talked to us for a long time. I will always remember that experience. As a footnote, he signed my program:

To Chris, a future Dodgers fan
Tommy Lasorda

- During playoffs and World Series games, Busch Stadium would be a complete sea of red and thunder with cheers, a thunder that finally returned last October….

- Being at the ‘85 NLCS when Ozzie hit the home run, Go Crazy!

- Being at the ‘85, ‘87 and 2004 World Series

- Cursing the motorized tarp, the one that ran over Vince Coleman and knocked him out for the rest of the post season

- Going to the game after Daryl Kile died and they did a memorial to him on the jumbo-tron, I remember there wasn’t a dry eye in the place as the picture of him and his kids sitting on the pitcher’s mound at Busch…….

- Making the trip to the Jack Buck and Daryl Kile make shift memorials outside the stadium, it’s amazing how two people touched and influenced so many…….

- That season after Kile died, the team stepped up and had a magical run, only to fall just short. I still remember the Yahoo! Sports writer quote “The Cardinals lost, there is no God…….”

- Opening Day also meant going with my friends, the pre-game tailgating, post game bars, the drinking total hours usually ranged well into double digits…….

- Jack Buck’s poem giving us a sense of stability in a time of chaos as baseball returned after 9/11 attacks

- Ankiel’s erratic pitching in the playoffs when he threw all those wild pitches

- During a rain delay, going to the bathroom, waiting in line, hearing the KMOX broadcast, Shannon was reading the scores and said “Let’s look at the scores, Detroit beats the Tigers 3-2…..” Everyone had a chuckle, got to love the Moon Man……..

- Getting a last minute ticket that I would end up seeing McGwire’s 62nd home run, just before he was to bat, I got an emergency page from work, they had to wait 30 minutes for me to call back…..

- The way the Arches would cast the shadows as the day got later and how the arches were aluminated for seasons, the blues, rams and cardinal colors, depending on what was going on

- Game 6 of the NLCS last year, I still get chills when I see Edmonds’ homerun and hearing the call “SEE YOU LATER! We are going to Game 7!”

- Game 7 of the NLCS, Edmonds’ “Catch” that saved the game

- Being pissed not that the Red Sox swept us in the World Series, but the fact I had to watch Jimmy Fallon dance around on the field……..

- Being in the bleachers, we were taunting Bonds so much, he turned around flipped us the bird, classy guy…….

- Most recently, missing a Taguchi foul ball by only inches, getting pushed out of the way by George and him ending face first into a bunch of old ladies sitting behind us, only to have Kamal get the ball when it rolled under his chair next to his foot……….

So many memories, those are a few that stand out, I’m sure I’ll add more down the road……. Feel free to share yours……..

I will miss Busch, the heat it holds in, the smell of hot dogs and brats cooking, the memories and players that took the field so long ago, but am excited about the new stadium and the new memories that await. We just need to bring home a World Champion Banner to close her out in style……….

Go Cards!

I’ve found myself glued to the tv the past couple of days, starting on Sunday, I couldn’t sleep well, my allergies were bothering me, I woke up around 4am, couldn’t fall back asleep, so I flipped on Fox to see the reports of New Orleans. They had some wild footage of the storm and it looked like the city might be ok, power was on and the pumps were still going so the streets weren’t flooding. At work, everything changed. The storm surge hit, levees broke, power went out, looting and chaos insued……… It’s sad watching the footage, New Orleans is like Vegas to me, great times, been there many a time for Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, a wedding, Sabhawal-a-Polozza and Superbowl (at the Superdome). It saddened to see the streets once teeming with partiers, out of towners and people just seeking good times…… Now it has been reduced to a war zone, most of the areas are unrecognizable and underwater….. New Orleans may never be the same, they are essentially starting from scratch……. A lot of historical homes destroyed, all the infrastructure is gone. Even worse than the loss of the Crescent City is what happened in Gulf Port and the surrounding areas, THE LOSS OF THE CASINOS!!!! If you get the chance, go to http://www.nola.com and look at the area reports, most things list whole buildings and neighborhoods that are completely gone……. The Hard Rock Casino was set to open next week and is 50% destroyed, they never had a chance to get any suckers money……..

But seriously, the economic (loss of New Orleans, industrial centers, oil refineries, etc) and social (all the homeless people, basic services gone and the biggest, the mass deaths) fall out will last for months……. Be sure to help out however you can, donate money, old clothes, blood, whatever you think would be appropiate………

Here are some links:

http://www.nola.com/

https://secure2.convio.net/arc/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=1161 (Donation Page for Red Cross)

http://www.redcross.org/index.html

Be sure to do your part, everyone needs to lend a hand…….

Well usually my blog is reserved for me being a smartass (making fun of the Cubs, Democrats, whomever……) but I really would want to make a serious post…….. I found out some horrible news today about a friend of mine, you may have seen it on the news……… Some of my friends went floating on Saturday, all day event, they didn’t camp, but drove back to St. Louis. Well most of the cars left, St Louis bound. The last car stayed for a bit, my friend was driving her boyfriend’s car, she fell asleep at the wheel, crossed over into oncoming traffic and hit a semi full of hazardous material head on. She was airlifted to a hospital, she is doing ok, well as good as one can be in that situation…………. he was not so lucky, he was killed almost instantly……… He wasn’t wearing his seat belt and was thrown from the car. The two guys in the semi were also shuttled to hospitals. She doesn’t remember the accident, but will have that post accident memories for the rest of her life……. it makes you stop and think about how precious life is and how quickly it can be extinguished……….. Say a prayer for both of them and be sure to wear your seat belts……….