Another Delco Guy In South Jersey

The Snowman Is Hanging On!

On Tiger and His Statement

The restaurant where I ate lunch had ESPN News looping when I went in today.  The Tiger Woods statement was shown in its entirety at the top of the hour.  It wasn't a pretty 13 minutes. 

Is it just me or has someone scooped Tiger's brain out with a melon baller and inserted an android processor which just mouths words in a nearly human manner? i know the guy is known for his focus and lack of emotion on the golf course, but this was just unreal.

The presentation varied between the world's #1 golfer and uber philanderer staring at the papers in front of him and reading, or apparently freezing up in his speech and looking straight at the camera.  Not pretty either way.

The best part was at the end when the robot known as Tiger walked over to his mom and his programmers had them embrace ion a long hug while the rest of the people in the front row stared at them, praying 'please god don't let him try to hug me.' 

My brother and I had a spirited IM discussion about the Tigercast.  He was amazed at the 'entitlement' the public felt toward Tiger and how much is being expected of him.  Matt notes a belief that Tiger owes us nothing.  I beg to disagree.

One of the reasons this guy has such problems is that he has no emotion beyond himself, not for golf, not for his wife, not for me, a fan of the game, or apparently for anything else. And he showed it again today.

While it's very true that infidelity is common in the world and probably more common among sports stars, that isn't really the issue.  What I saw today was a guy trying to come before the public for its blessing and doing it with such hollowness that he was rendered unbelievable and even more pathetic.  

He didn't have to do this.  Tiger chose to be part of the public theater.  If he was going to go out there and do this, he had a responsibility to do it well.  If he couldn't do it well (which was apparently the case) someone should have told him to just stay silent and move on to the next phase of his therapy and ignore us.  Because otherwise he ends up looking like a guy who felt like he had to go out and say that he was putting his wife and family first, but not because he necessarily felt that way.

I am not at all saying I won't be a fan of Tiger the golfer when he comes back, but I'll be a fan for the same reason I always have been- because he can do amazing things on a golf course, not becasue he is the accessible everyman on the golf course, a la Arnie Palmer.  In the mean time, I want him to go away and get better and stop wandering though my life, blathering on about things it's clear he has no solid grip on yet.

Cavalier Alumni Game In the Books

Cavalier Basketball Alumni - 2010
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

Whew! That sure was a lot of fun!

On the day that John Dzik lost his first game as head coach in over five years, 30 of his former players put on a heck of a show in the annual Cabrini Cavalier Alumni Game at the Nerney Fieldhouse in the Dixon Center.

The House That Dzik Built was busy all day as the women's Alumni Gmae kicked things off at 11am, followed by senior point guard Deana DiAmico leading the women's team to a 70-56 win over Marywood. The men kept things rolling as Kevin Misevicius became the 14th member of the 1,000-point and led the Cavs over Marywood 91-77. The win locked up home court advantage though the CSAC playoffs.

And then the old guys had their moment in the sun. John Mack kept us organized, Coaches Kelly and Keeley called the action from the table and the Blue squad topped Eric Tidwell's Gray squad 83-76 in OT. The game featured a ceremonial tip from Cabrini President Angelella George, some nice outside shooting, a few Laval Pickney dunks and a lot of griping about my 'coaching' from the blue squad.

In the end we all had a good time and I'm thankful that so many guys came out. Special appearances were made by former coaches Rob Rowe, Ken Schiller, Steve Harrow, Matt Alzamora, and Bob McTamney. Super fan Paul Engle was in the house as were the best managers ever, Kelly Gallagher and Phyllis Cohen. The thirty players brought a throng of moms and dads, friends, family wives, girlfriends and children. My son John loved the basketball, the humor, and the fellowship.

I've been involved in Cabrini hoops in one way or another since 1988. This year the folks at Cabrini got it right. The president was there an involved. The game was prime time. No more being ignored by the administration or relegated to a 9 am game. Joe Guinta and his staff, currents Cavs coach Marcus Kahn and the folks from the Mansion treated us well and I am here to say we appreciate it.

Coach Dzik had planned to be here this year, but when he had to take over the Piedmont women's program for the rest of the year, we had to do it without him. He's 6-1 as a women's coach this year and is enjoying things, but looking to turn the reins back over at the end of the year. I spoke to Coach last night as he licked his wounds from his first loss. "I still hate losing," he said. "Some things never change I guess."

He's right. Some things don't change. Coach Marcus Kahn has restored the program to respectability and a spot in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. We all loved seeing each other and telling old stories. Everyone on campus Saturday was a winner and no one go hurt. Now there's a good way to spend a day!

We come back because we enjoyed our time in the gym. We love the guys we played with and it's great to be involved in something that has endured over four decades now. We've got kids and busy lives, too much to do and too little time, but we still find a way to get back each year and keep it going. Because we're part of the chain and we need to honor the guys who play today as well as those who have gone on and can't any more.

Thanks to everyone who made the day great for us. A few photos from the day are up on my Flickr site. See ya next year!

Washington Square Gridlock

I am 90 minutes into my commute and have not moved in 30!

What Else Ya Got, Mother Nature?

John and His Snow Friend
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

So we're all dug out here in Mount Laurel. School and work resume tomorrow. We've shoveled out the driveway and built a snowman and played video games. And now life returns to normal.

The fiancee and I are headed into Philly for dinner at Marc Vetri's Amis and all is right with the world. Tomorrow we have normal Fridays followed by a weekend of birthday parties, Valentine's Day celebrations and waffles for breakfast.

And then on Monday ... more snow!

Super Snow Day 2 - Part II

Blue Skies Again!
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

Can you believe this? It's officially the snowiest winter on record! We've got our second day off this week from work and school, the second major snow storm in a week and the Big Dig Out is just starting.

The skies are blue, the temperatures are icy and the wind is biting. Kids are beginning to move around and the coffee is hot. Hopefully that will be enough to get things moving today.

Special thanks go out to Mike for stopping by in the thick of it yesterday and getting rid of the heavy, wet snow on the driveway. We've got about 8 or 9 inches left of much lighter stuff to get rid of today. Thankfully we've got power and no trees in danger of falling today.

How are you weathering things?

Out and About During The Lull

I am taking advantage of the lull in the storm to run out and get q few things we forgot. The roads are slushy but not terrible and it's just beginning to sleet again in Mount Laurel, NJ.

Now it's time for the Super Bowl!

Shoveling Done!
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

Ok so the snow is cleared and the salt is down. My back medication is chilling in a tumbler and I am ready to enjoy the hot tub for a bit.

The we are heading to Carlo and Anne's to root on the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl.

Snow pictures are up on my Flickr site.

Hopefully your shoveling is done so you can enjoy the game!

The Dig Out Is Underway!

Bare Sassafrass Tree
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

Enjoy your pre-Super Bowl Festivities everyone!

Snow Has Stopped, Shoveling Has Begun

Snowpalooza Update

It's wild here in Mount Laurel, NJ!

Snowpalooza!

Snowy Pine Tree
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

We at Another Delco guy are up and about on this snowy Saturday, taking photos and assessing the snow event that is pounding the Philadelphia region today. John Bolaris is on Fox 29 saying that this snow storm will be one of the five largest ever, bigger than the December, 2009 storm and maybe even THE largest ever!

Fox 29 has a very cool new technology going allowing viewers to live steam video from their iPhones, showing conditions from all over the Delaware Valley.  The app's video is a little choppy, but still very fun to watch.  It's miles ahead of the guys at Channel 6 with their ancient graphics and stupid Action News ruler.

I have no idea how they are measuring snowfall totals, because the blowing and drifting has accumulations at my substantial, but not ostentatious estate varying from a mere 3 inches to over 20 inches. Regardless of how much we're going to get in the end, we will have some shoveling to do when it all winds down.

Snow and Watermelon

I am not sure what it says about the American consumer economy that we are gearing up for a major winter storm here in South Jersey and yet you can still buy fresh watermelon at Shop Rite.