A-NONYMOUS?

Posted on February 9, 2009 by elliegork| 1 Comment

Clearly there is no such thing as an anonymous drug test in the world of MLB especially if you are Alex Rodriguez.  My dad always told me don’t put anything on paper (or apparently in a cup) if you aren’t fully prepared to stand by the results, criticism or reviews.   For the past few days I have heard that A-Rod has ruined his legacy, his numbers are not legit and he should not be inducted into the hall of fame.

My first question is how has he failed a drug test that was anonymous?  If this was truly an anonymous drug test by MLB then how do we know that A-Rod failed?  An “anonymous” drug test would not have names attached to the 1,198 samples that were drawn from the players; vials not labeled simply would have been tested and the results recorded.  The actual samples of 1,198 players were kept in one lab in Las Vegas and had codes, not players’ names. A list with the names and corresponding codes was in an office in Long Beach, Calif. They were never supposed to be united. Clearly MLB didn’t live up to the standard of anonymous testing.  Now the fans, the press and Curt Schilling want the rest of the 103 names released so that the remaining 500 or 600 players’ names won’t be tainted.  I say no way!  The samples were provided under the auspice of anonymity in the hopes of developing a mandatory drug testing policy for players.  Two wrongs don’t make a right and all that MLB players will take from this is not to agree to any further “anonymous policies” that may help benefit the future of MLB.

All Alex Rodriguez can do now is speak the truth if he used illegal substances, take ownership like Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi and stop making a mockery of what MLB has brought upon itself.  If MLB had instituted proper checks and balances years ago the choice to use steroids by a player never would have been an issue if the threat of automatic dismissal existed.  After all the promise of hundreds of millions of dollars causes people to usually lose their moral compass.

FOR NOW I AM PRETTY SURE THE MAGIC OF BASEBALL DISAPPEARED A LONG TIME AGO and THAT “HEROES” LIKE ROGER MARIS, BABE RUTH AND HENRY AARON ARE SIMPLY MEMORIES. (Such a shame that Maris isn’t in the HALL OF FAME)

 

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Posted in MLB, NY Yankees

IT’S A SMALL WORLD..

Posted on January 30, 2009 by elliegork| 3 Comments

queensAs a rising senior in high school the assistant coach from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, Tom Flahive called to express interest in my truly amazing point guard skills :)   The match didn’t end up working out, but somehow his presence remained in my life for the next 17 years.  When I was in college at Hofstra University he interviewed for the assistant position on the staff; as Coach walked him through the gym I thought to myself hey there is the assistant from St. Francis, wonder what he is doing here.  Once again no match.

Ten years after that I went to work as an assistant at Army and our director of basketball operations turned out to be his daughter Kelly who became my roommate.  So Coach Flahive was at our games, our house and eventually got his break as a head coach at Queens College in New York.  A well deserved opportunity after mentoring plenty of New York basketball players.  However a daunting task lay ahead of him as Queens College was not the dominant Women’s Basketball Program it was in the late 70s. 

Our paths crossed again as he hired my dad to be his assistant coach;  two Irish Catholic men out of Brooklyn and the Bronx, a coaching match made in heaven!  One loud, one not quite as loud, both with the ability to talk to anyone about anything.  (Actually on a phone call from Coach Flahive, I was able to put down the phone, get a drink and came back without him taking a breath!)  More importantly both possess a desire to teach, coach and mentor student athletes, all the right reasons for coaching and none of the wrong ones.  My father and Coach Flahive made basketball their life calling over the past thirty years and are now realizing their dreams after retiring from the jobs that allowed them to raise families.   Last night Queens College beat Molloy College to take over first place in the ECC and run their win streak to 12 games in a row.  Not many teams in the country can say they have strung together 12 wins in a row at this point in the season.

And so a phone call to our house 16 years ago has come full circle as two coaches perfect for each other and their team, are leading the women of Queens College on the ride of a lifetime! 

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Posted in basketball

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No title needed!

Posted on January 20, 2009 by elliegork| Leave a comment

Is that CARP during another hard day at work?

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Another NAVY wrestler working hard!

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Posted in Uncategorized

TODAY WE SALUTE YOU MR. YELLOW JACKET MAN and MRS. BASKETBALL PLAYER’S MOM

Posted on January 12, 2009 by elliegork| 3 Comments

Tonight my husband and I loaded up the family and drove north to San Jose to support my former boss at the U of Hawaii, Jim Bolla as his team took on the San Jose Spartans.  We should have stayed home. 

Our 2 year old, Isabella was excited as we entered the gym and began yelling, “Basketball Basketball”. Unfortunately for her, when the event staff at San Jose dons their bright yellow jackets it causes them to misplace their sense of kindness and understanding.  Isabella had the audacity to run up and down the sidelines (supervised and behind the rope) when Mr. YELLOW JACKET MAN approached us, informing us that he thought it best if Bella sit down for the rest of the game.  I explained to him that she was 2 and with 326 people in a 5,000 seat arena I didn’t think she was obstructing anyone’s view.  Mr. Yellow Jacket Man thought he should offer some outstanding parenting advice by telling me that I should let her know who the parent was in this relationship.  Hey thanks buddy I wasn’t sure who popped her out after 12 agonizing hours of labor. 

I held my New York tongue against my better wishes and took her over to an area where there was not a single soul in the 200 seats in that section.  We sat on the bottom step and tried to watch the game.  Faster than I used to down a Bud Light in college,  Mr. YELLOW JACKET MAN whipped out his big walkie talkie, radioed his co-worker that we were sitting on the stairs and she raced over to inform us that the stairs had to remain clear in case of an emergency.  HUH?  Whose escape are we blocking?  The 200 people not sitting in that section? To top off the night, our two month old had an explosion that would never allow me to get her to the bathroom; however there was an abundance of empty bleachers, so I laid the changing pad down and took care of business.  Wouldn’t you know, MR. YELLOW JACKET MAN didn’t think this was appropriate and started to head for us.  Fortunately my husband shot him with his look of death and MR. YELLOW JACKET MAN changed course.  Careful MR. YELLOW JACKET MAN, you never know who my husband is in real life.

SO TO YOU MR. YELLOW JACKET WEARING MAN I SALUTE YOU AS A TRUE AMERICAN HERO. AS BUD LIGHT SO ELOQUENTLY STATES, “More than any neon sign or exploding scoreboard your yellow jacket says look at me…you think it looks cool, but made of space age fiber it can repel anything including women”.  WAY TO BE A HERO!

Isabella and I did return to our seats where we had the pleasure of sitting in front of a Mrs. Basketball Player’s Mom, (you know everything about basketball, even though your full time job has nothing to do with coaching) from the U of Hawaii and truly witnessed objectivity blinded by love. Thoughtfully, she introduced Isabella to the word Bull Sh**, which I thank you for since now I won’t have to include it in her vocabulary lesson next week. (Saves me some time)  Note to the family, if you want your child to get playing time move up 18 rows, don’t sit three rows behind the bench and scream at the coach “That’s B.S.” numerous times.  When your daughter throws the ball 4 feet over another player’s head, ITS NOT A GOOD PASS!! As my father very gently explained to me in 1992 that if I wasn’t playing it was probably because the player in front of me was better.  (She did have 1000 pts and 500 assists).  So lady get a clue, no coach sits someone that can help their team win.

So to you Mr. Yellow Jacket Man with the big walkie talkie, the cool jacket and the orthopedic shoes I offer you a word of advice; you are Mr. Yellow Jacket Man not secret service, let a supervised child have fun.  And to you Mrs. Basketball Player’s Parent- Those that can, DO; Those that can’t, teach and those that can’t Do or Teach, TALK the WHOLE FREAKING GAME.  So please just shut up, take the blinders off, invest in a dictionary, and get rid of all the hate. Last I checked Coach Bolla of Hawaii has over 350 wins and if you are sitting in the stands it probably means you have zero at the college level.

FOR NOW I AM DISGUSTED WITH MR. YELLOW JACKET MAN and MRS. BASKETBALL PLAYER’S MOM.

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Posted in NCAA, basketball

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Common Sense?

Posted on January 10, 2009 by elliegork| Leave a comment

 

I am so confused that my head is starting to hurt.  Last night Florida and Oklahoma played in the National Championship game, so  common sense would imply that the winner is the number one team and the loser the number two team in the country.  Obviously common sense is never applicable when dealing with the BCS.  Only in their system can a team play for the number one spot, lose the game and end up with a final ranking of #5.

Then again only Utah can find their team ranked #2(AP) and #4 (USA Today) while being undefeated, having beaten 4 ranked opponents, kicked the bejesus out of Alabama 31-17 who was ranked #1 in the country for 5 weeks and who Florida had to beat to get into the National Championship game.  Heck I guess at the end of the day they should be happy that they even received one first place vote.  Of course they suffer from the same disease that Texas Tech quarterback fell victim to; you just aren’t big time enough which is why Urban Meyer hit the road and went straight to Gainesville when offered his golden ticket. 

Is it asking too much for the NCAA to step in, take ownership and develop a playoff system?  My husband, a graduate student at the Naval Post Graduate School is actually considering doing a quarter long project on how to develop an effective playoff system for NCAA football using linear programming or game theory. Are you kidding me?  Its freaking football.  X amount of teams make the playoffs, they advance, as you get down to the final 8 games, they are considered bowl games.  Sponsors, college presidents, coaches all go home happy because they will still get a big fat pay check and there will be no debate on who is the number one team in the country.

Now if we can only get President Elect Obama to sign off on the antitrust violation against the BCS, but apparently he thinks he should be focusing his time on creating 3 million more jobs.  Go figure.

For now I am confused as usual…

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Posted in College Football

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VINCIT QUI PATITUR-HE CONQUERS WHO ENDURES

Posted on December 18, 2008 by elliegork| 1 Comment

kevin-sideline1

When I was an assistant basketball coach at ARMY each day I walked past a beautiful monument before entering the gym for practice.  On it was inscribed one of my all time favorite quotes… On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other days and other fields will bear the fruits of victory –General Douglas MacArthur. I have always felt that it so adequately sums up what all forms of athletics provides each participant.  Every person who has ever taken a field, a court or participated in athletic competition leaves that arena with some form of a life lesson. 

 KevinColbert was a fullback and linebacker, who roamed the football field at West Hempstead High School during the early 1990s.  He possessed an intensity, passion and desire for the game that some believe has yet to be matched on that same field.  His senior year he led the West Hempstead Rams to the county playoffs at Hofstra University, a feat that would not be repeated by the RAMS for another ten years.  Kevin was a warrior on and off the field; if you were going to battle on the field you had better pray that he was on your side.  To know him off the field was an experience that would certainly provide you with plenty of stories that only his friends and family can hold in their hearts.

 

Kevinwas my brother’s (Pat) roommate when they were 19 years old and he was bigger, stronger and louder than anyone I had ever encountered; his brute strength was legendary among his friends. Their apartment provided me with a great place to nap on days I didn’t want to attend summer class at Hofstra and Kevin was a guaranteed source of enjoyment at the Palm.  In fact he and Pat provided me with enough “fun” nights at the Palm to last most people an entire lifetime.  I remember feeling such relief when my brother called at 5pm the day the Towers fell to let us know he was alive and for some God given reason his Firehouse had been sent into the Battery Tunnel instead of the Towers. That feeling of elation was snuffed out just hours later when word got around that no one had heard from Kevin. Somehow Kevin’s life path found him as a bond trader on Wall Street for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods on the 89th floor of the World Trade Center.

It is a struggle today for Kevin’s family as they attempt to fund his memorial scholarship.  Time has passed, people are forgetting and some really “cool” vandals burned down the snack shack at the high school football field. Unfortunately this snack shack helped generate funds for the Kevin Colbert Memorial Scholarship. (Amazing what people find cool when they are complete idiots).

So my question for the players, coaches, friends and all of West Hempstead is where are you now?  If each and every player that took the field with Kevin found a way to donate right now it would allow his legacy to continue on. Perhaps a teammate most adequately captured Kevin when he wrote “Kevin’s legacy continues to touch me in ways that will always keep his memory alive. Every year on morning of September 11, I share his life with those that never knew him and put on the Colbert #24 T-shirt. From that memory, he is what I refer to as a ROCK of West Hempstead. He embodied all the heart and soul of a town that looks out for each other and will stand up with one another when times are tough. He gives me strength and teaches me to value each and every day we have with our family and friends. He is a foundation of what brotherhood is all about.”

The only thing in life that was able to overcome #24 was the same amount of force required to topple the Towers in NYC.  There are different ways to conquer an enemy and one of the most important is to never forget; part of that is allowing the memory of lost ones to endure and remain strong.  How quickly seven years has passed for some of us, while for others it is a day to day struggle because their loved one is gone.  Kevin’s friends now have families, children, houses, and even suffer from hair loss, but for Kevin time has remained still and he will always be #24 with a smile that could light up an entire room.  

FOR NOW I KNOW THE PEOPLE OF WEST HEMPSTEAD WILL STEP UP FOR ONE OF THEIR OWN!  GO RAMS!

Anyone desiring to donate to the scholarship fund in memory of Kevin can send a check to:
West Hempstead Football Parents Club
c/o Bob Ainbinder
3544 Milburn Avenue
Baldwin, NY 11510
(In the memo area write “Kevin Colbert Scholarship)

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Posted in HS Football

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IT’S A GREAT DAY TO BE AN OTTER!

Posted on December 15, 2008 by elliegork| 1 Comment

If you live anywhere from Santa Cruz to Carmel Valley the time has come to get off your couch, out of the mall, leave the nail salon, hop in your car and drive over to a CSU Monterey Bay Women’s Basketball game.  When time allows I volunteer with the CSU-Monterey Bay Women’s Basketball team, not because they need my basketball knowledge but because I need them to keep my sanity with two young girls at home.  The OTTERS are off to a school record start of 6-2, breaking records for game attendance, upsetting the top ranked team in the CCAA and their charge out of the gate has everything to do with first year head coach Renee Jimenez.

Leadership can make or break a program, especially when attempting to build tradition, while changing the culture of a team that is accustomed to losing.  Coach Jimenez leads her team with positive energy, great communication and high standards of accountability for all team members including herself.  What a refreshing change in this era of high maintenance coaches! (There is a lot to be said for having a coach who can recently recall her own playing days).  How did CSUMB manage to land a head coach who helped engineer a turnaround at San Diego State University as an assistant and who interned at Stanford under the legendary Tara Van Derveer?  There could be a million reasons, but the most obvious is the opportunity to build tradition at CSUMB, be the leader of her own destiny and affect student athletes’ lives in a positive way. 

Coach Jimenez has convinced All-American candidate Dana Andrews to place the team first and her scoring average second.  I hate to use the word convinced since Dana is a competitor who wants to win first and foremost, so while her scoring average might be a bit lower than last year (17ppg vs. 18.8ppg), the Otters have already doubled their win total from last season and are only 8 games into the season.  Did I mention Dana has a 3.8 GPA and is graduating in the spring?  Anyone out there have a job for this young lady?

People are often evaluated by the company they keep and Coach Jimenez has done herself and the OTTERS a world of good by hiring Tina Samaniego as her assistant coach.  I would find it hard to believe that there is a more motivated or qualified assistant in the CCAA.  Personally, I like her because her bluntness and sarcasm is guaranteed to make me laugh at least twice at practice. (If I didn’t know better, I would swear she was a native New Yorker). 

When my husband and I left a team dinner the other night he said, “I never expected the coaches to be this enjoyable”.  I think he had become accustomed to the nights I spent sleeping in an office, student managers having to hold the head coach’s diet coke while standing in a bus aisle, so it wouldn’t spill on her if we hit a bump and the early mornings of driving a boss’s husband to work.  I think now he understands why even when I am absolutely exhausted from our month old baby, I make an effort to be around the CSUMB family. 

So on your next free Friday or Saturday night, come find out what the CSUMB community already knows… it’s great day to be an OTTER in the KELP BED!

FOR NOW I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT HOME GAME ON January 15th at 5:30pm against San Francisco State University.  (Did I mention this is Coach Jimenez’s alma mater?)

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Posted in NCAA, basketball

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Happy Holidays Graham

Posted on December 12, 2008 by elliegork| Leave a comment

 “Hi, you have reached Graham Harrell, I can’t get to my phone right now, I’m in Orlando at the College Football Awards, after that I will not be on my way to New York City for the Heisman Trophy Awards Ceremony.  Leave a message at the tone and I will get back to you.”

 

“Hiya Graham, this is Tim Henning coordinator for the Heisman Trophy Trust.  Just wanted to let you know we are sorry that we didn’t invite you to participate in the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York.  I know, I know you have 4,700 yards passing this year and Texas Tech, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas all have an identical 11-1 record.  You see fact of the matter is that Texas Tech is not a big name football school and has never been a big-name program.  You have done a tremendous job bringing recognition and prominence to a football program that has never before been in the national spot light.  Unfortunately, we just can’t reward you for your hard work and outstanding leadership, as this has everything to do with politics.  I hope you won’t take it too personally.  Besides the way the economy is right now, we didn’t really want to spring for an extra plane ticket and hotel room in NYC.  You know how overpriced NYC hotel rooms are especially during the holidays.  Oh yeah before I forget, good luck going for those two touchdown passes you need to break Colt Brennan’s career record. Happy Holidays!”

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Posted in College Football, NCAA

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A Good Walk Ruined?

Posted on November 21, 2008 by elliegork| 2 Comments

A Good Walk Ruined?

On Saturday morning my husband and I ventured out for a walk, with our new daughter and Isabella our almost 2 year old.  It was a beautiful morning, the sun was out, glittering off the ocean and I realized that I am every golfer’s worst nightmare.  Regardless of their status, pro, amateur, weekend warrior, I am a good round of golf ruined. 

I have lived in the most perfect places for golf.  I grew up on Long Island, where the fabled Bethpage Black is located.  Even golfed there in a fundraiser once, but was much more excited to attend a wedding at their facility.  When I worked at Hofstra University, myself and our Director of Operations Beth Shackel were the designated “golf” fundraising participants.  I am assuming it is because we had our own clubs and not because they didn’t want us in the office.  We signed up for every conceivable fundraising golf event, because well we didn’t want to be in the office.  Once we arrived at the event I usually became the designated golf cart driver, because after 9 holes my mind seems to wander.  Blame it on adult ADD or too many beers, but all focus would be gone.  Once I even assembled a foursome to participate in the women’s athletic fundraiser at Hofstra, consisting of myself and 3 of my brother’s friends.  Ed and Pete are always good for a day out of the office; of course Pete got a tad carried away when he made a great shot and last I saw of him his shirt was over his head as he ran circles around the green, screaming at the top of his lungs.  Haven’t been invited back since.

When I first started coaching, it was at the University of South Carolina Aiken, where Mike Carlisle has won 3 NCAA DII championships in a row, as well as 3 runners up finishes. I worked for a boss, Phil Stern, who if you said, “anyone care to golf?” would run you over in an effort to beat you to the golf course.  Great set up huh?  Beautiful weather and courses, built in coaches, right in the heart of golf country, only 12 miles from Augusta National.  I purchased the golf clubs, the towel, the balls, the cool Nike golf shoes and gave it my best effort.  Once again by the ninth hole I was usually driving the cart and checking the temperature of the beers. 

Eventually I married and we moved to Hawaii.  I could have golfed on a military golf course for hardly any money, or at beautiful Kolina golf course which was 5 miles from our house.  But why strain myself when I could lie on the beach and drink a beer, instead of having to drive a cart, whack a ball, chase it and get frustrated.

Now we are fortunate enough to live in beautiful Pebble Beach.  (I’m not making this up!)  We live across the street from Monterey Peninsula Country Club, where if you don’t have a membership, you can’t access their website, let alone golf even if your name is Tiger. (I mean you don’t want that kind of publicity attached to your course do you?)  Spanish Bay is ½ a mile to our right and of course Pebble Beach is a short 10 minute walk for us.  Haven’t yet golfed at any of the above courses and my clubs are still in their travel case, sitting in my parent’s basement in Long Island, NY.  Perhaps this is why I like playing basketball; you don’t have to pay and if you hit a foul shot you can usually get in a game somewhere. 

Of course all of these places make for gorgeous walks with your 5 day old and 2 year old.  That would have been Isabella yelling as she ran down the cart path of an unnamed “private” course, because it sounds cool when you run down hill.  She was pleasant though when we passed other golfers and said hello neighbor!  After we got out of sight of the golfers, we cut across the fairway, over a small bridge and made our way home.  Fortunately we didn’t let a game of golf ruin a perfectly good walk.

For now if you see us out for a walk on your cart path give a wave!

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Posted in golf

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Rules What Rules?

Posted on November 19, 2008 by elliegork| 3 Comments

I know that you will find this hard to believe, but there are players in the NFL who don’t know the rules.  I swear I am not making this up.  This past weekend the Eagles and the Bengals found themselves in the midst of overtime and the Eagles All-Pro Quarterback Donovan McNabb didn’t know that regular season NFL games can end in a tie. 

What do you think the Eagles were talking about in their huddles?  Where they were going to go after the game?  How to get there?  What time to meet?  Are you trying to convince me that no one in the huddle noticed a missing sense of urgency in the over-time?  Perhaps someone could have said, “Hey if we don’t score soon, this game is going to end in a tie.” 

Of course the inevitable press conference had to follow this torturous game, where Donovan openly admits that, “I never knew that was in the rule book” when asked if he knew the game could end in a tie.  He then emphasizes his lack of knowledge by wondering out loud what the NFL will do in playoff and Super Bowl games.  Apparently no one told him that those games can’t end in a tie.  “Now introducing our 2008 SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS, the NY GIANTS AND N.E. PATRIOTS. Come on up, there is room for everyone up here and receive The Vince Lombardi trophy”.   I guess the first 6 months of the year the trophy will stay with the NY Giants and then we will rotate it over to that other team? Perhaps we can work up some custody papers, so everything is fair? 

In any case, perhaps all players should read the rule book when they have some free time.

FOR NOW I AM GOING BACK TO BED, BECAUSE I CAN’T BELIEVE I JUST WASTED VALUABLE SLEEP TIME WRITING ABOUT A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PLAYER WHO CAN’T BE BOTHERED TO KNOW THE RULES OF HIS PROFESSION.

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Posted in NFL

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