Best leg tattoo -- ok, only leg tattoo -- seen Saturday at the Tracy Raiders.
How much does calf space go for these days, I wonder?
Sunday, August 26, 2007
An Endorsement: This Dude's Leg, by Nike
Best leg tattoo -- ok, only leg tattoo -- seen Saturday at the Tracy Raiders.
How much does calf space go for these days, I wonder?
Friday, June 15, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The best part about youth baseball playoffs..
...is not home runs by kids who were blessed by early puberty, nor is it over zealous coaches who preach situational hitting to 10-year olds, nor yet is it the ever-present potential for a parent-on-parent brawl.
It's this dude:
This is Ron, who worked the snack bar at the Babe Ruth finals, offered me the use of a bat when some 12-year old kid half my size swore at me (it's cool, he'll be 6'2, 200 and easily able to murder me when he's 16), and told me that he's had said haircut since he was a little kid. In short: dude's been rocking a mullet HIS ENTIRE LIFE.
It's this dude:
This is Ron, who worked the snack bar at the Babe Ruth finals, offered me the use of a bat when some 12-year old kid half my size swore at me (it's cool, he'll be 6'2, 200 and easily able to murder me when he's 16), and told me that he's had said haircut since he was a little kid. In short: dude's been rocking a mullet HIS ENTIRE LIFE.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
OH AND THIS TOO
I played lacrosse in high school but I wasn't very good. This meant I spent a lot of time on the sidelines watching rather than always playing in practice. And in games, too, for that matter, but I digress. A fun way to keep the mind and body active during inactivity in practice was for us not-very-gooders to take turns hitting each other full on in the face. Facemask, that is, with a gloved lacrosse hand. It hurt like a mother, jerked your neck back and made your head ring, but no blood/no foul = no problem, right? All fun until Coach makes you stop, which happened when Simon Lassel and Justin Flynn took it too seriously and had to be pulled off of one another. Being so creative, we called the non-violent-Simon-and-Flynn-version "helmetboxing."
I learned today that what I thought was pure chemical-free enterainment back in 1997 is a "dangerous new craze for teens" in 2007.
Behold!
From the story, by CBS-2 in New York City:
Fearless journalism, this.
Blah blah, right? Well, not exactly. I found this on YouTube (and it looks a little bit too much like BC for comfort):
These dudes are too serious to be helmet boxers. These animals are more helmt pit fighters, methinks.
There was also a YouTube made by some 13 year olds, with entrance music and etc., about their fights but it's kind of sickening to watch "BRADY, 5'3, 100 LBS" do battle with "KEITH, 5'4, 95 lbs."
Forget helmet boxing. I think YouTube is the dangerous new craze.
I learned today that what I thought was pure chemical-free enterainment back in 1997 is a "dangerous new craze for teens" in 2007.
Behold!
From the story, by CBS-2 in New York City:
Helmet boxing is an underground sport that's just beginning to surface, especially on Internet video sites such as YouTube. To play, each individual dons a helmet with a face mask, along with a pair of gloves, and then each hits each other in the head until someone passes out, a helmet gets knocked off, or someone simply throws in the towel.
Fearless journalism, this.
While the American Academy of Pediatrics has no "official stance" on helmet boxing, (Doctor Guy They Used For the Story Doctor) Gregory said they do consider it to be on the "same playing field as regular boxing," which has been deemed unsafe for "young children with developing brains."
Blah blah, right? Well, not exactly. I found this on YouTube (and it looks a little bit too much like BC for comfort):
These dudes are too serious to be helmet boxers. These animals are more helmt pit fighters, methinks.
There was also a YouTube made by some 13 year olds, with entrance music and etc., about their fights but it's kind of sickening to watch "BRADY, 5'3, 100 LBS" do battle with "KEITH, 5'4, 95 lbs."
Forget helmet boxing. I think YouTube is the dangerous new craze.
Addendums: "Oh....right" & "Batteries"
Also, when I sat down to write finally at around 10:10 p.m. I found that my voice recorder ran out of batteries. That is to say, no quotes from players and coaches in my stories except for what I could remember. That is to say: dammit.
I see the irony in this -- another thing I forgot to mention is how bad it is for the end result when something like a story is crafted under such crappy conditions: rushed, stressed, haven't eaten for nine hours, I know that sounds whiny, but you get it, surely. Your mind is still working fast just to process stuff as you put it down in writing for other people to take as "Truth." Eesh. You forget stuff. You read it when deadline's over, you want to change stuff.
This means A LOT OF WHAT I WRITE IS ERROR PRONE.
Just today for example.
1. In my baseball story, I said Justin Evans made a "backhanded" catch. He made a really ridiculous catch while running full on to his left, reaching across his body. Does that mean backhanded? I'm dumb.
2. I'm sure there's more.
I see the irony in this -- another thing I forgot to mention is how bad it is for the end result when something like a story is crafted under such crappy conditions: rushed, stressed, haven't eaten for nine hours, I know that sounds whiny, but you get it, surely. Your mind is still working fast just to process stuff as you put it down in writing for other people to take as "Truth." Eesh. You forget stuff. You read it when deadline's over, you want to change stuff.
This means A LOT OF WHAT I WRITE IS ERROR PRONE.
Just today for example.
1. In my baseball story, I said Justin Evans made a "backhanded" catch. He made a really ridiculous catch while running full on to his left, reaching across his body. Does that mean backhanded? I'm dumb.
2. I'm sure there's more.
When Things Go Really, Really Bad: Section Softball Edition
Hi.
So today was Day 2 of the Section softball tournament; the annual prize for high school softball's elite, the second dsy of tournament play way up in the scenic North Highlands of Ye Olde Sac-Towne. What is exactly the reward for a season's labor? Bake in Suicide Saturday heat, then play two more days of double elimination game-in-the-sandlot-where-the-bases-are-a-lot-closer against fearsome 16 year old girls with "a mean riseball." Intense.
True, the naysayers may say, "Bah, it's only softball," to which I reply, "No, it's also covering softball."
OF WHICH IS THE CONTENT OF AND IMPETUS FOR THIS BLOG ENTRY
Covering softball meant a long but rewarding day Saturday, where I got to work on my photography and not write a story, the Tracy Press not publishing until Tuesday, which means the story doesn't need to be in til Monday (though it really ought to be written before then). Here are some photos I took that didn't get published.
West's Caitlyn Girard against Modesto.
Taking photos is much different than writing. "Duh," you say, but they're both forms of expression. Is what I do normally with words any different artistically than what photographers do with a machine?
Tracy's Jessica Riconscente. This picture is much bigger for some reason.
Tracy coach Greg Smith's head. Around when I took this is when I thought to myself, "What a weird thing it must be, to try and play a softball game while some dork takes pictures." I felt creepy.
West's Stephanie Tornio batting.
Like most of the things I cover, I've never actually played softball like these girls do, so I have no idea what exactly their athletic feats entail. I have a fairly good understanding of what it means and what it takes to run fast, tackle somebody or shoot a basketball. Not so much here. How fast these softball are thrown and how hard they're hit can surprise you. All in a really small infield, too.
Another West hitter, not sure who this is.
In softball, it seems, a pitcher is vital much more so than in baseball. You pitch the whole game, strikeouts more common, a hit so much more dangerous. This is the face of one of the Section's most dangerous pitchers.
Tracy High's Jenni Holtz.
On Suicide Saturday, real reporters -- that is, reporters with deadlines every day, instead of almost-every-day like me -- have to suffer through the heat AND file a story all in the same daily cycle of the sun. This is a real reporter:
The San Joaquin Herald's Dave Campbell.
Who is the subject of my Really, Really, Really bad story. He and I, that is.
So Dave and I are both covering Monday's games, so he offers the day before to drive us both up to Sacto. I'm like, "Yeah." Smaller environmental footprint and all, you know? So I agree.
On Monday, as usual, I'm running late. Didn't get everything written, didn't meet Dave in time to not beat traffic, laptop battery dead so can't work on stuff in traffic, getting to 5 p.m. games -- of which there are two, that is, two games going on simultaneously for which I am responsbile -- around 5:15 p.m. No problem.
The plan was to use the wireless internet at a nearby Denny's -- the same place I used to emergency-file-in-a-hurry during the 2006 playoffs -- to e-mail all the stories in by 10 p.m. at the latest. Eat some awful food while doing it, get home by 11 p.m. with all the work done. Easy.
So 5 p.m. games end, both teams lose, which means they play again at 7 p.m. Two games, again, at the same time. No problem. I can't use the laptop in between games to work on stuff because it only works with an AC adapter. No problem. One goes to extra innings. Also, no problem.
9 p.m. rolls around. We are done, finally. Time to go to crappy restaraunt and e-mail stories in so we can have a sports section. Denny's no longer does WiFi. Didn't check on that beforehand. Ok, so let's try this motel parking lot. Free WiFi there. No, the nice man behind the counter says "Go away, we close at 10 p.m." even though it's 9:30. Won't have lots of time to work on stuff now, but alright. It's been worse. Go back to softhall field to use their hookup, nice softball people are closing and going home right now. Sort of a problem. Actually, big problem. How am I supposed to send my story in now? And as a real reporter, Dave's in a worse predicament: his deadline's 10 p.m., while I have as close to 11 p.m. as I want. In short: we're fuct.
But somehow Dave knows of an office -- in Rancho Cordova -- we can use. Ok. So I drive his car down Watt Avenue, looking for Highway 50, while he bangs furiously at his laptop in the passenger seat. Lots of construction. Onramp closed. It's 9:50.
Somehow we get to this medical office in the middle of nowhere right before 10 p.m., he files by 10:05 and sits and stews while I cram what should have been 2 hours worth of work into 40 minutes. Somehow, it all gets done. No problem.
More softball tomorrow. I've been working alot. See you later.
So today was Day 2 of the Section softball tournament; the annual prize for high school softball's elite, the second dsy of tournament play way up in the scenic North Highlands of Ye Olde Sac-Towne. What is exactly the reward for a season's labor? Bake in Suicide Saturday heat, then play two more days of double elimination game-in-the-sandlot-where-the-bases-are-a-lot-closer against fearsome 16 year old girls with "a mean riseball." Intense.
True, the naysayers may say, "Bah, it's only softball," to which I reply, "No, it's also covering softball."
OF WHICH IS THE CONTENT OF AND IMPETUS FOR THIS BLOG ENTRY
Covering softball meant a long but rewarding day Saturday, where I got to work on my photography and not write a story, the Tracy Press not publishing until Tuesday, which means the story doesn't need to be in til Monday (though it really ought to be written before then). Here are some photos I took that didn't get published.
West's Caitlyn Girard against Modesto.
Taking photos is much different than writing. "Duh," you say, but they're both forms of expression. Is what I do normally with words any different artistically than what photographers do with a machine?
Tracy's Jessica Riconscente. This picture is much bigger for some reason.
Tracy coach Greg Smith's head. Around when I took this is when I thought to myself, "What a weird thing it must be, to try and play a softball game while some dork takes pictures." I felt creepy.
West's Stephanie Tornio batting.
Like most of the things I cover, I've never actually played softball like these girls do, so I have no idea what exactly their athletic feats entail. I have a fairly good understanding of what it means and what it takes to run fast, tackle somebody or shoot a basketball. Not so much here. How fast these softball are thrown and how hard they're hit can surprise you. All in a really small infield, too.
Another West hitter, not sure who this is.
In softball, it seems, a pitcher is vital much more so than in baseball. You pitch the whole game, strikeouts more common, a hit so much more dangerous. This is the face of one of the Section's most dangerous pitchers.
Tracy High's Jenni Holtz.
On Suicide Saturday, real reporters -- that is, reporters with deadlines every day, instead of almost-every-day like me -- have to suffer through the heat AND file a story all in the same daily cycle of the sun. This is a real reporter:
The San Joaquin Herald's Dave Campbell.
Who is the subject of my Really, Really, Really bad story. He and I, that is.
So Dave and I are both covering Monday's games, so he offers the day before to drive us both up to Sacto. I'm like, "Yeah." Smaller environmental footprint and all, you know? So I agree.
On Monday, as usual, I'm running late. Didn't get everything written, didn't meet Dave in time to not beat traffic, laptop battery dead so can't work on stuff in traffic, getting to 5 p.m. games -- of which there are two, that is, two games going on simultaneously for which I am responsbile -- around 5:15 p.m. No problem.
The plan was to use the wireless internet at a nearby Denny's -- the same place I used to emergency-file-in-a-hurry during the 2006 playoffs -- to e-mail all the stories in by 10 p.m. at the latest. Eat some awful food while doing it, get home by 11 p.m. with all the work done. Easy.
So 5 p.m. games end, both teams lose, which means they play again at 7 p.m. Two games, again, at the same time. No problem. I can't use the laptop in between games to work on stuff because it only works with an AC adapter. No problem. One goes to extra innings. Also, no problem.
9 p.m. rolls around. We are done, finally. Time to go to crappy restaraunt and e-mail stories in so we can have a sports section. Denny's no longer does WiFi. Didn't check on that beforehand. Ok, so let's try this motel parking lot. Free WiFi there. No, the nice man behind the counter says "Go away, we close at 10 p.m." even though it's 9:30. Won't have lots of time to work on stuff now, but alright. It's been worse. Go back to softhall field to use their hookup, nice softball people are closing and going home right now. Sort of a problem. Actually, big problem. How am I supposed to send my story in now? And as a real reporter, Dave's in a worse predicament: his deadline's 10 p.m., while I have as close to 11 p.m. as I want. In short: we're fuct.
But somehow Dave knows of an office -- in Rancho Cordova -- we can use. Ok. So I drive his car down Watt Avenue, looking for Highway 50, while he bangs furiously at his laptop in the passenger seat. Lots of construction. Onramp closed. It's 9:50.
Somehow we get to this medical office in the middle of nowhere right before 10 p.m., he files by 10:05 and sits and stews while I cram what should have been 2 hours worth of work into 40 minutes. Somehow, it all gets done. No problem.
More softball tomorrow. I've been working alot. See you later.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Drifting is the lamest name ever, but here's a blog on it just the same
Hi. Been a while. What's new?
For a journalist, even for one who spends most of his time back in high school, there's nothing much worse than being beat. Not physically, of course, but getting beaten to the punch on a story. Someone else has your news. Someone did your job better than you.
It's nice when and if a bigger news outlet has a story, you at least have a similar one the same day. You may not be "beat," per se, and at the least you can learn something from it.
Here's a Tracy story from an Oakland TV outlet.
http://www.ktvu.com/video/12957065/detail.html
I have a story on this same situation, but mine is different. Personally, I think Patti Lee's story would have been better if she read some of my stuff on the track -- though she did get some details I didn't. And then again, she made some mistakes I wouldn't have made (John Condren is the operator, not the owner of the Altamont, and drifting is hardly new or unknown), so no one's perfect.
Here's the basic gist of the story.
There is a meeting this afternoon in Oakland. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors is going to rule on an appeal that protests a a decision made by the AC East County Board of Zoning Adjustments in March. That board voted 2-1 on an issue put on its agenda at the last second, an issue forcing a vote on whether or not to specifically allow drifting at a racetrack. It was appealed and is an issue now because almost all of the racetrack's neighbors are fighting it for a host of other reasons, and since the neighbors' lawyers feel the track violates all laws by racing anything at all, they are going to say so at today's meeting.
All this is less clear when you watch the news story.
Again, if you please:
http://www.ktvu.com/video/12957065/detail.html
But then mine --- www.tracypress.com, should be on the front --- doesn't necessarily tell the whole story, either. It's important to know that this isn't supposed to be a blanket decision on drifting per se. It has nothing to do with drifting. It's a decision on how the BOS are going to interpret a point of law. But that doesn't make good TV.
Yet I wish I had seen the TV clip before I wrote my story. I would be beat by default -- I can't get my story out the same day I do it -- but it would be better. Not because I beat Patti Lee, but because I would have been able to use her information and add it to the pile of "best information available" and -- by default -- write a better story.
Ergo, Better Journalism. A Very Good Thing for all, indeed.
For a journalist, even for one who spends most of his time back in high school, there's nothing much worse than being beat. Not physically, of course, but getting beaten to the punch on a story. Someone else has your news. Someone did your job better than you.
It's nice when and if a bigger news outlet has a story, you at least have a similar one the same day. You may not be "beat," per se, and at the least you can learn something from it.
Here's a Tracy story from an Oakland TV outlet.
http://www.ktvu.com/video/12957065/detail.html
I have a story on this same situation, but mine is different. Personally, I think Patti Lee's story would have been better if she read some of my stuff on the track -- though she did get some details I didn't. And then again, she made some mistakes I wouldn't have made (John Condren is the operator, not the owner of the Altamont, and drifting is hardly new or unknown), so no one's perfect.
Here's the basic gist of the story.
There is a meeting this afternoon in Oakland. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors is going to rule on an appeal that protests a a decision made by the AC East County Board of Zoning Adjustments in March. That board voted 2-1 on an issue put on its agenda at the last second, an issue forcing a vote on whether or not to specifically allow drifting at a racetrack. It was appealed and is an issue now because almost all of the racetrack's neighbors are fighting it for a host of other reasons, and since the neighbors' lawyers feel the track violates all laws by racing anything at all, they are going to say so at today's meeting.
All this is less clear when you watch the news story.
Again, if you please:
http://www.ktvu.com/video/12957065/detail.html
But then mine --- www.tracypress.com, should be on the front --- doesn't necessarily tell the whole story, either. It's important to know that this isn't supposed to be a blanket decision on drifting per se. It has nothing to do with drifting. It's a decision on how the BOS are going to interpret a point of law. But that doesn't make good TV.
Yet I wish I had seen the TV clip before I wrote my story. I would be beat by default -- I can't get my story out the same day I do it -- but it would be better. Not because I beat Patti Lee, but because I would have been able to use her information and add it to the pile of "best information available" and -- by default -- write a better story.
Ergo, Better Journalism. A Very Good Thing for all, indeed.
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