Thanks Mom! You deserve your own BLOG POST - YOU ROCK

In all the excitement that was my weekend I almost forgot the most meaningful part!

This weekend my mother participated in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk to fight Breast Cancer. The event began last Friday in the rain and cold of an fall Atlanta day and ran through Sunday late in the day with a celebration at the Georgia World Congress Center.

On Saturday we took the girls to catch their Grandmother chugging along. The girls had signs and everyone was dressed in pink. It was amazing to see the cheering station and the enthusiasm of the walkers. If I thought that morning was my emotional high for the weekend I was wrong! Late Sunday afternoon I wandered downtown to the finale celebration. I walked into this HUGE room and saw 10,000 PLUS people waiting to cheer on the walkers. I searched for my Dad and kept leaving messages to no avail. As the parade of walkers came in I knew I would neither find Mom or Dad. Somewhere along the line I realized my Mom was not in one of these WHITE T-shirts, she was in a SPECIAL PINK shirt for SURVIVORS. As soon as this dawned on me the emcee announced that here come the survivors. I made my way around the side and towards the front and tried to spot my Mom. While this was going on the ceremony itself was very powerful and I was tearing up. When they said it was over I found my way around a barricade of sorts to where they were letting the survivors stream out. Within 30 seconds I spotted my mother with her YELLOW Angels 4 Angels hat and yelled but she couldn't hear me. I made sure to get in her path and make eye contact and when we did the emotions just poured out of me.

I could not be prouder of my mother. She has overcome so many obstacles in her life and reinvented herself with each one. With this challenge she walked 60 miles in 3 days and even endured sleeping and camping OUTDOORS!

Mom, you are my hero! I love you and if you are up for it I will walk with you next year and you can forget the minimum amount we need to raise, we will hit $10,000!

Can this really be happening...

I wanted to blog yesterday about the cool stuff that happened over the weekend but I was tied up all day in meetings and then my attention last night turned to the World Series where my beloved Fightin' Phils had a chance to end 25 years of 'civic pain'. As is typical for us Philadelphians we are left 'on the hook', in suspense having to wait another day but this time not because of a loss but because the game last night was SUSPENDED, which is a FIRST for the World Series. I can't even begin to explain how exasperated I feel. It started of great, 2 runs in the bottom of the first and Cole Hamels pitching masterfully. Then, the real rain begins and it's 39 degrees...do they stop the game? NO. The umpires continues realizing that the game gets scrapped and started over if it doesn't go 4 and 1/2 innings with the home team leading. We trudge on and get through the 5th and I am thinking, would they really end a World Series game early...NO! Will they keep playing? What other option do they have? In the 6th inning I got my answer and the realization that Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig must have made a deal with Al Pacino's devil character in 'The Devil's Advocate' because the Rays plated a run to tie it a 2 and all of a sudden the game goes into rain delay and quickly into suspension mode...

I am happy Hamels got to pitch 6 strong innings. I think we come out in the bottom of the 6th and put up some runs and end the series. If not we still lead 3-2 going back to Tampa, but this has now become a very strange World Series with HORRIBLE umpiring!

As for the weekend:

1. I saw my favorite live band, Cowboy Mouth (www.cowboymouth.com). They put on a great live show and for me it was 2 hours of singing, screaming and even a little toe tapping which left me soaked with sweat, exhausted but GLAD TO BE ALIVE! I also caught one of Fred LeBlanc's (lead singer and drummers) drumsticks in the pit which Cydney equated to catching a foul ball.

2. The girls soccer seasons ended on Sunday. Cyd had a very pretty goal in their 6-3 win so their season ended on an up note and Rachel scored the only goal in her teams loss. Both girls enjoyed their seasons and their teams improved greatly. I am proud to coach to great kids on two teams filled with great kids.

3. Saturday afternoon I watched the Gators take Kentucky to the woodshed as they get ready for this weekend's World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party with the University of Georgia. Saturday night I was out so I missed the first few innings of the baseball game but got to catch the last few innings and the Phils great win.

4. Sunday was an historic day in Philly, I wish I was there. The day started with the Phillies beating the Atlanta Falcons and then carried over to the ballpark where the Phils whipped the Rays 10-2.


I am looking forward to the World Series ending and being able to focus on the Gators the back half of this week.

Oh yeah, tomorrow I want to write about politics...there still is an election going on...right?

Our best show yet...

and we go on the air on Wednesday morning at 9:10 on 790 the Zone here in Atlanta. You can listen live at www.790thezone.com

ONE down THREE to go

Last night was full of tension and excitement. The game went pretty to form though I am still concerned with the slumping of Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins. From the glass is half full side of the world, the Phils still won and two of their best players are not playing well; from the glass is half empty perspective, you can't expect to win a lot of games going 0-11 with runners in scoring position.

Anyway, I do have a real bone to pick with the 'national mainstream media' and their portayal of the Phillies in this World Series (yikes...I just re-read that and I sound like Sarah Palin - LOL). I am not really sure why the Rays have been installed as the favorites; I guess it is some combination of them beating the Red Sox, winning there division and being baseball's 'best' story, but for whatever reason this Phillies Club is getting ZERO credit. What exactly have they done? They are back to back NL EAST CHAMPS, beating out the favored New York Mets this year. In 10 postseason games they are now 8-2 and have roundly dispatched of both the Brewers and Dodgers and in both cases roughed up the best pitchers on either staff. Last night, as the overly LONG pre-game show went on I tried to figure out why this Phillie line up is not getting credit, especially compared to the Rays line up. If this were ANY other American League team there would be a lot of talk about the DH and the advantage that gives the AL team, but there is no such talk here. In fact, outside of Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria and BJ Upton this Rays line up is not very scary and they showed that last night. From a pitching perspective I think it is pretty close but I'll give the Rays starters a slight edge in depth but does that really that matter in a 7 game series? I remember when the media would say, "give me 2 quality pitchers and you can win in the post season". Well, Cole Hamels is one and Brett Myers has shown in the second half of the year he might be the other. Go to the bullpen and all of the sudden you hear about the Rays amazing bullpen by 'committee'. Bullpen by committee means your best guy is hurt (Troy Percival in this case) and you really have no idea what to do. Thus far it hasn't hurt them except they SHOULD have wrapped up the AL in 5 games when they had a 7-0 LEAD WITH TWO OUTS! They are getting a pass because Boston is the toughest team to put away - MY ASS!

Look, FOX needs viewers and they need to try and get a way for you, Joe the Plumber, to watch this series...fine, I get that, but let's give this Philly team credit. I am tired of hearing about ONE World Series in 125 years and 10,000 losses in franchise history...THIS TEAM IS 81 OUTS FROM BEING WORLD CHAMPS!!!!!!!

Phils in FIVE

I can't believe I said/typed that but it is truly what I feel in my heart. I am always one to be superstitious, see post below, but I can't help it here. A few weeks ago I was at the Florida-Tennessee game and I received a text from a good friend and he asked my prediction. I replied that I won't type it in because of my superstition. We went on to win the game and then I told him my prediction. Pretty anticlimactic since I knew the final score...

So why am I doing this now? I'm a risk taker, a guy who lives life right on the edge...not! Who knows, I can't help myself I guess, I am just giddy with the anticipation of the Series starting tonight and my hometown getting the HUGE monkey off our backs! I hate when we, as Philadelphians, get mocked for our behavior..granted booing Santa Claus is not politically correct but we came back and booed the crap out of Sarah Palin on the Flyers opening night - so we do know a few things :). But really, this is a town full of some of the most knowledgeable and passionate fans, we just expect our heroes to be like us. We want them to work hard, do their job and hustle every time out. In my 39 years I can only think of ONE player we never booed and that was Julius Erving. I love all of our sports stars, none more than Michael Jack Schmidt but even I can admit to booing him at times.

Anyway, back to the prediction - I like Hamels tonight in the opener in Tampa. The place will be rocking but Cole has been steady and I think we get just enough offense and maybe blow it open a little bit late, I'll say 6-2 Phils tonight. Tomorrow we have Brett Myers on the mound and that is a bit of a toss up, I think it is possible the Rays win Game 2, but if they don't win Game 2 they will win Game 3 in Philly. The Phils Manager Charlie Manuel is a loyal guy (we like that in Philly) and he is sticking with Jamie Moyer to pitch Game 3. Moyer has been great all year but he is 46 years old and that is showing. He had a poor outing against the Dogdgers and this might be a tough game for the Phils. Personally, I would have like to see Manuel move Joe Blanton up to Game 3 and potentially put a stranglehold on the Series but who am I to complain? The aforementioned Joe Blanton goes in game 4 and I think he is becoming a big time pitcher in this spot and then we get to game 5 where Cole Hamels retakes the hill and the Phillies win their SECOND World Series ever and doing at HOME in the BANK would be sweet!

I am holding out hopes that a ticket to Game 4 and/or 5 drops in my lap and I can get there from Atlanta. The Eagles play the Falcons Sunday afternoon across the street as well...can you see Gilly from Philly watching the Eagles at 1:00 and then walking across the complex to Game 4 of the World Series? I can!!!!!!!!!!

Go Phils!!!!

Next week it is back to College Football as I prepare for the annual trek to Jacksonville, FL or the FLORIDA-GEORGIA game and this year I am traveling with and sitting with DAWGS...

I'm very nervous about sharing this information...

THE PHILLIES ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES!

Sports Superstitions - Do you have them?

I know that I do! Let me run through my list to get you 'comfortable'.

I'll start with the Florida Gators. Number One rule is on 'gameday' I am in Gator clothing. Usually this will consist of a t-shirt/golf shirt and a ballcap. Since April of 2007 that cap has been the FINAL FOUR one I picked up at the NCAA Basketball Tourney. This is my standard routine for games that I am NOT attending. For games that I attend it stays basically the same, HOWEVER, there are certain items that have been 'banished for life' since we lost while I was wearing those items AND I was at the game. Then there are the 'BIG GAMES' that I travel to with the SAME people! My 'people' in this case are Gregg and Denise. It is not that others are not invited but we three do not miss these events, and I have to say we have an impressive track record dating back to the 1996 Football National Championship. It was in that game that Denise broke out our now famous sweatshirt. Denise will bring that sweatshirt along to any of the BIG GAMES! It was in the desert in 2006, it was in Indianapolis in 2006 and back here in Atlanta in 2007. We are UNDEFEATED with that sweatshirt.





On to the pros. I really don't have any personal superstitions when it comes to my favorite pro teams (Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers...yes all from Philadelphia). However, I do subscribe to the Curse of William Penn. It is not as famous as the Curse of the Bambino in Boston (now destroyed) or the Curse of the Goat in Chicago (sorry Cubs fans, there is ALWAYS next year), but it is just as colorful. See, up until 1983 Philly was a pretty successful sports town; the Sixers had just won the NBA Title, the Phils had won the World Series in 1980, the Flyers were always in and around the Stanley Cup despite going nearly 10 years without one and there was promise with the Eagles as they had made the Super Bowl in 1980. In fact, look at that year of 1980 and you will see EVERY major sports team in Philly in the ULTIMATE game for their respective sport. All this glory changed drastically in 1983 when the laws on the books about the Philadelphia Skyline were changed. If you are not familiar with Philly, up until this time, the tallest structure in Philadelphia could NOT rise HIGHER than the statue of William Penn on Independence Hall. Well, in an effort ot build skyscrapers this law was scrapped and as a result, it has now been 25 years without a Championship. We Philadelphians have had hope. All four teams have been back to the Finals but to no avail. This year we hold out hope again as the Phillies have moved onto the NLCS to face the Los Angeles Dodgers. For me it brings me back to the days as a very young kid in the 70's when these two teams met three times to go to the World Series. Starting Thursday night I will don a Phillies cap and root passionately for change. I long for the feeling of jubilation. I remember like it was yesterday, my Stepfather letting me sneak into my parents room late that night in the Fall of 1980 and sit at the foot of the bed and watch Tug McGraw bring US our FIRST World Title. It was something neither of us had seen and it was great to share together. I hope in 30 or so days to relive it, maybe with even one of my girls.

So, do you have any superstitions when it comes to your favorite teams?

Still Processing

I am still trying to reconcile my weekend with Leadership Atlanta and figure out how to discuss it here while still keeping it authentic to the 37 other people I went through the experience with.

In short, it was impactful, humbling, unsettling, disturbing, painful and uplifiting.

This past weekend was our workshop on 'Race Relations/Awareness'. I learned so much about myself through this process. I know that change does not happen overnight, and I know I tend to be impatient but I have such a yearning to change the way people think immediately. Along with my classmates I pledge to change the way we see each other, the way we interact with each other, the way we treat each other and most importantly that future generations don't repeat the mistakes of ignorance that WE continue to make.

To my classmates, I appreciate all that you gave in honesty and reflection. I hope we continue this most important dialogue and not get frustrated or to allow all of the other distractions get too much in the way.

Looking forward to LOL and ROFLMAO tonight

For most of you this will probably begin at 9:00 with the VP debate! And trust me I am TiVOing it so I can laugh along with you.

However tonight will be even funnier for me and G-d freaking knows I need to shut off for an hour or two and just LAUGH! I, along with three of my good friends are off to see Lewis Black from the 5th row! This will be my third time seeing Lewis and each time is unique, crazy and hysterical. If you don't know him you should look him up! He is probably best known for his stints on the Daily Show with John Stewart where he does mostly political satire work. In his stand up he does that and so much more! He also makes sure to be audience/city specific so no two shows are totally alike. I can already here all the great political stuff he must be ready to crank out. In fact, I was joking this week that he could roll out a TV at 9:00 and just add commentary to the Palin-Biden debate! He'll also have lots to say on the 'energy crisis' as well as the financial collapse I am sure.

I can't wait! I am picking the boys up around 6, we hitting midtown for dinner and drinks and then WALKING to the Fox for the show.

On the Football front it looks like within two weeks I won't just be on the internet, I will also be on the radio. It looks like Sunday mornings from 11-12 and Monday mornings during 15 minutes of DRIVE TIME!!!!!!