RnningFool’s Running Group in Philly

CK4 and I like to think of ideas about what type of business to start. Say I want to start a running network within Manayunk. I create a webpage and tell people that I’m looking to train for some race and anyone who wants to run with the elite Tom Stortz can do so. So I start small, maybe get a few people who just need something to do. Then I start growing with more members because I create a forum on my website and actively participate. As we grow I start expanding the area outside of Manayunk. Next thing you know, I’ve created a network of people who like to run, they like me because I’m awesome, and they come to my website because I keep people up to date on new shoes, places to run, good dieting, etc. Now I have tons of people coming to my website and I start selling ads to runner’s world and the like and now I’ve created a business with the simple idea of giving people information. Plus everybody would make guest shout outs in my blog and I’d stay in great shape like always. Who wants to go running with me?

Now just to go one step further on my running bio. My time of 60:15 two years ago in the Broad Street run was good for 170th or so out of 25,000. I got 3rd place in last year’s Philly Mud Run out of 1,500. I did the Half Marathon in 1:19 something which was probably my best effort. I recently broke my ankle but am mostly healthy now. I have horrible feet that blister up so a half marathon is about the extent of my mileage. I’m ready to start going on longer runs and getting in shape for the Sea Isle 10 miler. I will also be doing Phils 5k. I’m a great running partner who knows time for talking and time for running. The main problem would be the pace as not everyone is at my level but if money is involved, I can make the situation work.

By |2013-03-15T03:41:37-04:00May 18th, 2011|Running|1 Comment

The Superstars

I woke up on Saturday at about 10 feeling pretty good. The Superstars, softball team name is the most generic team name chosen by Matt Baker himself, had a game at 11:30 that I was going to watch even though I wasn’t playing. When we got there I thought the other team looked like a bunch of goobers but they turned out to be decent. Bud lead the game with a bomb to left that resulted in a triple. Dorshow hit a homer the next inning to give an early lead but I think the other team was leading 3-2 at after 3 innings. Gusto was his normal self coming over and drinking a beer before pitching a good game and even got out from leaving the best before any contact was made which is just plain retarded. JKa$h included a couple hits and aside from the Shee, everyone was getting on base. I only write that because I know the Shee reads this and probably won’t think it’s funny. The Superstars played well overall and ended up with a 10-6 victory that finished with the other team having bases loaded and Christine made a nice catch in right center that could have been trouble. I was the third base coach for the game and I must comment that it’s harder then it looks. Aside from telling Bud to stop and go 3 times when rounding third, I think it was ok. Another hilarious incident was Jess Baker on the 3rd and they hit a grounder to third and Jess Baker didn’t move off the base and I wasn’t sure what to tell her. The third baseman faked a throw to first and looked back at the bad to see her not even move which made me think Jess must have knew what she was doing because I was no help at all. Overall a solid win and next week should be more of the same..

By |2011-04-10T11:49:12-04:00April 10th, 2011|Sports|0 Comments

Late Night Quick Post

So I’ve been posting lots of material lately and JKa$h is quick to point out that most of it sucks. I obviously don’t completely agree but I posed the question would you rather read more shitty material or less good material. Now in the back of my mind I’m praying that he picks the more shitty material because if he says less good material that could become problematic. I never know if what I’m posting is going to be well received or completely overlooked. I wrote 1000 words on one of the most recent posts and I just assume people read every word which is probably so far off base. I can’t tell if people actually read what’s on the site and since the feedback is little I have no idea if people enjoy reading it. I assume it’s just one of those things that “it’s a free website” and I will read whatever I feel like reading and move on.

JKa$h was also quick to point out that I need to do a better job marketing my blog and I do agree with him to a degree. If I was really serious about succeeding in the blogging world I’d be posting the link on facebook and probably tweeting my brains out. Personally this would make me feel like a sell out but there’s no doubt selling out can produce results. Smashed also suggested a rnningfool.com bumper sticker or better yet the letters going across my windshield. I’m still considering.

Tonight was the playoff basketball game which I set the line at 19.5 and Team Baker did not cover the spread. I obtained tons of footage from the game and will go through it tomorrow and start posting some vids on my blog. They kept the game close in the first half with a 10 point deficit at halftime but then one of their guys got hot and opened the half with 4 straight 3’s to sort of put the game out of reach. Jess Baker, Marisa, JKa$h, Sharon and myself were the loyal spectators to watch the team sink in the playoffs.

By |2011-04-04T23:51:13-04:00April 4th, 2011|My Brain, Sports|2 Comments

Irritable

Irritable – 1. Having or showing a tendency to be easily annoyed or made angry.

If you couldn’t tell by the previous post or two I’ve been a little out of whack recently. I think I feel like females feel when people joke “must be that time of the month again.” As a guy I really have no idea what that experience is like but I assure you I have no physical reason why I’m using this word to describe myself. Just to give you an idea though of things that are particularly bothering me and the depth of these issues.

I almost freaked today when there was this biker riding his bike in between 4 lanes of traffic merging into two. I had this urge to just open my door and teach the guy a lesson. I’m pretty sure there is a law that says biker’s can’t ride on the sidewalk but bikers are a breed of their own and think they have way more rights then they should. I’m driving a 3 ton vehicle and you are on a 2 wheeled 40 pound bike, these two are completely different modes of transportation and to think that we “share” the road will generally always end up worse for the biker. So after that initial feeling of wanting to off a biker, I then started getting perturbed that people weren’t driving with their lights on. Yes, 100% this started to bother me to the point that I wanted to steer off road and give them a header and then exclaim that I couldn’t see them because they didn’t have their lights on. Today is a cloudy day, not a bright sunny one, and I just believe in lights on all the time except under perfect conditions. Don’t ask me why but I just feel that vehicles moving at lethal speeds should be as identifiable as possible in almost all circumstances.

So after already feeling riled up I was flipping through the radio and heard the new Panic song Ready to Go and I was catching it at the very end for maybe 5 seconds tops. So then this bothered me because I wanted to hear the song and knew that I wouldn’t get my chance til the next visit to my car. Of course I could listen to it at any time I wanted but for some reason the radio not allowing me to listen to the song I wanted to annoyed me. Ck4 actually presented this idea to me years ago but radio dvr seems logical to me.

After that I was listening to Howard and Chris Rock made some reference to Celebrity Apprentice and was saying how he knew his career would be near finished if he felt it was necessary to try to impress Donald Trump on national TV. I mention this because I was going to make an entry on this subject because I was watching the show last night for a little while. First off, I find the show mildly amusing because the celebs are given reasonably difficult tasks, in my opinion, and see what they come up with as normal human beings (not celebs) piques my interest. The characters are hilarious too because what is Lil John doing on the show? He seems so out of place and is his career that over that he resorted to this? Half the guys aren’t even celebs anymore like Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray and Meatloaf but the girls are even worse with Star Jones and LaToya Jackson. Donald looks absolutely absurd with his hair, strange tan, and wild make up. It’s like he’s really tan but has all this pink spots around his face, just a really weird looking dude.

Plus a final thing, during a round of Scattergories, Amber was telling me she reads my blog and that my spelling is awful. I would completely understand if she said my grammar was wrong because I haven’t had a writing course in years and I know I’m guessing half the time with commas, but WordPress automatically spell checks my words and my spelling just can’t be that terrible. Sure I probably have a no instead of a know which is pretty bad but my only defense is that I’ve made near 600 posts and if I don’t type at a 98% accuracy rate, I’d be surprised. Also, I won’t find it funny if people start pointing out my mistakes because I’m sure they could be found under close scrutinization.

One more thing, playoff bball at the Ambler Y tonight with what could be the greatest upset in sports history. After losing by 40 in the regular season we will see what happens tonight at 9:30. For a quick look into what I might be expecting as a spectator, I found Little Giants on TV and watched how JR and the IceBox led their team to victory even though they were playing with a bunch of misfits. I’m putting the line at 19 1/2. Any wagers?

By |2011-04-04T08:45:23-04:00April 4th, 2011|My Life, Sports|0 Comments

White Man Accessories

JKa$h and I were watching the Sixers game the other night and it struck us as odd that both Kyle Korver and Spencer Hawes were wearing mouth-guards. I’m sure plenty of non-white players wear mouth-guards too but I think it’s fair to say that white people aren’t going to have the coolest accessories. We don’t have those arm sleeves like AI used to wear or bizarre leg sleeves that Boozer was wearing. Headbands are usually not happening amongst whites. Aside from Birdman, I would suspect the white man isn’t leading in the tattoo department either. We also aren’t wearing high black socks introduced by the Fab Five. I feel like whites probably use a lot of tape on their fingers too which would count as a good accessory. Anything lame and necessary would fit the white man and anything cool looking and unnecessary would be the rest of the NBA.

I’m also not restricting this category strictly to the NBA. Here’s a picture of Laurence Maroney after getting busted for a concealed weapon while being high.

The white man will never have a bad ass hair style like this. If this isn’t the epitome of bad-ass, I don’t know what is. To give JKa$h some credit, 3 years ago the accessory of choice in the NFL was the visor. Then it became the super-visor which is a darker visor that makes it harder to see and only used by the NFL elite. Last year the long hair was the trend. Consider there are hardly any white players in the NFL, I don’t think we have too many accessories to point out. I do however know the biggest trend this year.

Wait for it…….. It’s Jamaal Charles finding that end-zone. I’m not sure where to begin on Jamaal but if he slips to the 2nd round, you snag him. I think ideal draft position this year is something like 7th where you can get a premier RB and hopefully a guy like Jamaal. Not to toot my own horn but in the 4 leagues I played in last year I won 2, got 3rd in one, and lost in the championship game in the other. My 3 RB’s in Evan’s league were A Pete, McFadden, and Jamaal and I’m pretty sure that will never happen again in my life. I’m not sure where Jamaal will go this year. I’m hoping he gets ranked about 10th. I would love to get the 12 pick and get Jamaal and then anyone coming back. You’ve heard it hear first, Jamaal for MVP and finding that endzone is this years biggest event.

By |2011-04-01T10:07:20-04:00April 1st, 2011|Sports|2 Comments

NCAA 2011 Bracket Tips

First off, no one knows anything. Don’t listen to other peoples advice because they are just stupid as you. That’s not saying you’re stupid but just know that other people don’t know. Let’s just take an example from the weekend. Baker and Shee, two people who follow college bball more then most people I know, thought that Louisville was an easy pick over Uconn in the Big East Tournament. So they lay the 3 points and what happens, they can’t even pick the winning team right let alone beat a spread. It’s nothing against them but the idea is that it doesn’t matter who you are this tournament is a big crap shoot and it’s better to be lucky then good. So after reading this entry, why would you listen to me? I’m going to give some practical advice that might help.

The lines are already up for the first round games, USE THEM. This is so obvious but the common folk aren’t privy to this info and I’m actually a bit hesitant to even write this but I sort of figure it won’t matter because it’s so random anyhow. The people who can handicap the games best are VEGAS, not your best friend who watches every bball game. Generally double digit point spreads aren’t easy to overcome and picking a game like this as an upset is pretty stupid. Also the -115 is an indicator that this is where the action is coming in on. I tend to believe the public is usually wrong and I’m swayed to the -105 SOMETIMES. Some games that come to mind after reviewing the lines (i’m picking outright winners not ATS):

Gonzaga (+1.5) against St. Johns – People make up their minds by seeds and this one looks closer then it should be.
Kansas State (-2) against Utah State – This should be a good indicator of how far to take Kansas St in this years tourny. Not very.
George Mason (-1.5) vs Villanova – I’d almost consider betting this one because Nova’ is on a skid.
FSU over Texas A&M (pick) – 10 seed getting a pick em should say something.
Washington (-5.5) over Georgia – Big spread, will give UNC a tough matchup.

After following this tourny for so many years now there are also two other stand out factors. Seniority and a big shot player. After watching the Fab Five last night, it’s very rare that you have 5 freshmen take you to the championship game. Senior led teams have experience and as CK4 would say “act like they’ve been there before.” Duke and Kansas come to mind. I think players like Jimmer are important too because they can take their team on their backs and win the. It’s good to point out though that these teams don’t usually make it passed the Sweet Sixteen. A final note, which Bake points out, is to choose a team that relies on good shooting is a risky move. If they are hitting their shots they seem unstoppable but an off night can easily result in a loss, think Notre Dame. I like the more stable teams like Ohio St who have both an inside out presence and won’t have that inconsistency.

I’m not going to divulge my picks. I also consider how smart it is to keep the same bracket for different pools. Seems smart to diversify the picks a bit to give yourself a better chance of winning one rather then all 3. Don’t forget this is the absolute best time of year for basketball and the most fun days of the year are Thurs and Friday. Have fun.

By |2011-03-15T14:01:59-04:00March 15th, 2011|Sports|0 Comments

Manayunk Sport and Social BBall

Ck4 vs the Titans was the match-up for our final regular season game. We went into the game with a 5-1 record and this game would give us a first round bye for the playoffs. The other team was 2-4 but had us out sized and it looked like we’d have a game on our hands. This was not the case. The gym is ridiculously slippery and Jeff gave the helpful tip of wiping the bottom of your shoes with your hand as often as possible. This proved to be a huge difference from the last we played at this location. We opened the game in zone and got off to a hot start with Ck4 burying 3 balls. They obviously didn’t realize Ck4 was a shooter and he probably buried about 3 treys before they got the message and started playing man. They couldn’t put the ball in the basket and we were up 24-6. We were playing good D, getting boards, and then making outlet passes for easy buckets and just beating them up and down the floor. We went into halftime up 20 and they came out in a zone D. Ck4 once again started punishing their zone with 3 balls and it pretty much demoralized them. They had a huge hole in the middle of their zone and we just worked it as we pleased for buckets. We had good chemistry among the entire team and as long as we scored some baskets, they weren’t going to come back. We finished winning by 20+ and will get the bye. It wasn’t a thrilling game but we finally played like a team that knew what they were doing and deserved to win a game compared to just squeaking by like we have been. Playoffs in a week or so and then hopefully a championship game.

By |2011-03-02T21:52:45-05:00March 2nd, 2011|Sports|0 Comments

Manayunk Sport and Social – Men’s Bball

Team Ck4 played it’s best competition yet, sans Ck4. Sans means “without” for people who don’t know and I also want to point I barely know how to you use it myself so I’m not sure if that’s proper with the comma usage. My brother Jeff also was missing and if I didn’t ask him if he was coming or not it would have “slipped his mind” which is just an excuse for being irresponsible. With two of our better scoring options absent, I had to call in the big guns and get Bake and Bud to fill in. Our record to date was 4-1 but we literally played the 5 worse teams in the league and we should have won the game we lost but still we are a lot better on paper than our performance so far.

We opened the game pretty strong with good D and some jumpers falling. It also helped that they couldn’t hit a jumper in the first half. 1st half highlights were when JKash put the kabash on their little point guard’s lay up when he “beat his shit up” (this is the best terminology for a block and I hope to hear ESnow use it one time) and also kneed him in the balls simultaneously. Evan was draining some jumpers much to the opposing teams dismay. Amber even said that I was playing good (just being nice of course) and I looked at her like she had a 3rd eye because I’m not sure anyone has ever issued a compliment about my game. I also overheard her ask if it was overtime yet when the game wasn’t tied but someone saying nice things caught me completely by surprise. We were up by 12 or so at halftime and felt pretty good about the half.

We opened the 2nd half still firing and opened the lead to 16 or so with 9 minutes left. Naturally though it’s never easy for us to close out a game and they started their comeback with 5 to play. We turned the ball over too often and let them right back in. With 2 minutes we were up 3 points or so and I took myself out for Bud due to my poor foul shooting which is some foreshadowing. Kevin drained a huge jumper to put us up 5 and then they scored and put Bake to the line for a 1 and 1. Clang. We got the O board and then Kevin had a chance at another 1 and 1. Clang. Another O board found Bud back at the line and he drained two to put the nail in the coffin. Hard fought game on both teams parts and this was finally a win that didn’t make us feel like we were just skating by these teams. Another game this Wednesday for all the fans (2, Amber and Kevins GF who no one has ever met or been sociable enough to introduce ourselves to her). Attendance for the year has almost hit double digit spectators.

By |2011-02-27T21:00:31-05:00February 27th, 2011|Sports|0 Comments

Holy Cross Coach Pushes Pussy

ABC Video

The above link is a 9 minute clip of something that should never happen. What happens is a coach attacks a kid and knocks him to the ground during a rebounding drill. It looks like the coach is trying to grab the ball to show how much of a wimp the player is and then in a bizarre sequence the kid starts to flop to the ground. Unfortunately the coach’s hand continues in motion and looks like it slams the kid to the ground. After a swift, playful kick while the kid is down, he then “berates” the player when he says “got blood on you, good.” The kid claimed to have scrapes on his head and that he was too injured to play. The apologizing is hilarious from the coach because he is just doing it to appeal to the public’s eye because he knows what he did is the right thing to do with a player who has no balls. You try to toughen them up a little bit to make them a better player.

I have major problems with this incident because the kid is so far out of line. I could see if this was elementary or middle school ball but this is Division 2 MEN’S basketball. The player is obviously flopping and to bring this up as a legal matter just shows how much of a wuss he is. I 100% side with the coach on this one and there is no way the kid got injured from what happened. If you watch the clip in the interview process, you can tell that the coach wants to ring the little fucker’s neck. The tension can be cut with a knife in the room with the lawyers. The whole incident is just silly and the only winners are the lawyers. Seriously, the kid is looking for a way to extort some money out of the school because what happened seems perfectly normal to me. JC used to beat my ass to toughen me up and you didn’t see me filing suit. It’s called not being a pussy. Something that our society is seriously missing.

A final thought on ABC’s job of putting together this story. When I see a female in the video commenting on the nature of this event I just can’t take her seriously. Honestly, what does she know about toughness on a basketball court? What does she know about running a practice and having your kids play tough basketball. If you interviewed Pat Summitt I bet she’d stand up for the coach on this one because she’s a female who actually knows the game of basketball and not some talking head trying to defend a player.

By |2011-02-24T15:48:17-05:00February 24th, 2011|Sports|1 Comment

Frostbite 5 miler 2011 – Results

With temperatures in the 40’s and gusts of wind hitting 25+ miles per hour, this wouldn’t seem like ideal running conditions. However, the times proved otherwise. Technically I only know of 3 peoples times but Me, Jeff, and Brian Lockard all put up worthy times. I was the slowest of the 3 finishing at 29:40 or so but exceeded my expectations of a sub 30 times. Jeff went into the race sandbagging and saying how he was having trouble running 5 miles but you wouldn’t know it when he clocked a 28:45. Lockard beat Jeff by a little bit but it’s hard for me to say being 400 yards behind them. Jeff and I started together and went out in a 5:20 or so mile. The wind made the beginning cold in my opinion but after you get moving it wasn’t so bad. Jeff left me around mile 2 and I was running at a pretty steady pace with no one really passing me and me passing the occasional rabbit who doesn’t know what a pace it. Mile 2 and 3 seemed to contain a lot of gradual hills and the wind made these all the more fun. Once I hit mile 4 I was a bit unsure of how far was left (a mile duh) but it’s sometimes hard to judge when to turn it on a bit to finish strong. Once I saw the school I knew we were close and finished with a good kick and some juice left. Don’t get me wrong though, I couldn’t go much faster as I felt great throughout the entire race. My legs didn’t get tired and my breathing was good. If I knew the course I maybe could have shaved off a few seconds but all in all I was pretty pleased. For a first time experience, I had a good run. Time to get wasted.

By |2013-03-15T03:42:02-04:00February 19th, 2011|Running, Sports|0 Comments
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