Campus drinking and fighting....

It's a bleak Tuesday morning, but I could not be happier. I finally figured out how to make a decent cup of coffee with the Keurig coffee maker that I got for Christmas. One would think..."uh, seriously? it's a one cup machine with one of the little cupettes that are pre-filled." Yeah, that's right...it's almost idiot proof...hence the difficulty. You see, you can make a big cup or little cup and the amount of water is crucial to the final taste. Ok, now do you get it? It's like a chemistry assignment...a little bit of water plus pre-filled cup OR a lot of water plus the pre-filled cup=delicious coffee or swill....it took days of measuring and tasting the product before I got the right combination of water to coffee. That's it. It's the little things that make our day so early in the morning. It gets us out of bed and helps us to turn on the coffee machine and computer and plow through the day of ups and downs.

Speaking of downs...did you see this coming? I got a report from campus last night from the southpaw news network....there are lots of issues before the season is scheduled to begin and guess what? They are alcohol-related. And so, I will come right out with the news...

It seems that some of the players and alumni who were in town for the baseball banquet and at their favorite drinking spot on campus. Apparently, a girl walked up to one of the guys and shared her woes with her soon to be former boy friend who has an attitude and temper. Can you feel something big coming on? After an extended evening of sharing pitchers of beer, the guys started to walk home and were jumped by the soon to be ex boyfriend and his friends. A melee ensured and the following guys sustained injuries:
1. starting shortstop has concussion and chipped teeth
2. starting third baseman's contact lens rotated to the back of his eye and he cannot remove it. he may need surgery to extract it.
3. a relief left handed pitcher broke his left hand.

That's right....LW ran into the fight and punched one of the guys so hard that he broke his hand two weeks before the season starts. He is in a cast for 6 weeks, then physical therapy and strength training before he can actually throw a ball....and there you have it...once again...alcohol plus idiots = stupidity.

Three guys who are out indefinitely and the coaches must be crazed. Who wouldn't be? Fortunately, my son has figured out that there is a bulls eye on the players backs and he is trying to stay out of trouble. However, there are others who think that they are invincible. Think about it. They watch these movies where the guys get into brawls but the only injury is a cut on the forehead that is quickly healed with a band-aid. But the reality is that there are real injuries that could be permanent and these guys are not thinking about the ramifications of their actions. As Buddy says: "I have too much to lose to let that happen." And he is right. The other guys are now figuring it out...the hard way...a life lesson.

And so...what to do? Well, it looks like the second and third string guys will travel to the preseason games while these fellows stay home on their sofas and nurse their wounds. The coaches begin to lose their minds before the season begins....and Buddy has one less pitcher to worry about as he climbs back to his previous form.

Speaking of which, I saw his surgeon in Target on Sunday and reported Buddy's progress. This guy could not have been more pleased to hear how well his surgery took. In fact, he shared two things with me. First, another major league player had the same injury and surgery as Buddy and he is now throwing 100 mile per hour (nice, eh). Second, he asked me to tell my son that his recovery is one of the reasons that he gets out of bed in the morning and that we made his day....nice....At the time, I did not know about the fight and possibility of sending another ball player to him. But I guess that this is the way that he earns his money...from idiots who like to fight after a night of drinking...over a girl that they do not know.... to prove a point that they do not have...

on to work..bye!