Ranting Part 1

Time to rant....

yes, it is time to rant....and rant, I will.....

Ready? Strap on your safety goggles and helmets.....

As you know, the big kid had an injury. Now, he needs a MRI to confirm whether he has a sports hernia. What does this mean?

Best case scenario: 4 weeks rehab

Worst case scenario: Surgery. College career over.

I probably will not be eloquent in the upcoming paragraphs, so please bear with me....here goes.....

The kid trained on his own in South Carolina over the Christmas break. When he returned, he was throwing 90 without struggling. He felt great. Arm was limber and he was in a great frame of mind. Then he returned to campus.

The trainer through his bullying tactics demanded that he follow his protocols and lift. When balking, the trainer and coaches berated him and placed him back into submission.....good dog.....

Then his elbow began to hurt and he needed rehab. This lasted several weeks and he missed the opening of the season.

Once he rehabbed, he was back on the mound....

He was placed in a game against a top ten school in the south and was tremendous...see Andy Pettite post. The day after he threw 98 pitches, he should have been resting, but the trainer had him lifting. Then he heard a pop. He has not been the same since that day. The trainer continued to make the guys lift even on the days when they threw and finally last week, his velocity dropped from 91 in January to an all time low of 81. He still performed well but he should have killed this team rather than just beating them.

Yesterday, he could barely walk and he has been limping for a few days. The Czar announced to the team that some people limp around and look for attention. That's right...let's pretend that we have an injury in order to get off the mound. After all, he has been working toward his senior year since he was four years old.

Today, he saw the MD who proclaimed that he probably has the sports hernia. Reading between the lines, this is not good.

Grandmothers....please stop reading now.....

This is a manifestation of egos who have come together and think that they have the answers to everything.

Why is there snow on the mountains? Why do my pupils constrict or dilate? What is the Theory of Energy? Why do the Amish ride around in buggys? What is the best way to train an athlete? How should I treat every athlete?


With their 'know-it-all' attitudes, they have totally screwed up my son's and the other guys' dreams and aspirations. They have not listened to him when he said that his body does not respond to lifting. They mocked the global experts on training and rehabbing. His surgeon specifically told him not to lift. By the way, he is team doctor for the pitching staff of a major league team. The pitching doctor is full of *%)^# although he trains every 90+ mph  pitcher in the south.

There is no body of evidence or best practice models that support their methods and now, he may be  out for the season. His senior year....walking in throwing 91....limping out with nothing but a bag full of angst.

Will I let this go?

What do you think?

Oh baby.....

Once the reports are back, I plan to do the following:

1. Collect the medical evidence of how their training problems has caused him undue harm of his arm, shoulder, and groin.
2. Collect letters from his surgeon and Yoda attesting to their modalities have caused more injuries.
3. Bring in the documentation of their reign of terror.
4. Sit in a room with the coaches, athletic director, and trainer to deliver the news.

Because if my son has his way, he will walk away knowing that he has effected change for the guys who remain on the team. He also wants to consult an attorney about this issue. I won't stop him.

Lastly, one who is new to this blog might say "why did he not stand up for himself."

He did. Over and over....but the coaches sat him on the bench, made him breathe, yelled at him, and would not let him play. They also threatened to cut him. Then where would he be?

I wish that this story had a happy ending. And it still might. The days are not over. However, as it stands now, I will stay optimistic and help him to rehab.

If he needs surgery, I will take him to the best surgeon in the country. For rehab, he has Yoda.

Once he finishes rehabbing, he can go to either Texas or Oregon and be placed on an independent league team. He was also on television a few times and I hope that someone saw him pitching.

Because the reality is:

He is a good pitcher....a great pitcher....he can make it and has had every obstacle thrown in front of him. My guess is that this story is far from over. Stay tuned. The MRI is tomorrow and momma is heading to campus, not as mom, but as Dr. BP Mom and let me tell you, when I unleash the beast (Dr. BPM), I take no prisoners.



Peace!

Beer Olympics

Hi! It's time to catch up before I run off to class. First, I am still kind-of, sort-of sick. Some nasty stomach flu is going around. Sadly, it will not leave me to venture onto another victim. I am so lucky. My meals have consisted of pretzels, crackers, and more pretzels. oh yeah...lots of ginger ale. Guess what? I hate soda, yet ginger ale has kept me hydrated and alive this week. oh well...you gotta do, what you gotta do....

I ran to the mall today for a few things and saw Santa...all alone...no kids....working on Sudoku. There is something wrong with that. Shouldn't the big man be making his list and checking it twice? Feeding his reindeer? Singing Christmas carols? Making cookies??

Since I have not been able to work out or do anything of substance, I have sat in front of the Hallmark channel and see a theme....girl or guy has been burned by old flame...they move to a remote area in Nebraska or Alaska.... They meet...hate each other...then something happens...like the guy saves a puppy or the girl dances with little kids...something inane. Then they fall in live. Story over. Right? Wrong.  The story is that these stupid, predictable movies have made me cry which only offers continued proof  that I am not in my right mind. Yeah, I know that this star crossed couple is going to get back together, but for some reason, my eyes well up. I gotta get a life again....no more Hallmark channel...although, there is an upcoming movie in which a girl gets hired by a department store manager to do something and falls in love.....





On to the big lefty. Not much is going on as he completes this semester. He attended Beer Olympics on Saturday at the old house of mold.  Interestingly, I did not hear from him until Monday. As he said, he was laying low after the festivities. I asked who won the Beer Olympics and he gave the gold medal to Fudge and Texas. By the way, these guys are true Americans as they sang the national Anthem before the games began.



Also during yesterday's conversation, he mentioned that he threw a bullpen. His aim and ball movement were pretty good. Good!

And so, because of my lack of energy and mental fuzziness, there is not much else going on....except BP Grandpop gets to leave the house tomorrow and see three of his doctors. Hopefully, he will be cleared to walk on his right hip with 100% weight bearing.....that would be nice.

Ok, I have stalled long enough. I have to grade papers.

Peace!

P=Psycho

Hi!

We're back from the mountains and the big kick off dinner. How did it go.....? Hmmmm....ready?

We received the invitation which also included a free clinic for kids on Saturday morning, a team scrimmage at noon, meet with the keynote speaker (a former MLB pitcher) at 5p (for an extra $1000.), and dinner at 6:30 with the team autographing posters after the festivities. Never wanting to miss a party, I planned on just attending dinner when we got the call on Friday night. "Can you come and watch the scrimmage on Saturday?" Uh, sure....no problem. Be happy to....



And so, Tink and I packed up early and drove to campus to find the practice and team scrimmage. We arrived as the little kids were standing in line for the team autographs. As they finished, the leftie found me and looked a nervous wreck. "Hey, no worries. Just throw the ball. The word to remember is 'namaste' "which made him laugh. But I could tell that he was crawling out of his skin.

After watching three incredibly dull innings, the big guy was finally put into the game. First, I witnessed two of his friends get tatooed on the mound as the batters slammed the balls deep into the outfield. As he entered the game, I sat back, said my prayers, and watched....like glue....I did not move. Tink could hear the head coach talking about him in the background but all she heard was that he was coming back from surgery and was getting better (whew). He took the mound...took a deep breath....and threw...some high...some low...some down the middle. He gave up one hit. All in all, he looked good. After two innings on the mound, the scrimmage was over and the guys went off with their friends or families.

Since he had a few things to do, Tink and I told him to meet us at Wegmans for lunch. You can always count of Wegmans to have decent sandwiches and salad bar. So, we waited. When he finally  got to our table, he told us what the pitching coach had said to him between innings: "Are you slow or stupid?" Nice...he just pitched a pretty good couple of innings and he is greeted with this charming question.

I asked him what he said in reply, but he just kept his mouth shut. Now he is learning that this guy is more than a collection of sound bytes. He is a knucklehead of the greatest degree as well as a tiny little man (not size-wise, but personality). According to the big kid, he was meaner to the other pitchers that day, so I assume that he was laying off the guy after the big blow up on Monday.

My take on it is that this guy has no idea of what it takes to be a coach which also has a teaching component. In fact, he is cruising for a bruising, 'cause I can foresee one of the pitchers taking a swing at him. Further, he could have been fired on Monday for his rant and use of profanity as he reamed the kid for hurting his arm. What a psycho....and therefore, I have finally found a name for him....from this point forward, the pitching coach is to be known as 'Psycho'. Yep, the name fits him.

The head coach is not much better. This morning, one of the players slowed a sprint to grab his sweatshirt, when the coach asked him why he slowed down his pace. When the player told him that he picked up his sweatshirt, the coach stopped practice, brought all the players in, and screamed at the poor cold guy in front of the entire group. Again, charming....eh?

At the dinner last night, the head coach was to speak for 5 minutes which morphed into 20 as he continued to use the word 'incredible' to describe everything from the players to the field to the snow outside. Everything is incredible. And therefore, my name for the head coach is now: Coach Incredible or CI for short.

He went on and on and on and on and on....and I was thinking that perhaps one of the folks at my table might open a flask of gin and pass it around, 'cause I could have used a shot after the 25th 'incredible'.  Am I making fun of the guy? No, I was making fun of his speech as he kept saying, "I should stop now, but this is so incredible....."

Finally...yes finally...he shut up and it was time to introduce the keynote speaker who is a former big league pitcher who is known for throwing a ball for walk off home run that won the World Series for the opposing team. Yes, dad and I watched the game that night and groaned when he was placed into the game, and screamed when he threw the pitch. As he spoke, he was funny and self deprecating. He also has made a fortune off that pitch. If he did not throw it, no one would have remembered him.

What he advised the guys was if you mess it, 'you gotta own it'. That was his message.....autograph and picture time....Good night ladies and gentlemen....

More later as the season looms ahead.....questions to answer:

Will the season be incredible?

Will Psycho explode before, during, or after a game...or all three?

Take care!

Organic and free range

Hey! You know what I have noticed this year? Well, I have noticed that formality and manners are gone in the newest generation. With my class of 20 year olds, they send emails to me that are addressed: "Hey, Dr. BP Mom....." That's right....'hey'...what happened to "Dear Dr. BP Mom"? Gone...out the window....Interesting phenomenon...they want employment, right? Once again, on Tuesday, I will have to squash the 'hey salutation' and share with them that employers like me prefer to be addressed by our professional names and not greeted with 'hey', 'yo', and 'uh'. Just sayin'



On to Confirmation...Lil A looked beautiful and so happy that her big cuz was her sponsor. She looks up to him like a big brother and he sees her as his little bud. So, it is all good. Although the bishop got her selected Confirmation name wrong when she approached the altar; dad said that it is written in stone and she has to go to the Vatican to change it. She laughed it off.....Although, she refused to have her photo taken with the Bishop after the ceremony saying that she was boycotting him for his faux pas.



 

The big kid chopped 20+ cases of apples yesterday and has 60 cases to go before Tuesday. I will stuff the pies for a few hours tomorrow and Tuesday, so I may not be able to update you on activities until Wednesday.

 


Yet, Wednesday is going to be a big day. Big Sis picked up the turkey yesterday, although I do not know how. He/she weighs 25 pounds and is massive. I needed a forklift to get him into the fridge. I made sure that he was humanely killed and organic, free-range, and so on. Big Sis says that she thinks so.

Why do I have the turkey? It all has to do with the pans that Big M has made for Thanksgiving. He wants to celebrate in his happy place, the Jersey shore. Don't laugh...Snooki and her pals live in northern Jersey. His house is in southern Jersey....big difference....anyway, Big M wants the family to come to his happy place. This is a great idea BUT they have one oven and we are talking about feeding the BP mom family. Why is this different than any other family?

 


Hmmm...let's see.....I believe that it is because we eat more, perhaps? Here is the way it goes.....yesterday, I created a menu and divided the activities among several of my family members. I am roasting the turkey, making sweet potatoes, stuffing, mashed potatoes, chocolate bombs, and cheesecake. The rest of the family has the other dishes. I figured that I had it set and delegated....yes? NO!
 

Last night at Lil A's Confirmation party, brother C says we have to have homemade soup, corn, and a pasta dish. Huh? Oye? We have to transport this food across state lines and find places to heat it up before dinner. Given my time management grid, I believe that we do not have enough oven space, burners or microwave time to put everything together and serve it hot. Therefore, some of our favorite dishes will either be cool, cold, or not served. Men! They do not understand the skill of creating a big meal for a large gathering and serving it hot after a person has had several glasses of wine or cranberry vodkas. They just don't get it ;-)

 

With that said, it is time for me to clip coupons, change into Zumba clothes, return home to work on  finding my lost electronic presentations, run to the grocery store, cook dinner, and find a quiet chair to crack open the box. That's right....quiet.....'cause I can see the future and it has Christmas tree, decorations, and outdoor lights on it. I know that I can do it.....I know it....I know it.,.....I know it!

Enjoy!

I am a slug

Good morning! It's cold and I came very close to turning on the fire place this morning, but changed my mind at the last minute. Yep, I got lazy and did not want to kneel in front of the fire place and turn the switch. Now that is how I define the word "slug."

OK, what's up? Well, yesterday Big M and family attended Tuna's game. As you may know, our Tuna, the senior football player is a big guy like his pop as he attended our alma mater. He has been injured and Saturday's game was the first for him since the opener when he tore his labrum. Matched up against a cross town rival, the team won in overtime with Tuna making the big plays. At the end of the game, the team signed the game ball and gave it to Big M. A dry eye was not to be had....As the team presented Big M with the game ball, several newspaper reporters began to interview Tuna and his dad. Today, in the Sunday papers, two articles about Tuna and his dad's fight against cancer were published. What can I say, but no one deserves the attention more than this family who gives to the community and others in a selfless manner. I know that Big M will defeat this foe....heart cancer....or as Fran Drescher says: "Cancer....schmancer...."





On to my big kid...although it seems that Tuna has him beat in weight and height.....we grow 'em big in the northeast....

He slept most of the day yesterday after a four hour work out and scrimmage. Not feeling particularly well, he texted the team's sports psychologist to talk with him. The doc had the big leftie meet him at the field hockey game. As he walked into the stadium, doc was standing next to the Athletic Director....hmmm.....any way, doc asked the kid several questions that he had to answer in front of the AD who got the general idea of what was going on with the team. He had no choice and had to answer the questions honestly. Perhaps, the doc knows much more about the trainers' power than he lets on as he shared that the field hockey team is also complaining about the trainers because they were made to run a great deal the day before a championship game. Can anyone say "muscle fatigue?"



Again, I am not an expert in training, but I do know that training is to prepare for a successful game day, not destroy it. Shocking as it may seem, an athlete has his or her body as a tool and it has to be cared for in a deliberate way in order to not overwhelm the muscles and allow for maximum use. The problem is that the trainers have way too much power. No one in charge is listening to the athletes. It seems that if an athlete complains, he is labeled a 'baby', 'whiner', 'tool', or 'wimp', therefore the trainers and coaches come down hard on them. But guess what? Not everyone athlete tries to avoid work outs. For example, my kid comes early to practices and stays late. Since the coaches know this, they should take that into consideration since he had surgery and has been working his way back. 



In my own classes, I see the students who work hard and others who want the results without the effort. I reward the hard workers and push the lazy ones to succeed. I believe that it is the same for sports, yet in order not to show favoritism, the coaches scream at all of them and expect the same regimen for each person. It doesn't work that way because all bodies are different and respond uniquely to working out. Therefore, it is up to the trainers and coaches to put together a program in which each person can maximize their level of skills, athleticism, and talent. Just sayin'.......



With that said, I am off to the gym with Tink....have a great day...go Eagles!

A soup day

Good autumn morning to you! It's breezy and cool and now it feels like the season has changed. I love fall in the northeast. The leaves and weather are worth the wait.

How is Big M? Well, I did not go to the hospital yesterday as it was culinary therapy day for BP Grandmom and me. We got together at my house since I have a double oven and we can be more efficient as we baked and cooked all afternoon. Let me say that since there is nothing that I can do to help Big Sis right now, I can provide meals so that there is one less worry. From what I hear, the refrigerator is empty. This is not good, especially for the nephew Tuna who is a massive kid and eats his weight each day. Big M once shared with me the story of Tuna baking a pizza then flipping the entire pizza in half and eating it like a taco. Yep, we gotta feed that boy and in a hurry!



What else is going on? well, our Diva is healthy again and sitting next to me as I type. She is a great companion. I only wish that she was not so hyper around other people. I cannot even take her on walks because she goes crazy when she sees other people. but once she gets to know a person, she loves them and is quite loyal. For example, she loves when Wildcat comes to the house and will sit by her all afternoon. She runs around BP grandmom and sits on Pop's chest when he falls asleep in the chair.



My office mate's dog passed away last week and when I saw her, I could see her puffy eyes from crying. I get it. I would be devastated if something happened to Diva. She is the only one who greats me when I walk in the house and does not utter the sentence: "What's for dinner?" Or maybe she does and I do not speak 'maltese.' The quints down the road are in the process of adopting a maltese from an Amish farm (can anyone say 'puppy mill?'). Anyway, the puppy is going to arrive this week. Lil D is going to bring the pup to the house to test on Diva; if Diva handles the intrusion on her territory, I will consider getting another dog. But, let me be clear....it will be MY dog and I will train it. The dog will not pester people, bite them, nag visitors, or bark during walks. The dog will ask politely to go outside to the bathroom and keep her room clean. Oops....that sounds kind of crazy, eh?





How is the big leftie? Hmmm...not sure...he went out partying on Friday night and I did not receive a 2 am call, so it must have worked out fairly well. Then yesterday, he called about 1 pm with the "I'm exhausted" speech and went to bed. As of this moment, I am not sure if he woke up. Generally, I hear more from him over the weekend; but this one, he has been quiet. Perhaps it is in deference to the battle that his uncle is facing and he is just tired. Let's continue to put life into perspective, right, kid?




OK, I gotta check on my soup for the family. It is a soup day....


Be safe!

Thinking is not over rated

Helloooo! I am sitting in the family room waiting for my pumpkin cupcakes to cool to frost them to take to Big Sis and Big M and am getting nervous. As I listen to a crow trying to enter my chimney, I am having flashbacks of when a squirrel made it through a few years ago and we had havoc and mayhem in the BPM household.....I think if this crow makes it in, then I am doomed, 'cause I have no idea how to get him out of the house....so I sit, listen, type, and hope that he gives up and finds a nice tree to live in....

How is Big M? Well, after a good weekend and an Eagles win, I think that he did pretty well. However, this morning at 11 am, he will have his biopsy and we are all praying without ceasing and sending positive vibes and mojo to the hospital. He's a tough guy....he can take on anything including any illness. Actually, he can beat it and beat it to a pulp. Positive vibes...thoughts....energy......pray, hope, and don't worry....

And how is my big leftie? Well, I did not hear from him until last night  after the scrimmage. Apparently the new coaches like to read books. This is a step up from the other coaches.....after all, they are in college and should be learning on and off the field, right? Anyway, the book is about mental toughness and so, the big kid read it (whew....)...and he incorporated some of the suggestions in the book.



If I remember correctly....he pitched two innings.....there was a walk, a hit, two strikeouts on 6 pitches....nice. Apparently, he began to struggle and the coaches were looking for the hook to pull him off the field, when he thought about the book and threw as hard as he could. With that, he hit 90 and struck the hapless players out at the plate. In fact, the last pitch hit the catcher's glove before the batter took a swing...now that is fast!

Ok, so he is in a happy mood and is now reconfiguring the way that he approaches the plate and pitch. In other words, he is thinking...Remember earlier when the coaches told him 'not to think?' And last year's gem of a pitching coach told him not to think, but also that he was a junior and should know how to get out of a pitching jam, which means he had to think! Did that make sense? No? Well, it doesn't make sense to me either, but.....when a guy gets mixed messages, he gets confused. Apparently, the new group of coaches like him to think but also have the mechanics to back up his thoughts (Oy, I need a Merlot, after that one....).

And with that thought, the cupcakes are cool and the crow has moved on. Have a great day!



Peace and Go Big M!