Monday, July 30, 2007

Rock and Rollover



Wanna know what happens when you don't post for a while? Sooner or later, all hell breaks loose.

Today the dam gave way when it was announced that Kevin Garnett would be traded to the Celtics. Then the water rose higher when the Luis Castillo trade to the Mets was made official, all of which led me to chatter my afternoon away.

But more on that later. Let's go forward by going back, starting with July 19th (my birthday)...

On the day I turned 34, with my mom and dad and wife and daughter Audrey all there to see it (the first and only time that group has ever been assembled), I knocked in my baseball team's winning run (I play on a town ball team in the Park National League called the Minneapolis Lakers) with my first ever walk off hit. It was certainly a birthday to remember, especially since I was able to chatter about it from the parking lot while the crack of the bat was still ringing in my ears.

A couple days later, on our way back from a weekend away in Galena, Illinois, I stopped at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa.

All around me were fans that had brought their own bats and balls and gloves to please the gods of baseball with games of catch and rounds of batting practice.



As I walked with my dog Lula Mae out from the corn and into left center field, all I could ask was "Is this heaven?", because it sure did feel like it.

Then I held Audrey as we ran the bases. Reaching third, we waited for the batter to step aside before we headed for home. It was Audrey who scored as I set her bare feet on the plate. What a wonderful place it is, that field where dreams come true.

My Mother in Law Daphne and I discussed FanChatter in the car later that day, driving through Iowa, and her questions helped lead me to another important revelation about the site...

"Mobile Sports Fan Chat" isn't just about posting from your mobile phone via SMS, because someday all phones will have browsers and all chat sites will be accessible by phone.

When we say "Mobile", we also mean "Updates". No other sports fan chat site notifies you by SMS or email when your friend has posted an entry. That means no other sports fan chat site can compare to FanChatter when it comes to breaking news or even just breaking commentary.

Thanks to my Mother in Law, I figured that out somewhere in southeastern Iowa.

Intermission:



Those were the days, weren't they?

So about those updates. Today I received a email from FanChatter (I've opted to use my Gmail account as my mobile "updater" for now because I can access it from my Blackberry and I prefer to chatter with a full QWERTY keyboard) that read...

(JJDacotah) KG to Celts? For a package of Ratliff, Jefferson, Telfair, Green and a pick? It better be for the one the Wolves gave Boston!

What was this? The Celtics deal was back on the table? Even though it hit me out of the blue, it made sense because Boston had picked up Ray Allen on draft day, meaning now KG could consider teaming with both Allen and Paul Pierce on a squad that would most certainly contend in the NBA's Eastern Conference.

The thing is, I found out about it because JJDacotah chattered and I received the update. Thanks JJ, whoever you are.




So history was made twice today, once by a couple of old teammates (McHale and Ainge, above) and once by a crazed Timberwolves superfan learning about the imminent trade of his favorite player... not on TV, not from a guy on the street, not even from a visit to ESPN.com... but from a new sports fan chat site offering mobile updates.

(Oh, and all the Twins got for Castillo were two minor league scrubs who can't hit their weight.)

Now that's a day to remember AND forget.

So why did I call this post "Rock and Rollover"? Well, I intended to mention that Audrey, who turned 4 months old today, completed her first full rollover this morning (followed immediately by her second, and third, and almost fourth before I stopped her from rolling off the bed). Then I was going to liken that (somehow) to FanChatter's 1-month anniversary (July 28, 2007) and how it was time for us to take it to the next level, just like my daughter. Time to rock, if you will, like Kiss on their Rock and Rollover album.

But this post was getting too long, and I'm only making it longer, so props to Audrey for learning to roll, and congrats to us for one month of chatter beginning with the NBA Draft and ending with my all time favorite baller being shipped to Boston.



Who said sports are boring in the summer?

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Your birthday is on the 19th?
Mine is the 20th.
You're 366 days older than me (and about five years more mature).

I can't believe KG is gone- even if it was the right thing to do.

Probably the most F'ed up week I can remember.