Red (and Green) Sox

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Sox Fans.



Spring is here!

Things I've Learned Today

1. The Red Sox are willing to sign a player to a one-day deal if he'd like to retire in a Red Sox uniform, but only if that player's name is Nomar, which begs the question: How many people on planet Earth are named Nomar?

2. One hundred calories worth of Lorna Doone cookies are tasty, but only for two seconds. And then you want more, because who is happy with only two seconds' worth of Lorna Doone?



3. Jessica and Heather of Go Fug Yourself offer the best post-Oscar style analysis of all time. Thanks for the excuse to procrastinate, girls. (BTW...I'm with you on Sigourney Weaver. No way she's sixty.)

4. It's possible to obtain a medical license in England without having the ability to differentiate between pregnancy and gout.

5. I should never, ever name a character Lindsay. If I do, Lindsay Lohan might think it's modeled after her and sue me. Apparently, Lindsay--or her lawyer, at any rate--claims that any fictional use of the name "Lindsay" is akin to using an identifiable, unique name such as Madonna or Oprah to hawk products. (The lawyer did not cite Nomar as an example.)

Tuesday Night Baseball

For the last three weeks, I've been taking a boot camp class. While it's very good for my muscles (I can do more pushups than ever!), and I'm having odd-yet-entertaining flashbacks to high school sports (jumping up and down bleachers and running suicides will do that), my knees feel like they were the actual part hit by a boot. I'm going through ice packs the way I usually go through ice cream. (Which brings me back to why I need boot camp. Research says ice cream is addictive, you know.)

Of course, balancing ice packs on my knees requires me to sit, which means watching even more heart-attack inducing baseball games than usual. (The fact I ponied up for MLB Extra Innings means I can watch them ALL.) The Rockies are making me happy lately, but could the Red Sox create any more drama? Coming back from being down 8-2 to make it an 8-7 game at the bottom of the ninth tonight, for the freakin' WILD CARD SPOT?

With one out, Pedroia comes within a couple feet of hitting it out, but it's caught. (No!!!) Ellsbury steals his 67th base of the season to get into scoring position. (Yay!) Martinez walks (Yippee!) Youk gets up with two on...and strikes out looking to end the game (ARGH!)

I know they'll pull it out, but sheesh. I don't need heart palpitations at the same time I'm balancing monster ice packs on my knees.

Tomorrow, my Red Sox. Tomorrow. (Pretty please?)

All That's Good In The World

After whining about all that's wrong with baseball, I figure I ought to balance that with all that's good in baseball. Or--hey, why not?--things that are simply good in the world.

In baseball land:

• Mark Buehrle's perfect game. Doesn't matter if you're a White Sox lover or hater, whenever a pitcher pulls this off, it's something to cheer.

• The Rockies are moving into positive territory. I don't believe their sudden uptick in the win column is related to firing Hurdle (sorry, I'm still grumpy about that.) Whatever it is that's going right at Coors Field, I hope it keeps right on going.

• Matt Holliday is now 1,000 miles closer to me, having been traded from the A's to the Cardinals. As I've previously stated, Matt is My Next Husband After Jacoby Ellsbury (and, presumably, after my actual husband.) It may be time for a road trip to St. Louis. Plus, St. Louis has the added attractions of a great ballpark and Albert Pujols. What's not to like?

• I got to add another ballpark to my Been There, Done That list this month! While visiting D.C. for the Romance Writers of America's annual conference, I managed to hop the Metro to catch last Saturday's game between the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs. Beautiful, easily accessible ballpark, friendly employees. I saw lots of players tossing balls to kids in the stands, which earns a team serious brownie points. And best of all, I had great seats, right behind the Nats' dugout.

• Tonight, I'll see the Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles at Fenway. Any day at Fenway is a good day. (Assuming the Sox win, of course!)

And in the real (aka: non-baseball) world:

• I've been writing like mad (thus my relative silence on the blog front.) I've gotten TONS of e-mails asking me what I'm working on. As soon as it's in the can, I'll spill. Until then, I'm superstitious. But suffice it to say that I'm in a happy place with the writing, and I hope readers will be excited about the results.

• Writing has also been happy for Hakeem Bennett of Brooklyn. His essay about heroes won the Stone Arch Books national essay contest, landing him a spot in a Superman comic. I think it's incredibly cool that DC Comics rewards great writing this way. Congrats, Hakeem!

• I had the chance to meet LOTS of readers last week during the Romance Writers of America's booksigning for literacy in Washington, DC. Thanks to all of you who turned out. I love getting the chance to talk about various characters (Val and Georg from the Royally Jacked series still generate the most questions) and to hear what books you're carrying around with you right now. Huge thanks to author Jennifer Echols, who not only stopped by to chat, but who took this shot while I was getting set up for the event:



If I had proper cropping skills, I would. But there you go. It was still a lot of fun, even with those exhibition-hall type ceilings!

Got more happy news? Cool stuff happening in your neighborhood? An AAHHHHH moment you saw on TV? Put it in the comments! It's finally summer at my house (in other words, the rain has stopped at long last!), so I'm in the mood to hear all about your Big Happy.

What's Wrong With Baseball These Days?

I'll make a list:

1) I am in 10th place in my league in the ESPN Baseball Challenge. While tenth sounds good when there are dozens of people in the league, in this case, I'm tenth out of twelve. And I am actually trying, whereas the guys currently in the eleven and twelve slots gave up. Or else they are sitting back to see if they can beat me without changing a single player all season. (Give it up, Geralyn Dawson. It won't work.)

I cannot choose a pitching staff to save my soul. What was with the Twins last night? And how did I get so lucky as to pick the Giants on the one night Tim Lincecum blows it big? Apparently, I have a knack for these picks. If the Tigers' pitching staff flails in both games of their doubleheader today, you'll know you should take me to Vegas with you and bet the opposite of everything I do.

2) The Texas Rangers took two out of three from the Red Sox this weekend. I had to sit in the rain to watch the first loss, and man, was it painful. (Geralyn is now laughing at me, as she is also a Rangers fan.)

3) The Colorado Rockies were so stupid as to fire one of my all-time fave managers, Clint Hurdle. I guess the guys who fired him forgot that, OH YEAH, they traded away Matt Holliday. And OH YEAH, Jeff Francis has been hurt all year. Maybe, just maybe, the Rockies will have trouble winning games in that situation. (Geralyn is not to blame for any of this. I don't think Hurdle should be blamed, either.)

Do the guys who fired Hurdle remember this?



That would be the World Series. And that would be Clint Hurdle on the right, leading the team. Yes, the Rockies lost to the Red Sox (I was screwed on that one...one of my fave teams was going to lose either way!) But the fact the Rockies made it at all was due in large part to...well, you know who. The Rockies were suckin' wind that year, but came back to win 20 of their last 21 games.

I'll feel better about baseball tomorrow. (Especially if the Tigers' pitching staff does well, or if someone hires Hurdle.) In the meantime, I think I'll console myself by reading a good book.

Maybe I'll make it one of Geralyn's. At least I know it'll be good!

The Happiest Place On Earth, Part V (The Conclusion!)

Was so, so sad to leave the Disney Magic, as I blogged about earlier (just click on the labels for "Disney Cruise" at the bottom of this post if you'd like to read Parts I - IV and to see the accompanying photos of alligator heads. Or Stitch.) But when the ship docks, you're outta luck. If you refuse to disembark because you're having too much fun, you deal with the port authority, and that's not my idea of a good time.

I headed home--briefly!--because I had Red Sox tickets. (And really, isn't THIS in the running for the Happiest Place on Earth? I think so! Especially when Josh Beckett's pitching.)




After the game, however, I headed right back to Logan Airport and made nice with the folks from JetBlue, who took me back to Orlando, where author Elizabeth Boyle and I spoke to librarians at the annual Florida Library Association conference. Even though we had an early-morning time slot, our room was PACKED. (Not only because we are us, and naturally entertaining, but because we primed everyone with coffee and distributed massive goody bags. We never assume our witty banter is enough to rouse folks from their comfy beds at 8AM.)

We had a load of fun discussing low-cost strategies for making their libraries teen-friendly, ways to use their romance novel collections to draw in readers, and gave them info on attracting fantastic speakers. We also did a lot of Q & A about writing (and the life of writers) in general. If you're a librarian and would be interested in a copy of my handout on Five Ways to Encourage Teen Patronage, just e-mail me. I'm happy to send it along. (And by all means, if you organize library conferences and are interested in having us speak, ask! We love meeting librarians.)

After our talk, Elizabeth and I drove all over the Orlando area signing books. If you'd like an autographed book, check at any of the following stores (call first, just to be sure they're still in stock):

Winter Park, FL

Borders
600 North Orlando Ave

Orlando, FL

Books-A-Million
5498 Touchstone Dr

Barnes & Noble
Colonial Plaza Market Center
2418 E Colonial Drive

Barnes & Noble
Waterford Lakes Town Center
481 N Alafaya Trail

Barnes & Noble
Florida Mall
8358 S Orange Blossom Trail

Altamonte Springs, FL

Barnes & Noble
Altamonte Mall
451 Altamonte Drive

Borders
880 W State Road 436

Casselberry, FL

Books-A-Million
S Hwy 17/92

I'm now home from Florida for awhile. Tonight, I'm heading back to Fenway to catch the Red Sox and the Texas Rangers. Brad Penny's on the mound for the Sox, so it should be a great game.

Cursed

No Red Sox fan should ever use the word "cursed", but whatever. I couldn't sleep last night, so at 2 AM I wandered downstairs to the tv and was surprised to see the Sox game in the 12th inning. Couldn't resist watching, plus Matt Holliday--who SHOULD still be on the Rockies--was at the plate for the A's, and I love watching the guy bat.

Sadly, the minute I tune in, it happens: a couple batters after Holliday and the Sox lose. I'm sure it's because I turned on my tv. I cursed them.

Other evidence I am cursed:

Saturday: I decide the family room carpet is disgusting. Book the cleaners to come on Monday.
Monday: Carpet gets spiffied up, looks brand new.
Tuesday: I decide to water the plants in the family room.
Immediately afterward: Dog decides wet dirt is the PERFECT place to bury her chew toy, spraying mud everywhere in the process. When I see her and tell her, "No!" she runs through it (and all over the carpet.)
Immediately after that: Discover vacuum cleaner is broken.

Now I'm waiting to see if bad things really do come in threes. (And I'm hoping that "plant dirt everywhere" and "broken vacuum" count as two separate incidents!)

Perfect Ten

Ten strikeouts, one win. Thanks for making opening day rock, Josh! Made me soooo happy to see the Sox win the first one at home. Homers from Tek and Dustin Pedroia sealed it. Can't wait until I get to go to my first Red Sox game of 2009 when they play the Yankees at the end of this month.

In other happy sporting news, I took second place in my ESPN NCAA basketball pool (not bad, since I picked Memphis to win it all), and I will likely take third in my Geek Pool. Should find out about that one soon.

How about all of you? Were your brackets well-chosen? Are you amped for baseball? (Me, I honored the day by forking over $9.99 to get the MLB.com app for my iPhone. Next time I'm traveling, I can get the game day audio, live scores, and all the other info I usually miss!)

Yes, I'm a bit obsessive!

It's On!

Must say...I LOVE March. While I'm no hockey or football hater, they're just not sports I follow that closely. On the other hand, I LOVE watching baseball. Caught a pre-season game last night on NESN and it gave me a huge spring-is-here mood lift. The Red Sox were playing the Yankees down in Florida, and--horrors--the Yankees won (they had a stellar eighth.) But who cares? It's BASEBALL! And I refuse to believe that this signals anything for the upcoming regular season. Can't wait to see the Sox up here at Fenway in less than a month (whoo-hoo!)

In better news, I'm tied for first in my NCAA pool on ESPN.com. I need Memphis to win it all (so everyone send them some good vibes, hey?) I'm also participating in what my husband kindly terms "The Geek Pool." A group of around 40 of us make our selections every year, but instead of making out brackets, we number each of the tourney teams from 1 - 64. You put 64 on the team you think will win it all, and a one on the team you feel is most likely to go out in the first round. I have two entries, with 64 on Memphis in one, and 64 on Louisville in the other. No idea how I'm doing in that pool yet, so wish me luck! It's a world of spreadsheet fun.

What about you? What sporting events have you feeling upbeat?

Cheerleaders in Baseball

So I haven't blogged since the Red Sox lost to the Devil Rays--okay, okay, the RAYS, which I think is a silly name change--in the ALCS championship. Mostly because I had knee surgery last week (more on that later), which I think is a valid excuse. In the meantime, I've gotten a few e-mails asking me who I support in the World Series, or if I'm even watching.

I am watching. And I'm cheering for the Phillies. Not that I'm a Phillies fan or a Rays hater, it's simply that I have an aversion to this:



No, not the guy's Homer Simpson shirt, which is really not something to be worn in public (though it's very 1990 of him, so I'll be kind and call it retro.) It's the whole concept of cheerleaders in baseball. If you watch the Rays' games, you'll see their cheerleaders dancing on top of the dugout between innings or when the Rays get a home run.

Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? I would NOT want to pay for primo, behind-the-dugout seats only to have to watch the game by constantly shifting in my seat to see around someone's knee socks.

Just as bad: Check out the Marlins' cheerleaders here:


And worse, on the field here:


WHY? Who came up with this?? Is it a Florida phenomenon? If you're a Marlins or Rays fan, what do you think? Are you more likely to buy a ticket to the game if there are cheerleaders? I really want to know if I'm the only one who's anti-baseball cheerleader. (Not anti-cheerleader, just anti-cheerleaders-in-baseball. There IS a difference.)

As to that knee surgery: this was an arthoscopic surgery to fix a torn meniscus. As much as I'd love to blame it on the marathon (therefore making me look like I toughed out 26.2 miles through injury), it wasn't marathon-related. I've had knee problems since I tore my ACL playing softball while I was in law school. This is knee surgery #4 for me (three arthroscopic surgeries plus the ACL repair, which thankfully turned out better than Tom Brady's ACL surgery has so far.) And this time, I don't even know how I injured myself. However, I am probably paying for a very talented and kind orthopedic surgeon's children to go to college, so all is not lost!

Wake Up, People!

To all of you who left Fenway early last night: Wake up, people! Don't you know your own team?

I loves them, I loves them, I loves them. I may be looking rather red- and puffy-eyed this morning due to a serious lack of sleep, but it is SO WORTH IT!

Leavin' the Laptop Behind

As promised, Korea pics! I left the laptop behind for the first time ever, but apparently I did not leave the guilt. I THOUGHT I had, since I made a conscious decision to make the Korea trip a total writing vacation. But then, as I was window shopping in Insadong, Seoul, I saw this:



I'm sure it says "Starbucks", but the instant I saw it, a little voice in my head translated it to, "Why are you shopping when you should be writing? In here? With a venti nonfat latte nearby and oodles of words flying onto the page?"

But since I refuse to write by hand (it's completely illegible, even to me), and the laptop was a few thousand miles away, I marched right down the street and plunked down some Korean Won for a funky green pot to put on my desk. Then the next day, I visited the DMZ, which I highly recommend doing if you're ever in South Korea. It is the ultimate way to NOT think about whatever writing/cleaning/other project you should be doing.

Other trip highlights: Visiting three different Buddhist temples (one at 4 am so I could be there when the monks rang the morning bells), three different palaces, and two local markets (mostly so I could check out the food, which is sold by friendly people like this):



The highlight of the trip, however, was completely unexpected. While walking in Namdaemun Market, I was approached by a group of teenage boys who begged me to take a picture with them. So I did!



Yep, I'm the blonde one. Also, the only one not wearing Converse. Go figure!

Unfortunately, I came home to Fenway Park and witnessed a nasty game three playoff loss to the Devil Rays. Fenway sure didn't feel like Fenway with the Sox struggling from the get-go (even with the smell of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and Fenway Franks in the air.)

Here's hoping they can rally in game five tonight!

Thirteen Dunkin' Donuts

Bathroom renovations continue at Casa Niki this week. It's ALMOST done! The toilet (very important) is going in as I type this, though there's still no countertop and no door (doors also being vital to a bathroom. Especially once the toilet's there.) Promise to post another pic soon.

In the meantime, I went to my last regular-season game at Fenway last night. Burned my tongue on too-hot Dunkin' Donuts coffee, but had a great time nonetheless as the Sox won. I'll miss some of the playoffs while I'm in Korea, so hopefully the Red Sox will still be in it when I get back. Of course, the end of the season means it's also the last week of the ESPN Baseball Challenge. It looks like I'll finish in sixth place in my group of 29 people. However, I'm in another group called Red Sox Nation (shocker, I know.) I'm currently in 309th place out of 4600 or so people. I'd like to finish in the top 300, but it may take a weekend miracle.

And...NOBODY tell me what happened on either Ugly Betty or Survivor last night, please! Had to tape 'em while I was at the game. I'll watch tomorrow (tonight is debate night, so watching tonight is out.) I am SO happy the new TV season has started. More Ugly Betty, more 30 Rock, more Dirty Sexy Money, more Amazing Race, and more Survivor! Once Design Star ended, I was stuck (gasp!) with nothing more to watch than re-runs of What Not To Wear. While I love Stacy and Clinton, watching them in re-runs just isn't as exciting.

Finally...in answer to the many caring questions I've received about the Jimmy Fund Walk: 1) Yes, you can still donate. Click right here to access my donation page. Any donations go directly to the Jimmy Fund to help fight cancer (the money does not come to me.) 2) Yes, I have completely recovered. I actually felt fine the next day (surprised me, too. I was expecting to be sore. Instead, I spent the next day cleaning out the garage!) 3) There are THIRTEEN Dunkin' Donuts locations along the Jimmy Fund Walk route (it's the 26.2 mile Boston Marathon route.) Crazy, but true. I counted. I did see a few walkers stop for Munchkins and coffee mid-walk, but I waited until I got home, as I cannot walk and drink coffee simultaneously. (Hey, I apparently can't even watch baseball and drink coffee without injury. I know my limitations!)

Have a great weekend, everyone! And Go Red Sox!

StubHub Can Kiss My...

business goodbye. Not that they care. I mean, I'm one person. But let me warn you: If you try to sell event tickets with them, you may get screwed. Consider going elsewhere.

Normally, I'm not a ticket seller. I don't buy tickets just to resell...I buy if I want to go. As many of you know from an earlier blog, I snagged George Michael tix back in May. I was soooo happy...the guy hasn't been to the US in seventeen years, and I'm a die-hard fan. (Laugh all you want. I do not care.)

But then I found out the Red Sox were playing the Yankees at the EXACT same time, and my husband already bought us tickets. Luckily, the Sox changed the game time to 1:05 pm, so I thought I was safe...until last week, when they changed game time right back to 8:05 pm, exactly the same time George hits the stage. On top of that, the friend who'd planned to go with me couldn't make it, and neither could my backup George Michael fan. Talk about heartbreaking! But since I obviously can't be in two places at once, and I had someone to go with me to baseball, but not to see George, off to StubHub I went, boo-hooing all the way.

I listed the tickets, but they were only up for two days before the "last minute" deadline crept up, which means you have to re-list using StubHub's Last Minute Services, which the site says is "quick and easy!" Well, here's the dirty truth about their Last Minute Services: It's not even StubHub who runs it. You sign up, tell them where your tix are, and they say they'll get back to you within 48 hours to give you a code to re-list the tickets. (And many places on the site even say within 24 hours. But we'll go with the 48, just to give them the benefit of the doubt.) Did I get contacted in those 48 hours? Nope. And repeated calls to customer service after the 48 hours were up didn't help. The first guy said he saw my request in the system, said I should've already been called or e-mailed, and promised to fix it "right away." No e-mail or call back. The next day I called again. A woman in customer service said, "My supervisor's right here...we'll get this fixed and call you back in 30 - 40 minutes. I'm so sorry this is happening!" Three hours later...nothing. So I call again, and the guy I get in customer service says, "Oh, Last Minute Services doesn't have to call you back. It's optional."

HUH? What happened to "quick and easy" or "24 hours" or even "48 hours"?

Nowhere on the site does it say that. And in the meantime, you check off a box that says you will not sell the tix elsewhere. In other words: you're giving them the right to sell your tickets...but they may or may not even let you LIST them. And you can't go elsewhere. Like to (hint, hint) Ace Tickets. Or, say, turn them over to TicketMaster for a possible re-sale to someone who really wants to see George Michael.

So finally, LAST NIGHT, less than 24 hours before the concert, I get an e-mail with the address to which I must send the tickets so they can be listed for sale. I send the PDF *exactly* as requested within two minutes of receiving the e-mail. An hour later, they send back an e-mail saying it's not a PDF. So I re-send, IMMEDIATELY, and make it clear that it's a PDF of the tickets. No response. No password or code or whatever to allow me to list them for sale now that they have the PDF. And when I called back this morning, they said, "We can't help you."

So I have NO tickets. NO listing. NO money. NO one to contact.

StubHub, you can kiss my...well, you know. (And if whoever at StubHub or Last Minute Services got my PDF file sits in my seats, or gives 'em to their buddies, StubHub, you are SO gonna hear it.)

George, I hope it's a WONDERFUL concert. I'd never sell your tix if I could make it. And I'll never, ever deal with StubHub again.

Can't Miss Parks (and Niki in CT!)

MSNBC.com posted this great article today about America's baseball parks--three all-time classics and four "new" classics. I've made it to three on the list (Fenway, Wrigley, and Coors.) I don't think I'm going to get to see Yankee Stadium, sadly (though I've wanted to!) If you're a baseball fan, or just appreciate the history of sports and want to see a stadium while you're being a tourist, it's a great article to read.

In other news, I'll be in Connecticut tomorrow night--if you're in the area, come see me! Here's the official info:

Niki Burnham at the New Britain Public Library
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
20 High Street
New Britain, CT 06051

Niki will be talking about her books, what it's really like to be an author, doing a little show and tell (want to see the covers that didn't make it?), and answering all your questions (like why the ski poles are hanging on the side of the lift chair on the cover of Do-Over.)

This event is free and open to the public.

Hey Now, You're An All-Star

Over the weekend, the MLB announced both the National League and American League rosters for this year's All-Star Game, which will be the last played at Yankee Stadium (as the ads on ESPN tell us over and over. And over.)

What do you think? Who belongs? Who doesn't? Though I'm a big Varitek fan, I have to admit that I'm shocked he's there. This hasn't been his best year. On the other hand, Mike Lowell, the Red Sox's Mr. Steady, didn't make it, and I thought he might. (Though with A-Rod as competition, it's tough.)

Cole Hamels and Aubrey Huff were pretty big snubs. Ditto Jason Bay. However, I can't say I was really surprised by any of those. And I did want to see J. J. Hardy on the list. The guy's been going gangbusters on my ESPN Challenge fantasy team for the last two weeks, ever since I acquired him. Turned out to be one of my best buys of the season (though with perpetually bad pitching, I'm now in fourth place out of the twenty-two competitors in my league. Overall in the ESPN Challenge, I'm at 88%. A nice B+ grade, though I'm shooting for that A.) But you can't fault the voters for going with Hanley Ramirez over J.J. Hardy. Hanley's had a killer year at the plate.

Personally, my favorite part of it all is the Home Run Derby. It's just fun to watch guys smack balls over the wall just to prove they can. This year, the fave seems to be Chase Utley , but I'm predicting a Dan Uggla victory.

What do you think? Snubs? Derby Predictions? Other thoughts?

I'll be catching one of the final games before the All-Star break tonight at Fenway. My brother lives in Minneapolis, so while I'm cheering on the Red Sox, I have a feeling he'll be calling my cell to mock me every time the Twins score. (Hopefully, the phone won't ring, given that Boston has Daisuke on the mound.)

Oh, Happy Day!

I have a not-so-secret secret: I am a huge George Michael fan. Most of my friends tease me about this, but whatever. I am who I am. So when I saw that George is coming to the U.S. for the first time in seventeen years, and that Boston would be one of the stops, I did a squealy-girly happy dance. The instant tix went on sale, I snagged two, even though I knew my husband would not go (he can't stand George Michael) and I'd have to take a friend. And, naturally, I did another squealy-girly happy dance.

That is, until I realized it's also the night I have tickets to the Red Sox/Yankee game. OUCH. (My husband laughed his head off.)

I'd relegated myself to having to sell off one set of tickets, boo-hooing all the while. But then as I was checking out the updated
Red Sox schedule, I noticed that the Sox/Yankee game was moved to 1:05PM (and George isn't on until 8!) Oh, Happy Day!

You may now feel free to mock me for being a George fan. I won't care. I'll be busy singing Freedom '90 while I celebrate another Sox victory.

Patriots' Day

Yesterday was a government holiday that's little-known outside of Massachusetts. The third Monday in April is officially Patriots' Day. I always think of it as a sports holiday, even though--despite the name--it's not the day on which Bay Staters celebrate the New England Patriots. (You'd think with all the Super Bowl wins...assuming one ignores last year's fiasco...but no.)

Rather, it's the day of the Boston Marathon, and all 25,000-plus runners go by Fenway Park while the Red Sox play a home game. I drove in early, and counted 110 buses full of runners making their way out to the starting line in Hopkinton. (The runners mostly stay in Boston, then take buses out to the start the morning of the race.) Lots of cars on the highway had their windows rolled down to wave at the runners and cheer them on. Pretty cool.

Being a holiday, it was a perfect day at Fenway. I got there early and spent some time hanging around on Yawkey Way. The team is raffling off a World Series ring to raise money for the The Red Sox Foundation, so they were letting kids try on the rings (near the 2007 World Series banner, of course. Gotta show off that banner!)



After ring-ogling, I watched NESN's Tom Caron doing his pregame show from a perch alongside RemDawg's, then stood in line in Autograph Alley to meet the über-cool 1967 Cy Young Award winner Jim Lonborg. (BTW...I rate Lonborg particularly high on my personal cool meter because, after he finished his baseball career, he went to dental school and became Dr. Lonborg. Realize, though, that both my dad and one of my brothers are dentists, so your cool mileage may vary.)



He was kind enough to sign both a ball and a photo for me, and no, they will not be appearing on eBay.

However, the best part of the day was the game itself. Have I mentioned how much I love my seats? Fenway is one of those places that feels like a second home. I know which of the Aramark guys are generous when handing out mustard for the Fenway Franks, which guys are quickest with the peanuts, and which are most accurate when they hurl the Cracker Jack across two sections. And then there's the view. Took this shot of Jacoby Ellsbury at the start of the game:



Then snapped this photo of David Murphy and Gerald Laird just before the Sox took the game from the Texas Rangers, 8 - 3:



I've gotta say it again. I love my seats. I feel extremely lucky to have them. Of course, apologies of the day go out to my buddy, author Geralyn Dawson, who happens to be a Texas Rangers fan. (They'll win their next one, Ger!)

After the game, I walked along the Boston Marathon route to cheer on the runners. The winners had already finished, but at the 4 - 5 hour mark, there were still plenty of people making the last push along Beacon Street toward the finish line:



Congrats to all who entered the race. Running a marathon is a huge accomplishment, especially the Boston Marathon with all its hills. Hope that, in the end, your Patriots' Day was as enjoyable as mine!

Opening Day

Most MLB teams play their opening day games today. Anyone else in the mood to sing a little Take Me Out To The Ball Game?

After watching the Nationals game (and oohing and ahhing over their new stadium), I celebrated the beginning of the 2008 season by joining ESPN's Baseball Challenge. If you like the idea of playing fantasy baseball, but don't have the time to commit to a draft or following stats/trading players each day, this is a great way to go. Join up and see how you do...it's not too late, and it's very easy. You get $50 million to spend on a team, then you pick and choose from a list of available players. The pitching staff is something you select in its entirety...instead of picking individual pitchers, you would, for instance, nab the Tampa Bay pitching staff for one low (low, low) price. I opted to go for the Tigers pitchers. Let's hope they were a good buy.



(And no, I did not create an all-Rockies and Red Sox roster of position players, though I did snag Matt Holliday for center field.)


Let's hope my Baseball Challenge team fares better than my Geek Pool entry for the NCAA tourney. I'm now in 20th and 24th place with my two entries. Talk about sheer suckage. I don't think even a Kansas-Memphis final could pull me out of the basement now. So if anyone has tips on creating a first place baseball lineup--under that $50 million salary cap, of course--please let me know. I need to redeem myself!

Easter Brackets

Happy Easter to all! I'm spending mine inspecting/picking up the yard, doing a bit of housecleaning (Easter is all about renewal, right?) and enjoying the bright spring sunshine.

Of course, I also have a stash of Dove chocolate at the ready, most likely to be consumed while watching the NCAA basketball tourney. For the last twelve years or thereabouts, I've participated in what my husband calls the "Geek Pool." A group of around 40 - 50 of us make our selections every year, but instead of making out brackets, we number each of the tourney teams from 1 - 64. You put 64 on the team you think will win it all, and a one on the team you feel is most likely to go out in the first round. From there, it's all a bunch of spreadsheet fun. For the first time EVER, I'm leading the pack (thank you San Diego and Siena!) It's unlikely to hold up past the first round, but I'm going to enjoy being in first place while it lasts. (In the interest of full disclosure: I submitted two entries this year. Nic #1 is in first place, Nic #2 is in 40th. Out of 45. That's far more indicative of both my college basketball expertise and my math abilities.) If Kansas wins it all, taking out Memphis in the final, I might actually have a shot at the whole thing. But I'm not holding my breath.

In the meantime, I'm celebrating another rite of spring. The Sox are about to play their season opener! They're taking on the Oakland A's in Japan after both teams play exhibition games against the Hanshin Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants. (Wouldn't it be a blast to attend a game in Japan? Kick back with some sushi, listen to the fans singing songs for their teams and going nuts when a ball makes it over the wall...whoo-hoo! Going to see baseball in Japan is on my must-do-before-I-die list.)

Back in the USA, our group ticket draft is tonight--we split our season tix six ways, and have a "draft night" once a year to determine who gets to attend which games--and I can't wait. Fenway, here I come!

Have a wonderful Easter holiday, first week of spring, MLB opening week, and NCAA Tourney! (And gooooo Jayhawks!)

Say It Isn't So!

The big rumor here in Boston--at least according to the Boston Globe--is that the Red Sox, who've been talking trade with the Twins in order to get pitcher Johan Santana, have thrown Jacoby Ellsbury into the mix.



What are they thinking? The guy scored free tacos for the entire country, fer cryin' out loud!!

Seattle Recap, Award Predictions

Had a fabulous trip to Seattle this past weekend. Kicked it off by meeting a group of librarians from the King County Library System. If you live anywhere near Seattle, check out their website--King County is the second-largest library system in the country, and they've put together wonderful programs for teens and adults.

I did a booksigning alongside several other authors in town for the Emerald City Writers' Conference, which meant the trip allowed me the opportunity to network with writer friends. I spent a great deal of time with Leah Vale and Terri Reed, then had a to-die-for Italian dinner with Susan Andersen, Elizabeth Boyle, Christina Dodd, Rachel Gibson, and Laura Lee Guhrke. They even tolerated my rude behavior when I kept checking the Rockies/Red Sox score on my iPhone (which was semi-hidden under the table.)

On Sunday, after the conference wrapped up, I spent the afternoon with Elizabeth Boyle and her family. We sat on her deck and enjoyed the great weather, set up her new MySpace page, then watched the first half of game four of the World Series. We made a dash for the airport during the seventh inning stretch and I managed to catch most of the eighth and the entire ninth inning in a sports bar at SeaTac before flying back to Boston. (Thanks, Elizabeth!)

Needless to say, huge, huge congrats to the Boston Red Sox, and to Series MVP Mike Lowell! I thought the Colorado Rockies would pull off that last game (it was close!), but in the end, I do think the stronger team prevailed. However, the Rockies had a fabulous season, winning 21 of 22 games right before entering the World Series (including a playoff sweep of the Diamondbacks), so I hope that's not lost in the celebration for the Sox (probably one of the strongest lineups ever to take the field....thanks, Theo!)

Since today's a parade day here in Boston, I figure it's as good a time as any to make award predictions:

NL Cy Young:
• Who Should Win: Jake Peavy
• Who Will Win: Jake Peavy

-- Solid all year, and strongest in the NL with 19 wins.

AL Cy Young:
• Who Should Win: Josh Beckett
• Who Will Win: Josh Beckett

-- Biggest no-brainer of all. You go, Josh!

NL Rookie of the Year:
• Who Should Win: Troy Tulowitzki
• Who Will Win: Troy Tulowitzki

-- He's been amazing in the field and is a big reason the Rockies went to the Series. If he steps up with the bat, he could be the next Derek Jeter.

AL Rookie of the Year:
• Who Should Win: Dustin Pedroia
• Who Will Win: Dustin Pedroia

-- Made spectacular defensive plays and kept a high batting average all year. I kept waiting for him to fall apart (no rookie can keep hitting like that, can they?) but he never did.

NL MVP:
• Who Should Win: Matt Holliday
• Who Will Win: Matt Holliday

-- Nabbed the NL batting title, was solid in the field and inspirational in the clubhouse. Go, Matt!

AL MVP:
• Who Should Win: Mike Lowell
• Who Will Win: Alex Rodriguez

-- I'm Sox-centric. So shoot me. Lowell is Mr. Steady. Hope he has a blast during today's parade through Boston.

Dual Citizenship at Game One

First off, yes, I realize I should have posted this immediately following the game. However, immediately following the game I had to hustle home, get ONE HOUR of sleep, grab my suitcase, then drive back past Fenway to get to the airport to fly to Seattle. So I'm a little pokey on posting.

HOWEVER...I had a FABULOUS time at game one, despite the blowout (which is not so fun, no matter which team you want to win. Blowouts suck.)

I got to Fenway just as the gates opened. Instead of going in, however, I decided to walk down Lansdowne Street to the studio of WEEI Sports Radio to catch the pregame show. Glenn Ordway was taking calls, and of course everyone was talking about how the Rockies stink and the Red Sox are perfect. There wasn't a Rockies fan to be seen on the street.

I had on a black pullover, so I took my Rockies cap out of my backpack and put it on. Just because. As much as I'm a Red Sox fan, I thought the conversation was a bit one-sided.

Well, Ordway stopped the caller, pointed at me out the window, and said, "Wait a minute! I think we have Miss Colorado out here! She's actually wearing a Rockies hat!" (I'm telling you, there were NO other Rockies fans in sight. I was taking my life into my hands.) Ordway said something else about me maybe being on his flight to Denver on Saturday, and something about how he couldn't stop the show to do _____? I couldn't hear what he said, because the people around me were booing my hat. (Little do they know I'm also a Sox fan.) Wish I knew what he'd said!

After watching for a while longer, I decided to go around to Yawkey Way and see what was happening inside the park. As I went through the turnstile, Larry Lucchino shook my hand and welcomed me to Fenway Park. Must say, I felt really, really wrong shaking his hand while wearing a Rockies hat.

Once inside, I made my way past the Rockies' dugout to stand behind the Fox broadcast platform, just down the third base line. Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Eric Byrnes was broadcasting alongside Kevin Kennedy and the rest of the Fox News anchors. But check out Eric's shoes:



Yep, he was wearing ripped up jeans and Vans. They were giving him a hard time pre-broadcast, and I loved every minute of it.

I counted a grand total of eight Rockies fans inside the ballpark (this was my count during the entire game), but one--who'd flown in from Denver--was down watching the Fox broadcast with me. I took a picture of him with his friend (a Red Sox fan), then he took a picture of me, just so I could prove I was there. (Plus, I doubt any Sox fans would have been willing to take my picture.)



The Rockies were catching balls in the outfield if they weren't in the batter's box. My next future husband, Matt Holliday (after Jacoby Ellsbury...but there's a whole 'nuther blog on that) was chatting with Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzki as they fielded balls.



When it was Holliday's turn to bat, he walked my direction, saw my hat, and gave me a huge grin and a wave when I gave him a thumbs up (remember...the stands were a solid blanket of red-hatted fans, so I stood out.) I called my husband to let him know my Series was officially complete, because Holliday smiled at me. I suspect it was yet another moment he regretted giving me his ticket.

I watched Holliday take batting practice, made my way through the crowd (with much heckling), got a high five from Wally, the Green Monster, then hid in a bathroom stall (I know where the clean ones are located) to change into a red long-sleeved shirt, a Manny Ramirez jersey, and Red Sox hat. Before heading to my seat, I did pin a Colorado flag to the top.

I think I represented my home state well (hey, the Big O called me Miss Colorado on the air!) But at Fenway, after 8 pm, I was once again a member of Red Sox Nation. I got back to my seat just in time for team introductions. Took this shot of the lineup, but hate to guess what Manny Corpas was thinking here:



The shot of my two favorite managers, Terry Francona (best thing ever to happen to the Red Sox) and Clint Hurdle was better:



John Williams and the Boston Pops did the Star Spangled Banner, the first pitch was thrown by Yaz and the rest of the '67 Red Sox, and we were underway!



Josh Beckett threw a fantastic game, as everyone knew he would. Even Matt Holliday struck out in the first. (Sadly, I took a picture of that, too.)



Jeff Francis, unfortunately, had one of his worst outings of the year. Bummer, because I wanted both teams to play to the level of which they're capable. And I wanted to see how the Sox handled Francis when he pitched his best.

In the end, it was a 13-1 blowout (game two was much more balanced, with a final score of 2-1, in favor of the Red Sox, thanks to great pitching by Jonathan Papelbon and the super-cool, always underrated Hideki Okajima.)

On the way out, I spotted the coolest hat in the park...it has Fenway Park, the Green Monster, and the Citgo sign on top, and helmets of all the AL teams around the outside:



Now that's a fan!

The "Ticket-Buying Experience" (With Bonus!)

Sounds like a Disney ride, or something Trekkers might see at the Las Vegas Hilton, but it is sooooo not.

Try staring at these words for, oh, THREE AND A HALF HOURS:

Please wait for the server to become available. The site is experiencing heavy loads at this time.

To improve your ticket-buying experience and to make it as pleasant as possible, this site permits entry to a limited number of patrons at a time.

This page will refresh when the countdown timer below reaches zero. When this happens, the system will automatically try to access the site again.

Do not refresh this page or you will be dropped to the end of the line. Thank you for your patience.

Here's what would have made "ticket-buying experience" (experience? they call this an experience?) "as pleasant as possible": If I could GET THROUGH.

Two and a half hours on Monday, then they announced a server crash. Then three hours yesterday before my screen told me that games three and four were sold out, and there were a "limited number" of seats still available for game five. A half-hour trying for game five, and it, too, sold out. (I'd originally been trying for game four.) And what's worse? That little line about not refreshing the page. What do you do when it freezes? You HAVE to refresh.

Some experience.

Same thing happened to everyone in my family (and extended family, and friends, nearly all of whom are in Colorado) who tried to get tickets. Not one of us got through, ever. Grumble, grumble. I *so* wanted to see a game at Coors Field to cheer on the Rockies. Apparently, however, they do not want me.

On the bright side, I'm going to game one tonight at Fenway. We have ONE ticket, and my husband told me six weeks ago (thinking he was making the safest promise ever), "If it ends up being the Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies, you can have it."

I'm still waiting for the planet to spin off its axis.

So I'm there. My husband is kicking himself. And the biggest surprise is probably awaiting the poor guy who has the other of our two seats for the game...we split our tickets six ways, and Jim has the other seat for tonight. I'm sure he's expecting to kick back, enjoy the game, and have a beer with my husband while he cheers on the Sox. Instead, he gets The Wife. And not only that, he gets The Wife Who Is Also A Rockies Fan.

That brings me to a big dilemma: What do I wear?!? If I'd snagged a seat at Coors for later in the week, it'd be easy...wear Red Sox gear at Fenway, Rockies gear at Coors. Cheer for each team in their home ballpark and enjoy the fact that I get to see my two absolute favorite teams in the Series. But I'm just not willing to shell out over a grand for Rockpile seats on StubHub so I can give a healthy profit to the jerk who managed to buy a ticket online yesterday with the sole motive of reselling to an actual (gasp) FAN.

Instead, I think I'll end up wearing my Manny Ramirez jersey over a Colorado State T-shirt, then pinning a Colorado flag to my hat. (Though which hat, I haven't decided yet. Probably a Sox hat, if I want to survive the evening in one piece.) I'll try to get online sometime tomorrow to post pics from game one (the camera battery is fully charged this time!) Maybe I can convince Jim to take a picture of me before some drunk fan rips the Colorado pin off my hat.

In the morning, I fly out wicked early for Seattle. Come on over to Bellevue and see me, get an autographed book, tell me who you think will win the Series and feel free to make fun of my ticket-buying "experience."

There will be copies of Goddess Games, as well as at least a few other recent titles. This is your chance to ask me, face to face, anything you want about writing, my books, or whatever!

In the meantime, check out the "bonus" promised in the blog's title: The cover for my upcoming book is in! My editor sent it yesterday. Does it not ROCK??



I'm thrilled to be included with the fabulous Terri Clark (author of the upcoming book SLEEPLESS), New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins (author of CRANK and GLASS), and the ultra-cool Lynda Sandoval (author of WHO'S YOUR DADDY? and CHICKS AHOY.)

Look for BREAKING UP this spring!

Lucky Seven

Game seven ROCKED. Got there early for batting practice, watched former Boston Red Sox player Trot Nixon (now a Cleveland Indian) hit, then talk with Peter Gammons.



Took some shots early in the game...first, of Kevin Youkilis prepping to smack one with Dustin Pedroia on first base, then a shot of Jacoby Ellsbury on third, waiting for the signal to go home.




Unfortunately, the camera battery went before Jonathan Papelbon stood on the pitcher's mound and poured his beer all over the AL Championship trophy after the Red Sox won 11-2. Maybe it's best not to immortalize that moment, anyway.

Made it home just before two a.m., then got up and made a run at buying Rockies tickets for one of the games at Coors Field. No dice...the system crashed. (There go two hours of my productive work time!) I'll try again when they re-post the tickets at noon. Wish me luck!

I think I'm in baseball heaven. I'll be at Fenway for game one on Wednesday night, then head to Seattle for a large group booksigning on Saturday night. If you're in the Seattle area, please hop on over to Bellevue and introduce yourself! There will be many, many authors signing their books, including Julia Quinn, Stella Cameron, Cherry Adair, Elizabeth Boyle, Jane Porter, and a slew of others.

A Grand Slam Kind of Day

Oh, happy day!

On the writing front, I've just about wrapped up a new proposal for a YA novel. I'll be sending it to my agent early this week. As soon as I can share more details, I'll post them to my website. At the moment, I'll just say that it's a comedy, I've LOVED writing it so far, and it's set in eastern Nebraska.

In other news, as I've mentioned before, my husband and I have Red Sox season tickets, but they're split six ways. (In other words, we get to attend--roughly--every sixth game.) During the playoffs, we have a draft for the tickets. Instead of drafting games, we draft seats. (For instance, "I want seat number two to ALCS game one.")

As his first pick, my husband drafted a seat to game one of the World Series, which is great if Boston makes the Series, not so great if they don't. As his second and third picks, he drafted both seats to game seven of the ALCS. Again, risky, because who knows if they'll make the ALCS, let alone whether it'll go the full seven games. (His final pick was one seat to game five of the division series...a game that was never played.)

Well...guess what? Since Curt Schilling and J.D. Drew had phenomenal performances at Fenway last night, the ALCS is going to game seven...and so am I!

Never would have predicted that a J.D. Drew grand slam would do it, but whaddya know? If you're a member of Red Sox Nation, you just gotta believe.

Tonight's prediction: Sox take it 8-3.

Writing Emergency

I was scanning the shelves at Target (again) today, hoping they'd received a new shipment of Diet Cherry Coke. Just as I was about to give up, the Coke Man (in a spiffy red polo with the Coca-Cola logo) showed up to restock. I asked about the Diet Cherry Coke, and he informed me that it is, in fact, a seasonal item and no longer being stocked. Ditto the Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper.

I think this constitutes a writing emergency. How is it possible that I've never noticed this before? I wrote all through last winter with a fridge full of Diet Cherry Coke! Were my local stores stocking old soda or something?

I'd lobby Coke for a change, but if ever a company was too big to listen to one squawking author, Coke is it. If anyone has a Diet Cherry Coke source, let me know. I'm finishing up a new proposal, and it calls for Diet Cherry Coke fuel. There's an autographed book in it for you if your suggestion works!

In other emergency news, the Sox had better step it up tonight. Otherwise, my dream of seeing my two favorite teams in the World Series--the Red Sox in the A.L. and the Rockies in the N.L.--is over. (Paging Josh Beckett...tonight would be a great time to pull off a no-hitter!)



Red Sox Nation should quit listening to the pessimists on WEEI 850 and let Manny be Manny and say whatever he wants; a lot of baseball is a mind game, and comments like Manny's are expected. (Come on, does anyone really think Manny's given up? I don't.) What matters is rocking tonight's game at Jacobs Field, not what anyone says or does off the field.

I'm planning to TiVO both Survivor and Ugly Betty so I don't miss a single pitch of tonight's game. Let's go, Sox! I'll be nursing my VERY LAST Diet Cherry Coke while I watch.

Two Interviews, A Website, and Those Yankees

I'll attack the last part first. I saw a news poll on one of Boston's television stations yesterday afternoon that said 71% of Red Sox fans wanted to have the Sox face the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series, rather than face the New York Yankees. After last night's game, they're getting their wish. But I have to wonder why they felt this way. IMO, either team would be tough. I was just hoping the series between the Yankees and the Indians would go the full five games so the advancing team would be tired before arriving in Boston.

Last StubHub check: cheapest tix to the Boston/Cleveland game are running $293 for the nosebleed section of the bleachers. A good seat near the action is running $2718.

On the other hand, the cheapest tix to the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks first playoff game start at $40. Not great seats, but still. What a price differential. I think I could almost get the airfare out west and a game ticket for what it'd cost me to get one ticket to see the Sox. Insane.

However, I have tres coolio news! First, I e-mailed the revisions on my upcoming novella, Last Stand, to my editor this morning. (Did ya hear the woot-woot sounds?! LOVE when I have a project wrapped!)

Second, Joy Siegel of Working Palms Radio Magazine in South Florida has asked to do an interview with me. It will air down there on the following stations:

WLVJ - 1040AM
WFTL - 850AM
WMEN - 640AM
WFLL - 1400AM

As soon as I know the exact dates and times, I'll post 'em here. I'm also doing an interview with the fantastic Cynthia Leitich Smith for her popular Cynsations blog. Again, as soon as I know the exact date the interview goes live, I'll post it here.

Speaking of live, you've gotta check out Lynda Sandoval's new website, which re-launched today. I think it's one of the best I've ever seen. (And if you haven't read Lynda's books yet--either for teens or for adults--you're missing out.)



And a P.S.: Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me to tell me that Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper IS a seasonal release (I'll stock up next year!) and that Diet Cherry Coke is not. I'll go hunting for that Diet Cherry Coke now and hope they don't replace it with Cherry Coke Zero, which is way too sweet for me.

The Dangers of Salad Dressing

I spent the last forty-five minutes or so sweeping out and then vacuuming my garage. I'm a neat freak (as you may know from past blog posts) but not to the extent that I vacuum my garage. The only garages that should be vacuumed are those that are more like car museums (think Jay Leno, Oprah Winfrey.) My garage is of the standard cement-floor, stuffed-with-sports-equipment variety. Worthy of the occasional broom cleaning, but not vacuuming. Not until this morning.

Tip: When taking salad dressing bottles to the recycling bin in the garage, be careful not to drop them. The glass goes EVERYWHERE. Under the car, into shoes, you name it. I managed to drop not one, but two glass bottles. I swept out the glass the best I could, then vacuumed. I got most of it before I backed out the car (thinking, please, please, do not let me have missed any glass under the tires) then swept and vacuumed some more.

So much for saving time by carrying as many bottles and cans as possible.

I suspect it's because last night I uttered a sentence that's never before passed my lips. I actually said, "Both the Rockies and the Red Sox won their playoff games!" Jeff Francis had an outstanding outing against the Phillies and the Red Sox pitcher, Josh Beckett, threw a shutout against the Angels.



It's giving me a spooky feeling, like something really, really bad is about to happen...I'm not used to having both my teams win, let alone win in the playoffs.

Wonder if this means I'm going to end up with flat tires tomorrow, thanks to the glass in the garage? Something's gotta give.

On another baseball topic: For those who're interested in the finances behind professional sports, I came across this article on CNN Money about how much teams stand to lose financially when their teams are expected to make the playoffs, but don't. Somehow, I doubt Mets ticket sales drop off drastically in 2008. Mets fans are die-hards.

In Praise of Jacoby Ellsbury

Last night, while watching the Sox play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, I told my husband that I'd figured out the identity of my next husband. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "I believe I've found the next Mr. Nic."

Him: "Uh-huh." (The fact his gaze didn't leave the screen was an additional clue that he wasn't taking me seriously.)

Me: "Any guesses?"

Him, after a pause: "Is your book finished yet? Isn't it due at the end of the month? That's not far off."

Yeah, I let that go. But a few plays later, in the fifth inning, rookie Jacoby Ellsbury made a fantastic catch, racing to the left field line, tripping over the bullpen mound and taking out a folding chair in order to catch a Greg Norton foul ball.

Me: "That's the guy."

Him: "You go for it, Nic." (Again, he just doesn't take me seriously. Smart man.)

What gets me with Ellsbury isn't simply that he's making plays so spectacular they end up on SportsCenter. It's not that he's good-looking (though he is), or even that he's both articulate and interesting when he's interviewed.

What I appreciate about watching him play is that he exhibits a true passion for baseball. He's an in-the-moment player, approaching each game as if it's his one night in the majors. He's completely focused when he's at the plate; when he's in the field, his eye never leaves the ball. Determined athletes like Ellsbury reinvigorate the players around them. They get their teams into the playoffs. They make kids believe that with a lot of hard work, they too can do something great.

I hope he stays in the majors a long time.