Playgrounds: Some Truth Exist

I read Clive McFarlane's playground article and truly laughed out loud. 

The Roosevelt School playground, which I know about first-hand because my daughter attended the school when the conversation began about having a playground on school grounds, was built with alot of money from the school's parents and alot of  "sweat equity".

I wish Clive would have done a better job fact checking the figures because he would have learned that it was NOT $30,000 that was kicked in by the City from the City Sewer Fund as a way "to give something back" to the Vernon Hill and Quinsigamond Village residents, the real dollar amount is more like $300,000.

If you'd like the back story, you can read what I've written about the Providence Street Playground here.

Boston Celtics & World Cup Soccer

Today is a unbelievably tough day! Not only am I exhausted, due to
staying up
to watch the Celtics game, but, invaribly, being emotionally drained
and not being able to fall asleep after last night's Game 7 loss.

I did my share of smack-talking with my mother, friends and other
relatives that the Boston Celtics were going to win the 2009-2010 NBA
Championship title and that I would send every Lakers fan that I know
a extra small championship t-shirt to rub it in their face.

Well, you already know the outcome, the Celtics loss, and I conceded
publicly on Twitter and on Facebook. I believe in good sportsmanship
and applauding great competition.

Speaking of great competition, allow me to say that it was a sight to
see team USA in FIFA World Cup soccer battle back from being down 2-0
at halftime to Slovenia and score two goals in the second half. And,
by all accounts the referees were horrible in this match, Team USA
scored a third goal that was wiped off the board due to the referee
calling a USA player offsides (watch the highlights on ESPN and tell
me that wasn't a goal.).

So, as I prepare to have a Mountain Dew and a cup of iced Cafe Bustelo
to get me through the rest of the day, at least I can say that I've
witnessed some GREAT games.

LIVESTRONG x Nike

Lance Armstrong’s charity initiative, LIVESTRONG, was a movement that began with a recognizable yellow rubber bracelet that quickly became a complex venture and community that attracted people from various walks of life and industries.

Amongst artists, and sportsmen, LIVESTRONG also shares an extremely close relationship with Nike, having worked with the sportswear giant on an extensive collection of collaborative footwear, accessories and apparel. While most of the previous collaborations are more performance based, the new collaborative Nike Sweet Classic Low Canvas is low-key and a perfect summer pair of sneakers.

The shoes have been rendered in the signature LIVESTRONG colorway of bright yellow and grey, but the highlight of the shoes are the bicycle-print midsoles, which pays tribute to Lance Armstrong’s passion for cycling.

These are currently available at Finish Line if you'd like a pair.

BP to the Gulf Coast: You're worth $20 Billion to us

 

 

 

BP has agreed to put $20 Billion in an escrow account for the Gulf Coast and those affected by the oil spill. 

Some folks will applaud BP for "doing the right thing", but knowing that oil has been flowing for 53-plus-days, I hardly believe that $20 Billion will be adequate to pay the many people and businesses that have been affected.       

Charter Communications' lossless LOSS

There are going to be some folks that feel that last night's Celtics' loss to the Lakers was "no big deal", but I was all for the Celtics to "finish him" [insert Mortal Kombat voice] in game 6.

For all the complaining that I do about Charter Communications, I have to say that I'm not surprised that they "chose" to spare some Boston Celtics fans that live the Greendale area of Worcester the misery and made sure they couldn't watch the game.

I just hope that come tomorrow, Thursday, my cable and Internet isn't miraculously "out of service".

WYSL: Worcester Youth Soccer League Fall Registration

The end of the school year is right around the corner, the weather has gotten warmer and everyone may be looking forward to summer, but looking forward to the fall, the Worcester Youth Soccer League is accepting registrants for the Fall 2010 season.

As someone that didn't play the game growing up (it's hard to count one season as goalie in high school), I have learned the game by watching some great kids' matches and decided to "jump in, feet first" by coaching a team that my daughter plays on. It is alot of FUN!

The Worcester Youth Soccer League(WYSL) online registration is open and it makes registering a child very easy.  You can do it in less than 5-minutes.


If you have a child, nephew, niece, granddaughter or grandson,  there is no better way to encourage communication, fun, team work and good sportsmanship than playing an organized team sport.

So, before you book that flight or hotel room, head over to the Worcester Youth Soccer League website- http://wysl.org/ - and register your child.  They'll thank you for it and you'll enjoy every minute of watching them play, have fun and learn.

World Cup 2010

If you're a soccer fan, this past weekend was your Superbowl, NBA Championship, the World Series, the Stanley Cup all rolled up into one big Jabulani soccer ball.



There were some exciting games to be watched:

South Africa vs. Mexico- This was the first game of the 2010 World Cup games and it was an exciting one from start to finish. South Africa scored at the 55-minute mark and it appeared that they would hold on to win the game, but Mexico scored at the 79-minute mark, to tie the game.

South Africa had a final chance to score and win the game when the balled was tracked down and shot that hit the left post minutes before the final whistle was blown.


Uraguay vs. France- Both teams played tough defense and had good shots on goal but neither team scored. Final score, 0-0.

Argentina vs. Nigeria- Argentina won in Diego Maradona's first appearance as a coach and one of the most talented players, Lionel Messi, had some great shots on goal. Argentina won 1-0.

Korea vs. Greece- South Korea played great defense and scored 2-goals that pushed Greece on their heels and they couldn't bounce back. Korea won 2-0

England vs. USA- England scored in under 5-minutes and then it appeared that the USA players calmed down and went onto play some tough defense. Team USA scored on a simple shot on goal by U.S. right winger Clint Dempsey that was fumbled by England goalkeeper Robert Green, in a goal that has been remarked as one of the worst goals thus far in the tournament. The match ended in a tie, 1-1.


Algeria vs. Slovenia- Slovenia won a tough match and scored a winning goal on what I would call a goalie error. Slovenia won 1-0.

Germany vs. Australia- Germany destroyed AUS by scoring 4 goals. Germany won 4-0.

Serbia vs. Ghana- Ghana won the game with a goal on a penalty kick and South Africa was celebrating the first African team to win in this year's games. Ghana won 1-0.

As with all World Cup matches, there is always some bit of controversy.

This year it seems to be the Jabulani soccer ball from German-based Adidas that many of the players and goalkeepers have said, “It’s rubbish,” England backup goalkeeper David James said in a June 12 interview in Rustenburg. “It’s just not a very good football. But everyone’s gotta play with the same ball and those who can manipulate it the best have an advantage.”

As the games continue to be played, I'm interested to see what adjustments the teams make to deal with the Jabulani, which means “to rejoice” in the Zulu language, which is said to be very unpredictable in the air.