Category Archives: Sports

16 things I miss about Boston

Posted in Boston, Lists, Soccer, Sports by

Watching the Boston Marathon today, I got a little nostalgic. I started thinking about all 280932690_3d4efa0126_bthe things I miss about the B. I lived there for 9 wonderful years — meeting some amazing people along the way while building my sports career and eating dozens of cannoli. So, since it’s the 16th day of the month, I decided to compile a list of the 16 things I miss most about the City on a Hill:

16. The Boston Marathon & Patriots Day …  The Red Sox play early. Everyone calls in sick for work. And everybody’s outdoors enjoying the potentially spring-like weather. It’s one giant party for the entire city. I have fond memories of standing along the route with my best friend from New York, randomly yelling out “Go Paul, Go Adam!” while runners jogged by. I didn’t know any Pauls or Adams’ in the race but I figured one them was bound to named Paul or Adam.

15. The New England Revolution … Yes, I enjoyed the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots and Celtics. (Especially the 2008 C’s with Garnett, Allen and Pierce … and Doc at the helm… they were unstoppable). But my actual start in the sports TV industry, before the Red Sox, was the Revolution. I was a production assistant and statistician for a number of years, covering every home game (and U.S. games) and loved every minute of it.

14. Walking through the city … Considering it was so small, I walked all over the place: from my apartment in Brighton to Newbury Street, from B.U. to the North End, and from Watertown to Arlington. By the time I left, I might’ve logged more miles than the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land. I loved walking and Boston was the PERFECT place to amble through.

13. Friendly Toast (at MIT) … My friend and I would wait almost an hour for a table but the New Hampshire Finest — scrambled eggs with goat cheese and asparagus — was everything I ever wanted in life.

12. The close proximity to New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine … All three states: gorgeous, rustic, picturesque. Great for day trips and mini-vacays.

11. Summer … For one reason and one reason only: ALL THE STUDENTS WENT HOME AND TRAFFIC WAS REDUCED BY A MILLION! T’was a glorious time.

Continue reading →

Coming to America: Black Hockey

Posted in Blackhawks, Chicago, Headlines, Hockey, NHL, Sports, Uncategorized by

Sooooo … Random question:

200801200951

NHL’s first Black hockey player, Willie O’Ree

Who changes the channel during commercial breaks when you’re watching a game?

Me.

Who changes the channel when a commercial featuring an all-black cast appears during the NHL All-Star Game?

Not Me.

Sunday, a McDonalds commercial featuring only black people aired. I don’t know about you, but that commercial caught my attention. It’s been four days since I first saw it and it still has my attention. It was a typical ad that you’d see run on any network. But, it was on NBC during my favorite sport’s biggest fan-driven game and in front of millions of viewers! And, to make it even better, those same viewers watched Flyers star Wayne Simmonds win the MVP title! All of it had me wondering, is the NHL FINALLY trying to reach out to its black fans?!?!?!? If so …

YESSSS!

I feel like I did when the White Sox won the World Series back in 2005 or when the Blackhawks beat the Bruins in just 17 seconds in 2013: PURE ELATION! I remember going to my first NHL game in 2008 and my friend and I, who’s Dominican, were counting all the black and brown people we saw at the Garden. I don’t think it was more than five people. But we were thrilled to see other fans who looked like us in the stands.

Can you imagine what watching Simmonds win the MVP is doing for a kid on the South Side of Chicago or West Philadelphia or inner-city Boston?! Or, how about simply seeing P.K. Subban and Auston Matthews skate on national TV?! I hope it’s igniting something in them to not only watch hockey but play it.

I hope this is a sign of things to come! I’d love to see an NHL full of Black, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Italian, Irish, Syrian, Iraqi, Filipino, Punjabi, and Japanese players. Bleacher Report thinks so too. Just read this gem about by Evan Moore about the black all-stars and the NHL’s future. I know it won’t be easy. Willie O’Ree was spit on and called all sorts of names when he bravely broke the league’s color barrier in 1958. But his efforts weren’t in vain.

If he can do it, anyone can.

Tea recommendation: Turmeric tea … to wake you up to something new!

It’s National Signing Day, I CAN’T EVEN!

Posted in Football, Headlines, Sports, Uncategorized by

In Boston, I used to mentor teens and they always used the phrase “I can’t even.” It was their generation’s “whatever.” I never really knew when to use it until today.

It’s National Signing Day and I CAN’T EVEN!!!

signature

Fountain pen and signature

I tried to avoid it all day. But I simply couldn’t. I got a few updates on my phone this morning. Every other tweet during the day was about who signed where. And the headlines are still flooding my newsfeed at 9 o’clock at night. I’m incredibly happy for the kids but when did this become a thing?!

What’s most upsetting is the deification of these kids. Rashan Gray, the nation’s top recruit, decided to go to Michigan. Great! I hope he shines bright like a diamond. I really do. But do we need all the news coverage and interviews and highlights on national TV?! Haven’t we all read the script before? Small-town kid makes it to a big state school and turns into campus hotshot after his highlights lead SportsCenter’s A block for the 15th time in two days. He then becomes No. 1 in the nation and thus untouchable.

But then trouble comes. He busts his knee or worse gets busted by the law. The confetti falls. Then everyone starts pointing the finger.

Except not at ourselves. We didn’t do anything. We’re bowing down at the next kid.

 

American WOMAN!

Posted in Football, Headlines, Love, Soccer, Sports by
Carli Lloyd.CJMBGmAWwAAEbK2

Carli Legit.

Carli LEGEND!

Houston playing, Liverpool loving, Nike sponsoring, Hat-Trick history making, Jersey-born Scarlet Knight …

Carli Lloyd is my new Girl Crush!

Best moment too: When she gave Abby Wambach the captain’s armband! #Classy

Congrats to the US Women’s National Team on capturing our hearts like Brandi and Mia did years ago!!!

And awesome sauce job by the other crushes too: Kelley O’Hara. Hope Solo. Alex Morgan. Abby Wambach. Sydney Leroux. Megan Rapinoe. Amy Rodriguez. Becky Sauerbrunn. Heather O’Reilly. Christen Press. Christie Rampone. Alyssa Naeher. Ali Krieger. Meghan Klingenberg. Julie Johnston. Lauren Holiday. Whitney Engen. Ashlyn Harris. Tobin Heath. Shannon Boxx. Morgan Brian. Lori Chalupny.

#SheBelieves #IBelieve #CarliLloydFromTheParkingLot

I Have a New SHEro and Her Name Is …

Posted in Love, Soccer, Sports by

imagesCarli Lloyd. Kelley O’Hara. Hope Solo. Alex Morgan. Abby Wambach. Sydney Leroux.Amy Rodriguez. Becky Sauerbrunn. Heather O’Reilly. Christen Press. Christie Rampone. Alyssa Naeher. Ali Krieger. Megan Rapinoe. Meghan Klingenberg. Julie Johnston. Lauren Holiday. Whitney Engen. Ashlyn Harris. Tobin Heath. Shannon Boxx. Morgan Brian. Lori Chalupny.

#SheBelieves #IBelieve

One Goal. One City. One Lord Stanley Cup Win.

Posted in Blackhawks, Chicago, Headlines, Hockey, Love, NHL, Sports by

“What. Just. Happened?!”Blackhawks

I feel like I’ve been saying that all night.

WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED?!

It keeps rolling around in my brain.

The Blackhawks just won the Stanley Cup! WHAT?! My Blackhawks?!? My black & red, my Toews, my Kane, my city, my heart, my joy & pain just won the ultimate game!!!

WHAT?!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

THE BLACKHAWKS JUST WON THE STANLEY CUP!!!

It feels like it was just yesterday I was so ridiculously upset the Blackhawks lost to the LA Kings in the Western Conference Final in June 2014. And then the season began and we struggled to stay in first place. And then I was at the Garden watching them take on the Bruins in December. And then Kane’s clavicle got knocked out of place and MY HEART COMPLETELY DROPPED! And throughout it all I’m texting my two Blackhawk-fanatic besties at home after every win, loss and headline. And now the season ends … with THIS!

I still can’t comprehend it: 3 Stanley Cup wins in 6 seasons. My brain hurts.

Duncan Keith with 700+ minutes of ice time. And COREY!!!! (***shaking my head with my eyes closed like I’m at church***)

Corey Crawford went BEAST MODE!!!

I love this team. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS TEAM.

Cue the Chelsea Dagger Chicago. WE WON THE CUP!!!

24.3 Things To Do Instead of Focusing on Deflategate

Posted in Football, Headlines, Lists, Sports by
24.3

24.3

Roger Goodell. Tom Brady. Robert Kraft. Ted Wells. Wells Report. Ball Boy. Ball Boy whose name sounds like a hall-of-famer. Football. PSI. Deflategate. Deflategate. DEFLATEGATE.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

I’m still tired of it all. It’s been over a week since the Wells Report disrupted our daily lives and it’s driving me CRAZY. It’s a 243-paged dissertation and in an effort to NOT focus on it I’ve come up with 24.3 things we can do instead:

  1. Find Jimmy Hoffa … It’s been decades since his disappearance and we still don’t know where he is
  2. Find the rest of Bill Belichick’s sleeves … I imagine they’re all tucked away somewhere at Gillette
  3. Save Chicago from bankruptcy… please!
  4. Save baseball from boredom … double please!
  5. Bring baseball back to the hood! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
  6. Repair Baltimore … Just grab a broom and dustpan and get to work
  7. Free Adnan
  8. Figure out if Serial is sponsored by “Mail Kimp” or “Mail Chimp” … It’s sad that we still don’t know how to pronounce it!
    Continue reading →

Deflategate? More like Deflate-hate!

Posted in Deep Thinking, Football, Headlines, Sports by

FootballAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Is anyone else tired of all the Deflategate noise! It’s everywhere! It’s all over the newspapers. It’s on the radio, on TV, on street corners and on the T. And when the NFL punished Patriots QB Tom Brady on Monday, the news nearly broke Twitter! In January I was “ahhhhh-ing” because I was just tired of the wall-to-wall coverage of Deflategate. It was repetitive and annoying like the New England snow. But when the official punishments were announced on Monday my “ahhhhh-ing” grew from 5 “h’s” to 15 “h’s.” And this time I was upset at the actual punishment.

Continue reading →

On To The Next One

Posted in Blackhawks, Chicago, Hockey, NHL, Sports by

In the words of Mr. Jay Z, the Blackhawks are on to the next one.

They played 60 minutes of solid hockey, gave my heart a bit of a scare in the final minutes, but came out with a huge win over the Minnesota Wild. And I couldn’t be happier… and tireder!

Yes, I know “tireder” is not a word but a sista is tired. It’s what happens when you’re on the East Coast and your beloved teams are in the Midwest. Usually when I come home it’s super late and all I want to do is sleep. But then I think “Oh hey the Hawks are on” or “Let me catch the 4th quarter of the Bulls game.” So I stay up and watch the game and the next thing you know I’m yelling at the TV, just like I did tonight when the Wild scored 2 goals in 2 minutes in an effort to rally from a 4-1 deficit.

#Ahhhhhh is what I think I tweeted.

This is why we can’t have nice things, like leads. Nonetheless, the boys held on to their one-goal lead for dear life and are now off to the Western Conference finals for the 5th time in 7 years.

This sista is tre proud! But, off to bed I go!

Tea of Choice: Chamomile … to put me to sleep.

Seeeeeabs!

Posted in Blackhawks, NHL, Playoffs, Sports by

The Blackhawks seriously make me HAPPY!

They fought and fought and fought through overtime and another overtime and another one and THEY WON! I came home thinking I was only going to catch the end of the game and go to bed. But it’s 2:22AM and Ive been blessed to watch the last 3 OTs to watch my boys pull out a MAJOR WIN! 

Thank you Brent Seabrook! Thank you Chicago Blackhawks! And thank you NBC Sports Network for bringing a piece of home to my living room in Boston!

Cue the Chelsea Dagger!