Pick Your Friends Wisely..

We develop friendships throughout our whole lives. Some are solid friends until the end, some are in passing and some are acquaintances.  It is a part of life. 

There are friends that give us positive vibes, support us, love us, take care of us, validate us, want to see us succeed and give us that unconditional love. 

These are the successful relationships we have built with people...

There are friends that look down on us, negative vibes, judge us, want us to fail, don't really care at all about you and their friendship. They want to look better by putting you down.

These are the unsuccessful relationships we have built with people...

You decided who you want in your life. Surround yourself with those that wish the best for you and want to be a part of your journey

Where Do We Go From Here?

I had a conversation with a friend of mine about the steroid issue in baseball and his comment to me was that anyone that did not fail a test has the right to be in the Hall of Fame based on the stats they put up and no proof of cheating. My first thought was that Barry Bonds’s head size growing 1 ¼ inches while he was in his 30’s was proof enough for me or that Roger Clemens winning 3 Cy Young’s and throwing as hard in his 40’s as he did in his 20’s is also proof enough for me.

So what to do with the issue of today’s cheaters? My feeling is this, I was a very big Pete Rose fan growing up and followed Rose and the Reds each day and looked forward to seeing him one day inducted into the Hall of Fame. The sad truth is he broke the cardinal rule you don’t bet on the game. So over the years the conversation has come up that if all these steroid users get in the Hall of Fame then Rose should be put in also. So I have to ask how do two wrongs make a right?

As most of you know I grew up rooting against the Yankees and everything they stood for (buying championships) and I especially disliked one of their biggest free agent signings Reggie Jackson.

Reggie hit over 500 homeruns in his career and even though he swung from his heals and could not hit for average he accomplished something not many people before him had done, he hit 500 homeruns in a big league uniform. Can you imagine how he has felt the last few years as people are flying by him on the all time list?

Sammy Sosa without steroids may hit 300 before he is out of baseball for striking out too much, he ends up with 600, Barry Bonds was on pace to hit 400 before 1998 and he ends up the all time leader with 700. Mark McGuire could not stay healthy enough to play 120 games a year and he hits 583 in sixteen seasons and in 1993 and 1994 he hit nine in each season. And last if Manny gets back on the field he only needs nine homeruns to pass Reggie! I would be pretty mad if I were Reggie!

So this brings me to the latest scandal, A-rod, Ryan Braun and the rest of the 20-25 people linked to the Biogenesis Clinic. My honest feeling is throw them all out of the game. These 50 & 100 game suspensions are just not stopping these players when they can cash in on $100 million dollar contracts. So what is Ryan Braun going to lose 3.5 million, so what! That is chump change when you are talking 100 million.

Major League Baseball needs to clean up this mess once and for all, if you are caught in any way linked or suspected you are out needs to be the rule, sorry but no more three strikes and you’re out. Rose broke the rules and he has been paying for it since 1989 and this was said to preserve the integrity of the game. Some feel (including his teammates) that Reggie did not have much integrity in his day, it’s kind of ironic that his 563 is falling lower and lower on the all time list because of players of his ilk. At least he did it clean. 

The Mom Stays in the Picture

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook and I thought it said a lot about how we all think today. It is written from a woman’s prospective but I think it can apply to any of us male or female. I have always avoided a camera even when I was a college athlete and as I got older and heavier I became almost angry at the sight of a camera. Our kids see us as perfect in every way and we need to learn to love ourselves the way they do and leave proof of our existence. Getting healthy will help make that easier to do.


by Allison Tate Freelance writer, mom of four

Last weekend, my family traveled to attend my oldest niece's Sweet Sixteen party. My brother and sister-in-law planned this party for many months and intended it to be a big surprise, and it included a photo booth for the guests.

I showed up to the party a bit late and, as usual, slightly askew from trying to dress myself and all my little people for such a special night out. I'm still carrying a fair amount of baby weight and wearing a nursing bra, and I don't fit into my cute clothes. I felt awkward and tired and rumpled.

I was leaning my aching back against the bar, my now 5-month-old baby sleeping in a carrier on my chest (despite the pounding bass and dulcet tones of LMFAO blasting through the room) when my 5-year-old son ran up to me. "Come take pictures with me, Mommy," he yelled over the music, "in the photo booth!" I hesitated. I avoid photographic evidence of my existence these days. To be honest, I avoid even mirrors. When I see myself in pictures, it makes me wince. I know I am far from alone; I know that many of my friends also avoid the camera.

It seems logical. We're sporting mama bodies and we're not as young as we used to be. We don't always have time to blow dry our hair, apply make-up, perhaps even bathe (ducking). The kids are so much cuter than we are; better to just take their pictures, we think.

But we really need to make an effort to get in the picture. Our sons need to see how young and beautiful and human their mamas were. Our daughters need to see us vulnerable and open and just being ourselves -- women, mamas, people living lives. Avoiding the camera because we don't like to see our own pictures? How can that be okay?

Too much of a mama's life goes undocumented and unseen. People, including my children, don't see the way I make sure my kids' favorite stuffed animals are on their beds at night. They don't know how I walk the grocery store aisles looking for treats that will thrill them for a special day. They don't know that I saved their side-snap, paper-thin baby shirts from the hospital where they were born or their little hospital bracelets in keepsake boxes high on the top shelves of their closets. They don't see me tossing and turning in bed wondering if I am doing an okay job as a mother, if they are okay in their schools, where we should take them for a vacation, what we should do for their birthdays. I'm up long past the news on Christmas Eve wrapping presents and eating cookies and milk, and I spend hours hunting the Internet and the local Targets for specially-requested Halloween costumes and birthday presents. They don't see any of that.

Someday, I want them to see me, documented, sitting right there beside them: me, the woman who gave birth to them, whom they can thank for their ample thighs and their pretty hair; me, the woman who nursed them all for the first years of their lives, enduring porn star-sized boobs and leaking through her shirts for months on end; me, who ran around gathering snacks to be the week's parent reader or planning the class Valentine's Day party; me, who cried when I dropped them off at preschool, breathed in the smell of their post-bath hair when I read them bedtime stories, and defied speeding laws when I had to rush them to the pediatric ER in the middle of the night for fill-in-the-blank (ear infections, croup, rotavirus).

I'm everywhere in their young lives, and yet I have very few pictures of me with them. Someday I won't be here -- and I don't know if that someday is tomorrow or thirty or forty or fifty years from now -- but I want them to have pictures of me. I want them to see the way I looked at them, see how much I loved them. I am not perfect to look at and I am not perfect to love, but I am perfectly their mother.
When I look at pictures of my own mother, I don't look at cellulite or hair debacles. I just see her -- her kind eyes, her open-mouthed, joyful smile, her familiar clothes. That's the mother I remember. My mother's body is the vessel that carries all the memories of my childhood. I always loved that her stomach was soft, her skin freckled, her fingers long. I didn't care that she didn't look like a model. She was my mama.

So when all is said and done, if I can't do it for myself, I want to do it for my kids. I want to be in the picture, to give them that visual memory of me. I want them to see how much I am here, how my body looks wrapped around them in a hug, how loved they are.

I will save the little printed page with four squares of pictures on it and the words "Morgan's Sweet Sixteen" scrawled across the top with the date. There I am, hair not quite coiffed, make-up minimal, face fuller than I would like -- one hand holding a sleeping baby's head, and the other wrapped around my sweet littlest guy, who could not care less what I look like.

I'm Yours

I hear this song and I instantly think of my wife. Yes she likes the song but it is not just that, it's light and happy and so is she. I was pretty much always a serious person until I met this women and she has showed me the other side and I am thankful for her and for her teaching me that.

When we were planning our wedding we struggled to find the appropriate song and settled on something we both liked that had a meaning to us. I would not change that choice but certain tunes make you think of certain people and this is her song for me.

Enjoy,

When did this get here? The Beer Belly

Abdominal obesity, or weight carried around the stomach and waist, is a common problem as people age. It is especially common for men, 30 percent of whom will have a “beer belly” by their 40s or 50s, and 40 percent of whom will grow one by the time they reach their 60s. Men may bemoan their beer belly or laugh at it, but few realize the real and serious risks that are present when a person carries around excess belly fat.

This is a common visual we are forced to deal with as generations of men take pride in their girth and do nothing to prevent the growth of their waistline, pants sizes grow and with each inch your health deteriorates. I am a former fit guy that fell into this trap and now I am trying to reverse the damage done. I have lost the belly and now I am trying to decide if I want to put in the work and build that six pack all the kids rave about. Soon to be 50 years old I can say it's not a priority but I will say I enjoy being out of the danger zone after making some lifestyle changes.

Not all fat is created equal. Studies have shown that the fat stored in certain locations on the body carries much greater health risks than fat stored in other parts of the body. Unfortunately, abdominal fat is one of the most dangerous kinds of fat, carrying increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and high cholesterol.

This means that a beer belly can pose more risk to a person’s health than significantly greater amounts of fat stored elsewhere. An obese person with fat stored primarily around the hips and legs will have a smaller risk of heart disease and better health overall than a man who carries a beer belly on an otherwise trim frame.

While “beer belly” has become the common term for abdominal fat in a man, it can lead to the misconception than only excessive beer consumption can lead to beer belly formation. In fact, any kind of high fat, high sugar diet combined with insufficient exercise can cause a beer belly to grow. Many men do consume much of their excess sugar in beer form, and combine their drinking with high fat and high sodium snacks in order to replenish their electrolytes, so the nickname is understandable. But men should not make the mistake of thinking that they are beer belly immune of they do not imbibe.

One of the most frustrating aspects of weight loss can be the fact that exercising the area you want to slim down does not necessarily help to burn fat in that location. Men who want to trim their beer gut might start a heavy-duty routine of sit-ups and crunches, but this is unlikely to help them burn belly fat quickly. Of course, any exercise is better than a totally sedentary lifestyle. But focused muscle exercises are not designed to burn fat. You will probably end up with solid abs that are invisible beneath the belly fat, or even strained muscles as a result of straining one set of muscles too far.

Instead, aerobic exercise and better dietary habits are the way to make abdominal fat disappear. Aerobic exercise will improve overall health and well-being in addition to burning fat, and a healthy diet will have similar positive effects. If you make enough overall healthy adjustments to your diet, you don’t even have to remove beer from your diet in order to get rid of the beer belly and make sure it doesn’t return!

Summer Obsession!

First day of summer for the kids from school today, this is the time of year when believe it or not I have a difficult time working out. I lack the motivation to get up and get things done before I have the fatherly duties of driving my daughter to school. Without that looming over my head I procrastinate and end up missing my window to get done the things I should. The kids are home so I lack the push to head out into the garage and execute.

Last year at this time I had six days until I would be unemployed for the next five months and I started out this time with the confidence that I would find work in no time so I was looking forward to a few weeks off with the family. Two months later I was most likely clinically depressed and did not realize it. What kept me from sinking as low as you can go? Being a Beachbody Coach and whichever workout I would do that day. I also discovered the Primal Blue Print and changed most of my eating habits. This summer I will dive deeper into my Primal experiments and commit more effort to see how I can continue to improve my health. These things kept a bad situation from being a horrible experience.

   

It’s easy to think that working out lasts only as long as a workout. Wrong! Your goals and your method for getting there need to be with you day and night. A rolling list of to do’s: drink your water, watch your posture and be become more aware of your body, eat more food, resist the bad food, stretch that muscle group, research that question, find support for that issue, help others to succeed in their goals, drink your water, it is a continuous process day in and day out.

Some people call the workouts I have been doing an obsession, and my behavior obsessive. If it is, it must rank as a healthy one and it certainly doesn’t hurt anyone. I manage to hold down a challenging career, be a present parent in both of my children’s life, a supportive husband, coach a little baseball, and maintain a pretty active outgoing life with friends and family, all intertwined quite happily with this ‘obsession’.

Because of my obsession I have become a better parent, better husband and a better person. I know this just by the way I wake up each morning and get out of bed with that much more energy than I did before all of this started. I look myself in the mirror each morning and like the changes I am making and the progress I see. Everyone should be this obsessive about their life, you only get one. 

Today is a Good Day!

Things are starting to come together, on a Saturday, Yes a Saturday I woke up at 6:20 am without an alarm while my wife was still asleep to get out on a bike to peddle for 17 miles with no destination but to end up home again. I did not set an appointment with someone so I would have to keep my word and be on time, I just did it? Anyone that knows me knows first off this at one time this was the time of the morning I would return home from the night before and that I enjoy my sleep time so this hours are not a norm for me. I know for sure that I will never be one of those old men that are up at the crack of dawn to tinker around the house and read the paper but the thought of this does scare me a little.

I have had more energy lately, between my fitness program and my nutrition plan I am finding it easier to maintain a level of comfort each day and do not find myself feeling worn out or my mind wondering in the middle of the day. I have increased my training some with the addition of Asylum and backing off slightly, less days, with my running, swimming and biking. I increased the distances and try to stay within a percentage of my heart rate (zone training) and this is working for me.

Eating Primal 80-85% of the time really has helped me achieve this, I do not get hungry almost ever. In fact I have had days where I have experimented with intermittent fasting and it seems to kick start my metabolism. There was a time where my body used to go into starvation mode if I was not constantly feeding it and would store fat. The strange thing is, and I can’t figure out why this is happening, I am continuing to drop inches but not weight. In fact I gain and lose weight like a roller coaster, I can feel that I am stronger but I am not yet seeing the decline in weight I would like to see.

Most importantly I am enjoying everything about what I am doing right now and want to ride this wave in the hope of all things coming together. With that said I am going to reward myself a little today as my wife and a few friends head out to a local Beer Festival. It looks like it's going to a beautiful day so get out and do something. 

Shrinking My Core

Very sore today, I plan on doing Back to Core tonight and I am sure it will be a struggle. I really enjoy Back to Core so at least I am not looking down the barrel of something like Vertical Plyo, wait that is most likely tomorrow.

The weather here has been inconsistent at best and I am seeing lots of rain at night which is hindering my training schedule. I don’t mind running in the rain but the lightning I kind of mind.

I am experiencing some strange feeling about my size; it seems now that I have shrunk in size when I do put back on a few pounds (which sometimes seems a little too easy for me to do) I really feel self conscious about it. This is funny because I have never really felt this way before but now I feel as though I am letting myself down if the cloths that have become lose on me don’t continue to feel this way. I have gotten more comfortable and I am not stepping on the scale as often but rather measure my progress by how my cloths fit.

I once went to a seminar where the speaker said that I am willing to bet that 75% of the people in this room are currently wearing clothes that are too tight on them and those that are not will experience this feeling of restriction within the next year with the cloths you are currently wearing. I have often thought about this statement and I am happy to say I have now gotten to the point where I am reversing that trend for myself. I am even willing to bet the suit I was wearing that day may be lose on me today.

Find something that makes you happy and hold on to it. 

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother’s Day to those of you which this applies to! I will be doing some early evening gardening after I get home from work today, my wife loves to dress the house up and this is her wish for today so as they say “make mama happy” I love you Kathy and I hope you have a great day. 

Tomorrow I plan to do a mini triathlon/brick training session just to experience the transition of everything and have my body get used to the feeling. I have planned out a quarter mile swim in the pool followed by an eight mile bike ride and then I will finish up with a two mile run. This will let my body experience he fatigue and stress it will experience when it is time to get busy and do the real thing. I will be doing this two months to the day of when I expect to take part in my first race of the season.

Yesterday was a bad day for the diet; I ate bread at two of my three meals and indulged in two beers while in the pool. I will mark it up as a cheat day which I don’t really like to do and tighten up my routine this week to catch back up with my program. 

An Appetite for Coaching

All this Cycling, Running and Swimming has gotten me into a completely different state of mind. I am finding myself eating with less abandon, well actually more? My point is I am not counting calories finally I have trained myself to stay away from the bad things and bad snacks and I now pile on the good things. I have actually gained a few pounds over the last few weeks but had to once again poke a new hole in my belt. I am almost an inch and a half smaller.

I made this a light week of training and will kind of pile it up at the end of the week so I will get the same miles in but kind of back loaded it. The reason you may ask? This year I coached my sons baseball team and this week was playoff week.  We were "one and done" but the experience will stay with me for the rest of my life. I am a lifer when it comes to baseball as you may have already figured out from reading this blog. I have been helping my son’s coaches as an assistant for the last few years and really not getting too invested in the process or the kids because of the restrictions I have with my real job. This season I was asked to take a team on and my son happened to be standing close by and heard the question before I could deflect it and avoid the commitment. It’s not that I did not want to do it, it was that I did not think I could do it and do the job the way it needs to be done. 

I love the game and would not want to slight any of the kids assigned to my team my total and undivided attention but when your own son has been begging you to do it and then he knows you have been asked to do it you are kind of stuck unless you are just a heartless SOB.

The experience was one of the best experiences I have ever had in my entire life. Yes it was a lot of work but is it really work when you are having as much fun as the kids are? I was sore each Tuesday and Wednesday after our Monday night practices but still managed to get up and kill my workouts and now I look forward to the summer off from baseball because training is going to be a breeze without having to pitch a triple header each Monday night.  The playoff loss hurt not because we lost but because the season was now over. I wanted to continue to see these kids progress, get better and continue to emerge not only in their talents but in their personalities. As I got to know these quiet little kids and they me, we started to have more and more fun.

I told the kids before our last game that they would remember that game for the rest of their life. I may have been thinking this to myself out loud when I said it because I know I will remember that game forever as well. 

The Thrill of the Game!

This morning I actually may have enjoyed my run, I am getting a little more comfortable in the activity. Don’t get me wrong I will never be one of those guys you see running down the road at sun up in nothing but a pair of shorts and his running shoes but I only need to make myself conform to enough running that I can withstand the final leg of these races.

I went to the baseball field last night to throw my son a little batting practice and hit a little fielding practice to him. It’s our time together and for us its fun.

I have been experiencing some serious foot issues for the last few months and I have finally put things together. I throw batting practice to twelve kids each Monday night approximately 35-40 pitches each so let’s say 480-500 pitches for batting practice in a 45 minute window of time that we have the batting cages.  To say I am sore the next morning would be an understatement but I am thinking now that I have strained my left foot and this is the pain I am experiencing the worst of. On top of all this we usually have a scrimmage game in which I pitch to the kids again so let’s say this is another 100-125 pitches all totaled I am guessing I will throw somewhere about 600 pitches each Monday night. I realize now I need to get my head checked.

My left foot is the foot I land on with each throw and the pain is sometimes crippling and other times nothing at all.  Last weekend we walked all over the Disney Parks and intermittently I was limping and other times felt nothing. Pinched nerve maybe? I am not sure yet but at least now I may have figured out what I did to cause the issue. My father was visiting last week and came to watch a practice, when we arrived at home he asked me how many kids were on the team and how many balls were in the bucket? I knew right away what he was thinking and it dawned on me that when you enjoy something your body will ignore the pain during the time you are competing long enough to feel the rush of enjoyment and then your body will collapse at the finish line. I guess this is what one of those early morning runners experience; I just want that rush at the end of each one of my Triathlons. 

Lift Your Head 4 Air

This morning I headed out on another 10 mile bike ride this distance is getting easy for me so it’s time to jump the plan a little and expand the distance. I am glad it’s easy because the first few races I plan on doing are 12.5 bike portions so the easier the better off I am before I fail in my runs…Hard!

I am trying to stick with the Zone 2 training plan I started with and I sometimes find it hard to remain patient and go easy without pushing myself too hard. The Garmin is great for my cycling training and it is really motivating me to get up early each day and get out there to chew up the road.

I enjoy swimming, always have and I am learning a few things about myself and my swim stroke each day that I do my swim training. Yesterday for the first time in my life I swallowed a big gulp of water in mid stroke as I came up for a breath, seriously I have never done this before, and Oh My God! That is horrible. I thought I was going to throw up right in the pool, and it hurt too! My arms were fatiguing and I guess I did not get up high enough to catch air and you can guess the rest of the story there. I will never let that happen again.

I can’t seem to get the Garmin to record my laps successfully yet in the pool and this is starting to annoy me. I have read the booklet over a few times and I can’t seem to figure out what it is I am missing. I guess I will need to start wearing a swim cap and put the watch under my cap on my head to get a more accurate reading because it looks like a big zig-zag some kid drew on my map when I am finished when it’s on my wrist. I swam yesterday morning and then again tonight and my time is improving and my breathing is stronger and I can feel my heart rate is coming down. (Heart Rate Monitors don’t work in the water) at least mine does not unless I am missing that too?

Last is the run, last in my heart and last in the race. I wish I could finish with any one of the other two this way I would have something to look forward during the run portion on race day, instead I will just look forward to not having to run anymore and making it to the end of the course. I have not really yet had to push myself in my run training so I guess I should not complain so much this early in the program but I am just not ever going to be excited about running. 

Who is Packing Your Parachute?

Charles Plumb, a US Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy lands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: A white hat, a bib in the back, and bell bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said good morning, how are you or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot, and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory - he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety. His experience reminds us all to prepare ourselves to weather whatever storms lie ahead. As you go through this week, this month, this year ... recognize people who pack your parachute!

Being A Good Sport

Are you one of those parents that frown in disgust at some of the behavior of other parents at children’s sporting events? Or perhaps you’re the one losing your cool, and you can’t help but to start yelling and protesting at some of the things that occur on the court or on the field. It can be frustrating at times when you disagree with a coach’s decision. It can be just as frustrating to sit there, trying to enjoy the game and support your child while the guy down in front is screaming his head off. Why is it so easy for some parents to lose their cool, and how does this affect the kids?
 
First, we have to step back and remember that technology plays a part in this. Modern TV and internet take us right there on the field, where we can feel the tension, experience the excitement, and truly embrace every nuance of the game. It’s much easier to get more emotionally involved when you can hear the players breathing and cuss words as a controversial play gets reviewed.
 
It’s one thing to get so emotionally involved in a pro-sport game, but adults tend to translate that kind of behavior to a children’s sporting event. Nowadays, it has simply become acceptable to air our frustrations and let it all out in public without considering the effects on others. In this “Facebook generation,” nothing is sacred or private anymore – it’s all out there for anyone to see. This might be considered common practice by some, but it’s still not appropriate.
 
Getting angry, cussing, yelling and throwing things at the TV screen during an NFL game is one thing. Conducting that kind of behavior at your child’s football came is another thing altogether. Parents must realize that children,  even teens are extremely sensitive and take everything to heart. While a father might not give any thought to the angry, loud string of cuss words that he threw out during a bad play, that child might relive it over and over in his mind with embarrassment, shame and the feeling of unworthiness. These are critical times in a child’s life where positive support and encouragement is crucial. You aren’t betting anything on your child’s game. Remember, it’s just a game. His career isn’t at stake, nor is he making millions of dollars on contract. No national championship will be lost due to a child’s error or fumble. 
 
Remember too, that other parents around you are trying to enjoy the game. It’s not fair that their experiences are tainted by the one guy shouting at the coach or players throughout each play. If this is you, please stop to consider your actions. If you’re getting overheated about something, walk away and go sit in the car for a few minutes. If this isn’t you but you’re affected by a parent who acts this way, band together with a group of other parents and have an intervention. Get the coach involved, and discuss how it’s important to provide positive encouragement and support to those kids. You want your child to love the game he’s playing, and enjoy sports so that he will continue throughout his school years. If a parent’s behavior makes them feel uncomfortable, chances are he won’t stick with it.

For the last three or four years now I have offered to “help” with my son’s baseball team as a coach. I have seen some of these kinds of parents display awful behavior. When I took my son to sign up this year one of the officers from the league asked if I would be interested in managing a team, I was very hesitant to accept and if my son was not with me I would have found some way to avoid taking on the responsibilities of this task offered. I wanted to have the experience of coaching my son and I have the experience needed to do the job but what happens when I have to deal with some of these parents first hand? I am not the kind of person to hold my tongue?

This season so far has been a wonderful experience, I have twelve wonderful kids that are growing into better ball players each day and I have enjoyed sharing the game I love with them. They are learning the great game of baseball and learning what it is and how it feels to be a part of something while competing.  I also have inherited a great group of parents that have cheered on our team and supported what I am doing without issue. Overall it’s been a tame first half of the season and the teams and their parents have been considerate of each other and of the kid’s efforts. I am enjoying the experience and I am very glad I accepted the job. Here is to a great second half of the season.

Shrimp Ceviche

My wife and I love shrimp and I am always looking for different ways to prepare it. We tried this recently and it was very successful!

Ingredients
Ceviche:
2 pounds small (41 to 50 per pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined, see Cook's Notes
3 lemons, juiced
3 limes, juiced
2 oranges, juiced

Salsa
1 large tomato, seeded, and cut into medium dice (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/3 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced Spanish onion
1 teaspoon finely chopped chile pepper, see Cook's Notes
1 lime, juiced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Good quality corn tortilla chips, for serving

Directions
To make the ceviche: Toss the shrimp with the lemon, lime and orange juices in a large non-reactive bowl. Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours or until the shrimp have turned opaque.

While the shrimp is "cooking," make the salsa: Toss the tomato, cilantro, olive oil, onion, chile, and lime juice in a bowl to mix. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

When the shrimp are ready, drain them and discard the marinade. Toss with the salsa. Divide among martini glasses or other serving dishes and garnish each with a corn tortilla chip. Pass remaining chips separately.

Cook's Notes: Peeled and deveined shrimp are now available at most markets. You will save a considerable amount of prep time by purchasing "P and D" shrimp instead of those that need to be peeled and deveined.

Choose your chile depending on how much heat you can tolerate. For a milder dish, choose serranos or jalapenos and remove the seeds before chopping.

Mexican Pork Tenderloin

This goes with everything and anything, I enjoy some quinoa and some fresh grilled veggies!

Ingredients:

1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo (adjust to your heat level)
3 T cider vinegar
2 T orange juice (I've seen some add more)
1 T sugar
2 teas canola oil
1 teas fresh oregano (less if dried)
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
1/2 teas ground cumin
1/2 teas salt
1/4 teas black pepper

Directions:

1. Using cooking spray, cook the onion & garlic over med-hi heat for 5-7 minutes. Puree in a blender with the chile peppers, vinegar, OJ, sugar, oil, oregano. Place pork in a shallow dish & massage in the pureed paste. Cover & chill overnight.
2. Preheat grill to med-hi heat.
3. In small bowl, combine cumin, salt, pepper. Remove pork from marinade. Rub with the cumin mixture. Grill for 10 minutes & move to a cooler section of the grill. Cover & grill until desired temperature. Remove, cover & let rest for 5 minutes or so. Slice & top with avocado if desired.

Lemon, Prosciutto and Spinach Smothered Chicken

Who doesn’t love prosciutto?! Prosciutto gets all crispy and delicious and is the perfect flavor to complement the crispness of lemon. One of my favorites dishes is Chicken or Veal Saltimbocca, but as I try to stay away from pasta and remain Primal I need to get my fix without falling off the path of what I am doing. This plate gives me that experience without the guilt. But don’t just take my word for it, try it yourself and see!

4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

4 chicken breasts

2-4 T fat of choice: coconut or olive oil, butter, animal, etc.

9 oz fresh spinach

4 oz prosciutto, torn into pieces

2 shallots (or ½ medium onion), chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Meyer lemon (regular lemon would work, too, but Meyer lemons are ridiculously amazing in here)

salt and pepper

pinch garlic powder

Optional ingredients if you eat dairy:

1/3 cup feta cheese

sprinkling of Romano

*Feta and Romano are excellent, healthy choices if you can eat dairy. Romano is almost always made from the milk of grass fed sheep and feta is also usually made from the milk of grass fed goat or sheep.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 375.

In a 9×13 baking dish, add 1-2 T fat of choice. Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken breast and add a small sprinkle of garlic powder to them.

Bake for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, add 1-2 T of fat to a large skillet over medium heat.

Add your shallots (or onion) and garlic and cook for one minute.

Add the prosciutto and spinach to the pan and cook just until the spinach wilts. It won’t take very long at all.

Remove the skillet from the heat.

Once your chicken has baked for 20 minutes, remove the dish from the oven and spread the spinach mixture evenly over each chicken breast. If you are using the cheese, sprinkle the romano over each spinach topped breast and then add the feta.

Cut ¾ of the Meyer lemon into very thin slices and make sure to remove the seeds. Place the slices over the chicken breasts. Squeeze the juice from the remaining ¼ of lemon over all the chicken breasts.

Place the baking pan back into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until chicken is cooked throughout. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

And yes, you can eat the whole Meyer Lemon slice – rind and all! It’s amazing!

Bring Back the Nickname

Who was the best center fielder in New York in the 50’s? Willie, Mickey or Ed? How about the time George promised the sick boy he would hit a home run for him? Then George went out and did it. Winning the Denton Young Award all of a sudden doesn't sound as glamorous. I would love to see baseball and those that follow it somehow bring the nickname back for the players in the game.

Now when you go back and say did you like Willie, Mickey or the Duke and tell the story of the promise that the Babe made to an ill child, or capturing a Cy Young Award, the importance of the nickname to the history of baseball becomes even more evident.

Reggie Jackson hits five homers in a World Series and is dubbed Mr. October. Pablo Sandoval  does it and he is called…well they already called him Kung Fu Panda, but he deserves something bigger now, don’t ya think?  You can’t tell me that a player like Prince Fielder can’t be given a great nickname. Just look at one of his homers where he swings from his heels and annihilates the ball and the name alone, Prince Fielder, is just begging for something to be attached to it. It seems wrong to let a clutch player who could be an all-time great at his position and another who squares up the ball with such vicious force, to not be honored like so many legends of the game once were.

The single season RBI record is held by Hack Wilson at 191. Now if you are a pitcher what is going to get in your head more the night before a game; knowing the next day you were going to be facing a player named Hack or Lewis (his real first name)? It is tough not to argue that the Cardinals “Gas House Gang” team of 1934 would surely not be as memorable if they were around today. On that team you had Dizzy and Daffy Dean, Ripper Collins, Ducky Medwick, Pepper Martin, Spud Davis and Leo “The Lip” Durocher. Just classic names, right? Of course today you would have read about Jay and Paul Dean, Jim Collins, Joe Medwick, John Martin, and Virgil Davis. That turns into a forgettable roster of names all of a sudden. It is interesting how a simple moniker can help immortalize a player or team and help them to live on in our memories well beyond their playing days.

Other teams such as The Big Red Machine or otherwise known as the Great Eight dominated the 1970's with a host characters such as Charlie Hustle, Big Dog, The Little General and Little Joe in a lineup of future Hall of Farmer's. And we all know about the Famed Bronx Bombers with the Babe and The Iron Horse.

Has the fun gone out of baseball? Is it because newspapers are slowly disappearing, and along with that, the once crucial baseball reporter for the paper? Back when major cities had multiple daily papers I would assume the writers drew upon their creative side to paint a picture of the game and the players who played it. Now with the internet and outlets such as ESPN you can get up-to-the-minute play-by-play if you wish, or a quick recap on your computer the next day. Because so many of us are in a rush, it is as if the details are fed to the fan as quickly and simply as possible so as not to waste time. With that the game has lost some of its romance to me.

I am a 47-year-old baseball curmudgeon who dreams about a time when field dimensions were bigger than my back yard, players didn't wear their uniforms like pajamas (is it me or does CC Sabathia look like he is wearing a pinstriped Snuggie with his uniform being so baggy?) so you could see their stirrups, with two teams named after the color of their socks I would think maybe it should be mandatory that you could see part of the stirrup. Also the team in Cincinnati was originally named the Red Stockings, come on fellas show us some leg, and if a playoff game ended in a little over three hours you wouldn't marvel at how quickly it was played.

If nicknames are going to make a comeback some rules or guidelines have to be established. What we don’t want is it to turn merely into a marketing free-for-all where nicknames will be chosen based on the higher Q Score that it gets a player.

The first rule of getting a solid nickname is that it has to be given to you and you can’t give it to yourself. This would be a challenge because players today can’t possibly have the same camaraderie they once did to earn the names. Spacious chartered flights have taken the place of long train rides and cramped planes where you were forced to spend time and get to know one another. Add to that cell phones, iPhones, iPads and laptops and you can fly across the country with someone and not find time for them. The good names are derived from a person’s actions, looks or tendencies so the stronger that bond is between the players the more likely a teammate will toss something out there that has a chance to stick.

The second rule is you can’t use anything given to you by ESPN’s Chris Berman. Along with his tired act that gets trotted out every now and again, no one in my opinion has hurt the art of the nickname more. Berman has taken it upon himself to bang a round peg through a square hole in making sure that almost every player has something given to them no matter how mindless or ridiculous. Here is the best example in my opinion; you take Albert Pujols, who when it is all said and done could be one of the game’s all time great hitters, and Berman sticks him with Albert “Winnie the” Pujols. It is cute and funny, if it is coming from my nine-year-old. I am curious to know if the soldiers at Guantanamo Bay would choose waterboarding or forcing a prisoner to listen to Berman’s call of the entire Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game if they had a choice between the two interrogation tactics.

The third rule is if you have been caught doing steroids, or it is pretty much known that you have done them, you don’t get one. So that means good-bye to: Slammin’ Sammy, Big Mac, the Bash Brothers, Big Papi, and the Rocket. The game needs neither your services nor tainted accomplishments that have been at the expense of the true greats that define baseball. The only exception that is allowed is if the name exposes you for what you did, therefore a ruling would be A-Rod “no” but A-Roid a definite “yes.”

There are some decent names floating around the league today. I like that they call Tim Lincecum “The Freak” because of his diminutive stature and the fact that he has such a nasty arsenal of pitches. Another is the much talked about Roy “Doc” Halladay fittingly a marksmen the caliber of the famous attendee at Tombstone. Calling Vlad Guerrero “Vlad the Impaler” is spot on for someone who wears no batting gloves and has never met a pitch he didn't like regardless of location.

I see potential still for all the stars of today. There is Sandavol and Fielder who were mentioned earlier along with players like Ryan Zimmerman, Evan Longoria, Josh Hamilton, Matt Kemp, Joe Mauer and Robby Cano to name a few. The Washington Nationals have possibly the hardest thrower in the game in 2009 #1 pick Stephen Strasburg since “The Big Train” Walter Johnson pitched in the same city ages ago. Somehow you have to link those two flame throwers together, it is almost wrong not to.

My personal favorite is Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx who was known as “Double X” and “The Beast.”  Unless you are a woman playing sports, being called “The Beast” has to be one of the most complimentary things to be referred to as in the field of athletics. Just think if they called softball star Jenny Finch “The Beast,” bite your tongue. Even his other name of “Double X” is strong. Some players can’t even get one intimidating name and Foxx has two, and he backed both up soundly; hitting over 500 career homers, winning 2 world titles, three MVP Awards and nearly winning back-to-back Triple Crowns. Foxx missed leading the league only in batting by a margin of .003 points in 1932 (.364-58-169) and finally turned the trick in ’33 (.356-48-163).

Don’t take for granted the names that baseball history has given to us. What kind of a past on the diamond would have been passed on without players known simply as Shoeless Joe, Yogi, Three Finger, Lefty, The Say Hey Kid, Joltin’ Joe, Hammerin’ Hank, Mr. Cub, The Georgia Peach, The Heater from Van Meter, Schmidty and of course Pee Wee . It would be a disservice to what was once a great game to not leave tomorrow’s legends with something as unique and identifiable as the ones who came before them.

Saving Your Own Life!

Recently I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about how he did not have time to work out and how he always feels tired. I explained to him the difference it made once I committed to a program and how it made me feel. In describing himself, he was describing to me the exact way I felt before I started my first round of P90X over two years ago.  

The comment he made that stuck with me was when he said “he did not have the time.” This poor guy had purchased P90X from me almost a year ago; he also purchased Shakeology with it in a package deal. He started drinking the shakes right away and noticed the difference in his energy level. I would see him around town and ask him how he was feeling and he would say great and he even lost 18-20 pounds over that time. But eventually he stopped drinking the shakes and he never opened the box of P90X. When I saw him I noticed he had put back on the weight he had lost and maybe some additional also, I asked if he opened up the box yet? That’s when he hit with it “I don’t have the time”

I have to wonder why when someone has had experience with something that works and is looking at someone that has had success with the product and still will not take the time to do something for himself that would be life changing. There are way too many people out there in this same situation these days!

I said to him I understand but, if you give it two weeks, just two weeks of getting up a hour earlier and doing the workouts you will find that you will have more time on your hands the rest of the day besides feeling better for your effort.  He looked at me and said I know but with the same look he said you are crazy. He then told me about his health issues and that he needed to do something? I had handed him the keys and he would not start the engine, what to do!

Everyone needs to find their own  “WHY” it is the thing that will make you commit. Maybe its hitting rock bottom for some people and maybe it’s just one moment where they decide they have had enough. I need to help this guy find his “Why”

There are not enough words to explain to you how much I am hurting for this guy right now. I can only say that he is where I was.  I may have saved my own life but now I want to help others do the same. I am serious when I say you will have more time in your day by getting up earlier and starting your day with a work out. I now have more energy and I am more active than I have been in years. I actually enjoy my life again and I enjoy spending time with the people I love. If you are a person that can make a change for the better I wish you the best in reaching your goals. If you need help in doing it I would be proud to help you and thankful that you invited me on the trip.

I have not given up on my friend and I will get him healthy, he has two young kids like I do and I owe them the effort to give them the daddy they deserve.  

Pomegranate Arugula Salad

A simple salad that will fill you up and provide taste, texture and personality all along a Primal plan. 

4 cups of arugula
½ cup of pomegranate seeds
¼ cup of chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

In a large salad bowl, combine arugula, pomegranate seeds, and walnuts. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar mixture, toss, and serve.