Settling the score.

So, we're two days into the MLB season and the league showed off a brand new Los Angeles Dodgers team by leading off their season with their west coast rivals, the San Francisco Giants. The young Clayton Kershaw, often touted as the next Sandy Koufax, was the grand opening. The 2011 Cy Young award winner has been considered a golden goose for the boys in blue as they have struggled over the last couple of years amidst ownership and team turnover.

The golden goose didn't disappoint, giving the Dodgers their first win of the season. A first win that meant more than just a 1-0 standing. A win that proves this team has really had this all along, but just hasn't been nurtured properly. Hopefully that is all changing this year with the new wind beneath their wings, and a payroll that rivals that of the New York Yankees.

The Dodgers went on to be defeated in their second game, but not without a fight. So, we're 1-1. We have 160 games to go in the regular season, and the third game in the season, the third game of this series, is really the one that I'm watching.

The always-dreaded Giants starter, Tim Linsecum, returns to the Dodgers mound tonight, and fans from Northern and Southern California will be paying close attention. Although Linsecum had a shoddy 2012 season with just 10 wins and a 5.18 ERA, the kid still shut out super star slugger, Matt Kemp. Kemp went 0-8 against Linsecum with four strikeouts. He was pretty much the only pitcher he couldn't get a hit off of.

With a shoulder injury in the not so distant past, and a slow start in the first two games, Kemp may show Linsecum what he's been saving his energy for. A true blue Dodgers fan can only hope that he comes out of the clubhouse swinging for the fences, but this time actually makes a connection with the ball.

We've got about an hour before we find out...

(image courtesy of baseballanimals.com)

The Mugshot Files: Harvard Edition

It's been a while since I've seen a mugshot that makes me LLOL (literally laugh out loud, for those of you who haven't heard that yet).

The Oakland Raiders should be proud of their defensive tackle, Desmond Bryant, and his ability to cheer up a crowd. Of course, only after drinking far too much and stumbling into his neighbor's house to be an asshole.

I guess that Harvard education taught him that if he can't make the headlines by being in the Super Bowl, just go viral on the internet. All you need to do is get uber drunk and take a miserable, shirtless selfie. And then send a thank you note to Mark Zuckerberg.

(image courtesy of Yardbarker.com)

Let's talk about football.

With the close of the NFL season comes a good party, tons of calories, and another week closer to baseball season.

I will be honest in saying that I paid much more attention to football this year than last. Although the Jets struggled to barely make it through their regular season games, I found some fun in post-season football without them. With New York out of the running, I paired up with some of my Seattle mates to watch the Seahawks. The games were neck and neck. Full on nail biters. Right until the heartbreaking end.

From there, I had to turn south. To San Francisco. The 49ers fought their way through some tough teams. First, they tore through Green Bay. For me, it was like watching my first live football game all over again (see post in years past regarding my first game, many, many moons ago). Only this time, they took the win. I still think there was a lot of luck involved.

Next, they took on the Atlanta Falcons. Watching the first quarter of this game was pretty abysmal. From the way they were playing, there was no way they were going to make it past these birds. Somehow, they managed to recover, and the game remained tight until the last couple of minutes. I wasn't even sure they had the win at the 2:00 warning.

But they did.

And then I got to thinking. How much of this is rigged? How badly did the NFL want to see the Harbaugh brothers battle it out against each other? What a great marketing tool! What a great story for the books! I'm sure their parents are so proud! Which one will root for which team?

I'll be honest, I think the Ravens fought the good fight to earn their place in Super Bowl XLVII. But I really thought the game was going to be bird on bird. A fight for the south and the east. As much as the 49ers played hard, they made critical mistakes that were magically erased by many strokes of good luck in the divisional and conference games.

That being said, I'm turning my back on my third-string team and rooting for the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday. I look good in purple anyway.

So, let's play ball...and figure out the menu....may the best team win.

The Rebirth...

I saw the Dodgers make a great post on their Twitter feed today.

30 days until we head to Camelback Ranch. 30 days until that threaded ball gets tossed around in the glistening Arizona sun. 30 days until baseball.

If you're new to me, you should know that I believe baseball to be the best six months out of the year. It's my church, my serenity, my favorite pastime. There's numbers, statistics, and explosions. There's always some sort of calm before the storm. A pitching game can turn into a four run lead in a matter of seconds. There's the thrill of that pennant chase. And as much as the guys on TV like to tell us who is looking to make into October, there's just no telling what could happen over summer.

With every burst of new talent, there are old horses waiting to go out to pasture. There are injuries. Sometimes there are scandals. The Dodgers have seen it all, and I am sure they are not through.

Regardless of the drama, we welcome the 2013 season with open arms, big hearts, and wide eyes. Because this year is finally shaping up for our boys in blue.

I know I'm hoping to see Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley, and Ted Lilly all coming off of injuries feeling stronger than ever. If Kemp can drag Ethier up the rungs with him, I think the rest of the batting lineup will follow suit. Adrian Gonzalez had an outstanding 2012, and Hanley Ramirez is hoped to raise the bar as a wild card in this lineup. Newby, Carl Crawford aka "The Perfect Storm," completely rounds out this hurricane of a team.

Our pitching game is what finally looks glowing. The Dodgers have not had a pitching lineup like this in quite some time. Josh Beckett and Matt Greinke are expected to be quite the fire starters, but Clayton Kershaw and new Korean pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu will presumably have an exceptional season as well.

This team didn't come without a hefty price tag, but under new ownership and at the brink of a fresh year, there are finally worlds of possibilities for these guys.

Hey, MLB, watch us go. Go Blue!

Let the countdown begin....

Back on the field.

I've had nothing to say for a while.

Mainly because I can't write when I don't feel. Quite frankly, sports have not made me feel anything for a while. Perhaps I can blame it on the lackluster ability of team owners and managers to assemble any sort of quartet worth paying attention to. Maybe I could even blame it on outside sources that have distracted me so from my passions. Sources that distract me from my loves and my creativity.

Whatever.

I watched a ton of football today (and drank a lot of alcohol). I went to a sports bar full of douchey guys and slutty girls pretending to like football. It was awesome. There's an energy and an outcry of love towards a bunch of overweight guys in tight pants that no one in the room has ever met before. There's this connection toward them that ignites some feeling so deep that their failure translates into one's own. Yeah, totally irrational.

But we still do it.

And I'm glad that I did. Because it's been a while since I surrounded myself amongst those people that relate themselves to these massive creatures of the midwest. It's been a while since I have been reminded of how much we need to channel the players on the field and give so many of us to live for. Maybe because we work a mediocre job or have a shitty marriage. Maybe because we never exhausted our dreams into any thread of reality. Maybe because Sundays outside of church give us something else to live for.

Football is an American sport. And we live that American dream through those monsters on the field. No matter how or why.

I love sports, and I'm sorry I've neglected sharing how much I love sports with you guys for so long. Whether I'm making jokes on a player or spewing my opinion on a game, I feel the need to spread my good word. Even if my language is bad.

I love sports. I love you. And I'm back.

Call this my belated new years resolution. Hi, 2013. Hike.

Play ball, 2012!

I just returned from Arizona, a generally dismal state that I would not visit if it weren't for my family and MLB spring training. It's overwhelmingly hot most of the year, everything is brown (their yards don't even have grass!), and there are too many old people driving around. These could all be considered hazards to one's health.
For just a few short months out of the year I make the sacrifice of leaving California's beautiful borders to head out to Arizona for a long weekend. This entails one of two things. Some big family event or baseball. Since the MLB built their western spring training facilities all around the Phoenix area, visiting the desert doesn't seem to suck nearly as much anymore.
The weather this weekend was perfect. Low to mid-80s, mostly blue skies, and just a touch of breeze. The sun was warm, the beer was cold, and the players were in tight pants....except for the ones weren't. I find that to be somewhat sacrilegious.
The day started with us getting up early and deciding which stadium to hit for which games. My boyfriend and I have rival teams, so this is not always and easy thing to decide. That, and it was St. Patrick's Day so I didn't want to drive far. There was green beer to drink! And tequila...whatever. Don't judge me.
Basically every game was sold out except for the Cubs vs. the A's. No surprise there. So the day was decided for us, head up to the nearest park and pick up some tickets at the box office. Um, yeah, and by box office I mean some sketchy crackheaded dude pacing up and down the block in front of the park who snapped at my poor mother for taking too long to count the cash out to him. She's a trooper. We fed her margaritas. She was fine shortly after.
The rest is typical....beer, balls flying out of the park as everyone is fresh and rested, and more beer. It was my first game of the year, and although I didn't really see anyone I wanted to see, I got to see the game that I love the most. Can't beat that with a stick. Or a bat.

Out with the old.

The holidays have arrived, and basketball is returning just in time for Christmas. While I am thankful that the NBA and its players have kissed and made up, I am still waiting patiently for baseball to kick up in February. I look forward to spending long weekends in Arizona watching my favorite teams get ready for a new season of freshness.

The Dodgers can look forward to new ownership and management, and hopefully the acquisition of some young and outstanding players. With the McCourts being forced out of the picture, hopefully the team can heal and re-establish its greatness within the league. I feel like 2012 could be a year to remember for the boys in blue.

Until all of my sports interests regenerate, I might be a little quiet. Football has been mostly disappointing to me this year, and I am hanging on for sports to come alive again in 2012.

For now, stay tuned for other things that interest me, like FOOD and MUSIC in my other blog.

Thanks for reading. Love, Kristin.

Postseason love.

With the Dodgers and the Red Sox completely out of the shuffle this year, I thought I would find myself disinterested and straight on to football. To my very pleasant surprise, I have been delighted in watching postseason baseball. It's the year of the underdog. Anyone who loves sports (and is not a Yankees fan) has a soft spot somewhere for the underdog.

Detroit just defeated the Yankees in their ALDS series. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Phillies. I am hoping for a Milwaukee Brewers win tomorrow. Texas....don't mess with Texas. I actually hate Texas. In its entirety.


As off base as this may sound, I hope for some off the wall World Series. Let's see the Detroit Tigers face the Milwaukee Brewers. Why? Because the likelihood of it ever happening again is slim to none. At least in my life time.

I am tired of watching the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Phillies battle it out year after year after year in the post season. I get it. You have money for excellent payroll, a longstanding history of being in the top teams in the MLB, and fans that will riot in your streets when you lose. Or worse, go hang themselves from a tree in their backyard.

I love baseball, but it's just baseball. Your team can't always win. You can't always be good. Try being a Dodgers fan. It's heartbreak after heartbreak. You get used to it. Share the wealth, the wins, and the love. It's America's game, not New York's game.

So, here's to the underdog. All of them battling it out this post season. I'm still watching.

Justice has been served.

For the past ten years or so, I have followed the cases of the West Memphis Three, doing what I could with some financial donations here and there. I read books, watched documentaries, and regularly checked in on their website for updates regarding each of these wrongly accused boys. Occasionally their story would make a national headline, only to get swallowed up by the shadow of some political drama or natural disaster.

In all this time, my frustrations grew with our legal system and the ignorance that so many people have toward those that are slightly different. None of the evidence ever matched up for me, even when I tried to play the devil's advocate and look at these guys as guilty murderers. I watched portions of their original trials, where these so-called freaks were put up in front of the community to set an example: if you are different than the rest of us, you are a bad person. The clothes you wear, the strange haircut, the loud music coming from your room...it makes you a bad person. 

A poet and his best friends who liked to wear dark clothing and hang out in cemeteries were morphed from quiet and creative types to vicious murderers in a court room. There was no motive present in any of their cases. There was never proper physical evidence. There was a make believe cult and harsh discrimination. 

In a way, I empathized with these boys who turned into men behind bars. As we grow into ourselves, we change and develop our own sense of self. During that metamorphosis sometimes comes criticism and judgement. Almost everyone has been there at some point in their lives. I sometimes feel it when I walk into my relatively conservative office every morning. Unlike me simply cringing at the sight of certain people that are probably thinking awful things at the sight of me in the hall, these guys had to sit there and take a verbal beating for the murder of three children that they did not commit. So much so that they were convinced that admitting defeat at the very beginning would save them some time behind bars and maybe get them out sooner. 

Instead they were played for fools and received the harshest sentencing possible. Their supposed ring leader was sentenced to death, the other two received life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Flash forward to present day. The persistence of those who truly believed that these boys were purely used as a scapegoat to protect the real devil in this case has finally triumphed. Unfortunately, three kids had to spend nearly twenty years behind bars for something they could have never imagined doing. But today, they got what they deserved. Freedom. Freedom to be themselves in the outside world.

Tonight, I will rejoice in their victory, as I kind of feel like it is a win for all of us who choose to set ourselves apart from the norm in our own way.

Cheers to the wonderful organization Free The West Memphis 3, all of the hard working staff and attorneys who poured everything they had into this case and never giving up, and the celebrities who used their names to gain recognition and raise funds for these boys.  More than anything though, cheers to every single person who took the time to educate themselves on the case and maybe even share it with someone else. Had the world never heard of the West Memphis 3, there would be three other lives lost in this tragedy. 

Congratulations, Damien Echols, Jesse Misskelley and Jason Baldwin. I hope tonight is the best night of your life. 

Right here, always.

When people say that your life can change in an instant, they are not kidding. Until recently, I never really had an experience that caused me to step back and try to evaluate the situation as an outsider. What am I doing? Where am I going? Am I even sure of what I think the answers are to those questions?

Not really.

But what I do know is that I am not living a pipe dream. I have the most incredible inspiration from those that I surround myself with. My family, my friends, my clients. These people keep me in the moment and take my breath away constantly. The ball is always rolling. 

I was feeling a lull in the music that I have been encountering for so long, when I was enraptured by the live performance of a new friend/client/whatever you call him. It amazes me that some of the things we are force fed by popular media are so well-liked and people like this person go unnoticed for years until the industry buzz encircles them happen chance. People that give me goosebumps. People that fill an arena with their voice and acoustic guitar. People that say things I have always felt, but just never possessed the eloquence to articulate in words. 

They still exist. The music industry is not dead. But we are going to need to fight for it. 

That being said. Here is someone that I am so blessed to be working with. One of the few that reminds me of why I have been involved in this thing we call the music business since I could remember.