I Started Running Again and Felt Like Homer Simpson...D'Oh!

The day was Thursday, June 6 and for the first time in a long while, I voluntarily went for a run. And felt like this:

The distance (.86 miles) was irrelevant but for the first time in a while (working out in the gym excluded), I did some cardio--and I felt great about myself. Not that I was sitting around feeling like a pile of manure but it was good to get out there and run. My pace was paltry (13 minutes) but again, I ran. Without music, which turns out is my downfall.

Fast forward to Tuesday, June 11. After a four day hiatus, I hit the ground running once again, vowing to increase distance and pace. Mission accomplished. Ten minutes, twenty-four seconds to complete 1.37 miles, for a 7:36 minute/mile pace. Thanks to The Bronx in my earphones.

Thursday, June 13. Another run sponsored by The Bronx. 1.89 miles in 15:08, good for an 8:00 minute/mile pace. Things are starting to come together. I just wish this rain would cease since it has caused the ground to turn to marshland.

Friday, June 14, today. Two miles was the goal and once again, I was relegated to the track. And The Bronx. The outcome was 2.29 miles in 21:45 (9:29 minute/mile pace). I sacrificed my blistering pace for further distance but eventually, it'll all come together.

Lindsay and I are running a Run or Dye in Hartford July 20, it's 5K, so the way I'm looking at it is as long as I keep running and feeling less and less like Homer Simpson, I should have no problems at all.

Just wanted to let you know I'm trying to get in shape again. It's not easy to just turn on the running--after all, it is boring as hell. Especially on a track. Oh yeah one more thing. I need an arm-band for my iPhone because having in your pocket while running sucks.

Random Baseball Card of the Day - 6/12/13

1983 Fleer #360 Tony Gwynn (Rookie Card), San Diego Padres

(photo cred: comc.com)

Every baseball fan knows the story of Tony Gwynn, former Padre great and current head coach at San Diego State University. He's was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in the Class of 2007.

Batting Title Tony: He was quite possibly the best hitter of his era, winning an unbelievable eight National League batting titles--his first in 1984 and his last in 1997.

No K in Gwynn: In 9288 career at-bats, Gwynn struck out only 434 times, for an average of 29 a season. Some guys strike out 29 times in the first month of the season.

Passing It On: Tony Sr. coached his son, Tony Jr. at SDSU. Junior has a ton of talent but to help put it in perspective, he's struck out 274 times in seven seasons in the majors. He's already on his third team (MIL, SD, LAD) but has yet to crack the Dodgers' big league roster this season though he is hitting .301 with 18 RBI and 4 stolen bases for AAA-affiliate Albuquerque. 

Random Fact: Gywnn's longest hitting streak of his career was a 25-gamer back in the 1983 season, his second year in the big leagues.

Random Baseball Card of the Day - 6/11/13

1981 Fleer #213 - RHP Doug Bair, Cincinnati Reds

Doug Bair looks like a cool cat based on this photo, all relaxed in his dugout photo shoot.

Not Bair-d: In 1978, the righty pitched to a 1.98 ERA while racking up 28 saves for the Reds, the fourth-highest total in the NL. He also logged  100 innings and recorded 91 strikeouts.

Career: Bair pitched for seven teams (CIN, STL, PIT, DET, OAK, PHI, TOR) in his 15 seasons in the big leagues, compiling a career 55-43 record with 81 saves. He was also a two-time World Series Champion--in 1982 with St. Louis and 1984 with Detroit.

Random Fact: In 1990, his final season, he was the third-oldest player in baseball.

NCAA Division I Baseball - Best Names in the Super Regionals

You know I love me some cool names. Here's a list of the top two names from each Super Regional team.

Skye Bolt, UNC (photo cred: Score Magazine)

Oklahoma Sooners -- C Mac James. Mac is just cool.
Louisiana State Tigers -- RHP Aaron Nola. 11-0 with a sub-1.50 ERA.

South Carolina Gamecocks -- INF Joey Pancake. Duh!
North Carolina Tar Heels -- OF Skye Bolt. Sure, why not?!

Mississippi State Bulldogs -- INF Nick Flair. It rhymes with the Nature Boy, Ric Flair, WOOOOO!
Virginia Cavaliers -- OF/1B Mike Papi. Aye, Papi!

Kansas State Wildcats -- INF Tanner Witt. Just a solid baseball name.
Oregon State Beavers -- LHP Jace Fry. Bueller. Bueller. Fry(e). Fry(e).

UCLA Bruins -- RHP Nick Vander Tuig. Sweet name with sweet stats (11-4, 2.51 ERA).
Cal State Fullerton Titans -- RHP Koby Gauna. Didn't serve up any goners.

Louisville Cardinals -- OF Coco Johnson. Vandy best B. Ware of Coco
Vanderbilt Commodores -- IF Zander Wiel. Forget VW, they got ZW.

Rive Owls -- OF Keenan Cook. Always a fan of alliteration.
NC State Wolfpack --RHP Dillon Frye. Bueller. Bueller. Frey. Frye.

Indiana Hoosiers -- C/OF Kyle Schwarber. Schwarble went deep 17 times.
Florida State Seminoles -- RHP Gage Smith. Dean's List and he deals.
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Happy Friday! Tropical Storm Andrea is dumping buckets of rain on us here in Connecticut so I'll have to play it by ear (or eyes) if I take off for Long Island tonight.

NCAA Baseball Regionals - Regional by Regional, Mascot by Mascot

As you know if you read or have read WRT, I love mascots and numbers. For the sake of this post, numbers will be excluded in order to focus on the mascots in the 64-team field. I'mm go team-by-team, sorted alphabetically by regional location.

A turquoise rooster? Go CCU! (photo credit: goccusports)

Baton Rouge, La.
The LSU Tigers--the Bayou Bengals, as they're affectionately known around these parts--look to avoid elimination at the hands of the Jackson State Tigers, who won the SWAC tournament to earn their bid. We'll also have the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns and the Sam Houston State Bearkats squaring off. Not quite sure why they spell it with a 'k' instead of the standard 'c,' but who am I to judge. A little monotonous with two Tigers and a Bearkat, but the Ragin' Cajuns spice it up. Literally.

Blacksburg, Va.
The Virginia Tech Hokies take on the UConn Huskies--I know, very similar while the Oklahoma Sooners will face the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. A hokie isn't a turkey, as their logo might suggest, in fact, it's a spirit yell coined way back in 1896. The Huskies just got a new, meaner looking logo while the Sooners are a staple in college athletics. A chanticleer is in fact a rooster. Weird.

Bloomington, Ind.
The Indiana Hoosiers had a hell of a season (43-14) as did the two-seed Austin Peay Governors (45-13). The same can't be said for the other two schools. The Florida Gators (29-28) got in solely based on their name while the Valparaiso Crusaders (31-26) took the crown in the Horizon League to earn the in-state trip to Bloomington.

Chapel Hill, N.C.
We all know the North Carolina Tar Heels but the other three, not so much. The Florida Atlantic Owls, Towson Tigers and Canisius Golden Griffins, who I highlighted yesterday, are far from household names. It's rare finding an owl as a mascot but it's cool.

Ah to hell with this, I'm gonna go through the remaining 48 teams and pick out the best mascots.

The Corvallis, Ore. site has two of the best in the field--the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners.

And come to think of it, the Rice Owls also have the nocturnal bird as a representation of who they are.

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are kinda cool as well though I think they're likely two-and-BBQ.

Time to work. Later all.