All posts by FireMom

Lessons from a Biking God

Be careful what you wish for; just ask Lance Armstrong.

Not only is the super-cycler capable of crashing like my son who is just learning to ride a bike but he is not immune from lashing out. His tweet on Thursday called out the media. Via twitter.

Grumpypants Lance (That Rhymes)

Versus cut away from the last mile of the race to break into hockey. While it’s crunch time in the hockey world, it wasn’t even a cut away for an awesome goal or a good ole brawl. We’re talking pre-game hockey. They mentioned some muck about contractual obligations. Of course, hockey is no stranger to getting the slight on coverage, much like Game 5 in 2007 when they got the shaft (to Versus!) so that they could get in the pre-race coverage of the Preakness. Apparently we’re just passing around the “No One Cares About Your Sport” click of a switcher button.

All that said, I bet Armstrong wishes the media wouldn’t have been covering it as well when he found himself tumbling along the road face first just hours after he had to publicly deny a doping charge by fellow Tour de Fance cyclist Floyd Landis. Perhaps you get what you ask for because his bloody face is all over every sports news site, blog, and, yes, twitter. The doping claim has over 1800 Google links. Looks like he found himself some coverage. I’m thinking this isn’t the coverage he was seeking.

At the same time, the Huffington Post takes it one step farther and asks if his crash was karma throwing a wrench in his spokes for actually doping and denying it. The thing about karma is that if you mock someone else’s karma, it can come back to bite you, too. That said, maybe HuffPo has it wrong on what exactly karma was tossing Armstrong’s face at the pavement as payback. Perhaps it was because he called someone a dumbass. No one likes to be called a dumbass.

Perhaps Lance can make peace with the hockey players that he likely ticked off by whining about coverage and compare battle wounds though I might suggest that he waits until his stops oozing.

Now That's a Scar!

I think it’s a shame that he ate the pavement and is out of the race. But I think we can all count this as a lesson in being careful what you ask for because you just might get it. Along with stitches. And a bit of crow.

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[Photo: @LanceArmstrong.]

. . . .

Jenna agrees with Lance; who cares about hockey now that the Penguins are out?

It’s Okay to Cry if You’re From Pittsburgh

When they say that there’s no crying in baseball, they aren’t referring to the fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s okay to cry if you are a Bucco’s fan. We’ve been crying for years. Decades. Even The Onion knows that we’re hurting. While they have various giveaways and fireworks at games all throughout the season, Fan Euthanasia Night really doesn’t seem all that bad. I mean, we really do need to be put out of our misery, don’t we?

I was raised a Pirates fan. Really, I was raised a Pittsburgh fan. I bleed black and gold, whether that’s the Steelers, the Penguins or, yes, even the Pirates. (Additionally, I don’t care about basketball. Ever.) I remember attending a game at Three Rivers Stadium  in which a fellow softball teammate and I held up a sign that read, “Will you marry me, Andy Van Slyke?” Who cares that he would have been jailed for statutory rape? Those were the good old days.

I miss those good days. I miss Andy Van Slyke. So does the guy behind Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke, aka WHYGAVS? I miss being proud of my team. God, I miss winning. I mean, yes, we beat the Cubs. In fact, we swept those Cubbies. One of those times was even a significant win. But the 20-0 loss during the Brewers series is still fresh in our minds. I’ve entered the Make Room for Crazy poll and I actually bet that This! Is! The! Year! At least the money goes some place worthwhile. Right? RIGHT?

Fans may be frustrated. I’m not. You know why? Pittsburgh Pirates shirts for my boys this year were 50% off at the beginning of the season. 50 percent off. Of clearance price. I’ll always be a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. But, man, I love me a sale. If they have a winning season (it could happen, right?), that means that the shirts next year might be only clearance price, not 50 percent off of the lowest possible price. Hopefully the recession will be over by that point. In fact, perhaps we should just blame the recession on the Pirates.

Why not?

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