During my teen years, I pretty much spent all my time around basketball. I was a die hard ball player. They called me a "gym rat" because during our 10 minute breaks between clases in High School, I was one of those who ran to the gym to shoot around for 9 minutes. When I wasn't playing ball, I was watching Michael Jordan play ball. In short, I was really into basketball.

I was pretty good also. Which is why I am writing this blog post. By "pretty good", I base that off being in a pretty popular but yet Jewish school. So although it was top for Jewish basketball, I am sure it was on no level to public school competition. That being said, for my competition in my school, I was pretty up there. Okay, back to the title of this post.

Last night, I was playing basketball - I absolutely stink now, by the way. And I had one of those slow motion moments. You know, where you have the ball, and either see or anticipate a hole opening up (either for a driving lane or a sweet pass). I saw it last night. I don't remember seeing that slow motion moment in years, maybe close to five plus years.

I had the ball at the top of the key (~ foul line for those who don't speak basketball) and I saw some movement amongst the players. Things just slowed down. Ultimately, I did not end up using the hole or lane because one of the players stopped his movements and the opportunity left - but for a brief second, it was there.

Why am I blogging this? Well, I don't know when or even if I will ever see that slow motion effect again in my life. So I figured, as a blogger, I'd blog it and keep it here so I can reference that.

Keep in mind, seeing things in slow motion when I played ball as a teenager was several times a day. After experiencing last night for just a brief second, it reminds me that I miss it. It is hard to describe the feeling, but it made me smile.

Chime in if you know what I am talking about...

Posted at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (5)

JETS were so close to beating the Colts, so close. I shouldn't be upset, but I was/am. To come that close to the playoffs when no one even expected them to make the playoffs - I should be happy.

Oh well - it was a great end to a season. Thanks for it!

Posted at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (2)

This time for a New York JETS fan is a bit unreal. Who would have thought they would be playing the Colts in the AFC Championship?

Who would have thought they would have won the final two games in the regular season to squeeze into the wild card slot? They had to beat the Bengels and the Colts to make that happen. Then they played the Bengels again in the wild card round and won. They beat the Bengels back to back. Then they go to San Diego and stun the west coast by beating the Chargers with two huge TDs in the 4th quarter. Just amazing. I was honestly in shock and amazement all night, including this morning.

JETS are one game away from the playoffs. Of course, they are playing the best team in the NFL next week. But hey - it is one game. The JETS are incredibly hot right now. Anything is possible. They can beat the Colts, it is possible.

Would I bet on it? No.

All those years of being a JETS fan and witnessing disappointment after disappointment... I just can't imagine them winning. But to see what they have done in the past 4 games - they are looking really good. Am I confident? No way. Do I hope? Yes, I do.

Posted at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (7)

Yesterday, the New York Jets played the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts pretty much had their way with the Jets in the 1st quarter. As a Jets fan, I wasn't expecting much and figured they would lose the game.

But in the second half, Smith ran back the kick-off, a 106 yards for a touch down. Then Colts scored again, but then they decided to take out Manning. That decision to rest him up, basically won the game for the Jets.

It was down hill for the Colts after that. Colts new quarterback fumbled at the goal line, Jets recovered to score a TD. Then the Colts, mostly, secondary defense also couldn't do much. So the Jets continued to score and then intercepted a pass by the new QB.

So I would like to thank Jim Caldwell for pulling Manning to let the Jets win.

Now, the Jets can lose next week and make sure they are really not in the playoffs.

Posted at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (2)

Last night was the first time I played basketball in about four weeks.

When I became a dad, about four weeks ago, I really didn't realize how tiring it would be. Don't get me wrong, my kid is great. She doesn't complain a ton, only when she wants something. But new babies are a handful.

Last night I got some pretty good sleep - thanks to the wife. In fact, the wife does most the heavy lifting all day and all night. But I guess I am a light sleeper and any noise kind of wakes me up. Last night was good though.

Back to basketball. I normally play at nights and for the past four weeks, thinking about going out to play ball at 9pm was beyond a possibility. Last night, I thought I wouldn't make it, but I did. I didn't play all that much simply cause I was running down the court and sleeping at the same time. But things will get better and I am glad I went.

Hope to keep the basketball streak going now.

Posted at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Category: Family , Sports | Comments (2)

When I was younger, I lived to play basketball. I played every second I had. I played during lunch, breakfast, of course during gym and even during the 7 minute break between classes. Over the course of thousands of basketball games, I have broken most of my fingers over and over again.

My right hand pinky finger was broken so many times that I think I developed what is called Boutonniere deformity of the finger. It is basically where you cannot lay your finger on a flat surface and have your finger remain flat on that surface. My finger has been like that since some time in high-school. I forget exactly what year it happened.

Why am I bringing this up now? Well, I still play basketball a couple times per week. I have not really broken or 'jammed' a finger in a while, probably over two years now. Last night, during a game, I think I broke my left hand pinky finger. I thought to myself, wow - it has been a while since I did that. In any event, it is now all blue, purple and puffy. No, I did not seek medical attention (it is just a finger), nor did I put ice on it. It will get better by itself.

Oh, I must of had like 10 steals during the game, prior to the finger incident. Not bad for a large man.

Anyway, for more info on boutonniere finger, see eORTHOPOD or WebMD. There are also some serious picture of what this looks like on real hands on Google Images. Mine is not that bad, i.e. the deformity is very minor.

Posted at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (0)

I missed this news, but someone share it with me today. Via the AP, NFL changes time of Jets game on Yom Kippur. What happened was the Jets had two games scheduled on two Jewish holidays, week-to-week.

The first game was on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, on September 20th and the second game was on the eve of Yom Kippur. New York is packed with Jews and even non-observant Jews tend to stay away from football games on these two very popular holidays. So the NY Jets were upset that many of their fans would not be able to attend not just one game, but two consecutive games.

I assume the NFL couldn't change both games, so they opted to change the Sunday game to start at 1pm, as opposed to 4:15pm, this way Jewish New Yorkers can get to the game and also be at Yom Kippur services at night.

Often when search marketing conferences are scheduled, the organizers know to ask me if the dates might conflict with Jewish holidays. They always make a point to check this fact when scheduling conferences in the New York area. Like I said, New York is more heavily populated by observant Jewish people, when compared to other regions. It just makes business sense.

Jimmy Kimmel has a very funny clip on this new, very funny. I can't embed it, but you can watch it at YouTube.

Posted at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Category: Religion , Sports | Comments (0)

Some of you know, I had my first Wii experience a couple weeks ago. Well, this past Sunday, my brother-in-law and I had some serious games. I took a game, he took a game, etc etc. At the end, he used some dirty tactics, which I won't mention to win the last match.

The Wii is a lot of fun and even better when you play against someone at your level.

Below is a video of a 22 month old playing Wii Tennis, pretty funny:

I use to play a lot of Tennis years ago. I do miss playing, maybe I should get back into it, in the summer months.

Posted at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Category: Computers , Sports | Comments (6)

This Sunday, I had to leave the TV during the end of the grueling Jets game. I wanted to know if they can make a come back at the end, but I could not watch it. So I opened my iPhone, dialed into the Sportacular app and went to the Jet game.

It gives you great details for the game in progress, here is a screen shot of one of the pages that I frequently refreshed:

I love the simple illustration of where the ball is, who is on offense, what down it is, how many yards to go, the score, etc.

Posted at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports , iPhone | Comments (0)

When I was a kid, I use to play a ton of ping pong. I believe I played a ton when I was around the age of 11 through 15, but I can be wrong about that age bracket. In any event, I was a kid.

Slowly, I had less and less time and interest in playing ping pong and the ping pong table at my parents home began to cave in - so I stopped playing all together.

My brother recently received a ping pong table from his father-in-law and I was over twice in the past few weeks. I played a couple times when I was over. I am still pretty good.

When I was younger, I played like crazy. I had a wicked serve. I had some wicked slices, spins, backhands and overhead slams. As I played the game the other day, it all started coming back to me. I am still pretty good. Not as good as I once was, but pretty good.

In fact, I wouldn't mind getting a ping pong table to play more often in my home. Maybe one day - I just need to find some good competition. I am sure there are some people in my area that aren't bad.

Posted at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (1)

I have been traveling a lot in the past month. First Santa Clara for SMX, then back to San Jose the week after and then last week was SES NY, yes almost elite status...

But because of the traveling, I had to take a break from playing basketball for a month. Last night was my first night back in the gym. Man was I out of shape.

I did manage to somehow stay on my feet for two and a half hours of basketball. We only had 10 people, so no sitting, just playing, even if you lose - not that I lost.

After the first hour of pain, the pain started going away. Then I got other pains.

Reminder, keep playing regularly! Tonight, I play again.

Posted at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (2)

Yesterday, I spent virtually the whole day (after working in the morning) watching football. Yes, my wife went out shopping without me, while I sat and watched football on the couch.

Yea, I had my laptop with me, while watching...

During the Giants game, I can't believe they won, I was using NFL.com's Game Center. It is truly an awesome aid to watching the game. It is basically updated in real time, no refresh required. It shows you every detail of the plays, you can rewind and see history as well.

You can quickly see the current drive's plays in a visual format. You can see an example of the Giants vs. Packer's via the drive chart.

If you got two huge screens, I say, put the game on one display and this NFL.com feature on the other. And seriously enjoy the Super Bowl.

I am a Jet fan, so I am always bummed - always.

Posted at 9:11 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (2)

Last night was a historic night for my oldest nephew, Avi. As reported on the ASHAR Hockey site, my nephew scored his first goal ever, in an official elementary school game.

And I quote:

The big goal of the night came late in the game from defenseman Avi Borgen who took a pass back at the point and lasered it towards the net passed a screened Aaron Turkel.

Avi Borgen, he is my nephew. Congrats Avi on the goal!

I actually always hoped Avi would be more into basketball but his father influenced him in a different direction - Hockey. Well, I guess that is his father's problem now, since hockey is a much more expensive sport to be involved with. Joke is on you!

I guess hockey is your sport and it shows! Congrats again and I am sure you will be scoring plenty of goals this year and throughout your life!

Posted at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Category: Family , Sports | Comments (7)

I play basketball a few times a week. One of the three times, I play in this small league. This year, I got a new shirt for the season. I have a new but yet unique number.

Now, I think that looks like a backwards 6. The guy who imprinted the number actually did it backwards - if that is possible. Personally, I think it is great. It confuses the referees.

Posted at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Sports | Comments (3)

For the past week or so, my right wrist has been killing me. Certain movements result in sharp pain. It first started hurting after waking up one morning in a lot of pain. I figured I slept on my hand and bent it badly and that I would feel better the next day.

I did not feel better, but I gave it a few more days. Now over a week later, it still hurts.

It hurts a heck of a lot more when I shoot a basketball, which I have been doing three times a week.

It even hurts when I type, but not as bad (or even close to as bad) as when I carry stuff or shoot a basketball.

My wife felt it might be Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, so just now, I decided to read WebMD on the topic:

What Are the Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Usually, people with carpal tunnel syndrome first notice that their fingers "fall asleep" and become numb at night. They often wake up with numbness and tingling in their hands. The feeling of burning pain and numbness may generally run up the center of the person's forearm, sometimes as far as the shoulder. As carpal tunnel syndrome becomes more severe, symptoms are noticed during the day.

My fingers are not falling asleep. Did you see how much I wrote over the past week? My wrist just hurts.

So I have self-diagnosed myself. I will not go to a doctor, I will just wait it out a couple more weeks and see how it goes.

I just saved twenty bucks on a co-pay!

Posted at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (8)

RustyBrick Bytes, is the name of a local team we sponsor and play on.

Last night was our playoff game. We lost but it was a really good game.

We had a five to ten point lead most of the game. We played a three-two zone, where we focused on their two main shooters. The other players on the opposite team couldn't score much without their two main shooters.

It worked very well, just until the end of the fourth quarter. Two other players on their team began to hit and we had to open our zone up more. We lost by about a point. It came down to the last second. It actually came down to us missing too many free-throws.

But the game was played well. The refs were solid. The game was played well all around.

Good times, even if we lost.

Posted at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick , Sports | Comments (1)

Just amazing, just amazing...

Posted at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (0)

I don't think I have ever missed Tuesday basketball three times in a row. At most, maybe two weeks, but not even when I went on my honeymoon.

The first two weeks, I ended up stuck with work until well after 10pm each day.

But last night I missed for two reasons.

(1) My wife is sick, so I wanted to help around the house. Yea, I am a good husband. :)
(2) It was freezing last night and the gym really doesn't have heat. So it is like a big tin box, when cold outside, you feel it in the gym - minus the wind. So it was probably 15 degrees in the gym last night. Playing ball like that, after a while works, but it takes a while for you to feel the basketball in your hands.

I will make it next week.

Posted at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Category: Homey , Sports , Weather | Comments (2)

Talking about a die hard Chicago Bears fan. Woman offers pregnant belly as ad space for Super Bowl tickets tells the story of a devoted Chicago Bears fan that wants tickets so bad to the Super Bowl that she is willing to sell her pregnant belly's ad space to get a pair of tickets.

Jennifer Gordon "self-professed "die hard" Chicago Bears fan is offering up her nearly nine-months pregnant belly space for advertisers to paint. She'll showcase it at the Feb. 4 Super Bowl, when the Bears play the Indianapolis Colts in Miami."

Her Craigslist ad reads:

I will agree to have your message painted on my belly visible to Super Bowl attendees and the millions of fans around the world who watch

This kid better be a sports fan, if not, he/she will have a sad life. I think the idea is cool - but I doubt my wife would ever do that. ;-)

Posted at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Sports | Comments (1)

I am fairly well known for always having my laptop bag with me at all times, especially at SEO conferences. (hence the bag on my cartoon version of me).

But technically, I never have the shoulder strap over on my right shoulder. Yes, I am a right handed man, but ever since some time in college, I stopped using my right shoulder to hold my bag.

One Friday I was playing tackle football in the park. I must have been about 19 or 20 years old. I intercepted a bad pass by the quarterback and began to run it back. This incredibly strong guy picked me up from behind, lifted me in the air, flipped me around so that I was upside down and slammed me down. I landed on my right shoulder.

At first, I thought I dislocated it. So I had a bunch of the guys hold me, and an other group of guys pull my arm the other way - trying to get them to pop it back in. It wouldn't go. But it was for sure out of the socket, I felt my shoulder and it was not connected fully to the arm.

After that didn't work, one of the guys drove me to a local EMT who tried to pop it back in. He failed and told me to go to the hospital.

So I went home, asked my dad to take me to the hospital (this is about 30 minutes later). My dad needed finish a few things, and then he took me (felt like forever). We got there, did an xray and they told me it was a separated shoulder and not a dislocated shoulder.

A separated shoulder is also known as a acromioclavicular separation or AC separation. For now, all I could do it take meds to relax the pain and try to keep it still, so it won't hurt so much. After that, they told me, it will heal, but never go back in place. If I wanted, I can go get cosmetic surgery, but typically, there is no need to.

Here is a picture from WebMD:

Separated AC stands for separating the "collarbone (clavicle) and the end of the shoulder blade (acromion)."

The Wikipedia has a xray of what that looks like, I can't find mine...

In any event, it took a few months to heal, my shoulder is still separated, I never had the surgery, but I typically do not have much pain there these days.

Since then, I had to learn to switch from carrying my bag on my right shoulder to my left shoulder. Took a while to get used to, but I did. Now, I wish I can switch back to my right shoulder, but it just feels to awkward.

Posted at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (4)

Growing up, all I did was play basketball. In elementary school, after school and on weekends, we went to my friend, Scotty's house, and played ball outside as much as we could. In fact, instead of going to camp, we went to Scotty to play ball.

During that time, Michael Jordan was an upcoming star in the NBA. He ruined the NY Knicks chances to win a championship a few times. Now, growing up in NY, liking Jordan so much, that I was a Bull fan, was not easy. All my friends called me a traitor, front-runner, etc. But I was amazed at how unbelievable he was at the game. So I ignored the criticism I received, laughing it off by the Bulls stomping on the Knicks, time and time again.

Throughout elementary school and early high-school I collected probably over a hundred Michael Jordan basketball cards. They are now sitting in individual plastic holders, somewhere in my parents home. Reminder to self, make sure to check on them...

It was sad when Jordan starting playing for the Wizards. I was not comfortable watching him play basketball outside of a red jersey. It was also sad to see him retire early, a couple times, and then come back out of shape.

In any event, I continued to play basketball throughout high-school religiously. In fact, I skipped breakfast and lunch and used all my free time in the gym. I was known as one of the "gym rats" in the school, but it was an all boys Jewish school, so I wasn't missing anything. My high-school routine looked a bit like this, if I remember.

- Got to school
- Morning services
- Breakfast; I played basketball
- Before the first class, I grabbed an orange slice for 50 cents
- Classes with 7 minute breaks (I think 7 minutes), so I sometimes jumped in the gym, in between classes
- Lunch, I played ball and grabbed an other orange slice
- Classes
- GYM (twice a week - of course basketball)
- Went home

That was my high-school experience. Playing basketball, and watching Jordan master the game.

Now? I play three nights per week. I am much heavier. I am much slower. But I still enjoy the game. I miss the old games with Jordan in late 80's early 90's.

Posted at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (6)

My brother-in-law hooked us up with tickets to the Jets game this Sunday. They played the Texans and pretty much took control of the game in the second half. Jets played well against a pretty bad team. I believe this was the first Jets game I have been at when they actually won. So that is a good feeling...

Here are two pictures I snapped on my Treo during the game.

I used the Flickr Slideshows generator for the pictures above. Kind worthless to use for only two pictures, but whatever.

The game was also a good opportunity to bond with the new family; father-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Not that we talked much during the game, the place was too loud for that. But we sat amongst thousands of other people in the middle of this row, about 30 yards up from the field. Not too bad.

Thanks AJ.

Posted at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (4)

I am sure you all know by now, that the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series Friday night.

Just wanted to note it here, just to have.

http://cardinals.mlb.com/

Great year for St. Louis. ;-)

Posted at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (0)

I am way more excited for the St. Louis Cardinals to win then my wife is, and she is from St. Louis. St. Louis beat the Mets, and I wasn't devastated about it. It would be nice, very nice, if St. Louis beat Detroit.

I was shocked that they pulled last nights game off, being down 3-0.

After building a 3-0 lead, the Tigers battled bad luck and shaky fielding to creep within one loss of elimination against the Cardinals. Sean Casey homered and drove in another run on a single, but Curtis Granderson's misstep in center field and Fernando Rodney's throwing error allowed St. Louis to pull out the Game 4 win.

More details on game four here, just amazing.

Go Cards!

Posted at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (0)

I grew up a Met fan, was a big Darryl Strawberry fan back in the day. But as I grew, I got bored watching baseball and lost a lot of interest in the game. That with the Mets really not playing all that well, didn't help me with my interest in the game.

However, we all know the Mets are in game 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals as I type and watch this on my Niko. They win this game, they go to the world series, who would of thought?

Now, my wife is from St. Louis, her family, especially her dad, is a huge Cards fan. He loves baseball, knows more about the game that I will ever know.

I want the Mets to win, I really do. But if they lost to any team, St. Louis is the first one I would opt for in a game like this.

Yea, I am a kiss up. ;-P

But I really want the Mets to win right now, so they can lose to the Tigers.

Posted at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Category: Homey , Sports | Comments (3)

Last night I was playing basketball, like I do about three times per week. The first play of the game, the tip off, I was getting position and the next thing I know, the back of a head has smashed into my nose, pushing my nose into my face. Deal is, you can't let anyone know that you are hurt - so you continue going as if nothing happened.

As I continued to play, I felt as if, not only has my nose been pushed in, but my bite has been warped. I also felt a coldness in my upper head portion of my face. But I continued to play.

I assume there is some bruising internally, but my nose looks just fine the next morning. No scares, no black and blue. It just feels a bit tender still and my bite still feels off. I tend not to bruise easily but who knows.

We happened to win, go RustyBrick Bytes!

Oh, that is a picture I found on Flickr for a search on [nose], click over to it and you will see the photographer's markups, if you mouse over it. Pretty cool.

Posted at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (2)

I heard this on the news this morning, that Yankees Fan Jack Nicholson Refused To Wear Red Sox Cap in New Film. The director of the film is Martin Scorsese and he was the one who could not convince Jack Nicholson to put on the red sox hat on. Deal is, Nicholson is playing a role as a Boston, Massachusetts, gangster. S'more details at NY Mag.com.

Even worse, Jack’s sadistic Irish Southie is so evil that he wears a Yankees hat on the streets of Boston. “First of all, they wanted me to wear a Red Sox hat,” he grumbles, “but I said, all things being equal, I don’t want to.

“My Yanks, they came before the Lakers, of course,” says the Jersey native. “But Kristen [Dalton], my inamorata in the picture, she wore a Red Sox cap both to subtly indicate domestic conflict and to politically mollify the fans in Boston.”

And Yankee fans are proud in this forum.

Posted at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Sports | Comments (0)

I have been a Jet fan since I was a little boy. As you can imagine, it was a rough childhood for me, being a Jet fan and all. But we hold on to our hope and faith, "there is always next year." The Jets pulled off a win yesterday, they are 1-0, a perfect record, for now. They beat the Tennessee Titans away, 23 to 16.

First half, the Jets completely ruled the game, well Mike Nugent stunk up and decided to miss his first extra point in his career. But he then missed a few more "easy" field goals after that.

The Titans came back to tie it in the 4th, but the Jets managed to hold on, stopping a 4th and goal attempt by the Titan's Collins at the end with a safety blitz. Phew!

Next week, the Jets play New England Patriots at Giants Stadium (home) at 4:15 (EST) on Sunday.

Posted at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (0)