Friday « Kenny Smith | A remarkable thing happens …

Friday

adventures / Auburn / baseball / Friday / photo / video — Comments Off
23
Mar 12

Tigers host Tigers

It was one of those days that you thought it would rain all day. When it finally started raining, which seemed delayed somehow. But then it did rain and, even though it didn’t rain hard, you thought it might take over the entire day. Except for when it wasn’t raining, which was beautiful.

My meteorological skills may be a bit off.

But there was the rain, so it was an indoors morning, which suited me just fine. We had our weekly Barbecue House breakfast today — one of my favorite parts of the week and not even because of the hash browns — where we did not see any local celebrities for a change. We also did not see anyone pulled over nearby for a change.

We had a quiet breakfast, a biscuit for The Yankee and a sandwich for me. The food is all delicious and they know us by name and the place is busy, but quiet. You could probably get a splinter by rubbing your hand on the wall. The restaurant is the same age as I am, so I’m trying not to make the details of the joint autobiographical, but I wonder about the splinters.

It rained in the afternoon. I don’t ride in the rain if I don’t have too — one day I’ll change my mind about that — so I stayed on the computer.

Things cleared away late in the afternoon, just in time for baseball. Only as time for the game drew close there was an allegation of a lightning bolt. So they kept the field covered. The sky was beautiful, but the radar showed a blob, and this is a day that seemed like it could rain at any time. The fans were impatient for baseball:

Here was sunset over Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum (click to embiggen):

Finally they played removed the tarp:

And finally they played, the young Auburn squad trying to figure out where they should sit on the spectrum of SEC baseball this year, and the eighth ranked LSU team. It was a terrific game of back and forth momentum. It was tied at two after six innings. Auburn scored in the seventh. LSU answered in the eighth frame to tie things at three. In the bottom of the eighth Zach Alvord doubled. He moved to third on a sacrifice and then Ryan Tella brought his hot bat to the plate:

That swing gave Auburn a 4-3 lead. LSU would manufacture a double in the ninth. They put in a pinch runner. Auburn collected two outs. And Auburn baseball announcer Rod Bramblett takes it over from there (this video is helpfully queued to the last play of the game):

There’s a certain way you can look at the framing of that shot that might give you the inclination to say that umpire’s call was a bit of home cooking. LSU certainly seemed to think so, but they lost 4-3. It was a great game.

Auburn / cycling / Friday / photo — Comments Off
16
Mar 12

The definition of only

So long, and thanks for all the flips:

Laura Lane and six of her teammates were honored on senior night which, thanks to unfortunate scheduling, took place during Auburn’s spring break. The gymnastics squad has a devoted student following, filling one half of the floor at Auburn Arena. Two of them were there, the rest were young families. So there’s some work to do on the scheduling side of things.

The Tigers did not have their best meet of the year, but they did enough to defeat BYU handily, 195.950-192.575.

But after this meet the stakes get bigger. The SEC championships are later this month in Georgia. Auburn will have to face the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Florida, but they battled each of those squads within a point during the regular season.

In April the NCAA regionals will be at Auburn Arena.

Dinner at Cheeburger, including a basket of fries and a shake. I don’t mind the indulgence: I rode 27 miles this afternoon. And I’m now to the point where I said “I only rode 27 miles.”

I got scoffed at for that, but I was disappointed with the effort. I wanted more, but my energy levels disagreed. My hand hurt. (Remember a while back, I fell on my wrist? My chain slipped in a turn and jolted everything just right today.) It was hot. I forgot to press through. I was too busy trying to find reasons to stop after only 27 miles.

Terrible, I know. Tomorrow, then.

Auburn / baseball / cycling / Friday / iPhone / photo / video — Comments Off
9
Mar 12

No really, buy me some peanuts

I couldn’t say if there is a lot of video like this, or if it is a one-of-a-kind contribution to the International Institute of Outflow Mesoscale Gradients.

That’s from a small town east of Lexington, Ky. and that’s serious business. They aren’t used to seeing that sort of thing up there. Once a Louisville meteorologist confessed to his shock at seeing three rotations in one radar sweep. He’d never seen that before.

Here we call that Tuesday.

Of course they can deal with snow, so there’s a trade off.

Felt sluggish all day. I guess it was the week catching up with me, but there was no energy to be found anywhere. So this evening I made myself ride my bike. I want to ride even when I don’t feel like it, not just when I feel good. That’s how I can really churn out the miles — I told myself while inflating my tires.

So I set off on the warm up routine, down and out throw the neighborhood and then on the two back roads that border the local area. My legs were heavy. Actually they were dead. The wind was blowing. I’ve found that a mild headwind kills two or three miles an hour. Going up hills felt more like standing still.

I did have two nice sprints, the first hitting 31 miles per hour and the second at 30. Otherwise it was a remarkably poor 30 mile ride. Except for this:

It is a lovely neighborhood.

At the Auburn baseball game, the Tigers were leading here 5-3:

They’d jumped out to that score early, and it stayed there a long time. In the top of the ninth Belmont scored two runners on sacrifice flies. It was tied when the Tigers ran off the field.

In the bottom of the ninth Auburn’s leadoff man reached first on a field error. Jay Gonzalez then stole second. There was a strikeout and then an intentional walk. And then Cullen Walker hit one just past Belmont’s diving second baseman. Gonzalez raced around the diamond from second, giving Auburn the 6-5 win.

Nice way to start the weekend series. The only thing missing? The peanuts.

Auburn / baseball / cycling / Friday / iPhone / photo / Samford / site — Comments Off
2
Mar 12

In like a lion

Things are fine here, weatherwise, but everyone else had it rough. That is one impressive map.

Samford, and a lot schools across the state, closed early. That means more time on the bike for me. I felt defeated by headwinds, probably the latent energy that couldn’t make it up into the storms. There were 10 miles out on familiar roads, one of our base routes, and then 10 brand new miles, mostly uphill. On the first half of the return, downhill through those 10 new miles, I was actually moving slower than the ride out. Headwinds are tough like that. Especially when there aren’t any tailwinds.

So I perfected the art of steering at an angle to aim through crosswinds and tried in vain, like every other cyclist, to make myself as small as possible to keep my cross section low. I hit breezes that would drop me four miles per hour instantly. And this wasn’t really even a windy day.

And since we have the informal Where Were You When You Heard Party in the U.S.A. rule around here:

Hey, it is a catchy tune and I needed something to round out the 11 hours on my iPod. Every five or six rides it rolls back around and I stop and take this picture. I have no idea why, really, but it always seems to come along at a time when I need the break.

A blooming tree nearby:

The church at today’s turnaround point:

That place will show up again on the site next week as part of the new Lee County Historic Markers section of the site.

Caught most of the baseball game — they’d moved up the first pitch to avoid the evening’s rain — Purdue and Auburn see-sawed back and forth, but the Boilermakers held on 9-8 after fighting off a late rally. Auburn stranded eight in the game, which seems a fairly low number for the team so far this year.

Hit the grocery store, bought things, boiled pasta and grilled chicken. I’d intended to make some to leave for tomorrow but, what do you know, it all looked appetizing, it all had to be eaten. Hey, I’d burned several thousand calories today. Headwinds.

Auburn / baseball / Friday / iPhone / photo / Samford / video — 1 Comment
24
Feb 12

Two videos to start your weekend

I put about 39 markers on a custom map tonight. You have the name and then you must consult by LAT/LONG, postal address or by eyeballing a cross-referenced map, to place the marker. You enter the name. You get the next name, spend several moments researching the precise location — the idea being that if you went to the marker you would be at least within a pitching wedge of the actual location — and do it all over again. Do these three dozen more times. And then, somehow, ruin the entire effort. This is what I have to say to that:

Sometimes she sticks her tongue out and forgets, for a bit, to put it back in. We rush to grab a camera or a phone. She is reasonably tolerable of the camera, but you have to trick her a bit and be ready before you point.

The phone must come out of the pocket. The screen must be unlocked, the phone app accessed and that you have the flash set as the circumstance demands. If you can do all of that before the marginally inattentive cat starts noticing you, you can get two or three quick shots. If you put something in her face before you’re ready and then try to compose a masterpiece you’re going to be disappointed in your effort.

Baseball season is upon us. The hype video was found by Victoria Cumbow, with whom we have the regular Why I Love the Internet This Week joke:

And this, I love this:

S*uff Samford Students NEVER Say from Connor Wangner on Vimeo.

A former student produced that video. They all did a great job. I watched it twice.