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"Yankees at the Bat"

Red Sox fans: check out this prose by Peter David.

Ian

IFILM - Television: Jon Stewart's Brutal Exchange with CNN Host

There is nothing I can say to comment on this, except that everything I hear Jon Stewart say I agree with. Check out this appearance on "Crossfire".

IFILM - Television: Jon Stewart's Brutal Exchange with CNN Host

Red Sox fever

I am by no means a sports fan.

I say that with an appreciation and respect for those of you who are. I can understand an interest for something that borderlines obsession. My friends who enjoy sports can recite statistics, place first in their fantasy league, and play armchair quarterback with the best of them.

While I have my many interests, the minutiae of sports has never been one of them. I have to admit that at one time I resented sports and their ability to negatively impact my life. During football season, my friends were no where to be found on Sundays. Baseball interrupted the new television season.

However, that has slowly changed over the years. College opened the door for football, as it was inescapable. I then starting turning to Patriots games while I was in North Carolina for a glimpse of home. One of my friends was a huge sports fans as well as an avid video gamer so he introduced me to the narcotic effect of Madden on the PS2.

Well now I am back and things have definitely changed. I am routinely tuning in to see the Patriots break the consecutive wins record. But maybe the most exciting is seeing the Red Sox come back from a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS and force a game 7.

While not being a lifetime sports fan, but being a huge rooter for any underdog, I have been a lifetime fan of the Red Sox. I go into every season believing that the Red Sox will win their pennant and World Series every year.

However, I am not sure if I am cut out for this. First of all, with games averaging about 4 hours this post season (Actually seeing a game just shy of 6 last night), all my spare time has been used up. Projects have been put on the back burner as hours have been spent on the couch. Second, my heart can't take it. I am hanging on every pitch, and as the Sox move closer to the winning the division and advancing to the World Series, I become more steadfast in my belief that they will win. Past experience tells me I should steel myself for a loss, but I can't do it.

So, I give in. While I will never be able to talk stats with the diehards, I am starting to appreciate the excitement of the competition. ESPN will not be programmed as a "favorite channel", but I now can hold my own with office sports chatter. Besides if the Red Sox can win against the Yankees, a team that has every advantage going into this series, doesn't that mean that there is hope for all of us who have had to work hard to achieve what we want out of life? To me there is no better analogy of overcoming adversity today than the Red Sox/Yankees matchup that has been consuming my week.

Now that is what I call reality TV.

Carolina In My Mind

Two years ago I left Wilmington, North Carolina to move a little closer to my family. I spent 2 years in Virginia going to school and then 3 in Wilmington working at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. To be honest, I never anticipated being away from my family that long. Five years is a long time, although looking back it doesn't seem that long. Moving away from Wilmington was bittersweet at best. I became very close with my friends there (many of them had relocated to Wilmington as well). I think that in a sense a surrogate family formed because we were all so far away from home, starting our first jobs out of grad. school. I had already assumed I would never have friends like the ones I made in college, but the people I met in Wilmington are some of my closest friends.

I was the first to leave and that was tough for me. I hated the fact that while I never intended to move so far away from home, it was so difficult to leave this place. My leaving was rough on my friends, too. I think we were all getting restless for a change of scenery. Wilmington is a phenomenal place to live for a young person. It is a small city, located on the ocean with a thriving film industry. However, it seems isolated to someone who grew up in New England with major cities (NY and Boston) nearby along with small communities scattered in between. Basically if what you needed wasn't in Wilmington, then it would be a two hour drive to Raleigh to find it. So after three years there, homesickness was starting to sink in. Every trip home made returning to Wilmington harder. My friends were going through the same thing. It also didn't help that I was getting restless in my job. I loved working there but I was antsy for new responsibilities and a new setting. So when a job presented itself back home, the decision to move was made. However, it wasn't an easy one. I would be the first of my friends to actually do it. If you know me, you know I have a phobia of being left out of any good time, and man we had had some good times.

So why this trip down Melancholy Lane? This Wednesday I am flying to Wilmington for the first time since leaving. My friend Shannon has flown to see me 4 or 5 times since I left and I am past due to visit her. She has very nicely put her foot down and pointed out it is time for me to visit her. While I am so excited to see her and the rest of the wonderful people that I met there, I am anxious, because you really can't go home again. Of our group of friends, only Shannon remains. In a lot of ways I don't want to ruin the sense of nostalgia that I have for the place. However, the chance to see my friends out weighs the trepidation I feel.

So Wilmington, be warned. I am coming back, let the debauchery begin.