The 2010 Baseball Playoffs and the Ojeda Factor...

Jimenez faded down the stretch, as did Colorado

Did anyone notice that the last three installments of the Underdogs have focused on non-sports related topics?  No?  Well they did.  And people were probably getting upset.  I actually don't have any evidence of that, but, just in case anyone actually did get upset, we will now attempt to set things right with a triumphant return to the world of sports blogs.  Indeed, the Underdogs are back with the first baseball blog of the year.  YAY!  Just in time for October!  yay?  Ah yes.  On a crisp fall day on which the Major League Baseball Playoffs will begin, the big question on my mind is… does anyone care???  (Aw, I love saying that because all my Yankee fan friends get all bent outa shape :)  But really, what a season!  To me it felt like it ended 6 months ago.  Wait, didn’t I say the same thing LAST year???  UGH.  The Mets were abysmal… so were the Cubs, and the San Diego Padres choked away a big Divisional lead to give the Evil San Francisco Giants a playoff birth. I tried to get excited about the Rockies while passing through Denver, when I got to see the masterful Ubaldo Jimenez beat the Giants to win his 17^th game, but even he couldn't carry them to the promised land.

The day after giving away Manny Ramirez to the White Sox
the Dodgers pretty much gave up on the season.

Then when we got here to LA we headed out to Dodger Stadium (right next to Elysian Park, where we play tennis) to see the Dodgers lay down and die against the Evil Philadelphia Phillies.  The Dodgers, Rockies, and Padres all had a chance with about a month and a half to go in the season to turn things around and somehow oust the Phils or Giants from contention, but none of them could.  The only saving grace in the National League was that the Cincinnati Reds were able to hold off the (also Evil) St. Louis Cardinals.

Coors Field in Denver

So here we are at baseball playoff time and if you take a look around, there are actually lots of good Underdog types to root for.  No teams from LA or Chicago, no Boston Redsox.  Seriously, as I am writing this out I am actually getting excited about baseball for the first time since Spring Training.  The Tampa Bay Rays beat out the Evil New York Yankees for the AL East Divisional Championship (while spending about a third as much on payroll as the Empire.)  The small market Minnesota Twins and the previously mentioned Cincinnati Reds defied the odds to make the postseason, but the most surprising contender this year has to be the Texas Rangers. 

Dodger Stadium.

Alex's Least favorite place to watch a baseball game.
But not because of a Perfect-Game-related spat :)

Amazingly only three teams had a lower payroll this season than the Rangers did, so their playoff appearance is definitely a remarkable achievement.  Clearly they are doing something right down there in Arlington.  Also, the 101D’s own Catia Ojeda is the biggest Ranger Fanatic I’ve ever met, so I like to live vicariously and pull for them.  And I can’t reiterate this point enough… she is a serious fan folks.  If you want an example ask her about the “Perfect-Game story” that went down at Fenway a few years back.  She still gets mad at her (now husband) Alex, (congrats guys! :) when it comes up because even though he was not a Sox fan he had the temerity to root against her boys as the night went on, tantalized by the chance to witness a perfect game.  She didn’t buy the “history-of-the-game” argument and was horrified at his lack of respect.  In fact, since she was probably the only person in the ballpark wearing a Rangers hat, she considered it a full-fledged betrayal!  To this day if you bring it up (and of course I love to do so) she will momentarily go back to that place and look at Alex as if he is the scourge of the earth, with those “how DARE you eyes.”  Always a priceless moment. 

Catia and Alex last Halloween as Deviled Egg

Anyway, so when the Rangers finally broke up the perfect game in the seventh inning with a single up the middle, Catia immediately jumped up joyously to cheer the hit.  Then she started defiantly talking smack to the surrounding Red Sox Nation as they looked at her in disbelief.  When we get to this part of the story, I like to watch Alex as he relives the moment as well with a slightly nervous expression.  Because at that point he suddenly had to turn his attention from their little spat about the Perfect Game to the current problem… of how to get them out of Fenway alive that night.  Imagine that spectacle!  One diehard Texas fan swimming proudly in a sea of crazy (possibly dangerous) Boston fans?  Now, that’s a brave underdog!

Everything turned out alright in the end though.  They made it out of there and today Catia and Alex are a brilliant married couple.  (Just off of the honeymoon in fact.)  And I think that without a doubt the Perfect Game spat made them stronger.  I mean, when you think about it, if that is the biggest fight they’ve ever had in their relationship… they must be the ones playing the perfect game.  HHHMmm.  Catia just cringed at my bad pun.    

Anyway, when you add it all up the AL has three good-guy teams (Twins, Rays, and Rangers) to the NL’s one (Reds.)  And that’s not such a bad postseason for Underdogs.  Because of the Ojeda connection, I am pulling for the Rangers over the Rays in their first round matchup, and hopefully the Reds can somehow come out of the NL, but the biggest first round series has to be the Yankees against the Twins.  Game one is tonight in Minneapolis, right back where the Underdogs started a year ago.  Last year we made it out to the Twins last regular season game at the Metrodome (we even got Certificates saying as much) as they finished the season on an incredible tear to beat out Detroit for the last playoff spot.  The Yankees ended Minnesota's playoff dreams quickly however in the first round, and the Cinderella story hit midnight.  This year though the Twins have home field advantage (in their new outdoor stadium, where it might get down to 45 degrees tonight) and a good chance to redeem themselves against the mighty Yanks.  At last count, the Twins have two World Championships compared to the Yankees' twenty-seven, so there is no doubt that it is a tall order facing the Minne-boys.  The Yankees are really really good.  But for Underdogs everywhere… It would be fun to see the upset!  And eventually, perhaps, the chance to see the Ultimate Dream Scenario...   

Reds vs Rangers in the World Series!!  :)  aw That would KILL Vegas! 

2009 in Minneapolis.  The Underdogs have come full circle.  

Baseball is BACK baby!  Hmmmm, I think that is also something I said a year ago when we started this thing.  Hard to believe it’s been a year already.  Seems like three doesn’t it?  Happy Baseball Watching!

And as always, thanks for reading,
Underdogs out!

The Art of the Comic Strip and Woody Allen

Photo by James DeShawn Ludwig III

Aspen is a place for revelations.  And the third in our series that occurred there, as we continue our brief hiatus from the sports world, (sooo sorry baseball... but not really) came from a simple book found in the condo where we were staying.  Theatre Aspen had rented it for Jimmy, presumedly from a winter-dweller who makes like a tree during the summer months, and one day (in between tennis matches... Check out Kisha in Mid-Air!?) I spotted something curious sitting on his bookshelf.  Right there in plain view on the shelf was a book entitled Dread and Superficiality; the Best of the Classic Newspaper Cartoon from 1976 to 1984.  The strip was called Inside Woody Allen.  I stopped dead in my tracks.  It was a twilight-zonian experience for me to discover this artifact.  It's what it must have been like when those archeologists found Lucy, back in '73.  It's been here this whole time!  Waiting to be discovered!!!  I was positively astounded that I had not been aware of the existence of this comic strip!  Why?  Two reasons.  First, Woody Allen is my favorite filmmaker and has been one our most prolific writers and performers of stage and screen.  And second, I have long considered myself something of a comic strip aficionado.

When I was a kid I was an adamant follower of many comic strips.  It was important business.  Every morning there were dozens of new comic strips inside the newspaper just waiting to be checked out.  So intriguing, so consistent.  Something you could count on.  Then I started clipping them out and putting them in books and up on the fridge (and, well maybe it got a little out of hand :) but the important thing is that it quickly became one of my favorite art forms.  Yes, an Art Form.  It eventually became clear to me though, that most people didn’t think of them in this way.  Almost everyone I knew took them for granted or subconsciously disparaged them.  I was shocked to see how casually people would dismiss these works after glancing over them, either chuckling to themselves or giving the obligatory, “eh” – as in, “ I could have done better than that.”  In this way the Newspaper Comic Strip has to be one of the most disrespected art forms in history.  Infamously proven by the degrading and despicable euphemism that somehow became synonymous with this art form early in the twentieth century: “the funnies.”  Ugh.  And it stuck!  What kind of artistic credibility can one expect with that label? 

Naturally there were many artists that accepted this menial position and directed their work to the lowest common denominator.  Churning out strips featuring simple archetypical characters in mindless crude situations, the likes of Beetle Bailey, Hagar the Horrible, Andy Capp, Snuffy Smith, Family Circus, and Garfield rose to prominence through the years.  Sorry Garfield lovers (if there are any left) but really what is there in that strip?  Garfield hates Mondays, loves lasagna, and Jon’s a loser.  That’s pretty much it.)  Honestly, for years these strips have given the Funnies a bad name.  A collection of works fit to wrap a fish in.  Beetle Bailey has been running from Sarge for 60 years, Andy Capp gets drunk every night, and does anyone ever read the Family Circus??? 

That's not to say that simple is bad.  Many simple strips have a legitimate place in our hearts because of the comfort of their consistent predictability.  Much the same way that you can miss three years of All My Children and still pretty much know what’s going on when you finally tune in.  I enjoy a lot of strips that fit this model, like Blondie, BC, Zits, Dilbert, Rose is Rose, The Wizard of Id, and, of course, the immortal Peanuts (So popular that they still run every day, ten years after the passing of the legendary Charles Shultz.)

But there were some artists that broke the bounds of the typical and raised the bar for the art form by challenging their readers with continuous storylines, more sophisticated philosophical messages, or in other bizarre ways.  Among these are some of my favorites: Crankshaft, Non Sequitur, The Boondocks, and my personal Comic-Strip-Mount-Rushmore of Doonesbury, Bloom County, The Far Side, and For Better of For Worse.  But standing on a cloud, about a thousand feet above Mount Rushmore, is the greatest comic strip of all time: Calvin and Hobbes.

While this example of Calvin is devoid of Watterson's considerable artistic ability it
is probably apropos of how I feel about comic strips as an art form.  Maybe I should get some help.   

I’ve long held that Calvin and Hobbes’ paramount position among comic strips is an absolute certainty.  I don’t think it can be debated.  The sheer creative output by Bill Watterson, for ten years starting in 1985, cannot be rivaled by any other strip; and maybe any other art form altogether.  Far more versatile than any strip before or since, Calvin could play at any speed and any style.  Watterson’s incredible imagination (brilliantly illustrated though Calvin’s constant day-dreaming) could go from one side of the world to another in one strip!  At the height of his popularity, Watterson was so powerful that he even forced newspapers to change the way they formatted Sunday strips, which were artistically limiting.  This guy was Lennon and McCartney and Elvis to the world of comic strips.  No one else even came close.  And comic strips have never been the same since he departed the field.  After rejecting all licensing and marketing opportunities for Calvin and Hobbes (all the stickers and shirts are illegal by the way) Watterson left Hundreds of Millions of Dollars on the table and retired from cartooning in 1995.  He shunned the money and effectively vanished into thin air.  No one even knows where he lives!  How’s that for artistic credibility?

If you need to be reminded, go pick up a Calvin and Hobbes collection or check out some strips online.  Gems like this...

and this...

and then there's this...

     

So anyway, back to Aspen (no... not to tennis!) to this book on the shelf.  Unbelievable.  As I mentioned, I think of Woody Allen as one of the most prolific writers ever. He's written articles, books, plays, screenplays, directed, acted, released stand-up albums, two musical albums, and has performed internationally with his Jazz band. 

I have seen all of his films and absolutely love his style of storytelling.  He basically is his own film genre. His characters, while usually of an urban ilk, run the gamut of the philosophical world (and not only the ones he plays, ALL of them.  It’s trippy to remember that they all came from his mind.)  And with this amount of productivity there are sure to be a couple of “clunkers” in there so I understand how people can be critical, but even in my least favorite of his films (Anything Else and The Curse of the Jade Scorpion anyone?) there are always a few dynamite intimations sprinkled in that only he could have conceived of.  Like “Don’t worry, we can walk to the curb from here.” from Annie Hall, or “I had a great evening; it was like the Nuremberg Trials.”  From Hannah and Her Sisters, or “I don’t want to bad mouth the kid, but he’s a horrible, dishonest, immoral louse.  And I say that with all due respect.” from Broadway Danny Rose, or my personal favorite from Deconstructing Harry when his character Harry Block tells his brother-in-law, “I don’t think you’re paranoid.  I think you’re the opposite of a paranoid.  I think you go around with the insane delusion that people like you.” 

Woody Allen’s 46^th film You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger opens tomorrow here in the U.S.  46 films written and directed!  Does anyone else even come close to this guy’s overall body of work? Seriously, akin to Shakespeare has been this guys contribution to the creative world.  It is mind-boggling.  Not that I worship the ground the guy walks on or anything. Certainly many people have sordid opinions about Woody Allen’s personal life or decisions he’s made, but I’ve never been a person that values the artist above the artwork.  I don't know the guy, but his creative contributions have had a profound impact on my life.

Me with Woody back left on Clarinet

Last year for my birthday present the Lady Underdog, Lakisha, took me out to The Carlyle on the Upper East Side where Woody plays with his Dixieland Jazz ensemble on most Monday nights as his schedule permits.  We had great seats.  The place is tiny (or as we say in NY, intimate) and he even sat right next to me at one point before the band took the stage.  And when they did get up there, they treated us to some world class New Orleans style classics.  It was kind of amazing to see him up there, completely separated from his comic persona, he appeared to be simply jamming out with his friends and having a blast. And he is actually quite a good clarinetist too!      

As we sipped our wine and nibbled on desserts, they played for about an hour and then most of the guys left the stage, and I thought, "Oh that's cool... you can't expect him to play for too long."  But then he stayed up there with two of the other guys and they played for at least another 45! And each time you'd think the set was done, Woody, with a mischievous grin, would quickly start up a new song to see how long it took for his startled band-mates to join in.  Honestly, he looked like a little kid up there, having the time of his life.

So it now comes to my attention that the man who has done all of these things artistically was also the subject of a comic strip?  It was like two of my worlds colliding unexpectedly.  I suppose I had presumed  that this was one medium he had never dabbled in, and I should have known better.  It was the early persona of Woody Allen as a comical hard-luck loser that first inspired cartoonist Stuart Hample to give him a call in 1975 to see if he would allow himself to be the subject of the strip.  To his surprise Woody agreed and even gave him permission to use any of his previous material as fodder.  The result was Inside Woody Allen, and at a time before the Internet or cable TV it must have been a huge publicity coup for Woody to also be in millions of homes in the newspaper everyday.  Stuff like this:

While not directly involved, Woody oftentimes would send Hample letters with ideas for storylines, character development, and to encourage him to avoid the lowest-common-denominator jokes (like the previously mentioned cellar-dwellers among comic strips.  Born Loser I'm looking in your direction!)  And of course he wanted Hample to push the envelope and challenge the readers with deeper and darker content.  Around the same time Woody was having similar troubles with how his films were being received.  He didn't want to be only a laugh man.  In his 1980 film Stardust Memories, his character, Sandy Bates (coincidentally also a filmmaker) is greeted by a fan who says "I love all of your movies, especially the early funny ones."  Needless to say, this put Hample in a tough spot between Woody and the Associated Press who were naturally pushing for only “non-offensive” material.  And in the end he was writing a comic strip after all.  Sometimes it's nice to just be funny.

Reading through the collection, I think the results were a mixed bag.  It appears that Inside Woody Allen peaked solidly in the second tier of our Comic Strip Hierarchy.  Fun and interesting, but without a solid commitment to secondary characters or their relationship development.  But really, that's not a bad place for a cartoonist to be.  We can't all be like Calvin.  Overall I found Hample's work to be very enjoyable.  Although I'm sure that my opinion is slightly biased.  If it hasn't already been blatantly obvious based on this installment of the Underdogs, I should mention that both the subject matter and the art form are near and dear to my heart.

This last strip is from a week before I was born, and illustrates another thing I like about Woody.  He’s a Knicks fan.  And c'mon, who among us hasn't dreamed that they were magically seven feet tall? :)

Next up… back to sports! :)   

Thanks for reading.

Underdogs OUT!

The John Denver Sanctuary

One of Aspen’s most peaceful and pensive places to go and just enjoy the peace and tranquility of the Rockies is the John Denver Sanctuary located just north of the Roaring Fork River. Of course the sanctuary bears the name of that unique and soulful singer/songwriter who defined himself within the neighboring mountains and touched millions with his music.  It is really a beautiful spot.  The garden by the creek is scattered with giant rocks, many of which are engraved with some of his most famous and poignant lyrics, and one bearing his name that also reads: “I am a song.  I live to be sung.  I sing with all my heart.”  Designed as a fitting tribute to honor the spirited artist who left us much too soon, it is indeed a sanctuary and not a mortuary or true memorial.  It is simply a place where people can sit, reflect, sing, play, or do whatever they want.  Seems like that’s the way he would have wanted it.  The John Denver cannon, rooted in the majesty of nature’s awe-inspiring splendor and the celebration that it can create in the human heart, is undoubtedly a natural fit in this place.  So it makes perfect sense that he made Starwood in Aspen his home for many years.  

In the early sixties, Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., the son of an Airforce Pilot, dropped out of Texas Tech in Lubbock (the town where I was born, although the last time I was there was when I was two years old… because I am also the son of an Airforce Pilot and we moved a lot :)  Eventually John changed his last name to Denver, because he said he “always wanted to live in the mountains”; and also presumably because it would fit better on the marquee.  Like countless artists before him and since, he became a traveling musician, struggling to find his place in the national music scene.  Eventually he had some success in LA and New York, but it was clear even early on that he really belonged in the mountains of Colorado.  

Jimmy and Lakisha, all smiles at JD's Sanctuary

I have to think that the Rocky Mountain High lyrics, “He was born in the summer of 27^th year, coming home to a place he’d never been before.” is almost certainly an autobiographical reference to his own creative and spiritual rebirth that came when he finally made Aspen his home in the early 70’s.  He must be telling the story of his own elation after finally realizing his dream.  According to his book Take me home: An Autobiography, John and his wife Annie were hanging with friends in the mountains one August night during the Perseid Meteor Shower.  When the shooting stars finally lit up the sky (causing them to cast a shadow) the idea for the song formed in his head, he later recorded it, and it became one of the most recognized songs in history.  According to local legend the first time he played it for an audience was in 1973 at the Red Onion tavern right downtown in Aspen.  By 2007 it was the official state song of Colorado when the Colorado General Assembly declared that “Rocky Mountain High reflects the strength and beauty of the Colorado Rocky Mountains and the importance of preserving the natural beauty of our state.”  It now shares the distinction with the old classic Where the Columbine’s Grow.

Somehow JD fit right in with those Muppets!

In addition to his musical achievements, John was an environmentalist and activist, an actor, a writer, a pilot, and the official Poet Laureate of Colorado, but I remember him most as a kid from his Christmas album with the Muppets.  I still have this album and consider it one of the best Christmas albums ever (Seriously, check out Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem’s version of Old Saint Nick; they put the Beach Boys to Shame!  Or John and Ivory-ticklin dog Rowlf’s amazing duet version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.)  I am a little too young to remember his great Muppet Show moments, but I'm sure there were many.  John Denver and Jim Henson at the height of their art forms and popularity coming together in 1978.  Seems like a natural fit right?

Kisha looking for the triple-word

Over the years I had listened to my fair share of John Denver, especially since he was one of my Mom's favorites.  I remember often hearing her playing and singing his folky classics and I wonder how many times I "accidentally" caused one of his old records to skip on the turntable while I was bounding through the living room.  Listening to his stuff as an adult, I always considered him a truly incredible singer, but as a songwriter a lot of his music seemed to be too overly simple and predictable.  After all no one calls JD a musical genius.  But while his musical prowess might not have been as refined as some, listening to his stuff now in Aspen, either while playing Scrabble in his sanctuary or while watching some shooting stars of our own from the hot-tub, it actually makes a lot more sense to me.  It is Simple, honest, and filled with pure ecstatic love for this magical place in the Rockies. I get a sense of how he must have felt when he first came here.  How it healed him, taught him and gave him hope for the future.  It’s hard to think of a more fitting match between artist and setting.  Like they were always meant to go together. 

And nearly thirteen years after the tragic passing of John Denver, one of our great storytellers, his music lives on.  And you can feel it come alive, here in Aspen.  His muse, his bliss, his peace of mind, his friend, and his home.

  

    

Harry Dunne, Aspen Brewery, and the The Ludz with Sudz...

So as the Underdogs were on the way to Aspen I was thinking to myself, "what is up with Aspen?"  I only knew of it as a winter ski-haven for super-rich people, which basically meant that I had no connection to it at all.  Because the only time I’ve ever been “skiing” was when I was almost five years old and my family went to the Alps in Switzerland, but I was so young I basically spent the whole time sledding… and enjoying wearing a one-sie, I don’t know!!!  The only semi-connection I had with Aspen was through watching the Farrelly Brother's film Dumb and Dumber as an impressionable adolescent.  C’mon you remember it!  Instant classic!!  Remember 1994, when Jim Carrey was still at the height of his comedic powers (sporting the chipped tooth) and the immensely talented Jeff Daniels proved that he could match it?  Who could forget?  When Carrey, as Lloyd, says  “I’m talking about a place... where the beer… flows like WINE.  I’m talking about a little place called Aspen.”  And Harry quips back, “I don’t know Lloyd, the French are Assholes.”   It also features gems like: “Lloyd!  You drove a SIXTH of the way across the country in the WRONG direction!!!”  Followed by Harry saying,  “Oh, I’m sorry, mister PERFECT!!!  I forgot that you never ever made a mistake!”  Which naturally was preceded by Harry waking up in the passenger seat of his (sheepdog) van, looking out at the flatlands of Nebraska saying, “Hmmm… I thought the Rockies would be a lot Rockier than THIS.”  To which Lloyd casually responds, “Yea… that John Denver was full of shit, man.”

Harry Dunne and Lloyd Christmas, circa 1994

Ah, these are great moments in the history of American motion pictures right?  Well, I guess that depends on how you look at it, because I’ve heard that Jeff Daniels both reveres and detests that he agreed to shoot that film.  On the one hand, he got to work with Jim Carrey and be a part of a large-budget-world-wide-production comedy, on the other hand, college kids from 1994 until Jupiter will always associate him with the infinite loser Harry Dunne.  And trust me, these kids have no idea that this guy has recorded three albums as a singer-songwriter, has been on Broadway twice, nominated for a Tony, and has written twelve plays that have all been produced at his theatre, The Purple Rose..  Why?  Well, probably because most people don’t know or care that much about theatre… (ugh, it’s true)  But that's not the point.  I'm not trying to get all negative with this :)

As a tribute to the Underdogs, or as more likely, a complete coincidence all together, Jeff Daniels actually came out to see our show earlier this year in East Lansing, MI.  A town that is also home of the Michigan State Spartans, who are, as previously ascertained on this blog, still doing very well in the NCAA basketball department (Especially after Tom Izzo very wisely decided against coaching the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers… he somehow uncannily and prophetically predicted that LeBron was going to jump ship to Miami.  Hmmmm.  Smart man!!!)

Backstage with Rachel York.  Check that hair!

Anyway, Jeff Daniel’s son is a student at MSU, running lights on campus, and since he is a friend of Rachel York (our Cruella DeVil) he came on by to see the 101D.  After the show I got to hang out with him for a minute.  I told him that I loved him in The Purple Rose of Cairo, one of my favorite Woody Allen’s, while trying to ignore the obvious fact that he looked exactly like Harry Dunne; unkempt and awkward looking, with straw-like hair protruding from his homeless-man style toboggan hat.  He was completely cool with not saying anything at all so eventually I made my way out of there, but later in the month I had a chance to see the new play Gravity at The Purple Rose. in Chelsea, Michigan.  And it is a really nice spot.  So here’s to you for keeping theatre alive, Jeff Daniels… Harry Dunne.         

Ajax Mountain is a gorgeous spot, even without the snow.

Anyway, back to Aspen.  What a spot!!  So gorgeous all the way around that the Underdogs had trouble leaving.  First of all, coming into town through the Rockies via Independence Pass, which is only open during the summer months, is absolutely stunning, and only a precursor to the treasure that is this town within.  Even during the summertime this diamond-in-the-rough shines; it’s so vibrant, earthy, and fresh.   And the Lady Underdog and I had the best tour-guide possible to show us around.  Indeed, brother-in-arms (and Honorary Underdog) Jimmy Ludwig, truly gave us the royal treatment while we were in “his ‘hood.”  A frequent Aspen-er, Jimmy knows all of the great hikes around and out-of town, spots for tennis and hot-tubs (directly below his balcony in fact), and historical points of interest to check out.  And that's without even mentioning the tickets to the Aspen Music festival or his brilliant play, Same Time Next Year directed by Sit-Com legend Jay Sandrich (although, oops I guess I just mentioned them… curious.)  But really, Jimmy and co-star Joan Hess were absolutely wonderful in this charming two-character piece by Bernard Slade.  And I mean it!... trust me, I’ve heard over-zealous critics gush.  Well, maybe not, but check out TheatreAspen!!!  They are doing sublime work.

Jimmy and Lakisha walking the town.

Anyway, life with Jimmy Ludz is where it’s at; and I’m not just saying that because when we would finally reach the apex of each Rocky Mountain hike we would go on, Jimmy would traditionally break out some strategically packed and seriously good microbrews to share with everyone, (For which he has been honorarily dubbed the 'Ludz with Sudz' by his fellow neighboring hikers.  It is a fact.  This man knows his BEER!)  I’ve learned over this past year that this Happy Hour Guy is the pinnacle when it comes to loving life.  But we'll get to that later.  

First up on Jimmy’s A-List of must-visit spots is the Aspen Brewing Company; the craft brewery on North Mill Street, created by a few dedicated and creative hometown boys named Brad, Duncan, Rory, and Terry.  Now in its third year, these guys have become so popular they are almost unable to keep their local beer aficionados adequately supplied!  There isn’t even enough room at the bar, much less within their fermenting tanks in the brewery to satisfy all of the demand for this glorious grog.  Because of their growing popularity the guys are planning to expand to a bigger spot in town where, hopefully, all of the demand for their seven different microbrews can be more efficiently accommodated.  No promises though! :)

But, not to worry, the Aspen Brewery, right now, the way it is, is great.  If you are ever in the area, it is a must-hang!  I've never been to a place like this before.  The entire brewing process in all of its intricate steps is literally happening right around the corner from the bar.  One guy is brewing it, the other pouring it :) And they don't bottle or distribute this stuff yet.  The only place you can get it is on tap at the Aspen Brewery, either in a pint or a Growler, (which I learned is really just a fancy, or ScaaaaaRey, name for a big jug.)  And trust me as soon as they brew it... it's gone!

Another one of the advantages of rolling with Jimmy is that he knows all of these guys; through years of "work" and "research sessions" while visiting as the host of the vastly popular and brilliant webseries The Happy Hour Guys, so he gets carte blanche when it comes to exploring where the magic happens.  With a giddy exuberance that can only come from the truest passion, Jimmy brought the Underdogs along and showed us each of the brewing steps in complete detail; because that's the only way Jimmy rolls.  If you don't know, now you know.  We got the hands-on experience every step of the way, from malting, to mashing, to boiling, to sparging, to fermenting, to filtering, and then of course, to pouring. 

And finally, after meeting all of these diligent co-owners of Aspen Brewery and seeing the painstaking process of their routine on premises, it was finally time to reap the rewards of... well, their hard work.  I mean I figured we might as well enjoy it while pondering the universe's great mysteries at the bar... because after all, Rory says that "Brewing is Zen."  Good line right?  How come I haven't seen that on a t-shirt yet???

All in all, it is an extremely charming place and certainly not a bad way to spend an afternoon.  The company and the ambiance couldn’t have been finer, oh, and did I mention… their beer sampler… comes in a SKI!  :)  Of course it does!!!

And finally, if you do get a chance to visit this haven in the mountains, make sure to take some time to meet a few of the Brewery dogs (who are always on hand milling about the bar.)  These guys are awesome; they don't play, they chill.  Probably because they are so used to having people around, the stimulus that would usually put dogs into an excited frenzy, bounces off these pups like a soft breeze. They may have time for you, but they may not.  In other words, they're cooler than the other side of the pillow.  And since these guys pretty much live under the bar at the Aspen Brewery, I guess that really makes them the true Underdogs.

Youch!  Gotta love going out on a bad pun!

Next up.  We’re still in Aspen.  

I told you it’s hard to leave this place! :)
Thanks for reading!

Underdogs out

Team USA and the Basketball Hall of Fame...

Say what you will about the new Big Three in Miami,
it's going to be fun to watch!  

So now that the summer of LeBron has run its course and we know where he and other coveted free-agents will be playing in the NBA next season (the whole of New York City just hung their respective heads for a moment.  Yea, they're still not over it!)  (And while extending the mildest of apologies to baseball's "pennant races" (boo... the Mets are coming up short again)) it is finally time for us to turn our collective sports-attention to the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Championships.  Whew, bet you didn't see that coming!  Just as Football’s FIFA World Cup is played every four years, so is this International hoops tournament; although admittedly, on quite a bit smaller of a scale than their world dominating big brother footballers.  Most Americans think of the Olympic Games as the benchmark for world supremacy in sports, including basketball, but it is in the World Championships where the “official FIBA Champ” has been crowned since 1950.

When Spain won the FIFA World Cup this summer
hundreds of thousands flocked the streets in Madrid
to welcome them home.  Comparatively, international
basketball is an afterthought.  

I have often wondered why the Basketball World Championships seem to be so traditionally over-looked globally, but after long and deliberate consideration I have at last come to the realization that the simplest explanation must be the correct one.  Maybe it just appears that way because in comparison with the unfathomable mania that dominates the globe for a solid month during the World Cup, nothing could possibly measure up.  Right?  I mean, really.  Every four years the World's basketball faithful have to follow that???

Arvydas Sabonis is under consideration to
enter the Hall of Fame next year.  

Or maybe, because of the Olympics, most sports fans just don't really care at all.  For example, in 2002, the event was held in Indianapolis… considered by many to be a “basketball city.”  Almost nobody showed up.  The crowds were embarrassingly sparse… even for USA games.  And that year, infamously, a team from the United States of America… with all NBA players on the roster, finished SIXTH in the world; something unheard of!  Two years later in the Olympics, Bronze.  USA Basketball needed to change. National teams from Europe and South America in particular had started to display much more cohesiveness and chemistry than the American squads as most had been together under the same system for years.  And with each passing year the athleticism and ability of international players was also on the climb.  The US policy of throwing random players together for a couple of weeks with a different system and coaching staff each time was not going to cut it anymore.  The “World” had caught up.

So USA Basketball turned to revered basketball mind, Jerry Colangelo and Duke coach (and Hall of Famer) Mike Krzyzewski, to turn around Team USA’s shaky culture.  They started by getting solid 4-year commitments from the best American players.  (In the past many elite players would turn down invitations last minute, due to the grueling NBA schedule, injuries, or simply the lure of a summer social life.)  But now it was different.  The USA had something to prove.  30 guys were invited to camp, and only 12 guys would emerge.  Kobe, LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Dwight Howard had to TRY OUT… probably for the first time since the 6^th grade.  Nobody was guaranteed a spot.  The US was indeed rejuvenated, but it still wasn’t enough in the 2006 World Championships in Japan, as a savvy Greece team upset the “redeem team” in the semi-final.  USA finished Bronze again.  And while that same team was back again two years later to indeed “redeem” while winning the Gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Bejiing, Team USA has not finished better than Bronze in the FIBA World Championships,  since 1994.  Sixteen years ago was the last time Team USA won the coveted “Naismith Trophy” that accompanies the Gold Medal.  Think Dr. Naismith could have ever predicted That???   :) 

And speaking of the good doctor, while gigging up in Connecticut recently, I was able to swing up to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Which is right down the street from where he came up with the idea for the game back in 1891, when the YMCA charged him with developing an indoor game to provide an “athletic distraction” for rowdy youths trapped indoors during the long cold New England winter months.  If you don’t know the story, check out the way Bill Cosby told it in San Francisco back in 1972.  (“You can’t play football… because your fingers have disappeared, man.”)  Seems like a fairly sensible request to create an indoor game, right?  And while the game the Doctor invented that day with a soccer ball and a peach basket, is very different from the high-flying super-sport that it has developed into in the past 120 years or so, most of the rules were established way back in that YMCA Barn, by Naismith and his restless kids. 

I had been to the Hall of Fame once before back in the year 2000, but this was my first time since the new building had been completed in 2003.  Now there is a huge building in the shape of a sphere (or a basketball shape, as they say around here) right off of I-91 where the history of basketball greatness is forever enshrined.  The exhibits they have on the early years of the game are fascinating, as well as the details on how the game evolved into one of the most popular in the world, and the ring of honor, where all of the best ever are immortalized, is a thrill for hoops junkies like me.  But the coolest thing about the place is that there is a NBA style basketball court right in the middle of the sphere where you can shoot hoops all day if you want.  Perfectly buoyant hardwood floors, soft break-away rims with silky smooth nets, and those ideal leather basketballs that practically dribble themselves.  So when I got in I eagerly grabbed a ball off of the rack but then an employee told me that the courts were closed at the moment for a special clinic that some UMass players were giving to a High School Girls team from Montreal.  More than slightly disappointed I shrugged it off and headed back to the elevator, but then he said, “But you can join in if you want to.”  That was all the prompting I needed.  

So for the next 45 minutes I got to run drills with UMass Players: Terrell Vinson, Freddy Riley, and Sean Carter along with D’arcy, Jennine, Amelie and the rest of the Canadian hoopsters with Pony-tails!  So much fun… you never get to run drills in real life.  I think I hit something like eight of my first nine threes.  It’s amazing how much easier it is to shoot without the wind gusting in unpredictably.  After ten years of gritting it out on the menacing concrete, unforgiving steel backboards, and archaic bare rims of the New York park street-courts, it was like dying and going to heaven.

Later on while perusing the museum I would occasionally peer over the side to look at all of the people shooting hoops throughout the day.  During normal playing hours there are lots of hoops available for people to try their jumper (including the original Peach-Basket) and one time when I was looking down I noticed, that on the basketball court every possible demographic that I could think of was represented.  From toddler to grand-mother, all different shapes and sizes, all differing nationalities and style preferences, all wearing unmistakable smiles.  How often do you come across a game so universally enjoyed?  So simple that its appeal spans so vastly across the human landscape?  I couldn’t think of another sport that lends itself so readily to the masses, where all you really need is a ball and a basket, and it hit me in that one moment how special this game is.  Doctor Naismith may have completed his assignment that day for his bosses at the Y, but the lasting result of his “athletic distraction” has proved nothing short of miraculous, eventually providing worldwide happiness beyond measure.

Inspired to get back on the court to shoot a few more, I raced back down the stairs, grabbed a ball off the rack, and started dribbling toward an empty hoop.  Quickly one of the employees caught my eye and said, “oh, you only have about ten minutes left to shoot okay, because the court is closing early today.”  “Okay, cool, thanks,” I said, slightly dismayed, looking around at all of the jubilant hoopsters having a blast on the hardwood, “Why is it closing early?” I asked.  “Because of a wedding,” he said.

Oh c’mon Mom.  Maybe she wanted it! :)

Anyway, last weekend the Hall of Fame welcomed in new members Karl Malone, Dennis Johnson, and Scottie Pippen (fittingly introduced by last years inductee, Michael Jordan) as well as the 1992 US Olympic basketball team.  Or you may remember the media dubbing them the Dream Team.  That squad with Mike, Sir Charles, Scottie, Larry, and Magic dominated the games that year, winning each contest by an average of 43.8 points.  The world was certainly overmatched in those days, but alas, the times they have-a-changed.  And we are about to find out who is the best in 2010.

Derrick Rose has the quickness to
compensate for the lack of size on
the US Squad.  Will it be enough?

So if you are sitting around this weekend with nothing to do.  If your baseball team is already out of the playoff picture (102 years and counting, North-Side-of Chicago!) or nationally televised Preseason football games that don’t mean anything can’t really grab your interest (Brett Favre only played four downs last night, Minneapolis!) why not dust off your patriotism and check out the Basketball World Championships from Turkey starting this Saturday.  Will Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Tyson Chandler, and this US team of young upstarts be able to live up to their Olympic-Gold older brothers (or fathers), and bring the Naismith trophy back to the states for the first time in sixteen years?  With teams from Spain, Brazil, and Argentina sporting the bigger and more experienced rosters this year, it is going to be far from easy, and the US may even be playing the role of an Underdog in this tournament.  And well...  you know we have a soft spot for guys like that around here! :)

Let's go Coach K and the young dogs!!!

USA!  USA!  USA!!!
Sorry, I 'm just dusting off that patriotism.  

Thanks for reading,

Underdogs OUT!

Next up: The Underdogs head through the middle of the country as the Underdog Trail leads ON... to Colorado!

The ESPN Campus in Bristol and the LeBron Watch...

In 1978 an unemployed sports announcer in Bristol, Connecticut had an idea.  He had just been fired by the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association as its communications director and play-by-play announcer, and he wanted to find a way to broadcast UConn basketball games, state-wide, so all Connecticut-ers could see their beloved Huskies in action and, y’know, also so he would have something to do. Now right around this time, satellite technology was just coming into play as a decent option for broadcasting television programming on cable, and this guy found a little-used company named RCA that had 23 active transponder sites available for customers to rent.

After discovering that it was cheaper to rent satellite time for 24 hours than for five hours, and that the satellite’s range was much farther reaching than just the North Eastern Seaboard, he decided to offer a 24-hour sports programming network all across the country. Naturally, something like this had never been done, but he went for it.  He used his credit card to lease space on RCA's Satcom 1, and he called his new company Entertainment Sports Programming Network, Inc., or ESP Network for short. According to espn.com, the name became ESPN when the company's initial order for letterhead came back wrongly printed.  Gotta love those happy mistakes. 

That man’s name is Bill Rasmussen, the staple show was called Sportscenter... and the rest… is History. 

For better or for worse, the world we live in today is one inundated with constant communication between people. It is still, seriously, amazing to me.  Can you imagine people of centuries past trying to wrap their brains around how easily we can keep in global contact today?  We can talk on cell phones, Skype (video phone,) or by instant messenger on computer to anyone in the world, anytime, anywhere, instantaneously.  People have video-conferences that span continents.  We can email, text, or write on each other’s Facebook walls.  Or we can broadcast our brilliant opinions to the world on Twitter, YouTube, Wikapedia, (or stupid Blogs :)  It’s crazy.  But, of course we all know that already.  We are living in the future after all.  The affect of all of these technological advancements on us, however, is not known.  Is the human brain really able to process all of this information?  Are we supposed to be able to keep in touch with such a vast number of people?  Will we lose our short-term memory ability because of google?

I don’t think we will ever learn the answers to these extraordinary questions, (although I’m sure many expensive studies will be done) but one thing is for sure; ESPN did it right.  Cable television was nothing in 1978 and today there are about a thousand channels and endless hours of content online and on in-demand channels.  It’s the media equivalent of going from a paper airplane to an F-22.  I’m sure Mr. Rasmussen would admit that even he didn’t foresee just how far we would come and so quickly, but it is truly amazing to think that this one guy envisioned “sports-as-culture.”  And it’s hard to imagine the world today without it.

ESPN invented the sports culture, cultivated it every day with new and constantly updated media, and is today an International Juggernaut.  I know because everyday I wake up and check espn.com to see if we have any more of a clue as to where LeBron will sign this summer.  Could you imagine anyone caring about where an NBA free-agent was going to sign on a daily basis in 1978?  I’m not even waking up to check a score; no actual game is involved here.  Could you imagine televising the NFL draft in 1978?  This year the NFL says 23 million people watched at least part of it.  No game; just guys standing around and shaking hands.  This is “sports-as-culture “ – people care about the stories around the games and the players as much as they care about the games themselves.  Mr. Rasmussen hit the nail on the head, and ESPN is King.

So when I got the call to take a tour of the “campus” in Bristol, CT, about 15 minutes drive from where I was doing The Last Five Years at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford, I jumped at the chance.  Are you kidding me?  Of course I did.  It’s like a Mecca for me!  And the tour did not disappoint.  Honestly, I was like a kid in a candy FACTORY… not just a store.  It is quite literally, a sport's junkies Paradise!!!  Oh and here's the kicker... there are no public tours of the campus… you gotta know somebody.  Thanks Naomi and Steve!!!  I had one of the coolest days of my LIFE!    

We actually had six little kids in our tour group (10 person maximum) so at first glance it seemed like the tour might not be the best, but as we went along it proved to be kind of an ace in the hole.  One of the kid’s moms was friends with one of the camera men, Rob, so he came along and showed us demonstrations of how the studio cameras, gibs, teleprompters, and steadycams work (Y’know, because people love kids!)  And it was a relatively slow studio day so we were able to see almost all of the studios.  Plus I got to meet Sportscenter Anchor Dari Nowkhah, World Cup Analyst Tommy Smyth and then Ric Bucher!  I follow "Buke" all the time because he does Bill Simmons Podcasts and he’s on the NBA beat… Sadly though, he said he doesn’t know where LeBron is going to sign.  Boooo.  But he did say however, that he is looking forward to when the decision is made... because maybe then he can finally see his family again.

Most of the kids had a good time on the tour, while some seemed (gasp!) disinterested… but I think it is safe to say that I enjoyed it more than all of them combined.  Probably because I’ve been watching ESPN for twenty years, right?  It was absolutely BRILLIANT!!!

Meanwhile, the World Cup from South Africa continues on the World Wide Leader, and the entire world continues to ask the question; can anybody beat The Netherlands???  (Tommy Smyth thinks that Germany can), a couple of blokes at Wimbledon played a fifth set that actually ended at 70 games to 68, and Nebraska will be joining the Big 10 in 2011, but the breaking news tonight?  ESPN just declared that Lebron James will announce his decision of which team he will sign with as a free agent live on television.  And it's going to be on… you guessed it, ESPN.  Thursday night at 9pm Eastern Standard. No game, just news.  Think that will get a pretty good rating?  Lebron’s people just agreed with ESPN execs on an hour-long special with the advertising dollars going directly to the Boys and Girls Club of America.  Good idea?  Who knows.  But one thing's for certain. 

Bill Rasumussen had it right.

 Long live the King.

Oh, and Lebron… It’s gotta be New York Right???

Riiiiiiight.

Underdogs OUT!