My Attempt At Being A Mentor

I am officially a mentor for the Westchester Triathlon on LLS’s Team In Training.  For those of you who don’t know, LLS runs TNT, which is a program that will enable you to achieve fitness goals that you never would believe possible.  Skippy’s Team, a fully integrated sub-group of TNT, is in its third year, and this will be my first as a mentor.

Here are a couple thoughts for my ST3 (Skippy’s Team 3.0) mentees:

1) You will finish (if you put in the time and effort).

2) You can put in the time and effort (and no, you don’t have to train 7 days a week, or even 6, but more is better for your performance and your health).

3) There is such thing as over-doing it; stick to the Coach’s plans and guidelines (+10% max) until you have a good feeling of what your body can handle – overtraining can lead to injury that can cost you far more than the gain you think you are getting.

4) You will be astounded by your progress, though you might be frustrated by your lack of progress, at times.

5) Remember the cause, your friends on the team (old an new) and that you are changing lives while you do this.

6) DO NOT daydream or lose focus while you train – we share the road with motorists, cyclists, runners, walkers, etc., not to mention cracks in pavement, sand, gravel, uneven surfaces, etc. and it only takes a moment of distraction…

7) DO remember to dream and visualize crossing the finish line and how amazing that will feel on September 23, 2012.

8) Remember that raising funds for LLS is a central focus of TNT and ST3, and is the reason why we are a team.

Since the impetus of this blog is to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I need to add a link to my donation page (http://pages.teamintraining.org/wch/wchtri12/avispira) and ask for your generosity in supporting my triathlon training and this most important charity.  For members of ST3, get out there, raise money, train hard and have fun!

I’m Signed Up!

I am officially signed up with Team in Training for the Jarden Westchester Triathlon, September 23, 2012.  Join me, support me, or do both!

Wuv, Twu Wuv (With Apologies to the Princess Bride)

I worked out yesterday.  I lifted a ton of weight (this is a must-see link if you’ve ever bench-pressed or have seen someone bench-pressing), possibly more, over the course of an hour and fifteen minutes.  However, I didn’t run, I didn’t bicycle and I didn’t swim.  So, last night, when I bemoaned the fact that I haven’t done any cardio work in the longest time, and triathlon season was soon approaching, I appreciated the first sentence of her response. 

“Don’t worry about it,” she said.

“You’ll just fall flat on your face,” she continued, referring to my impending performance in my first triathlon of the season, in June, “but I’ll still love you.”

I didn’t appreciate my wife’s second sentence as much.

The question is, was my wife trying to help or just seizing an opportunity to make fun of me (don’t cry for me Argentina; I have it coming to me, and then some)?  Was that an expression of unconditional love and acceptance, mixed with a dose of reality and topped with a sweet coating of funny/biting sarcasm?  I leave it to you, my far more intelligent reader, to explain and decipher the true meaning of what was said. 

And, while the true message may well be above my head, the image of me falling flat on my face appeals to that 10 year-old in me, who loves physical comedy – and my wife knows that. 

Know your audience.  Know your husband. 

If that isn’t love, what is?

Happy Valentine’s Day.

It Doesn’t Matter How You Get There, As Long As You Get There

I will try to keep this post Super Bowl post short, and minimize the gloating and joy that has been pouring out of me the past few days (thank you NY/NJ Giants).  Rather, I will focus on the lessons learned from the Giants run to Super Bowl Victory.  There is one theme that continuously comes up when you look at the Super Bowl Champions: It doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you get there.

Case 1:  The Giants record was 7 – 7 and needed to win their last two games in order to make the playoffs.  The Giants won their last two games and ultimately became the first 9 – 7 team to win the Super Bowl.  Their regular season wasn’t pretty, but once they made it into the playoffs, the Giants regular season record didn’t matter any more.

Case 2:  The Giants scored 21 points to beat the Patriots.  The conventional way to score 21 points in a football game is to score three touchdowns and kick the three extra points.  The Giants scored two field goals, a safety and two touchdowns, kicking one extra point and missing on a two-point conversion after a touchdown.  Despite the unconventional methodology of scoring 21 points, it didn’t matter; 21 points was enough for the win, regardless of how the points were scored.

Case 3:  Eli Manning, the Super Bowl MVP, is the son of the great quarterback Archie Manning and the younger brother of Peyton Manning.  He was the first draft pick in the entire 2004 NFL draft.  However, you don’t have to be drafted first, or in the first round, in order to win a Super Bowl ring.  Victor Cruz was an undrafted free agent signed by the Giants; he is also the only member of the Giants’ offensive team to be selected to the NFL All-Pro team (second team) – and that includes Eli Manning.  More importantly, Cruz has brought Salsa back to the NFL.  Then there is the story of Mark Herzlich, the most courageous member of the Super Bowl champions.  His brave fight against cancer, and to avoid the amputation of his leg is well documented by writers more talented than I am.  Take the time to read this inspirational story.  Despite the odds, and some odds are longer than others, Eli, Victor and Mark are all Super Bowl champions.

What is my take away from all this?  Don’t worry about the past, don’t worry about whether you look good or not, don’t worry about the odds that you face.  Set a goal for yourself, work hard and anything is possible.

September 23, 2012 – Jarden Westchester Triathlon.  The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training will make sure that you get there.  I’ve done it; thousands of others have done it (there are other, shorter events, too; send me an email or post on the blog for more information).  There are no excuses; you can be a champion.

P.S. – Governor Chris Christie, Governor of the State ofNew Jersey, posted the following tweet, while attending the Giants’ Super Bowl rally: “Great Jersey crowd here at MetLife Stadium celebrating the NEW JERSEY Giants Super Bowl Victory!”  So, not everyone in Jersey is taking this NY Giants thing lying down.

The New Jersey Giants

The New York Giants are cheaters.  No, not like Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots from 2000 – 2007… but, consider the following:

• The New York Giants play in Met Life Stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey .
• The New York Giants’ practice facility is located in located in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 
• The New York Giants’ corporate offices are located in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Currently, there are only two connections between the New York Giants’ operations as a football team and New York: 

• The New York Giants’ training camp (pre-season) is held at the University of Albany.
• The New York Giants’ Super Bowl victory parades are held in New York City.

Sure, that is more than the “New York” Jets can say for themselves, since:

• They haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1969, so who knows where their parades are hosted. 
• The Jets moved their training camp from Hofstra University, located in Hempstead, New York (that’s on Laaaawng Island) to Florham Park, New Jersey (note that the Jets, in their tremendous generosity, or in attempt to have at least one connection to New York, hold ONE open practice at Hofstra, that is all).

 But, back to the Giants… so defenders of the team (and I am a long-time, big-time Giants fan) will say that the New York Giants originally a New York team, with offices and games played in New York, but they gradually moved to New Jersey.  However, when the Baltimore Colts moved their team from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana, the team changed its name from the Baltimore Colts to the Indianapolis Colts, even though the Colts used to be from Baltimore.  Shocking!

 So let’s get to the heart of the matter.  The fact is the New York Giants would lose a ton of revenue if they changed their team name to the New Jersey Giants (the NY television market is the largest in the US and the retail market is gigantic, too) and with two other “New York” teams competing for hearts and dollars of New Yorkers, labeling themselves as the New Jersey Giants would put the Giants at a competitive disadvantage in the New York market (which also speaks volumes about the relative value of the New York market versus the value New Jersey market). 

Quick football question: What are the names of the other two “New York” football teams?  One is the New Jersey Jets, which I have already discussed.  The other is the Buffalo Bills, which used to be the only true New York team.  But, get this; the Buffalo Bills are now playing some home games in Toronto!  As in, Toronto, Canada!  There is an unverified rumor that the games are played on ice skates on an iced-over football field (I say this with apologies to my father and many other family members who are Canadian citizens).

This issue is not unique to (American) football.  The Major League Soccer team that plays in New Jersey originally called themselves the NY/NJ Metrostars.  However, after a short time (and after changing their name to the Red Bulls) the team dropped the “NJ” and is now known as the New York Red Bulls, even though, you guessed it; they play in New Jersey… in a New Jersey-located stadium called Red Bull Stadium. 

I won’t get into the situation called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (the Major League Baseball team that plays in Anaheim), but at least the Angels play in the same state as the city name that they are inappropriately utilizing.

My head hurts.   

So, once again, everything boils down to this: Markets and Money.

Reality, loyalty and state lines be damned.  The all mighty dollar is at stake here and the NFL has proven to be the master of earning Americans’ hard earned money. 

For better or for worse, I began rooting for the New York Giants well before I knew where they played.  All I knew is that I was rooting for a New York team and I loved it.  Sure, I was hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Led astray! Run amok! by the NY Giants’ marketing people (but, not as badly as Jets fans).  But, by the time I learned of the falsity of the Giants’ claim to New York I was already hooked.  Love is love and I love my Giants, wherever they may play.  I wear my New York Giants gear, with the big NY logo emblazoned upon it, proudly – totally comfortable with the hypocrisy that I am supporting and perpetuating.       

Now, how the State of New Jersey can sleep at night, giving up land, tax breaks and the like, without getting the love and recognition from the Giants that the state so deserves, I don’t know.  But, hey, it’s New Jersey, home of Snookie, JWOWW and the cast of the Jersey Shore…

The Requisite Super Bowl Post

This post is not about the Super Bowl.  Well, it is, but only to the extent that the Super Bowl raises a couple of points that need to be discussed, as they relate to cheating.  So I will set the stage, and then jump right off of it, so that those of you who don’t care a bit about the most watched television event of the year, in theUS, will still enjoy this post.

This Sunday @ 6:30pm the New York Giants will square off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.  I do apologize to those who prefer Arabic numerals to Roman numerals – to translate, this is Super Bowl 46; you must understand that when football fans aren’t watching football, we are purveyors of Plutarch and Ptolemy, thus we insist on the utilization of Roman numerals for our Super Bowl numbering scheme (Arabic numbers are so bourgeois).  But, back to the topic of cheating…

Steve Somers, a NY sports radio talk show host on WFAN, was discussing the legacy of the New England Patriots if the Patriots were to win the Super Bowl (for the fourth time in an 11 year span).  For those of you who don’t know about what legacy I am talking about, simply put, the sports-talk world has been pondering whether, if the Patriots win the Super Bowl, (i) Tom Brady, the Patriots’ quarterback, should be considered the best quarterback in the history of football, and (ii) Bill Belichick, the Patriots’s coach, should be considered the best coach in the history of football.  But unlike other talking heads, who were effusive in their praise of Brady and Belichick, Somers dropped this bomb (close paraphrase): “If the Patriots beat the Giants next week, it will be the Patriots first Super Bowl title since the Patriots stopped cheating.” 

[Play record-needle scratching sound effect].

For the longer account of the cheating that Somers was referring to, read this.  Here’s the short version: a Patriots’ assistant was caught videotaping other teams’ signals (by a former Patriots coach, no less), which is illegal under NFL rules, and a subsequent investigation revealed that the Patriots had been doing this since 2000, which is when they won the first of their three Super Bowl championships.  Since the 2007 scandal, the Patriots have not won another Super Bowl.

That raises many questions.

Do the three Super Bowls won by the Patriots during the period when they were found to have been in violation of NFL rules count towards the Patriots legacy of greatness, or are they just a bunch of cheaters?  Many would argue that football games are played on the field, and that no videotape in the world will help you tackle a 230 pound running back who can run the 40 yard dash in 4.5 seconds and has lightning quick reflexes to boot.  On the other hand, knowing what play is coming at you before it happens is a tremendous advantage, especially in a game that has such a small margin for error.

So, what impact does cheating have on a legacy? 

What if the accomplishment is great and the cheat was fairly small?  For example, what if a climber reaches the top of Mt.Everest, but then is found to have used anabolic steroids a year before he started his climb - while the steroids may have helped out with his strength and conditioning before the climb, (i) he did the climb when he wasn’t on steroids; (ii) completing the climb took a lot more than just strength.  What if he didn’t need the steroids to accomplish his goal of ascending the mountain and just used them to get more muscular (to impress the ladies)?

Then, there are issues of time and memories.  What if the cheating was discovered well after the accomplishment was celebrated?  We can’t take back the celebration, so what impact does that have on our ability to taint our memory of the greatness of the accomplishment (which seems to have happened in the case of the Patriots?  What part does public perception and outcry play in playing up or playing down the gravity of the actions of a cheater (ask those teams that lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl what they think of the Patriots cheating, and ask a Patriots fan what he/she thinks)?

It appears to me that we, as a society are soft on cheating when cheaters are not caught in the act, or at least when they aren’t caught within a short time frame after the cheating takes place.  In our fast paced world, we don’t sit on news stories for that long and it is difficult to change memories that have been tucked away and cemented into our ming.  The result, I think, is a society that defined more and more by a “shoot first and ask questions later” mentality.  So long as the ends justify the means and the risk of getting caught is acceptable, go for it.  After all, no Super Bowl trophies were taken away from the Patriots, no t-shirts were “un-sold” and, sadly enough, most football experts have overlooked the cheating scandal and are asking about the greatness of the Patriots legacy, as opposed to whether this is the Patriots opportunity to win their first legitimate Super Bowl.

Hey, whatever sells multi-million dollar Super Bowl advertisements, right?

FYI, for those of you who might accuse me of beating up on the Patriots because I am a Giants fan, I have another blog queued up taking the Giants to task – but for a different reason.  But, that will have to wait.

God vs. World Peace

Though I follow pro-basketball, I have to admit that I am not the avid fan that I used to be.  As a result, while I am aware of macro level developments, like the NBA work stoppage and the ultimate resolution of the deadlock, I am not on every piece of NBA-related news.  That is why I was confused, this morning, when I read the following quote on FoxSports.com: “Bryant put the Lakers in front with six points during an 11-4 run capped by Metta World Peace’s 3-pointer with 3:30 to play.” 

Metta World Peace?

It turns out that Metta World Peace is the artist formerly known as Ron Artest.  Yup, the man who took basketbrawling into the stands of the Palace at Auburn Hills (the fight starts a few seconds into the video) now has the words “World Peace” proudly displayed on the back of his Los Angles Lakers uniform.  In fairness to Mr. World Peace, who changed his name this past September, Artest was awarded the coveted J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award by the NBA.  Seriously.  In April 2011, Ron Artest (if you didn’t watch the brawl video, watch it… and then know that the brawl was the tip of the iceberg of Artest’s insanity) was given the NBA’s citizenship award for his community service work; and by all accounts, it was a well deserved award, not a satirical/practical joke.

Score one for the latest professional athlete who legally changed his name to make a point (not unlike Chad Ochocinco nee Johnson).

However, I like athletes with great names to come by their names naturally, with the names bestowed from parents to children (versus self-chosen and then legally changed names), who then proudly display their names while performing publicly on a national level.  While there are a lot of fun names out there, two names come to mind right away when I think of my favorite athlete names, both from the ranks of men’s basketball and both are divine: God Shammgod and God’s Gift Achiuwa.

Their parents must have loved Alec Baldwin in the movie Malice.

I know that you have a favorite fun/funny athlete name…share it in the comments section.

Go Robo!

The old (bad) joke goes:

Q: Who is the strongest man in the world?

A:  A policeman - because he can hold up traffic with a single hand.

And, if holding up traffic makes you strong, well, then Robocop is a member of New Rochelle’s Finest. 

As I drove home from the train station, this past Friday, traffic came to a stop on North Avenue, New Rochelle’s busiest thoroughfare.  Up ahead, a school bus had its lights flashing and stop sign extended.  Four lanes of traffic, two in each direction, had stopped cold in their tracks, or at least they should have.  Instead, in the lane farthest away from the school bus, five cars ignored (I mean, um, ”didn’t see” – said the attorney in me) the school bus’ stop sign, and kept on driving.  Seconds later, the second car of the bunch, an unmarked police car, flipped on his siren and lights.  The first car, immediately in front of the unmarked car, pulled over to the side of the road.  Out of the unmarked car jumped Robocop, who then motioned to the two cars that followed right behind him to stop where they were – they complied.  Seeing the ticket-trifecta in front of her, the car three cars behind Robocop’s car tried to skulk away down a side street.  No such luck.  Robocop saw the escape happening, trotted down the street, got in front of Ms. Getaway’s white Nissan Maxima, walked over to the side of her car, knocked on her window, demanded that she hand him a credit card or some sort of identification (I saw her hand him a credit card) and then motioned to her to pull ahead of his car to wait for him.

I have seen cops pull over a bunch of cars at an organized roadblock, looking for DUIs and expired registration/inspection stickers.  However, those roadblocks were well-organized, manned by multiple officers and planned out in advance.  This was a spontaneous four-bagger by a single cop with ZERO assistance.

What will be the haul for Robocop’s work?

The fine for passing a stopped school bus in New York State ranges from $250 – $1,000, depending on whether it’s your first offense.  Then there is the 5 points on your license and the $70 New York State surcharge imposed on moving violations.  But wait, there’s more!  If you have any point on your license, the 5 points from this offense will earn you a $300+ penalty from New York State and the judge can order that you serve jail time (!) - it’s not an oft enforced penalty, but it’s there).

New Rochelle = $1,000 to $4,000 haul (assuming no pleas or deals);

New York State = $280 plus any penalties and fees related to points (possibly $1,200 or more);

Insurance companies = The sky is the limit on rate increases!

What can we learn from this story?  First, stop for school buses – it’s the law and it’s the right thing to do.  Second, watch out for unmarked police cars.  Third, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYjBoRtvhu8.

Samuel 2 (1:25)

I am not that mighty.  However, just a little under 4 months ago, I finished an olympic length triathlon (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10k run) in under 3 hours (who am I kidding – I know my exact time was 2 hours and 51 minutes).  Today, I played indoor soccer and was winded after 2 minutes.  Sure, it was frigid, even indoors, and that triggers my asthma.  However, it is impossible to ignore the difference that 4 months has made.

I’ve been to the gym at least twice week over the past 3 months, focusing on weight training.  That’s right, I have NOT ran, biked or swam in the past 4 months.  I am almost embarrased to say that I finished a triathlon because there is no way that I could finish one today.  But that is why tomorrow (I already worked out today), I am getting back on the horse.  Every triathlon starts with a first step and that step is taken months and months before race day. 

If you have any desire to get in shape (and you should!) I invite you to join me, Skippy’s Team, Team In Training and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Save for a select few, most of us are starting at square one.  We are not mighty, but ask every member of last year’s team, we were all mighty on race day.  Everyone finished – some faster, some slower – but everyone finished strong. 

Lots of hard work, lots of fun, lots of friends, lots of support, lots of inspiration, lots of amazing.

No cheating.

Going Analog

I wasted a lot of time this week, a lot of time that I could have spent sleeping, because I kept things digital instead of going analog.  Here is a condensed background:

• I bought an item on eBay at a price that I knew was too good to be true. 
• It was. 
• The seller was a shyster in China… and smart shyster. 
• Mr. Shyster sent me a package with a trinket inside, instead of a $400 piece of electronics (which I paid $90 for).
• I filed a claim with Paypal’s Buyer’s Protection Program.
• He used the tracking number of the package of evidence that I receive the $400 item. 
• Paypal denied my claim, citing his tracking number. 
• I went crazy.

Here’s where I will pickup my story.  I am an experienced eBay-er.  I have bought and sold well over 500 items on eBay over the course of 7 years, including items worth over $1,000.  Though there have been a few hiccups, I have a perfect feedback rating on over 300 feedbacks.  I am not a newbie.  However, I didn’t know what to do.  I sent Paypal a rant email and pulled out the big guns – yup, I signed with my Esq.  I searched the internet for scams involving Chinese sellers, etc., class action suits against Paypal, and more.  I was up until 2:30am on Wednesday night dealing with this issue – online.  I then filed an appeal of Paypal’s findings.

Today, I received an email stating that I needed to send back the item that I received to the seller’s address and I would get a refund.  I did a little checking and the seller’s address was the equivalent of:

Jim Smith

New York City,

New York, New York 10001

USA

I also had to track the item (which costs a ton when you track to China).  So again, I lost it.  I was so far gone that I decided to, dare I say, call Paypal, to give them a piece of my mind.

Five minutes later, I got off the phone with a very helpful and pleasant woman, I had an email confirming a full refund and I was happy. 

I should have gotten off the internet and on the phone a bit sooner, huh. 

Oh, and in keeping with my blog theme: Huarong Xie (aka – Mr. Shyster), you need to CheatStrong-er than that to take my money!