GrillSgt's Firepit

10 Years After: Remembering 9/11

I live in Las Vegas, far from the tragic and heroic events that occurred in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania. This is what I remember of 9/11.

9/11 is one of those days, like the day Pearl Harbor was attacked (07 December 1941) and the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated (22 November 1963), that Americans will never forget. And they’ll remember what they were doing when they heard the news. The images of the World Trade Center aflame and crashing down, the heroic efforts of so many and lives lost will forever be burned into our memories.

My wife and I had been in New York over Labor Day weekend that year for her father’s wedding. Her father took me to a Yankees game at Yankee Stadium, The House That Ruth Built, not the new one. Other than the wedding, it was the only thing I wanted to do during our short trip to NY. My wife, her sister and her father’s new wife saw a play, shopped and spent time downtown. A week later, cowards attacked our greatest city.

One of my wife’s best friends was supposed to be on one of the flights that crashed into the World Trade Center. She skipped her flight because she got a last minute job interview.

I was working at The Selling Source as a Search Engine Marketing Strategist. I got up that morning and did my usual routine getting ready for work. TV off. My wife had the TV on in the family room. As I walked through on my way out the door, I saw the World Trade Center billowing smoke, but had no idea what had happened. My wife may have told me about what happened, but I can’t remember that.

I listen to 92.3 KOMP on the radio. They play some music, have trivia contests and other humorous, but normally harmless hijinks, during the Rock and Roll Morning Show. But today, there was no music, no giveaways, no hijinks. That’s when I knew the events happening far away from Las Vegas were something more than a light plane off course or someone committing suicide. Craig, Al and Andy K turned into reporters that day. On the radio, they reported what they were seeing on TV, the Internet, or whatever it was they were watching. It was chilling and shocking.

It was extremely difficult to concentrate on work that day. We didn’t have television in the office so I tried to keep up using the internet, but this was before streaming video and audio were mainstream, before Twitter, before Facebook. So it was difficult to get up to the minute breaking news. For the most part, I think I got most of my news from KOMP. It might have been the only day in station history that they didn’t play music.

The Selling Source’s office is near McCarran International Airport. It was eerily quiet that day, and for the days to come while all air travel was suspended.

We later learned that my wife’s father, his wife and her grown kids were safe.

I’m extremely proud to be an American, extremely proud of the unsung and unexpected heroes of that day, and extremely sad for all those who perished or had family and friends who perished that day.

Always remember, never forget.

All Time MLB Greats: Willie Mays

Yesterday, the Say Hey Kid, Willie Mays, turned 80 years young. Happy Birthday!

So, the news of Willie Mays’ birthday got me thinking about all of the baseball I’ve seen live in my life so far. I grew up north of Los Angeles. Most of the major league baseball games I saw live during my life were at Dodger Stadium. As a child I was a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, and though I became a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan in the late 70s, I still root for Dodger Blue (as long as they’re not playing the Cardinals). In addition, I became somewhat of a Washington Nationals fan due to living in Central Virginia for a few years.

I’ve seen baseball games at Dodger Stadium, Anaheim Stadium (when the big A was still perched in behind center field), Nationals Park, Yankee Stadium (the House that Ruth built, not the new one), Candlestick Park and Joe Robby Stadium (before Miami was awarded a franchise – it was a preseason game). I’ve also seen minor league games at Cashman Field in Las Vegas. I’ve been to the old Busch Stadium, but didn’t see a game there; it was during the offseason.

Truthfully, I can’t remember all of the teams and great players I’ve seen over the years. Besides the Dodgers, Angels, Yankees and Cardinals, I know I’ve seen the Cubs, Reds, Pirates, Mets, Padres, Giants, Nationals and Twins. I probably saw the Braves, since they were in the old National League West. I may have seen the Phillies, Expos, and Astros. I only saw one game at Anaheim Stadium; I don’t remember who the Angels played that day.

As for great players, I know I saw Dodger greats Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, Ron Cey, Steve Yeager, Mike Scioscia, Bill Buckner and Jimmy Wynn. Jimmy Wynn, the Toy Cannon, was my favorite player as a kid. In Little League, I played center field, just like he did. I probably saw Wes Parker, Maury Wills and Willie Davis.

As for great players from other teams, I know I saw Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn, Colby Rasmus, Will Clark, Vince Coleman, Jack Clark, Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee and Andy Van Slyke. I wish I could remember for certain, but it’s possible I saw Willie Mays, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Davey Concepcion, Joe Morgan, Willie Stargell, Henry Aaron (I did meet Henry Aaron after he retired), Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santos, Donn Clendenon, Cleon Jones, Tommy Agee, Willie McCovey, Cito Gaston, Dave Winfield, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Bobby Bonds, Dave Kingman, Gary Matthews, Garry Maddox, Bobby Murcer, Chris Speier, Rusty Staub, Gary Carter, Manny Sanguillen, Dave Parker, Dusty Baker, Orlando Cepeda, Tony Perez, George Foster, Ken Griffey, Ray Knight, Cesar Cedeno, Bob Watson, Jose Cruz, Steve Sax, Larry Bowa, Mike Schmidt, Lou Brock, Joe Torre, Ted Simmons, Tim McCarver, Reggie Smith, Keith Hernandez, Terry Pendleton, Bob Horner, Pedro Guerrero, Kirk Gibson, Jose Canseco, Tino Martinez, David Ortiz and countless others.

Although possible, I don’t think I ever saw Roberto Clemente play live. He died in a plane crash on a humanitarian aid mission in 1972.

I may have seen these great pitchers pitch: Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Frank Tanana, Tommy John, Bob Welch, Dave Stewart, Fernando Valenzuela, Don Sutton, Randy Jones, Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins, Joe Niekro, Phil Niekro, John Tudor, Juan Marichal, and who knows who else I saw.

And that’s not to mention the guys I saw play in AAA in Las Vegas; players who are now making a name for themselves.

The point is, baseball is timeless. For every great player and Hall of Famer in the past, there’s another great player on his way up through the ranks. When you go to the ballpark, pay attention to who’s playing. At some point, you’ll probably watch a future Hall of Famer or two. I wish I’d paid more attention as a kid. I’ll definitely have to start paying more attention when I go to AAA games.

Osama’s Dead: I’m Concerned

Last night’s news that Osama bin Laden has been terminated was, at first, welcome news to me. However, after some reflection, his death at the hands of the US military has me concerned; especially since it was a covert operation and we apparently did not notify the Pakistani government that we were undertaking this operation.

Why should we be concerned?

Typically, when a leader dies or is otherwise removed, the regime and its ideology often die too, and reform occurs. Check recent history, such as the reform movements in Egypt and Tunisia. Go back a little further and read about the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union. When those governments fell, the ideology fell, more or less, too.

But Osama bin Laden was not the leader of a government. He was the leader of a fairly tightly controlled terrorist ring. These terrorists are fueled by their feelings of injustice and hatred toward Western culture, especially the United States. Their movement and ideology will not die because bin Laden is dead. A new leader will likely rise to continue the movement.

This new leader may very well wish to exact revenge on the US for killing Osama bin Laden and intensify terrorist activities and violence against Americans, domestically and abroad. And they may well extend that revenge toward American allies too. It might not be today, tomorrow or next month. These terrorists don’t typically think of the short term, but rather plan for the long term. It may take months for them to group from this loss, re-establish financial resources and plan their next moves.

While bin Laden’s death may prove to be a big blow to al Qaeda, we must remain diligent. Another terrorist organization, perhaps a splinter cell of al Qaeda, may rise in al Qaeda’s place. Be aware of your surroundings. Remain alert to those around you. Don’t venture into areas where violence is known to occur.

Be safe.

Overstock.com Colosseum?

The Oakland Raiders are apparently renaming Oakland Alameda Colosseum to Overstock.com Colosseum.

I guess that’s ok since Al Davis will probably make buckets of money from the naming rights. Al Davis has never been shy about spending money on his football team, though he seems to shell out big bucks for mediocre (or worse) talent.

For that reason perhaps he should name it “Black Hole Colosseum” because for the past 7 years or so that place seems to have sucked the wins right out of the franchise.

Chicago Cubs: Record Setting Mediocrity

The Los Angeles Dodgers won Friday afternoon. The Cubs won Saturday afternoon. The Cubs are now 10-10. They’ve managed the .500 record by having never been more than 1 game above or below .500. They have neither won nor lost more than two games in a row. If they lose one night, they more than likely won the next and vice versa. And in the process, they set a major league record for the most consecutive stops at .500.

In other words, the Chicago Cubs just set a new record for baseball mediocrity. Way to go Cubs!

Can they keep it up? Let’s take it one game at a time.

Yep, Picking on the Cubbies Again…

Yep, I’m picking on the Chicago Cubs again. Why? Simply because you can’t make this stuff up and these silly, sad and particularly interesting stories never seem to happen to any other club.

So the Cubs split their doubleheader with the Padres today. They won the first game to improve their record to 9-8, only to lose the nightcap to fall back to .500 at 9-9. So continues their odyssey in interesting mediocrity. Read the first part of this story…

In other Cubs news, a story broke today that a document has surfaced that suggests that the Cubs may have thrown the 1918 World Series, the year before the infamous Black Sox Scandal. Read the full story over at ESPN.

In other useless baseball news, the Red Sox no longer own baseball’s worst record. That dubious record now belongs to the New Your Mets. The Red Sox have moved up to 26th with the 4th worst record in baseball.

The Cardinals won the nightcap of their doubleheader with the Washington Nationals, and evened their record at 9-9. They are now tied for first place with 3 other teams: Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds. One of these teams will break from the pack eventually, won’t they (I hope it’s the Cardinals). I just know it won’t be the Cubs. It seems their determined to finish the season 82-82, never being more than 1 game over or 1 game under .500.

Oh my gosh! Mariano “Sandman” Rivera blew a save last night!

The Dodgers day-to-day operations have been taken over by MLB. I don’t think it will be long before Frank McCourt has no choice to sell the team, perhaps even mandated to sell by MLB. Can the Mets and the Wilpons be far behind?

Interesting but Useless 2011 Baseball Fact

The Chicago Cubs have been 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7 and 8-8 this year. It certainly is an interesting way of maintaining mediocrity.

Today’s game against the Padres was postponed because of rain. The game will be made up on Wednesday, April 20 as part of a separate admission day-night doubleheader.

If the Cubs split the doubleheader, they’ll be 9-9. I wonder how long they can keep up this interesting brand of .500 baseball.

Worst Record in Baseball

I know it’s early in the season and the standing will right themselves in a few weeks.

But do you know which team has the worst record in all of Major League Baseball as of 13 April 2011?

Nope, it’s not the Seattle Mariners. They are in last place in their division, but they have 4 wins.

Nope, it’s not the Washington Nationals. They sport a 5-5 record and are currently tied with the Florida Margins for second place.

Nope, it’s not the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are in third place behind the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Nope, it’s not the Baltimore Orioles. Buck Showalter has them believing in themselves and lead the New York Yankee by 1 game in the American League East.

Nope, it’s not the Cleveland Indians, who might be the biggest surprise at this early stage of the season. They are atop the American League Central with an 8-3 record.

Nope, it’s not the Kansas City Royals, who appear to have a wealth of prospects to promote to the show over the next couple years.

Nope, it’s none of the usual suspects that have the early distinction of owning baseball’s worst record. That team is the team that made the loudest noise during the off-season.

Ladies and gentlemen, the team with the worst record in Major League Baseball on 13 April 2011 is…

The Boston Red Sox (my third favorite team to hate behind the Cubs, #1, and the Yankees, #2)

Sorry, Double D.

Year End Celebration

Year End Celebration. Win an iPad!

Free Blogging Software

Hey ,

I just downloaded full private label rights to an awesome blogging software – for FREE!

>> http://www.IMBuzzRiches.com

It’s released by my two friends Calvin & Jonathan who have a ton of software products under their name. They’ve made over $20K selling the same blogging software when they launched it as a limited offer around 1 year plus ago. And now they’ve giving away full PLR to it. Just so YOU can resell the software and make money almost instantly.

>> http://www.IMBuzzRiches.com

I know it sounds insane, but there’s honestly no catch. And you won’t be hit by any OTOs. The only catch is this will only be available for  few days….

So get it now while it’s still free:

>> http://www.IMBuzzRiches.com

To Your Success!

P.S. You’ll also get awesome training content that will teach you how to make more money reselling the software.

>> http://www.IMBuzzRiches.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• PLR Strategies (webmanmarketing.com)
• 7 Unique Ways To Maximize Sales Of Private Label Rights Products (sportsnewsbulletin.net)
• Start With PLR Articles And Create New Products You Can Sell (ronmedlin.com)
• The Peculiar World of Private Label Rights (opendotdotdot.blogspot.com)