This is sort of a blog but unlike other crappy substitutes, mine doesn't have "Xanga" or "Livejournal" in the title. Consider this the evolution of The Rumor Mill.

December 19, 2009
2009 – The Greatest Sports Year of My Life (To Date)

I have narrow vision when it comes to the sports teams I like. I'm not one of those fans who cheers for 4 NFL teams, an AL team, an NL team, and 6 colleges. I can probably rank my favorite teams, and there are some serious gaps in how much time and energy I devote to them. Here are the teams I cheer for, in order of importance:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (baseball)
2. TCU Horned Frogs (college football)
3. Dallas Mavericks (basketball)
4. Carolina Tar Heels (college basketball)

There is a large gap between #2 and #3. I also have several teams that I like to see do well, but I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a “fan”. Those are:

1. Texas A&M Aggies (college football)
2. Dallas Cowboys (football)

And then there are those teams I root for because of a single player, like the San Diego Chargers (LT) and the Seattle Mariners (Ichiro). Occasionally I'll cheer for the Texas Rangers if I'm at the stadium, or the Kansas Jayhawks if I'm watching with Dave. But let's keep focus on those top 4 teams. Based on those, I am claiming that 2009 was the greatest sports year of my life. Let's review the events of each:

1. Dodgers: best NL record, won the West, advanced to the NLCS second straight year
2. TCU: 12-0, BCS bowl berth. Best finish in 70 years
3. Mavs: playoff team, 9 th straight 50-win team, beat Spurs in first round
4. Carolina : won NCAA championship

Of course, it's possible for all 4 teams to win their respective championships in the same year, but I don't know if I'll ever get this close to perfection again. It's good knowing that each team will have their good years, but occasionally will have down years. But for all 4 to be up at the same time? I don't want to jinx myself and think that I've reached the pinnacle of sports-rooting in my lifetime. After all, a Dodgers World Series championship trumps a lot…definitely ‘ships for #3 and #4, and I'm sad to say…probably #2.

So even though the sports calendar year ends on December 31, there is still a bowl game to play. Winning the Fiesta Bowl could be the capstone to an amazing 2009, but also the start of an even better 2010. Bleed Dodger Blue! Go Frogs! Go Mavs! Rah Rah Carolina-lina!

July 3, 2009

Thursday, Michael Jackson died at the age of 50. He was a celebrity of the highest order for many reasons, most of all for his career as a musician, but also for the news stories that surrounded him. I've always enjoyed the musical work of Michael, and for purposes of this blog, I've decided to do my best to eulogize MJ.

I first became familiar with Michael Jackson in the late 80s. His 2 big records from the 80s were Thriller (1983) and Bad (1988). Both of these predate my musical awareness. Around 1989 or 1990, I got a cassette player for a gift. To spark my musical education, my dad took some albums from his collection of 300+ vinyl records and made me some tapes to listen to. One of these was a recording of Thriller.

I didn't watch much MTV then, but I absolutely LOVED Thriller. "Billie Jean" was my favorite song. I liked lipsynching to Michael and when I didn't know all the lyrics, I would ask my dad to write them down so I could sing along with all of the lines.

A lot of the pop music my friends listened to at the time is now derided as forgettable. I'm thinking of artists like MC Hammer, New Kids on the Block, and Vanilla Ice. My dad was, and still is, a music snob and encouraged me to listen to music and artists that had more talent and would stand the test of time. This included artists like the Beatles, the Beach Boys (especially Pet Sounds), the Hollies, and Michael Jackson.

So while I was playing the Thriller tape over and over in the early 90s, Michael released his 1991 album Dangerous. This album probably had the most effect on me in my continuing musical education at the age of 9. I still remember the night of November 14, 1991, when the music video for "Black or White" made its world debut simultaneously on 4 networks. Everything about it was cool - first of all it had Macaulay Culkin, the top child star of the time, and that guy from the show my parents watched (this being George Wendt from Cheers). There was about 2 minutes of intro before the song even played. Now, I didn't watch much MTV, but most of the music videos I had seen were very basic and boring - shots of a band playing live, or a girl on a beach, something like that. This was different to me. Once the song started, I was entranced by the special effects: the sudden scene changes, the babies picking up the snowglobe, Michael running in front of flames, and of course, the face changes at the end. And then it ended so abruptly! It was a great night for young Ian.

Soon after, I started listening to the local top 40 station in Raleigh - G105. Sometimes I would tune my radio to 105.1 late at night after my bedtime so I could listen to the "Top 10 at 10" in the hopes of hearing "Black or White" again. It spent many weeks on the top 10. I also enlisted my dad to keep the VCR ready for when the video was reaired on MTV. He did this, but was a little slow on the uptake, and did not get the recording from the very beginning. I remember that it started around the point where the babies, sitting on the Earth, pick up the snowglobe. But I appreciated his effort.

About a year after Dangerous debuted, the negative news about Michael Jackson began to appear. I won’t detail it all here, because I prefer to think of MJ as a genius performer and musician, and everyone’s heard the rest anyway. Even as the years wore on, more news came out, or his appearance would change, I maintained that he was a musical mastermind.

Michael reinvented his appearance multiple times throughout his career, and sometimes a stark new look accompanied a new album. I’m mainly referring to Bad, when his skin really went white. Compare the covers of Thriller (1983) and Bad (1988):



I took a class in college called History of Broadcasting. The professor, Joel Timmer, showed short clips of Mystery Science Theater 3000 before most classes. It was always played as students were walking into the classroom, except for one day. On Halloween, Dr. Timmer came to the front of the class and announced that we were taking a short break from the current MST3K flick to watch the full 17 minute Thriller music video. After all, it was October 31.

Not soon after Dr. Timmer re-exposed me to the Thriller video, I began looking into MJ music videos. I of course recalled Black or White, and Remember the Time (starring Eddie Murphy, Magic Johnson, and Iman) which were in my Dangerous days. But Smooth Criminal I hadn’t seen; same with Bad or The Way You Make Me Feel. This was in 2002, before “Youtube” was a word, so I had to find other methods of watching MJ’s videos. I downloaded some from filesharing websites, occasionally I’d catch one on a VH1 video countdown. (This was when VH1 counted down any possible list to fill its programming hours – pre Rock of Love/Flavor of Love/etc). So with a desire to add Michael Jackson music videos to my DVD library, I went to eBay. In the course of a month, I bought Video Greatest Hits: HIStory, HIStory on Film Volume II, and Dangerous: The Short Films. Also included on these were the Motown 25th Anniversary Special, and the 1995 VMA performance. While “Billie Jean” is a classic (first video by a black artist on MTV), “Black or White” brought back memories of the premiere, my favorite could be “Smooth Criminal.” The choreography will blow anyone away. It’s much more intricate than “Thriller”.

Every now and then I break these out, usually for people unfamiliar with Michael’s music video work. Every Halloween, I watch the Thriller video as Dr. Timmer taught me. One year, I went as Michael Jackson for Halloween. When you’re dressing as MJ, you have a lot of options to choose from. This was sort of a last-minute costume idea, so I didn’t have time to get a red leather jacket (a la Beat It), so I went for Dangerous-era MJ. This included a white t-shirt with a slit cut in the neck, a white button-down slung down on my arms, black pants, white socks, black shoes, and a single glove. My hair wasn’t long enough to do anything, and my pants weren’t tailored short, so you couldn’t always see the white socks, but the costume worked. Plus, the socks were basic white crew socks – no sequins or anything. Like I said, I planned this at the last minute.

In 2005, the Voorn family went to Cleveland for a family vacation (no jokes please). One of the hot tourist spots is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is a great museum, and they had an art show with giant Stratocasters painted with the likenesses of different artists. I had Evan snap my picture in front of the Michael Jackson strat. Since it’s a still photo, it’s hard to tell that I’m doing the side snap that Michael does frequently in the Beat It video. A little homage to the master.

Other Michael Jackson trivia…one of my favorite songs to play on the Pub jukebox was “The Way You Make Me Feel”. It’s a lesser played song, but good for a bar. Usually when I’m somewhere with a DJ, whether it be a wedding reception, a bar, etc, I will ask for Michael Jackson, because EVERYONE loves a good MJ song. That is the genius of his music. Not many pop artists these days can be loved and enjoyed by everyone. Music is very fractured now, and I really doubt there will be another artist like Michael that transcended black music, white music, and enraptured the entire nation. He was the first to perform an over-the-top Super Bowl halftime show (1993), and I can’t think of an artist that could do the same today. Sure everyone loves Coldplay, but frankly, Coldplay sucks. (Not really, but actually yeah).

In today’s instant reaction, “everybody’s a news reporter” era, many people heard about Michael’s death through Twitter, Google News Alerts, Facebook, etc. I heard about it very early, before any news stations were reporting it, through the basic medium of AM radio. Danny Balis interrupted the Hardline to break the news. I have to say, Michael meant a lot to me, but I didn’t cry or feel a tremendous loss. Frankly, the Michael of the last 15 years is not how I remember his greatness. But it is still hard losing a legend, especially when he dies unexpectedly, at a relatively young age.

So Michael, thank you for being a big part of my musical education. I will continue to honor your legacy and ensure you are not forgotten.

I’m starting with the man in the mirror; I’m asking him to change his ways.
-Michael Jackson 1958-2009

June 24, 2009

It has been over a month since my last blog entry. I'm posting at work, so the formatting may look different than it normally does. I'll fix this before my next entry. Also, here's an update about the topics from last time. First of all, Kim is doing very well in Costa Rica and enjoying her new responsibilities helping with mission teams. It's been great that I can email her in an instant to find out what's going on, and tell her about what's up in Texas . Gotta love email.

Second, the Dodgers are still in first place, and still have the best record in the majors. I went to all 3 games in Arlington last weekend. Friday night with friends, Saturday with the whole family, Sunday with just my dad. The Dodgers won the last 2, and we had amazing seats right behind the Dodger dugout.

Sitting so close to the field, I picked up on some rarely noticed details about the game.

Orlando Hudson stands way back in the batter's box. He actually stands outside of it - and the first thing he does upon walking to the plate is to rub the rear chalk line into obliteration. With no line dictating the box, Hudson is free to stand farther back without a visible boundary. When a RHP turned Hudson around to the left side in the 6th, he did the same thing to that side of the plate.

20 year old rookie Elvis Andrus just seems giddy to be a Major Leaguer. When he takes his first at bat, he pats the umpire and the catcher on the back. It's a small gesture, but kind of a way to say hello and "we're having fun here right?"

As the Dodgers leave the field after an inning, first base coach Mariano Duncan always tosses a ball to James Loney. This way, there is a ball in his glove for warming up the infield before the next inning. It seems like such a simple move, but I marveled at it every time. Better to plan it now than be scrambling to find a ball when you're headed to the field.

The closer I am, the more details I notice. Baseball is such a game of detail. I had a blast planning strategy with my dad - wondering why a runner stopped here, or didn't tag up there. It is such a perfect conversation sport. I was surprised at the number of Dodger fans in attendance as well. For Kemp's Saturday homer and Blake's Sunday homer, the applause was quite loud. Andruw Jones also got more boos this weekend than any normal Rangers game I go to - probably due to the Dodger fans. I of course booed Andruw, but because he sucked so bad, the Dodgers went out and got Manny. Even with Manny's suspension, I still love him and love what he helped LA do last year. If Andruw was mediocre, LA probably would not have gotten Manny.

I've got all sorts of blog ideas now, so check back soon. And, not all baseball related. For daily (or hourly) updates, follow me at Twitter. Search my name or username of "voornstar".

May 7, 2009

Why today? Why write again? Who knows. Mainly because it's my New Year's resolution every year and somehow it always gets put off. I don't know why...I usually have a lot to say, and I have the medium, so why not? Well, laziness, for one. Now when I want to say my piece, I can do it on Twitter (@voornstar) or on Facebook.

Let's talk about today. Today was not a good day. It started like a normal day, the alarm went off, I turned on the Ticket, I fell back asleep, woke up, etc etc. I had some odd dreams, but that's about all I remember. I wasn't looking forward to the day; a good friend is moving to Costa Rica , which gives me mixed feelings. Mostly I am very proud of her for following God's call to work with a missionary family in a different country. It is very inspiring and something I respect - I don't think I'd be able to do that. On the flipside, I'll miss her dearly. But it's not about me, I keep telling myself.

The Dodger game went late, a little past my bedtime. I woke to find them the winners, setting a modern Major League record of 13-0 to start the season at home. Plus, 21-8 overall, best record in the majors. I completed some unfinished business by calling a local Champs Sports to see if they could exchange my size L Manny t-shirt for a size M. Yes, they can! Good news all around, keeping my mind focused on work (mostly) but off the sadness of having Kim leave.

Then the wheels fall off. The Manny story breaks - suspended for 50 games. That means he's back by July 3, so I'll miss him during the Dodgers' swing through Arlington . And is the Dodgers 6.5 game lead safe? And how do I really feel about this? So far, I've continued to follow with blind love. I never had a problem with Manny in Boston , and was so happy to have him come to L.A. last summer and rejuvenate the stretch run. I even saw him from left field loge seats in September at Dodger Stadium. I was glad he re-signed, and the start he had was great too.

But what now? Should I crucify him with the Bristol media and Bill Plaschke? I don't want to - I want this to go away but it's not. So I will continue to love the Dodgers and everything associated with them - even Manny.

So the day wasn't great. Plus, I was at work until 6:30 and had to walk home from the train station in about 90 degree heat. The package I'm expecting still hasn't arrived. And it's 12:18 AM and I just heard Juan Pierre ground out to end an 8th inning rally. Great job, overpriced Manny replacement.

On the plus side, hopefully I'll continue to write for this site. I hate the word 'blog' - it was very much a media buzzword for awhile. I still remember hearing campaign managers say weird things like "we have someone reading the blogs at all times..." Why? So idiocracy can reign supreme in the comments section? (Read Gordon Keith's take on this)

It was a rough day, but there are better days ahead. Please pray for Kim as she goes to Costa Rica . And on a much much much smaller note, pray for my sanity that maybe the Dodgers won't dictate my mood as much as they do.

-Ian

November 12, 2007

This used to be an annual column, but I've fallen lazy recently.  But I'm writing this for one main reason: to appeal to the voters (although their ballots are already submitted) for one award in particular.  I will get to this soon. (Asterisk denotes the player led the league in the category)

But let's start at the bottom, sort of.

AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

The race for AL Rookie of the Year comes down to two candidates, Delmon Young of the Devil Rays and Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox.  Pedroia had about 100 fewer ABs, but overall Delmon Young has better stats on the year, especially knocking in 93 RBI.  Pedroia is a close second, with KC Royals closer Joakim Soria turning in a nice season from the 'pen in 3rd.

NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

It was a good year for NL rookies.  Tulowitzki played in the Series and had a great stretch run, but Ryan Braun burst on the scene in June with very impressive power numbers.  What's more is his .324 average, good for #7 in the NL had he qualified for it (too few ABs).  But that makes his power numbers all the more mind boggling.

Tulowitzki was on the spring radar (I drafted him in my fantasy league), but Braun pretty much came out of nowhere.

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

1. Eric Wedge, Cleveland
2. Joe Torre, New York
3. John McLaren, Seattle

Usually this award goes to the manager who outperforms his expectations the most.  In my opinion, only 1 AL team outperformed their expectations this year, and that was Seattle .  But John McLaren only took over for the "I'm tired of baseball" Mike Hargrove in late June.  Seattle continued their impressive run (many writers had them finishing last in the AL West) even tying Anaheim at one point in August, but they tailed off in the end.

Eric Wedge wins for piloting an Indians team that fell below expectations in '06 but competed well in what has been called (not by me) baseball's toughest division.  And props to Torre as well for righting the Yankee ship enough to make the playoffs after seeing the cellar in early June.

NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

1. Bob Melvin , Arizona
2. Clint Hurdle, Colorado
3. Ned Yost, Milwaukee

All 3 of these managers meet my litmus test for outperforming expectations.  I have to say I had Milwaukee winning the NL Central and due to their late season swoon, Yost doesn't win this award.  Melvin and Hurdle made the playoffs in the tough NL West after many people had either SD or LA going.  The Rockies have been gradually improving, but the D-Backs' ability to win the division with the kids they start (Conor Jackson? Chris Young?) gives the edge to Melvin.

AL CY

This is a tough one, and could be the closest race of the awards season.  No one pitcher dominated, with Beckett winning 20 games, but Lackey, Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang and Fausto Carmona winning 19.  The Cy goes to Lackey for winning the ERA crown and anchoring the Anaheim rotation.  Beckett and Sabathia benefitted more from strong supporting casts.  cy to Lackey.

NL CY

This isn't even a race.  Jake Peavy won the pitchers' Triple Crown (W, ERA, K).  Webb had a nice follow-up to his '06 Cy campaign and Saito dazzled in LA's bullpen with a 1.40 ERA and 39 saves. Note how all 3 top candidates are from the NL West, showing dominance in pitching. But that's nothing new for the West. This race isn't even close though: Cy to Peavy.

AL MVP

My MVP litmus test is basic: award should go to the player who provides the most VALUE to his team.  The MVP's team does not have to be a playoff team, but must contend.

I ranked the top 10 candidates like the BBWAA does.  This award is clearly A-Rod's, but Magglio and Ichiro put up good numbers.  I almost picked Ichiro since the rest of the Mariners had pretty poor offensive numbers and they fought for a playoff spot til the very end.

Other impressive seasons came from the all-around awesome Curtis Granderson (not listed is his 23 triples) and Jorge Posada put up great numbers (.338 avg) as the Yankee catcher.

NL MVP

Here is the award I'm most worried about.  In my mind, there is NO QUESTION - Matt Holliday is the MVP.  He had an amazing season, first in average, RBI, doubles, and hits.  He hit 12 home runs in September to propel the Rockies to the postseason.

Jake Peavy is #2.  I have no problem with a pitcher winning the MVP, especially one as dominant as Peavy was this season.  Had Peavy won the 163rd game of the Padres' season...maybe he'd be the MVP.  Maybe.

David Wright had a 30/30 season with good numbers that got clouded by the Mets' September collapse.  Chipper Jones finished #2 for the batting title and was a bright spot for the Braves.

The East Coast Media Bias' consensus for MVP seems to be Jimmy Rollins.  He had good numbers and a career year - but not great numbers.  He didn't bat .300, plus he has a great hitting lineup, with protection from Utley, Howard, and Rowand.  The Phillies' success did not hinge on Rollins, like the Rockies on Holliday.

Prince Fielder had some MVP talk, but his .288 average and home run drop off push him back to 6.  Hanley Ramirez had an amazing season in Florida as did Miggy Cabrera. But in the end, there's only one real choice here and that's Holliday. Here's to hoping the baseball writers choose correctly.

October 3, 2007

Ah, playoff baseball. What a great topic to re-start this website of mine. And actually, my topic today isn't playoff baseball at all. It's tiebreaker games.

The San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies tied at the end of the season with a 89-73 record, 1 game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Padres & Rockies were then scheduled for a 1-game, winner-take-the-Wild-Card, playoff. This is unique to baseball in that it's the only time ONE GAME decides who goes on and who goes home.

These one game playoffs are rare, only occurring when there are 2 teams with the same record for 1 playoff spot. In 2006, the Padres and Dodgers tied with the best record atop the NL West, but the Dodgers ended up with the Wild Card (based on head-to-head record) and both teams went to the playoffs. One-game playoffs are the norm in the NFL, and in my opinion, one reason that the NFL is so popular - everything happens in one sitting.

Granted, neither of these ML teams are based near my home of Dallas , Texas , but it remains exciting baseball, to anyone, not just me, the extreme baseball fan. And so Monday night, I prepared for some "playoff" baseball.

A little background...I've been in my new apartment for 2 months, but have yet to get cable TV. Hasn't been a priority, but for this game, it sure should've been. The ESPN website said it was on ESPN Radio - WRONG. As you may know, Monday night is also when ESPN broadcasts a national telecast of "Monday Night Football". TBS showed the Pads/Rockies.

After Game-casting the game for 8 innings, it was a nailbiter. I realized I had to take action and find a TV. Stop one was my apartment lounge. No luck - it was tuned to MNF, a blowout and non-interesting game between the Patriots and Bengals (24-7 at that point).

I ventured out of my apartment building, across the street to the West End Pub. I could see at least 6 TV's from outside. I went in, and all of them were on MNF. I asked the bartender if he could change the channel on one of them so I could watch a real game. (I wasn't as cynical to his face).

"Sorry, we had it on, but the people here want to watch the football game," he said, half-apologetically.
"Really? You know it's in the 10th now," I countered.
"I know, 6 to 6. Sorry man."
"Me too." And I left to find another bar. Stop #2 was the Cadillac Bar in the heart of the West End . Sure enough, 2 TVs, 2 games. Everyone wins.

I watched innings 10, 11, and 12 here while nursing a $4.50 Shiner pint (when I said "in the heart of the West End ", that's code for "tourist trap, no drink specials ever, even on Mondays"). I sat next to 2 business travelers, judging by their accent, from somewhere Northeast. They were quite knowledgeable about baseball. The bartender, on the other hand, was not. He tried though, by guessing what pitch was coming. On 0-2 with 2 outs and a runner on? Probably not "fastball down the middle" as he suggested. He tried though, I'll give him credit.

The bar officially closed at 11, and it was nearing 11:30. The manager said I could stay as long as I liked, but after 12 innings, I was feeling like it could go another 6. I decided to leave and find another bar with patrons. TGI Friday's it was.

At this point (11:30), the MNF game was over. So on all 8 TVs at the Friday's bar, there was postgame action. The bartender graciously changed a channel on one, but no one in the bar seemed to care about the game but me.

This part of the story you know - Pads go up by 2 in the top of the 13th, then send Trevor Hoffman to the mound. Double, double, triple, tie game. Sac fly, Rockies win. I finished my $2 Miller Lite pint (much more reasonable) and left as my phone rang. It was Jose.

"OHMYGOD did you see that game??" Of course I did, Jose, who the hell do you think you're talking to? I paid my price for it though. We talked about the game as I walked 2 blocks back to my apartment.

So all in all, what a GREAT GAME. THIS is what baseball's about.

So if the rest of Dallas (or at least the bars I tried) would rather watch a pointless NFL game, so be it. Because if you chose Monday Night Football over Padres/Rockies, you lost.

=========and some more twisting off================

ESPN has been running commercials for Monday Night Football lately; I'm sure you've seen them. They have to do with playing up the "rich history" that MNF has. What BS. In my 25 years on this earth, I still don't get why a game played Monday night gets so much attention. It's just another game, one of 16 for the weekend. Those games referenced in the commercials? Hell no I don't remember them! I've never watched a MNF game in my life, and I'm not sure I knew what it was until I was 16. File me under the "Not Getting It" column. I sometimes credit growing up in a non-NFL household as the cause. But regardless, MNF is not a transcendent program or game. And if it is, do I remember "that Cubs/Cardinals Sunday night game from 1998?" Probably not.

December 3, 2006

Today I got on a tear for updating this site. Who knows why, perhaps it was Rob from Lobsterbush who kept pressing me to update the link to his site. I've also been wanting to upload old webcam videos to YouTube, so I finally got that done too. Here's the link - fun for all ages.

And for old times' sake, here are a few photos that the webcam took - Clark Hall room 341 in action. That's the notorious Ye Olde Keg in the 2nd picture.