When "If" Is the Biggest Word In the English Language

I don't know if I'd call it the best Super Bowl game I've ever seen - and I'm old enough to have seen each and every one of them - but I do know that Super Bowl XLVI came down to the last play of the game before it was ultimately decided. And for that reason, I have to say that it was certainly one of the most exciting NFL championship games we've ever had.

I'm writing this as thousands upon thousands of New York Giants fans are lining the streets of lower Manhattan for the team's victory parade, and just a handful of hours before the celebration moves to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River for the party at Met Life Stadium. And I can't help but wonder what if....



What if Wes Welker hadn't dropped that 4th quarter pass from Tom Brady? What if Aaron Hernandez hadn't dropped his own 4th quarter pass - arguably better thrown and an easier catch? What if Rob Gronkowski caught that deflection of that final Hail Mary pass in the endzone? What if Brady underthrows that final pass and Wes Welker (#83) - completely wide open in front of the end zone - catches it? What if Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw's stumble into the endzone (OF COURSE the Patriots let him score, they needed the ball back) ultimately left too much time on the clock and Brady manages to complete the final pass?



Let's just say the celebration today would probably be a few hundred miles to the north in a flotilla of duck boats.

That's not to take anything away from Eli Manning, his salsa-dancing wide receiver Victor Cruz, or any of the Giants who came from the depths of a 7-7 record and ran the table for the team's 2nd Super Bowl win in the last 4 years. The entire Giants organization, the players, and the fans should be very proud of what this team accomplished this season.

It's just that sometimes, "if" is a bigger word than it appears.

The 2012 High Holy Days

February 1st and 60 degrees makes it official! Spring is on its way! I can't remember the last time we had a winter that was so incredibly mild. Save for a freak October blizzard, Mother Nature has been rather kind to us lately.

Here is official run down for the 2012 High Holy Days.

February 11 - Truck Day
February 19 - Pitchers and catchers report
February 24 - Position players report
February 25 - Full squad workouts begin
March 1 - First day of spring (unofficial)
March 3 - First Red Sox Spring Training game
March 10 - Morris County St. Patrick's Day Parade
March 16 - Matthew's birthday
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day
March 20 - First day of spring (official)
March 28 - 2012 Major League Baseball Opening Day
April 13 - Red Sox Home Opener

Rosanne Cash Twitter Request Concert & Radio Special

This is VERY cool! Rosanne Cash invites WDHA "All Mixed Up" listeners to send requests and questions by twitter to @rosannecash to build the setlist for her first "Live from Zone C" concert she will record in her living room on 11/2. She hopes to have the recording turned around by Thanksgiving.

Tweets should include the hashtag #essentialrc (for Essential Roasanne Cash). Please also use either #WDHA or #AllMixedUp hashtags. Songs should be chosen from the Essential Rosanne Cash 2-cd set. The full track list and more about this are online at http://publicmediaservice.org/cash-twitter.

The lines for the requesting are now open through 10/31. Vote early & often!

The High Holy Days 2010

I've been remiss in keeping up with this page over the past couple of months, but with the New Year just a few days old and what seems like the whole country in the midst of a brutal cold snap it's time for our annual announcement.

It's official! Spring is on its way! Here is official run down for the 2010 High Holy Days.

February 12 - Truck Day
February 18 - Pitchers and catchers report
February 22 - Position players report
February 24 - Full squad workouts begin
March 1 - First day of spring (unofficial)
March 3 - First Red Sox Spring Training game
March 13 - Morris County St. Patrick's Day Parade
March 16 - Matthew's birthday
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day
March 20 - First day of spring (official)
April 4 - 2010 Major League Baseball Opening Day
April 4 - Red Sox Home Opener

Fun With Numbers

This was originally posted by Brian MacPherson from the New Hampshire Union Leader on his terrific blog One If By Land. I know you can make numbers dance just about any which way you choose (and no one can make numbers do the boogaloo like a radio station GM with the latest Arbitron numbers in his hands), but this still makes for an interesting discussion/comparison. After all, some people were ready to write David Ortiz off at the All Star Break, while the other player has people talking MVP.

"A little player comparison for your afternoon. Below are the numbers of two prominent players since June 1 -- one of whom should be relatively easy for Red Sox fans to identify:

Player A
* .265 batting average, .357 on-base, .558 slugging
* 27 home runs, 77 RBI
* 50 walks, 79 strikeouts

Player B
* .300 batting average, .386 on-base, .551 slugging
* 22 home runs, 76 RBI
* 52 walks, 76 strikeouts

Player B has a significantly higher batting average and on-base percentage. Player A has a slight edge in power numbers -- more home runs, more RBI and a higher slugging percentage. The walk numbers and strikeout numbers for the two players are almost identical.

Player A, of course, is the resurgent David Ortiz.

Player B?

Any guesses?

(Cue Jeopardy music.)

It's Mark Teixeira."

John Gorka Live On All Mixed Up

Singer-songwriter John Gorka will be my guest in the 8 AM hour tomorrow morning on "All Mixed Up." The show streams live at www.wdhafm.com.

How I've Spent My Summer Vacation

I turned to my wife Lauren last week and said, "I think I finally hit my limit."

Since March, I've been coaching 8-year olds for the equivalent of four seasons. My son Matthew played for a town recreation team this spring, along with a more advanced travel team sponsored by the training facility I work at. That travel team continued into the summer; we have a playoff game tomorrow and if we win that, a championship game on Thursday to finish up the season. Without sounding too much like one of "those" parents, he had a remarkable spring. He was one of the better pitchers in his town league (8 and 9 year-olds) and gave up only three hits all spring. So when it came time to put an 8-year old town travel team together for a local summer tournament, he was one of the first kids chosen. That in itself was fine, except that the other coaches unanimously asked me to be the head coach which I knew was going to present a conflict or two with two full-time jobs and the other travel team. However, the other coaches pledged full support and delivered BIG TIME (thanks Rich & Larry!). So for the past six weeks, it's been 6 to 7 games a week split between Matthew's two summer teams. Matthew has given up just two or three hits all summer on these two teams and has really blossomed as a pitcher. Lauren and I are already looking for ways to spend his signing bonus when he gets to the Major Leagues (I say, that's a joke son, and by the way, he gets the talent from my Dad who was scouted by the Red Sox while in high school.)

One other thing - you don't know just how hard an 8-year old boy can throw a baseball until one of those kids hits you in the face with a fastball. One of Matthew's teammates hit me on my right cheekbone last Friday night during a warm-up drill. I literally never saw the ball coming. All I remember hearing is another kid yelling, "LOOK OUT!" before everything went black for a second. I never lost consciousness, but I've had a pounding headache for more than 72 hours and there's some swelling, numbing and discoloration around my right eye. I'm lacking some of the better-known symptoms, but I'm pretty sure I suffered a low-grade concussion. (Side note - I suffered what the doctor called a "minor concussion" about 9 years ago and if these two situations are minor, I can't even begin to imagine what a serious concussion must feel like. Both times the headaches have been brutal and I have a reasonably high threshhold of pain.)

Matthew's travel team has a playoff game Tuesday night. If they lose, they're done; if they win they play for their summer league championship on Thursday. Either way, the season ends no later than this Thursday. By the time all is said and done, it will have been about 60 games since March. As I said, "I think I finally hit my limit."

Thank God!

And I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything.