Part One: What do Sports Dad’s want from their wives?

Posted on July 26, 2010, 9:52 pm, by Mookie Anderson and received No Comments ».

It’s quite simple when you think about the needs of men in a marriage. Without a formal poll, (that will be posted after this series for all who want to contribute an opinion) I have recently concluded that there are 5 or 6 things that most men really want in their partnerships with their lovely wives.

The first need is APPRECIATION.

It’s like “hello?” Is it really that tough to show a man, any man, some appreciation? I think this is a slam dunk. Let’s say the wife observes her spouse playing “gleefully” with the kids for a few hours on a given day. The husband is keeping the youngen’s occupied, allowing the wife to go out with her friends, or take some time to go for a peaceful walk.

At the end of the day, the man just wants to be shown some appreciation. A little thank you, or a well done, or god forbid, “good job hubby” would be appropriate. Muttering the words just takes a few seconds, and the guy would feel that his contribution was significant.

People don’t like being taking for granted. In situations like this, it would be super easy for the wife to just ignore it, thinking, “That’s what husbands are supposed to do!” or “I do stuff like this all the time!”

But that isn’t a good approach. Men who have played sports, have all had coaches who know how to boast their confidence with some appreciation. The occasional “attay boy” is essential to show that they are on the right track, enforcing that they do contribute. Try some positivity, some plus side, and see how far that goes for him.

Tags: , , , , ,

Quotes: Moonshots, Jimmie Foxx & Today’s MLB Homer Fundraiser

Posted on July 20, 2010, 3:17 pm, by Mookie Anderson and received No Comments ».


“When Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, he and all the space scientists were puzzled by an unidentifiable white object. I knew immediately what it was. That was a home run ball hit off me in 1933 by Jimmie Foxx.”

-Lefty Gomez
Today in 1969, Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. I remember, this was a BIG DEAL when I was 4 years old, and is still a big thing today, considering that our country doesn’t seem to care about the space program. (President Obama’s huge cuts to NASA, and encouraging the private sector to take it over is just one example- Gee I miss the Space Shuttle already).

What made this country great was it’s constant urge to surge into the unexplored. Lewis & Clark’s expedition to the Pacific Ocean forged the path for West Coast settlement. Jeb Smith marked trails through the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevadas that became interstate highways decades later.

The moon landings in the 60′s were supposed to be an extension of this mentality to explore boldly for all mankind. In grade school, I was taught that we would have bases on the moon by now, and taking trips to the moon would be as commonplace as flying from Los Angeles to New York. It seems like that goal has been flushed away.

So today, I propose that every home run hit in a Major League game be dedicated to that first moon landing. If you catch one of the moonshots from today’s games, put it on ebay, and send the funds to NASA.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Timberwolves Now class of ’82 Twins-Like

Posted on July 18, 2010, 9:57 pm, by Mookie Anderson and received No Comments ».

I have always wanted to be a Timberwolves fan, but have avoided taking the plunge to full time commitment.

That might soon change?

It’s hard to be a Minnesota fan in the pursuit of quenching the champagne party in June. Aside from drafting Kevin Garnett (A top 50 NBA All-timer) the Wolves have done NOTHING to show it is capable of building a team from scratch. We all know how that ended up.

But after this year’s draft and Free Agent acquisitions, I have to admit that I am liking the future of the squad more and more everyday. There are only 2 players left from the Kevin McHale “disaster” roster 2 years ago (Corey Brewer & Kevin Love). New GM David Kahn has purged, gutted and traded away a team that was going nowhere without a map. Fans can now be optimistic about a young roster that is top heavy with former lottery picks.

Starting with Michael Beasley, the Wolves have a beast ready to unleash the fury. Corey Brewer and Kevin Love are primed to be 6th Man of the Year award winners. (I know that sounds crazy, as one will start, but we really don’t know which one that will be?). Johnny Flynn is a budding All-Star, but now gets a chance to hoop under the tutelage of Luke Ridnour until Ricky Rubbio shows up in 2012.

This reminds me of the 1982 Twins. They were a team was loaded with youth, waiting for talent to emerge. Five years after that their rock bottom 60-102 record, the Class of ’82 hoisted the World Series Trophy. I see a similar possibility with the Wolves.

Tags: , , , ,

Johsonville Sausage, Social Media Campaign & Vikings Tailgating

Posted on July 17, 2010, 12:05 am, by Mookie Anderson and received Comments Off.

This Week’s Johnsonville GRILLVILLE Secret Code Word is “SAUSAGE.” That’s right, I wrote it, SAUSAGE, SAUSAGE, SAUSAGE…

You might remember a post from awhile back for a neat little Johnsonville Social Media campaign for grilling. I just wanted to remind everybody out there that they can still participate, so DO IT.

But get involved quickly, as the campaign will end on July 20th. Yup, that means, that I too have to get crackin, as I have been busy with my own Social Media Marketing campaign launches for a certain large legal publisher in the United States.

Good luck to all you tailgaters.

In other news, I will be looking for some really worthwhile cooking courses for grilling. I want to learn how to be a master chef on the grille. It is a goal of mine for 2010-2011.

Tags: , , , , ,

Quotes: Benjamin Franklin, an electrical lefty with Major League stuff

Posted on July 13, 2010, 11:37 pm, by Mookie Anderson and received Comments Off.

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
Benjamin Franklin.

Rumor has it that Ben also proposed a national brewery! I think he would have been a great baseball fan, but would probably have been a Phillies fan, so screw him. I am kidding, of course, but the quote above got me thinking about colonials, this country’s history, and what did they do if they couldn’t play baseball during the American Revolution? Would Benhamin Franklin have been a baseball fan, would he have enjoyed the sport?

I did some research, and typed in “Benjamin Franklin baseball” on some search engines to see if their was any profound quotes or quips from this American statesman that could be linked to the greatest game ever invented. I didn’t find much, but I did find a relevance link (sort of) with those terms, and I found it in the script of one of my favorite baseball movies of all time, The Sandlot.

“There was only one night game a year. On the 4th of July… the whole sky would brighten up with fireworks, giving us just enough light for a game. We played our best then because, I guess, we all felt like the big leaguers… under the lights of some great stadium. Benny felt like that all the time.

We all knew he was gonna go on to bigger and better games, because every time we stopped to watch the sky on those nights like regular kids, he was there to call us back.

You see, for us, baseball was a game. But for Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez, baseball was life.”

The main baseball character’s name, was Benny, who would later play for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the movie and be known as “Benny the Jet,” who preached to his friends when they were kids,

“Man, this is baseball, you gotta stop thinking! Just have fun. If you were having fun , you would have caught that ball!”

But that wasn’t the only connection, I found.  I saw several names of aspiring baseball players from High School to minor leagues who shared some variation of  the name “Benjamin Franklin.”

One, Benjamin Franklin Hunt, a left handed pitcher, played for both the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals for 2 years, posting 2-4 record and 25 strikeouts. (St. Louis is  the home to a big brewery by the way)

The coolest thing I uncovered, depending on your perspective of cool,  was a $100 dollar bill on a baseball. Yup, it’s all about the Benjamin’s on a plastic baseball. I couldn’t believe it when I surfed to it, so now I can tell you that it’s yours if you click on the Franklin Insitute store and order it!

Me? I have too many baseballs already, AND, in the spirit of the quote to start this post, I’d much rather go spend that  $16.95 on a case of cold Grain Belt Premium Beer.

Tags: , , , , ,

Stuff that gets sent to my inbox: “Things in my hands”

Posted on July 10, 2010, 1:19 pm, by Mookie Anderson and received Comments Off.

I got this bit of junk e-mail in May, it was promoting a money making opportunity, but I am not sure how the monetary values were calculated. Still thought provoking enough to throw the whole thing out into a blog and see what type of reaction it gets.

A basketball in my hands is worth about $19. A basketball
in Michael Jordan’s hands is worth about $33 mil’lion.

A baseball in my hands is worth about $6. A baseball in
Mark McGuire’s hands is worth $19 mil’lion.

A tennis racket is useless in my hands. A tennis racket in
Venus Williams’ hands is a championship win’ning.

A rod in my hands will keep away a wild animal. A rod in
Moses’ hands will part the mighty sea.

A sling shot in my hands is a kid’s toy. A sling shot in
David’s hand is a mighty weapon.

Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouse. Nails in Jesus
Christ’s hands will produce salvation for the entire world.

As you see now it depends whose hands it’s in. So an
oppor’tunity is only an oppor’tunity depending on whose
hands its in.

So now this message is in your hands. What will YOU do with
it?

“It Depends on WHO’S Hands it’s in!!”

Tags: , , , ,

Hockey Player Tries Baseball: This is Funny

Posted on July 10, 2010, 11:43 am, by Mookie Anderson and received Comments Off.

I love videos like this:


Tags: , ,

10 Reasons the Vikings will Stink in 2010: I Don’t Believe a Word of it!

Posted on July 10, 2010, 8:57 am, by Mookie Anderson and received Comments Off.

I found this posted on CBS Sportsline and thought I’d share it with Minnesota Fans. The post titled “Top 10 Reasons The Vikngs will NOT Contend in 2010″ from someone named “Orton4Pres”

It starts:

After the washed up LaDainian Tomlinson rejected the Vikings, I think we all knew why: The Vikings are a one and done. As an educated and proficient football scholar, I can tell you that this is not conjecture, it is fact.

(note: Before you all come on here and tell me why the Broncos will not be good, know I already agree. They’re rebuilding…, the Vikings however are supposedly not in rebuild mode. But the fact is they should start now.)

The following are unbiased facts:

10) 3 Games last year were won on freak plays. Won’t happen again. (UM, THAT’S AN OPINION NOT A FACT)

9) The Vikings were recipients of one of the easiest schedules ever in the NFL playing most of their home games early against very weak team (Lions, Browns, Rams) and the tough games late. This was in contrast to the other divisonal teams who had incredibly tough away games early in the season. This was instrumental in the Vikings getting an early division lead and making the other teams have to play catch-up. Won’t happen again. (THE RAMS WHERE AN AWAY GAME… I WAS THERE… see picture)

8) The only team of consequence that the Vikings actually handled well late in the season was QB’b by the chokingest playoff QB ever in the history of the NFL (Cowboys / Tony Romo). (I THINK WE BITCH SLAPPED THE PACKERS TWICE?)

7) Brett Favre put up career numbers as the recipient of some of the most generous officiating ever in the NFL. He was MORE protected by the refs (and non-holding calls on his Oline) than even the princess herself: Tom Brady. (LATE HITS IN THE NFC TITLE GAME ANYONE?)

6) The Vikings lost 3 out of their last 5 games and if you include the playoffs, 4 out of their last 7 showing the trend towards (and reality of) a sub .500 team. (SO?)

5) Most of the tough games they played on the road, they lost. (Bears, Steelers, Cardinals, Panthers, Saints), and the tough games they had at home were barely won as squeakers (49ers, Ravens). (THE KILLED THE STEELERS & SAINTS PHYSICALLY THOUGH)

4) All of the Vikings divisonal rivals have gotten better already, with the draft still to come. Whereas the Vikings have gotten older and worse (losing Taylor) and now have an old beat up QB (if he comes back), and a nobody behind him other than Jamarcus… I mean Tavaris Jackson. Julius Peppers had a career day pounding Favre last year, and now he gets to face him twice a year. (SUBJECTIVE… MCKINNIE & HUTCH WERE BOTH HURT VS CAROLINA AND PEPPERS TOOK ADVANTAGE)

3) The Vikings still have huge holes in their already very weak secondary. It was repeatedly exposed on National television over the course of the season including being torched by the Drew Brees and the Saints, Kurt Warner and the Cardinals, and Jay Cutler and the Bears. (SUBJECTIVE)

2) The head coach knows very little about football. He’s kinda making it up as he goes and defers to more experienced playcallers like Favre… (SMART ENOUGH TO HAVE A WINNING RECORD IN THE NFL THOUGH)

And the #1 reason the Vikings suck….

1) Adrian Peterson is washed up. He can not hold on to a ball when there is contact, and now he’s too slow to evade contact. He only rushed for more than 100 yards 3x last year, and once was against the horrible Lions and the other was against the pathetic Browns. They have also lost the only back they had that actually “could” hold on to the ball in Chester Taylor. (I AM SO LAUGHING AT THIS STATEMENT)

Vikings 2010 record: 6-10. Book it. TOUGH SCHEDULE YES.. BUT THE BEARS, LIONS & PACKERS MAKE IT A WINNING SEASON AGAIN.

The Life-long Treaty of Father and Daughter

Posted on July 5, 2010, 2:03 pm, by Mookie Anderson and received Comments Off.


“Treaties are like roses and young girls — they last while they last“ - Charles De Gaulle

I am the father of a beautiful little girl, and I have spent much time with her this 4th of July weekend. She is has grown so much in 2 years, (her 2nd birthday is coming up in August).

This quote makes me sad, not because of the political implication that treaties are made to be broken, but more so because of the fact that little girls, like my daughter will only be little for a short period of time. I love her the way she is now, walking, talking, and learning something new everyday. She has a cute little smile, and is so eager to be a part of everything our family does. She follows, and learns, and laughs.

Just yesterday, we played our first game of catch using a Minnesota Twins foam stuffed baseball. It took her awhile to figure out how to place her little hands in front of her like a basket, but once she did, the ball dropped in and she was very excited.

“I did it daddy!” she screeched in pure jubilation, running to me for that daddy “acknowledgement” and approval that she craves so much. After we hugged like a pennant clinching major league baseball team, we played a few more rounds of catch, and then moved on to another play time project.

I will never again get to experience the first game of catch with her, but there will be plenty more of firsts for her as life goes on. It is moments like this that I crave, and quite frankly is one of favorite things about being a daddy.

But as I reflect on them, I realize that life, like a treaty, is not meant to be permanent.

I love being a daddy.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Twins Fireworks Live Stream Now (July 2nd, 2010)

Posted on July 2, 2010, 10:15 pm, by Mookie Anderson and received Comments Off.

This is cool. The first fireworks at Target Field in Minnesota is a live stream.

View on You Tube

Tags: , , ,
« Older Entries