Dad-to-be: Staying fit during pregnancy

When my wife and I learned that we were expecting our first baby, we knew immediately that change was coming. Not just the change of converting the spare room into a gender-neutral baby room, or the change of how we are going to both work full time with a newborn in the house, but more immediate change.
It must have been instinctual because before I knew it I was assuming the role of protector and provider. In order to see my wife through a healthy pregnancy (both of us at age 39) I was going to have to set good examples. The first thing on my list was getting my wife to exercise.
The options for exercise during pregnancy are somewhat limited; thankfully my wife has never been a jogger or cyclist. All my research lead to the conclusion that simple frequent walks were the best activity for pregnant women and something we could do together.
After buying her first pair of sneakers since high school, we set out on short slow walks around our neighborhood -- 10 minutes here, 20 minutes the next time, working our way up to longer, brisker walks. It was a great opportunity for us to talk, hold hands, and get some fresh air – all things we have come to appreciate. Our walks are “our time” and help us both de-stress and keep my wife healthy.
Another healthy exercise practice is prenatal yoga. We started taking beginning yoga about a year ago as our pushing-forty-year-old bodies began to cry out loud. It was an early Sunday morning class that we stuck with for about six months. Although my working late on Saturday nights got to be too much, those classes sparked an interest in my wife. The same studio offers a prenatal class every Wednesday evening and she’s back in her yoga pants, standing on one foot with her adorable baby-bump. I adjusted my work schedule so that she can be there every week, get some exercise and spend some time with other mommies-to-be.
And my wife’s return to an exercise routine has inspired me to get back into jogging. I’m not training for any road races or anything, just a short 20-30 minute loop around the neighborhood. I like to run at night when the streets are quiet and relatively car-less. As I run, I practice my own breathing, thinking of baby names and planning the best driving route to the hospital over and over in my head – back roads or highway?
And that’s what it’s all about – leading by example, sparking an interest, and making sacrifices. These things that my wife and I are doing for each other during pregnancy are the same things we will do for our baby: lead by example, spark interest, and make sacrifices.

Buzzer Beater

Final thoughts from the Sports Editor

When I first started at the Melrose Weekly News in January of 2007, I had no idea how to score a gymnastics meet, a swim meet or a wrestling meet — and I’m still a little foggy on cross country. But through countless hours of observation and the utter fear of sounding stupid, I’ve learned a lot covering sports in Melrose.
As I write my last article as Sports Editor of Melrose Weekly News, I can look back at the last three and a half years and feel confident in knowing that I learned a lot, learned it quickly and had a ton of fun along the way.
Because of the job I held, I saw high school records fall; I interviewed a World Series MVP, a U.S. Olympic athlete and got sound career advice from Dan Shaughnessy; I’ve seen Fenway Park from the press box and home plate and I’ve walked the parquet floor of The Garden. Of course I’ve also frozen my butt off at hockey games in Belmont, stood in the pouring rain at lacrosse and driven around aimlessly looking for Boston English High School.
I’ve learned that Melrose, like every other town, is very political — and sports is no exception to the politics. Sometimes it’s what you know, other times it’s who you know. Athletes, whether high school or professional, are not exempt from the scrutiny of their community. Sometimes they are held to a higher standard, and yet other times they are given a free pass. Melrose is no exception.
What I often forget in covering roughly 25 varsity sports a year is that despite the excitement of records being broken and dramatic runs through state tournaments, is that these are after all kids — children, essentially. Kids make mistakes. They do stupid things that they may regret for the rest of their lives and no one regrets it more than they.
Mistakes are what make us grow. You touch the stove as a two-year-old and you learn that’s not something you want to do again. Hopefully the student-athletes of Melrose are learning from their, and others’, mistakes.
I think Melrose is a good community with good kids, good parents, good coaches and a good athletic department that tries to hold kids accountable for their actions. It’s not as easy as it seems from the outside (see above, “politics”).
The next time a student-athlete does something regrettable, ask yourself this: Would you give back all the buzzer beaters, upsets, walk-off wins, rivalries, tournament runs and other proud moments to take back a regrettable decision? I don’t think you would; I don’t think they would; and I know I wouldn’t.
It’s been fun Melrose. I rooted for you harder than I rooted for my own high school when I was a student athlete (Malden, class of ‘90). You did for me exactly what high school sports is supposed to do for its athletes: Made me a part of something positive and taught me a lot in the four year process.

Calling it a season

August 30, 2010, the day you can mark as the end of the Boston Red Sox season. Don’t worry about the fact that the calendar reads that they have 31 games left — it’s over.
After holding leads in the sixth inning or later in all three games with the then Wild Card leading Tampa Bay Rays and managing just one win, the Sox have shown what they are made of.
They are a team with a poor bullpen, inconsistent starting pitching and position players who, if the entire team were healthy, would never have seen game time this season.
As much as we all want to “Believe” and “Cowboy Up,” it’s time to face reality. Never mind “there’s a lot of baseball left.” If the teams ahead of you keep winning, it doesn’t matter what you do, and the Yankees and Rays aren’t loosing and continue to flip-flop A.L. East and Wild Card spots.
Going into their three-game set with the American League’s worst team (Baltimore), the Sox were a distant seven games behind both New York and Tampa. That’s a lot of ground to make up and if they’re relying on guys like Ryan Kalish (.231), Bill Hall (.238) and Mike Lowell (.234) to come through in the clutch, well, don’t.
Managers around baseball, the A.L. East in particular, have said that the Sox lineup is still a threat to opposing teams. Scanning down the lineup and reading the names of David Ortiz, J.D. Drew and Victor Martinez might sound threatening but consider this: Those three “sluggers” are hitting a combined .270 while earning a combined $34.7 million this season.
Understandably, the Sox have endured injuries at every position — more than any other team in the league, by far — three catchers, three outfielders, two first basemen, two second basemen and so on.
Done for the season are Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Mike Cameron. Jacoby Ellsbury (.192) remains something of a mystery — the “Where’s Waldo” of the clubhouse.
In complete acts of desperation, the Sox have exhumed the bodies of Kevin Cash, Alan Embree, Carlos Delgado, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Scott Schoenweis and have parted ways with once highly-touted Ramon Ramirez and Jeremy Hermida.
Come to think of it, the season may have been over a month ago, when Theo, Terry and Larry failed to acquire a single arm to bolster an unreliable bullpen or a single bat to fill the spot of Jason Varitek, Youk, Pedroia, Cameron, Ellsbury, Lowell or any other A-listers who were battling injuries. If the ownership gave up a month ago, it seems like it’s time for the rest of us to call it a season too.
But I’ll be watching the Sox this weekend at Fenway... the White Sox, that is. Manny Ramirez will be in town with his new team and I, for one, will be cheering him on.

Tattered Sox

The Red Sox have limped their way to the half-way point on the 2010 season, and the fact that they are five games out of first place in the American League East and trail the Tampa Bay Rays by three games for the A.L. Wild Card shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise. The fact that they’re doing it without some of the key players in the League is nothing short of remarkable.
Looking at the Red Sox disabled list, a team could be formed — and a darn good one at that — at every position, consisting of players the Sox can’t use.
Tonight’s starting pitcher, Josh Beckett, out with a sore back since mid-May and expected to return sometime at the end of July. In the bullpen you have Clay Buchholz (hamstring), Manny Delcarmen and Junichi Tazawa.
Doing the catching is our fearless captain Jason Varitek. Booted with a broken bone in his foot, Tek can’t throw out sour milk anymore.
Playing first base, Victor Martinez, who also has a broken foot, or thumb or something somewhere in between, he was never very clear where it hurts. The only bad thing about being able to play multiple positions is when you go on the D.L., the team has multiple positions to fill.
At second base, Dustin Pedroia. He and Tek have matching boots and crutches — cute isn’t it? No. The red-hot little big man is going to be out another six weeks minimum.
Playing shortstop is the oft-injured Jed Lowrie, who has been on the DL since an ankle injury from a game of dodge-ball in the third grade. A few signs of the prospect he was thought to be made brief appearances last season, but don’t expect to hear his name announced at Fenway in 2010, unless it’s in the context of “Will the parents of Jed Lowrie please report to customer service to claim their missing child.”
At third base, the disgruntled veteran, under appreciated and overpaid Mike Lowell. That hip of his just doesn’t want to get right, unless he’s going to be in the lineup, then he’s fine. Just ask him.
In left field, Jeremy Hermida, who was acquired as a fourth outfielder, but soon became an everyday player. Hermida banged into Adrian Beltre (questionable at press time) and suffered some sort of rib injury, handing him the same fate as a dozen other “everyday players.”
Which brings us to center field. Jacoby Ellsbury appeared in a whopping nine games this season before he too pinballed off Beltre coming in from left field and ended up with cracked ribs, a sore abdomen and a tummy ache. I don’t normally enjoy saying “I told you so,” but if Ells had stayed put in center field instead of moving over for veteran (read as “old”) Mike Cameron, it would have never happened. Nonetheless, Ells has been the “Where’s Waldo” around the clubhouse as he “rehabs” at various facilities in South Florida and Arizona.
The Sox currently (knock wood) don’t have a disabled player in right field, but J.D. Drew and Cameron have both taken time off to heal their bumps and bruises.
Still waiting for the other shoe to drop? Kevin Youkilis (who can’t BUY a ticket to the All-Star Game) and Beltre have recently survived (or sucked up) minor injuries and have avoided time on the D.L.
With key injuries at nearly every position, the Sox have somehow managed to stay in the hunt and the three day break at the beginning of this week couldn’t have come at a better time.
The bright side? The injuries have given life to the stories of Darnell McDonald and Daniel Nava, introduced us to Eric Patterson and Gustavo Molina, re-introduced us to Kevin Cash and even backed us into a corner and forced us to cheer for Bill Hall.

Middle School football stepping on Pop's toes?

Sports is a business. There’s no way around it. No matter what level, or in what town, it’s still a business. And with every business there comes competition. Yet, according to comments recently posted on a website focusing on the North Shore, the new Melrose Middle School Junior Red Raiders football team is muscling its way onto the scene and pushing the long-standing Pop Warner program out of town.
The Middle School team (part of the Melrose Recreation Department), expected to begin this August, will take away some 60 seventh and eighth graders, who may have otherwise played on Pop Warner ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams. But, according to Melrose Pop Warner President Scott Brinch, there is room in town for both.
While Brinch believes that there may not be an ‘A’ and ‘B’ team this summer, Melrose can follow the models of Winchester, Brookline and Newton, which have middle school teams and Pop Warner ‘C’, ‘D’ and ‘E’ teams — and very successful football programs.
So what’s the problem? There really isn’t one. They are similar programs, and, as Melrose High School head football coach Tim Morris pointed out, the Middle School team is just an “alternative” for middle school aged kids.
Morris also pointed out that the Middle School team will not have a weight restriction on its players. In the past, an eighth grader who was over the 160 pound limit set by Pop Warner football, had no place to play football in Melrose — too big for Pop Warner, too young for high school. The Middle School team is expected to field a seventh grade team and an eighth grade team, leaving no one ineligible for play.
Both leagues begin their pre-season in August and participate in an eight game season. Similarities end there. While the registration cost is higher through the Recreation Department at $200 per player, Pop Warner charges $150 and also has a mandatory $100 in fund raising requirement, or the parent may contribute the $100 on his/her own — possibly totaling $250.
With the backing of the Friends of Melrose Football, it seems the fundraising for the Middle School team will be left up to the boosters.
Also, the Junior Red Raiders will hold practice after school as opposed to evening hours and has no weekend requirements; Pop Warner games are played on Sundays.
Was there a need for another football program in Melrose? Consider this: Melrose Pop Warner ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams combined suited up fewer than 50 participants in 2009, Brinch reported, and at the informational meeting held on March 24 for the Middle School team, 60-70 names were taken as interested candidates, according to Morris. It seems there was a need, and that need has been answered by the Recreation Department and the Friends of Melrose Football. And it seems that those in favor of Pop Warner are afraid of a little competition.

50 things you dont really need to know about me

this is harder than it seems. at first its hard to come up with 50, then it becomes hard to stop at 50. anyway, heres me in 50 lines:
1. i once got hit in the face with a shovel. it wasnt an accident.
2. i blow my nose in the shower...(and sometimes pee)
3. there are things about my childhood that i dont care to know and are probably preventing me from becoming an adult.
4. by the time i was 30 years old i had lived in exactly 30 different places of residence. ive stopped counting since then.
5. im smarter than you think i am, but not as smart as i think i am.
6. the same can be said for how funny i am.
7. i threw my brother through a sliding glass door when i was eight years old. he later told me tabasco sauce tastes like strawberries. touche.
8. i walked into a sliding glass door just days ago while text messaging. karma.
9. when he was 13 my brother moved away from me. i took it personally. i was 9, how was i supposed to know it wasnt about me?
10. when i turned 13 i moved to where he was.
11. i was involved in a drive-by shooting.
12. i got TB and had my appendix removed in china. not what i signed up for.
13. it took me 7 1/2 years to get through college and i graduated with a 2.9. ive never held a job that required my degree.
14. i took bowling and curling as part of my college curriculum. i aced them both. they dont count towards your GPA.
15. im often too lazy to eat.
16. im overqualified, underpaid and underappreciated -- and doing nothing about it.
17. im pretty sure i'll inherit my gradfather and fathers prostate.
18. basball takes over my life for about eight months of every year. i blame and thank my father for that.
19. for as long as i can remember ive tried to not be like my father. every day i discover another way that im exactly like him.
20. i could eat pizza every day.
21. i dont blame manny ramirez. he hated his job and tanked it. ive done that. i may do that tomorrow.
22. i want to be a father more than anything else in this life.
23. im sorry i dont keep in touch more.
24. i havent cried in years and i dont know why.
25. i watch reality tv -- to escape reality.
26. i have five tattoos and at one point or another in my life have had five different piercings.
27. i have manny ramirez's baseball card from when he was in high school and jacoby ellsbury's rookie card.
28. i marched in the macys thanksgiving day parade.
29. i rode my bike from iowa to maine with my father who was 67 years old at the time.
30. i am absolutely terrified of bats.
31. i havent finished a book in years.
32. i dropped out of college...twice.
33. ive eaten donkey penis. theres really not much to explain.
34. im very competitive and willing to prove it.
35. i do my own manscaping.
36. i worked at taco bell for one day.
37. i have more than a small addiction to doritos.
38. im allergic to tree nuts.
39. i was in a "rap band" during college.
40. i dated one of my college instructors. she gave me a B.
41. ive never lost anyone close to me. im not ready.
42. my mother is an amazing lady.
43. im too young to have back problems and too old to have pimples.
44. id sooner give up breating than give up coffee.
45. i think beer is a more sophisticated beverage than wine. beer drinkers on the other hand...
46. i have a copy of 'the catcher in the rye' in chinese; havent read that either.
47. im considering a career in sports betting.
48. ive had three stepfathers -- all named Bob.
49. i love shopping at Target.
50. ive got more skeletons than iParty.

Red Sox mid-term report

By ADAM WENG
Even after being swept by the American League defending champion Tigers in the Motor City, the Boston Red Sox arrived at the All-star break holding the best record in Major League Baseball. Their 53-34 record gave them a 10 game lead in the American League East division over Toronto and the Yankees. The double-digit breathing room is also the biggest gap between a first and second place team, the next largest is the four and a half game lead the Brewers have over the Cubs in the N.L. Central. Still, many questions remain for the over-achieving Sox.
Are they that good, or just in an unusually poor division? Teams of the A.L. East play each other 19 times throughout the course of the season. Therefore it’s easy to rack up wins in a weaker division, and the Sox are the only division leader whose second place team has a losing record, and playing in a weak division isn’t their fault. Still, they do have winning records against the central, west and in interleague play.
The Sox sent six players to the Midsummer Classic, more than any other team. Are they all deserving? Manny Ramirez missed the final starting spot and it’s a wonder he didn’t miss the team entirely. In his 11th trip to the All-star game, the 35 year old’s numbers don’t compare to fellow outfield selections. Only Carl Crawford has similar offensive numbers — with the addition of 23 stolen bases to Manny’s zero.
David Ortiz’s power numbers are down from recent seasons, still his numbers are impressive enough to give him the start in San Francisco. With only 14 home runs at the break, Sox fans are wondering where the man who set the home run record has gone. It should be noted that at this point last season, there were more than 300 more home runs around the league.
Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett were a package trade just two seasons ago and now both are headed for the All-star game (neither starting). Beckett is tied with C.C. Sabathia for most wins in the A.L. with 12, and Lowell leads the team in RBI, is tied with Ortiz in home runs, and is second in doubles and total bases.
Jonathan Papelbon is back for his second straight All-star game as a closer. He has 20 saves in 21 chances with an ERA of 1.93. After being touted as a fourth starter in spring training, Pap has flourished as the go-to closer in the Sox pen.
Speaking of the pen, Hideki Okajima beat out Tigers’ pitcher Jeremy Bonderman as the A.L. final vote winner to earn himself a spot in San Francisco. The lefty set-up man is arguably the most valuable member of the bullpen, sporting a 2-0 record with an untraceable 0.83 ERA in 39 appearances. He has also subbed in for Papelbon when the closer was not available and has earned four saves in five opportunities. Not a bad turn-around for a guy whose first pitch of the season yielded a home run.
As for the second half of the season, the Sox still have some looming issues to contend with.
Why isn’t Manny being Manny? His offensive numbers are uncharacteristically low in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, RBI and home runs. His lackluster performance isn’t providing any protection to Ortiz, which has limited the number of pitches to Big Papi.
Alex Cora: trade bait or starting short stop? Some people thought (present company included) that Cora should have been starting in place of rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia, but his .318 batting average has proven those nay-sayers wrong. Julio Lugo on the other hand may become the first everyday player on a Red Sox team with a BA, OBP and SLG under .300. He’s tried the lead-off, eight and nine spot and none has improved his performance. There has to be a spot for him somewhere, maybe next to the water cooler or Wily Mo Pena (who strikes out 37 percent of the time he comes to the plate.
When will Curt Schilling be back? Will he be the Curt of old or just old? How long does management keep Jon Lester in Pawtucket? Is there room in the outfield for Jacoby Ellsbury, Brandon Moss or David Murphy?
All these unanswered questions and still the Red Sox have the best record in baseball and if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. The Yankees are no larger than they appear in the rearview mirror and following the All-star break, the Sox have an 11-game homestand against three teams with a combined record of 121-141.
Don’t print the playoff tickets just yet, but don’t plan any vacations for October either.