Some Golf, Some Baseball, Some Basketball, Some TV, Some Football, Even Some High School Soccer!!

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box.....

• Whenever you play a round of golf in October, you run the risk of it being your last round of the year.  If that is to be the case, then I went down swinging with a two day trip to Oglebay Park in Wheeling, WV this week.  Along with fellow Highmark retirees Fred Shugars, John Coley, Steve Sutton, Mike Romano, and non-Highmark retiree Barry Trygar, we dodged the rain, but got in two rounds of golf at Oglebay's Spiedel Golf Complex, one on the Arnold Palmer Course and one on the Robert Trent Jones Course.   Fun golf - some of which was even skillfully played - good friends, good food, playoff baseball on TV, and a little nickel/dime poker.  What more could you ask for?
• If you are going to Oglebay and only have time for one round of golf?  Play the Palmer Course.
• I spent my high school and college years in the late 60's and early 70's.  While I wore my hair much longer then than I do now, I was no hippie, and by the standards of the day, it was not long at all.  My point is, long hair and facial hair on men doesn't faze me much.  All that said, I think that the Boston Red Sox look positively hideous as I watch them during these playoffs, and the mountain man beards they are sporting give me a reason, illogical as it may be, to be rooting against them.
• My friend Jim Scuilli has taken to posting his own personal NFL "Bottom Ten" each week, and yes, the Steelers, now sitting at fourth worst, have been on the list since Week One.  I find it highly entertaining and look forward to seeing who has played their way on to and off of the list each week.  If you want to see it, join in to the "Western Pennsylvania Football Huddle" group page on Facebook.
• A big shout out to my great-nephew who was featured as this week's recipient of KDKA's Extra Effort award presented weekly to a high school student-athlete by Bob Pompeani.  I still can't believe that he is a senior in high school.
• Another shout out to another great-nephew, the younger brother of the guy above, who was named Male High School Athlete of the Week by the Tribune-Review this week.
• These two great-nephews will be playing for Central Catholic and two of my great-nieces will be playing for North Allegheny in the WPIAL Soccer Play-offs that begin next week. Good luck to them and their teammates!
• How great has the pitching been in these MLB playoffs?  Can't wait to see the Kershaw-Wacha match-up tonight.
• Due to all the baseball, I have fallen behind in my TV watching, and the DVR is now at two-thirds capacity, which could mean I may never watch some of this stuff.   The only new TV show that interested me at all going in was NBC's "The Blacklist" starring James Spader.  I have seen two of the four episodes thus far, and I like it.  Spader, who played the smarmy and detestable rich kid in the 80's teen comedy "Pretty in Pink", grew into adulthood well as an actor.  He does chew the scenery in this one, but he's pretty good in it.
• It's Steelers-Ravens week.  Not stirring the juices as it has in past years, is it?
• In Atlantic Coast Conference pre-season basketball forecast, three of the projected top six teams are "refugees" from the Big East - Pitt, Notre Dame, and Syracuse.  That has to be driving old line ACC Hoops Diehards absolutely nuts.  And Rick Pittino and Louisville come to the ACC next year.  Billy Packer must be on suicide watch.
• Players who will not be Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014:  Garrett Jones, Mike McKenry, Justin Morneau, and Clint Barmes, possibly Marlon Byrd, and I give it only a 10% chance that A.J. Burnett will be back. There will be others.
• A Pitt football game Saturday night, a Steeler football game Sunday afternoon, and rain in the forecast all weekend.  Can't wait to see that Heinz Field playing surface come Sunday night.
• Some thoughts have occurred to me while watching the baseball playoffs as to the media that have been delivering the games - and other programming - into our living rooms. Too long to go into here, but hope to have some thoughts on it over the weekend.