Perfect Night

Tonight was one of the best sports nights I think in a long time. The San Francisco Giants took the second game of the three game series with the Cardinals, with Barry Zito dealing on the mound tonight and the save by Brian Wilson, awesome. Then, an hour after the start of the baseball game, the San Jose sharks were on the way to winning the first round of the playoffs in Colorado. With the score tied 2-2 after the second period things were getting pretty intense. Joe Pavelski gets the go ahead goal in the third to take things to the next level. Colorado leaves an empty net to try and tie things up in the last remaining minutes of the period and the sharks close it out 5-2 to clinch the win!
It was so great, Giants and Sharks in one night! Man you gotta love the bay area sports action! I just hope that this kind of energy keeps up for the remainder of the playoffs for the Sharks and in the games to come for the Giants.

Is Free Speech Really Free?

Last Tuesday I went to a Giants Game and where I was sitting we were close to the visiting teams bullpen.
When the pitcher started to warm up some of the fans in our section began to yell rude things to them and make fun of their pitching abilities. Most of the comments were just in good baseball rivalry fun, but the guy sitting behind me and my group of friends took it to the next level. He started using foul language and personally attacking the pitcher from the other team by talking about his mom and saying things that some members in the crowd found "obscene". A few minutes later the ballpark security came to our section and asked the guy to step outside with them. He got very upset and started saying that he hadn't done anything wrong and that he had the right to say those things. The security guard thought otherwise and after some very loud confrontation between the guy and his group of friends and the security, he was escorted out of the section and ejected from the game. This got me thinking about is Free Speech really free? Other fans were poking fun at the pitcher too, but because foul language was involved with the other guy he was the only one ejected from the game. But people use foul language and profanity in public all the time, so why is it ok to do it on the street, but if you do it at a baseball game you can be ejected?
He was being very loud and distracting the other team's pitcher, but that is common in the major league baseball environment. It just doesn't seem right that he was the only one punished, when there were numerous other people doing pretty much the exact same thing. Something else that I thought was interesting is that security didn't even give him a warning, like " hey some of the things you are saying is offensive to other fans, so if you don't stop we will eject you from the game". Instead they didn't even give him a chance to explain himself or defend himself they just told him that he could take it up with the police outside.
This event just put some things into perspective for me that not all speech is free and that there are consequences for the speech we choose to say.

 

Baseball is democracy in action: in it all men are "free and equal," regardless of race, nationality, or creed. Every man is given the rightful opportunity to rise to the top on his own merits...It is the fullest expression of freedom of speech, freedom of press, and freedom of assembly in our national life.
~ Francis Trevelyan Miller

New Discovery

On Wednesday I went to a concert at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz. I went to see a band that I had heard a couple of songs from before, but hadn't bought any of their cds or anything.The band is called Rogue Wave. Their song "Your Eyes" appeared on the soundtrack for the movies Just Friends.

They were one of the best bands I have ever seen live. Their music is fun and the lead singer has an amazing voice. They sound similar to the band Death Cab for Cutie, but infused with their own unique sound. 

Here are a few songs from their new album "Permalight"  provided by Youtube






these are just a couple of good songs, also check out "destroy", and "I'll never leave you". I was happy to discover this band that has actually been around for a while, but hasn't received much attention.

So check them out and see what you think!



I would also like to acknowledge that the San Francisco Giants are currently undefeated in the NL West, may this be a preview of whats to come this season!

One Year Older

Over Spring Break I had my 22nd birthday. I was excited about turning one year older, and it was cool to turn 22 on the 22nd day of the month of March, because it only happens once. I kept getting the question "so do you feel older?' and I honestly didn't know how to respond. I feel like 21 whizzed by in a flash, it was fun at first, but it got old real fast and people tend to not take you seriously once you tell them that you are 21.

So ya in a way I guess I do feel older.  I hope that being one year older is full of fun, friendships, and new adventures!

Baseball Season!

Yes! It is finally here, the moment that I have been counting down for. Tomorrow at 4:00 pm the Giants officially start the season with the opening game against the Astros! I love this time of year, the loud crowds, the crisp air in the ball park, the sea of orange and black blanketing the crowd, sunflower seeds, hot dogs, beer. It is just awesome. And to top it all off, my favorite player Tim Lincecum will start things off on the mound.

With baseball season starting, it means that hockey is coming to a close. The San Jose Sharks just lost tonight against the Colorado Avalanche, which comes as a low blow with the playoffs right around the corner. Hopefully it won't turn out like last year's debacle. The Sharks entered the playoffs with the best lead in hockey and end up loosing in the first round! Heartbreaking. But with leading offensive man Joe Thornton back on the ice from a previous injury, hopefully the Sharks will gain momentum and come out strong in the next ten days leading up to the playoffs.

This month is filled with sports action. I get to watch my favorite baseball team battle it out on the field, and witness my other favorite team, The Sharks, in the playoffs. Here's to the start of a great season and and a hopeful clinching of the Stanley Cup!