Kidologist.com: Karl Bastian’s Personal Site and Blog
Archive for Sports
February 19, 2008 at 10:52 pm · Filed under Family, Life, Sports, baseball
As I have bragged before (here, here and here or when he got me a Frank Thomas ball) my little brother is a beat reporter for MLB.com as the Blue Jays reporter. While I enjoy baseball, I’m nowhere near the avid fan my little brother is – which is why I marvel at his writing. As I blogged about once before, I am impressed at how his writing transcends mere baseball reporting. I’m not a Blue Jays fan (technically he isn’t either), but I follow his blog as I because I enjoy his writing and I don’t want to miss when one of these “beyond baseball” masterpieces comes through.Well, he did it again! He has written another “baseball article” that demonstrates that his ability to articulate LIFE and not just baseball, and is what makes him such a masterful sports writer.
Before you read his article about how Blue Jays top prospect Travis Snider has dealt with several deaths recently, including his mother, it might interest you first to realize a few things not mentioned in the article about Jordan’s personal connection to this story. First of all, Snider’s mom Jordan’s and my mother both have the same name, though spelled slightly differently, his Patty, our Patti. Secondly, our mom passed away in 1996 while Jordan was still in middle school, and so he has experienced much of what Travis shared with him. As you read this article, you learn not only how Travis Snider has dealt with loss, but you get a glimpse into the understanding that this writer has, that perhaps others would not.
You can read the article here: Snider Finding Solace on Diamond.
And in case that link ever breaks, here is a link to download the article as a PDF file: Jordan Bastian Snider Article PDF preserved through Y3K on my server. You may send him feedback if you wish.
August 3, 2007 at 11:05 pm · Filed under Family, Sports, baseball
OK, I am officially still a Sox fan, but who can turn down free tickets to a Cubs game, especially the FIRST PLACE Cubs, and on Build-a-Bear Day! I got to be a good uncle and take my niece when travel plans and other conflicts prevented her family from getting to all go as originally planned when they got the tickets way in advance. Poor me.
Headin’ to Wrigley in Style!
My wife saw my “Do the Dew” hat as I left and said, “You don’t have a Cubs hat?” (um, I’m a Sox fan!) But I answered, “I will when I get back!” We went to pick up some friends (see below) and were on our way to root on the Cubs! I should mention that my niece is the only Cubs fan in her family, the rest are Sox fans, but she is loyal to her other uncle, (my brother), who is a serious Cubs fan.
My first pleasant surprise was that that there is FREE PARKING at a Cubs Game! Granted, we were there early to get a Prebuilt-a-Bear for the girls, but we parked right on the street just a few blocks away from the park, only one hour before the game. Hmmmmm. Can’t do that at a Sox Game.
A reason to switch back to being a Cubs Fan?!??
Then I saw it, a Taco Bell across the street from Wrigley Field! With a Cubs hat on the sign AND they let you take your Taco Bell into the park! Hmmmmm, maybe I should rethink this whole switch to Sox thing….
And THEN:
The Force is with Me
THEN I finally get to see one of the R2-D2 Mailboxes, right across from the park. I haven’t even gotten to the game and already… free parking… Taco Bell you can take in with you… R2-D2…. hmmmmm
Sprained? Strained? Twisted?
Call 1-877-Athletico! Save this number!
We finally got to the park, found our seats up where the birds fly, and settled in. With my extra two tickets I brought Master Ron, a new kids pastor, and his daughter, made our balloon hats, and settled in for the game.
It’s always fun with Master Ron around!
It’s fun to watch the fans… like these girls who kept holding their sign upside down, even after looking at it from the top (looks right to us!)…
Upside Down Fan Sign!
I did buy a hat, but I got a Wrigley Field hat since anything with a red C on it was $10 more! But I do like Wrigley Field. It just feels more like baseball than Sox Park which feels so commercial. (excuse me, US Cellular Field.. even the name, yuck!) Wrigley has little food and sourvenier shops tucked in every available spot, and a fun atmosphere. Our girls were squirting (well, misting) people who walked by our seats, since we were row 1 in front of a walk way, and it was 96 degrees out, and everyone was friendly, even the Phillies fans… which there were a LOT of there!
House Top Bleachers!
Plus, it is cool to see the skyline and the houses across the street that have bleachers set up on top of them!
Close up view of the house top bleachers.
We had a great time, despite the intense heat… at least we were in the shade. But by the time we got to the end of the long game, I remembered why I am no longer a Cubs fan… they lost, and I’ve never been to a winning Cubs game, even when they are supposedly in first place. Oh, well.
Uncle Karl with his any team baseball shirt on and niece
Like I said on Sunday night, GO SOX, GO CUBS, GO ANY TEAM someone gives me free tickets too… anyone got any Bulls tickets? I haven’t been to a Bulls game since Phil Jackson was there! I’d even go to a Bear Game!
July 30, 2007 at 12:04 pm · Filed under Family, Luke, Sports, baseball
You may remember when I bragged that my little brother went to the Major Leagues! As an MLB.com beat reporter that is. Well, he was in town this week for the Blue Jays vs. the White Sox series. But the first thing he did when he arrived was the Presentation:
The Presentation of the Frank Thomas Ball
In April I went to visit my brother in Dietroit and got to meet Frank Thomas. The highlight wasn’t meeting this famous ball hitter, it was hearing my little brother (who I taught baseball to) say, “Hey, Frank, I’d like you to meet my brother.” Of course, I wanted an auto-graph, but since we were in the clubhouse, and I was there with a temporary press pass, that is prohibited. So I had to settle for a hand shake. Even my brother, because he is press for Major Leage Baseball is not allowed to ask for autographes. So how did I get this?
My autographed Frank Thomas Ball!
Well, I also got to meet with John Gibbons, the Blue Jays manager, and after I left, he went and asked Frank for an autographed ball, and gave it to my brother and instructed him to give it to me. It must have pained him to hand it over, but he’s a good brother, and he obeyed the manager. He told me about it then, but I had to wait until the next visit to get the ball. So now I have it. Cool, huh?
But auto-graphed ball or not, the highlight is still getting to see my bro! Especially, when he calls in a favor to the White Sox beat reporter and scores me four tickets to Sundays game! I took some friends along and had a great time.
Is that a Cubs shirt with a Sox hat?!?!
I did where all White Sox to the game, but it was very hot, and so I wore my Cubs sleeveless shirt under the warm black WS jersey… which I had to shed until the shade finally covered us. But I promise, I am a Sox fan! Unless I go to that Cubs Game on Thursday. I guess I’m still conflicted. After questioning my Cubs fan status two years ago (when the Sox went all the way) I officially switched so I could cheer on the White Sox as a fan. But in the end, I guess I am a Chicago Fan! I’ll accept free tickets to either team!
Frank a Blue Jay?
It was kinda weird seeing Frank as a Blue Jay hitting against the Sox. But he’s not the first Sox to wear Blue Jays at Celluar Field. I did it at great risk last year!
The “Big Hurt” hurtin’ as he struck out at all at bats.
It was great to see my brother again, it’s never often enough! We even got a visit with Gramma in:
Me, Gram, and Jordan.
and I just have to include a picture of Luke with the shirt and Jordan and Auntie Kelly got him:
Born to be Blogged!
Is that not a perfect shirt for him? He is probably the most blogged boy in history!
Luke and his Great Grandmother, Maggie
(photo by Jordan, edited by Karl)
July 18, 2007 at 9:36 am · Filed under KarlTube, Kidology, Sport Stacking, Sports
This isn’t the first time I’ve blogged about a giant stack of Speed Stacks falling down, but sometimes it is the simple things in life that bring the greatest joy.
Had some employee kids hangin’ out in the office today. (No, I don’t employ children, I mean children of an employee!) The Kidology Headquarters is filled with a LOT of toys and props, but playing with Speed Stacks is often the favorite pass time of kids doomed to hang out while mom works. Their favorite thing is building giant towers to… uh, knock over, and build again.
But this time I got into it when they couldn’t reach the top of their tower, and I couldn’t stand to have seven extra cups unused, so I made a single tower and placed it on top.
Here are the proud architects of this Tower of Stacks. Unfortunately, for the cups, they didn’t get to stay stacked for long, as you’ll see in this video:
Luckily for me, clean up time is just as fun!
February 4, 2007 at 11:23 pm · Filed under Family, Holidays, Internet, Life, Mac, Photography, Sports
I know that all of ChicagoLand is depressed and that Jeff Bradley is going to give me a hard since my Bears let me down after all of our instant messaging “trash talk”… I don’t think I dare turn on iChat for a few days… we were really going at it the last few days, and now he gets to gloat and say “I told you so” instead of me.
But if the Bears didn’t shine, my wife did! So rather than try to give any football commentary (and make a fool of myself) instead this blog’s purpose is simply to show off the AWESOME and AMAZING SUPER BOWL CAKE that my wife made for our Bears Party. And please, do leave her some comments… I know she’ll be checking!
But is this an awesome cake or what?!?!?!? It should have been illegal to cut into it!
Feast your eyes on this: (since only we got to actually feast on IT)
PS: My sister will also instant message me a complaint if I don’t mention that SHE made the gummy team logos in the end zones. Pretty cool, eh?
October 28, 2006 at 6:43 pm · Filed under Adventures, Family, Internet, Life, Sports, baseball
As I’ve posted before, my brother is a writer for MLB.com , and specifically as the beat writer for the BlueJays. (see me endangering my life to show my support this past season)
But with all the senior writers being busy with the World Series, my little brother Jordan, got to cover a major article, about the death of Joe Neikro.
I wanted to post the link to the article on my blog because I wanted to show off how great a writer my brother is.
I enjoy do enjoy baseball. If you drop by my house in the afternoon, you may find me tossing a ball at the pitchback in my backyard, a recent new habit when I just need time to think. I’d like to claim credit for teaching Jordan everything he knows about baseball since I AM his big brother, but he and I both know better. But I’m not a huge fan or follower of baseball, though I do really enjoy championship games, and especially when they are Chicago teams!
But I am always amazed how my brother can take a subject that usually isn’t of great interest to me, especially the death of a player I’d never heard of, and mingle in a bunch of otherwise unrelated facts, and craft it into an article that gets me engaged.
Now I have all these questions about this Niekro family. I learned about a dad who taught his boys a knuckleball pitch that he developed when he injured his pitching arm. A pitch that the older Niekro, Phil, used to build a very successful career, and one that he tossed his little brother during a game in 1976 so that the younger Joe could have his only home run in his twenty-two year career. I liked imagining the big brother, setting aside team rivalry when Joe came to the plate, to toss his little brother the “secret family pitch” so he could get that home run. Not that Joe wasn’t a good player, but his records were to be made on the mound, not at the plate. Then I learned that just oever ten years later, Joe’s eight year old son, Lance, a bat boy at the time, got to ride in a post-season celebration convertible with his dad…. and must have caught the baseball bug too, as he would later follow his dad and uncle into the major leagues.
All that to say – a good writer pulls you into a story that you otherwise would have no interest in, and leaves you wishing you knew more about the characters within.
Way to go little brother!
I wish I could say I taught him all he knew about writing too.
Go ahead, read the article yourself!
June 1, 2006 at 11:36 am · Filed under Children's Ministry, Devotional, Leadership, Sport Stacking, Sports
This week I got a fun opportunity to visit an elementary school in a nearby town to teach Sport Stacking to a class of fourth graders. A man in our church volunteers every week in this classroom and brought me in as a special guest. (If you are a student from the class reading this: THANKS for being so fun, it was a fun time for me too! Check out www.toyboxtales.com too, the other site I told you about!)
Here are some pictures, and a COOL VIDEO at the end!
Pastor Karl teaching the Way of the Cups…
The eager padawan learners…
Practise makes perfect…
Downstack before moving on…. left to right… no fumbles….
Use both hands…. don’t worry about being fast… learn it right, and you will be fast!
Cup Master Karl expounding on the Secrets of the Cups…
Oh, the great feeling of a good smooth up stack!
A few were already for competition! But remember, your greatest opponent is only yourself! You can always go one hundredth of a second faster!
After the instruction, practise and some competing… I got to my message. When I started making a long row of cups along the table, the room fell silent, and then filled with murmors… ‘He’s going to make a GIANT STACK!’
As I build, I ask the kids to tell me what determines how HIGH the stack can go? The usual answer is ‘how many cups I have.’ Which is the wrong answer. Even if I had a thousand cups (which I probably do!) the height of the stack is determined by the width of the bottom row.
Why is that important? Because in life, CHILDHOOD is when you are building the foundation of your life. I tell the kids that every lesson they learn, every positive character trait they build into their life while they are young, will determine how high and strong and great their life can become. It is very hard to add to your foundation later. I help them figure out that adding just ONE cup will add MANY MORE to the tower, in the tower above, one cup added 30 more! A second cup added only on 30 more, but actually 31, because another cup could be added over the two added rows up… so the more they learn and the more good and right habits they form WHILE THEY ARE young will have life-long good consequences!
Pretty cool stack, huh? Then I point to ONE cup in the bottom center, and say it represents that ONE lesson they didn’t want to learn, that ONE time they decide to disobey, that ONE wrong thing they decide to do, whether it is something illegal, or dangerous or wrong – and ask what would happen to this giant tower if I removed only that ONE cup…..
WATCH THE VIDEO to find out! (QuickTime 9MB) You’ll see the devestating power of one bad decision, or one wrong act, or one important truth of lesson that you ignore or don’t listen to when you are young. Kids need to know they have a choice – no matter what their background or situation – they have a choice on how they want their life to be…. big and strong and impressive like the tower… or… broken and destroyed by one bad mistake.
I end by showing the one cup that brought down the whole tower… and ask them to think about what could be that ‘one cup’ in their life… and encouage them to choose wisely. Listen to their parents, teachers, pastors and others in their life who know and love them!
For more information on how I use Sport Stacking in my ministry, visit: VCBkids Speed Stacking Site or www.SpeedStacks.com or the World Sport Stacking Association.
April 14, 2006 at 11:55 pm · Filed under Family, Humor, Sports, baseball
As many of you know (from past bragging), my brother is the MLB.com beat writer for the Toronto Blue Jays. Well, tonight was his first time in Chicago covering an enemy team, and from a different country at that!! (How did Canada even get into the All-American sport of baseball?!) Yes, it was the World Series CHAMPION (blogged here) Chicago White Sox against the Foreigners, aka, the Toronto Blue Jays. I was bummed to miss our Good Friday Service, but I really wanted to support my brother and be there for his first Chicago game as an MLB.com writer… and what better way to support this die hard Chicago fan than to show up dressed to the hilt as a Blue Jays fan?!??! (thanks to someone at church who loaned me the gear)
My sister Melissa tried not to walked tooooo close to me as I entered Sox territory dressed as a Blue Jays fan! I was very curious what the reaction would be from the Sox fans to my shirt, jacket and waving flag!
Here I am in my Blue Jays disguise! I really look the part, huh? I had people singing ‘Oh Canada’ when I walked by, but mostly just ‘looks’ – you know, like, ‘What are you doing here?’
I had a little trouble getting past security who tried to throw me out. I claimed to be a Sox fan undercover and they asked me to name a Sox player. Which I couldn’t, but then, I couldn’t name a Blue Jays player either! “Ozzie! Ozzie! I yelled.” Finally, two sore shoulder blades later, they finally released me. But it was no better when I got into the stands….
I was ruthlessly attacked my maniac Sox fans there as well! I pleaded with them to not judge a fan by his clothing… but they said no true Sox fan would allow the enemy’s logo to touch them! I barely escaped with my life!
But the real reason for the visit on this historic day was to see my little brother at work. See him there in the Press Box?? Squint and you can see him in his green shirt. (Click on the image for an enlargement)
OK, here is enlarged and enhanced, does that help? Right in the center, second row back, hand on chin, green shirt.
Here is Jordan from the other side, he is actually on the phone with Melissa in this shot. THAT’S MY BABY BROTHER!!
This is a super zoomed in shot… but see him contemplating how he can be writing for a foreign government’s baseball team and still call himself an American. 
He was able to pull himself away and come down to say hello. This is my dad, Jordan and Blue Jays Me before the game.
Also along tonight was Melissa (my sister) and her husband Keith. Both are Sox fans and have had Sox season tickets in the past, but something is amiss in their parenting since both their kids are Cubs fans…. under the influence of their Uncles, of course!
Tonight was Calendar Night, and I got my brother to sign my calendar! I am thinking of selling it on ebay and seeing what I can get for it! He went off to work, and I went for a walk to explore the park since I’ve not been to this park in over ten years!
First stop was the men’s room. Steve Tanner would enjoy knowing that the hand dryers are not electronic with scrolling advertising screnes, but are just boring manual towel dispensers. Guess I won’t be getting any free Sox tickets for blogging the hand dryers at US Cellular Field!
I managed to walk down VERY close to the field for a few pictures and to see how the fans with the best seats responded to seeing me in my Blue Jays stuff down there. Not too bad, Sox fans are good sports. I did, however, find another church leader who was skipping the Good Friday Service! (Who shall remain safely anonymous if my demands are met!) I walked up to him and said, “So, you are skipping the Good Friday Service?” And he seemed a little surprised to have a pastor (at the game) asking him that. But he had a good excuse too. He had bought the tickets at an auction for Katrina relief at our church, but it was still amazing to find someone you knew among 31,000 in attendance!
Next, I went up to see the Stadium Club. (entrance to this exclusive club came with my tickets!) I had missed meal time, but it was cool to see a fancy restaurant layered so that every table had a great view. Best of all, it was air-conditioned.
I even met a Blue Jays fan… but I didn’t tell him I was imposter… I let him think he had met another Canadian. Poor guy. He finds one friend, and its actually an undercover Sox fan! I didn’t have the heart to tell him. I had two drunk girls come up to me and claim to be from Canada, but I’m not sure they knew where they were from. I passed on taking a picture with them to avoid trouble with the wife. One other guy we saw from a distance had an “I love Canada” hat on – but other than that, it was Sox territory. Since the restaurant was closed, I went upstairs to see the bar… bad idea.
I got jumped by a bunch more crazy Sox fans who didn’t believe my claims to Sox fandom!! It was then that I realized that during my walk the Sox had lost their 5-2 lead, and were now down by a huge margin!!
11 to 5!? Things were not looking good for the Sox, so fearing I may not get out of the park alive, I slipped into a store and bought myself a Sox jersey, hid my Blue Jays apparel and turned my hat backwards, so only those behind me would see my Blue Jays logos.
I made it out alive having survivied my mission as an undercover Sox fan dressed as a Blue Jays fan. Plus, I embarrassed my family – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Read my brothers report on the game:
Blue Jays Win Third Straight with Power
February 5, 2006 at 10:12 pm · Filed under Family, Life, Sports, Technology
Well, I’m sure most people are bloggin’ abou the Super Bowl this evening – we watched and enjoyed a good game and food with friends over – but since I was a fan of neither team, nothing much to say about it, (other than that one guy on the Steelers needs a haircut really bad, maybe now he can afford one.)
While the Bears let us down this season (but made it to playoffs at least) – they are not the only football team in town! That’s right, there is always the AFL (Arena Football League) which I’m more a fan of now than the NFL – since I’ve been to twice as many games as NFL. (AFL-2, NFL-0)
The Chicago Rush are our team. (though at the time of this posting, their site is down!) Their opening is a lot of fun – flames! fireworks! cheerleaders! (ok, forget the cheerleaders, sharp elbow from Sara) but they do a great job at setting the tone for the game… I mean, how can they possibly lose after that intro!
Shhhhh! Don’t tell the fire marshall the flames nearly reach the roof!
If you aren’t familiar with Arean Football – it is played a little differently – kinda all the best of the NFL, just more action on a small field, and hey! You can actually afford tickets! The field goal is higher and narrower, and if you miss the ball might just bounce off the side nets and still be good to grab and go! The walls along the side are ‘in’ if a player just touches (or pushes off them) but out if you are clobbered into one. The game is enough the same that it is still easy to follow, but just enough different to make it a little more interesting. Plus, did I mention, tickets are affordable?
The Chicago Rush! Part of the AFL = Affordable Football League
Kidology’s director of web operations, Steve Tanner (and his wife Amy) are big Chicago Rush fans… though you might not know that attending with them since Steve spends half the game yelling at them (‘holding them accountable’ is what he calls it) This was part of an anniversary celebration for Steve and Amy and he even got their “Happy Anniversary Steve and Amy” up on the scoreboard. (I’m sure that will be on his blog soon)
Here is a stressed out Steve frustrated by the way the Rush managed to remain 10-11 points behind nearly the entire game.
Here’s Sara and Steve’s wife Amy… usually she gets to elbow Steve when he gets too obnoxious yelling at his beloved team, so she just elbowed Sara, who passed it on to me, and I got to do the honors. It actually was a pretty exciting game! While Steve had declared we would lose after the very first play, I maintained hope and optimism throughout the game. And in the end, er, in the near end, I was right! They came back, pulled ahead, and then after an amazing down to the wire play with only seconds left they pulled off a winning touchdown to WIN THE GAME! It was pretty cool to hear the stadium go nuts in celebration… until the ref finally got everyone attention and shocked even the losing team that actually there was a penalty and the game went to the visiting team. The stadium got so quiet you could hear a pin drop as the whole place fell silent. You could actually hear the winning players on the field cheering the stadium got so depressingly quiet… like a grave yard. I caught the whole final play and celebration and the beginning of the horrid realization on video.
I used my wife’s camera which records a format of AVI that I can’t view on my Mac, though I can hear it, and even the audio is fun. If anyone knows how to convert it is QT or WMV I’d love to see it. DOWNLOAD IT HERE: CHICAGO RUSH WINS almost (AVI 12.81MB)
Even though it was our second time to a losing Chicago Rush game, it was still a lot of fun. But the highlight was in the bathroom. Did you know that the Alstate Arena has advertising hand washers! WOW! This is soooo neat-o!
While you dry your hands, you can read advertisement about different products. There is even an ad inviting you to place your own ad on the hand dryer. I got the number, but I’m trying to decide whether to advertise Kidology.org or my blog on the hand washers. But I just had to blog the hand dryers, it’s got to be one of the coolest things ever!
Maybe the Hand Dryer company will find my blog post and give me some FREE TICKETS to another Chicago Rush game! Hey, it worked for Steve, it’s worth a try!
FREE TICKETS PLEASE!!!
December 19, 2005 at 10:32 pm · Filed under Family, Internet, Sports, baseball
Last week www.bluejays.com had my brother on the home page as Headline #3….
Well, today, he is HEADLINE #1! It was his FIRST POST as the official Blue Jays beat writer for MLB.com Of course, this big brother is proud, and so glad I taught him sooooo much about baseball!
Best part is, y’all can send him e-mail questions about the Blue Jays! Like:
- Why do Canadian teams get to play as part of the American league when they AREN’T AMERICANS!!
- Are Blue Jays allowed to Jay Walk in Toronto?
- Do they feel Blue when they lose?
- Do they bring home Canadian bacon to their wives?
- Who’s on first? What’s on second? (I don’t know on third)
and other deep and profound questions about his team.
(this is just an image, if you are trying to type up there! you need to go to his article)
Anyway, I’m proud of my litl’ bro – like me – he reached ten year career goals right out of college… pretty fun! That only means that there are even greater things ahead… but for now he is excited to get PAID to watch and write about baseball (and eat, sleep, and dream about it too) Someday, I hope he gets to be the Chicago Cubs beat writer… not only would that be cool, but at least they actually ARE Americans! (in the National League, granted.)
SEND MY BRO SOME CONGRATS AT: bluejaysmailbag@gmail.com
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