At Least They're Committed

Gearin’ up to run on the treadmill for a couple miles, interval style, then grab some beer and some wings and get back before the USA-Canada hockey final at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver! Yes!!!

All right, yes. I admit I’ve paid little attention to the Olympics this go round and who could blame me? Working in sports at the Rocky Mountain News year after year, the Olympics meant a whole butt load more work, so having been absolved of that responsibility for six years now (and the Rocky itself being gone for one year now), I guess I can relax and enjoy today’s game! USA! USA! USA! Honestly, though, I like a lot of the Canadian players in the NHL, such as Sidney Crosby, so I’m not going to get to bent if the U.S. gets the silver.

A few random sports favs for the grandkids I’ll never get to meet:

• Darian was named after Darian Hagan, the quarterback for the National Championship 1990 CU Buffaloes. (That and it’s an awesome name!) What a game that was against the Irish! And don’t even talk to me about the 5th down at Missouri because I have an answer for that, too! Skip ahead to Dante in 5th grade. His teacher is Jim Hill, running back King James to all who followed the Buffs in the late 80s, early 90s. So Dante tells Mr. Hill that his big brother is named after Darian Hagan who, it turns out, is Mr. Hill’s roommate right then! Hagan, I believe, is still an assistant coach for the Buffs. Mr. Hill claps his hands and laughs and laughs, “He’s going to love hearing that!” he tells Dante.
• Who was that phobic Broncos player that was afraid of flying in the late 80s? We were totally panned by readers at the Rocky for calling him out on it. He wasn’t even a memorable player. Anyway, I’d had a tough time “breaking in” on the sports desk at the Rocky. The guys there were seasoned veterans, tough, hardened and I was pretty wussy — though I prefer to think of it as ‘innocent’ — back then. They had no problem ripping me, telling me my place and pointing out any and everything I’d fucked up and there were many times I would go home and cry. But I stuck in there. So, anyway, this old dude calls the sports desk and I answer and he rides us for being unsympathetic toward the player and then says he wants to send the dude and his girlfriend a card showing their support. “. . . . and furthermore,” says the man, “what is his fiancée’s name?” Hmmmm. I ponder, with all these seasoned vets having picked up on my side of the 20 minute railing/conversation, “His fiancée? I don’t know,” says I and then, slipping into Dorothy voice, “They come and go so quickly around here!” The sports desk erupted into laughter and I never went home crying again.
• Remember John Riggins of the Washington Redskins? Short, stocky running back? My mom, dad and I were watching a Redskins game on the tele in the early 80s and, well, it’s just hard to tell one player from the next with all that gear on and so, as the offense was coming off the field, I asked my dad, “Is Riggins 44?” and dad says, “Yup!” and my mom gasps and says, “Oooooh! He’s that old???” I named my stuffed Valentines Teddy Bear my dad got me John Riggins that cuz it’s one of my favorite sports memories.

OK, there are more to come, but it’s time to run . . .