Big Russ

The media, the field of journalism, and the political world, all lost a respectable figure today in Tim Russert. He died of a heart attack at the young age of 58. Coronary thrombosis. Someone I woke up to on Sunday mornings to watch after coming home from 9:00 Mass. Someone that related politics to me and guided me in selecting my candidate for the 2008 Election. I always awaited to see who he had picked for the Sunday morning show, and always waited for the end to see what he had to say about the Sabres, the Bills, or any other Buffalo related news items. It was always a joy to watch Tim on these Sunday mornings.

I received the phone call this afternoon while cooking up my lunch and watching A Haunting. As scary as the episode was... I honestly thought I was asleep. My dad asked if I was watching the news, and I knew the news didn't start until 4:00... and it was well before 4. He told me the news and I didn't believe it. Thought he had read a joke on Wikipedia or something. What really made me think it was a lie, a sick joke was that the media hadn't even started reporting it. Then a few minutes... MSNBC broke in with the sad story. It all hit, but in the same sense it still hasn't hit me yet. Tomorrow I'll wake up and it won't have happened. Everything will be normal and it will just be a normal Saturday, and then Sunday will have the same usual Meet the Press episode with Russert grilling another politician.

Russert was also a native son of my second home... Buffalo, New York. There was a stretch in high school that I felt that Buffalo was almost a better home than the one I live in currently... a thought that I have since found wrong. But Buffalo has always been good to me, and for the fact that Russert was from Buffalo really made me pay attention to him even more. He felt the same way I did about the Sabres... through their losing streaks and their winning streaks, and all the boneheaded moments. Buffalo really lost a great man. He went to Canisius High School, a few blocks down from my sister's alma mater, Canisius College. Right across the street from where my grandma is residing in the Skilled Nursing Facility at Millard Fillmore Gates. Just down the road from Forest Lawn Cemetery, where Millard Fillmore himself is buried.

Russert had season tickets for the Nationals. Over at Nats320, Screech's Best Friend noted how he and Russert always spoke to each other about the Nats. I tell you what, the Nats are going to win it tonight. They have to in order to pay tribute to Russert himself.

This breaking, bad news gives me all the more inspiration to succeed in the journalistic world. I told my dad that because Russert was probably the journalist who had the MOST impact on me... without a doubt the most impact on me, I would pay tribute to him if I got a television show. The typical signing off that Russert does on every Sunday morning. He always did it in the most special way, that would always make the viewers wait until the bitter end to see what he had to say about Buffalo and to tune in next week. My next post will be on Sunday where I pay another tribute at the end of that upcoming entry. Remember, if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.

We Have Had the Onion Snow

Well this is it folks. A bit of light snow mixing in with the rain today that I believe was the onion snow. Therefore, we can officially say it is over and move on to spring! Although today didn't feel much like a spring day, tomorrow should be better... 60s possibly? Maybe close to 70? Either way I'm hoping for no rain on Saturday when I tour the ballpark.

And speaking of baseball, this summer may bring this local 3-1 baseball team a little bit closer to me. Details on that if it actually pans out. I'll keep you posted as always. We'll watch them face the Cardinals in St. Louis tomorrow night at 8:15.

Oh and another thing: the Sabres missed the playoffs, forcing me to cover up the Sabres logo that adorns the wall with a message that reads: SOME REAL HOCKEY TEAM THAT IS NOT A JOKE AND HAS A GOOD LOGO. Tomorrow I plan on changing it to just a black background, in mourning of this terrible season. Maybe next year.

The Hibernation Has Ended

Well, I've come out of hibernation from this blog, having written nothing since March 9th. A lot has happened in that time period, with two emotional breakdowns and all. But I swear I'm a new person, and basically it's been a few people who have brought me back up when I've been down, and I thank them profusely.

So, the Nats are 2-0!!! I know it is very early in the season, but it's exciting to see your team on top, especially considering how poorly the Sabres have done this year, with a late season collapse to keep them just out of playoff reach (although I still have some hopes that they can grab 7th or 8th). The stadium is amazing, and so beautiful. So many food options and it's just great to see a ballpark that really opens itself to DC fans. Speaking of which, my review can be found on DCSportsFan.com. You might have to look around a bit but thanks to Brian for the edits.

And now I just realized when my cursor isn't in the body text, and I press Enter, it publishes the post. So that explains the half-post for a bit.

Also, I believe that winter is now over, so that should be declared once and for all, and it's good that it is over, because I was getting tired of cold and no snow. I believe that when it's cold it has to be snowing to be enjoyable. So we are warm now, and it's a beautiful day, so I have my window open and I'm waiting for the 7:05 start for my undefeated Nats to take on the winless Phillies. Should be interesting!

And today is when I start to tag my post with labels... it's something new I'm trying out to keep some of the posts organized. So now I will start to label all the old posts and we'll see how that goes.