I often connect songs I hear to various moments in my life.  Casey Kasem, an all-time radio great, recently passed away.  If you were a child of the 80s like me, you might remember sitting by your radio on the weekend listening to Casey count down the Top 40 hits of the week, with a few ‘Long Distance Dedications’ (and their accompanying stories) mixed in along the way.  I would sometimes waste an hour or so on a Saturday afternoon listening to the show just to see which song ended up #1.  To educate all you young’ens out there, back in the old days, you used to actually have to wait sometimes to get information.  None of this new-fangled internet clicking’ & googlin’ stuff!

Nowadays, on my 10-minute drive to church every Sunday morning, I get to re-live those memories on the radio. 105.7 FM out of Cleveland replays an actual Casey Kasem count down from a week in the 1970s, while 98.9 out of Youngstown does the same for the 80s.  My kids tend to complain about me cutting into their hip new music time, but they do appreciate Mr. Kasem since he was also the voice of this famous cartoon character:

Ironically, a few weeks ago I was listening to a countdown from 1987 or so when Casey read a long distance dedication from some daughters to their parents that were married in Dover, Ohio!!!  WOW!!  CASEY SAID DOVER ON THE RADIO!  I was the only one in the car that day, so you are gonna have to trust me on this.

Let’s turn back that radio dial to exactly 30 summers ago.  Some of the hot tunes were ‘Oh Sherrie’ by that Journey guy, the ‘Footloose’ soundtrack, ‘The Reflex’ by Duran Duran, ‘Panama’ by Van Halen, and ‘Borderline’ by Madonna.

And if If I ask, ‘Who you gonna call’, you would answer…

Those songs remind me of one of the last summers of my childhood.  In June of 1984, I was between 7^th and 8^th grades, which is exactly where my oldest son, Drew, is right now.  My junior high days (did they even have middle schools back then?) were not my favorite years of school, but summers were still a blast.  It was one of the last summers where I could still be a kid.  High school brought more responsibilities, along with the ‘I am too old and cool to do kid stuff’ mentality that stole some of the joy out of summer.

June of that year also brought my one shining moment in the world of golf.  That was my first year in which I really started playing.  I was in a Friday morning youth league, and immediately fell in love with the game.  I would often barely sleep the night before visualizing the round in front of me.

To further fan my golf flames, my dad got an old rotary golf green mower off a relative, so he put a green in our side yard for us to play on.  We had 18 different tee-offs from our yard as well as a few neighbors (my belated apologies for all of the divots), so we would play ‘Aljansga National Golf Course’ almost daily.

On one of those sunny June golf league mornings, I was playing the back nine at Pleasant View Golf Course and was playing pretty well heading to the par-3 15^th hole (now hole #6).   I teed up my orange Top-Flite XL golf ball, grabbed my vintage Northwestern 5-wood (made of wood, of course) and let it rip.  178 yards later, the sunny little sphere rolled into the cup.  A HOLE IN ONE!!!!  One of my best buds, Eric Pugh, was playing in my foursome, and I remember that we just started laughing.

That was likely the pinnacle to my golfing career.  Looking at the old scorecard that my mom kept in a photo album, I triple-bogeyed the next hole, and haven’t come close to another ace or any other golf greatness in the 30 years since.

To be honest, I share this story strictly to brag.  Not about my golf skills, though.  Its more about my fashion skills from that day.

Lets break it down.

First off, I am owning a retro-Beatles bowl cut for a hairdo, compliments of my wonderful mother.    I am blessed with a truly awesome mother that is still a rock star after 40 years of teaching.  She has many talents.  I can 100% honestly say that hair cutting is not one of them.

 

Moving down the picture, I am sporting the standard-issue Little Leopard T-shirt that every youth football player in Louisville has gotten since forever, I believe.  My current 8^th grade students still get the exact same logo on their shirts.  One interesting fashion point to notice is the tight short sleeves.  That early 80s look is back!!

Another early 80s fad that hasn’t quite fully arrived yet is represented by the choice of pants I wore that day.  There is a reason that they are called SHORTS!  I guess I was working on getting some tan thighs that day.  My son looked at this pic and mentioned the word ‘huggers’ or something like that.

I don’t know what he is talking about.

Just give it a few years Drew.  By the time you are in high school, I bet your hoops team will be rocking this Magic Johnson-Charles Barkley shorts look:

And to complete this fashion ensemble, let’s allow 1984 Mac to sum it up:  “Hey 2014, who needs you and your $14 Nike elite socks!  Mom spent $2 for these sweet knee high tube socks.  With ‘LEOPARDS’ down the side, no less!”

Too bad I didn’t use those $12 I saved on socks for a trip to the barbershop!  My hairdo kinda reminds me of a picture I included in a recent blog of mine:

Although this was more of my shaggy winter look!

 

Well, it’s another June, and another high draft slot for our beloved Cavaliers.  My big frustration with the Cavs (as well as the Browns) is the ‘we’re smarter than everyone else” mentality that their choices give off.  The reason I say that is that many of their recent picks were guys that were not expected to be selected near as high as the Cavs drafted them.

Since Lebron left, in 2011, they selected a no brainer #1 in Kyrie Irving.  Luckily they didn’t use their smart card to pick Derrick Williams.  They then selected Tristan Thompson at #4.  NBA.com mock drafts from 6 ‘experts’ had him picked at spots 4, 7, 11, 11,13, & 18.  Tristan has become a solid rotation player, but nothing more than that.  Well, other than switching from being a left hander to a right hander!  Something you usually do by kindergarten!

The next year, they took Dion Waiters at #4.  4 mock drafts I found on the web had him slotted at 7, 6, 7, & 8.    Dion showed some improvement this year, so the jury is still out on him.

Then last year we spent our #1 on Anthony Bennett, who had a rookie year to forget.  Various mock draft slots for him were at 8, 10, & 7.

In the 1970’s there was a song titled, “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero”.  In the 80s, Tina Turner sang, “We Don’t Need Another Hero”.  Cavs General Manager, remember those tunes when you turn in your draft slip tonight!!!

Summertime shares many common threads for those of us that live in Tuscarawas, Stark, and nearby counties. Cedar Point.  Community festivals.  Ice cream stands.  Indians games.  Garage sales.

We just held a garage sale in our neighborhood, and I can tell you that it is more than just a sale of junk gently used items—it is an event, both for the sellers and the buyers!  My beautiful, lovely wife and I have a somewhat different mindset when it comes to selling.  She sees the value and usefulness in the items we put out for sale.  As for myself, I subscribe to the marketing philosophy of Buddy.  As in Buddy’s Carpet.  As in his commercial tagline: “I don’t care about making money!  I just love to sell carpet!”  People have their passions in life:  music, sports, art, religion, automobiles, selling carpet,…

Anyhow, when it comes to garage sales, I don’t care about making money! I just love to get rid of junk gently used items!  I seek freedom!  Freedom from clutter!

But garage sales serve as a scrapbook of memories of our lives.  And several sports items in particular share tales of both past and present.  Let’s go down the roster.

EXHIBIT A:

When I put this jersey out, I noticed that my son, Drew, had put tape over the ‘3’ to make it #21. Unfortunately, I peeled it off prior to being inspired to write about garage sales.  That would have made a sweet picture!  My son’s tape job is symbolic of how Cavs’ fans felt about Lebron.  On the other hand, one customer said his young grandson (too young to have been really scarred by ‘The Decision’) loves Lebron & hopes he comes back.  Let’s cross our fingers and trust the power of ‘Garage Sale Karma’!

VERDICT:  one Lebron jersey sold, the other still available.

EXHIBIT B:

The ESPN Sports Zone was a great way for me to turn my small basement into a YMCA for my sons during many cold winters.  Stuart Scott narrated our various competitions.  My son Ethan loved to keep shooting until the scoreboard went past ’99’ and reset.  I personally like the intense pressure of the “Beat the Clock” setting!

VERDICT:  not a sniff on Friday, but sold to the first customer on Saturday! (price a bit low for my wonderful wife and her Muskingum College Bachelor’s of Arts Degree is Business and Accounting).

EXECUTIVE C & D:

Growing up, I loved batting helmets!  I had a collection of them, and would even wear them during my coach-pitch games (actually, the umps pitched to us back then).  I also loved getting the mini-helmet hot fudge sundaes (at K-Mart?).  Batting helmets are not as big a deal for my sons, though.  Stupid addictive X-Box!!!

As for the bat, the logo is long gone by now, but it actually bore the name and image of a virtuous ballplayer that every father wants his son to idolize.  Cal Ripken?  Too consistent. Derek Jeter?  Too much of a winner.  Here’s a hint:  this guy would do anything to get ahead.  Let me re-phrase that with a carefully placed space.  This guy would do anything to get a head.  A big head.  Possibly aided by human growth hormones.  BARRY BONDS!!!!

Before you start casting stones at me, I didn’t buy it!  It was a birthday gift.

VERDICT:  Pirates helmet (mint condition!) sold, 2 roughed up Indians helmets unsold (the cracked one went to the trash).  Steroid bat sold!

EXHIBIT E:

My grandfather (that I wrote about a few weeks ago) passed down these Spalding Executive Golf Clubs to me.  Seeing these clubs reminds me of a bit of grandfatherly wisdom he he once gave me.  We were at Edgewater Golf Course in Minerva and, staring at a water hazard, I was debating whether to play it safe and lay up, or roll the dice, pull out my driver, and try to hit over the water.  Grandpa looked at me and said, “GOD HATES A COWARD.”  Powerful.  Spoken from a World War II Marine.  I could see Wilfred Brimley or Morgan Freeman saying that in a Disney sports movie version of this moment.  In that movie, little Justin Bieber (did he act?) would grip that club a little tighter and smack it safely over the water.

Unfortunately, I didn’t read that script ahead of time, and drove my ball right into the creek.  Oh yeah.  Since I like sports sequels so much, I then followed that shot by  driving my next ball into the creek as well.

Thanks alot, Grandpa!  What I learned that day is that when it comes to golf, and your name is not Tiger, GOD LOVES COWARDS!!!

VERDICT:  No sale (for the 3rd or 4th consecutive garage sale).  Sent to Goodwill.

EXHIBIT F:

This stepper was a major pain to get out of the basement.  At the garage sale, it sat.  And sat.  And sat.  Not a sniff.  I think only one person (a kid) got on it in two days!

VERDICT:   So as we were putting stuff away late Saturday afternoon, a man pulled up, and then pulled the trigger to a new healthy life of burning calories!  I was so happy not to have to move that thing anymore, I threw in a heavy microwave oven for a buck!

EXHIBIT G:

Last Thanksgiving, I got a great Black Friday deal on a nice basketball hoop.  Before you jump to conclusions about me, I did not wake up at 2 am to shop!  I got the deal a few days before & thus got to keep my ‘MAN’ card.  As for this old hoop, if you notice, the back of the backboard is cracked, thanks to a combination of teenagers and icy snowballs this past spring.  I am pretty proud of my repair job though.

VERDICT:  Sold.  Kind of.  Not actually.  I had it sold on Friday to an Amish lady.  Let me tell you, there were a lot of Amish ladies on the garage sale circuit Friday!  We went to load it in the trailer and it didn’t fit.  UGGHHHH!  NO SALE!

Maybe, though, this sad story will inspire someone to write the sequel about the most famous fictional Amish athlete of all time:

KINGPIN!

 

Father’s Day.  This is the 13^th year that I have been a father on this holiday, but I never think about Father’s Day as a day of honor for me.  Well except that it allows me to play the ‘Father’s Day’ card at home so I can sit on the couch and watch the U.S. Open all Sunday long.  For me, like most of you, Father’s Day is all about my father.

I just finished my 21^st year in teaching (man, I am old!), and have probably taught close to 3,000 teenagers.  One thing I have discovered from all of those students is that being raised in a household with two wonderful, loving, supportive parents is a blessing that many do not have.  I often have to remind myself that students can have difficult obstacles outside of school that keep math homework from being a high priority.

In sports, we are often jealous of an athlete’s size, speed, strength, and athleticism.  I am guessing that my 5’10” frame and 5.0 second 40-yard dash time generated little envy from others back in the day.  But if we measured athletes by the quality of parents that they have, I would have been a 5-star prospect.

My mother, Joanie, is a wonderful mom and a beloved elementary gym teacher in Louisville.  But it’s Dad’s Day, so let me tell you a little bit about Andy Aljancic.

My dad was one very ‘unique bird’ with a great work ethic, a quirky sense of humor, a visionary of big plans and dreams, a passion for God, and a heart for helping and caring for others.  Many of us cringe when we as parents begin to say and do what our parents did to us.  I, on the other hand, wear my dad’s traits as a badge of honor, even those qualities of his that drove me nuts as a kid.

Dad was a high school English teacher for over 3 decades, mostly at St. Thomas Aquinas.  Through the years, I have been fortunate to come across many of his former students, often when I introduce myself with my unique Slovenian last name.  I often get asked, “Are you related to the guy that taught at Aquinas?”  From these conversations, I long ago came to realize that he was one of those teachers that made a special impact in his students’ lives.  Much of that can be attributed to the passion he had for teaching and the ability to unique & quirky ways to connect his subject to his students.  But beyond that, he made an effort to show that he valued his pupils and provided them with encouragement.  Here is a link to a blog (if you go there, scroll down a little bit) from a former student that I came across a while back that gives a great description of Mr. A as a teacher:

http://lifelessid.blogspot.com/2005_07_01_archive.html

Dad was also heavily invested in his adopted hometown of Louisville that he came to upon graduation from Kent State.  He served on the city council and school board, and was heavily involved in a wide variety of city and church activities and services.   But his biggest role, by far, was serving as the city recreation director for 20-plus years.  He was in charge of managing all of the various youth and adults sports leagues throughout the year.  Summer baseball and softball were the big focus.  Those of you from Leopard Land can probably still remember those signature smiley face shirts from the 1970’s that many teams wore.

Or maybe the 1980’s State of Ohio version when Mr. Smiley Face went out of style:

But beyond the typical stuff, he worked hard to make athletics fun and accessible for all, not just the elite athletes.  He created youth slow-pitch baseball and softball leagues to keep more kids involved, especially those not necessarily cut out to be successful for the intensity of fast-pitch ball.  He also created fun activities at Broad Street Park to increase the outside activity of the youth in the community.  The numerous ‘Play Ladies’ that worked for the Recreation Department through the years would create games and supervise kids that would hang at the park all day long.  And evenings would bring special events like talent shows (I seem to remember trying to do my best Howard Cosell imitation as a 10-year old), costume contests, dog shows, and the grand finale, the Penny Carnival.   And I cannot forget to mention the super awesome Pee-Wee Olympics, with events like the crabwalk, the shoe kick, and the egg toss.  Dad’s creativity and extra effort made summers growing up a blast for me along with many other Louisville kids.

Dad definitely made a great impression on me as a teacher and community leader.  But his style as a dad at home is what I cherish the most.  I will write about that role for his birthday in mid-July.  Stay tuned!

Sorry for the delay in getting my week-end blog out, but I was at camp!  My church, NewPointe, held its annual middle school summer camp at Skyview Ranch in Millersburg. As a middle school group leader on Sunday mornings, I was blessed with the opportunity for a 3-day paid vacation.  That’s a positive way of looking at it!!!  Here are some observations:

1.  Camp cabins have that smell.

Skyview has great facilities, and does a great job of taking care of them.  That being said, I think every youth camp that I have been apart of (both as a kid and adult) has had that same cabin smell:  that unique blend of mustiness, sweat, wet swimsuits, and teen body odor.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot to include lingering haze of Axe Body Spray.  I guess that’s the power of those Axe commercials on teen males!  Not quite the Old Spice of my youth!

 

2.  Teen males aren’t too interested in cleanliness and hygiene.

Probably the prime cause of observation #1.  Clothes laying all over the place.  Make that wet clothes laying all over the place.  Soap—optional.  Washing hands—optional.  Showering—optional.  Throwing paper towels in the trash—about the same Shaq’s free-throw percentage.  Lifting the seat up before urinating—that takes the challenge and fun out of the it.  Axe Body Spray—mandatory!

 

3.  Condiments go better on top of burgers than on top of humans. 

A few years ago, someone at the church came up with the great concept of ‘Hamburger Hill’.  Its basically a large tarp placed on a hill, greased with Crisco.  The teens go in groups—ladies first for about an hour, then the boys—trying to team up to make it to the top while an adult is spraying them with a hose.  Oh yeah, and they get hamburger toppings them at them.  Ketchup.  Mustard.  Mayo.  Relish.  BBQ sauce.  Ranch dressing.  Mix that in with the Crisco, water, and mud, and you get an aroma as far from a summer cook-out as you can imagine.  On a positive note, this year, syrup was added to the menu, and that sugary sweetness slightly nullified the potency of the rest of the arsenal.  Some boys showered after.  Others thought a dip in the lake would do the job.  See observation #2.

 

4.  Young polar bears must have much thicker fur than old polar bears.

We did a polar bear swim in the lake at 7 am on a brisk Saturday morning.  The kids were swimming it up like a mid-July heat wave.  I did muster the courage to get my head under water.  I am getting close to my mid-forties, and I have noticed that I seem to get cold much easier than the kids.  Whether it is Friday night football, 50˚ spring baseball, or 50˚ morning swims, I am bundled up and still freezing.  Teens pretty much wear shorts year round.  I remember having to usher the student section as a 30˚ football play-off game.  I was double and triple layered from head-to-toe, and still shivering.  As for the students, I remember complimenting my old student, Marshall, for being the only kid to even wear a coat!  The power of the hoodie was in full display that night!

 

5.  Old polar bears get up much easier than younger polar bears.

Teens need their sleep, and can usually stock up whenever possible.  That includes camp on an unfamiliar mattress.  As I have gotten older, I noticed that I have a much harder time trying to sleep in when not having to kneel to my 5:40 am work wake-up time.  Throw in a new bed, and I am all out of whack!  But who says that’s bad?  Its amazing how much more you can get done on a Saturday morning when you are up by 7 instead of 11!  I even did a 2.5 mile early morning jog at camp!  Which leads to…

 

6.  Jogging hills stink.

I should move to Kansas.

 

7.  Teens can survive without their technology.

No cell phones, I-pods/pads, TVs, and computers were allowed, and the kids not only survived—they thrived!  Us adults were allowed to have our phones, and I admit that I did my share of peeking.

 

8.  Millennials are positive, enthusiastic and supportive.

Today’s teens and young adults get a lot of criticism heaped on them.  But I love their enthusiasm, their positivity, and their support of each other.  We had a karaoke party, but that title is misleading.  There are singers on stage, but it really becomes as group sing and dance of 160+ students and the 30 or so college counselors on staff.  Their energy level as they belted out the lyrics and boogied up a storm (for you young’ens, that means dancing) was amazing!

Beyond that, it is very heart-warming to see group members encourage and support each other throughout the weekend.  Some students whose appearance or habits would almost always made for bully targets in previous generations tend to be more protected by their peers of today.  The camp also has a late evening baptism of students at the lake, with family members watching along with the rest of the students.  As  baptized students step onto the shore, its beautiful to see them get mobbed and congratulated by their group members.

Well, another summer camp in the books (and the blogs), and not a poison ivy bump, or even a mosquito bite to be seen on my body.  I guess my old polar bear blood is a bit to sour for those skeeters!

The start of summer has many different signals:  Memorial Day picnics, pools being opened, and school doors being closed.  In sports, the green light to summer is the tip-off to the NBA finals.  I turned ten-years-old in 1980, so Magic-Bird NBA explosion occurred as I was entering my prime years as a sports fanatic.  I was, and am, a Cleveland first guy when it comes to my pro sports teams, but as a kid, I always had some back up teams to root for, especially since the Cavaliers, Indians, and Browns weren’t exactly setting the world on fire.  Like most kids, I had a little ‘frontrunner’ in me. The Reds and Dodgers were my favorites in opposition to the Yankee powerhouses.  To battle forces with the evil Steel Curtain of Pittsburgh, I pulled for the Cowboys and Dolphins.  I do need to mention, that for some odd reason, my little brother Jon always tended to be a ‘backwalker’ (the opposite of a frontrunner?) and root for ‘loser’ teams like the Chiefs and Oilers in their terrible post-Earl Campbell days.

When it came to the NBA, I was only six when the ‘Miracle in Richfield’ occurred, and thus a little too young to savor thrill ride.  So my Cavs upbringing was in the prime of the Ted Stephien reign of terror & terrible-ness.  So my plan B for NBA fandom was the Philadelphia 76ers and their mega-star, Julius Erving.   He was like a superhero on the court with his acrobatic moves!  NBA TV recently showed a great documentary on him, and the final scene was a 63-year Dr. J amazing dunking the basketball!  WOW!!!!

The Sixers had a nice run in the early 80’s, but that gave way to the epic Lakers-Celtics rivalry that dominated the most of the decade.  Boston made the championship series five times in the 1980’s, while the Lakers got there an incredible eight times!  And the two dynasties clashed in the finals three times in a four year period.  As a hoops fan, you had to choose a side.  You were either an old-school Celtics guy:  Larry Bird, the old, hot Boston Garden, McHale, the Chief, DJ, Red Auerbach, Danny Ainge crying, some token stiff post player off the bench (Greg Kite and Fred Roberts come to mind),…  Or could go with the showtime Lakers:  Magic, Kareem, Jack Nicholson, James Worthy, the Forum, Jamal Wilkes, Kurt Rambis’ glasses, Michael Coopers high socks,…

Besides the sweet socks, how do you millennials like the short shorts?

Well, being a Cavs’ fan, I had to try to stomach Larry Bird carve us up six times a year with his smug glare and stylish mullet-mustache combo.

Add on the fact that the Celtics and Sixers were hated rivals, and it was easy for me to side with Magic Johnson:  big smile, big personality, fancy passes, and I only had to watch him beat the Cavs once a year (their west coast match-up was always past my bedtime).

I am guessing that a majority of youth walked on the flashy Hollywood Laker side of the street, while the older crowd usually sided with the tradition-rich Celtics.  I can remember going to Louisville High School hoops camp wearing a Lakers hat and talking a little trash with my Celtic-loving head coach, Dennis Tucci (now the longtime successful coach at Malvern).  Maybe coach Tucci just liked the Celtics wearing his Malvern green!

Since those glory days, many would say that the NBA game has changed for the worse, but, honestly, I think the game is now better than ever.  Some old-schoolers would argue that they don’t play with fundamentals anymore.  That might be true to some extent; you don’t see many beautifully executed give-and-go’s or up-and-under post moves.  Overall, though, I would counter that besides being bigger, stronger, and faster than ever, I think the current players actually are fundamentally better in some areas.

One obvious area of improvement that I see is on defense.  Quality NBA teams—that label does not include our Cavaliers right now–really work hard on their team defense and rotations.  In the 80’s there were plenty of players incorporating the bullfighter technique and watching their defender take an easy path to the hoop.  I also think that the current crop shoots phenomenally from the outside.  And the stats back me up.  In the 80’s, the NBA 3-point shooting percentage was .278.  In the last 10 seasons, that percentage is at .358—an 29% increase!  (That, teenagers, is one reason why you take math class!  You never know when you need to calculate sports stats!).

I will admit that over the past 3 decades, my passion for the NBA has decreased, mostly due to the fact that I was a total sports junkie as a kid and my love had no where to go but down.  I used to watch almost every minute of an NBA finals.  I probably didn’t watch that much this entire season combined.  But I will say that I am really looking forward to this year’s Finals rematch between the Heat and the Spurs.  A big reason is the parallels to the Lakers-Celtics match-ups of my youth.  Lets break it down:

In terms of star power, I don’t think that 80s match-up will ever be topped, but the big 3 of both teams this year definitely is a draw—especially with LeBron being the biggest name since Michael Jordan.  But beyond the name recognition, both teams play entertaining, quality basketball.  That’s due to having talented stars that play an unselfish game with a solid supporting cast behind them.

The dynasty label definitely carries over.  This is the Heat’s fourth straight finals, while the Spurs have won the title four times during Tim Duncan’s career.  And let’s face it:  last year’s finals, especially the final two games, were a masterpiece.  I could argue that Ray Allen’s game-tying 3-point shot in the final seconds of game 6 was possibly the most clutch shot in basketball history.

Think about it.  If he misses, not only do they lose the championship, but the big three of the Heat likely gets broken up, and Lebron’s championship legacy falls into serious doubt.

And lastly, the re-match element definitely has the Lakers-Celtics flavor.  Last year’s match up was the most of a Finals series that I watched—not including the Cavs’ short-lived appearance in 2007—since the days of Michael Jordan and the Bulls.  So I am eagerly anticipating the sequel.

Who are you pulling for?  And who am I pulling for?  Well, I am in the older generation now, so, of course, it’s the Spurs all the way.  I am guessing that Coach Tucci would approve!