Random video clip of Roma playing...

Random video of Roma playing with another pup at the dog park. She definitely has more fun with the smaller dogs, the whole dominance thing. FYI, she's up to 27 pounds.

BULL! The Indians are NOT the most hated MLB team!

I'm going to go on my soapbox here on the blog and defend my favorite team, the Cleveland Indians.

According to an ESPN article, a Neilson formula ("Sentiment Ratings"), the Indians are the most hated...BULL! I have lived in three places...Florida, NY, and Texas...all of which are very different, very different baseball markets, culture, people, and politics (won't go there!!). I can say that FL, or NY South, was just like NY...you either love the Yankees or hate them. As for Texas, I think most people just hate NY in general...

Not that this is a Yankee-bashing affair, but in reality, the Yankees have got to be the most hated. Yes, as an Indians fan, there are struggles supporting a team that often appears to be going nowhere, but come on, they are definitely not the most hated.

Wanna read the article, go here: INDIANS RULE, YANKEES SUCK!

Another funny part of the article, the Astros were 4th on the list. I'm shocked by this too, but I'll be loyal to my most-favored team first!

I'll concede this opinion if, and only if, the Indians win the World Series this year. Pshh, who cares if you are the most hated, it's the championship! 1995 and 1997 were so close. It's been so long since 1948...I just don't want to become like a Cubs fan (another team that should be at the top of the list...but then again, they did have Harry Carey, who could hate that guy?!)

UPDATE: Check out this link to baseball-fever.com...where they had a poll, approximately 75% of people hate who? The Yankees!

Easiest way to tire out the dog...

...bring her to daycare! Once (sometimes twice) a week Debbie and I bring Roma to daycare, at Rover Oaks. We want to make sure she socializes with other pups. Plus, it helps with our schedules and allows us to work extra long day!

Typically I drop her off right around 7 AM, usually one of the first dogs there. This is the BEFORE photo from yesterday...an excited and anxious looking pup:

Then it's work time for me, and a loooong play day for Roma!

Then around 530 PM, sometimes just before last call at 6 PM, I go and get her. This is the AFTER photo from yesterday, mere seconds from loading her into the back seat.

Then a few seconds later, she's down!

Then the after-after photo, she's sleepy all night long. She walks up the stairs (considerably slower than normal), eats, drinks, and goes to lay down on the couch for the rest of the night!

Day care, what a wonderful thing...if only we were rich, we'd send her more often to tire her puppy energy right out of her!

Foul Ball! Thank you old man Jamie Moyer!

It took me years and years of attending baseball games, but I finally did it...I caught a foul ball!!!

Saturday Deb made it "second birthday" of sorts making me eggs benedict for breakfast, followed by a tour of Minute Maid Park, then an Astros-Phillies game.

The tour was cool, seeing so much of the stadium, sitting down where the former President sits, and just exploring the history of the stadium...awesome. Totally worth it.

Then, the game. 7th row from the field, right behind third base...

It was Felipe Paulino pitching for the Astros...he throws hard and wild...there were an abundance of foul balls and I always think, "this is the game." Foul ball after foul ball, one of these times...I joked with Debbie earlier, "if I catch a foul ball, we'll never have to go to another game again...except for opening day." Jamie Moyer, aka Mr. Old Man Baseball stepped up to the plate. Jamie Moyer is 48 and pitches for the Phillies. I can throw nearly as hard as him, not even joking. He throws low 80s. I can top out in the high 70s, near 80.

Anyways, he swings and there it was...a liner in front of the third base dugout, carrying into the stands, ricocheting off the front few seats, bouncing up to us, hitting the seat, rolling on the ground, and ME! I dove after it, and got it!! I raised it proudly like everyone does when they catch their first foul...awesome awesome feeling!

The Astros lost, no surprise...but the game was a memorable one for me. Thank you old man Jamie Moyer...I respect your 48 year old swing...and your liner behind third base!

Thanks for a great birthday all!

My birthday was a great day...turning 28 wasn't so bad. As I told my sister, "I'm holding on to my twenties for a couple more years!" My brother turns 30 this May, and my sister already passed that mark and is headed towards 40! (haha, she's a mere 31).

Debbie made me breakfast before I headed off for a day out in the field doing inspections. I planned the inspections so that I could be outside and enjoy the nice Friday weather.

By the end of the day, I was ready for dinner...Debbie and I went to Truluck's here in Houston. It's a nice restaurant where my former company had a christmas party a few years back. I won a gift card that we finally were able to use... Dinner was awesome...had a filet mignon and crab legs, while Debbie countered with South African lobster! YUM!

And...my birthday might be over...but we'll celebrate in NYC over Memorial Day. Deb surprised me with a trip to the big apple and a game at the new Yankee Stadium. Against my lovable losers, the Indians! We are going to stop by the infamous Starbucks that we had our first "moment" or as Deb recalls "violence."

All in all, 28 is not so bad!

OHH, and those cupcakes Deb made, PHENOMINAL!!! They were Guinness cupcakes, with a dark chocolate Bailey's ganache inside, with a buttercream Bailey's icing. Holy crap! Easily top 3 desserts she's ever ever made!

An expensive softball game...

Last Thursday night (4/10) was one of the more expensive softball games in my beer league career! We have beer fines, like I've touched on in previous blog posts...I think. To summarize, you get fined for things like grounding out, pop outs to the infield, strikeouts, double plays, ending innings, ending games, etc etc.

Anyways, I had done well the first two weeks, taking a 0.818 average into week 3... First time this year we swept the night, and are sitting at 4-2 on the year...not a bad start. However, my 1 for 8 night changed my line for the year. Now batting a solid 0.500...50% success is good, but not the $12 in fines I accrued over the night. Check out the line below...ouch! Better luck this week!!

Week #3 Fine Totals (2 games):

Missed Game: Ryan, Michael, Jaime
Last Outs: Dennis, Terence
Double Play: Terence
Pop Outs: Andrew-2, Terence, Dennis
Ground-outs: Jason-3, Terence, Andy, Sheldon, Andrew, Dennis, Jon
Inning Last Outs: Terence-4, Jon-2, Andrew

Happy Birthday Terence!!

Happy 28th Birthday Terence! 

Go Away Sun!!...& Opening Day with the 'Stros

GO AWAY SUN! I heard that being yelled a few times...

Anyways, it was awesome to go to another opening day, our 4th in a row for the Astros. No surprise, they keep losing! That's why I predicted them to do nothing this year, except kept the NL Central Cellar warm! Bunch of benchwarmers!

Deb and I arrived at 545 or so and it was blazing heat! Everyone was there already...JR, Spicer, Brian, Louis, and Luis...you could see the misery on their faces! It was HOT and it's not even the summer! Brian and Spicer were all over the product placement with their Papa John boxes (photo above).

They had the dome open so they could have paratroopers fly in and land on the outfield, it was pretty cool.

All in all, baseball's back, so it's awesome. Texas heat, not so awesome! Astros and awesome can't be used in a sentence, except this one. This is going to be a looong summer for Astros fans! Too bad, I'm an Indians fan!!!

Indians win World Series in 2010! Plus more bold predictions...

Well I don't like to post too much baseball here, as who cares to read my crazy thoughts...but as the season opens tonight, I'm going to go ahead and make some predictions for the year...

Regular Season:
NL
Central - Cardinals (90-72)
East - Phillies (95-67)
West - Rockies (90-72
Wild Card - Reds (88-74)
AL
Central - Indians (98-64)
East - Rays (90-72)
West - Rangers (94-66)
Wild Card - Twins (96-66)

Division Series:
NLDS: Rockies over Cardinals, Reds over Phillies
ALDS: Indians over Rangers, Rays over Twins

Championship Series:
NLCS: Rockies over Reds
ALCS: Indians over Rays

World Series:
Indians over Rockies in 6 games...

That's my bold prediction, the Indians win it all in 2010, first WS since 1948!!

(This would be an awesome scenario...NO Yankees, NO Red Sox, NO Braves...oh, and I'll say the Astros go 87-75)

Happy Easter!

The Kadlec's wish everyone a Happy Easter!

Roma is doing what we all love to do on lazy Sundays...relax! (Plus she's protecting her bone from kitty)

Aeros game...hockey in Houston, I'll cosign that!

It was a fun Friday night hanging out with friends at the Houston Aeros game followed by drinks downtown at the Flying Saucer. It was my first hockey game, ever...

So I was completely out of the loop, it was hockey. I kept calling the puck a ball, the ice a field, and used the wrong terminology completely! Doesn't help when JR is making references to baseball, basketball, and probably soccer in there, too! Only bummer from the game, there were NO fights! Ugh, what kind of hockey game has no fights?!

They had this thing in between the 2nd and 3rd periods (FYI, there' three 20 minute periods in the game) called Chuck-A-Puck where you can buy these rubber pucks and throw them onto the ice and trying to land them inside a helmet at center ice. You throw from anywhere on the lower level. When I realized what was going on, it was too late...they sold out of pucks. One guy did it and won himself $500!

Later we went to the Flying Saucer downtown... Not sure how, but we had never made it there. Great beer menu...we'll definitely be going back more in the future. The Black Butte Porter was quite tasty and made me think of Deb's Double Chocolate Stout cupcakes...yum!

As for other topics of conversation, we got into learning some new slang. It was a fun night out, I'm sure Deb would cosign that! http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cosign

Softball's back!! Lucky number 81?

With softball starting last week, and every Thursday through the Fall, it's a sign baseball's about to begin! Woohoo!! I opted for my old football number, 81. I thought everyone would go for 25 (my old baseball number) but no one did. So I'm out there with 81...heck, with a number like that, I look like the guy who is a major league scrub! Ha!

Anyways, I am playing with the same team as last year in Pearland, the Chuggers. Last season we were the Beer-A-Mids, but it's the same team, just went back to the original team name. Yes, there's a lot of beer at the games! And on occasion beer pong between them... Deb came to the game last night and was finally able to introduce herself. It had become a running joke that she didn't exist because she never was able to come to games. It was odd how things worked out, but last night she (and Roma) came out to support me!

With my first at bat, I was going to impress my wife...oh yeah! That's the thought, but when you pop up to the pitcher...it's one of those "you tried" moments. I had 3 hits to follow, but the best part was when I was running home, I hear "don't slide!" Yup, that's Deb not wanting to see me hurt myself! She was enjoying talking with the other wives about my injury-prone ways.

To sum it up so far, we are 2-2...our two wins were awesome, 22-3 and 18-0. The loss last week was a nail biter as we were up by 3 going into the bottom half of the last inning only to have some juiced up fool hit a grand slam. Last night we played against the d-bag team...a team of college players and softball fanatics. They are team that peppers the field with the ball, hitting it exactly where they want. This is rec softball, they win all the time because they are playing against some aging professionals (sure, that's what I am). Anyways, not to whine, but we lost...18-1. First inning was awful...13 runs for them countered by our 3 up, 3 down! Second inning we all decided to bat lefty, I led off with a hit, an infield dribbler to short...I sprinted to first and beat it out... Overall I'm hitting well this season, going 9 for 11, which I'm happy with.

Funny thing...9 for 11 is an 0.818 average...but it's really 0.8181818181...lucky number 81, eh?