Has it Been a Month?

Funny thing is, I really like blogging, even if I know no one's reading...

But it's been more than a month since I last posted anything, and so much has happened. There are just so many topics that I want to throw against the wall. What better time than Noon, on Day One of March Madness, to let a few things fly...

1. Jeff-Bradley.com is now kid friendly. Caught my 10-year old son Beau reading the site a few days back. Now, it's been relatively clean, but he was a little too intrigued by the drunken photo of Matt Leinart that I've decided to keep it really clean from now on. At least until he's 11.

2. I've withdrawn from the Boston Marathon. After about seven weeks of good, hard training and a long-run of 18 miles, patella tendinitis got the best of me. I tried icing it, stretching it, resting it, but a month later, it still hurts a lot. As much as I want to run on April 20, it's not wise to go that distance just to say you did it. What really bums me out is that I actually enjoy the training -- the four-month process -- as much as Race Day. Oh well, 45...

3. Recession Proof? I was intrigued by an ad I heard on the radio the other day for Barbasol Shaving Cream. Now, I used Barbasol for many, many years, mainly because it cost 99 cents and -- this is huge -- you could literally use it until there was nothing left in the can. The commercial made it sound like a great product, but didn't hit upon those essentials. Of course, I was pretty well floored that I was hearing a radio ad for...Barbasol.

4. I hope you'll all read my forthcoming story on Manny Ramirez in ESPN The Magazine. Been a while since I've had a cover story, and I think this one's pretty good...especially for seamheads.

5. On Day One of March Madness I always long for the days before the shot clock. Back in the day, a 10-point lead in the first half actually got you hooked on a game. Now? A 10-point lead doesn't mean squat until the game's down to the final 4-5 minutes. If there's been a shot clock when I went to college -- Carolina from '83-'86), I'd have witnessed a national championship. Instead, I got to watch Jordon and Co. lose to Dan Dakich and Indiana.

6. I liked The Wrestler, but think it was a tad overrated.

7. I've officially got Chuck Knoblauch Disease. Well, at least I've got it when it comes to throwing batting practice to Little League players. A couple of years ago I hit a kid -- hit him pretty good -- and now I have trouble letting go of the baseball from more than 30 feet away. I really want to overcome this, but have a feeling it's not going to be so easy. Advice?

8. An artist named Grant Lee Phillips has a fantastic album of 80s covers out...it's called Nineteeneightees and includes songs like So. Central Rain, Love My Way, Under the Milky Way Tonight, The Killing Moon and Boys Don't Cry. I highly recommend it.

9. The World Baseball Classic is an event that I like, but I cannot help but think it could be so much better if it was played during a time when no one had to worry about pitch counts, etc. The unpredictable nature of baseball lends itself so well to a great international event. There's got to be a way the MLB owners can come up with a way that they make so much money off the event that they're willing to let their players -- pitchers especially -- play straight baseball. That said, how can you not love the emotion that the players display during these games?

10. I cannot believe my son Tyler is entering his final season of Little League baseball. Of course, right now it's killing him (and me) that he's unable to practice because he and his buddy crashed their bikes a couple of weeks ago and Tyler ended up with a fractured arm. Is it me, or are doctors a litltle too cast-happy these days? I don't remember so many kids walking around back in the 70s with casts. When I tried to convince the doc that Tyler could simply "wrap" his arm (I really wanted him to be able to wear a baseball glove), he gave me that look that said, "I'm dealing with one of those dads."

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