USA Trips Day 3 & 4!

            Day 3 we headed to Buffalo New York with a stop in Niagara Falls, NY which we have some found memories of Niagara Falls NY as we've been there for Hockey tournaments in the past. Anyways we went to Buffalo and attended a Bisons game as you can see on the right hand side they are indeed the affiliate triple A team to the Toronto Blue Jays. Was a fantastic time and was up close enough to their mascot Buster T Bison. He wasn't too far off from where we were sitting and honestly we were several rolls from the bottom actually and behind the Bison's dugout. 

        Day 4 we headed to Ohio to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Was really awesome and a lot to see and learn about and I actually learned about the early years of Rock and Roll and the history how rock began it's journey it was fascinating to learn the history and gave me a ton more respect for rock music. Small note we found where the Cleveland Browns NFL football team plays by accident as it is literally neighbours to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Anyways that is Days 3 and 4 of my trip, have a great rest of your day and I will talk to you all tomorrow for Days 5 and 6!

 

 

Chris

What Do I Think of The Sports So Far?

                So what do I think of the sports recently? Well let's start with Hockey, the NHL. Most of us here at CBOTW are happy that Boston is out and especially Chris who hates Boston Bruins. He likes the city but he hates the hockey and basketball teams as he is not an avid fan since he was in Boston Summer of 2019. He is not a Boston fan whatsoever minus Red Sox is the only team he doesn't dislike which is kind of odd as their competition to our Blue Jays up here in Toronto, Canada which we will get to on today's blog post. 4 teams I like are Islanders, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Vancouver since we're Canadian group and we tend to route for most of the Canadian teams minus Montreal as we're not Canadians fans at this time. We're hoping for Islanders to be in the next round as it is tied up at this point. Same with Vancouver. I guess Chris and I are sort fo on the same route for routing the same way but instead of Dallas I'm routing for Colorado and Philadelphia. The ones I mentioned above was Chris's picks so there is one series in difference  

 

                 Now onto Basketball we're clearly routing for Raptors to bounce on back and take this series against the Celtics and they won what I heard last night and we're excited!  Again obvious we're cheering Raptors cause 1 we're Canadian, 2 Chris does not like the Celtics. They look tough to beat though!  If the Raptors make it to the finals again, they will not be facing a different team since the team Golden State are not a very good team this year so it will be someone different. That is only if they make it but have to remain positive they bounce back on this series. Now finally Baseball Blue Jays are very surprising, they had a rocky start to their season but really done extremely well. They have been winning a lot more and winning 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 4 games in the series and really showing they wanna win. I know they split the games against Miami but that's OK they have been winning a ton so either way we should remain happy. There is my post and I will be speaking to you guys again tomorrow with another post.

Arianna, CBOTW Community Manager

What Do I Think About The Blue Jays With The Young Team?

           I am going to try and stay as positive as I can in this and it hasn't been the most positive feedback I have given on the Jays this year with frustration after frustration and I know all of us as fans feel that frustration honestly this year especially with change after change. I am going to explain a few things in today's blog. Now that we have gotten rid majority of our 2015 team from the ALDS, minus Smoak who is still with the organization, we sure as heck got rid of a lot of our pitchers. Honestly getting rid of Stroman was not the right move. Sanchez going yes I agree to why they traded him as his season hasn't been the greatest but started to bounce back before we traded him and now doing amazing in Houston with the Astro's Organization as recently he got a no hitter which I was very ecstatic for him. Now I haven't been a big Biagini fan in the recent years as they got him for Lirano but I have nothing but a lot of respect for Joe Biagini and getting rid of him was not the right move as we need pitching. I cannot stress that enough. He has been doing extremely well as a reliever and putting him as a starter to see how well he does. I think they should of kept him. To be honest I rather they traded Tepera who's had a rough time as a reliever and Biagini is the better option. However we got some pitchers for who we traded so still it will be interesting to see how it will work out. However back to the Stroman trade they said it is not goodbye as his contract is up in 2021 so we could see Stro come back to Toronto down the road, never know!


           Which brings me into the next point. Ever since we made all these trades, the team has been performing a lot better and winning a lot more. The trade did a lot of good for the team, with this young vibrant team with Biggio, Bichette and Guerrero Jr on the team, this young team sure does have a bright future. It is like they took a page out of the Leafs which I will get to on another post in the next day or so. Now it is all about the team coming together and getting the pitching they need in order to make a run in the playoffs once again and I highly think it won't be a long wait honestly. I am looking forward to what the Jays do next and I know they have to get the pitching to help them yet the pitchers they have now have done nothing but a great job. Yes they lost 2 games in a row, however they went on a 5 game winning streak which is the most you have seen out of the team and it is so excited. I think this is the first time this season I have been excited to be watching the Blue Jays play in a long time. I can be honest back in June, I stopped watching as I lost interest, however still kept up with transactions and how they been doing but recently I got back into the Jays again and I did miss the game last night as I was in bed early so I can get work done this morning but later on I plan on watching the Jays play against the O's (Orioles).



Chris

Boston Trip Day 3, 4 & 5

          First of all on our first day of the trip, we got onto the Trolley tour and took a tour around the city to get to know Boston and it's history. We went all the way to where the Constitution and the Commie was sitting.  We actually took a tour of it which was a free as nothing is cheap when traveling but in the end it is well worth it though! Took ton of pictures and showing you guys on on the right hand side of this blog tonight since I am truly late posting this up as I had to be somewhere today. Anyways we also continued on that journey and we also saw TD Gardens where the Bruins Hockey team and Celtics Basketball team played. Now obviously I am not a fan of the Bruins, nor the Celtics as I am more a Leafs fan and also a Raptors Fan. We also looked at the Boston Tea Party which I will get to it in this post. We also went to Tasty's for dinner which a food review is coming tomorrow actually. 

              Now the 4th day consisted us looking for Fenway Park for 3 hours and we finally did find it and we also got an upgrade and got the tour on that Monday not that Tuesday which was the next day. I got to go on top of the Green Monstah as they say it in Boston, got to go to the Media booth which had a great view of the field. Also got to see the one seat where a ball flew and hit a gentleman and is also the longest ball in the park to this very date.  I have along with my dad a lot more respect for the Bo Sox which is the short form of saying Boston Red Sox. Also saw the bats from players who hit those amazing home runs with as well and we got a package with the pictures that was taken while we were there. Finally on the 4th Day we got to go to Cheers which was the original set of the TV show back in the day with Ted Danson and we had dinner and of course I had a beer in a very cool mug which you can find on my Instagram. 



                The final day I would like to cover is the trip to Salem Massachusetts an learning about the witches and the history of the people who were falsely accused of being witches and sadly were either hung or put into a jail cell. Also we did stop at a beach on the way to Salem and I found Sea shells which I did bring back about 3 or 4 of them and to give my niece and nephew one each and keep the rest for myself. I have some from PEI and now some from the East Coast in the USA. Now there was two parts to the museum: 1 the story about people being accused of being witches and what happened to them, then a walking tour of the different types of witches, good and evil like we see in the Wizard of Oz. Also while getting lost in the city of Boston, we saw Boston University, MIT, Harvard University so we got to see where the universities were by accident. Finally we got to have a look at the history of the Boston Tea party and learned the entire history and yes we got to throw some Tea overboard as well. It was a very interesting story and it really tied things up with Paul Revere whom we learned about when we were on the trolley tour on Day 3 of the trip. Anyways that is tonight's post, tomorrow is the Tasty's food review and Sunday will be the final part of the Boston trip. Still got a pile of reviews to come every second day so stay on the lookout for that as I got together a ton of blogging content while I was gone, trip wise and non trip wise as well! 

Chris

Blue Jays Rant (I'm Done With Them For The Year)

               Well, the Jays have really done themselves in by Trading J.A Happ, Osuna, Loupe and Axford. Now I realize with Osuna's situation and what he did earlier this year, it is a decision I respect the Jays decision on that but as for the Happ, Loupe and Axford, they were good pitchers, I mean why get rid of the good pitchers? Like come on! Happ was our Ace Pitcher and now we don't even have an Ace Pitcher because the Jays did away with him. Yes I realize Happ is older and we need to try get our team younger but having experience is also an asset in the team. I am allowed to have an opinion, take it or leave it. Axford was doing just fine as a reliever and I just do not understand what the logic behind this and we may as well never know what the logic will be. Now Brandon Drury probably will help us in this now long and painful rebuild. Yes this is a frustrating time for both the Jays and us the fans and I am taking time away as a Jays fan, I am not quitting but still a fan, just taking time away. I have been a Jays fan since I was small and want to continue to support the team but I am more into Hockey and Football mode, more football mode right now as the training camps are starting.


                  I also think that John Gibbons will not be with the Jays organization after this year as I do not agree with some of his decision he has made, like putting in Tepera who hasn't been strong on the mound when they were winning the game and of course their lead gets blown. I have just been feeling the frustration level getting more and more worse with watching the Jays, to a point, I just stopped watching the games entirely and just getting updates or watching the highlights. I do ask you in the comments, please do not leave hate messages in or the will be removed and you will be blocked from further commenting on the blog. I am entitled to an opinion and it is called freedom of speech which I have ever right to do, especially on my blog post.



Chris

Toronto Blue Jays Last Couple of Games

           I was asleep obviously before the game even finished up for the night but I woke up this morning and realized that actually the Blue Jays beat the Red Sox 4 - 3. A win is a win and we will take it. But it was a very good game by the sounds of it. Jays are going to become a great team in the next year or so, they got young talent who wanna win. I know they have had difficulty beating the Yankees but in time they will beat em. Yankees have Aaron Judge and a bunch of other good players. 


            Yankees however, what I heard there is a bit of drama between the Manager since Joe Girardi the former Manager wasn't resigned as manager for this season so the new manager and the players, their seem to be a bit of arguing between the players which is probably why the team unity isn't all there. Both my dad and I thought the Yankees were going to win it all this year with Aaron Judge being their big name player that can help them to another World Series but with the Jays now ahead of the Yankees but not by much but they are second in the AL East Division right now. If they can continue on and keep on winning and actually win the series, they will be closer to the top to Boston.  I am not giving up on the Jays, don't worry, they actually surprised thus far in the season and it is still fairly early in the year to be giving up on them at this point. 


             Jays are vibrant team, with experienced players to help them along the way. Granderson is one of the players who had a walk off home run last night which gave em the big W, which we will take it. I don't mind them rallying after the 7th, it makes watching the game even more and more exciting and yes I watched the majority of the game before nodding off in my bed early last night around 930 pm so I got to see a lot of the game but will be flipping around between Big Brother Canada, Survivor & The Hockey and baseball game. I will be discussion the Leafs final game on Friday's blog post as tomorrow is THROWBACK Thursday blog post!


Chris "The Media Man" 

Why I Want To Return To Baseball?

           I know this sound completely nuts to be saying this and I know I haven't played ball in years since I have had my share of knee problems over the last couple of years but you gotta give me credit that I wanna play again before I become to old to play the game I love to play. I wonder how rusty I will be but I have the batting cage to go to if I indeed to decide to get it another shot to make sure I can still hit a softball as the last time I played was 2013 or 2014 and that was the year when the knee problems came back and the last year I ever hit the ball. It was a great year for me in the way of hitting the ball and if I can hit like I did then, I'll have a great ball season again. 

        
             If your wondering who I am going to play with? Well a men's league as I have decided to not return to Special Olympics after 10 + years with them. Reason? I need a change of pace and there are people who seem to have a beef but there is very few friends who I am still connected with from Special Olympics and are friends with still to this very day. Let's just also say over the years I was involved, there was drama, I just got sick of and joining a men's or mixed team will be a nice change for me and meet some new people and never know maybe a friendship will be formed? Never know! I believe since this is a league there are not as many tournaments to go to or no tournaments at all so it will be easier for me being in a league instead. 


              Yes, I know there is a risk with my knee going out or with me hurting the right knee where the original injury was from years ago from being hit by the ball which mind you it was very painful and I struggled to get off the field as I needed to take a break to shake off the pain. Ever since it's not been the same and it's affected the way I play on the field or on the bowling alley as I played both sports at one point but I am willing to take the risk and hurt my knee and if it ends up needing knee surgery then be it but you guys cant say I didn't really try my hardest to play ball again after being off for several years now and I know a lot of you will tell me why not retire and live the rest of your life with the way the knee is right now but again this is my choice and I am happy to give this sport another shot even if it risks my poor knee in the the process.


Chris

Results On My Ailing Knee/Retiring From Baseball

           So 1 week later, since my doctor appointment and I still find it hard to come to the realization that I may have arthritis in the knee, either one or both knees but mainly my right knee which is the worst of the 2 knees. It also made me realize my baseball & basketball career, well I wouldn't consider it a career but been doing sports for over 10 years but now I am limited what I am and can't do, it isn't because my family doctor didn't tell me to call it quits, this was my judgement on my own terms and I really do not wanna make the problem worse. On my last ever season I ever played, I struggled at the last game of the season and came off the field hurting and limping... The pain didn't stop me, my coach insisted I sit out to rest but nope! Stubborn old me had to play baseball regardless. Least I went out with a bang with a home run under my belt in the tournament. I went on to play basketball but did not complete to once again my knee. So as you can see ever since certain someone, no names mentioned.... LOL, hitting my in the knee cap, my knee has been the bane of my existence.


              There is your brief history but what did my doctor say to my mom and I? Well, possibly I could have arthritis which actually runs in my family both my mom and dad's side so I happen to be in that bad percentage of getting it and I gotta deal with it but not a full diagnosis has been made yet. What do you mean Chris? Well we didn't officially get an X-Ray or MRI done yet, I am going to do exercises between now and February and if it is not better by March or April I will be going back to the family doctor, the next step is an x-ray to see if it is arthritis and if my doctor has to do an MRI I will do it... Anything to get answers with the knee pain I have constantly.


                So with that, I am retired from basketball & baseball as there is no way the running will help and I feel at this time I would be a liability to the team and always pulled off the field and this is what is best for me. I need to take care of myself first before things go way out of control. I wanna thank my coaches for helping me, especially with my batting which got so much better on my last season of softball. Always there to support me and the rest of the team when struggled or felt down. I wanna thank my fellow team mates for being there for me and giving me the encouragement when I needed it. I will miss the team dearly but you never know, I may pop by for a visit to the Eagle/Hawks/Falcons!




Chris