"You can find me in San Jose..."

SAN JOSE, Cali. -- Hello, everyone. I figured I'd just post a few pictures to tell the story of my first day in San Jose, so enjoy!

I think the sign is pretty self-explanatory.

This is a view of the field from behind home plate, a few hours before game time. Those are the Santa Cruz Mountains in the distance (the park is located in the Santa Clara Valley), and from what I hear, having that for a backdrop is gorgeous compared to other Class A Advanced parks (which sound like they're all in the desert). Planes pass from time-to-time heading into San Jose's airport, so that's something to see too. All in all, it's just a pretty backdrop.

The Municipal Stadium press box. I did not get to experience it. See that bench half way up? Well, that bench is for each team's respective scouts. Journalists get to sit behind the benches in the first row of chairs. It wasn't bad, minus the fact I ended the day pretty sunburned. Oh well, a rookie mistake to think you're going to be sitting in a press box at every park, especially at Class A Advanced parks.

This shot is mirrored to the right of my seat as well. You can get a sense of the size of the park. I described it to myself as a glorified high school baseball field...which it was, because San Jose State University's park is right across the street and pretty impressive looking. San Jose Municipal Stadium was no dog-and-pony show, however, there was a decent amount of fans for an afternoon game and a lot of excitement about the team (the Giants currently sit in the first in the California League's North Division).

For the record, there was a pony on the scene. A few ponies, actually.

This was a highlight of my day. After a long day in the sun, stressed from the job and just feeling lazy-- this pizza was stellar. Mountain Mike's Pizza. If there's one near you, get on it.

What's this called again...busy? Hmm...

Hello all. Sorry, this will be a quick and boring post. But it's better than NO post, am I right? Yeah, I know, probably not.

Believe it or not, I've been busy lately. The first story was, of course, just the beginning. I was handed a very stat/labor intensive story that I have been working on since Thursday. It should make MiLB.com around the start of the month, so I will make sure to link to it once it goes up.

As for me, I'm hitting the road. The bossman has me heading to San Jose to watch the Giants end a series against the High Desert Mavericks and begin one against the Stockton Ports. It'll be a couple of days (WORKING) at the ball park, a first for me.

It will also allow me to pass Monday-Wednesday in a hotel room...with better cable and Internet than I have in the apartment, no doubt. I will come home to all the amenities though! My DSL is being hooked up Monday so it should be as simple as coming home and making it work Wednesday (with how the whole Internet debacle has gone, i'm not holding my breath). Comcast will be out Wednesday to hook up my cable between 2 and 4 p.m., so that's a bonus too.

I will be writing a few stories based on the road trip, I'm guessing, so that will pass the time heading into this coming Friday, when the Sacramento River Cats (my 'home team' for those of you not paying attention at home), finally return to Raley Field.

My case and point-- by the end of this week I think I will finally getting into the work routine, AND I will have a few things to do to kill time. So far all I've been able to do is work out, check the mail and run errands. That's fun, sure, but it's not mindless entertainment that sometimes a man just requires in life to get by.

OK, you all know too much. I will post from the road in San Jose and take the camera too so my next posts will be a bit prettier to look at, hopefully. Thanks for stopping by!

Story #1 -- Leach has Cal League foes sweating

Hello! My boss was kind enough to forward me the Dodgers 'E-Zine' and since I take it most of you reading this don't follow the team religiously enough to subscribe to the service...YOU ALL LUCKED OUT! There was also a link to where the story was posted on MiLB.com, so that is below so you can read the first fruit of my labors here in Cali.

CLICK HERE for the story and enjoy!

It's a pretty surreal feeling to think about my story arriving in (so I was told) around 750,000 e-mail boxes today. With the added exposure of being on the main MiLB site, the circulation no doubt flies into the millions. I know, I know-- that's the power of the Internet, Shugar.

But considering my biggest highlight before this was my OU Halloween piece that ran on SI.com's On Campus section --and received just over 100,000 hits-- I think this is a major step for both myself...my career...and those who have supported me to help me get to this point, I thank you.

This is no time for an Oscar speech, but it is a moment that makes you sit back and say, "Wow." Dane Cook said once that he knew he made it when he was on The Late Show...I just produced my first piece about pro athletes on a national stage. It's fantastic.

And there's still a lot of summer left. For you Fort Minor fans out there-- "Minor Leagues, We Major."

To new beginnings, both hairy and job-ish...

For those of you who just couldn't believe it, or perhaps for those of you who have just never seen the spectacle-- that, right over there, is a clean-shaven Mark Shugar mug (OK, one day stubble).

After conferring with Tim, we've decided it's the first time I have been clean-shaven since freshman year. What else is there left to say? It was a good three-and-a-half-year run (feel free to post your favorite memories of Shugar facial hair from over the years).

On to more important matters. I WROTE MY FIRST STORY TODAY! It was a 622-word feature on a Dodgers' pitching prospect, Brent Leach (class 'A' -- Inland Empire 66ers). Word from the bossman is it will run in a weekly/monthly(?) 'E-Zine' sent to Dodger fans. Estimated circulation: 750,000 people.

Score.

(I will post the story, or a link to it, if I can. I don't want to jeopardize MiLB/MLB copyright laws in the process and get fired...or worse. At the very least, you may be able to e-mail me --mailto:-mark.shugar@gmail.com-- and I can send you an edited copy).

CRIBS -- Mark Shugar

Sacramento, Cali. -- I know, I know. I've been slacking on the posts. There was actually a public outcry, be it from one person, about my laziness. That's a good sign for this blog. I'm glad some of you reading this out there care.

FYI- I seized an opportunity to fly back to Cincinnati this weekend and see Mary. That may sound crazy to most of you, but a weekend staring at four walls, with no Internet/TV, no excess money to spend and being unable to work -my press pass is being mailed to me-- just wasn't my idea of fun.

Thanks to my dad's connection with Delta, I was able to fly easily and almost for free (just had to pay parking for the Escort) back across the country and see Mary, who was nice enough to allow me to spring such a insane idea on her with less than 12 hours notice.

All in all, it was a good weekend, and I was very glad, of course, to see Mary!

My 'official' Internet connection should arrive today, thankfully, along with my press pass. So work will be starting up this week. My boss has already floated the general idea for my first batch of stories, so I've been able to do some research. I'm just anxious to get out to the park and immerse myself more in the job and people.

As promised, here are a few pictures of the apartment (there's plenty of space for visitors if anyone is looking for a place to stop over in California this summer):

This is the view from just past the entry to my place. That's the 'bedroom' to the left, flanked by my 'office.' Beyond that is the 'living room,' with the bathroom being through the door. To the right is the 'kitchen' which boasts a sink/garbage disposal, range, fridge and toaster over I brought.

The 'bedroom,' up close and personal. My dad and I found a great deal on a queen-size bed that was actually cheaper than a twin. A ridiculous, but welcome, surprise for a tall guy like me.

A closer look at the 'office.' The chair/desk combo was another steal found at the same furniture place. I figure a place to work and a bed is all I need out here really, so it was a smart buy.

This is the infamous closet I've spoken to a few of you about. It's 16x8 feet, and I think my horrible attempt to fill this monster illustrates that quite nicely. If anyone is looking to sublease a place in California this summer, I could let you have this space for cheap!

I will post more pictures of Sacramento, the apartment and other local this-and-that's as they come up (namely the ball park, Raley Field). I'm thinking I may find some place to just post pictures online, since I am posting a lot of pictures frequently on here. I will keep you updated on that link if it is created.

Again, thanks for stopping by...and I have an address now. It can be found in my Facebook profile and AIM profile, so don't hesitant to write!

DAY 4 -- "Calll-i-fornia L-ove"

DAVIS, Cali. -- Sorry this post took a day to produce. The last 24 hours have been a bit off.

It was the first day of travel in which we remained in the same time zone, and it was offsetting. Thankfully we only had 400-some miles between Elko, Nev., and our hotel in Davis, so it wasn't a long day. We actually rolled into Sacramento around 2:30 p.m. (PST).

Maumee, Ohio, to Sacramento, Cali., is roughly 2,266 miles. We crossed nine states (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California) and passed all kinds of land marks (Mississippi River, Missouri River, Great Salt Lake, Lake Tahoe, Reno, etc...). It was a good trip, but I'm glad it's over.

A major plus was that the weather was good the whole way...barely. We found out this morning that you need chains to get over I-80 in the mountains today. Less than 24 hours and the weather went crazy. Whew. Just made it.

Yesterday, my dad was able to meet up with a college friend of his out here when we got to the hotel, and I got to meet his son, Greg, to talk a bit about the local scene. Larry (my dad's friend) was a giant help, pointing out a few good areas to live in the area (Davis, South/East Sacramento) and offering to have us over for dinner tonight. We will see how the apartment hunt goes.

Aforementioned apartment hunting starts today. I was up at 5:30 a.m. (PST) to research the area housing some more.

(I know that sounds early, but my body really hasn't switched to this time zone's schedule yet. Even being up that early, I logged 10 hours of sleep. It's weird. I need to stay up one of these nights, but I've just been exhausted from the drive).

My dad and I are waiting until 9 a.m. (PST) before heading out to look at a few places. We have some good leads, and hopefully the move/lease process will be quick. If we have to wait for credit checks or other background checks, time could pass a bit too quickly (I'm trying to get dad on a flight by Thursday, he's thinking Saturday...Friday looks bad for travel).

Check back later for updates, that's about it for now. Here are the pictures I promised:

"Lock Your Love" in Lovelock, Nev. Next time I'm home, remind me to "Mee My Mau"

Nevada. A lot like previous states, just change farm/range land into desert.

I wish it was dark when we passed through Reno. Only not. Still, it was only so exciting.

Scenery in the Lake Tahoe area. Family visit is planned here later this summer, obviously.

DAY 3 -- Sodium levels are elevated...

ELKO, Nev. -- Wyoming and Utah are behind us, and my dad and I have already proven one thing to ourselves in Nevada- we will not be winning the expenses for this trip in the casinos. That would have been too easy.

Today was a short day, as we traversed just 518 miles, bringing the trip total to 1,846 miles. We have just 420 miles left between us and Sacramento, Cali., and while Reno's in the mix between here and there, I think after our 'success' at the slots today, we may just stop for food.

We shot for a short day today because we were dealing with the mountains, potential adverse weather conditions and, well, it's the third day of miles-upon-miles in a car. We needed a break.

In actuality, the mountains came and went in similar fashion to past scenery's (the Escort struggled a bit with some of the slow climbs of 1,000+ ft. that lasted over a few miles). As for the weather, it has been gorgeous (sunny, warm and breezy with only a few spits of rain here and there). And yes, we needed less stressful day (but we will make it!).

Here are some snapshots:

The scenery in Wyoming/Utah/Nevada puts the previous states to shame.

Add the Great Salt Lake to the list of notable bodies of water we have seen this trip.

When there is a Great Salt Lake around, there is also the remnants of the body of water after all of the H2O has evaporated. The Great Salt Desert spans the last 40 miles of Route 80 in Wyoming heading towards Nevada, and when you are in the middle of it, you might as well have been the face of the moon (I'm not kidding, there's a NASA training center in the area so they must get the same feeling too). There was nothing, nothing, nothing for miles.

Another one for the 'What the Heck?' file. This was in the middle of the above Great Salt Desert. There was no place to park and look at it, no label, no signs alerting us to it coming up. This 'ball tree' (that's my best description) simply just appeared for no reason. My dad and I once again agreed it's something some of these boring states do just so you have something to joke/talk about for the next 100 miles.

Why take a picture of the Utah/Nevada state line, when you can clearly see it be looking at where the casinos begin to spring up. It was amusing. There was a line on the pavement with state names on their respective sides. On the Utah side, gas stations and local food. On the Nevada side, casinos, casinos, hotels and casinos.

DAY 2 -- No more Nebraska...FINALLY!

RAWLINS, Wyo. -- Hello from the...Equality State? That's all you've got, Wyoming? Yeesh.

Today's drive kicked off at 8 a.m. (CT) and wrapped up at 4 p.m. (MT). That's nine hours of driving if you're bad at math (you may want to check mine) or just don't have the patience to figure out time zones. All in all, my dad and I knocked out another 645 miles today, bringing the trip's grand total to 1,339 miles. Not too shabby.

The most miserable part of today was that 3/4ths of it was spent in Nebraska. You may think you know what flat looks like, but forgedda' about it. The first 200 miles of Nebraska is, I'm not joking, 180 degrees flat, and farms as far as the eye can see...which is to the horizon. Ridiculous (When tumbleweeds are the most exciting thing you see on a regular basis in a state, you know there's something wrong. For the record, my dad and I did have a good time dodging the random tumbleweed attacks on the Escort without killing ourselves or others.).

Even though the final 200 miles of Nebraska got a little more interesting (they had a hill or two!), the real fun today didn't start until we crossed into Wyoming. Flat farmlands turned into mesas, craggy hills and so on. I'll take mountains over molehills any day.

OK, without further adieu, here is the (jist) of the day in pictures:

99 percent of the view in Nebraska looked like this.

This is the one percent that was even romotely interesting. When it appeared on the horizon, my dad and I both wondered what the heck it was. Turns out it is 'The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument.' Translation: Giant unnecessary object that tries to persuade you to pull over with the family for a few minutes. It also give you something to talk about a few hundred miles later when the scenery returns to the first picture. That conversation goes a little like this: "So remember that giant, bridge-thingie...what the hell was the that about!?"

Even though this is blurry, I had to post it. The highlight of the day-- no more Nebraska.

Power production, Wyoming style.

This is scenery I can get behind. There will be more of this tomorrow, thankfully.

A good guess of where a majority of the population of Rawlins works.

DAY 1 -- Going (going), finally (finally) to Cali (Cali)!"

OMAHA, Neb. -- Well, the journey is finally underway. Shugar is going to California!

My dad and I took off at 9 a.m. (EST) this morning to begin the (almost) 2,400-mile trip West to Sacramento, Cali., where I plan on living the next few months as I work for MiLB.com. It was a long day -we didn't arrive in Omaha until 6:19 p.m. (CT)-- with a lot of miles logged. All in all, we knocked out 694 miles and four states. That may not seem like a lot to some of you heavy travelers, but it is still satisfying all the same.

And It will seem like an even bigger accomplishment tomorrow when we will drive a comparable distance just to put the state of Nebraska in our rear view mirror (which I wish we could see clearly out of...the Ford Escort was not made for packing up your life to move across the country).

A few other highlights of the day:

• The Pens won, 4-3, to knot their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series with Ottawa, 1-1. Paul kept me up to date via text messages, and I was a nervous wreck for a while. I hope they win tomorrow because I will, again, have to miss the game due to travel. I just want the Pens to stick around long enough for me to see them play again!
• Staying in a hotel means FREE HBO, which in turn means that my dad and I could catch the first Sopranos of the new season. We should be able to catch tomorrow's episode as well, if we get to our next destination before 8 p.m. ... uhh ... MT? Yeesh, time zones are complicated.
• *We ate dinner at Valentinos, a ridiculous 'Italian' buffet, ranked "the best in Nebraska" by the...uhh, Buffet Federation of America...or something. The restaurant has 150 different items available during said buffet, so as you can imagine we ate plenty.

Below are a few 'stand-out' pics I took along the way today (I drove a lot today so I was unable to take as many as I would have liked. I will work on getting more pictures and more interesting pictures in the coming days):

That's the Mississippi River, I promise. It looked like...a river.

Instead of taking a plethora of pictures, I felt I could sum up our entire view (across four states) during the first day's drive in this shot. Here are my footnotes: In Ohio, add more trees. In Indiana, add the smell of manure and have it last for several miles at a time. In Illinois, plug Abraham Lincoln constantly (there were no Illini fighting either, the world of sports lies to me again). In Iowa, add rolling hills and multiply the size of the farms by (at least) 10 times. I expect more of this 'scenery' in Nebraska, by the way...

A greeting from today's final destination.

Nothing to report...reported

Sigh...OK. It may not be Davis, Cali., for me after all since I am having an extremely hard time getting any cooperation from the potential roommate lead (he isn't calling me back despite my dozens of calls/voicemails over the past week).

All I can say now is that I am pursuing finding housing the Sacramento area because there are a couple of good leads there, and I think the city/team is interesting. Sacramento also has an airport (a huge plus) and is near a lot of things (other ball clubs, San Francisco, Napa Valley, etc...).

It also looks as though I will not be leaving until Saturday due to a combination of things, namely finding a place to live and potential rough weather between here and California (jeeze, what are the odds?). I will be making the most of my extra time in Maumee, though, catching the Penguins on CBC as they begin their quest for the cup (tonight, 7 p.m. at Ottawa).

You had me at Toad Tunnel

As of right now, I am planning on living in Davis, Cali., which is about a 10 minute drive from West Sacramento (home to the Sacramento River Cats, a 'AAA' club I hope to spend a majority of my time covering).

While it is still not official -I'm waiting to hear from a potential roommate-- I have taken it upon myself to check out what Davis has to offer (other than UC Davis). I jumped on Wikipedia to research the city and found this nugget of joy:

Toad Tunnel
"Davis' Toad Tunnel is a wildlife crossing that was constructed in 1995 and has drawn much attention over the years, including a mention on The Daily Show. Because of the building of an overpass, animal lovers worried about toads being killed by cars commuting from South Davis to North Davis, since the toads hopped from one side of a dirt lot (which the overpass replaced) to the reservoir at the other end.

After much controversy, a decision was made to build a toad tunnel, which runs beneath the Pole Line Road overpass which crosses Interstate 80. The project cost $14,000. The tunnel is 21 inches wide and 18 inches high.

The tunnel has created problems of its own. The toads originally refused to use the tunnel and so the tunnel was lighted to encourage its use. The toads then died from the heat of the lamps inside the tunnel. Once through the tunnel, the toads also had to contend with birds who grew wise to the toad producing hole in the ground."

(The picture is of part of "Toad Town," which was created by the local Post-Master at one of the exits to the tunnel. Fantastic.)

This peculiar landmark made me laugh, but it also got me thinking a bit about the community I will (hopefully) be moving into. From what I read online, Davis sounds like one of those "green" cities of California we Mid-Westerners hear so much about. And honestly, I'm overjoyed it is.

Davis is hailed as the most bicycle-friendly city in the United States (so says Wikipedia, which only means so much, but it does sound like the city has gone out of its way to create a ridiculous amount of interconnecting bike paths).

The city also boasts some public transportation options in the form of Amtrak and Yolobus (a county-wide bus service...and yes, the county I will possibly be living in is called Yolo. I don't think I will ever get sick of saying the word Yolo in this lifetime.)

Two good things about the above details: A) I should be able to leave my car at home every now and then, which is perfectly fine with me... and B) I will have a ton of (hopefully) paved bike paths to rollerblade on, and God knows I need the exercise.

I will let you know if I end up in Davis. After what I read today, I hope I do.

Shugar Goes to California (trailer)

Hello all, and welcome to the blog. This is the first of many installments that will be posted during the coming months to chronicle my time in California working as an Associate for MiLB.com.

This is my first crack at a blog for a few reasons:

1) I am finally doing something worth blogging about. I mean I am interesting, sure, but I am not that interesting. A new state and a new job, however, that is interesting...at least to me. The goal here is to make my new job and adventures to, from and in California interesting to you (a potential, faithful reader) as well. If that will or not, of course, still remains to be seen. My fingers are crossed.

2) This will be a convenient way for me to post links to all of my stories on MiLB.com, creating a personal archive of the stories for myself (and you) in the process. Considering the stage I am writing on, I would like to think that these will be some of the best clips I have ever written. Really. I would like to think that.

3) I can finally put my digital camera to heavy use. I mean, come on! Minor League ball parks, promotions, mascots, players, etc...if those aren't interesting what is? OK, well there is also California, and all the states I will travel through to get to California...plus my adventures in California. That's a lot of photo opportunities!

4) It will be a good way for me to keep in touch with everyone. I will miss you all, obviously, and I figured it would not hurt to provide a way to check up on me if you feel so inclined, or provide a medium that's easy to contact me through (my e-mail address will be posted...plus I think you can leave comments on these posts). This may be my last reason for having a blog, but it is certainly the most important

So yeah, don't be a stranger. Pop in and say hello whenever you feel inclined. I will provide the entertainment, hopefully, to keep you coming back.

That's it for now. I will be leaving for California in the next few days (by Wednesday or Thursday), and I will update here and there with details (address, travel info, etc...). Right now I'm still figuring some of the last, important details out...so bear with me.

Thanks for stopping/reading,
Mark