Welcome to the "City of Champions"

Yep, the old blog is back with a whole new flavor (culinary pun intended). Be sure to check back!

Story #97 -- The last(?) story.

Click here for my preview of the Pioneer League Championship Series. I am posting this really late (I've been busy), so now to spoil the point of even reading the article-- the Owlz won it.

That means I nailed the AZL pick, NWL pick and 2-of-3 PIO picks. I'll take a 4-1 record any day. The other intern and myself did much better with our picks than the rest of the MiLB.com regulars, so that makes us feel pretty accomplished.

Reflections soon to come, when I'm not so darn busy that is...

Story #96 -- (The last) Pioneer League Notebook

Take a second to enjoy the last Pioneer League Notebook of the 2007 season.

I would just also like to note in this post that Salem-Keizer won the Northwest League title (as I predicted, in four!), Orem has advanced to the Pioneer League Playoffs championship round (as I predicted, though it took two games, not three) and, if Helena wins tonight, I will be perfect in my picks for MiLB.com. Not too shabby!

Story #94, 95 -- Get your PIO on...

Yeesh, what a busy day for me on MiLB.com-- seven stories in total appearing on the site, most recently the Pioneer League Playoff Previews. The PIO postseason starts tomorrow and, well, all those weekly notebooks weren't for nothing. MLBAM had me previewing the festivities due to my extensive knowledge of the short-season league, of course. ;-)

Click here for my preview of the North Division matchup. Two really good teams here, but I picked the Brewers in three. I really don't know though, it's going to be a tight series. Ultimately two games are Helena, but unofficially I will say, "You can thank me later, Brockman. If they win it all I want to see the ring." Whew. Professional.

Click here for my preview of the South Division matchup. Another tough call. I mean all four teams that made the PIO postseason are the teams that should have made it there, and the South Division teams are both equipped to go the distance. I said Owlz in three, because who doesn't enjoy a mascot that ends with a 'Z'? (Plus I think they have the grit to dig down and win).

So yeah. Ninety-five stories. I know I have two more for sure, but I dunno if there's any after that. To break the century mark would be quite a feat. We shall have to wait and see...

Story #91, 92, 93 -- The Dayton adventure (finally)

I doubt any of you believed me that I went to Dayton a few weeks back ON BUSINESS, not just to pick up Mary. I don't blame you. It's been a few weeks with no Dayton update, I know this.

(For the record, Mary is back-- safe and sound-- from Greece/Europe. And I couldn't be happier about that!)

Turns out the stories were pushed back a week (rightfully so, the Dragons are currently doing work in the Class A Midwest League playoffs), and I did the work a week in advance...so...yeah. The stories finally went live on MiLB.com today as part of (what could possibly be the last) Farm's Almanac of the year. The links:

Click here for my general take on the ballpark. As far as Class A facilities go, this is a really nice stadium-- even compared to a couple of Class A Advanced parks I saw. This was also my first trip to Dayton (who would have thought, 22-years-old and I'd never been to Akron OR Dayton even though I'm an Ohio native). I liked the city, though it's hard to tell where it stops and Cincinnati begins ('Touchdown Jesus' is in between though!).

Click here for my story on Dragons broadcaster Mike Vander Wood. Mike's a nice, very enthusiastic guy who has been with the team since 5/3 opened in 2000. I was glad to hear that. As much as I can't get down on young guys covering MiLB (ahem!), I do like to talk to a seasoned personality when chatting about teams, parks, players, etc. Mike was such a personality (my sympathies for the hideous pic of him; I didn't pick it, Mike!).

Click here to get a taste of 5/3 from Dragons player Logan Parker's perspective. Not surprising-- he loves the fan support. Totally surprising-- this ballpark has sold out every game since it opened in 2000. Let's see, call it 70 home games a season times eight seasons, about 8,500 seats at...say $15 a seat. FINAL ROUGH FIGURE: $71.4 million. Can that be right? That's like almost $9 million a year. And that's not even including hot dog sales! Wow. Bravo, Dayton!

As always, more pics can be found via the Flickr! links (both to the photos and --even better-- the map) on the left. I would suggest taking a peek. My map is all expansive and such! :-)

Story #89, 90 -- Northwest League. Fin. (almost)

OK, so the Northwest League season isn't completely over just yet; the five-game series between the Tri-City Dust Devils and Salem-Keizer Volcanoes has only just begun (and has made me look bad already, I picked S-K in four-- T-C won the first game. C'mon S-K, three-straight).

(For the record, my AZL upset prediction was correct. Boo yah!)

But I'm getting ahead of myself. In order to understand my predictions and the matchup, you would have had to read my Northwest League Playoff Preview. And for those of you who want one final taste of the Northwest League Notebook, well, just click the link. Both are up on MiLB.com as we speak.

More to come today. Something like seven stories of mine went life today on MiLB.com, and I have a few left before --I think-- I might be done with this internship. I will keep you posted.

Story #88 -- AZL Playoff Preview

This one will have to tide you over until after Labor Day, people.

Click here to check out my preview for the AZL Championship game (looks like the contest should be a good one), and be sure to check back next week for a bunch of stories, including my trip to Dayton (pics and articles).

For now, have a good, extended weekend!

Story #85, 86, 87 -- Monday recap.

The typical Monday fodder is finally all up on MiLB.com for your enjoyment, so here's the links:

Click here to check out the Pioneer League Notebook. The short-season league is about 1 1/2 weeks away from conclusion, so now is the time to get the facts, and get excited!

Click here to take a peek at the Northwest League Notebook. This league is also a little over a week from conclusion. Have you caught NWL Playoff fever!? I hope not, there's no known cure.

Click here for my wrap on the various Minor Leagues' Offensive Players of the Week. I'm going to have to go with the guy in the picture, the Isotopes' Joe Borchard, as my standout hitter of the week. Obviously whoever did the art for the story agrees.

Story #83, 84 -- A pair of keepers.

After the horrendous start to this week, notebooking out of my freaking mind, I got to buckle down and turn out a couple of stories that I'm really proud of for MiLB.com's Farm's Almanac. They went live yesterday on MiLB.com, but I've been busy (school, Mary's back from Greece, etc.). I've finally got them up here for your enjoyment though, so...uhh...enjoy!

Click here to read about some of the trials and tribulations Minor Leaguers must deal with when they're living life on the road (on a bus), for 6-hour plus long trips to visiting parks. There are some hilarious stories and all around bitterness involved, so read the article. It's a good clup for me.

Click here to read a story about Toledo Mud Hens sideline reporter Jordan Strack, a former MHS hockey teammate and friend of mine, not to mention someone I respect in the journalism world as a peer and colleague. I mean when you have a chance to toss someone some exposure, exposure you wish you had people handing you at this stage in your career, I mean why not. Fun to write, catch up with Jordan and a good story. That's money.

(PS- get over to MiLB.com and check out the main page and the art for the Farm's Almanac if you can, it's pretty cool, especially because one of my stories in the main, and the art is for it specifically).

Story #78, 79, 80, 81, 82 -- Believe it.

If you want a real understanding of what has been going on in the Minor Leagues for the past week, and even what's to come this week-- I've got five stories for you. The amount of information collectively in these notebooks is pretty staggering when you think about. And I'll let you do that, I have to get back to more work. Busy, busy, busy so I can pick up Mary on Wednesday. Until then, it's not fun for Mark though.

Click here to take a 'Peek at the Week.' This story involves me making picks so you, the reader, knows what matchups to follow this week in the Minors. Since it's coming down to the wire in some leagues for the pennant, there's some excitement. It's the leagues that are already all but decided that are really, really, really boring to research and write about.

Click here for the Pioneer League Notebook. I don't know what it is about the PIO League, but I love it so. I always do it first. I always do it better (in my opinion). Maybe there's a correlation there, but I think there's just some charm about the league I can't quite fathom.

Click here for the Northwest League Notebook. The Yakima Bears are in last in their division right now, but the good news is it's the tightest division in (possibly) all the Minor Leagues. Writing about Vancouver each week makes me want to go there more and more. Not for MiLB mind you, I want to just get to Canada and explore a bit.

Click here to hear about MiLB's Offensive Players of the Week. There are some pretty sick players in MiLB you'll be hearing about real soon. My pick out of the bunch for this week has to be Springfield Cardinals catcher Colby Rasmus. What he did in four games is amazing.

Click here for a roundup of MiLB's Pitchers of the Week. For some reason the pitchers story is much more tedious to write than the hitters story. I think it's because all of the pitchers get chosen for winning a pair of games while keeping their ERAs low. I actually revel in the few that either lose, or do something spectacular like a complete game, shutout or otherwise. I guess it's like defense in hockey, you either appreciate it, or you don't. I appreciate pitching, I just think offense is more fun to write about.

Wow. That's the most ridiculous 48 hours of notebooking in my young career. Let's hope it doesn't come to this again, or at least any time soon. OK, I need to be back to work. Heading to "exotic" Dayton on Wednesday, I'll make sure to take pictures! Until then, peace out!

Story #77 -- Martinez focuses on strikes, innings

Too busy to make this long, but here's my story for the Farm's Almanac that went live on MiLB.com today. Click right here to read a quick profile on San Jose Giants pitcher Joey Martinez, who currently leads the California League in strikeouts.

OK, back to work. I have to finish seven stories in the next five days in order to be able to pick up Mary this next week in Cincinnati without totally hosing myself. Busy, busy, busy.

Story #73, 74, 75, 76 -- A busy 48 hours...

Oy. Like two notebooks every Sunday aren't enough. Throw a few stories recapping the various Player of the Week honors today and it becomes a downright tedious beginning to the week. The fruits of my labors all went up on MiLB.com today though, so here are the links:

The Helena Brewers are struggling since winning the first-half division title, you can read a bit about that in the Pioneer League Notebook. The Yakima Bears are in one of the Minor Leagues' tightest races right now searching for a playoff spot, you can read about that in the Northwest League Notebook.

If you'd rather read about the best of the best instead of the short-season rookie league baseball, check out my story on the Offensive Players of the Week, or if you're a defense-first kind of person, the Pitchers of the Week.

Whew. That's a lot of notebook-ing.

OK, back to work. I've got a lot to get done before Mary is home next week! WOOOOO!!!

Story #70, 71, 72 -- The Akron Adventure (stories, pics)

Being home has been a blessing in many ways, but in terms of MiLB.com it's been best to be surrounded by a bunch of unexplored ballparks and teams again. Having hit Sacramento, San Jose, San Francisco, Modesto and Stockton, I had pretty much exhausted what Northern California had to offer in terms of MiLB teams.

So when I saw I was assigned a few more 'On Location' spots before the conclusion of the regular season...well, let's just say I'm glad to be back in Ohio. There's like, 10 teams, within or a little over two hours from Toledo in just about every direction.

For my first road trip since the road trip back from Cali, I went with Akron. The Aeros were home, fit into my schedule, and...well, I'd never been to Akron. Here are the stories for your reading pleasure.

Click here for my general take on Canal Park. It was built by the same architectural group that had a hand in MLB parks like Jacobs Field and Camden Yards, so it had a big-league feel. Also, the Akron cityscape is actually pretty impressive in the background. Who'da' thunk it?

Click here to read up on Aeros radio broadcaster Jim Clark, who moonlights as the play-by-play caller, but his day job is being the Sports Information Director at Walsh University. A family man, that's what Clark's story is about-- a fun tradition he has with his two sons.

Click here to hear what Aeros first baseman Jordan Brown thinks of Akron and Canal Park. He's also having a pretty solid season statistically, so take notes Indians fans. He could be in Triple-A by the end of the season, and possibly into the Majors sometimes in the future.

For those of you who would rather look at pictures than read, click here to head to my Flickr! photo map and simply navigate over to the Akron area. As usual, I have some pics of the ballpark.

Story #67, 68, 69 -- It smells like notebooks in here

And they smell delicious. Three, count them three, notebooks for your reading pleasure. All of them went live today on MiLB.com.

I've got the Pioneer League Notebook for those of you who are interested in say, Brockman's Helena Brewers. What's that you say? You'd prefer something a bit more West coast-style, say closer to Paul's Yakima Bears? OK, well enjoy the Northwest League Notebook then. Still not good enough? Picky, picky. Well than I've saved the best for last-- enjoy the Pitchers of the Week. Whew, you were tough to please today.

OK, check back later this week for three more. I'm doing my first 'On Location' articles since I've returned to Ohio, and I'm still figuring out where I'm going to go. That means it'll be a surprise!

Story #66 -- Siblings share the same dream

I enjoyed writing it, so I hope you will enjoy reading it-- here's my story that went live on MiLB.com today. It's about the brothers scattered across MiLB, specifically Jake and Ryan Eigsti. The pair had some good stories to tell, so it made for a good story. Click here to check out the article.

On a more somber note-- R.I.P. Nick Blanke. A former neighbor, MHS hockey player and family friend-- it's a damn shame when people are snuffed out so soon...

Sigh...

Story #64, 65 -- Sac Town routine, Maumee environment

Well, the reason we pushed so hard to get home was because I had my regular pair of short-season notebooks due Sunday. They went up on MiLB.com today, so I thought I would post. Click here for the Pioneer League notebook, or here if the Northwest League is more your flavor.

DAY 3+1 -- The day after the last day of driving...

MAUMEE, Ohio -- For those of you that I kept in suspense...yes, we made it home. My dad and I rolled into Maumee yesterday around 8 p.m. EST! The California adventure is officially over, even if the MiLB.com internship continues (at least for the time being).

I figure that there will be some reflective posts in the future, but right now isn't the time for that. Right now I'm just happy to be home. The environment, family, the dog, the friends, the stuff to do (with people!)...well, it's just perfect. I jokingly told a few people I figured I would be socially awkward upon my return --I have been talking to myself for the past three months-- but I guess it's like riding a bike. Or maybe I was never that socially gifted before. Hmm...keep that to yourself, ha!

Some early news. I have a new cell phone. Uhh...my friends still rock. It's 24 days until Mary returns from Greece (HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY, CUTIE!)! Oh, and I weigh 190 POUNDS!

Let me talk about the weight thing real quick. Entering Fall Quarter at OU this year, I was 240 pounds. In January I was down to 230. Before I left for Sac Town I was 225. In Yosemite, the hotel scale read 200. And yesterday, after a very satisfying shower, 190 pounds. I didn't even weigh 190 when I left for college! I was 210! So yeah...there's something to be said for the "poor college student living in solitude" diet. I hope to keep running, start lifting and keep eating wisely/healthy.

Can I hit 180 before Mary gets home!? That may be a lofty goal, but it's a goal all the same. I could settle for some definition, but I doubt the ladies could handle it. Sigh, there's always a risk attached.

Tomorrow I try to get my life in better order and settled in a bit more. The car needs to be washed. Grass needs to be mowed. Unpacking still has to be done. I need to get over and see the Fagans-s-s-s sometime and prepare for a family reunion this weekend. I think we're heading up to Em's cottage Friday, which would be stellar. I've never been. The Simpsons Movie is in the works somewhere. I need to square away monetary things with MiLB.com.

And yes, there's still stories to be written. I can only hope MLBAM keeps me on while I'm here, all the way though playoffs would be awesome. For now, I'm just happy that the money I am earning is profit. It's nice to not have to be paying a (almost) $700 rent every month. I'd like to make some money during this internship. Oh wait, I mean make back some money I spent moving to California, living in California, etc.

Sigh...one step at a time. Peace out. Sleep is a priority for the next week.

DAY 2 -- I-80...to the FACE!

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- For my lone poller who visits this blog "every full moon," welcome. The big hunk of the cheese in the night sky is indeed viewable in its entirety tonight, so since it's been like...wow, since my Yosemite trip...that you've been here, I'll make sure to make this post extra good! :)

(SHAMELESS PLUG FROM THE EDITOR: The poll closes soon! Don't miss out!)

My dad and I saw plenty of the moon tonight, as we rolled into our final destination for the day around midnight CST. We drove over 1000 miles today, making it from Elko, Nev., to Grand Island, Neb., which puts us about two hours from our (unfeasible) goal of Omaha I stated yesterday. The main goal --getting home tomorrow-- still stands though, thanks to our ridiculous pounding of I-80 today.

Go figure, after an (almost) 15-hour day of driving, I think my dad and I are pretty tired. Neither of us has ever driven more than 1000 miles in a day, so it was a milestone to say the least. And tomorrow, the Escort rolls over 80,000 miles (it's grown up so fast).

It's just a celebration on I-80...and you're all invited! I'm hoping to be home at a decent hour and --if I'm not passed out exhausted-- I may try to meet up with anyone willing to do something, if anything is even going on. Call me tomorrow if you're bored [insert YOUR name here]. We should have cell service for most of the remainder of the trip.

(Again, we shall see-- I will be tired and I have a FULL day Sunday of MiLB.com work).

We saw all the landmarks today-- the "Tree of Life" (aka crazy sculpture in the middle of the Great Salt Desert), the howling Coyote atop miscellaneous rocks in Wyoming (no details needed) and the Great Platte River Monument thing-a-majig (which had NO LIGHTS on it at night, you could almost miss it...ridiculous). I wish I could say they were all more exciting going East, but they're not. I-80 is a harsh mistress and extremely boring.

For the first time since visiting Mary (her 22nd b-day is Sunday! CELEBRATE!) in Cincinnati around Memorial Day, I saw rain. And then proceeded to see it, and have to deal with some intense drops, from Rawlins, Wyo., through most of Nebraska. I'm already sick of it, at least until this drive is finished. It was more annoying than anything else.

I'd love to type more right now but, again, tired. I will try to post more from HOME tomorrow!

PS-- My story on MiLB.com this week is posted below if you want to kill some time until I'm around to make your life more thrilling in Maumee! :)

Story #63 -- Isom happy at the helm in Helena

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- Just wanted to post my Farm's Almanac's story real quick, which went up on MiLB.com. That's right, even on the road I'm not going to keep you from some quality feature writing. Click here for my story on Helena Brewers manager Jeff Isom.

DAY 1 -- The trip home begins...

ELKO, Nev. -- Greetings from one of maybe three 'major' towns in Nevada located along I-80, and that number includes Reno.

It's weird to think about the timeline of this trip and our first stop puts it in perspective. The last time we were in Elko was around the time of the Virginia Tech shootings. Not a happy memory to associate with a destination, but it illustrates the time has, indeed, passed. In case you were worried.

(They still have a stuffed moose on the bed here too. Again, in case you were worried.)

I picked my dad up from the Sac Town airport and we began heading East around 1 p.m. PST. Around 420 miles and six hours later, here we are in Elko. We're not hitting the casino like last time because I've learned from my previous mistake, and my dad is understandably tired from a 7 a.m. flight from Cincinnati to Sac Town which rewarded him with a trip back East (longer than his flight with far less impressive results).

The goal tonight-- sleep. We are getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to continue East. If we make it to Omaha, Neb., we deserve medals, but we are definitely shooting to hit Nebraska (Ogallala, North Platte, Kearney or Grand Island maybe). The further we get tomorrow, the less overwhelming the distance to Maumee will seem Saturday, if doable at all.

It may even make doing this trip in three days seem sane.

We're rushing home because I have two stories due for MiLB.com Sunday, my weekly installments of short-season notebooks. If we get home at any hour Saturday (or early Sunday morning), then I will be good to go Sunday to get some sleep, wake up and routinely finish the stories. If not...well. That's when life on the road gets interesting. "The ultimate inspiration is the deadline."

Also, Sunday is Mary's birthday and, while she is in Greece --presenting her final project actually on her special day-- I'd like to be in a stable location, with phone service so I can (hopefully) get a quick call in to wish her a happy one. She's soon to be traveling Europe, and I'm totally jealous. But I have Maumee to look forward to, and with it regular human contact. I'm for it.

So will we make it to Omaha tomorrow? Check back to find out...