Category Archives: sports

Sep 16 2024
sports

Suffering some tennis fatigue


End of summering aside, I have been playing a ton of tennis lately and it’s starting to wear a bit. We’ve got a big tournament this coming weekend and the urge to get as much practice in has started to backfire. I’m tried and playing lazily, which is not a recipe for confidence building.

You see my zones up there. Living in Zone 1 is not evidence of a player getting after it on the court. I’ve got one last mixed doubles match tonight to play as a tune up, and then I’m on hold until the weekend. I don’t usually have to be the guy “making a conscious effort to stay upbeat and positive”, but that’s where I am today.

Fingers crossed.

Sep 12 2024
photos, sports

Lindor is a Monster

We’ve hit a period where the Mets are playing respectable baseball, buoyed by Francisco Lindor who is having an MVP-caliber season.

This is a picture of him hitting a game-tying HR in the top of the 9th. The Mets scored 5 more in the inning and won 6-2.

He’s been an absolute rock all season.

Sep 07 2024
sports

Vientos has been a great surprise

Speaking of hope for a playoff spot, the Mets started the year stinking bad-bad, but since the All-Star break have been playing pretty good baseball. One of the great stories of the season has been Mark Vientos making the most of his opportunity to play full time. He drew the short straw at the beginning of the season when he got sent down to the minors in favor of Brett Baty. Baty couldn’t put it together, so Vientos got a shot and he’s been playing at a very high level all season long.

Last night’s walk off 2-run HR is just the latest example of his patience, where he forces the pitcher into a long at-bat and then punishes a mistake pitch. I was freaking hyped.

Meaningful September baseball is a great deal of fun.

Sep 07 2024
fun, photos, sports

Caught a 6.5 tennis W

Today’s tennis was downtown on the Arthur Ashe Jr. Courts at Battery Park, named so because that is where the multiple Grand Slam Champion learned to play. It’s a cool piece of tennis history and the courts were surprisingly nice, given that they’re public and in the city. You can never tell what kind of love they’re going to get in the annual budget, but these were in great shape.

We played well and won 6-4, 6-2. I’ve really enjoyed the combo matches this year. There’s only one more week of matches, but we’re still in the hunt for a playoff spot.


Zone 2 life suits me. It’s a workout, for sure, but I don’t feel completely wrung out at the end.

Aug 31 2024
fun, sports

5.5 Morning match

I like playing in the 5.5 combo league, where 3.0 and 2.5 players play together. The 2.5 guys are all pretty chill, and they’re new to tennis. There’s no pressure to be on and the matches can be a place to work on different parts of my game.

I didn’t know the zones were in all of the Fitness entries. I guess I really am a Zone 3 man.

Aug 29 2024
bicycles, fun, sports

I’m a spinner now

I’ve been playing tennis for a few years now, almost exclusively for fun and exercise. It’s been a good sweat and I like hanging out with my tennis friends. I’ve also gotten better at it.

I’ve gotten to a point now, sadly, that my skill has exceeded my fitness, and if I want to keep improving I’m going to need to start exercising and improving my cardio so I can get better at the thing I do for exercise.

I know, I don’t like it either, but here we are.

I have chosen a twice-weekly spin class as the path by which I will collect cardio gains. I used to be an avid recreational cyclist and I’m not unfamiliar with the dark arts of the spin studio. Plus they’re free at the club so the barrier to entry is low.

I never thought of myself as a Zone 3 Man, but the data is the data.

Aug 12 2024
photos, sports, tv

Poolside Viewing

The rent is too damn high, for sure, but I’ll take an invite to a spot with amenities like a poolside cabana tv that turns so I can watch the Olympics from the water.

Jul 21 2024
fun, photos, sports

Postseason tennis is back

We took one of the two spots to advance out of the USTA Sectionals this weekend. I was only available to play one of the matches, but we won our line and the team won handily. This is the same kind of thing we did a few years back when we went out to USTA Team Nationals (as 3.0 players, “the best of the worst”).

The weather had been dodgy all weekend so we played an adjusted format that greatly shortened the match, in an effort to get as much tennis in before the rain as we could. It wasn’t a crushing physical task, thank goodness, but it was still muggy enough to get up a good sweat.

We go again in three weeks. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Jul 14 2024
fun, sports

Too hot to be fun

Another too-hot day with a USTA match. We didn’t get going until 2:30 and man, it was rough. It was the first time this summer I was paying attention to my heart rate in-match. It broke 160bpm a few times, which is where I start to reconsider my choices. Even with generous breaks for water and shade, things were dicy.

I played pretty well, which was no small feat given the temperature and crushing sun. My serve held most of the match and my ground strokes were consistent. That’s a few matches in a row they they’ve been decent. I *might* be getting better.

Those improvements were balanced out by a hysterical inability to hit a volley at the net. Like, it was bad-bad.

It was my first win at 3.5, too. Also, holy shit it was hot.

Jul 08 2024
photos, sports

Strong Sunday Candidate

Sunday started with a customary coffee with the gang. I like to keep it iced in the summer. It gets hot here.

Morning tennis was in the 3.0 league and we won our match 6-1, 6-4. The team won on a deep tiebreaker, keeping some postseason hopes alive. It’s been a rocky one for us. Afterwards, I had a small meal, a shower, and a nap, all in preparation for evening tennis. Unlike my misadventures on the 4th of July, there was room in the day for a recovery plan.

Unfortunately, I didn’t play as well in the 3.5 evening match and we lost 6-3, 6-4. I’m still new at the higher level, so I’m okay with the loss/lesson. Our opponents were decent dudes, so it softens the blow a little. A couple of post-match cold ones (not pictured) completed the picture for a top-5 Sunday in July.

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