amandarykoff's posterous

In which I say goodbye and thank you to Jorge Posada

In case you missed it, I wrote a few words on Jorge Posada's retirement over at espnW.

http://espn.go.com/espnw/commentary/7451951/amanda-rykoff-says-goodbye-new-york-yankee-jorge-posada

Thank you, Jorge. We'll miss you.

John Fogerty - Beacon Theater November 18, 2011 - Green River Set List

The set list from John Fogerty's outstanding show at the Beacon Theater in New York City. November 18, 2011.

The entire album Green River in its entirety, start to finish
Green River
Commotion
Tombstone Shadow
Wrote a Song for Everyone
Bad Moon Rising [a highlight of the show was the use of a graphic for the men's and women's room with an arrow pointing to the right during the chorus of the song. There's a bathroom on the right!]
Lodi
Cross-Tie Walker
Sinister Purpose
Night Time Is the Right Time

Centerfield
Hey Tonight
Born on the Bayou
I Will Walk With You
Hot Rod Heart
Gunslinger
Keep On Chooglin'
Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
Pretty Woman
Down On the Corner
Susie Q
Bad Case of Loving You [he absolutely crushed this cover]
Old Man Down the Road
Fortunate Son

Encore
Good Golly Miss Molly [instead of Travelin' Band]
Proud Mary

The Power of Photos (and Why I Take Them)

As many of you know, I take a lot of photos at sporting events. I do it because I like to keep a photographic record of the game. I do it because I enjoy capturing moments in time. I do it because at this point, it's part of my whole game-viewing experience.

Last week, I attended my final Yankees regular season home game on Tuesday, September 20 against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was a gorgeous night and we arrived at the Stadium earlier than usual to ensure we got our souvenir Snoopy dolls, courtesy of Met Life.

As we settled in for the game, we noticed a gathering of men in fatigues walking along the warning track. Who was this group of military men? I asked my friend Mark Schwartz, himself a USMC veteran, but we could not tell the affiliation of the group.

Once they lined up behind home plate for pre-game ceremonies, we learned it was the Fighting 69th, based here in New York.

The Fighting 69th has a long and storied history, going back to the Civil War and continuing to this day as a part of the New York Army National Guard. It's an Irish heritage unit and Wikipedia tells me that it's the "original owner of "Fighting Irish" nickname, which the University of Notre Dame inherited via chaplains who served with the unit during the Civil War."

The unit lined up behind home plate and was greeted first by Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who came out and shook the hands of many of the members of the unit. Manager Joe Girardi followed Jackson with a greeting for the group.

As the unit marched back along the warning track, Snoopy saluted the troops. It was a moment that made both me and Schwartz smile.

I took photos of all of this and posted them on Flickr as part of my photoset from Tuesday's game.

Yesterday, I received an email from a man who found my photos on Flickr. It read:

My son is a solider in the 69th. Do you have any other pictures? Is it possible to get the three you have on your site? He is off to Afghanistan later this year.

I immediately responded and asked him for his email address so I could send him the photos I had from the game, as well as others that weren't posted on Flickr.

I sent him the photos and he responded with the following:

The soldiers you saw at the game are all leaving tomorrow morning for the National Training Center at Fort Irwin CA for 1 month of intense desert training. They will be home for approx 1 month then ship out to Mississippi than Afghanistan. The support they get from the community means a lot to them.

I know that my photos don't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. If taking them and sending them to a father of a son who is shipping off to Afghanistan can help bring a smile to his face, it's the least I can do.

R.E.M. Set List - Madison Square Garden, NYC - June 19, 2008

R.E.M. has been my favorite band for over 25 years. I've got every one of their albums plus several rarities. I've seen them perform live in the three cities where I've lived - Los Angeles, Philadelphia and New York.

With news of the band's break-up breaking my heart today, I pulled out the set list from R.E.M.'s amazing June 19, 2008 show at MSG. It was the last time I saw them perform live.

The guys put on a great show and pulled out some oldies but goodies (including three from Life's Rich Pageant! Really!) for the old-school fans. So glad I got to see them.

1. Living Well is the Best Revenge
2. These Days
3. What's the Frequency Kenneth
4. Bad Day
5. Drive
6. Hollowman
7. Ignoreland
8. Man Sized Wreath (tribute to MLK Jr.)
9. Leaving New York (not performed in rehearsal or concert for over three years)
10. Disturbance at the Heron House
11. Houston (response to Bush's response - or lack thereof - to Katrina)
12. Electrolite
13. Don't Go Back to Rockville
14. Driver 8 (yeah, you read that right)
15. Harborcoat
16. The One I Love
17. Until the Day is Done
18. Let Me In
19. Horse to Water
20. Pretty Persuasion
21. Orange Crush
22. I'm Gonna DJ

ENCORE
23. Supernatural Superserious
24. Losing My Religion
25. Begin the Begin (yeah, you read that right, too!)
26. Fall on Me (with Johnny Marr on guitar)
27. Man On the Moon

Fantasy Football 2011: Introducing White On Rice

The first of my two fantasy football drafts is in the books. This is a fourteen team, all girls league run by Girls Guide to Fantasy Football. It's basically standard scoring, no PPR. I had the sixth pick in the snake draft.

Without further ado, presenting White On Rice.

Round 1 - #6
Ray Rice - RB/Ravens
Yes and please. I planned to take McCoy at this spot, but Ray Rice was there.

Round 2 - #23
Roddy White - WR/Falcons
I could not believe he fell to me at this spot. Julio Jones? Not concerned.

Round 3 - #34
LeGarrette Blount - RB/Tampa Bay
Yeah, I'm high on Blount this season.

Round 4 - #51
Josh Freeman - QB/Tampa Bay
I admit this was too soon but something got screwed up with my queue and he was my pick.

Round 5 - #62
Mario Manningham - WR/NY Giants
This is who I meant to take in Round 4. He was still there for me in Round 5. Michigan Man.

Round 6 - #79
Marshawn Lynch - RB/Seattle
Not much competition in Seattle at the RB position.

Round 7 - #90
Steve Smith - WR/Carolina
Cam Newton to the rescue!

Round 8 - #107
Zach Miller - TE/Seattle
Tight end on a bad offense. Lots of checkdowns coming. Sure, why not?

Round 9 - #118
Kevin Kolb - QB/Arizona
I needed a backup QB and I could not bring myself to take Jay Cutler.

Round 10 - #135
Jerome Harrison - RB/Detroit
I am being sneaky here. I don't think Jahvid Best stays healthy.

Round 11 - #146
Detroit D/ST
Lots of sacks coming, right?

Round 12 - #163
Deion Branch - WR/New England
Just filling out the bench at this point, and he plays in a Tom Brady-led offense.

Round 13 - #174
Derrick Ward - RB/Houston
I don't have anything to say.

Round 14 - #191
Marion Barber - RB/Chicago
Lord help me if he actually gets a start on my team.

Round 15 - #202
Danario Alexander - WR/St. Louis
Big sleeper potential here.

Round 16 - #219
Jay Feely - K/Arizona
A kicker with my last pick, of course.

Bacon On a Stick. Oh yes.

Labor Day Weekend 2011 Sports Extravaganza

Because life is short and I love sports, I've put together quite a ridiculous (and awesome) sports extravaganza for Labor Day Weekend. For purposes of this post, let's say Labor Day Weekend started today, September 1.

Five days. Five events. Three boroughs. Two states.

Thursday, September 1: Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD, 12:35 p.m. Because my friend suggested we take a day trip to Baltimore, and I said what the hell. I love Camden Yards.

Friday, September 2: Staten Island Yankees (Baby Yankees) at Brooklyn Cyclones (Baby Mets), Keyspan Park, Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY, 7 p.m. Because it's baby baseball and fireworks.

Saturday, September 3: U.S. Open Tennis, USTA Tennis Center, Flushing, Queens, NY. All day. One of the best live sporting experiences we have in the New York area. I try to get out there at least once each year. I've got a grounds pass for Saturday which provides access to all courts except Arthur Ashe.

Sunday, September 4: Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY, 1:05 p.m. Of course there had to be a Yankee game in here.

Monday, September 5: Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY, 1:05 p.m. Labor Day baseball.

Note: I turned down a ticket for Monday night's U.S. Open night session at Ashe Stadium. It would be too much. Even for me. I have two fantasy football drafts to prepare for.

Enjoy your sports holiday, whatever sport it is you enjoy.

Facebook Has Done It Again - Phonebook Contacts

Surprise surprise! Facebook has once again opted us into a new feature without giving us a chance to opt out or disable it first.

If you have the Facebook Mobile app on your phone, guess what? All of the phone numbers in your contacts list on your PHONE are now on Facebook. This is not a good thing.

To change this and remove the phone numbers, follow these instructions:

1. Go to ACCOUNT, click EDIT FRIENDS (the first drop down under ACCOUNT)

2. Once you've clicked EDIT FRIENDS, on the left side of the screen click CONTACTS. You will see all the phone numbers stored in your phone.

3. TO REMOVE: go to the right column and you will see in small print the following: "Facebook Phonebook displays contacts you have imported from your phone, as well as your Facebook friends. If you would like to remove your mobile contacts from Facebook, you need to disable the feature on your mobile phone and visit this page."

Click on "this page" and it will remove the numbers.

With all the hacking going on these days, you don't want your friends phone numbers being exposed.

Note: If any of your friends have posted their phone numbers on Facebook, those will remain in your Facebook Phonebook Contacts. This will only affect the numbers imported from your phone.

Repost this and protect your contacts.

Inbox Zero

This really happened. Inbox Zero. August 4, 2011. 3:59 p.m. EDT.

Runyon 5K Run/Walk Beer and Baseball Fundraiser - July 20

When: Wednesday, July 20

 Time: 5:00pm - 10:00pm

Place: Foley's New York 18 West 33rd Street (between 5th Ave and 6th Ave)

What: Beer and Baseball Fundraiser

Attention baseball-loving and cancer-hating people! We're doing the Runyon 5K Run/Walk at Yankee Stadium on August 7 and we want you to help support our team.

Join Chicks Dig the Long Ball to raise money for cancer research on Wednesday, July 20 at Foley's New York.

The Yankees are at Tampa Bay and the Mets are hosting the Cardinals, so come on by to watch baseball and enjoy some adult beverages (we like beer).

Here's the deal: We will have drink tickets for the event. Each ticket will have 4 drink tokens. Buy your tickets (4 tokens each) for $20 from 5-7 p.m. The tickets can be redeemed until 10 p.m. for well liquor, house wine and draft and bottle beer (excluding the expensive craft beer).

NOTE: To buy drink tickets, you must be at the bar before 7 p.m. If you arrive after, you're paying full price for drinks.

We'll also be accepting donations throughout the night which will go straight to the Damon Runyon fund.

For more information on the Runyon 5K, to find out more about our team, or to make a donation, check out our team site:
http://Runyon5K.kintera.or​g/chicksdigthelongball

Thanks and look forward to seeing you on July 20th!

This is a public event so feel free to invite whoever you'd like. The more the merrier.

Chicks Dig The Long Ball