For Ryan Out Loud! Blog 9

Here
is an example of how dedicated I am to covering high school sports – a
little too dedicated if you ask a normal human being.

Last Friday, April 17th was my birthday. Thank you, thank you! That’s right, the BIG 25 – only a quarter of the way done.

Anyway,
I celebrated my birthday by covering a girls-boys lacrosse doubleheader
at Churchill HS. And it was actually a great time.

First off, my
wife brought me Chipotle at halftime and I got to wave it in front of
the Gazette reporters’ faces (alright, I gave them a bite). I always
enjoy hearing the chants of the Walter Johnson cheering section, the
weather was beautiful for once and the games were spectacular.

Check out the coverage below…

Boys Lacrosse: Walter Johnson 8, Churchill 6
Girls Lacrosse: Churchill 12, Walter Johnson 11

But, FOR RYAN OUT LOUD!, not everything was perfect. So therefore, I’m making 5 Birthday Wishes for High School Sports.

1.    No timeouts by any team, ESPECIALLY THE WINNING TEAM, when the game is out of hand and there’s less than two minutes left
–   
What are the purpose of these!?!?!?! I think you’re going to say that
you want to practice a last-minute situation against a real live team.
I’m going to say that it’s not realistic at all because if you’re in
that situation you’re probably against a team way better than the one
you’re currently facing! (that’s my No. 1 pet peeve. Glad it’s off my
chest)
2.    No quotes saying “We just wanted it more than them.”
–   
I have several problems with this quote. A) You have no idea how much
the other team wanted to win that game. You are not in their brain. B)
Don’t be silly, everybody wants to win the game. C) It’s just sooooo
cliché
3.    No hard core security personnel waging war with reporters
–   
Another pet peeve. The worst was at Metros, the swimming championships.
First I got kicked off the diving platform because apparently my mini
head was hindering the view of hundreds of people from seeing the
MASSIVE scoreboard posting times. Then I got kicked off the side of the
pool cause I was too close to the timers, although there were several
newspaper reporters closer than I. Then I was told I don’t actually
work for the media despite showing a media credential and that I should
check back when I’ve worked for The Washington Post. Funny you should
mention that! I laughed all the way home.
4.    No rainouts (pretty sure this one is most likely to happen!!!)
–   
Just a huge pain in my rumpus. A snow out I can understand. I mean
that’s fun for everybody. But a rain out just means I have to find out
when tons of games are rescheduled to AND I can’t go outside and have
fun to pass the day. Lame.
5.    Everyone has rosters printed
–   
Coaches, this one is also for you. You know I love y’all, but c’mon.
When you set your roster please take the 30 minutes or whatever to type
in your team, including jersey number, year and preferably position
into a Word document and print out 30 copies so that any time the media
comes you can provide a roster. A lot of your are really on the ball
with this. Others give me hand cramps.

Excuse me if I sound like
a whiner, but those are my wishes and that’s the whole premise of my
blog (read the title). And I blew out all 25 candles on that Chipotle
burrito so they better come true.

Editors Note:
Just so you know I’m not a complete loser for working all night on my
birthday I did go celebrate Saturday night with some friends bowling at
Strike Bethesda. Then my folks came down Sunday to treat me to
Maggiano’s in Bethesda. Both were fantastic!

My Co-Worker’s Bogs:
T-Mac’s Tuesday Take
Altered States
Murphy’s Law
Ramblin’ Man
The Paul Monitor

Click below to add Montgomery DigitalSports as a friend on Facebook: