Time Marches On

Posted on November 15, 2024 by AverageAndy

Its been about a month since I was let go from my job as a Data Center Administrator. After getting things that needed to be done (Insurance, Unemployment) completed, along with revieing finances, I have been able to take some time to reelect on the next chapter of my life. While I am too young to “retire”, (whatever that means), I feel I have put in enough time in the corporate world where I should now be able to take my time and find a job I enjoy. at a company that I care about, rather than taking anything just to get a pay-check.

It is crazy how when you are working, a lot of time, it feels like the days last for ever, but when you are not working, the days seem to fly bye. I have kept myself active by getting out and taking walks, as well as blowing the endless amount of leaves of my property.

I have also tried to find time to read. The other day I went to Barnes and Nobel to pick up the new book “There’s Treasure Inside” by Jon Collins-Black. I saw some adds for it, and it really caught my interest. The author has hidden 5 treasure boxes in the United States containing a collection of treasures he amassed over the past 5 years. As you read the book, which contains chapters on the history of the treasures, you should be able to find clues that will lead you to the hidden location of the boxes.

I have always been intrigued by things like this. Back in 1984, there was a book titled Treasure: In Search of The Golden Horse where you could solve the riddles in the book to find the location of the Golden Horse. Hare to tell if the treasure was ever found (I have read different things), but I remember thinking this was the coolest thing. I still have the book today

Similarly, As Card Collector (both Sport and Non-Sport), I got interest in the TOPPS Allen & Ginter Baseball Card Sets, as occasionally there were clues hidden withing the cards that you needed to solve to win a prize. There websites and social media accounts that were also set up to help you to solve the riddles. I remember reading the solution to one of the hunts, and it was way above my IQ. But I found it fascinating the things that they were able to come up with, and that there were people who were able to solve it.

And now for something completely different in bullet form

  • Picked up my Red Holiday Reusable Cup at Starbucks
  • Sad to see Sol go on Survivor
  • Congratulations to Dave Simms being named next Yankees Play-by-Play man
  • Please bring back Pete Alonso and do not sign Juan Soto
  • Eddie Redmayne is great in Day of the Jackal
  • Lets Go Iron Mike Tyson
  • Never To Old For Survivor
  • Follow Me at @averageandy.bsky.socia

And finally it is getting harder and harder to trust what anybody says on TV, Social Media, or Print. There used to be a least some fact checking, and there were consequences for putting out false or misleading information. Not any more. Now its run with whatever you hear and if its wrong, just quickly put out a disclaimer, and move on. Sad how the vast majority of the population just doesn’t care.

Aaron Rodgers, Pat McAfee Got Hilariously Duped by Fake NFL Stat About Jared Goff

Rarely ever watch or listened to this show (I am a huge sports fan, but this is just not my style), but I now have a reason to never watch it. You can get things wrong, but you at lease have to try to check things before airing them. I guess its to expensive to have a fact checker, or the cost of having one is not worth it, as people continue to watch and listen even though there is no credibility.

Lehigh Football had a big win at Holly Cross last Saturday, and now at 3 – 1 in the conference, they have a shot at winning the Patriot League Championship. They play Colgate on Saturday, and then end the season against Lafayette in the 160th edition of the most-played rivalry in all of college football.

#LehighFootball
#MountainHawks
#Engineers
#Brown&White

Giants are on there bye week after losing to Carolina in Munich Germany last week. As a lifelong fan, its tough to watch as the team is just bad and has no fight. They have no identity and give fans no reason to care. With a home game vs. Tampa Bay (They are 0-5 and cant score at home), and then the Thanksgiving game at Dallas (Who also is terrible at home), the next 2 games will go a long way of dictating where this one proud franchise is headed.

MetLife Stadium History

· New York Giants (2010-2024) · Regular Season: 54-65-1 · Playoffs: 1-0
· New York Jets (2010-2024) · Regular Season: 56-64-0.

Be sure to get outside and enjoy the fall weather. Studies have shown that just being out in nature can be a big help to your heath.

#AverageAndy

#Survivor
#GiveMeAChance
#JeffProbst
#JesseTannnenbaum
#MarkBurnett

#Fish
#Marillion
#IronMaiden

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, sunshine in my eyes can make me cry.
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely, sunshine almost always makes me high.
If I had a day that I could give you, I’d give to you the day just like today.
If I had a song that I could sing for you, I’d sing a song to make you feel this way.

John Denver

#PEACE
#LOVE

Posted in Books, Card Collecting, Dalton Ross, Everyday, Football, Fun and Games, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Job Searching, John Denver, Jon Collins-Black - There's Treasure Inside, Lehigh University, Mark Burnett, Ponderosa, Reality Shows, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Confused

Posted on November 8, 2024 by AverageAndy

The word I would used after the 2024 Presidential Election to describe my feelings is confused. Its the kind of the same feeling that a felt after the 2020 and 2016 Elections. Not really about why people would decide to vote the way they did, but by how much they seem to dishonor the position of President of the United States. How when people are casting their vote, they don’t think “This is the ultimate position in the world, and it deserves respect. Would be like if you were the leaving your job as CEO of a company, and are interviewing two people for the job. One person showed up late, waring shorts and a tee shirt, looking like they just woke up, acting like a jerk, but very charismatic. He seemed like he was qualified to do the job, but had a few red flags in his past. The second person showed up early, looking and acting very professional, but came across as a bit stiff and uncharismatic. But was very respectful and qualified and could defiantly handle the job. When making your decision, isn’t there something that makes you go “The person I hire is going to be representing my company and all the hard work I put into running it” But then you hire the 1st person because he seemed like a nicer guy even though there was no real proof he could do the job up to your expectations. To me even though the 1st person seems nice and competent, ultimately, the job deserves respect, and I would hire the 2nd guy.

Looking at how things play out, I guess there are a lot of people who really don’t care and respect the position of President of the United States. They are not bad people, just ones with a different perspective. Whether this is due lower education, low self confidence, or all the propaganda and false information that was put out there as a way to scare people, they just ended up valuing things differently than what I find to be straight forward, and this is what confused me. How people can be manipulated and not seem to care of notice reality.

I will admit that the Democratic Party miscalculated this election, and did things that probably hurt their cause more than it helped. They needed to acknowledge that there is a strong resentment against the Democratic elite and celebrities, and getting people like Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé to endorse their candidate just made them look more elite and less connected to the less fortunate. Also, by failing to explain that they were open for open discussion and change about anything, and will not just be a continuation of the previous administration, they alienated a lot of there own voters, who it seems decided not to vote at all. The Republicans got about the same number of votes as the last election, while Democrats received a whopping 12 Million less votes.

Enough for now — Maybe I will circle back to this in a while when things settle down a bit and we get back to normal for a while

As promised, here are some pictures of promo cards I picked up at the 81st Philly Non-Sport Show a few weeks back.

Philly Non-Sport Show Promos – Fall 2024
Philly Non-Sport Show Promos – Fall 2024
Philly Non-Sport Show Promos – Fall 2024
Philly Non-Sport Show Promos – Fall 2024

Survivor is getting interesting. Lots of people playing a good game. Like the hidden advantage at the auction (although it may be a bit too random). And not a big fan of losing a vote. Would rather there be a different penalty like having a disadvantage, or havening to sit out the next immunity challenge.

I also feel that people need to share more information. For some advantages, you may be better off bringing in one or two others so that you gain trust as well as have more options on how to use it

#PEACE

#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#Marillion (A better way of life)


Average Andy — Survivor 2025

Posted in Adam Klein, Card Collecting, Christian Hubicki, Christine Hofbeck, Dalton Ross, Drew Basile, Fun and Games, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, John Cochran, Kellyn Bechtold, Marillion, Mark Burnett, Mike Gabler, Music, Non-Sports Cards, Parvati Shallow, Philly Non Sports Card Show, Reality Shows, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Keep on Moving

Posted on November 1, 2024 by AverageAndy

Been a strange few weeks as I am between jobs and dealing with things associated with being unemployed like getting my insurance straightened out (COBRA is expensive), Figuring out what to do with my 401K, Filling for unemployment, updating my resume, … Also want to try and keep active and take some time for my self to reevaluate what I really want to do going forward. Its crazy how time seems to go by quicky when you want it to slow down so you can get things done

I did make it to Chiller Theater on Saturday, and the Philly Non-Sport Card Show on Sunday. Chiller Theater was fun, but the prices for autographs and selfies are a bit out of control. Most of the guests were charging $80.00 per autograph and more for a selfie. I did break down and get a selfie with the great Corey Feldman (Was over an hour wait). As I am on a self monitored budget, I decided that this would be my only expenditure for the day. I did stand in line and got to talk to and fist bump John Cusack (Star of many great movies of my youth), and was able to get a peak at Molly Ringwald (No self pictures were allowed.

Corey Feldman Table
Me and Corey Feldman
Brian Tochi Table
Jaws Poster signed by Susan Backlinie
Tommy Chong

I had a fun time talking to Brian Tochi, who has been in a bunch of movies an TV shows over the years, and is one of a few living people to have stared in both Star Trek: The Original Series, as well as in some of the spin off shows. Was really cool when he signed a photo to a fan with the words to the chant in the episode he was in

Brian Tochi in Star Trek: TOS

Also talked to Eddie Deezen, who I will always remember from War Games talking about computers and back doors.

War Games — Eddie Deezen, Matthew Broderick and Maury Chaykin

On Sunday, I headed to the Philadelphia Expo Center for the 81st annual Philly Non-Sport Card show. I have been attending the twice a year event for around 20 years. Over this time the show has been held at numerous locations and has show cased some of the top Non Sport companies and dealers. One of the highlights is the free promo packs given out at each show, along with the free promos given out by the card companies and dealers. Didn’t have much money to spend, so only picked up a few insert cards I needed. Will post pictures of the promos and inserts when I get home later today

On a sad note, we lost a few more Hollywood legends. Teri Garr (December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024) passed away last Tuesday from multiple sclerosis. She was a major star of the 70’s and 80’s starring in some of my favorite movies like “Oh God”, “Young Frankenstein”, Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Tootsie” to name a few. I also remember her from the Star Trek Episode Assignment: Earth where she played Roberta Lincoln next to Robert Lansing as Gary Seven (Who I always thought had the coolest name for a character. One of the all time greats and will be missed

We also lost David Harris (June 18, 1949 – October 25, 2024) He was best know for playing Cochise, a young gang member, in the 1979 film The Warriors. A cult classic and one of my all time favorites. He later stared in several TV shows in the 80s and 90s. Funny how somebody who played a supporting character in a 45 year old movie left a mark on me and many others and I am grateful for that. He will be missed

Baseball Season has come to an end in 2024 — The L.A. Dodgers defeated the N.Y. Yankees 4 -1 to will the fall classic. Have to admit is did make me feel a bit better about the N.Y. Mets and their performance in the play-offs against the Dodgers. The Dodgers are a great team and the Mets played them tough. Time to take a break from baseball and will see you all if February 2025 for spring training

The NY Giants continue to be irrelevant and play uninspired football. As a life long Giants fan, I have to admit, they are getting tough to watch even for me. Just no juice, no urgency, no passion. Just a big Blah. They need to do something. They do have a game in Berlin, Germany coming up against the equally inept Caroline Panthers, and then they play on Thanksgiving Day against the Cowboys. If they continue playing the way they are, this could get very ugly

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are playing solid football and play at Georgetown on Saturday. A win would be a big step in the right direction as they try to bounce back after some down years. Lets Go Lehigh.

While blowing leaves the past few days (One of the major down sides of living in a rural are with lot of trees, I listened to an Apply Music station based on the great “Fish”, ex singer from my favorite bands Marillion. Besides playing Fish and Marillion songs, they played lot of great prog music, including many bands and songs I have not heard before.

Here is a list of some bands that will defiantly need to check out

Fleesh
Mostly Autum
Magnum
I.Q
Mystery

Next Tuesday is election day, and I cant wait for this whole thing to be over with. Just think, no more TV Adds, no more Phone Calls, and especially no more Texts asking me for money. Hopefully everything goes smoothly, a new United States President is elected and we can all move forward. Hopefully, no matter which side you are on, we can all get back to some kind of normalcy and hope things get better rather than worse.

Going to try and dictate notes and thoughts on my iphone as they come to me, so that I can more easaly remember things I want to write about. Also if anybody reading this has any topics they want e to discuss, or any thing else they wany to know about me, feel free to leave me a comment and I will do my best to respond

#PEACE
#CHEERS
#GetOutAndVote

#AverageAndy
#SrvivorFan
#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#WeAreAllJustSugarMiceInTheRain

P.S. — #JeffProbst, #JesseTannenbaum #MarkBurnett #Survivor — In the words of the Who’s down in Whoville; “I am here, I am here, I am here”

Posted in Baseball, Card Collecting, Chiller Theater, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Dalton Ross, Fish, Football, Fun and Games, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Job Searching, John Cochran, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Marillion, Mark Burnett, Mike Gabler, Music, NY Giants, NY Mets, Oh God, Prog Rock, Reality Shows, Sports, Star Trek, Survivor, The Warriors, Tootsie, Young Frankenstein, YouTube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thoughts on Survivor 47 so far

Posted on October 25, 2024 by AverageAndy

I have been enjoying this season of Survivor (Survivor 47). Not as many idols / advantages seem to be in play, which to me is a good thing. While I am not a big fan of the Beware Advantages (Seems losing a vote until you complete all the tasks is not worth the chance of getting an idol), I do like the twists on the regular hidden immunity idols (Loved the red paint twist). It kind of penalize you, but you still have the idol and it’s up to you to figure out what you want to do.

Will be interesting to see how things start to play out after the merge. Not sure who the next person on the bottom of the list is, now that Rome is gone. Nobody stands out as being annoying around camp, or overly confident. There isn’t somebody who stands out to be as a front runner as well. Nobody who seems to be sitting in the wings waiting for their moment. I’m L\looking forward to seeing who teams up with who to form alliances and voting blocs Unlike last season where Idols were found but not played, it appears that people this season are more apt to play their idols just to get rid of them and not be seen as a threat. Not sure if either way is better. I do remember when Yul found an Idol and showed to everybody and basically said “If I thinks there will be votes for me, I will play the idol” and the players decided to not vote for him and make him play it. He rode this to the final 5 and eventually the win on Survivor Cook Islands

Got a busy rest of the day and weekend so going to cut this short. Will be back next week with more

#GetOutAndVote
#PEACE

AverageAndy

andyrupprecht@gmail.com

Posted in Dalton Ross, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Mark Burnett, Reality Shows | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lets Go Mets

Posted on October 23, 2024 by AverageAndy

The NY Mets had a great year and made it to Game 6 of the NLDS against the LA Dodgers. Although they didn’t make it to the World Series, it was a fun ride and one that I will remember for a long time. I didn’t realize how much fun post season baseball was, and it reminded me a lot of 2015 when the Mets made it to the World Series before falling the Kansas City Royals. Looking forward to the future as the Mets do have a decent number of good players and should be able to compete for the play-offs again in 2025. If it were me, I would focus on signing Pete Alonso. There is something about rooting for home grown players that makes it more meaningful than players who come and go from one year to the next.

Here are some memories from the 2024 season and Play-Offs

LGM in 2025

Here are a few TV shows, Movies, and books that I have seen and read recently and would recommend

TV

FROM (MGM+) — Scarry and Intense, but very enjoyable. (Currently on Season 3)

Nobody Wants This (Netflix) — Watched all 8 episodes and though it was well done

Shrinking (Apple+) — Great cast, including Jason Segal and Harrison Ford — Started watching Season 2

The Accused (FOX) — Underrated series with some great new actors each week – Season 2 is airing now

Movies

Woman of the Hour (Netflix) – Starring Anna Kendrick, t is based on the life of serial killer Rodney Alcala, who in 1978 appeared on the television show The Dating Game in the midst of his murder spree.

Alone Together (Prime Video) – Katie Holms and Jim Sturgess end up in the same upstate NY Air B&B

Books

Within the Woods by #TonyUrban — Excellent horror / humor book that is a mix of #StevenKing and #StrangeThings. Really enjoyed it

Clive Cussler’s The Corsican Shadow (Dirk Pitt #27) – Can’t go wrong with a Dirk Pitt Novel. Another great adventure and a really fun read

False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet — Decided to mix things up a bit and read some non-fiction. Saw Bjørn Lomborg talking about this book on Bill Maher and wanted to see his perspective on this issue

Since I was let go from work last week, I have been driving around a bunch to go walking / running, grab food, and head to Starbucks (Where I am now writing this blog post). I need to get out of my house to clear my mind and focus on things. I had been listening to a lot of Sports Talk Radio, with the NY Mets in the Play-Offs, and the NY Giants playing awful football but decided it was time for a break. So, I have changed the station and have been listening to a lot of music. There are a lot of good bands that I have listened to in the past with a lot of good songs. On my recent drive and walks I listened to #Survivor, #TheFixx, #IronMaiden (RIP Paul Di’Anno), #HotHouseFlowers, and others and realized how good these based are. I know I’m older, and don’t want to come across as a Get Off My Lawn person, but when I can put on bands like #Boston, #Styx, #Kansas and hear sone after song that I know and are really good, I realize that these bands have a lot of talent. I know it based on individual taste, but a lot of these artists have survived the test of time to become part of today’s culture.

Will be heading the Chiller Theater and The Philly Non-Sports Show this weekend. Will try and get some pictures of celebrities and cards and post them next week.

Might write some more this week, as the more I write, the easier it becomes to get some of my thoughts down. I feel like I am missing some things from the past few weeks, and if they come to me I will be sure to jot them down

Hope everybody in the Norh East is enjoying the incredible weather (sunny and warm) and is able to find some time to get out-side. Go for a walk, a run, or hike, ride a bike, play a sport. Keep yourself moving.

New episode of Survivor is tonight, and with no Mets Play-Off Game, I should be able to watch it pretty much on real time, instead of taping it and watching after the games would end

Take Care

Andy

#PEACE
#Survivor47
#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#WeAreAllJustSugerMiceInTheRain




Posted in Baseball, Boston, Cheap Trick, Clive Cussler - Dirk Pitt, Culture Club, Debbie Gibson, Europe, Fish, Foreigner, From, Iron Maiden, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Kansas, Marillion, Movies, Music, Non-Sports Cards, NY Giants, NY Mets, Philly Non Sports Card Show, Reality Shows, Scorpions, Shrinking, Sports, Styx, Survivor, Television, The Accused, Tony Urban - Within The Woods, TOPPS, Toto, Triumph, Twisted Sister | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Moving Right Along (Kermit and Fozzy Bear)

Posted on October 18, 2024 by AverageAndy

Went into work last Friday at 7:00 AM like always and went through my usual routine. Checked the Data Center for any Hardware or Infrastructure issues and then headed back to my desk to check the nightly backups. For some reason, I was part of an e-mail group that included Information Security, and HR, and I would get e-mails throughout the day of new hires, as well as people who were leaving the company, (either by their own choice, or by a company decision). I would filter these e-mails and take a look once and a while to see if there was anybody I knew. After making sure there were no issues, I took a look at the e-mails, and the 1st person I saw was my boss. Thats not good I thought. Since it was a Friday, most people work from home, so there were only a few people in the office. I walked over to one of them and told them what I saw. I also sent a Teams Message to a few of my teammates, telling them to take a look at the e-mails. Fast forward a bit and became apparent that the company was cleaning house, and my department was right in the middle of the storm. When I saw my director wave me into his office, I know my days were numbered, and sure enough I was told thanks for the work you were doing, but my services were no longer needed. So I went back to my desk, turned off my desktop, placed my company badge and phone on my desk and walked out the front door an unemployed 57-year-old IT Professional ready to start a new chapter in my life. No hard feelings, as I have learned over the years that most companywide layoffs are not personal, but business decisions that I have no control over.

The tough part is that you have no time to gather your things and say goodby to people. While I have contact information for most of my coworkers (those laid off like me, as well as those who are still there), it’s the people that got to know from the shipping department, the janitorial staff, and the cafeteria that I will never get a change to say good bye and thank them for all the work they do to keep the company running behind the scenes. So, I say Thank You to all those who made my time at the company enjoyable and best of luck to them going forward

Between the NY Mets seemingly playing every night in the MLB Play-Offs, The NY Giants playing on Sunday Night Football, the finale of Big Brother (Congratulations Chelse), and another great season of Survivor, I have kept myself busy most nights. As things start to calm down, I will have to start focusing on the next chapter of my career. At 57, do I really want to go thought all the hoops and whistles of updating my resume, searching on-line, and applying for another IT desk job for a generic company. Maybe it’s time to expand my circle and look for something more aligned with what I enjoy (Sports / Entertainment / Math).

If there is anybody out there who reads this, and is looking for an energetic, hardworking, funny, interesting, and all-around great person who may be able to help you and your company thrive, feel free to reach out to me at andyrupprecht@gmail.com

Also #JeffProbst, #JesseTannanbaum, #MarkBurnett and other members of the Survivor production teams, I now have lots of free time to take a trip to the Fijian Islands.

#NeverToOldForSurvivor #GiveMeAChance #OutwitOutplayOutlast #Survivor #CBS

#PEACE

Now as they would say at the end of James Bond movies “AverageAndy will return in…..”

#LoveOnAndOther

PS — Chiller Theater and the 81st Philly Non-Sport Card Show are next weekend. Hoping to attend them both and will post pictures

Posted in Baseball, Big Brother, Chiller Theater, Dalton Ross, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, Kellyn Bechtold, Mark Burnett, Non-Sports Cards, NY Giants, NY Mets, Parvati Shallow, Philly Non Sports Card Show, Reality Shows, Sports, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

And on and on it goes

Posted on October 7, 2024 by AverageAndy

Seems like the NY Mets have played every night for the past 2 weeks, with all the games on the road. After defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 2 games to 1, they moved on to face the Philadelphia Phillies, and we able to split to games over the weekend. After a much needed day off, they finally play a home game tomorrow night. Considering they had large crowds for Play-Off Game Watch Parties at CITI Field, it looks like the place will be rocking tomorrow night.

The NY Football Giants tried to give a game away they totally dominated, but were saved with the special teams came up big and returned a potential game tying FG for a touchdown in a 29-20 win over the Seattle Seahawks. They actually looked confident and for the most part played a good game even after being gut punched early when they fumbled on the goal line and the ball was scooped up and returned 102 yards for a Seattle touchdown.

After storming back and taking the lead, like many of the mediocre teams in the league, they got way too conservative in the 4th quarter; First, not even trying to score a TD and settling for a FG after getting the ball deep in Seattle territory. Then, after Seattle scored to get within 3 points, The Giants did the old “Let’s just try and run the clock out” even though Seattle still had all 3 of their timeouts, along with the 2-minute warning. That resulted in a 3-play, 6-yard drive that lasted 29 seconds and gave Seattle the ball back with a chance of tying or winning the game. Alas, today was the Giant’s day to get some late game breaks, ending with the blocked FG, as mentioned above.

All in All, I am happy they won, and at 2 – 3, they are right in the thick of things and continue to look better week by week. They are home this week against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football, and hopefully, they can keep things going.

Saw this on Instagram on Saturday morning, but already had plans for the day, It looks like it was a lot of fun, and it would have been fun to attend.

Registered with Eventbrite, so hopefully, I will find out about more events like this earlier than the day of the event.

Got to run for the day

More to come soon

Andy

#SurvivorSummerBeachDrop
#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance

#Lets Go Mets
#Lets Go Big Blue

#PEACE
#LoveOnAndOther

Posted in Adam Klein, Big Brother, Dalton Ross, Drew Basile, Football, Jeff Probst, Jesse Tannenbaum, John Cochran, Kellyn Bechtold, Mark Burnett, NY Giants, NY Mets, Parvati Shallow, Reality Shows, Sports, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been (Jerry Garcia)

Posted on October 4, 2024 by AverageAndy

The NY Mets had one of the craziest, strangest, exhilarating weeks a baseball team can possibly have

They got things starting with Monday’s incredible comeback in game one of a doubleheader in Atlanta to clinch a wild-card playoff spot. After a no-show in the 2nd game, they ended up having to fly back to Milwaukee for a 3 game series against the Brewers (who had just beaten them 2 out of 3 over the weekend. They responded by playing a great game to take a 1 – 0 lead in the best of 3 series (All games on the road). They then came out strong in game 2 and jumped out to a 3 – 1 lead in the 2nd inning, and things were really looking good. Then they just stopped. They were unable to score any more runs and finally gave up the lead when the Brewers scored 3 runs in the 8th (including Jackson Chourio’s 2nd HR of the game) and lost game 2 by a score of 5 – 3. This forced a decisive game 3. Both teams struggled to get anything going offensively and the game was scoreless after 5 innings. The Brewers finally broke through in the 7th with back-to-back home runs to take a 2 – 0 lead. The Mets continued to struggle and when they failed to score in the 8th, it meant they had gone 15 consecutive scoreless innings. But this is the 2024 Mets. A team that seems to never give up always finds a way. Francisco Lindor led off the 9th with a walk (until this point, the Mets had managed 2 hits, and both were by Lindor) and there was still hope. But after Mark Vientos stuck out for the 1st out, things really looked bleak. Brandon Nimmo then laced a single to the right, and the Mets had life again. Then up came Pete Alonzo. You could not have written a better script. Pete had been struggling most of the season and has recently looked lost at the plate, flailing and striking out on breaking balls every other at-bat. He had also tripped over his own bat the night before, costing him a hit in game 2, and one inning earlier, had dropped an easy foul pop-up that almost allowed the Brewers to tack on some insurance runs. He is also in the final year of his contract, and with Scott Boros as his agent, there is a chance he will go elsewhere after the season. So this could have been his final at-bat as a Met. After taking the 1st pitch strike, he showed some patience and took the next two pitches for balls. Then he got a hold of the next pitch and sent it over the right field wall for a game-changing 3-run Home Run. The Mets tacked on an insurance run and held on for a 4 – 2 victory and a match-up with the Philadelphia Phillies starting Saturday in Philadelphia.

Games like these are what make baseball the best sport. So many unscripted and unexpected things can happen at any moment.

Here is the list of the Mets last 13 games played, as well as their next 3 in the playoffs

PHI, PHI, PHI, PHI, ATL, MIL, MIL, MIL, ATL, ATL, MIL, MIL, MIL, PHI, PHI, PHI, …

There was some sad news this week in the world of baseball. Pete Rose (April 14, 1941 – September 30, 2024) passed away at the age of 83. “Charlie Hustle” was the all-time hits leader in MLB History, amassing 4,256 hits over his 23-year career. He won 3 World Series and was a 17-time All-Star. He is perhaps best known for stuff off the field. He was suspended for life in 1989 for betting on baseball, including betting on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds. This kept him out of the MLB Hall of Fame for the rest of his life. Like him or hate him, he was one great baseball player and left his mark on all future players and fans. He will be missed.

Also, it is unfortunate to see that actor John Amos passed away at the age of 84  (December 27, 1939 – August 21, 2024). A great actor known for his role as Kunta Kinte in the mini-series Roots, as well as James Evans Sr. in the show Good Times. He was also a fine film actor appearing in numerous classic films. He was born in Newark N.J. and lived for many years in Tewksbury Township, New Jersey which is one town over from me. I did see him walking around or at the local grocery store. Another person gone to soon and he will be missed.

Pete Rose
John Amos

Besides the Mets, the NY Football Giants have a big game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Seems like forever since they last played a game (Last Thursday against the Cowboys).

#LetGoBigBlue

Lehigh Football has back to back bye weeks before taking on Yale on October 19th

Need some downtime and will be back with my thoughts on Survivor 47 — Mostly positive

Enjoy your weekend and Let Go Mets

#PEACE
#Survivor47
#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#NickGilder

AverageAndy

Posted in Baseball, Football, Lehigh, Lehigh University, Movies, Music, NY Giants, NY Mets, Reality Shows, Sports, Survivor, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Opposite Week

Posted on September 30, 2024 by AverageAndy

Not a good week for my teams

The NY Giants lost to the Dallas Cowboys 15-20 in another strange game. The Giants were not bad, but they were not good. They again could not score a touchdown at home (2 Games, no TDs, 7 FGs). Still trying to figure out if coach Brian Daboll and QB Daniel Jones are good/bad/meh. Next week they play in Seattle so we will see

The Lehigh Engineers / Brown & White / Mountain Hawks lost a heartbreaker at home to Bucknell. A couple of big plays (100-yard kickoff return, 85-yard Interception return) kept Bucknell in the game, and they eventually won 35 – 38 when Lehigh fumbled on their 1st play of double overtime. Was a tough way to start off Patriot League play

After getting rained out in Atlanta on Wednesday and Thursday, the Mets played some sloppy baseball and lost 2 out of 3 to a Milwaukee Team that really had nothing to play for. At least they were able to salvage a win, and that set-up having to play a doubleheader today (Monday) against Atlanta, needing to win one of the 2 games to get into the playoffs. Lose both and the season comes to an abrupt end. I’m feeling good that they can win 1 and then it’s back to Milwaukee to start the Wild Card Round

Some sad news in the music/movie/sports world

Kris Kristofferson passed away at the age of 88. A great singer and actor who had a long and prestigious career. I will always remember him from the movie Convoy (which played constantly on HBO when I was growing up). RIP Rubber Duck

Actor John Ashton passed away at the age of 76. A fine actor he is probably best known for his role as Sgt. John Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cops movies. He stared along with Judge Reinhold as Det. William ‘Billy’ Rosewood as police officer’s assigned to keep tabs on Eddie Murphy (Axel Foley). One of my all-time favorites. Here is a classic scene from the move. He will be missed

Basketball MVP Dikembe Mutombo passed away at the age of 58. A standout at Georgetown University, he went on to play 18 years in the NBA. A true legend, he was also a great humanitarian. RIP Dikembe Mutombo

More to come soon

#PEACE
#SURVIVORCBS
#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#LetsGoMets

Andy

Posted in Baseball, Beverly Hills Cop, Convoy, Lehigh, Movies, NY Giants, NY Mets, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Good weekend for my teams

Posted on September 23, 2024 by AverageAndy

Was a good weekend for AverageAndys teams

Lehigh Mountain Hawks (3 – 1) — Big win over Princeton. Next up is a Patriot League matchup against Bucknell

NY Football Giants (1 – 2) — They won big over the Cleveland Browns to avoid a 0 – 3 season start. With Malik Nabers, they look like they have themselves a star. They have a huge game this Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys.

NY Mets — Took 3 of 4 from the Philadelphia Phillies and maintained their 2-game lead over Atlanta for a Wild Card spot. They now head to Atlanta for a crucial 3 game set against the Braves. Have a good feeling about them this year (as opposed to 2022 when they got swept by Atlanta to lose the NL East).

Look for updates on these games as well as updates on Big Brother and Survivor this Friday.

Just a random observation

Getting a bit annoyed and confused with all the Facebook Posts about celebrity birthdays. Feels like I see the same celebrities listed repeatedly with different birthdays mentioned. I got curious, so I did a quick search (Wikipedia) and saw that the birthday dates listed on Facebook were just wrong; then you see all the comments of “Happy Birthday,” which I now believe are just bots. Just frustrates me as it becomes harder and harder to believe anything posted. May need to get away for a few days with no internet just to clear my thoughts

#PEACE

AverageAndy

#Survivor
#NeverToOldForSurvivor
#GiveMeAChance
#LetThemPlay





Posted in Big Brother, Lehigh, NY Giants, NY Mets, Reality Shows, Sports, Survivor | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment