Great Talk From Mike Montgomery

Posted on May 16, 2013 by brent

Tonight I attended the Missoula Sports Awards Banquet. Each year the area sporting community gets together and honors both high school athletes and coaches/administrators/volunteers in the Missoula athletic landscape. As is custom, the banquet always features a guest speaker who is well known both nationally and locally for his athletic pursuits.

This year the guest speaker was Mike Montgomery, the current head basketball coach at California. Besides winning tons of games right now for the Golden Bears, he has also held high profile head coaching jobs at Stanford and in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors. With such prominent jobs and massive success on his resume, many people might not know that he got his first head coaching job right here in Missoula coaching the Montana Grizzlies. Obviously, Mike fit the “national and local” criteria perfectly for serving as the guest speaker at the event.

This evening Coach Montgomery’s speech was entertaining, informative, candid, and humorous. As someone who very easily can zone in and out of long winded talks at the podium, I hung onto every word he spoke. The rich content of his speech combined with the confident and clear way he presented it had everyone devoting their undivided attention to him. For this post I just want to briefly go over the main items Montgomery touched on in hopes that I convey to all of you some of the interesting things he had to say tonight.

Mike Montgomery on Wednesday night speaking to the crowd at the Doubletree Hotel.

John Wooden: John Wooden is the undisputed king of all basketball coaches. To this day, coaches and players alike worship the ground he walked on and canonize him every chance they get. Coach Montgomery is no different. He started off his speech by saying how much Wooden meant to him and disclosed that he got to spend a fair amount of time with him during the twilight days of his life. “Monte” then shared the following quote from Wooden: “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

Time at Montana: Mike Montgomery then talked about his days at Montana. He came to Missoula from Boise State to serve as an assistant coach. Jud Heathcote had just left the school and his longtime assistant, Jim Brandenburg, was elevated to head coach. Monte was the only assistant on the staff and when Brandenburg had health problems for most of the season, Montgomery was left running the team at just the age of 28. He got the head coaching job the following season but one of the stipulations was that he would serve as the Director of Basketball, mainly meaning that he had to hire the new women’s basketball coach.

Mike hired Robin Selvig, the most recognizable and successful man in the history of Grizzly Athletics. I never knew that Montgomery was behind Selvig’s hiring until tonight. At the banquet, Robin served as the Master of Ceremonies so there were many opportunities for the two to joke back and forth with each other. They had the room roaring in laughter as each man poked fun at the other’s expense. But towards the end of Montgomery’s speech, he specifically singled out Robin and called him one of the greatest men he knew.

Montgomery met his wife during his time in Missoula….while she was still a student at the University of Montana!! He said he didn’t think that would be allowed today. He talked about practicing in McGill Hall, working through one year contracts, and coaching some amazingly talented players. He also stressed how much FUN he had in Missoula, a couple times saying he probably had too much fun.

Picking a time to leave: Coach Montgomery talked about his philosophy on when to move on in the coaching world. He said that a coach should stay no more than 7-10 years at a school. He stated that after that time expires, there are just too many intangibles that can lead to your firing. Injuries, a bad season, changes in administration, unfortunate incidents, and other factors can all catch up to a coach. Monte said that it is always best to leave on your own power and then go someplace else where you can give yourself another 7-10 years.

He brought this point up to explain why he left Stanford. Although he came off of a wonderful 2004 season with the Cardinal, he felt he needed a change. He made mention that a new person came into the administration who wanted to implement even stricter admission standards than Stanford already had, thus making it very difficult for him to sign the players that he wanted to. He said he wanted a new challenge as well. So when Chris Mullin from the Golden State Warriors called with an attractive offer, Montgomery took it.

The NBA: Montgomery said that the NBA is full of entitled players. Although profitable, he said he didn’t make the best decision by entering the league. He said in college the coach is at the top of the totem pole and the players are underneath him but in the NBA that totem pole is switched around and the players are on top and the coach is at the bottom. He called the NBA a “player’s league.”

He said that most NBA coaches will never look at players when they come to the sideline after they are subbed out for fear of a tongue lashing or a nasty stare from that particular player. Montgomery said that Rick Carlisle would make a move to the center of the court and look away when he subbed someone out solely so the player could not “MF” him when going to the bench. He said that when players don’t feel like practicing they just won’t practice.

Baron Davis: During the end of Montgomery’s first season at Golden State, the team traded for Davis. Right away, Mike knew his days were probably numbered. He stated that while he coached at Stanford and Davis played at UCLA there was some friction that existed between the two men. When Baron got to Golden State, Montgomery could not bridge that friction.

Despite centering his whole offense around Davis and finishing the 2004-05 season strong, Montgomery never got the respect he needed from his player. Baron Davis decided to sit out the last 30 games of the 2005-06 season due to a sprained ankle. Mike was quick to point out that when he coached at Montana, our legendary trainer Naseby Rhinehart could have a player who suffered a sprained ankle back in playing mode two days later.

The most outrageous story came during the beginning of summer in 2006. Montgomery approached Baron and asked if the two could sit down and hash out differences. Baron told him that “his guy” would get back to him. The next day “his guy” approached Montgomery and told him that Davis was all booked up for the summer and would not be able to meet. Nope, Davis could not even devote ten minutes of his time during the whole summer to talk to his coach. Montgomery was fired in late August.

Future of College Athletics: Monte did not sound too optimistic about the future of the NCAA. He simply said that major institutions are driven solely by money. He said there is an imbalance of goals between the people running the NCAA and its committees (intellectuals focused on academics from smaller institutions) in relation to the large, influential major universities. The people focused on academics from the smaller universities simply don’t understand the millions and millions of dollars available to these large schools. Montgomery foresees the growth of power conferences with many more schools joining the major football conferences already in existence.

He also blasted the one and done rule in college basketball. He referred to it as a “sham” multiple times. He says many of the top players go to college for no reason other than to get eligible for the NBA draft. He says these players barely stay afloat during the first semester so they are eligible and then completely check out during the second semester, giving up on anything school related. He said he favors the role implemented currently in college baseball where you can declare for the draft out of high school but if you go to college you owe that institution three years.

On Montana’s Loss to Syracuse: After giving some good-natured ribbing about the lopsided loss to Coach Tinkle who was in attendance, Montgomery got a little more serious. He said that Syracuse had one of the best defenses he had ever seen. He said that throughout the whole tournament he thought that the opposing team Syracuse was playing might have a chance only to see that chance completely extinguished once the game tipped off and the team’s offense was completely shut down.

Ending Message: Mike Montgomery concluded his speech by asking everyone in attendance to be thankful for the opportunity to live in Missoula. He called his time in this city ten of the best years of his life. He apologized for not knowing exactly what to talk about during his address. After paying tribute to Coach Selvig he ended his speech the same way he started it, with a quote from John Wooden: “You can’t live a perfect day until you do something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”

Don’t Blink.

After Montgomery’s speech he shook hands with Robin Selvig.

Don’t Blink’s Second Year Anniversary

Posted on May 14, 2013 by brent

Two years ago today I sat down and wrote my first ever entry for Don’t Blink. As I look back on that initial entry I shake my head at my stupidity for titling it the way I did. I am sure many people looked at it and thought I was writing about something other than just the introductory post to my new blog. Well, you live and you learn.

Over the past two years I have definitely lived and learned quite a bit, both through authoring a blog and through life in general. The best part is that this two year period is all documented through more posts in my blog than I ever thought I would compose. If you took the time to read my initial awkwardly written post, you will see that all along this was my number one goal. I started a blog because I wanted an electronic record that chronicled my life’s adventures as well as my thoughts and opinions. Mission accomplished (thus far). After 24 months, I think of myself as a pretty dedicated blogger.

Thanks to all for supporting my blog over the past two years.

Today’s entry marks my 313th post for Don’t Blink. When I started this project back in May of 2011 I didn’t know if I even had 50 things to write about let alone over 300. But as I started to get in a groove, ideas just kept coming and new experiences continued to find me. Throw in all the trips I went on, new restaurants I tried, unique social media mediums I played with, inspiring people I came across, random situations I got myself into, and social norms that I felt compelled to comment on and you can definitely see that I have been very blessed with plenty of blogging content.

But a good blog doesn’t just depend on good content. The quality of writing and the presentation of the site are two crucial factors that will determine whether readers will give your blog the time of day. I try to improve my writing each night I compose a new draft. I am definitely not the best writer (what do you think I am, an English major?) and I like to think I am not the worst either (I have seen some scary things before). I consider myself an average writer with some skills but with a lot to improve on. My pledge to my readers is to get better over the next two years. A year ago I switched from an elementary looking blogger page to my current www.brentreser.com website. Over the past two years, this change has no question been the most important development in my blogging career. The credibility, readers, statistical tools, and search engine optimization that I have gained from this move will always have me wondering why I didn’t do it from day one.

Enough though about my reflections on the boring things regarding Don’t Blink over the past two years. How about I sum up the last two years using a couple of lists? Everyone loves lists! I first will present my top five most viewed posts over the past two years. I will then provide my top five favorite posts that I have written the past two years. Here we go!

TOP FIVE MOST VIEWED POSTS

1. Instagram Spam (April 9, 2013): Even though I just wrote this a little over a month ago, I still get at least 70-80 views on it a day. It just goes to show the obsession that people have with social media along with the negative role that spam plays in it.

2. The Feud: Colin Cowherd vs. Dan Patrick (May 8, 2012): Until “Instagram Spam” overtook it, this was by far my most popular post. The sports talk radio industry has a very large and loyal fan base, and many of these people are tied to the internet and blogs. I get comments sent to me from radio junkies referencing this post all the time.

3. Thanks, Jim (April 4, 2012): A few days after our athletic director Jim O’Day was let go I wrote down my thoughts about what he did during his time at Grizzly Athletics. The first full day the post was up it received over 1,500 views. It garnered around the same amount of views the next day as well. Even though the post was entirely for Jim, it picked me up numerous readers who still view my stuff today.

4. #HashTags (February 16, 2012): I wrote this as a tutorial to everyone who felt confused about hash tags and I couldn’t be more pleased that the internet community continues to read it every single day. I did my best to explain hash tags during a time when people did not have the grasp that they have on them now.

5. Serving the Youth (October 29, 2012): One October night, Christie and myself turned the championship game of a youth football league into a Grizzly Game Day production. I wrote about the experience and parents of the kids shared my post like wild fire, resulting in the fifth most viewed post of all-time for Don’t Blink.

MY PERSONAL TOP FIVE

1. The $25,000 Man (October 19, 2011): Undoubtedly my all-time favorite post, I got such a kick out of telling the story about the time my brother hit it big and the shenanigans that followed.

2. Naturally Dark (September 3, 2011): I think this might be one of my favorite posts just because of the absurdity that made me write this in the first place. I have a few very outspoken people who challenge me on why I turn so dark during the summer so I felt that I had to write it all down for them.

3. Posting Food Pictures on Social Media (June 11, 2012): What a hot topic this is! I love debating with people when it is okay to post food pictures and when it is not and that conversation grew even more after I wrote this. I literally laughed out loud while composing this one.

4. Treat Your Waiter Right (June 5, 2012): Man, I was on during June of 2012!! I honestly judge people by the way they treat their restaurant server. I have a great respect for the people who wait on us and serve us our food so I tried to defend them as much as possible in this particular post. I think it is in my top five just because I believe in what I say so much.

5. An Amazing Day in Grizzly Athletics (March 19, 2013): On March 16, 2013, Grizzly Athletics experienced a day for the ages and I was right in the middle of it. In this post I talked about what it was like to work a day in which we sent both our women’s and men’s basketball teams to the NCAA Tournament on our home court. It will forever be one of my favorite memories and only natural that it is one of my favorite posts as well.

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THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS! It has been a great two years and I can’t thank you enough for all the support you have given me regarding this blog. I look forward to continuing to take you inside my head on all subjects and experiences. You are the best. Don’t Blink.

Vine

Posted on May 14, 2013 by brent

Move over Snap Chat, there is a new darling of the social media world. Although not completely entrenched in mainstream use yet, in a couple months I think this little app will be on the iPhones of everyone who happens to own one. I give you Vine.

Vine is a video sharing application for the iPhone that takes six second videos. Yes, a very basic premise and I am sure many of you can rattle off a couple other video sharing apps that do similar things. I used cinemagram for a long time, an app that at first glance might seem like Vine, but not really. Vine differentiates itself because you film your videos in a “start and stop” type of fashion. You have six seconds to film whatever you want but you can space those six seconds over two days or two years if you want.

You see, to start creating your video you push the screen once in the actual app. It will then start filming. You let one second go by and then you hit the screen again and it stops it. You then press the screen again to resume filming…and then stop…and then start again. Of course you don’t have to start and stop over and over, by all means you can let the video run for the whole six seconds and post as is. But Vine is so cool because you can tell a story in six seconds.

This was my first ever Vine video.

Let me just give a couple examples. Let’s say you were cooking homemade pizza. You could take a half second shot of each step in the process of making that pizza. You can create a video that starts with a countertop full of ingredients that goes to a plain crust that goes to a crust with sauce that goes to a crust with sauce and cheese that goes to a crust with sauce and cheese in an oven that goes to a perfectly baked pizza at the end….all in six seconds. Or today I made the early morning drive from Spokane to Missoula. During the drive I shot different parts of the trip, culminating in a six second video that took me from Spokane to the Montana border.

However, not all of your Vine videos have to be so cut and dry and make perfect chronological sense like the two examples I just provided. The best Vine videos are the ones that incorporate random shots, utilize the actual iPhone user himself/herself, and bring an element of humor to the action. But let me not get too ahead of myself, let me explain the app a little more.

When you post a video it will go to a home feed type thing just like any other social media service. You scroll down and you view all the other videos that people you follow have uploaded. Videos are stacked vertically on top of each other with only one video fitting into the screen of the iPhone at a time. Whatever video you have situated in your iPhone screen will play. Complete with full sound, the video will start and finish…and then start again! Videos on Vine loop endlessly and that is a good thing because it takes a few views to capture everything that is jam packed into a six second video. Like other social services, hash tags play a large role. You can search any topic that strikes your fancy and watch endless six second videos that others have created on that said subject. Just another way to pass time on your iPhone.

Glimpse from the Vine video I did on my travels from Spokane to Missoula.

As I briefly mentioned, Vine comes with sound. This allows you to narrate your videos. With so many different shots you can produce, you can do some really fun things with narration to make yourself sound pretty cool. If you wanted, you could do a Vine video with 12 different shots and say one word for each of those 12 shots. The end result is a pretty trippy sounding video.

Vine will skyrocket in the social media world because it allows users to be creative. The amount of room that is available for people to experiment and let their artsy juices flow is on the same level as Instagram…perhaps even vaster. The limits are just endless on what all you can do. I know there are many talented and creative people out there that don’t even know that Vine exists but when they do, they will create some amazing content.

While there are many talented and creative people out there who don’t know about Vine’s existence there are also many people in general out there who don’t know about Vine’s existence. Probably about 5-7% of my social media friends (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc) are on Vine. Of that 5-7%, only about half are active on it. I used to be in that half that had an account set up but didn’t touch it but I recently came to grips with the power and intrigue of it. I now post regularly. Just today I created a Vine account for our athletic department. Hear me now, this app will soon explode.

A couple drawbacks with Vine: First off, it is only available to iPhone users so it definitely excludes a large population of people. Secondly, you can only take shots from Vine’s video player. Thus you can’t import footage that you took with the standard iPhone video feature. But this app is so young and promising!! The future is bright and improvements will be made. I recommend that if you have an iPhone you should definitely jump on the bandwagon, download the app, and start Vining! Don’t Blink.

Spot On Navigation

Posted on May 9, 2013 by brent

The proliferation of smart phones has delivered to us so many conveniences in relation to everyday life. Easy photo editing, quick weather checks, sports scores, social media, music carrier, and so much more. However, I think there is something else on my iPhone that I value more than all of these things.

I consider the navigation feature on my phone a lifesaver. For me, there is never such a thing as being lost anymore. You just type in an address, and your phone gives you crystal clear directions to your destination.

Everyone my age and older can remember a time when electronic navigation did not exist. You had to rely on directions from someone else or look at something called a map. But getting directions from someone else always posed the possibility of problems. The person could accidentally tell you a single wrong direction (such as a left instead of a right) and you would be screwed. Or when you were jotting down your friend’s directions, you could make a simple error yourself. For many people, following a map proved troublesome too…especially when one couldn’t even get passed holding it the right way and folding it back up. Yep, who knew how pizza delivery people survived fifteen years ago.

Me out on the open road. I love having dependable navigation.

Then came Mapquest. You could go online, type in the destination’s address, and just like that you would have clearly spelled out directions along with a map. In my high school and early college days I used Mapquest a lot. Sure my car looked a little cluttered with all the white pieces of computer paper I printed out with directions on them but it was efficient and most of all, accurate. But referencing the printed out instructions while driving, especially during the dark, was not always the easiest. Plus, if Mapquest didn’t take into account a closed road or a construction site and you ran into it, you had no way to troubleshoot the problem.

Everything improved with the debut of GPS vehicle aides. Buy one and stick it on your dash and you were good to go. Finally, step by step visual and audio directions that took you exactly where you needed to go. But the one Achilles heel with GPS is that it was just another added accessory, something else that we had to spend money on. It also took up space in the car and looked nerdy if you wanted to take a girl out and she saw that you had to rely on a machine to get you where you needed to go.

But as the iPhone has done to stop watches, voice recorders, iPods, alarm clocks, newspapers, cameras, notepads, and board games it also did to GPS. No longer do we need to buy a GPS or rent one out along with our rental car. Instead, we have the best navigation possible on our smart phones.

The navigation I have on my iPhone 5 is superb. I have never had one problem at all using it. If I am going to a new location for the first time ever, I don’t sweat it at all. Way in advance before I leave, I just type the address in and see how long the estimated travel time is and I leave according to that. No stressing on getting lost, no worrying about a potential wrong turn.

The beauty about the iPhone navigation is I could go out in my car and purposely take 47 wrong turns but my phone would still recalculate to put me on a route that would get me to my destination. That is why I never have to worry about a closed road or some freak accident impending my progress. You see, if I can’t confuse the navigation by deliberately doing all I can to sabotage the route, a simple road block or two won’t either. The visual and audio components are great. I like to follow along with both but if I was sketched out about getting pulled over for using my mobile device I would have no problem putting my phone in my cup holder and just listening to the audio directions.

This past autumn when I was doing football travel, my phone navigation was a godsend. It used to be if I traveled to a city that I had never set foot in, getting around would be a little confusing and stressful. Not with my iPhone. I never felt intimated driving on roads I had never seen in my life because the navigation I had at my disposal was just so spot on and trustworthy. When I travel for leisure and am doing a lot of walking, I utilize the mode on the navigation that gives you directions by foot. Even though I am a pro when it comes to Las Vegas, I still use the walking navigation mode to get me to certain places.

I guess the only negative about the navigation feature on new mobile devices is the robotic voice that you are forced to listen to. After a while, it definitely gets old. But hey, small price to pay for the security and accuracy afforded by these devices, huh? Don’t Blink.

A Boston Dream Sports Weekend

Posted on May 7, 2013 by brent

Many people aren’t fortunate enough to see an MLB game, NBA game, and NHL game in their lifetime, let alone see all three in one weekend. A little over a week ago I had that opportunity to experience such a rare “trifecta” and you bet I made sure to take full advantage of it.

The whole basis of the trip that Mike and I took to Boston was to watch the Red Sox play a couple games. We purchased game tickets months in advance, securing seats for night games on Friday and Saturday. I was perfectly content with this, considering it an already pretty solid sports weekend. But as April approached and the NBA playoff race started to situate itself, it became very apparent that the Celtics would have a good chance of making it. Well, the Celtics took care of business and as luck would have it, when the NBA released the playoff schedule, the Celtics were hosting the Knicks in the TD Garden while we were in town. Even better, they would host a game that would not conflict with our prior obligations. A week before heading to Boston, we bought $80 tickets off of Stub Hub for Game 4 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs.

I had quite the sports dream weekend.

The Boston Bruins game was a little more spontaneous. Mike and I actually purchased them an hour before the puck dropped that Sunday night. On fire from the NBA game earlier and wanting another dose of adrenaline inside TD Garden we once again looked to Stub Hub and once again purchased $80 tickets. In what was a delayed regular season finale because of the Boston Marathon tragedy, we saw the Bruins take on the Ottawa Senators.

For this blog post, I want to briefly share with you my experience as a fan at the three different professional sports contests I went to.

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RED SOX GAME AT FENWAY PARK

Judging from what I had heard from so many about Fenway Park, I was thinking that the stadium was going to be half falling apart when I walked in. From what got to my ears, it sounded like the stadium was really showing its age and that its best days were in the rearview mirror. However, I didn’t think that at all when I first walked in the park. In fact, I found much more beauty to it than wear and tear. The stadium was pretty much exactly how I envisioned it, no real surprises from the millions of times I watched games on TV.

Fenway Park is looking nicer than ever.

The first night we sat in the upper deck down the left field line. However, the upper deck in Boston is not as far away from the field as other upper decks in the MLB. They were great seats. But if Friday night’s seats were great, then Saturday night’s seats were spectacular. Sitting in the lower level right off of first base, it was a gorgeous view to watch a baseball game. I guess one way that the stadium does show its age is in the seats themselves. Definitely not a lot of room. But it didn’t matter because we were in such a sacred place watching one of the best games on the planet.

The second night at Fenway Park we had amazing seats.

The game production is pretty good. They don’t do too much in-between innings (except for “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in the seventh and “Sweet Caroline” in the eighth) but what they do an excellent job of is running their video board. Out in center field they have a giant electronic video board. To the left is an additional short but very long board as well. The center field scoreboard is crystal clear, it really is so refreshing to look at. Anyway, whoever produces the game does a great job of putting up the best shots available in the stadium and getting everyone involved.

Quick Bits: Boston beat Houston in both games. When I was there they had BOGO Fenway Franks . They also had small cups of beer for $5. Must check out Yawkey Way before the game. Quite a few seats in Fenway have obstructed views. Bullpens are back to back in right field. Various people involved in Boston Marathon rescue efforts were honored during the game.

CELTICS GAME AT TD GARDEN

I had an absolute blast during the Celtics-Knicks playoff game. I had not attended an NBA game since the Sonics were in Seattle so I didn’t know entirely what to expect. But from the time I got my free Celtics t-shirt right when we walked in all the way to the end of the game, my expectations were definitely exceeded. Pregame is like a rock concert. They have loud, remixed music combined with a great light show complete with dancers and cheerleaders while video elements play. It got me pumped up! They had a great entrance video that chronicled the rich Boston basketball history that built up to the present. The national anthem was spectacular and starting lineups were fun.

They put on quite the show at Celtics’ games.

The game itself was a lot of fun too. It was just cool to see players like Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Carmelo Anthony running around on the court. Even during timeouts there was lots of entertainment on the floor such as a break dance team composed of boys and girls who were probably 7-10 years old. We sat up in the upper level off to the side of one of the baskets but they were still decent seats. It was at this game though where we had the biggest blowhard of the whole trip sitting behind us. The whole game from this guy it was a constant “F— that, F— this,” “You kiddin’ me?!,” “Come on now!!” He went as far as to flip off Knicks fans and routinely called out players on the team he was rooting for. I think the only reason why I tolerated him was because he had an awesome Boston accent.

I had a great time cheering on the Celtics to a playoff victory.

You wouldn’t know that the Celtics were down 3-0 in the series. The fans were passionate and loud the whole game. I walked the concourse of the arena and saw so many people on fire for the Celtics. I also saw tons of attractive women in basketball jerseys, several yelling matches between Celtics and Knicks fans, and bathroom lines longer than any others I have ever seen before.

Quick Bits: Boston defeated the New York Knicks in overtime. Carlos Arredondo, the guy who assisted bombing victims immediately after the blast, was in attendance. The cheer squad had both female and male members on it. The Celtics run several video elements featuring their star players urging fans to get loud. The media section is large and everyone in it is constantly on their cell phones. Beer prices were expensive although I got a cool light up souvenir glass. Security had me empty my pockets upon entry into the arena.

BRUINS GAME AT TD GARDEN

Besides going to an NHL preseason game, the Boston Bruins vs. Ottawa Senators game was my first real NHL experience. It did not disappoint. Walking back into the TD Garden for the second time that day it was a complete transformation. When I left in the late afternoon it was an arena with a hardwood floor and a mix of all different colors filling in the stands. When I returned that evening, the floor had turned into an ice rink and a sea of black and gold covered the seating area. Everyone in the arena wore Bruins gear to the game, it was really cool to see.

Bruins fans are pretty rabid in the TD Garden

As it was the regular season finale, they honored a bunch of old-timers as well as current players who had won season awards. Also, in honor of fan appreciation, they gave out several prizes throughout the game to whole sections of people, many of which were in the upper level. I guess I was just in awe that the whole arena was packed despite it being a Sunday night and despite the fact that the game had been rescheduled. It did not take me long to realize how much Boston loves hockey.

Decked out in my Bruins gear for NHL action.

We sat up in the third level in the second to last row. But again, it didn’t matter, I was just there to enjoy the experience and take in all I could. We were pretty much surrounded by women. I had no idea that hockey had such a strong female following. We got to see a couple pretty good fights on the ice and the game was pretty close the whole way. It was loud in the TD Garden that night but I think it was louder at the NBA game. Just like at Fenway Park and just like earlier in the day, the video board production was great. There was never a dull moment and I always had a smile on my face.

Quick Bits: Ottawa defeated the Bruins. Before that result, the home team had won every game we saw that trip. Bruins have “ice girls”, the hockey version of cheerleaders. Music was much more hard/rock centered than music at the NBA or MLB games. As with the previous games we watched, they honored Boston Marathon heroes at the game.

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I had a great time at every game I went to while in Boston. What I will remember the most were the passionate fans with thick accents, awesome video board engagement, and the strong sense of history and reverence that was evident at every game. I am so glad that we made the extra effort to take full advantage of the sports scene while in Boston and I know for a fact that I will be able to tell my kids about the time I saw MLB, NBA, and NHL action live in person over the course of a single weekend. The stories are always the best souvenirs. Don’t Blink.

Robbed of Life

Posted on May 7, 2013 by brent

I know I should probably wait until tomorrow after the press conference to write this blog post but please forgive me, I just can’t. A chill went down my spine today when I heard that three girls who went missing ten years ago and written off as dead were found alive inside a house.

Amanda Berry was 17 years old in 2003 when she went missing after working her shift at Burger King. Gina DeJesus was 14 years old when she went missing walking home from school in 2004. Michele Knight was 20 years old when she vanished in 2000. All three women were found alive today inside a house in Cleveland. A neighbor heard screams coming from the house and rushed to help. He went to the door where he heard screaming and knocked the door down and found Berry with a child. Berry then informed the neighbor that the other two women were upstairs.

The neighbor, Charles Ramsey, staged an interview today that will definitely be replayed for years to come because of some rather outlandish parts in it. But despite the rather bizarre interview, the guy is a hero. If he didn’t hear the screams and go over and investigate, who knows how much longer, if ever, it would take for the girls to have another opportunity to escape. Right place. Right time.

I can’t imagine having ten years of my life robbed from me. I put myself right inside Amanda’s shoes as we are roughly the same age. I have done so much, learned so much, and experienced so much in the past ten years since I was 17 that I am beyond outraged that Berry had so much savagely taken away from her. Same goes for the other two girls of course too. TEN YEARS for Amanda and Gina. THIRTEEN YEARS for Michele. How do you keep going on when you are kidnapped and living against your will? What goes through your head each day? How terrible must it be to live inside a living hell for over 3,650 days.

I feel so much for the families. All the torment they have had to endure over the last decade is unfathomable. Berry’s mother died in 2006 to what many attributed as complications from the stress and heartache she went through with her daughter’s disappearance. How many nights must these family members have stayed up in a cold sweat trembling about the fates of their daughters? How many nightmares must they have dreamed up during unsatisfying sleep? How many days, weeks, months, and years were absolutely ruined for them because they had no idea what happened to their children?

But while I feel awful for the families, the majority of my sympathy and concern extends to the three women. Not to be repetitive, but they were missing for TEN YEARS. Amanda and Gina were robbed of their senior years of high school, their college experience, and their chance to live out some of the best years of their lives. Instead of getting to be young adults living through years that most of us get to look back on with great memories, they were living in a house of horrors. While I got to graduate college and move on to a professional job that I love, those girls had to live under a roof with a sick and twisted man. Not fair at all.

Tomorrow a press conference will be held and we will learn more about what happened to these women over the past ten years. As each day goes by, even more details will come out about the atrocious cards these women were dealt. Expect stories that will make your skin crawl, stories that will make you hold on tighter to your children.

So tonight I am especially mindful of how lucky I am but also saddened at how unlucky other people are. It is 100% certain that right now other women across this country are being held in captivity. There are families out there who are left guessing about the whereabouts of their loved ones, absolutely terrorized as they go through all the different possibilities. It just doesn’t seem right that I get to chill out in my nice apartment and watch the NBA playoffs totally at my own will while I know that other people just like me are scared beyond belief, living in a prison controlled by a sick psychopath. We need to pray for more people like Charles Ramsey being in the right place at the right time. Don’t Blink.

Color Me Rad

Posted on May 5, 2013 by brent

This past Friday it seemed like all of my social media outlets became flooded with talk about a certain race taking place the following day. Somehow I was able to block out all the hype about this particular race starting with the announcement that it would in fact be staged in Missoula all the way up through this past week. However, with the excitement reaching a breaking point on Friday with seemingly the whole city of Missoula participating, I got sucked in.

Yep, Brent Reser got registered for Color Me Rad!

Well, check that, I really didn’t get registered, I got very lucky. My friend had a full sponsored team for the race. However, at the last minute one of the girls on the team pulled out. Chelsea asked me if I wanted to fill in and after asking her a couple questions, I committed to a 9 a.m. run the next morning. I was about to get rad!

Don’t know what Color Me Rad is? Let me explain real fast. Color Me Rad is a racing tour that goes around the country staging 5K runs. Of course the defining factor of these runs is that race participants get doused in all sorts of vibrant colors throughout the race. Using this corn starch powder and a type of liquid spray, participants get turned into human rainbows. The color mayhem begins right at the starting line and continues at certain spots throughout the course and then culminates with one last color shower at the finish line. Besides all the powder and spray that volunteers and race organizers throw at you throughout the race, you are also able to purchase as many colored powder bags that you desire to add to the fun…and let me tell you, people take full advantage.

BEFORE: The morning of Color Me Rad.

From what I have been told, these types of color runs are nothing new. They have been around for decades and besides Color Me Rad, there are other color race tour competitors out there. Well, consider me ignorant because before this past week, I had no idea that these things existed. Probably for the better though because it enabled me to really experience something so unique and fun with absolutely no preconceived notions going in.

Missoula’s Color Me Rad took place in a desolate location about nine miles outside of Missoula. Of course come race day that desolate location transformed into a colorful paradise. After parking my car in an overgrown field, I strolled over to the start line. Big crowds dressed in white and silly costumes were getting ready to run. People were already spreading the bags of colored powder on one another, music blared. The race is organized in “waves”, basically different heats of people taking off at half hour intervals to make sure everyone gets an adequate colorful experience. I was in the first wave of the day at 9 a.m. As we waited at the start line, the race organizer said a few words before sending us off. Let me tell you, this dude was exactly what I envisioned when I thought about what someone who was in charge of a race called “Color Me Rad” would look/talk like. He was your stereotypical hippie with long braided hair and a straggly beard. He wore a silver vest with matching silver pants. While talking to us, he told us that “Some stupid people did a bad thing in Boston.” Interesting way to say it. He then asked us to take a moment of silence. After that moment he roared into the microphone “Let’s get RAD for Boston.” He then started the race.

Myself with teammates Chelsea and Chris.

We were blessed with amazing, sunny weather for the race. I chose to run the whole way instead of doing the courteous thing and waiting for my teammates. But I couldn’t help it. It was just so nice running through the course with the anticipation of what each color station would hold. The course was never crowded and I actually ran through many of the color stations all by myself, thus insuring that I got hit especially hard by the colors and spray from the volunteers. Despite running mostly uphill and on a trail layered with rocks, it was the easiest 3.1 miles I had ever ran in my life. When I got to the finish line and ran through the last cloud of color, I wanted to keep going.

AFTER: What I looked like at the conclusion of the race.

Post race was fun too! After reuniting with my teammates we took pictures both with our phones and then at the professional photo station that was set up to capitalize on the racing color high that everyone had. Good music continued to play and people kept buying more of the color packets to try to get even more rainbowish than they already were. Meanwhile, the 9:30 a.m. wave got started as the hippie race organizer fired them up. To take a phrase from this very interesting fellow, I then “peaced out.”

How my clothes looked at the end.

I would definitely recommend Color Me Rad. It is such a fun concept and I really did enjoy myself on Saturday. Believe me, anyone can do it. The race is not timed and everyone participating is just there to have a good time. Although you will have to take a longer shower than usual and you might have to throw away some clothing, it is well worth it. On Saturday morning, I was definitely rad. Don’t Blink.

The Boston Marathon Memorial

Posted on May 1, 2013 by brent

Obviously our trip to Boston was planned way before the tragic events occurred at the marathon. With that said, I guess some might shake their heads about having a vacation planned for so long only to have the city turned upside down the week before they were to set foot on its soil. Most people, myself included, are not like that. When Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev inflicted harm on hundreds of innocent people I really didn’t even think about my impending trip to Boston. I was too busy following detail by detail the developments of the situation, looking upon it as a concerned American rather than a butt-hurt traveler.

It was not until after the death and capture of the mad men that I started to think a little bit about what I would see and feel when I went to New England. As the Boston community made it plainly clear that they would not let terrorism dictate day-to-day life I knew all the plans we had for the trip would still go on accordingly. However, I knew the atmosphere and attitude would be different. All it took was walking through the airport to immediately feel this change of feeling in the air. Each time we inched closer to the city, whether it be by taxi, public transportation, or foot, the feeling got stronger and stronger. Finally, this gripping sensation that hit me in the heart reached a climax when during the morning of our first full day in town we made it to the Boston Marathon memorial and the site of the attack. This is what it was like:

We first visited the memorial for the Boston Marathon victims. Located in an area called Copley Square, the memorial is a couple blocks west of where the bombings took place. Sometimes you don’t need large and extravagant memorials to make an impact. For right now, this is certainly the case in Boston. The memorial was a modest sized space, enclosed on three of its four sides by bicycle racks. Yes, very temporary and very simple. The focal point of the space was located right in the middle of the area where four white crosses depicted the names of the four people who lost their lives during the ordeal (the three at the bombing site plus the slain MIT police officer). Overflowing in front of the crosses were flowers, plants, stuffed animals, and cards. To the left and right of the main shrine were giant palettes of paper where anyone could go up and write a note or prayer in honor of the victims and the city. Taking up the rest of the space and lining the inside of the bicycle racks were various displays of running shoes, hats, flowers, American flags, and notes and cards written from across the nation.

The main part of the Boston Memorial…the four crosses.

A collection of hats mark another part of the memorial.

We arrived at the memorial during the morning hours and while it was busy, you could move around freely. Many people would kneel where the crosses were and say a prayer. Many utilized the paper palettes. It was very quiet. There were lots of tears.

People wrote on the large paper pads notes to the victims and the city.

When we were there, the national media was still reporting live from Boston. Lining the sidewalks of Copley Square right in front of the memorial were TV trucks from every single news organization in the country. Ashleigh Banfield from CNN did a live shot right in front of us. Reporters and crews from NBC, MSNBC, and Fox News all stood outside their trucks shooting footage. All of the local Boston affiliates had set up shop too. To use the old adage, it was a media circus.

Ashleigh Banfield of CNN reports live from the Boston Marathon memorial.

But cutting through the media craziness and the hysteria of the newly opened memorial was a scene that I will always remember. A bus pulled up from Annapolis, Maryland. The side of the bus read “U.S. Naval Academy.” The doors opened and about 30 midshipmen got out in full uniform and marched towards the memorial. They quietly entered the memorial and solemnly paid their respects with all the other civilians. They then quietly exited the memorial, declined all requests for interviews from the national media, and marched back to their bus. It was such a touching tribute of respect.

The Naval Academy marches to the Boston Marathon Memorial.

A midshipman and civilian pay their respects side by side.

We then moved down to the location of where the actual bombs went off on Boylston Street. The Marathon Shop, located right where the first bomb went off, was open for the first day since the attack. A large line formed to purchase marathon gear. Mike braved the long wait and bought a marathon t-shirt. I stood outside the store, observing people walking by and taking pictures of the street and businesses. Several windows were boarded up, new glass not yet installed from where the blasts blew out the old glass. Other than that, you probably would not be able to tell that the area had been the target of a savage attack a week earlier.

This is where the first bomb went off. You can see the boarded up windows.

I walked away from the memorial and bombing site feeling fortunate that I got to see it but angry that insane people would do such destructive things to innocent people. As I was reminded when I visited Ground Zero in New York and again just this past week, our innocent brothers and sisters die for no reason other than that there are people out there who hate us. It is a sobering reality and we all got to be thankful that we continue to live in this amazing country and have not had to pay the ultimate price that four others had to 16 days ago. We are very lucky. Don’t Blink.

My Trip to Boston

Posted on May 1, 2013 by brent

NOTE: This is the first installment of my three part series chronicling my time in Boston.

Last Thursday through Monday I had the opportunity to travel to Boston for leisure. I had a great several days seeing everything the city has to offer with my friend “Money” Mike. And believe me, when I say everything, I am not exaggerating. We went from place to place making sure to get the full Boston experience. We never had a dull moment and we were always engaged with something. Because we took so much in, I couldn’t possibly write about it all in one blog post. To make things easier and less overwhelming, I am going to write about my Boston experience in a three part series. Tomorrow I will reflect on my time at the memorial set up to honor and remember everyone impacted by the Boston Marathon bombings. On Thursday I will provide my readers with an in depth look at the ultimate professional sports odyssey we went on while in Beantown. But what about for tonight?…

For this evening’s post I want to do what has become custom for me when I get back from a new city. Below I will characterize the top five themes I will always associate with Boston. Then I will just offer a brief skeleton run down of everything we did while back in the northeast. I hope you enjoy my inside look at my Boston experience over the next few days. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Boston is a great city.

TOP FIVE BOSTON CHARACTERISTICS (In no particular order)

1. Boston Strong – Let me tell you, I traveled to one tough city this past week. The Boston Strong message is absolutely everywhere right now….on t-shirts, scrolling on buses, in sporting venues, in churches, at the airport, plastered on windows, etc. But it is not just a message you see wherever you turn your head. Rather, Boston Strong is an attitude, a way of life so to speak. The people of Boston took the savage attacks very personally and united together to push back. Right now in that climate there is a distinct feeling of solidarity. From the moment we stepped on our cab at the airport and our driver started talking to us to the last person we chatted with at the hockey game on Sunday night the Boston Strong attitude came out loud and clear.

Even the candy stores reflect the “Boston Strong” message.

2. Old City – One thing you will notice immediately upon exploring Boston is that it is a very old city. No, not old in a rundown sort of way but rather old in a historic and architectural type way. Many of the buildings, streets, and parks just have a 1700’s type feel to them. Everything is built so close together and the reddish-brown color of a different era predominates on most of the buildings. Streets are narrow, sidewalks are jaded, and historical sites are abundant. Every neighborhood in Boston is full of history and charm. I got a kick out of walking the streets of Boston and after passing large buildings and businesses I would stumble upon a small cemetery that would stretch out for a few steps and then the pattern of large buildings and businesses would pick back up again. While visiting the city I knew I was walking in a place rich in history.

It just takes a quick glance to realize that Boston is an old city.

3. Thick Accents – As I learned when I traveled to the south, the native accent is not exaggerated one bit. Bostonians have thick, distinctive accents. All those times you see Boston characters in movies and television shows speaking with what seems like an overemphasized accent?…well, it is not overemphasized at all. I quickly learned that the people of Boston just sound and talk different than people in the rest of the country. The usage of “r’s” need not apply (say Hah-Vad instead of Har-Vard). The occasional drop of the word “wicked” actually happens all the time. The fast paced, expletive laced dialogue can be heard everywhere. The toughness that embodies most words spoken by a Boston resident comes out through the accent. I always feel a little left out that I speak with a neutral accent because I feel that it lacks character and distinction.

4. Sports Town – Boston is one of the best sports towns I have ever stepped foot in. The city loves its teams. With all major professional leagues represented with a team in Boston, there is never a shortage of sporting events going on. People just love the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, Patriots, and Revolution. Everyone walks around wearing gear of the local teams. Vendors sell apparel on every corner. The pride and success that defines many of the teams in the city is openly celebrated. There is just that tradition of sporting excellence along with larger than life legends and current athletes that residents latch on to.

5. Great Transportation System – The public transportation system, called The T, is excellent. In fact, I put the system in the same category as Washington D.C. when it comes to efficiency and cleanliness. When we got to the Boston airport we immediately bought our T passes. For $18 we rode The T what seemed like a million times during our stay. The trains come frequently, the route system is not too confusing, and I always felt safe. Maybe the route system was never too confusing though because Mike was a complete whiz with how it worked. He always kept me on task with what trains we needed to get on and what transfers we needed to make. With or without his help though I could easily see that the accessibility of The T was top notch. You could easily get wherever you wanted to go in the city in a short amount of time. Although not to the degree of New York City or Washington D.C., the diversity on each train was always something that I enjoyed observing. You really experience the culture and ethnic makeup of a city when you ride public transportation.

Inside one of The T tunnels during our trip.

Quick rundown of what we did during our time in Boston:

Thursday, April 25: Landed in Boston at around 5 p.m. Visited the site of the Boston Massacre. Explored Downtown Boston. Went down to Boston Harbor. Visited the Cambridge Galleria (shopping mall). Ate at the Cheesecake Factory.

Me at the Boston Harbor.

Friday, April 26: Viewed the memorial for the Boston Marathon victims. Stood at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Visited the Boston Sports Museum in TD Garden. Went to the top of the Prudential Center fifty stories up and viewed the whole city from above. Visited some of the old churches of Boston. Visited some Revolutionary era cemeteries. Lounged at a Boston dive bar. Went to Fenway Park and watched the Red Sox defeat the Houston Astros.

The Boston Marathon memorial.

Saturday, April 27: Toured Chinatown. Ate lunch on the patio at Boston’s Joe’s American Grill. Went on the campus of Harvard University. Walked around Harvard Square. Explored North Boston. Went inside Paul Revere’s church. Drank Sam Adams and watched NBA playoffs at a Boston Harbor outdoor bar. Watched the Red Sox defeat Houston from incredible seats inside Fenway Park. Ate at Dunkin Donuts.

Boston’s Chinatown was awesome and lively.

Sunday, April 28: Ate lunch at an exclusively macaroni and cheese restaurant. Visited a friend I have in Boston. Went to the Celtics vs. Knicks playoff game in TD Garden. Went to the Bruins vs. Senators season finale in TD Garden.

We had a wonderful time at the Celtics playoff game…they pulled out an overtime victory over New York!

——-

So there you have it, my broad outlook on my time in Boston. Of course I have left out the little things that define a vacation. Little things such as interactions with the locals, hotel experience, close calls, spontaneous decisions, bonding moments, etc. We definitely had all of these during our stay. I want to thank “Money” Mike for giving me the opportunity to travel with him to Boston. It was an experience that I won’t forget. Tomorrow night I will talk about my experience at the Boston Marathon memorial. Don’t Blink.

Thanks so much to Mike for letting me travel to Boston with him. We had a great time.

Boston Bound

Posted on April 25, 2013 by brent

Sitting here in the Missoula airport I know I have a long day of traveling ahead of me. Transporting from one side of the country to the other is never quick and always exhausting. However, the destination and the experiences that await me on the east coast make the travel hassle oh so worth it.

I am off to the city that is currently the center of the nation, if not the world. By the end of the day I will be in Boston, Massachusetts. Even before the tragic events of ten days ago I knew this trip would bring a lot of significance and memories to my life but after what those two troubled young men did I know now that my time in Beantown over the next four days will be a very special time.

I am off to Boston on what will be a memorable trip.

This trip started off as a dream sports weekend. While it is still definitely that, there is an added element thrown in. I will not just be observing some of the most prominent professional teams competing in some of the most famous sporting venues but I will be observing the strength and resolve of a great city during a tumultuous and (with the elimination/capture of the murderers) triumphant time.

I am traveling to Boston with my friend “Money” Mike. It is his birthday weekend and he invited me to go along with him to celebrate his special day in the city he loves watching his favorite team. We got quite the itinerary lined up…

On Friday night we will enter the most historic ballpark in the country and watch the Boston Red Sox host the Houston Astros. The next night we will return to Fenway Park and watch another Red Sox game. Sunday we will catch some NBA playoff action as the Boston Celtics host the New York Knicks in Game 4 inside the TD Garden. Between all the sporting events, Mike will be showing me all Boston has to offer. We will be visiting the historic sites, checking out a Presidential library, viewing a famous cathedral, walking through old neighborhoods, exploring museums, eating local delicacies, and getting the most out of an amazing city. I can’t wait.

As I will be busy enjoying my time in Boston, I will be on hiatus from Don’t Blink through Monday. However, I will be back better than ever on Tuesday with plenty of experiences to write about. Thanks again to all my readers for your continued support. I will be thinking about you while on the east coast. Don’t Blink.

Don't Blink

By Brent Reser

Author Archives: brent