The First Breath

היום סמנא ימים סהם שבוע אחד ווים אחד לעמר

Today is eight days, which is one week and one day of the omer

חסד שבגבורה

A day of loving kindness in a week of strength

The start of the second week of the omer, and on a certain level, the work of this period really begins. For the first week we're involved in Pesach, when we're reminded of our journey each day as we find different ways to make matzah more palatable. Now that the holiday is over we need to rely on our own commitment to the practice with little ritual to guide us.

Once again, in this time, I often think of Rabbi Lew, z''l. As dedicated as he was to Jewish practice, he found counting the omer a daunting task. By his own admission, he often lost the count in the early going. But each year, he would start again, hopeful that this would be the year he would make it through. Inevitably, he would not, but he didn't look at it as a failure. Failure would be not to try at all. To him, the practice was to start each year and go as far as possible. Think of the feeling in the year that would get finished. It's similar to being a loyal sports fan--an analogy Rabbi Lew would certainly appreciate. Ask die hard Boston Red Sox fans or San Francisco Giants fans how they felt when their team won the World Series after so many years of drought. Their joy, I'm sure, was much sweeter than any who joined the bandwagon just in that year. I know how I felt when, in 1987, my New York (football) Giants won their first Super Bowl.

I teach meditation with the same principle in mind. You have the best intentions. You sit on the cushion, set yourself--legs grounded, chest lifted, mind focused on the breath. You breathe in, you breathe out, and before you know it---your mind has wondered off. That's fine. Just restart. That first breathe is the best one--and the one you will have when things are in a tizzy around you and you need that grounded time the most.

The end of an era.....

היום שבעה יומים שהם שבוע אחד לעמר
Today is the seventh day of the omer - one week
מלכות שבחסד
A day of majesty in a week of loving kindness




Former Oakland Raiders coach and premier football sportscaster John Madden announced his retirement today. As I started blogging the omer, I made the point that the 21st century is actually starting at this time. His retirement is more proof of that, since his stepping out of the broadcast booth certainly marks the end of an era.

The games will go on, but it won't be the same. The next generations of fans will only get to see and hear his brilliance on archived recordings. I can only hope that those generations of sports broadcasters study those recordings and learn.

Another loss for the sports world today is the death of Les Keiter. Read his obituary from today's New York Times. His major claim to fame? He recreated the San Francisco Giants games for the New York fans still following their former home team, ". . . through [his] booming voice and excitable embellishments, aided by his Western Union ticker reports, his taped crowd noise and a drumstick and wooden block alongside his microphone.

Like John Madden, he was someone who worked hard at his craft, working to give his listeners the full flavor of whatever sporting event he was covering.


Just a note on the photo accompanying this post. Not only does it give me a way to indicate 7, today's day of the omer, but I get to take a moment on this day of Yizkor as we remember those who are gone, to honor Lyle Alzado. Alzado was a NFL football player who is a 1967 alumni of Lawrence High School, graduating with my brother. He and my brother had no contact, but I can say I watched him play football as we saw the games he played in during high school. He died in 1992--from the Wikipedia page on him:

"Alzado is probably most remembered today for being one of the first major U.S. sports figures to admit using steroids. In the last years of his life, as he battled against the brain tumor that eventually caused his death at the age of 43, Alzado asserted that his steroid abuse directly led to his fatal illness, but every single one of his physicians stated it could not possibly be true, and that while steroid's do have harsh side effects, they were not the cause of his brain cancer.

According to some reports, Alzado was using natural growth hormone, harvested from human corpses, as opposed to synthetic growth hormones. However, shortly before his death, Alzado recounted his steroid abuse in an article in Sports Illustrated. He said:
“ I started taking anabolic steroids in 1969 and never stopped. It was addicting, mentally addicting. Now I'm sick, and I'm scared. Ninety percent of the athletes I know are on the stuff. We're not born to be 300 lbs or jump 30 ft. But all the time I was taking steroids, I knew they were making me play better. I became very violent on the field and off it. I did things only crazy people do. Once a guy sideswiped my car and I beat the hell out of him. Now look at me. My hair's gone, I wobble when I walk and have to hold on to someone for support, and I have trouble remembering things. My last wish? That no one else ever dies this way."

Unfortunately, he didn't get his wish. I just wish those in a position in sports to do something about the use of steroids had paid heed to his words.

Omer 5768 - Day 22; 3 weeks & 1 day

Today is Chesed she b'Nitzach - a day of loving kindness in a week of endurance.

I really feel badly for Barry Zito. I know I shouldn't--he didn't make the Giants give him that enormous contract. They offered and he accepted--who wouldn't take a guaranteed $126 million dollars. But he's pitching so poorly--his pitches have lost velocity, he can't make it more than 5 innings. He didn't do well last year, the first year of the contract. He's gone 0-7 to start this season, and the best he can hope for tonight is a no decision. The Giants' fans can't stand him--and show it.

I'm an A's fan, so I should be able to shrug my shoulders and say, "Ah, well...too bad....he was fine when he played for us...." But I can't. I like Barry Zito--he seems like such a good person. He's not arrogant; he's feeling the pain and taking the responsibility. He's working hard and taking all the advice. But none of it's working, and it hurts to watch.

I think major league pitchers have one of the toughest jobs in sports. So much of the game is riding on their shoulders. And their failures are so public as they take the team and the fans down with them. And it's hard to imagine how this cannot affect their entire being. Again--I know they get paid well and yes, that's part of the job that they just have to deal with to get the big bucks. But still, watching a high profile pitcher fail makes me squirm.

(Except if it's someone like Roger Clemens.....but that's a whole other story.)

Sports Crime Blotter

I'm one of the people who are keeping the newspapers afloat right now. I get the SF Chronicle every day. I need my daily fix of local news, comics, sports and sudoku without having to look at many different pages online.

The Chronicle sports section always has a Digest column--a compilation of news from different parts of the sports world that the editors obviously feel don't deserve separate articles. Sometimes it's news from out of season sports, like pro football in April; sometimes it's news from sports that are not big here in the SF Bay Area, like women's hockey. But there's one category that has been added in the last couple of years that is disturbing. It's a paragraph or two under the heading Jurisprudence.

If you go to today's digest and scroll down, you'll see this entry:

Jurisprudence: Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najeh Davenport was acquitted of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in Cleveland Municipal Court. Davenport had been accused of slapping and punching Anita Person, the mother of his 5-year-old son at her Cleveland home in October.

I guess I should be glad that for a change the story is about someone who was acquitted instead of convicted. These stories of run-ins with the law appear regularly, I'd say at least twice a week. And while there is some variety in the types of crimes committed--drug deals, DUI, stolen goods, gambling, etc.-- all too many of them deal with domestic violence.

So when we're looking at the culture of competitive sports, let's not be distracted by any particular issue like steroids. We must take a wider look at the current environment and see how we can make changes that will improve the condition of these athletes lives off the field as well as on.

Sports Miracles - large and small

Like many professional endeavors, sports of all kinds have become huge, global businesses. Fans all over the world are complaining about the high costs of tickets and the astronomically high salaries paid to the players. Many people yearn for the "more innocent" sporting experiences of their youth. If you have any doubt of this, just read the comments sent in to the BBC program (or, in British English, programme) Have Your Say aired this past Sunday.

Then there's the pressure on the players themselves that manifests in many ways. And it's not just about steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Other problems these players may face become amplified when they are surrounded with people who just care about money and fame, not the person who needs help. I gave some example of this in postings two years ago, The Hard Reality of Sports and It's not just steroids . . .

There is a tendency to look at times past nostalgically, with rose-colored glasses. There has always been a dark side to professional sports. It was just on a smaller scale with much less public access. And our present times can also bring us an upside to sports, on both local and global levels.

A week or so ago, Iraq won the Asian Cup in soccer, beating Saudi Arabia 1 - 0. A country being destroyed by sectarian violence had a brief moment of unity in support of their national team--a team that includes Sunni, Shia, and Kurd. Sadly, the celebration came to an end with the news of the death of 50 people with bombs detonated in Baghdad by insurgents. But at least, like the 1914 Christmas Truce between the Germans and the European Allies that resulted in the famous soccer match between the trenches, there was a moment of joy that could be shared by all sides.

In my own corner of the world, there is the story of the Oakland Royals, a baseball team started by an Oakland couple to keep their kids and others away from the crossfire of a neighborhood notoriously known for drug dealing and drive-by shootings. Roscoe Bryant and his wife Lehi had no budget or coaching experience but they managed to field two teams. Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle picked up on the story and due to an article he wrote on June 22 of this year, more than 600 people, organizations and clubs came through with all sorts of support.

Ostler wrote a follow-up column published in today's sports section chronicling the accomplishments of this organization due to that show of support from the community. The help that has come in the form of donations, contacts with local companies and links to various grants and loans has encouraged the Bryants to enlarge their dream. They now hope to be able to open a youth center.

There was one more outcome of the establishment of these teams--something no one could have envisioned. "The local drug dealers watched what we've been doing," Roscoe says, "and they formed their own softball team. So they're off the block for a couple hours every night."

Some moments of violence stopped in streets of Baghdad and in the streets of Oakland. May we find ways to string more of those moments together to create a world of peace.

What defines a true fan?

Yesterday was my annual trip to see the A's play the Boston Red Sox. I go each year with my friend Peter Shwartz, a die-hard Red Sox fan. You can read about our 2005 outing here.

The weather was great--sunny and warm, which was a change from the chilly temperatures of the first three games. I could also be somewhat relaxed about the outcome. The A's had already taken the first three games, so while a sweep would be nice, going 3-1 against the team with the best record in Major League baseball would certainly be no disgrace.

It was a great pitching match-up; Curt Schilling against Joe Blanton - a veteran ace against a young up-and-comer. They both lived up to their billing. Blanton gave up a first inning homer to David Ortiz--no shame there, as Ortiz is one of the league's best hitters and was due to knock one out. Blanton and the A's bullpen allowed only 3 more hits, with no Sox player getting past second base. Unfortunately, Schilling was that much better--he just stifled the hitters.

I often bring a radio to the ballgame, but this time, thankfully, I left my radio home. The only commentary I heard was from the fans sitting around us. It wasn't until about the 6th inning that I realized that Schilling had a no-hitter going. I nudged Peter and pointed to the scoreboard. He took a breath and said, "We're not going to talk about this until it's over."

The game went into the ninth inning with the score still 1 - 0 Red Sox with no hits by the A's. Schilling gets two quick groundouts to Mark Kotsay and Jason Kendall. One out to go--and Shannon Stewart hits a clean single to right on his first pitch. The Red Sox win; Schilling gets a one-hit shutout instead of what would have been the first no-hitter of his career.

Curt Schilling pitched a magnificent game. Not only was he one out away from a no-hitter, but the game would have been as close to perfect as you could get--the only A's base runner was due to an error by the shortstop. It would have been cool to have been there to witness this milestone in his career.

Towards the end of my drive home I listened to KNBR sports radio. I guess some callers were talking about the game. When I tuned in, Ralph Barbiari was carrying on about some A's fan's disappointment about the missed opportunity to see a no-hitter. "No true fan wants to see a no-hitter pitched against their team, especially in their ballpark. Anyone who is disappointed about this is not a true fan."

Now, I have no doubt that I am a true and loyal fan, especially when it comes to the Oakland A's in baseball and the New York Giants in football. I may not be happy when my teams are in the dumpster, but I don't bail. I've been a Giant fan for over 40 years, and if you know anything about the Giant teams in the late 60s through the early 80s, you know I had little if anything to cheer about. And while the Super Bowl wins in 1987 and 1991 were very sweet, the 1997 playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings in which the Giants were ahead by nine points with a minute and a half to go--and then lost--was extremely painful.

You only feel those highs and lows when you are a true fan. Yet I still would have liked to see Schilling make his no-hitter. My team played well, the pitching staff allowed only 4 hits, and taking 3 out of 4 games against a really good team is a fine showing. I could concentrate on the excellence of a talented player and applaud his effort. I see nothing dishonest or disloyal in that.

Counting the Omer Day 37 - 5 weeks, 2 days

Today is Gevurah she b'Yesod - a day of strength in a week of foundation.


I am an Oakland A's baseball fan, and I really like my team. As a loyal fan, I stick with my team through good times and bad, but even though you always remain true to your team, you don't always like the team. But I'm a proud fan these days--and not because of their record.

The A's have a lot of injury problems right now. Currently on the disabled list:

Outfielders Mark Kotsay, Milton Bradley, Bobby Kielty
Starting Pitchers Rich Harden and Esteban Loaiza
DH Mike Piazza

Now, when the Yankees have multiple players out with injuries, they just go buy some more, as demonstrated with the recent Roger Clemens deal, which will cost the Yankees about $26 million. But the A's, due to smart drafting and good trades, can make the most of their small budget by going to their farm teams. We may not get the superstar players, but we get players who have a huge desire to prove themselves in the big league and put their all into the game.

It makes for some confusion when listening to the games on the radio--I hear names like Danny Putnam, Chris Snelling, Jack Cust and I have no idea who they are. But I learn their names pretty quickly, especially on days like today when Putnam goes 3 for 4, including his first major league homer and Cust hits two homers.

When you add up each team's total strength, the Yankees may land on top. But the A's management through the years have built up a strong minor league system as a foundation. They are able to call on players who play with heart and soul. That not only keeps them in the game, but makes us fans really happy as well.

Don't Mess with the Rally Rabbi

Last night the Golden State Warriors played the Dallas Mavericks in Oakland at the Oracle Arena. The Mavericks are the best team in the NBA right now, coming into the evening with a 17 game win streak and the top candidate for MVP, Dirk Nowitzki. The Warriors are struggling to make the final playoff spot in the West, praying that Baron Davis' knee will stay strong enough to keep him on the court.

Last night was also Jewish Heritage Night at the Arena. There was a tailgate party before the game hosted by Chabad and T-shirts with גו ווריורס - Go Warriors in Hebrew - printed under the Warrior logo for all who got their tickets through the participating Jewish community groups.

Although Hanukkah is long past, you could say that "A Great Miracle Happened Here." The Warriors smoked the Mavs, ahead by as much as 32 at one point, winning by 17. They were able to neutralize Nowitzki and cause a ton of Dallas turnovers. The crowd was electrified and it was just a great night.

During the first period, the stadium MC stood with Rabbi Yosef Langer, a Chabad rabbi complete with black hat and beard, while he blew the shofar in his role as the official Bay Area "Rally Rabbi." You've got to wonder whether this made the difference. . .

Rainfall Box Score

You don't have to know me that well or that long to know that I am a sports fan. I'm most passionate about baseball--I grew up a Mets fan, but for the past 20 years I've bled green and gold for the Oakland A's. I also follow football-New York Giants; basketball-Warriors and Stanford women's and men's teams; and soccer-Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday and whatever team catches my fancy during World Cup. I am a loyal fan, sticking with "my guys" through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Part of being a true sports fan involves reading the sports section of the paper each day, checking the box scores and the standings. During the baseball season I also keep up with the top performers in each league with the listings provided each day.

My friend Stuart pointed out to me that I follow the yearly rainfall totals in the same manner, pitting the current totals against both last year's at the same time and the normal for the date. As weird as that is, I have to admit that he's right.

To the right you see the chart that appears on the weather page of the SF Chronicle each day (it's not on the online weather page, only in print). Listed for the major California cities are the totals for the last 24 hours, for the season-to-date, for the season-to-date last year, and for the norm-to-date. The last column lists the normal season total.

I've circled the San Francisco stats--for a larger view, click on the photo. We've been in a dry spell, so there's no current rainfall, and to date we're behind the season norm and way behind where we were last year at this date. I remember last year noting how far ahead we were of the normal to date. So you can see how I do indeed follow this like it is a race, relishing being "ahead"; hoping for a better showing when we're "behind."

Living in California makes me conscious of the need for rain in its season, since the rainfall stops once summer arrives. Having a Jewish spiritual practice enhances that awareness, as the prayer for rain is included in our liturgy during the fall and winter. Being a sports fan gives me the perspective to look at the specifics of the rainfall, recognizing the need for the good and bad times to balance out.

So LETS GO RAIN!!!! At this point in the season, we need to catch up.......

Take me out to the Ballgame...in Israel??

I'm somewhat uncomfortable with this story about of the scouting of players for the newly formed Israeli Baseball League. The new league "is welcoming Jews and gentiles alike in hopes of exporting America's pastime to Israel and turning the violence-torn Jewish state - a country with only one full-size diamond - into the next great baseball power."

Why? The operations director, Martin Berger-a Miami lawyer-has an answer "Baseball, to us, is the great American game and there's so many Americans in Israel and there's so many great supporters of Israel in America. It's just a logical thing to do."

Logical to Mr. Berger and who else? This just seems nonsensical to me. Let's break down his reasoning. Baseball is a great American game. There are Americans in Israel. There are Americans who support Israel. How does that add up to starting a professional baseball league in Israel?

I'm a huge baseball fan. The existence and survival of Israel is very important to me. But in no way do the two connect. And then there's the bit about their hopes to compete in the 2009 World Baseball Classic using Jewish major and minor league players. Now, if those players are Israeli or their parents are Israeli or they choose to be Israeli, that's fine. But just to allow the players on the team because they are Jewish does not sit well with me. Should the Vatican field a team made up of Catholic players?

I just don't get it. If someone reading this can bring a different perspective, please comment. If you're interested in following the league, the season will open June 24 with six teams--the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox, Netanya Tigers, Petach Tikva Pioneers, Jerusalem/Gezer Lions, Haifa/Nahariva Stingrays, and Tel Aviv Lightening.

I'm wondering how they are going to share that one field.

Lost in the Shuffle

There are three stories out of the barrage of holiday "news" the media assulted us with this past week that I think deserve our attention. All three are sports related with ties to life in our times.

The first illuminates the horror of the war in Iraq. The Iraqi Olympic cycling coach was kidnapped from his home and killed. I read about this in a small blurb in my local paper, you can read the AP dispatch on ESPN.com. There you will find a list of other victims from the Iraqi sports community. "We lost another one," says Hussain al-Amidi, "He is not a politician and has no link with any party. It looks like no one is excluded from the violence."

I heard the next story on NPR last Wednesday, December 20. It was then that I first learned of the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. This Hall of Fame, located on the campus of Boise State University in Idaho, inducts "individuals who are world-class in athletic ability, role models in their community, and have a strong record of humanitarian efforts." We need more stories about athletes "who represent all that is good in sport." I've written before about how players can suffer detrimental effects of their sport to both body and soul (see "The Hard Reality of Sports" and "It's not just steroids. . ."). But how can we teach kids the positive attributes of sports when players like San Diego Chargers' Shawne Merriman get caught using steroids and still get rewarded with a trip to the Pro Bowl?

Then there is the full spectrum of fan behavior. You might remember the 2002 disputes over ownership of two Barry Bonds' record-setting home run balls--one his 73rd homer of the year, the other the 600th of his career. Both cases were all about greed. But on Monday--Christmas Day--my friend Peter sent me a link to an LA Times story that renewed my faith in sports' fans.

Jim Governale found a recording of Vince Scully's on-air call of the final inning of the Dodger's 5-0 victory over the Mets on June 30, 1962--the only known surviving account of the first Sandy Koufax's four no-hitters. The recording was made by Governale's uncle Dave Fantz when he was 14 years old. So what did Jim Governale do with his precious find? He cleaned up the audio as much as he could, burned it to CD, and, ignoring the advice of his friends, gave it to the Dodger organization. "I just wanted to do what was right by the Dodgers and Vin Scully and Sandy Koufax," he said. "It would mean more to me to honor the two of them by just doing the right thing, rather than just to sell out. To me, it seemed like a way of cheapening the recording and cheapening the find if I were to sell it." Now that's a lesson for our time. Thank you, Mr. Governale.

Don't Show Me the Money

I just finished reading the AP article on Minnesota's Justin Morneau receiving the Baseball American League's MVP Award. It's not long and had all the pertinent information and statistics. One for the trivia books--Morneau is the second Canadian born player to win the MVP (Larry Walker is the first).

Another aspect of "the story" is that Morneau is not one of the high paid, superstar players in baseball--although he might be on the road there now. Ryan Howard, winner of the National League MVP award, is in that same category. To prove the point, the article mentions Morneau's salary this year, a mere $385,000 -- that is low using major league baseball standards.

But when the article mentions the runner ups for the award, do I need to know how much they each received as a bonus? I'm not naive, I know that major league sports is all about the money. I just don't always need to see the price tag.