Gotham Gal: Sports

4 posts categorized "Sports"

Oh, the Knicks

There was a time when we went to many basketball games. Now I go very infrequently because honestly the Knicks are not that great although it is a young team so there is hope.

I love the whole NYC community rah-rah. Hearing JZ and Alicia Keys belt out Empire State of Mind puts a smile on my face.

I love that the Knicks have a multi-cultural team. A Russian, an Italian and a Frenchman is pretty cool. Defines NYC in many ways.

I do love just going to a game. There is something about it.

What I don't love is that the games have become pure entertainment vs sporting events. Granted sporting events have always been entertaining but watching young kids between 8 - 12 perform some dance during all the breaks doesn't really sit right with me.

What I hate the worst is the Garden. NYC is one of the most amazing cities in the world so why do we have a crumbling arena? It is an embarrassment. Like when we fly back through NYC, we enter JFK which is should be updated into this century immediately. It is also an embarrassment.

I do love the game but I really wish it would be more about the game...and they'd do some serious renovation and certainly some better food.

Comments (View) / Posted November 15, 2010 in Sports / Permalink

Go Mets!

On Thursday night we went out to Citi Field to watch the Mets play Detroit. I admit, that I am not the biggest baseball fan but it was a great night. I find the game incredibly long and drawn out. I am well aware that it is truly a thinking mans game and the stats are part of the thrill. I get it. Yet going to a game on occasion, eating some baseball fare and enjoying a warm summer night isn't so shabby. We had the absolute pleasure of sitting in one of the boxes the other night. Our seats were prime. Josh was in heaven.

Citi Field is pretty damn sweet. The place is pristine. The food halls are pretty good. There is something magical about the place. As I said, I do get it.

Comments (View) / Posted June 26, 2010 in Sports / Permalink

New spin place in Amagansett, BEast

Another spin place in the Hamptons? Yep. The newest location is in Amagansett, called BEast. It is a great addition to the town.

Not only do they have spinning but there are also 2 rooms for classes. Its in the parking lot behind Mary's Marvelous. The bikes are brand new. I had a great class.

BEast will be part of my exercise regime.

Comments (View) / Posted July 6, 2009 in Sports / Permalink

Soccer has begun

Sports season has begun. Josh is playing weekend soccer and soccer for the school. The weather is beautiful now but come November it is a bit harsh standing outside for 2 hours watching the games. But, hey, that's what Moms do.

We had to buy cleats the night before the first game. Took Josh and his friend to Paragon where they discussed the virtues of each pair of cleats. It was quite hilarious. You would have thought the boys were discussing the latest designer. It must be innate. Might be a different fashion statement but a fashion statement none the less.

In the end, we got a pair of cleats, new shorts, shin pads and soccer socks. The look was down. His feet are huge. They won the game. Big success across the board.

Comments (View) / Posted September 21, 2008 in Sports / Permalink

books of the moment

Cristina Alger: The Darlings: A Novel
i LOVED this book. First time novelist. Well written. She does a great job of describing each character. The story is loosely based on a Madoff type character. Total NY story. Page turner. She knows her town and these people. Really LOVED this book.
Stephen King: 11/22/63: A Novel
This is my first King book. He is an incredible story teller. Quite a book, very creative, interesting idea and story. It is so long. 850 pages. I get why he is one of the best selling authors
Whitney L. Johnson: Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream
I was so graciously asked to write a blurb for this book. It doesn't come out until May when I will write a post but for the time being you can pre-order. Here is my blurb; Every woman, regardless of age or profession, should read this book. Through stories of real women, their dreams and their struggles, Johnson's book has created an instant community. What's more, she has opened the door for women to empower themselves to dare, dream and do.
Russell Banks: Lost Memory of Skin: A Novel
An interesting novel about the underground topic of child molesters. Banks takes on a disturbing topic as he weaves a variety of strange characters into the fold. Maybe I wanted some kind of closure from the book. The book is a big idea which really navigates a slice of America. Really well written but not so sure I'd recommend it. I stuck with the book but I didn't love it.
Susan Weissman: Feeding Eden: The Trials and Triumphs of a Food Allergy Family
The name of the book says it all. Every parent and every teacher should read this book.
Tom Perrotta: The Leftovers
I have read a few of Perrotta's books. He is an incredible writer but I always feel so unfulfilled when his books end. This concept of this book is that one day random people disappear and the world changes. The book focuses on one particular community and a few families. At the beginning I was wowed by the premise of the book but as always his books begin to ramble and the end was so bad it was if he couldn't figure out how to finish it. Literally the last paragraph made me say to myself, "seriously"?
Alice Hoffman: The Dovekeepers: A Novel
I wanted to finish it, I really did. But half way in I moved on. Really beautiful book. A story of four women who lived on Masada who are thrown together through fate as they tend to the doves. Wonderful history and interesting paths of each character. Just super dense. I hope to return to finishing it. After all...it is on my kindle.
Deborah Copaken Kogan: Between Here and April
This book tracks a terrible tragedy of a mother who took her life and her childrens in the 70s. I was interested in it because it happened where I grew up. Unfortunately the book bounces all over the place and only focuses on the authors own issues that she believes to be connected to this but in essence it is a serious reach and rambling.
W. Bruce Cameron: A Dog's Purpose
It took me a while to get into this but a very clever book. Life through a dogs eyes. Really well done.
Kyung-Sook Shin: Please Look After Mom
International best seller. Not only a peak into a past generation of Korean life but a disturbing look at alzheimers. Sticks with you.
Kathleen Flinn: The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks
Flinn writes about how she transformed 9 people to love cooking, understand food and what they are eating and basically changed their lives. Good book.
Julie Salamon: Wendy and the Lost Boys: The Uncommon Life of Wendy Wasserstein
What a fascinating life. I actually liked the last 25% of the book the best. A woman of the generation that was told she could have it all and with all her success she still felt unaccomplished. A worthy read.
Michael Ondaatje: The Cat's Table
A beautiful memoir of Ondaatjes solo journey from Sri Lanka to London as a young boy of 11 to return to his mother who had been residing there for 3/4 years. Those 3 weeks made quite an impact on his life as he threads those stories back to his life as an adult.
Jeffrey Eugenides: The Marriage Plot: A Novel
loved this book. brilliantly written, great character development, literature references abound, questioning of religion, depression issues, post college angst. loved loved.
Julie Otsuka: The Buddha in the Attic
I read Otsuka's first book, When the Emperor Was Divine and really enjoyed it. Her writing is very distinct and her prose is written in a way that is different, imaginative and interesting. The book is a bit of an extension of the first book. The topic is on America's stained past during the war, in our own country, when we locked up all the Japanese people living here because of pure fear of nothing. Otsuka's book gives the read insight into how the Japanese lived prior to that time and really what wonderful immigrants they were and are. Opens up a chapter of American history that we should all be very disturbed by.