Yankees defeat the Nats 5-3 after 14 innings

Saturday afternoon I was sitting pretty (i.e. eating and drinking) on my perch at the PNC Diamond Club at Washington Nationals Park for the 2nd game of the 3-game series between the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals.

 

Unfortunately I forgot my camera when I went to the game so all the pictures I have a from my iPhone.  Once again, I went into the game expecting to see Bryce Harper do something special.  After 14 innings, I left feeling a little frustrated that I hadn't seen the special player that everyone raves about.

One special thing that happened at the game was when Eric Chavez hit a foul ball that went into my section.  The older men sitting at the table behind me couldn't catch the ball, so it fell right behind me.  I had to lunge, but I was able to get the ball!  Now both of the baseballs I have are from Yankees!  The first was from Alex Rodriguez, when he tossed me one in Minnesota (i.e. at a Twins game) and now this one from Saturday, 

Yankees won on Saturday with a score of 5-3.  It was a marathon, but a great day for baseball!

I ran into Teddy on the way out and although he never wins the Presidents' Race, he's a winner when he's with ME.

THE WIRK

Yankees defeat the Nats in the 1st game of a 3 game series

I know this blog has been quiet lately, because I've been in and out of the country.  Now that I'm "back", lately I've been focusing more on baseball than basketball since I can't stand the thought of the LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning the 2012 NBA Championship...  Come on Oklahoma City Thunder!!!

OK, enough of that.  Back to the point of this post.

Did you know that the New York Yankees hadn't played the Washington Nationals in DC since June 2006?!?!  Those games were played at RFK Stadium.  No wonder people were buzzing...

I have a lot of friends in the DC area who are Yankees' fans and this series was all they could talk about.  When I was playing on the Nationals' ticketing website, I spotted a pair of good seats behind home plate slightly towards the 3rd base line...  Who doesn't want to be closer to A-Rod?!!?  Let's be real.  Alex Rodriguez is much better looking than Derek Jeter.  Needless to say, I grabbed the seats as fast as I could and called my Jetah-loving friend, Teri, to let her know we were golden!

I went to the game, thinking that the Nats would play better than they did.  I was also excited to finally see Bryce Harper play.  Unfortunately, I can't remember him doing anything memorable at the game...

The AL East leading New York Yankees came to DC and beat the NL East Washington Nationals by a score of 7-2 on Friday night, and I was hooked.  After the game I went straight to the ticket window and picked up a ticket in the PNC Diamond Club for Saturday's afternoon game.  ****  If you haven't been to the Diamond Club yet, I think you should go.  It's a great place to watch a game and reasonably priced if you go there hungry and thirsty! 

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Please help THE WIRK get paid to blog about sleep

Alright, people - If you can spare a second and you have a Facebook account, can you please click this link:  http://www.renewsleepclock.com/2012/04/sarah-wirk/

When you click it the following picture appears.  Where it says "vote for this dreamer" (by the guy's hair part) click "LIKE".

If you follow this blog at all, you know that I'm always on the road and that with all the travel, sleep is something that's very important to me.  I'd appreciate your vote, so I can get paid to blog about sleep.

Thanks so much!


THE WIRK

The numbers surrounding March Madness in pictures

I received the following graphic which tells the story of March Madness.  It was sent to me from Jenica Rhee (i.e. evidently it was a school project).  Needless to say, I hope she got an "A".

Lately, I've been spending some time explaining all the hype surrounding the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament to my non-American friends and this will definitely be helpful!  Brackets, sports betting, seedings, etc. it's here.  Check it out!


THE WIRK


Created by: BusinessDegree.net

March Madness is here and I'm not ready ~ See you in Vegas

So it's the advent of my return to Las Vegas for March Madness and aside from watching a few conference tournament games, I can honestly say I have no idea what's going on this year.  Last year, I hit the road and jockeyed cities to watch the games.  This year, frankly I don't have the energy to travel that much right now.  Sooooooo, it's just easier and more fun for me to visit with my friends from Portland et al, and sit in a sportsbook to wager.

Based on what little I know and from my past experience here are a few bullet points for what I think:

• I'm not taking Louisville to go far.  There seems to be little incentive for Coach Pitino to win, so I'll look forward to seeing Louisville's head coach on the sports panel(s) commentating as soon as his guys get bounced.
• If I have to pick a 12 to beat a 5, I'm picking Harvard University to pull off the upset.
• If UNC goes against FSU anywhere in the draw (i.e. can you tell I have yet to look at a bracket), I'm taking Florida State University.  The Seminoles are the Tarheels' kryptonite.
• Everyone I'm talking to seem to like the Kentucky Wildcats to win this year.
• I'm not joining any pools this year.  I've been out of the country for about 6-7 months, and you're not getting my "easy money".

I'll add more if/when I think of more.


THE WIRK

Head Coach Woodson - All the best with the Knicks

So Mike D'Antoni is out and Mike Woodson is in as (interim) head coach of the New York Knicks --- presumably until Phil Jackson can take over the helm (i.e. if you believe the word on the street). Want details about the resignation?  If so, you're in the wrong place.  I like Coach Woodson.  I've known him for about 10-11 years now.  I knew him when he was in Cleveland.  As an assistant coach he took the time to come over to the house to visit an injured player who was rehabbing.  Coach and I are not best buddies, but I do reach out whenever I'm in town and go and see him at work (i.e. coaching).

One funny story about Woody:  I used to work with a guy who was OBSESSED with Indiana Basketball.  He was the ultimate Indiana University fan.  He told me stories about Woody's shooting, with the hugest smile on his face.  He told me to ask Woody about it.  Later, after a game or maybe it was when he was visiting his player, I recounted the story to him.  I told him that my co-worker told me that he was one of the best shooters on his team.  Woody just smiled, not a cocky smile --- but a sincere, confident grin and said "I WAS the shooter".

That's Woody.  He's great.  All the best, coach!


THE WIRK

Continental Airlines ~ Why are you so terrible?

I have had to make 2 phone calls and been on the phone for more than 30 mins for both calls to change my return flight from Singapore.  I am actually still on hold since the website cannot process the ticket change. I would like a refund on all change fees because being on hold for close to an hour is unacceptable, especially when the website advertises that these services can be completed online.  I'm a US Airways PLATINUM dividend mile member and this experience is extremely frustrating and should not occur PERIOD. The cost of the international phone calls from my mobile will be close to the change fees that will be passed onto me by Continental Airlines. Terrible... Just terrible.

 

I've forwarded this information to Continental, a Customer Care case has been created for my request.

 

Reference number: 5179913

 

Anyone want to wager as to whether I'll have to call 1800-932-2732 to resolve this issue further?

 

Here are the initial comments from the Customer "I DON'T CARE" Worker.

• She says Continental Won’t refund any fees ~ even after spending over an hour trying to get someone on the phone and another 10 minutes for her to try to price the ticket.
• I informed the woman on the phone that the ticket was $50 more and $250 for the change.  I was able to see this online.  I had to repeat this information twice.
• The reason I had to call was that the Continental website, take the credit card verification info.  I had to repeat this information twice.
• What's the point of having voice recognition for the flight details when the call is answered if this information is not passed on?

Now I'm supposed to believe that the worker is going to rebook my ticket and that I can hang up, since I already know what the price will be.  She evidently can't get anyone to verify the price that appears on http://www.continental.com/. 

Looks like I may have another battle on my hands.

THE WIRK