Cigars, Smoke Rings, and "The(Cincinnati) Reds is Dead"

Bye-Bye-Cincinnati___

The professional baseball season, for all worthwhile  purposes came crashing to an end for this fan last evening...as the Cincinnati Reds were swept out of the National League Playoffs by the 2 time defending NL Champion Philadelphia  Phillies.  3 games to none, without much of a whimper...no hit last Wednesday, error prone loss on Friday, and the top hitting team and top defensive team in the National League got little hitting and another costly error in last nights 2-0 lost in Cincy to put the Reds season at rest.

We Reds fans should, I guess, take solice that they are young, with a bright young pitching staff and some up and coming players....hopefully they will be able to build on this season...after all it was the first time in years that Reds fans were actually paying attention after July 4th...Cincinnati is usually hopelessly out of the race by then.  So it's wait until next year....only this time, we actually have something to look forward to.

Sam, home from Ohio State(who kicked ass on an over matched Indiana team Saturday to take over #1 in the polls after Alabama was ambushed at South Carolina), after working the video for the Buckeye-Indiana game, and I worked the last regular season football double header in the area Recreation League....and headed home for supper.  Then I grabbed more than a couple of beers, a couple of hand rolled torpedo cigars and plopped myself out on the back steps.  I had decided to not watch the Reds and Phils battle, I would catch most of it on radio, by far the best medium for baseball...good broadcasters can paint a picture in your mind...so who needs the yapping lap dogs of WTBS telling you what you can already see?  I'd much rather listen to long time Hall of Fame Broadcaster Marty Brennaman of the Reds.  Marty has been pretty negative the past few years, but with the sad state of the Reds until this year, who can blame him?  He's still one of the best...so it was me, the radio, cigars, and a few beers last night...after all I was sore as Hell after 3 1/2 hours of football officiating, and needed some sort of support group.  Cigars and Miller Lite seemed to be that, and after the Reds fell behind in the first inning...they would come in handy.

Smoke Rings____

I never have been a cigarette smoker, nasty things.  I've watched them kill off and ruin the health of more people, friend, and family,  than I could count...and I watch in amazement at the dumbass young folks who still get hooked the expensive things these days.  Absolutely no reason on this green earth to get hooked on the poison that is contained in those things that cost $5 and more a pack.  Cigars, on the other hand, are something else...now don't get me wrong, I don't claim that Cigars are "safe" or healthy for you...but neither do the have the poisons that are included in their nasty little brothers.  For one, you don't inhale Cigars(unless you're a damn fool), and how many does a person really smoke?  I may partake in an average of 1 per week through out the year...50 to 75 tops...and I only smoke them in the warm weather months, and on our annual Salmon Fishing Trip to Oscoda, Michigan, I may smoke a handful.

So even though I'm not a smoker per say, I have learned to blow "smoke rings"...guess that's how bored I was with listening to the Reds get swept out of the playoffs last night...so Cigar in left hand, camera in right, I decided to see if I could get some "flash" shots of a cigar ring or two.  The results are in the top photos...not some of my best work...but hey, I was about 4 beers and 2 cigars into the evening when I decided to become "Rembrandt" with a camera and cigar.

So that finished off the weekend, which included a 75 mile(each way) trip north to West Unity, Ohio, to officiate a JV Football game on Saturday morning...beautiful weather through the weekend, which will continue today with another summer like day in the mid 80s with bright, intense, sunshine...after that the sun will stick around for the next 2 weeks they say, just a shower or two in the forecast mid week..but temps will drop to the more October-like mid 60s by Thursday.  Today a MRSI Board Meeting, then will help out with daughter Anissa this afternoon...JV game here in Celina was cancelled due to injuries in the whipping they got a Kenton Friday night.  The young Bulldogs were down by 38-0 at the end of the first quarter, en route to a 58-14 loss.  Celina falls into a tie with the Wildcats for first in the WBL...but with a 5 win 2 loss record overall, this team is much farther along than anybody could have predicted.

For the most part, I have a busy week of football on tap, including games on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday Night, Saturday Morning, and a Rec League Double Dip in tournament play on Sunday.....after that, things will begin to wind down, and I can get ready for Basketball season and Winter....not sure I'm really ready for either.  But come they will...and I will get my legs in shape for a different sport yet again.

back later>>>>

Photos-Smoke rings from my 1876 Torpedo, while listening to the Reds season come to an end....and the Celina Bulldogs Cinderella season struck Midnight...now the young Dogs will need to regroup, still tied for first in the WBL.