Not Just A Hat Rack

On the Road...

It's always interesting to be on the road and be asked, "where are you from?"

Yesterday, I found myself in Orlando, a.k.a., the most miserable place on earth if you don't have kids and/or a Brian Kamler-esque Disney-file with you.  I was here for a conference of Marketing and Development professionals connected with public radio in the USA.  This was one of my final pieces of business for Snow Lion before diving 199% into USA Team Handball.

Even here, I found connections with people I knew from the soccer world, and friends of friends who knew people who knew people from Utah.  This conference actually took place at Snowbird a few years ago and many who attended came away with an entirely skewed view of Salt Lake City and our surrounding state.  "There's nothing to do there!" is an accurate statement, when you consider a majority of the participants in the conference at Snowbird didn't have a rental car and thus couldn't get off the resort property.  One who did found her way to Ruth's Diner of all places.

Anyways, I have been immersed for several weeks in USA Team Handball.  The basics still elude us - a functioning website and office space, for starters - but I hope to be closer to 100% functional by next week. I also anticipate launching a blog at teamusa.org on the Team Handball page, but rest assured the 'Hat Rack will not go unattended.

After a red-eye to Orlando 24 hours ago, and a 3:45am wakeup call to return back to Utah, I'm ready to go back "home."

All Stars, All Night Long

It's 1:18am in New York, 11:18pm here in Salt Lake City... and they're still playing baseball at Yankee Stadium.  I guess God is a Yankee fan and doesn't want to turn out the lights on baseball's most mythical stadium without one last memorable moment.  About four hours ago, I joked they would play 20 innings, run out of players and some pitcher would get seriously injured - and it would all be on inept baseball commissioner Bud Selig's conscience.  I never thought it would come this close.  Wow.

Will Dan Uggla, three errors so far, be the hero, a goat, or neither?  Whither these pitchers, both throwing on just a few days rest with no one left in the bullpen?  Will we see Uggla pitch before all is said and done?

What a night.

My Dad and Pope John Paul II

The St. Helena Star ran this article about two weeks ago about a career diplomat with the U.S. Foreign Service.  I think the lengthy article is a great read about a diplomat's life.  Grandma and Grandpa 'Hat Rack immediately chimed in that the quotes weren't entirely accurate, but even so, I think there's nothing to be ashamed about.  Here's to 25 unforgettable years of service to the United States.  I know I'm proud.

Saturday Night Nostalgia

 

In honor of 70’s night at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, I dip into the nostalgia bank for a few thoughts:

1)    That goal Ante Razov just scored against NY Red Bulls was classic “poacher” Ante – but when you’ve scored 111 goals in MLS history, that’s a compliment.  The Red Bulls’ left back passed it just as Andrew Boyens put his head down and started running to midfield.  The alert Razov pounced on it and slotted it under Jon Conway and in the back of the net before Conway could even get his 6-foot-6 frame to the ground.  If you’ve watched much Chad Barrett, Kei Kamara, (insert any RSL striker here), etc., it was great to see a no-hesitation, no-stopping-him finish.

2)    Speaking of the Chivas USA game – anyone else catch the bilingual Toy Story Mania halftime “special moment” on tonight’s broadcast?  Disney obviously paid a pretty penny to have their green plastic soldiers parade around the field and across the broadcast?  Ugh – too much corporate overkill.  But since we’re on the topic, did anyone else think one of the soldiers looked like Brian Dunseth?

3)    How does Joe Cannon do it?  He comes up with big saves – and shutouts – with amazing consistency, especially considering how bad that team is in front of him.

4)    Speaking of olden days – what was with the horrendous format (square, with black lines on all four side) of the RSL broadcast on KSL 5.3, aka the local weather channel.  The picture looked like 1977.  I had to switch to the Wizards broadcast and inject coffee because their two announcers (Williams? And Gansler) were lifeless.

5)    So my friend Hannah, of the Orioles’ reference earlier this week, reminds me that it was 20 years ago – twenty – that we sat at center court for the rain-delayed Monday morning final of Wimbledon and watched Stefan Edberg defeat Boris Becker.  I was only 19 at the time.  It was 20 years ago.  Not sure how I feel about that.

6)    So, a year ago, I entered the Wasatch Iron Pen writing contest – held in conjunction with the Utah Arts Festival.  The topic “honeycomb” stymied me.  My submission was horrible. I didn’t win. This year, I was well on my way to a scintillating story about a salt shaker, but I fell asleep last night.  Mrs. ‘Hat Rack is away, the kids required my attention, were up early… oh well.

7)    I went to my second Arena Football League game today.  What did the 1987-ish Washington Commandos game have in common with today’s Utah Blaze game? Two things: Army commandos descending from the rafters and a Northwestern player on the home team (Mike Witteck, way back then, and big Dwayne Missouri on the Blaze today).  I left after three quarters.  The Blaze lost. The sport hasn’t gotten any more interesting.  My boys loved the BMX bikes at halftime – and little else. My daughter slept through most of the game – who knew AFL could be so relaxing?

8)    And finally, congrats to John Ellinger, who’s back on an MLS bench with FC Dallas.  I haven’t talked to him since the hire, but I’m rooting for him and Schellas.

Mark Knopfler Concert in SLC

 

Nostalgia took center stage at Abravanel Hall on Wednesday night as legendary Dire Straits’ front man Mark Knopfler graced Salt Lake City with his six-man band.  By the time he concluded his two-hour performance with “So Far Away” and the instrumental from the movie “Local Hero,” the crowd of 2,000 had swayed, clapped and reminisced their way from the late ‘70’s to today.

Known as one of the world’s premier guitarists, Knopfler and friends were at their finest when three guitars, a drums and two keyboards filled the stuffy hall with a decidedly groovy sound.  His trademark combination of London roots with Cajun/folkAmericana riffs and 80’s rock ballad lyrics resonated with the audience in that comfortable way like the night after finals.  Returning to a pre-Bush, pre-AIDS, pre-internet era was a sentimental trip for both the band and their audience.

 He didn’t take risks, played few surprises and gratefully avoided “Money for Nothing” – the song that decried the out-of-control commercialization of the rock music industry, even though it was a signature song itself during the meteoric rise of MTV. After all, with several members of the band pushing 60 years old, Dire Straits’ biggest hit would have sounded only like a creaky echo.  “Romeo and Juliet” and “Brothers in Arms” were safer descents into that bygone era.  The audience has moved on from wearing Journey and Asia t-shirts – Harley Davidson duds were far more prevalent among the baby boomer set. 

I loved the show’s lighting, updated harmonies and elaborate song intros.  The second show on Knopfler’s tour this summer, the set bodes well for forthcoming stops on his tour.  As he hits a few summer festivals and a few legitimate arenas, the band will lift off from Salt Lake’s stifling, alcohol-free concert hall setting and deliver true musical spectacles.  Last night was pure great music, but also a reminder that the 80’s are “so far away.”