the unlikely orange

today is labor day, the official end of summer, and so i find myself reflecting today on the summer of 2016.  as different as this summer was, we still did our annual tradition of making a summer bucket list, which i wrote about here , back in july.  shannon designed the bucket list with a patriotic theme, knowing that we would be vacationing in washington dc this summer: and as awesome as that week in dc was, it certainly wasn't the major event of our summer.  no, without question, the mark of summer 2016 for the milinovich's was moving.  everything was either leading up to the move (putting all of our possessions in cardboard boxes) or resulting from the move (unpacking all of aforementioned boxes). but we woke up the first day after moving out of our home for the last 6 years, a place that had become home to us, with great friends at a great church, and this is how that first morning greeted us: and somehow, we knew everything was going to be ju...

baseball is back.  and all seems well in my soul. i know i have written here countless times about the beauty of the game, but i just can't resist saying something once again this spring.  two nights ago i listened to the radio broadcast of the pittsburgh pirates extra-inning walk-off win against their rivals, the cardinals, and the tinny sound of the broadcaster's voices, supported by the the orchestra of the crowd - swelling in crescendo for each possible hit and reacting to every ball and strike; the sounds of the stadium organ, the crack of the bat, the crush of the ball against the catcher's mitt:  all of this is a symphony of sport that is sweet, sweet music to me.  like any music, it can - and does - transport me to another time, hiding under the sheets at 10 years old, listening to the pirates on WAMB, hoping that nobody else could hear the tinny sound of that little radio.  like any music, it moves me and speaks to me and comforts me and calls me t...

well, that was underwhelming.   three.  stinking.  hits.   yikes.  oh well. tonight the wild wild card journey continues, with the pirates hosting the chicago cubs.  now, if i didn't have very high expectations of the yankees this year, i did have very high expectations of the pirates.  and they didn't disappoint.  the buccos are a really good team, and had the second best record in all of major league baseball.  unfortunately for them, they play in the same division as the st. louis cardinals, who were 2 games better than them over a 162-game schedule.  pretty close. still, the pirates had a great season, and ought to be among the best teams in baseball playing for a pennant and a world series championship.  but it will all swing on this one game.  arrieta vs. cole.  since it's in pittsburgh, i'm going to give the pirates the edge, but this thing could easily go either way, and one of the top 3 teams in baseball ...

sadly, the baseball regular season is over.  the bad news is that there are only a limited number of baseball games left in 2015 (i would be happy if baseball was played year round). the good news is that playoff baseball is here, and there's nothing like playoff baseball, when stadiums full of people hang on every pitch, less distracted by hot dogs and beers and t-shirts being shot out of cannons.  it's october.  which means these games really matter. and none matter quite the same way as a wild card game.  it's a one-game playoff system.  two teams from each league make it to the wild card game, and the winner moves on to the division series.  the loser goes home to watch on tv.  yikes. and it just so happens that my two favorite baseball teams both are in a wild card game, one in each league.  and both are the home team.  i will write about the bucs tomorrow, but the yankees play tonight. it's been a crazy season for the yankees...

in  my hiatus from doing much of anything resembling blogging the last couple of months, i have totally missed being able to gush about baseball, particularly the success of both of my favorite teams, the pirates and the yankees.  the yankees, in my opinion, have exceeded expectations, and are on pace to win a wild card spot, if they can finish strong.  the pirates, on the other hand, have been very, very good.  they have the second best record in the big leagues, and have for some time.  the only problem is that the team with the best record, the st. louis cardinals (cue excessive booing here) are in the same division.  so the pirates have been chasing for months.  in any other division they'd be division winners.  and they still have a chance to do that, but, if nothing else, they have already clinched a playoff berth.  even if they lose all of the rest of their games, they will be in buctober with a chance to play for the world series. ...

brrrrrr.... i actually like winter, but every year there comes a time when i've simply had enough. and that time has come.  when i saw that the stupid groundhog was predicting 6 more weeks (might as well be months) of winter, i felt like i could punch that rotten rodent in his smug little snout.  i wanted to wring his whiskery little neck!  i wanted to turn him into groundhog gumbo and eat him while sitting outside on some new orleans patio, where i'm perspiring because of the temperature, and wearing flip flops so that my tanned little toes can breath in the warm air.  i was mad at that wannabe meteorologist mammal.  and then i saw this picture and i calmed down.  i mean, he is pretty cute, now that i get a better look at him.  i think we could be friends.  look at those adorable little ears!  i guess i could live with a few more weeks of ash-gray snow all over everything, if that precious little creature thinks its best.  ...

and so it comes to an end.  the baseball season, which began way back when the trees were sprouting buds, has finished, just as the leaves are letting go of their grip, the giants of san francisco have won in 7 games, and while i may not have been very invested in which team won, i was very invested in the fact that i won't have big league baseball for 5 months. it makes me very sad. except for one little thing: oh yes.  it is the week that the steelers prepare for their evil foes from baltimore, the oily crows. yes, they've already faced each other once this season.  and yes, that was a game i'd much  rather forget. but in all fairness, things have changed.  the steelers have shown themselves capable of being both dr. jekyll and  mr. hyde, sometimes in the same game, but are on a recent streak of winning two in a row in fairly dominant fashion, over two very good teams.  last week they put on an offensive clinic, which, while not susta...

oh, i've been dreading this post.  i've been trying to write it all week, and i just keep putting it off.  i can't believe the summer has bled into fall, and we stand here now in the final throws of the 2014 regular season of major league baseball.  just the passage of time would make that remarkable enough, for me.  but there is something far more weighty on my heart. now batting...numbah two....derek jeetah....numbah two.   hold on a second.  i need to go get a box of tissues before i try typing anything else. last week as i was in atlanta, i read ian o'connor's biography of jeter called "the captain."  as the number of games the yankees' captain has left to play has dwindled into single digits, it was almost too much for this fan to bear.  his life has been fascinating in many ways.  he declared at an early age that he would one day play shortstop for the new york yankees.  everyone laughed.  until he went and did it...

this: and this: welcome back to the postseason, buccos!  and welcome back to the burgh, deebo.

it's time. time for the steelers to hit the practice fields in the hot summer sun.  time for the sounds of pads hitting pads, coaches shouting instructions, and whistles piercing the campus air at st. vincent's.  it's time for the steelers to go back to camp and try to fix what ended up as an 8-8 mess last year. and it is time for me to enter my yearly promised land of sports-fandom.  i get 3+ months of baseball and  football together, and it is the best quarter of a year that a baseball/football guy could ask for. so please excuse me if i revel in this for a bit, with a gigantic smile on my face.

see this guy?  his name is chase headley.  chase had a very interesting day yesterday.  let me tell you about it. chase started the day in chicago as the third baseman for the san diego padres.  they were in the windy city for a series against the cubs.  at some point during the morning, however, it was announced that he had been traded to the new york yankees.  i can't even imagine what all must go through your head as a ball player who has just been told that you will now be playing with a whole different group of men, and you will now call a different city (on the other side of the country) "home" for the next 3 months.  but whatever goes through Chase's mind, it had to go through pretty quickly, because while i'm sure he wanted to talk to his wife and other family, he quickly had to make sure he was boarding a plane in chicago that was bound for new york city.  somehow, amidst saying goodbye to his teammates, and gathering his belongings,...

respect.  that's what the captain of the yankees has earned over his career.  just take a quick glance at the message boards across baseball this year, and you'll constantly read things like this (actually quoted from a video of jeter):  "i  *$^%# hate the yankees, but i got nothin but respect for the captain." nothing but respect. he seems to have had his relationship problems off the field, but some of the reporting of that seems to be as largely exaggerated as is the human tendency to tear down those who are successful.  he generally stays out of the tabloids, and certainly out of the limelight in new york city, other than when it comes to playing baseball, which is what he has always wanted to do.  since his proclamation as a 4th-grader that he would someday play shortstop for the new york yankees, he has been a driven man, full of focus and determination.  sure he has natural skill, but i don't think anyone would ever argue that he is the m...

we were so blessed this weekend to be given an opportunity to go to yankee stadium to see the yankees take on the minnesota twins.  that itself is enough of a gift given to our family, but it was even better than that!  first of all, we were able to head out to clinton, nj on friday, to see some friends, walk downtown where we used to live, and drive by the house we lived in for four years.  then we had a wonderful dinner and friday evening with several dear friends, and had a great time catching up. once saturday morning arrived, we were able to ride to yankee stadium in style !  we were picked up in a limousine, the very first ride i have ever had in such a vehicle.  the boys thought they were celebrities, and were living it up!  in the picture below you can (sort of) see some of us in the limo, as we are going across the gw bridge out of the city. the yankee game itself was amazing.  we had such a gorgeous day (other than the strange bl...