Exit Sandman

Generation X walked off the mound last night.

Mariano Rivera debuted in May of 1995, the same month I walked down a hill wearing a cap and gown.  

Mariano pitched before the dot com boom, and during it's bust.  He was the set up man for the Championship team of 1996.  

Mariano and his Yankees enjoyed an amazing, wild, successful ride in the late 90's.  He was the dominant closer for the World Series Champions of 1998,1999, and 2000.

Mariano was pitching in New York when the Towers Fell in 2001.  

Mariano's team fell from their dominant perch that year, failing to win a World Series after winning 3 straight. 

Mariano gave up the winning run in the 2001 World Series, and was credited with the loss. It was on a chop single up the middle, by an over matched team.

Mariano's Yankees made it to the Series again in 2003, but got run by a one year phenom from South Florida.

Mariano pitched while we fought in 2 long, ignored wars, that were never won.

Mariano pitched during another financial crisis, in 2008.

He closed games that same year, as our first Black President was elected.

He was a World Champion again in 2009, finishing for the iconic team, making it's slow recovery.

He tore his knee up shagging fly balls in 2012, and missed almost the whole year. He was 42 years old.

He rehabbed his knee, so he could play one last season, and go out "on his terms".

He was still an excellent closer this year.  He pitched very well for a team that came up short of the playoffs.

Mariano walked off the mound last night, in tears, after hugging Derek Jeter and Andy Petite. ( Two of the guys he came of age with.  One is also retiring, and one is still holding on, fighting injuries, hoping for one or two more great years)

Mariano took his curtain call, and was wildly cheered.

He sat down, and just looked out.  

Now what?

"Glass"

Sometimes you have to bank one in

Ben McLemore was the best player on the court all night tonight.  On the
way to scoring 33 points, he missed only 2 shots.  He took advantage of
screens by his teammates, and also created  when the rest of the team fell
apart.  Perfect from 3 point land, opportunistic transition play, and pull
up jumpers.  Fucking masterpiece.  He did all of the right things.

But doing all the right things wasn't enough.  Even though he played the
best game of his young career, his team was going to lose.

But then he banked one in.

With .01 second(s) left and the team down by three, Ben put up a three
pointer. This time, his teammates did do all the right things.  They all
executed.   Coach drew up a play to get Ben the last shot of the game.  Why
not?  Ben had been perfect the whole night.

Ben then  put up his worst shot of the night.

His worst shot of the night saved the game because it banked off the
backboard and fell right through the net.  Tie game.  ( team won easy in
overtime)

Sometimes you have to bank one in.

About an hour after the game I got  a phone call from my wife.  I' m
traveling on business tonight, and was just falling asleep.  I have worked
my ass off this week, and today was especially  exhausting.  I almost
didn't pick up her call.

My wife and I are expecting our first child.  We are thrilled, but we are
secretly afraid.

Apparently, she got pregnant shortly before badly injuring her back this
Summer.  Her back's injury and all of the prescriptions and treatments
masked the fact that she had 1st Trimester symptoms.

So we just kept trying, and kept trying, and then got a positive test.

We went to her doctor, thrilled for what we thought was a 7 week sonogram.
Less than a minute into the sonogram, we were told the baby was at least 18
weeks old.

I was Scared and Mad.

Kate had taken pregnancy tests ever since we got off the pill to avoid any
risks.   She took prenatal vitamins for a year.  She went to her doctor for
advice and was told, quite directly, she would not get pregnant the old
fashioned way.   She did all the right things.

The news of our 18 week old pregnancy  didn't feel like a win.

What might we had done to our child?  Pain Killers, MRI, epidermal, a boozy
weekend.

Then we got a call from the doctor saying our blood work indicated a higher
risk than normal for Downs Syndrome.  We had such a  wonderful plan drawn
up, executed it so well, but it all seemed off.

I'm glad she called and woke me up.

All tests indicate our child is healthy.  The odds were always in our
favor, but Kate and I had been quietly afraid, even keeping our fear from
each other.  Noble, but kind of lonely and sad.

We had planned so diligently, and then it all went sideways.  Our plan
went wrong, so something had to go wrong right?

Sometimes you have to bank one in.

We weren't really  trying to get pregnant late August, but it happened.
The shot was off, but it went through the hoop..and it counted. ( Yeah,  I
just wrote that shit)

You can prepare.  You can do all the right things, or at least all of the
things you think are right, but it still might not get you what you want.

Other times, you  can just let it fly.  Put yourself in the right place,
keep trying, completely miss-fire, but still somehow win.

Fair has nothing to do with it.

Fair has nothing to do with anything.

Sometimes you bank one in and win.

Sometimes you prepare with perfect execution, but fall short.

Life is a tough and wonderful game.

I love it so much.