The GETTY!!!!!

Being proud of the life you are living is something that is very important.  I personally know this because it feels like for the better part of the last five years that was not the case for me. I don't really know why I decided to start this post out like that but to say that if I say nothing else.  If you read this and take nothing else from me that would be the one thing I want anybody to take.

It took a big chance, some help and love from so many people, and quiet a bit of loneliness but I am doing just that.  At this very moment I am so proud of the life that I am living.  And I wake up thinking that this all has to be a dream.  I've wanted to write about this pretty much since the moment I left the building but to be completely honest with you I just didn't have the words.  

Last Saturday Me and Cooper went to the Getty Museum.  I've been to museums before, but none on this level.  I'm trying to process it all with my mind right now, but I do not know if I'll ever be able to do so. 

A little while ago, I decided I was going to broaden my horizons and get some kind of knowledge about art.  It always seemed to be one of the frontiers that I should be all about but I just never got into it.  And with the help of a dear friend of mine, one AMY MILLER and a couple of art books, my art education began.  When I first started reading the books that she had sent me I found it hard to get into.  I saw these works in the book, but I just couldn't quite connect with them.

But the funny thing is the more I read about these different pieces and stared at this different works in the books that she game me the more I began to think about art.  I remember having very vivid dreams about some of the pieces that I had been looking at in my books and I would spend a good portion of the next day trying to figure out what it all meant.  And even though I was beginning to have all of these different thoughts I still had not really been up close and seen some of these works that I had read about, but that was all about to change.

I stood in front of a Monet.  I stood in front of the painting that was said to have started the impressionism movement and I was completely blown away.  I got lost in the painting trying to study ever subtle detail.  And then I stood on the other side of the room and looked at that same painting and was completely blown away by what I saw.  I will try my best to leave something of value behind to this world when I die, but I know that it will be nothing compared to some of the great and beautiful pieces that I got to experience.  And I say experience because that was exactly what it was, and experience.

I was in a room named the Rembrandt room, and I got to look at famous pieces that I've seen in books and in various pop art.  And it was really me.  I was so close I could touch them.  That places like this even exist just blow my mind.  And that every person in America is getting up and trying to get to these places equally blows my mind.  Stared at a Jackson Pollock mural for almost 30 minutes.  The colors, the shapes, the images... I was completely and utterly mesmerized.  I can't quite put my finger on what exactly I felt staring at that mural, but there was something inside me that was burning up.  I was completely lost in the beauty of it all.  And at that moment I realized just why people pay so much for art.

I stared at that mural for about a half hour and I promise you I could have stared at it for 30 more hours without breaking a sweat.  The crazy thing about going to the Getty is that within a blink of an eye three hours had past and I felt like I hadn't seen anything.  As much as I had already seen I felt like it wasn't enough and I needed three more hours to study everything more.  And yes my brain was completely overloaded, but I didn't care.  Hell I don't know how many more days in the world I will get like that one, but I'm going to make it my life's mission to get as many as humanly possible.  

I know there are a lot of things on TV to watch, and I spend more time than most in front of my TV.  After all if I'm not in front of it who will watch all the pretty picture shows?  But don't do that this weekend.  This weekend go out to a museum, or to a play, or just go downtown and look at some of the wonderful architecture of your city.  Put some things in your life that are going to elevate your mind, body, and soul.  And I know the Thunder are playing right now, but honestly this is better.  Believe me it is so much better.  Tonight I watched the thunder beat the LA Clippers, and I loved every minute of it.  (On a side note Blake Griffin can write in his diary tonight today was the saddest day of my life getting beat by the Thunder, not to be confused with the luckiest day of my life.  That day of course being the day my buddy stole to vodka from that tailgate and that guy Brandon Ponder decided not to whip my ass)  Anyway, this game has nothing on what I saw last Saturday, doesn't eve hold a candle.

I don't know what else to say but this... There are important things out there in the world.  Important things created by people long ago and some by people not so long ago, and it would be a damn shame that you missed out on all of that because you are sitting at home numbing your brain in front of a TV.  Thank you so much Cooper Hagedorn and thank you so very much Amy Miller.

Broken Dreams

By: Brandon K. Ponder


I remember it all as if it were yesterday.  Suppose to be asleep but never really being able to get to my dreams.  I thought it was all a game, I'd stay awake peering around the corner trying to watch the end of whatever movie I wasn't suppose to be watching.  I'd sit on the floor as quiet as I could, but never quiet enough.  Scampering back into bed when my parents heard me, my eyes squeezed tightly shut when they came to check on me.  They knew I couldn't possibly be asleep especially with the rye smile on my face as I faked it.  But they never said anything as they let me go on thinking myself to be a clever boy.

I remember it all as if it were yesterday.  Suppose to be asleep but never really being able to get to my dreams.  I thought it was all a game, but then again the games that I remembered didn't involve this much screaming. I didn't know the words that were being spoken only that I had never heard my parents speak them before.  I sat right outside their door listening intently, never really understanding the magnitude of it all.  And when I couldn't quite hear them anymore I pressed my ear up against the door bumping it just enough to let them know someone was outside.  I scampered back to bed because I know my parents heard me, my eyes squeezed tightly shut when they came to check on me.  they knew I couldn't possibly be asleep, but there was no rye smile on my face this time as I faked it.  Because I knew that it wasn't a game anymore.

I remember it all as if it were yesterday.  Suppose to be asleep but never really being able to get to my dreams.  I thought it was all a game, but there is no more peering around corners to watch movies and no more listening outside my parents room.  For the house has gone silent and I lay in bed at night tossing and turning knowing but really not knowing what is to come.

JOHN CODY MERRILL... but seriously It's CODY JACK MERRELL

By: Brandon Ponder


So I feel that it has been just enough time that I haven't posted something so that you might be excited that I am back, but you haven't given up on me completely.  Now if that is or isn't the case I will never know, but I like to live in the land of the wool being pulled over my eyes so as the Joker would say... Here. We. Go.

I feel that maybe this whole experiment that I have been doing with this blog has been a little bit flat lately.  I didn't feel the punch or the inspiration in it that I had felt earlier.  So I decided to give it some time and like magic I found a topic that I wanted to discuss.  

I was putting my desk together in Cloud City this weekend and dealing with the overall pain in the ass that comes with moving and readjusting your life the way that you want it.  And when I was done with the process and I looked around at my books on the shelves in my desk, records set up under my nightstand, pictures of friends and family set up in my window, computer on my desk, and record player beside it waiting for the next bit of vinyl and I got this overwhelming feeling of actually being an adult.

So as an adult I have finally found something to write about.  I want to write about my friends.  I want to write about my friends  and all of there awesomeness.  I think that my friends are all legends and for the moment I am interested in telling these stories.  So whenever I am struck by something I'm going to get on here and write it down.

The first person on my list is none other than JOHN CODY MERRILL.  I know that's not his name or even how it is spelled but to tell you the truth that is another story that we will have to get into on another day.  Today I want to talk about my Favorite CODY "Mad Dog" MERRELL story.  The story that I would say pretty much makes him a legend.  

Now if you know Cody and have ever seen him play baseball you probably know just how intense this man is.  The type of intensity that can be matched by no one and the only kind of guy that you want on your team.  And that my friends is exactly where this story starts.  Because only a man of this kind of intensity could be involved in a story this legendary.

It starts with a road trip.  We had been in college for years now and Cody had been playing down at Texas State for almost as long.  We hadn't made the trip for whatever reason, but somehow the stars alined and we decided to make that six and a half hour road trip to the golden city of San Marcos, Texas.  And since that trip this city have been referred to by a different name by all of those who took the journey.  We like to call it San Marvelous.  

We of course call it that because that is exactly the kind of time we had while we were down there.  I don't want to go into the whole trip, because that is a different blog entirely.  But what I will say is that this trip brought us TKE TKERSON, a 1000 dollar bag of money on the river, A group of grown men sitting on a bench pissing down a hill because they were too drunk to get up, and a Don Powers passed out on the toilet of a public bathroom.  This is the only city until about three years ago that continued to beat me, as in every time I went down there I couldn't make it pass the first night.

The story that I am about to tell you is all about the first night of the first time I ever made it down to the wonderful town of San Marcos.... As we rolled into the city from our long 6 hour drive Me, Cory, Don, and Cooper (the usual suspects) already felt the vibe of a place that we had never quite been before.  A place were there is no classes on Friday, and students walked around campus in board shorts and bikinis like it was no big deal.  Everyone seemed to have no were to go and nothing to do but lay out in the sun or find the closes body of water to float in with a beer in their hand.  I must admit at that very moment that we first pulled into town I have the distinct feeling that if I died at that exact point in my life that is exactly what heaven or my heaven would have been like.  I even believe that there was some misguided soul in that very car that said, "This is where pussy comes to get fucked!"  I know pretty graphic, who's the asshole that said that?  That would in fact be me.  What can I say, I am a silver tongue devil.

I know at this point I'm getting a little long winded but you know but you know but bare with me just a little longer because I want to give this story it's due, and more importantly I want to give CODY his.  

That first day was kind of a blur when we got into town, but I do know that there was quite a bit of drinking involved.  Now that night we headed out to take on "The Square".  If you are familiar with college campuses then you know all about the area of the college designated for bars and college students to go out and get wasted.  OU has "Campus Corner", Texas has "6th street", OSU has... well who really give a shit what OSU has.(O-State Burn) And Texas State, well they have "The Square".  

Anyway, so we all go out to The Square and let the games begin.  I don't know if you out there reading this know this or not.  I mean I'm sure that you probably do, but I'm going to go ahead and say it anyway.  My group of friends, when we all get together, we don't ever take things slow.  There is only one speed that we like to go and it's with the pedal all the way to the floor.  It's the reason I spent my last visit throwing up for six hours at a tailgate in a santa suite.  But really and truly I don't think I would have it any other way.

Our night and this really and truly begins when we all made it to this wonderful bar that they call Nephews.  Everyone around that I was with called it Phews for short.  I always wondered what the college life was, and if in fact I was getting the full experience.  And within about 5 minutes of being inside of Nephews I knew that I was not.

For starters it was an all out party.  And the next thing is that if I'm not mistaken it was 3 dollar you call it all night.  That's right folks I was drinking Goose and Juice or Jack and Coke or whatever else was there for just 3 dollars.  To say that we all got a little sideways would be a vase understatement.  I was having the time of my life and I'm pretty sure that everyone there was right with me.

Now the crazy and great thing about Texas State at the time was that all the bars closed at well if I'm not mistaken it was Midnight.  Now this may sound crazy, I actually thought so myself, but the great thing about the bars closing at midnight is that you can go out and tie on a serious buzz and then after the bars close when your are good and sauced you leave and then it's house party time.  Which I must say is so very awesome.

Now I really haven't mentioned him that much until this point but one JOHN CODY MERRILL had been our tour guide to this awesome night and at the time he had a long flowing head of blonde hair that just so happened to be in a bandana on this very night.  I also must say that at this time in pop culture the movie Wedding Crashers was still very relevant.  And if you know the movie then you know the montage scene where the song Shout is playing and they are popping champagne and hopping in and out of bed with women.

And at this point in time at the end of the night Nephews would play this song an epic farewell to all the patrons of the bar for the night.  Cody had told us about this and how awesome that it was.  What he didn't tell us is that fact that what we were all about to see was a legendary event that I haven't seen since and to be honest I doubt will ever happen again.  

Even now looking back writing about it event I still cant quite believe that it all happened or that I was even there.  I kind of feel like it was a moment out of a movie or even a dream to be quite honest.  The song came on and everyone in the bar absolutely went nuts.  There was beer going everywhere and people were jumping up and down with total joy.  Like if this was their last day, last hour, last song on earth they would be completely happy.  

And as beer was spewing everywhere and we were all jumping up and down I rolled my damn ankle. And let me tell you it hurt like a son of a bitch, but I couldn't stop jumping up and down and enjoying myself.  And as the song comes to an end and the music turns down who do I see but none other than CODY MERRELL standing on a table and he begins to lead the entire bar in the school fight song.  And as he yelled out, "EAT EM UUUUPPPP!" the rest of the bar yells back, "CATS!!!!!!" and then came the chant.  "EAT EM UP, EAT EM UP!!!" and the rest of the bar yelled back "GO CATS GO!!!".  and this went on for a little bit and as I stood there in amazement as one of my best friends lead an entire bar in a chant I thought to myself that there was no way that this moment could get any better.  

Then the chant was over and the music kicked back on and I saw something that I thought was only reserved for rockstars.  And maybe it is and maybe just maybe my friend Cody Merrell is a rockstar. Because at that moment I saw Cody Merrell jump off of the table that he was standing on and into the crowd were he crowd surf and when he was finally dropped down on the floor he game the most awesome head bang that I have ever seen in my life.  His blonde hair was going everywhere and in that moment I knew that this guy.  This guy that I called a friend, a teammate, even a brother... Well this guy, this guy that I'm talking about, this guy Cody Merrell, well he is in fact a LEGEND.

For Cody: a Man's Man

I've made it to the CREDITS

by: Brandon Ponder


Tonight I can hardly sit still, I find that I can barely hold a thought in my head, or even finish a sentence.  There is a sort of excitement or joy that is radiating throughout my entire body.  And although I know this post is going to be short and sweet I wanted to write it down anyway.  I wanted to always remember how I felt tonight, even if it means I'll be tired tomorrow.

Tonight I went and watched a movie.  Normally this would be business as usually, because I watch a lot of movies on a lot of different nights.  But tonight it was different.  I got to watch a movie that I actually worked on.  I was there to see how the sausage was made and tonight I got to see how it tastes.  And I have to say I think that it just moved to #1 on my list of life moments.  

I could sit here and give you a movie critique of Camp X-Ray.  I could tell you all the things I liked and all the things I didn't.  I could tell you about the music and the camera work.  But that isn't what this post is about.  I'll leave that for another time.  I'll simply tell you that tonight I got to sit in a movie theater and at the end of the movie when the credits rolled I got to see my name BRANDON PONDER right there in the credits.  

I've hit a few home runs in my day and I've through 1 no hitter in my life.  And this was right up there with those moments, but even better.  I know that I was only and intern on this project, but I tell you I will always remember that feeling in that theater.  Feeling like I was a part of something so much bigger than myself.  And that thing that I was a part of felt like magic.  I was a part of a magical experience.  

And I tell you I don't know if I'll ever be able to sleep again. By the time I was out of the movie I knew it was too late to call anyone back home, but luckily for me I got to call my best friend who is unluckily working the night shift right now and I got to tell him all about it and that meant a whole hell of a lot to me.  

After the movie everyone went to a bar to celebrate, but I just couldn't do it.  I was too pumped up to be confined in the space of a bar.  I had to hit the road and drive.  I had to feel the wind on my face and take in this magical city that in only 8 months has made a dream of mine come true.  A city that has welcomed me with open arms in every way.  A city that I am in the mist of a deep love affair with.

This moment was very big for me.  And I will take this moment and keep it close to me.  And when I'm feeling down or I'm feeling like I'm less than I will take this moment out and chew on it for a bit just so I can have this taste in my mouth again.  Tonight was a very big night for me.  So for those that doubted me I would like to say, "Take that!"  And for everyone else I would like to say, THANK YOU!

COURAGE thy name is FRANK

By: Brandon Ponder


This week has been a little trying for me.  I guess like all of life there have been some peaks and valleys recently.  Which to be honest is totally expected.  I am on my way to being homeless and every since Cory's visit I have just felt a little down in the dumps.  But whatever really, life goes on and people have much bigger problems than yours truly. 

For some strange reason I have spent much of this past week thinking of my grandfather.  It's weird but every once in a while I go through these periods where all of these memories of my grandfather come rushing back to me, and I spend much of a week or so thinking about him.  Thinking about the time that I spent with him, and thinking about some of the stuff I never got to say to him.  

No matter what I do when I'm thinking about him I always come to the point where I think to myself I wonder what he would think of me right now as the man I am today.  Because of the person I am, I know that that question will be one that stays with me for the rest of my life.  Because my grandfather is the standard for the type of man that I want to be in this world, so I will always question weather or not the man I am is a man that my grandfather would be proud of, or even friends with.

Anyway, the real reason I am writing this tonight is because I want to talk about courage.  Something that I find myself lacking from time to time.  And I think that everybody might feel this way from time to time.  But when I think about courage a story comes to mind.  And it's a story about my grandfather.  It's one that my dad told me, probably at a time when I was nervous or scared about something.  Because of course my father is the most cock sure person I think I've ever known in my life.  And he knows that I am completely unsure of myself about 75 percent of the time.

So he told me this story, and when I think of my grandfather I always think of this story and I find the courage within myself to do whatever it is that I am struggling with.  And I guess I just wanted to share it tonight, and maybe if you read this and you are struggling with being courageous you'll realize that there is no point in being afraid, because you never know where something might lead.

Growing up my grandfather was the oldest child.  And being the oldest he had to find a way to help support the family so he joined the military.  And as you can imagine the military wasn't the greatest of places for a black man.  And he spent much of his time with the other black privates digging the latrines.  And one day while on duty digging the latrines a CO came by and asked if any of the privates could type?  

Everyone just stood there, but my grandfather had the courage to raise his hand.  He knew absolutely nothing about typing, but he knew he didn't want to spend the rest of his life digging latrines.  So he raised his hand and said that he could.  He spent the next two weeks pecking away on a typewriter until one day his commanding officer came in and gave him his new orders.  He was to go to typing school the next day because his commanding officer was going to kill himself if he had to listen to my grandfather pecking away on that typewriter anymore.  

So he went to school, and he eventually went to college, and he rose in the ranks of the military becoming one of the top brass in the Air Force.  My grandfather even spent time in Russia during the Cold War.  That part of his life he never really talked about.  He but my Uncle Henry through school who only became on of the most notable black men in academia in this country.  He had a wife and a family and a life filled with so much love.  And all because he had the courage to raise his hand.

Some of you out there may read this and think that that isn't much.  That a single act of raising your hand isn't nothing to write home about or speak of.  But I completely disagree.  I think that single act shows more about him or any person than anything else.  Because there are so many times in life were we are afraid to raise our hands so to speak, and it really takes more than you know to do just that.

My grandfather told my dad that story, and told him never to be afraid to stand up and try something, because you never know where it will lead you.  And years later my dad told me that story and told me the same thing.  And if I'm ever blessed with a son or daughter I will tell them that exact story.  Because I believe in life there are times when we are all afraid of what is next or what's around the corner.  You shouldn't be.  Don't ever be afraid to raise your hand, because you might find that it takes you to some pretty amazing places.


for my grandfather: Frank Ponder Jr. I miss you all the time.

Goodbye Mr. Jeter......Thanks for the memories

By: Brandon Ponder




There are so many great lines in movies or just that have been spoken by people about baseball.  And the crazy thing about it is that if you've played or enjoyed baseball, and I mean really enjoyed it, then you know them all to be true.  And sometimes these lines can cut right through you when you think about them, and sometimes they put the biggest smile on your face.  I think my favorite of all time though has to be the one that comes from a little known movie starring Tom Hanks you might have heard of it, A League of Their Own... "It's suppose to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great." -Jimmy Dugan.   

I remember being much younger than I am today when I saw that movie and I just loved it.  I always hated the ending when the older sister lets her younger sister win, but as I've gotten older and my relationship with my sister has grown I totally get it.  And I remember as when me and my dad talked about the movie he pointed out how much he loved that line.  And how true it really was.  And as a kid I was always fascinated by everything my father said to me but I didn't always understand.  I didn't understand until I was older, until I'd been through the fire.  Until I'd ran 9-5s until I puked or until I'd spent the day working on my change up grip only to still suck at throwing one. Or until you've been struck out on a slider 10 times in a row only to get that 11th slider and take it on a ride.  That is when you know just how true that statement is.  And you fall in love with just how perfect it is.

Now my baseball days are long gone now and around this time of the year I feel that great longing that I always do.  The kind of longing that only a person that has been completely head over hills in love with something could understand.  But I think about that statement all the time.  And I miss the hell out of being on that field with a group of guys knowing that today you are going to win.  I hope that everybody on this planet should be so lucky to feel that at least once in their life.

Of course you all you might be wondering why you are reading a sappy little love letter to baseball again this year, but it's not for all the usual purposes.  I wanted to write this love letter to baseball because just a few days ago, Derek Jeter drafted a letter saying that this would be his last year playing professional baseball.  And I knew this day was coming but let me tell you when I read that letter it all just hit me like a ton of bricks.  Today will be the last year I get to watch my all time favorite baseball player.  He is one of only a few athletes that I have followed his career from the very beginning to the very end.  And there are so many great memories that I have of watching him with my father, and with some of my best friends.  I can only begin to start to talk about how important this guy is to me, but before I talk about him I think it would be better to talk about baseball and what it means to me.

I know that saying this I'm going out on a bit of a limb here but you know what I'm going to say it anyway.  Everything that I have in this life is because of baseball.  That sounds a little dramatic and even as I write it now I sort of tear up, because I know it to be true.  My dad always tells me about when I was younger, and how I had no problem hanging out with other kids, but I also had no problem being by myself.  And that is a nutshell was who I was.  I am and have always been a person very much in my own head creating my own world so that sometimes I don't need or have to be a part of this one.  And back then and even today I haven't been the guy that goes into a room and lights up with confidence.  I wasn't the guy that shined, but all that changed with baseball.  Baseball gave me that group to be a part of and made me happy to be apart of it.  And it gave me the confidence that only a person knows when you are really good at something and other people think you are good at it.  It gave me something to work for and concentrate on and it gave me a group of friends to do it with. It also helped me to deal with failure, of which I have had quite a bit of in my life.  

A lot of my best friends in my life came from baseball.  And the thing about these guys I'm talking about is that I know that they would jump in front of a train for me, and I them.  Of course not really because what kind of idiot would be on the tracks when the train was coming anyway, but really and truly they would.  Because they have been there for me at some of my lowest points and they have been there with me at some of the highest.  I've been in weddings and seen the birth of kids, hell I'm living in LA right now, right this very second writing this blog to all of you and for no other reason than the second year I was in college I met a catcher who later became my friend, and then became my roommate,  and then became one of my best friends.  And he told me to take a chance and come out here and he'd help me get started.  And he did, and my life and the path of my life has been forever changed because of it.  

I read a facebook post today that read, "how can you not be romantic about baseball?" -Billy Beane.  And I knew I just had to write this post.  I knew I had to pay tribute to my favorite player.  Even though I know he'll never read this I wanted to write it all the same.  Because Derek Jeter came around at a very important time in my life.  I wasn't a child anymore so I didn't think of athletes like mythical creatures anymore, and I wasn't at the age I am now were I find it strange to be looking up to these athletes who are for the most part younger than I am.  It was right in that age range were I could still be in awww of an athlete and look up to the kind of athlete and person that they are.  It was right in the age range where I first started to realize just what it takes to become a professional athlete and what these people have given up and just how hard they have worked to do so.  And he was my favorite.  Because of course he played on my favorite team.  A team that was my favorite well because it was my dad's favorite.  

And all Jeter did was play the game in an ERA where, "chicks dig the long ball." and in an ERA where when things started he was the 3rd shortstop in line behind Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra.  And at the end of the day he out shined them both. He played and became captain of the greatest team in the history of sports, playing in the city with the brightest lights that chews up and spits out most of the athletes that come to play there.  And he never flinched once and has become the stuff of legends.  I won't even go into the list of the girls that he has bedded down, because that in and of itself makes him a legend in my book.  

I remember watching the 1996 world series when he was a rookie and they were playing the Atlanta Braves.  I watched it with my dad. And I remember watching Game 4 when the Yankees won 8-6 in 10 innings.  It was the game that I fell in love with baseball and it was the game were I first really saw that Yankee magic.  They were down 6-0 going into the 6th inning.  And as I watched as a kid it seemed like all was lost.  Even after they scored 3 in the 6th.  Then they score 3 more in the 8th and 2 in the 10th to win the game.  I learned that day that it is never over in baseball until the last out.  A lesson that I would re-learn over and over in my lifetime playing and watching this great game.  Of course they went on the win 1-0 in Game 5 and 3-2 in Game 6 to win the series.  It was Jeter's rookie year, and my dad told me there was something special about this shortstop and as a kid that looked up to his dad I believed him.  And all Jeter did was spend the rest of his career proving him right.

I will spend this baseball season glued to the TV watching any and every game that I can.  Following Derek Jeter's year and stats unlike any other year that he has played.  I want to soak in year game and spend my time remembering a lifetime of happiness that Derek Jeter and the Yankees have given me.  I tell people all the time that Derek Jeter is my favorite all time player.  And I never hesitate to mention or bring up the argument that he is the greatest Yankee to ever take the field.  And a lot of times people laugh at that because of greats like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gerhig, and Joe DiMaggio. But I don't care, I say that he outplayed and out shined all of them and I will continue and always argue that he was the greatest Yankee of all time.

The man has 10,614(AB) 3,316(H) 525(2B) 65(3B) 348(SB) .312(BA) he is a 13 time All-Star, AL Rookie of the Year, 5 Gold Gloves, 5 Silver Sluggers, All-Star MVP, and a World Series MVP.  He is the all time postseason leader in games(158) at bats(650) runs scored(111) hits(200) total bases(302) doubles(32) triples(5) and singles(143).  The guy is a first ballot Hall of Famer no doubt about it and lets for just one second take a look at the list of women he has dated which make him a first ballot Hall of Famer alone in my book.  Laura Dutta - 2000 Miss Universe, Jessica Biel before she was Mrs. Timberlake, Mariah Carey before she was Mrs. Cannon, Vanessa Minnillo, Vida Guerra, Jessica Alba, Minka Kelly, Hannah Davis, Scarlett Johansson, and Adriana Lima.  Just to name of few of I'm sure the many women he has slayed over the years. So cheers to you "Captain Clutch"  "Mr. November".

I guess I'm all done here.  I've said just about all I need to say and then some.  There is this thing about baseball that not even this blog will fully explain.  It was my first love.  It was my childhood memories.  If by chance I ever get lucky enough to have kids and have a son, it will be the one thing above all that I will share with him.  So I guess to some things up, really how can you not get romantic about baseball?

My Weekend with Cory & Cooper Part I

It feels like it's been a while since I've gotten on here and really had something to talk about.  But tonight I feel as though maybe, just maybe I do.  This last weekend was one for the ages. It was one I'll always remember and one that I needed in the worst possible way.  

January was not kind to me.  Well that's not entirely true.  My wonderful Mom and amazing Sister came to visit which was only the kind of family fun that we could have and ended with me surprise surprise crying as I leave from dropping them off at the airport and heading to work.  But every since that very moment it had been all downhill.  

I got told that I would have to move out of my place that I have come to love and have made into a home away from home.  I've had a dream about seeing and hanging out with my ex the day before her wedding 6 days ago.  3 days before that I had a dream I was at my father's retirement party. and 1 day before that I had a dream that I was at Kaden's high school graduation.  I say that to say that for the past few weeks there had just been this longing inside of me messing all of those back home.  Even the ones that I kind of really hate.  

And then just like that Cory Williamson, the Godfather himself scheduled a visit and turned it all around.  Much like Mary Poppins only when he comes into town his two friends get really drunk, practically take over every bar they go to, embarrass themselves in front of women by throwing up on themselves(me), fart out an entire apartment, peeing on the Church of Scientology, Roscoes Chicken and Waffles, FIFA World Cup, and enjoying a beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean.  And that is really just for starters.

I wanted to tell you all about everything in just one blog, but I realized there is just way to much to tell so I'm going to break it down into three parts and just give you the highlights of this adventure.  And this adventure started Thursday night.... After circling the airport for at least 40 minutes bullshitting with each other we Finally picked up Cory and the Desperate Housguys/Building C reunion was under way.  I think it is safe to say that the boys were back in town, and I don't think this town will ever quite be the same.

Now it was mentioned or kind of assumed that Thursday was just going to be a relax chill not for us, but really and truly the thing that must be realized is that when anyone in my circle gets together there is only one speed that we like to go, and much like Ricky Bobby we just want to go fast.  And all that I can say is that somewhere around our second shot of SoCo and my obsession over just how nice the asses of must of the waitresses at Ye Old Rustic Inn were I kind of lost the plot.  And by that I mean I was well on my way to being hammered drunk, but there was something great about being with these two guys downing drinks talking about the good times and making fun of each other at every opening that just brought me back.  

I probably have a hundred moments from this weekend that I get to carry with me from now on and it started right from the jump.  Sometimes things in life let you down, but I must say my friends never do, they are always holding me up, it really is amazing.  We took the party from the bar back to Cooper's place and a few beers and a frozen pizza later I, Brandon Ponder was out like a light.  I truly was the nerd at the sleep over that goes to sleep first and then everybody goes out T.P.ing and then they meet up with a group of girls that are having a slumber party and play spin the bottle.  And then later on I have to lie and pretend I was a part of it all.  

I have been on record saying just how amazing FIFA World Cup is and now after this weekend I think I can safely say that it is "the greatest game of all time!"  Because while I was passed out on Cooper's love seat they were inthralled in a battle to win the World Cup that kept them up until 630 in the morning.  Now of course I can't really go into all the specifics because after all I was the nerd that was sleep on the couch.  But from what I've heard of the stories it was one epic night of FIFA that ended in a heartbreaking loss.  And apparently these bozos were being so loud over FIFA that the downstairs neighbor came up to bitch them out.  And apparently I was still dead to the world on the couch snoring at this point.

I did wake up.  And like a drunken idiot I stumble to the bathroom used it, came out thinking that I had only been asleep for 15 minutes not knowing that it was 630 in the morning and we were all about to crash some of us for just the first time.

It's a funny thing being with some of your best friends.  Because a night sitting at a bar and giving each other shit all night and then going home drinking beers, listening to records, passing out, and playing FIFA can be enough.  It can be just what the doctor ordered to get you out of your funk.  And if that is all you did all weekend you would seriously be just fine.  Lucky for us and all of you out there that is not the case............

TO BE CONTINUE.



In honor of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, my top 5 scenes.

5. Along Came Polly

4. Before the Devil Knows Your Dead

3. Charlie Wilson's War

2. The Ides of March

1. Almost Famous