The Chronic Curmudgeon

What's up [Curmudgeon] I put a comment on your Jan.10, 2005 blog.

Steve

That is a pretty amazing video. Ill admit I was impressed as well.

Well, check this out! More than a decade after I escaped east and never went back to Minnesota, who shows up on my blog but a voice from the past -- like, way past... as in, friends from when were like what, 10? The Diesel is here!

Damn, son... been a while. (Obviously it has if I haven't lived in Minny since '94 and haven't been back since '98 when my parents retired out east.) Welcome to my corner of the blog world. Feel free to make lots of snarky comments, dude. Good to have you on board.

Just one thing... because I try very hard to keep the professional me and the blog-persona me separate entities. Even though I know that it's not very hard to connect this blog with my real name (I think it's the first site that comes up on a Google search for me now) -- it didn't used to be but the last few months have changed things and really eroded the anonymity I try for here -- please don't use my real name in the comments. That allows me to continue the facade that this is an anonymous blog and that the world doesn't know it's me. ;-)

On here, call me Mudge, Curmudgeon, Jackass, Dickhead, or whatever else comes to your mind, as long as it's some sort of psuedonym.

Meanwhile, how the hell are you? (E-mail me at thechroniccurmudgeon@hotmail.com, or I'll see if I can send you one at the e-mail you listed.) What have you been up to for the last 12 years? (Probably save that for the e-mail and not the public blog, but you know what I mean.)

I was at the game where Jason McElwain scored 20 points and I'm never going to forget it. When all my friends and students rushed the court with me, I don't remember seeing a dry eye in the place.

I saw this on some morning news program over the weekend. I was amazed. Not that the kid was austic and scored but amazed that he'd been sitting on the bench for three years! If I had somebody who could score in double-digits, I'd certainly have him in the game.

PS: Congrats on the increased hits ;)

In response to "if you don't have a huge grin on your face, a lump in your throat, or a tear in your eye, you don't have a heart," I guess I don't have a heart. If the kid who scored 20 had been a starter, the only attention this story would have gotten is how classless Athena coach Jimmy Johnson was for letting his team try ten three-pointers with a 20-point lead and four minutes left. Further, an already crushed Spencerport team didn't defend against McElwain too hard, either (and they had no real choice in today's PC world - can you imagine the national attention they'd have gotten for knocking down an autistic kid or stealing the ball from him?).

This would have been a lot more palatable if Athena had won by less than McElwain's 20 points instead of the 35 or 40 they eventually won by, but instead a team already beaten like a dog had to sit there and watch as their vastly superior opponent fed shot after shot to someone who won't even be playing again. To my amazement, people don't see this or don't care, because the only thing that apparently matters is that a nice kid who has autism scored 20. I guess it really doesn't matter what humiliation you put the opponent through as long as the underdog is a good guy, eh?

This story is truly one for the ages. An autistic high schooler becomes a basketball lengend. See the video at http://collegeguru.blogspot.com/2006/02/autistic-student-jason-mcelwain.html

Movie review by eden:

RAIN MAN - You know what scene I hated in Rain Man, that scene where Rain Man is driving around in that nice car. For one thing, he spends the whole movie talking about how he's "an excellent driver" and then he really isn't. He actually sucks at driving. But the worst part is that there are lots of other people that never get to drive nice cars like that one. I guess we're supposed to just forget about that because Rain Man is a nice guy.

RUDY - You know that scene at the end of Rudy where Rudy finally gets to play and then he sacks the quarterback; was this really necessary? I mean I'm not saying law down for the other team but come on, you really have to bring the heat when you've got a substantial lead with just seconds left. Rudy was obviously an all-american type talent that just happened to be playing a back-up role on a spectacular squad. "Rudy, rudy, rudy," please how about showboat superstar athlete.

FORREST GUMP - Best Picture 1994 my ass. Who comes up with this crap. Am I supposed to like this guy because he's a momma's boy and he's true to his smackhead girlfriend. I walked out after 30 minutes.

I'm with you Eden, someone needs to fire that coach, he's had a mini-Reggie Miller sitting on the pine for three years. I know his bench rotation isn't deep enough to keep a gunner like McElwain on the bench.

Shoot my high school went 1-23 in boys hoops this year, does McElwain have anymore eligibility left? I'll buy him a plane ticket and hook him up with some housing. Let 'em play for us.

I think "Chris" might have been a fan of/student at the opposing high school. I'll say this: if the coach had been letting his regulars keep shooting threes late in a game they had wrapped up, I'd have been more inclined to agree with him about Greece Athena running it up.

But begrudging a kid with Jason's circumstances the exuberance of just being in the game and taking shots? That strikes me as quite a bit of sore losing. And it's not like the opposing school couldn't have D'd up; if Jason's 3 point hot streak really bothered them, maybe they should have played some D on him.

In any case, while I respect Chris's opinion and am glad he was reading and took time to share it, I think he's flat out wrong on this one. Feeling that it was classless to give a loyal kid like Jason some playing time? Feeling that it was classless for him to take a shot? Feeling like it was somehow Coach Johnson's fault that no one D'd up on Jason?

I half expected an argument that the 1980 US Olympic hockey team should have lost because the Soviets were SO much better of a team and had their rightful gold medal stolen from them by a bunch of overachieving upstarts who were way over their heads and just didn't know well enough to lose to the better team.

Sorry, Chris... I think you're way off on this one.

Going to see Jason's team play tonight against McQuaid. Live in Rochester, and my kids go to a competing school. Chris, you are miserable. If Jason happened to be your child, you'd be flying high with him. By any chance, are you one of the fat people who sues fast food chains?