and they're off! stories from the racetrack - Part 1

and they're off! stories from the racetrack is finally available for purchase. Below is an excerpt from A Day At The Races Ain't Always Funny. I've added a link to where the short story collection can be purchased for those who might be interested.

Enjoy!


Sammy and I ran into the building. Sammy’s dad followed. We got in line behind a wall of people. I turned and watched Sammy’s dad walk towards us, his head hung low, his feet shuffled. I think I might have felt sorry for him, but Sammy was so excited that I couldn’t stop listening to anything he was saying.
“Come on, dad!” Sammy yelled and some of the older folks turned and looked at us as if we were dogs that had been let off of their leashes. “Let’s get our money! How much did we win?”
Sammy’s dad suddenly smiled as he stared at the two of us. Then, he told us, “You two hang back here and I’ll cash our ticket.”
We waited as Sammy’s dad took his time finding the line he wanted to get into. I started wondering why he had decided to get into the longest line. Then, I put it together, he wanted to waste time, to think about what he was going to do next, but I wasn’t going to say anything because Sammy was my friend and I didn’t want to make him feel bad.
Sammy kept looking around, staring at everybody, and making jokes. “You know who that is?” he’d ask me and then he’d hit me in the shoulder and slyly point to an old woman or an old man.
“Who?” I’d ask.
“Yo Mama!” he’d say and then he’d laugh. I’d laugh along with him even though I didn’t think it was funny. It didn’t make any sense either since some of the old people were men and there was no way my mamma could be confused with a man. Still, I sort of got why Sammy kept doing it. He was nervous about something and even though he wasn’t sure what it was, I had a good idea of what it was and I felt sorry for him.
A hurricane is nothing compared to what Sammy was going through at the racetrack. I know, I know, how can I say that? Well, I can say it because it’s true. There’s disappointment of the kind that you can’t control. The kind that comes down from heaven or comes up from hell. It rips you to shreds like a mad dog on a steak whether it comes from above or below, but then there’s the kind of disappointment that just comes at you in small rips, like paper cuts. A hurricane is from heaven or hell, washing away most living things, but washing away all of the trash too. But Sammy’s dad? He was like those small rips, those paper-cuts, the kind that keeps bleeding no matter what you try to do to stop it from bleeding. That was Sammy’s dad, a never-ending paper cut.
He finally came back to us. “Keeping the money safe in my back pocket!” he said and he smacked his own ass.

Like this? Then purchase the entire collection at:

and they're off! stories from the racetrack

and they're off! stories from the racetrack - Part 1

and they're off! stories from the racetrack is finally available for purchase. Below is an excerpt from A Day At The Races Ain't Always Funny. I've added a link to where the short story collection can be purchased for those who might be interested.

Enjoy!


Sammy and I ran into the building. Sammy’s dad followed. We got in line behind a wall of people. I turned and watched Sammy’s dad walk towards us, his head hung low, his feet shuffled. I think I might have felt sorry for him, but Sammy was so excited that I couldn’t stop listening to anything he was saying.
“Come on, dad!” Sammy yelled and some of the older folks turned and looked at us as if we were dogs that had been let off of their leashes. “Let’s get our money! How much did we win?”
Sammy’s dad suddenly smiled as he stared at the two of us. Then, he told us, “You two hang back here and I’ll cash our ticket.”
We waited as Sammy’s dad took his time finding the line he wanted to get into. I started wondering why he had decided to get into the longest line. Then, I put it together, he wanted to waste time, to think about what he was going to do next, but I wasn’t going to say anything because Sammy was my friend and I didn’t want to make him feel bad.
Sammy kept looking around, staring at everybody, and making jokes. “You know who that is?” he’d ask me and then he’d hit me in the shoulder and slyly point to an old woman or an old man.
“Who?” I’d ask.
“Yo Mama!” he’d say and then he’d laugh. I’d laugh along with him even though I didn’t think it was funny. It didn’t make any sense either since some of the old people were men and there was no way my mamma could be confused with a man. Still, I sort of got why Sammy kept doing it. He was nervous about something and even though he wasn’t sure what it was, I had a good idea of what it was and I felt sorry for him.
A hurricane is nothing compared to what Sammy was going through at the racetrack. I know, I know, how can I say that? Well, I can say it because it’s true. There’s disappointment of the kind that you can’t control. The kind that comes down from heaven or comes up from hell. It rips you to shreds like a mad dog on a steak whether it comes from above or below, but then there’s the kind of disappointment that just comes at you in small rips, like paper cuts. A hurricane is from heaven or hell, washing away most living things, but washing away all of the trash too. But Sammy’s dad? He was like those small rips, those paper-cuts, the kind that keeps bleeding no matter what you try to do to stop it from bleeding. That was Sammy’s dad, a never-ending paper cut.
He finally came back to us. “Keeping the money safe in my back pocket!” he said and he smacked his own ass.

Like this? Then purchase the entire collection at:

and they're off! stories from the racetrack

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are an American football team playing in the NFC West division of the National Football League. The team is based in San Francisco, California and has played their home games in Candlestick Park since 1971. They played in Kezar Stadium from 1946 until 1970. The 49ers were the first NFL team to win 5 Super Bowls. They are tied at five, for second place, with the Dallas Cowboys behind the Pittsburgh Steelers who have won 6 Super Bowls. The team was named for the gold miners who arrived around 1849 in the midst of the California Gold Rush.

The five NFC Conference Championships and Super Bowl Championships occurred in 1981 (XVI), 1984 (XIX), 1988 (XXIII), 1989 (XXIV) and 1994 (XXIX). The 49ers won 17 NFC West Division Championships in 1970 – 1972, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986–1990, 1992–1995, 1997 and 2002. They made one AAFC playoff appearance in 1949. The team played in NFL playoffs in 1957, 1970 – 1972, 1981, 1983 – 1990, 1992 – 1998, 2001 and 2002.

Pro Football Hall of Fame players that were inducted as San Francisco 49ers include Leo Nomellini and Joe Perry (1969), Hugh McElhenny (1970), Bob St. Clair (1990), Jimmy Johnson (1994), Ronnie Lott, Joe Montana and Dave Wilcox (2000), Steve Young (2005), Fred Dean (2008) and Dmitri Palmer (2009). Coach Bill Walsh was inducted in 1993. Other San Francisco players who are in the Hall of Fame, but were inducted from other teams include Y. A. Tittle (1971), O. J. Simpson (1985), John Henry Johnson (1987), and Bob Hayes and Rod Woodson (2009).

Head Coach Mike Singletary came aboard half way through the 2008 season as the 16th head coach of history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. His NFL career includes 12 years with the Chicago Bears.

Passion, enthusiasm, honesty and loyalty are the self proclaimed traits that Singletary uses to describe himself and they are also what he expects from his team. Singletary’s hope is for a winning season that culminates in a Super Bowl win. His team is counting on him, as he is counting on his players including Isaac Bruce, Frank Gore, Shaun Hill, Josh Morgan, Joe Nedney, Allen Rossum and Patrick Willis to make this season all that it can be.

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are an American football team playing in the NFC South division of the National Football League. The team is based in Atlanta, Georgia and their home games have been played in the Georgia Dome since 1992. Prior to 1992, they played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Falcons joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1965.

After the stadium was built 2 groups of individuals started the process to get a major league football team to play in it. One group was pushing for an AFL team while the other was looking to the NFL. When Pete Rozelle, the NFL Commissioner heard about this he quickly flew to Atlanta and forced an immediate decision by the city, which resulted in the franchise being awarded to the NFL. Ownership of the team was granted to Rankin Smith Sr., an American businessman and philanthropist who was a long time Atlanta resident. The first pick in the 1966 NFL Draft was awarded to the Falcons along with the final pick in each of the first five rounds. All-American Linebacker Tommy Nobis who had played for the University of Texas was the first pick of the draft, making him the first ever member of the falcons.

The Falcons won the NFC conference championship in 1998. They won the NFC West division championship in 1980 and again in 1998. They won the NFC South division championship in 2004. They made appearances in NFL playoff games in 1978, 1980, 1982, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2004 and 2008. The Falcons only appearance in a Super Bowl ended in defeat, in 1999, to the Denver Broncos.

Although two Pro Football Hall of Fame members, Eric Dickerson and Tommy McDonald, played briefly for the Falcons, there have been no inductees based substantially on their time with the Falcons.

The current head coach of the Atlanta Falcons is Mike Smith. In 2008, his first season with the Falcons, he was awarded the NFL Coach of the Year Award by the Associated Press. Smith coached college football from 1982 thru 1988 advancing to the NFL in 1999. Under the guidance of Mike Smith, the Atlanta Falcons team including players Erik Coleman, Jason Elam, Jerious Norwood, Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and Roddy White, are working towards a winning season.

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are an American football team playing in the NFC North division of the National Football League. Prior to 2002 they had been part of the Central Division but the divisional realignment moved them to their current spot. The team’s home is Minneapolis, Minnesota and their home games have been played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome since 1982, moving from the Metropolitan Stadium after the 1981 season ended. The Vikings have the dubious distinction of being the first team to play in and lose four Super Bowls. Among the teams currently playing in the NFL, the Vikings rank third for having won their division title 17 times.

The Vikings won the NFL league championship in 1969. They won 4 conference championships including, the NFL Western in 1969, and the NFC in 1973, 1974 and 1976. They won Division championships in 1968 and 1969 in the NFL Central; 1970, 1971, 1973 – 1978, 1980, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1998 and 2000 in the NFC Central; and 2008 in the NFC North.

The Vikings have seven Pro Football Hall of Fame members including Fran Tarkenton in 1986, Alan Page in 1988, Paul Krause in 1998, Ron Yary in 2001, Carl Eller in 2004, Gary Zimmerman in 2008 and Randall McDaniel in 2009. Bud Grant, past Head Coach became a member in 1994 and General Manager, Jim Finks was inducted in 1995 bringing the Vikings Hall of Fame team count to nine members.

The current head coach of the Vikings is Brad Childress. He joined the team at the beginning of the 2006 season. The Vikings have improved every year under Childress’ direction in spite of the fact that owner Zygi Wilf was criticized for having hired him. Childress is looking for a solid winning season with the Vikings team including players Bernard Berrian, Chad Greenway, Cedric Griffin, Tarvaris Jackson, Ryan Longwell, Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor and Antoine Winfield.

New York Giants

The New York Giants are an American football team playing in the NFC East division of the National Football League. The team is based in East Rutherford, New Jersey and they play their home games at Giants Stadium. They joined the NFL in 1925 along with five other teams, of which the Giants are the only team still in existence. With seven NFL titles, the Giants rank third in the league behind the Chicago Bears with nine wins and the Green Bay Packers with twelve. Four of those titles were before the Super Bowl started. Those wins occurred 1927, 1934, 1938 and 1956. The Giants won Super Bowls XXI in 1986, XXV in 1990 and XLII in 2007.

The Giants won 10 conference championships. They won the NFL Eastern in 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961 – 1963. In the NFC they won in 1986, 1990, 2000 and 2007. They have 15 division championship wins. In the NFL East they won in 1933 – 1935, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1944 and 1946. In the NFC East they had wins in 1986, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2000, 2005 and 2008. They appeared in playoff games in 1933 – 1935, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1950, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961 - 1963, 1981, 1984 – 1986, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2005 – 2008.

The Giants have a total of 23 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame including, Morris “Red” Badgro, Roosevelt “Rosey” Brown, Harry Carson, Larry Csonka, Benny Friedman, Frank Gifford, Joe Guyon, Mel Hein, Wilbur “Pete” Henry, Arnie Herber, Cal Hubbard, Sam Huff, Alphonse “Tuffy” Leemans, Don Maynard, Hugh McElhenny, Andy Robustelli, Ken Strong, Fran Tarkenton, Lawrence Taylor, Jim Thorpe, Y.A. Tittle, Emlen Tunnell and Arnie Weinmeister. Two coaches are also members, Ray Flaherty and Steve Owen. Owner and founder Tim Mara and co-owner Wellington Mara are members as well bringing the team total of Hall of Fame members to 27. There have been 5 Giants MVP winners including Mel Hein in 1938, Frank Gifford in 1956, Charlie Conerly in 1959, Y.A. Tittle in 1963 and Lawrence Taylor in 1986. The Giants have also had 3 Super Bowl MVP players including Phil Simms in XXI, Ottis Anderson in XXV and Eli Manning in XXII.

Tom Coughlin has been the Giants Head Coach since 2004. He is considered one of the premier head coaches of the NFL. Coughlin is hoping for another winning season ending with another Super Bowl win along with his team including players Ahmad Bradshaw, Domenik Hixon, Brandon Jacobs, Eli Manning, Kenny Phillips, Antonio Pierce and Justin Tuck.

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are an American football team playing in the AFC West division of the National Football League. The team is based in Oakland, California and their home games are played in Oakland Alameda County Coliseum. As the eighth charter member of the American Football League, the Raiders began playing in 1960. From 1982 through 1994 the team played in, and as, the Los Angeles Raiders. They returned to Oakland in 1995 and stayed. The Raiders joined the NFL in 1970 during the AFL-NFL merger.

The Raiders have made appearances in 21 playoff games; In the AFL they played in 1967 – 1969; In the NFL they played in 1970, 1972 – 1977, 1980, 1982 – 1985, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 2000 – 2002. They have won 15 division championships; In the AFL West they won in 1967 – 1969; In the AFC West they won in 1970, 1972 – 1976, 1983, 1985, 1990 and 2000 – 2002. They won 4 AFC conference championships in 1976, 1980, 1983 and 2002. They won the AFL League Championship in 1967. The Raiders have been Super Bowl Champions in 1976, at Super Bowl XI, in 1980, at Super Bowl XV and in 1983 at Super Bowl XVIII.

The Raiders Pro Football Hall of Fame members include Ron Mix, 1979, Jim Otto, 1980, George Blanda, 1981, Willie Brown, 1984, Gene Upshaw, 1987, Fred Biletnikoff, 1988, Art Shell, 1989, Ted Hendricks, 1990, Mike Haynes, 1997, Eric Dickerson, 1999, Howie Long, 2000, Ronnie Lott, 2000, Dave Casper, 2002, Marcus Allen, 2003, James Lofton, 2003, Bob Brown, 2004 and Rod Woodson, 2009. Owner and General Manager, Al Davis, was inducted in 1992. Head Coach (1969 – 1978) and Color Commentator, John Madden, was inducted in 2006.

Tom Cable was named Head Coach of the Oakland Raiders on February 3, 2009 after serving as interim head coach since September 30, 2008. He joined the Raiders team as an offensive line coach in 2007. Cable has 21 years of coaching experience including 4 years at the college level. Some of the Raiders hard working players include Michael Bush, Justin Fargas, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Thomas Howard, Chris Johnson, Darren McFadden, Zach Miller, Kirk Morrison and JaMarcus Russell.