Christmas weekend, Chargers Football

Hello everyone, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas weekend and celebration surrounded by family and friends.  Myself personally, I enjoyed the weekend with family.  The gifts do not matter because the reason to celebrate Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ. After all, when we say Merry Christmas we are actually saying have a happy time celebrating Christ. Hence, notice in the word Christmas there is the word Christ included?  With that being said, I wish everyone a safe and happy new year’s celebration. 

 

Last time I blogged was just about a week ago where I mentioned I was headed to the Chargers-Ravens game at “Snapdragon Stadium” temporary name for Qualcomm Stadium.  Overall, the vibe was awesome. The place was packed, the fans were motivated, but for me it was just another football game.  I was grateful for the opportunity to attend the game, but really the game means nothing. Even more so now since the San Diego Chargers lost over the weekend to the Detroit Lions which officially ends their season.  I have included a photo I took with my cell phone which gives you an idea of the view I had that night.  The photo shown is from section view 19. Chargers did end up winning the game and dominating the entire game on both defense and offense.

Taken Sunday December 18, 2011.

There is a new Yelp review to look over. If you like to read reviews for eateries please click on the Yelp link to the right and dig in. The review is from a visit I recently made to a Chinese Restaurant. 

Until next time,

-Harley

Christmas weekend, Chargers Football

Hello everyone, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas weekend and celebration surrounded by family and friends.  Myself personally, I enjoyed the weekend with family.  The gifts do not matter because the reason to celebrate Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ. After all, when we say Merry Christmas we are actually saying have a happy time celebrating Christ. Hence, notice in the word Christmas there is the word Christ included?  With that being said, I wish everyone a safe and happy new year’s celebration. 

 

Last time I blogged was just about a week ago where I mentioned I was headed to the Chargers-Ravens game at “Snapdragon Stadium” temporary name for Qualcomm Stadium.  Overall, the vibe was awesome. The place was packed, the fans were motivated, but for me it was just another football game.  I was grateful for the opportunity to attend the game, but really the game means nothing. Even more so now since the San Diego Chargers lost over the weekend to the Detroit Lions which officially ends their season.  I have included a photo I took with my cell phone which gives you an idea of the view I had that night.  The photo shown is from section view 19. Chargers did end up winning the game and dominating the entire game on both defense and offense.

There is a new Yelp review to look over. If you like to read reviews for eateries please click on the Yelp link to the right and dig in. The review is from a visit I recently made to a Chinese Restaurant. 

San Diego Chargers-Baltimore Ravens Football preview

San Diego Chargers football is going national today on NBC starting at 5:20PM PST. Sunday, I will be attending the San Diego Chargers-Baltimore Ravens game being held in San Diego, CA. The Chargers look to stay alive in the AFC West division with a current record of 6-7 and the Baltimore Ravens come into San Diego to try to secure themselves a playoff spot in the AFC North holding a record currently at 10-3.

Chargers will have to continue their offensive surge to avoid letting Baltimore celebrate a playoff spot on Chargers home field.

 

The game calls for some good battles on the defensive side, but also two teams that are hungry to prove themselves. One wants to continue to have hope while the other wants to be even more relevant by being given a playoff seed spot. The game will not be low scoring. The contest will feature to good, energetic running backs in the game today.  I look forward to seeing Chargers quarterback Philip River’s work his magic hopefully into a Chargers victory come Sunday night.

I will be posting a recap of my experience and photos later in the week.

 

Until then,

 -Harley

Boston, pictures are lovely!

A month after my trip to Boston, here are some photos. People in Boston I talked with were generous to this Californian. People welcomed me. The rain was lovely. The air was humid. The storms with long long rains are expected on the east coast nothing like the west coast. Take the time to go to Boston, its lovely! I hope these pictures show some of the beautifulness.

Freeway design going into downtown Boston

Local neighborhood in Boston

beautiful, peaceful parks all over..

Boston water front

There's green all over Boston.

Boston state house with a Green pathway

More of the Boston Green...beautiful.

downtown Boston during the rain

Padres catcher, Nick Hundley

Padres first baseman, Anthony Rizzo

Boston's Adrian Gonzalez batting against his former team in the San Diego Padres

Until next time,

-Harley

Fenway Park, some Misc. notes

When the vehicle pulled up to Fenway Park in Boston I knew right away that the crowd outside Fenway were hardcore fans. There was still Four hours before the game started and these fans were already outside the ballpak tailgating. The nice asset tge Boston organization does for their fans is they organize a tailgate party which is right outside the ballpark with burgers, brauts, kettle corn, chilli, sloppy joes and fresh lemonade among some goodies.

Upon entering Fenway, I felt privillaged to be there for the series. Fenway is a ballpark that’s been around for 100 years so you can imagine all the history. I walked around and then went to the clubhouse and then onto the field. The Padres were getting ready to starting batting practice.

The in game expierence was awesome. The views were awesome. The Boston Redsox fans were nice to the Padres fans. The food was tasty and better than most other ballpark food I’ve had.

People are crazy drivers in Boston they take close risks.

People like to jay-walk from all different directions so as a driver in Boston keep your eyes open.

Do not litter in MA as the fine for throwing trash on the roads is $10,000.

Boston is really green! It rains alot so bring a jacket.

If you are going into Boston, bring some heavy money. Parking in downtown Boston can range from $15-$40.

Boston is a major city with a lot of little cities near by.

The people of Boston are nice people, they love to talk.

Be patient when you drive in Boston as the drivers do not always let you into a lane as easy.

There are many great beautiful green parks in downtown Boston.

Eat some seafood if you like it.
Eat lobster, eat crab.

That’s it for now. I will
Post pictures next time.

Until next time,

-Harley

Boston is beautiful

Arriving into Boston is like many other airports where the airport is right in the downtown area. Upon picking up the rental vehicle, I noticed the employees beside me was rude to a customer and then said his own comments to himself about the comments. Terriable customer service. Minutes later that same employee gave me some bad customer service. I was fed up walking away with a bad impression is not good for a business.

Driving around Boston, the buildings are tall, hisitoric, with the streets being narrow. People in Boston like to ped cross or jay walk.

The trees are green here everywhere you go. The homes are massive with huge property lines.

The only bad thing is the winter time here in Boston which brings snow and temps in the single digits.

Today is the first of three games from Boston. Ill share about my Fenway expierence next time.

Until next time,

-Harley

Gods commands

Have you ever thought about love & two commands that God wants his children to follow? The emphasis here is Gods commands. In Luke chapter 10, we are reminded to love God with all you mind, soul & strength. In other words, put God first. In the way you handle your finances put God first in the way you go about your day put God first, in making desicions put God first. The best advice I can give is surround yourself with the word of God & do things which are of God. Surround yourself with people that speak of God so you may not grow weary. It is easy to faulter, bur if your doing the things of God & your seeking God thru the word then your mindset is right on where God wants us all to be. He wants us to seek him first not our own ways. Put our pride away, realize that being in the word is good. I know personally that I’m less likely to become distracted from the outside world when I’m in the word constantly. When my day starts off with reading the word then I find myself later that day thinking of the word. If I worship to Christian music then I’ll find myself singing it later in the day. That’s why being in the word is so important because we can actually work on loving God first before ourselves. God thru the spirit teaches us when we read. The only way we can love God with all our mind, soul & strength is by surrounding ourselves with anything and everything that has to do about God.

Were then encouraged in the same chapter of Luke 10 to love your neighbor as yourself. We are to always think about others before ourselves. This means going out of your way to help someone. This means being a helper in times of need, it means swallowing our pride and remembering life Is not about us rather about God reaching to others thru us. The next time you see someone in need keep this in mind God commands us to love others like we do ourselves. Spread out the love & be of good cheer doing it.

Until next time,

-Harley Gunther

Sports talk with San Diego rain coming!

The rain is set to touch down on San Diego heavy within the next few hours. While I still can, I find myself sitting down with the window blinds open, this way I can let the sun come into my home.
By the time, most people in San Diego county let out from work to drive home is when the real meat of this rainy storm will hit the roadways. Take some patience with you on the roadway driving home please & remember use your headlights. Rain is expected all this weekend in San Diego & then again on Wednesday-Thursday of next week.

CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz has chosen to worse way to go about his marriage. Although I do not agree how he chose to leave his wife of twenty plus years of marriage for another woman, he will have to pay a heavy payment as a result of his actions. Not only will Nantz have to face the consequences of God one day, but he will also be paying his wife a child support. Nantz has been required through a court order to pay out $915,000 of his $3.2 million dollar salary which covers only the next two years and after that comes more payout. Sad, how people get sucked in to leaving their families and settling for what the person wants. The choice Nantz made is truely Irresponsible and pathetic. Plus, a terrible example on Nantz part to his daughter.
Furthermore, Nantz’s wife he left got the couples mansion and Condo in the state of Connecticut.

Proof that ESPN is bias to the west coast tells me exactly that when I look at their 2011 Major League Baseball spring training telecast schedule. Most of the games will be teams from the east coast. Why oh why do networks do this? Maybe because the networks believe that everyone on the east coast only loves east coast teams.

ESPN’s Spring Training schedule:
Date Time (ET) Teams Network
Thu, March 3 1 p.m. Detroit vs. Atlanta ESPN
Mon, March 14 7 p.m. N.Y. Yankees vs. Boston ESPN2^
Wed, March 16 1 p.m. Boston vs. Atlanta ESPN
Mon, March 21 1 p.m. Boston vs. Philadelphia ESPN
Tue, March 22 1 p.m. N.Y. Yankees vs. Baltimore ESPN
Wed, March 23 1 p.m. N.Y. Mets vs. St. Louis ESPN
Thu, March 24 5 p.m. Chicago White Sox vs. Cubs ESPN2
Fri, March 25 1 p.m. Atlanta vs. Philadelphia ESPN
Sat, March 26 4 p.m. Chicago Cubs vs. Texas ESPN2
Tue, March 29 1 p.m. Detroit vs. N.Y. Yankees ESPN
–No love to the Padres, San Francisco Giants, or to the revamped Milwaukee Brewers.

The first Padres spring training game is coming up! The first Padres broadcast is on Sunday February 27, 2011 at 12:05PST & can only be heard on XX1090am on your southern California radio dial or online at www.xx1090am.com

All position players have officially reported to spring training (baseball pre-season) as of today with the full team work outs starting tomorrow.

Until next time,

-Harley

Padres 2011 Fan Fest

The entrance to Petco Park on Fan Fest day Saturday February 12, 2011.

“The Coach” John Kentera interviews Padres closer Heath Bell on live radio during Padres Fan Fest on 1090AM in San Diego.

Here are some photos and personal perspective from Padres 2011 Fan Fest. First off, I heard the free event was a huge success. The attendance goal was 15,000 fans, but Padres COO Tom Garfinkel informed there were well over 20,000 fans that went through the Petco Park gates at around 4pm with still one hour to go.

I enjoyed the way the layout was set up where different sections of the field promoted different activities for the kids.

The booths were great. A few were Channel 4SD was there along with Friarhood blogs, KPRI Radio, La Poderosa Radio along with XX1090AM and AAA Padres affiliate the Tucson Padres.

I love the question & answer segment which allows fans to meet the new Padres face to face through a questions session & also catch up with your regular Padres too.

Padres broadcasters:left to right Mark Grant, Padres CEO Jeff Moorad, Ted Leitner.

Padres starters:left to right Clayton Richard, Matt Latos & Aaron Harang

Padres Utility player Jorge Cantu being interviewed by the Mexican Media in San Diego

Padres infield:left to right Jason Bartlett, Chase Headley, Brad Hawpe

Padres outfield:left to right Will Venable & Cameron Maybin

Most importantly, I love how the Padres made this event free. Many people are jobless in this tough economic period, but yet this allowed many to attend & enjoy the new Padres season which is upon us very soon.

My overall impression is the people that attended Fan Fest were excited at seeing the Padres on the field and were confident this team again can get into the playoffs in 2011.

Until next time,

-Harley

Offended by speaking religion & Padres 2011

Over the weekend, I was asked this question: Why do people get offended talking about religion? My response was because it’s hard to be different and have a different reputation than the general public when someone is religious. The word religious means in this case a person of faith, a person who lives by the word of God. The truth though is why is it so hard to be seen as a follower of Christ? Some people suppress the truth while others are afraid of it. In my opinion, it is sad to see people shy away from following the truth which is the word of God and then avoid a topic of God or talking about heaven and hell in retrospect. I realize people have their own opinions and reasons for why they don’t open up, but why not consider life after death as a discussion?

Padre’s baseball is right around the corner! Yes, the grass is green in San Diego already. The San Diego Padres fan fest is coming up on Saturday February 12, 2011. The event is free. For more information, visit www.padres.com Don’t forget to say hello to XX1090am who will have a booth broadcasting live from Padres fan fest starting at 9am. Come out and enjoy the green grass, the player autographs and a chance to look into the club house up close! Scheduled Padres to appear include new Padres Brad Hawpe, Orlando Hudson, Cameron Maybin and fellow Padres Heath Bell, Matt Latos and Nick Hundley & many more!

Comparing the 2010 Padres to the current team right now would be wrong. Both teams are different. Let me say that in 2011, the Padres will be new faces. Old Padres are gone such as Ryan Webb, Edward Mujica, Adam Russell, Tony Gwynn, Adrian Gonzalez & David Eckstein. The new Padres means a whole new infield in 2011 without the exception of 3rd baseman Chase Headley. This 2011 Padres team will be very athletic and much more versatile than the 2010 brass. I like the bench options which bring more experiences in key situations and the depth around the field in fill-in & sub situations. Aaron Harrang, a new Padre pitcher this year will be a key to the season. We need him to stay healthy. We need him to eat innings. Brad Hawpe replaces Adrian Gonzalez at first base. We need power and clutch hitting from Hawpe. We need Hawpe to get on base. Orlando Hudson and the Jason Barlette combo will be awesome. These are two great hard-working defensive athletes. I’m thrilled with the additions the Padres brass has made for 2011. A new team which is versatile than that of 2010 who will be fun to watch.

Come spring training, it will be as fun this year as it has been in years. For all the inside scoop follow me on twitter

A few other notes:
Adrian Gonzalez formally of the Padres is still involved with the Padres even though is now a Boston Redsox. He works out at Petco Park, involves himself with Padre gatherings with his former teammates. Adrian’s brother Edgar is still looking for a job in baseball, but may sit out the season as offers have been thin.

Does recycling matter? Yes, it pays to recycle. Today, it paid me $25.00.

I don’t understand how our state is broke and my vehicle registration has remained the same the last three years at the same price. Although there are budget issues, the price should lower.

Talking on your cell phone while driving? In California, the cost is at least $100. More police officers are being asked to make this a priority look out as more people are blaming accidents on people who drive and talk on their phones. (I was not ticketed)

Why is it that every time I go to the airport, I always see someone in the restroom walk out and not wash their hands? How disgusting!

The month is January and yet I’m looking forward to the summer already. I want to go to the beach with warmer weather and enjoy playing in the sand.

Until next time,

-Harley Gunther