Welcome To The Yankee Report

Hello blog world, and welcome to The Yankee Report! Your home for everything Yankees. Our mission for this blog is to cover the New York Yankees, from the lowest level of the minors, to the highest level, the majors. We will provide interviews, commentary and opinions on a myriad of topics regarding the New York Yankees. And now, for an introduction of the authors :

Hello Yankee fans! My name is Joseph Nourai, and I am one-half of the awesome team here at The Yankee Report. Im 23 years old and I live in New York while attending a prestigious law school in the area. I have been a Yankee fan since birth, and have been to over 800 Yankee games. My favorite part about baseball is watching the prospects play, and then grow into Major League stars at the highest level! My current favorite Yankee player is Robinson Cano, while my all-time favorite Yankee is Yogi Berra. His knowledge and wisdom has not only transformed sports physchology, but provided inspiration on so many levels. 

And now, for the other half of this dynamic duo….

What’s up fellow baseball fans and Yankee fans out there. Just thought I’d introduce myself after Joe’s introduction. The name’s Nick and I will be the other writer on this blog. I’ve been a Yankee fan all of my life, granted I’m still young but that doesn’t matter, a fan is a fan. I live in Central Jersey, so I am very close to Yankee Stadium, the Trenton Thunder and the Staten Island Yankees. This means you can expect the best of Major League and Minor League updates from me. Just for fun, here is a little of my Yankee background…

My favorite current Yankee player is Melky Cabrera. My all time favorite Yankee is Bernie Williams, closey followed by Graig Nettles. 

And my favorite Yankee Moment, is Aaron Boone hitting the Walk-Off Home Run in the 2003 ALCS.

So with everything said, we hope that you guys in the “Blogosphere” read and stick with us here. We plan to become the premier source for New York Yankees information. 

 

 

How to get healed by Jesus, pt 1

Do you know that God is not a mysterious cloud? He looks like us because we’re made in His image. And Jesus is still alive and is a flesh and bone, glorified Man in the Godhead.

Even though I went to church, I didn’t really have the revelation of that at 13, when a road accident had put my 8-year old brother Phillip in a coma. I do remember it being a Tuesday afternoon and we were sat in our living room just about crying after the specialists had told my parents he would not be coming out of it. A lot of people apparently were praying.

I didn’t know anything about God’s will for healing or using our faith. It was more of ‘hoping that God would be persuaded up there somewhere to reach down and do something’.

My artwork ‘By His Stripes you Were Healed – Thorns and Fruit 2’ tells us what happened when Jesus physically came down and did something to get us healing (1 Peter 2:24)

We take what He provided by faith. But faith works by hope and that word hope means earnest expectation (Hebrews 6:12-20). If you don’t know that the healing Jesus provided is ours then your faith won’t work.

Afterwards we were told by the grandma of a schoolfriend of mine, how she had been praying on that Tuesday afternoon and how Jesus told her Phillip would be alright. It was on that Tuesday afternoon, after weeks in a coma, that my brother woke up and pulled his own ventilator out!

Faith First - Jesus, I Will

Still Slow

Well today was another very slow day. I slept until 8 and was still tired.  Instead of getting up, I stayed in bed watching Doll House.  I think I love it, I just wish it was on TV here so I could watch it properly.  Part way through the second episode the kids decided to come upstairs to say Hi!  They were both dressed and ready for the day having already eaten breakfast so I felt obligated to get up.  I was still tired, but fortunately not grumpy.  

I did manage to get out of the house and to the Stitches and Craft show before falling asleep again.  I am glad that I made the effort, it was fantastic.  Probably not the best place to take a 5 year old, but still fantastic.  I saw so many amazing pieces and products and wished that I had the time or energy to do some creative work.  I think that being creative will be something to add to my to-do list but making a to-do list should be at the top of such a list.  

Another item on my to-do list, right up there near the top is to get back into shape.  I have a post started about getting into shape but haven’t had the motivation to even finish it, let alone actually start.  I have downloaded a ‘couch to 5 km’ running program for my iPhone so that is a start.  Currently I attempt to run a few times a week and get bored and distracted and end up walking after about a kilometer.  I am registered to do a do a fun run in a few weeks, but I don’t think there will be much running at this stage.  I could start the running program in the morning, but I don’t think that I will.  I also have an exercise DVD that I ordered a few weeks ago and still haven’t taken from the packaging, that is more likely to get used, but again no promises.  

Another weight loss, get back into shape option is diet shakes.  I have never tried them in the past wanting thinking that they won’t actually change my eating habits but make me lazier.  No doubt I will have the shake and then snack on left overs, not because I am hungry but because they are there.  That and they are bloody expensive and I am too tight to waste money on something that is not likely to work long term.  That was until I went to visit my sister and she had a pile of them just sitting there.  She can’t use them ‘in her condition’ so she kindly donated them to me.  Since they are free, perhaps I will give them a try, if only to distract me from eating chocolate.  I haven’t actually read the packaging yet, so I don’t really know what is involved.  

So three different options to help me on the way to making a change in my life, which one to try tomorrow.  Who knows.  I’m not actually working, so I will have some time to procrastinate.  Now to look at making a to-do list…

Jet Program

The Jet Program was the very first TEA program that I was introduced to.

Back in my high school days when everything was about Japan, I began my dream of someday teaching English abroad. Japan was my prime choice, and the Jet Program was the only program that I had every heard of. Now of course I know that there are many opportunities in other countries and after doing some comparisons, I believe that Jet might be too hard or not suitable for me.

1. Jet does not offer housing support (that I’m aware of).

Back when I was much more interested in the program, I had tried to do research. One of the big things that stuck out to me was that the only thing that Jet said they provided was support for finding an apartment. The rest was up to you. I take this to mean that the foreigner is responsible for all landlord dealings.

To me this is sort of a scary idea. I’ve never lived alone before, and I am certainly not Japanese, the amount that I know is certainly negligible. What would happen if there were issues?

2. With the Jet Program, you are most likely to be placed in a rural location.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against rural locations, people in the countryside should have the resources to learn English as well (if they so desire)! My issue with this is, I might also like to have a chance at going to a larger city. Sure, sure, I can always visit. I’ve just been under the impression that with Jet you are pretty much rural or no deal.

3. You can only do 2 years in a row, afterwards you have to wait another 10(?) to apply again.

I’m not saying that I plan to make a career out of this, but if it is something I find that I really truly enjoy, I would love to have the option.

4. If you do not have a degree in English or Education, you shouldn’t apply.

This is something I was told on the UsingEnglish.com forum. Someone posted to me that unless you have one of these degrees, you have no hope. I can understand the desire to have so called properly trained people coming in, but I really get tired of how people stereotype and undervalue other degrees. I guess that only English majors write obscene amounts for their degree, or speak English. I can understand the advantage of having an Education degree over another degree, but the English is superior to others is something I will never understand. We are educated in English as well. I actually have to write a lot (essays, research papers, proposals, laboratory analysis, presentations), sometimes my friends in other degrees are surprised at the amount of work I am bogged down with.

So, looks like those are my main concerns with the Jet Program. I understand that it is a wonderful program, and my contact in Japan did recommend it. I am just concerned that I would be rejected from this program, or that I shouldn’t even bother trying. I’m not someone who usually backs away from challenges, but I just want a fair fight.

Any comments?

Busted Priorities

The Belmont Club had an interesting post a couple days ago highlighting, graphically, the West’s lack of perspective. The original post was done by Augean Stables. One of the Secretary of State’s first visits since being sworn in was visiting Israel, and attempting to kick start the (in it’s current state) hopeless peace process. This is seen from within and without the Obama Administration as one of their most pressing foreign relations issue. Yet, if you measure the conflicts by the sheer number dead or wounded, it’s ridiculously small.

Why the difference in how we approach the problem? I’m betting there’s lots of reasons. I remember when one of the Left’s problems with the Iraq War was that there were bigger, badder, more dangerous regimes elsewhere. What about Iran? What about North Korea? And yet, here we are with an extremely leftist President, and what’s front and center? The Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mr. Fernandez goes on to poke fun at the West’s insistence of looking at the world through some rather distorted lenses. I post it here directly with the hopes that Mr. Fernandez won’t mind. It’s pretty funny, but, well, kind of true.

Apparently Stretching Has Evolved Since The Days of Gravel Hockey Pitches

 I have been less than diligent with my blogging this last week so many apologies to anyone who has deigned to check in on my progress only to find the cupboard was bare of updates. Shame on me I say. The last few days have been an undulating journey of injury, excess, sporting victory, and finally a triumphant return to the roads for your favourite marine mammal. 

So, having divided the activities of the last number of days into tidy themes above, I shall continue by discussing the time using these topics. 

Injury may perhaps be too strong a word for the strain I suffered, however after my run on Thursday I was stricken with a pain in my hip that warranted rest from my daily trot for a number of days. Now it has been pointed out to me previously by a friend of mine that I have neglected to mention stretches on this blow by blow account and this is something I am about to remedy. Since the beginning of my training I have been using the remnants of what I can remember from back in Ye Olde Hockey Playing Days as my stretching routine. Considering the pinnacle of said days was a selection for the Under 16’s Leinster Squad and that I have spent much of the 13 years since then furiously annihilating my capacity for memory with an unprecedented appetite for immoderate socialising, it is no surprise really that my stretching routine fell short of the mark. In fact it couldn’t even see the mark with binoculars. I was doing a quad stretch, something that I thought was a calf stretch and a seriously impoverished relation of a hamstring stretch. The result of this shambolic stretch routine was that my hip became most irritated with me  and told me I could bugger off if I thought I was going out to fling my considerable weight on the street in a repetitive motion without so much as a few decently developed core muscles to prevent it from getting jolted about. I listened to it and decided that I would give it a rest on Friday and Saturday and wait to see if there was an improvement. Saturday I went out riding in the Polo place on a polo pony while my friend was on my horse. As I was on the more diminutive of the two I was up and down a number of times to open gates and while remounting on one of the occasions I felt a slight twist in the offending haunch joint and immediately began planning my hip replacement operation for sometime before christmas. I want a rainbow coloured prosthetic.

Though I was concerned about the effect the hip would have on the consistency of my Warrior Training Plan, I would be a bare faced liar if I claimed that the deliberate resting with the aim of recuperation wasn’t going to make some room for the next theme of the weekend: Excess. Friday night saw me cooking for three girlfriends a decadent dinner of the most pinguid belly of pork accompanied by several bottles of wine. I was reasonably sauced on my retirement to bed but nothing worth checking into the betty ford over. That came on Saturday where I also encountered Sporting Victory. Alas the victory was not mine but that of the Irish Rugby Team who I witnessed giving England a decidedly unconvincing beating in the Six Nations Championship. I observed this from the confines of Hill 16 in Croke Park as my friend Julie had kindly offered to take me to the game at the last minute. I was delighted for a opportunity to use the new hip-flask that I’d been given for my birthday and employed it to my advantage in both making myself very drunk and making friends with those around me. Sunday saw the excess of the previous two days continue with myself and a collection of male friends (two drunk, two sober) take and excursion to Wicklow where we all rode the long suffering horse before returning to Dun Laoghaire for Sunday Lunch and bacchanalian activity. My hip was still sore at this stage but improving and one of the aforementioned males (my sister’s boyfriend) gave me some very helpful yoga stretches for the hip area. I think in accordance with the advice of my boards.ie mentor and now also of my sister’s boyfriend, I will add a weekly yoga class to my Warrior training routine. 

Monday dawned grey and innocuous. As i am a merry voyager on The Good Ship Jobless at the moment there was little done in the way of anything on this weeks genesis. It was a real day that put the Munday into Mundane. The griping from my femoral joint had subsided greatly but I decided not to take a chance with it and researched some proper stretching methods while bidding a griefless goodbye to my previous Acme Stretch Routine. A fairly thorough look at what was on offer led me to settle on this routine which was posted very kindly by a Josh Clark on the Cool Running website. 

 

1. Wall Pushup #1

Stand about three feet from a wall, feet at shoulder width and flat on the ground. Put your hands on the wall with your arms straight for support. Lean your hips forward and bend your knees slightly to stretch your calves. 

2. Wall Pushup #2

From the previous position, bend forward to lower your body to waist height. Bring one foot forward with your knee slightly bent. Lift the toes of the front foot to stretch the muscle under the calf. Stretch both legs. 

3. Wall Pushup #3

Put your feet together, rocking back on your heels with your hands on the wall and your arms straight to form a jackknife with your body. This stretches your hips, shoulders, and lower back. 

4. Back Scratch

Grab your elbow with the opposite hand and gently push the elbow up and across your body until your hand reaches down to “scratch” your back. Gently push on your elbow to guide your hand down your back as far as it will comfortably go, stretching your triceps and shoulders. Stretch both arms. 

5. Hamstring Stretch

Lie down with one leg straight up in the air, the other bent with foot flat on the ground. Loop a towel over the arch of the lifted foot, and gently pull on the towel as you push against it with your foot. Push only to the point where your muscles contract. Stretch both legs. 

6. Quadriceps Stretch

Kneel on your knees (without resting back on your heels). Lean back with your body erect and your arms to the side. Hold for 15 seconds. 

7. Heel To Buttock

Stand on one foot, with one hand on a wall for balance. Hold the other foot with the opposite hand and raise the heel of the lifted foot to the buttocks (or as close as comfortably possible), stretching your quadriceps. Keep your body upright throughout. Change legs and repeat. 

8. Hip & Lower Back Stretch

Sit on the ground with your legs crossed. Lift your right leg and cross it over the left, which should remain bent. Hug the right leg to your chest and twist the trunk of your body to look over your right shoulder. Change legs and repeat (i.e. looking over your left shoulder). 

9. Iliotibial Band Stretch

Lie on your side with both legs bent in running position. Bring the bottom leg toward your chest and then bring the top one back toward your buttocks, so that the running position of your legs is exaggerated as possible. Hold for 30 seconds then flip sides and repeat. 

10. Hamstring & Back Stretch

Lie on your back with your knees bent. Hug your shins to your chest to stretch your hamstrings and lower back. 

11. Bridge

Lie on your back and, with your feet flat on the ground, lift your hips up until your body forms a flat plane. Repeat this one ten times for 30 seconds each to stretch your quads and lower back.

12. Groin Stretch

Seated, put the soles of your feet together. With your elbows on the inside of your knees, gradually lean forward and gently press your knees toward the ground.

 

I also have added in the yoga stretches given to me which go as follows 

1. Sit on ground with legs crossed and reach forward with your arms and upper body as far as possible. The do the same side to side. Then uncross your legs and recross them with the other leg on the bottom and repeat.

2. Lie on your back and hold one knee up to your chest as far as you can with the other leg on the ground flat. Repeat with other leg. 

The whole lot seemed like an unmerciful rigmarole when I looked at it on paper but to be honest it wasn’t a bother. Ah no, I’m only joking, it is an unmerciful rigmarole. An extra ten minutes either end of my attempt at fitness where I get to remind myself of my inflexibility and general lack of suppleness. As is bicycle crunches weren’t enough. However I am an aspiring warrior now and rigmarole or not it shall be endured, which it dutifully was before I set off on my run today.