Good Morning, well, early evening, here from sunny Istanbul, Turkey, Mobsters!
Doc must be really at the end of his pinch hitter list, as he has sent the Mobster Bat Signal International all the way to the Middle East. I have recently been hired as TML’s Istanbul correspondent for all things Turkey, Steve Yung.
I don’t know if I necessarily consider myself at full Mobster status, as I have never even commented on a TML column before. But, I am a loyal reader and sent Doc an email last week to comment on something he had written. All of the sudden, I was signed to a 10 day contract and here I am. My qualifications are strong, though, as I was born and raised for 37 years on the west side of Cincinnati. In fact, I may have even rubbed elbows with Westsider Nick Corey and his wife, as they were classmates of mine way back when. Don’t know if you all can handle 2 out of 3 weeks with a westsider slant, but here we go….
Actually, the reason I took pen to paper…..err, fingers to keyboard……was to comment to Doc on something he had mentioned several times in THIS SPACE. It was something along the lines of moving away, chucking it all, and starting over in someplace new. I offer my case study….
As mentioned, I was born and raised in Cincy all my life. Met a wonderful woman who has dual citizenship to Turkey and the U.S. My family all lived in Cincy, hers in Turkey. She let it be known that a move to Turkey (at least for a little while) was on the table as a life choice.
Fast forward…..as we ended up married and 2 and a half years ago, all the planets aligned and we up and left the comforts of Cincinnati and moved to Istanbul. It was and has been both liberating and terrifying. I knew about 10 words of the language when I came, but found quickly that if you learn common phrases like ‘Thank you’, ‘Please’, and ‘Excuse me’ it makes your life sooooooooooo much easier. I always felt as though Americans viewed foreign language as a hassle or unnecessary as opposed to an advantage or something to be valued.
Anyway, I know, like Doc admitted, most people’s knowledge of Turkey is limited to what they saw on the OG film Midnight Express. The recent NY mother and U.S. Embassy bombing notwithstanding, I have always felt very safe here. Of course, you have to be smart about things just like anywhere and I don’t go around flaunting my American-ness, but nor do I hide it. I can’t/don’t really watch the news, and that is a blessing and a curse. However, I did not receive one political phone call this autumn requesting my vote on anything….which was nice.
Keeping up with Cincinnati sports from here is difficult, since most prime time events (7:00 games) come on in real time here at about 2 in the morning with the 7 hour time difference. Thank goodness for Thursday afternoon baseball, which comes on right in prime time here. And the Turks could care less about football. Check that, they care a lot about FUTBOL. The Super Bowl was aired here, but not that big of a deal, and I caught it on a rerun the next morning.
As with many countries in Europe and Asia, I feel as though nationalism is tremendously high, especially when it comes to sports. All national games are aired (soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc.) and support is high. I don’t know if it has to do with the close geography of European countries, but they take their national pride very seriously. American pride surfaces every 4 years or so when gold medals are on the line. Other than that, ehhhh……
Another curiosity that I noticed when attending both matches for Fenerbahce and Galatasary (the 2 most storied) futbol teams here in town…..They have a separate visitors’ section for opposing fans that is secured off, has a separate entrance for those fans, covered in netting and reinforced by security guards to make sure there is no trouble amongst fans. In extreme situations, opposing fans are not allowed into the visiting stadium for fear of problems and fights. Can you imagine the Bengals refusing to allow Stillers fans into the yard during a Cincy/Pburgh game? Or Cardinals fans being turned away during a weekend roadie to the Queen City because, well, we ‘just don’t want any trouble….’ Towns would be lit ablaze……
Onto the local scene……
As noted, it is somewhat difficult to keep up with the scene in Cincinnati from the distance. But, still, I offer my tidbits…..
As many of you, I am tremendously optimistic about the local Mudville Nine. I think they made the right upgrades in mostly the right positions. I don’t know if the budget allows for the extension of David Dewitt Bailey Jr., but that would be something I would like to see for the right price. A minor concern for the Club (and probably very minor) is what happens in the second years of guys like SuperToddLifeSaverFrazier and Z. Cozart?
Many are drooling over the possibilities, but part of the idea of rookie success is that no one knows the strengths and weaknesses of said hitters. I hope those guys are as smart as we think they are and continue to adjust, because everyone now will adjust to them as THE BOOK has gotten around. That’s why it’s such a joy to watch Joey MVP work…..from day to day, at bat to at bat, and even pitch to pitch. You can see him, always adjusting. On the flip side, that was what was so frustrating about watching Andrew Stubbs over the past few seasons, is his seeming unwillingness to adjust to anything.
The whole S. Rolen thing seemed like an unintentional intentional walk, didn’t it??? No one wanted to throw anything close to the plate, so they let him walk….on purpose or not…..
On to the MEN…..
I hope Mikey Thinwallet realizes enough to know that the recent run of success has to do with the contributions of the younger players that they’ve done a good job of drafting and developing. Reward some of that effort by re-signing some of the core guys like M. Johnson and extending Geno PRONTO. While developing younger guys is nice, I’m sure it’s a struggle to acclimate and rely on guys with zero or one year of experience rather than ones that know your system already. And as for Red…..I believe he just needs to improve his accuracy.
It was mostly what he built his reputation on at TCU. I think with a little better accuracy, guys like Mo Sanu and Marvin Jones are capable of being the 2 and 3 WRs. Of course, I wouldn’t mind seeing Dwayne Bowe or Mike Wallace on the other side of AJ WhoCatchesEverythingInTheZipCode, but do you have faith that something like that will happen? Me, neither. P. Harvin….shrug….
Let the Madness descend…..
Being a Miami grad, and that we are relevant in sports about once every decade and a half, I have to live the Madness through others…..I am not necessarily a UC or XU fan, but I don’t loathe either and cheer for their successes. I think UC’s success in the toooonamint depends entirely on matchups. If they draw some teams that are similar to them (guard oriented, lack of big men, slower paced) then they can play with them and advance. But, if they get a poor draw, even against a, ahem, mid-major (I hate that term) they could just as easily be done in round 1.
As for X, I don’t know if people really appreciate the job that C.Mack has done this year. It might be the best done there EVER. To UNEXPECTEDLY lose your top 2 returning players and still be in the hunt in the A-10 is amazing. I know, I know, he let M. Lyons go, etc. etc., but you’ve gotta believe that Mack was counting on him and D. Wells to be back this season. That affects how he recruits, his rotations, and on down the line…..I don’t know if they’ll make the dance, but it would be one of the more improbable stories of the year.
And, hey, X fans, remember go ol’ Romain Sato??? He’s hoopin’ it up for a local team here in Istanbul this winter. Just in case, you know, you’re in the neighborhood…..
Speaking of Miami (shameless plug), the TML pinch hitter says check out Miami Ice Hockey, if you can score a ticket. Affordable, family friendly and worth the drive. What Coach Enrico Blasi has done there is amazing. In not exactly a ‘hotbed’ for hockey and what is considered a ‘southern climate’, I believe they’re ranked #3 in the nation this week. And while you’re in Oxford, stuff a bagel in your face from Bagel and Deli Shop in Uptown. You won’t regret it……just be ready to Jump Around. You’ll know when…..;)
TODAY’S ESSENTIAL QUESTION: San Diego Chicken or Philly Phanatic? GO.
Hope most of you Mobsters aren’t bleary eyed from rolling off the sofa this morning, since, you know, it’s the day after V-Day…..please tell me you got the Mrs (or Mr.). some chocolate or flowers or some dinner. S/he deserves THAT much….
Enough? Yeah, I’m tired of myself too……
Thanks Doc for the opportunity!
Have a great weekend everybody!
TUNE O’ THE DAY……Grab your Valentine, get goofy and bounce around the room…..
If I was John and you were Yoko, I would gladly give up music genius.
Just to have you as my very own, personal Venus…..
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