September Update - Tennis, tennis, and more tennis

I don't have a good excuse as to why I didn't post a monthly update in August, so I'm not going to make one.

Although, August was a busy month, as I worked The Morning Show on Global for a week (which is always a lot of fun) and also included a bit of a working vacation (of which I will divulge more details at a later date).

Sports-wise, my baseball career has come to an end again. The East York Bulldogs lost in the semi-finals of the GTBL playoffs and I think I'm hanging up my glove for good this time.

I mentioned in my previous post that, though my pitching prowess seemed to be better than ever, each time (twice total) I tried to throw multiple innings, I gave up runs.

Well, I only threw single innings since my last post and didn't relinquish another run all year. Unfortunately, for most of the summer, I was dealing with elbow pain as pitching and playing tennis 3 times a week is not a sound strategy.

But in my final outing of the season, I managed to strike out the side, so I am retiring on a high note. Here's my final stat line.

On the other hand, my tennis career is definitely progressing. I had another lesson, this time to learn how to volley finally, and it is definitely paying off. My ground strokes are crisp, my serve is getting more consistent and I'm currently in the midst of a 13-set winning streak (not including a beat down at the hands of my club's defending champion).

This year's club championship starts on September 9 and I'm hopeful for a big run.

My secret weapon could be the tips I received at the end of August. I've added reporter to my weather specialist, fill-in morning show co-host, and fill-in sports anchor role at Global.

I just filed a story on 17-year-old Bianca Andreescu. She is currently ranked in the top 170 in the world while juggling professional tennis and online high school. I think she will make some big noise on the tour in the next couple of years.

Here's the story:

I was also able to steal some serving tips from her coach, former world number three, Nathalie Tauziat. Hopefully, those tips help in the club championship. I will update how I do next month.

Until then, thanks for reading!

July Update - Sesquicentennial

I write this monthly update while watching coverage of the Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa and the Nation's Capital is just getting hammered with thunderstorms. The rain has turned portions of Parliament Hill into a lake, but there are still thousands of Canadians in attendance celebrating this great country.

Speaking of rain, the start of June saw me take part in the Ride for Heart charity bike ride with a few of my Global colleagues. I last took part in a similar ride back in 2014. That was a 60 km sojourn through the Oak Ridges Moraine. The Ride for Heart traversed the DVP in Toronto and it was a 75 km total ride.

It was the farthest I've ever biked in one day. It also poured rain from the minute I first got on the bike until I got off three hours later. Here is a fake smile I mustered around kilometre 71.

Baseball-wise, I am feeling my age. I am the oldest pitcher men's team I am playing on and my pitching stamina is attesting to that fact. I am throwing harder than I ever have, but I can only throw for an inning at a time. Every first inning I've thrown this year has been a clean inning with no runs allowed. Twice I've tried to come back out for a second inning and I get hit around. 

It's odd because I used to be a guy who could throw 8 or 9 innings at a time. But I suppose that's to be expected after not picking up a ball for six years.

Tennis is going much better. I took the second lesson of my life last month and it's made a marked difference in my ground strokes. I am hitting with a crispness that I've never had before. Hopefully, I can keep it going for the rest of the season.

At Global, I have a few morning show shifts coming up this month, which is always a blast, and a nice of change of pace from my normal schedule. 

Here's a short clip from Global Durham at the end of June.

I will be on The Morning Show on July 4, July 27, and July 28 from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Be sure to tune in!

June Update - Welcome Summer!

The month of May brought a number of things my way. In terms of sports, tennis season is in full swing and it seems like my game is improving rapidly after a sideways year in 2016 while I re-tooled my serve. 

And, over the past few months, I have found myself missing the game of baseball. So, I decided to do something about it. 

For the first time since 2011, I am pitching again. I am playing for the East York Bulldogs of the Greater Toronto Baseball League (here's my player page), which is a rung below the semi-pro level that represented the pinnacle of my baseball career.

This is still competitive baseball. We will be competing in the Ontario championship in August for a berth in the national championship. In fact, I was named pitcher of the year in the GTBL in 2010 before moving up to semi-pro.

My arms feels great so far and past teammates think I may actually be throwing harder, with better control, than I did six years ago.

Work-wise, I was able to combine a baseball anecdote with the music of Meat Loaf for a fun anchor chat.

At the end of May, I went on a road trip to Vegas and California with two of my best friends from high school. There were a lot of laughs and a lot of potent potables.

I was also able to get a picture on the way back to Toronto with one of my favourite characters from The Office, Toby Flenderson.

"If I had a gun with two bullets and I was in a room with Hitler, Bin Laden, and Toby, I would shoot Toby twice."