Anna: Dogs' best friend

By K.J. Cardinal

Anna's first real interaction with a dog (other than several of her dad's friends) came yesterday afternoon when Uncle Matt and Bauer paid us a visit up at Perkins Pond.

At first, Anna was very inquisitive and rather mesmerized by Bauer. She wouldn't taker her eyes off him as he sauntered in and out of the water. When he started to play fetch with Uncle Matt, she was definitely locked in.

With Anna's interest piqued, I decided that it would be OK to let her play with Bauer a little. I swear that Bauer doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body, so I wasn't worried for a second about how he would treat Anna.

It was definitely the highlight of a what turned out to be a gorgeous day for me. Anna would get excited every time Bauer came near and she would pat him (sometimes rather vigorously) and Bauer just let it roll off his back. As you can see (right and below) Bauer planted a big wet one on Anna and the two soon became best friends.

Thanks Uncle Matt for bringing Bauer up to visit us. Anna has a new best friend.

Perkins Pond

By K.J. Cardinal

The official vacation of The Cardinal Blog is well underway.

The entire Cardinal family (minus Aunt Kate) is currently up on Perkins Pond in Sunapee, N.H. We have rented a five-bedroom house right on the water for this week.

We're nearing the halfway mark of our stay and we've had a blast so far. The weather isn't cooperating 100%, but the house has a pool table, foos ball table, ping pong table, hot tub and more, so there's been plenty to do.

Last night we had our second big family dinner together...spaghetti and meatballs.

Anna gave spaghetti a spin for the first time. I started off by feeding her small pieces and then I decided to give her a whole piece. She loved the fact of having a long piece to whip around and somehow it devolved into me putting the piece of spaghetti all over her face (pictured right).

Of course, she was rather unphased by her dad's antics as she just tried to work the spaghetti into her mouth.

Seeing this, Andrew had to get in on the action. He was letting Tiffany put the spaghetti all over his face and even posing for the camera with it on his face. Tiff couldn't miss out on the opportunity to get in on the action too. Andrew's so much fun.

Not to be left out, Papa even got into the spaghetti on the face act, which made Andrew get into the whole scene even more. It was just a priceless scene all around.

Maybe this isn't everyone's idea of a good vacation, but we all couldn't be happier to hang out and enjoy life's little things with all the kids. Spaghetti on the face is just one example of the ideal vacation for all of us.

The place we're staying at is so great that we've already declared that we're coming back here EVERY YEAR. It's exactly what we were looking for...a comfortable family environment for us all to relax and enjoy each other's company.

Anna hits the big time, featured on Boston.com

By K.J. Cardinal

As if I wasn't already the proudest father in the world, Anna's latest antics have me through the roof.

Last week I submitted a photo of Anna with the Red Auerbach statue to Boston.com's "Celtic Fan Photos" and I just happened to check back tonight to see that she made the cut!

She is currently photo 74 out of 98 [click here for the actual gallery]. So, it's not like she was the "chosen one" or anything, but it's still awesome to she her cute face on the state's top website.

What's also pretty funny is that my buddy Ben's niece (Katie) is also featured in the photo gallery too (she is #61). Her dad, Andy, is probably the biggest Boston sports fan I have ever met, so it's no surprise that he submitted a photo too.

Lakers got Rondo'd

By K.J. Cardinal

Last night Rajon Rondo was on top of his game and a big reason why the C's were able to blow out the Lakers.

As we walked into the new Garden last night, they were handing out these small signs that said "You got Rondo'd". A clever slogan for Reebok.

Then, during the game, they played a few new Reebok commercials with the "You got Rondo'd" theme. There's one featuring Vince Wilfork and one featuring Dee Brown, but the best one stars Jo Jo White. Take a look below at the one of Jo Jo White.

I can't wear Reebok's because they have too much of an arch for my rather flat feet, but I'd consider putting up with the pain because of this campaign. Good idea...especially considering the Lakers got Rondo'd.

Green Seventeen

By K.J. Cardinal

When I woke up yesterday morning, I couldn't stomach the idea of the Celtics winning the NBA title in Boston without being there. So, I did what I had to do (once I got the OK from Wife of the Year Angie), and purchased a rather pricey balcony seat for Game 6 of the NBA Finals (pictured right).

What a decision that turned out to be. In hindsight I probably would have paid double, if not triple, the price of the ticket if I knew what was going to transpire. It was a night for the ages. Truly a dream come true for me. Not many people can say that they witnessed their favorite team win a championship in person. The fact that it was at home, versus their rival and a blow-out was just the icing on the cake.

I'm not going to dissect the game, because when you win by 39 points, 131-92, the score really speaks for itself. But, I will say that I am so elated for Paul Pierce.

I feel like Pierce is the only one on the team that can truly relate to die-hard Celtics fans like myself, my dad, Glenn, Ben and Moody. He's the only guy on the team that truly bleeds green.

He remembers playing for Pitino. He lived through first round picks like Jerome Moiso, Kedrick Brown, Joseph Forte, Troy Bell and Dahntay Jones. He KNEW Red. He was part of The Comback (circa 2002).

Up until last night, Paul Pierce was known as the best player on a bad team. Now, his legacy has changed for ever. He is now the best player on the WORLD CHAMPION Boston Celtics. He is a future Hall of Famer. And, his #34 will one day grace the hallowed rafters alongside numbers like 6 and 33. He deserves it.

The struggles that Pierce has endured here in Boston makes this sweeter for him and just as sweet for us die-hard fans. I really feel vindicated on a few levels as well.

I feel like watching all those late night west coast games was worth it. Now, when I say "late night west coast games", I'm not talking about games 3, 4 & 5 of the 2008 NBA Finals. I'm talking about those west coast trips during horrible seasons like 1996-97 (15 wins), 1998-99 (19 wins...strike) and 2006-07 (24 wins).

I feel like the thousands and thousands of dollars that I've spent on the Celtics over the past 10 years was worth it. It was an investment in the future. I really don't think I would be reveling in the glory of this title as much if I hadn't put so much time, energy and money into this team when they weren't good.

With this win, I feel like I somehow get vindication on all those endless arguments with anti-Celtic fans and Antoine haters. Say what you want about the Celts, but I stuck by these boys through thick and thin and it feels great.

While sitting in traffic on the way home last night, as revelers were terrorizing the city of Boston, I couldn't help but start to think about the random things over the last 15 years that only die-hard Celtics fans can remember and more importantly things that I experienced with my family on all those long, late nights going to Boston and back to watch some of the worst basketball ever played in the NBA. Things like...

- The Cracker Jack Guy
- Full of Bull on Route 1
- The lady in the green suit at EVERY game
- The fish market
- Marrrrtttyyyy! Conlin
- Rare Bird
- The blind lady that sat behind us
- Mike the beer guy that my Dad became VERY friendly with
- Tiffany's halftime shootout
- Halloween night 1997 (Pitino peaks in debut: Celts beat Bulls)...chanting "Seventeen!" on the way out of the building.
- Bringing a sign to the games that read "ANTOINE: I'LL NEVER BOO"
- Taking a shot on the parquet with Glenn during the 1998 draft party
- Larry Bird in Section 316
- The 2002 playoff run
- A birthday salute on the Jumbotron
- Handing out mugshots of Jason Kidd on Causeway Street
- The Wiggle
- Katie's love affair with David Wesley
- Wearing wifebeaters with the #5 and "Kidd" on the back
- Loving "Gino" before everyone jumped on the bandwagon
- Jokes about Greg Minor's 48 illegitimate children
- I LOVE WALTAH!
- Getting on the Jumbotron nearly every game
- Bringing a sign to the 2002 playoffs that read "8 + 34 - Pitino = 17"

I'm sure there a million more memories that I'm forgetting, so feel free to post them in the comments.

Remembering all of those things really makes me happy that my buddy Glenn was willing to shell out the dough to go to the game with me last night. God knows that I have been to more horrible Celtics games with him than anyone without the last name Cardinal. Glenn and I went to probably 15-20 games a year together. Unfortunately for us, these games just happened to come during the worst stretch in franchise history...The Carr-Pitino eras.

Also a nice personal touch for me, was that my Uncle Bill and cousin Missy were fortunate enough to win a lottery to get tickets for last night's game. The two of them hadn't been to a Celtics game in a long time, but they were both fired up to be there and had a blast. We met up before the game and also just happened to run into each other as we were walking out of the building. Seeing the pure joy on Missy's face was so great.

The icing on the cake for me was getting home at 2:45 a.m. and going to check on Anna in her crib to see her fast asleep with her Celtics' headband on. I really couldn't think of a better way to cap one of the most memorable days of my life. Sorry Anna, but my addiction is now yours.

Pack Network gets some pub

By K.J. Cardinal

The Sports Video Group, a New York-based professional community that produces and distributes sports content, recently featured Pack Network in its exclusive SVG-U: College Sports Video Insider.

I really couldn't have captured the essence of Pack Network better even if I wrote the article myself. The article is posted below, but it can also be viewed on the SVG website here. Good stuff.

What was pretty neat too was how the article was presented in their weekly newsletter (pictured left). The Pack Network article was the third headline, just below a headline that read "ESPN, NEP Ready For College World Series." It's so cool to be featured in a publication right in line with ESPN...kind of unreal, actually.

We have a bunch of cool new potential projects that we're trying to work out the details for the 2008-09 season, so we think year two is going to be even more successful than year one. The best part of the first year of Pack Network has been that I've been able to move the business along while also taking care of Anna and even managing to do this blog.

Anyway, here's the story...

Pack Network Helps Non-Techies Stream College Sports
By Carolyn Braff

At many mid-major colleges, the barrier keeping the athletic department from riding the streaming wave is simply learning to use the necessary equipment. For those schools located in the northeast, the one-year-old Pack Network provides a flexible, affordable lifeboat.

K.J. Cardinal and Adam Polgreen devised the Pack Network two years ago, while working as sports information directors at their alma mater, Northeastern University.

“We wanted Northeastern to be our guinea pig on the streaming stuff,” Cardinal explains. “They enabled us to test out a lot of different things and gave us some legitimacy.”

When Cardinal became the assistant commissioner of the America East Conference, Polgreen moved into Northeastern’s web services division and began testing the equipment the two had been discussing. One year later, Northeastern was the Pack Network’s first client.

Neither Cardinal nor Polgreen has any broadcast training, but that is the idea behind their business model.

“We don’t have any traditional television equipment and we only have about $30,000 worth of gear,” Cardinal explains. “From working in sports information, we’re used to not having budgets, so we figured out how to do it on the cheap.”

The Pack Network’s webcast system – the PackCast – is designed so that any member of the sports information office can learn, in about two hours, how to produce and stream a four-camera broadcast.

“You don’t need a $15,000 camera to do web production,” Cardinal explains. “We’ve found the necessary expensive pieces to purchase and we can set up all of our equipment in three spots on press row.”

For character generation, for example, the PackCast pulls pre-made graphics straight from Adobe Photoshop.

“The graphic element is done in advance and then the text is done live during the game,” Cardinal explains. “We’re using programs that people can go out and purchase on their own, but the general person isn’t going to be able to set up our exact system, so we package everything together.”

For the Pack Network, however, teaching clients how to use the equipment is just as important as selling it. As former Sports Information Directors (SIDs), Cardinal and Polgreen both know how overworked their clients can be, so they have trained students, graduate assistants and other staff members at Northeastern, University of New Hampshire and University of Maryland Baltimore Country how to set up the PackCast equipment and produce a game.

“I can sit down with someone and I can guarantee that you can do a four-camera production,” Cardinal says. “But to take it to the next level, you have to have somebody who’s a specialist. For the higher-quality productions, if you really want multiple angles, replays, stats and graphics, Adam and I are both going to the game as the producer and director.”

In addition to consulting and producing, the Pack Network has its own server that can handle Web streams for up to 100 people. Because so many of the nation’s universities are locked into streaming contracts with their web content providers, demand for the Pack server is low, making the 100-person limit the perfect size for events like May’s Northeast Conference softball tournament.

The Pack Network celebrated its one-year anniversary on June 1 and in its first 12 months, the company’s top two clients streamed nearly 200 events, ranging from hockey games at state-of-the-art arenas to crew races on the Charles River.

The productions ranged in price from $3,000 to $600 per event. By comparison, a traditional television broadcast for a mid-major conference costs upwards of $25,000, so Cardinal sells his clients on the advantages of making 10 times as many events available, at comparable quality, for the same price point.

“If only 500 people are going to watch your women’s basketball game on TV anyway, why not pay us a tenth of that price for the production?” Cardinal explains. “It will be available live online, so anybody in the world can watch it, which eliminates the trouble of getting television clearances. You can also provide an archive, so your impact is far greater.”

The Pack Network relies on flexibility and affordability to build custom streaming solutions for the mid-major market, and that combination has produced a highly successful first year in business.

“People don’t expect good production quality from streaming video yet, but they should,” Cardinal says. “Next year people will start saying, we need to make this a better production, and that’s where we can help. We’ve been busier in year one than we probably even wanted to be.”

The key fit

By K.J. Cardinal

Anna really hit the nail on the head with her key to yesterday's Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and the Lakers. Defense and depth were huge factors in the amazing come-from-behind victory, but she admits there was another "D" that she may have overlooked.

Doc.

Yesterday I wrote "I know I have been ultra-critical of Doc all season long, knocking his annoying 12-man rotation, but that could actually bail the Celts out as they try to fight through these bumps in the road."

Well, not only was the depth huge because of Doc's deep rotation, but he also pushed all the right buttons last night.

Don't get me wrong, I love Rondo more than the next guy (I even have a Rondo jersey t-shirt), but Doc did the right thing by sitting him and giving Eddie House (not Cassell) a lot of minutes. Eddie helped spaced the floor and hit some big shots in the second half.

Doc also did well managing KG's foul trouble, spelling him with just enough Leon Powe to keep the C's in the game, and going "small" with a line up of House, Allen, Pierce, Posey and KG proved to be a winning combination.

The first half was a disaster all around and I won't even get into that, but the team came out with such defensive intensity for the second half. It was remarkable.

I am so happy for Pierce. He stepped up at the half and said, "I want Kobe." Who does that? Who wants to defend the best player in the league? Especially when you're down by 20+ points on the road. I mean, nothing good could come of that, right? Wrong.

Pierce hiked his shorts up and buckled down to play some good old fashioned defense. It was really quite a sight. I think just the message he sent to Doc and the rest of the team at the half was probably the turning point of the game. The fact that Pierce didn't have any quit in him and knew that the only way to get back in the game was on the defensive end was very impressive. He's come such a long way.

An attitude like that is why I loved Antoine so much. He was a leader. Sure those teams weren't very good, but Antoine always said and did the right things when it came to leading his ball club. Pierce was always the guy behind the guy.

Paul seemed to hate to take charge, which is why the C's struggled after Antoine left. It wasn't because Toine was a Hall of Fame caliber player by any means, but it just exposed Pierce's weakness of being a poor leader. Well, that all changed last night.

Selfless acts like volunteering to defend the best player in the league is what Celtic legends are made of. With one more win, Paul will solidify himself with some BIG names. Russell, Bird, Cousy, Havlicek and Pierce?! That's what I think one more win would do for Paul. Amazing.

I can't believe MY BOSTON CELTICS are one win away from a title. It's insane. I know this is "The Cardinal Blog" and is supposed to be about my family, but the Celtics have always been and will always be a big part of my family.

Don't believe me? You're crazy. About 10 minutes following last night's game, my Dad called me and said "I just wanted you to know that I'm still awake! I told Mom after the first quarter, I'm staying up for this one because they're gonna win this game!"

It was the perfect way to cap an amazing night. One more baby. BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!

Anna's key to Game 4

By K.J. Cardinal

Anna has been busy breaking down film since the Celtics' Tuesday night Game 3 loss to the Lakers and her key to tonight's game is D.

"D" doesn't only mean defense, even though she recognizes that defense wins championships, but D also stands for depth.

With Pierce's knee still a little sore, Perk's ankle a mess and Rondo a game-time decision (ankle), the Celtics' depth tonight could be huge.

I know I have been ultra-critical of Doc all season long, knocking his annoying 12-man rotation, but that could actually bail the Celts out as they try to fight through these bumps in the road.

By saying that, however, I don't mean that Cassell should ever see the floor. Rather, I think that guys like Eddie House, PJ Brown and Leon Powe need to step up tonight.

Pierce and KG aren't going to play as poorly as they did in Game 3 and Ray Ray has gone from dog house to penthouse as he's been the only consistent player in the Finals. So, I expect big things from the Big 3.

If the Celts can succeed in Anna's "D" keys tonight, Defense and Depth, then it could mean Disaster for the Lakers. BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!

When blogs collide

By K.J. Cardinal

With the rivalry of all rivalries taking place on the West Coast tonight in Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers, two titans of the blogosphere met in Natick on Tuesday morning in a match-up for the ages as well.

The Cardinal Blog duo of myself and Anna had a "play date" with the CricketSam.com "Big 3" of daddy Steve and three-year-old twins Cricket and Samantha.

No, Cricket and Samantha didn't treat Anna to a Kevin McHale on Kurt Rambis clothesline or anything, actually the trio of hit it off admirably. It was more reminiscent of Larry Bird Night when Magic took to the stage donning a Celtics T-shirt under his Laker warm-ups. Joyful admiration all around.

Anyway, Cricket and Sam were gracious enough to share their toys with Anna and Anna was foaming at the mouth with jealousy as the girls chased each other around the house. Just like at Meme & Papa's house, Anna also took kindly to the ceiling fans...definitely a big hit.

After playing at the house for more than an hour, the "play date" changed venues as we headed to Boloco in Natick for a quick lunch. Anna isn't quite ready for a burrito just yet, so she opted for the tasty Enfamil Lipil with Iron.

Despite the sweltering heat, it was great to finally meet the Lemon twins. Steve's parenting tactics of beating his kids incessantly is an interesting one, but it appears to be working fantastically as the girls have impeccable manners and give great hugs.

It was the first of many hopeful play dates in the future, so let's just hope the blogging world can handle the impact of such momentous occasions.

Pub Crawl success

By K.J. Cardinal
The 1st Annual TBG Pub Crawl, held on Saturday, June 7, successfully raised over $600 for the Ted Everidge Memorial Fund.

Over 30 people attended the one-day, seven-bar event, while others that could not make the crawl also contributed to the cause. Check out the full photo gallery of the day's events below.

A special thanks to all for their generous contributions. It was a great day as we were able to raise money for a great cause and remember a great man.

If you couldn't make the pub crawl but would like to purchase the official shirt of the inaugural event, a limited number are still available. T-shirts cost $30/each and can be purchased by sending a check payable to "K.J. Cardinal" to:

K.J. Cardinal
27 Gerry Drive
Hudson, MA 01749

Additional proceeds from the remaining T-shirts will also benefit the Ted Everidge Memorial Fund.

YESSSSSS!

By K.J. Cardinal

Sweet Jesus! Was that a game or what?

I don't think I could've asked for anything more on what turned out to be a PERFECT night. Definitely one of the top 10 moments in my life...maybe even top five.

My dad got down to my house around 3:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon. We enjoyed a few beers and watched the final six plays of the "Larry Bird's 50 Greatest Moments". It was a good way to get us geared up for the game.

We then headed into the city nice and early to take in the scene and, of course, have dinner at The Fours. We got a great parking spot and motored directly over to the Pro Shop to buy some Finals swag.

I had to go with the classic "Beat LA" T-shirt, while my dad opted for a "Beat LA" hat. With our new gear, we then made our way over to The Fours.

After dinner we went over to DJs at the Garden where Jamie and Moody would meet up with us. When we walked into DJs they were handing out raffle tickets for two tickets to the game. When the bouncer handed me my ticket as I was walking in, I turned around to let him and my dad know that the last two numbers on my ticket were none other than 86!

Of course I thought this was an omen and that we were destined to win the tickets. When Jamie and Moody showed up, my dad and I gave them our raffle tickets so they could increase their odds of winning the tickets since they didn't have any.

We participated in some Celtics trivia and then they pulled the raffle ticket. The tickets had six or seven digits and like usual they were dramatic in calling the numbers...taking forever in between each number. It was something like 4-1-6-1-8...

When we got to that point, we had a 20% chance of winning the tickets because I had 86 and my dad had 87. Then, they called.........5. Damn! We were one freaking number off from winning two tickets to the game. I can't even explain how pumped up we were. Even though they didn't get the tickets, it definitely got our adrenaline going and with that we headed over to the Garden.

Before we went in though, we had to stop for a photo op at the HUGE Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy (see above and right). It might look kind of corny, but it was actually pretty cool.

As we walked in the building, you could already hear the "BEAT LA!" chants. The place was electric from the jump and I knew we were in for a treat.

James Taylor sang an awesome acoustic rendition of the National Anthem (pictured left). I felt that having JT sing the anthem was a good sign because he also sang the anthem at Game 2 of the World Series game that I went to back in October, which the Sox won.

The Celtics intro and lineups had such a party feel to them and like usual included pyrotechnics. It's not the best quality video in the world, but I wanted to capture the scene of the intros and whatnot, so at the bottom of this post is an uncut clip of the whole thing. Pretty cool...I apologize for screaming like a school girl at times, but I couldn't contain myself.

I could probably write 5,000 words on the game itself, but I'm just going to assume that everyone watched it...and if not, please refrain from reading my blog in the future. I will note a few key plays and moments though...

- Pierce did his best Willis Reed impression. When he went down, no one in the building really knew how bad he was injured. They didn't show a replay and we didn't see him get carried off the court either. But, right after the play I got text messages from a few friends saying it didn't look good. Without having seen the play though, I just said, "He's fine" and I'm so thankful that ended up being the case. When he came running out of the tunnel, the place went nuts...it was awesome.

- I know the entire fourth quarter was really close and there were some big plays, but I think two of the biggest plays happened with about a minute to go in the third when Pierce nailed back-to-back threes on consecutive possessions.

- Does Eddie House's son go to school? A game ending at midnight has to be past his bedtime, right?

- Garnett had two HUGE plays. One was when he saved the ball from being a backcourt violation, which led to a Sam Cassell (I think) jumper. The other big play yielded the loudest, craziest scene that I've ever been a part of at a sporting event and that was his follow dunk. Good lord was that sick. Not only was it one of the most powerful dunks and athletic plays I've ever seen, but it was the nail in the coffin. It made it a three possession game with just over a minute to go. The only thing I can compare it to was in 2004 when I was at Game 3 of the Red Sox Division Series versus the Angels and Big Papi hit a walk-off homer to sweep the series. Definitely worth the price of admission.

- The Larry O'Brien trophy floor logo is absurd. Red is rolling over in his grave.

- I don't think I've ever hated a Celtic as much as I hate Sam Cassell. Why on earth he played 13 minutes and took nine shots is beyond me. The most maddening play of the night though was when he actually had an open look with the shot clock winding down, but hesitated and then opted to make an extra pass as the shot clock expired.

- PJ Brown is awesome. I can't believe how much of a key factor he's been in the playoffs. He just does the little things right without doing anything wrong. He's the anti-Cassell.

- Phil Jackson is an idiot for not fouling right away at the end of the game. The Celtics would've won anyway, but when it's a three possession game and the C's have the ball with under a minute to play, he's got to foul. I'm sure Red was looking down with a smile on his face then.

What a night. Thanks so much for going with me Dad. I know you had to get up around 3:45 this morning to go to work, but I hope you think it was worth it. A dream come true type of night and now the C's are three wins away from a title. I can't believe it!

BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!

Anna's milestone overshadowed by NBA Finals

By K.J. Cardinal

I know that I might be conceding the "Father of the Year" award with this statement, but even though today is Anna's eight-month birthday, all I can really think about is tonight's Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

I'd like to think it's because I'm taking my dad to the game tonight and we're both fired up, but truth be told the Celtics in the playoffs seems to take precedence over EVERYTHING in my life...even Anna?!? So much of my life has changed with the birth of Anna, but my obsessive compulsive behavior surrounding the C's in the playoffs apparently will never subside.

As you've witnessed right here on The Cardinal Blog over the past month and change, Anna has gotten the playoff bug too. It all started with the awesome Celts sweat suit from Ben & Lynsey and included photo shoots with Red & Larry Legend's sneakers as well as getting creative with her floor mat. I'm glad that she's been able to get into the spirit of the playoffs too...God only knows what I'd have to do with her if she wasn't into it.

Luckily for Anna, over the past week she has been able to become a model student in the subject of the greatest rivalry in NBA history. Her daily routine of watching her favorite cartoon "Super Why" has taken a back seat to NBATV, ESPN Classic and any other station that's carrying anything Celtics related.

She actually witnessed "Daddy's" curse-laden tirade at the DVR yesterday when his 60-minute recording of "Larry Bird's 50 Greatest Moments" was pre-empted by 40 minutes of an overtime WNBA game. Good lord was I fired up. If she could talk, I'm sure she would've asked Mommy, "Why's David Stern an a*shole?!"

Anyway, no need to worry Meme, I'm still feeding Anna and changing her diapers and whatnot. It's just that my mind is 100% preoccupied with the NBA Finals. I'm sure my Dad's in the same boat...especially since I called him this morning to tell him that James Taylor is singing the National Anthem tonight.

It'll be the perfect way to start a night that I've always dreamed of. I know I'm a total sports junkie, so it says a lot when I say that seeing the Celtics in person in the NBA Finals is #1 on my sports wish list. So, tonight a dream comes true for me...now let's just pray the C's can get it done.

By the way, Happy Birthday Anna...and BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!

Anna shows playoff spirit

By K.J. Cardinal

Anna once again let her playoff spirit shine through on Monday afternoon, this time by getting creative with her new alphabet floor mat.


As you can see, she wrote "BEAT LA" and "GO C'S" with her letters. She also managed to throw in my name, the #17, #34 and the #5 (which she's sitting on). If you don't know the significance of those three numbers for the Celtics, then you're an idiot.

Like Anna says, "BEAT L.A.!" I can't wait for Thursday!

Andrew's birthday bash

By K.J. Cardinal

On Saturday, we all got to celebrate Andrew's second birthday with him at a full-out birthday bash at Tiffany and Pete's.

The weather wasn't so great, but that didn't stop the packed house from having a good time under the tents. Here are some of the highlights...

- Auntie Sheila made one of her famous cakes for Andrew (as aforementioned right here on The Cardinal Blog back in March) and it was awesome. The picture at right doesn't do it justice, but it was a guitar cake and the strings were made of spaghetti. It was great...and of course yellow...Andrew's favorite color.

- Andrew got a ton of gifts...so many in fact that he actually had to stop for snack breaks in the middle. He cracks me up.

- Another "highlight" of the party for the kids was the balloon lady. She made balloon animals for the kids. She was quite a piece of work and provided a bit of unintentional comedy for the adults.

- Three-year-old Ben Lauze, Jon & Nikoll Lauze's son, is a riot. At one point during the party, he stood on his chair playing a guitar made by the balloon lady and serenaded us with his lovely version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. I wish I would've caught that on the camcorder...it was priceless.

- At the party, I asked my Dad if he wanted to go to Game 1 of the NBA Finals with me on Thursday night and he said "YES!" I was a little nervous that he wouldn't want to go because the game starts at 9 p.m. and he has to get up early on Friday morning to work, but he jumped at the opportunity to go to a Finals game. I'm psyched that I finally get to hook him up with a ticket to the C's after years of him taking care of me. Let's hope they win!

After the party, Angie, Anna and I made our way over to the Rochester Manor to visit my grandfather. He seemed to be doing really great. I dropped off a Pack Network polo shirt for him and that really made his day too.

Also of note, on Saturday morning Anna's food experimentation continued...this time with scrambled egg yolks. Apparently egg whites have a lot of bacteria in them, so she can only eat the yolks. She was more interested in squishing them between her fingers than eating them though.

On Sunday, my Dad and I managed to hit the links for 18 holes at Farmington. My Christmas gift of a membership at FCC has proven to be a huge hit. He's addicted to golf now!

Corey graduates, Anna turns into Devil

By K.J. Cardinal

Earlier tonight Angie, Anna and I made the trek out to UMass for Corey's (Angie's brother) Ludlow High School graduation ceremony.

Corey and his cousin Vanessa (both pictured at right) were the big draws for the Malaquias-Dias clan, which is always quite an entourage. The ceremony was descent. Pretty short and sweet, so I liked it.

Anna is in the process of cutting her top teeth, so she's been uncharacteristically cranky at times lately. Usually only for an hour or so a day, but that's still an hour more than usually.

So naturally I was a little unsure of whether or not it would be a good idea to drive her an hour and a half to sit in the stands at a graduation ceremony, but as always she was awesome.

She handled it like a champion. Between all the clapping, hooting and hollering and even a few air horns here and there, she just inquisitively looked around, but was really unphased by it all.

I was acting as photographer following the ceremony and I managed to capture this photo of Anna with Ang, Vanessa and Lisette where it appears that Anna is turning into the Devil. I usually correct the red eye in all photos that I post on the blog, but I had to leave Anna's eyes red in this shot just to accentuate the devilish details.

Anyway, after the graduation we bolted back home so I could catch the end of the Celtics game. When we walked in the door the C's were down by 10 at the start of the fourth quarter. The minute I turned it on, they went a 19-4 run to put the game away.

The Boston Celtics are going to the NBA Finals!!! I am beyond excited about this and will probably dedicate a few more posts to my team over the next few weeks.

Well, I'm sure I'll have some great posts following this weekend's festivities as tomorrow is Andrew's second birthday! Should be fun.

The Cardinal Vault XVI: Lovebirds

By K.J. Cardinal

The 16th entry into the Cardinal Vault commemorates my parent's 27th wedding anniversary, which is today. Happy Anniversary!

Pictured below, the two lovebirds are nuzzling at what I believe is Grand View Camping Area in Rochester, N.H. My Meme and Grandpa (my mom's parents) camped at Grand View during my childhood and since that's their camper, I can only surmise it's there.

In unrelated news, when I was in high school I got banned for life from Grand View...becoming the third family member to get the heave-ho for life. My Uncle Doug and cousin Jeff also got the boot at one time...but I digress.


My absolute favorite thing about this photo has to be my Dad's shorts. I believe the correct term for those, which is also a Kimism, is "nuthuggers." I am also digging the white on white by Kim the elder...what a pimp.

Seriously though, Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad. You guys are the best parents, friends and grandparents that I could ever ask for. Thanks for being you!

Anna eats (uncut)

By K.J. Cardinal

Anna continues her development...most noticeably in the eating department.

With her two bottom teeth growing like weeds, she is now able to eat real cereal. She really loves the Oat O's that we got her. Take a look at the two-minute uncut video below to get a glimpse at her eating habits, her clapping ability and just her general cuteness. Enjoy!

Andrew turns 2

By Tiffany George

The cutest kid in the Universe turned 2 years old today. It's hard for me to think about him being two without getting teary-eyed. It seems like just yesterday he was into eating Little People and afraid of walking on grass. These past two years have been extraordinary for Pete and I, and today was no exception.

While I would have liked to have provided an hour-by-hour, blow-by-blow account of the day much as KJ did with the NCAA tourney, you'll have to settle for the highlights.


As you may know, Andrew absolutely loves stars, an obsession that started one day when Grammy taught him this incredible shape. Since then, he has an eagle-eye for spotting stars, whether it's on the Macy's sign at the mall or on the Tivo Now Playing list. I felt that it was fitting to make today all about our little star, so I made him star-shaped pancakes for breakfast and star-shaped grilled cheese for lunch. I am about to embark on a piece of star-shaped meatloaf for dinner...stay tuned for how that goes! As you can see, the little cutie enjoyed his sandwich!!


Today was all about Andrew, so we spent most of the day hanging out. Daddy gets to work from home today and he put in a bunch of hours yesterday, so he got to spend Andrew's waking hours with us too! Andrew's first present of the day was his bike, which he loves. The cutest story of the day was when I was trying to teach him how to ride the bike. He puts his feet on the pedals just fine, but isn't quite sure how and when to push his feet. I was using my hand to push on his right foot, then his left, saying "push with this foot, now this foot" etc. He surely understood what I was doing, as he bent down to push his feet with his own hand too. It was adorable.

In addition to the bike, we got him a collapsible orange cone. He is obsessed with touching the cones around the construction sites when we go for walks, so this was a big hit. Though the cone came collapsed, he figured out how to expand it all on his own.

He hasn't yet opened all of his presents from us as we figured we'd save some for post-nap fun. He did get to play with his Craftsman toolbench too, which will provide endless hours of entertainment.

The cutie is waking from his nearly 4 hour nap, so I must run.

Meme & Papa we hope that after your VERY long day of work today that this blog brings a smile to your faces! See you tomorrow.

Memorable Memorial Day weekend

By K.J. Cardinal

Another week, another great weekend.

On Wednesday afternoon, I left to go to Atlantic City for the 2008 NEC Baseball Championship with Adam and Norm. Other than getting a camera stolen, we had a great time down in AC.

We produced PackCasts for seven games and did several things that we had never done before. All in all a good week, but the drive home on Saturday night seemed to take forever as I didn't get home until around 1 a.m.

I got to sleep in a little on Sunday morning and then we were off to Ludlow to celebrate JuJu's third birthday. Lisa & Ray threw the party at their house and it was a lot of fun. Lots of kids, sun and beer, so it's a no-brainer of a good time in my book.

With such a busy winter and spring for Pack Network, I can't even remember the last time I was able to make it out to Ludlow to see everyone. All is well, but the biggest difference was how big Kassie's getting.

As you can see above, Kassie really loves "Baby Anna." She reminds me of Andrew so much with her because she's really gentle and sweet and loves to rub her hands. She's so great.

The Atlantic City trip, coupled with a day of drinking beers in the sun, definitely took its toll on me. The picture to the left is from the second nap of the day that I took with Anna...this one around the fire pit.

Yesterday morning we woke up and headed to the Ludlow Memorial Day Parade. It's somewhat of a Malaquias rite of passage and I can't believe that I have never been to it before. I guess that's because for Memorial Day I'm always at some college baseball tournament and never able to make it back in time.

Anyway, it was a momentus day for Anna as it was her first parade. She loved being outdoors, but didn't offer up much reaction to anything that passed by...dancers, marching band, ATVs, a really loud cannon, etc.

After the parade we made our way back to Angie's parent's house for a BBQ. We blew up Anna's small inflatable pool for Anna to play in with Kassie and JuJu.

The water from the hose must have been too cold for Anna because she wasn't too into it, which is unlikely because she loves the water. So, we just took her out and set her on the grass and she had a good old time just picking at the blades of grass and watching JuJu and Kassie have a blast in the water.

We got home late yesterday afternoon and I still feel tired from last week's trip to AC. Working 18 hour days and only getting three hours of sleep a night for four straight days was rough.

A VERY busy winter and spring should make way for a more enjoyable summer, which in turn should mean more blogging. So, hopefully these once a week posts will turn into three or four a week...gotta keep Meme happy :)

Fun at 12 Dodge

By Tiffany George

Both of my cuties are taking a nap, so I thought I would take this opportunity to catch up on the blog.

Natalie turned 5 weeks old on Sunday and we really can't understand where the time has gone. She is growing like a weed and is already somewhere over 12 pounds. Her vision has greatly improved, which I think has brought her much more happiness. She had her best day this morning when we went to a play date for Andrew. She was awake, alert, and happily looking around for well over an hour. Previously she would only remain happy for maybe 5-10 minutes without fussing. This new turn of events is quite fun. She enjoys looking at her little lion hanging from her car seat, or at any other brightly colored object dangled near her face.

She is starting to smile more now and likes to smile at Mommy's voice or at Daddy when he comes home from work. She also started to make those sweet little baby coos that melt my heart. Each sound is so short, but oh so adorable.

She seems the most content when she has a sponge bath or when she just hangs out on her changing table without her diaper on. She also enjoys riding in the car which is a pleasant surprise after surviving a tumultuous year and a half with Andrew screaming in the car.

Andrew still absolutely adores his baby sister. He still loves to kiss her constantly. Every time she cries he says "sad, sad" and runs over to give her a kiss to try to make her better. Since he can't reach her in the van, he continually blows kisses in her direction. In addition to kisses, he also loves to give her gentle rubbies on her body, and he just started holding her hand. It is absolutely precious.

On Sunday we went to Elf's Greenhouse to look for some shrubs for the front of the house. We picked this place because we knew we could walk around the gardens, something Andrew would enjoy. We were thrilled to discover that they also have chickens, roosters, ducks, and alpacas to admire. We parked Andrew in the stroller near the chickens while we embarked on the "boring" task of selecting plants. He loved it, as you can see in the photos.


Here is Andrew waving to the chickens.


And here he is just smiling away at his feathered friends.

What a weekend

By K.J. Cardinal

Wow, I need a nap.

Angie, Anna and I had one of the best weekends in recent memory. Pack Network has had such a busy spring championship season that I haven't had much free time on the weekends to hang out with the girls.

Well, this past weekend I only had to work on Sunday morning, so that left Saturday for the three of us to venture into the city. It was a beautiful day and the city was hopping with college graduations, a Sox doubleheader and the Celts on Sunday.

We started off the day by waiting in line to get tickets for Sunday's Game 7 between the Celtics and Cavs. I could write a 4,000-word post on this experience in itself and how poorly the Garden ticket office handled the whole ordeal, which some of you may have seen on the news, but I won't digress there. Bottomline is we only had to wait in line for an hour and a half to score two tickets in Loge 17. Needless to say, I was fired up to score some seats for one of the biggest games in recent memory...I'll have more on this later.

After we avoided a near riot getting the tickets, we headed to Faneuil Hall. Due to an Intel power outage on Saturday morning, Angie had a little work to do, so we got a table outside at the Salty Dog and settled in for a while.

Anna really loved just sitting in the shade and people watching. She was in such a great mood, sitting in her stroller smiling at everyone...at one point when we walked past a homeless man he called her "Smiley"...I can't make this stuff up.

The Salty Dog was great. Someday when Adam and I sell Pack Network for millions of dollars, I am going to eat oysters everyday...that and wear a brand new pair of socks everyday too. There's nothing quite like putting on a brand new pair of socks, is there?

Anyway, after The Salty Dog we walked around a little more and eventually made our way to Tia's on the Waterfront for a little dessert. Ang and I split a piece of cheesecake and Anna got her first taste of strawberries.

At first she had a bitter-beer-face when she touched her tongue, but she apparently loved them because she cried for a second when she dropped one on the ground. It was pretty funny.

Tia's is a great place and might be a late addition to the TBG Pub Crawl schedule.

After Tia's we just walked around the waterfront area. Anna was donning a new hat, which was super cute and she seemed to love the boats and water.

We stopped for a while and hung out by this new public water fountain right near the aquarium. This is part of the benefits of the "Big Dig"...there is now some room to create nice public areas. I'm not sure if it's worth the $25 gazillion that it cost to "complete" the Big Dig, but it's still a nice touch.

It was probably in the mid-70s and there were a handful of kiddies that were running through it and what not. I can't wait to have Anna run through it next summer, but this summer I've gotta get Andrew there!

The final stop of the day in the city was my favorite part as well. I had to get Anna's picture taken with the Red Auerbach statue and Larry Bird's bronzed sneakers.

It was a fitting follow-up to my recent entry into the Cardinal Vault. Plus, with Game 7 on the horizon, it was the only logical thing to do to cap off a great day...and of course, Anna was wearing her sweet Celtics coat too!


As you can see, Anna was rather mezmerized by Red. And, she can't quite fit into Bird's shoes just yet, but once she's up and running around I'll show her a few moves to get her closer to Larry Legend's caliber.

I obviously think that Anna's trip to visit Red and Larry's sneaks had a direct effect on the outcome of Sunday's Celtics game too. And boy, what a game it was.

Scott and I went to the game together and had a blast. I know it's hard to believe, since I'm such a diehard Celtics fan, but Sunday marked the first C's game of the season that I attended. I have been to a Celts game every year since 1985, so I HAD to keep that streak alive...especially considering the C's are making a serious run at the title.

The game was one for the ages. Pierce and Lebron did their best Bird and 'Nique impressions and thankfully Paul got the best of the 23-year-old phenom. I don't recall the last game that I went to when I was deathly afraid of what a player could do to the C's more than how frightened I was by Lebron.

If before the game you told me Lebron would score 45 points, then I would've figured the Cavs would've won easily. Thank God for The Truth...and of course P.J. Brown.

Postgame, Scott and I met up with Glenn, Cassani, Chad, Frank and Fusta. Needless to say, we celebrated with way to many adult beverages at The Harp. What a weekend.