For what it's Worth...: Take me out to the ball game

Thanks to Don's blog last week you are all a bit more familiar with Elgin. Don's blog did leave out one thing: SPORTS! Lucky for you, that's where I come in :)

I'll follow Don's format and give you a breakdown of all sorts of sports options.

Sports to play in Elgin:

Volleyball- On Monday nights you can head to Christ Community Church for some open gym volleyball. A group of 20-30 players gathers and we break in to four teams. I appreciate that the group is made up of some pretty competitive players and our games are usually both well played and enjoyable.

Softball- The Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren has a slow pitch softball team each spring! So far a small group of us have begun practicing at least once a week. Although I grew up playing fast pitch softball and am still working on timing a slow pitch swing, it has been great to get back into softball mode. I am enjoying getting out in some gorgeous spring weather and playing ball! Any locals interested in playing on our team should contact my buddy Don.

Tennis- Although I'm not much of a tennis player, my housemates have tried out the courts nearby our house at Wing Park. We have some racquets at the BVS house, so I am sure this spring will offer many more opportunities for some good tennis matches.

Other general exercises- In the previous blog Don mentioned the bike path, a great option for warm but breezy Chitown days. There is also a local YMCA that provides scholarships for memberships. I spent the cold of the Chicago winter inside of the toasty gym running on the elliptical and using the weight machines.

Fantasy Sports:

Football- I missed the Church of the Brethren fantasy football league, but still got to attend the annual league Bears game party. I was always happy to hear staff walking past and discussing how many points their quarterback got that week, or just how well the wide receivers from the opposite team did. A little competitive spirit makes the days pass a little quicker.

NCAA Tourney Bracket- About 15 staff members donated $5 to Global Food Crisis to submit a bracket. Our brackets were not overly successful, much like about 5 million other people who submitted brackets on ESPN. None of us picked the right final two teams, but then again very few people predicted a Butler v Uconn championship. After watching a rough championship game, Dan became our office champion!

Baseball- Although I have participated in fantasy leagues, this was my first time for baseball. The draft started out a little rough for me since I was somewhat unfamiliar with the majority of the players. However, I am really becoming a baseball fan! Thanks to some great batting averages from Buster Posey and Billy Butler and a .64 era from Tim Lincecum, my team won our first matchup! This is just week one though, and I've got a long season to keep changing lineups and following baseball statistics.

Chicago Sports Teams:

Bears- A impressive season followed by a long playoff run bought joy to many workers in our office. Unfortunately, that excitement was cut short by the Packers. Nonetheless, there is lots to look forward to next season, and I personally became a Johnny Knox fan! Although have not been a Bears fan, it was fun to learn about the team this fall, even if I go back to cheering for the Eagles next year :) Provided that there is in fact a NFL season.

Unfortunately, I didn't take this one, but the rest are all from my camera!

Bulls- I attended my first NBA game this week! It was a great game and like normal, Derrick Rose put on a show to beat Phoenix. The Bulls just won their 60th game this season. The last six times in history that the Bulls won at least 60 games, they came home with a championship! We shall see how that goes in the upcoming weeks. I would love to watch a few more games and another Chicago playoff run. I must admit that one of my favorite things about the game was seeing Phoenix player and former Hokie Zabian Dowdell!

Zabian! I'm hoping one day he will replace Steve Nash!

Cubs- This was the only Chicago team I was a fan of prior to moving to Elgin. I was fortunate to make it to a game late last season, and the BVSers are planning on heading to another game this spring. Although the Cubs are already 2 games back, here is to hoping that the season progresses! And, since Alfonso Soriano happens to be on my fantasy team, it would be great for him to keep slugging right along. Going to Wrigley field is a great way to spend a Saturday, and we have been able to get fairly cheap tickets.

Go Cubbies!

White Sox- I will have to admit that I don't follow the Sox, or the American League for that matter, but the Sox have started the season 6-3 and are first overall in runs scored, and 3rd overall in batting average, one base percentage and slugging percentage.

A closing note: Just in case your main team plays in Virginia, there is always http://espn.go.com/espn3

Thanks to wi-fi at the BVS house, I have been able to watch almost everyone of my Hokie football and basketball games :) Since I was in Elgin, I didn't take these pics either.