Whew...

A belated happy new year to all and to all, may 2006 bring fulfilled promises, greater resolve and better days.

I've been here in San Jose, CA for a little over a week and I feel like I've been out of the sports world for much, much longer. Let's see what has happened over the last week+:

• Seven NFL head coaches are fired as well as Dennis Green's housecleaning of his assistants in Arizona
• A triple-overtime thriller in New York (against the Phoenix Suns) that culminated in an actual Knicks victory (and they notched up two in a row against Washington last night... amazing)
• Vince Young went OFF! Thankfully, I did get to see that.
• Hey, the Texans lost (won?) the Bush Bowl, attended by yours truly at Candlestick. By the way, it is something to see: Candlestick is surrounded by the 'hood, but the cameras have failed to show that over the years. Heck, you can't hide that when you're looking at Yankee Stadium on TV, but I guess it can be done out here.
• The Bob Weiss Era in Seattle has turned into the Bob Hill Show. Last time I checked, he got fired from Fordham University... damn, I didn't realize that there are still college basketball pressures in NYC.
• Marv Levy is back! So Mike Mularkey may not institute the old K-Gun offense of the Bills' past, but let's see how this plays out next year.
• Marcus Vick is my hero...
• Tony Dungy is a beloved man in sports, but there seems to be a conversation that no one wants to acknowledge exists. When it comes to suicide, it's not easy whether it's personal to you or public such as the Colts head coach.
• Tayshaun Prince (for those who didn't remember his Kentucky days) got game. And folks actually thought that Jared Jeffries was the better F coming out of Indiana? Not saying that Jeffries is a bum (he's not).
• My fantasy NBA team is killing me.

There are plenty more things afoot that I have missed that you may surely remind me of. There will be plenty of time for that. However, I had been itching to write something about this change of venue I've made.

After spending my entire life in New York City and Boston, with experiences in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Baltimore and other eastern spots (even going international in London back in summer of 2004), I've been trying to get a handle on this NoCal life. While one must give time for adjustments to a new locale, there are some things that I may never get used to. On my way to this library in downtown San Jose, I ran into a man donning his Boston College hockey jersey and sporting a NY Giants gym bag. Noticing the eastern connection, I figured he was as exicted as notorious jtb about the playoffs. I asked him about the adjustment. He had been here for less than a year, but he still can't get used to waking up at 10AM for a game on TV. I am still in shock that I was watching Rockets/Grizzles at 5PM the other day.

Some of you are experienced or have at least heard about the change in the sports cycle going from one coast to another. Advantage: you're not passing out before midnight to watch Monday Night Football (though with these last few years, I've been passing out after WWE Raw instead of those MNF "thrillers"). Disadvantage: after 4PM on Sunday, you need something to pass the time. Sports viewing is a full-time occupation. When you find yourself working the early shift after a whole life on what the media thinks is "normal", you feel like you need another game, another highlight or even more mindless analysis just to feel as if the entire workday has been used up.

In regards to the Bay Area itself, I find that I have watched more college sports in this week+ than I have in the last six months of 2005. Why? Because anyone who grew up outside of NYC has more roots in collegiate athletics. Though the Bay has its fair share of professional sports (except MLS in a few months with the Earthquakes moving to Houston), California is one of the biggest breeding grounds for NCAA and pro sports. It's mandatory to know who plays at what school. It would be similar to moving to Florida or Texas (or Minnesota, Wisconsin or my previous New England experience for hockey). There's much talk about the Golden State Warriors trading for Ron Artest and the Sharks with the addition of Joe Thorton, but there is a stronger conversation about USC's collapse on Wednesday. Very interesting.

I had a more organized post in mind this morning/afternoon, which is to come. Yet, I believe we all have an experience outside of our hometowns that shows how much contrast there is between cities, regions, even countries. What's yours?

Say What?!?!: There is a book I'd like to recommend that I am currently reading called Sports Inc. For those like myself who wonder how the heck the business came to be, this is a good read in learning about how it has. I have also looked to another book from John Feinstein called Next Man Up. If you've read The Punch, you know what Feinstein has been about.