My mother's husband's sister's son Maurico.

Have I ever shared that my mother's nephew (by marriage) is a spectacular amateur golfer?  We were in Puerto Rico this past week.  

From Puerto Rico -October 2008

I had assumed that he was no longer playing competitively, however while hanging out at his parents house, his father Oscar let us know that Maurico had been doing well in the World Amateur Championships.  Here is the update below.

USA clings to two shot lead

The USA, bolstered by matching 5-under-par 68s from Rickie Fowler and Jamie Lovemark, opened up a two-stroke lead over Scotland at 10-under-par 136 in the first round of the 2008 World Amateur Team Championship.  Playing at the par-73 Royal Adelaide Golf  Club, the Americans capitalized on optimal scoring conditions.

“We are off to a good start. All three played well,” USA captain Walter Driver said of his team. “Conditions were benign here at Royal Adelaide.

"Until we play both courses, it’s hard to tell exactly where you stack up against the field.”

Fowler, the American collegiate player of the year in 2008, made five birdies in his first nine holes and finished with seven against two bogeys. Lovemark, who won the American collegiate title in 2007, carded an eagle, four birdies and one bogey. Billy Horschel’s 1-under 72 did not count for the USA.

Mauricio Muniz of Puerto Rico shot the lowest round of the day, an 8-under 64, at The Grange’s West Course to pace his team into third place at 137. His score was one stroke shy of the championship record of 63 by Jason Dawes of Australia in 1994 and just the fourth 64 on record.

“I think I got the speed of the greens just right,” Muniz said. “I was reading the putts. The key was the speed of the greens. They are a lot faster than in Puerto Rico. Once I got comfortable with the speed, the putts started falling in.”

Trailing Puerto Rico were France and Wales tied for fourth, New Zealand and South Africa tied for sixth, Sweden in eighth and England, Korea, defending champion Netherlands and Spain tied for ninth.

In the World Amateur, the team’s two best individual scores count.

# 17 and random thoughts

I am happy to report that after 22 years, the Celtics have renewed their dominance of the NBA. I was eight years old in '86... and have vivid memories of that year. Much like this past 12 months, the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox had appearances in the Finals, Superbowl and World Series. This time around does feel a little different... as it feels like all of 3 of these teams had a legitimate shot at winning before the season even began. In '86, the Celtics were the only pre-season favorite of the Boston teams. The Red Sox had an improbably win over the Angles (Thanks Dave Henderson)... and the Patriots had to "Squish the Fish" (Thanks Tony Eason... I think....)
So, it could be that I'm no longer 8 years old... or that the teams were expected to win... but I do feel more of a sense of relief than a sense of total jubilation.

By the way... was anyone else surprised by the dramatic interview with Kevin Garnett with Michelle Tafoya after the game. KG was euphoric... and incomprehensible. All of us watching were wishing that they would just let the guy run around the court hugging people instead being forced to answer ridiculous questions like, "How does it feel to be a champion?" Despite that... I was a little embarrassed for KG's Oscar winning responses and "shout-outs". Of the "Big 3" it was a sliding scale of drama... with KG at the top, Paul Peirce in the middle and Ray Allen on the low end by taking it all in stride.

Anyway... enough random thoughts for now... Congrats to all the Celtic faithful!

Cuban

I was back at the Boston Garden last night, but this time to see the 1st place Celtics.



I'm on an incredible run the past week with a luxery box for the Bruins and Celtics tickets that were only about 15 rows behind Mavs owner Mark Cuban.






It was a back and forth battle with the Celtics and Mavs trading baskets and momentum through out the game. In the end, Rajon Rando made some incredible plays to compliment great performances from Allen and Pierce to complete a 96 to 90 victory over a tough Western Conference opponent.

Cousin's Wife's Sister's Husband

So... as I mentioned last night.... I was at the Bruins vs. Islanders hockey game last night. The Bruins took control of the game in the first period jumping out to a 2-0 lead, which eventually became a pretty easy 4-1 victory. I normally get to cheer a little louder for my home town team, however last night I was watching the game with the family of the captain of the visiting team, Billy Guerin of the New York Islanders. As you can see by clicking on the link to Billy's stats, he's had a remarkable NHL career that has earned respect around the league.

We had incredible seats at 'mid-ice' in a luxury box provided to the Guerin family.

After the game we went down and said "Hi" to Billy. He took time to shake hands with all of us, despite the fact that there were about 35 to 50 people there just to meet him. He also spent time with his mother and brother and a few buddies there to see him.

There were so many people there that all I had time to say was a short greeting, "Hi, I'm Jason". Though I'm positive he's not thinking about it now, he seemed a little confused about who I was... and why was I hanging out with his family. I had intended on giving Billy a longer explanation of my presence, "Hi, I'm your cousin's wife's sister's husband, Jason DeStratis". For everybody else that means that, Erin's (my wife) sister Kelly, married Chris, who is Billy's cousin.

So... Billy, if you read this, it was a pleasure meeting you. I had an amazing seat and a great time hanging out with your family.

What Can Brown Do For You?

Sports has a way of captivating me. I think it's because, deep down, I feel like I should be out there making contact for the hit and run, driving the lane for a lay-up and the foul, or chasing down the receiver for the open field tackle. Its a perspective many of us sports lovers develop as young kids, watching our favorite players and then trying to emulate their moves in the back yard. Some may say its a waste of time to spend any effort imagining yourself as a pro athlete, but I'm all for it.

So, since I'm admitting that I often picture myself out on the field/court, you should know what kind of player I am. I tend to think of myself as a quick, "not so tall" but very dependable player (I figure, I should try to be as realistic as possible in this fantasy and since 5'9" is not very tall in the pro sports world, I've learned to live with being vertically challenged). I'm positive that I would know the plays inside and out and use my "head" to give me an advantage with the more athletically skilled opponents. And you can bet that I'll be the guy hustling on and off the field/court, playing hurt, and give answers to the press like, "I just go out and play because I love the game". I'll let the plays do the talking for me and I'll shake hands when the game is over. I'll be the player that I pictured myself to be when I was 12 years old.

Not everybody wants to be that player, but a lot of you (if you're willing to admit it) would choose a similar player profile. The reality is that we (like millions of others) will never reach the level of professional athletics. But does that mean that we can't still have hope? No hope sounds pretty harsh, but its true (unless your that guy from the movie The Rookie). Instead, we tend to choose real players the closely resemble the player profile we imagine our "athletic" selves to be. Rajon Raldo, Dustin Pedroia, and Wes Welker are all current players that come to mind for me.

But for 15 years, one guy has been the model player profile for so many in New England. Troy Brown. Last night, he probably played his last game in front Foxborough and received a hero's welcome. I was happy for him, but it also helped confirm to me that I'm not the only one who imagines themselves on the field...

Click Here to read about Troy's efforts in front of the home crowd.

21

As a 6 year old kid growing up in Worcester, MA I had no idea that the guy I saw pitching on WSBK Ch. 38 was going to be pitching 24 years later. As a 6 year old kid, 24 years later seemed like a ridiculous notion... if not impossible to comprehend. All I had to know is that my grandfather, Cosmo, who happened to watch almost every Red Sox game, sat me down and told me that this guy... Number 21... really knew how to pitch. But, nobody in my grandfather's house or Fenway Park had any idea that Roger Clemens would pitch one more game at Fenway on September 16th, 2007.

One year later, in 1985 my grandfather took me to see my first Red Sox game at Fenway Park. My fan-hood of the team began to take root as I couldn't wait to see Rich Gedman, Wade Boggs, Bill Buckner, Marty Barrett, Spike Owen, Jim Rice, Tony Armous, Dwight Evens and our ace on the mound... Roger Clemens. The game of baseball revolves around the pitcher and if you don't have an ace pitcher on your team... chances are the team wasn't going to make it far. The Red Sox had that guy in Roger Clemens and as a young kid, I was attached to baseball at the hip.

Watching him year by year, striking out 20 in one game, gaining Cy Young awards, leading the AL in ERA, showing incredible consistency and rounding it all out again with another 20 strike out appearance, really made an impression on me during my formative years. Then, thirteen years into his career, I was now a freshman at Liberty University, reading about the fact that the Red Sox may not bring Roger back for another season. I knew ... we all knew ... that, except for the one dominate performance of 20 strike outs in the late summer of '96... that his career had really gone down hill. I was heart broken... the baseball hero of my childhood was finished.

Eleven years later (on Sunday night, September 16th, '07) I was sitting in Fenway Park like countless times before. But that night, I could barely contain my excitement. Not only was it a chance to for my friend Adam to see Fenway Park for the first time in his life, but it was also a Red Sox vs. Yankees match up. However, most fortunate for me was the fact that 2 weeks earlier the Red Sox and Yankees set up their rotations so that Curt Schilling would face the 45 year old Roger Clemens on that fateful night. I couldn't believe my luck at Fenway in '07... having already seen some great games, including one from the Monster Seats. But seeing my childhood hero, live and in person, walking from the bullpen in right field toward the third base dugout was truly the cherry on top of this season.

The game was one of those pitching battles you read about with both hurlers holding the batters to a few hits scattered throughout the game. Everyone around me was so impressed to see Roger's dominate performance. The chatter around us was that many felt that old Roger deserved one final ovation from the Fenway faithful. It was the bottom of the 6th inning and we all expected to see number 22 for the Yankees come out to face the Red Sox for an out or two before Joe Torre would trot out and give Mr. Clemens one last walk off the mound at Fenway... ... ... but that never happened. Roger Clemens pitched 5 great innings that night and that was it. He was done... no chance for a standing ovation... no final raise of the cap from Roger. It was jolting. One couple even got up and left the game (which remained close). It was an empty feeling... as if we, the Fenway faithful, had no connection with this man who was pitching on this night, 24 years after his debut... It was if the last 11 years never took place.

Take a look at this nicely done photo history of Roger Clemens' career from Boston.com

Read the Mitchell Report here