BEVERLY HILLS (MI) -- Have you ever lost or misplaced an item and then months or even years later found it while looking for something else? Call it “Old-timers Disease” or whatever you like, but that’s exactly what happened to me in regards to the “old” UD Pride website. IYRC, a coupla years ago Chris got to experience firsthand the joys of a server meltdown, right around the time he was moving everything on the site to a new locale. Can you tell that I’m definitely
not the guy in charge of technology around this place?
Anyway, one of the unfortunate victims of this disaster was the UD Pride archives, or at least that’s what I thought.
Turns out I was dead wrong. While searching thru the links on John Huston’s hoops page:
http://members.aol.com/johnh86395/private/hoops.html
I discovered that the old site is still sitting out there in cyberspace, right here:
http://www.flyersports.com/
Brings back some memories, don’t it? For me, it does a lot more than that; it gives me online, linkable versions of “From the Swamp” columns from years past that I was convinced had evaporated into the ether.
I thought it would be fun to share with you my personal choices for the “From the Swamp’s Top Ten Greatest Hits” unearthed from the “old” UD Pride archives:
Number 10: From August 2004: “That’s what Dreams are made of”:
http://www.flyersports.com/cgi/coran...ZpEFZAlOELNaOJ
I still love the Woodward Dream Cruise and walked 2 miles up one side and 2 more back down the other on Woodward Avenue this past August. Every year, I catch a glimpse of a coupla automobiles that I’ve never seen before.
Number 9: From September 2004: “Rydermania”:
http://www.flyersports.com/cgi/coran...ZpEpkFCoMkgyrA
The Ryder Cup here in Detroit was a total bust for the Americans. Turns out that the practice round that Mrs. Swampy and I attended was the highlight of the week! This year’s competition at Valhalla was a lot more satisfying to watch.
Number 8: From December 2004: “The Graduate”:
http://www.flyersports.com/cgi/coran...ypFVVujLUXLead
To update, the ES graduated from Chicago Kent Law School this spring and just found out that she passed the Illinois State Bar exam. On November 7th, she’ll be sworn in and go to work as an attorney here:
http://downslaw.com/attorneys.htm#Cristen-Meadows
Number 7: From August 2006: “How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Volume V”:
http://www.flyersports.com/cgi/coran...puZEuyyWfHkNAR
In my annual ode to early morning pick-up hoops in Stone Harbor, NJ I encountered something a little bit more meaningful: life and death.
Number 6: From February 2007: “Nothing is what it Seems”:
http://www.flyersports.com/cgi/coran...ylkuFpNgnmexPX
It turns out that Christian didn’t end up ‘Googling’ his own name…but his mom did! He sent several emails criticizing me and calling me out. Sorry, kid -- I stand behind every single word in that column, because I didn’t make any of it up –- you wrote most of it yourself. I just added some color commentary.
Number 5: From April 2006 “Welcome to UD Pride”:
http://www.flyersports.com/cgi/coran...EZElypKTMksDsX
I penned this baby when we first migrated to the new website and believe it or not, drugs and alcohol were not involved in the creative process!
Number 4: From July 2006: “The Radio Station”:
http://www.flyersports.com/cgi/coran...AkAkAEWpqVMrJp
I probably got more feedback from this column than any other I wrote in my 8+ years of doing this, both from WVUD listeners and former co-workers.
Number 3: From March 2005: “The Fanatic”:
http://www.flyersports.com/cgi/coran...ZpVVVyDySOQDRB
A few years after this was published, I got an email from Weisberg’s widow Patti, probably the most rewarding piece of feedback that I have ever received on something that I have written.
Number 2: From November 2004: “RSN”:
http://www.flyersports.com/cgi/coran...yAAVEuEDMZvtbs
This one still means a lot to me. My Dad is not computer-literate at all, so he didn’t even know that I write a blog. When I sent him a copy of this column he was deeply moved. The Sox won it again in 2007 and by beating the LAAA they’ve taken the first step to repeat this year, but 2004 will always be special.
Number 1: From May 2006: “Peterson Park”:
http://www.flyersports.com/cgi/coran...VVFVyyCSXvKwbG
This one just kinda brings my whole involvement in writing around full circle, don’t you think?
So, there you have it: the “From the Swamp Top Ten Greatest Hits.” You might notice that there isn’t a whole helluva lot of basketball content in many of these efforts. That’s probably because most of my hoops-only columns tend to be more ‘in the moment’ and to me, they just don’t stand up years later, taken out of context, like these ten do.
But, then again, what the hell do I know?
That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at:
swampy@udpride.com