The last two days have been exciting for fans of the Swedish league team Hammarby IF. I proclaimed my own allegiance to “Bajen” (the common abbreviation) a few days ago in a post on this blog, along with a short description of the quasi-scientific selection process I undertook to narrow my choices down.

I know some sports aficionados would claim one can’t just pick a team to follow and be considered a true fan, but I disagree. As such, my allegiance is not borne of an accident of proximity, or because an older, respected family member steered me in that direction when I was a child. It came as a reasoned choice, made in my adult years. That has to count for something, right? Even though “reasonable” and “adult” are words seldom associated with sports fanaticism?

Continue reading “Triumph and Despair at Söderstadion” →

This has not been a good year for RSL. They had actually won two games this year prior to last week’s victory over DC United, but neither counted for their league record. So to finally get that monkey off their backs is bound to be a good thing. At 1-5-6 they are still in the basement of the league, but perhaps this is a turning point. I wouldn’t bet my house on it, but I will remain optimistic.

It’s easy to blame the horrifying season on the departure of certain key players, although that probably doesn’t tell the whole story. It didn’t help that keeper Scott Garlick decided to retire shortly before the first game, for example, but the lack of offense has been their primary problem. With that in mind, the decision to give Jason Kreis a permanent seat on the bench was a bit puzzling. This was followed by trading last year’s leading goal scorer, Jeff Cunningham.

Continue reading “Utah SportsCast Blog Episode 35 (The good parts of it)” →

I am a big fan of sports, and summer is typically a slow time of the year for me in that respect. A dedicated follower of baseball would find that an unusual comment, but I don’t particularly care for (The Sport That Was Once) America’s Pastime. I like the playoffs and the World Series, and I end up watching an inning here and there as I flip channels, but with no significant level of attention.

In the past I have tried to manufacture interest in baseball by selecting a team to follow, but none of them held my interest for longer than a few weeks. I started with the Atlanta Braves, moved on to the Boston Red Sox, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the San Diego Padres, and most recently the Washington Nationals. I had specific reasoning for each team, and I tried each one out for at least a year or two, but my interest in Major League Baseball has never existed beyond June of any season. [For the record, the Padres are the closest of any on that list to holding the personal magical status of My Team.]

Continue reading “My Fotboll Team” →

I am not really sure whether to be sorry about letting it go so long between postings, as I am probably the only person who pays any attention to this blog. I do have friends that check in once in a while (thanks, by the way!), but they have their own lives to lead and blogs to write.

But, I am sorry because I enjoy writing these posts, even if it’s just for my sake. So, without further ado, let me just jump right in and mention four things:

Continue reading “Previously on “The Lumbering Bear”…” →

The Utah Department of Transportation has been operating in the immediate area of my work for the last several months. Their primary goal has been to disperse several million cubic feet of dust in the air and create significant inconvenience for everyone within a rough mile of the intersection. That mission has been accomplished, with laurels.

Of all the things I don’t like about summer (oppressive heat, hornets, sprinkler repair) the dramatic increase of road construction and repair might just be number one. The evil masters of UDOT have entered a new phase of their diabolical scheme for the road in front of this building: they seem to be positioning themselves to complete the project, although that remains to be seen. The tyrannical rule of our street has left us uncertain as to when the siege will end.

Continue reading “Thanks a bunch, UDOT!” →

I hate to give in to my fatalistic tendencies, but I’m pretty sure the Jazz are finished in the NBA playoffs. Sure, they could win Game 5 in San Antonio (a place they haven’t won in this century) and force a Game 6 back in the Fallout Shelter, but sooner or later they will lose again to the Spurs. They just don’t have the horsepower to take three in a row from Duncan, Parker and Ginobli.

Not that any of this is a stretch to write. I am not aware of a single media person, national or local, that would seriously give the Jazz a shot at making history and coming back from their current 3-1 deficit. In fact, after the debacle of game four, every single person on ESPN seemed to find it laughable to think that San Antonio wouldn’t close things out in Game 5. I mean that literally – the anchors and commentators were laughing at the very idea. I know I am being the stereotypical small market fan by writing this, but I found it irritating and even a bit disrespectful. Ignore the breakout season and forget the playoff victories against Houston and Golden State: The Jazz have become a laughing stock.

Continue reading “Utah SportsCast Blog Episode 34 (The good parts of it)” →

The Utah Jazz are the first NBA team into the Conference Finals. Please allow me a moment to savor that.

(Savoring)

(Savoring)

(Still savoring)

Continue reading “Utah SportsCast Blog Episode 32 (The good parts of it)” →

I enjoy my time away from work, but I wouldn’t classify myself as the sort that “lives for the weekend.” It’s not that I dislike free time, but sometimes my wife and I plan weekend overnighters or fun activities that are entertaining and stimulating on many levels, but hardly relaxing. For example, we are traveling to Yellowstone National Park at the beginning of June with her mom and step-dad; and while we are really looking forward to the extended weekend, it won’t be very relaxing. We tend to be very busy on our vacations, and come home exhausted from the massive amounts of fun we’ve been having. My weekends are often a lot like that. We have so much that we either need or want to accomplish that the weekend ends up going too fast and being just as busy as a day at work.

[Note: Don’t get me wrong: Yellowstone is probably my favorite place to go on vacation, and we will have loads of fun with my in-laws (I am one of the fortunate ones that really loves and enjoys time spent with my wife’s family). My point is we will have such a good time that we won’t come back re-energized for work the next day.]

Continue reading “An Eventful Weekend” →

Hello and welcome to my blog, which is currently named “The Lumbering Bear.” The tagline reads: “Writer of Words, Doer of Deeds, Seeker of Truth,” which I thought sounded cool and vaguely amusing, but is more of an aspiration. I will likely change at least one of those things in the near future, mostly in an attempt to sound a bit less conceited.

I don’t really know what I intend to do with this blog, other than just write a bunch of stuff for my own amusement. I have been a corporate blogger for about six months, and that job recently came to an end as I was reassigned to another position. I thoroughly enjoyed that opportunity, and it was a pretty simple decision to start my own. This is the result.

Continue reading “Day One, Week One” →