Memories and Marlins

Today I attended the mass and funeral of my father in law, Rene Vazquez, who recently passed away.  He was a classic old school guy: tough man, tough love and a tough competitor at any thing he choose to do. 

He was an early riser and a hard worker who worked as a self employed renovation specialist in the construction industry.  The man was a living 305 legend; known by name from Hialeah to Westchester, he could literally build anything out of nothing, and often did.

Another thing he was for sure was a hard core sports fan.  And, above all else, he was a huge Marlins fan.  Born in Cuba, he loved the hardball.  When the franchise started he couldn't believe there would be professional baseball in Miami.  Braves, Mets, Pirates, Dodgers, Cubs and Phillies in Miami?  He was there!

Soon he grew to love his home town Marlins, the teal and black, the ball park, the fish tank, the experience of major league ball.  And low and behold, they would win the World Series sooner than any expansion club in histotry. 

What was this?  The Marlins, World Champions?  Too good to be true!  You bet.  Then they would top it off by winning again, with a completely different team a few years later.  This was the equivalent of baseball heaven for a man who lived and died with every pitch. 

To pass the time and ease the tension, we would sit at the Marlins games and bet one dollar on whether or not a particular batter would get a hit or not.  His favorite player, Luis Castillo, played second base.  I would never refer to him by name, instead I just call him: "El hombre de segundo base".

We'd bet Luis every time he came up to bat but the first bet we ever made was on an obscure Marlin you have never heard of: Mario Diaz.  I lost the bet, but Mario Diaz would live on in infamy.

Rene Vazquez was a good man, a huge Marlins fan and great friend.  And he was my friend, maybe the best one I ever had...

Comments

[solarcane]

bam

[solarcane]

peace

[solarcane]

sorry soup.
peace be with Mr. Vazquez.
peace

[AlpharettaCane]

Awesome..what a heart-felt story. That's what it's all about.

[canechic]

number 4

[Canez1]

LMAO!!!! Don't mind me. Too much to drink tonight and bored!! My girl passed out....

Alph my man 50 grand whats up!!

http://www.aqsa.shaarique.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/24d0151d-be14-48f9-a84b-57802b9c43f1.jpeg

GO CANEZ!!!!!

[NavyCane4Life]

Angry, they still give the silver dollar to the first 5 salutes. I am not a mustang so I definitely will need advice and guidance from the Chief. GO CANES!

[canechic]

Sorry to you and Mrs. 86!! My deepest heartfelt sympathy.

[Canez1]

86 sorry for your loss!!

GO CANEZ!!!!!

[NavyCane4Life]

Soup, May god be with you in this time of grieving.

[norm]

Solarcane, looks like you are back on your juice. I thought I was getting close to your record, but I don't think I have a chance now.

[AlpharettaCane]

Monty Cane:

I always thought the Habs had a sophisticated crowd..all the games I used to watch on tv they'd show these classy looking lady ushers in nice skirts, and all the people around the lower glass / bench area had suits and ties on.

That You Tube clip was awesome. I'm embarrassed to ask, but I will...are they still in the Forum or have they moved to some fancier arena?

Great hockey barn: the Aud in Buffalo. Went to a game there once and we sat so high up I thought I was going to fall all the way straight down to the ice...pure vertical drop!

LaFontaine went coast to coast and Sabres won 1-0...good memories of being at a game with my older brother and father...

[SOUP]

I am not sad because he died.

He was old and ill and it was his time. He knew it and accpeted it gracefully.

I am sad because he is no longer here.

He was a good guy, a really good guy. He also loved football and The U because I took him to some games but he didn't bleed orange and green.

But when it came to the Marlins he did bleed teal and black, and in then end, when nothing else matters, is there really any difference?

[mr troutman]

FSU is close to giving up another 10 run inning. 9-3 NC. I wonder if they are going to shake hands afterwards.... HMMMMM

[Cat5 Cane]

86...
Sorry bo... but try to look at it as Gods will and it will be done... we don't know the grand plan... and certainly don't know what tomorrow brings us, soooo try to accept the given and smile at the past... remembering the good times, the looks, the little jesters, the wisdom that he stood for... accept the fact that he is gone but always remember that you will see him again... with that said, celebrate his passing and look forward to the reunion... to the next time you should meet!

BTJMO... To friends!!!
Cat5

[mr troutman]

yEP THEY GAVE IT UP...POOR seminoles. They BETTER SHAKE THEM HANDS OR ELSE!!! lmao

[mr troutman]

sOORY FOR THE LOSS SOUP. i AM TRYING TO BRING A LITTLE HUMOR INTO ALL OF THIS.

[orange 'n green in the vein]

86, my condolences to Mrs. 86 and you. One of the more touching tributes you've had on here and it's personal nature just amplifies that all the more.

[Montreal-Cane]

mr troutman is the game over in North Carolina?

[Montreal-Cane]

To you and Mrs. 86!! My deepest sympathy.

[Montreal-Cane]

Canes Baseball...

Eric Erickson (6-0, 3.28 ERA) will face Virginia righty Jacob Thompson (5-2, 3.98 ERA) in the second game of the series on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Thompson was a first-team All-American in 2007 and has a 26-6 career record.

Canes won tonight 1-0.

[SOUP]

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts. They are greatly appreciated. I really didn't post that article for sympathy, I posted it out of respect. Trust me, he deserved that and more.

Now that it is done, we will have a new feature up at 11 PM: NFLU.

Movin' on...

[SOUP]

Canes won tonight 1-0.

Posted by: Montreal-Cane | April 25, 2008 at 10:35 PM

GO CANES!!!

[Cat5 Cane]

I ran into serveral people tonight but this article ... scratch that, this topic is not for talking sports... with that, I 'll hold for another day... Ron
May he rest in peace.

[CanesgirlNC]

86 - sorry for your loss. U have mail

BTW from the prior blog there was a post about a "bare midriff guy" in the upper left - everyone knows that was Jeremy Shockey, right?

The Canes won 1-0??? A win is a win!

Go Canes

[Loco]

My condolences

[canechic]

Canesgirl guys complaining about 1/2 naked guys, we have to look at 1/2 naked girls all the time and they can't even take it for a day!! Wimps!! Suck it up! The girls need eye candy!

[Canez1]

08 Mock Vote

1/2 naked guys 2

1/2 naked girls 200

;)

TOEPICK!!!

GO CANEZ!!!!!

[CanesgirlNC]

Canechic - I hear you......LMAO!!

[CanesgirlNC]

Canez1 - you stay outta this

TOEPICK!

[Canez1]

A lil late night somethin somethin for the ladies.

Enjoy!!

http://th29.photobucket.com/albums/c251/sveta47/th_fat_people.jpg

GO CANEZ!!!!!

[Canez1]

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb40/stooge_010/ugly-men-1.jpg

GO CANEZ!!!!!

[canechic]

Thanks Canez 1 - you made my night!!

[CanesgirlNC]

omg!!! cANEZ1 I knew better than to look, but did anyway - why do ya hate me????

[Canez1]

LOL! I thought it would CC.

GO CANEZ!!!!!

[Canez1]

CGNC LOL It's all love sista!!

I had a double espresso and sambuca way too late tonight after dinner. Great idea huh!! I might be up for the next couple days!!

I need to amuse myself some way.

GO CANEZ!!!!!

[Canez1]

Some draft shyt.

A LEAGUE-BY-LEAGUE LOOK
ACC
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
Boston College 16 4 2006 (DE Mathias Kiwanuka)
Clemson 18 3 2007 (DE Gaines Adams)
Duke 2 0 1992* (QB Dave Brown)
Florida State 52 13 2007 (LB Lawrence Timmons)
Georgia Tech 16 1 2007 (WR Calvin Johnson)
Maryland 20 2 2006 (TE Vernon Davis)
Miami 59 25 2007 (DB Brandon Merriweather**)
North Carolina 20 2 2002 (DE Julius Peppers**)
NC State 22 5 2006 (DE Mario Williams**)
Virginia 25 3 2006 (OT D'Brickashaw Ferguson)
Virginia Tech 38 3 2004 (CB DeAngelo Hall**)
Wake Forest 10 1 2003 (DE Calvin Pace)
BIG EAST
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
Cincinnati 10 0 1971 (DT Bob Bell)
Connecticut 3 0 None
Louisville 22 1 2007 (DT Amobi Okoye)
Pitt 20 2 2007 (CB Darelle Revis)
Rutgers 7 0 None
Syracuse 20 3 2002 (DE Dwight Freeney)
USF 8 0 None
West Virginia 11 2 2005 (CB Pacman Jones)
BIG TEN
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
Illinois 15 0 1996 (OLB Kevin Hardy)
Indiana 5 0 1994 (WR Thomas Lewis)
Iowa 26 3 2006 (LB Chad Greenway)
Michigan 38 7 2007 (CB Leon Hall)
Michigan State 28 4 2003 (WR Charles Rogers)
Minnesota 17 2 2006 (RB Laurence Maroney)
Northwestern 13 2 2005 (DT Luis Castillo)
Ohio State 59 13 2007 (WR Ted Ginn Jr.**)
Penn State 31 8 2007 (OT Levi Brown)
Purdue 27 1 2007 (DE Anthony Spencer)
Wisconsin 36 8 2007 (OT Joe Thomas)
BIG 12
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
Baylor 6 0 1996 (DT Daryl Gardener)
Colorado 23 2 2003 (DE Tyler Brayton)
Iowa State 6 0 1973 (RB George Amundson)
Kansas 5 0 1993 (DT Dan Stubblefield)
Kansas State 28 1 2003 (CB Terence Newman)
Missouri 10 1 2001 (DE Justin Smith)
Nebraska 35 2 2007 (NT Adam Carriker)
Oklahoma 33 8 2007 (RB Adrian Peterson)
Oklahoma State 12 2 2004 (WR Rashaun Woods)
Texas 30 12 2007 (FS Michael Griffin**)
Texas A&M 24 2 2003 (DE Ty Warren**)
Texas Tech 15 0 1983 (NT Gabe Rivera)
CONFERENCE USA
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
East Carolina 5 0 1992 (MLB Robert Jones)
Houston 5 0 1997 (RB Antowain Smith)
Marshall 12 2 2003 (QB Byron Leftwich)
Memphis 9 1 2006 (RB DeAngelo Williams)
Rice 2 0 1980 (RB Earl Cooper)
SMU 2 0 1986 (DB Rod Jones**)
Southern Miss 16 0 1992 (RB Tony Smith)
Tulane 7 2 2004 (QB J.P. Losman)
Tulsa 4 0 1977 (T Steve August)
UCF 9 0 1999 (QB Duante Culpepper)
UAB 5 2 2005 (WR Roddy White)
UTEP 10 0 1968 (LB Fred Carr**)
MID-AMERICAN
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
Akron 5 0 None
Ball State 3 0 None
Bowling Green 3 0 1961 (WR Bernie Casey)
Buffalo 1 0 None
Central Michigan 5 1 2007 (OT Joe Staley)
Eastern Michigan 2 0 1999 (OT L.J. Shelton)
Kent State 2 0 None
Miami (Ohio) 8 1 2004 (QB Ben Roethlisberger)
Northern Illinois 6 0 None
Ohio U. 1 0 1936 (T Art Lewis)
Temple 5 0 1987 (RB Paul Palmer)
Toledo 4 0 1993 (DE Dan Williams)
Western Michigan 3 1 2004 (OLB Jason Babin)
MOUNTAIN WEST
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
Air Force 0 0 None
BYU 19 1 2000 (LB Rob Morris)
Colorado State 10 0 1987 (QB Kelly Souffer)
New Mexico 9 1 2000 (MLB Brian Urlacher)
San Diego State 13 0 1998 (OG Kyle Turley)
TCU 16 1 2001 (RB LaDainian Tomlinson)
UNLV 9 0 None
Utah 19 2 2005 (QB Alex Smith)
Wyoming 4 0 1976 (RB Lawrence Gaines**)
PAC-10
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
Arizona 15 1 2000 (RB Trung Canidate)
Arizona State 26 5 2003 (OLB Terrell Suggs)
California 26 6 2007 (RB Marshawn Lynch)
Oregon 25 2 2006 (DT Haloti Ngata)
Oregon State 19 2 2004 (RB Steven Jackson)
Stanford 30 1 2003 (OT Kwame Harris)
UCLA 22 2 2006 (TE Marcedes Lewis)
USC 40 8 2006 (RB Reggie Bush**)
Washington 19 2 2004 (WR Reggie Williams)
Washington State 15 1 2003 (CB Marcus Trufant)
SEC
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
Alabama 31 2 2000 (OT Chris Samuels**)
Arkansas 22 4 2007 (DE Jamaal Anderson)
Auburn 28 6 2007 (OG Ben Grubbs)
Florida 45 7 2007 (DE Jarvis Moss**)
Georgia 45 8 2005 (DB Thomas Davis**)
Kentucky 9 1 2003 (DT Dewayne Robertson)
LSU 36 7 2007 (QB JaMarcus Russell**)
Mississippi 18 4 2007 (ILB Patrick Willis)
Mississippi State 16 0 1996 (CB Walt Harris**)
South Carolina 20 4 2006 (CB Johnathan Joseph)
Tennessee 50 8 2007 (DT Justin Harrell**)
Vanderbilt 8 1 2006 (QB Jay Cutler)
SUN BELT
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
Arkansas State 2 0 None
Florida Atlantic 0 0 None
Florida International 2 0 None
La.-Lafayette 4 0 None
La.-Monroe 3 0 1971 (RB Joe Profit)
Middle Tennessee 2 0 None
North Texas 1 0 1971 (DB Lenny Dunlap)
Troy 7 1 2005 (OLB DeMarcus Ware)
Western Kentucky 3 0 None
WESTERN ATHLETIC
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
Boise State 10 0 None
Fresno State 16 2 2005 (OG Logan Mankins)
Hawaii 16 1 2002 (WR Ashley Lelie)
Idaho 3 0 1984* (QB Ken Hobart)
Louisiana Tech 7 0 1999 (WR Troy Edwards)
Nevada 5 0 1949 (QB Stan Heath)
New Mexico State 2 0 None
San Jose State 5 0 1983 (DB Gill Byrd)
Utah State 2 0 1970 (DT Phil Olsen)
INDEPENDENTS
School Picks First-round picks Most recent first-round pick
Army 0 0 1947 (OT Tex Coulter)
Navy 0 0 None
Notre Dame 37 2 2007 (QB Brady Quinn)
*—Supplemental draft; **—Highest of multiple first-round slections from school

DRAFTEES THIS DECADE BY CONFERENCE
1. SEC: 328

2. ACC: 298

3. Big Ten: 293

4. Pac-10: 237

5. Big 12: 227

6. Big East: 101

7. Mountain West: 99

8. C-USA: 86

9. WAC: 66

10. MAC: 48

11. Independents: 37

12. Sun Belt: 24
1ST-ROUNDERS THIS DECADE BY CONFERENCE
1. ACC: 62

2. SEC: 52

3. Big Ten: 48

4. Pac-10: 30

4. Big 12: 30

6. Big East: 8

7. C-USA: 7

8. Mountain West: 5

9. MAC: 3

9. WAC: 3

11. Independents: 2

12: Sun Belt: 1

DRAFTEES THIS DECADE BY SCHOOL
1. Miami: 59

1. Ohio State: 59

3. Florida State: 52

4. Tennessee: 50

5. Florida: 45

5. Georgia: 45

7. USC: 40

8. Michigan: 38

8. Virginia Tech: 38

10. Notre Dame: 37

11. LSU: 36

11. Wisconsin: 36

13. Nebraska: 35

14. Oklahoma: 33

15. Alabama: 31

15. Penn State: 31

17. Stanford: 30

17. Texas: 30

19. Auburn: 28

19. Michigan State: 28

19. Kansas State: 28
1ST-ROUNDERS THIS DECADE BY SCHOOL
1. Miami: 25

2. Florida State: 13

2. Ohio State: 13

4. Texas: 12

5. Georgia: 8

5. Oklahoma: 8

5. Penn State: 8

5. Tennessee: 8

5. USC: 8

5. Wisconsin: 8

"BIG SIX": FEWER THAN 10 DRAFTEES THIS DECADE
Duke: 2

Connecticut: 3

Indiana: 5

Kansas: 5

Baylor: 6

Iowa State: 6

Rutgers: 7

USF: 8

Vanderbilt: 8

Kentucky: 9
"BIG SIX": NO 1ST-ROUNDERS THIS DECADE
Baylor

Cincinnati

Connecticut

Duke

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa State

Kansas

Mississippi State

Rutgers

Texas Tech

USF

NON-"BIG SIX": AT LEAST 10 DRAFTEES THIS DECADE
BYU: 19

Utah: 19

Fresno State: 16

Hawaii: 16

Southern Miss: 16

TCU: 16

San Diego State: 13

Marshall: 12

Boise State: 10

Colorado State: 10

UTEP: 10
NON-"BIG SIX": MULTIPLE 1ST-ROUNDERS THIS DECADE
Fresno State: 2

Marshall: 2

Tulane: 2

UAB: 2

Utah: 2

GO CANEZ!!!!!

[CanesgirlNC]

Canez1 just for you

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/24297959&GT1=43001

TOEPICK!!!!

luv ya!
Go Canes!!!

[Canez1]

LMAO!!! Wait a minute...I have all of those symptoms(Not the ED of course!) and I am only 33, WTF!!!

I'm fukked!!

GO CANEZ!!!!!

[VaCanesFan]

I also want to express to you my heartfelt sympathy. You know, you get to know and love family, and sometimes you may not always understand them or their life, or the journey they went through. But man, when they are not their anymore, it hurts. I am sure your wife feels tremendous pain, and this post can not replace her loss. But we bloggers care about you very much, and by extension her. We really are sorry.

You put alot of time into what you do. But you also sacrifice something in doing it. Time spent blogging is time you could spend elsewhere. It is why, as much as I love the Space, I try to spend more time with my family. So I post late at night, and yes, I could be more coherent if I posted at 8 pm sometimes. But life is truly special, and I would rather meet the Lord when the time comes feeling less satisfied as a blogger and more satisfied that I spend the quality time with my family.

I know you have it far more difficult than any of us. You have the obligation of being the main man with your family obligations. But if family need ever occur that demand your attention, please feel free to attend to them. We will cover your back while you are away. God Bless You! And your family.

[SOUP]

VA...thanks for your sympathies. They are appreciated!