"Katz's Deli Back In The Championship Game"

Katz's Deli & Restaurant softball team was back in the championship game. Last years loss was tough to deal with. This years squad was determined not to let it happen again. We stumbled early in the season, losing to TBS for the first time in JCC league history.. But it just gave us more incentive to win it all in 2009.

If you remember last year, we got to the final game, and we were poised to win. But, rain drowned out our scheduled game, you can check back in the archives for what really happened.. (August 2008).

So this year I was determined to be better. I joined the gym, and was gonna get to the batting cages on a regular basis to improve my skills. As I am approaching 50 years old, I know I wasn't gonna get THAT much better, but if I could slow the decline that all ballplayers go thru, I would be alright.

In January, there was some talk of bringing in some new, young blood. Of course, they had plans to upgrade different positions. I was the first baseman, but Scott Boras (who is Jamie's agent), was floating a young slugger who played first. I was determined not to lose my position. Apparently team Captain, Mark Albert liked the looks of the new kid. Yeah the kid, was faster than me, in better shape, and the kid told me SHE wanted to send me to the bench. Oh... did I mention she was a girl??

Fortunately, she messed up her toe in a farming accident and I got to keep first base.

Our season started a little slow, but we righted the ship and set sail for our goal. Early in the season, we were beating a team pretty good. Mark Albert asked us not to "show up" the other team, so when we got on base, be conservative and take it base to base, instead of trying to round the bases at will. Good sportsmanship by the captain, (he's always the first one to praise the umpires for good calls too). I'm at the plate and I hit a shot, over the left centerfielders head and I'm flying around the bases. Okay maybe not flying, but for me I'm moving like I'm being chased by a hungry pitbull. As I round second base, Mark is our third base coach and is telling me to hold up. I am determined to score, I haven't hit a homerun since the early '70's at Robert Handford's house in a whiffle ball game. I'm going for it... I'm digging with the cleats, snorting air, and getting tears in my my eyes from the speed, (okay, it was windy and maybe the tears was from that). But I scored!! We won the game and I made as few plays in the field, but I miss one foul ball behind me. The grass was wet from the night before's rain. I almost had it but I slipped on the turf, outstretched and just barely missed making the play. Being a little cocky I contacted THAT ringer first baseman that almost took my job and pointed out that I had hit a homerun, and because I'm a little humble, I told her about the play at first too.. Her response... "I wouldn't have fallen"...

It was a good year, we beat the Big Boys in the playoffs and we're ready to play for the Championship. They told me the game was at 10:30am, or so I thought... Sometime on Saturday nite I got a text from Mark stating batting practice was gonna be at 8am. I was working at a restaurant as a celebrity bartender that night, they hire star athletes on occasion but I looked at the message and said, I am not getting up that early for BP. I would get to the game an hour in advance, more than enough time to stretch, and loosen up for the game. As I pull into the field parking lot, I see both teams playing, and I check my watch. It's 9:30am, I get my cleats, glove and DD coffee, head to the bench. Apparently the game was scheduled for 9:00am. Oops, my bad... So I was regulated to cheering. It was the third inning and we were down by three runs. By the looks of my teammates the looked demoralized, (the same look the Red Sox had this weekend), I come to find out, they are depressed I showed up, now they have to let me bat... I just thought they were down because we were losing. Lo and behold, we clawed back and were poised to win, tied at the bottom of the 8th, Matt leading off, rips a liner to center for a solid base hit. Shannon got him to third with a shot to the outfield. Up comes Jamie, they walk him. Mike "Bear" is up with the bases loaded, and a little miffed they walked Jamie to get to him. All we need is a sac fly to win the game.... ,"Bear" is ready to go... his pitch comes in, and his eyes widen, like Yogi & Booboo after they spot an unattended pic-ca-nic basket... He drills it out to left center. Matt tags from third, and as he crosses the plate... we WIN!!!! How did I do?? Oh.. I hit a scorcher to short, that Jeter would have had a tough time handling, but I was thrown out by a step.... a step of a circus elephant, but a step nonetheless... My second at bat to lead off the final inning, I hit a towering fly ball, that may have hit the astrodome roof if we were in houston, but the pitcher took three steps in and caught it..

Celebration followed, we were all happy except for our mercurial owner Steve Katz. We all piled into Katz's deli, it was 30 minutes before they opened, so Steve tried to get us to go somewhere else... We gathered behind the plate for a team photo, Mike, Jamie and I discussed the Championship jackets we want to Steve, as he flicks a cigarette at me and storms off to his Navigator..

It was another great year, and I'm looking forward to playing again next year. But already there is a lefty swinging goat that covers the bag at first pretty good in the Bethany Animal Softball League, just another challenge for me... By the way... don't believe what the sheep say in that league they LIE!!...

The End of the Run...... The Fan has closed :(

Get your tissues out... you may tear up a little... God knows I have in the past few days....

It's a simple story, sad, happy, and all in between...

Back in June of 2005, The Fan Restaurant & Sports Bar opened for business... Warren, Steve & Sal opened up Woodbridge CT's only sports bar. They asked me to be the GM, with ownership in regard to profit sharing after the first year. It was a great place, fun to see it develop from ideas to construction to opening and to being very busy. We had some hiccups in the early stages, there were town political issues about whether we should open or not... A lot of drama in the beginning, ahhh who am I kidding, drama was the Fan's Middle name...

We had some memorable days, memorable nights, great fun, jokes, laughs, and of course tears...

The hiring process was an adventure. We overstaffed in the beginning hoping to find diamonds in the rough.. We found some granite, marble and the occasional slate, but yes we did find a few diamonds, some flawed, but diamonds nonetheless.

I remember that first week so vividly, I lost 20 lbs, along with my voice, (rundown from lack of sleep and food).

The original crew was great! We formed a bond early, as everything was new, we grew together as a team and we had fun. We fun, after one of our first Employee meetings, Vinny (the chef) and I spoke, telling everyone the correct ways for things to be done, then we let the floor open from comments from the owners... It was as this point that Warren said.. "When I come in here I wanted to be treated like royalty...you know like the President of the United States". Well kids we had a field day with that one, Elissa, a/k/a Red, brought in an old wall phone of her moms that was red, so we had it by the corner of the bar, Steve, Warren's partner, would call us on his cell, driving by the front of the restaurant screaming, "Perimeter Clear", needless to say that joke lasted a few months.. Then there was the time win Jen came into work and was heading to the restroom to freshen up, the door was unlocked, and as she walked in, there was a guy hovering over the toilet in mid-wipe... Aarrggghhh, (sorry for that vision), but Vinny, Jen and I were crying in laughter in the back of the restaurant, for a good 30 minutes. My sides hurt for a few days. But the best part was the guy walked back to the bar and continued eating and drinking. If that had happened to me, (which it would never, because I lock the bathroom door even if I'm alone), I would have jumped into my car and never have gone back there...

We hired all 3 Connolly kids, Nora first, then Luke as a busboy, the Sophie after she finished college. A great family, thx Tom & Lucia for rasing good kids... Nora was pushed on me by my neice Briana, who swore she was a hard worker and a great addition to the team, the first time I met Nora, she looked a deer in the headlights, wide eyed and very attentive, once I got to know her she was as crazy (in a good way) as anyone. This one time, Lucia, (the mom) had brought her mom in for lunch, Nora was the server, Luke our busboy. This particular day Lucia's mom, Constance Green, was enjoying a nice day in the restaurant and wanted to treat her grandchildren like most grandparents do, by offering money to them.

"Nora...honey, here..take some money"... while she was holding a 20 dollar bill..

"No, No grams.. I can't take your money" as she cleared some plates and headed back to the kitchen, it was at this point that Luke wandered intobefore... wiping the chairs down, straightening the tables, when Constance noticed her grandson working so diligently, reached into her purse, pulled out a 5 spot and waved it towards Luke and said,

"Here honey... " like a lion pouncing on it's prey, Luke swiped the $5 out of his grandmothers hands and said.

"Thanks Gram.." and proceeded to do nothing the rest of the day but try and get Andrea (one of our servers) to go out with him...

We had fun here... and there's a million more stories, but this blog spot could go on forever...

All in all we had a great staff, Billy Cal was hired to run the bar, he and the Grifftone were our Friday night barkeeps. Leigh-Loo, who went to school at SCSU but lived in Buffalo, her parents would make the 6 1/2 hour trip to see her every few months, (Good People). Courtney & Carly, Lindsay, Kaitlin, Molly Alana, Jen Q40, Andrea, Laura and many more, too many to mention. We had the the best looking and most talented hostesses this side of the Connecticut River, Kelly, Celia, Kristy, etc... and some of the worst busboys ever... Freddy, Jesse, Dan, Mike, LOL... they all got good right before they left...

Our bartenders were works of art, Nicole, Chrissy, Erica, Ashcan, and of course Danielle. Each one more special than the other...
In their own way of course...





In the end, it was Augustine, our faithful dishwasher, who worked hard every day... Mario our Head Chef, and first hire back in 2005, Oswaldo, Freddy, Paulo, all good workers.

And of course our servers at the end, who witnessed and had to endure the end. Taryn, who never did punch a customer, but threatened to too many a time. And who would entertain me by labeling each customers check name with a perfect descriptions of that table, (some names I can not disclose, as some of them may be reading this blog). Briana, who stayed only because her mom made her, (and since she's afriad of her mom/my sister as I am she had to stay until the end), Cassandra who was everyone's taxi service, and would show up limping and on medication for a party of 30, because she promised to work the party, (we sent her home that day...LOL). Michelle who no matter if it was busy or slow moved at the same pace. Kasey, who started as a busboy during here break from college, and now when I'm in a jam
would drive home from school to work, and let me tell you as a server...she's one heck of a swimmer...LOL. Of course our bartenders; Danielle, one of my better hires, who just recently left us after some of our payroll cuts, Erica who alwys turned Taryn's IPOD up too loud and Ashley who consistently spent the first 45 minutes of her shift on her cellphone. A great crew that I will never forget.... EVER!!! I love you all... some more than others..

So anyhoo... the last day was a sad one indeed, but a great way to go out.... (Take that pee break now.... )...

Saturday, April 18th was our last day... I woke up at my sisters a little after 8am, too early, but I had a tough time sleeping. I got my DD coffee and opened the door at 10am, so the crew could prep the place for business.

I have to admit, I'm a sentimental guy, very careing, etc... but I'm not known as a cryer... Sure I well up at funerals... but who doesn't... besides, I 've been to too many, so I have numbed myself of that emotion... But I have to admit... by 11:26am, I had cried 6 times... Jeezz.. I'm a wuss...

Alot of emotions running thru me, in as I thought back on the past 4 years, I realized that while all else crumbled around me I could numb my senses by diving into work, (of course that means I should have been a better manager).... A major IRS issue, some deaths, my marriage, etc, I would block it all out and immerse myself in my job... Like the time I was driving to work in NJ to CT, in the rain when I got cutoff by a silver minivan, hit the brakes and then did my best Nascar hydroplane into the concrete Jersey Barriers on the Tappan Zee Bridge.. Thru 6 lanes of traffic, amazingly not hitting another car... I rented a car and made it to work 2 hours late... I remember the rental car clerk shaking his head, "No one smashes a car and rents a car and hour later..." Well.... I do...and did...

I got a few text messages in the morning wishing me good luck and some positive reinforcements...

I get my first call from Warren... speaking somber in a low voice that there isn't enough "Density in Woodbridge" to keep it going at this location..

I was then visited by Mark Bollard, a/k/a "Bully"... Then Mike Morris a/k/a "Bigs" stopped in... Then Steve, a/k/a "Large", it was at this point as I'm grabbing the rest of the dwindling liquor stock to the bar, when I picked up the case of Da Vinci's Chianti, the bottom of the box opens up, 8 bottles smash to the ground, but not before one breaks my big toe on my left toe, (but not to gross out Taryn, there will not be a photo of that). As tough and strong a woman as she is, and much like Superman with the Kyrptonite, feet is not something she can handle...

Doug DiLorenzo and his daughter Jenna stop in to give me a Bethwood Softball golf shirt as a present, (Thx to them eating with us for all four years) at the time when the red wine is seeping thru the liquor closet wall.. That's when Steve starts talking about Moses and the Nile of blood... (You had to be there)... He was just happy I had less to get rid of after we closed...LOL...

Bailey, Warren's daughter, stopped in to say hi to Taryn, and was dissappointed that she wasn't arriving until 1:30pm. She then sat in the dinning room and told me if the restaurant was her house she would put the living room here, kitchen here.. my office would be a closet for her clothes, and she would add an indoor swimming pool. Not what I wanted to hear on this morning... but if you know Bailey, she's the nicest kid in the world... You know there was no ill will meant...

Warren's wife Alicia came in to get Bailey, looking tired, drained and ripped.... She's competing next week for a bodybuilding Figure Competition and this is the last week of her diet and training, (handclapping please), she's gonna do great!!

It's now 1pm, the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals are playing game two in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. So our first guests of the day are John & Ray wearing their Yankee shirts proudly, and their friend Tony wearing the ugliest Red Sox you can imagine... Actually, any Red Sox shirt is ugly...but that's just my opinion.

We have no kitchen staff, so I tell them popcorns free... (It's been free from day one)...

Taryn shows up in ripped jeans and a homemade shirt she made that says, "I Love the Fan" with her name on the back and a matching shirt for her adorable son Wyatt with "Rookie" blazed on the back of his... Yeah she asked if she could wear jeans on the last day.... and before I could say yes, she says, "What... are you gonna fire me??" Needless to say that's not an option... It's the last day the heck with it. (she made me a shirt too, XXL in Black of course with a captains "C" on it) Thx :)

She has no babysitter until 3 ish or so, so that's why Wyatt was with her, he loved coming to the Fan he always got his coloring book and crayons, cup of Sprite, (Excellent for blowing bubbles thru the straw), and Popcorn. Usually he's happy to be here, and for a moment I thought he was sad too. But one look at his shaved head..... I realized he still hadn't forgave his mom for the buzzcut... I just hope 20 years from now he remembers how much fun it was to visit the restaurant.

So since I don't have a kitchen staff until Mario wakes up and comes in (He worked the night before until 10pm, then slept a little and went to his other job from 2am to 10am) Ray, John & Tony, (but who care what Tony thinks, he's a Red Sox fan) are starving. So I offer to buy lunch at 5 Guys Hamburgers if John goes and gets it... Sixty eight dollars later, with greasy fries and cheeseburgers and hotdogs we chow down our last meal at the Fan, (made down the street though...)

Dave Camacho & Pigpen, err I mean Steve come in, I think Steve has a drinking problem, I'm not sure, but in 4 years I never saw him sober... but today he's outside smoking a cigarette, with NO baseball hat on, and for a fleeting moment, I swear it's Jack Nicholson. Dave and I laugh about that one, that on the Fan's Last day we finally got a celebrity to stop in...

The Rangers win to go 2 games up on the Caps, and we start getting busy... Oh it's gonna be crazy I can feel it. Kasey comes in after helping Uncle Wayne at The UNH Spring Football game cookout, complaining of BBQ smoked eyes. and exhausted from class the day before at Rutgers in NJ and the FAST drive to CT to do a double on Friday night.

The night gets heated up, and it's wall to wall people, if every night was like that we'd be millionaires by now... Steve & I joke that we should have spread the rumor of us closing every other week for the past 4 years... That would have been tremendous marketing!!

BudLight Mike & Diane, (whom met at the FAN, and are getting married this year) Paul Hennessy & Rick came in to say their goodbyes. BudLight Mike got his name from Molly one of our old crew, because he drinks Vodka..... I'm kidding, he's a Budlight fanatic... It was a wild scene The UNH football coaches were there, all in all a lot of good friends.. People I was reacquantied with from my past, new friends, old ones, almost all of them I love... well...who am I kidding, I don't even like half of them... But last nite was a special one, the end of an era.... Ok so I've cried 5 more times today... Time to move on with my life... If you care.... tune in again and I'll write about.....

Thank you all!!!!! It was a great run..... But another chapter is over.... Geez I haven't teared up this much since I watched "Brian's Song in 1973... I gotta go, I've spent the entire day alone in the Fan and I'm drained. Oh one more thing, some moron called and asked if I could make him a pizza or are you really closed... AAARRRGGGHHHH...

Who are these people anyways..... and where were they for the past 4 years......

I want to thank every single customer that came in, some of you are or became good friends... Doug, Donna & Lisa our Friday night regulars, Jim & Colleen who took Billy Cal and me their wings. Chuck & Robin, who a nicest people around. Doug & Robin and the girls Jenna & Brittney. Tony, Dominque, Angie & Peter. The Jew Crew... Peric, Allison, Dave, Shelly, Iyla, Ronnie, etc.. Lee, Mark, Lisa & Ed. Kim & Billy, Jess & Bird. Kenny G, The Packer Girls Kate, Kim, Megan, & Corey.. Don, Jeff & the Turncoat Vince... Harold, Harold & Rod... Geri, Jess, Joanne, Wynn, Steve, Jenn, Shelly, Rick.... There's too many to list... Jeff the Flyer man... Bruce T, JP & Art, Jen, Laura & Drew. Artie, Onzio, Todd Carroll and his wife. Frannie & Anthony. I'm forgetting them all but Thank you !!!

(click on any picture for a clearer and larger view....)

The light is dimming....... See ya soon....