The grammar question I raised last week elicited a lot of comments, so I thought maybe we’d see what you all have to say on another topic:

Many of you have collections of one sort or another — books, yarn, music, movies, games, art, ephemera, memorabilia, etc. How do you keep them from taking over your space? How do you store and/or display them to their best advantage?

Rudi and I have started seriously considering this question and we’d love to hear how others have dealt with it. Share your thoughts in the comments.

I promise by tomorrow I’ll be awake enough to write a proper post. Maybe it’ll even include photos. I won’t make rash promises, though.

In the meantime, I direct you to visit this site. Purportedly graphs about baseball, I think there’s something that everyone will find interesting there, whether it’s that batters generally face northeast, that Washington baseball franchises have a .412 lifetime win percentage*, or that if you strung all the pitches thrown during the 2006 MLB season together, you could reach from St. Louis to Mumbai, 8,318.5 miles away.

The Mighty University of Connecticut Huskies are the 2008-2009 Women’s Basketball Champions yet again!

39-0 — another perfect season!

I think some new stars will be joining the UConn Women’s basketball display at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

As much as I love Sue, Diana, and Svet, the current crop of UConn starters — Tina, Renee, Maya, Tiffany, and Kalana — may rival them.

Tonight’s 76-54 victory over Louisville gives head coach Geno Auriemma an undefeated 6-0 record in NCAA finals.

Congratulations, UConn! You had an amazing run!

Dear Mets,

I can’t be at the game every night for the rest of the season cheering you to victory. I know it helped on Thursday, but it’s expensive to travel to Atlanta, Chicago, and New York.

So, please get your acts together.

I offer in my absence some helpful advice:

Fielders, watch the ball into your glove. Use two hands. It’s not necessary to fall over to catch a ball, nor is it necessary to jump, nor to dive, nor to catch it behind your head. Yes, occasionally these actions are called for, but they have far more impressive power when used infrequently and are pulled out of the bag of tricks only in rare instances. Don’t get flustered if it takes you longer than you want to pick up the ball. We’d rather keep the runner from advancing than to throw away the ball and give them extra bases wrapped up in pretty paper.

Pitchers, take a deep breath and just throw the ball. Don’t overthink it. Don’t try to finesse it or place it. Trust that the players surrounding you are going to do their job and don’t be afraid to actually throw over the plate (although if you could limit what’s thrown in the sweet spot, we wouldn’t object). Do NOT and I repeat do NOT intentionally walk people; I don’t care who’s up to bat next, it will just end in disappointment.

Batters, don’t swing at things near your chin or at your toes. Keep your eyes on the ball. If you think it’s a ball, you should be watching it into the catcher’s mitt. Keep the weight on your back foot, and try not to get these ridiculously wide stances — they just limit your ability to pivot and put power behind your bat. Don’t bunt it back to the pitcher. Know when a walk is as good as a hit. You don’t need to hit it out of the park; a line drive up the middle on the ground is really where it’s at. Also, don’t forget, as one MLB player did in a YouTube video I recently saw, that the strike zone extends from your knees to the letters on your jersey. I don’t want to see anyone grumbling because an umpire opted to enforce the upper portion of the strike zone. RUN IT OUT.

Runners, listen to your base coaches. Watch where the ball is going. Don’t slide into first. And if you get picked off first base, don’t come crying to me for sympathy.

Everyone, keep your heads in the game. Cheer on your fellow players. Offer an encouraging word to someone who’s down and accept those that your teammates give to you. Stretch before the game. Ice afterwards. Apply tape and heat wraps liberally and feel free to get a massage if you think it will help.

Know that I’m here for you. If I could afford it, I’d be there for you. If it would help, I’d be happy to come sit on the bench and remind you of these helpful hints in person.

Best wishes over the next eight games.

Truly,

sprite

Life seems to have a two-tone quality to it these days. Knitting progresses (I’ll finish Row 83 before bed tonight), but I’ll be glad to move on to a different project when the Ravelympics concludes at noon on Sunday. Will I be done with the super secret project? Ummm… it’s hard to say at this point. Definitely maybe.

And while I’m knit, knit, knitting along, I’m also watching record amounts of tv. I have seen a variety of sports — from beach volleyball to the steeplechase to BMX racing — and have enjoyed almost all of them. I admit some of them make me nervous; I hate seeing athletes get hurt. And I refuse to watch the equestrian events for that reason: it’s bad enough if the person gets injured because they, at least, chose to compete; it’s just devastating to see an animal get hurt. (I have no reason to believe any horses have been injured during the Games thus far; if you know otherwise, please don’t share…)

But while I can be a nervous fan, I also really enjoy watching athletes go out and give their very best. Sometimes they come away with a World Record or a medal. But so much more often, they come away with nothing (imagine being last in the 100m qualifier and having that be your only event!), and it merely was enough for them to have competed for their sport and their country and to have put in their hardest effort. The athletes are (generally) gracious when interviewed — either in victory or in defeat — and I find myself very hopeful about the future of the world when I watch the Olympic coverage.

And, I suppose, that’s really not such a bad thing after all.

Three beautiful things from this past Olympic week:

1. Michael Phelps seems to be part eel. Nearly every time he gets in the pool, a record breaks.

2. Because I was a volleyball player in high school and college — and a remarkably sucky server — I am always so impressed by the jump serve. You throw the ball up two stories in the air with sufficient English to keep it near you, run forward several steps, and then jump up and hit the ball with your hand hard enough to make it fly forward over the net (and hopefully into a spot not occupied by an opponent).

3. The Chinese men perform on the gymnastics rings as if they’re standing on the floor. Their moves are fluid and, as Rudi points out, you can just watch the different muscle groups kick in as the gymnasts swing from one move to the next.