I went to see the Watts Towers in South Central Los Angeles at 10pm last night with two friends. Arriving in an area where gang shootings are common, at night, in a convertible, what was I thinking? There is a 24-hour guard next to the site so we felt as comfortable as possible under the circumstance. Next to the Towers is a park and inscribed in the cement is a timeline discussing events from the building of the Towers to the present.

It got me thinking about the sports timeline of my life. Personal events I associate with sports and historical events of these times. Here is a start to the timeline:

• 1961 watch the Green Bay Packers play the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day while eating my dinner on TV trays with the men of the family
• 1963 try to catch the softball knuckleballs by brother-in-law throws at me and get pancaked by his 200lb body as we lined up against each other in a game of touch football
• 1965 Sandy Koufax refuses to pitch in the World Series in observance of Yom Kippur
• 1962-67 sit on the couch with a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream and watch ACC basketball games on Saturday afternoons
• 1972 play softball with Bread and Roses in Boston. Go to a pitching demonstration by the great Joan Joyce of the Raybestos Brakettes

More later. Post your sport timeline in the comments.

Practice Report: worked out at the gym for 1 1/4 hours
Solutions Analysis: when twisting and lungeing (something I do every time I execute a tennis shot, particularly if I have to reach), it’s important to twist my trunk to avoid putting strain on my knee. When I do the front lunge and reach exercise, I can tell if I’m twisting properly when my belly touches my thigh.