From A to B and Everything in Between...

"World Champions."

In 2003, I found my love for sports. I was a "late-bloomer" because my parents weren't into sports. It wasn't until I met my would-be stepmom that things changed. I fell in love with sports and it hasn't stopped since.

Since 2003, it was tough because I had never known the feeling of winning a championship. I had loved the Broncos from 03-06, Dodgers 05-now, Lakers 05-now, and it seemed like they always got pretty close but never won. So when the Lakers won this year, it was meaningful, like truly meaningful and amazing.

The strange thing though is that I didn't feel any different at first. I felt like any other day. I expected to be crying and going crazy, but I was about as excited as if we won a preseason game. It didn't feel like we won. I feel like it's too good to be true that I didn't believe it.

It wasn't until Sasha tweeted "World Champions." that I realized the greatness and significance of this win. Then I realized how amazing it's been to go from disappointment to the very top. But what is also amazing is what has happened in my life in that time period.

Since the Lakers lost to the Celtics in the Finals last year, I've gone through one of the most amazing up-and-down rollercoasters I have ever been on. From being the "Fan Spotlight" on Sasha's site and being known as one of his biggest fans to getting kicked out of another high school and going through my mom and stepdad splitting up.

The creation of Sasha's site was something that I would've never guessed being significant in my life. I remember being excited for Sasha's site but I didn't expect it to be as great as it is. I remember thinking how cool it would be to be the "Fan Spotlight" only after it's first week. And to think that I would be the 2nd ever(first male) to do it, is just amazing. The amounts of friend requests and messages were crazy but I didn't expect it to get as crazy as it did.

Being viewed as this "Sasha look-alike" was silly to me. Some look at it as intentional, but I'm saying it now: I'm not trying to look like Sasha. It started off with just growing my hair, then people said things and others caught on and then it became this big thing, which I don't mind at all. I'm having a lot of fun with it and enjoy every minute of it.

4/4/09. That was the day of the Sasha/AT&T signing in Torrance. If there was one day I'd wish to relive, it would be that day. We were all around L.A. that day. I woke up at like 5( I slept like 3 hours), went to work with my dad, went to Irvine, then Torrance, then back to Irvine where we slept in a hotel for my sister's pageant. It wasn't just the signing that was crazy, it was everything about that day that was nuts.

The signing though, man, nothing like I expected it to be. The idea that girls were taking pictures of me and with me, I've never been in a situation like that. Another unknown thing about that day was that I had to pee before the signing and didn't get a chance till after the signing. I got there around 2 and didn't pee till about 5. If you can imagine, right before I went up to Sasha, I had to pee the most. Haha.

I still can't believe talking to everyone and all that going on. There was one family who apparently really liked me and one girl wanted me to go see a movie with her and all this stuff. Like being known as the "Sasha look-alike" has so many positives and that's why I'm doing it. I'm having fun with it and people like it so why stop?

I'm probably the most featured guy on Sasha's site, being mentioned in probably every other article. I almost feel guilty because I feel like people look at me as 'obsessed' and trying too hard for attention. I just happen to be in the right spot at the right time. I'm lucky, that's all it is. But I still feel like people won't understand. I haven't heard anything yet, but I feel like seeing my name all the time makes me seem crazy. Or, maybe I am wrong and people like seeing my name.

In no way do I regret being mentioned or hope to be mentioned less, because I love it. My life has never been better. I really have to thank Sasha and everyone who works on his site for making my life so much better. Everything that's gone on in that time period wouldn't have been as easy without being mentioned on Sasha's site.

So, there was all this negative happening around me yet all I cared about was positive over the past year. I still can't believe everything that has gone on and really am truly grateful for everyone and everything positive that has happened.

I usually never write about good stuff that happens in my life in fear that I might jinx what is happening but moments like this don't happen often and I really felt it was time. I've always written about the negative points in my life and they were always depressing for people, but I have no idea. I just felt like writing something positive for once.

But anyways, to end this "rant", I really have to thank some people for making this year so great:

1. Sasha Vujacic(obviously) and the Los Angeles Lakers
2. Everyone who works for Sasha's site, you have no idea how much it means to me.
3. TheLakersNation Forums, everyone on that site has been amazing.
4. My best friend Alysa.
5. My family, definitely definitely definitely. Working through everything.

So now what? Life doesn't end here, does it? Right now, I gotta live in the moment and just hope we can do it all over again next year.

What An Amazing Night.

When I heard Sasha was throwing the first pitch(3rd really, 2 people threw before him) at the Dodger game, the first thing I did was text my mom. The message said:

'Mom, is there any possible way we/I can get tickets to the Dodger game this Friday? Sasha is throwing out the first pitch...'

That was at 11:06 on June 3. I got this message at 1:57 the next day:

'I got tickets for all of us to go tomorrow.' ('all of us' being me, mom, sister, brother, mom's friend)

Filled with excitement, I watched the Lakers win Game 1 of the Finals later that day, already knowing that the next day would be a good one. However, I was so excited, I had a hard time trying to fall asleep. I finally fell asleep a little after....5 A.M. 

I finally woke up around 3 P.M. and just waited for time to go by. Then we left for the game. When we got there, the weather was much more beautiful than it was at home. We read it was possibly going to rain, but there was no chance with how nice the weather was that day. 

When we got into the stadium, I kind of left everyone else. I was focused on trying to find Sasha. When I found him, I took a picture from my phone, but there was no way you could find him. I sent that picture later that night to twitter and joked "Where's Sasha?"

While the rest of my family was walking to their seats, I stayed and watched from the top of the lower level seats, wanting to get close, but I didn't know what the Dodger stadium security would do, so I just stayed there. 

The funniest part was after awhile, Sasha got a glove, and started warming up with the Dodgers' ball boy. Sasha's throwing style is interesting, because it looks like he's gearing up for a big throw, and then it comes out slow. They did that for about 20 minutes. After they were done, Sasha was given his own Dodger jersey, a white home jersey with the name 'Vujacic' on the back and the #18.

When I had a chance, I went to find my seats. I talked to my mom about what was going on, and she said I could use her camera. So I went back to my spot, and just 'stalked' the situation, using the zoom on the camera to follow what was happening. 

When it came to the pitch, I started feeling chills. I spent the previous night watching videos of first pitch bloopers, so I was in this 'zone' where I felt this pressure like "Oh please don't let that be Sasha." As his name was called, the crowd was amazing. It was loud and just absolutely nits. I didn't expect that at all. With the way he's been playing lately, I was sure it would be either quiet or fans would boo. But I was wrong, thankfully. 

As he walked out, the excitement was building. He walked to the front of the mound, and then took a couple steps back to the pitcher's mound. I wasn't sure if I wanted to take a picture or not, but I got one right before the pitch. The pitch, from where I was standing had decent speed, and I didn't see Brad Ausmus'(the catcher) hand move at all, so, in my eyes, it was a perfect pitch.

After the pitch, I walked to my seat and got ready for what would be the most exciting Dodger game I had ever watched live. 

Ironically, before the game, I said that, lately, the Dodger games haven't been crowded like they usually are. Little did I know, there would over 50,000 rocking at Dodger Stadium. The energy was crazy. At one point, 'the wave' started and it was so crazy that everyone started doing it and didn't notice that Phillies' 2nd baseman Chase Utley hit a ball down the line, scoring 2 for the Phillies.

There were a lot of Phillie fans there. We were down for the entire game, so they were saying anything they could. We managed to get lucky on our 2nd run, where the ball bounced right under Phillies' outfielder Eric Bruntlett's glove, bringing Furcal home to make the score 3-2.

As the game went on, they showed a recap of Sasha's pitch and "The Bangles" singing the national anthem on the big scoreboard. When I saw Sasha's pitch from that angle, the pitch was perfect. And Sasha's reaction was the best, because not only was it excitement, it also seemed like he was relieved because of all the talk about him possibly bouncing the pitch.

The Dodgers' bullpen was the key to the game(along with some nice catches by outfielder Matt Kemp), keeping the Phillies scoreless from the 5th inning and on. When it got to the bottom of the 9th inning, a Phillie fan behind me said "Lidge will put this one in the fridge, he's gonna close it down."(Brad Lidge is the closer for the Phillies)

That 9th inning was...amazing. 2 outs just like that. Fans were about to leave. But Casey Blake kept it alive with a single, then James Loney worked out a walk. The biggest play to that 9th was the botched ground-ball to Phillies 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz, which allowed Russell Martin to be safe and put the game in Andre Ethier's hands.

Our seats were in the outfield, 1st base side, field level. When Ethier hit the first pitch into the outfield, it was right in front of us. We saw Eric Bruntlett's glove miss the ball just barely, and we won the game. I went crazy. I high-fived everyone. It was such an awesome feeling.

After the game, we were able to go down onto the field to watch the fireworks and it got crowded fast. I've been on the field once for the "Father's Day Catch" thing in 2007, and that was at daytime. This was at night-time and it was an amazing sight. Not only the fireworks, but to look up at the lights and the stadium all-around you, it's amazing. They shut down the lights and that was even cooler, because it's just a weird feeling, like "Why am I here? Why am I standing on the field of Dodger stadium, the field where so many legends have stood before? I'm not worthy, and why are the lights off?" It's a crazy feeling.

Then the fireworks went off as "Beat It"(Michael Jackson), "Panama"(Van Halen), and "Livin' On A Prayer"(Bon Jovi) played. It was the perfect ending to an exciting day. And to think, I would've never had that feeling if Sasha didn't throw the first pitch....

Also, Ethier's game-winning hit was the 2nd walk-off hit vs. the Phillies I have seen live. The previous walk-off was last year on August 12th. The Dodgers are 6-4 in games I go to, 2-0 vs. the Phillies.

Dodgers' Surprising Start Continues...

 The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their strong start to the season with a crazy May, going 20-9, it's highest win total in May since going 21-7 in 1962, all without Manny Ramirez. They also built on their lead in the National League West, leading the Giants by 8.5 games and also holding the best record in the Major Leagues.

 This month's MVP would easily have to go to Juan Pierre. Being the replacement of an all-time great in Manny Ramirez would be tough, but Juan Pierre has done THE perfect job in filling in the gap. He's easily been the most consistent hitter, batting .374 this season, which, despite not qualifying as a team high, is misleading as he's been the starter for the entire month.

 The "stinkiest" player of the month was Andre Ethier, who was easily playing as the best player on the Dodgers in April. His average fell from .306 at the end of April to .256 now. I have faith that he'll get back to where he was, but he's easily been the only one affected negatively(performance-wise) by the Manny suspension.

 The most surprising player has been...well, I'd say Juan Pierre, but its actually been the entire team. I don't think anyone saw us being the top team at the start of the year and especially after the whole Manny thing. It's been a fun season to watch so far, you just have to pray it continues. 

 The player to watch this month is Hiroki Kuroda, who is scheduled to pitch tomorrow after being put on the disabled list after his opening day start. When he's healthy, he has proven to be very good for us.....here's hoping he isn't put on the DL again. Haha.

 The games to look forward this month: From the 12th-28th, Interleague play.(12th-14th at Rangers, 16th-18th vs. Athletics, 19th-21st at Angels, 23rd-25th at White Sox, 26th-28th vs. Mariners) Always interesting, although it's kicked our butt in recent years.