Long-time casual chess player, but trying to learn and improve.

My user name is a tribute to Nomar Garciaparra, who was my favorite baseball player when I joined the site. I also felt strongly about the "nice guys finish last" mantra because of some things happening in my life at the time. It just seems too much of a hassle to change usernames now.

I am a huge Philadelphia sports fan and German Bundesliga fan (I follow a lot of different soccer leagues). I am always willing to chat about that, among many other topics. I currently teach at the university level.

Good luck! I do take skulls, but usually not right away.