I'm back. Thanks for waiting.
Read about my trip and how it's going to turn into an amazing book: nameourbook.blogspot.com
Time for story of the week, back and better than ever. Or maybe just back.
The Nappy Headed Hos: Where are they Now?
Friday marked the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. It also marked the one year anniversary (a coincidence few in the news media picked up on a year ago, strangely enough) of the day Don Imus made his infamous racially charged insensitive comments about the Rutgers Women's Basketball team. So what's happened to all the players from the overblown media circus? Let's take a look:
The Rutgers Women: The Lady Scarlett Knights fell short of duplicating or surpassing their '07 success this season. They were eliminated by Connecticut in the Regional Finals. However, the school remains one of the elite teams in Women's Basketball, and they have developed a staunch rivalry with UConn.
Rutgers coach, Vivien Stringer, used the incident to put her team and herself into the national consciousness. She has written a book out called "Standing Tall" that will no doubt be a best seller because she'll be promoting it on Oprah later this week.
Don Imus: Imus is proof of the axiom "no publicity is bad publicity." After about six months of sitting in the corner with his head down, Imus inked a deal with ABC Radio. Imus returned to the air in December of '07 and ABC got an instant and pronounced boost in its ratings. In February his ratings were more than double what they were at the old show, proving that people who listen to ABC's other personalities like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity had plenty of time left to tune in to another narrow minded old white man and don't give a shit about women's basketball (and they probably agreed with Imus' original description of the Rutgers players). The one key difference between the CBS Radio Imus and the ABC Radio Imus is the addition of 2 black cast members. I guess now any further controversy can be avoided because Imus has black friends and he was just kidding around with them or something.
Governor Jon Corzine: the NJ Governor provided a bizarre twist during Imus week a year ago when he was speeding to Princeton to facilitate a meeting between Imus and the Rutgers women. Corzine wasn't wearing a seat belt when his car crashed and broke seemingly every bone in his body. Corzine recovered, apologized, even taped a morbid public service announcement, and has had a much better 2008, especially when compared to either governor of New York.
MSNBC TV and CBS Radio: The network fills its morning time slot now with "Morning Joe", hosted by former Florida congressman Joe Scarborough, who has about as much charisma as a pair of khaki pants, and brings in about half as many viewers as Imus did. WFAN NY, the Imus flagship, replaced the highly rated morning show with Boomer Esiason and newcomer Craig Carlton, and it has fallen far short (just like most of Boomer's passes! Zing!). Both nets are probably wishing the Imus controversy never happened, or at least, never escalated the way it did.
Al Sharpton: The Reverend was outspoken about getting Imus fired, but, as he so often does, failed to continue the conversation and turn the controversy into a constructive discussion about race in America. Maybe that's one reason he's become an afterthought in the first serious African American campaign for the Presidency.
America: As a nation, we might have been better off if everyone had let the Nappy Headed Ho's thing go the way of Imus' dozens of other offensive over-the-top comments. It didn't bring about any intelligent discussions on race and it made Imus richer. In other words: he got away with it.
And all we as Americans have to show for all that trouble is "Standing Tall: The Vivian Stringer Story."
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Friday, April 4, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Story of the Week - Feb 4-8
The Candy Factory
In the 1920s, two brothers returned from business college in Vienna to their hometown of Cieszyn on the border of Poland and Czecheslovakia and started a cookie making company in a basement. Soon after, the cookie making company blossomed into a thriving little chocolate factory that employed 500 people and made candy around the clock.
The family and the factory survive to this day. The family wound up in Cleveland, by way of the ghetto and concentration camp. The factory, , was confiscated by the Third Reich like all Jewish-owned businesses in Poland, then nationalized by the communist government of Poland, and later sold to its current owner, Kraft Foods.
The family would like its factory back.
Cieszyn is a large town about 100 miles southwest of Krakow, 200 miles north of Vienna and 300 miles west of Prague, on the Polish border with the Czech Republic and near the Polish and Czech border with Slovakia. It is and has for centuries been a crossroads town with a diverse population. Historically, Cieszyn was a tolerant and independent community made up of merchants and craftsmen.
In the Middle Ages, Cieszyn was a geographically ideal location for Jewish settlers. Jews were allowed to practice business freely and the proximity of Cieszyn to a variety of trade opportunities made that business lucrative. And so a Jewish community grew.
By the late 19th century, Jews made up 10 percent of the town's population. The rest of the population of Ciezsyn was a vibrant mix of Catholics, Protestants, Hungarians, Austrians, Czechs, and Germans. From about 1890 up to the outbreak of the First World War, Jews enjoyed political stability and security and economic prosperity in Cieszyn.
After World War I, political stability wavered as Ciezsyn was divided by the new border of Poland and Czechoslovakia. At the same time, the Schramek brothers returned from college in Vienna and started a cookie-making venture in a basement on the Polish side. They built up a factory and expanded into chocolate making. Even after one of the brothers died in 1932 and the future of Ciezsyn and Poland itself became uncertain, the factory continued to grow, and the 12 year old Hans Schramek envisioned one day inheriting the factory.
By 1939, the Schramek's candy factory had 500 employees. The town of Cieszyn had been reunited and had a Jewish population of about 3,000, still about 10 percent of the town. Hans Schramek was 19 years old when Germany invaded, and chose to remain behind in Cieszyn even as some family members fled the Nazi occupied country. The Third Reich issued its restrictions on Jews swiftly, and soon all Jewish businesses in Cieszyn, including the chocolate factory, were confiscated by the Nazis. The factory was sold to a German official at a steep discount.
Hans was forced to live in a ghetto and then shipped to various concentration camps, but managed to survive. After the war he attempted to reclaim his family's chocolate factory. But a lack of documentation and the rise of a new communist government in Poland made the reclamation impossible. In 1948, the candy factory was nationalized by the Polish government and the Schramek's appeal to a Polish high court was denied. In 1950, Hans Schramek and his mother left Europe and immigrated to Cleveland, OH.
Under Polish governmental control, the factory introduced the Prince Polo Bar, which was widely popular in the Eastern Bloc and even became the first widely available chocolate bar in Iceland. After the communist regime fell, Poland began to privatize its nationalized businesses, and in 1993 it sold the Schramek's factory to Kraft Foods, then a division of Phillip Morris.
The Schramek's have been fighting for their candy factory for over 50 years. They believe it was stolen from their family and should be returned. Kraft says it bought the factory in good faith and that the Polish Government has upheld the legitimacy of the sale, which is true.
But the situation brings up a moral responsibility debate that has been ongoing since the end of World War II: what can and or should be done to restore Jewish property stolen by the Third Reich?
According to the German government, a lot can and should and has been done. Germany has spent hundreds of billions of dollars satisfying Jewish claims of lost property from the Nazi regime. Since 1951, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (based in New York) has negotiated restitution for Holocaust victims on everything from real estate to artwork and family heirlooms. Forced labor compensation has also been addressed, though records in that area are sketchier and reparations are harder to calculate.
While Germany has provided retribution to surviving Jews worldwide for the atrocities of its recent past, the Polish government has done nothing. No legislation exists and therefore no legal precedent exists within the country to provide restitution to Jews, even in the case of the Schramek's chocolate factory, in which the claim to the property is relatively strong. Polish courts have ruled consistently against the claims of the Schramek family. As Hans Schramek told his daughter-in-law after Kraft bought the factory: "That factory belongs to us! No one ever compensated us for it! I am the legal heir to that business. I should have received millions of dollars for it!"
What is the United States doing to help the Schramek's and others like them? In short, a lot. The U.S. Government and various agencies, including the State Department's Office of Holocaust Issues, has put pressure on eastern European governments like Poland's to restore stolen property to its rightful Jewish owners. Thursday, the House Financial Services Committee heard testimony for the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2007. The act would provide accountability for thousands of bank accounts, insurance policies, and real estate claims that have gone uncompensated.
In 2008, the issue is increasingly more urgent and necessary. Holocaust survivors are aging and decreasing in number. Testimony to congress in October 2007 showed that as many of 1/4 of the remaining survivors are living in poverty. So if there is money or property in Eastern Europe that could benefit them, they should get it. Even if it's 50 years too late. Even if there really isn't enough money in the world to bring justice for the atrocities they experienced.
The Schramek's claim to the chocolate factory in Cieszyn can be rectified without government intervention. Kraft Foods is a large multinational corporation. The factory in Cieszyn, with its 250 employees represents only a small piece of that corporation. So it would not cost Kraft that much. in the grand scheme of things, to return the factory to its rightful owner. Kraft could see it this way, too - in time, legislation could obligate them to hand over millions of dollars in revenue to the Schramek family from years of selling the Eastern bloc's most popular candy bar.
It's about doing the right thing. And if it gets the factory back, the Schrameks should do the right thing, too. And it should allow the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland to use the factory as a reminder of the once vibrant community of Jews in the town of Cieszyn and perhaps a sign of a possible return. After all, the benefits and reparations provided by the German government to Jews has caused the Jewish community in Germany to grow and prosper again. Under the right circumstances, the same thing can happen in Poland. Especially in a town like Cieszyn, with its proud history of diversity and multiculturalism.
Hans Schramek died in 2006, at the age of 86. Now it is up to his family to champion the cause of his father and uncle's chocolate factory. Before he died, he got to taste a Prince Polo Bar, as made by Kraft. He quipped "They probably still use our recipes."
Further reading:
Holocaust Retribution Sought for Kraft Plant - by Greg Burns, Chicago Tribune 2/7/08
The Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2007
Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany
Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland
Cieszyn web site - includes detailed history of the Jews in Cieszyn
http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/book_excerpt.asp?bookid=10881
In the 1920s, two brothers returned from business college in Vienna to their hometown of Cieszyn on the border of Poland and Czecheslovakia and started a cookie making company in a basement. Soon after, the cookie making company blossomed into a thriving little chocolate factory that employed 500 people and made candy around the clock.
The family and the factory survive to this day. The family wound up in Cleveland, by way of the ghetto and concentration camp. The factory, , was confiscated by the Third Reich like all Jewish-owned businesses in Poland, then nationalized by the communist government of Poland, and later sold to its current owner, Kraft Foods.
The family would like its factory back.
Cieszyn is a large town about 100 miles southwest of Krakow, 200 miles north of Vienna and 300 miles west of Prague, on the Polish border with the Czech Republic and near the Polish and Czech border with Slovakia. It is and has for centuries been a crossroads town with a diverse population. Historically, Cieszyn was a tolerant and independent community made up of merchants and craftsmen.
In the Middle Ages, Cieszyn was a geographically ideal location for Jewish settlers. Jews were allowed to practice business freely and the proximity of Cieszyn to a variety of trade opportunities made that business lucrative. And so a Jewish community grew.
By the late 19th century, Jews made up 10 percent of the town's population. The rest of the population of Ciezsyn was a vibrant mix of Catholics, Protestants, Hungarians, Austrians, Czechs, and Germans. From about 1890 up to the outbreak of the First World War, Jews enjoyed political stability and security and economic prosperity in Cieszyn.
After World War I, political stability wavered as Ciezsyn was divided by the new border of Poland and Czechoslovakia. At the same time, the Schramek brothers returned from college in Vienna and started a cookie-making venture in a basement on the Polish side. They built up a factory and expanded into chocolate making. Even after one of the brothers died in 1932 and the future of Ciezsyn and Poland itself became uncertain, the factory continued to grow, and the 12 year old Hans Schramek envisioned one day inheriting the factory.
By 1939, the Schramek's candy factory had 500 employees. The town of Cieszyn had been reunited and had a Jewish population of about 3,000, still about 10 percent of the town. Hans Schramek was 19 years old when Germany invaded, and chose to remain behind in Cieszyn even as some family members fled the Nazi occupied country. The Third Reich issued its restrictions on Jews swiftly, and soon all Jewish businesses in Cieszyn, including the chocolate factory, were confiscated by the Nazis. The factory was sold to a German official at a steep discount.
Hans was forced to live in a ghetto and then shipped to various concentration camps, but managed to survive. After the war he attempted to reclaim his family's chocolate factory. But a lack of documentation and the rise of a new communist government in Poland made the reclamation impossible. In 1948, the candy factory was nationalized by the Polish government and the Schramek's appeal to a Polish high court was denied. In 1950, Hans Schramek and his mother left Europe and immigrated to Cleveland, OH.
Under Polish governmental control, the factory introduced the Prince Polo Bar, which was widely popular in the Eastern Bloc and even became the first widely available chocolate bar in Iceland. After the communist regime fell, Poland began to privatize its nationalized businesses, and in 1993 it sold the Schramek's factory to Kraft Foods, then a division of Phillip Morris.
The Schramek's have been fighting for their candy factory for over 50 years. They believe it was stolen from their family and should be returned. Kraft says it bought the factory in good faith and that the Polish Government has upheld the legitimacy of the sale, which is true.
But the situation brings up a moral responsibility debate that has been ongoing since the end of World War II: what can and or should be done to restore Jewish property stolen by the Third Reich?
According to the German government, a lot can and should and has been done. Germany has spent hundreds of billions of dollars satisfying Jewish claims of lost property from the Nazi regime. Since 1951, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (based in New York) has negotiated restitution for Holocaust victims on everything from real estate to artwork and family heirlooms. Forced labor compensation has also been addressed, though records in that area are sketchier and reparations are harder to calculate.
While Germany has provided retribution to surviving Jews worldwide for the atrocities of its recent past, the Polish government has done nothing. No legislation exists and therefore no legal precedent exists within the country to provide restitution to Jews, even in the case of the Schramek's chocolate factory, in which the claim to the property is relatively strong. Polish courts have ruled consistently against the claims of the Schramek family. As Hans Schramek told his daughter-in-law after Kraft bought the factory: "That factory belongs to us! No one ever compensated us for it! I am the legal heir to that business. I should have received millions of dollars for it!"
What is the United States doing to help the Schramek's and others like them? In short, a lot. The U.S. Government and various agencies, including the State Department's Office of Holocaust Issues, has put pressure on eastern European governments like Poland's to restore stolen property to its rightful Jewish owners. Thursday, the House Financial Services Committee heard testimony for the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2007. The act would provide accountability for thousands of bank accounts, insurance policies, and real estate claims that have gone uncompensated.
In 2008, the issue is increasingly more urgent and necessary. Holocaust survivors are aging and decreasing in number. Testimony to congress in October 2007 showed that as many of 1/4 of the remaining survivors are living in poverty. So if there is money or property in Eastern Europe that could benefit them, they should get it. Even if it's 50 years too late. Even if there really isn't enough money in the world to bring justice for the atrocities they experienced.
The Schramek's claim to the chocolate factory in Cieszyn can be rectified without government intervention. Kraft Foods is a large multinational corporation. The factory in Cieszyn, with its 250 employees represents only a small piece of that corporation. So it would not cost Kraft that much. in the grand scheme of things, to return the factory to its rightful owner. Kraft could see it this way, too - in time, legislation could obligate them to hand over millions of dollars in revenue to the Schramek family from years of selling the Eastern bloc's most popular candy bar.
It's about doing the right thing. And if it gets the factory back, the Schrameks should do the right thing, too. And it should allow the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland to use the factory as a reminder of the once vibrant community of Jews in the town of Cieszyn and perhaps a sign of a possible return. After all, the benefits and reparations provided by the German government to Jews has caused the Jewish community in Germany to grow and prosper again. Under the right circumstances, the same thing can happen in Poland. Especially in a town like Cieszyn, with its proud history of diversity and multiculturalism.
Hans Schramek died in 2006, at the age of 86. Now it is up to his family to champion the cause of his father and uncle's chocolate factory. Before he died, he got to taste a Prince Polo Bar, as made by Kraft. He quipped "They probably still use our recipes."
Further reading:
Holocaust Retribution Sought for Kraft Plant - by Greg Burns, Chicago Tribune 2/7/08
The Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2007
Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany
Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland
Cieszyn web site - includes detailed history of the Jews in Cieszyn
http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/book_excerpt.asp?bookid=10881
Friday, February 1, 2008
Story of the Week - Jan 28-Feb 1
So sue me, I waited until Monday morning to write this.
Super Weekend
It's going to be hard for me to forget my 25th Birthday and the weekend that followed. Almost all of it is sports related, but so what?
On Friday, the Mets bought me a $150 million birthday present, securing the services of "the best pitcher on the planet" (there are aparently better players on other planets, but the Mets are yet to set up an intergalactic scouting unit, so we're not sure.), Johan Santana. Instantly, the sports world says the Mets are the best team in the National League. I hope so.
Saturday, the Syracuse Orangemen (that's what they were called on my ticket, so I'm going with it) played an inspired game in Philadelphia against the Villanova Wildcats. After falling behind early, the Orangemen put together an 18-2 run and never relinquished. They kept 'Nova's offense off balance most of the game and were dominant on the defensive glass. And they did it all with just 7 players, as they'll have to do the rest of the season. The best part of the experience for me was a late basket that put Syracuse up by 16 and sent the majority of the crowd to the exits. It was such a good experience, I'll even spare the "philadelphia sucks" rant.
And then, there was Sunday. I'll keep it short, enough has been and will be written about Super Bowl XLII. But I'll just say this: The day the Mets finished their "historic collapse" (as it's come to be known) the Giants sacked the Eagle's Donovan McNabb a few hundred times en route to their second win. They were 2-2, and I was convinced they were at best an 8-8 team. I, like many other fans of the Giants, wanted Tom Coughlin out. Even after 6 straight wins, I was sure I was looking at an early exit from the playoffs and a long winter wait until Spring Training.
Then, they turned into a team I think I always thought they could be, but never thought they would be. And 6 weeks or so later, they do this:
Super Weekend
It's going to be hard for me to forget my 25th Birthday and the weekend that followed. Almost all of it is sports related, but so what?
On Friday, the Mets bought me a $150 million birthday present, securing the services of "the best pitcher on the planet" (there are aparently better players on other planets, but the Mets are yet to set up an intergalactic scouting unit, so we're not sure.), Johan Santana. Instantly, the sports world says the Mets are the best team in the National League. I hope so.
Saturday, the Syracuse Orangemen (that's what they were called on my ticket, so I'm going with it) played an inspired game in Philadelphia against the Villanova Wildcats. After falling behind early, the Orangemen put together an 18-2 run and never relinquished. They kept 'Nova's offense off balance most of the game and were dominant on the defensive glass. And they did it all with just 7 players, as they'll have to do the rest of the season. The best part of the experience for me was a late basket that put Syracuse up by 16 and sent the majority of the crowd to the exits. It was such a good experience, I'll even spare the "philadelphia sucks" rant.
And then, there was Sunday. I'll keep it short, enough has been and will be written about Super Bowl XLII. But I'll just say this: The day the Mets finished their "historic collapse" (as it's come to be known) the Giants sacked the Eagle's Donovan McNabb a few hundred times en route to their second win. They were 2-2, and I was convinced they were at best an 8-8 team. I, like many other fans of the Giants, wanted Tom Coughlin out. Even after 6 straight wins, I was sure I was looking at an early exit from the playoffs and a long winter wait until Spring Training.
Then, they turned into a team I think I always thought they could be, but never thought they would be. And 6 weeks or so later, they do this:
Monday, January 21, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Story of the Week - Jan. 14-18
Things That Need to Stop
We need to stop talking about Britney Spears. She's speaking in a British accent now? She didn't show up at the hearing to fight for her kids? She's in and out of a mental institution? None of this is surprising, all of this is sad, and stop forcing me to give a crap.
=====================
The New York Post needs to stop doing things like this:
This is Lynsey Nordstrom (and yes, that's how she spells it). She's the 21-year old Jessica Simpson lookalike that "was brought to the game by The Post after news broke that Romo was angering Dallas fans by jetting off to Mexico for a seaside romp with girlfriend Simpson when he was supposed to be training in the days before the big game."
So if I have this right: After the Giants upset the Cowboys, the Post "reported" that the Jessica Simpson lookalike IT planted in the crowd shared some of the credit, AND that was the front page story! There's a name for a newspaper that has to invent its own front page stories - it's called The National Enquirer. No more, NY Post, you don't deserve to be called a reputable source. And stop wagging the dog anyway. As a giant fan, I'm embarrassed by the Post this week. As a human being, I'm embarrassed by it most other weeks.
======================
In a related story, NFL.com needs to stop doing this:
NO!
NOT!
YET!
We need to stop talking about Britney Spears. She's speaking in a British accent now? She didn't show up at the hearing to fight for her kids? She's in and out of a mental institution? None of this is surprising, all of this is sad, and stop forcing me to give a crap.
=====================
The New York Post needs to stop doing things like this:
So if I have this right: After the Giants upset the Cowboys, the Post "reported" that the Jessica Simpson lookalike IT planted in the crowd shared some of the credit, AND that was the front page story! There's a name for a newspaper that has to invent its own front page stories - it's called The National Enquirer. No more, NY Post, you don't deserve to be called a reputable source. And stop wagging the dog anyway. As a giant fan, I'm embarrassed by the Post this week. As a human being, I'm embarrassed by it most other weeks.
======================
In a related story, NFL.com needs to stop doing this:
NO!NOT!
YET!
I got this e-mail offer earlier this week and I lost it.
Why on earth would any sports fan EVER pre-order that? They haven't won anything yet!
Pre-order is for Harry Potter books, because there's no will it/won't it involved. The book is coming out. The Giants will win or lose. These shirts will end up all over the NY metro area, or all over some third world country, depending on what happens on Sunday. But until Sunday, i don't want to see or hear any of this. Don't jinx it!
======================
We need to stop referring to OJ Simpson as "Ex NFL star OJ Simpson." I think we all know who he is. And, if OJ were a Taboo word (I'm sure he is somewhere) his buzz words are probably:
KNIFE, BLOODY GLOVE, FORD BRONCO, JUDGE ITO, BUFFALO BILLS, and it's doubtful Buffalo Bills even makes the cut ahead of Marcia Clark, Johnny Cochran, Nicole Brown, Ron Goldman, even Hertz and the Naked Gun. And now OJ is back in big legal trouble because of a shameful scheme to steal back his own memorabilia. That's pretty disgraceful, and the NFL has enough problems with its current players.
======================
Hamas needs to stop firing rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip. First of all, they suck at it. Those rockets have primitive technology, no aim, and they don't do much damage. Still, Israel won't tolerate Islamic militants firing into Israel unprovoked. So what does the Israeli military do? They retaliate with sophisticated weaponry, and they kill people. Israeli military strikes have killed 35 people since Monday. That's almost triple the number of Israelis who have been killed by Hamas rockets since 2001.
Secondly, Hamas is only hurting the people it claims to fight for by firing the rockets into Israel. Because it causes Israel to cut off the flow of food supplies and electricity and petroleum to Gaza. Very little makes sense in Israel when it comes to "the situation," but there seems to be a simple solution to this cycle of violence, and it must start with Hamas. Boys, put down your silly rockets that don't hit anything and Israel will stop destroying your buildings and killing your people and you can attempt to govern yourselves.
======================
Ok, Dennis Kucinich - it's time to stop running for president. When your campaign spends more time in the courtroom trying to get your name on the ballot and fighting your way into debates, it's time to hang it up and tell your supporter to vote for someone else.
======================
American Idol needs to stop humiliating talentless hacks, even if they ask to be humiliated. I'm not the only one who thinks this, either. Ratings for the season premiere were down from last year, an indication that people are tired of watching ridiculous people make total asses of themselves on national TV while Paula, Randy and Simon repeat the same 6 phrases they've been repeating for 6 years. The novelty of it all is about 5 years too old.
I have an idea. How about next season you take 500 of the best singers toHollywood
======================
The writers strike needs to stop. I'm watching too much Food Network. And American Idol sucks.
Why on earth would any sports fan EVER pre-order that? They haven't won anything yet!
Pre-order is for Harry Potter books, because there's no will it/won't it involved. The book is coming out. The Giants will win or lose. These shirts will end up all over the NY metro area, or all over some third world country, depending on what happens on Sunday. But until Sunday, i don't want to see or hear any of this. Don't jinx it!
======================
We need to stop referring to OJ Simpson as "Ex NFL star OJ Simpson." I think we all know who he is. And, if OJ were a Taboo word (I'm sure he is somewhere) his buzz words are probably:
KNIFE, BLOODY GLOVE, FORD BRONCO, JUDGE ITO, BUFFALO BILLS, and it's doubtful Buffalo Bills even makes the cut ahead of Marcia Clark, Johnny Cochran, Nicole Brown, Ron Goldman, even Hertz and the Naked Gun. And now OJ is back in big legal trouble because of a shameful scheme to steal back his own memorabilia. That's pretty disgraceful, and the NFL has enough problems with its current players.
======================
Hamas needs to stop firing rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip. First of all, they suck at it. Those rockets have primitive technology, no aim, and they don't do much damage. Still, Israel won't tolerate Islamic militants firing into Israel unprovoked. So what does the Israeli military do? They retaliate with sophisticated weaponry, and they kill people. Israeli military strikes have killed 35 people since Monday. That's almost triple the number of Israelis who have been killed by Hamas rockets since 2001.
Secondly, Hamas is only hurting the people it claims to fight for by firing the rockets into Israel. Because it causes Israel to cut off the flow of food supplies and electricity and petroleum to Gaza. Very little makes sense in Israel when it comes to "the situation," but there seems to be a simple solution to this cycle of violence, and it must start with Hamas. Boys, put down your silly rockets that don't hit anything and Israel will stop destroying your buildings and killing your people and you can attempt to govern yourselves.
======================
Ok, Dennis Kucinich - it's time to stop running for president. When your campaign spends more time in the courtroom trying to get your name on the ballot and fighting your way into debates, it's time to hang it up and tell your supporter to vote for someone else.
======================
American Idol needs to stop humiliating talentless hacks, even if they ask to be humiliated. I'm not the only one who thinks this, either. Ratings for the season premiere were down from last year, an indication that people are tired of watching ridiculous people make total asses of themselves on national TV while Paula, Randy and Simon repeat the same 6 phrases they've been repeating for 6 years. The novelty of it all is about 5 years too old.
I have an idea. How about next season you take 500 of the best singers to
======================
The writers strike needs to stop. I'm watching too much Food Network. And American Idol sucks.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Story of the Week -- Dec 10-14
Digesting the Mitchell Report
In late June 1994, I was in my parents' bedroom, busily writing my name on every article of clothing I owned in preparation for camp. I had Sportscenter on in the background (this is back when Sportscenter was good and watching it was a daily ritual). I was about to find out that my favorite baseball player tested positive for Cocaine use. Dwight Gooden did drugs, and he was suspended for 60 games. I was 11 years old, and the news made me cry.
The next day I went to camp and essentially forgot about Dwight Gooden. My dad didn't mention Doc in his almost daily recounts of Met games in letters. With or without Gooden, the Mets were a pretty mediocre team that year, and the year before they had lost 103 games. Two days after I got home from camp, on August 11, 1994, my dad took me to Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia to watch the Mets play the Phillies. The Mets lost that one, 2-1 in 15 innings. The game ended around 11:30. Half an hour later, The Major League Baseball Players Association went on strike.
In baseball's darkest hour, I wanted nothing more than to see my mediocre Mets take the field as soon as possible with the same flawed, crappy team that featured such overpaid duds as Bobby Bonilla and Bret Saberhagen. Even if they were without my favorite player, even if they used replacement players, as a 12 year old kid, I wanted to be able to go to Shea Stadium, and I didn't want to go another year without a World Series.
So I was there on April 28, 1995, cheering my team to a win over the Cardinals. In the first inning, 3 protesters ran onto the field and threw fake money, revealing shirts that said "GREED." But they were in the ballpark. 8 or 9 other people ran onto the field, too. One guy literally tried to steal third base. It was a great day.
The point? In less than a year, I saw my favorite player disappear from the game because he did drugs, then saw half a season and the postseason disappear because of money. And all I wanted was for everyone to just get back on the field and play.
Cut to this week, when 60-80 "favorite players" are implicated by former Sen. George Mitchell for using, buying, or, in some cases, sort of being around and hearing about, performance enhancing substances. And if you're a real baseball fan, you can't be surprised by any of the names on the list (ok, maybe Wally Joyner, but if you actually read the report you'll see that Wally didn't like the steroids and stopped using them almost immediately.) I imagine I'll be digesting the news in this report and the news that comes in its wake for quite a while, or at least until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.
First of all, I'm not surprised by anything in the report, and no dedicated baseball fan should be shocked either. Think about it. Roger Clemens is 100 years old and still throws 95 mph. He's been old since 1997, which according to the Mitchell Report, is right around the time he started using steroids. 10 years later he's still going, at times looking less hittable than he did 12-15 years ago? You weren't suspicious?
Yes, steroids bad for you and a lot of people cheated. Let's examine the career of Todd Hundley. He was a decent hitting, good catcher. He was a leader on a hapless Met team and, once Bonilla busted and the Isringhausen/Pulsipher/Wilson dream fizzled out, the face of the team. He was good for 16-18 homers a year. In 1996, right when Mitchell alleges he started using, he hits 41 homers, breaking the Met record and the single-season record for catchers. And he drives in 112 runs. In '97, he hits 30 HR. Then in '98 he gets hurt, the Mets trade for Mike Piazza, they try to put Hundley in the outfield (bad idea) and he's never really the same.
Compare to Clemens, who extends his career with steroids and who knows what else (allegedly) but also does it with a well-documented ridiculous work ethic and workout routine. And also, by comparison, has much more ability. I say the same about Bonds (who I hate, because he's a dick) The guy used steroids, but he was still an incredible player before that. They cheated, but they still belong in the hall of fame.
Also, if Clemens wasn't using, and he's pitching to Bonds who was and getting him out, that's impressive. If they were both using - still impressive. If Hundley's using and Clemens is clean, then Rocket is working extra hard to get out the juiced up batters. And vice versa. And whether Josiais Manzanillo is using or not, he still sucks and you still don't know who he is.
I'm tired of hearing a couple of arguments, including the "fallen heroes" argument. Roger Clemens is your idol? Really? The player who's been a mercenary for 4 years, holding up his "hometown" team for millions of dollars? The same guy who threw a sawed off bat at Mike Piazza? Barry Bonds certainly hasn't been a role model. Before you even get close to talking about his steroid use you have to get past the fact that he's a narcissistic asshole. John Rocker? (any surprise he showed up in the Mitchell Report?) If you look up to John Rocker, you need psychological help. And if your 10-year-old kid idolizes John Rocker, you both need help.
I'm also tired of the holier-than-thou baseball writers who insist they won't vote anyone alleged to use steroids into the Hall of Fame. You same people exalted Mark McGwire for bringing back the game post-strike (I'm getting tired of this counter argument, too, but I agree with it) knowing full well his head and arms were just unnaturally large. You even uncovered the andro in his locker and let it go once #62 barely cleared the left field wall at Busch Stadium. So shut up with the outrage, be happy that Baseball is finally doing something about this, and put McGwire into the Hall of Fame, and put Bonds and Clemens in in five years, too.
I'm also tired of people caring what President Bush thinks because he used to own the Texas Rangers and...you know what? I'm just tired of President Bush. But that's for another day.
The steroids problem runs so deep that it's impossible to unravel. And I'm in the camp with the people who want to move on. Major League Baseball is right. Attendance is through the roof, and it's not because players are hitting more home runs. It's because the experience of going to a baseball game is as good as it's ever been. The Mitchell Report doesn't leave me jaded. I've been jaded at least since my favorite player got suspended for using cocaine (he's still in prison, in case you've forgotten)
Ballplayers are human beings, they're not saints. And I can't wait until they get back on the damn field already. 8 weeks to pitchers and catchers?
In late June 1994, I was in my parents' bedroom, busily writing my name on every article of clothing I owned in preparation for camp. I had Sportscenter on in the background (this is back when Sportscenter was good and watching it was a daily ritual). I was about to find out that my favorite baseball player tested positive for Cocaine use. Dwight Gooden did drugs, and he was suspended for 60 games. I was 11 years old, and the news made me cry.
The next day I went to camp and essentially forgot about Dwight Gooden. My dad didn't mention Doc in his almost daily recounts of Met games in letters. With or without Gooden, the Mets were a pretty mediocre team that year, and the year before they had lost 103 games. Two days after I got home from camp, on August 11, 1994, my dad took me to Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia to watch the Mets play the Phillies. The Mets lost that one, 2-1 in 15 innings. The game ended around 11:30. Half an hour later, The Major League Baseball Players Association went on strike.
In baseball's darkest hour, I wanted nothing more than to see my mediocre Mets take the field as soon as possible with the same flawed, crappy team that featured such overpaid duds as Bobby Bonilla and Bret Saberhagen. Even if they were without my favorite player, even if they used replacement players, as a 12 year old kid, I wanted to be able to go to Shea Stadium, and I didn't want to go another year without a World Series.
So I was there on April 28, 1995, cheering my team to a win over the Cardinals. In the first inning, 3 protesters ran onto the field and threw fake money, revealing shirts that said "GREED." But they were in the ballpark. 8 or 9 other people ran onto the field, too. One guy literally tried to steal third base. It was a great day.
The point? In less than a year, I saw my favorite player disappear from the game because he did drugs, then saw half a season and the postseason disappear because of money. And all I wanted was for everyone to just get back on the field and play.
Cut to this week, when 60-80 "favorite players" are implicated by former Sen. George Mitchell for using, buying, or, in some cases, sort of being around and hearing about, performance enhancing substances. And if you're a real baseball fan, you can't be surprised by any of the names on the list (ok, maybe Wally Joyner, but if you actually read the report you'll see that Wally didn't like the steroids and stopped using them almost immediately.) I imagine I'll be digesting the news in this report and the news that comes in its wake for quite a while, or at least until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.
First of all, I'm not surprised by anything in the report, and no dedicated baseball fan should be shocked either. Think about it. Roger Clemens is 100 years old and still throws 95 mph. He's been old since 1997, which according to the Mitchell Report, is right around the time he started using steroids. 10 years later he's still going, at times looking less hittable than he did 12-15 years ago? You weren't suspicious?
Yes, steroids bad for you and a lot of people cheated. Let's examine the career of Todd Hundley. He was a decent hitting, good catcher. He was a leader on a hapless Met team and, once Bonilla busted and the Isringhausen/Pulsipher/Wilson dream fizzled out, the face of the team. He was good for 16-18 homers a year. In 1996, right when Mitchell alleges he started using, he hits 41 homers, breaking the Met record and the single-season record for catchers. And he drives in 112 runs. In '97, he hits 30 HR. Then in '98 he gets hurt, the Mets trade for Mike Piazza, they try to put Hundley in the outfield (bad idea) and he's never really the same.
Compare to Clemens, who extends his career with steroids and who knows what else (allegedly) but also does it with a well-documented ridiculous work ethic and workout routine. And also, by comparison, has much more ability. I say the same about Bonds (who I hate, because he's a dick) The guy used steroids, but he was still an incredible player before that. They cheated, but they still belong in the hall of fame.
Also, if Clemens wasn't using, and he's pitching to Bonds who was and getting him out, that's impressive. If they were both using - still impressive. If Hundley's using and Clemens is clean, then Rocket is working extra hard to get out the juiced up batters. And vice versa. And whether Josiais Manzanillo is using or not, he still sucks and you still don't know who he is.
I'm tired of hearing a couple of arguments, including the "fallen heroes" argument. Roger Clemens is your idol? Really? The player who's been a mercenary for 4 years, holding up his "hometown" team for millions of dollars? The same guy who threw a sawed off bat at Mike Piazza? Barry Bonds certainly hasn't been a role model. Before you even get close to talking about his steroid use you have to get past the fact that he's a narcissistic asshole. John Rocker? (any surprise he showed up in the Mitchell Report?) If you look up to John Rocker, you need psychological help. And if your 10-year-old kid idolizes John Rocker, you both need help.
I'm also tired of the holier-than-thou baseball writers who insist they won't vote anyone alleged to use steroids into the Hall of Fame. You same people exalted Mark McGwire for bringing back the game post-strike (I'm getting tired of this counter argument, too, but I agree with it) knowing full well his head and arms were just unnaturally large. You even uncovered the andro in his locker and let it go once #62 barely cleared the left field wall at Busch Stadium. So shut up with the outrage, be happy that Baseball is finally doing something about this, and put McGwire into the Hall of Fame, and put Bonds and Clemens in in five years, too.
I'm also tired of people caring what President Bush thinks because he used to own the Texas Rangers and...you know what? I'm just tired of President Bush. But that's for another day.
The steroids problem runs so deep that it's impossible to unravel. And I'm in the camp with the people who want to move on. Major League Baseball is right. Attendance is through the roof, and it's not because players are hitting more home runs. It's because the experience of going to a baseball game is as good as it's ever been. The Mitchell Report doesn't leave me jaded. I've been jaded at least since my favorite player got suspended for using cocaine (he's still in prison, in case you've forgotten)
Ballplayers are human beings, they're not saints. And I can't wait until they get back on the damn field already. 8 weeks to pitchers and catchers?
Friday, October 26, 2007
Story of the Week - Oct 22-26
Sunday Outrages
I was all set to write about this week's NFL venture in London. I was ready to write about how on Friday, the NFL was buried on the BBC sport website, taking a backseat to minor news about a minor team in the English Premiership that few American football fans have ever heard of. About how strangely the American game translates into English sport lingo, but you can read it for yourself.
I was all set to write about this week's NFL venture in London. I was ready to write about how on Friday, the NFL was buried on the BBC sport website, taking a backseat to minor news about a minor team in the English Premiership that few American football fans have ever heard of. About how strangely the American game translates into English sport lingo, but you can read it for yourself.
But then, the fans in London surprised me. They filled the place, screamed and shouted their way through the rain-soaked mostly terrible display. And aside from booing the Giants for running out the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter, acted as knowledgeable fans of the game. And who wants to see 2 minutes of kneeldowns anyway? Ok, aside from Giants fans who wanted to get the hell out of London before they blew one to the lowly Dolphins...
So my story of the week was spoiled until late Sunday night and early Monday morning, when I caught a double dose of intense outrage. And I'm sure I am not alone. Here are those 2 stories:
1. Another heckuva job
A number of agencies, governments and people earned high praise for their handling of this week's wildfires in California. The general consensus was this: Southern California was well-prepared to handle the disaster. This was not another Katrina.
The scene at San Diego, I mean...Jack Murphy, er... Qualcomm Stadium was one of organization, where volunteers outnumbered evacuees, kids were distracted with art projects and games, pets were pampered, and any and all comparisons to the scene at the Superdome post-Katrina were speedily (forgive me) extinguished.
Even FEMA was praised for its response.
Until they got in their own way.
Tuesday, FEMA held a press conference. Only, they sort of forgot to tell the press. But that didn't stop them from holding the conference. Without the press in attendence, FEMA planted staffers in the crowd to ask questions it "thought the press would ask."
QUESTION: Sir, there are a number of reports that people weren't heeding evacuation orders and that was hindering emergency responders. Can you speak a little to that, please?
QUESTION: Can you address a little bit what it means to have the president issue an emergency declaration, as opposed to a major disaster declaration? What does that (inaudible) for FEMA?
QUESTION: Sir, we understand the secretary and the administrator of FEMA are on their way out there. What is their objective? And is there anyone else traveling with them?
Question: I know you guys were appointed by President Bush, but are you really as stupid as you seem? I can't say it better than CBS' Bob Schieffer already has:
"Fire these people and the people who hired them and then explain to the new people that the best way for a disaster relief agency to get good publicity is to do a good job helping disaster victims."
It gets worse...
2. FOX BASHING!!
Thank you Fox, once again, for dashing my hopes of avoiding a 3rd straight week mentioning the freakin' Yankees. But I can't let this one slide. Why
Why??
Why??
Must you break the news about A-Rod opting out of his contract for next year when the 2007 season is 9 outs from over? Can we celebrate the end of one of the more exciting, engaging seasons in recent history (that happened to culminate with the most BORING World Series ever, but that's not the point) without having to talk about next season? Does "Wait til next year" mean anything to you?
6 outs away from sweeping their 2nd World Series in 4 years, and all Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and that total tool Ken Rosenthal (you're so cool, Ken...you have Scott Boras in your Blackberry!) can talk about is what the Red Sox are going to do about Mike Lowell next year and do they need A-Rod. NO! They don't need A-Rod, they're about to win their second World Series since he started playing for their arch-rival! Can we focus, please?
The World Series should be a celebration of the season that was, not the season to come. A-Rod can wait. Sometimes being first isn't as important as being good.
And while I'm at it, shame on the NY Post and the Daily News for thinking the A-Rod story was bigger than the World Series. It's not. Winning the World Series is the biggest on-the-field story of the season.
And shame on A-Rod and Scott Boras. Couldn't you two have waited for the offseason to officially arrive before you set off the biggest story of the offseason?
Oh crap. It's the offseason.
Well, at least the Giants are good. That was rather unexpected.
Jolly good show on the muddy pitch, chaps.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Story of the Week -- Oct 15-19
History of the Week.
I didn't want to do a sports story two weeks in a row. I REALLY didn't want to do a story about the New York Yankees two weeks in a row. And then I found this out:
What happened to Joe Torre has happened before.
Yep, and in eerily similar circumstances. 47 years ago yesterday, The Yankees announced the resignation/firing/gently nudging out the door of Casey Stengel. Stengel managed the Yankees for 12 years, winning 10 American League pennants and 7 World Series over that span. He was ousted mere days after the Yankees lost the world series on a dramatic game 7 walk-off Home Run off the bat of Pirates' second baseman Bill Mazeroski.
So there is truth to the adage that history repeats itself. And strangely enough, as I discovered, history often repeats itself with an ironic flair for anniversaries. Here are some events that happened this past week, past and present (with some help from the New York Times):
Wednesday, Turkey essentially declared war on the Kurds in northern Iraq. It was just five years ago this week that the United States essentially did the same. President Bush signed the congressional resolution authorizing war with Iraq on October 16, 2002 (of course we didn't invade until March of '03). While Tuesday marked the anniversary of the beginning of a war, Friday marked the anniversary of wars coming to an end. It was on October 19, 1951 that President Truman brought a formal end to the state of war with Germany, when I can only assume the U.S. decided a country struggling to feed itself probably wasn't a threat anymore. It was also on October 19, this time in 1781, that the British surrendered to the Continental Army at Yorktown, VA, bringing an unofficial end to the Revolutionary War.
That came 4 years and 2 days after the Americans won the battle of Saratoga, a turning point in the war, on October 17, 1777.
George W. Bush is well-known for his repetition of key phrases and talking points. This week he repeated history when he announced new sanctions against the government of Myanmar. I doubt the President knows this, but he imposed those sanctions 47 years to the day after the U.S. imposed its still-standing embargo on exports to Cuba on October 19, 1960.
I didn't want to do a sports story two weeks in a row. I REALLY didn't want to do a story about the New York Yankees two weeks in a row. And then I found this out:
What happened to Joe Torre has happened before.
Yep, and in eerily similar circumstances. 47 years ago yesterday, The Yankees announced the resignation/firing/gently nudging out the door of Casey Stengel. Stengel managed the Yankees for 12 years, winning 10 American League pennants and 7 World Series over that span. He was ousted mere days after the Yankees lost the world series on a dramatic game 7 walk-off Home Run off the bat of Pirates' second baseman Bill Mazeroski.
So there is truth to the adage that history repeats itself. And strangely enough, as I discovered, history often repeats itself with an ironic flair for anniversaries. Here are some events that happened this past week, past and present (with some help from the New York Times):
Wednesday, Turkey essentially declared war on the Kurds in northern Iraq. It was just five years ago this week that the United States essentially did the same. President Bush signed the congressional resolution authorizing war with Iraq on October 16, 2002 (of course we didn't invade until March of '03). While Tuesday marked the anniversary of the beginning of a war, Friday marked the anniversary of wars coming to an end. It was on October 19, 1951 that President Truman brought a formal end to the state of war with Germany, when I can only assume the U.S. decided a country struggling to feed itself probably wasn't a threat anymore. It was also on October 19, this time in 1781, that the British surrendered to the Continental Army at Yorktown, VA, bringing an unofficial end to the Revolutionary War.
That came 4 years and 2 days after the Americans won the battle of Saratoga, a turning point in the war, on October 17, 1777.
George W. Bush is well-known for his repetition of key phrases and talking points. This week he repeated history when he announced new sanctions against the government of Myanmar. I doubt the President knows this, but he imposed those sanctions 47 years to the day after the U.S. imposed its still-standing embargo on exports to Cuba on October 19, 1960.
The Fox Business Channel attempted a historical repeat on Monday. Rupert Murdoch's latest venture launched on Monday to, well, can we say mixed reviews? The Times called it "perky", is that good or bad? And I have to say, I'm over the naked cowboy. Over it. As in, not at all interested in an extended feature interview. So I can't say Fox went the distance in repeating history, but it was quick to point out that it was launching 56 years to the day after "I Love Lucy" premiered on CBS. "I Love Lucy" was, of course, funny on purpose. Fox Biz I'd call laughable. I'd also change the channel, quickly.
In Fox's case, I'm guessing the new network won't likely find itself on the same page in history as "Lucy", or even in the same book. And we can hope that the Myanmar sanctions are lifted soon, because that will mean oppressive regime there will ease up or collapse, both of which can't happen soon enough. We can further hope that Turkey doesn't go on to follow in our footsteps and exacerbate the Iraqi quagmire by actually invading the North. Take it from us, Turkey, you don't want to do that.
And as for Torre following in Stengel's footsteps...he probably doesn't want to do that either. Less than two years after being forced out of the Bronx, Casey took a job across the river, managing the expansion Mets. Lovable (and senile) as he was, he wasn't quite as successful. The Mets were 175-404 with Stengel at the helm.
Sometimes history isn't worth repeating.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Story of the Week -- Oct 8-12
More Reasons Why I Hate the Yankees I hate the Yankees.
I hate that in spite of the fact the Cleveland Indians had a better record during the regular season, won their division and had home field advantage, their dominating 3-1 series win was considered an "upset." The Indians had better starting pitching, a better bullpen, and better clutch hitting than the Yankees. Overall, they are a better team. What about this is an upset?
I hate that no Yankees fan appreciates the fact that his team was dead in the water as late as June, that they had to dig up pitchers out of their minor league system, relying on the likes of Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes to come up consistently in big spots and get outs for months in order to charge back and take the wild card, to almost win the division. I hate that they don't appreciate that because they ultimately lost to a better team in the Division Series. I hate that they don't look at this season as a success. Or last season, or the season before that.
On the other hand, the uber-high expectations make it much easier to root against the Yankees. If a great comeback season followed by a postseason loss puts you into hysterics, then a successful season for me is any in which the Yankees don't win the World Series.
I hate that the Yankees made me root for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series. I rooted hard in that series, at Syracuse, on a very social floor with a pack of Yankees fans screaming loudly against a pack of non-Yankees fans. And who was I rooting for?
The same team (and by same, I mean except for the stadium has a new name, the colors are totally different and the only person left from the '01 team is on the disabled list probably forever) whose fans put on a terrible display in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Colorado Rockies last night. Arizona fans barely bought up all the tickets available for the first 2 games (On Wednesday, there were 20,000 unsold tickets. WHAT!!??). They hardly Diamondbacks fans are terrible, and I hate that for two weeks in October (and November, remember that?) I was one of them.
I hate the Yankees for even considering firing a manger who has done nothing but win. In 12 seasons, Joe Torre has led the Yankees to the playoffs...12 times. He's won 4 World Series, 6 American League Championships and 11 Division Titles. Let the guy leave when he wants to leave.
For that matter, give the best closer in the history of baseball and arguably the best player in the history of baseball whatever they want.
I hate the Yankees and their fans for almost completely ignoring the season the Alex Rodriguez had (.314 avg, 54 HR, 156 RBI, 143 runs scored) because he went 4-15 in the 4 playoff games. While at the same time they exalt Derek Jeter no matter what he does, even if he goes 2-16 in those same playoff games.
I hope they lose A-Rod. I hope he takes a pay cut and goes to Pittsburgh and takes down the Yankees Mazeroski style.
And finally, I hate the Yankees because even though they've been eliminated from the playoffs, Tim McCarver will continue to find ways to squeeze them into the broadcast, while FOX executives weep about the very real possibility of a Cleveland-Colorado World Series, one that might actually be a well-played grind-it-out seven gamer that people will be talking about for years.
If only they'd watch. And they should, and so should you. Because it's easier to watch the playoffs when you don't have to hate.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Story of the Week -- Oct. 1-5
The Foxhole
The view from my perch above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange was altered under cover of night last week. 2 weeks before the self-proclaimed "most powerful name in news" alters the television landscape, they made some improvements (ahem) to the trading floor.
What appeared below, within sure-shot sniper range, is what we are calling "The Foxhole" - a 6 by 4 box squeezed in between a couple of trading posts, an omen that says quite clearly -- Rupert is here.
A few months ago, Rupert Murdoch completed a hostile takeover of Dow Jones. He spent $5 billion on the company, but what he really wanted was the company's crown jewel - The Wall Street Journal. And he got it. And just in time for the launch of the Fox Business Channel. Coincidence? Hardly.
Fox Biz isn't in competition with our business news coverage at all. We're a guppy. They want the Blue Whale -- CNBC. The people I've talked to at CNBC don't seem threatened, but the appearance of the Foxhole can't be comforting.
But it can be mocked. How cute, they're on the floor, in a studio the size of a small bedroom closet. They can look right up into our booth, which is twice the size. Or they can look up at CNBC's studio that practically says "we're the best, don't mess with us." That's adorable, Fox Biz. Now good luck.
Actually, Rupert scares the hell out of me. The Foxhole feels like the first tentacle of the NewsCorp monster, coming in to suck up another sphere of influence and foxify it. The Foxhole can only be the beginning.
BUT...while the monster moved in on Wall Street, it was relinquishing some of its influence in a far more important domain (for me, anyway) - baseball. How nice, for this first round of the playoffs, to have no Jeannie Zelasko, no Kevin Kennedy, no miked bases, stupid graphics, even stupider noises, overdramatized, overdone crowd shots, or uncomfortable up-the-nose pitcher closeups. TBS has taken the baseball playoffs, and simplified. And for a real baseball fan, it's awesome. (also helps that the Phillies are in an 0-2 hole and the Yankees got clobbered) I enjoy watching, instead of endure watching.
Now that I see again what baseball coverage can be, I'm dreading the ALCS and World Series, to be aired by the evil empire. I don't look forward to the shameless network tie-ins, overproduced player promos, wayyyyyy too much music, Tim McCarver, and endless commercials for the Fox Business Channel.
New policy - fear the foxhole, bash the FOX. Get ready.
The view from my perch above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange was altered under cover of night last week. 2 weeks before the self-proclaimed "most powerful name in news" alters the television landscape, they made some improvements (ahem) to the trading floor.
What appeared below, within sure-shot sniper range, is what we are calling "The Foxhole" - a 6 by 4 box squeezed in between a couple of trading posts, an omen that says quite clearly -- Rupert is here.
A few months ago, Rupert Murdoch completed a hostile takeover of Dow Jones. He spent $5 billion on the company, but what he really wanted was the company's crown jewel - The Wall Street Journal. And he got it. And just in time for the launch of the Fox Business Channel. Coincidence? Hardly.
Fox Biz isn't in competition with our business news coverage at all. We're a guppy. They want the Blue Whale -- CNBC. The people I've talked to at CNBC don't seem threatened, but the appearance of the Foxhole can't be comforting.
But it can be mocked. How cute, they're on the floor, in a studio the size of a small bedroom closet. They can look right up into our booth, which is twice the size. Or they can look up at CNBC's studio that practically says "we're the best, don't mess with us." That's adorable, Fox Biz. Now good luck.
Actually, Rupert scares the hell out of me. The Foxhole feels like the first tentacle of the NewsCorp monster, coming in to suck up another sphere of influence and foxify it. The Foxhole can only be the beginning.
BUT...while the monster moved in on Wall Street, it was relinquishing some of its influence in a far more important domain (for me, anyway) - baseball. How nice, for this first round of the playoffs, to have no Jeannie Zelasko, no Kevin Kennedy, no miked bases, stupid graphics, even stupider noises, overdramatized, overdone crowd shots, or uncomfortable up-the-nose pitcher closeups. TBS has taken the baseball playoffs, and simplified. And for a real baseball fan, it's awesome. (also helps that the Phillies are in an 0-2 hole and the Yankees got clobbered) I enjoy watching, instead of endure watching.
Now that I see again what baseball coverage can be, I'm dreading the ALCS and World Series, to be aired by the evil empire. I don't look forward to the shameless network tie-ins, overproduced player promos, wayyyyyy too much music, Tim McCarver, and endless commercials for the Fox Business Channel.
New policy - fear the foxhole, bash the FOX. Get ready.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Story of the Week -- August 20-24
Diary of a Baltimore Oriole
Wednesday, August 22
Dear Diary:
I'm feeling a little sad today.
My team, the Orioles, had a double-header today against the Rangers. It should have been a good day for me. I mean, two games, I'm bound to get some action today.
Since I came back in June from 4 complicated hip surgeries and 3 years out of baseball, I haven't been terrible. I haven't been great, 30 hits and 21 walks in 24 innings isn't so hot, but we stink and really I'm just happy to be pitching. Or I was.
So game one starts and we look good. I mean we've got a one run lead before I've made the trip out to the bullpen from the clubhouse. And by the time I settle in with the rest of the guys, we've made it 3-0.
A couple of timely hits by the Rangers makes it 3-2 in the top of the fourth and Leo doesn't like what he's seeing, so he goes to the mound and talks to our starter, Daniel Cabrera. He's young, gets rattled, but I think he's got good stuff. But Leo leaves and Danny can't find the strike zone against Ramon Vazquez and he grooves a 2-0 pitch. 3 run homer, 5 run inning and it's 5-3. But Cabby gets the next two and pitches a scoreless fifth. Nice bounce back.
Still, he had thrown a lot of pitches, so our guys started to get ready. And when Jarrod Saltalamacchia led off the sixth with a home run, Brian Burres was brought in for relief. Not so much, though. Poor Brian, he just couldn't get anybody out. A grand slam made it 10-3, and four more crossed home before he came out of the game. And the sixth inning still wasn't over.
I was itching to get in to this game and stop the bleeding. I've got a streak of 3 scoreless innings going, but I haven't pitched in 5 days. Today could be a real chance to keep the streak going, in a pressure-free outing. But they leave in Rob Bell to start the 8th, and he's earned it after ending the disastrous 6th and tossing a scoreless 7th.
Boy did that wear off quickly. the first 7 Rangers reach base, and 6 of them score, and I get the call to come put out the fire in a 20-3 game that is completely out of hand.
3 strikeouts in one inning is usually pretty good. I'm proud of myself for that. Not so proud of the 4 more runs sandwiched between those strikeouts though. It's a 10 run inning, and it's 24-3. For the ninth inning, I have one job to do - put us out of our misery. And I did, but not before I gave up (eesh) 6 more runs to these guys. And that's an American League record. 30-3. No team has scored 30 runs in a game since 1897. And 9 of them are charged to me. My ERA just jumped to 9.49. Maybe I shouldn't have come back after all.
Like I said, I'm feeling a little sad today.
I have to say, though, I admire our regular players. They got their butts whooped and then had to take a shower, change and go out and play a second game (we lost that one, too, 9-7)
Oh well. I'll do better next time. I can't do much worse.
Yours Truly,
Paul
More fun facts about this game:
The last team to score 30 or more runs in a game was the 1897 Chicago Colts, when they scored 36 in a game against Louisville.
The Rangers scored 26 runs in a game against the same Baltimore Orioles in 1996.
Rangers P Wes Littleton picked up his first save of the year in this game. According to the rule, a save is recorded when a pitcher pitches 3 or more innings to finish a game. So Littleton "saved" a 27 run lead for Texas. To be fair, when he entered the game, they were only up by 11.
The Rangers hit 6 home runs in the game, including 2 grand slams. Strangely enough, there were only 2 doubles.
Wednesday, August 22
Dear Diary:
I'm feeling a little sad today.
My team, the Orioles, had a double-header today against the Rangers. It should have been a good day for me. I mean, two games, I'm bound to get some action today.
Since I came back in June from 4 complicated hip surgeries and 3 years out of baseball, I haven't been terrible. I haven't been great, 30 hits and 21 walks in 24 innings isn't so hot, but we stink and really I'm just happy to be pitching. Or I was.
So game one starts and we look good. I mean we've got a one run lead before I've made the trip out to the bullpen from the clubhouse. And by the time I settle in with the rest of the guys, we've made it 3-0.
A couple of timely hits by the Rangers makes it 3-2 in the top of the fourth and Leo doesn't like what he's seeing, so he goes to the mound and talks to our starter, Daniel Cabrera. He's young, gets rattled, but I think he's got good stuff. But Leo leaves and Danny can't find the strike zone against Ramon Vazquez and he grooves a 2-0 pitch. 3 run homer, 5 run inning and it's 5-3. But Cabby gets the next two and pitches a scoreless fifth. Nice bounce back.
Still, he had thrown a lot of pitches, so our guys started to get ready. And when Jarrod Saltalamacchia led off the sixth with a home run, Brian Burres was brought in for relief. Not so much, though. Poor Brian, he just couldn't get anybody out. A grand slam made it 10-3, and four more crossed home before he came out of the game. And the sixth inning still wasn't over.
I was itching to get in to this game and stop the bleeding. I've got a streak of 3 scoreless innings going, but I haven't pitched in 5 days. Today could be a real chance to keep the streak going, in a pressure-free outing. But they leave in Rob Bell to start the 8th, and he's earned it after ending the disastrous 6th and tossing a scoreless 7th.
Boy did that wear off quickly. the first 7 Rangers reach base, and 6 of them score, and I get the call to come put out the fire in a 20-3 game that is completely out of hand.
3 strikeouts in one inning is usually pretty good. I'm proud of myself for that. Not so proud of the 4 more runs sandwiched between those strikeouts though. It's a 10 run inning, and it's 24-3. For the ninth inning, I have one job to do - put us out of our misery. And I did, but not before I gave up (eesh) 6 more runs to these guys. And that's an American League record. 30-3. No team has scored 30 runs in a game since 1897. And 9 of them are charged to me. My ERA just jumped to 9.49. Maybe I shouldn't have come back after all.
Like I said, I'm feeling a little sad today.
I have to say, though, I admire our regular players. They got their butts whooped and then had to take a shower, change and go out and play a second game (we lost that one, too, 9-7)
Oh well. I'll do better next time. I can't do much worse.
Yours Truly,
Paul
More fun facts about this game:
The last team to score 30 or more runs in a game was the 1897 Chicago Colts, when they scored 36 in a game against Louisville.
The Rangers scored 26 runs in a game against the same Baltimore Orioles in 1996.
Rangers P Wes Littleton picked up his first save of the year in this game. According to the rule, a save is recorded when a pitcher pitches 3 or more innings to finish a game. So Littleton "saved" a 27 run lead for Texas. To be fair, when he entered the game, they were only up by 11.
The Rangers hit 6 home runs in the game, including 2 grand slams. Strangely enough, there were only 2 doubles.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Story of the Week -- July 23-27
Welcome, readers of http://www.crooksandliars.com/! And thanks for including me as the second "E" in that impeachment acrostic and for spreading that all over.
Welcome to The Full Circle. Stay a while, read some stuff, write some comments, offer me a column or a book deal. You know, whatever you want...
Here's the story of the week.
Stop Everything! Beyonce fell down!
This is not news. It's a non-story. It will make you a more informed citizen. This is not something you need to know.
But it's fuckin' hilarious.
"Beyonce falls down at concert in Orlando." This headline garners two reactions:
1. So what?
2. Can I see?
And thanks to cell phone cameras, YouTube and the 24 Hour news beast (including my esteemed employer), you can see it over and over and over and over again, and laugh and laugh and laugh.
Well, at least until Beyonce's peeps figured out a way to get it off the web. and they did, citing copyright restrictions and cruelty to really hot pop divas.
This is how the story should have been told: "Oh my God, yo, my friend was at the Beyonce concert last night, and so dude, he said she was doin' some song and wearin' these ridiculous shoes and she trips and totally eats it, like a freakin' forward roll. Dude I heard it was hilarious." Because essentially, the mainstream news media was just helping to spread gossip. It's not a story.
The only reason it even makes the news is because some shlub who was recording the Beyonce concert on his cell phone so he could go home and relive the experience in poor quality on a one inch screen was at the right place at the right time, with the camera just high enough above the crowd to catch a glimpse of Beyonce when she suddenly took a remarkable tumble. And that same shlub went home and put the thing on YouTube.
We need new rules about YouTube (somebody call Bill Maher). The first should be: It's not important just because a million people watch it. And the second: It's not a phenomenon anymore when somebody "happens to catch something on his cell phone camera" and then it goes viral on the Internet.
It doesn't mean I didn't watch the video six or seven times. I mean, it was funny. She's dancing, head-banging and stuff and then she catches a heel, does a full flip down six or seven steps. Then..then! She begs her fans NOT to post it on YouTube. Hahahahahahaha! Yeah, right! Like that's gonna happen.
Without video like this, there probably wouldn't be a YouTube, or it wouldn't be as successful. Late night talk show hosts would have a little less material to work with. And America's Funniest Home Videos wouldn't exist.
But we'd still have news. Beyonce falling down is not news. Well, unless you're a chiropractor, apparently:
"It's been said that it's all fun and games until someone
gets hurt, and then it's hysterical. There's nothing funny about having symptoms
and conditions that could have possibly been avoided with a thorough
chiropractic checkup and a follow-up with the appropriate chiropractic
care.
Hey! Put down your cell phone and get that poor diva a chiropractor!
http://www.planetc1.com/cgi-bin/n/v.cgi?c=1&id=1185517622.
Two other stories that are better and more newsworthy than Beyonce falling down:
First, Ok, well this isn't news yet but it could be. And before I go on...I hate the Yankees.
There. Now, Alex Rodriguez hit his 499th career home run this week in Kansas City. But it could have been his 500th home run.
Tonight, the Yankees will play the remainder of a game against the Baltimore Orioles that was suspended on June 28th due to rain. They will restart the game in the 8th inning, with Derek Jeter on second base, Hideki Matsui at bat and A-Rod on deck.
All stats recorded will count for June 28th. So if A-Rod homers, technically, that home run is #493 and the one he hit on Wednesday is #500.
This same bizarre technicality affected Barry Bonds in his rookie season. The Pirates played the conclusion of a suspended game in August. Barry made his ML debut in May of that season, but he won the suspended game with an RBI single. So, technically, Barry Bonds got his first major league hit before he was called up to the major leagues. Or, he got it after he already had 50 ML hits and 10 home runs.
Confused?? Read this: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/27/sports/baseball/27homerun.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin
And perhaps the most important story this week, they have finally chosen a successor for Bob Barker, and it's Drew Carey. Not sure how I feel, in a "could be good, could be bad" sort of way.
When Rod Roddy died, I thought I'd never get used to another announcer's voice, but the new guy (whose name I don't know) is pretty good. I'm not expecting Drew to be exactly like Bob. They're definitely different people. But if Carey is light on shtick and just hosts the show and interacts with people and tries to be himself, he could be a good fit.
But those are some pretty big shoes to fill. Just like no Denver Broncos quarterback will ever measure up to John Elway, and no Chicago Bull can ever be Michael Jordan, etc etc, for millions of people, nobody can be the next Bob Barker.
Welcome to The Full Circle. Stay a while, read some stuff, write some comments, offer me a column or a book deal. You know, whatever you want...
Here's the story of the week.
Stop Everything! Beyonce fell down!
This is not news. It's a non-story. It will make you a more informed citizen. This is not something you need to know.
But it's fuckin' hilarious.
"Beyonce falls down at concert in Orlando." This headline garners two reactions:
1. So what?
2. Can I see?
And thanks to cell phone cameras, YouTube and the 24 Hour news beast (including my esteemed employer), you can see it over and over and over and over again, and laugh and laugh and laugh.
Well, at least until Beyonce's peeps figured out a way to get it off the web. and they did, citing copyright restrictions and cruelty to really hot pop divas.
This is how the story should have been told: "Oh my God, yo, my friend was at the Beyonce concert last night, and so dude, he said she was doin' some song and wearin' these ridiculous shoes and she trips and totally eats it, like a freakin' forward roll. Dude I heard it was hilarious." Because essentially, the mainstream news media was just helping to spread gossip. It's not a story.
The only reason it even makes the news is because some shlub who was recording the Beyonce concert on his cell phone so he could go home and relive the experience in poor quality on a one inch screen was at the right place at the right time, with the camera just high enough above the crowd to catch a glimpse of Beyonce when she suddenly took a remarkable tumble. And that same shlub went home and put the thing on YouTube.
We need new rules about YouTube (somebody call Bill Maher). The first should be: It's not important just because a million people watch it. And the second: It's not a phenomenon anymore when somebody "happens to catch something on his cell phone camera" and then it goes viral on the Internet.
It doesn't mean I didn't watch the video six or seven times. I mean, it was funny. She's dancing, head-banging and stuff and then she catches a heel, does a full flip down six or seven steps. Then..then! She begs her fans NOT to post it on YouTube. Hahahahahahaha! Yeah, right! Like that's gonna happen.
Without video like this, there probably wouldn't be a YouTube, or it wouldn't be as successful. Late night talk show hosts would have a little less material to work with. And America's Funniest Home Videos wouldn't exist.
But we'd still have news. Beyonce falling down is not news. Well, unless you're a chiropractor, apparently:
"It's been said that it's all fun and games until someone
gets hurt, and then it's hysterical. There's nothing funny about having symptoms
and conditions that could have possibly been avoided with a thorough
chiropractic checkup and a follow-up with the appropriate chiropractic
care.
Hey! Put down your cell phone and get that poor diva a chiropractor!
http://www.planetc1.com/cgi-bin/n/v.cgi?c=1&id=1185517622.
Two other stories that are better and more newsworthy than Beyonce falling down:
First, Ok, well this isn't news yet but it could be. And before I go on...I hate the Yankees.
There. Now, Alex Rodriguez hit his 499th career home run this week in Kansas City. But it could have been his 500th home run.
Tonight, the Yankees will play the remainder of a game against the Baltimore Orioles that was suspended on June 28th due to rain. They will restart the game in the 8th inning, with Derek Jeter on second base, Hideki Matsui at bat and A-Rod on deck.
All stats recorded will count for June 28th. So if A-Rod homers, technically, that home run is #493 and the one he hit on Wednesday is #500.
This same bizarre technicality affected Barry Bonds in his rookie season. The Pirates played the conclusion of a suspended game in August. Barry made his ML debut in May of that season, but he won the suspended game with an RBI single. So, technically, Barry Bonds got his first major league hit before he was called up to the major leagues. Or, he got it after he already had 50 ML hits and 10 home runs.
Confused?? Read this: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/27/sports/baseball/27homerun.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin
And perhaps the most important story this week, they have finally chosen a successor for Bob Barker, and it's Drew Carey. Not sure how I feel, in a "could be good, could be bad" sort of way.
When Rod Roddy died, I thought I'd never get used to another announcer's voice, but the new guy (whose name I don't know) is pretty good. I'm not expecting Drew to be exactly like Bob. They're definitely different people. But if Carey is light on shtick and just hosts the show and interacts with people and tries to be himself, he could be a good fit.
But those are some pretty big shoes to fill. Just like no Denver Broncos quarterback will ever measure up to John Elway, and no Chicago Bull can ever be Michael Jordan, etc etc, for millions of people, nobody can be the next Bob Barker.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Fox Bashing!
I started this blog last December, which means my readers have yet to experience an October with me. However, those readers who know me know that October means time to bash Fox's baseball coverage!
This includes everything from cursing out Tim McCarver every time he squeezes a not-so-subtle Yankees reference into a game that doesn't involve the Yankees AT ALL, to calling for Jeannie Zelasko's death and dismemberment every time she makes a bad pun or offers an ill-informed and totally obvious "update". (You're gonna love October...)
Luckily (or not), October came early this year and Fox's All Star coverage was as sucky as ever. Here are just a few examples:
Eric Byrnes
The Diamondback's outfielder didn't make the All-Star roster, so instead he joined the Fox follies and took his spot in a kayak in McCovey Cove along with his glove and his bulldog. A seat in the cove seemed as hard to come by as a seat in the ballpark. Harder maybe. And that was funny to me, since not one baseball landed in the Cove during the game or during Monday's Home Run Derby. Maybe that's why Byrnes got out of the water around the 4th inning (perhaps suddenly realizing that AT&T Park is a pitcher's park, hmm?). Maybe he figured that if he's going to contribute zero substance to the game, he might as well be dry.
Not even the bulldog wanted to be out in the Cove with Byrnes. When Eric tossed a ball out into the water for the dog to fetch, the dog made a beeline for the Pacific Ocean.
Next year, I'm voting as many times as I can for Eric Byrnes to be an All-Star.
Information Overload
I understand that numbers are a huge part of baseball, and so I had certain expectations when I turned on the broadcast. It didn't bother me to hear how many all star games each player played in, what their stats were this year, etc. It's the unnecessary and/or painfully obvious offerings from Fox that irk me the most.
First came the graphic about Ken Griffey, Jr's standing on the all-time HR list. He has 586 career HR, so does Frank Robinson. What was the graphic? a picture of Griffey and a picture of Robinson. Under each: "586 HR, T-6th all time." Who's 5th? Don't know. Who's 7th? No idea.
Then, when Barry Bonds came to the plate for his second at bat, Fox decided to scroll his entire career underneath the score bar at the top of the screen. All you people talk about is Barry Bonds! This whole All Star Break has been about Barry Bonds! So now I finally get to see him up at bat, but I can't, cause all I can see is this stupid crawl about his lifetime on base percentage. Goddammit, Fox, is it so hard to talk about his numbers, or is McCarver too busy talking about how great Derek Jeter is at getting into ready position?
Stupid prepared packages
I don't mind so much that you have stuff prepared to introduce us to players we may not know, like Chase Utley and Prince Fielder. That's fine. EXCEPT -- show them while the players are still in the game! TWICE this happened:
"Orlando Hudson bats for the first time. The D-Back's second baseman came into the game for Chase Utley. And let's show you Utley's HP Dumbass Bio thingie. OOH! He likes to dance at weddings. Do you like to dance at weddings, Tim?"
(I was paraphrasing)
And Tim, I get it, you used to be a catcher. And catchers are Jesus.
OH MY GOD I HATE FOX!! MAKE IT STOP!!
And then, in the 9th Inning, Joe Buck forgot where he was: "...on this beautiful night in San Diego..."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....
Ready for October?
This includes everything from cursing out Tim McCarver every time he squeezes a not-so-subtle Yankees reference into a game that doesn't involve the Yankees AT ALL, to calling for Jeannie Zelasko's death and dismemberment every time she makes a bad pun or offers an ill-informed and totally obvious "update". (You're gonna love October...)
Luckily (or not), October came early this year and Fox's All Star coverage was as sucky as ever. Here are just a few examples:
Eric Byrnes
The Diamondback's outfielder didn't make the All-Star roster, so instead he joined the Fox follies and took his spot in a kayak in McCovey Cove along with his glove and his bulldog. A seat in the cove seemed as hard to come by as a seat in the ballpark. Harder maybe. And that was funny to me, since not one baseball landed in the Cove during the game or during Monday's Home Run Derby. Maybe that's why Byrnes got out of the water around the 4th inning (perhaps suddenly realizing that AT&T Park is a pitcher's park, hmm?). Maybe he figured that if he's going to contribute zero substance to the game, he might as well be dry.
Not even the bulldog wanted to be out in the Cove with Byrnes. When Eric tossed a ball out into the water for the dog to fetch, the dog made a beeline for the Pacific Ocean.
Next year, I'm voting as many times as I can for Eric Byrnes to be an All-Star.
Information Overload
I understand that numbers are a huge part of baseball, and so I had certain expectations when I turned on the broadcast. It didn't bother me to hear how many all star games each player played in, what their stats were this year, etc. It's the unnecessary and/or painfully obvious offerings from Fox that irk me the most.
First came the graphic about Ken Griffey, Jr's standing on the all-time HR list. He has 586 career HR, so does Frank Robinson. What was the graphic? a picture of Griffey and a picture of Robinson. Under each: "586 HR, T-6th all time." Who's 5th? Don't know. Who's 7th? No idea.
Then, when Barry Bonds came to the plate for his second at bat, Fox decided to scroll his entire career underneath the score bar at the top of the screen. All you people talk about is Barry Bonds! This whole All Star Break has been about Barry Bonds! So now I finally get to see him up at bat, but I can't, cause all I can see is this stupid crawl about his lifetime on base percentage. Goddammit, Fox, is it so hard to talk about his numbers, or is McCarver too busy talking about how great Derek Jeter is at getting into ready position?
Stupid prepared packages
I don't mind so much that you have stuff prepared to introduce us to players we may not know, like Chase Utley and Prince Fielder. That's fine. EXCEPT -- show them while the players are still in the game! TWICE this happened:
"Orlando Hudson bats for the first time. The D-Back's second baseman came into the game for Chase Utley. And let's show you Utley's HP Dumbass Bio thingie. OOH! He likes to dance at weddings. Do you like to dance at weddings, Tim?"
(I was paraphrasing)
And Tim, I get it, you used to be a catcher. And catchers are Jesus.
OH MY GOD I HATE FOX!! MAKE IT STOP!!
And then, in the 9th Inning, Joe Buck forgot where he was: "...on this beautiful night in San Diego..."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....
Ready for October?
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Too Much of a Halfway Decent Thing
Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic will do the play-by-play for the second game of ESPN's Monday Night Football opening doubleheader.
1. STOP with the Monday Night Football Doubleheaders. It started as a necessity in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. The NFL was figuring out what to do with the Giants-Saints game that was supposed to be in New Orleans. They came up with "play it in New Jersey" only the Jets were occupying the stadium Sunday, so they came up with "play it on Monday." And ESPN thought it was a great idea. It's not. One game on Monday night is enough, thank you.
2. ENOUGH Mike and Mike. Having a halfway decent, tolerable, good-for-all-timezones radio show doesn't mean they should be everywhere! First Arena Football, then the Spelling Bee, now they're Madden and Michaels?? No. NO NO NO.
Oh, and adding Mike Ditka doesn't sweeten the deal. Especially after I have to listen to Tirico and Ron Jaworski in game one. I used to like Monday Night Football.
3. DON'T MAKE ME TALK ABOUT FOOTBALL IN JUNE!!!!
1. STOP with the Monday Night Football Doubleheaders. It started as a necessity in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. The NFL was figuring out what to do with the Giants-Saints game that was supposed to be in New Orleans. They came up with "play it in New Jersey" only the Jets were occupying the stadium Sunday, so they came up with "play it on Monday." And ESPN thought it was a great idea. It's not. One game on Monday night is enough, thank you.
2. ENOUGH Mike and Mike. Having a halfway decent, tolerable, good-for-all-timezones radio show doesn't mean they should be everywhere! First Arena Football, then the Spelling Bee, now they're Madden and Michaels?? No. NO NO NO.
Oh, and adding Mike Ditka doesn't sweeten the deal. Especially after I have to listen to Tirico and Ron Jaworski in game one. I used to like Monday Night Football.
3. DON'T MAKE ME TALK ABOUT FOOTBALL IN JUNE!!!!
Monday, June 4, 2007
Bad Advice
I've heard this twice now, and I gotta say I have a problem with this particular bit of advice.
First it was a central theme in an episode of Gray's Anatomy in which George kept calling Torres a pig. Funny stuff (notreallyIhopethatshowgetsgoodagainnextseasoncauseitwasprettybadtowardtheendofthisone...)
and then I heard that Brian Billick (head coach of the Baltimore Ravens) used it in a graduation speech. Does that mean Brian Billick watches Gray's? With his players? Does Ray Lewis cry when he watches Gray's Anatomy? These are questions for another time. Anyway, the advice Billick steals from Gray's and gives to graduates is this:
"In a bacon and eggs breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed. Be that pig."
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!!!!!!!!!WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!
In a bacon and eggs breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is DEAD! Dead, skinned, quartered, sliced into strips and fried in scalding oil! The chicken, meanwhile, laid an egg, got up and went across the street for Starbucks. And lived, to contribute to yet another breakfast.
Don't take this the wrong way (ladies...) I'm not afraid of commitment in the slightest, but in this scenario, I think, given a choice, I'll be the chicken.
First it was a central theme in an episode of Gray's Anatomy in which George kept calling Torres a pig. Funny stuff (notreallyIhopethatshowgetsgoodagainnextseasoncauseitwasprettybadtowardtheendofthisone...)
and then I heard that Brian Billick (head coach of the Baltimore Ravens) used it in a graduation speech. Does that mean Brian Billick watches Gray's? With his players? Does Ray Lewis cry when he watches Gray's Anatomy? These are questions for another time. Anyway, the advice Billick steals from Gray's and gives to graduates is this:
"In a bacon and eggs breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed. Be that pig."
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!!!!!!!!!WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!
In a bacon and eggs breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is DEAD! Dead, skinned, quartered, sliced into strips and fried in scalding oil! The chicken, meanwhile, laid an egg, got up and went across the street for Starbucks. And lived, to contribute to yet another breakfast.
Don't take this the wrong way (ladies...) I'm not afraid of commitment in the slightest, but in this scenario, I think, given a choice, I'll be the chicken.
Update to Story of the Week
I found out over the weekend that Spelling Bee champion Evan O'Dorney does indeed have Asperger's Syndrome, something I suspected but didn't want to mention unless I knew for sure.
On Friday, Evan appeared on CNN's American Morning. Keiran Chetry interviewed him, then gave him a word to spell. Only she mispronounced it, then couldn't give him the language of origin, then told him he was right when he wasn't (and the word was, of course, spelled out on the screen). It was a disaster. Why? Aside from the obvious reasons, Evan couldn't laugh along when Keiran got flustered, he just kept asking for the language of origin. He was a terrible interview.
Which returns to my point from the original point about home schooling. Kids with Asberger's are highly intelligent. Their academic excellence is inevitable. They need school for the social aspect as much as for the academics. Home schooling takes away that chance.
Put the Spelling Bee trophy on the shelf, put the money away for college and send Evan to a public high school. It'll do him good.
Sorry, it'll do him well. (see? public school worked for me...)
On Friday, Evan appeared on CNN's American Morning. Keiran Chetry interviewed him, then gave him a word to spell. Only she mispronounced it, then couldn't give him the language of origin, then told him he was right when he wasn't (and the word was, of course, spelled out on the screen). It was a disaster. Why? Aside from the obvious reasons, Evan couldn't laugh along when Keiran got flustered, he just kept asking for the language of origin. He was a terrible interview.
Which returns to my point from the original point about home schooling. Kids with Asberger's are highly intelligent. Their academic excellence is inevitable. They need school for the social aspect as much as for the academics. Home schooling takes away that chance.
Put the Spelling Bee trophy on the shelf, put the money away for college and send Evan to a public high school. It'll do him good.
Sorry, it'll do him well. (see? public school worked for me...)
Friday, June 1, 2007
Story of the Week - May 28--June 1
Spell Check
In 1983, the winning word at the Scripps National Spelling Bee was "Purim". Seriously.
In my lifetime, thanks to ESPN, a popular documentary, a slightly less popular movie, ESPN, a hit Broadway musical, and ESPN, the Bee has gotten bigger, tougher, and geekier. And I can't figure out how I feel about it.
This year's Bee, the final rounds of which are now held on ABC in Prime Time and High Definition, was won by a home-schooled 13 year old who is also a math and music prodigy and admitted he doesn't even like Spelling all that much.
Hey, Evan O'Dorney! You just won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, what are you gonna do next? I'm going....to go study logarithms and get ready for Math camp! Then I'm gonna compose a symphony about how I'll never have any friends!
But it wasn't really my intention to bash the kids in this competition. They're brilliant kids, have insane memories, knowledge of foreign languages and word parts, and most of the kids that ABC spotlighted were involved in tons of other activities. O'Dorney fits right into that profile.
I do mean to bash home-schooling, though. I'm serious about the friends thing. Going to school and interacting with other humans is as essential to education as the schoolwork itself. Students learn social skills that will help them later on in life. There is an advantage to being a working part of society in addition to being one of its brightest bulbs. And for someone like Evan, who might have trouble making friends to begin with, home-schooling only lowers those odds even more.
Well, he is going to math camp, so that's something.
So what I really set out to do was bash ESPN a little. See, I still can't figure out why I like the spelling bee, but I do know that I used to like it more, before it went to prime time, before Stuart Scott interviewed the kids from backstage and compared them to Steve Nash, before Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic stumbled through pre-written cheeseball commentary.
The Spelling Bee broadcast is actually a tradition of ESPN's, going back to the days when the upstart cable channel broadcast anything that came anywhere close to being called a sport. You can't call the Bee a sport, but the drama of the competition is compelling and the kids are impressive. But ESPN is ruining it with oversaturation. These kids don't know who Stuart Scott is (most of them don't anyway) get him out of there. And the Mike and Mike thing, which included a Spelling Bee of their own on Sportscenter, was terrible. Golic got "Favre", Greenberg got "Roethlisberger", I got a little sick and turned off the TV.
Lately Sportscenter is more like this and less...um...good. It's just a giant commercial for everything ESPN broadcasts, plus 30 seconds of hockey coverage. Hockey is still a pretty popular sport in parts of the country, and if ESPN gave it a little more exposure, they might decide to go bid for the TV rights again, instead of showing so much girls softball. For the nationwide sports audience, the Stanley Cup Finals have to be more popular than girls softball. They just have to be.
The Stanley Cup Finals also should be more popular than the Spelling Bee, since winning a Stanley Cup is a greater achievement. Sorry to say it, Evan O'what's your name, but nobody will remember you in a few years, but we all still know Wayne Gretzky.
But that's what I like about the Spelling Bee, too. Not many people get on TV for academic achievement. One night a year dedicated to bright, young minds (without a gimmicky game show, certified morons, and Jeff Foxworthy) showing off their mental capacity and exposing the outer fringes of the English language to an increasingly dumbed down American public (most of whom are not smarter than a fifth grader) is great, and it's great television.
But Stuart Scott doesn't need to be involved for it to be great television. Nor does it need to be in HD, by the way. Pock-marked pre-teens don't need high definition. Yikes. I'll like the Spelling Bee a lot more when it retreats to daytime, standard definition, no frills, high-drama geekery.
What can I say, I'm a P-U-R-I-S-T.
In 1983, the winning word at the Scripps National Spelling Bee was "Purim". Seriously.
In my lifetime, thanks to ESPN, a popular documentary, a slightly less popular movie, ESPN, a hit Broadway musical, and ESPN, the Bee has gotten bigger, tougher, and geekier. And I can't figure out how I feel about it.
This year's Bee, the final rounds of which are now held on ABC in Prime Time and High Definition, was won by a home-schooled 13 year old who is also a math and music prodigy and admitted he doesn't even like Spelling all that much.
Hey, Evan O'Dorney! You just won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, what are you gonna do next? I'm going....to go study logarithms and get ready for Math camp! Then I'm gonna compose a symphony about how I'll never have any friends!
But it wasn't really my intention to bash the kids in this competition. They're brilliant kids, have insane memories, knowledge of foreign languages and word parts, and most of the kids that ABC spotlighted were involved in tons of other activities. O'Dorney fits right into that profile.
I do mean to bash home-schooling, though. I'm serious about the friends thing. Going to school and interacting with other humans is as essential to education as the schoolwork itself. Students learn social skills that will help them later on in life. There is an advantage to being a working part of society in addition to being one of its brightest bulbs. And for someone like Evan, who might have trouble making friends to begin with, home-schooling only lowers those odds even more.
Well, he is going to math camp, so that's something.
So what I really set out to do was bash ESPN a little. See, I still can't figure out why I like the spelling bee, but I do know that I used to like it more, before it went to prime time, before Stuart Scott interviewed the kids from backstage and compared them to Steve Nash, before Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic stumbled through pre-written cheeseball commentary.
The Spelling Bee broadcast is actually a tradition of ESPN's, going back to the days when the upstart cable channel broadcast anything that came anywhere close to being called a sport. You can't call the Bee a sport, but the drama of the competition is compelling and the kids are impressive. But ESPN is ruining it with oversaturation. These kids don't know who Stuart Scott is (most of them don't anyway) get him out of there. And the Mike and Mike thing, which included a Spelling Bee of their own on Sportscenter, was terrible. Golic got "Favre", Greenberg got "Roethlisberger", I got a little sick and turned off the TV.
Lately Sportscenter is more like this and less...um...good. It's just a giant commercial for everything ESPN broadcasts, plus 30 seconds of hockey coverage. Hockey is still a pretty popular sport in parts of the country, and if ESPN gave it a little more exposure, they might decide to go bid for the TV rights again, instead of showing so much girls softball. For the nationwide sports audience, the Stanley Cup Finals have to be more popular than girls softball. They just have to be.
The Stanley Cup Finals also should be more popular than the Spelling Bee, since winning a Stanley Cup is a greater achievement. Sorry to say it, Evan O'what's your name, but nobody will remember you in a few years, but we all still know Wayne Gretzky.
But that's what I like about the Spelling Bee, too. Not many people get on TV for academic achievement. One night a year dedicated to bright, young minds (without a gimmicky game show, certified morons, and Jeff Foxworthy) showing off their mental capacity and exposing the outer fringes of the English language to an increasingly dumbed down American public (most of whom are not smarter than a fifth grader) is great, and it's great television.
But Stuart Scott doesn't need to be involved for it to be great television. Nor does it need to be in HD, by the way. Pock-marked pre-teens don't need high definition. Yikes. I'll like the Spelling Bee a lot more when it retreats to daytime, standard definition, no frills, high-drama geekery.
What can I say, I'm a P-U-R-I-S-T.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
5,600 Furlongs from Baltimore -- New Article at Travelers Pen!
I went to Michigan two weeks ago for some shenanigans with old friends. As it constituted travel, I took the opportunity to publish the experience at Travelers Pen. http://travelerspen.com It's in two parts. The first went up Tuesday, Part II should be up shortly. Here's a taste. Comments welcome:
It’s me, Nicole, Sandy, Becky and Agent 27 (not his real name). We’re standing 4 stories above the track below, looking down at a crowd of a couple hundred people. The Voice of Great Lakes Downs is next to us, binoculars at the ready. Chrissy, easily spotted in her bright red suit and matching heels, waves up to us.
And they’re off! The Voice calls the race with stunning accuracy as the seven horses round the first turn en route to a 6 furlough sprint. For this, our last race of the day, we all went in on a boxed trifecta, on a tip from the Voice. If the voice is right, we’ll walk away with all the money we came in with.
The Voice is wrong. Very wrong. But at this point, we’re used to losing races. In all other aspects, we walk away winners.
Read the rest! click here: http://thetravelerspen.com/north-america/5-600-furlongs-from-baltimore-part-i-muskegon-mi.html?Itemid=58
It’s me, Nicole, Sandy, Becky and Agent 27 (not his real name). We’re standing 4 stories above the track below, looking down at a crowd of a couple hundred people. The Voice of Great Lakes Downs is next to us, binoculars at the ready. Chrissy, easily spotted in her bright red suit and matching heels, waves up to us.
And they’re off! The Voice calls the race with stunning accuracy as the seven horses round the first turn en route to a 6 furlough sprint. For this, our last race of the day, we all went in on a boxed trifecta, on a tip from the Voice. If the voice is right, we’ll walk away with all the money we came in with.
The Voice is wrong. Very wrong. But at this point, we’re used to losing races. In all other aspects, we walk away winners.
Read the rest! click here: http://thetravelerspen.com/north-america/5-600-furlongs-from-baltimore-part-i-muskegon-mi.html?Itemid=58
Friday, May 4, 2007
Story of the Week -- April 30-May 4
Heckuva Job, Marty
After a 9-14 April in which they used starter Andy Pettite as a relief pitcher twice, got swept out of Fenway Park and Tropicana Field and found themselves in last place in the American League East, the New York Yankees were in desperate need of a win. They sent their young prize rookie pitcher, Phil Hughes, to the mound at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, TX. Hughes proceeded to toss 6 2/3 no-hit innings, then he popped a hamstring, came out of the game and went straight to the disabled list, becoming the 4th Yankee this season to hit the DL with a hamstring injury.
The Yankees won big anyway, their 10th win of the season. They were the third-to-last team to get its 10th win, just ahead of the Kansas City Royals and the Washington Nationals (who still haven't gotten their 10th win).
When the Yankees are playing like this, Yankee fans panic. It's the end of the world if the Yanks have a bad April, and somebody has to get fired. (Their owner feels the same way)
Often the first guy to go in these situations is the hitting coach. But you can't fire a Yankee icon like Don Mattingly, and besides, the Yankees' hitting is fine. So they could fire the pitching coach, but Ron Guidry is also a Yankee Icon. They could fire Billy Martin again, but he's dead.
They could fire Joe Torre himself if they really want to shake things up, but that's hardly a way to treat a manager who's won 4 World Series, 6 AL Championships and won the American League East in each of the 11 seasons he's been at the helm. Also, who would replace him mid-season and do any better? After all, he didn't put the team together.
Oh, so they could fire Brian Cashman. He put the team together. He brought in Carl Pavano and Kyle Farnsworth and the rest of the abysmal, injury prone pitching staff. He decided not to spend the money on Barry Zito, after years of overpaying players and not winning World Series. But would firing the general manager really change anything in April?
Probably not. The Yankees needed a real shake-up, a firing that would really make people feel like no job is safe in The Bronx. So on Monday, after that bittersweet 10-1 win that sent Phil Hughes to the Disabled List, Brian Cashman brought the axe down on Marty Miller.
NO!! Not Marty Miller! Anyone but the Director of Performance Enhancement! (you know, that guy, he sits right next to the Assistant to the Traveling Secretary) Here's what we know about the guy who took the blame for the Yankees' awful April - he's 34, was hired this past spring, he's a lifelong Yankee fan, and this was his first major league job. His only other job in baseball was as a minor league trainer in the Montreal Expos system from 1995-1997. Since then, he had been working as fitness director of the Ballen Isles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, and before that he was a trainer for Arabian Horses in Dubai.
Ok, I made that last part up. But seriously, how did that guy get this job in the first place? Was Brian Cashman channeling George W Bush? A guy with no Major League experience is brought in to work with guys like Mike Mussina, Andy Pettite and Derek Jeter (and all those other schmucks they have)? And what the hell does being a lifelong Yankee fan have to do with anything? I'm a lifelong Mets fan, but I'm not about to start telling Jose Reyes how to run. Fans don't belong in the clubhouse.
Joe Torre said it best: "The knowledge that Marty had was impressive. Now, does that mean he knew a lot about the body as it related to baseball? That's what we don't know." Torre makes it sound like Marty got the job through the Make-a-Wish foundation. Or, you know, Presidential appointment.
If you can somehow get past why Marty Miller was hired as Director of Performance Enhancement (which should have been Greg Anderson's title when he was working for Barry Bonds - had to get that one in somehow), then why exactly was he fired? Derek Jeter has his own trainer, so do a bunch of the Yankees, and those guys didn't conform to Marty's new workout program. According to the New York Times, some veterans just "tuned him out," even more so when the injuries started. In April, the Yankees led the league in hamstring injuries, with 4. 3 of those were to starting pitchers. But if they get Mussina, Wang and Hughes back, are they guaranteed to win?
Sometimes it just takes a little reactionary something to get a team back on track. So the Yanks brought back their little stretchy rubber band things and some weight machine they all liked, and they fired some guy half of them didn't even know and most of them ignored. I guess it didn't matter who, but somebody had to go.
So far it's working: The Yankees are 2-0 since they fired Marty, and they've climbed past Baltimore and into first place. It's working!
Then again, they were playing the Texas Rangers, whose former owner is George Bush, so that team must be crawling with people even less qualified than Marty Miller.
"Excuse me, Ms. Miers, my quad's a little tender..."
After a 9-14 April in which they used starter Andy Pettite as a relief pitcher twice, got swept out of Fenway Park and Tropicana Field and found themselves in last place in the American League East, the New York Yankees were in desperate need of a win. They sent their young prize rookie pitcher, Phil Hughes, to the mound at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, TX. Hughes proceeded to toss 6 2/3 no-hit innings, then he popped a hamstring, came out of the game and went straight to the disabled list, becoming the 4th Yankee this season to hit the DL with a hamstring injury.
The Yankees won big anyway, their 10th win of the season. They were the third-to-last team to get its 10th win, just ahead of the Kansas City Royals and the Washington Nationals (who still haven't gotten their 10th win).
When the Yankees are playing like this, Yankee fans panic. It's the end of the world if the Yanks have a bad April, and somebody has to get fired. (Their owner feels the same way)
Often the first guy to go in these situations is the hitting coach. But you can't fire a Yankee icon like Don Mattingly, and besides, the Yankees' hitting is fine. So they could fire the pitching coach, but Ron Guidry is also a Yankee Icon. They could fire Billy Martin again, but he's dead.
They could fire Joe Torre himself if they really want to shake things up, but that's hardly a way to treat a manager who's won 4 World Series, 6 AL Championships and won the American League East in each of the 11 seasons he's been at the helm. Also, who would replace him mid-season and do any better? After all, he didn't put the team together.
Oh, so they could fire Brian Cashman. He put the team together. He brought in Carl Pavano and Kyle Farnsworth and the rest of the abysmal, injury prone pitching staff. He decided not to spend the money on Barry Zito, after years of overpaying players and not winning World Series. But would firing the general manager really change anything in April?
Probably not. The Yankees needed a real shake-up, a firing that would really make people feel like no job is safe in The Bronx. So on Monday, after that bittersweet 10-1 win that sent Phil Hughes to the Disabled List, Brian Cashman brought the axe down on Marty Miller.
NO!! Not Marty Miller! Anyone but the Director of Performance Enhancement! (you know, that guy, he sits right next to the Assistant to the Traveling Secretary) Here's what we know about the guy who took the blame for the Yankees' awful April - he's 34, was hired this past spring, he's a lifelong Yankee fan, and this was his first major league job. His only other job in baseball was as a minor league trainer in the Montreal Expos system from 1995-1997. Since then, he had been working as fitness director of the Ballen Isles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, and before that he was a trainer for Arabian Horses in Dubai.
Ok, I made that last part up. But seriously, how did that guy get this job in the first place? Was Brian Cashman channeling George W Bush? A guy with no Major League experience is brought in to work with guys like Mike Mussina, Andy Pettite and Derek Jeter (and all those other schmucks they have)? And what the hell does being a lifelong Yankee fan have to do with anything? I'm a lifelong Mets fan, but I'm not about to start telling Jose Reyes how to run. Fans don't belong in the clubhouse.
Joe Torre said it best: "The knowledge that Marty had was impressive. Now, does that mean he knew a lot about the body as it related to baseball? That's what we don't know." Torre makes it sound like Marty got the job through the Make-a-Wish foundation. Or, you know, Presidential appointment.
If you can somehow get past why Marty Miller was hired as Director of Performance Enhancement (which should have been Greg Anderson's title when he was working for Barry Bonds - had to get that one in somehow), then why exactly was he fired? Derek Jeter has his own trainer, so do a bunch of the Yankees, and those guys didn't conform to Marty's new workout program. According to the New York Times, some veterans just "tuned him out," even more so when the injuries started. In April, the Yankees led the league in hamstring injuries, with 4. 3 of those were to starting pitchers. But if they get Mussina, Wang and Hughes back, are they guaranteed to win?
Sometimes it just takes a little reactionary something to get a team back on track. So the Yanks brought back their little stretchy rubber band things and some weight machine they all liked, and they fired some guy half of them didn't even know and most of them ignored. I guess it didn't matter who, but somebody had to go.
So far it's working: The Yankees are 2-0 since they fired Marty, and they've climbed past Baltimore and into first place. It's working!
Then again, they were playing the Texas Rangers, whose former owner is George Bush, so that team must be crawling with people even less qualified than Marty Miller.
"Excuse me, Ms. Miers, my quad's a little tender..."
Friday, April 6, 2007
Story of the Week - April 2-6
Climate Change
I have fond memories of standing out on a Little League field with two turtlenecks on and shivering my way through an April game. Or being cold and wet on opening day at Shea (just last year), but the beginning of baseball season is supposed to mean that spring is finally here. This week it felt like Spring had disappeared.
It's the same week, ironically, that a doomsday report about Global Warming came out. The report warned that poor countries in Africa and Southeast Asia are likely to suffer the most from Global Warming, while rich countries like the United States continue to be the worst polluters. (Actually, China is the world's worst polluter, and they're likely to get even worse) These countries, of course, have inadequate resources to handle drought and coastal flooding. (We have the resources, just not the leadership)
The city of Cleveland, and their Indians, might welcome global warming at this point. They tries to play a 3 game series with the Seattle Mariners this weekend. Game 1 got to the 5th inning, after many delays. It finally took an injury to Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez and a Seattle player pointing out that he couldn't see the ball through the heavy snow to cancel that one. The reason they tried to play at all was because they knew the forecast for the rest of the weekend. And because this is the only time the Mariners are scheduled to visit Cleveland.
In Chicago, they cancelled because of forecast temperatures in the 20s. In New York, the Yankees and Devil Rays played through the snow. In Philadelphia, Washington, St Louis and even Atlanta, they played through temperatures in the 30s. And they're sitting in winter coats at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, Texas for the Sunday night game.
The cold weather sparked a discussion about Major League Baseball's schedule-makers. Why play games in Cleveland and New York in early April when you can send the Indians and Yankees (and Phillies, White Sox, etc.) to places with warm weather like Los Angeles of Anaheim. San Diego, Arizona and Florida, and to places with domes like Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, Minnesota and Toronto.
The argument in favor of this was made clear by this weekend's events. 3 cancelled games in Cleveland, snow and cold creating greater risk for injury (see Victor Martinez and Hideki Matsui) and fans being miserable (I love baseball, but can it be fun to watch your team lose 7-0 when it's 25 with the wind at RFK?) The argument against altering the schedule for cold weather is that this is just bad luck, just look at the week of beautiful weather we had to end March. Also, who's to say it won't be just as cold next week? Also, it was pretty cold in places like Atlanta and Texas this weekend, so nothing is guaranteed. And besides, the beauty of baseball is the constant change in conditions - different sized ballparks, different playing surfaces, different starting pitchers, etc. All of this is what makes it so hard to win 120 games in a season and impossible to hit .500.
I have a solution. Why not be flexible? If Thursday's forecast calls for a weekend of snow and 20 degree wind-chills in Cleveland, move the series to Seattle, play in the dome, and come to Cleveland in August or whenever the Indians were supposed to go to Seattle originally. I'm sure the Indians wouldn't have minded a cross country flight, especially if it meant keeping their all-star catcher in the line-up.
Also, a team like the Devil Rays, who play in a dome in a warm weather city, should NOT be allowed to request to start their season with a road trip to New York. (Yes, they actually did that, and they got their way)
Baseball is already reacting to the cold snap of this weekend. The Indians and Mariners will try for the third straight day to play 2 on Monday. And on Tuesday, they may fly to Los Angeles of Anaheim to play the Angels, instead of hosting the Angels on the frozen tundra of Jacob's field.
So next year we may see the Tribe open up in Seattle, Mets in Arizona and the Yankees in Tampa. And they'll send the Red Sox to the Metrodome and the White Sox to Skydome (sorry, Rogers Centre) and the Cubs to Milwaukee. And meantime in New York and Chicago and Cleveland and Boston they'll be talking about the record heatwave we're having and the ensuing apocalyptic doom of global warming and wouldn't it be great to go to a baseball game right now?
I have fond memories of standing out on a Little League field with two turtlenecks on and shivering my way through an April game. Or being cold and wet on opening day at Shea (just last year), but the beginning of baseball season is supposed to mean that spring is finally here. This week it felt like Spring had disappeared.
It's the same week, ironically, that a doomsday report about Global Warming came out. The report warned that poor countries in Africa and Southeast Asia are likely to suffer the most from Global Warming, while rich countries like the United States continue to be the worst polluters. (Actually, China is the world's worst polluter, and they're likely to get even worse) These countries, of course, have inadequate resources to handle drought and coastal flooding. (We have the resources, just not the leadership)
The city of Cleveland, and their Indians, might welcome global warming at this point. They tries to play a 3 game series with the Seattle Mariners this weekend. Game 1 got to the 5th inning, after many delays. It finally took an injury to Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez and a Seattle player pointing out that he couldn't see the ball through the heavy snow to cancel that one. The reason they tried to play at all was because they knew the forecast for the rest of the weekend. And because this is the only time the Mariners are scheduled to visit Cleveland.
In Chicago, they cancelled because of forecast temperatures in the 20s. In New York, the Yankees and Devil Rays played through the snow. In Philadelphia, Washington, St Louis and even Atlanta, they played through temperatures in the 30s. And they're sitting in winter coats at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, Texas for the Sunday night game.
The cold weather sparked a discussion about Major League Baseball's schedule-makers. Why play games in Cleveland and New York in early April when you can send the Indians and Yankees (and Phillies, White Sox, etc.) to places with warm weather like Los Angeles of Anaheim. San Diego, Arizona and Florida, and to places with domes like Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, Minnesota and Toronto.
The argument in favor of this was made clear by this weekend's events. 3 cancelled games in Cleveland, snow and cold creating greater risk for injury (see Victor Martinez and Hideki Matsui) and fans being miserable (I love baseball, but can it be fun to watch your team lose 7-0 when it's 25 with the wind at RFK?) The argument against altering the schedule for cold weather is that this is just bad luck, just look at the week of beautiful weather we had to end March. Also, who's to say it won't be just as cold next week? Also, it was pretty cold in places like Atlanta and Texas this weekend, so nothing is guaranteed. And besides, the beauty of baseball is the constant change in conditions - different sized ballparks, different playing surfaces, different starting pitchers, etc. All of this is what makes it so hard to win 120 games in a season and impossible to hit .500.
I have a solution. Why not be flexible? If Thursday's forecast calls for a weekend of snow and 20 degree wind-chills in Cleveland, move the series to Seattle, play in the dome, and come to Cleveland in August or whenever the Indians were supposed to go to Seattle originally. I'm sure the Indians wouldn't have minded a cross country flight, especially if it meant keeping their all-star catcher in the line-up.
Also, a team like the Devil Rays, who play in a dome in a warm weather city, should NOT be allowed to request to start their season with a road trip to New York. (Yes, they actually did that, and they got their way)
Baseball is already reacting to the cold snap of this weekend. The Indians and Mariners will try for the third straight day to play 2 on Monday. And on Tuesday, they may fly to Los Angeles of Anaheim to play the Angels, instead of hosting the Angels on the frozen tundra of Jacob's field.
So next year we may see the Tribe open up in Seattle, Mets in Arizona and the Yankees in Tampa. And they'll send the Red Sox to the Metrodome and the White Sox to Skydome (sorry, Rogers Centre) and the Cubs to Milwaukee. And meantime in New York and Chicago and Cleveland and Boston they'll be talking about the record heatwave we're having and the ensuing apocalyptic doom of global warming and wouldn't it be great to go to a baseball game right now?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
