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Archive for April, 2008
Baseball: Is it well-paced elegance or just slow and boring?
My son and I have a good-natured battle that goes on every baseball season. I maintain the finesse of the sport lies in the careful elegance of well-thrown, well-hit balls and the extravagance with which true believers keep all the statistics and relish them.
He says it's just a slow, boring game played by people who either are too overweight and out of shape to play real sports or who are "juiced" on steroids.
What do you think about the matter? Or do you think about baseball?
While I will admit, if you press me on the matter, that the game could stand to be a bit more "up tempo," I still enjoy the test of wills as batters scratch the dirt then square off to face pitchers; and pitchers scuff up the mound, pound the ball in their gloves, then lean in with intense concentration to size up the batter, get their signs, and fire the ball toward home.
My son, now in his early 30s, thinks that's ridiculous. As I write this, we're sitting in front of the television watching the end of the second inning in a game between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals (we're Cardinals people). His only comment on the game to this point was: "You know, I still have never seen a major league baseball game that was half as interesting or as much fun as the movie 'Major League.'"
Okay, he and I may disagree about the nature and purpose of baseball, but it's hard to fight logic like that. I liked the movie a lot myself.
Fathers and sons. There's nothing quite like it in the world, is there?
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Technorati Tags: family, baseball, movies, sports, fathers and sons, take time for living
Definitely not a good time to be traveling by air, is it?
How amazing is this. I just read that American Airlines has canceled 850 more flights for today (Wednesday) -- and, according to the New York Times report I was reading, the number of flights could climb even higher. The story said the 850 cancellations represent more than one-third of AA's flights.
Wow. All this is happening, as I understand it, because of faulty inspection records. Not faulty inspections which actually found flaws or risks in the planes -- but faulty inspections which were not done or not done properly.
The really bizarre part of all this is -- the same MD-80 series planes were checked for the same potential problem involving bundles of wiring in the wheel wells just two weeks ago!
What a sorry way to run an airline, is all I can say. No offense to American Airlines intended, as there are a world of problems only now surfacing with other air carriers (including a recent fine and apology by Southwest Airlines). But I have to say I'm happy my life involves little or no commercial flying.
It would be a baaaaaaad day to be flying today!
Technorati Tags: American Airlines, grounded flights, MD-80 airliners, take time for living
Okay, I’m changing my mind about this year’s St. Louis Cardinals team
I have to confess that I may have been wrong about this year's St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. I've seen a few of their initial games on TV, and they really are surprising me. I honestly thought this year's team was going to be incredibly weak all around: pitching, offense, defense -- they have a lot of "no-name" players and injured starting pitchers.
Then I just discovered that they're off to the teams best season start at 5-1 since 1993 (maybe 1994, I'm not sure). And they've done it with what I thought would be mediocre pitching and mediocre hitting.
So, I was wrong. All you fellow Cardinals fans out there, I ask you to forgive my doubts. And all you other National League teams and fans out there -- you better watch out. This year's Cardinals could be the real deal. With Albert Pujols hitting well and first-season phenom Rick Ankiel performing at nearly "Wonder Boy" pace -- the Cardinals indeed are starting strong.
Be prepared, Cardinals fans, this could indeed be the season you'll want to grab late-season tickets early and hang on tight!
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Technorati Tags: St. Louis Cardinals, Cardinals season hopes, take time for living
