BASEBALL CRAZINESS

TRUE GRIT It is so often said that it has become cliché: athletes need to have short memories. A quarterback throws an interception, he needs to forget it and get right back on the field. A guard gets beat on a wicked cross-over, he better be ready to bring the ball back up court. A pitcher…

TALKIN’ TRASH Football has showman.  From Joe Namath to Billy “White Shoes” Johnson; from Deion “Prime Time” Sanders to Terrell Owens and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. Basketball has larger than life figures who operate in a different stratosphere.  From Clyde Frazier to Wilt Chamberlain; from Dr. J. to M.J.; from Magic and Larry to LeBron, and…

FOUR DAYS IN JULY The following was written at approximately 3pm, on Monday, July 20, 2015: Around 7pm tonight, regardless of what the scoreboard reads, regardless if our boys are racing around the outfield holding yet another banner (that would be eight, by my count) or wiping their eyes in the outfield grass, tears will…

BROADCAST BLUES Ryan Seacrest makes $15M per year for “American Idol”. Alex Trebek earns $10M a year for “Jeopardy”. David Letterman was making about $20M per year when he retired from “Late Night”. Katie Couric got paid $15M a year – for 5 years – to host the CBS Evening News. Suffice it to say,…

TWO STRIKES . . . YOU’RE IN People ask me all the time why I love baseball so much.  And to that question, I have a very simple answer. It’s not the beauty of 60 feet + 6 inches, and the fact that those additional 6 inches make all the difference in the world.  It’s…

FANATICS What is your first reaction when you hear the word “fanatic”? Is it positive or negative? With the possible exception of the Phillie Phanatic, who brings joy to patrons, players, and the occasional coach, I would imagine the properly-spelled “fanatic” doesn’t conjure too many kind thoughts.  Outside of that oversized, fluffy green doll, I…

THE BLIVET As an ode to my mom, who never missed an opportunity to say something whacky or just plain funny, I present to you the “blivet”. Sure, we could go with Webster, and tell you that a “blivet” is also known as a poiuyt, devil’s fork, or widget.  I could explain to you that…

BASEBALL GODS I’m a Red Sox fan.  There, I admitted it.  And I have no shame in doing so.  Of course, that is considerably easier today than it was 12 years ago.  Over the past 11 seasons, the Red Sox have won 3 World Series championships.  It’s not hard to be a fan.  After 86…

WHEN IS A RULE A RULE? It is often said that lawyers are the people in society who have read the inside of the box.  We (ostensibly) know the rules, and we are charged with helping interpret those rules, enforcing those rules, and/or seeking remediation when someone violates those rules.  But what happens when a…

HOW MUCH IS TOO LITTLE? The game is over, the dugout is empty, and the field has been dragged.  One team is headed to the snack bar or the parking lot.  And the other team is jumping into a dogpile in the outfield.  The jubilation of a come-from-behind victory?  Possibly the sweet relief of a…