1) I know it’s become cliché to say this at this point, but it really is hard to get overly excited about the Rockies-Diamondbacks series. The Rockies have been a fun story and everything, but there’s not that emotional aspect to the series that adds any additional drama. What this has become, in essence, is an NHL playoff series. There are certainly fans that care passionately, but for most of us, it’s just something you watch if you have the time and otherwise just check in on to see what happened. This would not have been true, of course, if either the Phillies or the Cubs had made it.
2) How could it be that in the best sports month of the year there were two consecutive days without baseball? Baseball is all about not having very many days off. Giving so many days off in the playoffs changes the dynamic of the game. We want to see games every day. So what if all the first round series ended early? I wish, just once, a sport would care more about the sport and less about TV dollars and luring in the casual fan who doesn’t really care.
3) I don’t wish to alarm anyone, but it looks like the Celtics are going to be really freakin’ good with KG. This is a major conflict for people like me who love watching KG play, and have hoped for so long that he’d finally get a supporting cast that will help him shine. If only this wasn’t going to happen in Boston. Right now, the Red Sox are the favorite to win the World Series, the Pats are the favorite to win the Super Bowl, and the Celtics are one of the favorites to at least make the Finals out of the East. And, hey, is that a couple of horsemen I see riding towards us? So now we know it is the duty of good people everywhere to root for the Indians, and probably the Cavs, if only to stave off apocalypse and a string of really annoying columns from Bill Simmons.
4) I saw an incredible Yo La Tengo concert last night. They were at this relatively small venue, The Lakeshore Theater, and it was a sit-down thing (which is great, as in my older age, I don’t have as good a time standing around for hours.) The band sat on stage, played songs, answered questions from the audience, joked around, and generally created this very intimate setting, like they came over to your house to play a show for you and your friends. This is my favorite band, and to see them in this setting was just about perfect, inspiring, even.
5) Happened to catch an “NFL Greatest Games” showing of the NFC championship game from 1992, Cowboys vs 49ers. Do you realize how many people from that game are now TV personalities? Troy Aikman, Moose Johnson, Jimmie Johnson, Emmit Smith, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, even Michael Irvin up until his recent firing. I hated both those teams, and now they are everywhere. Things are not looking up for me right now.
5 comments:
Dan I agree with everything you said, as always. Good to see Yo La Tengo still playing, I knew them as a college radio band back in my DJ days on WVYC. Do you know the funny baseball story behind the phrase Yo La Tengo? If not call me sometime and I will regal you.
Yes the Boston thing is supremely annoying, but for me doubly so. Not only do I love KG, and really who doesn't, but one of our former players, Brandon Wallace, is likely going to make the roster, so when they are in the playoffs it is going to be so hard to root against them.
As for the other major hoops story that Andrew mentioned in the comments on the last post, I am still pretending that it wont happen. I figure if I ignore it and pretend that it is not happening then it really isn't happening.
Lastly, speaking of NFL's Greatest Games and other such countdowns, I have noticed a disturbing trend. I have seen multiple countdowmns of the best football play or best TD play and one play continuously comes up missing, and I am still convinced it is one of the five greatest plays I have ever seen i my lifetime of sports. I am talking about the freakish play Randall Cunningham made one Monday night, as he scrambled out of the pocket and Carl Banks rocked Cunningham only to have him with place his hand on the ground and bounce himself back up as if on a trampoline and then fire a ten yard TD pass.
For those who want to knwo the other plays are: The Jeter Play, Some Jim Edmonds Catch, Alexander Ovechkin goal sliding on his butt shooting backhanded behind his head, YouTube it and Christian Laettners game winner.
re: the Celts, it's pretty sad when the best team in a conference *starts* Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo. Those two wouldn't even make the rosters in Dallas, Phoenix or San Antonio.
Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I feel like the NBA as product/entertainment peaked in the mid 90's. It's just not fun to watch any more.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QnxseMVwQ3A
You know what's annoying? Living less than half a mile from Fenway Park. That's annoying.
Joe, you need to start watching the NBA again. It had some down years in the late 90s and early part of the 2000s, but it's turned around a lot the last three or four years.
Just watch the Suns play, or the Warriors. To start with. You'll have fun again.
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