He said what?!?!?

I'm a big fan of radio, so much so my journalism concentration was based in radio.
I'm also a big baseball fan, so when I heard XM Radio would be broadcasting every MLB game, I was first on line to purchase the new technology.

In my haste, I got one of the prototype devices, so much so that occasionally it picks up sound waves it probably shouldn't.

I don't listen to the news or political stations, so I can't tell you if it has the White House frequency, but it does seem to get interviews of sports athletes before it gets cut up for public consumption.

Sometimes, it even gets the stuff before the reporter hits record on his digital device...

Don't ask how, just believe in Mr. Universe

There is only the truth of the signal. Everything goes somewhere and I go everywhere.

So without further ado...

Holden Cushner talks with Kaz Matsui after the Rockies' 10-5 win.

HC: Kaz, great game. We'll be ready to roll with this equipment in a sec, but how's it been for you this year?

KM: Fine. I'm just glad I was able to Escape from New York without Kurt Russell.

HC: Hey, I thought you needed a translator?

KM: I thought you were a bitch ass and apparently I was right.

HC: Where's all this hostility coming from?

KM: Sorry about that. I could always speak English, but it just seemed easier with a translator heading to New York. Those guys never gave me a fair shake. I mean, I was a rookie in a new league and they expected me to bat .300 right off the boat.
The fact that Ichiro did it was because that guy is amazing and Godzilla was put in the middle of Murderer's Row, aka the New York Yankees lineup. I never stood a chance with the Mets.

HC: Wow, you sure have a lot to say.

KM: Well, you go 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a grand slam and see how great you feel.

HC: Talk about that grand slam at-bat. What were you trying to do?

KM: I was trying to be the hero.

HC: Seriously?

KM: What do you think? First off, I was in Philly and I could piss from second base and hit a fan in the left field bleachers. Next, who was on the mound, Kyle Loshe? That guy's a bum like that whole pitching staff. They threw their best with Hamels, now they're done.

HC: Aren't you afraid the air in Colorado might wake up their big bats?

KM: About as scarred as meeting the real Godzilla in my bathroom stall tomorrow night? By the way, do you have the number to a massage place where I can catch a "Happy Ending"?

Batting second, number 6...

It's funny that this topic was started by a Canadian, but the point has been made.

I was thinking how a site of four dedicated sports fans had posted so little about the sport I know we all love. I take this to mean the demise of the Yankees has kept mouths closed as we all wait for the eventual late-season run.

But to look to the future would be to ignore the past and since I'm all about that, Old School Wednesday and all, I will share thoughts I published six years ago that still hold true to this day.

THIS JUST IN: Independence, freedom and the pursuit of happiness. When I think of the Fourth of July, these aren’t the things that enter my mind. Maybe it’s because I think about these things everyday, therefore I don’t use the yearly reminder to reminisce.

I’m not a big fan of holidays. My sister was born on Halloween and I was born on Christmas Eve, so holidays have always had a different significance for me. I see them more as an opportunity for people to relax and take the day off. Some people use holidays as an excuse to drink, like St. Patrick’s Day, but I’m sure Patrick didn’t want people to throw up green in his name. Well, I don’t need an excuse to drink and I relax every day. So exactly what is the Fourth of July to me?

The last couple of years, it’s been a television treat, with baseball games from Philadelphia to Phoenix. They play in the afternoon, just like they used to before I was born; when baseball was like shooting fireworks on the Fourth. In my neighborhood, kids would fight with bottle rockets and M-80’s, then play on the same team the next day.

Maybe baseball was beaten into our heads. Maybe there were too many fathers/coaches in my town. Guys that made sure their son would win by teaching the other kids in the neighborhood, kids like me who’s father wasn’t there. But we would have played anyway, regardless of outside influences. Similar to the Dominican Republic, we didn’t need organized leagues to play in; the street was good enough.

When I think of the Fourth of July, I first think of baseball. Other thoughts might squeak in, but it’s only temporary…

Now my thoughts are how I can sneak away and listen to Mets games on my XM radio, or can I find enough of an excuse to sit at my computer and wait for updates on GameDay online. Yes, I think of my wife, my daughter and the other on the way, but it always comes back to baseball and I wouldn't have it any other way.