Thursday Thoughts

 

Time is winding down and so is my energy tonight.

- I'm so proud of our dear Susan. I mean, I am for a lot of reasons including her dignity and humor in the face of life, but tonight I think it's because of a story about an artist she truly admires. She got an interview with Emily Sailers of the Indigo Girls and it went really well. 

The story, of course, is great and has also done really well. The social media team for the duo of Sailers and Amy Ray seem to get it because they shared Susan's completed story on their Facebook page. As I write, the story is approaching 1,000 likes and receiving praise from fans of the band.

I know what this means to Susan. Look, it's not about attention for her but it can be about respect. Someone she admires gave the story well-deserved extra attention. 

She and I have compared notes many times on these kinds of interviews. She has done a remarkable job with all of them, including the one or two that didn't quite go as planned. I'll withhold names since that's Susan's story to tell.

Anyway, I can always babble about her. She rocks and her work is getting nice attention tonight. I'm happy about that.

- It was back to hockey for me today. Oh, that first call after months away can often be raw. I knew today would have an emotional touch given the official dedication of the Balkind Balcony.

It was a poignant way to open the season and I'm moved to be broadcasting from up there.

Sports, of course, always get the last say. The scriptwriters weren't with Brunswick today, as the Bruins fell to Loomis Chafee 3-2. Brunswick's senior goalie, Brendan Holohan, basically stood on his head at times. His mates just couldn't answer offensively.

I'm thinking I'll see the Bruins on the ice again next Wednesday though we haven't set the full broadcast schedule yet.

The first game back often feels like a reunion. I hadn't called Brunswick in a couple of weeks and hadn't been in the Sampson Athletic Center since probably last March. Besides the plaque honoring Teddy Balkind, the rink has new lights and two new scoreboards along with some other cosmetic changes that I noticed.

The place looked great.

It was nice to see those I haven't seen in months. It was also nice to get back to calling hockey. Yes, I had rust and I feel like I'm stumbling at times but hopefully, viewers found it all smooth.

I'll be back there to call basketball on Saturday.

- Baseball Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry died today. He was a noted character who had a jersey with the multiple teams that he played for on it. I remember him first with the Giants and then with the Indians but he also had a brief stay with the Yankees.

While he was a seemingly enjoyable soul, whenever I think of him, I immediately think of Bobby Ray Murcer. Oh, did they have a rivalry at one point in the 70s! For more, I'll point you to this biography of Murcer on SABR, written by Clifford Blau (no, not by me). The key passage is this:

Murcer had a running feud with Gaylord Perry, the AL Cy Young Award winner in 1972. Perry had held Murcer to 2 hits in 20 at bats that year, mainly (Bobby thought) by throwing a greaseball. Murcer had some fun with Gaylord; he once caught a fly for the last out of an inning and spit on the ball before tossing it to Perry. Another time he sent Perry a gallon of lard. Perry retaliated by having a mutual acquaintance cover his hand with grease before shaking hands with Murcer and saying “Gaylord says hello.” Despite having better success with Perry in 1973 (nine hits in twenty-four at bats), Murcer’s complaints about the greaseball got him into trouble in late June when he commented that neither AL President Joe Cronin nor Commissioner Bowie Kuhn had the guts to stop Perry from throwing the pitch. Kuhn then proved Murcer correct by fining Bobby for telling the truth while doing nothing to stop Perry from throwing his illegal pitch.

Yeah. So forgive me if I scowl when someone mentions Perry and, of course, Bowie Kuhn. For further reading, Bobby's book Yankee For Life has more details of the feud between the two ballplayers.

I wish Gaylord Perry no ill will and may certainly rest in peace (or pitching). He was, though, a notorious cheater that we all turned a blind eye to -- a point that I've noted many times over the years yet he's in Cooperstown. I'm fine with that but it does sort of muddy the water a bit (Barry Bonds? Roger Clemens? Anyone?).

Either way, whether funny or not, he did my guy Bobby Ray dirty.

- The other night, after Chris Erway and I wrapped up the Greenwich/Hamden broadcast, I saw the above tweet from John Scarlata. John was an outstanding, dominant Greenwich player and, as an alum, he's now tuning in to stay up on the Cardinals.

As with what I wrote about Susan above, you can't put on price on this kind of thing. It means we've had an impact. Over 20 years of Greenwich students have been covered by me and my fellow broadcasters. We often wonder who is listening and watching and reading. The important thing is that the game is getting covered and, for fans, they have "voices" they can trust. They're used to my cadence. They're used to the byplay between the boys in the booth.

We're the comfy pillow for them, like their varsity jacket, after they leave GHS. So to know that John and other alums and other listeners not only count -- nay, expect -- to hear us but are pleased to do so really means a lot.

And they'll hear us all again on Sunday.