Thanks, Mother Nature

 

The weather looks fine...for now

Once again, plans get scuttled.

The FCIAC baseball championship was scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m. in Stamford.

I woke up all set to prep for the game when I got a message that the game had been moved to tomorrow.

A 70% chance of rain is in the forecast and I guess there's a chance of thunder as well.

As I write (2:04 p.m.) there has been no sign of either. It's clear with a bit of a haze but we know how quickly things can change.

It's a no-win for those making such decisions but certainly, coaches don't want to warm up pitchers and, as such, waste them if the game doesn't happen.

So no game tonight.

That means no softball for me tomorrow and I truly apologize.

Robcasting is a one-man band. I like it that way though there are others who are willing to help out. You know the names -- Chris Erway, Shawn Sailer, Chris Kaelin, Jake Zimmer, Dan Gardella, etc -- who have all helped make this a little engine that can.

Sean Adams would help also but he's not a play-by-play person. 

The point is I know there are people who would jump in but I simply don't have a way to get both baseball and softball on the air tomorrow. I also can't run from one game to the other because the games are staggered far enough apart. 

With the proper pieces in place, I could probably use our YouTube channel but there are just too many roadblocks for this.

It reminded me of the rare times we did this at HAN Radio. For instance, we decided to cover state football games hosted by Darien and New Canaan on the same day. We had two channels available to us so it allowed me to send Chris Kaelin and John Kovach to New Canaan while Paul Silverfarb and I went to Darien.

I bounced between the two before the games started to help set up equipment and make sure everything was working. As Darien kicked off first, I called that game, packed up, and ran back to New Canaan, jumping on the air there briefly before breaking it all down.

It was a fun challenge and we succeeded.

We'd do a similar thing for the state championships that year, as we handled all three hockey games in New Haven. Then we set up at Mohegan Sun. I finished up the hockey calls and then drove to the Sun to be a part of the nightcap (I was encouraged to sit one of the five broadcasts out much to my consternation).

So, yeah, five games. Two sites. Pretty cool.

But back to softball. I apologize. I really do. Before anyone makes this about gender, I please ask that you know me a little better. I've pushed for all sports to get coverage. I could line up all of the women's sports that I've called -- from New Jersey girls across and soccer championships to D-III college basketball at Mount Saine Mary College -- but there's no need to. I've called a few Connecticut girls hockey championships (rather famously, I might add).

This is just bad luck. I committed to the baseball championship first and I called the semifinals on Monday. As such, I'm going to see baseball through to the end while keeping an eye on the softball games as best as possible.

Best of luck to Ludlowe and St. Joseph tomorrow. Have a great game and may the best team win.

The girls deserve better. Sorry, I can't provide it.

*****

One year ago today, a door closed and I prepared to open a new one. And I took this picture.

Rascal wasn't being fierce. He was scared out of his brain as we were driving from Mahopac to Greenwich. I found him cowering behind the toilet at home -- the last thing I needed to move.

We've been here ever since.

*****

RIP, Tina Turner. Simply the best. She never ever did nothing nice and easy.