Sunday Shorts

 

This is south of Washington, DC but either way, 
we weren't meant to see these signs this weekend
(2016)

They played baseball in Washington, D.C. today.

Final score: Washington 3, Atlanta 2.

They're playing a second game tonight since yesterday's game was postponed due to remnants of a tropical storm.

However, I was not there today. None of us (Me, Sean, Kris, or Danny) were there.

The threat of the weather was too much to consider.

Football tickets near Washington were also too much to consider, but that consideration was financial.

We made the right decision. Oh, look, Kris and I have a lifetime of wild experiences and most of them surround sports. That doesn't mean we have to take ourselves into a calamity. 

We would have had a great time regardless because we always do but the idea of spending two days driving in heavy rain at times was unpleasant. As I've mentioned we have a Plan B in play so now we have to make that happen.

We can go back to Washington next year. We'd like to keep hitting baseball stadiums and there area plenty to see.

Instead of traveling, I worked. Yes, I could have used some downtime but a chance to call Boomslang basketball was too much to ignore. The game was down in Ardsley and I do love the chance to visit certain parts of Westchester County.

It was nice to see the players and the coaches.

Boomslang doesn't play in the most "media-friendly" gyms so it's always a bit of a challenge to find a place and, in this case, I near the baseline to the side of the basket where I stood for both broadcasts.

I literally wrote the rosters down as they were explained to me by the coaches before each of the two games that I called.

How would I ever survive without countless notes, etc? Answer: I did just fine. In fact, that would have been too cumbersome since I had no table. I only had a clipboard.

So we lost the weekend trip but I worked so I see that as a positive, closing out a week of five more game broadcasts.

*****

(Photo: FOX Sports)

Oh, while on the subject of baseball, let me say clearly that the Yankees have been officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Look, I'm anything but happy about it, but I'm content to have it confirmed.

The haters will hoot and howl and hate. 

Hate. Hate. Hate.

But the Yankees were a mess for myriad reasons. Judge got injured. Rizzo's concussion issue. Bad offseason and in-season personnel decisions. Bad in-game decisions. Most of all? Players not playing like they should.

So, to me, the blame goes everywhere.

They're still the franchise I've been attached to for as long as I can remember. I can still remember being in the Yankee Stadium for the first time, back in 1972.

Their (new) Yankee Stadium 2023 finale is tomorrow.

When the final out is made and the bags get packed next Sunday, I'll still feel a level of sadness. I'll feel something is missing. But there will still be baseball, and I'll still be watching the postseason just as I have every year.

There's nothing "fair weather" about this fan. 

Oh, yes, I did say "hate hate hate" above. I do hope Taylor Swift is getting some good Kansas City BBQ while she enjoys today's Chiefs/Bears game. She's there hanging out with Travel Kelce's family since she and Travis are friends or whatever.

It has to be a nightmare for the Chiefs' PR people and heaven for the FOX TV team. 

The jokes all seem to write themselves in that blank space, don't they?

I hate myself.

*****

I had a couple of play-by-play calls sent to me over the weekend. Out of respect to the broadcasters, I won't give many details as to who and what.

I'll just say "bad."

In one case, it was a big play and all I heard was screaming. There's a play-by-play announcer, whose job is to describe the action. There's an analyst, whose job is to break it all down.

At no point should both be talking. And yet it happens and is celebrated by some who simply don't get it. Shame on everyone.

The other is probably even more shameful. The team the broadcaster works for has a lead but the opposite team is lining up to win the game.

They complete a field goal and you'd think the broadcaster's dog had just been assaulted. It goes against literally every ethic that I believe in.

I asked someone if they considered it a fireable offense though I don't think anyone is going to lose their job over it. They felt it should be.

Just do your job and call the game. Big plays -- regardless of who wins -- deserve at least some energy. It's actually something I've always respected about Yankees radio "voice" John Sterling. 

It's also respecting the players, the game, and yourself.

*****

After ten games stretched over the last two weeks (plus podcasts, a conference, and whatever else I'm forgetting), things are quieting down this week. I have soccer on Wednesday at Brunswick, Greenwich football on Friday at Danbury, and Brunswick football at home on Saturday.

But we're also planning on a trip to The Big E.

The following week will even be quieter.

Let's make it a good week.