Vacation was "Perfect"

Okay....so for vacation I meant to take a few days off; instead I took a year. What's the difference? At this point, no one is reading anyway. I'm just blogging to myself.

A lot of stuff happened since the last blog ----to name a few, Michael Phelps; Celtics-Lakers; U.S soccer team victory over Spain; Jay Cutler orchestrates his own trade out of Denver; the passing of Harry Kalas and A-Rod, Big Papi and Manny Ramirez are all named as steroid users and so much more.

But as we head into the dog days of summer, there certainly isn't any shortage of things to write about, that's for sure. And I have a lot of catching up to do so here we go.

The Pine Tar Game: George Brett Goes Wild

Twenty five years ago today, in what is considered one of the more bizarre incidents in baseball history, George Brett jacked what appeared to be a game winning home run that might have beaten the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. But in a highly unusual move that will forever be known as the Pine Tar Incident, the Yankees (with advance knowledge) objected to the bat that Brett was using to hit the home run. They suggested that he had too much pine tar on his bat. The umpires examined the bat and after a few moments of consultation, they agreed and nullified the home run. Brett went bonkers and had to be restrained by teammates. Quite an amazing moment, I have to say.

Personally, I was wondering, in the seconds leading up to the nullification, knowing what he (the umpire) had to do, what was going through the mind? He had to know Brett was going to go ballistic. This was no journeyman shortstop hitting just above the Mendoza Line. We're taking about getting an earful from a superstar and future hall-of-famer. Unless he didn't mind the sure-as-hell confrontation that was about to come his way, I have to believe, he made that call with pure dread.

Anyway, click here for a great story in today's New York Post. Then click here to see the video of the incident.

Sunday Brunch.....Are You Ready For Some Football?

Well, training camps will be opening across the country this week and so, the season is just about upon us. And for thousands of fans, that means its fantasy football time.

Fans all over the country are in various stages of draft preparation (yous truly, included) and so I thought I would refer a few websites in this post to serve as a sort of starter kit /resource center. Of course there's no way to list all the good sites because I'm sure there are a gazillion of them (since apparently, everyone is an expert with an opinion).

DiMaggio's 56-Game Hitting Streak Comes to An End

On July 17, 1941, the Cleveland Indians, led by Ken Keltner put an end to Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak. The streak is considered one of the greatest feats in baseball history. This (like hitting .400) is one of those records that when you compare to today's athletes, you just marvel at how such a streak ever happened. How is it possible?

Whether such a record(s) could ever be broken remains to be seen, of course. We live in a different world now. Modern sports athletes are subject to unbelievable pressures and distractions that come with the need for instant gratification, the so-called 24/7 information society. If a player would get anywhere near the record, the focus and attention brought upon him would be almost unimaginable. Under those circumstances it seems like breaking this record is just inconceivable.

The All-Star Game - Longest Ever Played. Yawn

Ya know, everyone is making a big deal about last night's all-star game at Yankee Stadium. I know, they played 15 innings before the AL won for the 12 year in a row. And I know, it's the last one ever at Yankee Stadium and there was lots of buzz and hoopla and nostalgia and tradition and glory of the game and blah, blah blah, blah. But honestly? I wasn't feeling it. To me, it's still just a boring exhibition game.

Now in fairness, and for purposes of full disclosure, I'm a Mets fan. But in all sincerity, my apathy has nothing to do with my allegiance to the Mets, but more with the fact that the game for so many years has had no meaning and very little significance other than to "showcase" the talents of the best players in the game, as selected by the fans. But after a generation of apathy and disinterest by the athletes themselves (A-Rod, the leading vote getter among all athletes went home; left the stadium after the 5th inning), I just can't get too excited about the outcome of this game, even though MLB has tried to add some incentives to the players by awarding home field advantage in the World Series to the winners of the game. Even with that little biscuit, it's still not enough for me to tune in.

Oh, by the way, the five minutes of the game that I did watch before going to sleep, it was 3-3 in the 12th. It didn't help that I half jokingly presumed that it was Billy Wagner who gave up the tying run in his appearance, only to wake up in the morning to find out it was true (I hate it when I'm right). This guy is just killing the Mets, but I digress.

Farve vs Pack: It's Getting Ugly

As many of you know, Brett Farve now wants to "un-retire" and play football again. So much so, that he even asked the Packers for his release so he can sign on elsewhere. Now to me, this is starting to deteriorate into one of those things where everyone is nice to each other for as long as they can be and then their true colors show through.

In this instance, the Packers have been very gracious. When Farve couldn't make up his mind last year about whether he wanted to retire or continue to play, they waited very patiently for him to decide without saying a word (at least publicly), eventhough I'm sure they would have loved for him to have made his decision sooner than he did (dragging it out through the off-season). Certainly there must have been some consternation about his fence sitting when you consider that, with all due respect to Farve, there is a business side to football (or is it a football side to business?) and that business side involves making decisions about player personnel, i.e., the drafting of players, cap issues, etc. Farves' delay in making his decision last year almost certainly put their draft strategy in jeopardy if it didn't actually determine who they drafted.

Sunday Brunch......with Dad

From the moment you're born, you are destined to die. Everything else we do in between serves as a distraction 'til that moment comes. So don't forget to take some time out of your busy lives to enjoy the simple things in life, like a catch with your son...or dad.