Sometimes, the news requires bullet points and brief (cheap?) commentary. Sometimes. Like today.
It’s a great day to be an Angeleno: Frank McCourt cries “uncle!” and will sell the Dodgers. LA-haters, you can move along. Nothing to see here that you would understand. Also, 3 Dodgers win Gold Gloves.
What is it about the fumbled snap from center? It has its own brand of whimsy and fail. Like a cat who unexpectedly falls into a body of water, or a small child who just dropped his ice cream cone in the dirt.
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Oh, Phillip Rivers.
How you Masterfully and Heroically zing that Elliptical Meat Bag with razor Precision throughout the Great Stadia of our Land and Time.
Oh, how, with heart-rending Bravery, you Rally the Chargers from Certain Defeat.
How you stand afield in a Blizzard of Fan Hatred and 11 Physically Perfect Blood Thirsty Savage Beast Men clamoring for the chance to Destroy you with their bare hands.
It’s not a Hail Mary play, just to clarify. But it’s still a bile sandwich for the Badgers and their faithful, two weeks in a row. Texas Rangers fans and Wisconsin fans should probably start holding meet-ups for support groups. You will get through this. It will pass.
Throughout his star-crossed career, Tim Tebow’s Christianity has been part of the legend. The man with the mouth and mind of an altar boy has the heroic skill to lead Violent Men-Beasts to Victory on the Football Field. It’s compelling, no matter what your relationship with God may or may not be.
Now that Tebow matriculated to the NFL, his exploits are oh-so-perfectly exhibited on Sundays, which is when our nation collectively worships at the national secular church, the NFL.
One of the many great things about sports – including baseball – is that we generally see merit win out over other factors. This is true for individuals and teams. While we may get screwed over at work because of politics, this is less likely – we believe – to happen in the world of sports, because success and failure is so clearly defined.
This meritocratic tendency of sports has helped larger society deal with big problems. At the top of that list is race. Jackie Robinson, Billie Jean King, Tommy Smith, et al.
It’s not President Obama’s most insightful moment, but at the 5.30 mark he does address the NBA lockout. And yes, no matter what your political persuasion, it’s rad when the chief executive loves basketball.
Tony La Russa is unquestionably one of the finest baseball intellects of his age, and probably for all time. Many of his signature strategies have been adopted across all of major league baseball. Tony’s revolutionary idea of the 9th-inning-only closer in 1987 has become derigueur for any team choosing to be competitive for a World Series birth.
Another signature La Russa strategy that has become commonplace is the batter-by-batter bullpen management. LaRussa, to some, micromanages his relievers and who they face. La Russa, to some, is an evil man who took baseball out of an era when Manly Men-Warriors like Jack Morris and Bob Gibson and Nolan Ryan threw complete games 30 times a season.
This perception of La Russa, like the perception of the predominance of complete-game-throwers in an earlier era, is flawed. But is does inspire passion.
And so, when La Russa’s bullpen marionette manipulator scheme goes awry in a tied Game 5 of a tied World Series…the critics get their lumps in. Some questionable baserunning decisions can also be linked to questionable decisions made by La Russa. He’s fair game after that farcical display from St. Louis.
A warning to all baseball lovers: Be cautious in bashing Tony LaRussa. There are at least 9 innings, and hopefully more, remaining in this World Series. There is still plenty of time for him to make us all look like dunces.
Sometimes, the news requires bullet points and brief (cheap?) commentary. Sometimes. Like today.
