In My Copious Free Time

Super Bowl XL

Pre-game:
Bor.Ring. And that might have been the worst National Anthem I've heard in a long, long time. Lynn Swann had the politician thumbs up working hard on that MVP walk. I'm not totally against fur, but Aretha Franklin looked like an idiot in that coat. Did she not realize it's an INDOOR stadium?

The game:
Sort of a boring game, no? Seattle's passing game was hot early on, but they never got any momentum. And pretty bad play selection towards the end. I was torn, so I didn't really get upset one way or the other -- I would have been happy to see either team win.

Halftime:
Eh. It's a wonder that Keith Richards is still alive.

Commercials:
Two of my favorites were for our clients! I loved the United commerical -- such nice animation. The FedEx caveman one was great. Since Global Marketing is the division we work with, I always pay attention to their commercials. I also loved the Disney one where the players practice saying "I'm going to Disney World." So sweet -- you know that most players totally do that kind of stuff. I also liked the long commercial for MobileESPN.

I am ashamed to admit that I liked the Sprint commercial where the guy in the locker room knocks the other one down with his cell phone. "Crime deterrant."

Out of the dugout, endlessly rocking

Leo Mazzone has been a fixture in the Braves dugout for 16 years. Perhaps fixture is the wrong word, since that implies he remained fixed in one spot, but that's not quite right. You see, aside from coaching six Cy Young winners and being regarded as one of the best at his job in the league, Leo was known for one thing. He rocked. Literally. Seated on the dugout bench, he rocked back and forth, steadily, compulsively, perpetually. "There goes Leo," my mother would say. Fans of other teams, American League teams -- people who only saw Mazzone during the playoffs -- might think that he was anxious because of the importance of the game. Perhaps he was. But he oscillated just as much on opening day. I've always wondered how that habit formed.

But now he's packing up and heading to Baltimore and Roger McDowell is heading to Atlanta. I'm so sad to see him go. I'm not sure what this change will bring, but it adds to my awareness that the team I've loved for so long has shifted once again, becoming something different.

Goodbye, Leo. Rock on.

I usually try not to count

I love baseball, so that's why I have stayed up later than I should have this evening to watch what turned out to be the last game of this year's World Series.

Juan Uribe made two amazing plays in the bottom of the ninth. I like the fact that I turned to Joe to point this out about 15 seconds before Tim McCarver. (One day I'll talk about how I don't like Tim McCarver.) Not that it takes a genius to recognize that...

I wonder who the MVP will be...

It's strange to watch the Series and not feel very strongly one way or the other. I know this is petty, but I did enjoy the crestfallen look on Barbara Bush's face. (Just yesterday I read with renewed anger a story about her comments regarding the publication of photos of soldiers' caskets.) Anyhow, I don't like the Astros, particularly a couple of their players (huh - it seems I've never blogged about my intense dislike of Roger Clemens), so I was rooting for the White Sox. Plus they have gone a long time without a win. Good for them. But it's moments like this that make me realize how much I love baseball. I don't have to love the team on the field to love the game. I don't have to care so much about what team is hoisting that trophy to appreciate what that moment means.

Nice -- Jermaine Dye is the MVP. I always liked him as a Brave. I think I still have a bunch of his rookie cards.

Wow -- the old shorts uniforms. Good times.

I usually try not to count so early, but if I guess correctly, it's 97 days until pitchers and catchers report for spring training next year.

I keep telling myself

It's just a game.
It's just a game.
It's just a game.

Right now, however, it's a fucking heartbreaking game.

(Braves lose 7-6 in 18 innings. Game over. Season over.)

How to Talk to the Little Woman

Oh goddamn. I'm sitting here writing and half-listening to the Notre Dame/Purdue game. They cut to a Holly Rowe, a reporter on the field who talked about the Purdue coach calling time outs and coaching up to the end of the game, depsite the fact that it's 49 to 21, Notre Dame with under three minutes to go. When they cut back to the commentators in the booth, Ron Franklin said, "It's not a matter of not giving up, sweetheart. The score is 49 to 21." Thank the christ I don't have surround sound, because that patronizing tone of voice coming from all corners of the room would have been too much. SWEETHEART.

We're talkin' baaaaaseball...

So, today is Opening Day for our local minor league team, the Tri-City Valley Cats. My company has bought season tickets every year since they came to our town to play, and I am a frequent user of said tickets. It's so fun -- very laid back, very nice, brand-new facility, plus, well, a bunch of strapping young ball players. ;) Actually, it's really cool to watch all these guys because they are so unjaded, so eager to prove themselves. Neat stuff.

Alex is distinctly unexcited about tonight's game, though, to be honest, at this moment he's unexcited about anything that does not involve Wal-Mart or Target and the purchase of a toy motorcycle. Something tells me he'll get over it quick enough.

ESPN 1999

This entry contains a link that, when it was working, showed ESPN's "greatest moments of the sports century" montage, set to Aerosmith's "Dream On", originally aired during SportsCenter on New Year's Eve and Day 1999/2000. Maybe one day it will work again. In the meantime, allow me to pat myself on the back for downloading the video so that I have a digital version to replace my deteriorating VHS copy.

www.netexpress.net/~sblum/montage.wmv