My hair is falling out, my ankles and feet ache, and I'd rather drink a beer and watch a sport than I would play one at this point. I'm getting old.
I think I'm feeling this more because the leaves are orange, yellow, and red right now. I remember when that meant playoffs for fall sports, basketball moving inside for the winter, the last softball tournament before hanging up the cleats and oiling the glove for winter. This year, it meant trying to get home from work in time to watch World Series games and avoid the bars and the bad national football games they play in the p.m. This year, it meant feeling groggy by the seventh inning of a game after two beers.
I don't think I'm going to like getting old, and I think I'm too young to feel that way. I also don't like the stupid iDisk thing on my computer that demands attention every 12 minutes. I want it to go away, but it won't delete ... but I digress.
I dreamed last night about deer hunting with my dad and uncles. It's been a few years since I've done that. I think about taking my few remaining vacation days and going this year, and I realize how long it's been since I've hiked the hills, put a stand up, or shot a gun. It hasn't been that long since I told stories about those things, how when I deer hunt I see nothing but squirrels and how when I squirrel hunt I invariably spook deer. It hasn't been that long since I remembered the feel of the campfire on a cold autumn night, the smell of the wood burning, the taste of the ash in the air.
I don't like to think I'm getting old, but when my first action in the morning is stretching to make my leg joints pop there's no denying it. I'm suspicious of the crotchety old fart in the mirror when I brush my teeth, but less so than teenagers I see with their pants sagging to the backs of their knees and the stickers still on those stupid flat bill caps. We had our fashion faux pas when we were young, but at least we had enough sense to wear pants over our underwear and take the tags of things. It wasn't hard to figure out. Still isn't.
I doubt getting old has any advantages, save the obvious, that it beats the alternative. My dad says that a lot, and I take it with a grain of salt. I mean, he's retired, so he definitely acts younger than I do these days. If I sound jealous, it's because shut up.
There are still things I want to do. I want to see a top division football match at Wembley. I want to visit Croatia, because I've heard nothing but good things about the people, the weather, the culture, the weather, the food and most importantly, the weather. I try to balance that sense of the things I want to do with the things I have to do, but the have to list always seems to win out, a sure sign of the passage into middle age.
This isn't really sports related, but I warned both of you followers at the beginning it wouldn't always be so. Just some kvetching, to get it out of my system and to put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard more accurately. See, I think that's what's making me old more than any other thing - I used to write almost every day, even when I wasn't necessarily getting paid for it. It kept me young, kept ideas churning, kept me in touch, involved. Now, I'm Al Bundy with phones instead of shoes, a (hopefully) better wardrobe, and a bigger TV.
Ah, hell, Peg, I need a beer.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Not your father's Bengals
I've been moderately impressed by what I've seen from the Bengals the first six weeks of this season.
I just re-read that sentence, and it is correct.
I was never much of a Bengals fan as a youngster, mostly because I wasn't raised to be one. As I got older, and was able to differentiate teams based on more than logos, colors, or one superstar, I disliked the Bengals for playing with a decided and apparent lack of heart. This era is of course from the 90's on, when the team would occasionally have respectable players but marched each week toward inevitable and often epic meltdowns, collapses, and simple butt whippings.
In the interim 20 or so years, there has been the rare exception to the rule, like the 12-4 run that culminated in Carson Palmer's knee injury and Marvin Lewis' losing the team at halftime of a game he was winning, but overall the team has lived down to their label of being chokers, villains, selfish ... in short, losers.
This year's team has thus far earned my respect. They don't quit when they're down. I haven't watched every game - thank you, NFL, for blacking out games and trying to strong-arm fans into paying ever-increasing prices for tickets, seat licenses, and other silliness instead of letting us enjoy your product - but from what I have seen, Andy Dalton and company keep their heads up during games. Even in the Week 2 loss at Denver, I liked what I saw. The body language on the sidelines, the confidence on the field, the players pulling together ... most un-Bengal-like.
I don't know that I would call myself a died in the wool Bengals fan at this point, but I'm hoping they have a good season, or even run of seasons if they keep this group together. The Dalton Gang has been fun to watch, and frankly, that alone is an improvement in these parts.
I just re-read that sentence, and it is correct.
I was never much of a Bengals fan as a youngster, mostly because I wasn't raised to be one. As I got older, and was able to differentiate teams based on more than logos, colors, or one superstar, I disliked the Bengals for playing with a decided and apparent lack of heart. This era is of course from the 90's on, when the team would occasionally have respectable players but marched each week toward inevitable and often epic meltdowns, collapses, and simple butt whippings.
In the interim 20 or so years, there has been the rare exception to the rule, like the 12-4 run that culminated in Carson Palmer's knee injury and Marvin Lewis' losing the team at halftime of a game he was winning, but overall the team has lived down to their label of being chokers, villains, selfish ... in short, losers.
This year's team has thus far earned my respect. They don't quit when they're down. I haven't watched every game - thank you, NFL, for blacking out games and trying to strong-arm fans into paying ever-increasing prices for tickets, seat licenses, and other silliness instead of letting us enjoy your product - but from what I have seen, Andy Dalton and company keep their heads up during games. Even in the Week 2 loss at Denver, I liked what I saw. The body language on the sidelines, the confidence on the field, the players pulling together ... most un-Bengal-like.
I don't know that I would call myself a died in the wool Bengals fan at this point, but I'm hoping they have a good season, or even run of seasons if they keep this group together. The Dalton Gang has been fun to watch, and frankly, that alone is an improvement in these parts.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sports Shorts
* Bronson Arroyo has cleared waivers. Were I the Reds GM, I would move him this month to any contender looking for a pitcher. Arroyo has been a stalwart for the Reds, taking the ball every fifth day and putting in his work, often as the only sure thing in the rotation due to his health. He's been a solid producer, winning 15 games each of the last three years, and a solid citizen for a club and a city that values such things. I like Bronson Arroyo.
Having said that, he's on the hook for a lot of money next season. That's money the Reds could use to extend Brandon Phillips, spread out amongst the arbitration eligible youngsters, or go out and sign a proven veteran closer to take the place of Coco Cordero as closer next year. I know the money on the contract is a big part of the problem with moving him, but I would be trying like hell to get something done. Getting back a prospect or two would be fine, considering that half the Louisville Sluggers are already wearing Reds unis by now.
* If you haven't read "Big Hair and Plastic Grass," by Dan Epstein, you're not much of a baseball fan. I'm re-reading it right now, it's one of the most enjoyable sports books I've ever read. Epstein doesn't deify the players or the era, the much maligned 1970's, but reminds readers of the fun without glossing totally over the bad.
* I had someone point something interesting out to me this weekend. She is rooting for Plaxico Burress this year because she feels he was given a raw deal by the law. "He shot himself, for God's sake, isn't that punishment enough?" I don't necessarily agree with that, but the man did more time for shooting himself accidentally than Jamal Lewis did for drug trafficking charges, than Leonard Little or Donte Sallworth did for drunkenly killing other people while driving, etc. I do think that Plax was actually treated more harshly than an Average Joe would have been, a rare case of celebrity working against somebody. I also believe in second chances, so I do hope he plays well enough for the Jets that people talk more about his on-the-field exploits than off-the-field ones.
* Finally, the NFL preseason started this week. Someone should have told the Bengals.
Having said that, he's on the hook for a lot of money next season. That's money the Reds could use to extend Brandon Phillips, spread out amongst the arbitration eligible youngsters, or go out and sign a proven veteran closer to take the place of Coco Cordero as closer next year. I know the money on the contract is a big part of the problem with moving him, but I would be trying like hell to get something done. Getting back a prospect or two would be fine, considering that half the Louisville Sluggers are already wearing Reds unis by now.
* If you haven't read "Big Hair and Plastic Grass," by Dan Epstein, you're not much of a baseball fan. I'm re-reading it right now, it's one of the most enjoyable sports books I've ever read. Epstein doesn't deify the players or the era, the much maligned 1970's, but reminds readers of the fun without glossing totally over the bad.
* I had someone point something interesting out to me this weekend. She is rooting for Plaxico Burress this year because she feels he was given a raw deal by the law. "He shot himself, for God's sake, isn't that punishment enough?" I don't necessarily agree with that, but the man did more time for shooting himself accidentally than Jamal Lewis did for drug trafficking charges, than Leonard Little or Donte Sallworth did for drunkenly killing other people while driving, etc. I do think that Plax was actually treated more harshly than an Average Joe would have been, a rare case of celebrity working against somebody. I also believe in second chances, so I do hope he plays well enough for the Jets that people talk more about his on-the-field exploits than off-the-field ones.
* Finally, the NFL preseason started this week. Someone should have told the Bengals.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Bummed as a Reds fan
I'm bummed as a Reds fan right now. Let's face it, five games under .500, 10 games out of first, they're not playing for much right now. But it's not the record that bothers me so much as the way they are playing half-assed. I mean, if we're gonna try out the youngsters, let them play - Alonso included. Why bring up your best hitting prospect to sit him on the bench or use him as a pinch hitter - how his he learning the ropes of the big leagues that way? Isn't that Chris Heisey's job?
Sappelt, Frazier, Alonso - I am in favor of all of them getting their chance to play right now. It's not a pennant race, it's not going to hurt the season, why not? Rolen, Phillips and others are hurt anyway ... why not see what they can do? My biggest disappointment of the season is Zack Cozart not being healthy right now. He should have been up a month before he was, and he was very effective in the short time he played. I feel that way about Sappelt and Frazier, too, and Alonso - at the plate.
Basically, it's all about next year at this point, and finding out what is here for then. I think the team could have a markedly different look, but be more effective on the field. I think there are players right now in Louisville or riding pine that can and will contribute, I just feel like the Reds management needs to have the guts to let them play for the last two months of the season. If nothing else, it better identifies holes in the lineup.
I'm pulling for the young guys - just wish I saw them more.
Sappelt, Frazier, Alonso - I am in favor of all of them getting their chance to play right now. It's not a pennant race, it's not going to hurt the season, why not? Rolen, Phillips and others are hurt anyway ... why not see what they can do? My biggest disappointment of the season is Zack Cozart not being healthy right now. He should have been up a month before he was, and he was very effective in the short time he played. I feel that way about Sappelt and Frazier, too, and Alonso - at the plate.
Basically, it's all about next year at this point, and finding out what is here for then. I think the team could have a markedly different look, but be more effective on the field. I think there are players right now in Louisville or riding pine that can and will contribute, I just feel like the Reds management needs to have the guts to let them play for the last two months of the season. If nothing else, it better identifies holes in the lineup.
I'm pulling for the young guys - just wish I saw them more.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
I get it
I may be the only one outside of Minute Maid Park to say this, but I get what the Astros are doing. Not only that, but I kind of like it.
I watched them take two out of three from the Reds this week, not totally surprising since Team Bipolar is so very capable of sweeping or getting swept by any ballclub on the planet, including my softball team. What was surprising is how much more the Astros resembled their teams from the mid-80's than they did the "glory years" of the Killer B's. This team is now full of quick young players, and though it sounds funny to say it, they may be faster after the trades of Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn. Jimmy Paredes at third base in particular impressed, but getting Carlos Lee out of the outfield and planting his generous derriere at first was a marked improvement in their team defense. Dropping last year's pick-ups, Chris Johnson and Brett Wallace, to Triple A and jumping guys two levels to The Show ... I can't think of a much better wake up call.
It's also a huge culture change. Instead of players who have become inured to losing, management is bringing a youth movement that can't lose. There should be no loss of confidence since the kids aren't supposed to succeed, anyway, just learn and get used to the game at the highest level. Then what do they do but take two of three from a contending team - even a marginally contending team like the Reds are at this point - and win in comeback fashion.
Paredes doesn't have a B, so to keep the Houston faithful happy he may need a "B" nickname, but newcomer Brian Bogusevic has one to spare, Jason Bourgeois is getting a chance to play everyday in the new look outfield, and Brett Wallace can be lumped in with them if he finds his form in time to take first base back next season.
What this team is lacking in power it makes up for in speed and defense, a formula that the Rays used to capture a pennant three years ago, one that the Pirates are using to play above expectations this year, and a mindset that has kept the Twins in contention for years - when they're healthy.
If some of the young pitching develops, the Astros will be a team to watch in two years.
I watched them take two out of three from the Reds this week, not totally surprising since Team Bipolar is so very capable of sweeping or getting swept by any ballclub on the planet, including my softball team. What was surprising is how much more the Astros resembled their teams from the mid-80's than they did the "glory years" of the Killer B's. This team is now full of quick young players, and though it sounds funny to say it, they may be faster after the trades of Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn. Jimmy Paredes at third base in particular impressed, but getting Carlos Lee out of the outfield and planting his generous derriere at first was a marked improvement in their team defense. Dropping last year's pick-ups, Chris Johnson and Brett Wallace, to Triple A and jumping guys two levels to The Show ... I can't think of a much better wake up call.
It's also a huge culture change. Instead of players who have become inured to losing, management is bringing a youth movement that can't lose. There should be no loss of confidence since the kids aren't supposed to succeed, anyway, just learn and get used to the game at the highest level. Then what do they do but take two of three from a contending team - even a marginally contending team like the Reds are at this point - and win in comeback fashion.
Paredes doesn't have a B, so to keep the Houston faithful happy he may need a "B" nickname, but newcomer Brian Bogusevic has one to spare, Jason Bourgeois is getting a chance to play everyday in the new look outfield, and Brett Wallace can be lumped in with them if he finds his form in time to take first base back next season.
What this team is lacking in power it makes up for in speed and defense, a formula that the Rays used to capture a pennant three years ago, one that the Pirates are using to play above expectations this year, and a mindset that has kept the Twins in contention for years - when they're healthy.
If some of the young pitching develops, the Astros will be a team to watch in two years.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Interesting Reds note
The Reds have three players within reach of 100 RBIs each: Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips. All three have over 60 with two months to go, so it would take 32-38 depending on the player in the 54 remaining games to break the century mark. The reason I find this interesting is because of the perception that this year's Redlegs are so very un-clutch, but you can't post 100 Ribbies unless you're doing some work with men on base.
The last time that happened was in 1955 ... bonus for anyone who can name the three players who did it that year.
The last time that happened was in 1955 ... bonus for anyone who can name the three players who did it that year.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The blessing that is Twitter
Twitter is my favorite of the social media, by far. Facebook is simply an excuse for people to flood you with friend requests for the silly games or to build up a vast number to feel important. I have used it as a way to reconnect with old friends or a way to keep tabs on family members I don't see that often, but the amount of sheer garbage outweighs it. MySpace no longer exists in its previous form, and I must say that I used it as a vehicle to blog and write five and six years ago. My interest in it waned for the same reasons as Facebook, however ... and now we have Twitter.
I love Twitter for the breaking news, primarily in the sports world but occasionally in the outside world as well. I love being able to get in-game updates from people who are there, and not all of them in the official, reporting capacity. I love that it gives fans a chance to vetch and commiserate without having to join a forum or "friend" someone you've never met, and really have no intention of meeting. It seems like Twitter combines the public aspect of our lives with a desire for privacy, since you follow who you want, ignore those you want, and only have essentially a text message to share yourself.
It's hard to be overly revealing in 160 characters, yet if you post enough people can still get an idea of who you are, or at least the person you project yourself to be. I, for example, project an alternately serious sports fan image with some posts, and a goofy fanboy image with others. I am often delighted to be responded to by big name celebrities - it's the new hanging out at the club to shake hands with an A-list type of person.
With the Major League Baseball trade deadline looming at 4 p.m. today, I've never loved Twitter more. I know who's going before it's announced, because people at the park are seeing the players pulled from games and hugging teammates in the dugout. I hear the rumors and can put together my own theories, some of which blow up just like the paid reporters theories, some of which pan out, and all of which I thoroughly enjoy. Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians? Not enough to save them, and glad my Redlegs didn't give up what it would have taken to get him.
Why the Reds haven't made a significant move is pure speculation, but thanks to Twitter I get a better sense of how absurd the market has been and am not upset with my team. I see why they haven't mortgaged their future for one playoff run. I see that they would have given up far more than they gained in a deal for Carlos Beltran, Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, or even Jason Bourne at this point ... something that five years ago I would not have seen, even with all the wondrous web sites available then and now. At least, I wouldn't have known until after I got angry, ran off at the mouth, and had a list of statements to retract.
So thank you Twitter, for saving me from myself.
I admit, I'm hooked on Twitter, I love to Tweet, I love to check it once every hour or two to see what's new, what's false, and what's true.
And I love it during the trade deadline most of all.
I love Twitter for the breaking news, primarily in the sports world but occasionally in the outside world as well. I love being able to get in-game updates from people who are there, and not all of them in the official, reporting capacity. I love that it gives fans a chance to vetch and commiserate without having to join a forum or "friend" someone you've never met, and really have no intention of meeting. It seems like Twitter combines the public aspect of our lives with a desire for privacy, since you follow who you want, ignore those you want, and only have essentially a text message to share yourself.
It's hard to be overly revealing in 160 characters, yet if you post enough people can still get an idea of who you are, or at least the person you project yourself to be. I, for example, project an alternately serious sports fan image with some posts, and a goofy fanboy image with others. I am often delighted to be responded to by big name celebrities - it's the new hanging out at the club to shake hands with an A-list type of person.
With the Major League Baseball trade deadline looming at 4 p.m. today, I've never loved Twitter more. I know who's going before it's announced, because people at the park are seeing the players pulled from games and hugging teammates in the dugout. I hear the rumors and can put together my own theories, some of which blow up just like the paid reporters theories, some of which pan out, and all of which I thoroughly enjoy. Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians? Not enough to save them, and glad my Redlegs didn't give up what it would have taken to get him.
Why the Reds haven't made a significant move is pure speculation, but thanks to Twitter I get a better sense of how absurd the market has been and am not upset with my team. I see why they haven't mortgaged their future for one playoff run. I see that they would have given up far more than they gained in a deal for Carlos Beltran, Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, or even Jason Bourne at this point ... something that five years ago I would not have seen, even with all the wondrous web sites available then and now. At least, I wouldn't have known until after I got angry, ran off at the mouth, and had a list of statements to retract.
So thank you Twitter, for saving me from myself.
I admit, I'm hooked on Twitter, I love to Tweet, I love to check it once every hour or two to see what's new, what's false, and what's true.
And I love it during the trade deadline most of all.
Monday, July 25, 2011
First Post - non-working labor stoppage
Just checking to see if I still have this in me, it has been a few years.
First thing is first, I'm Stumpy, the original, accept no substitutes or lite versions. I was formerly a sportswriter who branched out into the adult world so I could make adult money and not spend every evening and weekend at sporting events ... and I miss the hell out of it. So read me, follow me, ignore me ... whatever. This is my outlet to vent about sports in general.
Now then, the NFL has been locked out since roughly the Super Bowl. If ESPN didn't beat me upside the head with this fact, I may not have known. I'm damn certain I wouldn't have cared had I known if it didn't take over the talk on Sportscenter, local sports news, sports talk shows, and Twitter. The fact that it has taken over such things tells me three things: 1) The NFL is hands down the most popular sport in the country. The NBA is currently locked out with little hope for a resolution before regular season games are scheduled to commence, and aside from a few NBA-types on the big websites, no one has said a peep about it. 2) Gambling should be legalized. When a big portion of the debate about the NFL lockout centers on money and how it is being split, let's get down to brass tacks on why we as fans care - the NFL is far and away the best sport on which to gamble. The games, the parlays, the coin toss at the Super Bowl, and the 800-pound gorilla of fantasy football are the reasons we care more about the NFL than we do about baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, et al. If the gambling were legal, not just in certain places or "look the other legal" like fantasy or weekly knock out pools, we wouldn't need to worry about a lockout. 3) It tells me in my nearly decade-long hiatus from the business that things have changed, for the worse. That the drama and non-information about meetings between guys sitting at a table, wearing suits, carrying briefcases can lead news programs, talk shows and web sites over sporting events that are live or that happened within 24 hours tells me which sport is king.
I'm not denigrating football, nor the NFL in particular but time was, sports had a rhythm, and the sport that was in playoff mode got the most coverage, secondary coverage went to the sport that had just started, and tertiary coverage went to out-of-season stuff. There were always exceptions, such as prominent athletes being arrested, landscape-altering trades or signings, and the occasional death of a respected Hall of Famer. The NFL went through an out of season work stoppage - wrap your head around that - and dominated coverage. The basically walked into a party they weren't invited to an hour late, stole basketball's drink and baseball's girlfriend, puked in the punch bowl, and walked back out.
To quote a hero of mine, "Impressive. Most impressive."
Which doesn't mean I want to applaud what they've done, nor condone it. In fact, the whole non-working labor stoppage has soured me on the whole season to the point I'm considering dropping out of my fantasy league, picking up the Fox Soccer Channel, and getting stinking drunk watching the English Premier League instead of getting stinking drunk watching the National Football League. Haven't decided yet.
But either way, come September, life as the NFL knows it will go on just like it always has, meaning this whole off-season farce has been much ado about nothing. So can we please get back to Hot Stove talk?
First thing is first, I'm Stumpy, the original, accept no substitutes or lite versions. I was formerly a sportswriter who branched out into the adult world so I could make adult money and not spend every evening and weekend at sporting events ... and I miss the hell out of it. So read me, follow me, ignore me ... whatever. This is my outlet to vent about sports in general.
Now then, the NFL has been locked out since roughly the Super Bowl. If ESPN didn't beat me upside the head with this fact, I may not have known. I'm damn certain I wouldn't have cared had I known if it didn't take over the talk on Sportscenter, local sports news, sports talk shows, and Twitter. The fact that it has taken over such things tells me three things: 1) The NFL is hands down the most popular sport in the country. The NBA is currently locked out with little hope for a resolution before regular season games are scheduled to commence, and aside from a few NBA-types on the big websites, no one has said a peep about it. 2) Gambling should be legalized. When a big portion of the debate about the NFL lockout centers on money and how it is being split, let's get down to brass tacks on why we as fans care - the NFL is far and away the best sport on which to gamble. The games, the parlays, the coin toss at the Super Bowl, and the 800-pound gorilla of fantasy football are the reasons we care more about the NFL than we do about baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, et al. If the gambling were legal, not just in certain places or "look the other legal" like fantasy or weekly knock out pools, we wouldn't need to worry about a lockout. 3) It tells me in my nearly decade-long hiatus from the business that things have changed, for the worse. That the drama and non-information about meetings between guys sitting at a table, wearing suits, carrying briefcases can lead news programs, talk shows and web sites over sporting events that are live or that happened within 24 hours tells me which sport is king.
I'm not denigrating football, nor the NFL in particular but time was, sports had a rhythm, and the sport that was in playoff mode got the most coverage, secondary coverage went to the sport that had just started, and tertiary coverage went to out-of-season stuff. There were always exceptions, such as prominent athletes being arrested, landscape-altering trades or signings, and the occasional death of a respected Hall of Famer. The NFL went through an out of season work stoppage - wrap your head around that - and dominated coverage. The basically walked into a party they weren't invited to an hour late, stole basketball's drink and baseball's girlfriend, puked in the punch bowl, and walked back out.
To quote a hero of mine, "Impressive. Most impressive."
Which doesn't mean I want to applaud what they've done, nor condone it. In fact, the whole non-working labor stoppage has soured me on the whole season to the point I'm considering dropping out of my fantasy league, picking up the Fox Soccer Channel, and getting stinking drunk watching the English Premier League instead of getting stinking drunk watching the National Football League. Haven't decided yet.
But either way, come September, life as the NFL knows it will go on just like it always has, meaning this whole off-season farce has been much ado about nothing. So can we please get back to Hot Stove talk?
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