It was long ago, during the Magic and Bird days of these Lakers vs. Celtics finals, when I was watching the TV in my father's den. I had the game on and as a Warrior fan almost instinctively found myself rooting for the Celtics... beat L.A.!, you know? But then, a couple of my relatives talked me into rooting for the Lakers: "Look at the Celtics, they're so ugly!" "You gotta root for the Lakers, they're so cool!" "West versus East" etc. And from that day on, I found myself rooting for the Lakers come playoff-time (as a proxy for the Warriors). I'm still no Lakers fan, but still, Rona likes them.
So it's the Lakers and the Celtics in the finals again - the more things change, the more they stay the same. And really, if the Lakers win the championship, fine, and if the Celtics win, fine. Enjoy it while you can. Go Warriors!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
collateral damage
I watched The Bourne Identity for the umpteenth time last night. Obviously, I really enjoy it... the entire Bourne series actually. It reminded me though of how we, as viewers, get accustomed to so-called collateral damage in action movies. Jason Bourne is often in peril and doing whatever necessary to preserve his life. Still, all the traffic accidents that occur as he zips through crowded streets could certainly result in death, yet who pays attention to that? Innocent police officers, simply doing their jobs to protect the public, could be losing their lives as they crash their vehicles.
Another favorite movie I like to watch whenever I come across it is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. And here's a movie that glorifies a couple of outlaws! (amiable as they are). It took me awhile to look at the Bolivian police officers that get shot as people simply doing their jobs often being killed by a Sundance Kid whom we've come to root for: "C'mon Sundance... good shot, yeah!" Oh well, as long as I remember it's a movie.
Another favorite movie I like to watch whenever I come across it is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. And here's a movie that glorifies a couple of outlaws! (amiable as they are). It took me awhile to look at the Bolivian police officers that get shot as people simply doing their jobs often being killed by a Sundance Kid whom we've come to root for: "C'mon Sundance... good shot, yeah!" Oh well, as long as I remember it's a movie.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
perfect for tailgating!
What do you think when you first see the phrase, 'perfect for tailgating!'?
My first thought turns to one of my greatest sources of anxiety: being tailgated while driving. I once worked as a proofreader for a free paper that advertised used cars for both auto dealerships and private sellers. Some of the time, there was hardly enough room to fit the entire requested description in the space provided, so we had the option to do some editing. Well, one dealership was very verbose in their descriptions and had included 'Perfect for tailgating!' for one of their pickups. I was so put off by seeing that imagery that I took it out. It wasn't until much, much later that I realized they meant the other kind of tailgating, as in bbq'ing, setting out food on an open tailgate, etc. At least, I hope that was what they meant. Yeesh!
My first thought turns to one of my greatest sources of anxiety: being tailgated while driving. I once worked as a proofreader for a free paper that advertised used cars for both auto dealerships and private sellers. Some of the time, there was hardly enough room to fit the entire requested description in the space provided, so we had the option to do some editing. Well, one dealership was very verbose in their descriptions and had included 'Perfect for tailgating!' for one of their pickups. I was so put off by seeing that imagery that I took it out. It wasn't until much, much later that I realized they meant the other kind of tailgating, as in bbq'ing, setting out food on an open tailgate, etc. At least, I hope that was what they meant. Yeesh!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Strange But True...
Baseball Stories by Furman Bisher was a book I enjoyed throughout my childhood. There was even a second volume called More Strange But True Baseball Stories that we also had.
With all the news about the perfect game that wasn't a couple of days ago due to a blown call, I was reminded of one of the stories from the first Strange But True book. I remembered the name of the pitcher, Harvey Haddix, the team he played for, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and that he pitched a perfect game for more than 9 innings, but lost! To sate my memory, incredibly I knew just where to look in our house for this old book (it has a copyright of 1966). So filling in some of the details, the game took place on May 29, 1959 in Milwaukee against the Braves, a lineup that featured such greats as Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews. Haddix pitched a perfect 9 innings, but unfortunately had no run support; although the Pirates got runners on base, none of them scored. So the game went on until Haddix had gone 12 perfect innings: 36 up, 36 down. That's when things fell apart and the Braves started a rally in their half of the 13th inning sparked by a throwing error. A sacrifice, an intentional walk, and a deep drive later, the game was over. Baseball can be such a tough-luck game.
With all the news about the perfect game that wasn't a couple of days ago due to a blown call, I was reminded of one of the stories from the first Strange But True book. I remembered the name of the pitcher, Harvey Haddix, the team he played for, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and that he pitched a perfect game for more than 9 innings, but lost! To sate my memory, incredibly I knew just where to look in our house for this old book (it has a copyright of 1966). So filling in some of the details, the game took place on May 29, 1959 in Milwaukee against the Braves, a lineup that featured such greats as Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews. Haddix pitched a perfect 9 innings, but unfortunately had no run support; although the Pirates got runners on base, none of them scored. So the game went on until Haddix had gone 12 perfect innings: 36 up, 36 down. That's when things fell apart and the Braves started a rally in their half of the 13th inning sparked by a throwing error. A sacrifice, an intentional walk, and a deep drive later, the game was over. Baseball can be such a tough-luck game.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
no perfect game...
but plenty of character and sportsmanship.
All these perfect games lately are becoming rather ho-hum. So much so that fate and the oh-so-human element came into play to prevent the third perfecto within a month's time. Although it cost the Detroit Tigers' Armando Galarraga his place in the record books (unless the call is unprecedentedly reversed by the league office), the exemplary sportsmanship and class displayed has made what happened more positive than negative.
Pitcher Galarraga's immediate reaction to the bad call was not one of anger, but simple incredulousness; it was his teammates that displayed the understandable anger. Umpire Jim Joyce's handling of his blown call has been heartfelt and responsible - he truly is the one that feels the most awful. He took the time after the game to personally apologize to Galarraga, and Galarraga has risen so far above the situation that he recognizes that it's more about human compassion than a stat in a record book. Whether or not the call is reversed, I hope the way the pitcher and the umpire have handled this unfortunate circumstance serves as an example of class and sincerity (not to understate how much losing a perfect game sucks!).
Prior to today's game between Detroit and Cleveland, Armando Galarraga brought the Tigers lineup card out to home plate to hand it out to Jim Joyce, today's home plate umpire, and as Joyce took the card, he wiped away tears. There's something to be learned from all this.
All these perfect games lately are becoming rather ho-hum. So much so that fate and the oh-so-human element came into play to prevent the third perfecto within a month's time. Although it cost the Detroit Tigers' Armando Galarraga his place in the record books (unless the call is unprecedentedly reversed by the league office), the exemplary sportsmanship and class displayed has made what happened more positive than negative.
Pitcher Galarraga's immediate reaction to the bad call was not one of anger, but simple incredulousness; it was his teammates that displayed the understandable anger. Umpire Jim Joyce's handling of his blown call has been heartfelt and responsible - he truly is the one that feels the most awful. He took the time after the game to personally apologize to Galarraga, and Galarraga has risen so far above the situation that he recognizes that it's more about human compassion than a stat in a record book. Whether or not the call is reversed, I hope the way the pitcher and the umpire have handled this unfortunate circumstance serves as an example of class and sincerity (not to understate how much losing a perfect game sucks!).
Prior to today's game between Detroit and Cleveland, Armando Galarraga brought the Tigers lineup card out to home plate to hand it out to Jim Joyce, today's home plate umpire, and as Joyce took the card, he wiped away tears. There's something to be learned from all this.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
silver and gold
One thing I've always found appealing about the Raiders and 49ers is their color schemes - not only are they both precious metals (the silver and gold of the helmets), but they complement each other so well. They wouldn't have as much appeal if, say, they had the colors of the Vikings (purple) and the Chiefs (red), which are not bad alone, but not complementary and representing more or less the same geographic area. Together with the oh-so-awesome silver and gold helmet colors are those fantastic Raiders and 49ers logos, which are timeless, or at least should be.
Looking around the Internet, I am amused to see that lots of fans also have strong opinions about the aesthetics of team designs. The striped helmets of the Cincinnati Bengals elicit passionate debate, and some even prefer the old helmets which I thought were simply pathetic: they looked like Cleveland Browns helmets with the word 'Bengals' printed on them - and sometimes, not even??
I may even have mentioned this before, but I can't imagine the Patriots or the Buccaneers ever winning the Super Bowl championships they did with their old logos/helmets. Some logos are timeless, some have thankfully changed, and some should still be changed.
Looking around the Internet, I am amused to see that lots of fans also have strong opinions about the aesthetics of team designs. The striped helmets of the Cincinnati Bengals elicit passionate debate, and some even prefer the old helmets which I thought were simply pathetic: they looked like Cleveland Browns helmets with the word 'Bengals' printed on them - and sometimes, not even??
I may even have mentioned this before, but I can't imagine the Patriots or the Buccaneers ever winning the Super Bowl championships they did with their old logos/helmets. Some logos are timeless, some have thankfully changed, and some should still be changed.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
silver and black jerseys
If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that football-wise, I'm all about the 49ers... yeah, Niners! Growing up here in the Bay Area, I found myself naturally cheering for both local teams. However, in the 1970's, it was the Raiders that were televised more often (they were the more successful team, not coincidentally). So although I rooted for and cared about the Niners, I lived and died more by how the Raiders did and have many more memories of them from back then.
Then they moved to Los Angeles. Ouch! And around the same time, the 49ers got real good with Bill Walsh as head coach. The Raiders moving down to L.A. was a tough pill to swallow - that's Dodger country. And they were the Los Angeles Raiders when they won one of their Super Bowls, defeating the Washington Redskins. I never did bond with players such as Howie Long and Marcus Allen.
Now with the Raiders back in Oakland, I'm sort of interested, happy when they win but not terribly upset when they lose. Anyway, I'd like to talk about... retiring jersey numbers. The 49er organization has retired several numbers and as far as I know, the Raiders none. Some have complained about it, that with as many great players as the Raiders have had, many numbers are worthy of being permanently retired. But I think they're on the right track here - after all, so many of the same numbers have been worn by important Raider players, for example: #12 was worn by both Ken Stabler and Rich Gannon; #16 by both George Blanda and Jim Plunkett; #32 - Jack Tatum and Marcus Allen; #21 - Cliff Branch and currently Nnamdi Asomugha; #83 - Ben Davidson and Ted Hendricks; my point being, it's rather too late for the Raiders to start retiring jersey numbers now. Besides, at some point in the future for a great team that retires numbers, there won't be any jersey numbers left to choose!
Then they moved to Los Angeles. Ouch! And around the same time, the 49ers got real good with Bill Walsh as head coach. The Raiders moving down to L.A. was a tough pill to swallow - that's Dodger country. And they were the Los Angeles Raiders when they won one of their Super Bowls, defeating the Washington Redskins. I never did bond with players such as Howie Long and Marcus Allen.
Now with the Raiders back in Oakland, I'm sort of interested, happy when they win but not terribly upset when they lose. Anyway, I'd like to talk about... retiring jersey numbers. The 49er organization has retired several numbers and as far as I know, the Raiders none. Some have complained about it, that with as many great players as the Raiders have had, many numbers are worthy of being permanently retired. But I think they're on the right track here - after all, so many of the same numbers have been worn by important Raider players, for example: #12 was worn by both Ken Stabler and Rich Gannon; #16 by both George Blanda and Jim Plunkett; #32 - Jack Tatum and Marcus Allen; #21 - Cliff Branch and currently Nnamdi Asomugha; #83 - Ben Davidson and Ted Hendricks; my point being, it's rather too late for the Raiders to start retiring jersey numbers now. Besides, at some point in the future for a great team that retires numbers, there won't be any jersey numbers left to choose!
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