The Granderson trade: Grist for the Yankee-haters’ mill

[picapp align=”right” wrap=”true” link=”term=curtis+granderson&iid=4994621″ src=”0/9/d/f/Detroit_Tigers_vs_a152.JPG?adImageId=8153941&imageId=4994621″ width=”234″ height=”159″ /] The floats that rolled down the Canyon of Heroes in the World Series victory parade have barely cooled their engines and the New York Yankees are already bolstering their formidable roster. The details aren’t final, but at the winter meetings in Indianapolis the Yanks have engineered a […]

It’s cricket, and it’s a great cap!

[picapp align=”right” wrap=”true” link=”term=cricket+and+strauss&iid=6137869″ src=”a/f/d/e/5TH_ASHES_TEST_321b.JPG?adImageId=7932204&imageId=6137869″ width=”234″ height=”312″ /] I’m nearly illiterate when it comes to cricket, but I recognize a great cap when I see one. I spotted this cap on England cricketer Andrew Strauss while cruising PicApp for anything that struck my fancy. The cap Strauss wears with the crown atop three lions is […]

Don’t bother Tiger Woods, officer. He’s sleeping.

[picapp align=”left” wrap=”true” link=”term=Tiger+Woods&iid=7029112″ src=”9/9/1/c/2009_Australian_Masters_8b90.jpg?adImageId=7920619&imageId=7029112″ width=”234″ height=”150″ /]Before the Tiger Woods story erupted this Thanksgiving weekend, I’d been ruminating on the differences between elite athletes and us mere men and women. Highly paid pro athletes like Woods in golf or Alex Rodriguez in baseball or LeBron James in basketball exist on a plane at which most of us mortals […]

Baseball and Black Friday

This is Black Friday, when millions of bargain-crazed Americans head to the malls to shop for deeply discounted merchandise. The only purchases I’ve made today have been on behalf of my son: at the doctor’s office, the pharmacy and – in a weak moment – an online gaming site. If you’re a baseball fan and […]

Thanksgiving ritual: Lions and Cowboys games on TV

[picapp align=”right” wrap=”false” link=”term=raiders&iid=7114234″ src=”d/3/e/7/Cincinnati_Bengals_v_ef43.jpg?adImageId=7847928&imageId=7114234″ width=”234″ height=”314″ /] Thanksgiving Day in America means turkey, cranberries and football, not necessarily in that order. The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have been featured on national TV for as long as I can remember, and both teams will be in action this year. I’ll be paying more attention […]

Life without baseball

This is a fits-and-starts blog. Despite my best intentions to post regularly, I sometimes get in a funk and let several days go by without a post. This past stretch of radio silence has been one of the longest, and I intend to correct that in the days ahead. Where have I been spending my […]

Football Night in America – sacrilege

[picapp src=”b/7/8/5/Super_Bowl_XLIII_4dad.jpg?adImageId=7075166&imageId=3807985″ width=”234″ height=”175″ /] The show has been around on NBC for a few seasons, but only today as I awoke from a snooze brought on by 49ers, Raiders and Packers losses did I discover Football Night in America. It’s the show that airs before the Sunday night NFL game of the week, and […]

PicApp gets the cap wrog

WordPress, which I dearly love, recently introduced PicApp images for use on our blogs. I just signed up and in my first search – for “baseball” — was pleased to find photos of celebrities and athletes wearing baseball caps and golf caps. The first image to catch my eye was this one of singer Katy […]

An off day for baseball, and a glimpse at winter

Friday was an off day for the 2009 World Series, a reminder that the season is nearly over. Baseball is the daily game, and its rhythm regulates our lives most of the year. It’s the oldest and most established of our spectator sports, and I find it the most American of all. There’s a doctoral […]

Who’s your daddy, Pedro?

[picapp src=”1/3/c/c/Phillies_Practice_for_d923.JPG?adImageId=7048325&imageId=6762295″ width=”234″ height=”177″ /] The highlight of Game 2 for me, the fan sitting in the recliner in front of the 36″ screen in his family room, was the Yankees fans chanting “Who’s your daddy?” to taunt Pedro Martinez. The self-proclaimed most influential man ever to set foot in Yankee Stadium took the loss. […]