Sic transit Pontiac

General Motors is killing off another storied nameplate, Pontiac. What a shame. The American auto industry is in a fine mess, and given GM’s spiraling problems it’s no big surprise that the carmaker is sending Pontiac to join Oldsmobile on the scrap heap. Still, it smarts to read that the division that made the Firebird […]

The NFL draft 2009, and the new look of the Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are feeling mighty pleased today. They chose Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford as the No. 1 pick of the NFL draft. He’s shown at right, sporting the new Lions’ logo on his cap. The Lions made a big fuss the other day in announcing the logo, which is supposed to represent a […]

A salute to John Madden

John Madden announced today that he’s retiring from the broadcast booth, and that was major news. Madden is one of the greatest football broadcasters of all time, and I’d rank him among the greatest sports broadcasters overall. His energy, enthusiasm and wit pair wonderfully with his knowledge of football and life at large. He announced […]

A downer day for baseball

This is a downer of a day for baseball, with the tragic death of Nick Adenhart of the Los Angeles Angels. Baseball is no stranger to tragedy. As the actuarial tables will tell you, get any number of ballplayers or athletes in any other sport and a certain percentage will die unexpectedly. Car wrecks, boating […]

The Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City

To my shame and disappointment, I have yet to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. I will get there one of these days. That’s a solemn vow. But I have had the unequalled pleasure of visiting the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City. Simply put, it is a national treasure. The museum […]

A very cool baseball uniform database

With my limited attention span and not contradictory ability to lose myself in any deep well of data on subjects dear to me, a friend forwarding a link to a baseball uniform database tempted me severely today. The database is part of Dressed to the Nines, a section of the Baseball Hall of Fame Web […]

Opening day (or night), and getting back in the game

For all the time I’ve spent on a computer keyboard day and night the past couple of weeks, you’d think I’d have had time to post one measly blog item. So tonight I’m oiling the joints and getting back into the game with a couple of basic notes. The 2009 Major League Baseball season is […]

The Yahoo! cap – Cool, in a dull sort of way

At a convention last week in Las Vegas, the presenters tried getting our attention by tossing ball caps into the audience whenever anyone gave a correct answer. I was, naturally, taken in completely at the opportunity to score another cap. On Day Two, I finally found a question I could answer and beat the others […]

Saluting the Devils’ Martin Brodeur

This is a great day for the Irish — and for hockey. On this St. Patrick’s Day, Martin Brodeur of the New Jeresey Devils will will try to become the winningest goalie in National Hockey League history. Brodeur, who spent much of the season off ice with an injury, has been almost superhuman since his […]

NCAA Selection Sunday: A curmudgeonly take on “The Dance”

The annual “Selection Sunday” ritual of choosing teams for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is this weekend, and I am officially going on record to say I loathe describing the tournament as the “the dance” or “the big dance.” What a lame cliche. Let’s put a cap on it, so to speak. That objection aside, […]