Wednesday, August 10, 2005
SOMETIMES I MISS SPORTSCENTER
There was a time when my energies, my focus and my passions were directed not towards the political games but rather the games themselves. My love of sports went unrivaled, unchallenged. You couldn't pull me out of the sports pages, you couldn't get me off ESPN no matter what was going on in the wider world. Hell, if election night happened to conflict with the World Series, I wouldn't even consider voting.
But times have changed. Last October, I chose the sport of presidential debate over a Red Sox/Yankees playoff game. I don't watch ESPN's SportsCenter because it conflicts with The Daily Show. And I now find myself unable to tell you off the top of my head, as I once could, who leads the National League in On Base Percentage.* It's sorta sad actually. But every once in a while I find salvation from the real-world insanity by flipping over to Baseball Tonight or picking up a copy of Sports Illustrated. Last night was one of those nights, and just look what I was treated to.
First off, I got to see young Yankee fan Scott Harper hurl himself off the upper deck of Yankee Stadium up 'der in the Boogie Down. Scott's buddies, who no doubt had everything to do with egging him on, say their friend hadn't had a thing to drink. That fact, while probably completely untrue, makes the feat more disturbing than it needs to be. I mean, really, if you're gonna do something that stupid at least give yourself an out and blame it on the beer. As a bonus, the hated Yankees lost the game to the ChiSox 2-1, prompting an angry George Steinbrenner to utter perhaps the quote of the year, saying Scott's leap "was the only exciting thing that happened today." Bravo George. Bravo.
Meanwhile, the Mets couldn't pull off a win out San Diego last night but third baseman David Wright pulled off what was perhaps the catch of the year when he dove into shallow left, reached over his shoulder with his bare-hand and snagged a sure bloop single off the bat of Brian Giles. Considering that Wright leads the Mets in errors, perhaps he should just lose the glove and go bare-handed full time. You can check out video of the catch here.
While my beloved Seattle Mariners have suffered through yet another tough year (feels like '83 sometimes, doesn't it?), there is some hope up in the Emerald City and that hope goes by the name of Felix Hernandez. The 19-year-old phenom pitched a gem of a ballgame last night for his first major league victory. The kid already has a nickname in Seattle, he's simply being referred to as 'The Future'. Let's hope so.
Lastly, to bring things full circle and back to politics, EA Sports give us this. To promote the release of Madden Football '06 the game company inserted George W. and his brother Jeb into the action, W in a Cowboys uniform and Jeb playing for the Dolphins. You can check out the short video on EA's website here. I don't know what it is, but there's something that makes me feel all gooey inside seeing the president get flattened, even if it is by his equally feckless boob of a brother Jeb.
See, isn't sports just so much more fun than the real world? In this reality, Jeb Bush helps his brother lose, not win. Oh to live in a video game.
Oh well, I guess it's back to the bullshit and hypocrisy now. Goodbye SportsCenter, hello CSPAN.
* It's Nick Johnson BTW. I looked it up.
There was a time when my energies, my focus and my passions were directed not towards the political games but rather the games themselves. My love of sports went unrivaled, unchallenged. You couldn't pull me out of the sports pages, you couldn't get me off ESPN no matter what was going on in the wider world. Hell, if election night happened to conflict with the World Series, I wouldn't even consider voting.
But times have changed. Last October, I chose the sport of presidential debate over a Red Sox/Yankees playoff game. I don't watch ESPN's SportsCenter because it conflicts with The Daily Show. And I now find myself unable to tell you off the top of my head, as I once could, who leads the National League in On Base Percentage.* It's sorta sad actually. But every once in a while I find salvation from the real-world insanity by flipping over to Baseball Tonight or picking up a copy of Sports Illustrated. Last night was one of those nights, and just look what I was treated to.
First off, I got to see young Yankee fan Scott Harper hurl himself off the upper deck of Yankee Stadium up 'der in the Boogie Down. Scott's buddies, who no doubt had everything to do with egging him on, say their friend hadn't had a thing to drink. That fact, while probably completely untrue, makes the feat more disturbing than it needs to be. I mean, really, if you're gonna do something that stupid at least give yourself an out and blame it on the beer. As a bonus, the hated Yankees lost the game to the ChiSox 2-1, prompting an angry George Steinbrenner to utter perhaps the quote of the year, saying Scott's leap "was the only exciting thing that happened today." Bravo George. Bravo. Meanwhile, the Mets couldn't pull off a win out San Diego last night but third baseman David Wright pulled off what was perhaps the catch of the year when he dove into shallow left, reached over his shoulder with his bare-hand and snagged a sure bloop single off the bat of Brian Giles. Considering that Wright leads the Mets in errors, perhaps he should just lose the glove and go bare-handed full time. You can check out video of the catch here. While my beloved Seattle Mariners have suffered through yet another tough year (feels like '83 sometimes, doesn't it?), there is some hope up in the Emerald City and that hope goes by the name of Felix Hernandez. The 19-year-old phenom pitched a gem of a ballgame last night for his first major league victory. The kid already has a nickname in Seattle, he's simply being referred to as 'The Future'. Let's hope so. Lastly, to bring things full circle and back to politics, EA Sports give us this. To promote the release of Madden Football '06 the game company inserted George W. and his brother Jeb into the action, W in a Cowboys uniform and Jeb playing for the Dolphins. You can check out the short video on EA's website here. I don't know what it is, but there's something that makes me feel all gooey inside seeing the president get flattened, even if it is by his equally feckless boob of a brother Jeb. See, isn't sports just so much more fun than the real world? In this reality, Jeb Bush helps his brother lose, not win. Oh to live in a video game.
Oh well, I guess it's back to the bullshit and hypocrisy now. Goodbye SportsCenter, hello CSPAN.
* It's Nick Johnson BTW. I looked it up.
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