I am as happy as the next guy that the NFL settled their incredible problems (trying to split up $9 billion must have been difficult), it is frustrating to me that we have to watch football on Sportscenter like its the week leading up to the Super Bowl. Hey guess what, at 10 AM players can show up. That's a report that everyone cares about. What the Jets are going to do to follow up Rex Ryan's guarantee for a SB victory... IT DOESN'T MATTER! Tell me about this a week before the season starts and it's actually relevant. I don't care if Ryan is "Amped up" and leaving voicemails to all the season ticket holders. Everyone should be excited. Heck, I know that I'm looking forward to Fantasy Football just as much as the next guy, but give me a break.
We had some tremendous baseball games last night, and the fact that the Indians and Angels game is pushed to the bottom of the order so we can hear Adam Schefter talk about NFL free agency. The Royals beat the Red Sox in 14 innings last night, and yet all we got to see baseball-wise is the Yankees beating the Mariners and the Rangers offensive outburst over the Twins. I hope that this isn't a preview of what lies ahead until the season starts, but I fear like us baseball-first fans are screwed.
This made me think about the other lockout that looks to be no where close to cutting a deal, the NBA. I'm excited about this. Why? Because 1) the NBA is flawed and the only part of the season worth watching is the Playoffs and 2) we'll get to see more HOCKEY! I am one that absolutely loves hockey and the way those guys play the game. I have told people time and time again that hockey players are the best professional athletes in the world. Why? Well listen here... You have a game of hard-hitting action for 60 minutes, much like football. You have high-speed, non-stop action, like the NBA (in the playoffs), except harder because they're doing everything on ice. You have hand-eye coordination, with a tiny puck being handled by a stick, bringing a baseball edge to the game. It's really a combination of all the "major" sports of the USA. You could even argue it has some soccer qualities too, seeing as the endurance quality of hockey is a major part of the game, just like in the beautiful game. Hockey is awesome, and I think that with the NBA lockout we might see a rise in interest in the NHL, which would make life more fun for me!
I want to add that I have been eagerly watching this Sportscenter to see the Jason Kipnis walk-off single in the improbable ninth-inning come back. I'm hearing all about how offensive linemen are the unsung heroes of the NFL, and have yet to see one of the best plays of Monday. How about Kipnis getting his first hit in the form of a walk-off single to right field? That should be a story in the first 20 minutes of a Sportscenter.
I'm happy that we'll have football in the fall... but give me a break!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Taking the Series
The Lansing Lugnuts may be the hottest team in baseball. Take a seat Pittsburgh, move out of the way Philly, its time to GO NUTS LUGNUTS! There's simply no other way to put it. This team is so fun to watch, it's hard to contain myself on the air sometimes. I am watching future major leaguers before my eyes... Our starting outfield reminds me of the early days of the Dayton Dragons when they had Kearns, Dunn, and Pena roaming 5/3 Field... It is a privilege to watch these guys play everyday. It is easy for everyone around this team to see that there is something different about them. They take losing personally, and so they decided they're going to just not do it. It's incredible to watch. I've also learned that the more you hang around these guys, the more they get to know you. I've had some fun conversations with guys in the past few days that have made me change the way I think about professional athletes.
I was always one that cherished getting autographs, but I think that I'm turning into a picture man now. I'll explain... One of my prized possessions is my Omar Vizquel autographed baseball. It's awesome. I remember waiting for Omar to come out of the Indians dugout and sign autographs before a game, and sure enough, I was one of the lucky dozen to get his Herbie Hancock (Tommy Boy, anyone?). I also got a Ronnie Belliard autographed baseball signed on an All-Star ball. (I don't know what's more shocking, that I once considered Belliard my second favorite player, or that he was actually an All-Star). I didn't get this autograph myself. I think I somehow conned my mom into buying it off eBay, and my emotional attachment to it is minimal. When I was younger I was all about autographs, but now I think a picture, conversation, or a memory is much more valuable to me then anything else. I will always remember talking with Dustin Antolin in the dugout about how much snakes freaked him out, or listening to K.C. Hobson brainstorm future business ventures. I put pictures in this same category because when I'm old and my great grandkids think I'm losing my mind, I'll be able to find these pictures and jog back the great times I had with different people.
Here's a challenge for you old enough to do so... Look back at your high school yearbook. Don't look at the pictures first, look at the "autographs" or the signatures and notes people left for you. After reading some of those, find some pictures with you in them. If you're like me, the memories from one picture will last a lot longer than reading some note.
Memories trump autographs any day.
I was always one that cherished getting autographs, but I think that I'm turning into a picture man now. I'll explain... One of my prized possessions is my Omar Vizquel autographed baseball. It's awesome. I remember waiting for Omar to come out of the Indians dugout and sign autographs before a game, and sure enough, I was one of the lucky dozen to get his Herbie Hancock (Tommy Boy, anyone?). I also got a Ronnie Belliard autographed baseball signed on an All-Star ball. (I don't know what's more shocking, that I once considered Belliard my second favorite player, or that he was actually an All-Star). I didn't get this autograph myself. I think I somehow conned my mom into buying it off eBay, and my emotional attachment to it is minimal. When I was younger I was all about autographs, but now I think a picture, conversation, or a memory is much more valuable to me then anything else. I will always remember talking with Dustin Antolin in the dugout about how much snakes freaked him out, or listening to K.C. Hobson brainstorm future business ventures. I put pictures in this same category because when I'm old and my great grandkids think I'm losing my mind, I'll be able to find these pictures and jog back the great times I had with different people.
Here's a challenge for you old enough to do so... Look back at your high school yearbook. Don't look at the pictures first, look at the "autographs" or the signatures and notes people left for you. After reading some of those, find some pictures with you in them. If you're like me, the memories from one picture will last a lot longer than reading some note.
Memories trump autographs any day.
Monday, July 11, 2011
All-Star Game and thoughts
I'm sitting in my hotel room in Mentor, OH getting ready to head to Classic Park to watch the Lugnuts sweep the Captains, and I just thought I would take a quick moment to write a new blog. I drove myself to Ohio so I can take a mini-vacation after this game, spending time with my family, fiance, and friends etc. So far the team has played well, and it's fun to think that one day I'll be watching some of these guys play in the Major Leagues. I mean, I want all of them to make it one day, but realistically I know it'll only be a few of them at best. It's so fun to watch these young men (I can say that because I'm 23 and older than almost all of them) come together and play the great sport.
ANYWAYS. I thought I would take some time to talk about the Major League All-Star game. It's a flawed system. How can we have the game mean something, but still let the fans vote the starting line-ups? Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy for Jeter getting his 3,000th hit the other day, but there is no way he should have been the starting shortstop at the All-Star game. The fans got it wrong. The fact that Dick Vitale is blowing Twitter up about guys not going is 1) annoying and 2) stupid. I get it, the game is for the fans, well then take the stupid home field advantage off as the reward for winning. If the fans get to vote the players in, yet we make it mean something, it seems like we will always have the problem we face this year. Granted, I can't argue that there were players I thought should have made it and didn't, but I'll put that fact aside. Dicky V argues that it is a bad decision by the players not coming because the money from this game goes into the player's pension fund... Do you think the people of Arizona will come whether Jeter plays shortstop or Jhonny Peralta? I'm pretty sure that's not a big deal. I don't know, it just seems to me that we had a couple of guys bow out this year (A-Rod from injury, Jeter because he didn't deserve it, I mean injury, and Sabathia because he pitched yesterday) and now people are blowing it out of proportion. "Cal Ripken Jr. never missed an All-Star game" as someone on ESPN said today... Newsflash, Ripken played for 2,600 straight games. That's like saying, "Well, Ozzie Smith never missed a routine ground ball" as you watch Edgar Rentaria boot a ball. Give me a break.
I love the All-Star game. Let the best players play. Yankees fans are getting ticked off because their guys are going to the game. Boo hoo. You have a frickin all star team every day. Robinson Cano is in the HR, Granderson is leading off and playing CF. Welcome to the world everyone else lives in where a few players at best play in the mid-summer classic.
I'll jump off my soapbox now. I love the game of baseball, and we're in such a great position right now. It's going to be even better when next spring all we have to contend with on Sportscenter is playoff hockey since the NBA will still be in lockout. That's another soapbox for another time.
ANYWAYS. I thought I would take some time to talk about the Major League All-Star game. It's a flawed system. How can we have the game mean something, but still let the fans vote the starting line-ups? Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy for Jeter getting his 3,000th hit the other day, but there is no way he should have been the starting shortstop at the All-Star game. The fans got it wrong. The fact that Dick Vitale is blowing Twitter up about guys not going is 1) annoying and 2) stupid. I get it, the game is for the fans, well then take the stupid home field advantage off as the reward for winning. If the fans get to vote the players in, yet we make it mean something, it seems like we will always have the problem we face this year. Granted, I can't argue that there were players I thought should have made it and didn't, but I'll put that fact aside. Dicky V argues that it is a bad decision by the players not coming because the money from this game goes into the player's pension fund... Do you think the people of Arizona will come whether Jeter plays shortstop or Jhonny Peralta? I'm pretty sure that's not a big deal. I don't know, it just seems to me that we had a couple of guys bow out this year (A-Rod from injury, Jeter because he didn't deserve it, I mean injury, and Sabathia because he pitched yesterday) and now people are blowing it out of proportion. "Cal Ripken Jr. never missed an All-Star game" as someone on ESPN said today... Newsflash, Ripken played for 2,600 straight games. That's like saying, "Well, Ozzie Smith never missed a routine ground ball" as you watch Edgar Rentaria boot a ball. Give me a break.
I love the All-Star game. Let the best players play. Yankees fans are getting ticked off because their guys are going to the game. Boo hoo. You have a frickin all star team every day. Robinson Cano is in the HR, Granderson is leading off and playing CF. Welcome to the world everyone else lives in where a few players at best play in the mid-summer classic.
I'll jump off my soapbox now. I love the game of baseball, and we're in such a great position right now. It's going to be even better when next spring all we have to contend with on Sportscenter is playoff hockey since the NBA will still be in lockout. That's another soapbox for another time.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
It's Been a while...
It's been a while and I apologize. Not that there is an angry hoard of readers pounding down my door or something, but I want to make this something I am more consistent with.
One thing that I'm coming to realize is that it is very hard to walk the line of telling people what I see and not offending people. I can come off as harsh sometimes because of the way my analysis of situations is, and I really don't mean to at all. I want guys to do well and succeed, and making routine plays is something that they should be able to do at this level. Sometimes I forget the fact that most of the guys I'm broadcasting are younger than I am, and I know I made a ton of mistakes on "easy" plays when I was younger too. My goal this week is to find a better balance of encouraging yet critical. It's a tough line to have to walk, and I truthfully didn't even know I was doing it until pointed out to me yesterday. I can't hold the players on my team to the same standard I hold players like Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore... Those guys are big leaguers and one or two guys from this team might get lucky enough to be in the show one day.
On another note, I'm still not getting enough sleep because I am so excited about work every day. It sounds lame, but it is nearly impossible for me to sleep at night because I'm so excited for the next day, and then when I finally do get to sleep I want it to go as fast as possible so I can get back to work. My challenge is going to be to take that excitement and translate it to the broadcasts in a positive way.
I started to sit in home run territory during batting practice on our last road trip. I feel like I can get a better read on how players are hitting from there because that's where I'm used to watching guys like Cabrera and Sizemore take BP from. I am easily distracted, so sometimes when I sit right behind home I can lose focus on what I'm actually there doing. I'm going to start mixing it up though so I can eventually be much better at it.
I have some interviews on the webpage now, here's the link to the Press Box page of the Lugnuts' website. Enjoy!
KL
One thing that I'm coming to realize is that it is very hard to walk the line of telling people what I see and not offending people. I can come off as harsh sometimes because of the way my analysis of situations is, and I really don't mean to at all. I want guys to do well and succeed, and making routine plays is something that they should be able to do at this level. Sometimes I forget the fact that most of the guys I'm broadcasting are younger than I am, and I know I made a ton of mistakes on "easy" plays when I was younger too. My goal this week is to find a better balance of encouraging yet critical. It's a tough line to have to walk, and I truthfully didn't even know I was doing it until pointed out to me yesterday. I can't hold the players on my team to the same standard I hold players like Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore... Those guys are big leaguers and one or two guys from this team might get lucky enough to be in the show one day.
On another note, I'm still not getting enough sleep because I am so excited about work every day. It sounds lame, but it is nearly impossible for me to sleep at night because I'm so excited for the next day, and then when I finally do get to sleep I want it to go as fast as possible so I can get back to work. My challenge is going to be to take that excitement and translate it to the broadcasts in a positive way.
I started to sit in home run territory during batting practice on our last road trip. I feel like I can get a better read on how players are hitting from there because that's where I'm used to watching guys like Cabrera and Sizemore take BP from. I am easily distracted, so sometimes when I sit right behind home I can lose focus on what I'm actually there doing. I'm going to start mixing it up though so I can eventually be much better at it.
I have some interviews on the webpage now, here's the link to the Press Box page of the Lugnuts' website. Enjoy!
KL
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