Fear and Loathing in Reno

What a long, strange trip it’s been.
15 hours to Reno, Nevada. By air, from Newburgh, NY, to Philadelphia, to Phoenix, and fat last on to Reno. All three flights delayed.
Finally arrived at the Grand Sierra Resort in the wee hours of the morning, only to discover the hotel doesn’t have wireless.
No wireless. Imagine that, [...]

Yankee Stadium: A Day Late, Hundreds of Dollars Short

The new Yankee Stadium opened with ceremony and a 10-2 loss to Cleveland.
Was hoping to get to the opening of the new Yankee Stadium this week. Tried to call in a few favors, but the tickets never came through.
Fuggedaboutit! I’m not the godfather.
And with a slim wallet and the cheap seats going for $200 [...]

Sorry T.S., April Is The Best Month for Sports

T.S. Eliot knew how to write, but sports wasn’t his strong suit.
“April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain. “
– T.S Eliot, The Waste Land, 1922
Thomas Stearns (T.S.) Eliot, the American-British poet, playwright and critic, may have been a member of the Literature Hall [...]

Lords of The Ringless: Wide Receiver Edition

That’s not a Super Bowl trophy Randy Moss is pointing to – he doesn’t own a ring.
Here’s the latest in the Lords of The Ringless series, a litany of losers featuring wide receivers who have never won a championship — Super Bowl, NFL or AFL.
The team nobody wants to join includes four Hall of Famers [...]

Who in The World Is Clint Barmes?

This is Babe Ruth, Sultan of Swat, not Clint Barmes, shown fielding below.
Who is Clint Barmes?
I was wondering that myself when he wound up on my fantasy baseball team, the Sultans of Swat.
My partner in crime, the good doctor Larry G, and I picked Barmes in our Nightcap League fantasy baseball draft.
In the fourth round.
Among [...]

Satchel Paige: Great Early And Great Late

Sometimes records don’t even begin to tell the whole story, and stats don’t scratch the surface.
Take the case of Leroy Robert “Satchel” Paige, legendary Negro Leaguer, Hall of Fame pitcher and storyteller supreme.
In six seasons with the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns and Kansas City A’s, Paige compiled a 28-31 record with a lifetime 3.29 [...]

The Top 10 Championship Games in Final Four History

North Carolina’s Michael Jordan shoots down Georgetown for 1982 NCAA title.
Since the NCAA basketball tournament began in 1939, there have been great dynasties like UCLA, which won 10 titles in 12 years beginning in 1964. There have been great players like Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, Lew Alcindor and Bill [...]