Tuesday, September 1:
Here we are, into the "ber" months -- or the "brrrr" months -- September, October, November, December. But for the sports purist, the dog days of summer disappear, to be replaced by baseball pennant races, hockey camps (and season debuts in the junior ranks) and my personal faves, NFL and college football. Cooler temps, sure, but cooler TV fare for the couch spud.
The "big four" of England's Premier (soccer) league may be the "big six" this year. And most disturbing for a Manchester United fan is the emergence of unbeaten Manchester City. Like Chelsea, the new City owners are trying to buy a title, spending gobs of money on player transfers. And you know, that's fine. If that's what it takes to compete at the top, and you have the cake to spend, then go for it. It's the same mindset the New York Yankees employ. Purists hate it, but the practice isn't going to go away. Chelsea and Tottenham are also perfect so far while the big disappointment is Liverpool, with two and two defeats along the way. United and Arsenal each have one loss. It's going be a fun season.
Thursday, September 3:
I'm so disgusted with the people running hockey these days that I'm seriously considering giving the season a complete pass. I'm becoming less of a hockey fan every year anyway. First of all we have commissioner Gary Bettman doing everything he possibly can to prevent a seventh NHL team in Canada -- and shame, by the way, on the folks from this side of the border who have sold out -- hello, Phil Esposito -- and decided to drink Bettman's Kool-aid. Then we have the players firing Paul Kelly, head of the P-A after less than two years on the job. Why? No one knows, and no one's saying. As Claude Rains said to Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca: "Did you abscond with the church funds? Run off with a senator's wife? I like to think you killed a man. It's the Romantic in me." If the players had just cause, fine. But by staying mum, all we can conclude is that it was just petty politics that did Kelly in. Whatever. College football starts tonight, the NFL in 10 days time and baseball's pennant races are at hand. Oh, I'll watch Olympic hockey, but my interest in the NHL has dropped to about zero.
Friday, September 4:
Aw, nuts. Ernie Harwell has cancer. Incurable, they say, with a tumour in the area of the bile duct. Ernie's 91 and in an article with the Detroit News, he says he's at peace with his cancer. A religious man, his doctors and family have decided against treatment. The Hall-of-Fame voice of the Detroit Tigers was the man who provided the initial fuel for my lifelong love of baseball. His voice on warm summer evenings was a constant link from the days of Al Kaline, through Mark Fidrych to Brandon Inge. There was Ernie, from Washington and Kansas City, from Bloomington, from Seattle and St. Petersburg, and -- especially -- from the corner of Michigan and Trumbull, where the rubble of a ballpark now sits almost 10 full years after hosting its final major league game. Ernie brought it all into my life. And when I decided to make radio a career, our paths crossed a few times. He was always kind, always generous with his time, always willing to offer timely advice. Two personally autographed books are among my most prized possessions. No, he wasn't going to live forever, but knowing that it's going to be sooner than later is still a jolt.
Saturday, September 5:
Dare to dream. With 28 games remaining, the Detroit Tigers have built themselves a six-game lead on Minnesota in the American League Central. There's no certainty in a pennant race, but they've won four in a row and are getting hot at the right time. The division is there for the taking. Still, I'm not going crazy over the ballclub. No one else in the division is over .500 so even if the Bengals reach the playoffs, they're liable to be demolished by the mighty Yankees. Yet, three years ago, Detroit limped into the playoffs as a wild-card after choking away the division, but upset the Yanks and made it all the way to the World Series.
Never been much of a fan of the Oregon Ducks but the program did the right thing by suspending senior running back LeGarrette Blount for the rest of the season, effectively ending his college career. His despicable outburst after the Ducks loss at Boise State the other night could not be tolerated. After promising an "ass-whuppin'" of the Broncos, you knew he was going to get a little smack talk from Boise players after the game. There was no excuse to sucker-punch one of them and then slug away at a teammate who tried to play peacemaker. Blount was wild-eyed and completely without measure as he was wrestled into the locker room after the game. I'll give him this, though: once he calmed down, he apologized to one and all and faced the media. I guess he was pretty emotional yesterday when the suspension was handed down, breaking into tears. But emotional discipline is a huge part of football and it was a harsh lesson for Blount to learn.
We'll see if any lessons from last season's pathetic 3-and-9 record resonate with the Michigan Wolverines, who start coach Rich Rodriguez' second season at home today against Western Michigan. The goal for this once-mighty program is a .500 record and a bowl game. We'll see. They have a rookie quarterback while the Broncos have veteran Tim Hiller calling signals as well as a near-intact offensive line from last season. Can't say as an upset would surprise me.
Sunday, September 6:
No upset. Michigan, by all accounts, owned Western Michigan right from the opening kick-off, led 31-0 at the half and then cruised to a 31-7 win. I say "by all accounts" because it wasn't on TV here. That's what happens when your program drops from elite status. So the Wolverines are able to do what they failed to do the last two years -- win their opener. Now comes Notre Dame. Next step for this Michigan program is to win a rivalry game but the Irish were equally dominant is blanking Nevada yesterday. Beating Notre Dame could be a tall order again this year, even though the game is in Ann Arbor.
Here's what great about college football: You never know when or where the next great upset is going to occur. It seems unbelievable that BYU beat Oklahoma, and knocked out Heisman trophy candidate Sam Bradford in the process. But it happened, and the Sooners -- who were thrashed by Florida in last season's title game -- now have to deal with this.
What's cooler than peering at the world through new glasses? I picked up my new pair today in Markham and the drive home was remarkably clearer. It's not that I was in any danger with the old prescription, but this one is so much better. I'm also trying new bifocal contact lenses. I tried them a few years ago, but wasn't happy with the sacrifices with either the distance or close-up ratios. I was told the technology is far better now, but I'm not seeing it with this trial prescription. Still, I'll give it a few days before deciding. It would be nice not to have to wear glasses at work every day.
Monday, September 7:
Dare to dream some more. Four weeks left, 26 games and now the Detroit Tigers are up by seven on Minnesota and eight on the Chicago White Sox. They close the season at home against those two troublemakers so it would be very nice if the division was in the bag by then.
Happy Labour Day to one and all. I'll be among those toiling on this day, but I'll be finished by noon which still gives another sun-splashed afternoon to enjoy. The weather over the past four weeks has been awesome (well, except for the tornado that roared through these parts). I have some time off next weekend, so I plan to make the drive to the Big Apple to finally see the two new ballparks there. That would allow me to say "I've seen 'em all" again -- at least until next April when the Twins move into their new digs in downtown Minneapolis.
Wednesday, September 9:
It was 38 years ago and really, my first interest in tennis. The U.S. Open was at Forest Hills in those days and 16-year-old Chris Evert burst onto the scene and made it all the way to the semifinals before losing to Billie Jean King. (I don't know why I recall this, but Miller sponsored the telecast. When they paused at every changeover, you'd see (and hear) the classic old "High Life" spots ("If you've got the time, we've got the beer.")) At any rate, fast-forward to today, where 17-year-old Melanie Oudin is taking the tournament by storm. She's upset three seeded players in a row to reach the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows. That's where I'll be tomorrow night -- not for tennis but for baseball. But with the Mets out of it, something tells me there will be far more interest in Oudin -- if she happens to be playing at the same time -- than in the local nine's game against Florida.
Thursday, September 10:
NEW YORK -- All good things must come to an end, they say. And so it was with Melanie Oudin's U.S. Open run with a quarterfinal loss last night. Still, her run of upset victories probably did more for women's tennis than any other event over the past five years. And it appears our gravy train of outstanding weather is also coming to an end. They're calling for showers throughout the evening -- and of course I left my jacket and cap behind, so I'll have to do some shopping at the Mets game tonight or else get very soggy. And tomorrow, the eighth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, the forecast is a one-word damper: RAIN. So we may have to stay through Saturday afternoon to see the Yankees.
Friday, September 11:
NEW YORK -- Eight years. And unlike that impossibly bright, sunny day in 2001, today New York is awash in rain. Somewhat fitting. Ever since that terrible day, I've always found it jarring whenever I've visited to see a skyline dominated -- as it was for decades -- by the Empire State Building. All of my pre-2001 visits here featured the twin towers and the skyline looks almost naked without them.
I wasn't expecting to be wowed by Citi Field but was quite pleasantly surprised. Fans are close to the action and there are some features that make it unique. But they sure are optimistic. With the Mets down 13-4 in the eighth and fans streaming for the exits, the escalators still ran up!
Saturday, September 12:
What a thrill to be at the game that saw Derek Jeter pass Lou Gehrig for all-time hits in Yankee history. I still find it mind-boggling that, with all of the great players the Yanks have had over the years, not one of them reached the three-thousand hit plateau, at least not as a Yankee. Gehrig came the closest, but his career and life were cut tragically short by ALS. The only downer is that my camera autofocus adjusted just before the pitch to focus on the screen, not the hitter. My bad -- I should have had it on manual, but the people in front of me were leaping all around and I couldn't get a proper reading. So, the pic of the record-setting hit is there on the game page, but it's not a good one at all.
A Mets fan at the game boasted that the Mets built a ballpark while the Yankees built a stadium. Yes, but they had to. Replacing old Yankee Stadium with anything else would have been just wrong. It's not a place for the poor. Tickets and concessions all run high but people still snap them up. One thing that's cool -- as soon as you walk in, you see a bank of huge elevators waiting to whisk you up to your level. Beats the ramps at the old place, which had been in place since 1923. Lots of time to look around too, as the game start was delayed 90 minutes by rain on a wet and windy night. Seems I brought zero luck to the two New York teams -- they were outscored 24-8.
Sunday, September 13:
Well, WOW! The drive home yesterday sailed by, as I listened to what sounded like an amazing Notre Dame-Michigan football game. And the Wolverines pulled off the upset 38-34, thanks in no small part to the very questionable play-clock management by Charlie Weis and the Irish coaching staff. But Michigan will take it, the first "rivalry game" win for Rich Rodriguez at UM. Oh, the losses will come as this is still a very young football team. But to come back and win against a top-20 opponent after blowing not one but two 11-point leads -- the last one in the fourth quarter -- showed great character and poise.
On the other hand, we have the Detroit Lions, off a 3-and-1 pre-season, looking to do today what they could not do a year ago -- win a regular season football game. They open on the road against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. I don't like their chances. Then again, I never do.
UPDATE: The road to another 0-and-16 seasn is on! The Lions defence (an oxymoron) gave up six Brees' touchdown passes in a 45-27 New Orleans romp. And some things never change: The Lions had a first-and-goal from the Saints one. False start, eventual field goal.
Monday, September 14:
One of the joys of going to the ballgame is getting to chat with the people sitting next to you. Thursday night at Citi Field, I was seated next to a young Swedish couple attending their first baseball game. They knew the simple basics but were excited to learn why, for example, third base is called the "hot corner" (following a scorcher, hit to Mets' third baseman David Wright) and what the numbers meant on the scoreboard under "P" (pitchers), "H" (hits) and E" (errors). Nice folks, big hockey fans, and I told them I hoped Sweden would win a silver medal in hockey at the upcoming Winter Olympics.
What is it with September and the Denver Broncos? Last season, they steal their home opener against San Diego on a thoroughly dreadful call by the officials (yep, Ed Hochuli's crew) and yesterday, they pull a rabbit out of their hat in the form of a tipped pass, 87-yard touchdown miracle with 11 seconds remaining to stun Cincinnati 12-7. Everyone employed by that franchise should run out and buy lottery tickets.
Thursday, September 17:
Blast it all, Ernie Harwell -- you made me cry again! I've mentioned before in these pages how, as an eight-year-old who had just fallen in love with baseball and the Detroit Tigers in particular, I ended up blubbering after Ernie's call of a bottom-of-the-ninth, pinch-hit, two-out, three-run homer by Elston Howard to beat the Tigers 8-5 and give the Yankees a three-game sweep of their 1961 Labour Day weekend series. It effectively sealed the pennant for the '61 Yanks -- one of the best teams in history -- and relegated the Tigers, who were an outstanding 101-61-and-1, yet eight games out, to status as one of the top second-place teams in history. In 1961, second place might as well have been tenth place. But I digress. Ernie Harwell's voice over the years, became -- like the rock-and-roll music up the dial on CKLW -- the summer soundtrack of my youth and eventually my adulthood. My love of baseball comes from his voice. I'll never forget covering spring training one year and driving in a rental car across the causeway from Tampa to Clearwater after arriving at the airport. I hit the radio scan and the first stop was a Lakeland station carrying the Tigers' first exhibition game. And I tuned in perhaps 30 seconds before his annual speech delivered before Detroit's first Grapefruit League game: "For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land." As I listened to Harwell, my thought was, "yep, it's baseball season" and that all was right with the world. Last night, the terminally ill 91-year-old Harwell gave a speech at Comerica Park, thanking Tigers fans and the people of Michigan for their love and kindness towards him. Except he had it backwards. We're the ones who owe a debt of gratitude to this talented and humble man. The best sign of the night at the ballpark was one that read: "How a person should be." Amen. I've had the honour and privilege to have met Ernie Harwell and my life is richer for the experience. This sounds horribly like a eulogy which it shouldn't be, as he is still very much alive. But he's in extra innings and the opposition is threatening. At least the Tigers, after a slow start, won last night. They had to.
Friday, September 18:
The world lost Mary Travers to leukemia the other day. The 72-year-old female voice of "Peter, Paul and Mary" had been in ill health for some time. My musical tastes are varied but certainly one of my favourite styles music is the "folk bag." I love the harmonies and I love the messages -- especially back in the '60s -- and Peter, Paul and Mary were one of my favourites. They weren't shy about using material from young songwriters (such as "For Lovin' Me" by Canada's Gordon Lightfoot). She'll be dearly missed.
And a little bird tells me that 63-year-old Beverly Bivens, original lead singer of We Five, and a member of my personal Terrific Ten, will be coming out of a long retirement for part of a one-night concert next week in San Francisco celebrating the '60s sound from that city. This is astonishing news for anyone who has heard her sing and pined to hear that voice again. I have a prior personal commitment or else I'd be scanning travel sites looking for a cheap flight to the west coast. Yep, I'd go all that way just for a one night show, I think that much of her talent. I only hope it's a wonderful experience for her and hope she agrees to sing on stage again sometime -- perhaps with the modern-day We Five.
Sunday, September 20:
Dare to dream? Comes with a cost. With the Detroit Tigers, it's more like a nightmare. For some strange reason, this outfit cannot handle pennant race pressure. Three years ago, they threw the division away and only made the playoffs by virtue of the wild card. There will be no wild card spot to fall back on this time. Thirteen days ago, the Tigers had a seven-game lead on Minnesota Twins. That lead will be down to one after 13-and-8 Scott Baker outpitches Detroit's Nate Robertson -- he of the 5.35 earned-run-average -- this afternoon. The Tigers have dropped 9-of-12 -- including 5-of-6 to last-place Kansas City, the same cellar-dwellers they succumbed to down the stretch in 2006.
Why implement instant replay review in college football if the officials in the booth are just going to uphold the lousy calls on the field? Two dreadful calls, one in the Michigan State-Notre Dame game and the other in the Georgia-Arkansas tilt, were allowed to stand despite video proof that they should have been overturned. Madness.
Washington over Southern Cal?! Last year, the Huskies went 0-and-12! I know the Trojans lost a lot of talent from last year to this, but this is an astonishing upset!
Monday, September 21:
"I took it to be a mirage at first. It'll fool a thirsty man." -- The Kingston Trio, "Desert Pete." And who's thirstier than a Detroit Lions fan? I turned on the TV about an hour after the game started yesterday, and lo and behold, there were the Lions leading Minnesota 10-0. But it was indeed, a mirage. The Vikings marched down the field as soon as I started watching and didn't stop on their way to a 27-13 victory. The rookie quarterback tossed two more interceptions but I'm not peeved at him. Those are growing pains. It's guys like offensive lineman Jeff Backus who earn my scorn. In addition to his at-least-once-a-game drive-killing penalty, he allowed himself to get beat off the line. One time, his man sacked Matthew Stafford and forced a fumble. It wasn't immediately clear if it was a live ball (it was) or an incomplete pass, but with the ball on the ground, Backus just stood there like a statue while his teammates scrambled and fell on the football for a seven-yard loss. These are the guys, the Lions veterans, who let the team down week-in, week-out. The exception is kicker Jason Hanson, who has been all-world for years, but stuck with this inept franchise.
I was wrong about the Tigers and Nate Robertson, who pitched well in Detroit's 6-2 win at Minnesota, as the Tigers restored their three-game lead with two weeks to go. Now they're off to Cleveland, a team they should beat. It would be nice of that lead increased by the time the final homestand rolls around.
It was one of the great Manchester derbies of all time, with United scoring on virtually the last kick of the match to beat City 4-3 at Old Trafford. The Blues are squawking because of the long period of injury time. But they're the ones who tied it in the 90th minute. If any team had momentum at that point -- even on the road -- it was City. But the outcome was just. United controlled the second half and -- based on play control -- deserved the three points.
Wednesday, September 23:
I may never watch a Formula One race again. To give Renault a slap on the wrist for ordering one of its drivers to intentionally crash is beyond irresponsible. It makes a joke out of actual competition -- and even worse, creates an extremely dangerous situation for the driver involved. Renault should have been booted out of out F-1 and told to never, ever come back. Instead, they get the equivalent of a wagged finger. Disgusting.
Thursday, September 24:
It was a soggy start to the day but it didn't dampen the spirits of horses, riders of spectators at the 2009 Keuring at Prima Equestrian yesterday, hosted by our friends (and Prima owners) Roy & Michelle. The event is a classification competition for Dutch Warmbloods and was a great success as so many of the horses did exceptionally well. In fact, they ran out of orange ribbons signifying top class (Orange?! Official colour for the Netherlands). The Bride was in her element as a contact and coordinator with yesterday the culmination of months and months or hard work. And I dropped by with our Scorepics camera and will throw some pics up on the "bonus" page when time permits.
Oh, to be in San Francisco tonight to see Beverly Bivens on stage. That voice! Better than Grace. Better than Janis. I tell people she's the best singer you've never heard. And most of all, I hope this isn't a one-shot deal and that she'll appear again, hopefully when I'm in California next. She hasn't been in the public eye for four decades so I'm sure it will be a shock for those who remember her dancing and lip-synching We Five's "You Were On My Mind" as a 19-year-old on Hullabaloo in 1965. Since the start of the '70s, she's been apparently content to sit on the sidelines and raise her family. But I hope she enjoys herself this evening -- and gets a loud and long ovation!
Saturday, September 26:
I must admit, I never saw that one coming. David Miller has decided against running for a third term as Toronto mayor. I'm told he's a nice guy. But his policies give me the willies and I think this is the best possible news for the city. Two things, though. 1) I don't live there, thank heavens and 2) with the track record Torontonians have, I have no doubt they will make the worst possible decision when they go to the polls again in 14 months.
Sunday, September 27:
What a sports day! Both Michigan and Western Ontario avoid upsets by winning football games they had no business winning. That followed a Manchester United soccer win, coupled with a Chelsea loss (!) that puts the Red Devils at the top on goal differential. Then the Detroit Tigers roar back from 5-0 down to crush the White Sox and knock their magic number down to seven on the Twins. It's a helluva day at sea, sir!
Finally, at long last, pics are up from my June visit to the Surf Ballroom and Buddy Holly crash site, as well as the Field of Dreams movie site. Click on the "Bonus Page" button from the home page to view them.
Monday, September 28:
No, I didn't think the Detroit Lions would end their losing streak against Washington yesterday. (I wouldn't have picked the Lions to beat Willy and the Poor Boys down on the corner). But win they did, against a franchise that has given them nothing but grief over the years. I know these Redskins aren't the same as Joe Gibbs' outfits of the past but the Lions have traditionally shivered whenever they faced the burgundy and gold. In fact they never won a game in all the decades the 'Skins played at RFK Stadium. Never. Not once. But they managed to prevail yesterday before the smallest crowd in Ford Field history. Fans celebrated as if the team had won the Super Bowl. And maybe with the Lions, this is as close as it gets.
Channel seven in San Francisco posted a video of Thursday's night's show featuring Beverly Bivens back on stage after four decades. From the short clip it sounds as if her voice has lost nothing. Best of all, in an interview, she suggested a comeback would be awesome. Yes it would. And I would make sure I'd attend if I had enough advance warning.
Not much I could do yesterday but sit and stew. My downtown off-ramp was closed yesterday for the Toronto Marathon. It then took me 65 minutes to get to the office from that point on (usually about a three-minute drive from the ramp). Numerous streets were closed but the cops couldn't stop pedestrians to let vehicles proceed because there was no way of knowing who was competing. Of course, public transit was out because trains don't run on weekends out where I live. I finally made it but felt bad because my colleague was hoping I'd be at work in time for her to escape a bit early to attend a wedding about an hour's drive away -- something I didn't know about until she had departed. I really hope she made it on time.
Wednesday, September 30:
The Detroit Tigers are determined to get me to start chewing my fingernails again. They gained a split of their doubleheader with Minnesota yesterday but they never do things the easy way. Shaky defence doomed them in the opener and almost did them in in the nightcap. It was a day that saw a great swing of emotions -- Detroit could have easily won both and could have just as easily lost both. But they're still two games up and the magic number has been sliced from six to four. A split in the next two games puts them on the verge of post-season play. Take them both and they clinch. Lose them both and it's a tie going into the final weekend -- and then you have to like Minnesota's chances, as they host Kansas City while the Tigers entertain much-tougher Chicago.
