Fan Interference

Saturday three Astros combined to no-hit the Yankees. It was the third no-hitter so far this season. No-hitters, particularly combined no-hitters, aren’t particularly rare anymore. Complete games, however, seem to be going the way of the dodo bird. No, the most interesting thing about this game is that it was the Yankees on the receiving…… Continue reading Yankees Got No-Hit Saturday

It was a College World Series between two unseeded teams. In baseball only the top 16 teams, the teams that host a regional in the NCAA tournament are seeded. If it were basketball, Oklahoma and Ole Miss would have been 8 or 9 seeds in their respective regions. A final in basketball between teams seeded…… Continue reading Ole Miss Wins CWS

The first two days of the College World Series are in the books; all eight teams have played once. I mentioned after the Super Regionals that four unseeded teams had made it to the CWS. How they line up for the tournament is according to how it would be if the top eight seeds all…… Continue reading CWS Update

Today at a preseason camp for the Chicago Bears, every player wore #41. That was Brian Piccolo’s number. 52 years ago today the Bears running back died of cancer. They had planned on honoring him thusly on the 50th anniversary in 2020, but all offseason camps were cancelled due to COVID. Piccolo is best remembered…… Continue reading Brian Piccolo Day

The eight teams for the College World Series is set. The Super Regionals wrapped up tonight with Stanford and Auburn advancing, both 2 games to 1 over their opponents. Stanford is the #2 seed in the NCAA baseball tournament, so they are no surprise. Auburn, however, as the #14 seed, upset #3 Oregon State in…… Continue reading Road to Omaha

Last year Jocelyn Alo set a record for most home runs in a Woman’s College World Series (4). This year she beat it (5), along with setting marks for runs and total bases. Her teammate Tiare Jennings tied that 5 homers and added a new record for RBI. The softball team as a whole hit…… Continue reading OU Won 6th WCWS Title

Now two major league skippers have been fired this year as the LA Angels decided to axe Joe Maddon. They worded it as “relieved of his duties,” but it’s not the military. He was fired. The justification is that the Angels hadn’t had a winning record in his 2+ seasons there. Of course, only this…… Continue reading Angels Dump Maddon

Yesterday my wife and decided to take in a game at the Women’s College World Series (NCAA softball championship). We have ties to Oklahoma and went to see OU play Texas. The OU squad were the official visitors and were thus up first. The lead off hitter, Jayda Coleman, laced a double to center. I…… Continue reading WCWS Update

What are those? They are NCAA division 1 baseball tournament scores. There were five games yesterday in which a team scored at least 20 runs, and 2 others on Friday. Several others had scores in the teens—ie, lots of crazy blowouts happened. For the scores I listed, that’s Arkansas coming from behind to bludgeon Oklahoma…… Continue reading 20-12, 24-4, 21-7, 21-1, 24-1

This year the Phillies have a payroll above the luxury tax threshold. They spent big on free agency. The have the reigning MVP. They have a starting pitcher who was second in NL Cy Young voting last year. Of course their bullpen was and remains a tire phire. That MVP, Bryce Harper, has been relegated…… Continue reading Phillies Phire Girardi

The NCAA softball College World Series got underway yesterday. Oklahoma, a major power in college softball, pummeled Northwestern 13-2. The was stopped in the 5th by the 8-run rule. That’s not actually why I am posting about this game, though. In the bottom of the 4th, with bases loaded and OU up 8-1, the Northwestern…… Continue reading OU Dominates Northwestern

I wrote the following for this site in 2016–I don’t think I can write it any better now, so here it is again: On November 20, 1943, a combined US Navy and Marine assault was launched on a small Pacific atoll called Tarawa. My uncle, a Marine sergeant, was part of a landing force assigned…… Continue reading Republishing My 2016 Memorial Day Post

Why a fan is a fan of a particular team is a question I’ve periodically pondered. For many it’s obvious—if you’re born and raised in Michigan, you’re probably a Tigers fan, for example. One of the main reasons I do not support public funding of stadiums is that teams are no municipal assets; however, people…… Continue reading How Do Fans Pick their Team?

Last night the Tampa Bays Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-1. I, of course, am a Rays fan, but that isn’t why I’m posting here. Adley Rutschman made his major league debut for the O’s, and In the sixth inning he stroked a stand-up triple. Yesterday, I posted that he would be making his debut.…… Continue reading Rutschman Triples in Debut.