I like golf. I like to follow the PGA Tour on TV. I like to play it, although I’m not very good and I don’t play all that often anymore. But as far as hearing about someone else’s golf game, I pretty much rank that up there with seeing someone’s vacation pictures. I don’t mean super cool riding an Elephant through India vacation photos. I mean countless pictures of the same people seventeen different ways in front of the Grand Canyon vacation photos.
Sure, I'd love to see the slide show of your 3 week road trip, but after, promise you'll tell me about that last round of golf.
The thing is, when someone is launching into their story about their latest round of golf, I find that they rarely start out the conversation by asking if I want to hear it. Trust me, if given that opportunity, I would most likely say no, but since I wasn’t given the chance, I end up hearing these stories and I’ve come to notice a pattern.
You see, if the story teller shoots a 74, they tend to lead with that information and follow it up with a recap of each hole. Even though I didn’t really want to hear the story I typically am at least mildly impressed. Golf is a marathon, so stringing together enough good shots to score well isn’t an easy task.
Now, if they begin by telling me about their eagle on 6 or their 4 birdies in a row on the back nine and never get to their score? It’s at that point I naturally assume they shot 88 or above and start mentally completing my grocery list in my head while pretending to listen to the rest of their story. I may, or may not be right, but despite not caring in the first place, the few times I’ve bothered to ask I’ve managed to collect enough anecdotal evidence to suspect that I’m correct.
The moments worth celebrating, I think I'm out of milk.
Yep, that Danny Valencia solo shot is that eagle on 6.
The Delmon Young dinger? You guessed it, the 4 birdies in a row on the back nine.
Jim Thome’s two home run night is simply a fantastic chip shot out of the bunker and into the hole in a round of 93.
And that’s what this season has become: A series of singular moments that never add up to a result worthy of a headline. Someone nudge me when they shoot a 74 or ride an Elephant through India.
When the news first surfaced last August that Brett Favre had sent inappropriate text messages to Jennifer Sterger, I got a little worried. I thought this was the type of thing that would tip the scales and keep him in Mississippi for the season, and T-Jack firmly behind center. I had a post somewhat composed on the subject, but it seemed to go away as fast as it came up, so I scrapped it, relieved that it was all was behind us.
Or so I thought. Not sure if the resurfacing of the issue was brought on by the Ines Sainz incident, the fact that the Vikings added a receiver that made Favre relevant on the football field again or that they play the Jets on Monday night football, and Sterger used to be their sideline reporter. Regardless of what brought it back up, it’s out there, and apparently the NFL is “fast tracking” their investigation of the situation. Huh… fast track? It first came out 3 months ago, that’s fast tracking?
Whatever.
My opinion on the situation hasn’t changed over the last three months. She asked for it.
I realize that there is a double standard when it comes to female sports reporters. I don’t think it’s fair, I feel badly that women in that field have to fight that battle, but the Sterger’s and Sainz’ of the world do not deserve any sympathy. I have neither the tolerance nor the respect for female sports “reporters” whose career trajectory takes them through Maxim and Playboy before hitting the sidelines. I just can’t take someone seriously who has spent half of their adult lives in sequined bras and spray tans.
There are dozens of beautiful women that work in sports that manage to put a shirt on when they come to work. Sterger has, from time to time, indicated an admiration of Erin Andrews at ESPN. But even with that, in a little bio video she did about herself for her gig at Versus, she makes light of Andrews’ stalking incident that happened last year. Don’t believe me? Meet Jenn Sterger.
Yeah, Jenn, that was hysterical, and I’m sure that given all of the time you spent posing for naked pictures, you could never understand someone trying to prevent them from being taken.
On her general take on the Ines Sainz situation:
“This is the same woman that walked into the Patriots’ locker room about a year ago and asked Tom Brady to marry her [Editor's Note: This was not Ines Sainz, but rather TV Azteca's Ines Gomez Mont. So there's that.]. … So we have to kind of keep this whole thing in perspective, that she’s not exactly been this shrinking violet when it comes to being on the sidelines. There’s plenty of pictures of her out there at football games, at basketball games, and she’s not exactly appropriately dressed. And this is coming from someone like me. Look, I don’t play any games … I know my past and I know my role. I’m very aware of what’s been in my wardrobe in past years. At the same time, I’m 27 now and fighting gravity. … I’ve realized that if I want to be taken seriously in the business that I’m choosing to pursue, I’ve got to dress a certain way, I’ve got to look a certain way. That’s why I had my implants removed last year. That’s why I’ve really kind of taken a more conservative turn in how I dress. … Let’s put it this way, not all jeans and white T-shirts are created equal. On whether she feels Sainz accomplished her ultimate goal, that being getting noticed:
“She accomplished exactly what she set out to do, are you kidding me? Exactly what she set out to do.”
How’s that for irony? Geeze. You seriously can’t make this up.
I don’t know how well the Versus show is going, but the few times I’ve inadvertently stumbled upon it, it’s been virtually unwatchable. She tweets through the whole thing, giggles, laughs at inside jokes, and from time to time gets to look into the camera, reads some contrived rant off of a cue card, and ends every other argument with a “just sayin’”. Here’s an example of a classic Sterger diatribe, in which she takes aim at ESPN’s Sports Nation:
Really? “Another reporter that’s not as hot as me?” And we’re supposed to take you seriously?
Ugh. The bad writing of her ill-conceived soliloquies is only rivaled by that of her rambling blog. Apparently she did some writing for SI, in the past, and given the work that she’s done since then, I don’t think I missed anything by never having read it.
So back to the Favre thing: When I heard about it, and considered the parties involved, the thing I found most disturbing about it, was that there is a grown man that is wearing Crocs. Seriously. It didn’t even cross my mind that Sterger would find naked pictures offensive. She’s like a comedian where they are stopping the applause with one hand, and encouraging it with another. I’m bored to death with the half naked woe-is me types, that cry sexism or harassment when they finally get the attention that they had so clearly sought out.
So in closing: ”Jennifer Sterger…” to borrow one of your favorite phrases. “Shut the front door.” And, the blinds too, if you don’t mind, I’ve seen, and heard, enough of you.
Yesterday, I armed myself with a bag full of Homer Hankies, and made my post-season pilgrimage to Pine Bend Elementary in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, where my brother is a 4th grade teacher. He’s a big Twins fan, and back in 2002, when the Twins won the division, I helped him celebrate with his class, by bringing in some Homer Hankies.
I cherished my 1987 and 1991 versions of the Homer Hanky, and I was thrilled when the Twins brought them back for a new generation of baseball fans to enjoy. The kids seemed to really like them, so I’ve been back for every post season since.
This year, much like the first year, there was plenty of time for me, to get them, and schedule a time for a quick visit to Pine Bend. Last year, needless to say, it was a bit of a scramble, with the quick turn around after game 163, I had to recruit a couple of friends to make sure I got enough, but I got it done! Regardless, it’s a tradition I’m more than willing to continue as long as the Twins keep winning.
When my brother was explaining why I was there yesterday, he started “Every year when the Twins make it to the playoffs…” but was soon interrupted by one of his students saying:
“They lose to the Yankees.”
That stopped my brother short, but after brief deliberation we decided the student could get his Hanky even after making a comment like that. After all, he wasn’t making a prediction, he simply stated the facts. And I couldn’t argue that he was wrong. We laughed it off, handed out the hankies and vowed that this year would be different. And if a particular group of 4th graders have any say in the matter, it’s a done deal!
I went well over a month between blog posts, so it would only stand to reason I would post two in as many days, right? Well, given what I wrote yesterday, I felt compelled to check back in sooner as opposed to later.
I know that it is dangerous to draw too many conclusions based on one game, but I think there were a couple of things that stand out that makes this special:
First and foremost, they won. Finally. As I stated yesterday, I think getting that little taste of success might be all they need to make the next step should they get there in October. I know it’s only one game, but it feels good to have gotten it out of the way. With the unbalanced schedule, you only get so many opportunities to make a statement, and taking one was way better than getting swept. This was the type of tide turning emotional blow that the Yankees had consistently delivered to the Twins. It’s good to be on the other side.
This is pretty much how most of Minnesota was feeling after the Twins finally beat the Yankees yesterday!
Secondly, they got to Mariano Rivera. Short of a sweep or even a series win, this was the best thing we could have hoped for. It turned what would have been the kind of loss that would have Yankee fans saying “Meh… just one game, we still won the series, no big deal” into a Red Alert.
As it turns out Mariano Rivera is human after all, he's just a man! The Twins finally pulled the curtain back yesterday!
Third, which is probably slightly overshadowed by the previous two points, is that our current closer got the business done. He only was given one chance this weekend, but he did it. He knows he can do it, and although he got himself in a shaky situation, Rauch striking out the last three was impressive. Correct me if I’m wrong but our current closer has never blown a save at Yankee Stadium, right?!
Jon Rauch came in and slammed the door, because that's what closers do.
Now… the thing to remember is that the Twins are about to take the field for another important series. Yesterday they laid some ground work for a potential series in Mid-October, their mission now is to get there.
I’d been cautiously optimistic regarding the Twins’ weekend series with the Yankees. After all, there seemed to be some early evidence that this season might be all about exorcising demons: they beat the Angels on the road , the front office acquired free agents that made us all but forget Butch Huskey, Mike Lamb and Jose Offerman, they didn’t let the big one get away, and they’d even managed to have a respectable road record thus far. Yes, this year has been different. So why not go into this weekend with a little confidence? It’s finally time to turn things around in the Bronx.
So far, that hasn’t happened. Friday night’s crushing collapse and yesterday’s manhandling have done nothing but prove the more things change the more they stay the same. I find this extremely troubling.
Friday in his blog A Fan’s View from Section 219, Howard Sinker argued that we can’t make too much out of this series, and I guess a small part of me agrees with him, it’s three games out of 162. Three games.
But here is where he loses me, the logic behind his theory is coming at it from how the Yankees feel about the Twins, he says:
“But, while the Twins may be keyed up, this series means about as much to the Yankees as three games against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. The Twins could win 6-0, 8-0 and 14-13 this weekend and the Yankees would be perfectly justified in saying, “Let’s see what happens when the games really count.”
I don’t argue that he’s right about that, but I don’t care what Derek Jeter thinks about the Twins or what Mariano Rivera thinks about the Twins or even these guys. I care about the likes of him, and him, and him. I care because there is a high probability that there will be games played at Yankee stadium in mid-October, and if the Twins get there, I want them to go there knowing they are good enough, not just to play there, but to win there.
A lesson can be learned from one of American’s greatest cinematic masterpieces “Better Off Dead…”. In that movie, Lane Meyers finds himself down on his luck, it seems as though the world is conspiring against him, his girlfriend dumps him, he’s got a crappy job, and he is continually harassed by a paperboy who’s collection methods rival that of Tony Soprano’s. And just when he thinks things can’t get any worse, he’s challenged to a very public ski duel on the dreaded K 12, by the guy that stole his girlfriend.
Things looked bleak, but then the pretty, French, Dodger Loving, foreign exchange student, Monique Jubois, starts speaking English and fixes his Camaro so he can beat the Chinese Howard Cossell in a drag race , giving him the confidence to not only show up for the race, but win it too, albeit with a little help from the aforementioned paper boy.
I suppose I could have thrown a spoiler alert in there, but the movie’s been out since 1985, so if you haven’t seen it by now, you have no one to blame but yourself.
Anyhow, Monique says to Lane, “ I think all you need is a small taste of success, and you will find it suits you.“ She was right.
I think the Twins are good enough to beat the Yankees, and I know they don’t hand out trophies for winning games in May, but they could win some confidence, which could go a long way in October.
As they head into the last game of this series, I hope they keep the immortal words of Charles DeMar in mind, when he said “Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.” Especially if the thing that gets in their way is a lack of confidence.
It seems like every time the Red Sox play on Sunday Night Baseball you can count on it being about a 4 hour game. I’ve decided to track it this year. I’ll probably only count the games that are finished in 9 Innings, but I may track them all, just to see if I’m on something or on to something, copywrite Dan Cole.
Last night’s Yankee – Red Sox game lasted 3:46. It was actually a heck of a game, and given the fact that it was the first one of the year, it could have gone 5 hours and I probably still would have enjoyed it, but it did run a little long. I need to point out that the game included a few circus-like side shows that have become the norm for the prima-donnas in the AL East, and I am sick to death of them.
Do we really need a ball game that includes…
“God Bless America” performed by, Steven Tyler, of course, because who doesn’t think “God Bless America” when they see Steven Tyler?
And later Neil Diamond delighted the sold out crowd to a half sung, half spoken shouted word version of “Sweet Caroline”. I’m sure that somewhere in the crowd, Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon were swaying back and forth and pumping their fists during the So Good… So Good… So Good…. part. (Sigh, I used to like that song.)
Anyhow, for those of you keeping track at home:
Game 1: Yankees at Red Sox - 226 minutes
Will the Twins get off to a good start against in a place they've struggled? Let's hope!
2006 was the last year that the Twins opened their season on the road and so much has been made about the opening of Target Field, it’s almost easy to forget that they’ll have a couple of series under their belts before they get to play there. In recent years the west coast has been less than hospitable to our favorite nine, and it just so happens that they start in Anaheim this year.
After that, things didn’t go so well. They went 1-6, in the last seven matchups and were outscored 38-59. A gaudy number in and of itself, but even worse when factoring in their lone victory’s lopsided score of 10-1. Their futility against the Angels, especially on the road doesn’t seem to get the same attention as their road woes vs. the Yankees, who knows why, but it shouldn’t be forgotten as they head West after this weekend’s Target Field Housewarming and the end of spring training.
It might not get easier when they leave Southern California, because they they swing into Chicago to face the Sox, who seem to be the pre-season consensus as the biggest threat to the Twin’s repeat of their Central Division Title.
I’ve really struggled to keep my optimism in check, the euphoria of the new stadium ballpark combined with the contract extension of Joe Mauer have my glasses so rose colored, pretty much everyone is looking like Alex Rodriguez did in his awkward mea culpa steroid interview with Peter Gammons. It could be a bit of letdown if they are a couple of series down before they even officially christen Target Field.
I guess that’s the nice thing about a long season, even if they get off to a slow start, they would have a lot of time to turn it around, and if I learned anything about the Twins last year, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
Arod was sporting a scary shade of pink during the Gammons interview.
I was on Twitter today and saw that Palm Sunday is a trending topic, and thought to myself… “why would Palm Sunday be a trending topic when it’s weeks away….”. Whoops.
Maybe it’s the hoopla surrounding the Joe Mauer contract extension, the opening of Target Field, or even my upcoming Fantasy Baseball draft, but apparently I’m slightly less Catholic these days… and mostly finding myself worshiping at The Church of Baseball. I blame it on metaphysics. Viva la Annie Savoy!
The Blue Sky of Target Field will always trump the Teflon Roof of Metrodome!
Today I went to the first baseball game ever played at Target Field. Wow what a place. I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek last spring when none of the seats were in, and the infield was just a construction zone, but even then, I could tell that I would love it. Follow that up with last weekend’s open house and today’s game, and it completely seals the deal. I love it.
I guess one thing that is good about being one of the last teams to get a new park is that you can learn from everyone else’s mistakes. They really did it right. I can hardly wait for Friday night, when we get to see the Twins take the field for the first time. Their field. Not a re-purposed football field with a baggie for a fence, but a real ballpark.
I really hated going to games at Metrodome, there was nothing worse to me than walking into that building on a gorgeous summer night, thinking how great it would be if we could just take a scissors to the roof. But here’s what I will miss; being able to go when I want to. It’s kind of one of those “be careful what you wish” things.
I have never been a season ticket holder (other than a couple of years when I bought the cheap seat package), although most years, I probably went to as many games as an average season ticket holder would. I’ve never liked the idea that I would need to know on March 14th what I was doing on August 22nd. And with the Twins in the dome, it’s rarely been a problem. I like to look at the week, see what pitching matchups I’d like to see, and just go when I want. Heck, it was even a great last minute thing to do when it was raining out.
I don’t have season tickets for Target Field; I’m just not a season ticket type of gal. I have some sources, and I’m sure I’ll find my way to a decent number of games this season, but it will be a huge adjustment for me to not just head over to see a game on a moment’s notice.
This week, as I saw one report after another of brisk ticket sales and projected sell outs, I got a little twinge in my stomach and had to remind myself that I really wanted this. Baseball needs to be outside, and in a real ballpark. The Twins are good and people care about them and want to see them, and that is good.
So, I ask for forgiveness in advance, because there will be some days this summer that I will be cursing the fans that had the audacity to plan ahead, or the Johnny-come-lately’s that are at the game because it’s the cool thing to do. And maybe, for a brief second I will long for those moments when I had an entire section of blue seats to myself, but then I’ll come to my senses, and realize that I wouldn’t trade 10 minutes at Target Field for 10 games at Metrodome.
Twins baseball is finally where it’s supposed to be. Hopefully, I’ll be there every now and then too.
