Happy Memorial Day 2018!

Thank you to the United States of America Armed Forces present and past.  As we celebrate this weekend, with barbecues and get togethers with family and friends let's not lose sight of what Memorial Day means.  Memorial Day is set aside to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation, and to those who are ready to step into harms way to keep us all safe.  I give my personal thanks to the hundreds of thousands of US troops who are serving in various posts around the world. Your bravery allows me to sleep  at night knowing people who want to destroy the United States are being held at bay. Thank you very much!

Huckster Stadium

I had an old friend of mine once refer to Busch Stadium as "Huckster Stadium".  It's been about five years since he said it and the home of the St. Louis Cardinals has become little more than a blatant display of commercialism.  Each year there are more and more advertisements on the outfield walls, each half inning brings sales pitches from the PA announcer and to top it off every part of the game has an "Official Cardinal" sponsor.

I still love the game.  I was there last Thursday and watched the Cardinals beat the Mets 4-3 in 13 innings even though the game lasted over four hours.  (Major League Baseball would say that's not bad for a long extra inning affair, but it's way too long.  I will go into why baseball is played at a snail's pace in a future blog.)

When the game ended I was ready to go back for another game.  But after watching four games in a row on TV.  I am not sure I will go back unless someone gives me free tickets.  And to top it off the 2018 version of the Cardinals is mediocre at best.  The team has a terrible defense and an un-dependable bullpen.  I hope I'm wrong but this Cardinal team will be lucky to finish the season at the .500 level.

Stay tuned for more on this boring team that plays games that are averaging well over three hours each.

Another Month Older

April has flown by and I had the best of intentions of writing more faithfully.  But, I didn't because I guess I have too many other things to do.  This past month saw Easter, the start of baseball season, high school baseball season, family events, playing golf and a health issue.  I could have written volumes on any number of these.  But, I didn't.

So, I will write in May.  I have a number of thoughts on what is wrong with Major League Baseball and why a game is in some ways like going to work.  Thanks for your patience and see you in May.

Happy Spring to You! Belatedly

I hope your Spring is off to a great start.  Mine has been OK thus far as the temperatures are starting to rise.  The only problem at this point is it seems to rain everyday.  The drought we had been experiencing where I live seems to have come to a halt with the many inches of rain we have experienced in the month of March.  We have had so much rain that water stands in my backyard in spots that never had any water problems in the past.

But, hopefully the rain is over for now.  Today was a beautiful 60 degree day and the sun shone all day long.  Perhaps it is just a harbinger of Spring as there is a chance of snow on Easter Sunday.  But soon enough we will be experiencing one of my favorite seasons.

Thanks for reading and I will be updating my blog as time permits in the coming days.  Have a great weekend!

And Like That...The Games are Over

The two weeks since I posted about the opening ceremonies of the Pyengchong games went by in a heartbeat.  I watched much more than I care to admit, because, well they are the Olympic games and there really wasn't much more on the telly during this fortnight.

As I write this I'm watching the closing ceremonies and the Chinese promotion for the 2022 games from Beijing.

These games have been entertaining and the South Koreans have been great hosts.  At this point in time I am ready to move on and get back to normal, but for the next few days I will miss seeing the 23rd Olympic games from Pyeongchang on my television 12 hours a day.  I know it sounds somewhat sarcastic but I really will miss the athleticism and competition.

So long Soohorang, you were a wonderful host.

It's been fun, so let's do this again in 2022 in Beijing.  It will be here before we know it!