Congratulations to Baseball's Newest Hall of Famers

This is a little late, but better late than never.  Congratulations to the Class of 2018 who were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY the weekend of July 28 - 29.

I count myself fortunate to have seen all six of this year's inductees play in person. Chipper Jones of the Braves, Vladimir Guerrero of the Expos, Jim Thome of the Indians and Trevor Hoffman of the Padres all played against my beloved Cardinals and I was fortunate to be able to see all of them on several occasions at Busch Stadium II or Busch Stadium III in St. Louis.  I saw Jack Morris and Alan Trammell of the Tigers on a road trip to visit friends when we took in a game against the Angels in May of 1984 at old Tiger Stadium located at the corner of Michigan & Trumbull  I was also lucky enough to see Morris pitch and Trammell play shortstop against the Kansas City Royals at Kaufmann Stadium on different occasions during the 80s.  All six of these men are deserving of the honor to be called Hall of Famers.

Two more men joined the Hall this year not as players but as those who describe the action of baseball.  The winner of the J. G. Taylor Spink Writer's Award is Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal.  Joining Ocker was this year's Ford C. Frick Broadcaster's Award winner Bob Costas.  I have had the chance to listen to Costas frequently since he worked for KMOX radio in my home town.  Costas went on to bigger and better things working for NBC and the MLB network calling baseball, football, basketball, hockey and the Olympics.  Congratulations to Ocker and Costas!

"Let the Games Begin"

The 2018 Olympic Games are now officially open after today's ceremonies in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

I am a casual fan of the Olympics, especially the Winter games.  I don't watch most of these events outside of Ice Hockey at any other time than during the Olympics.  But, I am a sucker for the Opening Ceremonies.  I was out earlier tonight but did see the last couple of hours of the tape delayed event from Korea on NBC.

Here are a few thoughts on what I saw...

-The combination of athletes from North Korea and South Korea was lauded by the TV talking heads.  Tonight those TV heads were Mike Tirico and Katie Couric.  Yes, it would appear as if there is hope for the two Koreas if you watched TV tonight.  But, in the long run this is just a PR stunt by North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.  Remember how Vladimir Putin made nice four years ago at Sochi and then a week or two later his troops invaded Ukraine.  I don't trust Kim any further than I can throw him.

-Speaking of talking heads, it seemed strange not to have Bob Costas hosting NBC's coverage.  Couric has been there before and is steady.  But, Mike Tirico?  I have always though of him as a Sports Center host on ESPN.  This should have been Brian Williams, oops, Matt Lauer's, oops, chance to shine at the opening ceremony.

-What is this Athletes of Russia thing or AOR as they will be listed during the games?  If they cheated in the Putin games at Sochi why are they being allowed to compete this year?  If you failed your drug test no one wants to see you again.  Stay home.

-The torch relay reminded me that baseball is just around the corner.  The torch used in the relay and to light the cauldron reminded me of a Louisville Slugger.

-One thing I thought was really cool was the way the Korean organizers utilized Intel drones to animate the opening ceremonies.  What a great use of technology.  NBC reported the light show was pre-recorded but still, it was amazing.

Photo courtesy of Zeno Group

Hopefully, the next fortnight in Pyeongchang will be without incident and "Little Rocket Man" will behave himself while his fellow citizens are competing at the Olympics. Time will tell.  Keep your eyes on this blog for updates.

Barry Bonds is a Fool - Part Two

In the midst of the Barry Bonds - Bob Costas battle of words, the self proclaimed radio/TV Critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had an interesting article in which he was able to interview Costas after Bonds called him a little midget.

The writer's name is Dan Caesar. Caeser sometimes seems to rely too heavily on certain sources for his information which isn't always accurate. For a critic he also seems lacking in his understanding of the radio and TV business. That, or he's frustrated he can't get a broadcast job. But, despite his faults Caesar occasionally comes up with a gem. This one is good.

Barry Bonds is a Fool - Part One

Barry Bonds is about to break Hank Aaron's record for most home runs in Major League Baseball. That is a shame. Bonds is one of the biggest cheaters who has ever played professional sports.

Those who know him and work with him have repeatedly said he has used steroids to bulk up and give him the strength he needs to hit for power. He was never a power hitter when he came up to the Big Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates about 20 years ago. But his friends at Balco have helped him hide his use of the illegal substances and Bonds continues to deny usage of them. Come on Barry. Do you really think that anyone outside of your family and friends and the fans of the San Francisco Giants think this is legitimate? Of course it's not. As the old saying goes you can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but never all of the people all of the time. Barry you are a fool.

And now this mental midget has become an even bigger fool. Bob Costas ran a story on HBO this week and interviewed people who know Bonds readily saying he has been taking the junk for years. Bonds responded like the real ass he is by calling Costas a midget who doesn't know squat about the game and never played the game. Yes Sir Barry, you are a real credit to the game. Then after he realized no one would side with him on calling Costas a midget Bond "apologized", but in the same breath called Costas "irresponsible". That's quite the apology from Bonds. Maybe Barry's handlers need to tell him that no one is going to side with him either in calling Costas irresponsible.

Bonds should do the honorable thing and confess he has taken the crap. At least that way the record book can have an asterisk and will reflect that he cheated to get to the home run record. But, then that won't be necessary. Baseball fans and historians will know he was the poster boy of his time for steroid usage.