Wednesday, August 1:
Just when you think it's safe to write off the Toronto Blue Jays, they come back from a gut-wreching loss with a gem like last night's 2-0 win at Tampa Bay. They're still going nowhere but they may make it tough for some playoff-bound teams in these last two months of the regular season.
Forty years ago, I remember thinking, "thank God that week and that month is over." Detroit, my beloved, battered, much-ridiculed Detroit, had just experienced the worst seven days in its history, with riots (or rebellions, as they call it today) that left 43 people dead. Just 42 years ago last week, about five of us walked from downtown to Tiger Stadium for a twi-night doubleheader -- and back at about midnight. I was 12. Two years later, any thoughts of ever doing that again were permanently dashed. The city has never recovered and maybe it never will, and the scars from that black day in July, 1967 (and the ugly days and nights that followed), are still there in abundance.
Saturday, August 4:
My friend Dawn takes sensational wildlife photos -- birds, animals, flowers, you name it. My friend Al takes shots of sunsets from his balcony that are breathtaking. Me, I shoot sports. But this afternoon, on a picture-perfect day, I was sitting on the backyard deck, surrounded by squirrels, and birds of great variety. So l sneak upstairs, grab my camera and return to find -- nothing. No squirrels, no birds, just me, a beer and a camera -- for a full hour. I swear they must be smarter that science gives them credit for, and they're no doubt laughing up a storm in someone else's back yard, hooting at my expense.
Sinking like a stone: the Detroit Tigers. The day after the all-star break, they had the best record in baseball. Right now, with Cleveland losing today and Detroit playing tonight, the Tigers have the slimmest lead possible over the Indians in the American League Central with the Indians (.565 to .564). But Seattle is just half a game out in the wild-card race and the Yankees are now just two back. Detroit's pitching is a mess -- only four other American League teams have allowed more runs at this point of the season.
Sunday, August 5:
Another loss by the Bumbling Bengals. That makes 12 in their last 16 since they swept a set in Minnesota. And with their dreadful pitching, I can't see them making a run in the final two months. The magic of '06 is gone this year, I'm afraid. Four months ago, I predicted a Mets-Red Sox World Series. No reason to go away from that pick (although the Padres might make it, and I wish the Cubs would).
Monday, August 6:
It's always been my theory that the very best moment in a vacation is The First Sunday Night. You've enjoyed the weekend and now, instead of gearing up your mind for the work week ahead, you sit back, relax, stay up late and continue to unwind. Of course, when the first Sunday night is on a holiday weekend, as this one is, then the best moment becomes The First Monday Night. So The Bride and I are taking in a late show at the movie theatre tonight and sleeping in Tuesday as late as we darned well feel like it!
Interesting that Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron's home run record Saturday on the same day as Alex Rodriguez hit number 500 for his career. A-Rod's best years could be still ahead of him, meaning -- assuming Bonds retires at year's end -- Rodriguez should overtake him within the next decade.
And nice to see Tom Glavine win number 300 last night. I'm hoping he and Greg Maddux retire at the same time so they can enter the hall of fame together. Maddux should be a first ballot shoo-in and Glavine has a good chance of being one as well.
Wednesday, August 8:
So Barry Bonds finally hit his record-breaking home run. Yippee. I was asleep at the time and I'm not rushing to watch the video replay.
Off to the home of WKRP for tomorrow's Dodgers-Reds matinee. The only other time I've visited the Great American Ballpark, Mother Nature robbed me of seeing a full nine. Maybe she'll be kinder tomorrow. Glad I'll be in the shade -- they're calling for 99 degrees Fahrenheit, with scattered thunderstorms.
Thursday, August 9:
CINCINNATI -- Yep. 99 degrees. No storms (at least, not until the trip home). I lost count of the number of bottles of water I drank at the game. The Reds had chances galore to nail down the win, but the bullpen let them down. One of the very cool things at Great American Ballpark is the Reds' Hall of Fame, which costs just five dollars (with your game ticket) to tour. Inside they have a large model of old Crosley Field (a ballpark I missed seeing live baseball in by about a month in 1970). The model is perfect, right down to the grills on the ticket windows and it took the creator about two years to build. I'll post a shot of it for next week's "Pic of the Week."
Took a side trip yesterday to Indianapolis, where it is an eerie drive along West 16th in Speedway. The south side of 16th from Georgetown Road to the Brickyard Plaza is right across the street from the "short chute" between turns one and two at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And for years, it featured a busy stretch of commercialism: A motor hotel, souvenir shops, fast-food restaurants, etc. Seedy, but lively. Now, it's just empty land. The Speedway bought all of the property and levelled everything. Now there's nothing from the gas station at the corner, all the way down to the creek that runs alongside the plaza, which, by the way, has no commercial property -- just Indy Racing League offices. Strange. And sad.
I caught a glimpse of what will be Lucas Oil Stadium in a year's time, future home of the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. The place is immense! It dwarfs the current RCA Dome, which will eventually be demolished.
I never tire of midwest thunderstorms, unless they're dangerous. And the one I drove through on I-70 west of Dayton yesterday was indeed dangerous. There was no place to pull off (construction zone) and stopping was ill-advised with visibility almost nil. Sure enough, there were two crack-ups -- one rather severe -- due to people stopping in a lane leaving folks behind them unable to stop in time. Thankfully, I got through safely.
Friday, August 10:
Aw. One of the cool features of a trip along I-75 is the famous clock in south Dayton that sits atop the Reynolds and Reynolds building. Not anymore. It was missing when I drove back home from Cincinnati yesterday. Turns out the building is slated for demolition, so the clock was taken down last fall and saved. The other landmark clock in my North America travels is part of the Allen-Bradley tower south of Milwaukee. As far as I now, that mammoth timepiece is still in place.
Sunday, August 12:
NEW YORK -- Well, I've been here for baseball games, football games, hockey games and a college field trip, but never just as a "tourist." But we're going to tour the Big Apple today, take a three-hour cruise around Manhattan Island and then close out the day atop the Empire State Building. The Bride will want to get some shopping in, but that's fine. She's agreed to join me at Fenway Park Tuesday, which is over and above the call, as she's not really a baseball fan. She might be though, after a trip to the Fens.
Monday, August 13:
NEW YORK -- You can't do the Big Apple in a day, but Lord knows we tried. We did manage to hit The Dakota, walk through Central Park, visit Times Square, Ground Zero, the Empire State Building, have lunch at a midtown deli, check out Tiffany's (The Bride's idea) and take a three-hour Circle Line cruise. And now we're whipped!
Tuesday, August 14:
WESTBROOK, CT -- We met Chris & Glenn during our most recent Caribbean cruise back in February and promised we would visit them during our New England trip. They operate the Westbrook Inn in Connecticut, far and away the finest bed-and-breakfast operation we've ever encountered. We spent yesterday visiting their lovely corner of the world, swimming in Long Island Sound, enjoying a great dinner and being their guests of honour at a room to die for. A day we'll long remember with friends we'll see again next winter on our next cruise!
Wednesday, August 15:
BOSTON -- When I ordered our tickets for last night's ballgame, little did we know we'd get two tickets to paradise. Upper deck tickets between home and first base at Fenway Park were unforgettable enough. Then, the ballgame, a 2-1 Red Sox thriller over Tampa Bay, thanks to a pair of runs for the home side in the bottom of the ninth. But the topper came in the first inning when this familiar guy sat down next to me. After some baseball chit-chat, he holds out his hand and says, "Eddie Money, the singer." That just about blew me away. Turns out he's been a baseball fan all his life, and we chatted up a storm about the grand old game as if we were old buddies. Quite the thrill for both me and The Bride!
Pictures from Fenway will be up in a day or so, when we get some free time between sightseeing and visiting our Boston-based cruise friends today.
Friday, August 17:
Wednesday night was another night to remember as our two other cruise couples -- Chris & Tom and Pam & Barry -- rolled out the red carpet for us at a cookout they staged in their suburban Boston town. It was as if we had just carried on from the last dinner aboard the ship. The wine was flowing as fast as the tall tales and the tears of laughter.
We made it home safe and sound, and the pictures from the Devil Rays-Red Sox game are now up.
Sunday, August 19:
I have created a monster. For all of our married life, The Bride has taken a passing interest in the Detroit Tigers, only because she knows that's my team. But despite seeing games in old Tiger Stadium, my favourite piece of real estate on this earth, she really isn't a baseball fan. Until now. After watching a thriller in Fenway Park last Tuesday, she's become a bona fide member of Red Sox Nation. And after turning on last night's game with Boston down 5-0, only to win 10-5, she's convinced she's the Red Sox' good luck charm! Where, oh where did I go wrong?
OK, this isn't what I expected -- Manchester United starting the season with two draws and a loss. The natives at Old Trafford must be getting restless.
Monday, August 20:
In an astonishing bit of irony, the website for Chetumal Bay, Mexico lists this: "There is almost always a brisk refreshing breeze." I fear the one that hits overnight will be a whole lot more than brisk and a whole lot less than refreshing. The bay is directly in the path of Hurricane Dean, which could be a catastrophic Category Five storm by the time it reaches land. And not too far to the north lie Cozumel (site of a memorable drinking binge by The Bride and yours truly last February) and Cancun. Dean could do to the Yucatan peninsula what Katrina did to Mississippi and Louisiana -- and then some.
Thursday, August 23:
Nope. It ain't over. But it's getting darned close. Dropping two of three to first-place Cleveland leaves the Detroit Tigers two-and-a-half games behind the Tribe in the American League Central. That is certainly no cause for alarm, but this is: since July 22, the Tigers are 10-and-22 and show no sign of life, having now dropped five of six. The wild-card? Unless they sweep the Yankees this weekend, forget it. Both New York and wild card-leading Seattle are playing rings around Detroit. Writing the Tigers off early a year ago proved to be a mistake, so we won't here. Yet.
Thank heavens Hurricane Dean avoided major towns and cities and swept through Mexico rather quickly. Eight dead and about $300 million in damage is nothing to sneeze at. But seeing as Dean was the third-most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever to hit land, it could have been hundreds of times worse.
Saturday, August 25:
To paraphrase the old Tom Northcott song:
"Twenty-fifth of August, last rain was in May,
When the Rainmaker came to Stouffville in the middle of a dusty day..."
Actually, the rainmaker arrived last night about 9 p.m. in the form of yet another thunderstorm. But this time it kept raining for a few hours after that. It's been a marvelous summer, but the lack of rain must be alarming to farmers. My front lawn resembles amber waves of dead grass. I've cut the lawn once, once! since July 1st. I can't recall a drier summer, and yet there are areas an hour's drive away that have had above average rainfall this season. Strange!
Here they come, now just five-and-a-half games out: The Minnesota Twins stormed from behind to win the American League Central last season on the final day. It wouldn't shock me to see them do it again. They're playing far better these days than both Cleveland and Detroit.
Sunday, August 26:
My dog isn't trained for fighting. Mandy the Wonder Pooch is as gentle and loving a creature as God ever put on this earth and if anyone tried to intentionally harm her, I honestly don't know what I'd do in retaliation -- but it wouldn't be pretty. To my mind, Michael Vick's involvement with dogfighting and with the killing of animals within what some dopes actually call "sport," is reprehensible. I hope they throw the book at him.
The Boston Red Sox are 8-and-4 since and including the night we saw them at Fenway Park on our vacation. And The Bride is taking the credit for their hot streak. What's worse, she's sneering -- sneering! -- over the struggles of my toothless Tigers. What have I done to deserve such a fate?
Thursday, August 30:
Sometimes things work out just the way they should -- like Mike Mussina getting shelled in his last three starts, two at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. This is the guy who moaned that the tribute to the late Tom Cheek the Toronto Blue Jays put on before he passed, interfered with his pre-game routine. Mussina is now being temporarily demoted to the Yankees bullpen. With any luck, he'll never win a World Series ring.
Tonight's the night -- the start of the U.S. college football season, my favourite spectator sport. Can Michigan finally beat Ohio State and even snare a win in a bowl game? Stay tuned, folks! Should be a fun four months!
Friday, August 31:
I've seen better performances on offence, but LSU's defence looked downright scary in last night's 45-0 drubbing of Mississippi State. Granted, there are far tougher tests to come, but if I had to pick a school right now to be BCS champion in January, I'll go with the Bayou Tigers of Louisiana State.
Back in April, my World Series picks were Boston and the New York Mets. The Red Sox have just been swept by the rival Yankees (The Bride is starting to lose interest) and the Mets have dropped five straight, including a four-game sweep at the hands of second-place Philadelphia. The Sox are almost a sure bet to reach the post-season, but the Metropolitans had better be careful. This is not the time of season to be hitting a major slump. Of course, the Detroit Tigers (soon to be "RIP" status this year) stumbled badly down the stretch a year ago and yet somehow made the World Series.
