Category Archives: Sports

Panda Problem

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We have a Panda sighting! I guess all is well in Red Sox Nation-—or maybe not.

Oh, and I guess that paying someone $95 million to play third base isn’t enough motivation for some players to show up for camp in shape. Because we all know that $95 million doesn’t go as far as it used to.

Sandoval, not quite svelte. (Matt Stone photo/Boston Herald)

Sandoval, not quite svelte. (Matt Stone photo/Boston Herald)

Just like last spring, when everyone had high expectations with the signing of Pablo “Panda” Sandoval, and then, he showed up grossly overweight, Sandoval again rolled into the Red Sox complex at least 50 pounds over what he ought to be playing at. So, instead of talking about free agent pitcher David Price, Sox fans are being treated by local media to pictures of a fat, out-of-shape player who doesn’t give a damn. Continue reading →

Fluff it Up

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It’s Friday and time for another post. It seems that a pile of jeremiads are stacking up, on a variety of topics germane to the news cycle at the moment. First and foremost in my ever-growing slush pile of things to blog about is the lying mainstream media. I also jotted down a bunch of stuff the other day about the mayoral run-off that happened Tuesday, one town over.

Again, the media’s misinformation was central to some of my concerns—not the least being national reporters meddling around where they have no business treading, and even less understanding of local matters. Hacks like this one—elitists really—love to belittle places like Lewiston (aka, Trumpland, Maine) and the people that live there. Voters voting for a candidate she can’t understand from her urban zip code? Call them stupid, ignorant, or wracked with fear. But anyone keeping score knows journalism now equals propaganda, at least coming from the driveby set.

But since we are in the midst of the holiday season—even though it doesn’t feel like Christmas to me—I’m going to defer writing about topics that divide and keep it light. Maybe I’ll start a tradition of easier-on-the-eyes and lower stress blogging on Friday—call it something like Fluffernutter Friday. Apparently the sandwich of the same name has a New England backstory.

Fridays are for Fluffernutters.

Fridays are for Fluffernutters.

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A Winning Attitude

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Some writers prefer grinding axes when it comes to Tom Brady. These writers all command considerably more per word than a freelancer like me. For some odd reason, they can also focus their features on elements that are, IMHO, totally irrelevant when it comes to TB12.

Writers like Chuck Klosterman don’t care to deal in honest representations of other people—especially NFL quarterbacks. Instead, they fill their pieces with throwaway lines, in discussing arguably, the greatest player to ever play the position. What is he talking about when he writes, “It’s [the quarterback position] the only position in sports that racists still worry about.”?

To be fair, Klosterman leads with the admission that he considers Brady as “the greatest quarterback in NFL history,” but then he immediately backpedals, makes a number of insinuations, and then generally tries to carry out the same kind of “hit” on Brady that much of the rest of NFL Nation fans has been carrying out most of the summer and can’t let go of—basically, that he’s a “cheater.”

WEEI regular Kirk Minihane and Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com were speculating last week that Klosterman was paid $7,500 to $10,000 for the GQ feature that was more about him than it was about breaking new ground on Brady. There are other Boston media types that took issue with the Klosterman piece, also.

But I don’t really give two shits about what Klosterman got paid by GQ or even that he didn’t get his agreed upon time with Brady. That’s never been where my interest lies when considering the 16-year veteran of the New England Patriots, and why I decided to jump back into following the Patriots and their all-world QB.

As I’ve detailed, I’m late to the party on Brady, Belichick, and the Patriots. That doesn’t mean I’ve been living in a remote cave outside Kandahar, either—what it means is that I haven’t followed all the minutia that fans of any sport know intuitively and often take for granted. Now that I’m paying attention, I’m awestruck by TB12 and what he’s been able to accomplish, year-after-year, and this year, he seems to have turned back the clock. We’re talking about a 38-year-old quarterback playing like a 25-year-old, physically, but with all the acquired wisdom that comes from thousands of snaps back of center during the heat of battle, not to mention his cerebral qualities.

Sunday night’s game against Denver was a grind for Brady. With his receiver corps depleted by injuries, his patchwork quilt of an offensive line requiring him to unload the football quickly, and TPTB of the NFL conspiring against him and his mates, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever strap them on nearly pulled off another late game miracle. I truly believe that if Gronkowski doesn’t leave the game with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, Brady would have been victorious. But, we’ll never know for sure.

Tom Brady goes downfield in the snow vs. Denver. (Justin Edmonds photo)

Tom Brady goes downfield in the snow vs. Denver. (Justin Edmonds photo)

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In Tom We Trust

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All anyone needs to know about today’s blog post can be summed up by the following statement and quote: “I love Tommy and you’re right, he’s a WINNER!” That’s from my sister, aka Aunt Tomato, from an email exchange we had about our weekends, when I mentioned the New England Patriots and Tom Brady’s Sunday performance.

I had mentioned to her that I spent Sunday afternoon painting some trim work around the windows of our house. Since it is now football season and I seem to be morphing into a football fan, I decided to tune in the Patriots Radio Network on my portable radio.

Actually, there are only a few reasons why I’ve chosen to follow football again this fall. The Patriots, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady. The latter one is probably the biggest one.

Throw, Tommy, throw! Brady completing pass vs. Buffalo Bills. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)

Throw, Tommy, throw! Brady completing pass vs. Buffalo Bills. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)

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Another Chapter of Swim, Bike, Run

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This is post-triathlon Monday for the Baumers of Old Orchard Beach (our temporary residence for at least one more day). I’m waking up pretty sore, especially in my quads and calves. Mrs. B is still asleep. I’m not going to wake her because she’s earned the right to sleep-in today.

My wife Mary—the reason that I do these crazy, swim, bike, run successions—shaved 22 minutes off her previous Olympic-length triathlon results, back in 2012, the last time she competed in that particular length race. Last year she tackled the half and the year before that, we were Team Baumer, completing that year’s Rev3 as a family unit of me, Mary, and Mark. I was also weeks from a collapsed lung.

Miss Mary was up to the Challenge (Maine).

Miss Mary was up to the Challenge (Maine).

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Late Summer Baseball

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If you are still following Boston’s baseball team, the Red Sox, you are well aware that the odds of a post season this year are slim to none. In a town that’s grown entitled to having their professional sports teams play meaningful games late into their respective seasons, losing becomes a hard pill to swallow. Nowhere is this more prevalent than with the members of Red Sox Nation.

Winning a World Series in 2004, again in 2007, and then the improbable championship run in 2013 has only heightened expectations among its fan base. However, when you look at the reality of baseball played in places like Cleveland, Arlington, and San Diego, the carping about Ben Cherington and Red Sox ownership on sports talk radio ought to cease. It won’t, but winning championships nearly every season isn’t the norm—except perhaps if you are a follower of one particular franchise whose players are adorned in black pin stripes—a club with 40 World Series appearances. Dare I utter “the New York Yankees” in these parts? Continue reading →

Calling the Command Center

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Being an umpire, I’m always interested while watching a Major League game, when an appeal is made regarding a call. Umpires are human and humans are prone to error—but umpires may be less prone to error than many people assume.

If you’ve been living under a rock, MLB now allows certain plays to be reviewed upon request by one of the two teams. This change occurred when the powers that be initiated expanded instant replay during the 2014 season, thinking that it would improve the game. And interestingly, over the first season of reviewing a plethora of calls, the umpires made the right call almost all of the time. For all the ins and outs of instant replay and what calls can be reviewed, the Wikipedia entry on instant replay is really good and gives a great overview.

Fans and players have always had an adversarial relationship with officials. Both of them are far from being objective about whether the right call is being made. They have inherent bias built into their reaction to close calls, especially if that call goes against their teams, or them personally.

(8/10/2010) – James Brosher/AMERICAN-STATESMAN – Home base umpire Mike Lusky signals safe as Express first baseman Brian Bogusevic (23) slides into home plate, scoring Round Rock's first run in a game against Sacramento at Dell Diamond on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010. 0811express

(Photo by James Brosher/AMERICAN-STATESMAN – Home base umpire Mike Lusky signals safe as Express first baseman Brian Bogusevic slides into home plate.

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Keep on Tri-ing

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I’m entering my third year as a triathlete. Most of the triathlons I’ve entered are of the sprint variety—the distances being 750-meter (0.47-mile) swim, 20-kilometer (12-mile) on the bike bike, and finishing up with a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) run.

After competing in three sprint triathlons at Point Sebego in Naples the past three seasons, Miss Mary and I are off to the Cape and Hyannis/Craigville Beach for our first out-of-state event, and a good early season test.

My spring hasn’t been my most memorable. Thankfully, training with an eye towards this weekend’s event, and my umpiring, have kept me on an even keel most days, and allowed me to push through some adversity.

Seth Godin would be proud.

Sunrise at OOB, Rev 3, 2014

Sunrise at OOB, Rev 3, 2014

Baseball Eye Candy

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I’ve been talking and writing (at least on this blog) about infrastructure because it seems obvious to me that rebuilding and upgrading our nation’s structural foundation is essential—economically for sure—but also to stave off literal collapse and disaster.

I’m not in the business of reading tea leaves. Occasionally, however, something happens that lends an air of prescience to some posts—like when a train goes off the rails on one of our busiest rail routes between Washington, DC and New York City.

As a writer, my hope was to parlay some of this interest and research into paying gigs on the topic. Alas, like the lack of spring rain, my freelancing has hit a dry patch.

It’s always disappointing when you think you have something to say about an issue, but instead, editors only seem interested in the same old claptrap re-purposed with new ribbons and colorful bows—offering nothing new about politics, economics, and the way the world works.

The local news used to be a morning ritual. Lately, however, as soon as I get my weather forecast, I’m tuning into last night’s baseball highlights via MLB Network’s Quick Pitch with old Boston friend, Heidi Watney. It’s less stressful than being fed lies, obfuscation, and outright propaganda about the world.

Baseball highlights, Heidi-style.

Baseball highlights, Heidi-style.

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Following Baseball’s Wages

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Americans pay mega lip service to the notion of work being sacrosanct. The Bible, the good book of the Jeebus lovers says that “if a person won’t work, he shouldn’t eat,” (the JBE version paraphrase). But what about those working two and three minimum wage jobs and still finding it hard to buy groceries, pay rent, let alone having any money left over for a movie and a bag of popcorn? God help them if they happen to have a health crisis.

Does Christianity speak to the issue of justice and wages? If a man (or woman) is working, providing services to  others, shouldn’t they at least receive a wage they can live on, and not have to work 75-80 hours each week merely to survive?

Some of the largest and most profitable companies in the U.S.—we’re talking McDonald’s and Wal-Mart—cost taxpayers nearly $153 million a year, according to the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Information.

Wednesday was Tax Day, and a group called Fight for $15 staged their largest action to date. They chose Tax Day to highlight taxpayer largesse going to companies that can afford to pay workers fair wages, rather than pocketing profits while receiving corporate welfare.

Rallying for wage increases, Ellsworth, Maine.

Rallying for wage increased, Ellsworth, Maine.

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