Remembering Bobby Thomson

“The Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant” is how we all remember Bobby Thomson’s home run off of Brooklyn Dodgers’ pitcher Ralph Branca to win the pennant in 1951.

What many people don’t know is the friendship that ensued between Thomson and Branca. In Branca’s words from a FOXSPORTS article:

”I’ll miss him,” Branca said. ”I mellowed over the years and we became good friends. I enjoyed being around him.”

I am a baseball fan and memorabilia collector. I happened to write Bobby Thomson a few years ago and he was kind enough to return correspondence and also sent me an autographed photo of his memorable home run. The picture was signed by BOTH Thomson and Ralph Branca, which just shows you how classy Branca was. He also signed a custom 8×10 I sent, along with a baseball card, and responded to some questions I asked about his career. Will dig them out, scan, and include in this post later.

Ecstatic that MLB is Removing Day Off Between Games 4 and 5 of the League Championship Series

I’m a baseball junkie if you didn’t know and I am perhaps the only person full of joy over MLB’s decision to shorten to LCS by removing an off-day from the schedule. You can see the story here.

My beloved Halos lost in 6 games to the Yankess and C.C. Sabathia was scheduled to start in game 7 after starting in games 1 and 4. Essentially the extra days off allow a team to use a 3 man rotation, which doesn’t fairly represent the strength of a team over the season with a 5-man rotation. This will now force teams to match their 4th starter against each other and can level it out a bit if a particular team has a deeper rotation. We will never see 5th starters matched with the current system, but this at least mitigates against a team that has 3 str9ong starters and a very mediocre 4 and 5 starter.

Boise State, AP Champions?

Hey, it has happened before. My beloved USC Trojans were voted AP Champs back in 2004 while LSU was the BCS champs and mandated in the coaches poll to be #1. Essentially they were co-champions. I think that the AP (Associated Press) can not only challenge the current BCS system, but can also be a sympathetic voice on behalf of other teams that they feel worthy to be champions as well.

I don’t expect Boise State to be voted as the AP champs, but I do hope they garnish some votes, thus confirming what we all want…a playoff system.

One last interesting tidbit. If Boise State’s season is viewed in the big picture, they had two victories over BCS conference champions: Oregon and TCU. So if there was a playoff system, depending on what sort, BSU could conceivably be in the semi-final or finals right now.

Should Christians Participate in MMA, Boxing, Football, Gambling, etc

         

I was recently asked the following question regarding Paul’s illustrations involving boxing:

Just b/c the apostle paul made references to boxing/fighting doesn’t necessarily meant he ‘watched’ them, right?  He could of just been knowledgeable of the art or strategies in the sport not necessarily promoting or suggesting it’s ok or good for a christian to engage in it?

My answer is as follows:

New Keith Olbermann “Baseball Nerd” Widget

I know that some of my readers may loathe Keith Olbermann and I have even been critical in the past of him, HOWEVER I must admit that I have appreciated Keith Olbermann since I was a little kid growing up in the Los Angeles media market and watching him on the nightly local Sportscast. His days with ESPN were also entertaining. 

For those of you who only know Olbermann as the guy on “Countdown” who continually bashes Bush, Bill O’Reilly, and ends his show by counting down the days from “Mission Accomplished”, his beginnings were really in sports. We share a common interest in baseball cards, the history of baseball, play fantasy baseball, like SABR, are both essentially “Baseball Nerds”. 

Here are some interesting items in Olbermann’s bio according to Wikipedia:

 

As a teenager, he often wrote about baseball card collecting, appearing in many sports card collecting periodicals of the mid-1970s. He is referenced in Sports Collectors Bible, a 1979 book by Bert Sugar, which is considered one of the important early books for trading card collectors.^[22]

Olbermann is a dedicated baseball fan and historian of the sport, with membership in the Society for American Baseball Research.[39] He is also one of the most prominent baseball cardcollectors in the country, particularly of T-206 tobacco cards and other rare cards, such as the very rare 2006 Alex Gordon rookie card.[40] He argues that New York Giants baseball playerFred Merkle should not be denied inclusion into the Baseball Hall of Fame because of a baserunning mistake.[41] He contributed the foreword to More Than Merkle (ISBN 0-8032-1056-6), a book requesting amnesty for Merkle’s error, also known as the “Merkle Boner.” Olbermann was also one of the founders of the first experts’ fantasy baseball league. He was one of the founders of the USA Today Baseball Weekly LABR league, giving the league its nickname (LABR stands for League of Alternative Baseball Reality).[42] Because of his extensive baseball knowledge, Olbermann is a consultant to Topps, the baseball card manufacturer. Topps allowed him to open the first pack of 2007 baseball cards on Countdown the week before they hit stores. The first card of the pack was Johnny Damon of the New York Yankees. In high school, Olbermann compiled an extensive list of first and third base coaches. This documentation now sits in the Hall of Fame, and is considered the definitive compendium of first and third base coaches in baseball history. Olbermann wrote the foreword to the 2009 Baseball Prospectus Annual.[43]

In March of 2009, Olbermann began a baseball-related blog enitled Baseball Nerd.

I am adding his baseball blog as a widget on Endued and trust you will find his insights entertaining. Enjoy.

P.S. For those of you who would like to go to his blog and criticize his political views, he has issued this statement:

“Thanks to all for the comments and the welcomes and the flaming go-to-Hades. This blog is about baseball and not politics; I won’t touch the latter here unless it unavoidably pertains to something between the foul lines, so write all you want about left-versus-right – I hope you find it entertaining to yourself, I won’t be reading it. As elsewhere here, abuse won’t be tolerated and the fine folks at MLB.Com will ultimately decide if we have to start approving comments. Doesn’t matter to me; I come here under the banner of the greater good: Baseball.”

Tex Winter Never Used Profanity…Come on Phil

I am a huge Lakers fan and am obviously following their playoff run. Anyhow, Tex Winter, the legendary coach and expert on the “Triangle” offense that was used by the Bulls and Lakers under Phil Kackson, suffered a stroke and is hospitalized as I write.

While watching the game tonight, the TNT analysts said that Phil Jackson said that the thing that sticks out in his mind about Tex is that he never used profanity. While I think it is great Tex never used profanity, I just thought Phil would have something more meaningful to say.

Hope Tex gets better, Lakers roll to a title…

My Condolscences to Angels & Adenhart Family…Relevance of Easter

I am a huge Angels fan, just ask anyone that knows me. I am a former season ticket holder and once covered the Angels as a primary blogger for the Most Valuable Network (link). This entry isn’t about me, but gives you some background into my interest into the sport of baseball and the Angels in particular. I was meeting with a friend for lunch today when he pulled out a card with Nick Adenhart’s name on it and told me that he was killed in a car accident. I was frozen…he just pitched last night, he is only 22, he is a huge part of the Angels future. Then I wondered if he was drunk or something, not that it would have minimized the tragedy, but there is always a fear that an athlete acted inappropriately. ESPN was on at the lunch joint I was at and it stated that it was a hit and run accident where the other party ran a red light and broadsided the vehicle carrying Adenhart. 2 others died along with Adenhart. The driver of the van apparently tried to flee the site on foot. Having heard this news, I was then full of some anger. Someone bolting through a red light kills 3 people. I hope this driver doesn’t have a spouse and kids because he/she is now going to jail for a long time and must live with the regret of this action. I pray that they would repent, but it isn’t in my jurisdiction to forgive him/her…only the Adenhart family can do that. Here is an article with some more info (MLB Release).

I am now sitting down and about to prepare a message for our Church’s Good Friday service tommorrow night and then prepare the Easter message for Sunday. The unfortunate event of Adenhart’s death reminds me that death is real…that Jesus’ death was real. Jesus’ death was both tragic and glorious. It is a stumbling block for many that a tragic death is the God-appointed means for our salvation. The story doesn’t end with his death…He arose. Easter is the hope of the ressurrection, that Jesus is the firstfruits and we ourselves will be ressurrected to God’s glory. Death is NOT the final say. 

While Newsweek is declaring that we are now a “post-Christian” nation (http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583), and recent polling is showing that a growing majority of Americans are declaring religion irrelevant, the death of Adenhart shouts loud and clear to everyone that death is real and coming. There is one who conquered the grave for us. That is very relevant. I lament that many so-called pastors are standing before their thousands and turning the Gospel into a message of self-help. Their message to Nick Adenhart is to live in God’s blessing…to enjoy his wealth…to fulfill his destiny…to be all that he can be. This event reminds us that God speaks to more than our earthly success, but rather to our suffering, our death, and the glorious hope of the resurrection. If Christ isn’t risen, then we are to be pitied….the Gospel isn’t about just this earthly life, it is about the grave and resurrection…It isn’t merely about eating, drinking, and being merry…it is about so much more!!!

Anyhow, I don’t know what Adenhart believed or hoped in, but it is my prayer that his death would awaken our souls to consider the meaning of life beyond such tragedy and suffering. Adenhart pitched 6 scoreless innings last night, but it really doesn’t matter, does it? Many follow sports as an escape from life, its tragedy, its pain…we cheer, we jeer…we shout with joy, we mourn a loss…and then death shows its ugly face and crashes the party. The good news is that Jesus will conquer death and usher in a more glorious party. Death, as an enemy, will ultimately be destroyed. That is what Good Friday and Easter are about. I am not ashamed of the Gospel, it is the power of God for our salvation.

Angels Adopting “Moneyball”?

In a recent article in the LA Times, it is noted that the Angels have been emphasizing plate discipline and pitch recognition throughout the organization.The OC Register also ran a similar article noting this new emphasis in the Angels’ organization. 

I am very encouraged at this new-found emphasis. It seemed that their former philosophy was to swing at the first good pitch because you may not see another one. They are now emphasizing taking a strike in leadoff situations, lay off offspeed pitches when ahead in the count, etc.

If the Angels’ increase their On Base Percentage by even .10 points, it will translate into more runs and a slight increase in net win totals. Even more importantly, they will force the opposition to throw more pitches and work through the bullpen in a 3 game series. 

Anyhow, just my ramblings for baseball fans out there…a sport, whose outcome over a 162 game season is most determined on objective stats and measures for success. A 4 game win streak in the NFL can land you in the Superbowl, whereas such a winstreak would only reflect just over 2% of the baseball season. I do admit that the baseball playoff system does not allow for great margin of error, especially in a 5 game series when you can’t afford a single bad outing from one of your frontline starters. Just more rambling….but I believe in a 7 game playoff round and a reduction of the 162 game schedule to 156-160 games to account for the added playoff games.

Anyhow, Go HALOS!!! I can’t wait!!!

Great Post by C.J. Mahaney “Michael Phelps’ Bong”

Michael Phelps’s Bong
By C.J. Mahaney2/4/2009 1:38:00 PM

By now most of you have seen the photograph of Olympic superstar swimmer Michael Phelps filling his giant lungs from a bong of marijuana. When the picture appeared in a British tabloid, Phelps acknowledged it was “youthful and inappropriate.”
 
Now there is no debate over whether the 23-year-old is gifted with athletic greatness. He is. And financially Phelps is set for life, his agent Peter Carlisle estimating his potential earnings will reach somewhere around $100 million.* Which I’m told would equal a stack of $100 bills 360 feet tall! 
 
The photograph of Phelps reminds me of myself prior to conversion, a competitive swimmer (of slightly lesser skill), a sinner (of greater degree), held captive by sin, pursuing the fleeting pleasures of this world. And sadly, in my case, pursuing sin with passion. 
 
So what was Phelps searching for in that bong pipe? What emptiness in his soul was he trying to satisfy?
 
Once again we are reminded that athletic gifting, championship trophies, gold medals, and million dollar endorsement deals cannot satisfy the soul. 
 
Last year, in the wake of his third Super Bowl championship, disillusioned Patriots quarterback Tom Brady admitted on 60 Minutes,

Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, “Hey man, this is what is.” I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, “God, it’s got to be more than this.” I mean this isn’t, this can’t be, what it’s all cracked up to be.

I commend Brady for his honesty.

And no doubt some Pittsburg Steelers players are beginning to have similar thoughts.
 
But in Phelps’s case, if you listen to the media (with the exception of my man Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post) you hear a common chorus of excuses like “Give Phelps a break, nothing he did was anything worse than happens in an average weekend at a typical college campus.” 
 
But we are not talking about a typical American college student. Phelps is a rich superstar. 
 
This is what I find so striking: A man whose chest has been covered with gold medals, has achieved international fame, showered with awards, and blessed with an incomprehensible amount of money, still feels compelled to press his face to a bong. 
 
It was Augustine who said that the soul is restless until it finds its rest in God. So true. Only God can satisfy the soul. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ provides forgiveness of sin, and therefore it is here in this gospel that we find rest for our restless souls. 

Study the unflattering picture of Michael Phelps to be reminded of the deceitfulness of sin and the superficiality of fame and money. But also study the picture to be reminded of the message of Christ and him crucified for restless sinners like you, and me, and Michael Phelps. 

——————

* “Phelps Apologizes for Marijuana Pipe” By Karen Crouse, New York Times, February 1, 2009.

Google Books is Awesome!!! Free Baseball Digest!!!

My buddy Steve just let me know that you can access the Baseball Digest for free at: http://books.google.com/books?id=sCsDAAAAMBAJ. What a treat this is for baseball fans. There are other great works that can be accessed for free at Google Books and I encourage you to check it out when you get a chance. Now I am just waiting for SABR to be released for free on Google, then I will be ecstatic.

USC and Pac 10 Make Their Case for Playoff System

 

Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez, who passed for 413 yards and four touchdowns, is all smiles along the sidelines during the fourth quarter Thursday.

The Pac 10 went 5-0 this bowl season. Yes, what many have called the “Weak 10″ etc. Here’s a recap:

 

- Arizona “upset” BYU

- Oregon “upset” Okl. State

- Oregon State “upset” Pitt

- Cal beat Miami

and finally…USC embarassed Penn State, which makes it twice this year that they have demolished a “Big” 10 foe, manhandling Ohio State earlier in the year.

Needless to say, we need a playoff. There were a bunch of 1 loss teams that all can make a case for being in the BCS “Championship”. I feel for Texas, Texas Tech, and Alabama as well. Texas lost to Tech on a last second pass, but beat the Sooners and they are out. Alabama fell to Florida on a final drive for their only loss and they are out, while Florida lost to Ole Miss for their loss and they are in. Unfortunately much has to do with timing, etc and a whole lot of other complicated factors.

Some questions that should be asked in determining who the best one loss team is:

This One Hurts

I spent 3 years of my life living in the rural town of Marion, NY. It is about 1 ½ hours from Buffalo. I quickly became a Bills fan and have since followed them. Since I don’t dish out a bunch of cash for the NFL network I don’t get many chances to see the Bills play, so it was a treat to watch them last night. Just a little more context…The Bills have been opening up their camp in Rochester in an attempt to connect with the fan base an hour away from Buffalo. Anyhow, I went to a couple practices, which is a great treat. Before the 2007 season, I had a chance to chat some with Bills QB Trent Edwards. He is a classy guy and I knew he would develop into a very good NFL QB. Fast-forward to this year when the Bills opened 5-1 and were in 1^st place with Edwards getting much attention at the national level. Fast-forward to last night…Edwards threw 3 picks in his first 6 attempts and the Bills dropped a heartbreaker for their 4^th loss in a row to fall to 5-5 and last place.

The fact is I predicted the Bills to go anywhere from 7-9 to 9-7 with an outside shot of making the playoffs. They still have a good shot at going 9-7 if they can turn it around. I hope Edwards can shake himself and start throwing with some confidence…Go Bills!!!

Proposed Changes for MLB Commissioner Bud Selig

I am pasting an interesting article below from OC Register Sport’s columnist Mark Whicker. I think he is on to something, however I would make some minor changes to his proposal:

1. I am for the realignment concept, but it would mean the end of AL/NL distinctions as the playoffs would be determined by regional champions and would often feature 2 teams in the World Series that were formerly in the same league. Don’t know if this would work…it would also mean that the DH rule would apply across the board, whether it be retained or absolved.
2.  I don’t think that teams should play all of their games within their region. I would at least support a number of games out of conference that rotate each year. As much as I would like to see my team play the local regional teams, I would still want the opportunity to see superstars from out of conference teams.
3. I am totally agreed that there should be no 5 game playoff series in baseball. it isn’t fair for the better team. Only 3 starters are usually used in the current 5 game format and it neutralizes a team that has much better pitching from the 4-5 spot in the rotation. A mediocre team with horrible 3-5 pitchers, could basically build around a strong 1-2 and make a strong playoff run should they sneak into the playoffs. I am an Angels fan and wish that the Angels would have had a chance to throw Jered Weaver against Red Sox’ Tim Wakefield, but such wasn’t the case. Basketball even recently did away with their 5 game format…but their playoffs take a whole month.
4. If we keep the current playoff system, then I would at least support only 1 off day in each playoff series, forcing teams to have to use their 4th starter, even in a 5 game series. I think Bud Selig has already suggested such for next year.
5. At the very minimum, if these drastic changes suggested by Whicker weren’t adopted, I would suggest:  shortening the season back to 156, extend 1st round of playoffs to 7 games with only 1 off day for each series, increase roster for All-Star game and eliminate 1 player per team requirement with the exception of having one player for representative city.
6. Enjoy Whicker’s article…

Saturday, October 18, 2008

It’s time to realign baseball

The game isn’t broken but there is a lot of room for improvement.

Mark Whicker

Columnist
The Orange County Register
mwhicker@ocregister.com

 

 

There should never be a baseball game in March or November.

There should never be a five-game series in postseason play.

Too many undeserving teams make it to the postseason, which is why we have so many sweeps and dull best-of-5 series.

The league formats are archaic and already have been disbanded in most ways, including umpiring and administration.

If it’s fine for the Angels and Dodgers to play six times a year, why not 18?

For all these reasons, it’s time to realign baseball.

Although it isn’t broken, it can be improved. Attendance can rise. Local TV ratings can jump, with more games in prime time.

And there is little question that playoff baseball would be better played if it were done in two best-of-7 game series. Boston is forecasting a low of 34 degrees Wednesday, which would be Game 1 of the World Series.

So let’s start by paring down six divisions to three:

WEST: Dodgers, Angels, San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Houston.

CENTRAL: Cubs, White Sox, Detroit, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh.

EAST: Yankees, Mets, Boston, Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, Toronto, Florida, Tampa Bay, Atlanta.

The three winners get to the playoffs and the team with the best record gets the home field throughout.

There is one wild card. It will be seeded fourth and will not have home advantage in any series.

With two rounds, the semifinals could begin Oct. 10 and the World Series could begin Oct.21 and end no later than Oct.29. Next year’s World Series is scheduled to end Nov. 4. Keep in mind that the new ballpark in Minneapolis, scheduled to open in 2010, will have no roof.

That means the regular season would not have to begin until April 6 or so. Or it could start a few days earlier and allow a more leisurely regular season, with added off-days to anticipate makeup games.

Baseball had 10-team leagues from 1961 until it split into four six-team divisions in 1969. It’s true that fewer teams would be in contention, but that wouldn’t necessarily dampen the attendance.

The Rockies were nowhere near true contention this year and drew 2.6 million, their best figure since 2002. Detroit was 74-88 and drew an all-time record 3.2 million. Toronto was never in danger of winning anything and drew 2.399 million, tops since 1998.

But a new scheduling plan would almost certainly boost attendance everywhere.

With a 10-team division, it’s simple to arrange 18 meetings with every other club. It comes out to 162 games. That’s nine Dodgers visits to Anaheim. That’s 18 Cubs-White Sox games.

And new relationships would spring up. If you’re Florida, you get nine visits by the Yankees andMets. Maybe Florida-Tampa Bay would get intense, or Cleveland-Cincinnati, or Baltimore-Washington, with those ballparks just 40 miles apart.

Better yet, all 162 games in the East would happen in the Eastern Time zone, which means the advertisers would get a prime-time bang every night.

For the Angels, just 18 of their road games would be played outside the Pacific or Mountain zones. No more of those 4 p.m. weekday road starts, from the East, that get swallowed up in the commute.

The only two teams that would be disadvantaged are Houston and Texas, since they would be the only Central-based teams in the West Division. But none of their road games would begin later than 9 p.m. The Astros and Rangers would also have 18 games against each other. In Houston’s case, the Dodgers rivalry from the old NL West would be revived.

Now, you’re a Boston fan living in Orange County and you’re reading this and you’re already screaming because you think you’ll never see your beloved Red Sox in person.

Well, you’re right. That’s why Major League Baseball provides Web casts and a satellite-TV package.

No one in Boston, Detroit, Baltimore or Cleveland saw Willie Mays play or Sandy Koufax pitch in the regular season. No one in San Francisco or L.A. saw Carl Yastrzemski or Jim Palmer.

When the postseason comes, there should be a layer of mystery, with teams that don’t know each other’s secrets.

This setup would eliminate the unfairness that lurks inside the current schedule, with the erratic interleague games. The Dodgers had to play the Angels, the winningest team in baseball, six times. Arizona did not play the Angels once. If Arizona had beaten the Dodgers by one game in the NL West, that issue might have come up.

So this realignment lengthens the offseason, takes some of the happenstance out of the playoffs, eliminates the cross-country travel that subtly fatigues the players (no matter how luxurious their 747s are), and drums up more box-office and TV revenue.

And the brilliance of this plan is so breathtaking that its author doesn’t mind if Bud Selig says he designed it himself.

A Sit Down with MMA Prospect Cody Ziemer

I had the opportunity to sit down with Cody Ziemer last week and chat about his fighting career. He attends the church I pastor, Sovereign Grace Fellowship, and is a rising star here in the Idaho Fight League. He recently just won a fight out of state and has an upcoming fight in Las Vegas.

In our chat, he listed Bruce Lee as his fighting inspiration, whom he watched as a young teen. He trains hard and aspires to improve his skills so that he might compete with the elite fighters of the world.

When I asked Cody how his Christian faith integrates into his fighting; he responded by stating that he aspires to be an honorable fighter, who respects his opponents. He said that some folks fight with the sole intent of hurting people and take pleasure in injuring people. Cody prays before every fight for the safety of himself and his opponent.

Cody packs quickness and strength in his 155 pound frame and unleashes quick powerful kicks to the upperbody of his opponents.

Now, some of you might be wondering whether Christians should even box or fight when their success usually correlates with inflicting pain upon an opponent. I simply would state that I think it is a sport and a conscious issue that each Christian needs to resolve in their own mind. The Apostle Paul used an illustration from fighting when he states that he doesn’t throw punches aimlessly in the air…apparently, Paul watched fighting and even incorporated insights observed into his letter to the Corinthians. Such illustrations would make no sense to an audience that abstained from watching fights…so I think it is safe to state that it is okay for Christians to view fighting as a sport…but I would also defer to one’s conscience on teh issue. Here is an interesting post on this topic: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/40136-mma-what-would-jesus-do

I pray for Cody and hope that he excels in his MMA career. I pray for his safety and the safety of all that he fights. I pray that God would be glorified in how Cody conducts himself…not as a brute beast, but rather as  a honorable man of God.

October Fever and Heartbreak in the Heart of a Pastor

Well, my beloved Halos lost tonight in the bottom of the ninth. It was heartbreaking, especially after a leadoff double for the Halos in the top of the ninth, only to lose that runner in a failed squeeze attempt that would have given them the lead and summoned K-Rod in the bottom of the ninth. It was also painful to watch the Red Sox manufacture the winning run with a bloop double and seeing eye single just passed the outstretched glove of second baseman Howie Kendrick. Oh well, there is always next year, but I am still sad.

I was tempted to get angry over the failed squeeze play and realized it would do me no good. I recently read a great article by Keith Olbermann, who I like as a sports analyst, about a baseball play long ago in 1908 that continues to live in infamy (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/magazine/09/23/merkle/index.html), titled “The Goof that Changed the Game”. It pointed out the sad tragedy of how one pastor actually referred to Merkle as a “Bonehead”, which had become his unfortunate nickname. Merkle and his family got up and left the church before the service begun…it served that pastor right.

What is a sports-loving pastor to do when his team fails? What is a sports-loving pastor to do when it is obvious that such failure was due to failed strategy from the manager or a mental error from a player?

1. Dwell on it….let it infest your heart…curse the manager and player. If that player or manager should ever visit your church, then let them painfully remember their blunder and how it disappointed you.

2. Let it go…accept such as the tragic fate in the drama of sports. Sigh, be sad….remind yourself that your joy or sorrow isn’t predicated upon a won or loss in an athletic contest…stop being sad. Move on with life and not be a loser by dwelling on a loss. It is what it is.

I have chosen the wiser path of #2…but in my younger days, I was more inclined towards #1. I thank God that Sports, Baseball, or the Angels aren’t my idol and that I can enjoy the grace of recreation without being bound to it.