One Hero, One Zero

So Spring Training has finally begun, and like any other year, there’s plenty of drama with which to usher in the baseball season.

Not that my opinion is different than what else is out there, but:

  • The Yankees should re-sign Rivera now, he’s worth it.
  • I don’t really care about the conflict between Jeter and Rodriguez.  They’re big boys and it’s the Yankees Clubhouse, not Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.
  • Carl Pavano can’t just rejoin the team like nothing’s happened after sitting out more than a season because of various, non-career (or even life) threatening injuries.
  • The new spring training caps are horrible.

The one news item that’s been the most difficult for me to wrap my head around is the seeming retirement of Bernie Williams.  His skills have been in decline for the past few years, and he wasn’t even a starter last year.  The team doesn’t have room for him, and I don’t disagree with the way the Yankees have handled inviting him to spring training.  Still, I’ve watched him for the past 15 years and have seen him go from prosepct to superstar to what he is now.

Back when I lived in the NY-NJ area, I went to a lot of Yankees games.  Two games stand out for me- the first time I ever saw Bernie playe was July 25 of ’91– he led off and went hitless in a Yankees loss, but I remember before the game, him and Ken Griffey Jr. joking around by the on-deck circle of the Yankees dugout.  The other memory is from August 16 of ’98–it was Babe Ruth Day at the Stadium and Bernie hit a walk-off home run to beat the Rangers.

There are a lot more memories –ones that I saw firsthand and ones that I watched on television.  And it’s just weird thinking that in an age where players go from team to team, the one guy who has been a big-league Yankee for 15 years won’t be there anymore.

I also wanted mention something about one of my least-favorite former Yankees, Tony Womack.  Turns out Anthony Darrell is a non-roster invitee of the Washington Senators.  And he’s been assigned the uniform number 00.  Seems fitting for a guy with about that much talent.

King Tom

Getting revenge on winter

For the past few days, streets and sidewalks in Columbus have, for the most part, been covered in a mix of snow and ice. 

Because the temperatures have been below freezing, very little of that cover is melting.  And whenever this happens, I always wonder why don’t they just bust out the flamethrowers and clear off the ice and snow that way?

It’s not like that would actually start a fire or anything, right?

King Tom

Quantum Leap

Before I start talking about this week’s episode of Lost, there’s something else I want to publicly ponder.

I was watching the ‘?‘ episode from last season, and was wondering how things would have happened had Boone and Locke discovered and opened the Pearl Hatch after discovering the Nigerian Plane.  The original hatch probably wouldn’t have seemed so mystical, especially to Locke and Boone would have died another way.  But I guess, as Locke would say, that’s just the way the island would have wanted it.

Anyway, on to the present (or as Desmond likes to call them, re-runs):

Continue reading “Quantum Leap” →

King Tom

It was fifteen years ago today

photoshop fun with the weez

 

So Weezer’s been around 15 years.  Kind of hard to believe they’ve been around that long.

While last year, I wrote a fake backstory of the band, I think this year, it’s time to link to the closest thing to the real history- the band’s recording history, compiled by he who rocks.

It’s also fitting that today marks the first real weezer news we’ve gotten in quite some time, although it’s kind of ironic that it’s coming from MTV (in a story about Rick Rubin):

“Rivers [Cuomo] just gave me some demos, the first round for this album,” Rubin said. “I’m trying to get my head clear to really just dive in.”

I’m not holding my breath, but I am looking forward to it.

King Tom

Regaining Momentum

Anyone remember that show about a bunch of people stranded on an island and there were all these weird things going on, like a hatch and a smoke monster and some crazy cultist rednecks trying to kill them?

Well, I hope so, because Lost is back.

And I’m glad.  While I like the prospect of the 16 (or however many) back-to-back episodes, this break was a killer.  Maybe next year they should take the 24 route and just start the season in January.

Continue reading “Regaining Momentum” →

King Tom

M.C. Head?

So I was listening to the radio and the classic tune, “One Night in Bangkok” came on.

I’m listening to Murray Head go on about massage parlors and temples and I was thinking to myself, he’s not really singing, he’s talking.  Is it possible that Murray Head was one of the first white rappers? After all, the only singing in the song is really done by the women in the background.

And you can’t forget that pan flute solo, beats anything on a Tull record.

He gets his kicks above the waistline, sunshine!

Tough guys tumble before O.G. Murray Head.

King Tom