Another busy day at the office today. I really need to shout out my roommates, Nate Hanson and Jake Kuehl. They are working their butt off getting ready for the season, spending hours in the humidity and the heat, painting, cleaning, and helping to prepare the field for the season.
I mentioned this yesterday, but I don't think people realize how much time and effort it takes to get ready for a baseball season. It is easy to think that everyone just shows up on gameday and everything falls in to place, but that is far from the case. Especially for lower-budget organizations (everyone but MLB teams) because they try--and, for financial reasons, have to--hire as few people as possible to undertake as much responsibility as possible.
I feel like everyday I am learning a different quirk or characteristic of small-town living. Today, while driving to meet with Danny Wild and the folks at BL Broadcasting, I noticed that people here drive slowly...a.k.a., the speed limit. And I don't mean that in a bad way. In Dallas, if you are driving the speed limit, you are holding up traffic. In Los Angeles, if you are ever lucky enough to be free of traffic, you are driving as fast and as hastily as possible. In Brainerd? Just cruisin' at the limit. Maybe it will be good for me. I've been pulled over a handful of times (charmed my way out of a few tickets). If I even attempt to drive over the speed limit, my blazing silver Sentra will stick out like a sore thumb.
Another observation, though not small-town specific: pre-made deli sandwiches at grocery stores are not only awesome, but remarkably cheap. No need to elaborate...it's a scientific fact.
My ultimate passion in life is sports. Plain and simple. This is something evident within the first five minutes you meet me. I haven't met too many people that share that passion to such an extent. Needless to say, this would not be a true "Me" blog if sports was not involved...I am going to try implement my "Hot Sports Opinion" of the day as well as give you my Pick of the Day.
Today's Hot Sports Opinion: I don't buy the NL "Cinderellas." Through May 25, the Cincinnati Reds are -0.5 games back in the NL Central (and leading the irrelevant early-season Wild Card) and the San Diego Padres are leading the NL West. St. Louis will win the Central and I think the Dodgers will win the West, despite their financial issues.
Unfortunately for Cincinnati, I think they will simply be outclassed by St. Louis. The Cardinals, in my opinion, will vie for the NL pennant with Philadelphia when all is said and done. Cincy is not bad offensively and their pitching staff is overachieving. It will be interesting to see how Chapman impacts this club and if Mike Leake can keep it up for a full season.
How is San Diego leading their division? No one has given up fewer runs in all of baseball. At the same time, they still put out a very weak lineup, and over the course of the season I don't believe that will last. And their pitching? I don't think they are world-class overachievers, but I also don't think they can keep up a sub-3.00 team ERA. San Francisco had world class pitching last year, but their offense held them back from even sneaking in through the wild card. San Francisco's offense last year was much better than San Diego's this year. Expect San Diego to slowly fall out of the race.
My Pick of the Day: Boston +4 at Orlando. I don't buy into this "Orlando is back" hype. The Celtics not only come within their 4-point spread, but they close it out in 5 on the road.
Record: 0-0
My media pick of the day: I was scrambling through old audio from SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket. If you are a fan of The Ticket, you have to check out the site: www.theunticket.com, a blog that has virtually every segment of significance dating back many years. If you are unfamiliar with The Ticket, it is the main local sports station in Dallas. They are perennial Marconi Award winners and nationally recognized. Like any sports station, they get serious and talk sports. However, they do add a touch of humor and levity, and this interview below is an example of just that. Corby Davidson, a co-host of The Hardline, the station's afternoon drive program, has many characters with whom he uses or, puts on, to interviews athletes, often times creating hilarity out of his interviewee's ignorance or confusion at the situation. One of his characters is "Obvious Man," a reporter who asks the most ridiculously obvious questions at all times. Below is an interview between "Obvious Man" and Kendall Simmons of the Pittsburgh Steelers, back from the 2006 Super Bowl. (The interview begins around two minutes into the clip)
Obvious Man
Met a lot of great people out in the town today! It is great getting to know the people of Brainerd and the fans of the Lunkers.
Excited for tomorrow. I get to drive to St. Cloud and hang out with Travis Lucian, the play-by-play guy for the St. Cloud River Bats. This will be his fourth year in the league and he has been generous enough to agree to talking to me about the league and lending a hand.
7 DAYS UNTIL THE SEASON STARTS (from the day this post was published)
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