Archive for the ‘Roy Halladay’ Category

On Comparing Teams & Players

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Who’s better - Oregon or Auburn?  Boise State or TCU?  Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?  Or Drew Brees?  Tim Lincecum or Roy Halladay?  Or Cliff Lee?  The Lakers or the Celtics?  Or the Heat?  Michael or Kobe?  Or LeBron?  George W. or Barack?  Rush or Michael Moore?  Let’s delete the last pair since each has an agenda to get personally wealthy while dividing the country beyond salvation.

In each instance, there are numerous - and loud - votes cast for each.  Any of the above comparisons will elicit extreme emotion from the debaters.  Yet, everybody can’t be right.  Or wrong.

Every time I hear one of those topics discussed - or when I used to participate in them when I was younger and (thought I was) wiser, one tactic would invariably creep into the discussion.  That tactic was demeaning the opposition.  Hey, maybe we shouldn’t delete Limbaugh vs. Moore after all.  Demeaning the opposition is at the core of each of their messages.

As an example, let’s look at the top two teams in the current college football poll.  Oregon supporters will argue they’ve blown away everybody (except Cal).  Auburn backers will talk of how their team plays in the nation’s toughest league.  Before long, however, UO people will be saying that Auburn is a one-man show and that one man probably is  ineligible.  AU folks will counter with the Pac-10 being nothing but a bunch of soft teams and that if Phil Knight ever pulled his support, the Ducks would shrink to mid-major status.

I was guilty of this type of immaturity - when I was a teenager.  Maybe even a few years (decades?) beyond.  But after reading an article on the Harbaugh brothers in Sports Illustrated, I’ve come to the same conclusion that my friend Jeff Van Gundy stated on an NBA broadcast a couple weeks ago.  After reading the same article, Jeff says he has sworn off comparisons because of something that John Harbaugh said in that interview:

“I’ve got this rule.  We make no comparisons.  Somebody is going to be devalued.”

If people would follow the “somebody is going to be devalued” rule, the world of sports would be less fun for the fanatics and void of talk radio, but a lot more sane for others.

Posted in Rush Limbaugh, Tom Brady, Jeff Van Gundy, Los Angeles Lakers, Cliff Lee, Boise State, Roy Halladay, talk radio, TCU, Oregon, criticism, Peyton Manning, LeBron James, communication, problem solving, fans, Boston Celtics, Michael Jordan, Tim Lincecum, Kobe Bryant, polls, Barack Obama, current fads | No Comments »

Can Halladay vs. Lincecum Live Up to the Hype?

Saturday, October 16th, 2010

In this year’s version of MLB’s “playoffs,” one guy threw the first no hitter (in post-season play) since 1956, while the other fired a two-hitter and struck out 14.  Roy Halladay vs. Tim Lincecum in Game 1 of the NLCS.  If ever there was a game in which nothing needed to be said, this one’s as close to “it” as we’ll ever see.

So, I’ll take the advice of Sir Winston Churchill who once said:

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” 

Or, in this case, watch.  Call me courageous.

Posted in Roy Halladay, Winston Churchill, Tim Lincecum, baseball | No Comments »

Halladay’s No-Hitter Brought Back Memories

Friday, October 8th, 2010

When I was a kid, I couldn’t believe the “old-timers” (like my dad, his friends and my teachers) referring to events that happened years before.  I was reminded of this when I related to my students how Roy Halladay’s no-hitter in the post-season game against the Cincinnati Reds a few days ago.

I was an 8-year-old, die-hard Brooklyn Dodgers fan in 1956 (my mother’s side of the family was from Brooklyn).  My father was a Yankee fan.  Since the Dodgers had beaten the Yanks the year before for their first ever World Series championship, I was on Cloud Nine, expecting, as any kid my would, a repeat performance in ‘56.

Many people feel those from New Jersey are wise guys and in my case, I’d have to plead guilty - even back then.  I cab recall watching the game with my dad on our black and white TV.  As the innings passed, I was having a tough time not screaming at my beloved “Bums” to just get a hit.  Or at least a base runner.

If you’re reading this space, you know how the game I’m describing turned out - Don Larsen threw a perfecto - 27 up, 27 down.  I was distraught.  At least as distraught as an 8-year old could be (meaning I probably got over it when my friend called and said there was a pick-up game at the park in ten minutes).

After the final out, watching Yogi Berra leap (for Yogi) into Larsen’s arms, my father, rather than reminding me how I rubbed it in the prior year (after all, he was from New Jersey, too), simply said to me something I never forgot:

“You just witnessed history.”

Posted in family, Los Angeles Dodgers, Roy Halladay, leaving a legacy, New York Yankees, baseball, tradition, dealing with adversity | No Comments »