Articles from June 2010

In the latest installment of the SombreroCast, Griff and Dee reflect on a recent Farmington Cardinals game, discuss hitting philosophies, talk about some players and player development and touch on ideas regarding coaching theory.

Click here to listen to Part I

Click here to listen to Part II

Griff and Dee weigh in on Farmington High School players selected in the MLB Draft, the North/South series and Stephen Strasburg.

Click here to listen to the podcast

“Love has its sonnets galore. War has its epics in heroic verse. Tragedy its sombre story in measured lines. Baseball has Casey at the Bat.” – Albert Spalding

This is my modern take (my remix, if you will) on Ernest L. Thayer’s classic 1888 poem, Casey at the Bat. Anyone that takes the time to check their fantasy squad daily (or multiple times daily for you real nerds) but has never taken the 60 seconds required to read this poetic piece of baseball lore should offer up their testicles (or ovaries, ladies) for batting practice.  After reading Señor Towel’s piece, mentioning baseball’s most sacred stanzas, I got to wondering what it would be like if Casey had played in my lifetime instead of Wee Willie Keeler’s.  And I’m sorry Wee Willie but these days – chicks dig the long ball!

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It’s official.  Baseball is back in the nation’s capital.

A casual fan might point out that no, baseball actually returned to Washington in April of 2005, when the Nationals played their first game in DC after 36 years as the Montreal Expos.  Others might say that it came on March 30, 2008, when they played their first game at Nationals Park, a 3-2 win over the Braves on Opening Night that ended with a walk-off home run off the bat of Ryan Zimmerman. And those fans might have had a point before last night.  But on June 8, 2010, that all changed as former number-one draft pick Stephen Strasburg made his major league debut.

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Legendary college hoops coach John Wooden passed away last Friday, June 4.  The renowned strategist and mentor, best known for his 10 titles in 12 seasons at UCLA, was ninety nine years young.  Wooden was revered by those who played under his tutelage, remembered fondly as a strict disciplinarian and master motivator.  He accumulated a vast amount of wisdom throughout his years, eventually earning the nickname the Wizard of Westwood.  Since his death many articles have been written sharing some of his greatest nuggets of knowledge.  The old man really was a modern day Confucius, and his words will surely be passed down for generations to come.  While reflecting on some of these axioms, it occurred to me that many could be useful in either describing or advising some of our greatest sports heroes.  So call me Big Pun, because what we’ve got here is a list of proverbs from Mr. Wooden himself dedicated to some of sport’s biggest stars

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