Clip Show 2012

A New Look in LA

Last season, it wasn’t even close. The top storyline in the NBA was the Miami Heat. After a controversial summer that included The Decision and King James’ prediction of “not one, not two…” rings, the Heat overcame some early stumbles and made it all the way to the Finals. Even more alluring, it was a rematch of 2006 and Dirk Nowitski had a chance to avenge the beating Dwyane Wade put on him, psychologically and physically. The ultimate heel of the NBA came in with three All Stars and left without a ring. So far, LeBron has been right: not two, not three…

This season has plenty to choose from. You have the lockout, where many people came to the conclusion that “Emperor Stern has no clothes!” Then you have the Cancelled-Trade-gate between New Orleans and Los Angeles – again, a scenario that didn’t play out very well for the Commish. The Miami Heat are simply doing more of the same; Derrick Rose appears to be challenging for a repeat MVP performance. The Celtics are losing a battle with the still-undefeated Father Time. To me, though, the most compelling spectacle is Oop City, aka Lob Angeles, aka the Blake Show. Whatever you want to call the franchise owned by the much maligned Donald Sterling, the new look Clippers are Must See TV.

Detractors are arguing that flashy, athletic, Sports Center Top Ten teams rarely make deep playoff runs when pitted against veteran groups like the Lakers, Spurs, and Mavericks. Those who are hopping on the bandwagon believe there is a new sheriff in town in Hollywood (a notion Kobe seems to be fighting off with his 40+ point barrages). The non-believers have plenty of evidence to fall back on. They can point to the Run-TMC offense of Golden State of the late 80s/early 90s, or perhaps look to the more recent efforts of the Phoenix Suns with Amare’ Stoudamire, Shawn Marion and Steve Nash. Plenty of wins, a million highlights, zero championships.

In my opinion, the 2012 Clippers have an X-Factor that separates them from some of the exciting teams of the past. The defense isn’t phenomenal, but De’Andre Jordan cleans up a lot of mistakes (Cough! I’m looking at you, Chauncey Billups). They don’t have a ton of experience, but Caron Butler, Billups and Paul have been in some big playoff games in their careers. But the difference is that this team, which is terribly flawed at the important shooting guard position, has the best competitor in the league. That’s right, I’m saying that this very day, Chris Paul from Wake Forest has more competitive chops than even Kobe Bean Bryant.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Kobe is still the Black Mamba and one of the baddest men on the planet. I love his television ads with all the celebrities, and we certainly can’t discredit his scoring ability. But I can’t get over what I saw in the playoffs last year against Dallas. I don’t think Kobe would ever quit in a game or in a series, but he sort of doesn’t look like he cares as much anymore. He’s already won two titles without Shaquille O’Neal, and I think he’s come to terms with the fact that nobody’s going to give him the GOAT tag. He’s only one ring behind Michael Jordan, having won five in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense to MJ’s six.

All that said, CP3 has always done more with less, his whole career. Kobe’s Lakers once suffered a talent drain and a mini-rebuild. The lowest point was missing the playoffs with a lineup that included Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, and some other forgettable. Number 24 played well and “tried,” but eventually made it clear: get me some talent or send me on my way! Paul, on the other hand, seems to always drag his team to the playoffs. Forget the fact that the second best player on the Hornets at the time David West being injured. Forget about the best big man on the team being the undersized Emeka Okafur. People forget that before he got injured, Chris was a runner-up for MVP the year Mr. Bryant won it. His coming-out party may have been the series against the Mavericks when he ran circles around future Hall-of-Famer Jason Kidd, a matchup that was punctuated at a timeout when CP# ran to the sideline visibly telling his coaches “He can’t guard me!”

Now, while he doesn’t have Gasol and Bynum in the post or the tradition that comes with the other Staples Center tenant, Chris Paul has two airborne targets in Griffin and Jordan, and more importantly he has the spotlight. I haven’t seen a six-footer take over the game in this fashion since Allen Iverson. Oh, and by the way, in two preseason games and one that counts in the standings, the Clippers have swept the Lakers 3-0. I’m just saying.

Naledi Semela 

Clutch Gene

Somewhere, in a dark laboratory in Chicago or San Francisco or maybe Boston, there is an ambitious young scientist analyzing stem cells, trying to confirm the existence of a genetic trait which lends itself to a predisposition for timely heroics. ESPN First Take analyst Skip Bayless has been making reference to the “clutch gene” for years now. Having covered the Chicago Bulls in the nineties, a front-seat witness to many a Michael Jordan fourth quarter, Skip’s professional opinion is laden with credibility. In team sports, there are a plethora of factors that can affect an athlete’s success or ineptitude in decisive moments. That said, if we can presume not that all things are equal but that a large enough sample size will weed out many of the flukes, then we can examine the tendency for some superstars to play big in the game’s biggest moments. I have some up and down votes on a couple of today’s controversial leading men.

 LeBron James

LeBron James, Forward, Miami Heat

This is a no brainer for me, but I’ll offer a few disclaimers. For one, this guy has been compared to the greatest at least since he was sixteen years old. It is sports blasphemy to mention Michael Jordan’s name next to any other basketball player. In general, that name serves as the golden standard for… well, everything. Michael Jordan is the Michael Jordan of basketball, so I will not use his unique body of work to slam LeBron. Instead, I will simply revisit some of his career highlights and lowlights, so to speak.

Exhibit A: Impressive start. LeBron’s NBA and Cleveland Cavaliers debut saw the eighteen year old star post 25 pts, 9 ast , 6 rbs and 4 stl against a Sacramento Kings team that was still considered a juggernaut in the league, albeit in a losing effort. The numbers were there from literally the onset, on his way to winning Rookie of the Year honors, but the winning wasn’t; the Cavs did not make the playoffs.

Exhibit B: Playoff Debut. In 2006, James set all kinds of franchise records in Cleveland, including points scored in a season. He led his team to the playoffs and even to a game seven versus the Detroit Pistons. But in the biggest and “clutchest” moment of his still young career, Bron’s Cavs only managed 61 points, a record low for any game seven. James had one field goal in the second half.

Exhibit C: The Promised Land. LBJ has now, after his eight year, made it to the NBA Finals on two occasions. The problem is he needed eight wins to earn two rings. He got two wins, both coming when he was a secondary option to former Finals MVP Dwyane Wade.

Ruling: LeBron James, while unquestionably a top basketball talent, does not appear to have been blessed with the illusive clutch gene. Time after time, the pressure of the biggest moment has revealed the star forward to be a bit gun-shy. The one exception would be the big game-winning three he hit in the 2009 playoffs (Game 2, ECF) against the rival Orlando Magic, but then again, they lost that series.

 Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow, QB Denver Broncos

This guy has the potential to have his face on the cover of Time Magazine for the way he has transcended the sport of football. As the Tebow 3:16 marches to Massachusetts for a playoff game, the bandwagon seems to be accommodating more and more passengers every day. In the same way that I don’t hold basketball players of today against the backdrop of His Airness, I’ll try not to mention the fourth quarter exploits of Joe Montana, John Elway, or even Tom Brady. When it comes to clutch, the Gator-turned-Bronco has consistently demonstrated that if nothing else, he’s got late game gumption. He has been called the Anti-LeBron. Let’s leave alone whether or not the guy is a viable NFL quarterback; let us instead turn simply to his fourth quarter and overtime comeback wins and near-wins. The opening snap of the first new-rules overtime against the heavily favored Pittsburg Steelers on Sunday night was the icing on a cake baked with several other victims Tebowmania.

Exhibit A: Champion. Unlike James, Tim Tebow went to college and won there. And although he didn’t live up to the undefeated season that he and some experts predicted, a singular failure led to a memorable press conference speech and the Florida Gators marching to a national BCS championship.

Exhibit B: J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets! Before the game in week eleven, star cornerback Darrelle Revis claimed that the New York defense need only not fall asleep in the secondary to defeat Tim and the Broncos. I guess Revis Island pressed the snooze button because after an abysmal showing in the first, second, and third quarters, Tebow delivered a 95-yard drive, capped off by a game-winning 20-yard run.

Exhibit C: What new rules? Had the 2012 NFL playoffs kept the same rules as last year, we wouldn’t know it yet. Because in what many have deemed the best performance of Tebow’s two year NFL career, the Broncos opened the extra session with an eighty yard touchdown pass, sending the Steelers home earlier than they planned.

Ruling: Somebody could write a book on the ongoing media-driven debate over whether or not Tebow is capable of playing or deserves to play quarterback in the NFL. In fact, I’m almost sure somebody is working on that book right now. But given a fifteen game sample size with which to work, I’d have to say the deoxyribonucleic composition of the Broncos young starter does in fact include the clutch gene.

Final Thought

If I had to choose between being Pat Riley and John Elway – that is: would I prefer to have a roster that includes LeBron James or Tim Tebow – I’d go with Riles every time. James is one of the three or four best players in basketball, certainly  a top two small forward. As Ravens linebacker Terelle Suggs said, I wouldn’t want to be praying on the sideline late in the fourth quarter, waiting for a miracle to get a win. I’d much rather be in a position to dominate throughout a game. Ideally a team’s season doesn’t come down to a game winning shot or drive or penalty. But if your superstar comes up short consistently like LeBron who may in fact not have the genetic makeup of a closer, I’m going to want to have another player on my roster, one who has proven that he rises to the highest occasions. I don’t know, maybe a guy like Dwyane Wade.

Nelly Semela

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Happy New Year! I am so thankful for the blessing of seeing another year! As a mom, it means another year to see my children grow into all that they are becoming. It also means we have another chance to make a new start—that is very exciting for me. My holidays were bittersweet and started with my mom having surgery to amputate her leg. She is two weeks from turning 91 years old and her only prayer before the surgery was for all of her children to be okay and to be safe. No matter how old we get, parents always carry their children close to their heart. I am so thankful that the surgery was a success and that my mom is doing well.

The reality of being a football mom means that many Christmases have been spent with post –season bowl games. Once our son entered the NFL, his regular season extended through the holidays. For the first time in 10 years, all three of my sons were home for Christmas. I cannot begin to tell you what a treat that was for all of us. Our oldest made breakfast on Christmas morning and tried making waffles from scratch for the first time. The waffles were very salty but we ate as much as we could. The omelets and grits were great and made up for the waffles. We spend the rest of the day playing games, watching football, eating more food and we squeezed in a late night movie where most of us fell asleep before it ended. I spent the day smiling and thanking God for this gift.

This is the third day into the New Year and my thoughts are racing with information to share with all of you. Last year we took a critical look at safety of children while playing sports and the seriousness of concussions. We were shocked at the gruesome stories of child molestation in by coaches and stories of suicides that were linked to blows to the head by athletes. We looked at college sports recruitment and address many topics near and dear to parents.

As many of you know, I am a sports parent advocate. Lately, I have had many parents approach me to find out if I could share information about lesser reported sports like swimming, cheerleading, squash, table tennis and wrestling. Each Thursday, I will be featuring Thursdays Sports Spots where I will highlight interesting news and information across the sports world. I would love to hear from you and your experience with working with your child’s sports career. Please share your challenges, concerns and success tips.

Parenting is one of my biggest accomplishments but also one of my most daunting challenges. My children are 28, 22 and 19 years old and I am now learning to parent from a distance. I pray the lesson that I’ve learned, and those that I am still learning, will help you and your children.

I have found much joy being a sports parent. I have also seen tremendous benefits for my children. I pray you find much joy and peace in 2012 and that your children thrive as they pursue their path in sports. Be blessed and enjoy the journey!

DJ

For fans of the NBA, there is really no replacement for the thrill, the comfort, the dependability of the NBA season. Since the lockout began in July, but really since it became a strong possibility we would end up here, I’ve heard plenty of brainstorming about what we basketball fans could do instead of watch our favorite teams and players on the biggest stage. Sensible options like getting more into college basketball, hockey, and other sports just don’t seem viable. The NBA and its fan base are unique for several reasons, and I’ll break down some of the categories and tell you just why these watered-down alternatives just won’t cut it.

Die-hard team supporters
These are your basketball equivalent to NFL fans. Whether it’s the local home team where these fans grew up or live today or just a team they fell in love with in the 90′s, 80′s, or back in the day, these are the people that dress up in full team colors to attend games, get together at a sports bar – or even to watch them at home! These guys and gals often have something that resembles a shrine somewhere in their home. These fans all think they could do the general manager’s job better than the general manager; they write letters, blog, and engage in “barber shop talk” as if it’s going to somehow influence the front office to do a better job of creating a champion. After all the criticism and grief, that fan will still make any and every excuse for the players that do end up on the roster. They argue that three of that team’s players deserve to be all stars and eventually Hall of Famers. They interact with everyone at games from players and coaches to referees. Think of Spike Lee arguing with refs at a Knicks game. That kind of loyalty takes a long time to build and can’t be transferred in a single season to another team/sport overnight.

The Players Fan
This fan is seen by some as disloyal to a particular franchise. He or she has favorite players, but not really a favorite team. He or she roots for the Magic because of Dwight Howard, but in the next game roots for the Lakers against Orlando because (s)he likes Kobe and Ron Artest. The other name for this fan is the All-Star fan. College and alternative sports won’t do for this fan who loves the NBA for its marquee names and talents.

The Old-School Fan
This fan falls in the category of casual, but often has the time and opportunity to tune in as much as the die-hards because of age and less of a night life. This fan remembers the good-old days “when guys were tougher and less flashy.” This fan watches the young players of today almost for the sole enjoyment of criticizing them. This fan base is offended that in a league where Darko Milicic has made more money in his pro career than Magic Johnson did playing for the Lakers, NBA players (who make on average more than any other pro league) are allowing a lockout to happen over money. They also side with the owners about star players leaving to pursue life in the big markets of New York, LA, and of course the recent migration of overpaid stars to Miami. If this fan base leaves, they may never come back.

Michael Jordan Believers
This cult of fans, to which I personally belong, who were brought to the game by its greatest living legend will always love basketball and the NBA. We are often critical of its stars like Kobe and LeBron, but only when they are compared favorably to the greatest. We are fine with the dynasty phenomenon but always secretly rooting for the great champs to fall short of six rings – think Kobe’s five – because there’s no way Mike’s coming back to win a seventh. We’re mostly not Bulls fans anymore but we’ll pick a team or two and root hard. Over the lockout we watch old footage on NBA TV (This week they’ve been showing the ’93 Playoffs) and on the internet; we play the video games NBA 2k11 and 2k12 which feature MJ prominently. We say that if we can’t have the current NBA, at least we can re-live the glory days. But this lockout is depressing to us and nothing else is going to replace what we’re missing.

One group the league should be worried about is the would-be brand new fans. Those seven-to-ten-year-olds who are just getting to pick what they’ll be fans of their whole lives. I remember being that age and being drawn to the sport by MJ. But if a whole season is missing and the NBA comes back in Fall 2012 after all of these youngsters has decides instead to follow baseball or hockey, it may be too late to recruit them. That would be a real shame given all the momentum behind the Heatles in the villain role and all the teams, like the Mavericks, ready to take them on. Last season was so successful ratings-wise and if they think they’re going o come back strong as if nothing had happened this year they’re mistaken. There will be a lot of building from scratch and they may lose a golden opportunity to have players like LeBron,Dwyane, and Kobe serve as the faces of the brand. Too many potential greats are on the cusp of or directly in their primes to lose this year.

Dear NBA, please give us our season!

Sincerely,
Your diverse and passionate fan base.

Ranch Style Beans

1 lb dried pinto beans
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 stalks celery, sliced
4 strips of bacon, diced
3 cans low salt chicken broth
1/4 cup chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. hot sauce, or to taste
1/2 cup prepared barbecue sauce

Rinse and sort beans, and soak overnight in 8 cups of water. In the morning, rinse beans and place in crockpot. Saute bacon until crisp; set aside bacon and place onion, bell pepper, and celery in bacon drippings. Cook vegetables for 3-4 minutes on medium heat, just until they begin to soften. Add vegetables and bacon to crockpot, and cover with chicken broth and remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 10 hours, or high for 4-5 hours. Taste at the end of cooking to adjust spices, if needed.

DJ The Football Mom Blog, November 12, 2011

The J-Crew! Mia's thinks of her own family!

This week in sports has had me in an emotional tailspin.  My emotions have run the gamut from total outrage to extreme sadness.  No matter where I am on this issue, I keep thinking “WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN!”  As I listen to newscasters go on and on about what a sad day this is for Penn State, for college sports and for Joe Pa, I keep thinking, “What a terrible ordeal this has been for all of the children affected by this tragedy.”

As parents, we have a responsibility to protect our children to the extent that we can.  Even the best parent has things happen where they question whether they did enough to protect their child. For sports parents, we have a daunting task of trying to support our children in an activity where some other person – a coach – has a huge amount of influence on and authority over our child.  We are constantly trying to support our children without going over the line with their coaches.

How can any adult, when confronted with overt abuse against a child, just walk away and allow the abuse to continue?  You don’t need any training to know that you need to take immediate action when a when you see a 10 year-old being sexually assaulted by an adult.

Has sports gotten so big that it trumps doing the right thing to save a child?  It sure looks that way!  As parents, we have to examine what we are doing to contribute to perpetuate this culture.  When our child tells us disturbing news about a coach or the sports program, do we hesitate to take action if it may mean the program suffers?   Are we more concerned about winning, reputation or a possible scholarship to college than doing the right thing?

I don’t want anyone think I am blaming the parents involved.  I can only imagine their devastation over these incidents.   This is a wake-up call for all parents to keep a closer eye on their child’s relationship with their coach and trust their gut instinct if anything feels “off.”

The sad thing is that this will cast a long shadow not just on Penn State, but throughout the sports world.  I had the pleasure of meeting Coach Paterno this summer and was amazed by his bright spirit and zest for life.  Now, a legend in sports has had his illustrious career end on such a low note.

No one knows the whole story but no matter what the truth is, we have heard enough to know that a decision was made to protect “the program” and not the children.  We have to really look at a culture where this is happening.

Parents, the ball is in our court!  We have to speak up and speak out to make sure that this doesn’t happen again and that children can be safe on and off the field.

In the coming weeks, I will be looking at ways that we can make sports safer for our children.  I would love to hear your stories and input on how we make this happen.  The buck stops here!

JOIN US! Football, Food & Fun – November 20th – Noon

…and TWO $75 Prizes! One for Best Cake, One for Best Cobbler

Football & Fun

If you love to eat, bake AND watch football, join us on Sunday November 20th in Charlotte, NC at the Dilworth Neighborhood Grille, 911 East Morehead Street, Charlotte, NC 28204!

We will watch a great game, taste some incredible cobblers and cakes from local bakers and budding chefs. Viddlz owner Zerrick Bynum will be on hand to personally taste the crust – his favorite! Bakers – this is a great way to test out those holiday dessert recipes!

LADIES! Learn more about the game! [Guys, you can pick up a few things, too. We won't tell!]

For just $10, you get a tasty lunch,  unlimited non-alcoholic beverages and tastes of great desserts – all while watching the Panthers take on the Lions!

Enter the BAKING CONTEST here –> CONTEST

Simple Rules:

1. Cobblers and Cakes must be homemade.

2. Each baker’s entry must provide samples for approximately 25 people.

3. The best taste wins!

Viddlz will soon launch in the Charlotte area! Go to viddlz.com and add your email  to get more information!

SIDELINE PASS Cuties!

By Mia Jackson

We’re halfway through the season and just as some teams break away from the field, there are standout cuties! Some of these guys are smoking hot and we can’t wait to share the ones we’ve found. This week we’ll look at the SURPRISES in the league to see who we’d want to sit close to on the sideline.

Fly Like an Eagle Kurt Coleman #42 Philadelphia Eagles, Free Safety

Fine Philly Eagle Kurt Coleman

Fiiire! Umph those Ohio Players! The late round pick was born, bred and educated in the state of Ohio. The safety is well known for his workouts and considered “a demon in the weight room.” (USA Today) He’ll need to do more of that to help out his Eagles. The team has not lived up to expectations, surprising many of us who considered the team a strong Super Bowl contender. But while this man is incredibly fun to look at, I’m more impressed by his giving heart. He’s been touched by a number of challenging events – Tyson Gentry, a teammate was paralyzed following a hit he took from Coleman during practice. Kurt was so shaken, he nearly quit the game of football but the forgiving Gentry and his family convinced him to stay at Ohio State. He made the most of the return, becoming a three-year starter, team captain and first-team All-American. Soon thereafter, his father was diagnosed with breast cancer. The disease DOES target men, even if it is extremely rare. After the ordeal, Coleman was determined to help others and he joined Uplifting Athletes, an organization created to support people suffering from rare diseases.

Working Back to the Top  Taylor Mays #26  – Cincinnati Bengals, Defensive Back

Taylor Made for the Cuties!

Taylor Mays drew high praise and a lot of attention during the 2010 draft. He’s turning our heads still, but for different reasons. At 6’3″ his size and clearly the muscles reminded scouts of Adrian Wilson, while his hitting ability landed comparisons to the late and very great Sean Taylor. So expectations were high! The defensive talent locked up honor after after honor at USC and coaches were prepared for him to reach the same level in the NFL.  Soon though, he wasn’t quite working in the Singletary scheme in San Franciso so the Niners traded him to the ‘Nati. Now, Mays is working to rebuild and restart after a good preseason that unfortunately left him injured. The last two weeks were his first on the field since the 2011 official season started. He’s working in slowly, but Coach Marvin Lewis adding him into the defensive schemes in the last few games. The Bengals are winning with the rookie Red Rifle Dalton at QB. This team is certainly one of the good surprises in the league. Work your way back with these surprising Bengals, Mr. Mays.

Baby Let’s Cruz! Victor Cruz #80 -  New York Giants, Wide Receiver

Cruzin' - on a Sunday afternoon!

Victor Cruz entered the season expecting to be 4th on the Giants’ depth chart behind three top players. Then injuries hit. Just like in other circumstances, Cruz was ready to take control when the opportunity presented itself. While at the University of Mass, he didn’t start a game until his junior year and still managed to land the 4th all-time receptions spot. Undrafted, he earned his way onto the New York roster and kept those beautiful, long lean legs ready to go. I would love to see those legs dancing because Cruz moves so smoothly up and down the field. The Puerto Rican hottie makes his one-handed touchdown grabs look easy, although we know how much time and talent it takes to push to that level. His play even caught the eye of LeBron James who tweeted about his catch against the Jets: “Victor Cruz going nuts on the Jets tonight on #MNF 2nd Tweet:  “Undrafted rookie from UMass. He’s gonna have a job this year for sure.” Yep, of course LeBron would notice. Game recognize game.

And Congrats to the St. Louis Cardinals

It’s over. Confetti flies and Rangers come home.

King Albert

The Cardinals were loose and ready. They carried the momentum from the David Freese homer into the park tonight. He followed it up with an ultimate MVP performance, keeping the Cardinals on the offensive in this last night of a momentous World Series. His new 2012 Chevy Corvette will no doubt circle the Arch with fans taking cell phone pics and videos, posting them YouTube. Freese stood, looking truly awestruck at the entire experience. La Russa looked like the champion he’s been before. Albert stood regally and sounded as cool as ice. “We show them the way that we play Cardinals baseball,” said Pujols standing behind the trophy. On Friday, Texas fans wanted to second guess Uncle Ron’s decisions, but even the prickly Randy Galloway couldn’t find much to criticize on his talk show today. That’ll change over the next week when callers and bar crawlers continue to wonder what if – what if Cruz had caught that ball in the outfield? What if we hadn’t walked Albert with two men on? What if there hadn’t been a rain out that first night? Why did we lose it twice?

Thanks, Wash!

Ron Washington talked about his own questions. “If there’s anything I’d take back from last night it’s that one pitch. … The opportunity three times for one pitch to get the third out; it was in our grasp,” said Uncle Wash standing outside the locker room, still protecting his guys. The somber ride flight back to the DFW will no doubt be a teary, painful one. “We’re men. We’re grown men,” he said answering questions about getting ready for next year.

My hope is that baseball made some new fans with this one. Casual watchers will hopefully buy game day tickets and take the whole family to the park. If they can’t trade the cards, at least boys and girls can text-trade pics of their favorite hitters or pitchers. Peanuts and cracker jacks, coming back.

I’ll be sitting on a porch in a rocking chair telling my grandkids about Game 6 one day, and letting them know how much I cried looking at Uncle Ron as the Cardinals celebrated the Game 7 win. For now, I’m getting ready for next season. I’ll be talking again about that silly Holland moustache and counting Josh Hamilton homers. Rangers, we’ll be back.

La Russa - McGwire Still Together

Mark McGwire stood next to Tony LaRussa plotting what turned out to be the winning strategy for Game 6 of the 2011 World Series. Ron Washington stood, arms folded on the fence praying for two winning outs that didn’t happen. I love these Rangers – but I love good baseball more. Watching them take on the never-say-die St. Louis Cardinals tonight, I went back to 1989 when the Mac & Tony were paired on the Oakland A’s team for the Bay Bridge Series against the San Francisco Giants. They won that time in a 4-game sweep, LaRussa as manager and Mark as one of the hot bats in the lineup. The drama for that series happened in a much different way – Mother Nature rocked the Bay with an earthquake that devastated Northern California cities. Jack Buck was a radio announcer. I was 9 months pregnant and my daughter was born in the middle of the extended dates contest.

Rangers Manager Ron Washington

I haven’t felt this excited about the game of baseball in the 22 years since. Tonight, I couldn’t move. I cursed. I screamed. I exhaled and released. I almost expected McGwire’s big bat to resurface and in a way, it did. These hitters have learned from Big Mac. The game almost sounded the same. Joe Buck channeled the winning call of his father and commanded our attention with his similarly smooth style I’ve grown to love. The seesaw leads, steamy bats and childlike enthusiasm of both teams kept the nation enthralled. I didn’t want it to end. But it did with the David Freese home run in front of his home town in extra innings. That’s how baseball go.

Watching the nervous Ron Washington and the determined LaRussa, I couldn’t have scripted a better night game. I like seeing this white-haired Mark McGwire still in the game – and I remember the Mac I want to remember, from those A’s days on deck, not on Capitol Hill. All of this is why I love the game. I will be ready Friday night with them.

The drama for Thursday night’s series was all on the field. The incredible bats and balls bounced for the fans; folks were transfixed across the globe. THIS is how baseball is supposed to feel!