Welcome back SpringFollow

The grass looks a little bit greener in spring. Is it the melted snow bringing up new shoots? Is it the first glance down, realizing that snow is a memory not to be revisited until the Earth is on the other side of the sun? Or is it the smell of hot dogs steaming and the sound of kids milling around slapping their closed fists in to the web of freshly oiled mitts?

Pitchers and catchers reported. The overseas gimmicks are all done and gone. The anthem is sung and the first pitch thrown out. Baseball has come, once again. From the seasoned veteran to the ****-sure rookie standing in the middle of an expansive outfield for the first time, digging in to the batter’s box, toeing the rubber atop the pitcher’s mound. The myths and legends that live in cathedrals of concrete and steel come once again to life as modern day heroes begin anew their streaks and their slumps.

Taking my seat in the outfield bleachers, assuming the edge in anticipation of yet another epic showdown between the hometown forces of good, in their iconic white, and the raiding horde from anywhere else. I sit transfixed, carried away to another time, and another place, remembering the fall of the Iron Man, recalling the fall of a modern day Coliseum, yet caught so inextricably in the moment that the world outside passes away.

No wars, no politics, no social ills, Baseball transcending it all. Explaining to a young man the double switch and the sacrifice bunt and the importance of a 1-1 pitch, I think ahead to a time when the line will be carried on. I think to the joy that I will get teaching my own son to follow the nuance of a pitchers duel, to appreciate the 15th inning deadlock, to revel in the almighty pickle.

Spring is here. The grass is green, the trees are beginning to leaf over. Gone is the chill of the North Wind, newly arrived the mid-sky sun. The Cardinals and Blue Jays return from their southern escape, and pin stripes are once again in vogue. Welcome back Spring. You bring a most welcome guest.

Baseball..... Hmm thats like Cricket without the Public school blazer and rules right? Wish spring would hurry up it's bloody freezing over here

Still ******* have had a pretty crappy week so it's not all bad

For those of you that follow a real sport don't you think it would be ironic if Claudio Ranairi said at the end of the season: I shall show chelsea the same loyalty that they showed me, so i will be leaving for Real Madrid next week.

Edited, Wed Apr 7 13:13:51 2004 by tarv

FTFY

I am almost ashamed to admit that I have not yet applied the time necessary to figure out what "FTFY" means, so I will take it as a sign of acknowledging my point as accurate. :)

And I did notice that you changed Europeans to people the world over, but really and truly, do Asia, Africa and the Western Hemisphere south of the US/Mexico border really count? I mean, if bein white don't mean sumthin, wut good is it?

Sports Illustraded picked the Cubs to win the World Series this year, so nuts to the God Damn Yankees and a pox on the Giants.

By the way, Barry Bonds looking to tie Willie Hayes for all-time homeruns. Man did Clemens shut HIM down tonight. Struck out twice lookin'. Take that, San Fran!

Ill have to agree Moe. he DOES deserve to catch mays at home.

heres hopeing for the best =)

Umm, I would suggest you move, but then there's the random shot that you might end up my next door neighbor, so... /shrug

No **** it's hot in Texas. Small wonder the Mexicans wanted to keep it though. Then they wouldn't have to swim across the Rio Grande to get here.

Maybe I'll meet you up there, I've always wanted to live in Alaska. Only problem is that they don't have much of a GOLF season!

Spring? What's that? There's this period of time where it kinda rains a bit less and the temp hits 80+ more often then during winter, but that's about it.

But if you crazy people want to talk about these weird things called "seasons", you go right ahead.

Back on topic, did anyone else see the Cubs game tonight? They beat the Braves 2-1 through 15 innings! I believe that is the longest game of the year so far, although there might have been another one that went into the 15th.

Anyways, go Cubs, go golf, and f#ck the Redwings.


Edit: Cursed language filter.

Edited, Sat Apr 10 02:49:58 2004 by TwiztidSamurai

Update from Pittsburgh:

Pens - lost #1 draft pick ><, but to make it all better, Mario is coming back next year (whoop-de-turtle). No disrespect to the man, but I'd rather see the younger players now. Lemieux can still teach them stuff at practice. Alot of people buy Pens tickets whenever they hear that he'll be playing, and then get pissed off when he's out for over half the season. I'd rather know what I'm gonna see when I buy my tickets (which I'll probably buy anyway).

Pirates - only one game behind the NL Central leader, for the first time since, well, this time last season. One a good note, thier record has gotten better every year for that last few years, so we might actually finish above .500 this year! Oh, why not: Lets go Bucs!

Panthers basketball had a good run this year, I guess that's something to be happy about.

Yeah, I can't wait for fall again. We're definately a drinking town with a football problem. I go to hockey and baseball games, but it's just not as fun without the sellout crowds that football brings (still a good time though).

Good luck to Bonds, though there's a lot of people here that will always "Boo!!!" hime no matter what. Heck, I'd probably leave this town if someone wanted to triple my salary too. Luckily, there's a few Steelers' Bars scattered across the country, so I should be ok.

Touche, Johnny. But when trying to insult our sports teams in Chicago, try and stay within the same sport. For example, it would have been much easier to bash on the Blackhawks if you wre trying to use the Redwings.

By the way, how about those Tigers? 4-0 for the first time in almost 20 years. I bet that's a nice change of pace for you Michigan baseball fans.