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The 42 movie was a Jackie Robinson biography, but a Branch Rickey biopic at the same time. And both men were important in bringing us to where we are today regarding racial relations in America.
For those still planning to see the acclaimed 42 movie about Jackie Robinson, I urge you to pay special attention to the stadium which supposedly is Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, or, for that matter, the long-demolished treasures in St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
As you well know, ad if you don’t ESPN will keep reminding you, the New York Yankees are to the Boston Red Sox what the Hatfields were to the McCoys. Or Bird was to Magic or Lex Luthor to Superman. However, last night the Yanks play Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ at then end of the third inning. It’s a Red Sox staple.
The song is the eighth-inning tradition of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Yankees made a classy and noble show of support to those affected by Monday’s tragedy at the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day.
A half-billion dollar deal on the Wrigley Field renovations has been reached! And the Wrigleyville rooftops have responded.
Early in this young MLB season, the talk hasn’t been about baseball but business negotiations surrounding Wrigley Field instead. And it’s easy to understand why, most experts have the Chicago Cubs projected to lose 90+ games this season. So the ballpark seems more interesting than the results of the 2013 season.
There is a huge public relations battle being fought right now between the Wrigleyville rooftop owners and the Chicago Cubs. In their last press release, the rooftops association looked desperate and defensive.
Pretty soon you’ll be hearing a lot of Jackie Robinson comparisons in the media; if you haven’t already. Since we’ll likely soon see the first ever openly gay athlete in the four major sports come out. Early word is the NFL will be first, but the NHL may have fostered a more conducive environment for it. When this guy(s) do/does come out, you’ll hear a lot of Jackie Robinson comparisons.
So it’s fitting the Jackie Robinson biopic 42: The True Story of An American Legend is released nationwide today. The Chicago Cubs announced they will honor the 66th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier next Tuesday. This historic moment is celebrated league-wide each year, April 15, with all uniformed personnel wearing Robinson’s retired number in honor of the legendary Hall of Famer.
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The Chicago Cubs today placed their closer Kyuji Fujikawa on the 15-day disabled list due to a muscular strain in his right forearm. The recently appointed finisher replaced Carlos Marmol who’s approval ratings in Chicago are close to that of Kim Jong Un. And they should be that low, since Marmol was about as good at closing games as Nick Nolte is to staying sober.
The Chicago Cubs recalled right-handed pitcher Rafael Dolis from the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.
Wonder what happened to former Montreal Expos and L.A. Angels star Vladimir Guerrero? How about 2 time All-Star with the Detroit Tigers and Florida Marlins Dontrelle Willis?
The Atlantic League‘s defending champion Long Island Ducks have a lock on the early-season intrigue because they have loaded up with star power, starting with 2004 American League Most Valuable Player Vladimir Guerrero.
Ah, Major League baseball. When I write “three ways to improve Major League Baseball” what I really mean is “three ways to make baseball more like football.” Sorry, major league baseball fans. The National Pastime is past its prime and a distant second-string to the pigskin. Don’t take it too hard. It’s not like football is a sport; it’s a quasi-religion. Heck, more Americans would rather watch a guy in a suit read names from a podium than catch another sport’s playoff game.
Major League Baseball will never be able to catch up to the NFL but it can close the gap. After all, baseball, when the games really matter, is the most dramatic of all the sports. Major League Baseball certainly has more substance than the NBA, tougher players than MLS (barely), and fewer franchises in inappropriate cities than the NHL. Below are three ways the game of baseball can improve itself.
A word of warning to baseball purists, have your defibrillator ready.
(Guest post by Ryan Hogan)
Without a salary cap in MLB, small-market baseball teams have a tougher time trying to succeed. While revenue sharing and luxury tax thresholds help these teams with extra cash in order to stay competitive, it’s still a tall task to go up against other teams who have virtually unlimited resources.
However, teams with smaller payroll have proven they can hang with the large-market teams in recent years. Here are five small-market MLB teams who could be contenders in the 2013 season.
The Kansas City Royals have been last, or close to last, in the AL Central for as long as most MLB fans can remember. However, they are overwhelmingly first in mascot debauchery. Someone tweeted this picture (again Not Safe For Work) of Sluggerrr, the Kansas City Royals mascot, getting his naked lap dance on.
You’ll have more respect for the Kansas City Royals when you see this. Because you probably have very little respect for the Kansas City Royals right now. And this is the most interesting thing to happen, Kansas City Royals related, since 1985.
The New York Knicks, New York Rangers and the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden all have a new boss today. And the people of New York are familiar with his work from the New York Mets.
Hank Ratner, president and chief executive officer of The Madison Square Garden Company announced that Dave Howard joined the company as president, MSG Sports, effective April 9.
Howard will be responsible for running the business operations of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Liberty and Hartford Whale, as well as the management of the company’s Sports Properties unit.
TBS/TNT sideline reporter Jaime Maggio got a lot of attention during 2011 March Madness. During that time of year, when college basketball routinely sees an exponential growth in popularity and coverage, America creates new media stars too. Jaime Maggio is such a star.
“It sounds like the breakout performer so far in Chicago is CBS/TBS sideline reporter Jaime Maggio,” tweeted SI.com writer Stewart Mandel. “Not on the preseason depth chart.”
And her stock rose again as she covered the NBA Playoffs between the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers. And in the 2011 MLB playoffs where Jaime Maggio garnered a ton of newfound interest on the internet, and a lot of people searched for Jaime Maggio again in the 2012 NBA playoffs. Basically, she’s covered it all.
The resurrection of the Northern League surfaced once again this week when veteran major league executive Dan Evans was announced as commissioner, and the proposed second-tier Atlantic League may have hit a bump in the road when a current owner expressed his opposition.
Evans, who started in baseball as an intern with the Chicago White Sox while still in school at DePaul in 1981 and two decades later was general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers (2001-04), said all the right things when I reached him between games of a day-night scouting mission in Arizona, to discuss his appointment by DC Sports and Entertainment to start up a new Northern League by May, 2014.
