oblong

Yet create a database of gun owners?  GTFO Commie. 

Look....I'm not saying Rob Deer was good or anything... but he doesn't deserve to be some kind of poster child either.

31 minutes ago, 1776 said:

I’m guessing you have read the book, ‘ Sparky and Me,’ by Dan Ewald. It is a must read for anyone that hasn’t. Lots of good stuff in there that wouldn’t show up anywhere else.

it's on my shelf

Tony Paul had a thing up today.

Their deal ended April 30 and Bally claims they were blindsided by the decision to pull the games since they were still negotiated.  They were working off a six month extension.

Xfinity says only 30% of their viewers watch Bally.  They want to move the channel to a higher tier, one where you get the league networks, etc. as they claim most of their Bally viewers already have.  The implication being they would then lower the bill for everyone else (Yeah, right).

1 hour ago, 1776 said:

Speaking of Sparky…

This is a piece submitted by Bill Dow on vintagedetroit.com several days ago. Fun read. 
———

Begin article:

At some point nearly every kid dreams of being a bat boy for the Detroit Tigers. And for Dave Cowart, 61, a retired Ford Motor Company electrical engineer, that dream came true.

After his mother saw an article about how to become a bat boy, Cowart, then 16 and a junior in high school, wrote a heartfelt handwritten letter to Tiger clubhouse manager Jim Schmakel who invited him down to Tiger Stadium for an interview. He was hired immediately.

From 1980 to 1985 Cowart served as a clubhouse kid and bat boy along with two others which ultimately helped him pay for his college education at the University of Detroit. (Cowart’s son Cody served as a Tiger bat boy from 2015 to 2017.)

Cowart revered Tiger manager Sparky Anderson, and recently he shared stories about the beloved skipper.

“Every game the three of us working in the clubhouse were always the last to leave and Sparky would always come by and say, “there’s three of the all-time greatest,” and that really energized us to keep working hard.”

One time when Cowart had started working in the clubhouse Tiger player Ricky Peters yelled at him leaving him upset and wondering if his job was in jeopardy. When Anderson heard about it, he let Peters have it.

If you want to get a sense of Sparky Anderson’s character, the following story by Cowart says it all.

In June of 1981 Cowart’s parents were throwing a high school graduation party for him at their home in Detroit. Schmakel gave Cowart permission to leave early after the day game to attend the party.

 Later that afternoon Sparky asked Schmakel where Cowart was. When the clubhouse manager told him that he left early to attend the graduation party Sparky asked for Dave’s address.

“There I am at the party and who shows up unannounced but Sparky, and coaches Roger Craig, Billy Consolo, and **** Tracewski.  Can you believe that?” says Cowart., “Before I knew it the whole neighborhood showed up when people heard Sparky was there. He didn’t just make an appearance but stayed and signed autographs for everyone. I can still picture him drinking Altes beer with my dad. He always remembered people’s names. A few years later he sees me and my dad at a CATCH event and greets my dad by name. When my mom was in the hospital with cancer, he sent flowers and when I went to college, he gave me three of his sports jackets.”

Years later Cowart wrote Anderson a letter telling him how much he appreciated what he had done for him and what a pleasure it had been working for the manager.

“I had included my phone number and one day my phone rings and it showed ‘unknown caller.’  This voice says, ‘this is the FBI we’re looking for Dave Cowart.’ I recognized his voice and I said, ‘how are you doing Sparky?’ He said, ‘I’m glad you included your phone number because I never wrote a letter in my life.’”

During the 1984 World Championship season Cowart alternated the bat boy assignment with Dominic Nieto and Bobby Mical and always did the games when Jack Morris pitched including game 4 of the World Series when Alan Trammell hit two, two run homers.   “That game was so special for me and being the bat boy I never felt so much excitement especially greeting Trammell after he hit those homers,” says Cowart whose photo of him running back to the dugout with Trammell graced the front page of the Detroit News the following day.

When the Tigers won the World Series in game five Cowart was working inside the clubhouse that day and just before the game ended, he went into the dugout to collect the batting helmets but then got back inside the locker room as quick as he could.

“Sparky was superstitious and even though we were ahead I was not allowed to start putting stuff away until the game was over,” says Cowart. When the game ended it was like a wall of people coming at you and I was petrified. The celebration was crazy. Those players were so nice to us and it was great to see them so happy celebrating.”

A few weeks later Cowart received a phone call from Jim Schmakel telling him to come to the stadium to pick up his bonus check.

“I went up to the Tiger offices and picked it up and then got into my car, ripped it open and I was flabbergasted. I received a check for $15,000 and was so grateful that the players had voted to split up one $50,000 share for the bat boys. I used it to pay help pay for my college education.”

Dave Cowart certainly knows the 1984 meaning of “Bless you boys.” And in the same breath he would say, “Bless you Sparky.”

There's a quote attributed to Sparky and this story justifies it... "Being nice to people is the easiest thing in the world.  It don't cost nothing"

I hate Sabra hummus but in the Seinfeld "It offends me as a comedian" way.  I had no idea of it's ownership status, or that Sabra meant what they said "A jew born in Israel".

And Sabra Price is Right is one of the funniest SNL sketches ever.  There's about 15 catch phrases from this sketch my friends and I use to this day... and this proves Tom Hanks could have been one of the best cast members ever if he chose to.

The years 2018-2022 all blend together for me...

1 minute ago, chasfh said:

You may not be implying this, but speaking for myself, I don’t think the bar has to be as high as “went looking to kill a young black man” before the book can be thrown at the cop. This was a criminal act by him, and he needs to pay with a criminal conviction.

the guy having the gun in is hand will be all that's required for him to get away with it.  Anything at all in the situation where an officer can say "Well I was scared" and that's all it takes.  

They are grooming us to live in a police state where cops are not public servants but authority figures who can order us around at any time to do what they demand and if we don't then they can shoot us.

If you don't like your neighbor just call the cops and say there's a disturbance over there.  Then they can just show up and blast him. 

Whether he went looking to kill a young black man or not is irrelevant.  He did.

We give cops way too many excuses and outs.  They are the ones with the guns and firearms 101 is you are responsible for the bullets that come out and who they hit.  This idea that all they have to do is say "police" and they are absolved of any kind of guilt because "well we were scared". is absurd.

You want to go rob or kill someone?  Go to their door and start pounding on it, then say the word "police".   At that point anybody inside should put their guns down and do whatever they say, otherwise they will shoot you.

Regarding a "good trade"... who do you propose moving that would bring back good players?  Other GM's want to make good trades too so they won't give up quality for crap.  The Tigers don't have a lot of quality to move. 

several times Stormy didn't accept the premise of the defense attorney's argment and twisted things back on her to show that... yeah she was lying in her questions... I.E.  "So you said blah blah blah....." 

Stormy: "I didnt say that.  Show me where I said that"

Attorney shows tweet where she didn't say that and they discuss the fact she didn't say that.

Whether that kind of thing impacts a jury.... who knows.

I havne't followed that closely but it is news to me that he is denying the sex.  Of course what has he said under oath?

Harris has and had no say in Miggy being here last year and Javy being here this year and next.  He’s not in a position to cut them.  Not yet at least.  This year was always a transition. I know it frustrates fans after the previous 6-7 years but that’s not the fault of Scott Harris. He’s cleaning up and evaluating what’s left   I’m grateful I get to watch a team that will probably be in a position to win each game.   As for trades…. Nobody wants our ****. Why do fans think there’s value in crappy players?   The logic of “this team and org stinks.  They should make some trades”.  If they could make the trades… they wouldn’t have to make them. 

one person on twitter softened his tone quite a bit once he got a podcast gig and talked to the guy once.

34 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

speaking of which - another terrible story in WaPo out of FLA about incompetent deputies who charged into the wrong apartment and killed a USAF airman. Resident had a gun, cops apparently did not identify, so another case of trigger happy cops (the young man was Black, of course) but another case of a someone buying a gun for their protection and it being the direct cause of their death.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/05/09/florida-police-shoot-black-airman-roger-fortson/

and I'm sure some law will protect the murderers.  It was murder.  No accountability.  I have zero faith that anything under Ron DeSantis will prosecute and convict a cop from shooting a black man.

and that's probably more accurate because to me "porn" is kind of a slang and subjective term and media outlets should be factual and, even though "We know it when we see it"... porn is not a straightforward term.

They should also call it "extramarital affair with adult-film actress"

4 minutes ago, 1776 said:

I finally listened to the AJ Hinch podcast with these guys. Excellent. 

I started it Wed morning, then after yesterday's game I just wasn't in the mood to hear banter... but I did enjoy what I heard so far.  I think that podcast is going to be a lot of fun.  I suspect we'll get new episodes every few weeks? I can't see them being able to do it every week, and that's ok.  You don't want things to get stale.

The team is precisely where I thought they would be... What was the conventional wisdom going in?  At best a few games over .500 and bank on a weak division.

It's frustrating because it doesn't seem to be asking for a lot to have expected a much better record if just a few guys had gotten a few more key hits.  But... maybe the hitters just aren't that good and the way you find that out is to let them play.

and on cue we can now welcome certain people to the game thread.....

blech

I think making a joke about a former sitting POTUS and Senator both getting assassinated is enough for some kind of official rebuke from the US Congress.

This is some repugnant **** right here from a sitting member of congress.

Colt Keith sounds like the bad guy in an 80's teen movie

Carson Kelly, at the plate, looks like a pitcher batting.... as in "I don't do this that often but in High School this is what I did and I mashed pretty good so I'll do that here..."

I'm open to the idea that he does indeed have some kind of brain damage and his mental congnition and function are detiorated and altered.... kind of like an old NFL quarterback or NHL brawler.  But that's when the family steps in and prevents him from being taken advantage of.