Month: June 2012

Rangers

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I have been quite busy these days with vacation and being a new stay at home mom.  But I was able to take in a Texas Rangers game while on vacation this past week.  I was very excited about seeing my Rangers play the Colorado Rockies.  There is something about going to a game as opposed to watching it on television.  Like with any sporting event, being there is AWESOME.  You get all the sights and sounds you don’t see on television.  You may get a little bit, but not all of it. 

Any way, this was going to be my first game in The Ballpark.  I had gone to a Rangers game back in high school with my youth group to the old stadium.  We sat in the cheap seats on metal bleachers on a hot August afternoon in Texas.  If you have EVER been to that part of Texas in August you know what I had to endured that day.  It was HOT!  With that being said, this past Saturday was a reminder of why I would rather attend a game in the evening in Texas than a mid afternoon game.  It was a beautiful day for baseball.  Sun was shining, a little breeze, and a couple of clouds in the sky.  But as I said this is Texas.  It was HOT!!!  When I sat down on my seat, I thought I had given my rear end third degree burns.  Luckily, if you gradually sat there for a bit, you became acclimated to the seat.  But the sun had no mercy on all of us Ranger fans that day! 

My sons, despite the weather, enjoyed their first professional baseball game.  They were both decked out in Rangers gear (see picture to the left).  By the way, it was Michael Young bat day.  That is my husband standing behind my boys.  My youngest has a favorite player (same as his mother’s favorite player), he is Mike Napoli.  Napoli plays catcher and at times first base for the Rangers.  My oldest has taken to Mike Napoli too.  I believe it is because of their mother they cheer more for Napoli.  However, they can cheer any of the Rangers.  It doesn’t matter to me.  

It was a rough day for all of us.  I had to make a visit to the first aid station for an ice pack.  I usually try to tough it out on days like this, but I am not as young as I used to be.  Ever since that bad case of heat exhaustion several years, I have to watch my time out in the heat/humidity.  The ice pack was a God send.  But it was still HOT!  Every once in a while a random cloud would cover the sun.  But the sun was vicious.  My little one and hubby seem to being surviving, but my oldest, like me was struggling.  We decided to leave in the 5th inning.  I wanted to stay through the whole game, but it was already 11-1 (Rockies).  Plus we had to head back to Lubbock that day as well which is a 6 hour drive.  So, we decided to head on home.

Despite the shortened time at The Ballpark we had a blast.  Prior to the game on Saturday, we took a tour of The Ballpark on Thursday.  We got to see the press box, a ballpark suite, and sit in the Rangers dugout, among other things.  The coolest thing, was getting a peek into the Rangers locker room.  Normally, you would not get to see inside, but someone came out of the locker room just as the group was passing by.  He held the door open and we got to see inside.  It was pretty neat.  Tried to coax the little one to “run” into the locker room so mom would have to go get him.  But he would help his mom out.  Oh well, I aimed my camera and snapped a photo.  Upon closer inspection of the picture, I got Yu Darvish’s locker!  We also got to see an area where they unloaded Rangers equipment bags.  And while looking in the cage, I see #25!  That’s right…Mike Napoli’s bag!  I know it is kinda cheesy of me, but hey….I am a rabid baseball fan!

That’s the adventure of our Rangers experience.

Prelude to The Dream

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Once again I have spent another June evening watching the Prelude.  If you have never caught the Prelude to the Dream, well you are missing out on some fantastic racing.  This is my fourth year of watching the event.  It is a pay per view event, however proceeds go to the charity the event benefits each year.  This year it was Feed The Children.

The Prelude is held each year at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.  Eldora is owned by NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.  Each year Tony invites many of his fellow NASCAR drivers to compete in late-model cars on this dirt track in Ohio.  NASCAR car drivers are not the only ones who are invited each year either. Tony also invites drivers from NHRA and IRL.  I usually don’t compare the ball and stick sports to NASCAR because NASCAR, in my opinion, is different from ball and stick sports on many levels.  But this type of racing on dirt is like being at a minor league baseball game.  Drivers are racing for no points, but bragging rights.  This year was no different.

All the usual suspects were there this year–Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Kenny Schrader, Kenny Wallace and yes, even 5-time himself Jimmie Johnson.  This year’s drivers also included Danica Patrick.  I found this very intriguing.  This was going to be the first time she would race in this type of race car and on this type of racing service.  She didn’t do too bad for her first time on dirt.  In case you haven’t watched late-model dirt racing, you have to turn right to go left.  It felt like she was a fish out of water but at least she gave it a shot.  I still wonder why Dale Jr hasn’t tried his hand at this event.  I think they could really draw quite a crowd if Dale Jr. ran it one time.  Of course, they draw a crowd for this event becuase of the love Tony has for Eldora and this event.

I was not disappointed.  I thought it was quite funny when Tony took Darryl Waltrip around the track in his late-model car.  I swear I think DW was screaming like a little girl the whole time he was in the car.  It was pretty hilarious.   Tony knows what he was doing and I don’t believe he lifted once.  Talk about your E-ticket ride!  Another great moment prior to the race was Tony’s presentation to Dick Bergren.  He gave Dick a racing helmet he wore during his championship season last year.  In case you weren’t aware, last weekend was Dick’s last race as a report for Fox.  I will miss him.  He was one of the best!

Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer clearly had the best cars of the night.  They were going at pretty good until Clint got into the wall.  I thought Kasey Kahne was going to run away with the even after Clint was knocked out.  But even on the dirt track Kasey is snake bit.  He ran into a stranded Bobby Labonte.  I don’t know if Kasey saw him, but that was a nasty crash.  It was nasty enough to take off one of Kasey’s wheels.  I believe Kasey saw him, but due to the racing surface couldn’t stop in time.  This opened the door for Kyle Busch.  It was pretty much that way the rest of the race.  Tony was trying to get make his way towards the front, but didn’t have enough laps left.  Congratulations to Kyle Busch!

One of these days I would love to make the pilgrimage to Eldora to watch the event live.  I love watching dirt racing.  It brings me back to those Saturday nights in Amarillo when my family would head out to the dirt track.  It wasn’t a complete Saturday night until you go some of that mud in your hair that was flung from the cars on the race track.  I can still hear the sounds of the cars as the went around the track.  It brings me back to a time when I was carefree and had my future in front of me.

Thank you Tony Stewart!

Oops He Did It Again

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Kurt Busch has done it again.  He has been suspended by NASCAR for his latest actions in NASCAR.  He will be suspended from all activities this weekend at Pocono.  Kurt was already on probation from NASCAR from his actions during the Darlington weekend May 12.

This latest saga began last Saturday after the Nationwide race.  Bob Pockrass, a reporter from the Sporting News caught up with Kurt.  Mr. Pockrass asked Kurt whether or not his probation status had affected his racing during the Nationwide Race.  Busch’s response, “It refrains me from beating the s*** out of you right now because you ask me stupid questions,” Busch replied. “But since I’m on probation, I suppose that’s improper to say, as well.”

My question would be with regards to this latest incident is (in my best Dr. Phil voice) “What were you thinking?”  That’s just it.  I do not think Kurt Busch was thinking on Saturday.  Could this latest incident spell doom for Kurt?  He is currently driving for Phoenix Racing which isn’t one of the top-tier teams in NASCAR.  They have a limited budget and with Kurt not being able to run this weekend in Pocono will hurt Phoenix Racing.  Kurt went on an expletive tirade against ESPN’s Dr. Jerry Punch at last season’s ending Homestead weekend.  His 2005 season was cut short with two races to go after he was pulled over for suspicion of drunken driving and cited for reckless driving.  He has also had several dustups with fellow drivers throughout his years in NASCAR.  the one that clearly comes to mind is his dustup with Jimmy Spencer. Of course who can forget his run in with Jimmy Spencer.

As a former champion (he won it all in 2004), I expect you to handle yourself with a little bit more professionalism on and off the track.  I can understand that drivers feel frustration when they are knocked out of race sooner than expected.  But with all the advances in media distribution (Facebook, Twitter, etc) and with everyone have a cell phone camera, you have to be mindful of your behavior at every corner.  I do not know what is going on with Kurt Busch.  I am sure he is the only one who knows why continues to do what he does.  I would like to think with this latest incident that someone from NASCAR sits down with him and gives him the “Come To Jesus” talk I believe he is needing.  I feel if he continues to head down this path of behavior, he will be out of the sport.

Just one NASCAR fan’s opinion.

Musings by a Baseball Fan

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I love watching the Texas Rangers play baseball!  I am a little biased on this front, but if you haven’t had a chance to watch them play, you are missing out on the most entertaining team around.  They are the reason I have rediscovered my love for America’s game.  Don’t get me wrong, I still love my NASCAR and my football, but there is just something about baseball that I truly love.  This game has been around since the 19th century.  It has seen many changes, but the core of it has remained the same.  To quote a famous movie line…”you throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball”.  It is simple as that.

I have been a fan of baseball since I can remember.  Some of my fondest childhood memories are watching baseball games with my parents.  We used to go to the Amarillo Gold Sox minor league games.  They were the farm team for San Diego Padres back in the day.  We would always sit behind the visitors dugout because we could sit in the box seats for a fair price.  It was fun.  Because they were part of the San Diego Padres farm system, the San Diego Chicken would come and visit from time to time.  If you do not know who the San Diego Chicken is, well, then you don’t know baseball.  I still have my autographed photo of the Chicken.  The Padres were supposed to come play the Gold Sox for an exhibition game, but due to the baseball strike is was a no go.  Let’s just say I was very disappointed baseball fan.

I remember hearing about the Big Red Machine from my father.  He is the reason I am a huge fan of Pete Rose.  I know he gambled on baseball, but I still believe he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He was amazing to watch on the baseball diamond.  Along with Pete Rose, I loved watching Johnny Bench behind the plate.  He is the best catcher of all time.  Pudge Rodriguez, a former Ranger, is right up there in my book next to Johnny Bench.  I consider Nolan Ryan the best pitcher of all time–hands down.  He is the strike out king and has seven no hitters.  I am pretty sure Robin Ventura feels the same way even after his beat down by Mr. Ryan.  Nolan Ryan has turned the Rangers into a championship caliber team.  They have made their way to the last two World Series.  Granted they didn’t win and they came thisclose to winning it all last year, but I remember when the Rangers were the joke of baseball.  I believe Roger Clemens was one of the best pitchers in baseball.  My love of baseball wants to believe he didn’t start using steroids until he left Boston.  I followed his career during that amazing season in 1986.  He was just fun to watch. I think his own ego got in the way.  He had to remain Roger Clemens and to do that well, sometimes players just have to turn to illegal things.   Does he have Hall of Fame numbers?  Sure, but they are tainted in the minds of many baseball fans.  Same thing could be said when McGwire and Sosa were racing towards that 61 home run mark back in 1998.  If the Hall of Fame decides to allow these players into the Hall of Fame, it should be denoted these accomplishments happened during the Steroid Era.  As a history person, you can just hide the bad part of your history, you have to study it and accept it, so maybe we don’t repeat the mistakes down the road.

I am hoping to catch a Rangers game this year.  I haven’t been to a professional baseball game since moving from Houston to Lubbock back in 1998. There is just something about attending a live game you have to experience.  Most television broadcasts do their best to capture the game, but they miss out on all the atmosphere that makes baseball America’s pastime.

Just some musings from a baseball fan!