After the Chicago Cubs dispatched the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, a friend of mine commented that we were now in an alternative universe. I had to correct him; the Cubs would need to reach the World Series for that to apply. As of now, there is still the possibility that the Cubs could …
Search Results for: chuck Strom
Great piece from Charles Pierce on the Cubs win last night. http://grantland.com/the-triangle/beatdown-the-cubs-keelhaul-the-bucs-in-pittsburgh/ Pierce appears to have made a regular assignment of covering Wild Card playoff games in Pittsburgh. This is the one he wrote last year when the Giants paid their visit. http://grantland.com/the-triangle/baseball-playoffs-mlb-roger-goodells/ Even as they suffered their second year of one-and-done disappointment, last night’s …
This is downright hilarious: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/24/442822266/a-visit-to-the-worlds-first-boozy-taco-bell – Chuck Strom
New article in Grantland by Charles Pierce: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/peytons-place-why-the-broncos-quarterback-should-retire/ Very thoughtful on the current state of Peyton Manning’s career and the physical toll it has taken on him. The NFL season has just begun, and conversation already seems to be more about casualties than the games. It makes me wonder if football may decline, like boxing, …
This recent post in Grantland is a nice take on the news that Tim Lincecum may have thrown his last pitch for the San Francisco Giants due to his recent injuries. http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-tim-lincecum-san-francisco-giants-career/ I would add that somehow the Giants should find a way to get him out onto the field at AT&T Park one more …
My brother, who works in San Francisco, got an invitation to see the Giants play the Chicago Cubs Tuesday night from a luxury skybox. The accommodations were nice: no standing in line for bathrooms or concessions here. The play on the field, at least for Giants fans, was not. Pitcher Matt Cain didn’t have his …
Last Thursday was Grateful Dead Night at AT&T Park. Before the game a cover band serenaded the fans from the top of the visitor’s dugout, and Bill Walton, the world’s most famous Deadhead, showed up to announce a $23,000 donation to Grateful Dead Charities. Lots of good feelings to be had, minus the scent of …
https://youtu.be/L6JwFqbhCbI I’ve seen this show (above) a few times – it was a Father’s Day special from 1965 (I think) broadcast from St. Louis. The comedy routines with Sammy were typical of their shows. I think they are mostly indicative of the time, when racial and ethnic stereotypes were still a fixture of public discourse, …
This post was a nice surprise. Not just that someone would have had the presence of mind to mention Freddy Exley, but that apparently Gifford and Exley came to know each other after A Fan’s Notes, and that Gifford even hosted a party for Exley when his last book came out. http://news.yahoo.com/frank-gifford-death-fred-exley-a-fans-notes-220404916.html One of the …
Triple-A baseball produces a lot of “Where are they now?” moments. In a recent Sacramento River Cats game, I saw a player, Brooks Conrad, who played a brief but important part in the San Francisco Giants’ recent history. Currently a member of the Las Vegas 51s, he was with the Atlanta Braves when they played …
Not having planned an extended vacation this year, I’ve taken a few day trips to assuage the restlessness that hits me around July. Fortunately, I have a national park an hour’s drive from my house: Lassen Volcanic. The park consists of the usual wooded trails and streams, but also a 10,463 foot volcano that can …
At the end of last season, the baseball Triple-A Sacramento River Cats changed their major league affiliate from the Oakland A’s to the San Francisco Giants. Naturally, this enhanced their appeal greatly for me, so I paid them a visit. Raley Field, a 10,000-seat ballpark, gets good online reviews, and I rated it just a …
One of the benefits of arriving early at the ballpark is that sometimes you get treated to a little extra entertainment for the price of your ticket. Yesterday was Madison Bumgarner’s between-starts throwing day. There weren’t many fans in the park yet, but most of those who were crowded near the Giants bullpen to see …
Lately, the San Francisco Giants have followed their usual script of good pitching and weak hitting, as illustrated by the last three starts by Madison Bumgarner, losses by scores of 2-0, 1-0, and 3-2. They are doing much better in the standings than they should, mostly because they have owned the NL West-leading Los Angeles …
On first glance, the above title requires a suspension of disbelief. Though the San Francisco Giants endured a longer journey in the wilderness than the Golden State Warriors, the Warriors were an even less likely prospect to arrive in the promised land. The Giants at least teased their fans occasionally with the possibility of a …
I’ve referenced articles from Charles Pierce before. This one, with the quote below, is another reason to admire him as perhaps the most insightful and entertaining writer on sports today: And what we also have learned is that FIFA’s corruption wasn’t in the least covert. It was lying out there, like a mackerel in the …
For those who do not follow basketball, the Golden State Warriors have made the NBA Finals for the first time in 40 years. On this, I have two observations: 1. The members of the last Warriors team in the Finals are old enough to collect Social Security, if not Medicare. 2. If this were any …
The Memphis Grizzlies made the series far too interesting, but last night the Golden State Warriors closed it out and reached the NBA Western Conference Finals for the first time since Rick Barry shot granny-style at the foul line. As to how the Warriors managed it, this video of Stephen Curry’s 62-ft basket last night …
After the Blazer-Warrior game I attended back in March, I spent some time in the hallway outside the Warrior locker room with Steph Curry and some of his friends, just being a fly on the wall and listening to their conversation. One of the comments I remember was one of Curry’s friends telling him, “Good …
Here’s a pretty good Grantland piece on the Giants’ recent fall from grace. Jonah Keri zeroes in pretty accurately on their problems. He is , if anything, too optimistic on their season prospects. They play like a banged-up collection of spare parts, which in fact they were in 2014, and their championship seems all the …
Success often breeds higher prices, and Opening Day at AT&T Park was no exception. Up to the day of the game, I waited for online ticket prices to drop to a level I was willing to pay, but despite some late movement by a few desperate sellers, they never did, with the cheapest seats remaining …
I’m one of the few who actually likes watching golf on television, at least when it’s a major. It offers a lot of interesting psychology and body language, especially when the ball misses a cup or finds its way into a hazard. I happened to see some of yesterday’s Master’s Tournament when the leaders were …
Portland has many attractions to offer visitors who don’t happen to have Blazers tickets. I had parts of two days on my recent trip to take a small sample: Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden Anyone who has had kids in the last half century, or maybe is still just a big kid, might know of Beverly …
Recently, the Portland Trail Blazers graciously issued me a media pass for their game against the Golden State Warriors. It is the greatest benefit I have received for what is essentially a writing hobby, and if I never receive any other compensation, it will all have been worth it just for this. It is a …
Here’s a good Bill Simmons piece on the SNL 40 special: http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/ready-for-prime-time-the-giddy-brilliant-and-ok-somewhat-bloated-snl-40/ I actually managed to catch most of it last night, though I wasn’t even aware it was on until partway through. The one comment I would add is that Paul Simon’s appearance at the end was a little dispiriting. His voice sounded every …
With the glow still fresh from the San Francisco Giants’ recent championship, there was no question that I would attend their Fan Fest last weekend. I took both of my daughters with me, and I looked forward to seeing its attractions and avoiding the autograph lines, having spent the previous two Fan Fests standing on …
The triumphs of ancient Rome were something of a victory parade on steroids. Usually celebrated after a major conquest, they were long processions that included captives on display and soldiers of the victorious army marching and singing salacious songs at their leader’s expense. In the midst of the procession, the victorious general or emperor would …
If I could choose any stone to have over my grave, my pick would be Thomas Jefferson’s. His is an obelisk, and his epitaph reads as follows: HERE WAS BURIEDTHOMAS JEFFERSONAUTHOR OF THEDECLARATIONOFAMERICAN INDEPENDENCEOF THESTATUTE OF VIRGINIAFORRELIGIOUS FREEDOMAND FATHER OF THEUNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA This is as noteworthy for what it leaves out as well as …
The town of Stateburg, South Carolina, looks ordinary at first glance. It is just north of Highway 76 about halfway between Interstate 95 and the state capital, Columbia, and most travelers would not think to stop there without prior knowledge of the place. Like many small towns on the East Coast, however, it has had …
Last Friday I saw The Imitation Game, the recent movie about British mathematician Alan Turing and the breaking of the German Enigma codes during World War II. It has been out for a while, but it was released only recently in my part of the world. It was panned a bit in The New Yorker, …