Stuff

The Royals finally return home to finish out the first half of the season against Anaheim, Seattle and Minnesota.

I’ve got ticket to the game on Saturday night and see that Lima is pitching. It’s always extra special when you go to the ballpark with the chance to witness history. In this case I’m hoping the history is Lima’s last ever game in a Royals uni! Keep your fingers crossed.

Since the Royals are off today and work has actually picked up this week, I’m doing kind of a hodgepodge sort of thing.

Inspired By Lima’s Impending Start On Saturday
Top 5 Moments I’ve Witnessed At The K:
1) 10/27/85, Game 7, 1985 World Series
2) 10/26/85, Game 6, 1985 World Series
3) 9/29/93, George Brett’s final home game
4) 9/16/96, Paul Molitor’s 3,000 career base hit
5) 10/4/78, Game 2 ALCS, KC 10, NY 4 (My first playoff game)

Do you have a top five? Post them in the comments!

Ever Get The Feeling You’ve Been Had?
ESPN.com is moving more and more of it’s writers behind their “Insider” wall. It now costs money to read John Kruk. Unnnnnngggh.

The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Anyone?
By far, my favorite class while an undergrad at KU was Literature of Baseball taught by James Carothers. I took the class in the fall of ’91, but still have all the books. The reading list included:

“You Know Me Al,” Ring Lardner
“Eight Men Out,” Eliot Asinof
“Babe,” Robert Creamer
“The Natural,” Bernard Malamud
“The Southpaw,” Mark Harris
“The Universal Baseball Association, Inc.,” Robert Coover
“I Had A Hammer,” Hank Aaron
“Once More Around The Park,” Roger Angell
“The Bill James Historical Abstract,” Bill James

The final exam included a question on the lyrics to “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” Not a bad way to burn three credit hours.

Just Give Us Your F-ing Money!
1985 was a huge year for a number of reasons (World Series!) one of which was Live Aid. Twenty years on, they are trying to recreate the magic with Live 8. I’m a believer that you can never go back, but this should be a good show.

Tommy, Can You Hear Me?
This week Apple released it’s latest version of iTunes, which integrates podcasting into the program. I’m a bit divided on this. On one hand, I think it’s cool that I can download clips from various radio networks. But on the other hand, it’s only a matter of time before those same networks begin charging money to access their downloads.

What Do You Have To Do To Be A Buff?
Happy Independence Day to everyone. By the way, if you are a history buff I highly recommend David McCullough’s 1776.

The preceeding was composed while listening to U2.