The River Green

It has been a long, long, cold, icy winter. MLB teams across the country kicked off their opening days this week which can only mean one thing... spring is officially here (and it did not snow in Pittsburgh yesterday, that was ash from the Butler volcano!!).

The Pirates won their first game of the season (I'm as shocked as you are!!) and the Red Sox had to postpone their home- opener against the Tampa Bay Rays by one day.

Senator Ted Kennedy threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park:

Labels: Red Sox , seasons , sports

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of the Boston Red Sox. There is a particular reason that I have such a deep admiration for the baseball team and their fans in Beantown.

Having said that, there is no love for my own hometown baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Through the 2008 season the Pirates have had 16 consecutive seasons with a losing record—tying a United States professional sports record. How does one 'rah' to that, exactly? One of the Pirates' better hitters, Jason Bey went to the Red Sox in 2008.

One often wonders if the Pirates are merely a joke.

Given the newest additions to the Pittsburgh Pirates 2009 Spring Training roster, the argument is now academic: Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, both from India. The fact that these two are the first Indians to ever sign with an MLB franchise is not the OMG factor here. The OMG factor lies with the fact that they are in Bradenton, FL as a result of the Indian reality TV show 'Million Dollar Arm'. Yes. A reality show. Other than the fact that they can throw 93mph fastballs, they have no notion whatsoever of how to play baseball. Billed as 'Baseball's 'Slumdog Millionaire' Story,' the signing has been hailed by the Pirates' owner Robert Nutting as a way to usher in a new path to an untapped market.

If this works, and the Pirates make it to October, I shall purchase and don a Pirates hat in place of my beloved 'B' for the entire post season (yes, even in the highly unlikely event that the Red Sox and Pirates will be playing in the 2009 World Series!)

PS- Because I do not post about the Pirates, this has been filed under Red Sox.

Labels: Red Sox , sports

Thank god Cook won Idol. Now I can watch it next season. Wouldn't it just be a shame if my whole entire life revolved around Idol? I'm not that shallow. No. Not me. My life doesn't revolve around anything. The beard I have been growing for the last 13 Pens games is nothing. Obsessed? Maybe. I've often wondered what I would be like as a person if I didn't like sports in general. I literally panic when they overlap one-another... for example I know the Red Sox will be in their playoffs during the Olympics and the Steelers will be playing exhibition game. It is cause for concern.

I wonder if there is someone like me out there in the world who holds Idol in the same regard in their lives as I do sports in mine. It frightens me to think that there might just be.

Labels: Olympics , Penguins , Red Sox , Steelers