What’s Your Hurry?

Today (20180429) was sports Sunday here in Cleveland. The Cavaliers played the Pacers in Game 7 of their playoff series, and the Indians played the Mariners in Game 4 of their 4-game series. The Cavaliers pulled a win - taking the series, and the Indians pulled a loss - losing their series 1-4 (good thing it’s only April baseball!)

Recently, much has come from the MLB concerning the speed of the game. Apparently, some think baseball is too slow, and the MLB wants to try different things to speed it up. I’ve written a few times about this already (here and here, for example), so I won’t spend too much time on it in this post. I do want to expand a bit on a Twitter post I wrote recently (follow me at @nocturnecsh):

“00:30 left on the Cavs/Pacers clock. Went to the bathroom. Came back to 00:21. & a clock will speed up #baseball? Who are you kidding @MLB?”

I went to the BATHROOM and only NINE seconds had lapsed on the clock. That’s basketball for you.

Apparently a clock does little to speed the game.

I’m an all-things time related junkie. Favorite time related movie? “Memento”. Favorite time related book? That’s a toss up between H.G. Well’s “The Time Machine” and the Bible. Favorite time related album? Alan Parsons "The Time Machine". Favorite time related sport? That’s easy: BASEBALL! And not because it is “slow”.

When you put yourself in a position to focus solely on the game in front of you, time slows down - and not in a negative way. When the pitcher is on the mound and is looking to his catcher for the best pitch to befuddle the batter, who is watching the pitcher to see what pitch he will throw to try and befuddle him, time ssslllooowwwwsss down. The tension is palpable. Nothing else matters in that moment.

Sure, in football there are all of these guys running around the field when the ball is snapped. In basketball nobody ever STOPS running (except for the clock: which never seems to run at all). But in baseball, the moments before the action are just as important as the moments after the pitch/swing. And you can’t rush that.

Maybe the problem isn’t the pace of the game. It’s us.

It’s amazing to me that people today drive with one hand on the wheel, one holding their smartphone, and both eyes looking anywhere but through the windshield, and yet they drive so close to the car in front of them they think that they have all the time in the world to hit the breaks and come to a stop if needed.

I’m not sure about the state you live in, but here in Ohio we have a little thing called “assured clear distance”. If you ever rear end someone, you’ve been cited for it. It is the failure to maintain an appropriate distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you. “Back in my day” (that’s old man speak) that would be one car length for every TEN miles an hour - on dry pavement with clear visibility. The distance is to be greater on wet pavement, more for snow-covered pavement, and at night. This is to allow sufficient time for the person behind to come to a complete stop and not hit the car in front. And yet, people drive right on your bumper like that will allow them to get to their destination that much faster.

So, maybe it’s WE that need to slow down, rather than rush the game of baseball. Because as far as a sport is concerned, baseball is pretty much perfect as is.

© Emittravel 2018

Don't You Know Who I Am?!?

As I've mentioned previously, I’m not a sports ball guy. Whereas guys my age will complain about injuries received during the big game (some while even playing and not just falling in the bleachers from too many "adult beverages"), I can show people my paper cut scars from being a book worm. Yet, I can't say that this year's NBA finals haven't gotten me a bit excited.

I’m from Cleveland, but I’m no LeBron James fan(atic). I'll root root root for the home team, and if they don't win (which, as a Clevelander I'm used to) it's a shame, but I won't go "hero worship" someone who makes a lot of money playing a game.

Yet, I have to admit, I love watching the polar-opposite playing styles of LeBron James and Stephen Curry (of the Golden State Warriors) during the finals. Whereas James' style is all brute force, muscling his way to shooting positions, Curry is all finesse - frequenting the 3-point line.

As I write this, both teams are in California (I keep wanting to say "Ca-lee-foh-ni-ah" as if I’m Arnold Schwarzenegger) getting ready to play game seven. I’m going to focus this particular blog article on a comment the Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, made in a Cleveland.com article by Chris Fedor concerning game six, where Curry fouled out of the game:

"Curry swiped the ball from Irving, had a clear layup going the other way and a chance to make it a single-digit game.

"Instead, Curry was whistled for a foul, his fifth. Five minutes later he fouled out of the game -- his first time ever -- chucked his mouthpiece and exited the court with fans waving at him mockingly.

"Following the game, both Kerr and Curry expressed displeasure with the officials and will likely be receiving a fine.

"'He had every right to be upset,' Kerr said. 'He's the MVP of the league. He gets six fouls called on him, three of them were absolutely ridiculous. He steals the ball from Kyrie clean at one point. LeBron flops on the last one. Jason Phillips falls for that, for a flop. As the MVP of the league, we're talking about these touch fouls in the NBA Finals.

"'Let me be clear, we did not lose because of the officiating. They totally outplayed us and Cleveland deserved to win. But those three of the six fouls were incredibly inappropriate calls for anybody, much less the MVP of the league.'"

Did you see the that? I love the last sentence: "But those three of the six fouls were incredibly inappropriate calls for anybody, much less the MVP of the league."

Are you kidding me?!? Listen. I’m not going to argue whether or not the fouls were appropriate or inappropriate. Frankly being a non-sports ball guy, I really have no idea that a foul even takes place, and am surprised when some actions AREN'T fouls. But the "MVP of the league" should have special dispensation when it comes to actions made is utterly ridiculous.

(I do wonder if Kerr would have been so vocal if it had been LeBron James who was the "MVP of the league" in a similar situation. Nah, I'll stop wondering.)

Currently, we are in an election cycle for President of the United States, where every word, action, tax form, and email are up for scrutiny for any candidate who decides to throw their hat in the ring. It doesn't matter how big or small the gaff, it will be played and replayed ad infinitum on the cable news outlets. Nothing is sacred (as a point, stay tuned for my next blog, where I talk about just that!)

If Curry is the "MVP of the league", shouldn't that mean that he should be under GREATER scrutiny for his actions, not less - as his coach seems to think?

I think I agree with Uncle Ben when he told Peter: "With great power comes great responsibility."

Now. Go take your free throw and quit whining.

©Emittravel 2016

You Can Leave Your Hat On

I'm a Clevelander. I love this town. I'm not a big sports guy, but I love watching the Indians and the Browns. I've never been a Cavaliers fan, but that's because I almost dislike basketball. When I was an altar boy (another story for another day), the priests would take us on field trips to events like the Cleveland Force Indoor Soccer games (Darth Vader would come out before the team, the Imperial March would play, and everything!). These games were held at the Richfield Coliseum.

Now it's an empty field, but back then it was a giant echo chamber designed to make the 5,000 Cavs fans sound like 50,000.

Times have changed in Cleveland. No longer at Richfield, the games are played in a nice venue right downtown. And there are far more than 5,000 Cavs fans.

One of the big fans is the CEO of the company I work for. This year, as an incentive for folks to root for the winning Cavs, he has bestowed a "jeans day" for after every game the Cavs win during the finals. Our normal dress code is "business casual" (making nooses - er, I mean "neckties" optional), so jeans days are used more as incentives. For instance, we do a fundraiser, and everyone who donates a certain amount are permitted to wear jeans on that day. Things like that.

So, it was really nice that last week, even with the Cavs winning a game earlier in the week (granting us a jeans day), that we were permitted to wear jeans on Friday in recognition of the Memorial Day holiday.

I decided to include with my jeans a special hat (I have more hats than my wife has shoes): A baseball cap with the name of the ship I served on when in the Navy.

There are rules of etiquette that I like to follow when wearing a hat. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned that way. For instance, you can wear a hat into an office building, but you should take it off upon entering an office. Same with a hotel. It's okay in the lobby, or even in the hallways. You should take it off upon entering a hotel room. Get it?

On this day I threw etiquette to the wind and decided to wear the cap all day. This caused me to be the recipient of a few compliments, thanking me for my service. My response was as follows:

"Thank you, but you have Veterans Day to honor us. Memorial Day is to honor those who never came home."

So, as you take time to gather with family and friends to eat burnt offerings of brats and burgers, and even to argue the taboos of religion and politics, please remember that there are a number of gravestones that designate the life of someone who has given that life up for you.

With deepest thanks, and prayers to those families who mourn the loss, I take my hat off to you, and thank you for your service.

-j.p.

 (The title is a reference to the song from Joe Cocker.)

©Emittravel 2016