September 22 – Unexplainable?

Unexplainable?
Unexcuasable? Michigan?
Writers saw same team.

Michigan, as a football team, stunk up the joint yesterday.

Michigan, as a football team, stinks.

Michigan, until about 2PM Saturday afternoon was thought to be one of the best teams in the county.

A top ten team.

Michigan changed everyone’s minds with their game play at Wisconsin.

Their performace was unexplainable.

Their performance was unexcusavke.

They were pretenders.

They were a fraud.

Now wait just a minute.

The only reason most of us had any idea that Michigan was a top ten team was because the people who are paid to know such things told us such things.

Like Will Rodges, all I know is what I read in the papers.

What, where, who, how and why did the collective sports world think Michigan was so good?

And because the sportwriters thought so and wrote so and said so, it is Michigan’s fault that the team is not as good as the sportwriters thought?

How dumb and I to listen to sports writers?

At the end of the day, I am a Michigan Man, so called.

A winning football team would be better than a losing football, but I do not consider myself a Michigan Man because OF the football team.

While in no way comparable, I am reminded of the Iron Brigade in the Civil War.

The Iron Brigade was the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the 1st Corps of the Army of the Potomac.

The wore distinctive black hats called a Hardee Hat which looked like a Lincoln stovepipe hat with a wide brim, pinned up on one side, aussie style.

This in the Army of the Potomac, the army of the Eastern United States, was made up of regiments from Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan.

It was recognized as one of the hard fighting units in the army and was famous throughout both the armies if the North and South.

At Gettysburg, when the Iron Brigade came into view, Confederate soldiers were heard to say, ‘It’s those Black Hat fellers again.’

It was at Gettysburg that the Iron Brigade was wrecked.

In the first day at Gettysburg, the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the 1st Corps of the Army of the Potomac lost two thirds of its effective strength of 1800 men.

“And,” wrote Bruce Catton in Glory Road, his thee volume history of the Army of the Potomac, “for the rest of the war, it existed as a shadow, always a great name but never again a mighty force in battle.”

Like I wrote, the state of Michigan Football cannot in anyway be compared to the Iron Brigade.

But the simply poetry of the phrase, always a great name, appeals to me.

I hope I am wrong.

I hope the eggheads in the Athens of the West can collectively come up with a Coach who can prepare a team of athlete’s to compete on the big stage.

If not, win or lose, always a great name.

I can live with that.

September 12 – Yogi Berra wrong?

Yogi Berra wrong?
not over, but it’s over
Aussies keep Ashes

Mr. Berra is credited with saying something like, “It ain’t over, until it’s over.”

Many times in sports and in life, this rings true.

No surprise that, in the Ashes, it doesn’t apply.

The Ashes is a test cricket series between Australia and England that is played every other year and alternates sites between England and Australia.

A test cricket series is made up of 5 test cricket matches.

Each match can last up to 5 days with breaks each day for lunch and tea.

A cricket match can end as a:

WIN: One team has more runs at the end of the match

Tie: Both teams have the same amount of runs and wickets at the end of a match.

Draw: If a match ends with one team not being able to complete their innings at bat before the end of play.

No Result: Match has started but due to weather or light or something else cannot be completed.

Abandoned: Match never stated.

One quirk of Cricket is that the Ashes is a best of five series, but regardless of results, all five matches are played.

If this was a World Series, all seven games would be played even if one team won the first four.

Another quirk of the Ashes is that in case of a series draw, the team holding the Ashes, gets to keep the trophy.

This year, Australia won Test 1 and Test 4.

England won Test 3 (in dramatic fashion)

Test 2 was a draw.

The best England can do is a Draw for the 2019 Series.

So it’s over and Australia keeps the Ashes.

But Test 5 still has to be played.

So it’s not over.

That’s Cricket!

August 16 – outside the off stump

outside the off stump
bowled, L B W
65 for 3

Hard to get my creative conscious to focus away from cricket when I am listening to the 2nd Test of the 2019 Ashes from Lords.

I used the cricket term, L B W which stands for Leg Before Wicket.

Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batter can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket, but was instead intercepted by any part of the batter’s body (except the hand holding the bat). The umpire’s decision will depend on a number of criteria, including where the ball pitched, whether the ball hit in line with the wickets, and whether the batter was attempting to hit the ball. (Wikipedia)

Names and Numbers on the shirts for the first time

I have to point out that, from a Haiku point of view, using the initial, W, instead of the word, WICKET, uses more syllables.

I am reminded of the time at WZZM13 that I was asked to write out a tag line about the website for use on air.

I was told to keep it simple.

So I wrote out, ‘Go to Double You Double You Double You dot Double You Zee Zee Emm Thirteen dot com for more information.’

If I remember right, the producer put it in the script like that which made the anchor laugh out loud on air.

Then he read the tag, slowly.

August 1 – The Ashes!

slips and a gully
mid on, mid off, driven left
and there is no run

Imagine if every two years, Michigan and Ohio State told that sporting world that they were taking time for a private contest.

Then for five weeks, they played a match that was the best of five games.

The games wouldn’t be sanctioned by the Big 10 or the NCAA.

This was a just between them and they were going to play.

That is the Ashes.

A private sporting contest between England and Australia every two years, alternating between countries.

And its test match cricket.

Five days are reserved for play.

Two sides of 10 batters and all 10 batters bat until they are out for one inning and there two innings.

Breaks for lunch, tea and drinks.

And don’t tell me that cricket doesn’t keep up with the times.

This year, for the 1st time ever, players have names and numbers on their … jumpers.

July 11, 2019 – won’t read about it

won’t read about it
a team that farted way through –
comes back, now to Lord’s

Sports writing at its finest!

I have to admit I have never seen sports writing quite like this before though I have seen teams, that for the life of me, can only be described as performing in the same way.

MS Dhoni is run out by Martin Guptill during New Zealand’s Cricket World Cup semi-final win over India. Photograph: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

From the Guardian in ‘Incredible comeback’: Cricket World Cup victory prompts outpouring of joy in New Zealand

In the early hours of Thursday morning, New Zealanders collectively rubbed their tired eyes. On the other side of the world, something miraculous was happening. They could scarcely believe what they were seeing.

Indian fans despaired. Pakistani fans laughed. New Zealand fans simply revelled.

“You wouldn’t read about it,” said Mike Lane of Alternative Cricket Commentary. “What an incredible comeback from a team that farted their way through … now they are going to the home of cricket, Lords.”