Post-Season Pic #14- The Last for This Year

I had to make it an even two weeks of Post-Season Pics.

Thanks to the "boys of summer" for an incredible season.

It is now officially "winter."

And football season, of course.

But, in case you were wondering, there are only
106 days
until pitchers and catchers report!

Post-Season Pic #13- Let's Play Two

It's hard to let go of the summer game. 

So let's get two quotes for one picture today!

Post-Season Pic #12- Tonight's the Night

Third base bag from last regular season game at the Metrodome.

Game 7- It will be over tonight.
 Houston Astros  vs.  Los Angeles Dodgers
The elimination game. The last day of "summer."

Post-Season Pic #11- Good Advice

Game 6- Back to LA
 Houston Astros  vs.  Los Angeles Dodgers
An elimination game.
Will it end tonight with an Astros championship?
Or will we go through another elimination game tomorrow?
Stay tuned. It's been a classic!

Post-Season Pic #10- A Game of Words

Travel Day
 Houston Astros  vs.  Los Angeles Dodgers
And we all need a day off after yesterday's game!

Post-Season Pic #9- When You're Down, You're Down

Game 5:
 Houston Astros  vs.  Los Angeles Dodgers

All tied at two games each. That means at least a six game series!
It has been a classic!

Post-Season Pic #8- The Promise of Wisdom

Game 4:
 Houston Astros  vs.  Los Angeles Dodgers
Astros lead Series 2 games to 1
What will happen tonight?

Post-Season Pic #7- Better Than the Ritz

Tonight it's Game 3
 Houston Astros  vs.  Los Angeles Dodgers

It's all tied up at 1 game apiece.
Astros looking for first EVER championship.
Dodgers looking for first in 29 years.

Post-Season Pic #6: Can't Argue With Yogi

No game tonight.
 Houston Astros  vs.  Los Angeles Dodgers

Post-Season Pic #5: Magnetic and Addictive?

Tonight: Game 2
 Houston Astros  vs.  Los Angeles Dodgers

Post-Season Pic #4: It's the World Series

Game 1: It begins tonight.
 Houston Astros  vs.  Los Angeles Dodgers
Last time won the World Series
Never                         1988

Post-Season Pic #3: Men of Character

Lou Gehrig    Jackie Robinson    Roberto Clemente
Three who did more than just play ball;
they made us a better people!

Post-Season Pic #2: There's Truth in There

Post-Season Pic #1: Sports Truism

True last night.

Tonight, it's TV.

# 42/April 15 - Jackie Robinson Day

Jackie Robinson, # 42, played in his first major league game on April 15, Opening Day, 1947.


The United States was forever changed.


Integration, Civil Rights, hinted at as a burning need when the African-American soldiers came home from World War II with fewer freedoms than  the countries they helped free.

Now baseball, the American National Pastime, was integrated.
Just his playing skills would have been enough to get him into the Hall of Fame. Being the first to break the "color barrier" in MLB made it more than about baseball. His character as a human being, unwilling to bend and lower himself, yet never resorting to returning hatred for hatred, shines through these 69 years later.

If you didn't get to see the Ken Burns produced program on PBS on Mr. Robinson, do so. It's more than baseball; it shows what makes the United States who we are- for both better and worse- and calls us to be more than we have been before.

In Memoriam: Jim Ed Brown

I missed this last month when the singer Jim Ed Brown died on June 11, just before he was to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. We had the good fortune of seeing him in January when we were at the Grand Ole Opry. He was 81.

A Day in Nashville- Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

 

	Needless to say the musicians who make it into a Hall of Fame have to have done some great stuff. Roger Miller earned 11 Grammy Awards- and they are right there in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
	Ricky Skaggs is one of the top country and bluegrass musicians around- and he's been doing it for years. Here's his mandolin he played in January 1962 at age 7 on the Flatt and Scruggs TV show and his CMA Male Vocalist of the year from 1982.
Ralph Stanley- a legend! Here is the display honoring his "retirement". He may have said "Farewell"' but we did see him last year at the Opry.	And Stanley's Grammy for the soundtrack of O Brother Where Are Thou? the movie that gave Bluegrass and country music a real boost that hasn't let up.
One of my musical heroes is John Hartford. Gentle on my mind is only one example of his musicianship. Below are his Grammys and on the right, the shoes he wore to make a percussion accompaniment while onstage.

More to come later. It was quite a place to visit!!!

In Memoriam: Mr. Cub- Ernie Banks

Ernie Banks
(January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015)

“There’s sunshine, fresh air, and the team’s behind us. Let’s play two.”

A New Hall of Famer

I mentioned the other day when posting about the All-Star Game that it is a good place to "collect" famous names. One of them became more famous on Tuesday when he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Pitcher John Smoltz, now a broadcaster was there in both his current and past occupations. So I thought I would post the two pictures I have of him from July.

First is from the "Legends and Celebrities" Softball Game on the Sunday before the Tuesday game. He was, of course, pitching.

Second picture was prior to the game on Tuesday as he was prepping with one of the TV crew.

This was his first year of eligibility and, obviously, a well-deserved honor.

John Smoltz will join three other baseball greats in the Hall of Fame. Two other pitchers were also elected on their first year of eligibility- Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez. Joining them is Craig Biggio who fell two votes short last year. It is the first time since 1955 that four players have been elected.

No Better Example

Jackie Robinson
National Baseball Hall of Fame