Spice Up Your Life

I’ve been meaning to do this for a while. I swear. Hey, at least I made it out before Suri.

          I’m back in Kansas and start my new job on Monday. I am very excited. Anyone would be getting to work in sports. And thusly, this site will forever be Jayhawk free. It just has to be that way. Unless you want updates on our cross country teams or knowledge about the second-largest track meet in the country. I’m fine with it. Are you?

          Of course I’ve been watching the World Cup. It has been great.  Well, except for us. That sure wasn’t fun. That or about 170 minutes of England's two matches. But at least they have six points. And David Beckham. Which means they also have Posh. Which means they could potentially have Sporty Spice and for some reason she was always my favorite, not Ginger or Baby or Scary or even Posh. Which makes me think I know way too much about the Spice Girls even though I never saw a second of Spiceworld, I swear, even when it was on TBS. Which makes me wonder if you’re still reading this, what after three very long sentences dedicated solely to the Spice Girls when my original intention was to talk about the World Cup and how much fun it has been? Right, the World Cup! It makes me so happy just thinking about it.

          And there has plenty of baseball. Of course I headed out to the Valley of the Sun and caught only one game. A big shellacking after the whole Jason Grimsley thing broke. Wasn’t that just lovely? Add this to things that make you go Hmmmm…: Right after that story broke, Albert Pujols got injured. Like the next day. Now people are suspecting him. I have my reservations. It’s not like he’s that big. Rest in Peace, Earthquake. Rest in Peace. 

          So in baseball, there have been the Yankees. They seem to still be doing quite well, despite missing two-thirds of their outfield. Say what you will about what they spend to get said outfield, and it is ludicrous, they are still in first place in a very tough division. Ok, not by much. But that’s all it takes to put the pennant up in your stadium. Deal. With. It. 

          Of course, I am still not conceding anything I have said about the Blue Jays, even as they stand two games back from those Bronx Bombers as of right now. Ok, their offense is good. Yes, that is severely understated because I am a Yankees fan and I do not take them seriously. Until I realize they’ve won two World Series in the past 15 years and I dig into their numbers. The Blue Jays lead the majors in runs scored, hits and batting average and are second in RBIs, on-base percentage and home runs.

          But then there’s the pitching. 23^rd in ERA. 10^th in earned runs as a staff. And their bullpen has thrown the sixth most innings of any unit toeing the rubber. Of the five team ahead of them, four have losing records. Except the Mets. And their bullpen ERA is a run and a half less than our Canadian neighbors.

          And the Royals. They fired their General Manager. Wake me up in three years when I can see the results.

          So where does that leave. Ah yes, back to the World Cup. I originally picked the Germans to win the thing, but after watching the Argentines, I have my doubts.

          Hockey, you say? Haven’t I been watching the Stanley Cup Finals since I profess to be such a big hockey fan? I have, even after the heartbreak of the Sabres subsided. It has been a great series and is totally up for grabs now. How to fix it? That’s simple: get it on a bigger network. When I was in LA, my sister had 100 channels included in her basic cable connection. The Outdoor Life Network was not one of them. They can try to change their name but even that won’t save it. Thank you Bob Goodenow.

          And the NBA? Yes, I’ve watched. And it has been painful. The Western Conference Finals were great. Mark Cuban winning the NBA Championship is not. This would be a bad thing for the NBA and ESPN. Trust me.

          So where does that leave us? With this closing thought: has it ever occurred to anyone else that Star Wars is ultimately about the drama surrounding two Jewish Princesses? Both in the movie and in real life.  Why isn’t this talked about more? Does that mean Luke was Jewish too? Not with that blonde hair. But there’s always a chance with Lando.