Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Had A Good Sports Day

Had a good sports day yesterday.

Had the day off. Puttered around trying to change my life but I accomplished nothing.

I am Sisyphus.

However, at 3:00 I dialed up the Red Sox. Game 1 of the 2015 season.

Maka curled up in my lap and the world looked prettier.

More hopeful. The beginning of any sports season inspires hope. Everyone is hopeful about their team's chances, everybody is talking positive. Except for the grounds keepers of the Cleveland Indians in "Major League."

It really is a warm and comforting feeling. Winter is close to being banished to Hell and life just might get a tiny bit easier.

Maybe we could have some fun. Actually live life. Actually enjoy it.

There is a mania surrounding the beginning of the football season and I love it. I live for it. It crowds the prospect of winter to the edges of my mind, temporarily. It is wild, it is uber-hype, it is insane passion.

Baseball begins with a sigh.

I love it. It feels so good.

The Sox opened in Philly yesterday. It was 68 degrees.

68.

Fans sat in the stands in T-shirts.

Spectacular.

The Sox kicked ass.

Are you kidding me? Five home runs. Two from Dustin Pedroia, two from Hanley Ramirez, including a grand slam that made it 8 zip Sox, and one by Mookie Betts.

Got a kick out of Joe Castiglione as we motored our way to an excellent dinner last night. Talking about the fire power, then he says "but they didn't do a very good job of moving the runners along."

You gotta love baseball fans.

Clay Buchholz looked great. Il Fabuloso.

Will he step up to become the Ace of the pitching staff? Interesting proposition because he is such a head case.

But he got the job done yesterday in grand style.

They won Game 1. Felt really good. Which is kind of insane because they got 161 (at least) games to go and that game means next to nothing.

Except for how they did it. Except for the fact that it was Game 1 of 2015, baby.

Wednesday night is the next game and you better believe Carol and I will sit down to a hot dog, chips and beer dinner while we dig on the new version of the Boston Red Sox.

Got home from dinner at 10:15 to half time of the Wisconsin/Duke extravaganza.

It was tied. How perfect was that?

I sat down with a dollop of Makers Mark and promptly announced that I would never see the end of the game.

Then I went right straight ahead and did. Watched the whole goddamn second half with eyes wide open.

Exciting stuff. March Madness is a high point for us wee folk seeking any kind of thrill we can find. The games are high energy and there is so much at stake.

All that youth with no real concept of what life is about, how it works, how it mostly disappoints.

The only thing in their lives at this time of year is the pursuit of the NCAA championship,

That is a beautiful thing.

The game was exciting but it had the wrong ending.

Wisconsin hung in there but blew it in the end.

I was rooting deeply for a continuation of hope.

The Sox got the ball rolling, Wisconsin had the opportunity to make hope huge. Large enough to obliterate deadlines and commitments for a couple of days.

They came up short and that is how life works. It giveth and it taketh away.

The Sox play again on Wednesday night. Carol and I are looking forward to that. We will enjoy our beginning of the season ritual in peace, together.

I am truly excited for baseball at this time of year. Especially when the Sox play like they did yesterday.

1 game down, 161 (at least) to go.

I can deal with that. I can hope with that.

In the meantime, I had a really good sports day yesterday.

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