Random Thoughts May 31

More random thoughts while listening to "Pug Noises."

-What is it about the game of baseball/softball that grips us who have the fever?  The way one call, one move, one bad hop changes the way the rest of the game goes?  The difficulty in hitting a round ball square?  Is it because it is a game of speed, a game of power, and game of finesse all rolled into one?  Or is it just because we like the idea of spending 2 hours or more in good weather (frozen snot of March/April and September/October acknowledged!)  Jim Bouton got it right: "I spent my whole life gripping a baseball to find out it was the other way around.

-The Angels got off to a better start than they have the last couple of seasons and are looking serious in a competitive American League West.  The A's hold a 2 1/2 game lead, the Rangers are over .500 and the Mariners appear vastly improved.  The Astros have even won seven in a row.  It could be a real dogfight all season.  If Trout, Pujols, and Hamilton all get going simultaneously, or even better, alternately, I really believe the Angels could be the team to beat.  Gotta like the A's consistency so far.  Losing Prince Fielder could be a good thing for the Rangers: gotta be a team and Ron Washington has proved he can make them play like one.

-What is it about the Giants and their every other year thing?  They have the best record in baseball, and Tim Lincecum has become his every other season self.  Milwaukee has shown a similar level of consistency.  Pitching and defense are important, and both teams have adequate amounts of both.  What can be said about the Cubs?  Oye!

-What is it about the National League East and American League Central that makes them so...beatable?  Detroit looks good, but everyone else in both divisions are playing mediocre baseball.  Even Atlanta, who leads the NL East, solved the Red Sox 10 game losing streak.  By the end of the season, we could be talking about these two divisions because they will provide the closest pennant race.  It could be a mediocre one, though.

-The Opening of the World Cup is just two weeks away.  I look forward to the event the rest of the world watches.  Hope the U.S. can give a good accounting and reach the knockout stage.  A tall order it is, however.  The Group Stage opponents are Germany, Portugal, and Ghana.  Germany and Portugal are European powers, and Ghana has defeated the U.S. in past World Cup performances.  Landon Donovan staying home leaves the question of where veteran leadership, important in strong World Cup showings, will come from.  By the way, watch for Germany's Chrisoph Kramer: this could be his breakout into worldwide stardom.

So...am I off base?

Reality Check

\\We sometimes forget that the games we play and coach are preparing for the real game: the one that begins after age 18.  I am involved with two very different teams at very different levels.  I do the stats for the Varsity Baseball Team at Elkhart Christian Academy.  I am the Manager of the Major Softball team at Cleveland Little League.   The difference between the two teams are night and day.

I love my softball team.  They are pretty, they listen when I speak, and they laugh when they make an error.  They are just learning how to compete.  They are a wonderful group that I get the joy of trying to teach them something about the game and about life.  They are 5-7 years away from playing the real game and that is all the time in the world.  They are only two-thirds the way there.

I love my baseball team.  I have kept their stats, a simple job, that my undiagnosed ADHD mind can look for 58 other things to do at the same time.  They are the survivors of Little League and Travel Ball.  They are just a couple of years, and, in the case of the seniors, a couple of minutes, away from the real game.  Time is short and they are trying to seize every last moment.  Heck, I just realized the Seniors are on their Commencement Eve.  Tomorrow night at this time, they will have their diplomas.

My softball team braids each other's hair.  They ride each other's nerves the only way estrogen can.  They throw like girls and it is expected.  The girls they throw like would hurt you in a hurry.  I love seeing the light come on.  They satisfy the craving for the process of teaching and learning.

My baseball team knows they all have hair.  They ride each other like ponies, and it is expected.  They also have each other's back and it is all good.  They satisfy the desire to enjoy the moment and love the game.

One moment during tonight's Sectional semi-final win against Lakewood Park brought the two teams together for a moment.

We scored three quick runs in the first inning, and watched Lakewood get back in the game, tying the score at 3 in the sixth inning.  As the visitors, the momentum was against us, and we had the bottom half of the order in the seventh.  The top of Lakewood's order was due in the seventh.  It didn't look good.

Enter Sung Jong Kim.

S.J., a student from Korea, is a senior and a student manager.  He sat down next to me and said, "I hope we win.  I'm not ready for this to end."

My mind, ADHD and all, went back to playing my final high school match, my final days as a Purdue golfer, and the last day in PGA Playing Tests, missing by four shots.  I saw my softball team, just learning what this competition thing is all about.  I saw the travel baseball players I've coached, refining their best.  I saw this team, fighting for it's baseball life against a team it defeated easily about four weeks ago.  I saw Kenny, still not sure where he was going to go to college, but hoping to play baseball there.  I saw Tanner, with a huge opportunity in front of him.  I saw my own son, Robby, who could be sitting in either of their seats three years from now.

It didn't end tonight.  One of those travel players I coached, Jon Kintner, ripped his first extra base hit of the season with the bases loaded and two out.  We play for a Sectional Title on Saturday.  One more game, S.J.

I'm not ready, either.  My 49 year-old coaching mind and teaching body isn't ready either.

So...am I off base?

Random Thoughts- May 27

Come inside my mind.  The company may not be high class, but it can be interesting.

-Just saw the Angels get four doubles in the second inning against the Mariners.  Pretty clear Felix Hernandez is not pitching.  The Angels are off to a much better start.  If they can maintain, the division could be theirs. At a minimum.

-Why did I spend an hour and half on the phone tonight?  My high school age son needed some geneology that my sister earned with many trips to the Library.  She doesn't have a computer, or scanner, or even internet in her home.  Did I mention I have an old school family?  Our conversation ended in a painful place for a German: We found family members in France.  OUCH!

-My softball team had to reschedule it's fourth game of the season.  Our Little League park is all water table.  When I teach sliding, we need to wear swimwear.  Occasionally, a pitcher kicking at the rubber has started a gusher.  Outfielders don't backpedal, they backstroke.  Thank you very much, I'll be here all week.  Be sure to tip your waiters and waitresses well.

-IndyCar runs in Detroit this weekend.  Belle Isle Park is a tight road course, placing a premium on track position.  Simon Pagenaud won one race here last year; look for a repeat.  He is a definite contender for the Series Championship.  I'll pick him to win the whole thing right now.  The biggest sign of improvement will be an oval victory.

-ECA baseball got a favorable sectional draw.  If things fall correctly, looks for the Eagles to repeat as Sectional Champs.  Pitching depth will be the issue, hurt by the injury to Jake McCown.  Argos better hope we don't get another shot at them: we will play at a different caliber.

-Women's College World Series opens this week.  I like Alabama to win the whole show.  Watch out for Louisiana Lafayette as a sleeper pick.  While Alabama can be dominating at time, Louisiana Lafayette went to Arizona and shut down a hugely potent offense.  If they do it for a week, it could be a real surprise in Oklahoma City.

-A final nod of remembrance for the reason behind Memorial Day.  Thank you to all who served and allow me to do the things I love to do.

So...am I off base?

A Great Finish

The Indianapolis 500 met my expectations.  The finish exceeded them.

One great decision by IndyCar to throw the Red Flag set up the final run.  Apparently, IndyCar learned it's lesson a year ago.  It cost Ryan Hunter-Reay a shot at the first Indy 500 win then.  He didn't miss it today.

Helio Castroneves made one gutsy pass.  Ryan Hunter-Reay made two of them.  Someone wanted his first Indy 500 more than someone else wanted his fourth.  Otherwise, Helio would have made another pass.  He had the car to do it.  Ryan wasn't afraid to cut a little grass to get it done.  Helio wouldn't.

While the race didn't have the lead changes of last year's victory by Tony Kanaan, but it had a large amount of close racing.  It was caution free for a long run at the start.  It was fun to watch.

By the way, Marco Andretti, listen to your grandpa.  Mario told him to get to the front as soon as possible after the red flag situation.  Third place was not the place to be.  Don't care if it was 45 years ago: in this case, Gramps knew best.

Enjoyed the runs by Sage Karam and Kurt Busch.  Kurt ran a very solid race, made good stops and looked like the professional he is.  I wonder if this will give him some positive publicity: he still gets booed a lot at NASCAR races for the way he behaved while winning a Winston Cup a few years back.  I think he needs a change of scenery.  The discipline required to take care of your equipment might unlock Kurt's potential, still untapped in NASCAR.

Sage looked like a veteran, not a 19 year old missing his Senior Prom.  He made solid passes and looked very comfortable on racing's biggest stage.  I loved the Tweet using the same truck he went to his Kart races in to take him to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  It's down to earth, and made him look wiser than his 19 years.  I like his style.  Barring injury, he will be a great addition to the IndyCar family.

So...am I off base?

How To Teach Sliding

I'm writing this because my wife made me.  I told her to give me an assignment, and this is what she decided on.

It's difficult for me to teach this essential skill because I can't do it.  The hip injuries sustained in my tween years kept me from learning how to slide.  No one ever taught me, how do I teach someone else?

My first way was to have a son who taught it for me.  Both of my children have an ability to teach and do well with children.  He communicated well, a skill that has deteriorated with puberty, and successfully taught my teams for a couple of years.

So I listened, and tried to teach it this year.

I started with having the players sit on the ground, and make a figure four of their legs.  I explained that this was the correct position to get your legs into for sliding.   I have the girls take a fifty five foot run up and leap forward, crossing the legs in front of their bodies in the air and landing on the backside or upper legs to slide into the bag.

I can only explain so much, it's up to the players to execute.  To ease their initial attempts, I use cardboard slips from large pallets.  The girls slide on the cardboard instead of the dirt.  It's a good way to start.  It has been successful for the girls.

Only one injury in the last five years, and about a 50% success rate.  I like to think it's because I've had wonderful girls who want to learn.

So...am I off base?

Good Bye

I am preparing for Senior Night at ECA for our softball and baseball programs.  Softball plays South Bend Career Academy tomorrow night.  Baseball plays their final home game on Memorial Day against Lakeland.  I am the father of a freshman, so this year is not as bittersweet as it will be.

I still feel the pain.  My high school didn't honor Senior Night for non revenue sports, so I don't even remember my final home match.  I remember being the only one of my team to play college golf, then spending several years as a golf professional.  My last competitive round was a cold fall day in Schaumburg, IL, shooting 80-76 to fail in another PGA qualifier by four strokes.  Those four strokes came in last three holes of the morning round,: bogey, double bogey, bogey.  I was 33 years old, a toddling son at home, and the need and desire to be a dad, not just a father.  I was incredibly lucky to play so long.

I wonder what will go through the Senior's minds.  Softball has four wonderful young ladies playing their last home game.  I've followed three of them through the entire school year: soccer, volleyball, and basketball.  Brie Lowe, Makenzie Colon, and Savannah Minnes played other sports, while Leah Lovan played only softball.  I wonder what they're planning.  College?  Work?  Work, than College?  Family plans?  With the microphone in my face, I get to read all about it.  Hope my emotions don't get the better of me.

I've been closer to the baseball players and know a little more about Tanner Watson, Kenny Bearss, Kyle Zuber, Jaxson Moore, and Jon Anderson.  Tanner and Kenny are continuing to the next level.  Jaxson is playing another sport at the next level.  I believe they know how blessed they are to play at that level.  It is a special thing to go to College and play.  Treasure it, remember the guys you played ball with.  The games will fade, but the connection of being on a team with someone who chose to do the same thing you did remains forever.  So do the jokes, the teasing, the pranks.  These guys are the ones that show up during the victories and tragedies that are in the real game of life, even if you haven't seen them since High School.

Seniors, how are you feeling about it?  Bittersweet and sad it is over?   Relieved to get to the end of it?  Ready to get on with the next step, or enjoying what you have left before it ends forever?

I have told Robby, my freshman at home, that when you're done playing, make sure you are done.   You will never get it back.  Life and the game are lived going forward, but only understood in reverse.  I hope all your coaches, especially the ones at home, prepared you for the real game.

It starts soon.

So...am I off base?

Random Thoughts- May 19-20

Random thoughts waiting for the sleep that may never come.

-Watch Kurt Busch hit the wall at Indianapolis today and just had to cringe.  He hit the wall at over 220 MPH, and was ready to walk away before the car had stopped.  IndyCars are America's closest thing to the edge of technology.  Formula One is even closer, but not by much.  Indianapolis could have one of it's best races in the last 15 years.  At least one third of the field could be very competitive for an engraving on the Borg Warner Trophy.  Seeing how close the shootout was for the pole will be an indicator of what kind of race we will see.

By the way, I favor James Hinchcliffe.  It may finally be Canada's turn: sorry Scott Goodyear.  I'm already one for one in Indy races in the month of May.

-Saw an ugly moment in tonight's ECA-Argos baseball game.  I saw a first baseman get stepped on.  He got to the dugout, stretched and then couldn't stand.  Was it intentional?  The runner ran inside the foul line all the way to first.  He didn't prevent the double play, but he did get the first baseman/cleanup hitter out of the game.  His team won on a walk off single with the bases loaded and two out in the seventh, the perpetrator standing on first.  Just hope our player is okay.

-My Angels have unveiled a new Rally Cat.  During the weekend, a cat appeared in the rock area in the grass beyond the outfield fence during an Angel rally to a game over the Rays.  Allie the Rally Cat would be a new trend to replace the Rally Monkey.  I know this: no Rally Cat could ever catch a Trout.  Trout can catch anything.

-Local to my area, the Senior PGA Championship transpires at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  Harbor Shores is a Jack Nicklaus design using links style golf with American golf course conditions.  When the wind blows, the golf course rarely gives up low scores.  Look for a winner who grew up playing in wind: Florida, Texas, or possibly overseas.

So...am I off base?

Know Your Cliche's

Crash Davis got this one right.  "You're going to have to learn your cliche's.  You're going to have to study them.  You're going to have to know them.  They are your friends."

Especially if you're coaching.

In my day, "You've got to play them one day at a time." was King.  Makes sense: you can't play tomorrow's game today.  However, if you spend everything at once trying to win a single game and have nothing left for the next one, did you do your job as a coach.  The saying makes sense in a single elimination situation or when you really need a rivalry win. However, it's a sign of poor coaching to leave nothing for the next game.

Developing talent is another job.  One I hear often today is, "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."  True on it's own, and designed to be an individual motivator.  Does hard work really equal talent?  If one can run home to first in under four seconds, how do you beat that?  Strike it out.  What if it has freakish hand eye and can hit 95 MPH pitching?  You call it a potential millionaire.  When all the freakish talent is in one place, it's called Major League Baseball.  Now the hard work makes a difference.  Same with mere mortals, too.

I use, "It's not how you start, it's how you finish."  Brought to my full attention by the Nike Human Chain ad four years ago, breathed life by The Hours' "Ali in the Jungle" (minus nasty words.)  As a coach, I am interested in your and our improvement.  I don't want to know what you used to do.  Comfortable players go nowhere.  I'm going to make you uncomfortable and you're going to be better for it.  Some coaches take joy in making you uncomfortable, and even look to belittle for it.  I want to encourage you through it.  If a player just makes the change and works through it quicker, the next level is now possible.  Length of the Little League season makes this kind of teaching difficult: when they get it, season's over.

Timeless, and often quoted out of context is "Winning isn't everything.  It's the only thing."  Vince Lombardi's favorite has been used to justify a "win at all cost" mentality.  The original quoting comes from Red Sanders, UCLA football coach in the 20's, and is centered on the definition of winning.  The scoreboard is one judge, and undeniable.  Winning and Losing are impostors.  You can win a game and not do anything right.  You can play perfectly and lose.

Winning is getting the best out of yourself on a given day, even when you don't feel well or the conditions are poor.  Winning is fighting bravely when you have nothing else going for you.  Winning is bringing Glory to the one who gave you the ability by getting the best out of what you have.

So...am I off base?

What's A Coach Supposed to Do?

It's been a dead week in Coachville.  My schedule had only one game, originally for tonight, moved to tomorrow night.  My son's high school baseball schedule had one game, scheduled for tonight.  The high school softball schedule had a single game on Monday.  I'm used to three games in one night, let alone an entire week.  Even the dog knows who I am again.

Many people would believe that's how it works.  I can tell you that a good coach has something different on the docket.

We were scheduled to practice this week, and the weather won both days.  Practice plan would have strengthened the team.  It now has to be done on the fly.  Adjustment is the essence of coaching.

I have games to re schedule, three of them to be exact.  One is complete, still waiting on the other two.  It takes time to track down other coaches and make sure my own field is available to schedule games.  Watching videos to learn new techniques for teaching skills.  Watching college games to look at techniques and strategy.  Even the high school game on Monday was used to teach one player, my daughter, how and how not to do things.  Running over scenarios in my mind for batting orders, defensive alignments, and designing ways to teach individuals some skills they need to advance.

Good coaches are always looking to improve themselves and their teams.  Good coaches try to get players to mine the best of themselves, not force it out of intimidation or fear.  Good coaches are always working.  Good coaches find a way to get players to keep working and getting better.  Good coaches command the player's respect because they are working, too.

It would be egotistical for me to say I am a good coach.  I've worked for and around some great coaches.  Two of them have 700 victories in their chosen sport, one basketball, one softball.  Another won a National Championship while I was a student manager and finished runner up another year.  I have seen a great Little League coach win a President's Tournament, and a travel coach that helped me become a better organized and efficient coach.  I've learned from every coach I ever worked around, even the ones who were my assistants.

The process will not stop as long as I must help players get the best out of themselves.  Maybe, someday, someone will consider me a good coach.  I'm not worried about that.  I'm looking to help my team.

So...am I off base?

Random Thoughts- May 13

Some random thoughts on a night when I canceled practice for possible weather.

-It is tough watch Cubs baseball these days.  I watched a few innings of Sunday's matchup with the Braves.  Edwin Jackson started and looked a lot like the High School starter I saw the day before.  More like the one that lost 17-1.  They are a Minor League team in Major League uniforms.  By the way, Chicago Cubs have the third highest ticket prices in the Majors.  Enjoy your season in Wrigley.

It has reached an extreme.  The Cubs do not have to win to fill Wrigley Field.  The Cubs have a couple of good players in the minors, (Kris Bryant, for one) but they don't seem to be filling out with lots of good players the way the Red Sox did.  The owner is more interested in Jumbotrons and maximizing revenue.  Proves the game is not the attraction.

-I've watched around a dozen High School Varsity baseball games this spring and I've reached a couple of conclusions.  First, the basics of the game are being sacrificed for competition.  The number of errors is much greater than I expected.  Travel baseball, the path to playing time at the varsity level, over competes and under practices.  Second, offensively, I've seen a fair amount of swinging away, little hit and run, or small ball.  Is it a case of more poor fundamentals?

-I have also watched a couple of high school softball games.  I'm surprised how well I've been teaching the girls I coach.  It surprises me how many players tend to stand and watch the game while on the field.  I don't let my players watch: the statement I use is, "We don't watch softball, we play it."  

I also can't believe the level of outfield play is poor also.  I have made a point of emphasis to bring outfield play to a higher level.  I'm designating practice time to improve the level of outfield play.  We are working on bunting.  We are trying to make a more solid set of fundamentals.  If I could get them to use two hands on catching the ball, either on the ground or in the air, I might actually sleep at night.

So...am I off base?

Mother's Day 2014

Every individual has a mother.  This fact cannot be negotiated or changed.  She carried us, bore us, bled for us, fed us, changed us, taught us, lead us, nursed us back to health, and countless other duties and chores that maintained us until we became adults.

My mother raised ten children, buried two, and even had a miscarriage.  She loved the title and honored the opportunity to be a mother.  She was Salutatorian of her high school class, and was one of the best business people I have ever met.  She would have been a wonderful addition to the Junior League, or could have been one of the best merchants that ever lived.

She chose to be a Mom.  She told me in her declining days it was a greater challenge than any of those other things could have been.  Her ten children earned 13 more degrees than she and her husband had.  Neither attended college.  She loved being called Grandma even more.  She felt for the women she saw raising children, keeping house and working real jobs outside that home.  She felt they missed great things.

My wife has carried on well.  She has two children that are as challenging as she and her husband were.  The double dose of stubborn our children got made it even tougher.  She does it while honoring God, being a wife, and living with her husband.  She supports her children in things she would have never done.  She supports her husband who is a coach.  Sometimes that description leaves you a single parent, and she does it willingly and lovingly.

She frustrates me, challenges me, and ,occasionally, brings total sense.  I have been blessed by God with her, and I hope I bless her sometimes.  She never voices regret, because she could be capable of more.  She's content where she is.  Maybe she knows to bloom where God planted you.  Like the stuff around the house, work, and the ballpark, she just does it.  Nike can't be anywhere near that good.

Nah...i'm not off base on this one.

Play! Play! I Must Play!

Friday night, and I'm sitting at home.  Say what?

Fall will bring football, something I don't get too very often any more.  High School basketball was king when I was going through school during the Carter and Reagan Administrations.  In college, it was the cut loose after a week of what we thought was hard studying, but I'd still rather sit in the stands or be on a sideline/dugout than go partying with friends.  After we married, we would go grab a bite to eat, but I would look longingly at whatever game was on TV.  It just wasn't at home.

This spring has been practices on Friday because of the way the high school baseball/softball schedule works.  They don't play too many Friday night games to save pitching for the Saturday doubleheader.  I can't think of a better way to start a weekend than practicing or playing, and it doesn't matter the sport (except the NBA).  I love sports, doesn't matter the game (except the NBA).

So what did I do with my night off from diamonds?  Wrote this blog.  Walked the pug, but a much shorter walk then usual.  She has a the pug equivalent of a pulled groin muscle, listed day-to-day, and is out for tomorrow's big game with Abnormal State.  Took a longer walk for myself.  Fielded a couple of calls to try to reschedule games.  Watched baseball, my Angels and the Blue Jays.  Dreamed of going to bed early.

After all, ECA baseball plays at 9:00 am at Bethel College.  ECA softball hosts a tournament that should keep me busy until 4:00 pm.  It's a day expected to be misspent on diamonds.  Not bad for a guy who really has golf in his heart.  That's another story for another day.

So...am I off base?

Pugs and Kisses

Are we all seated?  Good.  I have a confession to make.

I get kissed by a pug.  And I like it.

We adopted Rosie, a purebred pug, from the Humane Society this past July.  She had been turned in as a stray around this time last year.  Not sure why they let this wonderful little dog get away.  She has been good with our two attitude filled teenagers, actually bringing them out of their rooms and away from the electronics for a little while.  She is a tremendous cuddler, usually preferring dad to mom, but enjoying anybody warm.  After all, the pug is the couch potato of the dog world.

Yes, she licks incessantly, but those are just pug kisses.  She makes the strangest grunts, snorts, and occasional screams.  I would probably sound funny if my face were scrunched up like that.  She has more wrinkles than a nursing home.  She is small enough, you look for the rest of the dog.  She is so ugly, she's cute.  She breathes like Darth Vader.  Yep, that's my dog.

Right now, she's leaning her head on my left arm.  Sure plays havoc with my typing.

We owned cats for twenty years.  They were wonderful pets, too.  Sebastian was my cuddler, Hogan preferred my wife.  They were always somewhere useful, but always on their schedule.  After all, cats require staff.

Dogs are happy to see you, although we sometimes interrupt Rosie's late afternoon nap by coming home.  After all, her mid afternoon nap came right after the early afternoon nap, which followed the three morning naps.  Are we sure this isn't a cat?

Rosie is the first dog I have ever owned.  Pugs come with their own challenges: Pug encephalitis, loose knee caps, and those bulging eyes are gonna get hurt some time.  But they are good with kids, show protective tendencies, and can fit in a pocket.  Gotta use food to get them to do anything.

Yes, I got kissed by a pug, and I liked it.

So...am I off base?-=

Indy's New Tradition

One week from today, a new tradition commences in Indianapolis.  I'm looking forward to the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.  It marks a return to something I loved as a kid: daily action in the month of May at the Greatest Speedway on Earth.

I hope the new tradition lives up to my expectation.

The teams were testing last week at the Speedway, trying to capitalize on the novelty of IndyCars running the wrong direction on the front stretch.  The times were acceptable, led by the usual suspects in IndyCar.  Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay lead the points, each winning and taking a pole.  Mike Conway surprised with his win in Long Beach, and could be a dark horse for Indy's first Grand Prix.  Simon Pagenaud is sitting on the edge of breaking through to the upper echelon of drivers, bringing Kingdom Racing's ministry with him.

Pagenaud is my choice to win the first Grand Prix.  My question is: will it sell?

Formula One ran at Indy from 2000-2007.  Plenty of tickets still remained.  Why?  Formula One is the cutting edge of technology and has the most skilled drivers in the world.  The number of drivers capable of driving F1 cars is the smallest of any series.  Americans, who love their cars, stayed away.

The F1 Grand Prix in 2005 was a disaster.  Only six cars competed, all on Bridgestone tires, while the teams that run on Michelin, did the parade and formation laps, then parked.  Seemed the Michelins weren't up to the challenge of Indy.  IMS said it would host F1 again when it made financial sense.  It never did.

Is it the lack of American drivers?  Why do Americans have to go overseas to develop for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing?  Indy Lites are the jump between karts/sprint cars and IndyCars, and they have put on a good show.  Even their drivers are from overseas.  IndyCar has put on some amazing shows in the last 15 years, and plenty of tickets are still available.  NASCAR seems to be in good financial position.  Why the difference?

Sponsor money makes it run, and IndyCar can't seem to bridge that gap. The top draw in the last 10 years, Danica Patrick, jumped to NASCAR citing potential monetary gains.  We don't hear about Charlie Kimball punching Scott Dixon after a race, because it doesn't happen.  NASCAR gets viral videos for their dust ups.  Indy technology is way ahead of NASCAR, who uses what Indy develops years later.  Why can't we generate interest?

Maybe it will work.  I have my doubts.

So...am I off base

Random Thoughts-May 2-3

Some random thoughts while waiting for the feeling to come back to my feet and fingers after practice in 40 degree, drizzling weather.

-Little League Opening Day is tomorrow.  I will not be there, as I have gameday responsibilities for ECA's Varsity Baseball team.  My daughter, the actual player, will be at Academic Super Bowl.  I will miss some of the ceremony, it is always good to see someone being honored for their volunteer work.  I think of guys like Harvey Cunningham, who hasn't had a child in the program the last three years, yet continues to serve as treasurer.  I think of George Zinich, who continued to umpire as long as possible after a health problem.  We named our Senior Field in his honor.  I think of Pam Burleson, whose youngest daughter is many years removed from Little League, but Pam continues to serve the District as Interleague Chairman.  We should name our softball field in her honor.  It is disheartening to see the same people working over and over to provide the day for everyone else.  It's for your kids and their joy of playing a great game.  Can't you find an hour a week to help somewhere?

-An absolute shout out to my real Home Team.  My wife is not a true baseball/softball fan, but she watched the games played by her children and hates to miss any games.  She tolerates me using her as a sounding board when fussing over the line up and my "play matrix", where I decide who will play what position in what inning.  The "play matrix" manifests my game plan.  She listens to my second guessing and just loves on me.  She works the concession stand because she needs to fill our requirement, and then picks up someone else's shift when they are short and during All Star season.  Probably told correctly, she would probably rather read a book.  She is a proud baseball/softball mom, who probably has five more years left before she can curl up with a book.  I will probably be umpiring or coaching tee ball.  She'll still support me.  I love her just because.  She love me...well I can't answer that one.

-Remembering Jeff Sluman's line about golf: "I hate this game, and I can't wait 'til tomorrow when I get to play it again."  Can you think of anywhere else this would fit?

-Hey, Donald Sterling, best wishes and all the best in fighting cancer.  However, being disingenuous isn't going to help.  You've earned your suspension.  Serve it.   At least you're more up front than A-Rod.

So...am I off base?