So, I haven't posted in a long time, as is evident, so I've combined a couple of random things here.
Baseball - so while most people have been watching football (I have of course as well) and left the baseball hall of fame discussions aside almost a month ago, I've been pooling through past Hall of Famers, and trying to determine who is in, that shouldn't be, and who isn't in, who should be, nothing along the way those who got in eventually, but had no business taking as long as they did, as well.
When I am finished, I'll write in more detail, but I'll throw out a few names, and anyone who actually know old-time baseball might have thoughts (if you don't, you should get some knowledge on old baseball - it's great! any fan now should do at least a little learning about the history of the game - I would also love to read some more old time baseball books if anyone knows good ones).
In strange #1s on the UK pop charts, how about 1982's Happy Talk by Captain Sensible - here's a readymade formula - take a '70s punk band guitarist gone solo with a nautical nom de plume - and have him a cover a 1940s Rodgers and Hammerstein tune with some new wave flourishes. Honestly, this is absolutely bizarre - I know the Brits love their covers, but a cover of a 1949 South Pacific tune? This has to be one of the odder ones - and yet I find the song now stuck in my head, though I'm not sure how much credit I owe to Raymond Burns (AKA Captain Sensible) (who is apparently known, according to wiki, for wearing "trademark headwear" a red beret, and is a member of the extremely questionable supergroup featuring the vocalist from The Alarm, the drummer from the Stray Cats, and the guitarist from spear of destiny) and how much credit I owe Rodgers and Hammerstein, and the performance of South Pacific I saw in High School (though certainly not that exact version) and their ability to write a song that somehow found renewed popularity in a musical world 180 degrees from their time. Alas, hopefully I'll find another strange #1 to capture my interest soon.
Okay, one more thing - a lot of different types of sports stories get on my nerves, and there's a particular lot of them in the two weeks before the super bowl as writers run out of stories, but the one I'll focus on right now as being a vastly overrated concern - is the old "bulletin board" motivation stories - such as, comments by Giants players, giving the Patriots some material for Bill Belichick to put up on the wall or on the players' lockers, which will spur them to try that extra bit harder to win the super bowl. Are you kidding me? This is the Super Bowl! What football player is not trying as hard as he can! Who is thinking "well, I didn't really want to win before, but now that the giants say they think they can win, I want to beat their brains out with a baseball bat, even though they don't even use one in my sport." Let alone, the New England patriots. Kevin Faulk is surely thinking, well, I came out to play for the first three, but the fourth really just doesn't mean as much to me. Maybe I'm going a little over the top, but seriously, I've got a good feeling motivation is not going to determine the outcome - probably skills of the players, and game planning will have a good deal more to do with it.
