From base to basket to foot to billiard to golf to nerf to soft, there was not a ball that didn’t bounce around the Brooks house somewhere.
But the best ball was the simple rubber ball. You could play with it indoors or outside. It dramatically reduced potential for broken windows. And when no one else was around, you could play catch with yourself by throwing it against the side of the house.
The Ball takes it place alongside The Stick and The Cardboard Box in the Hall of Fame.
And if they’re open to suggestions, I nominate The Rock.
A “darker” Mickey will debut next year in (what else?) a video game. I suppose this is either the latest sign of the apocalypse or a marketing masterstroke aimed at the next generation. I just hope The Mouse doesn’t go all Mickey Rourke on us. As for Minnie…
Saw a Walgreens ad for this product in the paper this morning.
Too bad David Ortiz didn’t have this fine product when he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003. He might have been able to tell us what he took.
Why not go all the way and hire Jose Canseco do be its pitchman? (“Hey kids, if you’re gonna cheat, don’t get caught!”)
Why is it that the act of voting isn’t complete until you get the little sticker on the way out the door?
It’s all local today, which may not make for dramatic television, but is my favorite kind of Election Day. We’re casting ballots on sewers, playgrounds, schools, open land, our neighbors. Outside many polling places you can shake hands and chat with the people who want your vote.
I could go on, but I wouldn’t do a better job than Jason Hendry, who directs our morning news programs, did in his blog today.
I have been asked why I don’t wear an American flag pin on my lapel. Jay Leno does. So does Jim Nantz. The reason is, I don’t want to. The only time I wore a lapel pin was when the local TV stations made their anchors and reporters wear them, just in case you weren’t sure which station you were watching. And I didn’t want to wear them, either.
I know I’m a proud American. I’m sure you are too. And I think we wear it especially well on days like today. Just not on my lapel.
Doug Barron, who has graced the fairways of Cromwell several times over the years, has the distinction of becoming the first player on the PGA Tour to fail a drug test. He’s been suspended for a year.
You might think he was found out by those 375-yard drives he was booming, but the truth is he’s 40 years old, stands 5-foot-9, and averages 277 yards off the tee. That’s not terribly far by big league golf standards. He apparently got caught by being told to pee in a cup on the wrong day.
You don't take PEDs to achieve this physique. I know.
Barron has bounced between the PGA and Nationwide tours for several years without winning anything. That means he’s no Tiger or Phil, but he’s still good enough to make a living playing golf. There are far more Doug Barrons than there are Tigers and Phils. While the endorsement-rich Tigers and Phils hop their private jets, the Barrons are independent contractors, largely faceless, many of whom survive from tournament to tournament.
After years of effort, Doug Barron has finally made a name for himself on the PGA Tour.
Big decision driving home from work Sunday night. Which radio broadcast to listen to of Game Four of the World Series. It was tied 4-4 going into the 9th when I got in the car.
Sterling
There was the Yankees broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WCBS 880. Out of the question. Not because they’re the Yankees announcers, but because I just can’t handle Sterling’s “A-bomb from A-Rod,” or a “Johnny Rocket,” or a “Tex-Message,” and most especially, “The Yankees win. Thhhhhheeeeee Yankees win!!!” OK, maybe it is because they’re the Yankees announcers.
Miller
On ESPN Radio (WPOP 1410), there was Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. I can give or take Morgan, but I’ve been a longtime fan of Miller. He’s currently the Giants’ play-by-play man, and put in his time with the Red Sox.
But I knew ‘POP would fade before I got home. I turned the dial to the left, to 1210, WPHT, Philadelphia. Sadly, the great Harry Kalas left us earlier this year, so I settled in with, ummm, his successor. Name? Dunno. Seemed competent enough, though.
AAAARGH!!!
Turns out his name is Scott Franzke. And his color man is the one and only Larry Andersen. If you’re a Red Sox fan with a good memory, the name Larry Andersen should make your blood run cold. He was part of one of the worst trades in Red Sox history. 1990. Red Sox general manager Lou Gorman sent Jeff Bagwell, the pride of Killingworth and a future Hall of Famer, to the Houston Astros for a middle reliever who appeared in all of 15 games for Boston.
Larry Andersen. Larry Freakin’ Anderson. Shoulda gone with Miller and Morgan.
The purge is in progress; the garage est finis. (Feeling French.)
“Stuff” has been thrown away or properly recycled. (Feeling green.)
It’s on the recycling end that I made a little discovery you may put to good use. (Feeling helpful.)
Not knowing what I’d do with an old computer and other old electronics and appliances, I googled “electronics recycling Connecticut.” And this web site popped up. (Feeling eureka!)
I loaded the car with the ”stuff,” and headed for this place. (Feeling responsible.)
They took everything but an old coffee maker. (Feeling pretty damn good.)
The owner told me he used to repair computers, but switched to recycling when people started replacing them instead of fixing them. (Feeling informed.)
Where old printers go to die.
Next stop:the basement. (About to feel overwhelmed.)
Had lunch at the in laws’ today. On the sink in their bathroom was Softsoap® Pomegranate & Mango soap.
Yum?
Which, of course, got me to wondering who would think to combine pomegranate and mango. I took a sniff after I squirted some in my hands, and it smelled good. It smelled so good I actually wondered if it tasted as good as it smelled.
I know from experience gathered at a very young age that a bar of Ivory soap does not taste good at all. (I did not take that taste test voluntarily, by the way. It immediately followed my very first and totally unknowing dropping of an “F-Bomb.” As I recall, I said it loudly with gusto in front of my mother.)
I did not taste the Softsoap® Pomegranate & Mango. But I was tempted.
Saw a Walgreens ad for 
