• Home
  • Podcast
  • One Inning At A Time

View My Seats

At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

Photo Credit for Header: Alex Foucre-Stimes

Handshake From High Up

September 5, 2012 by Jon

Yesterday, September 4th 2012, something really remarkable happened. (And no I am not referring to Michelle Obama’s impassioned, empathetic meter turner at the DNC.) The Baltimore Orioles defeated fellow American East mates the Toronto Blue Jays 12-0 to raise their record to 76-59. Baltimore and the New York Yankees, who are beginning to look more and more like a team lost at sea, are now tied atop the division with 27 games remaining in the regular season. This is a substantial development for two reasons: 1) in the middle of July the Yankees held a 10 game lead in the AL East and 2) as we all know, the Orioles, who internally could care less about their negative run differential, are 6 measly victories away from procuring their first winning season since 1997. Here’s what is really freaky, they may have me to thank for their recent rise to the top.

Soccer has Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” and now baseball has what will forever be remembered as the “the handshake”. My brother in law Eddie and I were fortunate enough to attend last Thursday’s night session at the U.S. Open. For those sports fan who have yet to visit the national tennis center it is a must. Great for the family or a single night out on the town. Of course, it’s not cheap and you may need to either dip into the disposable income or, like us, graciously accept a few of freebies.

Back to “the handshake”, it all went down outside of Arthur Ashe Stadium in between Roger Federer disposing of some really short German guy and Venus Williams sadly looking like her best was a thing of the past. As we were bounding down the concourse steps, excited to be a mere 20 paces away from another Honeydeuce and $15 free range chicken sandwich, I noticed a small cluster of people milling around a lower level entry area. At first glance there was nothing spectacular about this group. A couple of fairly attractive ladies in sandals and sun dresses, a few younger business bros who were probably on their way to Montauk to crush some mojitos over Labor Day weekend, and 2 dudes in jeans and tshirts. One of the guys had on a trucker hat pulled way down low which made it nearly impossible to decipher his facial features. But because I’m an Orioles fan, and recovering baseball card collector, I could tell that the man behind the mask was none other than Baltimore 1B Mark Reynolds, who was set to take in a little tennis before the Birds began their crucial three game series against the Yankees the following night.

Without thinking, I turned on a swivel and began walking towards Reynolds who was caught completely off guard when, with right hand extended, I said, “Hey Mark. Huge O’s fan. Good luck this weekend.”. He graciously shook my hand but the whole time had this look on his face like “who the hell is this guy and how does he know I’m Mark Reynolds”. Scared or not, I walked away both extremely proud that I recognized the starting 1B on my favorite baseball team and that he may or may not have been intimidated by my hulking, moderately intoxicated, presence.

Flash forward. Friday night. Orioles/Yankees at the Stadium. Start of a three game series that would go a long way towards determining the AL East. Mark Reynolds, my new best friend, ends the night with 2 home runs, and a couple of remarkable diving stops at first base, as Baltimore rolls 6-1. But it doesn’t end there, in the five games since “the handshake”, Reynolds has gone 8 for 19 with 5 HRs and 11 RBI helping the Orioles to a 4-1 record and tie New York atop the AL East standings.

Now you can say what you want about karma or positive vibes, but if you were in my position and your favorite baseball team hadn’t experienced a winning season in over 15 years, wouldn’t you like to believe that you could play a roll, however minor, in your team’s recent success? Of course, I refuse to accept responsibility if things all of a sudden go bad for the Birds. Blame J.J. Hardy. He was with Reynolds on the night of “the handshake” and was too “distracted” on his cell phone to accept my praises. Who knows, maybe we wil meet again in September.

view from the Rogers Centre courtesy of @SentiaSolutions

 

 

Between the Hedges at the US Open Final

September 13, 2011 by Jon

I was all set to talk about how my friend Chip went down to Athens, Georgia for some good old fashioned SEC football between the Bulldogs and the South Carolina Gamecocks, and then the US Open men’s final between #1 seed Novak Djokovic and #2 seed Rafael Nadal happened. Not to take anything away from Chip’s experience “between the hedges” – by all accounts it was a once in a lifetime experience highlighted by a unannounced trip to a sorority and plenty of hearty tailgating in “the grove” – but the effort and skill on display in Ashe Stadium Monday afternoon into night was impossible to overlook.

In the end, last night was one of the few sporting events where it really didn’t matter who won the match, both were equally deserving of the honor. By far the most compelling aspect of this US Open final was the physical and emotional exertion put forth by these two world class athletes. I was tired out just watching the match from the edge of my couch, tipping and tilting my body with every long rally. How these two players didn’t strain every single muscle in their bodies is beyond me. If it were me on the court last night, I would have needed a week in a hyperbolic chamber to recover from that 4.5 hour marathon.

So Chip, thanks for the view from Sanford Stadium. I still want to know what brought you to Athens in the first place and how in the world you ended up on the 50 yard line. I guess you’ve spent enough time now south of the Mason-Dixon line to warrant inclusion into the world’s largest cocktail party.

Teeing it up on Father’s Day

June 19, 2011 by Jon

A Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there. And a special thanks to my dad for picking me up when I fall down, and for kicking me in the pants whenever I need to be reminded of how lucky we are.

I can’t think of a better way to spend my first Father’s Day as dad than by watching the final round of the U.S. Open live from Congressional. And what a day it should be. With Rory McIlroy holding a commanding 8 stroke lead heading into Sunday, today will hopefully mark the coronation of one of golf’s finest young players.

I hope El Tigre is sitting back, watching this U.S. Open from his massive estate in Jupiter, FL, just biding his time until he’s healthy once again and ready to take on Rory. Because that’s ultimately golf’s biggest story should McIlroy pull through today and win his first career major. Can Tiger return to his old form and challenge the young gun for title of world’s best? I look forward to a least 5 solid years of McIlroy/Woods battling down the home stretch of the majors.

It is going to be tough to pick a favorite between these two once in a generation talents. But, until Tiger is healthy, smart money remains on the precocious talent from Northern Ireland.

view from Congressional courtesy of @wingoz

Welcome to Congressional: A Golfer’s Bill of Rights

June 15, 2011 by Jon

In honor of the 111th US Open to be played this week at Congressional Country Club outside of Washington, D.C., VMS has decided that it is in the best interest of Americans, and golf fans alike, to use the first Ten Amendments of the Constitution as a means to predict our 2011 champion.

Tenth Amendment – power of States and people

Harrison Frazar 200/1: For this one, I had to go with a guy from Texas, that, as far as I know, is still contemplating secession. Or maybe that’s just Rick Perry the GOP Governor of Texas/soon to be running for President in 2012. In any case, Frazar has some momentum after his win last week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Ninth Amendment – protection of rights not specifically enumerated in the Constitution

Angel Cabrera 66/1: This Amendment was created for Cabrera, a guy known for smoking his fair share of “fairway butts”. Citizens may not have the right to smoke in restaurants anymore but, as far as I know, when the cameras aren’t rolling there is nothing preventing “El Pato” from lighting up as he waddles down towards the green.

Eight Amendment – prohibition of excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment

Dustin Johnson 25/1: What happened to Dustin during his final round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach last year, and the PGA Championship at Whistling Straights for that matter, was certainly cruel and unusual. Tough to feel that sorry for a guy who is still young, rich, and famous and bound to win his fair share of majors eventually.

Seventh Amendment – civil trial by jury

Rory Sabbatini 100/1: Can you press civil charges against someone for simply being an all around arse? If so, Sabbatini is the leading candidate on the PGA Tour. Unfortunately for haters like myself, he can play golf and has played well so far this year. I just hope he doesn’t start some sort of international incident in our Nation’s Capital.

Sixth Amendment – trial by jury and rights of the accused; speedy trial, public trial, right to counsel

Gary Woodland 80/1: Talk about a player in need of some representation. I’m surprised his odds are this low, especially given how long he hits the ball. It’s about time his publicity machine went to work. More fans need to know about Gary Woodland and maybe they will after this U.S. Open.

Fifth Amendment – due process, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, eminent domain

Luke Donald 12/1: I’ll be pleading the 5th if Donald, arguably the hottest golfer in the world right now, and many peoples trendy choice this week at Congressional, actually ends up winning this tournament. Tough not to root for Donald, partly because of his diminutive stature. He walked right past me at the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage and I could have sworn he was no older than 16. Certainly hasn’t affected his golf game.

Fourth Amendment – protection from unreasonable search and seizure

Lee Westwood 11/1: To Westwood, after coming so close so many times in the majors, it probably feels like the golfing gods have torn through his personal belongings without a warrant. What has he done to to deserve such heartbreak? Westwood seems like a rather affable guy and, aside from his spat with the PGA Tour , he manages to keep his name out of the headlines. Would like to see him win a major sometime soon.

Third Amendment – protection from quartering of troops

Phil Mickelson 14/1: Seriously, isn’t about time to amend the Amendments. Much like the Third Amendment, time is running out for Lefty who at the age of 40, soon to be 41, has his window of opportunity slowly closing. The people’s choice will have the D.C. crowd pulling for him big time and if he hits his driver straight, expect an exciting finish on Sunday.

Second Amendment – right to keep and bear arms

Alvaro Quiros 80/1: This one was easy. The way Quiros bludgeons the ball off of the tee, PGA authorities should have him register his driver as a concealed weapon.

First Amendment – freedom of speech, of the press and of religion

Matt Kuchar 25/1 – Oh the irony! Kuchar seems like a really quiet, affable guy, someone who doesn’t like to push the envelope,  avoiding controversy at all costs. His patience will be tested but his even demeanor and unassuming nature should help him mange the pressure of a final round, Father’s Day Sunday at the U.S. Open.

view from Congressional CC courtesy of @IanJamesPoulter

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2

Contact

[email protected]

Subscribe on iTunes

Passport Play Podcast w/ Jonathan Lord

Copyright © 2022 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in