Why Baseball is Terrible

Watching baseball on television is THE WORST THING EVER. Baseball, minus a nice little outdoor ballpark and the whole summer/fall vibe of a live game...is AWFUL. Here's why: take a look at America's other most popular sports, basketball and football. Think for a second--what are some of the coolest plays to see in each one? In football, maybe it's Barry Sanders weaving his way through defenders on an 80-yard touchdown run, or Jerry Rice catching a pass over the middle, juking somebody out, and going in for the score. In basketball, it could be Michael Jordan blocking somebody off the backboard, dribbling up the court and behind his back, then slashing in for the dunk. In every basketball and football game, there are countless great, athletic plays to watch. Crazy three pointers and dunks and passes for basketball, touchdown passes and tackles and interceptions for football. Now, look at baseball. What's the signature play? A homerun. Some guy swings and a little white ball flies into the air. You are watching an inanimate object (a baseball) fly into the air in a straight line. There is no spontaneity, no athleticism, no mystery of what will happen next. In basketball or football, you are watching the player, you are witnessing creativity and a sense of wonder at what the next move will be. Take Barry Sanders top 10 touchdown runs and Michael Jordan's top 10 drives to the basket and compare it to Ken Griffey Jr.'s top 10 home runs. For Sanders and Jordan, each play will be an incredible spectacle...and more importantly...each one will look completely different. With Griffey Jr., each one will look EXACTLY the same, like a golfer out at the driving range hitting shots. And this is baseball's SIGNATURE PLAY. What else do they have? The other baseball favorite is the diving catch. Compare this to a diving catch in football, where a receiver has a cornerback and possibly even a saftey draped over him or coming in for a huge hit. In baseball, it's some outfielder frolicking out in the field by himself, nothing impeding his progress except carefully mowed grass. Occassionally, they stick their hand out over a wall. Keep in mind that these are baseball's two most popular plays. Also consider that many baseball games don't even have home runs or diving catches. A lot of games are 3 to 1, with some singles, a couple walks, and a couple nice throws to first base. And now we have baseball season upon us, waiting to clog up the Sportscenter Top 10 with random catches and identical home runs.......BOOOOOOO. There should be a seperate channel for this stuff!!!

Favorite Music

Some of my favorite bands are: Rolling Stones, Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, Guster, and Jack Johnson. If I'm driving at night, I'll take something low key or acoustic, while during the day I'm more of a classic rock or early 90s rock type of guy. My favorite album of all time is Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones. B-sides like "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," "Sway," "Sister Morphine," and "Moonlight Mile" make the entire album filler-free and versatile. In terms of lesser known songs I like--for something chill I'll take "I Could Have Lied" by the Chili Peppers, "Yellow Ledbetter" by Pearl Jam, "F-Stop Blues" by Jack Johnson, or "Mayonnaise" by Smashing Pumpkins. Some of my favorite loud songs are "Over the Hills and Far Away" by Zeppelin, "All Along the Watchtower" as redone by Hendrix, and as a great unknown song--"Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad" by Derek and the Dominos. This song features Eric Clapton and Duane Allman tearing it up with simultaneous electric guitar work, and the result is awesome.