I like my country like I like my sports

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By: Karl Frank Jr.

“Let the players play!” is the old adage, and it is a good one.  As a matter of fact, I like it.  I like it a lot.  Especially in baseball.  A good game is designed like a well-written novel.  The suspense and anticipation of every pitch, nod, wink, and stolen base can keep a true sport fan on the edge of their seat until the climactic final out.  And while there is no one way to write a novel, or play a baseball game, there is a general set of rules and regulations that everyone agrees to play by.  These rules did not appear in a magical rule book by some invisible hand overnight.  The rules of the game evolved over a period of a hundred years, and even longer if you delve in to the history of any sport that involves a ball and a stick.  If it was not for these rules that everyone agrees on before the first pitch is thrown, and the umpires to enforce them, the game that we have come to know and love would not exist –- the same applies to my country, the United States of America….

There are few things more sweet than the swing of Ken Griffey Jr.’s bat.  In 2008, he started the season seven home runs short of 600, and his last home run, number 599, had been on May 31.  The drama and anticipation of that 600th blast was on every baseball fan’s mind until finally, on June 10, 2008, this pure athlete took the Marlin’s Mark Hendrickson over the wall for his place in the history books.

One has to wonder what Griffey’s numbers would look like if he had not spent all of that time on the bench with nagging injuries - but even still, 600 hundred home runs is something that only 6 of over 16,000 former Major League Baseball players had ever managed before.  That moment in time was a feat of personal greatness by any athletic standard.

However, Griffey’s greatness did not mystically appear out of nowhere.  It was not his inborn natural talents that made him a household name in America with millions of dollars in his bank account and a place in the record books.  Instead, he was a man with a passion for the game that thrived in a system that was devised for him and others to succeed within.  To better illustrate this point, read what Sir Isaac Newton wrote of the French philosopher Descartes, “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”  Griffey was a giant standing on the shoulders of the giants before him, including a man named Ken Griffey Sr.

Yet, the system that Griffey has thrived in is not perfect, and it has never been perfect.  Individual players and sometimes even whole teams have attempted to swipe the legs right from under the giants of Alexander Cartright and his “Knickerbocker Rules,” Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Stan “The Man” Musial, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, and more.  The 1919 White Sox, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Hal Chase, and the 1877 Louisville Greys, just to name a few, are black eyes on the history of baseball, and in many cases, almost brought down the game all together.

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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch asks, “How do you want to die?”

Interesting discussion on The St. Louis Post Dispatch website today, in the sense that death is usually such a taboo subject:

More than 150,000 people die each year in Missouri and Illinois. The information comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which compiles mortality data for the U.S. from death certificates in each state. Some deaths occur from multiple causes, but an overarching cause is determined for almost all deaths. More than 36,000 people in Missouri and Illinois died of some form of cancer in 2004. In St. Louis City, Jackson County, Mo., and Cook County, Ill., more people died from homicides than motor vehicle accidents in 2004.

…How do you want to go?

Some of the answers are pretty typical, some are decent:

• I want to die on my own terms, with dignity and while I still understand what is going on — Geek 

• with a beer in my hand and a smile on my face. — tigger71 

• When I pass on I would like for it to be out in the middle of the sea on a boat, the water blue as the sky, on a warm summer day, with a light breeze, enjoying the tranquility and not having a worry in the the world. That could be kind of scary too, because what if no one finds me? and when they do I’ll be wickedly scary corpse!! — Nikki

• When I’m 105, riding my Harley and shot by a jealous husband? — mick7

• Wanna go with a bottle of viagra in one hand and a blonde in the other.  — Jom

Barack Obama Blvd. on Delmar - Revisited

I had posted about this a few days ago.  It is final.  Obama Boulevard gets the green light in St. Louis.

St. Louis - Stlog - Green Light for Obama Boulevard

Earlier today, the city’s Streets Committee approved of the symbolic demarcation, paving the way for a vote Friday before the Board of Alderman, who are expected to give their blessing to what is a purely ceremonial designation.

“This is not about Barack Obama. This is about America,” proclaimed Street Committee chairman, Alderman Freeman Bosely Sr. Noting that the street itself has long served as a dividing line between the city’s black and white community, Bosely added, “When I was a kid, there wasn’t anyone that looked like me south of Delmar.”

First-term Alderman Kacie Starr Triplett introduced the measure to honor Obama earlier this month.

Does Obama deserve a street name honor in St. Louis

There is a lively debate going on right now in my home town of St. Louis about whether or not Alderman Kacie Starr-Triplett’s bill to name Delmar Street, Barack Obama Boulevard should happen.  KSDK.com is covering the story here, and you can get a gist of some of the comments being made.  I will let you judge for your self the state of race relations in Missouri.  (As a side note, Missouri has historically been a bellwether state in Presidential elections, meaning that whoever Missouri votes for president, usually wins the presidency.  Until this year.)  The debate is rather silly, if you consider we had no problem naming a major interstate after a man who hit a whole lot of home runs for our beloved Cardinals.  Here are my comments in the discussion:

I don’t understand how anyone can say that Obama hasn’t done anything yet.  Even if you don’t like his politics, any clear thinking person should be able to acknowledge his accomplishments as extraordinary.  The American measure of success is gauged by what you overcome, not just what you accomplish.  From food stamps, to Magna Cum Laude graduate of Harvard to Professor of Constitutional law, to United States Senator, to overwhelming victor, and first African-American President of the United States.  If that doesn’t qualify you for a street name in America, I don’t know what does.  What do you have to do in this town, shoot up on steroids and hit home runs? DaddyHogwash.com

Some of the other include statements like:

“We should name a street after Chuck Berry. At least he’s DONE something.”

“seriously people have gone mad. They are just over excited because we will have a “black” president but think about it he is biracial so he is both black and white. This is ridiculous. I think a lot of people simply voted for him because of the color of his skin and nothing to do with his views on things.”

“This Alderman with the bad hair should be terminated immediately. Not for suggesting that a street be honorarily named after a future president, but for the shear fact of wanting to place 6 signs to commemorate the event”

“This has got to be the stupidest idea yet. Barak Obama is considered by too many to be the second coming of God. When will it end? We will have to have another national holiday in honor of him right before we rename the United States of American … The United States of Barak Obama.”

That pretty much says it all.  Feel free to join us in the conversation.  But if you are not white, Catholic, and Republican, BEWARE!

St. Louis Cardinals acquire Khalil Greene from the Padres

As a dedicated St. Louisan and St. Louis Cardinal baseball fan, I feel compelled to pass along the following information:

St. Louis Cardinals acquire Khalil Greene from Padres | ksdk.com | St. Louis, MO

KSDK — According to the Cardinals’ website, San Diego Padres shortshop Khalil Greene is coming to St. Louis.

San Diego reportedly agreed to trade the 29-year-old to the Cardinals for two relievers, according to the San Diego Tribune.

Greene hit .213 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs in 105 games last season after hitting 27 home runs and driving in 97 runs in 2007.

Greene will offer the Cardinals an option to Cesar Izturis, who batted .263 with a .319 on-base percentage, one homer and 24 RBIs in 135 games as the starting shortstop last season. He is now a free agent.

Greene missed the last two months of last season with a broken hand he suffered when he punched a storage unit.

KSDK