The above relic card, my favorite card of Rocco, was delivered to me in person by Paul of Scribbled Ink when we met up at a Detroit Tigers game in August with fellow blogger Dennis of Too Many Verlander's.
We had a great day, even thought the Tigers got hammered by the White Sox, but the game outcome didn't matter because you can't have a bad day at the ballpark.
⚾️ Paul, Dennis, and yours truly, Comerica Park, 8/26/18 ⚾️
If you look at my blog background you can see me ( the one with the cane), raising my arms as a Ronny Rodriguez HR flew over the right field fence... Paul is the fan standing there in his Tigers jersey... Dennis, well, he was obscured by the foul pole.
We only have a handful of baseball games left this year, so enjoy every pitch, every hit, every play, every inning that's left of the World Series.
Have a great day, and, most importantly... PLAY BALL! ⚾️
I'm writing this belated #HappyBaseballBirthday! to ESPN NBA hoops host extraordinaire Michelle Beadle, who turns a young 43 years today.
I'm posting this belatedly because I didn't find out it was Beadle's Birthday until 30 minutes ago, so I searched Ye Olde Internet for a few quality photos and found exactly one picture of Michelle in a good baseball cap photo.
I'm not sure Michelle's a Dodgers fan, but this was an awesome photo so I went with it...hey, maybe we'll see her at Game 4 or 5 at Dodger Stadium this weekend.
The picture is also a reminder to continue to support #SaveTheBoobies as we continue to support National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, as well as checking in on a daily basis with Collecting Cutch for the month of October.
Beadle has been one of my favorite TV sports personalities for a few years now, and there's really two key points about her that currently apply...
... 1) I watched the new Get Up! morning sports show for one reason, Michelle Beadle, and...
...2) I'll watch some NBA coverage on ESPN because of.... Michelle Beadle.
I am married to a San Antonio Spurs fan, so, despite that her team beat my Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals in 2005, I still love her...and I have easily forgiven her one blemish (ha ha).
Beadle grew up in San Antonio and therefore grew up to stories of The Ice Man, George Gervin, then moved on with The Admiral, Tim Duncan, Coach Popovich, and 5 NBA Titles .
Then there's Beadle's love of the doggies, and as a owner of three little monsters, it makes me happy to see our four legged friends loved and taken care of.
Get Up! was a really good show, but the people in charge of ESPN should've know that Beadle really belongs in California, and covering the hoops scene, or whatever else, from there, not New York, is what she's best at.
I already watch less of the show now that Beadle is gone, and I like Mike Greenberg and Jalen Rose, and the show really misses her presence.
Michelle , I know this is late, but I hope you have a magnificent Birthday, and maybe we'll cross paths at a Pistons game someday. 😁😁😁😁
Tonight the 2018 World Series begins with Game 1 at Fenway Park between the National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the American League Champion Boston Red Sox.
Every year I try and pick a team to root for because that makes it much better to watch and follow, although I've watched every single Series since 1968.
The only team I refuse to root for is the New York Yankees, and well, for the 9th straight year they're not playing, so it makes for a terrific Fall Classic.
There's a second team that, once in the day I would root for, and now, well, they simply have become the one other team I can't cheer for, and that's the Red Sox.
It's a direct result of my Detroit Tigers losing to the BoSox in the 2013 A.L. Championship Series and then having Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers GM who simply couldn't put together a bullpen in Detroit, leaving the Tigers and going to Boston in 2016, throwing money at former Tigers David Price and J.D. Martinez, creating the current A.L. Champs.
That's why, even though I predict that the BoSox will beat the Dodgers...in 7 games, I'll be cheering on the Dodgers to beat Boston, and win the first World Series since 1988.
Let's hope that no matter the outcome, it all comes down to that final 9th inning of the 7th game at Fenway Park...the last baseball game of the season.
As I try to do in every post this month, let's remember it National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and no one in the blogging community is doing more than Collecting Cutch, who reminds us every day that it's our duty to Save The Boobies!
Today I wanted to celebrate the Happy Baseball Birthday! of the late Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning, who would've been 85 today.
After graduating from St. Xavier high school in Cincinnati Jim pitched for Xavier University and after his freshman year he signed a profession contract with the Detroit Tigers.
Bunning started his career in the Motor City on July 20, 1955, after playing in the Tigers minor leagues and earning a degree in economics from Xavier.
Bunning won 100 games with the Tigers, going 118-87 in nine years, playing in five All-Star Games and throwing a no-hitter vs the Boston Red Sox on July 20, 1958.
1958 Topps #115 Jim Bunning Baseball Card
Bunning was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1963 season, and in 1964 he went 19-8, including a perfect game on Father's Day vs the New York Mets.
Playing his final 8 years with the Phillies, Pirates, and Dodgers, Bunning would win another 100 games, finishing up with a record of 224-184, a 3.27 ERA and 2,855 strikeouts.
Jim would go on to become a Republican Senator from the State of Kentucky and in 1996 he was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Senator Bunning passed away on May 26, 2017, at the age of 85.
I posted a picture of Bunning's 1958 Topps card becuase of the pink background, reminding me to continue to support National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and heading over to our buddy Collecting Cutch 's blog as he continues to bring awareness each day to Save The Boobies! PLAY BALL! ⚾️
Today was a big day for all us Michigan Football fans as our Wolverines went into East Lansing and beat up on the Michigan State Spartans, 21-7, bringing the Paul Bunyan Trophy back to Ann Arbor.
The Wolverines improved to 7-1 overall, and 5-0 in Big Ten play.
It was also a historic victory for Michigan as it becomes the first college football team to win 950 games!
With Collecting Cutch posting all month to help #SaveTheBoobies and bring #BreastCancerAwarness month to the blogging community, well, I thought why not celebrate a HUGE MEEEECHIGAN VICTORY with the #1 Wolverine fan herself, the Maize and Beautiful Elle Johnson... Go Blue!
It was a great day for football in the State of MEEEEEEEECHIGAN as my hometown Western Michigan Broncos and the Eastern Michigan Eagles both won MAC Conference games today.
Today is Spirit Day across America, the National Day to stand up for those LBGTQ who are bullied every day....and aomething we all should do every single day.
Over 85% of young people who identify as LBGTQ are abused, and this is simply unacceptable in 2018.
Every big league baseball team, including my Detroit Tigers, are participating today, and that's a terrific thing to see .
This is the one day were I actually like the color Purple.
The Brewers and Dodgers kept us baseball fans up very, very late Tuesday night as Game 5 of the NLCS went past 2 am here on the East Coast, with Los Angeles beating Milwaukee, 2-1, on a single by Cody Bellinger in the bottom of the 13th.
Topps #42 Cody Bellinger Mother's Day Pink Parallel
The boys from La La Land must've realized that as it was actually Wednesday morning in Brooklyn, their original baseball home, and that it was the Happy Baseball Birthday! of the late Jim Gilliam, the All-Star 3rd Baseman who won a World Series playing with both the Brooklyn Dodgers (1955), and then after the team moved to Los Angeles, won 3 more rings. (1959, 63, 65).
1959 Topps #306 Jim Gilliam
The series is now tied at 2 games each, with Game 6 later on today as Clayton Kershaw takes the mound for the Dodgers against the Brewers Wade Miley.
■■■■ During this marathon playoff game I had time to read lots of blogs that I follow, and find some new ones to add to the list as well.
⚾️💻⌨ The newest blog theme making its round is writing a blog post in 5 minutes.
Here's a few I read...
⚾️💜❤ Since October 1st we've been following Collecting Cutch as he brings us PINK Andrew McCutcheon baseball cards in hopes of brining attention to Breast Cancer..... here's a post by $30 A Week Habit in support of Cutch.
Today we are mid- way through October, and the sports calendar is plentiful, with the college football season half way complete, the NFL schedule a third of the way finished, the NHL underway, and the pro hoops season starting in a couple of days.
In baseball the American and National League Championship Series are underway, with both the ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros, and the NLCS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers tied at a game each.
Time for something new on the blog, hope you enjoy. Best and Worst of the Weekend.
My favorite morning TV show is the Dan Patrick Show, and every Monday they have callers give their BEST and WORST of their sports weekend, and then The Danettes give their personal picks.
My BEST. 👍
🏈 My Michigan Wolverines ran all over the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday Night, beating the powerhouse Big Ten West Champions 38-13 at Michigan Stadium.
Michigan's win vaulted my beloved football team to #6 in this week's Associated Press poll as they prepared to play their instate rivals, the Spartans from East Lansing.
My favorite football player, Tom Brady, led the New England Patriots to a 43-40 win over the previously unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.
It was the 200th regular season NFL win for the former Wolverine quarterback.
⚾️ In Game 1 of the ALCS in Boston Friday night Justin Verlander beat the BoSox, making him the big league pitcher with the 2nd most wins in playoff baseball history.
I predicted a Astros/Brewers World Series before the playoffs started, so both teams are looking good so far.
😁❤ Speaking of looking good, let's remember to check in every day this month with Collecting Cutch , as he continues to help raise awareness of the deadly disease that is breast cancer....it's worth our time to read his daily posts...oh, and there's also pink Andrew McCutcheon baseball cards.
⚾️Brewers fans certainly have much to cheer for after beating the Dodgers in Game 1 with the help of reliever Brandon Woodruff smacking a homer of L.A. ACE left hander Clayton Kershaw.
Woodruff was most certainly impressive, as are a couple of his biggest fans, including Megan, That Girl on Deck.
I'll tell you right away that you better be prepared when interacting with Megan, who knows just as much about baseball...probably more, than most of us do.
Since I interact with Megan on Twitter, I can tell you that you'll not come across a more passionate baseball fan that the Indiana graduate and social media expert.
⚾️😁 Front Row Amy, (a CUTCH favorite), was also in attendance.
I know of Any, but she's not nearly as active on Twitter, so I know less about her, but I do know that she is a awesome Brewers fan who sits in the Front Row keeping score of all the big Brewers games.Go
They both had an excellent view of the Brewers win, with Marlins Man (middle), right there with them.
🤤 My WORST. 👎
When your favorite team, quarterback, and pitcher win games well, there's little to dislike, but here goes.
⚾️ Clayton Kershaw.
The 3-time N.L. Cy Young Award winning lefty has long had trouble in the playoffs, and Friday night wasn't any different.
For the first time in their history, 129 years, the Cornhuskers are 0-6.
First year coach Scott Frost, a Husker alum, certainly didn't expect this when he agreed to join his former team after leading the University of Central Florida to an undefeated season in 2017.
🏈 Jalen Ramsey.
The All-Pro cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars likes to run his mouth about anything and everything when all's going well for the Jags, but after the Cowboys beat the boys from the First Coast, Ramsey had nothing to say but mumbled nonsense, asking reporters to "get the interview over with quickly."
I have respect for player's talents, but when guys like Ramsey can't handle reporters questions after losing...well, maybe you shouldn't be yapping your mouth every other game.
Well, that'll do It for today... I hope all your teams had a terrific weekend, and if your team's still playing baseball, keep on cheering as passionately as possible, because the playoffs aren't a given, so enjoy.
Yesterday was supposed to be the end off the 2018 regular season, but, alas, we have two, count em, two, extra games today, and, hey, who doesn't love extra baseball...I know I do!
The Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs are getting ready for their N.L. Central Game 163 at Wrigley Field as I'm writing this, and later this afternoon at Dodger Stadium the Colorado Rockies visit the Dodgers for their N.L. West Division Game 163.
The winners are division champions, the losers, well, they are both the N.L. Wild Card teams, and will play each other tomorrow night, with either the Cubs or Brewers hosting the game.
The Dodgers even wrote fans a permission slip to miss school.
My Detroit Tigers finished off a miserable year by getting swept by the Brewers in Milwaukee over the weekend, losing 11-0 yesterday to finish with a 64-98 record, the same as in 2017.
The Tigers best player this year was Nicholas Castellanos, who batted a career high .298, while also playing in a team high 157 games...the same number he played in 2017.
Nick has been given a hard time for his defense by fans on social media the past few years, and while he's not the best defender, the Tigers also haven't exactly made the right moves with Castellanos over tast 5 years, moving him between third base, the outfield, then back to 3rd, and now to right field.
I posted Nick's 2017 Topps Pink Parallel Card that I recently acquired to remind everyone of that it's October 1st, and that means it's time for a month of blog posts from Collecting Cutch, who posts pink cards of Andrew McCutcheon and posts pictures of lovely ladies to help raise awareness.
To honor Save The Boobies I'll post a picture of the awesome Kate Upton, a native of St. Joseph, Michigan, a Wolverines fan, and the current Mrs. Justin Verlander.
Kate and Justin love dogs, and that's why I chose by his particular picture.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is dedicated to bringing attention to a disease that affects 1 in 8 women, so please, do what you can to help.
Don't forget to check out Collecting Cutch every day this month to see the next awesome Cutch card and, well, the pretty ladies to help us remember what this month is all about.
OK, one more Kate Upton picture...the good ole days!
