While there are a lot of things that have made me very angry lately, I've decided to go in a positive direction and post about sports.
The NBA and NHL seasons have concluded with results I was pleased with. I had the Carolina Hurricanes to root for in the NHL playoffs for a while, but I was kinda turned off by their trying to prevent New York Rangers fans from buying tickets. I thought it was very poor sportsmanship much like a few years ago when the Tampa Bay Lightning tried to prevent opposing fans from wearing their teams color or jerseys. I'm glad the Colorado Avalanche won though I have no real connection to the team or city. No former Gamecocks to root for in the NHL.
Similarly in the NBA, one player for the Washington Wizards played his freshman year at South Carolina then transferred to Virginia. I'm a big fan of Warriors couch Steve Kerr as I love his passion and activism. Steph Curry is also kinda cute in my opinion. So I was happy they won.
In baseball I was a college baseball fan long before I paid much attention to MLB. When former Gamecock Jackie Bradley Jr. was called up to the Boston Red Sox, I declared myself a Red Sox fan in a Facebook post. The fact that the Greenville Drive in the minor league are a Red Sox affiliate also factored in to that decision. JBJ was traded to the Brewers last year but is now back in Boston but there's a dilemma. Two former Gamecocks are on the New York Yankees pitching staff and the Yankees are having a very good season. As a southerner, I didn't grow up with any inset hatred for the Yankees. One big mistake MLB made in restructuring MiLB was separating the Greenville Drive and Charleston Riverdogs (Greenville is now High-A and Charleston is Low-A). They also changed the Riverdogs affiliation to the Tampa Bay Rays, so the Palmetto State no longer has its own slice of the Red Sox- Yankees rivalry.
So perhaps if the Yankees continue their winning ways I'll pull for them in the MLB playoffs. I also love Whit Merrifield of the Kansas City Royals but I don't think they are doing very well. I also keep an eye on other former Gamecocks.
Tonight I am also beginning making TBS' Tuesday night game regular viewing and probably Sunday night baseball on ESPN as well. At least until football season which also has many former Gamecocks to keep an eye on in the NFL.
