Slugger and Texas on my mind

Ever since the upcoming baseball series between South Carolina and Texas was announced,  I have been flooded with memories from 2002, the year the South Carolina and Texas met in the championship game of the College World Series. 

That was the final year that the championship was a single game, the next year saw the beginning of the 3 game series for the championship. Myself and other Gamecock fans have long argued that if 2002 had been a 3 game series, the Gamecocks would have come back and won the championship. Things worked out in the long run, as South Carolina won the final Championship contented in Rosenblatt Stadium in 2010 and won the following year in the first CWS at TD Ameritrade Park. Also if memory serves me correctly,  we came into the 2002 championship game with 1 loss in the tournament while Texas was unbeaten which would have called into question our worthiness had we won in 2002.

2002 also brings happy memories of when my "Big Ole Baby" Slugger adopted me.

Long before South Carolina and Clemson played a 3 game series annually, the rivalry consisted of two game home and home on a Saturday and Sunday in March and consecutive Wednesdays in April, also home and home. I believe it was the final game on a Wednesday in April and as it was a nice evening I turned up my radio which was then hooked up to an old stereo system, opened my front door and raised the window on my screen door and went to listen to the game on my front porch swing. Right when the game was about to start I saw what at the time was a little black puppy staring at me from my fence by the edge of the road.

I went over to him and he started to run away but I called to him and held out my hand. He sniffed and licked me through the fence and I walked around the edge to my gate in my driveway. He followed me and I let him in and we walked to my front porch. 

I held him and noticed a sore on his neck. I worked in the kennels at an animal hospital at the time so there was no doubt I would bring him in the next day. While I was holding him, the Gamecocks hit their first home run of the game and I looked at him and said something to the effect of "you're a little slugger aren't you?". The Gamecocks went on to win that evening and it was obvious that he was to become part of my family. 

I introduced Slugger to Andy that night (Andy knew something was up) and they were instant buddies. Andy may have been the smaller of the two, but he was the boss when it came to "chase".

Sadly Andy and Slugger died within about 2 weeks of each other many years ago. But I have happy memories that have been awakened by a baseball series. 

3 Tuesdays in March and other baseball musings

This is the time of year when spring training starts and college baseball is just around the corner that I start making plans for the upcoming season. 

With no Furman baseball program, the annual visit by the Gamecocks to Fluor Field here in Greenville is out although the neutral site game vs. Clemson is here this year. It has been moved back however to the last weekend in February as opposed to the first weekend in March. It was cold enough the one time I went on my own as well as the previous times with my family....not to mention USC and Clemson fans arguing in the stands. I also had the next to last seat in the next to last row down the first base line and that game is the most expensive of them all. I get better seats for half the cost to Drive games.

The Drive has yet to announce other college or high school games this year but I found Wofford vs. Georgia listed on Wofford's schedule and North Greenville also  has a game scheduled there. The sad part is Michigan State is not making their usual trip this year. The owner of the Drive is a Michigan State grad and I was fortunate to see my USC Upstate Spartans beat them last year before the season blew up.

USC Upstate was scheduled to play Clemson at Fluor Field on Tuesday March 9th, but the game got moved back to Clemson. I do plan on visiting Harley Park in Spartanburg on Tuesday March 16th when UNC-Asheville visits. One of my favorite customers is the sister-in-law of UNC-Asheville's baseball coach and I always hoped for a rivalry with that school even before USC Upstate joined the Big South conference. There is also a game against Presbyterian the following Tuesday the 23rd that has possibilities.  I could listen to the game against Clemson on the radio on the 9th, go the the game against UNC -A on the 16th and possibly the game against PC on the 23rd.

Minor league also is a consideration this year, but I am very disappointed in MLB's restructuring. It's bad enough that the Charleston Riverdogs are no longer a Yankees affiliate, breaking up the Palmetto State's part of the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry, but the Riverdogs and Columbia Fireflies won't even be in the same league as the Drive. The only team I have any interest in in terms of a rivalry that will be in our league are the Asheville Tourists. I considered the Drive's "Mug Club" which would include tickets to every Thursday game (I don't work on Thursdays) but I decided it's too expensive for only really being interested in one team, and also not being a big fan of going to games on "$1 Drink Night".

As for MLB, I'm very intrigued by the possibility that Jackie Bradley, Jr. may no longer play for the Red Sox. It may be as long as 10 years ago that I went on Facebook on opening day and declared myself a Red Sox fan, primarily due to JBJ being called up. Now my loyalty is in question although the Greenville Drive may be enough to hold my devotion to the Red Sox. Opening Day is Thursday April 1st so I lucked out again as I will be off. It will be an interesting year.

The Ultimate Decision

After all that I blogged about a few weeks ago,  I've decided I'm keeping YouTube TV. I found some free channels on Sling and while they worked well with my high speed data at the beginning of the month, after my high speed was used up (it's still "Unlimited" but my speed is slowed after 15 GB) Sling was buffering constantly. YouTube TV is the only live TV service I've tried that doesn't buffer after I use my high speed data. While I could save a few bucks by watching only on my tablet and switching out plans depending on the channels I need, having all the channels I need in one plan with an unlimited DVR and the ability to watch on the big screen without buffering is worth the extra money. So what now?

My plan was to make February 1st my big change over date as I will get quarterly stock dividend. I pay for Amazon Prime on the yearly plan with my tax refund in order to avoid monthly fees, and I wanted to do the same with another streaming service. If I keep YouTube TV, I will not need Hulu. As much as I'm sure I would enjoy other things on Hulu, I have so much I already watch, I'm not sure I would watch Hulu enough to make a yearly plan worthwhile. The same is true Disney+. I know I would enjoy "The Mandolorian" and other shows, but would I have the time to watch? The other possibility is ESPN+.

I've always questioned whether I would watch it enough. USC Upstate men's and women's basketball games are on ESPN+ and the occasional baseball games, but they often conflict with Gamecock events on the regular ESPN family of networks. There's just not enough to justify subscribing.

The Disney bundle is only available monthly and is going up to $13.99/month. Netflix is a similar story, just too much to watch and not enough time to watch. But there's one streaming service I definitely watch regularly in WWE Network. 

My sisters bought me 6 months (two 3 month gift cards) of WWE Network for my birthday. While Best Buy has 6 month gift cards, it would involve a paper card and envelope to mail it. While that would be easier to keep track of, Walmart has email delivery of 3 month cards, which I what my sisters got me (although printed out). So my plan is to either buy 2-three month email gift cards on Walmart.com or one 6 month card from Best Buy. My current gift card won't expire until the middle of March if my math is right and 6 months would take me through my birthday in August and into September where I might get more gift cards. 

Time for change...or not.

There are many issues I could blog about on my weekend off but i'm going with a non controversial one. My streaming services. 

The new year has me thinking of change and I'm examining my choices of live streaming services and as usual it comes down to YouTube TV and Sling.

I've have YouTube TV and I've tried Sling. While YouTube TV suffers a bit in picture quality when my high speed data is used up in my "unlimited" data plan, my previous trials of Sling resulted in skipping and buffering,  which I rarely get with YouTube TV. Sling also has no live local channels but ABC is really the only issue as I get NBC, CBS and FOX locally as well as PBS (SCETV and UNC-TV) and the many independant subchannels that I often enjoy. 

I watch Days of our Lives on the NBC app and everything else I normally watch is on Amazon Prime or WWE Network. I really only have 3 main requirements for live TV. 

My absolute all time favorite show Doctor Who is a non issue in this battle it is available on YouTube TV and both base packages of Sling. 

For live sports I mainly need the ESPN family of networks as well as the other major sports networks which are only in the "Orange" package. ABC, which I include under the ESPN umbrella,  is not available over-the-air in my location. I never record sporting events to watch later. If i'm at work I'm checking my phone during my break and after work for scores. (Also since Modern Family ended, I no longer watch ABC for anything other than sports). I also need the major sports networks for most college and professional sports. During March madness,  I need TBS and TNT which are available on both base packages but i must also  have TruTV  (the only time I watch that channel but it's only available in Sling's "Orange " package ). I also need the ESPN family of networks during March madness because as a South Carolina Gamecock fan, the women's tournament is very important to me and that on the ESPN family of networks. I would have to have "Orange + Blue" for both, which is $45. SEC Network, ESPNU and MLB Network are among channels i watch often that are only available in "Sports Extra". As I would need "Orange  + Blue", "Sports Extra" would cost $15. That brings us to $60 almost what I pay for YouTube TV.  

As for professional wrestling, Smackdown is not much of an issue as I'm usually home to watch it live on FOX (broadcast) and if I need to watch it later, it's available on multiple FOX platforms. Sling, however , does not have FOX locally and on rare occasions I must record Smackdown to watch later. i have that ability with YouTube TV .TNT, which carries AEW Dynamite is available on both Sling's Orange and blue packages.  USA is a must for Monday Night Raw and NXT. While RAW is available in condensed form the next day on basic Hulu, USA network is the only place to watch it live. USA is only available in the blue package, and as I said above,  I must have Orange for ESPN as well as TruTV.

The main advantage to YouTube TV over Sling is of course the unlimited Cloud DVR at no extra charge which also saves your recordings for 9 months. Sling's base DVR only holds 10 hours and while i usually watch things as soon as i can in order to protect recordings and have 50 hours, you have to pay $5 for their "Cloud Extra" package which would bring us to $65 which is exactly what a pay a month for YouTube TV. 

So when you add it all up, I might save a few bucks here and there by getting my shows from different sources and waiting a day or two to watch things that I would normally watch live, but the convenience of having everything on one service plus the peace of mind of not having your recordings deleted just makes YouTube TV  the obvious choice for me.

Additional: After saying all that I could make the ultimate sacrifice and give up on live TV (including sports) altogether get WWE programming from Hulu, WWE Network and Fox apps....say goodbye to AEW Dynamite and get Doctor Who from HBO Max.

ON SECOND THOUGHT  I have decided to go with Plan B. I've paused my YouTube TV subscription for 24 weeks (or 6 months). I'm giving up watching live sports on "cable". There will still be live sports on NBC, CBS and FOX. Other events will be able to follow on local radio, internet audio and the ESPN app. I will do with Doctor Who what I have done with Star Trek Discovery and Picard, I will wait until the season is complete or almost complete, order a month of the service, cancel it immediately and watch the series within that month. I change my mind quickly but the new year and typing everything out has made me reconsider. 

Bye 2020 hello 2021 and 2022??? You never know.

I haven't blogged in a month plus and I'm sorry about that.  There hasn't been much that caught my attention,  the election being the exception and we're probably all weary of that. I usually write a year end blog and I'm a bit early but I'm on the 5th of 5 days in a row off so I'd better blog while I can.

Despite the pandemic and having to wear a mask every day at work and when I go out to eat it's really not been a bad year for me personally. I've done some redecorating and cleaning, or maybe clearing out is a better way to put it. A new roof is coming soon thanks to my dad and insurance.  I had a brief period of panic and wanting to move to Columbia or Charleston or somewhere on my own, I'm starting to look into low income housing options but I've been holding off I need to get back on it.

Sportswise the Gamecocks stunk it up in football but we're getting a new coach and I'm very excited about Shane Beamer. I was so worried that they were going to hire Hugh Freeze and I would have had to withdraw my support.

We did have a weird convergence of NBA, NHL and MLB championships in October this year due to Covid delays in basketball and hockey. A good year for Los Angeles and Tampa Bay. The Chargers are out I think,  Rams are a possibility and with Tom Brady on the Buccaneers now you never know. I really don't have any one team I'm favoring over any other but a Chiefs Packers Super Bowl has always appealed to me as it was Super Bowl I. Very real possibility of that this year or rather next year as Super Bowl LV will be February 7th, 2021.

2021. It reminds me off my late friend James. He died in 1994 (gee what a long time ago). It was around new year of 1992/3 and we were discussing how we didn't like the "3" at the end of the year. It was odd numbers 1,3,7 and 9. 5 was ok i think because it's "half-way" or maybe because it's a divisor of 10 I'm not sure where our conversation went from there but for some reason I like "2021".

Maybe it's because 21 is "blackjack" or the "legal" age I'm not sure. It sounds good though. There's something right about it. 

Then of course politically our attention will mainly turn to 2022. Not sure if any democrats are lining up to run for Governor yet. My hopes are with former University of South Carolina trustee Darla Moore, who is only a "former" trustee because that snake in the grass Nikki Haley replaced her with one of her big donors. It's the freaking "Darla Moore school of business" for a reason. 

Then there's my own little neck of the woods, state house district 17. I was so excited in 2018 when Judi Buckley ran as a Democrat here. I got involved in her campaign, although admittedly a big part of that was being able to have breakfast at "The Cafe at Williams Hardware" once a month dang i miss that place. I've toyed with the idea of running myself just to put a name on the ballot but my tax refund was delayed and I talked myself out of it. I'm openly gay, HIV+ and I describe myself as a secular humanist. That's three strikes against me right of the bat. Plus I live in a house on my conservative parents property no telling what kind of threats they would get let alone me.

There's a side of me though that just wants my name on the ballot once in my life. A bucket list item and I'll admit an ego trip, I have the self awareness to acknowledge that. Then again if I ever do move, maybe it's to a more "blue" part of Greenville county. Although they probably have leaders already elected. So I'm torn. I'll probably just stay behind the scenes and try to encourage someone else to run and help them out. Ok it's 2:45 am. I should get some sleep.  Have a great end of 2020 everyone.  Kick old man 2020 in the ass on his way out!

Come to G.O.P.-esus moment.

I can't sleep tonight for pretty obvious reasons so it's time to put my racing thoughts out in the blogosphere. 

I am of course elated tonight. I was watching CBS this morning after going to the grocery store and getting lunch and some mini bottles of prosecco in preparation for a big announcement. I thought the Army/Air Force game was going to be on but I found out after I checked that it was canceled. CBS News happened to break in during some "E/I" programs I was enjoying to announce their call in the Presidential election. I had a toast with my first mini bottle of prosecco and after watching for a bit took a walk and waited for the Florida Georgia game. That didn't go the way I wanted so I flipped around until NBC Nightly News which came on before the Clemson Norte Dame game. After learning the game would move to the USA Network while NBC carried President Elect Biden's (boy that's nice to type) speech, I decided to stay with NBC and follow the score on my tablet, where I also had the Texas A&M South Carolina game playing. 

Both speeches were excellent and as I watched Notre Dame defeat Clemson in the 2nd overtime,  I toasted the tears of Clemson fans and trump supporters (many of whom are the same). 

I want to say something to any of my republican "friends" who might read this. You need to have what I am calling a "Come to G.O.P-esus" moment. 

When I was young, the republican party was known as the "big tent" party. There was room for everyone.  I have made this analogy before, right now they are a "country club" party. If you're gay or an immigrant or a strong woman, particularly a woman of color; if you support reproductive freedoms, if you don't love guns; they don't want you in their club. It wasn't like that when I was young. Reagan was pro-choice. Most Republicans accepted Rape, Incest or the life of the mother as acceptable conditions for abortion. Reagan recognized that citizens had the right to own a gun for hunting and defense of the home, but that assault rifles were not necessary for either. This attack by Republicans on planned parenthood is ridiculous. Planned Parenthood provides much more than abortion services they are valuable health providers for low income women which includes women of color. 

Republicans and Democrats disagreed but came together to get things done. Democratic speaker of the House when I was young was a man named Tip O'Neil. He and Ronald Reagan disagreed strongly but they got things done for the good of the country. We had bipartisanship. 

Republicans are digging in their heels and hanging on to a 50s sitcom version of America that never really existed. Unless the G.O.P. recognizes and accepts that the country's demographics are changing as are attitudes on social issues they will continue to become more of a minority. Republicans want to hang on to the electoral college because it's the only way they can win without changing their ways.

And I have news for you. Kamala Harris will run for President again, whether it's 2024 if Joe Biden doesn't run for reelection, or 2028. Pete Buttigieg will run again. The future of the Democratic Party is bright and diverse. Recognize it and accept it, or keep fighting a losing battle. That's my advice. You may not like it, but that's where it stands. Ok sleep now.

Sorry Dodgers, it's an AL East thing.

I've had several ideas for blogs over the past two months since my last one, but they seemed to be preachy and more of me venting about politics or it was something that I thought would only interest me. We have the World Series starting tonight, however, and while I have some controversial reasons for who I have decided to root for, it's not really that controversial. I'll start with the results of the NLCS.

I really don't like the Atlanta Braves, but that was not always the case. In 1995, when the Braves had gone from perennial losers to winning the World Series, I was captivated like the rest of the upstate of South Carolina. Back then, Greenville was home to the AA Greenville Braves, and a slew of big names that went on to win the World Series came through Greenville and played here either on their way up to the major league or playing here "on assignment". We had the right to be just as invested as people who lived in Atlanta. There was a problem that I never quite got past, however and that was the Braves use of native American stereotypes and imagery.

I have no problem with the name "Braves". Unlike the Washington NFL teams former mascot, it's not based on a physical characteristic that was used as a racial epithet. It's a positive attribute. The logo of a tomahawk and the terribly racist "tomahawk chop" gets under my skin however as a person who is sensitive to those issues. They are based on a 50's Hollywood stereotype of Native Americans as warlike which is not accurate. So I was rooting heavily for the Dodgers. It has been 1988 since they won it and they have a reputation as being a very pro LGBT organization. "Outsports.com" even tweeted their support and how they hold special regard for the Dodgers pro LGBT efforts. But a longtime friend of mine who I originally met on their message boards reminded me of an issue he takes with the famous (or is he infamous?) former manager Tommy Lasorda. 

Tommy Lasorda, Jr. was the flamboyant son of the former Dodgers manager. While it is well documented that the younger Lasorda frequented gay establishments and died of AIDS, Tommy Lasorda continuously and vehemently denies those facts.. It's something my friend cannot look past and he has convinced me to do the same. I will be happy if the Dodgers finally do win one, but I have reasons to root for the Rays.

Like the Dodgers, the Rays have an excellent record of being supportive of the LGBT community. An article I read online seems to support that, but as it was written by the Tampa Bay Tribune (I think that's the main newspaper in Tampa) it should be taken with a grain of salt. Other sources seem to back that up including the aforementioned Outsports.com however. 

I do have some negatives about Tampa Bay, but little of it is to do with the Rays. Several years ago the Lightning, who I'm sad to say won the Stanley Cup this year, tried to prevent fans of the opposing hockey team from wearing their teams colors or jerseys. I thought that was poor sportsmanship. I also didn't like former FSU quarterback Jameis Winston, or as I call him "Ignoramus Jameis". Tom Brady is the QB of the Buccaneers now and my opinion of his soured after he went all trumpy. I do continue to like Rob Gronkowski however. There's also the fact that the Rays are teasing fans in Montreal by saying they want to play half their season there.

Then there's the fact that the Tampa Bay Rays are in the AL East. When former Gamecock Jackie Bradley, Jr. was first called up to the main roster, I went on Facebook and declared myself a Red Sox fan after years of not paying much attention to MLB. We also now have the Single A Red Sox affiliate Greenville Drive who play at Fluor Field, a miniature version of Fenway Park. I love going to games there, both Drive games and the college games they host. The weird thing is though, unlike a typical Red Sox fan, I don't hate the Yankees. 

Former Gamecock pitcher Jordan Montgomery spent a year recovering from surgery and is now back on the Yankees roster, even helping them win in his last outing. He only pitched 4 innings so he didn't get the official win, but he was crucial. I also like the Yankees Single A affiliate the Charleston Riverdogs who are the only minor league team in the Palmetto state to host a "Pride" night. In fact they were doing so long before the New York Yankees were doing it. I also didn't grow up in Boston so I don't have that life-long hatred for the Yankees built up.

I also have reasons to like the Baltimore Orioles. A high school classmate of mine, who currently lives in DC with his husband spent many years in Baltimore and even wrote for the Baltimore Sun and he is a die-hard Orioles fan. I'm really quite proud of his even though we weren't in many classes together in high school and didn't hang in the same circles. He is a Georgia graduate but his family are Clemson fans and I often tease him about how I will root for Georgia when they play Clemson but he won't return the favor and pull for the Gamecocks when we play the Tigers. 

As for the Toronto Blue Jays, former Gamecock Justin Smoak was with them until recently and I began following them. Also as a liberal living in the dirty, dirty south; I tend to root for Canadian teams anyway. Canada also has a beautiful national anthem, whereas as ours is more "chest thumping" as a Canadian friend on Facebook put it. 

Which brings us back to the Tampa Bay Rays, who I believe have the 29th (of 30) (Edit: it's 28th) lowest salary of any MLB team going against one of the highest. The Dodgers also stole Mookie Betts from my Red Sox and you see what happened to them they didn't make the playoffs in the easiest year to make them with a ridiculous 16 teams in. Part of me is very happy we have the 2 best teams at the end, and not a bunch of Wild Card teams.

So there are my reasons for my changing from rooting for the Dodgers to now rooting for the Rays. As I said, I won't be sad if the Dodgers win, quite the opposite, but my loyalty is to the AL East this World Series.