Props

Hey all, I thought I would give you all a break from my blogging so you could fully digest the incredible dimentions of my most previous blogs. That baseball is deep stuff!

Everyone has props in their life. Here are some of mine.

Props to Lake Powell, the houseboat, dry heat and those who remember it. Props to the Strat Basketball Association. Props to the doctors who continue to improve on microfracture surgery. Props to my great family. Props to having a girlfriend and the growth that leads to. Props to the 16U Shamrocks. Props to the Natchez Trace Parkway and the wonder of sitting quietly in nature. And last, but certainly not least, props to poppyseed chicken and all those who make it.

Uh Oh it's magic

Well, so I was wrong on the magic of the Braves. I guess their magic was only meant to be an incredible 18-inning loss. That happens. I'm losing my desire for the 2005 season and postseason. Cubs are done. Braves are out. Red Sox are out. Shoot, the only team I'm left rooting for is whoever is playing the Yankees! (Go Angels!) And at this point? Go Angels. I'll root for a few individuals, too...Roger Clemens, Larry Walker, Joe Girardi (make that man the manager in Florida!)

I still like the Cubs!

The Cubs will always be my team. And, frankly, I kind of DIS-like the Braves. But I DO enjoy reading about players I have seen in the minors and seeing something "magical" happen...something deeper simply than the final score of a ballgame.

It happened earlier this summer, when former Mississippi Brave Jeff Francoeur drilled a huge homerun to centerfield in a game against the Cubs. The Cubs had already blown their lead in that game, but Francoeur's homer signaled more than just the Braves' win. It signaled the end of the Cubs' playoff thoughts for the 2005 season, even though it was only July. And it signaled that the Braves had some "magic" in them, and were going to be a special team this year.

Last night, in game two of the NL Divisional Series between Houston and Atlanta, fellow Braves rookie Brian McCann (who became John Smoltz's personal catcher after a mid-season callup) jacked out a three-run homer off of Roger Clemens. Yes, Roger Clemens! It was McCann's first postseason at-bat, AND his first postseason swing! A three-run homer. The Braves won the game, of course. Postseason "magic"?

ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote a great article about the homerun. He approached it from a standpoint that is deeper than just the final score of the baseball game. It's the "game" beneath the game, and that is what I like about sports. Check it out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2005/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2183208