Centerfield - Life Begins Anew

Centerfield

Couldn't sleep. Thoughts swirling about with myriad topics intertwined. Show prep, day trip plans, meal planning and exercise schedules are just the tip of the iceberg.

We're quickly rushing to the end of summer (I know you got the "Back to Virtual School" emails, too). But, kids and parents don't seem any closer to their natural fall separations. And I'm sure more than a few of you can relate to chores undone and the anxiousness for a return to "normal."

We took at least a baby step forward this weekend, as the first of our traditional "Big 4" team sports finally got back to work. The counter stopped at 134 days. While we waited, we debated restart propositions, mocked myriad test balloons leaked to media personnel and dove headfirst into discussions about health, legal matters, education and social justice. There's a period of introspection and empathy underway that is unlike anything we've seen in recent memory.

The technological boom has allowed us to stay connected and push through a lot of our normal functions. Many people have attended a virtual happy hour or birthday party. Conference calls with a video component are becoming part of the normal paces of running an office.

And, we've used that technology to tap into our collective past. Across the sporting universe, we've heard and seen our heroes of the past and present more than ever. Whether appearing as guests from their living rooms on a radio or television show, sports stars have been regaling America with witty anecdotes, inspirational speeches about their careers and pop culture commiseration.

Each of those clips whetted our collective appetite for live game action, and we scoured the internet for clips and highlights to try and fill that void. The podcast I do with my radio partner, Jason Smith, is called "Special Teams." Each week, we celebrate the good, bad and ugly teams of our collective sporting universe. We fill in the blanks of how those teams were built, succeeded or failed, and how the culmination of those seasons changed the game.

And we laugh ... a lot. We talk of baseball cards from our youth, playing until the lights came on (oftentimes incurring the wrath of our parents) and those heroes that made us love this game. The first heartbreaks of most of our lives occurred on a playing field.

I'll do a separate blog to talk about the changes in Major League Baseball for 2020 and some of the specifics from the early visuals. But quickly ...

We used to get free tickets for straight A's and perfect attendance as kids. Magical nights at Comiskey Park helped forge a lifelong love of the game.

Dr. Fauci didn't find the mark with his first pitch, but he got the "Boys of Summer" off and pacing for 2020. As we contemplate things lost in our lives, in a general sense and those specific to the pandemic, we celebrate the crack of a bat or pop of a mitt.

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Hamilton - Look Around

"Why do you write like you're running out of time?" 

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That line from "Hamilton" resonates.

At one point, I was a columnist/analyst for Yahoo! Sports while working a full-time job there ... and working on my MBA. I was burning the candle at both ends, and probably doing my best to set the middle aflame as well.

When I first heard “Hamilton” years ago, that voracious appetite to spill prose and experience EVERYTHING was very real. And it’s still very much part of the existence. How much (you can insert your own benchmarks) can you fit into your waking hours?

Hell, that's the challenge even now with my radio life. Even in this Covid-19 world with American team sports sidelined, we still leave piles of material and stories on the floor. Sometimes in sports cycles, we have to read a ton of material to become junior lawyers. Other times, like now, we're doing what we can to be moderately knowledgeable about the medical field. This past month, we've turned attention back to the history books and sociological studies. And there's the spidering effect, as I call it, for all of the other disciplines that make the sports world hum along. Be nimble.

We get to tell about our days, our triumphs and struggles, our families and adventures, and any glimpses of insight into how we're "coping." 

Sure, there's a bit of cabin fever going on (not like the movie that the kid from "Boy Meets World" was in -- made ya laugh), so we work to include more walks and cards/board games. And laughs. And we work to enjoy those extra minutes together. 

It's not easy to keep the focus where it should be. There are still show notes to prepare, news to watch, read and process. Bills need to be paid and meals prepped and the clock runs against you. 

But be grateful for those extra minutes. Take a picture. Make a memory. And hold tight like you're running out of time.