EOD - July 7 (Well, July 28)

 Wrote this a couple weeks back … not sure why it hadn’t posted. 

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“Peace and Love.”

That’s the phrase to utilize on 7/7 every year. It’s truly more than that - it’s a mantra to live by. 

Or to try to live by. 

Let’s face it. There are myriad externalities that churn into a massive ball of stressors. We struggle with our interpersonal relationships and work commitments as we fight to present our best selves. Say nothing of the internal struggles and vacillation of one’s “worth.” That’s a longer missive for another time - measuring systems, validation and seeking approval and all.

But this one’s about swiping that to the side with the speed and dexterity of a fearsome NFL pass rusher.

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Sometimes you need to just pause, select an artist and let the playlist be your guide. I got some great work in, a thriller with England over Denmark in the semifinals of the Euro2020 tournament and I streamed myriad Ringo Starr songs. 

Sir Richard Starkey turned 81 on Wednesday. I celebrate the Beatles catalog and have always revered the stylings of Ringo’s solo career. My daughters and I have seen Ringo and his All-Starr Band twice, and his appearance at a 2019 Paul McCartney show in LA remains a near-religious experience. 

So, dialing up myriad live renditions of “Photograph,” “It Don’t Come Easy,” and “With A Little Help From My Friends” put me in the proper mindset to dominate a day. I whipped up a beautiful chicken divan, took a long stroll with the dog and crushed a four-hour national radio run on FSR. 

Positivity. On Wednesday, the dips on my roller coaster - a crude analogy, without a doubt - seemed to pass more quickly, and I leaned into the turns. There’s no promise that Thursday will be a repeat. But I’ll try. 

But for a moment …  I present the legend of “I’m The Greatest.”

A Near-Perfect Storm: Rodon’s No-Hitter

 

I had a sweet, next morning account of the Rodon no-hitter scripted in this spot. Like a dope, I failed to save it and, well, we know what happens then.

So, I’ll shorten it up for this one. 

I’ve been blessed to occupy a seat at the national table with Jason Smith in prime time on FOX Sports Radio now for over seven years. We start our show as East Coast games wind down and the opening bell sounds for West Coast action. We prepare to debate the news of the day and extend storylines that are building ... like a good drama serial. But, the live action creates new stories, new arguments and the heart of the show. I argue that we build events and break down the developing drama better than anybody in the business. You can disagree with the assessments and post-game analysis, but there’s a power to that definitive, decisive way of storytelling. We don’t have the benefit of sound (we’re on the radio), nor do we get the overnight to watch replays and read accounts from myriad sources. 

Nope. LIVE and in living color. Championship celebrations, shocking deaths and scandals, legal quagmires, we’ve covered it all. 

Last week, we celebrated Kobe Bryant’s final game, the 60-point gem he offered as his goodbye to the game. We were on-air for that game, and we reveled in every made shot - and because we’re based in LA - the excitement of all our colleagues dancing and jumping around the halls. I cited it as my favorite on-air effort as we recounted that day and played some highlights.

It was displaced 24 hours later as Carlos Rodon pitched an absolute gem against the Cleveland Indians. He was dominant, resolute and reached back for gas in the 8th and 9th innings, throwing harder than he had the rest of the game. It took everything I had to not let the fanboy in me take over fully. 

Rodon’s road the past several years has been difficult, and that’s a gross understatement. Surgeries and rehab limited him to 11 appearances total between 2019 and 2020, and then he was non-tendered this offseason before re-signing with the team. My brothers and I celebrated his retention. And on April 14, they watched Rodon enter the ninth inning with a perfect game intact LIVE at Guaranteed Rate Field. I watched while screaming on-air to 600 affiliates nationwide. 

We texted throughout the game, talking atmosphere and just the overwhelming excitement to be in attendance for this game after the year away because of the pandemic ... and for Carlos. I did my best to convey all of that. 

Smith and I marveled at “The Stretch,” an absolutely ridiculous play made by first baseman Jose Abreu doing the splits. His effort to get the out will be celebrated as one of the finest plays in White Sox history. 

And Smith and I even got into a little bit of a fiery debate once the perfect game was lost to a hit batter. 

“Did he try to get out of the way?” “Should he have made more of an effort?” And the age-old argument about unwritten rules.  

Rodon would finish the no-hitter, and we stayed with this piece of history. The other stories and “hot take theater” could wait for another day. 

It made for great theater and a beautiful symphony on radio. Our editing team rolled in the highlights from that ninth inning, and we played a long post-game back and forth between Rodon and the White Sox broadcasters. He was funny, introspective and real while processing the emotions of the night and the journey.

And I was glad to be there for the ride. It’s a night that will rank first in my memory of this job ... until the Sox win the World Series, of course.