While the World Baseball Classic is supposed to be a showcase of the best players in the world competing for their countries, the tournament is lacking in drawing power. Whether it’s players pulling out, or pulling up lame fans of their local nine either don’t have their players in the fight or hold their collective breath until all of them return to their teams safely.

So when looking for a silver lining in this albatross of a tournament, its kind of fitting that someone who knows something of returning safely would bring the brightest spot to the tournament in the form of Sgt. Felix Perez, who carried a flag to the game that he brought with him from his home to his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. (more…)

Ahh finally back after having no home access to the computer due to a nasty little virus for a week. It was like the cat from that old schoolyard song…you know it came back the very next day.

Well what a week it’s been. I am sure by now everyone is done with their Super Bowl hangovers. Outside of Pittsburgh and Arizona, everyone tuned in for the commercials – and I’m sure some viewers in Arizona were wishing they saw the commercials. (more…)

Image courtesy of www.gocomics.com

I saw this cartoon earlier today on the homepage at GoComics and couldn’t help but see the sad reality that we now live in. I am not talking about the extinction of the rabbit ears, but rather the state of the youth in the country.

Instead of playing outside and building a relationship with good ole’ dad, the child would rather stick inside watching the Jonas Brothers, Cheetah Girls or American Idol. By blatantly marketing these shows as can’t miss broadcasting the Idol results on evening news, these shows become larger than what they really are ~ Entertainment.

With the media further glamorizing (and here) these pop stars and reality show contestants, it is no wonder that today’s youth shuns playing outside, joining Little League, or going for a hike as it’s simply easier and more profitable to strike it rich with some stupid human trick.

I thought I would never say it, but maybe we are better off without the constant drum of the TV.

After slimming down my cable bill, I have had limited choices to view outside of network television, I have been missing out on Little People Big World, Plant Earth, Lockup: Raw, Survivorman, any History Channel show and the occasional Boo-Ya from Stu Scott (not that much). Its also during this time that I began reading heavily, reminding me much like college, minus the papers.

After ripping through all of the books I had in the house, I heard author, Michael Connelly on the morning

Image courtest Motorbooks.com

show on WEEI talking about his new book Rebound! Basketball, Busing, Bird and the rebirth of Boston. At first it sounded like just another sports book, but then the author went into details about how the book not only chronicled the Celtics glory days and the rise of Bird’s team, but also the tumultuous time in the city of Boston during the busing fiasco.

Figuring it sounded like an appealing read I picked up the book and started away and quickly couldn’t put it down.

Not only was the jumping between stories seamless, but the racial unrest in Boston actually seemed to parallel the falling from grace of the NBA’s most storied franchise.

Originally coming from Jersey, I had heard stories of how the city was racist and how there was a scandal around busing, but never really understood it.

Chapter after chapter, I was shocked that some of the happenings of the book were something happening in one of the country’s oldest most revered cities and not in the pages of Mississippi Burning.

With the emphasis put on the history of the city, I almost think that it should be added to the curriculum of the Boston Public School System in an effort to educate less history repeat itself.

Connelly’s most powerful image in the book is the culmination celebration in Government Center of the Celts championship, almost washing away the racial unrest that consumed the city less than three years earlier.