From the mound to your computor screen

In most big cities there are areas you hear about, that are synonymous with poverty like Lincoln Park in Chicago. More close to home, the biggest city in Nebraska has the same problem. North Omaha has become a gang-ridden and poverty-stricken area, that has become hard for its residents to escape. We see this depicted in Erin Grace’s column about the documentary Straight Out of Omaha. (cite)

This was a great local issue to write about because it deals with two men who are trying to escape the poor upbringing that so many experience growing up in North Omaha. It sheds light on an issue, that frankly, the city of Omaha can’t get under control.

It made me really think about this issue because Grace gives this such a human touch. The story that is told in her writing about Darcel trying to get a college education, but in the end getting sucked back home to help support his family.

She also tells about the brothers moving to Grand Island, and how even out of the North O community trouble still follows them. They are accused of sexually assaulting a girl, who later is found to made a false claim against the brothers. It makes you realize that these brothers can’t catch a break.

Even with all the trouble they have had in life, I like how Grace mentions they don’t give up. We see this towards the end of the column, where she gives a description of Darcel and his daughter crossing the street. “She’s not a lock to his future, but a key.” I really like this quote, because it shows the motivation his daughter gives him, to not only improve his own life but hers as well.

Overall, this was a great review of local movie that did more than just summarize, but gave you a glimpse into what life in roughest area of Nebraska is like.

In February, a federal court ruling made it a requirement that woman along as men sign up for the selective service. In a column from February in the Washington Post, Kathleen Parker discusses this issue. (cite)

I agree, with the point that Kathleen made about the ruling being fair in principle, but not making sense because of physical differences between men and women. The biggest issue that is brought up in the column in my opinion, is hand to hand combat. Only seventeen countries allow women in the military, let alone in hand to hand combat.

Like Kathleen, I don’t think it’s right to make a 18-year-old woman sign up for the military. While other countries are putting men out on the front line, the United States is going to put our young woman out there? There has been a big push in the United for equality for all, but this, in my opinion, is too far. In my opinion, Kathleen put it best, when she stated this isn’t about equality but sexual differences between men and woman. It’s not to say a woman can’t join the military, but they shouldn’t be in hand to hand combat, especially against their own will.

The example brought up of Rostker vs Goldberg in 1981 was very enlightening. She’s right, in saying that it only took two decades for society to think woman are not only equal under the law to men, but in every conceivable way. Parker writes in a way, that she doesn’t put down the idea of women in the military altogether, but raises an eye to the concern of hand to hand combat. If anything she found an issue that seriously needs to be thought about if the U.S. was ever to deploy a draft for war again.

The door on the car slammed shut and instantly I knew that my dad was home. I grabbed my glove and my hat and went and sat in the vehicle waiting for him.

I remember that we missed the first game of the championship series of the College World Series between South Carolina and Arizona but were determined to make it the second night.

When we walked in, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary from the other games I had been at before.

As I sat and watched the game from the left-field corner, my excitement turned to boredom as the game drug on. It was a one-sided affair with Arizona leading 4-1.

Finally, as the seventh inning stretch came around it looked like there was going to be some action. Fans in the right-field stands picked up deflated beach balls from underneath their seats. I thought at first there were only 20 people with beach balls, but as they kept getting blown up it was clear there were far more than that. Fans lifted them above their heads and let them fly onto the field in a synchronized motion. As I and the other fans whooped and hollered the security came out of the bullpens. Everyone including myself thought we just got a great show but little did we know it was just the beginning.

With all the security guards focused on the 50 plus beachballs on the field, six fans from the right field side decided it was time to have a little fun. They leaped over the wall landing flat-footed and then sprinting off immediately. It was like a scene out of Sandlot, with the fans representing Benny the Jet Rodriguez and the security guards the Beast, trailing ever so closely behind.

As the security guards went to apprehend the individuals, they soon found out it wouldn’t be simple. They would get within arm’s length of the rebels, only to be faked out and have them sprint off out of their grasp.

The fans on the field decided it was time to have a little fun and started messing with the players on the field. One of them who was a woman, who decided to slap one of the outfielders on the butt as she ran by. She then gave the outfield the thumbs up, which caused an uproar of applause.

Eventually, the security guards got smart and started double-teaming the fans on the loose. One by one they started to be apprehended. It was more than likely a mixture of pure exhaustion and nowhere else to go.

One of the last fans apprehended was a man running around in right field. The security guards started walking off with him towards the third base side. As they neared the exit of the playing field, the guards made the mistake of taking their hands off the fan. With all the energy the fan had left, he sprinted toward the right-field wall with the security guard tailing him.

He made the improbable jump onto the right field wall, like Benny the Jet did going back over the fence. In this case, the fan lost and “The Beast” the security won. As the fans tried to pull the man back over the barrier the security guard body slammed him up against the wall making him fall sprawled out on the warning track.

Like the other fans, the man was finally taken off the field. Escorted to a holding cell and then over to the city jail for the night, with a fine as well. I often think back on that night and wonder if it was worth it for those people.

I know for me and several other thousand fans, it gave us great enjoyment and a laugh. It was the best highlight of the night in a game that was lopsided and very boring.

Ryan with a long foul ball down the right side into the stands and wait what is this, it’s a fan on a field. It looks like they got security out there on him now.
Nothing is better in sports than a good fan interference during a game. Sports like soccer are famous for these shenanigans during their matches and with the advent of YouTube, it’s become extremely popular for people to film themselves pulling these daring moves off during major sporting events for views.

Now I know, many of you reading this are wondering, Alex how do you know it’s worth it, but hear me out.

Through the years I ‘ve made the trek every summer to the greatest sporting event in Nebraska, the College World Series. In the time I have been going, I have seen Nebraska play, South Carolina win back to back titles, once at Rosenblatt and the other TD Ameritrade Park, and finally, I got to see the likes of future MLB stars like Buster Posey and Jackie Bradley Jr. play. Throw all those historic memories, one moment sticks out to me and that’s June 25, 2012.
I remember we missed the first game of the championship series between South Carolina and Arizona but were determined to make it the second night. Right when my Dad got home from work, we made the two-and-a-half-hour drive to the game.

When we walked in, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary from the other games I had been at before. It was just another summer night at a packed baseball game at TD Ameritrade Park.
The game had a lot of storylines running through it. After losing to Arizona the night before, South Carolina had to win to keeps its hope of winning three National Championships in a row alive. I was excited to watch what looked to be an exciting game.

As I sat and watched the game from the left-field corner, my excitement turned to boredom as the game drug on. It was a one-sided affair with Arizona leading 4-1.

Finally, as the seventh inning stretch came around it looked like there was going to be some action. Fans in the right-field stands picked up deflated beach balls from underneath their seats. I thought at first there were only 20 people with beach balls, but as they kept getting blown up it was clear there were far more than that. Fans lifted them above their heads and let them fly onto the field in a synchronized motion. As I and the other fans whooped and hollered the security came out of the bullpens. Everyone including myself thought we just got a great show but little did we know it was just the beginning.

Back in 2010, Elizabeth Jensen created a review for the New York Times on America the Story of US. To start the review she focuses on what makes this history documentary different than a typical documentary.(cite)

For starters, she points out that people who speak in the History channel documentary, aren’t necessarily experts on the topic. Instead, they go more for the celebrity WOW factor. You can see this with people like Donald Trump and Richard Harrison who are speakers on different topics in the show. As Jensen points out, its a good way to hear what American History means to different individuals. It also makes it a lot more interesting than listening to a history professor who may things that go straight over the average person’s head.

She also talks about how this show is ultimately good for the History Channel because it gets them back to their roots which is history. Prior to this show the channel had gone the more reality tv show rout with Ice Road Truckers and Pawn Stars. The show also helped the channel gain it’s highest ratings in three years.

Jensen talks about how the show goes beyond just good tv ratings. It was and still is purchased a lot by educational instructors and intuitions who find the information to be accurate and a good aid for teaching.

One of the major flaws in the show, that she points out is the documentary jumps around a lot since it’s only a 12-hour series. A prime example of this is going from Mayflower in the 1620s to the declaration of independence in the 1770s. There are similar examples like this spread throughout the documentary.

All in all, I agree with Jensen review. Having seen the documentary, I am a fan of it for sure, but there definitely ways history could have made it more interesting and better.

Digging back in the New York Times archives, I found a review by A.O. Scott on one of the greatest movies of all time, Remember the Titans. (link)

The review starts with Scott talking about famous examples of athletes breaking color bearers, like Jesse Owens dominating the 1936 Olympics, Jackie Robinson integrating baseball, and Author Ash winning Wimbledon. These well-known examples of athletes prevailing in spite of prestigious, are a great follow up to the less known story of T.C. Williams high school in Virginia.

I like how Scott focuses on the motivational aspects of the movie right away. In my opinion, it’s what makes this movie so good, unique, and genuine. It’s the classic plot of an underdog rising to the top, which when done right is great every single time.

Scott next talking point in the review deals with the transgression of the white and black coaches and players in the movie. We have to remember, this movie is based on a school in the deep south in 1971. There was still lots of turmoil between white and black people.

A.O. does a good job depicting the strain that’s present between the white and black coaches and players at the beginning of the movie. He points to the seamless transition the movie shows, as they go from hating each other to becoming more than teammates but best friends.

You see how far the members of the team have come in liking each other, in scenes like right after Gerry Bertier car accidents. Woody Harris a black player on the team and he rushes to the hospital to see how Gerry is doing. When he gets there, he is stopped by a nurse who says he is not allowed in. Gerry looks over and says, “You better let him in that’s my brother.”

I thought that was a great scene that A.O. Scott chose to depict in his review, being it’s one of the most memorable scenes in the movie.

The overall impression you get of the movie after reading Scott’s review is that Remember’s the Titans is one of those feel-good classics, which it definitely is. The approach of incorporating the feelings you get from the film with the rough and rugged scenes that football films invoke was a nice touch as well.

Shame on the Philadelphia Phillies. Shame on them for not learning from the mistakes of the New York Yankees in the past.

Earlier this month, they signed former NL MVP Bryce Harper to a 13-year 330-million-dollar contract. This surpasses the 275 million 10-year contract that Alex Rodriguez signed with Yankees back in 2007.

To put it in perspective, Harper who is 26 now, will be 39 when his contract with the Phillies is up.

It’s safe to say this is a very risky contract for Philadelphia. Not just because of the length of the contract, but because of how up and down his career has been.
He came into the league in 2012 and posted consistent stats in his first two years. Batting around .270 with 20 homers.

He had a breakthrough in 2015, batting above .300 for the first time in his career and almost had 100 RBI’s as well. In that season he also led the league with 42 home runs, which helped him win the MVP award.

The following season in 2016, he was far from his MVP caliber. His stats were down in every major category. The most surprising was the dismal batting average he posted of .243.
He rebounded in 2017 with .317 batting average, while also knocking in 87 RBI’s and 29 home runs in just 420 at-bats.

In 2018, Harper was on track to have his worst season in history. In the first few months of the season, his batting average was in danger of sinking below .200. His batting average never recovered on the season, but he was able to hit 34 home runs with 100 RBI’s.
His track record in the MLB doesn’t scream someone who should get 330 million dollars. He is a great player who has freakish talent, but for how long.

I don’t think it will be for 13 years. We have already seen him regress and digress throughout his career and on top of that, he has had some injury problems in the past as well.
Within the next 5 to 6 years, he is going to regress for good or suffer some type of major injury that will hamper how effective he is.
Be a Phillies fan, I hope this works out for them and it results in a lot of championships. But looking at history and past performance, I don’t feel Philadelphia is going to get everything they expected when signing Harper.

Looking through the New York Times, I stumbled across a piece by David Brooks called Medicare for All: The impossible Dream. (cite) I fervently disagree that any type of socialized medicine is bad for the United States, but I can respect how well written this piece is.

Brooks starts the article off by saying he is confused by the idea of socialized medicine. Basically stating that he like the idea, but doesn’t know how you can put different proposals of Medicare together. Instead of focusing on the things that separate different propels, he focuses on the key underlying understandings of Medicare. An example is when he talks about Medicare reimbursement being substantially cheaper at hospitals than private insurance reimbursements. I thought it was a smart approach, instead of sinking your argument on what Sanders and Warren disagree on, focuses on universal common ground.

The second part that I like about this editorial, is that Brooks isn’t afraid to expose the flaw with Medicare in the United States. Many people want to write about all the good things and completely ignore why people don’t like something. He clearly states that the problem would be in the transition. Once the U.S. moved over to a government-run health care system, taxes would start to rise. Once that happened only around 37% of people in the United States people would support it.

The setup of this article goes perfect with the title. It starts with here are the plans and this is why Medicare is good, but ends with why ideas that have been ingrained in Americans will never allow this system to work.

Also, towards the end when he talks about the Declaration of Independence is pretty spot on. The only way Medicare would work long term is if it was introduced back in 1776.

Looking through what’s recently become one of my favorite papers the Washington Post, I stumbled upon a column by Marc Theissen called This lent don’t give are Catholic Bishops a dime. (cite) Just by the title, I found myself being drawn in. Reflecting back on the article, I am very glad that I took the time to read it. It’s a very insightful piece, that any Catholic should read.

The Church has definitely been scarred in the last year by the sexual abuse scandal that broke with ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Theissen talks about this situation, and the other sexual abuse cases that the church is not taking to proper authorities. He suggests, that this is because the top of the church, the Pope, Cardinals, and Bishops are corrupt. He adamantly states that Catholics should not give money to the Bishop’s Appeal during Lent. Instead, he suggests that they give it to other Catholic charities.

I think the most compelling thing about this editorial is the information he brings into it. He talks about the special commission that was created last fall to investigate church clergy who are under suspicion for sexual assault. When he asked for how his bishop voted in his diocese, it was done in secret. He brings very eye-opening and compelling information to the table, that makes even the most devout Catholic consider what really going on.

He has a very aggressive tone in my opinion in this column, which fits this piece perfectly. It’s a call to action to stop letting the upper authority in the church cover this scandal up. The only way it’s going to stop is if you hit them where it matters most, and that’s in the giving of money.

Towards the end of the piece, the aggressive tone gives light to a much more calm one, as he talks about his feelings with the Church. He does a great of portraying that he is like every other Catholic who is skeptical on this matter. The reference of not being like Judas and feeling from the Church was good. I totally agree with it. When the going get’s tough you don’t leave, but fight for what you know is right. If we all fled are problems, nothing will change. It’s not the Church itself that’s bad, but select individuals who are supposed to be representing the Church that are.

Mike Royko’s column that spoke to me, was the one on Jackie Robinson’s debut in Chicago. He is an awesome storyteller that leads things in a direct path in his writing. First talking about the white people’s worry that this would ruin baseball, then he and his buddy making the treck to the game, before finally getting to the game and getting inside.

There were several different spots I genially liked. The first being the description of the black people when he and his buddy got to Wrigley Field. He states how they stood out, because of how dressed up they were. Giving the inference that they have never been to a professional baseball before and the fact this was a huge deal, not just for Jackie Robinson but the entire black community.

This was such a momentous moment in black history and he does a great job entailing it through his writing. From the description on the heightened atmosphere surrounding this game compared to other Cubs games, he had been at in the past, to the black man paying ten dollars out of his pocket for the foul ball hit by Robinson. It’s the sign of a good writer when you take an event you were at, and make it resonate with others who read it. Even ones who weren’t born to see it.