Ken Griffey Jr.: Seattle's Field of Dreams

I was not born in Seattle but I consider myself a Seattlite. Hell, i gave that distinction to a fellow blogger friend of mine and she does not even live here, but because she loves the Emerald City so much, we thought it would be only right to present her with an honorary "Seattlite" title. Therefore, as a implanted Emerald Citylite, it has been amazing to witness and hear the enthusiastic, thunderous roars of the original natives reacting to the return of Ken Griffey Jr. to the Mariners.

Let me backtrack just for a second. As the 2009 Major League Baseball season begins to rear its bloated steroid filled head, and signings begin or continue to happen, It was a back and forth waiting game between the city, the Seattle Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Griffey's decision on where he was going to play ball this coming season. Apparently his decision was between the Atlanta Braves, his hometown but where he is considered only a named 39 year old veteran past his prime or here in Seattle where he began his Hall of Fame career and is considered the savior and the lifeblood of this city and franchise even after many years away.

This morning it became official. He signed a 1 year deal with the Seattle Mariners. I can hear the rumblings and roars of "World Champs" mushroom this city already. Waking up to my morning sports radio, i found it amusing and thought provoking to hear the talking mouths discuss what it means for the Emerald City and surrounding areas to have "The Kid", as Griffey was rightly nicknamed, come back home. Amusing for the fact that we now believe the Mariners to be automatic contenders, if not World Series champions when for the past eight years they have been abysmal at best. Thought provoking, for the fact that even though i too am excited to see him back with the team he began his career, as an original Alaskan i cannot see what positive force he will have for this team besides leadership in the clubhouse and the praise and honor of the city crowd, like a true Gladiator winning his audience as he slays his enemy.

As i was listening to the radio hosts display their overt affection and admiration, telling their audience that fathers and sons will now come from far and wide to see Ken Griffey Jr. play and they will tell stories to their youngsters about the first time he played here and the fascination he brought to the game and their lives. It reminded me of Kevin Costner's 1989 film, "Field of Dreams" and the same way Costner's character, Ray Kinsella, built his baseball field; Ken Griffey and the Mariners have built the optimism back into this city. As James Earl Jones' character says to Ray in the film, "The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again. Oh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come."

I might not see right away the positive cause and effect that the Mariners will make this coming season with Griffey in the lineup. They might still be abysmal or they might actually win games, but one thing is clear:

People will come, people will most definitely come.

Would You Like a T.V Show To Go With Your Commercial?

What is it with ads every 5 minutes during nationally televised programs, sporting and current events? That question may seem self explanatory to many considering what type of media age we live in with everything from breath mints to large SUVs pining for five to ten second commercial slots. It is just interesting to me that during these oh-so-important games or current events, there are stops in the action nearly every five minutes. For example, this past Monday while I was calmly sloutching down onto the couch watching the NCAA basketball championship game, it seemed that there was a timeout by Florida or UCLA or a television timeout one after the other after the other. It seemed there was no time to truly enjoy the beating Florida was giving UCLA (although given the fact i was routing for UCLA, it was not as enjoyable as I had hoped).

As i look back upon it, we as Americans seem to be much more fascinated by advertisements promoting the latest and newest gadgets on the market than we are with what is actually going on on the tube. And yes, while the companies that manufacture and sell the latest "IT" products pay beaucoup bucks for advertising slots, i cant help but think what could take their place.
I was chatting it up with my father the other day, while he was vacationing in France, about how differently media and advertising is presented on television there VS. here . I was talking to him about how aggitated I was getting with the basketball game on Monday, not about the score but of how many times they stopped to go to commercial. He told me that in France, only once during a 30 minute or 1 hour episode on television do they allow commercials. That is why I have TIVO and why I wait until my favorite television shows come out on dvd, to spare myself from the insane amount of advertisements every 5 minutes. The only time i care about television advertisements is during that unofficial American Sunday holiday, the Super Bowl.

Speaking of, what happens to those "Super" multi-million dollar ads after the game? I would think that if advertisers spent millions of dollars for, at most, ten seconds of airtime to promote their product, then they would show it all year long to get their money's worth. Yet, we rarely see the Super Bowl ads during regular scheduled programming. Here is food for thought; why dont advertisers jump on the European bandwagon and adopt the idea i spoke of earlier? I have seen networks, when showing giant blockbuster movies, go commercial-free but how about trying that for award shows or gigantic sports tournaments and only allowing airtime once every 30 minutes or 1 hour?

Hmm, novel idea! Will it fly? Yeah, i didnt think so.

The NBA's age limit: Part 1

What have been the topics of discussion this NBA season?: Part 1
Kobe’s 81… check,
The trading of Ron Artest…check,
The hype and fall of the NY Knicks…check,
The inability of Lebron to win it all at the end of games…check.
In fact, as I write these words, Lebron “The King” James has come fully into fruition within the last couple of weeks, having made a game winner and has been a force to be reckon with at the end of games with several 30 and 40+ point plays.
If you look closely at that list, two out of the four stories involve former high schoolers who’ve made the superstar leap to the big leagues without any need or introduction to collegiate life. Therefore I ask, what happened to the two hotly debated topics that fueled the NBA at the beginning of the season? Yes that’s right, what happened to the conspiracy theories regarding the implantation of the dress code and the age limit? It’s not on the menu because in actuality it was not a big deal to begin with! Meaning, while the NBA in its truest sense is the game of basketball, it is ultimately a business. And with any business, the employer should dress the part (plus the fear of losing some weight in the wallet area may also have something to do with it). Therefore, the need I have for scrounging up a topic that is all but dead is purely curiosity. Curious because while basketball (as well as football) disallows teenagers to enter the professional ranks, many of the minority sports like tennis, soccer, and extreme sports like snowboarding and motocross have had teenage professionals for many years. With the newly implemented age limit rule that disallows high school ballers from entering the draft without at least a year of NCAA experience, has David Stern, the Commissioner of the league, gone against the grain or paved the way for other leagues and associations to do the same?

By “cleaning” up the league, has the NBA gone too drastic with their measures in not allowing younger players to compete at the highest level? I don’t think so. I believe that even though a high school player may have the true and raw talent to be able to score 40 or 50 points each night against 90 lbs weaklings that still have years before morphing into adulthood that does not automatically mean they will do the same against “the Show’s” biggest ballers. I feel that the age limit is a good thing. True, the association may lose some entertainment value that the next Kobe, Lebron, Mcgrady or KG could provide, but with every one Lebron there are a hundred Darkos’, highly hyped and thought of but sitting the pine season after season until they become a vagabond roaming the NBA landscape. That scenario may be unlikely considering three factors; that the few high schoolers who have decided to open that door to the house that MJ built, their physical demeanor may withstand an 82 game season. Secondly, teams who have drafted these players straight out of high school have made an investment on them, and lastly, the viewing audience has paid substantial dollars to see them out on the court. Yet, at the same time, it is a crapshoot because who in actuality knows whether they will be good… great... a star… a superstar… a hall of famer given the fact that they have only played against 16, 17 or 18 year olds? (To be continued…)

March Madness is truely MAD!

LSU and UCLA, who would have thunk it?!
I think it is safe to say that I can throw out my NCAA bracket right about now. If someone had told me that they knew that half the Final Four would be LSU and UCLA, well then let me pay you $2.99 for your 1-800 number because obviously you have some magical powers. I dont think that anyone, including the residents in Baton Rouge and Los Angeles, believed LSU and UCLA would be participating in the Final Four? I know that I didnt!
My money coming into this weekend was on Duke and Gonzaga advancing, primarily because of experience (J.J Redick) and emotion (Adam Morrison). True, they would have had to both get by Texas and Memphis in this Elite 8 but seeing that Duke, earlier in the year, man-handled Texas and with Gonzaga seemingly performing heart-stopping buzzer beaters all year; I was hoping that this finally could have been their year. I guess now, the only race that both Redick and Morrison are gunning for is the National player of the Year (which i hope the committee awards both of them instead of deciding on one or the other) and the #1 pick in June's NBA Draft. Maybe its just me, but I was just itching for the one and only showdown between the two leading scorers, but i guess ill have to be staisfyed with it playing in my mind or better yet watch both of them go at it in "The Show".
But ultimately, that is what makes March Madness truely Mad; its knowing that ANYONE can win and advance. Just look at George Mason, a Mid-Major out of the (CAA) Colonial Athletic Association, having the chance to go up against powerhouse Connecticut (which basically everyone believes will win it all). I guess, because Duke and Gonzaga are not in it anymore, I dont really mind who wins.... haha yeah i dont believe that myself. My hope now is on UCLA to go all the way just because of the history and the storied program in hopes of returning to glory! Oh what a story that would be!!
So with the few pennies i have left that i could scrounge up between the couch cushions, I will let it ride all on UCLA over LSU and Villanova over Coinnecticut; with UCLA over Villanova in the final. I gotta route for the Pac-10 baby! UCLA Bruines national champs!
Hey, in March anything could happen!