Happy New Year!

2016 was a terrific year in sports - the Chicago Cubs won their first championship in 108 years, the Cleveland Cavaliers brought their city a championship team in any sport for the first time in 52 years, and two American swimmers (Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky) became the most decorated Olympic athletes at the Rio games.  It was also a year of sadness, as we lost many in the sports world, including Muhammad Ali, Gordie Howe, and Arnold Palmer, three of the greatest at their games.

Also, on a personal note, 2016 was a terrific year for this blog and myself, with more and more of you coming over to take a look at the reviews, offer books and other kind words.  I thank each and every person who has visited this site - we shared the same love of sports and through books, that passion can be shared and passed down through the generations.

Here's wishing everyone a safe, happy and prosperous 2017.

Musinig - Montreal Expos fever

This week has brought me to Plattsburgh, NY near the Canadian border.  While the occasion was a sad one - the funeral of my wife's uncle was today - I found out that here in this small town about one hour from Montreal that the spirit of the Montreal Expos is still very much alive.

I have seen several people decked out in Expos gear and at the local mall that sells sports apparel, Expos shirts and hats were plentiful.  I got in this spirit and picked up a Pedro Martinez Expos shirt - and I plan on wearing it this summer when my wife and I will be attending the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, NY.

I also was talking sports with a young woman at the front desk of our hotel.  While she is first and foremost a hockey fan (Montreal Canadiens, of course), we also talked baseball and she had fond memories of her and her parents going to Olympic Stadium and watching the Expos.  I thought it was great to just listen to someone who enjoyed being a fan of that team, even though it was apparent that even though it has been more than 10 years since they left for Washington she still pines to attend another game. 

Another example of what I always believe about baseball fans - they are the most loyal fans to a team, no matter what happens to that team in either the won-loss record or thier geographical location.   Once a fan, always a fan. 

Vacation and upcoming reviews

Taking a break from the blog while on vacation in my home state of Minnesota.  I went to games of two of the team's that I have followed my entire life.  At least since I was old enough to understand sports.  Since this is the last season the Minnesota Vikings will play at the Metrodome (I refuse to call it by its corporate name), I wanted to see one last game there.  My lovely wife Deb and I saw the game this past Sunday and sure enough the Vikings broke my heart again.

Then on Monday we went to Target Field and not only enjoyed a thrilling come-from-behind extra inning win by the Twins, we took a tour of the stadium and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Target Field is certainly the best baseball stadium I have seen.  I also had another bout of laryngitis for the second straight day as I was yelling my lungs out for my teams.

These two days of sports, a wonderful birthday gift from my wife, confirmed my belief that sports are the best form of entertainment.  I will make my case for it in a future post when I am between reviews, but I wouldn't trade the experiences of the last two days (except maybe the results of the Vikings game) for any other entertainment.

When I get back...five or six books will have been read and reviewed.  On the way out,I finished a football book and a hockey book, and am halfway through a YA book on motorcycle racing.  So with plenty of reading time on the trip back....there are more reviews to come.  Thanks for reading, for commenting and for sharing the love of sports and reading about them.

Thoughts and news...the week ahead

If you ever feel like you accomplished a million good things ,but at the same time also feel like you didn't...that was what this week was like for me.  Will have THREE reviews ready this week as two books have been read and I anticipate finishing the third later in the week. Also, Daniel Brown is performing a reading at Marist College on Tuesday and I am attending.  I will post notes and highlights from that event here as well.  So...even though it was a quiet week here on the blog, there was lots of activity behind the scenes and the upcoming well promises to be busy.  Stay tuned!

An update on a prevous post

For total transparency I should note a point I made in responding to comments on a previous post. Recently I listed the best franchises in each of the four professional leagues in North America. One of the criteria that I used for this was that players for the franchises did not create negative publicity for himself or the team. It was why I did not select the commenter's favorite baseball team. I now have to change the model NFL franchise after this week's events that lead to arrest of a player on that "model" NFL franchise. Yes, it isn't fair to blame an organization for the actions of a lone player. But right now, if you think about that team you don't think football. So, staying with the same criteria, the current model NFL franchise is...and as a Vikings this is painful...the Green Bay Packers. Add them with the Cardinals, Spurs and Red Wings for the best franchises in sports.