*It seems that even with the NFL in the off-season, it is still dominiating headlines. The main thing being Peyton Manning going to Denver. After a couple of weeks of meetings with different teams, Peyton decided to go with Denver. In some ways it wasn't surprising but in some ways it was given that the other two teams in the running was San Francisco (which was in the NFC Title game last year) and Tennessee (the state where he went to college). The domino effect was that Tim Tebow was then traded from Denver to the New York Jets, which in and of itself was kind of a shocker given they already have a starting QB in Mark Sanchez & there was a team in Jacksonville which seemed like a great fit (not far from where Tebow went to college, could step right in and be the starter). It will be interesting how Tebow will fit in with the Jets. I know he'll want to be the starter but it'll be hard to supplant Sanchez unless he gets hurt or plays really really bad. It'll also be interesting how the faith aspect will come into play given the Jeremy Lin phenomenon that took place for a few months before dying out. Will Tebow garner as much or more than Lin did? Will it be for a sustained period? It's only March but there's enough stories that'll probably last until training camps start.
*I've been keeping up with March Madness and my brackets have been decent to poor. One of these days I'll have a bracket that's like top notch. The final four is Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas & Ohio State (out of which I consensusly picked 3, missed out with Louisville). I do get the feeling this is shaping up to be another 2008. That year of course Kansas beat UNC on it's way to the title game. Kansas also faced off against a team coached by John Calipari. Kansas wasn't thought of to win the title. John Calipari's team had the best player in the country. See what I mean? Don't be surprised come Tuesday morning if it's Rock Chalk Jayhawk being bantered about. What would be even more eerie is if Calipari then decided to take the NY Knicks job and then it's found out that Anthony Davis had some kind of academic issues and then Kentucky was put on probation like Memphis was with Derrick Rose. Food for thought...
*The MLB regular season started today in Japan with the Mariners and the A's. I caught the game from about the 6th inning on. A couple of things: 1) I love watching live sports in the morning. It's nice to be able to tune in and see sports live while eating breakfast or getting ready for work. 2.) I am getting old. There was a statistic given during the game that Ichiro was the first M's player to get 4 hits in an opening day game since Ken Griffey Jr. did it in 1990. 1990 as in 22 years ago. Yes I am getting old. 3.) For what it's worth, the M's are in 1st place. 161 games to go but it's a good start.
Showing posts with label griffey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label griffey. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Reflections on the Retirement of "The Kid"
I was going to write about going to the Royals game on Tuesday with my next post but news that just came over the wire takes precident...
Ken Griffey Jr. has announced his retirement today. It has been rumored for about a month but to be honest it was still a shock. I just heard literally like a few minutes ago so I'm still trying to sort through thoughts and memories.
He was a ballplayer that I grew up with of sorts. He debuted in the majors in 1989, when I was 9 years old, so right in the wheelhouse of memories. He had the hype of being the son of Ken Griffey Sr., who was a good player in his own right. But he lived up to the hype. I remember trying to collect his rookie cards and how some of them were so expensive (I think it was the Upper Deck one that was the most expensive one....I still have those cards somewhere, I'll have to look for them at some point).
I rooted for Griffey even being a boy from Tennessee with no connections (at the time) to Seattle. I latched onto the Mariners for the first time back in 1995 with their crazy run to the playoffs and then beating the Yankees in the 95 Divisional Round. I remember playing the Ken Griffey Jr. MLB game for Super Nintendo as a teen for hours on end.
I was sad when he left Seattle and went to Cincy but I understood because he wanted to be closer to family. I felt bad for him when he had the injuries that cost him in my mind a shot at the home run record. It was cool that when I got to see my first MLB game in St. Louis it was against the Reds in 2002. Unfortunately, Griffey wasn't playing but I saw his team. Then in 2007 while I was living in Seattle, I saw a video tribute that Griffey gave to Edgar Martinez when Martinez was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame. Everyone cheered for him. Later in the season, the Reds came to Safeco and he routinely got standing ovations. I wasn't able to make it to the ballpark but I watched those games on TV. It wasn't until 2008 that I got to see Griffey live and in person. By then, he was with the White Sox. It looked weird seeing him in a White Sox jersey but I was happy to see him playing in person after all those years.
I was really excited when he re-signed with the Mariners last year. I saved up money and ordered a Mariners jersey (because I missed Seattle and wanted a M's jersey) and I got a Griffey one. I wore it proudly when the M's came to KC and the M's were undefeated when I wore the Griffey jersey.
I will remember fondly earlier this year when they were in town. I was standing down by the visitor's dugout watching BP and saw Griffey up close, probably the closest I'd ever seen him. I saw him smiling and taking BP and it reminded me of when I was 15 watching him play on TV.
He is a one of a kind player, a once in a generation player. He will be missed from the game and I hope that whatever the next step is for Him I wish him nothing but the best. He will always be "The Kid".
Ken Griffey Jr. has announced his retirement today. It has been rumored for about a month but to be honest it was still a shock. I just heard literally like a few minutes ago so I'm still trying to sort through thoughts and memories.
He was a ballplayer that I grew up with of sorts. He debuted in the majors in 1989, when I was 9 years old, so right in the wheelhouse of memories. He had the hype of being the son of Ken Griffey Sr., who was a good player in his own right. But he lived up to the hype. I remember trying to collect his rookie cards and how some of them were so expensive (I think it was the Upper Deck one that was the most expensive one....I still have those cards somewhere, I'll have to look for them at some point).
I rooted for Griffey even being a boy from Tennessee with no connections (at the time) to Seattle. I latched onto the Mariners for the first time back in 1995 with their crazy run to the playoffs and then beating the Yankees in the 95 Divisional Round. I remember playing the Ken Griffey Jr. MLB game for Super Nintendo as a teen for hours on end.
I was sad when he left Seattle and went to Cincy but I understood because he wanted to be closer to family. I felt bad for him when he had the injuries that cost him in my mind a shot at the home run record. It was cool that when I got to see my first MLB game in St. Louis it was against the Reds in 2002. Unfortunately, Griffey wasn't playing but I saw his team. Then in 2007 while I was living in Seattle, I saw a video tribute that Griffey gave to Edgar Martinez when Martinez was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame. Everyone cheered for him. Later in the season, the Reds came to Safeco and he routinely got standing ovations. I wasn't able to make it to the ballpark but I watched those games on TV. It wasn't until 2008 that I got to see Griffey live and in person. By then, he was with the White Sox. It looked weird seeing him in a White Sox jersey but I was happy to see him playing in person after all those years.
I was really excited when he re-signed with the Mariners last year. I saved up money and ordered a Mariners jersey (because I missed Seattle and wanted a M's jersey) and I got a Griffey one. I wore it proudly when the M's came to KC and the M's were undefeated when I wore the Griffey jersey.
I will remember fondly earlier this year when they were in town. I was standing down by the visitor's dugout watching BP and saw Griffey up close, probably the closest I'd ever seen him. I saw him smiling and taking BP and it reminded me of when I was 15 watching him play on TV.
He is a one of a kind player, a once in a generation player. He will be missed from the game and I hope that whatever the next step is for Him I wish him nothing but the best. He will always be "The Kid".
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