Thursday, August 24, 2017

Cleaning out the inbox

Time for a long overdue cleaning of the inbox!

We start with ESPN's Uni Watch brought to you by Paul Lukas.
Uni Watch is one of my favorite columns on the ESPN site and whether or not I agree with Lukas and his opinions,it usually brings opinions and memories of my own to the forefront.
This one was a special article for me as the story told the history of the Houston Astros uniforms from the mid 1970's to the late 80's.
The "Tequila Sunrise" or the more commonly used "rainbow" togs have quite the history and to my knowledge,this brings the designers of these uniforms together in an oral history to tell their story for the first time....

ESPN returns to discuss just what remains of the facilities used in the last summer Olympics in Rio.
The Brazilian nation has learned what so many Olympic hosts have learned going back to Montreal in 1976-It just isn't as valuable as the money that you put into hosting it.
In just one year after the games,Rio has rampant debt and corruption along with crumbling venues that are not being maintained.
A sad,but easily foreseeable end....

The Cleveland Mustard battle that so often finds its way into the inbox has done so again,this time from Eater.com.
Eater looks at the history of Bertman's and Stadium,the rivalry and how chef Michael Symon has chosen a side in the battle!

I really like Bruce Markusen's Card Corner on the Baseball Hall of Fame site and he most often writes about players from the 60's-80's era,the era in which I grew up watching and collecting cards of.
In this edition,Markusen writes of one-dimensional slugger Cliff Johnson,a catcher in name,but truly a man without a position during his career.
The well-traveled Johnson was remembered by me most as a member of the 1979 Cleveland Indians,which were special to me as I've written before as the first year I was an Indians fan.
The Indians traded for Johnson in June as the Yankees were looking to dump Johnson after a wrestling match with Goose Gossage resulted in a broken thumb for the Yankee closer.
The cost of journeyman reliever Don Hood shows how badly the Yankees wanted rid of Johnson,but Johnson for the rest of that season in Cleveland was pretty close to a powerhitting star as he hit 18 homers as an Indian in just 72 games.
Johnson couldn't sustain that in 1980 though and was traded midway through that season for the immortal Karl Pagel.
I have one vivid memory of Karl Pagel that I really should write about one day...

I've been a Boise State football fan for longer than I realized now.
The west coast location,fun teams to watch and being a Mountain West team that plays lots of non-Saturday games have all contributed to my Bronco fandom.
SB Nation writes a fascinating story with lots of people close to the Boise State program that explains the past and present of how the Boise program was built and makes the argument that Boise State is the true "Moneyball" of college football.
It's comprehensive and you might want to read it two or three times to truly digest it.

We wrap up with this article on Paul Finebaum.the unlikely breakout star of ESPN over the last few years.
Finebaum,who might be a bit too SEC centric for my tastes,but still is my standard football show during the season,has come from a regional radio star to being ESPN's everyday college star on SEC Network and now his show will play some on ESPN2.
Sports Business Journal writes of the rise of Finebaum,how it happened,the relationship with his often zany callers and even his own mistakes.
It's an honest look at Finebaum as well as Finebaum admitting to a few mistakes in the past.

That finishes the inbox dustoff.
The plan is to start the final road trip of the year posts over the next few days.
I also will have boxing challenge,weekend boxing coverage and maybe even something else too...


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