I’m a bit tardy with this dispatch today and it’s with good reason.
I took advantage of the extended holiday weekend to visit my father in Indiana and it turned out to be a fairly epic sports viewing weekend for the two of us.
Saturday
3-5 p.m.
We discovered the University of Michigan’s baseball team was playing UC San Diego in the MLB Desert Invitational in the Phoenix area and the game was airing on the MLB.com app. It became readily apparent the Wolverines were coming from the north where outdoor practices have, quite likely, been things of fiction. The Tritons wallopped the Wolverines, 11-2. Each of four Michigan pitchers hit a batter, they combined for six walks, and yielded 12 hits. It was not a thing of beauty but it was baseball.
5-6:30 p.m.
For nothing more than background noise, the Villanova at Providence game was airing during time preparing and eating dinner. I can’t say as though I paid much attention to the game, though I did notice the Friars were in control much of the way (between spoonfuls of vegetable soup, that is).
7-8 p.m.
Just because the TV was still tuned to FOX, we got sucked into the documentary, “Back to School with Gus Johnson,” which focused on the FOX Sports broadcaster’s semester studying at Harvard University as part of its Advanced Leadership Initiative. Johnson and I are the same age, graduated the same year from high school, both enjoy sports, and the similarities pretty much end there. He was a 3-sport star the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and graduated from Howard University before moving into the world of sports broadcasting. I once took a course at Harvard online and earned an executive certificate, but it was no where near as challenging as what Johnson faced. It was a terrific exploration into Johnson’s work as a broadcaster and his humanity. I enjoyed it even more than I believed I would.
8-10:30 p.m.
Less-than a week after the shootings on campus, Michigan State University returned to game action in this primetime game at rival U-M in Ann Arbor. I was disappointed more of the pre-game honors were not shared by FOX Sports, but I’m also not surprised. Mass shootings are now so frequent they almost feel like yesterday’s news a day later. Still, I have two nephews and several of my son’s friends who attend MSU and I felt I owed to them and myself to watch as much of the game as I could stay awake for. Turns out that meant all of it! It was a back-and-forth game throughout that had overtime written all of over it, especially after MSU tied it at 72 with just under 2:30 left. Then, the Spartans didn’t score again. Michigan won, 84-72, and also won by how caring the entire university was for its grieving rivals to the north.
10:45-11:15 p.m.
Drifting off to sleep I dialed up the Detroit Red Wings at Seattle Kraken game as the resurgent Wings’ went for their sixth straight victory. It’s also nice to listen to my old pal – and Season 1, Episode 21 guest on “Conversations with Sports Fans” – Ken Kal and Paul Woods call a late game. I was long into slumber by the time Detroit lost, 4-2.
Sunday
9-9:30 a.m.
Even when we were not seeking sports fan moments they seemed to find us out. Breakfast at the Corner Cafe went quicker than anticipated so we decided to visit the local cemetery to pay our respects to several family members. As we were leaving my dad spotted a massive monument that caught his eye. It was placed there by John E. Fetzer, owner of the Detroit Tigers from 1961-83. Fetzer, it turns out, was born in my hometown, Decatur, IN, and moved with his mother and sister following the deaths of his father and brother six months apart a couple of years later.
11:15-11:45 a.m.
Even following a church service, sports talk is in order. Visiting with one of my father’s friend, Gerry, during fellowship time after church, we discussed the pending full opening of Spring Training this week, the state of his favored St. Louis Cardinals, and the World Baseball Classic. An old classmate, Scott, even stopped by to tell me he’s ready to talk about the “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates on an episode of “Conversations.”
2-4:15 p.m.
There’s nothing quite like a live sporting event. Especially when it’s in a venue you’ve never been to before.
That’s where dad and I headed on this afternoon. The Wright State University Raiders were visiting the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons in a Horizon League matchup of lower division foes.
As we walked from the parking lot to the fieldhouse my dad commented that he was hopeful of two things: “A good crowd and a close game.”
Well, Senior Day helped with the crowd. While it was not packed to the rafters, there were enough folks there to make some noise and it felt like a proper Division I college basketball game.
As for the close game … PFW led from the outset until WSU’s Trey Calvin hit a turnaround baseline jumper with a couple seconds left. Then the magic ensued and senior Damian Chong Qui took the inbounds pass, dribbled a couple times and drained a 40-footer to seal the walk-off victory. You can see the play unfold here.
and I during as Chong Qui prepared to shoot.
Mercifully, there was not an overflow crowd to navigate while leaving, but as we walked out, I asked my dad if that game was close enough for him.
“Yes, it was.”
5:30-7 p.m.
By the time we made it home, there were two events drawing to a close playing out on opposite coasts. In Los Angeles, Spaniard Jon Rahm was putting the finishing touches on the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational at Riveria Country Club. In Daytona Beach, FL, the NASCAR season-opening Daytona 500 was in the final stage.
As noted in Season 2, Episode 9 of “Conversations with Sports Fans,” my vow this year is to become more than a casual NASCAR fan. Heeding the advice from my guests Frank Burger and Kevin Hickerson, I reviewed the field and believe I’m a Ford fella (hey, my last two cars have been Fords) and have a special place in my heart for Brad Keselowski (I once wrote a story about his late father, Bob). I also am familiar with the Penske Racing Team from its work in Indy Cars, so I decided Austin Cindric is another I can get behind. As a happy bonus, his primary sponsor is also a Michigan-made Company, Discount Tire.
Having said this, I was delighted to tune in fairly late in the race and see both among the top 10. Shoot, Keselowski led for a good chunk of time, before the race wound up going to overtime (a foreign concept to me that necessitated a few texts with Frank and Kevin). In the end, Ricky Stenhouse, won the race which is pretty cool because his is the only car the race team puts out there … and among the team’s owners is former NBA standout, Brad Daugherty.
7-8:45 p.m.
I’ve no idea how or why, but as I was spinning through ESPN+ we wound up settling on the Stanford at Cal State Fullerton baseball game. It was the top of the 9th when we tuned in and Fullerton led by three, but Stanford had a pair of runners on. The Cardinal ultimately scored seven runs that inning and took a 2-run lead heading into the bottom of the 9th. The Titans tied it with a 2-run homer in the home half of the ninth. Stanford then scored eight runs in the 10th and wound up winning, 21-13. The game lasted a whopping 4 hours, 42 minutes, and I’m pretty sure we saw close to two hours’ worth over only two innings.
8:45-9:30 p.m.
Wait, there was more baseball to be seen. It was Wright State University (remember it from earlier in the afternoon:-) playing at the University of Hawaii. The vistas were pleasing to the eyes but the baseball was … so-so. Hawaii gave up five runs over the final two innings, but still won easily, 16-7. We did hear on the broadcast that prior to heading to the island, Wright State had been able to practice outside a total of seven times this spring. That might help explain the six walks, four wild pitches, and five hit batters – not to mention the 14 hits – the pitching staff gave up.
9:45-10:15
The NBA All-Star Game, or shall I say NBA All-Star Showcase, helped send me off to slumber. The tones of Marc Kestecher are not nearly as soothing as those of Ken Kal, I can assure you.