Play Ball

                                                             Opening Day 2014.

I do not watch much Baseball on T.V. until the Pennant series begins. I do go to a few games per season. The Phillie's ballpark is an agreeable venue...despite being ridiculously expensive...as they all are now.

Mostly I listen. Baseball on the radio is the soundtrack to many activities beginning in early Spring. The radio in the garage will hum with the commentary of play by play while I do the Spring yard work or tinker with projects on the workbench. The buzz of the crowd will be on the radio on the patio when I light the grill and stand vigil over the ribs while sipping a rum and tonic. I will catch a game mid-innings when I drive home from the city.And I still miss the soothing voice of Mr. Kalas.

Boxing Interview

 Tune in tomorrow to 860 Am to hear my radio show: The Fight Game. I will have a special guest...Brtittany Rogers. She is a young woman involved in boxing promotion and the writer of a column called "BAM on Boxing."

The show runs from 2 P.M. to 3 P.M. EST and is available on the Tune In radio app.

Spring Run

I came across this photo of yours truly fishing for Stripers from the beach on Nantucket. This put the flame under me for a trip to the shore to chase the Spring run of those delicious sea-dwellers.
Surf fishing is a lovely way to pass the time. A passive form of sporting pursuit. Once the line is baited with claim or bunker or bloodworm....and the cast is made...the fisherman can sit in a beach chair and enjoy a beer and a cigar while watching the tip of the rod for a strike.There are not too many better ways to decompress than fishing an evening tide from the shore.

Sportsman's Porn

This is a cabinet full of goodies available at Artemis Outfitters in Delaware. The proprietor has been to a couple of our tower shoots and is a gentleman who know his business.
Since all the hunting seasons are over and Steeplechasing has not fully heated up...there is not much to post about. However, one can drool over these nice weapons in the interim.

The Wasatch

                                               Friday late morning at Deer Valley in Utah.

Weekend Spectation

My 17 year old son has developed a passion for rugby. He will be playing in his first match this weekend. It will be a challenge for me as I do not know the game that well. When he was playing youth lacrosse I was often the coach...and when I watched him play in middle school and high school...I still had an intimate knowledge of the game.
It will be interesting.

Re-Print

I should call this  re-tread because I like busting Sandy's balls and calling him a re-tread would be the type of reply I would give to one of his obnoxious greetings. When you drive down the long driveway to the hunting club Sandy is often out by the fire partaking of a well made cigar. When you climb from the truck,he never greets you with "Hey ,great to see you." He will come at you about some real or perceived screw up from weeks or months ago. It would be annoying if you did not like the guy so much and one knows it is probably some conditioned behaviour from his time with the Marines....and because eventually he gives you a strong hand-shake or squeeze of the shoulder an does exclaim that he is happy to see you.
Sandy is a hunting buddy and a stalwart friend. This is a Marine with combat in 'Nam under his belt. He was wounded in a fire-fight, recovered and then became a door gunner on a helicopter....think the maniac in the scene from "Full Metal Jacket."After his service he became a sniper for the N.J. State Police. Retired,he now spends his time in the fields and duck blinds and goose pits chasing trophy deer and locked up mallards and Canadas and on the water hooking stripers....or maybe striping hookers...but that is another story. He loves my dogs and always makes a special effort to have time talking with my son when I have him down at the hunting club....an effort that has always been appreciated .
Sandy enjoys a fine cigar, drinks gallons of suspect coffee and tell great stories of his time in the Corps and hunts he has enjoyed. The only time I have ever seen him without a cap of some sort was at a friend's funeral. He will fix nearly anything that goes wrong with your shotgun and can speak intelligently on all topics of weapons and ammo.He  will  volunteer to sharpen your chainsaw,connect a new stove in the club kitchen or take the time to fix the Club ATV and Mule when no one else can .He can operate most kinds of heavy machinery from a back-hoe to an 18 wheeler. One of the guys has a couple of reportedly great bird dogs...and Sandy insists they are only great because he trained them. He will break my balls while I am cooking dinner for the guys at the Club, but then offer a sincere thanks for the great meal and be first in on K.P.
Sandy was one of the guests at that special trap shoot last weekend at that special gun club. I re-posted this picture because after looking at it again it is one helluva photograph...if I do say so myself. As I said to Tin-Man from "TheTrad..."you are a clean up hitter of a photographer and I mostly swing and miss....but with this photo I hit a triple off the wall."
 Sandy was assembling his trap gun for the shoot and the light and the cigar smoke, the way he always pushes down the crown of his cap and the position of his capable hands on the shotgun make the photo what it is and worthy of repetition. As for repetition...they'll never make another one like this busted Gunnery Sergeant.

Mount Gay on the Rocks

I saw a Facebook post indicating that Mount Gay was going down for the count.Say it ain't so I thought. Holy sugar cane and molasses Batman!....no more Mount Gay? What would Summer be without a crisp Mount Gay and Tonic on the drinks list? Would the singular pleasure of a well made Mount Gay Daiquiri be relegated to memory and fond remembrance?  I was not satisfied with the bona fides of the source so I elected to do some research of my own. The following is re-printed from a distilled spirits industry news letter:

Reports have recently circulated in the island’s local press that Mount Gay Distillery – Barbados’s oldest rum distillery – was closing its doors after encountering financial difficulty.
However, Rémy Cointreau has since said that it is in fact The Rum Refinery – a distillery which provides liquid for Mount Gay Rum along with the Mount Gay Distillery itself – which had temporarily ceased production.
The French drinks group added that despite a “historical and supply relationship” between the two distilleries, they “are not synonymous” and are “two separate and distinct entities”.
Both distilleries are based in Mount Gay in St Lucy and The Rum Refinery is part of Mount Gay Limited.
Raphael Grisoni, managing director of Mount Gay Distilleries Limited, said: “The operations of Mount Gay Distilleries Limited have not been affected by recent events within The Rum Refinery of Mount Gay Limited, and our production of Mount Gay Rum continues as normal.”


 Whew.......
 

Good Sports

I love hockey and you all know I am involved in professional boxing.I always like it when these two things intersect.

 Even I was not prepared for the interesting ending of this session of fisticuffs during a Quebec Semi-Pro game.

Gun Club

 It is comforting to find a place and a process that has not changed in over 100 years. This gun club in New Jersey is such a place.

 One of my duck hunting comrades is a member and graciously invited me to a Saturday trap shoot. They only shoot trap. In between rounds you enjoy a cigar and watch the tote board for the scores.One must wear a jacket and tie.It is permissible to remove the jacket and put on a shooting vest when you go out to the line.

 Lunch is served before the shoot. In between rounds of trap many of the members and guests  play Gin for a half penny per point.

 There is interesting taxidermy and a beautiful fireplace.

 The bar is stocked and awaits the close of shooting when the double guns are broken down and put in the cases.

 An 90 year old stuffed tiger surveys the scene from the loft of the cabin.

 Everyone brings their best guns and best behavior.

 The cigar room features old photos of the famous and notable who have shot and enjoyed the unique sport and hospitality found here. On the right is the small humidor. The large humidor is the size of a small fridge and sits on the floor...kept stocked by a bequest from a deceased member.

 Babe Ruth shot here.

 My buddy Sandy the Marine and I shot here.I doubt they will put a put our photo on the wall.

It was a fabulous day of shooting and agreeable company and an experience of timeless tradition.

Wasatch Mountain Beer Cooler

Fat Tuesday

 We are all certainly familiar with the Mardi Gras revelry that takes place in NOLA on this day before Lent.

The booze and the beads and the boobs and the floats.
However, in the rural areas of Louisiana the locals celebrate in a different manner that is somewhat more akin the the Mideaval roots of this regional party. In the small towns and in the countryside they ride from house to house and farm to farm in costume and on horseback asking for donations for a communal Gumbo to be made at the end of the parade. The farmers often release a live chicken that the revelers chase to add to the pot. This is known as Courir Mardi Gras.

Beer Pong

 What do a bunch of 50 year old Lehigh guys do in Deer Valley,Utah when the skiing is over for the day?

Play Beer-Pong of course.

Sport of Kings Loses a Crown Jewel

I read his obituary in the New York Times yesterday. I had never seen him play in person but heard about him while watching matches at our local Brandywine Polo Club.  He was part of a dynasty of top flight polo players and taught the sport to many.
One of my law school buddies lost his father to a brain injury suffered during a match in New Jersey several years ago....just goes to show you this is NOT a sport just for effete playboys as the reputation may indicate...one can die in this game.



A world-class polo player died from head injuries suffered when he was thrown from his horse during a match in Florida on Tuesday.
Carlos Gracida, one of the sport's most beloved players, was playing in a match at the Everglade Polo Club in Wellington when another player struck his horse in the head with a mallet, causing the animal to whip its head around and collide with Gracida's head, the Palm Beach Post reported

He was only 53 and one of the best players ever. He won the US Open in Polo 9 times and was one of the "Queen's favorites."