Baseball in China is not as popular as it is in America
As a sports figure and a sports fan, one of the tricky things about finding myself on an extended stay in Shanghai, China is the near isolation from most American sports. Though basketball, over the last ten or so years, has become preferred among the Chinese folk, baseball has still to find its way into the sports culture here. I had heard from some of the locals in Shanghai that there was a baseball team playing in the town, so I did some Google searches to see whether I could find info about the team. I found some articles on the web about the Shanghai Eagles’ spring trip to the U.S. to challenge against junior university groups. The game summaries described a team that had decent pitching, but not very much hitting. As can occur with that sort of team chemistry, the Shanghai club lost all 7 of its exhibition games in the U.S. There had been a total of 50 people attending when the game commenced. Folks came and went as the game progressed. After quickly being spotted as one of the sole white blokes in attendance, I was approached by Dan Washburn, a stories expert doing a tale for Baseball America. During my conversation with him, he said to me that he met some older Chinese men at one of the games he’d attended. He discussed that when he asked them what brought them out to the event, they told him they played ball when they were much younger. So when the Olympic Games come to Beijing in 2008, what are we able to expect from the Chinese team? Will it be sort of an humiliation, like the Greek team’s performance in 2004? Or does the home side have an opportunity to compete? My private opinion is the competition level does not exist in China now for the state team to struggle against the likes of Japan, Taiwan, the U.S, or Cuba. However, if they can get sufficient exposure by playing outside of China, they may just pull off a medal.
Posted by admin at Tuesday ~ June 06, 2009 | Comments Off
The Benefits of Golf as Exercise
Those who love baseball may not see the exercise benefits of golf immediately. But golf can give you a much better workout than you may realize. Even when riding in a cart, it’s still necessary to do a certain amount of walking. The golfer has to walk to the tee box and back to the cart, up to the green and back, with some walking taking place on the fairway. If you tend to hit your ball into the woods, hunting for a lost ball can become a form of exercise with even more walking. There is the actual swinging of the club as well. If you should find that you have a high score at the end of the round, consider it a plus as far as your exercise regimen is concerned. By swinging the club more, you’re working those muscles while increasing your heart rate and circulation. Of course the best way to enjoy golf is to have the proper golf gear. Click here to find out how to play more efficiently with the right golf accessory. You’ll be glad you did.
Posted by admin at Monday ~ September 09, 2008 | Comments Off
Category: golf
300 Wins
The other night Tom Glavine of the New York Mets became the 22nd player to have 300 wins or more in their careers and is he the last we will ever see get to that mark. As we know Randy Johnson is next in line but with all of his injuries in the last few years it will be tough. One of my favorite players is Johan Santana who pitches for the Twins would have to average 17 wins a year for the next 12 years to get 300. The odds are against him and most of the other players. So why, thats a question that I would like someone to answer. Now what will the Hall of Fame do when the pitchers don’t have the numbers to get into the Hall, will they lower there standards or will they say tough, why not earn it like the rest of them did. It’s not the original players fault that they played hurt or did whatever it took to win. These teams didn’t have much for relief pitchers or closers, they were it and you pitched the hole game win or lose. Now how many players can say that now. Most pitch the 1st 7 innings then go in and take a shower and have left the field before the game is even over. I hope the hall doesn’t change there ways. The Hall of Fame no matter the sport should be earned not just given because of who the player is, how about what they did for the game or the team they played on. So in closing Congrats to Tom Glavine our last 300 game winner. You have earned a trip to the Hall of Fame.
Posted by admin at Saturday ~ August 08, 2007 | No Comments
Sumertime Recreation
With the 4th of July now past, it’s hot and humid and I’m finding that I’m spending more time indoors than out. One of the ways I pass the incredibly hot summer days is to watch an awesome game of baseball. It’s fun and I watch how they play in hopes of picking up on a few good ideas to pass along to the kids team I coach. Kids should be encouraged to play softball or baseball whenever possible. Aside from developing great motor skills, its social interaction which makes them more connected with their peers and helps them to improve their view of themselves. If you are not now involved with coaching this fine sport, I strongly suggest you consider it. Our kids today are hungary for more interaction with adults who not only improve their sports abilities, teach them other wonderful attributes like patience and competition.
Posted by admin at Saturday ~ July 07, 2007 | No Comments
The Baseballs are Flying in Omaha
The NCAA men’s college world series is in full swing (literally) in Omaha, Nebraska this year. Judging by the box scores so far you would think the balls are wound way tighter or the bats are that much better. Right out of the gate game 1 ended 15 to 10. Followed by a 14 to 4 and a 12 to 4 respectfully. Looking at it many times you can win a game with 4 runs. The major factors that are playing a part in the box scores, first and foremost the balls are the same as they have been in years past. The bats are the same also. Basically it boils down to PITCHING. The average baseball fan does not realize that how many players are taken in the MLB draft straight from high school. This is becoming a trend for major league scouts. Why not draft a young fresh arm with talent straight from high school, as opposed to a pitcher who worked a ton of innings for 4 years of college. This translates to more pitchers who would not be pitching at a division 1 college level. Now these pitchers are finding that they are pitching in Omaha for the college world series. It’s not that the hitters are getting that much better either. It all falls on the MOUND. And this year many are falling in the seats.
Posted by admin at Tuesday ~ June 06, 2007 | No Comments
It Must Be June
The Women’s division I college world series is underway. Again Hall of fame stadium in Oklahoma City is the stage for the best teams in college softball to gather and make a run at a national title. Once again Easton sports has helped these elite athletes prepare to excel on this stage. The Easton 2008 stealth composite 2 piece bats will lead the way in this prestigious event. Easton has once again went back to the drawing board to deliver the best performing and most durable softball bats you can buy.
Easton stealth composite bats are aerospace grade composite material combined with a patented true 2 piece technology giving the hitter “opti-flexion” independent flexion handle to barrel. The independent flexion reduces vibration to the hands while increasing energy transfer to the ball at point of contact. Resulting in the largest sweetspot and highest performing bat on the market. 4 of the 8 college world series teams in 2006 ( Alabama, Texas, Oregon State, UCLA) used Easton products to get them in line for the coveted NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
Posted by admin at Thursday ~ June 06, 2007 | No Comments
Are You a Baseball Fan?
What makes a true baseball fan these days? Is it that you never miss a game on your television set with your $350.00 satellite? Which that does not include your monthly fees mind you. Being a true fan is all in the eye of the beholder. Old school fans still listen to their team on the radio, or even just follow them day to day through the box scores in the newspaper. At any rate, it does not matter if you feel that you are a true fan or if someone else thinks you are. The only thing that matters is if your cable company thinks you are a true fan. The question facing cable television provider is whether to include the new MLB channel on their tier 1 package in 2008? These are the demands of Major League Baseball if the cable companies want to keep offering the MLB Extra Inning package. This package allows a baseball fan to see thousands of baseball games a year and follow their favorite team no matter they live. My feeling is that Major League Baseball needs to do anything possible to keep their fans. Kids these days just do not grow up and want to be Major League Baseball Players anymore. These days, our next generation want to be skateboarders and motor cross stars. One of the most troubling things to me is after finally getting the game back where it needed to be (after the dreaded work stoppage); they almost took baseball away from the regular viewers. And for what you might ask? The almighty dollar. After posting record revenues in 2006 baseball put its Extra Inning package up for bid, to be claimed by the highest bidder (DirecTV). This decision leaves thousand of fans out in the cold with and the only way to see the games is through the internet with poor picture and sound quality. Therefore, this is how I spend my evening in front of a 13” computer monitor. Keep in mind though, I am old school and remember when the game was great. Do not get me wrong, the game is still great. The truth of the matter is I do not like the direction it is going in. But, like any true fan either you put up, or shut up! I am willing to give America’s pastime one more chance. I am just afraid the next generation will not.
Posted by admin at Thursday ~ March 03, 2007 | No Comments
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