Thank you -- again

Here we are between Memorial Day, D-Day and Flag Day, so an appropriate time to again say THANK YOU to all who served, and all who continue to serve around the world. We will never forget your commitment, effort and sacrifice.

Turning Point

A few days late, but I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the 64th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion. Do yourself a favor and (1) Take some time to view a movie or documentary on the subject (The Longest Day is a personal favorite; also a pretty good book); (2) Read this article by Dave Kopel (late of NRO) on the outlook if Normandy had failed.


Finally, it's worth speculating how those that pass themselves off as "journalists" in the mainstream media would have reacted had they been reporting on June 6, 1944. Roger Kimball at Pajamas Media provides us with one interesting piece; the comments which follow are also worth reviewing.

Achilles in Albany

One final hoops-related note before I log off for the night --

I was at a conference in Puerto Rico earlier this week. My wheelchair was the spark to several conversations, including one with a product specialist. What followed were several layers of irony --

1. His specialty is Disability Insurance.
2. He himself had ruptured his right Achilles Tendon 25 years ago.
3. At the time of the injury he was approximately the same age I am now.
4. It occurred during a pick-up basketball game (check).
5. ...in Albany NY (near the home of Mrs. Salad and near where we lived in our first year of marriage).
6. The pick-up game was highlighted by the regular participation of the young head coach of the Albany Patroons, Mr. Phil Jackson (again, about the same age at the time) who is now coaching a team in California or somewhere out west...I know it's been in the news...

Hopefully, the similarities end there. Not only did he re-rupture the same tendon several months later, but his leg has never fully recovered. We'll see...

Finally

I never really hated the Lakers, at least when I was following pro basketball back in the Bird-Magic days. Perhaps I was too far removed geographically to get sucked into the vitriol. I was, after all, in Kruger National Park in South Africa when I received word via shortwave that the Lakers had won game 6 of the 1987 NBA Finals, winning the trophy at the expense of the Celtics.

Or perhaps it was because my best friend at the time was a Californian who, naturally, favored the dominant West Coast team. My memories of twenty years ago might be a little hazy, but I only recall having (albeit grudgingly) respect for them, and even rooting for them when they faced off against the Pistons and Bulls in later years. It's hard to believe, but perhaps I was prescient enough to realize in the 80's that the Bird-Magic / Celtics-Lakers rivalry was pretty special.

Again, just consider the amount of talent on both teams. And the coaches. And the front offices. And the die-hard fans, including multiple celebrities, in two cities that were about as far removed geographically and demographically as you could imagine. The balance sheet of the Bird-Magic era might give the edge to the Lakers (5-3 in championships, 2-1 head-to-head), but a missed shot here or an avoided injury there could have easily turned that around, and fans of both teams should realize that by now. One final twist is how it's interesting that the centerpieces of both teams were natives of neither Coast, but heralded from the Midwest.

It really was a special time, and while the current incarnations of these teams have plenty of talent and should give us a competitive series, we're nowhere close to where we were 20 years ago. Ah, nostalgia...

Sweet Sixteen

I dug out this picture of the 1985-1986 Celtics, referenced below. The amount of talent in this picture is ridiculous. At least six are in the Hall of Fame (Red Auerbach, KC Jones, Bird, McHale, Parrish & Walton), and the fact that the late Dennis Johnson is still kept out of Springfield is downright embarrassing. Think about it for a minute -- Larry Bird and (a healthy) Bill Walton on the same team. Good grief.

Had Walton not suffered a fluke injury the next season, and tragedy not intervened with the Celtics' #1 draft pick that offseason, I feel confident speculating that they would have not only won the '87 and perhaps '88 championships, but several more along the way until Larry retired.

Sixteen going on Seventeen

In the early 1990's, when the NY Yankees were abysmal, I heard a broadcaster (who, like yours truly, had been raised in Maine as a Red Sox fan) point out that "baseball needs the Yankees." His implication was that a strong, competitive team in the Bronx would go a long way towards drawing fans back to a game that was awash in its own mediocrity. Does anybody even remember that the Toronto Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series during that time?

I was sixteen when the Boston Celtics won their last NBA Title, with arguably the greatest team of all time (certainly in the top 5 on any thinking fan's list). The next year, the made it back to the finals but fell to the LA Lakers in six games. With the Celtics (and, for a time, the Lakers) falling out of the championship picture for twenty years, I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I haven't watched an NBA game with any seriousness during that time -- certainly since Larry Bird retired. Regardless of what happens over the next two weeks or so, it's good to have them back.

1992 Flashback

Just a brief thought as I sit here in Puerto Rico during the waning days of the (apparently) endless Democratic primary season. Am I the only one who finds it ironic that the leaders of the late Clintonista regime are upset with the media for (according to them) favoring a young, relatively unknown, and inexperienced candidate whose resume would fit on the back of a business card, whose only asset is his charisma and youthfulness -- over (again, according to them) a seasoned, experienced senior veteran of a previous presidential administration and eight-year member of the US Senate?

Not that I'm picking sides here (I'd rather move to France): The irony comes from my 1992, when one could argue with some credibility that the roles were somewhat reversed.

I haven't heard anybody else make this observation yet, although I can't be the first. The Clintons' predecessor has to be enjoying this on some level.

Oh well -- back to the beach...

Welcome Back, Kapler

One of the heroes of the 2004 Red Sox, Gabe Kapler (#19) returned to Boston this weekend as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. I came across this article from the Boston Globe. I had forgotten that Kapler ruptured his Achilles tendon in September 2005 (on a home run by Tony Graffanino) and returned to play in June 2006, roughly nine months later. My prognosis to full recovery is 9-12 months, but I lack (somewhat) Kapler's overall fitness, so it might take me a little bit longer than him...

His Wikipedia biography makes interesting reading. He and his wife Lisa have also founded the Gabe Kapler Foundation to fight domestic violence.

Ice-Cold Battle

My current state of incapacitation limits my activities, so I've been working through my book and movie collection and recently watched Miracle for the fifth or sixth time. Knowing the ultimate outcome, one might expect that the conclusion could not help but be at least a little disappointing. However, it's interesting how this film "grows" on you. Most signifcantly is how the actors seemlessly become the real-life characters they're portraying. Kurt Russell is Herb Brooks. Patrick O'Brien Demsey is Mike Eruzione. While there are remarkable action sequences and a (more or less) true-to-life script, this is probably the film's greatest achievement.

Also notable is how the filmmakers succeed in placing the event in its proper context. The opening title sequence is nothing short of brillant -- almost certainly the best I've ever seen (the error about the 26th Amendment not withstanding). This is an inseparable part of the story. Miracle on Ice, the made-for-TV movie produced within a year of Lake Placid, wasn't nearly as weak as some have characterized it, but nonetheless came too soon on the heels of the event for its consequences to be fully understood. Thus, the earlier film (with the great Karl Malden as Herb Brooks) could talk about how exceptional it was for the US to beat the USSR in hockey (whoops -- gave away the ending), but was not far enough removed to properly juxtapose the event amongs the despair of the 1970's and the depths of the cold war. Not only did the teams represent countries that hated each other, but the team that emerged victorious won not only a hockey game, but broke a decades-long socio- and political losing streak. Those of us who lived through the 70's, and then the 80's, can understand this a little better, and Miracle -- set a quarter-century later -- succeeds in capturing both the mood and then the momentum change.

Enough of the soapbox. Watch the film. It's good.

Re-Martz-able

For those of us wishing that Matt Walsh would just go away (his Warholian 15 minutes are long expired), this statement by Mike Martz was refreshing, which says in part -- "Let me make this clear – we lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl because we turned the ball over three times."

A classy move by a coach that I never thought I'd be quoting. Of course, I never thought I'd be rooting for Ted Kennedy over Arlen Specter, either.

While looking for images of Coach Martz, I stumbled across this article, a preview of Super Bowl XXXVI. Ah, memories. The happiest day of my life...

Comparing scars

Yes, there's a little bit of LBJ in each and every one of us...

Not for the squeamish...

For those of you that might care -- some recent pictures of my right lower leg (FYI, the heel is to the left) in the picture.`

Hoosier Hysteria

An interesting website for fans of The Greatest Movie Ever Made:

http://www.thehoosiergym.com/

I never realized that the gym was in Knightstown, fairly close to I-70. I regret that I never took a detour on one of my trips through the Hoosier state. Maybe someday...

"Mistakes in my personal life"

Am I the only one who finds the remarks of a once-future Hall-of-famer eerily similar to that of a prominent politician almost exactly 10 years ago?

HINT -- Both had the first name "William."

Somewhere Dan Duquette is smiling...maybe he was right in '96 after all...

Nightmare in the Bronx '03

I stumbled across this picture (reference the end of my 4/13/08 post on Bill Buckner, below).

Three solid professionals, one Hall-of-Famer, and the reincarnation of Forrest Gump. Actually, that's not fair -- Forrest Gump would have been smart enough to make the move.

One of these days I'm going to do a post on dreadful Red Sox managers through the years. As a sample -- between Butch Hobson, Jimy Williams, Dave Kerrigan and He Who Must Not Be Named, the Red Sox were basically without a field manager for 10 out of 12 seasons (1992-2003). I'll give Kevin Kennedy a pass -- for now.

The Heeling of Achilles

Two links that I found helpful in my present situation:

http://www.achillestendonblog.com/ -- a fellow Blogger who found himself in the same predicament not too long ago
http://www.achillestendon.com/ -- a summary of injuries, prevention, treatment & recovery

John Marzano (1963-2008)

John Marzano, 1984 Olympian and Red Sox backup catcher 1987-1992 has died, apparently from falling down stairs after a heart attack.

Notes from the Boston Globe.

Obituary on MLB.com (Marzano's current employer).

A marginal player who might have blossomed had he not played behind the likes of Rich Gedman and Tony Pena, he was nonetheless well-liked by his teammates. He was also a member of the 1990 Boston Red Sox, which remains one of my favorite teams of all time. He didn't get to play much behind Tony Pena, but he was with the club almost the entire season. The Red Sox will observe a moment of silence at tonight's game. He was only 45.

Get the Picture

The picture I refer to below appears here -- for some reason blogger wouldn't let me insert it into the applicable post.

Bouncing Back

The highlight of Boston's home opener earlier this week was the Sox' invitation to have Bill Buckner throw out the first pitch. Video is available here.

I was too remote from the 1986 World Series to feel a strong negative impact from games 6 & 7. In the 22 years since I have spoken to several people who were so devestated that they swear they stopped following the team after "Nineteen Eight-Six." From my distant perspective, the '86 Sox were quite the opposite -- the team that revitalized my interest in baseball in general and the Red Sox in particular.

Buckner's fielding miscue that ended Game 6 became the focal point of Boston's painful loss that year, but any serious or semi-serious student of the game will tell you that there was more than enough blame to go around in that game and in that series, most of which this reporter places on the manager in the Boston dugout. While Buckner received the loudest "boos" at Fenway in subsequent years, public opinion started to turn in his favor when (after having been released in 1987) he signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox in 1990 and made the team out of spring training. He received a standing ovation on opening day of that memorable season, and was applauded warmly at every home at-bat thereafter, one of which resulted in about the most improbable inside-the-park homerun in Boston history.

Hopefully, with the 2008 opener, the rehabilitation of his name is complete, at least as much as possible. He was an excellent hitter and, believe it or not, a good fielding first-baseman whose injuries have kept him out of the Hall of Fame. Nonetheless, there is part of me that wonders what would have happened if Buckner had made that play in game 6 -- the score was tied, and the Mets were out of pitchers. Due to some horrifically poor management by Davey Johnson, they only had the immortals Doug Sisk and Randy Niemann, or would have had to have gone to a starter to retire the Red Sox in the top of the 11th. For that matter, what if Bob Stanley had heard Marty Barrett yelling at him and had turned to pick Ray Knight off second with the score tied? We shall never know.

One other thing -- years ago I saw a picture similar to the one above on display in a memorabilia store in Cooperstown, New York. I wasn't sure if the fact that Buckner had signed it was indicative of his ability to put the mistake behind him, or make a profit off the pain he had caused countless others. I'm still not sure, but it troubles me. I can say that if I ever see an autographed picture of Grady Little on the mound with Pedro Martinez in game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, I may require the services of a criminal defense team.

Larger than Life

Most of the obituaries about Charlton Heston note his starring roles in The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, and his political activism, most notably as a leading figure in the NRA.

Perhaps the most egregious omission is that of his civil rights activism in the early 1960's, well before it was "fashionable." He was the first prominent white actor to speak out against racial injustice, both in Hollywood and across the country.

On a more personal note, it's a shame there isn't mention of what I believe to be his best role, in The Greatest Show on Earth. I've seen most of his films, and that one remains my favorite of those in which he starred. IMDB has his complete filmography here. I also enjoyed his role as John the Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told, although his part wasn't enough to salvage the overall film.

He also served his country in World War II, leading to one of my favorite interview exchanges. Meeting with Robert Osborne for TCM, he was asked about his military service and noted (to the best of my recollection): "I was stationed in the Aleutian Islands. It was a quiet war. However, our outfit was designated for the invasion of Japan until they dropped the atom bomb. For myself and thousands like me, the atom bomb was a blessing."

Not only was this a succinct rejoinder to the armchair quarterbacks who questioned the decision some fifty-plus years later, but it left the loquacious Osborne speechless for a moment. Charlton Heston was a larger-than-life figure who filled larger-than-life roles both on and off the screen; he will be missed.