I can't believe Tdarcos outlived....

[pinback]

[pinback]

Let's celebrate her greatest moment.

[AArdvark]

Aw man! Well I hope Shatner shows up for the funeral. And they sprinkle tribbles on her grave

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Vin Scully. He was the announcer for the Brooklyn and later LA Dodgers for decades.

So much of baseball announcing is bad. REAL BAD. I love baseball, not many others here do, so let me explain. There's a few things going on.

- Modern analytics and knowledge versus "They just wanted it more" BS. It's easy to talk nonsense with baseball. The difference between a guy that hits .250 for a season and .300 a season is like one more hit every three weeks or something. (In the old days, .250 was a terrible batting average and .300 gets you into the Hall of Fame.) But!!!!! Here's the other thing - batting average is looked down upon by half of all baseball fans, because isn't it actually more important to get on base by any means possible?

Where I am going with this, is that you can be in the mood to listen to a game where a bunch of old bastards talk about old statistics and BS and that's fine. You can be in the mood for actually learning something new and modern about the teams you're watching. I am enough of a baseball dork where I will have various games on as my internet allows and it's a crapshoot for just what information is being presented.

- Homerism. I can not stand the smarmy, passive-aggressive cheering by some announcers. Beyond that, I was listening to a Boston feed for the game where they lost like 28-5 the other day. And the announcers were being somewhat critical of the terrible effort that the Red Sox showed, but also telling everyone about the times when the Red Sox clobbered teams. And I'm like, fuck off. Everything doesn't have to be a "STAR" type interview where nothing bad ever happens. "Ohhh we're getting beat by 25 runs, but remember the time when Boston did the beating?" Eat shit and take your humiliation, don't tell your fans that REALLY the Red Sox administer the beatings rather than receive them.

- Accents. I can't stand a lot of NY city accents, I cannot even have a Yankees game on when they are playing the Blue Jays if my only choice is listening to that. But there are regional accents all over the country because baseball is played everywhere.

I won't get into football, where the networks want their guys to actively be troglodytes.

Okay. So there's all of that going around. Vin Scully was the best announcer I've ever heard. Everything I mentioned above didn't apply to him. Great accent. Great knowledge of the game. Didn't go out of his way to mindlessly cheerlead the Dodgers, but didn't criticize them (or their opponents) in a smarmy manner. He was great to listen to, as someone who checked in on the Dodgers' game a few times a year. I desperately wished he would have been the Blue Jays announcer. Great calls that were never about himself, enjoyed the game, kept up with it.

He retired a few years ago. He's lived an incredible life. He was the best there's ever been at what he does. Rest in peace, man.

[pinback]

[Flack]

She was the one that we wanted. Ooh-ooh-ooh, honey.

[Casual Observer]

[Tdarcos]

But!!!!! Here's the other thing - batting average is looked down upon by half of all baseball fans, because isn't it actually more important to get on base by any means possible?

You've reminded me of a baseball joke:

Did you hear about the baseball player who could run so fast that he could steal first base?

[Casual Observer]

According to her "reps" this isn't too early to call.

[Casual Observer]

According to her "reps" this isn't too early to call.

Called it first.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

She isn't that famous.

[ChainGangGuy]

[AArdvark]

Poor guy. I always liked how cartoonists would portray him with a hammer and sickle birthmark

[RealNC]

He's in heaven now with 72 pizzas.

[Casual Observer]

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I would like it if we could be civil to each other for 33 hours, in celebration of the Queen.

[AArdvark]

God save the King!

Charlie's been itching to get his hands on the crown for years. Now he can run around and shout: "Off with his head!"

[Tdarcos]

When I heard Eliabeth Winsor (the Queen 's real name) had diedm I was thinking, "Oh great, another entitleed asshole on he throne of Great Britain." (and the Commonwealth countries like Canada and Australia.) Fucker couldn't keep hi pecker in his pocket, because this mama's boy went along with mama and married a woman he didn't love, just so that he would produce an heir. Now that he was able to cuckold and steal Mr. Parker Bowes wife, apparently, now that he was able to marry the one he was really in love with, apparently now he's keeping it in one place, the Queen Consort. (Then again, maybe he has another mistress?)

Fortunately, the monarch is mostly a ceremonial position, they don't even get to make their own official speeches; they're expected to read the speech the Prime Minister writes.

[Tdarcos]

Shit, Elizabeth Windsor, I mean,