Posted on 08/18/2003 5:30:20 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Good Things In August
There are two good things to look forward to in the dog days of August. The Little League World Series will be running through Aug. 24, and a lot of it will be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2. The other good thing is a Kevin Costner Western.
I haven't seen the movie, "Open Range," yet, but I have faith in Costner. I have really liked all of the movies he's had control over — "Dances With Wolves," "Waterworld" and "The Postman." I especially liked "The Postman." And he's directing, as well as starring in, his new Western, which also stars Robert Duvall — who is, no doubt about it, one of the greats.
I always watch the Little League World Series. I like kids. I like their innocence and their exuberance. The kids who get to the World Series are, of course, pretty darn good baseball players, but it's their reactions that are fun to watch. Unlike the pros, who are blas, these kids go to the limits of both joy and despair.
There are a lot of horror stories about Little League, and I suppose a few of them are true. I've noticed through the years, though, that the coaches who get their teams to Williamsport, Pa., for the World Series are nearly always the kind of guys whose first interest is in the players, not in winning.
They also play six-inning games. That's a good limit for a baseball game. If the major-league games only lasted six innings, I might watch more of them. I suppose, to make time for the TV commercials, the games seem to have been stretched beyond endurance. They change pitchers whenever one develops a sweat. That takes time. The batters are always stepping out of the box to scratch themselves or spit. Most of the pitchers fiddle around on the mound.
I lost a great deal of interest in baseball when so many cities were added to the leagues. Then I lost more when salaries started to skyrocket, and more yet when the players went on strike. I have to say that I can't honestly blame any athlete for taking what he can get, but at the same time, I can't get rid of the feeling that there ought to be some limit on what a man is paid to play a boy's game.
All sports were invented to be played for fun. Football players, unfortunately, have gotten so big that it can't be much fun to play in the National Football League anymore. I would want a lot of money to get run over and banged around by these 300-pound behemoths on a Sunday afternoon.
But "fun" is a word you still hear at the Little League World Series. Over and over you'll hear the coaches tell the kids: "Have fun. Loosen up. Enjoy the experience."
I went out for football in high school but left the first day. The coach was an embittered old drunk who had wanted to coach at the college level. He took his bitterness out on the high-school kids by acting like a profane Marine Corps drill instructor. Nobody gets to cuss me for free. It was certainly no loss. I wouldn't have made the team anyway. Even in the days before steroids and weight rooms, I was skinny. But to me, sports has always been about fun, and when it's not fun, it's time to quit.
So enjoy the vicarious fun that is available this August. Costner's movie will be about heroes, and the kids at Williamsport will play their hearts out.
After all, the president, the House and the Senate are all taking the month of August off. The rest of us might as well do it, too, if we can, and if we can't, then sneak in as much fun as possible before and after work.
© 2003 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
This is incoherent and rambling even for him.
Thanks Charlie, I agree with everything you say in this one.
"Waterworld"? ... Charlie, say it ain't so!
Ishtar ranks with Battlefield Earth or whatever it was called... Waterworld is actually watchable, sort of, particularly if you are drunk or have just had a lobotomy (Ishtar you can watch if you have had your brain completely removed)
Battlefield Earth--is that the Travolta debacle?
All I know is that we rented Waterworld, and despite being a sailor, I fell asleep within 30 minutes.
And I only watched Titanic for the real underwater shots (and fast forwarded through the rest). The plot can be explained this way: she lives, he dies, the boat goes down. I can't even begin to explain the plot of Waterworld.
Are you telling me the Titanic sank?
Now you've ruined the movie for me!On a more series note, I can't even begin to explain the plot of Waterworld.
It's an enviornmentalists dream -- ice caps melt, destroying the world. See? See? Quit driving your SUV/car --- this is what will happen if you don't! Also, make PETA happy --- quit eating meat --- destroy all the cows --- their flatulance is causing the polar ice caps to melt!
Dang, do I have to explain it all to you?
[Big grin]
Then it's really A Good Thing I fell asleep, allowing my hubby to chow down ALL the pizza, buttered popcorn and adult beverages :-))
And--hanging my head in shame--I'm sorry I spoiled the plot of the Titanic for you. But just watch the Celene Dion video of "My Heart Must Go On" (is that the title? I never managed to get past Dion's chest thumping) if you want an abbreviated version of the movie. There's LOTS of water.
Tell me this ain't so! Migawd, do you realize he may get fat eating all that "junk" food -- and buttered popcorn -- GASP!! Please tell me it isn't popped using COCONUT OIL!! That is a sure sign you must be trying to kill him!
Just damn!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.