Okay, so I meant to write this on Tuesday, the first of two days off, but I ended up having a crazy "weekend." So this is a little late, but I still wanted to talk all about 4th of July weekend. I've had the holiday off only once since I started working in the business, in 2008 when I was in West Virginia, although I had a bunch of days off around it the following year when I was in Albany. (That year I went back to Boston for a few days, went back to Albany on the 4th, anchored the shows, stayed at my place overnight, then went back to Boston for a few more days the next morning.)
4th of July is one of those holidays that always seems fun to me, whether I'm working or not. (And while I enjoy the fireworks displays, I really don't care about checking them out every year. Kind of a waste of money we all can't afford anymore, wouldn't you say?) This year I was even more content to work the holiday weekend, mainly because I just got back from a mini-vacation back in Boston, so I was ready to get back to work.
There's nothing that gets me in gear on the 4th more than the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. I remember when ESPN starting carrying it every year, it was a big deal, because it's one of those crazy "not really a sport" events that for one day a year carries as much interest as the big sports. Plus they had a little pipsqueak guy from Japan who kept winning every year. Unfortunately Takeru Kobayashi has missed the event the last two years because of a contract dispute with Major League Eating. I think it's just a ploy and he was just sick of losing the "Super Bowl of Eating" to Joey Chestnut, who won his fifth straight title this year. In any case, it's a thrill to scarf down a few hot dogs of my own while watching the event, though I don't usually take the time to figure out how many I could eat at one sitting. (I did this year though. Probably no more than six, though I can't eat red meat anymore, so they'd have to be turkey dogs.)
Baseball is also perfect for the 4th, because it's still the national pastime and when the whether nice, I get a huge thrill from watching the game, whether it's on TV or in person. I had the chance to do both this year, as I shot an NYCBL game at DeLutis Field in Rome, between the Thunderbolts and the Utica Brewers. Captured a home run, some big hits as well as a few great catches before I left in the bottom of the fourth. (The 4-3 Rome lead ended up holding up, so I guess I left at the perfect time!) At night, I saw the return of #2 Derek Jeter to the Yankee lineup after a stint on the DL. The Evil Empire was visiting Cleveland and despite the Yankees taking the lead, Jeter went 0-4, not gaining any ground towards his 3,000 hits (Which will likely happen this weekend. Great, now I'll have to report on that.), and the Indians came back to win. (Oh happy day! But not too happy, because the Red Sox lost. By the way, it's amazing how after everything that's happened this season, Boston and NY are still the top two teams in the AL and are only separated by a half game.)
I also have to mention the exciting 4th of July Weekend, with David Ragan getting his first ever Sprint Cup win (yeah Roush Fenway!), Novak Djokovic beating out Rafy Nadal in the men's final at Wimbledon and the US Women's Soccer team winning another game at the World Cup, throttling Columbia. (The ladies then proceeded to royally suck against Sweden yesterday, meaning they have to beat a hungry Brazil team on Saturday in the quarters, otherwise the tourney's already over for the US.) On the down side, the great Maria Sharapova lost in the Wimbledon women's final to Petra Kvitova, which is only a downer because of how tough it was to get Kvitova's name right every time I tried. Oy.
On the local scene, Saturday morning I went over to Stonebridge Golf & Country Club, where I frequently go to drive golf balls, to shoot a tourney with some of the greatest Mohawk Valley hockey players ever. I interviewed and subsequently followed former Clinton high coach Dave Litz (whom I haven't seen since I interned here back in 2006) and the hilarious Dick Popiel, whom I met a few weeks earlier, at the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame. Popiel is a reporter's dream, because he has so many great moments and quotes. At first I figured this would just be what we calll a vosot, but instead it became a nat-pack, because of all the great video I shot of Popiel and the group. I'd never actually been out on the course at Stonebridge before, so it was cool to see it firsthand. (I ended up going back there Tuesday to play my first real round of golf there. I wasn't good, but had a few nice shots and after all, isn't that what playing golf is all about?)
Also this weekend, the MLB All-Star rosters were released. I never thought I'd hear Yankee fans say that Derek Jeter didn't deserve to make it, but that's because C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira were both snubbed. (Granted, Sabathia had already said he wouldn't play in the game, but so did Justin Verlander and he still made it.) Still, I think they got it right for the most part and I love that Toronto's Jose Bautista had the most votes, because it shows that a lot of baseball fans do actually follow the game. (Ryan Braun from Milwaukee had the most votes in the NL, that too is pretty cool! The Jays and Brew Crew having the most votes? Amazing.) The one thing that bothers me is that when fans are confused about who to elect at a particular position, they seem to go with the Yankee. Why? Because they're lazy when the offensive numbers don't point out the best. Welcome to the post-steroids era, where PEDs are still in use (Andrew Jones even says that in ESPN the Mag this week), but offense is down and fans forget or don't fully know what makes a great player, other than how many homers he's hit.
By the way, the NBA began its lockout this week and there's good reason to expect them to lose the whole season. Meanwhile, the NFL seems to be heading down the final road to end its lockout. While I originally said I wouldn't mind not having football this year, I realize how dumb that would be. What the heck would I run on Sunday nights at 11 for Sports Extra without the Giants, Jets, Bills and even the Saints and a few extra games here and there? Yeah, we really do need the NFL. It's a perfect time filler!
Here's a few links to the stories I did over 4th of July weekend.
First, it's the hockey alumni golf tourney at Stonebridge: http://www.wktv.com/sports/Hockey-alumni-reunion-hits-the-links-124926499.html
Second, highlights of the Brewers and Thunderbolts: http://www.wktv.com/sports/Thunderbolts-hang-on-to-beat-Brewers-124986489.html
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