The final out

Atlanta Braves announcer Skip Caray died in his sleep Sunday at the age of 68. Sometimes funny, often brash and always sarcastic, he provided a lot of the sounds in the background of my childhood memories. He also got me through a lot of nights on the sports desk when I worked at the Valdosta Daily Times. Until then, I'd suffered along with him through a lot of bad Braves games on TBS. But when the Braves got good in 1991, I was stuck at work and had to follow most of their games on the local AM radio station.

I especially loved the way he seemed to think every person who ever called in to the Braves' pregame radio shows were complete idiots. And he made sure a lot of them left feeling that way. You can watch a video about Skip's career here.

And here's a good column about Skip from Ledger-Enquirer sports editor Kevin Price.

Curses!

Do you need another reason to hate the New York Yankees? Of course you do. We all do. The ruckus they've raised over the very funny stunt pulled by a construction worker (a Boston Red Sox fan) who planted a Sox jersey when they poured concrete for the new Yankee Stadium, set to open next year. The guy wanted to curse the Yankees. But, really, the Yankees have been cursed by the baseball gods ever since they added Alex Rodriguez in an effort to buy a World Series crown. The baseball gods frown on that stuff.

New Yankees boss Hank Steinbrenner, George's young-un, hopes the worker gets beat up by his co-workers, wants him to pay for the jersey's removal and is contemplating criminal charges. I agree with the San Francisco Chronicle's Gwen Knapp, who believes the Yanks are too uptight, a lot like the "rules are rules" crowd here in Columbus.

It's sad when folks can't appreciate a good baseball curse anymore. Atlanta Braves fans who remember the Braves' great 1982 season appreciate one. That's when Ted Turner decided to tear down mascot Chief Noc-A-Homa's teepee to make room for more seats in late July. Chief Noc-A-Homa cursed the Braves and they won only two of their next 21 games. Turner put the teepee back up and the Braves rallied to win the division.

Ah, the good ol' days.

Bashing Bonds

So Barry Bonds has finally passed one of my heroes, Hank Aaron, as Major League Baseball's home run king. There are about 150 million people bashing the cheater in America right now, but one voice definitely stands out to me: Dale Murphy.

In case you don't know the guy, he's the two-time National League MVP who carried the Atlanta Braves through the 1980s. Beyond the 398 career home runs and MVPs, the man deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Not only is he one of the classiest guys to ever play the game, but imagine what the Braves would have been like without Murphy in the 1980s. It's a shame that Barry Bonds will probably enter the Hall of Fame before Murph (although I'm certain the Veterans Committee will put Murph in Cooperstown, even as numbers-obsessed writers pass on him.) On a Salt Lake City radio show Monday, Murphy said of Bonds:

"He's deserved all the negative publicity that he's getting. ... You usually get what you deserve. This is what Barry deserves. He's a hard guy to like. He's a hard teammate to have and, you know, he's set a terrible example for our kids. ... The guy would have been one of the great ones anyway ... But now, he sucked the fun and the life right out of it. ... I mean, Hank would have hit 855 if he had the same advantage."

Dale Murphy's a guy who took out a full-page ad in the Atlanta paper when he was traded to Philadelphia to thank fans for their support over the years. He was a milk-and-cookies guy, not a steroids guy. He wouldn't even come out of the showers until the female reporters left the locker room. I've been in these locker rooms with female reporters, and a lot of pro athletes make an extra effort to walk around the female reporters after hitting the showers. (They wouldn't grant me the same access to the Atlanta Falcons' cheerleaders' locker room -- which is blatant sexual discrimination, but that's beside the point, I guess.)

By the way, also neither here nor there, my favorite Murphy story. Coming up as a catcher in the Braves' organization, Murph had a strong arm, maybe too strong. He kept overthrowing second base anytime they tried to steal. One particularly bad day when all his throws sailed way over second base, his dad comforted him by saying: "Don't worry, son, if they had tried to steal center field, you'd have had 'em every time."

Also, I loved the headline in today's New York Post, below:

Week in Review 17

• The Atlanta Braves trade Jarrod Saltalamacchia and four minor leaguers to the Texas Rangers for first baseman Mark Teixeira and reliever Ron Mahay. Initially thought to be a trade to improve the Braves' chances for the postseason, it is instead revealed to be a cost-saving move in response to the rising expense of jersey letters.
• In other baseball news, America lets out a deafening yawn as Barry Bonds ties Hank Aaron with his 755th career home run. The syringe credited for the home run is immediately delivered to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
• Two deep-diving Russian mini-submarines descend more than 2 miles under North Pole ice to stake a flag on the ocean floor, part of a quest to bolster Russian claims to much of the Arctic’s oil-and-mineral wealth. Unfortunately for the Russians, they had a huge NASCAR fan driving the sub. He planted a No. 8 flag on the ocean floor, meaning that all oil-and-mineral wealth there now belongs to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• In more North Pole news, NASA announces it will send a spacecraft to the Martian north pole next month to study if the environment is favorable for primitive life. The three-legged Phoenix Mars Lander will be delivered by eight rocket-fueled flying reindeer.
• Iraq’s parliament adjourns for the whole month of August without passing a series of U.S.-backed draft laws designed to promote national unity and stem support for the Sunni-led insurgency ... or the Shiite-led insurgency ... or the al-Qaida in Iraq-led insurgency ... or the Baghdad Moose Lodge-led insurgency ... or any of the above insurgencies.
• The Iraqi parliament's most recent session was not without its successes, however. Well, one anyway. They voted to replace the Frito's Corn Chips with Tostitos Corn Chips in the parliament building's vending machine.
• At their annual convention to celebrate the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's 50th year, leaders will honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., and the promise of Barack Obama, and they plan to honor and recognize Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, according to SCLC president Charles Steele. Because, really, what better way to invoke the nonviolent spirit of Martin Luther King than with images of mangled, beaten and electrocuted pit bulls?
• In a GOP presidential candidates' debate Sunday, abortion and war dominate the discussion. But only Rep. Ron Paul supports aborting the war.

Braves trade

The Atlanta Braves today traded a player who's name no one can spell for a player who's name no one can pronounce. Oh, well. Looks like a good deal to me, even though we're losing a Scrabble all-star in Saltalamacchia.

Just me and the Braves

I hit the gym about 11:30 or so tonight and didn't get home until 1:30 a.m. And thanks to extra innings and the fact that they're on the Left Coast, I get to watch my Atlanta Braves play the Giants. Right this second, the Braves are up 7-4 in the 13th, but they're trying to blow it. I'd boo Barry Bonds, but I don't want to wake the wife. Dang! It's 7-5 now and the bases are loaded.

This reminds me of those summer night of my childhood in the '80s when I'd come in tired after playing football or baseball or tromping through the woods and creeks all day and spend the late night and early morning watching the then-lowly Braves. They were in the National League West back then and played a lot more games in L.A., San Fran and San Diego than they do now. Though they Braves were baaaaad, I'd be glued to my 13-inch black-and-white TV. I felt like I was the only person east of the Mississippi watching them. Heck, I might have been. I was definitely the only guy east of the Mississippi watching them and "The Rat Patrol" afterward.

Whew! They just held on to win. Now, if I could just cure this insomnia. Or if TBS would just put "Rat Patrol" back on.

Same ol' Braves

I can't believe my Atlanta Braves have lost 6 out of 8 games, just as I was starting to become a believer again. Oh well, I loved them when they were the lovable losers of the 1980s, so I guess being two games out of first place in the NL East is hardly the end of the world.

And there's a part of me that kind of misses those lovable losers of the 80s, when poor Dale Murphy had to carry the whole team on his back while Claudell Washington was snorting the outfield lines, Dion James was killing birds and Bob Horner was nursing hangnails on the DL. Lovable losers like me have gotta have heroes too, you know. Plus, when you were 30 games out of first place, any win was cause for celebration.

But I know the Braves are gonna be in it all year. And you've gotta believe in a team that truly feels like your local team with so many Georgia and Alabama boys on it. It's like having a local American Legion team in the Major Leagues.

Week in Review 5

• During a campaign speech in Virginia, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says of the recent Kansas tornado: "In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died -- an entire town destroyed." Actually it was 12. An Obama spokesman says the senator later realized his gaffe and said: "My bad. Duh, there aren't even 10,000 people in Kansas. Man, I overstated that almost as much as people have overstated my qualifications to be president."
• Republican presidential contenders Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney are each forced to clarify their positions on abortion. Clarifies Romney: "I'd like to make it clear that I stand, steadfastly, firmly, wholeheartedly, 100 percent behind whichever position will get me elected." Responds Giuliani: "Yeah, what he said."
• Informed by his National Security Adviser that six men were arrested and charged with plotting to massacre U.S, soldiers at Fort Dix, President Bush responds, "Huh, huh, you said Dix."
• The United States files charges of conspiracy and providing support for terrorism Thursday against a Guantanamo detainee who worked as a driver for Osama bin Laden.
  Salim Ahmed Hamdan also faces additional charges of failing to yield the right of way at a dangerous intersection in Kabul in 2001.
• Congressional Democrats settle a major trade impasse with the Bush administration. The Democrats will get Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in exchange for Rep. Sanford Bishop and a player to be named later.
• Paris Hilton is dethroned as the most spoiled brat in America when Roger Clemens rejoins the New York Yankees for $18 million under the condition that he doesn't have to be, like, part of the team or anything.
• BOSTON -- A fight in the balcony interrupts the opening night performance of the Boston Pops. In a statement, the symphony says that's the last time they'll have Lynyrd Skynyrd as their special guest.
• A study finds that many thin people are actually fat on the inside. "Being thin doesn't automatically mean you're not fat," said Dr. Jimmy Bell, a professor of molecular imaging at Imperial College, London. According to the data, people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim. In a related study, Ashley Judd is found to be extremely ugly beneath her skin.
• FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Two female college students who bared their bellies at a Framingham State College lacrosse game couldn't stomach a front-page newspaper photo of their stunt and now are in trouble for swiping copies, campus officials said. They apparently felt the photo made them look fat, the paper's faculty adviser said. In a related story, Ledger-Enquirer columnist Chris Johnson sabotages Webcasts at http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/ in which he offered commentaries. "I thought the camera was supposed to add 5 pounds, not 30," he says.
• Atlanta's Bobby Cox ties Sparky Anderson for fourth place in career managerial victories when the Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 on Friday night, Cox's 2,194th victory in the majors. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is third on the list, but Cox is the all-time leader in times being caught in the dugout picking his nose on camera.