Mike O'Connell

I write about them even when they play a boring game, so when my local NFL team (that would be the Washington Commanders) plays the most exciting game I’ve ever see, yes, I’m going to mention it.

Actually it wasn’t interesting at all for the first 57 minutes or so of gametime, then turned straight-up heartbreaker, then, well, a beautiful miracle. I was so glad that this week of all weeks I decided to get “TV” (Paramount Plus) and was actually able to see it. With my son, who does believe in miracles.

Funny thing was, my son and I were supposed to go to this game in person. Talk about seeing a good one. My dumb luck though we would have left early and I would not have been able to live with myself the rest of my life.

That would have sucked.

This though?

Aforementioned beautiful miracle.

For several weeks I’d been in the habit of posting about my local NFL team (that would be the Washington Commanders) following their wins.
Yeah, if you can believe it they won again Sunday, a one-sided slogging of the Carolina Panthers.

I did know about it, of course.

Because I was there.

Unbelievably it was my first Commanders game seen in person, and not just Commanders but any of their previous team names or stadium names. And first NFL game at any stadium as a matter of fact. Yeah, 35 years of being a football fan and somehow I’d never actually been to a game. Go figure.

Well, I can’t make that ironic statement any more, and on next week’s episode of Math and Musings you’ll hear all about it.

Last night notwithstanding, the New York Yankees have been pretty dominant this postseason, and it all started with an ALDS Game One win against the Kansas City Royals nearly two weeks ago. For a retelling of that game and the circumstances surrounding our viewing it, check out today’s episode of Math and Musings.

Proof once again that the greatest gift you can give yourself is a good story to tell.

Remember the time we made a 600-mile round trip to watch a baseball game on TV? Yup, and we recorded a podcast about it too.

Enjoy.

Sometimes you read a book and think damn, I wish I’d written this first. That’s what I think with every line I read from my “new” book, Dan Schlossberg’s Baseball Bits. I say new because it was written in 2008, but most of the bits are from like the 1930s so it still plays. Basically just imagine a giant list of interesting things about baseball. And yeah, that’s it. It’s perfect.

The only trouble is, it takes me about 20 minutes to read each page, as I have to look up every little fact and take a deeper dive into the stats and circumstances. Invariably it leads down a weird rabbit hole (is there any other kind?) and I find myself investigating airspeed velocities of unladen swallows or some such thing.

So yeah, it’s just about perfect.

But damn I wish I thought to write it first.

At times I play the role of baseball purist, insisting that novelties such as “wild cards” and “divisional playoffs” and “designated hitters” are mere dumbshows and noise.

Then there are days like today, where the MLB playoff slate rivals March Madness, and I cannot help thinking, yeah, this is pretty damn great.

And tell that old codger to stay off my lawn.