A Load of BS

As a baseball fan, the beginning of every new year brings the anticipation of the announcement of a new Hall of Fame class. For the past few years, I have yearned for that moment when Mike Piazza's name is called. Since 2013, yours truly, along with other Mets fans, have cried foul as rumors and innuendo have kept Piazza from his rightful place amongst the game's immortals. It appears that, finally, the haters have been swayed by a lack of proof and an infusion of common sense. As reported via social media, Piazza has about 90% of the support of all writers on Twitter. There's a good chance that, at this time tomorrow, he will be among the newest inductees at Cooperstown. I will be amongst the many basking in the glory as the first ever Mets position player is enshrined. I will watch from my home, avoiding the annual apocalypse that overtakes Otsego County. I shall bide my time until my wife and I travel to upstate New York a few weeks later to prostrate in front of Mr....

Happy Canada Day to my friends up north and Happy Bobby Bonilla Day  to  all you Mets fans! Yes, indeed. It’s Christmas come early once again for Bobby Bo. As you are undoubtedly aware, today is the day that Bobby Bonilla gets his annual deferred salary of $1.19 million from the New York Mets. It all started during the 1999 playoffs when he and Ricky Henderson had the audacity to play cards in the clubhouse during a game that was still in progress. The Mets decided to cut bait after the season, presumably to give Bonilla time to hone his skills for the World Series of Poker. Bobby Bo was still owed $5.9 million on his contract. Rather than reward him for his sheer lack of interest in baseball-related activities, the Mets, in their infinite wisdom, agreed to defer his payment ten years.  This agreement also factored in an annual interest rate of 8%. Thus, the Mets  have sent Bonilla a check for $1,193,248.20 every year since 2010. They could have ju...

I'm a little late to the party, but it saddens me to think of a potential future without spring training baseball in Central Florida. Last month, The Houston Astros and Washington Nationals announced plans to leave Kissimmee and Viera , respectively, for a brand-new facility in Palm Beach County. This would likely create a ripple effect that could eventually facilitate the departures of the Braves and Tigers. Similar to Arizona spring baseball, most teams in Florida want to train and play within short distances of each other. This means the Tampa Bay region, the Fort Myers area, Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast would all be chomping at the bit for future spring training occupants. Of course, Central Florida is not hurting for tourism dollars with the presence of The Walt Disney Company, Universal, Sea World, WWE's NXT development program and, um... THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY! Still, baseball is a part of the fabric of spring in the Orlando area. This is why I'm m...

Apparently, WWE has booked themselves into a corner... for NEXT year's WrestleMania. You see, WWE is holding WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The goal is simple: Break the world indoor attendance record again and puff out your chest. WWE famously set the new standard at WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987 with 93,173. Conspiracy theories aside, that record (real or imagined) was legitimately broken by the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. 108,713 fans filled AT&T Stadium. Surely, WWE can get more fans for the simple reason that a wrestling ring takes up less room than a basketball court. The question is what will they have to offer for the big day in Big D? Here is a quote attributed to the immortal Dave Meltzer... "Any legend that can still perform will probably be asked to be part of the show." Boy, is that an indictment on the WWE's inability to make new stars or what? It sounds like they bit off more than they could chew. Of co...

I must admit that I was a little torn on this one in the beginning. The rumor mill started churning months ago about the possible closure of the Maelstrom ride at Epcot's Norway Pavilion. It's replacement would be a ride based on the film Frozen . No one could argue that Walt Disney World needed a Frozen -themed exhibit somewhere. I hoped for an alternative. Perhaps they could build a "Frozen World" of sorts at Disney's Hollywood Studios, being that it is, after all, a movie. Perhaps they could incorporate Frozen at Magic Kingdom and add Anna and Elsa to its ever-growing list of princesses for the kids to meet and greet. This past week, it was made official. Maelstrom is closing in favor of Frozen . There was sadness on my part. Another piece of the old EPCOT Center is gone. I wasn't outraged. I have my memories. I'll wait and see how the new ride turns out, sometime in 2016. If you're looking for outrage, look no further than Twitter. ...

This is a friendly warning to all of you who enjoy reading what I write. What you are about to read is a little depressing because that’s precisely what it's about.   Depression is a subject that is unpopular, especially on social media. You would never know from reading Robin Williams’ Twitter feed that he was on the verge of committing suicide. Unfortunately, people are not always what they appear to be. You don’t know what really happens behind closed doors. Not everything gets posted on Twitter or Facebook.   Depression has become a topic of debate once again since Mr. Williams’ tragic passing. The questions re-emerge. Is suicide a sickness or a weakness? Does depression truly cause suicide or is it just an excuse to perform a cruel, selfish act?   I’ve always believed that I’ve suffered from depression since age 16. I have attempted to deal with it for the most part without medication, with varying degrees of success. I tried meds for...

Well, look at what the cat coughed up! Keith Hernandez calling the Mets games in San Diego this weekend has made me recall his lowest, and most bigoted, moment as a broadcaster. Once upon a time, there was a massage therapist named Kelly Calabrese, who was essentially a de facto assistant trainer for the Padres. Trainers are, of course, allowed to be in the dugout. The problem was somebody forgot to tell Keith... "Who is the girl in the dugout, with the long hair?" "What's going on here? You have got to be kidding me. Only player personnel in the dugout."... "I won't say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout..." This created quite a stir, which led to a swift yet awkward on-air apology by the former Met. In a bizarre and ironic twist, it was then-Padres CEO Sandy Alderson who fired the loudest shot .... "The San Diego Padres are disappointed in the remarks of Keith Hernandez on a Mets telecast ...