In Living Color: the 1955 World Series

Baseball Memories

The first baseball color telecast occurred at the 1955 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

It was the beginning of my love for Major League Baseball.

The Dodgers starting lineup: Junior Gilliam, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Don Hoak, Don Zimmer, and the pitcher Johnny Podres, along with defensive replacement Sandy Amoros.

The Yankees starting lineup: Phil Rizzuto, Billy Martin, Gil McDougald, Yogi Berra, Hand Bauer, Moose Skowron, Bob Cerv, Elston Howard, pitcher Tommy Byrne, along with pinch-hitter Mickey Mantle and reliever Bob Turley.

All those names stand out in my mind as if the seventh game of the 1955 World Series happened yesterday. The seventh game and the World Series: won by the Dodgers, 2-0. WP: Podres, LP Byrne... while both runs were driven in by Hodges. 

A TOTS Story -- In the Dugout

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The years pass quickly for everyone. 

Especially for the TOTS. The four letters mean so much to so few -- the lucky few that come and go with the amateur baseball organization that has been around since 1968.

In ninety-three days, the TOTS' 54th season will end, but for now, there's important business to take care of. Fall is in the air over at Udall Park, and the current members of the ball club, without fail, take the field and play America's Favorite Pastime every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

It's that time of year when former players gather in the stands or sit in the dugout and converse with the current players. Their eyes focused on the field of play as they recall a time they too had grabbed their gloves and hustled to their position on the field.

One player, who did just that for more than twenty years, is Floyd Lance, affectionately referred to by the ball club as Sir Floyd Lance.

Now 97 years of age, Lance showed up at Udall last Wednesday, sat at the end of the dugout, and shook hands with all the players. He then watched mostly 60 and 70-year-old players swing the lubber, run-down plays in the outfield, and dig out the hard ground balls hit to the infielders.

Lance is a legend, not only in the dugout with the TOTS, but beyond Udall as well, known and revered by the Tucson 60-and-over south-side teams, the Arizona Rattlers, and the Old Pueblo Club, and extending beyond Tucson, too. His name will pop up in conversations even at the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series, which is held every October in Phoenix, Arizona.

Undoubtedly, an old-timer from Wisconsin, New York, Texas, or California will ask: 'How's Floyd Lance doing?"

Below is a post on Bookemdanosports from three years ago: 

Floyd Lance has done it so many times before. He grabs his bat and moves to the on-deck circle. He awaits his turn -- his next swings...his chance to hit the baseball -- maybe a single to left field, a blooper to center, or maybe an opposite-field hit to right field.

Every time Lance steps to the plate he breaks a club record.

Today is Floyd's birthday. He turned 94 today and batted three times at Udall Park for Team White this morning in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game. He faced Team Blue's flamethrower Reed Palmer, who is 31 years younger and stands six feet, six inches tall, and throws a ball to the plate with more speed than Floyd's first car -- a 1934 Ford.

That is probably stretching things a bit. Palmer's fastball may top out at around 60 mph and Lance recalls the speedometer on the Ford he won in a raffle back in 1943 topped out around 65.

"Yeah. I entered a church raffle and won the car," Lance recalls. "I was 18 years old."

Fast forward 76 years and Sir Floyd drives to the ballpark in comfort these days in his 2015 Jeep Cherokee. His mode of transportation has changed, but his desire to get to the ball field on time and play America's Favorite Pastime remains intact.

"I love playing the game and I'll continue for as long as I can," says Lance, the oldest TOT to ever suit up and play for the organization, an amateur baseball club in its 52nd season.

Lance, a member of the TOTS for more than 20 years, was born in Glen Gardner, New Jersey on September 6, 1925, and he doesn't recall the first professional baseball game he attended.

"I'm not sure, but it had to have been a Giants-Dodgers game," Lance said. He can certainly be forgiven if he can't remember the game or the score.

One thing is for sure, it is a familiar scene to see Sir Floyd step to the plate every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Udall Park. His teammates all agree. It never gets old watching Floyd Lance adjust his batting helmet and take his stance in the batter's box.

Whether the next pitch is a strike or ball...whether the ball dribbles down the third baseline or bounces into the outfield, it makes little difference. His teammates watch in awe.

Fast forward to the TOTS' dugout last Wednesday.

The two-hour game ended and Sir Floyd Lance was hustled out of the dugout and off to lunch with some of 'the younger boys' with the organization.

It had been another good day for the TOTS.

Photos: The oldest player to ever take the field for the Tucson Old Timers.

Judge hits No. 61; ties Maris' AL single-season home run record

Aaron Judge ties Roger Maris' American League single-season home run record tonight in Toronto.

Judge hit No. 61 in the seventh inning as the New Yankees went on to a 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The homer traveled 394 ft and came off Blue Jays' left-hander Tony Mayza. 

Home Run Derby Updates

The Home Run Men

Judge

The opponents of the New York Yankees keep pitching around Aaron Judge.

The pitchers who toe the rubber against Judge do not want to give up No. 61. Judge walked four times tonight at Yankee Stadium and finished the night with one official at-bat and two runs scored, but the Yankees (95-59) knock off Toronto, 5-2, to clinch their 20th division championship and first since 2019. The Yankees gain a first-round bye and home-field advantage for the Division Series.

Pujols

Albert Pujols made his mark in the history books last week with two homers to reach the 700-career homer club, but tonight he scored a run and walked once as the St. Louis Cardinals took care of the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-2, and clinch the NL Central. The Cardinals earned their first divisional title since 2019. 

Closer to home

Reed Palmer, 66, walloped his 104th career home run for the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers on September 25 at Udall Park. Palmer, the TOTS' all-time home run record holder now has 10 homers for the 2022 season.

Judge and Pujols, of course, are heading into Major League Baseball's final month of the season, while Mr. Palmer (photo above) still has three months left to add to his monthly totals.

Dolphins, Eagles remain unbeaten in the NFL

 NFL 2022

Two National Football League teams remain unbeaten after three weeks of play in 2022 -- the surprising Miami Dolphins and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The team with the best scoring offense is the Baltimore Ravens with 99 points in three games. The best defensive team point-wise: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, allowing a stingy 27 points.

The Eagles head up the NFC East with a 3-0 record with the Cowboys and the Giants at 2-1 and the Commanders at 1-2. The LA Rams sit atop the NFC West at 2-1, while the 49ers, Cardinals, and the Seahawks are all 1-2.

In the NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers, and the Chicago Bears are all off to a 2-1 start, while the Detroit Lions bring up the rear at 1-2. The Buccaneers head up the NFC South with a 2-1 record, while the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and the Atlanta Falcons are all at 1-2.

Over in the AFC, the Dolphins are the top dog with a 3-0 record in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills right behind them at 2-1. The New York Jets and the New England Patriots bring up the rear at 1-2.

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos are locked in at 2-1 in the AFC West, while the San Diego Chargers sit at 1-2 with the Oakland Raiders at 0-3. In the AFC North, the Cleveland Browns and the Ravens are 2-1, while the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals are both 1-2.

That leaves the AFC South, which finds the Jacksonville Jaguars holding the top spot at 2-1 with the Indianapolis Colts at 1-1-1, the Tennessee Titans at 1-2, and the Houston Texans at 0-2-1. 

 

An old-timer remembering the way it was...

A young man dressed in a suit and tie with a briefcase attached loosely to his non-arthritic right-hand hustles to work.

A young mother, frantic, with two kids in the back seat, takes a deep breath and pulls her vehicle into the drop-off lane at the elementary school.

The young farmer hops on his tractor and prepares for a day in the field… acres of tall corn waiting to be cut down.

The young professional baseball player edges forward to the dugout's top step. The hot-hitting lefty has a 10-game hitting streak in jeopardy. He must wallop a hanging curveball to right field in his next at-bat.

All the above will complete their day, return home, and await the sun to set on another fruitful day. They assume tomorrow will come soon enough, and the sun will rise again.

The younger we are, the better off we are, as our minds are uncluttered without the worry of the age limit sign ahead.

Now take a gander at the senior citizen crossing the street, the man or woman feeding the pigeons at the local park, the vulnerable adults at the care center sliding their motorized wheelchair to the dinner table, just enough to settle in comfortably and converse with their fellow neighbors.

Will they be up at dawn, motor down, and meet that special neighbor for breakfast? Or if mobile, will they feed the hungry pigeons again and visit the local cafe, grab an outside table, have a glass of tea, and watch the young people scurry around?

Many of them are lost in their thoughts, but some will look up and smile…and maybe even greet the young passerby…the one heading somewhere.

Some fifty or sixty years ago, there was a time when they, too, had the wind at their back and were dashing off somewhere.

Oh, what a time it was.

The 100-game winners

Major League Baseball

Through September 24, 2022

Houston Astros W 100 L  53

LA Dodgers  W 105  L  47

Closing in:

New York Mets   W 96  L  57

 

I must watch the autumn leaves fall

 From the desk of Dan Price

Whatever you do, don't quit.

We must go for a walk and clear the mechanism. Okay. So I stole a phrase from Kevin Costner, better known as Billy Chapel in For the Love of the Game.

As I enter another phase of my life, I need to walk slowly and carry a pen and a notepad in my pocket. Actually, I’m not sure what phase I’m heading for.

Honestly, I’ve never been this far before. I know one thing for sure: I need to clear that mechanism. In my case, the mechanism lodged somewhere in my brain, allowing the millions of words to flow freely out my eyeballs down the tips of my fingers, and into print.

I can’t stop the flow.

A walk down a lane might help, So why do I still sit here with my two hands hovering over my laptop?

In my case, I foresee a crazy journey ahead. Why? I do not know.

I should be content sitting on the sofa and waiting patiently for The Young and the Restless to appear on my television screen. After all, things are really tough in Genoa City.

I glance at the long-lasting soap every now and then, because, at the age of 77, I have a buddy that heads up the Newman clan. That is Victor of course. No, I haven’t actually met the German-born film and television star Eric Braden, but he’s been around as long as I have, so I consider him a buddy — someone I grew up with.

After all, the man is 81 years old and was Hans Gruber in Combat (1962–64), Major Gerhard Bentz in 12 O’clock High in 1965, Captain Hans Dietrich — 58 episodes mind you — in Rat Patrol (1966–68), and eventually becomes Lieutenant Franz Von Klemme in the Western 100 Rifles (1969) alongside Raquel Welch, Burt Reynolds and a football dude named James Brown.

How he can still run a household in Genoa City is beyond me. I mean, this is 2022. It’s crazy! The man makes $5,000 an episode as Victor Newman, while I sit here waiting for my social security check on Wednesday.

Luckily, I don’t need the extra income I receive from my ramblings on my writers’ site, Medium, to survive my daily journey as a vulnerable adult.

Five cups of coffee in the morning, a walk in the park, a quick glance at the television set around the noon hour to see Eric and the gang, followed closely by another long-running soap, The Bold and the Beautiful.

Please don’t get me started on that one. Does Shiela ever die?

Of course, I return to my dungeon, sit down, open up my laptop and let all the words pop out. Many of the late-arriving words seem to be in a holding pattern above, desperately searching for a place to land.

I mean it’s not easy for those unruly words above. There is chaos below and, at times, this vulnerable adult wants to call it quits.

Then again, I’ve never been this far before. I want to see what is down the lane. The lane, not outside, but the lane where all the words are. They need me and I need them.

I will eventually make it outside, stroll down that beautiful path, take a deep breath and watch the autumn leaves fall.

Until then, I must write. I must never quit.

Arizona drops Pac-12 opener to California Bears, 49-31

 Arizona Wildcats Football

Arizona did not have an answer for Jaydn Ott as he rushed for 274 yards and three touchdowns at Berkeley yesterday.

Result: a 49-31 loss to California. The Wildcats aren't quite ready for Pac-12 play. The Wildcats made a game of it in the first half and led 24-21, but the entire second half belonged to the Golden Bears.

Arizona's quarterback Jayden de Laura threw for 401 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted twice. Jacob Cowing caught seven passes for 133 yards and a score. Michael Wiley carried the ball 14 times for 79 yards and a touchdown.

Arizona's defense: not so good. Too many holes for Ott to run through.

Ott said he feels like he should score every time he touches the ball. It seemed like he did just that at Berkeley yesterday.

Next up for Arizona: Colorado comes to town on Saturday. The Buffaloes are 0-4 after being manhandled by UCLA yesterday, 45-17. 

Pigpen ready to roll at 2022 MSBL World Series

Men's Senior Baseball League World Series

Phoenix, Arizona

Playing for the Puget Sound Aqua Sox

73-and-over American division

From the desk of an old-timer who loves to play baseball. My week this October at the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series.

My teammates this year, are a bunch of old guys, who call themselves the Puget Sound Aqua Sox and hail from the state of Washington. We begin play on Monday, Oct. 24, against a California team called the Cal Vets. The game is scheduled for 1:30 PM at Maryvale, field #4. Game 2 on Tuesday, Oct 25, is against a team from Canada called the Red Deer Legends. The first pitch is scheduled for 10 AM at the Indian School Complex, field #4.

For Game 3 on Wednesday, Oct. 26, we journey to the new Bell Park facility, field #3, in east Mesa, and a 9 AM encounter with a team from Oklahoma City.  Game 4, on Thursday, Oct. 27,  we take on our friends from St Thomas/Virgin Islands at the Salt River Complex with a 9:30 AM start.

The Puget Sound Aqua Sox will finish the five-game round robin with the Mudville 9 on Friday, Oct. 28, at 2 PM at Fitch Park, field #2, in Mesa.

The playoffs and championship will follow on Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 29-30). That's if we qualify for the playoffs. It goes by the won-loss record for the week. Tiebreakers may come into play to decide which teams stay alive and move on.

If I find myself in the playoffs with the Aqua Sox, I may have to play against some of my teammates from the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, namely Bob Daliege and Pete Peters. We all played for the New England Red Sox last October. Of course, I never saw a pitch as I ended up in the hospital with breathing problems, just hours before the first MSBL World Series game in 2021.

The three of us will stay at the same hotel we stayed in last season, despite the fact we are on different teams this year.

The New England Red Sox should have the services, once again, of ace hurler  Bill "Spaceman" Lee, the former pro pitcher, who won 119 games in the Majors.

Lee, 75, had a heart-related incident on August 19, while playing for the Savannah Bananas and was paddled twice, recovered, and walked to the ambulance. Lee (photo below) eventually had a pacemaker put in, and is back playing baseball.

It's tough keeping us old guys down.

Below is the schedule for the New England Red Sox team (along with my fellow TOTS members, Daliege and Peters).

Oct. 24 -- New England vs. Rhode Island, 2 PM, Maryvale, field #7

Oct. 25--  New England vs. Mudville 9, 10 AM,  field #2, at Indian School Complex

Oct. 26-- New England vs. St Thomas/Virgins Islands, 9 AM, field # 2, Bell Bank Park

Oct. 27-- New England vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers, 9:30 AM, Salt River Complex, field #5

Oct. 28-- New England vs. Red Deer, 2 PM, field #3, at Fitch Park in Mesa.

     

-

 

Pujols reaches 700 career home runs

 Pujols Watch

Albert Pujols reaches 700 career home runs in Los Angeles tonight and drove in five runs as St Louis knocked off the Dodgers, 11-0. 

Pujols hit a two-run shot in the third inning for 699 and a three-run shot in the fourth inning for No. 700.

Why I do the things I do...

From the desk of Dan Price...

I remember those special moments so long ago.

My days as a young sports reporter. My eyes glued to the playing field, trying desperately to document every play, every score…every outcome.

That was my life back then. My job: to make an instant hero of the athlete who just scored the winning bucket or ran untouched into the end zone for a touchdown.

I would focus on the seconds immediately following the game and somehow store, in my head, the joy or the agony of the moment. I would glance into the crowd. I would see everything…everyone.

I witnessed the moment and the joy of winning or losing a sporting event. The parents gathering their belongings and leaving the field, some with tears in their eyes, some with smiles on their faces.

The crowd would disperse and the lights would flicker. The game was in the books. The moment in time recorded by me on a piece of paper. The story would turn into a clipping and eventually find its way to the front of the family’s refrigerator door or better yet become another addition to the family scrapbook.

That’s what I did so many years ago. I watched. I witnessed. I recorded a piece of life. It was instant gratification. It’s something I had to do. My mind wouldn’t rest until the story was told.

And here I am some fifty years later and I find myself doing the same thing.

Only my articles will not reach a family’s refrigerator. The articles may not see the light of day. My scribblings may even vanish out my office door, into the neighborhood trash can, and then whisked away to the dump.

I would love to go back in time, sit in the stands, and report: the joy of a young athlete scampering down the soccer field and booting the winning goal…the ball sailing by an outstretched goalie.

I miss the thrill of those moments. Simple moments in time, but a part of life…a part of living we all have experienced.

Now, I glance out the window. I see a homeless person walking down the street, kicking a beer can…the bent aluminum gathering steam, and disappearing down an alley. The old man continuing his walk down the street. Where is he going? What is his story?

Should I go find out?

Photo: for the fun of it -- my granddaughter Hannah, back in the day, looking to score a goal. A special moment in time.

Judge reaches 60 homers, one shy of Maris

 Judge Watch

Aaron Judge hit his 60th home run of the season tonight with a solo blast, part of a five-run bottom of the ninth inning, as the Yankees come from behind to knock off the Pittsburgh Pirates in New York, 9-8.

Giancarlo Stanton followed the homer by Judge with a grand slam as the Yankees improved to 31 games over .500 at 89-58.   

Will the best teams in baseball reach the World Series?

You be the Judge...

The jury is still out on that one. And the Judge may have something to say about it before the regular season ends in a few weeks. But for now, on paper, the LA Dodgers own the best record in baseball at 102-44 and, of course, the Dodgers set atop the National League standings. Down in Houston, Texas the Astros are quietly going about their business, nestled in at the top of the standings in the American League with a 97-51 record.

The season continues...

It's going to be fun!

The Day of the Hunter

 From the desk of Dan Price

I still recall the day. It was the first day of autumn. The grey squirrel was busy devouring a prize oval nut. The squirrel then scampered up the hickory tree, stopped — its eyes searching for a sound, a sound the squirrel had heard many times.

I raised the 28 gauge, nickel-plated shotgun, eyed my target and clicked on the trigger.

Suddenly the forest was quiet, the morning light glowed through the taller trees. I rushed to the base of the old hickory. I reached down, picked up the squirrel, stuck the little fella in my coat pocket and rushed out of the forest.

I reached my grandparents’ farmhouse and sat down, near the entrance to the back porch. I reached in the coat pocket, slowly pulled out my morning prize. I looked in the eyes of the grey squirrel — its body limp…its life gone. Its search for hickory nuts was over. Its ability to scamper through the forest — gone forever by a soon-to-be teenager, who had moved on from target shooting with a 22 rifle to a run through the forest and his first kill.

It was the last time I would raise a gun.

Somewhere down the road, the shotgun — a birthday gift from my Grandpa Bruce — disappeared at a gun show in Tucson, Arizona.

I will always remember that little squirrel. I left hunting behind, but that’s just me in a nutshell.

The Day of the Six-Shooter

From the desk of Dan Price... 

I loved the old Westerns. I sat in front of the television set in the early 1950s with my gun and holster set strapped to my 13-inch waist. Why I brought that up I do not know? I guess because I had that youthful look back then and now it is 2022 and I currently have trouble fastening a belt.

I Grew up loving the shoot-’em-up Westerns …my television heroes like Hopalong Cassidy, The Cisco Kid…and The Lone Ranger.

At the box office: The bigger-than-life movies like High Noon…Hondo…Man Without A Star…Shane — all of them would keep me in my seat to the very end.

Later in life, I graduated from Western Movies 101 to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly…Once Upon a Time in the West…Lonesome Dove…Unforgiven… all bigger-than-life Westerns seen through the eyes of an adult.

At the movies, as a young man, I would settle in my seat, juggle the box of popcorn and the soda in my lap, but keep my eyes focused on the large screen in front of me.

I would memorize the names that suddenly appeared on the screen: the headliners like John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, Glen Ford, and Robert Taylor, but I wouldn’t stop there as I memorized the list of the supporting cast as well — actors like Walter Brennan, Noah Berry Jr., Chill Wills…and the ugly ones, too, like Jack Elam and Strother Martin.

Well, I could go on and name them all.

I recognized the cowgirls also: the ladies like Joan Crawford in Johnny Guitar; Grace Kelly in High Noon; Dorothy Malone in the Last Sunset and Claire Trevor in The Man Without A Star…well the list goes on.

My mind was forever linked to action-packed Westerns like Hondo with John Wayne and Shane with Alan Ladd, along with the co-star Jack Palance, the meanest gunslinger ever.

As I reached adulthood the movies became more violent. Instead of a showdown in the street between two of the fastest men west of the Pecos River, the films would end in bloodshed from one end of town to the other. Many would die before the final credits rolled.

Television and movies progressed to even more violence. Somebody had to die a violent death. Many lives were lost. Only the good guy survived.

Detective TV shows followed and more violence found its way to the television screen. Clint Eastwood left Rawhide and became Dirty Harry. Charles Bronson put his cowboy gear away, put on a suit and tie, and cleaned up LA and San Francisco. Within an hour the streets were cleared of all the bad guys and life returned to normal. Whatever normal was after the viewer had witnessed nonstop killings for one hour and twenty minutes.

We, as a society has become used to it: death and destruction on the tube and on the screen. Yes, we have had wars and battles in foreign lands. Hollywood has documented all the action there as well — all the loss of life: From Here to Eternity.

What started out as an innocent gun and holster set on my hip at the age of six had progressed to an AR-15 in a classroom in Uvalde, Texas in the hands of a gunman.

At 77, my years roaming this beautiful land are numbered, but there are days I can still sit back and recall the beginning of the old Western movie, way back in 1956. Kirk Douglas is seen in the distance…sitting tall in the saddle…his horse galloping in stride, heading for Tombstone and the Town Too Tough To Die.

I awaited the next scene and the next.

I miss that. The movies back then were reigned in, so to speak. An innocent boy or girl, could sit through a matinee and go home knowing their larger-than-life heroes on the screen had saved the day. And in my case: it would be back to the ballpark or maybe a long bicycle ride through the neighborhood before supper.

I simply loved movies. Eventually, I put away my gun and holster set. I still searched for Clint Eastwood, not in Rawhide or Hang ‘Em High, but in beautiful movies like Million Dollar Baby and The Bridges of Madison County.

I had become a romantic…without my gun and holster set.

I miss the wide open spaces of the grasslands, the breeze along the prairie, the clear blue sky above, and the sound of a Frankie Lane song echoing in the background. I miss the first days of technicolor, the names of my favorite cowboys splattered in red across the screen.

Life was so simple then.

Where did it all go wrong?

Make it 59!

 ALL RISE: Here comes the Judge...

Aaron Judge goes yard twice as the New York Yankees beat the Brewers, 12-8, in Milwaukee today.

Judge hit his 58th and 59th home runs and is within two homers of tying Roger Maris' single-season American League record.

My granddaughter in Tucson is following the Yellow Brick Road

 

My Tucson family includes a Mama and a Papa: one a captain with the fire department, the other a busy lady in the real estate field and they are the owners of three of my grandchildren...well they are not children anymore: two are high school graduates -- Jadon and Hannah -- and they are out amongst the population in the city making a living and charting their course in life.

My young granddaughter is on her way to stardom and is currently a sophomore in high school. It seemed like it was just the other day my granddaughter Bree was one of six children -- all performing as Dorothy in a week long school play: The Wizard of Oz.

I thought I was old then as I sat in the audience, wondering were all the years had gone. Five years later, here I sit, at my desk, typing away on my laptop and recalling an event from years ago -- knowing full well Bree, shown on the left, holding the flowers, will be driving soon.

I said at the time: "I think I'll click my heels, head home and take a nap."

Now, I'm really ancient.

I can see clearly now that we all are searching for that yellow brick road. It's a long road and it is called: life. Dorothy lived in Kansas and a tornado whisked her away to a fantasy land where the Munchkins lived and the little people were tormented by the Wicked Witch of the East...and the story begins.

Dorothy will eventually make it back to Kansas, after all this is a kid's fantasy story, not a movie directed by Quentin Tarantino.

In real life, my granddaughter will become famous. Of course, she already is!

Wildcats rise up: defeat the Bison, 31-28

 Arizona Wildcats Football

Arizona  31  North Dakota State 28

Second-year head coach Jedd Fisch rushed on to the playing field at Arizona Stadium last night. No! He stormed on to the field: a winner. Fisch shook hands with the Bison head coach Matt Entz at midfield, while his Wildcats jumped for joy around him.

Arizona won the hard-nosed, fast-paced game, 31-28, over a team that brought along 10 percent of the Fargo, North Dakota population. The Bison, favored at kickoff by three points, lost by three points to a determined Arizona crew that counterpunched its way to victory and a 2-1 start to the 2022 season. 

Yes, it is Pac-12 opponents from here on out, but last night the Wildcats shined brightly both on offense and defense and beat a team that will probably win the FCS title for the third time in three years. 

Arizona won despite a bruising, hard-running fullback by the name of Hunter Luepke, who rushed for 115 yards and caught three key passes for 65 yards for the Bison, while scoring three touchdowns.

The Wildcats countered with quarterback Jayden de Laura, who ran for a touchdown in the opening quarter and then finished with 229 passing yards -- including a TD toss to Jacob Cowing late in the fourth quarter for the winning score. At the same time, de Laura engineered a running game that saw two of his backs -- Michael Wiley and Jonah Coleman -- cross the goal line for touchdowns. 

Over 41, 000 fans were in the stands -- over 33,000 were happy Arizona fans.

Way to go, Wildcats!

Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time...staying on track

In 1948, a little boy took off down a railroad track near a small town in Central Arkansas. The lad was only eight hundred yards from the entrance to the circular driveway in front of his grandparents’ farmhouse, but there was plenty of trouble he could get into.

It was mid summer, a sticky day, not a cloud in the sky. He had been on the track many times in his young life; he knew the next passenger train was to roll southbound in four hours time.

In thirty minutes though, the lad would be forced to scamper back to the farmhouse, rush through the front door, find the nearest closet and urinate in his grandfather’s goulashes.

There were no cameras back then to document such a childish act.

In fact the young boy had more than one thing on his mind at the time; he had ants in his pants. Back on the track, he had chased a squirrel some two hundred yards and he needed to sit down and take in a deep breath or two.

Unfortunately, he had sat smack dab on an anthill. He learned a couple of things that afternoon: do not urinate in grandpa’s goulashes and stay away from anthills.

We learn quickly. Even at four years of age.

As for his short treks along the railroad track, the lad would continue to do so from time to time.

The years would pass quickly. He sprouted upward like a giant unruly plant, it seemed — at least in the eyes of his grandparents — and now, at the age of thirteen, he had turned that clumsy gait as a four-year-old, into a rhythmic march, as he headed into town.

A two-mile journey was up ahead toward an exit that led to the closest hardware store — the bell overhead, would signal his arrival.

Grandpa had walked the old track with him many times. When they had reached town, the first order of business inside the hardware store was to open the canister filled with sugar cookies and, under the watchful eye of the proprietor of course, devour a handful of the tasty delights.

This particular day was no different. With a cookie or two left in his hands, the teenager walked back outside, sat on a bench with two old men who, at one point, were discussing the price of soybeans before moving on to a conversation on how to solve the world’s problems.

I was that little boy back in 1948. The photo at the beginning of this story is my young grandson, Fallon, currently exploring his own railroad track in Western Colorado.

Fast forward a good seventy-odd years since that itchy day I had ants in my pants and my little section of railroad track has now expanded into a world — a world so much bigger than an anthill.

I have made the long journey, witnessed this big land of ours, the people in it; the ups and downs of life…and faced all the obstacles along the way.

My moment in time.

And now it is Fallon’s turn. I will not be around to see him marry, raise a family nor will I witness him maneuver through all the obstacles he must face during his adult life as he follows his path…his journey…his moment in time.

For now, as I close in on my eighth decade on this earth, I feel confident the young man in the photo above will remain on track, be successful and leave his mark on this earth.

Home Run Derby: Pujols hits No. 698

MLB action

Albert Pujols hit his 19th home run of the year and No. 698 in his career with a two-run shot in the sixth inning in St. Louis tonight as the Cardinals edged Cincinnati, 6-5.

Aaron Judge went 2 for 4 tonight, but did not homer in the Yankees 7-6 loss to the Brewers. He still sits at 57 homers with 18 games left in the regular season. 

Closer to home

Reed Palmer, 66,  the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers career home run leader, hit his third homer of the month and the 103rd of his career with the amateur club this morning at Udall Park. Palmer's solo shot over the right field fence came in the sixth inning today and was his fourth homer in the last four weeks and his ninth round-tripper in 2022.