Author: AspiDimitrov

by AspiDimitrov

FALCONS OFF TO A GREAT START IN HSL AS CLUB SAYS FAREWELL TO YUJI ENDO

 

Posted on behalf of Herts Baseball Newswire correspondent, Lee Manning

Yuji Endo is calling it time on his Falcons career on Thursday when he moves back to his homeland of Japan.  Sunday’s opening games of the Herts Spring League were his final games for the club before his departure.  The day turned out to be a very fitting farewell to Yuji who will missed by everyone at Herts Baseball Club.

 

The Herts Falcons started the 2008 HSL with a home game against Northampton.  The newly promoted Falcons jumped out to an early 6-run lead in the first 3 innings.  John Oliver stated on the hill and pitched 3 magnificent shutout innings allowing only 2 hits. The club’s young prospect Pete Kikel came in to relieve Oliver and pitched the final 3 innings striking out 6 batters and once again proving that he can play with the best.  Falcons won the game comfortably 15-3.

 

Northampton at Herts Falcons

Score By Innings

1

2

3

4

5

6

R

H

E

Northampton

0

0

0

2

1

0

3

6

8

Herts Falcons

3

1

2

6

3

0

15

15

0

 

Herts Falcons 15, Northampton 3

Herts Falcons

Northampton

 

ab

r

h

bi

 

ab

r

h

bi

Lee Manning 1b-lf

5

1

2

0

Player 1 p

2

0

0

0

Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b

3

1

0

0

Player 2 c

3

1

0

0

Jason Greenberg c

3

3

3

0

Player 3 1b

2

1

0

0

Peter Kikel 3b-p

4

3

1

1

Player 4 2b

3

1

2

1

Greg Bochan lf-3b

2

3

2

3

Player 5 3b

3

0

1

0

Yuji Endo ss

4

2

3

1

Player 6 ss

3

0

1

1

Aspi Dimitrov cf

3

0

1

0

Player 7 lf

3

0

1

0

Dave Hamilton rf

2

2

1

2

Player 8 cf

1

0

1

1

(t5) Paul Auchterlounie rf

1

0

0

0

Player 9 rf

3

0

0

0

John Oliver p-1b

2

0

2

2

 

 

 

 

 

Bruce Dullea dh

2

0

0

0

 

 

 

 

 

TEAM TOTALS

31

15

15

9

TEAM TOTALS

23

3

6

3

 

E: Player 4(3), Player 6(2), Player 9(2), Player 1. LOB: Northampton 6, Herts Falcons
7. 2B: Jason Greenberg, Peter Kikel, Dave Hamilton. SB: Greg Bochan(3), Kimiyoshi
Saionji(2), Yuji Endo(2), Jason Greenberg, Lee Manning, Player 4, Player 2, Player 8.
SB: Aspi Dimitrov.

 

Herts Falcons

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

John Oliver W

3.00

2

0

0

0

2

Peter Kikel

3.00

4

3

3

2

6

Northampton

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player 1 L

5.00

15

15

8

5

5

 

HBP: by Peter Kikel (Player 1). , by Peter Kikel (Player 8). WP: Player 1(2). PB:
Player 2(4). T: 2:00. A: 65.

 

by AspiDimitrov

HAWKS SUFFER DEFEAT AT THE HANDS OF THE BLAZERS

 

Posted on behalf of Herts baseball Newswire reporter, Kal Dimitrov 

The first week of the Herts Spring League could not have gotten to a more auspicious start – the expected showers and cloudy skies never materialized, and the whole day was played under sunny skies, with the temperature almost balmy at 15o C.

That was as far as luck went for the Herts Hawks.  The squad was depleted due to illness and call ups to the Falcons. The Hawks were able to get sufficient number of players thanks to the kind assistance of the Herts Raptors. This, however, was not a problem.  Calamity struck in the 1st inning, when starter Humberto Goncalves had to come off the mound with what some medical experts diagnosed as a pulled rib muscle, while others determined to be cramp in the pectoral area.

This required a hasty reshuffle in the field, as well as having to bring in Darrin Ward to pitch cold (which was not helped by his catcher calling for a number of weird pitches, such as sliders, screwballs and changeups after he had barely thrown 8 pitches to warm up).  The fallout was the Bracknell Blazers team taking a 5 to 0 lead at the bottom of the 1st.

The Hawks rallied, and were able to keep the score at a respectable margin, finally loosing 8 to 5 to a Bracknell team that contained a number of top class players, as well as some promising rookies of all genders (hats off to the Blazers).  Solid pitching by Darrin and some good hitting by Tim Elkins, Humberto Goncalves and Nick Russell kept hopes alive.

At the top of the 5th, Herts Hawks hopes for a comeback were revitalized, when, with the score 8 to 1, Darrin Ward hit a massive bases clearing double that made the score 8 to 4. Darrin was undoubtedly the man of the match for Hawks, with a total of 4 RBI’s and 10 stikeouts. This performance was complemented by the always stylish fielding and batting of young Luis Goncalves, as well as by the gritty determination of the rest of the team.

Bracknell, on this showing, will be tough opponents for any of the teams in the HSL 2 Bracket. In a post-match interview they expressed the view that they were happy with being able to execute their game-plan and give a lot of their players some game-time.

 

Herts Hawks at Bracknell Blazers
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Hawks 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 5 5 1
Bracknell Blazers 5 1 0 2 0 0 0 8 9 1

 

Bracknell Blazers 8, Herts Hawks 5
Bracknell Blazers Herts Hawks
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Player 1 p 3 3 2 0 Nick Russell lf 4 1 1 0
Player 2 c 3 1 0 0 Tim Elkins 2b 3 2 1 0
Player 3 1b 4 0 2 4 Humberto Goncalves p-3b 3 1 1 0
Player 4 2b 3 1 0 0 (b1) Jake Kikel 1b 0 0 0 0
Player 5 3b 3 1 2 1 Darrin Ward 3b-p 4 0 2 4
Player 6 ss 2 1 1 0 Kal Dimitrov c 3 0 0 0
Player 7 lf 3 0 1 1 Jonathon Lewys cf 1 1 0 0
Player 8 cf 2 1 1 1 (t6) Ilya Dimitrov cf 0 0 0 0
Player 9 rf 3 0 0 0 Mark Hoffman 1b-3b 2 0 0 0
          Luis Goncalves ss 2 0 0 0
          Hunter Devine rf 3 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 26 8 9 7 TEAM TOTALS 25 5 5 4

 

E: Player 2, Humberto Goncalves. LOB: Herts Hawks 5, Bracknell Blazers 6. 2B: Player
1, Player 7, Player 8, Darrin Ward(2), Tim Elkins. SB: Player 5(3), Player 4, Player
1, Player 6, Player 2, Jonathon Lewys(2), Nick Russell, Luis Goncalves, Mark Hoffman.

 

Bracknell Blazers IP H R ER BB SO
Player 1 W 7.00 5 5 4 5 10
Herts Hawks            
Darrin Ward 5.67 8 6 4 4 10
Humberto Goncalves L 0.33 1 2 2 1 0

 

HBP: by Player 1 (Luis Goncalves). . . . . . PB: Player 2(2), Kal Dimitrov(3). T:
2:55. A: 90.

 

by AspiDimitrov

FALCONS WIN BATTLE WITH OLD RIVALS BURGESS HILL

 

(continued)

Article posted on behalf of Herts Baseball Newswire correspondent, Lee Manning

 

The second game of the day for the Falcons was against Premier League rivals Burgess Hill Redhats.  The Redhats are the team that relegated the Falcons in the 2006 playoffs.  This was an opportunity for payback for the Falcons. Against Great Britain National Team Pitcher, Gary Davison, the Falcons were looking to get an early lead.  First up was veteran Lee Manning who ripped a 0-2 outside pitch to the right field and slide safely into 3rd base.  Manning scored off a sack fly from Kimiyoshi Saionji setting the standard for the rest of the afternoon.  Aspi Dimitrov pitched 3 innings before handing the ball to Bruce Dullea with a 6-5 lead, but bases loaded and no one out in the 4th.  Dullea then got the next three batters out in superb style without giving up a single run.  After Dullea’s 2 innings, Yuji Endo took to the mount with the game tied at 8-8 to pitch the last 2 innings.  He showed great control and great pop to keep the Redhats quite.  The Falcons started hitting the ball hard and everyone played great defence which was helped by Manning doing an over the shoulder catch but only to be outdone by former Falcons player now playing for the Hawks, Paul Auchterlounie, sprinting 40ft to chase down a hard hit drive to centerfield for the play of the day.  Falcons won the game 13-9.  Yuji Endo picked up the Win.

 

Manger Jason Greenburg must be having a hard time on who to play where and when but has the next two weeks looking at players who are all fighting for a starting spot. Every Falcon player showed that they wanted to win the games and hope to keep this going forward next week when they play at the AmericanSchool Of London.

 

Hitter of the day:  Jason Greenberg going 7-7 

Pitcher of the day:  John Oliver

Play of the day:  Paul Auchterlounie making a great catch on his horse in Centerfield.

Moment of the game: Bruce Dullea inheriting a bases loaded jam, no outs to shut down the Redhats not allowing any runs and preserving the 1-run lead.

 

Herts Falcons at Burgess Hill Colts

Score By Innings

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

Herts Falcons

1

0

3

2

2

0

5

13

19

2

Burgess Hill Colts

1

0

3

1

3

0

1

9

11

3

 

Herts Falcons 13, Burgess Hill Colts 9

Herts Falcons

Burgess Hill Colts

 

ab

r

h

bi

 

ab

r

h

bi

Lee Manning ss

5

2

2

0

Player 1 p

2

2

0

1

Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b

4

2

2

1

Player 2 c

5

1

1

0

Jason Greenberg c

4

2

4

1

Player 3 1b

4

3

2

3

Peter Kikel 3b

4

1

2

4

Player 4 2b

3

1

1

0

Greg Bochan cf-rf

4

1

2

1

Player 5 3b

2

0

1

1

(b3) Paul Auchterlounie cf

3

1

1

0

Player 6 ss

3

1

2

2

Yuji Endo lf-p

4

2

2

0

Player 7 lf

3

1

1

0

Bruce Dullea dh-p-rf

4

1

2

1

Player 8 cf

3

0

2

0

John Oliver 1b

4

0

1

0

Player 9 rf

3

0

1

1

Dave Hamilton rf-lf

4

1

2

2

 

 

 

 

 

Aspi Dimitrov p-rf

0

0

0

0

 

 

 

 

 

TEAM TOTALS

39

13

19

9

TEAM TOTALS

28

9

11

8

 

E: Lee Manning, Aspi Dimitrov, Player 1, Player 3, Player 5. LOB: Herts Falcons 10,
Burgess Hill Colts 12. 2B: Peter Kikel, Kimiyoshi Saionji, Bruce Dullea. 3B: Lee
Manning, Jason Greenberg. HR: Player 3. SB: Yuji Endo(3), Jason Greenberg, Bruce
Dullea, Dave Hamilton, Player 1(2), Player 6, Player 8. CS: Player 8. SB: Peter
Kikel.

 

Herts Falcons

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

Aspi Dimitrov

3.00

3

5

3

12

5

Bruce Dullea

2.00

5

3

3

1

0

Yuji Endo W

2.00

3

1

1

1

2

Burgess Hill Colts

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player 1 L

7.00

19

13

9

4

7

 

WP: Aspi Dimitrov(2), Player 1(3). PB: Jason Greenberg(3), Player 2. T: 2:00. A: 65.
by AspiDimitrov

A RAT NAMED SUE

A Rat Named Sue

 

He was a painfully shy player in a very public arena.

 

Tall and powerfully built, he hit prodigious home runs.  442 of them, which is 34th all time.  One of them, which was hit in Wrigley Field on April 14, 1976, went over 600 feet, which is the longest ever recorded HR hit there.

 

He also struck out quite a lot.  1,816 times, which is 10th all time.

 

His fielding was atrocious.  Whether he played 3B, 1B, or the outfield, he had a great deal of difficulty catching and throwing the ball.  I seem to remember that he wore a batting helmet while playing in the field, which was probably done for safety reasons.  He was a tailor made DH, but unfortunately spent 13 of the 16 years of his career in the National League.

 

Dave Kingman was an enigma.  He only hit .236, he struck out quite a lot, but when he connected, the ball went a long, long way.  This was probably why he hung on in the big leagues for so long.  Signed out of college by the Giants, he also had stints with the Mets, Padres, Angels, Yankees, Cubs, Mets (again), and Athletics.

 

Everyone saw his massive potential, but no one could harness it.

 

Of all the major league ballplayers, he probably had the worst time of anyone with the press. Nicknamed King Kong, columnist Mike Royko of the Chicago Sun-Times derisively called him “Ding Dong”.  Columnist David Israel staged a sit-in in protest over having to deal with him.  One of his teammates on the Mets said “he had the personality of a tree stump.”

 

During his three year tenure with the Chicago Cubs, the press finally relented and decided to let him write his own column so that they didn’t have to talk to him.  His columns were a literary disaster, so this particular experiment didn’t last very long.  In 1979, still with the Cubs, he had his best season, hitting .288 with 48HRs and 115RBI.

 

Primarily due to the holes in his game, his longest tenure with any one club was three years.  Two years after his career best effort with the Cubs, they traded him to the Mets.

 

Extremely thin skinned and unwilling to accept any type of criticism, his second stint in New York was also short lived, again lasting only three years.

 

He finally reached the AL in 1984 with the Oakland A’s, and became a full-time DH, which was the perfect position for him.  He had three very productive seasons, averaging 33HR’s and 101RBI.  However, the ending was not to be a happy one.  He had a particular problem with Sue Fornoff, who covered the A’s for the Sacramento Bee.  They had a very rocky relationship, and Kingman objected to anything negative that Ms. Fornoff wrote.  It is a matter of conjecture whether the coverage was negative, but that’s the way King Kong perceived it.

 

 

He finally decided to get even.  One game Ms. Fornoff was sitting in the press box at Oakland Alameda stadium, and while covering the game, she received a box.  She opened it, and much to her horror and chagrin, she found a LIVE RAT.

 

The rat had a tag which said “My name is Sue”.

 

Unfortunately for Kingman, this practical joke backfired.  The 1986 MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement did not cover sending live rodents to sportswriters.

 

Kingman was released shortly thereafter, and never played MLB again.

 

He now lives in relative obscurity.

 

Because of King Kong, I’m always very judicious in my criticism of thin skinned ballplayers.

 

I thought I’d share this bit of baseball history to young, aspiring sportswriters.

 

Be careful with any gift wrapped packages from ballplayers, at anytime.

 

Enough said.

 

 

by AspiDimitrov

THE BIGGEST BULLY ON THE BLOCK

The Biggest Bully on the Block

 

Ennui.  That was my state of mind last night.  I was flopped down on the couch, feet up, glass of wine in hand, wondering what to do next.  I then turned on the TV to catch Baseball Tonight on NASN.  I could not believe who was in the studio with Karl Ravech.  None other than Bobby Knight!  Bobby Knight!  I thought I was hallucinating.

 

For those of you who aren’t aware, Bobby Knight is a BASKETBALL coach.  He is the all time winningest college coach in the history of NCAA basketball, but he carries quite a bit of baggage.  He is mercurial, combative, and has a hair trigger temper.  He has gotten away with all of his documented transgressions due to his enormous success, and it has enabled him to spend the majority of his career bullying and intimidating anyone who either didn’t agree with him or crossed him.  His primary targets have been the press.  Amongst other notable achievements, he has a) slapped a Puerto Rican policeman, b) stuffed an opposing fan in a trash can, c) threw a chair at a referee, and d) choked one of his own players.

 

Over the course of his 42 year career, he has kept his most brutal derision and contempt for members of the press.  Among other things, one of his most notable quotes was, “If there is reincarnation, I want to come back as a sportswriter because they have never used their brains”.

 

Well, he may have a point there.  

 

With Bob Knight, there is no in between.  You either love him or hate him.  Despite his shortcomings, he has won, graduated his players, and shown a high level of integrity and veracity.

 

One thing he has never been is a hypocrite.  That’s why I had a difficult time seeing him on the Baseball Tonight studio.  Over the course of his career, I always enjoyed his repartee with the press.  He was extremely clever, and always had the last word.  The press always played the part of the deferential whipping boy, and it made for good copy.  And in many instances, he was correct.  Many members of the press are indolent, ill-prepared, and biased.  Some of those who attempted to stand up to him   faced subsequent professional repercussions. 

 

Even though Knight always had the upper hand, his press battles were always very entertaining.

 

Knight recently retired from coaching after a stellar 42 year career.  I always assumed   he would walk away from the limelight and spend his retirement fishing and hunting, which seemed to be his main passions away from the court. 

 

I didn’t have a problem with him criticizing the press.  However, it did shock me to see him in the studio, in essence a becoming committed press member himself.

 

It was interesting hearing about his love for baseball, and his friendship with Tony LaRusso.  They also showed an interview with the late Ted Williams, who was effervescent in his praise for Knight.  Knight then stated the reason he admired Williams so much was that they both had an adversarial relationship with the press.

 

Am I missing something??  There he was, biting the hand that was feeding him.

 

This whole episode is very reminiscent of John Thompson, another highly successful basketball coach, who, throughout his career, was highly combative with the press.  At 6’ 10” tall, over 300 pounds, with a deep baritone voice, he was indeed very intimidating.  Now that he is retired from coaching, he to has joined the press corps, and has a highly successful radio and TV gig in the Washington DC area.  He’s transformed himself from a sullen, contemptuous curmudgeon who was constantly antagonizing the press to an amiable grandfatherly figure.  The transformation seems genuine.  While coaching, Thompson only allowed the public to access part of his personality

 

I guess if you are successful, you can recreate yourself in a positive manner

 

Knight has always been highly intelligent, and provides keen insight.   At 67, he seems to have mellowed.   His methods were always excessive and controversial.  He was the biggest bully on the block.

 

With age comes wisdom.  Knight has a lot to offer, even in baseball.

 

It’ll be nice to see him share his baseball insights with us on a more regular basis.

 

by AspiDimitrov

HSL MEDIA COVERAGE

The Herts Spring League commences this Sunday and it looks like it is attracting significant interest from the media.  The Hemel Gazette is expected to have an extensive coverage of the 2008 HSL over the three Sundays of the League.  Below you will find an extract from a preview of the HSL published this week.  The article was also published in their online publication HemelToday.co.uk

by AspiDimitrov

THE FINAL SEASON

The Final Season

 

The Polo Grounds.  Ebbets Field.  Comiskey Park.  Tiger Stadium.  Forbes Field.  All of these venerable stadiums are relics from the past.  They are all part of baseball history, where great games have been played, championships have been won, and traditions have been created.

 

All of them are now gone.

 

There are only three left.

 

At the end of the season, the list will dwindle to two.

 

This is the final season that baseball will be played at Yankee Stadium.  Built in 1923, it has hosted 37 World Series.  The Yankees won their first championship during the Stadium’s inaugural season.  Three All-Star games have been played there.  This year, its final season, it will host the All Star game.

 

Ruth. Gehrig.  DiMaggio.  Mantle.  Maris.  Where does it start, and where does it end?

 

I’m definitely in denial, because it still hasn’t hit me that this is the final season.  I’ve been to Yankee Stadium three times, and each time was special.  The first was in August of 1966, when my Father took me and Danny Hollywood, who was my best friend at the time.  We sat behind the first base dugout, and saw the Yankees play the Detroit Tigers.  Al Downing pitched against Earl Wilson, and Mickey Mantle hit a massive home run.  I was 7 years old, and it was the first time I had ever seen a professional baseball game.  There were 14,856 spectators, and the Yankees won 6-5.  This occasion was truly the most special and memorable for me.

 

The 2nd occasion was 10 years later, in 1976.  I sat behind home plate with my Father and cousin, and watched the Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins.  It isn’t as memorable, because I don’t remember who pitched, but I do remember that we had fantastic seats.

 

The third and final occasion was in June of 1982.  I had just graduated from college, and three friends and I drove all the way to New York City from Atlanta, Ga.  We sat in the upper deck in right field and watched the Yankees play the Orioles.  The game went 15 innings and took 4 ½ hours to play.  The Yankees won 4-3. 

 

There are so many baseball fans that have similar memories of Yankee Stadium.    Change is inevitable, but for kids who grew up in New York City, it didn’t get any better than being taken to Yankee Stadium by your Father.

 

I guarantee you that something will be missing in 2009.  They plan on turning Yankee Stadium into a parkland.  I think that it’s a big mistake.  Yankee Stadium is THE CATHEDRAL for baseball.  It should not be torn down, and we will one day regret it.  There is too much history, and centuries from now, historians will only be able to point and say, “That is where the House that Ruth Built stood”.

 

I really hope that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, the two other remaining baseball relics, continue to stay open and operate long into the future.

 

 

by AspiDimitrov

FANTASY FUNDRAISING: MANAGE YOUR WAY INTO ‘COOPERSTOWN’



Herts Baseball Club has teamed up with Scotthall Watford MINI to commission a Fox Sports Fantasy Baseball League with a very valuable prize for the 2008 Champion.

The HBC Fantasy Baseball League is your chance to run your very own MLB Ball Club.  You draft and trade your players, pick your best line-up and manage your team to glory…or failure.

But you must hurry.  The 2008 MLB Opening Day is less than 6 days away and all participants must sign up in time for the LIVE online draft at 9pm this Sunday, 30 March, when all the team owners will be online to select their 24-man roster from the entire spectrum of MLB players (American League and National League).  The clock is ticking so don’t miss out.

(Don't worry: if you can't make the draft the Fox Fantasy system will select a team for you from all the available MLB stars based on their 2007 season performances.)



For details of the winning prize and how to join the League please click on the link below:

http://www.hertsbaseball.com/fantasy/

The cost to enter the race is £15.  All proceeds go to the Herts Development Fund, and will be used to further the building of a second diamond and permanent outfield fence.

Join the League now.  The League Commissioner is waiting to register your MLB franchise and the Live Online Draft looms large.

by AspiDimitrov

HSL OPENING DAY – YOU GOTTA MOVE WITH THE TIME

Everyone connected with the 10 teams participating in the 2008 Herts Spring League (HSL) is hoping that the snow storms of the last few days have signalled the end of Winter and the arrival of Spring.

 

The HSL Opening Day is this coming Sunday, 30 March 2008, which coincides with the arrival of British Summer Time.  At 1am on the same day the clocks go forward by one hour. 

 

The Herts Spring League (HSL) will offer plenty of game time for the participating teams with some of the games taking place late in the afternoon.  With clocks moving forward teams will have 1 extra hour of daylight and when the HSL schedule was prepared the league organisers wanted to make full use of this.  The last HSL game on Opening Day will end at 18:55 and there will be sufficient daylight as the sun will set at 19:31.

 

So don’t forget to set your clocks correctly and be on time for the start of the 2008 HSL.

 

The weather forecast currently indicates that it will be partly cloudy with sunny spells.  Most importantly no rain and temparatures of 13oC.

by AspiDimitrov

IS IT A PROMOTION OR A LATERAL MOVE?

Is it a Promotion or a Lateral Move?

 

There is an unwritten rule amongst journalists that you never write about a colleague, but don’t tell that to Peter Vecsey of the New York Post, who is continually baiting Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News.

 

The newsroom of today is much different than the newsroom of yesteryear, which was filled with cigar smoke, old noisy typewriters, and the ubiquitous cantankerous editor, who was constantly screaming at us to get our copy in before the deadline.

 

Now it is much more of a virtual newsroom.  Given the advances of technology, I can write my column from pretty much any location.  That has its inherent advantages and disadvantages.  However, in this new environment we still constantly wonder about our colleagues.

 

I took a quick look at the Falcons home page, and noticed that my good friend and colleague Marty Cullen is no longer listed as a Syndicated Columnist. It now says he is “Voice of the Falcons”.

 

Does that mean that we are no longer colleagues?

 

Did I miss the inner office memo congratulating and offering him our best wishes?

 

Marty, we hardly knew ye!

 

I really enjoyed his column on the DH, and was waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for more, but it never came……

 

Now that he’s moved on from a print to an electronic correspondent, he’s open game.

 

Maybe now that he’s an electronic journalist, he’ll become really arrogant and won’t talk to us print guys!

 

Maybe he went on the DL with writer’s cramp?

 

Maybe I should quit while I’m ahead, because I’m ruining my chances of being his co-host on Falcons PTI!!

 

Was he paid by the column or did he get a flat fee?  If so, I’ve got to find out who his agent is.

 

Was he promoted based on the one column he wrote??  If so, what am I doing wrong??

 

Maybe with his new gig of bench coach, he was way too busy and didn’t have much time to write.

 

By the way, by being a bench coach and voice of the Falcons, isn’t that a conflict of interest??

 

Am I asking too many questions, and will I be unceremoniously beckoned to the Falcons front office, where I will be asked intrusive questions about MY latest column??

 

Ask him who get the biggest laughs at the Awards Night!!

 

I hope he finds this column entertaining!  Maybe he’ll enjoy it more than Profiles in Courage, which I hope someone read!

 

Who’s the Falcons HR director?  I’m thinking about going to a tribunal because my work here has been unappreciated and others are being promoted over yours truly.

 

Memo to Marty.  Congratulations on your promotion!

 

Both of them!

 

And please remember this humble scribe when you’re auditioning for Falcons PTI!

 

Anyway, it’s Bank Holiday Monday!! (I’m a dumb American, did I say that right?).

Enough silliness!  I look forward to Marty’s electronic contributions as Voice of the Falcons, and I hope everyone had a Happy Easter.

 

BD