Yuli Gurriel – An Astros Legend

Yuli, Lourdes Sr & Jr

Houston Astros fans will long remember Yuli Gurriel as a valuable and popular player for their team. He contributed to two World Series Championships with Houston, and he qualifies as an Astros legend. Now 40 years old and a member of the Kansas City Royals, Yuli received a warm welcome and applause from the Minute Maid Park crowd and his former teammates in early September. 

Discount Tire Finishes Last

Austin Cindric doesn’t have any problem getting his tires fixed on his #2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. Of course, he doesn’t actually have to go to Discount Tire for the work; he just pulls into the pits and the crew takes care of it. It’s a good thing he doesn’t depend on his sponsor to fix his tires, because the mistakes, delays, and dishonesty would put him out of contention.

Unfortunately for us, we have been to Discount Tire several times. We have bought at least $1600 worth of tires at this store, $1150 in the past 18 months (we spent another $555 on tires at a different shop last year – not Discount Tire, for our daughter’s car.)

Texas Longhorn: The Greatest Song Ever Written

Yeah, this IS the greatest song ever written, and it’s not close. It’s Texas Longhorn by Django Walker. If you are a fan of the University of Texas, then you get it. If you aren’t a fan, then you may as well just scroll on, bubba, because you’re not gonna like it.

It doesn’t get any better than this song – a celebration of the long, historic, successful history of the Texas Longhorns football team. Many universities have histories of memorable teams and players, but those of us who have been fans of the Texas Longhorns are convinced that our team has the greatest history. We are, of course, absolutely correct.

Why Limit the Reader Base?

After I wrote the third book in my Jonathan Stephens series, it occurred to me that with those books, I had limited my potential audience. The Jonathan books were only aimed at boys. Not many girls in that age group want to read books about boys, so I started thinking about how I could write for both girls and boys. Why not expand my reader base?

 

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner. My wife and I have a daughter and a son, so our house has always focused on girl and boy stuff. I came up with the idea of a girl and boy who worked together to solve mysteries, and the result was The Natalie & Noah Mysteries: The Garbage Vandal. Natalie and Noah are 8 year-old third grade students who have been friends for several years.

 

NASCAR Is Ignoring the Obvious

NASCAR announced that Mexico City will host NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series events beginning in 2025. The first thought at this news may well be, “wow, that’s interesting, but which track will lose a race?” According to Nick Bromberg in this Yahoo Sports story, Richmond Raceway will lose one of its race dates. Yet again, NASCAR tries to grow while gutting its heritage and its past – when it isn’t necessary.

They are killing off the short tracks.

Kay and O’Neill: Boring and Lifeless Baseball Announcers

Sometimes, the only baseball on television involves the New York Yankees. When the Yankees are on MLB Network, they always use the Yankees broadcast. You would think that once in a while, the network would choose the other team’s feed – but nope, every damn time it’s Michael Kay and Paul O'Neill.

There are three acceptable ways to watch when this unfortunate event happens: 

1: mute the TV
2: See #1
3: all of the above

Diffey Makes An Immediate Difference

NASCAR has a new voice for NBC TV race broadcasts – the veteran Leigh Diffey. If you watched IndyCar racing or the Olympics in recent years, you have heard Diffey’s distinctive voice. This is one of the best moves that NBC Sports and NASCAR have made in decades, bringing this fresh voice and perspective to NASCAR racing on television.

Harrison Burton Gets Fired, Wins First NASCAR Cup Race

Harrison Burton won his first NASCAR Cup race, and the Wood Brothers Racing team got their 100th win on Saturday, August 24. Burton, 23, surged to the front on the final lap to take the win at one of NASCAR’s biggest events, the annual summer race at the Daytona International Speedway. In the NBC broadcast booth calling the race was Burton’s Dad, Jeff Burton, a 21-time Cup race winner and one of NASCAR’s 75 greatest drivers.  

Ironically, Burton was informed in July that he would not return to the Wood Brothers team in 2025. 

Cavan Biggio – Running Short of Professional Time

Cavan Biggio was once considered a prospect – a promising, young talent in baseball. The son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, Cavan was drafted in 2016 in the 5th round by the Toronto Blue Jays. By 2019, he was the #10 prospect in the organization, and a year later he was called up to the Major Leagues. Unfortunately for Biggio, the early promise has faded.

Is Joey Votto Hall of Fame Worthy?

Joey Votto, longtime Cincinnati Reds 1st baseman, recently retired at age 40. Immediately, discussions began on whether the 17-year MLB veteran is likely to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Consideration for the Hall is numbers based and is quite subjective.

Astros Make Major Mistake

The Astros July 30 trade will turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes in recent memory. GM Dana Brown dealt Joey Loperfido, Jake Bloss, and Will Wagner to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. This deal looked bad from the start and it’s only going to get worse as time goes on. The worst part of the trade for Houston was giving up Wagner (Astros #13 prospect). 

This trade is going to end up biting Dana Brown where it hurts.

Yankee Fans Wonder

Fans of the New York Yankees have to be wondering when the team will give T.J. Rumfield a chance to see what he can do in the Major Leagues. The 24 year-old 1B/3B is having a solid season at Triple-A Scranton, yet he is not even on the Yankee’s 30 Top Prospects list. 

Rumfield, 6’5, 225 lb, was drafted in 2021 by the Phillies in the 12th round of the amateur draft and was traded to the Yankees in November 2021. Since then, he was quietly worked his way up through the Yankees minor league system. 

Writing Books For Kids

When I was a 2nd grade teacher, I was always looking for chapter books that I could read to my class. I had a couple of favorites that I used, but I was constantly looking for more. I wanted books featuring characters that my students could relate to – characters they could admire, and others they could see were not admirable. 

 

One spring day, I found myself with some rare extra time. I went to the school library to see if I could find suitable books for my students. Books I might read to the class, and books that kids would want to and be able to read on their own. I wandered around the library looking at possible books and it occurred to me that I should write one myself.

 

The ‘Haze Craze’

'Clear beer' and Hazy IPA

I had never heard of Hazy IPA until I saw it on the menu in a Washington, D.C. restaurant. I was intrigued by the entry; I ordered it, and it was one of the best beers I’ve ever had. This beer had a hint of citrus flavor, and it was tasty and satisfying. When we returned home, I began to explore more of the hazy IPA trend.

Apparently, this has been a thing for quite a while. Clearly, I am behind the times on this. Then again, it took me a long time to get into craft beers in the first place. 

Are Your Headlines Bad Or Misleading?

Writing headlines is a talent all by itself. Writing well is an art form, of course, and writing headlines is an entirely separate sort of challenge. Obviously, you want to compose a headline that leads the reader into your article and convinces as many people as possible to go on to read the story. 

The problem is that sometimes, people don’t read past the headline. 

I Despise Jalapeños

I live in Texas, where things like jalapeños are an important component of meals. Texans eat jalapeños with all kinds of things: bacon, beans, beef, chicken, pasta, eggs, fish, cheese – just about everything. It’s kind of an obsession in Texas, like sweet tea, chicken-fried steak, brisket, chili (without beans), kolaches, Tex-Mex, and more. I’m okay with most of these food items.

Except for jalapeños - I hate the stuff.

 

Not liking such a staple food makes me a bit of an outlier. I don’t much like chicken-fried steak or okra either, but I pretty much keep that to myself. The jalapeno thing can be a problem though when eating in a restaurant if a meal that otherwise looks appealing comes with jalapeños.

Bob Kendrick Should Be Commissioner of Baseball

It is long past time that Major League Baseball made a significant change that would alter the course of the sport for the better. MLB owners should name Bob Kendrick as Commissioner. Kendrick is President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, a well-respected man, and a tireless ambassador for the sport of baseball. He would be an exceptional choice to lead MLB into the future.

Afghan Refugee Olympian Disqualified For Protest

Manizha Talash, an Olympic break dance competitor in Paris, was disqualified for displaying a cape with “Free Afghan Women” clearly visible. Talash, also known as ‘b-girl Talash’ is an Afghan refugee living in Spain, and a member of the Olympic Refugee Team.

I Am Moving To A Pacific Atoll

Okay, probably not, but it sure is an attractive possibility. I have long been fascinated by South Pacific islands and atolls, and for years have entertained the possibility of visiting several. The weather is fantastic (year round daily average of 79°), the beaches and water are incredible, the coconut palm trees flutter their leaves gracefully in the ocean breeze, and the scenery is memorable. 

Americans Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse Stun the World

You have to love the way Americans Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse quietly took it all in and delivered when it counted. The U.S. 1500 meter Olympians spent the early days of the Paris games listening to two of their competitors brag about how great they were. When all was said and done, Cole and Yared came through in thrilling fashion.