Tilly Meets Nationals Park

On Friday night, I got to take Tilly to her first ball game at Nationals Park. I know, I know. Baseball, Baseball, Baseball. Its the job, but its also entertainment. I just happen to get paid to follow it, but there are still rare moments when I can be a fan. Two weeks after the Atlanta Braves lost on Opening Night, they returned to the District of Columbia for their first three-game series of the weekend. On this wonderful occasion, I was able to score some corporate tickets to take Tilly.

We sat in section 124, row H which is directly behind home plate. We had tickets for the Diamond Club which is the exclusive area where you can eat. After we got our arm bands for admittance, we were then able to check the tab on our tickets which would pay for our food and drinks. After weighing the option of made to order v. buffet, we went against our usual judgment and selected the buffet. The fact it was all you can eat throughout the entire game, I was sold. We got seats on the deck above our seats and had dinner. By the fourth inning, we figured it was about time to leave the food behind and find our seats.

Tilly was treated to a masterful pitching performance from the Braves Tim Hudson with the offense provided by future superstar Yunel Escobar. If you are not familiar with Escobar, go check him out as he's going to be a name everyone will know real soon. It was great to take Tilly to see the new park, but the best for me was getting Tilly to wear an Atlanta Braves cap (retro 1972 Atlanta Braves All-Star hat). She wants to adopt a local team, but as I told her "a house divided will not stand" so she happily wore the Braves cap. She did pretend to be confused by who the Braves were and cheered incorrectly on a couple occasions, but by the end she bought into greatest team in professional sports. I might be a tad bias of course. As for me, I was decked out in my ratted out Braves cap along with a Jeff Francoeur t-shirt. I was not working, so I got to be "that" fan rooting for the opposing team at the home team's ballpark. Unsurprisingly, I enjoyed my role as the Braves fan at Nationals Park. Somehow my picture never made it on the scoreboard.

Baseball's Opening Weekend (Tardy)

When we started the blog, I had no idea my role would be the slacker blogger while Tilly would take the role of historical blogger of our lives. I've become our regular photographers on trips while Tilly reminds me to actually write something. Here's my tardy baseball opening weekend recap:

The final weekend of March, I was in Memphis, Tennessee for Major League Baseball's second annual Civil Rights Game at AutoZone Park. Last year, I was at the original game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians. This years contest was between the New York Mets and Chicago White Sox. We originated a broadcast meaning we did our own play-by-play for the game. I was housed on the on-field producer from the dugouts during the game and on the field for post-game.

In case anyone's curious we spoke with numerous guests either pre-game, during the game, or post-game. They are as follows: Hank Aaron, Sharon Robinson, Martin Luther King, III, Ozzie Guillen, Frank Robinson, Jimmie Lee Solomon, Harold Baines, Orlando Cabrera, Kenny Williams, Omar Minaya, and Jerry Manuel. We also taped with Jerry Reinsdorf and actress Robin Givens.

On Friday, I attended the Civil Rights Game Panel including New York Mets General Manager Omar Minaya, Chicago White Sox General Manager Ken Williams, Ambassador Shabazz (Malcolm X's daughter), Sharon Robinson (Jackie Robinson's Daugther), Martin Luther King III, Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, and actress Ruby Dee. The panel was held the National Civil Rights Museum. This is my second year covering this event. The purpose is to bring light of the lowering number of African-Americans playing baseball. I would highly encourage anyone take time to visit the Civil Rights Museum. For many of us born following the Civil Rights movement its an overwhelming experience to see pictures from a time when individuals were not all treated equal.

The museum is attached to the hotel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. I attended the event with two friends who grew up during this time. They were each touched immensely as they saw the sight of where MLK was killed. The museum has refurbished the room where MLK was staying as well as a room as it would have been before someone stayed. I took the following video of the areas:

The game was on Saturday evening, but with Opening Night on Sunday I hopped a plane and headed back to the nation's capital to cover the Washington Nationals open their new ball park (Nationals Park) against my beloved Atlanta Braves. The picture is of the pre-game ceremony taken from our broadcast booth (the highest point in the stadium and also quite possibly the worst seat in the park). This was right before President Bush came out to throw the first pitch. The record it was 60-40 boos from the crowd.

The new ballpark was quite a sight as the sell-out crowd watched a game they'll probably never forget. My Braves wore their new alternate jerseys which are navy. After the Braves tied the game at three in the top of the ninth inning, Ryan Zimmerman hit a walk-off home run to end the first game at Nationals Park. I was on the field as he hit the home run and standing behind home plate as the team mobbed him. Television always gets the first interview, so I stood in the dugout while ESPN interviewed him. If you were watching you would have noticed me unfortunately standing in their shot. I never want to be on camera, but on occasion it happens. Anyway as soon as ESPN finished, Zimmerman was on the air live with us at XM. We wrapped and I had the Nationals GM Jim Bowden on with our host and then it was time to find a cab and head home.

The season has begun. While it began badly for my Braves, I have all the faith in the world that this could be there year. Just like I do every year. That's the great joy of baseball. Its a 162 game season and one night can be quickly forgotten. Unless your a Nationals fan of course...

Aspire Dinner

Last weekend, I attended the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation's Aspire: A Tribute to Life's Coaches Gala 2008. This is the second year I've attended this dinner in Baltimore. The event is hosted by two former players that I've worked with at XM, Cal and Billy Ripken. I cannot say enough kind things about each of them as they are genuinely good guys.

The honorees for this year's event were Jord Poster, co-Founder of Priceline.com, Herman Boone, High School Football Coach and Inspiration behind the movie Remember the Titans, and Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame Catcher, New York Yankees.

Click here if you want more information about the dinner as well as who was in attendance. The most interesting moment came when Cal and Billy asked for volunteers from the audience to join them up on stage and participate in a baseball drill. They asked for one final person to volunteer to play the role of catcher. Our table was middle second row, so we loudly volunteered one of our producers who goes by the nickname, Godfather. Billy picked him out of the audience and joked with him on stage unmercilessly for about ten minutes. The memorable part for the Godfather was that as part of the drill he got to turn a double play with Cal and Billy Ripken. Check out the video below. Mike is the guy on the right and the first person he catches the ball from is Cal:

At the end of the event, Yogi Berra was presented with his award. Instead of having a regular presentation with comments from the podium, it was decided that Baltimore Orioles, ESPN and XM Satellite Radio's broadcaster Buck Martinez would do a sitdown half-hour chat with him him. Here is just a very short portion captured from my BlackJack phone:

Prior to the dinner, there was a silent auction for items such as New York All-Star Experience with Cal Ripken, tickets and travel to American Idol's season finale, and a week in your own private island. There was also memorabilia of all sorts and other packages. A colleague and I put in a bid for the NBA All-Star weekend package. At the end of the night, we found out we got it. We're splitting it, so Tilly and I will be headed to New Orleans next weekend with two tickets for for the NBA Rookie Game (Friday), NBA All-Star Saturday Night including the Skills Competition, Three-Point Shoot-Out, and Slam Dunk Competition (Saturday), and the All-Star Game (Sunday). We'll be staying for three nights at the W. This was a Valentine's surprise for Tilly and I. You may think this sounds like an odd gift for Valentine's, but there is a long history of watching the NBA All-Star Saturday Night together. We've watched it for pretty much every year since we we've been either dating or married. I always watched it when I was younger and brought Tilly into the fun once we began dating. This year we will watch it in person. We'll be sure to give a full report once we return.

Professional Baseball Scouts Dinner 2008

Each year since I joined XM, I've attended the ever-expanding Professional Baseball Scout Foundation's In The Spirit of the Game Dinner. The PBSF is provides support to professional baseball scouts who have fallen on hard times due to job loss, illness, retirement or other financial setbacks. Each year, Charley Steiner, Buck Martinez, and I have attended and taped interviews with some of the award winners, presenters, and other guests including Sandy Koufax, Commissioner Bud Selig, George Brett, among many others including off-air chats with Willie Mays and Barry Bonds.

This year we spoke with Hall of Famers George Brett, Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield, and Tommy Lasorda as well as future Hall of Fame Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox. We also spoke with Jerry Reinsdorf, Chairman, Chicago White Sox, Jeff Moorad, General Partner & CEO, Arizona Diamondbacks, John McClaren, Manager, Seattle Mariners, Jim Bowden, General Manager, Washington Nationals, and award winner and legendary scout Eddie Bochman.

In previous years, the event was at the famed Beverly Hilton, which has previously been the site of the Golden Globes. As the dinner has continued to grow in size, this year it moved the Hyatt Century Plaza. It was hosted by Tim Allen and Mary Hart including many celebrities and baseball illuminaries. At Tilly's request, I've included Mary Hart's picture on the red carpet. If you are interested in other pictures from the event go to this link. Don't look for me as I stay out away from the flashes of cameras.

Winter Meetings in Nashville, TN

I spent the week in Nashville, Tennessee covering Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings. The meetings are held each December for all of the major and minor league organizations including their staff of executives and front office members. Its generally held at some of the largest hotels around the country such as Dallas (2005), Orlando (2006), Nashville (2007), and Las Vegas (2008). To the right is a picture from inside the hotel.

This year it was held at the Opryland Hotel and Resort in Nashville. I have attached some photos that XM's events staff took from the events.

World Series: Game Four - Post Game Celebration

On Sunday, November 28th, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Colorado Rockies in Game Four of the 2007 World Series to win the championship. After the presentation of the trophy and lockerroom festivities, the Red Sox players returned to the field in Denver to celebrate with their loyal fans. I was in the clubhouse during the celebration, but once the it cleared out I headed back up to our broadcast booth. Looking down on the field at the players, I took this video of the players celebrating with the fans. It was taken with my Samsung Blackjack phone, so it is not camcorder quality. It does give you a sense of the remaining Red Sox fans in the stands once the national cameras had gone off.