I think some of it is warranted. The Yankees (for better, and often for worse) are the most storied franchise in American professional sports, and likely top 3 in the world at most (not that I could even name the other two…probably there is some argument in soccer, but none of them have the history to my knowledge to compete). Their home stadium (again, for better and mostly for worse for most of the non-east coast people) is the American version of the Roman Coliseum. And remember, even though it is really no longer the American pastime…it was, and the height of it being the national pastime had that place as the epicenter.

I had resigned myself to tolerating this for this year because I think it is deserved on some level, and because I have also been there a number of times and it is one of the few places (and sorry to admit, Allen Field House is another) where I walked into it and KNEW some famous people had played there. Now, I dont usually care about the Yankees come playoff time, but I will be hoping they do not make the playoffs because then the coverage will annoy me and set most of the rest of the world against Fox and ESPN, but for right now, I can tolerate Ravech or Gammons waxing poetic about the place…just not Berman :-)

...I was just impressed that they used the exact same phrase every time, lol. And I’m annoyed that they’re tearing down Yankee Stadium…hell, if they’re still having games in relative dumps like Wrigley and Fenway (granted, Fenway’s gotten the CRAP renovated out of it recently), then they can keep Yankee Stadium going for another 50 years.

And yes…I was avoiding bitching about Berman, but…sweet jesus, you could just create a computer recording of his home run derby broadcast. “BAAAAAAACK BAAAAAAAAAAACK BAAAAAACK BAAAACK BAAAAACK…GONE! THAT ONE’S HALFWAY TO (insert local suburb here)!!!!”

Just fill in New Rochelle, Newark, Staten Island, Yonkers, Teaneck, and White Plains, and you’ve got a Berman broadcast. He should have been put out to pasture 10 years ago. I hate saying that…as I LOVED that guy roundabout 1993…but he has two schticks (the HR call and the nicknames involving rock stars from before 1985), and they were tired a decade ago.

It’s here:

I guess this would be a good time to announce that I’ll be starting the NCAA 09 season preview of Mizzou and the Big 12 this weekend?

Josh Hamilton overcame a lot to get where he is. Rick Reilly loooooooves him some sappy (but great, in its own right) comeback stories.