The Sports Daddy

I spent a good part of the weekend watching the 2010 version of the Minnesota Twins play some great baseball vs. the Texas Rangers. It’s September, the pennant race is heating up, and real ball players like to play in October.

At Target Field this weekend, the greatest Twins of all time (many who played deep into cold weather of the Fall) reunited to play a “legends” game. The 50 Greatest Twins were voted on by a panel of print, radio, and television journalists, plus senior members of the Minnesota Twins staff.

The entire list of players are as follows:

Rick Aguilera, Bob Allison, Earl Battey, Bert Blyleven. Lyman Bostock, Tom Brunansky, Rod Carew, John Castino, Michael Cuddyer, Gary Gaetti, Greg Gagne, Ron Gardenhire, Dan Gladden, Dave Goltz, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, Eddie Guardado, Larry Hisle, Kent Hrbek, Torii Hunter, Jim Kaat, Tom Kelly, Harmon Killebrew, Chuck Knoblauch, Jerry Koosman, Corey Koskie, Gene Larkin, Billy Martin, Gene Mauch, Joe Mauer, Sam Mele, Paul Molitor, Justin Morneau, Jack Morris, Joe Nathan, Tony Oliva, Camilo Pascual, Jim Perry, Kirby Puckett, Frank Quilici, Brad Radke, Jeff Reardon, Johan Santana, Roy Smalley, Rick Stelmaczek, Kevin Tapani, Cesar Tovar, Zoilo Versalles, Frank Viola, Dave Winfield, Al Worthington

Reason 1,000,003 to love baseball. Twins old timers game is just chock full of cool memories. Are you kidding me? This is awesome. I am smiling from ear to ear. This IS baseball.

Reason 1,000,002 to love baseball. Hrbek divets a BIG chunk of foul territory by first base while sliding to catch a ball. AKA marking T-Rex’s spot.

Reason 1,000,001 to love baseball. Opposing team manager Ron Washington wearing the Twins colors for the old timers at Target field while his current Texas Rangers team raze him from their dugout.

“The greatest thing about the Internet is that you can quote something and totally make up the source.”
- Thomas Jefferson

I absolutely love this quote, and it is inspiring to me. Look for more “real quotes” and fake quotes soon. It kind of reminds me of stories on the internet. You know, just because you see it on the web, does the story that someone posts mean it’s true?

Just less than an hour ago, someone posted a story that Sage Rosenfels had been traded to the Giants along with Darius Reynauld for conditional picks in 2011 & 2012.

Is this true? Is the quote real?

And it looks like it’s true, but I can’t believe the Vikings actually did this. T-Jack over Sage makes no sense. Worse, they traded Darious Reynauld in the same deal. I thought he was the Vikings only real option for a kick returner?

I can’t believe the Vikings are actually going into battle this season with a 40-year Old QB who’s back-up is a consistently unproductive 2nd Round bust. I can’t understand why they are “banking” on Percy Harvin to be 100% for every game as a receiver and kick returner with his history of migraines?

They traded some “now” players for conditional prospects in future draft picks. How does this help? I ask myself, how did Thomas Jefferson know about the internet? The answers can only come in a time machine- which is something else I don’t think is real.

I am puzzled. Go Vikes.

“If you’re looking for Denny Green, look on the high road, ’cause that is where you will find me.”
- Press conference announcing contract buyout

we’ve gotta plan our work and work our plan”

“Underwood was a bonus pick”

“huh huh huh” (didn’t you love his laugh?)
…”It’s not often you get a chance to strut your stuff on national TV.” Green following the miracle win against the Giants in the ’97 playoffs

“The defending champions are out of it – the Rams have lost, so I think there’s a good chance we’ll see a new champion this year.”

Before they come to Minnesota Thursday Night, MercyMe hads some business to take care of.

For the past three years, contemporary Christian band MercyMe has played a concert at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. And every year, the Rangers have sold out the game when the group performed.

MercyMe made its annual appearance on Saturday, Aug. 28. playing a pregame concert at 5 p.m. and then singing the national anthem. MercyMe was part of the Rangers’ Faith Concert Series presented by I am Second and KLTY/94.9 FM.

And, as he has done in the past, Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton joined the action, addressing the crowd at 5:15 p.m.

“MercyMe is from the area, and I’ve gotten to know them over the past few years,” Hamilton said. “It’s been a good time knowing them, because they’re all solid guys. And anytime you get to speak and address the power of Jesus, it is something to get excited for.”

“Dakota” is a song by the Welsh band Stereophonics, and was released on February 28, 2005. I like the song alot, it’s one of those underrated tunes that I found on iTunes while surfing music about my homestate South Dakota.

I realize this song has nothing to do with that flat fly over state in the cornfields, but I don’t care. It’s melodic, sounds like an 80′s tune, and it has simple but intense lyrics. It reminds me of the type of song that should be blasting out at Target Field during Twins Batting Practice, and that type of music is always stellar. Enjoy

Dakota Lyrics:

Thinking about thinking of you
Summertime think it was June
Yeah think it was June
Laying back, head on the grass
Children grown having some laughs
Yeah having some laughs.

Made me feel like the one
Made me feel like the one
The one
Made me feel like the one
Made me feel like the one
The one

Drinking back, drinking for two
Drinking with you
And drinking was new
Sleeping in the back of my car
We never went far
Needed to go far

Made me feel like the one
Made me feel like the one
The one
Made me feel like the one
Made me feel like the one
The one

I don’t know where we are going now
I don’t know where we are going now

Wake up cold coffee and juice
Remembering you
What happened to you?
I wonder if we’ll meet again
Talk about us instead
Talk about why did it end

Made me feel like the one
Made me feel like the one
The one
Made me feel like the one
Made me feel like the one
The one

I don’t know where we are going now
I don’t know where we are going now

So take a look at me now

Married for 13 years, with 2 kids, I often start wondering were I rank in priority with my wife. It’s tough, because I know she is a good person,  and she would do anything for the welfare of our kids.
I appreciate that I can trust her when it comes to the kids, but what about me?

At the risk of sounding like a selfish prick (Yes, I have been accused of being “something like that” from time to time) I embark in part 3 of this series, “What do Sports Dads want from their wives?” Quite frankly, the sports dad just wants to feel that their wives really care about their welfare on more than a superficial level. Think of like this.

Imagine you are an aging Major League Superstar, who’s skills have diminished over time. As Toby Keith sang, “you might not be as good as you once were, but your as good once, as you’ve ever been.” I think of current Twin’s star Jim Thome’s situation he was in after the 2009 season.

His hometown team, the Chicago White Sox traded him at mid-season to the National League’s Los Angeles Dodgers. As an American Leaguer, he was able to be a Designated Hitter without playing a position in the field. With the Dodgers, he was used in rare situations, and didn’t get much of chance to show he still had a Hall of Fame bat. At the end of the season, Thome found himself “unwanted” by many baseball teams. That’s a familiar feeling for many of sports daddy’s who have been married for several years to the same spouse.

In our minds, we still believe that we are that we are that “baseball legend” husband that their wives chose to marry once upon a time. On our wedding days, we were all considered “royalty” waiting to be crowned in Cooperstown. Our in-laws loved us, and our wives still had that honeymoon twinkle in their eyes. Life was good, and felt even better.

So what do sports dad’s really want from their wives? We just want our wives to tell us that they still believe in us too. We all want to play on a team (wife/family) that knows our strengths, and can live with our weaknesses. It would be nice have our partners demonstrate that they do want to spend time with us, and that they are still concerned about our health, happiness, and well-being. We want to be on a team that will accept us for who we are, as is, knowing, trusting that we can still deliver in the clutch.

From first-hand experience, I know once the kids were born, my wife started paying more attention to them than me. I understand why, but that cannot mask my inner desire to have my wife’s exclusive attention from time to time. Even if it’s not intended on her part, feeling that our wives don’t really care about our welfare, cuts deeply. In numerous homes, this dynamic is what gets off balance and leads to serious relationship problems. The wife thinks she’s doing what’s best by putting the kids’ needs first, not realizing that the husband is as hurt as he is by this.

It’s tough to beg for this attention, and even harder to ask for it. Sports daddy’s often withhold their hurt by the lack of affection and caring. They don’t want their wives to see them as selfish, looking for attention with feelings that our preferences and needs are overlooked.

Fortunately for Thome, he found a team that needed, wanted and obtained his services. The Minnesota Twins signed him last off-season, and he has proven that he still has that Hall of Fame swing several times in 2010.

I am really looking forward to Thursday Night at the Minnesota State Fair because I get to go see MercyMe perform again. This will be the fourth concert I have seen them play, and if it’s like the previous three, it will be awesome again.

Growing up on the prairies of So Dak, I was exposed to a heavy dose of secular pop & country music. If it was played on the radio, I heard it. I went to college in in the Twin Cities during the 80′s and heard everything from 80′s synthesisers to the Boss, Prince, Huey Lewis and Madonna. I was never exposed to Christian music until my lovely wife started taking me to concerts in 1996.

Steven Curtis Chapman, Geoff Moore and the Distance, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Rich Mullins and The Newsboys… We went to several live shows, and I started to appreciate their talents. In 2004 we went to a December 11th Christmas concert featuring Steven Curtis Chapman. The opening act was MercyMe. I will NEVER forget the concert at Excel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN because that was the day I heard Angels singing in male voices- with guitars.

I had never heard this band before that day, but I had apparently heard their song “I Can Only Imagine” several times on the Twin Cities radio station KTIS while riding in wife’s car. I used to rip on Christian artists for lack of originality, but after listening to the music of MercyMe live, I will admit that I was wrong.

Many of my friends and family would be surprised to learn that my top 3 live bands of all-time now includes MercyMe. They are officially on the same level as Prince & U2 as I am concerned. Bart Millard’s vocals are distinguished as the short purple highness and Bono. I will ALWAYS buy a ticket to go see them live. It is worth every penny, and I always leave their shows more positive with peace of mind. Go figure.