Just watching the MLB opener on ESPN, and it was really cool to see Neil Diamond perform live at Fenway Park. Some baseball traditions can actually start late in the history of the game. I have always admired the Red Sox fans passion, taking a song from the 70′s and rocking it out in a legendary stadium has made it part of their baseball lore. The Yankees have Day-Oh, and the Twins? I say bring back the Tires Plus race to Target Field, or get the Geardaddies to rock out some Minnesota Country version of “Win Twins” but nothing will ever top STAR WARS blasting out after the 1987 home runs. Check that, maybe Star Wars blasting out after home runs with fireworks in an outdoor stadium?

Red Sox Bloggers from NESN make live comments as the Twins lose 2-1 at the City of Palms Park. It looks like Mauer and Morneau sat this one out, so they could be ready for tomorrow afternoon’s game at Hammond Stadium.

I have ran into several Red Sox fans, and they are all very vocal about the crappy park where their Sox hold Spring Training.  To a person, they all say that they like coming over to Hammond Stadium to watch the Twins because the tickets are easier to get. Go figure.

C’mon Twins fans, get down to Fort Myers and blog like crazy would ya?

One of things that always sort of bugs me when we are in Fort Myers is seeing very little (if any)  Twins merchandise on the shelves at the local stores.  Yesterday this oddity came to life with a bullet.

As you may know, it is cold in Florida.  Morning temps are in the 40′s, and the evening is as cool as softball fall leagues. This hot chocolate and Scnapps weather; the only thing missing is a snow bank and outdoor ice.  That being said, I left my sweats in Minneapolis, so off to Dicks Sporting Goods we went yesterday morning.

I was lucky to find a nice pair of thick Nike’s in my size, and amazed at how fast I was able to procure them, so I thought I would go check out the local apparel section within Dicks and see if there was a Florida Gators hoodie  or something Seminole/Hurricane that I could bring back home with it.

As I walked to the rear section of the store, I was mildly shocked to see the shelves littered with Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays baseball gear. In the football area, there was some Tebow jerseys along with some anonymous Buccaneer, Jaguar and Dolphin players.  (Does David Gerrard play the Bucs now? There were like 50 jerseys on the clearance all donning his name.)

Much to my surprise, I saw just one  Brett Favre purple 4 jersey, and not any other piece of merchandise even remotely connected to the Twins, Vikings or State of Hockey.

“What’s up with the Twins discrimination in this store?” I asked the clerk at the checkout counter.

“It’s a regional thing,” she answered snarkily, “We only carry teams that are in our region.”

“Yankees, Red Sox? I didn’t know they played for Florida.” I replied.

“Well, they do Spring Training nearby, so we carry their items, too.”

“Don’t forget about the Twins. You should know that they have been here for Spring Training for 20 plus years. ”

“Oh, that’s right. ” she replied, “Maybe their shipment just hasn’t come in yet?”

Once again the East Coast bias reigns supreme in the East Coast. The good news though, is that at least the local TV stations seem fair in their broadcasts.  Each night the TV stations commit equal time to the daily activities of Red Sox and Twins Spring Training.  It fits in nicely with the breaking news about neighbors finding alligators in their back yards, or the occasional SUV finding it’s way into one of the many canals that wind their way through the area.

What about the one and only Favre jersey I found at Dick’s in Fort Myers?”

“Oh that was a returned item, she laughed.”