The Twig is Burning...

On most weekdays between 11am and 2pm, I'm at work. Yesterday was different, however, as Fort Bend ISD threw its employees a bone, and gave us the day off. Around lunch time, I went to Schlotzsky's Deli and headed to Kayla's school to meet her for lunch. On my way to Westbury, I had the misfortune to realize that my two choices for sports talk radio were occupied by "The Herd" on ESPN Radio, and Jim Rome on Sports Talk 610. It's been previously documented on JAT how much Jig (y'all remember him, right?) despises listening to these two, and until yesterday, I didn't really get it.

I do now. An inexact excerpt from Rome's show:

"So yeah...Here's a story that's crazy. So bizarre. So ree-dik-u-lus...it's hard to believe (two second pause) Can't make this stuff up. Here goes...Some teenagers in Kingwood, Texas. Get this...dug up a grave (three second pause) Cut off this corpse's head. And. Check it out. Used the skull...as a bong. I guess we should call it KingWEED, Texas. Ha. Now I remember some crazy pot stories from the dorms back at UCSB in '85, but this. Wow. How bad off must those kids have been to use a skull. As a bong? What, was there no coke can available? No apple? No paper? (three second pause) I used to work at a newsstand as a teenager. We threw out all the unbought magazines at the end of the week. We ordered like 20 Vogue magazines, sold three a week. Threw out 17. Know what magazine always sold out? Right, High Times. I get the smoking part, but buying a magazine so you can watch someone smoke? I don't get it. Ree-dic-u-lus. (insufferably long pause) And you want to tell me pot isn't addictive...Right, it just makes people dig up a grave. Go Dahmer on a dead person. Please."

Thanks for that, JR. Glad to know I can get a good pot story on a sports talk radio show.

For those who care: Frank Caliendo's impression of Rome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s8BZjcP3qU&feature=related

I won't get too much into the Rangers/Mariners brawl from Thursday, as there isn't too much left to say. Anyone who saw it know that Sexon totally wigged out, and was way out of line to charge the mound, so I won't really touch on that.

However, I will point out one thing that all the TV shows haven't hit on yet: how Ian Kinsler took his beaning like a man.

For whatever reason, Kinsler seems to be the guy who gets all the retaliation from opposing pitchers. Yet even though he knows what's coming, he stands in the box and doesn't even blink as the pitch is headed his way.


As soon as he's hit he stares down the pitcher for a second, and takes his base. That's tough, that's old-school, and that's why, along with his striking resemblance to former GSP president Bert McCall, he's close to becoming my all-time favorite Ranger, moving past Will Clark and Rusty Greer.

So here's to you, Ian Kinsler, for understanding baseball and taking your hits like a man, unlike the ever-underachieving Richie Sexon.



In closing, and continuing with the Texas Rangers theme, I leave you with a troubling story by JAT's new favorite writer, Jeff Pearlman:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pearlman/080508

-Twig