World Baseball Classic in ON

If soccer has the FIFA World Cup, baseball has the World Baseball Classic.

The tournament started this weekend in four cities across the globe.  Houston, Miami, San Juan, and Tokyo.  There are twenty teams from 20 countries participating - so if you ever wanted to see how Czechia would stack up against, say, Aaron Judge, this is your tournament.

No, I am not sure why they aren't playing in Europe, because the aforementioned Czechia as well as the Netherlands, Italy and England are in the tournament.  I assume its because they know Americans and Japanese fans will show up, and aren't sure about the people in Brussels or whatever.  

But hear me out - Mexico is insanely good.  Let them play at home.

It is *a lot* of baseball to try to watch - so we've been watching Japan, Puerto Rico, USA and - last night - Mexico.  No, I don't know exactly why Puerto Rico has their own team, nor why Chinese Taipei has its own team, but not China.  

The make-up of the teams is fascinating.  Baseball is a big concern in some of the participating/ qualified countries, and less so in others.  The US has good participation from top-tier players, so look for Bregman, Schwarber, Bryce Harper, etc...  There's issues with getting pitchers to play, but one thing we have a lot of in this world is pitchers, so we're covered.  But, yeah, apparently there are insurance issues, etc... by saying you'll play a tournament before the official MLB season starts.  

You'll also see familiar players from, say, Mexico (Kirk is Mexican, for example, which I did not know).  

Japan has MLB marquee talent - you're going to know these guys.  Ohtani, one of the best to ever pick up a bat, is there.  My guy Suzuki from the Cubs is there (and hitting dingers).

But who are the players from Australia?  Italy?  Who picks up a baseball in Brasil instead of a soccer ball?  I know one team I watched play, they had a 17 year old kid out there pitching - and he was *good*.  Talk about getting scouted.

The mood in the stands is celebratory.  In Japan, between the acoustics of the Tokyo Dome and enthusiasm for the sport, it sounds more like a futbol game than a Sunday at the ballpark.  In Houston when Mexico was playing, it was a raucous crowd.  Italy has an Espresso maker in the dugout?  Everyone is bringing their own vibe to the games.

If you happen to see this on March 9th - you're going to want to tune in for the US/ Mexico game on Fox at 8:00 Eastern.  I promise, it'll be a good time.

Texas Woman's Basketball Wins the SEC Tournament

On Sunday, March the 8th, Texas Women's Basketball won the SEC Tournament.  

It's been a rip-roaring season, and we still have a whole Bracket to get through in the NCAA tournament - but this is huge.  The Longhorns beat Ol' Miss and Dawn Staley's mighty South Carolina to take the trophy.  

It's funny - I have different circles of people I talk to about different sports.  Jamie is there for all but soccer, Jill I text during WNBA games.  I have a group chat for UT football. But JAL is who I text during women's college basketball games.  And other times, my mom - who does not miss a minute of UT Women's Basketball.  And my cousin Sue will chime in sometimes.  

We had a birthday lunch for The Karebear today, and I think we were both looking at our watches to make sure we were out of there for a 2:00ish tip off.  

Jamie decided it was too stressful at halftime and went and sat on the porch with Emmylou.  

Anyway, just wanted to drop a note here and celebrate a huge win!  Texas didn't just win, they won decisively.  An astounding effort by everyone.  Longhorns played with so much heart, as they say, it was astounding to watch.  

Unrivaled (3-on-3 Basketall) Season Ends - Mist Doesn't Miss

The night of March 4th saw the finale of the second season of Unrivaled Basketball, the 3-on-3 women's basketball league. 

If I can be candid - I think they're really onto something.  I don't think it should replace the WNBA, I still like 5-person teams.  But it's like snack-sized basketball in a format that's easily consumable and makes a lot of sense - and is designed by actual WNBA players, not nerds beholden to interests off the court.  

Our champions were Mist who narrowly defeated Phantom, after narrowly defeating The Vinyl.  And that's the kind of spirit it takes to be a Championship team.  Because the season is so short, the bracket was played in single-elimination rounds, so no "best of seven".  If you don't win the game, you go home.

DITMTLOD: Ice Skating, Ice Capades and The 1992 Winter Olympics

We haven't done a DITMTLOD post in a long, long time, but here we go.

Gisela Head

I have a memory of the first time I saw a woman, who was not Princess Leia, as "attractive".  Who knows what word I had in my head?  I was probably around three years old, but it was such a weird idea at the time - that until I hit the ages where finding girls a great idea - I did not quite understand what that was all about. 

At the time, the Ice Capades were still very much a staple of American culture.  Younger readers will only know the post-Ice Capades world of "Disney on Ice" or "Muppets on Ice".  At one point, I know our family took in a mix of "The Ice Capades" and "Smurfs on Ice".  

The Ice Capades were essentially an odd relic of the Zeigfeld Follies/ Vaudeville shows that had died out decades prior with radio, film and television.  Why go out for singing and dancing and some comedy when Our Show of Shows was readily available or Ed Sullivan could show you Broadway, comedy and an opera star in one hour?  But on ice?  

For some reason, that lasted until the mid 1990's

Weekly Rewind - 02/15/2026

baby's first tooth brushing

Happy post Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day kind of came and went.  It's just not either my favorite holiday nor Jamie's.  It's expensive and a hassle.  We stayed in, had a pizza and watched a movie I did not like at all.  Jamie gave me a fun card.

This was our 30th Valentine's Day together, and every year we remember our miserable first Valentine's Day sitting in freezing weather outside waiting for a table, only to then be sat outside near one of those gas burners, which did nothing.  

It's a bunk holiday.

Steven and Lauren and young Alexander Come to Town

Weekly Rewind Week of 02/08/2026

Mayalsia arrives via BoomTube to the Winter Olympics

Well, the Olympics are Back

We'll be hiding out for the next two weeks or so while the Winter Olympics take front and center in Jamie's mind.  

I'm more of a track and field guy/ Summer Olympics fan, but I figured out well before we got married - Jamie loves the Winter Olympics, in part because she went years ago in Canada, and in part because she loves figure skating.  But I'll kind of watch whatever sport at least for a while.  And because we have Peacock, we've been watching lots of the games - but I admit, I have a rough time saying "let's watch 3.5 hours of a preliminary round of Curling".  

But I did watch, like, the US Women beat Finland in Hockey, some curling, some downhill skiing, some other stuff, and lots of skating.  And thanks to living with Jamie I know a whole lot of the skaters and what their deal is - especially as she's been watching all the competitions leading up to the Olympics.  

Weekly Rewind 02/01/2026 - Elliptical, Cooking, Movies, Basketball

Emmylou getting toasty

Exercise is Hard

I awoke Sunday morning, remembering - to my horror - that I'd told myself I'd start really exercising again on February 1. 

The goal is to get back to the gym 3-4x a week, use our home elliptical and do my little floor routine of weights and crunches and whatnot while also walking Emmylou in the mornings in summer and evenings in winter.  

Weekly Rewind - Week of 01/18/2026: Symphony, Pal Check In, Unrivaled Basketball, Reality TV

Jamie works on a puzzle while Emmylou watches over us both

Jamie is working on a puzzle I got her months ago - a 1000 piece picture of Wrigley Field from the press booth, I believe.  Emmylou has been less than thrilled that it means Jamie is not on the sofa with her.  She has made a nest on a different sofa to keep an eye on the world.

A Night at the Symphony

Weekly Rewind - Week Ending 01/11/2025

I have some reading to do

I got a Crown.  No, the un-fun kind

I've been going to the same dentist since about 2022, I'd guess.  They're very close to my house and I like all the staff and the owner-dentist.

Since I showed up, they'd been hemming and hawing over my back, left molar.  Before Christmas, I was in for a cleaning, and a tech said "the doctor wants to talk to you about getting that crown...".  

Pals, there had been no prior crown consultation, but I knew where this was headed.  Which... you know, I'm at the point in life where I'm throwing car-payment money at my body to keep it going, it seems.

My primary concern was that the last time I had to get a crown, which was at the start of COVID, it took *forever*.  I watched all of Into the Spider-Verse while they did the procedure.  During that time, I learned all about going to one's happy place when you're trapped and masked people are going Marathon Man on you.

Anyway - I left that dentist for a few reasons and found this new one.  

I am happy to say the procedure took, like, 13 minutes?  The dentist was timing herself and clearly got the blues that it took, in her words, so long.  She believed one should be able to do that procedure in under 10 minutes, but that tooth was weird (apparently not lined up correctly, and was more messed up than they assumed, so it was breaking).

I wore my own sunglasses instead of theirs.

Behind me is the tech who was making my temporary crown while I waited.  My face is completely numb here, and I can't focus the left eye properly.

Anyhoo...  I was in and out in under an hour with a temporary crown.  Back in a week for the final, actual crown.

If you need a dentist in South Austin, I have a rec.

Okay... NOW Christmas is over

We finally took down the outdoor lights on Sunday.  Jamie had unplugged them on Tuesday, deciding we were being ridiculous.

I am glad to have the lights down and a foot in working order so I could climb the ladder, help out more, etc...  It also led to some organizing in the garage.  

I'm also trying to get out with Emmylou for a mile and half every day and see if I can't get that foot in order.  Things seem okay?  And the more I walk on it, the better it seems to be.  I do think there's something about driving that the foot doesn't love, but that may be unused muscles pulling on the foot if I drive any distance.

With the holidays done, I am also looking to try to eat a bit better.  And Saturday night wrecked that as we had a lovely dinner at Nicole and Matt's for Juan's birthday.  Between the coquito and spice cake and food, it was a lot.  But!  Did better today and will hopefully do better tomorrow.

And I walked 3 miles, all-told, with the chores.

Currently reading:

Trying to start reading more again in 2026, and using this blog to hold myself accountable.

• resumed that 1960's Austin crime book as an audio-book
• picked up the collection I was given for Christmas and am reading Doll by Ed McBain
• I asked Howard for a rec on a sci-fi book, as no one will know more than him.  So after Doll I will read the doorstop that is Children of of Time

Sports report

Skating

I watched an inordinate amount of ice skating this weekend.  It's sort of Jamie's thing, and so it is my thing.  There will be more skating updates as the winter olympics are in February.

Football

How about da Bears?  I watched the second half of that game, assuming Green Bay had it in the bag.  When people ask "why watch sports?" I'd suggest "watch a game like this and tell me football can't be great."

UT Longhorns Women's Basketball

Lady Horns suffered their first loss of the season, 20 games in.  LSU is well coached, and they played at home.  It's two very good teams and UT just didn't look fired up in the first quarter - like LSU just knew how to shut them down.  Bit of a bummer, but you hope it's a learning experience and they get back to winning.

I never talk about comics or my comic shop anymore

I think I don't like to talk about collecting comics anymore as I am 99.999997% sure no one really cares.  It's just a thing I do, like how you do sudoku or chainsaw sculpture.  You're generally aware I hoard funnybooks, but it's background noise.

What I don't talk about is that my comic shop, Austin Books & Comics, is an ever-growing, ever-evolving sort of operation.  But, hey, they got named on MSN.com as one of 15 stores in the country you have to see.  And, I agree!  

I've been a customer at ABC since probably 1985 or 1986.  I am unsure when I talked KareBear into driving us into town so I could buy comics.  The same thing I could get at Piggly Wiggly and Skaggs Alpha-Beta (which I did as well), but I wanted prior issues.  

Shortly after we moved back from Phoenix, I put up a post about shopping at Austin Books, and Brad reached out to me.  We've been friendly ever since, and I like to check in with he and Brandon when I'm in.  These days I only hit the shop once per month - the need for the weekly haul is no longer what it was.  Plus I live 30 minutes away with no traffic.  I basically need a gap of 2.5 hours where no one is looking for me for a successful trip.

In the past twenty years, ABC has expanded and taken over most of the strip center where it's  been located since the 1970's.  There's (1) the main shop - comics, magazines, and the best back-issue selection I've ever seen.  And which is partially why I'm poor.  They have (2) Guzu Gallery, which is an art gallery, oddities and art-object store.  It's super fun.  (3) Austin Books and Games is where you can find vintage toys, and new and older games - role-playing, table-top and card.  It's nifty.  And, some time back, they re-opened the Sidekick Store on weekends.  Basically, it's unorganized back-issues, mostly unbagged and unboarded - it's stock they find from collectors, stores, etc...  the deal is, they sell it for less than market rate because you're essentially doing the hunting and finding.  

Anyway, stop on in.  It's a terrifically well run outfit, and I challenge you to talk to the staff and not find *something* you won't find super cool.

Weekly Rewind - Week Ending 01/04/2025

when you're being gently reminded it is time for walkies

Holidays are (Mostly) Over

In the pic above, you can see the boxes containing our Christmas trees waiting to be taken out to the garage.  

Dodgers Win World Series in 10 innings in Game 7

After the Cubs lost out to the Brewers in the NLDS, I wasn't sure if I'd stick with MLB through the post-season (but I always do these days).  

As a Cubs guy, I mostly follow National League, but was vaguely aware the Blue Jays, over in the American League, were having a great season.  I was also aware the Dodgers had loaded themselves up with talent valued the highest in the MLB and some of the best players plucked from Japan on their roster.  

You can choose to be jealous of other teams having Shohei Ohtani or enjoy watching one of the best to ever do it get to do his thing.  And that's true now of Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound as well.  But the team came in at a highly respectable .574 entering the playoffs in a competitive NL West.  

TL;DR: WNBA, The Fever's Insane Season and Collier Calls Out the Commish

Collier ponders coming for the Queen

Growing up, I watched mostly NBA basketball.  It was the era of The Lakers and Celtics when I started.  The Pistons were my team for a couple of years just to annoy Lakers fans, but I loved the Lakers (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was my favorite player), and eventually the Spurs and Suns.  I also watched the NFL on and off there for a while.  

But over the years, I've been more than happy to get into different sports.  I came very late to baseball, and y'all know I now watch a considerable amount of Cubs. I've watched Major League Soccer and National Women's Soccer League, and very much wish Austin had a women's NWLS team.

I recall the early days on the WNBA and feeling it was generally a great idea. Austin was a town where women's collegiate basketball was more important than men's as the University of Texas women's team generally did very well, and everyone likes a winner.  And I always thought it was dumb that American players had no pro league (of their own).

Flash forward to the 00's when we lived in Phoenix, and I liked going to see The Mercury.  It was inexpensive, the fans were nuts, and the play was solid.  I was there when Taurasi showed up to much fanfare, and then showed why Phoenix was so excited to get her.

But...  TV coverage of WNBA has always been spotty at best.  And when something isn't easily accessible, you kind of lose track of it.  And WNBA got back-burnered by ESPN.  You might be flipping channels on a weekend afternoon and see a game, but not much else.  And it never got mixed in with the Sports Center level coverage.  Because why talk about a whole league when you can make up stories about what's happening in football in the off-season.

WNBA, NWSL and Cubs - Summertime Sports

Kayla Thornton of the Golden State Valkyries

I don't really think of myself as a "sports guy", but it is true that I watch *a lot* of sports.  Apparently I am that guy, in my way.

Cubs Baseball

PCA bringing the Mariah Carey magic

The Chicago Cubs have had a good spring, and as we roll into summer, if injuries don't diminish the roster too much, we could be quite good this season.  While acquired talent like the Astros' Kyle Tucker have been huge boons to the team, our returning roster is looking better and happier than the past two or three seasons.  Pete Crow-Armstrong in Center Field is batting like crazy, Seiya Suzuki is batting a reliable .262 and has at least 13 home runs.  Both of our catchers, Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly, can hit, so it doesn't matter who is in on any given game day. Seiya also looks to be the lead for .RBI's across MLB at the moment.

I know the season is a grind, but it's fun while it's fun.  

Cubs Baseball Has Wildest Game

I love a box score that tells an insane story.  

I was not watching yesterday, just checking the score online, and things were getting nuts.  So while I worked on some things, I noted that the game was going bananas and tuned in.

But that box score couldn't tell the whole story.  From @OptaSTATS

Condensed game from Marquee Network below:

SEC Champions! UT Women's Basketball Game - 03/02/2025

your geniuses at work

On Sunday, March 2, we headed to the University of Texas campus to catch the UT Women’s Basketball team play in the final game of the year. I thought I was being a smart boy and bought tickets for my parents, Jamie and myself. 

This week is my mom’s birthday, and my parents are both alumnae of the University of Florida, who we were playing. I called to surprise them, and they informed me they’d already purchased tickets to the same game. This is how things work at my house. 

Steanso, The Niece and Yours Truly

So, Sunday afternoon my mom and cousin met up with me and Jamie, and then Steanso's family.  We had seats in separate sections, but it worked out.

Longhorns Surprisingly Good Season Ends at the Cotton Bowl - and Year One in the SEC

A few years ago, my alma mater, former employer and preferred college sports program - the University of Texas - announced that they were leaving the Big 12 Conference for the SEC.  I hated this decision then, and I hate it now.  In fact, it's fair to say the past fifteen years have seen me come to really dislike the "business" of college football, including NIL deals and the way the tail is now wagging the dog on college campuses - even as I totally get that there are people who will genuinely believe universities only exist so we can have football.*

My beef with the move to the SEC stemmed from my belief this was shortsighted and only benefited one of the many NCAA sports in which the university competes, while also punishing the athletes, who now had to travel across the continent every time the Longhorns had a match, meet or game.  Which is fine if you only play on Saturdays in the Fall semester, but sports like Volleyball, Soccer, Tennis, Swimming, etc... would have to *also* travel like this, and be in their Econ 302 class by 10:00 AM the following day.  Despite whatever money Quinn Ewers made this year from Dr. Pepper, these athletes are still students.

US Women's National Team (soccer) comes to town! We went!

Hey, friendos.  

Jamie and I went to see the US Women's National Team (in soccer) play Iceland this evening at Austin's Q2 Stadium where we usually take in Austin FC.  

The game started a tad early - 6:40 or so.  And so we drove in rush-hour traffic all the way from Lower Austin to Howard Lane to catch the train to Q2.  The drive:  terrible.  The train - amazing.

lightrail!  It works!

I've liked to try to follow the USWNT since being completely won over by the team in the 1999 World Cup.  Brandi Chastain's goal is, in my book, one of the great sports moments of my lifetime.  I followed the team through the Mia Hamm era, Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan...  The US women tend to dominate globally for a variety of reasons.  However, the World Cup in 2023 did not go our way.  But!  the current line-up under coach Emma Hayes won Gold in the 2024 Olympics, and is... great.

So, yeah, finally getting to see this team is 25 years in the making, for me.  Also, Austin needs an NWSL expansion team.  Just saying. 

Jamie has watched USWNT with me since 1999, and so getting to go to this together is real partner stuff for us.

For posterity, here was our starting XI.

Not bad, right?  I've wanted to see Rose Lavelle play for a long time - but this whole line-up was pretty awesome.  (spoiler: Lavelle did not disappoint - nor did anyone)

Birthday 2023 - The Anti-Vibe, Very Good B-Day Week

Wednesday was my birthday.  The celebration lasted a full week as we had some neighbors over last Saturday, and this week we went to see Austin FC play Vancouver.  In the middle was the big day.  I'm now 48.  

Holy cats.

The League Goes to Austin FC's first Play-Off Match

Sunday, October 16th, I attended my first Austin FC match at Q2 Stadium here in sunny Austin, Texas.  

This was a somewhat unlikely event.  I've tried many times to get into soccer, but it never really worked for me.  European leagues play on European time, and I don't speak Spanish to keep up with the best soccer in my hemisphere.  And, honestly, cable has usually done a terrible job of covering MLS, the US's soccer equivalent of the NBA or MLB.  Over the years I was more interested in the US Women's National Team - because of the best sports-watching moments of my life is and always will be Brandi Chastain's penalty kick in the 1999 FIFA World Cup (yeah, the one that ended with Chastain whipping off her jersey).  That moment made a 24-year-old me cry.

Anyway, I was astoundingly skeptical of Austin taking on an MLS team.  It was originally pitched very badly by the owners looking to move here,  They made some weird moves along the way - like trying to just say they were going to build their stadium on highly utilized public land in incredibly dense areas of town, something not agreed upon by City Council or anyone else.  It would have created innumerable issues from traffic to environmental, and was kind of ugly and brazen, demonstrating they did not know Austin and did not share the values of Austinites.  

You don't just drop a massive stadium on Town Lake and think no one will notice.

UT Longhorn Volleyball Fought Hard

Man, that was a heart-breaker. Not only did we have to say good-bye to Steven and Lauren, but the National Volleyball Championship was on TV with our UT Longhorns. Unfortunately, despite winning the first two games, Penn State came from behind to win. Here.

I say... oh, well. UT kicked ass. They played amazingly well against an equal opponent, and the games were very close.

I've been pretty focused on football, but the Longhorns had an amazing season by any standard. Heartbreakingly close to a National Title, but they made a fan out of me. Next year, I'm definitely hanging out on Wednesdays to go to the games.