The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Spring in the step
Jerry Hinnen
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2008
I guess I'm breaking with tradition this spring.
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At the start of every other season since I began cranking out "Fun and Games" in August 2006, I've written a column titled "You Should be Fan," detailing why readers should take the time to attend their local high school cross country meet or wrestling match or tennis tournament.
But as I'm sitting at my desk on a Friday afternoon with the window open, the perfectly proverbial "gentle breeze" gliding past, and the sun shining in a way I'd forgotten it could sometime around late February, I feel like I don't really have to make much of an argument this go-round.
If you'd rather stay indoors, say, watching that one episode of "Friends" you've seen a dozen times already instead of spending a few hours basking in the long-awaited glorious sunshine, I'm not sure I can say anything to convince you.
That doesn't mean I'm not going to point out exactly how much I enjoyed my return this week to honest-to-God spring sports this week after that recent two-week vacation of mine you may have heard about. (A quick aside for all those who have congratulated me on said "vacation": Thanks!)
After coming back late (and I do mean late) Monday, I was able to make Milan's Tuesday afternoon track meet against Riverview and Saline's Thursday afternoon baseball double-header against Pioneer. Both were outside in the sun. Both saw the "good guys" come out on top. Spending a few hours with each with a grin on my face was probably the closest I'll come to knowing what a bear feels like when he finally rolls out of his cave after his long hibernation and catches his first salmon. (Or something like that.)
But, as always with sports, it wasn't just about the sunshine or the happy ending. There were tons, oodles, a laundry list of reasons to enjoy both sporting events that had nothing to do with the weather (as much as it helped) or the outcome. For instance:
• Milan distance runner Jordan Tomecek. I know it's juvenile and silly in the year 2008 to find it kind of cool when a girl beats a boy at something, but, yeah, when Tomecek was lapping a couple of the Pirates' boys in the 3,200-meter run, that was kind of cool.
• The Pioneer public address guy referring repeatedly to Saline infielder/ pitcher Adam Clements as "Adam Clemente," prompting a few "Let's go, Clemente" and "Come on, Clemente" hoots from the dugout.
It's amusing more than annoying for two reasons: First, Adam Clemente sounds like one heck of a baseball player, doesn't he? And secondly, it's a nice reminder after a long year away from it of how much I enjoy baseball chatter, the humor and character of which I believe is pretty much unique to baseball. It's good for the soul, somehow.
• Saline junior Josh Burd starts opposite Pioneer All-Everything, future Michigan Wolverine Bobby Brosnahan and finishes the game, without question, as the better pitcher. While Brosnahan walks back-to-back batters and follows up with a wild pitch to change the momentum of the game in the fifth (in which he's relieved), Burd goes all seven innings without giving up an earned run. I wish Brosnahan the best, but forgive me for enjoying the "upset" from the pitching perspective.
• For some strange reason, I seriously enjoy watching the high jump competition. Something about the bizarre contortions required to fling one's body completely over a bar set 6 feet off the ground, I guess. (The pole vault's cool, too.) And Milan's Eric Betts has those contortions, his Fosbury Flop, down pat. It's fun to watch.
• The Milan concession stand is offering something I don't remember seeing before — a "walking taco." A walking taco (since you asked) consists of a good-sized portion of lettuce, cheese, and chili plopped into a single-serving bag of Fritos corn chips and eaten with a fork.
I'm imagining that my readers have just split into two camps, those who have just thought "Ugh, that sounds horrible," and those who thought "Wow, that sounds like a great idea." I'm here to tell those in the second camp: Yes, yes it is.
Were there another dozen reasons at both events you, Average Fan, should come out to the next one? Of course. But, as I said, the simplest one is just how good it feels to have spring sports — and spring itself — back in action.
Staff Writer Jerry Hinnen can be reached at 429-7380 or jhinnen@heritage.com.
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