Los Angeles
CHANGE MY LOCATION
Mychael Urban
Make the most of your journey to the Valley of Fun
- Games are just getting under way in the Cactus League this week, and if you had the foresight to plan a trip to Arizona for spring training several weeks — or even months — ago, good for you. You’ve no doubt saved a lot of money on a variety of fronts (hotel rates, air fare, tickets, etc.).
- Games are just getting under way in the Cactus League this week, and if you had the foresight to plan a trip to Arizona for spring training several weeks — or even months — ago, good for you. You’ve no doubt saved a lot of money on a variety of fronts (hotel rates, air fare, tickets, etc.).
Urban: Local teams could get better with help
- Can’t decide what’s more enjoyable: Watching Monta Ellis hitting the lane at full speed or listening to Amy Winehouse’s Grammy-sweeping CD. Pure genius both, but hearing my 3-year-old daughter sing, “They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said, ‘No, no, no!’” makes me feel parentally wrong, so the magnificence of Monta gets the nod.
- Can’t decide what’s more enjoyable: Watching Monta Ellis hitting the lane at full speed or listening to Amy Winehouse’s Grammy-sweeping CD. Pure genius both, but hearing my 3-year-old daughter sing, “They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said, ‘No, no, no!’” makes me feel parentally wrong, so the magnificence of Monta gets the nod.
Urban: Grama knows best — USF has hill to climb
- If you’ve read this column with any regularity, you’ve likely read occasional references to the 94-year-old angel that is my paternal grandmother, Ruth Urban. Everyone in my extended family calls her “Grama,” and that’s obviously not unusual, but what is unusual is that all of my friends — and the friends of most of my extended family — call her the same thing. “Ruth” just doesn’t feel right. “Grama” does, because she’s the type of wise, warm and elderly woman who embodies everyone’s romanticized notion of a grandmother. This being Valentine’s Day and all, romanticism is all the rage, but the beauty of it for me is that I don’t have to romanticize. Grama’s the real deal, and one of the 37 million or so things about her that amaze me is the clarity and appropriate perspective with which she views sports.
- If you’ve read this column with any regularity, you’ve likely read occasional references to the 94-year-old angel that is my paternal grandmother, Ruth Urban. Everyone in my extended family calls her “Grama,” and that’s obviously not unusual, but what is unusual is that all of my friends — and the friends of most of my extended family — call her the same thing. “Ruth” just doesn’t feel right. “Grama” does, because she’s the type of wise, warm and elderly woman who embodies everyone’s romanticized notion of a grandmother. This being Valentine’s Day and all, romanticism is all the rage, but the beauty of it for me is that I don’t have to romanticize. Grama’s the real deal, and one of the 37 million or so things about her that amaze me is the clarity and appropriate perspective with which she views sports.
Urban: Sports and politics are closer than you think
- It’s been said that some of our country’s best writers are sportswriters, and that’s certainly the case in many places. Of course, you could easily make the argument that some of our worst writers are sportswriters, and you’d have a strong case there, too.The problem these days is that it seems like everyone wants to be a sportswriter — or at the very least traffic in the same tired cliches as do some of the truly bad sports scribes. And you need look no further than the recent coverage of the presidential primaries.
- It’s been said that some of our country’s best writers are sportswriters, and that’s certainly the case in many places. Of course, you could easily make the argument that some of our worst writers are sportswriters, and you’d have a strong case there, too.The problem these days is that it seems like everyone wants to be a sportswriter — or at the very least traffic in the same tired cliches as do some of the truly bad sports scribes. And you need look no further than the recent coverage of the presidential primaries.
Urban: Hey, Bay Area fans: Get over it
- Still chafed that Chris Daughtry didn’t win “American Idol”? Get over it. He did, and he went on to sell millions of records.
- Still chafed that Chris Daughtry didn’t win “American Idol”? Get over it. He did, and he went on to sell millions of records.
Urban: Giants, A’s have some hope — just not much
- The respective fan bases of our Bay Area baseball teams are, for the most part, predicting doom and gloom, with a strong chance of 100 losses, in their 2008 forecasts.
- The respective fan bases of our Bay Area baseball teams are, for the most part, predicting doom and gloom, with a strong chance of 100 losses, in their 2008 forecasts.
Urban: No need for punishment
- When facing a major decision, there’s a very simple question you should always ask:
Urban: There's still winners, losers in offseason
- While the ridiculous length of the NBA and NHL playoffs suggest otherwise, it’s baseball that has the shortest offseason. In fact, the game doesn’t have an offseason at all. They just don’t play any games for a while.Actually, that’s not entirely true, either. As evidenced by the Mitchell Report, the subsequent Roger Clemens affair, the annual gripe-inducing announcement of the Hall of Fame vote and the deception-rife Hot Stove action, there are games aplenty being played. There just aren’t any box scores in the morning.
- While the ridiculous length of the NBA and NHL playoffs suggest otherwise, it’s baseball that has the shortest offseason. In fact, the game doesn’t have an offseason at all. They just don’t play any games for a while.Actually, that’s not entirely true, either. As evidenced by the Mitchell Report, the subsequent Roger Clemens affair, the annual gripe-inducing announcement of the Hall of Fame vote and the deception-rife Hot Stove action, there are games aplenty being played. There just aren’t any box scores in the morning.
Some gift ideas for the holiday season
- If Santa Claus has any pull whatsoever in the sports world, he’ll grant the following Christmas wishes: » An undefeated season for the New England Patriots: Their coach is impossible to like and it’s hard to forgive Randy Moss for his two-year tank job in Oakland. If New England loses a game, however, we’ll again be subjected to the pathetic sight of the 1972 Miami Dolphins gleefully toasting one another. Don’t these guys have grandkids to play with or something?
- If Santa Claus has any pull whatsoever in the sports world, he’ll grant the following Christmas wishes: » An undefeated season for the New England Patriots: Their coach is impossible to like and it’s hard to forgive Randy Moss for his two-year tank job in Oakland. If New England loses a game, however, we’ll again be subjected to the pathetic sight of the 1972 Miami Dolphins gleefully toasting one another. Don’t these guys have grandkids to play with or something?
Urban: A bad season, or two, could help Giants
- Signing Aaron Rowand to patrol center field at AT&T Park for the next five years is a great start for the Giants, mostly because it didn’t cost them any young pitching.
- Signing Aaron Rowand to patrol center field at AT&T Park for the next five years is a great start for the Giants, mostly because it didn’t cost them any young pitching.
Urban: Winter meetings are little more than hot air
- It’s official: Baseball’s winter meetings are useless.
- It’s official: Baseball’s winter meetings are useless.
Urban: Hot Stove meetings finally getting spicier
- Loose lips sink ships, we’re told, but the New Guard in big-league baseball apparently disagrees. It’s decided that loose lips are a good thing.
- Loose lips sink ships, we’re told, but the New Guard in big-league baseball apparently disagrees. It’s decided that loose lips are a good thing.
Contrary to belief, plenty to be thankful for in Bay Area sports
- Today, we give thanks for family, friends, good health, good fortune and guilty pleasures such as cookie-dough ice cream and “I Love New York 2.” We have plenty for which to be thankful in the world of sports, too, and here are some examples:
- Today, we give thanks for family, friends, good health, good fortune and guilty pleasures such as cookie-dough ice cream and “I Love New York 2.” We have plenty for which to be thankful in the world of sports, too, and here are some examples:
