Pretty Nice

As the 50th anniversary of the 1960 World Series approaches, sports thrills are threatening to be more than memories. I recall in the mid 1990s sitting in the Three Rivers Stadium sunshine watching the Pittsburgh Pirates clinch their division championship. The crowd was pleased but underwhelmed. It was expected (as was the yearly heartbreak of losing to Atlanta in the playoffs.) But that was the last time Pittsburgh got even that far, and it's unlikely to happen again for a long while.

But I'm up in far northern California now, and now south there's the San Francisco Giants, clearly thrilling their fans in this latest homestand, as they've been suddenly winning while competitors were stumbling, and they've clinched at least a tie for the division title. They need to win just 1 of their last 3 games, all against the current second place team--and division leader just last month--the San Diego Padres. Saturday and Sunday games are already sold out.

I've only seen one Giants game in that stadium, the last year (in the Bonds era) they won their division, and lost the World Series in heartbreaking fashion. It's a fun place to see baseball, and the fans were especially great. Reminded me of Forbes Field in Pittsburgh when I was a kid. Wish I was down there this weekend.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, how bout them Steelers? How do you figure this--their fourth string quarterback piles up 38 points and they are one of the last 3 undefeated teams in the NFL. The only thing giddier than that would be if they beat their most potent rival Baltimore this Sunday, before their bye week and Big Ben comes back to trounce the Browns. Good times.