“There Are All Sorts of Truths”

25 Thursday Apr 2013

Tags

"42", Jackie Robinson, Joe Posnanski, Read This & You'll Never Watch Baseball the Same Way, The Three Toughest Outs in Baseball, Tom Boswell

Readers of MillersTimes, or perhaps more specifically the GoSox portion of the the site, probably know by now that two of my favorite living, active sports’ writers are Tom Boswell and Joe Posnanski.

In fact, I think two of the best postings on GoSox, ones that I believe will change the way you look at baseball, were because of articles written be each one of these guys:

If you haven’t had a chance to read one or both of these, head there now.

If I am overstating the importance of the insights these two articles bring, feel free to let me know.

And as for this post and the title above, “There Are All Sorts of Truths”, I refer you to Joe Posnanski’s review of the new film 42 about Jackie Robinson.

I reviewed it earlier, “42” – A Home Run, and I stick by my review. But Posnanski fleshes out the film even further and explains, in more detail than did I, the strengths and weaknesses of the film.

Bottom line: he likes the film as an emotional, introduction to Jackie Robinson, but, he writes, “If you are looking for shades of gray storytelling about the most consequential sports story in American history, this isn’t your movie.”

Check out the review. It’s a good one.

Why Is Baseball So Much Better Than Football?

08 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

baseball, Football, Frank Deford, Tom Boswell

This question is a no brainer, of course.

But a friend recently gifted me an original of a January 18, 1987 Washington Post article by my sports’ writing diety, Thomas Boswell, on this very subject. I don’t remember having seen this particular article and thought I’d pass it along.

“Let Me Count the Ways,” Boswell wrote more than a quarter of a century ago, and then continued:

Some people say football’s the best game in America. Others say baseball.

Some people are really dumb.

Some people say all this is just a matter of taste. Others know better.

Some people can’t wait for next Sunday’s Super Bowl. Others wonder why.

Pro football is a great game. Compared to hockey. After all, you’ve gotta do something when the wind chill is zero and your curveball won’t break. But let’s not be silly. Compare the games? It’s a one-sided laugher. Here are the first 99 reasons why baseball is better than football. (More after lunch).

Now the list of his first 99 reasons.

My favorites are: 11 (especially if you add that Weaver was once thrown out of a game before the game even started), 21, 25, 54, 60, 64, 69, 70, 72, 91. And those don’t include the ones Boswell must have listed after lunch.

Which ones are your favorites? (List them in the Comment section below.)

Or even better, list your own reasons why Boswell is correct.

And while I’ve never claimed MillersTime is either fair or balanced (as far as my views on baseball are concerned), you can see this lame list of 25 Reasons Football Is Better. (Some of these seem to make Boswell’s case even stronger.)

Finally, Frank Deford, someone I had also held in high esteem in the world of sports’ writing, at least until I came across this article, sees it differently.

What say you?