... I believe there ought to be a consitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter ... Bull Durham



I ran across the quotation at Karl Martino's site paradox1x and it reminded me of the strike date looming at the end of the month for Major League Baseball. A bothersome prospect and perhaps another blow to the game's position in American life, although some people would maintain that the integrity of professional baseball was permanently befouled when the National and American Leagues were broken into divisions in 1969. Others might claim that the victory of the "Miracle Mets" in 1969 was enough to justify the new arrangement.



A train of thought and a different sport.



Remember that the New York Mets won that World Championship (in five games) over Baltimore. And it was another team from Baltimore that, at the beginning of 1969, was the heavy favorite to defeat another team from New York. But it didn't turn out quite that way. Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath. Representative of something more than their teams and their cities.



Who Lost Super Bowl III?

by Geoffrey Colvin was printed in City Journal in 1995. You shouldn't have missed it then. Read it now.