Baseball and civility

A couple of days ago, a fight broke out between Texas Rangers players and fans in Oakland. During the melee, a player, Frank Francisco, threw a plastic chair in the stands and hit a woman in the nose, injuring her. Her husband, who had started the whole thing by heckling, was standing in front of his wife to "protect" her. When he saw the chair coming, he ducked, and the chair hit his wife in the face instead.

While I feel strongly that it was totally wrong for that chair to be thrown ("Hey, Mom, look! Just like Bobby Knight!"), it's hard to have sympathy for a fan who has season tickets over the opposing team's bullpen just to heckle the players.

And what kind of wuss is he -- "protecting" his wife by standing in front of her, but ducking when the chair was thrown? Unlike her, he saw it coming. Perhaps if he's stood his ground and been "a man" he would have been able to deflect it or catch it. Fans who act like that, though, are a bunch of losers, but so are players who let themselves get sucked into a fight.

Good grief! IT'S A GAME, people! Lighten up! Those players get obscene amounts of money to play a non-contact sport. (Well, unless you're playing in Oakland, apparently.) Fans pay to watch the game -- it seems to me they should be watching and appreciating their own team's playing abilities, not spending their time trying to anger the other team. Do they do this at Little League games, too?

Sportsmanship not only includes players, but should include fan conduct. Certainly a little heckling is expected, but it seems to me that it should be reactionary to the play on the field. That's what was good about the Brett Boone quotes you used -- it showed how fans will react.

But to go specifically to heckle the other team? Huh. That's just plain stupid. (And yes, the "s" word is a "jail word" in our house. But sometimes, there's just not a better word....)

I would enjoy being the judge on this one, but wouldn't it have been even more fun to see this one go into night court?

(former) President Clinton & his bypass surgery

I was dismayed and worried today when the news about Bill Clinton's heart disease unfolded. It was especially worrisome the way it was done, of course, with the news flash, "Former President Clinton in hospital with chest pains!" screamed the notes.

But as it all shook out, it turns out that things are very much under control, and that the recommended quadruple bypass surgery was recommended, and will be performed, before any heart attack could occur. So of course he's in the hospital, he's getting ready for surgery.

Naturally Senator Clinton, and Chelsea, went to be with him, and, naturally, Hillary made a statement. But I slapped my desk and cried, "Go, Hillary!" when I read this quote:

“... We’re delighted we have good health insurance. That makes a big difference. And I hope someday everybody will be able to say the same thing.”

Health care remains at a crisis in this country, and the Republicans, who now have a president who seems to be vaguely pledging to actually do something about affordable health care, without mentioning how to pay for it or when, spent eight years fighting reasonable health care reform, and insulting the First Lady.

I am praying for Bill Clinton, as should everyone. No matter how common bypass surgery is, there is always a risk. I don't think this country is ready to lose Bill Clinton.

It's too bad he won't be able to campaign for John Kerry for a while. But. perhaps, this will slow down the critics from saying nasty things about Clinton, and indirectly help the Kerry-Edwards campaign.