Who among us living here in MN wants to watch at least one or two of the games someplace as a group? 

I suggested this last year, to no avail, and it was over very quickly in any case.  This year, I expect (well, hope anyway) things will be different. 

I live in St. Paul, so of course I'm going to be partial to the E. Metro.  That said, I'm definitely willing to entertain any suggestions anyone might have about either city or most inner-ring 'burbs.  And my work schedule has taken me on the road quite a bit of late, so if I'm even going to be around is always an open question.  Still, I thought I'd put this up just to see (a) if there's any interest, and (b) to provide it as a rallying point for the few other Cub fans here in the Cities.

Oh, and go Twins, sorta...

I found this by accident - I followed another blog's link to the NYT site and ran across this piece while I was wandering through. It's a opinion by Doug Glanville, former Cub draft pick

A couple pullquotes to whet the readers' appetites:

As I sat in my high school math class one day, my teacher asked a question that I doubt will find a consensus opinion in my lifetime: "Was math invented or was it discovered?" To this day, I still scratch my head. I (Doug Glanville, baseball player) was discovered — several years after that math class, but well before the phone rang a couple of minutes after six on an evening in June 1991. My junior year of college had just ended and I knew that the closer it rang to 6:00 p.m., the higher I was in the annual amateur baseball draft. And in draft terms, higher means better. At the other end of the line was a representative of the Chicago Cubs. He congratulated me and told me the good news: his organization had selected me as their first choice in the draft. It turned out that only 11 players in the country had been selected before me, so I was in good company.

(...)

With all of this attention, I started to ask myself, What do I have as a player that no one else has that’s putting me under this microscope? The quantifiable answer seemed straightforward. Most of it could be measured using a stopwatch or a radar gun: I could run, I could catch, I could throw and I could put a round bat on a round ball with accuracy. But even I understood that my ability to succeed at the next level of baseball would be predicated on a lot more than numbers.

He comes across as a very thoughtful guy - it's a good read until game time if you're so inclined.

I just heard on CNN, he's been indicted for obstruction of justice and perjury.

Link: http://www.ktvu.com/news/14606146/detail.html

The five-count indictment -- four counts of perjury and one of obstruciton of justice -- capped one of the longest federal grand jury investigations in Northern California history -- a proceeding that introduced the sports world to the acronym BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative) and led to the downfall of American track and field world and Olympic champions Marion Jones, Kelli White and Tim Montgomery.

We kind of knew this was coming, though.  I wonder what surprises the Mitchell report holds, given this.

I will not be doing anything anywhere except watching the game at home.  I have gone from a good measure of confidence to almost zero after seeing the massive power outage we've all seen in AZ.  And I have no desire to host a wake in a public setting.  

I'll watch, I'll hope, I might enjoy, if they somehow rediscover their ability to score runs.  If not, I'm walking away from baseball until spring.  

Discuss...or not, as you see fit.

Meet up tonight if you want, I'm not going to make it tonight or tomorrow.  I'll be watching from home.

Maybe this weekend, Champps at Sibley Plaza?

I'm not "organizing" this, really, as in making arrangements, just thinking it'd be nice to go nuts with a few kindred spirits and bring back the old Wrigley feeling...

Well, there are a few of us.  I looked into Alary's, and there are a couple of issues, as far as I'm concerned.

1. They do not serve food.  They let you bring food in, but they don't prepare/serve.  This bothers me.
2. It's not only a Bears bar (no biggie), it's also a cop bar.  That in itself is not a problem, cops need a beer or two after work like everyone else (maybe more!), it just seems like it might not be the ideal atmosphere for raucous Cubs celebrations.

A friend of mine suggested the Sibley Plaza Champps.  Anyone either love or hate that idea, or have another suggestion?

And more to the point, how many would like to find some nice local watering hole to descend on "en masse" and shout and scream at the TVs if the playoff thing truly does happen?

Might be fun...

Let me know roughly where you are, and any suggestions for possible good places, by posting replies here, and let's see how this develops.

Thanx...

Update [2007-9-17 11:23:18 by MN exile]: While I do enjoy adult beverages, I am not really a "bar" person that much. I attribute this to the fact that I'm a 30+ year non-smoker, and the smoking bans are recent additions - so every time I went to First Ave., for example, I'd hate that my clothing would reek afterwards. So let's see about some good suggestions - ideally with a big screen or lots of multiple screens, and good beer - as in dark, thick, almost "chunk-style" brews. Oh yes, and decent bar food will help.

Eddie Griffin, former MN Timberwolves center/forward, was killed in a collision with a train last week, according to this article:

http://tinyurl.com/2qte2d

Now, Eddie Griffin was a talented, yet troubled guy.  Had lots of brushes with the law, difficulties with alcohol, and more.  Still a bummer, though.  And I do remember he could light up a game - he was a three-ball monster when he wanted to be, and a very good shot blocker.

I guess it caught me a little more maybe for this reason - I'm pretty sure I shot one of the last interviews ever with another former Wolves player, guard Malik Sealy, not long before he was killed by a drunk driver in a head-on collision a few years ago.  He was looking forward to getting back to NY and getting involved with his recording studio, and was very happy, beaming in fact, because his wife had just bought him a bass.

Rest well, Eddie - sorry you never found peace in this life.

From today's Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

These were Johan Santana's words Tuesday after the non-waiver trade deadline passed without another trade: "I'm not surprised. That's exactly how they are. That's why we're never going to go beyond where we've gone."

(...)

"It's not just about hope," Santana said. "In a realistic world, you have to really make it happen and go for it.

"You always talk about future, future. ... But if you only worry about the future, then I guess a lot of us won't be part of it," Santana said.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner wasn't smiling.

I'm sure Santana wouldn't come cheap, he's one of the very best, but the notorious cheapness of the Twins is about to bite them badly this coming offseason.

Posted here a number of times, this is my first diary...