Not Your Average Backyard Croquet Game

Oakland never ceases to surprise me and today was no exception. Strolling through the Lake Merritt gardens this evening with a friend we happened upon two gentlemen playing croquet on what I thought were the lawn bowling courts. After stopping to watch for a few minutes we were completely entranced. This was like no croquet I'd ever seen before. First of all the mallets were quite fancy. Secondly the two men were playing with four balls blue, black, red and yellow. And finally even after watching for quite a while I could make no sense whatsoever of the rules. It seemed that each player would arbitrarily strike a ball which would sometimes hit another ball, sometimes not and every once in a while he would pick up the ball and place it next to another one. Eventually one of the men came over to us and explained they were playing International Rules Croquet, which has a fairly dedicated following, and where a set of six wickets can cost up to $1,500. He didn't mention how much the mallets might be but I imagine they cost a pretty penny. In between turns he then proceeded to explain some of the rules.

There are six wickets, each ball has to go through each wicket 1-6 and back again. At the start of a turn the player strikes his ball which must either go through a wicket or hit another ball or else his turn is over. If it hits another ball he then takes his "ball in hand" and places it anywhere touching the ball that was hit. He then takes another stroke with the two balls touching. The player then takes a "continuation" stroke in which he again tries to go through a wicket or hit another ball. After a ball is hit by the ball in play it is dead and cannot be hit again until a wicket is run. If the player fails to hit another ball or run a wicket on the continuation stroke his turn is over.

It all sounds very complicated, but after watching for a while I started to get the hang of it. There is a lot of strategy involved in choosing which ball to hit, knocking your opponents ball out of position. One of the men playing told us good players can put the ball through all the hoops in one turn. The men we were watching weren't champions, but they hit the ball well. The ball is three and an eighth inches wide and the wicket is three and three sixteenth inches, so it is not trivial to run the ball through even on a close shot. According to one of the players during tournaments there is often an award for closest shot missed. The ball weighs about a pound.

A quick read of the Wikipedia page reports croquet was quite popular in Britain in the 1860's but was soon replaced by tennis. John Jacques first published rules of croquet in 1857, and the shop in London that bears his name still sells equipment today. Unlike most sports, men and women are ranked and compete together on equal terms. It certainly looked like an interesting game to watch for an afternoon. The game we watched only one wicket was run in half an hour. A professional tournament, I'm sure, moves along much faster. I liked seeing the strategies start to emerge once I had an understanding of the rules. International Rules Croquet looks like the sort of game it takes a long time to master but definitely a pleasant way to spend a few hours.

Gooaaaallllllllllllllll

This past Sunday I had the good fortune to attend my first Major League Soccer match. Our local team the San Jose Earthquakes play just a bit too far for me to make the trip but twice a year when they play the LA Galaxy the match is held in the Oakland Coliseum to accommodate the throngs that turn out to see David Beckham. It was quite a nice surprise to be given a free program upon entering the stadium. The program was very helpful as I didn't actually know any of the San Jose player's names. There were a few people in the crowds with Earthquakes jerseys, t-shirts and sign though I think they were outnumbered by the people with #23 Beckham on the backs of their shirts. I remember when I was in England last year just before Beckham was to come to the US an Englishman said you haven't seen anything like the media storm that David Beckham will bring. In truth he's lived a fairly quiet life in the US, he's not in the papers much but he does bring people out for Major League Soccer.

Game time was 12 noon, there was a short introduction of the players, a ceremonial first kick and the playing of the national anthem. The match started well for San Jose who scored at the eight minute mark. At the professional level the soccer players are great fun to watch, they're playing hard and fast. You can feel the tension build in the crowd as the ball gets near the goal, then a collective breath let out as the goal shot is missed or the goalie grabs it. It seemed the LA players were right on top of the Earthquakes but the Earthquakes kept fighting for the ball and soon they were ahead by two. It's amazing how these guys run up and down the field with hardly a break then jump up real high to head a ball, often missing. It was a hot day and the grass seemed to be slowing the ball down a lot so I imagine a lot of games are at even faster pace. The Earthquakes managed to tie it up in the second half and with the clock winding down it looked like that's the way things would end. But then in the 89^th minute San Jose had the ball in front of the goal, took a shot it was blocked they shot again and scored!! And the hometown crowd went home happy.

The whole game including half time and opening introductions took just about two hours. It was pretty exciting game and action the whole time but there is some truth to the general American thought that in soccer not much happens. In a way there's always something happening but generally there aren't the fantastic plays you get in baseball. It all happens so fast that, there's no long home run, no slowly developing double play. I can see why the game has trouble catching on. There's also no singing take me out to the ballgame, no dot races and hardly enough time to have more than one beer so I imagine the games don't generate all that much revenue.

The athleticism of the players is unsurpassed. They move along the field with grace and speed. People say Beckham isn't that great of a player anymore but I had the feeling more than anyone else on the field he knew exactly what was going on around him. Who was open for a pass, where he needed to be, how to get the ball to the right guy to score. A great athlete is always fun to watch. Ever the showman David Beckham took his shirt off as he walked off the field at the end, receiving loud cheers from the crowd. But the best part is, he gave his shirt to a little kid.

I hope the league succeeds and more cities get teams. From what I've been reading there are some efforts afoot to have the MLS teams play against teams of other countries in a sort of Premiere league setup. I'm sure that would raise the level of competition and probably bring a larger audience to the sport. Two hours of Major League Soccer was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon and I can't wait to go again next year.

The Greatest Game

Last week the Yankees were in town and I was fortunate to attend games pitched by the always interesting Chien Ming Wang and eternal fan favorite Andy Pettite. Generally when the Yankee's play the A's at the Colisseum the blue and white of Yankee fans is almost as prevalent as the green and gold of the home team. On Tuesday for Chien Ming Wang I think the A's fans may have been outnumbered. Many with Wang jerseys looked like first timers, taking pictures on the way into the ballpark. The Yankees got off to a two run lead in the first inning. Being up two runs makes watching CMW pitch just a tad less stressful. The leadoff man got on, th hits, the walks, they keep coming every inning but then the ground ball comes, the double plans and 10,000 Yankee fans breath again. The Yankees were up two to one in the seventh and the A's loaded the bases with one out. As the count reached 3-2 the crowd was roaring 26,000 people, some cheering for some cheering against the pitcher. He stares in at the batter, the batter stares back ground ball, double play, inning over. 26,000 people sit back in their seats and it's time to stretch. For just a second imagine you are at work at a very stressful moment during your day. Okay, now imagine that moment with 26,000 people screaming at you. It was that moment that I saw what an athlete does, the focus, the ability to block out everything else going on and deliver the way people expect you to. No one would say CMW delivered a great pitch, or even that he pitched a great game, he did what we expect him to do. The tension of that moment, sitting on the edge of your seat, there's nothing else like it. Every game has a moment, sometimes it's an interesting play, sometimes it's a nailbiting at bat, sometimes it's a great play you weren't expecting that's what makes baseball great.

Broken Record

Several of them actually, or at least tied. This is just plain silly.

a few words on the baseball world

• What's really ailing the Yankees? Maybe it's the failing health of George Steinbrenner.
• Actually they're doing better recently. Only 1/2 game out of the wildcard race.
  
• A-Rod finally got his 500th homerun on Saturday just days after his 32nd birthday.
  
• On Sunday Tom Glavine became the 23rd pitcher to win 300 games. Even more impressive is the fact that Glavine's been pitching in the major leagues since 1987.
• In the little watched, all time hit-by-pitch race Craig Biggio has stalled in his bid to overtake Hughie Jennings. The pressure must be getting to him.
  

A note on the Yankees

There is no joy in the Bronx this season as the Yankees have struggled all season. But it is only May 21st and in what we can only hope is a sign of things to come the boys in Pinstripes beat Boston today 6-2. Jeter and Posada are quietly leading the league in batting average.Bill Madden at the Daily News has a nice write up on Jeter and his steady hitting. While I appreciate how he's hit in 37 of the last 39 games what I really admire is even in the pouring rain with his team down by six runs against the Mets Jeter comes to the plate with his signature grin. He always says he's just happy to be part of the team and coming from him, I really believe it.

Mystery Solved

I always wondered what happened to all the T-shirts and baseball caps made up with a losing team logo on them. You see the winning team immediately donning the appropriate apparel so there must be an equal pile of apparel ready for the team that just broke their fans hearts. Well, finally the NY Times has an answer. The NFL and NBA give the hats and shirts to a place far, far away where the people have other things on their minds than who's chasing a ball around on a field for millions of dollars. MLB, scrooges that they are, destroys their losers threads. Then again the MLB calls their contest World Series, maybe it's harder to find someone who isn't watching it.

1996 Forever

Evoking memories of a happier time it looks like Andy Pettite will be back in Pinstripes in 2007. Maybe it's the pickoff move, maybe it's the Game 5 heroics, maybe it's the southern drawl, whatever the reason the ladies love him - and most of the other fans aren't too unhappy either.

The party's over

What a bunch of losers. Sometimes even the best team just sucks. Maybe the Tigers really are that good, maybe the Yankees weren't, maybe Joe Torre needs to stop sending dinosaurs to the hill in the playoffs, maybe Arod really is cursed. However it was an exciting season, the Yankees won a lot of games and captain Derek I'm just trying to help the team Jeter had one of the best years of his career. There's always next year. So for now what else can you say - Let's go A's!

1 down 10 to go

Yankees 8 Tigers 4. Derek Jeter went 5 for 5 with a home run in the eighth and a classic I'm just trying to help the team post game interview. How can you not love this guy - he has his own fragrance. Oh and Mr. Wang you're fantastic but things would be a lot less stressful if not so many guys got on base.

October

October officially arrived this weekend and brought the chilly weather to prove it. Which means just a few days until the start of October Baseball. The best record in each league is held by the teams from New York. Are we gearing up for a subway Series? things look pretty good for the beloved Yankees. They finished the season well, clinched early enough for some rest and will start the postseason hosting Detroit at home. Every game is nerveracking but at least they're on TV. So Let's go Yankees - I've been waiting all year for this!

41 Runs

In case you were sleeping a few notes from the two games played by the Yankees and Red Sox yesterday:

• Total runs 41
• Total hits 61
• Pitchers used 20 (two were used twice)
• Total time 520 minutes
• New record for longest nine inning game 4:45
• Bernie Williams tied Lou Gehrig for first on the Yankees' list with his 1,531st single
• Mike Lowell of the Sox ended his 70 game errorless streak
• Yankees finished the day 3.5 games ahead of Boston

Both teams are back at it starting at 10:20AM PT today - and it's on TV!!!

Order Restored

Yankee fans will sleep a little easier tonight.

We're Not Old

When Derek Jeter burst on the scene in 1996 I realized I was starting to be older than the ball players. Back when I was just kneehigh to a grasshopper, the neighbor girl and I were playing baseball in the backyard one day. I was Ron Guidry and she was Willie Randolph; nevermind that Guidry would not have pitched to Randolph. Her dad walked by and said "Guidry was a Southpaw" so clearly I couldn't be Ron Guidry because I pitched right handed. Back in 1996 I realized I couldn't be Derek Jeter - I was too old. What's all this getting at? Well Ken Arneson over at Baseball Toaster has another take on signs of getting old. And hey - I can still be Lance Armstrong!

88-63

It's almost October and the cosmos are coming into alignment. The Yankees are back in FIRST, one half game ahead of Boston. Amazingly after 151 games Cleveland, Boston and New York have each won 88. Here's hoping the Yankees go 11-0 for the rest of the season!

Back in First!!

The Yankees are finally back in first place! I know we'll all sleep a little better tonight.