Comics Review: Crossgen Forge #6

This one I bought at Coas Used Bookstore about a month ago.  After I’d read it, I wasn’t quite sure what my opinion of it was and then I forgot about it.  Conception-wise, I’ve never seen a format like this to compare it to.  Essentially, it’s a collection of Crossgen’s monthly comics.  It’s sort of a sampler of their ongoing titles, but in an ongoing series of trades. 

 

For eight issues at $12, I’d guess it would be a pretty good deal if you were interested in collecting all of the titles. (I don’t know what Crossgen was charging for individual titles at the time.)  Otherwise, I’m sure this would be a big waste of money.  This seems like way too much of a niche product.  It’s basically for collectors really into Crossgen titles.  I’ll go over the individual titles.

 

Chronicles #3  

This title is about the pre-Sigil history of the Crossgen universe.  (What does that mean?  I don’t really know.)  This issues features the How I Met Your Mother story of Meridian, which is the sort of steam-punk-ish fantasy title.  It’s very fanciful in conception.  The main draw here is George Perez’s artwork.  (Just kill me for that pun.  I didn’t even realize I’d done it until I reread the line.)  The story is just the backstory for Meridian.  I don’t know the main story enough to really rate this.

 

Meridian #25 and #26

As I said, this is a fantasy story.  #25 has the climax of the fight between the girl that’s the main character and the main villain.  #26 was the aftermath of the conflict and a new direction for the story.  It’s hard to pick up a story at the end and the next part seemed too long and unnecessary.  Steve McNiven’s artwork is tremendous though.

The Negation #7

This is sort of the science fiction one with sort of superheroes.  It seems to be the linchpin in the Crossgen universe and setting up the big villain.  Unfortunately, this issue was just a pointless fight between two groups of people who should be allies.  The artwork was pretty good.

 

The Path #5

Okay, here’s something I don’t have an easy analogue for.  It involves a Viking in feudal Japan that’s friends with a samurai.  Walt Simonson does the artwork.  While he does a great job, unfortunately most of this issue’s art was a highly stylized Medieval depiction of the Viking’s backstory.

 

Sojourn #11

I’ve read some of this one before.  I have one of the trades.  It’s the traditional fantasy entry.  I’ve drawn a bunch of Greg Land’s artwork.  Here though, some of it is a little rough.  He gets better in later issues.  This is another concluding chapter, but leads easily into the next storyline.  This one is probably my favorite, but again, that was because I was more familiar with it. 

 

Crux #14 and #15

With the new MCU sure-failure The Eternals about to come out, I can see an easy comparison here.  It’s the Eternals/Inhumans, but in a far future setting.  They are already in conflict with The Negation.  The artwork is again good, but the large ensemble cast in these two issues is scattered and on separate story tracks.  It was too confusing for me for my first exposure.

 

In the back was a large promotion for a horror-themed comic, Route 666.  I’d remembered there being more Crossgen titles and there were.  There was an ad for Edge, which collected the other six titles from the company.

 

I’m still not sure what to make of all this.  It’s a bit pricey for a sampler.  It might intrigue a new reader into trying certain titles to their taste.  If all of the titles were more interconnected (given the breath of genres and settings, that would be difficult), this sort of trade would make more sense.  At least, I’ve gotten some good future drawing material from this. 

 

As I’ve said before, I think these comics would have worked pretty well as a Wal-Mart exclusives, rather than the Allegiance comics they’re carrying now.  The great artwork and action-oriented titles would have had a broader appeal.  Timing is everything.  I think there’s a lot of disdain for Crossgen (I don’t know the whole company story and don’t want to), but I think it could have worked in the right venue. 

Comic Review: Marvel-Verse Iron Man

Marvel-Verse Iron Man

After picking up a couple of comics for friends, I got this for myself.  I thought about getting the other Nexus Omnibus Zia had available, but picked this up instead.  Though Zia Comics has a large selection of trade paperbacks, most of them aren’t to my taste.  There’s a lot of adult material like The Boys and Walking Dead there (not “adult” like porn) and not much traditional superhero stuff.   This small Iron Man trade was out of place there and caught my eye.  Though slim and not full comic book-sized, it was at least fairly cheap at $10.

 

The four stories inside featured two stories from before the MCU and two from after.  Surprisingly, Iron Man and Tony Stark are still thought of as separate people in these comics.  Everyone just knows Iron Man as Tony Stark’s bodyguard.  I heard that Robert Downey Jr. saying, “I am Iron Man,” from the end of the first movie was an ad lib, and the producers went with it.  What a monumental decision for the future of the MCU.

Marvel Adventures Iron Man #1 (2007)

Marvel Adventures was Marvel’s sort of kids line.  We’ll say it’s an all-ages appropriate classic comic.  I remember reading their X-Men comic (featuring the original group) in a collection.  I think they were originally featured in a newsstand magazine format (not in a standard comic book format).  I still think that’s a great idea for publishing superhero comics, even if nobody else does.

 

This issue retells Iron Man’s origin.  In the original from the 60’s, what I know of it, Stark was an inventor/industrialist that was captured by the Viet Cong in Vietnam and had to invent the armored suit to fight his way out.  In the movie, he was in Afghanistan.  (Tony’s origin can unfortunately probably always be updated to a current war.)  Here, Iron Man has a more Marvel Comics appropriate origin and is captured by A.I.M., an evil organization of high-tech scientists. 

 

The story here is really kind of rushed, but makes a bit more sense in a comic book sort of way than the other two origins.  It could still be refined a bit more.  A.I.M. would probably initially assume Stark would be a natural ally.  Only when he resisted would they damage his heart and force him to work for him.  Whatever. 

What I really wonder though.  Scientist Supreme is nice, but where’s MODOK!  It’s just not A.I.M. without the big head.       

Iron Man #234 (1988)

Yeah, you can tell this one is straight from the 80’s.  In spite of the violet robe and mop of  Jerry curl hair, Tony is still quite the ladies man. 

His pilot, James Rhodes, is also quite the playa.

You can also experience painful dated references.

The story is a typical one-shot team up between Iron Man and Spider-Man.  It’s okay.  It would be better enjoyed with some more issues from the era, since there’s obviously continuing storylines going on.   

 

Iron Man #1 (1998)

Kurt Busiek is the author of note for this one.  I’m not really familiar with his work, but I’ve heard of him.  (The other writers in this trade aren’t as well-known.  I should also mention that the artwork is generally good, but not outstanding.  The Marvel Adventures artwork is a bit more kid-ish.)  Boy is Kurt wordy.  I was getting a real frustrated novelist vibe from the piles of captions. 

 

That said, the story was really good.  I think this one came about after the Heroes Return storyline.  Iron Man’s origin is quickly retold, though it doesn’t quite match any of the others.  This story reset the character and set up future conflicts.  This was exactly what you’d want for a relaunch.  I kind of want to read more of Busiek’s run now.  It’s just fun comics.  I wonder if the look of Tony Stark in this influenced his look in the movies? 

   

Marvel Adventures Iron Man #7 (2007)

Iron Man versus Doctor Doom.  I’m all over it.  The Fantastic Four may be Doom’s traditional enemy, but shellhead is his natural enemy.  Mom gave me the above classic comic a long time ago when I was home sick as a kid once.  I’ve always kind of cherished it.  It’s a great comic, except it ends on a cliffhanger and I have no idea how the story concludes. 

 

In any case, Iron Man is off on a rescue mission to Latveria.  He realizes he’s overmatched on Doom’s home turf and has to sneak his way in with his best tech.  It’s another fun story.   

Overall, even with the small size and odd collection of stories, this was great for the price.  Like the Nexus Omnibus, the shrunken size didn’t hurt the artwork and allowed for an affordable color volume.  I wouldn’t mind seeing longer, continuous runs of titles in a similar format.  In any case, this works as an introductory volume to the character.  It’s probably meant as a gift for a kid that likes the Iron Man movies. 

 

However, I must say this statue that greeted me at the door Zia Comics was easily the most desired item in the store for me.  It’s Applejack from My Little Pony.  I have no familiarly with this material, but I know cute when I see it.  If only I had somewhere to display this where I live.  Also, it’s $109.     

And I have one more trade to ***review next.***

Comics Review: Joan Jett and Wolverine

That’s not the oddest comic book pairing.  I could see that team up. 

 

 

Joan Jett and the Runaways

It’s another Tidal Wave comic.  I’ve reviewed Alex Rodriguez, Elvis, and Juliet from them before.  This is about the same level of quality of art and writing.  I’d gone to work early after getting a haircut (which didn’t go well) and decided to visit Zia Comics down the street before clocking in.  I’m not sure why a generous impulse got into me (especially after my nice tip after the lousy haircut), but I thought I’d get a couple of comics for my co-workers.

 

I knew that Mike was a Joan Jett fan though I don’t know why.  In any case, I saw this on the Tidal Wave spinner rack at the store and thought he might like it.  In truth, I’ve bought comics for him before, including a Marvel Godzilla trade which is worth money now, and I don’t think he’s thought much of any of them.  (Sheesh, I even got him a DVD with all of the Star Trek comics produced by various companies up to that point and he still wasn’t impressed.  If you can find a copy of that it’s pretty awesome by the way.) 

 

Mike often relates a story about his mother throwing out all of his valuable comic books.  I’ve never figured out if it’s a real story or not.  It might have embittered him towards comics in general.     

Anyway, this comics a biography of Jett and the all-female Runaways and then with her fronting the Pretenders with male members.  (Male Members?  Could I have phrased that better?)  I can’t be more specific here since I only skim-read it once after giving it to Mike.

I did not know that Lita Ford was in the band with Joan.  I’d forgotten all about her.  It’s been a while.

I love this page here.

 

 

True Believers Wolverine

My co-worker Taylor has been sick lately.  (I have my suspicions as to why.  I can’t say anything for certain, but he fits a profile of others who have had a couple of injections lately.)  I thought I’d get him something too.  I know he’s a comic book fan and a Wolverine fan.    

I actually had this comic when it originally came out as Marvel Comics Presents #1.  It was an anthology comic and I don’t remember what other characters were in it (Cloak and Dagger?).  It may have been a weekly comic, so there was no way I was going to be able to afford to collect it past the first issue.  I wasn’t a Wolverine fan in any case; I was just collecting first issues like every other idiot. 

 

By the way, notice the difference between the two covers?  I noticed immediately, but had to look up an actual image to be sure.  Logan is missing his cigar in the new cover.       

 

It’s not a worthwhile edit on the cover, since everyone is smoking in the issue.  This reprint has Wolverine’s first three appearances in MCP.  It doesn’t have the complete story in it.  It’s just a tease.  Contents-wise, it’s Logan acting tough and getting into trouble in a really seedy environment.  If you like Wolverine, this is for you. 

Taylor didn’t come into work the day I brought it in.  I forgot to give it to Taylor the next time I saw him at work, because I was asking him about all of his medical problems.  He wasn’t doing well.  Then he worked from home the rest of the week.  Damnit!  Don’t die before I give you this!  Finally, I was able to give it to him last week.  He seemed touched.    

I got some more comics on this run that I'll review ***next.***

Midsummer Sports Report 2021 Part 6

Part 5

7-5-21

I hadn’t seen dad this weekend and asked if he wanted lunch on Monday.  He’d also mentioned he’d bought an apple pie and some ice cream for the weekend and wanted to share it.  When I was watching NASCAR with Ron on Sunday there was a McDonald’s commercial showcasing their Big Mac.  “I haven’t had a Big Mac in a while.  That looks pretty good,” said Ron.  “Yeah, that burger in the commercial is about twice the size of the real thing.  You know that, right?”  Apparently, I was immune to this commercial.  My dad saw the commercial, too.  He was interested in getting one.  I attempted to talk him out of it, when he remembered that he’d seen another commercial for a What-a-burger Patty Melt.  He thankfully picked that instead. 

 

We went with dad’s friend, Joe, and ate there.  I’d told dad there were onions on the Patty Melt, but he apparently wasn’t listening.  He ate 2/3 and tossed the rest.  He didn’t like the onions.  Joe thought we were at McDonalds and ordered an extra patty for his.  This created a monster burger, which he could only finish half of.  I had a regular burger.  It was fine, but more food than I really needed after the last two day’s meals.  It didn’t entirely sit well later.  I think I spent over $75 on fast food over the weekend.  All I got was two bellyaches and dad telling me that I looked thin. 

 

I did go back to dad’s apartment for the apple pie and ice cream.  As dad had immediately turned on the news on TV, I choked it down as quickly possible and left.  It was hard to enjoy pie with propaganda being shoved down your throat with it.  In spite of my stuffed stomach, I went to the mall to find the excellent popcorn vendor that had appeared there last time I was there.  She was gone.  Serves me right, I guess.  Also gone was one of the high end sports shoe stores and most of the other stores were having clearance sales.  A new restaurant is set to open in the old, beloved Chick-fil-a slot.  Doesn’t matter what it is; it won’t be as good.     

 

Back at home, I was sort of watching Comet’s X-Files marathon featuring A.D. Skinner.  I kind of questioned the theme, but watching some of the episodes, yeah, he’s had some good moments.  Unfortunately, they were repeating some episodes that they’d played the last time they did an X-Files marathon.  The weather came heavily into play for tonight’s sports.  For starters, the Chihuahuas game in Albuquerque was delayed a half hour for rain in the area.  I did start listening to it when the game came, though I wasn’t hugely paying attention to it.    

     

For sports on TV, we had the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  I haven’t been following hockey this season.  This series is pretty much over with the Tampa Bay Lightning up 3-0 on the Montreal Canadiens.  I was rooting for the Lightning basically because I wanted to see somebody win a championship tonight.  I questioned if I’d be able to watch any further games of the series. 

 

My reception was okay for the most of the game.  In the first period, in spite of like an 11-1 shots on goal advantage by Tampa Bay, the Canadiens took a 1-0 lead.  Tampa Bay got the equalizer late in period two.  Six men were sent to the penalty box for fighting before they were half way through period three. 

 

Okay at this point, everything happened at the same time.  While it didn’t storm here or even rain, the weather elsewhere started effecting my reception.  KROD with the Chihuahuas powered down after dark and lightning in the area was heavily interfering with listening.  The TV reception on the hockey station started dropping to the point where I couldn’t continuously watch, so I flipped over to watch more of the X-Files marathon.  I just checked back with the game during commercials.

First on the X-Files, the episode started with Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) having sex with a blonde woman.  She looked familiar.  I double checked during the credits, but I was pretty sure who it was, and it was Amanda Tapping.  This puts a whole new context to Stargate SG-1 scenes between Colonel Steven Caldwell and Colonel Sam Carter.  At the hockey game, Montreal scored to make it 2-1, but Tampa Bay tied it a couple of minutes later.  There were fans in the arena at Tampa Bay watching the game, and there were Montreal fans outside their arena watching.  (They were at maybe half capacity inside.)   

 

However, what was going on in Albuquerque with the baseball game was amazing.  Because of the poor reception, I could barely make out what was going on, but the announcer started getting really agitated.  (Tim Hagerty has been off for this series.  I haven’t been able to get the fill-in’s name.)  It was the top of the fifth and the Isotopes were up 3-0. 

 

During the inning, there was lightning over field.  Normally, the umpires would stop the game immediately.  They didn’t.  The Chihuahuas coaches interceded and wanted an explanation.  The next batter stayed in the dugout.  The umpire called him out for not getting to the batter’s box and told them to play on.  The Chihuahuas loaded the bases and the pitcher, of all people, hit a bases-clearing double to tie the score.  Rain was falling by this point.  Finally, there was another lightning strike.  The announcer called it, “The biggest lightning strike I’ve seen in my life.”  The field was immediately cleared. 

 

After a delay, the game was suspended 3-3.  The Isotopes would win the next day, 14-3.  (The Chihuahuas should have just lost it yesterday.  And the regularly scheduled game for today had to be stopped before it became official, so there’s another suspended game.)  There had already been one rain-shortened game this series.  I think the umps were trying to get through the half inning to make the game official and call it.  Instead, they ended up with a tie game and having to play it out tomorrow.  Ironically, that half hour they waited to start might have allowed them enough time to make it official.  

 

Meanwhile in hockey, with a minute left in regulation, a Lightning player took a stick to the face and bled all over the ice.  Tampa Bay had a five minute power play that extended into the overtime.  They couldn’t convert and Montreal won 3-2.  Because of the reception, I didn’t see the game winner live or even on replay.

 

During all of the excitement, I totally forgot all about tonight’s Rangers game that I could have listened to on the radio.  I probably would have only gotten to hear a couple of innings and with heavy static from the lightning, but I was unhappy about forgetting.  Oh, well.  That’s how this Fourth of July weekend ends.

Midsummer Sports Report 2021 Part 5

Part 4

7-4-21

For Sunday, I woke up an hour late and found myself hustling to get ready.  There was an IRL race at Mid-Ohio that I got to watch the beginning of.  It started off with a pair of crashes before I switched over to watch The Jetsons.  Oh, it was a classic episode where Jane enters the Miss Solar System contest in disguise, while George is the judge in disguise.  Of course, he chooses her.  It was great.

 

Ron and I had planned on going back over to his dad’s house to watch today’s NASCAR Cup race.  Perhaps we should have cleared that with his brother, Wendell, who lives there and was planning a lunch time barbeque.  We weren’t allowed to use the house and weren’t invited to the barbeque either.  So, I invited Ron over to my apartment.  We watched Josef Newgarden get an unexpectedly close win before going out for lunch.

 

I picked Arby’s.  It was the closest fast food place with the least greasy food.  I was still not quite over last night’s meal.  We also got root floats with them.  I thought the ice cream might also help with digestion.  We got back for the start of the Cup race at Road America. 

 

Once again, there was a lot of action.  You couldn’t determine the finish from the start.  AJ Allmendinger started on the second row as one of the favorites.  Two of the others, Kyle Busch and, my favorite, Chase Elliot, were way in the back.  They managed to pass about half the field during Stage 1.  William Byron won the stage.           

 

The commercials that were on infinite repeat yesterday were still on today.  Does Sonic really need six different commercials?  (Maybe they should spend more money on the quality of their food than their marketing.  Okay, their drinks and desserts are pretty good.  I give them that.)  I started flipping over to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on a Western station during commercials.  Ron and I were both enjoying it and wanted to see the whole film sometime, but the live event took precedence. 

 

In Stage 2, a late caution shook things up and Kyle got up front.  However, Tyler Reddick won the stage.  During the Anthem (performed wonderfully by a little girl), NBC had shown Bubba “Noose” Wallace.  Dr. Pepper was his sponsor which really irritated me, because I like Dr. Pepper.  (I’d probably want a die cast of the car, except I saw it.  It’s got his face on it.  Forget it.)  I’d assumed I was going to see more of Noose all through the race, but never did.  I don’t know what to make of this.  What better time than the Fourth to call Americans racists?  Maybe Dr. Pepper didn’t buy any ad time, so they weren’t going to show him. 

 

Yesterday, a friend of Ron’s family came by and saw us watching NASCAR.  He said, him and his friends used to be huge fans.  Last year, when Noose called for the Confederate flag ban and it happened, they all quit.  You never know what’s going to set someone off when you make a snap politically motivated decision, especially when you’re trying to please weirdoes on Twitter.  Judging by the large crowds at Lake Elkhart, I’d say most fans were just happy to be out at a race (or even just watching on TV).  I wouldn’t take them or me for granted though if I were NASCAR.          

 

Kyle and Chase started up front for Stage 3.  AJ had faded to the rear.  Inside the top ten, Alex Bowman accidentally nearly took out his teammate, Kyle Larson.  The damage from that contact caused a tire rub that was threatening to cause a blowout and a caution.  Alex’s other teammate, Chase, had gotten out front and built up a six second lead.  The tire rub seemed to be okay after a lap, but Alex was told to come in.  A caution would have cost Chase his lead.  Dale Jr. on the commentary, didn’t agree with the call and didn’t like what amounted to team orders.  When the tire was examined after the pit stop, the reporter said it probably wouldn’t have lasted another four laps to finish the race.  This was the closest thing to a controversy today.  Alex already has three wins this season; he’s probably good. 

Chase did win.  He blew past the assigned interview area and to go around the entire four-mile circuit to salute the fans.  He did a burnout at the start/finish line before finally going to the interview.  Chase was very gracious and grateful for the fans.  The crowd there started chanting for another burnout.  Chase obliged and blew out both of his back tires and had to be pushed to Victory Lane.  The People’s Champion, indeed.  This is exactly what NASCAR needs to stay in the fan’s good graces.

 

Ron had to leave in a rush.  While today’s meal hadn’t caused any bellyache, I went hard dairy for dinner: cereal, yogurt, and ice cream.  The only sports left today was a Chihuahuas game from Albuquerque against the Isotopes.  I got the scoop on yesterday’s game.  The pups won 16-0 in a five inning rainout.  What would the score have been if they’d gone nine? 

 

The Thursday and Friday games there had had fairly low attendance, but last night’s game unfortunately had a full house.  The fans came back tonight for record attendance, even though the ongoing weather reports during the game seemed ominous.  (13k was a record for Isotopes Park and for Minor League baseball this season.)  The Chihuahuas led off with a homer, but lost 12-7.  It wouldn’t have been that close, but for a late game comeback.  Something else that was announced earlier in the series, Chihuahuas big bat, Patrick Kievelhan, was selected for the US Olympic Baseball team.  Hate to lose him for an extended period, but what an honor. 

Okay, I’m watching the Godzilla Kaiju Cookout Marathon on Comet for the rest of the evening. 

Part 6  

Midsummer Sports Report 2021 Part 4

Part 3

7-3-21

I’d been grumbling for the last couple of weeks that we weren’t getting a day off for the Fourth of July at work.  On Thursday, I was walking someone out and noticed a sign on the door saying we’d be closed on Monday.  Rather than being happy, I was panicked since we have to have holidays set in advance on our computer system.  I immediately called my boss.  We’d had conversations earlier in the year about whether or not there was going to be a day off for this holiday.  Apparently, they’d decided last month that we were going to have Monday off, but nobody told me.  I would have felt dumb about this, but apparently I wasn’t the only person confused about this.  No official announcement was ever made. 

 

Okay, since there was no harm done at work and I didn’t show up on Monday with no else there, now we’re happy about getting a three-day weekend.  I had big plans for the time, which involved me watching TV and eating out.  I know.  I’m terribly ambitious and should moderate my activities.  On Saturday, my plans achieved fruition, though not quite the way I’d thought they would.

Dad’s TV is still not able to pick up NBC right now.  I’ve offered to buy him a new antenna, but he wasn’t interested.  Going over to his apartment to watch the two NASCAR races on NBC this weekend was my first choice.  Ron wanted to watch the races too and suggested going over to his father’s house.  That was good with me.  For lunch, we picked up a pizza . . . for $26!  It was 20” large New York style pizza with three toppings, but ouch!  It was good and the both of us were floored after only eating two slices apiece.  Keep in mind, the pieces were probably about the size of two normal large slices.  The thing was huge.

 

I’d love to give a detailed synopsis of the NASCAR Xfinity race at Road America.  While I did watch the race, there were three furry distractions in the house at the time.  The dogs were pretty rambunctious.  Moreover, there was an enormous amount of action on track that would make an easy summary impossible.  (Not to mention, it’s kind of weird taking notes on a race on TV in front of people.)  I was rooting for AJ Allmendinger.  He managed to go from last to first at later in the race, but couldn’t hold the lead on old tires. 

 

Kyle Busch passed AJ for the win.  Kyle had gone off track twice in the race earlier.  Actually, the only boring part of the race was when he’d taken the lead and dominated late in the race.  Kyle had said earlier in his career that he’d quit the series after 100 Xfinity wins.  He’s well past that now.  Nobody’s sure what he’s going to do after this season. 

 

Ron and I went out for ice cream at Caliches.  Unfortunately, about 50 other people had the same idea at the same time.  Even standing out in the heat for 15 minutes, I’d have to say it was worth it.  I had a blue raspberry Italian ice mixed with their frozen custard.  Back at the house, I made the bad mistake of having another piece of the pizza before eating the ice cream.  I had a bellyache for the rest of the night.  Ron also had one more piece, and his brother, who was also at the house, ate the last two.  (That was a couple of hours before he went out for dinner.  Wendell has a prodigious appetite.) 

 

Ron and I wanted some baseball.  He started watching Arizona playing the Giants, before realizing it was a replay of last night’s game.  We then found the Padres versus the Phillies.  It had been delayed a couple of hours for rain.  Philly Rhys Hoskins hit a home run, but missed first and had to run back for it.  The game was stopped again in the fourth by rain and something that looked like a funnel cloud overhead. 

 

The Dodgers/Nationals game came on at 5:00 on FOX.  I’d thought I’d be home by now and watching this game, or SRX Racing, and/or listening to tonight’s Chihuahuas game.  I called dad to let him know where I was and to let him know that the Nationals were on.  His best friend, Joe, is a fan of the team.  I told him that he should invite him over to watch.  This game then got stopped for rain shortly thereafter.

 

Now the D-Backs and Giants were playing live.  We tuned in just after a fan holding a baby and a cup of beer made a catch of a foul ball.  Bob Brenly summed it up best, “I was holding my breath that he was going to drop that beer.”  However, we flipped back over to the FOX, which was now covering the Red Sox and the A’s and we stuck with it, since it was just about over.

 

The A’s had tied it in the eighth and looked to win it in the ninth, but didn’t after a poorly executed bunt attempt.  The Red Sox also might have taken the lead in regulation, but for a poor steal attempt.  In the tenth, the Red Sox made another bad steal attempt to run themselves out of the inning.  The A’s were even worse.  They loaded the bases with no outs, but after a poorly conceived bunt attempt, they came away with no runs. 

By the twelfth, Ron and I were dying watching this exercise in futility.  The only thing keeping us going was the coverage becoming fascinated by the fan-made “Beer Snake” in the stands.  It was a bunch of empty cups being stuck together.  It might have been 10’ long in the ninth, but was getting bigger as it was being carried around, maybe about 30’ by the end.  Dad called.  He was still watching.  It was past his bedtime and the baseball had run over the news.  He’d had Joe with him for a while.  Joe was an even bigger fan of the A’s, so he was happy that they’d switched games, but couldn’t stay.  Dad was keeping him updated on the score.

 

Finally, the Red Sox broke through and scored two runs.  I don’t think we really cared who won, as long as somebody finally scored.  In bottom of the twelfth though, the A’s rallied and tied it.  We were momentarily terrified the game might go to another inning, but Tony Kemp, who’d made the bad bunt in the tenth, hit a sac fly to bring in the winning run.  7-6 A’s win.  I’d never cared so much about an A’s win before.  I’d never cared this much about the A’s period.  “Hey, let’s finish that D-Backs game.”   

 

Or not.  We called it a night.  (It was tempting.)  I got back home a bit before 10:00pm, about five hours later than I meant to.  I turned on the radio and got a little of a static-y postgame show for the Chihuahuas.  They’d won I think, but that was all I’d heard.  I got no signal for the ongoing Rockies game, but the Rangers/Mariners game was on and only a bit passed half done.  The Rangers were whooping the M’s and I’d missed most of the excitement, but it was good to hear Eric and Matt for a few innings. 

 

The last sports item of the night was an interview show I ran into that I’d never seen before.  Canelo was having a sit down.  If I’d caught this when it started, I would have tried calling my friend Mike to let his Canelo-loving girlfriend know about it.  As it was, I watched about half of it.  Canelo was talking about family members being held hostage and having to pay ransom for them.  Other times, family members are getting in trouble with the law and embarrassing him.  Then Canelo took the interviewer out to his ranch to ride horses and go off-roading.  The stunt driving served to scare the interviewer and worry Canelo’s fans that he was going to hurt himself.   

Part 5