Goodbye Sparky

04 Nov 2010 No Comments

by ryanin Michigan, News, Sport Tags: , , ,

George “Sparky” Anderson passed today. It’s a bit hard to explain the connection that Michiganders have with Sparky; it’s not like losing a family member, but it’s close, an odd way. The only real way I can relate to it is through my own experiences.

Baseball was a huge part of growing up. My father played a lot; high school, college, semi-professionally after that. I was, notoriously, at a ball field weeks after my birth. My summers were spent playing or watching my dad play, keeping the books, running the scoreboard, pigging out on concession-stand candy and popcorn. When I wasn’t at a game physically, baseball was on the television or, even more ubiquitously, the radio. And, aside from the strong voice of Ernie Harwell, there was one name that always popped on the radio, the one name that was consistant from season to season.

Sparky Anderson.

I can even hear Ernie pronouncing his name; “Spahrkeeh”. Sparky was The Coach. And to baseball players, Coach was where the bucked stopped. When Sparky made a change in the lineup, pulled Morris, or (even better) stormed the field, conversation stopped and ears craned to the radio.

When I think back to those endless summers on the diamonds, Tigers’ baseball meant two things: Ernie’s voice and Sparky’s face. Sparky Anderson was, to me and so many others, the face of summer. In my Junior year of college, I sat silently with dozens of other young men and women watching ESPN Classic, mouths open as Game 5 played out from our youths. Goose Gossage stood firm against his manager, Kirk Gibson looked over to the dugout, and Sparky mouthed (now, said, thanks to edited footage) “he wants to pitch to you.” He chuckled as Gibby paced around the plate, the chuckle of someone who knew more than anyone else at the park that he’d already won the Series. I want to believe I remember that moment from my childhood, but I don’t. But I happily layer that cold night in Kalamazoo over a slightly warmer night in October to remember a definitive moment.

Every Tigers fan, fair-weather fans included, have similar stories. Sparky factors into many of them. He was Tigers baseball; hell, he will be for some of us for years to come. But those times are passing. An era has passed.

Sparky, I wish I’d had a chance to meet you. May you rest in peace.

Arthur C Clarke Dead at 90

18 Mar 2008 No Comments

by ryanin News, Stories, Technology Tags: , , ,

I wish I had a long remembrance of Mr. Clarke, but I don’t. I’ve read much of his short stories, a couple novels, but, aside from 2001 and a collection of shorts (which included The Sentinel, the pre-cursor to 2001), I always found the person of Mr. Clarke more interesting than his writing. His

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy his writing. In fact the opposite was often true. But his stories, while solid sci-fi, never reached me like the work of other writers (such as Isaac Asimov or Robert Forward).

He did make a wonderful spokesman for the hard core of science fiction and inspired many writers and scientists and will be conspicuously absent from the community. Best wishes and condolences to his family and friends.

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