OBSERVATIONS: When you’re bored, buy some new shoes

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave after watching three or four episodes every night of Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad sounds like every horse, dog or track star I’ve ever bet on.

—If the shoe fits. . .buy it.

How is this for boredom? I ordered four pairs of shoes (Don’t all shoes come in pairs?) on line last week from Cole Hahn.

They arrived a few days ago. Now I just need some place to wear them.

I now own 30 pairs of shoes and five pairs of socks. I hate socks, seldom wear them.

—QUOTE: From genius Albert Einstein: “When I was young I found out that the big toe always ends up making a hole in sock. So I stopped wearing socks. (I knew ol’ Albert and I had something in common besides white hair.)

—QUOTE: From author Martina Boone: “It doesn’t matter how great your shoes are if you don’t accomplish anything in them.”

—Baseball lost a great man Saturday when legendary scout George Zuraw died. The 88-year-old Zuraw scouted for the Cincinnati Reds from 1968 through 1988.

He loved former Reds President/General Manager Bob Howsam. But he was a casualty when owner Marge Schott gutted the scouting department. Zuraw left the Reds and joined the Seattle Mariners.

While with the Reds, Zuraw signed players like Eddie Taubensee, Ray Knight, Joe Oliver, Jeff Treadway, Lenny Harris, Nick Esasky, Rob Murphy and Terry McGriff.

Zuraw was a gentle giant of a man, deeply religious. Baseball was his second religion, but he was the best of the best.

When he worked for the Mariners, he scouted the Reds during spring training and we spent many days in the media dining room talking. . .uh, baseball.

Zuraw once made me choke on a celery stick when he talked about a player he scouted. Said George: “Slow? The guy was slower than slow. But the good thing is that it takes him zero time to stop. He not only runs like he is carrying a piano down the line, but he has time to play Beethoven’s Fifth before he reaches first.”

—Both Bob Feller and Nolan Ryan pitched 12 one-hitters during their careers. The difference? Rapid Robert pitched ‘only’ three no-hitters and the Ryan Express pitched seven.

Feller pitched before the invention of radar guns, so the speed of his fastball was mere legend. My dad told me that Feller threw 110 miles an hour. I, of course, believed him. Father always knows best.

—From ElevenWarriors.com: In the last four years, five Ohio State defensive backs have been taken in the NFL’s first round. In the last 10 years, Michigan has had six players, total, all positions, taken in the first round.

A funny thing. The Baltimore Ravens, coached by John Harbaugh, picked two Ohio Staters in this year’s draft, running back J.K Dobbins and linebacker Malik Harrison.

Why funny? John Harbaugh is a brother to Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.

“I promise you I won’t be wearing any Ohio State gear, no matter what,” said the Baltimore Harbaugh. “I guess it will make for some good bets next season when those games come up.”

—There is no baseball these days, but three horses with baseball names ran in races Sunday at Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park.

And like baseball, they were all losers. A horse named Enjoy Baseball was a 6 to 5 favorite in the first race in Tampa. He lost.

There were two ‘baseballers’ in the first race at Gulfstream — Chief White Sox and I’m Cardinal. They both lost. But any loss by a Cardinal is good news.

If you are a tennis fan, a horse named Roddick won the ninth at Gulfstream at 4 to 1.

—QUOTE: From Will Rogers: “Money, women and horse racing; three things boys just can’t figure out.”

—UD’s Adam Trautman was predicted by many to be the second tight end drafted by an NFL team. He was the fourth tight end selected, at the end of the third round by the New Orleans Saints.

The feeling here is that a couple of teams are going to be sorry when Trautman is hauling in passes from Drew Brees.

Those other teams probably were scared off because Trautman played at non-scholarship UD. But after watching Trautman for three years I can attest that he is Fast and Furious.

One thought on “OBSERVATIONS: When you’re bored, buy some new shoes”

  1. Hal:

    Cincinnati Red fastballs.

    I remember hearing Nuxy say that “on given days” Jim Maloney had the best heat he ever saw.

    The old lefthander sure saw a lot of Reds baseball.

    I’ve wondered what a radar gun would have registered on Wayne Simpson and Don Gullett’s fastball ?

    Don’t recall the radar velocity for Tom Seaver as a Red, nor Mario Soto.

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