biggentleben

I would bet he's on ESPN's or MLB's set by the end of the month. The Braves actually had strong interest in bringing Redmond in as a possible coach at the major league level or AAA manager before the Marlins hired him, and with Fredi Gonzalez's contract up at the end of the season, it wouldn't surprise me if those two had a conversation again.

Are you serious? Justin Upton?! If you're talking Melvin Upton, Jr., then you can be Willie Mays in center field, but if you're making Mendoza look like a batting champion, it doesn't matter.

Not really that weird if you've had damage before and have a "bounce" like that. You don't have to get hit in the head for your brain to move within your skull. The worst concussions in the NFL are on huge hits to the chest where there's immediate change of direction. Similarly, many never have their head hit at all and suffer concussions.

Thank you for your comments. I'll get to cross a bunch off of my list this year, which will bring me to half the active stadiums in the league at 35 years old, which is a pretty solid number, especially for someone working in social work and not exactly rolling in money! I'll bring what I can on Turner. Turner was built with the intention to really do the area up and have the Braves history spill over into the surrounding area, but the city of Atlanta really dropped the ball on that. The stadium was built post-Olympics, and the Braves had just come off of winning a World Series in 1995 and having one stolen by Roid Leyritz and Where's the Ball Going Wohlers in 1996, so the city was more than happy to pledge money toward the team. The home plate where Aaron launched #715 is still marked as is that piece of the wall you mentioned. I am curious the time frame of your two visits as about 2002-2003, the team realized that the city had no intention of following through on their part of the deal, so some of the investments that the team was going to make outside of the stadium (team HOF, team history, jersey collection hall, etc.) in an area similar to the Twins foyer outside of their right field gate entrance ended up being done inside and "crammed" into space. I loved walking the halls around the inside of the stadium for that reason when I visited. I was surprised to hear that Sun Trust Park was being built, but now that I see the immediate surroundings already planned, let alone what will come in the future, it's clear that the surrounding area of the stadium was a big issue to the team staying in the city of Atlanta.

I've never been, though I've taken in some independent league games in Sioux Falls and St. Paul.

Sarah, I would absolutely encourage Turner Field if you're planning a trip to see multiple stadiums. The neighborhood issues and the lack of follow-through from the city of Atlanta to "clean up" those neighborhoods and encourage business growth there is the primary reason for the new stadium. The current stadium is absolutely awesome, and it's definitely worth the visit if you're going to be in the area anyway. Plus, it's the Braves, so there's always good tickets available!

For those curious, this is the trip my wife and I are going on: http://wnax.com/events/best-baseball-trip-ever/

We'll be stopping there again on the trip, and I understand we're watching from the bleachers for that game, so that could be fun.

LOL! Trust me that I know my luck. She enjoys live baseball, but she could live without all the baseball I watch on TV, especially the minor league baseball I watch for my writing. She was the one who actually chose the honeymoon as it's a set trip where you end up visiting Notre Dame's campus, Niagara Falls, spend three nights in Times Square, tour Boston and Philly, tour landmarks in DC, and visit the baseball and football hall of fames along with the games. It's all on bus, so we save wear and tear on our vehicle.

I'm heading there in mid-June as part of our trip, but it happens to be when the Braves are there, which is a great way to take in my first time to Fenway.

It could have just been that weekend, but I felt the whole stadium was much, much cleaner in my last visit 2 years ago vs. my first visit 5 years ago. Going back this summer, though, so I'll give a report then!

Blues and guitar legend B.B. King passed away at 89. I don't care that it costs me 11 points, no way would I want points from his passing. Terrible day for music.

When are you going to Fenway? I'll be there in June as well as part of my honeymoon

I honestly never had much of an issue with that play, though it's funny that universally after that game Hrbek pulled him off, but as the Twins fortunes declined in the decade and the Braves continued forward, more and more talked about Gant coming off the bag. But Hrbek has been a grade A a-hole any interaction I've had with him, so he's never going to get the benefit of the doubt. Kirby, on the other hand, was actually a grade A a-hole in his off-field life, but in my interactions with him, he was always amazing.

When did you go to Wrigley? They've done a lot of work in the last few years on the "other stuff" quality, opening day bathroom issues notwithstanding.

I'll be hitting up 10 stadiums this summer as part of my honeymoon, including one that I'm very excited to see in PNC Park. For the ones I've seen thus far: 1. Wrigley - Just nothing close, though we'll see how I feel after getting to Fenway this year. 2. Target Field - Well designed, both inside and out. 3. Turner Field - Incredible once you're on grounds, but akin to the U of M campus, be very, very careful once you take a step off the facility. 4. Miller Park - My only visit was in the inaugural season, so they opened and shut the roof every day regardless of the weather, and the outside the stadium experience is tremendous, though one thing 'Sconnies know how to do is tailgate. 5. Kauffman - Rained out once when I was there, and the other game I was at was shortened by lightning, so my presence at Kauffman may be cursed, but their work a few years back took a good park and made it a great one. Dishonorable mention: Metrodome - Thankfully no longer in service. Going there when the team was good was great, but even then, the baseball still had a very artificial/plastic feel to it. Hard to beat the deals to see a game there, even below price for most around the league at the time, but while the greatest World Series was played there, some of my least favorite moments as a Braves fan were there (forever may Hrbek be cursed). Glad it was there while I was in college for cheap live baseball, but I certainly shed no tears in its destruction.

Last year, I was honored to provide four songs for the local Memorial Day program. Very little in my life has made me feel as good as the gratitude and respect from men and women who served our country.

Yes, but technically, Irving is the point guard in Cleveland. They just have a point forward who does most of the ball handling in their offense.

I think LaVine in a Kyrie Irving role could be quite good. Off-ball, allowed to use his athleticism in the flow of the offense rather than being the primary ball handler. Like has been mentioned, using him alongside another point guard works well.

I was wondering where a 3-page thread suddenly appeared from in the forums I actually follow closely! I'll say this, and I am fine if I'm told to shove off. I love the anthem being sung before a game. I love when a father has the opportunity to show his son how to hold a hat during the anthem in order to be respectful during the song. I loved as a player the final bit of pure focus it allowed me before the start of a game. That all said, I cannot stand how the anthem is "performed" now. One of my favorite parts about attending Gopher men's hockey games was that they had the same person always singing the anthem. I have been singing the anthem since I was in middle school for events, and during college, I had to often decline requests to sing at Gopher/Twins/Timberwolves games because I was already doing another one. I can proudly say I sang the first anthem before a sporting event at the U of M after 9/11 for a volleyball game, and I had a veteran of WWII and the Korean War come up to me with tears in his eyes and hug me as I came off the court because I didn't "Whitney" the song to death. If we're going to actually do all those things I mentioned in my first paragraph, I don't want to hear how many extra notes Katy Perry or Justin Bieber or Miranda Lambert add to the song. I want to be able to sing the anthem's first common verse in unison with those around me and then cut loose with the rest of the game. If done right, that's 2-3 minutes of time and then everyone is back to their game. In its traditional state, I'm absolutely for playing the anthem before every game. In the modern "performance" of the anthem, I can take or leave it being done before a game. As far as God Bless America, the 7th inning is for baseball's anthem (Take Me Out To The Ballgame), not an opportunity for faux patriotism. Shane's "it could be worse" was exactly what 2001-2002 Twins 7th innings were - GBA, then Lee Greenwood ("Hey, that patriotic song has Minnesota in its lyrics. I luv murica!"), then TMOTTB. The country was in a different mood at the time, but when players have come out and talked about how ridiculously long the 7th inning stretch in Minnesota was, then you know it got a bit out of hand.

And with (hopefully) a big man down low needing some space to work within a half-court set, you want some guys who force the defense outside. Right now, Wiggins and Martin are the only guys defenses have to run out to on the offensive side.

You caught the "seam-head" edition. Every Thursday night, there's a focus on stats and it's basically the only watchable show of the week. Karl Ravich is often on there as well along with Mark Simon.

Simmons has gotten quite full of himself. He makes Keith Law look humble. I think it's telling that he was basically banned from appearing on ESPN podcasts and radio numerous times due to his demands of air time when he was a guest on a program. I loved him in 2000 or so when he first hit ESPN on Page 2 or whatever it was, but he's not that guy anymore.

The Brewers fall out of their chair laughing. Then call back. Ask what your offer is. You repeat this offer. They laugh until they wet themselves. Then they trade him to a major contender for a top 25 prospect among other prospects in the deal and they laugh with that team about the offer they received.

Lucroy would cost a ton, likely a top 25 prospect minimum along with other pieces. The package mentioned before wouldn't move the needle.