TBWAIN - AKA Jeff Svare's Blog

We had the memorial service for my brother today. He passed away yesterday, the 29th of July after a three and one-half year struggle with cancer. Glen was a great brother. I'll always treasure the time that we spent together as roommates along with our other roomie, Mark, affectionately referred to us as MK VII Ltd. There were other good times, too. And after the service most of us got together for dinner at a nearby restaurant. Knowing he was going to die for some time has given me ample time to steel myself for this. It's been difficult, but I'm coping pretty well. One of my sisters asked me how I was after the service, and I told her I was OK. She said, "You're not." "Yes, I'm fine." "I want you to be fine." Knowing that I have access to that kind of support is a great source of strength to me. Two of my siblings couldn't make it to for the service. One is in the hospital, and the other lives in Mississippi. I would h...

Last night I finally got a chance to see my first baseball game this season. And it served to confirm two of my long-standing observations about the game. First, most people who are selected to sing the national anthem can't sing. This was horrific, screeching cat-fight, headache-inducing, nightmarish event that will haunt me for years to come. Granted, it's not the easiest tune to sing, considering that it's supposed to be based on an old drinking song. Because of that, I suppose it would always sound better after everyone has kicked back a pint or two. A the singer, being that well-lubricated, is certain to be able to hit those high notes without breaking. OK, I'm exaggerating a bit about how bad it was, but it was bad. Maybe the singer was nervous, which is understandable, and it is a tough tune, but this was not a good performance. Maybe that's why most people who sing it feel they can so freely embellish it with their "own musical interpretation....

I hate 'em. Not the electrical kind--although they're bad enough--I mean sports blackouts. The "I'm sorry, sir, we haven't sold enough tickets, so we won't be putting the game on television." ones. I hate 'em. I understand the reasons why they have them. The need to protect their market, and respect other markets, so that the revenue-sharing plan can keep all the teams in the black. But what do you do when you aren't in a market? Or, at least, it seems like you aren't in a market? At my house, the closest team is the Colorado Rockies. They're 320 miles away, so I guess that puts me in their market. But, there's no possible way that I can tell the kids, "Go pile in the car, we're going to a ball game!" The Los Angeles/California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have a AAA affiliate here, so you'd think maybe we'd get Angels games on the radio or tv, but no. I do get Rockies games on the satellite, but ...