Between baseball cards and big games my life seems to revolve around sports. I check the scores every morning, look at all the box scores, go to the Topps Now site every afternoon to see what cards are available, and watch the live action whenever I can, then view a related documentary or read a book like Bushville Wins! about the 1957 World Champion Milwaukee Braves.  IU sports, Purdue, other BIG Ten teams, Indiana Fever, the Cubs, White Sox, Colts, Bears, Kyle Schwarber, and Shohei Ohtani are currently my regular interests.

The baseball playoff race is in full swing, IU football is off to an unprecedented start, IU basketball is getting ready to start, and history is being made by Schwarber and Ohtani on the diamond. Sadly, the Cubs will fall short again this year, and the White Sox are a joke, about to lose their 120th game this season – more history of the worst kind!

Hoosier football won their first four games in dominating style, the local Venice High School Indians are 5-0 after a 54-51 victory last night over Cocoa. The WNBA Indiana Fever and rookie sensation Caitlin Clark are solidly in the playoffs and will battle the Connecticut Sun today on ABC-TV. At least, my sports interests are diverse, ranging from high school and college to professional. I follow the Portland Timbers in soccer as well as the IU program, watch the Little League World Series, men’s & women’s softball, Indy Car, NASCAR, and Formula One. If competition and skill or a ball are involved – I’m interested. 

The Purdue-IU rivalry has finally taken a twist in football this year, as the Boilermakers look weak. Hopefully that trend will continue in men’s & women’s basketball, as well as the other sports. Purdue is my second favorite team, the result of working in that community for several years, but there’s no doubt as to my favorite when they play IU. The Colts and Bears tangle this afternoon. 

My interest in Kyle Schwarber stems from his collegiate years at IU, my alma mater as well. He made history again last night with his 15th lead-off home run for the Phillies this season. No one else in baseball has ever accomplished that feat! He did it against the Met’s pitcher, Sean Manaea, who now boasts a 12-5 record and retired 21-24 batters with only three hits, including Schwarber’s 406-foot bomb. Manaea’s pitching gem, however, temporarily stalled the Phillies claim to the Division title.

Shohei Ohtani immediately intrigued my interest when he moved his skills from the Japanese leagues to MLB in 2018. This despite my being neither an Angels or Dodgers fan. The ability to both pitch and hit effectively is a rare art, dating back to Babe Ruth. I started collecting his baseball cards, as I also do with Schwarber, and have been caught-up in his success. After arm surgery late last year, he’s focused on hitting and base stealing this season, reaching the 52-52 plateau the other night with 7 more games yet to play. He could very well get back on the mound in the playoffs, finally on a team that has gotten him into the MLB postseason for the very first time.

Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the next game!