Historically Speaking: 5-28-09

There are a couple of good series going down over in the NBAs and the NHLs are set to drop the puck for the big one, so what are we bringing to the mix? Nothin' but baseball, baby. That's how we roll. Peep our massive sense of untimeliness after the jump.

* Today in 1951, Willie Mays got his first Major League hit. It happened to be a home run. Mays had gone 0-12 prior to the jack, and his solo shot wasn't enough to give the Giants a victory over Warren Spahn and the Braves. Mays joined the army the following year, which may or may not've contributed to the first-place-by-two-and-a-half-games Giants losing eight of their next 10. And don't, by the way, get Cecil started on anybody but Mays being the greatest living baseball player in history. If you're lucky, he'll school you for 37 minutes and then punch you in the gut. The unlucky? They just get the gut shot.

* Infamy riddled baseball today in 1957 when the National League approved of the move of the Dodgers and Giants to head west to Californ-eye-ay.

* The American League, in 1968, agreed on the following divisional alignments: Boston, New York, Cleveland, Baltimore, Washington, and Detroit in the Eastern; and Chicago, Kansas City, Minnesota, Seattle, Oakland, and California in the Western. The decision would be put into effect the following year, and lasted, more or less, until 1993, when each league received a Central division.

* The year was 1995 when the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox hit a collective 12 home runs in one game to set an MLB record. The home team Tigers hit seven of the blasts, but still drop the contest, 14-12.

* Finally, it was three years ago today that The Head hit home run number 715 to move beyond Babe Ruth's mark on the all-time list and into second place.

And your quote of the day came from former MLB catcher, long-time MLB hitting coach, the author of The Art of Hitting .300 and Lau's Laws on Hitting,



the late Charley Lau, who, for all the young Willie Mays and Barry Bonds out there, said, "Don't try to hit the ball far. Try to hit it hard."
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Tradition Tuesday: Scoping the Choncosphere: 3-25-2008

Welcome back for only the second another installment of "Scoping the Choncosphere", where the House of Georges takes a peek at what's goin' down in both Bronco Country and Chiefs Nation. This feature always promises breaking news headlines, professional and objective scopes, and, if we can help it, a few chuckles, even if they are in reaction to the first half of this sentence. We are, nevertheless, here to bring you the scoop on Chiefs/Broncos football, and that's what we aim to do, even if we do it in the form of a link dump. The drill, as it's come to be known, unfolds after the jump. Enjoy.

Where to start, o where to start with the Orange and Blue. I suppose we'll start with the most straight-forward bit, a scoop we're clearly the first to break, as no other sporting agent has yet to report on it. Someone, an offensive lineman who I used to know as Casey Wiegmann -- he's dead to me now, though -- has taken pen to paper, and done the impermissible. What a jackass. That is, way to piss away seven solid seasons, to only be now recognized as a nothing.

Elsewhere in Bronco news, the former Mrs. Horse-Faced Colts Draft has sold some acreage to La Familia Raton. And, it is, allegedly, a doozy, both in terms of the transaction, and the estate that will be. Apparently, Janet, Miss Nasty if you're lucky, was awarded the lot as part of the divorce settlement, while Tanahan's wife Peggy, has some elaborate plans for the homestead:

It includes three Jacuzzis, an 80-square-foot steam room, a 108-square-foot sauna, a 2,299-square-foot heated garage, a 2,100-square-foot swimming pool, a 165-square-foot hot tub. It was built in 2000 and has slate mission tile on the roof.

Two buildings are on the land, one with three bedrooms and six fireplaces; the other with two bedrooms.

The first building has 7,733 square feet, a 7,272-square-foot open porch, a 2,857-square-foot terrace and a 2,353-square-foot wood balcony. The second home has 1,089 square feet.

Also in the plans for the 35,000-square-foot home in the posh Cherry Hills Village suburb are a bowling alley, a poker room, a video-golf room and a kids' arcade. It will have at least six bedrooms, including a master suite with his-and-hers closets. That story embodies cute. And by "cute," I of course mean this. I'm sure these plans are totally unrelated to Uncle Mike's firing of the Broncos' decision to let GM Ted Sundquist go.

In slightly less-gay, more hilariousish Denver Bronco news, is the agility/athleticism of wide receiver Brandon Marshall. For those who haven't read the news, Marshall allegedly slipped on a McDonald's to go back, put his arm through the glass of an entertainment center, and, uh, got a boo boo that will leave him in a cast for two weeks.

Uh. Yeah. That and some post-touchdown snow throwing will get you 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct/being a total 'tard. Nice work, B-Marsh. This sort of injury doesn't sound familiar to me at all.

In Chiefs news, Herm Edwards is claiming -- without claiming -- that there's been some tampering going on. I suppose he's irked because, after 10 picks in the upcoming draft, Kansas City apparently needs to tack on an additional 20. Good thing for Herm there's no roster limit for the Chiefs. Oh, and good thing he's never been accused of tampering himself. Sorry, Cecil, for the PK link.

Elsewhere in Chiefs news, Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham will also take on the responsibility of coaching the linebackers. Logistically speaking, I have no idea what this might mean. Historically, the Chiefs had a stellar D when Gun had a more hands-on role as DC. Ultimately, the one truth I can give you is that the more power you give this feisty old codger, the more sheer entertainment you're going to get, in one form or another.

Finally, Herm has told the papers that the Chiefs will strongly consider selecting a quarterback in next month's draft, which of course would mean Kansas City really puts the youth-movement stamp on their roster and enters the season with three under-25 QBs. Yikes.

And that's a wrap. I now turn the readership loose, free and able to scour the CyberSpaces for Chiefs/Broncos news not broken here on the HoG.
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