Beale Street is modified Bourbon Street after dark. Here’s a street artist who does spray paint work (enamel, and it stinks) on the sidewalk by the Pepsi Pavilion.

In addition for being noted as the pitcher who gave up Henry Aaron’s 715^th home run in 1974, Al Downing is (I think) the only professional athlete from Muhlenberg College (my alma mater). I had heard this as a rumor as I sat in my dorm in 1974, watching Aaron hit the famous blast, but never thought it was true. Today, prior to the Civil Rights Game, Downing was signing autographs in the Memphis Redbirds souvenir store. So, I asked him… and it turns out he is a Mule. He even asked me which my dorm was when I was a student. Wow, it was 32 years ago, and I actually remembered.

 

By the way, seated to his right is former Dodger Tommy Davis. Now that man could hit.

We didn’t want to come to Memphis and leave empty-handed in seeing a baseball game. Although we have tickets for the Civil Rights Game, the weather is ominous and could threaten the game. So, on Friday night, we went to the Redbirds-Cardinals exhibition game. You just cannot miss a chance to see Albert Pujols or, for that matter, Rockey the Redbird.

Every morning at 11 and eveing at 5, a group (gaggle?) of ducks make their way back and forth from a penthouse at the Peabody Hotel (in Memphis) to the lobby. It's quite the scene!

 

Seems this Peabody guy (not the dog from the cartoon) brought a group of mallards back from a hunting trip in the ‘30s and they have been a fixture at this grand Memphis hotel ever since. Note all the St. Louis Cardinals fans in the lobby; as my producer pointed out, they are hungry for baseball after a long winter. The Cards play their AAA Memphis farm team tonight and the Indians tomorrow in the Civil Rights Game

Memphis has music at every turn. Here's a clip from the park by the Pepsi Pavillion right by a statue honoring Rufus (Funky Chicken) Thomas.

Welcome to Memphis. It’s hot, humid and the smell of barbecue is in the air.

 

We’re here for the first ever Civil Rights Baseball Game (Cardinals vs. Indians) on Saturday, but we’ll be soaking up the scene til gametime: music, food, Graceland, Stax Records Civil Right Museum and even the Peabody ducks.

 

 

 

Yes, I am among the lucky folks who have an Apple TV box. This clip (rather lengthy, but informative, I think) shows you how the box sets up and what it looks like on the big screen.

It's cool. Very cool.

There: I said it. Barry Bonds is the greatest. We sat through seven miserable innings of rainy baseball to see our hero just a few yards in front of us in left field. The Giants lost to the D-backs 6-0 (game shortened to 7 innings), but it was great seeing Barry in what might be his last year at Giants Spring Training.

Yes, it bothers me Bonds may have taken steroids. But he's no doubt clean now (well clean of illegal substances) and he's leading the Cactus League in homers. Does it taint his soon-to-be all-time home run record? Not for me. I have a soft spot for Barry Bonds as in 2000, at a troubled time in my family life, I had Giants season tickets and Barry's home run chase provided the distraction needed to get through. I can still see his homers sailing into the McCovey Cove past right field.

So, Barry, you are tops with us. Hope you have a great and healthy year. Just wish I could be there to see you break Aaron's record.

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than at a Chicago Cubs Spring Training game. There were lots of green, lots of beer and lots of sun. Check out the guys in the kilts.

Podsafe music is “Drunk Tonight” by the Bloody Irish Boys.

When Starbucks proclaims March 15th to be Coffee Break Day, offering a free cup of drip joe to all comers from 10 am-Noon, you might expect lines to form. Well, maybe because it’s a bit warm here in Arizona, the turnout was rather small—or at least at the Starbucks closest to my home. Or perhaps by 11:45 am, the locals had a sufficient buzz going.

It's been close to 20 years since I saw Rick The Peanut Vendor (Kaminski) toss peanuts to hungry fans at the cavernous Kingdome. In this clip, Rick, who now plies his trade at Safeco Field, uses Spring Training to get in form for the Seattle Mariners 2007 campaign. Rick didn't get a lot of action at this Cactus League game as the Padres (who share Peoria Sports Complex with the M's) were the home team. San Diego fans are more the sushi sorts than peanut afficienados.

Nothing spices up a Cactus League game like the Southwest Airlines throw-the-peanut bags-into the A-frame contest. In this battle, Eric from San Diego displays the laid back SoCal approach, and actually wins.

Now I've seen it all: here's a look at the ostrich races at the Chandler (AZ) Ostrich Festival. They might not be the smartest animals in the world, but they sure are entertaining.

How great is it to spend a weekend in the sun watching the Cubs prepare to again break the hearts of the North Side faithful.

It’s cool to see the Cubs fans and White Sox fans go at it in Spring Training. At the cross-town, out of town exhibition game, former Cubs Hall of Famer (class of ’91) Fergie Jenkins (a personal favorite) sat at a special events table before the game, signing autographs for a $10 donation to his foundation. That’s former Tiger Ron LeFlore to his left.

As is our custom after games at Phoenix Muni, we head over to see the visiting players head out to the team bus. We have seen everything from World Baseball Classic teams to the Padres to fall league stars. Once we saw future Angels star Brandon Wood walk to the bus in his shower shoes, stopping to talk to local friends and family.

Today, we caught the Cubs new star, Jeff Samardzija who made his Cubs debut earlier in the day. For those not familiar with this future #1 starter, Sanardzjia passed up being a first round draft pick in the NFL to sign with the Cubs. Samardzija was one of the all-time great wide receivers at Notre Dame (hence his school’s fight song as part of the clip).

Cubs fans will recognize their unofficial mascot, Ronnie "Woo Woo." Ronnie made the trip from Mesa, the Cactus League home of the Chicago Cubs, to Phoenix Muni to cheer on the Cubs as they played the Oakland A's. The game ended in a rare 5-5 tie after 10 innings. The players may need to tune up, but Ronnie "Woo Woo" is in mid-season shape.