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Face it, baseball games are too long
Rick Reilly will answer your questions on just about anything every other week. Click here to submit a question or comment. And don't miss "The Life of Reilly" -- a best-of compilation of Rick Reilly's columns and features (Total/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, $22.95) available this November at bookstores everywhere. Reilly, nobody cares about what you think of New York. This column stinks, Reilly ... stinks!!! Get a life (I should probably get one, too -- why am I writing to you?) Anyway, please write a worthwhile column sometime soon. Your biggest fan,
Mike, please write again when you get your schizophrenia under control. I think we can sum it all up with the following statements: Pinstripes vs. mercury Mets outer-space uniforms; Billy Joel vs. 'N Sync; Frank Sinatra vs. the Baha Men; three home runs from Reggie Jackson vs. Bill Buckner. BTW, why in the world would the Mets let an L.A. Dodger throw out the first pitch?
Why in the world would the Mets let a Yankee throw a sawed-off bet at their best player and not retaliate? To me, the Series ended right then. The intimidation was complete. Game, set, match. What planet are you from? The Yankees bought their world championships? Take a look at the Mets payroll; at least the Yankees got something for their money. What the hell have the Mets been spending theirs on?
Uniform redesigns. What's wrong with beer?
I'm not sure. Send me a case and I'll research it. My late husband wrote the best one-liners ever. His name? Jim Murray. His protégé? Rick Reilly.
I'll be doing well to be half the writer, half the man. While not the fan I used to be, I still find baseball far more interesting to watch than any other sporting event. And in case Mr. Reilly would take a stopwatch to football, he would find that the ball is in play for approximately 15 minutes of the 60 they are supposed to be playing. Pretty lame, Mr. Reilly. I expect more from you. Perhaps you should suggest to Tiger Woods that he have you removed from his butt, and you will once again be able to think clearly.
Your name has "arse" in it and you're making butt jokes about me? The problem isn't the length of baseball games, it's Reilly's attention span of a five-year-old.
I disagree with you. I really don't think you ... wait a second. What were we talking about? I am tempted to watch a golf tournament, stopwatch in hand, to see just how long a golf ball is "in play" through 18 holes.
I agree that golf can be boring, but it's far less boring than baseball. The reason is that if Fred Couples readjusts his glove, his underwear, his hat and takes 10 practice swings between every swing, the camera can cut away and show somebody else actually striking the ball. When Tino Martinez of the Yankees does it, there's nothing to show but Joe Torre sipping a beverage from two different angles. Baseball is the only sport than can cram 15 minutes of action into three hours!
Make it four during the playoffs. I enjoyed your article on baseball on TV. I am an avid baseball fan, and in my opinion TV has ruined a great spectator sport. While I enjoy attending games much more that watching on TV, that same TV has ruined the game while there in person. The time wasted between innings till all the commercials are over is awful. I have found much enjoyment in attending the Harrisburg Senators games in the Eastern League. Good baseball and no interruptions for someone selling Aunt Tilly's Cake Mix or Joe Schlobotnic's Beer.
I always liked you. You were joking when you said Frank Garza Jr. would get $100-$350 for the Tyson-Golota fight, weren't you?
No. That's his cut. Who are some of today's sports columnists whose work you like to read? Where is their stuff published? Any particularly good stories available on the 'Net?
There are so many good ones in this country, it's scary. The Washington Post has the best set of columnists -- Sally Jenkins, Michael Wilbon, Tom Boswell and Tony Kornheiser . Those are four wonderful writers. I love Bill Plaschke at the Los Angeles Times, Dan Shaughnessy and Bob Ryan at The Boston Globe. Mitch Albom is terrific in Detroit. Too many good ones. Makes me want to heave my laptop through a window. Baseball on TV? I'd rather watch Lifetime.
Discussing the heartbreak of pre-menopausal syndrome. Nice to see the world's highest-paid sportswriter has regressed in maturity to join the zit-faced, Eminem-loving, no-attention-span, Playstation generation. Must have instant action, no thinking allowed. Guess making that much jack to work an hour a week can screw with your head. I bet back in the days, when Reilly had to work for a living, he enjoyed a good three-hour baseball playoff game.
I totally resent those scurrilous remarks. I never enjoyed a three-hour playoff game. I read your article on watching baseball on TV, and I am sorry to inform you but you missed one major category: how many times I had to stop trying to hang myself with the phone cord! I think I'd rather watch fat women roll in butter and then try to catch a pig, while wearing only a smile!
I was wondering, since there's another game on tonight, on what channel is the "fat women rolling in butter" show? Typical of most baseball haters. Reilly is simply not intelligent enough to understand the game. A baseball game is like a 900-page novel: It is filled with numerous, minute details that build toward an exciting climax. Each detail adds to the color and texture of the story and greatly enriches the experience. When a book (or game) is really good, the enlightened person wishes it could go on forever. Simpletons like Reilly eschew the Moby-Dick-like qualities of baseball for the less-trying, mind- numbing, USA Today stylings of other sports.
How does Chuck Knoblauch and every other freaking hitter stepping out of the box and adjusting his gloves between every pitch add to the texture, color or experience? When games were only two hours and 20 minutes they were every bit as rich, textured and colorful. Get these guys back in the box! Your status of alltime-best sportswriter in my book is in jeopardy with this most recent column. How dare you attack baseball? I thought you were one of us, and I don't mean Reillys. Since when have you gone Jim Rome on us? Baseball is the greatest of all games among the big five (football, hockey, basketball and lawnmower racing, of course, are the other four). The decline in the popularity of baseball is a reflection of the decline in our society. Baseball is a cerebral game and is not appreciated by the instant-gratification, slam-dunk, sack-dance, high-five MTV generation. Now if you don't promise to print a retraction, Bob Costas and I are going to come over and beat you up.
Uh, hello? Did you listen to Costas complain during Game 6 of the Yankees-Mariners series? He was begging hitters to get back in the box. He was pointing out how unfair it is to schoolkids to finish a game after midnight. Bob and I are coming over to beat you up! Dear Mr. Riley, you are by far my favorite sportswriter of all time. I am currently a freshman at Bucknell University and I am writing for our school paper, The Bucknellian. To start out I was asked to cover the women's volleyball team, and although it is difficult because the editor discourages anything that could be seen as controversial, I always try to incorporate some Riley-esque writing into my weekly article. I am the next Rick Riley. I will have your page when you become a nonagenarian (just one of the many words you've taught me). I've read most of your books, and I read Sports Illustrated from back to front every week. I would love it if you could respond with any advice for your future replacement. I know you're very busy, but telling me anything that I can do at this stage would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot, and good luck with your next material. Your biggest fan,
OK, glad to help. Now, here's my first piece of advice: spell names right. Click here to submit a question or comment to Rick Reilly. And don't miss "The Life of Reilly" -- a best-of compilation of Rick Reilly's columns and features (Total/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, $22.95) available this November at bookstores everywhere.
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