May18

be careful what you wish for and how you pose for a picture

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and the results are in – mark and i have guest posted on each other’s sites, as the end of our friendly wager –

the final tally in the biggest bloggers baseball wager ever is syracuse chiefs 5 games won, toledo mud hens 3 games won.

after a two-week stretch fraught with tight nerves, generous volleys of good-humored trash-talking and on-field triple-a baseball that went down to game eight before a 9-3 chiefs victory in toledo’s fifth third field clinched the title, i have learned a bit.

my last bit of gloat shall come in the accompanying photo. It was taken during my dear wife karen and i’s trip to watch game two of the series at the chief’s nbt bank stadium. truth be told, i came with two other signs: one in case the mud hens won the series, and one in case of a 4-4 deadlock.

I had fun following the results, posting jokes, parrying with beth, and our regular readers and friends who comment on both of our blogs.

so what did i take away from this foray into inter-blogal diamond doings?

triple-a baseball is fun, inexpensive, good for its communities, and played at a high level of talent. oh, i knew that going in, but the reminder is always nice.

i actually like the toledo mud hens, particularly pitcher kyle lobstein, third baseman mike hessman and mascot jim flealand.

i was correct in suggesting this little experiment to beth. when i saw her post about attending the outdoor hockey game and love of the detroit red wings, and comments about the tigers and the teams of her alma mater michigan, i knew i had found a kindred sports fan as well as somebody who appreciates aiming an eye at the vagaries and curiosities of life in general. indeed.

and so i typed this in beth style, sans capital letters, in homage to e.e. cummings i do believe, but perhaps because she has a balky shift key on her main typing keyboard.

i heartily invite you regular readers of i didn’t have my glasses on to hop over to markbialczak.com to check out what beth cross-posted on my blog today about this little escapade. if you happen to spot a headline that interests you on my sidebar, please do click and read. follow, if you wish. come back daily. i’d love to talk.

speaking of the future … my alma mater, maryland, joins the big ten come fall. my terps will be playing beth’s wolverines. there may be some more trash-talking ahead.

Have you ever made a friendly wager and then felt a little bad about settling up? Are you a comfortable trash-talker? Do you despise me even a little bit for the sign I’m holding in the picture?

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45 responses »

  3. Sports rivalries are so much fun. Being a fan of all sports Detroit and living in Chicago, I take my fair share of ribbing, but can also dish it out. It has to be clean though or I won’t play.

    Congrats to your Chiefs.

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  4. Beth, congratulations on a rivalry well played in the spirit of friendly competition. Your piece on my site today once again shows your humor, wisdom and soul, all jumbled together. If, per chance, anybody has jumped here from my place for the first time, please click to Beth’s post about her muskrat carpet, the charming and mysterious flokati, just a couple days back. You will laugh until you cry.

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  14. Love the fun!!!! I once heard a story years ago. Two friends made a wager. One friend bet the other he could not stay isolated and have no communication with anyone for a year. The wager was large. It was a large bet. Minimal communication was established to provide the man in isolation with his essential needs. It was a along year. The friend in isolation struggled with his end. The man holding the wager had a financial crisis. If his friend had no communication he would have to pay and he would be financially ruined. The friend who could not communicate isolated himself and had no communication. Prior to the completion of the bet the man in isolation was told by his essential provider what was happening to the man holding the wager. The day before the bet was to be finalized the man in isolation left his isolation. And lost his bet. Saving his friend.

    I always think of that when I hear of wagers between friends. And it makes me feel good that the friend mattered more than the wager.

    I’ve never had such a bet. But if I did, I would want it to be like yours and this guy. Not that they really had anything to do with one another (and the one is probably not even true) but it’s what came to mind at the end of your fun wager.

    🙂

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  19. It was a fun wager, interesting competition and always making us smile at your shenanigans! You showed a sense of humor where I would have been pouting and disappointed!

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