Joe Buck's 'The Jerk' Reference

Watching the San Francisco Giants wallop on the Texas Rangers last night in Game 1 of the World Series, Joe Buck made me laugh hysterically as he referenced Steve Martin's 1979 film "The Jerk." It was during a long at-bat by one of the Giants players who kept fouling the ball back to the camera behind home plate.  After two or three of these balls came near the equipment set up to film the action, Buck uttered, "He hates these cameras." This could easily be taken as nothing more than a statement made off the cuff and Buck was not thinking of Martin's first starring film role as an idiotic white man raised by a black family, but it was just too similar to the famous line, "He hates these cans," to not be an out-and-out reference.  I already liked Buck before as an announcer, but now I love him.  Greatness!

I Love Midlothian

Just finished playing three-man baseball with two kids from the neighborhood in my back yard.  I saw them playing in the next door neighbor's front yard when I got home from work and got the baseball bug.  I asked if they would like to add a third and when they said they were cool with it I told them to ask their parents and make sure it was okay.  We got the good to go and were using ghost runners and patio furniture bases.
First of all, in a larger community you wouldn't see kids playing outside, let alone being welcome to an adult tagging along.  Secondly, it would be frowned upon by the jaded parents of big city families who would think my longing for a kid-like afternoon of America's pasttime was some sort of pedophile ploy.
Every day that passes I find some new reason to love Midlothian more and more.