DON McCORMACK
Star Beacon
June 29, 2009 09:47 am
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Paying a Monday morning visit to the variety store...
Almost empty
I know I’m late to the game, here, but I finally had an opportunity to see Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman’s tag-team effort in “The Bucket List” over the weekend.
Seeing the flick got me thinking (a rare happening anymore, I know), with lengthy sabbatical coming after this week (three weeks paid, one week unpaid), what is my “bucket list?”
So, without further ado, and with apologies in advance to Nicholson and Freeman, here goes nothing (and it pretty much is):
n Go to Cedar Point.
n Taste lobster.
n Have a margarita.
n Have a cup of coffee.
n Return to the golf course once to use the new clubs I bought two years ago for the first time.
n Go scuba diving.
n Go sky diving.
I might be the only Ohio resident to have never been to Cedar Point.
I’m not much of a seafood guy, but I’ve heard so much about how good lobster is, I figure I might as well sample it.
As far as margaritas go, I had my first taste of tequila last summer, a humbling (OK, embarrassing) experience, but I’m told margaritas taste much better than what I tasted last summer.
Coffee? I’ve always been a tea guy, so I’ve never touched the stuff... I was always told it would stunt my growth. Hmmmm...
Scuba diving and sky diving — no, I don’t have a death wish, but both sure seem intriguing.
As bucket lists go, I realize mine is pretty much nondescript. OK, it’s lame, but it’s my list.
What will come first —completion of the list — or the bucket?
Your thoughts, Loyal Readers?
Stay tuned.
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I don’t dabble much into professional sports in this space because, frankly, you can get opinions on that stuff pretty much anywhere, anytime, Loyal Readers.
However, mark my words — Indians fans will be calling the postgame trade late Saturday night that sent Mark DeRosa to the Cardinals “the Chris Perez trade” in a year or two.
The Indians sent DeRosa, a true professional and a good guy to boot, to the Cardinals after the loss to the Reds on Saturday night in exchange for Perez and the proverbial player to be named later.
I had a chance to watch Perez throw an inning against the Indians on June 14 at Progressive Field and let me tell you, the guy throws what is called a “heavy ball.” That day, Perez threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning in a 3-0 interleague win, striking out two, including — you guessed it — DeRosa.
With a fastball that averages in the mid-90s and a high-80s slider, the 24-year-old Perez can be devastating. All he needs is some consistent work the finish him off and overcome some control issues.
Compared to the Human Torch acts the Wahoos have been trotting out — gas cans in hand — to the mound all season, Perez’s development the rest of this lost season is at least something to watch.
With DeRosa being a free agent at the end of the season, and with the Indians going nowhere (unless you call the dark, dank basement of the AL Central “somewhere”), this was a good move by GM Mark Shapiro.
And if the player to be named later is a prospect anything close to Michael Brantley, the final piece in the CC Sabathia trade last summer, it will be a downright steal.
McCormack is the sports editor of the Star Beacon. Reach him at donmac@suite224.net.
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DON McCORMACK Star Beacon