Bobwhite Baseball

It's that time of year again, when the rains come and consecutive baseball games are played on consecutive days on soft, wet ball fields. If you have ever played baseball in Vermont then you know what I am talking about. Tuesday's match up between the Bellows Free Academy Bobwhites and the CVU Redhawks was the beginning of long stretch of ball games for BFA, and it was filled with small ball and creativity.

In a rematch of the 2012 Vermont State Division I finals, the visiting Redhawks visited the hosting Bobwhites in a game at the Collins Perley Complex in St. Albans, Vermont. CVU entered the game looking to expand on their five game winning streak. On the mound for the Bobwhites was Junior Ryan Connor who pitched himself a two-hitter and added four strikeouts. Dylan Ireland started for the Redhawks giving up only five singles.

The game was played well defensively by both teams. Most of the drama for the game came in the bottom of the third inning. The Bobwhites loaded the bases and scored on a fielder's choice. That was when coach Geoff Murray got creative and went to his old managerial technique of "small ball". Murray called on his offense to execute to back-to-back suicide squeeze bunts by seniors Doug Saffo and Darren Callan. The Bobwhites were successful with both the squeeze plays and scored a total of three runs for the inning. That was all the run support Connor needed as the Bobwhites went on to win 3-0, snapping the Redhawks (10-3) five game winning streak.

BFA traveled to Milton on Wednesday with hopes to extend their good play. I didn't go to the game but I understand that they were able to defeat the Yellowjackets to improve their record to 9-5. The Bobwhites travel to Burlington tonight to play the BHS Seahorses and play Friday away as well.

Save the Ladies

Whether it be the fact that I have lived here my entire life or maybe it's because I am stuck here for the rest of it, I still take pride in my community. I have always lived with the understanding that one should put pride into everything they own and do. If this was false then I would have never ran for public office and I would have never volunteered to coach youth sports in our region. Being from St. Albans I have always loved the buildings, the downtown, the schools, the people, and the parks. Recently I have seen too many good maple trees being torn down in the "Maple City Capital of the World" only to be replaced by more inferior species of trees. I don't want to be really negative in these posts so I will talk about something that I do agree with regarding Taylor Park and St. Albans, and that is: WE NEED TO SAVE THE LADIES! I know Kathy Manahan is really trying to push this effort to save the fountain that is part of our history of St. Albans and Vermont. I believe the fountain was a gift from Governor Smith (I may be wrong on this one) but regardless it has been a part of St. Albans for generations and we need to fix it and get it painted and get it working. Please save the ladies for St. Albans.

https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheLadiesSt.Albans?fref=ts

Ticket to Ride

I think it is pretty safe for me to not consider myself a car guy. I do work at a dealership and I get to drive a lot of very nice vehicles (Toyota, Chevy, new and Used - handycars.com). This does not make me an expert, but when I think about cars going to auctions I have to wonder why people buy such expensive vehicles. I also never thought that I would be craving a car that would go to auction. I know I will never be able to afford a car like those at auctions, I do not wish to own an antique car because new cars have more features and I think are better, and simply I just don't care most of the time - that was until I was searching news on vehicles and one article caught my eye. 

People may not know but I am one huge Beatles fan. For as long as I can remember I have listened to The Beatles on car trips, on the radio, on the record player (yes record player) and now on my iPhone. Their music really spoke to me growing up and every time I hear their music now I have to sing along. So when I saw an article on Yahoo! Autos titled: John Lennon's First Car Heads to Auction, Ticket to Ride? I had to read it. 

In 1965, right after The Beatles recorded their number one single Ticket to Ride, John Lennon passed his driving test. Being under such media spotlight this news caught the attention of car dealers in England, naturally. The car that caught his fancy was a blue Ferrari 330GT worth around $10,000 (pictured above). Now that is one nice car! There were only 500 of these Ferrari's made.  Go to http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/john-lennon-first-car-heads-auction-ticket-ride-180016472.html to check out more photos. 

Now, believe me, if I had the money to buy any car I wanted in the world, this Ferrari 330GT would be at the top of my list - even though the driver side is on the right (wrong side). If I could muster up enough money this car it would cost me an estimated $340,000 at auction. A man can dream, right?

I'm Ron Burgandy?

We are laughing and we are very close friends.