Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Which ballgame, though?

Well, today is Opening Day and I couldn’t be more excited. After an offseason that saw the best player in baseball (Alex Rodriguez) reveal that he’s used performance-enhancing drugs, the Yankees budget over $420 million for three players, and Manny Ramirez go back to the Dodgers for a little less than the $100 million he was expecting, I think it’s time to get the games going on the field.

Also, there was a pretty big basketball game tonight. 

On Saturday night, the Michigan State Spartans and North Carolina Tar Heels both earned the right to play in the NCAA men’s championship this evening. The game, however, wasn’t very close and North Carolina ran away with it by a score of 89 – 72.

Much had been made of UNC’s 35 point victory over Michigan State since December, and there was a feeling that the game would be closer tonight. I thought it would, even though I had picked North Carolina to win the whole thing. Michigan State didn’t have their whole team healthy in December and their impressive victories over Big East beasts Louisville and Connecticut made me wonder if they couldn’t at least give Carolina a run for the money. However, Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, and Tyler Hansbrough were too much to handle. Congratulations to coach Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels!

However, there is still plenty going on all over the world other than sports. Most importantly was North Korea’s launch of a rocket on Sunday. What does the world think of this development?

North Korea’s launch of a rocket went over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. They claimed they were testing a rocket launch, but the prevailing theory is it’s a test to launch missiles with nuclear warheads. Obviously, the rest of the world has mixed reactions, as seen in the CNN article.

I think this has the potential to be a serious issue. Countries like China and Russia are asking for restraint, but that’s not going to be enough to quell the worries of countries close by like South Korea and Japan. This issue is indeed going to have to be handled very carefully, but I’m not sure how much restraint can be shown. There are many countries thought to have nuclear weapons or have attempted to gain nuclear weapons. I don’t buy North Korea’s satellite alibi, and they’re no strangers to previous nuclear weapons either. Also, I know the G20 summit deals with economics, but the rocket launch happening just after world leaders meet is a bit coincidental in my opinion.

Finally, this last story took me by surprise because it’s something I used to read almost daily when I lived in Boston for several years. However, the New York Times is seriously considering shutting down the Boston Globe newspaper.

The Times owns the Globe and the falling advertising numbers have forced the Times to ask the Globe to make some concessions. Unfortunately, this threat does have legitimacy since newspapers in Denver and Seattle have closed down, and a prominent newspaper like the San Francisco Chronicle isn’t immune from rumors of possibly folding as well.

On one hand, I do think it’s somewhat unfair for the New York Times to threaten to shut down the Globe. The article mentions that the Globe has cut the equivalent of 50 full-time jobs and they haven’t said no to the $20 million in requested concessions as of yet. At the same time, large companies (like the Times) and small companies alike have had to tighten their belts due to the economic crisis that our country is presently experiencing. I think it’s good that the Times is looking at options like selling their share of the Boston Red Sox before closing the doors of the Globe. However, if there is to be a compromise, the Globe will certainly have to do their fair share to make sure they stay in circulation. The bottom line is, I would hate to see the Globe taken out of circulation and I hope this situation finds a resolution that works out best for union leaders, ownership, and readers.

All right, the ninth inning has just ended for this blog entry. Turn out the lights and leave the ballpark, but be sure to check back next week.