It's a perfect game

Major league baseball pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training and it’s been 15 years since I’ve cared about that.

I used to be a big baseball fan. Big. I was the person in my family who when they couldn’t quite think of the perfect birthday or Christmas gift got me something tied to baseball and I was happy with it . . . usually.

Then came 1994.

That was the year major league baseball players went on strike. Can you imagine that? They went on strike because, um, you know, I can’t remember why but whenever ANYONE goes on strike it has to do with money. What was the end result of the strike? I can’t remember that either other than they cancelled the World Series. For me that was a deal breaker.

I grew up playing baseball in Little League, in front of my house on the street, in the backyard, pretty much anywhere anytime I could find a game I’d play. I played softball as an adult and played pick up games with my friends. I played the game because I loved it, it connected me with my passion and perhaps most of all, it was fun.

Baseball is such a beautiful game. It’s the only game where the offense doesn’t have the ball. The dimensions of the field, 90 feet down the base paths, 60 feet six inches to the mound, nine players spread around the field are perfect. The amount of strategy involved on every pitch is mathematically stunning.

A man on first, decent speed, the pitcher has a so-so move to first, the hitter is a left-handed pull hitter, keeping the runner on forces the second baseman to cover a wider area so the first baseman can hold the runner. Can the pitcher keep the ball outside so the hitter doesn’t get a pitch to pull? Does he walk him? Should the hitter bunt?

An amazing game. And I miss that.

But I just can’t go back. They broke their promise to me. They promised to play the game and it’s not that they just quit playing for a while; they didn’t play the World Series. So I quit the game they quit. I never got a chance to pass down that love to my kids. I really miss loving baseball.

And for the record, I was a Red Sox fan and never watched a single inning of any World Series they were in this decade. I couldn’t tell you who their players are, no idea.

I love the game and I really miss it.

When it comes to Syracuse men’s basketball, I am the eternal optimist. As I look at the team this year I see a team that has all the ingredients to make a deep run into the NCAA’s. They have big dominant players inside who can score and play aggressive defense. They have guards who can run an offense and shoot the three and they have depth. OK, well, maybe not a lot of depth but there’s enough for a run. They have a coaching staff that has experience and success in the playoff’s and they have played a schedule (so far) that has them battle tested.

I think the one thing I haven’t seen this year is a team that can play for 40 minutes with intensity. It shows up but not as often as they’ll need it come tournament time. Can they do it? A qualified yes because, as they say, you play like you practice. If you’re practice sessions don’t have intensity, it probably won’t show up on the court. Now, I have no idea how this year’s team practices but based on the performance on the court this year, I could conclude that the practice sessions have been inconsistent too. But you know, they had that insane stretch where they played something like five games in 10 or 12 days against ranked competition. How would you like to go to school and have the toughest final exam you’ll every take . . . every day!?

And having watched Syracuse basketball for 30 plus years, the team has always seems to do better when they fly under the radar a bit. Right now they’re a middle of the pack team in the Big East, not ranked in the top 10 and they’ve lost some games they should have probably won and lost, badly, to G’Town, Villanova and UConn. They’re definitely under the radar so I see a deep run into the tournament, maybe Sweet 16.

But I say that every year.

My head hurts

H.264, MPEG-4, Codec, HD, SDI.

This is a tiny sample of the future of television. And it makes my head hurt.

I started in television when there were three major commercial networks. The proliferation of cable was still a few years away and “working in TV” meant getting a job at a television station, perhaps working your way up and moving on to bigger markets. Working in a “Top 10” market was seen as a sign of success. I guess I don’t have to tell you things are different today.

Just like when you go to the grocery store and are blown away confused with the number of choices you have for something as simple as toothpaste, so goes the medium of television. And it’s funny how when computers first came out they were complicated, erratic and intimidating but over time they got easier to use and understand. Not so with television.

As the industry steers toward high-definition, the “kind” of high definition one chooses to create is as important a decision as any you’ll make. Will you capture in HDV? 1080i? 1080p? 720p? Uncompressed high-definition? These are some of the questions and issues I deal with now as I try and steer the Orange Television Network toward high-definition.

My experience and background is mostly on the creative side as a producer, director, editor and videographer. The technical side is something I’ve learned along the way. And let me tell you, this HD stuff is mind numbing. But fortunately I have some good friends who know this stuff better than I do and I’m consulting with a couple of vendors who are really knowledgeable so I think I’ll be able to figure out the right and best solution for OTN.

But in the meantime, google H.264 and see why my head hurts.

TV, Music & Mr. D

Last night I had my weekly rehearsal in the Lyncourt Community Band. The conductor is Tony DeAngelis otherwise affectionately known as “Mr. D.” Mr. D has been a fixture in the Lyncourt Community for well over 50 years. He only recently retired but he agreed to come back to conduct the community band last year.

There are a couple of stories here; the first one is Mr. D. He is an accomplished musician (original member of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra) and a gifted teacher. Many of his students over the years have gone on to either careers in music or continue to play as a hobby, like myself. So you’re saying, what’s the big deal? Lots of communities have a “Mr. D.” Maybe. But when you don’t retire from teaching at a very small elementary and middle school until you are in your seventies, and it’s not because he needed the money, that says a lot about him. The man has lived to teach and he has lived to be around music. Period. I don’t want to shortchange his personal life as he has been married to the same woman for a bunch of years and raised three very successful daughters, but it’s been music that has been the thread that weaves through his life. He gave us the gift of music, taught us high standards with the blessing of passion and humor. For me, and many, many other former students, he changed our lives.

The second story here is the art and skill of playing music. Playing in a band, small, medium or large, requires you to listen to each other and contribute your part with as much skill as you have. It’s kind of like working on a television production. I watch my students work on SUper Sports or productions at the Schine or live television shows from the Dome and I see the exact same dynamics in play as I do in community band. Many times we get it real right and sometimes someone is playing the wrong key. But hey, that’s the way it goes when you put your creative soul on the line isn’t it?

As I think of it, maybe there’s a third story here. When I was in the fourth grade I went to the music room and told Mr. D I wanted to play the trumpet. I didn’t know it then but that started a relationship with a man who changed my life. And to a certain extent, he might be changing yours too. Amazing how we are all interconnected isn’t it?