Braves: Grapefruit League Champs

Today the Braves clinched the 2026 Grapefruit League Championship, with a 20-7 record. 

Friday: left around 4 pm to drive down to W&MC's house. Took 1-1/2 hours. Lower Roswell to Terrell Mill to Powers Ferry to Windy Hill to 75 south. Got off at West Paces Ferry, then back roads to West Wesley and Moores Mill over to Atlanta Road, then back roads to MLK.

Babysat so W&MC could have a date. They rode their bikes from their house, through downtown over to the Old Fourth Ward, and ate at Krog Street Market. They took a different route home.

The girls rode their bikes and scooters, and we read books. I took Northside up to Hemphill and grabbed a pizza to go from Antico. Only had to wait like 5 minutes. Saw a couple of prom couples all dressed up, eating there.

Left for home around 945. Looked at my GPS and I thought it said to take 20 to 285 home. Wasn't paying close attention, and only too late discovered the exit from 20 to 285 north was closed down. Had to keep driving west to Fulton Industrial to exit. Almost to Six Flags. Took back roads back to 285 - only to find two northbound lanes to be closed. So it was late when we got home.

Played golf both Friday and Saturday. Afterward I drove straight to the gym for sauna and treadmill. Then home for lunch and housework. Cut the grass. Had Winnie outside with me. Leftover vegetable beef soup for sup.

Watched a classic rerun of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, with Pat Sajak, Vanna, and the cast of the putt putt show Holey Moley: Joe Tessatore, Rob Riggle, and former Atlanta resident Jenny Mai. Good stuff. Then Celebrity Jeopardy and the Reba sitcom Happy's Place - the best show on TV.

Sunday School and worship. Ceil had fixed enchiladas for a missionary family, and baked some for us to eat for Sunday lunch. Watched the end of the golf tourney, then later read how the leader was frustrated at his playing partner's slow play. So fed up that he was so tired of waiting that he went ahead and hit his approach shot even though his partner was away. The leader then walked up to the green, and his partner still had yet to hit his approach shot. 

John Grisham's The Widow is so good, a little different than his normal lawyer novel. Instead of happening at the beginning, the death takes place halfway through - and that's when all the crazy stuff happens. I'm about 60% of the way through.  

Monday AM: the gym. Lifted weights and stretched. Walked into the sauna and there were six women already there. I squeezed in. There were three conversations all going on at the same time. I almost laughed out loud. Later I hopped on the treadmill for 30 minutes.  

 

Even get a receipt when you go to CVS ? But one item and the receipt is 12 inches long, with all kinds of deals and coupons. One of the coupons was for $4.00 off any purchase. On the way home I stopped by CVS. The prices are so high there. Cereal was $6.50, but on sale for $1.99. I got two boxes for free.

MC flew out to DC this AM. "Only" had to wait in the security line for two hours. Will works late this evening, so Ceil is picking up the girls from school and spending the night, so I am home with Winnie.   

SANDY KOUFAX [SABR Bio] was the last pitcher to earn a win at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Koufax pitched a complete game on 20-Sep-1961. The Dodgers finished the season on the road then started 1962 in Dodger Stadium. Koufax and Willie Mays hit their first home runs off Warren Shahn. Mays homered off him on 28-May-1951 and Koufax took Spahn deep on 13-Jun-1962. Story here. in 1951 Spahn’s Braves were in Boston. By the time Koufax hit his HR, Spahn’s Braves were in Milwaukee. Mays’ New York Giants had moved to San Francisco, and Koufax’ Dodgers had moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.

How to Approach God

Logan Grantham

JFBC Student Pastor
When You Worship
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

How you view God shapes how you worship God. What is your view of God?

Reminders for approaching God.

1. Reverently. Guard your steps. The burning bush spoke to Moses, reminding him that he was on holy ground.

Now we don’t need a priest to help us experience God, so we can personally experience God every day, at any time, by drawing near to listen to God.

Sacrifice of fools in Ecclesiastes 4:16 God removes those who disobey. Don’t blabber on to God but listen instead.

Hebrews 4:16 remember that God is on his throne, though God comes and lives in our hearts. God will show us grace and mercy, if we approach him with reverence and respect. He deserves it

Though we mess up and sin, but we can always draw back near to him.

2. Speak to God thoughtfully. He deserves it.

There’s a deep connection between the words we say and what’s on our hearts. Think about the things that we complain about. What does that reveal about your heart?

When our hearts aren’t right with God, we just talk at God. Blabbering.

Remember: God is in heaven, and we are on earth. Talk with God, not at him. Don’t heap up empty phrases to God, to impress others. Mean what you say.

Pray about the glory of God. When you speak to God, what do you say?

3. Follow through faithfully. Because He deserves it.

Back then, vows were a big deal. Like a contract today. You shouldn’t have to make a vow to God. Your word should be enough.

It’s better to not make any promises to God. Don’t try to make a deal with God. He isn’t a puppet. He deserves so much more than that. Not a negotiation. Love God for who He is - our king.

Remember these reminders every day. It’s wrong to not follow these steps. If we don’t, our view of God is too small. God is so much more than this.

Think back: how did you interact with God this past week? God deserves more than we could ever give. Draw near to his throne, not in fear but in confidence.

Ask for forgiveness, when you don’t worship God the way He deserves. Love God will all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. See God for who He truly is.

The Widow

Started reading John Grisham's The Widow. Pretty good so far.

Finished the book The Courage to be Disliked, written by a Japanese author. It kept getting worse and worse. Assumed the world is living in a post Christian society. Happiness comes from producing goods. Sounds like something a Japanese person would say. Culminated by saying that there is no meaning to life. No wonder the suicide rate in Japan is skyrocketing. More ranting on this waste of time to come.

Wednesday: Ceil had school so I stuck around the house, but no workers stopped by. I was able to get a lot of needed work done. Still I have a lot to do. Later when C returned home, I went up to the gym for a little over an hour. Treadmill and sauna.

Small group at John's house. I took him two GT mementos for his office: a GT bobblehead and a 1990 national championship Coke bottle. David, Chris, and I were the only attendees. We all take the same route down the length of Oak Road to get to John's house, so it was like a little parade getting there and going home. Genesis 42 and 43 - how Joseph treats his brothers when they come asking for grain. An object lesson in how to treat family.

Thursday: Ceil took a sourdough bread baking class. Free ice cream cones at DQ. Fifty cent boneless nuggets at Applebees. I ate at home.

I am not crazy about Chickfila waffle fries. Back when I worked there they had regular frozen french fries. Steak & Shake cooks their fries with beef tallow, whatever that is. Supposed to be tastier. 

Next weekend there's a new milkshake place opening in Sandy Springs. Someone will win free milkshakes for a year. Plus milkshakes will be half off. 

Friday AM golf. The view looking east from the 9th green at 8:40 am. Candler Park is the only golf course with sand traps ON the greens.

After golf I stopped by the Hardees in Sandy Springs for a free bacon egg & cheese biscuit. Man Hardees biscuits used to be great - tasty and huge. Not today. Plus the apple pie I get wasn't that good either. That's fast food for ya. 

Denison: is AI a tool for the Antichrist?

DAZZY VANCE [SABR Bio] led the National League in strikeouts for 7 straight seasons, leading the majors five of those years. From 1922 to 1928, Vance struck out 134, 197, 262, 221, 140, 184, & 200 batters. The margin of his leads over second-place was by an average of 50+ strikeouts. His nickname “Dead Shot” was not about his pitching accuracy. Vance was so confident of his marksmanship with a revolver that he made boasts that seemed impossible, than backed them up - slicing a card in  two edgewise, and shooting through the bottom of a bottle w/o breaking the neck. Vance’s 2.61 ERA in 1930 led second place finisher Carl Hubbell’s 3.87 by an amazing 1.26 runs.

Ranking the NCAA Teams

Here's the KenPom rankings of teams in the men's NCAA basketball tourney. Takes each team's offensive ranking and defensive ranking. More weight to the offensive ranking, otherwise the lowest total of the two makes for the highest ranked team. 

Saw another tweet advising to stick with the top seeds more this year than ever, for similar reasons. Now Twitter's got these prognosticators in my algorithm, so I'm seeing even more of these NCAA tweets.

I used these rankings to pick my NCAA bracket, which called for just 2 or 3 upsets a long the way. My Final Four was Duke over Florida and Arizona over Michigan, with Duke winning the whole thing.   

First time I've ever been to a betting website. Had to take a shower afterwards. 

BetMGM updated KenPom rankings for the NCAA tourney

The number after the school name is the total of the offensive and defensive rankings. If two numbers, its the offensive rank first, then the defensive rank. 

1 Duke 6

2 Michigan 9

3 Arizona 8

4 Florida 15

5 Houston 19

6 Iowa State 25

7 Illinois 29

8 Purdue 38

9 Michigan State 37

10 Gonzaga 38

11 Vanderbilt 36

12 UConn 41

13 Virginia 43

14 Nebraska 62 

15 Tennessee 52

16 St Johns 66 don't pick 

17 Alabama 70 

18 Arkansas 58  

19 Louisville 45 

20 Texas Tech 45 

21 Kansas 57 10 don't pick

22 Wisconsin 62 lost to High Point

23 BYU 10 57 

24 St Marys 43 19 

25 Iowa 31 31 

26 Ohio State 17 53 lost to #43 TCU

27 UCLA 22 54 

28 Kentucky 39 27 don't pick 

29 UNC 32 37 lost in the first round 

30 Utah State 28 44 

31 Miami 33 38 

32 UGA 16 80 lost to #41 Saint Louis 

33 Villanova 41 35 

34 NC State 19 86

35 Santa Clara 23 82 

36 Clemson 71 20 

37 Texas 13 111 

39 Texas A&M 49 40 don't pick

41 Saint Louis 51 41 upset #32 UGA 

42 SMU 26 91 

43 TCU 81 22 beat #26 Ohio State

46 VCU 46 63 

49 South Florida 58 48 

52 Missouri 50 77 don't pick 

54 UCF 40 101

64 Akron 54 113 

68 NcNeese 91 47 

71 Northern Iowa 153 24 

88 Hofstra 89 96 

92 High Point 66 161 

107 Cal Baptist 

109 Hawaii 207 42 

113 N Dakota State 124 123 

140 Wright State 117 194 

143 Troy 141 166 

145 Idaho 176 136

159 Pennsylvania 215 112 

162 Georgia Tech 197 131 not in tourney

163 Kennesaw 144 195 

181 Queens 77 322 

187 Tennessee State 173 212 

190 Furman 200 182 

192 Siena 208 175 

216 Long Island

Old Ballparks: The Definitive List

Most every year the minor league baseball team in Birmingham will play one game in old Rickwood Field, the historic old ballpark just west of downtown. The Rickwood Classic. The guys from hot stove will make the drive over for the game, so I bought myself a ticket. May 27. I'll probably go early and swing by the Birmingham office before the game.

The above graphic is inaccurate in several ways: that's not how the ballparks look, and it leaves out several old ballparks. Rickwood is said to be the oldest professional ballpark in the USA. 

I cobbled together this list of old ballparks, using various lists, and looking up some old ballparks that I knew about. Includes major and minor leagues, college, independent leagues, even high school. Tried to use the original name, instead of a corporate rename.    

1877 Labatt Park, London ON

1878 Fuller Field, Clinton MA

1889 Stan Galle Field, Spring Hill College 

1890 Polo Grounds, NYC (closed 1963)

1982 Wahconah Park, Pittsfield MA

1894 Dubois County League Stadium, Huntingburg IN

1905 Damaschke Field, Oneonta NY

1906 Centennial Field, Burlington Vermont

1907 original Ponce de Leon Park (burned down in 1923)

1907 Coleman Field, Oregon State

1908 Cardines Field, Newport, CT

1909 Warren Ballpark, Bisbee AZ

1909 Forbes Field, Pittsburgh (closed 1970)

1910 Rickwood Field, Birmingham

1910 Cominskey Park, Chicago (closed 1990)

1910 League Park, Cleveland

1912 Fenway Park, Boston

1912 McClure Field, Norfolk

1912 Tiger Stadium, Detroit (closed) 

1912 Crosley Field, Cincinnati (closed 1970)

1913 Eldredge Park, Orleans MA

1913 Ebbets Field, Brooklyn (closed 1958)

1914 Wrigley Field, Chicago

1914 City Island Ball Park, Daytona

1914 Shuttleworth Park, Amsterdam NY

1915 Bosse Field, Evansville Indiana (A League of Their Own)

1915 Braves Field, Boston

1920 Hermance Stadium, Oglethorpe University

1920 Doubleday Field, Cooperstown

1920 Simmons Field, Kenosha Wisconsin

1922 Centennial Field, Burlington VT 

1923 Spiller Park, Atlanta: renamed Ponce de Leon Park in 1933 

1923 original Yankee Stadium 

1923 City Park, Bradenton Florida

1923 Tinker Field, Orlando 

1924 McCormick Field, Asheville

1924 Tony Zupo Field, Lodi CA

1925 Henley Field, Lakeland

1926 Golden Park, Columbus GA

1926 Grayson Stadium, Savannah

1926 Bowman Field, Williamsport PA

1926 Newman Park, Catawba

1926 Breese Stevens Field, Madison WI

1926 Duncan Park, Spartanburg

1926 Point Stadium, Johnstown PA

1926 War Memorial Stadium, Greensboro NC

1926 Delano Hitch Stadium, Newburgh NY

1927 Veterans Field, Chatham MA

1928 Yale Field, West Haven CT

1928 Witter Field, Wisconsin Rapids WI

1928 Clark Field, University of Texas (closed in 1975)

1929 Luther Williams Field, Macon GA (below)

1929 Evans Field, Rockport MA 

1930 Russ Chandler Stadium, Georgia Tech

1930 Engel Stadium, Chattanooga

1930 Weaver Field, Lansdale PA

1930 Doenges Stadium, Bartlesville OK

1930 Hamtramck Stadium, Hamtramck MI

1930 Municipal Stadium, Hagertown MD

1930 Municipal Stadium, Waterbuy CT   

1931 Modern Woodmen Park, Davenport Iowa 

1931 John O'Donnell Stadium, Davenport Iowa

1931 Ken Lindley Park, Prescott AZ

1931 Municipal Stadium, Cleveland (closed)

1931 Oakes Park Stadium, Niagara Falls ON

1932 Cooper Stadium, Columbus OH

1932 Hinchcliffe Stadium, Patterson NJ

1932 Kendrick Field, Helena MT 

1932 Ray Wilder Field, Little Rock (closed 2006)

1933 Limeport Stadium, Limeport PA

1933 Mackenzie Stadium, Holyoke MA

1934 Amerige Park, Fullerton CA

1934 Newman Park, Salisbury NC

1934 Boverini Stadium, Passaic NJ

1935 Calfee Park, Pulaski VA

1935 Finch Field, Thomasville NC

1935 Buck Hardee Field, Wilmington NC 

1935 War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo (closed 1989)

1936 Roosevelt Stadium, Union City NJ

1935 Washington Park, Santa Clara CA

1936 Katy Stadium, Chanute KS

1936 Clint Lightner Field, Garden City KS

1936 JP Small Memorial Stadium, Jacksonville

1936 McBride Stadium, Richmond IN

1937 Hi Corbett Field, University of Arizona

1937 Carson Park, Eau Claire WI 

1937 Vargas Field, Winslow AZ

1937 Holman Stadium, Nashua NH

1937 Riverview Stadium, Clinton IA

1938 Fred Johnson Stadium, Kingsport TN 

1938 Old Mountain Field, South Kingstown RI

1938 Fernand Bedard Ballpark, Trois Rivieres QC

1938 Quakertown Memorial Park, Quakertown PA

1938 Holt Moffitt Field, Lexington NC

1938 Bullens Field, Westfield MA

1939 Hicks Field, Edenton NC 

1939 Durham Athletic Park, Durham, NC

1939 Dunn Field, Elmira NY

1939 Muzzy Field, Bristol CT

1939 Bowen Field, Bluefield WV

1939 Hobbs Field, Pueblo, CO

1939 Bicentennial Stadium, Allentown PA 

1939 Ackley Park OK  

1939 Phil Welch Stadium, St Joseph, MO

1939 Fleming Stadium, Wilson NC

1939 Stade Canac, Quebec City QC

1939 Guy Fuller Field, Falmouth MA

1940 City Stadium, Hill City

1940 Calvin Falwell Field (Bank of the James Stadium), Lynchburg

1940 Recreation Field, Montpelier VT

1940 DeLazier Memorial Field, Bloomingdale NJ

1940 Centene Stadium, Great Falls MT

1940 Fraser Field, Lynn MA

1941 Sam Lynn Ballpark, Bakersfield CA

1942 McCoy Stadium, Pawtucket RI

1942 Municipal Stadium San Jose

1943 Taylor Field, Lillington NC

1945 Tarboro Municipal Stadium, Tarboro NC

1946 Recreation Park, Visalia California

1946 McCrary Park, Asheboro NC

1946 Valley Strong Ballpark, Visalia CA

1947 Everett Memorial Stadium, Everett Washington

1947 Fort Macy Park Ballfield, Santa Fe NM

1947 Sherman Field, Lincoln NE

1947 Lowell Park, Cotuit MA

1947 Al Lang Stadium, St Petersburg

1947 Quigley Stadium, West Haven CT

1948 Mirmow Field, Orangeburg

1948 Corning Memorial Stadium, Corning NY

1948 War Memorial Stadium, Hampton VA

1948 Deltaville Ballpark, Deltaville VA

1948 Winter Chevrolet Stadium, Pittsburg CA

1948 Alumni Field, Keene NH

1949 Grainger Stadium, Kinston NC

1949 Shepherd Stadium, Colonial Heights VA

1949 Veterans Memorial Park, Little Falls NY

1949 Suplizio Field, Grand Junction CO

1950 Bing Crosby Stadium, Front Royal VA

1950 Spurgeon Field, Colorado Springs

1950 Albert Park, San Rafael CA

1950 Memorial Field Stadium, Huron SD

1950 Memorial Stadium, Baltimore (closed)

1951 Municipal Stadium, Reading PA

1951 Capilano Stadium, Vancouver

1951 Stanford Memorial Stadium

1966 Foley Field, UGA

A huge source has been the interesting Ballpark Brothers website. Here's a story about baseball in Columbus GA.

Years ago Will played in an ancient ballpark in Acworth. Thought I had written about some of the history of the place, but I can't track it down.

The Ice Men Cometh?

Drawings of a potential 20000 seat hockey arena were released, virtually completely replacing North Point Mall. There would also be a 4000 seat concert venue, a 2000 seat community hockey rink, a movie theatre, and a hotel. There are a decent amount of restaurants in the area, but you’d assume space for more would be created. 

Hard to tell, but it looks like either a MARTA rail station immediately west of the arena, or perhaps new off / on ramps to GA400.

What should a new Atlanta hockey team be named? The previous owners of the Thrashers own that name, which would be the best name to me. The Atlanta Phoenix name would be confusing, especially when they play the Phoenix Coyotes. 

Alabama plays Hofstra in the NCAA tournament, but they lost two players who won’t be able to play. 

Before this past Selection Sunday, Notre Dame told the committee that if selected, they wouldn’t accept a spot in the tourney. Similar to football. If the Irish can't be named champion or at least the number one seed before the games are played, they're not going to grace the tourney with their presence. For the record, the 13-18 Irish were ranked 89th in the country.  

We watched the finals of the World Baseball Classic? Team USA vs Ronald Acuna and Team Venezuela. 

Looks like Chris Sale will be the Braves Opening Day pitcher. 

Back when I was in college and later as a single adult, Noel was part of the pickup basketball games we'd play in the old SPdL gym after church on Sunday and Wednesday nights. Noel played point guard, and would always holler "Give me a wing!" Noel, Hurt, Norman, Stuart Condra, Jerome, Lee Acheson, maybe Craig MacKenzie. Wayne Smith grew up in Kentucky playing basketball. Charles "Tall" Vaughn, Don Sells. Val Robinson, or David McKeithen. Fred O.  

Tuesday: Ceil had me busy. She went to the gym first while I stayed at the house with the workers. Then I went to the gym from 1030-1230 - an hour on the treadmill, then sauna, then 30 more minutes on the treadmill. Almost 7 miles and 14000 steps. 

Then Dollar Tree to snatch up the rest of the 2 liter Diet Cokes that were on sale for 50 cents. Had to pick up photos at CVS for Ceil in Pine Straw Plaza. Remembered it was Tuesday, so I took advantage of the 2 for 1 chicken sandwich deal at Howlin Willys Hot Chicken. So good. 

Almost 2 pm when I got home. Helped C put together a new cart for her art studio. She already had 2 carts, but I took over one of them. Did some laundry and walked Winnie. 

SAM McDOWELL  [SABR Bio] his ERA was 2.176 in 1965. Three pitchers in the NL posted even lower ERAs in 1968, the Year of the Pitcher. Sandy Koufax 2.038, Juan Marichal 2.133, and Vern Law 2.153. In 1965 McDowell also led in WAR, strikeouts, and ERA+. He made the All-Star team, striking out Pete Rose & Frank Robinson and inducing Joe Torre to hit into an inning ending double-play. He only finished 17th in the MVP voting, finishing behind four other pitchers. The 1965 AL MVP voting. He was listed as the 1965 ASG’s losing pitcher. McDowell’s league-leading numbers were WAR 8.3, 325 K & an ERA+ of 161. In November 1971, he was traded to the Giants in exchange for future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry & Frank Duffy.

Denison: 14 pastors were targeted, at least one was crucified. 

Bracketology

Are you filling out a NCAA bracket this year? I heard a good tip:  of the past 23 NCAA champions, 95% of them were Top 21 in offense and Top 44 in defense. Four teams have been as dominant as any team in the past few years: Duke, Florida, Houston, and Auburn. Seven other teams meet these thresholds this year: Tennessee, Alabama, Texas Tech, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Wisconsin, and Arizona. Seven "popular" teams missed these thresholds by large margins: St Johns, Missouri, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Purdue, Kansas. I'll post these rankings later this week.  

Duke is the first school in ACC history to win the conference football championship, the men's basketball championship, and the women's basketball championship in the same school year. 

We know all dogs go to heaven, but what about cats? Surely not.

Young adults aren't listening to radio any more. Nowadays podcasts are the thing. My take: I'd rather listen to a book than a podcast. Books are more permanent. I'll listen to the radio for background noise, when I don't have to pay rapt attention - like I would for a book or podcast. 

Cool car. Even has plaid seats. I might have to get me a job at the Department of Agriculture just so I can drive this bad boy.

Monday morning: went to the gym. Weights, sauna, treadmill. Stopped by Dollar Tree and McDonalds on the way home. The Dollar Tree clerk charged me wrong, and McDonalds got my order wrong. 

The Big Ketch: do they still have the restaurant in Roswell, or just the one in Buckhead? I'm told the Roswell location is still there. 

In honor of strikeout king JAY BUHNER [SABR Bio], 3,436 fans (including 46 women) shaved their heads. The “Bald-In” honored Buhner on 17-Jul-1997. It was his only All-Star season, but he also led everybody in K’s with 175, a total that would not placed him in the Top Ten in 2025. He hit more home runs than all but two other major leaguers 1995-1997. Here are the top 5: Marl McGwire 149, Albert Belle 128, Buhner 124, Griffey 122, Galarraga 119. Frank Costanza felt that Buhner never should have been traded. See “Seinfeld”, “The Caddy” Season 7, Episode 12. George’s farther was in high dudgeon over the Buhner trade.

Denison on the Oscars: only half of Americans went to a movie theater in 2025, while 75 % told surveyors they recently opted to stream a movie at home instead of watching it in the theater. 

Article: things that aren't worth your time.

1. Being Offended. 

2. Thinking your ideas are unique. Same for jokes.

3. Letting work occupy your brain all the time.

4. Getting worked up over a social media comment. Especially if it by someone you don't know. 

5. People who will never be impressed by you.

6. Corporate Fame.

7. A luxury car that you have to think about all the time. Where should I park? Did I scratch my wheels? It's bad enough driving an 11 year old car. 

8. Hating someone. Love is the answer. 

9. Waiting for the right time to do something. Go ahead and knock it out. 

10. Political debates. Same for religious debates.

11. Partying every night. Or just being busy every day.