Yet Another Blah Falcons Uniform Unveiling

Falcons released their new uniforms this week. Pretty plain. Red jerseys, which are few and far between in the NFL - a good thing. With jersey sleeves being so tiny there days, it's hard to have a unique jersey (though some teams manage it). Both the TV numbers and the Falcons logo is so tiny, it's almost not worth having them.

Stripes on the pants - another plus, though they're a new, weird stripe pattern. Some say the stripes mimic the Cardinals.

Same black helmets. Evidently the team took pains to make sure the low gloss matte shell was retained, which looks best inside domed stadiums.

White road jerseys will be mixed with either white or black pants. I hate black pants. At least they have the stripes.

Fortunately the all white look is in right now, though I'm sure the Falcons will wear the black pants more than I'd like. No black alternate jersey was unveiled. Not a huge fan of the numbers, though they're an improvement over the old ones. Some people couldn't tell the 1's from the 7's. 

The same throwback uniform was pictured: red helmets, black jersey. Thank goodness.  

Hard to get good french fries these days. Ceil is really liking the fries these days. Earlier this week she served up a big plate of fries. Whenever I have fries with a meal, I always eat them first, while they are still hot. C is liking slaw as well. Monday night she fixed a slaw with grilled chicken in it. Pretty good. 

Ceil went to to the gym two straight days. She needs to. Tuesday I ran / walked for an hour, did the sauna for 30 minutes, then cooled down with 30 more minutes on the treadmill. For some reason my face was burning every time I wiped sweat off my face. Not sure why.

A lady in the sauna was wearing a bucket hat because her friend said it would keep her head cooler, and she would be able to stay in the sauna loner. She said it didn't work. I mentioned that she should put a cabbage leaf inside the hat, but didn't explain that back in the day that's what ballplayers would do to keep cool. She kept talking to everyone about her hat. There were six of us crammed in the sauna. Time for me to leave. I joked "I just can't stay in here any more, with you wearing that hat!" Everyone laughed. I left. 

Tuesday: after the gym I went to Whattaburger again. Was going to get just the free burger, but instead got fries and a drink as well. The fries were just okay. All afternoon we worked to declutter. It is a slow go. We did sit outside in the sun for 20 minutes. Vitamin D.

Wednesday: I watched the rocket launch just after 6:30. Then I got dressed for small group, then Winnie wanted to go outside. Still made it to small group on time. Didn't get home until 10 pm.

Alton Brown's favorite place to eat steak in Atlanta: the Blue Ridge grill in Buckhead. 

The number of AI chatbots ignoring human instructions are increasing. 

Mysterious spike in meteors warrants serious investigation.

More and more people are saying that aliens and UFOs are actually demons. There are also reports of secret programs to breed a race of alien / human hybrids.  

 

FRANK CHANCE [SABR Bio] was the first California native inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was born in Fresno in 1876,  and was the Yankees manager in 1913 & 1914. They finished 7th & 6th in the AL (out of 8 teams). He entered the HOF 21 years after his death, in 1954. In 1906, he led the Cubs to a 116-36-3 record and a NL pennant while stealing a major-league-leading 57 bases. From 1900-1910, Chance was HBP an average of 11.6 times a season. During five of those years, the league leader was Boston’s Dan McGann.

"Solitude, silence, and the strait keeping of the heart, are the foundations and grounds of a spiritual life." —Robert Leighton (1611–84).

What Might Have Been

What might have been. Tiger was great. Won the Tiger Slam. Fifteen majors. Changed the game of golf.  Tied Sam Snead for the most wins in PGA history. But what if he hadn't changed his swing? What if he hadn't worn out his body, training like a Marine, wearing combat boots? But as great as he was, as much as he accomplished, could he have done even more?

The inner drive that took Tiger to the pinnacle of the golf world was the same drive that led him to make the changes, train so hard. The same drive tore apart his marriage. Did the surgeries and wrecks lead to a dependence on painkillers? Did the surgeries leave him with a body that could no longer compete on the PGA tour?

Woods recently signed up for the Senior US Open. Maybe that's what got him depressed. 

What might have been. Say he didn't change his swing, or miss time in rehab and to all the injuries. Say he only won a major every other year in his 30's, and every third year in his 40's. How far would he be past Jack? By my count, Tiger could've had at least 21 majors.

YR AGE MAJOR 

97 21 Masters (1)

99 23 PGA (2)

00 24 PGA, US Open, British (5)

01 25 Masters (6)

02 26 Masters, US Open (8)

05 29 Masters, British (10)

06 30 PGA, British (12)

07 31 PGA (13)

08 32 US Open (14)

09 33 (81)

10 34 (15) (82)

11 35 (83)

12 36 (16) (84)

13 37 (85)

14 38 (17) (86)

15 39 (87)

16 40 (18) (88)

17 41 (89)

18 42 (90)

19 43 Masters (19) (91)

20 44 (92)

21 45 (93)

22 46 (20) (94)

23 47 (95)

24 48 (96)

25 49 (21) (97)

Had Tiger won just one tourney per year these last few years, he'd be close to one hundred wins.

Woods was indeed the stick that stirred the drink. Tournaments are different when he's in the field. Have we seen the last of Tiger? How will he handle that?

So many tweets. The parents who raised him to be the lone wolf are gone. Who does Tiger have in his life who will love and support him? Is there anyone? Can Tiger live the life now being led by Michael Jordan - the former GOAT? Elvis couldn't handle the success. Michael Jackson couldn't either. Joe DiMaggio did okay. But Tiger seems to feed off competition. 

Is this the end? Kinda feel sorry for the guy. Like all of us, Tiger needs Jesus. 

Matthew 16:26 For what should it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? 

Tiger Woods is facing big challenges, says Paul McGinley of Golf News. 

AL KALINE  [SABR Bio] played his first big league game in 1953 and became the team’s starting right fielder in 1954, the year the St. Louis Browns moved east and became the Baltimore Orioles. Kaline was born in the Charm City, and was an 18 time All Star. He was the youngest to slug 3 HR in one game. Twenty-year-(and 119 days)-old Kaline left the yard three times against the Kansas City A’s in April 1955. Eddie Matthews is the only other player with a three-homer game to his credit before his 21st birthday, though he was 231 days older than Kaline when he did. Kaline won ten gold gloves. In 1955, Kaline was a runner-up to Yogi Berra for AL MVP; in 1963, he was voted second-best behind Elston Howard. 

An appropriate Denison for today: Henri Nouwen wrote in his marvelous book Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World: "The world tells you many lies about who you are. You simply have to be realistic enough to remind yourself of this. Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself: "These feelings, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God's eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity. Being the Beloved expresses the core truth of our existence. That is the spiritual life: the chance to say 'Yes' to our inner truth. The spiritual life, thus understood, radically changes everything."

April Bobbleheads & SGAs

Here's my list of April Bobbleheads and other SGAs and special ticket deals for the month of April. What did I miss? I still have yet to fill in all the MLB SGAs, and need help with that.

Seems like every team that Cal Raleigh ever played on is giving away his bobblehead this year. I haven't checked with his Little league team. Drake Baldwin has the second most.

The under the radar SGA of the month: the Augusta garden gnome giveaway on the 17th. Gnomes are the hottest seller in the Augusta National gift shops. Genius of the GreenJackets to piggyback on the sensation. The Braves affiliate has an entire line of "Azalea" caps, jerseys, and shirts.

A new SGA item this season seems to be block sets. Is your kid  excited? Sorry, blocks would be way down my list. 

No Ronald Acuna bobbleheads this year. Are you okay with that?

4.01 WED Las Vegas 11 am game

4.02 THU 

4.03 FRI Altoona Paul Skenes bobble 

4.03 FRI Dallas Mavericks Derek Harper bobble 5000

4.03 FRI Rome Easter Egg baseball giveaway

4.03 FRI St Paul Saints jersey hoodies

4.03 FRI Hartford spring cleaning misc jersey giveaway

4.04 SAT Albuquerque jersey hoodies 3000

4.04 SAT Fayetteville cream Woodpeckers jersey 1500

4.04 SAT Brooklyn sweatshirt special ticket

4.04 SAT JAX mascot onesie 2000

4.04 SAT Nashville UT shoot around half zip 1000

4.04 SAT Round Rock quarter zips 1500

4.04 SAT Wisconsin Timber Rattlers replica jerseys

4.05 SUN Easter Sunday

4.05 SUN Boston Snoopy & Woodstock bobble

4.05 SUN Brooklyn sweatshirt special ticket

4.05 SUN Fredericksburg hockey jerseys 1000

4.06 MON Boston Roman Anthony rookie bobblecard (below)

4.06 MON Boston Red Sox special ticket Celtics replica jerseys (above)

4.07 TUE Reading jerseys and caps 4000

4.07 TUE Angels Mike Trout 400 HR bobble

4.07 TUE Biloxi tshirt giveaway 

4.08 WED Richmond rally towels

4.09 THU Richmond rally towels

4.10 FRI ATL Dale Murphy replica jersey 15000

4.10 FRI SD lowrider bobblehead

4.10 FRI UGA softball replica jerseys 500

4.10 FRI Bradenton replica jerseys

4.10 FRI SEA Ichiro statues

4.11 FRI Fayetteville Jackie Robinson jersey

4.11 FRI Biloxi golf hat giveaway

4.11 FRI Arkansas replica jerseys 1000

4.11 FRI San Jose Navy Gigante bobblehead 1000

4.11 SAT UGA baseball Masters themed cap 1000

4.12 SUN UGA baseball Kyle Farmer shirsey 1000

4.12 SUN ATL bucket hats 3000 kids

4.12 SUN Everett t-shirts

4.12 SUN Dallas Mavericks Reunion Arena Replica

4.12 SUN Frisco Elvis Andrus bobble

4.13 MON

4.14 TUE ATL Hello Kitty plush special ticket 

4.14 TUE Chattanooga opens new ballpark (I'll be there)

4.14 TUE free cones at Ben & Jerry's 

4.15 WED Nashville Jackie Robinson replica jersey 1000

4.15 WED Rome 11 am game

4.15 WED Columbus 11 am game

4.15 WED JAX Jackie Robinson breaking barriers t-shirt 500

4.16 THU Tulsa Josue De Paula bobble

4.17 FRI Cubs Jackie Robinson jerseys

4.17 FRI Stockton Nick Kurtz replica jersey

4.17 FRI Augusta Azaleas Auggie gnome 1000 

4.18 SAT Rome mascot Julius torch bobbleheads 5000 

4.18 SAT Florida Gators Alberta bobble 500

4.18 SAT JAX replica jerseys 2000

4.18 SAT Boston Diary of a Wimpy Kid bobble

4.18 SAT Brooklyn bark in the park cap special ticket

4.18 SAT Columbus green cap 1000

4.18 SAT Nashville Jacob Misiorowski bobble 2000

4.19 SUN Nashville kids ice cream jersey 500 kids

4.19 SUN Columbus peach baseballs 1000

4.19 SUN Fredericksburg Eli Willits bobble 1000

4.19 SUN St Paul build your own beanie special ticket

4.20 MON

4.21 TUE SEA Victor Robles Superman bobble special ticket

4.22 WED Gwinnett 11 am game

4.22 WED UGA softball t-shirts 200

4.22 WED Lehigh Valley rubix cube 3000

4.23 THU Sugarland college spirit caps

4.24 FRI ATL Star Wars bobble special ticket

4.24 FRI Reading Nick Singleton hometown hero bobble 2000 kids

4.25 FRI Fayetteville dogwood flower jersey

4.25 FRI Hagerstown bucket hats

4.25 FRI Lehigh Valley lint rollers 3000

4.25 FRI Asheville black jersey giveaway

4.25 SAT Rays Tropicana Field Tour Tee

4.25 SAT TOR SpongeBob jersey

4.25 SAT Gwinnett Peaches replica jerseys 1750

4.26 SUN Gwinnett autism awareness day 1:05 pm

4.26 SUN Fayetteville Barbie jersey special ticket

4.26 SUN ATL Michael Harris mini bobble 3000 kids

4.27 MON

4.28 TUE ATL Snoopy bobble special ticket

4.29 WED ATL Chris Sale bobblecard 15000 

4.29 WED Brooklyn bark in the park cap special ticket

4.29 WED Nashville country legends record coasters 1000

4.29 WED Columbus 11 am game

4.30 THU UGA softball performance sunglasses 500

4.30 THU Joliet plays at Old Joliet Prison

Braves Unveil New City Connects

Not sure of the timetable, but this morning pictures of the Braves new City Connect uniforms were leaked. Not long afterwards the team released a short video with the official unveiling of them. Interestingly, as of Tuesday afternoon the official Braves website mentioned nothing about the new unis.

What do you think? Everyone has an opinion. My take: B plus. Could be worse. I'll take 'em. Probably an improvement over the old CC's. Pullover V-neck jerseys - perhaps a way the team can keep Acuna from playing with his jersey unbuttoned halfway down his chest.

Love the powder blue jerseys. Like many, I wish the pants were powder blue as well. Love the ATL sleeve patch, in the style of the old TBS logo. The white Atlanta wordmark is just okay. Wish it said Braves, but I like the cursive capital A much better than the old Braves-style A they had changed it to after a few years, back in the day.

The caps are good too. Love the lower case a. Probably a good idea to go with the royal blue bill. A powder blue bill would get dirty real fast. I won't bend over backwards to get me a cap, since I have so many other caps.

While all the local fans had their opinions, it seems like the national response is overwhelmingly favorable. The new City Connects go on sale April 9. Not sure when they'll first be worn. My best guess is April 11 - the first Saturday night game after April 9.

On Twitter today people were asking for a side by side comparison of the 2025 and 2026 home jerseys, so I responded with a photo. So far it's received almost 4400 impressions, a decent amount for little old me. I mean I'm out there a-tweetin comedy gold, and only getting like 33 impressions. But you gotta start somewhere. 

Braves take two of three from the Royals, a much better start than last year. Still I am reading complaints from some fans. Did they expect an undefeated season? Holmes is not Chris Sale. 

Saturday: woke up at 530 am to play golf. Took my time and hit 3-4 balls on each shot. Grabbed my free RaceTrac ice cream on the way home. Did the dishes and cleaned up.

Saturday afternoon I drove C around town. Perimeter Mall, Costco, then the Orvis at Peachtree and Piedmont, then IKEA. Lots of traffic. Then we made the short drive over to Westside Provisions on Howell Mill, and ate at Taqueria. Rich Morris was there, so I showed his coworkers the picture of him and Lang from 32 years ago when they visited us at Piedmont Hospital when Will was born. 

Sunday: 39 baptisms at JFBC, mostly teenagers but a few adults as well. Hopefully more of those new people will stick around SPdL with the new pastor there.   

Speaking of SPdL, I was poking around on the innerds of this blog and discovers at least two comments that Don Head had made several months ago, that I had completely missed. Sorry Don - but thanks for the comments! I get so few, that I usually don't even look for them. I promise to do better in the future. 

See the end of the Duke / UConn game? What an ending. I only picked two of the Final Four - Arizona and Michigan. 

Monday: after lifting weights I cashed in a deal for a free Whattaburger. It was my first time eating there. The burger was big, but otherwise nothing to write home about. The fries were just okay. But I'll be going back because I have one more free burger deal to use.

HOF Victims of the hidden-ball trick caught by another Hall of Famer. These are  found in the book by Bill Deane, “Finding the Hidden Ball Trick: The Colorful History of Baseball's Oldest Ruse”. 

 

Perpetrator         Victim                    Date

Miller Huggins...Max CAREY...........30-Jun-1911

Miller Huggins...Fred CLARKE.......15-Apr-1909

Jake Beckley.....Frank CHANCE.....17-Apr-1902*

Dan Brouthers...Buck EWING.........27-Sep-1884

Leo Durocher.....Chick HAFEY........06-Sep-1931(2)

Jake Beckley.....Joe KELLEY..........30-May-1893(1)

Roger Connor....Sam THOMPSON 04-May-1889

Jake Beckley.....John WARD...........28-Sep-1893

Miller Huggins...Max CAREY...........30-Jun-1911

Miller Huggins...Fred CLARKE.......15-Apr-1909

Jake Beckley.....Frank CHANCE.....17-Apr-1902*

Dan Brouthers...Buck EWING.........27-Sep-1884

Leo Durocher.....Chick HAFEY........06-Sep-1931(2)

Jake Beckley.....Joe KELLEY..........30-May-1893(1)

Roger Connor....Sam THOMPSON 04-May-1889

Jake Beckley.....John WARD...........28-Sep-1893