Me and Mister Jones

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports­­ Wilson Richard Jones was 83. Anybody who knew him called him Dick or Butch. I called him Mister Jones in the beginning, because it was 1982 and ‘83, I was 23 and the man had just given me a job. Dick’s preferred name, of course, was never “Mister Jones,” and…

Get ready for the week about nothing

MIKE BURKE Allegany Radio Corporation Sports Next week is the loneliest week of them all for the baseball fan, for after Tuesday night’s Major League All-Star Game, there is nothing until Friday. No game to follow or listen to; no game to watch. Just sit around for three days and watch the clock until the first…

Four O’s all-stars a pretty good omen

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports­­ For the first time this season, the Baltimore Orioles have been enduring a pretty rough stretch, having lost six of their last 11 series. All of which has begun to bring some once-giddy Orioles fans back to earth and has made the traditional short memory of any sports fan even…

Ohtani one for the ages – all of them

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports­­ Did you get a load of what the Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani did on Tuesday night? He struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings and also went 3-for-3 with two home runs to lift the Angels to a 4-2 win over the Chicago White Sox. That’s all. Oddly enough,…

No need for blues; umpires wear black

MIKE BURKE Allegany Radio Corporation Sports Not long after I had seconded Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez’s taking exception to the ball-strike calling aptitude of a particular home-plate umpire last week, a friend asked me a question and offered a few comments as well. “Mike, have you ever umpired a game behind the plate?” I…

Even more reasons we love baseball

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports­­ Who is your favorite player from each team in Major League Baseball that you have seen play? Doesn’t have to be the best player, just your favorite player. It can be the best, of course, but in this case, just your favorite from each team for whatever reason. Let’s start…

Why we love baseball every day we can

MIKE BURKE Allegany Radio Corporation Sports Watched the Washington Nationals’ 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon (Repeat: nothing beats afternoon baseball, nothing beats afternoon baseball, nothing beats afternoon, evening or morning baseball with no F.P. Santangelo in the booth, even though I listen to most Nats games on WCMD 1230 AM), and…

For O’s, enough is good enough for now

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports­­ Far from being a great road trip, or even a good one, and ending with a thud on Wednesday when a fourth-inning meltdown led to the Baltimore Orioles getting pasted by the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-2, the five-game trip through Chicago and Tampa seemed to be enough, even if it…

There is legend and there was real

MIKE BURKE Allegany Radio Corporation Sports The word “legend” is overused, and most of those who throw it around don’t seem to know what it actually means. The first and most basic definition of “legend” by Merriam-Webster is, “an old story that is widely believed but cannot be proved to be true” The great Leonard…

Time Huggs hugs, takes care of Huggs

MIKE BURKE Allegany Communications Sports­­ The Friday night DUI arrest in Pittsburgh that pretty much sealed the resignation and eventual retirement of Bob Huggins as West Virginia University men’s basketball coach is the sad end of a sorry episode. One of the game’s greatest coaches engaged in a variety of acts which stained his university,…