Geoff Flynn.com | |
I like to think that I like to try new things, especially when it comes to technology. But the truth is, I guess I don't. It took me awhile to join Facebook, but now I don't know how I got along without it. So, a year and a half after Facebook, I've decided to tweet. It's quite interesting, and fun.
I actually signed up for Twitter a year ago. I didn't send any tweets, but followed a couple of people, just to see what it was like. I was under the impression that anytime one of the people I followed tweeted, I would get an e-mail. When I learned that it didn't work that way, I abandoned the Twitter idea. You actually have to be on the Twitter website, but if you just minimize it, and leave it in the bottom corner of the screen, it will automatically tell you how many messages (tweets) you have received (I still feel stupid using words like tweet, but I'm getting there). Another reason for resisting Twitter is because all you really hear about is how athletes and other celebrities tweet stupid or inflammatory stuff, and get in trouble. I guess those would be fun to read, but that seemed like that was all Twitter was about. I've learned so far, though, that you can make it about whatever you want. If you want to follow Kim Kardashian, or some other famous person, you can. However, you can also use it to find out other stuff. I started my account (@goldsoxradio) to send and receive information about the baseball team I broadcast for. Some people tweet shoutouts to their friends, some (like Facebook) have to constantly update what room they are in, or what mood they are in. It's whatever you want, as long as it is 140 characters or less. I still have a lot to learn about the process. I know what a hash tag is, but I'm not really sure I know how to use it. You can also tweet pictures, but I don't know how to do that either (you just write the link to the website where the picture is? I'm not sure). Supposedly you can send private messages too, but I'm not going to mess with that (Isn't that how some congressman got in trouble? He took a “picture” of himself, and sent it to someone, thinking it was private, but it was out there for the whole world to see). It is fun, though, and I can see how some people can get carried away with constantly sending messages. I'm limiting myself to one tweet per day, and making it related to baseball and the Gold Sox. Maybe the best part about Twitter, though, is who you decide to follow. The two I elected to keep track of initially (when I thought I would get emails) were Ozzie Guillen (the then-manager of the Chicago White Sox who would get into some hot water a lot over his tweets), and Alyssa Milano (because she is a hot celebrity who is also a Dodger fan). All Milano does now is constantly tweet about her husband and kid, so I dropped her, but you can follow sports, news, politics, authors, chefs, astrophysicists—any one you want. I imagine it'll be like Facebook—a little addicting at first, and then a nice thing to look at to check up on people. Not too bad really. If you do decide to check it out, HMU (hit me up)! Follow me @goldsoxradio (kind of depressing—I only have 5 followers so far). Help! Now to the sports stuff...Hockeytown USA?: I'm not there, but I hope Angelenos are going nuts for the Los Angeles Kings right now. The eighth-seeded Kings clinched the West's final playoff spot the night before the conclusion of the NHL regular season, and have now just completed the first four-game playoff sweep in franchise history. The 4-0 blanking of the St. Louis Blues advances the Kings to the Western Conference Finals for just the second time in over 45 years, and the first since Wayne Gretzky retired. The Kings will face either the Phoenix Coyotes or the Nashville Predators (Phoenix leads that series 3-1)... Yes, I'm on the Kings bandwagon, but I don't have a comfortable seat. I watched all of game two and most of game three, but completely forgot about game four. I could've been watching it during the Dodgers-Cubs rain delay Sunday. By the time I remembered, NBC was just signing off.
Scheduling Nightmare: Staples Center in Los Angeles is a happening place these days, and somebody has to be in charge of scheduling. The Kings, Lakers, and Clippers are all still playing, with a host of networks (ESPN, ABC, TNT, NBC, NBC Sports Network) all looking for playoff ratings. The Kings are supposed to be the prime tenant at Staples (the arena's owners also own the Kings), but the Lakers are likely to get the best time slots.
Dodgers takeover: It's not quite on the Arte Moreno scale, but the first thing the Gugenheim Group did when they officially took over the Dodgers was to lower parking rates. Starting tonight, it'll cost ten bucks to ditch your car for three hours instead of fifteen. Moreno got much more praise when his first act after buying the Angels from Disney was to lower the price of beer.
What's in a number, anyway?: I was watching one of the MLB games on ESPN last week, and Kyle Drabek (son of former major leaguer Doug) was pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays. Drabek wears uniform number 4, and it's very unusual to see a pitcher with a single digit on his back. The last one I can think of is Atlee Hammaker of the Giants in the late 1980s. He wore number 7... After the Angels released Bobby Abreu, he signed with probably the only team in the majors where he couldn't keep his number. Abreu has always worn 53, and it's not a very common number, but it is retired by the Dodgers for the late Hall-Of-Famer Don Drysdale. Abreu instead was wearing 33 over the weekend, but will be wearing 23 starting tonight (I learned this from a tweet by the Dodgers).
Derby Day: At least the Super Bowl game is close to four hours long, maybe warranting a four-hour pregame show. NBC's pre-race coverage for the Kentucky Derby is two hours for a race that lasts only two minutes. Every year, I never know what time the race is actually supposed to start, so I tune in periodically to see what kind of progress they're making. It's amazing how many touching profiles they can do on incredibly rich people...I was disappointed to learn that Bodemeister wasn't named after Olympic skier Bode Miller. I don't know why it would be, but that could've been an interesting story. The horse was named after Bob Baffert's seven year-old son... Is it me or has the playing of 'My Old Kentucky Home' lost its luster? It was played by a marching band. At least the Indianapolis 500 dusts off Jim Nabors every year for 'Back Home In Indiana'.