I have always liked baseball, from a pick up game at the corner lot with a taped up plastic bat through every level of ball all the way up to the Major Leagues. I have coached, played and umpired at almost every level of baseball. Outside of that I am not much of a sports fan. Dont care too much about the NBA, Im not a loyal follower of the NFL and I cant get into soccer or futball or whatever its called these days. Ill watch a game if its exciting and a local team, although I rally dont care who wins. Ive been to lots of pro sports games and several NCAA games. Ive attended hundreds of high school and youth league matches. I have had season tickets to Indians and Browns and Ive been to many Cavs games. Ive enjoyed them all but I dont care about the outcome. I rarely watch sports coverage on TV. One exception for the highlight sports coverage was ESPN Sports Center and especially so when Stuart Scott sat at the anchor desk. Stuart Scott was as cool as the other side of the pillow. Break him off a little somethin somethin and like gravy on a biscuit, its all good! Stuart Scott was always doin it and doin it and doin it well. Stuart Scott died Sunday at the age of 49. It was his third round of cancer. Hed beat it twice but the third time his luck and his fight had run out. When he came to ESPN in the early 1990s he brought with him a swagger, a street cred, a culture that had never been represented on a nationally broadcast news or sports show. His catch phrases were plentiful and they had little white boys in the suburbs talking like Stuart Scott and the other black viewers of ESPNs Sports Center each night. With co-hosts, whether it was long time best friend Rich Eisen or any of the many other partners who all seemed to love and respect his professionalism and commitment to excellence, Scott was the enthusiasm and excitement of every sports highlight. He could make a blowout one sided lopsided boring game posses the excitement of a 12th inning tie game seven. With just a few syllables of properly enunciated sounds, Scott made reporting sports scores exciting with phrases like Booya! and Mojo! he could be gettin his schwerve on! Can I get a witness from the congregation? And he knew that the style and fun he brought to the show was resonating with fans. Sure, he had his detractors but he loved the fans and the loved him. To those who complained about his being too ethnic or urban sounding he would simply grin and say, Its my world. Youre just a squirrel tryin to get a nut. And after watching a spectacular slo-mo highlight he would often utter a phrase like Wow! That ones as hardcore as the Wu-Tang Clan on steroids! or Just call him butter cuz hes on a roll. Straight butta! I play my enemies like a game of chess. During the NBA finals he talked about one player who had an awesome, cant miss night like this, They call him the Windex Man cause hes always cleaning the glass. A few others that were favorites of his fans and colleagues included: Call him carwash cuz hes automatic. That must be jam cuz jelly doesnt shake like that. He must be the bus driver cuz he was takin him to school. Like a man smoking at a gas station, he was about to blow up! He completes the pass to the DB. One problem: hes on the other team. Michael, Michael, Michael, cant you see. Sometimes your threes just hypnotize me. You aint got to go home, but you got to get the heck up outta here. And others that were popular with everyone, including the athletes he covered were: Representin. Rock me Amadeus. Hear the drummer get wicked! Dont see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. You better recognize. Got more flavor than Kool-Aid and cocoa. Ready or not, refugees, here I come. That is soooo five minutes ago. You see what happened...was...I dont know. He treats him like a dog. Sit. Stay. I like the way you work it. No diggity. Show me the money! M-M-M-M-M-Mookie! I rock the party that rocks the body. Let me clear my throat. I put the bat up on that pitch, and I hit, I hit, I hit. Gotta go, gotta go... On and on, on and on... Its all about the Benjamins. Its your world, kid. The rest of us just payin rent. I aint a playa, I just crush a lot. Yup, yup! Who dat? Its just my babys daddy. Top of the food chain! Gettin jiggy with it. The Lord said Youve got to rise UP! Youre not my daddy! Oh no he diint. Stop. Drop. Shut em down. Open up shop. Check if youre bleeding...cause you just got tagged! TWIsM! The World Is Mine. Hes Livin La Vida Loca! Vlade Daddi, he like to party. He dont cause trouble, he dont bother nobody. Dont playa hate, congratulate. Im feeling you, Tiger. I am FEELING YOU!! Dont hate the playa, hate the game. Swoosh me! Peace!! I aint mad at ya. Got nothin but love for ya. Aye, Papi, I did not know you could do it like that. Call me big daddy when you back that thing up. The Sooooooool Train! I aint sayin nothin, but that aint right. Lord, he made his kinfolk proud: Pookie, Ray-Ray, Moesha.... Im busting open some white meat! Gonna move some furniture! Drop it like its hot! And now we have to add Rest In Peace. Thats the worst catch phrase of all.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 20:49:25 +0000
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