Welcome to another week of The Runback. Have you been enjoying The Duckpin? Do you have comments or suggestions? Do you want to write for us? Let me know at theduckpin@gmail.com. And please be sure to follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Thanks in advance.
News and Politics
Bag Bans Continuing to expand Across Maryland: Bag bans may hurt the environment and consumers, but elected officials don't seem to care.
Bombshell Miller Allegations Are Alarming: Lieutenant Governor 's alleged behavior must be investigated. Maryland’s taxpayers deserve to know what kind of person their Lieutenant Governor really is.
O'Malley Appointment Endangers Social Security: Marylanders would not let Martin O'Malley run a yard sale. Joe Biden put him in charge of your Social Security benefits.
Alsobrooks Following Democratic Playbook of Selling Out to Out-of-State Interests: Martin O’Malley did it. Ben Jealous did it. Wes Moore did it. And now Angela Alsobrooks is doing it in her Senate campaign.
Music
Two Days of Goose: Hot Tea In Portland, Empress of SPAC: I got the chance to see Goose, an up-and-coming jam band, on back-to-back nights
American Eats
Our new 50-part series on great restaurants across America continues.
Massachusetts: Food with a ‘tude
Michigan: The old yard at Michigan and Trumbull
Minnesota: Spam?
Mississippi: Cajun-Creole?
Missouri: Everybody has a joint in Kansas City
Montana: A good place for steak
Nebraska: What’s a Runza?
The Monday Thought
Last night, the Orioles played on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball for the first time in five years. As much as I love baseball, I tend not to watch too many games that the Orioles aren’t playing. So when I watch, I’m usually watching MASN’s stellar broadcast crew.
Which is why it was so damn painful to put up with last night’s broadcast.
ESPN’s broadcast team consisted of Karl Ravech, David Cone, and Eduardo Perez, with the insufferable Buster Olney as the sideline reporter. The amount of time spent on actually discussing the game was far less than what it actually should have been.
Here is just a taste of what ESPN thrust upon the fans tonight:
Occasional commercials between batters;
Not one, but two half-innings dedicated to interviewing a player as the game was going on, including listening to Eduardo Perez have to translate for Felix Bautista during the entire inning;
A ten-minute discussion attributing the Orioles success to the fact that they moved the left-field wall back last year;
Cal Ripken, Jr. and how he saved baseball in 1995;
Another Olney-led diatribe about the Orioles not retiring Mike Mussina’s number;
Several minutes discussing changes to how Little League operates their games;
What the Angels were doing and how it impacts Shohei Ohtani.
Look, I understand that the game got out of hand early with the Orioles taking a 7-0 lead in the first. But to then proceed to go an entire half-inning without talking about anything actually happening on the field does a disservice to fans who are actually watching the game in the first place.
Is the broadcast being focused on baseball fans, non-baseball fans, or something in between? Because nobody should be happy with the garbage product ESPN puts on the air.
Let’s hope the product on television is a little better as the Orioles make their march toward playoff baseball(!).