Rivalries are defined as the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Examples include Yankees vs. Red Sox, Michigan vs. Ohio State, North Carolina vs. Duke, David Letterman vs. Jay Leno, Al Capone vs. Eliot Ness, Hatfields vs. McCoys, Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West,  Tanya Harding vs. Nancy Kerrigan, and me vs. my wife when trying…

The boys traveled to Clayton Valley Charter High School on Thursday to take on the Ugly Eagles for theirsecond game of the week, on an unseasonably warm day. Acalanes wore their road grays and came outswinging. The Dons had runners on in every inning of the game, but it wasn’t enough to win. In the endClayton Valley prevailed with a…

Video games have been a part of baseball since 1961, when “BBC Vik: The Baseball Demonstrator” was released on a IBM 1620 mainframe. The game lasted around 9 minutes with each play simulation being printed, letting the player know who hit the ball, when a base was stolen, when a ball was caught, and so forth.  Since that time, there…

It started as a beautiful day for baseball on Tuesday in Lafayette. The Varsity Dons, on a two game win streak took on the #3 ranked North Coast Section team in Division 1, the Clayton Valley Charter Ugly Eagles. As usual the boys found themselves in another pitcher’s duel. Henry Souza started for Acalanes and pitched admirably for the first…

Sports gambling was introduced in the US in the early 19th century with horse betting, and took off when professional baseball began in 1876.  By 1894, it was so commonplace that there was an article in the Washington Post that stated that the manager of the Chicago Colts bet $100 that his team would finish higher up in the race…

It felt like summer in Napa Valley on Friday when the Dons took on the Vintage Crushers on asundrenched afternoon in the valley. There was no whining in Wine Country on this beautiful day.Fortunately there was winning in Wine Country for the boys in blue. “Rubber Arm” Peter Thorn took the mound and made his team leading 14th appearance in…

There are many unwritten rules.  Don’t chew with your mouth open.  Don’t leave your shopping cart in the middle of the aisle.  Don’t get on a train before people get off.  Don’t stand on the left side of an escalator.  Don’t propose at someone else’s wedding.  Don’t use the urinal right next to someone if another one is available.  Don’t…

Thursday was a perfect day for baseball at Ken Souza Field. The temperature was warm, the grass was avibrant green in the afternoon sun, the skies were blue and the Dons were in white for this pivotalleague game against Benicia High School. Senior Andrew Habas got the “flash the leather party” started with a strong, running, over the shoulder catch…

A doppelganger is a mysterious, exact double of a living person.  The closet equivalent in baseball today is two minor league players who are both named Brady Feigl, stand 6’4” tall, have fiery red hair, wear glasses, and had the same elbow surgery performed by the same doctor in 2015.  Although not quite in that category, there are a number…