Eye black is a grease or strip applied by athletes under the eyes to reduce glare. Babe Ruth used it. College athletes wrote messages on it until the NCAA ban. Although there have been many studies on its effectiveness at reputable universities, my go to has always been MythBusters. In a 2008 episode that also covered cutting down a tree with a…
It was a tough week for Acalanes Varsity Baseball. The Dons took on the Campolindo Cougars onThursday at home and repeated a similar bad dream as Tuesday’s outcome. Solid pitching, decent hitting and a few let downs in defense were ultimately the story of both games. Hard to watch because defense has been so stellar all season. Mason Zirkel started…
The Dons played the second game of the double header against Campo on the road on May 4. Given the date, I had every intention of repeating the article theme from last year as it was again Star Wars Day, aka “May the 4th be with you”. I thought I could even tie it into my laundry with something like…
The boys made the short drive to Moraga on Tuesday to take on the Campolindo Cougars. The rainstarted right before game time and continued for most of the two and a half hour contest. Junior hurler Henry Souza started on the hill for Acalanes and pitched well enough to get a win, but the bullpen and defense could not hold…
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…