MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[dansand]

I can't for the life of me remember the last time that NPU has had a player from the QC. I'll have to throw this one over to the Prike. The closest that they've come in my memory was Sterling's Jason Austin back in the late nineties (Jason's now the principal at the elementary school there). And even I, a city slicker who thinks that everything west of Aurora is "Iowa", know that Sterling is not quite far enough out there to qualify as the QC.

Jim Clausen, who played on the first set of North Park national championship teams (I don't know if he was with the varsity for all three), was from Moline. I don't know if he was the last Quad-Citian for the Park, but he was a pretty good one.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Yep, I remember those guys, though that is before my time as even a tepid Tiger fan (I grew up in Peoria, IL, as a Cardinal fan).  But #1 I was a Mickey Mantle fan, and thus a Yankee fan.

If you lived on the East Coast you would have been hung in effigy long ago.  It's ok to have a favorite team and then abandon them for some good reason, but you can never just switch allegiances unless you become a paid employee of said franchise.  There is at least a twenty year waiting period.  You're lucky midwesterners don't take their baseball so seriously.

I do like the pussycat reference.  Although, it pales in conparison to what they call the Royals out here in KC: the turdbirds.  That's just classic.

[joehakes]

Hoops,

You've never been to St. Louis if you think midwesterners don't take their baseball seriously.  Being in Kansas City, you are where apparently the franchise doesn't take baseball very seriously.

[Warren Thompson]

Hoops,

You've never been to St. Louis if you think midwesterners don't take their baseball seriously.

Agreed. In fact, I believe there's still a St. Louis Browns fan club. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I know the Cards fans are great.  I was making that statement based on the fact that someone can switch allegiances among three different teams and not be ostracized from society and forced to live as a hermit on the outskirts of the city.

[emeritusprof]

I grew up in St. Louis.  Left there as a high school kid in 1952 -- BUT remain a staunch Cardinals fan to this day (don't bring up the just finished Cubs series).

I had a favorite named Whitey Kurowski.  A great third baseman on a great infield even though he had a gimpy right arm.

There were a bunch of pretty good Ms in those days.  For example, Mize, Musial, Medwick (on his downslope), Marion, Munger, Moore (Terry, that is), and probably some others I can't recall.

I didn't see much of the later stars in person, but did see Brock when he brock 100 stolen bases, and had one opportunity to see Bob Gibson pitch.  With the exception of two games, my in-person Cardinals watching was in Sportsman's Park--then later in Milwaukee County Stadium when it was still home to the Milw Braves in the major league where pitchers must hit.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Note to Ypsi:  since you are strictly a "fair weather" fan of Detroit pro sports, you might be surprised to learn that the Detroit Lions are still in business. 

I've heard vague rumors to that effect, but since Barry Sanders was the only reason to watch them over the past couple decades, you couldn't prove their existence by me!

[diehardfan]

It wasn't a "Hollywood" joke as much as a general nod in the direction of all the La-La-Land stereotypes we heartlanders harbor so fondly. I'd recommend that you rent Sideways to see if they fit your locale, but I'm not sure that you'd like that movie. And, given SoCal freeway traffic, "1.5 hours away from LA" is, what, twenty or thirty miles?

One thing that isn't ironic, however, is the ever-earnest gullibility with which you've once again taken one of my incredibly lame jokes at face value and dissected it like it was a Bio 101 fetal pig.  You can take the girl out of Wheaton, but you can't take Wheaton out of the girl. We are a classic case of role reversal -- I'm the midwesterner and you're the SoCalian, so I ought to be the wide-eyed naif and you ought to be the hard-bitten cynic. Right?

And, actually, David, Hollywood now appears to be trying to sell the gritty image of L.A. rather than the air-kisses-and-Pellegrino version (e.g., Crash and Collateral). Judging by the box office totals of the past few years, my impression is that Flyover U.S.A. is not that much interested in any version of reality that Hollywood is selling at the moment. 

Bio 101 at Wheaton, if we even have it, would be a non-major gen ed class. So if they disect fetal pigs in that class, I wouldn't know. 

My favorite image that Hollywood sells of this area is the movie Orange County, which is a perfect satire... gosh do I love that movie. It's my sense of humor to a tee. "Okay, one more, after this we let all sick and endangered animals die horrible deaths." Does that say "Welcome to So Cal, or what?"  I don't like very many movies though. I only like the media genre a little more than TV, which isn't saying much. I've never even heard of any of the movies mentioned in the above post.

I did realize that your jokes were jokes, you know, it's just in my personality to disect things. You're right that it's the scientist in me... but I'm not stupid either, and I'm better at reading people than you're letting me be. It also may be mostly due to the fact that the idea that I could resemble a So Cal person profoundly disturbes me. 

I miss the midwest. I never, ever, EVER thought I'd say that, but I do. I like the culture, God help me. it could just be that I like the culture almost everywhere in the world more than here. I'm not so sure that So Cal is the land of cynics, however. More like... shallow and fake people.  Are you saying you're like that? 

[joehakes]

E-prof,

Would you be referring to the series that THE CUBS JUST SWEPT FROM THE CARDINALS???

We rule April!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   

I mean the month, not our April.

[jdean]

... I like the culture almost everywhere in the world more than here. I'm not so sure that So Cal is the land of cynics, however. More like... shallow and fake people. 

You hit it right on the head. Calif is culture-less. Other than the possible loss of life, I'd have no problem with the chunk west of the San Andreas separating from the mainland and forming their own country or become a territory of France.

[diehardfan]

We rule April!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   

I mean the month, not our April.

If only the fact that my name and the start of baseball could have some sort of magical effect, and my team stop sucking for once.  Being an Orioles fan is becoming its whole special level of diehard. Yeah, we have a couple of pennants, but supporting a team who hasn't finished over .500 for like 10 yrs straight has to be some sort of major masochism. At least we are the first team in the AL alphabetically.  8)

I'm up in San Fransisco this week for a work conference and have been given sweet tickets to a Giants game. I'm not gonna refuse them, but I'm casually gonna wear the colors and fail to mention that they are mine too, but for another reason. 

Best... color... ever... 

[markerickson]

If SoCal is culture-less, what is "our" culture?

[David Collinge]

If only the fact that my name and the start of baseball could have some sort of magical effect, and my team stop sucking for once.  Being an Orioles fan is becoming its whole special level of diehard. Yeah, we have a couple of pennants, but supporting a team who hasn't finished over .500 for like 10 yrs straight has to be some sort of major masochism. At least we are the first team in the AL alphabetically.  8)

I'm up in San Fransisco this week for a work conference and have been given sweet tickets to a Giants game. I'm not gonna refuse them, but I'm casually gonna wear the colors and fail to mention that they are mine too, but for another reason. 

Be sure to wear layers of orange.  You have to be prepared for temperature changes of +/-20 degrees at Telephone Monopoly Park.

I have been a "diehard" fan of the Cleveland Professional Baseball Club all of my life; prior to the mid-1990's, that meant rooting for a team that was effectively eliminated by Memorial Day in virtually every season.  They still are championship-free since 1948--in fact, the entire city is bannerless since the 1964 Browns raised their last one. 

[diehardfan]

Be sure to wear layers of orange.  You have to be prepared for temperature changes of +/-20 degrees at Telephone Monopoly Park.

Thanks mom, I'll be sure to do that. 

[Knightstalker]

1968:  Bill Freehan, "Stormin'" Norman Cash, Dick McAuliffe, Ray Oyler, Dick Wert (immortalized on every typewriter keyboard), Willie Horton, Jim Northrup, Mickey Stanley, Al Kaline.  Denny McLain, Mickey Lolich, Earl Wilson, Joe Sparma.  Stanley playing short in the World Series so Kaline's bat could be in the lineup (rather than Oyler's.)  Lolich beating Bob Gibson (1.12 ERA) in Game 7.  A bright memory from an otherwise terrible year in American history.

Trammell might be a marginal candidate for HoF enshrinement, but not Lou Whitaker.  The Hall is overpopulated as it is; no room for career .276 hitters with only above-average gloves.

Note to Ypsi:  since you are strictly a "fair weather" fan of Detroit pro sports, you might be surprised to learn that the Detroit Lions are still in business. 

68 is the first world series I really remember.

I agree about Whitaker, if Willie Randolph isn't in Whitaker won't get in, they were the same player except Randolph had the better glove.  I would take either one in their prime though.