An Introduction

My apologies -- I should have posted this essay first -- how rude of me!

As the good Rabbi has already so graciously done on HIS blog, let me introduce myself. I am James Schwartz -- my friends (and I hope to consider ALL my readers my friends) call me Jim -- former athlete, former college sports editor, now grudgingly middle aged, and wondering when my world changed so significantly.

I have raised my kids to be fans of sports, and even to participate, and have tried to make sure they do it "right" -- with grace and respect. They try to show respect to the visiting team, to win and lose equally with grace and respect -- sometimes succeeding! They HAVE, however, picked up on my disdain of poor officiating!

As Steve explained -- besides being an outlet for my own frustrations as I deal with my limitations in life (!), this blog will try to do 3 things.

1) To comment positively on sporting current events, seeking to draw larger lessons from them.
2) To take on the sacred cows of professional sports and fandom, and point out when the Emperor is walking around naked.
3) To share some truly bizarre and obscure stats and factoids, with the hope of stirring discussion, debate, even argument!

So, even if you are NOT a big sports fan, I invite you to come along for the ride. You may not always get what is going on, you may not always agree with what I say, but I hope you will NEVER be bored here!