Everyday Statement. Yes, Every Day.

Kirk Gibson is my hero. He played the game the way I went on to play the game. HARD. 

When I was a kid, the Tigers had their share of stars.

We had Mark Fidrych. Jason Thompson. Steve Kemp.

Jack Morris. Kirk Gibson. Lance Parrish.

Cecil Fielder. 

You could even put Willie Hernandez into the mix.

I probably forgot a dozen or so players. I've been a Tigers fan since 1976 when Mark "The Bird" Fidrych took over in the Motor City. At the time, we lived in Clarkston, I was four, and everything was "The Bird." Really, the Bird was the Word.

The Tigers struggled but in 1983, things seemed to make sense. Sparky Anderson arrived in 1979 with a "five year plan." It was getting close. Baseball players had gone on strike in 1981. I didn't really understand what those 50–some days without baseball really were about. And the scheduled was goofed up and the playoffs bizarre — but the Tigers almost made it. If only the Milwaukee Brewers hadn't wrecked things!!!

Cecil Fielder, let's go back to him. He arrived in 1990, freshly imported from Japan after a few years slugging away in Toronto. I told my buddy Bru at a Spring Training game in Baseball City, Florida, that if the Tigers really give Cecil a chance, he could hit 40 home runs. He hit 51 that year and the magic had arrived. Fielder was larger than life — and a fan favorite. He had charisma. People liked him. (And his young son ... what's his name?)

I've never seen anyone like Miguel Cabrera in a Tigers uniform. In fact, I may never have seen anyone like Cabrera, period. He is AWESOME! Every day, I say, "I am so happy that Miguel Cabrera is a Tiger."

That's all I want to say today.

Technology 1995

Recently, I was asked how technology has changed in the classroom since I started teaching.

In 1995, some teachers had a classroom computer and most school had a lab.

During that first year, I approached one of our administrators about needing a couple of new computers for my students. I was able to get during Christmas break two brand new computers with Pentium 133 MHZ processor. I don't remember what that exactly meant, but it was good for then. They also had a hard drive, maybe a 2 Gb. They might have been five, I'm not sure. Anyhow, I felt good about that.

As the journalism teacher, I was lucky enough to have some Macintosh computers, as well. And by some, I mean, two (2). One had a small hard drive and the other didn't. After a semester, we quit using those.

PageMaker was relatively new and unknown at the time, but we had version 4.2 on the Macs. It wasn't worth using, but we did some mock ups and cuts and pastes. I also came across a bootleg version of PageMaker 5.0 that I could use with my Gateway Computer. I also was able to borrow another teacher's Gateway because she never used it and I told her she could "house it in my classroom." I found ways to get computers.

We didn't have the Internet, but suddenly we were able to go into the "head end" room and use a computer with our new email addresses to communicate. There was only one computer set up this way. I remember trying to get in there early in the morning to "check email." Wow, this was 1995 or so.

Most teachers back then didn't really incorporate technology. But it began to change during the next few years. We were able to receive the Technology Literacy Grant at that school and make some major changes and upgrades. We spent money using stipends and such to get teachers trained on email, MicroSoft, etc.

Times began to change and by 2000 we had "a lot of" teachers getting "with the program."

I can't imagine how fun it must be to be a teacher these days with the Internet, with collaboration, with the endless supply of information. If all the other political mumbo jumbo didn't come with the package ...

Focus

When you put the focus where it should be, the results can be phenomenal.

This is what we find when we read the work of DuFour, Fullan, Marzano, Schmoker, and Lezotte.

How do you help people who don't understand to actually understand where it is we must go in education?

Education is about kids.

And those kids sure do grow up fast. We don't have as much time to prepare them as we'd like to think.

Dumb, Disappointing, Delusional ....

Boston. 

Photo by Werner Kunz available on Flickr. 

I hope they figure out who did whatever he did to Boston, to the Marathon, to the people yesterday. I don't think any rational person can comprehend why the bombing would be a good idea. The first words I could think of were dumb, disappointing, delusional. What would possess someone to bomb the Boston Marathon.

It makes you wonder if you're safe anywhere. I'm not trying to overreact or be hyperbolic. It makes me think of the rigamarole we all go through to ride in a plane to Las Vegas, or Tampa, or Washington, D.C. We all complain as we go through the process, the security. But, it keeps us safe. At least we believe it keeps us safe.

Wouldn't a major event like the Boston Marathon be covered with security? Wouldn't it be tough to walk around with enough explosive to blow up stuff and kill people? I mean, would it be that easy to haul in that much explosive? People I've talked to said that marathons have a great amount of security. I've never run that far and don't know if I could … but are marathons secure?

Are planes secure?

Are we ever safe? Sure, we feel safe and believe we're safe. But, in reality …

Boston, we're thinking about you. America, we're concerned.

Photo by The Detroit Athletic Company available from Facebook. 

A Baseball Schedule Problem

Take the Weather With You

Even the playoffs are cold in the northern towns ... 

I like to complain. I usually never end up writing any of the letters that I consider. I also like to compliment. But I never send those letters, either. I don't really think there's any other reason than I have opinions. And you know what they say about that. Right? 

So, I'm going to make a suggestion for the first two series of the baseball season, especially if we begin on April Fool's Day. So, I'm going to through this idea out on how we can begin games in either domes or in warm(er) weather areas.

I am interested in opinions, as well.

Series One (Three Games)

Boston at Texas
Chicago White Sox at Houston
Detroit at Tampa
Cleveland at Los Angeles Angels
Baltimore at Kansas City
Minnesota at Toronto
NYY at Oakland (questionable, as I've been to an early April game in Oakland)
Seattle at San Francisco (is this questionable, too?) This is also Interleague Game #1
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (Cincinnati always opens at home, right?)
New York Mets at San Diego
Philadelphia at Los Angeles Dodgers
St. Louis at Miami
Chicago Cubs at Arizona
Colorado at Atlanta
Washington at Milwaukee

Series Two (Three games; maybe four)

Chicago White Sox at Texas
Detroit at Houston
Cleveland at Tampa
Baltimore at Los Angeles Angels
Minnesota at Kansas City
NYY at Toronto
Seattle at Oakland
Pittsburgh at San Francisco
NYM at Cincinnati
Philadelphia at San Diego
St. Louis at Los Angeles Dodgers
Chicago Cubs at Miami
Colorado at Arizona
Washington at Atlanta
Boston at Milwaukee

Double headers
I would also suggest that all summer long (June through August) that either Saturday or Sunday games be double headers. The traditional kind — where it's pay for one ticket and get two games. I suppose it could be Saturdays since Sundays will often be get–away day for one or both teams. I think something like this could allow the regular season to end in the middle of September, thus the World Series complete by the middle of October. Especially considering that we have so many teams making the playoffs these days.

Why Do I Like Detroit?

THE "D"

I can't really remember when I decided I thought Detroit was a great place. It might have been the first time I saw Tiger Stadium and walked through those dark corridors and then down the ramp that led to the green grass and all the smells of hot dogs. Fresh mowed grass and Ball Park Franks … that's the smell of spring to me. Baseball.

I've been a baseball fan forever. Everyone who knows me knows this to be a fact. I've always been a die–hard Tigers fan. There were the days when I liked the Angels, Athletics, and even the White Sox, but it was more about uniforms or players or something different than loyalty. Sometimes it was just that I thought their management structure was better than the Tigers — yeah, I've been interested in those weird things way too long and been willing to let that affect my opinion of a team.

For many years, I was one of the visitors who drove into the city and then got out as quickly as possible. I never paid attention to where Tiger Stadium really was. I didn't know which direction the roads went; probably didn't even know that Woodward could get you just about anywhere. I never saw the "Fist," or "Spirit of Detroit."

It might go back to the time my parents and I visited Cobo Hall and misplaced our car. I don't think my parents were invited about that. Not to mention they had gone to Detroit just because their youngster (four?) wanted to see Spider–man in person. I probably never thanked them for taking me down there, so THANKS! But, the fact that we got lost and their possible reaction may have been reason enough for me to drive in and drive out. I don't really know.

Then, one day, I decided to see what the D really offered. Sure, I'd been to Tigers games, Red Wings games, concerts, etc., but I never really explored. I didn't know about Michigan Central Station, the Packard Plant, or the Heidelberg Project. I didn't know the history of the city — how it was a major hub. I don't even think I understood the incredible impact of the Big Three on the history of the country.

I think a lot of Detroit. Always have, for some reason. I wrote about Detroit in high school and college without really knowing what I was writing about or what I was championing for. It wasn't always sports writing either. So, don't judge a city by it's cover. And don't necessarily judge a city by it's past. Look at the potential for a future there and visit Detroit. Take it in.

My Take on the First Pitch in Detroit, 20

It's only "Opening Day" when the game is in Detroit. That's Opening Day to me. 

Other scenes from the Opener:

Ken gets directions on the People Mover.

After checking out Detroit, we stopped for a late night snack at Lafayette Coney Island. 

Yes, they were delicious. 

My Opening Day "gear." Thanks again to Amber and Cassandra for the cool Gibby jersey. 

Ken and Huck relax near the garbage. Tradition says we must take a garbage pic every year. 

Getting the field ready. 

We made it to Kid Rock in time to see Buckcherry open up but we missed the opening opener because of the Opener in Detroit. 

These were our original seats, but we moved. 

Another great show from the Kid.