This 'n That

The rainy end to June kept me inside for a couple of days. I would have really been cranky, but there was plenty of San Francisco Giants baseball to keep me feelin' good.

The Giants hit the road after taking five in a row from the American League's Twins and Indians, and headed to Chicago's Wrigley Field, one of the last surviving old ballparks. Bought with the chewing gum fortune in 1927, Wrigley Field began life as Weegman Park in 1916, home to the Chicago Whales of the old Federal League.

I love Wrigley's ivy covered brick walls in the outfield, the way the setting sun blazes through the park and across home plate, and especially the outfield grand stands built on top of the buildings across the street.

During Thursday's game I saw a chef in starched whites and a tall toque serving fans on the top floor of one of the "across the way" bleacher buildings...style points for those Cub's Fans! Kudos to the cameraman for the inside glimpse, too.

The Chicago Cub's fans are good, old-timey baseball fans. Wrigley was the last major league park to add lights for night games. I decried the lights at first, but the Cubs held out against Big Sports Television as long as they could.

Add to baseball's Missing In Action List the Double Header. Scheduled Double Headers have gone the way of the passenger pigeon in modern baseball. So it was with extra joy that I watched the Make-Up Double Header Tuesday. The last time the Giants were at Wrigley Field, their game was rained out early hence Tuesday's rare Double Header.

Watching the games from muggy and hot Chitown while the steady rain fell outside here in the Inland Valley was really cozy. That the Giants got a week's worth of hits in the two games was a plus too! Thirty hits...18 in the day game, and 12 in the sunset contest was the tonic I needed to fend off the gray feelings from the gray, wet weather.

'n That
Up the hill, summer seems to be making a quick comeback after the Tuesday/Wednesday Winter Storm blew through. At Sutcliffe, north of Reno, on Pyramid Lake, a brush fire burned a car and a fencepost, and threatened a home before the fire department extinguished it.

The Teams are now set for the Saturday start of Le Tour de France. After dinner I'll pick my Fantasy Team. This years' Tour looks to be Epic! Lots of mountaintop finishes, with L'Alpe d'Huez just two days from the finish in Paris, and the day before the Individual Time Trial in Grenoble!

Le Tour is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Tour first climbing the Alps this year, so the final week will be contested in the Alps. Nearly as good, Stage 2 is a Team Time Trial, easily the most beautiful and intriguing test of the riders and teams.

This
Wednesday night, Blogger was acting up again, even though I stayed up until nearly 3AM, I couldn't save, schedule or publish CorduroyPlanet so I put it in my CorduroyPlanet Tumblr que. I strive to have new content five days a week, posted by 6AM Pacific.

Should you be one of my early-bird readers, and the new CP is  MIA, try the Tumblr Link in the CorduroyPlanet Toolbox, unless it's one of those rare tardy blogs, CP will be there. When Blogger rights itself, I'll get the days' offering up as soon as I can.

Thanks again for reading!