To Absent Friends (?) - Madame Nhu

Those of you of a certain age, especially those of you who were draft eligible in the 1960's and early 1970's, no doubt had their memories jogged when reading of the death this week of Madame Nhu, who served as "Official Hostess" to President Diem of South Viet Nam during that time period.

Reading he obit in the Post-Gazette yesterday made you feel as thought you were reading the stuff of a Robert Ludlem novel. All too true however.

Not all memories are happy ones.

To Absent Friends - Lynn Chadnois

I missed noting this passing last week when it occurred, so today I will yield the floor to Loyal Reader Big Poppy, who sent me the following email today:

Bob ... Just saw in this week's Sports Illustrated that Lynn Chadnois died at age 86.

The NFL wasn't much in the early 50's, but my Dad used to have Steeler tickets
(@ Forbes Field) back then, and we used to enjoy these "Pro games". (Pitt football was probably a hotter ticket). Anyway, Lynn Chadnois was the Rashard Mendenhall of that era, at 6' 2", 200, and was running back and kick return specialist. 8th overall pick in 1950
draft from Michigan State, retired in '57.

OK, my age allows me to go back almost 60 years; Perhaps Chadnois was never a household name, but his career kickoff return average of 29.6 yards is second only to Gayle Sayers' 30.6 yards. LC was often thrilling.

Well said, Bill. Well said.

RIP Lynn Chadnois.

Movie Review: "The Conspirator"

Took a trip to the Robinson Cinemark yesterday and took in the new Robert Redford-directed movie "The Conspirator." The movie centers on the trial of those who conspired with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, VP Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward. More specifically, it centers on the trial of Mary Surratt (played by Robin Wright), who ran a boarding house where the conspirators met. The other featured character is Frederick Aiken (played by James McAvoy), a union army hero who is also a lawyer and is conscripted to defend Mary Surratt in her trial by a military tribunal.

Aiken is at first reluctant to participate in the defense of a conspirator in the plot that killed the President. He soon comes to realize that while he may be uncertain as to Surratt's guilt or innocence, he is fully aware that she is being denied the rights of all citizens under the Constitution, which he fought to uphold: the presumption of innocence, and trial by a jury of her peers, all in the name of "national security" and the "greater good" of the nation. Here is where the movie gets a bit ham-handed. One can't help but see that Redford is drawing a parallel to events going on today. In fact, substitute Dick Cheney for Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, and you get the idea.

All that aside, it is a very well done movie, and it certainly does raise questions about the fairness of the trial of Mary Surratt and as to whether or not justice was done. Wright and McAvoy are very good in their roles. Stanton is played by one of my favorite actors, Kevin Kline, and I have to admit that I didn't even realize it was him until the ending credits.

Any American history buff will enjoy seeing this movie.

By the way, as I watched The Conspirator, Marilyn was in another theater in the multi-plex watching "Water for Elephants." She gave it a thumbs up for any of you who might be interested.

On TV Strike Zones, John Wehner, "Thinclads" and Other Topics

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box, Post-Easter Edition.....

• Hope that everyone had a pleasant Easter Weekend. We attended the Easter Vigil services at St. John Neumann, something that we will probably always do. It has a special meaning since Marilyn came through the RCIA program in 2010.


• Nice touch by Father Al to call up the RCIA "alumni" from past years to the altar at the end of Mass.


• So, exactly how tired are you of all the rain?


• I have been beating the the Pirates pick up of Brandon Wood to death in recent days, so I will give it a rest after making only two more points: (1) Ronny Cedeno stinks, this pick-up costs the Pirates nothing, maybe they'll get lucky, so what the hell?, and (2) did you see the GM's classic NealSpeil on this pick-up in the paper this morning? Among other things, he assured us that the front office did their "due diligence" in scouting Wood. Makes you feel a whole lot better, doesn't it?


• As you know from the lack of hockey writing that appears on this blog, I am not a hockey guy and don't profess to have a lot of knowledge on the subject. That said, how can you explain the Pens losing 8-2 on Saturday when they had the chance to close out the Lightning and end that series? Such things happen in sports, and perhaps that loss will be easier for the Pens to shake off than had they lost 2-1 or 1-0 in overtime. We'll see how it plays out this evening in St. Pete.


• How tired are you already of the "Range Resources Strike Zone" on the Pirates telecasts? Do we really need to see a replay of EVERY pitch in EVERY at bat? I am verrrry tired of it, as well as the cloying Range Resources commercials that run in the late innings of each game.


• I have to admit to a change in my position - and this is gonna surprise certain Loyal Readers out there - regarding Pirates announcer John Wehner (The Man Who Hit the Last Home Run in Three Rivers Stadium), or should I say Carrick's John Wehner (The Man Who Hit the Last Home Run in Three Rivers Stadium). Used to be I couldn't stand the guy with his Yinzer-speak and his odd way of pronouncing words that begin with S-T-R ("this is a guy who can really throw shtrikes out there on the mound"). Oh, he's still a yinzer and he still says that Pedro Alvarez needs to cut down on his shtrike outs, but if you listen to WHAT Wehner has to say instead of HOW he says it, he has a lot to offer.


• That proves that I am not close-minded, right?


• Have been hearing lot lately of various nephews and nieces on both sides of the family and their exploits at school track meets these days. Reminded me of a great old school term used in sports pages in days gone by referring to track athletes: thinclads. As in "Panther Thinclads Rule in Dual Meet with Carnegie Tech." Great stuff!


• Oh, for the good ol' days when the Steelers were "Rooney U.", track teams were "thinclads", boxers were "mitt-tossers", and sportswriters wore their press passes in the band of their fedoras.


• Oh, and by the way, pats on the back go out to all of those familial thinclads: Monica, Brian, Samantha, Zach, and Nate. Good work!!


• Is everyone all excited and geared up for the NFL Draft this week? Wake me up when it's over and let me know who the Steelers drafted. Then, wait until next January before evaluating said players and declaring whether or not Rooney U. had a good draft or not.

TO ALL LOYAL READERS.......

A New SS for the Pirates? and Dodgers Thoughts

The Angels this week "designated for assignment" (translation: we don't want this guy any more) short stop Brandon Wood. If you are like me, you never heard of Brandon Wood, so here's the skinny on him.

A one time #1 draft pick of the Angels, Wood shot through the Angels system and made it to the big club in 2007, but as often happens with hotshot, can't-miss prospects, things became different in the major leagues (can you say "Chad Hermansen"). With the Angels Wood has managed to play in 173 games in five MLB seasons and put together a career batting average of .168. That is not a misprint. His BA is One-Six-Eight. He has hit 11 home runs and driven in 33 runs in those 173 games. He has walked 13 times, and struck out 153 times.

Reports are that the Pirates will be "all over" Wood as he travels through waivers. Hard to imagine that the Pirates, in looking for a short stop to replace Ronny Cedeno would be able to come up with a player who was actually worse than Cedeno, but it looks like GM Neal is going to do exactly that.

I'll say this for Huntington - he doesn't embarrass easily. He has to know the ridicule that he will face if the Pirates claim this guy and put him in the line-up at PNC Park, but if the reports are accurate, it looks like he's going to do it anyway. It might make us long for the glory days of Brian Bixler at short.

Of course, maybe the theory is that a change of scenery will work wonders for Brandon Wood. On the other hand, that same theory never worked for Chad Hermansen in Chicago, LA or Toronto.

*****
Speaking of L.A. the news that Major League Baseball will be taking over the operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers has to be shocking to long time fans of the game. You would probably not get any arguments if you said that apart from the New York Yankees, the Dodgers, both in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, have been the most important, historical, successful and stable franchises in the history of the sport. That the shaky finances and marital squabbles of the McCorts has brought this franchise to this point is sad to behold.

I made a comment about this on my Facebook page the other day and it elicited a lot of comments. Some were pretty good, like..."why doesn't MLB take over the Pirates"...."as happened with the Expos, maybe MLB will allow the team to move; I hear that Brooklyn needs a team." My own comment was that there are surely some still-bitter old fans in Brooklyn who are now screaming "serves you right."

However, I will leave you with this snippet from LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke on the matter:

"Since buying the team in 2004 with more smug than money, Frank McCourt kept his hands in his pockets while the stadium became a dump, the fan base become dangerously belligerent, and the team became the Pittsburgh Pirates."

Ouch!

Credit Where Credit Is Due

The Grandstander has been assailed in recent weeks for being too judgemental and too hard on GM Neal (the guy who signed Aki Iwamura and thought Neil Walker would make a nice utility man). Well, in deference to those opinions let me jump the gun - I was going to wait until one month of the season had been played to do such an assessment - and give GM Neal props and kudos for the signing of Kevin Correia.

The Grandstander was not the only person to greet the Correia signing with great ennui last winter, but so far the results have been outstanding:

3-1, 2.48 ERA, 1 CG, 29 IP, 12K, 7 BB

If the NL All-Star team was being picked today, Correia would be on it.

So, at this point in the season, put this one in the PLUS column for Neal.

******

Another Pirates thought, and, yes, I know it is early in the season:

After going 1-11 in 2010, after beating the Pirates for over $2 million in arbitration in the off season, after an '11 start that has produced a 7.27 ERA in two starts and 8.2 IP, and after being dispatched for what appears to be a lengthy spell on the DL, I am guessing that Ross Ohlendorf will be a prime candidate to be "designated for assignment" (a la Zach Duke) this coming off-season.