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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy is in his 36th year of covering the Cincinnati Reds, the longest tenure for any active writer covering one team. Counting spring training and postseason games, McCoy has covered more than 7,000 major-league baseball games, written close to 18,000 baseball stories and eaten enough hot dogs to give Babe Ruth indigestion.Home > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > September > 13 > Entry
From Hurricane Ike to Tropical Storm Randy
They had a bomb-sniffing dog outside the Reds clubhouse before Saturday’s game. If they were looking for home run bombs, they were in the wrong place.
Couldn’t resist.
Probably it had something to do with the fact Jessica Simpson is scheduled for a concert after the game to promote her first country music album. If Tony Romo’s with her, I’m not staying.
If he isn’t, well, I’d probably have as much luck with her as I had with Sandra Bullock in Denver. None. Not even a hello, how are ya?
Maybe she’d look at me and say, “And the Diamondbacks are going to kick your butts,” but I doubt if she knows a batting helmet from a football helmet and the Diamondbacks from The Mighty Ducks.
WHAT IS there to do in Phoenix during the day, when it is 110 in the shade?
If you are Reds traveling secretary Gary Wahoff and FoxSports technician Kent Weaver, you go to Camelback Mountain and go rock climbing. Not me. Not a big fan of rattlesnakes and scorpions. And Wahoff is still picking cactus needles out of his hand from falling on one.
Me? I sat by the hotel pool in Oldtown near Scottsdale (in the shade, of course), smoked a cigar, read a mystery novel and made certain no young ladies drowned in the pool.
CHRIS DICKERSON has a good sense of humor. When he was told it was his time to pee in a bottle, a random drug test ordered by MLB, he smiled and said, “Hope they don’t test for Dunkin’ Donuts. I will so-o-o-o fail.”
Dickerson showed up at the clubhouse Saturday bedecked in USC gear - USC jacket, USC t-shirt, everything but wearing a Trojan helmet and riding a white horse.
Turns out he is friends with former USC quarterback Matt Leinert and he has a bet with Reds equipment manager Rick Stowe. “I have to give him 11 points,” said Dickerson, referring to the USC-Ohio State football game. “That’s OK. We’ll cover. I just want to see Stowe wearing USC gear for a week on the next homestand. That’s the bet.”
And how did the Texans fare from Hurricane Ike?
“Don’t know, haven’t checked about my house,” said Arizona’s Adam Dunn, who lives in Lake Conroe, 45 minutes from downtown Houston. “My mom and dad had a lot of trees blown down and they live 30 minutes from Houston.”
Said Jay Bruce, “We lucked out. I live like three minutes from downtown Houston and my friends said everything is fine.”
Gary Majewski lives 20 minutes northwest of Houston and said he was up until 5 a.m. watching Ike on TV, “Plus my security people called me at 2:45 to tell me my alarm was ringing. I told them not to bother, just the wind.
“My friends told me everybody is good, everything is OK,” Majewski added. “My house is intact. There are just a bunch of limbs and crap in the yard and in the street.”
Then it was time for the Reds to face 45-year-old Randy Johnson, who has been downgraded the last couple of years from Hurricane Randy to Tropical Storm Randy.
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Comments
By Wizard
September 14, 2008 12:08 AM | Link to this
Why does Cordero throw everything away?By Y-City Jim
September 13, 2008 11:57 PM | Link to this
Arizona putting on a demonstration as to why little ball seldom works.By Bill Lawrence
September 13, 2008 8:31 PM | Link to this
Thanks for looking out after the young ladies at the pool. Did anyone explain to the rookies starting tonight, how much Randy likes for the batter to call time and step out of the box? Then you had better be ready to duck.By Arizona Pat
September 13, 2008 7:19 PM | Link to this
It was actually a cool day today. Not sure if it made it to triple digits. And by the way, I’ve lived in AZ for 13 years now and haven’t seen a live scorpion yet.