The Post Season

The one truth of any sport is that the playoffs are a whole new season. The lowest seed coming in can always pull something out of their hat and pop up to surprise you. Players that filled positions during the season show their stuff, motivated by the possibility of a championship in their respective sport.

The most recognizable voices of sports broadcasting come out to play too. And in October, the gritty, strong, north-eastern voice of Chris Berman, usually reserved for stumblin' and bumblin' around the football scene is heard making humourous wordplays on names, and adding his own spice of excitement to the baseball diamond.

During the baseball postseason, the networks recognize that a lot of the common folk see watching baseball on TV as about as entertaining as watching grass grow...and the best personalities out there come loaded with entertaining anecdotes and stories about players, coaches of old and new. While I can sit and enjoy a televised baseball game under most circumstances, avec or sans filler, I certainly don't object to most of the little dialogues exchanged.

There are certain commentators, most of whom I tend to forget the names of until the following time I hear them, that state blindingly obvious axioms and theories as if they are something so profound that we should be sending THEM money for their relief effort to the game being described. But these guys are there all the time, and just get a bit more of the spotlight during the postseason...or on Monday nights in the case of Coach Madden(ing).

These guys can be tuned out though in most cases, and there are always really interesting tales to be heard in between, particularly in the baseball realm. October is one of the finest representations of America's pastime, and one of the best things they have going...lets show a little more collective respect...there's so much more than grass growing, even to the uninformed casual viewer.

And lets not forget that Canada's pastime opens for the first time in two years tomorrow night!