Thought I’d post some thoughts on the sports world and beyond since its mostly MLB playoffs this week…

Television recommendation: Mad Men on AMC.  If you are under the age of 55, you’ve probably only tuned into AMC by accident, but that all changes.  Mad Men is in just its 2^nd season and may already be one of my 5 favorite TV shows of all time.  It’s set in the 60’s at a Madison Ave. advertising company.  It was created by one of the main Soprano guys and the show is better than any other on TV right now.

MLB Postseason

•   I’m fired up because the Phillies/Dodgers game tonight will be called by Dan Shulman and Orel Hershiser on ESPN Radio.  I think Orel Hershiser may be the best baseball color commentator out there.  He brings such a unique perspective as a former player, coach and now parent to the game.  I’m stunned that he isn’t used more often.  Even for this series, he only gets games 3-5 and then Steve Phillips takes over for Games 6 and 7. 

• The thing I love about Hershiser is he’s able to not only draw on his experiences in baseball but he also is able to superbly describe the situation with deft clarity and detail.  So many former players get into the announcers booth and instead of being former players talking baseball, they try and do their best impression of what they think an announcer sounds like.  Chris Singleton being the most recent example.

• And Dan Shulman is the next great baseball PBP man for ESPN.  The most difficult thing for a PBP man to do, in my opinion, is master the art of setting up the color commentator as well as perfecting the art of voice inflection during key moments of the game.

• I’m not sure what this says about me, but I could talk announcing teams for an entire hour.  Wait, I know exactly what it says about me:  I have no life.  That sounds about right.

• Everyone is predicting doom and gloom for a potential Phillies/Rays series because of the disastrous ratings it would mean for Fox.  I didn’t know that many people were had profit sharing deals with Fox that the ratings actually impacted them.

• The Phillies and Rays are clearly playing the best baseball and deserve the potential berth in the World Series, why should it matter what the ratings are?  What if the series happens to be epic?  Let’s give the Series a shot no matter what the match-up is.

• And I think it will be the Rays and Phillies.

NFL

• WR Roy Williams was traded to the Dallas Cowboys for a bunch of draft picks, including next years 1^st and 3^rd rounders.  What is going on in Dallas?  The answer for Dallas was not adding another mouth at the dinner table offensively, it was shoring up their defense.

• My analogy on the show yesterday was:  Its like the family with 4 kids, who can barely have enough food for everyone trying to solve the problem by having another child.  Its just illogical.

• The real reason I’m upset about this trade is because it throws one of my fantasy teams into disarray.  I now will be starting TO and Roy Williams in a league the emphasizes WR play with 40 year old Brad Johnson trying to decide if he should throw it to them, Jason Witten or Marion Barber.  I’m not pleased.

Happy Hour returns for a quick show tomorrow before a potential full show on Friday, if the Phillies clinch tonight.