Another Streak Ends

Almost anyone who has followed Major League Baseball is familiar with Cal Ripken Jr. He has been known as the Iron-Man. He set a record playing in 2,632 straight games before choosing to end his streak in 1998. I remember watching that game.  It is an incredible memory to have.

Most people have never heard of Ernie Tyler. Tyler is an 83-year old umpire’s attendant at Camden Yards. He has been working their since 1960. And while most people haven’t heard of him, he has a streak of his own that ended on his terms this weekend. His streak of 3,769 consecutive games worked is comprised of regular season home games. If the exhibition, the postseason and the 1993 All-Star game were to be included his streak would extend to 3,819.

Tyler’s streak came to end this weekend as he was invited as Ripken’s guest to his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He said that he thought about it for two weeks and says that it is with no regrets that his 47 1/2 year streak will come to an end.

I think Tyler sums it up best: “I never thought of it as a streak. I just thought of it as seeing a ballgame,” he said. “It’s better than being around the house all day, helping with the dishes or mowing the lawn.”

 That it is Mr. Tyler.

For more information on Tyler: Yahoo Sports, WTOP News, Baltimore Sun, MLB.com

Being A Georgia Bulldog

Growing up a Georgia Bulldog hasn’t always been easy. But when you’re the daughter of not only two UGA alums but one also being a former linebacker on the 1968 SEC Championship team loving the Dawgs is just in your blood. 

During my grade school days I was relentlessly teased by my Tennessee Volunteer loving classmates. My one ally was a South Carolina Gamecock. The Ray Goff years from 1989-1995 were pretty bleak with the 1991 and 1992 seasons being the brightest. The Jim “Donnan of a New Era” wasn’t much better. Sure the Dawgs were over .500 every season but his first but the amount of talent he squandered is just painful to remember.

Then came Georgia’s current coach Mark Richt. A good man and a successful coach. I hesitate to use the word “good” because there has been a lot of talk about just how “good” he actually is. While Richt hasn’t experienced one losing season since coming to Athens there have been moments when Georgia fans have questioned his decision making and at times very predictable playcalling. Additionally, it seems every year there are a slew of players who are forced to miss the first several games due to stupid and usually alcohol related mistakes which while I’m sure it’s always happened it has seemed to have increased (or at least the Athens-Clarke County cops have gotten tougher).

In Richt’s tenure Georgia has been to the SEC title game three times and has been crowned the SEC champion twice. He’s led the Dawgs to a 4-2 bowl record, including wins in the Sugar Bowl, the Capital One Bowl, and the Outback Bowl.

“Moe” Memories to live forever at Twins Field

When I was growing up and going to Twins games here in Elizabethton, TN, I always saw Moe at the games. He was a regular SuperFan for this farm club. And now, the rest of the story….

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[Photo and Story courtesy Elizabethton Newspapers, Inc]

By Shelby Tolley-McQueen

From Staff Reports

As the boys of summer returned to Elizabethton this week, another one of their biggest fans set off on an adventure of his own. Sixty-one year-old Larry “Moe” Riddle passed away Monday morning.

Throughout the decades, Moe was a constant supporter of the Elizabethton Twins. With his death, as well as the death of Ralph Claymon in 2005, the livelihood at Joe O’Brien Field’s sidelines has dimmed considerably.

The summer of 1990 was my first experience with Moe and Ralph. To know one was to know the other and I grew to love both. Moe knew the language of Elvis Presley. Ralph had a language all his own.

With the tap of his foot and the snap of two fingers, I have always remembered Moe singing Elvis’ tunes with an occasional flair of opera sounds. The fearless duo of Moe and Ralph shaking their fists side-by-side inside the fence lines just outside the home dressing room at Joe O’Brien was a constant sight during the summer months.

For three decades, just as sure as summer arrived in E-Town, Moe and Ralph arrived at the clubhouse. Over the years, many times, news of their antics reached the rookie leagues in Florida and the Twins’ home base in Minnesota.

When the team arrived, Moe and Ralph often were the first fans discussed. Their blood seemed to run true red, blue, white and gray. Twins General Manager Terry Ryan knew who Moe and Ralph were.