The Fresh Life

This is Applegate. When presented with two polar opposite doctrines of thought, which side of the fence are you on? While one adage states that “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying,” the antithesis proclaims: “honor is simply the morality of superior men.” I ask you this in response to allegations made on Tuesday that the Boston Red Sox were illicitly monitoring and relaying the Yankees’ hand signals with the aid of an Apple watch (Siri, how in the hell am I supposed to square up on an Aroldis Chapman 105 mph fastball?). Yet, not unlike a schoolyard finger-pointing episode,...

You can't teach this reactive competitive savagery, nor can you tame it. Athletes like Bryce Harper, Serena Williams, Sidney Crosby to name a few, are wired from birth to focus on winning at all costs and take no prisoners.  If they make some friends on their journey to winning the universe, great, but that's not what they're here for. Its not all fun and games with these athletes, and if you poke the bear, someone will get hurt. Tip of the cap to both of these guys. Savages!

In life, there exist all kinds of family.  Richard Bach wrote: “the bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” This passed Sunday, the sports world woke to the news of the heartbreaking passing of phenom Jose Fernandez in a tragic boating accident. JoFer was a special talent and an even better man who had his entire life and baseball career ahead of him. Jose Fernandez leaves behind a grieving mother, girlfriend, forthcoming child, and devastated group of Marlins’ teammates.  He was admired throughout the league for not only his talent; but...

Once again, the Darkness fell upon us. No, I am not talking about your best friend bailing on post-work beers to hunt Pokémon in the neighbourhood park. Nor am I addressing the fact that a band called Magic with a F#@*ing exclamation point in their name are singing about Funday Sunday and we continue to positively reinforce them enough to continue making music (I use the term music loosely). Rather, I speak about the sullen days after the MLB all-star game where the sports world sits relatively idle. Most of the pieces have fallen in NHL free agency; the 145 th playing of the Open at Royal...