Today's Max Kellerman and Brian Kenny show was chock of baseball, which should not be a surprise, given that it was the day after the first "half" of the subway series concluded. (I write "half" in quotes, since the weather forced the postponement of one of the three Yankee Stadium games). The show did discuss some other sports, as there was a segment or two on boxing as well as basketball, but in deference to the main focus of the show, my unauthorized review of the program will focus solely on baseball.
The show led off with an analysis of which New York baseball manager is on the hot seat. Max asked whether Willie is a motivational genius and Joe Girardi is a motivational moron, based on the fact that Willie had a meeting before the weekend series that the Mets took from the Yankees.
There was also yet another discussion about Ryan Church and his production with the Mets. Brian Kenny had been talking up Church for a while and the hosts have debated whether before Church got here he was an average or above average corner outfielder. I guess that issue is water under the bridge, since Church has been more than just average since he came to the Mets. Today's take on Ryan Church was whether he was Paul O'Neill reincarnated - a player who was platooned or a role player with another club, but when given a chance to shine in NY he exceeded all expectations and bordered on All-Star status.
An interesting discussion revolved around whether a New York sports fan could root for a Boston team in any capacity. I know that personally it created an issue for me when the Giants played New England in the Superbowl. Until the championship game, it was easy for me (as a rabid Jets fan) to root against the Giants in the playoffs. But once they reached the Superbowl, how could I root for Belicheat and the Patriots? My boss at the firm told me in no uncertain terms that I must continue to root against the Giants. However, when asked on the air what I thought would be the result in the Super Bowl, I responded Giants 26-21 without hesitation. Okay, I was off on the score, but not the result. Also, I owe a great debt to Max and Brian for putting me on the air that Saturday Night as my oldest daughter was sleeping over at a friend while we were in Barbados with 1050 and she was on cloud nine when her friend's father told her that he heard me on the air. More about that in some other post.
Back to the issue at hand, Max Kellerman admitted that he once wore a Red Sox shirt to school as a form of "political protest" over the Yankees' rebuilding efforts. Now older and wiser, Max counselled a caller that no one from this geographic area can root for a Boston team, Celtics, Red Sox or otherwise. Indeed, Max treated this akin to (lehavdil) a Yeharaig V'al Ya'avor - that under no circumstances can one root for a Boston team because it is so antithetical to being a New Yorker.
As always, Max Kellerman's rants have a foundation in Judaism, whether he intends them to or not. It is well established in Judaism that a person must give up his life, rather than bow down to an idol. History is replete with instances where Jews chose to allow themselves to be killed rather than worship at the feet of stone idols. Perhaps one of the most famous stories involves Hannah whose seven sons were all killed when they chose not to worship the false Greek idols (see Talmud Gittin 57b; see also http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/04/thursdays-parsha-tidbits-tazria.html which discusses a similar story told in Midrash Eicha about Miriam Bas Nachtom). The reason for such a prohibition is simple, if a Jewish person worships idols he explicitly rejects that G-d created the world as well as his own identity as a Jew. Indeed, what has allowed the Jews to continue as a nation for more than 3000 years when all other civilizations have failed (when was the last time that you saw a Mesopotamian or an Amorite) is their stubborn refusal to abandon their belief in Hashem as the creator of the world.
If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!
The show led off with an analysis of which New York baseball manager is on the hot seat. Max asked whether Willie is a motivational genius and Joe Girardi is a motivational moron, based on the fact that Willie had a meeting before the weekend series that the Mets took from the Yankees.
There was also yet another discussion about Ryan Church and his production with the Mets. Brian Kenny had been talking up Church for a while and the hosts have debated whether before Church got here he was an average or above average corner outfielder. I guess that issue is water under the bridge, since Church has been more than just average since he came to the Mets. Today's take on Ryan Church was whether he was Paul O'Neill reincarnated - a player who was platooned or a role player with another club, but when given a chance to shine in NY he exceeded all expectations and bordered on All-Star status.
An interesting discussion revolved around whether a New York sports fan could root for a Boston team in any capacity. I know that personally it created an issue for me when the Giants played New England in the Superbowl. Until the championship game, it was easy for me (as a rabid Jets fan) to root against the Giants in the playoffs. But once they reached the Superbowl, how could I root for Belicheat and the Patriots? My boss at the firm told me in no uncertain terms that I must continue to root against the Giants. However, when asked on the air what I thought would be the result in the Super Bowl, I responded Giants 26-21 without hesitation. Okay, I was off on the score, but not the result. Also, I owe a great debt to Max and Brian for putting me on the air that Saturday Night as my oldest daughter was sleeping over at a friend while we were in Barbados with 1050 and she was on cloud nine when her friend's father told her that he heard me on the air. More about that in some other post.
Back to the issue at hand, Max Kellerman admitted that he once wore a Red Sox shirt to school as a form of "political protest" over the Yankees' rebuilding efforts. Now older and wiser, Max counselled a caller that no one from this geographic area can root for a Boston team, Celtics, Red Sox or otherwise. Indeed, Max treated this akin to (lehavdil) a Yeharaig V'al Ya'avor - that under no circumstances can one root for a Boston team because it is so antithetical to being a New Yorker.
As always, Max Kellerman's rants have a foundation in Judaism, whether he intends them to or not. It is well established in Judaism that a person must give up his life, rather than bow down to an idol. History is replete with instances where Jews chose to allow themselves to be killed rather than worship at the feet of stone idols. Perhaps one of the most famous stories involves Hannah whose seven sons were all killed when they chose not to worship the false Greek idols (see Talmud Gittin 57b; see also http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2008/04/thursdays-parsha-tidbits-tazria.html which discusses a similar story told in Midrash Eicha about Miriam Bas Nachtom). The reason for such a prohibition is simple, if a Jewish person worships idols he explicitly rejects that G-d created the world as well as his own identity as a Jew. Indeed, what has allowed the Jews to continue as a nation for more than 3000 years when all other civilizations have failed (when was the last time that you saw a Mesopotamian or an Amorite) is their stubborn refusal to abandon their belief in Hashem as the creator of the world.
If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!
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