The Tigers Fan Community Mourns a Loss

The news coming out of Blacksburg, VA yesterday was just horrifying and numbing. Over at SB Nation, many bloggers were debating whether or not to post something about the tragedy, if for no other reason than to acknowledge that there are much bigger, far more serious things going on in this world than sports. I decided not to say anything, because... what can you really say?

The shootings were just such a terrible tragedy and I guess I figured if people wanted (or needed) to use sports as an escape last night, that was at least something to offer. I can't say I'm entirely comfortable with that decision a day later, however. But several other bloggers felt differently, and I'm glad they followed their hearts on the matter.

I watched much of the television news coverage this morning and was paralyzed at seeing photos of several victims, each of whom looked far too young and hopeful to have their lives taken away, and hear testimonials from those who witnessed the carnage and were trying to cope with losing friends and family members. I can't even imagine what it must feel like to be a parent, relative, or friend of anyone who was senselessly killed.

A college campus should be a safe place, where someone feels free to grow, to find him or herself, to become part of a community, to learn. For so many of us, some of the best years of our lives were spent in such environments. It should never feel like a place where you'd fear for your safety. And it most certainly should not be defined by such a heartbreaking outbreak of violence.

Within the Detroit Tigers fan community, this tragedy has unfortunately hit very close to home, as one of its own was a victim of yesterday's shootings. Brian Bluhm, a frequent commentor on The Detroit Tigers Weblog and the Motown Sports forum was one of those who had their life taken far too early, with so much promise ahead. Those who lost a good friend and fellow fan have posted tributes today to Brian.

● The Detroit Tigers Weblog

● Mack Avenue Tigers

● Tiger Tales

● Two posts at Minor League Ball

● Motown Sports

If I have missed any others, I sincerely apologize. My deepest sympathies to those who knew Brian, and condolences to his family, as well as everyone who has been affected by this tragedy. No one should have to go through something like this.

He Would've Been a Great Sports Blogger

I wrote my thoughts on Kurt Vonnegut's death yesterday on my personal blog, but there's a footnote that is just too funny not to share. And it's sports-related, which is why I'm repeating it here. If you haven't seen this already, Awful Announcing (via The Wade Blogs) posted a hilarious anecdote about Vonnegut's early writing career.

In its early days of publication, Sports Illustrated tried to boost the quality of the magazine's writing by brooming out mediocre sportswriters in favor of literary-grade storytellers who may or may not have cared or known anything about sports, but could write one hell of a feature. One of those writers was Vonnegut, who was hired to compose a piece about a race horse that had jumped over the fence and into the stands.

How did that go? Here's the account from a 1998 review in the Lexington Herald-Leader on Michael MacCambridge's The Franchise: A History of Sports Illustrated Magazine (which appears to be out of print):

Kurt Vonnegut worked briefly at SI until being told to write a story about a race horse that had jumped the rail and terrorized the infield at a local track. Vonnegut stared at his desk for what seemed like hours before finally departing the building without a word. Inside his deserted typewriter was this: ''The horse jumped over the fucking fence.''

C'mon, how great is that?! Vonnegut's editor certainly couldn't have complained that he buried the lead. Maybe I'll try that on the sports blog. Here's how a post on tonight's Pistons-Raptors game could go tomorrow might go: One basketball team scored more fucking points than the other one.

▪▪ "Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?" -- Kurt Vonnegut

Who's Your New Tigers Blogger?

I've been procrastinating with this a bit, but now seems like an excellent time to share what's going on. I've been asked by the fine people at SportsBlog Nation to take over their Detroit Tigers site, Bless You Boys, and after giving the matter a whole lot of thought, I've decided I'll take the gig.

Not only am I curious to see what it will be like to write for a larger sports blog network, but I'm really excited about contributing more to what has now become a formidable Tigers blog community. I'm hoping my first post - the mission statement, if you will - will be up within the next day or so. (I can only hope my mission statement leads to a better result than Jerry Maguire's.)

To be honest, I was initially intimidated by the idea of running a Tigers blog when several other people already do it so damn well. Could I possibly have anything different or interesting to say about what's now Detroit's most beloved team? I guess that remains to be seen. But besides the sense of community and camaraderie that's been created, one thing that's been so great about the Tigers blogosphere is how each writer has been able to find his or her own niche to fill. I hope I manage to find mine over the next few months.

So what does this mean for Sweaty Men Endeavors? Well, I might be naive or delusional, but I intend to keep it going. I've put a lot of work into this over the past year-and-a-half, and I'm proud of (most of) it, so I'm not letting my baby go. There's too much stuff coming up - the NCAA tournament, NBA playoffs, NFL Draft, etc. - that'll be fun to write about. My attention span needs a place where I can write anything I want, and I don't want to give that up.

I'm not sure what will happen here during the summer, as I think it's safe to assume virtually all of my Tigers-related material will be posted at Bless You Boys. (I'd also like to thank Mike McClary for inviting me to post at The Daily Fungo over the last month or so. I hope I can still contribute to the discussion over there, as well.) But there's always something going on worthy of celebration or ridicule. Plus, I love baseball, so maybe I'll try to write about what's going on elsewhere in the sport. Once football season starts up again, however, I'll want to crush the Lions (and agonize over the Wolverines) and we've established a fine tradition of that here.

If you already check in at Bless You Boys, I hope you'll bear with me as I try to find my footing there for the next couple of weeks. And if not, I'd certainly love for you to follow me over and chime in during the upcoming baseball season. I really appreciate all of the readers who stop here every day to read, and think we'll have plenty of fun to spread all over this Detroit sports blogosphere. Thank you, and let's keep this thing going.

Happy Hour 02/08: Big Head Ian and the Tigers

While surveying The Daily Fungo before my maiden post this morning, I followed a link to Jason Beck's article at MLB.com about the Detroit Tigers loading up the trucks for Lakeland. Among all the information provided in the piece, however, and the warm feelings of the upcoming season that came with it, this is the paragraph that stood out to me:

Among the highlights: A hat stretcher, believed to be an antique among Major League teams, that the Tigers take on road trips with them. The team has had it since it was supplied by the New Era cap company in the 1980s, but the machine dates back years before that.

A hat stretcher! How cool is that? And in today's Detroit News, Tom Gage provided a bit more detail on this device - with accompanying photos.

Okay, I want to know more. How exactly does it work? Does it work just as well with today's major league caps as yesteryear's? If so or if not, why? What changes in materials have made the most difference? Or is it just as reliable in stretching hats for modern day noggins as it was for the old-time melons? Does it still have a practical use today, or is it more of a ceremonial, sentimental item?

Maybe I can track down a New Era employee who can help a blogger out.

But mostly, I want to get my hands on one so I can stretch out my Tigers caps to fit my increasingly fat head. No, not that Fathead. I mean my actual cranium, the one which surely tests the strength of my neck each and every day. I tell myself that the caps are tighter because of my hair, which I've let become long, shaggy, and grizzly this winter. So maybe once I shear it all off in the spring, the Olde English D (both home and away caps, of course) will fit as snugly and wonderfully as it once did.

Or after getting that crew cut, I'll find out that my head has become frickin' HUGE, far exceeding the eight-pound parameter once explained to me by Ray Boyd, and I know it won't have anything to do with becoming a sooper geenius.

I wonder what an antique hat stretcher goes for on eBay these days... ?

(Forget it; I checked. My head needs to shrink - pronto.)

Not sure I needed to know that

Like any blogger, I always like to know how readers find their way to my site. Did people respond to something I wrote about Tony Romo, for instance? How many people found Sweaty Men Endeavors through my post on Kobe Bryant last year? Did that post on those frisky Eagles ticket-seekers draw some traffic? (More on them tomorrow, by the way.) Etc., etc. You know how it goes.

Site Meter and other such web counters, of course, become crucial tools in satisfying such curiosity. You can find out some really interesting things. It's often surprising and sometimes enlightening to see what sorts of web searches bring people to your blog. (And yes, I realize I asked for plenty of problems when I gave this blog its title. Believe me, there have been some gems.)

And then, sometimes you're reminded that you'd just rather not know. Because the truth is too disturbing. Case in point. I hope you found what you were truly looking for, sir or madam.

Boy, I hope this doesn't turn out to be something that happened when I was blacked out from drinking...