Emerald City

I had forgotten that Seattle voted to nickname itself the Emerald City. Although Seattle is undoubtedly a beautiful place on some days, it seems to have forgotten that you can't really give yourself a nickname.

Of course, the Emerald City lies at the end of the Yellow Brick Road, not the Oregon Trail. And I highly doubt L. Frank Baum was inspired by the Seattle of the late 1800s, then a growing but sort of unremarkable little town. As a side note, it seems Los Angeles can stake a claim as the Emerald City, if only as an afterthought when L.F.B. moved to Hollywood following the success of the original book.

Cactus League

The LA Times sports page has a page 1 cactus league preview this morning, noting that all games are in Phoenix (no Tempe games) this Spring. I link to the LAT web-site (hjemme side), but I get the paper.

What strikes me is the lack of football coverage - at last. The beginning of football season always makes me sad, as football coverage tends to outweigh baseball, even though way more baseball tickets are sold over the - admittedly - longer season. The truth is, that football coverage in the LAT tends to be much more dense (in so many ways) and crowds out even the World Series coverage.

But I digress, my point is it strikes me that the season is on the verge of beginning and Phoenix is only 5 hours away.

Also, Plaschke makes a nice note about visiting Dodger Stadium when it is empty. A point I consciously have not made before but which, given his public forum, it might be smart to make just to keep the Dodgers ownership on notice that any changes to the centerpiece of this town ill be subject to scrutiny.