Today is Day 35 of the Omer. Malchut sheb’hod. Humility that leads to Kingship. I got to interact with Mark Madsen a bit at Stanford University. He was so genuine, so humble. There was nobody on those great Stanford teams that I was happier to see become an NBA champion. In college, Madsen was a hard working big man, who came to college after a … Continue reading Day 35: Mad Dog
Today is 35 days, which is five weeks of the omer: malchut she’b’hod. In 2009 Oakland retired number 24 in honor of left fielder Rickey Henderson, but since Bill James said, “If you split Rickey Henderson in two, you get two Hall-of-Famers,” a good case can be made that the As should have also retired the number 35 in which he began and ended his career, donning … Continue reading day 35: man of steal
Today is Day 28 of the Omer. Malchut sheb’netzach. Winning that manifests in Kingship. How do you become a King? By beating one. And that’s exactly what Andre Iguodala did with the Golden State Warriors in 2015, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers and King James, while winning Finals MVP.* After moving to the bench in the 2014-15 regular season and averaging 7.8 points/game, Iguodala proved his … Continue reading Day 28: Getting Iggy With It
Today is 28 days, which is four weeks of the omer: malchut she’b’netzach. It’s not an accident that, after only one in the first 20 days, four of the seven players in this week of netzach are pitchers. The position is a bit of a contradiction. On the one hand, pitchers are in the game relatively infrequently. In the modern era, starters usually only pitch once every … Continue reading day 28: wilbah
Today is Day 21 of the Omer. Malchut sheb’tiferet. Beauty/balance/truth that manifests as Kingship. Jersey numbers are strange. 300 players have worn the #21 in NBA history. Only 26 have worn the #29. Why? I don’t think 29 is that bad of a number. But when it comes to choosing one player to represent a popular number, like 21, it’s hard. For what it’s worth: … Continue reading Day 21: The Big Ticket or The Big Fundamental?
Today is 21 days, which is three weeks of the omer: malchut she’b’tiferet. Get ready for a couple days of players from Steel City: Today’s pick is Pittsburgh shortstop Arky Vaughan, while tomorrow guest writer Joey Glick will highlight one of his favorite Pirates. As I researched the player to mark three weeks of “Full Count” on Omertime, I learned about Vaughan for the first … Continue reading day 21: arky
When the WNBA launched in 1997, I knew all the best American players. They were the members of the 1996 Olympic Team that had just won the gold medal. At least that is who the WNBA marketed, players like Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, and Rebecca Lobo. And then here comes #14, Cynthia Cooper, scoring 22 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.1 steals/game to win the MVP … Continue reading Day 14: Cynthia Cooper
Today is 14 days, which is two weeks of the omer: malchut she’big’vurah. My preferences in ballplayers come together today in an athlete who is both a native Texan and a career-long member of one team: Chicago Cubs infielder Ernie Banks grew up in Dallas and came to baseball in the last days of the Negro Leagues, where he was discovered by the Kansas City Monarchs, … Continue reading day 14: mr. sunshine
Today is Day 7 of the Omer. Malchut sheb’hesed. Love that manifests as Kingship. It’s the final day of week 1, the week of hesed. According to the kabbalistic way of counting the Omer, each week ends with the attribute of malchut, meaning kingship or sovereignty. So on Day 7, when love manifests itself as royalty, we are going with The King in the North. … Continue reading Day 7: The King in the North
Today is seven days, which is one week of the omer: malchut she’b’hesed. Not Mantle (no more Yankees for a while), and not Biggio (I have to point out when I take a pass on an Astro). Today’s pick is catcher Iván Rodríguez — and not just because I had a friend in high school, of whom I have fond memories, with his same nickname. (Also, I … Continue reading day 7: pudge
Omertime 