Still Watching Baseball, The Oscars

Emmylou enjoys some fake corn

Baseball

Well, to my surprise, the US beat the Dominican Republic in the semifinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and now we're going to see if they face off against Italy or Venezuela.  I'm done making predictions, as I assumed Japan would sweep this year, and they're out.

It is very, very strange to watch what feels like play-off baseball in March, but it's also a heck of a warm up to the season.  Getting to see all the DR players pop off against the US was oddly satisfying, even if they lost (only 2-1), knowing the Dominican Republic has a population under 12 million, and a GDP of about $130 billion.  

World Baseball Classic in ON

If soccer has the FIFA World Cup, baseball has the World Baseball Classic.

The tournament started this weekend in four cities across the globe.  Houston, Miami, San Juan, and Tokyo.  There are twenty teams from 20 countries participating - so if you ever wanted to see how Czechia would stack up against, say, Aaron Judge, this is your tournament.

No, I am not sure why they aren't playing in Europe, because the aforementioned Czechia as well as the Netherlands, Italy and England are in the tournament.  I assume its because they know Americans and Japanese fans will show up, and aren't sure about the people in Brussels or whatever.  

But hear me out - Mexico is insanely good.  Let them play at home.

It is *a lot* of baseball to try to watch - so we've been watching Japan, Puerto Rico, USA and - last night - Mexico.  No, I don't know exactly why Puerto Rico has their own team, nor why Chinese Taipei has its own team, but not China.  

The make-up of the teams is fascinating.  Baseball is a big concern in some of the participating/ qualified countries, and less so in others.  The US has good participation from top-tier players, so look for Bregman, Schwarber, Bryce Harper, etc...  There's issues with getting pitchers to play, but one thing we have a lot of in this world is pitchers, so we're covered.  But, yeah, apparently there are insurance issues, etc... by saying you'll play a tournament before the official MLB season starts.  

You'll also see familiar players from, say, Mexico (Kirk is Mexican, for example, which I did not know).  

Japan has MLB marquee talent - you're going to know these guys.  Ohtani, one of the best to ever pick up a bat, is there.  My guy Suzuki from the Cubs is there (and hitting dingers).

But who are the players from Australia?  Italy?  Who picks up a baseball in Brasil instead of a soccer ball?  I know one team I watched play, they had a 17 year old kid out there pitching - and he was *good*.  Talk about getting scouted.

The mood in the stands is celebratory.  In Japan, between the acoustics of the Tokyo Dome and enthusiasm for the sport, it sounds more like a futbol game than a Sunday at the ballpark.  In Houston when Mexico was playing, it was a raucous crowd.  Italy has an Espresso maker in the dugout?  Everyone is bringing their own vibe to the games.

If you happen to see this on March 9th - you're going to want to tune in for the US/ Mexico game on Fox at 8:00 Eastern.  I promise, it'll be a good time.

Texas Woman's Basketball Wins the SEC Tournament

On Sunday, March the 8th, Texas Women's Basketball won the SEC Tournament.  

It's been a rip-roaring season, and we still have a whole Bracket to get through in the NCAA tournament - but this is huge.  The Longhorns beat Ol' Miss and Dawn Staley's mighty South Carolina to take the trophy.  

It's funny - I have different circles of people I talk to about different sports.  Jamie is there for all but soccer, Jill I text during WNBA games.  I have a group chat for UT football. But JAL is who I text during women's college basketball games.  And other times, my mom - who does not miss a minute of UT Women's Basketball.  And my cousin Sue will chime in sometimes.  

We had a birthday lunch for The Karebear today, and I think we were both looking at our watches to make sure we were out of there for a 2:00ish tip off.  

Jamie decided it was too stressful at halftime and went and sat on the porch with Emmylou.  

Anyway, just wanted to drop a note here and celebrate a huge win!  Texas didn't just win, they won decisively.  An astounding effort by everyone.  Longhorns played with so much heart, as they say, it was astounding to watch.  

Unrivaled (3-on-3 Basketall) Season Ends - Mist Doesn't Miss

The night of March 4th saw the finale of the second season of Unrivaled Basketball, the 3-on-3 women's basketball league. 

If I can be candid - I think they're really onto something.  I don't think it should replace the WNBA, I still like 5-person teams.  But it's like snack-sized basketball in a format that's easily consumable and makes a lot of sense - and is designed by actual WNBA players, not nerds beholden to interests off the court.  

Our champions were Mist who narrowly defeated Phantom, after narrowly defeating The Vinyl.  And that's the kind of spirit it takes to be a Championship team.  Because the season is so short, the bracket was played in single-elimination rounds, so no "best of seven".  If you don't win the game, you go home.

Happy Birthday, Ma!

The Admiral and KareBear drop by League HQ

Hey!  It's my mom's birthday!  I'm not allowed to discuss numbers, but it is a round number.

Emmylou Harris at the Paramount, 02-23-2026

Emmylou Harris, Verlon Thompson and Shawn Camp

The Paramount didn't really do much to push the fact Emmylou Harris was coming to Austin when tickets went on sale - because they didn't have to.  The show sold out pretty quickly as near as I can tell.

Some shows you know are going to just stick with you forever, and I knew from the minute this got underway - yes, this would be one of those sets.  With zero ceremony, Emmylou wandered out onto the stage like a stage manager and informed us "I know you didn't know this, but tonight we're doing a tribute to Guy Clark".  With the crowd that showed up - a bunch of old Austin music nerds - that was like saying "everyone here is getting a $100 bill and a bag of candy".  No complaints were lodged.

DITMTLOD: Ice Skating, Ice Capades and The 1992 Winter Olympics

We haven't done a DITMTLOD post in a long, long time, but here we go.

Gisela Head

I have a memory of the first time I saw a woman, who was not Princess Leia, as "attractive".  Who knows what word I had in my head?  I was probably around three years old, but it was such a weird idea at the time - that until I hit the ages where finding girls a great idea - I did not quite understand what that was all about. 

At the time, the Ice Capades were still very much a staple of American culture.  Younger readers will only know the post-Ice Capades world of "Disney on Ice" or "Muppets on Ice".  At one point, I know our family took in a mix of "The Ice Capades" and "Smurfs on Ice".  

The Ice Capades were essentially an odd relic of the Zeigfeld Follies/ Vaudeville shows that had died out decades prior with radio, film and television.  Why go out for singing and dancing and some comedy when Our Show of Shows was readily available or Ed Sullivan could show you Broadway, comedy and an opera star in one hour?  But on ice?  

For some reason, that lasted until the mid 1990's