Saturday Night’s Alright For Commenting: May 20, 2017

The weather was terrible this morning. I was going to walk 15 miles and try to read Dune because it was recommended by a friend from the desert and some English majors I talked to during South Bye this year. I hate it, and I’m wasting my life, and I’m never going to finish it. The beginning was filled with so much gibbly-glob that I don’t really care what happens to anyone. These worms are cool, but I can’t see them. It’s another example why science fiction is good to watch, but bad to read. Instead of listening for the sound of birds, or staring deep into the souls of flowers, or crawling around the Hill Country, I was stuck inside, losing a day of the weekend because of a nasty sky.

It wasn’t all bad. I woke up from a nap and watched Alabama play Minnesota in the NCAA College Softball World Series. It was an extra innings 1-0 win that ended on a walk-off walk that should have been strike two. It was a great game filled with insane pitch counts, a no-hitter into the 6th, heartbreak, Minnesota stranding eight of their golden-cleated runners while failing to score a run, and an incredible left field, backhanded, diving catch.

If I had to guess, most of you have never watched this spectacle. If you haven’t, you should; if you have, I know you do. It’s an insane sport. The way runs are scored, teams are designed, and strategy is implemented are alien. Despite watching it over the years on days like today, or lazy ones after semesters being over, I still haven’t fully grasped the rules. Through all these specific periods of time, I’ve seen bunts get turned into home runs, games like today, 180 pitch counts, ignorance of bullpens, slap hits that defy physics, hurtling web gems, and pure sport that we all crave in this soulless technology dependent world we all live in.

Whenever you are flipping through the channels, skip the hockey you only watch during this time of year, skip the NBA playoffs until the trilogy, spare your heart from the Astros’ inevitable demise at the hand of the Texas Rangers, and watch Texas State play the winner of UT-Texas Southern tonight for the chance to play Texas A&M in the regional final, or see if Minnesota can get over today’s heartbreak for the chance to play Alabama again. After tonight, stick around for the next few weeks and see how it all culminates. It is the best thing on television right now.

Enough about me. What are you doing this evening? What do you want to talk about? The floor is yours. Take off the pants. Let things breathe. Just remember, the same old rules apply.