Alllooksame....

Wow, I got a lot comments saying I look like Takeda Tetsuya! Is that right? Personally, I think the only resemblance is the fact that I'm a dedicated teacher who loves his students, and Tetsuya PLAYED a dedicated teacher (Kinpachi sensei), on TV. So, anyway, below are three photos. One is Takeda Tetsuya. One is Jackie Chan. One is me in 1996--I was 40 years old then. Can you guess which one. Take your time. Don't rush. Don't look at the profile pic on the left--that's cheating. Now, do we "alllooksame"? Ok, ok, let's make it easier: one is Japanese, one is Japanese-American (me--doh!), one is Chinese (Hong Kong, as if no one knew....) Isn't that easier? hahaha!

If you guessed the one in the middle, then you'd be right. Pat yourself on the back. This photo was taken around the time some people thought I looked like Jackie. Actually, we're brothers. Tetsuya, Jackie and I are all half: Hong Kong/Japanese. Tetsuya is the eldest, six years older than me. Then Jackie, a year and a half older. Tetsuya was really into Kung Fu, but never made it big as a martial artist, so he became an actor in Japan and used his Kung Fu in "Keiji Monogatari". But he really became famous as an the elementary school teacher, Kinpachi sensei. Jackie followed in his footsteps and became a star in Hong Kong in Kung Fu movies. You might have heard of him. Me? I avoid the limelight and just became a teacher... Ho hum... Oh yeah, and in case your were wondering, our real names are Manny, Moe and Jack. (I can't believe I just used an emoticon, ack! gag!)

Baseball is over....
The season is over but is baseball over too? This is a question someone asked on the RiceBowlJournal Forum. Is basaeball a dying sport? Is it too slow? Too boring? Is it past its prime? I left the following comment, in case some of you don't bother to click the RBJ icon and visit this virtual Asian Forum:

I have to disagree. Football is far to physical to be more than it is. Basketball, I think, can be short because the good players/teams can still be determined in that timeframe. But in baseball, the good teams are not so obvious in say 81 games (half the season). This is a sport that deifies players that hit the ball 30% of the time. Is there a sport that honors a player for a 30% sucess rate? If you hit only 30% of your shots in basketball, you're benched. If you complete 30% of you passes, you're cut. Baseball players are judged at such a low rate of success--and their teams succuss/failure hinges on this success--I think it probably takes longer to get an accurate read with regard to which player/team is the best.

That said, I think baseball will never be what it was. Many point to the speed and excitement of football and basketball--and I whole heartedly agree that they are fun to watch; I'm a football junky--but that is not the reason for baseball's demise. It's free agency. The free movement of players denies fans the opportunity to root for players who they feel represent them. While this is true in other sports, the nature of the game--speed, big plays--can overcome this. People can root for the team as well as any player. But in baseball, where the game is leisurely, where you sit in the bleachers with a beer in your hand and talk baseball as much as watch baseball, one needs to know his favorite team, know the players to talk about them, debate about them, and of course root for them.

In LA, the Dodgers of the 70s to 81, had the same infield: Garvey, Lopes, Cey, and Russell at short. The outfield was pretty solid for a number of years with Baker anchored in left, and behind the plate Ferguson and Yeager. They were likd cousins. You knew them intimately, albeit not personally. Loyalty to a team was based on the loyalty to players. But with free agency, that is gone.

I am no union buster, and the freedom to earn as much as you want is an American right, I suppose. And the fault is as much on ownership as it is to any percieved greed by the players. The did, afterall, treat the players like slaves for many years. Still, I think Kevin Brown makes too much and Alex Rodgrigues makes waaaaaaaaaay too much.