I Miss Harry the K, But...

Harry Kalas was an incredible announcer and a Philadelphia legend. I will miss him dearly, as will millions of other sports fans. It's sad that he passed away this week, and I certainly grieve for his family.

All that said, I'd still have to say that the media and fans of this town need to start letting go and moving on. I just logged on to Philly.com to get my dose of the latest news, and right there on the front page is a live streaming video of thousands of fans paying respects to Harry the K at Citizens Bank Park. Hmmm...

For starters, I don't recall the Philadelphia Inquirer ever playing a live streaming video on their website, let alone their home page, so I find it a bit peculiar that they would start with this event.

Secondly, I watched for a moment and saw people walking up to the casket and taking photos. People were even posing with the casket and somebody snapped their picture. Is that REALLY being respectful?

And speaking of the Inquirer, the media coverage of Kalas's death has been absolutely relentless. How about we leave the man be, and perhaps sprinkle some bits about him into future broadcasts, rather than deluging us with countless personal recollections of him, showing how many people added Phillies paraphernalia to the Mike Schmidt statue at CBP, and replaying the 2008 World Series call?

Let's be clear here... Harry the K lived a long, fruitful life, seemed like a great guy, and will be greatly missed. But I think it's time to move on. Sorry for sounding "callous", but I don't think Harry would have wanted all this attention. We loved Harry, we'll miss him, we've grieved, now we collectively should let the man rest and let his family get some peace...

Go Phils! Yo! Down in Front!

Great first game in the National League Division Series between the Phils and Brewers last night. And thus far in game 2, things are even better. The way the Phils are getting things done this could be a quick series, but that's another matter.

While at yesterday's first playoff win for the Phils since 1993, I celebrated with 45,000+ Phillies fans and had a great time at Citizens Bank Park in chilly Philly. My seat, which was given courtesy of a friend, was pretty decent... clear view of everything, small section, aisle seat, easy in/easy out... it was all good.

But you know what was really annoying? People walking through the aisles during the game! How much more frustrating does that get? When people are in their seats watching the game, the last thing they want to do is stand up so some yutz can squirm by you and then you miss a double in the gap because he couldn't wait a minute. It's a matter of etiquette: wait till a stoppage in play, THEN go to your seat. Have respect for others, that's the name of the game. Perhaps the section attendant should have regulated as well, asking people to wait until they head back to their seat. I don't know.

So anyway, it was a great win for the Phils over the Brew Crew and hopefully the Phightins will pull out another victory tonight. And I'll watch the rest of this game from the comfort of my own chaise lounge without anybody walking in front of me!

Go Phils!