the mad sports man

 Al Gionfriddo of the Brooklyn Dodgers makes a great catch a few feet from the left field fence, denying Joe DiMaggio of at least a triple, or a possible inside the park Homer that could have tied the game. The play was in game 6 on October 5 1947. Brooklyn won 8-6, but the Yankees won the world series. It is a rare instance joe DiMaggio publically was upset. Here is a shot of inside Yankee Stadium.

 1. The summer free ride was won by James Nelson. He was the 25th person to pick a key and the key started the truck. Congratulations. 2. Now that I've seen Newfoundland and Labrador license plate, I only have Nunavut and Prince Edward Island as the last two Canadian license plates to see in person. 3. There are 5 weeks left in the 2025 season. 4. After Labor Day, summer makes its unofficial end. It officially ends later in September. That is all.

 ...it's almost the end of August. Have inning 9 of Ken Burns baseball documentary (1970-1992). The annual Beach Radio summer free ride giveaway was yesterday. That had started the May long weekend. Labor Day weekend is next weekend, and that has the CFL labor Day rivalry games (Winnipeg at Saskatchewan on August 31, Toronto at Hamilton and Edmonton at Calgary on September 1). Summer is almost over.

 Here are three Canadian provincial license plates I have yet to see in person. They are: Nunavut, Newfoundland & Labrador and Prince Edward Island. I hear Nunavut is going back to the beat plates. (Here the are by the way).  Edit: seen Newfoundland and Labrador 

 Here is Shea Stadium under construction in 1963. It opened in 1964. The Mets played there from 1974-2008. The Jets (NFL) played there from 1964-1983, Yankees there in 1974-75 and the Giants in 1975. Jets and Giants moved to the Meadowlands, Yankees moved back to Yankee Stadium after renovations and the Mets moved to Citi Field for 2009.

 Here is an aerial of Fulton county stadium and Turner Field under construction. Turner Field was used for the 1996 summer Olympics for the opening ceremony and baseball. Once the Olympics were over, the Atlanta Braves moved in and stayed there until Truist field was built.

 Give three businesses my own shoutout, and they're local. 1. Tramp's book and record store. Got books, comics, DVDs, CDs and vinyl. New and used. Picked up a CD and a couple of tv shows there. Staff is quite helpful. 2. Twilight sports and framing. They do framing and assorted sports paraphernalia (shirts, jerseys, hockey pucks, mini hockey sticks). Staff there is quite good too. 3. I've mentioned Kaze Productions in my videos before. Run by my neighbors across the street, the husband and wife team sells all sorts of stuff from pump hats, cosplay and keychains. Lot of weekends at trade shows in and around Prince Albert Saskatchewan. They are amazing. Sometimes other family members help out. 

 Here's a couple of shots of Sportsman's park. One at night and one from the air. Augie Nash posted these on Facebook. Enjoy. 

 The 1985-86 NHL season had 21 teams and an 80 game schedule. Highlights include: 1. December 11, Edmonton 12 Chicago 9. 12 goals scored in 2nd period. 2. January 28, Denis Potvin scores 271st goal, passing Bobby Orr. 3. April 12, Mike Bossy scores 83rd playoff goal, passing Maurice Richard. 4. January 16, Marcel Dionne first player to score 20 goal in first 15 seasons. 5. March 26, Neal Broten first American to score 100. Playoffs: DSF; Hartford 3 Quebec 0, Montreal 3 Boston 0, New York Rangers 3 Philadelphia 2, Washington 3 New York Islanders 0, Toronto 3 Chicago 0, St Louis 3 Minnesota 2, Edmonton 3 Vancouver 0, Calgary 3 Winnipeg 2.  DF; Montreal 4 Hartford 3, New York Rangers 4 Washington 2, St Louis 4 Toronto 3, Calgary 4 Edmonton 3. CF; Montreal 4 New York Rangers 1, Calgary 4 St Louis 3. Stanley Cup; Montreal 4 Calgary 1. Montreal wins 23rd cup overall. Patrick Roy is Conn Smythe trophy winner. #1 draft pick for 1986 was Joe Murphy, chosen by Detroit. 779 GP, 233 G, 29...

 First version is out. Some highlights include: 1. Soccer and Rugby 7s begin prior to the opening ceremony. The ceremony itself is July 14. 2. Women's triathlon will be the first medals handed out on July 15. The men's triathlon will be the next day. 3. Athletics will be the first week and swimming will be the second week, first time that will happen since 1968. They are switched to accommodate preparation between the opening ceremony and the swimming. Closing ceremony is July 30. What highlights do you have? 

 The 2025-26 NHL schedule is out.  Opening night is October 7 with 3 games: Chicago at Florida (Stanley Cup banner raiser), Pittsburgh at New York Rangers and Colorado at Los Angeles. October 11 and 28 all 32 teams play, with the 28th games spread out. Nashville and Pittsburgh play in Stockholm on November 14 and 16. 2026 winter classic is January 2 with the Rangers playing Florida at Marlins park in Miami. The 2026 stadium series is February 1 at Raymond James stadium with Boston visiting Tampa Bay. The Olympic break is February 6-24. Season would resume on the 25th. Regular season ends on April 16, with the playoffs beginning a couple of nights later. This is the last season teams play 82 games. Under the new CBA, next season will have 84 games.

 The 2026 winter Olympics medals have been unveiled, and here they are. What do you think?

 Here is the wrecking ball that demolished the Polo Grounds in 1964. Clearly the ball was painted to resemble a baseball. It was the same ball and same crew that demolished Ebbets Field in 1960. Here it is.

 Here's a shot of Busch stadium #2 (left) and current Busch stadium (right). Left getting demolished and right getting built. Wild eh!!

 Here is a shot of Ebbets Field from the field. Note Jackie Robinson playing a rate game at second. Love the ads on the outfield wall and the scoreboard. Abe Stark ran a Laundromat (I think) and put an ad out if a batter hit the sign on the fly, they got a free suit. Enjoy.

 Here's another Exhibition stadium photo. This shows the north grandstand after completion in 1948. Also known as CNE stadium. The South stands was built in 1959. All but the original grandstand was changed after 1974 CFL season to fit a baseball field for the Blue Jays first season in 1977. Wild eh!?

 It's Canada Day. Today Canada celebrates its 158th birthday. Enjoy the day and the fireworks tonight.

 This shot is from October 1, 2000. Feature stadium is Three Rivers Stadium. On its immediate right is Heinz Field. On the left is PNC Park. The dome in downtown Pittsburgh on the left is Mellon Arena. (Few years from this will be PPG Paints arena. Gotta love shots like this.

 From Old-time baseball photos. Check out this gem of a scoreboard at Crosley field. Took 5 people to operate it. Massive eh!? The left fielder is Pete Rose. This photo was taken July 30, 1967. Note the slope in front of it. It was nicknamed "the terrace" and took place instead of a warning track. In 1970, the Reds moved to Riverfront Stadium and April 19, 1972 the scoreboard, along with Crosley field was demolished. Check the scoreboard out.

 This from Old Time Baseball Photos. This is from a game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The date was July 14, 1932. Early part of the great depression. A group of boys climbed a tree to catch a glimpse of the Cubs beating the Brooklyn Dodgers 4-1. Around 10,000 people were in attendance, so there was plenty of seating. Seeing as boys will be boys...... Also check the cars out.