Orel Family

Six years ago, Rush Limbaugh went on national TV and said, regarding Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb: Sorry to say this, I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team. Much has been said about Limbaugh's now ended effort to be part of an ownership group for the St. Louis Rams. Outcries over things he supposedly said, or in some cases about things he never said. But to me, whatever may be in discussion (including another remark comparing NFL football games to gang fights), that one remark about Donovan McNabb was the key. More than his "conservative" politics, more than his positions on race (and, let's be clear: Rush is too smart to say explicitly many of ...

20 years ago today. Has it really been so long? As I start this note, the clock reads 7:43pm EDT. In about 20 minutes it'll be the exact time. Me? I was in Section 9, Row 10. The ticket stub says so. Overlooking the Marina, Tuesday afternoon, October 17, 1989 During the summer of 1989, I began to realize that the best two teams in major league baseball were the two in the Bay Area, and that there was a good chance of a Bay Area World Series. When the Giants offered up guaranteed post-season tickets to anyone who committed to buy a 20-game season ticket plan for the following year, I took it. Sure enough, the Giants won the division, and then the National League playoffs -- though I had to miss the final two games as they were both played on Yom Kippur. The Oakland A's won the American League playoffs, so the Bay Area series was set.  And I had tickets to the first home game. Before the shaking. October 17. The most perfect Bay Area day... ever. My...