Hot Stove #152 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day (2021) – Buck O’Neil on the Mountaintop

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~ Lonnie Shalton

This is my 20th annual message for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The first, in 2002, was an internal email to the lawyers and staff at the Polsinelli law firm. We had added the MLK holiday at the firm, and I sent out King’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” as a reminder of why we celebrate the holiday. The annual message has grown in length and circulation over the years, and since 2016, it has been merged into my Hot Stove posts. All of the prior MLK messages are at this link on the Lonnie’s Jukebox website. Continue reading →

Hot Stove #147 – The Presidents and Ceremonial First Pitches – April 14 1910 to April 1 2021

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~ Lonnie Shalton

Our divided nation just went through a hotly contested presidential election. The big question in Hot Stove land?

 Will President Joe Biden throw out the first pitch on opening day in Washington? The Nationals open at home against the Mets on April 1, 2021. This past Saturday night, as Joe Biden was giving his first speech as President-Elect, the Nationals extended the invitation… Continue reading →

Hot Stove #146 – 2020 World Series – Dodgers Win!

Re-live the Brett Phillips historic walk off again and again! - DRaysBay
~ Lonnie Shalton

Three hours before Game 6, I posted Hot Stove #145. The Lonnie’s Jukebox section celebrated some #1 hits from 1970, and the final selection was “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Diana Ross. I borrowed from the song and finished the post with this message to the Tampa Bay Rays:

And a final word to the Tampa Bay Rays…Ain’t no mountain high enough…to keep you away from winning the World Series. Well, maybe Mookie. Continue reading →

Hot Stove #143 – The Final Four (ALCS/NLCS); Remembering Bob Gibson and Eddie Van Halen

Best Van Halen Guitar Solo 1984 Tour - Very Clean and Crisp - Kansas City 6/20/84 - YouTube
~ Lonnie Shalton

We have advanced from the Sweet Sixteen to the Elite Eight to the Final Four. Just can’t get enough of the March Madness terminology.

In the short 60-game season, the Royals played only nine teams – their counterparts in the Central Divisions of the AL and NL. The idea was to eliminate the amount of travel during the pandemic. Seven of those nine Royals opponents made it to the first round of playoffs, the Sweet Sixteen. None of the seven made it to the second round, the Elite Eight. Now we have the Final Four: Tampa Bay, Houston, LA Dodgers and Atlanta. Continue reading →