I took my dad to see his first Detroit Tigers playoff game this past Tuesday. We had an awesome time in Detroit and the Tigers helped cap things off with a thrilling victory over the Texas Rangers.

Here’s a list of my highlights:

• Aretha Franklin singing the National Anthem. Was it my favorite version? No, but it was Aretha Franklin – the Queen of Soul.
• Joel Zumaya delivering the game ball. I had goosebumps when the strains of Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Child’ started playing over the loudspeakers.
• Magglio Ordonez limping onto the field to huge cheers during pregame introductions. It nearly brought me to tears.
• Home runs. They are a deliciously sweet thing when hit by your favorite team.
• The crowd singing along to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”.
• Dinner at Fishbones in Greektown.
• A quick ride from the parking ramp to Greektown and then back to Comerica Park on The People Mover. Better than walking, plus I got a quick tour of Detroit’s downtown. It only costs $.50 per ride. How does this thing not get more riders?

Oh, and today in Detroit Tigers history – this little gem happened .

I’ll admit, my first reactions to the blown call by first base umpire Jim Joyce were no where near Armando Galarraga’s as he lost his bid at a perfect game. Armando just smiled wryly, stepped back up on the mound, and threw five more pitches to get the 28th out of the game.

Armando could have thrown his mitt in disgust, charged up to Jim Joyce, yelled at him, and then complained to reporters after the game. Instead, he smiles, calmly walks away, and goes about finishing the game.

Then after the game when asked about the blown call, Armando responds, “Nobody’s perfect.” He wasn’t being sarcastic or trying for irony with that statement. He was genuinely compassionate for the umpire and what he was going through knowing that he blew the biggest call in his career.

As I said on Twitter last night –

Ya know, we all make mistakes in our jobs. I’m glad my mistakes aren’t broadcast on tv, radio, and the internet.

There is a lesson buried amongst all of the angst and anger we Tigers, and baseball fans in general, are feeling this morning. It was the ultimate show of not just good sportsmanship, but it was a lesson in how we should all react to adversity in our own lives.

Rather than ranting and raving when things don’t go our way or when we feel that we were wronged we should take a page from Galarraga – smile wryly, stand up straight, and with a look of determination – get back to it and do the best we can.

One last post about the late Ernie Harwell. As a youth, Ernie had a speech impediment and one of his exercises was to recite this poem by Sam Walter Foss.

As a baseball announcer, Ernie kept a piece of this poem as a catch-phrase for when someone struck out looking, “He stood there like the house by the side of the road and watched it go by.” Here is the complete text of “The House by the Side of the Road.”

There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the place of their self-content;
There are souls like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze the paths
Where highways never ran-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish – so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner’s seat,
Or hurl the cynic’s ban?
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

So long, Ernie, you were indeed a friend to man.

William Ernest Harwell – 1918 – 2010

For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

One of my strongest memories of listening to Ernie Harwell call a Tigers game was as a kid. I was supposed to be sleeping, but I turned on my transistor radio and caught the end of a Tigers game. I don’t know who they were playing, but the Tigers were down going into their last bat in the bottom of the 9th and Sweet Lou Whitaker hit a walk-off home run to win it and Ernie Harwell belted out, “It’s Loonng Gone, Tigers Win!”

Two things that I think need to be done to honor such a Tigers and Major League Baseball legend:

1. The Tigers need to have one game each year designated as Ernie Harwell Day.
2. Buy out the Comerica corporate sponsorship and rename it Harwell Field or Harwell Park.

The Comerica Park sponsorship is a $66 million deal over 30 years which began with the stadium’s opening in 2000. Small price in order to pay tribute to a broadcasting and Tigers legend. That is, if there isn’t a clause in the contract that prohibits a buyout.

Information and other links about Ernie Harwell

A public viewing will be held at Comerica Park beginning at 7am Thursday, May 6th. Free parking is available at lots 1, 2, and 3.

The Detroit Tigers will wear patches on their uniforms as tribute to Ernie Harwell for the remainder of this season.

I strongly urge you to get a copy of the Ernie Harwell’s Audio Scrapbook. You will be able to listen to the Voice of the Tigers any time you wish. Here is a non-affiliate link to purchase a copy – Ernie Harwell’s Audio Scrapbook.

MLB video tribute to broadcasting legend, Ernie Harwell

Mitch Albom’s tribute to Ernie

Ernie Harwell tribute page I created a few years ago

As long as we have our memories, Ernie Harwell will never truly be gone. We’ll remember Lonnng Gone!, Called out for excessive window shopping, Foul ball caught by a man from Kalamazoo, Two for the price of one, and many others he delivered in that smooth cadence with a hint of the south where he was born and raised.

Once again, the video of Ernie Harwell thanking the fans on September 16, 2009 –

I think Ernie said it best in his September 30, 2002 final sign-off as a Detroit Tigers radio broadcaster –

“And rather than good-bye, please allow me to say thank you.

“Thank you for letting me be part of your family. Thank you for taking me with you to that cottage up north, to the beach, the picnic, your work place and your backyard.

“Thank you for sneaking your transistor under the pillow as you grew up loving the Tigers.

“Now I might have been a small part of your life. But you have been a very large part of mine. And it’s my privilege and honor to share with you the greatest game of all.

“Now God has a new adventure for me. And I’m ready to move on. So I leave you with a deep sense of appreciation for your longtime loyalty and support.

“I thank you very much, and God bless all of you.”

Ever since the post counter showed 999 Total Posts I have been struggling to come up with something worthy of Post Number 1,000. Consequently, I haven’t posted anything in a long time due to Post Number 1,000 staring me in the face and demanding a worthy tribute.

I decided to run a list of the Top Ten Posts here at the All Things Michigan blog. This humble little blog started back on November 10, 2005 with a post about The Leetsville Shoe Tree. I started this blog as an attempt to help do what I could to promote the state of Michigan.

Mind you, this was before the bottom fell out of the Michigan (and subsequently national) economy. This was back before it was trendy to outwardly support Michigan and before a slew of pro-Michigan websites (which I think are great!) sprang up. You could say that I was promoting Michigan when promoting Michigan wasn’t cool (to borrow a phrase from a country song).

Without further ado, here are the Top Ten Posts at All Things Michigan:

1. John Rich performs Shutting Detroit Down
2. Time lapse video of 2009 Chicago to Mackinac sailboat race
3. Is the Michigan State Fair the nation’s oldest?
4. The music behind the Pure Michigan ads
5. The German POW camps of Michigan during WWII
6. Top Ten Things to do in Michigan in the Fall
7. I give a standing ovation to Mitch Albom’s Sports Illustrated article
8. Stop in at Tony’s I-75 Restaurant
9. 1st Annual Mackinac Bridge Antique Tractor Crossing
10. Bear Cave in Buchanan

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When Ernie Harwell was still announcing games for the Detroit Tigers, the first radio broadcast of spring training would be cause for him to recite Song of Solomon 2:11-12 – The Voice of the Turtle. As a tribute to Ernie Harwell and the first radio broadcast of spring training today at 1pm I give you, The Voice of the Turtle.

For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

This wouldn’t be complete without hearing the great Mr. Harwell recite it so give a quick listen to him –

To raise money for the Detroit Red Wings foundation, goalie Chris Osgood, auctioned off the chance to skate with him on his homemade rink at his Plymouth home. David Dagenais placed the winning bid and gave it to his son, Drew, as a once in a lifetime Christmas present.

Here’s a quote from Chris Osgood when asked what he thought the kids would take away from the day at his rink –

“Maybe that I’m normal? Which I am,” Osgood joked. “Just fun. That’s what it was here. They wanted me to give them instruction and stuff, and I said, ‘You know what, we’re just going to play.’

Read the article on the fun day that Drew Dagenais and his friends had at Chris Osgood’s backyard rink.

Other than the fact that he is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, here is one of the top reasons I like Chris Osgood:

We have a wonderful older gentleman in our neighborhood who happily uses his tractor and attached snowblower to plow out all of the surrounding homes. It’s a trick after each significant snowfall to finish using my Yooper Scooper on my driveway before he helps. It’s not that I don’t want his help, I just like to challenge myself to see how quick I can clear my driveway .

Anyway, he helps everyone young and old get their drives cleared. You don’t even have to ask him, although he has said if he doesn’t make it down to yours and you need his help to just stop on by or give him a call. There must be about a dozen driveways of varying lengths that he spends the entire morning plowing out after each snowstorm.

I know what you might be thinking. How much does he charge? Well, he won’t take money, but he has yet to turn down a handful of fresh-baked cookies. I’ve helped neighbors get their cars unstuck or shovel a driveway during the years that we have lived here and it hasn’t cost me much except a little time.

Before you complain about how unfriendly your neighbors are, think about this. What have I done to extend friendship and to be neighborly? Just think how much better our communities would be if we all asked ourselves this question and then acted upon it.

Have faith, dear readers, for this world isn’t as selfish and cold as the news reports would make it out to be.

Last week Lake Superior State unveiled their annual list of banished words. After reading the list as well as the additional comments I have to say that I don’t have any argument against any of the words included on the list. In fact, I would be glad to see them go .

• Shovel-Ready – I had not even heard of this one, but apparently it is in reference to when a project is ready to be implemented. And here I thought it was a term used by the funeral home industry.
• Transparent/Transparency – As in “transparency in government” which is really an oxymoron.
• Czar – I have never understood the use of this term with various higher office positions. I’m always reminded of the Russian Czarists whenever this is used.
• Tweet – No, it is not because of the use of this word in “Rockin’ Robin” by Bobby Day. This is because of the Twitter phenomenon which I think has more to do with the media’s obsession with talking about “tweet this” or talking about who is tweeting. I think Twitter is a useful method to connect with customers – follow me at Twitter.com/nortman.
• APP – There’s an APP for that. Blah, blah, blah.
• Sexting – Once again, overkill by the media is reason enough for the demise of this word.
• Friend as a Verb – “Friending”, “Unfriending”, etc. on Facebook.
• Teachable Moment – A clever phrase that is another way of saying, “he/she just learned a life lesson.”
• In these economic times . . . – You could even get more specific and ban any story referencing Michigan/Detroit in these economic times. I’m just a fed up Michigander when it comes to talking about all of the problems we have in this state. Lets focus on some positives in 2010.
• Stimulus – I’m weary of hearing about the “stimulus” this or that and especially any advertisements that companies label a “stimulus package.”
• Toxic Assets – Call them what they are – bad investments/bad stocks.
• Too big to fail – I had a prof in college who said that the one “sure thing” stock segment to invest in was the auto industry as it had been around for so long and was “too big to fail.” I’d like to chat with him about that one now.
• Bromance – Seriously? Two guys can’t just say they’re friends with someone? You have to call it a bromance?
• Chillaxin’ – Do we really need to invent more terms for relaxing?
• Obama prefix or roots – For example “Obamanomics” or other such rubbish.

The newest poll here at the All Things Michigan blog deals with how we Michigan natives refer to ourselves. Michigander started out as a disparaging remark about then Michigan governor, Lewis Cass, by future president Abraham Lincoln. Basically, Lincoln compared Cass to a foolish goose by combining Michigan and gander [goose].

Here’s a snippet of that Lincoln speech:

But in my hurry I was very near closing on the subject of military tails before I was done with it. There is one entire article of the sort I have not discussed yet; I mean the military tail you Democrats are now engaged in dovetailing onto the great Michigander [i.e. Lewis Cass].

So, what do you refer to yourself as? I prefer Michigander as it doesn’t sound as highfalutin’ as Michiganian.