The Sunrise Lowdown

Baseball & Airline Issues

A DAD AND DAUGHTER SAY GOODBYE TO YANKEE STADIUM:  Face it, every dad wants to give their kids things to remember in life.  Since I’m a sports fan, my 16 month old daughter will get plenty of sports memories throughout her life.  So I thought what better than give my little one the chance to see a game in Yankee Stadium!

 

MONDAY NIGHT BASEBALL: My wife, daughter and I will be in Yankee Stadium to say goodbye to the venue they call “The House That Babe Ruth Built.”  I’ve made a couple of previous trips to Yankees games, so if you don’t have a chance to get up there this year, here are a few inside insights.

First off, Yankee Stadium inside really isn’t that historic feeling.  The stadium was remodeled in the mid 1970’s.  Basically it feels like a stadium from the 70’s, nothing like the feeling from places like Wrigley Field or even newer ballparks like Camden Yards in Baltimore (both places I’ve been to) I’d highly recommend both venues, great places to watch a game or just enjoy a summer afternoon.  But one nice thing about Yankee Stadium, it seats more than 50,000, and on weekday games against lesser known teams like Minnesota or Kansas City, tickets can be had for pretty cheap.  In fact, my 2 upper deck seats for Monday’s game only cost me $20, bought on eBay!  What happens in NY is most of the fans are season ticket holders and because they can profit so much off games against Boston and other rivals, they’re willing to unload tickets cheap to baseball’s little guys.

ONE NEAT THING ABOUT YANKEE STADIUM: happens before the game.  The players are warming up and often will come over to the baselines and give fans autographs.  Last year I even saw Minnesota Twins All Star relief pitcher Joe Nathan take time to have a few pictures snapped with fans.  Yankees fans are also very into the game, they’re knowledgeable about both the home team but also the visitors.  And here’s something you wouldn’t believe, Yankees fans were for the most part friendly to someone who was wearing a jersey of the opposing team.  Perhaps it’s the fact that the Minnesota Twins aren’t exactly big rivals of the Yankees, so they feel sorry for us.  I would not be silly enough to wear a Boston Red Sox jersey there.

A THANK YOU: to our Sunrise viewers.  During the past year you have been very gracious and have welcomed me into your home, gym or office.  My position is changing at WIS and I will be doing more reporting during the week and then anchoring our weekend newscasts.  With that said, if you have any story ideas that you’d like me to tackle, send them my way!

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THE AIRLINES:  Ok, we all know it’s pretty easy to complain about airlines these days, with the cramped cabins, no peanuts and charges for stuff like checked on bags and even snacks.  But here’s a prime example of why many of you hate the airlines.  I was returning from a trip to my parents house last week and mom/dad gave me a big bag filled with stuff from my childhood that they were tired of storing at their place.  Well, at the airport, the counter person for the airline (it has 3 letters on the side of their planes)  said my bag was a whopping 3 pounds overweight and I’d be charged 25 bucks if I didn’t remove that excess 3 pounds.  So here I am holding up the line, rooting through a bag to get rid of a lousy 3 pounds.  Those 3 pounds was simply transferred to a carry-on bag, so it had no affect on the weight of the plane. 

MY QUESTION TO YOU THIS THIS…what do you think about the air travel experience, both at the security line and from the airlines?  Feel free to share your airport horror stories, or perhaps compliments!

My List of Local Doughnuts & Prisons Without Fences!

THE BLOG IS ON VACATION UNTIL JULY 16...but until that time, here's some useful information, a list of the local bakeries I've profiled on Sunrise recently

Mulberry Market Bake Shop (seen Mon 7/1 on Sunrise)  536 E DeKalb St Camden, SC  (803) 424-8401

Generations Bakery & Catering (seen Wed 7/3 on Sunrise)  1583 Broad River Rd Columbia, 772-3244

Perfection Bakery (Seen Monday 7/7 on Sunrise)  105 W Liberty St, Sumter, SC (803) 773-7466

Murray's Doughnuts (Seen Tus 7/8) 627 Bultman Dr. Sumter, SC 29150 (803) 938-8099

A Shot of Sugar (Seen Tues 7/8) 13 Caldwell St, Sumter, SC (803) 934-9805

Baker's Sweets (Seen Tues 7/8) 1089 Alice Drive Sumter, SC (803) 775-6016  www.bakerssweets.com

APPARENTLY SUMTER IS THE KING CITY OF LOCAL DOUGHNUTS:  Well folks, you've weighed in from my previous posting on local doughnut places and it appears that Sumter has won the heavyweight title when it comes to doughnuts.  I've gotten suggestions about 4 different places to check out.  They're Perfection Bakery, Murray's Doughnuts, Baker's Sweets and A Shot of Sugar.   Trust me, my stomach got a little full sampling their fare.  All good stuff, a 4 doughnut recommendation for each place!

CAMDEN GETS MY 4 DOUGHNUT RANKING:  Ok, we're using a very official ranking system of 1 to 4 doughnuts to rate local doughnut establishments. During our Tuesday morning edition of Sunrise, I had a chance to introduce you to the Mulberry Market Bake Shop in downtown Camden.  It's been owned by a husband and wife team for the past 15 years.  Let me tell you folks, you just need to walk into this place and it will make you hungry.  The smell is incredible.  The place reminded me of some of the independent bakeries you'll visit in Europe.  I've had the chance to travel Paris, Rome and Germany in the past few years and one of my favorite aspects are the local pastry shops. Well, you can save a ton on airfare just by going to Camden.  Oh, one point that didn't make the TV story is the fact that Mulberry uses a special kind of "European Butter."  It's tasty, but don't go too crazy on the stuff.  Owner Peter Rowland says the buter has a butterfat content around 82-84%.  Typical butters in America are in the 70% range.  Yikes! One final caveat, Mulberry actually doesn't sell doughnuts.  They bake all their breads and pastry's, but the owner says deep frying doughnuts is too messy and it also ruins the fresh baked smell of the store. 

THIS IS CRAZY, BUT IT'S TRUE:  Ok folks, my degree is in journalism with minors in speech and rhetoric.  Nowhere in that schooling did it include any criminal justice courses.  While I've done numerous stories on crime and punishment issues, I have never been in charge of any detention facilities. Now, with this disclaimer, see what's wrong with the paragraph that I found in our newscast, the state's response after an inmate escaped from a prison facility in Columbia earlier this week.

"The Department of Corrections says 9 out of 11 mininum security prison's do NOT have fences.  Despite the latest escapes, the department is not planning on changing security policies.""

OK, let's get this straight, we arrest people and put them in prison, yet there's not even a lousy fence around the facility?  What's the logic here?  There are fences around schools, playgrounds, even on the sidelines of a football stadium.  Yet on a minimum security prison, there's no fence?   These aren't Boy Scouts or nuns we're dealing with here, they're prisoners!  Just thought this story would perk up your interest, if somehow doughnuts weren't enough lately.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF DOUGHNUT?  Yeah, we deal with the real burning questions of our time.  But what's better, fretting about high gas prices, the war on terror, a Presidential Election; or doughnuts!  There, enough said.  For the record, I love lots of kinds of doughnuts, but if you had to pind down my favorite, it probably is the classic sugar doughnut, with the glazed coming in at 1A and I'll put a good 'ol apple fritter at 1B.