48 - The Michigan Daily Weekend Magazine - Thursday, January 21, 1999
Road-Trip of the Week
Cooperstown gets new life from recent heroics
The Michigan Daily Weeken
® State of the Arts
WORK, SCHOOL AND.9O21O'
By WiWeissert
Weekend, Etc. Editor
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - As far as
career choices go, 1998 was a great year
to be the owner of the Baseball Hall of
Fame.
The year, which experts trumpet as
finally resurrecting baseball from the
deeply seeded scars of 1994's strike,
brought the newly supportive public as
many physical gems and artifacts as it did
emotional thrills. For every home run in
the upper '50s, '60s, or '70s which
Sammy Sosa slammed onto the Clark
Street pavement or Mark McGwire
crushed into the St. Louis night; for every
mound celebration convened at Yankee
Stadium, there was a ball to chase down
or a glove hurled skyward to catch or a
uniform to tear off someone's back.
And physical memorabilia is what a
place like the Baseball Hall of Fame is
really all about. Visitors to the hall are
immediately confronted with the physical
shrine that was baseball's greatest season
in years. There are the shoes, uniform and
batting gloves Big Mac wore when he got
just enough of that Steve Trachsel pitch
Sept. 8 and the home plate he touched as
the line-drive - No. 62 - just made it
over the Busch Stadium wall to left. There
are the multitude of bats Sosa useda while
chasing McGwire, nestled among just
about everything either player used,
touched or breathed on during the final
weeks of 1998.
But of course there was a hall of fame
before the start of the 1998 baseball sea-
son and there will be one after another
team has replaced the destiny-dusted
Yankees as world champions and the
achievements of McGwire and Sosa have
faded from memory at least a little.
For starters the hall of fame offers the
three most recent players inducted into its
hallowed folds: George Brett, Nolan
Ryan and Robin Yount. Brett is a player
known as much for his pine-tar debacle as
for his flirtation with hitting .400 in 1980
and for his 3000-plus hits during his 21
seasons with the Kansas City Royals.
The man baseball's elders dubbed the
"Ryan Express" finished his storied
career the game's all-time leader in
strike outs with 5,714 and compiled
seven no-hitters for the Mets, Angels,
Astros and Rangers.
Yount finished 15th on baseball's all-
time hit list, and the long-time Brewer
was named by USA Today as the
American League Player of the Decade.
While it will be a few more weeks
before hall of fame officials finish com-
piling video tape retrospectives for the
hall's newest members, visitors in the
near future can still enjoy video high-
lights of the careers of the hall's 1998
class: Yankee slugger George Davis,
Front office smooth-operator for the
Brooklyn Dodgers and Yankees Lee
MacPhail, Negro League standouts
Larry Doby and Joe Rojan and Don
Sutten - whose illustrious career
included stints with the Pirates and
Angels. The plaques of last year's class
hang first in a room filled with bronze
tributes to all of the hall's inductees.
From there, hall-goers will have the
It's the beginning of a new semester.
This is the time to start fresh, and once
again I'm making the same resolutions
I've made every semester since I was a
freshman here. This will be the semes-
ter when I will get that 4.0 G.P.A., get
involved in some more resume-build-
ing extracurricular activities, go to the
CCRB every day and get in shape,
work on some community service pro-
jects and become an all-around nicer
person.
But every semester, I take a break
and start watching TV, and all of my
resolutions get pushed aside for anoth-
er four months.
I'm not a true addict, according to
my housemates. Far from it, actually.
I make sure I don't spend enough time
at home to become hooked. But it's a
constant struggle, and I'm sure that
anyone who has ever sat down "just to
check CNN and find out what's hap-
pening" and then missed class watch-
ing "90210" reruns will agree with
me.
There are several levels of the col-
lege TV addict. A viewer in the first
level of addiction has "his or her
show," one program that the viewer has
to watch each week. Be it "The X-
Files," "The Simpsons," or "Dawson's
Creek;' these people will reschedule
meetings, program their VCR, and do
anything to make sure that they don't
miss an episode.
The second
level is made up
of the soap fans.
It's hard to pin
down exactly;
how many peo-
ple belong to this
group, because
almost no one
willingly sits
down and says, Jessica Eaton
"You know, I've Daily Arts Editor
heard that the writing on 'The Young
and the Restless' is really good and
that it has excellent character develop-
ment. I'd like to see it sometime."
These are the people who get hooked
by turning on the TV during their
lunch hour and are unwittingly drawn
in by the traumas of people with names
like Victor, Adrienne and Veronica.
Before they realize it, they need to
watch every day.
I am a member of the third level.
This group is the most dangerous,
because it is possibly the group most
affected by the TV. We even exceed the
soap watchers in our obsession.
Post card courtesy of The Baseball Hall of Fame
Located In the "blink-or-you'll miss It" village of Cooperstown, N.Y,. The Baseball Hail of Fame is now chock-full of Sammy
Sosa and Mark McGwlre memorabilia - but, as always, also features exhibits on everything from the Negro Leagues to fea-
tures on the base ball media, to all the statistics any fan could ever want.
option of heading to the baseball theater
and the hall's movie presentation "The
Baseball Experience." The movie is
championed by promoters as a "13-
minute multi-media glimpse into the
heart and soul of the game" but in reality
is nothing more than self-serving drivel.
Die-hard Tigers fans may want to catch
the movie only because it features a 1984
picture of an ecstatic Kirk Gibson, arms
thrown skyward, as a packed Tiger
Stadium looks on - but the movie is def-
initely the'first thing to cross off the must-
do list, if pressed for time.
On the way into the theater (and eas-
ily accessible with out actually stopping
to see the movie) is a slightly out-of-
date but nevertheless cute little locker
room providing visitors with away,
home and historical uniforms for each
of baseball's teams. It is here that you
also can learn that the New York
Yankees spent two years as a Baltimore
Orioles franchise, and exactly how
many people can crowd into the pools at
the Dome where the Arizona Diamond
Backs play.
On the other side of the theater is a
chronological history of the game through
old photos and a number of interesting
small video presentations.
The third floor features the museum's
ballpark exhibit and offers fans photos
and small replicas of some of the game's
most famous venues from the Negro
League's Bidwell Park to New York's
original Yankee Stadium - a field that
was littered with gravestones in right and
center field. The models and architecture
shots give way to exhibits on the history
of the All Star Game which are followed
by historical romps through the playoffs
and the World Series.
Besides catching a 1990s tribute to
the accomplishments of the Braves and
Blue Jays, here you can peer through
glass at the championship rings pro-
duced by each year's champion, scoff at
the hilarity of the once-tried nine-game
world series and marvel at just how
many times two teams from New York
have battled for the World Series crown.
One big problem with this excusion is
that Cooperstown is located a good two
hours from the absolute middle of
nowhere. But, as the history-of-the-game
exhibits make clear, the shrine to baseball
is located where it is because the 2,300-
inhabitant hamlet in very-upstate New
York was where "the first scheme for
playing baseball was determined."
But what really makes Cooperstown so
special are its artifacts. There's the ball
from the perfect game hurled by David
Wells (formerTiger, traded for no one) on
Beanie Baby Day in New York last sea-
son. There's Tim Raines' 50th stolen base
and the bat Matt Williams used to hit 43
See BASEBALL,Page 58
TV. The week that was
What happened on TV's best shoWs Wed.-Tues.
"Dawson's Creek": Love and lust are in the air as the six hormonal horndogs pair
off in the first of a two-part episode. Jack puts on his birthday suit in order to help
Joe with an art proect, the newly reinvented perfect Pacey conspires to give
Andie her dream deflowering and 6awson and Jen continue their skinny.dipping ses-
sign. Next week reveals who amongst the creeps actually did the deed.
"90210": Struggling with a heroin addiction is tough and Dylan knows it. But it's
not half as toug as Kelly's problem of how to sleep with new beau Matt without
ruining her memories of ex-boyfriend Brandon. Steve tries a new get-more-rich-quick
scheme by selling video tapes on how to hit on women and like everything else in
his life, it fails. Donna and Noah have their weekly fight, proving that lovers do not;
have to get along to get it on.
"Law and Order": The discovery of a dead body in a Volkswagen Bus leads to the
unveiling of a police conspiracy to infiltrate anti-Vietnam protest groups in the late
'60s. McCoy soon discovers the victim was working undercover but was murdered
by a guard whose son died in Vietnam.
"Friends": (R) Haircuts are in stable condition and resting comfortably.
"ER": (R) Get us some new storylnes, stat!
"The Sinqisons": Celebrating the success of the minor league baseball team,
Homer and pals et drunk and drive a car through Springfield Elementary. They do
thousands of dollars in damae and prompt police to mistakenly impose a curfew
for any one younger than 1 nspired by a British horror flick, the kids retaliate and
launch a radio smear campaign that reveals the secrets of the adults. Springfield's
elderly population ends the adults vs. kids controvers by imposing a curfew for
anyone under the age of 70 - doing so after outlining their plan musically.
"X Flies": Skinner comes down with a life-threatening case of varicose veins. Scully
and Mulder race against the clock to find a cure and a reason for the disease. The
answer? Let's just say they opened a rat(boy)'s nest with this one.
"Ally McBeal": Ally and Greg bring their relationship back from hiatus, while John
and Nelle move in the other direction. Ally and Richard argue a case in which a sex
addict husband seeks an annulment in order to avoid paying alimony. Meanwhile,
Dr. Tracey is on vacation and a shrink (actually Bruce Willis in an uncredited
cameo) steps in and manages to drive off both Ally and the biscuit - and driving
them into each others therapeutic arms, so to speak.
"Buffy The ampire Slayer": It's the buffed one's birthday and things are not-
. exactly happy.Buffy's powers are diminishing to the point where even Cordelia
can manhandle meatheads while Buffy must stand idly by. Is the slayer's
Sunnydale reign over? Will she turn her attention to political aspirations now that
she's of legal age? Nah - by the end she's still the vamp killer we know and love,
but Giles' job as the watcher (and Buffy's father figure) is in jeopardy.
"Felicity": Felicity returns from winter break and announces to Noel that she
wants to have sex with him. What follows is farce and folly seldom seen on TV:
trees bum a la "Pleasantville" and minibars are pilfered. Problems arise when
Felicity and Noel find out that Ben and Julie are seeing each other - although how
much of each other they're actually seeing, uh, remains to be seen.
compiled by the Daily Arts Staff.
Viewers in the third level of TV addic-
tion watch anything and everything,
especially if they've seen it before.
These addicts have discovered that
basic cable service offers the best
brain-numbing fluff around. And
across campus, procrastinators like me
are hooked.
Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a
sampling of what I've found to be the
best time-wasting TV out there:
"Beverly Hills 90210"
"Friends," and "Mad About You"
reruns - Especially the early
episodes, the ones from the early
'90s. These shows appeal to TV
addicts because we all wish that we
were as cool, as beautiful, and as
much fun as the characters.
"Friends" is also on twice every day
Monday through Friday, so there's
never an excuse to miss a day.
Sometimes, the true addict can even
watch the same show twice within
the span of a few hours.
TV Newsmagazines - Yes, they all
cover the same geriatric health risk and
auto safety stories. And as proved by
the unfortunate incident of "60
Minutes II" running a story that
"Dateline" ran in '94, sometimes they
cover exactly the same stories. But one
Top 10 videos
(Last week's top videos and the
studios that produced them)
1. "Armageddon," Touchstone
2. "Titanic," Paramount
3. "The Wedding Singer," New
Line
4. "The Mask of Zorro,"
Columbia/TriStar
5. "Dr. Dolittle," Fox Video
6. "Lion King ll:Simba's Pride,"
Disney
7. "Small Soldiers," Universal
8. "Good Will Hunting," Miramax
9. "Austin Powers," New Line
10. "Gone With the Wind,"
MGM/UA
Source: Billboard Magazine
Top 10 Albums
(The nation's top-selling albums
for the week)
1. DMX, "Flesh of My Flesh"
2. Lauryn Hill, "The Miseducation
of Lauryn Hill"
3. 2Pac, "Greatest Hits"
4 Offspring, "Americana"
5, Jay-Z, "Vol. 2 ... Hard Knock
Life"
6. 'N Sync, "'N Sync"
7. Jewel, "Spirit"
8. Mariah Carey, "#1s"
9. Garth Brooks, "Double Live"
10. Various Artists, "Now"
Souce:BiJlboard Magazine
of these examples of quality
ming is on every night of
and the viewer can justify
actions with the mantra,
watching the news and learn
what's going on in the world
addict has learned that TV p
tion is all about justification
VH1 - Since MTV
unwatchable about five y
VH1 has begun to provide g
sion fun at all hours of the
"Pop-Up Video"'s fun tri
else can you get facts abc
hand smoke accompanying
singing "Every Breath You
that great "Behind the Musi
about Milli Vanilli's fall fi
the third-level addict can s
here.
Nick at Night - Begir
"Happy Days" at 10 p.m. an
ing through "The Wonder
2:30 in the morning, Nic
beats TV Land hands-dowr
nostalgic reruns. Almost ev
student has seen all of thes
least once, but that only ad
appeal.
The History Channel -
documentaries, biographies
presidents, and occasionall
Top 10 movies
(Last week's top grossing movies
1. "Varsity Blues," Param
2. "A Civil Action," Touch
3. "The Thin Red Line," 2
4. "Patch Adams," Univer
5. "At First Sight," MGM
6. "Stepmom," Columbia/
7. "You've Got Mail," Wan
8. "Prince of Egypt," Drea
8. "Virus," Universal
10. "In Dreams," Dreamw
Top 10 Books
(The week's best-selling hard-cove
1. "A Man in Full," Tom WI
2. "Seize the Night," Dean
3. "The Poisonwood Bible
4. "Billy Straight," Jonath
5. "The Simple Truth," Da
6. "Memoirs of a Geisha,"
7. "When The Wind Blows,
8. "Angel's Flight," Michai
9. "Charming Billy," Alice
10. "Rainbow Six," Tom CI
Top 10 Singles
(The nation s top-selling songs fo
1. Brandy, "Have You Ever?
2. Deborah Cox, "Nobody's
3. Britney Spears, "... Bab
4. R, Kelly and Celine Dion
5. Eagle-eye Cherry, "Save
6. Jewel, "Hands"
7. Shawn Mullins, "Lullaby
8. Divine, "Lately"
9. Lauryn Hill, "Doo Wop (
10. Goo Goo Dolls, "Slide"