Nick Mamalis is a full time baseball "beerman".
Good afternoon sports fans! Today I wanted to go a little different with my column. Usually I will talk a bit about what happened in sports and maybe a bit about the games that I had the pleasure of working. Well, that being said, sure some of that will be included but I thought since “introductions” are the theme of the day across sports, we talk about that.
First thing is the Heat and Celtics. These two teams have played each other quite a bit, neither a stranger to the playoffs or each other. The Heat came out on top in Game 1, but with no shortage of controversy! The Heat, specifically LeBron James taunted the C’s quite a bit but why? I don’t remember the last ring that Bron Bron won, but hey that could change this year. I think a Heat-Spurs Finals is quite possible. If that is the case, don’t expect the Spurs to lie down at the sight of the Heat. The Celtics need to actually play some defense if they expect to come away with a win. Game 2 Wednesday!
Last night was a fun night in baseball; it was a strikeout fest in Tampa Bay! Unfortunately the Rays came out on the short end of that K stick with a loss and 11 strikeouts vs. the 15 strikeouts and a win that the Sox of White earned. Chris Sale got the win over Matt Moore which is unfortunate because both pitchers pitched great. Wade Davis even came in and pitched a one walk, 2 innings of relief. Well, once again the hitting did not show up, but maybe with a few of the players coming back, someone will hit the ball? We shall see. Keep watching though, still in first place! The Orioles are being the Orioles.
Miami got the win against the Nationals on Monday; the once great cry-baby Carlos Zambrano got the win against Jordan Zimmermann in a 5–3 Miami win in the new Marlins Ballpark. (Giancarlo) Stanton of course blasted another home run. Is this guy great or what? Who would you rather have on your team at this point, Stanton or Josh Hamilton? Why was I not there yesterday? I was at the Rays game!
Ok, so sports out of the way, I wanted to go into introductions. No, not the awkward handshake when your cousin meets your best friend type of thing where you were clearly not prepared but the introductions at the beginning of each sports game. Baseball has them, basketball, hockey and football. Some are better than others and others are just epically good or bad.
Let’s start!
I think ECU has a pretty good introduction video, pirate themed of course with other teams’ mascots from the Conference USA kind of floating by this awesome pirate ship in little life rafts. That was the 2010 version with others out there. ECU is based in North Carolina and has a pretty good football squad.
The Buccaneers, also a pirate themed team has a fantastic intro video. This shows members of the team in Bucs gear with pirate swords on top of the famous pirate ship, the same one that sits in the end zone. The pirate ship battles members of the NFC South until the final battle with the team they are playing that day. It absolutely gets the crowd pumped up!
In 2009, the Celtics had a great introduction video with highlights of the championship run and Kevin Garnett screaming! Very team oriented and very motivational. They of course introduce the C’s as the World Champion Boston Celtics.
I am a little biased about this next one, simply because I have worked for this team since 2008. The Orlando Magic and their new building have an excellent video, excellent graphics and a Dwight Howard – centric video. It shows graphics of Orlando and the stadium with a huge scoreboard showing giant video of the players. You thought a 7-foot Dwight was scary, trying looking at him 30 feet tall! They of course play Party Rocking by LMFAO before tip off.
So, look up the rest of YouTube, you will find a lot. I mentioned introductions because the Kings and Devils are introduced to each other for the Stanley Cup Finals, the Spurs and Thunder introduced each other in Game 1 on Sunday night. I brought up introductions because I felt the need to mention them!
Stay safe and be responsible!
Outside the Redzone gives you Breaking Sports News, Opinion and Analysis with a Southeastern Feel and be sure to “Like” us on Facebook!
