Tonight’s game will be played tomorrow afternoon.
Some brighter news, as I mentioned in the previous thread, The Banter was singled out in this week’s “Best of NYC” issue of The Village Voice:
Sportswriting, whether in print or online, has become awfully balkanized to name a single writer as above the rest. That said, Alex Belth is good both in his long free-association pieces on his website, Bronx Banter, and reviewing books for Sports Illustrated. But as a website host, he truly excels. Bronx Banter goes far beyond the Bronx and baseball with all kinds of terrific interviews (Pat Jordan, Pete Dexter, the late George Kimball) and a terrific array of great reprints from writers of the past like W.C. Heinz, Murray Kempton, Roger Kahn, etc. No one cares more about the history of New York sportswriting or does more to preserve it. In an age when past memories are fading without new ones coming along to replace them, Bronx Banter offers a wonderful mix of past and present with an eye on the future. It’s a New York treasure.
Happy to share this with all of you guys. Y’all keep the Banter fresh. I love doing this, man. We’re coming up on our 10th anniversary and I enjoy this joint as much now as I did when I started. Nah, scratch that, I like it even more.
Ya heard?
[Photo Via: Chillwalker]
[0] Take a bow!
By the way..what is it with people in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US saying "Warshington"? That's almost as annoying as baseball nicknames, right Belthy?
that's great - congrats, man. and it's all true too!
Congrats Alex. And I get to see the start of the game.
1) You betchy. I have a friend who hates the Yankees habit of everyone being "ie." Nunie, Gardy, etc. lol.
Thanks for the congrats. It was unexpected but a cool thing.
[1] Epenthetic and/or intrusive r---basically adding r to the end of words ("no idear") or in the middle of words, especially between vowels or between certain vowels and specific consonant sounds---is a pretty common linguistic phenomenon.
I was afraid I'd miss tomorrow's game but just saw it starts at 4. Good on ya on again, AB. You're a celebrity. : )
Congrats Alex. I tell everyone I know Yankee fan or not, to check out the Banter.
[1] Mid Atlantic? My parents said/say "warsh" and "Warshington" and they are from the South, or Arkansas to be specific.
Used to drive me nuts. But "idear" which I believe is a NY/NJ thing, drives me even more crazy. Almost as much as those who "ax" questions and eat "psaghetti."
As I read that line, all I could hear playing in my head is: Nas's "Represent" from Illmatic.
Alex, well deserved!!!
Congrats Alex! Man, that's cool!
CONGRATS, Alex!!! sooo cool and well deserved!
i've been reading your Bronx Banter since back in the all-baseball days. this place is my daily online home and the community my online family.
big thanks for everything!!! : )
down south here, they put the letter "h" in all kindsa places. like "yearsh" (years), "grosheries" (groceries) and "firsht" (first). it drives me up a fucking wall!!!
yeah, the "warsh" and "oh my garsh" is awful. i heard that in Central PA, mostly from western PA people and West VA area.
"liberry" makes my skin crawl...
well, at least we didn't lose tonite. though we lose CC for an unlikely Game 7.
i'll be teaching during the entire game. i get a small break at 7pm, so i'll check on the score.
A-Rod to Miami is fine with me...
hope is Jeter is all set by Opening Day...
i do hope i get to watch Andy pitch Friday night!!! (dear yankees: please let that happen!!!)
random fact: atlanta is pretty much exactly as far 'west' as detroit. strange but true.
[11] In college my pledgemaster used to say "liberry", and it was very annoying because we had to meet there every night. Us pledges had a good laugh about it, though.
[13] did he "aks the liberrian?" (ugh.)
here in the south, it's hard to "undershtand" their frickin' brutal accents!!!
the worst offender is the guy that does the braves' postgame shows on the radio. he can put the letter "h" in the strangest places...
[13][14] Only time I went down south I remember stopping for gas. The attendant was this real kind old guy who twiced said "if yuh need Earl then just holla". Was at least an hour down the road before we realized he was saying "oil"..lot of fun trying to guess who "Earl" was!
[15] that's classic! it's pretty rare you hear "earl change" down here, but it pops up every once in awhile. it's awful, innit?
i still hate the "fixin'" dinner. um, dinner isn't broken! or "cutting" lights on & off. no need for scissors, people! jeesh.
i have a students' dad who says "mondee," "tuesdee," etc. drives me up a fucking wall! he also inserts the "h" wherever the hell he damn pleases. other than that, he's a super cool guy! : )
i'm glad there are mostly northern transplants, like me, down here!
For the record, I must say, the Yankees are not as much fun to watch when A-Rod is not playing. He is always a "must-see" at bat for me. Much more so than Jeter, who of course I miss, too. And I know Jeter is always capable of doing something special. But A-Rod's stance, the look in his eye, what you know he is capable of doing...it all adds up to slugger and superstar.
The management is fucking us right now. I bet if you ask 10 die-hard Yankee fans, 8 of them would say we want to see A-Rod play.
I'd rather see him go 0 for 4 than watch Chavez, no matter what he does.
I say, fuck Cashman and fuck Girardi. Winning, when it's no fun, sometime is not always worth it.
[17] I think I'd find Chavez more interesting if he wasn't putting up goose eggs. Not much of an upgrade if you're worse.
congrats alex.
i love that the banter has its roots with the yankees but branches out to the other features. we are all here because we love the yankees (well in theory, or at least when they are scoring and winning) and we are able to have good discussions about all sorts of things.
speaking of which, the r at the end of words drives me crazy - for example "pizzar."
Way to go, Alex. This place is indeed a NY treasure. Thanks for keeping up the great work for all these years!
Congratulations to you on this well deserved recognition.
When I tell family and friends about the Bronx Banter, they usually roll their eyes at me like it must be some kind of sports wonk place, on par with the the type who call in to sports radio. I have to defend it (and myself) by explaining the entries on music, movies, culture, photography, food, and especially writing all curated by a young man who has a vision that is shaped by respect of the past great things and people. I also remark about the members all over the country and world who are thoughtful, relatively polite, and love the game without a jingoistic bent. They either agree to check it out, or their eyes then glaze over and it's on to another subject. This V.V. recognition gives the explanations credibility.
The Bronx Banter, "A New York treasure". That says a lot. Thanks for your work Alex.
Congrats, Alex! Certainly well deserved.
[21] Couldn't agree more. I visit other Yankees blogs fairly often, but the banter is pretty much always my first stop on the interwebs. No other blog comes close to matching to the cultural breadth and quality of writing at the banter. And I detest the vitriol and pissing matches that go on in the comments of so many other places. I don't post often, but I love the community feel of the banter. All thanks to
...All thanks to Mr. Belth!
Al Belth, I know the Banter is a labor of love for you and it shows in your thoughtful and introspective writing. Some wear their heart on their sleeve and you wear it on your pen.
Well done sir!!!
Congrats Alex!
I heart Bronx Banter!