TODAY'S CUBS GAMES: 8 - 3 x 2
I spent 7 hours in my car yesterday traveling to and from Dallas. I listen to audio books during these excursions (yesterday saw me listening to the first half of The Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman, it was okay) but I can't wait for the day my car radio can stream live and on-demand games from mlb.com. I wished for it especially hard yesterday as I wanted to catch Mark Prior's first start of the year and return from injury, live. And while my car did not learn to access the internet somewhere around Waco, the weather in Chicago conspired with me and the game was pushed back, turning today's festivities into a double-header. Kerry Wood to start game one, Mark Prior the second.
I went to lunch, knowing the start of the first game was early but still surprised to return with the first game already in the seventh inning, Kerry Wood gone, and the Cubs losing 7-2. Ugh.
Feeling lazy, I decided to truck the laptop into the living room, sprawl out on the couch and watch the game on the computer. I've not tried this before (I catch most games listening to Pat Hughes and Ron Santo's radio broadcasts while doing other computer work) and to be honest, the experiment didn't work. The video feed is small, my eyes aren't so good, the laptop screen can be viewed from exactly one angle, and don't even get me started about the tiny laptop speakers.
I could have trucked back up to my office and watched the game at my desk, but to do so might have caused me to ... work! No way. On this bright, sunny, breezy day in Austin, while baseball was being played at Wrigley Field, I needed to watch said baseball sprawled out on the couch, my pooch, Cooper, curled up next to me, and a frosty beverage near at hand (forget that it's a Wednesday).
The internet is a wonderful thing. Not only can I catch the Cubs live or on-demand from my home nearly 1,000 miles from Chicago, but within fifteen minutes of deciding on a course of action, I knew exactly which cables and connectors were needed to make it happen. I might not be able to stream mlb.com into my car yet, but damn straight I'm gonna watch it on my television.
Radio Shack was my next stop. The clerk was a little relaxed for my liking (game one was over, an 8-3 loss, and game two would be starting any moment). He sent me away with what I needed, but then the stop light outside of Radio Shack lasted forever (argh, the game has certainly started by now, this light is never going to change, and I am going to miss every last pitch).
Finally home, I get the cables out of their plastic bear-traps and plug them into the television and computer. I hit "TV/Video" on the remote ... nothing. More research ... okay, there's a toggle in my display settings for TV. I toggle it, and ... there it is, my desktop, on my television screen. Pull up the game ... this is going to be great ... no video. I can see Mark Prior throw a fast ball on my computer screen (second inning, we're leading 3-0) but the respective area on the television screen is black.
I do some research on the internet, but nothing turns up. I call mlb.com and end up on hold (why do companies insist on hold "noise"? On mlb.com they play clips of momentous plays that have happened in baseball and while interesting, they drown out the less-momentous but more compelling plays happening live between the Cubs and the Padres. And then there's the voice, the voice that comes on just when you've trained yourself to ignore the other noise and pleasantly reminds you that you are still on hold).
More research on the internet and I have a possible solution. At this point an mlb.com representative picks up, a representative whom, despite my lengthy hold time, refuses to "troubleshoot my TV". But it wasn't my TV, it was another toggle in my display settings, this one to set the television as the primary destination.
And then, finally, it works. There is baseball on my television. Real, non-Fox baseball, hallelujah! And the clarity of the picture at full screen is surprisingly good (Real player being decidedly clearer than Windows Media).
And of course, let's not forget the game, the impetus for my adventure. Mark Prior was awesome. Six shutout innings of pitching and two singles with the bat. The relievers in the eighth caused me some concern, but in the end there was never a serious threat. 8-3 was the score for the day, this time it was ours.
I went to lunch, knowing the start of the first game was early but still surprised to return with the first game already in the seventh inning, Kerry Wood gone, and the Cubs losing 7-2. Ugh.
Feeling lazy, I decided to truck the laptop into the living room, sprawl out on the couch and watch the game on the computer. I've not tried this before (I catch most games listening to Pat Hughes and Ron Santo's radio broadcasts while doing other computer work) and to be honest, the experiment didn't work. The video feed is small, my eyes aren't so good, the laptop screen can be viewed from exactly one angle, and don't even get me started about the tiny laptop speakers.
I could have trucked back up to my office and watched the game at my desk, but to do so might have caused me to ... work! No way. On this bright, sunny, breezy day in Austin, while baseball was being played at Wrigley Field, I needed to watch said baseball sprawled out on the couch, my pooch, Cooper, curled up next to me, and a frosty beverage near at hand (forget that it's a Wednesday).
The internet is a wonderful thing. Not only can I catch the Cubs live or on-demand from my home nearly 1,000 miles from Chicago, but within fifteen minutes of deciding on a course of action, I knew exactly which cables and connectors were needed to make it happen. I might not be able to stream mlb.com into my car yet, but damn straight I'm gonna watch it on my television.
Radio Shack was my next stop. The clerk was a little relaxed for my liking (game one was over, an 8-3 loss, and game two would be starting any moment). He sent me away with what I needed, but then the stop light outside of Radio Shack lasted forever (argh, the game has certainly started by now, this light is never going to change, and I am going to miss every last pitch).
Finally home, I get the cables out of their plastic bear-traps and plug them into the television and computer. I hit "TV/Video" on the remote ... nothing. More research ... okay, there's a toggle in my display settings for TV. I toggle it, and ... there it is, my desktop, on my television screen. Pull up the game ... this is going to be great ... no video. I can see Mark Prior throw a fast ball on my computer screen (second inning, we're leading 3-0) but the respective area on the television screen is black.
I do some research on the internet, but nothing turns up. I call mlb.com and end up on hold (why do companies insist on hold "noise"? On mlb.com they play clips of momentous plays that have happened in baseball and while interesting, they drown out the less-momentous but more compelling plays happening live between the Cubs and the Padres. And then there's the voice, the voice that comes on just when you've trained yourself to ignore the other noise and pleasantly reminds you that you are still on hold).
More research on the internet and I have a possible solution. At this point an mlb.com representative picks up, a representative whom, despite my lengthy hold time, refuses to "troubleshoot my TV". But it wasn't my TV, it was another toggle in my display settings, this one to set the television as the primary destination.
And then, finally, it works. There is baseball on my television. Real, non-Fox baseball, hallelujah! And the clarity of the picture at full screen is surprisingly good (Real player being decidedly clearer than Windows Media).
And of course, let's not forget the game, the impetus for my adventure. Mark Prior was awesome. Six shutout innings of pitching and two singles with the bat. The relievers in the eighth caused me some concern, but in the end there was never a serious threat. 8-3 was the score for the day, this time it was ours.
posted by Erik at
9:32 PM
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