Cal Ripken to Address Shanghai AmCham
OK, a quick game. Which guy from the photo holds the Major League Baseball consecutive games played record and which is that bald guy from The Shield? If you said the guy on the left holds the MLB record, you are right. That’s Cal Ripken Jr. And the guy to the right is that bald dude from The Shield (and formerly from The Commish). But as time goes on and Ripken gets older, fatter and balder it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell these two men apart. And next week, Ripken will bring his big bald head to Shanghai to address the American Chamber of Commerce on “Baseball Diplomacy” and how it factors into the U.S.-China relationship. Cal is coming off a stint as a studio broadcaster for TBS during the MLB playoffs, perhaps the most brutal baseball coverage in the history of television. In August, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named Ripken as the Special Sports Envoy for the State Department. “Iron Man” arrived in Beijing on Tuesday and met with Chinese baseball officials there. After touring Beijing Wednesday and Thursday, Ripken will undertake his toughest mission — a breakfast with wealthy American expats at AmCham. As for the rest of the China trip, the AmCham website posted this:
Selected as a baseball all-star 19 years in a row, Ambassador Ripken plans to spend the rest of his trip in China engaging with young people in a cross-cultural dialogue that will include, among other things, introducing them to the game of baseball. He will visit schools and clubs, run baseball clinics and share life experiences.
While I love Cal Ripken (he signed a baseball of mine in 1995, the season he broke the record) and he has always been one of baseball’s best guys, who on earth would shell out 280 RMB (35USD) to listen to him speak at 7:30 in the morning on a Friday? I mean come on. I wouldn’t even pay that much to go on a “Strike Team” mission with that bald guy from The Shield.
•Baltimore Sun: Iron Envoy Takes the Field in China
•AmCham: Cal Ripken Breakfast Information
His name is Michael Chiklis and I think he’s sexy.
Okay, TBS isn’t going to win any Emmys, but their coverage of the playoffs was way better than the annual pukefest that is FOX. Everytime I see the producer-wrapped robot that is Jeanne Zelasko I want to break my television. I still haven’t forgiven FOX for cutting off Ernie Harwell in mid-sentence so they could do their next spot. They treat baseball like a pro wrestling match.