Tell your children not to hear my words
I enjoyed Bill Simmons' anecdote about the Mariano Rivera-Billy Wagner non-feud over Metallica's "Enter Sandman." The New York Times reports today that New York is indeed big enough for the two closers to enter to the song: neither Rivera nor Wagner cares very much, and neither one likes the song especially.
"Enter Sandman" is a step up from Wagner's previous pick, George Strait's "The Fireman."
The funniest part is that the lyrics to both songs are included in the article, as though readers should read the lyrics closely and decide which is more appropriate.
ESPN did a feature on at-bat music for every MLB team a couple of years ago. It's out of date, but it's still funny. According to the Boston chart, Manny Ramirez requests four different songs per game and Doug Mientkiewicz solicited the advice of a local metal station when he was in a slump with the Twins.
Keith Foulke has the best music for a closer, Danzig's "Mother" (Simmons has addressed this issue in another column). AC/DC's "Hell's Bells" is another popular one, as is GNR's "Welcome to the Jungle." You can't get much better than Axl's mutter, "Oh my God" at the beginning of the song, although I've noted elsewhere (two-thirds in jest) that the gender implications of the song are ... problematic.
"I don't mind it all," Rivera said last night in Oakland, Calif., when asked about Wagner's joint ownership of the song. "If the guy feels comfortable using that song, hey, let him be, let him be."
Asked if he liked the song, Rivera said: "You want me to tell the truth? I don't want to get in trouble.
"I don't listen to that kind of music," he added, more bluntly. "I don't love the song."
"Enter Sandman" is a step up from Wagner's previous pick, George Strait's "The Fireman."
Jeff Bagwell, his Houston teammate, did not think that was an appropriate song for a closer.
So Bagwell suggested "Enter Sandman," whose lyrics describe a young boy frightened to go to bed because he feared nightmares...
The funniest part is that the lyrics to both songs are included in the article, as though readers should read the lyrics closely and decide which is more appropriate.
ESPN did a feature on at-bat music for every MLB team a couple of years ago. It's out of date, but it's still funny. According to the Boston chart, Manny Ramirez requests four different songs per game and Doug Mientkiewicz solicited the advice of a local metal station when he was in a slump with the Twins.
Keith Foulke has the best music for a closer, Danzig's "Mother" (Simmons has addressed this issue in another column). AC/DC's "Hell's Bells" is another popular one, as is GNR's "Welcome to the Jungle." You can't get much better than Axl's mutter, "Oh my God" at the beginning of the song, although I've noted elsewhere (two-thirds in jest) that the gender implications of the song are ... problematic.