Sketchbook: Good pitching

There's so much symbolism to uncover in the story of Noah's Ark! Not the least of which is that good pitching wins games.
 

Lengthen your stride, raise the bar, and...

I had a couple of companions who played baseball in college. This was actually something we talked about.
 

Sketchbook: Speeding up the game

The big leagues made some rule changes in the offseason to help games move along faster. Something like this could help the T ball crowd!
 

Missionary tools

I had a companion who was a baseball player. One of his favorite ways to get people to talk to was to go to the batting cages and knock the covers off the balls. He usually didn't throw things at people, unless necessary.
 

It comes with free snacks!

I wish I would have done this one about a month ago!

Out cold

It's unusual for us here in Oregon to have snow days from school. It's even more rare for us to have them in March. Last night it snowed enough — up to 12 inches in some places — that school was cancelled yet again.

When I drove past the high school this afternoon, though, the track team and the baseball team were both out there practicing!

Let's be reasonable!

Thank heaven we have the playoffs and the World Series in October — way better programming than the election coverage!

What's on deck

 ...and isn't that what June is all about?

Yes, it's rancid

Burning up the field

In Little League, everyone wants to pitch. Sadly, not everyone can.

Opening Day

OK, I know that technically Opening Day was Monday, but we were busy with Conference things. Let's just call it a rain delay.

Switching channels

I thought I'd borrow from today's Good Heavens. The stuff on TV isn't all miserable!

Missionary skills

No place like home

So yesterday was the funeral and the interment. It's funny how funerals can seem a lot like family reunions! It's helps to have a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation.

A little background on this cartoon: I was asked to do the cover design for the funeral program. One well meaning relative (we'll give him the benefit of the doubt) said, "Oh, great. We're going to have some silly cartoon to honor (my father-in-law)!"

The cover was actually a nice montage of photos that served as the background to a nice portrait of the deceased. But the remark did make me think of what kind of cartoon I might draw if that were the case. It would be something like this.

Stay tuned for tomorrow when we return to our regular programming!

You have ONE job

The memorial service for my father-in-law is today. He wanted it to be a short one — he didn't take to long meetings. If things go according to plan, one of the musical numbers will be a singalong of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

Rest in peace, Cecil.

Fundamental skills

Grandpa Cecil wanted all his grandkids to have at least some basic skills in sports. Some were more successful at that than others.

There's no place like home

One of the benefits of having Cecil as a father-in-law was that anytime there was a big ball game, I had a place that I could watch it.

In the name of keeping the sabbath day holy, he didn't "watch" games on Sunday. He did, however, check the scores. Often.

Shakespeare in the park

The grandkids all knew that if Grandpa Cecil was officiating one of their games, they were in big trouble. In the name of being "fair," he always called more strikes, fouls or penalties on his grandkids than he did on anyone else.

Monday sketchbook: Spring ball

It was never to early or too late for a ball game. In Cecil's mind, any time there was a ball and an opponent, it was time for a game!

Lucky socks

If there were such a thing as sports missionaries, Cecil would certainly have been their mission president.