Yes, once in awhile these things happen

It was both a spiritually uplifting nite in Chicago sports last nite as well as a deeply depressing one. Depression will be dealt with rite here: #5 seed. How the fuck................... Ok, on to Buerlhe.

Great nite. I went to see a play (House theatre's "The Sparrow") and I liked it tremendously. On the way up to the north side, I checking in on the Sox game for a half inning early, then switched to FM to concentrate on the uber important Bulls game. After the play, I clicked on the radio and got up the Sox postgame to see if they won. Listening, I knew immediately that something was up. Then I found out:

Holy Cow!!.

I'm glad: First things first, they're now one game under .500. Secondly, yet another strong pitching performance from the staff- The staff ERA, after the first two games, is rite around 2.00- THE WHOLE STAFF'S ERA IS AROUND 2.00. What, we were worried @ one point about the staff?? ( I know, were only 1/10th into the season- there's a long way to go.......and what about the bats.....?). But best of all, my favourite player today got some national attention with a great individual game. He had one walk, to the old Sox Sammy Sosa, and he erased him with a pickoff. 27 up and down. Good job, Mark. The no hitter will probably go a long way in insuring a $100m+ contract from the Cardnials, Red Sox, or Yankee's this fall.

So the Sox have had several no hitters on my watch. I missed the Barrios/Blue Moon odom one in '76, so my first brush with no-hitterdom came when Dennis Lamp almost no hit ( Years and teams my be wrong in this post, since I'm doing no research for this post) who-- the Brewers? This must have been 1980 or 1981. He took it into the 9th with the Sox winning, and I'll always remember Harry's call as the Sox made their 3d out and we went to commercial before the last three outs: "Now lets get to the important thing". Actually, I'm quite sure that that was not Harry's exact call, but I though it was funny that Harry was cool with the Sox making the third out and not able to extend their lead. I was with Harry. Lamp lost it after one out, as I remember. My Dad and Z#1 watched the ninth as well.

Flash 1986. I used to work as a dj @ a south side bar when I was TWENTY- it was good money for those days as well : $6.50/h. I worked for 8h, and I will admidt:

I SUCKED AS A D.J.

True.

But it was a sweet job- It was great to be able to play blocks of music from, say, the June Brides. It got really crowded @ nite with tonnes of people dansing-and again, it wasn't from anything I was doing. back then, they were dancing )probably) in SPITE of my efforts. Once a guy from high school came up- it was Professor Griff (extend the last name -- I didn't know him too well @ SRHS, but we knew each other enough)- and drunkenly said "Hey Hilts- yr not 21 yrs old!! I'm gonna tell". he was goading me, and then drunkenly told me he was just joshing. Anothe rgreat story from that job was the chick who --drunkenly again-- wanted to kiss me. I was way too virginal, afraid ('and everything she wants costs money'), and.......afraid, so I said no. Wasn't the first girl who I said "No kiss!" to- probably wouldn't say that again to an interested girl in the future, except that I now have a girlfriend.

But the Sox were on the coast that nite- a late game -v- the Angels- and I'm pretty sure I was the only one in the bar watching. He walked like 8 batters, and I think he even gave in a run or two. But I realised that I had seen then what I hadn't before- a Sox no hitter- and was very happy.

Final Flash--1991. Bad relationship choices let me scope out two no hitters, one by the Sox. It was the Wilson Alvarez one, where he beat the O's in Baltimore 7-0. I was staying in Omaha for several months with an old lover. Luckily, I could keep up with the Sox because WGN was a superstation back in the day. Q and I had stuff to do during the day, so I taped the game. When we got back, it was nice to kick back and watch the no hitter. Q was with me. Second Sox no no for me. The second nohitter I watched in Omaha? Wasn't a Sox no hitter. Q and I had the habit of listening to Omaha Royals games, the minor league AAA team of the K.C. Royals. We were listening when reports came over that Nolan Ryan was deep into a no hitter. We Speed Racered it to her crib, gathered her dad, and we all watched it upstairs on the second tv- her mom could care less about some Texas Ranger baseball game. Good memory.

And, because I listened to a half inning of last nites game, I'll claim this one as well. I'm glad. Burhle's such a favourite in Soxdom. So, to my great grandchildren, when I'm 95 and barely able to talk, I'll direct them here.