Weekends

"Look out weekend 'cause here I come
Because weekends were, werrrre"
--Weekend, Black Eyed Peas

Yes, those same Black Eyed Peas who brough you ESPN's anthem of the NBA Playoffs, "Let's Get it Started." Big fan of that girl in the group, by the way. I'm all for Al Michaels, George Gervin and Kareem, but more of her in those videos would be a good thing.
Think I'm going to the Galaxy game tomorrow after baseball, a 7:30 tilt with the Kansas City Wizards (initially they were called the 'Wiz'; whoever thought that was a good idea?) that's preceded by a Mauricio Cienfuegos testimonial match. The ancient El Salvadoran was a member of the Galaxy from MLS' first season until last year, and he retired in the off-season.
I love the concept of a testimonial match, but it's only something that exists in soccer. The concept is that they bring back a bunch of older guys, players from his various teams, significant opponents, maybe even friends and celebrities that didn't necessarily play professionally. In this instance, they'll have a "Galaxy" squad and then an "MLS" squad, and Cien will choose the sides himself, then play a half with each team. That's another fun part of these games, the lack of true dedication to the rules, substitutions and position switches and whatnot.
I've watched a couple of these matches from Europe on TV and I think it would be a great thing to do for baseball players. Football wouldn't work and basketball is a possibility, but still might be too much for the old guys to do (remember when they used to have the Schick Legends Game at NBA All-Star Weekend and Rick Barry would just ball-hog and make everyone hate him more than they already do?). Baseball would be perfect.
How cool would it have been to have a Tony Gwynn testimonial to open Petco Park? He played for so long that finding willing participants would be a joke. He also coaches for San Diego State, so he could have played an exhibition against them if not enough opponents could be located. A tribute to Cal Ripken at Camden? That All-Star Game when he homered and got to play shortstop served as a tribute of sorts, but to actually put on an event like that would be great. They'd sell out the place, I'm sure, even if the game were on it's own, but it could be part of a double-header with the big-league game. People actually come watch the Hollywood Stars Night at Dodger Stadium every year, so I'm fairly certain this will work.
Eight more hours of hockey today, hopefully this thing will look pretty sweet by the time we're done.