I Don't Hate Jayson Stark...Today

I used to be a huge fan of ESPN's Jayson Stark, but a couple of years ago, I fell out of love with him. I don't know why. Maybe it was a single column he wrote that really pissed me off. I don't know, I just wasn't feelin' him anymore. Hey, it happens in a lot of relationships, what can I say?

I just read this piece about the return of Tom Glavine to the Atlanta Braves and I actually *enjoyed* it!

I don't hate Jayson Stark!

Well, today anyway.


(Glavine - spring training 2008)

I was shocked -- I thought Stark would rip the Braves for bringin' back the pepaw that is Glavine; I thought he might even go so far as to predict that the Braves would finish 4th in the NL East because the team still hadn't found the fire-power it needed to solidify the rotation's Big 3.

It appears to me that Stark is actually EXCITED about the return of Glavine. And his excitement kinda fired me up, too!

Reminiscing of the fabulosity that was once the Braves starting rotation that included Glavin, John Smoltz & Greg Maddux, this was the best part:

"So take a moment, when Glavine and Smoltz come to town this summer, to ponder what they represent. They were part of something that probably isn't coming along again for the next thousand years or so."

I was already happy to see pepaw return to the rotation that features Smoltz & Tim Hudson, but had I read a shitty story from Stark on the subject, I don't think I could've taken it. It woulda been the straw that broke the spring training camel's back. I most definitely would've had to write Mr. Stark a nasty-gram telling him what an asshole he is for tryin' to bring us fans down.

But not today...

Today I say, "Thank you, Jayson Stark. Thank you for makin' me not hate you."

Tomorrow could be a different story. So right now I'm gonna ride my feelings of joy & contentment all the way to Pizza Hut. Seriously, I'm goin' to Pizza Hut.

I'm out...