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Friday, March 29, 2024

Bridges: Giving thanks to all things sports

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With the annual designated day of thanks once again upon us, I’d like to take a stab at showing a bit of gratitude to those who’ve given me so much to be thankful for as it pertains to the sporting world.

To all my Little League coaches who had to put up with a skinny, gregarious, .203 hitter, I truly do thank you.

Your patience fueled my love for baseball, and that passion for the game stuck with me all my life, later making me even more thankful for the 1979 World Series title my Pittsburgh Pirates won when I was just 20 years of age.

Many thanks to my high school basketball coaches for attempting to hone my 3-point prowess back in the day. They once told me if I concentrated on playing defense as much as I did flirting with the cheerleaders I’d be a more complete player. (So much for defense, l guess.)

Similar thanks must be given to the English teachers, who plastered enough red ink on my compositions to get my attention and show me how to write things legibly and with some level of understanding.

To all the good people in the sports TV and radio world, thanks for your tolerance and allowing me to break most of your rules while working hand in hand on labor matters. Hopefully we’re both better for it and I appreciate it.

Yeah, I never met a microphone I didn’t like, but you knew that going into it, so it’s definitely your fault to some degree.

To all the professional media relations personnel in this market, you deserve a medal of honor for having to deal with me. I’ve written plenty of things that were critical of your respective franchises, and you still allow me to have access. That says a lot about your professional integrity, and I will always be thankful for that.

Special thanks to all those at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for allowing me to be a microscopic part of what goes on every year at the greatest facility in racing.

To the countless number of athletes who I’ve had the chance to speak with and in some cases get to know personally, my thanks. We both know I can be a pain in your lower backside extremity, but I can’t begin to get it right without your input.

Having met more high-profile sports figures than I could’ve ever dreamed of, I am without question extremely thankful.

To the editor, writers and various newsroom personnel at the Indianapolis Recorder, I apologize for missing multiple deadlines and for driving you crazy with phone calls. You’ve never censored me, and that says a lot. My sincere thanks to Robert, Oseye, Tyler, Breanna, Jeana and the countless number of other fine individuals who have been both helpful and tolerant of this Jimmy Olsen wannabe over the years. What a great group of professionals you are and, unlike myself, serious writers who truly define old-school journalism at its finest.

Finally, to those who read my offerings both in print and online, I thank you. I appreciate and respect all of you, including the ones who email me with colorful language, questioning both my intelligence quotient and my perspective on your favorite players. Your feedback is more valuable to me than you’ll ever realize, and I sincerely thank you for the correspondences.

Keep them coming, as your opinion counts. Thanks a million for reading the Indianapolis Recorder, and hopefully your Thanksgiving will indeed be rock solid.

Danny Bridges, who will again try to break the world record for the consumption of Thanksgiving delicacies this year, can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.

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