Always a good morning when I get @raecomm.bsky.social on the call of my VfB match!

Indiana's win over Alabama is the first time the higher-seeded has won a non-first-round game in the 12-game version of College Football Playoff after the first 9 games were all upsets (all 4 QF's, the two SF's and the final last year + the first two QF's this year). Wild!

I'm getting Morrisville 2022 MiLC vibes from tomorrow's Sharjah-Abu Dhabi match in ILT20. Squad lists feature Unmukt, Saurabh, Shadley, Shubham and Harmeet (granted the last two are presently occupied in Nepal, I think). Wild, eh, @brianbarrish.bsky.social?

Mornings like this, I simply look in the mirror and ask, "Why do I do this to myself?"

My Stuttgart squad (battling for UCL) go down in 17' to Hamburg (relegation-threatened), tie match early in 2nd half, threaten a gamewinner throughout next 30 min, go up a man in the 80'... and then fumble a 93' free kick just outside box into a counterattack shorthanded HSV goal to lose 2-1. 2/n

I rise at 5:30am to watch Chievo-Varesina (Serie D) and Hamburg-Stuttgart (1.BL) kicking off at 6:30... My top-of-the-table Chievo boys are *dominated* in possession by a team with 1 win so far, still somehow go up 1-0 in 70', then give up 2 in 5 min, then hit crossbar on last kick, lose 2-1. 1/n

Was listening to the radio call for the first few innings (cooking, not looking at the screen), but got back to the TV in time to hear Kevin Brown's first Seinfeld reference with Houston pitcher Jason Alexander... keep 'em coming, KB!

(Also, why couldn't we have started Kremer tonight?!)

Masanga ( instrumental ) - Jean Bosco Mwenda YouTube video by Rogelio G

Reading about the two-way feedback between African music and that of the Americas and was blown away to encounter what happens when, for instance, mbira technique meets acoustic guitar. Kind of obsessed with Jean Bosco Mwenda at the moment...

Hot damn

Wild ending to that... really thought Atkinson might get it done at the close there. Almost poetic, though, for Siraj to blast a stump out of the ground to clinch this tight win after just nudging a stump in the third Test to end India's pursuit in the other close match.

To be fair, Ganesh was drafted in 2024 on the heels of a brilliant performance in... 2023 Minor League Cricket. Tough to argue he's not worth a shot if he's outperforming those same youth players in that exact league.

Drinking coffee, reading "Black Music of Two Worlds" about how African musics influenced & melded with European and Amerindian in the "New World" to create what we have now... India-England cricket on TV in background.

In my best Ralph Wiggum voice, I exclaim "I'm having colonialism for breakfast!"

Dave Johnson is going through it right now on the @orioles.com game... How many more missed calls before he takes off the headset and goes down to scream at Tony Randazzo in person?

At the end of the day, all three of the top teams had their shot to end the run, and none of them could. Hats off to them; not a single one of those matches was straightforward.

Name's still awkward af.

Italian qualification for Men’s world cups since 2015:
Football/Calcio: 0
Cricket: 1

Italy is a cricket nation now

Somethings Awry(feat. Aaron Baker, Joe Hickey & Eli Moody), by Accidents at Sundown from the album Coming from a Bleeding Heart EP

Reminiscing on cool shit of years past... back in 2021, I contributed acoustic guitar to this awesome track by
@accidentsatsundown.bsky.social!

Well, so much for my weird dream of a 2-8 team making the MLC playoffs...

A matchup made in California Minor League Cricket! Unicorn/East Bay Blazer Sanjay Krishnamurthi facing off with Orca/LA Lashing Ayan Desai.

Now put Jariwala in an XI or we riot...

Cognizant Major League Cricket 2025 Match Highlights | Texas Super Kings vs MI New York YouTube video by MLC Network

Trent Boult miiiiiight be a cartoon character. If the timestamp doesn't work, go to 10:54, folks... you'll be glad you did. 🤣

I have to thank Andy Zaltzman and Alice Fraser for connecting the dots and introducing me to Josh on The Bugle and The Last Post. His bit on a Fiona Apple-based "trust fall into [his] partner's brain" a special or two ago wrecked me!

Hi folks! This is where I'll be doing most of my text-based interactions on social media from here out. Likely to be a little heavy on the DVC Athletics and cricket, light on the day-to-day. Follow my Instagram (@joehickey77) for the more personal stuff.