Playoff reading

It's baseball playoff time and even though the Brewers blew it cause they couldn't get no relief and the Cubs look destined to live with the curse yet another year, it's still a great time of year. And a great time to read a great book - Clemente by David Maraniss. I don't think I had seen Dave in 30 years, but heard him give a "speech" Thursday at RSVP of Dane County. The remarkable thing is it was just like listening to an old friend talk over a few beers. It was emotional to hear him talk about his baseball years as a teen, when guys would get on their bikes with gloves slung from the handlebars and spend the long summer days on the diamond on their own. no coaches. no schedules. no uniforms. no soccer moms. no little league dads. I guess that doesn't have a lot to do with Roberto Clemente, except to explain why Dave was fascinated by him, but Maraniss creates a loving portrait of one of the guys who gave baseball its style.