Wash out

Bad weather and even worse scheduling threw us a curveball this weekend. Our usual local teams were on the road and our backup plan -- UMass Lowell baseball -- was foiled by Mother Nature delivering us rain and temperatures more like November than May.

We're fortunate to live within (what we consider)reasonable driving distance of several minor-league teams: the Portland Sea Dogs, Pawtucket Red Sox, New Hampshire Fisher Cats and Connecticut Defenders. However, in the rare instance when they're all out of town, we look to alternate sources for baseball. Right now, it's the end of the college baseball season and later this month, the Can-Am League gets started (and the Nashua Pride and Worcester Tornadoes are a long toss away).

This weekend, however, the weather had other plans for us, and the UMass Lowell River Hawks weren't able to play today as scheduled. We enjoy seeing the River Hawks not just because of the good quality of play, but also because they play in LeLacheur Park, home of the Lowell Spinners of the New York Penn League. The Spinners (who also haven't started their season yet) can be a tough ticket, so going to a River Hawks game is a great chance to enjoy the park -- and admission is free.

So we had to settle for baseball on TV. We revved up the HDTV and enjoyed some widescreen, high-definition Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals on the FOX Game of the Week and the Red Sox vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. Ironically, the Red Sox were the only team in town this weekend, and even tickets to see the Rays are virtually impossible to come by. But you know what? We just as happy to be warm and dry and watching at home than in the drizzle and 40s at Fenway!