Two sports in one day is a lot for any fan, especially when traversing back and forth acros he Sunshine State as Mrs. Frederick and I did, taking in a Tampa Rays game and then driving back home to catch the second half of the Magic-Lakers game.
Today didn't start too well. I had a migraine so bad, Mrs. Frederick took over the driving after 1 1/2 hours on the way to Tropicana Field. That gave me a chance to take a nap. And what a great game. Evan Longoria didn't play, thanks to a hamstring, but Carl Crawford hit a homer and later in the game, B.J. Upton hit a 2-run homer to put the Rays in front for good over the Kansas City Royals who got a strong pitching performance from Gil Meche. The Rays' James Field was just as strong on the mound.
But our minds were on game 1 between the visiting Magic and the L.A. Lakers. We listened to the first half on ESPN radio on Sirius, with Orlando getting off to a solid start in the first quarter. But in the second quarter, Dwight Howard picked up his second foul. After that, he wasn't much of a factor.
Mrs. Frederick and I weren't too thrilled with Jameer Nelson playing, only because we feared it would hurt the backfield chemistry that the Magic had built in the Cleveland series. But the team, overall played horribly. And seeing J.J. Redick in the fourth quarter was not a pretty sight, with an array of air balls and missed layups.
Kobe Bryant, of course, had a monster game with 40 points to lead the Lakers to a 100-75 opening game blowout. Bryant took care of business tonight.