During the series with the Phillies, I got a call from a guy in Brooklyn, NY, who was watching the game on TBS. "What's that dog doing behind home plate?" On my small TV monitor, I couldn't make out a dog, and did my best to explain that the dog HAD to be a service animal. "No, can't be, it's much too small, it's sitting on that guy's lap." We visited for awhile, and he finally hung up. A minute later, another call, also from someone with an Eastern accent, but this from a local area code. Same question about the dog. Same assurances about a service animal. When the Rockies went ahead, the local fan called back - "That dog is gone now, and the Rockies scored! Keep that dog somewhere else until the game is over!"

A day or two later, there was an item on the local news. Same dog, same guy from the ballpark. (Lots of people had seen the dog, and called to inquire of the press, it seems.) The dog's owner had been injured in an accident and is now confined to a wheelchair. The little dog has been trained to pick things up for him, and other service animal type assists. The owner is a rabid Rockies fan and comes to quite a few games. One of the persons with a seat behind home plate couldn't attend, and offered him the plum seat, which of course, put him AND his dog on camera whenever the camera angle was from center field looking in toward the plate.

Monday night, actually early Tuesday morning, the Brooklyn guy called me back! He was full of good cheer and sincere congratulations. I was so pleased to hear from him again. One of the nice little perks of working a switchboard late into the night.

On Sunday, after winning two games in Phoenix, the Rox were back in town, three games scheduled, and it rained all day. Sometimes heavy, sometimes a drizzle, sometimes just steady downfall. We had a six pm first pitch and I signed in at noon. The calls complaining about the prospect of a game in the rain were unremitting. Keep in mind, that for years Denver has been a football town. The term Broncomania is an established fixture of our local lexicon. Some of the NFL games played in the snow and televised nationally are still referred to as "snowbowls." I was just amazed at the number of people who faced coming to a baseball game in the rain with dismay and reluctance. One caller even proposed that the team members place a call to Major League Baseball in NY and announce they would not take the field, fearing injury! We played the game, and the Rockies defense was impressive. In the rain, handling a wet baseball, with slippery footing in the grass, they turned double plays in three successive innings to open the game. The grounds crew ran out of the stuff they spread on the base paths to soak up moisture, and at one point the TV cameras picked up the sight of a forklift heading out toward third base, filled with bags of the stuff brought out of the warehouse storage under the field.

Standing outside on Blake Street, fans without tickets can look through the plate glass window and watch the game on one of the TV sets in the lobby where I sit. Occasionally someone comes in to ask a favor. "Do you have a spoon?" Since this is, basically, an office; "No, I'm sorry, I don't have any eating utensils." "Do you have superglue?" Superglue? I still am not sure what need could possibly have arisen where superglue would come in handy, but no, I don't have that either. Two glue sticks, but no superglue.

Monday evening, after the win, and in the middle of all the post game excitement at about midnight, someone called in inquire if I could sell him a National League championship T shirt! I couldn't think of a sensible reply to that, and told him as much. He could go to a sporting goods store in the morning, they would be on sale. And I was right, the various screen printing places that do this sort of thing were featured on the Tuesday AM news, they worked all night printing shirts.

As I came to work on Monday afternoon, I passed the various broadcast teams in the tunnel, on their way to interview the Rockies and the Diamondbacks. I stifled an urge to trip the TBS team which has been so startled that they came to the NLCS and found a good team winning. But I do confess that I did, oh so briefly, consider swinging my left foot just a l-i-t-t-l-e bit to the side!