A whole new ballgame

Season 3 of the YES Network's Ultimate Road Trip unveiled last week. The UTR is a reality show on the Yankees' network, where a group of fans attend all 162 regular season Yankees baseball games and enjoy adventures as they follow their favorite team from city to city on the road trips. The show is hosted by the ever lovely Michelle Beadle, who previously hosted shows on The Discovery Channel, Travel Channel and also Animal Planet. She has also reported on Professional Bull riding for TNN, Under the Helmet, for the NFL, and many other sports programmes. Blonde, beautiful ... she could wear sweat pants and a T-shirt and read the phone book and I would tune in just to watch her.

Anyway ... the Road Trip. Unlike previous seasons, where 4 fans adventured together, this year's crew is split into two teams of three. They compete for prizes, as in previous years, but the twist this time around is that only one of the crews will actually attend games. I'm not sure if that this is a change for the better. Part of the great adventure was the camaraderie, and even though Road Trippers past would have mini-competitions for prizes, such as home electronics, CDs, airline tickets, etc., the "unity" of folks from diverse backgrounds getting together to cheer on the Yanks was what made this show likable.

The teams:
Homebodies (wearing the Yankee Pinstripe uniforms):
Brenda (wearing A-Rod's #13), Eddie (wearing Paul O'Neill's #21), and Dougy (wearing Lou Gehrig's #4)

Roadies (wearing the New York road Uniforms)
Justin (wearing Mariano Rivera's #42), Shelli (wearing Don Mattingly's #23), and Indio (wearing Hideki Matsui's #55)

About them:
You can probably get their "spin" on themselves on their own blogs.

Here is my initial impression:
Indio is from The Bronx, and grew up in the shadow of Yankee Stadium. He is of Guyanese and Puerto Rican ancestry, a true representative of the "melting pot" that the borough is known for. His intro showed the old neighborhood, the lot where he used to play stickball, and him hangin' with his chulos -- his good friends. He was the toughest one I had to come up with a nickname for. "Bronx" is abit too generic and "Papi" is already taken by that DH in New England. On his blog, he says that as the sole representative of the Bronx, he feels he is carrying the community on his shoulder -- so he is a kind of stevedore, in Spanish: "Estibador."

Brenda hails from Rochester, NY. An upstate girl, who worked her way up through the ranks to become a Manager at Wegman's food store. Now, if any of you have never experienced Wegman's, you are missing a treasure. They are huge and semi-upscale food/department stores. They combine the value of the big-box stores with top quality merchandise. She has the requisite ton of Yankee memorabilia in her bedroom, and retains a girly-girl quality. She looks great in pink, and is a true beauty with strawberry blonde hair. And her friends are hot! Nickname: "Strawberry."

Eddie seems to be a favorite, having come close to being a road tripper in previous auditions. This time he has made the grade. He fits the image of the "Italian guy from Brooklyn," who now lives in Queens. He is a teacher by day, and photographer/greeter/host at nightclubs by night. He seems popular with the ladies and doesn't miss the opportunity to let people know. If I were cruel, I'd tag him as "Iroc" or "Lounge-lizard," but the URT season is young. For now, he's "Clubthumper."

Next up is Shelli, a cutie from Bakersfield, CA. In some regards, she reminds me of The Fairest of Them All --Christa Robinson. West coast gal who loves the Yanks and has come to New York to make it in the TV sports business. Shelli is depicted as an athletic type, a real tomboy. No Barbies for her -- an old photo shows her decked out in catcher's gear, and her dad tells us she has had 3 concussions. She seems to have a bit of a competitive streak. Nickname: "CaliforniaGrrrl."

Justin is straight out of Central Casting for "The Black Donnellys," with the typical "Black Irish" looks and good-time demeanor. He is the fourth-generation of a clan that runs the oldest family-owned bar in New York City, Peter McManus Cafe in Chelsea. Seeing as how "The Black Donnellys" just got canceled by NBC, nicknames referencing that fine show will seem quaint by season's end. Given the family business, and that he was cast for looks, Justin earns the nickname "Muggs."

Dougy is the Jersey boy of the bunch. He has the requisite Yankees shrine at home, and is shown as the youngest brother of the family. He seems to have a hot competitive streak, playing tennis and other sports. First impression is that he may tend to not take losing very well. On the plus side he seems very intelligent, and works as a librarian. Yes, that's right. A librarian. From the suburbs of Jersey. OK, maybe it does not have the same ring to it as the guy from the streets of the Bronx, or the brawler from Brooklyn, or the Irish guy who keeps order in the bar. But I think Dougy has what it takes to hold his own. Hence the nickname: "Conan the Librarian."

The first competition is held at Richmond County Bank Ballpark the home of the New York Yankees' Single-A affiliate, the Staten Island Yankees (aka the Baby Bombers), located along the waterfront at St. George, the northernmost tip of Staten Island. The first three contests pit one member of the Homebodies versus the Roadies in games of Hustle, Skill and Knowledge.

In Hustle, each competitor has ten minutes to find baseballs that are hidden within the confines of the ballpark. "Estibador" goes slow and steady, methodically going section-by-section. "Strawberry" seems to is not having as much success, berated by her teammates for a lack of hustle. The pretty lass overlooks some areas, and Indio takes advantage. In the end he brings home an early lead for the Roadies, as "Strawberry" can't make it back from dead centerfield in time to get a crucial pair of balls home.

Skill tests the players' ability to lay down a bunt, as thrown by a batting-practice pitching machine. "Clubthumper" whiffs on his first three tries, but finds his groove, dropping six of the next seven perfectly. "CaliGrrrl" does not do as well, making only 3, but she did make good contact and had several roll foul. We see a bit of her temper, which does not do Donnie Baseball's #23 proud. Grrrr, CaliGrrrl. If you insist on wearing #23, you better live up to the legacy.

Knowledge consists of 10 Yankees trivia questions. #1 name the 2 Yankee Hall of Fame Players who won the triple crown (Mickey Mantle and Gehrig); #2 In which stadium did The Babe famously call his homerun (Wrigley Field); #3 How many times did Billy Martin serve as Yankees' manager (five); #4 What was Brain Cashman's first job in the Yankees' organization (intern); #5 What is Yogi Berra's real name (Lawrence Peter Berra); #6 How many American League Pennants have the Yankees won (39); #7 who was the last Yankee to hit for the cycle (Tony Fernandez); #8 Name 3 Yankees to have won 3 MVP awards (Mantle, Berra, Joe DiMaggio); #9 Mariano Rivera notched save #400 versus which team (Chicago White Sox); and #10 name 1 of 3 Yankees to have pitched a no-hitter versus the Red Sox (Dave Righetti, Allie Reynolds, George Mogridge);

Each contestant could receive help on only one question. "Conan the Librarian" rocked. He got 9 out of 10 correct, missing only #8 by naming Lou Gehrig instead of Joe D. He really did not need any help, but looked to his teammates to confirm the Billy Martin question. "Muggs" didn't do as well. His intro segment had built him up to be a fountain of Yankee knowledge, but he ended up getting only 2 out of 10 right.

As a result, the homebodies scored the tickets for Opening Day and the series that followed. The roadies sort of sulked. I'm not sure I'm going to like seeing things get ugly when the competitive spirit turns the Yankee fans against each other. It was much better when there was a spirit of teamwork, sometimes even taking things a little easier so that one of their fellow Road Trippers can win a prize they had their eye on. I foresee things getting a little more cutthroat with this bunch. I'm hoping I''m wrong, as some of the new crew (Indio, Justin) seem like genuinely nice folks, and I'd hate to see greed and heated competition bring out the worst in them.