Fantasy baseball
Just completed the second leg of the Ultimate Baseball Fan Fantasy Trip. After taking my son to a game Thursday afternoon, three rows above the home team's dugout, I received a last-minute invitation from a well-connected co-worker to come back to The Ballpark at Arlington for an evening in a luxury suite.

As much as I rail about how corporations are sticking their fingers and their pocketbooks so deep into sports that the casual fan is being shut out, I must say: The view from their side looks pretty nice.

The luxury suites at the Ballpark are on the club level, just above the box seats. The one I was in last night was just a nudge to the third-base side of home plate -- a great view to watch the movement on the pitches and to follow the flight of the ball off the bat. Suite patrons have the choice of sitting outside, watching the game from real baseball stadium seats (my preference), or sitting in air-conditioned comfort with a full bar, finger foods and a fruit basket. A server comes by in about the fifth inning with a dessert menu. The best part: Each suite has its own ultra-clean restroom.

Oh, yeah, there was a ballgame, too. Detroit Tigers pitcher Jeff Weaver took a no-hitter into the sixth inning but stumbled in the eighth, as the Rangers posted a 2-0 victory. After Weaver walked speedster Calvin Murray in the eighth, back-to-back doubles from Mike Young and Alex Rodriguez sealed the deal for the Rangers. Kenny Rogers, despite not being at his sharpest, helped himself with four solid defensive plays to eke out eight shutout innings. Hideki Irabu (or, as George Steinbrenner once called him, The Fat Toad) pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save.

Whatever it was I was complaining about earlier, I rescind it. All of a sudden, it's a pretty good time to be me.