Baseball on Good Friday

A television station in Scranton, Pa., is not airing the Scranton/Wikes-Barre Red Barons' opening home game because it falls on Good Friday. It's good to see the many Catholics in that area standing up for this important day on the calendar, although the station's replacement shows aren't exactly stellar.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/14343719.htm

For those of you wondering how news from Scranton made the blog, I admit there is also a bias involved. I attended the University of Scranton, a small Jesuit institution (OK, insert Jesuit university joke here) in the Pocono Mountains in Northeast Pa. I had a pretty good experience there. At least when I was there, you could find an authentic faith experience grounded in the tradition and teachings of the church if you took initiative. That journey led me to some outstanding Jesuits who balanced faith and reason, including one, Fr. Brendan Lally, who changed my life with his student mission programs. I haven't been there in more than 10 years, so I don't know how much has changed. I pray it hasn't gone the way of Notre Dame.

Getting back to baseball, the news from Scranton reminds of two years ago, when Boston Red Sox fans sought a dispensation from the archdiocese to eat hot dogs on Fridays during the Lent. The church's answer? "Nice try."