The tributes have been pouring in for director/actor/producer Sydney Pollack who died of cancer on Monday.  Venerable actors like Sally Field, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, and Paul Newman, all of whom acted in films Pollack directed, had very nice things to say about Pollack the man and director.  And more contemporary luminaries like Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise add their praise.

Not as much has been said in praise of his acting.  I was happy every time I saw Pollack appear in a movie or TV show because IMO it always made the movie better.  Made of Honor was the last movie he appeared in, and even that raised the movie a notch above boring to me.  He was at his best in Michael Clayton last year.  His straight, dead-pan delivery always belied the drama or comedy that he conveyed.  It was never over-the-top but always dead on.  I’ll miss seeing him in movies, and maybe I’ll have a festival of Sydney Pollack-directed movies right here at home this week.

As far as I’m concerned, today should be a national holiday.  It’s Opening Day of the baseball season.  I know, the Red Sox and A’s played two games in Japan, and the Braves and Nationals played a game last night.  But today, there are 14 games being played and 26 teams opening their season.

Now, I know baseball has had its problems over the last 10-15 years with steroids, but the game never really lost its uniqueness or competitive balance (enough players from at least of the teams were taking steroids to balance it out).  During the “steroid era,” baseball has had record attendance year after year not to mention labor peace since 1994 (something no other major American sport except football can claim, and their steroid problem has been at least as bad).