Blogwatch: Is Internet your ‘senior moment?’

My dad is 81. He has been a Detroit Tigers fans since 1934.

He turned 9 during that season. Without a dime to his family’s name, he was able to follow the exploits of his beloved Charlie Gehringer, Schoolboy Rowe, Mickey Cochrane and Hank Greenberg through the magic of radio, which had grown common in America’s Depression-ridden households.

But he really got his daily fix through the Los Angeles Times, or the Herald, or any other of three or four local newspapers he could – now he’s going to be mad at me for saying this, but it’s true – swipe.

My son is 22. He’s been a Mariners fan his whole life. Even though he lives in California, he follows Felix Hernandez, Ichiro and the rest through the magic of the Internet, which has grown common in America’s households.

And thanks to the Web, he can get his daily fix from The Spokesman-Review, the Seattle Times and all the other local Seattle newspapers.

Times have changed, but the Times haven’t, if you get my drift.

Newspapers are still our connection to sports, the eyes, ears and mouth of their loyal readers, observing games, listening to comments and asking questions for you, the fan.

That’s our job and it will be, hopefully, for years to come.

But how you want the news is changing.

My son wouldn’t dream of buying his local paper. But he also wouldn’t dream of skipping a day online checking out the latest news on the M’s. And when Bill Bavasi makes his latest stone-headed move, he picks up his cell phone and calls, so I can put something on SportsLink.

See, for the first time in his life, Tyler is reading what his dad writes. Because it’s on the Web. Like Bill Simmons, his favorite sportswriter. It carries a cachet with him that the newspaper never supplied.

My dad only reads what I write if I print it out and mail it to him. Big print. Snail mail.

A computer? Not in his house. If he wants to know what time the Tigers game is on TV, he’ll look it up in the paper. Or he’ll dial (no, he doesn’t still have a dial phone, but I think he’d like to) his son and ask.

He wants his sports news as much as his grandson does. He just wants it delivered the tried-and-true, ink-on-paper way.

He’s fixed in his ways.

Are you? I’m trying to connect with seniors – hey, I’m about to send my first check to AARP, so I can use that term, right? – who love what the Web has to offer.

I know the 18-to-35 demographic is logging on and making sports connections – and I’m hearing from them – but how about the greatest generation and its near neighbors? Are any of you clicking your way through retirement? And do you get to SportsLink (spokesmanreview. com/ blogs/sportslink/)?

If you do, let me know by e-mailing me at vinceg@spokesman.com. If you don’t, try it and let me know what you think.

By the way, you know whom the Tigers played in the 1934 World Series? The St. Louis Cardinals, who just might be their 2006 World Series opponent.

Detroit lost in seven games in ‘34. My dad was crushed. It took him until 1968 to get over it.