A Large Regular
Chris Lynch's slanted view on sports, politics and entertainment. Please send thoughts or comments to chris.lynch@gmail.com
Hey - I used to be Hunter S. Thompson!
When I first started going to visit ESPN.com's Page 2 - it was a great place. You had David Halberstam, Hunter S. Thompson and of course Bill Simmons the [Boston] Sportsguy. All three on a regular basis.
After 9/11 - Halberstam decided that he should spend his time on more worthy pursuits. Bill Simmons then abandoned his readers and now mails in his columns from Hollywood. When Simmons first took the job with Jimmy Kimmel Live I predicted that his Page 2 stuff would go right to shit. Think about it - when's the last time you saw even a half-decent reader mailbag from Simmons? Did the readers stop emailing him or did he just start using the best material for the show? Come to think of it - when's the last time you saw a reader mailbag from Simmons? Maybe the readers have stopped emailing him because he was just stealing their stuff for the show.
This rant isn't about Simmons though - it's about Hunter S. - a man who is an icon to those of us of a certain age. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a classic book. Thompson has been played on the big screen by both Bill Murray and Johnny Depp. He used to be big. He used to be something.
Now he's not really even good enough for Page 2. Sure they still put his stuff up but it's almost always on the sidebar where the old material goes. His Internet postings have become the equivalent of direct to video movies. Some of the writers who get the prime Page 2 locations couldn't hold Hunter's jock back when he had his fastball. But Hunter doesn't have his fastball anymore - now he mails it in.
Sometimes I wonder if Hunter just takes his betting slips for the week and then dictates who he took with little side stories mixed in for his Page 2 offerings. Fifteen minutes worth of effort? Twenty tops. It's a shame because the guy who posts on ESPN.com's Page 2 used to be Hunter S. Thompson and Hunter S. Thompson used to be must reading.
I Need More Cowbell!
Happy 61st birthday to Christopher Walken. My five favorite Walken movies:
1. The Dead Zone
2. Pulp Fiction
3. Suicide Kings
4. Biloxi Blues
5. The Deer Hunter
NIT - Time to hang it up
Is there anything more meaningless than the NIT? In the "old days" the NIT was on an equal footing to the NCAA tournament but now it's just the losers bracket for post season college basketball. If your team wasn't good enough to make the field of 65 - then just call it a season.
The NIT should reinvent themselves as a pre-season tournament (which they have to some extent) and also maybe a holiday tournament (between Christmas and New Years). The holiday tournament would be a nice trip to NYC for many clubs and there wouldn't be too much sports competition on TV (just early season NBA, NHL and lower tier bowl games).
Whatever they do - they should end the post season tournament. It's time has come and gone already.
Redbird Nation
Very interesting post in Redbird Nation regarding the Cardinals' front office asking bloggers what they thought the Cardinals should be offering to shortstop Edgar Renteria.
The initial conclusion is 5-years at $10 million per year.
The post draws heavily from this post in The Hardball Times (which I was going to link to this morning anyway). The author of the Hardball Times post was Doug Pappas and his Doug's Business of Baseball Blog is one of the blogs I planned to add to my blogroll today.
Getting back to the Redbird Nation post - as a Red Sox fan this interests me because Renteria is our Plan B if Nomar goes free agent and signs elsewhere. Five-years at $10 million per year? The Red Sox would do that or top that in a heartbeat. My guess is that the Cardinals were probably hoping the sabermetric folks would lower the salary expectations to about $9 million per year. The sabermetric folks would be able to both justify what the front office offers and provide them with cover (with sportswriters and fans) in case the $9 million per year was rejected and Renteria signed elsewhere.
Renteria is a free agent at the end of the year and although it makes sense to try and figure out what a player is worth from the front office's perspective - it makes more sense to the player to let the market determine the player's value.
Next off-season the Red Sox will be setting the bar with their offer to Nomar (my guess is $12-13 million per year). Garciappara may see what the Dodgers have to offer - if they trump the Red Sox offer then that puts the Red Sox into the bind of needing to get a replacement like Renteria. (Although the Red Sox may opt to move Pokey Reese to short and then go after a second baseman like Jose Vidro because top prospect Hanley Ramirez is about ready for the big club.) Also don't count the Mariners out of the shortstop bidding.
It will be interesting how this plays out. (Don't you just love baseball? What other sport has you wondering who will be playing where next season even before Opening Day?)
Jim O'Brien
The success of John Carroll and the Boston Celtics has raised the question in my mind whether Jim O'Brien could have taken these same players to the brink of the playoffs like his replacement John Carroll has.
If Jim O'Brien remained as head coach I think the Celtics would have wrapped up a lottery position by now instead of fighting for the 7th or 8th playoff spot. That statement is more an indictment of his coaching philosophy than anything else. His fronting style of defense and resultant slowed down transition game had become an anchor. Teams who faced the Celtics often were able to easily exploit the fronting defense by quickly rotating the ball and taking a jumper (which put the big man who was being fronted into the natural position for the rebound) or quickly swinging the ball and then dumping the ball down to the big man who switched from one side of the baseline to the other (done quickly the player goes from having the defender in front of him to having the defender on his back just feet from the basket).
I see John Carroll having the team play aggressive defense and attacking offense and I wonder if Jim O'Brien could have gotten the players to do this. The up tempo style is exactly what Danny Ainge thought the Celtics needed and I think he was right.
O'Brien was probably the beneficiary of timing more than anything else. When Pitino left - the team was beaten down. Just having Pitino gone was a relief to the players and they responded by playing loose and winning some games. Suddenly O'Brien went from being the interim coach to being the head coach.
When O'Brien quit earlier in the year - most Boston sportswriters had nothing but good things to say about him and they all said he wouldn't be out of work for long. I question whether that's true.
First off - he quit. He couldn't (or wouldn't) do the things his new GM asked him to do - so he quit. He didn't like the personnel changes - so he quit. Second - John Carroll's success in implementing what O'Brien couldn't or wouldn't makes you question O'Brien's initial success as Boston coach as just maybe one of those things. Third - when O'Brien was head coach at Dayton - he wasn't exactly coach of the year material. He may get the job interviews but I wouldn't be surprised if he went a couple of years between jobs and then wound up as either an NBA assistant again or a college head coach at a mid-major.
Happy Birthday Hagrid
OK - I'm a geek. Today is Robbie Coltrane's 54th birthday. Coltrane plays Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies. In fact when Coltrane was trying to figure out the best way to play Hagrid - he asked author JK Rowling how he should play the character - Rowling answered something like, "Just be yourself - I had you in mind when I wrote the character."
Dodger Thoughts
- This was a recent exchange during a Q&A session with 3rd base / outfielder Jason Grabowski at AthleticsNation.com (actually held the day that DePodesta was named GM of the Dodgers):
Question: Do you think Paul DePodesta leaving to go to the Dodgers will have a big impact on the A's immediately?
Grabowski: I haven't heard that Paul has left. If he has, that is a great opportunity for him and he definitely deserves it. I think it will have an impact but not as far as on the field production. If anything it gives Billy another team to trade with! Paul did a lot of things for the organization that nobody will ever know about, so to lose him is like losing Billy. They are both great guys and I will miss Paul. I wish him the best.
Another team to trade with? Well he got that right as Grabowski was traded to DePodesta's Dodgers. Grabowski will be the left handed batter off the bench and I bet the Dodgers hope he develops enough to be insurance in case Adrian Beltre walks as a free agent after this year (or maybe DePodesta thinks Grabowski is developed enough right now to make Beltre and his $5 million contract trade bait).
- Jason Romano has been the best Dodger hitter in spring training BY FAR. The Dodgers need offense more than anything. Can this be the end for light hitting centerfielder Dave Roberts or light hitting 2nd baseman Alex Cora?
- The Dodgers got Jayson Werth in a trade with Toronto today that sent pitcher Jason Frasor to the Blue Jays. The deal makes sense in that Toronto is stacked with outfielders and the Dodgers are stacked with pitchers plus JP Ricchardi gets to break the ice with old friend Paul DePodesta. Werth is out of options - so he will be on the 25 man roster.
- The Jason (Romano), Jayson (Werth) and Jason (Grabowski) developments make me think that DePodesta is just getting started. Adrian Beltre just became expendable (Ventura and Grabowski can play third). Odalis Perez has been on the block all winter. Look for DePodesta to make a move for a big 1st base bat (maybe Adam Dunn and his .379 career OBP or Sean Casey and his contract the Reds wouldn't mind moving) or maybe a big 2nd base bat (Jose Vidro?). Maybe these moves a are a prelude to a monster Beltre and Perez (plus former Met Todd Hundley thrown in to even off the dollars) trade to the Mets for Mike Piazza?
- Why would the Dodgers waste a roster spot on Bubba Trammel? Sure he won't cost much for this year but his AB's would be better spent on Romano or Dave Ross. Dumping Trammel would be a way for DePodesta to show "there's a new sheriff in town" (Trammel was a pick up of former GM Dan Evans). If Trammel does stick on the 25 man roster - I would have to question if maybe some agreement is in place with the Commissioner's office (Trammel's salary will be mostly paid by MLB this year).
D'oh!
This morning I said that Jarome Iginla won the scoring championship last year in the NHL but that was in 2002. Last year - Peter Forsberg won the scoring title.
Thanks to Keith in Toronto for pointing that out!
26 Years Ago Today
In 1978 on this date - the Red Sox traded for Dennis Eckersley who would go on to win 20 games for the Sox. Eckersley and Jim Rice were the stars of the team that year. Not to pour salt on old wounds but what started so promising with the trade for Eckersley ended so badly with the bat of Bucky F****** Dent.
Derek Jeter
Jeter went 0-5 in today's Opening Day game. Isn't it time that Torre dropped Jeter down to 8th or 9th in the order and moved A-Rod over to the shortstop position. Jeter is killing this team!!
Heh heh - just wanted to be the first one of the season to say it.
More Derek Lowe
OK - now I can't stop thinking about Derek Lowe (not in a gay way though - not that there's anything wrong with that).
If Lowe does play elsewhere - Detroit and the Mets would be the best fits. Texas, Colorado and the Yankees would be the worst fits. Lowe is from Michigan so the Tigers would be like coming home and the expectations wouldn't be crushing because it's the Tigers. The Mets would be a good fit because Shea is a pitchers' park and the Mets have a good infield. Texas and Colorado would be mistakes because of the parks. The Yankees would be wrong because he has a career 4.91 ERA at Yankee Stadium and he would become the equivalent of Jeff Weaver and Kenny Rodgers quicker than you could say fifth starter.
The Braves would also be a good fit and they could drop Russ Ortiz next year to pick up Lowe.
When you look at the players most similar and most similar by age via Baseball-Reference.com - you come away pretty unimpressed.
Earlier I mentioned Bruce Hurst as a player Lowe may want to think about when making his decision. Another player who Lowe should think about is Chan Ho Park who was another Scott Boras client. Park took the big money to leave the comforting pitcher's womb of Chavez Ravine and now he has become a punch line (but at most he got that money that Boras promised him).
I do hope that the Red Sox can keep Lowe because if he plays half his games at Fenway - he's an almost guaranteed 17 wins per year.
Dead Pool
First Peter Ustinov and now Alistair Cooke - who will fill out the famous person trio? If I was a well known narrarator of documentary films I would be fearing the reaper right about now. I hope David McCullough has life insurance.
Derek Lowe
I know that at this point in time all players going into their free agent year posture for a contract before Opening Day with "threats" of "I'm going to play out the year and then move on" but in the case of Derek Lowe - I hope he gets especially good counsel regarding his future.
My understanding is that the Red Sox have offered a 3-year $27 million contract and that this is unacceptable to Lowe and his agent Scott Boras. I hope that Lowe realizes that the best he'll probably get from the Red Sox is a Andy Pettitte like 3-year $31.5 million hometown discount contract. I also hope that Lowe realizes that there is a reason why his ERA is a run lower at Fenway than on the road.
Two years from now I think Lowe would be happier with the Red Sox than with another team that pays him $1 million more per year than what the Red Sox offered but where he carries and ERA of about 4.50.
Lowe should keep an eye on another Boras client - Kevin Millwood who was offered a Andy Pettitte like contract from the Phillies. This year if Millwood has another barely over .500 season he will be hard pressed to match what the Phillies offered last year. Sometimes the devil you know is much better than the devil you don't.
I hope Bruce Hurst takes the time to talk with Lowe before Lowe makes any decision on his future. Hurst can tell him what it was like to take more money to play elsewhere and how he always regarded it as one of the big mistakes in his life.
100 Years Ago
Many people say that Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling and Derek Lowe give the Red Sox the best starting rotation in their history. Just for some perspective on how things have changed - 100 years ago the Boston Pilgrims (soon to be the Red Sox) had Cy Young, Bill Dineen and Norwood Gibson as their top three starters. That trio went a combined 66-44 with 106 complete games and 16 shut-outs.
Don't get me wrong - I agree that Pedro, Schilling and Lowe give the Red Sox their best rotation in history. I just wanted to give some perspective on on pitching has changed from 100 years ago.
NHL Image Problem
Quick - can you name the leading scorer in the NHL?
Todd Bertuzzi's name has been etched into our consciousness and that's not a good thing for the NHL. Now that the NHL season is almost over - can you name the leading scorer? When you think of the NHL - what player do you think of?
Many people I believe would answer Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux when asked that question. That's a bad thing for the NHL. Those guys don't play anymore (Mario is really retired like Michael Jordan at this point - he only played 10 games this year). More people now know Todd Bertuzzi than know who the leading scorer is (for those scoring at home - the answer is Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning).
How many people knew that Jarome Iginla was the leading scorer last year?
I blame the NHL for this lack of public awareness. Bettman was brought in because he was supposed to be a marketing genius from the NBA (it wasn't his connection to hockey that got him the job) but the marketing has been awful. More people know Todd Bertuzzi than Martin St. Louis - that's an abject failure on the part of the NHL.
Red Sox Rotation
There is a school of thought that says the Red Sox should use Tim Wakefield in between Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling so that the hitters would see a gamit of different pitching styles. Supposedly this would keep the batters off balance.
I don't agree with this thinking. Maybe in game going from a fireballing Schilling to a soft tossing Wakefield would make sense (and this in part explains why Wakefield had success as a closer) but when the players get to have a full night's sleep before seeing the next starter - I don't think it makes any sense at all or makes any difference.
Making Schilling the number 3 behind Pedro and Wakefield may only keep Schilling from getting his last extra start and I would HATE if the Red Sox finished a single game behind the Yankees just because the management wanted to give the hitters different looks.
Interesting
Did you know that Gene Hackman was the original choice of the show's producers to play Mr. Brady on The Brady Bunch but the studio insisted on Robert Reed?
Scott's Shots
A regular feature over at BostonSportsMediaWatch.com is Scott's Shots. It is well worth the read (a couple of the observations are laugh out loud funny).
Caddyshack SPV
Mentioning Caddyshack this morning made me wonder what Star Power Value (SPV) the movie had - so I checked.
Caddyshack - SPV 30 (Chase 6, Dangerfield 3, Knight 1, O'Keefe 2, Murray 13, Holcomb (Maggie) 2, Colomby (D'Annunzio) 3).
I would have thought that the SPV would have been higher. Did you know that Sarah Holcomb who played Maggie also played the underage girl who gets pregnant in Animal House? Did you know that Ted Knight was the narrarator on Super Friends?
Holy Crap
Brendan Donnelly has been hospitalized after losing half the blood in his body due to nosebleeds he started to experience after being hit in the nose by a baseball.
I shouldn't kid about this but I hope that the folks at the hospital also thought to check Donnelly's neck for two small puncture wounds. If Donnelly later demands to only play in night games - I'll be officially scared.
(found via the Baseball Crank)
Victor Davis Hanson
VDH has a new post on his website that describes the difference between Israel and Palestine. My only disagreement with VDH is the fact that he thinks most Americans can see the clear moral difference between the two factions - I'm not so sure.
Give Danny Ainge some credit
Consider the following:
Antoine Walker is 29-years old and has averaged 14.2 points / 8.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Dallas Mavericks this year while playing 35.3 minutes per game.
Jiri Welsch is 24-years old and has averaged 9.1 points / 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists for the Celtics this year while playing just 26.4 minutes per game.
Antoine also leads Jiri in blocks per game but Jiri leads Walker in almost every other statistical category including steals per game, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and 3-pointer field goal percentage.
The Celtics traded Walker (and Tony Delk) to Dallas for Raef LaFrenz, Jiri Welsch and also a first round draft pick. Never mind the fact that Walker's contract demands would have crippled the Celtic's ability to improve themselves beyond the point of first round playoff fodder - the talent Ainge got in return is pretty good.
Welsch has improved all year and is now a fan favorite. At this point I don't think it is unreasonable to wonder whether a 24-year old healthy Jiri Welsch was worth a 29-year old creaky knee Antoine Walker straight up. The fact that Ainge got a first round pick and Raef LaFrenz is a bonus.
My Confession
Yup - I watched the entire 2-hour finale to ESPN's Dream Job. I couldn't believe that neither of the two finalists knew that Judge Smails nephew's name was Spaulding. How can you be a sports anchor and not know every detail about Caddyshack?
Was I the only one who thought that if the viewing audience was given the choice of cutting one of the two finalists or keeping the two finalists and cutting Stewart Scott - that Scott would be out of a job today?
Smoking in Ireland
A near complete ban on smoking in pubs and in all workplaces is about to go into effect in Ireland. Let me say for the record that I don't smoke (except for an occasional cigar) and also let me say for the record that this is a huge mistake.
Pub owners will see a decrease in business and instead of having a bartender and a waitress - maybe they just go with a bartender (sorry Sheila - we need to lay you off). The smoking ban won't promote any new tourism from the US (if someone wants to go to Ireland it won't be because Ireland is smoke free and Hawaii isn't) but it will cut down on tourism from other European countries (where smoking is a God given right).
If smoke free pubs were in demand - don't you think someone would have opened one? Instead the Irish will have the government telling folks what is good for them and what they can and cannot do. That is a mistake.
But Chris - what about the second hand smoke? Tell that to Sheila who just lost her job at the pub - I'm sure it will be a consolation to her. And let me get this straight - it is the second hand smoke and not the pints that are the real health hazard? Oh - yeah that's right - the pints are next on the list.
Three cheers for Mayor Lou Merloni
The Indians traded Ricky Gutierrez to the Mets allowing them to keep non-roster invitee Lou Merloni on the opening day roster. Good for Mayor Lou Merloni!
For those who have no idea what I'm talking about - Lou Meroni got the nickname "the Mayor" while he was with the Red Sox because he was from nearby Framingham (and let's face it - Lou was a bit of a politician during his days in Boston). I have always liked Lou because he strikes you as a guy who works his tail off and makes the most of his talent. I hope he has a great season for the Indians (God I hope I didn't just jinx him).
Blogroll Update
Today I'm adding Mark Steyn (because everyone should read him) plus both MLB.com and the Official Site of the Boston Red Sox (just to make clicking to those sites easier for us baseball junkies).
Just saying
Jeromy Burnitz is listed as a 40-1 shot to lead baseball in HR this season. I think 50 HR will take the crown this year (probably closer to 45 than to 50) and Burnitz could be the long shot guy to do it. He has averaged 30 HR over the past 7 years and now half his at bats will come at Coors Field. Just saying is all....
Mark Steyn on Richard Clarke
Read this column by Mark Steyn on Richard Clarke.
The more I think about it - the more I think that if Clarke is found to have lied in his testimony either to Congress in 2002 or last week to the 9/11 Commission then he should face the same sort of charges that Martha Stewart had to face. Stewart's insider trading pales in comparison with what Clarke has alleged and the trouble it has caused.
Atlanta Braves
Last year at this time - people wanted to bury the Braves because they lost Tom Glavine and Kevin Millwood. This year many people are making the same mistake because they lost Sheffield, Lopez and Maddux. People seem to forget that last year the Braves ran away with the division and had offense to spare. Sure they lost some offense but they improved their pitching.
Consider - the Braves have 5 guys in their rotation with something to prove:
- Russ Ortiz - contract year - needs to prove he's an Ace
- Mike Hampton - needs to show that he's back as a top starter (he should improve on last year's 14-8 with a 3.84 ERA). Hampton could be the team Ace by the All-Star game.
- John Thomson - need to show that he was a victim of Arlington's launching pad
- Horacio Ramirez - needs to show that he wasn't a fluke last year with his 12 and 4 record and 4.00 ERA. (Dontrelle Willis went 14-6 last year, Brandon Webb went 10-9 last year, and highly touted Rich Harden went 5-4 with a 4.46 ERA - Ramirez must want to prove that he should have been mentioned with these other rookies last year. He was completely overlooked.)
- Paul Byrd - he probably won't start the year as the number 5 but in 2002 he had 17 wins for the Royals. He needs to show that he's back and stonger than ever after missing last year.
So - you have a driven rotation for a team that ran away with their division last year. The Phillies did add some pitching but the Braves still have a better rotation and are still the team to beat.
Field of Dreams
Last night Field of Dreams was on Turner Classic Movies. This gives me the opportunity to both give it a Star Power Value (SPV) ranking and to get two things off my chest about the movie.
Field of Dreams - SPV 38 (Costner 7, Madigan 2, Hoffman 2, Liotta 2, Busfield 3, Jones 10, Lancaster 12) - this means Field of Dreams in now the SPV leader among the films I've looked at (replacing Silverado which had a SPV of 37).
Two things have always bothered me about the movie:
1. The voice shows Ray the field with home plate away from the house but Ray builds it completely opposite from the vision with home plate near the house. The voice didn't say "If you build it completely opposite from the way I show you - he will come."
2. Near the end where Busfield's character threatens to foreclose - why doesn't Terence Mann just say "I'll give you the money Ray"? The guy was supposedly one of the most successful authors of the 60's and also a successful children's software publisher - he had to have money. It makes me wonder if Terence Mann was just a cheap SOB who probably didn't chip in for gas on the trip out from Boston either.
Observation that I probably should keep to myself: If they ever made a Spiderman movie called Bride of the Green Goblin then Amy Madigan has to be cast as the lead opposite Peter Parker.
Fantasy Baseball
I have made my first fantasy baseball trade of the year. I know that there is nothing more boring than reading (or listening) to someone talk about their fantasy baseball team (except maybe listening to someone recreate and describe every shot they had after playing a round of golf). I won't be talking about my fantasy team in this space unless I see a player who has unseen value or conversely a player you should get rid of.
However, since this is my first trade of the year - I thought I'd mention it. I traded Bill Mueller and Jim Edmonds for Mike Lowell and Johnny Damon. Going strictly by rankings - it would seem like I got the worst of this deal but I think both Mueller and Edmonds had career years last year and will be unlikely to reach those levels again. Damon should have an excellent year for the Red Sox - he has altered his approach at the plate (which should result in more hits) and his personal problems from a year ago are behind him. Lowell is an injury risk but so was Edmonds. This deal was made more by gut instinct than by numbers crunching.
Last year my first deal was to trade Vlade Guerrero and Tejada for Manny Ramirez and Nomar. On paper - I definitely got the worst of that deal at the time but I thought Tejada would have a awful start because of his contract situation and that Vlade was due for an off year. I was right on both counts.
Bonanza Lyrics
Click here for the lyrics to the theme song for the TV show Bonanza (because at some point in your life you should have these lyrics stuck in your head on an endless loop).
Question
As a nation - the US is historically challenged. Ask almost anyone if they can name all 43 presidents and you'll get mostly blank stares. Now the History Channel should be a great resource to cure that ill but instead many of the shows they have are garbage.
Let me ask you - what real redeeming value can be found in a show titled Hitler's Women?
The good news is that the History Channel will be showing the series Band of Brothers starting Sunday April 11th. That makes me very happy (but it still doesn't make up for them showing something titled Hitler's Women).
Cool
Bufford Pusser and the movie Walking Tall was always a big favorite of mine growing up. Now that the Rock has an updated remake of it - I thought it was important to remember that the movie is actually based on a real man.
Having the Rock play Pusser has a certain symmetry since Bufford was actually a professional wrestler before he went into law enforcement.
(Found via NRO)
Clarke and Stewart
After reading Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo and his criticism of Bill Frist for calling Richard Clarke a liar, I got to thinking - what if Clarke did lie in his 2002 testimony to Congress while under oath? If his accounts to the 9/11 Commission, his 2002 testimony to Congress and what he details in his new book all differ significantly - then isn't it reasonable to infer that in at least one of the accounts Clarke isn't being truthful?
If this is the case - shouldn't the Feds go after Clarke with the same vigor in which they went after Martha Stewart? If Clarke did perjure himself - aren't his lies more harmful than Stewart's (who faces up to 20 years in jail)?
Blogroll Update
Today I'm adding Baseball-Reference because that's a must have reference site for any baseball fan, IMDB.com because that's a must have movie reference site for any movie fan and Hoopville.com because even though the college basketball season is almost over - they still remain the best site I've found for college basketball news and views.
1991 Baseball Draft
The Boston Globe had an article on David McCarty today that mentioned that he was taken 3rd by the Twins in the 1991 baseball draft while teammate Manny Ramirez was taken 13th by the Indians. Curiousity got the better of me so I looked up who else was taken in that first round in 1991.
- The first pick was used by the Yankees on HS phenom Brien Taylor
- Of the first 10 picks - only Dmitri Young has spent any significant time in the major leagues
- Manny Ramirez was taken 13th and Cliff Floyd was taken right after him at 14th by the Expos while Shawn Green was taken 16th by the Blue Jays.
- The only other players to make significant contributions at the major league level were Shawn Estes (10th), Doug Glanville (12th - this must kill Cubs fans since Manny was taken with the next pick), Edwardo Perez (17th), Benji Gil (19th), Pokey Reese (20th), and Aaron Sele (23rd).
- That means that over 60% of the first round picks could be charitably characterized as busts. That sounds pretty bad but when you compare it to how NBA teams did in their draft that year (and the NBA talent is supposed to be easier to judge)- it wasn't so horrible.
Rising Sun SPV
Last night Rising Sun was on FX and it made for some interesting channel flipping between the movie, the NCAA men's basketball and Holy Cross taking on North Dakota in NCAA hockey action.
Rising Sun was written by Michael Crichton who is a very interesting man. He graduated from Harvard Medical School only to decide he wanted to be a writer instead. Crichton lived for a time in Japan and the role of John Connor was written specifically with Sean Connery in mind.
As far as Star Power Value (SPV) - the movie ranks surprisingly high.
Rising Sun - SPV 30 (Connery 15, Snipes 3, Keitel 5, Tagawa 1, Mako 3, Carrere 3). The movie would have a SPV of 36 if you wanted to give Steve Buscemi credit as having one of the starring roles but his weasel reporter character was only in a couple of scenes.
PS - I love the fact that Mako is the voice of Aku in Samuri Jack and that Tia Carrere once played a character named Venus Poon.
Weak Arms
OK - who has the weakest outfield arm in the AL? I would narrow it down to Johnny Damon on the Red Sox, Bernie Williams on the Yankees and Randy Winn on the Mariners. Am I missing anyone?
Who has the weakest arm?
Off-Season Moves
I know that this has been pointed out by many people on many different occasions but this off-season the Red Sox addressed needs while the Yankees created just as many holes as they filled.
The Red Sox only lost two major parts of their 2003 team - John Burkett and Todd Walker. Burkett has retired to a life of bowling after not getting a major league offer from any MLB team. Todd Walker signed as a free agent with the Cubs after the Red Sox decided to go in a less expensive / more defense oriented direction.
The Red Sox added Keith Foulke as a free agent, traded for Curt Schilling (only giving up flotsam and jetsam in the process), signed Pokey Reese and signed Ellis Burks. The team is definitely better than the team who finished 5 outs from the World Series last year.
The Yankees lost Roger Clemens (they thought he was retiring), Andy Pettitte, David Wells, Nick Johnson (in the Vazquez trade) and Alfonso Soriano. They also lost third baseman Aaron Boone to a basketball knee injury.
The Yankees added Javier Vazquez, Kevin Brown (I didn't count Jeff Weaver among those lost because he was really a non-factor to last year's team), Kenny Lofton, Gary Sheffield, Tom Gordon, Paul Quantrill, Felix Heredia, Alex Rodriguez, Tony Clark and Travis Lee. Let me make a couple of observations about these additions:
1. Many people focus on the starting pitching because even with the moves - the Yankees still haven't gotten back to last year's level. It is doubtful that the Vazquez / Brown combination will be able to equal the win total of Clemens / Pettitte from last year and they really haven't replaced David Wells (who was two Rivera blown-saves from having 17 wins last year).
2. The focus on the starting pitching often obscures the fact that the Yankees have really strengthened the bullpen. Gordon, Quantrill and Heredia make the bullpen much stronger and deeper than last year's version. Maybe the stronger bullpen can offset the weaker starting pitching?
3. Do the additions of Tony Clark and Travis Lee offset the loss of Nick Johnson? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
4. The combination of Aaron Boone and Alfonso Soriano made the Yankees a better team than Alex Rodriguez and whoever they trot out at second base. The PR of the deal not withstanding - A-Rod doesn't make them better than last year when the Yankees had A-Sor and Boone.
5. Kenny Lofton should be called 36-year old Kenny Lofton whenever his name appears in print. Also keep in mind that last year at this time Lofton was just signing on to play for the Island of Misfit Players (Pittsburgh). On the bright side - the Yankees did get to add Lofton's sunny disposition to the clubhouse [sarcasm off].
6. Gary Sheffield - last year Sheffield had a career year but even if Sheffield has a big drop of 15% in productivity he would still have .280 BA / 33 HR / 112 RBI - that's still some pretty big numbers there. The only things that could stop Sheffield are age, injury or something say steroid related and what's the probability of that happening?
The case that the Red Sox are better than last year is clear. The case that the Yankees are better than last year's team is not so clear.
Let me aslo point out that this isn't a case of another Red Sox fan having a case of Yankee envy - I only made the above observations because it is always wise to size-up the closest competition (and as returning AL East champs - the Yankees as still the team to beat) plus the Red Sox moves are down-right straightforward and boring when compared to the splash, flash and turmoil of the Yankees moves.
Don King backs Bush
What this story doesn't tell you is that Don King can't vote for President Bush because King is a convicted felon (he went to jail for killing a man).
NCAA Thoughts
- The rash of technicals called in tonight's games made me think of the post Mark Cuban put up on his web log today. I wonder what Rick Barnes would say about Cuban's observations?
- How can you not like Xavier? Who would have thought that the Atlantic 10 would have two teams make the Elite 8 and the Big East just one?
- Georgia Tech's Jarrett Jack went to Worcester Academy. If he stays for all four years of college - you would have to think he will be a NBA first round pick. Yeah Worcester!
- Kansas makes the Elite 8 while North Carolina loses in the second round. Doesn't it seem like the Kansas wins the championship the year after Roy Williams moves on story is just about to gather a whole lot of steam? Is Roy Williams destined to become the Phil Michelson of basketball coaches?
What Movie Had the Most Star Power
Have you ever seen a movie and thought to yourself - "wow there's a lot of stars in this ensemble cast"?
Last night Siverado was on Bravo and even though I have seen the movie a few times before - that's what I thought. I also got to thinking about Silverado and its star power vs. The Big Chill and A Fish Called Wanda (mostly because all three had Kevin Kline). In sabermetrics fashion - I decided to give each movie a Star Power Value (SPV). I added up the big movies a major cast member had (no TV movies allowed) and then added that sum together to get the movie's SPV. I only counted the top 7 roles in a movie with the idea that after that a part is mostly a cameo. (I used my judgement on what a "Big" movie was.)
Silverado - SPV - 37 (Kline 5, Glenn 7, Costner 7, Glover 5, Dennehy 7, Arquette 1, Goldblum 5)
The Big Chill - SPV 35 (Berenger 6, Close 8, Kline 5, Goldblum 5, Hurt 7, Place 2, Tilly 2 - Jo Beth Williams just missed the cut for this movie)
A Fish Called Wanda - SPV 20 - (Kline 5, Cleese 5, Curtis 4, Palin 5, Georgeson 1 - the rest of the cast was just bit parts)
So Silverado is the SPV champ so far.
Presidential Election Odds
For what it's worth - George W. Bush is favored to win re-election (-140) while John Kerry is coming in as an even proposition. For those unfamiliar with betting - this means that you would have to wager $140 to win $100 on Bush while betting $100 on Kerry would win you $100 if Kerry wins.
This is the only poll that I pay attention to.
Imagine This
Imagine you are 6'2" and 205 pounds - an athlete in the prime of life. Imagine you were a very successful college baseball player who was not only drafted but in the minor leagues you were also the player of the year for the team that drafted you. Imagine you have had the chance to play parts of the past four years in the major leagues. Imagine that you realize that you will never make it in the major leagues - so at the age of 28 you have to retire. Imagine that you are Adam Piatt who announced that he was retiring today.
Victor Davis Hanson Friday
As always - must reading
Quote: Yet we can do far more in this time of war that is also a military, political, ideological, and economic struggle. We must explain to the world that no nation has done more to save Muslims — whether in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Somalia, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Iraq. In the last quarter-century we have given billions in aid to Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinians. We are the most tolerant of Western countries to Muslim and Arab immigrants. In Iraq now, we — not Arab intellectuals, not "moderate" Arab governments, and not the Europeans — are bringing consensual government and billions more in aid to the Arab Middle East.
The problem is not "getting the message out," but having the intellectual courage to tell the truth and not to be browbeaten by faux intellectuals who talk monotonously of mythical pipelines and Zionist aggression. The fact is, beneath the hype, Iraqis will soon appreciate American help and idealism far more than French perfidy. It is never wrong to be on the side of freedom — never. End Quote
Misfit Players
Sometimes a thought gets into your head and it won't go away. Recently I got the thought into my head that the Pittsburgh Pirates should rename themselves "The Island of Misfit Players".
GM Dave Littlefield seems to have developed the MO of filling the roster with young kids and cast-off players from other organizations that other teams don't want now but may want around the trading deadline (allowing Littlefield to bring in even more kids). Littlefield should consider that:
Nobody wants a closer that shoots jelly or a right fielder who rides and ostrich.
Pittsburgh management may want to consider that the new name would not just be an honest appraisal of what they are doing - it would also be an opportunity to sell all new merchandise.
Jave Meade
Nice piece on Jave Meade by Phil Kasiecki in Hoopville.com. Jave Meade ended up his career with Holy Cross as the all-time leader in both assists and steals in the Patriot League and ranks among the top players to ever play for the Crusaders.
NCAA Picks
OK - with Pittsburgh losing now three out of the four Regionals are completely shot. The only team I still have left is Connecticut and at least I picked Connecticut to win it all. I have dropped down to 36th place in my pool and am left with the feeling I get every year that this was a great waste of time and I should have just bet every underdog on the first two days and left it at that.
Blogroll
I added FARK (which is a must have); Big Stupid Tommy (fun blog with lots of good links) and The Hardball Times to my Blogroll.
The Hardball Times has quickly become THE spot for free baseball analysis (I would have posted it earlier but I used many of their fantasy baseball rankings to help me with my drafts last night).
Progress?
Tonight I was reading my 5-year old Curious George Learns the Alphabet by H.A. Rey. According to my copy - the book was first published back in 1963. What I found interesting was the fact that the Man in the Yellow Hat used the words "dinosaur" and "dromedary" to teach George the monkey the letter "D".
Compare that to what alphabet books or shows like Seasame Street would use for the letter "D" today (most likely dog or doll). It just seems like we are expecting less of our kids today .
Just out of curiousity - how many of you knew that a dromedary was a one humped camel?
Snapple Fact #117
According to Snapple "Real Fact" #117 - "The starfish is the only animal that can turn its stomach inside out."
Obviously the folks at Snapple have never been out drinking with my friend Tim.
Juan Cruz Trade
The Cubs today traded once highly regarded prospect Juan Cruz to the Atlanta Braves. The Cubs sent Cruz and Steve Smyth to Atlanta and recieved lefty AAA starter Andy Pratt and AA infielder Richard Lewis in return.
In 2002 - the big rumor about Cruz was that the Red Sox had offered Shea Hillenbrand straight up for the young fireballer. Now it seems that the Cubs finally gave up on Cruz.
Bill James Interview
Here is an interview of Bill James done by The American Experience.
TAE: More American kids now play soccer than baseball. And on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of June you can, as I found last summer, go looking for baseball on TV and find everything but, from NFL Europe to women's golf. What, if anything, can be done to halt baseball's slide in popularity?
JAMES: I advocate a Constitutional amendment against playing soccer.
Heh heh. Read the whole thing. Bill James has a much better sense of humor than anyone ever really gives him credit for.
(Found via SoSH)
Scary Baseball Thought for the Day
Today the Boston Herald had an article on Mike Greenwell. I hadn't thought about Greenwell for a long time (thankfully) but seeing his name in print reminded me that if MLB ever decided to wipe Jose Canseco's 1988 MVP off the books because of his admitted steroid use - then Greenwell who finished second in the voting might go into the record books as having as many MVP's as Jim Rice or Carl Yastrzemski (and one more than Pedro Martinez or Dwight Evans).
Red Sox Free Agents
Most talk about the Red Sox these days focuses on the group of players who can be free agents at the end of the season. This group includes Pedro Martinez, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe and David Ortiz.
Everyone has an opinion on what will happen with these players and why should I be any different?
My guess is that the Red Sox have offered Nomar a three year deal in the $39-42 million range. I don't think Nomar will sign because he is still convinced he is worth more on the open market. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he did sign before Opening Day because the market has kinda been set with Chavez in Oakland ($11 million per year) and Tejada in Baltimore ($12 million per year).
The Red Sox have probably made Nomar their first player to negotiate with because they know that Pedro will be signed for more money than Nomar and they don't want to hurt Nomar's ego (yeah I know - but even though everyone says its a business - these things have to be taken into account).
Pedro will be signed because he's the best pitcher in baseball and the Red Sox know that. Consider this - if Pedro had another $16.5 million option for next year - don't you think the Red Sox would exercise that option by Opening Day? My guess is three years $45-50 million signed before Opening day.
The rest of the players will have to play the season in uncertainty. Of the three - David Ortiz is the most likely to get an extension before the season is over.
Holy Cross Hockey
The sixteenth seeded Holy Cross men's hockey team will take on top seeded North Dakota in Colorado Springs tomorrow night in the first round of the Frozen Four. The Crusaders tied a team record in wins this season with 22 (22-9-4) and I would be willing to bet that a secret weapon for their success is the support the team receives from the school administration.
Bill Bellerose is the Assistant Athletic Director and also Athletics Business Manager at the college and is therefore responsible for preparing and administering the budgets for all 27 varsity sports. Bill Bellerose is also a former head coach of the Crusader men's hockey team (from 1988 to 1993). I'm sure that Bill has played a role in making sure that the Crusader hockey program is no longer a red-haired stepsister to the school's basketball or football programs. I am also sure that the program will continue to improve and be something the college can be proud of for many years to come.
Pass it on
If you like what I've been doing with this blog please A: Drop me an email at of4dad@hotmail.com or B: pass on the URL http://large-regular.blogspot.com/ to some friends. I need to get the daily traffic up to justify investing some money in the site.
Thanks
The Scotsman and the Dentist
How about starting today off with a joke?
A Scotsman goes to the dentist and asks how much it is for an
extraction.
"$85 for an extraction sir" was the dentists reply.
"Och huv ye no got anything cheaper", replies the Scotsman getting
agitated.
"But that's the normal charge for an extraction sir", said the dentist.
"What about if you didn't use any anaesthetic?", asked the Scotsman
hopefully.
"Well it's highly unusual sir, but if that's what you want, I suppose I
can do it for $70", said the dentist.
"Hmmmm, what about if you used one of your dentist trainees and still
without anaesthetic", said the Scotsman,
"Well it's possible but they are only training and I can't guarantee
their level of professionalism and it'll be a lot more painful, but I suppose
in that case we can bring the price down to say $40", said the dentist,
"Och that's still a bit much, how about if you make it a training session
and have your student do the extraction and the other students watching
and learning", said the Scotsman hopefully.
"Hmmmmm, well OK it'll be good for the students I suppose, I'll charge
you only $5 in that case", said the dentist.
"Wonderful, it's a deal" said the Scotsman..."Can you book the wife in
for next Tuesday?"
(found this joke over at The Straight White Guy)
Big Stupid Tommy
OK - now I've stumbled onto Big Stupid Tommy via The Uncouth Sloth. I read this bit from Big Stupid Tommy and I knew I had to pass it on.
Quote: I went back out to the K-Mart. I was driving back toward Casa de Big Stupid Tommy, when I turned up into the shopping center with the movie theater in it. On a whim, just to see if anything was starting right then. Remembering my Waterboy experiences, I knew I was treading dangerous water, but I said to myself: "Self: We'll only go see a good movie, if it's starting in the next ten minutes."
It was 4:20, and the Passion of the Christ was starting at 4:30.
But before I could see the movie, I had to take a minute to weep for the future. I got behind a group of people roughly my age, who couldn't quite master the pronunciation of the title of the movie they wanted to see.
Hidalgo.
Now, I know it's not a word you'll run across every day. But it's not like it's that hard to sound out.
Hid-al-go.
They kept trying to buy tickets for something pronounced "Hide-a-go," and the ticket girl wasn't getting what they wanted. The lead of the little group finally got fed up after three tries, and pointed with a huff at theater #3, and said something along the lines of "the one with the horse."
When I got up to the window, I thought about struggling with the pronunciation of Christ, and then asking for the one with the crucifiction. End Quote
The Uncouth Sloth
I literally stumbled over this interesting blog on all things Chicago Cubs. You may want to check it out.
Stephen King and the Red Sox
Long time Red Sox fans Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan are going to write a book about the 2004 Red Sox. The writers will attend as many games as they can and take notes. At the end of the season - the notes will be compared and compiled into a book. Here's at least one person hoping that they won't be able to go over the notes until at least November.
Progress
I saw this picture while looking through Lileks' Bleat today
The picture was part of government sponsored propaganda meant to keep people from hurting themselves with preventable accidents and thus losing time at work and therefore hurting the wartime cause against the Nazi. (Or is it Nazis - never sure about that - maybe it's Nazii?)
Today government money doesn't need to be spent for helpful photographs. All we need today is a FARK photoshop contest (or in this case a picture from StrangeCosmos.com).
I call that progress!
Holy Crap!
Quote: Former Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, D-Culver City, kicks Zhang Xiao Ju betweent the legs during a demonstration performed by Buddhist monks at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, March 22, 2004. In their first visit to the United States, a group of Shaolin martial artists from SongShan, China demonstrated acrobatic flips and shows of strength among other things. With the monks urging him on, Wesson made several kicks to the monk who showed no emotion. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) End Quote
Link
Nice Piece on Ken Huckaby
Saw this piece on Ken Huckaby by Scott Millier on Sportsline.com (thanks to BYH). Huckaby has nothing to apologize for. When did hustle become a dirty word in baseball?
Baseball Salary Sites
With economics playing such a large role in baseball these days - how much a player makes and how long his contract happens to be often becomes as important as discussing the player's batting average or on base percentage.
Two sites that I find very helpful for contract information are Dugout Dollars and this MLB Contracts site maintained by a UK based Red Sox fan.
These are my additions to my blogroll for today. Soon the blogroll will be the same as my favorites.
Victor Davis Hanson
Read this piece! Hanson is a Democrat who now votes for Republican Presidents and I must say I completely share his views (though he is much more learned and articulate than I).
Quote: But I think there is a deeper pathology involved. The leadership of the American Left is no longer a product of the mill, farm, or shop—and no longer strives for a 40-hour workweek, unemployment insurance, and vigilance about a totalitarian Soviet Union. Here in California, Workers' Compensation fraud, not its absence, has nearly ruined the state; rampant illegal immigration cloaked in cynicism, exploitation, and racial chauvinism, not assimilation and integration of different peoples, is threatening the body politic. Corruption, waste, and fraud of a Democratic governor, not too low income and sales taxes, have bankrupted the state. Massive Medical fraud, not neglect and insensitivity, threaten ample health care to the poor.
Most Democrats we saw this year—Howard Dean, Al Gore, John Kerry, Terry McAuliff, and John Edwards—either grew up in aristocratic bounty or are themselves multimillionaires. Does this matter?—only in the sense of sincerity and consistency. When Republican grandees talk of the glories of the free market you know what you get; when very liberal grandees talk of its evils, you have only the assurance that what they advocate and whom they champion most certainly will have little to do with the lives they themselves will live. And the message is no longer one of guaranteed equality of opportunity but of forced equality of results—as long as we accept that such a utopia applies for everyone else outside the world of corporate Ketchup money, astronomical trial lawyer fees, inherited Kennedy capital, Park-Avenue bond security, Sun Valley, and prep-school privilege. End Quote
Giant Problems
I've said it before - the Giants are heading for a major fall this season. The Giants have 43% of their salary money tied up in just three guys - Barry Bonds, Robb Nen and Jason Schmidt. All three guys have issues. Bonds is getting old and he has the BALCO thing hanging over his head. Nen missed all of last year (after May 7th) and is still experiencing discomfort in his shoulder. Schmidt had a career year last year but needed off-season surgery and now he too has a sore shoulder.
I've said it before - this year the Giants and Rockies fight it out for last place in the NL West.
Mariano Rivera
The Yankees yesterday signed Mariano Rivera to a two year extension worth $21 million that has a option for a third year at $10.5 million. Rivera should be a first ballot Hall of Famer and I'm not arguing that he hasn't earned this money through years of service but I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the Red Sox signed Keith Foulke for three years for the same amount the Yankees just extended Rivera for two years.
Rivera is 34 years old while Foulke is 31. It is possible that Rivera will be like the last closer to make the Hall - Dennis Eckersley - and be productive well into his late 30's. It is more likely though that Rivera will suffer the inevitable breakdown of age. Consider that the guy Rivera replaced - John Wettland was basically all-done at age 33 and three other guys who Rivera is similar to (Troy Percival, Tom Henke and Trevor Hoffman) started to have health and arm issues about this age.
Encyclopedia Brown
Here's an Encyclopedia Brown story that might not be quite like you remember them as a kid.
Interesting NCAA News
From Hoopville.com
Quote: Offenders beware: The NCAA has announced plans to collect and publish graduation reports for 2003. The decision was made after the Department of Education decided not to publish the information itself. The objective is to catch schools not educating their athletes, especially those who play football and men’s basketball. According to reports, four schools in this year’s NCAA tournament had a graduation rate of zero, something that would not have been discovered without these plans. End Quote
Let the speculation on who the four are schools begin. What's that you say? Cincinnati? Could be....
Hey did Cadwallader make the tourney?
New Sportsguy Column
Bill Simmons has a new column up over at ESPN.com and in it he has a first - his first slam at ESPN.
Quote: And since I needed something to keep my off my feet -- wink-wink -- I purchased DirecTV's March Madness package. Every minute of every game for the piddling price of $59.95! Yeah, like that bill isn't getting sent right to Bristol this week. I think I'll stick it in the same envelope with my 25,000-word confidential memo, "The Top 50 Ways You Screwed Up 'Dream Job.'" End Quote
Sure it's a mild slam (and it's only directed toward "Dream Job") - but it's the first one he's offered up since taking the Page 2 job. Maybe he'll start slow and then lower the boom with what he really thinks of the folks in Bristol.
Another interesting point:
Quote: So I tried to make up for the losses with Maryland, learning a valuable lesson in the process: Never bet on a team where Darryl Strawberry's son could end up taking the last shot. For God's sake, the '86 World Series happened 18 years ago -- I'm still getting reamed. Fifty years from now, I'll have the Seton Hall women's field hockey team in a four-team parlay and Lee Mazzilli's great-grandaughter will end give up the game-winning goal. End Quote
Yesterday was the anniversary of the Red Sox trading Sparky Lyle to the Yankees - and yes Red Sox fans do think about things like Darryl Strawberry's son and players we gave away decades ago. It's impossible to explain.
Neat History
From the pages of AmericanHeritage.com
Quote: Next year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the transistor radio, which, like the diminutive electronic component it’s named for, was invented in America. Using smaller solid-state devices in place of vacuum tubes, transistor radios could be scaled down considerably, yet the earliest versions sold for sums well out of proportion to their size. Most cost between $50 and $90 at a time when a new car could be had for less than $3,000.
Marketers banked on the portability of the new sets, and the first one from Japan was billed as a shirt-pocket radio when it arrived here in 1957. Sony tried to disguise the fact that the TR-63 was a bit larger than advertised by giving salesmen shirts with oversized pockets expressly tailored for the product.
The most collectible models, from 1963 and earlier, can often be identified by the triangles at 640 and 1240 kHz on their dials. Based on the civil-defense emblem, these symbols indicated the two frequencies that were to be used for emergency broadcasts in the event of a Soviet attack. End Quote
InstaPundit
What kind of self respecting blogger would I be if i didn't have InstaPundit in my blogroll?
South Park Lyrics
The other night South Park had a new show that was a riff on both Japanese anime and ultimately on Janet Jackson's Super Bowl fiasco. I found this info via Sports and Bremertonians who found it via www.animelyrics.com's chat board.
Here is a translation of the song the kids on South Park were singing:
subarashii chin chin mono (wonderful pee-pee things)
kintama no ke aru (There is testicle hair)
sono oto ga sarubobo (That sound is a monkey pussy)
iie ninja ga imasu (No, there are Ninjas)
hey hey lets go kenka suru (Hey hey lets go, to fight)
Taisetsuna mono protect my balls (Important things, protect my balls)
boku ga warui so lets fighting (I am bad, so lets fighting)
lets fighting love
lets fighting love
kono uta ha chotto baka (This song is kind of stupid)
wake ga wakaranai (I can't understand the meaning)
eigo ga mechakucha (English is absurd)
daijoubu we do it all the time (It's okay, we do it all the time)
If you saw the show - then the lyrics are pretty funny. If you didn't see the show - you are probably wondering about my sanity.
Playboy BALCO Article
This article from the pages of Playboy is a must read for anyone interested in the backstory behind the BALCO arrests. PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME OF THE POP-UP ADS ARE NSFW.
(hat tip to 21)
Just for the record
If I was riding on a tank in a war zone and I saw this guy out of the corner of my eye - my first thought would have been "Rocket launcher!" too.
Read the article.
Gretzky's Cousin
Last year about this time - Wayne Gretzky got into some hot water for saying that he supported President Bush in Iraq 100%. The Great One also mentioned that he had a cousin over in Iraq. Now that it's a year later - I bet his cousin's tour is up.
If I were an enterprising sports reporter - I would try to track down Gretzky's cousin because I bet it would make a great story.
Ramiro Mendoza
I don't think it is any secret that the Red Sox really don't need Ramiro Mendoza but the problem is - how do you just cut a guy who you'll have to pay $3.6 million to? Mendoza will probably start the season on the DL - which just allows the Red Sox to delay the inevitable. Why not trade Mendoza - I ask? Because nobody wants him - you answer.
Good point but I bet that the Colorado Rockies who will be relying on Denny Stark as their fifth starter would be willing to listen. Mendoza's sinkerball probably could be very effective in a park like Coors Field. If the Red Sox picked up say half of Mendoza's salary - I bet the Rockies could send a AA prospect to Boston.
It's better than eating the entire $3.6 million.
Smiling Bob the Enzyte Guy
No product or commercial is more insulting to your intelligence than Enzyte’s series of Smiling Bob commercials.
If you had never seen an Enzyte commercial and you were shown a picture of Smiling Bob would you think:
A: The guy is smiling because he’s an utter moron
B: The guy is smiling because he’s convinced his penis is growing because of a pill he took
C: The guy is a moron for thinking his penis is growing because of a pill he took
Just ask yourself – what exactly is the natural way to male enhancement? Is taking a pill natural? If there were natural ingredients – wouldn’t men from the dawn of time been gobbling the substance by the handful?
In our ultra politically correct society – I’m surprised nobody has said anything about the Enzyte commercials. Talk about stereotypes.
In the commercial where Bob dives into the pool and loses his shorts – it is the black woman who is most impressed because – well you know – it’s black guys who normally have the biggest penises but the black woman never saw a penis as enhanced as Bob’s before.
How about the commercial of Smiling Bob in Japan where all of the Japanese men are intimidated by “the big wood”? The stereotype is that Japanese men all have small penises (although come to think of it – you never do see any male Japanese porn stars).
And now we have Enzyte NASCAR commercials because – you know – NASCAR fans are just stupid enough to buy “male enhancement” products. Isn’t that the stereotype?
What is funniest about the Enzyte commercials is the offer of a 30-day sample pack. So let me get this straight – a guy is going to measure himself (think of the opening scene from Porky’s) – then take the Enzyte 30-day sample pack and then remeasure himself to see the “enhancement”? Doesn’t it sound more like a SNL skit than a real product?
Now I read where Enzyte is being sued by a man who did not experience any “enhancement” and wants his money back. Is it just me or does this have all the makings of a Jerry Springer show?
Oh and while I’m being so critical – the woman who plays Smiling Bob’s wife is ugly.
Seattle Mariners
After looking at Jeremy's blog over at Sports and Bremertons - I got curious and looked over the Mariners roster and what their payroll looks like for the next couple of years. It looks like the Mariners will carry a payroll about $86 million this year and it looks like they only have 6 players tied up til 2006 (Guardardo, Ichiro, Ibanez, Pineiro, Spiezio, and Winn). It occurred to me that Winn and Ibanez need to be traded so that the Mariners can try to field and "all vowel O team" (or maybe Randy Winn can legally change his name to Randy Winneiro - just trade Ibanez though).
It also occurred to me that the Mariners need a big bat in their line-up maybe even worse than the Dodgers do. Jason Kendall's not a HR hitter but he's available. Jim Edmonds would be perfect but will Seattle take on Edmonds contract and do they have something the Cardinals would be interested in? I still say that Ibanez was a bad signing. Matt Stairs will have more HR and RBI's for the Royals this year than Ibanez will have for Seattle and Stairs only cost $1 million.
Heh heh
Check out this cool list over at Tim Blair's blog. It shows some of the celebrities and who they donated money to in the race for President. I just loved the comment that noted "Morgan Fairchild: Dated Kerry, paid Gephardt."
New Gammons Column
ESPN.com has a new Peter Gammons column up. Gammons is the best - there is nothing like reading one of his columns (especially for those of us who were weaned on his Sunday Notes columns in the Boston Globe). I do have a couple of thoughts/disagreements with Peter though:
- Gammons tries to make the case that the AL Wild Card may come from the West (and not necessarily guaranteed to go to either the Yankees or Red Sox). Now - I'm on record for saying the Yankees won't make the playoffs this year but I also don't see the Angels putting it together and finishing either first in the West or having a good enough record for the Wild Card. To me the Wild card will come down to either Seattle, Oakland or Toronto (who has a much better team than the Angels).
- Any time you read "Player X is healthy and on a mission" - it is almost guaranteed that player will be out for the year before the All-Star break. Gammons uses that descrirption for Troy Glaus in his column.
- Gammons wrote "The consensus is that the Giants are going to take a fall [in the NL West]." I couldn't agree with this more. I see the Giants fighting it out with the Rockies for last place in the NL West this year.
Happy Birthday Captain Kirk!
Do yourself a favor and download some of Shatner's greatest hits and crack open a cold one to honor his birthday. "Rocketman" is my personal favorite. Yes Mars isn't the kind of place to raise your kid. In fact it's cold as hell.
Ummm...Maybe another analogy would be better
In today's Monday Morning QB - Peter King uses the following analogy regarding the Terrell Owens fiasco, "In the end, Baltimore got a fifth-round pick from Philadelphia, the league's attempt to throw some salve on a gunshot wound. A fifth-round pick buys a backup linebacker, maybe a nice special teams player. It doesn't buy a good wide receiver."
I think I would stay away from gunshot wound analogies when Baltimore, Philadelphia or the NFL in general are involved.
Fantasy Baseball Catcher
There may be only 7 strong well-known picks among catchers this year (Piazza, Javy Lopez, Posada, I-Rod, Varitek, Kendall and Lieberthal) for fantasy purposes. A good lesser known pick in my opinion would be Dave Ross from the Dodgers who should be the starter this year and should get 400-500 AB. Ross has shown great power (a HR every 13 AB last year) and just as significantly he has shown the power to hit HR at Chavez Ravine. By the end of the season - I wouldn't be surprised if Ross has 25+ HR and is among the top 5 catchers statistically in baseball.
Nick Johnson
I am having a hard time deciding how I should value Nick Johnson when it comes to preparing for my fantasy baseball drafts. The most similar batter by age (according to baseball-reference.com) is Travis Lee. When Lee was in his forth season - he got to play full time (555 at bats) and he hit 20 HR with 90 RBI while hitting .258 with a .341 OBP. Johnson will probably have similar numbers (although potentially higher BA and OBP). On the other hand - what if Johnson blossoms the way many people have predicted for him (plus the park in Puerto Rico tends to give up lots of HR)? On the other other hand - there are at least 15 1st basemen who will put up better than 20 HR and 90 RBI. What to do...what to do...
Veterans Stadium
The best column I have ever read on Veterans Stadium was by former stand-up comedian and current SportsPages.com columnist John McGurk. I had never been to the Vet but after reading John's piece I felt that I had.
James Lileks' Bleat
Lileks' Bleat is must reading for me every weekday but today it is MUST reading.
Frozen Four
The Hockey version of March Madness is set to begin now that pairings have been announced. It is very strange to see Holy Cross in the field of 16 but not Boston University. (This is almost the equivalent in basketball of Holy Cross getting in but Duke not getting an invite.) Holy Cross got an automatic invitation by winning the Atlantic Hockey conference title. Good luck to the Crusaders - they'll need it as they are matched up in the first round against top ranked North Dakota.
NCAA Picks
Like most of America - my brackets were destroyed by this weekend's upsets. Kentucky was one of my Final Four picks. Now they're gone. Xavier wrecked another of my Final Four picks by knocking off Mississippi State. My Finals matchup of Connecticut vs. Pittsburgh is still alive and that is now my only hope. I've dropped down to 29th place in my pool and its really all over but the crying.
Boston Red Sox Trade Tony Womack for Duffman (Oh Yeah!)
The Boston Red Sox today traded second baseman Tony Womack for right handed pitcher Matt Duff.
I don't know anything about Matt Duff but if I were a reporter the first question I would want to ask is, "How do you feel about everyone calling you Duffman?"
This is just strange
Political correctness for the deaf
Sorry but the first thing I thought of when reading this was Garrett Morris doing the top stories tonight for the deaf on the original Saturday Night Live.
The Benefactor
The next big reality show will probably be The Benefactor. This show will put Mark Cuban in the role of Donald Trump but instead of hiring someone for a job - Cuban's just going to give them a million dollars (because he can).
For information about applying for The Benfactor - click here.
Cosmic Tribune
I'm adding the Cosmic Tribune to my blogroll. If you're not familiar with the site - it basically has most of the major on-line newspapers and magazines in one convenient spot plus breaking news and 99 opinions from 99 people (which sort of sounds like 88 Lines About 44 Women).
Something to think about
This exchange is from Victor Davis Hanson's website:
Question: "The wealth and power that Rome accumulated within a couple of generations, it seems, led to two civil wars and the destruction of the Republic. I feel as though our political situation is becoming as partisan and could very well end in some type of civil strife within another generation. Am I way off base here?"
Hanson: "I can’t quite adjudicate all your comparisons, but I share your worry about polarization and think this next campaign will be the nastiest in some time. I didn’t really dislike personally Bill Clinton, although I felt he weakened the United States abroad. But there were many on the Right who did—and gave him no fair hearing, especially about his commendable though belated attack on Milosevic. Yet, their animus has been trumped by Bush-haters. And we are now in a spiral whose logical end is sort of frightening."
I have long felt the same way. President Clinton gets no credit for the job he did on the economy or for taking out Milosevic. Yes many of the things he did were bad - Travelgate, Monicagate, weakening of the Armed Forces, a completely botched healthcare reform, etc - but the level of hatred for him was beyond anything that I have experienced in my lifetime. The hate for Clinton was ten fold the hate for Richard Nixon.
Now the hate for George W. Bush seems to be ten fold the hate for Clinton. The left wing of the Democratic Party hates Bush much more than they support any candidate or position. If Bush was to support the Pope - the left would become instantly anti-Catholic. If Bush supported Arafat (small chance of that) - the left would be fervently pro-Israel.
I don't think that it is a "spiral whose logical end is frightening" though. I believe that two things will stop the spiral. First the center will tire of the ceaseless hate and second a charismatic centrist leader will emerge (probably in 2008 from either the Republican or Democratic Party). Things can't get worse than the days of Andrew Jackson. My guess is that within 10 years we'll have a return to civility in politics.
Heh heh
From Mark Steyn:
Quote: For over a year, there've been jokes about the ponderous way the senator brings Vietnam up at every opportunity. Ask him about John Edwards' pretty boy bangs, and Kerry says solemnly, ''I know something about bangs for real.'' But he's beyond satire now. The Humane Society sends him a questionnaire asking ''Do you have any pets that have made an impact on you personally?'' Instead of citing any of the ginger toms, gerbils and cockatoos that have passed through the Kerry household in the last four decades, he goes back to those four months in Vietnam and recalls a pooch named VC who accompanied him on his swift boat missions.
Is it normal to take a yappy mutt on a swift boat patrol through enemy territory? Especially a mutt named after the enemy. Calling out ''Over here, VC'' in the middle of the jungle seems a good way to get taken out by friendly fire. Come to that, how many folks name their dogs after the enemy? Did British Tommies stumble across stray French poodles on the beach at Normandy and think, ''Aw, cute li'l feller. I'll call him SS''?
Weird. And, just to round out a weird week, John Kerry, accompanied by the press, went into a sporting goods store and bought a jock strap. Even for a campaign marked by a strangely insecure macho exhibitionism, this was a little too self-parodic. End Quote
Found via FreewillBlog
The Gauguin Exhibit
Yesterday, my wife and I went to the Paul Gauguin exhibit at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. Now I’m no art expert by any stretch but when you have a chance to see works of art by one of the all-time greats – you’d be foolish not to (even if you’re just a regular guy like me).
I knew very little about Gauguin. To me he was the guy who went to Tahiti to paint naked women. What I did know was colored by the book The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham. The book was a thinly veiled fictionalization of the life of Gauguin that was written in 1919 (16 years after Gauguin’s death). In the book, the main character – Charles Strickland (i.e. Gauguin) is English instead of French but the gist of Gauguin’s life is intact.
Neither my wife nor I opted for the audio headsets. To me the audio headset would be telling me what I should feel about a picture instead of just letting the reaction to the work be natural and real. Besides – almost all the information you needed about a picture was contained on the plaques beside each work.
Boston is the only US stop for the Gauguin exhibit and when you read the plaques to see where the paintings are from – you understand the reason why. It seemed that at least 3/5ths of the paintings were from the Boston MFA or from Harvard’s Fogg Museum (there was also one painting from the Worcester Art Museum – yeah Worcester!).
One thing that I read on one of the early plaques bothered me for most of the exhibit. It was noted that Gauguin often painted a fox into his pictures and that the fox symbolized perversity. OK – I’m all for symbolism in art but the problem I had is the fact that the fox was present in the early works and then he reappeared in some later works but not in the middle (or so it seemed). What really bothered me was the fact that a dog often appeared in many of Gaugin’s paintings from his second trip to Tahiti. What did the dog symbolize? Was it the same as a fox? What was the deal with the dog? I kinda wish I never even read that bit about the fox.
Gauguin had his own preconceptions about Tahiti and I guess when he first got there he was a bit disappointed because it wasn’t the paradise he had built it up to be in his mind. His preconceptions also seem to come out in his work. For some reason Buddhist themes seem to permeate his work as well as ancient Greek influences. These influences exist side by side with native Tahitian beliefs and they just seemed a bit out of place to me.
After spending two years in Tahiti – Gauguin returned to Europe to try and sell his artwork. Sales were pretty poor and Gauguin was disappointed. He basically went back to Tahiti pretty bitter about not being able to make his coin (or so it would seem). Gauguin spent his last six years on Tahiti and later on the Marquesas Islands
Gauguin’s work does have its own look and feel to it. I was surprised that there wasn’t much ocean or beach to his work. In fact many of the paintings are depicted at night. The most striking thing to me was his use of the color blue (doesn’t that sound artsy?).
The masterpiece of the exhibit was the painting Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Seeing this piece of art is something I’ll never forget and worth the price of admission just by itself.
I must admit that any time I use the word “masterpiece” I always think of my friend Bill Silk. The word is a bit of a pet peeve with Bill because people always misuse it. In any collection – by definition – there can only be one masterpiece. People often speak of multiple masterpieces and that’s just wrong. I feel better for venting on this piece of grammar.
It was also surprising to me to see that Gauguin was also a friend of Van Gogh and Degas. I tried to think if an equivalent of this sort of friendship existed today and the only thing I could think of is Hollywood friendships where maybe a superstar had a friend who he knew was a great actor so they put them into small parts in their movie until the actor can hit it big on his own. Degas bought some of Gauguin’s art just to make sure Gauguin still had some cash.
The exhibit will be at the MFA until June 20th.
NCAA Picks
Yesterday I picked wrong on Gonzaga, Stanford and Maryland. I'm now tied for fifth in my pool. The good news is my Final Four picks of Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Mississippi State and Connecticut are all still alive.
Shades of Jim Fixx
Brian Maxwell - the founder of the company that makes Powerbars - died on Friday of a heart attack. Maxwell was 51-years old and in his youth he was an Olympic class long distance runner.
Jim Fixx was the author of the bestselling The Complete Book of Running died at age 52 in 1984 of a heart attack while running. I know the two deaths are totally unrelated but the first thought I had when reading about Brian Maxwell's death was "Just like Jim Fixx!"
Holy Crap!
Imagine if the government had ordered the arrest of Woodward and Bernstein? Imagine if the government seized all of their source material for their stories including the name of Deep Throat?
That sounds exactly like what just happened to Hans Martin Tillak on the orders of European Union officials in Brussels.
Once the elections are over in the US - the stories of corruption in the EU and the trail of corruption involving the Oil for Food program at the UN will be the major stories for years to come.
Like Father Like Son?
Very interesting article on John Kerry's father (who I admit knowing nothing about even though I've lived my whole life in Massachusetts).
Quote: If Richard and John Kerry were not in perfect political sync, it was because the father, in an inversion of the usual dynamic, was more radical than the son. John Kerry, for instance, had grown enthusiastic about John F. Kennedy and his robust, anti-communist foreign policy. Indeed, it was his fervor for Kennedy's "bear any burden" call to service that largely inspired Kerry to join the Navy. Richard Kerry, by contrast, was more skeptical about New Frontier idealism. In a 1996 interview with The Boston Globe, he groused, "[John's] attitude was gung ho: had to show the flag. He was quite immature in that direction." When John Kerry came back from Vietnam, his father pushed him to be more outspoken in his opposition to the war. "When Kerry refused to speak out against the government [while in uniform], suddenly his father felt like he was being a wimp," says Brinkley. "[So he] encouraged his son to take off the uniform and to become a critic." End Quote
Many people have tried to attribute George W. Bush's going to war in Iraq to his desire to finish his dad's business with Hussein. I wonder what the amateur psychiartists can make out of Kerry's complicated relationship with his father?
Very interesting article by Franklin Foer - I recommend The New Republic article very highly.
BTW - I figured this blog would get top heavy with one subject but I just assumed it would be baseball not John Kerry
(Hat tip to JD)
Baseball Prediction
Between DeRosa at 3rd, LaRoche at 1st and Estrada at catcher - the Atlanta Braves will have two players finish in the top 3 in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.
Red Sox - Trot Nixon's back
Trot Nixon will be out at least six weeks with a herniated disk in his back. Now full recovery is expected from this injury - which is good - but back or knee injuries are not what you want a guy you signed to a three year extension to be getting.
Trot's injury helps to again point out the excellent job Theo Epstein has done in building depth on this club. Theo has Kevin Millar (if Ortiz plays first), Brian Daubach, Ellis Burks, Gabe Kapler and David McCarty ready to go and take over the AB's Nixon would have had if healthy.
The injury may actually prove to be beneficial in the aspect that either Daubach or McCarty probably wasn't going to make the team. With Nixon out (but scheduled for full recovery) - the team has a longer time to evaluate which player (Daubach or McCarty) would be the most useful to the team this year. (There is also the chance that neither player makes the team and Theo moves in a different direction.)
I would expect the lion's share of Trot's AB's to go to Ellis Burks (it will be good for him to get a nice applause on Opening Day). Gabe Kapler and Millar will probably get the remaining AB's that Burks doesn't get.
John Kerry and the money to fund the troops in Iraq
I had linked to this column that appeared on NRO that took John Kerry to task for voting against providing the funding for the troops in Iraq (how can you say you support the troops and then vote against the money for the troops?). Mike N. emailed that I was missing the other side of the story. Mike sent me a link to Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo that discussed there being two bills for the $87 billion in funding. The first bill was to be funded by rolling back part of the Bush tax cuts (Kerry was supposedly for this). The second bill was the one that was passed and the one Kerry voted against. The second bill was basically funded out of deficit spending (which I agree isn't the best way to fund things).
The problem I have is that Kerry hasn't come out and said something like he wanted to vote for the first bill because it was fiscally responsible and used a "no" vote on the second bill only when he knew the bill would pass. If he used his "no" vote as a protest - why doesn't he just come right out and say so? Is it because it's none of our business just like the supposed foreign leaders who endorsed him in private?
I believe the fact is Kerry voted "no" because that is what the left wing of the Democratic Party wanted at the time and it was a vote that helped him win the nomination (look at what happened to Joe Lieberman who voted FOR the bill). Now Kerry wants to be able to play both sides of the coin in order to court the centrist voters who will decide the election in November - but it won't wash. Voters can see that he's a man with no true convictions and a man who votes based upon the audience he's talking to or according to who he thinks can help him the most. In matters of policy - he's just a gigolo.
I thank Mike N. for mentioning Josh Marshall's site. I have had it bookmarked for a long time and will add it to my blogroll (so that you can get the left's side of things). I will also add John Hawkin's website to the blogroll (so you can get the right's slant on things). Josh's site is more mainstream and Josh is clearly a Washington insider while John's site is honestly more fun. Use both to make up your own minds.
Who am I?
I'm a pitcher and in 2002 I had my best year ever. Last year I missed the entire season due to injury but this year I hope to be the 5th starter on a team hoping to win the East division for the 10th consecutive season. Who am I?
If you said Jon Lieber - you'd be wrong. The player in question is Paul Byrd who seems to get overlooked when people talk about the Atlanta Braves.
NCAA Picks
Yesterday I had three wrong (I took Providence, Richmond, and Western Michigan). That made me 25 for 32 in the first round. Not a single one of my upset picks came in (sigh). I'm now tied for 6th in my pool and in the 75th percentile at Yahoo overall. Last year at this time - I was in the 99th percentile.
Something to think about
Prior to the US invasion of Iraq - UNICEF had estimated that between the UN sanctions that created shortages and the brutality of Saddam Hussein - roughly 5,000 Iraqi babies (children under 5 years of age) died or were killed every month (that's 60,000 per year).
Some Drama Next Sunday
Next Sunday the Pirates will face the Indians in a Spring Training exibition. What gives this game some extra drama is the fact that it will be the first time ex-teamates Jose Mesa and Omar Vizquel will be facing each other since Vizquel put out a book that made Mesa slightly unhappy. Did I say slightly? I meant outraged. Here are just a couple of things that Mesa had to say after reading the book last spring;
"If he comes to apologize, I will punch him right in the face. And then I'll kill him. If you're a writer and you wanna write a good book, you don't write a story about somebody else."
And, "I will not forgive him [Vizquel]. Even my little boy [Jose Jr.] told me to get him. If I face him 10 more times, I'll hit him 10 times. Every time. I wanna kill him." Yikes!
Mesa and Vizquel play in different leagues - so this may the only chance for Mesa to "get" Vizquel. Knowing the bad blood between the two players - I doubt either team's manager will put Vizquel in a position to face Mesa at bat but you never know.
Oh yeah - Vizquel basically blamed Mesa for the Indians failure to win the 1997 World Series in his book.
Hmmmm.....Red heads
Check out these delicious Red Heads (except Harry Knowles – WTF?). I would have to go with Ann Margret as the sexiest red head. I understand that Lucy was considered a sex pot when she was young? Did they miss any red heads?
John Kerry - Not a regular guy
John Kerry was snowboarding in Sun Valley for a little rest and relaxation. The way he relaxes may say more about the man than any speech he could have possibly given. And what it is saying isn’t very positive.
The New York Times had this article that described that Senator’s vacation.
Two lines from the article really struck me. The first described an accident Kerry had with one of his new detail of secret service agents. At the top of the mountain during Kerry’s second run of the day an agent became entangled with the Senator and both fell down.
When asked about the mishap a moment later, he [Kerry] said sharply, "I don't fall down," then used an expletive to describe the agent who "knocked me over."
Wow! This sounds like the way a pampered playboy would berate a butler that put out black shoes and a brown belt or a the way the privileged would speak about a waiter who brought the wrong wine. That’s not the way a Presidential candidate should be treating or talking about a man whose job is take a bullet for the candidate if necessary.
Wow! If this is how flustered Kerry gets over a simple accident while skiing – how flustered would he become as President and he had to deal with a situation where the shit really hit the fan?
The second line from the article that really resonated was:
"People of great fame and wealth can come here [Sun Valley], and people don't invade their privacy," said one visitor, Larry Nast of Bellevue, Wash.
That line really drives home the fact that Kerry is not a man of the people. He is a person of great fame and wealth. He is a man of privilege and entitlement. In my opinion – Kerry would have been much better served going to Florida and catching a couple Spring Training games if he really wanted to relax and at the same time improve his image. (Plus Florida has 25 electoral votes and Idaho only has 4).
The whole episode made me think of two other Kerry anecdotes.
The first was from Dave Barry who noted the time”… Sen. John Kerry, who once came, with his entourage, into a ski-rental shop in Ketchum, Idaho, where I was waiting patiently with my family to rent snowboards, and Sen. Kerry used one of his lackeys to flagrantly barge in line ahead of us and everybody else, as if he had some urgent senatorial need for a snowboard, like there was about to be an emergency meeting, out on the slopes, of the Joint Halfpipe Committee.”
The other anecdote came from Baseball Musings’ David Pinto - who noted that Peter Gammons (who played hockey against Kerry in high school) called Kerry “the dirtiest player he ever saw.”
The Bush campaign folks should stop running negative ads – they should just get Kerry out for more winter sports. They should also pray for early snow in October. Kerry probably won’t be able to resist sneaking away for a few runs down the slope and he probably won’t be able to keep his true character from coming out either.
Sportsguy going all California on us
Hey I posted a Todd Bertuzzi post today and now that Bill Simmons just posted a Todd Bertuzzi column - I'm not feeling so dated. I have to say that this column isn't Bill's best work. I mean this is the same guy who did a column on Ultimate Fighting and his last ESPN.com column was on Westlemania XX. I think it's pretty weak for him to come off like he's against fighting in hockey. If you've read Bill for any period of time - you know that he's just against hockey period.
All-in-all - I think Don Cherry had a much better handle on the situation.
Holy Crap - Not exactly father of the year material
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. -- A mistrial was declared this morning in the case of former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Greg Lloyd, who was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly shoving a gun in his son's mouth to punish him for poor grades.
Yikes! The incident allegedly happened in 2001.
As bad as Lloyd's parenting skills are - they can't be worse than this Alabama football fan's skills. At least Lloyd didn't pull the trigger.
Interesting
Read this and this.
So the teacher is white and according to the police - she vandalized her own car and wrote racial epithets about blacks and Jews on her own car. She complained that she was a victim of a hate crime and caused the college to be shut down for a full day. If true - then I think she should be fired and the court should figure out what one day of tuition would cost a student at the college and she should be made to reimburse each and every student for that day of school her stunt caused them to miss. I'm not sure if this is a hate crime though - probably just awfully stupid.
Victor Davis Hanson Friday
As always a must read:
Quote: What to do when we wish to leave — and those most likely to subvert the process most want us out? The most important development now unfolding in Iraq is not the date of elections, but the emergence of a constitution that protects secularism, women's rights, and ethnic minorities, and a popular culture — Internet, television, free assembly, and consumerism — that promotes free and easy association.
Without all that, we will inevitably see a one-time elected leader who will systematically transform American-sponsored fair voting into an institutionalized sham. And these demonocrats will largely be given a pass from anti-American Westerners who, when the corpses pile up and the chaos ensues, will still cling to the myth that Sheik X, Ayallatoh Y, or Chairman Z was in fact "elected." End Quote
Chavez Signs for $66 Million
Oakland A's 3rd baseman Eric Chavez just signed a six-year $66 million contract. Let me make the following three predictions:
1. Alex Rodriguez will be voted as the starting 3rd baseman at this year's All-Star Game but Chavez will be voted the Gold Glove winner at the end of the year.
2. At some point during the six-year contract - Chavez will out homer A-Rod.
3. By the end of the six-year contract either Chavez or A-Rod will no longer be playing 3rd base.
Don Cherry
I know that this is old news by now but I just happened to catch this video of Don Cherry doing his Coach's Corner and I thought it was interesting. In the video Cherry talks about Bertuzzi's hit on Moore and well...see for your self. I found the clip over at Sports and Bremertonians.
NCAA Picks
Yesterday I went 12 for 16 in my picks. I stand in 10th place in my pool and in the top 65% among the folks who made their picks at Yahoo. I didn't have DePaul, Seton Hall, Manhattan (can you believe Florida was once #1 in the country?), or Nevada in my brackets.
I know this probably only interests me but it is my blog.
Taiwan's President Shot
Taiwan's President and VP were both shot on the eve of elections in Taiwan. The President was shot in the stomach with a single bullet and the VP was shot just above the knee (also with a single bullet). The story doesn't say who shot them or why. Both are expected to make full recoveries from their wounds.
I must admit I did not realize that Taiwan had a woman Vice President.
Four More Years! Four More Years!
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Comedy Central has resigned Jon Stewart to anchor The Daily Show. The new contract will run though 2008. Stewart's contract was set to expire at the end of this season and Stewart had been making statements about testing free agency but the two sides were able to come to an agreement without arbitration and without Comedy Central slapping Stewart with the franchise player tag.
This is excellent news for fans of The Daily Show.
You can find five of the funniest minutes from the show here. The RealPlayer file is Stewart interviewing two of the clueless Spice Girls.
You can also find an interview of Stewart by Bill Moyers here. Stewart discusses The Daily Show in terms of where the show fits in the world of journalism. Linking the interview also gives me the excuse to mention that I always thought a Celebrity Death Match between Bill Moyers and Regis Philbin would be good TV.
Many people wonder where the show finds its material. The answer is simply "in the news". For example the bit on gay penguins was probably sparked by this.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that when I read about Stewart resigning on the show - one of my first thoughts was that Lewis Black will never make it to 2008. Black looks like he's about ready for a massive heart attack at any moment.
In other news - Craig Kilborn still sucks.
David Duval and Nick Esasky - Vertigo and Steroids?
A year ago today – I wrote a column on David Duval and his affliction of vertigo. I was amazed at the time that no major sportswriter seemed to care about Duval’s crippling condition. I used the occasion to remind the readers about the case of baseball player Nick Esasky who seemed to have the world at his fingertips until his career was suddenly ended by vertigo in 1990.
You can read the column mentioned above here.
A year has past and David Duval seems to have completely disappeared from the collective sports consciousness. In 2003 after his initial bout of vertigo, Duval entered 15 more PGA events. He only finished under par once in that time and made the cut in only 2 events. In 2002 Duval won $838,045 in prize money. In 2003 he won $84,708 (only $39,832 after his vertigo). In 2004 – Duval has yet to enter a PGA event or make a dime on the PGA Tour.
Now the reason I’m bringing this up is because I’m still surprised that a world-class competitor like Duval could disappear from the sporting radar so completely. I have also become intrigued by another similarity between the situation involving Duval and the situation involving Esasky.
Not long before Duval came down with vertigo – he was the talk of the Tour because of his new body. No longer was Duval pudgy and soft. He was now slimmed down and muscular. If Duval were a baseball player – the whispers would have been about off-season steroid use.
Looking back at Nick Esasky’s career through the prism of possible steroid use – it is hard not to raise an eyebrow at the fact that in 1988 Esasky had just 15 HR and 62 RBI and then suddenly in 1989 he hits 30 HR with 108 RBI. The jump in productivity was chalked up to Esasky getting a fresh start in Boston, getting to play full time (even though he played in 122 games the year before with almost 400 AB), and getting to play half his games at Friendly Fenway Park. Now, however, the question should be asked if possibly Nick’s jump in numbers was due in part to steroid use.
The question should be asked of both Duval and Esasky not as part of some witch-hunt but because if there is a connection between a prior steroid use and their vertigo – then getting that information out may make possible a study of the matter that could save others from the same pain and certain hell that they have experienced.
Everyone agrees that steroids have not really been given the proper medical study. Long-term consequences and side effects are basically unknown. Ignorance about steroids is rampant today. All most lay people know is that steroids can make you faster and stronger and that they are illegal to use in professional sports.
Steroids may in fact allow people to live longer and happier lives but until we study steroids and what they actually do to our bodies then we will continue to live in ignorance.
It is not like a link between steroid use and vertigo doesn’t already exist. In an FDA test of Testim (a cream that contains testosterone - a Schedule III controlled substance as defined by the Anabolic Steroids Act) involving 205 test subjects – at least one test subject had to be removed from the study because of an onset of vertigo. In 1999 a case was reported in Poland where “vertigo appeared twice just after introducing doping and persisted in spite of a 1.5 year break in taking anabolics.” I am sure that many other such examples exist.
It is true that steroids happen to be a common prescription for patients who suffer from vertigo. It is also true that small pox in small doses actually allows the immune system to develop protection against the true small pox disease. This might not be the best analogy but I’m sorry – because we don’t know if there is a possible link between vertigo and steroid use and the extent of it – this analogy is the best I can do.
If steroid use did play a role in the vertigo that has plagued both David Duval and Nick Esasky – isn’t the least we can do is allow them to come forward without fear or shame to tell their story? Shouldn’t we be treating the side effects of a medicine as a medical issue instead of a political football or personality witch-hunt?
Please send any thoughts or comments to of4dad@hotmail.com
Saint Patrick
Just a couple of things about Saint Patrick (from www.ccel.org)
...was not Irish. He was a British Celt, first enslaved in Ireland as a teen, later a missionary to Ireland.
...was not necessarily the first missionary to Ireland.
No one knows his birth or death date. 17 March is traditionally considered to be one of the two, but there is no documentation for this.
The only documents about Patrick are his Confession and a letter he wrote to Coroticus.
There were never snakes---or other reptiles---in Ireland for Patrick to chase out.
Patrick predates the Roman Catholic Church, and was considered a ``saint'' before the Roman church created its canon (list) of saints (and added him to it).
Labatts Beer Dispenser
Have you seen that beer dispenser that the Labatts bear mascot gives the girl as a present? Well now you can own your own for only $145.99 (I think that's in US funds).
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We still love ya Cooz
On this day in 1963 - Bob Cousy was honored at the Boston Garden. While Cousy was trying to compose himself to address a loving crowd - a fan yelled out the now famous, "We love ya Cooz!" Its 41 years later and we still love ya Cooz!
Steroids in Baseball
Buster Olney (one of the top five baseball writers in the country) has an excellent piece over at ESPN.com. Near the end of the piece - "Player X" mentions a scenario where a few young players basically pee into a cup for reporters to prove that they aren't on the juice. I can foresee this happening and I cannot see anything the players union can really do to stop it. If the union tried to discipline the players - then the union would be opening itself up to some serious lawsuits. Once a couple of players "crossed the line" and subjected themselves to open steroid testing - then the pressure would really be on the Bonds, Giambi's and Sheffields to take tests of their own. (And thus also on the union to do something instead of just hiding behind the existing policy that everyone agrees is a joke.)
This is a very divisive issue and I think the players union is making a mistake by forcing Bud Selig to be the one to deal with it. Selig may use the "best interests of baseball" to retest players named in criminal cases or maybe even go the extra step and require testing of players who have injuries that may be consistent with steroid use.
The union should take this in house and allow the players to vote on a course of action that does not open up a CBA can of worms. The longer they wait - the harder it will become to do something because individual players will eventually take matters into their own hands and take up the reporters challenge to pee into a cup for independent verification.
PS - when you read about Player X talking about "dime sized testicles" - didn't it make you wonder why someone was checking the size of another player's testicles in the first place?
Cool
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has his own blog. I think that this will be the wave of the future where articulate owners and players use the Internet to interact directly with the fans. Blogs offer no chance of having their words misquoted and also a forum to get their side of the story out directly to the fans. Woe to the sportswriter who crosses a owner or player with their own blog.
I wouldn't be surprised if Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling starts his own blog to make sure he isn't misquoted by the Boston media. Already Schilling is known to post on the Sons of Sam Horn website - so a blog would be the logical next step.
As owner and player blogs become more common - the traditional sports print media will be forced to become even better. Like any business - middlemen are only useful when they add value. If a sportswriter isn't able to add value with analysis or anecdote - then they will quickly be bypassed by the reader for the blogs of the players and owners so that the reader can get the information "virtually" first-hand. If enough readers begin by-passing certain writers who don't offer any value add - then that writer will soon be unemployed.
Blogs will greatly alter traditional sportswriting. In the past - the sportswriter had the advantage of being at the game and then having a forum to express their analysis of what happened. There was no competition for immediate analysis (except maybe sports talk radio). Today a person with HDTV and a blog can offer their analysis AS THE GAME IS BEING PLAYED. If the traditional sportswriter is not offering significant value add over what the guy with the blog is offering - then the traditional sportswriter will lose his audience. If the reader wants player quotes - then the reader will be able to check on players blogs.
Fans will soon be changing the way they get their sports information as surely as people switched from tap water to bottled water and basically for the same reason. People switched to bottled water because of real or perceived impurities in the tap water. Likewise if sportswriters allow impurities like wrong information, partial quotes taken out of context or just plain wrong analysis then the readers will switch over to the more "pure" source of player and owner blogs for direct information and sites of informed sports fans for their analysis and opinion.
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What is a large regular?
If you go into any coffee shop in Massachusetts (or most of New England for that matter) and ask for a "large regular" - you will get a large coffee with cream and sugar. Since I frequently travel, I know that this phrase is pretty unique to this area. In other parts of the country a coffee with cream and sugar is called a coffee with cream and sugar - not regular (that's for gasoline as far as the rest of the country is concerned).
The name of the blog also works on another level since I consider myself "large" (a little over 6 feet and a little over 200 pounds - more over 200 pounds than over 6 feet by the way) and a "regular" guy (with regular guy interests).
Now I hope that the phrase "a large regular" doesn't have some unknown fetish context. I was also afraid that it may have some sort of Lane Bryant type connotation. However, since most of the good names seem to be already taken and since the other unique New England phrase that came to mind definitely would have more subtext baggage (I thought about using the word "packie" - which is what we call a liquor store in New England but I figured that word would definitely have some gay meaning. If I was going to name the blog "The Packie" I might as well name myself "The Catcher" - not that there is anything wrong with that).
Anyway - that's the explanation behind "A Large Regular". Any questions?
Final Four
For what it's worth - my Final Four teams are Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Mississippi State and Connecticut. I have an all Big East Final with Pittsburgh and Connecticut playing for the championship and I have the Connecticut Huskies cutting down the nets as champs.
Real Facts
According to the Snapple Real Fact #154 - Americans spend more than $630 million a year on golfballs.
For what its worth - in 2002 the Government spent $630 million for Homeland Security bomb detecting and baggage screening equipment.
$630 million is also the amount that West Virginia got in a one-time settlement with the tobacco companies.
As luck would have it - $630 million is also the amount that this Nigerian banker is promising to share with me if I allow him to deposit it into my bank accounts.
I'm not reading anything into these numbers - just thought I'd post the coincidences.
Christopher Hitchens' Take on the Spanish Elections
You can read it here - Hitchens and Victor Davis Hanson are basically saying the same thing. Who can argue with that?
Palmer fingers Anderson
Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer suggests that Brady Anderson may have been on steroids the year Anderson hit 50 HR. Anderson's two next highest HR totals are only 21 in 1992 and 24 in 1999. This makes Anderson's 50 HR season in 1996 stick out like a sore thumb. Rumors about Anderson have been floated on the Internet for years but this is the first time I can recall seeing the accusations made in print.
I can clearly remember that at the time Anderson hit 50 - everybody was up in arms about the ball not the player being juiced. Now the controversy about the ball being juiced seems to be forgotten.
You also have to wonder if this sort of subtle innuendo will also haunt other players. For instance in 1979 Freddie Lynn hit 39 HR but his next highest season HR total was only 25. In 1979 all the Boston beat writers did features on Lynn's "new body" that was attributed to a near religious devotion to Nautilus equipment work outs.
Another player who could have questions raised is Wade Boggs. In 1987 Boggs hit 24 HR. His next highest total was 11 in 1994 (that was the only other time in 18 seasons that Boggs broke double figures in HR). Boggs ascribed his power surge to just "proving he could do it." The next year Boggs went back to his line-drive weak singles swing.
Last year Bill Mueller hit 19 HR with the Red Sox but his previous high was only 10 in 2000 (the only other season Mueller has hit double figures in HR). Mueller's success was credited to both playing half his games in Fenway and also to an adjustment Ron Jackson made in his stance that allowed for more power.
Now I bring up these three Red Sox players not because I believe that they used steroids in the years in question but because I fervently don't believe that they did. The aberration in HR for the individual years is explainable. I believe that Lynn sculpted his body using just Nautilus (he used to win HR derbies in college and he did have 7 straight seasons with 20+ HR's). Trying for power is something Boggs would do on occasion but the year he hit 24 HR he also just squeaked over his cherished 200 hit plateau so his "power" swing was abandoned. Mueller should be able to prove that last year was no fluke as far as power is concerned and anyone who follows the Red Sox knows that Mueller is the last guy you would think was using steroids.
I mention the above because of the realization that what is so insidious is the fact that while I believe that "my guys" are innocent - in my mind I believed the accusations against Brady Anderson. "Just look at the numbers" I thought.
If you do look at the numbers though you'll see that in 1996 - 16 guys hit 40 or more HR vs. just 4 players the year before. Maybe it was the ball that was juiced - not Brady.
If I'm so willing to give "my guys" the benefit of the doubt - shouldn't I also extend that same benefit of the doubt to other players like Brady Anderson?
This steroids scandal has me angry and confused at the same time. I have the feeling that many other baseball fans are in the same boat. I also am starting to believe that we'll never really know the truth.
Question
Am I the only one who finds the steak in this ad slightly erotic?
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"Yes can I have the spread vulva cut and can you make it extra pink and be sure that the juices are hot and flowing?" A little wine and with any luck - you'll be taking this steak around the world.
Maybe I just have a sick mind.
Edit: Let me point out that the whole point of this is the idea that maybe some subliminal advertising is at work here. I AM NOT COMPARING WOMEN TO PIECES OF MEAT!
Interesting
According to USA Today - Vermont is the only state among the lower 48 where bald eagles don't reproduce in the wild. Who knew?
Five Potential First Round Upsets
Here are the five games in the first round of the NCAA tournament that I see ending in upsets.
- #9 UAB over #8 Washington - I know a number 9 over a number 8 isn't exactly earthshaking but it's still an upset
- #11 Richmond over #6 Wisconsin - this is basically a home game for Wisconsin and I think they may be in a trap game situation where they will be looking past Richmond (who has a good team) and too busy dealing with game tickets for friends and family and things like that to be properly focused on the task at hand
- #9 Arizona over #8 Seton Hall - another 9 over an 8 (yawn) and this time the 9 seed is actually favored by 3 points over the 8 seed
- #10 Dayton over #7 DePaul
- #11 Western Michigan over #6 Vanderbilt
Presidential Debates
I'm looking forward to the debates because I hope to hear President Bush respond to an allegation by Senator Kerry by saying, "John - how can you say that with such a straight face?"
Larry King Monday (Relax – it’s just parody)
Is there a nicer person in show business than Susan Lucci? I tell you she’s a honey and I predict great things from this young lady…..Tony Randall would like to take my job at CNN but I got news for Felix – he’ll have to wait to pry the microphone from my cold dead fingers….Sports Illustrated should go to a Magic Eye type cover where you have to squint and unfocus your eyes in order to see the picture on the cover…..I’ve never actually watched the Sopranos but I have placed bets with the Russian mafia….Was it just me or did everyone get Marge Schott and Madeline Albright confused….The night before their 18th birthday I plan to book the Olsen Twins on my show. Later we’ll go out to dinner and I’ll just hope for the best around midnight. I’ll take a double dose of Viagra just in case…..In my hometown there’s this cemetery ….Danny DeVito is this generation’s Orson Wells…I’ve been stealing women’s lacy underwear from Bloomingdale’s for years….Shouldn’t Spring Training be called Baseball Training instead? …..Its been my experience that Canadians who say they hate Republicans are also the same people who say they hate the taste of penis….Volkswagen’s will always be Hitlermobiles to me….Somebody told me that Bryant Gumble doesn’t like cheese – what’s wrong with cheese? Everyone likes cheese – come on Bryant get with the program…..I’ve yet to find the penis enlargement medicine or equipment that really lives up to its billing….OK – I admit that I can’t keep Fred McGriff and Mr. French from a Family Affair straight in my head….The recurring dream I really hate is the one where I get gang raped by Tex Cobb and Jeff Ruland…Even with all my success – I’m still just Larry from the Hood….I enjoy eating Mrs. Fields pie – Mrs. Sally Fields…..The team that picks up Kordell Stewart as their starting quarterback can book their tickets to next year’s Super Bowl right now…Am I crazy or is it about time that Bette Midler did a nude scene?….Jack Daniels is not just for breakfast anymore….The other night I was checking the program guide on my TV and I saw a show called Angry Beavers on Nickelodeon – it wasn’t the type of show that I hoped it would be…..Sometimes you see a sports star with the nickname “the juice” but how come you never see anyone with the nickname “the banana”?…..Nothing symbolizes the spread of anti-Semitism more than Christmas Tree Shops….Trust me on this one – use Nair to remove the hair on your testicles and your penis will look bigger in the pictures – trust me – you’ll thank me later……Can anyone recall a New York Knicks team sucking this bad?….DNA tests scare me because I’m afraid to find out that I’m part reptile….Danny Thomas really knew his way around a glass table – or should I say under a glass table if you scat masters know what I’m saying….At one time I considered converting to Christianity but those crazy Davy and Goliath cartoons scared me away. A talking dog? Do you think David Berkowitz watched these things?…. Until I was 23 years-old – I thought I had ovaries…..”Lost another loan to Ditech” – that always cracks me up….This just in – cock fighting actually involves two roosters. Who knew?….Walk like an Egyptian – now I’ll be humming that song all day.
Please send any thoughts or comments to of4dad@hotmail.com
Fantasy Baseball Thoughts
Earlier I did my top 5 undervalued starting pitchers (based on the ranking at Yahoo.com). Now I will share 5 of my most over-rated fantasy baseball starting pitchers. (As I said earlier - I'm not sharing all of my thoughts because I still have my drafts in 10 days and I don't want to give away the farm here.)
Top 5 Sells (Overvalued pitchers)
1. Jason Schmidt - I know it seems like every year people are trying to sell Schmidt short but this just happens to be the year that they are right. Yahoo has Schmidt ranked 3rd among starting pitchers (ahead of both Randy Johnson and Mark Prior - as Brian Fellow would say "That's crazy talk!"). Schmidt had off-season surgery, there is no offensive support in the line-up (Bonds will have a bad year - don't get me started on that) and the bullpen is shot. Nen may be out for the year and Worrell moved on for greener pastures. Blown saves alone will cost Schmidt a couple of wins this year. I would only pick Schmidt up if he falls to a position where he could be my #3.
2. Kevin Brown - moving to the Yankees will cost him at least a run in his ERA. Brown is a sinkerball pitcher and with the exception of A-Rod at third - the Yankees are below average defensively at the remaining infield positions. I also question Brown's health and personally doubt that he'll manage more than 20 starts this year. Yahoo has Brown ranked 26th among starters but at best I would pick him to be a #3.
3. Sidney Ponson - with a new contract Ponson will be fat and happy (and probably on the IR by the 4th of July). Ponson gets shelled by the Red Sox and doesn't do much better against the Yankees - with the Blue Jays also greatly improved - I don't see Ponson having any easy games. Yahoo has him listed as 33rd best but I would only risk a pick on him as a #4 or #5 guy.
4. Jon Lieber - don't buy into the hype and waste a pick. He may not even start the season in the Yankees rotation.
5. Livan Hernandez - fantasy baseball geeks know that Livan came up huge last year with 8 complete games and a 3.20 ERA but count me among those who don't see him duplicating that production this year. Just a personal hunch. Yahoo has him as the 20th best starter but I would drop him down to about 40th.
Squiggy in Seattle
From Jeremy Muck's website:
Quote:M's hire Squiggy: David Lander, better known as "Squiggy" from the "Laverne & Shirley" sitcom during the 1970s and former owner of Portland's minor league team, has been hired as an associate scout, helping out in Southern California. End Quote
Many people may not know that David Lander also suffers from MS. This is from a description of his book, Fall Down, Laughing : How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn't Tell Nobody by David L. Lander, Lee Montgomery (Contributor):
Quote: In the summer of 1999, David Lander revealed publicly that he suffers from multiple sclerosis-a secret he'd kept for fifteen years even while living and working in Hollywood's celebrity fishbowl. Diagnosed with the illness after filming the last episode of Laverne and Shirley, Lander continued to develop his film and television career while hiding his illness. His success was an astonishing testament to his physical and emotional strength and his determination to prove that those with M.S. can still enjoy fulfilling and challenging lives.
Fall Down, Laughing is the humorous and poignant story of Lander's courageous struggle with multiple sclerosis. Over the years, Lander tried everything to improve his condition: exercise programs, alternative medicine, support groups, the latest crop of designer drugs. Weaving his experiences against a backdrop of entertaining celebrity anecdotes, Lander offers a message of affirmation that will provide information and hope to millions of M.S. sufferers, their friends and caregivers.
About the Author
Best known for his portrayal of the character "Squiggy" on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley (1976-1983), David Lander has appeared in feature films including Who Framed Roger Rabbit, A League of Their Own, and A Bug's Life. He has guest-starred on more than thirty television shows, including Mad About You, Twin Peaks, and Pacific Blue. A lifelong baseball fan, he is a scout for the Anaheim Angels and part owner of the Portland Beavers, a Minor League ballclub. End Quote
From everything I have heard - David Lander is a very nice guy and I know that I wish him all the best.
Song Remakes
I'm surprised that nobody has remade any of Jim Croce's songs. His lyrics are timeless. Someone like Sheryl Crow could really do a nice job with a song like Operator. On the other hand - I hope nobody ever does a remake of a Beatles song as long as Michael Jackson owns the copyrights.
I have said it before and I will say it again - if bands and artists got together to do a Warren Zevon tribute CD - it would be the most critically acclaimed CD of the year. Somebody should make sure that this happens.
Fantasy Baseball Thoughts
After looking over the pre-rankings of the starting pitchers at Yahoo.com - I though I would share some of my "buy" thoughts (but not all because I still haven't had my drafts yet).
Top 5 Buys (undervalued pitchers)
1. Derek Lowe - Yahoo has him ranked 36th among starters but this year he should put up numbers like 2002 when he was a Cy Young candidate. Lowe won't help too much with K's or K/9 but for most of the year he should be matched up against other teams #3 pitchers - which should lead to a big win total for Lowe. Also his sinkerball allows him to keep a low pitch count - that should lead to a number of complete games and possibly some shutouts (I know he only had 1 in 2002 but this is Lowe's contract year). I would try and make him your #2 starter.
2. Jeff Weaver - not even in Yahoo's top 100. He should return to his 17-6 / 3.18 ERA 2002 form pitching half his games in the expanses of Chavez Ravine and all of his games away from the pressure of Yankee Stadium. A good #3 for your team.
3. Randy Johnson - ranked by Yahoo as the 6th best starter and 28th best player overall. I would take a risk on Randy and put him as the number 1 or 2 starter in all of baseball (along with Pedro) and a top 10 fantasy pick overall.
4. John Thomson - he will be this year's Russ Ortiz. Look for him to have 17 wins for the Braves. Good #3 or #4 guy.
5. Johan Santana - look for him to get some serious Cy Young consideration this year if he stays healthy. Potential 20 wins. Santana could post the kind of numbers that Derek Lowe posted in 2002 when he too was making the switch of coming out of the bullpen to being a starter.
Correction Noted
Hi Chris,
I enjoy reading your blog. In your entry on baseball milestones, you said:
"With two HR – Sammy Sosa will have 541 as a Cub – breaking the franchise record held by Ernie Banks"
Sammy does have 539 home runs, but only 510 as a Cub. With two more he will tie Ernie Banks for the franchise record at 512.
Thought you'd like to know.
Tom Hogan
Hello again...hello
One of the benefits of this new blog is that it puts me back in touch with many of my old Internet bretheren. Last night I heard from Jeremy Muck - one of the original columnists for the Sportspages.com weblogs. Jeremy has his own sports blog over at BremSportsFolk. Give the link a click and check it out!
Patton
I watched Patton the other night and thought if I commented on it that I might be able to get the music from the movie out of my head.
The movie won 6 Academy Awards and had 4 stars. You had George C. Scott, Karl Malden, the original music score by Jerry Goldsmith and the writing - which was done by Hollywood veteran Edmund North and relative newcomer Francis Ford Coppola. In fact - in the character of Patton you can see sure signs of Vito, Sonny and Michael. Mostly Sonny but definitely no Fredo.
It is interesting to note that George C. Scott won the Academy Award as best actor for his performance but refused to accept a trophy (he didn't even attend the ceremony) because he didn't feel like he was competing with the other actors.
John Wilmot second Earl of Rochester
Johnny Depp is set to portray this guy in a movie that is now in production called The Libertine. When I read the brief biography knowing that Depp was to play him - I couldn't help thinking of the guy as sort of the personification of Captain Jack Sparrow.
That got me thinking - wouldn't it be cool if Depp could reprise his Captain Jack Sparrow role in a series of biographical movies? Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow plays Churchill, Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow plays Babe Ruth, and to cap it off - Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow plays Keith Richards (the man the character was modeled after in the first place).
I think that would be pretty cool.
I love the 5's and 9's
Normally I bet the pass line and if a 5 or a 9 come up - I'll make a place a bet on the one that didn't come up (I do the same for the 4 and 10). After reading this - I'll change my play the next time down at Foxwoods and see how it works out.
Baseball Money Matters
Kris Benson is on the trading block. The teams rumored to be interested in Benson and his $6.10 million contract include the Yankees (of course), the Cardinals, the Phillies, the Braves and possibly the Red Sox. The 29-year old right-hander only counts for $3.45 million against the cap - which could be a factor in negotiations with the Yankees and Red Sox (the only two teams over the cap). Benson would cost the Red Sox or Yankees $7.825 million including luxury tax money (assuming my math is correct).
Since the Pirates would be looking for prospects in return - I would expect that it wouldn't be the Yankees or Red Sox in the lead for the guy who spells his first name incorrectly.
One last thought on the matter; if the Pirates are successful in trading the contracts of both Benson and Jason Kendall - they potentially could have a payroll of less than $20 million. Is it possible that the Pirates will get enough money from league merchandise, TV and luxury tax sharing that they will be in the black without a fan going through a turnstile?
Credit where credit is due
Last spring Jacob Luft of SI.com wrote - "Years from now, the Cubs may rue the trade of Dontrelle Willis to the Marlins, in which they received the high-salaried duo of Antonio Alfonseca and Matt Clement.
Willis emerged seemingly from nowhere last season to become one of the top left-handed pitching prospects in the game, going 10-2 with a 1.83 ERA at Class A Kane County and 2-0, 1.80 at Class A Jupiter.
The reports on him are nothing but glowing, and many believe he will either make the club out of camp or be a midseason call-up at the latest."
Man did he nail that one on the head.
Heh heh
Three out of the five Yankees from last year's SI Baseball Preview cover are no longer on the team. Does that mean that George now thinks you can have enough pitching?
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My Asshat Congressman
Rep. Jim McGovern voted against the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act. The Act is designed to stop lawsuits from people who blame companies like McDonalds because they got fat eating too many cheeseburgers. I know my Congressman is basically a rubber stamp for the Democratic Party leadership but I just wish he would use some common sense once and a while. How about some personal responsibility Jim? Thank goodness the Act passed by a vote of 276 to 139. You can see how your Representative voted by clicking here.
Excellent Post by Michele
Michele Catalano puts into words what many have been feeling since 9/11. Read what she so eleoquently wrote but also read the comments that follow because it is instructive in proving her point. Some people just don't understand that if they try to put a flower in the muzzle of a terrorist's gun - the terrorist won't lay down their arms - they simply will pull the trigger.
Hmmm....Interesting
From Baseball Prospectus - "Consulting firm Deloitte and Touche, known around the Puget Sound for their work sending local AT&T Wireless jobs to India, pegged the Seattle Mariners as the fourth-richest sports franchise in the United States, taking in $208.3m in revenue. The Red Sox had estimated revenues only $4m[illion] higher that [than?] the Mariners in third place. Boston is expected to carry a payroll of about $130 million heading into the 2004 season. The Mariners may start the season with about $86m in actual payroll commitments. Deloitte said they based their figures on "financial statements or other reliable sources". The Mariners declined comment."
The Mariners do have a new stadium and may be carrying a bigger debt burden but a $44 million difference? That's pretty steep.
Victor Davis Hanson on Healthcare in the US
First hand observations on healthcare in the US from the man who should be our next Secretary of State (if I were king).
Potential Opening Day Milestones
On Opening Day across Major League Baseball many players will have a chance to either reach significant personal milestones or move up in the all-time record books. I have compiled a list of the milestones that potentially have a chance to happen on Opening Day. I grant that some have better chances of happening (i.e. John Olerud getting one walk to move into 43rd place all-time) than others (Gary Sheffield getting four HR to move past Jim Rice for 43rd place all-time) but since you never know what is going to happen in baseball – I listed all those milestones with even an outside shot of happening.
· Roberto Alomar needs one double for 499 to move into 40th place all-time passing Bill Buckner, Al Kaline and Sam Rice. With two doubles he’ll move into 39th place all-time passing Rusty Staub. Three doubles moves Alomar into 38th place – passing Goose Goslin
· With one HR – Adrian Beltre will reach the 100 HR mark for his career
· Barry Bonds needs three HR for 661 to move into 3rd place all-time passing Willie Mays
· If Barry Bonds gets four doubles for 540 then he will move into 21st place all-time passing Al Simmons. If he gets five doubles – he’ll move into 20th place passing Dave Winfield and Joe Medwick
· Greg Colbrunn needs two HR to reach the 100 HR mark for his career.
· Cliff Floyd needs three hits to reach the 1,000 hit mark for his career
· Juan Gonzalez needs three HR for 432 to pass Cal Ripken and move into 30th place all-time
· Kenny Lofton needs three stolen bases for 541 to move into 37th place all time – passing John Ward
· Edgar Martinez needs one double for 492 to move into 44th place all-time – passing Heinie Manush
· Edgar Martinez needs three HR to reach the 300 HR mark for his career
· Tino Martinez needs one HR to reach the 300 HR mark for his career
· John Olerud needs one walk for 1199 to move into 43rd place all-time passing Richie Ashburn
· Rafael Palmeiro needs one walk for 1225 to move into 40th place all-time passing Jimmy Wynn
· Rafael Palmeiro needs one double for 544 to move in 18th place all-time passing Tony Gwynn. (Potentially Palmeiro can pass Wynn in walks and Gwynn in doubles on the same day making for many rhyming headlines)
· Rafael Palmeiro needs four runs for 1552 to move into 46th place all-time passing Reggie Jackson
· Gary Sheffield needs one HR for 380 to move into 47th place all-time passing both Orlando Cepeda and Tony Perez. With three HR he moves into 45th place all-time – passing Albert Belle. With four HR he moves into 43th place all-time – passing Jim Rice and Frank Howard. (Sheffield is in a race with Jim Thome who has 381 career HR.)
· Alfonso Soriano needs two HR to reach the 100 mark for his career.
· Sammy Sosa needs two RBI for 1452 to move into 46th place all-time – passing Jim Rice. With four RBI Sosa will pass Eddie Matthews for 45th place.
· With two HR – Sammy Sosa will have 512 as a Cub – tying the franchise record held by Ernie Banks.
· Jim Thome needs one HR for 382 to move into 45th place all-time passing Albert Belle.(As mentioned above – Thome will be in a season long race with Sheffield who currently has 379 HR.)
· Omar Vizquel needs one stolen base to reach the 300 mark for his career.
Should be interesting to keep an eye out for many of these marks on Opening Day.
Heh heh
From today's Boston Herald; ``The question is: What will the climate be?'' said one political pundit. ``Has Bush successfully painted Kerry as a Massachusetts liberal the same way his father did with Mike Dukakis? In that case, you may not want Ted [Kennedy] to be a big face at the convention.''
Ted Kennedy - big head - big face - how are they going to manage to hide his noggin? How can you stop him from being a "big face"? My big hope is that Kennedy and Kerry don bowler hats and do a Laurel and Hardy act in prime-time.
Moral Idiocy
Serendipity. I used the word idiocy in my last post and the next article I read is this fine reminder from John Podhoretz on the "moral idiocy" of some in this country.
Looking back
A year ago one of the most talked about sports and political stories of the day was Manhattanville basketball player Toni Smith's protest - which consisted of her turning her back on the US flag during the playing of the anthem. Somehow this non-story got discussed in every newspaper in the country.
What got me thinking about this was a reminder in Instapundit of the girls protesting in Spain who only a year ago dressed up as belly-dancing suicide bombers. There is no need to wonder how that type of nonsense would go over in Spain today. The sadness and anger in Spain today would not permit such idiocy. I hope that the memory of the Spanish is longer than the memory of people like Toni Smith who would rather believe in "bake sales not bombers" even though she went to school in what should have been the shadow of the Twin Towers.
A year ago I compared Toni Smith to Forrest Gump - you can find that column here.
Conspiracy Theory
Below I linked to a story alleging that Alex Rodriguez has been seeing a Brazilian stripper. The story was printed in today's New York Post. If true - A-Rod is obviously not the first athlete to frequent a strip club. The question has to be asked - "who ratted him out and why?"
Sandy (who's a guy) suggests that maybe the item was planted by Derek Jeter. Now that's probably a stretch but it does make you say "hmmmm..."
The other question that has to be asked is "how soon before we get 'exclusive" interviews and pictures of this Brazilian beauty?" Her liaisons with A-Rod are obviously blown (heh heh). What's the likelihood of a stripper cashing in on this sort of notoriety? I would have to say that the likelihood is very high.
I would give it 24-hours.
Victor Davis Hanson Friday!
Another fine column from Victor Davis Hanson. Shining light on the falsehood of myths about "blood for oil". As always - must reading.
Lynch (no relation) let go by Tampa
John Lynch was told that he would not be retained by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I personally hope he’s signed by the Patriots just so I can buy a Partiots jersey with the name Lynch on the back (I know the chances of this are very slim). I also think that this is a bad move by Tampa. It reminds me of San Diego cutting Rodney Harrison last year. Harrison became the heart and soul of the Patriots defense that led to a Super Bowl Championship
We'll do it together!
"We won't change our path for terrorists. We will defeat them. We will finish them off." - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar after the bombings of commuter trains in Madrid yesterday that killed more than 190 people.
Names you should know
Kevin Jarre wrote one of my favorite movies - 1993’s Tombstone (staring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer). Jarre also wrote the screen story for The Mummy and 1988’s Glory plus he wrote the screenplay for Rambo: First Blood Part II in 1985. If you see his name attached to a movie as a writer – chances are the movie will be worth your money.
Reggie Speaks out on Steroids Cheaters
We are starting to see the tip of the iceberg in regard to baseball players and ex-players speaking out in regard to those who have decided to use steroids to gain unfair advantages. Wednesday, Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson became among the first to make his true feelings known.
Reggie Jackson made some comments to the Atlanta Journal Constitution and based upon his comments – I would guess he was pissed.
"Somebody definitely is guilty of taking steroids…Henry Aaron never hit 50 in a season, so you're going to tell me that you're a greater hitter than Henry Aaron?" said Mr. October. "[Barry] Bonds hit 73 [in 2001], and he would have hit 100 if they would have pitched to him. I mean, come on, now."
Jackson is known to have quite an ego and seeing players who may have used steroids pass him on the all-time home run list must be eating at him. Reggie has seen Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire pass him on the list and Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro will soon pass him. Jackson must have heard whispers of steroid use (and in many cases out right shouts) about all four players.
I think Jackson has a reason to be peeved.
Consider the fact that after 12 full seasons, at the age of 33 – Jackson had 369 HR.
Interestingly enough Bonds, McGwire and Palmeiro all had 12 full seasons and were 33 years old in 1998. Now many people have pointed to 1998 as the watershed year in steroids use. I haven’t seen any solid proof of this but it does make some sense.
Consider that after 12 full seasons, at the age of 33 – Bonds had 374 (only 5 more than Jackson), McGwire had 387 (18 more than Jackson) and Palmeiro had 314 (55 less than Reggie). How did all of these guys all find the fountain of youth and power at the same time? What’s the odds on that?
Jackson had one 40+ HR season prior to 33 and one after 33 years old. Bonds had three 40+ HR seasons in his first 12 years but then miraculously four 40+ seasons after 33 years old. Palmeiro never had a 40+ HR season prior to 1998 but since then he has had four. McGwire hit 70 and 65 HR’s in consecutive seasons when he was 34 and 35.
Consider that when Reggie was 38 years old he managed 25 home runs but Bonds managed 45 at the same age last year. The 25 home runs by Jackson show that he was still productive at an advanced age (by baseball standards). The 45 by Bonds look freakish. The numbers really don’t add up.
Jackson thinks that some players have used steroids to enable themselves to hit enough home runs and knock him off his pedestal and I think he’s right to be pissed. I also think that because the nature of steroids is so insidious that before long people will be wondering if Jackson himself was a steroids abuser.
How long before someone posts pictures of Jackson as a slim rookie with the A’s vs. a beefy picture of him with the Yankees?
Yup – this steroids business is truly insidious.
Please send any thoughts or comments to of4dad@hotmail
Martha Burk - Still an Uber Harpy
Well it’s almost time for The Masters – so I thought I would check in to see what Uber Harpy Martha Burk was up to this year.
The National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) has a whole page devoted to Augusta National on their web site. This in itself is interesting – does this mean that getting a woman member at Augusta National is the single most pressing issue facing women today? No other single issue gets its own page. A cynic would say that Martha Burk and the NCWO is just trying to cash in on a little controversy just for the sake of the free press coverage.
The Augusta National Golf Club Story: 2004
NCWO Protest Continues
Building on 2003, 2004 Targets Corporate Actions
The strongest lesson for women to come out of the 2003 Augusta National controversy is that corporate America is still willing to sanction sex discrimination at the highest levels. The Augusta membership roster reads like a roll call of the Fortune 100, with CEOs and Chairmen from companies like American Express, the Bank of America, Citigroup, General Electric, Berkshire Hathaway, Motorola, Prudential, Hormel Foods, Bassett Furniture, and many more (www.augustadiscriminates.org).
Building on 2003? The protest was a complete disaster for Burk. She was a laughingstock. The protester who claimed his name was Heywood Jablome came away looking better than Burk.
In 2004 NCWO is concentrating on ending this very public form of discrimination by corporate CEOs, which legitimizes it throughout their companies and with society in general, effectively sending a message that sex discrimination is not serious discrimination. Accordingly, we are seeking meetings with these corporate leaders and women who work in their companies. If you work for a company involved in Augusta, please e-mail us at marthab@ncwo-online.org. We'd like to hear your story.
I have two problems here: first sex discrimination – is that like when an organization will limit its membership solely on the basis of the person’s gender? Funny – more than half of the “member” organizations of NCWO (not to be confused with the North Carolina Wind Orchestra) are women ONLY organizations. I guess this falls under the “Yeah but that’s different” defense.
The second issue I have is what appears to be an appeal for snitches. “We would like to hear your story”? I’m half tempted to write her an email saying my name is Imma Hogg and that I work for American Express just to see what kind of coaching these folks are willing to stoop to.
NCWO is working with a group of powerful institutional investors to bring pressure on CEOs not to condone sex discrimation [sic] through their actions, such as belonging to a club like Augusta. These socially responsible investment companies, led by Calvert, Walden, Domini, Trillium, and Shorebank, have confronted the New York Stock Exchange about the Augusta membership of NYSE Chairman John Reed. Read their letter at iccr.org.
Looks like they lined up some pretty heavy hitters there [sarcasm off]. Hey Martha – if you are going to cry about discrimination – at least learn to spell the word!
As part of the continuing corporate campaign, similar letters will go to all of the companies involved in with Augusta national, whether through memberships or sponsorships. We urge consumers to make their views known (www.augustadiscriminates.org).
Here’s the thing that I really hopes bites Martha Burk in the ass – many of the companies who she would have you boycott also are big contributors to the organizations who make up the NCWO. To me it would be funny if say the Bank of America stopped sending checks to say the YWCA and when the YWCA asked “Y” – the Bank of America simply said, “Ask Martha Burk.” Of course this would never happen because Martha Burk is a joke and her claim of representation for many of these women’s organizations is also a joke.
Augusta Loses All Sponsors For 2004
Augusta National Golf Club has announced that it has no television sponsors for 2004, so the tournament will again be broadcast commercial free. NCWO believes CBS is underwriting Augusta and its discriminatory practices (and costing stockholders money) by continuing to broadcast the tournament over the objections of women's groups and viewers who oppose discrimination.
This is the only thing that I’m happy about. Commercial free TV! Yee haw!
Augusta really doesn’t need sponsor money and last year’s telecast went over huge for CBS. The thing that is kinda sad is the fact that Augusta is a non-profit organization and much of the advertising dollars used to be spent in the community in the form of charitable contributions. Some enterprising writer should do an in depth study of the damage Martha Burk's ego trip has played on real charitable organizations.
Will We Protest At The Gates?
NCWO has not ruled out a protest during the 2004 Masters Golf Tournament, nor have we decided to mount a protest. In 2003, the Augusta National Golf Club pressured city officials to change their protest ordinance, making it impossible for NCWO to get near the front gates of the Club. We have sued the City of Augusta with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union; our case is still pending. We don't know if the courts will rule in time for the 2004 tournament. If they do not, we would again be confined to property owned and controlled by the club, almost a mile from the front gates. This would render any protest ineffective.
What rendered your protest ineffective is the fact that nobody cares about your stupid protest. Iron my shirt! Make my dinner! Those are the signs that people remember from last year’s circus. Oh if only it could be proved that you lied to the Feds so that Martha Stewart could make you her prison bitch!
Other Action for 2004
While we may not have a physical presence in Augusta during the 2004 Masters, NCWO will continue to raise awareness of the Club's discrimination against women through media and grassroots action. If you want to be involved in opposing sex discrimination at Augusta, contact us at staff@ncwo-online.org
Give it up honey – stick a fork in it – you’re done. Martha Burk may have gotten more than her allotted 15 minutes of fame but thank God it’s over.
Please send any thoughts or comments to of4dad@hotmail.com
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