Background info to the picture here.
Hat Tip - Spaceman
Chris Lynch's slanted view on sports, politics and entertainment. Please send thoughts or comments to chris.lynch@gmail.com
While Denzel Washington was visiting BAMC [Brook Army Medical Center], they gave him a tour of one of the Fisher Houses [a hotel where soldiers’ families can stay, for little or no charge, while their soldier is staying in the hospital]. He asked how much one of them would cost to build. He took his check book out and wrote a check for the full amount right there on the spot. The soldiers overseas were amazed to hear this story and want to get the word out to the American public, because it warmed their hearts to hear it.EDIT: D'oh! It seems this isn't the whole truth - from Snopes:
The problem, according to Fisher House President David Coker, is that while Washington did make a 'sizeable' donation to the program, the e-mail claim is almost entirely bogus.I guess I should have followed the Reagan advice of "trust but verify" before posting.
"Denzel came to visit with the soldiers and Marines being cared for at Brooke Army Medical Center last December 17th," Coker said. "He visited with them and told them how much he respects their service. He also toured one of the two Fisher Houses at Brooke Army Medical Center."
Washington told Coker at the time he would like to make a commitment to support the work of Fisher House.
"Denzel did not take out a checkbook and write a check on the spot," Coker says. "He seldom carries a check book with him."
Coker said Washington did in fact make a sizeable donation to Fisher House several months after his visit to BAMC. He declined to comment on the size of the donation, but it was not enough to build a new Fisher House.
[Coker also] said the fact that Washington, 49, did not write a check 'on the spot' does not diminish his contribution to the Fisher House and his support 'for the men and women who serve our country.'
No Sox games today, but I noted that Aaron Small got the win for the Yankees in his 2nd start this season.
Maybe I'm just a puerile 12-year-old at heart, but Small Wang, Brown Johnson is either the rotation or a porno version of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Now if only the Yankees would acquire R.A. Dickey.
There are a million Muslims in Israel — the mother of all evils in the radical Islamic mind. Yet very few have turned themselves into global jihadists, and hundreds are not blowing themselves up daily in Tel Aviv, much less in London or New York. Why? Perhaps the twofold knowledge that they have rights in Israel not found in the Arab world that they don’t wish to forfeit, and they are surrounded by people who would not tolerate their terrorism.
For the first time, Afghans and Iraqis have a stake in their own future — and know the United States is at last on the right side of history and intends to stay and win by their side.
What is love? What is this longing in our hearts for togetherness? Is it not the sweetest flower? Does not this flower of love have the fragrant aroma of fine, fine diamonds? Does not the wind love the dirt? Is not love not unlike the unlikely not it is unlikened to? Are you with someone tonight? Do not question your love. Take your lover by the hand. Release the power within yourself. Your heard me, release the power. Tame the wild cosmos with a whisper. Conquer heaven with one intimate caress. That's right don't be shy. Whip out everything you got and do it in the butt. By Leon Phelps
Bret Boone to TwinsI would like to note that Boone has just 1.3 runs created and a .217 OBP since joining the Twins. Meanwhile Tony Graffanino has a .318 batting average, a .400 OBP and 2.8 runs created since being traded to the Red Sox.
The Minnesota Twins acquired Bret Boone from the Mariners today for a player to be named later and cash. You can mark this down as the day that the Twins bowed out of the AL Wild Card race.
Boone's washed up and 2nd is an area the Twins really needed an upgrade. Now they have just committed themselves to using Boone and precluding themselves from dealing for a better solution like Tony Graffanino of the Royals or Orlando Hudson of the Blue Jays.
The Twins have maybe one more move to make before the trading deadline and unless it is a home run (make that a grand slam) for a big bat then they are cooked. I say that the Wild Card will come down between the Cleveland Indians and the Oakland A's. The Twins are officially out of it after this move for Bret Boone.
Danny Haren of the A's is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his last two starts. Prior to this Haren was 1-7 with a 5.02 ERA. The big difference is control. In his last two starts Haren hasn't walked anyone while striking out 9. Before - he had 27 walks and 46 K's. If Haren can harness this control and Harden comes back and pitches the way he was pitching before he went on the DL and finally if Barry Zito continues his improvement - then it is probably too early to count out the A's as many people are doing. Huston Street looks like the real deal at closer and Eric Chavez is coming around. The A's need a big bat and Bill Beane isn't shy on pulling the trigger on a deal. Don't count out the A's yet.Just so you don't think that I got lucky with that bit of foresight - here's what I said about the A's in January:
The Baseball Crank takes a look at Oakland's off season moves and he concludes that they took a significant step backward this offseason.So I'm no Johnny come lately to thew A's bandwagon but I must admit that I'm not sold on them winning the AL West.
I disagree. I think the A's could be a real sleeper this season. Here are my thoughts:
- Kendall is a significant offensive upgrade at catcher
- Hopefully the A's will have a full season of Eric Chavez who missed significant time last year and who should be an MVP candidate year-in and year-out
- Bobby Crosby offensively had a great deal of drop off after the All-Star break. Hopefully he'll make the adjustments and add even more to the offense
- The AL West isn't exactly a pitcher's division. Even with the revamped rotation - it is possible that the A's still have the best starting pitching in the division
- The A's have a stocked farm system and have the prospects necessary to make a big splash at trade-deadline time.
I think the Oakland A's win the AL West next year.
D-plus-1 Day [on Iwo Jima], Private First Class Lucas and three other men were suddenly ambushed by a hostile patrol which savagely attacked with rifle fire and grenades. Quick to act when the lives of the small group were endangered by two grenades which landed directly in front of them, Private First Class Lucas unhesitatingly hurled himself over his comrades upon one grenade and pulled the other one under him, absorbing the whole blasting force of the explosions in his own body in order to shield his companions from the concussion and murderous flying fragments. By his inspiring action and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice, he not only protected his comrades from certain injury or possible death, but also enabled them to rout the Japanese patrol and continue the advance.What the official citation does not tell you is that Jacklyn Lucas snuck into the Marines when he was just 14 and that his actions on Iwo Jima came when he was still just 17. It should also be noted that Lucas smothered two hand grenades with his body and amazingly lived to tell the tale.
An actual sign I saw at a restaurant in South Carolina this past week:
No Shirt, No Shoes - No Service
No Pants - Definitely No Service
"Americans deserve a Supreme Court that is fair, independent, ethical and served by justices committed to our constitutional freedoms rather than an ideological agenda. Justice O'Connor refused to use her position as a means to advance a political agenda. In replacing her, we must be confident Judge Roberts will do the same. "We know Judge Roberts is no Sandra Day O'Connor, and the White House has sent a clear signal. There are serious questions that must be answered involving Judge Roberts' judicial philosophy as demonstrated over his short time on the appellate court. The Senate must learn whether he has clear consistent principles upholding Constitutional standards like civil rights and the right to privacy in Roe v. Wade. These issues are in serious question if you take even a cursory glance at his record. "The American people expect the Senate to fulfill its duty to conduct a thorough, independent review of any nominee, and I intend to do exactly that. I hope Judge Roberts and the White House are forthcoming about his qualifications, background and constitutional philosophy so the Senate can act with all the facts. There's too much at stake to do anything less."Where to start?
"It is offensive to suggest that a potential justice of the Supreme Court must pass some presumed test of judicial philosophy. It is even more offensive to suggest that a potential justice must pass the litmus test of any single-issue interest group. The disturbing tactics of division and distortion and discrimination practiced by the extremists of the new right have no place in these hearings and no place in the nation's democracy."First Kerry's global test and now a judical test? For a guy who was a pretty poor student he really has a thing for other people taking tests. Maybe Teddy can explain to the Junior Senator how "offensive" his judicial test is.
"I hope Judge Roberts and the White House are forthcoming about his qualifications, background and constitutional philosophy so the Senate can act with all the facts. There's too much at stake to do anything less."This is from the guy who ran for President of the United States without releasing either his medical records or his military records. Unbelievable.
A young woman was standing in the doorway, a woman of such breathtaking beauty that the room seemed to have become strangely airless. She was tall and willowy with long blonde hair and appeared to emanate a faint, silvery glow. To complete this vision of perfection, she was carrying a heavily laden breakfast tray.I'm sorry but the paragraph made me think about the old joke about watching a Celtics / Lakers game with Cindy Crawford, making mad passionate love to her at half-time and then she turns into a pizza. That was the old vision of perfection.
"It would be a very strange thing," he had written his friend James Parker in 1751, if six nations of ignorant savages [the Iroquois] could be capable of forming a scheme for such a union... and yet that a like union should be impracticable for ten or a dozen colonies, to whom it is more necessary."Maybe no single issue united the colonies more than the passage of the Stamp Act. In response to the Stamp Act, representatives from nine colonies met in New York in October of 1775. Again from Isaacson:
The motto they adopted was the one Franklin had written as a cartoon caption more than a decade earlier, as he sought to rally unity at Albany: "Join, or Die."While I think it is clear that the framing and final finer points of the Constitution are clearly the influence of Locke, Smith and other European thinkers - I think it is also clear that the example of the Iroquois was there at the genesis of the idea of uniting the colonies under a single Constitution. What is the harm in acknowledging this influence?
Here is what Gee wrote at sj.com on that day: "Today was my first day teaching course 308/722 at the Boston University Dept. of Jounralis (sic). There are six students, most of whom are probably smarter than me, but they DON'T READ THE PAPER!!! Not the Globe, Times, Herald or Wall Street Journal. I can shame them into reading, I guess, but why are they taking the course if they don't like to readRead Scott's Shots for the rest of the story and comments made by Gee. I'm very familiar with the SportsJournalists.com site and I give Gee props for using his own name on a site that is full of people hiding behind screen names. Jason Whitlock is the only other person of note that I can think of that uses his own name at the site. A few points.
But I digress. Now here's the nub of my issue. Of my six students, one (the smartest, wouldn't you know it?) is incredibly hot. If you've ever been to Israel, she's got the sloe eyes and bitchin' bod of the true Sabra. It was all I could do to remember the other five students. I sense danger, Will Robinson."
Jeanie Zelasko of Fox Sports, presenting Miguel Tejada the Ted Williams Trophy for being the All-Star Game MVP, looks to be 22 months pregnant. Either that or she has Ted Williams' frozen head under her blouse
Take a look at Sammy Sosa's numbers from the past four years:Not to pick on Gammons but I wonder if he still sees this as a win-win for both teams? The Cubs were able to replace Sosa's production with Jeromy Burnitz at a reduced rate, they got Mike Fontenot a 25-year old former 1st rounder who had 30 doubles and 10 triples last year at AAA levels and Jerry Hairston, Jr who has been hurt but OK when healthy.
HR: 64, 49, 40, 35
BA: .328, .288, .279, .253
OBP: .437, .399, .358, .332
SLG: .737, .594, .553, .517
TB: 425, 330, 286, 247
OPS+: 201, 160, 135, 110
Do see any positive trends there? I see a players who has gone from hitting at historic levels to being Rob Deer. Now I know that in this deal the Cubs will be paying about $10 million of Sosa's $16 million salary but that still means that the Orioles will be picking up $6 million of the tab and giving up some quality trading chips in the process. All that for the Dominican Rob Deer.
People like Peter Gammons see this as a win-win for both teams. They will argue that the Cubs are happy to be rid of Sosa and the Orioles get a big name star for what they see as a minimal cost. The Orioles think this deal will help them sell tickets.
I see this as a bad deal for the Orioles. Sure Sosa may sell some tickets now but he will drive away an equal amount of fans in the summer months if he continues his downward trends.
Place Poker Player Chip CountGreg Raymer is the man! But Phil Ivey may be the man to beat.
1 Greg Raymer $ 1,064,000
2 Rodney Pardey Jr. $ 1,041,000
3 Brad Kondracki $ 962,500
4 Johnny Howard $ 910,500
5 Bob Larsen $ 796,500
6 Tim Phan $ 746,000
7 Phil Ivey $ 722,500
8 Steve Marx $ 679,500
9 S Bartholomew $ 659,000
10 Gabe Wells $ 655,500
Market rumors of the bid, which were later confirmed by WPT, sent its shares surging almost 59 percent on Friday to a new high of $28.20 on Nasdaq.More info here.
The bid offers a 100 percent premium over the Thursday closing price of $17.75 which valued WPT at about $357 million.