Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- And that's when Kevin realized he wasn't on the Internet anymore.

- Heh Heh

- The collapse of Venezuela's socialism in one chart

-  Interesting - makes sense 

- China had its worst economic quarter since the financial crisis in 2008. They are feeling the pinch of the tariffs.

- Consumer Reports looks at the lower-priced Tesla Model 3

- Dennis Eckersley is such a class guy

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Lean into the pain. Article has been around for a while but it's new to me. And great advice!

- This was very cool by the Arizona Cardinals

- What happens with Kawhi Leonard to me is more interesting than where LeBron chooses to play next season.

-  Rest in peace Marine

- Wrong! The greatest one-hit wonder was written by Francis Scott Key

- This is why Chris Sale is so tough to hit.

- Love Dennis Eckersley

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Jonathan Papelbon has 7 losses on the season of which 3 were against the Yankees. Rafael Soriano only has 2 losses for Rays. If Papelbon was as effective as Soriano then the Red Sox are still in it. If Daniel Bard was the closer then the Red Sox are still in it... Here's a girl spinning around in circles on an escalator . Admit it - after watching that you are thinking of trying it yourself... August was the 44th consecutive month in which Nevada led the nation in housing foreclosures. I'd blame Barney Frank and Harry Reid for that. I can't believe that one or both could be re-elected... Mike Cameron's and Adrian Beltre's seasons both ended so they could attend births of their children. Haven't they ever heard of family planning? Seriously - what if the Red Sox were still battling for a playoff spot?.... Unemployment in Nevada is 14.4 percent - how can voters in that state even think of re-electing Harry Reid?... The things you learn on the Internet - Joe Paterno still holds a share of Brown University's record for career interceptions with 14.... Barack Obama - more paranoid than Nixon and less competent than Carter... The coolest photo you will see all day... The death of Stephen J. Cannell brings up an old question - was the audience ever told why Jim Rockford went to jail? He was an ex-con turned private eye but what was his crime that made Jim Rockford an ex-con?... How about a Jonathan Papelbon for Carlos Beltran trade? Beltran could have 1-year rebirth just like Adrian Beltre just did.... The things you learn on the Internet - A single sperm has 37.5 MB of DNA information in it. That means a normal ejaculation represents a data transfer of 1,587.5 TB. Talk about TMI?.... Happy Birthday to Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley!

The Number 43

Yesterday at the gym I had locker number 43. This got me thinking.

When I was changing from my work out clothes into my swimming suit - I stared at the locker number and I was stumped trying to think of a player from Boston sports history that wore the number. In Boston certain numbers are associated with certain people - so 33 will always be Larry Bird, 4 will always be Bobby Orr, 9 will always be Ted Williams, etc. The whole time I was in the pool doing laps I tried to think of anyone who could have worn the number 43. I was stumped.

I consider myself a bit of a history buff and of course I know the George W. Bush is our 43rd President and that the atomic bomb was in the air for 43 seconds from the time it was dropped from the Enola Gay till it detonated over Hiroshima. Other than that I was drawing a blank on the number 43. So this morning I looked it up.

I was ticked at myself for not remembering Dennis Eckersley who not only wore 43 for the Red Sox but also made the number famous playing for the A's. To a lesser degree I should have remembered that Kendrick Perkins currently wears 43 for the Boston Celtics.

By the way - Idaho was our 43rd state.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Have you seen those Verizon MVP commercials where a guy keeps up with the scores during a wedding / business meeting / funeral? You do realize that this is just the ESPN cell phone offering repackaged by Verizon right? I was hoping that ESPN was going to lose their shirts on that cell phone deal but if they got Verizon to pick up the ball - that means they will probably get out of the debacle without too much bloodletting. Too bad... I'm not happy that CB Bucknor is umpiring in the Red Sox / Angels series. He has no business at all umpiring in the postseason. Bucknor is the worst umpire in baseball by a wide margin... I'm not upset with Tim Wakefield not being on the Red Sox roster for this series. I'm guessing that Wakefield's back is acting up (I think I heard he had a cortisone shot). I'm more upset that Bartolo Colon won't be on the Angels roster. The Red Sox would have had a buffet of hits off this fat bastard. I have to wonder if Colon's elbow issues are due more to picking up a knife and fork more than it is due to throwing a baseball... 12 years ago today - OJ Simpson was found not-guilty of killing his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman. And no - I cannot remember where I was when I heard the verdict... Happy 53rd birthday to Dennis Eckersley. God does the Eck look good for his age. He still looks like he could pitch. He is by far the best in-studio baseball analyst in the business. The Red Sox won't dare lose on the Eck's birthday - will they?

Red Sox Magic Number - 43

The Red Sox magic number is 43 and the lead over the Yankees is 6 games. The Red Sox play 9 of their next 13 games against Tampa Bay and Baltimore - so I don't think anyone in Boston is concerned.

The number 43 is also the number that Dennis Eckersley wore in his days in Boston. There is currently no better studio analyst in the game than Dennis Eckersley. For those of you who don't get NESN - you don't know what you are missing.