Heh Heh

I got a kick out of this.



HT Grouchy Old Cripple

Heavy Fuel

Just a reminder of how great a guitarist Mark Knopfler is.



I've been running on heavy fuel for the past few weeks (if you know what I mean).

Rachael Ray Gives Good Corn

Is the woman on the right Doctor Sue Johnson?

Heh heh.

Football Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous football thoughts and observations.

East Carolina has had a funny season so far. They have not lost a game where they were the underdog and they have not won a game when they were the favorite. Yesterday they were once again the favorite (by 6.5 over Virginia) and they lost outright. Maybe Skip took in those Dr. Holtz underdog pep-talks but missed the Dr. Spurrier how to win when favored talks... Harvard's Ryan Fitzpatric is supposed to start today for the Bengals against the Jets. He can't be any worse than what Carson Palmer has done this season. I'm pulling for him. Am I the only one who finds it amusing that the most effective former USC quarterback in the NFL never started for USC? Palmer has been a wreck, Leinart isn't even starting but Cassel has been very good so far... The linesmakers in Vegas continue to amaze. USC was favored over Arizona State by either 28 or 28.5 points. The Trojans won 28-0... Kellen Winslow is upper upper class high society. God's gift to ballroom notoriety. Winslow always fills his ballroom. The event is never small. The social pages say Kellen Winslow's got the biggest balls of all...

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched a gem last night. Oh I know it's not what may normally be considered a gem but a gem it was. I am amazed how many national writers can't see the forest through the trees when it comes to Dice-K. All they see is the walks - take Lee Jenkins article on SI.com this morning as an example. Jenkins talks about the walks but he never mentions once the reason for the nibbling. Not once!

Well let me explain. Dice-K nibbles because he will not give up a home run. He'd rather nibble on a 3-2 count with men on first and second than groove a fastball just to get a strike and give up a 3-run home run instead. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE HOME RUNS!

Last season Dice-K gave up 25 dingers at a rate of one per every 8.2 innings pitched. This year he only gave up 12 HR at a rate of one per every 14 innings pitched. That a reduction in HR of 41%! That why his ERA when from 4.40 last year to just 2.90 this season (a reduction of 34% year over year).

So yes the walks are up this year - 5 walks per 9 innings pitched vs. 3.5 walks per 9 innings pitched last season - but the home runs are down. And that has made all the difference.

Too bad the experts can't figure that out.

Presidential Odds

Holy crap! Really bad news for John McCain - he's become a huge underdog against Barack Obama instead of pulling closer. The betting odds now stand at:

John McCain +$350
Barack Obama -$500

Meaning - you would win $350 on a $100 bet on McCain or you could risk $500 to win just $100 on Obama. This is a giant difference in odds from just over a week ago when McCain was +$155 and Obama was -$190.

To put this in perspective - Barack being at -$500 is akin to being an 12 point favorite in college football. An 12 point favorite playing AT HOME! Think Georgia vs. Tennessee this weekend with McCain being Tennessee and Obama being Georgia. Yikes!

If you are a McCain supporter you can take heart in thinking of the New York Giants who beat the similarly favored New England Patriots in last year's Super Bowl.

Backroads

Sorry for the lack of posting. I've been busy traveling. I started the week in Ohio, now I'm in Pennsylvania and I'll finish up in New York before heading home to Massachusetts on Friday.

It's been a long week and it's only Wednesday.

What's made it long is the fact that I've been driving. Yup - I drove out to Ohio. Call me crazy but I had my reasons. It was a long drive out but it will be a short ride home when all is said and done.

What's been nice is the opportunity to take some of the backroads. I drove for a long stretch on both Route 20 in New York and on Route 22 in Ohio. That's what I'd like to touch on this morning.

Most people by-pass Route 20 for long trips for the more traveled Route 90 (aka The Mass Pike in MA). Why go 30-50 MPH with stoplights when you can buzz along at high speeds on Route 90? Sunday was a nice day and I wasn't really in a rush - so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to drive Route 20 for a while.

Route 20 is actually the longest road in the US (over 5,400 meandering miles). It goes from Massachusetts to Oregon. It starts at Kenmore Square in Boston (walking distance to Fenway Park) but I picked it up in Auburn, MA (which as it turns out is strangely symmetrical since I got off the route in Auburn, NY).

The change of seasons if definitely underway. The sun was shining, the leaves on the trees are turning colors, I had all the NFL games available to me via satellite radio and I had a nice Macanudo Hampton Court cigar along with a large Dunkin Donuts coffee.

In New York, once you get past Albany, Route 20 winds through farm country. You have long stretches of farms, then a church, then an antique store, more farms, more churches, and more antique stores. Add in some gas stations and some small town main streets and you get the picture.

I picked up Route 22 in Ohio where it intersects Route 40 and took it all the way into Pittsburgh. That route also took me through the tip of West Virginia. It was the farm country of Ohio that interested me though. The contrast with the farm country in New York in particular.

On Route 22 you had the familiar winding roads, changing colors of the trees and the farms with old barns and old farm equipment. However, you had more churches along the route than on Route 20 in New York and the antique store were replaced with gun shops.

I missed the debate last night but I know that Ohio is a key state. Judging by the anecdotal evidence I saw on Route 22 - guns and religion are things that are clung to by rural Ohioans. That spells bad news for Barack Obama.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

If you are ever in a "discussion" with your significant other and she ends the argument with a declarative "Whatever" tacked on at the end - what she is really saying is "fuck you."

Likewise, when a guy (in the Northeast at least) ends his comments with a stand-alone "How's that!" What he's really saying is "fuck you." And if he says "Fuck you! How's that!" He's really saying fuck you twice and is obviously pissed.

Greetings from Penn State

I've been at State College for the past few days - a very beautiful place. Now I'm off to buy some shirts or sweatshirts for the wife and kids.

Is it bad that I refuse to buy "Happy Valley" shirts for my teenage girls?

Those of you whose mind works like mine - know exactly what I'm talking about.

Brave New Foghat

I think I'm going to write a book.

It will be a science fiction work based in the not-too-distant future. It will describe a carefree, healthy, and technologically advanced society based upon the songs of the 70's rock group Foghat.

The book will be a social satire whose main storyline will center around a self-help book similar to Who Moved My Cheese except unlike being a passing fad like WMMC this self-help book - which advocates taking the lyrics of Foghat to heart - literally transforms society. Special attention is paid to people becoming Fools for the City and to the emotions (or lack thereof) to I Just Want to Make Love to You.

People will all live in cities and constantly be engaged in coitus. Oh - and they will also take copious amounts of soma. The book won't be fast paced. It will be more of a Slow Ride of a read.

Kyle Lohse

I'm of two minds regarding the Cardinals signing Kyle Lohse to a 4-year $41 million contract.

On one hand - every contending team needs a number 3 starter who can give you 200 IP. Lohse can be that guy.

On the other hand - they gave him a full no trade clause.

Sure Lohse probably signed the contract in the first place for family financial security reasons and because he likes it in St. Louis. The no-trade was the price to pay. There's nothing to say the Cardinals won't be able to get Lohse to waive that clause if things go South. Lohse has pitched over 170 innings in five of the past six years so I'm guessing it's not a bad news.

The Rundown has a more detail look at the move. His feelings seem to be similar to mine - "Meh - not a bad move but nothing to get excited about."

Lohse is like a decent house salad. Nothing to get excited about - it doesn't make the meal but it's a necessary part of a healthy dining experience. (Possibly the worst analogy I've ever made in this space.)

Presidential Odds

Bad news for John McCain - he's becoming more of an underdog against Barack Obama instead of pulling closer. The betting odds now stand at:

John McCain +$155
Barack Obama -$190

Meaning - you would win $155 on a $100 bet on McCain or you could risk $190 to win just $100 on Obama. This is a reverse of the trend last mentioned here on September 13th. My guess is that the change in odds is due largely to people watching the first debate and saying "Obama isn't that bad."

Odds via Bodog.com

Edgar Renteria

ESPN is reporting that the Tigers won't be bringing Edgar Renteria back next season. I can't say this is much of a surprise. Renteria was so-so in the field (16 errors) and at the plate this season (.699 OPS) for the Tigers. Letting him go is not a problem. It's what it cost the Tigers in the first place that is the problem.

To get Renteria - the Tigers had to give up pitcher Jair Jurrjens who is just 22-years old and whose 13 wins and 3.68 ERA would have tied for best on this year's Tigers team. Jurrjens is a stud pitcher who should be the anchor of the Braves staff for years to come.

I bring this up not to rank on Edgar Renteria or the Tigers but to point out another example of bringing in a aging "All-Star" at the cost of young talent that once again back-fired. This is the Steinbrenner method and it doesn't work. It will be interesting to see which teams learn from this and which teams repeat the mistake.

It will also be interesting to see where Renteria ends up next year. If he doesn't land a job - don't feel too bad for him. He's made over $68 million over the course of his career.

Paul Newman

I've spent a large part of my day reading about Paul Newman - a truly amazing person. It is sad to see the passing of such a legend but it was his time.

Paul once said something like "show me a man with no enemies and I'll show you a man with no character." Maybe Paul Newman was the exception that proves the rule because it seems nobody anywhere has anything bad to say of the man. He was an accomplished actor, a loving husband, a selfless humanitarian and maybe most extraordinary - a regular guy.

People posting meetings with Newman on various threads on the Internets uniformly praise Newman for being such a humble, likable guy in person. He was not just cool incarnate - he was niceness incarnate. It's as if Newman's guiding principle was to live life with a "there but by the grace of God go I" mentality.

Vanity Fair recently had a very good profile of Paul Newman and this was perhaps the anecdote that summed up Paul Newman the man best:

This past year, at one of the usual meetings of parents and children at the original camp, Newman showed up; crowds pressed close. The mother of one little girl spoke to Ray Lamontagne, the head of the camp’s board. Her daughter wanted to tell Paul Newman something, but she couldn’t get over to him because she was in a wheelchair. Lamontagne fought his way through the crowd and brought Newman back to the little girl, and he knelt down by her wheelchair. “For the first time in my life I have a friend,” the little girl told him. “I’ve never had a friend before, because I’ve been in a wheelchair most of my life, so kids avoided me. So thank you, Mr. Newman, for this camp.” Newman had tears in his eyes.

He had already said, “I wanted to acknowledge luck. The beneficence of it in many lives and the brutality of it in the lives of others, especially children, who might not have a lifetime to make up for it.”

Perhaps my favorite Newman role was as Reg Dunlop in Slap Shot (maybe the best sports movie ever made). It is also interesting to play the "what if" game regarding his roles. For instance - Newman supposedly turned down the role of Dirty Harry (a role that Frank Sinatra also supposedly turned down). It has also been written that Newman was offered the role of Quint in Jaws - a role that went to Robert Shaw. And speaking of Shaw - enjoy this bit from another Newman classic - The Sting.

Heh Heh

I agree with Glenn Reynolds - this is the best political video of the season so far.

Heh Heh. Maybe somebody can do John McCain doing Rock Lobster.

Oktoberfest

Putting the OH MY! in Oktoberfest

This one was my favorite.

Johnny Pesky

It is right and fitting that the Red Sox will retire Johnny Pesky's #6 on Friday. Pesky turns 89 on Saturday and has spent the better part of his life as a member of the Red Sox organization. For almost every year since 1942 Pesky has been associated with the Red Sox in one form or another.

Retiring Pesky's number required "bending" the rules the Red Sox had established that stated a player's number can only be retired if the player spent 10 years with the Red Sox, was a Hall of Fame player and also retired with the Red Sox. Technically Johnny Pesky did not meet a single one of the conditions (he last played with the Washington Senators) but the Red Sox owners wisely viewed the rules more as just guidelines.

That leaves open the question of other players such as:

Jim Rice - he will have his number 14 retired. The Red Sox are waiting to see if he gets voted into the Hall of Fame this year. If he does not - then the Red Sox will "bend" the rules once again. Rice still works for the Red Sox as a studio analyst.

Roger Clemens - nope - not gonna happen. Clemens is tied for all-time wins for the Red Sox but his number 21 won't be retired. It's not just the steroids business either. Clemens left the Red Sox with bad blood and many Red Sox fans have no love for him. Heck he's tied with Cy Young for wins and do you see Young being recognized by the Red Sox?

Wade Boggs - nope - not gonna happen. Boggs can get misty about his days with the Yankees or Devil Rays but there's a reason you never see him around Fenway Park (unless he's selling hair plugs).

Dwight Evans - many stat heads will argue that Evans was every bit the player Jim Rice was and if you include defense then I won't argue the point. However, there's a reason contemporaries voted Jim Rice in the top 5 in MVP voting 6 times and Evans just twice. Evans left the Red Sox with bad blood and look no further to the fact that the Red Sox gave 24 to among others Kevin Mitchell as evidence that they had no plans to retire 24. That could have changed if Manny Ramirez stayed with Boston but now you'll see someone else wearing 24 shortly.

Tony Conigliaro - some oldtimers will argue for the retirement of number 25 but you don't retire numbers for "could have beens". Gord Kluzak could have been one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history but knee injuries caused him to retire early. You don't see the Bruins retiring his number. There have been 12 players to wear 25 since Tony C - the most current being Mike Lowell.

Greetings from Nashville

Greetings from the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. This is one of the nicest hotel complexes I've stayed at but you do feel kinda of captive here. Sure they have shuttles that will take you to downtown Nashville but in my mind that's been equated with some sort of work release. The hotel is pretty much self contained with all the dining and entertainment needs met under a single very large roof.

Don't get me wrong - it's very nice here. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy my time here. If I'm honest - then maybe it's the name Gaylord Hotel that has me a little off my game today. As a kid - two of the insults we used to hurl at each other without thinking were "queerbait" and "gaylord". We never stopped to think about the meaning of the insult. We just called each other that without thought and in most cases without hesitation. At heart I guess I'm still a little kid but now I do think about the meanings of words. Do you really want to call someone "bait for queers"? And what is a gay lord? Is that like King Edward II of England?

My sense of humor is still very juvenile which explains why I laughed when I learned that spa at the hotel offers facials including "the Gaylord Glow." Fabulous! I heard that was supposed to be good for the skin.

Maybe if I'm more honest - it's really the ass whipping that the Patriots got yesterday that has me with a not so fresh feeling. I blame myself. I was at the last game the Patriots lost at Foxboro - which was also to the Dolphins. That was the game Doug Flutie hit a dropkick. I blame myself because every time I post my picks in this space bad things happen. Did I really need to have Benedict Arnold picking the Patriots? That won't stop me from still posting my picks from time to time when the spirit moves me. I'm sure there are many out there who either had the Patriots or picked them in a knockout pool thinking it was the safest pick they had all season.

While I'm getting things off my chest though - let me ask if you saw the final game at Yankee Stadium last night? (Yes I know the Green Bay / Dallas game was on at the same time.) The Yankees trotted out all sorts of "Legends". I can understand most of them being included but did you see Wade Boggs on the field? WTF? This is an example of why I dislike Wade Boggs so much. This was also the final nail in the coffin of Wade Boggs' chances to get his number retired by the Red Sox.

Wade Boggs molests collies.

If you need to find me - just check Rusty's sports bar at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. That's probably where I'll be the next few nights.

Leonard Cohen



Happy 74th birthday to the vastly under-rated singer songwriter.

Benedict Arnold Gives You His NFL Picks

On this day in 1780 - Benedict Arnold betrayed his country by giving the British the plans to the American position at West Point. Today we are "lucky" to have the ghost of Benedict Arnold here to make his NFL picks.

ALR: Welcome and thanks for joining us today.

BA: Pleased to be here young master Lynch.

ALR: Before we start on your NFL picks - I must ask you if it bothers you that your name has become synonymous with treason or treachery?

BA: As I say in purgatory - better infamy than no famy at all. What? Right?

ALR: OK... ummmm... so who do you like today in the NFL.

BA: Well I thought it would be nice to start off by picking a game involving a New York team since I won my fame at the battle of Saratoga and my infamy at West Point. However it seems the only team that actually plays in the state of New York is the team in Buffalo of all places. Anyways - the team named the Bills is favored by 9.5 points but if you tease the Bills with the Oakland Raiders you can win with any final score that has the Bills winning by 4 points up to 15 points.

ALR: So like in life - you want to play both sides against the middle?

BA: Well that is a vulgar way to put it but it is a matter of money you see. My next pick may put me in a more favorable light. I strongly support the Patriots giving 12.5 points against Miami.

ALR: So in real life you stabbed the "Patriots" in the back but today you advocate supporting the Patriots?

BA: Well in real life I was getting money for not supporting the Patriots - here I'm only giving points. Speaking of giving - since I "gave" those plans for West Point to the British - I thought it would be humorous to take the team from Pittsburgh but then I learned it's spelled Steelers and not Stealers. So in that case I say take the team from Philadelphia and give the 3 blasted points.

ALR: Thanks for joining us and good luck trying to win another 30 coins of silver.