Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
If you enjoy putting the occasional wager on football games - yesterday was a very interesting day. The day started off with Army pulling the upset over SMU in a game where Army was a better than touchdown underdog. Syracuse then beats Kansas State by 2 points on a last second crap excessive celebration call which had some people suggesting the fix was in (as an aside - even if there was no penalty there is no guaranty that K-State scores the 2 point conversion to force OT). North Carolina then beats Tennessee in a wild finish / meltdown depending on your point of view. If you had Tennessee then you thought the game was won only to see it snatched away literally at the last second. Finally Washington which was a 14-point underdog upsets Nebraska in a start to finish beatdown. Wild, wild day... 50 Funniest Headlines Of 2010... OK I'll say it! The 5 suspended Ohio State players have pledged to return next season - what is to keep them from changing their minds after they play the bowl game? Nothing - nothing at all... World's Happiest Penguin... After 18-years of marriage John Cougar Mellencamp is getting divorced from his 41-year old wife. So does that mean he gets to stay a Mellencamp and she becomes a Cougar?... To borrow a joke from the Baseball Crank - just hours from now, we hear Dick Clark say that magic word..."BRAINS!!!"...
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Jerry Crasnick makes his case for Jeff Bagwell and the Hall of Fame. Here's what bugs me about Jerry's piece - he named every player baseball-reference compares to Bagwell except Fred McGriff - why? Did he purposely make no comparison between Bagwell and McGriff because Crime Dog is considered clean when it comes to steroids and Bagwell not so much?... Jeff Bagwell a 'No' for This Hall Voter. I have to say that he has a point... I shouldn't have to do this but my awesomeness compels me to deny that I have ever used performance enhancing drugs except beer... Very cool chart of weekly 2010 movie revenues... Interesting - supposedly if Michigan waits to fire Rich Rodriguez until after Jan 1st, his buyout drops from $4 million to $2.5 million... Tim Tebow - praise be his name... One the one hand - Jeff Bagwell holds many of the all-time hitting records for the Astros so it should be proper for him to be in the Hall of Fame. On the other hand he made over $128 million playing baseball and if he did do steroids then he's been compensated already.
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Jerry Crasnick makes his case for Jeff Bagwell and the Hall of Fame. Here's what bugs me about Jerry's piece - he named every player baseball-reference compares to Bagwell except Fred McGriff - why? Did he purposely make no comparison between Bagwell and McGriff because Crime Dog is considered clean when it comes to steroids and Bagwell not so much?... Jeff Bagwell a 'No' for This Hall Voter. I have to say that he has a point... I shouldn't have to do this but my awesomeness compels me to deny that I have ever used performance enhancing drugs except beer... Very cool chart of weekly 2010 movie revenues... Interesting - supposedly if Michigan waits to fire Rich Rodriguez until after Jan 1st, his buyout drops from $4 million to $2.5 million... Tim Tebow - praise be his name... One the one hand - Jeff Bagwell holds many of the all-time hitting records for the Astros so it should be proper for him to be in the Hall of Fame. On the other hand he made over $128 million playing baseball and if he did do steroids then he's been compensated already.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Joe Posnanski explains his Hall of Fame choices better than any writer today... Tom Brady got voted in but is not playing in the Pro Bowl. Take that to the bank. He'll either be in Super Bowl or chilling with Giselle having begged off the game with some sort of injury. My guess is Super Bowl... How great would this be for a summer home? Not sure if I'd want to live there year around but that home is wicked cool... Of the 21 players with 300 saves only 3 are lefties - John Franco, Billy Wagner and Randy Myers. I can't think of a major lefty closer playing today. Why is that? Is it because good lefties are always made into starters?... Every time I go skiing I think about this happening. I'm surprised more people weren't hurt... I've made this point before but if in his prime the Yankees offered a Don Mattingly for Wade Boggs swap - the Red Sox make that trade 7 days a week. If it was reversed - if the Red Sox offered Boggs the Yankees turn the trade down 7 days a week.... How Does an Etch A Sketch Work? Etch A Sketch is one of the few toys generations have used and is still cool today... FWIW - Todd Helton's career road OPS is higher (.873 to .857) than George Brett's overall career OPS
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Joe Posnanski explains his Hall of Fame choices better than any writer today... Tom Brady got voted in but is not playing in the Pro Bowl. Take that to the bank. He'll either be in Super Bowl or chilling with Giselle having begged off the game with some sort of injury. My guess is Super Bowl... How great would this be for a summer home? Not sure if I'd want to live there year around but that home is wicked cool... Of the 21 players with 300 saves only 3 are lefties - John Franco, Billy Wagner and Randy Myers. I can't think of a major lefty closer playing today. Why is that? Is it because good lefties are always made into starters?... Every time I go skiing I think about this happening. I'm surprised more people weren't hurt... I've made this point before but if in his prime the Yankees offered a Don Mattingly for Wade Boggs swap - the Red Sox make that trade 7 days a week. If it was reversed - if the Red Sox offered Boggs the Yankees turn the trade down 7 days a week.... How Does an Etch A Sketch Work? Etch A Sketch is one of the few toys generations have used and is still cool today... FWIW - Todd Helton's career road OPS is higher (.873 to .857) than George Brett's overall career OPS
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- The best and worst NBA court designs
- Heh Heh
- Joe Posnanski has a poll on who should gets Hall of Fame votes. Good stuff.
- Before you vote - make sure you check out this graph
- Boston Red Sox Top 20 Prospects for 2011
- Holy crap! Average stagehand at NYC's Lincoln Center makes $290K a year
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- The best and worst NBA court designs
- Heh Heh
- Joe Posnanski has a poll on who should gets Hall of Fame votes. Good stuff.
- Before you vote - make sure you check out this graph
- Boston Red Sox Top 20 Prospects for 2011
- Holy crap! Average stagehand at NYC's Lincoln Center makes $290K a year
Monday, December 27, 2010
Roll Tide
- I believe in the soul, the Roll Tide, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the strong side sweep, high fiber, good scotch, and that the teams of Auburn are self-indulgent, overrated crap. Roll Tide
- In Soviet Russia - Tide Rolls you
- Oh Mandy, you came and you gave without taking - and then I gave you Roll Tide - Oh Mandy
- I see Roll Tide people. Walking around like regular people. They don't see each other. They only see what they want to see. They don't know they're Roll Tide.
- E = Roll Tide Squared
- Confucius say Roll Tide is Erik Estrada - all else is Larry Wilcox. Roll Tide
- Me Roll Tide - you Jane
- Of all the words of tongue and pen - the awesomest are Roll Tide!
- Latin: "Audio, video, disco, Rolltideo" English: "I hear, I see, I learn, I Roll Tide"
- I believe in the soul, the Roll Tide, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the strong side sweep, high fiber, good scotch, and that the teams of Auburn are self-indulgent, overrated crap. Roll Tide
- In Soviet Russia - Tide Rolls you
- Oh Mandy, you came and you gave without taking - and then I gave you Roll Tide - Oh Mandy
- I see Roll Tide people. Walking around like regular people. They don't see each other. They only see what they want to see. They don't know they're Roll Tide.
- E = Roll Tide Squared
- Confucius say Roll Tide is Erik Estrada - all else is Larry Wilcox. Roll Tide
- Me Roll Tide - you Jane
- Of all the words of tongue and pen - the awesomest are Roll Tide!
- Latin: "Audio, video, disco, Rolltideo" English: "I hear, I see, I learn, I Roll Tide"
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Has ESPN's Mike Tirico ever publicly commented on the Brett Favre dong pictures? Just curious because of his history... Toy Grit... Joe Paterno still holds a share of Brown University's record for career interceptions with 14... In the mid-1950s, Kurt Vonnegut ran a Saab dealership in West Barnstable, Massachusetts.... That explains why Liz Lemon was so cool the other day... The lady in the Geigo commercial who thinks the lizard is Stanley must really like small penis. Or maybe the woman is a reverse Richard Gere?... An Atom walks down road when he suddenly bumps into another atom. "Are you okay?" he asks "No! I've lost an electron!" "Are you sure?" "I'm positive!"... Don Corleone's mansion in The Godfather movie is for sale: $2.9 million. How cool would it be to live in the Godfather's house?... It is never a good idea to tell a woman that she looks like Peter Gammons... What the heck?... I watched 10 second of Sarah Palin's Alaska - that was enough... I think Gronkowski is Polish for Ditka... Vince Young's career QB rating is just 75.7 which would be 28th out of 32 QB's this season. Why do people like him again? Titans would be better off if they went after Bruce Gradkowski, Kevin Kolb or Michael Vick in 2011 instead of Vince Young.
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Has ESPN's Mike Tirico ever publicly commented on the Brett Favre dong pictures? Just curious because of his history... Toy Grit... Joe Paterno still holds a share of Brown University's record for career interceptions with 14... In the mid-1950s, Kurt Vonnegut ran a Saab dealership in West Barnstable, Massachusetts.... That explains why Liz Lemon was so cool the other day... The lady in the Geigo commercial who thinks the lizard is Stanley must really like small penis. Or maybe the woman is a reverse Richard Gere?... An Atom walks down road when he suddenly bumps into another atom. "Are you okay?" he asks "No! I've lost an electron!" "Are you sure?" "I'm positive!"... Don Corleone's mansion in The Godfather movie is for sale: $2.9 million. How cool would it be to live in the Godfather's house?... It is never a good idea to tell a woman that she looks like Peter Gammons... What the heck?... I watched 10 second of Sarah Palin's Alaska - that was enough... I think Gronkowski is Polish for Ditka... Vince Young's career QB rating is just 75.7 which would be 28th out of 32 QB's this season. Why do people like him again? Titans would be better off if they went after Bruce Gradkowski, Kevin Kolb or Michael Vick in 2011 instead of Vince Young.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Roll Tide
- Cliff Lee was just an average pitcher until 2008 but since then Roll Tide
- Peggy had a tough career before joining USA Prime Credit but since then - Roll Tide
- I'm sorry I had a fight in the middle of your Black Panther party - Roll Tide
- Hank Greenberg was all blocked up until he started drinking prune coffee but since then Roll Tide
- I was feeling left out but then Chris Berman said I was with him and since then Roll Tide
- We wear the same man thong - we are brother - Roll Tide
- I am too drunk to taste this chicken Roll Tide
- The first rule of Roll Tide is you do not talk about Roll Tide
- May your first child be a masculine child - Roll Tide
- Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel Rolls Tide
- Cliff Lee was just an average pitcher until 2008 but since then Roll Tide
- Peggy had a tough career before joining USA Prime Credit but since then - Roll Tide
- I'm sorry I had a fight in the middle of your Black Panther party - Roll Tide
- Hank Greenberg was all blocked up until he started drinking prune coffee but since then Roll Tide
- I was feeling left out but then Chris Berman said I was with him and since then Roll Tide
- We wear the same man thong - we are brother - Roll Tide
- I am too drunk to taste this chicken Roll Tide
- The first rule of Roll Tide is you do not talk about Roll Tide
- May your first child be a masculine child - Roll Tide
- Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel Rolls Tide
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
It is amusing that on HBO's 24/7 NHL series the closed captioning does not transcribe any of the swears. I mean every other word is "f*ck" but are they trying to protect the sensibilities of deaf people?... Who knew? Not only is there a Saratoga Springs NY - there is also a Saratoga Springs Utah! The Utah town was started in 1997. It would be cool to have homes in both towns... Interesting way to look at it - Wisconsin just mustered the 8th largest army in the world... I recently re-read A Christmas Carol and one Charles Dickens simile that make no sense jumped out at me - "like a bad lobster in a dark cellar." What the hell is that supposed to mean?... Speaking of Christmas carols - a very under-rated one is Annie Lennox singing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen...Not my joke but I'll repeat it - do you think Rex Ryan and his wife spent the last two days sniffing the Christmas stockings?... I think Michael Vick talking about voting for himself for MVP will cost him some votes. Tom Brady would never make that kind of faux pas but then again Tom Brady would never torture and kill dogs either... So that's how it is in that marriage... Cliff Lee was just an average pitcher until 2008 but since then Roll Tide...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
It is amusing that on HBO's 24/7 NHL series the closed captioning does not transcribe any of the swears. I mean every other word is "f*ck" but are they trying to protect the sensibilities of deaf people?... Who knew? Not only is there a Saratoga Springs NY - there is also a Saratoga Springs Utah! The Utah town was started in 1997. It would be cool to have homes in both towns... Interesting way to look at it - Wisconsin just mustered the 8th largest army in the world... I recently re-read A Christmas Carol and one Charles Dickens simile that make no sense jumped out at me - "like a bad lobster in a dark cellar." What the hell is that supposed to mean?... Speaking of Christmas carols - a very under-rated one is Annie Lennox singing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen...Not my joke but I'll repeat it - do you think Rex Ryan and his wife spent the last two days sniffing the Christmas stockings?... I think Michael Vick talking about voting for himself for MVP will cost him some votes. Tom Brady would never make that kind of faux pas but then again Tom Brady would never torture and kill dogs either... So that's how it is in that marriage... Cliff Lee was just an average pitcher until 2008 but since then Roll Tide...
Friday, December 24, 2010
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- The Vancouver Aquarium's holiday card is awesome
- Very Cool. Snowflakes under an electron microscope
- If you are in a technology industry you might find this amusing
- This is why teachers drink As an aside - when I hear the word "Forex" I think condom - so to me Forex Mom = Condom Mom.
- Is Chipper Jones a Hall of Famer? I think so.
- Jason Whitlock on Sexy Ryan. I agree with Whitlock 100% - Ryan has to stop being a clown and start being a coach. I'd take it one step forward - he should step up and own the foot fetish story. If he goes to the podium and says, "Yes that is me and my wife in the videos. I love my wife. I love her feet, I love everything about her. Some men are leg men, some men like breasts best - I like feet. This has nothing to do with our preparations for this Sunday's game so I will not be answering any other questions about it."
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- The Vancouver Aquarium's holiday card is awesome
- Very Cool. Snowflakes under an electron microscope
- If you are in a technology industry you might find this amusing
- This is why teachers drink As an aside - when I hear the word "Forex" I think condom - so to me Forex Mom = Condom Mom.
- Is Chipper Jones a Hall of Famer? I think so.
- Jason Whitlock on Sexy Ryan. I agree with Whitlock 100% - Ryan has to stop being a clown and start being a coach. I'd take it one step forward - he should step up and own the foot fetish story. If he goes to the podium and says, "Yes that is me and my wife in the videos. I love my wife. I love her feet, I love everything about her. Some men are leg men, some men like breasts best - I like feet. This has nothing to do with our preparations for this Sunday's game so I will not be answering any other questions about it."
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Like a good neighbor State Farm is there - with some sexy feet (Rex Ryan after getting into an accident)... Robin Ventura had a 58 game hitting streak while in college. If you used ESPN's thinking in hyping UConn women's streak record you would think that Ventura somehow passed Joe DiMaggio's 56 game record in the big leagues... Very cool letter from Texas A and M coach Mike Sherman... The obscure but entertaining Beef O Bradys Bowl did a 2.0 rating while the uber hyped UConn women's record win did a 1.0 - twice as many people cared about two teams who weren't even in the top 25 than the record breaking UConn team yet President Obama didn't call Coach Strong after the game... Prediction - in 2011 the Hamburgler will finally be brought to Justice while Mayor McCheese will be ousted by a Tea Party candidate... I find it amusing that same people who slam Sarah Palin are also ones who pay to see crap like Little Fockers... Holy crap! Never realized that McNulty is Scrooge's nephew Fred in Patrick Stewart version of A Christmas Carol... My life just got a whole lot less productive now that I found that YouTube has most of the Barney Miller episodes online... The music video for Leather Hands "Vertical Lines" is genius - lousy song but music video is worth it.
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Like a good neighbor State Farm is there - with some sexy feet (Rex Ryan after getting into an accident)... Robin Ventura had a 58 game hitting streak while in college. If you used ESPN's thinking in hyping UConn women's streak record you would think that Ventura somehow passed Joe DiMaggio's 56 game record in the big leagues... Very cool letter from Texas A and M coach Mike Sherman... The obscure but entertaining Beef O Bradys Bowl did a 2.0 rating while the uber hyped UConn women's record win did a 1.0 - twice as many people cared about two teams who weren't even in the top 25 than the record breaking UConn team yet President Obama didn't call Coach Strong after the game... Prediction - in 2011 the Hamburgler will finally be brought to Justice while Mayor McCheese will be ousted by a Tea Party candidate... I find it amusing that same people who slam Sarah Palin are also ones who pay to see crap like Little Fockers... Holy crap! Never realized that McNulty is Scrooge's nephew Fred in Patrick Stewart version of A Christmas Carol... My life just got a whole lot less productive now that I found that YouTube has most of the Barney Miller episodes online... The music video for Leather Hands "Vertical Lines" is genius - lousy song but music video is worth it.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Barney Miller on Jets Foot Fetishes
From the Barney Miller Hot Dogs episode:
Chano: When people lose faith in government it leads to anarchy. You know what anarchy is?
Yamana: That's when people run around doing what they feel like doing. Like the Jets.
From the Barney Miller Hot Dogs episode:
Chano: When people lose faith in government it leads to anarchy. You know what anarchy is?
Yamana: That's when people run around doing what they feel like doing. Like the Jets.
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- The Greatest Letter Ever Printed On NFL Team Letterhead
- The Coelacanth. Just don't call it a living fossil.
- 'Merry Xmas' written in Si atoms in a 100 nm square. Would have been more impressive if they didn't have to abbreviate Christmas.
- Amazing image of MASSIVE cave dwarfing puny explorer.
- Rex Ryan and "ihaveprettyfeet" - Yikes! It's true! In case you don't know what I'm talking about - Rex Ryan And Wife Make A Foot Fetish Video
- Billy Carter launched Billy Beer in 1977. Here's a look at exactly how that came to be
- An interesting take on the Bellagio robbery
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- The Greatest Letter Ever Printed On NFL Team Letterhead
- The Coelacanth. Just don't call it a living fossil.
- 'Merry Xmas' written in Si atoms in a 100 nm square. Would have been more impressive if they didn't have to abbreviate Christmas.
- Amazing image of MASSIVE cave dwarfing puny explorer.
- Rex Ryan and "ihaveprettyfeet" - Yikes! It's true! In case you don't know what I'm talking about - Rex Ryan And Wife Make A Foot Fetish Video
- Billy Carter launched Billy Beer in 1977. Here's a look at exactly how that came to be
- An interesting take on the Bellagio robbery
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Time-Lapse Video of Last Night’s Lunar Eclipse
- Dave Chappelle on Kramer
- 18 Quick Facts About Your Favorite Christmas TV Specials
- Danny Woodhead Tries To Sell His Own Jersey, No One Notices
- Total Eclipse of the Heart: Literal Video Version
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Time-Lapse Video of Last Night’s Lunar Eclipse
- Dave Chappelle on Kramer
- 18 Quick Facts About Your Favorite Christmas TV Specials
- Danny Woodhead Tries To Sell His Own Jersey, No One Notices
- Total Eclipse of the Heart: Literal Video Version
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
I am saddened by the death of Steve Landesberg. His character, Lieutenant Dietrich on Barney Miller was one of my favorites of all-time... Wow - last night's lunar eclipse brought renewed interest for Bobbie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart. I was not aware that E-Street Band stalwarts Max Weinberg (drums) and Roy Bittan (piano) along with Rick Derringer (guitar) played on that song... Business term I hate most is "best effort". If not specified does that mean you're getting whatever effort the vendor feels like?... It is not fair but I can almost guarantee that Jeff Bagwell will get more Hall of Fame votes than Fred McGriff. Both players finished top 10 in MVP voting 6 times and both won 3 Silver Slugger awards at first base but McGriff has more career HR, RBI and total bases... You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft who was also the voice of Tony the Tiger for Frosted Flakes... Like a good neighbor State Farm is there (with me minus 20 pounds). (Shit does not work in real life.)... Do you think the Yankees have called Mike Mussina just to see if he's been keeping in shape?... I imagine the $2 mil the Royals sent to the Brewers in the Zach Greinke trade was for Yuniesky Betancourt's 2012 buyout... When did Terry Bowden turn into Tim Allen from the Santa Clause movie?... The Brewers have now assembled a pretty good starting staff with the Greinke trade but they still need closer. Is Rafael Soriano next move?
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
I am saddened by the death of Steve Landesberg. His character, Lieutenant Dietrich on Barney Miller was one of my favorites of all-time... Wow - last night's lunar eclipse brought renewed interest for Bobbie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart. I was not aware that E-Street Band stalwarts Max Weinberg (drums) and Roy Bittan (piano) along with Rick Derringer (guitar) played on that song... Business term I hate most is "best effort". If not specified does that mean you're getting whatever effort the vendor feels like?... It is not fair but I can almost guarantee that Jeff Bagwell will get more Hall of Fame votes than Fred McGriff. Both players finished top 10 in MVP voting 6 times and both won 3 Silver Slugger awards at first base but McGriff has more career HR, RBI and total bases... You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft who was also the voice of Tony the Tiger for Frosted Flakes... Like a good neighbor State Farm is there (with me minus 20 pounds). (Shit does not work in real life.)... Do you think the Yankees have called Mike Mussina just to see if he's been keeping in shape?... I imagine the $2 mil the Royals sent to the Brewers in the Zach Greinke trade was for Yuniesky Betancourt's 2012 buyout... When did Terry Bowden turn into Tim Allen from the Santa Clause movie?... The Brewers have now assembled a pretty good starting staff with the Greinke trade but they still need closer. Is Rafael Soriano next move?
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
The Brewers have assembled a pretty good starting staff with the Zach Greinke trade but they still need closer. Is signing Rafael Soriano their next move? Do you think they regret missing out on Bobby Jenks?... Who knew that all you had to do to Gnocci to make it funny was to fry it? (I confess I did not know what Gnocci was until I saw the video)... Things that are hard to believe - Kirk Gibson never made an All-Star team... Strife was the son of the goddess Eris (Discord). Strife always followed Discord. I'm not sure if Delonte West ever slept with Eris... In the history of bad free agent signings - ESPN signing Rick Reilly has to be near the top of the list... Biggest indictment of the current BCS system is existence of Beef ‘o’ Brady’s Bowl (Louisville vs Southern Miss). When I first heard the name of the bowl - I thought it was a joke and I'm not sure if I was wrong...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
The Brewers have assembled a pretty good starting staff with the Zach Greinke trade but they still need closer. Is signing Rafael Soriano their next move? Do you think they regret missing out on Bobby Jenks?... Who knew that all you had to do to Gnocci to make it funny was to fry it? (I confess I did not know what Gnocci was until I saw the video)... Things that are hard to believe - Kirk Gibson never made an All-Star team... Strife was the son of the goddess Eris (Discord). Strife always followed Discord. I'm not sure if Delonte West ever slept with Eris... In the history of bad free agent signings - ESPN signing Rick Reilly has to be near the top of the list... Biggest indictment of the current BCS system is existence of Beef ‘o’ Brady’s Bowl (Louisville vs Southern Miss). When I first heard the name of the bowl - I thought it was a joke and I'm not sure if I was wrong...
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Justified
Now that Boardwalk Empire is done - I can't wait for Justified to come back in January.
New episodes of Mad Men would also be greatly appreciated.
Now that Boardwalk Empire is done - I can't wait for Justified to come back in January.
New episodes of Mad Men would also be greatly appreciated.
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Zack Greinke has changed agents and is requesting to be traded. The Rangers seem to be the favorite to land him but you know the Yankees will put on a full court press since they are in desperationland. FWIW - Greinke was 0-2 in 3 starts with an 8.82 ERA at old Yankee Stadium. Makes you wonder whether it was the Yankees or the city?... The world would have been a much better place if John Wooden started a religion instead of L. Ron Hubbard... Does the Clash lyric "He who f*cks nuns will later join the church" explain the Red Sox signing of Carl Crawford?... Just as an FYI - "Britney Spears" is an anagram for “Presbyterians”.... I could see the Yankees spending for Rafael Soriano to be set up guy and as insurance for Mo Rivera especially given weakness of their rotation... Heh heh - great line by Steve Rushin, "In span of 12 days, McRib and McNabb both discontinued"... Can you imagine the number of HR that free agent Jim Thome could hit for the Rangers playing half his games in Arlington? Sure he's slowed some but for his career - Thome has an 1.025 OPS with 15 HR in 206 AB (that's a HR every 13.7 AB)... Interesting fact pointed out by Peter Gammons - Brandon Weeden, the Oklahoma State starting QB was once traded by the Yankees for Kevin Brown...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Zack Greinke has changed agents and is requesting to be traded. The Rangers seem to be the favorite to land him but you know the Yankees will put on a full court press since they are in desperationland. FWIW - Greinke was 0-2 in 3 starts with an 8.82 ERA at old Yankee Stadium. Makes you wonder whether it was the Yankees or the city?... The world would have been a much better place if John Wooden started a religion instead of L. Ron Hubbard... Does the Clash lyric "He who f*cks nuns will later join the church" explain the Red Sox signing of Carl Crawford?... Just as an FYI - "Britney Spears" is an anagram for “Presbyterians”.... I could see the Yankees spending for Rafael Soriano to be set up guy and as insurance for Mo Rivera especially given weakness of their rotation... Heh heh - great line by Steve Rushin, "In span of 12 days, McRib and McNabb both discontinued"... Can you imagine the number of HR that free agent Jim Thome could hit for the Rangers playing half his games in Arlington? Sure he's slowed some but for his career - Thome has an 1.025 OPS with 15 HR in 206 AB (that's a HR every 13.7 AB)... Interesting fact pointed out by Peter Gammons - Brandon Weeden, the Oklahoma State starting QB was once traded by the Yankees for Kevin Brown...
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Good piece on Tom Brady. What really makes him great is that his teammates know he only cares about winning championships.
- Popcorn in slow motion
- Toy Story Meets The Wire
- Mitch Hedburgh quote generator
- Pop icons seen in a different light
- This is stupid but I couldn't stop clicking it or laughing.
- Rejection Letters Received by Bestselling Authors
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Good piece on Tom Brady. What really makes him great is that his teammates know he only cares about winning championships.
- Popcorn in slow motion
- Toy Story Meets The Wire
- Mitch Hedburgh quote generator
- Pop icons seen in a different light
- This is stupid but I couldn't stop clicking it or laughing.
- Rejection Letters Received by Bestselling Authors
Friday, December 17, 2010
Blake Edwards
Saddened to hear of the passing of the great director Blake Edwards.
I have to admit that my first thought upon hearing of his death was to wonder if someone would give him the sendoff that Richard Mulligan got in the movie SOB.
Here's Part 1 of what I am talking about.
Here's Part II.
I have to admit my morbidity in confessing that it was strange realizing that not only were all of the actors who played Richard Mulligan's friends - William Holden (1981), Robert Preston (1987) and Robert Weber (1989) had also passed but that now they are joined by their director.
Saddened to hear of the passing of the great director Blake Edwards.
I have to admit that my first thought upon hearing of his death was to wonder if someone would give him the sendoff that Richard Mulligan got in the movie SOB.
Here's Part 1 of what I am talking about.
Here's Part II.
I have to admit my morbidity in confessing that it was strange realizing that not only were all of the actors who played Richard Mulligan's friends - William Holden (1981), Robert Preston (1987) and Robert Weber (1989) had also passed but that now they are joined by their director.
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Good news - Jack Huston Upped To Regular On HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Richard Harrow is perhaps my favoriye character on that show. I did not realize he was the grandson of John Huston and nephew of Anjelica Huston.
- A look at Bobby Jenks possible role with the Red Sox
- Old Gold Cigarettes Will Give You The Crazy Eyes
- Ski racer straddles gate. His pain is your laughter.
- I got a kick out of this joke
- Is this the greatest headline of all time? Roasted Nuts is still #1 in my book.
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Good news - Jack Huston Upped To Regular On HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Richard Harrow is perhaps my favoriye character on that show. I did not realize he was the grandson of John Huston and nephew of Anjelica Huston.
- A look at Bobby Jenks possible role with the Red Sox
- Old Gold Cigarettes Will Give You The Crazy Eyes
- Ski racer straddles gate. His pain is your laughter.
- I got a kick out of this joke
- Is this the greatest headline of all time? Roasted Nuts is still #1 in my book.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Dads and Baseball
Much news in the world of baseball today. We grieve over the loss of American icon Bob Feller and in Boston we wonder if the Red Sox have just righted the ship as far as their bullpen is concerned. An article on each subject seemed to overlap and seemed worthy of note.
There have been many touching tributes to Bob Feller but the best I've read was done by Joe Posnanski. Bob Feller would often say that the best man he ever knew was his dad. An Iowa farmer who carved out a baseball field for his son because he wanted nothing but the best for Rapid Robert. Feller understood what his dad had done for him which was underscored by his questioning of Posnanski:
I say that because of an old Bob Nightengale article that was reposted on Boston.com (with permission?). The article tells of a different Iowa boy with a firebolt for an arm but whose father wasn't quite so caring as Bill Feller. The juxtaposition of the two stories just struck me. In particular it seemed strange that two Iowa fireballers would be making the news in the same day. But the message of the two pitchers may be lost on most. The message is to be grateful for loving parents if you have them, be a loving parent if you have kids and if you weren't so lucky - don't give up on your dreams.
For the record - I like the signing of Jenks. It doesn't cost a lot in terms of money (2-years / $12 million) and best of all since Jenks was non-tendered by the White Sox - it doesn't even cost the Red Sox a draft pick.
Much news in the world of baseball today. We grieve over the loss of American icon Bob Feller and in Boston we wonder if the Red Sox have just righted the ship as far as their bullpen is concerned. An article on each subject seemed to overlap and seemed worthy of note.
There have been many touching tributes to Bob Feller but the best I've read was done by Joe Posnanski. Bob Feller would often say that the best man he ever knew was his dad. An Iowa farmer who carved out a baseball field for his son because he wanted nothing but the best for Rapid Robert. Feller understood what his dad had done for him which was underscored by his questioning of Posnanski:
And then Bob Feller asked me about my father. Direct questions. Did he play catch with me when I was young? I said yes. Did he take me to baseball games? I said yes. Did he believe in me deeply? I said yes.If asked I am guessing that new Red Sox reliever - Bobby Jenks - would answer "No" if Rapid Robert had asked him those questions.
I say that because of an old Bob Nightengale article that was reposted on Boston.com (with permission?). The article tells of a different Iowa boy with a firebolt for an arm but whose father wasn't quite so caring as Bill Feller. The juxtaposition of the two stories just struck me. In particular it seemed strange that two Iowa fireballers would be making the news in the same day. But the message of the two pitchers may be lost on most. The message is to be grateful for loving parents if you have them, be a loving parent if you have kids and if you weren't so lucky - don't give up on your dreams.
For the record - I like the signing of Jenks. It doesn't cost a lot in terms of money (2-years / $12 million) and best of all since Jenks was non-tendered by the White Sox - it doesn't even cost the Red Sox a draft pick.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
It has to be noted that the Yankees had a chance to trade for Roy Oswalt last July and they pretty much passed. They were a playoff team who had old teammate Andy Pettitte as a selling point and his remaining contract is chicken feed to them but yet the Yankees did not pursue Oswalt with any enthusiasm. Do you think they are re-thinking that decisions lately?... Am I the only one waiting for the NASCAR headline that reads "Danica Patrick on Pole"? And it meaning what you hope it means?... “Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.” – Frank Sinatra... Speaking of Andy Pettitte - it has to be remembered that last time around the Yankees gave him the high hat with a take it or leave it $5.5 million contract offer. People keep talking about Carl Pavano as the best remaining free agent starter but it is actually Andy Pettitte. How big of an FU would it be if Pettitte decided to play again this year but just not for the Yankees? Can you imagine the ripping Hank Steinbrenner would get if Pettitte signed with say the Rangers?... If I worked in the front office of an independent minor league team - I would have made a 7-year contract offer to Cliff Lee just so I could send out press release saying I was mystery team...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
It has to be noted that the Yankees had a chance to trade for Roy Oswalt last July and they pretty much passed. They were a playoff team who had old teammate Andy Pettitte as a selling point and his remaining contract is chicken feed to them but yet the Yankees did not pursue Oswalt with any enthusiasm. Do you think they are re-thinking that decisions lately?... Am I the only one waiting for the NASCAR headline that reads "Danica Patrick on Pole"? And it meaning what you hope it means?... “Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.” – Frank Sinatra... Speaking of Andy Pettitte - it has to be remembered that last time around the Yankees gave him the high hat with a take it or leave it $5.5 million contract offer. People keep talking about Carl Pavano as the best remaining free agent starter but it is actually Andy Pettitte. How big of an FU would it be if Pettitte decided to play again this year but just not for the Yankees? Can you imagine the ripping Hank Steinbrenner would get if Pettitte signed with say the Rangers?... If I worked in the front office of an independent minor league team - I would have made a 7-year contract offer to Cliff Lee just so I could send out press release saying I was mystery team...
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Even on Christmas - the US means business
- Thoughts on the Phillies and great four-man rotations with special guest appearance by Bill James.
- Mark Wahlberg: Not You
- Voyager 1 goes where no spacecraft has gone before!
- Funny advertisements
- Documents: SMU booster's partial "payroll" for 1982 Mustangs football team.
- Monty Python Phrase or Ben Franklin Synonym for Drunk?
- Down side of the Nobel Prize: it can put a damper on your illicit romances
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Even on Christmas - the US means business
- Thoughts on the Phillies and great four-man rotations with special guest appearance by Bill James.
- Mark Wahlberg: Not You
- Voyager 1 goes where no spacecraft has gone before!
- Funny advertisements
- Documents: SMU booster's partial "payroll" for 1982 Mustangs football team.
- Monty Python Phrase or Ben Franklin Synonym for Drunk?
- Down side of the Nobel Prize: it can put a damper on your illicit romances
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Flotsam and Jetsam Brett Favre Edition
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Brett Favre is not the most interesting man in the world no matter what ESPN says... Wow - the Phillies getting Cliff Lee was a move that nobody saw coming. I wonder if they try and move Joe Blanton and his remaining $17 million over two years contract to try and make the money just spent more livable for the organization. The irony is the Yankees would be the most likely suitor for Blanton... According to ESPN - people hang on every word from Brett Favre - even the prepositions... In case you haven't seen the Yogi Bear parody alternate ending... According to ESPN - Brett Favre once won connect four - in three moves.... It would be cool if his was how Santa delivered presents... According to ESPN - Sinatra considered Favre to be the chairman of the board... Maybe just as surprising as the Lee signing is the revelation that Mariano Rivera initiated contact with the Red Sox... According to ESPN - the blood of Brett Favre smells like cologne... With Brett Favre's consecutive starts streak over, here's a quiz on the other QBs of 1992... According to ESPN - Brett Favre was born in a log cabin which he had built with his own hands... Very cool - The longest zipline in North America... Speaking of ESPN - Tom Jackson is the guy with tons of seniority at your company who sucks at his job but nobody can get rid of
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Brett Favre is not the most interesting man in the world no matter what ESPN says... Wow - the Phillies getting Cliff Lee was a move that nobody saw coming. I wonder if they try and move Joe Blanton and his remaining $17 million over two years contract to try and make the money just spent more livable for the organization. The irony is the Yankees would be the most likely suitor for Blanton... According to ESPN - people hang on every word from Brett Favre - even the prepositions... In case you haven't seen the Yogi Bear parody alternate ending... According to ESPN - Brett Favre once won connect four - in three moves.... It would be cool if his was how Santa delivered presents... According to ESPN - Sinatra considered Favre to be the chairman of the board... Maybe just as surprising as the Lee signing is the revelation that Mariano Rivera initiated contact with the Red Sox... According to ESPN - the blood of Brett Favre smells like cologne... With Brett Favre's consecutive starts streak over, here's a quiz on the other QBs of 1992... According to ESPN - Brett Favre was born in a log cabin which he had built with his own hands... Very cool - The longest zipline in North America... Speaking of ESPN - Tom Jackson is the guy with tons of seniority at your company who sucks at his job but nobody can get rid of
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes
This is just fascinating. We have things better today - worldwide than at any point in history.
I love things like this.
This is just fascinating. We have things better today - worldwide than at any point in history.
I love things like this.
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
I wonder if Jeremiah Masoli had not had to transfer from Oregon and he had led the team to an unbeaten season - would the Heisman voting have been close with Cam Newton? You have to think Masoli would have at least been in the discussion... Last night's 30 for 30 on SMU getting the death penalty was fascinating. One thing they did not touch on though was the fact that the Booster (Sherwood Blount) who really killed SMU football was Craig James' agent. I have no respect for Craig James whatsoever... Is it me or is Jeff Fisher starting to give off Tom Landry in 1987 type vibes?... How great would it be if Cliff Lee signs with the Rangers and Andy Pettitte decides to retire for real... Here's a bit of history you never hear mentioned - in 1911 the Kentucky Derby banned black jockeys after they won 15 of first 28 Derbies... Here's the answer to a little thing that had bugged me. If Marlin is still the plural of Marlin (i.e "I caught several marlin") - then why do they call them the Marlins? It turns out that Marlins is used unless a specific number is denoted... A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, 'I'll serve you, but don't start anything'
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
I wonder if Jeremiah Masoli had not had to transfer from Oregon and he had led the team to an unbeaten season - would the Heisman voting have been close with Cam Newton? You have to think Masoli would have at least been in the discussion... Last night's 30 for 30 on SMU getting the death penalty was fascinating. One thing they did not touch on though was the fact that the Booster (Sherwood Blount) who really killed SMU football was Craig James' agent. I have no respect for Craig James whatsoever... Is it me or is Jeff Fisher starting to give off Tom Landry in 1987 type vibes?... How great would it be if Cliff Lee signs with the Rangers and Andy Pettitte decides to retire for real... Here's a bit of history you never hear mentioned - in 1911 the Kentucky Derby banned black jockeys after they won 15 of first 28 Derbies... Here's the answer to a little thing that had bugged me. If Marlin is still the plural of Marlin (i.e "I caught several marlin") - then why do they call them the Marlins? It turns out that Marlins is used unless a specific number is denoted... A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, 'I'll serve you, but don't start anything'
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Santa Wearing a Kilt, Playing a Bagpipe and Riding a Unicycle
Yes - you read that correct. Brief but very satisfying video.
I love the the Internet.
Yes - you read that correct. Brief but very satisfying video.
I love the the Internet.
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- A look behind the scenes on how the Red Sox landed Carl Crawford
- Where are they now? Heisman Edition 1988-2009
- Wow! Awesome power of the rail-gun
- Tommy Lee writes a letter to SeaWorld in protest of whale masturbation
- Gianni Versace Was Murdered Because He Owed Money To The Mafia?
- Betting slip: $300 July Bet Pays $300,000 If Auburn Beats Oregon
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- A look behind the scenes on how the Red Sox landed Carl Crawford
- Where are they now? Heisman Edition 1988-2009
- Wow! Awesome power of the rail-gun
- Tommy Lee writes a letter to SeaWorld in protest of whale masturbation
- Gianni Versace Was Murdered Because He Owed Money To The Mafia?
- Betting slip: $300 July Bet Pays $300,000 If Auburn Beats Oregon
Carl Crawford
I haven't had time to jot down my thoughts on the Red Sox signing Carl Crawford but I do now so here goes.
In life timing is often everything. The signing of Carl Crawford was greeted by most Red Sox fans with glee but some weren't happy. He's over-paid. He'll be slow by the end of the contract. He smells funny. Where are you going to bat him - we already have a lead-off guy and a number three hitter. I didn't understand the criticisms of the move but I couldn't help but think that if the Red Sox flip-flopped their major acquisitions then things would have been all puppy dogs and pizza pies. If the Red Sox signed Crawford first before trading for Adrian Gonzalez then people would have just looked at the positives - he's a guy in his prime years who will solidify left field for years to come. And he's a guy who has killed the Red Sox in the past and now the Sox don't have to face him. The timing is a little thing and it doesn't change those positives. As far as I'm concerned it's all good in the hood.
The signing seriously screwed with some people - especially the Angels and the Yankees. Which is nice.
Crawford was the guy the Angels were supposed to get. He filled a number of needs for the team, he was best buddies with Torii Hunter, he had expressed a desire to play on the West Coast and maybe just as important as all of those - he wasn't represented by agent Scott Boras (who the Angels hate with the intensity of a thousand white hot suns). The Red Sox blindsided the Angels and now - ironically - of their only real options (Adrian Beltre, Cliff Lee and Rafael Soriano) the one that helps the team the closest to Crawford (Adrian Beltre) is represented by Scott Boras. The Angels could easily morph into the old Red Sox where they have to sign a shiny new free agent before Christmas no matter how well it fit the team's long term plans just to keep the fan base happy.
The Crawford signing has spawned full-on panic in Yankee land. Now they HAVE to sign Cliff Lee. They HAVE to! That seventh year in now guaranteed - no mystery team needed. And the dollar value keeps creeping up. There is no doubt in my mind that this contract will be an albatross the final two or three years of the agreement (and yes I understand that haters could say the same thing about Crawford). The Yankees will either have to grossly over-pay for Lee or lose him to the Rangers or Angels. It's all good.
I happen to like the Crawford signing very much. Baseball-reference.com lists Roberto Clemente as his most similar comparison by age. Wouldn't you like to have a 29-year old Clemente on your team? Comparing Crawford to Clemente isn't fair to Crawford. I do think he reminds me of JD Drew though - plus defender and OBP guy. The Red Sox ownership and front office have been very happy with that contract and I think Crawford will be even better.
I haven't had time to jot down my thoughts on the Red Sox signing Carl Crawford but I do now so here goes.
In life timing is often everything. The signing of Carl Crawford was greeted by most Red Sox fans with glee but some weren't happy. He's over-paid. He'll be slow by the end of the contract. He smells funny. Where are you going to bat him - we already have a lead-off guy and a number three hitter. I didn't understand the criticisms of the move but I couldn't help but think that if the Red Sox flip-flopped their major acquisitions then things would have been all puppy dogs and pizza pies. If the Red Sox signed Crawford first before trading for Adrian Gonzalez then people would have just looked at the positives - he's a guy in his prime years who will solidify left field for years to come. And he's a guy who has killed the Red Sox in the past and now the Sox don't have to face him. The timing is a little thing and it doesn't change those positives. As far as I'm concerned it's all good in the hood.
The signing seriously screwed with some people - especially the Angels and the Yankees. Which is nice.
Crawford was the guy the Angels were supposed to get. He filled a number of needs for the team, he was best buddies with Torii Hunter, he had expressed a desire to play on the West Coast and maybe just as important as all of those - he wasn't represented by agent Scott Boras (who the Angels hate with the intensity of a thousand white hot suns). The Red Sox blindsided the Angels and now - ironically - of their only real options (Adrian Beltre, Cliff Lee and Rafael Soriano) the one that helps the team the closest to Crawford (Adrian Beltre) is represented by Scott Boras. The Angels could easily morph into the old Red Sox where they have to sign a shiny new free agent before Christmas no matter how well it fit the team's long term plans just to keep the fan base happy.
The Crawford signing has spawned full-on panic in Yankee land. Now they HAVE to sign Cliff Lee. They HAVE to! That seventh year in now guaranteed - no mystery team needed. And the dollar value keeps creeping up. There is no doubt in my mind that this contract will be an albatross the final two or three years of the agreement (and yes I understand that haters could say the same thing about Crawford). The Yankees will either have to grossly over-pay for Lee or lose him to the Rangers or Angels. It's all good.
I happen to like the Crawford signing very much. Baseball-reference.com lists Roberto Clemente as his most similar comparison by age. Wouldn't you like to have a 29-year old Clemente on your team? Comparing Crawford to Clemente isn't fair to Crawford. I do think he reminds me of JD Drew though - plus defender and OBP guy. The Red Sox ownership and front office have been very happy with that contract and I think Crawford will be even better.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Bob Feller - Still Alive!
EDIT: Reports of Bob Feller's death were incorrect. I apologize for trusting an Ohio paper to publish the truth. Best of health to Bob. I'll leave up the post as an honest mistake - not try to airbrush history like some people.
I awoke today and was at first giddy with the news that the Red Sox had signed Carl Crawford. The happiness has been greatly tempered by the news that America has lost Bob Feller.
EDIT: Reports of Bob Feller's death were incorrect. I apologize for trusting an Ohio paper to publish the truth. Best of health to Bob. I'll leave up the post as an honest mistake - not try to airbrush history like some people.
"That was the test. Three days before he pitched, I would start thinking about Robert Feller, Bob Feller. I would sit in my room and start thinking about him all the time. ... Allie Reynolds of the Yankees was tough, and I might think about him for two hours before a game. But Robert Feller, I'd think about him for three days." - Ted WilliamsAmerica is poorer today for the loss of Bob Feller who has passed. Yesterday was best remembered as the 30th anniversary of the death of John Lennon and in some circles as the birthday of Larry Bird but it was also an important anniversary in the life of Bob Feller - on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor, Bob Feller enlisted in the Navy for combat duty. Feller served for 4-years rising through the ranks to become chief of an anti-aircraft gun crew on the USS Alabama. He is the only Chief Petty Officer in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
I awoke today and was at first giddy with the news that the Red Sox had signed Carl Crawford. The happiness has been greatly tempered by the news that America has lost Bob Feller.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
John Lennon
It has been 30-years since John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in Manhattan. Lennon was an infinitely interesting guy who counted among his friends people you may not have expected like Peter Boyle (John Lennon was best man at Boyle's wedding) and Monday Night Football's Howard Cosell. ESPN has a fine piece on what happened behind the scenes at MNF 30-years ago when it fell to Cosell to announce the tragic news to the world.
I can't help but think of a "what if" situation. After shooting John Lennon - Mark David Chapman just stood around waiting to be arrested. What if he didn't? What if Chapman just stuffed the gun in his coat pocket and just started walking away? A slightly over-weight, average height white guy in a city with millions of people matching that description. He had no motive that the police would have been able to discern on their own. How could they have fathomed that they were to look for a guy who was delusional about being Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye. If Chapman just walked away would the police have been able to find him? Would we have to this day all sorts of conspiracy theories about "who really killed John Lennon"?
It has been 30-years since John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in Manhattan. Lennon was an infinitely interesting guy who counted among his friends people you may not have expected like Peter Boyle (John Lennon was best man at Boyle's wedding) and Monday Night Football's Howard Cosell. ESPN has a fine piece on what happened behind the scenes at MNF 30-years ago when it fell to Cosell to announce the tragic news to the world.
I can't help but think of a "what if" situation. After shooting John Lennon - Mark David Chapman just stood around waiting to be arrested. What if he didn't? What if Chapman just stuffed the gun in his coat pocket and just started walking away? A slightly over-weight, average height white guy in a city with millions of people matching that description. He had no motive that the police would have been able to discern on their own. How could they have fathomed that they were to look for a guy who was delusional about being Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye. If Chapman just walked away would the police have been able to find him? Would we have to this day all sorts of conspiracy theories about "who really killed John Lennon"?
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Monday, December 06, 2010
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
With Peyton Manning's recent spree of interceptions - are his ever-present commercials becoming more or less annoying? Some people consider Peyton Manning the best QB of his generation but Tom Brady's legacy will be 3 Super Bowl wins (and counting) and being married to Super model Gisele. Manning's legacy will be just one Super Bowl and a slew of cheesey commercials (Cut that meat! Cut that meat!). I think I'd prefer Brady's legacy... Police Academy 6: City Under Siege did more than three times the box office as Sean Penn's Valerie Plame dud Fair Game ($11,567,217 to $3,724,546) and that was in 1989 dollars. Yet Hollywood still puts out political crap that matches their fantasy beliefs but that nobody wants to see... Just a reminder - the Count on Seasame Street is not a real vampire since he's out during the day all the time. The Count is basically a poser. A Twighlight wannabe.... If you combined Ryan Kalish's AB vs RHP with Mike Cameron's AB (past 2-yrs) vs LHP - you'd average .333 BA and 28 HR (over 550 AB). This is why I don't think the Red Sox will sign an outfielder. Probably looking at a left field by committee platoon in 2011... The Mesopotamian god of the moon was called Sin which is appropriate since most sins are committed at night... Cthulhu doesn't play dice with the universe. (Is that how the quote goes?)... Oklahoma's official state vegetable is the watermelon. Isn't a watermelon a fruit?... Andre the Giant drank 7,000 calories worth of booze every day. Figure doesn’t include food. Just booze. I will do my best to match that watching the Patriots tonight... South Carolina's only victory over Auburn was a 16-14 win in Birmingham on Dec. 2, 1933...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
With Peyton Manning's recent spree of interceptions - are his ever-present commercials becoming more or less annoying? Some people consider Peyton Manning the best QB of his generation but Tom Brady's legacy will be 3 Super Bowl wins (and counting) and being married to Super model Gisele. Manning's legacy will be just one Super Bowl and a slew of cheesey commercials (Cut that meat! Cut that meat!). I think I'd prefer Brady's legacy... Police Academy 6: City Under Siege did more than three times the box office as Sean Penn's Valerie Plame dud Fair Game ($11,567,217 to $3,724,546) and that was in 1989 dollars. Yet Hollywood still puts out political crap that matches their fantasy beliefs but that nobody wants to see... Just a reminder - the Count on Seasame Street is not a real vampire since he's out during the day all the time. The Count is basically a poser. A Twighlight wannabe.... If you combined Ryan Kalish's AB vs RHP with Mike Cameron's AB (past 2-yrs) vs LHP - you'd average .333 BA and 28 HR (over 550 AB). This is why I don't think the Red Sox will sign an outfielder. Probably looking at a left field by committee platoon in 2011... The Mesopotamian god of the moon was called Sin which is appropriate since most sins are committed at night... Cthulhu doesn't play dice with the universe. (Is that how the quote goes?)... Oklahoma's official state vegetable is the watermelon. Isn't a watermelon a fruit?... Andre the Giant drank 7,000 calories worth of booze every day. Figure doesn’t include food. Just booze. I will do my best to match that watching the Patriots tonight... South Carolina's only victory over Auburn was a 16-14 win in Birmingham on Dec. 2, 1933...
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Adrian Gonzalez
I for one am pumped for the Adrian Gonzalez era to begin in Boston. A few quick thoughts while waiting for this deal to be consummated:
1. I am a big fan of a strong farm system but any time you have a chance to trade for a proven superstar (given the right circumstances) you have to do it. This isn't a Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen situation but there is no guaranty that this isn't a Jon Lester package for a Johan Santana either. I trust Theo that the deal will be fair to San Diego but also not harm the future of the Red Sox.
2. I wonder if Billy Beane has already pulled his offer for Adrian Beltre (if that offer ever existed). Gonzalez to the Red Sox eliminates much or all of the leverage Scott Boras had in negotiations. Don't be surprised if a third team magically appears in the negotiations. The Orioles often excel in this patsy role.
3. When / if this deal gets done - I hope a long-term deal for Clay Buchholz is the next priority for the Red Sox front office.
I for one am pumped for the Adrian Gonzalez era to begin in Boston. A few quick thoughts while waiting for this deal to be consummated:
1. I am a big fan of a strong farm system but any time you have a chance to trade for a proven superstar (given the right circumstances) you have to do it. This isn't a Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen situation but there is no guaranty that this isn't a Jon Lester package for a Johan Santana either. I trust Theo that the deal will be fair to San Diego but also not harm the future of the Red Sox.
2. I wonder if Billy Beane has already pulled his offer for Adrian Beltre (if that offer ever existed). Gonzalez to the Red Sox eliminates much or all of the leverage Scott Boras had in negotiations. Don't be surprised if a third team magically appears in the negotiations. The Orioles often excel in this patsy role.
3. When / if this deal gets done - I hope a long-term deal for Clay Buchholz is the next priority for the Red Sox front office.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
This Was Awesome!
Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus
This really put me into the Christmas spirit.
Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus
This really put me into the Christmas spirit.
Qatar and the World Cup - the Day the US Stood Still
Honest to god - my first thought when I heard Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup was, "Gort! Qatar barada nikto!"
The correct pronunciation of Qatar falls between cutter and gutter, but not like guitar. Their oil and natural gas revenues have enabled Qatar to attain the second-highest per capita income in the world - only Luxembourg is higher. You can bet that some of that revenue went to "buying" the 2022 World Cup. Then throw into the mix that Qatar is slightly smaller than Connecticut.
So in short you have the 2022 World Cup going to a place that is smaller than Connecticut, is 95% sand, where a monarchic despot rules with a religious ban on alcohol and is a place that nobody is really sure how to pronounce.
Perfect!
On a serious note - it is probably a good thing the US didn't get the nod. These things are often more trouble then they are worth.
Honest to god - my first thought when I heard Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup was, "Gort! Qatar barada nikto!"
The correct pronunciation of Qatar falls between cutter and gutter, but not like guitar. Their oil and natural gas revenues have enabled Qatar to attain the second-highest per capita income in the world - only Luxembourg is higher. You can bet that some of that revenue went to "buying" the 2022 World Cup. Then throw into the mix that Qatar is slightly smaller than Connecticut.
So in short you have the 2022 World Cup going to a place that is smaller than Connecticut, is 95% sand, where a monarchic despot rules with a religious ban on alcohol and is a place that nobody is really sure how to pronounce.
Perfect!
On a serious note - it is probably a good thing the US didn't get the nod. These things are often more trouble then they are worth.
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Jason Varitek has re-signed with the Red Sox for $2 million with $300,000 in incentives. This was a signing that you could see coming a mile away. Varitek has said that he doesn't want to play anywhere else (even though he would have been a great fit with the Dodgers) and Boston is very thin at catcher now that Victor Martinez has moved on. I'm OK with a platoon of Jarrod Saltalamachia and Varitek (who could be Becketts personal catcher and start against some lefties)... This joke made me think of another one - an optimist sees a glass as half full, a pessimist sees a glass as half empty, an engineer sees a glass as twice as big as it needs to be... If I was elected President - I'd have Hail to the Chief replaced with Carmina Burana... I do have to admit that going "cheap" at catcher does give off a Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena type feel for me. That thought is also a good reminder that Theo Epstein sometimes makes mistakes.... A galactic Lemur who craps arsenic and farts thunder would make an awesome cartoon. Sort of like Sponge Bob in space... Cool - All Mad magazine covers 1952-2010... I vow never to drink Ciroc faux vodka just because of those awful Diddy commercials. Awful!... Mentioning without commenting - LPGA drops 'female at birth' clause for members...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Jason Varitek has re-signed with the Red Sox for $2 million with $300,000 in incentives. This was a signing that you could see coming a mile away. Varitek has said that he doesn't want to play anywhere else (even though he would have been a great fit with the Dodgers) and Boston is very thin at catcher now that Victor Martinez has moved on. I'm OK with a platoon of Jarrod Saltalamachia and Varitek (who could be Becketts personal catcher and start against some lefties)... This joke made me think of another one - an optimist sees a glass as half full, a pessimist sees a glass as half empty, an engineer sees a glass as twice as big as it needs to be... If I was elected President - I'd have Hail to the Chief replaced with Carmina Burana... I do have to admit that going "cheap" at catcher does give off a Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena type feel for me. That thought is also a good reminder that Theo Epstein sometimes makes mistakes.... A galactic Lemur who craps arsenic and farts thunder would make an awesome cartoon. Sort of like Sponge Bob in space... Cool - All Mad magazine covers 1952-2010... I vow never to drink Ciroc faux vodka just because of those awful Diddy commercials. Awful!... Mentioning without commenting - LPGA drops 'female at birth' clause for members...
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Someone broke into Pat Burns' widow's car DURING HIS FUNERAL and stole his wallet. Remember that Pat Burns is a former Montreal policeman - there will be blood in this case.
- Leslie Nielsen random quote generator
- Winner of this year's "Bad Sex Award" for worst sexual description in literature. Too bad the word "mallemaroking" was not involved.
- You can't own the Sun - if I was to try for ownership of a celestial body - I'd go for the moon because it is very close to us
- Awesome awesomeness - LEGO beer song
- 5 Reasons the Greatest Movie Villain Ever is the "Good Witch" from The Wizard of Oz
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Someone broke into Pat Burns' widow's car DURING HIS FUNERAL and stole his wallet. Remember that Pat Burns is a former Montreal policeman - there will be blood in this case.
- Leslie Nielsen random quote generator
- Winner of this year's "Bad Sex Award" for worst sexual description in literature. Too bad the word "mallemaroking" was not involved.
- You can't own the Sun - if I was to try for ownership of a celestial body - I'd go for the moon because it is very close to us
- Awesome awesomeness - LEGO beer song
- 5 Reasons the Greatest Movie Villain Ever is the "Good Witch" from The Wizard of Oz
Monday, November 29, 2010
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
The Cortland Finnegan vs Andre Johnson "fight" reminded me very much of Robert Parish's takedown of Bill Laimbeer back in the 80's. Parish had enough of Laimbeer's cheap play and just hammered him down. If I recall correctly Parish was fined $1,500 for his actions and had lots of players across the league volunteer to pay the fine. I'm guessing that Johnson will likewise have such volunteers... 5 Geniuses Who Renounced Their Work... Osmium is a member of the platinum family and is the densest element. The second densest element is sports talk radio discussions regarding Derek Jeter signing with the Red Sox... Who knew? Great Britain was once the world champion at ice hockey. They won the Gold Medal at the 1936 Winter Olympics... I'm not a big Sarah Palin fan but what I find amusing is that many of the anti-Palin people are the very same ones who supported John Edwards...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
The Cortland Finnegan vs Andre Johnson "fight" reminded me very much of Robert Parish's takedown of Bill Laimbeer back in the 80's. Parish had enough of Laimbeer's cheap play and just hammered him down. If I recall correctly Parish was fined $1,500 for his actions and had lots of players across the league volunteer to pay the fine. I'm guessing that Johnson will likewise have such volunteers... 5 Geniuses Who Renounced Their Work... Osmium is a member of the platinum family and is the densest element. The second densest element is sports talk radio discussions regarding Derek Jeter signing with the Red Sox... Who knew? Great Britain was once the world champion at ice hockey. They won the Gold Medal at the 1936 Winter Olympics... I'm not a big Sarah Palin fan but what I find amusing is that many of the anti-Palin people are the very same ones who supported John Edwards...
Friday, November 26, 2010
Interesting Player Comparison
This is a Player Comparison I've done before but I thought worthy of another look:
Player A - .324 BA/ 1270 R/ 333 HR/ 1239 RBI/ .979 OPS/ 137 OPS+
Player B - .305 BA/ 1583 R/ 317 HR/ 1595 RBI/ .857 OPS/ 135 OPS+
Just looking at the comparison makes you think that the players are fairly close in offensive skills. It should be noted that Player A has won 3 Gold Gloves while Player B won just one.
Have you figured it out? Player A is Todd Helton while Player B is George Brett.
Helton may be the most under-rated player of this generation. Many people credit his numbers to playing at Coors Field but consider this - Helton's career road OPS is higher (.873 to .857) than Brett's overall career OPS.
This is a Player Comparison I've done before but I thought worthy of another look:
Player A - .324 BA/ 1270 R/ 333 HR/ 1239 RBI/ .979 OPS/ 137 OPS+
Player B - .305 BA/ 1583 R/ 317 HR/ 1595 RBI/ .857 OPS/ 135 OPS+
Just looking at the comparison makes you think that the players are fairly close in offensive skills. It should be noted that Player A has won 3 Gold Gloves while Player B won just one.
Have you figured it out? Player A is Todd Helton while Player B is George Brett.
Helton may be the most under-rated player of this generation. Many people credit his numbers to playing at Coors Field but consider this - Helton's career road OPS is higher (.873 to .857) than Brett's overall career OPS.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Happy Turkey Day everyone!!!... I don't know why I thought of this but is part of I-70 in St. Louis still designated as the Mark McGwire Highway or did people come to their senses? I'm curious about that... Heh heh - all your base... Now that San Francisco has re-signed Aubrey Huff - it will be interesting to see what happens with Giants uber prospect Brandon Belt who has posted better minor league numbers than Buster Posey. I could easily see Belt being a mid-season callup and the Giants moving Huff to the outfield or maybe even 3rd if Kung Fu Panda continues his struggles... Daniel Radcliffe is Harry Potter... I did not see signing Victor Martinez or Adrian Beltre as the main priority for Boston this offseason. I think the Red Sox main priority this offseason should be signing Clay Buchholz to a longterm deal. Yes he has a few more arbitration years available but if he puts up one more season like 2009 (which I think he will) then it will be better for the team longterm to wrap him up now... "It is proposed that happiness be classified as a psychiatric disorder: Major affective disorder, pleasant type"... Just for the heck of it - I did a three-team 10-point tease on the three NFL games today. Just seemed right and now I won't have to worry about doing anything else all day...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Happy Turkey Day everyone!!!... I don't know why I thought of this but is part of I-70 in St. Louis still designated as the Mark McGwire Highway or did people come to their senses? I'm curious about that... Heh heh - all your base... Now that San Francisco has re-signed Aubrey Huff - it will be interesting to see what happens with Giants uber prospect Brandon Belt who has posted better minor league numbers than Buster Posey. I could easily see Belt being a mid-season callup and the Giants moving Huff to the outfield or maybe even 3rd if Kung Fu Panda continues his struggles... Daniel Radcliffe is Harry Potter... I did not see signing Victor Martinez or Adrian Beltre as the main priority for Boston this offseason. I think the Red Sox main priority this offseason should be signing Clay Buchholz to a longterm deal. Yes he has a few more arbitration years available but if he puts up one more season like 2009 (which I think he will) then it will be better for the team longterm to wrap him up now... "It is proposed that happiness be classified as a psychiatric disorder: Major affective disorder, pleasant type"... Just for the heck of it - I did a three-team 10-point tease on the three NFL games today. Just seemed right and now I won't have to worry about doing anything else all day...
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Curt Schilling
Below is a comparison I made in the past and thought I'd repost regarding Curt Schilling and the Hall of Fame.
Player A - Season 1 - 22-9 / 2.40 ERA / 156 ERA+ / 158 SO
Player B - Season 1 - 22-6 / 2.98 ERA / 157 ERA+ / 293 SO
Player A - Season 2 - 23-11 / 2.09 ERA / 169 ERA+ / 193 SO
Player B - Season 2 - 23-7 / 3.23 ERA / 142 ERA + / 316 SO
Player A - Season 3 - 22-13 / 2.51 ERA / 130 ERA+ / 159 SO
Player B - Season 3 - 21-6 / 3.26 ERA / 150 ERA+ / 203 SO
Player A is Jim Palmer and the seasons are the three seasons he won the AL Cy Young Award in a four year stretch. Player B is Curt Schilling and the seasons are the years he came in second in Cy Young voting three years out of four from 2001 to 2004. It can be argued that Schilling's seasons were every bit as impressive as the seasons in which Palmer won his Cy Young Awards. It was Schilling's bad luck to have to compete with first Randy Johnson and then Johan Santana. Just one Cy Young from one of those years probably would have cinched the vote for Schilling for the Hall of Fame.
Just saying.
Below is a comparison I made in the past and thought I'd repost regarding Curt Schilling and the Hall of Fame.
Player A - Season 1 - 22-9 / 2.40 ERA / 156 ERA+ / 158 SO
Player B - Season 1 - 22-6 / 2.98 ERA / 157 ERA+ / 293 SO
Player A - Season 2 - 23-11 / 2.09 ERA / 169 ERA+ / 193 SO
Player B - Season 2 - 23-7 / 3.23 ERA / 142 ERA + / 316 SO
Player A - Season 3 - 22-13 / 2.51 ERA / 130 ERA+ / 159 SO
Player B - Season 3 - 21-6 / 3.26 ERA / 150 ERA+ / 203 SO
Player A is Jim Palmer and the seasons are the three seasons he won the AL Cy Young Award in a four year stretch. Player B is Curt Schilling and the seasons are the years he came in second in Cy Young voting three years out of four from 2001 to 2004. It can be argued that Schilling's seasons were every bit as impressive as the seasons in which Palmer won his Cy Young Awards. It was Schilling's bad luck to have to compete with first Randy Johnson and then Johan Santana. Just one Cy Young from one of those years probably would have cinched the vote for Schilling for the Hall of Fame.
Just saying.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Just Saying
Here's a QB player comparison worth mentioning:
Player A: 3,023 Yards / 17 TD / 6 INT / 26 Sacks / 94.5 Rating
Player B: 2,064 Yards / 12 TD / 10 INT / 33 Sacks / 84.3 Rating
Player A is Kyle Orton while Player B is Jay Cutler (who has also played one less game this season). I point out this comparison because I firmly believe Jay Cutler is vastly over-rated and I also believe that if he was still in Denver there would be no end to his world-revolves-around-me whining and complaining.
Here's a QB player comparison worth mentioning:
Player A: 3,023 Yards / 17 TD / 6 INT / 26 Sacks / 94.5 Rating
Player B: 2,064 Yards / 12 TD / 10 INT / 33 Sacks / 84.3 Rating
Player A is Kyle Orton while Player B is Jay Cutler (who has also played one less game this season). I point out this comparison because I firmly believe Jay Cutler is vastly over-rated and I also believe that if he was still in Denver there would be no end to his world-revolves-around-me whining and complaining.
Victor Martinez
So Victor Martinez has signed with the Tigers for 4-years and $50 million. Supposedly the Red Sox offered 3-years $36 million or 4-years $42 million. I don't blame Victor for taking the bigger offer from the Tigers nor do I blame the Red Sox for not matching the offer.
At the 2009 trading deadline - MartÃnez was traded from the Indians to the Red Sox for Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price. The Red Sox gave up some pretty good prospects (Masterson for whatever reason hasn't blossomed in Cleveland) and in exchange they got 1.5 years of Martinez and now they will also get two top daft packs (Detroit's 1st round and a sandwich pick). You can hardly quibble with this deal from Boston's perspective. If they overpaid what they thought Martinez would be worth 4-years from now (and have foregone the compensatory picks in the process)- then fans would have a gripe.
At this point it looks like Jarrod Saltalamacchia could be the starter at catcher and maybe Jed Lowrie at 3rd for Adrian Beltre. I know that won't be popular with the average fan but the truth is those changes won't result in that much of an offensive drop-off. It really won't.
Vaya con Dios Victor. Thanks for the memories.
So Victor Martinez has signed with the Tigers for 4-years and $50 million. Supposedly the Red Sox offered 3-years $36 million or 4-years $42 million. I don't blame Victor for taking the bigger offer from the Tigers nor do I blame the Red Sox for not matching the offer.
At the 2009 trading deadline - MartÃnez was traded from the Indians to the Red Sox for Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price. The Red Sox gave up some pretty good prospects (Masterson for whatever reason hasn't blossomed in Cleveland) and in exchange they got 1.5 years of Martinez and now they will also get two top daft packs (Detroit's 1st round and a sandwich pick). You can hardly quibble with this deal from Boston's perspective. If they overpaid what they thought Martinez would be worth 4-years from now (and have foregone the compensatory picks in the process)- then fans would have a gripe.
At this point it looks like Jarrod Saltalamacchia could be the starter at catcher and maybe Jed Lowrie at 3rd for Adrian Beltre. I know that won't be popular with the average fan but the truth is those changes won't result in that much of an offensive drop-off. It really won't.
Vaya con Dios Victor. Thanks for the memories.
Richard Seymour
Richard Seymour has been fined $25,000 for "fighting". What really happened was Ben Roethlisberger ran up to Seymour to chirp right after the Steelers scored a TD on the Raiders. Seymour then popped "Big Ben" who was dropped to the ground by the blow and who then cowered like a little girl.
How funny would it be if NOW paid Richard Seymour's fine?
The long and the short of this is Roethlisberger started a confrontation and Seymour finished it in no uncertain terms. The most telling thing is that none of Rapelisberger's teammates came to his defense. Seymour just waltzed off the field. If that happened to Tom Brady the Patriot's bench would have emptied.
Richard Seymour has been fined $25,000 for "fighting". What really happened was Ben Roethlisberger ran up to Seymour to chirp right after the Steelers scored a TD on the Raiders. Seymour then popped "Big Ben" who was dropped to the ground by the blow and who then cowered like a little girl.
How funny would it be if NOW paid Richard Seymour's fine?
The long and the short of this is Roethlisberger started a confrontation and Seymour finished it in no uncertain terms. The most telling thing is that none of Rapelisberger's teammates came to his defense. Seymour just waltzed off the field. If that happened to Tom Brady the Patriot's bench would have emptied.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Put Joe Biden in the Movie Title
I amused myself by replacing part of some of the greatest movie titles of all-time with Joe Biden. Some of these movies actually should be made:
- The Good, the Bad and the Joe Biden
- The Silence of the Joe Biden
- Forrest Gump
- Joe Biden 2: Judgement Day
- Joe Biden of Arabia
- Eternal Sunshine of the Joe Biden
- Joe Biden: A Space Odyssey
- Inglorious Joe Bidens
- Mr. Joe Biden Goes to Washington
- Cool Hand Joe Biden
I amused myself by replacing part of some of the greatest movie titles of all-time with Joe Biden. Some of these movies actually should be made:
- The Good, the Bad and the Joe Biden
- The Silence of the Joe Biden
- Forrest Gump
- Joe Biden 2: Judgement Day
- Joe Biden of Arabia
- Eternal Sunshine of the Joe Biden
- Joe Biden: A Space Odyssey
- Inglorious Joe Bidens
- Mr. Joe Biden Goes to Washington
- Cool Hand Joe Biden
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Heh heh - Evolution of Man
- Taiwanese animated report on USA outrage of TSA screenings
- Very interesting article on Hollywood director Tom Shadyac who gave away his wealth
- Un-fricken-believable - In Washington state, playing online poker carries the same punishment as child molestation.
- My respect for Tony Danza just went up tenfold
- Coco Crisp is "looking for a live-in personal assistant (female)"
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Heh heh - Evolution of Man
- Taiwanese animated report on USA outrage of TSA screenings
- Very interesting article on Hollywood director Tom Shadyac who gave away his wealth
- Un-fricken-believable - In Washington state, playing online poker carries the same punishment as child molestation.
- My respect for Tony Danza just went up tenfold
- Coco Crisp is "looking for a live-in personal assistant (female)"
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
TSA FUBAR
I'm trying to decide if the new TSA rules are funny, sad, or just disgusting.
My first thought was that this was some sort of genius marketing ploy by the folks at Amtrak to get people start taking the train instead of flying. And I laughed at the idea of getting a happy ending before boarding a flight (before realizing the pat downs are same sex).
My second thought was that this was just another example of government over-reach and being out of touch (or in this case grossly touchy). Has nobody head of illegal search and seizure? Groping of nuns and children helps security in what manner? How can the government pass such measures in this country? How can they be so clueless? Then I remembered who we actually have in office.
My third thought was that this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Especially when you read that these machines may have been part of a pork deal brokered by an ex-government lobbyist.
My only silver-lining is remeberance of this quote:
I'm trying to decide if the new TSA rules are funny, sad, or just disgusting.
My first thought was that this was some sort of genius marketing ploy by the folks at Amtrak to get people start taking the train instead of flying. And I laughed at the idea of getting a happy ending before boarding a flight (before realizing the pat downs are same sex).
My second thought was that this was just another example of government over-reach and being out of touch (or in this case grossly touchy). Has nobody head of illegal search and seizure? Groping of nuns and children helps security in what manner? How can the government pass such measures in this country? How can they be so clueless? Then I remembered who we actually have in office.
My third thought was that this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Especially when you read that these machines may have been part of a pork deal brokered by an ex-government lobbyist.
The former Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, represents Rapiscan, the company which is selling these scanners to his former department.If you're not disgusted by the situation by now - you are not paying attention. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue. Chertoff is a Republican and Janet Napolitano is a Democrat. They both should be tarred and feathered.
My only silver-lining is remeberance of this quote:
"The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.” Abraham LincolnThis situation should be short lived. Until then - I refuse to fly. I'll drive or take the train. So help me God.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
50 States, 50 Movies
This really got me thinking - two maps of the 50 states with a movie assigned to each state. I don't have time to do a full map but I will note a few states where I think the authors missed the mark:
- New York - neither map has The Godfather as the movie for the state. Taxi Driver and Annie Hall? Please.
- Ditto The Godfather Part II for Nevada. Oceans Eleven and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas are fine movies but The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are Americana classics.
- Poor Oregon - the maps have The Goonies and Kindergarten Cop as the choices. I would suggest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I don't think the movie actually spells out the location but I'm pretty sure the book was based in Oregon.
- California is saddled with The Karate Kid and Fast Times at Ridgemount High but at the least I'd suggest either Pulp Fiction or LA Confidential.
- Didn't Fight Club take place in Michigan? Why do they get RoboCop and Roger & Me instead?
- Did you know off the top of your head that Dances with Wolves took place in South Dakota? When you see Mount Rushmore do you think of Cary Grant in North by Northwest? That's what I thought.
- Choosing My Cousin Vinnie is an insult to Alabama. I'm OK with To Kill a Mockingbird but I think Forrest Gump is more identifiable with the state.
- Didn't Cool Hand Luke take place in Louisiana?
- Groundhog Day is OK for Pennsylvania but if I lived there I'd rather be associated with either Slap Shot or The Deer Hunter or Rocky.
- What movie is more identifiable with Oklahoma than Oklahoma?
- I'd go with Mystic Pizza for Connecticut.
- Rocket Boys for West Viginia? Never heard of it. How about Coal Miner's Daughter?
- Blues Brothers for Illinois? OK but how about The Untouchables or The Fugitive not to mention Ferris Bueller's Day Off?
- I have a problem with True Grit as the movie for Arkansas. Though the book was based in Arkansas the movie was shot in Arizona (or New Mexico). Maybe the new movie will be true to the original geography but until I see it I'm going to suggest Primary Colors.
- Gone with the Wind for Georgia. Is there even a question?
This really got me thinking - two maps of the 50 states with a movie assigned to each state. I don't have time to do a full map but I will note a few states where I think the authors missed the mark:
- New York - neither map has The Godfather as the movie for the state. Taxi Driver and Annie Hall? Please.
- Ditto The Godfather Part II for Nevada. Oceans Eleven and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas are fine movies but The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are Americana classics.
- Poor Oregon - the maps have The Goonies and Kindergarten Cop as the choices. I would suggest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I don't think the movie actually spells out the location but I'm pretty sure the book was based in Oregon.
- California is saddled with The Karate Kid and Fast Times at Ridgemount High but at the least I'd suggest either Pulp Fiction or LA Confidential.
- Didn't Fight Club take place in Michigan? Why do they get RoboCop and Roger & Me instead?
- Did you know off the top of your head that Dances with Wolves took place in South Dakota? When you see Mount Rushmore do you think of Cary Grant in North by Northwest? That's what I thought.
- Choosing My Cousin Vinnie is an insult to Alabama. I'm OK with To Kill a Mockingbird but I think Forrest Gump is more identifiable with the state.
- Didn't Cool Hand Luke take place in Louisiana?
- Groundhog Day is OK for Pennsylvania but if I lived there I'd rather be associated with either Slap Shot or The Deer Hunter or Rocky.
- What movie is more identifiable with Oklahoma than Oklahoma?
- I'd go with Mystic Pizza for Connecticut.
- Rocket Boys for West Viginia? Never heard of it. How about Coal Miner's Daughter?
- Blues Brothers for Illinois? OK but how about The Untouchables or The Fugitive not to mention Ferris Bueller's Day Off?
- I have a problem with True Grit as the movie for Arkansas. Though the book was based in Arkansas the movie was shot in Arizona (or New Mexico). Maybe the new movie will be true to the original geography but until I see it I'm going to suggest Primary Colors.
- Gone with the Wind for Georgia. Is there even a question?
The Promise
One of the best written and most heartfelt tributes you'll read this year. Joe Posnanski reminisces about Bruce Springsteen's song The Promise and how it related to his dad and his summer job when he was 18.
One of the best written and most heartfelt tributes you'll read this year. Joe Posnanski reminisces about Bruce Springsteen's song The Promise and how it related to his dad and his summer job when he was 18.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Cam Newton Price is Right
- This might be the most badass man that has ever lived
- Kentucky man in dispute over tractor forced to eat his own beard at gunpoint. I am reminded about the old joke about being arrested in Kentucky for smuggling books but getting off on a technicality because nobody could prove they were books.
- Bad Gifts
- Live long and prosper
- Cool animation
- A list of athletes who served (I meant to post this yesterday)
- The Buffalo Herd Theory of Beer Drinking
- Drew Brees on Veterans Day (also meant to post this yesterday)
- Pat Sajak regrets horrible, horrible mistake
- Where's Mommy ???
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Cam Newton Price is Right
- This might be the most badass man that has ever lived
- Kentucky man in dispute over tractor forced to eat his own beard at gunpoint. I am reminded about the old joke about being arrested in Kentucky for smuggling books but getting off on a technicality because nobody could prove they were books.
- Bad Gifts
- Live long and prosper
- Cool animation
- A list of athletes who served (I meant to post this yesterday)
- The Buffalo Herd Theory of Beer Drinking
- Drew Brees on Veterans Day (also meant to post this yesterday)
- Pat Sajak regrets horrible, horrible mistake
- Where's Mommy ???
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Woman solves Wheel of Fortune puzzle with one letter
- Sweet collection pop icons in a different light
- My reaction to this was "Holy sh*t!That's wicked cool"
- Massive voting fraud reported in Massachusetts
- Sad Wade Phillips
- "Wouldn't Dutch a homoerotic." Auto-correct fail.
- Chalk Dust Torture
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Woman solves Wheel of Fortune puzzle with one letter
- Sweet collection pop icons in a different light
- My reaction to this was "Holy sh*t!That's wicked cool"
- Massive voting fraud reported in Massachusetts
- Sad Wade Phillips
- "Wouldn't Dutch a homoerotic." Auto-correct fail.
- Chalk Dust Torture
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Obama and the White House Correspondents Dinner
Given the rebuke and rebuff given President Obama and his policies this past Tuesday - I have to wonder what will happen during this year's White House Correspondent's Dinner? I have long held that Obama was:
Given the rebuke and rebuff given President Obama and his policies this past Tuesday - I have to wonder what will happen during this year's White House Correspondent's Dinner? I have long held that Obama was:
Less Competent than Carter and More Paranoid than NixonGiven that - will his skin be thick enough to endure a proper roast or will it be a milquetoast affair? Will Obama's people allow a Stephen Colbert-type roast or will it be a watered down Rich Little affair? Obama is ripe for the skewering but I don't think that will be allowed to happen. My prediction is that a mild-mannered comedian will be booked but that controversy will still exist as Obama lashes out at critics in a very un-Presidential manner.
Friday, November 05, 2010
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Cleveland's answer to the LeBron "what should I do" commercial. Awesome!
- This made me chuckle
- Andy Marte - major bust
- 1895, West Africa: Badass female explorer saved from certain death by her voluminous skirt
- Obama is a trainwreck while Biden is a car wreck - literally
- George Takei goes medieval on this douchebag
- The Perfect Soccer Tackle
- Charles Bronson was the most Mandom man who ever was! Your Mandom is a shriveled husk of a Mandom compared to Charles Bronson
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Cleveland's answer to the LeBron "what should I do" commercial. Awesome!
- This made me chuckle
- Andy Marte - major bust
- 1895, West Africa: Badass female explorer saved from certain death by her voluminous skirt
- Obama is a trainwreck while Biden is a car wreck - literally
- George Takei goes medieval on this douchebag
- The Perfect Soccer Tackle
- Charles Bronson was the most Mandom man who ever was! Your Mandom is a shriveled husk of a Mandom compared to Charles Bronson
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Language
You can add the suffix "-ling" to many words to denote smallness. So a duckling is a small duck, hireling, foundling, hatchling, etc.
One slang expression for taking a bowel movement is to "take a dump."
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough (and yummy at that). But couldn't the word be taken to mean "little dumps"? Little shits? Little balls of shit? I'll never look at a Chinese menu the same again.
You can add the suffix "-ling" to many words to denote smallness. So a duckling is a small duck, hireling, foundling, hatchling, etc.
One slang expression for taking a bowel movement is to "take a dump."
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough (and yummy at that). But couldn't the word be taken to mean "little dumps"? Little shits? Little balls of shit? I'll never look at a Chinese menu the same again.
Don Draper Says What?
I found this hilarious.
Now when I hear someone say "What?" I'll think of Don Draper just like when I hear someone say "stop" I think "Hammertime". Maybe it's just me.
I found this hilarious.
Now when I hear someone say "What?" I'll think of Don Draper just like when I hear someone say "stop" I think "Hammertime". Maybe it's just me.
Revenge Tickets
This story really ticks me off.
So the guy who got the ginned-up $300 ticket had to take two days off of work to fight the false charge while the guy who wrote the bogus ticket was suspended for just two days. That's a gross injustice.
The meter maid and the cop who wrote the fake ticket should have both been fired. Period!
If I'm a lawyer in Denver and that cop appears in court - I bring this up every time. Dear jury here we have a cop who manufactures evidence and we are supposed to believe he's telling the truth now?
Disgusting.
This story really ticks me off.
So the guy who got the ginned-up $300 ticket had to take two days off of work to fight the false charge while the guy who wrote the bogus ticket was suspended for just two days. That's a gross injustice.
The meter maid and the cop who wrote the fake ticket should have both been fired. Period!
If I'm a lawyer in Denver and that cop appears in court - I bring this up every time. Dear jury here we have a cop who manufactures evidence and we are supposed to believe he's telling the truth now?
Disgusting.
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Last year Red Sox prospect Lars Anderson was ranked 17th among all prospects by Baseball America. This year he has been dropped down to 87th among all major league prospects. I don't necessarily have a problem with that since these rankings while good guidelines are no sure things. It should also be noted that Anderson is just 23 and while he had just a .768 OPS at AAA Pawtucket almost half of his hits were for extra bases (45 out of 107). I'll also point out that Dustin Pedroia was ranked 77th by Baseball America going into his year 23 season... Happy National Sandwich Day!... OK - I'll say it - Charlie Villanueva does look like a cancer patient. No offense meant to anyone but it is true. Not making excuses for Kevin Garnett but would it have been less offensive if he just called him a "motherf**ker"?... Happy 92nd Birthday to Hall of Famer Bob Feller!... Wow - per Michael Barone - California takes 5 weeks to count all their votes while Brazil takes just 5 hours. California is screwed up... I was sorry that Sean Bielat was not able to unseat Barney Frank. I do hope he stays in politics and runs against John Kerry next time around... I may print up business cards with the title "Director of Harlotry". I just like the sound of that title... It turns out that Rush Limbaugh was right!...... About Donovan McNabb!!
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Last year Red Sox prospect Lars Anderson was ranked 17th among all prospects by Baseball America. This year he has been dropped down to 87th among all major league prospects. I don't necessarily have a problem with that since these rankings while good guidelines are no sure things. It should also be noted that Anderson is just 23 and while he had just a .768 OPS at AAA Pawtucket almost half of his hits were for extra bases (45 out of 107). I'll also point out that Dustin Pedroia was ranked 77th by Baseball America going into his year 23 season... Happy National Sandwich Day!... OK - I'll say it - Charlie Villanueva does look like a cancer patient. No offense meant to anyone but it is true. Not making excuses for Kevin Garnett but would it have been less offensive if he just called him a "motherf**ker"?... Happy 92nd Birthday to Hall of Famer Bob Feller!... Wow - per Michael Barone - California takes 5 weeks to count all their votes while Brazil takes just 5 hours. California is screwed up... I was sorry that Sean Bielat was not able to unseat Barney Frank. I do hope he stays in politics and runs against John Kerry next time around... I may print up business cards with the title "Director of Harlotry". I just like the sound of that title... It turns out that Rush Limbaugh was right!...... About Donovan McNabb!!
Golf Hustlers
I came across this American Heritage article from 2005. Very interesting stuff including:
I came across this American Heritage article from 2005. Very interesting stuff including:
A relative latecomer to golf, [Titanic] Thompson took up the game when he was nearly 30, in 1921. Already a crack shot, a champion bowler, a good pool player, and an expert at dice and cards, particularly poker, he learned quickly. In 1934 a group of Dallas businessmen put up $3,000 to host a match between Thompson and a young Byron Nelson. By then Thompson had become famous in the golfing community, and people came from hundreds of miles to witness the match. Nelson spotted Thompson 3 strokes, and lost, shooting 68 to Thompson’s 70. Tommy Bolt, the 1958 U.S. Open champion, once said of Thompson’s golfing ability: “He could have been the greatest.”Ron Shelton was supposedly interested in making a film based on Titanic Thompson but after reading through this article I have to wonder if he actually did but called it Tin Cup instead.
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Randy Moss
Here's my take on the Randy Moss situation.
It seems to me that Randy Moss is very much like the spoiled - talented kid who switches from one high school to another in his senior year. The kid was just as talented and spoiled at the first school as at the second but the first school had all his friends from the past three years and it had adults who he respected enough not to completely go off his meds.
The kid had to switch schools and at first he was happy about it. But being insecure he had to build himself up by knocking other people (and catering services) down at this new school. His friends weren't there anymore to tell him to shut up. He starts pouting and saying publicly how much better his other school was and how the adults at the other school were so much better than the adults at his new school. The adults at his new school are just stupid (anyone with kids has heard things called "stupid" by unhappy children). Then the adults at the new school decide to suspend the kid.
Now the kid can't go back to his old school and his new school just kicked him out. Other schools don't have to take him in but some school eventually will because as petulant as the kid is - he is still very talented.
The adults at his first school are silently relieved to have him out of their hair and shake their heads at any school willing to put up with his crap.
Here's my take on the Randy Moss situation.
It seems to me that Randy Moss is very much like the spoiled - talented kid who switches from one high school to another in his senior year. The kid was just as talented and spoiled at the first school as at the second but the first school had all his friends from the past three years and it had adults who he respected enough not to completely go off his meds.
The kid had to switch schools and at first he was happy about it. But being insecure he had to build himself up by knocking other people (and catering services) down at this new school. His friends weren't there anymore to tell him to shut up. He starts pouting and saying publicly how much better his other school was and how the adults at the other school were so much better than the adults at his new school. The adults at his new school are just stupid (anyone with kids has heard things called "stupid" by unhappy children). Then the adults at the new school decide to suspend the kid.
Now the kid can't go back to his old school and his new school just kicked him out. Other schools don't have to take him in but some school eventually will because as petulant as the kid is - he is still very talented.
The adults at his first school are silently relieved to have him out of their hair and shake their heads at any school willing to put up with his crap.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Mitt Romney and Bruce Campbell
Tomorrow is the end of the 2010 election cycle but it also marks the beginning of the 2012 election cycle. To mark this occasion I thought I would mention something I've long believed.
In many ways the persona of Bruce Campbell is the exact opposite of Mitt Romney. Campbell is the sort of regular guy you'd like to have a beer with. Romney doesn't drink and given his business background - if he came up to talk with you in the back of your mind you might be worrying that he's about to eliminate your job. Campbell would make you want to say "take this job and shove it!"
Romney should capitalize on this dichotomy and hire Bruce Campbell to do some appearances and commercials as the "bizarro Romney". They could do commercials together in a "what Romney says" and "what bizarro Campbell Romney actually wants to say." It would be a hit and it would take down some of the complaints about Romney being too slick, phony or stiff.
I should be making big money as a political adviser. Romney should also hire Red Sox legend Carlton Fisk to do commercials for him in New Hampshire. Romney probably already has New Hampshire locked up but this would be the kind of move that would really ensure success.
Tomorrow is the end of the 2010 election cycle but it also marks the beginning of the 2012 election cycle. To mark this occasion I thought I would mention something I've long believed.
In many ways the persona of Bruce Campbell is the exact opposite of Mitt Romney. Campbell is the sort of regular guy you'd like to have a beer with. Romney doesn't drink and given his business background - if he came up to talk with you in the back of your mind you might be worrying that he's about to eliminate your job. Campbell would make you want to say "take this job and shove it!"
Romney should capitalize on this dichotomy and hire Bruce Campbell to do some appearances and commercials as the "bizarro Romney". They could do commercials together in a "what Romney says" and "what bizarro Campbell Romney actually wants to say." It would be a hit and it would take down some of the complaints about Romney being too slick, phony or stiff.
I should be making big money as a political adviser. Romney should also hire Red Sox legend Carlton Fisk to do commercials for him in New Hampshire. Romney probably already has New Hampshire locked up but this would be the kind of move that would really ensure success.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
The Devil's Footprints
Since today is Halloween I thought I'd bring up the Devil's Footprints - one of the stangest phenomenons in history:
Since today is Halloween I thought I'd bring up the Devil's Footprints - one of the stangest phenomenons in history:
On the night of the 8th of February 1855, heavy snowfall blanketed the countryside and small villages of Southern Devon [England]. The last snow is thought to have fallen around midnight, and between this time and around 6.00am the following morning, something (or some things) left a myriad of tracks in the snow, stretching for a hundred miles or more, from the River Exe, to Totnes on the river Dart.Freaky stuff with no rational explanation - I find that stuff fascinating.
The early risers were the first to find them, strange hoof-shaped prints in straight lines, passing over rooftops, through walls and covering huge areas of land. A set of the prints were even supposed to have bridged a two mile span of the river Exe, continuing on the other side as if the creature had walked over the water.
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Good point by Charlie Pierce - why have all of our junk foods been super-sized except Halloween candy?
- I agree 100% with the idea of a 2-yr $20 mill contract for David Ortiz
- Tony Kornheiser is awesome
- 74 Homemade Signs from Rally to Restore Honor and/or Fear. The Tea Party stands for less government and less spending - what the heck was the message yesterday?
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Good point by Charlie Pierce - why have all of our junk foods been super-sized except Halloween candy?
- I agree 100% with the idea of a 2-yr $20 mill contract for David Ortiz
- Tony Kornheiser is awesome
- 74 Homemade Signs from Rally to Restore Honor and/or Fear. The Tea Party stands for less government and less spending - what the heck was the message yesterday?
Friday, October 29, 2010
Team Coco vs NBC
Very interesting excerpt from the Bill Carter book on how Conan O'Brien lost the Tonight Show.
In business dealings I'm always a fan of having a Plan B in case your plan A doesn't work out. In this situation it is clear that NBC never had a Plan B thought out in case Leno or Conan didn't succeed in their new time slots. The lack of a Plan B is what caused all the drama. If a Plan B was discussed prior to Leno moving to 10:00 then all this could have been averted. Simple planning - if Leno works fine at 10:00 then all is well but if not then we go to Plan B.
Fascinating stuff.
Very interesting excerpt from the Bill Carter book on how Conan O'Brien lost the Tonight Show.
In business dealings I'm always a fan of having a Plan B in case your plan A doesn't work out. In this situation it is clear that NBC never had a Plan B thought out in case Leno or Conan didn't succeed in their new time slots. The lack of a Plan B is what caused all the drama. If a Plan B was discussed prior to Leno moving to 10:00 then all this could have been averted. Simple planning - if Leno works fine at 10:00 then all is well but if not then we go to Plan B.
Fascinating stuff.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Hilarious - Navy SEAL Don Shipley busts fakes... If Hollywood Squares was still around - this would be the week they'd announce that Don Johnson was just signed to be the center square... Has Hank Williams Jr. and the Geiko caveman ever been seen in the same room? Just asking... Major Yuengling expansion on the table. Hopefully Massachusetts will finally be getting one of my favorite beers... I am guessing that the movie name Unstoppable is a misnomer (should be called Stoppable)... Shouldn't a tubercular disease involve potatoes?... Heh heh
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Hilarious - Navy SEAL Don Shipley busts fakes... If Hollywood Squares was still around - this would be the week they'd announce that Don Johnson was just signed to be the center square... Has Hank Williams Jr. and the Geiko caveman ever been seen in the same room? Just asking... Major Yuengling expansion on the table. Hopefully Massachusetts will finally be getting one of my favorite beers... I am guessing that the movie name Unstoppable is a misnomer (should be called Stoppable)... Shouldn't a tubercular disease involve potatoes?... Heh heh
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Supposedly back in July of 2005 the Blue Jays turned down a Ryan Howard for Ted Lilly deal. It is interesting to ponder on how that deal could have changed the fortunes of both franchises. Oh I know that a MVP caliber player for a 2nd starter seems one-sided on the surface but Lilly could have been the extra ingredient in 2005 to get the Phillies into the playoffs in a weak year when the Astros won the NL and the White Sox won the World Series... Movie Trivia: Captain Quint's name means "fifth" in Latin. In the movie Jaws - he's the fifth person killed by the shark... PJ O'Rourke on Democrats... Presidential Trivia: Richard Nixon is the only sitting President to ever attend a running of the Kentucky Derby... I checked my American College Dictionary and "physicality" is not a word. I wish sports announcers would stop using it... A blonde is a blonde, a brunette is a brunette, a redhead is a redhead but what do you call woman with black hair? You don't call her a black head... If you are bitten by Abe Vigoda - do you become a zombie?... They call me Heat Miser, Whatever I touch - starts to melt in my clutch - I'm too much!...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Supposedly back in July of 2005 the Blue Jays turned down a Ryan Howard for Ted Lilly deal. It is interesting to ponder on how that deal could have changed the fortunes of both franchises. Oh I know that a MVP caliber player for a 2nd starter seems one-sided on the surface but Lilly could have been the extra ingredient in 2005 to get the Phillies into the playoffs in a weak year when the Astros won the NL and the White Sox won the World Series... Movie Trivia: Captain Quint's name means "fifth" in Latin. In the movie Jaws - he's the fifth person killed by the shark... PJ O'Rourke on Democrats... Presidential Trivia: Richard Nixon is the only sitting President to ever attend a running of the Kentucky Derby... I checked my American College Dictionary and "physicality" is not a word. I wish sports announcers would stop using it... A blonde is a blonde, a brunette is a brunette, a redhead is a redhead but what do you call woman with black hair? You don't call her a black head... If you are bitten by Abe Vigoda - do you become a zombie?... They call me Heat Miser, Whatever I touch - starts to melt in my clutch - I'm too much!...
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- The Lincecum F*** Yeah song - I swear to God that this song was stuck in my head all day yesterday - Awesome
- Benoit Mandelbrot - RIP
- Olsen Twins Pizza Song slowed down - I couldn't turn away
- Dogs playing poker at the last supper
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- The Lincecum F*** Yeah song - I swear to God that this song was stuck in my head all day yesterday - Awesome
- Benoit Mandelbrot - RIP
- Olsen Twins Pizza Song slowed down - I couldn't turn away
- Dogs playing poker at the last supper
Thursday, October 14, 2010
NFL Agents
The recent confessions by Josh Luchs about paying college football players when he was an sports agent got me thinking about an old question I had regarding agents. Back before the 2006 NFL draft the Wonderlic scores for Vince Young were leaked. The leak purported that Young scored a miserable 6 on the test. Back when that happened I speculated that the ones who could benefit from this leak could be the agent of another player who potentially could pass Young in the draft order and thus earn the agent tens of thousands of additional dollars.
The next QB in line to be drafted would seem the logical place to search for clues to the mystery Wonderlic leaker and given that Matt Leinart had some agent hopscotch going on - I wonder if his representation would be a good place to look. Consider that Leinart had Chuck Price (who doesn't seem to have much info available on him) as his "football agent" and he switched horses right before the draft from Leigh Steinberg as his contracts and marketing guy to Tom Condon. Then a year later Leinart drops Condon for convicted felon Mike Orstein who was fired by Reggie Bush just prior to signing Leinart.
Leinart seems to project a certain moral flexibility and I have to wonder if there could be a good story to his college finances and representation. I wonder if anyone has thought to ask Chuck Price what he thought about the realism of the Josh Luchs story?
The recent confessions by Josh Luchs about paying college football players when he was an sports agent got me thinking about an old question I had regarding agents. Back before the 2006 NFL draft the Wonderlic scores for Vince Young were leaked. The leak purported that Young scored a miserable 6 on the test. Back when that happened I speculated that the ones who could benefit from this leak could be the agent of another player who potentially could pass Young in the draft order and thus earn the agent tens of thousands of additional dollars.
The next QB in line to be drafted would seem the logical place to search for clues to the mystery Wonderlic leaker and given that Matt Leinart had some agent hopscotch going on - I wonder if his representation would be a good place to look. Consider that Leinart had Chuck Price (who doesn't seem to have much info available on him) as his "football agent" and he switched horses right before the draft from Leigh Steinberg as his contracts and marketing guy to Tom Condon. Then a year later Leinart drops Condon for convicted felon Mike Orstein who was fired by Reggie Bush just prior to signing Leinart.
Leinart seems to project a certain moral flexibility and I have to wonder if there could be a good story to his college finances and representation. I wonder if anyone has thought to ask Chuck Price what he thought about the realism of the Josh Luchs story?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Between Two Ferns with Bruce Willis
- FX's teaser trailer for "Justified" season two - I can't wait until February for new episodes
- Excellent SI article on agents and players and how the dance often works. Long article but worth it - everyone is talking about this. One detail that struck me was Greg Townsend acting as the model for SNL's Ladies Man.
- Awesome - Toy Grit
- Quite possibly the funniest correction ever
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Between Two Ferns with Bruce Willis
- FX's teaser trailer for "Justified" season two - I can't wait until February for new episodes
- Excellent SI article on agents and players and how the dance often works. Long article but worth it - everyone is talking about this. One detail that struck me was Greg Townsend acting as the model for SNL's Ladies Man.
- Awesome - Toy Grit
- Quite possibly the funniest correction ever
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Favre Int.
The most under-reported story today is how Brett Favre's last minute interception was the bailout from heaven for anyone who bet on the Jets and a damn you and your penis moment for anyone who had the Vikings last night.
Let me set the table - the Jets were a 4.5 point favorite last night. The Jets were up by 2 at 22-20 with less than 2 minutes to go. Anyone who had the Vikings was happy. If the Vikings scored then it was a bonus. If they didn't then the 4.5 point spread still made Vikings' bettors winners. If the Jets got the ball back they would just take a knee until the clock ran out. The Vikings were out of time-outs and had no way to stop the clock. The only thing that could bail out anyone who bet the Jets was a pick six. And what did Brett Favre serve up on a silver platter? Yup. Prayers were answered last night.
I'm not even going to mention how the interception effected the people who bet the over/under. Last night was one of the biggest betting last second rabbits out of a hat ever and nobody is talking about it.
The most under-reported story today is how Brett Favre's last minute interception was the bailout from heaven for anyone who bet on the Jets and a damn you and your penis moment for anyone who had the Vikings last night.
Let me set the table - the Jets were a 4.5 point favorite last night. The Jets were up by 2 at 22-20 with less than 2 minutes to go. Anyone who had the Vikings was happy. If the Vikings scored then it was a bonus. If they didn't then the 4.5 point spread still made Vikings' bettors winners. If the Jets got the ball back they would just take a knee until the clock ran out. The Vikings were out of time-outs and had no way to stop the clock. The only thing that could bail out anyone who bet the Jets was a pick six. And what did Brett Favre serve up on a silver platter? Yup. Prayers were answered last night.
I'm not even going to mention how the interception effected the people who bet the over/under. Last night was one of the biggest betting last second rabbits out of a hat ever and nobody is talking about it.
Heh Heh - Joke of the Day
Bill worked in a pickle factory. He had been employed there for a number of years when he came home one day to confess to his wife that he had a terrible compulsion. He had an urge to stick his penis into the pickle slicer. His wife suggested that he should see a sex therapist to talk about it, but Bill said he would be too embarrassed. He vowed to overcome the compulsion on his own. One day a few weeks later, Bill came home and his wife could see at once that something was seriously wrong. "What's wrong, Bill?" she asked. "Do you remember that I told you how I had this tremendous urge to put my penis into the pickle slicer?" "Oh, Bill, you didn't!" she exclaimed. "Yes, I did." he replied. "My God, Bill, what happened?" "I got fired." "No, Bill. I mean, what happened with the pickle slicer?" "Oh...she got fired too."
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
It is interesting to note that Brett Favre is almost 3-years older than Drew Bledsoe and now he has almost exactly double the number of TD's (501 to 251) and Bledsoe was one of the most prolific passers in history... Very interesting read - the story behind the DirecTV Russian oligarch commercial. My favorite tidbit is the fact that the Russian guy is actually played by an Irish actor... Nice observation by Jason Whitlock who noticed that Mike Tirico was unusually silent last night whenever Favre's dong pictures were being discussed. Tirico had some of those problems himself... Public Service Announcement: Experts say putting ice cubes up the rectums of unconscious people has no physiological benefit and can even lead to seizures and stroke. The more you know... Wow - the true size of Africa... I still say "the Junk Mailer" is the best Brett Favre nickname... Charlie Casserly is reporting that Chumbawumba has been named to replace the Black Eyed Peas at this year's Super Bowl half-time... Michelangelo painting worth $300M found in Buffalo of all places... Opulence - they guy in the Charles Schwab commercial who doesn't like vineyards - he doesn't have it... If the Playboy Channel had topless tennis I think the ratings would be higher than the NHL on Versus... I'm convinced that the Chrysler "race you home" commercial is dubbed in English and that the kid is actually running away from bullies who want to beat him up. The mini-van saves him. Commercial makes much more sense if you look at it that way... Best Typo of the Year. Read the correction at top...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
It is interesting to note that Brett Favre is almost 3-years older than Drew Bledsoe and now he has almost exactly double the number of TD's (501 to 251) and Bledsoe was one of the most prolific passers in history... Very interesting read - the story behind the DirecTV Russian oligarch commercial. My favorite tidbit is the fact that the Russian guy is actually played by an Irish actor... Nice observation by Jason Whitlock who noticed that Mike Tirico was unusually silent last night whenever Favre's dong pictures were being discussed. Tirico had some of those problems himself... Public Service Announcement: Experts say putting ice cubes up the rectums of unconscious people has no physiological benefit and can even lead to seizures and stroke. The more you know... Wow - the true size of Africa... I still say "the Junk Mailer" is the best Brett Favre nickname... Charlie Casserly is reporting that Chumbawumba has been named to replace the Black Eyed Peas at this year's Super Bowl half-time... Michelangelo painting worth $300M found in Buffalo of all places... Opulence - they guy in the Charles Schwab commercial who doesn't like vineyards - he doesn't have it... If the Playboy Channel had topless tennis I think the ratings would be higher than the NHL on Versus... I'm convinced that the Chrysler "race you home" commercial is dubbed in English and that the kid is actually running away from bullies who want to beat him up. The mini-van saves him. Commercial makes much more sense if you look at it that way... Best Typo of the Year. Read the correction at top...
Monday, October 11, 2010
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Star Wars funny
- The Early (Not-So-Literary) Jobs of 10 Great Authors. Oyster pirate? Really?
- Oral sex in the bible
- Nice image choice CNN
- Opening to last night's The Simpsons
- Very funny French commercial
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
- Star Wars funny
- The Early (Not-So-Literary) Jobs of 10 Great Authors. Oyster pirate? Really?
- Oral sex in the bible
- Nice image choice CNN
- Opening to last night's The Simpsons
- Very funny French commercial
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Stephen King on Hockey
Hockey season is upon us. Whenever I see hockey on TV I think of this this quote from Stephen King:
Hockey season is upon us. Whenever I see hockey on TV I think of this this quote from Stephen King:
Here’s what I understand about hockey: Bulky men wearing helmets and carrying sticks in their gauntleted hands skate around for a while on my TV; then some guy comes on and sells trucks. Sometimes chicks come on and sell beer.
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