A Large Regular

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:

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.

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.

Freaky stuff with no rational explanation - I find that stuff fascinating.

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?

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.

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

This is Talent



My fingers cramped just watching this guy. What talent!

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!...

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

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?

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

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.

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...

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

Stephen King on Hockey

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.

My Problem with the Movie The Firm

I saw this video clip this morning. I couldn't agree with the plot hole in Back to the Future more and I'm somewhat bothered that I didn't think of it myself.



That bit of comedy prodded me to write about something thats been bothering me lately - the obvious plot holes in the movie The Firm. I'm not talking about the suspension of belief required to see Tom Cruise as a genius lawyer either. I'm OK with that. What I'm not OK with is the fact that the FBI is concerned with money-laundering but couldn't give a damn about murder.

The two lawyers are killed in the Cayman Islands along with the son of the guy who runs the dive shop and nobody cares? "The Nordic Man" (that's what the albino-like killer is called in the credits) is positively ID'd by Barry Abanks (Sullivan Walker). Does the father want justice for his son's murder? No - he wants to help Mitch McDeere nail The Firm for white collar crime instead! Tammy Hemphill (Holly Hunter) sees her boss killed by "the Nordic man" and "the squat man" (that's how Dean Norris is listed in the credits). Does she want justice for the murder of her lover Eddie Lomax (Gary Busey)? No she wants to do secretarial work for Mitch McDeere instead.

Barry Abanks can positively ID the firm's hired killers; Tammy Hemphill was an eye-witness to the murder of Eddie Lomax and Mitch McDeere can testify that the murderers were in the employ of the firm's head of security, William Devasher (Wilford Brimley - who surprisingly is still alive - must be all that oatmeal). That's murder and conspiracy but what the heck - let's go with over-billing instead. Did they not have MURDER on the bar exam Mitch?

This bothers me. Just thought I'd share.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Holy crap! The kid on Two and a Half Men makes 3-times as much per episode ($300k) than Jon Hamm makes on Mad Men ($100k)... So I have the Reds +1.5 runs last nigh and they are up 4-0 and Bronson is cruising. What could go wrong?... Helpful hint - it's not a good idea to ever tell a woman that she looks kinda like Peter Gammons... Why is Scott Peterson still alive? He was sentenced to death 5 yrs ago for killing his wife. Put him in gen-pop and turn a blind eye already... I wasn't going to touch that Reds game but then I saw a nugget from Jason Stark saying that Bronson Arroyo is 3-0 with a 2,49 ERA in games where Bruce Dreckman calls balls and strikes. It should have been 4-0 damn it!... An atom walks down the road when he suddenly bumps into another atom. "You okay?" he asks. "No! I've lost an electron!" "Are you sure?" "I'm positive!"... I am disappointed the Battered Women Support Group doesn't sponsor Wil Cordero's Baseball-reference.com page anymore. For $10 I may sponsor it for them... What's worse - the Eagles picking Kevin Kolb over Donovan McNabb or the Browns drafting Tim Couch over Donovan McNabb?... The weekend is here! Let us spring up out of our sober shells. We shall soar like drunken eagles!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Roy Halladay's scouting report as a 21-year-old prospect

- With John Henry poised to buy Liverpool - here's a nice story on how the team got it's signature song. Now the trick is how to explain Dirty Water to the people in England.

- Awesome - the scale of the universe

- Charlie Crist's Comically Bad First Pitch

- Bus driver of WKU volleyball bus dies of heart attack while driving. Coach seizes wheel, stops bus safely

- Tim Lincecum is great and all but this has to be hyperbole

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Given how dominating Roy Halladay was last night - I have to wonder if people really should be talking about Johnny Vander Meer and back-to-back no-hitters instead of Don Larsen's World Series perfect game... Report: Moss dissed Belichick on plane back from Miami... I'm not even a Donovan McNabb fan but I wonder what will go down as the bigger NFL mistake - the Eagles picking Kevin Kolb over Donovan McNabb or the Browns drafting Tim Couch over Donovan McNabb?... The movie St Elmo's Fire was based on Tip O'Neil's autobiography - they just changed congressmen into Georgetown college students... Tiger Would Beer, the beer for philanderers... Happy 25th birthday to Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria... Did you know that Dick Vermeil was the first ever Special Teams Coach in NFL history? He became that in 1969 for the Los Angeles Rams. Vermeil has been retired for 5 years now - I hope he makes the Football Hall of Fame. I think it is an honor he deserves... I loved Speed Racer as a kid - I'd really like to own one of these... In the first 10 minutes of the Burn Notice pilot Michael Westen kills 2 guys off-screen. I don't think he killed 2 more people in the next 2 seasons... The Red Sox match up with all of the teams in playoffs really well. Of all the words of tongue and pen - the saddest are it could have been...

Heh Heh - Old Joke Worth a Re-telling

George W. Bush and John Kerry somehow ended up at the same barbershop. As they sat there, each being worked on by a different barber, not a word was spoken.

The barbers were even afraid to start a conversation, for fear it would turn to politics. As the barbers finished their shaves, the one who had Kerry in his chair reached for the aftershave. Kerry was quick to stop him saying, "No thanks, my wife Theresa will smell that and think I've been in a whorehouse."

The second barber turned to Bush and said, "How about you?"

Bush replied, "Go ahead, my wife doesn't know what the inside of a whorehouse smells like."

Flotsam and Jetsam - Randy Moss Edition

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Surprised that Bill Simmons isn't getting any credit or at least being discussed for his role in opening floodgates in the Randy Moss story. It was his Twitter private message that he accidentally posted that made this story public... Phrase of the day: drinking with Godot adj. drinking while waiting for friends who may or may not arrive... Randy Moss could play 17 games this year if he is traded to the Vikings. Last week Minnesota had their bye week and still has 13 games to play. Moss has already played 4 games for the Patriots this season. Does he get an extra game check?... People think guys like Andy Kaufman and Jim Morrison faked own deaths but wouldn't it be funny if the guy who really faked his death was Ted Knight?... 11 High School Dropouts Who Found Success Anyway... For the record I'm not sure how I feel about the possible trade of Randy Moss. On one hand you can't replace a talent like Moss. I like Brandon Tate and all but he's not Randy Moss. On the other hand I think Tom Brady had been pressing at some times this season to get the ball to Randy. I think that's one of the things that bogged down the Patriots in the second half of the Jets loss. I guess it comes down to trusting Bill Belichick... The things you learn on the Internet: In the mid-1950s, Kurt Vonnegut ran a Saab dealership in West Barnstable, Massachusetts... Quote of the day: "If you want something done right, do it yourself. That’s all fine and dandy, but it doesn’t really work for fellatio" John McGuirk... Wouldn't it be funny if the Randy Moss trade turns out to be nothing but an overblown rumor? I know at this point it looks like a real deal but wouldn't it be funny if it was just something Bill Simmons made up?

Very Cool - Seabreecher X



If I had an extra $85,000 hanging around - I'd so buy one of these.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Did you know that the first professional baseball player was Jewish? His name was Lipman Pike - you can look it up... Gene Hackman was original choice of the show's producers to play Mr. Brady on The Brady Bunch but the studio insisted on Robert Reed... The chief Norse God Odin had two ravens who sat on his shoulders - one was Hugin (Thought) and the other was Munin (Memory). They flew around the world of men to inform Odin of goings on... Did you know that Ted Knight was the narrarator on the Super Friends?... I think I'd rather have hot wax dripped on my genitals than watch the new CBS "comedy" Mike & Molly - seriously - hot wax on my balls... Did you know that Sarah Holcomb who played Maggie in Caddyshack also played the underage girl who gets pregnant in Animal House?... Robert Redford was in a movie called Havana and it wasn't half bad - Sean Connery was in a movie called Cuba that wasn't half good...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- If you have ever had a cross country flight and looked out at mile after mile of nothing it may shock you to learn that the farthest away from a McDonald's you can be in the lower 48 is just 115 miles. Amazing.

- Mesmerizing video of "homeless guy" miming Under Pressure using two Kermit puppets.

- Seinfeld-like "hand model" story comes to life

- 10 Latin phrases everyone should know. Not on the list is "Audio, video, disco" which roughly translates to "I hear, I see, I learn."

- Awesome art - I'd so hang this in my living room

- Currently my favorite song - Little Lion Man

Bikini Racing

I don't find women racing in bikinis in the place of horses degrading. I find it amusing. In fact I think I would much prefer bikini races to steeple chases (although bikini steeple chases might be the best of both worlds). After watching the video I thought three things (A) what an annoying announcer (B) what an upset in the race and (C) I wonder what the Trifecta paid.

My 6 Team NFL Parlay

OK - gonna waste a good $10 on a 6-team parlay today (to win $520). Here's my picks:

- Atlanta Falcons -6.5 vs San Francisco (the Falcons are one of the best teams at home while the 49ers are a West Coast team playing a 1:00 East Coast game)

- Indianapolis Colts -7.5 vs Jacksonville (I know the Jags usually play the Colts tough but I think this time it will be a blowout)

- Buffalo Bills +6.5 vs New York Jets (Bills always play AFC East opponents tough at home and they covered against Miami getting fewer points)

- Philadelphia -6 vs Washington (with all the focus on the QB's the real mismatch has been overlooked - the Eagles defense is way better than the Redskins defense)

- Houston Texans -3 vs Oakland (this one scares me but I like the Texans to bounce back this week)

- San Diego Charges -9.5 vs Cardinals (time for the Chargers to breakout)

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

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

Interesting Mike Silver Story

Reading through Mike Silver's latest NFL column when I came across this gem of a story:

While rookies are typically the prime candidates, credit-card roulette is not an uncommon resolution tool. I’ve even fallen victim, albeit with far less damage than Bryant incurred: Once, after a Chargers training camp practice, I ended up at Japengo, a La Jolla sushi hotspot, with way too many players at happy hour. A constant barrage of cocktails and raw fish ensued. Suddenly, someone looked at his watch and noticed that curfew was approaching, and the table cleared out like the waiter had just yelled, “Bad blowfish!” Before I knew what had hit me, Junior Seau had his arm on my shoulder and said, “Silv … you’ve got the check, right budddeeeee?” Fortunately my employer at the time, Sports Illustrated, was understanding of my desire not to disappoint one of the toughest men in football in his time of need. A year later I laughed upon learning that then-rookie quarterback Ryan Leaf – same sushi spot, same smooth Seau move – had declined the opportunity to take care of the tab. That got him on Seau’s bad side, and he soon managed to tick off Rodney Harrison and every other prominent Chargers player.

Short story but it helps explain why Mike Silver has great access in NFL locker rooms and why Ryan Leaf was such a douche loser.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Guinness returns original brew, Foreign Extra Stout, to the U.S. It's been gone since Prohibition. How can anything be better than the Guinness I've been drinking?

- Firefox has encountered an unexpected problem with Windows

- Awesome obit for a guy who washed dishes for 10 years for Crab Shack and liked Aerosmith and Celine Dion

- Heh heh

- How to torment telemarketers with one word (video)