After 2 crazy days back at work, I basically have nothing going on today. The new cell is 630-618-7718. I like the 18's on the end of each set of numbers, you know?
The Cubs are pursuing Magglio Ordonez provided they can trade Prima Donna Sosa. Staying in the NL Central, the Cardinals are planning to sign my favorite ballplayer since Mo Vaughn, the great Roberto Alomar. Let's see. They've gone from a middle infield of Tony Womack, Marlon Anderson, and Edgar Renteria to David Eckstein, Alomar, and Hector Luna. Uggh. At least they still have Pujols, Walker, Rolen, and Edmonds. Then again, they still have the lovely Roger Cedeno.
Well my Flushers have signed the lovely Chris Woodward. They're hoping he'll be the backup for Jose Reyes. I guess that hurts Danny Garcia's chances to make the club. Shame too. That kid can play.
Good win by the Knicks as they knock off the T-Wolves last night. That team is something else. Look at their "New York Jet-like performances" against Dallas and Boston, and look at their last 2 wins against Orlando and Minnesota. It's frustrating. You just never know what you'll get from this team from one game to the next. And that responsibility goes straight to the head coach. Period. End of sentence. Also, when Jamal Crawford comes back how does this team plan playing time at the guard position. Marbury, Houston, Crawford, Norris, and Penny Hardaway, who has said he wants more playing time when he comes back from the injured list. Good luck Lenny. The team is getting a little better and a little better, but they have to play defense. And if it sounds like I'm repeating myself from other posts, it's because I am. I am.
In my CD player: Ray (The Soundtrack). Check out the live version of "You Don't Know Me." If the rawness and soul of that performance doesn't hit you, you should check your pulse.
And I'm gonna start reading Friday Night Lights, a book about Texas high school football. I'll have a review eventually. That's all I've got to say about that.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Monday, December 27, 2004
I'm baaaaack! East Coast, Pizza, Bakeries, Jets, etc.
Miss me? I know, sometimes I miss me too. I have a lot to talk about so let's get right to it.
First off, I hit the east coast this week and it went well. After driving to Youngstown, OH with mom and seeing Hogan for a brief time, I headed off with my grandparents down to CT. That took 12 hours! That's a lot of hours and a lot of naps. Fortunately, I was able to listen to WFAN radio in the car and listened to 3 hours of Joe Benigno. Oh I wish I could get WFAN in Chicago.
I visited my uncle's family in Staten Island. Man you want to talk about a meal! From the pork roast to the sausage stuffing, green beans, stuffed mushrooms, carrots and onions, bourbon sweet potatoes, corn pudding (which always gets my father excited), the antipasto (salami, pepperoni, shrimp cocktail, provolone, bread, pepperoni bread), the apple bread pudding, cannolis, yeah, it's suffice to say I was satisfied. I drank a little wine, which I never do outside of sampling at CPK. It was a sweet dessert wine and it wasn't half bad. I prompted a prayer before the meal, and I'm glad I did. Not to go into detail, but throughout the week, I really saw the different ways families can come together or grow apart. God really can be the unifier if people would let him be.
My cousin is growing up fast. I don't see her much, but I've seen her 3 times in the last 18 months. She's now a junior in high school, taking some AP classes, has a boyfriend. Man, it's like my little sister grew up before I knew it.
Oh, I got to eat some real east coast food. And if you've never been there, you don;t know what I mean. I hit downtown Metuchen, NJ on Sunday and came away with 24 bagels, 5 powdered crumb buns (actually 4 because I gobbled one before I came home), 3 vanilla/chocolate man cookies for mum), 2 french baguettes, and 2 round seeded rolls. God, those people know how to cook their carbs.
I ate some New York pizza in a Ohio mall if you can believe it. It was called Bruno Bros. Pizza. Everything New York was there. Calzones, Strombolis, Chef salads, you name it. That was all I needed to make my week worthwhile. So from now on, every month or so, I will be driving 5 hours, paying 16 dollars in tolls, and burning up 3 tanks of gas, to bring back a couple of pies to our deprived family in St. Charles, Illinois. It would be worth it.
I finally visited Ground Zero. Tough to see all the emptiness all around. So much rubble and yet they've cleaned a lot out. I was walking down the street observing the murals. All of a sudden, I heard a siren wailing. I shivered and jumped up just a little. I'll be very interested to see what NYC does for a memorial site.
OK now it's time to get right into sports. Particularly my sports soliloquies. Let me start out with this. If you or anyone out there thinks the New York Jets still have a chance to at least win a playoff game, guess what? I got a skyscraper in Sioux Falls, South Dakota I could sell you. Maybe we can work something out. This was a putrid effort, no, I can't use the word effort. It was a putrid, disgusting 2 hours I had to endure watching the Jets stink out Giants Stadium like the circus was next door. Did they give a damn about that game. Do they even care? I'm worried now that Chad Pennington cannot win a big game against a big team. I never thought I'd say it, but I have to face it now. But he looked like a high school quarterback out there. Now it wasn't all his fault. Curtis Martin looked 50 years old. The receivers couldn't get open or hold onto a pass. The defensive line put no pressure on Hollywood Brady. Erik Coleman and David Barrett got abused in the secondary like a criminal on Cops. Nobody showed up, except I think Fireman Ed and the Klecko family. It was horrific. I really wished I was on a plane while this was going on, so I would have at least had a couple of vomit bags right in front of me. And typical Giants blow a 10 point lead and lose to Cincinnati by 1 point. At least that game was entertaining. Just a horrible day for me in sports.
The Mets signed a couple of guys. Andres Galaragga, who I think qualifies for Social Security, signed a 1 year deal. Infielder Marlon Anderson and outfielder Kerry Robinson signed. They will help compensate for Mike Cameron's wrist injury, which will keep him out through May. They brought back a few pitchers, including Orber Moreno, which I think is a great move. He's had some arm problems, but has a great velocity. He should be put straight into the Met bullpen. Grant Roberts and Scott Strickland will be back, and if just one of them can come back from their respective injuries, that will be key. Rick Peterson, are you reading??? And I'm very excited to see they signed Luis Garcia away from the White Sox. He can play first base or outfield and hit 32 homers and 95 RBI's in the PCL last year. Watch this kid.
Ugh. Fantasy football has one night left. I trail by 9 points going into Monday night. I need 10 to win because I lose the tiebreaker. I have the Philadelphia defense. A shutout and a few sacks and turnovers would be nice. GO EAGLES!!! I want a championship! What makes me sick is if I had played Washington I would have had 13 and everything would basically be wrapped up. I hadn't had Internet access since Tuesday so I was limited in moves I can make. Hey CT thanks for taking me off the Internet!
I have now joined human civilization. I have a cell number. I am convict #679-128946. No, I'll have further information later on.
TO BG-ORLANDO HERNANDEZ?! You've replaced El Caballo with El Duque. Who's the next El coming to U.S. Cellular? El Guapo Rich Garces?
TO RWB-Four words: Fitzroy wears western outfits!
First off, I hit the east coast this week and it went well. After driving to Youngstown, OH with mom and seeing Hogan for a brief time, I headed off with my grandparents down to CT. That took 12 hours! That's a lot of hours and a lot of naps. Fortunately, I was able to listen to WFAN radio in the car and listened to 3 hours of Joe Benigno. Oh I wish I could get WFAN in Chicago.
I visited my uncle's family in Staten Island. Man you want to talk about a meal! From the pork roast to the sausage stuffing, green beans, stuffed mushrooms, carrots and onions, bourbon sweet potatoes, corn pudding (which always gets my father excited), the antipasto (salami, pepperoni, shrimp cocktail, provolone, bread, pepperoni bread), the apple bread pudding, cannolis, yeah, it's suffice to say I was satisfied. I drank a little wine, which I never do outside of sampling at CPK. It was a sweet dessert wine and it wasn't half bad. I prompted a prayer before the meal, and I'm glad I did. Not to go into detail, but throughout the week, I really saw the different ways families can come together or grow apart. God really can be the unifier if people would let him be.
My cousin is growing up fast. I don't see her much, but I've seen her 3 times in the last 18 months. She's now a junior in high school, taking some AP classes, has a boyfriend. Man, it's like my little sister grew up before I knew it.
Oh, I got to eat some real east coast food. And if you've never been there, you don;t know what I mean. I hit downtown Metuchen, NJ on Sunday and came away with 24 bagels, 5 powdered crumb buns (actually 4 because I gobbled one before I came home), 3 vanilla/chocolate man cookies for mum), 2 french baguettes, and 2 round seeded rolls. God, those people know how to cook their carbs.
I ate some New York pizza in a Ohio mall if you can believe it. It was called Bruno Bros. Pizza. Everything New York was there. Calzones, Strombolis, Chef salads, you name it. That was all I needed to make my week worthwhile. So from now on, every month or so, I will be driving 5 hours, paying 16 dollars in tolls, and burning up 3 tanks of gas, to bring back a couple of pies to our deprived family in St. Charles, Illinois. It would be worth it.
I finally visited Ground Zero. Tough to see all the emptiness all around. So much rubble and yet they've cleaned a lot out. I was walking down the street observing the murals. All of a sudden, I heard a siren wailing. I shivered and jumped up just a little. I'll be very interested to see what NYC does for a memorial site.
OK now it's time to get right into sports. Particularly my sports soliloquies. Let me start out with this. If you or anyone out there thinks the New York Jets still have a chance to at least win a playoff game, guess what? I got a skyscraper in Sioux Falls, South Dakota I could sell you. Maybe we can work something out. This was a putrid effort, no, I can't use the word effort. It was a putrid, disgusting 2 hours I had to endure watching the Jets stink out Giants Stadium like the circus was next door. Did they give a damn about that game. Do they even care? I'm worried now that Chad Pennington cannot win a big game against a big team. I never thought I'd say it, but I have to face it now. But he looked like a high school quarterback out there. Now it wasn't all his fault. Curtis Martin looked 50 years old. The receivers couldn't get open or hold onto a pass. The defensive line put no pressure on Hollywood Brady. Erik Coleman and David Barrett got abused in the secondary like a criminal on Cops. Nobody showed up, except I think Fireman Ed and the Klecko family. It was horrific. I really wished I was on a plane while this was going on, so I would have at least had a couple of vomit bags right in front of me. And typical Giants blow a 10 point lead and lose to Cincinnati by 1 point. At least that game was entertaining. Just a horrible day for me in sports.
The Mets signed a couple of guys. Andres Galaragga, who I think qualifies for Social Security, signed a 1 year deal. Infielder Marlon Anderson and outfielder Kerry Robinson signed. They will help compensate for Mike Cameron's wrist injury, which will keep him out through May. They brought back a few pitchers, including Orber Moreno, which I think is a great move. He's had some arm problems, but has a great velocity. He should be put straight into the Met bullpen. Grant Roberts and Scott Strickland will be back, and if just one of them can come back from their respective injuries, that will be key. Rick Peterson, are you reading??? And I'm very excited to see they signed Luis Garcia away from the White Sox. He can play first base or outfield and hit 32 homers and 95 RBI's in the PCL last year. Watch this kid.
Ugh. Fantasy football has one night left. I trail by 9 points going into Monday night. I need 10 to win because I lose the tiebreaker. I have the Philadelphia defense. A shutout and a few sacks and turnovers would be nice. GO EAGLES!!! I want a championship! What makes me sick is if I had played Washington I would have had 13 and everything would basically be wrapped up. I hadn't had Internet access since Tuesday so I was limited in moves I can make. Hey CT thanks for taking me off the Internet!
I have now joined human civilization. I have a cell number. I am convict #679-128946. No, I'll have further information later on.
TO BG-ORLANDO HERNANDEZ?! You've replaced El Caballo with El Duque. Who's the next El coming to U.S. Cellular? El Guapo Rich Garces?
TO RWB-Four words: Fitzroy wears western outfits!
Monday, December 20, 2004
1 more win left!
Solid job by the Jets yesterday as they annihilate a pretty decent Seattle team. Eric Barton played as good a game as a defensive player can probably play. He had an interception, sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery and a team-high 11 tackles. Erik Coleman had a nice QB sack and how good does this guy look? Chad Pennington looked very good. 3 touchdowns, no interceptions. Jerald Sowell turned some short 5 yard passes into 20-yard gains. Toby Gowin never even had to punt. They did a direct snap to Lamont Jordan which turned not into an HB option pass, but into a 33-yard gain. They passed the ball on first down a few times. All in all a very good day.
That said, this was a very injured and ineffective Seattle defense. It's going to be quite a feat to repeat this against the Patriots. But it looks like this offense really seemed to click in a way they hadn't since Chad got hurt against Buffalo. And as I recall, it was Week 16 against New England 2 years ago when the offense got rolling and that propelled the Jets into the playoffs. Well that's all the time we have today. Good news east coast. I'm coming....
That said, this was a very injured and ineffective Seattle defense. It's going to be quite a feat to repeat this against the Patriots. But it looks like this offense really seemed to click in a way they hadn't since Chad got hurt against Buffalo. And as I recall, it was Week 16 against New England 2 years ago when the offense got rolling and that propelled the Jets into the playoffs. Well that's all the time we have today. Good news east coast. I'm coming....
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Thoughts on Giants-Steelers
I haven't given much attention to the New York Football Giants this year. For one main reason. Since mid-October, they've stunk. I did decide to tape their game today against the 13-1 Pittsburgh Steelers. They almost pulled it out, ultimately falling short 33-30. A few notes on this game.
1) The Giant secondary is so banged up, it's not even right. They have lost four safeties this year. I mean Terry Cousin, who was signed to play cornerback on passing plays had to play safety. He got eaten alive by receivers like Hines "Ketchup" Ward and Antwaan Randle-El. Ben Roethlisberger threw 5 passes for over 34 yards. That can't happen.
2) Initially, the Giants defense did a solid job limiting Jerome Bettis when they needed to. They stopped him on the 2 yard line at the end of the first half twice. But they finally wore down. They just gave up too many big plays not because of bad coaching or bad gameplans. It's a simple lack of talent. Gibril Wilson, Michael Strahan, Barrett Green, Keith Washington, Norman Hand, and Omar Stoutmire are all injured defensive starters.
3) Willie Ponder. Now really try to think about this. (Thank you, thank you :) That opening kickoff touchdown return was beautiful to watch. He even slipped a tackle by Troy Polamalu, the excellent Steeler linebacker. He had around 260 kickoff return yards, which set a Giant record for kickoff return yards in a game. That tells you two things. One, he's quick and intelligent. Two, the Steelers scored too many times!
4) The officiating. Now, see, this is why I will never be a play-by-play announcer. I have never believed in criticizing officials or blaming them for losing a game. Those old farts were so twisted in the wind towards Pittsburgh, I wonder how many Christmas cards Bill Cowher sent them this past week. In the first half, Polamalu was not penalized for hitting Tiki Barber a good 4 yards outside the field after Barber had run out of bounds. Then, five minutes later, on 3rd down for the Steelers, about 5 Giants sacked Roethlisberger. Brent Alexander gets penalized for unnecessary roughness because they were too aggressive in their tackling. I can't explain it in print, but even Phil Simms said the hits seemed to be on the same level. Nonetheless, the drive continues, and Pittsburgh scores a touchdown. 17-14 Pittsburgh leads.
5) Missed Opportunities. Third quarter, down by 6. First and goal from the 4. First play, Barber goes nowhere. Second down. Shockey nearly scores and gets the crowd going. He slams the football, his helmet comes off. That's the Shockey Giant fans want to see. Third and 1. You need a score here. Eli calls timeout. They come back. Run with Tiki up the middle. LOSS OF THREE! And they have to settle for a field goal and they trail by 3, instead of leading by 1.
6) Great job by Eli. He looked very poised this week. The offense did a very good job against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Tiki ran well. Shockey was his lovable obnoxious self.
7) I know it ultimately didn't matter. But what the hell was Tom Coughlin thinking? Fourth quarter. Tiki scores a touchdown, Giants lead 30-26 with 8 minutes left. Tommy, what are you doing going for two points? What was he thinking about? What do you have to gain? 32-26, or 31-26 is basically the same thing. You take the lead, kick the ball, don't give the Steelers any chance to get momentum back. On the conversion attempt, they sack Eli and you know that offense got pumped after that sack. They go down the field (7 plays, 67 yards in 3 minutes) and score the game winning touchdown.
As my opponent in the fantasy playoffs was playing the Pittsburgh defense, I'd like to say great job by the Giant offense. But the Giants finally looked like they wanted to play football. That's the key. They were excited to play. And this was a very exciting game. You could point blame at different places as to why the Giants lost, but the Steelers were just better. But look on the bright side. New England is still only in 2nd place for home field in the AFC playoffs. I'll have my Jet report ready by Monday.
1) The Giant secondary is so banged up, it's not even right. They have lost four safeties this year. I mean Terry Cousin, who was signed to play cornerback on passing plays had to play safety. He got eaten alive by receivers like Hines "Ketchup" Ward and Antwaan Randle-El. Ben Roethlisberger threw 5 passes for over 34 yards. That can't happen.
2) Initially, the Giants defense did a solid job limiting Jerome Bettis when they needed to. They stopped him on the 2 yard line at the end of the first half twice. But they finally wore down. They just gave up too many big plays not because of bad coaching or bad gameplans. It's a simple lack of talent. Gibril Wilson, Michael Strahan, Barrett Green, Keith Washington, Norman Hand, and Omar Stoutmire are all injured defensive starters.
3) Willie Ponder. Now really try to think about this. (Thank you, thank you :) That opening kickoff touchdown return was beautiful to watch. He even slipped a tackle by Troy Polamalu, the excellent Steeler linebacker. He had around 260 kickoff return yards, which set a Giant record for kickoff return yards in a game. That tells you two things. One, he's quick and intelligent. Two, the Steelers scored too many times!
4) The officiating. Now, see, this is why I will never be a play-by-play announcer. I have never believed in criticizing officials or blaming them for losing a game. Those old farts were so twisted in the wind towards Pittsburgh, I wonder how many Christmas cards Bill Cowher sent them this past week. In the first half, Polamalu was not penalized for hitting Tiki Barber a good 4 yards outside the field after Barber had run out of bounds. Then, five minutes later, on 3rd down for the Steelers, about 5 Giants sacked Roethlisberger. Brent Alexander gets penalized for unnecessary roughness because they were too aggressive in their tackling. I can't explain it in print, but even Phil Simms said the hits seemed to be on the same level. Nonetheless, the drive continues, and Pittsburgh scores a touchdown. 17-14 Pittsburgh leads.
5) Missed Opportunities. Third quarter, down by 6. First and goal from the 4. First play, Barber goes nowhere. Second down. Shockey nearly scores and gets the crowd going. He slams the football, his helmet comes off. That's the Shockey Giant fans want to see. Third and 1. You need a score here. Eli calls timeout. They come back. Run with Tiki up the middle. LOSS OF THREE! And they have to settle for a field goal and they trail by 3, instead of leading by 1.
6) Great job by Eli. He looked very poised this week. The offense did a very good job against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Tiki ran well. Shockey was his lovable obnoxious self.
7) I know it ultimately didn't matter. But what the hell was Tom Coughlin thinking? Fourth quarter. Tiki scores a touchdown, Giants lead 30-26 with 8 minutes left. Tommy, what are you doing going for two points? What was he thinking about? What do you have to gain? 32-26, or 31-26 is basically the same thing. You take the lead, kick the ball, don't give the Steelers any chance to get momentum back. On the conversion attempt, they sack Eli and you know that offense got pumped after that sack. They go down the field (7 plays, 67 yards in 3 minutes) and score the game winning touchdown.
As my opponent in the fantasy playoffs was playing the Pittsburgh defense, I'd like to say great job by the Giant offense. But the Giants finally looked like they wanted to play football. That's the key. They were excited to play. And this was a very exciting game. You could point blame at different places as to why the Giants lost, but the Steelers were just better. But look on the bright side. New England is still only in 2nd place for home field in the AFC playoffs. I'll have my Jet report ready by Monday.
Saturday, December 18, 2004
The best move the White Sox made! and a little venting.
You got it, Brian. Kenny Williams did it. Forget Jermaine Dye. Forget Dustin Hermanson. Forget Scott Podsednik. Forget Luis Vizcaino. Forget 3 years to Juan Uribe. Your White Sox have re-signed Timo Perez to a 1-year deal. That's it, you're AL champs. Start him in right field and lead him off EVERY DAY. OK, now back to reality.
Well the Mets have got their outfielder. Ron Calloway! Yes! Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-hi, hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho! Anyway, I read Pedro Martinez wants the Mets to sign Jason Varitek. I hear he's the leader of the Idiots and all that. Scott Boras is trying to get him 5 years and 50 million dollars including a no trade clause. Give me a break. You don't give that to a 32, 33 year old catcher with average offensive skills. Let's hope Omar Minaya doesn't let Pedro become a clubhouse lawyer/assistant GM like Al Leiter and John Franco were and Rick Peterson hopefully never will be again. Now if Pedro can help us get Manny Ramirez for Cliff Floyd straight up, it might not be such a bad thing.
WARNING. Adam is going to vent a lttle now. If you don't want to know, just stop reading here.
I don't want to go too much into detail about what happened at work today, but suffice to say, some people should not be allowed to exist. Some people are just Grade-A asses. They don't need to come into my restaurant, be confrontational and rude, and hell bent on getting someone else in trouble who is trying to help them rectify a bad situation that is not their fault. Hopefully I will be able to see that person again and slap them so hard their nose will fly off their fat head. To quote Blake Shelton. "SOME BEACH!"
And on that note, Happy Holidays everybody!
Well the Mets have got their outfielder. Ron Calloway! Yes! Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-hi, hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho! Anyway, I read Pedro Martinez wants the Mets to sign Jason Varitek. I hear he's the leader of the Idiots and all that. Scott Boras is trying to get him 5 years and 50 million dollars including a no trade clause. Give me a break. You don't give that to a 32, 33 year old catcher with average offensive skills. Let's hope Omar Minaya doesn't let Pedro become a clubhouse lawyer/assistant GM like Al Leiter and John Franco were and Rick Peterson hopefully never will be again. Now if Pedro can help us get Manny Ramirez for Cliff Floyd straight up, it might not be such a bad thing.
WARNING. Adam is going to vent a lttle now. If you don't want to know, just stop reading here.
I don't want to go too much into detail about what happened at work today, but suffice to say, some people should not be allowed to exist. Some people are just Grade-A asses. They don't need to come into my restaurant, be confrontational and rude, and hell bent on getting someone else in trouble who is trying to help them rectify a bad situation that is not their fault. Hopefully I will be able to see that person again and slap them so hard their nose will fly off their fat head. To quote Blake Shelton. "SOME BEACH!"
And on that note, Happy Holidays everybody!
Friday, December 17, 2004
Well we did it! The article!
It was quite a night last night in Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove IL. I covered my first basketball game for the Daily Herald and it went really well. I kept stats for the men's game and interviewed both the men's and women's coaches. It was a load of fun. I will say when the flow of play really gets going, it gets a little tough to keep track of rebounds, assists, and steals. I got a little less room to work with than I thought too. But here's what it looked like. And yes I am giving myself permission to plagarize myself.
Lyndsie Long continued her solid playing at the Woodstock/Richmond Burton Tournament in the Knights' 62-42 victory over Woodstock.
Long shot 9 of 11 from the field and scored 23 points as the Knights (11-2) beat host Woodstock. Jessica Lund added 18 points and 5 rebounds while Janelle Harner came away with 5 steals.
Polo 43, Aurora Christian 33: The Eagles (6-6) dropped the consolation game of the Kirkland-Hiawatha Invite to Polo, marking the second consecutive year Polo has beaten Aurora Christian in this tournament.
One of the Eagles' most glaring problems was their free throw shooting. They shot just 10 of 25 from the line, which cost them as the game progressed. "We missed too many free throws and they also had too many second-chance rebounds," said Eagles coach Dan Stone.
Elyssa Zielke led Aurora Christian in scoring with 10 points and Cassie Axen grabbed 14 rebounds.
Men's basketball
Waubonsee 77, Aurora JV 66:ŒOne of the strangest aspects of this year's Chiefs team has been their tendency to get hot and play great and then suddenly cool off for awhile.
This was no exception against the Aurora JV (0-1) squad Thursday night in Sugar Grove. Waubonsee (7-4) had runs of 15-4, 9-0 and 12-0, but Aurora countered each time, narrowing the margin down to six points with under a minute remaining before Jarrett Starwood's four consecutive free throws put the game away.
Waubonsee occasionally used a press defense and it pressured the young Spartans into turning the ball over 29 times.
"It gives our kids energy and gets them active," said Chiefs coach Dave Heiss. "Our team speed and quickness is one of our team strengths and we want to use them to our advantage."
Mike Simms brought tremendous energy off the bench for Waubonsee. Over the final eight minutes of the first half, Simms had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. He finished with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals.
For Aurora, Doug Lambert had 24 points and 13 rebounds.
- Adam Bartolo
Lyndsie Long continued her solid playing at the Woodstock/Richmond Burton Tournament in the Knights' 62-42 victory over Woodstock.
Long shot 9 of 11 from the field and scored 23 points as the Knights (11-2) beat host Woodstock. Jessica Lund added 18 points and 5 rebounds while Janelle Harner came away with 5 steals.
Polo 43, Aurora Christian 33: The Eagles (6-6) dropped the consolation game of the Kirkland-Hiawatha Invite to Polo, marking the second consecutive year Polo has beaten Aurora Christian in this tournament.
One of the Eagles' most glaring problems was their free throw shooting. They shot just 10 of 25 from the line, which cost them as the game progressed. "We missed too many free throws and they also had too many second-chance rebounds," said Eagles coach Dan Stone.
Elyssa Zielke led Aurora Christian in scoring with 10 points and Cassie Axen grabbed 14 rebounds.
Men's basketball
Waubonsee 77, Aurora JV 66:ŒOne of the strangest aspects of this year's Chiefs team has been their tendency to get hot and play great and then suddenly cool off for awhile.
This was no exception against the Aurora JV (0-1) squad Thursday night in Sugar Grove. Waubonsee (7-4) had runs of 15-4, 9-0 and 12-0, but Aurora countered each time, narrowing the margin down to six points with under a minute remaining before Jarrett Starwood's four consecutive free throws put the game away.
Waubonsee occasionally used a press defense and it pressured the young Spartans into turning the ball over 29 times.
"It gives our kids energy and gets them active," said Chiefs coach Dave Heiss. "Our team speed and quickness is one of our team strengths and we want to use them to our advantage."
Mike Simms brought tremendous energy off the bench for Waubonsee. Over the final eight minutes of the first half, Simms had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. He finished with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals.
For Aurora, Doug Lambert had 24 points and 13 rebounds.
- Adam Bartolo
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Pedro! Pedro!
One of the funniest lines I've ever heard. I just listened to the Pedro Martinez press conference where he announces he's coming to the Mets. One of the writers asks him, "At the end of last season, a lot of questions surfaced about your shoulder. Why do you think that is?" Without missing a beat, he responds, "Because of the crap you guys have been spreading." Gotta love his bluntness. Gotta love it.
He talked about his special way of working out. He says it's very unique. Fair enough. My question is this. Can this workout routine add a few mph back to your fastball which has been dropping in velocity? Bottom line: If he can give us 3 effective years, I'll say it's a great move, 2 years, a good move, 1 year, same old same old story.
Now let's go get a big bat and an arm for the bullpen!!!
He talked about his special way of working out. He says it's very unique. Fair enough. My question is this. Can this workout routine add a few mph back to your fastball which has been dropping in velocity? Bottom line: If he can give us 3 effective years, I'll say it's a great move, 2 years, a good move, 1 year, same old same old story.
Now let's go get a big bat and an arm for the bullpen!!!
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Peterson ponderings
Listen, I feel like listing a little alliteration. Try saying that 3 times fast. All right now peeps. From time to time I will discuss current events. That will happen when an event happens that I feel like writing about. Makes sense right? After all this is my space.
Anyway, I read Scott Peterson is being sentenced to death. I don't think we should call it the death penalty. I think we should call it the "Time to wonder why I did something so stupid" penaly. Here's what I mean. Since California brought back capital punishment in 1978, only 10 executions have been carried out. The last execution was in 2002. That was for a murder committed in 1980. So he may not get executed for 20-30 years. To me that seems better than life in prison.
To me if I had my choice between 60 years in jail and probably dying in there or 20-30 years in jail and dying, I'd take the latter in a minute. Maybe it's because I value my freedom and I probably couldn't stand to have it taken away from me. I couldn't imagine the passive, restricted, lifeless mental state that comes with being institutionalized. I think Morgan Freeman siad it best in "The Shawshank Redemption" when he talked about prison. "They sentence you to life and that's exaclty what they take."
So for someone like me, the less time I were to do in jail the better. After the 23 years I've lived so far, I'd rather just die quickly than suffer for decades in a tiny dark cell. I believe Scott Peterson feels the same feelings tonight.
Anyway, I read Scott Peterson is being sentenced to death. I don't think we should call it the death penalty. I think we should call it the "Time to wonder why I did something so stupid" penaly. Here's what I mean. Since California brought back capital punishment in 1978, only 10 executions have been carried out. The last execution was in 2002. That was for a murder committed in 1980. So he may not get executed for 20-30 years. To me that seems better than life in prison.
To me if I had my choice between 60 years in jail and probably dying in there or 20-30 years in jail and dying, I'd take the latter in a minute. Maybe it's because I value my freedom and I probably couldn't stand to have it taken away from me. I couldn't imagine the passive, restricted, lifeless mental state that comes with being institutionalized. I think Morgan Freeman siad it best in "The Shawshank Redemption" when he talked about prison. "They sentence you to life and that's exaclty what they take."
So for someone like me, the less time I were to do in jail the better. After the 23 years I've lived so far, I'd rather just die quickly than suffer for decades in a tiny dark cell. I believe Scott Peterson feels the same feelings tonight.
Baseball stuff
Well Pedro is apparently on his way to Flushing Meadow Park. This team needs excitement. Pedro will give that-at least up until Opening Day. He's declining at 33, I don't know what will happen by age 37. By the third year, the Mets will be looking to unload the contract. Good of Omar to be aggressive, but I don't know about this. We still need offense, an outfielder, 1st baseman, middle relief help, man we need help everywhere.
Note to Geddes. Here's a quote from the NY Post. "The Mets may have a sleeper first base candidate. They and the White Sox are battling to sign Luis Garcia, a minor league free agent who hit .313 with 32 homers for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas last season." Hmm...Bidding war!!!
And Blind Shock finished first in fantasy football! With a regular season title down, we need 2 more wins and we will be CHAMPS! I guess drafting last in the first round of the fantasy draft pays off after all (Terrell Owens!). More info coming later. Off to work we go.
Note to Geddes. Here's a quote from the NY Post. "The Mets may have a sleeper first base candidate. They and the White Sox are battling to sign Luis Garcia, a minor league free agent who hit .313 with 32 homers for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas last season." Hmm...Bidding war!!!
And Blind Shock finished first in fantasy football! With a regular season title down, we need 2 more wins and we will be CHAMPS! I guess drafting last in the first round of the fantasy draft pays off after all (Terrell Owens!). More info coming later. Off to work we go.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Down the line we go
Uggh. Any loss stinks. Yeah we played Pittsburgh tough and didn't get embarrassed. Chad made some nice throws. The defense did a great job against Roethlisberger and the passing game. But 12 penalties in the first half? Inexcusable. The Jets took more penalties in 2 quarters than you see in 20 Ranger-Islander games.
I have to credit Bettis, he just ran them over. As good as the Jet defense was in the first half, they were just as bad in the second. I knew we were in trouble when Reggie Tongue made the interception in the 4th quarter with the game tied at 6-6. First play. A handoff to Curtis Martin. LOSS OF FOUR! On 2nd and 14, they run again. Martin takes it 3 yards and then an incomplete pass to Santana Moss. When the offense completely failed to do anything with that turnover, I knew the opportunity was slipping.
And then a big moment that nobody seems to be talking about. Toby Gowin nails a perfect punt down to the 1-yard line. Darrell McGlover touches it, which puts the Steelers on their own 1-yard line. BUT. Not so fast. His foot is on the endzone line, which means a touchback. And that would be pivotal. The Steelers go right down the field. And even when the Jets forced the 3rd down, then came the Bettis hb option pass that basically ended it. If there wasn't a touchback, maybe the Steelers try a field goal. And if the offense does something following the interception, the game goes differently, and who knows?
But we still have a good shot at a playoff spot. However, next week's game against Seattle is now PIVOTAL. This team cannot afford to lose to a beat up Seahawk team before hosting New England. The Jets have played well all season, but if they want to reach the Super Bowl, they have got to raise their game a couple of notches. The first thing is fewer penalties. Where is the discipline we are used to seeing with this team? I can think of at least 3 times the Jets made a big play (Lamont's run, 2 3rd down stops) in the first quarter, it was nullified with a penalty. And John Abraham has got to get back. Bryan Thomas was good today, but Abe is special.
The bottom line is this. The Jets are good, but not good enough right now.
I have to credit Bettis, he just ran them over. As good as the Jet defense was in the first half, they were just as bad in the second. I knew we were in trouble when Reggie Tongue made the interception in the 4th quarter with the game tied at 6-6. First play. A handoff to Curtis Martin. LOSS OF FOUR! On 2nd and 14, they run again. Martin takes it 3 yards and then an incomplete pass to Santana Moss. When the offense completely failed to do anything with that turnover, I knew the opportunity was slipping.
And then a big moment that nobody seems to be talking about. Toby Gowin nails a perfect punt down to the 1-yard line. Darrell McGlover touches it, which puts the Steelers on their own 1-yard line. BUT. Not so fast. His foot is on the endzone line, which means a touchback. And that would be pivotal. The Steelers go right down the field. And even when the Jets forced the 3rd down, then came the Bettis hb option pass that basically ended it. If there wasn't a touchback, maybe the Steelers try a field goal. And if the offense does something following the interception, the game goes differently, and who knows?
But we still have a good shot at a playoff spot. However, next week's game against Seattle is now PIVOTAL. This team cannot afford to lose to a beat up Seahawk team before hosting New England. The Jets have played well all season, but if they want to reach the Super Bowl, they have got to raise their game a couple of notches. The first thing is fewer penalties. Where is the discipline we are used to seeing with this team? I can think of at least 3 times the Jets made a big play (Lamont's run, 2 3rd down stops) in the first quarter, it was nullified with a penalty. And John Abraham has got to get back. Bryan Thomas was good today, but Abe is special.
The bottom line is this. The Jets are good, but not good enough right now.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Did I just see this???
I got up at 7 this morning, went downstairs and flipped on the TV. I put on the TV Guide channel to see what's on. Right above the listings, they were showing a 30-minute infomercial selling a 12-DVD Hee Haw collection. Hee Haw on 12 DVD's. So Seinfeld is on 3 DVD's, Hee Haw is on 12 DVD's. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Forget whatever else I wanted for Christmas, if I can't own 12 Hee Haw DVD's, why go on? Oh what the heck...
Where oh where are you tonight?
Why did you leave me here all alone?
I searched the world over and thought I found true love.
You met another and TTTTHHHHPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!! you were gone.
PS I hope that was the right spelling.
Where oh where are you tonight?
Why did you leave me here all alone?
I searched the world over and thought I found true love.
You met another and TTTTHHHHPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!! you were gone.
PS I hope that was the right spelling.
Friday, December 10, 2004
Music ramblings
Local H is my new favorite band. Not really, I just wanted to make sure someone in Macomb was paying attention. Los Lonely Boys has a few Grammy nominations, Best New Artist (which Gretchen Wilson is also up for), Song of the Year for "Heaven" and 1 or 2 others. Hopefully the Garzas will pick up a few miniature golden tubas, or whatever the Grammy statue is supposed to be.
I used to get into award shows when I was a kid, but the Grammys gave me the first hint how political these things really are. Basically if I were to bottom line this, when Vince Gill is still getting nominated when he doesn't make a record during the year, it just proves these awards are full of steaming, stinking Grade-A monkey crap.
I used to get into award shows when I was a kid, but the Grammys gave me the first hint how political these things really are. Basically if I were to bottom line this, when Vince Gill is still getting nominated when he doesn't make a record during the year, it just proves these awards are full of steaming, stinking Grade-A monkey crap.
Free agents signing
First of all congrats again to Brother Geddes. His White Sox have Jermaine Dye and Dustin Hermanson. Good, good start for them.
Pedro is all but headed back to Boston. Fine. He's not worth 4 guaranteed years in my opinion. According to Peter Gammons on WFAN, once the Pedro signing becomes official, Mr. "Full Autonomy"/Omar Minaya will change his direction, look at offensive players, and sign Richie Sexson and Moises Alou this weekend. Man oh man.
How about balancing that money on Sexson and another starting pitcher? Come on Omar. Lie to me. Are you afraid of Beltran, Ordonez, and Drew because Scott Boras represents all of them? Lie to me please. At least tell me you're trying to go after the top dog in the pound. Here's the rule of thumb. A Cub outfielder is a bad outfielder. Todd Hollandsworth is about the only outfielder from that team I might want on my team.
Quote of the day. Don King on the Rumble in the Jungle fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. "It was a rumble in the jungle because...it was in the jungle. And it was going to be a rumble." Ohhhh. Now I get it.
Pedro is all but headed back to Boston. Fine. He's not worth 4 guaranteed years in my opinion. According to Peter Gammons on WFAN, once the Pedro signing becomes official, Mr. "Full Autonomy"/Omar Minaya will change his direction, look at offensive players, and sign Richie Sexson and Moises Alou this weekend. Man oh man.
How about balancing that money on Sexson and another starting pitcher? Come on Omar. Lie to me. Are you afraid of Beltran, Ordonez, and Drew because Scott Boras represents all of them? Lie to me please. At least tell me you're trying to go after the top dog in the pound. Here's the rule of thumb. A Cub outfielder is a bad outfielder. Todd Hollandsworth is about the only outfielder from that team I might want on my team.
Quote of the day. Don King on the Rumble in the Jungle fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. "It was a rumble in the jungle because...it was in the jungle. And it was going to be a rumble." Ohhhh. Now I get it.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Fantasy football scouting.
Well it's the last week of the regular season in my fantasy football league and my team, Bind Shock, is where else, but on top. 5 of the 10 teams still have a shot at the 4-team championship tournament. Here are the current standings.
Pl. Team W-L-T Pct. Total points
1* Blind Shock 9-3-1 .731 894
2* Violent Femes 9-4-0 .692 916
3 Dane 7-4-2 .615 852
4 ninerfaith181 8-5-0 .615 827
5 bombers 7-5-1 .577 885
Total points are used as tiebreaker when 2 teams are tied with the same winning percentage.
Now I play bombers this week, V.F. plays Dane and niner plays Futures, the 7th place team. Last time I played bombers, they killed me by about 40 points thanks to David Carr and Andre Johnson torching the Vikings. Philly had a bye that week so he didn't have Donovan McNabb and I didn't have T.O. or my top defensive team. Plus I've replaced Amos Zeroue and Emmitt Smith at running back with Julius Jones and Onterrio Smith. So I think things will be different this week.
Here's my starting lineup for this week.
QB T. Green (KC - QB) @Ten WR T. Owens (Phi - WR) @Was
WR D. Branch (NE - WR) Cin WR M. Clayton (TB - WR) @SD
RB C. Martin (NYJ - RB) @Pit RB J. Jones (Dal - RB) NO
TE T. Heap (Bal - TE) NYG K M. Vanderjagt (Ind - K) @Hou
DEF Philadelphia (Phi - DEF) @Was
As of now, here's the bombers lineup.
QB D. McNabb (Phi - QB) @Was WR Andre Johnson (Hou - WR) Ind
WR Lee Evans (Buf - WR) Cle WR D. Jackson (Sea - WR) @Min
RB F. Taylor (Jac - RB) Chi RB C. Brown (Ten - RB) KC
TE D. Graham (NE - TE) Cin K D. Akers (Phi - K) @Was
DEF New England (NE - DEF)
Pretty tough lineup. I'd rather see him play McNabb aginst Washington than Carr against Indy. I think this will be a tough one for me to win, but I'd rather lose this week and win the next 2.
Now let's look at other possible first round opponents.
9er looks like a decent team on paper, yet 2 of my 3 losses have been to them. QB's Jake Delhomme, Jake Plummer RB's Clinton Portis, Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Nate Goings WR's Chad Johnson, Donald Driver, Nate Burleson, TE Randy McMichael K Shayne Graham, Pittsburgh defense. Excellent running backs and defense, eveything else is average. Somehow he's edged me twice. I'd love to face him one more time.
Dane looks ok. Beat them in a high scoring game earlier 83-72. He has 2 Colts, Reggie Wayne and Edgerrin James, so they'll get a touchdown each week. Antonio Gates has had a monster season. Aaron Brooks and Joe Horn have been OK. Rudi Johnson and Deuce McAllister are both really good. Tennessee and Miami are not great fantasy defenses. He'll put some points on the board, but he'll probably have a dud in there each week.
Femes is my rival for first place in the reg. season. First of all, she has the New York Giant defense, which by now is an automatic zero or negative points. Tiki Barber has been great, to this point at least. Randy Moss is just getting back. Tomlinson is great. Drew Brees and the now-injured Marc Bulger are QB's. Patten, Muhammed, and Drew Bennett are really hit-or-miss wide receivers. For some reason, she has Emmitt Smith even after he got hurt. Go figure. I can't see this team getting past the first round.
Well, there you have it. Let's see what happens. And go Jets!!!
Pl. Team W-L-T Pct. Total points
1* Blind Shock 9-3-1 .731 894
2* Violent Femes 9-4-0 .692 916
3 Dane 7-4-2 .615 852
4 ninerfaith181 8-5-0 .615 827
5 bombers 7-5-1 .577 885
Total points are used as tiebreaker when 2 teams are tied with the same winning percentage.
Now I play bombers this week, V.F. plays Dane and niner plays Futures, the 7th place team. Last time I played bombers, they killed me by about 40 points thanks to David Carr and Andre Johnson torching the Vikings. Philly had a bye that week so he didn't have Donovan McNabb and I didn't have T.O. or my top defensive team. Plus I've replaced Amos Zeroue and Emmitt Smith at running back with Julius Jones and Onterrio Smith. So I think things will be different this week.
Here's my starting lineup for this week.
QB T. Green (KC - QB) @Ten WR T. Owens (Phi - WR) @Was
WR D. Branch (NE - WR) Cin WR M. Clayton (TB - WR) @SD
RB C. Martin (NYJ - RB) @Pit RB J. Jones (Dal - RB) NO
TE T. Heap (Bal - TE) NYG K M. Vanderjagt (Ind - K) @Hou
DEF Philadelphia (Phi - DEF) @Was
As of now, here's the bombers lineup.
QB D. McNabb (Phi - QB) @Was WR Andre Johnson (Hou - WR) Ind
WR Lee Evans (Buf - WR) Cle WR D. Jackson (Sea - WR) @Min
RB F. Taylor (Jac - RB) Chi RB C. Brown (Ten - RB) KC
TE D. Graham (NE - TE) Cin K D. Akers (Phi - K) @Was
DEF New England (NE - DEF)
Pretty tough lineup. I'd rather see him play McNabb aginst Washington than Carr against Indy. I think this will be a tough one for me to win, but I'd rather lose this week and win the next 2.
Now let's look at other possible first round opponents.
9er looks like a decent team on paper, yet 2 of my 3 losses have been to them. QB's Jake Delhomme, Jake Plummer RB's Clinton Portis, Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Nate Goings WR's Chad Johnson, Donald Driver, Nate Burleson, TE Randy McMichael K Shayne Graham, Pittsburgh defense. Excellent running backs and defense, eveything else is average. Somehow he's edged me twice. I'd love to face him one more time.
Dane looks ok. Beat them in a high scoring game earlier 83-72. He has 2 Colts, Reggie Wayne and Edgerrin James, so they'll get a touchdown each week. Antonio Gates has had a monster season. Aaron Brooks and Joe Horn have been OK. Rudi Johnson and Deuce McAllister are both really good. Tennessee and Miami are not great fantasy defenses. He'll put some points on the board, but he'll probably have a dud in there each week.
Femes is my rival for first place in the reg. season. First of all, she has the New York Giant defense, which by now is an automatic zero or negative points. Tiki Barber has been great, to this point at least. Randy Moss is just getting back. Tomlinson is great. Drew Brees and the now-injured Marc Bulger are QB's. Patten, Muhammed, and Drew Bennett are really hit-or-miss wide receivers. For some reason, she has Emmitt Smith even after he got hurt. Go figure. I can't see this team getting past the first round.
Well, there you have it. Let's see what happens. And go Jets!!!
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Arbitration thoughts
Cub fans are probably feling pretty good right now. Nomar, Todd Walker, and Henry Blanco all sign. Jim Hendry made a few questionable moves at last year's trading deadline (Ben Grieve, anyone?), but there is no question he can GM a World Series winner.
The Yankees now have Jaret Wright, Tony Womack, and will soon have Eric Milton. ATM-George are moving fast. But you know they are going to make one big splash...
Much to my surprise, Atlanta declines arbitration with JD Drew, effectively ending his tenure in Turner-ville. I doubt he winds up in New York. He would look good in that 3-spot behind Reyes and Matsui though.
The Mets re-sign Mike DeJean to a 1 year 1.5 million dollar deal, which I think is a solid move. He pitched very well until he broke his tibia. He gives this team a good veteran presence. With Looper, Fortunato, DeJean, Strickland, this Soler kid, and Moreno, this bullpen could be good. And it would be a huge lift if Tyler Yates gets going.
One article in the Daily News concerns me. I was OK letting Richard Hidalgo go if we got a solid replacement for him. To me, Moises Alou does not qualify. I know he put up nice numbers last year. But he's 38, and his numbers at Wrigley were superior to his road numbers. And I don't think his attitude would be very welcome in my clubhouse. The Mets are not one player away from a World Series. They need to develop/get a nucleus instead of a quick fix. How about pursuing an Ordonez, a Beltran, or a Dye before we rush to another 38-year old relic? Same old, same old, same old in Flushing Meadow Park.
The Yankees now have Jaret Wright, Tony Womack, and will soon have Eric Milton. ATM-George are moving fast. But you know they are going to make one big splash...
Much to my surprise, Atlanta declines arbitration with JD Drew, effectively ending his tenure in Turner-ville. I doubt he winds up in New York. He would look good in that 3-spot behind Reyes and Matsui though.
The Mets re-sign Mike DeJean to a 1 year 1.5 million dollar deal, which I think is a solid move. He pitched very well until he broke his tibia. He gives this team a good veteran presence. With Looper, Fortunato, DeJean, Strickland, this Soler kid, and Moreno, this bullpen could be good. And it would be a huge lift if Tyler Yates gets going.
One article in the Daily News concerns me. I was OK letting Richard Hidalgo go if we got a solid replacement for him. To me, Moises Alou does not qualify. I know he put up nice numbers last year. But he's 38, and his numbers at Wrigley were superior to his road numbers. And I don't think his attitude would be very welcome in my clubhouse. The Mets are not one player away from a World Series. They need to develop/get a nucleus instead of a quick fix. How about pursuing an Ordonez, a Beltran, or a Dye before we rush to another 38-year old relic? Same old, same old, same old in Flushing Meadow Park.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
There goes Randy... Fantasy playoffs!
Well Geddes, there go your absurd dreams of trading for Randy Johnson. Kenny Williams offered Konerko, Garland, and a prospect? Come on, give a little. You'll need Marte or Rowand or someone. Heck, try throwing in Ken Harrelson, maybe we can get him out of town! I know, I know, but I can dream. Right dad?
I'm going for a publicity assistant position at Tyndale Publishing. Let's hope for the best. I'll give it what I can. Ah, the lovely transition of hitting the real world!
I miss Hogan. It's just too damn quiet here without him. I'll have him back in a few weeks though.
Good news. I won fantasy football this past week 111-33. That is not a misprint. Julius Jones, Curtis Martin, Mike Vanderjagt, and Trent Green were incredible. I'm now in first place by a half game, am guaranteed a top-2 finish out of 10 teams and will be in the 4-team championship playoff tournament in 2 weeks, which is all that really matters. Blind Shock is on a roll, and will soon earn that elusive fantasy championship.
Scouting reports on my possible first round opponents will be made available shortly. My chief of staff should have the reports on my plush desk by Tuesday. Now you wonder, who is my chief of staff? Well, I can't reveal who gives me my winning information and tips, but I can tell you I have made 1 hiring at Blind Shock. Scroll down a bit to find out who.
My intern.
Anna Benson.
I'm going for a publicity assistant position at Tyndale Publishing. Let's hope for the best. I'll give it what I can. Ah, the lovely transition of hitting the real world!
I miss Hogan. It's just too damn quiet here without him. I'll have him back in a few weeks though.
Good news. I won fantasy football this past week 111-33. That is not a misprint. Julius Jones, Curtis Martin, Mike Vanderjagt, and Trent Green were incredible. I'm now in first place by a half game, am guaranteed a top-2 finish out of 10 teams and will be in the 4-team championship playoff tournament in 2 weeks, which is all that really matters. Blind Shock is on a roll, and will soon earn that elusive fantasy championship.
Scouting reports on my possible first round opponents will be made available shortly. My chief of staff should have the reports on my plush desk by Tuesday. Now you wonder, who is my chief of staff? Well, I can't reveal who gives me my winning information and tips, but I can tell you I have made 1 hiring at Blind Shock. Scroll down a bit to find out who.
My intern.
Anna Benson.
Monday, December 06, 2004
9-3!
How about Gang Green? 29-7 over Houston. Chad, Coleman, Curtis, James Reed, even David Barrett! Great 2nd half. 6th time this year the Jets have shut the opponent out in the 2nd half.
I only have 2 real concerns. One was penalties. This is the least offensive penalized team in football. They averaged 2 or 3 per game. They had 7 yesterday, usually after they made a big play. Granted the officials did a bad job. Think about it. Houston is on their own 3-yard line and punting. Have you ever seen a safety called back because the football was snapped back and instead of going out of the end zone, it struck the official in his fat behind, and then they decide it isn't a safety because they weren't ready? Are you kidding? Fortunately, the Jets overcame it thanks to a great punt return by Santana Moss, but come on! And John Abraham. Let's hope that knee will be OK.
Now if the Jets have to lose one more game this regular season, I hope it's this week. That way Pittsburgh can still beat New England out for home field advantage. As for the Giants, well, the Giants, the Giants...
And it's the end of an era. A sad day. The braids are gone. The beads are gone. Nothing left but long dark brown locks on my the top of my head. So beads, thanks for hanging with me. We had 9 good days together. You will be missed.
I only have 2 real concerns. One was penalties. This is the least offensive penalized team in football. They averaged 2 or 3 per game. They had 7 yesterday, usually after they made a big play. Granted the officials did a bad job. Think about it. Houston is on their own 3-yard line and punting. Have you ever seen a safety called back because the football was snapped back and instead of going out of the end zone, it struck the official in his fat behind, and then they decide it isn't a safety because they weren't ready? Are you kidding? Fortunately, the Jets overcame it thanks to a great punt return by Santana Moss, but come on! And John Abraham. Let's hope that knee will be OK.
Now if the Jets have to lose one more game this regular season, I hope it's this week. That way Pittsburgh can still beat New England out for home field advantage. As for the Giants, well, the Giants, the Giants...
And it's the end of an era. A sad day. The braids are gone. The beads are gone. Nothing left but long dark brown locks on my the top of my head. So beads, thanks for hanging with me. We had 9 good days together. You will be missed.
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Random happenings
Time for my shopping tip. Now I'm sure you don't expect shopping tips coming from me. Go to Kohl's. This morn, mom and I brought 2 dress shirts, lounge pants, a blender, 2 scented candles (ruining my usual X-mas gift idea), a teddy bear, a baby outfit, a bedspread, and bed sheets. We only spent $250. Mom brought coffee with her and as we were checking out she set the mug down on the table. The cashier picked it up and tried to scan it, and coffee spilled everywhere. Apparently, she thought we were paying for it.
Had a weird incident at CPK yesterday. With the people I'm around, that takes some real weirdness. Here's what happened. I'm running my tables and my manager points me to a table out of my section. She says those 2 ladies want to talk to me about my braided hair. Now I'm immediately thinking, "Stalkers!" I went over and as it turned out, I was right. This one woman, about 50, said she was an artist and loved my face. My beard, braids, the shape of my face. Her quote was "I want to try to decorate you." With those words, I'm just looking for a way out. I'm listening, smiling along, and sayong things like "Really?" "Wow" "Thanks for the compliment." Whatever I could say to act like I was interested and grateful, but trying to get out of there and back to work. It was quite flattering though. Odd, but flattering.
Well, my last volleyball game is tomorrow. We're not making the playoffs. I missed last week, so my guess is we got hammered. Hopefully we can at least win 1 of the 3 games and go out on a good note going into next season.
To IDR: Hope we see each other again soon. I'm so thankful for your spirit and your faith in me. It means a lot.
To BG: Would you mind taking Felix Heredia off the Mets? Pleeeeease?
To RWB: Norman! Tied for 9th going into the final round. And Carlito is Koo-ell. See you in less than 3 weeks...
Had a weird incident at CPK yesterday. With the people I'm around, that takes some real weirdness. Here's what happened. I'm running my tables and my manager points me to a table out of my section. She says those 2 ladies want to talk to me about my braided hair. Now I'm immediately thinking, "Stalkers!" I went over and as it turned out, I was right. This one woman, about 50, said she was an artist and loved my face. My beard, braids, the shape of my face. Her quote was "I want to try to decorate you." With those words, I'm just looking for a way out. I'm listening, smiling along, and sayong things like "Really?" "Wow" "Thanks for the compliment." Whatever I could say to act like I was interested and grateful, but trying to get out of there and back to work. It was quite flattering though. Odd, but flattering.
Well, my last volleyball game is tomorrow. We're not making the playoffs. I missed last week, so my guess is we got hammered. Hopefully we can at least win 1 of the 3 games and go out on a good note going into next season.
To IDR: Hope we see each other again soon. I'm so thankful for your spirit and your faith in me. It means a lot.
To BG: Would you mind taking Felix Heredia off the Mets? Pleeeeease?
To RWB: Norman! Tied for 9th going into the final round. And Carlito is Koo-ell. See you in less than 3 weeks...
Friday, December 03, 2004
The truth shall set you free?
I'll keep my thoughts on this quick. I'm tired of hearing about steroids and athletes. Jason Giambi admits to taking steroids and he's basically an outlaw. And if you're actually surprised that he admitted he took growth hormone, well, that's your stupidity. Barry Bonds is still one of the greatest baseball players ever, with or without 'roids. He's probably taken a few "vitamins" of some kind. I don't know. But when he breaks Hank Aaron's record, it's wrong to put an asterisk next to his name. Is all this some sort of shock to baseball fans? Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa could have taken a test every day from 1997-2004, passed them all, and people would have still been skeptical. Track star Florence Griffith-Joyner passed every test and people still don't believe. I just don't care.
Mike Stanton for Felix Heredia? Why do we need Heredia. Righties batted .333 off him last year. Again, I believe the goal of Omar "Full Autonomy" Minaya is to have an all-Hispanic baseball team.
Well, 2 weeks left in fantasy football regular season. I'm 1/2 game out of first place and just need a win to guarantee a spot in the top 4 and a berth in the championship bracket of the playoffs. Both my QB's Green and Pennington are hurt, so hopefully one can play. Updates coming on Tuesday. Off to work I go. Later.
Mike Stanton for Felix Heredia? Why do we need Heredia. Righties batted .333 off him last year. Again, I believe the goal of Omar "Full Autonomy" Minaya is to have an all-Hispanic baseball team.
Well, 2 weeks left in fantasy football regular season. I'm 1/2 game out of first place and just need a win to guarantee a spot in the top 4 and a berth in the championship bracket of the playoffs. Both my QB's Green and Pennington are hurt, so hopefully one can play. Updates coming on Tuesday. Off to work I go. Later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)