Thursday, March 31, 2005
Something's cooking...
And no I'm not talking about the herb and garlic stuffed pork roast from Easter Sunday either. I found out through a colleague of mine about a FULL TIME OPENING at the Kane County Chronicle as a SPORTS COPY EDITOR! This paper is about 20 minutes from my house. This could be the break I've been looking for to get a full time gig and get out of my lovely life in CPK. Stay tuned on this one...
Fantasy burnout
Hey when there's no hockey, and work is slow, you have to have something to do. Now my summer softball team wants to start a fantasy baseball league. If this goes through, then I will be in 3 leagues! I can't take the pressure!
Great news from the basketball world. Eddy Curry has a heart issue and will miss the week now. Just great. I need rebounding help and my TOP CENTER on BOTH TEAMS GOES DOWN!
The Mets have released Kerry Robinson and purchased Chris Woodward's and Mike Matthews' contracts. I am very surprised Robinson is gone. From what I could tell, he was having a good spring. Hopefully this does not mean Marlon Anderson will get on the team. But Luis Garcia, who they signed away from the White Sox!!!, may actually make it now. I was excited about this kid coming here and now he just might be boarding the plane this weekend that the big club will take to Cincinnati for Opening Day.
OK, time to write some scores in here.
Great news from the basketball world. Eddy Curry has a heart issue and will miss the week now. Just great. I need rebounding help and my TOP CENTER on BOTH TEAMS GOES DOWN!
The Mets have released Kerry Robinson and purchased Chris Woodward's and Mike Matthews' contracts. I am very surprised Robinson is gone. From what I could tell, he was having a good spring. Hopefully this does not mean Marlon Anderson will get on the team. But Luis Garcia, who they signed away from the White Sox!!!, may actually make it now. I was excited about this kid coming here and now he just might be boarding the plane this weekend that the big club will take to Cincinnati for Opening Day.
OK, time to write some scores in here.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
A few things
Well the League of Evil is under way. That would be Fantasy Baseball League #2. Last year in this league, I came in 3rd overall, mainly because I had speed with Pierre, Crawford, and Castillo. Well, this year, I have lots of solid hitting and the best pitching rotation this side of the Rockies. Tim Hudson, Curt Schilling, Ben Sheets, Oliver Perez, Brad Radke. I have Rivera and Wagner closing. My hitters include Sean Casey, Nomar, Hank Blalock, Ken Griffey Jr, Richie Sexson, and Raul Ibanez. Oh, I had the first overall draft pick and took Albert Pujols. So I'd say I'm in good shape. But I had 5 first basemen and no speed. Fortunately I just traded Lyle Overbay for Jose Reyes. I absolutely need Jose to hit some triples and steal a lot of bases. When your next highest base stealer from last year is JD Drew, well, that's not a very good thing. Now with only 8 teams in the league, it will be much more competitive this year. But if I had my choice, I'd rather win the Herald League, where I can make some cash.
It's one thing to work at a job you don't like very much. But when your boss doesn't consider you one of the "chosen ones," it makes my blood run cold. As cold as a nudist in Antarctica during winter time. This road will soon be at an end. And I won't be missing it either.
Fantasy basketball is good. My #3 team is leading 8-1. This imbasul has kept Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash on the bench all week! I'm wondering if I'm really playing against former Knick GM Scott Layden. My #6 squad is only losing 5-4, but it will be difficult to win that match. I'm way down in 3 categories and need some help in free throws and blocks to pull it out. There is a chance, I know it's only Tuesday, but it will be a difficult one.
And did you hear about the Wendy's fiasco? This woman buys a bowl of chili, bites into it, and bites into a severed finger! Safe to say that chili did not get the thumbs up. And that's proof their chili is hand-made! Also, chicken finger sales have gone down. I'm actually supposed to go there on Sunday before I play volleyball. I don't think I want to go now, I just can't put my finger on why...
It's one thing to work at a job you don't like very much. But when your boss doesn't consider you one of the "chosen ones," it makes my blood run cold. As cold as a nudist in Antarctica during winter time. This road will soon be at an end. And I won't be missing it either.
Fantasy basketball is good. My #3 team is leading 8-1. This imbasul has kept Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash on the bench all week! I'm wondering if I'm really playing against former Knick GM Scott Layden. My #6 squad is only losing 5-4, but it will be difficult to win that match. I'm way down in 3 categories and need some help in free throws and blocks to pull it out. There is a chance, I know it's only Tuesday, but it will be a difficult one.
And did you hear about the Wendy's fiasco? This woman buys a bowl of chili, bites into it, and bites into a severed finger! Safe to say that chili did not get the thumbs up. And that's proof their chili is hand-made! Also, chicken finger sales have gone down. I'm actually supposed to go there on Sunday before I play volleyball. I don't think I want to go now, I just can't put my finger on why...
Monday, March 28, 2005
Fantasy basketball playoffs
Well let's start with basketball. We've got 2 tams in the championship brackets of the playoffs! Didn't get a first round bye in either league so I have to play both my teams this week. Here are the lowdowns.
Garden Party
6th place
Facing 3rd place team in first round match
Lost 6-3 in Week 3
Won 7-2 in Week 14
My team:
Steve Francis, Jason Kidd, Mike Miller, James Posey, Baron Davis, Brent Barry, Matt Harpring, Antonio McDyess, Emeka Okafor, Eddy Curry, Kurt Thomas, Theo Ratliff and Samuel Dalembert.
Their team:
Tyron Lue, Larry Hughes, Jimmy Jackson, Dwayne Wade, Jeff McInnis, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Dwight Howard, Chris Webber, Lebron James, Shaq, Kwame Brown, Mehmet Okur.
It's strange that a lot of the players this guy has, I have on my other team. Their team looks absolutely stacked. But I beat them once...
Clyde da King
3rd place
Facing 6th place team in first round match.
Won 5-4 in Week 3
Won 5-4 in Week 14
My team:
Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Jamal Crawford, Dwayne Wade, Brent Barry, David Wesley, Wally Szczerbiak, Josh Howard, Kurt Thomas, P.J. Brown, Eddy Curry, Stromile Swift, Mehmet Okur.
Their team:
Jeff McInnis, Morris Peterson, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Kobe Bryant, Jason Richardson, Mike Miller, Mike Dunleavy, Antonio McDyess, Chris Andersen (who I'd never heard of), Marc Jackson, Marcus Camby, Brad Miller (injured).
Personally right now I feel better about my team that finished 6th.
I'm not expecting a league championship in either league, but I'll just plug the guys into my lineup and we'll see what happens. Remember, how many you win by doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is you do enough to win.
Garden Party
6th place
Facing 3rd place team in first round match
Lost 6-3 in Week 3
Won 7-2 in Week 14
My team:
Steve Francis, Jason Kidd, Mike Miller, James Posey, Baron Davis, Brent Barry, Matt Harpring, Antonio McDyess, Emeka Okafor, Eddy Curry, Kurt Thomas, Theo Ratliff and Samuel Dalembert.
Their team:
Tyron Lue, Larry Hughes, Jimmy Jackson, Dwayne Wade, Jeff McInnis, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Dwight Howard, Chris Webber, Lebron James, Shaq, Kwame Brown, Mehmet Okur.
It's strange that a lot of the players this guy has, I have on my other team. Their team looks absolutely stacked. But I beat them once...
Clyde da King
3rd place
Facing 6th place team in first round match.
Won 5-4 in Week 3
Won 5-4 in Week 14
My team:
Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Jamal Crawford, Dwayne Wade, Brent Barry, David Wesley, Wally Szczerbiak, Josh Howard, Kurt Thomas, P.J. Brown, Eddy Curry, Stromile Swift, Mehmet Okur.
Their team:
Jeff McInnis, Morris Peterson, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Kobe Bryant, Jason Richardson, Mike Miller, Mike Dunleavy, Antonio McDyess, Chris Andersen (who I'd never heard of), Marc Jackson, Marcus Camby, Brad Miller (injured).
Personally right now I feel better about my team that finished 6th.
I'm not expecting a league championship in either league, but I'll just plug the guys into my lineup and we'll see what happens. Remember, how many you win by doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is you do enough to win.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Fantasy lineup #1!
And I am in the Daily Herald fantasy baseball league and hopefully I won't regret paying my 20 bucks to do it. I was a little concerned about waivers and of course only 3 moves were made and I made 2 of them! So now I'm tenth out of 10 in waiver calim priorities. Maybe 1 of these moves will actually pay off, we'll see. Here's what we've got.
Catchers:
Joe Mauer, MIN
Michael Barrett, Cubs
First Base:
Sean Casey, CIN
Lyle Overbay, MIL
Kevin Millar, BOS (1B, OF)
Second base:
Alfonso Soriano, TEX
Chris Burke, HOU (2B, SS)
Julio Lugo, TB (2B, SS)
Third Base:
Hank Blalock, TEX
Larry Jones, ATL (3B, OF)
Maahk Bellhawn, BOS (2B, 3B)
Shortstop:
Orlando Cabrera , ANA
Christian Guzman, WAS
Outfielders:
Bobby Abreu, PHI
Larry Walker, STL
Milton Bradley, LA
Starting pitchers:
Mark Mulder, STL
Pedro Martinez, Mets
Carl Pavano, NYY
Jon Lieber, Phi
Jason Marquis, STL
Eric Milton, Cin
Mike Hampton, Atl
Jarrod Washburn, Ana
Relief Pitchers:
Brad Lidge, Hou
Braden Looper, NYM
Akinori Otsuka, SD
Latroy Hawkins, Cubs
Let's see what happens...
Catchers:
Joe Mauer, MIN
Michael Barrett, Cubs
First Base:
Sean Casey, CIN
Lyle Overbay, MIL
Kevin Millar, BOS (1B, OF)
Second base:
Alfonso Soriano, TEX
Chris Burke, HOU (2B, SS)
Julio Lugo, TB (2B, SS)
Third Base:
Hank Blalock, TEX
Larry Jones, ATL (3B, OF)
Maahk Bellhawn, BOS (2B, 3B)
Shortstop:
Orlando Cabrera , ANA
Christian Guzman, WAS
Outfielders:
Bobby Abreu, PHI
Larry Walker, STL
Raul Ibanez (1B, OF)
Mike Cameron, MetsMilton Bradley, LA
Starting pitchers:
Mark Mulder, STL
Pedro Martinez, Mets
Carl Pavano, NYY
Jon Lieber, Phi
Jason Marquis, STL
Eric Milton, Cin
Mike Hampton, Atl
Jarrod Washburn, Ana
Relief Pitchers:
Brad Lidge, Hou
Braden Looper, NYM
Akinori Otsuka, SD
Latroy Hawkins, Cubs
Let's see what happens...
Solid Seder
Well we held the Seder dinner at church last night, which was sold out at 90 people and could have been 160 people if we had more room. There was a really high demand for tickets. Basically, it was a Jewish passover-type occasion. So I get there at4:30 and the dinner starts at 5:30. Immediately, Chris McElwee (the Ecclesia pastor) says , "Hey Adam you have a car. Woud you mind going to get the food?" I thought okay. Little did I realize I would have to fit 4 big boxes as well as 2 huge brown cases full of 90 chickens and mashed potatoes and corn. Now my New York-mobile (aka my 2 door Honda Civic) is not exactly the size of a Hummer. Between leaning the seats forward , maneuvering the cases around in the backseats, suffice to say it was quite tight in there. I had to move my driver's seat way forward of where I normally set it. My knee was nearly in my stomach when I was trying to brake. And yes Dad I was fine!
But this guy came in and we went through a bunch of Jewish customs from parsley, hard-boiled eggs, cups of wine (grape juice), matzoh soup, etc. The best part was watching people eat the bread with horseradish. Now I couldn't particiapte in most of this stuff because I was setting up and serving. But I had to watch people's reactions to eating horseradish. I hadn't seen that many tears from so many people since I watched "The Passion of the Christ."
All in all, everything went smooth and it was a very good experience. Speaking of "The Passion," I watched it on DVD when I came home. Somehow, this time the brief resurrection scene got me more than anything else.
Well a big day of work is coming up and then it's Easter Sunday. God bless the readers of this blog (all 3 of you)!
Quote of the Week-
"I believe that sometimes you gotta wreck the truck to get the insurance money to make the truck payment."
Larry the Cable Guy
But this guy came in and we went through a bunch of Jewish customs from parsley, hard-boiled eggs, cups of wine (grape juice), matzoh soup, etc. The best part was watching people eat the bread with horseradish. Now I couldn't particiapte in most of this stuff because I was setting up and serving. But I had to watch people's reactions to eating horseradish. I hadn't seen that many tears from so many people since I watched "The Passion of the Christ."
All in all, everything went smooth and it was a very good experience. Speaking of "The Passion," I watched it on DVD when I came home. Somehow, this time the brief resurrection scene got me more than anything else.
Well a big day of work is coming up and then it's Easter Sunday. God bless the readers of this blog (all 3 of you)!
Quote of the Week-
"I believe that sometimes you gotta wreck the truck to get the insurance money to make the truck payment."
Larry the Cable Guy
Friday, March 25, 2005
I'm a broadcast journalist!
Happy reading, my peeps.
Glenbard North forces St. Charles E. mistakes
By Adam Bartolo
Daily Herald Correspondent
Posted Friday, March 25, 2005
On its opening day St. Charles East knew it would face a tough test against Glenbard North, which won last year’s St. Charles East sectional.
The test turned out to be even tougher than the Saints softball team anticipated as they fell to the Panthers 10-1.
“Glenbard North came out and they beat us fair and square,” said Saints first-year coach Eric Ray. “I can’t blame it on first-game nerves or jitters. They played better than we did.”
Although the Panthers (2-0) didn’t get many hits, they used their patience at the plate to draw walks and they used their aggression on the bases to cash in whenever they had chances to score.
“Our philosophy is to be aggressive with our girls,” said Glenbard North coach Jim McKinney. “We try to force the issue and make the other team do things they normally don’t do. And today it worked.”
That aggressive philosophy was evident in the Panthers’ first run. Leadoff hitter Annie Dolan led off the game with a double to center field. She advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a passed ball.
Dolan ignited the Panthers offense. She went 4-for-4, with 2 doubles, 2 singles and 3 runs.
“It’s great to have a player like her on our team, especially for the last four years,” McKinney said.
All-state player Michelle Batts showed off her power, drilling a solo home run over the right-field fence in the fourth inning.
Saints pitcher Michelle Snyder battled cold weather and a powerful Panthers lineup. She wound up throwing 112 pitches over four innings.
Debra Mercadante relieved Snyder in the fifth and threw two shutout innings.
When the Saints (0-1) stepped into the batter’s box, they struggled to hit Jenna Szybowicz’s fastballs. In three innings she walked two and struck out two. She gave up a first-inning single to Angela Mercadante, and it was the only ball she threw that the Saints hit out of the infield.
St. Charles East manufactured its lone run in the fourth inning. Rebekah Ruettiger led off with a double to left-center field and scored on a double by Julie Yonkus.
Despite the outcome the Saints expect to improve as they season goes on.
“We’ve got hitters from our No. 1 player to the 14th player,” Ray said.
The players echo their coach’s optimism.
“We know what we have to work on,” Ruettiger said. “I’m not worried. We still have 35 games to go.”
Glenbard North forces St. Charles E. mistakes
By Adam Bartolo
Daily Herald Correspondent
Posted Friday, March 25, 2005
On its opening day St. Charles East knew it would face a tough test against Glenbard North, which won last year’s St. Charles East sectional.
The test turned out to be even tougher than the Saints softball team anticipated as they fell to the Panthers 10-1.
“Glenbard North came out and they beat us fair and square,” said Saints first-year coach Eric Ray. “I can’t blame it on first-game nerves or jitters. They played better than we did.”
Although the Panthers (2-0) didn’t get many hits, they used their patience at the plate to draw walks and they used their aggression on the bases to cash in whenever they had chances to score.
“Our philosophy is to be aggressive with our girls,” said Glenbard North coach Jim McKinney. “We try to force the issue and make the other team do things they normally don’t do. And today it worked.”
That aggressive philosophy was evident in the Panthers’ first run. Leadoff hitter Annie Dolan led off the game with a double to center field. She advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a passed ball.
Dolan ignited the Panthers offense. She went 4-for-4, with 2 doubles, 2 singles and 3 runs.
“It’s great to have a player like her on our team, especially for the last four years,” McKinney said.
All-state player Michelle Batts showed off her power, drilling a solo home run over the right-field fence in the fourth inning.
Saints pitcher Michelle Snyder battled cold weather and a powerful Panthers lineup. She wound up throwing 112 pitches over four innings.
Debra Mercadante relieved Snyder in the fifth and threw two shutout innings.
When the Saints (0-1) stepped into the batter’s box, they struggled to hit Jenna Szybowicz’s fastballs. In three innings she walked two and struck out two. She gave up a first-inning single to Angela Mercadante, and it was the only ball she threw that the Saints hit out of the infield.
St. Charles East manufactured its lone run in the fourth inning. Rebekah Ruettiger led off with a double to left-center field and scored on a double by Julie Yonkus.
Despite the outcome the Saints expect to improve as they season goes on.
“We’ve got hitters from our No. 1 player to the 14th player,” Ray said.
The players echo their coach’s optimism.
“We know what we have to work on,” Ruettiger said. “I’m not worried. We still have 35 games to go.”
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
My thoughts on steroids and Bonds
I've done my best to avoid the steroid controversy, you know, like Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. But I have to add a comment on Barry Bonds. Barry is not a likable guy, but a lot of people make him out to be a thug. Fine, so he's not a media suck up like Michael Jordan or Tom Brady. But don't let that take away from his ability and the tremendous job he does on the field. This guy is the best hitter I have seen in my brief lifetime and I hope he breaks the home run record. Granted I don't like him blaming the media, saying things like "You've finally got me" or "Now you can go pick on a different guy." But the media never did him any favors either. He's a frustrated man who thought he would be honored and praised as he broke record after record and now it's not happening. I don't blame him for being bitter. And with this knee injury, who knows what will happen? I think he's tired of the hassles he's been facing for years and just wants out for a while. Maybe he needs to learn to enjoy playing the game again.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
And the pitch to Ramon Castro...
And a high fly ball to deep left field. Snead going back. Looking up at the wall. It's OUTTTA HEERRREE! And the Mets have beaten the Braves 7-6 on Ramon Castro's walk-off homerun.
For that certain someone who wondered if I was becoming Braves fan, well there's your answer.
For that certain someone who wondered if I was becoming Braves fan, well there's your answer.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Big weekend
At least Sunday was exciting. Let's get right to everything. First of all, my NCAA picks are as bad this year as they were good last year. Pittsburgh, Kansas, Syracuse, and LSU losing have all devastated me. I'll jump on the North Carolina State bandwagon. One because I went there, two, they beat Connecticut and three, they knocked out Connecticut. And they knocked out Connecticut!
The Mets have traded backup catcher Jason Phillips for pitcher Kaz Ishii. Another lousy Kaz on this team. Nah, I just wanted to write that. Phillips has been having a great spring, but his bat his only going to be in 60 or so games anyway. Ramon Castro is now our backup. Hopefully he can call a good game and play good defense. If Rick "the guru" Peterson can solve Ishii's control problems, we will have a very good pitcher. Then again, that's how we felt about Zambrano. And he's been just peachy.
We went 3-0 in volleyball this weekend. We did beat the worst team in the league and they only had 4 regulaars there. But we executed our shots very well. We have 3 weeks left of regular season and we may make the playoffs.
My Daily Herald fantasy baseball league happened Sunday night. I can't list my complete roster at this time because of possible waiver moves over the next week. But I will say I have very good starting pitching and good contact hitters who will hit a few homers. All in all, I'm satisfied.
Sticking with fantasy, I have 1 week left in the basketball regular seasons. I run two teams and one is in 3rd place out of 12 teams and is in the playoffs. The other team is in 6th and will probably make the playoffs. Again, basketball just is not the same. I do have Steve Francis, the Orlando guard who just got suspended for kicking a photographer. That piece of monkey crap. As the week winds down, I'll have more.
Another wonderful week of work starting up again. Hopefully this day job is winding down soon...
The Mets have traded backup catcher Jason Phillips for pitcher Kaz Ishii. Another lousy Kaz on this team. Nah, I just wanted to write that. Phillips has been having a great spring, but his bat his only going to be in 60 or so games anyway. Ramon Castro is now our backup. Hopefully he can call a good game and play good defense. If Rick "the guru" Peterson can solve Ishii's control problems, we will have a very good pitcher. Then again, that's how we felt about Zambrano. And he's been just peachy.
We went 3-0 in volleyball this weekend. We did beat the worst team in the league and they only had 4 regulaars there. But we executed our shots very well. We have 3 weeks left of regular season and we may make the playoffs.
My Daily Herald fantasy baseball league happened Sunday night. I can't list my complete roster at this time because of possible waiver moves over the next week. But I will say I have very good starting pitching and good contact hitters who will hit a few homers. All in all, I'm satisfied.
Sticking with fantasy, I have 1 week left in the basketball regular seasons. I run two teams and one is in 3rd place out of 12 teams and is in the playoffs. The other team is in 6th and will probably make the playoffs. Again, basketball just is not the same. I do have Steve Francis, the Orlando guard who just got suspended for kicking a photographer. That piece of monkey crap. As the week winds down, I'll have more.
Another wonderful week of work starting up again. Hopefully this day job is winding down soon...
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Sad day, NCAA's
Lindsey Cardinale has been voted off American Idol. I knew it would probably happen, but it really blows. I'm hoping for Anwar Robinson, the New Jersey music teacher who looks like Milli and Vanilli. Nadia Turner seems like the front runner, but I'm not into her. I think her hair is bigger than her talent.
NCAA's start today. Got all6 of my brackets ready. Let's hope for a preformance like last year when my Final Four was perfect and I picked 30 of 32 first round games correctly. I'm in one actual pool. It's 7 guys and one girl. Of course the girl picked her brackets by her favorite team nicknames. Safe bet she's got the Southern Illinois Salukis going a long way. And would it really shock anyone of she wins the whole thing???
The Mets are already in a crisis. Trachsel's done. Victor "The Vacuum" Zambrano is sucking and blowing at the same time. Our rotation is in a load of trouble. Omar, we might need that extra bullpen arm, now won't we? Now get Galaragga off the roster! I think the bullpen should be Looper, DeJean, Bell, either Hernandez or Fortunato, Matthews, Koo, and Strickland with Matt Ginter starting.
The bench should be Phillips, Cairo, Robinson, Woodward, and Valent. Castro has been good but Phillips has been torrid this spring (.571 BA). Marlon Anderson has been terrible. Luis Garcia needs to raise his average. Ron Calloway hasn't done too much. Jeff Keppinger is the victim of a numbers game. I don't care how close David Wright and Joe McEwing are. My concern is the team. And Super Joe is finished in New York.
It's St. Patty's Day and I'll be going somewhere to watch some B-ball. I'm not a Guiness fan but if the place I go has Guiness beer battered onion rings...
NCAA's start today. Got all6 of my brackets ready. Let's hope for a preformance like last year when my Final Four was perfect and I picked 30 of 32 first round games correctly. I'm in one actual pool. It's 7 guys and one girl. Of course the girl picked her brackets by her favorite team nicknames. Safe bet she's got the Southern Illinois Salukis going a long way. And would it really shock anyone of she wins the whole thing???
The Mets are already in a crisis. Trachsel's done. Victor "The Vacuum" Zambrano is sucking and blowing at the same time. Our rotation is in a load of trouble. Omar, we might need that extra bullpen arm, now won't we? Now get Galaragga off the roster! I think the bullpen should be Looper, DeJean, Bell, either Hernandez or Fortunato, Matthews, Koo, and Strickland with Matt Ginter starting.
The bench should be Phillips, Cairo, Robinson, Woodward, and Valent. Castro has been good but Phillips has been torrid this spring (.571 BA). Marlon Anderson has been terrible. Luis Garcia needs to raise his average. Ron Calloway hasn't done too much. Jeff Keppinger is the victim of a numbers game. I don't care how close David Wright and Joe McEwing are. My concern is the team. And Super Joe is finished in New York.
It's St. Patty's Day and I'll be going somewhere to watch some B-ball. I'm not a Guiness fan but if the place I go has Guiness beer battered onion rings...
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Just a post before I go
That was a little CSN knockoff. Good to see Jake the Snake Roberts is still alive. Roberts was one of the best wrestlers of the 1980's and did these mindbending psychological interviews. He never had to raise his voioce, he would just hypnotize you. He's faced loads of drug and family issues throughout his life and I never thought I would see him back on WWE TV. He'll be undergoing a hip replacement soon. I don't know where he's at in his life, but his spirit seems good. But I still think he's a guy who needs prayer.
Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels reunited for a Rockers reunion on RAW as well and beat La Resistance. They were one of my favorite teams of the 1980's along with the Midnight Express and the Steiner Brothers and it gave me that warm fuzzy feeling. Kind of like seeing Darryl Strawberry in a Met uniform. Seeing a picture of me clean shaven...
I'll post some NCAA stuff by Thursday morning, but it's time to get ready for work now. For now, I'll say this. Illinois, Wake Forest, Syracuse, North Carolina.
Trachsel has a herniated disc. Best case scenario, he pitches in June. Most likely, he's done for the season. And Matt Ginter is our fifth starter. Ughh. We should have traded Aaron Heilman while we could have still gotten one of Sammy Sosa's corked bats for him. Maybe we could trade Seo to Tampa Bay and get Scott Kazmir back...
Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels reunited for a Rockers reunion on RAW as well and beat La Resistance. They were one of my favorite teams of the 1980's along with the Midnight Express and the Steiner Brothers and it gave me that warm fuzzy feeling. Kind of like seeing Darryl Strawberry in a Met uniform. Seeing a picture of me clean shaven...
I'll post some NCAA stuff by Thursday morning, but it's time to get ready for work now. For now, I'll say this. Illinois, Wake Forest, Syracuse, North Carolina.
Trachsel has a herniated disc. Best case scenario, he pitches in June. Most likely, he's done for the season. And Matt Ginter is our fifth starter. Ughh. We should have traded Aaron Heilman while we could have still gotten one of Sammy Sosa's corked bats for him. Maybe we could trade Seo to Tampa Bay and get Scott Kazmir back...
Monday, March 14, 2005
NCAA time & Mets musings
First of all congrats to Syracuse on beating UConn and West Virginia to win their first Big East tournament title since 1992. 1992. That's a long time ago. That's so long ago, Achy Breaky Heart was just coming out! And I was also glad to see North Carolina State make it in. If you didn't know, I took a college class there one year. Watch out for Julius Hodge and company. They could do some damage.
I'll be filling out brackets for sure and I'll have them ready by Tuesday night, I'm hoping. To project my teams, Syracuse has an excellent chance to win it. They don't have a tough bracket and I know they can beat Duke.
Mets notes: Steve Trachsel's back's cracked and off track, could someone cut me some slack?! He's having an MRI in New York this week and we'll see what happens.
Remember a few months ago how excited I was when the Mets signed this young hitter Luis Garcia away from LA? Well he hit his second homer of the spring yesterday, a game winner off Troy Percival to give Flushing Meadow Park a 7-6 win over Lakeland. Son of a gun can hit. Well, those homers are his only hits in 8 at bats. But he has power.
Also, Victor Diaz hit one out, Kris Benson pitched well, and Chris Woodward hit two triples. I didn't think much of Woodward's signing with Matsui, Reyes, McEwing, Keppinger, and Cairo already there, but he could come in handy.
Also Jose Reyes is leading all players in stolen bases and hasn't even been caught once yet. Good deal. On the flip side, Victor "Kazmir" Zambrano leads all pitchers in walks. He'd better shake off that rust, that belly fat, or whatever.
"Believe me, I'll get there," Zambrano said. "I know what I need to do." I feel better now.
Scott Kazmir, meanwhile, has secured a place in the Tampa Bay rotation. In 4 2/3 innings this spring he has allowed one hit and no runs.
This trade will become our Larry Anderson for Jeff Bagwell, our Ken Phelps for Jay Buhner, our what's his name for Lou Brock.
If you have access to a Fresh Market grocery store, go. Unbelievable steaks, beef wellingtons, and they had unbelievable looking BBQ ribs. And these were in a deli case where prepared food usually looks pretty lousy. They looked great. And we got this cinnamon apple walnut crumb cake. Enough said.
I'll be filling out brackets for sure and I'll have them ready by Tuesday night, I'm hoping. To project my teams, Syracuse has an excellent chance to win it. They don't have a tough bracket and I know they can beat Duke.
Mets notes: Steve Trachsel's back's cracked and off track, could someone cut me some slack?! He's having an MRI in New York this week and we'll see what happens.
Remember a few months ago how excited I was when the Mets signed this young hitter Luis Garcia away from LA? Well he hit his second homer of the spring yesterday, a game winner off Troy Percival to give Flushing Meadow Park a 7-6 win over Lakeland. Son of a gun can hit. Well, those homers are his only hits in 8 at bats. But he has power.
Also, Victor Diaz hit one out, Kris Benson pitched well, and Chris Woodward hit two triples. I didn't think much of Woodward's signing with Matsui, Reyes, McEwing, Keppinger, and Cairo already there, but he could come in handy.
Also Jose Reyes is leading all players in stolen bases and hasn't even been caught once yet. Good deal. On the flip side, Victor "Kazmir" Zambrano leads all pitchers in walks. He'd better shake off that rust, that belly fat, or whatever.
"Believe me, I'll get there," Zambrano said. "I know what I need to do." I feel better now.
Scott Kazmir, meanwhile, has secured a place in the Tampa Bay rotation. In 4 2/3 innings this spring he has allowed one hit and no runs.
This trade will become our Larry Anderson for Jeff Bagwell, our Ken Phelps for Jay Buhner, our what's his name for Lou Brock.
If you have access to a Fresh Market grocery store, go. Unbelievable steaks, beef wellingtons, and they had unbelievable looking BBQ ribs. And these were in a deli case where prepared food usually looks pretty lousy. They looked great. And we got this cinnamon apple walnut crumb cake. Enough said.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Weekend shase
What does shase mean, you ask? It's just a word I made up. Let me put it this way. Like when you're really out of it and you just let a sound come out of your mouth. 8 times out of 10, you will say the word shase. It means referring to things that are going on, although nothing is really going on right now. So it's a state of waiting for something to coming along. Work has been slow the past 2 days. Daily Herald stuff is slow and spring sports don't really get going until 10 days from now. A few things on my mind.
ESPN Page 3 listed the 100 Greatest sports movie quotes of all time. Here are the top 10.
10. "You're gonna eat lightning, and you're gonna crap thunder!" Rocky
9. "Oh, there they go. There they go. Every time I start talkin' 'bout boxing, a white man got to pull Rocky Marciano out their ass. That's their one, that's their one. Rocky Marciano! Rocky Marciano!"Coming to America
8. "You guys. You lollygag the ball around the infield. You lollygag your way down to first. You lollygag in and out of the dugout. You know what that makes you? Larry!" Bull Durham
7. "There's no crying in baseball!" A League of Their Own.
6. "Sweep the leg."The Karate Kid
5. "I'm out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes."Airplane! (I'll get to this in a moment.)
4. "Juuuust a bit outside!" Major League
3. "Show me the money!" Jerry Maguire
2. "You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. Let's face it. It was you, Charley." On The Waterfront
1. "Yo Adrian!" Rocky
Funny, I've never even heard of the number 2 movie! Numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 qualify to be in my top 5. If you build it he will come was number 11. I would say of alll the sports films I've seen, Field of Dreams has the most memorable quotes. Between Build It, Anything Doc Graham says, Wanna have a catch, it's just loaded. James Earl Jones' speech at the end of the film didn't even make the top 100! But Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Airplane is downright classic. It's actually playing on WGN right now. SURELY, though, it should have been higher than number 5... We have clearance Clarence. Roger Roger. What's our vector Victor? Clear for clearance over. That's Clarence Oveur. Over. Roger. Huh? Roger Over? Huh? Who?
I passed on a job offer at Primerica. Basically, I didn't like only getting paid by commission and I didn't want to recruit clients. Let me say this. It's tough letting this kind of stuff go and staying at that crappy daytime job. I may be young, but I'm not patient at things like this. I do think something will come along. Wonder where, wonder when, wonder what.
I'm playing CMT's 100 Greatest Love Songs on the internet. Right now, Willie's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is playing. Man, that's good stuff on a cold quiet night.
ESPN Page 3 listed the 100 Greatest sports movie quotes of all time. Here are the top 10.
10. "You're gonna eat lightning, and you're gonna crap thunder!" Rocky
9. "Oh, there they go. There they go. Every time I start talkin' 'bout boxing, a white man got to pull Rocky Marciano out their ass. That's their one, that's their one. Rocky Marciano! Rocky Marciano!"Coming to America
8. "You guys. You lollygag the ball around the infield. You lollygag your way down to first. You lollygag in and out of the dugout. You know what that makes you? Larry!" Bull Durham
7. "There's no crying in baseball!" A League of Their Own.
6. "Sweep the leg."The Karate Kid
5. "I'm out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes."Airplane! (I'll get to this in a moment.)
4. "Juuuust a bit outside!" Major League
3. "Show me the money!" Jerry Maguire
2. "You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. Let's face it. It was you, Charley." On The Waterfront
1. "Yo Adrian!" Rocky
Funny, I've never even heard of the number 2 movie! Numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 qualify to be in my top 5. If you build it he will come was number 11. I would say of alll the sports films I've seen, Field of Dreams has the most memorable quotes. Between Build It, Anything Doc Graham says, Wanna have a catch, it's just loaded. James Earl Jones' speech at the end of the film didn't even make the top 100! But Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Airplane is downright classic. It's actually playing on WGN right now. SURELY, though, it should have been higher than number 5... We have clearance Clarence. Roger Roger. What's our vector Victor? Clear for clearance over. That's Clarence Oveur. Over. Roger. Huh? Roger Over? Huh? Who?
I passed on a job offer at Primerica. Basically, I didn't like only getting paid by commission and I didn't want to recruit clients. Let me say this. It's tough letting this kind of stuff go and staying at that crappy daytime job. I may be young, but I'm not patient at things like this. I do think something will come along. Wonder where, wonder when, wonder what.
I'm playing CMT's 100 Greatest Love Songs on the internet. Right now, Willie's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is playing. Man, that's good stuff on a cold quiet night.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Mother Nature's joke and MSG
Sunday was a cruel joke. 62 degrees, blue sky, slight breeze. Since then, it's been 30 degree days and 20 degree nights and lots of clouds. I almost wish that Sunday's weather hadn't been so good so we wouldn't hav been teased like this. And it's not getting higher than 30 the rest of this week either.
There are meetings down in Florida right now involving Cablevision. By the time the meetings end, Charles (King of Cablevision) Dolan may sell the entire MSG package. That would mean Jim (Crown Prince of Cablevision) Dolan may be out as president of Madison Square Garden, selling the building, the Knicks, the Rangers (they play hockey), the Liberty, and the network. This is the guy who believed in Scott Layden as Knicks GM, has seen the MSG Network lose the Mets and Yankees and thus deteriorate into about as bad a network as Bravo, kept Glen Sather on as Ranger President and GM for about 5 years too long. And I won't even get going on Sather. Man I've almost forgotten how inept, incompetent, and in control that man is. Hopefully, there will be some selling bids coming up soon.
The Knicks have won 5 of 6 games, including 7 in a row at MSG. Coach Herb Williams finally has this team realizing that defense can be a good thing, if you actually take the time to play it. But you almost want them to lose if you're a Knick fan because the best thing that could happen is they get a good draft slot and select a top young player. This team as is may finish .500 and sneak into the playoffs. But even if they do sneak in there, they're not about to win a playoff series. Can baseball be far away???
Can you imagine me working for a financial company? I couldn't. But it could be happening soon. Could be.
There are meetings down in Florida right now involving Cablevision. By the time the meetings end, Charles (King of Cablevision) Dolan may sell the entire MSG package. That would mean Jim (Crown Prince of Cablevision) Dolan may be out as president of Madison Square Garden, selling the building, the Knicks, the Rangers (they play hockey), the Liberty, and the network. This is the guy who believed in Scott Layden as Knicks GM, has seen the MSG Network lose the Mets and Yankees and thus deteriorate into about as bad a network as Bravo, kept Glen Sather on as Ranger President and GM for about 5 years too long. And I won't even get going on Sather. Man I've almost forgotten how inept, incompetent, and in control that man is. Hopefully, there will be some selling bids coming up soon.
The Knicks have won 5 of 6 games, including 7 in a row at MSG. Coach Herb Williams finally has this team realizing that defense can be a good thing, if you actually take the time to play it. But you almost want them to lose if you're a Knick fan because the best thing that could happen is they get a good draft slot and select a top young player. This team as is may finish .500 and sneak into the playoffs. But even if they do sneak in there, they're not about to win a playoff series. Can baseball be far away???
Can you imagine me working for a financial company? I couldn't. But it could be happening soon. Could be.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
LAVERANUES!!!
For the uninitiated, that's the first name of Coles, the Jets returning wide receiver. Gang Green has now traded Santana Moss for Laveranues Coles. As disgusted as I was with #87 when he bolted for Washington 2 years ago, I am delighted to see him come back. He and Chad Pennington blended together like pretzels and peanut butter (one of my favorite snacks). Along with Justin McCareins, the Jets have a solid wide receiver group. If Jonathan Carter or Jerricho Cotchery can step up this year, it will be key. In my opinion, to be a dangerous NFL offense, you need at least three real receiving threats. If they do sign Jeb Putzier, the tight end from Denver, a dynamic passing game is in the works here. Stay tuned...
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Jets in trouble, Giants coming along, Mets first game
The Jets have lost Ferguson, Jordan, and McKenzie. The one that worries me the most is Fergie. I never thought I would say it, but this could be a huge loss. He has been called the leader of the defensive line. He's coming off his best year and he's 30 years old. But he's on his way to Dallas with a 5-year contract. It's really a shame for Gang Green. And all the quality defensive tackles are off the market now. The Jets had some interest in Pat Williams, formerly of the Bills, who's in Minnesota now. If there's a good perspective here, it's that we already re-signed both defensive ends (franchised John Abraham actually). And we're already paying Dwayne Robertson ungodly amounts of money. That money probably needs to be used on other positions because it's not smart to spend all your money on one side of the field. Speaking of the other side of the field...
We knew Lamont Jordan was leaving. He'll go to Oakland and be excellent running back, I'm sure. I hear the Jets may get Derrick Blaylock, who was Priest Holmes' backup in Kansas City. If they do, that would be a great pickup.
McKenzie will be tough to replace. There are no elite offensive linemen available now. This may have to be addressed through the draft. They could trade for Orlando Pace, but how much would you really have to give up for him?
Wide receiver/tight end is my concern here. Housh (and I'm not spelling his full name here) is back in Cincinnati. Derrick Mason is in Baltimore.They apparently have no interest in Plaxico Burress. And there are no really impressive tight ends to get excited about. I mean the biggest name out there is Freddie Jones. Need I say more? If they can't pull off the rumored Laveranues Coles-Santana Moss trade, they should spend one of their top 2 draft picks on a target for Chad Pennington.
The Jets do have some room under the salary cap to do "something bold," according to Newsday. Well, they'd better do something soon. Names are flying off the available list.
Let's go to the Giants. They will probably sign Antonio Pierce of the Redskins as their new middle linebacker. All the papers love this move. I really don't know much about him. I know he's a young guy, just 26. He's supposed to be smart, tough, and a real leader. And I'm glad the Giants are addressing the defense first. Because towards the end of last year as Eli Manning and the offense improved, the defense kept giving up points. Look at the Pittsburgh and Cincinnati games. I know half their starters were injured. But they needed something special besides Michael Strahan. And this Pierce guy may make a big difference. I wanted Kendrell Bell of Pittsburgh, but the Giants let him walk out of Giants Stadium without a contract. Something must have tipped them off, whether it was a physical (he missed 13 games last year or contract demands).
The o-line is the next priority. Jonas Jennings and Mike Wahle are evidently off the market. So hopefully they will get Kareem McKenzie from the Jets to shore up that o-line. Then move David Diehl to right guard and Chris Snee to left guard. Along with Petitgout at left tackle and Shaun O'Hara at center, that's a solid line. If they can get McKenzie, Fred Miller, or another good o-lineman, that will be a great free agency.
Receiver, as I've mentioned, is not looking good with so many guys gone already. But Amani is still capable, they have Shockey. If Tim Carter and Jamar Taylor can stay healthy, they'll have enough weapons. Ike Hilliard may get cut, which is fine since he did nothing last year. So I'd wait until the draft to address that position.
And of course, Los Nueva York Mets. I watched the first game yesterday. We lost 5-3 to Washington. There was some good, some bad. The good was the infield defense. Kaz Matusui made 3 very good plays at second base, including starting a double play on Jose Vidro, who's very fast. Also, Glavine and Looper both looked very strong on the mound. And Jason Phillips had 2 hits and an RBI.
The bad. My 2 favorite prospects, Danny Garcia and Aaron Heilman absolutely stunk. Heilman allows 2 homers and three runs in 2 innings. Garcia makes 2 errors and strikes out to end the game. And Joe McEwing strikes out with the bases loaded. Actually, this one may be good, because he needs to go. We have enough middle infielders already and Miguel Cairo is our utility player now. Omar has got to get rid of McEwing, who hasn't contributed to this team in I don't know how long.
We knew Lamont Jordan was leaving. He'll go to Oakland and be excellent running back, I'm sure. I hear the Jets may get Derrick Blaylock, who was Priest Holmes' backup in Kansas City. If they do, that would be a great pickup.
McKenzie will be tough to replace. There are no elite offensive linemen available now. This may have to be addressed through the draft. They could trade for Orlando Pace, but how much would you really have to give up for him?
Wide receiver/tight end is my concern here. Housh (and I'm not spelling his full name here) is back in Cincinnati. Derrick Mason is in Baltimore.They apparently have no interest in Plaxico Burress. And there are no really impressive tight ends to get excited about. I mean the biggest name out there is Freddie Jones. Need I say more? If they can't pull off the rumored Laveranues Coles-Santana Moss trade, they should spend one of their top 2 draft picks on a target for Chad Pennington.
The Jets do have some room under the salary cap to do "something bold," according to Newsday. Well, they'd better do something soon. Names are flying off the available list.
Let's go to the Giants. They will probably sign Antonio Pierce of the Redskins as their new middle linebacker. All the papers love this move. I really don't know much about him. I know he's a young guy, just 26. He's supposed to be smart, tough, and a real leader. And I'm glad the Giants are addressing the defense first. Because towards the end of last year as Eli Manning and the offense improved, the defense kept giving up points. Look at the Pittsburgh and Cincinnati games. I know half their starters were injured. But they needed something special besides Michael Strahan. And this Pierce guy may make a big difference. I wanted Kendrell Bell of Pittsburgh, but the Giants let him walk out of Giants Stadium without a contract. Something must have tipped them off, whether it was a physical (he missed 13 games last year or contract demands).
The o-line is the next priority. Jonas Jennings and Mike Wahle are evidently off the market. So hopefully they will get Kareem McKenzie from the Jets to shore up that o-line. Then move David Diehl to right guard and Chris Snee to left guard. Along with Petitgout at left tackle and Shaun O'Hara at center, that's a solid line. If they can get McKenzie, Fred Miller, or another good o-lineman, that will be a great free agency.
Receiver, as I've mentioned, is not looking good with so many guys gone already. But Amani is still capable, they have Shockey. If Tim Carter and Jamar Taylor can stay healthy, they'll have enough weapons. Ike Hilliard may get cut, which is fine since he did nothing last year. So I'd wait until the draft to address that position.
And of course, Los Nueva York Mets. I watched the first game yesterday. We lost 5-3 to Washington. There was some good, some bad. The good was the infield defense. Kaz Matusui made 3 very good plays at second base, including starting a double play on Jose Vidro, who's very fast. Also, Glavine and Looper both looked very strong on the mound. And Jason Phillips had 2 hits and an RBI.
The bad. My 2 favorite prospects, Danny Garcia and Aaron Heilman absolutely stunk. Heilman allows 2 homers and three runs in 2 innings. Garcia makes 2 errors and strikes out to end the game. And Joe McEwing strikes out with the bases loaded. Actually, this one may be good, because he needs to go. We have enough middle infielders already and Miguel Cairo is our utility player now. Omar has got to get rid of McEwing, who hasn't contributed to this team in I don't know how long.
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