It's been a busy and trying few weeks, folks ...
Here's several week's worth of Sunday reading ...
Sports ...
a Guillen doesn't like Wrigley any better now
a Mayor Daley shows off acting talent in White Sox spot
a New manager Manuel key to Mets' personality makeover
a Batty problem: Baseball discusses broken bats
a Younger Steinbrenner a chip off the old Boss since taking reins
a 'The kid did it the right way' ... I was really glad to see the Bulls picked Rose. I would have let a loud grown if it was Michael Beasley.
Movies ...
a 'WALL-E' plugs into human emotion ... Seriously, since we saw the first trailer last year, there's no movie I wanted to see more this summer. And we saw it this week. Here's another review from the LA Times.
Media ...
a George F. Will has eyes on the nation
The Onion ...
a New Dad Thinks Baby Might Be Gay ... this is great for a laugh.
a Fall Canceled After 3 Billion Seasons
Music ...
a Coldplay turns up the heat with 'Viva la Vida'
Politics ...
a To the Loser Go the Spoils
The Internet ...
a The Google Ogle Defense: A Search for America's Psyche
Life & Other stuff ...
a Help Wanted: Looking For Plan B ... Jim Shea on updating a resume
a The unusual past of San Francisco Bay's Point Montara lighthouse comes to light
a Parents fret as even toddlers love 'High School' ... What did these moms expect, naming their kids Tayla and Jemma!?
a What Comes Next After Generation X?
a Exhibit Examines Costumes Of The Courageous
a After the Deluge, the World in a Grain of Sand
Showing posts with label White Sox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label White Sox. Show all posts
7.13.2008
6.22.2008
Sunday reading
... Here it is another Sunday. And I'm wondering where the weekend went ...
... On Friday, we grilled out and shared a night on our deck with good friends Laura and Kevin. The conversation was so good, the sun set without us barely noticing ...
... On Saturday, I soaked up the sun and worked in our yard. And then we went off to see Mom and Pops, who were camping not far out of the city ... It seemed like a good idea -- until we got out of the car were mowed down by a buzz kill of mosquitoes. We rushed Phoebe inside the camper ... and all of joined in shortly after. Instead of an ideal night around a campfire, we spend it inside playing Uno ... Pops played a buzz kill of his own; he won six of the eight hands we played ...
Today, we did church (Phoebs slept the whole service again ... ). I did a baseball practice ... And Mom and Pops came to our place. But the thunder and rain chased us inside once more, and we settled for watching the Brewers finish of the Orioles ...
And how 'bout those Cubs ... After becoming the victims of a hard-fought sweep in Tampa Bay last week ( ... Dang, Tampa is good this year; that series was every bit as tough as I figured it might be ...), the Cubbies came out swinging this weekend. Aramis won it in the ninth on Friday ... Then I got to catch that rocking fourth inning and yesterday's thriller ... And now they're blasting the Sox again tonight as I write this ... But let's not talk about September until we get there, OK?
Here's two weeks worth of stories that caught my eyes ...
But first, this one says it all: Is everything spinning out of control? Can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in American psyche is under assault
Sports & Baseball ...
a Cubs documents: Wrigley condition not dire
a The Bringer Of The Big Heat ... A good one from the SI archives about Nolan Ryan.
a A Jones For Hitting: Chipper Jones, the baddest switch-hitter since Mickey Mantle
a Spirit of '77 for White Sox, Cubs
a Guillen swap sides? No way
a Met fan squawks about Willie Randolph firing, sends Wilpons chickens
a The Catch: Super Bowl moment small part of Tyree's journey
a Rodgers savoring honeymoon as Packers' starting QB ... A good one from my friend Raechel.
a Verdict still out on Kobe's legacy ... Compare him to Michael Jordan all you want, but they'll never be equals.
a Watching Tiger, Kobe compete on same day
Music ...
a Alanis Morissette continues channeling her anger
a Another Somebody Sung Somebody's Song Wrong
Politics ...
a Obama, or Osama? Hotmail glitch
a In Her Own Time
TV ...
a 'Big Bird' Caroll Spinney Still Flocking to Sesame Street
The Internet ...
a 'Geek girl' helps keep Mozilla safe in scary times
a The Fate of The Sentence: Is the Writing On the Wall? ... Interesting.
a The Web makes us antsy readers, not deep thinkers ... Also quite interesting.
The media ...
a The L.A. Times's Human Wrecking Ball
a Katie Couric shows her ‘nerd’ side ... Quite amusing.
a Will Viacom nuke the YouTube clip of CBS' Lara Logan ... Also quite amusing.
a Tom Brokaw: 'Meet the Press' til Nov. 4
a Tim Russert: the details about what caused his death
The Onion ...
a Mariners Fire Whiffing Coach
a Cricket Located
a Fantasy Baseball Owner Rips Team In Media
a Falling Down Laundry Chute And Breaking Neck Remains America's No. 548,221 Killer
Travel ...
a America's Unkempt Front Yard
a Fake But Fun Destinations
Life & other stuff ...
a How a lake went down the drain
a Men fillet Charlie the Tuna statue in Oregon
a Nike sneaks logo onto the lakefront path ... Not cool.
a More Schools Trying Separation of the Sexes
a Looking to Avoid Aggressive Drivers? Check Those Bumpers
a Your friends? They're dead.
... On Friday, we grilled out and shared a night on our deck with good friends Laura and Kevin. The conversation was so good, the sun set without us barely noticing ...
... On Saturday, I soaked up the sun and worked in our yard. And then we went off to see Mom and Pops, who were camping not far out of the city ... It seemed like a good idea -- until we got out of the car were mowed down by a buzz kill of mosquitoes. We rushed Phoebe inside the camper ... and all of joined in shortly after. Instead of an ideal night around a campfire, we spend it inside playing Uno ... Pops played a buzz kill of his own; he won six of the eight hands we played ...
Today, we did church (Phoebs slept the whole service again ... ). I did a baseball practice ... And Mom and Pops came to our place. But the thunder and rain chased us inside once more, and we settled for watching the Brewers finish of the Orioles ...
And how 'bout those Cubs ... After becoming the victims of a hard-fought sweep in Tampa Bay last week ( ... Dang, Tampa is good this year; that series was every bit as tough as I figured it might be ...), the Cubbies came out swinging this weekend. Aramis won it in the ninth on Friday ... Then I got to catch that rocking fourth inning and yesterday's thriller ... And now they're blasting the Sox again tonight as I write this ... But let's not talk about September until we get there, OK?
Here's two weeks worth of stories that caught my eyes ...
But first, this one says it all: Is everything spinning out of control? Can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in American psyche is under assault
Sports & Baseball ...
a Cubs documents: Wrigley condition not dire
a The Bringer Of The Big Heat ... A good one from the SI archives about Nolan Ryan.
a A Jones For Hitting: Chipper Jones, the baddest switch-hitter since Mickey Mantle
a Spirit of '77 for White Sox, Cubs
a Guillen swap sides? No way
a Met fan squawks about Willie Randolph firing, sends Wilpons chickens
a The Catch: Super Bowl moment small part of Tyree's journey
a Rodgers savoring honeymoon as Packers' starting QB ... A good one from my friend Raechel.
a Verdict still out on Kobe's legacy ... Compare him to Michael Jordan all you want, but they'll never be equals.
a Watching Tiger, Kobe compete on same day
Music ...
a Alanis Morissette continues channeling her anger
a Another Somebody Sung Somebody's Song Wrong
Politics ...
a Obama, or Osama? Hotmail glitch
a In Her Own Time
TV ...
a 'Big Bird' Caroll Spinney Still Flocking to Sesame Street
The Internet ...
a 'Geek girl' helps keep Mozilla safe in scary times
a The Fate of The Sentence: Is the Writing On the Wall? ... Interesting.
a The Web makes us antsy readers, not deep thinkers ... Also quite interesting.
The media ...
a The L.A. Times's Human Wrecking Ball
a Katie Couric shows her ‘nerd’ side ... Quite amusing.
a Will Viacom nuke the YouTube clip of CBS' Lara Logan ... Also quite amusing.
a Tom Brokaw: 'Meet the Press' til Nov. 4
a Tim Russert: the details about what caused his death
The Onion ...
a Mariners Fire Whiffing Coach
a Cricket Located
a Fantasy Baseball Owner Rips Team In Media
a Falling Down Laundry Chute And Breaking Neck Remains America's No. 548,221 Killer
Travel ...
a America's Unkempt Front Yard
a Fake But Fun Destinations
Life & other stuff ...
a How a lake went down the drain
a Men fillet Charlie the Tuna statue in Oregon
a Nike sneaks logo onto the lakefront path ... Not cool.
a More Schools Trying Separation of the Sexes
a Looking to Avoid Aggressive Drivers? Check Those Bumpers
a Your friends? They're dead.
6.01.2008
Sunday reading
... After my game this morning, Kates and I spent the day on our deck, playing with Phoebe and enjoying the GOR-geous weather ...
And now I'm watching Sunday night baseball.
I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday.
Here's some of the best stories I read over the last week ...
Sports ...
a Historic season looms for Chicago baseball
a Cursed-to-first Rays, White Sox buoyed by offseason deals
a Hitting .400 isn't last crusade for Atlanta's accomplished Jones
a Embattled McLaren, Randolph, Yost fight on
a In NBA playoffs, less ink means more viewers
a Packers to deliver old locker to Favre
Politics ...
a Ex-press secretary bashes Bush
a Book: Rice kept 'her hands clean'
a Hillary Clinton's 'critical decision'
a Obama Practices Looking-Off-Into-Future Pose ... From The Onion. Ha-larious.
The Internet ...
a Blog posts photos from lost cameras to find owners
a MySpace gets its mojo back by opening door to developers
Life & other stuff ...
a Principal's blunder holds good lessons ... One of the biggest stories around Chicagoland last week. The pincipal eventually was demoted.
a Stonehenge was a royal family's burial site, researchers say
a Lowly pencil still the write tool
a N.Y. Hopes to Ensure Smooth Pedaling for Bike Commuters
And now I'm watching Sunday night baseball.
I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday.
Here's some of the best stories I read over the last week ...
Sports ...
a Historic season looms for Chicago baseball
a Cursed-to-first Rays, White Sox buoyed by offseason deals
a Hitting .400 isn't last crusade for Atlanta's accomplished Jones
a Embattled McLaren, Randolph, Yost fight on
a In NBA playoffs, less ink means more viewers
a Packers to deliver old locker to Favre
Politics ...
a Ex-press secretary bashes Bush
a Book: Rice kept 'her hands clean'
a Hillary Clinton's 'critical decision'
a Obama Practices Looking-Off-Into-Future Pose ... From The Onion. Ha-larious.
The Internet ...
a Blog posts photos from lost cameras to find owners
a MySpace gets its mojo back by opening door to developers
Life & other stuff ...
a Principal's blunder holds good lessons ... One of the biggest stories around Chicagoland last week. The pincipal eventually was demoted.
a Stonehenge was a royal family's burial site, researchers say
a Lowly pencil still the write tool
a N.Y. Hopes to Ensure Smooth Pedaling for Bike Commuters
3.09.2008
Sunday reading
Kates and I are feeling truly blessed today ...
Mom & Pops were here for the weekend to help us prepare more for Baby ...
All of today we were finding ourselves surrounded by people who have loved and supported us and played significant parts in our lives, people who have known both of us from the very beginning, some of our closest friends and family members ...
And tonight we had to say good-bye to a dear friend. As Kates' father said in his message, he was "the quintessential Milwaukeean." He was always there with a kind greeting or words of wisdom. He was a devoted baseball fan, too -- As the pallbearers carried away his casket tonight, we sang "Take Me Out To the Ball Game." Kates and I were blessed to have known him.
Here's some of the good reads that caught my attention this week ...
Baseball ...
a Authority assessing face-lift of Wrigley
a Naming rights for sale, but Wrigley can't be bought
a This field by any other name ... Would be risky for would-be corporate sponsors, experts say
a Why Wrigley Field's landmark status should be preserved
a Kenney: More Cubs games on Comcast SportsNet ... and Spanish radio?
a Piniella open to extending stay with Cubs
a Nobody's perfect: Even the best teams have holes to fill this spring
a The big question for Big Papi
a Sox may have (computer) chip on their shoulder
Politics ...
a A little something for the ladies
a A Clinton-Obama ticket?
a John McCain: Consistent on Iraq... ...consistent in folly
a Gary David Goldberg: Just what would Alex Keaton do?
TV & entertainment ...
a Eleanor knockoffs spark a knock-down, drag-out fight
a Did 'SNL' Go Beyond the Pale With Fauxbama? ... I totally don't get why so many outlets are making an issue of this ...
a Hillary Clinton: 'Live from N.Y., it is Saturday night' ... This was a classic.
a 3 a.m. call: President Obama calling Sen. Clinton ... This was classic, too. I know a few people who haven't enjoyed SNL's Clinton-Obama spoofs the last few weeks, but I've loved 'em ...
Music ...
a ‘One Tree Hill’ helps launch Kate Voegele
a Tragedy Knocked Blind Melon Off the Rock Radar 12 Years Ago. But With a New Lead Singer, the Time May Be Ripe for a Comeback.
a Q&A: 'Once' in a Lifetime
Media & the Internet ...
a At Wall Street Journal, Change of Accents
a With parents on Facebook, 'friend' now a relative term
And finally, a cool trivia game about Wheel of Fortune.
Mom & Pops were here for the weekend to help us prepare more for Baby ...
All of today we were finding ourselves surrounded by people who have loved and supported us and played significant parts in our lives, people who have known both of us from the very beginning, some of our closest friends and family members ...
And tonight we had to say good-bye to a dear friend. As Kates' father said in his message, he was "the quintessential Milwaukeean." He was always there with a kind greeting or words of wisdom. He was a devoted baseball fan, too -- As the pallbearers carried away his casket tonight, we sang "Take Me Out To the Ball Game." Kates and I were blessed to have known him.
Here's some of the good reads that caught my attention this week ...
Baseball ...
a Authority assessing face-lift of Wrigley
a Naming rights for sale, but Wrigley can't be bought
a This field by any other name ... Would be risky for would-be corporate sponsors, experts say
a Why Wrigley Field's landmark status should be preserved
a Kenney: More Cubs games on Comcast SportsNet ... and Spanish radio?
a Piniella open to extending stay with Cubs
a Nobody's perfect: Even the best teams have holes to fill this spring
a The big question for Big Papi
a Sox may have (computer) chip on their shoulder
Politics ...
a A little something for the ladies
a A Clinton-Obama ticket?
a John McCain: Consistent on Iraq... ...consistent in folly
a Gary David Goldberg: Just what would Alex Keaton do?
TV & entertainment ...
a Eleanor knockoffs spark a knock-down, drag-out fight
a Did 'SNL' Go Beyond the Pale With Fauxbama? ... I totally don't get why so many outlets are making an issue of this ...
a Hillary Clinton: 'Live from N.Y., it is Saturday night' ... This was a classic.
a 3 a.m. call: President Obama calling Sen. Clinton ... This was classic, too. I know a few people who haven't enjoyed SNL's Clinton-Obama spoofs the last few weeks, but I've loved 'em ...
Music ...
a ‘One Tree Hill’ helps launch Kate Voegele
a Tragedy Knocked Blind Melon Off the Rock Radar 12 Years Ago. But With a New Lead Singer, the Time May Be Ripe for a Comeback.
a Q&A: 'Once' in a Lifetime
Media & the Internet ...
a At Wall Street Journal, Change of Accents
a With parents on Facebook, 'friend' now a relative term
And finally, a cool trivia game about Wheel of Fortune.
1.06.2008
Roger and Mitchell
I promised more about the Mitchell Report. I’m sorry it took tonight’s highly-touted Roger Clemens interview on “60 Minutes” to inspire me (Boy, would I like to see the ratings numbers on that one … I’m not sure I’ve ever received so many emails and text messages on a single subject in such a short time. They were coming in the minute it was over … ).
I’d sure like to believe Roger. The problem is we don’t know who to believe or trust anymore …
I have a bleacher row of friends who disagree with me on this, but I'm a Clemens fan. I can't recall seeing him bull-headed or surly with the media the way Barry Bonds has been. Clemens has had a long, sustained career, without the types of injuries a lot of guys supposedly using steroids have had. He’s also been a great ambassador of the game and a class act -- excluding, perhaps, the whole Piazza-Bat-Gate thing. And yes, I’d still vote for him to go into the Hall of Fame.
Then again, I’m not that naive. I wish I could turn a blind eye, and love the stars the way I did when I was a kid, before I knew any better …
Clemens, like Bonds, has somehow defied the odds and performed far better than guys have his age when his performance should have been declining. The stuff about him in the Mitchell Report is pretty damning, and his reputation is damaged no matter what happens.
Clemens’ biggest mistake was not getting in front of camera and speaking for himself the minute the Mitchell Report was published. Instead he let an attorney speak for him, and the negative public opinions of Clemens swelled while other guys came out and said, 'Yep, I'm in the report, I did it' or 'It's completely inaccurate' ... and when Clemens did start speaking it was hard to take him seriously. I’ve been thinking it all along, and this morning’s “Outside The Lines” illustrated it with some classic clips: Think of all the times we’ve watched someone vehemently deny some allegations only to watch the truth unravel in the weeks or years that followed -- Richard Nixon not being a crook, Pete Rose not betting on baseball, Bill Clinton not having sex with that woman. OJ Simpson, Kobe Bryant, Marion Jones, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and on and on and on …
And though the buzz on the Mitchell Report has simmered, I’m thinking this whole steroids thing is far from over. This is the biggest scandal Major League Baseball has had to deal with since the 1919 Black Sox, and no one's accepting blame …
I wish Bud Selig would start accepting some blame. Donald Fehr needs to get out of the way. And the players had better start cooperating for the good of the game -- if only more of them spoke up the way Curt Schilling has ...
Baseball continues to break my heart. And I can't stop loving it ...
And I'm sick of talking about the game's long nightmare, too ... which is part of the reason it took me so long to post about it.
In the moments after "the list" came out I divided the names into a few categories. Here's the way I see them ...
Not surprised (Seriously. Most of these guys are the epitome of overrated, overpaid, injury-prone and forgotten in the blink of an eye. That or it’s just repeating what we already knew.)
Kevin Brown
David Justice
Paul Lo Duca
Mo Vaughn
Rick Ankiel
Barry Bonds
Ken Caminiti
Jose Canseco
Jason Giambi
Jeremy Giambi
Jay Gibbons
Juan Gonzalez
Jason Grimsley
Jose Guillen
Jerry Hairston Jr.
Wally Joyner
Gary Matthews Jr.
Rafael Palmeiro
Benito Santiago
David Segui
Gary Sheffield
Not surprised but still a little heartbroken (I heard the whispers of steroid use and saw the injuries, but still loved what they could do on the diamond.)
Brendan Donnelly
Eric Gagne
Andy Pettitte
Scott Schoeneweis
Miguel Tejada
Derrick Turnbow
I'm in denial he's on the list (Whether it was their abilities or the way they carried themselves … I really liked what they did and had hoped they knew better.)
Roger Clemens
Chris Donnels
Todd Hundley
Lenny Dykstra
Troy Glaus
Matt Williams
Who cares? (I haven’t heard of most of these guys, and the ones that I do know never excited me.)
Chad Allen
Mike Bell
Gary Bennett
Larry Bigbie
Alex Cabrera
Mark Carreon
Jason Christiansen
Howie Clark
Jack Cust
Matt Franco
Matt Herges
Phil Hiatt
Glenallen Hill
Mike Judd
Chuck Knoblauch
Tim Laker
Mike Lansing
Nook Logan
Josias Manzanillo
Cody McKay
Kent Mercker
Bart Miadich
Hal Morris
Daniel Naulty
Denny Neagle
Jim Parque
Luis Perez
Adam Piatt
Todd Pratt
Stephen Randolph
Adam Riggs
Armando Rios
Brian Roberts
F.P. Santangelo
Mike Stanton
Ricky Stone
Ismael Valdez
Ron Villone
Fernando Vina
Rondell White
Jeff Williams
Todd Williams
Steve Woodard
Kevin Young
Gregg Zaun
Manny Alexander
David Bell
Marvin Benard
Ricky Bones
Paul Byrd
Paxton Crawford
Bobby Estalella
Ryan Franklin
Darren Holmes
Ryan Jorgensen
John Rocker
Randy Velarde
And here's some good reads I've collected about the Mitchell Report over the last several weeks ...
a Sifting through the aftermath
a Mitchell Report exposes clubhouse culture and dangers
a Mitchell says naming names was right decision
a Big blast from the past: Report ties Hill, but not current Cubs, to steroids usage
a Sammy Sosa escapes Mitchell Report
a Sosa in clear? Sorry, no way
a Schoeneweis, Parque named: Investigation cites 2 other former Sox, 5 minor leaguers
a Grimsley's sworn statement unsealed
a Facing the lies: List shouldn't be shocking, but betrayal is cold reality
a Say it's so – steroids saved baseball
a The fallout continues: Clemens among big losers; redemption for Duquette
a Clemens for the Hall? Mitchell Report raises doubt
a Ex-big leaguer recalls Clemens' trainer
a Worth the wait: Thanks to Radomski, Mitchell accomplished plenty
a Mitchell Report: The Evidence
a Scandal to alter old ad game: Named players likely to lose marketability
a Time is not right to decide on Steroid Era players
a Fixing baseball
a Ending drug use in baseball a difficult road
a Now What? The Mitchell Report has the potential to change baseball
a Selig support strong, with some owners intending to push for another extension
I’d sure like to believe Roger. The problem is we don’t know who to believe or trust anymore …
I have a bleacher row of friends who disagree with me on this, but I'm a Clemens fan. I can't recall seeing him bull-headed or surly with the media the way Barry Bonds has been. Clemens has had a long, sustained career, without the types of injuries a lot of guys supposedly using steroids have had. He’s also been a great ambassador of the game and a class act -- excluding, perhaps, the whole Piazza-Bat-Gate thing. And yes, I’d still vote for him to go into the Hall of Fame.
Then again, I’m not that naive. I wish I could turn a blind eye, and love the stars the way I did when I was a kid, before I knew any better …
Clemens, like Bonds, has somehow defied the odds and performed far better than guys have his age when his performance should have been declining. The stuff about him in the Mitchell Report is pretty damning, and his reputation is damaged no matter what happens.
Clemens’ biggest mistake was not getting in front of camera and speaking for himself the minute the Mitchell Report was published. Instead he let an attorney speak for him, and the negative public opinions of Clemens swelled while other guys came out and said, 'Yep, I'm in the report, I did it' or 'It's completely inaccurate' ... and when Clemens did start speaking it was hard to take him seriously. I’ve been thinking it all along, and this morning’s “Outside The Lines” illustrated it with some classic clips: Think of all the times we’ve watched someone vehemently deny some allegations only to watch the truth unravel in the weeks or years that followed -- Richard Nixon not being a crook, Pete Rose not betting on baseball, Bill Clinton not having sex with that woman. OJ Simpson, Kobe Bryant, Marion Jones, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and on and on and on …
And though the buzz on the Mitchell Report has simmered, I’m thinking this whole steroids thing is far from over. This is the biggest scandal Major League Baseball has had to deal with since the 1919 Black Sox, and no one's accepting blame …
I wish Bud Selig would start accepting some blame. Donald Fehr needs to get out of the way. And the players had better start cooperating for the good of the game -- if only more of them spoke up the way Curt Schilling has ...
Baseball continues to break my heart. And I can't stop loving it ...
And I'm sick of talking about the game's long nightmare, too ... which is part of the reason it took me so long to post about it.
In the moments after "the list" came out I divided the names into a few categories. Here's the way I see them ...
Not surprised (Seriously. Most of these guys are the epitome of overrated, overpaid, injury-prone and forgotten in the blink of an eye. That or it’s just repeating what we already knew.)
Kevin Brown
David Justice
Paul Lo Duca
Mo Vaughn
Rick Ankiel
Barry Bonds
Ken Caminiti
Jose Canseco
Jason Giambi
Jeremy Giambi
Jay Gibbons
Juan Gonzalez
Jason Grimsley
Jose Guillen
Jerry Hairston Jr.
Wally Joyner
Gary Matthews Jr.
Rafael Palmeiro
Benito Santiago
David Segui
Gary Sheffield
Not surprised but still a little heartbroken (I heard the whispers of steroid use and saw the injuries, but still loved what they could do on the diamond.)
Brendan Donnelly
Eric Gagne
Andy Pettitte
Scott Schoeneweis
Miguel Tejada
Derrick Turnbow
I'm in denial he's on the list (Whether it was their abilities or the way they carried themselves … I really liked what they did and had hoped they knew better.)
Roger Clemens
Chris Donnels
Todd Hundley
Lenny Dykstra
Troy Glaus
Matt Williams
Who cares? (I haven’t heard of most of these guys, and the ones that I do know never excited me.)
Chad Allen
Mike Bell
Gary Bennett
Larry Bigbie
Alex Cabrera
Mark Carreon
Jason Christiansen
Howie Clark
Jack Cust
Matt Franco
Matt Herges
Phil Hiatt
Glenallen Hill
Mike Judd
Chuck Knoblauch
Tim Laker
Mike Lansing
Nook Logan
Josias Manzanillo
Cody McKay
Kent Mercker
Bart Miadich
Hal Morris
Daniel Naulty
Denny Neagle
Jim Parque
Luis Perez
Adam Piatt
Todd Pratt
Stephen Randolph
Adam Riggs
Armando Rios
Brian Roberts
F.P. Santangelo
Mike Stanton
Ricky Stone
Ismael Valdez
Ron Villone
Fernando Vina
Rondell White
Jeff Williams
Todd Williams
Steve Woodard
Kevin Young
Gregg Zaun
Manny Alexander
David Bell
Marvin Benard
Ricky Bones
Paul Byrd
Paxton Crawford
Bobby Estalella
Ryan Franklin
Darren Holmes
Ryan Jorgensen
John Rocker
Randy Velarde
And here's some good reads I've collected about the Mitchell Report over the last several weeks ...
a Sifting through the aftermath
a Mitchell Report exposes clubhouse culture and dangers
a Mitchell says naming names was right decision
a Big blast from the past: Report ties Hill, but not current Cubs, to steroids usage
a Sammy Sosa escapes Mitchell Report
a Sosa in clear? Sorry, no way
a Schoeneweis, Parque named: Investigation cites 2 other former Sox, 5 minor leaguers
a Grimsley's sworn statement unsealed
a Facing the lies: List shouldn't be shocking, but betrayal is cold reality
a Say it's so – steroids saved baseball
a The fallout continues: Clemens among big losers; redemption for Duquette
a Clemens for the Hall? Mitchell Report raises doubt
a Ex-big leaguer recalls Clemens' trainer
a Worth the wait: Thanks to Radomski, Mitchell accomplished plenty
a Mitchell Report: The Evidence
a Scandal to alter old ad game: Named players likely to lose marketability
a Time is not right to decide on Steroid Era players
a Fixing baseball
a Ending drug use in baseball a difficult road
a Now What? The Mitchell Report has the potential to change baseball
a Selig support strong, with some owners intending to push for another extension
9.02.2007
Sunday reading
Some of the good reads that caught my eye over the last week ...
Tech stuff ...
a Apple expected to unveil a new iPod
a Is Facebook the New MySpace? ... I'm still finding my way on this whole Facebook stuff. And I still like MySpace better ...
a MySpace could lift ban on commerce
Entertainment ...
a Britney reportedly earns $737,868 per month
a Watch out Lindsay! Daddy’s coming to visit
Media ...
a Katie Couric to Report From Iraq, Syria
a It's back to basics for Katie Couric's newscast ... Now they're thinking over there at CBS. I didn't buy their schmaltzy "new and improved" newscast for a minute. The traditional format doesn't need tinkering. Just give me the news of the day straight up with a couple heartfelt human interest stories and that's all I need ...
Baseball ...
a Stretch run turns into a stress run for fans ... Got that right. I'm feelin' it this year.
a Charles Albert Comiskey II: 1925 - 2007
a Knocking at death's door with no answers: Amazing that '05 champs have fallen so far, so fast
a Guillen's rant is sent in the wrong direction
Other stuff ...
a Mining Our Treasures: An 1872 Law Paves the Way for a Rush of Claims in the West
a Enter the world of Sokolow
a A wave of disapproval greets Cardiff surf statue
a White House Vet Ari Fleischer, Back to Fight for The Surge in Iraq
a Out-of-body experience created in labs
a Big Mac marks big birthday
a Study Predicts More Severe U.S. Storms ... Scary
Tech stuff ...
a Apple expected to unveil a new iPod
a Is Facebook the New MySpace? ... I'm still finding my way on this whole Facebook stuff. And I still like MySpace better ...
a MySpace could lift ban on commerce
Entertainment ...
a Britney reportedly earns $737,868 per month
a Watch out Lindsay! Daddy’s coming to visit
Media ...
a Katie Couric to Report From Iraq, Syria
a It's back to basics for Katie Couric's newscast ... Now they're thinking over there at CBS. I didn't buy their schmaltzy "new and improved" newscast for a minute. The traditional format doesn't need tinkering. Just give me the news of the day straight up with a couple heartfelt human interest stories and that's all I need ...
Baseball ...
a Stretch run turns into a stress run for fans ... Got that right. I'm feelin' it this year.
a Charles Albert Comiskey II: 1925 - 2007
a Knocking at death's door with no answers: Amazing that '05 champs have fallen so far, so fast
a Guillen's rant is sent in the wrong direction
Other stuff ...
a Mining Our Treasures: An 1872 Law Paves the Way for a Rush of Claims in the West
a Enter the world of Sokolow
a A wave of disapproval greets Cardiff surf statue
a White House Vet Ari Fleischer, Back to Fight for The Surge in Iraq
a Out-of-body experience created in labs
a Big Mac marks big birthday
a Study Predicts More Severe U.S. Storms ... Scary
2.24.2007
My reservation’s been confirmed
Cubs tickets went on sale yesterday. Let the mad dash begin …
Somehow, for the fourth year in a row, I managed to take a vacation day from work to reserve my tickets (because if I didn‘t, I‘d barely stand a chance at getting any …). So I woke at about 8:30 yesterday morning, donned my Cubs hat and retro jersey for good luck, flipped on our two computers and opened as many Internet windows as the screen would fit.
In case you’re not familiar with the process -- it is a science -- Cubs tickets go on sale each year on a Friday morning in late February. Beginning at 9:30 a.m., internet shoppers are allowed to go into the virtual waiting room, and at 10 a.m., ticket sales begin. But the time you logged on means absolutely nothing because you’re selected from the virtual waiting room at random -- hence the two computers with as many windows open as possible to increase my chances of being selected.
There have been years I’ve waited all day and come away with measly tickets to a throw-away game, and there’s been years where I’ve had the greatest luck in the world …
Upon talking about the process to cohorts, one asked me if I was going to Wrigley to buy tickets. Heck no. The process is more dangerous there. The virtual waiting room is an actual line and your fate is determined by a number on your wristband, which is called at random -- so camping out is a waste of time. Oh, and you have to get that wristband in the couple days before tickets go on sale. Not even worth it -- I’d much rather sit in my heated home, listening to music and vegge while I sit and stare at two computer screens…
As fun as that sounds.
Going in, my goal was to try for three dates. Though Kates and I have done April dates before, that Chicago cold can bite, so I was trying to stay away from any April or May dates this year. On Sundays, I play baseball, and though I’d love to spend any weekday afternoon at Wrigley I do have to earn a paycheck. Which meant any Saturday between June and September would be do-able, minus a couple dates here and there for weddings, 10-year reunions and some summer excursions.
So the waiting began …
And at 10:48 a.m., I was in for the first time. I had two minutes to complete my order. Quickly, I scanned the dates I'd circled on my schedule and went for June 16, a day game against San Diego. Two terrace reserved tickets along the infield. Got ‘em! One game down.
And I’m thrown back in the virtual waiting room.
But as I glanced over my schedule again, I nearly began banging my head against a wall. In my haste I overlooked a Saturday, Aug. 18 date against St. Louis -- a marquee game! All I could do was hope I got through again before the game sold out.
No dice. By 11:45, the sold-out dates were starting to appear on the screen. Opening day. The White Sox series. And that Aug. 18 game against St. Louis.
My second chance to buy tickets came at bout 12:15. Not wanting to pass on a chance at the St. Louis series, I bought a single ticket for a Friday afternoon game on Aug. 17 against the Cardinals (something I did a few years ago when the Cubs were chasing the NL pennant and had a blast …). It’s a terrace box seat in the infield.
So now I’ve got two Cubs dates reserved, and I begin to do some second-thinking about that third date.
I’ve never been to Comiskey for a Sox game, and I’ve been telling myself the last couple years to get down there. And I would love to see a Sox-Tigers game …
So I logged on to the White Sox schedule and began scanning. Most of the marquee games are weekdays, which doesn’t play in my favor, but lo and behold, there’s a Sox-Tigers series on the last weekend of the season. I’m thinking, oh man, if both of those teams are in a pennant race, how sweet would it be to be at one of those games?!
But as I try picking out some seats, it’s quickly apparent the pickings will be slim. Finally, I find two seats in the nosebleed section and reserve them.
I let out a sigh of relief and say ‘I’m done.’ I’m still kicking myself for not going for that Saturday date against the Cardinals. But I have to be pleased with what I did get.
Not so fast.
Mid afternoon, Kates calls and inquires about the tickets. And as I tell her about the White Sox game, she reminds me that one of my best friends’ weddings is that same weekend in Kansas City …
Doh!! I had my calendar in front of me all morning, with all our summer plans marked and circled -- except for that wedding date, which I’d just confirmed a few days earlier and had yet to put on my calendar.
Hopefully, those Sox tickets will be easy to get rid of …
Anybody want ‘em? E-mail me.
* * *
Once Kates arrived home Friday night, we laid out, catching up on the excess of “American Idol.” … Seriously. Five hours worth of “Idol” ? Does Fox not understand the meaning of excessive!? Two hours of guys on Tuesday night, two hours of girls on Wednesday night and then an hour on Thursday night only to look back at the previous two nights and reveal who’s going home.
Ugh. Yet we still watch -- and fast forward through the commercials and monotony with our DVR!
Really, we probably could have skipped Tuesday night’s edition, and we would’ve barely missed a thing. Most of the guys were awful, with Sundance’s (why is he still around!?!) puke-your-heart-out version of “Nights In White Satin” to top the list of futility. And Sanjaya Malakar, who I was super-impressed with in the beginning is singing his way right out of the competition, too.
But enough of the bad. My vote -- if I was one of the 30 million people who actually picked up a phone to vote -- would’ve been for Chris Sligh. Holy cow! -- the guy blew the other guys out of the water!! While everyone else, as one of the judges pointed out, was stuck in the ’80s, Sligh stepped onto the stage and belted out an atypical song, Mute Math’s “Typical.” Afterward Sligh said he picked it because it’s a song that’s popular now, and it’s the kind of music people are listening to, an idea that appeared totally lost on the judges who seemed to be clueless about the song, not to mention Simon who ripped Sligh for his performance of it …
Whatever. Sligh is my pick for the top male in the competition and I’m sticking to it …
But my props also go to Blake Lewis for staying off his beatbox and doing good on Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know,” and to Chris Richardson, the Justin Timberlake wannabe who surprised me with a decent take on Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Want To Be.”
Bring on the girls. A complete 180 of the guys’ night, the girls -- well, most of them -- sang like anyone of them could be the next “American Idol.” Although, the last of the bunch, Lakisha Jones nearly blew the roof off the theater when she sang Jennifer Hudson’s “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.” The woman can sing, and Simon wasn’t kidding when he suggested the other 23 contestants could think about packing their bags …
But while Jones might be the frontrunner, I still have soft spots for Gina Glocksen and Melinda Doolittle, too …
After Wednesday night’s show, I thought for sure Jersey girl Antonella Barba and Nicole Tranquillo were as good as gone. Like Sundance, Barba picked a song that was way bigger than her -- Aerosmith’s “Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” -- and she tanked. And Tranquillo’s version of Chaka Khan's “Stay” was punishing to hear and watch.
In the end, Sundance, Barba and Malakar somehow got the votes. Tranquillo, Amy Krebs, “Shoeless” Paul Kim and Rudy Cardenas did not. Their downfall: Frankly, their performances were lame and forgettable.
But look for Sundance, Malakar and Barba (who could get booted off “Idol” for other reasons …ay yay yay, Antonella …) to go next week …
Here’s a few good “Idol” reads -- all from Entertainment Weekly, I didn’t plan that -- that hit my experiences right on the head …
a Our 24 Party People: We size up the ''American Idol'' semifinalists: Some front-runners and some also-rans are already starting to emerge
a Low-Buzz Cut: On the first elimination show of ''American Idol'' season 6, a couple forgettable singers are let go before the aggressively awful ones
a Boot Camp: The first semifinalists to be evicted this season on ''American Idol'' talk about regrets, song choice, and Antonella
* * *
Somehow, for the fourth year in a row, I managed to take a vacation day from work to reserve my tickets (because if I didn‘t, I‘d barely stand a chance at getting any …). So I woke at about 8:30 yesterday morning, donned my Cubs hat and retro jersey for good luck, flipped on our two computers and opened as many Internet windows as the screen would fit.
In case you’re not familiar with the process -- it is a science -- Cubs tickets go on sale each year on a Friday morning in late February. Beginning at 9:30 a.m., internet shoppers are allowed to go into the virtual waiting room, and at 10 a.m., ticket sales begin. But the time you logged on means absolutely nothing because you’re selected from the virtual waiting room at random -- hence the two computers with as many windows open as possible to increase my chances of being selected.
There have been years I’ve waited all day and come away with measly tickets to a throw-away game, and there’s been years where I’ve had the greatest luck in the world …
Upon talking about the process to cohorts, one asked me if I was going to Wrigley to buy tickets. Heck no. The process is more dangerous there. The virtual waiting room is an actual line and your fate is determined by a number on your wristband, which is called at random -- so camping out is a waste of time. Oh, and you have to get that wristband in the couple days before tickets go on sale. Not even worth it -- I’d much rather sit in my heated home, listening to music and vegge while I sit and stare at two computer screens…
As fun as that sounds.
Going in, my goal was to try for three dates. Though Kates and I have done April dates before, that Chicago cold can bite, so I was trying to stay away from any April or May dates this year. On Sundays, I play baseball, and though I’d love to spend any weekday afternoon at Wrigley I do have to earn a paycheck. Which meant any Saturday between June and September would be do-able, minus a couple dates here and there for weddings, 10-year reunions and some summer excursions.
So the waiting began …
And at 10:48 a.m., I was in for the first time. I had two minutes to complete my order. Quickly, I scanned the dates I'd circled on my schedule and went for June 16, a day game against San Diego. Two terrace reserved tickets along the infield. Got ‘em! One game down.
And I’m thrown back in the virtual waiting room.
But as I glanced over my schedule again, I nearly began banging my head against a wall. In my haste I overlooked a Saturday, Aug. 18 date against St. Louis -- a marquee game! All I could do was hope I got through again before the game sold out.
No dice. By 11:45, the sold-out dates were starting to appear on the screen. Opening day. The White Sox series. And that Aug. 18 game against St. Louis.
My second chance to buy tickets came at bout 12:15. Not wanting to pass on a chance at the St. Louis series, I bought a single ticket for a Friday afternoon game on Aug. 17 against the Cardinals (something I did a few years ago when the Cubs were chasing the NL pennant and had a blast …). It’s a terrace box seat in the infield.
So now I’ve got two Cubs dates reserved, and I begin to do some second-thinking about that third date.
I’ve never been to Comiskey for a Sox game, and I’ve been telling myself the last couple years to get down there. And I would love to see a Sox-Tigers game …
So I logged on to the White Sox schedule and began scanning. Most of the marquee games are weekdays, which doesn’t play in my favor, but lo and behold, there’s a Sox-Tigers series on the last weekend of the season. I’m thinking, oh man, if both of those teams are in a pennant race, how sweet would it be to be at one of those games?!
But as I try picking out some seats, it’s quickly apparent the pickings will be slim. Finally, I find two seats in the nosebleed section and reserve them.
I let out a sigh of relief and say ‘I’m done.’ I’m still kicking myself for not going for that Saturday date against the Cardinals. But I have to be pleased with what I did get.
Not so fast.
Mid afternoon, Kates calls and inquires about the tickets. And as I tell her about the White Sox game, she reminds me that one of my best friends’ weddings is that same weekend in Kansas City …
Doh!! I had my calendar in front of me all morning, with all our summer plans marked and circled -- except for that wedding date, which I’d just confirmed a few days earlier and had yet to put on my calendar.
Hopefully, those Sox tickets will be easy to get rid of …
Anybody want ‘em? E-mail me.
* * *
Once Kates arrived home Friday night, we laid out, catching up on the excess of “American Idol.” … Seriously. Five hours worth of “Idol” ? Does Fox not understand the meaning of excessive!? Two hours of guys on Tuesday night, two hours of girls on Wednesday night and then an hour on Thursday night only to look back at the previous two nights and reveal who’s going home.
Ugh. Yet we still watch -- and fast forward through the commercials and monotony with our DVR!
Really, we probably could have skipped Tuesday night’s edition, and we would’ve barely missed a thing. Most of the guys were awful, with Sundance’s (why is he still around!?!) puke-your-heart-out version of “Nights In White Satin” to top the list of futility. And Sanjaya Malakar, who I was super-impressed with in the beginning is singing his way right out of the competition, too.
But enough of the bad. My vote -- if I was one of the 30 million people who actually picked up a phone to vote -- would’ve been for Chris Sligh. Holy cow! -- the guy blew the other guys out of the water!! While everyone else, as one of the judges pointed out, was stuck in the ’80s, Sligh stepped onto the stage and belted out an atypical song, Mute Math’s “Typical.” Afterward Sligh said he picked it because it’s a song that’s popular now, and it’s the kind of music people are listening to, an idea that appeared totally lost on the judges who seemed to be clueless about the song, not to mention Simon who ripped Sligh for his performance of it …
Whatever. Sligh is my pick for the top male in the competition and I’m sticking to it …
But my props also go to Blake Lewis for staying off his beatbox and doing good on Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know,” and to Chris Richardson, the Justin Timberlake wannabe who surprised me with a decent take on Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Want To Be.”
Bring on the girls. A complete 180 of the guys’ night, the girls -- well, most of them -- sang like anyone of them could be the next “American Idol.” Although, the last of the bunch, Lakisha Jones nearly blew the roof off the theater when she sang Jennifer Hudson’s “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.” The woman can sing, and Simon wasn’t kidding when he suggested the other 23 contestants could think about packing their bags …
But while Jones might be the frontrunner, I still have soft spots for Gina Glocksen and Melinda Doolittle, too …
After Wednesday night’s show, I thought for sure Jersey girl Antonella Barba and Nicole Tranquillo were as good as gone. Like Sundance, Barba picked a song that was way bigger than her -- Aerosmith’s “Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” -- and she tanked. And Tranquillo’s version of Chaka Khan's “Stay” was punishing to hear and watch.
In the end, Sundance, Barba and Malakar somehow got the votes. Tranquillo, Amy Krebs, “Shoeless” Paul Kim and Rudy Cardenas did not. Their downfall: Frankly, their performances were lame and forgettable.
But look for Sundance, Malakar and Barba (who could get booted off “Idol” for other reasons …ay yay yay, Antonella …) to go next week …
Here’s a few good “Idol” reads -- all from Entertainment Weekly, I didn’t plan that -- that hit my experiences right on the head …
a Our 24 Party People: We size up the ''American Idol'' semifinalists: Some front-runners and some also-rans are already starting to emerge
a Low-Buzz Cut: On the first elimination show of ''American Idol'' season 6, a couple forgettable singers are let go before the aggressively awful ones
a Boot Camp: The first semifinalists to be evicted this season on ''American Idol'' talk about regrets, song choice, and Antonella
* * *
So Thursday's "Grey’s Anatomy" …
I wasn’t shy last week about my disdain for last week’s episode …
But this week's finale to the three-parter, well, they pulled it off. I was pleased. As Gregory Kirschling wrote in his EW review (I’m spending a lot of time on EW this morning, can you tell? Again, not by plan -- they just have the best reviews and content…) good salvage work indeed …
While I was pretty sure, Meredith wasn’t going to die (as if the title of the episode -- “Some Kind of Miracle” -- didn’t give it away), the episode was as entertaining and gripping as any this season. The dialogue actually made sense and the characters we’ve grown so attached to were back to their old selves …
I did like the scenes of “Afterlife Meredith,” though parts of them made no sense and too abstract. Izzie’s dead fiance Denny and dead bomb technician Dylan returned on the heels of last week’s episode to help Meredith understand what was happening, and then in a yeah! moment we also got to see Bonnie, the young woman who was impaled by a pole and died in one of the best Grey’s episodes ever (but I don‘t think we needed the whole thing with her stomach suddenly and mysteriously bleeding out…), a nurse who worked with Meredith’s mom and died in season two, even Meredith’s dog, who was put to asleep in an earlier episode. But all this made me wonder, where was George’s dad, who died a few weeks ago?
Meanwhile in the hospital, we got to see Callie rip into Izzie and Burke and Christina actually communicating like a real couple (the scene of Christina getting drunk at the bar and Burke coming in to tell her she would never forgive herself if she wasn’t around when Meredith died might be one of my favorite Christina-Burke scenes ever). We got to see Shepherd show Addison how much he loves Meredith, and then Addison turns around and makes a no-sex deal with Sloan. Awesome …
If there were any moments that made my eyes roll, one would be that Meredith recovered so quickly. One moment she's barely getting out an "ouch" with Christina, and the next she's smiling and talking to Shepherd. No lasting effects, no brain damage, nuthin'.
Still, good salvage work indeed.
PLUS: I stumbled on to this from the Wha!?!?! category …
'Grey's Anatomy' conspiracy theory
10.15.2006
Sunday reading
Some of the stories that caught my eye this last week ...
In the news...
a Plane hit home of parade victim ... poor woman.
On TV ...
a 'SNL' sitcom '30 Rock' is right address ... Seriously!? Has he seen the other TV shows?
a Couric Is in an Unfamiliar Place — 3rd ... and she'd better get used to it.
In Music ...
a Mann of the Hour
a Fleetwood Mac guitarist hits midlife with intensity
a Colvin Re-Emerges After Depression
Baseball ...
a Sponsorship deal calls for White Sox to begin games at 7:11 p.m. ... what'll they think of next?
In the news...
a Plane hit home of parade victim ... poor woman.
On TV ...
a 'SNL' sitcom '30 Rock' is right address ... Seriously!? Has he seen the other TV shows?
a Couric Is in an Unfamiliar Place — 3rd ... and she'd better get used to it.
In Music ...
a Mann of the Hour
a Fleetwood Mac guitarist hits midlife with intensity
a Colvin Re-Emerges After Depression
Baseball ...
a Sponsorship deal calls for White Sox to begin games at 7:11 p.m. ... what'll they think of next?
10.01.2006
Good reads
Sometimes fun, mostly just interesting and insightful reads from the last week and beyond ...Cubs stuff...
a Why Cubs deep-sixed in '06
a Depression in a shade of Blue ... by buddy Matt (he's a Mets fan ...) sent me this one. If you're a Cubs fan you can relate ...
Baseball stuff...
a Absence of 20-game winners: emerging trend or statistical anomaly?
a Fun stats, facts enliven baseball
Baseball from The Onion ...
a Bud Selig Nervously Informs Ozzie Guillen That White Sox Aren't Making Playoffs
a Frank Thomas Credits Recent Power Surge To Steroids
a Trevor Hoffman: 'I Want To Be A Hall Of Famer Right Now'
Politics ...
a A textbook definition of cowardice ... Keith Olbermann comments on Bill Clinton's Fox News interview ... you hate to play the blame game with who was more responsible for not stopping the 9/11 attacks, but watching Bill Clinton lash out earlier this week was bliss ... ... and seriously. It was not an attack on journalists. Whah, whah, whah ...
Entertainment ...
a Absurd TV ... the things we hardly seem to notice about our favorite TV shows ...
a "Itsy Bitsy" mistake: Songwriter still alive ... oops! More proof that what goes around comes around ...
a The French and Germans have remade the BBC series. Why?
a He's just a Jersey Joe ... good stuff on Zach Braff.
a 'Cause I said so ... John Mayer’s musings
a 'Sunshine' star shines as a sweet kid
Other stuff ...
a These Badgers exhibit band loyalty ... undoubtedly one of the greatest marching bands in the world. The story of their boot camps and loyalty is legend ...
a Microsoft's Zune player to cost $249.99 ... I'm not buying it. The iPod rules the world. And don't even get me started on Microsoft software ...
7.02.2006
Sunday reading
... We finally got back to playing baseball today. After three weeks of being rained out.
... And yet we nearly got rained out again this week. We actually warmed up in a light rain, but it stopped a few minutes before game time.
... Maybe we should've stayed home anyway. The game was a joke. Our worst of the season. We flat out weren't in the game.
... As the visiting team, we batted first and got one run across.
... Let's just say the other team got a few more. A lot more. ... Round and round the bases they went.
... In the meantime, their pitcher seemed to get better and better as the game went on. He struck out five batters in the first three innings -- including me.
... It wasn't until our last at-bats that we actually let go, started smiling, having some fun ... and scoring some runs. I walked and later scored, and I think we got like four or five runs across the plate. But by then it was too late ...
... I don't even know what the final score was. I do know our record is 1-4, and we need some practice. Badly.
Here's some of the good reads I stumbled upon this last week ...
a For diehard fans, a stadium sleepover makes for a field of dreams
a Milwaukee’s Prince: Cecil’s son own man in majors
a White Sox face new obstacle in Tigers
a Elmo: What a Firecracker! ... awwwwww! That Elmo!
a Buzzed-about album on deck for Hilton; now that’s hot ... hear me groaning at the thought? If you only you could see me rolling my eyes too ...
a Internet jukeboxes: Transforming an icon ... you can update the jukebox as much you want, but it's always going to be cool to play with.
... And yet we nearly got rained out again this week. We actually warmed up in a light rain, but it stopped a few minutes before game time.
... Maybe we should've stayed home anyway. The game was a joke. Our worst of the season. We flat out weren't in the game.
... As the visiting team, we batted first and got one run across.
... Let's just say the other team got a few more. A lot more. ... Round and round the bases they went.
... In the meantime, their pitcher seemed to get better and better as the game went on. He struck out five batters in the first three innings -- including me.
... It wasn't until our last at-bats that we actually let go, started smiling, having some fun ... and scoring some runs. I walked and later scored, and I think we got like four or five runs across the plate. But by then it was too late ...
... I don't even know what the final score was. I do know our record is 1-4, and we need some practice. Badly.
Here's some of the good reads I stumbled upon this last week ...
a For diehard fans, a stadium sleepover makes for a field of dreams
a Milwaukee’s Prince: Cecil’s son own man in majors
a White Sox face new obstacle in Tigers
a Elmo: What a Firecracker! ... awwwwww! That Elmo!
a Buzzed-about album on deck for Hilton; now that’s hot ... hear me groaning at the thought? If you only you could see me rolling my eyes too ...
a Internet jukeboxes: Transforming an icon ... you can update the jukebox as much you want, but it's always going to be cool to play with.
6.26.2006
Dusty in jeopardy?
... here they're talking again tonight that Dusty's job with the Cubs might be in jeopardy ...
whatever.
I said it before, and I'll say it again ... very little of the Cubs problems this year can fall on him. Very little ...
Derrek Lee has become the glue of the club the last year and half, and he's barely played this year. Prior and Wood are done for, and Dusty's had to muddle through with rookies and has-beens ...
... Yeah. So it was grueling to watch them lose again yesterday to the Twins, but seeing Derrek Lee back in action (and hit a nice single!) was a serious bright spot ... and if he can settle back in, there's a lot to hope for yet this season.
As Dusty says: "We've got a lot left of the season. Look at my lineup. It's a totally different look now. I can put [Todd] Walker back in the second spot, I've got [Lee] in the third, [Phil] Nevin fourth, Aramis [Ramirez] fifth, Jacque [Jones] sixth. That gives us pretty good punch there."
I'll say.
Seriously. If Dusty goes, who are the Cubs gonna get. Another Jim Riggleman? Another Tom Treblehorn? C'mon ...
... Although Jay Mariotti makes some excellent points and the notion of Bob Brenly does perk up my ears a bit, I can't imagine he's just going to jump up and leave the broadcast booth in the middle of the season either ...
* * *
... and while I'm at it, can I go on record saying I'm not one bit surprised at the Detroit Tigers success this season!? It seems every other analyst has gone on this season with 'where did the Tigers come from?' 'Who could've predicted they would have been this good?' ... and blah. blah. blah. ... C'mon. The Tigers started knockin' on the door as soon as they lost their 119th game a couple years ago and then went out and got Ivan Rodriguez. They got a great farm system and Jim Leyland was the final piece of the puzzle.
I'm not one bit surprised.
Now if they could just get back John Smoltz (who by the way has floated the idea of being traded) before the deadline. ... The White Sox and the Tigers in the AL Championship -- that'll be this year's World Series.
* * *
Speaking of the Sox ...
How great was that 13-inning gem last night!?!
... I screamed so loud when Tadahito Iguchi hit that game-tying grand slam in the ninth, I scared Kates out of her chair ... Too bad the Sox couldn't pull it out.
whatever.
I said it before, and I'll say it again ... very little of the Cubs problems this year can fall on him. Very little ...
Derrek Lee has become the glue of the club the last year and half, and he's barely played this year. Prior and Wood are done for, and Dusty's had to muddle through with rookies and has-beens ...
... Yeah. So it was grueling to watch them lose again yesterday to the Twins, but seeing Derrek Lee back in action (and hit a nice single!) was a serious bright spot ... and if he can settle back in, there's a lot to hope for yet this season.
As Dusty says: "We've got a lot left of the season. Look at my lineup. It's a totally different look now. I can put [Todd] Walker back in the second spot, I've got [Lee] in the third, [Phil] Nevin fourth, Aramis [Ramirez] fifth, Jacque [Jones] sixth. That gives us pretty good punch there."
I'll say.
Seriously. If Dusty goes, who are the Cubs gonna get. Another Jim Riggleman? Another Tom Treblehorn? C'mon ...
... Although Jay Mariotti makes some excellent points and the notion of Bob Brenly does perk up my ears a bit, I can't imagine he's just going to jump up and leave the broadcast booth in the middle of the season either ...
* * *
... and while I'm at it, can I go on record saying I'm not one bit surprised at the Detroit Tigers success this season!? It seems every other analyst has gone on this season with 'where did the Tigers come from?' 'Who could've predicted they would have been this good?' ... and blah. blah. blah. ... C'mon. The Tigers started knockin' on the door as soon as they lost their 119th game a couple years ago and then went out and got Ivan Rodriguez. They got a great farm system and Jim Leyland was the final piece of the puzzle.
I'm not one bit surprised.
Now if they could just get back John Smoltz (who by the way has floated the idea of being traded) before the deadline. ... The White Sox and the Tigers in the AL Championship -- that'll be this year's World Series.
* * *
Speaking of the Sox ...
How great was that 13-inning gem last night!?!
... I screamed so loud when Tadahito Iguchi hit that game-tying grand slam in the ninth, I scared Kates out of her chair ... Too bad the Sox couldn't pull it out.
5.14.2006
Sunday reads
a Rolling Stone celebrates 1,000 issues
a As His Rock Magazine Hits 1,000 Issues, Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner Is Still High on the Concept
Baseball reads ...
a Sox say they'd be tickled pink to use bats
a Leyland's passion sparks turnaround for Tigers
a Column: Bonds back in friendlier confines
a Ballparks throughout the country getting makeovers - big and small
Life in general ...
a The swelling McMansion backlash
a Early Dreams Often Lead to Lifetime Choices
a Color in goods is beetle "juiced"
a Years after crash, some families find measure of solace
a Dare to Decide
Television reads ...
a ‘Will & Grace’ ends on a high note
a A fond farewell to 'The West Wing'
a Taking wing
a 'ER' Puts Darfur Tragedy in Spotlight
a Ad Shatters A TV Taboo Head-On
Music reads ...
a Latinos give new life to Diamond's `America'
a New Jewel album is a return to her roots
a As His Rock Magazine Hits 1,000 Issues, Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner Is Still High on the Concept
Baseball reads ...
a Sox say they'd be tickled pink to use bats
a Leyland's passion sparks turnaround for Tigers
a Column: Bonds back in friendlier confines
a Ballparks throughout the country getting makeovers - big and small
Life in general ...
a The swelling McMansion backlash
a Early Dreams Often Lead to Lifetime Choices
a Color in goods is beetle "juiced"
a Years after crash, some families find measure of solace
a Dare to Decide
Television reads ...
a ‘Will & Grace’ ends on a high note
a A fond farewell to 'The West Wing'
a Taking wing
a 'ER' Puts Darfur Tragedy in Spotlight
a Ad Shatters A TV Taboo Head-On
Music reads ...
a Latinos give new life to Diamond's `America'
a New Jewel album is a return to her roots
3.22.2006
Ballpark fun
It’s days like today that I can sit back honestly and profess how much I love my job …
I spent the day visiting Chicago ballparks and everything baseball … Our assignment: to find everything and anything a baseball fan and his or her buddies can surround themselves with on game day.
A train ride down to Davis Street, and the El to the Sox-35th Street dropoff, we started at The Cell -- home of the World Champion Chicago White Sox. Sox fan or not, no Chicago person can not appreciate saying that … we paid homage to the home plate of old Comiskey and admired the architecture of the stadium. Then, on a whim, we decided to try seeing if we could get inside the stadium. … we stepped into the Sox front offices and a receptionist was nice enough to hook us up with a PR guy who gave us a full walking tour of the stadium, all while painters put the finishing touches on doorways and windows and a grounds crew worked on the field.
But the excitement was only beginning …
From The Cell, we took the El south to 47th, which later proved to be a mistake, because we were destined for the Negro League Café, which is located several blocks east of 45th Street … oh, the walk. But well worth it. If people aren’t scared off by the gritty neighborhood this eatery calls home, the classic burger-and-fry type entrees are quite tasty, while the walls full of Negro League memorabilia make the place a museum of its own …
From there, we walked about a mile the other way to Grandstand, a sprawling memorabilia shop, loaded with everything from jerseys and hats to shot glasses and steering wheel covers, all with the logos of your favorite team. In fact, I indulged a little myself, buying a commemorative Sox World Series ball.
Then … to Wrigley. A baseball lover’s shrine, I say.
We took the El and got off at Addison as the sun was setting around Wrigleyville. Business women on cell phones were walking to cars and apartments. Men were jogging. Kids were playing and couples were walking dogs. … far from the environment that surrounds the park on game day (see tips here), it was peaceful and wonderful. Like Central Park in Chicago’s north side -- except without all the grass, water and forest area.
We walked through the Cubs-themed McDonald’s on Clark, peeked our heads inside ImprovOlympic and admired all the architecture and eclectic life that defines Wrigleyville … I’ll be back on April 8th, and I can’t hardly wait.
By 6:30, we were back on the El and I was settled into my latest copy of Entertainment Weekly …
And lovin' it.
I spent the day visiting Chicago ballparks and everything baseball … Our assignment: to find everything and anything a baseball fan and his or her buddies can surround themselves with on game day.
A train ride down to Davis Street, and the El to the Sox-35th Street dropoff, we started at The Cell -- home of the World Champion Chicago White Sox. Sox fan or not, no Chicago person can not appreciate saying that … we paid homage to the home plate of old Comiskey and admired the architecture of the stadium. Then, on a whim, we decided to try seeing if we could get inside the stadium. … we stepped into the Sox front offices and a receptionist was nice enough to hook us up with a PR guy who gave us a full walking tour of the stadium, all while painters put the finishing touches on doorways and windows and a grounds crew worked on the field.
But the excitement was only beginning …
From The Cell, we took the El south to 47th, which later proved to be a mistake, because we were destined for the Negro League Café, which is located several blocks east of 45th Street … oh, the walk. But well worth it. If people aren’t scared off by the gritty neighborhood this eatery calls home, the classic burger-and-fry type entrees are quite tasty, while the walls full of Negro League memorabilia make the place a museum of its own …
From there, we walked about a mile the other way to Grandstand, a sprawling memorabilia shop, loaded with everything from jerseys and hats to shot glasses and steering wheel covers, all with the logos of your favorite team. In fact, I indulged a little myself, buying a commemorative Sox World Series ball.
Then … to Wrigley. A baseball lover’s shrine, I say.
We took the El and got off at Addison as the sun was setting around Wrigleyville. Business women on cell phones were walking to cars and apartments. Men were jogging. Kids were playing and couples were walking dogs. … far from the environment that surrounds the park on game day (see tips here), it was peaceful and wonderful. Like Central Park in Chicago’s north side -- except without all the grass, water and forest area.
We walked through the Cubs-themed McDonald’s on Clark, peeked our heads inside ImprovOlympic and admired all the architecture and eclectic life that defines Wrigleyville … I’ll be back on April 8th, and I can’t hardly wait.
By 6:30, we were back on the El and I was settled into my latest copy of Entertainment Weekly …
And lovin' it.
10.28.2005
Toby Lightman, Sox & baseball
Another reason to think of music as the greatest discovery/invention/revolution/evolution/solution …
…of our world:
I came home from work today in a sour mood and slipped in a promotional copy of Toby Lightman’s “Little Things” because I wanted to hear some of her music before she comes here early next month. I lied down on the couch with a page of Sudoku puzzles and noticed my mind start to wander a couple songs into this album …
Why when Lightman’s “Devils And Angels” broke onto the radio earlier this year did she not get more play!? Or why did I not pay closer attention!?
Barely a couple songs into the album, my propped-up feet were swaying to the beat and my head was nodding. I was suddenly blown away by this album. …Her fluent guitar strumming hints of Sheryl Crow or even Joni Mitchell, while the beats and passionate, soul-like vocals might draw comparisons to Joss Stone …
There’s a nice mix of danceable upbeats and relaxing ballads, all with luscious harmonies and melodies that beg you to sing along. All the things that can make me love an album …
You go Toby … Count me counting the days down to a chance to see her up close in a couple weeks!
* * *
The images of today’s ticker-tape parade are in and they’ll go down in Chicago lore. They’re unforgettable and, yeah it was the White Sox but, I’m so glad I got to experience some of it …
I was hardly old enough to remember the Brewers winning the American League Championship in ‘82 (but I still have a couple of the commemorative placemats from McDonald’s!), and the Royals’ World Championship in ‘85 (although still too young to remember that too) came six years before I set foot in Kansas City.
I’m glad I’m old enough to remember this one. Curses or not, no one knows how long it might be before something like this comes again …
The ratings for this year’s World Series might have been low across the rest of the United States, but they sure as heck weren’t in Chicago (I’d quote the numbers they gave on the radio this morning if I could remember them. And I can’t find a story to link to … let’s just say they were super high…). When the Sox won it, every Chicago television station (NBC5 arguably provided the best coverage ... ) was breaking in with live shots of people pouring into the streets and flooding the areas around Comiskey. And most of the stations stayed on, while Chicago stayed up, through the early morning hours switching from live interviews and footage with the team in Houston to talking with fans in Chicago …
In the same spectrum, I won’t forget driving to work on the morning after, listening to The Mix and hearing them play Joe Buck’s final call over and over and over and over again. Eric & Kathy had their Harry Caray impersonator pretending to do live interviews from the lockerroom and they played the 1959 Go-Go Sox theme wherever they could fit it. Pandemonium is one word to describe it …
…Granted, I wasn’t cheering for the White Sox in the World Series. And this doesn’t mean I’m going to cheer for them any harder in the future … but the Sox had a heckuva season from beginning to end and it was pretty awesome to watch and read all the news coverage. Chicago went crazy the last few days and deservedly so …
Some good World Series-related readin' ...
a White Sox Relish First Title in 88 Years
a Kansas City Star: WORLD SERIES NOTES: Living the dream
a This year's Series is not in my world
a The Cubs are now on the clock
a Mark Starr/Newsweek: Baseball’s Superior League
a With White Sox win, Cubs fans in more misery
a National League proves inferior again
a NY Times: A Year After Cursed Red Sox End Drought, Unsung White Sox Do the Same
a Houston `Just Didn't Do It': Blown Chances Doom Astros
And just for fun... World Series TV ad rewrites sports history
* * *
They’re already making predications for next year … so here I am, too, picking from my stream of consciousness now that yet another baseball season has passed and another World Champion has been crowned …
… I can barely wait to see Jim Leyland back in action again, and doing it with the Detroit Tigers, no less. I’m not ready yet to call it the strongest division in baseball, but if the White Sox are as dominant next year as they were this year -- and then you add to that some darn competitive teams in Minnesota, Cleveland and Detroit -- the AL Central should be fun to watch next year …
… It sure made me feel good this morning to be watching ‘Sportscenter’ and hear the ‘Baseball Tonight’ crew call the Milwaukee Brewers ‘the top NL team to watch next year.’ …The baseball insiders have been telling us the last couple years that Milwaukee was building a farm system to reckon with and we finally saw them coming of age this past season. There will always be a special place in my heart for the Brew Crew, but going to games this year and watching them on TV, I actually found myself having hope in them pulling out a close game or beating the good teams. I love it …
… As much I have enjoyed watching them and would hate to see them go -- Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro all should save themselves some dignity and retire. Sure, Clemens is still at the top of his game, but he’s 43, he accomplished his mission by helping the Astros to the World Series (unless they get some more consistent hitting and stay healthy, they’re not going to do any better next year …) and his body seemed to be falling apart at the end of the season. And saying all that, Curt Schilling should probably be included in this category too. … The cases on Bonds, Sosa and Palmeiro are much simpler: Sosa’s numbers have been declined year after year and they were downright awful last season. The Orioles pretty much kicked Palmeiro off the team after his steroids debacle and there’s so much skepticism (and evidence of steroids) clouding Bonds and his homerun pursuit on Hank Aaron that he would be doing more honor to the record and the game by simply retiring …
… Manny Ramirez wants out of Boston? It would suck for the Red Sox, but he really wants to go to Anaheim, and THAT would be pretty awesome … Johnny Damon may be out of Boston too and has hinted at going to the Yankees for the right price. That would be pretty sad …
Back to predictions ... or more like wishes and long shots. Teams I'd love to see in the postseason next year: The Angels (and Tony DeMarco adds proof... ), Dodgers ( ... as long as they focus on their stadium AND the team), Tigers, Orioles (Hey, they just got Leo Mazzone!), Indians, Nationals, and of course, the Royals, Brewers or Cubs.
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