Fans of teams tend to overrate their prospects. Sometimes this reaches absurd levels. I mentioned J.A. Happ in my last entry, and apparently a few amateur prospect watchers weight him highly due to his close proximity to the Majors. Does a high level outweigh potential? What about performance vs. scouting? When I develop a prospect list, I think the correct way to go about it is to view the players as trading chips. If you were trading for a team's top prospects, which ones would you value? (Ignoring positional and team needs and such.)
J.A. Happ led the International League in strikeouts, at the age of 25. For comparisons sake, these are the other starters who have finished top ten in strikeouts at the same age. Brandon Knight, Brandon Duckworth, Travis Harper, Luke Hudson, Eric Junge, Denny Lail, Everett Stull, Tim Rumer, Brad Woodall, John DeSilva, Mike Oquist, Jesse Cross, Dave Telgheder, Josh Hancock, Aaron Heilman, Brian Burres, Virgil Vasquez, J.A. Happ, Jeff Niemann and Chris Lambert. Note any All-Stars on that list? None of them even held a starting pitching job long term. Oquist had the most wins, with 25. To make a pitcher on that level a team's top ten prospect is simply delusional.
10 a.m.
• Dude, you haven't posted anything in a while. What's up with that? Oh, yeah. I haven't had the time/desire to do so. Bummer, because I have yet to run down all the shit I bought during Black Friday.
Might as well Jew this one out. Here's a recent AIM conversation I had that has a couple good ideas in it -- or at least I think they're not all that bad. At least not as bad as my spelling. Holy Christ.
Fww76 (11:10:11 AM): remember the person i told you yesterday -- oil companies?
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:10:19 AM): yep
Fww76 (11:10:25 AM): surprise -- he has no job
Fww76 (11:10:27 AM): i told him
Fww76 (11:10:33 AM): start your own business
Fww76 (11:10:39 AM): lend yourself a shitload of $
Fww76 (11:10:42 AM): then ask for a bailout
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:10:46 AM): hahaha
Fww76 (11:10:47 AM): think it'll work?
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:10:49 AM): win
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:10:49 AM): yes
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:10:51 AM): god yes
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:10:51 AM): haha
Fww76 (11:10:59 AM): i just typed it not thinking
Fww76 (11:11:03 AM): then i looked at it
Fww76 (11:11:08 AM): thought, "damn, this might work"
Fww76 (11:11:26 AM): Uh, yeah, Barney Frank, I'm the founder of the KK Korporation
Fww76 (11:11:32 AM): my debtors aren't paying me
Fww76 (11:11:42 AM): who owes me? This deadbeat named *ME*
Fww76 (11:11:48 AM): he owes me like $2 million
Fww76 (11:12:11 AM): im sure someone's doing this already sadly enough
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER(11:12:16 AM): ford
Fww76 (11:12:35 AM): i'll accept them getting baiiled out
Fww76 (11:12:40 AM): only if they give the lions away
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:12:52 AM): to the government?
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:12:54 AM): LOL
Fww76 (11:12:59 AM): no
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:13:00 AM): let's see the government run a football team
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:13:02 AM): i like it
Fww76 (11:13:02 AM): but that would be funny
Fww76 (11:13:13 AM): be like $400 million over the salary cap
Fww76 (11:13:16 AM): nobody would get cut
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:13:43 AM): if the republicans run the team, they'll build a huge stadium on their players' pensions
Fww76 (11:13:54 AM): hmmm
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:13:55 AM): players playing until they're in their 50's
Fww76 (11:14:08 AM): that sounds more like the dems
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:14:13 AM): hahaha
Fww76 (11:14:13 AM): here's what i think the reps would do
Fww76 (11:15:01 AM): they would have everyone invest their $ back into the lions
Fww76 (11:15:10 AM): then take the $ and leave
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:15:14 AM): lol
Fww76 (11:15:16 AM): "oops -- FREE MARKET"
Fww76 (11:15:32 AM): wait 20 years, you always have to in order to see your investment gains
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:15:36 AM): they'd outsource the players
Fww76 (11:15:39 AM): lol
Fww76 (11:15:43 AM): NFL does that anyway
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:15:47 AM): true!
Fww76 (11:16:01 AM): Democrats would keep them until the 50
Fww76 (11:16:03 AM): 50s
Fww76 (11:16:07 AM): can't get rid of anyone
Fww76 (11:16:09 AM): jobs banks
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:16:37 AM): haha
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:16:45 AM): they'd lobby to expand the roster size
Fww76 (11:16:52 AM): lobby?
Fww76 (11:16:55 AM): they'd just do it
Fww76 (11:18:29 AM): sports talk radio will get the fairness doctring
Fww76 (11:18:40 AM): half-hour talking about how bad teh lions suck
Fww76 (11:18:46 AM): half-hour talking about how great they are
Fww76 (11:18:58 AM): "uhhh, they were winning 10-0 in the first quarter!"
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:19:15 AM): hahaha
UNNAMED MYSTERY AIM'ER (11:19:22 AM): now that i think about it, this needs to happen
To the surprise of few, the Houston Comets are done. Maybe they could ask for a bailout.
I think Bill Simmons had a line in of his columns years ago that said something like, "If you had the choice of getting $5 in cash or having your city's WNBA team win a title, which would you pick?" I know which one I would pick. Apparently my fellow Houstonians took their $5 and then chose not to purchase a Comets ticket with it.
I personally never attended (or watched in entirety) a single game, but my favorite Comets memory is a coworker of mine relating the tale of how she used to go to a few each year when they first started in 1997 but stopped doing so because she was "tired of being hit on by bull dykes and ugly women."
---------------------------
I didn't get picked for jury duty yesterday. I got downtown around 7:30 and then sat there playing my DS for 4 hours while watching several other panels of white people potential jurors get called. Finally, just before 11:30, they announced that those of us remaining were being dismissed and that our jury service was complete.
While standing in line to get my work release form to prove to my boss that I wasn't just trying to scam a free day off, I asked the bailiff in charge what happened. He informed me that, based on my juror number (3555), I was 'definitely assigned to a court' but that there was 'probably a settlement reached in the case and a trial was no longer needed.' Score. I spent the rest of the day doing some Christmas shopping.
I also filled out some form to give my $6 pay to the Texas Childrens Welfare Fund. I'm considering it my one good deed for the holiday season. Plus I don't want to have to go to the bank just to cash a check for $6.
---------------------------
A recap of Thanksgiving With the In-Laws:
Wednesday Night: they arrive at our house around 10:30 p.m. No joking: my mother-in-law brought 12 various bags and suitcases with her. For a four day weekend.
Thursday afternoon: Lunch is at our house with the official feast scheduled for tomorrow at my sfaJill's sister's house. With the house full of additional in-laws, I retreat to my study and watch the Cowboys thrash the Seahawks. When I emerge around 6:30, I discover that sfaJill, her sister, and mother have all left to go wait outside of Michaels until it opened at 6 to buy some Christmas tree that is supposed to be 50% off. sfaJill's sister MUST have this tree for the entryway at their house.
Thursday evening: They return with no tree. Apparently Michaels only had 7.5' trees and none of the 12' ones she wanted. Wal-Mart was also a bust. Sister-in-law is pissed and responds by pakcing up her crew and going home. Woo!
Friday: Thanksgiving meal at sister-in-laws is supposed to be at 2:00. The in-laws rise early and head over before 8 a.m. to help get everything ready. sfaJill sleeps in until nearly 11. Ah, yes...a few hours of peace and quiet. That peace and quite would be shattered shortly after noon when sfaJill and her sister get pissed at each other because, apparently, the two of us were also supposed to arrive early to help set up and sfaJill was now in trouble because we are 'late.'
"Fuck her. My sister's a bitch." are the only words spoken for a couple of minutes on our drive over after she angrily hangs up the cell phone.
For the record, I do not recall being asked to come over early in the day to help. Also, I lost the bet with myself that the first fight between sfaJill and her sis would occur Friday. I bet on Thursday.
At least the meal itself passes quickly and without incident. The hours of family board game time afterwards do not, however. Also, sfaJill's little brother arrived to join the group around 5:00. Without his white-trash girlfriend, who is a constant source of angst.
Saturday afternoon: Father-in-law heads over to sister-in-law's house again. Mother-in-law and sfaJill, who reluctantly agreed to hit all the craft stores with her mom, head out for 4 1/2 hours of craft store fun. Finally...a break!
Saturday evening: Back to sister-in-law's house for Friday leftovers. Neither sfaJill nor I want to go but since mother-in-law does and doesn't have any other ride over there, we have little choice. We leave after little more than an hour on the grounds that our hosts were doing a poor job of hosting (i.e. sfaJill is still kinda po'ed about Friday and doesn't like that her sister has said barely three words to her since we got there). Fine with me. I've had about enough 'family time' anyway.
Sunday: More in-law fun--lunch with everyone at Saltgrass Steak House and then MORE board game fun at our house. Of course, this means that they don't actually leave town until nearly 6:00, making for nearly 4 days of family fun. sfaJill and I went to see Transporter 3 after they left. It's not horrible, but is definitely the worst Transporter movie. Even she admitted that it was time for them to go.
I'm always happy with the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is announced as it means content for my blog! I'll be doing profiles on each the first year nominees over the next few weeks but before I get to what I wanted to talk about in this entry, here are links to old profiles I did for the returnees on this year's ballot listed in order of where they finished in the voting last year.
1. Jim Rice 72.2% (15th and final year)
2. Andre Dawson 65.9% (8th)
3. Bert Blyleven 61.9% (12th)
4. Lee Smith 43.3% (7th)
5. Jack Morris 42.9% (10th)
6. Tommy John 29.1% (15th and final year)
7. Tim Raines 24.3% (2nd)
8. Mark McGwire 23.6% (3rd)
9. Alan Trammell 18.2% (8th)
10. Don Mattingly 15.8% (9th)
11. Dave Parker 15.1% (13th)
12. Dale Murphy 13.8% (11th)
13. Harold Baines 5.2% (3rd)
If a player played ten seasons in the Majors they are eligible for nomination on the baseball writer's ballot but believe it or not there actually is a screening process for the HOF ballot. I always find it interesting to see what players didn't make the cut and originally thought about making brief comments on each player but there were more players than I expected so this is just going to be a random list. Whole lot of back up catchers and middle relievers but there's a few decent players in there.
Mike Bordick
John Burkett
Omar Daal
Joe Girardi
Mark Guthrie
Joey Hamilton
Bill Haselman
Darren Holmes
Trenidad Hubbard
Todd Hundley
Brian L Hunter
Felix Jose
Chad Kreuter
Graeme Lloyd
Keith Lockhart
Albie Lopez
Pat Mahomes
Al Martin
Orlando Merced
Charles Nagy
Denny Neagle
Troy O'Leary
Lance Painter
Craig Paquette
Tom Prince
Jeff Reboulet
Rick Reed
Rich Rodriguez
Terry Shumpert
Luis Sojo
Dave Veres
Matt Walbeck
Mike Williams
Kevin Young
Look, just wanted to let you know that you aren't threatening or imposing in any way, shape, or form, that you are terrible at comebacks (seriously, "Your Mom" jokes?) and insults (LOL OBAMA SOUNDS LIKE OSAMA, SO I'LL CALL HIM OSAMA!!! AREN'T I CLEVER), and that you are annoying if anything. So yeah, you should shut the fuck up.
I don't know why anyone does bowl projections as they are almost impossible to predict until the final week of the season, which is why I wait that long. Now I normally cheat and peak at other bowl projections or Google various local newspapers to see where schools are likely going to end up but this time it's almost total guess work. Note I'm going under the assumption Oklahoma will finish #2 in the BCS when they are released in a couple of hours. Also I'm making the prediction that the WAC allows Boise State to accept an at large invite from the Motor City Bowl since the conference has enough eligible teams to fill their four bids to set up an all undefeated match-up against Ball State.
Edited due to blogger stupidity.
Congressional: Navy vs. Maryland
New Mexico: Colorado State vs. Louisiana Tech
St. Petersburg: South Florida vs. Memphis
Las Vegas: BYU vs. Arizona
New Orleans: Troy vs. Southern Miss
Poinsettia: TCU vs. Fresno State
Hawaii: Hawaii vs. Central Michigan
Motor City: Ball State vs. Boise State
Meineke Car Care: Wake Forest vs. Pittsburgh
Champs Sports: Virginia Tech vs. Wisconsin
Emerald: California vs. Miami
Independence: Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Notre Dame
PapaJohns.com: Rutgers vs. Arkansas State
Alamo: Missouri vs. Northwestern
Humanitarian: Nevada vs. Clemson
Holiday: Oregon vs. Oklahoma State
Texas: Rice vs. N.C. State
Armed Forces: Air Force vs. Houston
Sun: Oregon State vs. West Virginia
Music City: Vanderbilt vs. North Carolina
Insight: Minnesota vs. Kansas
Chick-Fil-A: Georgia Tech vs. LSU
Outback: Iowa vs. South Carolina
Gator: Nebraska vs. Florida State
Capital One: Michigan State vs. Georgia
Rose: Penn State vs. USC
Orange: Cincinnati vs. Boston College
Cotton: Texas Tech vs. Mississippi
Liberty: Tulsa vs. Kentucky
Sugar: Alabama vs. Ohio State
International: Buffalo vs. Connecticut
Fiesta: Texas vs. Utah
GMAC: East Carolina vs. Western Michigan
BCS: Oklahoma vs. Florida
There's a lot of reasons why people don't want to go to meet relatives for Thanksgiving-mine just happens to be politics.
You see, I was raised Catholic (I consider myself a non-religious believer now), and well, my mom's side of the family is very Catholic and very strict about it. That means every issue for them turns into abortion. They obsess over it. That's the main reason they vote Republican-they hate abortion. Everytime you try to point out that they are wrong (no, Sarah Palin was not very bright, there's a reason more young people voted), they tell you "well, Obama's going to abort all the babies." I can understand why someone wouldn't like Obama (I did vote for him, but come on, this is America), but for the main reason being "grrr ABORTION!", that's just close minded. It was like talking to those people at Pro-Life rallies that hold pictures of aborted fetuses and shove them in your face, screaming "YOU SEE! YOU SEE!" Yes, I see, and that's a disgusting picture. Get that shit out of my face.
So yeah, Thanksgiving was fun when people weren't talking politics. Too bad about 65% of it was just that. I actually went into it thinking "I am not going to talk politics." That's wishful thinking. I hope your Thanksgiving was better.
Coming up with a list of the Phillies' Top 30 prospects, a step ahead of Baseball America.
1. Carlos Carrasco, RHP
2. Jason Donald, SS
3. Michael Taylor, OF
4. Dominic Brown, OF
5. Travis D'Arnaud, C
6. Kyle Drabek, RHP
7. Lou Marson, C
8. Zack Collier, OF
9. Vance Worley, RHP
10. Joe Savery, LHP
11. J.A. Happ, LHP
12. Sebastian Valle, C
13. Michael Stutes, RHP
14. Jason Knapp, RHP
15. John Mayberry Jr., OF
16. Edgar Garcia, RHP
17. Antonio Bastardo, LHP
18. Drew Naylor, RHP
19. Andrew Carpenter, RHP
20. Quintin Berry, OF
21. Freddy Galvis, SS
22. Julian Sampson, RHP
23. Michael Cisco, RHP
24. Sergio Escalona, LHP
25. Jeremy Slayden, OF
26. Anthony Gose, OF
27. Brad Harman, 2B/SS
28. Michael Zagurski, LHP
29. Anthony Hewitt, SS
30. Jason Jaramillo, C
This is a work in progress. Any questions, comments or suggestions are more than welcome. I'm curious to see how it stacks up against BA's list later this offseason.
ACC
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS/Orange, Chick-Fil-A, Gator, Champs Sports, Music City, Meineke Car Care, Emerald, Humanitarian, EagleBank
Locks: Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
Bowl Eligible: Wake Forest
Bubble Teams: Clemson, N.C. State, Virginia
We finally had a team be eliminated for bowl consideration this week, that being Duke. N.C. State stayed alive with a stunning blowout win over North Carolina and they finish with a home game against Miami on Saturday. I misspoke last week I said the winner of the Clemson/Virginia game would become bowl eligible. Clemson actually needed two wins since they've played two I-AA teams this year and you can only count one of those games towards bowl eligibility. Their last game will be at home against South Carolina. Wake Forest could be in trouble if they don't beat Vanderbilt this week to pick up win #7 and if there ends up being more eligible teams than bids for this conference, they likely will have to go hunting for an at large bid which could be tough with a 6-6 record.
Notre Dame
Bowl Tie-ins: Cotton, Gator, Sun
Wow, don't think anyone anticipated them losing to Syracuse. This puts the USC game as almost a must win for the Irish or they could be staying home for bowl season. You can forget about the Gator Bowl if they finish 6-6 but the Sun Bowl would still be possible. Remember they are considered a Big East team when it comes to bowl selections and the rule is bowls must invite 7+ win teams over 6 win teams if there are not enough available slots in a conference. The Big East has six bids and currently four teams with 7+ wins. If Rutgers and South Florida pickup win #7 that would fill of the Big East slots and Notre Dame would have no where to go except hope for an at large bid although the same 7+ win rule applies for at large bids as well.
Big East
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS, Gator/Sun, Meineke Car Care, International, Papajohns.com, St. Petersburg
Locks: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Bowl Eligible: Rutgers, South Florida
Bubble Teams: Louisville
So with Notre Dame's bowl hopes in doubt, the Big East might get to keep all six of their bids. Very big game for USF against UConn tonight to get that all important win #7 because the following week they are at West Virginia. Louisville's season will be on the line in two weeks at Rutgers.
Big Ten
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS/Rose (two bids?), Capital One, Outback, Alamo, Champs Sports, Insight, Motor City
Locks: Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin
I was a bit presumptuous last week in stating that if Ohio State won they were on their way to a BCS bowl and the reason is because of what is happening in the Pac-10. Oregon State is one win away from getting the Rose Bowl bid which would put USC into the at large pool and the Fiesta Bowl would likely jump all over them. That would send Ohio State off to the Capital One Bowl. It then remains to be seen if the Motor City Bowl will be an open bid or not.
Big XII
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS/Fiesta (two bids), Cotton, Holiday, Gator/Sun, Alamo, Insight, Independence, Texas
Locks: Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech
Bubble Teams: Colorado
There are no changes in this conference. Again Colorado must beat Nebraska on Friday to keep their season going or then the Independence Bowl becomes an open bid.
Conference USA
Bowl Tie-ins: Liberty, GMAC, Texas, Armed Forces, New Orleans, St. Petersburg
Locks: East Carolina, Houston, Rice, Tulsa
Bubble Teams: Memphis, Southern Miss, UTEP
Marshall was eliminated yesterday with a loss to Rice. Of the three bubble teams, UTEP has the longest odds as they finish the season at East Carolina. Memphis and Southern Miss play conference bottom feeders Tulane and SMU respectively.
MAC
Bowl Tie-ins: Motor City, GMAC, International
Locks: Ball State
Bowl Eligible: Buffalo, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan
Bubble Teams: Akron, Bowling Green
I can now safely call Ball State a lock after they beat CMU on Wednesday thus eliminating any chance that they will have to rely on an at large bid. CMU and WMU may have to sweat a little because Buffalo will be attractive to the International Bowl.
Mountain West
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS, Las Vegas, Poinsettia, Armed Forces, New Mexico
Locks: Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, TCU, Utah
Utah is on their way to the BCS now so the conference will get five bids. I was probably the only one watching UNLV last night blow their chance at their first bowl bid in eight years as they were stunned by lowly San Diego State and their season is now over. UNLV's loss ends up being Colorado State's gain as they became bowl eligible with a win over Wyoming.
Pac-10
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS/Rose (two bids?), Holiday, Sun, Emerald, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Poinsettia
Locks: Arizona, California, Oregon, Oregon State, USC
Bubble Teams: Arizona State, UCLA
As covered in the Big Ten section, Oregon State is a win away from going to the Rose Bowl and likely giving the conference two BCS bids assuming that USC beats Notre Dame and UCLA. Stanford broke my heart yesterday with a listless performance against Cal and has been eliminated. The conference now will have no more than six eligible teams at the most with the ASU/UCLA elimination game this week. The winner of that game will still need another win the following week in their rivalry game to become bowl eligible. Poinsettia Bowl is now a WAC bid.
SEC
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS/Sugar (two bids), Capital One, Cotton, Outback, Chick-Fil-A, Music City, Liberty, Independence, Papajohns.com
Locks: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
Bubble Teams: Auburn
Arkansas was eliminated yesterday with a loss to Mississippi State. Auburn will have to shock the world against Alabama this week to become bowl eligible or the Independence Bowl becomes an open bid.
Sun Belt
Bowl Tie-in: New Orleans, PapaJohns.com?
Locks: Troy
Bowl Eligible: None
Bubble Teams: Arkansas State, FIU, Florida Atlantic, UL Lafayette, Middle Tennessee
Troy crushed ULL yesterday but they haven't officially won the conference yet. I think that Arkansas State can still win the conference by tiebreak if they win this week against a horrific North Texas team and then upset Troy in two weeks. But even if that scenario plays out, Troy is a lock for a bowl bid because the PapaJohns.com would then become a Sun Belt bid since the SEC will not fill it and the conference had a contingency bid. I'm still not 100% sure if the Sun Belt needs a 7+ win team to be pick up that bid officially though so if the Arkansas State scenario doesn't play out, there wouldn't be another 7+ win team in the conference.
WAC
Bowl Tie-ins: Humanitarian, Hawaii, New Mexico, Poinsettia
Locks: Boise State
Bowl Eligible: Fresno State, Hawaii, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, San Jose State
Boise State can still get a BCS at large invite but you can forget about them getting invited over Ohio State and now possibly USC. The conference did officially pickup the Poinsettia Bowl with Stanford's elimination in the Pac-10. The rest of the conference is still a mess but I think it's safe to assume at 6-6 that San Jose State will definitely not be getting a bid.
Dear Leena,
I doubt you are reading this-actually, since you seem to have OCD when it comes to TSM, you probably are, so here goes: People don't like you not because you just happen to be a woman. People don't like you because you're you. You are completely unlikable, do nothing but act superior to others, have mood swings, and behave like a total bitch. Maybe if you didn't obsess over this place (seriously, there's other message boards better and worse than this one), and got an attitude adjustment, then you wouldn't be a punchline. And who obsesses over a fucking message board anyway? How much free time do you have in your hands? We aren't forums.somethingawful.com ya know. My guess: a lot. Really, we aren't worthy of so much attenton. Maybe you just do this because it gets you the attention you cannot obtain in the real world (you know, that amazing place outside of the internet-yes, it really exists!) So in short: get a life, and drop the martyr complex.
Love,
gary floyd
P.S. Paul fucking sucks.
8 a.m.
• Wow, After years of finding the 382,234,672,236,190 worst things that you can do to a Muslim male, from having poorly positioned hospital beds to having pre-marital sex, I think I finally found something it has to be in the Top 10, if not higher.
No wonder they hate Western culture.
Man, it wasn't an easy choice to lead off with that joke when there's also a sure-fire "convert to Catholicism" crack to be had. Oh well, I made my joke. I'm standing by it.
8:05 p.m.
• It's not even five minutes into the new "Ghost Whisperer" and the better half is already yelling out "Fuck you!" to the television. Not even the voice of Micheal Savage up here in the second-floor computer room can drown out her cries of rage coming from the first-floor living room. What's going on with this show? Don't ask.
"Ghost Whisperer." Michael Savage. No wonder kkk Jr. decided to off herself in the womb.
10:30 p.m.
• I don't pay much attention to the NBA and the money issues of teams. I do hear about how some teams are more concerned with clearing salary cap room than trying to be competitive on the court, and I guess if you are trying to think "big picture" then it might be necessary. But seriously, if you are a Knicks fan, why would you even bother following this team for the next several years?
I mean, I've constantly heard the "wait 'till next year" often enough, especially since the Pirates are my hometown team (actually, they don't even bother to say that anymore), but to dump players and free up cap room for the possibility of getting a big name in 2010?!
Then again, I don't live in an NBA city, so what do I know? I'm sure the people they traded away probably won't make the Knicks much better than they would be without them. Who knows. Who cares.I remember back in the 1990s some people actually thought Shittsburgh could support a professional basketball team. Too bad they could never get enough people to attend an NBA preseason game. Oh, and then there was some minor-league team called the Piranhas that lasted a season or two.
Check that. Make it a season. Hey, at least they made it to the finals in their year of existence.
Hmm, there is also a Pittsburgh Piranhas women's hockey organization. OK.
This is probably the most boring day of work I've had since March or April. I basically have nothing to do as my latest project is at a point where I can do nothing further until I receive it back from the accounting manager assigned to it and either rework whatever needs rework or proceed to the next phase.
So what am I left to do? Surf the Internet, of course. And post another high quality blog entry.
Much like kkk yesterday though, I don't really have much to talk about. And my post won't even have the awesomeness that is the whale picture so you, dear reader, are screwed.
A few minor news items, I guess:
1. I got a jury summons in the mail the other day for December 1. This is the second time I've been summoned for jury duty but the first time I will actually have to go. While I'm kind of excited about doing my civic duty to convict someone, I'm hoping like hell I'll get downtown and be dismissed rather quickly so I can go back home and play video games all day. My company pays us if we're out for jury duty so there is NO WAY I'm going to the office even if my jury day is over at 9 a.m.
Of course, my luck will be not only will I get picked, but it'll be a case that lasts for three weeks.
2. sfaJill's been bitching lately about wanting a new cell phone because hers hasn't been working too well lately. Or something. I don't know. Since our cell phone contract was about to expire anyway, we went down to the T-Mobile store last Friday to renew it. I took advantage of the massive discount offered (with a 2-year extension of course) and snagged their new G1 phone.
I've never got the appeal of the iPhone or any of that junk...
...until I played with this thing. I have no idea if it's 'better' than an iPhone or not but I don't care. I love this phone. I'm hooked. Call me a sheep; I do not care!
Now all I need is friends to call or (preferably) text...
3. I just returned from a lunch with sfaJill and one of her friends at Yao Ming's bistro/bar here in town. I'd never been there before and my unrefined tastes in food probably can't tell good Chinese food from vomit-inducing, undercooked crap...but this was good Chinese food. Lunch menu prices, too so it's a double bonus. Plus, Yao's uncle came around to greet our table. Dude is like 6' 7". It was kind of strange to see an Asian dude that tall and he's not on a basketball court.
Let's see...what else. The list of the world's most dangerous toys is out.
It's official: we should just wrap all the little bastards in bubble wrap each morning before we send them out into the world.
Remember potato guns?
Lawn darts?
Trampolines (without the net around it)?
Sleeping in an actual treehouse you built yourself?
TACKLE football??
Doing any of that shit would get your parents arrested these days.
10 p.m.
• Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything. Oh well. Let's see, what should I talk about? How about commercials.
You know what ads I routinely can't stand? Those Enterprise commercials -- especially this one:
...
Aww, fuck. I can't find the video on YouTube. It's the one with the chick asking some guy what type of lingerie she should wear: the red or the black. The guy says "both." Then the Enterprise people pick them up and they drive a rented vehicle to some hotel, and then the creepy voice-over guy says, "romantic weekends." Man I hate Enterprise commercials.
First off, every time I hear that guy say "both" at the start of the ad I get a flashback to my idiot ex-boss. No, I wasn't asking him what naughty night-ware I should put on. I was given this 6-month assignment whose monthly deadlines fell at the same time as the job I was hired to actually do (not to mention other increasing duties that made my job impossible to do). When I asked my enlightened powers-that-be what should be dealt with first I got the typical "no answer" and they tried to go on to another subject. I interjected. Several times. Finally, the idiot says "both." I then questioned his leadership skills and noted that I was going to report his lack of management skills to our board (aka the "rubber stamp" brigade). Fun times ensued. Nothing was going to become of any of this dick-waving, but it's always fun to be an asshole.
Dick-waving. Asshole. Maybe I shouldn't have typed anything tonight.
Now that I have bitched about a series of ads I hate, let me go back to a series of ads I like. I know some of you hate those Free Credit Report.com ads. Well too bad. I like them. Now it's time for me to whip out the ol' ranking scale.
Number 6:
Not bad, but not as good as the other five in my opinion. I'd rather have this on during commercial breaks than most of the other crap out there. Song is a bit blah and there's no noteworthy image. I will say this: I hated that asshole friend who, like the person at 0:11, decides to mess around with the windshield wipers while you're driving. And there's nothing wrong with beat-up rides -- hasn't he heard of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "My Hooptie"?
Number 5:
I like the old lady re-appearing from other, older ads at (0:19) and the pirate hat reference. However, I don't get the whole Renaissance Fair thing. God only knows where that guy is taking the poor goat.
Number 4:
Bitches be trippin'. And what's she all pissed off about? It was HER credit that fucked them over. Oh, and if you married your "dream girl," then there's that thing during the wedding that says, "for better or for worse." Oh, and how about saving up and making a down payment? You two are white, I'm sure there would be a bunch of Jew bankers lining up around your in-law's basement door to take your money.
Number 3:
If you're going to get jiggy with it, you need a better beat. The synthesizer-voice thing does not fit well either. The white guy's facial expression at 0:21 seals the deal for me.
Number 2:
But I don't wanna be a Pirate! Every time I see that old lady make that facial expression at 0:19 I get reminded of all the time I had that look given to me, whether I was a little bastard in church as a kid or starting verbal confrontations with people at polling places during election day. Yee-hah.
Number 1:
That's right, I'm going Commie GREEN! Why do I like this ad over the other five? Several reasons:
1) The music is different than three of the previous ads. Nice change of pace.
2) It's a continuation of the previous ad with the compact car.
3) The old lady is back (0:06)! And I have also received a number of those disgusted looks during my life, too.
I didn't catch this, but apparently the black guy at the start of this ad is also in the "rapper" video. (He's the one taking back his keys.) There's also a shot of pirate hats in several of these ads. Cute.
Christ, I don't post for a week and THIS is what I come up with? Might as well go out on a high note...
Let's talk about some of the music coming out (or has already come out)
Kanye West-Heartbreak and 808's-If it weren't for Cryptopsy's The King Beneath, this would be the worst album of the year. It has a neat idea (old 808 drum machine beats and electro/synth pop production), but it's terrible overall. Also, I fucking hate Auto-Tune/The Vocalizer.
Metallica-Death Magnetic-Wow, they still got it. While hardly their best work, it's a step in the right direction, and almost forgives the sins of Re-Load and St. Anger. There's a few weak tracks ("Unforgiven III", "The Judas Kiss"), but not bad overall.
Darkspace-Darkspace III-Ambient Black Metal done right. A good, cold winter night outside album, with a good use of keyboards (holy shit, they actually know how to use a synth!), and some effective atmosphere. It may be a bit too long (79 minutes and 14 seconds), but if you have patience for this sort of thing, it's good. Also, if you want an equally good, but shorter, go with Coldworld's Melancolie².
Q Tip-The Renaissance-Yeah, this is the best hip hop album of the year bar none. Nobody's paying attention to it, which is a shame. "Johnny is Dead" is a great song BTW.
The Killers-Day and Age-Not as fun as Hot Fuss, but better than Sam's Town, it at least sees them remembering "hey, we're a dance band that's supposed to be disposable fun." The single suck, and Brandon Flowers still can't write lyrics for shit, but oh well. Hardly an album of the year, but not terrible either. File it under the same category as Hot Fuss-a guilty pleasure-and you got something.
Re Up Gang-Clipse Presents the Re Up Gang and We Got it For Cheap Vol. 3-The official first Re Up Gang album is pretty unspectacular, though the We Got it For Cheap Vol. 3 mixtape, while not as awesome as the last one, is awesome none the less, and a fave on my IPod.
Ad.ver.sary-Bone Music-Definately one of the most slept on albums of the year, this is the best industrial album of the year.
IT WILL OBVIOUSLY BE GREAT!!!!!!
Yeah, well they also gave St Anger 4 stars, as well as 50 Cent's The Massacre, Emiem's Encore, and several other shitty albums. 4 stars from Rolling Stone don't mean shit. Oh, and they gave Mick Jagger's Goddess on the Doorway 5 stars-no solo Mick Jagger solo album is good ,you out of touch cocksuckers.
Also, quit fooling yourselves: this is not Guns N' Roses. Yeah, it's called Guns N' Roses, but it's not, ok people. It's just Axl Rose (and his enormous ego's) solo project. Nothing more, nothing less. Oh, and it's pretty unlikely it will live up to all the hype.
Don't agree? Tough shit. Quit sucking the guy's cock and face the facts. Unless you forgot The Spagghetti Incident.
Aww the Congressional Bowl sold it's naming rights and is now the EagleBank Bowl. I'm shocked the St. Petersburg Bowl still hasn't sold theirs as that always seemed like a generic placeholder bowl name.
ACC
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS/Orange, Chick-Fil-A, Gator, Champs Sports, Music City, Meineke Car Care, Emerald, Humanitarian, EagleBank
Locks: Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina
Bowl Eligible: Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Bubble Teams: Clemson, Duke, N.C. State, Virginia
Everyone is technically still alive but highly unlikely Duke or N.C. State win their last two games. The winner of the Clemson/Virginia game this week will become bowl eligible while the loser will have to pull of an upset in a rivalry game the following week.
Notre Dame
Bowl Tie-ins: Cotton, Gator, Sun
Irish barely avoid disaster at the end of the Navy game to become bowl eligible. Should lock up a bid with an easy win against Syracuse this week which will have them on their way to the Gator or Sun Bowl. Upset USC the following week and they will end up in the Cotton Bowl.
Big East
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS, Gator/Sun, Meineke Car Care, International, Papajohns.com, St. Petersburg
Locks: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Pittsburgh
Bowl Eligible: South Florida, West Virginia
Bubble Teams: Louisville, Rutgers
As covered last week the Big East will lose a bid to Notre Dame if they finish 7-5 leaving the conference with five bids. Rutgers crushed a reeling USF team and can become bowl eligible with a win over Army this week which is quite the surprise considering how bad they played the first half of the year. With that in mind, there will be at least one team in this conference needing to find an open bid if they want to go bowling so it is very important to get seven wins.
Big Ten
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS/Rose (two bids?), Capital One, Outback, Alamo, Champs Sports, Insight, Motor City
Locks: Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State
Bowl Eligible: Wisconsin
Bubble Teams: Illinois
The Big Ten's season is over after this week and if Penn State and Ohio State win, they are both on their way to BCS bowls. Illinois needs to win at Northwestern this week or otherwise the Motor City Bowl will become an open bid.
Big XII
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS/Fiesta (two bids), Cotton, Holiday, Gator/Sun, Alamo, Insight, Independence, Texas
Locks: Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech
Bubble Teams: Colorado
There is no scenario where this conference doesn't put two teams in the BCS so you can put them down for nine bids which also locks Kansas up for a bid even they still sit on six wins. With Kansas State and Texas A&M being eliminated from bowl consideration, the Texas Bowl is now an open bid and if Colorado doesn't win at Nebraska in two weeks then the Independence Bowl will also be an open bid.
Conference USA
Bowl Tie-ins: Liberty, GMAC, Texas, Armed Forces, New Orleans, St. Petersburg
Locks: Rice, Tulsa
Bowl Eligible: East Carolina, Houston
Bubble Teams: Marshall, Memphis, Southern Miss, UTEP
Only change was Houston became bowl eligible with a drubbing of Tulsa. Southern Miss scored a big win over East Carolina and now only has to beat an awful SMU team to become bowl eligible.
MAC
Bowl Tie-ins: Motor City, GMAC, International
Locks: None
Bowl Eligible: Ball State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Western Michigan
Bubble Teams: Akron, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois
The odds of Ball State getting into the BCS are now zilch as they were passed by BYU in the BCS standings. See last week's entry as to why there is a really small chance Ball State could not go bowling but it gets slimmer and slimmer with the the growing number of open bids there will be.
Mountain West
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS?, Las Vegas, Poinsettia, Armed Forces, New Mexico
Locks: Air Force, BYU, TCU, Utah
Bubble Teams: Colorado State, UNLV
There's a story out there that I don't think has received any attention yet and that is if BYU beats Utah this week, they and not Boise State could end up with the Fiesta Bowl invite. There's nothing in the BCS rules that requires the highest ranked non-BCS conference team to be taken, if there is another eligible non-BCS team who can be chosen. Boise getting passed over for a one loss non-BCS team could be a nice shitstorm. UNLV should become bowl eligible with a win over San Diego State this week while Colorado State will play at Wyoming with a chance to become bowl eligible as well. Popular belief is that the New Mexico Bowl would invite the Rebels over CSU.
Pac-10
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS/Rose (two bids?), Holiday, Sun, Emerald, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Poinsettia
Locks: Arizona, California, Oregon, Oregon State, USC
Bubble Teams: Arizona State, Stanford, UCLA
No changes this week as every favorite won. Stanford's season is on the line in the Big Game on Saturday and they will win. They just have to. ASU and UCLA are both idle before their elimination game in two weeks. Still seems likely that at least the Poinsettia Bowl will be an open bid which would go to a WAC team.
SEC
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS/Sugar (two bids), Capital One, Cotton, Outback, Chick-Fil-A, Music City, Liberty, Independence, Papajohns.com
Locks: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
Bubble Teams: Arkansas, Auburn
Since the conference is pretty much assured to BCS bids at this point which pushes the conference to ten bids, every eligible team is now a lock including Vanderbilt will be going to their first bowl in 26 years. Both Arkansas and Auburn are longshots to become bowl eligible which would leave the Independence and the Papajohns.com Bowl as open bids. I'm sure the Independence Bowl is just giddy over the possibility of instead of having an SEC/Big XII match-up they may end up with a MAC/Sun Belt showdown.
Sun Belt
Bowl Tie-in: New Orleans
Locks: None
Bowl Eligible: Troy
Bubble Teams: Arkansas State, FIU, Florida Atlantic, UL Lafayette, Middle Tennessee
The winner of the ULL/Troy game this week all but clinches the conference title and the New Orleans Bowl bid. Because of contingency bids and other open bids this sad sack of conference could conceivably end up sending four teams to bowls when all is said and done.
WAC
Bowl Tie-ins: BCS?, Humanitarian, Hawaii, New Mexico
Locks: Boise State
Bowl Eligible: Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, San Jose State
Bubble Teams: Hawaii
As I already covered, Boise State's odds of landing a BCS bid could even longer than you think. Fresno, LA Tech, and Nevada all became bowl eligible this week but there is still way too many things that can happen to figure out who is going where and who is staying home. Again the Poinsettia Bowl will likely be added as a 4th bid for the conference, assuming the Pac-10 doesn't fill.
Cancelled
Do Not Disturb-Yep, looked terrible anyways. No big loss.
My Own Worse Enemy-Didn't like it much, though I do feel bad for Chritian Slater.
Easy Money-Never saw it.
The Ex List-Actually on Hiatus, so who knows. Future looks dim. Never watched it
Lipstick Jungle-Poor Brooke Shields. Never Watched tthe show, but poor her.
MadTV-THANK YOU GOD!!!!!
Mind of Mencia-Again, Thank you God.
Future Uncertain
Life on Mars-Damn, I was really starting to like this show. It's not on the spring schedule.
Dirty Sexy Money-Eh.
Pushing Daisies-Damnit America, this show is awesome. Why does this have to be tanking. It's one of the best things on TV right now. It's smart, funny, cute, and more imaginative than most of what's on TV. I'm ashamed.
Future Looking Good
Chuck-Obvious, but good to see that.
Gary Unmarried-I hang my head in shame.
Fringe-Doing good ratings, and not a bad show to boot. Good for them.
Knight Rider-America: I love you, but you have terrible taste in TV shows.
Kath and Kim-Sucks, but seeing it's on between "My Name is Earl" and "The Office", not too suprising.
90210-Haven't seen it.
Life-Not bad. Not a great show, but a good one, so good for them.
Terminator: TSCC-Good for them, It's a lot better than I expected it to be, so yeah. Good tos ee James ("The Venture Bros.") Urbaniak getting work.
According to Jim-Why? I have yet to meet one person who likes or watches this show.
