10 p.m.
• I actually thought about saying this at my wedding just for a joke. Good thing I didn't or I wouldn't be alive today to tell this story. Then again I'm sure other people are saddened I didn't open my mouth for once.
8 p.m.
• It's official. Bill Cowher is no longer coaching the Steelers.
I'm sure there's some behind-the-scenes stuff going on, but this is probably as good-natured a departure as you're going to get in the NFL. I've talked about Cowher before, and while I contend the Steelers underachieved in regards to only reaching the Super Bowl twice under his tenure despite quite a few Conference Championship games, I have always thought him to be great at what he does. Sure there were quite a few big games where the other team's coach outclassed him in preparation and execution (New England in '05 comes to mind), but I'm sure any football fan would gladly endure all that heartbreak rather than look forward to that top draft pick year in and year out. I will add that I didn't like the fact he started Ben Roethlisberger in this season's Raiders contest after getting knocked out of a game the week before. Sure Roethlisberger play terrible and threw a few interceptions that were run back for touchdowns, but I didn't care about that; I was concerned for his health. That aside, I hope Cowher enjoys his time off. He's earned it. Oh, and from an August entry:
5:30 p.m.
• Just came back from the eye doctor, who dilated my pupils. Looking at the computer screen is ... interesting. Oh man, I am so on drugs right now. So what magazine was I looking at while in the waiting room? Highlights Magazine, baby. It's been years since I looked at a Goofus and Gallant cartoon. WTF happened? When I was a kid these cartoons had realistic drawings and funny escapades.
Now they're in color, look retarded and have stupid lines like. "Goofus slouches. Gallant sits up straight."
Huh-huh-huh-huh-huh. Goofus is cool.
8:30 a.m.
• Damn National Guard. Always getting in the way of migrant workers wanting to pick lettuce.
• And while I'm talking about south of the border.
Then at the end of the article I read this.
How about respecting that border thingy that separates the U.S. from your shithole of a country?
I'm once again training for pro wrestling! I re-started my training tonight with Helfyre at the Devil Mountain gym. I felt a bit weird getting back into the ring, it has been a long while since I was learning new stuff, so I was a bit concerned with some ringrust.
We started with some line-bumps (stand in the middle of the ring and do a back bump) and I diffently felt the rust. I just wasn't doing them 100% correctly and I felt it. After a few line-bumps, we moved over to scoop body slams, bumping on these felt odd as well but I after a few of the slams, I started bumping correctly. We went from scoop slams to armwrenches then to headlock take overs and I really started coming along. It felt great again, and i'm happy that i'm training again. The Referee stuff is fine and fun but thats not what I wanted to do when I decided to get into pro wrestling and it sucked not being able to train, so I'm happy that i'm doing it again.
I'm also going to start posting updates about my training and how its coming along so the rest of you can know how are things are going with me training wise. You'll still get my show stories, so just look at my training stuff as a added bonus. Anyways, thats it for now and I know I still owe you guys the story about me going into BRAWL and that will come soon, maybe tomorrow, we'll see, either way you'll get it soon. Just stay tuned!
Bert Blyleven - Starting Pitcher
Minnesota Twins 1970-1976, 1985-1988
Texas Rangers 1976-1977
Pittsburgh Pirates 1978-1980
Cleveland Indians 1981-1985
California Angels 1989-1992
10th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1998: 17.55%
1999: 14.08%
2000: 17.43%
2001: 23.50%
2002: 26.27%
2003: 29.23%
2004: 35.38%
2005: 40.89%
2006: 53.30%
Awards
None
All-Star Selections: 2 (1973, 1985)
League Leader
1971: K/BB
1973: Shutouts, K/BB, ERA+
1977: WHIP
1985: Innings, Strikeouts, Complete Games, Shutouts
1986: Innings, K/BB
1989: Shutouts
Career Ranks
Wins: 26th
IP: 13th
K: 5th
CG: 91st
SHO: 9th
K/BB: 44th
K/9: 99th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 16 (129) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 239 (24) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 50.0 (36) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 120.5 (68) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: 8 (Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry, Fergie Jenkins, Robin Roberts, Tom Seaver, Early Wynn, Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton)
Other Similar Pitchers: Tommy John, Jim Kaat
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1970: 10/3.7
1971: 20/8.4
1972: 19/7.4
1973: 29/12.3
1974: 23/10.0
1975: 21/8.7
1976: 20/9.3
1977: 21/8.2
1978: 16/6.2
1979: 13/3.8
1980: 9/2.9
1981: 14/8.2
1982: 1/0.2
1983: 10/4.3
1984: 20/9.2
1985: 23/9.9
1986: 18/7.9
1987: 18/7.5
1988: 4/2.2
1989: 22/7.9
1990: 3/1.3
1992: 5/2.5
Career Win Shares: 339
Career WARP3: 142.0
Would he get my vote?
Yes. Blyleven's plight to get into the HOF has been well documented by now. Many voters in the past have immediately written him off because he never won a Cy Young and because he had only two All-Star selections. Of course a player's total number of All-Star selections can be taken with a grain of salt since they are based mostly on what a player did the first three months of the season and with pitcher selections they are heavily influenced by their win/loss record. Blyleven for his career was 150-140 with a 3.47 ERA in the first half of the season but 137-110 with a 3.12 ERA in the second half, so he did his best pitching after the ASB. Another reason why Blyleven has been ignored in the past as well is as you see didn't lead his league in many categories. But for his career he was in the Top 10 ERA ten times, Wins six times, WHIP 11 times, Strikeouts 15 times, Complete Games 12 times, and Shutouts ten times. Nevermind of course he's in the Top 10 all-time in both strikeouts and shutouts. In addition of the eight HOF comps he has only Tom Seaver had a better career ERA+. Many writers are slowly coming around and long time holdouts are now voting for him. He certainly won't get in this year as no backloggers have a chance but within the next five years it appears he will get in.
9 p.m.
• 100 Most Influential Hispanics? I don't think I could name 100 Hispanics, period. Wait a second: I forgot about baseball players. Nevermind, I'm good.
• So what if our former Chief Justice thought the CIA was out to get him. This was the CIA, so it was probably true.
5 p.m.
• Update on the turkey baster family. For those not in the know, here is what I am talking about:
Mrs. kkk found out this afternoon, when trying to call Tonya to RSVP her presence at little Reba's birthday party this weekend, that Tonya turns her ringer off. Why? Because she's tired of all the bill-collectors calling. Oh, and Gary is pissed off because with Tonya's job of sitting around doing nothing, err, I mean cleaning her aunt's house (actually, I think it now may be her mom, rather than aunt) for the State, they are $100 over some marker and can't collect as much welfare. Of course, that was bound to happen when Gary eventually gets upgraded to full-time status with the County Courthouse's janitorial staff. I should note that the better half will be going to this party and not me. Why is that? Because these people didn't attend our wedding. Believe me, I didn't want them attending. I love cashing in "Get Out Of Family Events Because The People Hosting It Didn't Come To Your Wedding" cards.
3 p.m.
• Now let me get this straight...
So while black people were on top of houses waiting to be rescued, cops were saving frozen embryos? That's ... the most awesome thing I've ever heard. Yeah, I know it says this rescue took place a fortnight after the storm, but that information is all the way down in the fifth paragraph -- nobody actually reads that far down in these posted articles.
• Christ, I can't remember who I picked in Week 16. I'll just do a "correct/incorrect" quickie run-down and highlight the really stupid things I said while predicting this week's slate of games.
Minnesota at Green Bay (3.5) –– Incorrect
(6.5) Kansas City at Oakland –– Correct
Baltimore at Pittsburgh (3.5) –– Correct
Carolina at Atlanta (6.5) -– Correct
(4.5) Chicago at Detroit -- Correct (The joke was almost on me.)
(9.5) Indianapolis at Houston -- Incorrect
New England at Jacksonville (2.5) -- Correct
New Orleans at N.Y. Giants (3.5) -- Incorrect (Final score: Saints 30, Giants 7.)
Tampa Bay at Cleveland (3.5) -- Correct
Tennessee at Buffalo (4.5) -- Correct
Washington at St. Louis (2.5) -- Incorrect
Arizona at San Francisco (4.5) -- Incorrect
Cincinnati at Denver (3.5) -- Incorrect
(4.5) San Diego at Seattle -- Incorrect
Philadelphia at Dallas (7.5) -- Incorrect
N.Y. Jets at Miami (2.5) -- Incorrect
This week's score: 7-9
Cumulate score: 107-117
Well, it was looking good until those pesky last 6 games.
Oops. I forgot about my Week 15 Pickkk results.
I don't know how specific this is to my family, I assume it happens with other people, too, but I'm not sure how frequently.
A little backgroun information:
The sport of choice is hockey, basically the only sport that the majority of my dad's side of the family cares about. There are 3 teams; Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canadiens have the most support, having my grandmother, one brother, 2 uncles, an aunt, and 2 cousins. The Senators have my dad and grandfather. The Leafs have me. My mom, one aunt, and youngest brother are neutral here, and pretty much stay out of it. So, basically, any family gathering with anyone on that side of the family inevitably turns into a discussion on how the Leafs haven't won anything in 40 years. Doesn't matter the time of year, doesn't matter the standings if it's during the season.
The only person I have on my side, even remotely, is my grandmother. Apparently, she's mad enough at my grandpa from jumping ship from Montreal to Ottawa a few years ago that the Leafs are her number 2 team, something my uncle can't seem to understand. I understand that the Habs and Sens don't have the playoff history and rivalry that the Leafs and Sens do, but it's still interesting to me that they seem to be willing to overlook the fact that they still are division rivals to gang up on one team (this seems to happen most places, too, not just my family, I've noticed).
For example, the other day I was at my parents' house, doing some laundry, and the Leafs/Bruins game was on TV. My brother (Habs fan) and dad (Sens fan) were both watching the game with me, and actively cheering against the Leafs. Never mind that, for bother Montreal and Ottawa, it was probably better that Toronto one in terms of the standings. I realize that part of it is showmanship on their part, just trying to get under my skin, but I still find it interesting, considering that Boston is a division rival of both of their teams, too (and, Boston and Montreal are probably two of the biggest historical rivals in the NHL).
I guess I'm just curious as to how common it is to have so many different favourites who happen to be rivals within one family. I realize that a lot of it has to do with geography (Ottawa's an hour away, Montreal 2, Toronto 3-4) and if we lived in some place with less choice there'd be less favourites, but I've always wondered what it would be like to live in a house where more than one person are cheering for the same team. About the only time you're going to get us on the same page is when there's an international tournament going on.
9 p.m.
So not only were the players roiding up during that magical summer of '98, but the baseballs were juiced, too? Oh my world is crashing down all around me. How could this have happened? HOW?!
7 p.m.
• There's an interesting topic over in the Sports folder regarding how the NFL should treat overtime games. Currently, it's the first team to score wins. It doesn't matter if points are scored on the overtime's opening drive, in the final seconds or on a turnover. Here's how college football does its thing, according to Wikipedia:
For years, the debate has been whether or not the NFL should adopt college football's overtime system. For years I have been in the "keep it as-is" crowd. Hey, each team had 60 minutes to score more points. If your offense doesn't take the field in overtime because the other team scored first, too bad. This is football. Quit yer bitchin'. However, recently I have been starting to wonder if the NFL won't be better if this change is made. After all, the two-point conversion made the NFL a better product, in my opinion. I think I may eventually change my opinion on this one.
5 p.m.
• This seemed to be the topic du jour on sports talk radio today.
If you can find a school that will pay you a shitload of money for a decade or so, then go for it. One thing that makes me chuckle whenever a coach leaves on place for another, especially on an amateur level, is that they always get on their players about commitment, dedication, pride, and all that other hippie shit. Then they pack up and leave when a better offer arrives on their doorstep. When I was entering 10th grade, my high school hired some redneck football coach who got on our players about being in the weight room and all that other jock stuff. Now even though I couldn’t stand him, he did turn our football program around. As my high school years progressed, our teams didn’t have winning records, but these contests were much more competitive. When I was a senior, our team got off to a slow start after losing a few close games, but you could tell this wasn’t the same team as in year’s past. In fact, it was predicted that the graduating class to come after mine would be playoff-bound (and in fact they were, as well as a few other classes after that). But one thing I’ll remember is that this same coach, who had his players commit all their time and energy to playing for him, left after my junior year for a better deal. I heard quite a few players on that team were crying when the coach announced his intentions.
• Pat Robertson is predicting a terrorist attack on the United States sometime later this year. Was this one of those direct-calls from God?
Hate to break it to you, Pat, but the terrorists already struck last September. And while I'm on the subject of Congress.
You know, I guess I could go “OMG partisan politics” and all that shit, but I don’t care. Democrats won the last election – they can institute all the commie programs they want. To the victor go the spoils.
• I was driving to my old man’s house during the holidays and was behind this hippie couple with all these bumper stickers attached to their piece of shit truck. While many were run-of-the-mill slogans, one got a laugh out of me. It was all white with red letters and read “Say No To Empire.” WTF? I wish we were an empire. That way, instead of all this politically correct bullshit we could flatten the entire Middle East, take their oil and turn that region into a big Wal-Mart. And forget about culturally sensitive meals at Club Gitmo.
Dave Parker - Rightfielder
Pittsburgh Pirates 1973-1983
Cincinnati Reds 1984-1987
Oakland Athletics 1988-1989
Milwaukee Brewers 1990
California Angels 1991
Toronto Blue Jays 1991
11th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1997: 17.55%
1998: 24.52%
1999: 16.10%
2000: 20.84%
2001: 16.31%
2002: 13.98%
2003: 10.28%
2004: 10.47%
2005: 12.60%
2006: 14.42%
Awards
1977 NL Gold Glove - OF
1978 NL MVP
1978 NL Gold Glove - OF
1979 NL Gold Glove - OF
1985 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1986 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1990 AL Silver Slugger - DH
All-Star Selections: 7 (1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990)
League Leader
1975: Slugging %
1977: Batting Average, Hits, Doubles
1978: Batting Average, Total Bases, Runs Created, Slugging %, OPS, OPS+
1985: Doubles, RBI, Total Bases
1986: Total Bases
Career Ranks
Games: 55th
Hits: 55th
2B: 31st
HR: 80th
RBI: 47th
TB: 42nd
RC: 68th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 26 (68) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 145 (97) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 41.1 (138) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 125.5 (107) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 2 (Tony Perez, Billy Williams)
Other Similar Batters: Luis Gonzalez, Harold Baines, Andre Dawson, Al Oliver, Jim Rice, Rusty Staub, Chili Davis, Dwight Evans
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1973: 4/1.4
1974: 6/1.5
1975: 26/8.6
1976: 23/5.8
1977: 33/10.3
1978: 37/8.8
1979: 31/8.5
1980: 17/3.7
1981: 6/1.1
1982: 7/1.8
1983: 12/4.1
1984: 17/3.4
1985: 29/7.9
1986: 20/4.4
1987: 13/3.2
1988: 10/2.2
1989: 15/3.6
1990: 15/4.9
1991: 6/0.9
Career Win Shares: 327
Career WARP3: 86.3
Would he get my vote?
No. I'll always have a soft spot for the Cobra for the 1989 postseason where he pissed off all around douche bag Kelly Gruber for his flaps down homerun trot in the ALCS and also hit the first of many homeruns for the A's in the World Series. Also I'll say that for anyone who argues Jim Rice for the HOF they better also argue for Parker as well as I don't see how Rice is so close to being elected yet Parker has no chance at all. That being said I couldn't give him the imaginary vote mainly because when you get past his great peak of the late 70's he had a really ordinary career once the 80's started. Outside of 1985 in that decade he was an average and sometimes below average corner outfielder. Had a rifle for an arm and it appears he did deserve his 1977 Gold Glove (26 assists) but overall he was not a good defensive outfielder.
Yeah, I'm sick. Not hungover-sick, just sore-throat, congested etc sick. It's not so bad, I have the Descent and Superman Returns here, ready to be watched, and a very comfortable couch to lay on.....I still am in some disbelief that I went ahead and got engaged. Not regretting it of course, it is just weird that after all this time being in a relationship with the same person, there was STILL a next step/stage to take it to. The planning will begin soon, and one of the benefits of being the last of the group to holdout, is that a lot of friends are throwing us referrals and references left and right for deals on stuff...Me personally, all I really care about is that everyone is well fed at the reception. Oh and the Tux. Yeah, the two things I care about....haha. Since this is the first time doing this, I suppose the first thing to do is make the guest list since a lot of stuff is based around how many people will be at the wedding....
7 p.m.
I heard it on his radio show this morning. Neal Boortz's radio show is back in Shittsburgh!
Well, it will be on tape delay, but the fact he's back in the market gives me hope for this region yet. He first came here when 104.7 switched to a RIGHT-WING RADIO network a few years back. At that time they needed something to fill the early afternoon slot since Rush was on another station. This is where I began listening to Boortz's show. As the weeks and months went by I began keeping his show on longer and longer until I stopped listening to Rush and Jim Rome altogether. Sadly, 104.7 took Rush away from the other station, moving Boortz to some commie-fag station. He got deep-sixed shortly thereafter. But now he's back, baby. Too bad I listen to his local Atlanta/nationally syndicated broadcasts online now, but that's neither here nor there. One funny note, Neal will be going up against his fellow 750-AM WSB talker Clark Howard, who is on the above-mentioned commie-fag station. Both shows are on tape delay in Shittsburgh, but that's OK -- it always takes this place a while to get with the times.
4:30 p.m.
I love my neighborhood. As I was driving home from work today, I got behind a school bus making its routine stops on my street. From the bus jumped out a girl (no older than 6th grade, probably) dressed in a prissy outfit on her way to her house, which, like many in my neighborhood are nice, especially for this area. Following her was this kid in raggedy jeans and a flannel shirt that headed over to his dad, who also had on raggedy jeans and a flannel shirt. I guess they were going somewhere because the dad was by a pick-up truck. Now I'm not making fun of the kid and his old man for their lot in life. I'm laughing because the dad had a mullet. I needed the chuckle, especially considering earlier in the commute two asshole motorists almost hit me and another driver as we pulled over to the side of the road to let a fire truck and ambulance, both with blaring sirens, pass us by. I laid on the horn for about a block-and-a-half and shouted various obscenities at them. Assholes.
The better half says I have a bad case of road rage, but I beg to differ. Yeah, I can lose my temper when I'm behind the wheel, but it's only at people who nearly inflict massive harm onto me by their negligence. If someone is driving the speed limit in the right-hand lane and I want to go faster, I don't get upset. If I did, I would consider that road rage. You are getting upset at someone for following the rules. Now if you were safely driving and some idiot decided to disregard your well being by pulling out in front of you despite having a yield sign, then I say you should be allowed to scare the shit out of them by laying on the horn and incessantly cursing. Hell, if you have something to throw out your car window, go ahead. If you freak that person out enough, perhaps they will think twice before putting someone else's life in jeopardy. You could be a hero.
I was supposed to do a “2006: Year in Review” for wrestling and my personal life but I figured I covered most of it in the blog over the year and my thoughts on the year in wrestling doesn’t interest anyone enough and I made my opinion known in the TSM Awards anyways.
2006 was good, for all the feelings of uncertainty it started with, I came out okay. I did well at school, I held a pair of good paying jobs over the year and I even managed to have a couple good relationships. Surprising considering the turbulence that 2005 offered but I fulfilled a childhood crush and even though it was short lived, it was good while it lasted. Later that year, I met a really great girl. Quite possibly the “right one”. It’s early, just four months into it but I get a good feeling with this one, a different feeling then the past ashes of love. My sister got married and that was very good to see. My entire family has been well and really, that’s pretty important to know.
The one thing that truly hasn’t altered despite my good fortune this year was the tendency to slip into these periodic waves of depression, shyness or just plain boredom. Lacking focus and ambition. I figure it’s a common sentiment that many here share.
Last night, I rang in the new year at a small intimate party with some of Allison’s friends and while it wasn’t bad, I was just in one of those moods again and she wasn’t particularly happy about it. I took her home and I only slept a couple hours. I woke up about 5:30 and haven’t slept since.
I took in this day off by going to an early movie at the AMC to see The Pursuit Of Happyness. Maybe not the best movie to watch while in a depressed funk but it was alright. Although I wondered why I bothered to come to the movies at 10:30 in the morning, alone. It was virtually empty, aside from a pair of older couples there for the cheap ticket. Allison, is a desk clerk at a hotel and it’s a busy day for her. I didn’t bother to check in with her today and either did she.
I intended to spend this day by watching some movies I got over the holiday break but I didn’t manage that. I spent it primarily here, on AIM and other message boards with a swirl of empty nothingness around me. I watched college football games involving teams that I had no connection nor interest in. I watched another pointless and idiotic episode of Raw, asking “why do I bother?” knowing full well, I’ll be back next week.
The main event for tonight was the classic football game for the ages. Something I wasn’t expecting but for 1 hour and 30 minutes, I was sucked in. The finish was so improbable that I’m still questioning if it really happened, but it did. A series of plays that’ll go down in history as the most incredible and shocking ever kept myself and the nation on its toes. Oklahoma nabs the INT and scores the td and with three attempts, manage to tie the game. With just 50 seconds left, Boise State starts the miracle. Who saw it coming? No one. They pulled off the Hook and Ladder on a 4th and 18. This play has probably worked 20 times in the history of football but if you ask me, tonight might as well been the first time. A stunner. Then Oklahoma sticks a dagger in the heart with an instant TD run by Peterson. Left with nothing to hold onto but the faint hope slipping against disappointment and somehow, they pulled it off once again on a 4th down and instead of getting the easy yard they needed, they went for it and nabbed the TD. Gotta kick the FG. Get another OT. Fuck that. Boise State went for it with the biggest balls ever. On a statue of liberty, another improbable play, they nail the fucking 2pt and win and just to top it off, it ends with the Hollywood finish of a marriage proposal. The most incredulous finish ever. I’ll remember this one for years.
In the process of this event, in the thread about the game, Marvin struck again. Marvin, in the midst of something implausible found the ability to insert his typical brand of banality and ham-fisted arguments.
I get on Marvin a lot, as do many others here. Do I hate Marvin? No. He can be a good enough guy from time to time although those moments are fleeting by the moment as his fervent worship for Baltimore sports reaches new levels. You can’t fault him for that. That is how some people are wired. What gets me about Marvin is that I’m disappointed in him by his actions. This place, as fucked up as it really is, is somehow a family and Marvin is our nutcase bastard cousin. He could be something better. Hell, we all could but especially him. He claims he expected to be the next “WP” and it appears he has accomplished that and I find that ridiculous. Maybe 2007 can change for him. It did for me after-all, in 2006. I might hope the best for him but I’ll keep egging him on because he needs it.
I don’t necessarily believe in resolutions all that much but rather just believe in setting goals. There is a difference between dreams and goals. One is false hope and the other is effort. I’m not 17 anymore. Fate doesn’t exist. You gotta get what you want by getting it. Generic preachy philosophy but it’s accurate.
If I do have any “goals” for 2007, these would be it
1). Escape this depression. I have no reason to be downtrodden, I have more then I could ever hope for and yet, I risk losing it because of this fear or awkwardness.
2). I turn 21 in a few weeks. I always thought by this point in life, I’d have an idea of where I’m going but it’s not happening. I have to find out what I really want in life for myself. Is this it? I’m glad to be a skilled enough person as a mechanic or office worker, there’s always a demand for those types of roles in society but is it what I want? Then again, how many of us ever actually get the thing we want. How the hell do you get it when you can’t even identify it.
3). Get new hobbies. Currently and for the past many years, those hobbies have been wrestling, working on cars or message boarding. I used to read constantly but this was before sports took a hold of me and I stopped. I got over 1,000 books in my office (which is really just my sister’s old room where I store my old shit). I am a creative writing major and Im constantly urged by professors in the department to pursue that avenue deeper and I think about it but wonder if my heart would really be into enough to really make it work.
4). Get new friends. Allison’s friends are good people but they aren’t my friends. I had a group of friends that I once honestly believed would stick around for years but it’s all gone away. An AIM conversation is becoming a rarity now. I can be friendly but trusting people is another matter in itself.
2007 could be anything. Everything really is possible, even the impossible. Just ask Boise State.
For the new year, I'm going to be trying something different. Instead of waiting until the end of the day to post an entry, I'm gong to post whenever I feel like it throughout the day. When I "finalize" an entry, I will give it a title.
11 p.m.
• Well, I guess Michigan can stop bitching about how they were Jewed out of playing for the BcS "National Title Game."
• Dennis Green and Jim Mora Jr. got canned from their respective NFL head coaching gigs. You know, when I first heard a few years back that Green would be taking over the helm at Arizona I actually thought he would have have a chance at turning around that time. Then after five seconds my thoughts turned to something more plausible -- like establishing colonies on Mars. Regarding Mora, eh.
• Years ago I bought these four-player checker and chess boards, and the few times I used them the games got REALLY confusing. I can't imagine a three-way with ping-pong balls would be much less chaotic.
5 p.m.
Just heard Bobby Knight finally passed Dean Smith for most wins by a Division One college basketball coach. Good. I like Knight. Sure he's an asshole, but that's why I like him.
3 p.m.
For those that follow my kkk Bowl IV contest, here are the regular-season standings.
Final Standings
AFC EAST
* Buffalo Bills (Bob Barron) 9-7 < PF: 119, PA: 111, AFC: 7-5, NFC: 2-2, DIV: 5-1 >
New York Jets (Gert T) 8-8 < PF: 113, PA: 112, AFC: 6-6, NFC: 2-2, DIV: 2-4 >
New England Patriots (nl-asshole) 7-8-1 < PF: 116, PA: 106, AFC: 3-8-1, NFC: 4-0, DIV: 1-5 >
Miami Dolphins (Spaceman Spiff) 5-11 < PF: 117, PA: 122, AFC: 4-8, NFC: 1-3, DIV: 4-2 >
AFC NORTH
* Cleveland Browns (SFA Jack) 12-4 < PF: 113, PA: 103, AFC: 10-2, NFC: 2-2, DIV: 5-1 >
Pittsburgh Steelers (Kahran Ramsus) 8-7-1 < PF: 110, PA: 108, AFC: 6-5-1, NFC: 2-2, DIV: 2-3-1 >
Baltimore Ravens (King PK) 7-8-1 < PF: 112, PA: 114, AFC: 5-6-1, NFC: 2-2, DIV: 1-4-1 >
Cincinnati Bengals (Teke) 6-9-1 < PF: 109, PA: 127, AFC: 5-6-1, NFC: 1-3, DIV: 3-3 >
AFC SOUTH
* Jacksonville Jaguars (Always Pissed Off) 10-6 < PF: 111, PA: 110, AFC: 7-5, NFC: 3-1, DIV: 4-2 >
* Indianapolis Colts (Prime Time Andrew Doyle) 9-7 < PF: 123, PA: 113, AFC: 6-6, NFC: 3-1, DIV: 3-3 >
* Tennessee Titans (Cuban Linx) 9-7 < PF: 118, PA: 123, AFC: 5-7, NFC: 4-0, DIV: 3-3 >
Houston Texans (Bored) 7-9 < PF: 115, PA: 116, AFC: 6-6, NFC: 1-3, DIV: 2-4 >
AFC WEST
* Kansas City Chiefs (Alfdogg) 9-6-1 < PF: 118, PA: 111, AFC: 6-5-1 NFC: 3-1, DIV: 3-2-1 >
Oakland Raiders (Smues) 8-8 < PF: 127, PA: 120, AFC: 6-6, NFC: 2-2, DIV: 4-2 >
Denver Broncos (Canadian Chris) 8-8 < PF: 112, PA: 115, AFC: 6-6, NFC: 2-2, DIV: 2-4 >
San Diego Chargers (Porter) 7-8-1 < PF: 118, PA: 126, AFC: 5-6-1, NFC: 2-2, DIV: 2-3-1 >
NFC EAST
* Philadelphia Eagles (Harley Quinn) 9-6-1 < PF: 123, PA: 116, AFC: 1-3, NFC: 8-3-1, DIV: 5-1 >
New York Giants (Cartman) 7-9 < PF: 113, PA: 121, AFC: 1-3, NFC: 6-6, DIV: 3-3 >
Washington Redskins (Human Fly) 7-9 < PF: 103, PA: 113, AFC: 0-4, NFC: 7-5, DIV: 2-4 >
Dallas Cowboys (Hawk 34) 5-11 < PF: 107, PA: 123, AFC: 1-2, NFC: 4-9, DIV: 3-3 >
NFC NORTH
* Detroit Lions (Bravesfan) 11-5 < PF: 123, PA: 107, AFC: 2-2, NFC: 9-3, DIV: 3-3 >
* Green Bay Packers (Vitamin X) 9-7 < PF: 97, PA: 103, AFC: 1-3, NFC: 8-4, DIV: 5-1 >
* Minnesota Vikings (Danville Wrestling) 9-7 < PF: 123, PA: 112, AFC: 1-3, NFC: 8-4, DIV: 4-2 >
Chicago Bears (Agent Of Oblivion) 5-11 < PF: 103, PA: 120, AFC: 3-1, NFC: 2-10, DIV: 1-5 >
NFC SOUTH
* Atlanta Falcons (King Of The 909) 12-4 < PF: 134, PA: 113, AFC: 3-1, NFC: 9-3, DIV: 6-0 >
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Starvenger) 9-7 < PF: 125, PA: 119, AFC: 2-2, NFC: 7-5, DIV: 3-3 >
New Orleans Saints (Cena’s Writer) 6-9-1 < PF: 118, PA: 110, AFC: 2-2, NFC: 4-7-1, DIV: 2-4 >
Carolina Panthers (Fazzle) 5-11 < PF: 113, PA: 122 AFC: 2-2, NFC: 3-9, DIV: 1-5 >
NFC WEST
* Arizona Cardinals (Vern Gagne) 8-8 < PF: 121, PA: 111, AFC: 1-3 NFC: 7-5, DIV: 5-1 >
Seattle Seahawks (Chazz 1998) 8-8 < PF: 119, PA: 110, AFC: 2-2, NFC: 6-6, DIV: 4-2 >
St. Louis Rams (Canadian Guitarist) 7-9 < PF: 125, PA: 119, AFC: 3-1, NFC: 4-8, DIV: 0-6 >
San Francisco 49ers (Lightning Flik) 6-10 < PF: 106, PA: 122, AFC: 1-3, NFC: 5-7, DIV: 3-3 >
PLAYOFF SEEDINGS:
AFC:
1) Cleveland Browns (SFA Jack) 12-4
2) Jacksonville Jaguars (Always Pissed Off) 10-6
3) Kansas City Chiefs (Alfdogg) 9-6-1
4) Buffalo Bills (Bob Barron) 9-7
5) Indianapolis Colts (Prime Time Andrew Doyle) 9-7
6) Tennessee Titans (Cuban Linx) 9-7
Notes:
IND and TEN split their regular-season series and have the same DIV record. IND gets the higher seed due to a better Conference record.
Wild Card Weekend:
Tennessee Titans (Cuban Linx) 9-7 @ Kansas City Chiefs (Alfdogg) 9-6-1
Indianapolis Colts (Prime Time Andrew Doyle) 9-7 @ Buffalo Bills (Bob Barron) 9-7
NFC:
1) Atlanta Falcons (King Of The 909) 12-4
2) Detroit Lions (Bravesfan) 11-5
3) Philadelphia Eagles (Harley Quinn) 9-6-1
4) Arizona Cardinals (Vern Gagne) 8-8
5) Green Bay Packers (Vitamin X) 9-7
6) Minnesota Vikings (Danville Wrestling) 9-7
Notes:
1) GB and MIN split their regular-season series (I first thought MIN swept the series). GB has the better divisional record.
2) GB and MIN both have a better Conference record than TB.
3) AZ and SEA split their regular-season series. AZ has the better divisional record.
Wild Card Weekend:
Minnesota Vikings (Danville Wrestling) 9-7 @ Philadelphia Eagles (Harley Quinn) 9-6-1
Green Bay Packers (Vitamin X) 9-7 @ Arizona Cardinals (Vern Gagne) 8-8
Alan Trammell - Shortstop
Detroit Tigers 1977-1996
6th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
2002: 15.68%
2003: 14.11%
2004: 13.83%
2005: 16.86%
2006: 17.69%
Awards
1980 AL Gold Glove - SS
1981 AL Gold Glove - SS
1983 AL Gold Glove - SS
1984 AL Gold Glove - SS
1984 World Series MVP
All-Star Selections: 6 (1980, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990)
League Leader
None of note
Career Ranks
None of note
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 48 (505) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 40.4 (146) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 118.5 (116) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 2 (Ryne Sandberg, Pee Wee Reese)
Other Similar Batters: Barry Larkin, B.J. Surhoff, Jay Bell, Lou Whitaker, Tony Fernandez, Julio Franco, Buddy Bell, Dave Concepcion
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1977: 0/-0.3
1978: 14/5.5
1979: 13/3.0
1980: 21/7.0
1981: 14/8.7
1982: 16/8.0
1983: 26/10.3
1984: 29/10.5
1985: 16/7.0
1986: 26/10.2
1987: 35/13.1
1988: 23/8.3
1989: 13/6.3
1990: 29/9.7
1991: 12/4.3
1992: 4/1.7
1993: 17/6.3
1994: 3/2.5
1995: 6/1.5
1996: 1/-0.2
Career Win Shares: 318
Career WARP3: 123.3
Would he get my vote?
Yes. An excellent peak gives him the nod from me, the first player I've voted "yes" for. Five times he had an OPS+ of 130 or better in a full season, six if you include his 1993 season although that came in 112 games. As you see Trammell is getting little support, not even at the level of Dave Concepcion. What has hurt Trammell the most is probably the era he played in. You could make a legitimate argument that in the last 25 years we've seen seven of the top 10 to 12 greatest shortstops of all-time as we are truly in a golden age for the position. Trammell's peers included Cal Ripken, Robin Yount, Ozzie Smith, and Barry Larkin and since he retired Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter (maybe needs one more good year) have joined that list. When he retired Trammell was without question one of the Top 10 shortstops of all-time. He shouldn't be punished because his career numbers were dwarfed by all-time greats like Ripken and Yount nor should he be punished for the feats of players who came after him like A-Rod and Jeter.
Well, 2006 is almost at an end and many people go out to celebrate the upcoming new year. I am not one of those people. New Year’s Eve never appealed to me, especially with all the drunken idiots out there. For years the better half and I have just stayed home and watched some movies. Speaking of movies, I saw “Glory Road” the other day. It was there. If you liked “Remember the Titans” (and I did), and if you like college basketball, then you’ll like “Glory Road.” One thing I never understood about these kinds of films – why is it the whites always end up acting like the black people in order to be “cool”? Fuck that shit. Us crackers can get down with the jiggiest of them. Well, OK, maybe not. But our hair isn’t as nappy. Yeah. Where was I? Oh, yeah. New Year’s Eve.
This is the time of year that many people reflect upon their lives and vow to make drastic changes to supposedly improve themselves. Like the December 31 partygoers, I am not one of these people. However, last year I did make resolution to start putting money away. After spending the last few years buying a house and paying for my wedding, it was time to build up that nest egg. Then earlier this year the better half told me that her financial problems were out of control. Since then I have taken control of the household finances, and so far we’re a little less than half-way to paying off her credit card debt, which isn’t too bad, considering she went through an employment change this year and for a little more than three months was making considerably less than she had been. Other than this issue, I don’t see any problems on the horizon for ’07. Hopefully, this debt I talked about can get erased by the end of 2007, but if it takes until early ’08 then I will be more than content.
Getting back to New Year’s Eve. I’m trying to think back to any wacky stories that I was involved in on previous December 31sts, but all that I’m coming up with were a few years when, as a kid, I went all-night bowling with my old man and some other people – a step-brother one year, a few friends the next, some people that I never saw before. Each time the old man got pissed off over something stupid and the night usually ended up with someone screaming or one of our “guests” destroying property (one kid bowled a ball into a plant container – don’t ask). There was another year, when I was of college age, when me and a few friends got stood up by this one chick who was supposed to give us directions to this party she was at, but instead she got drunk and forgot about us (or at least that’s how the story went). Hell, for the big 2000 celebration, I was living at Sappy Valley and watched the festivities in my apartment because Mrs. kkk was at her part-time food-service job. Even if she didn’t have to work that night, it really wouldn’t have mattered because I had to go to my job a few hours afterward for my 3-11 a.m. shift. That morning’s work was interesting because a graphic artist discovered that our organization wasn’t “Y2K” compliant. It wasn’t a big deal – some automated forms were dated 1/1/1900 rather than 1/1/2000, but it was still good for a laugh.
Well, that’s about it for 2006. See you all NEXT YEAR LOL2006(7)~!!!!!
-As you folks know, I'm no Republican. That out of the way, RIP Gerald Ford. Here's someone who was an all around good guy, lead to Chevy Chase convincing us that he's a comedy genius, and while not exactly the best president, deserves a mention. RIP Mr President, and God-bless.
-In other news, Saddam bit the big one recently. He'll be missed by...oh, who the fuck am I kidding? Nobody is going to miss the guy. Hell, if you ask me, he got exactly what he deserved. I say let him rot in hell and let him begin his eventual sexual relationship with Satan.
-Remember when everywhere you went, you saw Ashley Simpson on the cover of every magazine? Well, it's now Rachel Ray. So it seems like I'll be seeing her on magazine covers for a while, as shw haunts my dreams.
-Finally, goodbye 2006. You where a year that gave us Clinton flipping out on TV, talk about global warming, Ann Coulter talking about anal sex and fisting (she acts like fisting is a bad thing), the long time coming ban of wildpegasus, a pedophile senator, Kevin Federline getting too much attention, Hillary getting too much attention, Ghostface Killah and The Roots not getting enough attention, Saddam, Gerald Ford, James Brown, Syd Barret, and Robert Altman's deaths, disappointing albums from The Killers, Ministry, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Revolting cocks, The Republicans losing, George Clooney doing an incredibly self-important oscar speech, a new guilty pleasure in The Sounds, Family Guy sucking, then suddenly regaining some momentum, the headbutt seen 'round the world, and this worthless little blog. So long 2006, you will/won't be missed.
Harold Baines - Designated Hitter/Rightfielder
Chicago White Sox 1980-1989, 1996-1997, 2000-2001
Texas Rangers 1989-1990
Oakland Athletics 1990-1992
Baltimore Orioles 1993-1995, 1997-1999, 2000
Cleveland Indians 1999
Awards
1989 AL Silver Slugger - DH
All-Star Selections: 6 (1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1999)
League Leader
1984: Slugging %
Career Ranks
Games: 17th
Hits: 39th
TB: 30th
2B: 52nd
HR: 50th
RBI: 23rd
BB: 82nd
RC: 44th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 3 (499) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 40 (595) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 43.5 (116) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 66.5 (267) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 3 (Tony Perez, Al Kaline, Billy Williams)
Other Similar Batters: Dave Parker, Rusty Staub, Andre Dawson, Dwight Evans, Chili Davis, Fred McGriff, Andres Galarraga
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1980: 8/1.2
1981: 10/5.3
1982: 19/6.9
1983: 20/6.2
1984: 24/9.1
1985: 25/7.8
1986: 20/7.0
1987: 13/3.7
1988: 18/4.4
1989: 18/6.3
1990: 11/4.6
1991: 22/6.5
1992: 15/3.3
1993: 15/4.9
1994: 6/3.0
1995: 11/5.3
1996: 13/5.5
1997: 12/4.1
1998: 8/2.5
1999: 15/4.6
2000: 4/1.2
2001: 0/-1.0
Career Win Shares: 307
Career WARP3: 102.4
Would he get my vote?
No. When it comes to players who spent the majority of their career not playing the field I feel they have to hit at the level an excellent first baseman to get in the HOF and Baines is no where close. Sort of like a hitting version of Tommy John in that his career counting numbers are impressive but only because he played a very long time and his peak is just not that impressive. Baines actually was a fairly decent defensive outfielder but knee problems were what forced him to become an everyday DH when he was only 28.
Oh righty. Let’s see if I can end the regular season on a positive note.
(2.5) N.Y. Giants at Washington
The Giants still have a shot at the playoffs. From NFL.com:
I’ll make it easy. Redskins win, Tiki’s dreams of a Bettis-like sendoff get dashed and everyone can blame the coach.
Atlanta at Philadelphia (7.5)
The Falcons still have a shot at the playoffs. From NFL.com:
I’ll make this easy. The Falcons will lose. But will they lose by a big amount? I’ll say no.
Buffalo at Baltimore (9.5)
The Ravens still have a shot at claiming home-field advantage, and even though they’ll probably win, I’ll give the Bills a fighting chance.
(2.5) Carolina at New Orleans
The Panthers are still in the playoff hunt, but I still have that bad taste a few weeks back against the Steelers where they quit, so I’ll say go Saints.
Cleveland at Houston (4.5)
No playoff talk here. Houston will probably win, but will they win by four-and-a-half points? Sure.
Detroit at Dallas (12.5)
I hope the Cowboys get up by 10 and then put it in cruse control.
Green Bay at Chicago (2.5)
The Packers can clinch a playoff. From NFL.com:
But the Bears will win and ruin what could possibly be BRETT FAVRE’S FINAL REGULAR-SEASON NFL GAME.
Jacksonville at Kansas City (2.5)
Both teams need this win to bolster their playoff chances. Will the Chiefs lost two home games in December in the same season? I’m going with history on this one.
Miami at Indianapolis (9.5)
After that Houston loss, now I’d say it’s panic time for the Colts. Then again, maybe this “nothing-to-lose” mindset going into the playoffs might be good for Indianapolis.
New England at Tennessee (3.5)
Will this second-half-of-the-season rally stop here for the Titans? I’ll be a party pooper and say yes.
Oakland at N.Y. Jets (12.5)
I’ll say the Jets will win, but not by a dozen points.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (6.5)
For all the crap the Steelers have gone through this season, to finish 8-8 will be much better than 7-9. However, I have to imagine the Bengals will be out for blood after what happened the last time the Bengals hosted the Steelers.
Seattle at Tampa Bay (3.5)
Even though Seattle has clinched the NFC West, that’s not saying much. I’m sure they would like end the season on a winning note before trying to make it back to the Super Bowl.
(2.5) St. Louis at Minnesota
The Rams can clinch a playoff spot, according to NFL.com, if the following happens.
I’ll say why not.
Arizona at San Diego (13.5)
Wow. I’m sure the Chargers will win, but will they win by that big a margin? Hopefully, the Chargers’ second unit will be able to trounce the Cardinals’ starters.
San Francisco at Denver (10.5)
The Broncos will probably win, but the 49ers will make it a game.
You can find out about some of the Wrestlers who were on the show and about BRAWL In This Link Here
Last night, I did a BRAWL show, it was called BRAWL Duces Wild, the card was all about a tag team tournament to find out the number 1 contenders for the BRAWL Tag Team Titles currently held by Money Mike Rayne and A Pimp Named Virgil.
The show took place in Antioch CA at the Contra Costa Fairgrounds, which is about 20 minutes away or longer if there's traffic...and of course their was. I got to the building at 4:30, there wasn't many people there surprisngly so I guess I was a lot earlier than I thought I was, anyways I said my hellos to the people who were there and went over to my sound table. Surprisingly the sound stuff was already set up, so I played with it just to make sure everything was honkey dori, switched some cables around, did a couple of sound tests and I was basically done until show time.
After a little while, more and more of the wrestlers showed up and I said my hellos. As everyone was setting up, the guys at BRAWL decided to do something for their website. Doug E. Bucks was going to shoot a promo for their website then a empty arena match was going to take place. Before the promo happen BRAWL wanted to put the new ring annoucer in the promo as well to introduce Doug E Bucks, but that didn't work out so well. The ring annoucer is very new and was nervous and it just didn't end up working and it was decided because he was so nervous just in front of the camera, it was thought he be eated alive in front of the crowd, so it was decided for him not to ring annouce. After that, Doug E Bucks, cut his promo and the cameraman cut over to the ring to film the match. Which should be up at www.brawlwrestling.net very soon. So be sure to check the website to check out the match.
As time drew near to the start of the show, I found out their wasn't any pre-made cards up. Their was a small piece of paper with what looked like the card in the back and I was asked to start making copies of the card for the wrestlers and for myself. So I started (in a hurry) writing down the card so the wrestlers knew what was going on and as I was writing the card, the head Ref Gweedo came up to me and told me that he and the other Ref needed a card, so I had to make one for them. So now I'm making a card for me, the wreslters, and the Ref, so now I'm writing down faster. Then as I'm still making copies, I find out that the new ring annoucers, yeah their's going to be two of them now, need the wrestlers weight and hometown. So now I need to make them a card with hometowns and weights and the show's going to start in a little bit. As I'm finding this stuff out I'm hearing Pogo saying we need to get the show going...so now I'm going super fast to find out everyone's information. Luckily I get everyone's information fast enough and go out there and start up some pre-show music as the crowd is still coming in, ECW the music volume 1 has good pre-show music by the way, if you skip past the first track.
So the show started..I think at 7, I actually didn't check the time come to think about it. Anyways the show started with Doug E Bucks, Pogo the Clown, Helfyre and Rik Luxury coming out first and me having no ring annoucers yet, luckily Doug had the mic. Doug E Bucks and Pogo had recently offered a open challange to anyone for Pogo's BRAWL title and after Rik Luxury and Helfyre left the ring, a returning El Chupacabra came through the front door and attacked Pogo the Clown. The fight went back and forth until Pogo got the upper hand and started choking out Chupacabra, which brought out The Big Ugly JD Bishop. The Big Ugly talked Pogo off of Chupacabra then after Bishop checked on Chupi, Pogo hit The Big Ugly with a big boot and Pogo shortly left the ring and returned to the back shortly after. When El Chupacabra and the Big Ugly got back to their feet, Chupacabra claimed it was all about SPW and that BRAWL can kiss his ass and left through the front door again.
While El Chupacabra had worked with BRAWL before, a few months ago, I guess Chupi had some kind of falling out with BRAWL but returned last night. I don't know what happen and why it happen but I'm glad Chupacabra is back. Really good guy to watch in the ring.
After this, Doug E Bucks, called Helfyre back out and Helfyre challanged T-Rizz to a match. T-Rizz ended up winning after some outside intereferance by his brother and former BRAWL Champion, D-Unit. After the match Doug E Bucks told the Surburban Commandos that he would get them by the end of the night. Now the tag team tournament starts and I now have my two new Ring Annoucers. The two new ring annoucers.........the BRAWL Tag champs, Money Mike Rayne and A Pimp named Virgil...both of them took a seat next to me at the sound table.
The tournament started with Super Mexico and Chica Calienta (sp?) vs Saito Hayashi and Vennis Demarko, the team of Super Mexico and Chica Calienta won the match after Demarko attacked his tag partner the cross dresser Hayashi which led to Hayashi getting pinned by the team of Super Mexico and Chica. The next match was suppose to be The Big Ugly with his partner vs someone but someone didn't show up which led to The Big Ugly getting a bye in the tournament.
The next match was the American Missiles vs The Surburban Commandos (D-unit and T-Rizz), the Commandos beat the hell out of them and won this match. The next match The Cruz brothers and Chicono Flame vs Pogo the Clown and Helfyre in a 3 on 2 handicap match, Pogo the Clown and Helfyre won this match to move on. After this match we had a intermission, but not before a fight broke out.
After the match was over, a fight broke out between the tag champs and Pogo the clown and Helfyre after A Pimp named Virgil went after Pogo. Before Pogo's tag match, the two teams had some words that Virgil didn't take to kindly and after the match took the first chance he got and went after Pogo. The fight was crazy and Virgil ended up taking a nasty slam on the hard cold concrete floor. As myself and Mike Rayne was checking on him either Pogo or Helfyre threw pizza at us, which now made things more of a mess. After this, I took the mic and told everyone we'll be taking a intermisson so we can get everything cleaned up and to make sure the tag champs are ok to come back out. After intermisson we got everything cleaned up and the tag champs returned back to the sound table and continued to do their ring annoucing.
The first match back was Super Mexico and Chica Calienta (Sp?) vs The Big Ugly JD Bishop. It turned out The Big Ugly actually didn't have a tag partner and went into the match alone. The Big Ugly still won the match even though he was alone after he VISCIOUSLY CHOPPED THE SHIT OUT of Chica and got the 1, 2, 3. I know what your thinking, "he won off a chop?", you may not understand. Bishop is a freaking big guy and I mean big as muscled out, Chicha weighs about 120, maybe less. She got the shit...THE SHIT..chopped out of her. Myself, Virgil, and Mike Rayne popped out of our chairs after the chop and the crowd ate up and gave out a Ugly chant after the match was over. The Big Ugly had moved on in the tag tournament.
The next match was The Surburban Commandos (D-unit/T-rizz) vs Helfyre and Pogo the Clown with Doug E bucks. After a back and forth match and after the Ref took a splash from Pogo the Clown, Doug E Bucks slid into the ring and made a pinfall count for Pogo and since Doug is the commish of BRAWL, the decision stood and The Commandos had lost the match and their shot at the tag titles as Pogo and Helfyre moved on. After the match The Commandos got ahold of Doug E Bucks and beat the hell out of him.
The next match was for the BRAWL internet title and it was a 3 way Coal Miners Glove on a pole match between The Sheik Kahn Abodi vs Rik Luxury vs the champion DJ Rizz. After a pretty damn good match, DJ Rizz picked up the victory after he pinned The Sheik. The next match after that was the finals of the tournament and we would find out who would face Money Mike Rayne and A pimp Named Virgil for the tag titles after the tournament.
The final match of the tournament was the BRAWL heavyweight Champion Pogo the Clown and Helfyre with Doug E. Bucks vs The Big Ugly JD Bishop in what would be another Handi-cap match because Ugly didn't have a partner. Well thats what we thought until Ugly pointed to the curtain and El Chupacabra came out! So now its El Chupacabra and The Big Ugly JD Bishop vs Pogo the Clown and Helfyre with Doug E bucks. The team of Chupacabra and The Big Ugly won the match after Chupi pinned Helfyre. After the match was over, Doug E bucks challanged them to a match on Jan 19th.
The match will take place in a cage and it will be Pogo the Clown and Helfyre AND DOUG E BUCKS(!!) vs El Chupacabra and The Big Ugly JD Bishop and their partner, The Rock Legend Scum Adam Throwstowe who will also be making his return to BRAWL as well in a steel cage match!!! Yeah I think Doug E Bucks is screwed.
After this was annouced Money Mike Rayne and A pimp Named Virgil had to defend their titles against the Big Ugly JD Bishop and El Chupacabra. The match was on like motherfucking Donkey Kong. The match was pretty much back and forth until the Pimps got the upper hand and won the match. After the match was over the two teams shook hands and that was the end of the show. I got back on the micaphone and made the annoucement of the next show and thanked the crowd for coming out.
I'd think I'd make a pretty good damn ring annoucer sometime down the road as long as my voice doesn't screw up. I have some brain damage to my speech lobe of my brain so sometimes my voice gets all screwed up. Either I mumble, talk to fast, or don't say excatly what I need to say clearly. Anyways the show was a fun show to be at and sitting next to Money Mike Rayne and A Pimp Named Virgil was a fun experiance as well. I'm looking forward to the next BRAWL show on the 19th as I have never seen BRAWL do a cage match before. Should be fun.
After the show was over, I took down the sound system, said my good byes and handed back to Benicia and went to bed. So until next time, stay tuned to my blog for more of my life on the Pro Wrestling Indy Curcuit.
Dale Murphy - Outfielder
Atlanta Braves 1976-1990
Philadelphia Phillies 1990-1992
Colorado Rockies 1993
9th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1999: 19.32%
2000: 23.25%
2001: 18.46%
2002: 14.83%
2003: 11.69%
2004: 8.50%
2005: 10.46%
2006: 10.77%
Awards
1982 NL MVP
1982 NL Gold Glove - OF
1982 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1983 NL MVP
1983 NL Gold Glove - OF
1983 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1984 NL Gold Glove - OF
1984 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1985 NL Gold Glove - OF
1985 NL Silver Sluger - OF
1986 NL Gold Glove - OF
All-Star Selections: 7 (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987)
League Leader
1982: RBI
1983: RBI, Slugging %, Runs Created, OPS
1984: Homeruns, Slugging %, Total Bases, Runs Created
1985: Homeruns, Runs, Walks, Runs Created
1987: Runs Created
Career Ranks
Homeruns: 45th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 31 (54) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 147 (90) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 34.3 (209) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 115.5 (121) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 1 (Duke Snider)
Other Similar Batters: Joe Carter, Don Baylor, Ron Santo, Gil Hodges, George Foster, Ruben Sierra, Jack Clark, Ellis Burks, Lee May
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1976: 2/0.3
1977: 2/-0.1
1978: 7/1.4
1979: 11/1.5
1980: 28/9.2
1981: 11/4.3
1982: 32/10.2
1983: 32/10.3
1984: 33/9.8
1985: 31/9.3
1986: 22/6.0
1987: 29/11.5
1988: 12/6.8
1989: 14/2.6
1990: 15/5.0
1991: 13/4.7
1992: 0/-0.8
1993: 0/-0.4
Career Win Shares: 294
Career WARP3: 91.6
Would he get my vote?
No. If I had a real vote I'd be very tempted to give Murphy a sympathy vote as it would be nice to see him get more support and he's actually lost support over the years, nearly falling off the ballot in 2004. With Jim Rice I said he needed two more good seasons but with Murphy I think he needed just one more. He had a very good peak, better than Rice's, as he was just incredible from 1982-1985 but he was washed up by age 32. Although he did win six Gold Gloves at a premium defensive position in centerfield, he was not nearly as good as those six Gold Gloves indicate. He was decent but not great defensively.
If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, chances are you know my opinion toward Division I-A College Football and the whole BcS system. From my 10/16 entry:
But even though I don’t care for college football, I do care about my fellow TSM brethren. When Bored needed an extra participant for this year’s college football pick ‘em contest, I was more than happy to oblige. I mean, it’s only a minute or so out of my busy week to PM him each week’s picks. Well a funny thing happened; I managed to scrap and claw my way to the Meow Mix Pussy Bowl up against my hated rival Kotz. Well, maybe not “hated rival,” but I know he won’t be inviting me over for dinner anytime soon. I figured because I post all my NFL selections, why not include this year’s bowl games?
Please note that I have spent zero time actually thinking about these selections, which is how I approached my selections for Bored’s contest. Now if USC is playing California Christian Academy Tech in Week 1, then I’m going with the Trojans. But for just about anything else, I’m completely in the dark, which in many cases would probably be the best way to pick games. I have no idea which teams have already won, nor do I really care. I’ll probably do a recap after the BcS game to see how good (or bad) I did. Oh, and Papajohns.com Bowl? Insight Bowl? Meineke Car Care Bowl? International Bowl with Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan on January 6? The hell?
December 19th
Poinsettia: TCU vs. Northern Illinois
December 21st
Las Vegas: BYU vs. Oregon
December 22nd
New Orleans: Troy vs. Rice
December 23rd
Papajohns.com: South Florida vs. East Carolina
New Mexico: New Mexico vs. San Jose State
Armed Forces: Tulsa vs. Utah
December 24th
Hawaii: Arizona State vs. Hawaii
December 26th
Motor City: Middle Tennessee vs. Central Michigan
December 27th
Emerald: Florida State vs. UCLA
December 28th
Independence: Oklahoma State vs. Alabama
Holiday: California vs. Texas A&M
Texas: Rutgers vs. Kansas State
December 29th
Music City: Clemson vs. Kentucky
Sun: Oregon State vs. Missouri
Liberty: Houston vs. South Carolina
Insight: Texas Tech vs. Minnesota
Champs Sports: Purdue vs. Maryland
December 30th
Meineke Car Care: Navy vs. Boston College
Alamo: Texas vs. Iowa
Chick-fil-A: Georgia vs. Virginia Tech
December 31st
MPC Computers: Miami vs. Nevada
January 1st
Outback: Tennessee vs. Penn State
Cotton: Auburn vs. Nebraska
Gator: West Virginia vs. Georgia Tech
Capital One: Arkansas vs. Wisconsin
Rose: USC vs. Michigan
Fiesta: Boise State vs. Oklahoma
January 2nd
Orange: Louisville vs. Wake Forest
January 3rd
Sugar: Notre Dame vs. LSU
January 6th
International: Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan
January 7th
GMAC: Ohio vs. Southern Miss
January 8th
BCS Championship: Florida vs. Ohio State
Tommy John - Starting Pitcher
Cleveland Indians 1963-1964
Chicago White Sox 1965-1971
Los Angeles Dodgers 1972-1978
New York Yankees 1979-1982, 1986-1989
California Angels 1982-1985
Oakland Athletics 1985
13th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1995: 21.30%
1996: 21.70%
1997: 20.51%
1998: 27.27%
1999: 18.71%
2000: 27.05%
2001: 28.35%
2002: 26.91%
2003: 23.39%
2004: 21.94%
2005: 23.84%
2006: 29.61%
Awards
None
All-Star Selections: 4 (1968, 1978, 1979, 1980)
League Leader
1966: Shutouts
1967: Shutouts
1974: Win/Loss %
1980: Shutouts
1982: BB/9
Career Ranks
Wins: 25th
Games: 45th
Innings: 19th
Strikeouts: 47th
Shutouts: 26th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 8 (281) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 137 (116) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 44.0 (53) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 111.0 (76) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: 6 (Robin Roberts, Fergie Jenkins, Early Wynn, Burleigh Grimes, Don Sutton, Eppa Rixey)
Other Similar Pitchers: Jim Kaat, Bert Byleven, Tom Glavine, Tony Mullane
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1963: 1/0.1
1964: 2/1.3
1965: 12/4.5
1966: 15/5.7
1967: 11/4.9
1968: 15/6.6
1969: 17/6.4
1970: 17/7.3
1971: 10/4.0
1972: 11/3.9
1973: 15/4.5
1974: 11/4.1
1976: 13/3.7
1977: 19/6.5
1978: 12/3.4
1979: 23/8.4
1980: 19/6.3
1981: 10/5.3
1982: 12/5.7
1983: 10/3.8
1984: 7/2.7
1985: 1/0.1
1986: 6/2.2
1987: 13/4.0
1988: 7/3.0
1989: 0/0.0
Career Win Shares: 289
Career WARP3: 108.7
Would he get my vote?
No. John's entire case is based on his career counting numbers as he pitched for a very, very long time and usually at an above average to good performance level. But as I've mentioned before I favor peak over career and John's peak is seriously lacking. One knock against Win Shares is that it can underrate pitchers but it is hard to view someone who had only one season in 26 years where he had 20+ Win Shares as a HOF. Besides he already has his place in history by having a surgery named after him so he should be content with that.
• Well they say Famous deaths always come in threes. First was James Brown. Next was Gerald Ford. Who will be number three? Saddam Hussein?
Then again, that Peter Boyle hippie might have been number one in this trio. Who knows. Regarding the death of Ford, I never paid much attention to his presidency. I remember hearing on Rush’s show once some sub-host (either Tony Snow or Michael Medved) said he had the most vetos of any four-year president. He pardoned Nixon and lost to that doofus Jimmy Carter. He also played football. That’s all I got.
• Interesting. We named our most recent kitty acquisition Max, and there’s a weiner dog named Max that lives across from us. Interesting note: last winter (or was it two winters ago?) I was watching my Max looking out our front-door window and he had that look whenever a cat sees something outside like a bird or a bug. I looked out the window to see what caught his eye, and it was Max romping about outside. Suddenly, this stupid dog ran in front of a moving car, and for a second I thought I was going to witness the premature end to the neighborhoods dachshund. Forturnatly, the car wasn’t speeding and was able to stop before hitting the dog. Had this vehicle killed Max, I wouldn’t have blamed the driver for this one. I let the neighbors know of what had happened and unfortunately for Max he now spends most of his outside time on a leash next to his bigger canine companion. It’s a shame, too, because it was fun to throw snowballs at him as I went to get the mail and he did his pseudo-charge at me that would switch into to a full-fledged retreat the moment I turned around to face the ravenous beast. There were also times I remember Max romping about in my yard, and even up to my front door, much to the chagrin of my three kids.
Oh, yeah. Here’s the story that prompted me to type the above paragraph:
Jim Rice - Leftfielder
Boston Red Sox 1974-1989
13th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1995: 29.78%
1996: 35.32%
1997: 37.63%
1998: 42.92%
1999: 29.38%
2000: 51.50%
2001: 57.86%
2002: 55.08%
2003: 52.22%
2004: 54.55%
2005: 59.50%
2006: 64.80%
Awards
1978 AL MVP
1983 AL Silver Slugger - OF
1984 AL Silver Slugger - OF
All-Star Selections: 8 (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986)
League Leader
1977: Homeruns, Total Bases, Slugging %
1978: Hits, Homeruns, RBI, Triples, Total Bases, Runs Created, Slugging %, OPS, OPS+
1979: Total Bases
1983: Homeruns, RBI, Total Bases
Career Ranks
Hits: 93rd
HR: 52nd
RBI: 52nd
TB: 63rd
SLG: 89th
RC: 79th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 33 (49) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 176 (56) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 42.9 (122) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 146.5 (82) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 4 (Orlando Cepeda, Duke Snider, Billy Williams, Willie Stargell)
Other Similar Batters: Andres Galarraga, Ellis Burks, Joe Carter, Dave Parker, Luis Gonzalez, Chili Davis
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1974: 1/0.1
1975: 20/4.8
1976: 17/4.2
1977: 26/7.4
1978: 36/10.4
1979: 28/8.2
1980: 16/4.9
1981: 15/6.3
1982: 21/6.4
1983: 24/9.1
1984: 17/7.3
1985: 14/5.4
1986: 28/9.4
1987: 8/2.7
1988: 9/2.6
1989: 2/0.1
Career Win Shares: 282
Career WARP3: 89.2
Would he get my vote?
No. A few years ago I was on the Rice bandwagon but I have since jumped off. He was fabulous from 1977-1979 but when you look at the rest of the career there's only two other great seasons and the offensive standards for a being HOF corner outfielder are almost as high as first basemen. He also benefitted from playing his entire career in Fenway Park and he had a large home/road split posting an OPS 131 points higher (.920 to .789) at Fenway than on the road. I think he needed two more good years to push him over the top but his skills eroded rapidly in his mid-30s so much so that he's become the poster boy for a player who has a sudden decline in production in their mid-30s. If he had been a great defensive outfielder or a great base stealer that could have also pushed him over the top but he was neither. I will say that he seems a tad underrated by WARP3. He is gaining support from the writers and I could see him getting a big bump in one his final two years on the ballot although he obviously no chance this year. There's a case to be made for him and I won't have a problem if he ever gets in but he doesn't get my imaginary vote.
I don't want to steal the thunder of my previous blog, since that is much more important "news" to share then this bitter entry, but I noticed, when I was Christmas shopping how a lot of clothing lines/brands/names etc....have become fashionable over the past couple of years which has been met with a price hike that makes purchasing more then one or two items unbearable. Stores like "Tillys" "Ground Zero" etc....they mostly contain a lot of brand names that a few years ago basically made the same stuff, but not as many people took a liking to it. It was never "cheap" perse, but it was all reasonably priced. Not anymore. Why are they asking $25 for T-shirts....not a nice dress shirt or collared shirt, but a fucking T-shirt with a random, generic print on it....$25? The only thing I could find which blew my mind away were Hoodies, that were a mere $20.....yes people they were charging more for T-shirts, then Hoodies!?! Of course, I suck at clothes shopping for other people anyway, so I usually just sell out and by some type of accessorie.
