Amazingly, there is a war on Christians in this country.
I know I’m just as shocked as you.
But we Christians are at war… or being attacked… or I’m not sure. But it’s war baby.
Or something to that effect.
So I’m flipping though the gossip pages know as the Washington Post when I stumble upon this gem [LINKED RIGHT HERE]. Man the walls, call up the draw bridge, the Christians are under attack!
Of course who’s doing the attacking… the left once again (with help from Hollywood, the judiciary, gays and the news media). That baby killing, heartless, soulless, baby killing, sex loving, poor loving, justice demanding, baby killing, gay loving, equality seeking, did I mention baby killing, Left.
Rick Scarborough, who hosted this conference, said, "I believe the most damaging thing that Tom DeLay has done in his life is take his faith seriously into public office, which made him a target for all those who despise the cause of Christ."
Thataboy Rick… Tom DeLay’s greatest fault is taking his faith too seriously. Forget the outrageous gerrymandering of the state of Texas; or the indictment on charges of conspiracy to violate election laws, money laundering, and conspiracy to engage in money laundering; or DeLay’s uncomfortablly close relationship with Jack Abramoff; or that he took money from Russian oil exeuctives; or that civil suit from the late 1990s where Delay was accused of perjury and ended up setteling out of court. I guess we could go on, but that wouldn’t be right since Mr. DeLay’s most damaging actions in life have been taking his faith too serious. And if that means breaking the law, then Jesus says, break the law.
And just who is this Rick Scarborough, sorry, Dr. Rick Scarborough? The author of books such as "Liberalism Kills Kids" [We are not making this up… I wish we were, but we aren’t. Rumor has it it’s the #1 cause of death of children between the ages of 5 and 14… liberalism]. It’s almost as if the far right, or Christian right, or whatever they are is becoming a self parody. And a pretty unfunny one at that too.
Maybe it’s time to move before my head explodes knowing that morons like this are running around DC. And worst yet that ‘intelligent’ guys like DeLay show up at these things. But then again, I’m not that surprised, it’s pretty obvious that DeLay is in it for the money.
Even if you don’t agree with the Guardians’ Kid Killing Liberalism/Leftism politics they’ve got a pretty good thing here where you can subscribe to podcasts of things like the Prime Minister’s Question time among other things. Jolly good, Cheers!
We’re happy to learn that Charles G. Taylor has been arrested and hopefully will be brought to justice. The former president of Liberia is one of the most ruthless and bloodiest men on this Earth (or as the Economist called him “West Africa’s answer to Milosevic”), having ignited wars in West Africa that killed as many as 300,000 and approved and pushed for a countless number of war-crimes. Bringing a man like this to justice may just give the people of West Africa some hope. Hope that men like Taylor will be held reasonable for their actions. And hope that governments that are democratically elected (like Nigeria and Benin for example) can be effective while allowing people a voice.
29.3.06
28.3.06
Dear Guy In My Office,
Dear Guy in My Office Who Annoys the Hell Out of Me,
Stop trying to be cool. I'm 24. You are 45 and I can respect that. Why can't you? You aren't 24 so don't try to be 24. Be 45. I can handle you if you're 45, I can't stand your guts if you're trying to be 24. When you try to be 24 we have nothing in common. So stop. That's why I give you blank looks half the time and don't respond the other half.
Please stop being annoying. This goes without saying. But when you pass my desk, don't ask me what I'm doing, I'm not going to tell you. Don't ask me what I'm eating because that means I'm eating. Don't ask me to do something after 5:00 because I want to go home. When you bring up small talk, using cheesy pick up lines or even talking about girls isn't going to make me open up. Talking about the weather is much better than talking about 'hot' girls. So please stop being annoying.
Learn how to work a computer. I have better things to do at 5:30 than teach you how to send something via UPS. And sending something on UPS may be one of the easiest things in the world.
Please stop asking me if I have time to help with something... I hate this. Just ask me to do it. Seriously, ask me and I'll get to it pretty quickly. And don't wait till the end of the day to ask me if I have time to help with something.
Please stop talking about your kids all the time. I only care up to a point. And I really don't care any more if they got a hair cut or an earring. Stop.
Please stop either name dropping or telling stories when you were younger... I don't care if you once rocked out to Santana in the car or if you once dated someone other than your wife.
Please just stop talking about Santana or Blazing Saddles... I know both of them sure, but they really aren't 'big' with kids born between 1980 and 2006.
Please stop talking so loud when you're on the phone, or at least close your door.
Please stop talking about sports because it's clear that you don't know anything about sports which is fine, but we all know that you don't even like sports and you only know who LSU is because it might be helpful when meeting someone from Louisiana. And your kids hockey team is not sports. I'm happy he made the team. I don't care after that.
When we order burritos for lunch, don't mention cerveza ten times over the course of the morning... seriously, I may kill you the next time you say cerveza. And don't pretend that you're a big drinker... you aren't. I've been to events with you. You might have a drink. That's cool. Just don't pretend to be a big drinker.
Stop talking about your Jewish guilt. I've never even heard of Jewish guilt. I Wikipediaed Jewish guilt... nothing. I think you made it up. Catholic guilt... that exists, that has a Wikipedia entry. I'm starting to think you made up Jewish guilt. Okay maybe it does exist, but I'm sick of you talking about your Jewish guilt every other day. I still think it's completely made up.
Thanks,
Views From Life on a Bench
P.S. You aren't funny either... the other guy in our office is funny. You aren't.
Stop trying to be cool. I'm 24. You are 45 and I can respect that. Why can't you? You aren't 24 so don't try to be 24. Be 45. I can handle you if you're 45, I can't stand your guts if you're trying to be 24. When you try to be 24 we have nothing in common. So stop. That's why I give you blank looks half the time and don't respond the other half.
Please stop being annoying. This goes without saying. But when you pass my desk, don't ask me what I'm doing, I'm not going to tell you. Don't ask me what I'm eating because that means I'm eating. Don't ask me to do something after 5:00 because I want to go home. When you bring up small talk, using cheesy pick up lines or even talking about girls isn't going to make me open up. Talking about the weather is much better than talking about 'hot' girls. So please stop being annoying.
Learn how to work a computer. I have better things to do at 5:30 than teach you how to send something via UPS. And sending something on UPS may be one of the easiest things in the world.
Please stop asking me if I have time to help with something... I hate this. Just ask me to do it. Seriously, ask me and I'll get to it pretty quickly. And don't wait till the end of the day to ask me if I have time to help with something.
Please stop talking about your kids all the time. I only care up to a point. And I really don't care any more if they got a hair cut or an earring. Stop.
Please stop either name dropping or telling stories when you were younger... I don't care if you once rocked out to Santana in the car or if you once dated someone other than your wife.
Please just stop talking about Santana or Blazing Saddles... I know both of them sure, but they really aren't 'big' with kids born between 1980 and 2006.
Please stop talking so loud when you're on the phone, or at least close your door.
Please stop talking about sports because it's clear that you don't know anything about sports which is fine, but we all know that you don't even like sports and you only know who LSU is because it might be helpful when meeting someone from Louisiana. And your kids hockey team is not sports. I'm happy he made the team. I don't care after that.
When we order burritos for lunch, don't mention cerveza ten times over the course of the morning... seriously, I may kill you the next time you say cerveza. And don't pretend that you're a big drinker... you aren't. I've been to events with you. You might have a drink. That's cool. Just don't pretend to be a big drinker.
Stop talking about your Jewish guilt. I've never even heard of Jewish guilt. I Wikipediaed Jewish guilt... nothing. I think you made it up. Catholic guilt... that exists, that has a Wikipedia entry. I'm starting to think you made up Jewish guilt. Okay maybe it does exist, but I'm sick of you talking about your Jewish guilt every other day. I still think it's completely made up.
Thanks,
Views From Life on a Bench
P.S. You aren't funny either... the other guy in our office is funny. You aren't.
26.3.06
Bitter With the Sweet
"Shiver" makes me bitter... I just wanted to say that before it's too late. Go read about baseball...
And on and on/From the moment I wake, to the moment I sleep/I'll be there by your side; just you try and stop me/I'll be waiting in line, just to see if you care
Oh…/Did you want me to change?/Well I changed for good/And I want you to know that you'll always get your way/I wanted to say…
Don't you shiver/Don't you shiver/Sing it loud and clear/I'll always be waiting for you
Yeah I'll always be waiting for you/Yeah I'll always be waiting for you/Yeah I'll always be waiting for you, for you/I will always be waiting…
And it's you I see but you don't see me/And it's you I hear so loud and so clear/I sing it loud and clear/And I'll always be waiting for you
So I look in your direction/But you pay me no attention/And you know how much I need you/But you never even see me
And on and on/From the moment I wake, to the moment I sleep/I'll be there by your side; just you try and stop me/I'll be waiting in line, just to see if you care
Oh…/Did you want me to change?/Well I changed for good/And I want you to know that you'll always get your way/I wanted to say…
Don't you shiver/Don't you shiver/Sing it loud and clear/I'll always be waiting for you
Yeah I'll always be waiting for you/Yeah I'll always be waiting for you/Yeah I'll always be waiting for you, for you/I will always be waiting…
And it's you I see but you don't see me/And it's you I hear so loud and so clear/I sing it loud and clear/And I'll always be waiting for you
So I look in your direction/But you pay me no attention/And you know how much I need you/But you never even see me
24.3.06
The AL East and AL Central
What's that? You'd like around 4,700 words on the AL East and AL Central? I can do that... part one of our baseball preview. The rest to follow next week.
American League East
5.) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Win Range: 64-69)
Why they'll stink: Because they’ve got no pitching… still. How long have they been in the league? And they’ve never had pitching at any point. Though this Scott Kazmir kid is a start… their infield makes me want to throw up… and they play in the worst stadium in baseball. About ten people come to games and it looks so bad on TV that I’m shocked mass suicides haven’t been reported having taken place there in the last five years, then again maybe no one has discovered the bodies since no one’s at the game.
Silver Lining: They’re changing their name next year. They don’t actually play in Tampa Bay, but rather on land in St. Petersburg, so that’s good. And you can watch a bunch of young hitters in Jorge Cantu, Carl Crawford, Joey Garthright, Rocco Baldelli, Delmon Young, and BJ Upton eventually.
Best Pitcher: Scott Kazmir – the kid can throw
Best Player: Carl Crawford – He can run and gets on base.
Key to Season: Seeing what Upton and Young can do. But honestly, this team, until it finds pitching isn’t going any where. What a bad organization.
Wild Card Chance?: None. This is the one team in the AL East that has no hope for the year. Hopefully they won’t lose 100 games again.
Random Thoughts: This is, hands down, the worst team to be a fan of. There is little to nothing to get excited about, and unlike the Royals, they don’t even play in a nice stadium. And don’t you love how they have like six young outfielders and no where to play them? How did Chuck LaMar keep his job so long? LaMar had to be the MLB equivalent of an NBA GM… first he signed a bunch of old, bad players for too long and too much (Greg Vaughn, Jose Canseco, Fred McGriff, Vinny Castilla… what was he thinking?). Then after that failed, he either made bad trades or sat on his hands asking for too much. And in the process he ended up drafting about 43 outfielders with the first or second pick in the MLB draft (since that’s were the Rays always draft). And if Chuck LaMar was an NBA GM, wouldn’t he be hired by someone by now? I’m happy for people of the Tampa area that the Chuck LaMar era is over. By the way, who’s the manager of this team now that Lou Piniella is gone? What a boring team with ugly uniforms and a bad stadium. Get ready for a lot of 8-5 games… Yuck.
4.) Baltimore Orioles (Win Range: 70-75)
Why they won’t finish third: This is one of those teams that you think is on the right track but then doesn’t do anything. Seriously they had a great start to last year, then fell apart after the All-Star Break. They should score runs, but they still have very little pitching.
Silver Lining: They’ve got the best park in the American League, one of the best players in Tejada, and their infield is among the best if doctors were able to reattach Brian Roberts arm.
Best Pitcher: Daniel Cabrera – Can have electric stuff, but still young
Best Player: Miguel Tejada, one of the ten best players in baseball!
Wild Card Chance?: Any team that features LaTroy Hawkins in their bullpen can’t make the playoffs. This is a proven fact, or rather, maybe any team that features Hawkins as the closer can’t make the playoffs. No matter, I hate their bullpen, so I don’t see it happening along with the fact that they don’t have any good starters and their outfield stinks.
Key to Season: Cabrera pitches like a #1, Bedard improves, Benson lives up to being drafted #1, Lopez finds his 2004 form, and Corey Patterson stops being Corey Patterson.
Random Thoughts: I’m not sure any team has more #3 and #4 starters than the O’s (Benson, Chen, Lopez, and Bedard)… I like this Daniel Cabrera kid, but I’m not sure if he’s more than a #2. They’ll score runs (who won’t in this division?) but they just don’t have it. They’re outfield features 94 year old Jeff Conine, Corey “Swing at the first pitch” Patterson, Luis Matos, and Jay Gibbons. Why even bother? Plus I love the fact they signed Ramon Hernandez for no apparent reason other than to piss of Javy Lopez. What a weird organization, it’s like they try to finish with 80 wins.
3.) Boston Red Sox (Win Range: 81-86)
Why they’re overrated: Even if you forget the fact that they had the weirdest off season this side of half the NBA and NHL, I don’t see what’s to love about this team. Schilling is 39, Wells is 42, fat, and stupid, Clement is clearly a head case, and Beckett’s hand/fingers are up there with Fred Taylor’s groin and Ronald Curry’s Achilles heel. Everyone’s all excited about this Papelbon kid, but he’s pitched a whopping 34 innings at the major league level. Timlin is 39 and can’t possibly pitch as well, who knows what’s up with Foulke, and this might be the year Tim Wakfield’s arm falls off. And that’s just the pitching staff. Do we all realize that Alex Gonzalez (the sucky one) is the short stop on this team? And that Mike Lowell can’t do ‘roids any more so he stinks and Mike Loretta is 34 and not 24 right? And J.T. Snow, all 38 years of him, is starting at first where they’ll be lucky to get 15 home runs from him… On top of all that they’re the guaranteed Trot Nixon 30 day DL trip away from Adam Stern playing every day... oh wait they traded for Willy Mo Pena so that doesn’t matter as much… wait why did they trade for Willy Mo Pena? Can he play first? Is the idea to put Nixon at first? What is going on with this team? There’s a lot to hate with this team.
Silver Lining: Coco Crisp has the second best name in baseball. And they do have a ton of pitching so if someone gets hurt or stinks, they don’t have to trot them out there every day.
Best Pitcher: Josh Beckett – if he’s healthy, and that’s a big Kerry Wood like if, he’s good.
Best Player: David Ortiz, he means more to this team than Manny… and Varitek is starting to get up there. Plus I think Varitek believes he’s in the army.
Wild Card Chance?: See that list of questions marks and what if above? If they all, or 90% of them, break the BoSox way they could win the Wild Card. I just don’t see it happening especially since they have one of the worst infields in baseball.
Key to Season: Schilling doesn’t suck, Beckett stays healthy, Wells shuts his mouth, Manny stops being Manny, and they find someone to put up some sort of offensive numbers in the infield. In other words, the odds of J.T. Snow finishing the year at first base are nil to none. I sort of like the Pena deal, but they traded their most ‘constant’ starter in Aaroyo for Pena who doesn’t have an obvious place in that outfield unless Nixon moves to first. And no two of those starters can get hurt at this point.
Random Thoughts: This team has the 2005 Philadelphia Eagles written all over them. Way too much off-season drama from Theo, to Manny, to XL Wells. They’re pitching is a huge question mark and their infield blows. They aren’t the 75 win team they were back in December, but they’re looking at 81 to 84 wins. This could be a long, wild, annoying summer in New England. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
2.) Toronto Blue Jays (Win Range: 84-90)
Why they’ll do the nation a favor and shut up Red Sox fans: Would you look at here… we have a team with good pitching, a decent pen, and is pretty good offensively. They aren’t great in any area, but they’re good every where. Chacin, Towers, Burnett and of course Halladay is a pretty darn good start to a rotation. Speier, Chulk, Schoeneweis and with BJ Ryan closing is a pretty good bullpen. I love the addition of Troy Glaus and Bengie Molina, and we believe that Vernon Wells is one of the three most underrated players in baseball. If Russ Adams and Alexis Rios continue to improve, this team will find itself in a Wild Card race.
Silver Lining: They are being hyped, but not hyped to the levels of the Red Sox who I bet pretty much everyone will pick to finish second… and since they’re in Canada they always fly under the radar screen.
Best Pitcher: Roy Halladay – Still some how underrated
Best Player: Vernon Wells – One of those guys that can do a little bit of everything for you.
Wild Card Chance?: Very good, they avoid the dogfight that will be the AL Central, but still no cake walk since the O’s will be one of those teams that are either one fire or very cold.
Key to Season: This team has to come together which is always a worry with teams with a high turn over rate from one season to the next, Burnett can’t stink, and Halladay and Wells have to stay healthy.
Random Thoughts: I’m not sure if I’m rooting for anyone more than the Blue Jays this year. They did a good job making over this team in the off season targeting pitching, and even though they over paid for it, I don’t think either Burnett or Ryan will be a flop. You would probably like to see more speed at the top of the order, and there are some holes on this roster, but I still like their chances to make a run for the Wild Card.
1.) New York Yankees (Win Range: 92-96)
Why they'll cruise: Because they’ll score roughly 1,138 runs and find pitching from some where since, after all, they are the Yankees (in other words, no other team would see Chien-Ming Wang, Aaron Small, and Shawn Chacon come out of no where and save their season… yet this shit happens EVERY YEAR with the Yankees). And they want to make a run at the Braves “most division titles in a row”.
Mitigating Factor: I’ll just list a few names… Posada, Jeter, Giambi, A-Rod, Cano, Damon, Matsui, Sheffield… let’s put it this way, when Robinson Cano is you’re weakest hitter, we’ll your in All-State type good hands.
Best Pitcher: Randy Johnson – even though he’s 42, he had an ERA under 4 and won 17 games and was considered a disappointment. Go figure.
Best Player: Alex Rodriguez – he’s the best player in the game 11 out of 12 months of the year… it’s a shame he stinks more than five year old cheese under a desk in Cairo during October.
Key to Season: They still have some big question marks when it comes to pitching, and they can’t lose both Johnson and Mussina.
Random Thoughts: They scored 886 runs last year without Johnny Damon at the top of the order. I know they won’t score 1,000, but they’ll have an outside shot at that number. Sure, Cano is the only starter under the age of 30, but the only guy that is really over the hill is Bernie Williams. They do have a bit of a question mark at first, since I don’t think anyone wants to see Giambi out there for more than 50 games tops. This team isn’t built for a long term series in the playoffs, but this is a very good regular season team. If you’re a pitcher and have an off night, I feel for ya.
AL Central
5) Kansas City Royals (Win Range: 49-54)
Why they'll stink: My Lord… were to start? How about the fact that they’re best pitcher last year quit the team? And their second best pitcher was Jose Lima (who is now gone). That’s what we have to work with for starters. I guess their infield is a little better this year, but seriously, is anyone excited about Doug Mientkiewicz and Grudzielanek? This team is so bad… And could someone please explain to me what the hell is going on with Angel Berroa? This guy had a nice rookie year and has regressed the last two years. His 2004 couldn’t have been much worse, yet he had basically no improvement last year, in fact he was probably worse. I would hate being a Royals fan… this team has no direction, no nothing. Easily the worst run team in the leauge. At least the Devil Rays have 7 outfielder prospects, the Royals have nothing.
Silver Lining: Maybe Zack Greinke didn’t quit and comes back? This has to be the weirdest story of the spring… the guy just walked off the field and that was it. He’s 22 btw, 22! Why give up at this point? I know being with the Royals sucks, but it’s not like he’s 32 and says screw it I had a nice career… he’s 22! What’s he gonna do? Work at Wal-Mart? Totally weird.
Best Pitcher: No one. Seriously, their staff sucks. They’re going to give up 900 runs again, I’m going to say more. This team has a chance to give up 1,000 runs. I’m not kidding. This might be the worst team we’ll ever see in our lives… and that’s saying something because the 2003 Tigers were beyond horrible.
Best Player: The 38 year old Reggie Sanders. I’m not making this up.
Key to Season: They don’t go 0-19 against the White Sox. I’m not kidding… last year the Sox were like 11-0 against the Royals at one point.
Wild Card Chance?: No. This team might have trouble beating Team Netherlands.
Random Thoughts: This team makes me mad. They’re so, so, so bad. They gave up more runs last year than the 2003 Tigers and their pitching staff is even worse this year. It’s amazing the steps backwards this team took from the fall of 2003 up today… I can’t think of any reason to go to a Royals game… I really hope they lose 120 games this year just to see what that would look like, but they’ll score enough runs so that won’t happen. But don’t think I’m not rooting for them to give up 1,000 runs.
4) Detroit Tigers (Win Range: 75-80)
Why they won’t finish third: Because they’re in the best division in baseball. This team has talent, I like what they’ve done with their pitching staff, and word on the street is that they’ve got some young arms that might make the team when they break camp… of will be waiting for a May call up. I thought Trammell got screwed when they fired him, but Jim Leland should give this team some character. They need guys to stay healthy, but they should have a chance to win 81 games. I know that’s not much, but this team needs baby steps.
Silver Lining: I really like their infield if everyone (read Carlos Guillen) can stay healthy. While they’re outfield is a weird collection of young guys with some tools and Maggs, I do sort of like their pitching. They’ve got some nice young arms (Bonderman) and hopefully Rogers isn’t a complete asshole to these kids and they can learn a thing or two from him. Why they signed Todd Jones to a two year deal is beyond me, but hey maybe he and Pervical can set a record for most saves by two really old pitchers.
Best Pitcher: Jeremy Bonderman has some great stuff… but since he’s not ‘there’ yet, I’ll give the nod to Kenny Rodgers
Best Player: When he isn’t on the DL, Carlos Guillen has made himself a hellova player.
Key to Season: Getting everyone to play together and the young guys some experience. The Tigers are able to spend some money, and while their in a bit of a limbo year between some of these older guys and the younger guys, they just seem to have a nice mix. I wonder who that guy in the clubhouse who keeps everything loose is… but with Leland in charge I think these guys should have some character by the time the year ends.
Wild Card Chance?: Not really. They play in the toughest division in baseball (yep you read that right) and will struggle to win more than 80 games. This team is a year or two away.
Random Thoughts: Any team that has Nook Logan on their 25 man roster has a place in my heart… Look we all know they over pay for guys (Maggs, Kenny Rodgers, Troy Pervical), but those guy can play some baseball and it’s not like they’re handing them NBA like contracts… Then again they also signed Todd Jones which made me throw up when I heard that this winter (on the bright that that gave me an excuse to call in sick)… About 18 months ago I was talking to someone from Detroit who was saying that if the Tigers ever got good again, the entire city would get behind them. They unite the city apparently (and the Lions would too, but there is an unwritten rule in the NFL that says the Lions can never be better than a 10 win team). So that’s cool… Don’t you love their hats?... I just like the make up of this team. They should be a fun team to watch, one of those, ‘we know they aren’t going to win anything, but boy they’re a fun team to watch and leave everything on the field’ teams… And as always is this the year that Ivan Rodriguez falls apart? He’s not able to juice any more and we saw his numbers drop last year. Something to watch for… Fun team, I wish them luck.
3) Cleveland Indians (Win Range: 85-90)
Why they'll disappoint: Because it looks like Sizemore can’t play center, they aren’t as young as everyone believes they are (Belliard - 30, Boone - 33, Hafner - 28, Broussard - 29), and there is no way their pitching is as good as last year. This is one of those teams that took a step back while not addressing any of their problems for the year before (see: not addressing first base, not realizing that Hafner isn’t Babe Ruth (though he sure looked like Ruth in August and into September), they’re bullpen is getting old and Betancourt can’t juice this year, and who the hell are the starting pitchers on this team after Lee, Sabathia, and Westbrook? Do they think that Paul Byrd is going to stay healthy and be good at the same time? This is the same guy who looked homeless during Game One of the ALCS. I’d have not faith in him… none… if I was Indians fan).
Silver Lining: We love Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Jhonny Peralta (even if he’s the Brett Farve of MLB name pronunciation). So those guys will be fun to watch. Plus the Aaron Boone watch begins… and what’s cool about the Aaron Boone watch is it’s really two fold: the first ‘watch’ is when will Andy Marte take over his job at third and the second watch is ‘Did Aaron juice with Brett or did they do it separately’?
Best Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia… he’s 25 and a lefty and already has 69 wins in his career.
Best Player: Pick between Belliard and Sizemore… we’ll take Sizemore. We fell for him back in June at the Cell.
Key to Season: They need their pitching to be as good as last year and while their bats stay as hot as they were. This team didn’t turn it on until the were so far out of the AL Central race that they had nothing to lose. There’s going to be more pressure on this team, and it’s going to be interesting how they handle it. Remember last year they had three games against a lame duck White Sox team to finish the year and really only had to win one of them to make the playoffs… they ended up choking and losing all three. Not a good sign.
Wild Card Chance?: They’ve got as good a chance as anyone in the AL, but we just don’t like what they’ve done this off-season. They’ve got nothing at first, Boone will probably have too long of a leash at third, and neither Jason Michaels, Jason Dubois, or Casy Blake makes us very excited as corner out fielders.
Random Thoughts: What’s up with really old closers in this division? First Pervical and Jones in Detroit, now Wickman in Cleveland… I guess it’s good that they didn’t go out there and sign a bunch of 32 year olds, but I still don’t like what they did this winter. Paul Byrd isn’t Kevin Millwood, I can’t see Westbrook being as good this year, and there is no way that pen is as good as last year… Let me just get his out of the way, I have an irrational hatred of Travis Hafner… Jhonny Peralta’s first name really bothers me, I don’t care if he’s going to be an All-Star for years to come, it bothers me… I just get the feeling this team is waiting for 2007 and I think that’s a mistake, some of these guys are in their primes right now and I’m not impressed with Eric Wedge.
2) Minnesota Twins (Win Range: 88-93)
Why everyone is forgetting about them: I think last year was a Murphy’s Law year for the Twins, I’m not sure much more could have gone worse besides Santana being hit by a bus in St. Paul. But this is now, suddenly a veteran team, but oh by the way, they’re the youngest team in the division. Yet guys like Santana, Silva, Rincon, Morneau, Castillo, Ford, and even Hunter are all 30 or younger yet have been around for a while it seems. While I’m not crazy about some of the guys they’ve got at a few positions, I think they play with a bit of a chip on their shoulder this year having watched the White Sox win it all last year, the Indians become everyone’s darlings, and just being forgotten about in general in this division. Don’t be shocked if they have a magical season like the Sox did last year.
Silver Lining: Maybe they’ll get a new stadium passed this year? I think this team is pissed and is looking to kick ass and take names and these are always fun teams to watch during a season. If only Tony Batista and who ever plays short didn’t suck…
Best Pitcher: Come on… it’s Johan Santana the best pitcher in baseball right now (though he sure didn’t look it during the WBC).
Best Player: I know he’s a bit overrated as a hitter, but I’ll go with Torii Hunter. They guy does a lot of things well, plays hard, and I think will have a big year coming off an injury plagued year last year.
Key to Season: Keeping everyone healthy, especially Hunter and Mauer. If those two stay healthy and everyone else does what they should, this team should be very good.
Wild Card Chance?: They’re my pick! So there you go. I like ‘em.
Random Thoughts: Don’t under estimate the Kirby Puckett factor here… love the addition of Luis Castillo… they still have a really nice bullpen, don’t forget about that… Santana/Radke/Lohse/Silva isn’t bad at all… I’m still waiting for one of these young guys to step up for them be it Mauer or Morneau or Cuddyer… Rondell White should be good for this team who seems a bit soft outside of their pitchers and Hunter… if the Twins had any sort of a left side of the infield, I’d feel much more comfortable about them, but Bartlett and Batista is not going to get the job done, y-u-c-k… this team needed a kick in the ass and I think they got it with everyone ‘forgetting’ about them (like the White Sox last year) and Puckett’s death. I know they win weird games as it is because they play at the PhoneyDome, but I expect more weird wins this year. Bounces that defy science, opponents tripping as they round third to score, balls getting stuck in air ducks… I’m telling you the possibilities are endless.
1.) Chicago White Sox (Win Range: 93-98)
Why they'll cruise: Because they have more pitching than they know what to do with. They’re the defending World Champs and good karma seems to surround these guys. I like to think of them as the Earl Hickey’s of Major League Baseball. Plus Kenny Williams was the only GM to fully understand how ‘roid testing would change the game. That’s why he dumped Lee and Maggs for speed guys and pitching. Plus they people will actually be showing up for White Sox games this year. With that South Side fan support, there will be no looking back.
Mitigating Factor: They’ve got more ace’s in the hole than any team too… guys like Juan Uribe, Tadahito Iguchi, Konerko, and Pierzynski make plays to win games. Teams like this are always dangerous. Plus they are something like 67-38 under Ozzie in one run games, which tells me they’re a good team and find ways to win. Mean while every stathead is going to tell you they’re lucky… teams that go 67-38 in one run games over two years are GOOD, not lucky. And have I mentioned that they have a lot of pitching… and a lot of good pitching. Contreras, Garland, Garica, and Vazquez would all be #1s or #2s on 25 Major League staffs.
Best Pitcher: Mark Buehrle is a warrior… he just gets it done.
Best Player: This is a tough one, this team is so pitching dominate… we’ll go with the underrated Jermaine Dye who does a little bit of everything and is one of the smarter baseball players out there.
Key to Season: The Bullpen… Ozzie doesn’t like it and expect them to cost this team a few victories early on. They’ll make deals to make sure everything is okay come late in the season, but their pen isn’t that good. Then again, with those starters all expected to go at least seven innings, you only need two arms and they’ve got three.
Random Thoughts: This team should score a lot more runs this year with Thome and Mackowiak coming off the bench. It’s amazing they did so well last year considering their best bench player was Pablo Ozuna… The South Side is going to be BUZZIN’ this summer, I’m not sure we’re all ready for what’s going to go down down there this summer, might be one of those ‘moments’. Cubs brass has to be worried… Brian Anderson should slip right into center without any major problems… It’s going to be weird to see a filled up Cell on TV… I can’t tell you how much I love the Mackowiak acquisition. He’ll fill a lot of holes and probably get 400 at bats to boot… It’s amazing to think how they go six starters deep and how their top five guys are a collection of #1s and #2s, teams just don’t have pitching depth like that… I’m convinced that Juan Uribe should have his on TV show because he’s… Juan Uribe. I can’t think of anyone not loving this guy. His arm is simply amazing and he does those little things that teams need, I’m not kidding if you can catch only one player this year and assuming you’ve seen the Jeter’s, A-Rod’s, and Pujols’ of the world, catch Juan Uribe… Over under on number of ‘controversies’ Ozzie gets into this season: 14.5… I’ve got twenty bucks that Ozzie calls out Tony La Russa next, how great would that be? How would LaRussa respond? I could see Ozzie calling La Russa a Latino wantabe and La Russa responding by changing pitchers (more on La Russa when we get to St. Louis)… Don’t be surprised if this team repeats, they’re offense is better and while odds are their pitching won’t be as good, they’ve got more than everyone else… Team to beat in the American League because they’re still good and they won it all last year.
American League East
5.) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Win Range: 64-69)
Why they'll stink: Because they’ve got no pitching… still. How long have they been in the league? And they’ve never had pitching at any point. Though this Scott Kazmir kid is a start… their infield makes me want to throw up… and they play in the worst stadium in baseball. About ten people come to games and it looks so bad on TV that I’m shocked mass suicides haven’t been reported having taken place there in the last five years, then again maybe no one has discovered the bodies since no one’s at the game.
Silver Lining: They’re changing their name next year. They don’t actually play in Tampa Bay, but rather on land in St. Petersburg, so that’s good. And you can watch a bunch of young hitters in Jorge Cantu, Carl Crawford, Joey Garthright, Rocco Baldelli, Delmon Young, and BJ Upton eventually.
Best Pitcher: Scott Kazmir – the kid can throw
Best Player: Carl Crawford – He can run and gets on base.
Key to Season: Seeing what Upton and Young can do. But honestly, this team, until it finds pitching isn’t going any where. What a bad organization.
Wild Card Chance?: None. This is the one team in the AL East that has no hope for the year. Hopefully they won’t lose 100 games again.
Random Thoughts: This is, hands down, the worst team to be a fan of. There is little to nothing to get excited about, and unlike the Royals, they don’t even play in a nice stadium. And don’t you love how they have like six young outfielders and no where to play them? How did Chuck LaMar keep his job so long? LaMar had to be the MLB equivalent of an NBA GM… first he signed a bunch of old, bad players for too long and too much (Greg Vaughn, Jose Canseco, Fred McGriff, Vinny Castilla… what was he thinking?). Then after that failed, he either made bad trades or sat on his hands asking for too much. And in the process he ended up drafting about 43 outfielders with the first or second pick in the MLB draft (since that’s were the Rays always draft). And if Chuck LaMar was an NBA GM, wouldn’t he be hired by someone by now? I’m happy for people of the Tampa area that the Chuck LaMar era is over. By the way, who’s the manager of this team now that Lou Piniella is gone? What a boring team with ugly uniforms and a bad stadium. Get ready for a lot of 8-5 games… Yuck.
4.) Baltimore Orioles (Win Range: 70-75)
Why they won’t finish third: This is one of those teams that you think is on the right track but then doesn’t do anything. Seriously they had a great start to last year, then fell apart after the All-Star Break. They should score runs, but they still have very little pitching.
Silver Lining: They’ve got the best park in the American League, one of the best players in Tejada, and their infield is among the best if doctors were able to reattach Brian Roberts arm.
Best Pitcher: Daniel Cabrera – Can have electric stuff, but still young
Best Player: Miguel Tejada, one of the ten best players in baseball!
Wild Card Chance?: Any team that features LaTroy Hawkins in their bullpen can’t make the playoffs. This is a proven fact, or rather, maybe any team that features Hawkins as the closer can’t make the playoffs. No matter, I hate their bullpen, so I don’t see it happening along with the fact that they don’t have any good starters and their outfield stinks.
Key to Season: Cabrera pitches like a #1, Bedard improves, Benson lives up to being drafted #1, Lopez finds his 2004 form, and Corey Patterson stops being Corey Patterson.
Random Thoughts: I’m not sure any team has more #3 and #4 starters than the O’s (Benson, Chen, Lopez, and Bedard)… I like this Daniel Cabrera kid, but I’m not sure if he’s more than a #2. They’ll score runs (who won’t in this division?) but they just don’t have it. They’re outfield features 94 year old Jeff Conine, Corey “Swing at the first pitch” Patterson, Luis Matos, and Jay Gibbons. Why even bother? Plus I love the fact they signed Ramon Hernandez for no apparent reason other than to piss of Javy Lopez. What a weird organization, it’s like they try to finish with 80 wins.
3.) Boston Red Sox (Win Range: 81-86)
Why they’re overrated: Even if you forget the fact that they had the weirdest off season this side of half the NBA and NHL, I don’t see what’s to love about this team. Schilling is 39, Wells is 42, fat, and stupid, Clement is clearly a head case, and Beckett’s hand/fingers are up there with Fred Taylor’s groin and Ronald Curry’s Achilles heel. Everyone’s all excited about this Papelbon kid, but he’s pitched a whopping 34 innings at the major league level. Timlin is 39 and can’t possibly pitch as well, who knows what’s up with Foulke, and this might be the year Tim Wakfield’s arm falls off. And that’s just the pitching staff. Do we all realize that Alex Gonzalez (the sucky one) is the short stop on this team? And that Mike Lowell can’t do ‘roids any more so he stinks and Mike Loretta is 34 and not 24 right? And J.T. Snow, all 38 years of him, is starting at first where they’ll be lucky to get 15 home runs from him… On top of all that they’re the guaranteed Trot Nixon 30 day DL trip away from Adam Stern playing every day... oh wait they traded for Willy Mo Pena so that doesn’t matter as much… wait why did they trade for Willy Mo Pena? Can he play first? Is the idea to put Nixon at first? What is going on with this team? There’s a lot to hate with this team.
Silver Lining: Coco Crisp has the second best name in baseball. And they do have a ton of pitching so if someone gets hurt or stinks, they don’t have to trot them out there every day.
Best Pitcher: Josh Beckett – if he’s healthy, and that’s a big Kerry Wood like if, he’s good.
Best Player: David Ortiz, he means more to this team than Manny… and Varitek is starting to get up there. Plus I think Varitek believes he’s in the army.
Wild Card Chance?: See that list of questions marks and what if above? If they all, or 90% of them, break the BoSox way they could win the Wild Card. I just don’t see it happening especially since they have one of the worst infields in baseball.
Key to Season: Schilling doesn’t suck, Beckett stays healthy, Wells shuts his mouth, Manny stops being Manny, and they find someone to put up some sort of offensive numbers in the infield. In other words, the odds of J.T. Snow finishing the year at first base are nil to none. I sort of like the Pena deal, but they traded their most ‘constant’ starter in Aaroyo for Pena who doesn’t have an obvious place in that outfield unless Nixon moves to first. And no two of those starters can get hurt at this point.
Random Thoughts: This team has the 2005 Philadelphia Eagles written all over them. Way too much off-season drama from Theo, to Manny, to XL Wells. They’re pitching is a huge question mark and their infield blows. They aren’t the 75 win team they were back in December, but they’re looking at 81 to 84 wins. This could be a long, wild, annoying summer in New England. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
2.) Toronto Blue Jays (Win Range: 84-90)
Why they’ll do the nation a favor and shut up Red Sox fans: Would you look at here… we have a team with good pitching, a decent pen, and is pretty good offensively. They aren’t great in any area, but they’re good every where. Chacin, Towers, Burnett and of course Halladay is a pretty darn good start to a rotation. Speier, Chulk, Schoeneweis and with BJ Ryan closing is a pretty good bullpen. I love the addition of Troy Glaus and Bengie Molina, and we believe that Vernon Wells is one of the three most underrated players in baseball. If Russ Adams and Alexis Rios continue to improve, this team will find itself in a Wild Card race.
Silver Lining: They are being hyped, but not hyped to the levels of the Red Sox who I bet pretty much everyone will pick to finish second… and since they’re in Canada they always fly under the radar screen.
Best Pitcher: Roy Halladay – Still some how underratedBest Player: Vernon Wells – One of those guys that can do a little bit of everything for you.
Wild Card Chance?: Very good, they avoid the dogfight that will be the AL Central, but still no cake walk since the O’s will be one of those teams that are either one fire or very cold.
Key to Season: This team has to come together which is always a worry with teams with a high turn over rate from one season to the next, Burnett can’t stink, and Halladay and Wells have to stay healthy.
Random Thoughts: I’m not sure if I’m rooting for anyone more than the Blue Jays this year. They did a good job making over this team in the off season targeting pitching, and even though they over paid for it, I don’t think either Burnett or Ryan will be a flop. You would probably like to see more speed at the top of the order, and there are some holes on this roster, but I still like their chances to make a run for the Wild Card.
1.) New York Yankees (Win Range: 92-96)Why they'll cruise: Because they’ll score roughly 1,138 runs and find pitching from some where since, after all, they are the Yankees (in other words, no other team would see Chien-Ming Wang, Aaron Small, and Shawn Chacon come out of no where and save their season… yet this shit happens EVERY YEAR with the Yankees). And they want to make a run at the Braves “most division titles in a row”.
Mitigating Factor: I’ll just list a few names… Posada, Jeter, Giambi, A-Rod, Cano, Damon, Matsui, Sheffield… let’s put it this way, when Robinson Cano is you’re weakest hitter, we’ll your in All-State type good hands.
Best Pitcher: Randy Johnson – even though he’s 42, he had an ERA under 4 and won 17 games and was considered a disappointment. Go figure.
Best Player: Alex Rodriguez – he’s the best player in the game 11 out of 12 months of the year… it’s a shame he stinks more than five year old cheese under a desk in Cairo during October.
Key to Season: They still have some big question marks when it comes to pitching, and they can’t lose both Johnson and Mussina.
Random Thoughts: They scored 886 runs last year without Johnny Damon at the top of the order. I know they won’t score 1,000, but they’ll have an outside shot at that number. Sure, Cano is the only starter under the age of 30, but the only guy that is really over the hill is Bernie Williams. They do have a bit of a question mark at first, since I don’t think anyone wants to see Giambi out there for more than 50 games tops. This team isn’t built for a long term series in the playoffs, but this is a very good regular season team. If you’re a pitcher and have an off night, I feel for ya.
AL Central
5) Kansas City Royals (Win Range: 49-54)
Why they'll stink: My Lord… were to start? How about the fact that they’re best pitcher last year quit the team? And their second best pitcher was Jose Lima (who is now gone). That’s what we have to work with for starters. I guess their infield is a little better this year, but seriously, is anyone excited about Doug Mientkiewicz and Grudzielanek? This team is so bad… And could someone please explain to me what the hell is going on with Angel Berroa? This guy had a nice rookie year and has regressed the last two years. His 2004 couldn’t have been much worse, yet he had basically no improvement last year, in fact he was probably worse. I would hate being a Royals fan… this team has no direction, no nothing. Easily the worst run team in the leauge. At least the Devil Rays have 7 outfielder prospects, the Royals have nothing.
Silver Lining: Maybe Zack Greinke didn’t quit and comes back? This has to be the weirdest story of the spring… the guy just walked off the field and that was it. He’s 22 btw, 22! Why give up at this point? I know being with the Royals sucks, but it’s not like he’s 32 and says screw it I had a nice career… he’s 22! What’s he gonna do? Work at Wal-Mart? Totally weird.
Best Pitcher: No one. Seriously, their staff sucks. They’re going to give up 900 runs again, I’m going to say more. This team has a chance to give up 1,000 runs. I’m not kidding. This might be the worst team we’ll ever see in our lives… and that’s saying something because the 2003 Tigers were beyond horrible.
Best Player: The 38 year old Reggie Sanders. I’m not making this up.
Key to Season: They don’t go 0-19 against the White Sox. I’m not kidding… last year the Sox were like 11-0 against the Royals at one point.
Wild Card Chance?: No. This team might have trouble beating Team Netherlands.
Random Thoughts: This team makes me mad. They’re so, so, so bad. They gave up more runs last year than the 2003 Tigers and their pitching staff is even worse this year. It’s amazing the steps backwards this team took from the fall of 2003 up today… I can’t think of any reason to go to a Royals game… I really hope they lose 120 games this year just to see what that would look like, but they’ll score enough runs so that won’t happen. But don’t think I’m not rooting for them to give up 1,000 runs.
4) Detroit Tigers (Win Range: 75-80)
Why they won’t finish third: Because they’re in the best division in baseball. This team has talent, I like what they’ve done with their pitching staff, and word on the street is that they’ve got some young arms that might make the team when they break camp… of will be waiting for a May call up. I thought Trammell got screwed when they fired him, but Jim Leland should give this team some character. They need guys to stay healthy, but they should have a chance to win 81 games. I know that’s not much, but this team needs baby steps.
Silver Lining: I really like their infield if everyone (read Carlos Guillen) can stay healthy. While they’re outfield is a weird collection of young guys with some tools and Maggs, I do sort of like their pitching. They’ve got some nice young arms (Bonderman) and hopefully Rogers isn’t a complete asshole to these kids and they can learn a thing or two from him. Why they signed Todd Jones to a two year deal is beyond me, but hey maybe he and Pervical can set a record for most saves by two really old pitchers.Best Pitcher: Jeremy Bonderman has some great stuff… but since he’s not ‘there’ yet, I’ll give the nod to Kenny Rodgers
Best Player: When he isn’t on the DL, Carlos Guillen has made himself a hellova player.
Key to Season: Getting everyone to play together and the young guys some experience. The Tigers are able to spend some money, and while their in a bit of a limbo year between some of these older guys and the younger guys, they just seem to have a nice mix. I wonder who that guy in the clubhouse who keeps everything loose is… but with Leland in charge I think these guys should have some character by the time the year ends.
Wild Card Chance?: Not really. They play in the toughest division in baseball (yep you read that right) and will struggle to win more than 80 games. This team is a year or two away.
Random Thoughts: Any team that has Nook Logan on their 25 man roster has a place in my heart… Look we all know they over pay for guys (Maggs, Kenny Rodgers, Troy Pervical), but those guy can play some baseball and it’s not like they’re handing them NBA like contracts… Then again they also signed Todd Jones which made me throw up when I heard that this winter (on the bright that that gave me an excuse to call in sick)… About 18 months ago I was talking to someone from Detroit who was saying that if the Tigers ever got good again, the entire city would get behind them. They unite the city apparently (and the Lions would too, but there is an unwritten rule in the NFL that says the Lions can never be better than a 10 win team). So that’s cool… Don’t you love their hats?... I just like the make up of this team. They should be a fun team to watch, one of those, ‘we know they aren’t going to win anything, but boy they’re a fun team to watch and leave everything on the field’ teams… And as always is this the year that Ivan Rodriguez falls apart? He’s not able to juice any more and we saw his numbers drop last year. Something to watch for… Fun team, I wish them luck.
3) Cleveland Indians (Win Range: 85-90)
Why they'll disappoint: Because it looks like Sizemore can’t play center, they aren’t as young as everyone believes they are (Belliard - 30, Boone - 33, Hafner - 28, Broussard - 29), and there is no way their pitching is as good as last year. This is one of those teams that took a step back while not addressing any of their problems for the year before (see: not addressing first base, not realizing that Hafner isn’t Babe Ruth (though he sure looked like Ruth in August and into September), they’re bullpen is getting old and Betancourt can’t juice this year, and who the hell are the starting pitchers on this team after Lee, Sabathia, and Westbrook? Do they think that Paul Byrd is going to stay healthy and be good at the same time? This is the same guy who looked homeless during Game One of the ALCS. I’d have not faith in him… none… if I was Indians fan).
Silver Lining: We love Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Jhonny Peralta (even if he’s the Brett Farve of MLB name pronunciation). So those guys will be fun to watch. Plus the Aaron Boone watch begins… and what’s cool about the Aaron Boone watch is it’s really two fold: the first ‘watch’ is when will Andy Marte take over his job at third and the second watch is ‘Did Aaron juice with Brett or did they do it separately’?
Best Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia… he’s 25 and a lefty and already has 69 wins in his career.
Best Player: Pick between Belliard and Sizemore… we’ll take Sizemore. We fell for him back in June at the Cell.
Key to Season: They need their pitching to be as good as last year and while their bats stay as hot as they were. This team didn’t turn it on until the were so far out of the AL Central race that they had nothing to lose. There’s going to be more pressure on this team, and it’s going to be interesting how they handle it. Remember last year they had three games against a lame duck White Sox team to finish the year and really only had to win one of them to make the playoffs… they ended up choking and losing all three. Not a good sign.
Wild Card Chance?: They’ve got as good a chance as anyone in the AL, but we just don’t like what they’ve done this off-season. They’ve got nothing at first, Boone will probably have too long of a leash at third, and neither Jason Michaels, Jason Dubois, or Casy Blake makes us very excited as corner out fielders.
Random Thoughts: What’s up with really old closers in this division? First Pervical and Jones in Detroit, now Wickman in Cleveland… I guess it’s good that they didn’t go out there and sign a bunch of 32 year olds, but I still don’t like what they did this winter. Paul Byrd isn’t Kevin Millwood, I can’t see Westbrook being as good this year, and there is no way that pen is as good as last year… Let me just get his out of the way, I have an irrational hatred of Travis Hafner… Jhonny Peralta’s first name really bothers me, I don’t care if he’s going to be an All-Star for years to come, it bothers me… I just get the feeling this team is waiting for 2007 and I think that’s a mistake, some of these guys are in their primes right now and I’m not impressed with Eric Wedge.
2) Minnesota Twins (Win Range: 88-93)
Why everyone is forgetting about them: I think last year was a Murphy’s Law year for the Twins, I’m not sure much more could have gone worse besides Santana being hit by a bus in St. Paul. But this is now, suddenly a veteran team, but oh by the way, they’re the youngest team in the division. Yet guys like Santana, Silva, Rincon, Morneau, Castillo, Ford, and even Hunter are all 30 or younger yet have been around for a while it seems. While I’m not crazy about some of the guys they’ve got at a few positions, I think they play with a bit of a chip on their shoulder this year having watched the White Sox win it all last year, the Indians become everyone’s darlings, and just being forgotten about in general in this division. Don’t be shocked if they have a magical season like the Sox did last year.
Silver Lining: Maybe they’ll get a new stadium passed this year? I think this team is pissed and is looking to kick ass and take names and these are always fun teams to watch during a season. If only Tony Batista and who ever plays short didn’t suck…Best Pitcher: Come on… it’s Johan Santana the best pitcher in baseball right now (though he sure didn’t look it during the WBC).
Best Player: I know he’s a bit overrated as a hitter, but I’ll go with Torii Hunter. They guy does a lot of things well, plays hard, and I think will have a big year coming off an injury plagued year last year.
Key to Season: Keeping everyone healthy, especially Hunter and Mauer. If those two stay healthy and everyone else does what they should, this team should be very good.
Wild Card Chance?: They’re my pick! So there you go. I like ‘em.
Random Thoughts: Don’t under estimate the Kirby Puckett factor here… love the addition of Luis Castillo… they still have a really nice bullpen, don’t forget about that… Santana/Radke/Lohse/Silva isn’t bad at all… I’m still waiting for one of these young guys to step up for them be it Mauer or Morneau or Cuddyer… Rondell White should be good for this team who seems a bit soft outside of their pitchers and Hunter… if the Twins had any sort of a left side of the infield, I’d feel much more comfortable about them, but Bartlett and Batista is not going to get the job done, y-u-c-k… this team needed a kick in the ass and I think they got it with everyone ‘forgetting’ about them (like the White Sox last year) and Puckett’s death. I know they win weird games as it is because they play at the PhoneyDome, but I expect more weird wins this year. Bounces that defy science, opponents tripping as they round third to score, balls getting stuck in air ducks… I’m telling you the possibilities are endless.
1.) Chicago White Sox (Win Range: 93-98)Why they'll cruise: Because they have more pitching than they know what to do with. They’re the defending World Champs and good karma seems to surround these guys. I like to think of them as the Earl Hickey’s of Major League Baseball. Plus Kenny Williams was the only GM to fully understand how ‘roid testing would change the game. That’s why he dumped Lee and Maggs for speed guys and pitching. Plus they people will actually be showing up for White Sox games this year. With that South Side fan support, there will be no looking back.
Mitigating Factor: They’ve got more ace’s in the hole than any team too… guys like Juan Uribe, Tadahito Iguchi, Konerko, and Pierzynski make plays to win games. Teams like this are always dangerous. Plus they are something like 67-38 under Ozzie in one run games, which tells me they’re a good team and find ways to win. Mean while every stathead is going to tell you they’re lucky… teams that go 67-38 in one run games over two years are GOOD, not lucky. And have I mentioned that they have a lot of pitching… and a lot of good pitching. Contreras, Garland, Garica, and Vazquez would all be #1s or #2s on 25 Major League staffs.
Best Pitcher: Mark Buehrle is a warrior… he just gets it done.
Best Player: This is a tough one, this team is so pitching dominate… we’ll go with the underrated Jermaine Dye who does a little bit of everything and is one of the smarter baseball players out there.
Key to Season: The Bullpen… Ozzie doesn’t like it and expect them to cost this team a few victories early on. They’ll make deals to make sure everything is okay come late in the season, but their pen isn’t that good. Then again, with those starters all expected to go at least seven innings, you only need two arms and they’ve got three.
Random Thoughts: This team should score a lot more runs this year with Thome and Mackowiak coming off the bench. It’s amazing they did so well last year considering their best bench player was Pablo Ozuna… The South Side is going to be BUZZIN’ this summer, I’m not sure we’re all ready for what’s going to go down down there this summer, might be one of those ‘moments’. Cubs brass has to be worried… Brian Anderson should slip right into center without any major problems… It’s going to be weird to see a filled up Cell on TV… I can’t tell you how much I love the Mackowiak acquisition. He’ll fill a lot of holes and probably get 400 at bats to boot… It’s amazing to think how they go six starters deep and how their top five guys are a collection of #1s and #2s, teams just don’t have pitching depth like that… I’m convinced that Juan Uribe should have his on TV show because he’s… Juan Uribe. I can’t think of anyone not loving this guy. His arm is simply amazing and he does those little things that teams need, I’m not kidding if you can catch only one player this year and assuming you’ve seen the Jeter’s, A-Rod’s, and Pujols’ of the world, catch Juan Uribe… Over under on number of ‘controversies’ Ozzie gets into this season: 14.5… I’ve got twenty bucks that Ozzie calls out Tony La Russa next, how great would that be? How would LaRussa respond? I could see Ozzie calling La Russa a Latino wantabe and La Russa responding by changing pitchers (more on La Russa when we get to St. Louis)… Don’t be surprised if this team repeats, they’re offense is better and while odds are their pitching won’t be as good, they’ve got more than everyone else… Team to beat in the American League because they’re still good and they won it all last year.
23.3.06
Random Thoughts And Chuck Hagel
Today we’re not going to spend the day writing something long and maybe interesting… so random thoughts it is:
- If I made music it would sound like pretty much every Belle & Sebastian song ever written. And I’d still be pissed because it wouldn’t be as good as pretty much anything by Jeff Tweedy.
- I swear I’m not worried about the US National team… who cares that we’re less than 100 days from the World Cup and the US just got thrashed by Germany 4-1 in Germany, it just makes me happy that we’re ranked 5th in the world. And we were missing Landon Donovan, Brian McBride, Claudio Reyna, DaMarcus Beasley, Oguchi Onyewu and Eddie Lewis yesterday. That’s like all our good players. Well four of ‘em.
- The coffee in our office is so bad, that sometimes I think I’m drinking Old Forster and coffee but I’m not going to feel good when I’m done. I’m not kidding about this by the way, our coffee really does taste like there is too much rail whiskey in it.
- Now that ETA has decided to declare a permanent cease fire (btw, what the hell is a permanent cease fire? Isn’t that called peace?), I’ve got 2048 for when Hamas disarms and 2013 for Iraqi insurgents in the office pool (and for the record, I had 2009 for ETA disarming).
- This has been bothering me for a long time, but why do they even mark the field, in girls Lacrosse? There is no out of bounce, so why mark the field at all? I can'tget over this. I think the game should have no time also, really just be a metaphysical exercise of some way. That would be cool; girls lax could become the great metaphysical exercise ever. Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas would be so proud.
- What? The ‘Nats’ will be the third highest revenue team after their stadium is built? Can they do that? Only the Yanks and Red Sox will make more? How did that happen? What about the Cubs or Giants? This seems wrong… just wrong.
- And I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again… The Washington Nationals or Nats is the second dumbest name in sports after the Houston Texans. Seriously, if I was picking a name for a team, Nationals would be my 836th choice right before the Washington Hivss and after DC Murders.
- Note to all American Idol lovers, no offense, but please just go to your local Holiday Inn and hang out in the lounge for a few hours instead of allowing this horrible show of no talent ass clowns to continue. That’s right, these people on Idol are no better than your average lounge singer. Poor Billy Murray.
- What will never stop amazing me about DC is the number of men who have great hair. It’s simply amazing… pretty much anyone with any sort of importance or status has great hair. But at the same time, there may be three women between the ages of 22 and 60 with good hair. So every guy has great hair and every woman has bad hair… I’m shocked the Post doesn’t write annual articles about this phenomenon.
- Let’s face it; a good 10% of this country is just waiting until the Gonzaga/UCLA game tonight. Though, the Bradley game should be interesting.
- Since you were all asking… biggest dogs so far in the Tourney… a toss up between Iowa, Senton Hall, and Nevada. Iowa lost to a really bad team in Northwestern St. I would have loved to put Tennessee on that list yet I can’t fault them for being seeded too high. So Senton Hall gets the nod for looking beyond bad against Wichita State and proving my point that they shouldn’t even had made the Dance over Cinny. And finally Nevada because I though the committee did them a favor by putting them as a five and then they pissed it away.
- That’s it… seriously I should just give up. Harold’s is opening up a store in Wicker Park? We need to get Daley on this pronto… this should not be allowed. I’m dead serious. Harold’s is a South Side institution. It shouldn’t be easy to get. It’s the hippest restaurant in Chicago because you had to have it to go there… now they’re opening one in Wicker Park and it kills me. God Damn Capitalism. Best chicken in the world, btw. Oh Harold’s is so fie…
- From the Fiver: Though we don't remember printing his letter, Alessandro Del Pieroseems to have got his hands on a copy of the Alexei Lalas-inspired Soccer for Dummies. At least we're assuming that's why he's decided that: "When I leave Juventus I don't see myself playing with Fiorentina or Sampdoria - I see myself with Los Angeles Galaxy".
- Getting excited for this year baseball season is really hard. There is something really bittersweet about your team finally winning.
- One of the many things I miss about Chicago is being able to pick up the Onion at pretty much any cool coffee shop or restaurant. The Onion online just isn’t the same. 'WELL SOMEONE'S GOTTA PLAY OBOE,' SCREAMS FRUSTRATED BAND TEACHER just isn’t as funny online. I’m not sure why.
- Finding someone who is a fantastic sleep partner is like when you finally gave in and got the cell phone or iPod. ‘know what I mean? Maybe you held out from getting the mobile or iPod for ‘moral’ or ‘ethical’ or ‘trendy’ reasons, but then the moment you get ‘em you realize how great they are and you try to figure out how you went your entire life without the mobile or iPod? Great Sleep Partners are the same way. I’m still pissed I broke up with gf#2 because we were such great sleep partners… in fact that’s now my #1 ‘test’ when it comes to girls is how well do you sleep with me? #2 is do you get Field of Dreams…
- In fact let’s make a list (and yes I know Simmons did this years ago):
The Girlfriend Test:
#1) Sleeping Compatibility - not only do we not annoy each other at night, we’re also able to sleep comfortable with each other… almost as good as sleeping alone comfortable yet as a bonus you’re sleeping with someone you like. So therefore it’s a better night’s sleep. I’m telling you, I’m never going back to a bad sleeper… I don’t care if that means I’m single until I’m 42, I can wait. Great sleepers are like an iPod or good beer. Once you get a good European beer, you can never go back to Miller Lite. Not because Miller Lite isn’t good or doesn’t get the job done, but because Bell's Brewery is so great. Same thing with sleeping compatibility, once you find a good sleeper you’ll never go back.
#2) She has to like going to baseball games, this should be #1, but I’m too lazy to change it. Easily a deal braker.
#3) How does she respond to Field of Dreams? (And an honorable mention to High Fidelity here… I’m not sure she has to like it… but when I ask her “Was it a happy ending?” she has to give an intelligent response).
#4) Does she get fired up when I make fun of her home town/state and keep falling for it? (there’s nothing better than getting a girl all fired up about her hometown, it’s like your threatening to kill her pet or burn her baby book. High comedy there if done right).
#5) Is she willing to deal with my mood swings depending on how the White Sox are doing? And more importantly, will she be able to read those signs and act accordingly?
#6) Does she like to travel?
#7) She has to like to drink, but not too much. If she’s a sloppy drunk, “For a while it was nice/but it's time to say bye” (This rule actually came into play about a month ago…)
#8) She has to likes music, be willing to listen and give my music a chance, and brings something to the table musically (new bands and so on). (This is a new one, after dating girls who when I asked them who they liked and responded “Dave” or “the stuff the play at bars” I decided, you know what… if they don’t like Pete Doherty or at least appreciate Pete Doherty, it’s not worth it. I’m not kidding. I don’t think I could go through another relationship where she adds nothing from a music stand point and doesn’t see the greatness of “Never, Never”).
#9) How does she react when I send her things that Simmons wrote?
#10) Does she like to order out? And if so what does she order?
#11) What sort of books does she read? Does she read more than me? If you’re reading a book with Fabio on the cover… first shoot me, and secondly shoot yourself.
#12) Would Chuck Hagel hit on her?
I’ve mentioned it once, but for the story…. Back in the fall of 2003, we went to a taping of Meet the Press. The people at NBC make you get there early and then you have wait in this little lobby for like an hour for no good reason. I’m convinced that the Big Biz/The Man loves making people wait, moving on… as your waiting you see the guest walk right by you, if you wanted to you could trip them (I’m still sort of pissed that I didn’t try to trip one of these guys just to see what would have happened. Would I have been arrested? Declared a terrorist? Would I have made the Daily Show? Oh well…) anyway, so in walks Chuck Hagel and as he’s walking in, he slows down and eyes GF#1 sitting next to me. So that put a little hop in my step considering it was like 8:15am on a Sunday… in college. Anyway, so they’re taping the show and Chuck’s answering questions and doing Chuck Hagel things on TV. The show warps up and everyone is leaving to go home or to brunch or where these people go.
We’re in the parking lot when the Bobfather, being the Bobfather, decides to introduce himself to Chuck. GF#1 and I, still half asleep, walk over because that’s what you have to do with the Bobfather or else he’ll start waving you over like an overexcited soccer mom (maybe the Bobfather’s fatal flaw, his overexcited waving when he’s talking to someone). So there we are, in a parking lot in NW at the NBC studios and we all shake hands, nice to meet you, blah blah blah, when Chuck starts firing questions at GF#1… what do you do? What do you study? How is that? What are you going to do with that? Oh isn’t that that interesting… and when ever he can checks her out looking her up and down. Now, since I’m not the jealous type, I’m just giddy… Chuck Hagel is openly ignoring me and the Bobfather (who normally would get upset since he’s not getting the respect the Bobfather deserves, but he’s not from DC so meeting a Senator is a big deal to him… for me it’s gotten to the point where I have to prevent myself from punching Joe Liberman in the face as he walks into Tortilla Coast and I openly look for Rummy on the street just so I can ask him how many people he’s killed today).
BACK TO THE STORY, after like two minutes of this, Chuck has to go, so he leaves and I’m practically jumping up and down… “Chuck Hagel was hitting on you! And he was totally checking you out before!”
GF#1: “No he wasn’t.”
Me: “Yes! Yes! He was! I know! I’m a guy! That’s totally what he was doing! That’s so awesome!”
GF#1: “Was he really?”
Me: “Yeah! How great is that?!”
GF#1: “You’re the only person who’d be happy about another guy hitting on me.”
Me: “But it’s funny. I mean how funny is it that Chuck Hagel was hitting on you in the middle of the NBC parking lot?” And that’s when the Bobfather came back to within ear shot and we let it go for the moment. But nonetheless, GF#1 was in a good mood and happy with herself even though she tried not to show it. And I was happy because Chuck Hagel hit on her and if the girl is good enough for Chuck Hagel, she’s good enough for me.
That’s all for today.
- If I made music it would sound like pretty much every Belle & Sebastian song ever written. And I’d still be pissed because it wouldn’t be as good as pretty much anything by Jeff Tweedy.
- I swear I’m not worried about the US National team… who cares that we’re less than 100 days from the World Cup and the US just got thrashed by Germany 4-1 in Germany, it just makes me happy that we’re ranked 5th in the world. And we were missing Landon Donovan, Brian McBride, Claudio Reyna, DaMarcus Beasley, Oguchi Onyewu and Eddie Lewis yesterday. That’s like all our good players. Well four of ‘em.
- The coffee in our office is so bad, that sometimes I think I’m drinking Old Forster and coffee but I’m not going to feel good when I’m done. I’m not kidding about this by the way, our coffee really does taste like there is too much rail whiskey in it.
- Now that ETA has decided to declare a permanent cease fire (btw, what the hell is a permanent cease fire? Isn’t that called peace?), I’ve got 2048 for when Hamas disarms and 2013 for Iraqi insurgents in the office pool (and for the record, I had 2009 for ETA disarming).
- This has been bothering me for a long time, but why do they even mark the field, in girls Lacrosse? There is no out of bounce, so why mark the field at all? I can'tget over this. I think the game should have no time also, really just be a metaphysical exercise of some way. That would be cool; girls lax could become the great metaphysical exercise ever. Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas would be so proud.
- What? The ‘Nats’ will be the third highest revenue team after their stadium is built? Can they do that? Only the Yanks and Red Sox will make more? How did that happen? What about the Cubs or Giants? This seems wrong… just wrong.
- And I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again… The Washington Nationals or Nats is the second dumbest name in sports after the Houston Texans. Seriously, if I was picking a name for a team, Nationals would be my 836th choice right before the Washington Hivss and after DC Murders.
- Note to all American Idol lovers, no offense, but please just go to your local Holiday Inn and hang out in the lounge for a few hours instead of allowing this horrible show of no talent ass clowns to continue. That’s right, these people on Idol are no better than your average lounge singer. Poor Billy Murray.
- What will never stop amazing me about DC is the number of men who have great hair. It’s simply amazing… pretty much anyone with any sort of importance or status has great hair. But at the same time, there may be three women between the ages of 22 and 60 with good hair. So every guy has great hair and every woman has bad hair… I’m shocked the Post doesn’t write annual articles about this phenomenon.
- Let’s face it; a good 10% of this country is just waiting until the Gonzaga/UCLA game tonight. Though, the Bradley game should be interesting.
- Since you were all asking… biggest dogs so far in the Tourney… a toss up between Iowa, Senton Hall, and Nevada. Iowa lost to a really bad team in Northwestern St. I would have loved to put Tennessee on that list yet I can’t fault them for being seeded too high. So Senton Hall gets the nod for looking beyond bad against Wichita State and proving my point that they shouldn’t even had made the Dance over Cinny. And finally Nevada because I though the committee did them a favor by putting them as a five and then they pissed it away.
- That’s it… seriously I should just give up. Harold’s is opening up a store in Wicker Park? We need to get Daley on this pronto… this should not be allowed. I’m dead serious. Harold’s is a South Side institution. It shouldn’t be easy to get. It’s the hippest restaurant in Chicago because you had to have it to go there… now they’re opening one in Wicker Park and it kills me. God Damn Capitalism. Best chicken in the world, btw. Oh Harold’s is so fie…
- From the Fiver: Though we don't remember printing his letter, Alessandro Del Pieroseems to have got his hands on a copy of the Alexei Lalas-inspired Soccer for Dummies. At least we're assuming that's why he's decided that: "When I leave Juventus I don't see myself playing with Fiorentina or Sampdoria - I see myself with Los Angeles Galaxy".
- Getting excited for this year baseball season is really hard. There is something really bittersweet about your team finally winning.
- One of the many things I miss about Chicago is being able to pick up the Onion at pretty much any cool coffee shop or restaurant. The Onion online just isn’t the same. 'WELL SOMEONE'S GOTTA PLAY OBOE,' SCREAMS FRUSTRATED BAND TEACHER just isn’t as funny online. I’m not sure why.
- Finding someone who is a fantastic sleep partner is like when you finally gave in and got the cell phone or iPod. ‘know what I mean? Maybe you held out from getting the mobile or iPod for ‘moral’ or ‘ethical’ or ‘trendy’ reasons, but then the moment you get ‘em you realize how great they are and you try to figure out how you went your entire life without the mobile or iPod? Great Sleep Partners are the same way. I’m still pissed I broke up with gf#2 because we were such great sleep partners… in fact that’s now my #1 ‘test’ when it comes to girls is how well do you sleep with me? #2 is do you get Field of Dreams…
- In fact let’s make a list (and yes I know Simmons did this years ago):
The Girlfriend Test:
#1) Sleeping Compatibility - not only do we not annoy each other at night, we’re also able to sleep comfortable with each other… almost as good as sleeping alone comfortable yet as a bonus you’re sleeping with someone you like. So therefore it’s a better night’s sleep. I’m telling you, I’m never going back to a bad sleeper… I don’t care if that means I’m single until I’m 42, I can wait. Great sleepers are like an iPod or good beer. Once you get a good European beer, you can never go back to Miller Lite. Not because Miller Lite isn’t good or doesn’t get the job done, but because Bell's Brewery is so great. Same thing with sleeping compatibility, once you find a good sleeper you’ll never go back.
#2) She has to like going to baseball games, this should be #1, but I’m too lazy to change it. Easily a deal braker.
#3) How does she respond to Field of Dreams? (And an honorable mention to High Fidelity here… I’m not sure she has to like it… but when I ask her “Was it a happy ending?” she has to give an intelligent response).
#4) Does she get fired up when I make fun of her home town/state and keep falling for it? (there’s nothing better than getting a girl all fired up about her hometown, it’s like your threatening to kill her pet or burn her baby book. High comedy there if done right).
#5) Is she willing to deal with my mood swings depending on how the White Sox are doing? And more importantly, will she be able to read those signs and act accordingly?
#6) Does she like to travel?
#7) She has to like to drink, but not too much. If she’s a sloppy drunk, “For a while it was nice/but it's time to say bye” (This rule actually came into play about a month ago…)
#8) She has to likes music, be willing to listen and give my music a chance, and brings something to the table musically (new bands and so on). (This is a new one, after dating girls who when I asked them who they liked and responded “Dave” or “the stuff the play at bars” I decided, you know what… if they don’t like Pete Doherty or at least appreciate Pete Doherty, it’s not worth it. I’m not kidding. I don’t think I could go through another relationship where she adds nothing from a music stand point and doesn’t see the greatness of “Never, Never”).
#9) How does she react when I send her things that Simmons wrote?
#10) Does she like to order out? And if so what does she order?
#11) What sort of books does she read? Does she read more than me? If you’re reading a book with Fabio on the cover… first shoot me, and secondly shoot yourself.
#12) Would Chuck Hagel hit on her?I’ve mentioned it once, but for the story…. Back in the fall of 2003, we went to a taping of Meet the Press. The people at NBC make you get there early and then you have wait in this little lobby for like an hour for no good reason. I’m convinced that the Big Biz/The Man loves making people wait, moving on… as your waiting you see the guest walk right by you, if you wanted to you could trip them (I’m still sort of pissed that I didn’t try to trip one of these guys just to see what would have happened. Would I have been arrested? Declared a terrorist? Would I have made the Daily Show? Oh well…) anyway, so in walks Chuck Hagel and as he’s walking in, he slows down and eyes GF#1 sitting next to me. So that put a little hop in my step considering it was like 8:15am on a Sunday… in college. Anyway, so they’re taping the show and Chuck’s answering questions and doing Chuck Hagel things on TV. The show warps up and everyone is leaving to go home or to brunch or where these people go.
We’re in the parking lot when the Bobfather, being the Bobfather, decides to introduce himself to Chuck. GF#1 and I, still half asleep, walk over because that’s what you have to do with the Bobfather or else he’ll start waving you over like an overexcited soccer mom (maybe the Bobfather’s fatal flaw, his overexcited waving when he’s talking to someone). So there we are, in a parking lot in NW at the NBC studios and we all shake hands, nice to meet you, blah blah blah, when Chuck starts firing questions at GF#1… what do you do? What do you study? How is that? What are you going to do with that? Oh isn’t that that interesting… and when ever he can checks her out looking her up and down. Now, since I’m not the jealous type, I’m just giddy… Chuck Hagel is openly ignoring me and the Bobfather (who normally would get upset since he’s not getting the respect the Bobfather deserves, but he’s not from DC so meeting a Senator is a big deal to him… for me it’s gotten to the point where I have to prevent myself from punching Joe Liberman in the face as he walks into Tortilla Coast and I openly look for Rummy on the street just so I can ask him how many people he’s killed today).
BACK TO THE STORY, after like two minutes of this, Chuck has to go, so he leaves and I’m practically jumping up and down… “Chuck Hagel was hitting on you! And he was totally checking you out before!”
GF#1: “No he wasn’t.”
Me: “Yes! Yes! He was! I know! I’m a guy! That’s totally what he was doing! That’s so awesome!”
GF#1: “Was he really?”
Me: “Yeah! How great is that?!”
GF#1: “You’re the only person who’d be happy about another guy hitting on me.”
Me: “But it’s funny. I mean how funny is it that Chuck Hagel was hitting on you in the middle of the NBC parking lot?” And that’s when the Bobfather came back to within ear shot and we let it go for the moment. But nonetheless, GF#1 was in a good mood and happy with herself even though she tried not to show it. And I was happy because Chuck Hagel hit on her and if the girl is good enough for Chuck Hagel, she’s good enough for me.
That’s all for today.
22.3.06
Checks and Balances Breakdown
I think this Op-Ed concisely sums up the power struggle taking place in DC right now. For years (decades) we’ve seen Congress surrender its power to the White House in exchange for electoral safety (and thus some sort combination of money, power, and ego). To the point where Congress seems to only really tackle fiscal issues, issues that 90% of the country agrees upon, or reactionary issues and bills (classic day late and dollar short issues). Anything some what controversial, Congress can’t wait to pass on to either the White House or the Courts. For instance, let’s take what this Op-Ed focuses on, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the man who is accused of having been a bodyguard and driver for bin Laden.
Since the Republican majority has decided to allow President Bush to usurp Congress's role in matters of national security, the battle to save the constitutional balance of powers moves to the judiciary.
Hamdan has been in detention at Guantanamo Bay since 2002. He’s begun to fight a series of legal battles, battles where Hamdan has almost become a ‘sideshow’ to the real ‘show’: the Constitutional issues surrounding his case and many of those who are locked away at Guantanamo. Hamdan, who is being held as an “unlawful enemy combatant", says that he’s being held illegitimately because the US government is obstructing his ability to see evidence pertaining to his case, along with the lack of access to real legal representation. The matter has gone to the Courts, and the Supreme Court ruled that the US government’s obstructions are unlawful even if Hamadan is an “unlawful enemy combatant” (WE LOVE VAGENESS!) and not on US soil… even though last we checked Guantanamo is US soil. Go figure. Back to the story:
But his case has now become a much larger battle over the principle of habeas corpus, which is embedded in the Constitution and says that a prisoner cannot be denied the right to challenge his detention. Mr. Bush's decision after 9/11 that he had the power to put prisoners beyond the reach of the law at his choosing was the first attempt to suspend habeas corpus on American territory since the Civil War.
But after the Court struck down the White House’s desires, they ran to Congress where people on both side of the fence were more than willing to help. “The amendment, sponsored by Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat, stripped Guantánamo detainees of the normal rights of judicial review.”
Seems pretty obvious doesn’t it? The land of liberty and freedom and justice… the country that holds these values and wants to spread them throughout the world is also undertaking a classic “Do what I say not as I do.” In other words, the White House, once again looks like a bunch of hypocrites.
It’s obvious the White House and Justice Department are attempting to block the justice it claims to hold to such a high standard and priority. By saying that these men they have captured, 160 total according to the NYTimes, are “unlawful enemy combatants” they’re attempting to make these men something less than human. As the argument goes, these men who are “unlawful enemy combatants” are terrorists and not actual citizens of any country… since they are “unlawful enemy combatants.” The White House and Justice Department are attempting to side step the Geneva Convention and the bylines set there, since if these men are ‘naturalized citizens’ of a country the US can’t hold them indefinitely and without charges. The Supreme Court struck this idea down, basically saying that all humans beings, no matter where they’re from even if they are “unlawful enemy combatants” and not from anywhere (which of course is impossible), are still entitled to the very rights that American colonists fought for and declared 230 odds years ago.
We happen to agree. While we don’t doubt that most, if not all of these men, are either terrorists or in some way connected to the terrorists and terrorism, yet under our judicial system, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. And these men are still human beings… they’re entitled to the same rights any other human being is entitled to. And those are the rights that are protected under the US Constitution. Those are the same rights that we, as a country, have fought for since the beginning of this country.
As a country, we don’t want to look foolish or hypocritical, but that is exactly what is happening each day these men sit in jail with little to no hope of a trial or charges being bought up against them. We preach liberty, justice, freedom… yet turn around and reject those very values. How is anyone to take our rhetoric serious and truthful if we’re denying others the very rhetoric we’re preaching? And of course, as always, the actions taken by the White House and Justice Department can be seen as the first steps taken in a total disregard of the Constitution. Today they hold “unlawful enemy combatants” tomorrow US citizens. We acknowledge that is a big leap and it’s a worst possible scenario leap that’s pretty unlikely, but it’s a leap that isn’t entirely out of the question. But the White House has opened that door. We’ve seen things of this sort start this way throughout the course of history, and raising a warning flag can only be seen as the prudent thing to do.
But moving on back to the editorial:
As soon as Mr. Bush signed this law, he declared that the administration was going to apply it to all pending cases, about 160 or so, and the solicitor general told the Supreme Court it no longer had a right to hear Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. This is court-stripping — the attempt by another branch of government to prevent the court from deciding a particular issue. The White House tried to justify this outrageous tampering with the judiciary by ignoring the new law's actual language and legislative history to argue that the new legislation took away the power of the courts to hear not just future cases but also cases already filed and accepted for review. The Supreme Court responded by adding the jurisdictional objection to the list of issues it will consider when the case is heard on March 28.
At a minimum, we hope the court will rule that Congress and the president may not deny the justices the power to review pending cases. But it should also reject the defective military commissions, as well as the idea of denying access to the courts for future valid claims brought by Guantánamo detainees, including claims of torture.
Everyone it seems wants to point out that Abraham Lincoln, considered one of the three best Presidents in our countries history suspended habeas corpus. Of course Lincoln suspended it in a time when the country was in the mist of a civil war, where Americans were fighting Americans. As the Constitution states, an "invasion" or a "rebellion" is required as a prerequisite for suspension of habeas corpus. Clearly, nothing even remotely to the sort is happening here in the United States.
What we have here are the beginning signs of failure of the checks and balances in our system. Conservatives can complain about how the Court is too powerful, and liberals can complain about how the executive is too powerful. Yet very few people are saying anything about the failures taking place on the Hill. Granted this has been a long process starting way back during the 1930s and 1940s when Congress started not only giving more power to the executive himself (FDR), but also to the various cabinet positions (in other words, the Hill deferred to the decisions made on by those cabinet positions and departments (like HHS, HUD, DOL, or Education) rather than doing the foot work themselves). Then Congress began to balk on issues that might cost them votes (read: ABORTION, right to privacy, and recently gay issues). The Supreme Court began to rule on those issues, usually in favor of the left, which ticked off the right.
Of course over the years and Presidencies we saw the executive himself become more and more powerful. Truman and Ike sent troops to Korea and Vietnam respectively with out the okay from Congress. JFK and LBJ increased the number of troops while playing with rules on the Hill. And then came Nixon who provided for us the third major Constitutional crisis of the 20th century (the first being FDR attempting to pack the Court and the second being the show down between Truman and MacArthur during the Korean Conflict, in our opinion). Nixon’s refusal to work and listen to Congress and the Court lead to this show down, but as we know, the Constitution won out in the end. And the fallout from the Nixon Presidency led Congress to take action and attempt to reign in some of the powers of the executive. But now, 30 years later, Congress appears to be willing to give those powers right back to the executive. It’s now up to the Supreme Court to attempt to check this.
The Constitution has shown over the years that it is resilient and effective. Do I have faith in the Constitution? Yes… but that’s not to say we aren’t worried. Hopefully the Supreme Court will do the right thing and make the right decision. The last thing we want is for the executive to be given more power, and I think that’s a worry that everyone has.
The retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor observed in a recent speech that the framers created three separate and equal branches of government because they knew that preserving liberty requires that no single branch or person can amass unchecked power. According to NPR's Nina Totenberg, who heard the speech, Justice O'Connor cited Republican court-stripping efforts as an example of dangerous overreaching. "It takes a lot of degeneration before a country falls into dictatorship," Justice O'Connor said, "but we should avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings."
The president seems to forget that and Congress clearly will not remind him. The nation cannot afford for the Supreme Court to forget as well.
Since the Republican majority has decided to allow President Bush to usurp Congress's role in matters of national security, the battle to save the constitutional balance of powers moves to the judiciary.
Hamdan has been in detention at Guantanamo Bay since 2002. He’s begun to fight a series of legal battles, battles where Hamdan has almost become a ‘sideshow’ to the real ‘show’: the Constitutional issues surrounding his case and many of those who are locked away at Guantanamo. Hamdan, who is being held as an “unlawful enemy combatant", says that he’s being held illegitimately because the US government is obstructing his ability to see evidence pertaining to his case, along with the lack of access to real legal representation. The matter has gone to the Courts, and the Supreme Court ruled that the US government’s obstructions are unlawful even if Hamadan is an “unlawful enemy combatant” (WE LOVE VAGENESS!) and not on US soil… even though last we checked Guantanamo is US soil. Go figure. Back to the story:
But his case has now become a much larger battle over the principle of habeas corpus, which is embedded in the Constitution and says that a prisoner cannot be denied the right to challenge his detention. Mr. Bush's decision after 9/11 that he had the power to put prisoners beyond the reach of the law at his choosing was the first attempt to suspend habeas corpus on American territory since the Civil War.
But after the Court struck down the White House’s desires, they ran to Congress where people on both side of the fence were more than willing to help. “The amendment, sponsored by Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat, stripped Guantánamo detainees of the normal rights of judicial review.”
Seems pretty obvious doesn’t it? The land of liberty and freedom and justice… the country that holds these values and wants to spread them throughout the world is also undertaking a classic “Do what I say not as I do.” In other words, the White House, once again looks like a bunch of hypocrites.
It’s obvious the White House and Justice Department are attempting to block the justice it claims to hold to such a high standard and priority. By saying that these men they have captured, 160 total according to the NYTimes, are “unlawful enemy combatants” they’re attempting to make these men something less than human. As the argument goes, these men who are “unlawful enemy combatants” are terrorists and not actual citizens of any country… since they are “unlawful enemy combatants.” The White House and Justice Department are attempting to side step the Geneva Convention and the bylines set there, since if these men are ‘naturalized citizens’ of a country the US can’t hold them indefinitely and without charges. The Supreme Court struck this idea down, basically saying that all humans beings, no matter where they’re from even if they are “unlawful enemy combatants” and not from anywhere (which of course is impossible), are still entitled to the very rights that American colonists fought for and declared 230 odds years ago.
We happen to agree. While we don’t doubt that most, if not all of these men, are either terrorists or in some way connected to the terrorists and terrorism, yet under our judicial system, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. And these men are still human beings… they’re entitled to the same rights any other human being is entitled to. And those are the rights that are protected under the US Constitution. Those are the same rights that we, as a country, have fought for since the beginning of this country.
As a country, we don’t want to look foolish or hypocritical, but that is exactly what is happening each day these men sit in jail with little to no hope of a trial or charges being bought up against them. We preach liberty, justice, freedom… yet turn around and reject those very values. How is anyone to take our rhetoric serious and truthful if we’re denying others the very rhetoric we’re preaching? And of course, as always, the actions taken by the White House and Justice Department can be seen as the first steps taken in a total disregard of the Constitution. Today they hold “unlawful enemy combatants” tomorrow US citizens. We acknowledge that is a big leap and it’s a worst possible scenario leap that’s pretty unlikely, but it’s a leap that isn’t entirely out of the question. But the White House has opened that door. We’ve seen things of this sort start this way throughout the course of history, and raising a warning flag can only be seen as the prudent thing to do.
But moving on back to the editorial:
As soon as Mr. Bush signed this law, he declared that the administration was going to apply it to all pending cases, about 160 or so, and the solicitor general told the Supreme Court it no longer had a right to hear Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. This is court-stripping — the attempt by another branch of government to prevent the court from deciding a particular issue. The White House tried to justify this outrageous tampering with the judiciary by ignoring the new law's actual language and legislative history to argue that the new legislation took away the power of the courts to hear not just future cases but also cases already filed and accepted for review. The Supreme Court responded by adding the jurisdictional objection to the list of issues it will consider when the case is heard on March 28.
At a minimum, we hope the court will rule that Congress and the president may not deny the justices the power to review pending cases. But it should also reject the defective military commissions, as well as the idea of denying access to the courts for future valid claims brought by Guantánamo detainees, including claims of torture.
Everyone it seems wants to point out that Abraham Lincoln, considered one of the three best Presidents in our countries history suspended habeas corpus. Of course Lincoln suspended it in a time when the country was in the mist of a civil war, where Americans were fighting Americans. As the Constitution states, an "invasion" or a "rebellion" is required as a prerequisite for suspension of habeas corpus. Clearly, nothing even remotely to the sort is happening here in the United States.
What we have here are the beginning signs of failure of the checks and balances in our system. Conservatives can complain about how the Court is too powerful, and liberals can complain about how the executive is too powerful. Yet very few people are saying anything about the failures taking place on the Hill. Granted this has been a long process starting way back during the 1930s and 1940s when Congress started not only giving more power to the executive himself (FDR), but also to the various cabinet positions (in other words, the Hill deferred to the decisions made on by those cabinet positions and departments (like HHS, HUD, DOL, or Education) rather than doing the foot work themselves). Then Congress began to balk on issues that might cost them votes (read: ABORTION, right to privacy, and recently gay issues). The Supreme Court began to rule on those issues, usually in favor of the left, which ticked off the right.
Of course over the years and Presidencies we saw the executive himself become more and more powerful. Truman and Ike sent troops to Korea and Vietnam respectively with out the okay from Congress. JFK and LBJ increased the number of troops while playing with rules on the Hill. And then came Nixon who provided for us the third major Constitutional crisis of the 20th century (the first being FDR attempting to pack the Court and the second being the show down between Truman and MacArthur during the Korean Conflict, in our opinion). Nixon’s refusal to work and listen to Congress and the Court lead to this show down, but as we know, the Constitution won out in the end. And the fallout from the Nixon Presidency led Congress to take action and attempt to reign in some of the powers of the executive. But now, 30 years later, Congress appears to be willing to give those powers right back to the executive. It’s now up to the Supreme Court to attempt to check this.
The Constitution has shown over the years that it is resilient and effective. Do I have faith in the Constitution? Yes… but that’s not to say we aren’t worried. Hopefully the Supreme Court will do the right thing and make the right decision. The last thing we want is for the executive to be given more power, and I think that’s a worry that everyone has.
The retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor observed in a recent speech that the framers created three separate and equal branches of government because they knew that preserving liberty requires that no single branch or person can amass unchecked power. According to NPR's Nina Totenberg, who heard the speech, Justice O'Connor cited Republican court-stripping efforts as an example of dangerous overreaching. "It takes a lot of degeneration before a country falls into dictatorship," Justice O'Connor said, "but we should avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings."
The president seems to forget that and Congress clearly will not remind him. The nation cannot afford for the Supreme Court to forget as well.
17.3.06
St. Patrick's Day
I was watching “Trainspotting” a few weeks ago and there is the scene where Tommy takes his junk friends to the countryside right after he broke up with Lizzy. The guy is feelin’ down and all he has now are these three junkies who are probably about as dependable as… well… junkies. He’s got next to nothin’ but he figures, “I’ll get my mates together and well go out into the countryside and have a nice afternoon.” (wonderful directing there btw when they show Tommy walking alone off into the countryside which looks about as welcoming as Dante’s Fourth Ring of Hell… FORESHADOWING!!!) So there they are, getting off the train, walking though this drab, blighted countryside when the junkies ask him what they’re doing in the middle of no where. And Tommy turns around and says: “Doesn't it make you proud to be Scottish?”And Renton, just stops and looks at him, and then correctly points out:
It's SHITE being Scottish! We're the lowest of the low. The scum of the fucking Earth! The most wretched miserable servile pathetic trash that was ever shat on civilization. Some people hate the English. I don't. They're just wankers. We, on the other hand, are colonized by wankers. Can't even find a decent culture to get colonized by. We're ruled by effete assholes. It's a shite state of affairs to be in, Tommy, and all the fresh air in the world won't make any fucking difference!
I hate to bring this up on St. Patrick’s Day, but I am. I’m going to be the cynic and do it anyway on the Day of Irish Pride.
But if you take the exchange above between Rents and Tommy and replace ‘Scottish’ with ‘Irish’ it’d be dead on correct. The Irish, for years, have been conquered and controlled by the English. And yes, in the last 100 years or so they’ve broken away and declared their own independence, but the Irish have, for most of their history, been subjected to English domination.
The Irish are, in the end, the lowest of the low… the most wretched miserable servile pathetic trash that was ever shat on civilization. And that’s one of the reasons why there are so many Irish here in this country, they, or we the Irish, our ancestors had nothing so we came to America. It was a list ditch effort in many ways.
So celebrating St. Patrick’s Day because one is Irish doesn’t get me fired up. I am, for the record, about half Irish. I’m not sure what exactly I’m supposed to ‘celebrate’ today. That my ancestors are Irish? That I’m Catholic? That I like to drink beer? That the Irish have traditionally been ruled and dominated by the English (Did you know that the Union Jack has the flag of Ireland on it (the red X)?)? Am I celebrating the fact that the island has been ripped apart by religious differences? Should I drink a beer because the English were such friggin’ jagbags in the 19th century that about one million Irishmen died because of their negligence and another million took off for the US and South America? Should I be getting drunk just because I’m Irish? Is that what we’re supposed to celebrate today? My Irishness? My cultural heritage which consists of a group of people that have been dominated by another group of people for so many years?It seems to me that we use St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to party, and that’s fine. But I think in the process we’re shitting on the Irish. Most Americans here in the US aren’t Irish, they’re Irish Americans, whose parents or grandparents or great grandparents or great-great grandparents came to this country to get away from the economically depressed, maybe starving, and religiously torn island. In a way, they came to America to get away from Ireland, to get away from being Irish under the thumbs of the English.
So what are we celebrating today? I see it as a mix of those who are of Irish decent, Irish culture, and to a degree, St. Patrick too. So it’s celebration of Irish culture and Catholicism. The religious element of the day, at least here in the US, has pretty much disappeared. For instance, does anyone know anyone who goes to mass today?
As for being Irish… as I said I’m half Irish and I guess I’m proud of it. It’s not something I wear on my sleeve like so many others, but it’s not like I’m upset that I’m Irish. Some of my ancestors came from Ireland, that’s cool. Do I feel like the ‘lowest of the low’ or ‘The most wretched miserable servile pathetic trash that was ever shat on civilization.’? Nah. I mean, I don’t get defensive about the Irish or Irish culture, and I guess I root for Ireland over a lot of other countries in international competition, but at the same time I’m not the sort of person that’s going to be pretending that every day is St. Patty’s day or that it’s the Irish vs everyone else. I’m half Irish, no more… no less… it’s nice. I was born in Chicago and that’s more important to me when the sun is setting though.
As for the celebration of Irish culture… this is when things get dicey. Are we celebrating English domination over the Irish? And what exactly is Irish culture? The pub, I’m sorry, is a very English institution (thanks in part to the Romans). Is Irish culture similar to English culture? Sure, but I think there are enough differences between the two… in fact you could argue that Irish culture is much more independent than Scottish or Welsh culture and the Irish have given the world some fantastic people, ideas, and even art. Irish folk music, love it or hate it, is a definite style that is unique to Ireland. And they also can boast about having Van Morrison and U2… and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. There is Irish dance and Guinness. The Irish have given us W.B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, Seamus Heaney, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Beckett, and Oscar Wilde (though he was both gay and Protestant, so I’m not sure how many Irishmen would call him an ‘son’). And the years of repression under English rule were a source for this culture that’s unique to English, or even British, culture. It’s similar to a degree, but uniquely Irish in the end. The political domination of the English over the Irish forced the Irish to develop a near ‘signifying’ type culture. But I don’t think you’d find anyone who would argue that Irish culture and developments in Irish culture are similar of, say, the development of black culture in the United States, but that’s a different topic for a different time.
The biggest and ‘real’ difference between English and Irish culture over all these years, is in the end, religion. But as we said… that’s not important here in the US. Here in the US it’s a celebration of having Irish ancestral roots, a celebration of leaving Ireland in a way. In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is a religious day almost a holy day… you don’t see the drunken shenanigans that you’ll find in New York, Chicago, Boston, Philly, and other urban areas in this country. It’s there were we find what St. Patty’s day actually means to the Irish… it’s a national holiday, not one to go get drunk or celebrate being Irish, but rather celebrate religion. It wasn’t until recently that pubs were even allowed to be open on March 17th in Ireland.
But here in the States it’s become like… well Halloween or Valentine’s Day. Which is sort of ironic… but we’ve taken the religiousness out of St. Patrick’s Day and turned it into… well a day to drink and wear green. The Irishness of it all has almost lost it’s value… you don’t need to be Irish to celebrate the day (not that you ever had to be Irish).
See here in the States, the Irish are no different than most other groups of people that came to the US. We are a country made up of the poorest, most pathetic, most backward, rejected, defeated, and persecuted peoples of the world. And these groups like the Irish and Germans before and the Italians, Slavs, and Jews after, and Latinos and Asians today flock here in hopes of something better. And usually and hopefully, that’s what they find. So in a way, St. Patty’s Day should be a celebration of over coming the shite that was back home. Of humanity, and this countries, ability to rise above some of the cultural, racial, political, and religious differences that plague so much of the world in the past and still today. Is this country perfect? Of course, not. We have our own fair share of problems that still need to be dealt with. But if we look at St. Patrick’s Day as a celebration of overcoming persecution… well I think it’s a day worth celebrating.
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Okay with that out of the way… some thoughts on the day…
12:16pm – As Ohio State and Davidson tip off, we’re going to do the running log again… not sure if it will be as crazy as yesterday since we aren’t working till 8pm and we do have a bit of work to do… but we’ll see what we come up with as we watch the games.
12:20pm quick look at my brackets after yesterday:
Facebook – 12-4 and 18 points… whatever that means.
Juan Uribe – 15-1, only missed the Marquette game.
Jump Around – 13-3, missed the IU, Marquette, and Nevada/Montana game.
Johnny Gammons – 14-2, Missed the Marquette and South Alabama games
Head Coach Karl Rahner – 10-6… ouch, missed the A&M, IU, Marquette, Washington, Montana, and Oklahoma games.
12:41pm – I really have nothing to say, Davidson is giving Ohio State a bit of a game early on, but that seems to be happening in every game this year. I’m switching to the Wisconsin game because I am a Badger fan at heart.
12:46pm – Wisconsin is getting killed right now by a more athletic Arizona team. Come on Badgers, start playing your smart basketball where you pass seven times per position and shoot it with three left on the shot clock all the while beating the crap out of the other team? Don’t try to run with the Cats.
12:50pm – I’m going to lunch… and eating MEAT since the CARDINAL said I COULD.
1:09pm – Back from Au Bon Pain where I got a turkey sandwich… not as good as I thought it’d be. Oh well. Anyway, things only got worse for Wisconsin and Iowa finds itself in a dog fight with Northwestern St. as they approach the half. (Northwestern State also appears to have a guy with a huge fro on their team. That’s pretty cool. And this game is ugly to watch because Iowa is in their yellow unis and NWSt. Has purple unis… and the floor is painted black inside the three point line. Just an ugly game to watch on TV). BTW this might be Steve Alford’s last game with Iowa… because is there any doubt he’s going to take over at Indiana? Any?
1:21pm – Considering they were down 18 or 20 at one point, the Badgers go to the locker room down 12. Nice finish to the half and they aren’t out of this game yet. They need to make some adjustments, but they’ll do that. Meanwhile, Ohio State is down two and you can tell they’re in big trouble. The crowd is on their feet and there is still 18 minutes to go.
1:24pm – Just looked at some stats, Ohio State is shooting 31% for the game, that’s why they’re down 29-27 (what a bad game… something go in). Meanwhile Arizona shot 59% in the first half, no way they can keep that up. Wisconsin might win that game.
1:44pm – Ohio State finally took control of their game and Wisconsin just started the second half… quick thoughts on the new Real World: Key West. It’s okay. Just okay. I watched the first two episodes the other day, and I’m not hooked. I’ll watch, but I don’t see the characters that Austin gave us and I just don’t see any ‘drama’ besides melodrama coming from anyone on this cast. I can almost guarantee that Svetlana, John, and Paula will annoy the shit out of me (btw, Paula set a new record for “quickest time a female has spent in the house before becoming introspective and searching for meaning” when she stayed back to kayak on the ocean on day in the second episode. Just amazing that she’s reached that point already… I know editing probably took place too, but hey, I’m sure it still happened).
1:57pm – As Wisconsin starts throwing up threes in hope of not losing by 20, I started ready John from the Real World: Key West bio on mtv.com. This guy is the poster boy of why people hate 24 year old White Males from the Suburbs:
Why did you audition for The Real World?
It was my senior year of college and I hadn't made a tremendous amount of progress toward getting a job after graduation. In all honesty, I really wasn't ready to settle into a life that revolved around a 9-to-5 job, so I decided to audition. I thought life couldn't get any better after college. I was wrong.
Describe a typical day in your life, pre-Real World.
I'm not what you'd call a morning person, so I typically sleep in, get a mid-day workout, then my buddies and I hit up the bar scene.
2:08pm – Well Ohio State and Iowa are going to win, and Wisconsin needs a minor miracle to pull this one out over Arizona… they’re down 16 with 10 minutes left. Playing defense might be a good start. Alando Tucker is having a horrible game for the Badgers. Oh well... Big Ten will be 4-1 going into the Michigan State game. Not bad.
2:38pm – Iowa just lost on a last second three that will go down as one of the memorable moments where they’ll still be showing highlights of it 20 years from now. This is our first ‘major’ upset of the Tourney, btw. Light them brackets on fire!
16.3.06
Thoughts on the Day: Part III
4:23pm – Nothing to add besides the fact that I’m working late today… but since I knew I was working late I came in late. So it feels like it’s like 1:45 right now. Just totally weird… Montana still up… they aren’t a bad team in fact. Our Jesuit team of the moment, Marquette, is down ten to Alabama… and Bruce Pearl’s head might explode the way he’s screaming on the sidelines right now.
4:29pm – Opening our mail here… we just got something from the New Jersey Roadrunners and AAU team asking for money it looks like. Anyway, the head coach has a perm and the assistant director couldn’t look more like an scum bag unless you were looking at Bruce Pearl himself (btw Wintrop just took the lead over Tennessee). Seriously, these AAU guys have to be among the lowest of the low, just above childhood kidnappers and 29 year male old middle school gym teachers. But this caught my eye: “The following are some NBA players who got their start with the New Jersey Roadrunners:
Al Harrington
Anthony Avent
Edgar Jones
Bobby Hurley
Chris Jent (NBA Coach)
Dahntay Jones
Terry Dehere
Luther Wright
Mark Bryant
Alaa Abdelnaby
Rafael Addison
Eric Williams
And the list keeps growing…..”
I wish I was making that list up. But ‘dem the facts, Jack. I haven’t even heard of most of these guys. Harrington isn’t that good, Hurley started the “Duke point guard who almost kills himself and ends his NBA career in a horrible motor vehicle accident” tradition, and Terry Dehere… a guy I totally forgot about.
4:42pm - I’ve been debating on where the Tourney fits among the ranks of best sporting events. First of all is it great? Sure… but at the same time it’s one of those events that sort of creeps up on you. That’s partly because I know only three people who follow college basketball religiously. It doesn’t have a year round following like so many other sports. It’s one of those things that you look up about a week after the Super Bowl and say, oh yeah, the Tourney starts in four weeks. I’ve never, I mean never, have found myself sitting around in the middle of September thinking… “I wonder who’s going to win the NCAA Tournament this year?” I’ve found myself thinking that about baseball in January, or the NFL in June, or college football in March… but never the NCAA Tournament.
So when you look at it that way it sort of tarnishes the ‘greatness’ of it all. But these two days are so much fun at the same time. And in a way, the NCAA Tournament is one of those things where the team that wins it all isn’t the most important thing about the Tournament itself (unless of course you’re team makes the Final Four, then who wins matters). That the team that wins doesn’t matter as much… it’s the games themselves that we watch and love. The one and done, the small school upsetting the big school, the bench going nuts over every position. In a way we wish that all sports were like this, that the players cared more about winning and showing that emotion than anything else. Baseball players are the only ones who come close to capturing that excitement and emotion when they’re in the dugout. There are just too many NFL players, and NBA players are far too stoic in the end.
So where does it fit? As a sporting event, I’d put it in my top five with the baseball playoffs, Fifa World Cup, the Masters, and pretty much any Saturday in the fall. But the Tournament is also an event that happens to feature sports, like the Super Bowl. So it’s really one of those few sporting events that transcends sports and becomes a cultural phenomenon. You almost have to care about it because everyone else has some sort of interest in it… the office pools and the such.
Good for the tournament and good for us. We get something that we can enjoy and all talk about… something to bring us together and just hang out and have a good time with. The emotion and passion from the players keeps us watching and allows us to connect to the players, because many times we feel the same way as those guys on the bench do jumping up and down. And the competitive nature and set up of the tournament almost reminds us on how special and unique life can be day by day. The ups and downs, how each day is one and done and so important. Sure I’m over glorifying all this a bit, but I think there is some truth there. About those few days in a month or year where our stomics are turned inside out, our emotions are played with, where we feel that sort of joy that they players do… it’s because in the end we can realate to these guys. Maybe not the guy who’s hitting the game winner, but the #10 guy who’s arms are locked with the #9 and #11 guy on his team… that’s the guy most of us are. And that’s what we love.
5:14pm – Tennessee just got a dunk with a 1:14 to play to take the lead… but wait, now it says the game is still tied and it’s Winthrop’s ball. Weird. BTW, if Winthrop wins this game, the number of people who called this is staggering. Almost freaky. Almost saying to the selection committee… what were you guys thinking making a Tennessee team that is a best a #4 seed the #2 seed? But I’m not kidding, I heard about three or four ‘experts’ pick Winthrop over Tennessee. You NEVER hear that sort of talk.
5:17pm – This has been a great game; Winthrop just missed a three to take a three point lead. Now it’s Tennessee ball with 21 ticks left.
5:19pm – Tennessee misses the game ‘winner’ with 12 seconds left and the long rebound goes into the back court when the Vols get it back. The guy who gets it drives to the basket and seems to get off a bad shot, but then they called timeout… I have no clue what’s going out since I don’t have sound. But there’s 1.8 seconds left or something… did the guy from Winthrop foul the guy from Tennessee? BTW, Marquette has battled back to make it close against the Tide. And yeah looks like it was a foul. Crazy. Unless someone on Tennessee called timeout, which would be one of the WORST timeouts ever. Okay this makes sense now… they called timeout with 2.9 left. I get it! Sound is a wonderful thing isn’t it?
5:23pm – Wow. The guy from Tennessee just threw up a prayer and it went in… Tennessee up two with .4 left. Damn, I want Winthrop to win this game.
5:36pm – Tennessee just won and they’re going to get killed by Wichita State on Saturday. This Vols team is not very good.
5:37pm – Looks like we might have our 5/12 upset taken care of already… Montana is up by 12 over Nevada with 2:30 left. Everyone in upstate New York is happy.
5:52pm – Even though they’re down big, Nevada won’t give up and this Montana Nevada game is lasting longer than it should… Montana is going to win. Marquette is down 3 with 19 to go… Let’s go Marquette and whatever they’re calling you these days be it Gold/Warriors/Brewers/Lites/Golden Eagles.
6:05pm – With this break in the action… I’m going to do the same…
7:14pm – Haven’t really been following the UCLA game, but they were down early and now are up by more than 10 at the half. I’m going to switch over too… LSU and Iona. These tourney games can stay close because the three point line is so friggin close. This always annoys the Hell out of me in the regular season, but come Field of 64, I love it. These under dogs are always in it if those threes fall. Like one just did for Iona.
7:18pm – Woah… the Women’s Tournament has a reginal final in Bridgeport? Bridgeport, CT? Hasn’t anyone from the NCAA been to Bridgeport, CT? It’s not exactly Gary, IN but it’s no New Haven, CT either. That’s sort of a weird place to have a regional final… I understand Connecticut being the Capital of Women’s Basketball and all (and every male from Connecticut just shivered), but why Bridgeport over New Haven or Hartford? Or better yet, let’s get the guys interested in the games and put it at Foxwoods.
7:23pm - MARADI, NIGER—More than 60,000 urgently needed Bibles arrived to allay suffering throughout the famine-stricken nation of Niger Friday, in one of the largest humanitarian-relief operations ever attempted by a Christian ministry.
7:24pm – The Gonzaga and Xavier game just tipped off… the killer of all first round match ups for me. How can I root against a Jesuit team? And in this one, I’ve got to root against Xavier since Gonzaga is a much better team. And seeing that I want to see the Jesuits go as far as possible and this isn’t a ‘at least one of the will get though’ game, it’s going to rip my heart out if it’s close and Xavier has a chance to win near the end. Go Zags!
7:26pm - WASHINGTON, DC—With many of his administration's policies facing growing public disapproval, President Bush is reportedly becoming more concerned with how he will be portrayed by future revisionist historians. "Just last summer, the president never reflected on how apologists would spin his increased lobbying for an unpopular war, or how future far-right generations would justify his failed domestic policy initiatives," presidential scholar Dr. Robert Dallek said. "He reportedly asked an aide if, decades from now, the deluded would see him as great, like Ronald Reagan, or merely as a fully redeemed elder statesman, like Richard Nixon." Margaret Meehan, a spokesman for the National Board Of Historical Revision, offered no comment on any future portrayal of "America's most beloved and accomplished president."
7:29pm – You just have to love the Onion. Have to. And why is it that all the West Coast/Western areas have bad lightening? Has anyone ever looked into this? The New Mexico floor constantly has bad lighting. This Utah floor has bad lighting. The Bosie State floor has bad lighting… could it be that they always play these first round games at the same place but they just change the floor? So one year it says Utah, the next New Mexico, and then Bosie State after that? It’s like they have one flood light at these places and they shine it on the floor. It’s so weird. And if you don’t believe me go back and whatch some old highlights over the last ten years at those three arenas.
7:40pm – Looks like Iona is going to stick around with LSU… this is the game I’m gonna watch then… or at least until I get to leave in a few minutes.
7:57pm – And with that… we’re out of here. Enjoy the games. Hope you sort of enjoyed this… maybe I’ll do it again tomorrow. And go USA!
4:29pm – Opening our mail here… we just got something from the New Jersey Roadrunners and AAU team asking for money it looks like. Anyway, the head coach has a perm and the assistant director couldn’t look more like an scum bag unless you were looking at Bruce Pearl himself (btw Wintrop just took the lead over Tennessee). Seriously, these AAU guys have to be among the lowest of the low, just above childhood kidnappers and 29 year male old middle school gym teachers. But this caught my eye: “The following are some NBA players who got their start with the New Jersey Roadrunners:
Al Harrington
Anthony Avent
Edgar Jones
Bobby Hurley
Chris Jent (NBA Coach)
Dahntay Jones
Terry Dehere
Luther Wright
Mark Bryant
Alaa Abdelnaby
Rafael Addison
Eric Williams
And the list keeps growing…..”
I wish I was making that list up. But ‘dem the facts, Jack. I haven’t even heard of most of these guys. Harrington isn’t that good, Hurley started the “Duke point guard who almost kills himself and ends his NBA career in a horrible motor vehicle accident” tradition, and Terry Dehere… a guy I totally forgot about.
4:42pm - I’ve been debating on where the Tourney fits among the ranks of best sporting events. First of all is it great? Sure… but at the same time it’s one of those events that sort of creeps up on you. That’s partly because I know only three people who follow college basketball religiously. It doesn’t have a year round following like so many other sports. It’s one of those things that you look up about a week after the Super Bowl and say, oh yeah, the Tourney starts in four weeks. I’ve never, I mean never, have found myself sitting around in the middle of September thinking… “I wonder who’s going to win the NCAA Tournament this year?” I’ve found myself thinking that about baseball in January, or the NFL in June, or college football in March… but never the NCAA Tournament.
So when you look at it that way it sort of tarnishes the ‘greatness’ of it all. But these two days are so much fun at the same time. And in a way, the NCAA Tournament is one of those things where the team that wins it all isn’t the most important thing about the Tournament itself (unless of course you’re team makes the Final Four, then who wins matters). That the team that wins doesn’t matter as much… it’s the games themselves that we watch and love. The one and done, the small school upsetting the big school, the bench going nuts over every position. In a way we wish that all sports were like this, that the players cared more about winning and showing that emotion than anything else. Baseball players are the only ones who come close to capturing that excitement and emotion when they’re in the dugout. There are just too many NFL players, and NBA players are far too stoic in the end.
So where does it fit? As a sporting event, I’d put it in my top five with the baseball playoffs, Fifa World Cup, the Masters, and pretty much any Saturday in the fall. But the Tournament is also an event that happens to feature sports, like the Super Bowl. So it’s really one of those few sporting events that transcends sports and becomes a cultural phenomenon. You almost have to care about it because everyone else has some sort of interest in it… the office pools and the such.
Good for the tournament and good for us. We get something that we can enjoy and all talk about… something to bring us together and just hang out and have a good time with. The emotion and passion from the players keeps us watching and allows us to connect to the players, because many times we feel the same way as those guys on the bench do jumping up and down. And the competitive nature and set up of the tournament almost reminds us on how special and unique life can be day by day. The ups and downs, how each day is one and done and so important. Sure I’m over glorifying all this a bit, but I think there is some truth there. About those few days in a month or year where our stomics are turned inside out, our emotions are played with, where we feel that sort of joy that they players do… it’s because in the end we can realate to these guys. Maybe not the guy who’s hitting the game winner, but the #10 guy who’s arms are locked with the #9 and #11 guy on his team… that’s the guy most of us are. And that’s what we love.
5:14pm – Tennessee just got a dunk with a 1:14 to play to take the lead… but wait, now it says the game is still tied and it’s Winthrop’s ball. Weird. BTW, if Winthrop wins this game, the number of people who called this is staggering. Almost freaky. Almost saying to the selection committee… what were you guys thinking making a Tennessee team that is a best a #4 seed the #2 seed? But I’m not kidding, I heard about three or four ‘experts’ pick Winthrop over Tennessee. You NEVER hear that sort of talk.
5:17pm – This has been a great game; Winthrop just missed a three to take a three point lead. Now it’s Tennessee ball with 21 ticks left.
5:19pm – Tennessee misses the game ‘winner’ with 12 seconds left and the long rebound goes into the back court when the Vols get it back. The guy who gets it drives to the basket and seems to get off a bad shot, but then they called timeout… I have no clue what’s going out since I don’t have sound. But there’s 1.8 seconds left or something… did the guy from Winthrop foul the guy from Tennessee? BTW, Marquette has battled back to make it close against the Tide. And yeah looks like it was a foul. Crazy. Unless someone on Tennessee called timeout, which would be one of the WORST timeouts ever. Okay this makes sense now… they called timeout with 2.9 left. I get it! Sound is a wonderful thing isn’t it?
5:23pm – Wow. The guy from Tennessee just threw up a prayer and it went in… Tennessee up two with .4 left. Damn, I want Winthrop to win this game.
5:36pm – Tennessee just won and they’re going to get killed by Wichita State on Saturday. This Vols team is not very good.
5:37pm – Looks like we might have our 5/12 upset taken care of already… Montana is up by 12 over Nevada with 2:30 left. Everyone in upstate New York is happy.
5:52pm – Even though they’re down big, Nevada won’t give up and this Montana Nevada game is lasting longer than it should… Montana is going to win. Marquette is down 3 with 19 to go… Let’s go Marquette and whatever they’re calling you these days be it Gold/Warriors/Brewers/Lites/Golden Eagles.
6:05pm – With this break in the action… I’m going to do the same…
7:14pm – Haven’t really been following the UCLA game, but they were down early and now are up by more than 10 at the half. I’m going to switch over too… LSU and Iona. These tourney games can stay close because the three point line is so friggin close. This always annoys the Hell out of me in the regular season, but come Field of 64, I love it. These under dogs are always in it if those threes fall. Like one just did for Iona.
7:18pm – Woah… the Women’s Tournament has a reginal final in Bridgeport? Bridgeport, CT? Hasn’t anyone from the NCAA been to Bridgeport, CT? It’s not exactly Gary, IN but it’s no New Haven, CT either. That’s sort of a weird place to have a regional final… I understand Connecticut being the Capital of Women’s Basketball and all (and every male from Connecticut just shivered), but why Bridgeport over New Haven or Hartford? Or better yet, let’s get the guys interested in the games and put it at Foxwoods.
7:23pm - MARADI, NIGER—More than 60,000 urgently needed Bibles arrived to allay suffering throughout the famine-stricken nation of Niger Friday, in one of the largest humanitarian-relief operations ever attempted by a Christian ministry.
7:24pm – The Gonzaga and Xavier game just tipped off… the killer of all first round match ups for me. How can I root against a Jesuit team? And in this one, I’ve got to root against Xavier since Gonzaga is a much better team. And seeing that I want to see the Jesuits go as far as possible and this isn’t a ‘at least one of the will get though’ game, it’s going to rip my heart out if it’s close and Xavier has a chance to win near the end. Go Zags!
7:26pm - WASHINGTON, DC—With many of his administration's policies facing growing public disapproval, President Bush is reportedly becoming more concerned with how he will be portrayed by future revisionist historians. "Just last summer, the president never reflected on how apologists would spin his increased lobbying for an unpopular war, or how future far-right generations would justify his failed domestic policy initiatives," presidential scholar Dr. Robert Dallek said. "He reportedly asked an aide if, decades from now, the deluded would see him as great, like Ronald Reagan, or merely as a fully redeemed elder statesman, like Richard Nixon." Margaret Meehan, a spokesman for the National Board Of Historical Revision, offered no comment on any future portrayal of "America's most beloved and accomplished president."
7:29pm – You just have to love the Onion. Have to. And why is it that all the West Coast/Western areas have bad lightening? Has anyone ever looked into this? The New Mexico floor constantly has bad lighting. This Utah floor has bad lighting. The Bosie State floor has bad lighting… could it be that they always play these first round games at the same place but they just change the floor? So one year it says Utah, the next New Mexico, and then Bosie State after that? It’s like they have one flood light at these places and they shine it on the floor. It’s so weird. And if you don’t believe me go back and whatch some old highlights over the last ten years at those three arenas.
7:40pm – Looks like Iona is going to stick around with LSU… this is the game I’m gonna watch then… or at least until I get to leave in a few minutes.
7:57pm – And with that… we’re out of here. Enjoy the games. Hope you sort of enjoyed this… maybe I’ll do it again tomorrow. And go USA!
Thoughts on the Day: Part II
2:29pm – Wichita State is rolling up near 20 and all that needs to happen is for the final buzzard to sound. But after being down like 12, Oklahoma has come back to pull within six with three to go against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This is what we live for come tourney time and it looks like we’re going to get it… a nail biter that keeps us at the edge of our seat. Oklahoma’s Taj Grey just fouled out, which doesn’t matter too much because it’s all about the Sooners guards at this point. UWM just applied the press and the Sooners had trouble breaking it… UWM isn’t going to lose now that I just saw that. If their guards are better than the Sooners guards, good night Oklahoma. And they’re hitting their free throws… I’ll say it now, Big Conferences and Billy Packer ZERO; Mid Majors and Me – TWO.
2:34pm – Okay I’m worried… BC is only up two with 3:43 left. BC is my pick. I was driving this bandwagon on Sunday night and everyone else jumped on board soon afterwards. They’re my pick to win it all (mainly because I know if it comes down to me winning a pool I can’t go with a ‘consensus’ pick since I suck at picking first round games, so I pick the ‘under the radar team’ and pray… and it worked in 1999 when I took UConn and won like 200 bucks. And that’s how I’ve done it ever since).
2:39pm – UWM is up eight with 30 seconds to go… Calling Billy Packer! Calling Billy Packer! And BC is now up four with fifty seconds left… I might just be okay.
2:40pm – NOOOO, BC is only up one with 38 ticks left… and I can’t watch this game. This stinks. UWM is closing this out as the Sooners foul. This BC thing is killing me. KILLING ME. They’re up two now… deep breaths. BC up three… and UWM just won. First upset of the tourney and the game was never really that close.
2:42pm – Pacific makes it a one point game again, twenty seconds left. I can’t take this. My pick to win it all… a Jesuit school… a school where I have a lot of facebook friends… a school I have a bizarre attachment to… and they’re in a nail biter and it’s the one game I can’t watch! This stinks. They’re up three again, 17 seconds left…
2:43pm – NOOOOOO again! Pacific must have hit a three because the game is tied at 65 with nine seconds left. NO no no! Time out I assume…
2:45pm – And… and… I saw the clock tick down to four seconds and there it sits… tied at 65… WHAT IS HAPPENING!?!?! Just went to two seconds, then to three, then to two… and now it’s over time. I hate this. Now I don’t feel so smug about not taking the day off. Karma got me there, I should have known it the moment I wrote about getting these games on the computer. That the one good game would be the one I couldn’t watch. Karma… it’s like I’ve forgotten everything Earl Hickey has taught me.
2:49pm – I’m going to do some work while this OT plays out a bit…
3:00pm – Crap… BC is down two with 1:29 to play.
3:02pm – And it looks like BC is going to lose. They’re down two with 12 seconds left. Talk about a major bummer. This will be on the Bears losing to the Panthers level for me.
3:05pm – BC ties it in what looks like a last second shot! 74 all and on to the second OT… this is FANTASTIC… of course it’s the one game I CAN’T WATCH.
3:10pm – Our next set of games feature Tennessee vs Winthrop and USA vs Florida. That’s right, Shaq, Kobe, LeBron, and Wade vs the Florida Gators. I can’t wait! And btw, Tennessee is the worst #2 seed in my lifetime. They didn’t win shit in the SEC and lost something like four of their last six. Plus their coached by Bruce Pearl who’s a jagbag. If you didn’t notice, I’m very bitter that they got a #2 seed over Illinois. BC up five with three minutes left, breathing a little easier.
3:17pm – Boston College just won 88-76 but not before giving me a heart attack. So while by bracket is still alive, I’m going to need a pacemaker the rest of my life. But as I said, at least my bracket is still alive… now that the first batch of games are over, back to the news…
3:34pm – Let me just say this right now… having Roger Clemens pitch the most important game in American baseball history has me down right scared. I could think of about 937 Americans who I would choose to start tonight’s game against Mexico over Clemens. But the Rocket is who we’re stuck with and we’ll see how this unfolds. But I have my doubts.
And yes, I hate how I have to root for Roger Clemens. I can do it, but I don’t like it. It’s sort of like rooting for snowboarders in the Olympics... only if the snowboarders were evil, frauds, and wimps.
3:42pm – Few other WBC thoughts… Cuba wants to host a few games the next time the WBC is played and MLB is fine with that. Of course there will/would be huge political issues if Fidel is still alive in 2009 and the US government would never sign off on something like that (unless the WBC becomes a separate identity based out of like Denmark), but it’s a nice thought that maybe some day we could rise above political differences for a friendly sport competition. Maybe I’m too much of an idealist, but back as a senior in high school I developed a theory that if you took two warring factions to a nine inning game on a perfect June night, gave them a few hot dogs, a beer, a scorecard, and told them to talk things out, things would get talked out. By the end of the game, the two warring parties would have found some sort of peace and the world would be a better place. And seeing that both Fidel and W love baseball… why couldn’t the two of them get together some time and take in a game? And I don’t mean an intense game, I mean like the White Sox and Royals on June 24? Wouldn’t the odds of some sort of peaceful and fair agreement being made that would resolve this 40 odd year disagreement be increased greatly? And then both sides could both move on from our ‘ideology’ battle and try to get along. Isn’t that much better than ‘embargoing’ the Cubans or watching Fidel deny the people of Cuba the chance to voice their opinion?
(BTW, Cuba wanting to hold these games which just goes to show that the World Baseball Classic is here to stay. I’m sure they’ll play it after the World Series in 2009 and the games will be a bit more in tune with the American media. There is little doubt that the WBC has been a huge success. And I love it. Just love it. For a first time tournament it’s been great. Sure it has its fair share of problems that need fixing, but for the most part it’s been fantastic. And it has been beyond huge in the Caribbean).
3:58pm – Quick look at the games… the Marquette/Alabama game is blacked out for me. Winthrop is giving Tennessee a game where Tennessee is only up two at half, no surprise there. Florida is up on USA. And the Nevada and Montana game just started, but looks like it will be a good one. BTW, the fact that I just wrote Montana and Nevada is sort of funny… talk about weird match ups… I’m pretty sure there was no point in my life where I ever though I’d use Montana and Nevada in the same sentence unless we were talking about mining or something. Oh wait! Montana is up nine with 13 left in the first!
2:34pm – Okay I’m worried… BC is only up two with 3:43 left. BC is my pick. I was driving this bandwagon on Sunday night and everyone else jumped on board soon afterwards. They’re my pick to win it all (mainly because I know if it comes down to me winning a pool I can’t go with a ‘consensus’ pick since I suck at picking first round games, so I pick the ‘under the radar team’ and pray… and it worked in 1999 when I took UConn and won like 200 bucks. And that’s how I’ve done it ever since).
2:39pm – UWM is up eight with 30 seconds to go… Calling Billy Packer! Calling Billy Packer! And BC is now up four with fifty seconds left… I might just be okay.
2:40pm – NOOOO, BC is only up one with 38 ticks left… and I can’t watch this game. This stinks. UWM is closing this out as the Sooners foul. This BC thing is killing me. KILLING ME. They’re up two now… deep breaths. BC up three… and UWM just won. First upset of the tourney and the game was never really that close.
2:42pm – Pacific makes it a one point game again, twenty seconds left. I can’t take this. My pick to win it all… a Jesuit school… a school where I have a lot of facebook friends… a school I have a bizarre attachment to… and they’re in a nail biter and it’s the one game I can’t watch! This stinks. They’re up three again, 17 seconds left…
2:43pm – NOOOOOO again! Pacific must have hit a three because the game is tied at 65 with nine seconds left. NO no no! Time out I assume…
2:45pm – And… and… I saw the clock tick down to four seconds and there it sits… tied at 65… WHAT IS HAPPENING!?!?! Just went to two seconds, then to three, then to two… and now it’s over time. I hate this. Now I don’t feel so smug about not taking the day off. Karma got me there, I should have known it the moment I wrote about getting these games on the computer. That the one good game would be the one I couldn’t watch. Karma… it’s like I’ve forgotten everything Earl Hickey has taught me.
2:49pm – I’m going to do some work while this OT plays out a bit…
3:00pm – Crap… BC is down two with 1:29 to play.
3:02pm – And it looks like BC is going to lose. They’re down two with 12 seconds left. Talk about a major bummer. This will be on the Bears losing to the Panthers level for me.
3:05pm – BC ties it in what looks like a last second shot! 74 all and on to the second OT… this is FANTASTIC… of course it’s the one game I CAN’T WATCH.
3:10pm – Our next set of games feature Tennessee vs Winthrop and USA vs Florida. That’s right, Shaq, Kobe, LeBron, and Wade vs the Florida Gators. I can’t wait! And btw, Tennessee is the worst #2 seed in my lifetime. They didn’t win shit in the SEC and lost something like four of their last six. Plus their coached by Bruce Pearl who’s a jagbag. If you didn’t notice, I’m very bitter that they got a #2 seed over Illinois. BC up five with three minutes left, breathing a little easier.
3:17pm – Boston College just won 88-76 but not before giving me a heart attack. So while by bracket is still alive, I’m going to need a pacemaker the rest of my life. But as I said, at least my bracket is still alive… now that the first batch of games are over, back to the news…
3:34pm – Let me just say this right now… having Roger Clemens pitch the most important game in American baseball history has me down right scared. I could think of about 937 Americans who I would choose to start tonight’s game against Mexico over Clemens. But the Rocket is who we’re stuck with and we’ll see how this unfolds. But I have my doubts.
And yes, I hate how I have to root for Roger Clemens. I can do it, but I don’t like it. It’s sort of like rooting for snowboarders in the Olympics... only if the snowboarders were evil, frauds, and wimps.
3:42pm – Few other WBC thoughts… Cuba wants to host a few games the next time the WBC is played and MLB is fine with that. Of course there will/would be huge political issues if Fidel is still alive in 2009 and the US government would never sign off on something like that (unless the WBC becomes a separate identity based out of like Denmark), but it’s a nice thought that maybe some day we could rise above political differences for a friendly sport competition. Maybe I’m too much of an idealist, but back as a senior in high school I developed a theory that if you took two warring factions to a nine inning game on a perfect June night, gave them a few hot dogs, a beer, a scorecard, and told them to talk things out, things would get talked out. By the end of the game, the two warring parties would have found some sort of peace and the world would be a better place. And seeing that both Fidel and W love baseball… why couldn’t the two of them get together some time and take in a game? And I don’t mean an intense game, I mean like the White Sox and Royals on June 24? Wouldn’t the odds of some sort of peaceful and fair agreement being made that would resolve this 40 odd year disagreement be increased greatly? And then both sides could both move on from our ‘ideology’ battle and try to get along. Isn’t that much better than ‘embargoing’ the Cubans or watching Fidel deny the people of Cuba the chance to voice their opinion?
(BTW, Cuba wanting to hold these games which just goes to show that the World Baseball Classic is here to stay. I’m sure they’ll play it after the World Series in 2009 and the games will be a bit more in tune with the American media. There is little doubt that the WBC has been a huge success. And I love it. Just love it. For a first time tournament it’s been great. Sure it has its fair share of problems that need fixing, but for the most part it’s been fantastic. And it has been beyond huge in the Caribbean).
3:58pm – Quick look at the games… the Marquette/Alabama game is blacked out for me. Winthrop is giving Tennessee a game where Tennessee is only up two at half, no surprise there. Florida is up on USA. And the Nevada and Montana game just started, but looks like it will be a good one. BTW, the fact that I just wrote Montana and Nevada is sort of funny… talk about weird match ups… I’m pretty sure there was no point in my life where I ever though I’d use Montana and Nevada in the same sentence unless we were talking about mining or something. Oh wait! Montana is up nine with 13 left in the first!
Thoughts on the Day: Part 1
We did a devilish thing on Monday… we signed up for this free MarchMadness TV thing on the computer from the NCAA website. So right now I’ve got Wichita State and Seaton Hall on a little screen on my computer… and you know what that means!
That’s right! I’m watching the tourney and still came to work! No need to take a day off… save that vacation for a rainy day. I’m here, watchin’ the games and getting nothing done. So as I go though the day, I plan on doing ‘blog’ updates of the crap that stuck in my head and things I come across throughout the day… so away we go.
12:56pm - Wichita State is givin’ it hard core to Seaton Hall right now. Take that Billy Packer can go rot in a corner right now. We’ll hold off on the games as they progress, just wanted to get that off my chest.
1:05pm - Jessica Simpson Rocks… That right she told Bush to go some where else… yeah yeah I’m sure it’s not because she’s some kind of big time liberal, but rather probably just to avoid pissing people off (and when I say people I mean the 66% that disapproves of President Bush). Read about it here if you really care. And yes this was an excuse to throw a picture of her up there.
But to be a bit more serious… the GOP are such friggin’ hypocrites sometimes. Seriously. They blast the Democrats for being in bed with Hollywood and saying that the people in Hollywood are idiots, then they go out and get someone from Hollywood for a GOP Fund Raiser. Simpson decides not to do the event “because Operation Smile is a non-partisan group.” We can understand that, this is going to be a GOP fund raiser and she doesn’t want to bring politics into it. That’s fine and her decision. But now the GOP is trying to rip her for NOT BEING POLITICAL. I seriously don’t get this jagbags sometimes… how they sleep with themselves and call themselves moral and Christian. They’re the biggest group of hypocrites.
And let me remind everyone before anyone says anything… this has NOTHING to do with the Democrats or anything like that, so don’t even bring them up. We’ll get to them at some point I’m sure. And yes we realize this isn't a 'news' story, but the GOP is making it a news story. And I just want to point out how hypocritical they are right now.
1:28pm - I’m about an hour from plugging the iPod into the speakers here and then it will be official. I’m cooler than everyone else. Have I mentioned that I’m watching the NCAA Tournament games right now? The only game I can’t watch is the BC/Pacific game because that’s on CBS here in DC and therefore blacked out on the PC. But you know what… I can watch the other two games right now and that makes me happy. And we’ve got left over sandwiches in the office. Life is so good right now.
At the half, both mid-majors are up and it looks like Wichita State is going to cruise over Seton Hall. What’d up Billy Packer, Gary Williams, and the Big East?
1:40pm – By my count, the War in Iraq started three years ago right now (give or take a day) and 34 months ago President Bush said, with a big banner that read “Mission Accomplished” behind him, that “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.”
Well I was extremely surprised to read today that “More than 50 US warplanes were today involved in the biggest air offensive launched by the Americans in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, the US military said.”
Hopefully we’ll be able to accomplish our goals in this mission and it leads to a safe and more orderly Iraq (I feel like I’ve been saying that since the looting that occurred right after the invasion). But once again, and I know I’m beating a dead horse but we should all be beating this horse, it just goes to show what a piss poor job the Pentagon and the “Defense” Department did at planning for the aftermath of the initial attack on Iraq. And it also goes to show that someone in the White House was overly ambitions and outright stupid when they handed that speech to Bush back in May of 2003 (as my lawyer school friends say “never speak in absolutes”). Because any time we launch an attack that is described as “the biggest air offensive” a good 34 months after “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended”… well it looks really bad. And it’s painfully obvious that a lot of people messed up big time on a lot of different levels. I’m not sure what they were thinking… did they honestly believe that we’d go in there, get rid of Saddam, and they’d have elections and everything would be peaceful? I can’t think they were that stupid, but it appears that they were. The post-war/invasion effort and planning has been, to be kind, and complete disaster. The fact that 34 months after combat operations were declared over we’re sending out 50 warplanes… well it just goes to show how big of a disaster this Iraq thing has been.
2:14pm - And before we post our first ‘entry’ for the day… quick look at the games… I watched most of the first half of the Wichita State/Seton Hall game and Wichita State is good. They’re up 17 with 9 minutes left, and while not an upset, Wichita State is a Mid Major and Seton Hall does play in the Big East. I think it’s safe to put this idea that the #8 team in the Big East being better than the #2 team in a Mid Major theory to bed. And now I’m watching Wisconsin-Milwaukee pull away from Okalahoma with about eight minutes left. This might be our first upset of the day and the game I’m going to be watching from here on out…UW-M is a very solid team. Okay more later. (In the other game BC is starting to pull away according to the scoreboard).
That’s right! I’m watching the tourney and still came to work! No need to take a day off… save that vacation for a rainy day. I’m here, watchin’ the games and getting nothing done. So as I go though the day, I plan on doing ‘blog’ updates of the crap that stuck in my head and things I come across throughout the day… so away we go.
12:56pm - Wichita State is givin’ it hard core to Seaton Hall right now. Take that Billy Packer can go rot in a corner right now. We’ll hold off on the games as they progress, just wanted to get that off my chest.
1:05pm - Jessica Simpson Rocks… That right she told Bush to go some where else… yeah yeah I’m sure it’s not because she’s some kind of big time liberal, but rather probably just to avoid pissing people off (and when I say people I mean the 66% that disapproves of President Bush). Read about it here if you really care. And yes this was an excuse to throw a picture of her up there.But to be a bit more serious… the GOP are such friggin’ hypocrites sometimes. Seriously. They blast the Democrats for being in bed with Hollywood and saying that the people in Hollywood are idiots, then they go out and get someone from Hollywood for a GOP Fund Raiser. Simpson decides not to do the event “because Operation Smile is a non-partisan group.” We can understand that, this is going to be a GOP fund raiser and she doesn’t want to bring politics into it. That’s fine and her decision. But now the GOP is trying to rip her for NOT BEING POLITICAL. I seriously don’t get this jagbags sometimes… how they sleep with themselves and call themselves moral and Christian. They’re the biggest group of hypocrites.
And let me remind everyone before anyone says anything… this has NOTHING to do with the Democrats or anything like that, so don’t even bring them up. We’ll get to them at some point I’m sure. And yes we realize this isn't a 'news' story, but the GOP is making it a news story. And I just want to point out how hypocritical they are right now.
1:28pm - I’m about an hour from plugging the iPod into the speakers here and then it will be official. I’m cooler than everyone else. Have I mentioned that I’m watching the NCAA Tournament games right now? The only game I can’t watch is the BC/Pacific game because that’s on CBS here in DC and therefore blacked out on the PC. But you know what… I can watch the other two games right now and that makes me happy. And we’ve got left over sandwiches in the office. Life is so good right now.
At the half, both mid-majors are up and it looks like Wichita State is going to cruise over Seton Hall. What’d up Billy Packer, Gary Williams, and the Big East?
1:40pm – By my count, the War in Iraq started three years ago right now (give or take a day) and 34 months ago President Bush said, with a big banner that read “Mission Accomplished” behind him, that “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.”
Well I was extremely surprised to read today that “More than 50 US warplanes were today involved in the biggest air offensive launched by the Americans in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, the US military said.”
Hopefully we’ll be able to accomplish our goals in this mission and it leads to a safe and more orderly Iraq (I feel like I’ve been saying that since the looting that occurred right after the invasion). But once again, and I know I’m beating a dead horse but we should all be beating this horse, it just goes to show what a piss poor job the Pentagon and the “Defense” Department did at planning for the aftermath of the initial attack on Iraq. And it also goes to show that someone in the White House was overly ambitions and outright stupid when they handed that speech to Bush back in May of 2003 (as my lawyer school friends say “never speak in absolutes”). Because any time we launch an attack that is described as “the biggest air offensive” a good 34 months after “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended”… well it looks really bad. And it’s painfully obvious that a lot of people messed up big time on a lot of different levels. I’m not sure what they were thinking… did they honestly believe that we’d go in there, get rid of Saddam, and they’d have elections and everything would be peaceful? I can’t think they were that stupid, but it appears that they were. The post-war/invasion effort and planning has been, to be kind, and complete disaster. The fact that 34 months after combat operations were declared over we’re sending out 50 warplanes… well it just goes to show how big of a disaster this Iraq thing has been.
2:14pm - And before we post our first ‘entry’ for the day… quick look at the games… I watched most of the first half of the Wichita State/Seton Hall game and Wichita State is good. They’re up 17 with 9 minutes left, and while not an upset, Wichita State is a Mid Major and Seton Hall does play in the Big East. I think it’s safe to put this idea that the #8 team in the Big East being better than the #2 team in a Mid Major theory to bed. And now I’m watching Wisconsin-Milwaukee pull away from Okalahoma with about eight minutes left. This might be our first upset of the day and the game I’m going to be watching from here on out…UW-M is a very solid team. Okay more later. (In the other game BC is starting to pull away according to the scoreboard).
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