Ramblings (President’s Day Edition)

Two small baseball things:

Have you seen any superstar athlete drop as fast as Sammy Sosa? I’m not speaking of only his skills but in the opinion poll of the fans. The biggest contract he was offered was for $500,000. He's declined it and it appears he will retire. My question: Does anyone care that Sosa might retire? If this had happened two years ago there would’ve been a parade and every visiting ballpark would’ve said goodbye to Sammy. Funny what a corked bat and steroids speculation can do to a Hall of Fame career. (I feel like I've written this exact same thing before.)

For all those who were concerned that Corey Patterson might actually turn it around in Baltimore and show up the Cubs, I offer up this quote from the Tribune:

"Everyone meant well," Patterson said. "But sometimes you have to do your own thing. I don't point any fingers or say it was anybody's fault. I blame myself. You have to mentally be yourself. You have to be consistent. When you start changing, things go badly."

Sound familiar? Yes, it’s the exact same excuse he’s used the previous two years. Good riddance.

Okay let’s make it three baseball things:

The word of an “illness” during the winter keeping Prior off-track does scare the hell out of me. The Cubs say it has nothing to do with his arm. Sounds like the normal Cubs PR spin. There is something fishy going on.

With last weeks Valentine’s Day it has now been 34 years that I have yet had to celebrate Valentine’s Day. This isn’t said for sympathy or bragging it’s simply an odd occurrence. For some reason (perhaps the last couple posts?) I’ve either haven’t had a girlfriend or my girlfriend and I that time were taking a break. I’ve actually done more for my friends and their girlfriends than for my romantic interests. For example, I once dressed as Waldo and hid in the mall with flowers for one of my dorm mate’s girlfriends.

This weekend the local news had a bumper talking about the “cold hitting the south land” and how long will it last? This meant that we had rain and it hit maybe a little bit below 40 for the low. Meanwhile MOL Nation is covered in ice. How can the LA people even think of complaining?

Monday, I made the trek up to North Hollywood to see “The Matador” with Bobby. The Matador is a comedy about a sleazy facilitator (assassin) who meets a family man who has had a few bad years of luck. It’s a very enjoyable and funny film. Brosnan is wonderfully sleazy. It’s the first movie in some time that fulfilled that movie fix I keep looking for.

Speaking of movies, I finally got around to seeing “Project Grizzly.” It came recommended by We Will Eat You. It’s a doc about a guy who has spent years trying to build this Grizzly proof suit. Thing is he has no expertise in Grizzlies or anything (except maybe Bowie knives). I would say this falls along the lines of Hands on a Hard body. Not as many quotable lines, but still enjoyable. This is not to be confused with Grizzly Man. They would though make a great double feature.

Thanks to all those who either watched Goodness on iFilm or at least thought about it. Episode 3 reached over 1,000 views in about four days. Why eps 1&2 have less than that I have no idea.

Finally, to once again prove not only what kind of geek I am, but how old I am. This is one of my first TV crushes. Does anyone recognize her? Of course the dude in the picture should at least give away what show it is. Right? Ever since my George McFly reference fell on unknowing ears, I've questioned the relevance of my pop culture knowledge.