I Apologize Now for the Following Baseball Rant!

I'm not one to shout expletives (except during Rainbow Six Vegas online, and maybe a few motorists), but the Chicago Cubs are about to do something that is beyond moronic. It has been rumored about ever since this player was released from the Padres, and now it looks like it will actually happen. Harry Caray helps us all. It seems that the Cubs are going to sign one time St. Louis Cardinal Jim Edmonds to play center field. The reason being that the Cubs aren't completely confident in current left handed center fielder Felix Pie, and they really need a power left handed bat. For now I'm going to completely ignore what should be looked at, and focus on their reasoning. Felix Pie's current stats are BA: .222 HR: 1 RBI: 7 OBP: .286 OPS: .571. Those are not spectacular numbers, but he is also only 23, and is above average defensively. Here now are Jim Edmonds' current stats, BA: .178 HR: 1 RBI: 6 OBP: .265 OPS: 598. That's right kids, Jimmy's numbers are worse across the board. He is also an old 37, and can't play center field to save his life. So, just looking at reason the Cubs gave for signing him, it's a dumb gamble. Keep the kid Felix in the lineup, and give him a chance. We seem to be doing fine with him platooning with Reed. I don't care if the Cubs can just let him go if it doesn't work out. Do they have to keep taking shots at Pie's confidence?

Now, let's look at a fact that is apparently being overlooked by Cubs management. This elephant in the room, that is more important than stats. The fact is that every single Cubs fan HATES Jim Edmonds. There are about for or five expletives I would place in front of the word "hates." First off he is a former St. Louis Cardinal (the Yankees to the Cubs' Red Sox). Second, he is a jackass show off. Remember his showboating homerun trot against Big Z a couple years ago? Let's not forget his desire to make every outfield catch look like the greatest catch ever. Third, he will always be a Cardinal. The Cubs fans will never accept him even he does end up miraculously playing well. He will be booed at every home game. The bleacher bums will show no mercy. Why would he even want to come here in the first place? Imagine if the Dodgers signed Barry Bonds, or the US decided to bring in Ernst Rohm to run their special ops after hearing he wasn't happy with Hitler. All of them are moronic ideas.

The Cubs have made some ridiculous deals out of panic rather than show a little patience. This will be easily one of their top ten worse ideas in club history. Hopefully, he will play a few games, management will see the light, and cut him loose before he ruins the clubhouse. I don't know if my eyes could handle seeing Jim Edmonds in a Cubs uniform.

Again, I just had to vent. Sorry.

Happy 2008 Baseball Season!

Welcome to FUKUDOME!

A Couple Baseball Notes

First off, last night's Padres-Rockies game was a prime example of what makes playoff baseball great. It was simply incredible. It has a grand slam, extra innings, controversial calls, extra innings, numerous lead changes, and player redemption with Matt Holliday. What also made it great was the crowd. I got goosebumps listening to the radio announcer being drowned out by crowd as Matt Holliday scored. Part of what makes playoff baseball great is the crowd's awareness that every pitch, hit, and error could end or extend your team's hopes to move on. I admit there can some mundaneness occurring through parts of the regular season. 162 games is a lot. Just take a chance this week to watch a little bit of the playoffs. I would recommend the Yankees at Cleveland, Colorado at Philadelphia, and Arizona at Chicago. Cleveland, Philly and Chicago have loyal fanbases that are so desperate for a championship that those crowds will be ridiculous. There is though one problem for you HD viewers out there...

MLB is run by bunch of morons. They sold the rights to air the first round of the playoffs to TBS. Then TBS was given the NLCS to air as well. I understand Fox wants the Boston and Yankees series, but you tell me they aren't kicking themselves a little now that Chicago and Philly are in the playoffs. First of all TBS have compiled a wonderful assortment of on-air talent that ranges from incompetent to mind numbingly boring. Second, TBS rolled out their HD channel on Monday, as in yesterday. So how many people have TBS HD? I don't. I don't know anyone in the LA area that has it unless they have Direct TV which is something nobody can get if they live in an apartment. TNT has an established HD channel so why not air it on there? Why wouldn't MLB make sure that they sell to a station that reaches the largest audience?

The one thing I'm hoping is that with TBS airing all the National League games we won't be subjected to the Bartman game during every commercial. Because we all know Fox beat that into the ground every chance they got.

Ramblings (Updated)

The Cubs are in the closest race for the playoffs this season, and there is little to no national TV coverage. Can't WGN work a deal with Comcast so they can air more than two games a week? Why doesn't ESPN have a deal to show games during tight races? What Cubs fan across the nation isn't going watch? Man, my nerves are already shot. That Houston series nearly killed me.

In the latest issue of ESPN the magazine, Bill Simmons wrote a piece on saving Friday Night Lights. He praises it better than I did in my plea. ESPN.com finally put up the article. You can read it here

A week and a half till Halo 3 and the season premiere of Heroes.

A month and a half till Guitar Hero 3.

This year has clearly been brought to you by the number 3.

I've been battling myself over buying NHL '08, but I don't think it would be the same playing a hockey video game without Jiff.

iPod classic or iPod touch? Reading that Apple stores received the iPod touch early, I almost bought one...almost. This current control I've been showing over my impulse purchasing has impressed even me. I think it's that thought of the impending writer's strike?

I know I've been told that we won't care about such things, but I want to know answers to some of history's mysteries when I get to heaven. And, I don't mean Easter Island statues or Stonehenge or even Area 51. I mean I want to know those, but I'm more interested in who killed Hoffa and where is he buried? I'd like to know who Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac was.
Where did D.B. Cooper go after he jumped out of that plane? Who killed the Black Dahlia? Things like that. I'd also like to know who wrote those dirty poems to Susan Rice and put my name on them. That still bugs me.

Tottenham Spurs plays Arsenal this weekend. Again this is like OSU vs. Michigan only with more hatred in the fans hearts.

It's taken me longer to come up with a review for Bioshock than it took me to actually play the game.

I really enjoyed 3:10 to Yuma, though the turn in the story still doesn't seem rational.

Just a Little Heads Up

Since nearly everyone who reads this blog sees organized sports as an example of the hell this world is going to, I'd thought I should make you aware of what will be happening the next month and hopefully the month after that, and if really really lucky a couple weeks into November. You see, with a month left in the regular season, the Cubs are currently 2 ahead in their division. That means I will most likely be slightly agitated and tightly wound till the season is over or it's clear that the Cubs have no chance of winning. So what should you as caring friends and family members do? Don't ever ask or talk about the Cubs unless I happen to bring them up in conversation. Now you could probably get away with saying "Nice win today!" if you perhaps saw the Cubs did in fact win that day, but that's about it. Do not do what my co-worker Dom did today in asking why the Cubs are falling apart. Then go into a rant on how the billy goat curse is coming back. I was almost arrested for attempted murder with an HP deskjet. Mind you this is the same guy who made a joke about the Cubs blowing it during Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. I still hold it against him. I also suggest checking to see if a Cubs game is on before you call, or decide to simply drop by if you live in town. It could save you some time. Bob gets a clearance on this because being a baseball fan he understands. He fully comprehends what and what not to say. As stated this will last till the end of the season, Sept. 30th. Now if they make it to the playoffs clearly this will last till they are eliminated. I apologize for the inconvenience. If you want someone to blame you can blame Dad, aka Ike, aka Mr. Iten, aka Hey, you. Thank you for your time.

Ramblings (Just Post Something Please! Edition)

I've been daydream shopping again. The daydream part involves me having any musical talent at all. The shopping though has been rather realistic. I've found myself wanting a miniKORG. See, that's reasonable. It's fairly cheap and small enough to fit into my apartment. I'd also need a drum machine but I need to research that a little more. Part of me thinks that I might be able to somehow piece together a simple synth-dance-pop track after maybe five years. Why am I the only one in the family that didn't get the musical gene?

The Cubs are en fuego. Unfortunately, so are the Brewers.

This Sunday there will be another Bad Movie Night. I think there needs to be a more clever official name to this event other than Bad Movie Night.

I only have three more visits to the physical therapists office. I'm really down about this. I can't wait till I'm wealthy enough to hire a full time masseuse. My back aches just thinking about the lack of massages.

Is it only a month till Anne Marie moves out here?

For the first time in almost four years I wrote actual pages for a script.

I've found this lack of psoriasis is affecting my spending. Not having to wear a hat everyday has to not only needing to get my hair cut, rather than cut it myself, but products like face lotion with sunscreen. Things that were unneccessary before. I also have gotten over the phantom hat pains. For the first month or so I would constantly reach to remove or adjust a hat that wasn't there.

I'd like to recommend a free computer program called Simplify Media. You know how you can listen to other peoples iTunes that are on the same network that you are like school or work. Well simplify media allows you to do this and not have to be on the same network. So I can listen to Mandy's iTunes, or I can listen to the music I have on my home computer while at work. The only problem right now is that you can't listen to protected files like the ones you buy from iTunes. They apparently are efforting a way around that. Did I mention it's free?

Finally, I am Flunky the Clown.

It Does Feel a Little Like 1984

Some Questions

Have you seen Hot Fuzz yet?

Have you picked up Dinosaur Jr.'s new album Beyond? I was hesitant simply because it's basically a reunion album with Lou Barlow (Sebadoh, Folk Implosion) returning to the fold. It's no You're Living All Over Me, but it's really good. I still think J. Mascis is criminally ignored.



My follow up questions is: Why hasn't a Dinosaur Jr. song made it on any of the Guitar Hero games? I'd be happy playing the licks of "Feel the Pain."

How is it possible that the Cubs have scored 127 runs so far this season, have allowed their opponents to score only 98, and yet they are 12-14 and 5 1/2 games out of first place? That's a run differential of +29! Only the Mets and Red Sox have a better run differential. I hope this is simply and indicator that the Cubs have just had a little bad luck this month, and not that they are simply awful.

How am I going to make it another two weeks with just me and the boss in the office?

Remember when you used to be able to actually find deals on things worthwhile on ebay?

Why do I always scratch that itch?

When are they going to invent the machine that creates what my brain conceives? That way I could by pass my lack of talent and create exactly what I see in my head.

What happened to the MOL Nation?

If birds suddenly appeared every time I was near, wouldn't the girl actually be really creeped out or think I was in desperate need of a bath?

It Was Only a Matter of Time

It took only nine games and a 6-5 loss after being ahead 5-0, but Piniella is finally cracking. This is why most sports journalist were really thrilled that Piniella agreed to manage the Cubs. Can't wait till the fifth loss of this kind.

Baseball! Baseball! Baseball! (Correction)

On second thought I'm changing my AL Central predicition to the Indians. The Indians will beat the Yankees in the ALDS and then lose to the Red Sox in the ALCS. This will reinforce the Red Sox as the second most hated team in baseball.

Baseball! Baseball! Baseball!

It's that time again kids. Spring is in the air. Soon the smell of fresh cut grass, pine tar, and chewing tobacco will fill the air. Uniforms have been pressed. Rosters have been set. HGH has been injected. Baseball season is a few days away, and that means it's time for my preseason analysis of the Cubs and predictions for all of baseball. If you've actually read past the post title then that must mean your name is Bob. Enjoy.

2007 Cubs

Last we left my Cubs at the end of the '06 season they were 66-96. Yes, they were only four losses away from the magical number of 100. What went wrong last year? It'd be easier to ask what went right, but will stick with the long list.

The first thing that went wrong was the Cubs once again relied on a healthy Mark Prior and Kerry Wood to pitch. Second, All-Star and MVP runner-up Derek Lee missed over a 110 games with a broken wrist. I actually had the pleasure to be at the game with Lee broke his wrist. Third, Ramirez couldn't take the pressure of being the lone RBI guy and has an awful first half of the season. Once the Cubs were out of it, he tore it up. Fourth, Cubs' closer Dempster went into a tail spin the last half of the season by blowing 9 games. The only real positive is that Rich Hill pitched really well the second half of the season.

This season we have an all new and improved Cubs. President McPhail resigned, and the Cubs marketing guy was hired to take his place. Dusty Baker was released and Lou Pinella was hired as the next manager with a good track record that will be ruined by managing the Cubs. GM Hendry some how kept his job, and realizing that he needed to do something to keep it for next season he spent almost $300 million dollars on free agents. So what kind of team does that leave us with. Let's take a look.

2007 Lineup

1. Alfonso Soriano, CF
2. Matt Murton, LF
3. Derrek Lee, 1B
4. Aramis Ramirez, 3B
5. Jacque Jones, RF
6. Michael Barrett, C
7. Mark DeRosa, 2B
8. Cesar Izturis, SS
9. Pitcher

Offensively the Cubs should have no problem scoring runs. There are three potential 40 HR guys and three potential 20+ HR guys. This team will mash, and DeRosa and Izturis at the bottom of the order aren't automatic outs like those slots have been in previous Cubs' seasons. The big breakthrough player for this year could very well be Matt "The Big Murt" Murton. Batting between Soriano and Lee means he should see a plenty of fastballs. The Big Murt already has shown above average plate discipline and could see a spike in power numbers hitting in the two hole. I hope he does well enough that any previous idea of platooning him with Cliff Floyd will be nixed. Why? Because even with Murton our outfield defense will be awful. This is the year where every Cubs' fan will hold their breath on every fly ball. Errors by our outfield will lose us many a game this season. Let's look at the real suspect portion of the Cubs: pitching

Pitching Rotation

1. Carlos Zambrano
2. Ted Lilly
3. Jason Marquis
4. Rich Hill
5. Wade Miller

Look, no Prior or Wood in the rotation. The thing is this year the Cubs started the year not expecting them to contribute. If they somehow end up contributing, it's just gravy. I'm not as sour on this rotation like a lot of people are. Did we spend too much on Lilly? Maybe, I think the contract is certainly too long. I still think he'll thrive this year in NL. He previously pitched in the AL East which can inflate any pitcher's ERA. Well he be great? No, but I'm thinking a 15 win season with a 3.4ish ERA. Zambrano is a stud, and will once again be the ace of the staff. Marquis was a big wild card signing, but I think not pitching for LaRussa will help him this season. Rich Hill I think will turn out to be the second best pitcher on the staff. If he keeps pitching and improving the way he did last season, he should be a solid #2 pitcher. Miller is an arm strain away from Angel Guzman rightfully earning the 5th spot. I think the top four pitchers could all win around 12-15 games particularly with this offense, and in the NL Central that can be good enough. What also helps is that most of these pitchers are work horses and can keep you in the game. That means Pinella won't have to over work his deep bullpen, which fell apart last season due to pitching so much.

So where do I see the Cubs finishing this season? I'm saying an optimistic 2nd place finish. I know most are picking the Cardinals again to win, but they have no outfield, and their pitching is more suspect than people think. The team with the best pitching staff I think is the Brewers, and if they stay healthy and their young positional players improve they should win the NL Central. With that out of the way, time for the rest of my predictions.

AL East: Boston

As always this will come down to the Yankees and Red Sox battling for first place. The Yankees have the better overall lineup by only a little. What will decide this is the pitching. The Yanks opening day starter is going to be Carl Pavano. Carl Pavano! The Yankees pitching will hurt this club which is why I pick the Red Sox to triumph.

AL Central: Detroit

A lot of good teams here. The White Sox's pitching isn't as scary as it once was. Twins won't get the career years it got from its players last year, and pitching rotation becomes suspect after their #2 pitcher. Royals will be improved but still in the basement. Detroit will still be mostly young players. Their pitching should be better. Their relief pitchers are nasty good. They added a very good veteran bat in Sheffield.

AL West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

I don't know. It's either the Angels of A's. I tossed a coin and it came up Angels.

AL Wild Card: Yankees

Somehow, even with subpar pitching, the Yankees will make the playoffs. This time as the wild card.

AL Cy Young: Johan Santana

Who else, but the best pitcher in baseball.

AL MVP: Derek Jeter

After this though, his age catches up to him, and it's all a slow decline into mediocrity.


NL East: NY Mets

I was originally going to go with Philly, but I think they will once again collapse at the end of the season. The Mets will probably be in third place by the All-Star break. Then they get Pedro back. The young pitchers at this point should be more comfortable and better than at the beginning of the year. Their lineup once again will score a crap load of runs.

NL Central: Brewers

See above

NL West: LA Dodgers

I'm going Dodgers again because of pitching. Arizona will improve but won't make a run till next year. Padres will be the biggest competition for the Dodgers. Jake Peavy could very well push the Padres over the Dodgers, but that's putting your eggs in one basket.

NL Wild Card: Phillies

It was between the Phillies and the Padres. Both will win around 88 games, so I'm throwing the Philly fans a bone.

NL Cy Young: Ben Sheets

I think this is the year he's completely healthy and proves what he can do by carrying the Brewers into the playoffs. He will then completely fall apart over the next few seasons because of overuse, and torture fantasy baseball owners for years.

NL MVP: Pujols

The writers will hate themselves for picking him as he becomes more and more of an asshole diva.

AL Division Playoffs:

Detroit beats the Yankees
Boston beats the Angels

AL Championship:

Boston beats Detroit

NL Division Playoffs:

Mets beat Dodgers...again.
Brewers beat Phillies.

NL Championship:

Brewers beat Mets in another heart breaking series where every Mets fan will vow to never utter the name Ben Sheets again.

World Series:

Boston beats Brewers in a 7 game series, and the Red Sox will end up the second most hated team in baseball behind the Yankees.

Ramblings

It's funny how one weekend can completely ruin your NCAA brackets. At the beginning of the week I was set with only two of my teams missing from the Sweet Sixteen and I didn't have the two teams out of it going very far. Now? All I have is Georgetown left and I have them only making the final not winning it. I'm not even close to winning now. The good news is that after the Buckeyes won two games that had no business winning they played their best game of the season against Memphis. Of course, that was only in Elite Eight. Can the Buckeyes do it again against Georgetown, who have their own big man to counter Oden? Also, there is now a possibility of the Buckeyes playing Florida for the National Championship in basketball this time. If that happens, I hope the Buckeyes can get some revenge. If not, I'm never going to Florida again in my life. Unless work gives me a free trip to Miami some time in my life. So I guess I won't ever pay to go to Florida again in my life.

One week till the Cubs opening day. The excitement and anticipation of great things should last maybe a month.

Throughout history, television has given us plenty of wonderful TV moms from June Cleaver to Clair Huxtable to Marge Simpson. Well there's a new mom to add to the list: Tami Taylor from Friday Night Lights. She is clearly the rock of not only her family, but the high school where she is the school counselor. Is she perfect? No, but she keeps trying. She admitted her struggle when her teenage daughter told her she wanted to have sex. Eventually, she realized she had to trust that her daughter would make the right decision. When she realized she jumped to judgement about one of her daughters friends, she admitted her mistake and is now working to help the girl get on her feet. Most of the time she's right on the money which why her husband the coach relies on her to be his best friend, wife, and counselor. She's smart, funny as hell, and yes sexy. She's my favorite TV Mom to appear on the tube in awhile.

Veronica's father from Veronica Mars is probably the best TV Dad.

Tomorrow morning for the first time ever I'm going to a therapist. I have two concerns. First, for some reason I scheduled it in the morning. I don't start functioning till 1:00pm. How am I supposed to work with a therapist before then? Second, I am skeptic of most therapist. Remember in Good Will Hunting when Will went to all those therapists and was a smart ass to all of them? I'm too considerate to go to that extent, but there's a good chance I'll be a smart ass and throw a wall up. Mandy though helped me pick what I think is one of the good ones...I hope. The other option was simply too attractive.

Watching Kings of Leon perform on Letterman, I've realized they are the new Collective Soul. That's not a compliment.

I'm saving my whole rant detailing how ripped off I was by Stephanie Edwards getting the boot from American Idol for tomorrow. It's ridiculous!

The snobbiest thing I did over the weekend was watch Louis Malle's "Elevator to the Gallows." When someone asks what you Netflixed how can you not sound like an ass when you say Elevator to the Gallows directed by Louis Malle?

Am I the only one excited about the final episodes of Sopranos starting soon? Yeah, me neither.

Dear Chicago Cubs Management,

In case you haven't noticed your team still needs a center fielder. You've spent a lot of money in last ditch effort to save Hendry's job, yet you still haven't filled a crucial spot. I know you've said that newly signed Soriano will most likely play center field, but is that really a good idea. He has speed and a strong arm, but he kind of stunk playing right field last year. A lot of his assists were because he botched the original play. I know I'm simply a researcher for a TV show and have no experience running a baseball club, but I have a couple suggestions that I think could work.

My first suggestion is a bit of a long shot, but something could be worked out. Ichiro is in the last year of his contract with Seattle. I seriously doubt Seattle will resign him. So, why not trade for him. I know he plays right field but I'm pretty sure he could play center better than Soriano. Also, he's a legitimate lead off guy. This way you have Ichiro leading off. This would result in the following line-up.

1. Ichiro CF
2. Soriano LF
3. Lee 1B
4. Ramirez 3B
5. Jones RF
6. Barrett C
7. DeRosa 2B
8. Izturis SS
9. Pitcher

In the National League, how does that line up not fit into the top 5? Hitters 1 through 4 are all potential All-Stars. I'm not sure what you would need to trade to get Ichiro, but this could perhaps be a possibility. I do though have a more realistic and solid option.

One of the rumors floating around is Philly trading CF Rowand to the Padres for a relief pitcher. How do you not throw your hat into the ring and see if you can get Rowand. We have relief pitchers up the ying yang. I know that brick wall might seem a like a career ending injury waiting to happen for Rowand, but is this not the kind of player that Cubs fans love? He's not going to be a major offensive threat. He will most likely crack his skull open hitting the brick. Still, he's a solid defensive CF that I think would like to come back to Chicago. It would only take one or two relief pitchers to get him. He's also going to come at a decent price. I think Rowand would be the best option here, and am surprised you haven't jumped all over this.

Please consider these as suggestions not criticisms. I realize you did a lot this season to improve this club. I just don't think you are completely finished yet.

Ramblings

Last night I determined it is time to upgrade my iPod. I'm pleased with my Nano, but I bought it thinking I would have no problem keeping just a 1000 songs that I wouldn't tire of listening to. I don't know what I was thinking. I've found myself trying to decide which great song I should not import to my Nano. It's like picking a favorite child. I have 20 GB of music and still have a bunch of old old CD's I've been too lazy to import. I think I need the 80 GB so I will have no room for error.

Do we really need Jessica Simpson to tell us that Direct TV has HD programming broadcast in 1080i? Maybe. But not once every hour.

Yesterday morning I was listening to Bob Costas on The Dan Patrick Show. Something needs to be done to get Costas back to announcing baseball games. He does a great job with the Olympics and the NFL, but he belongs doing baseball. NBC needs to loosen their contract or something so Costas can do baseball. This needs to happen.

I received my first Christmas gift of the season yesterday. It's monogrammed and for the first time I realized that with the initial of my last name in the middle, it spells "bId." I don't know how I feel about that.

You know. We don't need Jessica Simpson telling us that Direct TV broadcasts HD in 1080i.

This weekend is the first north London derby of the season between my Tottenham Spurs and the hated Arsenal. This match up is like Red Sox vs. Yankees or OSU vs. Michigan. This being my first season as a Tottenham supporter, I'm really looking forward to seeing this match. Unfortunately it's showing on some channel I don't receive. It's also at 4:30 in the morning out here, so there won't be any bars open to go see it. Sigh.

One negative thing about Christmas in LA is the response you get when you "accidentally" wish someone a Merry Christmas. Is there any other phrase wishing someone well in which people react like you just called their mother a whore? I realize "Happy Holidays" is the correct term to use, but I've had a difficult time adjusting and "Merry Christmas" slips out every now and then. I'm still wishing you people well, so please don't take such offense to it. Do you respond the same way at holiday parties when "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" plays? Do you only listen to Holiday Carolers? Ok, so nobody in their right mind would go door to door singing carols in LA. Still, can't you give me a little leeway? I'm trying to adjust to your nonspecific LA way of life.

This ad for a computer part is inappropriate in so many ways. (Taken from 1up.com)

Earlier this week it was colder here than it was in Ohio. Ridiculous.

Heroes has become my favorite show on TV. I'd also like to thank Veronica Mars for hopefully turning a corner and resolving the campus rape arch. It's was a tense and sub par beginning of the season. I hope this means a return to classic Veronica for the rest of the season.

Finally, Bobby and I killed one of the most disgusting bugs I've seen in my life. The bug was a Jerusalem cricket. It's huge, ugly, and took half a can of Raid to kill. Afterward, I did research to find out what kind of bug it was and came across some expert that was looking for live specimens. I immediately felt guilty for killing it. I ended up sending him pictures, and telling him that I found it already dead. Yes, I lied out of guilt. I warn you the following picture could easily give you a bad case of the willies.

Rambling to Exhale

This was a pretty good sports weekend for me.

First THE Ohio State Buckeyes survived against archrival Michigan in a game that actually lived up to the hype. I thought it was nice of the Buckeyes to torment me during the whole game by keeping Michigan in the game with two unforced turnovers. For three plus hours my heart was racing like a teenager before his first kiss. The Buckeyes though did triumph in a suprising shootout 42-39. Did you hear that the numbers for the Ohio Lottery picked after the game was 4-2-3-9. How freaky is that? Apparently, the lottery lost money because so many people played those numbers after the game.

The big question now is if there should be a rematch between these rivals for the National Championship. I will agree that Michigan is clearly the second best team in the nation. I don't really think there is a team that comes close to beating either of these teams. But, I don't think the way college football season works that there should be a rematch. Ohio State beat Michigan so why should they have to face them again unless they would allow for a rematch if Michigan would happen to win? Of course the only team that would really deserve to play Ohio State over Michigan would be USC, but they would have to win their last two games. So, really it will be either USC or Michigan probably.

The other big sport happening this weekend was that the Cubs actually spent money...a lot of money. The Cubs signed the biggest free agent hitter available, Alfonso Soriano. This is after they re-signed Aramis Ramirez. This is what happens when the GM knows his job is on the line. The Cubs have never spent this kind of money in the free agent market. They usually always go for what is considered the better "deal." Their inability to sign Furcal last year being the lastest evidence of their thinking. Now, Hendry realizes this year can save his job so he's convinced the Tribune to open the checkbook. Also, that report indicating the White Sox have exceeded the Cubs in popularity helped too. Clearly I'm not really complaining. This move gives the Cubs a solid line-up of.

Alfonso Soriano -- .277, 46 HR, 95 RBI (2006)
Cesar Izturis -- .288, 62 RBI, 25 SB (2004)
Derrek Lee -- .335, 46 HR, 107 RBI (2005)
Aramis Ramirez -- .291, 38 HR, 119 RBI (2006)
Jacque Jones -- .285, 27 HR, 81 RBI (2006)
Michael Barrett -- .307, 16 HR, 53 RBI (2006)
Mark DeRosa -- .296, 13 HR, 74 RBI (2006)
Matt Murton -- .297, 13 HR, 62 RBI (2006)
(From the Cubs website)

I'd actually switch DeRosa and Izturis in the batting order, but I can handle that. Now we just need a couple more starting pitchers, and I might be hesitantly excited that the Cubs might contend next season.

How great is that opening action set piece in the new Bond?

I'm going to go ahead and say that Gears of War is better than Halo in my opinion. Fanboys can begin attacking me...now.

At 2:09 pm PST on 11/20/2006 I shook Ronnie Wood's hand. And I think I broke his wrist.

Why can't insects be smart enough to know better than to enter people's homes? Also, why haven't we evolved to the point where we secret pheromones that ward off bugs. You'd think that would be first on the evolution check list.

I think I want to create my own TV show just so I can put songs I like in it.

Who knew Carson Daly still had a show? Oooh! Tom Green and Fiona Apple! It's like a MTV reunion circa 1999.

Clearly this is the end of this post.

Ramblings

Ok, ok, ok. It's been awhile since I posted. The reason is stated below. That reason has led to me writing little snippets over the past two weeks while at work. For those wanting pictures of my apartment, it's a studio apartment. What is there to photograph? I might have a solution though.

So I'm all moved in. I still have a bookcase, console table, and a couple lamps to buy, but other than that I'm all set. Oh and there's the DSL problem. It seems my order has been pushed back till the 27th of November. How can they expect someone to survive a month without DSL? This means no internet, I can't play my 360, and I have to use the phone line for my Tivo. It's like living back in 2002. Ridiculous. This has lead to me calling every day to see if the company has bumped up the date. I hate that I'm using annoyance to try to get what I want. Other than that the apartment is fantastic. Twice as much room as before, my own parking space, my cable company actually offers the MLB package, I actually have a nice view outside my window, and I can do laundry after 10 pm. This weekend I will make my rounds to all the restaurants in town to pick up their take out menus. I'm rating that as a 4 on the "sad scale." I did have some decent garlic pepper squid last night. I could see me being here for awhile.

One thing about the movers I hired to move my stuff. I highly recommend it. One problem is the sweat factor. I was impressed that one of the movers could lift my TV by himself. Then I realized he dripped sweat all over it. While setting everything up I kept getting a strong scent of sweat. After checking myself, I realized the smell emanated from the TV. I proceeded to clean the TV like no TV has ever been cleaned. It still another day for the scent to leave. Thank goodness for remotes.

I'm going to put my support behind the struggling new show "Friday Night Lights." It's better than half of the shows out there and is getting no viewership. Of course perhaps NBC shouldn't have given it a trial run time slot against CSI: Miami and MNF. No wonder you suck NBC. I'm amazed you haven't screwed up Heroes somehow.

I had dream last night that my wife and I adopted two little girls. The weird thing was that they were 3 year old versions of the girl from Mean Creek and Zooey Deschanel.












This also makes the fourth or fifth dream where I dreamt I was married yet never see actually see her in my dreams. One thing I learned in this dream is that if I ever have little girls my wife is going to have to be the disciplinarian. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be the pushover parent if I have little girls.

It really pained me to congratulate my father on his Cardinals being handed them the World Series. Man, I can't stand the Cardinals. It's nice to see that baseball's replacement for its resident "I'm so good I can treat people like crap" jackass currently held by Barry Bonds is coming along nicely in the form of Albert Pujols. What was up with him just appearing at the trophy presentation? He wasn't even the MVP of the series, and suddenly he just appears. Dude, a scrawny white kid beat you out for MVP. Go hang with the rest of your players.

Dear Cubs,
When you promise to spend big bucks this season to make a push in the talent starved NL, your first job should be keeping your All-Star 3B and not letting other teams have the opportunity to outbid you. Hendry's a moron. The Cubs can afford it so stop penny pinching and get the deal done.

One of my current D (maybe F) list celebrity crush is this young lady from CNET. She's cute and she works with gadgets. This is how short my list has been reduced.

I just want to take this time to reiterate how fantastic my new apartment is. Location, location, location.

I admit I am somewhat intrigued by Nintendo's Wii. I'm still not sold on the wiimote, but I might be beginning to come around to it. I just can't see it being something I would play alone. It feels like a party game. Not that that is a bad thing. I just don't know enough people that would feel comfortable in looking like an idiot while playing a video game.

This weekend (Nov. 4th-5th) I watched one of the best soccer matches I've seen in my short time as a fan. Spurs beat top flight club Chelsea for the first time in 16 years. No matter who won it was one those matches that makes someone a fan of soccer. It quickly received the green button of "Till I delete" status on my Tivo.

I can always watch Ghostbusters no matter at what point I catch it on cable. It easily fits into that top five along with The Natural, Road House, Hoosiers, and The Rookie.

In a Lame Attempt to Inspire Bob's Mets to Pull it Together and Beat the Cardinals I Offer This Video. I Hope It Helps.

You Tube: The Cure For Blogging Block

I Give You The Next Cubs Manager: Lou Pinella

I have no idea exactly what to think of this except that he'll be much more entertaining than Dusty Baker.

Why Do I Have So Much Joy When The Yankees Lose?

Isn't it time to stop hating them because they buy all the best players? Since they started stocking their roster with potential Hall of Famers they haven't won a single thing. Am I saying we should stop hating the Yankees? Hell no! I still fume with Jeter's smirk. Giambi's constant sweating (or does he just oil up like a professional wrestler?) annoys me. The arrogant fans drive me up the wall. I think Yankee Stadium is a pit. So please keep detesting the Yankees, just remember you can't really use their payroll as an excuse. You can just use it as another dagger to jab the Yankee fans with. Congratulations Detroit on a big first step. Also, how many fans are out there hoping your team isn't the one that takes A-Rod off the Yankees hands?

Please Leave Mr. Hendry.

As of today, Dusty Baker and team president Andy McPhail are no longer Chicago Cubs. That's two of the top three orchestrators of this Cubs debacle. The only one left is GM Jim Hendry. Apparently, he's staying.

Even though he left Baker hanging for over a month in the infamous Chicago wind, while trying to decide to fire Baker or not. Hendry eventually decided to let Baker stay through the rest of the year. I'm sure Baker is so thankful right now. I'm sure these last few months have been blissful for Baker. Baker has taken the brunt of the fan and media criticism. He does deserve some of it. He can handle players egos, but he can't count pitches. He thinks walks are overrated. Walks overrated? In this day and age? He loves giving washed up veterans like Nefi Perez everyday jobs. There are numerous other things he does wrong. Still, it's not all his fault.

Hendry's the one that has given multi-year contracts to these mediocre veterans with the hope of catching lightning in a bottle. He's the one that kept assuming Wood and Prior would be back. 10 year old Cub fans knew better than that. He's the one involved with stocking our farm season. So, who should get the blame that there was not a single first basemen to call up when Derek Lee went down with an injury? Hendry. The Cubs were left with putting a 2nd basemen at first, then a pinch hitter, and finally our second string catcher. Hendry is the one that keeps rolling the dice to try to when one year, rather than plan out an extensive plan in which the Cubs could contend for years. Hendry is the one that has given Baker the players. Andy McPhail fell on his sword after twelve years with the organization. Baker is going to go somewhere and probably win. Mr. Hendry please follow suit, and stop screwing up this organization while you try to save your job. Please leave.

I'd also like to point out that the new team president is the former head of marketing. Marketing! Here's one of the quotes from his introduction:

"Realistically, you want to go into every season thinking you're going to win the World Series," McDonough said. "Our goal is to win the World Series next year and the year after that."

Sigh. How about a five year plan to build from the ground up? How about we build a team rather than the bunch of forced together puzzle pieces? Here's to another 98 years.

Can I say how awful I feel as a Cubs fan right now? I would say I feel even worse now than after Gamer 6. Sure, the 2003 NL Championship series tore my heart out, but it still gave you hope for next year. Now? We just lost 96 games to have the worst record in the National League. Our only reliable pitcher is Zambrano, who's been worked so hard it's only a matter of time till he breaks down. When Pierre leaves, we will once again have no lead-off man. We have no closer. We have a third basemen who only plays well once the games don't matter anymore. Now it seems the Cubs are looking at Lou Pinella for our new manager. Lou Pinella?! Finally, Wrigley Field showcased the wave this year. Ugh. I think I'm going to call in sick.