Ralph's Place

Bills Making Headlines

2011-09-26T09:49:00.002-04:00

Can't believe the Bills are relevant nationally, for the first time, well I guess since Trent Edwards started us 5-1 in 2008 before we collapsed. I'm hoping this year's team is fundamentally sounder. We seem to move the ball well, both through the air and on the ground - a good sign, of course if Freddie or Fitz goes down, all bets are off. And, our run defense seems much improved. As for the pass defense - four interceptions yesterday (off Brady of all people) was great, but you can't expect that every game. I'm thinking a pass rush is going to have to emerge at some point, for us to make the playoffs. We'll see....Merriman had like one pressure yesterday, on something like 40 attempts by Brady - so he was certainly not his old "Lights Out" self. I guess we can just continue to outscore people...

Cheers.

Ralph

At Least You're not a Bills Fan

2011-07-28T13:24:00.004-04:00

From Bill Barnwell's daily update (of the current NFL free agent frenzy) on Grantland:

"Say a word for the Bills, who have to spend about $30 million or so to hit the salary floor by the end of this season. They started their arduous trek to the basement by giving 30-year-old cornerback Drayton Florence a three-year deal worth $15 million. They're sort of like the Panthers, but they don't even have the ability to woo most of their own free agents into re-signing for ghastly sums of money. Expect Donte Whitner to follow Paul Posluszny out the door. Some mid-tier free agents with a high tolerance for cold weather are about to become very happy people."

Vikings sign McNabb

2011-07-28T11:28:00.004-04:00

Since, I see Dr. D. is reading the blog, I thought I'd solicit his thoughts on his Vikings latest veteran QB signing. While Donovan McNabb is probably a better guy than Brett Favre (although T.O. might not think so), I really don't know if you are going to be able to capture the same magic that Favre did with the Vikings a couple years ago. McNabb was kind of a washout with the Redskins last year - although he did have several good to great years with the Eagles. The Eagles, of course, seem like they can put anyone under center and make them a good QB - A.J. Feely, Kevin Kolb, and Michael Vick have also enjoyed success - albeit in shorter runs than McNabb - under Andy Reid at Philly.

What tools does Minnesota have to help McNabb succeed? Well, they just lost Sidney Rice as a free agent, and most people considered him to be their best receiver. I guess you still have Percy Harvin, who looks like he can ball a little. And T.O., Ochocinco, and Moss are all out there as free agents...I think it might be a long year for McNabb. (He does have A.P. to hand off too at least.)

McNabb's signing fits with a long-time Vikings tradition of utilizing veteran QBs vs. developing their own talent. In order, there has been Joe Kapp (from the CFL), Fran Tarkenton (started with the Vikes, but then traded to Giants before being brought back), Tommy Kramer (their own guy), the Denny Green era, which brough Jim McMahan, Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham and Jeff George into town, Dante Culpepper (their own guy), Favre and now McNabb. What does this say?

Reviving the Blog

2011-07-27T13:41:00.003-04:00

Maybe...or maybe I just needed someplace to jot down this one thought. Since the original concept of a blog was some sort of on-line diary - was that it, a Web log complete with links - I guess it is serving its purpose.

Anyhow, I came across this post by Chuck Klosterman on Edgar Winter today and while it is your typical solid Chuck K. post (Chuck K. rocks - and he spent some time in Akron), it is even better because Johnny Winter, Edgar's brother, played 8 Great Tuesday's last night. Fairly remarkable show. Johnny, who like Edgar is an albino, is mentioned in this article as being one of the 100 greatest blues guitarist of all-time and he certainly rocked last night. It was your typical beautiful Tuesday night on the bay, temperature in the 70s and a somewhat cool breeze blowing in - certainly a welcome respite from the recent heat.

Johnny looked like he was about 90 years old and sat down most of the time, while playing. He actually had to be helped off the stage (and probably on I'm assuming, but I didn't see it). I was all hyped for a solid blues show, but didn't really get into it until I went down near the stage and stood like 50 feet and front of him and watched. It was mezmorizing. He actually stood up for a version of "It's All Over Now" and then closed things out with an absolutely smokin' version of Dylan's Hightway 61 Revisited. Great stuff (and all for free. He's playing at a bar in Cleveland tonight and tix are $40 a pop) and I wanted to tell someone about it - Klosterman really - but dammit, for some reason, they make it really hard to find the writers' e-mail addresses on Grantland. Find that very annoying.

Anyhow, there's a post for you -whoever stumbles up this.

Cheers.

Ralph

Moss Back With Vikings

2010-10-07T15:22:00.004-04:00

Interesting post here on how the Pats were a better money team before Moss. Not sure I buy all of it, because other things changed for the Pats, like their defense got a lot worse, but still it makes many good points about Moss coming up short in the playoffs. Of course, I was the guy who predicted the Brady-Moss combination would be a disaster. Well, now the Patriots have traded Moss before they won any Super Bowls with him....well, I still think I was kind off base, but maybe not as bad as it initially looked when Brady and Moss teamed up to break the single season passing TD record in Moss' first year.

While I might not have agreed with the Pats bringing Moss in when they did, I certainly agree with their decision to get rid of him now. I thought he was much less effective last year than he had been in the past and really seemed to be coasting/heading downhill this year. Maybe moving back to Minnesota will cause him to reinvest himself in the game. We can only hope Favre is properly motivated to motivate Moss (as well as himself) or it's going to be a long season up on the plains of Minnesota. (Or maybe it won't really matter how motivated Moss is. Maybe he's just too old to be an elite receiver, based on the way he plays the game.)

It's no secret that Moss' contract is up after this year, and I think the Patriots really were leaning against resigning him. Funny thing is, if Favre doesn't come back next year (or the Vikes don't get another top-notch QB), I can't see why he would want to sign with them/they would want to sign him. This means that despite the trade, Moss will likely be a free agent next year. He has about 12 games-plus playoffs to proof he's still worth top dollar.

Joique Bell signed by Eagles

2010-09-23T10:10:00.004-04:00

I don't know that it can get any worse, but the Eagles have signed one of my favorite Bills players off the practice squad. If you want to see how good Joique Bell is, watch this video. It's incredible. Granted, he's playing for Division II Wayne State (one of their opponents is Mercyhurst), but you got to love this kid's running style. He was apparently too slow to get drafted, but lit it up in the Bills first two preseason games, before fading and getting dropped to the practice squad.

Well, the Eagles saw enough in him to add him to their active roster, which means he's no longer a Bill. If recent trends hold true, Bell will likely go on to be, if not a star, a very good player in the NFL. After all, both Jets safety Jim Leonhard and Saints cornerback Jabari Greer were undrafted free agents "discovered" and developed by the Bills, before being allowed to leave the team as free agents, because they apparently weren't good enough to play for us, but now play key roles on championship caliber teams. Jason Peters was another UFA that we developed into a Pro Bowl player, but then decided we didn't want to pay and traded to the Eagles.

With brilliant personnel decisions like these, it's no wonder we're turning into a laughinstock for the league.

Bills Train Derailed...

2010-09-22T09:05:00.003-04:00

Well, we all know the Bills stink, but here's the latest. It's from the stat geek Football Outsiders site-an article discussing the slew of quarterback benchings after only the second game of the season. It includes this great line about our now deposed starter Trent Edwards: "The question that coaches need to ask themselves before making a move: He's Derek Anderson. He's Matt Moore. He's Trent Edwards. What did you expect?"

And this sterling endorsement of our new starter Ryan Fitzpatrick: "Edwards is being replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick, who's ranked 36th, 35th, and 36th in DVOA over his three seasons with significant playing time and has to rank as one of the worst quarterbacks in the modern era to get 23 starts." Yup, that's now our guy. The question now becomes, can the Bills win a game?

Outdoor TV

2010-09-13T09:55:00.002-04:00

Seems to be the latest trend - what with the new digital projectors and flatscreen TVs that are extremely portable - not to mention that ability to stream Internet video through wireless connections. I think this is a good thing. Beteween Thursday and Sunday, I watched most of three football games outdoors (on video, not to mention that two grade shool games live on Saturday - I think I've OD'd on football). No doubt this outdoor viewing will become more difficult come November, but for now, the barbeque and beer sitting in the cooler sure is nice.

Ralph

Ford Winstar Recall

2010-09-10T12:16:00.003-04:00

If you have Ford Winstar, year 1998 to 2003, you want to call the local Ford dealer and get your rear axle replaced. Ours cracked about 90% of the way through a couple months ago. I went online to do some research before taking it to the garage and found the federal government was doing an investigation on these vehicles. Apparently, the axles have a slight U-shape to them, and in states like ours (PA), where there is moisture and salt on the road most of the winter, this causes the axles to corrode. When these things reach 100,000 miles or so, they have a tendancy to crack.

As I said, we luckily (thanks to my wife's observation of the way the van was riding) caught ours before it snapped, because that can be both dangerous and ruin your tires. I drove my van down to the garage at about 10 mph and got a new axle put in for like $600, which is a lot cheaper than I read some other people paid.

Regardless, Ford issued a recall on these vehicles last week. I called Champion Ford in Erie, and they told me to come in for an inspection and bring the receipt. They said Ford will be sending us a check. Note: I have not heard from Ford yet that there is a recall, I just happened to see the story on-line. I guess I'm saying, don't be afraid to be proactive on this (and you suppedly get a free rental while they are doing the repairs.)

Cheers.

Ralph

Mouse in the Garbage

2010-09-10T12:07:00.003-04:00

I heard this sound like an animal burrowing in my office this morning. Thought it was coming from the pile of junk in the corner, or maybe behind my desk. Wasn't really that excited about it and was hoping whatever it was would go to sleep, so I could try and catch it with a trap at night. But the burrowing continued, and I was having a hard time pinpointing it - when I realized it was coming from the garbage can right next to my desk! (Thank God, my 9 a.m. call cancelled. What if I had been on the phone when I came to this realization?) Yes, the same garbage can I had reached into earlier to pull out my leather business card holder. How did that get in there?

Well, I picked up the can and tossed all the contents out the door, and out came flying a tiny little creature - I think it was a mouse, but it could have been a frog for all I know, and it scurried away.

Yes, Wild Kingdom lives.

Marlon Perkins.

Verizon Customer Service

2010-09-04T00:52:00.001-04:00

Wow, it's been forever since I posted.

Maybe I've had not much interesting to say.

But tonight I guess as I do.

As a went to a football game, on a beautiful night

Only to have the power go out, dimming the lights

and my DSL got fixed

after a week of being out

and I told all my newsletter subscribers

to drop their stock in Verizon if they had it.

Cheers.

Ralph

LeBron to Make Call Tonight

2010-07-08T14:24:00.002-04:00

Rumors are floating around that it's going to be Miami - teaming up with Wade and Bosh - but I hate that possibility because I just can't imagine why LeBron and Wade would want to be on the same team at this stage in their careers. Anyhow, press conference/selection show is being held in Greenwich, CT-so, maybe it's the Knicks. Seems like the Cavs are going to be screwed.

Bill Simmons, ESPN's sports guy, wrote a long column on the whole LeBron thing, but let me just give you the final paragraphs, which are great:

"… what the hell kind of sporting event is this? It's like college signing day crossed with JFK's assassination. LeBron's team wanted to keep people talking and promote his website, and really, that's what happened. The man nearly exploded Twitter and melted ESPN. He transcended free agency, the World Cup, everything. He will draw a massive television audience tonight; he's the only professional athlete who could have pulled that off.

What a week for LeBron's brand. I just hope he remembers to wipe the blood off the knife after he pulls it from Cleveland's back."

Cheers.

Ralph

Hoosiers of Baseball

2010-06-28T09:17:00.004-04:00

This is a great article that appeared in Sports Illustrated last week. It's about some borderline hippie coach and his baseball team from the a tiny high school that took second in the open Illinois state tournament in 1971.

There's a lot in the article about the coach's style that I can identify with. He's kind of all about empowering the players, and I'm a big fan of that. I kind of look at it as being their team, and I'm just there to point them in the right direction. This may be because the majority of my sports experience growing up was playing pick-up games with no adult supervision. So, I don't really have a traditional, autocratic, disciplinarian coach in my background to model my style after. Also, did I mention he was an English teacher.

Anyhow, I had great fun reading aforementioned article. One of my favorites I've come across in the last few years.

Wimbledon: Longest Match follow-up

2010-06-25T12:58:00.002-04:00

This one is for anyone that has ever been dog tired. Dude played an 11-hour match with a 138-game fifth set over the past two days and then got creamed in his second-round match today.

Some of my favorite lines from the AP story:

"Isner had no aces after hitting a record 112 [in the marathon match] against Mahut. 'I've never been this exhausted before," Isner said. "Mentally and physically, I was obviously a bit drained. I just didn't have much in the way of my legs. I was just low on fuel out there. Didn't really have a chance.'

"Isner received a standing ovation when he walked onto court. He immediately lost his serve -- something that didn't happen once in his 70-68 fifth set against Mahut. 'The turnaround time -- he just didn't have enough time to get his body right,' said Isner's coach, Craig Boynton. 'He's one tired boy.'

"Isner didn't warm up before taking the court and showed up unshaven. 'It was brutal,' Isner said. 'Things were looking pretty bleak right from the get-go.'

All in good fun, of course...

Erie D-Backs Rock

2010-05-24T15:10:00.003-04:00

Congrats to my Little League team, the Erie Diamondbacks for taking third place in the North East Tournament on Sunday. Because of Saturday's rains, they ended up playing the whole tourney on Sunday and the D-Backs played six (yes, six) games. Games were limited to an hour and a half and two of our games were this shootout format, where every batter started with a full count, but still, we played something close the equivalent of 30 innings of baseball in one day.

It was a beautiful, almost too nice, day, as the sun was really baking us. North East has a nice facility out there with multiple ball fields, but the tree cover is sparse.

The D-Backs won four games and lost two - and each game was decided by one run. Go figure. It was a lot of fun and the kids really came together as a team. Going into the tournament, we had lost our last two games by a combined total of like 20 runs, so it was nice to turn things around. Quite frankly, I think we surprised a few people, including yours truly. Now, I just have to figure out why we don't play like this every time out.

Ahh, the joys of coaching.

Cheers.

Red Sox-Yankees, latest chapter

2010-05-18T09:19:00.004-04:00

So, I get home from our Little League game and am posting our stats on-line (if you click on the link, you'll see we kind of got clobbered, but I was happy with our kids for not giving up, etc. etc.), and I tune in the Yankees-Red Sox video feed on ESPN 3. Sure enough, the score is 7-6 Yankees in the sixth and it looks like were in for another nailbiter in the Bronx.

Then, I recall that on the way to our game, I had to listen to my old friend Red and James L. LeCorchick rip apart the networks for constantly showing Yankees-Red Sox action.

Here's what followed: Yankees bullpen is injured. Nobody seems to know if it's Chamberlain or Rivera, but neither is available for the eighth inning. So, Girardi leaves the hapless Chan Ho Park in, who is not even good necessarily when he's healthy, but is now just coming off the D.L. Well, two home runs later, it's 9-7 Red Sox and the Beantowners have come all the way back from an 0-5 first inning deficit to take the lead.

Another recall: during our game, one of our coaches, who's a 'Sox fans, taunts me about Mariano Rivera giving up a game-losing grand slam last night.

Well, Yankees go down harmlessly to Red Sox' set-up man Bard in the bottom of the eighth and a couple Yankees pitchers get the Sox in the top of the ninth. Bottom of the ninth - in comes Red Sox hated closer Jonathan Papelbon. I'm down stairs getting ice cream. I come back up and Brett Gardner is on third and A-Rod launches one to tie it up. Papelbon beans our next hitter - young catcher Cervelli, and Marcus Thames follows with game winner down the left-field line. Yankees win 11-9, players mob each other, Thames get pie in the face, etc. (I text our Sox-fan coach thanking him for jinxing Papelbon.)

You really mean to tell me that is the type of action you want to keep off TV -James L and Red? Maybe the great game is the exception more than the rule, but still, tell me two other teams that could play such an intense game in May? I know I'm a biased Yankee fan, but, when the Yankees and Red Sox get together, it often brings the game to another level that you just don't get with other teams in the regular season. These are the two highest paid franchises in the league, there are some big egos out there, and really, they have some history. I'll go so far as to compare it to Steelers-Browns back in the day. Didn't everyone want to see that?

Well, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I don't think televising the Red Sox Yankees ahead of the Indians-Rays game is a bad decision.

Ralph

Too Tall Jones -Geico Commercial

2010-05-10T22:00:00.002-04:00

Former Cowboys defensive end Ed Jones had one of the greatest nicknames ever. I mean, can you compare any nicknames today to "Too Tall?" They even use it on Arthur. Anyhow, I happen to be in Dallas and saw this commercial. Has anyone seen this locally?

Too Many Strikeouts and Walks

2010-05-04T13:55:00.001-04:00

Great article by Tom Verducci on how this trend is affecting the MLB. I agree it makes for a more boring game, even on the Little League level. I try and teach my kids to put it in play and don't be afraid to strike out swinging. Contact make the game more fun for everyone (excepting the pitcher maybe.)

Dick Allen SI Cover

2010-05-03T10:50:00.001-04:00

Only in the early 1970s...

Butler-Duke Classic

2010-04-06T12:15:00.003-04:00

Great, compelling NCAA championship game. Watched it with my 11-year-old son. It may have been the first college basketball game he's watched end to end (well, he was on the Internet somewhat during the first half, but still glancing up at the game.) Game was too interesting/exciting to send him to bed. You can find all the write-ups about it on-line.

I'll just make this one comment/conjecture: Really, the defining college game of my youth was the famous Bird-Magic/Indiana St-Michigan State final in 1979. I remember staying up late to watch that game, which has gone down in history, not necessarily because it was a great, close game, but because of the influence the two stars had on the NBA over the next decade. I wonder if the Duke-Butler game will have similar ramifications. I'm not sure that Butler or Duke has any future NBA stars, so maybe the game won't have the lasting legacy that the Bird-Magic showdown did. But, it really was a great game. It will be interesting to see if anyone, including my son, remembers it 30 years from now.

Ralph

Pitt Hoops Play - "Digusting"

2010-03-22T08:47:00.003-04:00

At least that is how the Panthers color commentator Dick Groat described a possession late in the game when the Panthers, trailing by five with less than two minutes to play, ran the shot clock down to zero and threw up an airball. Groat, a former Duke hoops stat and major league baseball MVP with the Pirates, offered only that one word commentary. Groat is 80 years old. He definitely brings an old school perspective to the airwaves, even more so than his 70-year-old play-by-play partner Bill Hillgrove.

The Panthera did eventually come back to get a three-point shot to tie the game with time expiring, but missed. Alas, another early exit for Pitt's hoopsters.

The Jive Shuts Down - A Rant Against Parking Meters

2010-03-16T10:33:00.004-04:00

I was kind of saddened to read this. I was only in there once, last week, and the soup and coffee were awsome, and it seemed like a great atmosphere. It looks like they had some great Saturday sessions there as well. I made a note to hang out there more, although with a family, finding time to hang out at the artsy coffee house can be a bit difficult. But, they did have a good wireless network...that all said, when it came time to work remotely yesterday, I went up to the soulless Starbucks near the Mall. Why? Parking meters.

I was thinking of this as I pulled out of the Jive last week. I had spent 75 cents to park for an hour, and if I had got caught on a call and missed my expiration time, I'd be paying a few more dollars at City Hall. I got to thinking, how much business were these stupid parking meters costing downtown merchants? It's really time these relics were removed. I'm not sure how much money they generate for the city but they can't be worth it.

The parking meters were installed I'm assuming in the 50s, or sometime when people were going downtown no matter what, because that's all there was. If we want to revive downtown now, however, we've got to remove the parking meters. There are just too many other options with parking that is less of a pain in the butt. I would think we might be able to get merchants to agree to some extra tax or something to help cover the lost revenue for the city. The plan would be that the removal of the meters would increase the merchants' revenue more than the tax would cost them. Does anyone see the value of such a plan? Let's quit being so bass akwards in this city and move into the 21st century. Parking meters are a relic of a previous time!

I guess I could have caught the bus down to the Jive.

Ralph

Bring Back T.O.

2010-03-11T10:17:00.003-05:00

I'll admit that last year's signing of T.O. by the Blue-and-Red kinda blew me outa' the water. I wasn't expecting it. I didn't think we had the personnel to support him. But, although he had some costly drops, to be expected with T.O., he didn't have that bad of a year and had a couple huge games - in games that we won. Well, now that ex-Pitt Beletnikoff winner Antonio Bryant has signed with the Bengals (a good move for the striped-helmet wearers), it seems Owens is a man without a clear destination. This article makes some good points about why we should re-sign Owens, who signed only a one-year contract with us last year. I agree, bring him back for another year. Granted, we have another new offensive coordinator (for what seems like the 5th time in five years), but at least he knows the players, the atmosphere and all that. We clearly need another receiver and could do a lot worse than T.O. - at least last year's relatively mellow version of T.O. I mean Chan Gailey coached Michael Irvin in his days with the Cowboys a million years ago, I think he can handle T.O. Anyways, it would be fun.

That's all.

Ralph

Favorite Characters in Literature

2010-03-09T15:14:00.003-05:00

After laboring through the 2004 Brad Pitt-mega-picture Troy last night, I realized how much I appreciate Odysseus as a literary character. One of my favorites, in fact.... which inspired me to come up with a list of my favorite literary characters of all-time. I think it goes something like this.

1. Sebasitian Dangerfield of the Ginger Man: I find him uproariously funny with intriguing moral compass...
2. Dean Moriarity - the Neal Cassidy character in Kerouac's classic On the Road
3. Odysseus - The King of Pain, traveling man, crafty trickster, great warrior king - call him what you will, but he holds up well after three thousand years.
4. Razhumikin - Raskolinkov's loyal Russian friend in Crime and Punishment.

I'm sure there are more, but these are the Mt. Rushmore (to steal a Bill Simmons phrase) faces of my literary life so far. Please feel free to add your own thoughts on this.

Olympics in HD

2010-02-22T14:49:00.005-05:00

The Winter Olympics have proven to be great family viewing. I think everyone except my three-year-old really enjoys them , and he even puts up with them for the most part. We've actually all been sitting on the couch watching the prime time coverage - a rare family TV viewing experience.

The Winter Olympics have always been entertaining, but adding HD to the mix, with the white snow and colorful uniforms and equipment really adds another level. Then you've got these new sports like ski-cross - did you see that one? Four guys (do women do it too?) racing on a track over jumps, while wearing skis. They have a snowboard version of this, which seems considerably less dangerous, as having eight skis flying through the air in close quarters, well it seems like a recipe for disaster. I did see one bad crash, but amazingly, for the most part, it turns out it's probably less dangerous than the straight-forward downhill.

Speaking of which, how about Bode Miller? Great Olympics for the philosopher skier. His quotes are fascinating. I read an article today, which pretty much accused him of sabotaging his previous Olympics because he wouldn't have been able to handle the fame. The impression I got was that he was already very famous in Europe, and that may have been a pain, but that was nothing compared to the pain he was anticipating as the posterboy U.S. Olympic success. He said he pretty much would have felt like a hypocrite because there is so much politiking and money-grubbing that goes along with the Olympics that he just couldn't deal with it. Or at least that's what I think he said.

Miller did go on to compliment that the Olympics as the pinnacle of his sport as well, so he said it was a double-edged sword and this year's he's been able to ignore the negatives better. Plus, I think he blew up his image so badly last time with talk of drunk skiing and the like, he really has little chance of being used by the USOC for their ulterior purposes - You've got to remember, this guy was, by all accounts raised in a hippie environment. Anyhow I'm glad to see his saved face this time around, if only to hear him philosophize about how making the perfect run at the perfect moment is so much more important than the gold medal.

U.S. Hockey Team
And how about that men's ice hockey team? Great win over Canada last night. It's been a great tourney for the U.S. guys so far, although a medal is far from guaranteed, but even more exciting, it's been a train wreck for the Canadians. Granted, the Canadians, on their home ice, playing their national sport, could still put together a medal run, but they're clearly behind the eight-ball. Losing to the U.S. was bad, but being pushed into OT by the Swiss hurt them even worse I think. Heads will roll if they don't make it out of the quarterfinal match vs. Russia. Why do I find this amusing? Canadians are nice people aren't they? Are they too smug about their hockey perhaps? I guess it's just great tragic theatre playing out and I love a good show.

Ralph

Pest Control: Bird in the Fireplace

2010-02-11T09:47:00.003-05:00

You'll have to excuse me if I'm feeling a bit like Jim from the Wild Kingdom this morning...and I guess, my three-year-old son is Marlin Perkins. You see, yesterday afternoon we discovered we had a bird in our fireplace. I heard my wife scream after the little guy banged himself against the glass doors. From there, the adventure began.

I Googled topics like "bird stuck fireplace" and after some reading discovered that throwing a heavy blanket over the thing, wrapping it up, and carrying it outside was the "professional" method for handling the problem. Of course, at least half the stories I read, and some of the online videos, indicated that people had used that method, and others as well, like garbage bags and pillow cases, with varying degrees of success. I was not too excited about this dirty bird - he was black with soot - flying around my house, so, I wanted to make sure I did this right.

Was I scared of the bird? You might say. But, I'd like to say I was just being cautious. I sized up the problem from six different angles, allowed my mother-in-law to half-heartedly try and wrap him up in a towel, before my wife finally got the idea that we should use a fishing net. In the meantime, the bird mostly kept to the back of the fireplace, every now and then hurling himself into the glass doors, and also sometimes disappearing into parts unknown.

Well, when my brother-in-law finally arrived with the net yesterday evening, the bird was nowhere to be found. So, I went skiing..... well, what else was I going to do? When I got back, my mother-in-law, who was watching the kids, and brother- in-law, who had stopped back for his net, had apparently determined the bird had left. They had straightened up the fireplace, and taken the net home.

I was too smart for this trick. Actually, my neighbor, who apparently has dealt with this problem several times, guaranteed the bird would be back. He also recommended the blanket method. So, I went to bed...

This morning, the bird was certainly back, banging his way around the fireplace. I sized up the situation again and made up my mind to do something, as I didn't want to be worried about this all day when I was at work (so, instead, I'm wasting my time on this blog post). My three-year-old woke up, and, of course, wanted to see the bird. I showed it to him and he almost condescendingly suggested I use the blanket. This was interesting because the blanket I was going to use, an old drop cloth for painting, was in the basement, so he had no visual cues. I chalked up it up to an inspired answer, grabbed the drop cloth and went in.

My first toss missed the bird and he hopped over it. Thankfully, he didn't try and fly toward the glass doors or anything. But I realized I was going to have to invest myself in this if I wanted some success. I put on my ski gloves and went in after him, which involved inserting my head inside the fireplace so I could reach the back.

It was actually fairly easy to trap him, as he was either tired, or cooperative, or both. He let me toss the blanked over him and wrap him up without a fight. I tried to wrap him up as best I could to prevent flight, but when I pulled him out he never really struggled. I could see a small piece of some part of him sticking out of the blanket, so I knew I had him. I carefully but quickly walked to the front door, opened it, and threw the whole blanket out. As soon as the blanket touched the ground bird flew swiftly up in the air and into our front-yard tree. He seemed fine after his long ordeal. I shut the door and thanked by three-year-old for his help. He said he wanted to wave good-bye to the bird.

Of course, last week, he also said good-bye to the dead mice I had trapped in the basement. Vector traps, traditional style is what I recommend.

Ralph

Bills Hire New Defensive Coordinator

2010-02-09T14:30:00.002-05:00

Here's a quote from a Buffalo News story discussing George Edwards, our recently hired D-Coordinator:

"Edwards' one year as defensive coordinator in 2003 was head coach Steve Spurrier's final year, and it was unsuccessful. The Redskins ranked 25th in yards allowed. They were fifth the year before and third the year after...."

Sounds great.

Super Bowl Monday

2010-02-08T10:54:00.006-05:00

Congrats to the Saints and all the Saints fans I know. There is one guy from Nawlins that I work with, then there is Bob/R.L. McCray - a sports writer from Corry who did some work for the Erie paper and may still write for Warren. Great game. Hats off to the guy at Football Outsiders, who opened my eyes a couple days before the game with his insights on why the Colts were a good match-up for the Saints. One of the reasons he gave was the favorable coaching match-up, and I think we all agree that Sean Payton orchestrated a beautiful game, with the great on-side kick contributing immensely to the win. Of course, Brees had to execute and did a nice job, but let's take a look at Payton's other great call: Going for it on fourth and two late in the second quarter:

Yes, the Saints got stuffed and handed the ball back over to Peyton Manning and the Colts, with the Saints trailing by seven with two minutes to go in the half. (The Colts were also due to get the ball to start the third quarter, or so we thought). However, the Colts also got the ball on the two-yard line, which affected the plays they would call. Had the Saints gone for the field goal and kicked off, the Colts more likely would have received the ball past the 20 and closer to the 30. From there, with two minutes left, I'm betting Manning works it downfield for at least a field goal and perhaps a touchdown. So, kicking the field goal from the two was likely at best a break-even proposition and at worst a minus-four point swing for the Saints.

Payton (Sean) made what some would call a gutsy decision to go for it on fourth down from the two. However, he was really just playing the percentages - so it was more of a smart call. But, sometimes, it does take guts to be smart and go against conventional wisdom.

Payton was gambling and playing better odds than he had decided to kick the field goal. Here's why, based on the possible outcomes:
a. the Saints score a TD from the two - at best a plus-7 gain in the score, at worst a break-even proposition, if the Colts get the ball back and march down the field
b. the Saints get stuffed, stop the Colts, get the ball back and kick a longer field goal, which is still worth three points (and run out the clock for the half), which is what happened - this is a plus-three proposition for the Saints
c. the Saints D stops the Colts from scoring, but the Colts either run out the clock or the Saints get the ball back and can't score - a break even proposition, which is likely the best outcome if the Saints had kicked the field goal from the two and kicked-off to the Colts
d. The Colts take the downfield from the two and score-either a minus-three or minus-7 proposition - with the minus 3 being more likely - and still a better result than the minus-four possibility if the Saints kicked the field goal and kicked off.

Does that make any sense? The bottom line is that by going for it on fourth-and-two, Payton (Sean) created a higher chance of a better scoring outcome for his team in the last two minutes of the half.

Manning's ego problem
I'll conclude by discussing briefly Peyton Manning's ego and how it ultimately resulted in the game-clinching interception for the Saints. Colts have the ball on like the Saints 40, down by seven, third-and-five, with like four minutes to play. I'm watching the game with by buddy, who's a junior high football coach and he says, "this is four down territory, the Colts should run it here." Makes perfect sense to me, because their halfback, Josesph Addai, really had a great game and seemed to be running the ball well. I predicted the Manning would not want to give up control of the situation to another player and would therefore call a pass play. Exactly what happened - six points the other way for the Saints - Game Over. Manning is a great quarterback, one of the best ever, but there's a reason he's only won the big one once (and it's the same reason Dan Marino never won it). He's still not bigger than the game and 11 guys will more often beat one guy - or however many guys Manning wants to get involved with the play. Addai was having a great game, Manning should have recognized that and let him have his moment - but he just couldn't do it. Oh well - congrats to Joseph Addai on a great Super Bowl!

Ralph

Bills Hire Steelers Scouting Dir.

2010-02-04T09:58:00.001-05:00

It appears like the Bills may have finally done something positive - at least hired a younger guy with somewhat of a track record of success, who's career is heading in the right direction. I mean, at least this guys has a chance...but, then there is that porn thing...Let's just hope it doesn't effect his job performance negatively.

Conservative Michael Moore-wannabe arrested

2010-01-27T10:10:00.003-05:00

At least that's the way I see James O'Keefe's arrest yesterday related to bugging the phones of a Democratic Senator. It's kind of an outrageous story. When I first read it, I figured they must have wanted to be caught - for publicity or something...or is this just what happens when conservatives try to get into the liberal game of sensationalized film exposes? I guess you could compare it to Watergate, which occurred at a time when most people thought Democrats owned dirty politics.

Anyhow, from what I've read, there is no way these guys thought they could get away with this, is there?

Vikings' Misfortune

2010-01-25T09:34:00.006-05:00

I know we have a regular blog reader who is a longtime Vikings fan, going back to Joe Kapp and, of course, the legendary Bud Grant. My condolences to this fan after yesterday's travesty. The Vikings dominated the game statistically, only to be undone by an inordinate amount of inopportune turnovers, as well as a ridiculous, costly penalty. The fact that, as a Bills fan, I can manage sympathy for fans of a team that made their conference championship game should give you an idea of just how snakebitten their franchise seems to be.

The aforementioned Vikings fan and I have discussed this curse many times, and yesterday's game was just the latest example of the Minnesotans' knack for bad fortune in big games. At the beginning of the year, we discussed how due to karma, the Favre-Viking marriage was destined to end badly. So, really, yesterday's outcome may have been inevitable.

And, the way the pundits are writing it, the loss falls squarely on the shoulders of #4, due to his bad interception at the end of regulation. However, let it be noted here that it was not Favre's fault (I don't think) that 12 men were on the field previous to the play, resulting in the penalty that knocked the Vikings out of semi-comfortable field goal range and forced Favre to try the ill-fated pass in the first place. I mean the guy was playing on a very bad ankle and had just made a spectacular pass a few plays earlier to move the ball across midfield. It really came down to them asking him to do too much (especially those who keep asking, why didn't he just run for five yards?)

Anyhow, that's probably enough of a Favre apology. As I said, he kind of called the bad karma down upon himself, with enablement/help from the Vikings. I guess, as painful as it is for Vikings fans, who generally seem like a good lot, the team probably got what it deserved.

Final note: I really would like to see Favre come back next year for a couple of reasons:
1. He really had a great year and a second year with the same teammates has the potential to create even better results.
2. I'd hate to see his career end on that miserable interception.

However, you have to wonder if he can take it physically anymore. He seemed fine during the regular season, but the the conference championship looked like another level. The Saints really punished Favre, and I almost hate to see what the Colts (and their great pass rushers) would have done to him in the Super Bowl.

All said, it was an interesting season up in Minnesota and truly a great drama, albeit a bit tragic, played out for the Norsemen!

Great Carlton Fisk Column

2010-01-21T17:08:00.002-05:00

Carlton Fisk is being portrayed as a bit of crusty old guy following his recent bashing of steroid users. I thought this portrayal was a bit unfair until I read Joe Posnanski's excellent column on the topic today. It's a bit long, so feel free to skim, but make sure you read the beginning and the end. (Full disclosure: I was a huge Thurman Munson fan growing up, so anything that attempts to put Fisk in his place has attraction to me. Sorry, Carlton, that's just the way it is.)

Say it ain't so - Ralph

2010-01-19T09:23:00.003-05:00

Reports out of Buffalo are that the Bills are getting ready to hire Chan Gailey as their new coach. This can't be. After being teased with Shanahan and Cowher, we get Chain Gailey, he of the lifetime 18-14 NFL record coaching a Cowboys team that had both Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman. Not to mention six mediocre years with a Georgia Tech team that never lost less than five games in a season during his tenure, but two years after he left finished 11-3 and played in the Orange Bowl. The same Chan Gailey who started out this year as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs but was demoted after three games. Yes, Mr. Gailey is not good enough to be an assistant for the 4-12 Chiefs, but he's good enough to be our head coach. This must be some kind of joke! Remember, this comes in the wake of the Bills hiring a 70-year-old GM who has never been a GM before and who was retired just two years earlier. Sadly, it appears our Hall-of-Fame owner Ralph Wilson has entered Al Davis territory. We will likely never see another winning team in Buffalo, as it seems all-but guaranteed the team will move after Wilson dies and while he remains alive and in control of the team, it seems we are f@#$%d.

Ralph

NFL Playoffs: Success of the Sons

2010-01-18T09:36:00.002-05:00

I find it fascinating that Brian Schottenheimer and Rex Ryan are the coaching braintrust behind the underdog Jets and their 2-0 run in the playoffs. If you follow football, you probably realize that they are the sons of two very successful NFL coaches, Marty Schottenheimer and Buddy Ryan, whose careers are often defined by their playoff failures. Marty was 5-13 in the postseason as a head coach with three different teams, while Buddy went 0-3 with some pretty talented Eagles squads. The kids led the Jets to a fairly mediocre 9-7 regular season record this year, but have two surprising road victories to their credit in the playoffs and a date at Indianapolis for the AFC Championship on Sunday.

Playoff wrap-up

2010-01-17T20:47:00.003-05:00

Do you think it was any coincidence that the only divisional playoff game worth watching was the only one played outdoors? The Vikes-Cowboys in the Metrodome certainly didn't have the same romance to it as the old games played outdoors at the Met. I wanted to hear Pat Summeral describe D.D. Lewis wrapping up Chuck Foreman as he went off tackle one more time...

Most Recent Star Trek

2010-01-15T12:04:00.003-05:00

Saw the movie on DVD last night (after a night out at Scottie's, I borrowed it from my neighbor). While there were definitely some interesting elements, exploring the past of the crew made famous on the original TV show, which I watched semi-religiously in my teen years, overall the movie seemed a bit shallow. Maybe because of my age at the time, I remember the original show as exploring things like psychology and power a bit deeper than the newer, seemingly more superficial version. Last time I was at Blasco, I saw some DVDs of the original episodes. I think I may need to check them out. Should I try to introduce my 11-year-old son to them?

BCS Follow-Up

2010-01-14T09:49:00.002-05:00

From Gregg Easterbrook's TMQ column this week (He offers an explanation of why the performance of the Texas freshman QB picked up coincidentally with Colt McCoy's return to the sideline in the second half of the game):

"Colt McCoy was injured early and freshman Garrett Gilbert entered, never having played in a pressure situation in college. Instantly it was obvious the game would turn on whether Gilbert could perform cold. My seat was low behind the Texas sideline, with a clear view of the Longhorns coaches and players. To my amazement, when the Texas offense wasn't on the field in the first half, Gilbert simply stood alone. He wasn't throwing to his receivers. Senior leaders were not coming by to urge him on. And no coaches were talking to him! Texas not only has $5 million-a-year coach Mack Brown, it has a bloated coaching staff, yet none of these gentlemen came over to help Gilbert prepare, calm down or adjust. Greg Davis, the Longhorns offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, was nowhere to be seen as Gilbert stood alone. Just what exactly was Davis doing that was more important, at that moment, than helping a freshman get ready to go back in at quarterback in the national championship? Only when McCoy returned from the trainer's room in the third quarter, donned headphones and started assisting Gilbert, did the Texas comeback begin. McCoy, a student, was the one "coaching up" Gilbert. Where was the Texas coaching staff?

Verizon Back Online

2010-01-07T19:26:00.003-05:00

Got the call today that there was a service outage and it really had nothing to do with the modem...really not surprised. The who called me sounded English. I had previously dealt with Indians and Filipinos that were supposedly corresponding with Americans. And it took them about two and a half days to fix the problem...Funny thing is I'm getting to the point where I've had the service so long that I think I know more about that most of the lower-level support people....Maybe I need to get a business account.

Verizon Internet Change

2010-01-06T17:26:00.002-05:00

Did this happen to anyone else? On Tuesday morning, my home Internet connection suddenly stopped working. It took three calls over two days, but the current diagnosis is that Verizon has upgraded the line so it is no longer compatible with the modem I bought from them a couple years go. They claim that they are going to send me a newer modem without charge. Well, if they knew I had this modem and they knew they were upgrading the lines.... I guess they're too big to worry about things like that. We'll see. I'm posting this from the downtown Starbucks. Interesting place after dark...

Incoming weather

2009-12-28T13:11:00.003-05:00

The weather map for the next several hours certainly looks ominous...

Merry X-Mas and New Year's

2009-12-23T12:53:00.002-05:00

May the Spirit of Generosity bring you much joy!

If you give a crap about the Yankees....

2009-12-22T10:31:00.004-05:00

and I haven't gotten the impression that anyone who reads this blog does, but I thought the Bronx Bummers made a great move today trading for Javier Vasquez. If you remember, Vasquez had a go-round with the Yankees a few years back, and I didn't think he was terrible, but we gave up on him after on year. He's a little long in the tooth, maybe 33, but he had a solid year with the Braves last year, and seems like the type of pitcher whose not near the end by any means. Anyhow, I'm glad we got him to shore up the rotation....

But, we gave up Melky Cabrera to get him. Cabrera was a fairly solid center fielder for us last year, but he has had kind of and up and down career. On the up side, he's fairly young and has performed fairly well under the NYC spotlight. Howevever, Cabrera clearly became expendable when we picked up the great (former Seawolf) Curtis Granderson from the Tigers. There was talk that Melky would start in left, but I'm not sure he has a big enough bat for the Yankees to be completely satisfied with him as the full-time leftfielder. So, we dumped him for some starting pitching depth.

Which leaves us with a hole in left field - not necessarily a bad thing considering that three of the current top free agents are left fielders: Johnny Damon, Jason Bay, and Matt Holliday. Damon, of course, is a proven commodity, but Bay and Holliday likely have more upside - as they both are younger. That said, if this article is true, and Damon has reduced his contract demands to a two-year term, then, we should probably jump all over it. Yes, we'd be leaving Holliday and Bay on the market for the BoSox, but Damon is probably a better fit for the Yankees' line-up. He's a lefty and did a great job in the number two hole last year. Yeah, we'd probably need to refresh the position in another couple years, while Bay or Holliday could conceivably be a long-term solution - but it's worth keeping in mind that Holliday was kind of a washout in his only A.L. stint with the A's last year, and that Bay is a right-handed pull hitter that might not be a good fit for Yankee Stadium - nor may he be able to cover enough ground to be an effective defensive left fielder in the (not quite so as in the past, but still fairly) cavernous confines of our home park. Based on their recent track record, I'm sure the Yanks are checking all this stuff out and am confident they will make the right move.

The Yankees, already the reigning World Champions, have had a great offseason and look really strong heading into 2010, which is the year I thought they could win it all based on last season's moves. I think Jeter and Posada each have at least one good year left in them, A-Rod should be back stronger than last year....I really think we could have an all-time great team next year. Just what all you Yankee haters wanted to hear I'm sure.

Cheers.

Ralph

Matsui to Angels

2009-12-15T08:18:00.003-05:00

There's been a lot going on in this baseball offseason so far, especially the Yankees picking up centerfielder Curtis Granderson from the Tigers. Granderson was one of the Seawolves' all-time greats and I'll never forget watching him at the Uht. By all accounts he's a class act as well (but, then again, wasn't Tiger Woods, well, maybe not...but we'll leave that for another day). That all said, this small story that moved across the wire this morning was a bit disheartening.... it seems World Series hero Hideki Matsui is moving on from the Yankees to the Angels. After coming over from Japan, Godzilla had played his whole MLB career with the Yankees. He was generally a solid, clutch player whose intensity could not be questioned. He was the quintessential professional ballplayer.... right down to his collection of porn videos, which reportedly numbers greater than 50,000.

I guess when you consider his hobby and how Times Square has evolved in the past 20 years, then, perhaps Southern California is a better fit for him. But, Hideki, from one Yankees fan at least, thanks for all you've done for the team over the past 7 years - in exchange for that $70 million the Yankees gave you....

Ralph

White Running Backs

2009-12-03T09:28:00.003-05:00

Here's an interesting article (written by an African-American, ok, black, journalist) speculating that prejudice is a factor in the lack of opportunities being given white running backs in big time college football and the pros. He makes some really good points. The impetus for the article is the great season that Stanford's Toby Gerhart is having. I'm not sure who else is in the running for the Heisman, but this guy has more than 1,700 yards and 26 TDs and has helped lead the surprising Cardinal to wins over USC, Oregon, and Notre Dame (a game in which he even threw a big TD pass). I had heard talk that he was going to pursue a professional baseball career, but more recently I've heard people talking about his prospects for the NFL Draft.

Although there have been white fullbacks, Tom Rathman comes to mind, that have had some success catching passes out of the backfield, the last white back who enjoyed any sustained success carrying the ball, I believe was Craig James. James, who split time in college at SMU with the great Eric Dickerson, rushed for more than 1,200 yards for the 1985 Pats. I don't know if he got injured the year after or what, but he never came close to duplicating that success and was out of the league a couple years later. He did go on to a very successful career as a sportscaster.

Anyhow, James' 1,000 yard season was almost 25 years ago. Should we start calling Gerhart the Great White Hope? After all, my 10-year-old son keeps asking me if there is any chance he can make it to the NFL. He was the build and skill set of a back, but I told him that based on history he better hope he grows to at least 6'-3" and hope his arm continues to develop if he wants to have even a very slight chance. If Gerhart succeeds in the NFL, well, maybe he can expand that scope of hope a little bit...

Cheers.

Ralph

Bus makes the right call

2009-12-01T10:20:00.002-05:00

If anyone his interested, Jerome Bettis continues to do great work for sportsillustrated.com. Here's a quote from his latest column, which was presumably posted yesterday:

"I like the Saints Monday night in a runaway win. It may not happen right off the bat, but Drew Brees will eventually eat this New England secondary up. The Patriots can't hold these guys off for four quarters." - Called it pretty much perfectly.

But also had some interesting comments on Dennis Dixon to start the column. He was obviously much more impressed than I was, and I have always been a Dixon fan. Maybe I was expecting too much. But, if the Bus calls it a good performance that establishes Dixon as a solid back-up, I'm buying in.

Final note on the Bus - he went to Notre Dame, which just fired its coach. That's the third time in 10 years that a coach there has been canned. Every coach since Lou Holtz. No doubt it's a tough job. From what I've read, the school boasts graduation rates for football players of higher than 90%. So, not only do they want you to win football games, they expect you to graduate players. Hats off to the Irish for being demanding on both fronts. Bettis' fine writing (and I'm not a Notre Dame alumnus or fan, just a fan of good sportswriting) is a product of that system. Let's hope they can find a coach who maintains the educational standards, while also fielding a more competitive team. After all, Fighting Irish football has a great tradition of winning as well. I've heard Jim Harbaugh's name mentioned...

Premonitions of Death

2009-11-20T08:30:00.002-05:00

This is kind of a spooky (not to mention sad) story I just heard on NPR.... I guess kids do say the darnest things...

Achilles: A Great Middle Linebacker

2009-11-20T05:46:00.003-05:00

From the 19th book of Iliad:

"You talk of food?
I have no taste for food-what I really crave
is slaughter and blood and the choking groans of men!"

Would make Ray Lewis proud...

Great Baseball Story...

2009-11-18T23:52:00.001-05:00

Well, it's certainly about more than baseball, but this is the kind of sportswriting even a non-fan can enjoy. Check it out if you have 15 minutes (at least) and make sure you watch the video. Award-winning stuff.

Bills Can Coach

2009-11-17T18:50:00.002-05:00

Not that it will matter We stink and it's not necessarily the coach's fault. I'm not sure how involved he is in the personnel decisions, but our organization has assembled a pretty crummy team. Of course, this includes the assistant coaches, which I'm assuming Jauron had some input into. Then again, he may have been limited by budget constraints. Funny thing is, our assistant coaches are so bad, I can't imagine who they could possibly promote to replace Jauron that could do any better. I will say that special teams coach Bobby April has done a pretty good job and a few weeks ago, people said he would be the likely replacement...but he's 55 years old and has never been anything but a special teams coach. I would have to say his ship has sailed in regards to being an effective NFL head coach. We really need to blow the whole thing up and start over again... starting with the owner if he won't pony up for a decent GM!

Belichick's Decision

2009-11-17T09:32:00.002-05:00

Here's a great Joe Posnanski post that explains why Belichick went for it on fourth down with 2 minutes left Sunday night. By Joe's math, which is backed up by the math of some Air Force pilot, the odds were clearly in the Patriots favor...

What did we ever do to Bud Adams?

2009-11-16T20:41:00.003-05:00

Well, there was the comeback game, but come on, we stink... why waste the energy Bud? Why do you hate us so? Really, if you haven't seen this, it's worth 14 seconds of your time.... (It's the Titans' 86-year-old owner flipping off the Bills bench yesterday. Honest.)

Erie Leaf Bag Issues

2009-11-16T09:36:00.003-05:00

I haven't seen anything about this in Erie's "mainstream" media, but, word-of-mouth around my neighborhood is that area outlets have run out of the green leaf bags you're supposed to put your leaves in if you live in the City of Erie. I also found one local blogger who posted on this problem. It seems we had the exact same problem almost three years ago to the day, and I blogged about it then.

I'll start out by asking, does anyone know where I can get some more bags, as I'm down to like two and my oak leaves are just starting to fall? I think we avoided the shortage that last few years because of shorter raking seasons due to inclement weather. I remember years when the snow fell before my maples were even all down, not to mention the oaks. Well, this year the weather has been wonderful for raking and people have been taking advantage of it. I guess one option is raking the leaves into the street, which is actually illegal. The city seems to discourage this practice up front at least, but I have never heard of anyone being fined for it. Then, there is the burning route and my neighbor has a burn barrel....

But, I'd really just like to bag them. It's supposed to be another nice week. The problem, of course, is that I need to get more bags. Now, as I said in my previous post, I appreciate what the city is trying to do with the biodegradable bags and all, but they need to come up with a contingency plan for when the bags run out. Part of the problem is the very nature of the bags, which start to disintegrate within a year, so it is impossible to stock up on them. And they are fairly expensive, so you hate to buy too many and then find them biodegrading in your garage the next year. Because of the weather, predicting leaf volume is a very inexact science.

I jokingly (I think I was joking, sorry Joe) suggested we all take our leaves up to the mayor's front lawn. Maybe we could we could dress up like Indians or something.... but my wife insists it's not his fault. I am going to put a call (or e-mail) down to City Hall, however, and at least suggest they make some sort of public pronouncement and give people an idea of what they'd like them to do with their leaves; or at least give us some assurance that more bags will be in before next weekend. As I said before, I assume they have some sort of contract or contact with what is apparently the only company that manufactures the bags we're supposed to use.

Anyhow, in the greater scheme of things, this is probably a very small problem, but one that should be addressed at least, as, according to Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, addressing small problems is a great way to start solving your larger problems. Gladwell specifically detailed how New York City started its turnaround by addressing graffiti in the subways. Letting people know you care about the little things seems to go a long way towards getting them to cooperate and help you fix the big things.

That's all.

Ralph

More on political winds of change

2009-11-12T09:22:00.004-05:00

In a piece that appeared in today's Erie Times News, one of my favorite conservative columnists, Jonah Goldberg, echoed some of the sentiments I expressed regarding the change in the political landscape that has taken place over the past year. He agrees that despite the optimistic face national Democrats put on last week regarding the results, the Blues have reasons to be worried. I said I felt Grossman's narrow win in Erie County was evidence of this.

Just to address Mayor's Sinnott's easy win over Republican Jack Anderson: In my memory, a Republican has never seriously challenged for the Erie mayor's office and Anderson had already lost like 4 times before, so he has proven pretty well that he doesn't have much support. Plus, Sinnott is a fairly conservative Democrat, especially when it comes to spending, and I think people in Erie like that. Congrats Joe!

A second look at Grossman's win and what it says

2009-11-11T09:28:00.009-05:00

I don't know how many of you followed the local County Executive race. Last week, Democrat Barry Grossman defeated Republican Mike Kerner. Grossman's winning was no surprise to most people-as he had much better name recognition going in and raised something like $100,000 in campaign funding compared to $3,000 for Kerner. The big surprise was the winning margin, which was less than 400 votes out of more than 50,000 cast.

To his credit, Grossman seemed less surprised than anybody over this narrow margin. He pretty much attributed it to people voting across party lines. And, from a quick Google, it appears that the 2005 County Executive race was decided by even a smaller margin.

However, you would think outspending your opponent 33-to-one (and I don't know if Barry used all his campaign money) would buy you some breathing room, but I think the whole Obama backlash thing really came back to hurt Grossman. Kerner cited voters' lack of support for County funding of a proposed community college (something which Barry is in favor of and Kerner is against) as a big factor in helping him get votes. He was probably right on this.

Also, I think people in general are sick of government spending following last year's multi-trillion dollar stimulus packages, that really don't seem to have helped the Erie County economy at all. I thought Kerner actually came off as a bit of teabagger/kook during the debate I watched, but apparently, more people are embracing that type of old-thyme Republican thinking. Heck, one guy got elected to County Council who reportedly owes $2 million in back taxes because he refuses to pay the government. He also wants to sell of the County library system.

Yeah, the political landscape is changing again. The Democrats were given their chance to turn things around with liberal policies and apparently the public has decided they've failed. Now, I think we really better start paying attention to the Libertarian crowd, because they seem to be gaining some steam.

I'm not saying this is good or bad, and I do support some of the fresh ideas and enthusiasm that Libertarians bring to the table. I'm really just saying that we can all learn a lesson from Barry and be careful not to dismiss these teabaggers as kooks. Their views seem to hold some sway with the populace, especially in small town America.

From a personal standpoint, I promise not to make the same mistakes I made with G.W. Bush and Phil English, as dismiss them as unelectable.

Vick to Bills?

2009-11-10T10:48:00.002-05:00

I, for one, am in favor. I mean we stink so bad now, he couldn't possibly make us worse, could he? It kind of reminds me of when we signed Flutie... sorry, Doug, if I'm insulting you by comparing you to a dog fighting ringleader. But, at that time we were coming off a 6-10 season and I thought the O-line was one of our biggest weaknesses. Well, after this year when Vick becomes a free agent again, we will be lucky to have finished 6-10 and our offensive line has been described as "historically bad" by some experts.

Yes, I realize Flutie was a CFL all-star when we signed him and Vick is still recovering from his stint in the joint and hasn't been an all-star in any league for a few years, but still both guys have/had legs that can help make up for some deficiencies in the O-line. Because of that I think we should roll the dice with Vick. I mean, really, what have we got to lose? If you put anyone else back there, they are going to get killed.

Hangover: Best Picture?

2009-11-09T11:44:00.004-05:00

Saw The Hangover on Saturday night. It was as funny as everyone said it was. It was playing at the dollar theater and we went to the 10 p.m. showing, which was packed. Pretty impressive for like its 10th week in circulation. Or, maybe it just says something about people's tastes in Erie.

Really though, I haven't talked to anyone who didn't like the movie and some people like it a whole lot. One of our friends thought it was the funniest movie ever made: funnier than Animal House and Caddyshack. Both my wife and I liked it, which means it scores with diverse audiences, as our movie tastes are fairly different. I guess the point I'm getting at, is can a low-brow comedy like this be nominated for best picture?

I think the Academy has been catching some heat in recent years, for ignoring "popular" pictures like this and wouldn't be surprised if they threw a curve ball this year just to change their image. I mean those Hollywood types are awfully image conscious you know. I don't know what the qualifications are for Best Picture, but I know I saw Slumdog Millionaire last year, and while it was good, in my opinion, The Hangover was better- whatever that means.

But, let's take Caddyshack, for example. I my opinion (once again), that was maybe the funniest movie ever. Granted, I caddied for a few years at Kahkwa, so my perspective is skewed, but everyone else seems to like it as well- and it has to be one of the all-time most quoted movies.

According to a Google search, Caddyshack came out in 1980. In 1980, here were the five pictures nominated for Best Picture: ORDINARY PEOPLE (which won I guess), Coal Miner's Daughter, The Elephant Man, Raging Bull, and Tess. Okay, Raging Bull may be a better movie than Caddyshack, but those other four... I'm sure they have their charms, but 30 years later, nobody is suggesting I watch them. Caddyshack, meanwhile, holds up.

I guess my point is that great comedies really don't get enough credit. It's always been my contention that a comedy is the toughest movie to make well. I base this on the fact that I've seen so many bad ones. Of course, it's certainly easier to make a niche comedy, like a formulaic romantic chick flick, because there are certain demographics that find comfort in that sort of thing. I remember this kid in college who I thought was perfectly normal and fairly intelligent until he told me he thought the "Earnest" series of movies was the greatest. I immediately thought less of him, but as I continued to hang out with him and get to know him, I realized this did not necessarily make him a dumb person, just someone with a different sort of comedic taste than I have.

The thing that makes Hangover great is that it seems to satisfy every comedic taste (well, maybe not the Christian right wingers, who I haven't heard weight in on it yet). I don't know how it will hold up in years to come, but it's fairly hot right now. And I certainly think it deserves consideration for best picture of 2010.

Any thoughts?

Ralph

Rick Riley on Parades

2009-11-06T20:28:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to come up with ways to defend the Yankees: things like, when Jeter starts to go downhill, let's see if they can win another championship. After all, it was more than 15 years between championships before he showed up, and I'm pretty sure they had the highest payroll in baseball through the '80s and early '90s as well...

But Rick Riley's blog entry today really put things into perspective. Here are the last two paragraphs:

"Oh -- and the next Yankees fan who looks to the heavens and sighs happily, 'It's been nine long years!' gets tied to the front of the 4 train and run into a wall. Nine years? Nine years is a cigarette break to most teams in MLB. Chicago Cubs fans are at 101 years and counting. Cleveland Indians' fans: 62. New York/San Francisco Giants: 55. Pittsburgh Pirates: 30. Gee, nine whole years? The Boston Red Sox waited 86 years for theirs. The Chicago White Sox -- 88! There are people in swine flu lines longer than nine years.

Hope your parade takes a wrong turn off a pier."

Yanks do it!

2009-11-05T09:54:00.003-05:00

Despite the naysayers' contention that the Yanks bought a championship, I still think this was a very special team. It includes three sure-fire Hall-of-Famers: Jeter, A-Rod, and Rivera, as well as at least two solid borderline cases: Pettite and Posada, and another guy who should get some votes: Damon, not to mention Matsui, who if Japanese games are considered, should get consideration. We also had guys like Sabathia and Teixiera - who appear like they could be on their way to Hall of Fame careers. No matter how it's assembled, that's a lot of talent on the field at one time, so I guess, back to the anonymous commenter's post: maybe we did just bludgeon everyone with talent. Then again, part of the HoF arguments in favor of guys like Damon, Matsui, Pettite, and Posada, will be the number of championships they won, so it's kind of a chicken and egg thing.

It was kind of fun watching Jeter, Posada, and Petite celebrate, because these are guys who had so much success winning the World Series early in their careers, they might not have appreciated fully how hard that is to do, until they went eight years without one. I'm thinking this one has to be extra special for that reason. As for Rivera, he's just a cold-blooded assassin, and I'm not sure how much winning the World Series means to him. I mean he always pitches well enough to win the thing - it's his teammates who let him down. Also, it was good to see veterans like A-Rod and Matsui finally get their first titles - especially because they both contributed so much in the playoffs. Matsui was a monster (his nickname is Godzilla) last night, and it sure is going to be tough for the Yankees to let him walk now.

As I've said, the core of the team is past its prime and logic would tell you that we have to become younger, but Posada and Jeter aren't going anywhere, and with left fielders Bay and Holiday coming on the market this winter, it would make sense to get rid of Damon and/or Matsui. Ahh, the dilemmas of managing a $200 million payroll and 25 roster spots.

Oh well, at least for now, let them all celebrate a really special season!

ralph

True to Form Sunday

2009-11-02T09:01:00.006-05:00

Both the Bills and Yankees played true to form yesterday. As usual, the Bills were outgained like three-to-one, but this time they lost - no more breaks falling their way after the first half yesterday, when they parlayed three turnovers into a narrow lead. Of course, it didn't last, as Houston benched their fumbling RB and pretty much kept the ball on the ground to avoid interceptions - then ran right over the Bills. This should be the blueprint for beating my beloved Blue-and-Red the rest of the season. Our offense sucks, so you don't have to worry about us coming back after you take the lead...

As for the Yankees, they had yet another, well, it wasn't a comeback win, but it was pretty close. After having young reliever Joba Chamberlain give up the game-tying home run with two outs and two strikes on the Phillies' seventh-place hitter, the Yanks had every reason to pack it in, as the Philadelphia crowd was roaring and all the 'mo seemed against the New Yorkers (the Eagles had even beat the Giants across the street earlier in the day). Of course, the Phillies then brought in closer Brad Lidge to throw the top of the ninth, a match-up I have been waiting for. You see, Lidge had a terrible regular season, with an E.R.A. of over seven and blowing more than 10 saves. Last year, he was unhittable through the Series, so I guess the Phils felt they owed him some loyalty, and he'd been pretty good with postseason so far this year, going three-for-three in saves, but from what I recall, at least two of these saves were shaky, meaning he got men on base before escaping. This is usually a bad sign for a struggling closer.

Well, Lidge came out last night and dominated pinch-hitter Matsui and then Jeter. Then Damon battled him and finally broke him for a single to left. Lidge got two strikes on Damon early and then the catcher looked like he dropped a potential foul-tip third strike. That was all the Yankees needed. Lidge beaned Teixiera, A-Rod followed with a tie-breaking double and Posada cleared the bases. Game over. (Rivera pitched a perfect ninth-also true to form.)

So, I guess my point is that everyone played true to form yesterday and with the brisk weather and the colorful falling leaves, it was a stereotypically great autumn day. And stereotypes, because of their familiarity, can sometimes be comforting.

Cheers.

Ralph

AJ. Burnett vs. Squidward

2009-10-30T10:26:00.003-04:00

I don't know about anybody else, but Yankees' pitcher A.J. Burnett constantly reminds me of SpongeBob character Squidward. Regardless, Burnett pitched a great game yesterday.

Cheers.

Ralph

Yankees -A Team for the Aged

2009-10-28T12:15:00.003-04:00

I know there is a lot of talk that if the Yankees spend $200 million salaries they ought to win the World Series. I'm not so sure this is the case. I mean we spent $200 million last year and didn't even make the playoffs. In fact, I'm fairly certain we've led the league in salary quite a few years since we last won the World Series in 2000. And despite our high salaries and line-up of big names, it's worth noting that quite a few of the guys we rely on should theoretically be past their prime. Here's an article by Joe Posanski, with input from stats guru Bill James, that details how great ballplayers typically start to decline at age 33.

Five of the Yankees starting nine have crossed that threshold, as well as two of our main pitchers. Jeter is 35, Posada is 37, Matsui is 35, Damon is 35, and A-Rod is 33. In addition, Pettitte is 37 and Rivera is 39 (ages according to baseball-reference.com). And not only are all these guys playing for the Yanks, they all had great years, many of them coming back from down seasons in 2008. I can't explain it (especially now that they are testing for steroids), but this has truly been almost a magical year for the Yankees.

Yes, we signed three of the top free agents on the market in Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixiera to complement these guys, but the fact that this over-the-hill gang all had these great comeback seasons at the same time is kind of amazing. I mean the Red Sox' Jason Veritek, who is the same age as Posada (and in many ways his rival), hit .200, can't throw anyone out and is considered washed up. Posada hit .285 with 22 homers and 25 doubles and played a respectable, if not great, catcher. Jeter hit .335 with decent power as an everyday shortstop, while his main rivals of days-gone-by, A-Rod and Nomar, are both incapable of even playing SS, even though A-Rod can still hit. And Rivera, well, I was watching him in the playoffs and become convinced he's not even human. How many closers have come and gone during his more than a decade of dominance? Closers aren't supposed to remain dominant for 10-plus years and his level of dominance, especially in the playoffs, is almost ridiculous.

I guess my point is that this is a special year for the Yankees, no matter how much money they make, because this team could easily have blown up and faltered because of its age, and age has to catch up with these guys sometime, maybe next year, doesn't it? So, as a Yankees fan, I'm enjoying it while I can, because when/if we have $100 million worth of salaries on the DL next year and are struggling to play .500 ball, these memories are going to be sweet.

The Great Defender,

Ralph

Egg McMuffins

2009-10-27T10:06:00.002-04:00

They're 2 for $3 at Micky D's right now and they still don't taste too bad after all these years...

Clippers' jinx continues

2009-10-27T09:23:00.003-04:00

Can there be any question that the L.A. Clippers are cursed? I've been a fan since I saw Bob McAdoo lead the NBA in scoring for the Buffalo Braves back in 1974 (I was seven.). The team has since relocated to San Diego, then L.A. - and after making a number of dumb trades while in Buffalo - sending away the likes McAdoo, Moses Malone, and Adrian Dantley, it has been beset by injuries since moving out to the west coast. Signing the already injured Bill Walton in the late '70s started this trend. The most memorable injuries for me were Ron Harper's blowing-out his knee after we stole him from the Cavs for Danny Ferry, and Danny Manning's blown out knee shortly after he proved he was the best college player in the nation by single-handedly leading Kansas to the national championship and we made him the number one pick in the draft. Now, we receive news that this year's top pick, All-American power forward Blake Griffin broke his kneecap in our last preseason game.... When will it end?

Winning Ugly

2009-10-26T10:53:00.003-04:00

There's something to be said for it, I guess. The Bills pulled off their second ugly win in a row, after a few ugly losses to move to 3-4. They were outgained like 3-to-1, but managed a couple big plays and three interceptions. The Bills, under Jauron, have a history of pulling out ugly wins, so maybe that's just his coaching style. Eventually, bad football usually catches up to us, but maybe - and I always say this before getting disappointed - we can keep this up.... Bills' game, of course, was quite a contrast to the great Steelers-Vikes game that preceded it here on local TV.

As for the Yankees, last night's game was a real stress-test and the Yankees, as has been their wont over history, outlasted the Angels. There has been a lot of talk about how good the young Yankees bullpen was during the regular season, but I really didn't expect it to hold up in postseason- and for the most part it hasn't. It was interesting that Girardi went with the more-tested Joba Chamberlain to get some key seventh inning outs last night and then bypassed Phil Hughes entirely. When it came down to it, it was Pettite and Rivera who did the pitching last night and Damon and A-Rod who were the big hitters. Jeter had a really bad game, but not quite as bad as the Angels, who completely fell apart in the eighth inning trying to make plays on bunts.

Phils-Yanks should be fun.

Ralph

More Bills Fan Hijinks

2009-10-13T17:53:00.002-04:00

So, I was listening to the pre-game for Bills-Browns 6-3 thriller on Sunday, and I heard an spot encouraging people to stop by the radio station's tailgate party to check out this wood-carved statue of Thurman Thomas. I thought that was a pretty cool idea. Well, check out what happened to said statue, during or after the game.... only in Buffalo. We can't win football games, but one of our fans apparently figured out how to steal a 1,000-pound wood carving. Go figure.

Ralph

Weekend Sports-Yanks and Bills

2009-10-12T09:40:00.003-04:00

If everyone hasn't noticed, A-Rod had a huge clutch series in leading the Yankees over the Twins in a three-game sweep. Yanks now advance to the A.L. Championship series vs. the Angels. In the past, A-Rod has been a notorious choke in the playoffs for the Yanks, but against the Twins he was fantastic, twice tying games in the late innings with home runs. Was it the steroid admission, the hip injury, or Kate Hudson (over Madonna) that turned him around? Either way, it's always interesting to see how somebody responds to adversity.

As for the Bills, 2-14 looks like a pipe dream right now. Do you realize the Browns quarterback went 2-for-17, and his team still won? You know people complain that the lack of a salary cap makes MLB unfair, well, the NFL salary cap certainly hasn't helped the Bills, who are rapidly turning into the Pirates of the NFL....

Ralph

Cole Hammels

2009-10-09T15:38:00.003-04:00

One more politically incorrect post, as long as I've gone there.... and I heard some radio talk show guys address this earlier, so I feel my path has been cleared as well....

Cole Hammels pitched poorly for the Phils yesterday and then left to see his wife have their baby, as she was apparently in labor. Was he distracted by this? Perhaps, but the fact that the game announcers made such a big deal about excusing him if he was seemed a bit outrageous. Chris Berman and Rick Sutcliffe actually said there was no comparison between your wife's having a baby and pitching in a major league playoff game...Really? My wife and I have had three babies and while they were all amazing experiences, I don't know that I wouldn't have been willing to miss one of the births in order to pitch in a major league playoff game. I think that might be quite an amazing experience as well. (Sutcliffe has actually pitched in the playoffs and I'd like to question him further onthis over a beer.) And, it's not like you're not going to see the kid a million, kajillion times for the rest of his or her life. Yeah, the birth is great, but so are first steps, first words, every birthday party, every kiss, every dance recital, every little league game, even helping them with their homework.

The radio talk show guys suggested that Hammels should have maybe just done the '50s thing - sucked it up and handed out cigars after the game. I don't know, I thought that was an interesting perspective....

Libertarians Comment on Obama's Nobel Prize

2009-10-09T15:29:00.003-04:00

I've been getting these press releases for awhile for some reason - I honestly don't know where they came up with my name. But this one is a classic (see my commentary at end, if you wish):

Libertarians suggest Nobel announcements should be moved to April Fool's Day

WASHINGTON - The Libertarian Party today suggested that, in the future, the announcement date every year for Nobel Prizes be moved to April 1.

"Unlike the gullible people who listened to The War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938 and thought Martians really were attacking the United States, when I heard this morning that Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, I changed the channel in disbelief. But, the same thing was being said in multiple places," Libertarian National Committee Chairman William Redpath said.

"The gravity of the Nobel awards has not been augmented by some of their recent selections, including today's announcement, last year's award of the Economics prize to Paul Krugman, or the 2007 Peace Prize to Al Gore, whose global warming theories he will not defend in open debate. Maybe an early Springtime announcement date would be more appropriate."

Redpath continued, "I didn't know that it was the role of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee to be handicapping the future performance of individuals and organizations. Nonetheless, we congratulate President Obama on his award and hope that three-and-a-quarter or seven-and-a-quarter years from now the Nobel Peace Prize Committee will be seen as prescient.

"President Obama will best fulfill the promise of peace that the Nobel Committee apparently sees in him by not trying to cure all the ills of the world, but by working to make the United States an example for the other nations of the world through implementation of a Libertarian foreign policy--military non-interventionism combined with free trade policies in fact, and not just in rhetoric. With those guiding principles, the world will be a freer, safer and more prosperous planet at the conclusion of the Obama Administration."

End Press Release

So, I was kind of glad to hear someone blast this selection, because now I don't feel so bad about knocking it. Perhaps I'm just another rapidly-becoming-disillusioned Obama-ite, but what exactly has the guy done to promote peace? I mean, we're still fighting in Iraq, aren't we? And all I hear about Afghanistan is that it's his war and that we're considering a troop increase. I don't understand. Does the fact that he hasn't started any new wars qualify Obama for this?

Anyhow, I know he has a lot of work to do, and he can't solve everything overnight, and I don't expect him to. However, someone apparently deemed it appropriate to give Obama this award. For what? Maybe I should read the selection details but on the surface, I just don't get it.

Best

Ralph

Trade T.O. to the Cowboys

2009-10-09T12:52:00.002-04:00

Wouldn't it be nice if we could pull that off? Based on what I've seen of the 'Boys over the first few weeks of the season, they might really need ole' T.O. And the Bills, well, until their quarterback gets some time and a better arm, I think they're going to struggle to throw the ball to anyone - so what's the point of keeping T.O. around? The guys gets paid to catch passes, and I'm not saying it's all his fault, but he ain't catching many in Buffalo. Of course, the 'Boys burned some high draft picks to get T.O.'s alleged replacement, Roy Williams, from the Lions, so I'm not sure what they have to offer, but at this point, I'd take Wade Philips and maybe a run stopping linebacker or something...

Cheers.

Twins carry forward the spirit of the game

2009-10-07T08:56:00.003-04:00

Yes, I'm a Yankees fan, and I'll be cheering for the Bronx Bombers vs. the underdogs from Minnesota tonight, but I'll admit that the Twins win over the Tigers last night brought to the surface a lot of the good that is inherent in professional baseball. First off, you had a great, back-and-forth 12-inning game. The game was kind of a microcosm of the Tigers' season - representative of the poetry baseball. Like they did in the regular season, the Tigers jumped out to an early lead, but couldn't close the deal. Twice, late in the game, they had runners on third with less than two outs and couldn't get them home. The Twins kept scrappin' and managed to overcome the boys from Detroit on a couple of hits by .220 hitters in the bottom of 12th.

The Twins getting into the playoffs also gets a small market/lower payroll team into the postseason this year, something which was in danger of not happening for the first time in recent memory. At least now, I can point to the Twins when Indians and Pirates fans bemoan the state of the game and the dominance of the big payroll teams like the Yankees. Thanks Twins!.

Seriously, I almost feel bad cheering against the Twins tonight as they face the Yankees' $160 million hired gun C.C. Sabathia - stolen from the Indians (via the Brewers - both small market teams) of course. But, the Yankees are in my blood. I've been a fan since about 1973 - back when a catcher named Thurman Munson was my favorite player. I will say I balance it out with my Bills' fandom, something else which I can't drop, no matter how bad they get! So, here's my dilemma - I've to one team that's too good and another that's too bad. Together they make a nice balance - and it's probably best I keep away from hockey and basketball as not to upset the cart.

Anyhow, enjoy the playoff baseball if you can.

Cheers.

Bills Struggles

2009-10-05T11:14:00.003-04:00

I'd say we are well on our way to that 2-14 season I've been predicting. Maybe, maybe, win number 2 will come this week against the Browns, but from what I've seen of the Bills (and admittedly I haven't seen much of the Browns, but do know they played the Bengals pretty good yesterday), I'll take the Browns and the points (are the Bills really giving six?, how bad are the Browns?) next Sunday.

Trent Edwards continued his Mr. Hyde play this week, after two weeks of looking something like Jeckyl. Perhaps it's just a case of defenses figuring out him and our "Pop Warner" offense. Oh well, I guess they'll strap on the pads next week and go at it again. A loss (especially a bad one) at home to the Browns could bring full-scale mutiny by the fans. Perhaps T.O. will lead it. Yes, this is the franchise that fired current Colts GM Bill Polian after he turned the Bills around from a 1-15 team and took them to two Super Bowls. And our owner earned Hall of Fame enshrinement. I guess Jerry Jones, who drove Jimmie Johnson out of Dallas, will make the H.O.F. one day too.

cheers.

Ralph

Bills show true colors

2009-09-28T09:56:00.002-04:00

A dreadful performance on Sunday. Actually, the defense was pretty solid for most of the game, but the offense was as bad as I had expected pre-season. Who knows why they were successful the first couple games? I'm afeared that what we saw Sunday was closer to the real thing...

Anyhow, in case you missed it, here's a quote from Sports Guy Bill Simmons' column last Friday: "Meanwhile, if you're thinking about taking Buffalo in an upset, check out this e-mail from Nick in Rochester: 'Being a Bills fan is like sending your girlfriend off to be a roommate on "Real World." Before the season starts you have this foolish hope that she won't let you down. However, in the depths of your being, you know that a few weeks from now, you will be sitting on your couch, watching your beloved fumble away her clothes, getting touchdown after touchdown scored on her.'

At least the Yankees clinched the division on Sunday...

Great Lakes Film Fest-early review

2009-09-24T23:22:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to say, I really like what they've done with the Great Lakes Film Festival this year. It's something I've wanted to check out for several years, but have either been out of town, or had family obligations - but now, they've set it up so it fits perfectly with my vision of IPTV. I don't know if I wrote about it yet, but a few months ago, I picked up a combination S-video/sound cable that I can plug into my PC on one end and flatscreen TV on the other. And my flatscreen is hooked into my stereo for better sound.

So, tonight, thanks to the film fest being moved to a streaming video format online, for $1 apiece I was able to watch a couple of solid indy flicks on my home theatre. Good stuff.. One problem though. The first movie I watched, The Twenty, only had about the first 20 minutes loaded and then it ended and reset to the beginning. It was supposed to be a 90-minute movie, so I was kind of left hanging. I sent the Festival an e-mail and hope they get it fixed, because it was pretty interesting and I wanted to see the end.

However, this abrupt conclusion (and if I don't see the end, I only lost a buck and 20 minutes of my life) did motivate me to find one more short flick to watch before turning in. My choice was a "narrative short" entitled, "The Big Fat Lazy Sun." Let me tell you, if you have 15 minutes, a dollar to spare, and a decent sound hook-up on your computer, check it out. Kind of reminded me of Pulp Fiction. Solid stuff.

There's at least one more, a documentary about blind baseball fans, that I want to check out tomorrow.

The on-line festival only runs until Sunday and there's like 30 or more flicks up there - all available to watch online for $1.

Cheers..

Ralph

Dostoevsky on lying

2009-09-24T08:36:00.002-04:00

From Crime and Punishment (a psychological thriller): "Because you know what irks me most about it? Not that they're lying; lying can always be forgiven; lying is a fine thing, because it always leads to the truth. No, what irks me is that they lie and then worship their own lies." - Razumikhin (the archetypal hero of the story) discussing the tactics of the Petersburg police.

MLB Update

2009-09-23T09:45:00.006-04:00

If you haven't followed the 2009 Major League Baseball season to date, here's an informative and well-written article that will get you up to speed. No, it's not a playoff preview, because believe it or not, we are still a couple weeks away from the playoffs. It's pretty much a lament over the lack of exciting pennant races and the fact the the Twins and Tigers are the only two teams with meaningful regular season games left....

Speaking of which, I traveled to Pittsburgh to see the Buccos play Monday night, as I had some free tickets I had to use up, and was treated to a four-hour marathon of what the Pirates post-game analyst called "the worst game of the season." Now, I somewhat took exception to that, as the Pirates did rally from a four-run deficit in the final two innings, only to give up five in the top of the 11th and lose. I'll admit that there were some baserunning and fielding gaffes by both teams - the Pirates were playing the Padres - but I guess after watching little league ball all season, I thought the Pirates were quite impressive...

And yes, it was a beautiful night at PNC Park. We sat behind home plate and were looking out over the wall at the river and the city skyline. And, I got a Primanti's sandwich and a Penn Pilsner, so it wasn't all bad...

Also, if you're wondering what Jerome Bettis is up to, check out this wonderful column of his on the NFL. Go Bus!

Cheers.

Ralph

Celebration of football

2009-09-21T09:02:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, was a great day for football - well, maybe not for all Browns and Stillers fans, but it rocked for me. First off, my son's 5-6th grade team won its first game, and he finally got some playing time - as he's on second team, and he had a blast. So that was cool, and the weather was great, so we came home and watched the Bills game on the TV outdoors - with the over-the-air HD feed. Grilled some brawts, had the neighbors and friends over and celebrated T.O.' first TD as a Bill and the first Bills' win of the year. (Skip to about the last 15 seconds to see T.O.'scatch. He dropped a perfectly thrown bomb earlier in the game [you can see that on the link too if you like], but when he made the catch for the TD, you could see why we signed the guy. Yeah, it was a nice catch for the TD, but, even better, the place went nuts and he played it up beautifully. The guy is electric.) Two games into the season, it's definitely been a fun one. We got the Saints at home next week.

Cheers.

Ralph

Leodis McKelvin Rocks

2009-09-18T09:42:00.002-04:00

First off, I thought it was really cool that this second-year pro from the south actually owned a home in the Buffalo area - but then his reaction here to the kids who vandalized his lawn following his game-blowing fumble the other night is great. He actually seems to have thought it was kind of funny. Go Leodis.

Ralph

Baseball season continues...

2009-09-17T09:15:00.003-04:00

I don't think anyone around here notices, what with the Pirates suffering their 15th losing season in a row or something, the Indians season in the dumps, and the Seawolves long since done...but they are still playing baseball in other parts of the country. Being a Yankees fan and a proponent of the Giardi hiring last year, this has been a great year for me. I thought we might be one year off from making a big run, but Sabathia, Teixeira, and even Swisher have integrated themselves into the team faster than I would have thought - and with big comeback years from some of the old guys - Posada, Jeter, and Matsui, we've got the best record in baseball. Go Yanks!

Anyhow, last night the Yanks pull off another stirring comeback win. For some reason, I have just started being able to get WCBS - AM 880 on my radio (I know, an archaic way to catch a game, but baseball is kind of archaic anyhow) and tuned back in in the bottom of the eighth just in time to hear John Sterling's great call - "There's a drive to deep right center, it is high, it is long, it is gone...an thrilla' for Godzilla!" as Mastsui hits a two-run homer to tie the game in the eighth. The 39-year old Rivera comes on and does his job in the top of the ninth and then Brett Gardner, this kid the Yanks have been using part-time in center field the last two years, singles, steals second, goes to third on a grounder by Jeter and scores on a single by our rookie catcher. Great win.

Even better, the Red Sox pulled off a topsy turvy back-and-forth win over the Angels. For some reason it looks like were headed for another Yankees-Red Sox showdown in the ACLS. I know that will make a lot of people sick, but I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Ralph

WSJ Article on GE Transportation

2009-09-16T12:52:00.003-04:00

I guess anyone who read this article a few weeks back wasn't too surprised by yesterday's news. The locomotive market is apparently pretty weak right now, but similar to what was said in the Erie paper today, there is some hope for a few years out.

The Art of Losing

2009-09-14T22:17:00.003-04:00

If losing is an art form, the Bills can certainly make their claim to being Michaelangelo. (Perhaps the Bengals are De Vinci after their horrific last second debacle on Sunday, but Bills' loss tonight was equally bad. I think in Bill Simmons' meter, it's called a stomach punch game.) I mean we were winning all night- a game nobody thought we could win - and we blew it with an incredibly bonehead play at the end. When the announcer tisks as the kick-off returner decides to bring the ball out of the end zone late in the fourth quarter while you're protecting a lead - and then the return man promptly fumbles and sets up one of the NFL's all-time clutch quarterbacks 30 yards from the winning score - I mean, the pain! Would it have been better to have been blown out?

So, let's rank this one in the pantheon of heartbreaking Bills losses:
1. Loss to the Giants in the 1991 Super Bowl - that kind of set the tone for all the misery that has followed.
2. The Music City Miracle - That was the last time the Bills were in the playoffs
3. That Cowboys loss on Monday night two years ago - I was at the Mannechor watching the Yankees get eliminated by the Indians in the playoffs on the other screen.
4. Tonight's fiasco.
5. The Browns loss at home last year - especially significant to me because of where I live.

Alright, the fifth one might not be included as one of the toughest losses of all-time for any team, but the other four certainly are. In each instance, twice on Monday Night and twice in the playoffs, the Bills managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in front of a national audience. What have we done to deserve this? (and this gets me back to my question about why am I a fan - I like that explanation about the rituals of fall). I feel like we are cursed by some sort of Greek god, like perhaps we harmed or insulted one of Zeus' children at some point and he has damned our team to public failure. Right now, I feel like Raskolnikov in the beginning of Crime and Punishment when he is wondering around St. Petersburg in a half-coherent, feverish state. I keep telling myself I don't care about this stuff, but then the season starts, and I realize my hopes get irrationally up for some glory for the Blue and Red. Then, they even tease me by taking the hated Patriots to the brink, only to blow it and practically hand the Patriots the game on a sliver platter. Woe is me! Woe is the city of Buffalo, Western New York, and all the sorry-ass Pollack Bills fans all over the world. Say it ain't so Joe Ferguson, Cribbs, or whoever you are....

Ralph

Hope Springs Eternal - NFL Kick-Off

2009-09-14T11:32:00.002-04:00

Despite the fact that I've told everyone who's asked to take the Patriots and give the points (like 11 1/2) against the Bills tonight, I still find myself getting excited about watching the red-and-blue take on New England. There's at least some chance - maybe 1 in-a-thousand that we can win and probably a 1-in-100 chance of the Bills being competitive - but I'll take it. Why? I have no fuckin' idea. Why should I feel loyal to a bunch of football playing mercenaries carrying the banner of a team I have rooted for for 35 years. What's the attraction? Any ideas? (I need help.)

Thanks.

Ralph

The Iliad as spoken art

2009-09-02T14:03:00.000-04:00

Don't know where this guy is, but he'd be fun to hire for a party.

Great Headline

2009-09-02T12:17:00.002-04:00

Remember the late 1990s? This is an article from Inc. Magazine in 1998 that features one of my favorite business-related headlines. (What made it extra humorous at the time is that the company I was with actually worked with the guys featured in the lead paragraphs. [I don't mean the heart attack was funny, but just the coincidence...]).

Cheers.

Hilton Head-Fresh Fish

2009-08-17T09:31:00.002-04:00

Met this guy yesterday - what a treat.

Bronson Arroyo- outspoken pitcher

2009-08-13T13:09:00.003-04:00

Yes, it's still baseball season - even if most NW PA people are more excited that football is just around the corner. Let's not forget the pennant races (actually "divisional and wild card races" is more correct these days. My Yankees are red hot, which is nice, although the thinness of the pitching staff may be starting to catch up with them.

One of the rumored guys that they were going to pick up, but haven't yet (maybe he'll clear waivers) is Bronson Arroyo of the Reds. I have a friend who is a Bosox fan and rues the day they traded his favorite player to the Reds for the forgettable Wily Mo Pena. I never really understood his attraction to Arroyo who is a bit of a flake, but a decent-to-good pitcher nonetheless. However, today I read this great interview with the guy. He really tells it like is regarding performance enhancers. Go Bronson. You've earned a fan of this former sportwriter who knows how hard it is to get athletes to say interesting shit.

Ralph

Hotel View

2009-08-11T13:00:00.003-04:00

I can't stress how nice it is to have a great view when you are working out of your hotel room. Above is pretty much the view (it's a picture I copied from someone else's Web site) I have today at the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago. If you want to see what it looks like at night (and higher res), try this link and go to the last of the "exterior" shots. Anyhow, it's awesome to be able to look up and see that shit every couple minutes.

New Post

2009-07-24T16:43:00.001-04:00

What do you know, I'm still out here and still alive. Have had a lot going on and not able to focus on posting. Having a nice summer, but like everyone else, this sucky weather is kind of bringin' me down. Hope all is well with you.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

2009-07-13T15:15:00.001-04:00

Really looking forward to the 8 Great Tuesdays show tomorrow at the Liberty Park Amphatheater.

Yankees pitching

2009-07-08T11:01:00.003-04:00

It's fascinating the way teams manage pitchers and pitch counts these days. Imagine this type of thinking 20 or even 10 years ago, where the Yankees are concerned about moving former starters who have been working out of the bullpen recently, back into the rotation, because their arms can't get "stretched out" enough to throw more than 50-65 pitches. I'm reading Joe Torre's book about his Yankee years and one of the early stories is how David Cone threw like 150 pitches in his last start of 1995 (in the playoffs vs. the Mariners) and suffered from an aneurysm at the start of the next year.

I'm hugely in favor of this type of micro-management of younger pitchers, but agree with Nolan Ryan's theory as well, that pitch counts need to be increased and/or even eliminated as pitchers mature. Of course, the Yankees, because of their vast resources, can afford to be careful, as they can always afford to bring in more decent players to cover for pitchers that need to be pulled because of pitch counts.

I've been cringing when I hear that the Washington Nationals want to bring up their recent top draft pick, Stephen Strasburg, to the majors this year if possible, pretty much to try and drum up some more fan interest in the team. Wasn't this what the Texas Rangers did with David Clyde all those years ago? I was just a kid back then, but I remember one of my buddies being all excited when the Indians traded for Clyde. Unfortunately, he was pretty much washed up by then and out of the majors by the age of 25.

Anyhow, I applaud the Yankees micro-management of their pitchers and hope it leads to long and productive careers for the likes of Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes.

Ralph

GE Stock

2009-07-08T10:24:00.002-04:00

Interesting article on why GE's stock has taken such a beating in the last year.

Tiger Grinding

2009-06-22T10:53:00.002-04:00

I love to watch Tiger Woods golf... and I've probably said this before, because he never quits. I think he was down more than 10 strokes in this year's U.S. Open, and instead of mailing it in, he just keeps grinding - trying to make shots. He just made a birdie to go to one under on like the 14th - putting himself under part (at 1 under) for the first time in the tourney. He's still four off the lead with a handful of holes to play, but he gave it a big fist pump, like he had just taken the lead. He's clearly not giving up - which is why he gives people their money's worth, which is why we love him. Go Tigger!

Bills Marketing

2009-06-09T09:40:00.002-04:00

As a Bills fan, I get a ton of questions about what I think of the T.O. signing. As a football move, it's probably not a bad one, as the Bills are only committed to one year. As a marketing move, it looks like it's turning out to be ingenious. Apparently, despite the bad economy and a team that hasn't made the playoffs in almost 10 years, season ticket sales are going great.

It's worth noting here that the Bills GM, Russ Brandon, has a marketing and P.R. background. And last year, despite a pretty lousy team that didn't even have T.O. )and slapped the fans in the face by playing a game in Toronto), the Bills sold their second most season tickets ever! Now, everywhere I go it's T.O., what do you think of T.O. - even though we completely overhauled our offensive line (which was somewhat offensive last year) and not in a good way, all everyone wants to talk about is T.O. So, from a football standpoint, the team may still suck, but if they're selling tickets, more power to them I guess, because that's really the name of the game. It's "professional" football after all, as a GM of an entity that is designed to make money, Brandon seems to be doing a great job.

NBA Finals

2009-06-08T10:14:00.001-04:00

Have been great in HD- with the tremendous turquoise of the Magic and yellow and purple of the Lakers. Magic play some pretty entertaining ball too. Not the mention that Pau Gasol reminds me of the caveman on the Geico commercials. Go gekos.

Finally getting back up to speed after what seems to be my annual spring bout with colitis.

Cheers.

Ralph

Buzz-TV

2009-05-18T10:40:00.002-04:00

How exactly did this guy get his nickname?

Cringely on IPTV

2009-05-15T11:54:00.002-04:00

Great Cringely column on where the medium we currently know as television is heading...

Chauncey Billups

2009-05-11T13:37:00.003-04:00

If you haven't noticed, with all the hype Cleveland and Lebron have been getting around here, the Denver Nuggets have been playing really good basketball. Carmelo Anthony, he of the Syracuse fame- where as a freshman he led the Orange through the NCAA championships -- hit a fairly controversial three-pointer the other night to give the Nuggets a 3-0 lead over the Mavericks in their Western Conf. semi-finals. Apparently, the Mavs had a foul to give and tried like heck to grab Anthony before he shot, but the refs would have none of it. Maverick (pun intended) owner Mark Cuban even stormed onto the court to argue after 'Melo's shot went down. The Nuggets are just one game away from the Western finals, while the Lakers are in a battle, tied 2-2 with the Rockets. The Rockets killed them last night even though Yao is now out for the playoffs with a broken foot - and Tracy McGrady, he's been out for months.

Anyhow, don't be surprised to see 'Melo duplicate his college feat and lead the Nuggets to a surprise NBA championship. I know Lebron is great and all, and Mo Williams has been a great pick-up for the Cavs, but the Chauncey Billups trade (for Alan Iverson) has been even bigger for the Nuggets. Check out this great story on Chauncy if you get a chance. It will give you some idea of what the Lakers and Cavs could be up against.

Cheers.
Ralph

ERE Tire Plant: Alternative viewpoint

2009-05-04T15:15:00.002-04:00

It was nice to hear from someone aside from K.E.E.P. for a change regarding this tires-to-energy plant or whatever you want to call it. In today's ETN, Victor E. Gatto, owner and COO Erie Renewable Energy (ERE), the firm proposing to build this thing at the old Hammermill site, writes an editorial defending the safety of the plant - as it relates to pollution. In my view, these guys have been inept at public relations from the start, but at least this is a well-written, easy to read article that makes some good points. I'm not going to get into all of them, but it quantifies some of the pollution this thing will emit - and makes it sound like a pretty small amount. It also provides a reference of an energy plant near Bethlehem, which is apparently turning tires into energy. Of course, it doesn't get into too many details about how similar this plant is to the proposed Erie plant, or how many tires are being gassified per day vs. plans for Erie, etc...

And that's indicative of the shortcomings of this article (although I will say again, it is better than anything else I've seen come out of ER, so far.) It's written by the guy planning to build the plant, so it's very one-sided. That said, the stuff coming out of the Green Party people at K.E.E.P. has been fairly one-sided as well. So, I guess this is the ETN's version of fair and balanced reporting.

Anyhow, typical of the way ERE handles things, they've contracted some guy to do an air pollution study - obviously, there were paying him - and what do you know? He found no problems and minimal impact on the environment. Well, no duh. Granted, he may very well be a valid source, but when presented as such, by the owner of the company that wants to build the plant - well, it just doesn't appear to hold water.

The bottom line is that I would like more information on this whole thing, before it is decided if it's built or not. Honestly, everything coming out of the people against it seems like radical hippie, off the cuff, blathering, while that stuff in favor is all coming from the company that wants to build the plant. Can we get a truly independent researcher in here?

Yankees update

2009-04-30T10:06:00.003-04:00

I know everybody hates the Yankees, so it's probably pointless to write any of this, but:

1) The Yankees starting pitching is starting to come around to where it needs to be: Last night Joba Chamberlain threw 7 strong innings, and the night before Phil Hughes threw six two-hit innings. These are two of the young guns that were supposed to carry the Yanks last year, but weren't quite ready. When you add their potential contributions to the already demonstrated capabilities of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett (who were both signed in the offseason), and returning aces Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte, you start to come up with a staff that can approach Boston's and Tampa Bay's. The last time the Yankees won the World Series was 2000, and their starting staff included Pettitte, Clemens, El Duque, and David Cone. Strong starters are key to winning in the playoffs, and since 2002, the last time the Yanks made it to the Series, they just haven't had dominant starting pitching. I'm not saying we're there yet, but in another year....

2) Speaking of another year, Joe Girardi is still developing as a manager: Last night he panicked and brought in Mariano Rivera with a five-run lead in the ninth and two runners on base. Granted, the previous guy was getting shellacked, but Rick Sutcliffe, a former ace pitcher, who was commentating on the TV, said, to him, it didn't look like Rivera was ready. Curtis Granderson promptly took him deep to make the score 8-6, before Rivera got a pop up to end the game. The Yankees started the inning with an 8-2 lead, and there is no way, in my opinion, that Rivera should have even warmed up. He's old and needs his rest. Despite having been named Manager of the Year in his one season at Florida before being hired by the Yankees, Girardi has never led a team to the playoffs and stills needs to learn a little bit of patience. That said, I think he's doing a good job and will turn the Yankees around if given enough time - meaning next year is their year.

3) A-Rod continues to be a sideshow/circus, but we miss his bat: Selena Roberts' book about him apparently says he's been juicing since high school and continued to juice after joining the Yankees. This would explain the serious hip injury he suffered after MLB starting testing for that stuff. That said, if he can come back and be effective, it sure will help Mark Teixeira, the Yanks $20 million per year first baseman, who is hitting like .197. All I've seen him do is walk. Apparently, pitchers would rather face Matsui, or Posada, or even Nick Swisher (who is actually red hot), who have all been batting behind Teixeria in the clean-up spot unti A-Rod gets back.

Cheers.
Ralph

Dontrelle Willis

2009-04-28T11:18:00.001-04:00

I had the opportunity to watch ex-Tiger pitch in Erie on Sunday. Willis was the 2003 National League Rookie of the year with Florida after winning eight of his first nine starts. He tailed off a bit toward the end of the year, but bounced back with some effective outings in the World Series against the Yankees (as a Yankee fan, I always take special note of great lefties). At 21, Willis was an integral piece of a world champion.

He also has a tremendously high, stylish leg kick that he says he copied from the Yankees great Cuban refugee Orlando, "El Duque" Hernandez. This style, his seemingly gregarious personality and reported friendship with the tennis-playing Williams sisters made him a minor celebrity. When he won 22 games in this third season, Willis was seemingly on top of the world. Of course, peaks can be steep, and Willis was apparently precariously balanced on his.

Personally, I always questioned the fact that he based his pitching motion on something that "looked cool" rather than going with a more utilitarian approach. So, it didn't completely surprise me that Willis' performance started to decline over the next two years with Florida. In 2007, his ERA with Florida was over 5.00, although he did lead the league in starts with 35.

The Tigers thought enough of Willis to trade for him prior to the 2008 season and sign him to a $29 million contract extension over three years. Then things got really bad. In eight games last year, Willis' ERA was 9.38. That means he was giving up more than a run per inning. This was contributed to by Willis' walking 35 batters in 24 innings. To give you an idea of how bad that is, in his big year in 2005, Willis walked only 55 batters in 236 innings.

Willis spent the second half of the last year trying to fix things and in March, the Tigers diagnosed him with some sort of anxiety disorder and have been trying to get him back up to speed. Part of Willis' rehabilitation program involves starting some minor league games, and Sunday was his chance to throw in Erie, vs the Harrisburg Senators. Mind you, the Senators (a farm club of the lowly Nationals, I believe) had lost eight in a row coming in, so Willis wasn't exactly facing the 2004 Red Sox.

I took my son to the game, as he was all stoked to see this ex-MLBer, and while we were standing in line for tickets, he noted that the $10 box seat ticket prices listed on the board seemed expensive. The guy in front of us turned around and said you'd pay 30-40 bucks for major league box seats--at least that 's what he paid to see Willis pitch for the Marlins.

We got two reserved tickets, second-deck, first-base side, for six bucks. (I had a coupon, which are very easy to come by.) For that price, I really felt like I was stealing. Of course, the $10 I spent for a beer, hot dog, and pop lunch added a little to our tab, but still... and we were sitting closer to Willis than you could ever get in a major league park without dropping at least $100.

Willis is a lefty, so our seats gave us prime viewing of his motion. He still has his high leg kick, but he really wasn't throwing that hard. I don't think he topped 90 on the stadium radar. After the game, the Seawolves' manager said he wasn't getting much bite on his breaking ball pitches either.

The results were kind of mixed. Yes, he had a perfect game through four innings, but there were several hard hit balls, including at least three line drives that just happened to be hit right at outfielders and one bouncer back through the middle (to open the game) that Willis made a great play on. Finally, the guy leading off the fifth put a line drive over the fence, and then I think a couple more doubles fell in from there. Willis' last two innings were not that impressive and he left to a mild ovation by the Erie fans, as he made his way back to the club house.

According to Ron Leonardi's story in the ETN, he didn't stick around for post game interviews, so we don't know how Willis felt about his outing. The current news is that he will make his next start Friday at Triple A Toledo (a step up from Erie). It's my estimation that if he doesn't pitch better than he did in Erie, he's not going to be successful again in the major leagues. However, he always was a fairly good hitter, so maybe he can pull a Rick Ankiel and make it back to the majors as an outfielder.

Cheers.

Ralph

Whippy Dip

2009-04-28T09:41:00.003-04:00

Very unique place, I think. Something very Erie about it. One of those few places where you get a great cross-section of the city's population. It's on 26th and Chestnut, just west of St. Vincent's, so it's fairly accessible. And the ice cream and selection is killer.

Last night my son said, I don't know what to get. I asked him, "what do you want? chances are they have it." We ended up getting a blue raspberry freeze-floats - like a Mr. Misty with ice cream. You can't imagine how good this was after a two and a half hour little league game in 80 degree weather, with the sun shining in our dugout the whole time and the water spigots not yet turned on.

We ate our treats on a bench facing the Erie Cemetery and watched the steady flow of customers streaming in. You had everything from conservative just-past-middle-aged empty nesters out for a cone to fat chicks with belly piercings toting their brood, and about everything in between.

Everybody loves the Whippy Dip.