Well, we made it down to the Bills-'Stillers game in the 'Burg yesterday. It was a beautiful day for football, but as I heard someone in the crowd on the way out say, "What day isn't?" Anyhow, it about the low '60s and sunny and at about 10:30 a.m. I was standing by the grill, with a freshly charcoaled Bratworst in my hand, laid on top of a pepper stuffed with priscuto and parmesan, drinking a cold Labbat's -and well, I've been to some really nice restaurants in my time, but in my book, it just doesn't get much better than that.
Anyhow, it was a great day for football, but not for the Bills, as they got shellacked 23-3. Really, couldn't move the ball in the first half, couldn't really stop the Steelers from moving up and down the field all game, and then couldn't punch it in the end zone when they did move it in the second half. Things ended badly when our best player, Lee Evans, got two unsportsmanlike penalty calls on our last drive.
Dick Jauron, a Yale man, is our coach, and I've seen one of stars on his teams, a defensive lineman on Lions a couple years ago, have a similar meltdown. As an educated guy, I think Jauron is giving his players a bit too much credit and may be a bit lax with them, which is why you have these outbursts. Hopefully, it doesn't lead to the team losing respect for the coach, because we have a enough problems already. Jauron seemed to have some sort of conservative game plan, in which the Bills didn't take too many chances yesterday. You hope this is designed to build confidence, which will manifest itself later in the season, as the squad gradually improves and finally starts to win ballgames. But, if the team quits on the coach before this master plan can come to fruition, (as they say in New York) Forget about it!
What do I know about football, now that Tom Brady-to-Randy Moss looks like the hottest combo in the league?
At least the baseball was good yesterday, with Jeter hitting a game-winning home run on Curt Schilling in the eighth, and then Mariano Rivera holding on for dear life in the ninth and getting David Ortiz to pop out with the bases loaded and the Yankees up 4-3. Yankees are really making a push for the postseason, with the Tigers and Red Sox hangin' tough, however.
Cheers.
Ralph
Monday, September 17, 2007
More OJ
An audio tape of the recent OJ incident has now been released. You can hear OJ yelling and calling the guys in the hotel room "motherfuckers." OJ's a scary guy. You can hear it in his voice. I wouldn't want him to come busting into my hotel room, calling me a motherfucker. I'd be scared shitless.
Anyway, back to our OJ insanity discussion. He is either organically insane, which means he has some problems with his hard-wiring, or he's been conditioned by the people and circumstances around him to be anti-social. It's probably both. I know that he has faced adversity in his life, but so have lots of other people, and they don't make the terrible decisions that OJ makes.
Plus, despite his rough early years, OJ was treated like royalty for much of his professional life. Certainly at USC, with the Buffalo Bills, and then into into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, OJ has been treated like a god. He was also a movie star. But gods, if you look to Greek mythology, often behave in ways that are petulant and antisocial---because they can get away with it. Not a good situation for someone with latent schizoid or antisocial tendencies.
So, anyway, OJ would never even think of calling the local police and telling them, "I have reason to believe that there are men in a local hotel who are attempting to sell stolen merchandise that belongs to me. I want it back. Can you help?"
Instead, he takes matters into his own hands. He gets a few of his thug buddies and crashes the party. I mean, is that stupid or insane? I can't tell. If it can be proven that there were guns involved, OJ is in big trouble. Armed robbery is a felony. It doesn't matter if some of the memorabilia once belonged to OJ. That's for the courts to sort out. Any way you slice it, it is a serious crime to walk into a hotel room with an armed posse.
But OJ thinks he's above the law and he has good reason for that opinion. He got away with double homicide once, so he problably doesn't consider this latest escapade as any kind of offense at all, after all, nobody was killed. This makes him all the more dangerous.
He is in jail right now without bond (because, of course, he is a flight risk). I won't be surprised if local law enforcement doesn't use this recent incident as an excuse to lock him up for as long as they can. And Johnny Cochran is dead, isn't he?
OJ should have stayed out of Vegas and kept playing golf in Florida. That's what any sane person would do.
Any sane person would say, "Thank you, God, for letting me beat that double-murder rap. I'm going to lay low for the rest of my life, get laid, play golf and eat good food."
Instead, he felt the need to write a book called If I Did It (insane or stupid?) and go venturing for his sports memorabilia.
I wonder what his family history is like. That would tell us a lot about why he makes such terrible choices on such a regular basis.
DDDD
Anyway, back to our OJ insanity discussion. He is either organically insane, which means he has some problems with his hard-wiring, or he's been conditioned by the people and circumstances around him to be anti-social. It's probably both. I know that he has faced adversity in his life, but so have lots of other people, and they don't make the terrible decisions that OJ makes.
Plus, despite his rough early years, OJ was treated like royalty for much of his professional life. Certainly at USC, with the Buffalo Bills, and then into into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, OJ has been treated like a god. He was also a movie star. But gods, if you look to Greek mythology, often behave in ways that are petulant and antisocial---because they can get away with it. Not a good situation for someone with latent schizoid or antisocial tendencies.
So, anyway, OJ would never even think of calling the local police and telling them, "I have reason to believe that there are men in a local hotel who are attempting to sell stolen merchandise that belongs to me. I want it back. Can you help?"
Instead, he takes matters into his own hands. He gets a few of his thug buddies and crashes the party. I mean, is that stupid or insane? I can't tell. If it can be proven that there were guns involved, OJ is in big trouble. Armed robbery is a felony. It doesn't matter if some of the memorabilia once belonged to OJ. That's for the courts to sort out. Any way you slice it, it is a serious crime to walk into a hotel room with an armed posse.
But OJ thinks he's above the law and he has good reason for that opinion. He got away with double homicide once, so he problably doesn't consider this latest escapade as any kind of offense at all, after all, nobody was killed. This makes him all the more dangerous.
He is in jail right now without bond (because, of course, he is a flight risk). I won't be surprised if local law enforcement doesn't use this recent incident as an excuse to lock him up for as long as they can. And Johnny Cochran is dead, isn't he?
OJ should have stayed out of Vegas and kept playing golf in Florida. That's what any sane person would do.
Any sane person would say, "Thank you, God, for letting me beat that double-murder rap. I'm going to lay low for the rest of my life, get laid, play golf and eat good food."
Instead, he felt the need to write a book called If I Did It (insane or stupid?) and go venturing for his sports memorabilia.
I wonder what his family history is like. That would tell us a lot about why he makes such terrible choices on such a regular basis.
DDDD
Friday, September 14, 2007
Giambi (tries to) Throws Game
Mark my words. I have no proof of this, but Jason Giambi is quite possibly throwing the game tonight for the Yanks vs. the Sox. He has two critical errors, and after walking the first two times up, his third time up, with the bases loaded, the normally patient Giambi swings at three pitches and goes down on strikes. I know he just had some sort of secret meeting with George Mitchell a couple weeks go about his steroids use. I wonder if that has anything to do with it....
No shit, right after I wrote that last paragraph, the strangest turn of events ocurred. The Yankees are down 7-2 going into the top of the eighth, with, who else, but Giambi leading off. The announcer starts to say what a nice guy he is and how bad he must feel, and I'm thinking this is all B.S. and Giambi hits a home run. (Okay, so maybe he figured the game was out of reach and was trying to save face.) But then Cano hits a titanic home run. And then Cabrera walks, and Damon doubles... and so on, until the Yankees are suddenly winning 8-7. With A-Rod on second, the Yankees having a chance to extend their lead, Giambi comes up again and this time reverts to form and strikes out. He then gets pulled for a defensive replacement. All in all, still a curious turn of events. Still the Yankees might win, which means perhaps Mr. Giambi will turn up missing tomorrow.
Just some thoughts.
Cheers.
Ralph
No shit, right after I wrote that last paragraph, the strangest turn of events ocurred. The Yankees are down 7-2 going into the top of the eighth, with, who else, but Giambi leading off. The announcer starts to say what a nice guy he is and how bad he must feel, and I'm thinking this is all B.S. and Giambi hits a home run. (Okay, so maybe he figured the game was out of reach and was trying to save face.) But then Cano hits a titanic home run. And then Cabrera walks, and Damon doubles... and so on, until the Yankees are suddenly winning 8-7. With A-Rod on second, the Yankees having a chance to extend their lead, Giambi comes up again and this time reverts to form and strikes out. He then gets pulled for a defensive replacement. All in all, still a curious turn of events. Still the Yankees might win, which means perhaps Mr. Giambi will turn up missing tomorrow.
Just some thoughts.
Cheers.
Ralph
Kutztown University's New Professional Writing Blog
Ralph,
Next week, I'm going to make the announcement that the KU Professional Writing program has a new blog. It's at: http://kutztownprowriting.blogspot.com/ I am the moderator. Feel free to stop by and comment. I'm trying to get the Professional Writing students to dial-in. As a professional writer yourself, you might enjoy the discussion.
Independent Study student Brian Robinson is also making revisions to the Kutztown University Professional Writing Group Website. The blog will actually link directly into the website, once Brian is finished with the changes. Pretty cool.
One last point: I'm officially literate in HTML. I'm not a wizard by any means; however, I can edit a document and clean up junk in HTML. It's pretty cool to get that "coded" look into the world of software. Helps you understand how it really works.
DDDDD
Next week, I'm going to make the announcement that the KU Professional Writing program has a new blog. It's at: http://kutztownprowriting.blogspot.com/ I am the moderator. Feel free to stop by and comment. I'm trying to get the Professional Writing students to dial-in. As a professional writer yourself, you might enjoy the discussion.
Independent Study student Brian Robinson is also making revisions to the Kutztown University Professional Writing Group Website. The blog will actually link directly into the website, once Brian is finished with the changes. Pretty cool.
One last point: I'm officially literate in HTML. I'm not a wizard by any means; however, I can edit a document and clean up junk in HTML. It's pretty cool to get that "coded" look into the world of software. Helps you understand how it really works.
DDDDD
Justice Wears Many Clothes
The remainder of the article bout OJ was well-written. More AP:
"On Thursday, the Goldman family published a book about the killings that Simpson had written under the title, "If I Did It," about how he would have committed the crime had he actually done it. After a deal for Simpson to publish it fell through, a federal bankruptcy judge awarded the book's rights to the Goldman family, who retitled it "If I Did It: The Confessions of a Killer.""
I'm glad the Goldman Family are gaining some justice in all of this. They actually got to take over OJ's perspective on the matter, and tell it through his experience. Amazing. I'll bet the book does well. Maybe I should write a paper on this. It would all depend on whether or not I could see early drafts and compare them against final drafts. I guess it would all depend on what the family tells the publisher: confidential or not.
It would be a compelling comparison.
DDDD
"On Thursday, the Goldman family published a book about the killings that Simpson had written under the title, "If I Did It," about how he would have committed the crime had he actually done it. After a deal for Simpson to publish it fell through, a federal bankruptcy judge awarded the book's rights to the Goldman family, who retitled it "If I Did It: The Confessions of a Killer.""
I'm glad the Goldman Family are gaining some justice in all of this. They actually got to take over OJ's perspective on the matter, and tell it through his experience. Amazing. I'll bet the book does well. Maybe I should write a paper on this. It would all depend on whether or not I could see early drafts and compare them against final drafts. I guess it would all depend on what the family tells the publisher: confidential or not.
It would be a compelling comparison.
DDDD
OJ in Trouble Again
From the Associated Press on Friday, September 14, 2007:
"LAS VEGAS - Investigators questioned O.J. Simpson and named him a suspect Friday in a confrontation at a casino hotel room involving sports memorabilia, but the actor and former football star denied breaking into the room. "
Full Story
"LAS VEGAS - Investigators questioned O.J. Simpson and named him a suspect Friday in a confrontation at a casino hotel room involving sports memorabilia, but the actor and former football star denied breaking into the room. "
Full Story
Yanks, Juice
Well, the Yanks lost last night, after winning seven in a row. Got beat by A.J. Burnett, who at least the couple times I've paid attention has pitched pretty well against the Yanks. He throwing like 98 MPH to the corners of the plate last night. Ian Kennedy, the rookie who the Yankees called upon to replace Mussina in the rotation, actually pitched brilliantly, giving up one hit over eight innings. Unfortunately, the Jays rallied for a run in the ninth off a reliever to pull the game out. Two-out-of-three at Toronto is not bad. Now come the Red Sox, with some great pitching match-ups:
1. Tonight: Dice K vs. Pettitie
2. Saturday: Wang vs. Beckett (in what could be a battle for top dawg in the A.L.)
3. Sunday: Clemens vs. Schilling (old-timers day).
Anyhow, getting back to that great year 1973, when I was in kindergarten and apparently learend everything I needed to know. That was the year O.J. gained 2,000 yards (in 14 games), averaged six yards per carry, and played on a team where the quarterback, I'm not kidding, threw like five TD passes all year. That has to be one of the greatest years by an individual in any sport. However, for some reason, on YouTube, for instance, you can barely find a clip of O.J. running the ball that year. Finally, yesterday, I found this 12-second clip, which shows how incredible he was. Now, I realize O.J. joins Michael Vick in the all-NFL criminal backfield, but man, in the day, that fucker was a hell of a running back. I'm guessing as time goes by less and less people will remember him for this. The same will probably hold true for Vick, who also made some unbelievable, eye-popping runs in his career. I guess, like the Boss says, "Glory Days, well they'll pass you by...."
Cheers.
Ralph
1. Tonight: Dice K vs. Pettitie
2. Saturday: Wang vs. Beckett (in what could be a battle for top dawg in the A.L.)
3. Sunday: Clemens vs. Schilling (old-timers day).
Anyhow, getting back to that great year 1973, when I was in kindergarten and apparently learend everything I needed to know. That was the year O.J. gained 2,000 yards (in 14 games), averaged six yards per carry, and played on a team where the quarterback, I'm not kidding, threw like five TD passes all year. That has to be one of the greatest years by an individual in any sport. However, for some reason, on YouTube, for instance, you can barely find a clip of O.J. running the ball that year. Finally, yesterday, I found this 12-second clip, which shows how incredible he was. Now, I realize O.J. joins Michael Vick in the all-NFL criminal backfield, but man, in the day, that fucker was a hell of a running back. I'm guessing as time goes by less and less people will remember him for this. The same will probably hold true for Vick, who also made some unbelievable, eye-popping runs in his career. I guess, like the Boss says, "Glory Days, well they'll pass you by...."
Cheers.
Ralph
Thursday, September 13, 2007
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Yankees win again
Another big win for the Yanks. I think it's seven in a row now, including two over Toronto. Good stuff, especially because Mussina pitched last night and went almost six scoreless innings. He was not great, he gave up like five hits, while the Yankees only had three of their own, but left the game with a 4-0 lead. How does that happen? Good fielding and clutch hitting mainly.
I love the Yanks' current line-up from top-to-bottom. The weakest hitter is probably Giambi at number seven, and even he has some pop. After him, you ramp it back up with Cano and Melky, and then the deadly top of the order.
A-Rod, of course, has been having a great season, but last night didn't really have a big hit and had a potentially costly error that enabled the Jays' only run to score. However, in true team fashion, the Yanks picked him up and made a couple plays to get out of a potentially dangerous inning. Yeah, I think, these Yankees are finally coming together as a team.
Teamwork is definitely a big plus in the pressure-filled playoffs and is some of what the Yankees have been lacking in recent years. However, if the Bosox don't start losing a few games, the Yanks are still going to be stuck with the Angels and the first round, and they kill us. I know I said the Bosox were punchless a couple nights ago after losing 1-0 to Tampa Bay. But, since then, they've had two come back wins vs. the Devil Rays, including a 5-4 win last night on a two-run Ortiz blast in the 9th. No, they're definintely not as strong without Manny, but they can still be formidable at home-which is where the Yankees have to go this weekend. We'll see. If Ramirez is still out, and I need to check on this, it could be very interesting. The Yanks could have a real shot at closing the gap. (Unfortunately, it looks like Ramirez will play.)
I'll get to something on the Yankees pitching later. Pennant races can be fun.
Cheers.
Ralph
I love the Yanks' current line-up from top-to-bottom. The weakest hitter is probably Giambi at number seven, and even he has some pop. After him, you ramp it back up with Cano and Melky, and then the deadly top of the order.
A-Rod, of course, has been having a great season, but last night didn't really have a big hit and had a potentially costly error that enabled the Jays' only run to score. However, in true team fashion, the Yanks picked him up and made a couple plays to get out of a potentially dangerous inning. Yeah, I think, these Yankees are finally coming together as a team.
Teamwork is definitely a big plus in the pressure-filled playoffs and is some of what the Yankees have been lacking in recent years. However, if the Bosox don't start losing a few games, the Yanks are still going to be stuck with the Angels and the first round, and they kill us. I know I said the Bosox were punchless a couple nights ago after losing 1-0 to Tampa Bay. But, since then, they've had two come back wins vs. the Devil Rays, including a 5-4 win last night on a two-run Ortiz blast in the 9th. No, they're definintely not as strong without Manny, but they can still be formidable at home-which is where the Yankees have to go this weekend. We'll see. If Ramirez is still out, and I need to check on this, it could be very interesting. The Yanks could have a real shot at closing the gap. (Unfortunately, it looks like Ramirez will play.)
I'll get to something on the Yankees pitching later. Pennant races can be fun.
Cheers.
Ralph
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Larry Bird
The Tiny Archibald highlights got me thinking about Larry Bird. Tiny may have great moves, but when it comes to winning and heart, it's Larry Bird. Check out the video.
That particular video is a little blurry, so if you want more Bird, just search YouTube for Larry Bird Highlights.
Out,
DDDDDD
That particular video is a little blurry, so if you want more Bird, just search YouTube for Larry Bird Highlights.
Out,
DDDDDD
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Tiny Archibald
One more note, following up on my obsession with 1973, the year I was in kindergarten, and apparently learned everything I needed to know. I remember at the time seeing some sort of NBA pre-game/halftime special on Tiny Archibald, then of the Kansas City Kings. In 1972-73, Tiny Nate, who is listed at 6-1, 150, (and hails from the Bronx), averaged a league-high 34 points and 11.4 assists per game, leading the league in both categories-and no one else was even close. (Jabbar averaged 30 per game, and Lenny Wilkins dished out 8.4 assists per game.) Oh yeah, there was no three-point shots either to help the little man. Bob Cousy was the Kings coach and they somehow finished 36-46. Tiny never had another year like that.
Check out this video compilation of Tiny Nate highlights. How about those moves? Especially when he was with the Kings.
Cheers.
Ralph
Check out this video compilation of Tiny Nate highlights. How about those moves? Especially when he was with the Kings.
Cheers.
Ralph
Godless Yankees
Sometimes I really do feel like I'm rooting for the Evil Empire - it's a good thing I have memories of Thurman Munson to keep me going. (By the way, the Bronx is Burning version of Thurm is exactly how I imagined him to be when I was a kid. )Anyhow, tonight the souless one, Jason Giambi, hits a grand slam to put the Yankees up 8-2 against the hapless Blue Jays. The Blue Jays absolutely outplayed the Yankees and should have been up like 5-0 (well maybe not that bad) after two innings, but for a great diving catch by Johnny Damon, a stupid baserunning mistake, and some poor fielding on their part. Instead, the Yankees were up 3-2. Not only are they good, they're catching breaks, and then Giambi of course goes yard, and I assume it's over. In Boston, Red Sox were down 8-4 but rallying. Nonetheless, without Manny, the Red Sox are a hell of a whole lot less scary, and almost punchless, dare I say. Next weekend is showdown time in Fenway.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Yankees update
Not that anyone case, but the (hated) Yankees have a three-game series at Toronto, starting on Tuesday, and the pitchers scheduled to go are Philip Hughes, Mike Mussina, and Ian Kennedy, in that order. Two rookies sandwiching a struggling veteran who has been pulled from the regular rotation, but gets a start because of an injury to a guy (Clemens) even older than he is. Anyhow, with a four-game lead with 20 to play, you'd think the Yankees would have this wild-card thing locked up-with the way A-Rod is hitting and all. But, at Toronto, with three pitchers who are by no means locks to give you strong games, could set us back a little. This series bears close watching - by and for those who care, of course.
That's all.
Ralph
That's all.
Ralph
NFL Week 1
Okay, so it appears I may be wrong about this whole Brady-Moss thing. I can only hold out hope that it is a 16-game season, and that week 1 was a fluke....
The Bills loss, however, appears to have been no fluke. Very typical. The Bills get outgained like three-to-one, but manage to hold the opposition out of the end zone for the most part and get a special teams touchdown. But, because they are so badly overmatched, they just can't stop the opposition down the stretch and end up losing a close game. Saw this a half-dozen times last year and already now in Week 1 this year.
Funny thing, watching ex-Bills coach Wade Philips make his debut with the Cowboys, who won. When Wade was with the Bills, they were the polar opposite of the team now - great defense, ball control offense, and terrible special teams. Now, our special teams are our only bright spot, although it seems that Marshawn Lynch, our new RB had a good game yesterday. Anyhow, Wade is wearing a headset now, one thing he was criticized for not doing in Buffalo. I hope he wins the Super Bowl...
That's about it for now. Hope everyone had a good weekend.
Cheers.
Ralph
The Bills loss, however, appears to have been no fluke. Very typical. The Bills get outgained like three-to-one, but manage to hold the opposition out of the end zone for the most part and get a special teams touchdown. But, because they are so badly overmatched, they just can't stop the opposition down the stretch and end up losing a close game. Saw this a half-dozen times last year and already now in Week 1 this year.
Funny thing, watching ex-Bills coach Wade Philips make his debut with the Cowboys, who won. When Wade was with the Bills, they were the polar opposite of the team now - great defense, ball control offense, and terrible special teams. Now, our special teams are our only bright spot, although it seems that Marshawn Lynch, our new RB had a good game yesterday. Anyhow, Wade is wearing a headset now, one thing he was criticized for not doing in Buffalo. I hope he wins the Super Bowl...
That's about it for now. Hope everyone had a good weekend.
Cheers.
Ralph
Friday, August 31, 2007
Yankees-Norse Mythology
I'll credit my buddy Soup for sending me this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/sports/baseball/30squirrel.html?ref=nyregion
Soup lives in the Bronx, and formerly resided in the Dominican Republic, but, sadly, is not yet a baseball fan. However, it seems some of my work to steer him this way is paying off...
Cheers.
Ralph
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/sports/baseball/30squirrel.html?ref=nyregion
Soup lives in the Bronx, and formerly resided in the Dominican Republic, but, sadly, is not yet a baseball fan. However, it seems some of my work to steer him this way is paying off...
Cheers.
Ralph
Dogfighting colunmist
This editorial appeared in the Erie Times this morning. It covers some of the backlash the Vick case is starting to generate. In other words, the pendulum is starting to swing back the other way, as it should. I hate to come out in favor of dog-fighting, but, has I've said, it's really a ghetto culture thing and that's the culture Vick comes from. It's kind of hypocritical to come down so hard on Vick, when white, upper-middle-class people are allowed to legally go out and hunt and kill deer. That's not the mention the animal abuse and cruelty that goes on in dog racing, horse racing, and slaughterhouses that provide us with food. I'm sure there are other cases as well. No, I'm not big on harming animals. Heck, I'd rather not even exterminate ants of they are not bothering me. But I eat meat because I need something to sustain me, and you can always go back to the argument that these cows and chickens would not even come into the world if they not used for meat... but based on their lives, it's maybe better if they didn't. But nonetheless, the mass slaughter of these beings is legal, while Vick kills a handful of dogs, nothing apparently in comparison to the number that are slaughtered legally in dog racing circles, and people are ready to crucify the guy. Yeah, maybe suspend him from the NFL for a year for gambling, but could we leave it at that? As I've always said, if people are going to promote keeping pit bulls as pets, there's going to be dog fighting, because that's what these dogs were originally bred for. They're fightin' dogs, so if we're going to have them around, let them do what they do best. We don't keep thoroughbred horses around and not race them. Nobody keeps cows around without planning to slaughter them for meat, or at least use them for milk. Everything has a purpose, let it fulfill that purpose.
I've probably said enough.
Cheers.
Ralph
I've probably said enough.
Cheers.
Ralph
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
More on Mussina
Geez, it looks like after all these years, I'm finally in tune with the Yankees braintrust. Per my speculation, and others as well, the Yankees appear to be dropping Mussina from the rotation in favor of Ian Kennedy, a rookie, who pitched in college last year and has successfully moved up the minor league chain this year. This gives the Yankees three such pitchers on their roster, although Philip Hughes, who didn't go to college, has actually been in the minors a bit longer.
Anyhow, as I've said before, the old pitchers weren't getting it done, so it's time to call on the kids. This is a great sign, and the Yankees have talent similar to the early 1990s Braves when the developed Gavine, Smoltz, and a kid named Avery. Avery burned out, but the other two were solid, and still are in fact, for a long time. Let's hope the Yankees continue to be cautious with the young arms, as winning now would be nice, but having a solid core of your staff in place for the next 10 years would be even nicer.
Oh yeah, 45-year-old Roger Clemens goes against the Bosox tonight. At least we're at home.
Anyhow, as I've said before, the old pitchers weren't getting it done, so it's time to call on the kids. This is a great sign, and the Yankees have talent similar to the early 1990s Braves when the developed Gavine, Smoltz, and a kid named Avery. Avery burned out, but the other two were solid, and still are in fact, for a long time. Let's hope the Yankees continue to be cautious with the young arms, as winning now would be nice, but having a solid core of your staff in place for the next 10 years would be even nicer.
Oh yeah, 45-year-old Roger Clemens goes against the Bosox tonight. At least we're at home.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Mussina Toast
In his last two starts, the Yankees have given up something like 30 runs. That sucks. They have to get him out of the rotation, but as this article questions, in favor of whom? Mussina represents very well the core of the Yankees' problems for the past 3-4 years, their starting pitching is just too old. Starting pitching is tough, it takes endurance, you need some young arms to trot out there. Sure, you can get away with one or two old guys, that don't necessarily throw hard, but when you have three or four guys approaching, or past, 40 years old (Clemens, Mussina, and Petite), it's tough to expect those guys to hurl a complete season and go deep into games. One result is that it burns out your bullpen.
Young arms are on the way in the form of Hughes, Chamberlain, and Kennedy, but they won't be ready for prime time for another 2-3 years. This sucks, because by then our line-up might be getting old. Oh well, such is the game. Maybe we can get it together and sneak into the playoffs this year, and maybe the arms will be healthy, and maybe, etc.
Cheers.
Ralph
Young arms are on the way in the form of Hughes, Chamberlain, and Kennedy, but they won't be ready for prime time for another 2-3 years. This sucks, because by then our line-up might be getting old. Oh well, such is the game. Maybe we can get it together and sneak into the playoffs this year, and maybe the arms will be healthy, and maybe, etc.
Cheers.
Ralph
Monday, August 20, 2007
Traverse City
Just returned from a wonderful week of vacation in Traverse City, MI. We stayed in this place, which was really nice (the picture is a sunrise taken from the back porch). We found through some creative Web searching for "last minute vacation deals. Traverse City is a cool place. Michael Moore has a home up there. It's about four hourse northwest of Ann Arbor, right on the western side of the state, on Lake Michigan. It has been developed rather nicely as a vacation spot. It kind of kicks Erie's ass unfortunately, because of the tremendous amount of waterfront accessibility. Plus the people are really friendly, and downtown is set up to be accessible to tourists, with cars yielding for pedestrians and all that. Plus, the waterfron has tons of resorts built up around it. We stayed in a cottage just outside of town. Moore has a film festival there, and there is a culteral bent to the downtown, but there is still plenty of family and more touristy things to do also.
One of best things we did was visit this place called the Sleeping Bear Dunes:
Basically, it's miles of these several hundred-foot high sand dunes that you climb, look at some great views (photo on left), play around on (photo 2) and then run down (that's me and my daughter in the middle of the third photo). The sand is really soft
with no big stones to worry about. It's hard work getting to the top, but very soothing on your feet. You can roll around or lay down and relax on the sand. Then you can fly down the hills, which are pretty steep, but if you fall, it's a very soft landing. The place has almost a holy feel to it-as these giant dunes, left behind by the glaciers, are quite remarkable.That's about it for now.
Cheers.
Ralph
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Moving on up...
Greetings from eastern Pennsylvania.
I think I saw Ed Rendell drinking a Pina Colada at Trader Vic's, and his hair was perfect. I miss Warren Zevon...and Frank Zappa.
Anyway, I watched the celebrity roast of Flavor Flav the other night. Wow. Jokes about gaping vaginas and gang murders.
I liked the comic who said, "This is impossible. How do you embarass a crack head who wears a viking helmet?" Good point.
I also liked when Snoop Dogg said to Ice Tea, "I tried to listen to some of your music on the way over, but the car didn't have a cassette player..." Boiiiieeeee!!!!
Anyway, there's a lot going on over here. MusikFest in Bethlehem, the annual Kutztown Fair...we even took a ride up to the Poconos. School starts on the 27th, so it's coming up fast.
That's it for now; must work on syllabi.
DokTorDee
I think I saw Ed Rendell drinking a Pina Colada at Trader Vic's, and his hair was perfect. I miss Warren Zevon...and Frank Zappa.
Anyway, I watched the celebrity roast of Flavor Flav the other night. Wow. Jokes about gaping vaginas and gang murders.
I liked the comic who said, "This is impossible. How do you embarass a crack head who wears a viking helmet?" Good point.
I also liked when Snoop Dogg said to Ice Tea, "I tried to listen to some of your music on the way over, but the car didn't have a cassette player..." Boiiiieeeee!!!!
Anyway, there's a lot going on over here. MusikFest in Bethlehem, the annual Kutztown Fair...we even took a ride up to the Poconos. School starts on the 27th, so it's coming up fast.
That's it for now; must work on syllabi.
DokTorDee
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