Sports
QOTD

"There are some people in this room that don't need to be here.
We've got guys in here that are cancers.
The thing about cancer cells is, they multiply.
We've got to cut them out."
- Mike Singletary after his first game as coach of the 49'ers... they lost 34-13 to the crappy Seahawks

Singletary might be a great NFL coach. This whole story is pretty good:

Labels: investing, politics, qotd, sports

Great QOTD

Q: "What do you expect out of Freddy Garcia against the Sox today?"
A: "A hungover Freddy"
- Sock pitcher Mark Buehrle on the radio today

Buehrle went on to say that he text-messaged Garcia at a bar last night, and that Garcia frequently drank before starts when he was with the White Sox. Excellent.

Ty and I hit 6 ballparks this summer. That's right. 6 ballparks!!!
Here they are in chronological order, and I've even scanned in our tickets from each game. Su-weet! Click on the ticket picture for a full size view. And no, I didn't pay the price you see on the ticket... I'm crazy, but I'm not...





Game 1: Met, Shea Stadium
Ty and I started started out baseball trip with a game at Shea. Shea Stadium is a dump... pretty easily the worst ballpark I've been to. They are replacing it next year. Huzzah!

We got first row, upper deck seats, which were nice, but a bit cramped.

NY Met (and Naperville Planet) ace Johan Santana pitched and he did not disappoint with a complete game win over the Cardinal. Yeah, it's tough to get real fired up at a Met-Cardinal game, but I was complimented any number of times on my "This Old Cub" t-shirt.

Ty enjoyed watching his fantasy starts Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. Also, it was Mets Lunch Box Day for the kids. Su-weet.

Game 2: Yankee, Yankee Stadium
We did the Yankee game with Brad and Bobbie. Excellent.

Ty loved Yankee Stadium... another ballpark in it's last year. The new Yankee Stadium right next door looks like the Taj Majal. Ty couldn't snarf the Yankee autograph or ball that we was seeking, but he gave it a good try.

The Yankee lost. Dop.
To the Oriole. Dop dop.
Oh welll, that was not an unusual occurrence this year... 2008 was the first year in like 11 years (and Derek Jeter's career) that the Yankee did not make the playoff. Speaking of Jeter, it was Derek Jeter UNO cards night. Marketing gone wild, eh.

We got to see an A-Rod home run, which will be historically cool in about 10 years when A-Rod overtakes Barry bonds. In the atbat after his moon shot, A-Rod got beaned by some mope on Baltimore (Daniel Cabrera), and the guy was later suspended for a few games for his effort.

Game 3: National, Nationals Ballpark
This was the finale of our baseball trip. It was awesome:

• We had front-row seats... right behind home plate.
  
• We also got free food, drinks, and ice cream (Dibbs, to be exact) in the deal.
  
• Nats win... beat the Reds and older-than-dirt Odalis Perez got the W?!?
• And the batboy gave Ty a foul ball at the bottom of the screen. It was fouled back by Adam Dunn, the Big Donkey. Ty reached his paw under the screen and yelled at the kid, "Hey, can I have that?" The batboy smiled and slipped Ty the ball right under the screen. He he!
  

I was text-messaging Chris the Commish to look for us on his satellite package. He text-ed back that we were prominently featured in the telecast, and that he couldn't believe how much I was eating. Hey, it was free!

Game 4: Cub, Wrigley Field
OK, I'm cheating a little bit here. Ty went to the Cub with his Mom... and got a bunch of Cub autographs before/after the game (Marmol, Fukudome, Theriot, I think). I went to my Cub game with Holly and Ed.

The Cub won for Ty, and he was splashed on WGN rooting in the 9th inning for the Cub to hold their slim lead. Shit, we bumped into people for a week squawking about how they saw Ty on TV.

The Cub lost for me and Holly and Ed... lost ignominiously to the Red and Bronson Arroyo. And we weren't on TV. But we did get some Yakzee's BBQ chicken pizza before the game. I'll take it.

Game 5: Cub, Miller Park... yeah. the no-hitter
Yeah, we saw Zambrano's no-hitter... Astro game move to Milwaukee for hurricane Ike... last minute, completely out of the blue... me and the Poap and the kids... total money!

And yeah, it was awesome!

Game 6: Sock, Cellular One Ballpark
This was a throw-in. Ty and I went on the last day of the regular season... not counting the makeup game they played today. The Sock won, with the aforementioned Mark Buerhle starting, to get a chance to play Minnesota in a one game play-in.

If the Sock make the playoffs, then it'll be the first time since 1906 that both the Cub and Sock are in the playoffs. Huzzah!

It was a great summer.
the best... yow, bill

PS - F the Met.

Labels: qotd, sports

Hey, there's Bill and Eric on TV at Zambrano's no-hitter. Hi Bill!

Felecia took a picture of her TV and asked in her email: "what did you guys do with the boys?"
He he. The boys were down by the railing trying to get, I don't know, something from any of the players.

The next day, Ted Lilly threw 6 no-hit innings before surrendering a single to Mark Loretta. That ended up being the Astro only hit in two games at Brewer Park. Huzzah!
cub win... yow, bill

Labels: sports

Hurricane Ike moved north from Texas to visit us here in the Great Midwest. It was a rain forest for, like, three days. Dang this global warming... when will we learn! He he.

The coolest thing was that Ike maintained it's comma shape as it traveled up the continent. Pretty cool. See?


Hurricane Ike moved the Cub-Astro game to Milwaukee Sunday night. Ty, me, the Poap and Poap, Jr. were in attendance as Carlos Zambrano threw a no-hitter Yes, it was glorious. It was the first Cub no-hitter since Milt Pappas' near-perfect game in 1972. Huzzah!

Boxscore: sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=280914118

Yeah, we were there:

glorious... yow, bill

PS - Naperville Planet. LetsPlay3 2008 Fantasy Baseball Champion. Woot!
PPS - Just finished my last long, long run before the marathon. I did 23-24 miles in 3 hours, 13 minutes. I feel good, but I gotta get the hell out of here and eat. I don't want to, but I gotta... gotta run! The Lakefront Marathon is 3 weeks from yesterday. Huzzah!

Labels: marathon, sports

QOTD Lou

"I know we're trying. I've got no complaints about with the effort. But you've got to get the job done! We can talk about having fun. We can talk about relaxing. But you've got to get your damn shirts rolled up and go out and kick somebody's ass! That's what you've got to do! Period!''
- Lou after the Cub loss last night to St Louis

QOTD Ozzie

"What we have, we have to fight with. We have to fight like a cat—paws up. If we're going to fail, fail like a man. Fail with your belt tight. Don't tighten it up now. It's too late."
- Ozzie last night after the Sock coughed up a doubleheader to the Blue Jay

This link can't be permanent... some bizarre "whose fans are hotter" contest at the Sun Times.

Labels: qotd, sports

QOTD

"Hello, I'm Peter D. Minus"
- Peter D. Minus, Wheaton financial planner, on his web site

I mean, OK... you get a tough roll of the dice and your last name is "Minus". "Peter Minus".
Do you really think it's a good call to go with the middle initial though. He he.

I love this picture... 1969, Ron Santo, Shea Stadium, black cat, Cub lose:


It's from some silly newspaper article comparing this year's Cub to 1969.
Yawn. Very creative fellas.
Cool picture though.
cub win... yow, bill

Labels: qotd, sports

QOTD

"You go to Wrigley Field, you have a beer, beautiful people up there. People aren't watching the game. It's not serious. White Sox, that's baseball. South side"
- Barry O'Bama, sox fan

And yeah, I won't be voting for Derrek Lee either...

QOTD2

"I mean, he's right. I think most of the fans there are just there to enjoy the experience, and, uh, drink beer. I mean, is that not true?"
- Derrek Lee, on Barry's above QOTD

Hey D-Lee... I'd concentrate a little more on hitting with runners in scoring position. Lee has already hit into a MLB-leading 24 double-plays this year. Jeez, 3 more double-plays and that's a whole extra game's worth of outs from the Cub under-achieving 1B.

I will say this about Wrigley Field. It is less fun than it used to be. That's a product of it's off-the-chart popularity. The Cub "magic" may return if (when?) they crash and burn, in unique and spectacular fashion this year. We shall see.

A couple more baseball quickies:

1. Baseball starts doing instant replay tomorrow: "The Baseball Replay Redux". I guess this is what's called "getting old." Instant replay has detracted from the game of football. It adds nothing to baseball. It's a step toward more automation... why in the world would this technology only be applicable to calling home runs. It's a step away from what makes the game special... old school, the human element. Everyone but me wants it, so fuck me.
2. Mark Cuban is on the list of 5 guys in the running to buy the Cub. I can't/won't ever forget or forgive Cuban (not that he's asking) for the anti-American hatchet job that was the movie "Redacted." So, if Cuban buys the Cub... I don't know. Hey, maybe they'll instant replay every gol dang call on the field, and then I won't want to watch any more. How's that for a compromise?
   

I remember back in 1969...
cub win and lose... yow, bill

Labels: politics, qotd, sports

QOTD

"I just want to say this. Thank you, Mr. President - for your inspiration! We love you."
- One of the beach volleyball girls above (who cares which), thanking W after winning the gold.

This isn't a W post.
It's nice. Positive. I like it.

On another positive note (well, sort of)... wouldn't be delicious if Barry loses to McCain in November. I mean it'd be like a real-life who-ville... Europe and the media and dang. Not because McCain is so great, but because there's a sense of Barry being entitled or anointed President.

In fact, it's even better because McCain isn't great. He's old and cranky and unattractive and a military guy and not charismatic and shit, even the repubs don't really like him. All this and handsome, young, charismatic Barry still loses. I mean, I'm not saying it's going to happen... I'm just saying. It just brings a big, big involuntary smile to my grinchy mug.

Man, that would be just Delicious.
yum yum... yow, bill

PS - News headline of the day: "Co-author of '100 Things to Do Before You Die' dies at 47"... now, I'm sorry... dammit that's funny.
PPS - And 47. Too young. Cough.

Labels: politics, qotd, sports

QOTD

“I think he can be ready, but right now I don’t believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the- job-training.”
- Joe Biden on Barry... from a McCain ad (can't find the original quote date)

And Biden voted for the Iraq War:
www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&vote=00237&session=2

And didn't both Gore and Kerry pick loser Senators as veep candidates (Kerry and Edwards, respectively)?

Ah, politics.

It's August 25th.

• The Cub have won their last 8 series.
  
• The Cub are 30 games above .500 at 80-50.
  
• The Cub have the best record in baseball (Tampa and Anaheim are at 79-50... best in the NL are the Mutts at 72-59)
• The Cub lead the NL Central b y4 1/2 games.
  

This is worth pasting the current NL Central standings:

		W	L	Pct	GB
Chi Cubs		80	50	.615	--
Milwaukee		76	55	.580	4.5
St. Louis		73	59	.553	8.0
Houston		66	64	.508	14.0
Pittsburgh		57	73	.438	23.0
Cincinnati		57	74	.435	23.5

And F "the curse", Rich Harden in 8 starts for the Cub: 49 IP, 28 hits, 14 walks, 70 K, 1.47 ERA, and a 0.162 BAA. You go girl!
huzzah... yow, bill

Labels: politics, qotd, sports

QOTD

"It was the most impressive athletic performance I’ve ever seen in my life."
- former Olympian Michael Johnson, on Usain Bolt winning both the 100 and 200 meter races in world record time

Well, it was the most impressive track performance I've ever seen. It wasn't that Bolt won or set world records or whatever, it's that he did it effortlessly and didn't even run through the entire race. You can see in the photo below he's clowning and turning to the crowd in the middle of the dang run. It was weird to see a guy crush the field of sprinters and set a world record seemingly without even putting his pedal all the way to the metal.


The Olympics have been better this year in part because of the stories and China's grandiose display, but mostly because NBC is covering it better this time around. They're concentrating on the events rather than "up close and personal" stories or Bob Costas interviews, etc.
bolt... yow, bill

PS - Michael Johnson's famous gold shoes from... was it 1996, I think?

Labels: qotd, sports

QOTD

... the US is "the greatest country in the world. It has given us so many great opportunities, and it's just a sense of pride that you have; that you say, 'You know what? Our country is the best.' "
- Kobe Bryant, at the Olympics from WSJ article, "Our Country Is the Best"

Good for you Kobe.


Same day in the WSJ, Barry questions Clarence Thomas' qualifications to be on the Supreme Court in "Obama on Clarence Thomas".

Um, Barry. Schnookums. The Naperville dog catcher has more qualifications and experience than you do to be President, so let's not go there, OK.
woof... yow, bill

Labels: politics, qotd, sports

QOTD

"I told him next time he does that I'm going to get my blade out and cut him. I'm a gangster. You go gangster on me, I'm going to have to get you. You do that again, I'm going to cut you right on the field."
- Jerry Manuel on confronting Jose Reyes on his first day as interim manager of the NY Met

The punch line is that, ex White Sock manager, Jerry Manuel is known as a milque toast, passionless kind of a guy. Reading the article, I guess the "gangsta" thing is a running joke in the Mutt clubhouse, so Jerry was just cracking wise. It's still a funny quote.

cub win... yow, bill

Labels: qotd, sports

QOTD1

"I didn't need an apology or anything like that. What happened, happened. It was done by different people, and they're not around anymore. All they needed to do was say: 'We'd love to have you back.' "
- Pat Foley on his return as announcer of the Chicago Blackhawks

If you don't know the story... old man Wirtz fired Pat Foley, the best announce in haockey, because he was (even slightly) critical of the crappy teams the Hawks' fielded, year after year. Well, the old man is dead, and they hired John McDonough of the Cub to run the Hawks.

The interesting thing about the story in the Trib was McDonough said that he made re-hiring Pat Foley a pre-condition of his taking his Hawks gig. Good for you, dude!

QOTD2

"Pat's voice is synonymous with Blackhawks hockey, and it resonates with every one of our fans. Now he's back where he rightfully belongs. This is a proud day for the Blackhawks.''
- Hawk President John McDonough

As Pat Foley would say, "He shoots, he scores!"
huzzah... yow, bill

PS - Oh, and huzzah to the Chicago Wolves for hiring Foley for a couple years, and then letting him leave.
PPS - Oh, almost missed this classic QOTD3:

"I gave this franchise many of the best years of my life, and now I'm ready to give them many of my worst."
- Pat Foley on being re-hired by the Chicago Blackhawks

Labels: qotd, sports

QOTD

"Beer Cheaper Than Gas"
- Sign outside a bar on 95th in Chicago

QOTD2

"This is the coolest puck in the world"
- Ty Krieger on his Chicago Wolves championship puck... best $5 I ever spent. He he!

QOTD3

"The Blackhawks haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1961, but Chicago does have a hockey champion."
- ESPN story on Chicago Wolves Calder Cup championship

I dislike smarmy ESPN.
I heart the Chicago Wolves.

Have a great day!
yow, bill

Labels: qotd, sports

QOTD

"When will I be getting my hat back?"
- Ty, after throwing his hat on the ice at last night's Wolves game

Ty and I saw the Chicago Wolves win the 2008 Calder Cup last night. Woot! Jason Krog (what a great name) had a hat trick and Ty got to throw his hat onto the ice. It's just minor league hockey, but it was fun to see someone win some championship. Plus, they had confetti all over the ice and everything. What a great time!

There's something special about these Wolves game... same for minor league baseball teams like the Kane County Cougars and Joliet Jackhammers.
It's hard to put my finger on it:

• You're not watching a bunch of rich guys run around in short pants.
  
• The people in attendance are real families, not part of some corporate gig.
• It's not marketing-polished. The Wolves have bad 80's music blaring half the time and they're always throwing crappy t-shirts into the stands or something. Ty loves it.
• It's not as crowded.

Like I said, I don't know. It is just a lot of fun.
shoot the puck... yow, bill

PS - Why doesn't blogger work sometime. The FTP part. Sigh.

Labels: qotd, sports

QOTD

"He'd be a good manikin, I think... Seth McClung"
- Len Casper, Cub broadcaster last night

The best part is that Lenny never explained what the heck he was talking about. It was just a weird throwaway comment in the middle of the game (a 19-5 Cub blowout, BTW). Seth McClung holds a near and dear place in my heart... he could be the worst fantasy baseball pick I've ever made. Hey, he was a SP/RP who had a shot as closer in Tampa Bay. Cut me some slack... he he!

And riddle me this, batman... have you ever seen these two knuckleheads together in the same place at the same time?
On the left, that's former Saddam mouthpiece Tariq Aziz. On the right is Barry O'Bama's pastor Rev. Wright. Now, Wright's got much nicer digs that Aziz, but Aziz has still logged way more time on Nightline that Rev. Wright. We'll see how that goes though.

Speaking of Rev Wright, here's an O'Bama QOTD:

"But when he states and then amplifies such ridiculous propositions as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS, when he suggests that Minister Farrakhan somehow represents one of the greatest voices of the 20th and 21st century, when he equates the United States wartime efforts with terrorism, then there are no excuses. They offend me. They rightly offend all Americans. And they should be denounced. And that's what I'm doing very clearly and unequivocally here today."
- Barack Obama, on his pastor Rev. Wright

OK. Good. Barry held onto the guy until it cost too much, and then he launched him. Politics 101, right? I'm still waiting for Barry to do one, single, solitary thing that identifies him as something other than yet another flavor-of-the-month politician. And no, being more charismatic and better looking than Hillary doesn't qualify. Yikes!
cub win... yow, bill

Labels: politics, qotd, sports

I heart Lou.
QOTD:

"Winning is like a massage. It's a relaxer. It relaxes you..."
- Lou Piniella, manager of the Chicago Cub

Can I have two quotes of the day in one day?
Yup.
cub win cub win... yow, bill

Labels: qotd, sports