Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Company Expansion
Palm Sports Resources announced today the hiring of Annika Eliese Palm as a Special Assistant to the President. When asked what role Annika would have in the organization, President Jerry Palm said, “We plan to start her off slowly so she can learn the ropes. Since she’s only 20 1/4” long and 7 lbs, 13.5 oz, we’ll probably limit her activities to eating, sleeping and pooping initially. We will also put her in charge of ensuring that we have the proper amount of sleep deprivation in the Executive Suite.”
Palm added, “If she is able to do those things successfully, we will be expanding her responsibilities into other areas to be decided upon at a later date.”
The EEOC began an investigation into the company’s hiring practices last summer when rumors surfaced that the company had only hired males so far, but Palm was quick to point out that the investigation had nothing to do with Annika Palm’s appointment.
“Obviously, it’s no fun when the government shows up at your door and starts rifling through your drawers, muttering things like ‘Title IX’, ‘gender bias’ and ‘federal lawsuit’, but Annika isn’t the token female around here. She has impressive credentials and we’re committed to her for the long term. We expect big things from her. It probably won’t be too long before she’s running the place. Of course, if hiring her gets the feds off my back, so much the better.”
Palm wasn’t kidding when he talked about a long term commitment. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, a well placed source says Ms. Palm signed an 18-year, no-cut contract.
Mr. Palm also got a little defensive when pressed about the fact that this looks like a patronage hire. “Hey, this is Lake County, Indiana,” Palm said, adding, “Every job in this county is a patronage job. This isn’t like Chicago, where patronage hiring is illegal.”
Friday, February 17, 2006
Ain't over yet!
For years, I've been watching sports, and one thing that is uniquely American that bugs me is showboating. OK, athletes in other countries may do it as well, especially soccer players, but nobody touches the Americans when it comes self-aggrandizement.
Americans are so good at it that they often start patting themselves on the back before anything has actually been accomplished. This is especially true in football, where you rarely watch a game without at least one player starting to celebrate a touchdown well before he gets to the end zone. I've always thought it would be great if one of those guys dropped the ball or otherwise messed it up while they were busy patting themselves on the back.
There was one famous incident in the Super Bowl years ago when Dallas DL Leon Lett started strutting his way into the end zone at around the 10-yard-line, only to have a Buffalo player strip the ball before he got there. Unfortunately, Dallas won anyway.
In the Olympics today, someone finally got indigestion from putting too much mustard on her hot dog. Leslie Jacobellis had the Snowboard Cross gold medal sewn up. She had a huge lead thanks to crashes behind her, so on the second-to-last jump on the course, she grabbed her board to do some silly x-games-style trick, they called it a “backside method grab", which sounds more like a dance move than an athletic one, and she landed wrong and crashed on her backside. By the time she got up, the only other competitor still standing had passed her and took the gold medal.
I will give her a little credit for how she handled her mistake. Immediately after the race, she gave some weak excuse about grabbing the board to "stabilize", but later dropped that. She didn't duck the media and didn't treat it like the end of her world.
However, she has earned herself a measure of immortality. Now, instead of seeing some poor guy go head-over-heels off the end of a ski jump ramp, we'll be watching her showing us the proper "method" for turning gold into silver.
Americans are so good at it that they often start patting themselves on the back before anything has actually been accomplished. This is especially true in football, where you rarely watch a game without at least one player starting to celebrate a touchdown well before he gets to the end zone. I've always thought it would be great if one of those guys dropped the ball or otherwise messed it up while they were busy patting themselves on the back.
There was one famous incident in the Super Bowl years ago when Dallas DL Leon Lett started strutting his way into the end zone at around the 10-yard-line, only to have a Buffalo player strip the ball before he got there. Unfortunately, Dallas won anyway.
In the Olympics today, someone finally got indigestion from putting too much mustard on her hot dog. Leslie Jacobellis had the Snowboard Cross gold medal sewn up. She had a huge lead thanks to crashes behind her, so on the second-to-last jump on the course, she grabbed her board to do some silly x-games-style trick, they called it a “backside method grab", which sounds more like a dance move than an athletic one, and she landed wrong and crashed on her backside. By the time she got up, the only other competitor still standing had passed her and took the gold medal.
I will give her a little credit for how she handled her mistake. Immediately after the race, she gave some weak excuse about grabbing the board to "stabilize", but later dropped that. She didn't duck the media and didn't treat it like the end of her world.
However, she has earned herself a measure of immortality. Now, instead of seeing some poor guy go head-over-heels off the end of a ski jump ramp, we'll be watching her showing us the proper "method" for turning gold into silver.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Typical February weather
I'm sitting here watching the Olympics (which I am watching much less of than usual) and the warning sirens went off. The only time that happens is when we have a tornado warning or an air raid. Since it's mid-February, naturally I assumed we must have done something to annoy Canada, or perhaps Michigan, and were under attack. It turns out that was incorrect, but that we actually had a tornado warning. I've lived around here most of my 42 years and I don't ever remember a tornado in February. I guess that's more fodder for you global warming types.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Baby update
As many of you know, my wife is due to deliver child number four on or about March 1st. Obviously, I'm very good with numbers, but I seem to have trouble with a calendar, since that is the busiest time of the year for me with my work. I was very worried that this baby would be fashionably late and arrive on March 12th, which is selection Sunday.
For us, that kind of thing is very predictable. All of our major pregnancy events happen on or very close to special occasions.
Child #1 was due on Mother's Day, but my wife's water broke on April Fools' Day (which also happened to be the day after the national championship game that year) and he was born the next day.
My wife started going into labor two months before #2 was due, but she spent a day in the hospital and they were able to stop the labor before it really got going. That day was my birthday. #2 son ended up being born about four hours short of Groundhog Day.
Pregnancy #3 ended in a miscarriage on Halloween.
When they told us child #3 was due in late October, a Halloween baby never occurred to us. We were thinking more along the lines of Labor Day, or optimistically, Columbus Day. It turns out that this one was late. He was born on Election Day.
So, with a due date of March 1st (Ash Wednesday), we started planning for a new addition on New Year's Day, MLK Day, our anniversary (Jan 17), Groundhog Day, Presidents Day, Valentine's Day, selection Sunday, the Ides of March (which also happens to be my wife's birthday) and St. Patrick's Day.
My wife's doctor says we can cross the last few off the list though. He's leaving for vacation on March 3rd, so he wants to make sure that baby is out and my wife is well on her way to recovery before he takes off. That means that March 1st isn't just a due date, it's a maximum due date.
Maybe it'll be Fat Tuesday (Feb 28), which considering how skinny my first three kids are, would be quite ironic.
For us, that kind of thing is very predictable. All of our major pregnancy events happen on or very close to special occasions.
Child #1 was due on Mother's Day, but my wife's water broke on April Fools' Day (which also happened to be the day after the national championship game that year) and he was born the next day.
My wife started going into labor two months before #2 was due, but she spent a day in the hospital and they were able to stop the labor before it really got going. That day was my birthday. #2 son ended up being born about four hours short of Groundhog Day.
Pregnancy #3 ended in a miscarriage on Halloween.
When they told us child #3 was due in late October, a Halloween baby never occurred to us. We were thinking more along the lines of Labor Day, or optimistically, Columbus Day. It turns out that this one was late. He was born on Election Day.
So, with a due date of March 1st (Ash Wednesday), we started planning for a new addition on New Year's Day, MLK Day, our anniversary (Jan 17), Groundhog Day, Presidents Day, Valentine's Day, selection Sunday, the Ides of March (which also happens to be my wife's birthday) and St. Patrick's Day.
My wife's doctor says we can cross the last few off the list though. He's leaving for vacation on March 3rd, so he wants to make sure that baby is out and my wife is well on her way to recovery before he takes off. That means that March 1st isn't just a due date, it's a maximum due date.
Maybe it'll be Fat Tuesday (Feb 28), which considering how skinny my first three kids are, would be quite ironic.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Super Bowl
I can't really put my finger on why, but I'm not all that excited about the Super Bowl this year. Maybe it's the teams involved. Maybe not. All in all, I'd rather see the Colts and/or Bears out there, but it's not like the Steelers and Seahawks are particularly boring.
Maybe it's a lack of anticipation over the ads. The last few years, the ads have generally been pretty mediocre, nowhere near living up to the hype.
Actually, it's probably that I'm already numb from the hype. News outlets ran out of things to talk about ten days ago, but that doesn't mean they stopped talking. I'm so sick of hearing about the game that it dulls my anticipation of it. Two weeks is way too long between the conference championships and the Super Bowl.
I'll watch anyway, of course, while I work on my bracket for tomorrow. I'm picking the Seahawks, primarily because they are being ignored. At least as much as possible for a Super Bowl team.
Maybe it's a lack of anticipation over the ads. The last few years, the ads have generally been pretty mediocre, nowhere near living up to the hype.
Actually, it's probably that I'm already numb from the hype. News outlets ran out of things to talk about ten days ago, but that doesn't mean they stopped talking. I'm so sick of hearing about the game that it dulls my anticipation of it. Two weeks is way too long between the conference championships and the Super Bowl.
I'll watch anyway, of course, while I work on my bracket for tomorrow. I'm picking the Seahawks, primarily because they are being ignored. At least as much as possible for a Super Bowl team.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Pinewood Derby
We had our first experience with the Cub Scouts' Pinewood Derby last weekend and things went amazingly well. #1 Son is a Bear (3rd graders) and his car won three of his four heats and finished second in all four finals races for second place in the Bear group. The only car that beat his is the one that finished first. More on that in a minute.
#2 Son is a Tiger (1st graders) and his car did even better. He won all four of his heats to finish first in the preliminaries. The second place car was creatively designed. It was called "Fast Food" because it was a thin block of wood with a plastic cheeseburger, french fry box and shake cup glued on it. That was one of my favorites, along with the one that was an aquarium (no water, of course) done by one of the Webeloes (4th-5th grades). But, I digress.
In the heats, #2 son's car beat Fast Food twice by about a car length each time. His car also won the first race of the finals, but by a nose. Fast Food won the other three races in dead heats (too close to call without a computer, which it's a good thing they had), so Fast Food ended up being the winner of the Tiger class.
Fast Food then went on to be Grand Champion, winning the four finals races convincingly. That means #2 son probably had the second fastest car there, but only got second in class. That's racing, though!
Pinewood Derby is kind of funny to watch off the track. It's different from family to family, but it's really more about the dads than the kids. This is the kind of project that adults have to be involved in at some level because we’re not going to let the kids use power tools at age 8, but some cars clearly looked like the kids had nothing to do with them. There was one dad that was so anal that he brought the car to the race in a one-foot cube steel box which had been lined with foam that had a car-shaped cut-out in it.
When I kind of off-handedly suggested to our (Bear) den leader that it would be cool of one of our kids won, he said it wouldn’t happen. He told me who would win and said the same dad wins every year because he starts working on the car the day after the previous race ends. It shows too, because he has the most professional looking car there. I wonder if the kid even sees the car before race day.
The cars the kids in our den made looked like amateur hack-jobs by comparison, which they were, since they were mostly done by amateurs. The only thing the adults did for the kids in our den was cut the car and make sure the wheels were on straight. Our goal was for the cars to get all the way down the track without catching fire, blowing an engine or having a tire fall off.
As it turns out, our den leader was right and worked-on-it-for-a-year car won, but some of our den’s hack-jobs finished second, third and fourth. I’m sure the dad that spent a year making his car was shocked not only not to be Grand Champion, but to lose to a car that could have mostly been made by a six-year-old.
So, while there is a TON of information out there about how to make a winning Pinewood Derby car, what we learned is what #1 son already knew before we raced. In the car on the way to the race, he blurted out, “winning the race is mostly luck.” We more or less proved that.
#2 Son is a Tiger (1st graders) and his car did even better. He won all four of his heats to finish first in the preliminaries. The second place car was creatively designed. It was called "Fast Food" because it was a thin block of wood with a plastic cheeseburger, french fry box and shake cup glued on it. That was one of my favorites, along with the one that was an aquarium (no water, of course) done by one of the Webeloes (4th-5th grades). But, I digress.
In the heats, #2 son's car beat Fast Food twice by about a car length each time. His car also won the first race of the finals, but by a nose. Fast Food won the other three races in dead heats (too close to call without a computer, which it's a good thing they had), so Fast Food ended up being the winner of the Tiger class.
Fast Food then went on to be Grand Champion, winning the four finals races convincingly. That means #2 son probably had the second fastest car there, but only got second in class. That's racing, though!
Pinewood Derby is kind of funny to watch off the track. It's different from family to family, but it's really more about the dads than the kids. This is the kind of project that adults have to be involved in at some level because we’re not going to let the kids use power tools at age 8, but some cars clearly looked like the kids had nothing to do with them. There was one dad that was so anal that he brought the car to the race in a one-foot cube steel box which had been lined with foam that had a car-shaped cut-out in it.
When I kind of off-handedly suggested to our (Bear) den leader that it would be cool of one of our kids won, he said it wouldn’t happen. He told me who would win and said the same dad wins every year because he starts working on the car the day after the previous race ends. It shows too, because he has the most professional looking car there. I wonder if the kid even sees the car before race day.
The cars the kids in our den made looked like amateur hack-jobs by comparison, which they were, since they were mostly done by amateurs. The only thing the adults did for the kids in our den was cut the car and make sure the wheels were on straight. Our goal was for the cars to get all the way down the track without catching fire, blowing an engine or having a tire fall off.
As it turns out, our den leader was right and worked-on-it-for-a-year car won, but some of our den’s hack-jobs finished second, third and fourth. I’m sure the dad that spent a year making his car was shocked not only not to be Grand Champion, but to lose to a car that could have mostly been made by a six-year-old.
So, while there is a TON of information out there about how to make a winning Pinewood Derby car, what we learned is what #1 son already knew before we raced. In the car on the way to the race, he blurted out, “winning the race is mostly luck.” We more or less proved that.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
So, which is it?
The Cubs signed a minor league outfield who parents clearly had a sense of humor. His name is Angel Pagan.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Bears-Panthers
I may end up eating these words tomorrow, but I don't think Rex Grossman is The Savior. In fact, I don't think he's anything beyond mediocre and never will be, whether he gets hurt again or not. I am in the minority with that opinion. OK, I'm the only one with that opinion. Everyone else around here is drooling with optimism, but the reality is, he was only marginally better than Kyle Orton in the six quarters he played this year, and that's not a step down from previous years. He doesn't make great decisions and he's not particularly accurate. Come to think of it, that's what they say about Orton too, but Orton's a rookie. However, Grossman's the best the Bears have right now, so he has to play, but because he's not nearly as good as Jake Delhomme (now there's an indictment for you), the Bears are going down today. It won't be a blowout because the defenses are too good. Something like 13-6. Carolina didn't show up when the two teams played before. They will this time.
BTW, this isn't an opinion born out of a bias for Orton because of I'm a Purdue guy. I didn't like it when the Bears drafted Grossman. I didn't like his game in college.
BTW, this isn't an opinion born out of a bias for Orton because of I'm a Purdue guy. I didn't like it when the Bears drafted Grossman. I didn't like his game in college.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
No respect
QB Kyle Orton had one of the best seasons ever for a rookie QB in the NFL, helping to guide the Bears to a 10-5 record and the #2 seed in the NFC. So you will not be surprised to learn that RB Cadillac Williams of the Tampa Bay Bucs was named the AP offensive rookie of the year. Orton was tied for fifth with zero votes.
Do not adjust your monitor. You read that correctly. Zero votes. Nada. Zippo.
Williams got 47 of the 50 votes and the other three went to Miami RB Ronnie Brown, NE OL Logan Mankins and Pittsburgh TE Heath Miller.
Do not adjust your monitor. You read that correctly. Zero votes. Nada. Zippo.
Williams got 47 of the 50 votes and the other three went to Miami RB Ronnie Brown, NE OL Logan Mankins and Pittsburgh TE Heath Miller.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Bearing down
* I think the Bears made a mistake by not playing QB Rex Grossman yesterday. He's played a game and a half, during which time he's been highly mediocre. I could understand sitting him if he'd played all season, but he needs reps at game speed, even if it means risking injury.
* The Bears gave in to the pressure of fans and sponsors and will allow NW Indiana residents to buy playoff tickets when they go on sale tomorrow.
* The Bears gave in to the pressure of fans and sponsors and will allow NW Indiana residents to buy playoff tickets when they go on sale tomorrow.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Life in the DMZ
Living in NW Indiana can be a lot like living in a DMZ. You're not really part of any particular country, or in our case, state. There were a couple of stories in the news this week that illustrate this point.
On Wednesday, Mitch Davis, the Governor of Indiana, which is technically the state we live in, held a statewide town hall meeting which was "broadcast to every corner of the state." Care to guess which corner was left out? That's right! No TV or radio station in NWI was even given the opportunity to broadcast the meeting. The closest stations to us that had it were in South Bend. We didn't even know about it up here until after the fact. WISH-TV in Indianapolis, which was in charge of the broadcast, said that they offered it to the Chicago stations because we are considered part of that TV market, but obviously, they weren't interested. We do have a local PBS station in Merrillville, but it was not offered the broadcast.
On Thursday, the Chicago Bears announced that playoff tickets would only be available to residents of Illinois. Here in NWI, we're really suburban Chicago. I live closer to the city now than I did when I lived in Deerfield. However, if you want Bears playoff tickets, you're better off living in East St. Louis (293 miles from Soldier Field) than in East Chicago (23 miles from Soldier Field).
Lake and Porter counties could secede from Indiana and nobody would notice. We'd probably be better off except that our governments, especially in Lake County, are comically corrupt and we need the help of the state to keep these guys in line.
I hope everybody has a Happy New Year!
On Wednesday, Mitch Davis, the Governor of Indiana, which is technically the state we live in, held a statewide town hall meeting which was "broadcast to every corner of the state." Care to guess which corner was left out? That's right! No TV or radio station in NWI was even given the opportunity to broadcast the meeting. The closest stations to us that had it were in South Bend. We didn't even know about it up here until after the fact. WISH-TV in Indianapolis, which was in charge of the broadcast, said that they offered it to the Chicago stations because we are considered part of that TV market, but obviously, they weren't interested. We do have a local PBS station in Merrillville, but it was not offered the broadcast.
On Thursday, the Chicago Bears announced that playoff tickets would only be available to residents of Illinois. Here in NWI, we're really suburban Chicago. I live closer to the city now than I did when I lived in Deerfield. However, if you want Bears playoff tickets, you're better off living in East St. Louis (293 miles from Soldier Field) than in East Chicago (23 miles from Soldier Field).
Lake and Porter counties could secede from Indiana and nobody would notice. We'd probably be better off except that our governments, especially in Lake County, are comically corrupt and we need the help of the state to keep these guys in line.
I hope everybody has a Happy New Year!
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Merry Christmas!
I apologize for yet another long layoff between posts. Once football's regular season ended, I had a LOT of work to do around my house to get ready not only for the holidays, but also a baby coming in March. Hopefully, I'll have more time to write once Christmas is past.
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Queen + Paul Rodgers comes to the US
Queen + Paul Rodgers announced a US/Canadian tour for 2006. They'll be in Chicago on March 23, which is a Thursday, which means regional semifinals for the NCAA tournament will be going on. Guess where I'll be?
Friday, November 25, 2005
Long time, no write
Gosh, it's been so long since I've written, I've forgotten just about anything I might have wanted to say. With both football and basketball seasons going on, it's hard to find time to write. Here's a few things rambling around in my head.
* The Sox made a pretty risky deal yesterday, sending CF Aaron Rowand to the Phillies for 1B Jim Thome. I love Thome, but he's on the downside of his career and coming off an injury-marred season. I hate to see the Sox give up their best defensive player and team leader - and a relatively young guy - for Thome at this point in his career. It makes me wonder if the Sox think they can't sign Konerko.
* Kyle Orton is doing a nice job at starting QB for the Bears, who are now 7-3. Like most rookies, he's had some ups and downs, but they are not relying on him to win the games. The Bears have a great defense and a good running game, which takes some pressure off of Orton.
Orton's QB rating of 62.5 won't get him a lot of all-star votes. He's 30th in the NFL in that category. If you throw out that one 5 INT game against the Bengals, his rating is 73.2, which isn't too far off of average. Hard to believe one game could make that much difference.
The one thing that has puzzled me about Orton so far as a Bear is that he seems to be missing guys deep. When he was at Purdue, he was the most accurate deep-ball thrower I had seen in college. It seemed like he was more accurate the farther he threw the ball, but in the pros so far, he's had trouble hooking up on the long ball. Maybe it's just a matter of still learning his receivers. When he starts clicking on the deep ball again, he's really going to take off.
Rex Grossman, whose injury gave Orton the chance to start, is going to be back in uniform this week as the third QB when the Bears play Tampa. Some fans are thinking he should go back in whenever he's ready, but they forget that Grossman has six games experience - total. Orton already has seven WINS. Grossman's career QB rating is 71.1, so it's not like he's the second coming of John Elway.
* Further evidence that there are too many channels: the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship was on ESPNU yesterday.
* We went to see the Harry Potter movie last night. It was pretty good, although they obviously had to cut a LOT out to make a two-and-a-half hour movie. No house-elves, no Dursleys, and don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it coverage of the Quidditch World Cup. Even Snape is an afterthought. Still, it's a good movie and the special effects are great.
* My two older boys have just joined Cub Scouts. They're both pretty excited about it and they'll probably do OK, but I remember my efforts at scouting and I wasn't particularly good at it. Hopefully, I can stay out of their way. :)
* The Sox made a pretty risky deal yesterday, sending CF Aaron Rowand to the Phillies for 1B Jim Thome. I love Thome, but he's on the downside of his career and coming off an injury-marred season. I hate to see the Sox give up their best defensive player and team leader - and a relatively young guy - for Thome at this point in his career. It makes me wonder if the Sox think they can't sign Konerko.
* Kyle Orton is doing a nice job at starting QB for the Bears, who are now 7-3. Like most rookies, he's had some ups and downs, but they are not relying on him to win the games. The Bears have a great defense and a good running game, which takes some pressure off of Orton.
Orton's QB rating of 62.5 won't get him a lot of all-star votes. He's 30th in the NFL in that category. If you throw out that one 5 INT game against the Bengals, his rating is 73.2, which isn't too far off of average. Hard to believe one game could make that much difference.
The one thing that has puzzled me about Orton so far as a Bear is that he seems to be missing guys deep. When he was at Purdue, he was the most accurate deep-ball thrower I had seen in college. It seemed like he was more accurate the farther he threw the ball, but in the pros so far, he's had trouble hooking up on the long ball. Maybe it's just a matter of still learning his receivers. When he starts clicking on the deep ball again, he's really going to take off.
Rex Grossman, whose injury gave Orton the chance to start, is going to be back in uniform this week as the third QB when the Bears play Tampa. Some fans are thinking he should go back in whenever he's ready, but they forget that Grossman has six games experience - total. Orton already has seven WINS. Grossman's career QB rating is 71.1, so it's not like he's the second coming of John Elway.
* Further evidence that there are too many channels: the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship was on ESPNU yesterday.
* We went to see the Harry Potter movie last night. It was pretty good, although they obviously had to cut a LOT out to make a two-and-a-half hour movie. No house-elves, no Dursleys, and don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it coverage of the Quidditch World Cup. Even Snape is an afterthought. Still, it's a good movie and the special effects are great.
* My two older boys have just joined Cub Scouts. They're both pretty excited about it and they'll probably do OK, but I remember my efforts at scouting and I wasn't particularly good at it. Hopefully, I can stay out of their way. :)
Friday, November 04, 2005
I'm in USA Today
Sorry it's been so long since I've written. This is the time of year when hoops and football collide, leaving me little time to blog. I still have the White Sox on my mind, and I'll get to that eventually. Meantime, I was featured in USA Today today.
Friday, October 21, 2005
World Series pick
This should be a series where runs are tough to come by. Both teams have great starting pitching, although I would give the Sox a slight edge because they have four reliable starters, while the Astros have three. I think the Astros have the edge in the bullpen though with Brad Lidge and some competent setup guys. The Sox bullpen is a concern just because nobody's thrown a pitch in anger in two weeks.
On offense, I think the Sox have an edge, but once again, it's slight. Both teams rely more on small ball than they do the three-run homer, but I think the Sox are better able to generate the long ball at any spot in the lineup.
The National League team always has an edge in its park because AL pitchers aren't used to hitting. On the other hand, NL teams always have someone who can be a decent DH. The Astros have Jeff Bagwell on their bench and he figures to see some time at DH in Chicago.
Both teams are solid in the field, capable of making the spectacular play without sacrificing the routine.
My sincere hope is that we have our first postseason series in 2005 where we don't spend two days micro-analyzing some lousy call by an ump.
Sox in 7.
On offense, I think the Sox have an edge, but once again, it's slight. Both teams rely more on small ball than they do the three-run homer, but I think the Sox are better able to generate the long ball at any spot in the lineup.
The National League team always has an edge in its park because AL pitchers aren't used to hitting. On the other hand, NL teams always have someone who can be a decent DH. The Astros have Jeff Bagwell on their bench and he figures to see some time at DH in Chicago.
Both teams are solid in the field, capable of making the spectacular play without sacrificing the routine.
My sincere hope is that we have our first postseason series in 2005 where we don't spend two days micro-analyzing some lousy call by an ump.
Sox in 7.
Dumbest thing ever written
In Thursday's Sun-Times, Jay Mariotti wrote what is quite possibly the dumbest thing ever printed in a newspaper. Just having it be the dumbest thing he has ever written is quite an accomplishment, but this was at the magic level of stupidity.
He said that if the White Sox don't win the World Series, they will quickly be forgotten in this town.
This is a town that remembers fondly not only its champions (there is a big celebration going on all fall long to commemorate the 1985 Super Bowl champion Bears), but even its losers. The 1969 Cubs are practically revered, and they finished 8 games back of the Mets. The 84 and 2003 Cubs are also legendary teams that came up just short. The White Sox don't get the same play as the Cubs, but the 1959 team didn't win the World Series, and they are still fondly remembered around here.
I'm looking forward to the day when Mariotti leaves town so we can try to quickly forget him.
He said that if the White Sox don't win the World Series, they will quickly be forgotten in this town.
This is a town that remembers fondly not only its champions (there is a big celebration going on all fall long to commemorate the 1985 Super Bowl champion Bears), but even its losers. The 1969 Cubs are practically revered, and they finished 8 games back of the Mets. The 84 and 2003 Cubs are also legendary teams that came up just short. The White Sox don't get the same play as the Cubs, but the 1959 team didn't win the World Series, and they are still fondly remembered around here.
I'm looking forward to the day when Mariotti leaves town so we can try to quickly forget him.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Queen in the US
Well, not exactly Queen. Queen + Paul Rodgers played in New York on Sunday and will play again in LA on Saturday. Unfortunately for me, that's way too far away to go.
If you went, how was it? Paul Rodgers doesn't seem like a logical replacement for Freddie Mercury. I'm not sure anyone is, but I would have never figured it would be him.
If you went, how was it? Paul Rodgers doesn't seem like a logical replacement for Freddie Mercury. I'm not sure anyone is, but I would have never figured it would be him.
Snow in Hell?
The White Sox are going to the World Series. I'm nearly 42 years old and I've never seen a World Series game played in Chicago. It hasn't happened since 1959. I'm not sure if Hell is actually freezing over, but I bet the overcoats are being broken out (it's been a long time for the Sox, but even longer for the Cubs).
Once again, the Sox have to sit and wait a week for an opponent. It looked like Houston had it won last night, but a 2-out, 3-run homer by Albert Pujols in the 9th keeps the NLCS going. I don't think the ball has landed yet. That's why he's the best player in baseball. But, I digress.
In the ALCS, the week of waiting hurt the Sox because they were off their rhythm for game 1. Obviously, things got a lot better after that.
The White Sox pitching in the ALCS was beyond remarkable. Throwing four straight complete games is unheard of in these days of relief specialization. The Sox hadn't done that in the regular season since 1974 and it hadn't been done in the playoffs since the mid-50s. I wonder how the bullpen will do early in the WS considering it will be 2 weeks since most of those guys have pitched in a game. But that's a problem for another day.
A couple more notes:
The two newspapers I get (Chicago Tribune and NW Indiana Times) both had the same headline on the front page: "Party Like It's 1959". That's a reference to the last time the Sox were in the WS.
When the Sox won the AL in 1959, the city set off air raid sirens to celebrate. Some people were frightened by those since they didn't warn anyone they might do that. Last week, an alderman suggested they set them off again if the Sox win, but in this post-9/11 era, that idea got shot down pretty quickly.
Once again, the Sox have to sit and wait a week for an opponent. It looked like Houston had it won last night, but a 2-out, 3-run homer by Albert Pujols in the 9th keeps the NLCS going. I don't think the ball has landed yet. That's why he's the best player in baseball. But, I digress.
In the ALCS, the week of waiting hurt the Sox because they were off their rhythm for game 1. Obviously, things got a lot better after that.
The White Sox pitching in the ALCS was beyond remarkable. Throwing four straight complete games is unheard of in these days of relief specialization. The Sox hadn't done that in the regular season since 1974 and it hadn't been done in the playoffs since the mid-50s. I wonder how the bullpen will do early in the WS considering it will be 2 weeks since most of those guys have pitched in a game. But that's a problem for another day.
A couple more notes:
The two newspapers I get (Chicago Tribune and NW Indiana Times) both had the same headline on the front page: "Party Like It's 1959". That's a reference to the last time the Sox were in the WS.
When the Sox won the AL in 1959, the city set off air raid sirens to celebrate. Some people were frightened by those since they didn't warn anyone they might do that. Last week, an alderman suggested they set them off again if the Sox win, but in this post-9/11 era, that idea got shot down pretty quickly.
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