Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Couple of scattered World Series notes ...
-- The Thrashers game pre-empted the World Series on local Atlanta radio, or at least the primary station. It might've been on a much lower-powered station, but I couldn't pick it up driving around tonight. However, I could pick up the game on Chicago's ESPN Radio station and White Sox flagship. Even with satellite radio around, it's still fun playing with the dial and seeing what you can get. On the other hand, not everyone is as curious as me in trying to find the game on the radio.
-- The "Don't Stop Believing" theme song for the White Sox is amusing. (Remember, it landed in the Top 100 on iTunes because it appeared on Family Guy.) But then they brought in Steve Perry? But shouldn't he be a Tigers fan if he was "born and raised in south Detroit" (aka Windsor)?
-- Nice to see Dustin Hermanson pitching like he did when he's been on my fantasy teams in years past.
Tap the bottleneck
It's close to the perfect storm over here with trying to get a program done for a banquet next week, plus working on TRASH regionals questions, a wedding next weekend in Michigan after that, plus the usual and unusual stuff at work.

And despite that, still had time to play most of Big Lots (the UTC mirror of FOGHAT). I actually got to play most of the scheduled round robin, leaving before the final round to go to work. At that point, we were undefeated had a two-game lead over the field. I guess I've been so used to the strangeness of the tournament, which would explain the ridiculous margins of victories (smallest was 100 points in the first round).

Oh yeah, I've been meaning to write that Northwestern-themed packet for the longest time, so that was just the best excuse/platform to do so. Some of the stuff seemed forced, and I suppose if you don't me (and even if you do), the theme would be very annoying. One team grumbled about that theme just before playing us (I'm not sure if they connected me with the packet) -- it was a Christian college and we played them on Round 9 (for those who know, it's too silly). But if you guys have any other comments about my packet, let's hear them ...

And besides the quiz bowl foray, I went to my first ever Monday Night Football game, and, oddly enough, my first ever Jets game. It was great to have my friend Alyson along for the game because the rest of it was pretty surreal.

Three fumbles in 20 minutes by Vinny Testaverde where all I could do is shake my head; a Jets kickoff return for a touchdown negated by penalties; Brooks Bollinger playing all of the fourth quarter; three Michael Vick interceptions -- strangest part was that the biggest exodus of fans came in the middle of the fourth quarter after the third Vick pick while the Falcons were ahead and the Jets down only two scores.

The buzz in the dome was weird. A couple of times on defense, the place was amped. But on offense in the middle of the third quarter, it was like a church (topped off with a guy in front of us wearing a choir robe done up like a Falcons jersey). And to top it all off, I saw the debut of an Atlanta anthem, which is part of a new city branding campaign. Good artists involved (Monica, T-Boz, 112, etc.) although we could barely pick them out or the lyrics. But I guess it's a tossup whether to show that on the Monday night broadcast or Tim McGraw. That means I've now seen the debut of an official team rap and an official city song. Oy.

Friday, October 21, 2005

Been a bit behind with updates, but for now, check out one one of the most innovative rap covers ever made. (Yes, it's a free download.)

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

My spite-y senses are tingling
I'm not too surprised the Yankees are gone; disappointed sure, but not surprised. Just seemed like a not-so-good matchup. Funny thing is that if Bernie Williams were in center, he probably wouldn't have made it to the gap as quickly as Bubba Crosby and Gary Sheffield catches that fly ball, instead of two-run triple. Also, it's interesting to see Darin Erstad make the final play with a nice stop on defense after his offense was absolutely trashed during the series (Al Leiter as the designated stopper for Erstad, are you kidding?)

But now that both the Yankees and Red Sox are gone, the main motivating force for many to watch the playoffs this year -- hate -- is gone. Since y'all can't be hypocrites anymore and actually root for someone to win the World Series, here's a little guide for who to root against the most for the rest of October (in rough order of most hateable to least, in my opinion):

1. White Sox: Hawk Harrelson isn't calling games in the playoffs, but if you're not a fan of the team, he's a big reason to root against them. If not now, but think of what he could be next season if they win it all. ... There's that "cursed" thing, which was annoying with the Red Sox last year (even among their own fans) and is just tired this year. ... The legions of Cubs fans still have many reasons to hate. (see below)
2. Astros: Haven't we had enough of wild-card teams winning it all? ... Depending on your political persuasion, there's that Texas thing. ... If you need your fix of Yankees hate, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens are among Houston's best pitchers.
3. Angels: They won in 2003, too soon for another championship. ... The whole Los Angeles of Anaheim thing. Which reminds me, is the name of the city now "of Anaheim," given how many things in the city are named "of Anaheim" -- the hockey team, the baseball stadium, the baseball team. To go with the California theme, maybe the city should be called "de Anaheim." ... Rally monkey and thundersticks are back.
4. Cardinals: Best record in the majors. Default is to root against the favorite. ... The Cubs fan factor. What would happen to Cubs fans if the White Sox and Cardinals meet in the World Series? ... St. Louis fans often regarded as the nicest in the league. When we root out of spite, we just can't have that.
Lots of things to do, which means more reasons to procrastinate. Case in point: The N is now going old school, literally, with late-night reruns of Degrassi Junior High. It even surpasses the old reruns of The Electric Company that used to be on in the middle of the night when all it had was old PBS and Nickelodeon shows.

Saturday, October 01, 2005

The DVR Chronicles
Now that the fall season has started, the new DVR is working overtime actually recording stuff other than Jeopardy and movies. (Eventually I'll have to clear out those old Jeopardy! episodes, save the ones with my some of my colleagues on them. I've already done my taping, so there's no need to watch old episodes as study guides.)
Here's what I've gleaned from some of the newer shows I've tried out:
-- How I Met Your Mother: Now that Friends is off the air, we can have more shows about 20-somethings hanging out and not feel like it's a ripoff. Besides, the bar is less pretentious than the coffee shop. Of course, Willow is the reason I'm watching, and I'm impressed with it, maybe because a lot of it feels familiar; however, I wonder how long the Bob Saget gimmick will work.
-- Everybody Hates Chris: See, they can still do a "family" show that's still hip. Obviously, Chris Rock taking over the Daniel Stern narrator role helps, and who knew he could work relatively clean? What I find funniest is that I last saw the mom on Chappelle's Show on one of the "Keeping It Real …" segments.
-- My Name Is Earl: I like Jason Lee's stuff, even though he seems to play some of the same psycho-type characters each time, including The Incredibles, which I saw on cable this afternoon. The show is still taking time to grow on me, and it doesn't help that it's on against House. (But my DVR can record two things at once, which is huge.)
-- The Office: I recorded it the first week after Earl, but I could never really get into it. I'd like to, but just couldn't.
-- Veronica Mars: I know it's a year old, but I've only caught bits and pieces of it last year, so it's time to watch a show or two. I like Veronica Mars the cute sleuth, not as big a fan of the soap opera stuff (competing boyfriends, etc.). Of course, while I keep fawning over Kristen Bell, in walks Charisma Carpenter and well, that's just not right. On the other hand, the Stonecutters have returned to bring Steve Guttenberg back on TV.