Good God, I forgot Secretary's Day!!!!!! I know its a Hallmark holiday, but still, with all the shit that she puts up with, I'm in deep trouble. Just putting up with getting harassed by Lee and Austin on a daily basis deserves a huge raise.
Went out and bought some huge potted flower plant type thingy. Looks pretty ugly, but it does have a lot of flowers and plants in it. I think I overcompensated a little too much. Do you think she will forgive me? Ugh.
Apr 28, 2006
Apr 27, 2006
Quick Question
On "Today", Katie showed a poll where 77% of Americans were pessimistic about the economy.
Yet, in March, consumer confidence is at a 6-year high.
My question is obvious: how can these two results co-exist?
And before you say "gas prices", ask yourself what sacrifices you have made because of the gas prices. I haven't heard anyone make tough choices yet. Yes, people complain about it, but it hasn't affected any actions. I truly believe that nothing will happen (more commutes, less vacations) until gas its $7-$8 / gallon. But this is another discussions for another day.
Can anyone else explain the two survey results?
Yet, in March, consumer confidence is at a 6-year high.
My question is obvious: how can these two results co-exist?
And before you say "gas prices", ask yourself what sacrifices you have made because of the gas prices. I haven't heard anyone make tough choices yet. Yes, people complain about it, but it hasn't affected any actions. I truly believe that nothing will happen (more commutes, less vacations) until gas its $7-$8 / gallon. But this is another discussions for another day.
Can anyone else explain the two survey results?
Apr 26, 2006
Resume crap
After reviewing roughly 1,000 resumes over the last several months, I'm amazed at what people write about themselves. Last week at a college job fair, a young girl actually had a glam shot of herself attached to the resume. Today I got one in that had employment history listed as Aerospace and Land Development, with no explanation behind either of those two. How can you not expand on having a job in Aerospace and Land Development? And why are you applying for a claims job?
And aren't we at that point now where we don't have to say that you are proficient in the internet and email????? And what is a 10 key calculator? I hope to God its not just a regular calculator. Yup, this schmuck actually put that down on his resume.
And no, I did not hire any of these people.
And aren't we at that point now where we don't have to say that you are proficient in the internet and email????? And what is a 10 key calculator? I hope to God its not just a regular calculator. Yup, this schmuck actually put that down on his resume.
And no, I did not hire any of these people.
Cyber Bran
Haven't posted in a while since I'm still trying to recover from Friday night. It's bad when you wake up the next morning and see 3 empty wine bottles and a serious dent in the Vodka, Jack, Baileys, and the Malibu rum, with only 4 people involved. Seeing Ben in the morning stumble into his car in his uniform makes me feel even safer about our border being protected.
Stumbled across a wierd hybrid of Bran cereal in T. Joes the other day. 40% fiber and 14% protein for your daily intake. Cereal with protein? Is the maker Skynet? What the hell is this? I had to try it out and holy shit it was bad, but man it was able to clean out my system and the 5 pounds of chees from the weekend.
Before I foget, does anyone want to comment on that Puljos homer last week, where he absolutely crushed a slider and then chucked his bat directly up in the air? God that might of been the most violent homer I have ever seen. Jay and I were going nutz over it in Vegas and then Jonny commented on it the other night.
Speaking of Vegas, Ben has the itch again to go out in a couple of weeks, so I decided to call the Wynn. Called the Players Club number and my discounted rate was $399 for Friday and $299 for Saturday. Ummmm. Guess I will be taking the free 3 nights at New York New York instead. If I do go back out in May with Ben, that will be my 6th time this year. Jeez.
Can anyone explain the Yo Mamma show to me? Didn't this go out of style like 10 years ago. And that Wilmer V guy from "That 70s Show" is a joke. How did his agent allow him to do this show. Its worth the 30 minutes to just see this train wreck of a show. And as most of you know, I love bad TV, but this is even beyond me.
Finally, when will cable companies start offering A La Carte ordering? For example, if I only want ESPN, NBC, Bravo, MTV, Comedy Central, and AMC with nothing else, will they offer a reduced price?
The West Wing (or Left Wing for you conservatives) has really stepped it up recently. Getting tired of the Josh-Donna storyline though.
Glad to see this making headlines on the Global News page:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4942152.stm
And how much impact do you think the Boston Sports Guy had on this top 5 list:
http://www.maximonline.com/slideshows/index.aspx?imgCollectId=71
And if you have a few hours to waste on the "ESPN's most Cliched catch phrases, it is worth it. http://cracked.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=363
Stumbled across a wierd hybrid of Bran cereal in T. Joes the other day. 40% fiber and 14% protein for your daily intake. Cereal with protein? Is the maker Skynet? What the hell is this? I had to try it out and holy shit it was bad, but man it was able to clean out my system and the 5 pounds of chees from the weekend.
Before I foget, does anyone want to comment on that Puljos homer last week, where he absolutely crushed a slider and then chucked his bat directly up in the air? God that might of been the most violent homer I have ever seen. Jay and I were going nutz over it in Vegas and then Jonny commented on it the other night.
Speaking of Vegas, Ben has the itch again to go out in a couple of weeks, so I decided to call the Wynn. Called the Players Club number and my discounted rate was $399 for Friday and $299 for Saturday. Ummmm. Guess I will be taking the free 3 nights at New York New York instead. If I do go back out in May with Ben, that will be my 6th time this year. Jeez.
Can anyone explain the Yo Mamma show to me? Didn't this go out of style like 10 years ago. And that Wilmer V guy from "That 70s Show" is a joke. How did his agent allow him to do this show. Its worth the 30 minutes to just see this train wreck of a show. And as most of you know, I love bad TV, but this is even beyond me.
Finally, when will cable companies start offering A La Carte ordering? For example, if I only want ESPN, NBC, Bravo, MTV, Comedy Central, and AMC with nothing else, will they offer a reduced price?
The West Wing (or Left Wing for you conservatives) has really stepped it up recently. Getting tired of the Josh-Donna storyline though.
Glad to see this making headlines on the Global News page:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4942152.stm
And how much impact do you think the Boston Sports Guy had on this top 5 list:
http://www.maximonline.com/slideshows/index.aspx?imgCollectId=71
And if you have a few hours to waste on the "ESPN's most Cliched catch phrases, it is worth it. http://cracked.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=363
Apr 24, 2006
Random Musings
1) Golf update: How do your shoulders feel, Don? The tournament season kicked off on Saturday with a 2-man scramble at one of the county courses. 28 teams entered; the top 6 finished in the money.
We "ham-and-egg"'d it very well on the front and finally got a birdie on the par-5 9th to make the turn in 34, -1. I hit 3 wood, wedge to 6 feet on 10 and Don cashed it for another birdie.
That was it for me for a while. Don carried us on 11 and 13 (he made a great 30 footer for par) to keep us at -2; he then single-handedly birdied 14 (Don - driver, wedge, putt) and 15 (driver, 4-iron, putt); we had a bad approach to the par 5 16th, but I curled in a 30 footer for another birdie.
We had a tricky but makeable 8 footer for birdie on 17 that we missed; Don carried us on the long par-4 18th for a par. 5 under 65. It was good enough for 3rd place.
A good warmup for the City 2-man championship starting next Monday. I just need to get my driver and irons back together again. Full coverage can be found at www.gcga.org.
2) You know that feeling late in the evening - you are driving home after golf league, starving - and you know there are two pieces of leftover pan pizza in the fridge? Mmmmm-- you can just taste that warmed-up pizza in your mouth as you drive.....
And then you get home and the pizza box is open on the table - empty. "Oh", says your lovely wife, "I was home for lunch and I had the pizza for lunch. Sorry."
That's true disappointment.
3) Am I supposed to find Dane Cook hilarious? He's on the comedy station on Sirius a lot - I mean, he's a little funny, but people talk about him like he's Eddie Murphy circa 1983.
Maybe I shouldn't judge comedians. Every time I'm flipping around channels and the "Andy Milonakis Show" is on, I always stop and I never fail to laugh.
4) How does Jon Lovitz get a new gig on commercials for Subway? Is there a 60-year-old Ad Exec that thinks: "hey, I've got a perfect spokesman! Jon Lovitz! All the kids love him! 'That's the ticket'- hilarious!". Or is Lovitz's stock so low that his agent is begging for jobs?
5) Big game tonight for the Cavs to avoid a letdown. It's nice to come out on fire in game 1, but we've got to followup in tonight's game with a good performance. I haven't followed the Cavs this closely in the playoffs since college - the good old days with Larry Nance, Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, etc. We used to plan our nights around Cavs playoff games. I'm almost at that point now.
6) This is just blasphemy. Period. I tell you one thing - Freddie and Warren will grow up knowing the 4 big American railroads are Reading, Pennsylvania, B&O, and Short Line.
We "ham-and-egg"'d it very well on the front and finally got a birdie on the par-5 9th to make the turn in 34, -1. I hit 3 wood, wedge to 6 feet on 10 and Don cashed it for another birdie.
That was it for me for a while. Don carried us on 11 and 13 (he made a great 30 footer for par) to keep us at -2; he then single-handedly birdied 14 (Don - driver, wedge, putt) and 15 (driver, 4-iron, putt); we had a bad approach to the par 5 16th, but I curled in a 30 footer for another birdie.
We had a tricky but makeable 8 footer for birdie on 17 that we missed; Don carried us on the long par-4 18th for a par. 5 under 65. It was good enough for 3rd place.
A good warmup for the City 2-man championship starting next Monday. I just need to get my driver and irons back together again. Full coverage can be found at www.gcga.org.
2) You know that feeling late in the evening - you are driving home after golf league, starving - and you know there are two pieces of leftover pan pizza in the fridge? Mmmmm-- you can just taste that warmed-up pizza in your mouth as you drive.....
And then you get home and the pizza box is open on the table - empty. "Oh", says your lovely wife, "I was home for lunch and I had the pizza for lunch. Sorry."
That's true disappointment.
3) Am I supposed to find Dane Cook hilarious? He's on the comedy station on Sirius a lot - I mean, he's a little funny, but people talk about him like he's Eddie Murphy circa 1983.
Maybe I shouldn't judge comedians. Every time I'm flipping around channels and the "Andy Milonakis Show" is on, I always stop and I never fail to laugh.
4) How does Jon Lovitz get a new gig on commercials for Subway? Is there a 60-year-old Ad Exec that thinks: "hey, I've got a perfect spokesman! Jon Lovitz! All the kids love him! 'That's the ticket'- hilarious!". Or is Lovitz's stock so low that his agent is begging for jobs?
5) Big game tonight for the Cavs to avoid a letdown. It's nice to come out on fire in game 1, but we've got to followup in tonight's game with a good performance. I haven't followed the Cavs this closely in the playoffs since college - the good old days with Larry Nance, Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, etc. We used to plan our nights around Cavs playoff games. I'm almost at that point now.
6) This is just blasphemy. Period. I tell you one thing - Freddie and Warren will grow up knowing the 4 big American railroads are Reading, Pennsylvania, B&O, and Short Line.
Apr 23, 2006
Brothers of a Feather
I'm in Oakland this week for work, but flew in early to hang out with my brother- and sister-in-law and their kid. Got in Friday night and spent all day Saturday and most of Sunday hanging out with them. Katie's brother, John, is a music freak and somehow got us tickets to the Chris and Rich Robinson acoustic show at a place called Bimbo's 365 Club. Bimbo's is an interesting venue; it reminded me of a dinner theater. There's a stage and then it's just a big room filled with tables all facing the stage. I think that it holds something like 500-600 people. Anyway, we walked in late and got lucky and found a couple of seats along the side wall towards the back. The setlist is as follows with my vague recollections:
Cursed Diamond
Jealous Again
Log Cabin Home In The Sky (originally by the Incredible String Band)
Girl From A Pawnshop
Peace Anyway
Late Nights Again (new song)
Answers (Rich Robinson)
Crow Black Chicken (Ry Cooder)
Miracle To Me
This Is The Way
Untangle My Mind *
Nonfiction * #
Girl On The Mountain * # (Chris Robinson)
Loser # (Grateful Dead)
Wiser Time * #
The Wheel * # (1st time played)
- encore -
The Dolphins * #
those noted with * feature Dave Ellis
those noted with # feature Phil Lesh
The show lasted just over two hours and was very good. I came in with minimal expectations; the last few Black Crowes shows I've seen have been average at best. However, I didn't really know what to expect with just Chris and Rich playing acoustic, so I was interested in seeing how the show would go. I'm happy to say that it easily exceeded all of my expectations. I wouldn't put it in the top 3 BC shows I've ever seen or anything, but it was good. Chris's voice sounded very good and Rich sounded great. It's interesting to see the maturation of the band, and I feel like that's what I've seen over the years. They've gone from a young "spit-in-your-face jam band", through the cool "smoking a ton of pot and drinking a lot" phase, through the weird "way too much coke and heroin" phase, through the "can't get along and break up the band" phase, through the "shitty solo album" phase, and now finally into the "mature, acoustic, controlled jamming and having fun" stage. It's been an interesting 15 years or so.
Anyway, the show started out with just Chris and Rich sitting on stage doing a number of songs. An interesting thing was that I saw Chris play the guitar for the first time. It was basically just rhythm guitar, but I always remember that Chris would play the tambourine or cowbell or something (we always thought that the rest of the band just gave him something harmless like the tambourine just to appease him and get him to shut up). He actually did a nice job on the guitar and played a little harp at the same time!
After the first ten songs or so, Dave Ellis (sax) came out and joined them for a song. It was nice and definitely added something to the sound. But the real show started when Phil Lesh (bass guitar) came out. Phil Lesh is somewhat of a folk hero in San Fran from his time with the 'Dead and his addition added both to the music and to the energy level of the show. The crowd went wild when he was introduced and Chris especially seemed very excited to have him on stage. The rest of the show basically had Chris on vocals, Rich on lead guitar, Dave on sax, and Phil on bass and really made for a great sound.
The setlist was a nice mix of BC songs and random and obscure covers. Many of the songs that they did were not my favorites as part of an album, but they were all great as an acoustic set.
All in all, a great show in a great venue. Not the greatest ever, but one that significantly exceeded expectations.
Cursed Diamond
Jealous Again
Log Cabin Home In The Sky (originally by the Incredible String Band)
Girl From A Pawnshop
Peace Anyway
Late Nights Again (new song)
Answers (Rich Robinson)
Crow Black Chicken (Ry Cooder)
Miracle To Me
This Is The Way
Untangle My Mind *
Nonfiction * #
Girl On The Mountain * # (Chris Robinson)
Loser # (Grateful Dead)
Wiser Time * #
The Wheel * # (1st time played)
- encore -
The Dolphins * #
those noted with * feature Dave Ellis
those noted with # feature Phil Lesh
The show lasted just over two hours and was very good. I came in with minimal expectations; the last few Black Crowes shows I've seen have been average at best. However, I didn't really know what to expect with just Chris and Rich playing acoustic, so I was interested in seeing how the show would go. I'm happy to say that it easily exceeded all of my expectations. I wouldn't put it in the top 3 BC shows I've ever seen or anything, but it was good. Chris's voice sounded very good and Rich sounded great. It's interesting to see the maturation of the band, and I feel like that's what I've seen over the years. They've gone from a young "spit-in-your-face jam band", through the cool "smoking a ton of pot and drinking a lot" phase, through the weird "way too much coke and heroin" phase, through the "can't get along and break up the band" phase, through the "shitty solo album" phase, and now finally into the "mature, acoustic, controlled jamming and having fun" stage. It's been an interesting 15 years or so.
Anyway, the show started out with just Chris and Rich sitting on stage doing a number of songs. An interesting thing was that I saw Chris play the guitar for the first time. It was basically just rhythm guitar, but I always remember that Chris would play the tambourine or cowbell or something (we always thought that the rest of the band just gave him something harmless like the tambourine just to appease him and get him to shut up). He actually did a nice job on the guitar and played a little harp at the same time!
After the first ten songs or so, Dave Ellis (sax) came out and joined them for a song. It was nice and definitely added something to the sound. But the real show started when Phil Lesh (bass guitar) came out. Phil Lesh is somewhat of a folk hero in San Fran from his time with the 'Dead and his addition added both to the music and to the energy level of the show. The crowd went wild when he was introduced and Chris especially seemed very excited to have him on stage. The rest of the show basically had Chris on vocals, Rich on lead guitar, Dave on sax, and Phil on bass and really made for a great sound.
The setlist was a nice mix of BC songs and random and obscure covers. Many of the songs that they did were not my favorites as part of an album, but they were all great as an acoustic set.
All in all, a great show in a great venue. Not the greatest ever, but one that significantly exceeded expectations.
Apr 21, 2006
Another great political site
If you are interested in politics and the issues of the day, then Mickey Kaus's site is for you. Mickey is a blogger for Slate who lives in L.A., and could be politically described as a left-leaning moderate. He has no use for the Conventional Wisdom, and reguarly mocks the talking heads (as well as the LA Times) while coming up with his own take on the issues.
He is currently blogging a lot on the immigration issue, as well as the Page 6 Scandal at the New York Post.
www.kausfiles.com
He is currently blogging a lot on the immigration issue, as well as the Page 6 Scandal at the New York Post.
www.kausfiles.com
Apr 20, 2006
Let's run it back
Hate to post over Jay's tremendous picture post, but here are some additional comments I planned on putting up yesterday about the trip.
The Good:
- "Backdoor Action" made it through another trip, with strong support for Laura of all people. This time I think we went a little overboard.
- Did not mind running back Craft and Mesa Grill for dinner. Eating there two times in a span of 30 days was fantastic.
- Jay and I's Over/Under for stupid shit was a highlight of the trip. Could I get off a DDT on a craps table (Yes/No)? How far would I get running onto the Wynn golf course before the security would catch me (50 yards)? How many poker tables could I overturn at the Belagio (Over/Under set at .5)? And the infamous $50 wager on grinding a random bride dancing at the Rio. Not too sure which was funnier, the actual bet or Laura asking us what we were talking about and both of us stumbling over our words, with her just shaking her head in disgust.
- It felt like I was shopping for Real Estate on this trip, knowing that I needed a new home base for next March. I'm going to have to make a couple more trips out there to pick a new place. By default, I think we might be looking at the Mirage. A little concerned about the table limits though, since if it is going to be $25, then why not stay at the Wynn?
- Wiz's craps strategy. At first I thought I was just getting lucky, but I only had one losing session out of about 6-7 sessions. Let's see if it can continue.
-Baseball Betting- I did very well. It's nice to win at the sportsbook in Vegas, since its always seems like your getting back double the money, since you get back your initial investment.
-Sahara- Honestly, not a bad place to gamble. Cheap tables, solid dealers, and possibly the best drink ladies on the strip. Oh and it doesn't hurt to just totally tear up the place there. I was up close to $2500 at that place alone.
-Winning Trip- First time ever. And I was aggressive the entire trip, so I'm proud to say that I didn't win because I was playing 4 corners defense on the last day.
- Getting the head nod and the finger point from Johnny Chan made my day. Johnny Chan, Scotty Nyguen and Doyle Brunson are the guys that we idolized when we all first started to play, and its cool to say that I have now met 2 out of the 3 in person. I met Scotty in a mens bathroom at the Horseshoe a couple of years back and took a piss next to him. Very awkward.
-Craps. I'm not going rehash Jay's story, but I will make a comment on playing $5 craps instead of $10. Wow, what a difference. So much more enjoyable and relaxing. I will not play $10 craps again. Oh, and I have never been yelled at as much as at the Sahara. Sir, please bring those dice down a little on your roll. Sir, please hit the back wall. Sir, can you PLEASE bring down your roll. To my credit, I did have the perfect loft on the dice that was just too beautiful to change in the middle of my crazy roll. And this is also the first time I nearly ran out of space for my chips. Jay and I were just on fire at the Sahara.
-Wheel- Hitting about 4-5 Wheel of Fortune spins at a $1 slot. I don't care if I lose money at these machines, as long as I get to spin the wheel at least once or twice.
The Bad
-Monte Carlo- Everything sucked except for the Pai Gow and BJ dealers.
-Card Sharks kicked my ass this time around. Couldn't get anything started there.
-Was completely hammered after the Craft dinner. So much so, that Jay had to intervene between me and a trash can I almost walked right into.
-Rio's Seafood Buffet- What crap. Sooooo overrated. Especially after eating at the Wynn and paying close to half as much and enjoying it 10 times more. Never again will I make that trip over to that god awful casino and buffet.
-Played the computerized Roulette at the Rio. Not too bad, but I feel like I'm playing online or Keno or something like that, and it removes some of the fun.
- This will be the last time I stay with anyone in my room, except for Lee, Eric, and of course Carol. Nothing against the people I have stayed with in the past, but I'm tired of not getting sleep due to people snoring. That can completely ruin a trip. I'm not getting enough sleep as it is, so I don't need someone reducing it even further since they sound like a train.
-Weather- For it being in the middle of April, the weather was terrible. Cold and super windy. Ugh.
-Poker- Laura just destroying me on one hand that must of won her close to $100 from me alone. Great job Laura!!! Ugh.
-Anger Management- I might need to take some courses soon. I was snapping at pit bosses, dealers, and random people at the BJ tables. Not saying that they all didn't deserve it, but I could of been nicer.
Overall an excellent trip due to the winning and getting to see Jay, Laura, and Kerry, who I don't get to see that much anymore. It looks as if I will have to wait until 2008 before I see Jay and Laura out in Vegas again. Booooooo!!!!!
The Good:
- "Backdoor Action" made it through another trip, with strong support for Laura of all people. This time I think we went a little overboard.
- Did not mind running back Craft and Mesa Grill for dinner. Eating there two times in a span of 30 days was fantastic.
- Jay and I's Over/Under for stupid shit was a highlight of the trip. Could I get off a DDT on a craps table (Yes/No)? How far would I get running onto the Wynn golf course before the security would catch me (50 yards)? How many poker tables could I overturn at the Belagio (Over/Under set at .5)? And the infamous $50 wager on grinding a random bride dancing at the Rio. Not too sure which was funnier, the actual bet or Laura asking us what we were talking about and both of us stumbling over our words, with her just shaking her head in disgust.
- It felt like I was shopping for Real Estate on this trip, knowing that I needed a new home base for next March. I'm going to have to make a couple more trips out there to pick a new place. By default, I think we might be looking at the Mirage. A little concerned about the table limits though, since if it is going to be $25, then why not stay at the Wynn?
- Wiz's craps strategy. At first I thought I was just getting lucky, but I only had one losing session out of about 6-7 sessions. Let's see if it can continue.
-Baseball Betting- I did very well. It's nice to win at the sportsbook in Vegas, since its always seems like your getting back double the money, since you get back your initial investment.
-Sahara- Honestly, not a bad place to gamble. Cheap tables, solid dealers, and possibly the best drink ladies on the strip. Oh and it doesn't hurt to just totally tear up the place there. I was up close to $2500 at that place alone.
-Winning Trip- First time ever. And I was aggressive the entire trip, so I'm proud to say that I didn't win because I was playing 4 corners defense on the last day.
- Getting the head nod and the finger point from Johnny Chan made my day. Johnny Chan, Scotty Nyguen and Doyle Brunson are the guys that we idolized when we all first started to play, and its cool to say that I have now met 2 out of the 3 in person. I met Scotty in a mens bathroom at the Horseshoe a couple of years back and took a piss next to him. Very awkward.
-Craps. I'm not going rehash Jay's story, but I will make a comment on playing $5 craps instead of $10. Wow, what a difference. So much more enjoyable and relaxing. I will not play $10 craps again. Oh, and I have never been yelled at as much as at the Sahara. Sir, please bring those dice down a little on your roll. Sir, please hit the back wall. Sir, can you PLEASE bring down your roll. To my credit, I did have the perfect loft on the dice that was just too beautiful to change in the middle of my crazy roll. And this is also the first time I nearly ran out of space for my chips. Jay and I were just on fire at the Sahara.
-Wheel- Hitting about 4-5 Wheel of Fortune spins at a $1 slot. I don't care if I lose money at these machines, as long as I get to spin the wheel at least once or twice.
The Bad
-Monte Carlo- Everything sucked except for the Pai Gow and BJ dealers.
-Card Sharks kicked my ass this time around. Couldn't get anything started there.
-Was completely hammered after the Craft dinner. So much so, that Jay had to intervene between me and a trash can I almost walked right into.
-Rio's Seafood Buffet- What crap. Sooooo overrated. Especially after eating at the Wynn and paying close to half as much and enjoying it 10 times more. Never again will I make that trip over to that god awful casino and buffet.
-Played the computerized Roulette at the Rio. Not too bad, but I feel like I'm playing online or Keno or something like that, and it removes some of the fun.
- This will be the last time I stay with anyone in my room, except for Lee, Eric, and of course Carol. Nothing against the people I have stayed with in the past, but I'm tired of not getting sleep due to people snoring. That can completely ruin a trip. I'm not getting enough sleep as it is, so I don't need someone reducing it even further since they sound like a train.
-Weather- For it being in the middle of April, the weather was terrible. Cold and super windy. Ugh.
-Poker- Laura just destroying me on one hand that must of won her close to $100 from me alone. Great job Laura!!! Ugh.
-Anger Management- I might need to take some courses soon. I was snapping at pit bosses, dealers, and random people at the BJ tables. Not saying that they all didn't deserve it, but I could of been nicer.
Overall an excellent trip due to the winning and getting to see Jay, Laura, and Kerry, who I don't get to see that much anymore. It looks as if I will have to wait until 2008 before I see Jay and Laura out in Vegas again. Booooooo!!!!!
Reality Bites!
Well, got back to Maryland My Maryland (Vic at the Wynn was so impressed with our Preakness knowledge!) last night. I can't believe I am back already. I have to admit, I kind of got used to a couple of things. Like:
We had two tremendous meals at Mesa Grill and Craftsteak. I love Craftsteak for its simplicity and atmosphere. Not stuffy at all, extremely relaxed (being able to stretch out on their couches while I scarf down a massive juicy steak is my favorite aspect of that place). Just a great meal. Here is a pic from Craftsteak that is after the carnage.
I was pleasantly surprised with Mesa Grill. For those who don't know me - I like my food plain, and I am an extremely fussy eater. But the food was incredible. If I liked it, then anybody would love that place - fantastic.
Best gambling moment was Derek and I opening up a craps table (and I don't shoot the dice, so it kept going back to him). It started out a little choppy, but Derek finally got on a serious roll. We are talking about Pedro in 99 kind of roll. Just an assassin mowing every point down. Oh, and a special shoutout to the WFBS (Wiz Field Bet System) - that truly worked wonders. By the end, we were looking at one of the best sights in a casino. All craps players know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm talking about seeing the dusty circles around the stacks of chips that USED to be over by the dealers, but are now in our racks!!!!! I love seeing that. Hah!!!!!
Second best gambling moment was hitting the over in the NYY/TOR game in the 3rd inning. Watching Randy Johnson get smacked around like a whore was satisfying. Also getting that walkoff HR by the Sox on Patriots day was pretty nice (and very lucky!!)
Other random events:
I can't speak highly enough of the Wynn casino. One of the most unique and amazing casinos I've seen. Its like the Bellagio (high end), but better. Then when you walk out on to the patio and see the golf course overlooking massive water falls, its just breathtaking. Its so calm and relaxing, yet you are on the strip!! Even though it was very high class, the dealers and pit bosses were really friendly to us. And we weren't exactly on our best behavior. We were all fairly drunk and we had taken over a BJ table (trouble right there), but a pit boss came over and struck up some conversation 
and comped us a buffet (I thought at first he was moving in just to intimidate us to get us to pickup). Pretty surprising and I can promise you that would NEVER happen at Bellagio (hey or the Monte Carlo for that matter!!!!). I remember our last trip when Derek, Eric and I played craps at Bellagio and we were cheering when we won, the place got so silent, and we got so many stares, the only thing missing was the scratched needle moving off a record sound. Assholes.
Another cool thing to checkout was the WPT tournament that was being held at the Bellagio. All the big poker players were there Hellmuth, Ivey, Harrington (with the RS cap on of course), Johnny Chan, Sammy Farhar (sp?), etc. It was fun to check out the event, and then see a bunch of them hanging out in the sportsbook after.
Funny moments:
Yelling out "OK I'm reloaded now, here comes the pain!!!!" after
hitting the ATM
Trying to convince Derek to grind with this random Bride at the Rio and yell "I get deeper from the back!!" Never happened though...
Derek telling Kerri that he was going to give her a "DDT". I haven't heard "wrastling" lexicon since grade school.
"The Sahara - where cocktail waitresses go to die" - Kerri
That above quote may have been true, but their service was outstanding! And when I'm parched, I'd rather have fast service than eye candy (if forced to choose, the Wynn was full of both).
Sad notes:
Like returning to your old neighborhood growing up, the Monte Carlo was showing its age and was disappointing in many ways. It was fine that we were able to give her a proper sendoff, but we have officially graduated. Their service was below average, we didn't get comped on anything (although in fairness we were on the poker rate already so our room rates were very good - but the pitbosses don't know that). The poker room was terrible. I used to LOVE that room. Now, they offered No Limit and $2-$4 (they had 3-6 once). Can't we offer anything in between???? Isn't that a bit of a large spread between games?! WTF?? Then, because they are offering all these tournaments, they take players away from the cash games, and each game is short handed. So the blinds are racing around. It sucked. SUCKED. Oh, and don't think this is sour grapes - I was +$160 over three small poker sessions even though I really didn't have one run of good cards (best hand I had was a straight) with a lot of that coming against idiots at 2-4 who think they are great poker players because they watch ESPN and Rounders). I just wanted to play more 3-6, and not have a stupid "sit and go" destroy a table every 20 minutes. Oh well...
We really didn't even gamble at the Monte that much, we actually played much more at the Sahara, and that probably saved our trip!! Didn't think I would ever type that sentence. But I cashed out ahead for each of our three visits there. Oh, and I still have some money working over at Leroy's Sportsbook (think local bookie who got bought out by a casino, wears a striped referee shirt every day, personally takes your bets at his one window, while games are shown on 1988 style TVs). Thats Leroys.
All in all, we had a great time, special kudos and thanks to Derek for carting us around everywhere. And he also was nice enough to blast X-rated rap songs when we pulled up to a valet stand at the casinos. Nice. :)
Now, I am getting ready and packing for our trip to Charlotte tomorrow with a 7 hour car ride with a fussy, teething, ear infected baby. Back to reality indeed.... I'll be ready for another Vegas trip in two years. Which will probably be for Derek's bachelor party... I'll be ready for another Ali like comback into the lions den...
- not having any responsibility
- drinking all day
- having my biggest worry of the day be to make sure I don't miss getting my early Sportsbook bets in
- Using my laptop for betting lines research instead of intense coding
- Eating approximately 22 courses of excellent food each day (with multiple desserts)
We had two tremendous meals at Mesa Grill and Craftsteak. I love Craftsteak for its simplicity and atmosphere. Not stuffy at all, extremely relaxed (being able to stretch out on their couches while I scarf down a massive juicy steak is my favorite aspect of that place). Just a great meal. Here is a pic from Craftsteak that is after the carnage.I was pleasantly surprised with Mesa Grill. For those who don't know me - I like my food plain, and I am an extremely fussy eater. But the food was incredible. If I liked it, then anybody would love that place - fantastic.
Best gambling moment was Derek and I opening up a craps table (and I don't shoot the dice, so it kept going back to him). It started out a little choppy, but Derek finally got on a serious roll. We are talking about Pedro in 99 kind of roll. Just an assassin mowing every point down. Oh, and a special shoutout to the WFBS (Wiz Field Bet System) - that truly worked wonders. By the end, we were looking at one of the best sights in a casino. All craps players know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm talking about seeing the dusty circles around the stacks of chips that USED to be over by the dealers, but are now in our racks!!!!! I love seeing that. Hah!!!!!
Second best gambling moment was hitting the over in the NYY/TOR game in the 3rd inning. Watching Randy Johnson get smacked around like a whore was satisfying. Also getting that walkoff HR by the Sox on Patriots day was pretty nice (and very lucky!!)
Other random events:
I can't speak highly enough of the Wynn casino. One of the most unique and amazing casinos I've seen. Its like the Bellagio (high end), but better. Then when you walk out on to the patio and see the golf course overlooking massive water falls, its just breathtaking. Its so calm and relaxing, yet you are on the strip!! Even though it was very high class, the dealers and pit bosses were really friendly to us. And we weren't exactly on our best behavior. We were all fairly drunk and we had taken over a BJ table (trouble right there), but a pit boss came over and struck up some conversation 
and comped us a buffet (I thought at first he was moving in just to intimidate us to get us to pickup). Pretty surprising and I can promise you that would NEVER happen at Bellagio (hey or the Monte Carlo for that matter!!!!). I remember our last trip when Derek, Eric and I played craps at Bellagio and we were cheering when we won, the place got so silent, and we got so many stares, the only thing missing was the scratched needle moving off a record sound. Assholes.
Another cool thing to checkout was the WPT tournament that was being held at the Bellagio. All the big poker players were there Hellmuth, Ivey, Harrington (with the RS cap on of course), Johnny Chan, Sammy Farhar (sp?), etc. It was fun to check out the event, and then see a bunch of them hanging out in the sportsbook after.Funny moments:
Yelling out "OK I'm reloaded now, here comes the pain!!!!" after
hitting the ATMTrying to convince Derek to grind with this random Bride at the Rio and yell "I get deeper from the back!!" Never happened though...
Derek telling Kerri that he was going to give her a "DDT". I haven't heard "wrastling" lexicon since grade school.
"The Sahara - where cocktail waitresses go to die" - KerriThat above quote may have been true, but their service was outstanding! And when I'm parched, I'd rather have fast service than eye candy (if forced to choose, the Wynn was full of both).
Sad notes:
Like returning to your old neighborhood growing up, the Monte Carlo was showing its age and was disappointing in many ways. It was fine that we were able to give her a proper sendoff, but we have officially graduated. Their service was below average, we didn't get comped on anything (although in fairness we were on the poker rate already so our room rates were very good - but the pitbosses don't know that). The poker room was terrible. I used to LOVE that room. Now, they offered No Limit and $2-$4 (they had 3-6 once). Can't we offer anything in between???? Isn't that a bit of a large spread between games?! WTF?? Then, because they are offering all these tournaments, they take players away from the cash games, and each game is short handed. So the blinds are racing around. It sucked. SUCKED. Oh, and don't think this is sour grapes - I was +$160 over three small poker sessions even though I really didn't have one run of good cards (best hand I had was a straight) with a lot of that coming against idiots at 2-4 who think they are great poker players because they watch ESPN and Rounders). I just wanted to play more 3-6, and not have a stupid "sit and go" destroy a table every 20 minutes. Oh well...
We really didn't even gamble at the Monte that much, we actually played much more at the Sahara, and that probably saved our trip!! Didn't think I would ever type that sentence. But I cashed out ahead for each of our three visits there. Oh, and I still have some money working over at Leroy's Sportsbook (think local bookie who got bought out by a casino, wears a striped referee shirt every day, personally takes your bets at his one window, while games are shown on 1988 style TVs). Thats Leroys.
All in all, we had a great time, special kudos and thanks to Derek for carting us around everywhere. And he also was nice enough to blast X-rated rap songs when we pulled up to a valet stand at the casinos. Nice. :)
Now, I am getting ready and packing for our trip to Charlotte tomorrow with a 7 hour car ride with a fussy, teething, ear infected baby. Back to reality indeed.... I'll be ready for another Vegas trip in two years. Which will probably be for Derek's bachelor party... I'll be ready for another Ali like comback into the lions den...
Happy "74" Day to Everyone!
Today, April 20, is the 16th anniversary of one of the most important rounds of golf in my life. On April 20, 1990, this 18-year old freshman shot a 74 in the 2nd round at the UAA Championships to make all-conference 2nd team. I consider this round to be the beginning of my modern golf career.
To understand how important that round was, you have to have the perspective. At that time, I had never broken 80 in any round. I even had a hole-in-one in a round to help me shoot at 81, but I never broke the magical 80 barrier.
For those who played in 1990, golf equipment was light years behind what it is now. I played with a Spalding Executive set of clubs; my woods were actual woods. I hit my 3-wood off the tee (couldn't control my driver) about 210-215 yards. 420 yard par 4's were beyond my reach.
Our college team received a brand new sleeve of Ram Tour Golf balls before each round. They could be charitably described as "adequate".
The tournament was held at Marshfield CC in Marshfield, MA. I shot an 88 in round 1 and found myself in 19th (or so) place out of 30 golfers. Somehow, all sorts of things clicked together in the 2nd round. I thinned an 8 iron from 130 or so (uphill) on 1 that finished 2 feet from the hole; before I knew what was happening, I strung enough pars together with a few bogeys to make the turn at 2-over 37. After a birdie on 11, a disastrous double on 12 and a 30-footer for birdie on 13, I still was at 2 over with 5 to play.
Being extremely nervous at this point, (the term "crapping my pants" comes to mind), I got home with two more bogies and 3 pars to finish with a 4-over 74. It was the best round of the tournament by any golfer, and vaulted me to 8th place. The 8th place finish gave me all-conference 2nd team honors; I still have the certificate from the UAA for that year.
Yes, it was a 6100 yard course; yes, we played the white tees, and others who played in that tournament (Steve) called the course "an unmitigated dump", and yes, it is the UAA, one of the least athletic conferences in Division III. But a 74 is a 74, and for someone who had not broke 80 before, it was a monumental round that will always be remembered. The round vaulted my confidence and was proof that I could compete at the D-III level.
Once I arrived back to the dorm that night, I checked my fridge to see how I could celebrate with my roommates; all I had was a 6-pack of Hamm's Light, some A&W cream soda and Bacardi. Well, this occasion was too big for beer, so the "74" was born - the "74" is a mix of cream soda and Bacardi.
Enjoy a "74" with your friends today. I sure will.
To understand how important that round was, you have to have the perspective. At that time, I had never broken 80 in any round. I even had a hole-in-one in a round to help me shoot at 81, but I never broke the magical 80 barrier.
For those who played in 1990, golf equipment was light years behind what it is now. I played with a Spalding Executive set of clubs; my woods were actual woods. I hit my 3-wood off the tee (couldn't control my driver) about 210-215 yards. 420 yard par 4's were beyond my reach.
Our college team received a brand new sleeve of Ram Tour Golf balls before each round. They could be charitably described as "adequate".
The tournament was held at Marshfield CC in Marshfield, MA. I shot an 88 in round 1 and found myself in 19th (or so) place out of 30 golfers. Somehow, all sorts of things clicked together in the 2nd round. I thinned an 8 iron from 130 or so (uphill) on 1 that finished 2 feet from the hole; before I knew what was happening, I strung enough pars together with a few bogeys to make the turn at 2-over 37. After a birdie on 11, a disastrous double on 12 and a 30-footer for birdie on 13, I still was at 2 over with 5 to play.
Being extremely nervous at this point, (the term "crapping my pants" comes to mind), I got home with two more bogies and 3 pars to finish with a 4-over 74. It was the best round of the tournament by any golfer, and vaulted me to 8th place. The 8th place finish gave me all-conference 2nd team honors; I still have the certificate from the UAA for that year.
Yes, it was a 6100 yard course; yes, we played the white tees, and others who played in that tournament (Steve) called the course "an unmitigated dump", and yes, it is the UAA, one of the least athletic conferences in Division III. But a 74 is a 74, and for someone who had not broke 80 before, it was a monumental round that will always be remembered. The round vaulted my confidence and was proof that I could compete at the D-III level.
Once I arrived back to the dorm that night, I checked my fridge to see how I could celebrate with my roommates; all I had was a 6-pack of Hamm's Light, some A&W cream soda and Bacardi. Well, this occasion was too big for beer, so the "74" was born - the "74" is a mix of cream soda and Bacardi.
Enjoy a "74" with your friends today. I sure will.
Apr 19, 2006
Sports Blogging
My God - an actual post about the current events in sports today!
First, how about some Cleveland love!
1) Really like how the Tribe is playing right now. At the moment, now leading 6-3 over the O's. We are 9-5, with Byrd nowhere close to his potential, Westbrook being a bit inconsistent, Sabathia on the DL, and the bullpen a minor disappointment. The offense is picking up where it left off; only Peralta would be someone who is even close to underperforming.
I can't stress enough how big that opening series win was vs. the Sox; it gives the team confidence that they can take on the White Sox and win.
(Update: scratch that about the O's: now down 13-8. My bullpen comment was a little prescient, I guess.
1a) Flashback for the Tribe: here is an link to a site that has the audio from the last 4 innings of baseball's biggest comeback ever, the Indians' 15-14 win over Seattle from August, 2001. The Tribe was down 14-2 going into the bottom of the 7th.
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view.php?id=34817 , and click on "watch this movie".
2) Yes, I am excited about the Cavs in the NBA playoffs - first time since 1998! (And no, I don't remember who they played that year. Was Mike Fratello the coach? 10 points for anyone who can come up with an answer to "Who were the Cavs' last playoff opponent?", without looking.) I expect LeBron to shine, Hughes to provide some key points and help in certain stretches, and Z to clog the middle and be a ball hog.
Has it been determined that they are playing the Wizards yet? God, this is a loooooong last 2 weeks of the season. When does the first playoff games start? Sunday? Friday? Anybody know?
Bottom line - I expect the Cavs to win in 6 games or so against any of the first-round possible opponents; however, they will then be lucky to win 1 game vs. the Pistons.
Derek will, of course, put in some comment about me being a fair weather Cavs fan. So? I can admit that. Although not many so-called "fair weather" fans would know who Randy Wittman is.
3) Give me an "N"!
Give me a "G"!
Give me an "A"!
Give me a "T"!
Give me an "A"!
What does that spell?
NGATA!
Draft day is only 10 days away. I'm not married to Haloti Ngata; I'd be happy with any of these picks at #12:
Ngata, DE, Oregon
Justice, OL, USC
Wembley, DE/LB, Fla St
Sims, LB, Fla St
Bunkley, DE, Fla St
This, of course, assumes studs like A J Hawk, D'Brick, and the three QBs are gone. One mock draft had A J Hawk (LB, Ohio St), falling to #11; if that happens, expect a Browns trade up to get him.
3a) The Browns' schedule was released; the first four games are:
home vs New Orleans
at Cincinnati (see below)
home vs Baltimore
at Oakland
I think any neutral observer would see that there is a possibility of a 4-0 start in there. Derek, Mr. Anti-Brown, would say we're headed for a 1-3 start, since Aaron Brooks is obviously an upgrade over Kerry Collins (a QB that Derek somehow always really liked), and this, again, is Boller's breakout year. But Derek is hardly neutral.
4) News item: the Bengals have signed QB Anthony Wright to a 1-year contract. This is for insurance for Carson Palmer and gives the Bengals a QB that has some experience in starting games if/when Carson can't go to start the season.
As Jerry said to George in one episode: "Good luck with that..."
5) What is the NHL's plan for televising the playoffs? Are there going to be games on OLN every night? Any other station carrying games? This is the best time of year for watching hockey. I don't know anyone on any team, but I will stay up and watch overtime playoff hockey. Anyone out there know how the playoffs will be covered on TV? Or does anyone care?
5a) San Jose vs Nashville. An arena league regular season game, or a first-round Stanley Cup matchup? I report, you decide.
6) I grew up in the era of classic TV jingles - the late 70s and 80s. It hit me today that one of the more recognizable jingles out there now is for FreeCreditReport.com. And this is on ESPN! God, what has happened to the jingle?
7) Freddie note: At the ice cream place last night, he had a strawberry soft serve cone dipped in.... green lemon-lime hard shell coating. It was like eating a frozen Kermit the Frog cone. It tasted God-awful, but Freddie ate it all.
(He also asked if he could dip his pineapple in mashed potatoes, ranch vegetable dip, and barbeque sauce all in the same bite. Um... .go for it! )
Ah, the appetite of 5-year-olds.
It's now Baltimore 18, Cleveland 9 in the 9th. Ugly.
First, how about some Cleveland love!
1) Really like how the Tribe is playing right now. At the moment, now leading 6-3 over the O's. We are 9-5, with Byrd nowhere close to his potential, Westbrook being a bit inconsistent, Sabathia on the DL, and the bullpen a minor disappointment. The offense is picking up where it left off; only Peralta would be someone who is even close to underperforming.
I can't stress enough how big that opening series win was vs. the Sox; it gives the team confidence that they can take on the White Sox and win.
(Update: scratch that about the O's: now down 13-8. My bullpen comment was a little prescient, I guess.
1a) Flashback for the Tribe: here is an link to a site that has the audio from the last 4 innings of baseball's biggest comeback ever, the Indians' 15-14 win over Seattle from August, 2001. The Tribe was down 14-2 going into the bottom of the 7th.
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view.php?id=34817 , and click on "watch this movie".
2) Yes, I am excited about the Cavs in the NBA playoffs - first time since 1998! (And no, I don't remember who they played that year. Was Mike Fratello the coach? 10 points for anyone who can come up with an answer to "Who were the Cavs' last playoff opponent?", without looking.) I expect LeBron to shine, Hughes to provide some key points and help in certain stretches, and Z to clog the middle and be a ball hog.
Has it been determined that they are playing the Wizards yet? God, this is a loooooong last 2 weeks of the season. When does the first playoff games start? Sunday? Friday? Anybody know?
Bottom line - I expect the Cavs to win in 6 games or so against any of the first-round possible opponents; however, they will then be lucky to win 1 game vs. the Pistons.
Derek will, of course, put in some comment about me being a fair weather Cavs fan. So? I can admit that. Although not many so-called "fair weather" fans would know who Randy Wittman is.
3) Give me an "N"!
Give me a "G"!
Give me an "A"!
Give me a "T"!
Give me an "A"!
What does that spell?
NGATA!
Draft day is only 10 days away. I'm not married to Haloti Ngata; I'd be happy with any of these picks at #12:
Ngata, DE, Oregon
Justice, OL, USC
Wembley, DE/LB, Fla St
Sims, LB, Fla St
Bunkley, DE, Fla St
This, of course, assumes studs like A J Hawk, D'Brick, and the three QBs are gone. One mock draft had A J Hawk (LB, Ohio St), falling to #11; if that happens, expect a Browns trade up to get him.
3a) The Browns' schedule was released; the first four games are:
home vs New Orleans
at Cincinnati (see below)
home vs Baltimore
at Oakland
I think any neutral observer would see that there is a possibility of a 4-0 start in there. Derek, Mr. Anti-Brown, would say we're headed for a 1-3 start, since Aaron Brooks is obviously an upgrade over Kerry Collins (a QB that Derek somehow always really liked), and this, again, is Boller's breakout year. But Derek is hardly neutral.
4) News item: the Bengals have signed QB Anthony Wright to a 1-year contract. This is for insurance for Carson Palmer and gives the Bengals a QB that has some experience in starting games if/when Carson can't go to start the season.
As Jerry said to George in one episode: "Good luck with that..."
5) What is the NHL's plan for televising the playoffs? Are there going to be games on OLN every night? Any other station carrying games? This is the best time of year for watching hockey. I don't know anyone on any team, but I will stay up and watch overtime playoff hockey. Anyone out there know how the playoffs will be covered on TV? Or does anyone care?
5a) San Jose vs Nashville. An arena league regular season game, or a first-round Stanley Cup matchup? I report, you decide.
6) I grew up in the era of classic TV jingles - the late 70s and 80s. It hit me today that one of the more recognizable jingles out there now is for FreeCreditReport.com. And this is on ESPN! God, what has happened to the jingle?
7) Freddie note: At the ice cream place last night, he had a strawberry soft serve cone dipped in.... green lemon-lime hard shell coating. It was like eating a frozen Kermit the Frog cone. It tasted God-awful, but Freddie ate it all.
(He also asked if he could dip his pineapple in mashed potatoes, ranch vegetable dip, and barbeque sauce all in the same bite. Um... .go for it! )
Ah, the appetite of 5-year-olds.
It's now Baltimore 18, Cleveland 9 in the 9th. Ugly.
Apr 18, 2006
Apr 17, 2006
2006 Schedule Announced!
Hope all had a happy Easter. I've been getting a couple of phone calls from Derek in Vegas - after about 24 hours or so, he is up a good deal. Also, all on the trip seems to be doing well too. Hope this continues!
With my return from the DL this past weekend, it's time to announce the 2006 Eric Zahn golf tour schedule! 9 events are planned for this upcoming season. Most events are significant local, state, or national events/ qualifiers.
Preseason: April 22: Hamilton County (OH) 2-man scramble with Don. A good event to get the tourney juices flowing.
Event 1: May 1-2: Cincinnati 2-man championship, with Don. First day is a scramble, second day is a best ball. Would like to finish in the top 10 in the city.
Event 2: May 30: Ohio Amateur Qualifier at Moraine CC, site of the 1945 PGA Championship. I have qualified for the state championship once in 5 tries; this usually takes about a 76 or 77 to advance.
Event 3: June 12-14: Ohio Mid-Am Championship. The state tournament for amateurs 25 and older. I've played this course before (in Dayton); I'd like to be in the top 20.
Event 4: June 19: US Public Links Qualifier This will be the 11th year I've tried to qualify; this is a 36 hole qualifier open to anyone with a 8 handicap or lower. A good barometer, even though I've never really come close to qualifying.
Event 5: Jun 26-30: Cincinnati Met Championship. The city championship is a free-for-all, with over 200 entrants competing to make it to a 64-person match play bracket. Due to various reasons, I've only tried twice to qualify, and not really coming close either time. It usually going to take a 36-hole score of 152-153 to qualify, which is certainly doable.
Event 6: Jul 11-15: The 100th Ohio Amateur. If I qualify on May 30, the state championship will be held at the famed Canterbury CC in Cleveland. Canterbury was the site of the 1973 PGA, where Jack Nicklaus won his 14ht major, breaking Bobby Jones' record of 13 majors. I've never played the course, even though it is about 15 minutes from my college campus. It would be an honor to play it.
Event 6a: Jul 7-9: Iowa Masters If I don't qualify, I've been cleared to play in the Iowa Masters, a great event that I played in last year. I've already got permission to make the road trip.
Event 7: Jul 31-Aug 4: The 78th Ohio Public Golfers Championship at Apple Valley. Combine 256 golfers in the heat of August, going off in foursomes, in a more relaxed tournament atmosphere, and you have a fun (but still irritating, at times) event. My Dad has caddied for me each year since 1998 and is known for his cigar smoking with a lot of the players. I really missed this event when I was in Iowa. One drawback - the foursomes in a tournament do not lend itself to speedy play. 5:30+ rounds are the norm, with 6 hour rounds not unheard of.
Event 8: Aug 7: US Mid Am Qualifier, at TPC of River's Bend. If I am ever going to go to a USGA national championship, this will be the event. 18 holes where a score of 70 is usually good enough. Highlight: I won a 4-man playoff in 2001 to become the 4th alternate out of the Pittsburgh qualifier. Needless to say, I was not called to fill a spot.
Event 9: Aug 14-15: Cincinnati Mid-Am. The city championship for the 25 and older guys. I would like to be in the top 10 this year; I finished 12th in 2002.
Tournament golf is the truest test of anyone's game; many "good" golfers say they "shoot in the low 70s", but that's on their home course where they play 40-50 times a year. The truest test is golf at its most formal, where every putt counts and (for the most part) no one has a home course advantage.
If anyone is interested in entering these events, e-mail me (or post in the comments) and I can fill you in on more details - websites, addresses, etc.
With my return from the DL this past weekend, it's time to announce the 2006 Eric Zahn golf tour schedule! 9 events are planned for this upcoming season. Most events are significant local, state, or national events/ qualifiers.
Preseason: April 22: Hamilton County (OH) 2-man scramble with Don. A good event to get the tourney juices flowing.
Event 1: May 1-2: Cincinnati 2-man championship, with Don. First day is a scramble, second day is a best ball. Would like to finish in the top 10 in the city.
Event 2: May 30: Ohio Amateur Qualifier at Moraine CC, site of the 1945 PGA Championship. I have qualified for the state championship once in 5 tries; this usually takes about a 76 or 77 to advance.
Event 3: June 12-14: Ohio Mid-Am Championship. The state tournament for amateurs 25 and older. I've played this course before (in Dayton); I'd like to be in the top 20.
Event 4: June 19: US Public Links Qualifier This will be the 11th year I've tried to qualify; this is a 36 hole qualifier open to anyone with a 8 handicap or lower. A good barometer, even though I've never really come close to qualifying.
Event 5: Jun 26-30: Cincinnati Met Championship. The city championship is a free-for-all, with over 200 entrants competing to make it to a 64-person match play bracket. Due to various reasons, I've only tried twice to qualify, and not really coming close either time. It usually going to take a 36-hole score of 152-153 to qualify, which is certainly doable.
Event 6: Jul 11-15: The 100th Ohio Amateur. If I qualify on May 30, the state championship will be held at the famed Canterbury CC in Cleveland. Canterbury was the site of the 1973 PGA, where Jack Nicklaus won his 14ht major, breaking Bobby Jones' record of 13 majors. I've never played the course, even though it is about 15 minutes from my college campus. It would be an honor to play it.
Event 6a: Jul 7-9: Iowa Masters If I don't qualify, I've been cleared to play in the Iowa Masters, a great event that I played in last year. I've already got permission to make the road trip.
Event 7: Jul 31-Aug 4: The 78th Ohio Public Golfers Championship at Apple Valley. Combine 256 golfers in the heat of August, going off in foursomes, in a more relaxed tournament atmosphere, and you have a fun (but still irritating, at times) event. My Dad has caddied for me each year since 1998 and is known for his cigar smoking with a lot of the players. I really missed this event when I was in Iowa. One drawback - the foursomes in a tournament do not lend itself to speedy play. 5:30+ rounds are the norm, with 6 hour rounds not unheard of.
Event 8: Aug 7: US Mid Am Qualifier, at TPC of River's Bend. If I am ever going to go to a USGA national championship, this will be the event. 18 holes where a score of 70 is usually good enough. Highlight: I won a 4-man playoff in 2001 to become the 4th alternate out of the Pittsburgh qualifier. Needless to say, I was not called to fill a spot.
Event 9: Aug 14-15: Cincinnati Mid-Am. The city championship for the 25 and older guys. I would like to be in the top 10 this year; I finished 12th in 2002.
Tournament golf is the truest test of anyone's game; many "good" golfers say they "shoot in the low 70s", but that's on their home course where they play 40-50 times a year. The truest test is golf at its most formal, where every putt counts and (for the most part) no one has a home course advantage.
If anyone is interested in entering these events, e-mail me (or post in the comments) and I can fill you in on more details - websites, addresses, etc.
Apr 15, 2006
You want to earn $14 the hard way???
Might as well continue with the Caddyshack theme here on the eve of my 5th Vegas trip of the year. This trip might be a perfect storm, consisting of two people that haven't been out in years (Jay and Laura), coupled with two guys that are always pushing the "I think I've gambled and drank for 48 straight hours and I'm feeling pretty good" (Robbie and Ghettor), with me stuck in the middle. Tack on a possible late arrival in Ben, and we have a solid crew of hardcore gamblers . For the next four days I expect to get maybe 10 hours of sleep. Here is my game plan for this trip:1. BJ- This will become my go to game this trip. Did well and had fun the last trip, so I'll continue to ride the good wave. Plus I won't have Lee's sisters boyfriend there to screw things up.
2. Pai Gow- Will be my breakfast game. I really didn't do this last time, and I need to get back into the grove.
3. Craps- Will try to stay away as much as possible, but I'm sure Jay and I will make a couple of late night runs.
4. Roulette- With Eric's new strategy working for the most part last trip, I'm sure I'll spend a lot of time here, and if Ben joins us on Tuesday, this could turn into a blood bath.
5. Poker- I've lost the urge to play. This will probably be the last time I spend time in the poker room.
6. Sportsbook- Ahhh, baseball. I'll try to do as much as I can and report back how well I do.
Starting to get excited!!!!!! This will probably be the last time at the Monte, so it should be a decent farwell.
Apr 14, 2006
Bonds in LA
This post isn't about the FEDs, its about making sure you watch Sportscenter over the next couple of days as Bonds makes his first appearance in LA. The hatred of Bonds and SF in this area is at a new level and I'm sure something crazy will happen this weekend. Either the fans will take a page out of the San Diego playbook and escalate it a bit by showering the field in needles, or more likely something more serious. I'm getting excited just thinking about what's going to happen. Dodger fans might be worse then NY fans, since the worst thing that will happen to you at a NY game will be heckled and maybe a fight. At Dodger stadium, you have to worry about getting stabbed or shot. Make sure those of you that have the baseball package TIVO that game all weekend.
"A War Zone"
I was going to blog about lighter topics today, but the news of the tornadoes that passed through Eastern Iowa and Iowa City (in particular) are on my mind right now.
Reports are that there are no fatalities in Iowa City, and that the P&G plant (located about 2 miles east of downtown) was not hit. However, the tornados touched down in downtown Iowa City, causing all sorts of damage to the buildings there.
Here is damage from a place called "Happy Joe's", which is a kids' pizza and ice cream place. Freddie was here at least twice a year for birthdays for kids in his day care class. I'm sure he would cry if he saw this picture. (As most of you know, we lived in Iowa City for 2 years, moving back to Ohio this January.)
If the tornado did hit the plant, I'm fairly sure Janice and/or I would be on our way to Iowa to rebuild the plant. The Iowa City plant is the single manufacturing site for shampoo and conditioner in North America, and a disaster like this would cause major outages in shampoo for the US. Yes, we can make fun of the fact that Derek wouldn't get his Herbal Essence, but in reality, this would cause a major hit to the profit and stock price, affecting thousands of P&G'ers worldwide.
This happened twice before, once in Jackson, TN a few years back (Pringles), and last year with Katrina in New Orleans (Folgers).
Hopefully, the reports are true and that still no fatalities are reported.
Driving Encounters
I've had it!!! I'm done. I'm sick and tired of bad drivers on my morning commutes. I can deal with some of the people that cut me off and stuff like that, but what I'm absolutely losing my mind to are the stupid people that drive the speed limit in the left hand lane. And the funny thing is starting to happen. Its the same people!!! The exact same people every morning. How crazy is that? And I give them the same reaction each time and its not working. So, I'm taking action. I'm taking down their license plate numbers and getting their personal information and will driving to their houses and slashing their tires. Seriously. And if that doesn't work, then I'm prepared to take it to the next level. Jesus!!!!!!! And I want your input on the following two statements to just see if its a local thing here in CA or if its true on a national basis:
- Volkswagen Bugs- Do you get excited pulling up to one of these hoping to see a decent looking chick, and 90% of the time its some older ugly hippy lady driving? And the other 10% is usually a dude. I have not seen a young good looking women drive one of these cars ever.
- Volkswagen Jettas- 95% of the people driving these cars are above average looking women. The % goes higher when the car is white. Simply amazing.
And finally I had a very strange encounter yesterday at a stop light in Long Beach. While stopped waiting for the light to turn green, a very large black guy was crossing the street. We made eye contact, and for some strange reason I smiled at him. And it was one of those creepy smiles. No freaking idea why I did this. He slowed down and gave me one of those "What the F are you looking at?" stares, and for some reason I couldn't look the other way, nor stop smiling. When he got in front of my car, he just stopped and gave me one of Lee's patented smirks with the head shakes. I shrugged my shoulders indicating that I'm a freaking dork and to pay no attention to me and please spare my life. It worked and we were both on our way, but the hell is wrong with me.
Apr 11, 2006
Wedding Notes
Went to a wedding this weekend for the first time in at least 3 years. (I can't remember whose wedding we went to last.....it's been that long). The wedding was for a co-worker of mine and Janice's from Iowa who moved to Cincinnati; we played golf together a few times and played poker, but that's about it.
1) I am a baby when it comes to weddings. I am not a great friend of the groom, and neither Janice nor I know the bride, but when that bride walks down the aisle, I get all choked up. What's wrong with me?
2) We have a new record! The procession started at 5:31, and the bride and groom exited at exactly 5:53. A 22 minutes ceremony - I believe that's a new record of mine. On the flip side, the longest wedding was a Catholic affair that lasted over 90 minutes (and I can't name the person invoved, since he maybe reading this blog......)
We should blog about different wedding stories. The stories from my college roommate's wedding in Rhode Island would be tough to beat on the weirdness scale.
3) It was a fairly large wedding (~250 people), and since we didn't know anyone, I played the "match the wedding attendee to a celebrity" game. Orson Bean was in attendance (any Match Game or To Tell The Truth aficiando should know who he is), as well as Nancy Pelosi. The lady who walked down the aisle who looked liked Ms. Pelosi led to this exchange:
Me (whispering, to Janice): "Gees, she's a dead ringer for Nancy Pelosi!"
(wait for it....)
Janice: "Who's Nancy Pelosi?"
And Janice claims to listen to NPR every morning. Don't they say the "Hail Mary" every morning on "Morning Edition", except they substitute "Nancy" for "Mary"?
4) Always trust your wedding hosts to pair you up at a table with somebody you can relate to. We were a bit skiddish of the reception, since we knew nobody (outside of the few guys I met at the poker nights). At the reception, after standing by ourselves for 10 minutes, we saw another couple by themselves as well; we struck up a conversation, and yes, they were friends of the groom from P&G as well, who happened to be assigned at our table. We had a table of 8 P&Gers at our table and hit it off quite well. Always trust the host- they know what they are doing.
5) If you are a maid of honor or best man, don't include inside jokes in your speech. 95% of the audience has no freakin idea what you are talking about. And if you do decide to do this, don't blame the audience for their lack of a sense of humor.
"One thing to say... Waterboat poker! Ha Ha Ha!"
(silence)
"Boy,we need a few more drinks in this room!"
No. No good.
6) When the bar has a) Killians on tap, and b) you order a vodka tonic, and the bartender actually says "Smirnoff or Ketel One", then it's a good wedding. Maybe I've just been at too many midwestern weddings.
7) Eric's rule on the dance floor: When the black man claps his hands, you clap your hands. Automatic rhythm.
8) Should the band play the long version of "Papa was a Rolling Stone" at a WEDDING? I mean, this isn't the best song to play at this occasion. Reminds me of the birthday party we had for my high school girlfriend in Sacramento..... her house actually burned down 2 days before the party. The band at the party started playing "Burning Down the House" by the Talking Heads. There was a mad rush to the stage to get them to stop.
9) I would comment about the 55-year old guy at the wedding who had too much to drink and is hogging the dance floor with his Elaine Benes-like dance moves......
but I realize that in 15-20 years, that's going to be me. I can accept that.
10) Who will be in the next wedding that I attend? .... hmmm... let's see.... think, think.....who do I know that is:
a) not married
b) has a girlfriend and
c) is in love?
Nope, nobody I can think of.
1) I am a baby when it comes to weddings. I am not a great friend of the groom, and neither Janice nor I know the bride, but when that bride walks down the aisle, I get all choked up. What's wrong with me?
2) We have a new record! The procession started at 5:31, and the bride and groom exited at exactly 5:53. A 22 minutes ceremony - I believe that's a new record of mine. On the flip side, the longest wedding was a Catholic affair that lasted over 90 minutes (and I can't name the person invoved, since he maybe reading this blog......)
We should blog about different wedding stories. The stories from my college roommate's wedding in Rhode Island would be tough to beat on the weirdness scale.
3) It was a fairly large wedding (~250 people), and since we didn't know anyone, I played the "match the wedding attendee to a celebrity" game. Orson Bean was in attendance (any Match Game or To Tell The Truth aficiando should know who he is), as well as Nancy Pelosi. The lady who walked down the aisle who looked liked Ms. Pelosi led to this exchange:
Me (whispering, to Janice): "Gees, she's a dead ringer for Nancy Pelosi!"
(wait for it....)
Janice: "Who's Nancy Pelosi?"
And Janice claims to listen to NPR every morning. Don't they say the "Hail Mary" every morning on "Morning Edition", except they substitute "Nancy" for "Mary"?
4) Always trust your wedding hosts to pair you up at a table with somebody you can relate to. We were a bit skiddish of the reception, since we knew nobody (outside of the few guys I met at the poker nights). At the reception, after standing by ourselves for 10 minutes, we saw another couple by themselves as well; we struck up a conversation, and yes, they were friends of the groom from P&G as well, who happened to be assigned at our table. We had a table of 8 P&Gers at our table and hit it off quite well. Always trust the host- they know what they are doing.
5) If you are a maid of honor or best man, don't include inside jokes in your speech. 95% of the audience has no freakin idea what you are talking about. And if you do decide to do this, don't blame the audience for their lack of a sense of humor.
"One thing to say... Waterboat poker! Ha Ha Ha!"
(silence)
"Boy,we need a few more drinks in this room!"
No. No good.
6) When the bar has a) Killians on tap, and b) you order a vodka tonic, and the bartender actually says "Smirnoff or Ketel One", then it's a good wedding. Maybe I've just been at too many midwestern weddings.
7) Eric's rule on the dance floor: When the black man claps his hands, you clap your hands. Automatic rhythm.
8) Should the band play the long version of "Papa was a Rolling Stone" at a WEDDING? I mean, this isn't the best song to play at this occasion. Reminds me of the birthday party we had for my high school girlfriend in Sacramento..... her house actually burned down 2 days before the party. The band at the party started playing "Burning Down the House" by the Talking Heads. There was a mad rush to the stage to get them to stop.
9) I would comment about the 55-year old guy at the wedding who had too much to drink and is hogging the dance floor with his Elaine Benes-like dance moves......
but I realize that in 15-20 years, that's going to be me. I can accept that.
10) Who will be in the next wedding that I attend? .... hmmm... let's see.... think, think.....who do I know that is:
a) not married
b) has a girlfriend and
c) is in love?
Nope, nobody I can think of.
Apr 10, 2006
Happy Easter!!!!!
1. What the hell is that? I honestly would crap myself if I saw that one morning in the front yard going to work.
Just in time for Easter.
2. The baseball package and TIVO has taken my TV watching skills to the next level. So nice now that I don't have to battle with Ben to watch the game.
3. Purchased the XBOX 360 over the weekend. That along with my new home entertainment system, is really pushing me to buy the new Sony LCD TV to complete the package. But with Vegas, Napa, Phoenix, Charleston, Charlotte, and Cincy trips planned wihin the next 45 days, I think I have to pass until the summer time.
4. Did anyone hear those 911 calls from the kid who called because his mom passed out and the operators that hung up on him? Not once, but twice? And then the mom dies. Jesus. Some lawyer is going to make a killing off of that. And rightfully so. I remember back in the day when you would accidentally call 911 and then hang up and the next thing you know, the police are at your door. I guess not anymore.
5. The weather is finally turning out here. God, it was so nice out on Saturday. Ended spending the Saturday like an 80 year old man though. Ben, his brother, and I spent all day outside on our porch, drinking and playing gin rummy. Needless to say, I was out cold by 7:00pm.
6. Sent Carol off on an 8 day camping trip to Mexico with her friends on Saturday morning. Um...probably the last time I see her.
7. How about those A's!!!
8. Well the Masters came and went. Good job for Phil. Why is it that I can't get excited about golf, if Tiger is not involved. I watched the morning round, and then the beginning of the 4th round, and when Tiger started to slip, I turned it off. Is this how it is for some people with the Yanks and baseball? Or the Cowboys and football? Or the Lakers and basketball?
Apr 8, 2006
Tomatoaid
And the sports quote self-awareness award for April 7, 2006 goes to :
“When they give you lemons, you’ve got to make lemonade, and when they give you oranges, you’ve got to make orange juice,” Rodriguez said. “Tonight, we tried to make tomato juice out of lemon juice or something. It just didn’t work out. I don’t know if that’s a good quote.”
“When they give you lemons, you’ve got to make lemonade, and when they give you oranges, you’ve got to make orange juice,” Rodriguez said. “Tonight, we tried to make tomato juice out of lemon juice or something. It just didn’t work out. I don’t know if that’s a good quote.”
Apr 7, 2006
Am I turning into David Brent....
Crazy shit happening here:
- More crying in my office. This time involving someone's visit to abotown. Why are they telling me this? No need. Just make the trip, take off a few days, and come back to work. I don't need to know why.
- Crazy shit involving some new hires in a 3 week training class. I mean crazy shit, involving the police, a rape charge, a false report charge, and a termination. Human Resources wanted me to punish the guy for doing nothing other than being falsely accused.
- Performed an Ike and Tina duet for the office talent show. Classic.
- Had to dance with my supervisors and managers in front of the office for a March of Dimes fund raiser. $5 to watch. I had my boy in the crowd to make sure no pictures were taken.
- Completed the first annual golf challenge in the office. 50 people joined up, top prize a Tiger Woods autographed ball. I made the finals, but ended up shanking my putt on the playoff hole into the office chairs and I came in 6th place. One of my new hires (a young girl) won by sinking a 20 footer. The entire office went nuts.
- Completed the first annual basketball challenge in the office. I didn't even make it out of the first round. I look back to the glory days when the Gooch and I took a team of 4 girls to the championship against the all male APD group, by draining 3 pointers and Tim Weis chocking at the end. Easily in the top 10 greatest things that I have done in my life. You really don't understand how bad these girls were, and how pissed off the APD group was that we won.
- Had my first terminated employee hearing this week at the CA department of labor. It is really sad to sit there and watch a grown man cry in front of the judge and try to argue the fact that when he lead his team to cheat on some of our measurements that would involve him and his team getting larger raises, this wasn't misconduct. I hate these people.
- Do you know how hard it is for me to listen to my employees complain about shit and not get up and smash a table over their heads? Honestly, I'm learning a lot of patience.
- Received a 16% cash bonus on Wednesday for my efforts and contributions in 2005. This along with a 15% raise and 20% in other company bonus packages, finally makes me feel like I'm getting paid properly for the job that I did for the past three years. I have nearly doubled my salary since moving out here to CA.
Apr 6, 2006
Caption Contest # 3
In celebration of the 1st complete round of the Masters, I give you this lovely picture of Lee's boy Phil. Have fun. 
Open Masters Thread
It's Thursday of the Masters - the official start of the "real" golf season. As the day goes on, post your comments here about scores, conditions, and your thoughts on the evolving first round.
(My prediction: the 1st round leader will be no lower than 68.)
(My prediction: the 1st round leader will be no lower than 68.)
Apr 5, 2006
Random Thoughts
Sitting here watching the 1986 Masters tape - an annual Masters week tradition. It's hard to believe this was 20 years ago - and yet, as I see the equipment and the fashion, it could be a lifetime away. Seve in the 2nd round hit a 5 wood (actually, a 5 metal - one of those old Taylor Made first generation metal woods) from 210 or so to about 12 feet. Drives of 300 yards were spectacular feats. Wow. (My mannerisms on the course are so much like Tom Kite's, it's scary).
Big win for the Tribe today - 2 of 3 vs the Sox in Chicago. It is a statement.
Love the NFL "flexible" schedule. Basically, all games are scheduled for 1 pm on Sunday for the last 8 weeks of the season; CBS/Fox/NBC can then move the game to 4 (or 8, for NBC) to get the best matchups. It may cause logistical problems for fans like me who tries to plan trips 4 months in advance - but that means the Browns would then be doing well.
THe schedule will be released tomorrow. Let's see what week Denver comes to Cleveland - maybe Derek will come into town and we can go to that game.
Who will win the Masters? I have a feeling that Tiger won't; I don't believe in Phil; I'm not sold on Els or Vijay this year - so that leaves someone line Weir or Goosen or a darkhorse like Campbell (either of them). What about Olazabal? He always plays well here.
Woke up this morning with something like a "NyQuil Hangover". You know the feeling when you are sick, take NyQuil - and then are too drowsy to get up in the morning? Well, that's what the muscle relaxers that I'm on are doing to me. At 6:30, my mind was saying "Get out of bed - NOW", and my body is telling my mind to f off - I have no energy and I'm just going to lay here.
My body won.
Why would the Duke lacrosse coach resign? To me, this means there is something to the allegations. This could get real, real ugly.
Look for an open thread tomorrow for the Masters.
Big win for the Tribe today - 2 of 3 vs the Sox in Chicago. It is a statement.
Love the NFL "flexible" schedule. Basically, all games are scheduled for 1 pm on Sunday for the last 8 weeks of the season; CBS/Fox/NBC can then move the game to 4 (or 8, for NBC) to get the best matchups. It may cause logistical problems for fans like me who tries to plan trips 4 months in advance - but that means the Browns would then be doing well.
THe schedule will be released tomorrow. Let's see what week Denver comes to Cleveland - maybe Derek will come into town and we can go to that game.
Who will win the Masters? I have a feeling that Tiger won't; I don't believe in Phil; I'm not sold on Els or Vijay this year - so that leaves someone line Weir or Goosen or a darkhorse like Campbell (either of them). What about Olazabal? He always plays well here.
Woke up this morning with something like a "NyQuil Hangover". You know the feeling when you are sick, take NyQuil - and then are too drowsy to get up in the morning? Well, that's what the muscle relaxers that I'm on are doing to me. At 6:30, my mind was saying "Get out of bed - NOW", and my body is telling my mind to f off - I have no energy and I'm just going to lay here.
My body won.
Why would the Duke lacrosse coach resign? To me, this means there is something to the allegations. This could get real, real ugly.
Look for an open thread tomorrow for the Masters.
Apr 4, 2006
Disabled List
Let's review... who starts the season on the disabled list?
1) C.C. Sabathia - out 3-5 weeks
2) Nomar Garciaparra - placed on the DL today
3) Eric Zahn - out 15 days retroactive to March 31. An "Inflammed Lumbar Muscle" is the diagnosis. I specifially asked him about golf, and he shook his head and said "ummm....not for a couple of weeks".
Well, I certainly won't be ready for the US Open Qualifier on May 15; I'll struggle to be ready for the Cincinnati 2-man championship with Don on May 1-2. Argh.
1) C.C. Sabathia - out 3-5 weeks
2) Nomar Garciaparra - placed on the DL today
3) Eric Zahn - out 15 days retroactive to March 31. An "Inflammed Lumbar Muscle" is the diagnosis. I specifially asked him about golf, and he shook his head and said "ummm....not for a couple of weeks".
Well, I certainly won't be ready for the US Open Qualifier on May 15; I'll struggle to be ready for the Cincinnati 2-man championship with Don on May 1-2. Argh.
Apr 2, 2006
Ramblings on a Sunday night while waiting for Cognos to update
- McCain sucks. His Meet the Press appearance was terrible. At least for me. Double talking piece of shit. No way is he going to win in 2008.
- Was in Costco yesterday to buy new patches and had to watch a 6-5 guy make out with a 5-6 girl in front of me in the checkout line. Was about 4 hours late on the patch and I was about to ask them to stop, when the big guy said I could go in front of them since I only had one item. That one quick timely line from that guy probably saved me a black eye and a broken rib.
- What a let down tonight for baseball. A freakin rain delay. Good planning on having the opening night in the North Midwest.
- Anyone watch 60 minutes? Why wasn't Osama's bodyguard and his son killed on the spot? The kid wants to be an engineer, but his dad said that he wants him to be a martyr? Unbelievable.
- OH, my NL predictions? Ok, lets see....Dodgers in the West since everyone else is just terrible. Braves in the East since I learned my lesson two years ago, and I'll go with Houston in the Central since Clemens will be back by June and will carry that team to the title. And the Cards will win the Wild Card. Dodgers over Cards. Houston over Braves. Dodgers over Houston. OK, what the hell has happened to me?
- Lets go Bruins!!!!! Just one more win from UCLA and I got my Vegas money in hand, meaning that I can get the Xbox360 and the new Dyson vaccum. Exciting Times.
- Stumbled on the Tim McCarver game just in time for the start of the baseball season. Not too sure if this is old or not, but here are the rules. Grab a bottle and:
1: Drink every time Tim uses a multi-syllable word incorrectly.
2: Drink every time Tim states the obvious like it is a profound insight.
3: Drink every time Tim calls the play wrong.
4: Drink every time Tim gets a player's name wrong.
5: Drink every time one of Tim's inane comments is met with stoney silence by the
other broadcasters in the booth.
OK, now back to work. Good day and good night.
Apr 1, 2006
AL Preview
I always knew that Taverez was crazy, but now he looks like a little bitch. What the heck is that? I would expect this from someone like us, but a professional athlete throwing a punch like that is unacceptable.
Anyway, the season is about to start so onto the predictions.
AL: So confused about this division. So many middle of the road teams, with a few top notch teams. I mean please tell me who is going to finish with a better record out of the Indians, Seattle, Angels, Twins, and the Blue Jays. Sort of reminds me of the initial power struggle in the Sopranos when Tony went down. No one really stands out to take over for Tony. So to steal a page from BSG, here are my predictions based on characters in the Sopranos and who might take over for Tony.
Non Playoff Teams:
Tampa (Janice): This organization is so poorly run, it makes me angry to see this team year after year bungle trades, minor league moves, and personal decisions. Its sad.
Royals (AJ): This team is lost, just like poor AJ. Solid offensive team, with more on the way, but no pitching or defense, and no plan for the future.
O's (Artie): This organization is a joke. When will they realize that signing below average pitching won't help them? And then they sign another aging catcher? And is their outfield really going to be Gibbons, Patterson, and Millar? Yes, I know they have Caberara (just like Artie has his baked ziti), but that won't be enough.
Tigers (Furio): Where has this team gone? Weren't they supposed to make the jump last year? Still the same core of players and they added a few solid role players and yet they take a step back. And now they are an after thought. They have the young talent on offense and defense, but nothing ever seems to develop. Is Bonderman the next Kris Benson? I'm tired of waiting for him to breakout. Verlander is also supposed to produce this year, but when you are expecting more than one breakout season from your pitchers, I don't like your chances. Love that offense though.
Seattle (Bobby): They have been in the background for a couple of years helping Junior. Now they have a solid core of hitters. Beltre and Sexson looks ready. Ichiro is jazzed up. Johjima looks to be as good as predicted. But the rotation, which will be the key, hit a slight snag with with King Felix probably missing 1-2 starts. And your really depending on Moyer and Washburn to hold the team together? If Felix produces, and Moyer and Washburn can hold it together for one more year, they should be able to contend for the West title.
Cleveland (Meadow): Eric's going to be pissed. Is she going to be boss? No. This seems to be the sexy pick of the offseason for some strange reason. They had a chance last year when they had no health problems, and their bullpen was lights out. Then for some strange reason, they imploded their bullpen and let their best pitcher, Millwood, go to Texas. They made some terrible moves in trading Crisp for Mota and Marte, and thinking Graves will get the job done as a setup man is damn riske (ha). They also brought in Paul Bryd, who will be serviceable, but nothing more than that. They had their chance last year and an opportunity to build on it this year and blew it. But, with all that said, I love Meadow and the Indians and will have no problem eating crow if they contend.
Rangers (Paulie): Love this guy and I love this team, but nothing ever happens because you just can't pitch in that ballpark. Millwood was a great addition, but Eaton? And then you let the one pitcher that could pitch there in Kenny Rogers go? Ugh. So many things need to go their way to compete this year, which I just don't see it happening. Just put plastic on the couch and watch these guys rack up the runs, but lose the game in the end.
Angels (Johnny Sack): This makes me happy to write this since I can't stand these guys. Two consecutive AL West titles and a group of tremendous prospects, and then they take an offseason off for some reason and they end up in prison, er out of the playoff race. The rotation will be solid, but beware, they have both Weaver brothers in their organization. That lineup is just terrible. Erstad and Anderson are done. Are they looking at Kennedy to pickup the slack? You can now pitch around Vlad. For them not to rebuild their offense was a godsend to me. Thank you!!!!!
Blue Jays (Junior) : I don't know what to think about all the moves they made over the offseason. Did they over pay? Yes, but they had to to get players to go up there. They had a solid base before, with a solid bullpen (except for a closer) and now they filled their weak spots. Can they contend if things fall correctly? Yes. Could they finish under .500 again? Sure. This team is just too hard to read.
Twins (Little Carmine): Had their chance and blew it. These guys will always contend as long as they have pitching, speed, and defense on their side, but their offense is lacking. They still have a tremendous rotation and bullpen, but the lack of offensive additions in the offseason really makes you think if they are serious about contending.
Playoff Teams:
A's (Christopher): This is the year he and the A's step up. From the first three episodes, it doesn't look like Chris is the guy, but the A's are always a slow starter, so I'm expecting the both of them to pick it up. All of the movement last year was geared to start the title run now. Zito, Harden, Haren, Blanton, and Loiaza might make up one of the best rotations. The offense is better with the addition of Bradley and the jetison of Hatteberg and Duarzo. The bullpen is a little bit of a worry, but Hasley and Dominguez might do the trick.
Red Sox (Silvio): Hmmm. They don't do well as the front runner do they. They love that underdog role to the Yanks. They were heading in the right direction with some early moves with Crisp, Becket, Riske, and Taverez, but why did they trade Arroyo? Pena will provide some depth, but at the cost of a decent starter? I hate that move. But with that offense, I think that they will still be able to make the playoffs.
Yankees (Vito): Say my name. Vito Spatore. Trimed down and ready to go. That offense is almost as scary as the Vito's weight loss!!! But that weak bench and a shaky rotation makes me nervous enough to chomp on a bag of carrots during their games. And how has this guy turned into a hated character? I always liked him before, but now I'm really turning on him. Ugh.
White Sox (Phil): These guys look dangerous. Improved pitching and offense. Bullpen is still intact. Trying to think of a reason why not to pick these guys to win it all again? Same with Phil. Phil is primed for a power move to take control of the New Jersey operation with Tony down.
White Sox over Red Sox
A's over Yanks
AL Championship: White Sox over the A's
NL will be coming.
Anyway, the season is about to start so onto the predictions.
AL: So confused about this division. So many middle of the road teams, with a few top notch teams. I mean please tell me who is going to finish with a better record out of the Indians, Seattle, Angels, Twins, and the Blue Jays. Sort of reminds me of the initial power struggle in the Sopranos when Tony went down. No one really stands out to take over for Tony. So to steal a page from BSG, here are my predictions based on characters in the Sopranos and who might take over for Tony.
Non Playoff Teams:
Tampa (Janice): This organization is so poorly run, it makes me angry to see this team year after year bungle trades, minor league moves, and personal decisions. Its sad.
Royals (AJ): This team is lost, just like poor AJ. Solid offensive team, with more on the way, but no pitching or defense, and no plan for the future.
O's (Artie): This organization is a joke. When will they realize that signing below average pitching won't help them? And then they sign another aging catcher? And is their outfield really going to be Gibbons, Patterson, and Millar? Yes, I know they have Caberara (just like Artie has his baked ziti), but that won't be enough.
Tigers (Furio): Where has this team gone? Weren't they supposed to make the jump last year? Still the same core of players and they added a few solid role players and yet they take a step back. And now they are an after thought. They have the young talent on offense and defense, but nothing ever seems to develop. Is Bonderman the next Kris Benson? I'm tired of waiting for him to breakout. Verlander is also supposed to produce this year, but when you are expecting more than one breakout season from your pitchers, I don't like your chances. Love that offense though.
Seattle (Bobby): They have been in the background for a couple of years helping Junior. Now they have a solid core of hitters. Beltre and Sexson looks ready. Ichiro is jazzed up. Johjima looks to be as good as predicted. But the rotation, which will be the key, hit a slight snag with with King Felix probably missing 1-2 starts. And your really depending on Moyer and Washburn to hold the team together? If Felix produces, and Moyer and Washburn can hold it together for one more year, they should be able to contend for the West title.
Cleveland (Meadow): Eric's going to be pissed. Is she going to be boss? No. This seems to be the sexy pick of the offseason for some strange reason. They had a chance last year when they had no health problems, and their bullpen was lights out. Then for some strange reason, they imploded their bullpen and let their best pitcher, Millwood, go to Texas. They made some terrible moves in trading Crisp for Mota and Marte, and thinking Graves will get the job done as a setup man is damn riske (ha). They also brought in Paul Bryd, who will be serviceable, but nothing more than that. They had their chance last year and an opportunity to build on it this year and blew it. But, with all that said, I love Meadow and the Indians and will have no problem eating crow if they contend.
Rangers (Paulie): Love this guy and I love this team, but nothing ever happens because you just can't pitch in that ballpark. Millwood was a great addition, but Eaton? And then you let the one pitcher that could pitch there in Kenny Rogers go? Ugh. So many things need to go their way to compete this year, which I just don't see it happening. Just put plastic on the couch and watch these guys rack up the runs, but lose the game in the end.
Angels (Johnny Sack): This makes me happy to write this since I can't stand these guys. Two consecutive AL West titles and a group of tremendous prospects, and then they take an offseason off for some reason and they end up in prison, er out of the playoff race. The rotation will be solid, but beware, they have both Weaver brothers in their organization. That lineup is just terrible. Erstad and Anderson are done. Are they looking at Kennedy to pickup the slack? You can now pitch around Vlad. For them not to rebuild their offense was a godsend to me. Thank you!!!!!
Blue Jays (Junior) : I don't know what to think about all the moves they made over the offseason. Did they over pay? Yes, but they had to to get players to go up there. They had a solid base before, with a solid bullpen (except for a closer) and now they filled their weak spots. Can they contend if things fall correctly? Yes. Could they finish under .500 again? Sure. This team is just too hard to read.
Twins (Little Carmine): Had their chance and blew it. These guys will always contend as long as they have pitching, speed, and defense on their side, but their offense is lacking. They still have a tremendous rotation and bullpen, but the lack of offensive additions in the offseason really makes you think if they are serious about contending.
Playoff Teams:
A's (Christopher): This is the year he and the A's step up. From the first three episodes, it doesn't look like Chris is the guy, but the A's are always a slow starter, so I'm expecting the both of them to pick it up. All of the movement last year was geared to start the title run now. Zito, Harden, Haren, Blanton, and Loiaza might make up one of the best rotations. The offense is better with the addition of Bradley and the jetison of Hatteberg and Duarzo. The bullpen is a little bit of a worry, but Hasley and Dominguez might do the trick.
Red Sox (Silvio): Hmmm. They don't do well as the front runner do they. They love that underdog role to the Yanks. They were heading in the right direction with some early moves with Crisp, Becket, Riske, and Taverez, but why did they trade Arroyo? Pena will provide some depth, but at the cost of a decent starter? I hate that move. But with that offense, I think that they will still be able to make the playoffs.
Yankees (Vito): Say my name. Vito Spatore. Trimed down and ready to go. That offense is almost as scary as the Vito's weight loss!!! But that weak bench and a shaky rotation makes me nervous enough to chomp on a bag of carrots during their games. And how has this guy turned into a hated character? I always liked him before, but now I'm really turning on him. Ugh.
White Sox (Phil): These guys look dangerous. Improved pitching and offense. Bullpen is still intact. Trying to think of a reason why not to pick these guys to win it all again? Same with Phil. Phil is primed for a power move to take control of the New Jersey operation with Tony down.
White Sox over Red Sox
A's over Yanks
AL Championship: White Sox over the A's
NL will be coming.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)