Political Logic

I want to present a few facts that came out this week and then - drawing from those facts - try to come to some logical conclusions.

Fact 1: The current congress is at a 14% Approval rating, the lowest rating Congress has ever gotten (lower than the previous lows in 1991-1994).

Fact 2: Immigration: A Zogby poll taken shows that approval of congressional handling of the immigration issue is at 3%. Three! That's like a ratings number for the NHL on NBC! (was that zing really needed? - editor) Sure - now Derek knows how low that is!

(By the way, Bush's rating on the issue are triple that of congress! Triple! Goooo Bush!

Fact 3: Immigration is rated as the second-most pressing issue in the country, behind the war in Iraq.

Now, Eric's conclusion:

How can anyone who a) is in congress now, and b) is in favor of the immigration bill be seriously considered as a legitimate threat for office? Let's say a person is in congress now - so he/she is part of that14% approval rating - and votes in favor of the current bill. How unpopoular can that person be?

Yet that is the situation where Hillary, Barack, and McCain find themselves. Do they not see that they are killing themselves by supporting W, Kennedy and others in this legislation? You have people on all sides of the aisle either running away or rethinking this bill:

- Saxby Chambliss, R from GA
- Kay Bailey Huchinson, R from TX
- Laura's boyfriend Jim Webb, D from VA - is strongly rethinking and will vote no.
- Jon Tester, D from MT and Claire McCaskill, D from MO - two democratic freshmen from red states - are voting no. Sherrod Brown, D from OH is leaning no as well, another freshman.

The more this goes on, the more I am convinced that NO member of the current Congress has a chance to win in 2008. Congress is SO unpopular now - and it's both sides of the aisle - that they can't overcome that stigma to win.

Thnk of it another way. Let's say a member of congress who is running now - oh, I don't know, with initials H.C. or B.O. says:

"Look, I'm sick of Washington and the way it's being run by George Bush, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. I am so tired of it that I am resigning my post in disgust."

Would that statement help or hurt their campaigns? I submit that it can't hurt at all.

So who are among the candidates that are NOT part of Congress that could win in 08:

Democrats: I see two serious people:
- John Edwards (no, he can't win)
and the big Kahuna
- Al Gore. Wow. This is setting up well for him, if he chooses to run.

Republicans: Well, there are the already-declared non-Congressional candidates:
- Giuliani and Romney
and probably
- Fred Thompson
but there is one more wild card out there:
- Newt.

In short, explain to me how - if current Congressional approval doesn't improve - a current Congressional member can be elected.

MB RIP

Well another one of my favorite players leaves today, with Milton Bradley being designated for assignment. I can't really complain since he got re injured last night, one day since returning from the DL, which was his third stint for the year. I'm sure he was going back on again and the chances of him actually contributing this year was probably slim.

Everyone loved to slam MB for his attitude and temper. But watching him play in LA for a year and then watching him for the past two in Oakland, he has been wonderful. He is intense, but he is a team player. He is the first one out of the dugout to congratulate people and his teammates love him. He also had some tremendous hits for us as well.

I think I should blame myself on this one. Every single one of my favorite players from Oakland has either been traded or let go shortly after me either getting a jersey, tee-shirt, or poster of the guy. Canseco-Todd Stottlemyre-Stairs-Brosius-Giambi-Byrnes-Bradley.

Golf Update

The US Publinx Qualifer was Monday, and I have to say it was a pretty boring 36 holes. Not much of note occurred during the day. I had:
- one double bogey
- one OB (not the double hole, mind you...)
- one left-handed shot
- one WD in my group
- 3 3-putts (including the first hole... nice way to start off a round)
and, unfortunately:
- 1 birdie.
My drive and I were NOT getting along at all that day. I was constantly struggling to keep the ball in play.

Shot 80 the first 18 in a 10-par, 8-bogey round. The 2nd 18 was better, as I had 2 3 jacks and a double, and still shot 78. 7 greens on the final nine. My nines were 40-40 40-38. I felt like Jose Canseco there for a moment.

The F&J crowd didn't do so well: Craig did the best with 77-75 in Evansville; Jeff Maier had a 79-86; Don struggled to an 85-82; and Kermit shot an 84 in his first round but WD.

Winning wagers (referring to the oft-talked about, but few commented, post with the lines on the tournament:

(102) EZ over 154.5
(104) lowest 18 hole score over 75.5
(106) highest 18 hole score over 79.5
(109) lowst 9 hole 38 or over
(110) highest 9 hole 40.5 or under
(113) single hole high of 6 (and I had a couple 4-footers for 6 at times)

(116) Eric +4.5 over Jeff
(118) Eric -1.5 over Don (screw you all)
(120) Eric over Kermit
(123) Craig -1 over Eric

(125) Craig -2 over Don
(126) Jeff M +2.5 over Pete
(129) no one qualified

(131) Lowest of 5 F&J golfers (152) beat US Open leader (140) +14.5
(132) Highest score was US Open hig score (168) +1 vs F&J high score (167)
Don's all in bet BARELY covered.

The next tournament is next week; the 101st Cincinnati Metropolitan Amateur. 250 or so golfers play 2 rounds on 2 different courses; the low 64 play match play starting on Wednesday at a 3rd course.

Don and I are playing, and so is "the Good Doctor", Todd Pieper, our dentist, who at this point could beat both of our asses 5&4.
(news flash after lines created: Todd shot 162 in the Publinx qualifier to day in Cincinnati...hmmmm....)

The lines have been published:

Eric's total:
(201) Under 155.5
(202) Over 155.5

Eric's low 18 score:
(203) under 77.5
(204) Over 77.5

Eric's high 18 score
(205) under 80.5
(206) over 80.5

Highest single hole on Eric's card (and there are some holes that can really do a number here!)
(207) 5 +300
(208) 6 +120
(209) 7 +140
(210) 8 +260
(211) 9 or over +450

Don's over/under:

(212) under 156.5
(213) over 156.5

Don's single hole high score:
(214) 5 +300
(215) 6 +130
(216) 7 +120
(217) 8 +240
(218) 9 or over +450

Don vs Eric:

(220) Don
(221) Eric +1.5

Eric vs The Good Dr:

(222) Eric
(223) The Good Dr. +3.5

Don vs The Good Dr:
(224) Don
(225) The Good Dr. +4

Will Eric and or Don qualify for the field of 64?
(226) Yes +145
(227) No -170

What will the cut be for the field of 64?
(228) under 154.5
(229) over 154.5

(note: last year it was 153 at a slightly easier 2nd course; par last year was 71-71; this year it is 71-72)

Will Eric and or Don be involved in a playoff for the final spots?
(230) Yes +500
(231) No -650

Special prop bets on any of Eric's or Don's rounds:
Combination bets on all of Don's and Eric's rounds:
(232) any Over 83.5
(233) all under 83.5

(234) any under 75.5
(235) all over 75.5

Eric will play holes 13-18 of Elk's Run in:
(236) less than 3.5 over par
(237) more than 3.5 over par

Don will play holes 13-18 of Elk's Run in
(238) less than 4.5 over par
(239) more than 4.5 over par

Tahoe Continued

Some more highlights of the Tahoe Trip:

• So I was flying back on Southwest from Reno-Oakland-Orange County. When we went to check in for the flight home, the Reno-Oakland flight was cancelled, so they routed us from Reno-Vegas-Orange County which got in 10 minutes later than the original flight. So we board the Reno-Vegas flight and we are delayed for a good 45 minutes. We finally take off and the expected arrival time in Vegas was 8:25. The Vegas-Orange County flight was departing at 8:30, which meant that we probably weren't going to make the flight. At this point, I was all set at staying in Vegas for the night and flying out the next morning. Some of my peers were on board as well which would of been a nice ending to a very long set of meetings. Well, we get off the plane and find out that we are taking off about 15 gates away and several of the managers start to run. I on the other hand start a very slow walk, since I really don't want to make the flight. I finally arrive at the departing gate expecting the doors to be closed and the flight gone, but noooooo, one of the managers sprinted to the gate and held the plane for us. Fucking bitch. I made it known to her that I was not happy about this fact.
• I hate dinner cruises in Lake Tahoe. Let me rephrase that. I hate dinner cruises in general. I don't know why we always go on them when we are up there. Makes no sense. You just tool around the lake for about 4 hours eating crappy food and drinking rail drinks. I feel like I'm on a booze cruise in the Bahamas. Classy. Despite it being a very nice boat and having Miller High Life in a can, I couldn't wait to get off the boat at 9:00pm!!! Why? Well that's because I either had some bad fish or meat on the boat and I was stuck dropping deuces in the smallest toilet known to man. I think I have a coffee can at home bigger than the toilet that I had to shoot into on this boat. My buddy Eric, who is a 6-3 290 pounder from Fresno had the same problem. Both of us were lighting this thing up for a solid hour. And I'm sure you all can guess what happened when I was in there. Let's see, first I clogged up the toilet and had to build a make shift plunger out of a paper towel roll and some warm water from the sink. Secondly, I forgot to lock the door to the bathroom and my buddy Eric walked in on me when I was just dropping my pants to sit down. All in all, I was in the can 5 times in a span of an hour.

Lake Tahoe

Just a quick recap of my meetings up in Tahoe this week:

• The meetings were on the north shore of Tahoe which I have never spent time before. What a beautiful place. This really might be the best place for a vacation for me. Lots of outdoors stuff to do, with the added bonus of having casinos. We stayed at the Hyatt, and they had a very small but nice casino. Two craps tables, 8 BJ, one roulette, and then about 4 other tables for 3 card poker and such. Dealers were lacking but the pit bosses were very cool.
• Finally had a long sustained session on the craps table. First night was OK. Made about $60 on a 5 dollar table. They only allow double odds which sucked. Is there anything better than having about 10 people watch you play craps? And is there anything worse than a guy that doesn't know how to play craps? Or is too scared to try?
• Second night we had a long dinner cruise on the lake and didn't get back until 9:00pm. I went to cash in my winning A's ticket for $100 and then had to meet up with the guy I was doing a presentation with the next night. After this, I ended up strolling back into the casino and saw that my VP was at the craps table. My VP is the typical Harvard nerd. He loves hearing my gambling stories and such. He is like a little kid when we travel to a casino and always wants to play craps with me. So I was wandering around the craps table seeing what was going on and one of the other managers who I rolled with the previous night was about to roll and wanted me to get on the table. I found a spot 3 people down from him. Almost 90 minutes later, I finally got to roll. This was the weirdest craps session ever. The only thing that compares to it was when Jay and I had a midnight run at New York New York, where a girl rolled nothing but 2s, 3s, and 12s.
• The first guy, Jason, rolled for at least 25 minutes and only hit one point. I made a little off of him and I was going to pick up since the next guy about to roll was an ass.
• The next guy was one of those slow bettors who doesn't understand the game and annoys everyone. He kept on dropping $5 to place the 8, when it was a $10 table. Double whammy. This happened at least 10 times during the 90 minutes. So when it was his turn, I just put a bet on the pass line and watched him for a second. He took at least 30 seconds each time to roll the dice. He went into some sort of trance. After setting the point of 5, I didn't put any money on 6 or 8 or the come. I was actually thinking about placing a don't come bet, but for some reason I didn't and decided to try the Field Progressive betting system. Start with $10 and when you hit you increase it by $5 and when you lose, you drop $5. After 12 rolls I was up to $70 a bet on the Field. This guy was amazingly hot. He was hitting 2s and 12s none stop. I ended up putting $5 on the horn several times and he would hit it. It was out of control. And while the table was going nuts, this guy was dead silent and didn't look happy. Once again this guy only made 2 points during his 30 minute roll. Very strange.
• The funny thing about betting the field and the horn is that when you hit, it seems like you are the only one celebrating. Thank god the guy next to me was piggybacking on my bets on the field and the horn so at least I wasn't alone with my celebration.
• The third guy steps up and proceeds to do this..4,4,10,10,8,8. Three points right in a row. He hit the hard 8 twice which I had $10 on. He continued with hitting another 3 points. Crazy shit. Very impressive. At this point we were all going nutz. First time in a long time where both ends of the table were talking to each other and cheering everyone on. Tips were flying to this guy from the other end of the table. My VP, who had picked up just before this guy was now pissed and wanted to get back on, but there was no room.
• My turn!!!! Finally. My roll, 6,7 out. Ugh. Probably lost $100 on this roll. Got a little too cocky. I then got up and walked away. Thank God.
• The next morning, our president comes up to me at breakfast and says that he gets a 10% cut on my winnings. I reach into my pocket and flipped out a $100 bill and said, "Go buy yourself something nice" which killed!!! Killed I tell you!!!

G D Y F

Yes, that's the profanity I dropped on my neighbor sometime in the 3rd quarter when another Cavs open 3 pointer - this time by Sasha Pavlovic - didn't go in.

(Oh, the Y? Stands for Yugoslav.)

Just a frustrating game. The Spurs pretty much gave it to us and we declined. We held the Spurs scoreless for 4+ minutes in the 4th, and couldn't take the lead.

And then there was the foul at the end.

What a crushing game. And I don't blame any of you who are not Cavs fans if you didn't watch it. A 55-50 score going into the 4th is terrrrrrible.

Enough rambling. I could go on...... but I'm seeing red right now. And only some of my anger is at the refs. Dammit, find me a guy who can hit a 3 pointer when unguarded!

You are going to like the way you look...

Returned to Baltimore this weekend for another fabulous wedding. A couple of quick hits from the party...

• Ahhh, Maryland. I really miss the humidity. Wow, it is crippling. And I know that its not even that bad right now. I was explaining to Jon how I apply baby powder to the boys to keep them from getting sweaty in the humid weather, "Just picture Kevin Garnett entering into a game". Great visual for the rest of the weekend to refer back to.


• Had to go to my friend Brad's house for wedding pictures. Wow, its been a long time since returning to the place where we used to drink and do other things back in High School and College. Brad's little brother, Chad, took Jon and I back up to the room where everything used to happen and they had pulled all the carpet and made it into a baby room. Jon's comment sort of summed things up nicely "Wow, you almost can't smell the sin anymore".


• Tuxedos- I was a little disappointed to find out that Brad used Men's Warehouse instead of the best in class Tuxedo House. How can you live in Baltimore and not use Tuxedo House. Ugh. Anyway, there were several problems with the Tuxs and guess who couldn't fix any of them, since they don't carry any tuxedos on site? That's right, Men's Warehouse. Well, I ended up getting everything resolved in a grand total of 5 minutes and $35 at Tuxedo House. They might be cheesy, but they are the best in the business for ease of doing business and being able to handle any issues.


• And of course this led to the easiest, but funniest lines of the weekend. "You're not going to like the way you look. I guarantee it" was used probably about 1000 times.


• Embassy Suites, stay classy. No AC? No fucking AC!!!!!! I was overheating half the night. All of the groomsmen had heat rash around their necks because of it. Just a very poor showing once again by the Embassy Suites.


• And I like bartenders that are friendly, but bartenders who are too friendly and sacrifice speed since they are chatting with everyone pisses me off. Hey bud, I know that you probably get a total of 6 people a month at the Embassy Suites bar, but just stop talking and get me a beer. And if you bring back another draft that is only half full because you don't know how to poor from a tap, I'm going to take off my sweet soaked boxers and stuff if down your throat.


• I had an incident as an usher. The bride's dad along with the groom's dad came up to us asking to make sure that the some additional seats be saved in the second row. I told him I would see if there were any seats. So I walked out there and in front of probably 125 people, had to ask two women (from Long Island) to please move to new seats. I asked very nicely and politely, but one of the ladies gave me an ear full. Yup, she was making a scene, which prompted me to ask once again "Well, I'm sorry that you feel that way, but the Bride's father is asking that these three seats be left open for him and his family." What a little bitch. Anyway, she stormed out and was pouting outside of the ceremony while we all watched on. I know that you got here early to get a good seat, but everyone knows not to sit in the front two rows unless you are told to sit there right? Come on. And I'm sure that you know what happened next. Yup, the father and company did not sit in those seats. I had to keep my head on a swivel the rest of the night.
• Had a couple of people wanting to make sure that they were either in or stayed out of the blog. Pretty funny.
• Mark Larsen's kids are very cute.
• Plane ride home- I couldn't have a trip to Baltimore without any incidents. Anyway there was a couple sitting across the aisle from Carol and I who were pretty young with the kid dressed in the typical LA skater dude wear, complete with the trucker hat. The girl was dressed in the normal pink Juicy velvet outfit. Very classy. As the plane started to fill up, an older black couple comes back and were having trouble finding a seats together. Carol and I had a spot open in between us, as well as the young couple across the aisle so I offered the lady the aisle seat and I moved next to carol. So the guy asks the same of the young couple next to us, with the girl saying "I'm claustrophobic so I need the empty seat next to me!" Umm...what? The guy insists that he wants to either sit in the middle seat or the aisle seat. The couple refused to move or let him in. The guy now starts to raise his voice and the girl starts to freak out. The flight attendant comes over and then calls security since the couple continued to put up a fight with the flight attendant. Security comes on board and the girl goes on to tell the security officer that the black guy threatened her, with about 7 full rows of people then getting upset and calling the girl a liar. It was very impressive response by the crowd. The security person then says, "OK that's it, all 4 of you are out of here. Get off the plane." Then the 7 rows spoke up to defend the black guy and his wife. At that point the young girl moved over and didn't say a word the entire flight. There were 3 women behind the couple that openly and loudly talked about the poor showing of the young couple. Excellent!!!! It did make for a very quiet 5.5 hour flight though.
• Very smooth and enjoyable rehearsal dinner and wedding. I had a shit load of fun and didn't drink too much to ruin one of the days.

US Publinx Amateur Qualifying

The USGA - along with that minor event called the US Open - has scheduled qualifying rounds for the US Publink Links Amateur Championship over the next few days. This is the national chanmpionship for public golfers throughout the land. Qualifying is 36 holes over 1 or (for wimps) 2 days.

We have 5 people associated with F&J that will be competing in these qualifiers over the next several days. Here is the specific schedule:

Mon 6/18, at Springfield, OH (6750 yd, par 72, rating 72.5, slope 130):
Eric Z and Jeff Maier (friend of Derek)

Sat, 6/16, at Toledo, OH: (6900 yd, par 72, 72.7/129)
Don H

Sat-Sun, 6/16-17 at Evansville, IN ((6700-7200 yd, par 72, between 72.6/130- 75.4/136):
Craig H (friend of Eric's and Don's)

Tue-Wed, 6/19-6/20, Cleveland, OH (6700, 72.1, 125)
Kermit

With this sort of multi-way competition, it's just crying out for Vegas to put out lines on our performances! However, I don't see any vegas casino offering lines on this action.

So - you can call me crazy, and I'm sure I'll offend someone here - I'll take a stab at the morning lines for the Publinx Qualifying! This will either be the start of a recurring feature, or this will go down in a blaze of flames....

Opening Lines for US APL Qualifying. Bet # in Parentheses. All bets -110 unless specified.

1. Eric's total:
(101) Under 154.5
(102) Over 154.5

2. Eric's lowest 18 hole score
(103) Under 75.5
(104) Over 75.5

3. Eric's highest 18 hole score
(105) under 79.5
(106) over 79.5

4. Eric's lowest 9 hole score
(107) 36 or under +130
(108) 37 +110
(109) 38 or over +140

5. Eric's highest 9 hole score
(110) Under 40.5
(111) Over 40.5

6. Highest single-hole score on Eric's scorecard is:
(112) 5 +145
(113) 6 -110
(114) 7 +190
(115) 8 or above +330

Head-to-head matchups:

7. Lowest score:
(116) Eric +4.5
(117) Jeff Maier

(118) Eric
(119) Don H +1.5

(120) Eric
(121) Kermit even

(122) Eric +1.0
(123) Craig

**** Ireland vs USA Flag Special

(124) Don +2.0
(125) Craig

****** Jeff Maier Special

(126) Jeff M +2.5
(127) Jeff's friend Pete

******Special Proposition Bets

Will any of the 5 golfers qualify for the National US Publinks Tournament?

(128) Yes +750
(129) No -1000

(Note: Craig qualified in 2001)

Who has lowest score, leader in US Open after 36 holes or lowest of the 5 F&J golfers?

(130) US Open Leader +14.5
(131) Lowest of 5 F&J golfers

Who has highest score, highest returned US Open score after 36 holes or highest of 5 F&J golfers?

(132) Highest returned 36-hole score from US Open +1.0
(133) Highest 36-hole score from F&J

Why the media sucks, part DCCLXIII....

Why are newspaper circulation declining and TV news viewership on the way down? Two prime examples:

1) Paris Hilton. Why? Why the hell is she everywhere? What has this woman/skank done in her life?
People may liken this to the OJ craze, but it is completely different. We're talking murder vs traffic violation here; we're also talking about two celebrities on completely different levels. OJ was a star NFL player who had a second job- acting - that was much bigger than anything Paris has every been in. (Ask yourself - who has more viewers, the Naked Gun or The Simple Life?

This is a page 10 story, like when Dana Plato was arrested for drug abuse.

2) The death of the immigration bill. You can like it or not, but the media is CLEARLY biased in favor of the bill. I saw Tom Tancredo - a Republican Presidentail candidate (really! it's true!) - being interviewed on GMA. Tancredo is one of the people who helped kill the bill. GMA was badgering him - "but polls show it's popular" - "why would you kill a bill that Americans are in favor of"? Thsoe were exact quotes.
The underlying assumption there is a LIE! Who is supporting this? See this link and this link. No poll is out there that shows support of the bill!

And then the Washington Post - who called the demise of the bill "a victory for extremism", is out there saying:

Within policy circles, immigration reform is viewed as vital, addressing both the growing demand for workers and the social costs of an illegal underclass.

Oh really? what circles? Who? What lazy ass reporting. As Kaus said, the Post could have also said in 2002:

Within policy circles, toppling Saddam Hussein by force is viewed as vital, addressing both the threat of weapons of mass destruction and the need to establish a new dynamic in the region.

See? Don't ask questions- it's needed ! Move on, please!

The media can't even see that they are losing credibility by the hour....and have no idea how to get it back.

Morning thoughts

Coming into work this morning, I discovered four things:

1. American Pie's singer was a guy. I always thought that this was done by a women. Hmmm...Don McLean? Didn't know that. Changes my entire outlook on life. And that song still doesn't make sense to me today.

2. I listened to Kenny Logins "I'm Alright" for the first time outside of the Caddyshack movie. First, the song is a little more edgier than I expected. Secondly, what pops in your head when you listen to that song? For me, I was thinking about the gopher for at least 50% of the song. People say that I remind them of the gopher when I dance. I'm still not sure if this is a compliment or not? And I have a new found respect for Kenny Logins after finding out from RRD and Wiz that he does the Masters music.

3. The A's are officially in the wild card hunt. The Angels team is getting healthy and looking very tough. Despite winning 5 in a row, we have only been able to gain 1 game on the Angels. Its interesting that I'm actually rooting for the Yanks to beat the White Sox, since they are closer to us than the Yanks for the Wild Card. And we still have 6 games left with the Tigers, which should make this very entertaining.

4. Baseball-Reference.com has expanded their coverage on baseball. It is now a link dump which is great, along with current standings and data for the current year. I absolutely love it.

Wine and the Oakland Raiders

I swear, these stories are the absolute truth.

1. A perk of traveling abraod with P&G is that we get to sit in business class when flying overseas. (Sadly, traveling to Mexico is not approved for business class - back I go into coach on a Mexicana flight - but that's another story).

Anyway, on my latest trip to France last week, I was served a wonderful Shiraz. I think it was the best Shiraz I ever had. It was from an Australian vineyard.

I was determined to remember the name, so I took a look at the bottle, and associated it with an Oakland quarterback. "Remember that", I told myself. "The name of the winery is an Oakland QB". I wanted to make sure I could find it at home.

So, of course, by the 2nd day in France, I forgot the name but remember the Oakland QB part. We then went to a restaurant where they served all sorts of red wine..... and one of the Shiraz's listed was from Australia and was from "Stableford Ridge".

Something told me this wasn't it. The name didn't ring a bell. And now, dammit, Ken Stabler was in my head!

The next 2 days I was racking my brain trying to figure out the QB and the name of that wine. Was it:

"Evans Home"?

"George Mist"?

"Tuiasosopo Canyon"?

No, no, no.

So I got on the flight home - and there it was! The same wine!

"Plunkett Farms"

I'll never forget that name now.

2) How to make a kid eat healthier: Freddie lost a tooth 3 weeks ago, and his new adult tooth is coming in nicely. He is now acting like a proud parent and will do nothing at all to harm that tooth. This includes making sure he eats healthy so he has no tooth decay.

He has now sworn off candy, junk food, and even chocolate milk.

We're not about to dissuade him otherwise.

A couple of quick notes from the past two nights

Crazy couple of days:

• My Tivo is broken again!! Fuck that. It will record, but won't play. I will be on my 6th DVR receiver in 3 years.


• With that being said, I finally watched the Sopranos. Amazing.


• Watched the A's play a great game against the Sox last night. The game was going into the top of the 9th and right as they were coming back from the break, my electricity goes out. Ummm...OK. So I light some candles and do some reading on the couch. I end up falling asleep and the TV comes back on around an hour later. As I'm trying to come out of my little nap, I hear the game still going on the TV. What??? Why is the game still going??? I get my glasses and see that it is the top of the 11th. WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!


• Finally bought two new suits at Brooks Brothers over the weekend. Wow, its been a super long time since I bought a suit. I decided to get the flat front pants with the suit, so I guess that is a step in the right direction. To negate this fashion upgrade I also purchased a sear sucker jacket. White and blue. Will be debuting it at Brad's rehearsal dinner. And yes that is a picture of me that Carol took in the store.


• While shopping at the Brooks Brothers outlet, there was a decent size Indian casino right next door. That didn't go so well. Had an excellent run for about 30 minutes until the wheels came off. Carol and I ended up about $75 down.


• Came home and was about to cook some great salmon for dinner to end a perfect weekend, but then we got a frantic call from Carol's sister. Carol's mom now has brain tumors. This poor women. She beats cancer several times and is finally heading home to be with her friends and family. She then gets these tumors!! Unbelievable. The doctors say that its not that big of a deal and that they can treat with radiation over the next couple of months. Not a big deal? Tumors? Radiation on the brain? How is this not a big deal. Looks like Carol is headed back to Scottsdale with her mom for the next couple of months.

Rules of crying

When talking with Eric the other day, he mentioned to me that he cried a little when the Cavs won the East. First, why are you so excited since they haven't won anything yet, and secondly why are you crying???? What is happening to our society where it is respectable for men to cry. I have men in my office crying because work is too tough, I see my sports heroes crying from time to time as they retire, and now my own brother???? Next you are going to tell me that I will see my Dad cry this fall when he finally has to put his lawnmower to rest.

Anyway, I have created three easy rules on when it is acceptable to cry:

1. When someone close to you dies.

2. When your kid is born.

3. When your team wins a championship.*

*Only OK if you are over 30 and this is your first championship with the team or if there has been over 30 years between championships. So when the Cavs finally win the Championship, it is OK for him to cry. When the Sox and the Pats won the championship, it is not OK for Jay to cry, but it is for his dad. Got it? Good. And one last thing, you have to do in the comfort of your own home, by yourself, in your basement.

Then I thought, what happens if your team losses. Well I have never felt like crying before after a super tough loss. All I have felt in the past was pure anger. I was so angry I could punch a baby and walk away happy. And I could always hear a little voice in my head saying "Good, I can feel your anger. I am unarmed. Take your weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete"


Anyway...what about athletes? I hate it nowadays. Why is Lebron crying? Why are all of these coaches crying? The only time I feel like it is acceptable is when an athlete or a coach who has been with a team his entire career brings home a championship towards the end of his career. I'm just tired of all of this shit. Am I the only one? Have I posted about this before? I'm out.

Now that I've come down to earth (somewhat)...

Post-series thoughts on the Cavs:

First, a quick play-by-play of that night. After helping to put the kids to bed in the 1st quarter, I settled in just in time for.... the 21 minute scoreboard blackout.

Yes, of course I thought we would be naming this game "The Clock" game, just like The Drive, the Fumble, the Mesa, etc. etc. etc.

Janice watched the 2nd quarter with me - the only positive of that arrangement was that she was about 5 seconds ahead of Marv in terms of suggestions for getting teh delay overwith and resuming the game. It was eerie.
However, not a good playoff performance by her. I think she's used to losing and has forgotten playoff mode. During Browns games, she knows I am intense - but how intense can you be when the team is 3-10? So she will ask semi-related questions on the game, like:
- Has Parcells waistband gotten higher over the years?
- Why don't you wear an all-orange outfit like Todd Grantham?

Well, her comments on the multitude of the sun tattoos did not go over well in a playoff situation. So at halftime, I moved downstairs and she went upstairs.

3:00 left in the 3rd quarter is when I stood up for good for the night. The pacing commenced.

First Boobie 3 at the end of the 3rd: "Yes!"

Second Boobie 3 at the beginning of the 4th: record dash between couch and near wall

LeBron steal and hoop and foul with ~10 min to go: record dash between couch, near wall and far basketball hoop

Third Boobie 3: First "Boobie!" shout of the night

Fourth Boobie 3: Orgasmic screams from the basement.

Fifth Boobie 3: I jumped a good 1' off the ground with my hands in the air; unfortunately, this was done under the low part of teh ceiling, so I immediately felt pain in my wrists as my hands hit the ceiling immediately. Pain goes away with the next defensive stop.

I then realize we are up 15, and say: "Hey, wasn't Portland up 15 in the 4th quarter of game 7 of the Western Conference finals in 2001?" I then watch the next 3 minutes of the games with my hands over my eyes.

As a Cleveland fan, you never truly know when a game is over (see Chicago 27, Cleveland 21, OT, in 2001 - 2 TDs in the final 28 seconds for the Bears), but once we got to 2 minutes left, even I knew it was over.

The first sight to see what LeBron and Z hugging at midcourt - what a site.

Bill Russell handed out the Eastern Conference trophy to LeBron and company. That was immensely touching - Bill tells LeBron that the Cavs not only represent the city, but "the entire Eastern Conference. Make us proud". That brought a tear to my eye.

Yes, a bit jealous in not being there in Cleveland for the celebration. But it's not finished. Not by a longshot. I was afraid that we - the fans and the team - would have a hangover, but I think this is where the long layoff will help the team. Not playing for 5 days will help them re-focus on the prize, which is the title.

Many have said that "this year is a success - the Cavs are going to be a force for years to come. Even if they don't get the title this year, titles are in store for LeBron in the future". Oh really? The same was said about the 1995 Indians and the 1986 Browns - don't worry, the titles will come after their loss. It never came.

I want to win now....because you never know what the future holds (a LeCharles injury to LeBron??)

I have to admit I am somewhat sullen in the fact that this is the Cavs and not the Browns and Indians. I would be lying if I said it meant the same - it doesn't. I'd rather have the Browns win a Super Bowl or (secondly) the Indians win a World Series to be the ones to break the Cleveland streak. But I realize that beggars can't be choosers, and if the streak is going to end, it needs to be now with the Cavs.

A Cleveland team is in the finals - which means I will try to make good on my promise to be in Cleveland when the team wins a championship. (If you recall, I was in Steve's basement in Parma for game 7 of the 1997 World Series, ready to drive to downtown and riot when the game was over...... damn, I was ready to riot. ).
However, the schedule does not look good. The Publinx qualifier is the morning after game 5, and I may have to go to Iowa on June 19-21, gmes 6 and 7. The best scenario is a Cavs sweep, since we are heading up to Pittsburgh for the US Open on Thursday, 6/14. Wouldn't it be great if the Cavs were up 3-0 going into that night? .....*faint*

Do we have a chance? Yes. I'd give the Cavs a 40% chance to win the series. But no one gave us a chance to win vs. the Pistons...and I like the way this team plays defense..... and with leBron, anything can happen.

Your 2007 Eastern Conference Champions...

The Cleveland Cavaliers!

Boy, that still sounds awkward.

I will have a lot more on this game - and a blow-by-blow of what occurred in the basement as Gibson kept piling on the 3's....

but I must go now, since nba.com has Cavaliers championship merchandise available.

Blockbuster

So I've been a loyal Blockbuster customer for about 12 years. I stuck with them through the ridiculous late fees and consolidation of their stores. I never bought into Netflix, since I'm the type of person that goes through movie spurts. I'll go a month without renting and then I'll spend a weekend watching 6-8 movies. With Netflix I can't do that. So the other day while I was in Blockbuster, I saw that they have the same type of online/mail system as Netflix. I asked one of the employees about it and he told me that it blows Netflix away. Basically you just order a movie online and they mail it to you. Then you can return the envelope and the movie back to the store and they give you free movie coupon every time you do this. So your telling me that I can return the movie to the store, and get a free movie while I wait for the other movie in the mail? Yup. And I can do this every time, this is not a special. Not too shabby.

So when I saw that RRD was asking if it was worth getting Netflix, I would say no. But the Blockbuster deal seems to be really good. $9 a month seems to be fair, and I don't have to wait for movies if I don't want to since I get that one free movie every time I go to Blockbuster.

Cleveland Rocks!!!

Eric, Cleveland has their greatest hoops win in franchise history any you are seriously thinking of coming back into the country??!??! Shouldn't you extend your stay through the end of June just to be safe? Besides, if they make it to the finals and have to play Tony Parker, you can shout obnoxious things to all the French supporters!! I am picturing Eric walking around in the Orange Tim Couch jersey yelling at a bunch of french ninnies in berrets.

Here is what Eric WOULD have been thinking if he had been stateside for last nights events.

End of 1st half - Cavs are down one:
"We are still in this! Yes!"

5:00 minute mark in the Fourth Quarter - Cavs down 5 and looks like its slipping away:
"Oh no, I will never see a Cleveland Championship in any sport!! I think the Rock and Roll HOF just collapsed. I think they took the Drew Carey show out of Syndication. I think a Browns draft pick just got injuried in minicamp. Whyyyyyyyyyyy meeeeeeeeee!?!?!!?!!?"

2:00 in the 4th qtr - LeBron starts to REALLY take over:
"They are getting my hopes up again!!"

Flips channel over to the Tribe crushing the Tigers:
"Ha!! Way to go Tribe, did they even play in Boston this week? Those games seem like a distant memory - back on track! Yippee!"

LeBron makes final shot and Cavs win, Tribe cruise to big win over Verlander:
"Holy Bleep!!!!! I am going to set my Tivo to record ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNNEWS, ESPNDeportes! Cleveland will be the lead story on all programs!!! Hah! Take that New York, LA, Boston!!! I am going to record the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams just in case Cleveland's victory has crossed over into mainstream national news!!! I can't wait! CLEVELAND ROCKS! CLEVELAND ROCKS! CLEVELAND ROCKS!! :)


The above was all in good fun BTW, I am pulling for King James and the Cavs. That was an amazing game. Single best one-man-band performance I have seen since AI made the finals and dropped 40+ on the LAL in game 1 (and had a classic AI quote after the game saying (when asked if he was tired) "Fatigue? Thats just clothes to me. Army fatigues. I don't know no fatigues". I would put it right up there with AI and MJ performance in the garden. Sure MJ, Bird, Magic all have had monster games in the playoffs, but the majority of their huge games they were playing on the favored team. The MJ performance in 86 is the exception. You hang 63 in the Garden (playoff record - there have been a few playoff games in that building) against one of the greatest teams in NBA history.... That gets number 1 in my book. But this was pretty close.

If the Cavs do win and have to play the Spurs there are a lot of similarities between that AI squad and this Cavs team. Playing a heavily favored, experienced championship team, with some super stars. In that series if Raja bell makes a floater in game 2 they have the LAL down 0-2 going back to Philly. The Lakers probably still win, but it certainly would have made it a more interesting series.

Waking up to THAT score....

Wow. What a start to my day. It's 2 am Eastern, I wake up to check Derek's 6 messages, and then log in to make sure the 109-107 2OT message is a final and not a partial score.....

Wow. And to think that I was out of the country when LeBron's had his greatest game (to date!).

This has not sunk in yet. We are one win away from the Finals. I will be back at home Saturday, and you can bet I'll be pacing around downstairs during the game.

Sorry for the vulgarity, but fuck you Simmons for yesterday's article.

The NBA ... it's Fantastic!

So I am in France and couldn't sleep last night. I was flipping through the channels and landed on Sport+, a European ESPN-equivalent (I guess).

At 1 am, NBA Jam came on! Ooooh - a 30 minute highlight show.

The best part was the clip of the best dunks from last week's action. The dunks included:

- a Patrick Ewing dunk as a member of the SuperSonics;
- a nifty Nash-to-Nowitski pass for a slam
- a few Hedo Turkoglu highlights as a King.

There was also a feature on Turkoglu and how he is currently adjusting to the NBA in his rookie year.

My God - this show was older than Freddie! And Freddie is 6!

Gotta love French TV.

The Playoff Magic is Back!

Here is a quick recap of the first tournament of the season, the Cincinnati qualifier for the 101st Ohio State Amateur. 39 golfers, including me and my new best friend, Chris Sabo, played for 12 spots in the field.

1st hole, par 4: OK drive in right rough, couldn't shoot at flag for 2nd- missed left and was left with a tough downhill chip. Got it to 20 feet - and finally sank a long putt. Par.
2nd hole, par 4: OK drive in fairway; pin tucked back left behind water; I did not shoot for it - and left myself a 35 foot putt through the fringe over a mound. 3 putt.

Side story #1: So I asked Chris Sabo what he is doing nowadays.
"Coaching", he said.
Oh, I asked. For who?
"The Reds..."
Um, ok, I guess I should have known that living in the city.

3rd hole, par 3: 5 iron to 20 feet, made the downhiller. Even.
4th hole, par 5: good drive, good 3 wood, wedge to 20 feet, 2 putt par.
5th hole, par 3 (230 yds): 3 wood to bunker, blast to 6 feet, miss. +1.
6th hole, par 4: Drive, wedge to 18 feet; make a putt. Birdie, Even.
7th hole, par 4: Drive, pin tucked short right behind pond. Don't shoot at it...Don't shoot at it.... I leave myself 40 feet, but easily two-putt.
8th hole, par 4: Hybrid, 8 iron to 30 feet, have a two tier putt that I blast 7 feet by and I miss the comebacker. 3 putt bogey. +1.

Side story #2: I am officially insane on the golf course. For whatever reason, Billy Joel's "We didn't start the fire" pops into my head. So I am on the tee, trying to thread a hybrid into a fairway 25 yards wide with water left and OB right....
I start the backswing...
"Chubby Checker... psycho!"
and now the downswing...
"Belgians in the Congo!"
How I made impact with the ball is amazing.

9th hole, par 5: Drive, layup, wedge to 25 feet: 2 putt par. 37.
6/7 fairways, 8/9 greens (wow!) , 37.

Then my swing took the back nine off.

10th hole, par 4: Ugly 200 yard pull hook into weeds; chip out, 9 iron to 20 feet, 2 putt bogey. +2
11th hole par 4: Fanned 3 wood, hooked 8 iron into weeds; chip 25 feet past, 2 putt bogey. +3
12th hole, par 5: Drive into fairway bunker; 8 iron out, wedge just over the green, almost make chip. Par.
13th hole, par 4: OK Drive, 225 left into wind; I hit 3 wood fat. 50 yards short. Hit a wedge within 5 feet. I stand over the putt - no songs now - and say "well, these are the putts you have to make..." And I do.
14th hole, par 3: 4 iron short, wedge to 6 feet. Again, a must putt - that rams the back of the hole and goes in.
15th hole, par 5. 499 yard par 5. What do I do? Pull-hook again into weeds. Hit a terrible punch and advance it 50 yards in weeds to a horrid lie. I now punch out sideways and lie 3, 195 yards from green, on this easy hole.
Hybrid 5 yards over the green; I now have a downhill chip for my 5th shot.
I chip 5 feet by - and make it. Bogey on a hole where I hit 4 bad shots. +4

For the back nine, by the way, that's 1/5 fairways, 0/6 greens.

16th, 200 yard par 3, pin tucked left over water. 5 wood - and it starts right and hooks and hooks - and hooks - but no splash.
Ball hits the rocks in front of the green, and the ball goes over the back of the green, but not in the water that is present behind the green. Chip to 9 feet. It's uphill, it's right to left - I hit it firm and it catches the side of the cup and goes in. Par. +4

17th - par 4. Drive in the fairway. Approach from here is very much like Augusta 12 - stream in front of the green, pin tucked back right. Don made 7 (?) from here to miss a spot by one last year. Again, I'm not even looking at the pin - I hit a solid 8 iron right on my line - almost too good - back fringe. 2 putts, par. +4.

18 is a 470 yard par 4, water all the way down the left side, and the hole doglegs left into the water, and of course, the pin is tucked back left.

I try to get a little too much on my drive - and I overcook it - bounce, bounce, bounce, and it disappears left into the water.
Into the water.
Crap.
I had 76 or 77 in mind as a good score - now I need to make 5 here just to get the 77. I am lying 2 195 yards away facing a dauting shot over water to a green that juts out into a lake. How do I do that?

Hybrid starts at the right edge of the green, but then starts hooking immediately. Oh shit.
The ball now is at the flag and hooking as it descends - it somehow catches the leftmost part of the green and stops. I am left with a 20 foot putt, which I two putt for a 5, 37-40-77.

1 fairway, 1 green (and that was a fringe!), 5 consecutive up-and-downs on that back nine.

Sabo is in with 71 and is assured a spot.

When I got to the clubhouse, there were 10 scores at 77 or lower (including mine). There's only 6 people out there left - so if 1 or 2 come in at 77 or lower, I'm fine; 3 or more and there will be a playoff.

One group comes in - one guys shoots 74.
Last group comes in - a 75 and a 77.

So there are 4 people at 77 for 3 spots. We go back to 18 for the playoff.
Chris Sabo sticks around - "Playoffs are a lot of fun!"
Yeah, not if you are in them! He took a cart, and I ask if I can borrow it for the playoff; he agrees, and I find myself being driven by Chris Sabo back to the 18th tee for the playoff.

We draw lots for the order - I draw the dreaded... "1".
I made sure I didn't overcook this one and left the drive out to the right, a weak 235 yard drive. However, one out of the 4 hit the water on the drive in about the same position I did 30 minutes ago. Two other guys are in the fairway, about 180-200 yards out.

Now what? Here I am, 227 from the pin - with water all down the left side. I am next to hit. Should I hit 5 wood and get it close to the front of the green, guaranteeing a 5 and a possible 4, or play a 4-iron down the right side, leaving a 60 yard pitch? Is 5 good enough to win this 4-for-3 playoff?

Sabo says three times "I think 5 is golden. Five will get you in". I pull the 5 wood out. "5 is perfect". I hesitate - and pull the 4 iron out. I bunt the ball 160 yards down the fairway, leaving me a 55 yard pitch.

The other 3 - even the one who hit in the water off the tee - goes over the green.

I'm next to play - all I need to do is to not shank or thin a half wedge here, and a 5 is fine.
Back..and through. A bit fat, but the ball releases...and rolls....to within 3 feet.

5 minutes later, I tap in for my 4 as a formality and grab a spot in the State Cahmpionship.

And the good news? Kermit also made it from the Cleveland qualifier - so we will both be at Springfield CC the week of July 9 for the state. Maybe the tee time gods will somehow pair us together.

Is this play-by-play boring? Too bad. I'm relieved that the old Eric - the Eric from 1988, or from 1995 - can get up and down from everywhere when it counts. If I can just fix my driver - which was pretty good in March - I should be OK this year.

(and the playoff magic is back! I won 6 straight playoffs dating back to 1997 before losing a playoff in Iowa in 2005. Back in victory lane!)

I didn't want to see 65 year old breasts....

With Carol getting sick for her birthday weekend, I ended up spending most of the time watching movies with her, and WOW did we pick some winners. The movies were sooooo good, I had to post about the utter crap that was "Movie Weekend".


6. The War Tapes- A documentary done by 4 men in Iraq. Is slow at times, but the payoff is at the end when they return home and their comments about the war and the American people. Very interesting and a great watch.

5. Hot Fuzz- Worth a watch. British humor aimed at all of the US cop buddy movies. It really doesn't get good until the last 30 minutes.

4. Eragon- Yes, this was the third best movie of the weekend. It only took me about 20 minutes to realize that they were blatantly ripping off Star Wars by replacing Jedi's with Dragon Riders. But I'm a sucker for smart sharks and dragon movies, so I actually enjoyed the flick.

3. Catch and Release- Why does everyone love Jennifer Garnder? Very unattractive. And I'm not a huge fan of Kevin Smith playing the role of the goofy friend When did he become Jack Black or Steve Zahn. Good story, but poor execution.

4. Georgia Rule- Yup. I actually went to the movies to watch this one with Carol, Brian, and Laurin. Brian convinced me that this might be good since he heard that there was full frontal of Lindsey Lohan. Absolutely terrible movie with no full frontal. Two comments were made during this movie...The first was when I actually yelled "What??" during a plot twist. It was so unbelievable (Lindsey's character was raped by her step father) that I yelled this in disgust right as Brian (Laurin's husband) walked out. The other comment was to Carol, stating that this was not the worst movie I've seen today. And that award goes to...

5a. Because I Said So- When did it become acceptable to watch a 65 year old lady get naked and have sex on screen? Diane Keeton should be shot. And what Director thinks that it is a good idea to have Diane Keeton do slapstick on screen? I was just floored.

5b. Rocky- Ben, Carol, and I rented this on Wednesday with high hopes. People have been telling all of us that this was a good movie. What a disappointment. It was depressing, with poor acting, and no climax (That's what she said). Ben and I thought that there was going to be another boxing match since the main one was so poor. And to think that there is going to be another Rambo....Ugh.

I'm mad as hell...

and I'm not going to take it anymore.

1) Varejao was fouled on the winning shot. Wallace clearly pushed him out of the way. An obvious offensive call there - no whistle.

2) Lebron was fouled on the drive at the end, but that one was much closer. All those idiots that criticized LeBron in game 1 can now suck it. He drove and took it to the hole - just like those idiots said - and see? No call.

3) The first thing Mike Brown should do is pull the team bus over in Sandusky - or any lake town on the 80/90 turnpike driving back from Detroit - there's plenty of them; I've driven that stretch multiple times - and follow these instructions:

a) Find a cement block or anchor

b) Tie it to Larry Hughes' ankle

c) Drop the anchor in Lake Erie

Whoops? Is Larry still attached to it? Continue driving, Mr. Bus Driver!

I know Leland and rrd have waited for this day to say "I told you so", so let me have it.

Suck my ping pong balls

I can't believe the lottery outcome, and yet I CAN believe it if that makes sense. The Celtics had a less than 40% chance of getting either #1 or #2, so it was hardly a lock regardless of how many games they tanked last season. The worst part is that they have been "significant" lottery players three times in the last 20 years and the best thing they have to show for those "entries" is an obituary.

As far as the outcome goes, the Celtics obviously lost out big time (I think their marketing slogan for next season should be "We're screwed"). A potential front line of Al Jefferson, PP and Oden would have been pretty nice. But the NBA also lost out as well. The two biggest stars/names to come into the league in a few years will be playing the majority of their games in the sleepy Pacific NW - thats too bad. The fact that the three teams with the worst records ALL got shut out of the top three is pretty amazing, which brings me to the system.

The system doesn't seem to accomplish what they are trying to do. The lottery was put in place in the 80s after Houston blatantly tanked games to get Olajuwon (or was it sampson???) Anyway, after that they came up with a lottery system to protect the integrity of the game. So, now that the lottery is in place nobody tanks games anymore right??? Um, well not exactly. The three people that saw the Bucks Celtics game this past season wouldn't have a problem answering that question. Both the C's and the Bucks were pathetic and obviously tanking games down the stretch.

Some could argue that some justice was delivered with the lottery results. Since all of the tankers were shut out, its hard to argue against this point. However, the whole reason for the lottery is to prevent tanking and it IS NOT HAVING AN EFFECT. What effect is it having?? Well, the worst teams aren't reaping the benefits of the higher picks, which is EXACTLY WHAT A DRAFT IS SUPPOSED TO DO. The draft is a means for lousy teams to improve right???

I know what you are thinking - "Jay F you and your sour grapes!! Just enjoy the Pats off-season spoils, and the Sox' best record in baseball!!". Well, again hard to argue THAT point either. But I have a solution to fix the lottery! Here is how we fix it.

After 70 games you take a look at the standings and take the three worst teams. Those three teams will pick no lower than three in the upcoming draft. Whoever finishes with the BEST record over the final 12 games gets the #1 pick, second best record gets #2, last gets #3. Those three teams now have something to play for instead of just playing out the string and looking at the ping pong balls. Now, if you truly care about the integrity of the game this help to solve that problem. You also get to help the worst teams by allowing them to pick higher in the draft. Just a thought.

The Celts really are screwed now. I think you have to trade Pierce now, while he still has some value. How about Pierce to Dallas for Howard and Devin Harris? If you keep Pierce and add someone with the #5 pick (Green from G-town, Brewer from FLA?) the best case scenario is that you win 35 to 40 games TOPS. As any wizard fan would tell you, that is a path to nowhere. Crap. Anyway, you have to shake it up somehow, and pray you can get lucky in the draft at some point. Good news is Vin Baker's contract is finally off the books this season!! Ha, thanks Chris Wallace you fat bastard (also responsible for Kedrick Brown and Joe Forte in 2001)!!

What gets my panties in a wad

Iraq war? Yes. Immigration? Definitely. But this my friends pisses me off the most! The over serving thing isn't new, but its the poor tow truck driver. The last comment by the dad stating "Why was the tow truck there for an exorbitant amount of time?" Umm...he was there for 15 minutes, in the middle of the night, on the side of the road. The better question is why was your son extremely drunk talking on the cell phone, trying to find a hookup. The lack of ownership and accountability in this country makes me sick. And I should be used to this since I work in claims, but Jesus

F&J Exclusive: 2007 Golf Season Preview

Well, we are less than one week away from the official start of the 2007 Golf Season; Senior Editor Franklin Stubbs sat down with Eric to preview the upcoming tournament season.

FS: Eric, you have 8 tournaments on your schedule, the first being next week. How is your game 6 days away from the Ohio State Amateur Qualifier?

EZ: Getting better. Took a trip to Nashville with some church friends this weekend, played 4 rounds of golf. It's amazing what improvement you can see if you just concentrate on golf (and beer) and play, play, play. I feel like I actually have an idea where the ball may go off the tee and with my irons. Putting still is a little shaky - can that be turned around in a week? We'll try.

FS: What is it going to take to advance to the States?

EZ: Not a great round, just a solid one. Don was an laternate with a 78 last year; something along the lines of 76-77 should be fine. The formula is simple; hit 10 greens, don't 3-jack, get up and down 50% of the time I miss a green, and no doubles. That's a 76.

FS: Any others playing in the qualifier?

EZ: Kermit is playing the same day up in Cleveland; we'll compare stories that night,I'm sure. I certainly don't want to hear of any 92's or something like that. Don is not playing this year, because he is a dumb ass. I will post a separate topic on how he screwed this up. I don't think Jeff M is playing.

FS: Next up is the US Publinx Qualifier on June 18. How many more years are you going to do this?

EZ: Well, this is my 12th shot at this - the tournament I've played in the most years. It's only a matter of time until we join the club here in our neighborhood - next year? 09?, so this may be it. I like the idea of playing 36 in a day - it's a tradition. It will take 144-146, which can be done on that course.

FS: Are others playing with you?

EZ: No. Get this. Craig Higgins, a Cincinnati friend, is playing in Evansville; Don is playing in Toledo, and Kermit is playing up in Cleveland. There is a Cincinnati sectional, but why play in that? Because it will take in excess of 12 hours.

FS: The next week after that is the Cincinnati Met. Is this the year you make the field of 64?

EZ: God, I hope so. It's 2 rounds of stroke play to determine a match play field of 64. +12-+13 was the cut last year; it's not like I need 2 act-of-God rounds to qualify. I need to play solid, good golf, and NOT MAKE ANY FUCKING 8's ON THE SHORTEST HOLE IN CINCINNATI TOURNAMENT GOLF.
*ahem*
sorry about that.
I consider myself something like, oh, Oregon State, Wyoming, or Providence. If those teams play solid, not doing a whole lot but taking care of business, they're in the Big Dance. I need to do the same. 76-78 should be fine. If I get the nerves out of the way, I'll be ok.
And then I want the #28 seed matched up against the #37 seed Don Hershey. Hoo boy, would that be fun.

FS: The next is a local event, the Vineyard Classic. Thoughts?

EZ: Looking forward to it. It is a 2-day weekend tournament where we can form our own group for round 1. I hate to be the 4th in the group of Don, Craig and I. Hopefully it is some 17-year-old hotshot that we can piss off.

FS: On a side note, you seem to have a grudge against any teens playing in your tournament. Are you jealous?

EZ: I don't think it's jealousy - it's that they haven't grown up learning the same things about golf that I did. When I played as a junior, it was all about the score - what did you shoot? There were no style points. It was learning to get the ball in the hole. That's how I became so good at the short game - it was the only way for me shoot good scores and compete. I believe that's how Kermit learned the game too.
Nowadays, it's all about the long ball. These teens can hit the ball 300 + yards, but can't get up and down from 5 yards off the green - and will have 2-3 3 putts per round. It makes me sick to see that talent wasted.
Put mine (or Kermit's ) short game with those teen's full swing, and we are on the mini-tours today.
Can they learn it? Yes, of course they can learn a short game. Will they practice it? No. That's too much work. They'd rather bomb balls on the range for 3+ hours. They've never been forced to work on their game - they can get by with the talent they have - so the short game is a part of the game that has never received attention under pressure. And when they are forced to make shots under pressure, they can't come through.

FS: My Goodness. Let's move on. Will you be going to Iowa this year?

EZ: It depends on the State Qualifier. If I qualify for the State, I'll skip Iowa. If I suck it up next Tuesday, then I'll make the trip to Ames. I really enjoyed going back there - and it helps when I hit 6 greens in the final round and shoot 70.

FS: At the end of July, you have the rite of passage that is the Ohio Public Golfers' Tournament at Apple Valley.

EZ: I don't know why I have a love affair with that place, but I do. Mom and Dad usually come in for the week, and Dad follows me around (and is starting to become known for his cigars). Lot of memories of that course. The rounds are hellish - they start 45 mnutes late and are usually 5 1/2 hours plus - but it's not a stuffy tournament at all. It's a great balance between golfing with acquaintences around the state mixed with a well-run tournament.

FS: Anyone else playing?

EZ: Well, there's a chance both Steve and Kermit will be playing this year. IF Steve plays, he can stay overnight after the practice round and not total his car driving back to Cleveland. I'm thinking about putting one of those roadside posts at the scene of the accident - but instead of a cross, have a bent 4-iron and a deck of cards. I still can't believe he wasn't seriously hurt.

Maybe Jeff M can drive to the course that week and enter as well.

FS: Can you make 4 rounds at Apply Valley once again?

EZ: Yes, I can. The 3-round cut is around 225-226 (+9/+10), which I have made once. It only takes one great round to get you on your way. You don't want to do what I did last year - struggle for 36 holes just to make the 2-round cut on the number - and then try to force a 68 or 69. I can't play that way.

FS: Then 2 Mid-Am events in August

EZ: The Cincinnati Mid-Am is mid-August, at an OK public course. Don is passing on the event as he predicts an unprecedented 6 1/2 hour round, which I think is entirely possible. But it's a local event that I can do well in - I was T-10 one year - and it's nice to see how I stack up locally.

FS: And the US Mid Am Qualifier?

EZ: Well, if I ever get to go to a national event, this would be the one. I've been close 3 times - 2001 in Pittburgh, as the 4th alternate; 2005 in Chicago, where two dumb bogies on the back killed me (I finished 3 off from a spot), and 2006 here at TPC, where I started slow (41 on the front, including a 7 on a 530-yd par 5) and finished with a 37 on the back nine. That 78 was 2 out of qualifying.
Incidentally, I should realize that that 37 has to be up there as one of the great nine's I've played. 37 on a 3600-yd course, with winds at 15-25 mph, with greens rock hard and each pin tucked.

FS: That's all for now. Andy Hawkins will be live on the scene Tuesday, May 29, from the Oasis club for coverage of the Ohio Amateur Qualifier.

Quick hits

A couple of quick hits.

1. It might be only me, but I can't wait to see the Boston Sports Guy's article about the NBA lottery last night. Ohhhh, I'm so excited. I'm sure he will try to downplay it a bit, but since nothing has been posted to date, his dad might of killed him. And why is there all this talk about changing the system now? While the system is strange, no one was complaining when the Knicks did the same thing many years ago. And as a gambler I like it.

2. Annapolis- A friend of mine transferred out to Annapolis and is now single and is looking for places to go out downtown. The only place I know of is Rams Head. Is there any places there to listen to live music and such?

3. Magic Johnson- Why hasn't there been a story on him? The guy is still kicking and looking very good on TNT, despite having the HIV. Have they found a cure? Is it only for rich folks? How come nobody has looked into this recently?

4. Its been a long time, but I hate it when your baseball team is out of it this early. The A's are just terrible right now. Who can blame them though with all the injuries. It is painful to watch their games.

The 9th time is the charm?

Just for reference, this year's Cavs makes it 9 - yes, 9 - Cleveland teams to make the final four in their sport in my lifetime:

1975-76 Cavaliers - the Miracle of Richfield team

1986 Browns

1987 Browns

1989 Browns

1991-92 Cavaliers

1995 Indians

1997 Indians

1998 Indians

and now, the 2006-07 Cavaliers.

Only 2 of those teams above made it to the finals. Can LeBron and co. make it 3? I'm encouraged by the game last night, even though it was a loss. I found it to be an enthralling game, unlike the Nets series.

(By the way- the more I learn about that Miracle of Richfield team, the more I wish I was old enough to remember it. Many fans have said those playoff games were the loudest they have ever heard a Cleveland sports crowd - Browns games included. I remember that coliseum - a tribute to the 70s....)

Derek's Revenge, 17 years later....

More to come in later posts, but before then, can I help my brother out in some long-awaited revenge from the 1990 World Series?

The 2007 Tournament season will be underway next week.

Down with Suzyn

I've been wanting to post this for a while, but I keep on forgetting to do it, but after another extremely poor performance, I can't ignore it anymore. For those of you that have XM Radio, and listen to the baseball games, there is this lady that does the color analysis for the Yankees who is quite possibly the worst person on radio to date. Her name is Suzyn Waldman. Now her Clemens episode was bad, but then she had another one when Wil Nieves had his first major league hit last week. I don't have audio of that, but you have to trust me, it was terrible. Why is she on the radio?

Preakness

Ahh, the Preakness. After a long talk with Lee last night I think that I have three solid losers today, so beware. I don't like the odds going into this so I'm going to scale back some. Here are the picks:

1. Hardspun
2. Curlin
3. Street Sense

Wild Card- Circular Day.

Heading out shortly to Del Mar for another nice day of drinking and gambling.

Oh and Congrats to Eric on the Cavs win. Looking forward to that ugly slow down play against the Pistons like we saw last year.

5 Things that piss me off today

1. Ben Wallace- What a bum. What an absolute joke. Can they void out his contract for his play last night?

2. Immigration Bill- Another absolute joke. Thank you Newt for coming out so strongly against this bill. Please just run for President so that some of these Republicans gets some balls and stand up to

3. Nike- I absolutely love the Lebron commercials. Why are they so withholding on these? We just get one new Wise Lebron commercial this NBA playoff season? Ugh.

4. Losing 3 of 4 to the Royals. This is it. It is over. We are finished. No hope in sight. Too many injuries and not enough depth. I mentioned this at the beginning of the year. When you bank on being healthy as a reason why you will win the West, you are bound to be disappointed. The only thing I get to look forward to is the return of Rickey Henderson.

5. The Office- While the season finale was excellent, this is heading in the wrong direction. Now that Jim and Pam are together, the show is going to go downhill just like Friends and Ed. But Jesus, this finale was fantastic.

5 Things I like this morning

1. Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" song. And I can only imagine what the video looks like!!!

2. Hard Spun and Curling finishing 1-2 in the Preakness. Yes I know that the favorite has won the last 5 out of 6 Preaknesses, but I'm not sold on Street Sense. He had to run a perfect race to catch Hard Spun. I mean a perfect race!!! He needs the rail to win, but with the 8th position, I'm not too sure if he can get it.

3. O'Malley's comments that MD needs slots. Do you think he will be able to get it passed? I hope so.

4. Full slate of morning baseball games. With my Fantasy Baseball team back in the race, I love tracking games at work. 9:00am start for Cleveland?? I love it.

5. Another guy goes on the DL for the A's, with another one pending. While it is fun watching some of these guys play, I would like to see our original team on the field so we don't lose to the Royals every other night. For the third straight evening in a row, we blew a save to the Royals. Ugh.

The 1986 Masters and the NBA

Just remember....

in the 1986 Masters, when Jack shot a final round 30 to win by one.....

Jack actually had a bogey on that back nine (#12). Jack admitted that a silly bogey there gave him the kick in the ass he needed to keep the round going.

Let's hope tonight was the bogey on #12 that kicks the Cavs in the pants.

(Trivia, by the way: How many people finished second in that Masters, and who were they? No peeking.....)

Ramblings to remove Carly Simon from the front page

Since Eric has lost it, I guess I should post something. What has happened to him? Anyway onto a couple of quick comments:

1. Another Athletic on the DL. This time Huston Street. Ugh. Bad time for this as our bullpen has fallen on bad times. Last night we blew a 3 run lead to the Royals. Thank God we pulled it out in extra innings or I would of killed one of the cats.

2. Suns-Spurs- Why is everyone up in arms over the suspensions in this game? Seems OK to me. There is a rule and they enforced it. Blame Amare and Diaw for the suspensions, not the league. This isn't a new rule. Everyone please just shut up about this and lets move on.

3. Rev Jerry Falwell is dead. OK. Let's move on. He is everything that is right and wrong about this country. I don't agree with what he says all the time, but at least he stands for what he believes in. Reading some of the comments from the Republican candidates about his death were very blah. But it was strange that the most genuine comment came from one of his biggest enemies, Larry Flint:

"The Reverend Jerry Falwell and I were arch enemies for fifteen years. We
became involved in a lawsuit concerning First Amendment rights and Hustler
magazine. Without question, this was my most important battle – the l988 Hustler
Magazine, Inc., v. Jerry Falwell case, where after millions of dollars and much
deliberation, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in my favor.
My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that. I hated everything he stood for, but
after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became
good friends. He would visit me in California and we would debate together
on college campuses. I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what
he was selling and he knew what I was selling. The most important result of
our relationship was the landmark decision from the Supreme Court that made
parody protected speech, and the fact that much of what we see on television and
hear on the radio today is a direct result of my having won that now famous case
which Falwell played such an important role in."

Very sincere. Why can't more people be like this?

What year is it? 1992? or 2007?

Baby sneezes

Mommy pleases

Daddy breezes in

So good on paper

So romantic

But so bewildering

I know nothing stays the same

But if you're willing to play the game
It's coming around again

So don't mind if I fall apart

There's more room in a broken heart

You pay the grocer

Fix the toaster

Kiss the host Good-bye

Then you break a window

burn the Soufflé

Scream a lullaby

I know nothing stays the same

But if you're willing to play the game

It's coming around again

So don't mind if I fall apart

There's more room in a broken heart

And I believe in love

But what else can I do

I'm so in love with you

I know nothing stays the same

But if you're willing to play the game

It's coming around again

I know nothing stays the same

But if you're willing to play the game

It's coming around again

So don't mind if I fall apart

There's more room in a broken heart

For whatever reason, this song popped into my head after the big Cavs win today. It feels like my college days in 1992-93, the heart of the Price/Daughtery/Nance era. A team that is probably not talented enough to win the title playing their heart out and teasing you so. You want to believe, you think it may be enough to win - and yet they lose - not unexpectedly - to teh Bulls.

The Cavs this year are a good team, but the supporting cast around LeBron may not be good enough. However, there are enough glimpses of light and minutes of great play - the defense this year has been solid, Gooden is a force, if Pavlovic gets hot..... that you think it could happen. Maybe they can do this!!!

The effort is there. Are the wins? One more win now to get to the Conference finals, where (probably) a Detroit team awaits. A Detroit team that we were one offensive rebound away from beating in 6 games last year...

I know nothing stays the same
But if you're willing to play the game
It's coming around again

I do believe, I do believe....I believe in love.....

Quickies

1) First off, big game tonight for the Cavs. I'm ok with losing one in NJ - but to lose both? Well, that throws the series back into tossup mode. We are clearly the better team (I think), we need to win tonight.

2) More to come on the Tribe....

3) I saw an article in the Washington Post that made me turn my head. About two weeks ago, there was an article saying that the Democrats were planing to overhaul the AMT in the tax code. Some Democrats were trying to develop a plan that would:
a) eliminate the AMT for people under $200K;
b) phase it in for people from $200-$500K;
c) make it higher for people over $500K.

I don't know how much of this article was liberal bias (highlighting Dem plans that have no chance of passing), but if - IF - the Democrats get this plan passed and force Bush to deal with it......
wow....

I will then have to reevaluate where I stand politically.

I mean, doing something like this would have HUGE political ramifications. First of all, that would be a tax cut for me. The last two years we were killed by the AMT. If that's repealed, well then - move over Leland and Wiz, I'm playing the $25 tables in Vegas in March.

This would be a politcal earthquake. All those upper-middle class suburbs that are solidly Republican? Some - not all, but a signficant chunk - would shift due to this. This could tip the balance in states like Ohio, Virginia, Missouri, and so on.

This is a classic example of Republicans having no clue what affects their voters. This issue has been out there for 4-5 years....nothing has been done. If teh Democrats actually agree to overhaul the AMT and fix it, resulting in a tax cut for the upper middle class -------- that's progress.

4) How racist is the sporting world? Most of you may have seeen this from SG's latest column about the Josh Hancock tragedy:

I couldn't agree more with this e-mail from Ed in Dallas: "Does the coverage of the Josh Hancock accident perfectly illustrate the double standard we have with different sports? If a tattooed, cornrowed NBA player had been been in a fatal, single-car accident with a BAC level twice the legal limit, allegedly on the phone with a woman arranging a hookup and with a stash of weed in the car -- he'd be posterized as everything that's wrong with the NBA. Since it's a clean-cut white guy, he's being treated like Barbaro."

he's absolutely right. Why is this the case? I don't have an answer.

Derby

Totally forgot to post about this. Consider this your Christmas gift:

1. Hardspin- Carol's sister Molly supplies shoes to one of the top farriors in the country who has shoed the winner of the Derby for the last 5 years. This is the only horse he is doing this year. I'm giddy.

2. Curlin- My coworker in Indy and VA, who are both decent handicappers stated that this horse will run away with it, but I can't remember the last time a favorite won the Derby.

3. High Heels- I know nothing about him, but I will lay some down on him.

One more quickie

On Sunday, my brother-in-law (Janice's brother Jeff) will be running in the Flying Pig marathon. This will be his first marathon and he's been training for several months now. We are all going downtown to support him and stage ourselves at key locations to hand out these goo packs to him in order for him to keep his energy up.

Good luck to Jeff - and I really don't want to know what this "goo" is made of.

Sports Data Dump

It's been a while, and I have a lot of thoughts in my head. Let's get started.

NBA: Just a couple of thoughts.

First, go go Cavs! It's a shame that I've only watched a total of 5 minutes of the Wizards series - thanks to 2 games being on NBA TV. What the hell was that? To recap - since you may have forgotten - we finished our series on Monday, April 30. If Toronto/New Jersey goes 7, Game 7 will be played Sunday, meaning the Cavs will play again on either Tuesday or Wednesday, May 8/9. That's at least 8 idle days. Unbelieveable.

But I'm not complaining, since we could use the rest to make sure LeBron's ankle is completely healed. How good is this team? Not sure yet - but I know previous versions of the LeBron-led Cavs would have lost one road game in Washington.

The other story, of course, is the Warriors. This team hasn't made the playoffs since 1994. How crazy is that? 1994....think....what were my priorities then?

- the 99 cent Whopper at teh BK by my grad office

- $15 rounds at Punderson

- "Black Label" beer

- Dinners consisting of On-Cor Dinners and Pet Ritz pies.

- Beavis and Butthead and Gin in Steve's basement 4 nights a week.

(Side story: things that aren't gay but would appear gay to 99% of the rest of the population: Steve and I going up and down the aisle in the Finast grocery store at 10:30 at night looking for Vienetta. I'm sure if others saw us.... )

Anyway, good luck to the Warriors.

MLB:

I can't be happier about the Tribe. Currently at 16-8 and leading the Central by 2 games. And I think we can be playing better. Yes, Victor is on fire, and Garko is a great surprise, but Pronk is still not hot yet and Trot Nixon could do better. The started (except for C. C. and Carmona) could improve too.

I read an article somewhere which called the Tribe "probably the most solid bullpen in baseball".

Well, let's just say that if watching Aaron Fultz and Roberto Hernandex blow 6-5 leads is "solid", then Johnny from "Johnny and the Sprites" has a girlfriend.

Hello? Is this thing on? Yes, I expected only one or two of you to get that.

(By the way, what about Joe from Blue's Clues? Gay or Straight, or asexual like Morrissey and Big Bird? Discuss....)

And I am finding myself watching the scoreboard to see how the other AL Central teams are doing. It's May - why am I doing this? Too early? I don't think so, not with 4 teams in the race. I think I'm most scared of Minnesota....then Detroit.

Three other quickies:

- Gil Meche is 3-1 for the Royals, with an ERA under 2.5. Not a lot of criticism now, huh?

- Can Milwaukee keep it up? Why not? Who is going to challenge them in the NL?

- I haven't got a chance to blog much about the protest filed by the Indians that was denied - but mark my words, something is going to happen in MLB in the next 10 years that will have the commissioner rue the day this decision was made. You can't retroactively add runs to the score. Period.

NFL:

I think I've said enough about the draft - I am ecstatic about Thomas and Quinn on this team. However, I'm still worried about Romeo leading this team. Let's not forget how he handled rookies last year:

- Don's boyfriend, Kamerion Wimbley, did not start in week 1 last year

- Even though LB was a weakness ealry in the season, D'Quell did not start either in week 1.

- Need I remind anyone how Travis Wilson, our WR, was treated? Dennis Northcutt played and started over Wilson. Wilson finally got some playing time in week 15!

Forget about Quinn - what evidence do we have that Joe Thomas will start week 1? can you imagine the uproar if he's not out there for the first play vs. Pittsburgh?

And the Tribe wins again, 6-5 over Toronto. 17-8 record. 10 out of their last 11. Borowski with save #10.

The month of April

Boy, April was a tough month. The A's are so banged up that they had to bring up not one, not two, but three guys from double A to start games. They had to play Marco Scutaro, a poor man's Luis Sojo in Right Field. They had to make a trade for Ryan Langerhans, who I got confused for about 5 minutes with Jeff Francouer, which got me excited, but then realized it was Atlanta's 4th outfielder who isn't that good. Now they enter May with a long road trip that will take them through a schedule where they should be making up ground. Two at Boston, Three at Tampa, and Three at KC. But now I'm just hoping that they can escape with a .500 mark. Typically the A's start off extremely cold for the first month, and then turn it on in May and June, but I'm worried that we are just too thin to do that now.

And to top it off, Jon and my fantasy team is off to its worse start in years and I can't see where we are going to make up ground. Is it too early to pull the plug on the team and start building for next year? Probably not. Massive trades will probably start in a couple of weeks for us to jettison some of our larger contracts for next years' keepers.

But what has gotten me through this past month has been the NBA. I second Bill Simmons on the Golden State- Dallas games. They have been absolutely amazing. And the Spurs-Nugs matchup has been just as good. It's always nice to see Robert Horry continue his dominance in the playoffs (18 minutes/6 points with huge 3 pointers). Its funny to see Steve Blake getting minutes on the Nugs and watching him not being able to guard the 3-point shot. Three times during last night's game he was out of position, in no mans land and the Spurs buried a wide open 3. Maybe its not just Gary who can't guard the three? Lakers-Suns. Not too bad, but it is amazing to watch Nash and the Suns.

Now I haven't watched a single game in the East. Are the Cavs this good or are the Wizards just this bad? And what about the Bulls?