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Base Knocks & Linkology

With apologies to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, here's a whole lotta links...

Firmly Implanted Between My Ears

Very safe for work. As a matter of fact, turn your speakers up.

Notes: Myers, Eaton, Erin Andrews, center field and some good tunes

I've been on record in numerous places saying that Brett Myers would not have trouble transitioning back to the rotation after being a closer for most of last season.

In hindsight, that was not one of my better predictions.

Given his start tonight -- 6 ER, 4 1/3 innings -- I think we have to begin to question his health.

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According to John Dewan's State of the Week, Chase Utley ranks as tied with Oakland's Mark Ellis as the best fielding second baseman in baseball so far this season using the Plus/Minus system as a metric.

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A lot of Adam Eaton's problems come from between his ears, but sometimes, trouble just follows this guy:

Adam Eaton shagged fly balls in the outfield and tossed one to a fan near the railing in left field. Another fan stepped in front, but leaned over too far. His weight propelled him over the railing.  

Luckily, he grabbed the railing with one arm as he fell to the warning track, allowing him to land on his feet, rather than his head.

"It was one of the scariest things I've seen," Eaton said.

  I would not stand near him during a thunderstorm.

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Spent the weekend in New England, and caught Ben Sollee on XM Radio.  Good stuff.  Apparently he's got a record coming out in June.

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When I first read that a fan fell over the railing at Citizens Bank Park, I thought this might be the reason.

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Finally, Shane Victorino should be playing centerfield when he is in the game.  On Tuesday night, in the ninth, Jayson Werth made a bad jump on a ball and ended up letting it get over his head.  If Victorino gets a bad jump, he has the speed to recover.  Some will argue Victorino has the better arm for right, and that's true, but a center fielder has more occasions to use his arm than a right fielder, so it's better to have your best arm there.

Eaton's Lament

When "Pitcher's Lament" by Phillsy Philz of Blind Pigeon Records came up on my shuffling iPod the other day, my first thought was "Adam Eaton".

"Oooh, I don't have, my good stuff today..."

Incidentally, I've been in contact with Phillsy Philz, and he mentioned two things of note... One, he wrote this song with Gavin Floyd in mind, and two, he just recorded a song which he's sending to me, entitled "That's Life as a Phillies Fan".  Stay tuned.

At any rate, lets hope today's effort by Eaton reminds us more of Santana's "Winning" than "Pitcher's Lament".

Audiophiles

Readers of BS&S.com are accustomed to my diatribes delivered in text form, but today I'm privileged to instead offer up a link to a podcast interview with yours truly at the Big League Baseball Report [link].  For 37 minutes and change, the Phillies 2007 season is discussed and previewed and for those of you who have always wondered, I reveal where the name of this space comes from [disclaimer: it's not nearly as interesting a story as where Jack's tattoos came from].  For those of you who have iTunes and are icapable, you can download the interview there as well.

Finally, I wanted to pass on a fun little tune I discovered while aimlessly surfing around.  The song comes from a musician who goes by the moniker "Phillsy Philz"; I came across it at Blind Pigeon Records.

• Download "Pitcher's Lament": [mp3]

Enjoy, and then come back and let me know what you think of all this acoustic stimuli...

Tying Up Some Loose Ends...

In defense of his defense...

If yesterday you read this space and your eyes popped in skepticism at Chase Utley accumulating 40 runs saved in 2005, you are not alone, I did too, and so did several readers.  On the surface it seems incredibly odd that Utley could rate higher than, say, Andruw Jones or Aaron Rowand.  On the one hand, we have yards of highlight reels that tell us that Rowand and Jones are superlative centerfielders, while the early word on Utley has been a back-handed, "better than expected".  But consider this, in 2005, Jones made 365 outs for the Braves, while Utley made 456 for the Phillies.  In other words, a large part of Utley's total is due to the fact that second basemen just get more chances than centerfielders do.

The fairest thing to do is compare Utley to other second-basemen and remove line drives and pop-ups from the equation, using only groundballs to measure range.  In this light, Utley still ranks second.  Choosing other measures such as fielding win shares and zone rating, Utley still ranks tenth and second, respectively.

Let's face it, Clutchly might just be a better defender than he gets credit for being.

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The Phillies have the 1998 American League pennant all wrapped up...

So far, Pat Gillick has signed several players to the Phillies squad that he had when he was with other teams.  Alex S. Gonzalez was with Gillick in Toronto, Ryan Franklin was with Gillick in Seattle, and Arthur Rhodes was with him in both Baltimore and Seattle.

I expect the acquisitions of Cal Ripken and Edgar Martinez any day now.

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This may be the closest I come to writing a post on hockey...

Yesterday, I heard in passing on Comcast's Daily News Live that Keith Primeau's season may be over due to residual symptoms from a concussion he suffered a while back.  One of the symptoms was that when he turned his head, he had vertigo.

I'm sure Primeau has been evaluated by all types of specialists, but there is one condition that could be overlooked, depending upon the types of specialists he is seeing.  The condition is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.  In layman's terms?  He has rocks in his head.  Seriously [sort of].  Fact of the matter is, we all have these rocks in our heads, crystals to be exact, called otoliths, and they are contained in a compartment of our inner ears.  Often, due to atrophy from age or from trauma, such as a concussion, these crystals can get jarred from the compartment they are supposed to be, and into other compartments of the inner ear.  When someone with this condition turns his/her head, the misplaced crystals stimulate the inner ear and give a sensation of vertigo.

It's easy to test for, takes about two minutes.  If he were to test positive, the completely non-invasive, painless treatment would take about ten minutes plus a week or so of limited physical activity.  He would then be cured.  Until he takes another puck upside the head of course.

This concludes my first and possibly last post on hockey.

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Poi-soooon...

Speaking of the medical field, in last night's Scrubs, when "Turk" danced to Bell Biv Devoe ("so now you know") for what seemed like twenty minutes, it could be one of the funniest things I've ever seen on television.

Looking for 1994

It’s sometimes interesting to notice how people get stuck in certain periods in their lives, displaying behaviors and tastes that have long since fell from favor.  It can be exhibited in the way some people dress (acid washed jean jackets), their haircut (the mullet screams “1990”), the slang they use (such as “he’s a real hip cat”), or maybe by the music they like to listen to.

And so when I was standing in line at the Barnes & Noble in Plymouth Meeting, waiting to purchase my first Hootie and the Blowfish’s album in almost a decade, their 2005 effort “Looking for Lucky”, I couldn’t help but think that the only way this could get any worse was if I was wearing faded jeans secured with a braided leather belt (buckled and looped around itself), a large-plaid flannel shirt (or maybe a rugby shirt), and a baseball cap with my fraternity letters emblazoned across the front of it.

”I’m not that guy am I?” I asked myself.  I try to update my haircut and wardrobe every so often (I eliminated pleats a while ago, but I still prefer my pants to be the same as my liquor, plain and brown), and I’ll turn on XM Radio’s Top 20 station ever so often just to see what kids these days listen to (although I admit the digital dial doesn’t remain their long, it usually reverts to ESPN Radio, the baseball channel, or the Café station pretty quickly).  So I’m still cool right?  Right?! 

I did my best to hold my head high as I handed the cashier my debit card and as I drove home and listened to the CD more and more, my security returned, because dammit, rootsy pop is good music.

Hootie’s sound has been updated a bit since I heard them last, a few little sound effects have been added to modernize their sound (though not to the absurd extent the Dave Matthews Band went to on “Stand Up” with drum machines and machine guns), but fundamentally, the band’s sound remains what made them popular.  Lead singer Darius Rucker’s voice is still the bluesy baritone it’s always been, and the music that surrounds him has just enough twang in it to keep your foot tapping, but not enough to make you feel like you’re in Branson.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must get back to Tecmo Super Bowl and the can of Beast I just cracked open.

Cheesesteaks in Paradise

After spending my Saturday morning on the grounds of the stately Merion Country Club in Ardmore, I spent my Saturday evening at Citizens Bank Park in South Philly.

The Phillies weren't there.

Jimmy Buffett was.

To the uninitiated -- which I certainly was until Saturday evening -- a Jimmy Buffett concert is more than just a music concert, it is really more like a festival.  Except for the average age of the participants, this party reminded me quite a bit of the Fiji Island parties of my college days.

Scanning the parking lot/tailgate central, with Citizens Bank Park looming in the background, there were quite a few spectacles.  Many grass skirts (on males and females), coconut bras (on males and females), drinks in coconuts with tiny umbrellas, SUV tailgates open with "Margaritaville" blaring from the speakers inside the vehicles.

But to the unadulterated Phillies fan, much of what could be observed was disconcerting...

Yard Work

Yard Work is a "spoof blog" of ESPN's Baseball Tonight.  It's pretty creative, and comes complete with Larry Bowa chat session transcripts [Hat Tip: Off Wing Opinion and Distinguished Senators].  It pairs nicely with Humbug: Random Diamond Notes.

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As F.O.B.S.S. [Friend of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, which should never be confused with F.S.O.B.] Chad of Redleg Nation reports, the Reds have replaced their manager Dave Miley and pitching coach Don Gullett.  Replacing Miley will be Jerry Narron, and replacing Gullett will be Vern Ruhle.

Phillies fans likely remember that Ruhle was at one time the Phillies pitching coach.  However, there is a free 20-month subscription to B.S. & S. to the knowledgeable reader that can guess Ruhle's other connection to the Phils.

Answer after the "jump".

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In last night's 8-5 loss to the Mets, Charlie Manuel chose Endy Chavez to pinch-hit with a man on and one out.  Predictably, Chavez hacked and hacked away until he finally flied out.

Now might be a good time to compare Endy Chavez and Marlon Byrd since they were swapped for each other on May 15th.

         AB   AVG  OBP  SLG   
Byrd     78  .295 .356 .359
Chavez   42  .167 .205 .238

Niether one has hit a homerun, but at least Byrd is a serviceable fourth outfielder/pinch-hitter.  Chavez is not a major-league caliber player and never will be.  He makes Tom Goodwin look like Bobby Abreu.

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In case you haven't noticed, I've placed a link in the sidebar to vote Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, and Brett Myers to the All-Star Game.  Do it, do it.

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The 76ers are about to sign Andrew Toney to the coaching staff as an assistant to head coach Mo Cheeks.  Can World B. Free be far behind?

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The American Film Institute ranked the 100 best movie lines of all time.  My favorites are No.'s 21, 29, 38, 42 (when I graduated from college, a friend of my father's said that to me), 54, and 92.

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Did anyone else catch Eagles recent draft pick, running back Ryan Moats, playing an acoustic guitar to John Mayer's "Why Georgia" on Comcast's Sportsnite?  He did OK, but I hope he runs better than he sings.

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It seems as if I will be a bachelor this weekend.  Would any reader care to suggest a reasonably priced, not to crowded, well-conditioned golf course in the Philadelphia area that is open to having it's course record broken? [Is all of that too much to ask?]

Linkology

A little bit of this and a little bit of that from my browser's recent history...

...According to Baseball Prospectus, the Phillies stand a 28% chance of making the playoffs, which by my estimate, is about 27.9% more than it was just a few weeks ago.

...Sometimes the internet is just plain odd.  For some reason though, this does sort of remind me of the time my friend Chip got a nosebleed after eating really hot wings in Chapel Hill, NC.  I guess that would be bleedingwhileeating.com.

...Doug Glanville will retire as a Phillie.  Now that Glanville's career is over, Jayson Stark's columns will naturally decrease by 50% in length.  Seriously though, good move by the organization.  Now, get him in the front office crunching numbers.

...Eagles middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter will take part in the "Extreme Dodgeball" series on the Game Show Network.  No word on whether or not he'll "chop wood" after hitting someone.

...Sunday, my vehicle's radio was set to 1210 AM in order to listen to the Phillies while on the way back from the Wachovia bicycle race.  And so, when I turned the engine on Monday morning, I caught the tail end of a segment with "Wild Bill" Guarnere of Band of Brothers fame.  In case you missed it, Monday was the 61st anniversary of D-Day.

...Speaking of the race, my brother was in town as part of the labor force to sell race memorabilia.  The wares included cowbells, which of course brought on countless "More Cowbell" references by he and I (and nearly everyone else who walked by).

...Mike Lieberthal ranks first in regular NL catchers in OPS.

...True, Philadelphia might not be getting a lineup as big as London's for LIVE 8, but it is certainly better suited to the city than what Rome will get.  Nothing against Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, but really, does anyone in Rome know who they are?

...As the Philling Station reported yesterday, Todd Jones has a blog at the Palm Beach Post website, which follows up his efforts as a regular columnist at The Sporting News.  What is it with this guy, doesn't he have better things to do than publish his ramblings on the internet?  Oh. wait.

Stand Up Makes You Stand Down

Who is Mark Baston and what has he done with the Dave Matthews Band?

Somewhere around 1994 I heard the Dave Matthews Band for the first time.  It was college, a room full -- but not too full -- of people and though I can't recall, I would imagine I had a libation in hand as the conversations swirled.

Whatever was in the CD player had repeated several times, and someone visiting on a road-trip suggested a new CD that was stashed in his backpack.  After just a few seconds of "Best of What's Around", I asked, "Who is this? This is good stuff."  Suddenly I wasn't so interested in the discussion of the merits of the new pledge class.

"Dude," came the reply, "it's the Dave Matthews Band, haven't you heard them before? And dude, if you think this is good, you should hear them live, dude."

Hopefully, live play will enhance the tracks on the new release from Dave and the Boys, entitled Stand Up, because dude, this studio album is not what we have come to expect -- or want -- from DMB.

The thing that has always made DMB attractive is it's fusion of jazz, folk, rock, and alternative all into one sound, and, the ability to make it sound natural.  Indeed, when I first heard Boyd Tinsley's fiddle in conjunction with LeRoi Moore's saxophone, I wondered why no one had ever tried it before.  So natural.

But on Stand Up, Carter Beauford's robust percussion is often replaced with a drum machine.  On Before These Crowded Streets, full-song tracks were interspersed with mini-tracks of tight little jams.  Instead, on Stand Up, we get a mini-track with machine-gun fire.

People with a great deal of creativity, like Dave Matthews, are often also people of great emotion, and brimming emotion often leads to great highs and great lows.  And so when Dave found himself in a bit of a depression in 2001 while the band was recording what became to be known by DMB-philes as the "Lillywhite Sessions" (which was later released as Busted Stuff), the band's record label RCA took notice to the dark turn the songs were taking and suggested a new direction.

Dave, sans the Band, was subsequently flown out to La-la Land where a meeting with industry uber-producer Glen Ballard.  It was there that Dave was told that the long jams and unfiltered sound that had taken DMB to the top wasn't very good after all.  It was suggested that the "Lillywhite Sessions" should be scraped and Matthews and Ballard would embark on a new kind of effort.  More poppy, with shorter, tighter songs.

The effort resulted in Everyday, and album that flopped with traditional DMB fans.  Sure, it sold quite well, but that was more a symptom of the band's loyal fan base than the quality of the effort.  DMB and RCA realized this and for Busted Stuff, returned to the band's roots.  Most of Busted Stuff's material was just regurgitated from the Lillywhite Sessions, but that was good enough as fans loved the return to what made Dave and the Boys special.  Fans sighed in relief, "we have our band back."

And now this.

For Stand Up, the band turned to Mark Baston, a producer with a background as a jazz pianist and credits that include Sting (good) Eminem (not good), Beyoncé (worse), and 50 Cent (even worse).  The result is another deviation from what sets the Dave Matthews Band apart from other musicians and groups.  The album is actually more like Everyday than Everyday was, if that makes any sense.  In other words, much more overproduced.

Judged on its own, Stand Up is actually a good album.  The trouble is, it's not a good Dave Matthews Band album.  And that is what many want.  If fans wanted Stand Up, they could turn on any one of Clear Channel's stations and listen to any number of "artists" do their thing.

But that isn't why one buys a Dave Matthews Band CD.  You buy one because you want something different.  Fortunately, we still have Blue Merle, John Mayer, and Jason Mraz (all of which are undoubtedly DMB-influenced) who all sound more like DMB than DMB does.

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More on Stand Up...

...Minutiae's "'Stand Up' Against Bad Music"

..."They're Back to See Their Friends, Warily" in the New York Times

...An interview with Mark Baston at Nancies.org.

..."So-so Effort, but DMB Live is Better" in the Hartford Courant

Linkology: Bull Durham, GMail, and Shorter Balls

A little bit of this and a little bit of that from my browser's recent history...

...As I've mentioned before, besides rooting for the Phillies, I like to root for individual players as well.  Brad Wilkerson of the Nationals is another one, partly because of his versatility and partly because he is a fellow Gator.  But no matter where your allegiances lie, you have to love this excerpt from Tim Kurkjian:

"There's nothing better than watching 'Field Of Dreams' or 'Bull Durham.' But '61*' is my favorite. I'll come home some night after a ballgame, pop it in and it helps me to relax."

So, he watches baseball movies after playing baseball all day?  Seems like he is more than just a player, it seems like he is a fan too.  Oh, and did I mention he is a five handicap?  There's a lot to like in Wilkerson.

...United States of Baseball is a recent discovery of mine.  Go check it out, and tell Peter that I sent you, he'll take care of you.

...Yesterday I gave ESPN a hard time, but here is a milestone worth noting:  ESPN.com turns 10.  Wow.  I feel so old.

...Though I haven't seen it in my account yet, apparently GMail is rolling out a web clips feature for customizable feeds within GMail.  What the heck will they think of next?  Oh, and if you aren't using GMail but would like to, drop me an email, I've got about 50 invites (it's not as exclusive as it used to be, I just hope it doesn't get so crowded that no one goes to it anymore).

...The USGA is researching the feasibility of rolling back the potential distance golf balls can travel.  While I do think the top pros are hitting the golf ball too far, I don't see that it is helping Joe Hack very much, it's not as if scores are coming down at the local muni.  This issue is similar to the steroids controversy in baseball in that there is more to it than just one variable.  Just as in baseball, today's tour pros are more fit, additionally, the golf swing is more efficient, agronomy is nearly perfect, the technology in driver heads and shafts is advancing every day...Need I go on?

...Speaking of performance enhancing drugs, David Feherty has tried a few.  His columns are very funny, but if you read them in the Irish brogue Feherty possesses, somehow, they get even more amusing.  Oh, and if you think he is sympathetic to his readers plights, guess again.

..."In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina" is a lyric that always seems to get stuck in my head.  If you are a J.T. fan, and I am ever since I saw him in concert at JMU's Convocation Center back in '92, then you might enjoy this interview with him at SI.com where he talks New England sports and music.

...And speaking of tunes to get stuck in your head, check out John Butler Trio's "Treat Yo Mama"...

...Oh, and for those of you hoping for a recap of last night's Mets/Phillies contest (and I use that term lightly), I'm just not in a place where I can talk about that yet.  But once again, I can direct you to The 700 Level, this time for some compromising pics with statues during last night's "contest".

Linkology: JoePa, PureSim, and Blue Merle

A little bit of this and a little bit of that from my browser's recent history...

...JoePa is an investor/developer in a planned retirement community in State College, Pa.  No word on whether or not first-year residents will be allowed to take part in bingo or relegated to the bench.

...My guess is that if you were to play golf with Jack McKeon he would cough or jingle change in his pocket during your backswing.

...Great t-shirt, by Fidra.

...Over the weekend, a good friend of mine gave me a tip on a great looking baseball simulation game, PureSim.  The features look fantastic, and, the developer maintains a blog on his ongoing efforts to improve the game.

...Speaking of baseball simulations, one of my favorites, Diamond-Mind, has released the results of their simulations to predict the outcome of the season.  Their predictions are usually pretty accurate, and this year, they identified the Phillies as the most likely team to win the NL East.

...I just love watching people do stupid things.

...Robert Redford will be playing Branch Rickey in a filmbiography of Jackie Robinson.  The film is in the planning stages at this point, with a release date of 2006 or 2007 likely.

...A couple of days ago, I found myself in Charlottesville with some time to kill before meeting The Missus and some good friends of ours for dinner.  Maybe I enjoyed Sideways (book and movie) a bit too much, but I decided it would be a good idea to hit a winery to sample some grape.  Miles might have been disappointed by the abscence of Pinot, but I thought the Claret and the Chardonnay Reserve were pretty darn good. The Claret turned out to be an integral part in the nice little evening that ensued.

...Blue Merle is a recent discovery of mine.  Their sound is reminiscent of Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, and Bela Fleck.  Check out "Burning in the Sun".

...And phinally, there is a new Philadelphia-sports blog, The 700 Level.  Go check out Enrico's site, tell him I sent you.

The Balls, Sticks, & Stuff Store

We've all heard the saying, "I work as a [insert occupation here] to support my [insert hobby-of-choice here] habit."  Well, the following is a variation on that theme, blogging in order to support my blog habit.  Everything you find here are items I actually own, stacked on shelves or crammed into closets, so, I can actually vouch for their worth.

So wander in, browse around, stop in the cafe and get a coffee or iced tea.  And, as a way to set myself apart, I'll even let you take merchandise into the bathroom without having to try and sneak it through magnetic detectors.

Linkology: Bill James, Mike Schmidt, and the Farrelly Brothers

A little bit of this and a little bit of that from my browser's recent history...

...Distinguished Senators found this little tidbit about opening day at Citizens Bank Park. Sounds like a great idea to me.

...The first "boos" directed at the Phillies this season.

...Agnes Willoughby, 93 years-old, attended the Phillies first spring training game.  In the rain. 58 degrees Fahrenheit.  Now that's a phan.

...Bill James, in an interview published on Baseball Analysts, called Mike Schmidt a sabermetric superstar.  Said James,

"Sabermetric superstar. A .270 hitter but such a great player despite a modest batting average that everyone had to figure out he was a great player anyway."

Speaking of Schmidt, I'm glad to see that when it comes to steroids, he generally agrees with me.

...Jason Mraz on Tim McCarver.  I had no idea McCarver was an inspirational speaker.  But come to think of it, "When Lefty and I die, they are going to bury us sixty feet six inches apart" really does warm the cockles.

...As you may recall, the broadcast of the 2004 World Series was dreadful.  McCarverisms.  Camera shots of politicians pretending to care.  And of course, camera shots of celebrities, usually with some type of tie to Fox, pretending to care.  Some of the worst was the constant footage of Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore, who were in the midst of finishing a Farrelly brothers romantic comedy whose main character is a diehard Red Sox fan.  I made up my mind that I would not be going to see that movie, I'd already had enough hype.  Well, here is a link to the trailer for Fever Pitch... I'll be going to see it.

...You would think that the chance to play golf in Miami in early March for a first-place check of $990,000 (along with a Ford GT Supercar) would be enough to entice PGA Tour pros to enter the event.  You would think, but you'd be wrong.  Apparently that is not enough, but throw in a free DVD player, and now you are onto something.

...Theo Epstein is so eager for privacy, his idea of a vacation spot is an artillery range.

...Buster Olney has himself a blog.  No, it's not productiveoutsrule.blogspot.com, it is housed on ESPN.com's Insider side. If you don't have an Insider account, don't worry, you aren't missing much, but what is interesting is that ESPN.com has been paying more attention to blogs.  Besides Olney's blog, each sports team seems to have a "blog correspondent" (free), and the site also accepts trackbacks on nearly every article.

Linkology: Press Passes, Dave Matthews Band, and Zach Braff

A little bit of this and a little bit of that from my browser's recent history...

...Tom Goodman author Swing and a Miss applied for a press pass with the Philadelphia Phillies.  Personally, I think he would do a great job and live up to the privilege, but sadly, he was denied.  His application brings up an interesting question in this age of ever-evolving technology: Where do teams draw the line in who deserves a press pass and who doesn't?  As I said, Mr. Goodman would be up to the task, but since all you need to get a blog these days is two neurons to rub together, simply having a blog shouldn't be a qualification.  What should the criteria be?  I, for one, don't have the answer, I just hope that if the line ever moves, I am on the right side...

...The Dave Matthews Band is working on a new album to be released soon.  Video/audio clips can be seen and heard on their new website, which chronicles the process.  Some songs seem great, while others, if you close your eyes, make you think you are listening to Peter Gabriel.  Nothing against Peter Gabriel, but if I wanted to listen to him, I would pop in "Solsbury Hill".

...Peter Merron writes an article on ESPN's Page 2 in which he reports his results from his fact checking expedition into Jose Canseco's book.  Surprise, surprise, a lot of the facts are way off.  Between these inaccuracies, the reports that Canseco is in a huge amount of debt, and is selling his World Series ring, it really makes you wonder what we should believe from him.

...Though I can't seem to find a link to the article, there is a great piece in the February 28 issue of ESPN the Magazine about the Pottsville Maroons, one of the original NFL teams and the quest to have the 1925 Championship title rightfully restored to the now defunct team.  Had that title stood, who knows, I might be a Maroons fan rather than an Eagles fan.

...Zach Braff (Scrubs) has a blog which focuses on his movie Garden State.  He's an entertaining actor/writer, I'm hoping he continues to update the blog even after the buzz around the movie goes fades away.

...It seems as if, all of a sudden, there are golf blogs everywhere.  One of the more interesting ones is Carlsbad Confidential, which is written by two employees of Taylor Made-adidas Golf.  My plan is to link to them every day in hopes of a free r7.

...Another issue from the "where do you draw the line?" department: David Pinto (Baseball Musings) points out (via the NYT) that Roger Clemens has used Vioxx for several years, which Clemens believes has significantly helped him prolong his career into his 40's.  David asks why it is OK for Clemens to use and enhancing drug while it isn't OK for Jose Canseco or Jason Giambi.  In my opinion the difference lies in the fact that Clemens used an "enhancer" that was available to the general public (with a prescription), something thousands of people around the country used, while the enhancers that Giambi, Canseco, et al used were not available to the general public and were not legal (Pinto sticks by his claim that Canseco actually did nothing illegal, which may be true, but it's a technicality and certainly breaks the spirit of the law).

...As many of you know, I use the Typepad's software to publish this site.  Over the weekend, there was a personal interest story on the people behind Six Apart (which operates Typepad, Movable Type, and LiveJournal).  Interesting.

...If you know crazy computer languages, you might be able to get a job at ESPN.

Categorically Uncategorical

Some loose thoughts I haven't been able to find a place for in other posts...

...If you've never watched footage of the British House of Commons on CSPAN, particularly when Prime Minister Tony Blair takes questions from House members. I highly recommend it.  Seriously.  It approaches Jerry Springer minus the mullets and the chair throwing.  There is booing, mocking, sarcasm -- a jolly good time.

...I caught the most recent airing of House of Commons footage during a commercial break from a documentary on the History Channel about Theodore Roosevelt.  For most Americans, history between 1865 and 1941 is a blur, but Mr. Roosevelt is a man that deserves greater focus.  We will never see another president like him and I'm adding Theodore Rex to my Christmas list.

...On a typical Sunday afternoon -- due to the dominance of the Redskins on local television -- I can be found at the Home Team Grill with fellow Eagles fans/eastern Pennsylvania ex-pats cheering on our team.  Many know my name and all of the bartenders know I prefer Lager.  But on Friday night, I will probably head to Glory Days Grill to watch the JMU/Montana Division I-AA Championship with fellow JMU alums.  I'm looking forward to the game (the national championship!), but I almost feel guilty going to another watering hole.  It's like switching from Cheers to Gary's Olde Towne Tavern.

...I'm willing to bet that when Anna Benson made her very classy threat/promise, she never dreamed Nelson de la Rosa would come into the realm of possibility.

...Eric McErlain of Offwing Opinion covers the latest obstacle in the effort to move the Expos/Nationals to Washington, DC.  As of now, it appears that there is a good chance the District will not be the team's final destination due to an amedment added to the financing deal at last night's City Council meeting that would require 50% of the funding for a new stadium come from private sources.  Additionally, if the deal is not finalized by January 1, 2005, new obstacles will undoubtedly be presented by the incoming council members who are fervently against public funding.  If the team ends up anywhere but the metro-DC area, it will be quite an embarrassment to baseball -- it's bad enough that this news emerges on the same day the team is scheduled to reveal it's new uniforms for 2005.

...At the risk of coming off like a, like, teenage girl, I have to admit that I am becoming a bigger and bigger fan of John Mayer all the time.  But it's not just for his music, it's also because of his endeavors outside of songwriting.  Mayer has been writing a column on music in Esquire magazine and his insights into other musicians and his writing style are always interesting.  Additionally, John Mayer Has a TV Show has been airing on VH1.  It's mainly a sarcastic look at his own celebrity.  Perhaps the most amusing scene is when he dons a bear costume and mingles with his fans in a parking lot at one of his concerts.