Open Thread & Sports Posted by Oaktown Girl, 28 Sep 2007 05:47 am

Open Thread (#18)

Baseball Playoffs Draw Nigh - Time to Bring the Hate!
By Oaktown Girl

Well folks, the MLB regular season ends on Sunday, and the postseason begins** on Wednesday. If you’re like me and your team’s not going to be in the playoff mix, that means only one thing: hardcore cheering against the team you hate the most, and for the team you hate the least.

Properly Bringing the Hate against a sports team is a skilled art, best not left to amateurs. It takes guile, cunning, and an unshakable belief that Bringing the Hate in a sports fan setting is a karma-free activity. (Amateurs can, however, safely participate by seeking the expertise, council, and protection of an experienced trained professional like myself).

Everything must be in place: good luck (or bad luck) charms at the ready and in their proper location and position; knowledge of which teams are playing and when so bad vibes can be sent at the exact time; non-sports fans/ambivalent friends must be given their marching orders about who they’re cheering for/against in order to help spread the love; and your rap regarding your position must be well-prepared and watertight in the event you need to put the smackdown on some fool who dares question you.

A good, sturdy pair of boots is advisable - you can bet your bottom dollar that at some point you’ll be plagued by some ignorant bandwagon twit who was not born and raised in New York or New Jersey cheering for the Stankees. That’s an ass just begging to be kicked, and you should most certainly oblige. Boots provide both the toe protection and ankle support to get the job done right.

Yes, the WAAGNFNP will do everything possible to try to have at least one live blogging event for the playoffs. Stay tuned, and tell your friends.

And now for your enjoyment, this Simpsons video is hysterical - you’ll want to watch the the whole thing, sports fan or not:
Simpsons Baseball

Add to My Profile | More Videos
Thanks to MOOAD Minister spyder for letting us know where Rupert Murdoch is hoarding The Simpsons videos these days.

**The information on these links will change over time, of course. So for the historical record, as of this writing if The Season ended today, the playoffs would look like this:
In the AL: NY at Cleveland, and LA at Boston. In the NL: Chicago at Arizona, and San Diego at NY or Philly.

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Responses to “Open Thread (#18)”

  1. on 28 Sep 2007 at 8:59 am 1. Arnaud said …

    Sorry, I have no surplus hate at the moment. Far too busy hating Argentina, Ireland and that little group of islands east of Australia. Don’t you guys know there is a World Cup going on?

  2. on 28 Sep 2007 at 9:12 am 2. Kiera PSI said …

    For those of you who don’t buy the unshakable belief that Bringing the Hate in a sports fan setting is a karma-free activity rhetoric, but have received non-negotiable marching orders from the MOJ (or other rabid sports fanatic), it is perfectly safe to send love to the team who is less hated by said fanatic. However, one must be careful to set an expiration date (end of that particular series) to the love, as the marching orders WILL change from playoff to playoff, depending on who has won what, and who the fanatic believes has the best chance of beating the most vile and most hated team.

    Have fun!

  3. on 28 Sep 2007 at 9:24 am 3. christian h. said …

    All Blacks running all over you guys, Arnaud? Sorry to hear that.

    As for baseball, the Cubs are doing their best to collapse, but the Brewers aren’t obliging and keep losing, too. As Lou Piniella said weeks ago, the best way to gain ground in the NL Central is a rainout. So they’re gonna be out early (I’ll take whoever they end up playing in the NLDS in 4), and after that it’s down to preventing the Yankees and Red Sox from winning this thing. My one hope in this respect are the Indians.

  4. on 28 Sep 2007 at 9:38 am 4. Arnaud said …

    Henry : They haven’t yet but probably will soon, classy team that and they do have a revenge to take after all.

    Dear MOJ, I didn’t realize these were non negotiable marching orders. My commitment to the glorious GNF obviously take precedence over any petty nationalistic interest. Just point me in the right direction and I’ll start hating right away.

    (Might help is there was an Argentine baseball team, though)

  5. on 28 Sep 2007 at 10:01 am 5. Kiera PSI said …

    There are actually only a few people to whom the MOJ gives non negotiable marching orders, and I’m one of them…so the emphasis was mine, not the MOJ’s.

    Just wanted to clarify that before I’m ordered to TRUNK myself.

    BTW, Gojiraette and 3Tops Jr. are annoyed that they’ll be watching the games on my failing old TV rather than on the MOJ’s neat, nifty Sharp Aquos TV. I think the MOJ needs to do something about this.

  6. on 28 Sep 2007 at 10:06 am 6. Oaktown Girl said …

    Arnaud -
    I salute your Party Patriotism, and respect you as a fellow veteran and professional of Bringing the Hate to your sporting foes. Or, as Sheriff Kiera has pointed out, strategically Bringing the Love to the lesser of your enemies. As all true veteran Hate/Love sports fans know, often both are called for - either simultaneously or alternately. As I’ve said, this is heavy lifting. Amateurs please seek out experienced guides (the Minister of Justice is happy to help those in need).

    As of now, the only Marching Orders on this matter from the MOJ are that first and foremost the Stankees must go down. Secondly (yet still highly important), Boston must go down. Party Patriots born and raised in NY/NJ or New England may be exempted on a case by case basis.

    As for how the rest of the playoffs shake out, except for personal friends of the MOJ, you are all free to bring the Hate/Love as you choose. It’s a party, afterall!

    Oaktown Girl
    Minister of Justice
    WAAGNFNP

  7. on 28 Sep 2007 at 10:14 am 7. Seattle said …

    World Series? World Cup? World Array? World Plate? Which world are we talking about again?

    Oaktown Girl: Seek help. As you seek to drag all your WAAGNFNP members down into the Bring The Hate vortex, I plead with you to STOP BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE! What next? Baseball player’s children orphaned? Fewer Republican candidates at the next Tavis Smiley debate? RIOTS IN THE STREETS?

  8. on 28 Sep 2007 at 10:31 am 8. Oaktown Girl said …

    Seattle -
    Actually, my next thoughts were to see if anyone knows anything about the possibility/probability of Connecticut having a recall election for Joe Lieberman. I know good CT folks simply must be investigating something along those lines.

    Hey CT - buyers’ remorse, anyone? (Even you die hard Republicans?)

  9. on 28 Sep 2007 at 11:13 am 9. JP Stormcrow said …

    Quickies as I have no little time.

    1) To get in the mood, you might want to re-visit Open Thread #1 (yes, the very first one) entitled A Fan’s Note - March Madness and the Agony of Defeat, which lays down the emotional justification for Bringing on the Hate. Which is basically that those hated teams are capable of inflicting so much pain on you. to quote: Let no one deceive you, there is no symmetry or balance in sports fandom. The badness of a bad loss is to the goodness of a good win as the GNF is to a nice spring day.

    2) And in that vein, via Lawyers, Guns and Money here is a link to an article on the worst “missing the playoffs” chokes of all time. Per the paper as defined by the teams that had the highest percentage chance to reach the playoffs at some point during the regular season who then failed to do so. This year a couple of teams have a chance to make the list - The Cubs (as christian points out - thank God it is contingent on the Brewers doing well.) would be the 13th worst of all time, but if the Mets blow it, it would be the 2nd worst ever. (California in ‘95 was the worst, followed by the famous ‘51 Dodgers collapse that led to the famous Bobby Thomson home run).

  10. on 28 Sep 2007 at 11:19 am 10. christian h. said …

    I don’t need orders to hate on the Yankees. In Germany, one often sees young people running around wearing Yankees baseball caps - they don’t know!! Whenever I see that, I want to scream at them “DON’T YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING??”
    I’m glad to say that my brother, who spent a couple years in NYC, is a Mets fan (phew, family crisis averted).

    The Red Sox are a strange case: as long as they hadn’t won in a long time etc., we could ignore their bloated payroll and stealing of hours of valuable ESPN screen time from deserving teams West of the Appalachians. No longer.

  11. on 28 Sep 2007 at 11:22 am 11. christian h. said …

    I give any White Sox fans among the party patriots permission to hate the Cubs, of course. The GNF doesn’t play favorites.

  12. on 28 Sep 2007 at 11:27 am 12. spyder said …

    Yes Arnaud, i have been watching it. Although the Irish looked absolutely terrible against La France, and by terrible i mean brutish thuglike pigs, one does find it difficult to praise nations that play rugby that don’t speak English. Having watched the Kiwis trounce the Aussies in their preliminary rounds down under, one could suspect that those few Maoris make a substantive difference whereas the US Samoans seem altogether too clumsy to be of benefit (at least they all speak English?). Argentina on the other hand is a different matter. They seemed to have developed a national sport system that puts little regions in charge of various sports: one dedicated to basketball with all the best coaches and players; one to soccer for men and another for women, and one focused solely on rugby. It would be much like the USA doing most of its training on the West Coast??? Oh wait??? mmmmmm???

    Now with pivotal games being played in the NL conference races this weekend: Phillies or Mets; Padres or Arizona (with critical games in Colorado); and the Brewers with an outside chance against the collapsing Cubs; i suspect that we have to wait until at least Saturday evening to have it cleared. Tonight’s games (and those this afternoon) will settle some of the dust, maybe but they could also throw more muck into the pool. And since i must hate and love simultaneously, i shall hope for the Cubs to make it past the mythic barrier and petition Lord Astaroth to rain mighty GNF flames upon the evil and unworthy Brewers (being the poorest team in the MLB may already be punishment enough i suppose).

    The AL is over, and we can expect them to rest pitchers, relieve players of base running duties, limit at-bats and so forth. So i shall not pay attention to them until next week.

  13. on 28 Sep 2007 at 11:53 am 13. JP Stormcrow said …

    Seeing spyder’s comment reminds me that it was back on Open Thread #1 where he coined PTSLD - Post-Traumatic Sports Loss Disorder.

    What can the Indians/Cubs/Red Sox/Phillies (the usual suspects) come up with this year to inflict this on their fans? I must say that the Cubs will have to be quite creative to top their last venture into the territory - something like missing a base on a game-winning homerun or the like - or maybe they fall for Merkle’s Boner (runner on 1st not touching 2nd base on a hit to the outfield which scores the winning run), as they were the beneficiary when it happened in 1908 (or maybe that will happen next year for the centennial.)
    Is it ever discussed that the Cub’s curse may be cosmic retribution for the unfairness of that ruling? (It had been the custom before that to not need to touch 2nd.)

    In fact, earlier in the 1908 season, the identical situation had been brought to the umpires’ attention by Evers; the umpire that day was the same Hank O’Day. While the winning run was allowed to stand on that occasion, the dispute raised O’Day’s awareness of the rule, and directly set up the Merkle controversy.

  14. on 28 Sep 2007 at 3:16 pm 14. Sven DiMilo said …

    Great clip. Harry Shearer’s Vin Scully is pitch-perfect. (I should know…doing my doctoral fieldwork I spent so many evenings camped out in the Mojave drinking generic beer and listening to Vin call Dodgers games that I thanked him in the acknowledgments of my dissertation.)

    That said…LET’S GO METS!

  15. on 28 Sep 2007 at 3:48 pm 15. Oaktown Girl said …

    Sven - you are so right about the Vin Scully. Harry Shearer’s a voice genius!

    The clip is positively brilliant - somehow both agonizing yet incredibly funny. I think the most painful part for me is where they show the ball player blowing a bubble, and you’re waiting for the bubble to pop, and it never does. It just hangs there in time, driving a steak into your heart, reiterating the game’s glacial pace.

    BRING ME THE HEAD OF JOE LIEBERMAN!!
    I wish I wasn’t at work so I could properly document and comment on the latest Lieberman fiasco speeding us along the road to destruction, and how Hilary proved she’s learned nothing, and how Barack Obama dodged another Leadership opportunity by avoiding the vote altogether. Maybe another Party Patriot not so busy at work can help us out here?

  16. on 28 Sep 2007 at 4:50 pm 16. Seattle said …

    Senate approves Lieberman resolution on Iran
    By ANDREW MIGA | Associated Press Writer
    6:56 PM EDT, September 26, 2007

    WASHINGTON - The Senate on Wednesday approved a resolution urging the State Department to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, a move aimed at bringing additional economic pressure on Iran.

    The measure passed 76-22.

    The proposal by Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., attracted overwhelming bipartisan support. But a small group of Democrats said they feared that labeling the state-sponsored organization a terrorist group could be interpreted as a congressional authorization of military force in Iran.

  17. on 28 Sep 2007 at 4:52 pm 17. Seattle said …

    For the complete story:
    http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct–lieberman-iran0926sep26,0,6941186.story

  18. on 28 Sep 2007 at 4:53 pm 18. Seattle said …

    Would that be the source of your current high blood pressure, or is it something more heinous?

  19. on 28 Sep 2007 at 4:58 pm 19. Seattle said …

    Have a good weekend! My old bass player is trying to drag me into another band. Details later. Oh, that’s right, um, Down with the Yankees! Will that do for Bringing on the Hate? ; )

  20. on 28 Sep 2007 at 5:51 pm 20. spyder said …

    Current relevant scorebox:
    Cubs up 4-0 over Reds 6th
    Phillies up 3-0 over Nats 6th
    D-backs 1-0 on Rockies 4th
    Brewers over SD 2-0 in the 3rd…

    Damn you Brewers, may a large dragon with radioactive fire toast your bench
    (my version of bringin on da hate)…

  21. on 28 Sep 2007 at 6:08 pm 21. JP Stormcrow said …

    And Mets down 7-4 in the 5th … they are really trying for the mega-choke. (Of course they have been on the other side things like that a few times - so no real sympathy.)

  22. on 28 Sep 2007 at 6:11 pm 22. spyder said …

    Oh, i keep forgetting there is another NYC team. sorry…. hehehee

  23. on 28 Sep 2007 at 7:07 pm 23. spyder said …

    7:00PM PDT– current boxes
    Current relevant scorebox:
    Cubs up 6-0 over Reds Final
    Phillies up 6-0 over Nats Final
    D-backs 4-2 on Rockies 7th
    SD over Brewers 4-3 in the 7th

    and that other game is 7-4 somebody v somebody* in the 8th

    so Cubs will clinch if Milwaukee loses (yes yes yes) or by win tomorrow
    Phillies will be up 2 if somebody* loses… close to full clinching
    If Arizona holds, Colorado out and SD one back… that looks like the race…

    this opens the door for somebody* and SD to be wildcards… perhaps Colorado depending on games tomorrow.

  24. on 28 Sep 2007 at 7:35 pm 24. christian h. said …

    Ha, my plan seems to have worked. I went out with friends to a bar with no TV - and the Cubs win!! Outstanding - magic number 1. That HAS got to be it. (I am incredibly superstitious regarding sports.)

    Sorry Sven, but I think the Phillies deserve to get in. Philadelphia has really been in sports hell for a long time.

    Lieberman et al.: it’s shocking even to me that we have somewhere around 20-25 Senators that have any backbone at all (see also the resolution on the MoveOn ad). As Glenn Greenwald pointed out today, we can now be sure that the Democratic congress not only won’t prevent an attack on Iran, they will actually endorse it. It’s beyond disgusting. At least Oaktown Girl is living in the district of one of the few representatives who can honestly be called progressive (Barbara Lee). I honestly can’t believe that my skepticism towards Democrats is borne out this way, I kind of hoped I’d be proved wrong.

  25. on 28 Sep 2007 at 8:04 pm 25. spyder said …

    I do believe the yahnkie hate is working.. who would have thunk they would have blown that lead and are now tied in the 10th… keep up the hate people.. we can win this… hehehhee

    Just a few more outs to go in all the games that matter… and yeah though i invoke the wrath of wraithes i cannot in all good faith suggest that the outcome of the Giants/Dodgers matters one twit.

    But if you aren’t on that Colorado/Arizona game, my gawd.. bottom of the ninth, two on for the Rockies (down 4/2) with one out. Alas.. hit into a double play… so that takes Rockies out of wildcard, and leaves that open to ????

    so AZ in first and awaiting outcome of SD/Mwk which is also moments away in the bottom of the ninth with Brewers down 6/3… Cubs may clinch by half tonight. eeeeekk

  26. on 28 Sep 2007 at 8:08 pm 26. christian h. said …

    Cubs clinch with Padres win over Brewers.

  27. on 28 Sep 2007 at 10:50 pm 27. JP Stormcrow said …

    Cubs clinch with Padres win over Brewers.

    Congrats. That’s the hard part - nothing too bad or embarassing can happen now …

  28. on 28 Sep 2007 at 11:11 pm 28. JP Stormcrow said …

    I know it’s the wrong game, but just happened to catch He Got Game on cable tonight. A favorite of mine (I quoted part of Denzel Washington’s Jesus/Earl Monroe monologue in a comment here previously - to my mind one of the most effective of Spike Lee’s “preachy” asides, because it does not come across as forced.)

    The video is Public Enemy’s “He Got Game” which samples “For What It’s Worth” and has Stephen Stills playing the bridge. (I liked the mix over the credits in the movie better but could not find it.)

  29. on 28 Sep 2007 at 11:25 pm 29. JP Stormcrow said …

    While I am harkening back to that earlier thread, I am reminded that I had suggested there that spyder probably had either an old or new story about Ms. Torres of the amazing swimming feats at age 40. So this being a sports-oriented Open Thread and all, and spyder being back from his wanderings in the digitally orphaned sections of the country, thought I would give it another push.

  30. on 29 Sep 2007 at 7:17 am 30. spyder said …

    Thank you JP. I have some projects to work on this AM but will be back with an update on Dara soon.

  31. on 29 Sep 2007 at 7:22 am 31. spyder said …

    Suffice it to say… that just for the record, photos like this don’t help…..

  32. on 29 Sep 2007 at 10:46 am 32. Sven DiMilo said …

    oy, those Mets. I’ve been a fan since Tom Seaver was a rookie, but jeez. Do you deserve to play in the postseason when you drop 8 in a row at home in September?
    I did live 4 years in the Philly zone, attended several games in their beautiful new ballpark bearing the name of some bank or other, and could almost root for em, if I had to. But I DON’T WANNA HAVE TO.

  33. on 29 Sep 2007 at 5:20 pm 33. spyder said …

    Ex-wife number three, who is still, at the age of 51 (52 in two weeks), one of the top age-group performers in the world as a professional triathlete, continues to have success because she can afford the time, effort, energy, and more important support resources to do so. Indeed in the photo, she still looks much like she did 25 years earlier in her career; not unlike Dara Torres now does at 40 compared to herself at 20. So high performance levels in professional sports (and swimming is now quite professional) can be maintained across a surprising age span, if, IF, one has the economic resources to do so.

    Dara trains with a crew of no less than six support staff. Two of these are physical therapists (trained in the best ‘houses’ of Olympic personnel), a massage therapist, a nutritionist who assists in meal planning for a total organic diet, a nanny, an assistant workout coach who is also the strength and conditioning coach, and a head coach. She also has a team of workout swimmers to push her in workouts. She is deeply invested in yoga, pilates, and deep tissue recovery work. And she is a sprinter (50 and 100 meter events) which minimizes the need for maintaining slow-twitch aerobic conditioning while maximizing anaerobic fast-twitch work.

    This takes big bucks, and lots of support from family and friends. Mike Burton, one of the best long distance swimmers in US history, trained to re-emerge in the 1500m hoping to succeed in the 1980 Olympic trials. He would have been 33, and was swimming quite well, but the boycott and the implosion of our national response was too much. Could he have done it?? non lo so. Long distance swimming is different than sprinting.

    I trained and competed in triathlons and professional ocean sports competitions up until i turned 36. I was the king of third places (dozens of those medals), and it took quite a variety of younger individual talents to beat me. Why? I had the time and resources to train 6-8 hours per day for several years. I had access to top physical therapists, Olympic strength coaches, and the best water athletes in SoCal. I had also been seriously injured (knees and shoulders), and i required some steroid treatment during this period. I realized that if i wanted to maintain and improve my performance capabilities, i needed to utilize the therapy period for muscle building and endurance training. I gained 30 pounds of muscle, particularly in my torso and legs, and that made a difference in my continuing to be able to perform at a high level. Could i have gone another four years? Probably, since my ex continued to do so and quite successfully.

    Do i know if Dara uses enhancing chemistry??? No, but i do know she suffered two severe knee injuries a few years ago, and received some treatment for that. If she was smart, and she is a Yale graduate with a keen intellect, she would have used the period of treatment and therapy to improve the quality of her life in all sorts of ways. Her current regimen, does not require those sorts of interdictions, only her team of trainers and support staff, and the free time to workout 6 to 8 hours per day to improve her times in a race that takes less than a minute (100m is two laps, down and back).

  34. on 29 Sep 2007 at 6:19 pm 34. Oaktown Girl said …

    Thanks, Seattle and JP for providing the (bad) news links for the thread. And yes, Seattle, “Down with the Yankees!” does qualify for appropriately Bringing the Hate. Thank you. Keep up the good work!

    Christian - congratulations on the Cubs taking their division! I am so happy for you. Can’t believe you went to a pub with no TV on such a crucial night. But whatever works. But now you’re not allowed to watch any Cubs playoffs games at all, are you?

    Oh Sven, Sven, Sven…thought about you last night when I saw on the the Mets were on the verge of an epic collapse of historic proportions. They won big today, though. I guess it all comes down to Sunday (tomorrow?). Come back and talk to us tomorrow, Sven.

    Today was a very good day for the MOJ - Cal (ranked 6th nationally) beat Oregon (ranked 11th)in a HUGE game. (If you go to that link and click on the “photo gallery” link, there are some really nice photos there - takes a few seconds to load). Cal hadn’t won in Oregon since 1987. I’m just not used to Cal winning these huge games when there’s so much on the line. Cal’s a big academic school, as you know, and occasionally has little spurts of football Goodness (as opposed to Greatness), never really quite able to get over the final hump. And this year, with a defense depleted from last year’s graduates and an offense that’s only sometimes on track, Cal seems to somehow be pulling off the wins. Go figure. Next week is a bye week, and Praise Astaroth, because our quarterback has sprained something - leg, ankle, knee.

    Laundry beckons. I’ll have to return later with stuff on marathons and triathlons.

  35. on 29 Sep 2007 at 6:40 pm 35. Kiera PSI said …

    Dear MOJ,

    You’re quite welcome.

    Sheriff Kiera and the fuppies

  36. on 29 Sep 2007 at 7:12 pm 36. Oaktown Girl said …

    Kiera -
    Yeah, thanks for helping to Bring the Love to Cal today.

    Now can you send some of that Pranic Healing to our quarterback, please?

  37. on 29 Sep 2007 at 7:18 pm 37. Kiera PSI said …

    Sure…send me a link to his picture and give me his name. I think reflexology would work just as well, though. Especially since he’s got a while before he has to play again.

  38. on 29 Sep 2007 at 8:19 pm 38. christian h. said …

    Hey, what’s up with Cal?? They sell their maskot’s soul to the devil or something? I know: there must be some rule change shortening the game, given that Cal used to lose late. Anyway, congrats to them. If they’re still undefeated at the end of the season, ESPN might even notice there’s more than one Pac-10 team, wouldn’t that be something?

    As for the Cubs, I would have been in a conundrum, but I’m travelling while games 3-5 of the NLDS are happening (or would be if necessary in case of 4 and 5), so that works out well. Instead of feeling bad about missing the games, I’ll be able to convince myself I am sacrificing for the good of the team. If the Cubs advance, I’ll have to re-evaluate, though.

    As mentioned before, Mets and Phillies are tied now. Wow. Given the White Sox experience in 2005, I pick the Mets to win it all if they make it to the postseason.

  39. on 30 Sep 2007 at 9:31 am 39. Kiera PSI said …

    *Taps foot and holds TRUNK lid open invitingly* You do like to live dangerously, don’t you, Christian?

    What’s up? They’ve been babysat every single game by people who know how to apply “The Love” with enough force to counter flagging resources (and who live in fear of being TRUNKED if they fail the MOJ).

    Failure is not an option.

  40. on 30 Sep 2007 at 9:36 am 40. JP Stormcrow said …

    And are you really ready to call the yankees “resurgent” after just a few wins? Really, JP? That has to be the frustration talking, and I feel ya, baby.

    Not that I have an inappropriately long memory for trivia and taste for throwing things back in people’s faces, but that was the MOJ back in a thread in June talking there.

    … and now I steel myself for the real confession. Sometimes I have cheered for the Yankees. Not so much recently (and certainly not this next series!), but usually if they get to the World Series (it’s an AL vs. NL thing ..) It is an outgrowth of going for them in the late’70s over the more-hated Reds and Dodgers - plus they had former Indians Chambliss & Nettles (that is how you cheered for the Indians back then, you followed their successful ex-players.)

    The Trunk is too good for me.

  41. on 30 Sep 2007 at 10:37 am 41. Sven DiMilo said …

    spyder: “i required some steroid treatment during this period”

    I’m just curious–are we talking anti-inflammatory corticosteroids or those Evil anabolics? Or both?

    Aaaaaaaaa! Glavine gives up 5 in the first inning! The Metropolitans are spiralling
    d
    o
    w
    n
    …

    (so if Philly loses too there’s a sudden-death game on Monday and then, if SD loses today, some kind of a 3-way round-robin for the wildcard slot? yow! This is Baseball!)

  42. on 30 Sep 2007 at 10:39 am 42. JP Stormcrow said …

    Thanks for the Torres info - interesting.
    Here is a recent radio interview with her.

    Are you sure she is a Yale grad? I thought she was Florida and Wiki seems to confirm. A graduate degree maybe?

  43. on 30 Sep 2007 at 11:33 am 43. spyder said …

    One open topic not yet mashed in to this mix is the US women’s soccer team’s behavior. I would like to only make one point. The team seems to act as though it were a branch of the Bushco administration; exercising one’s right to free speech, if making a critical comment, counts as treason and unpatriotic:

    The U.S. players are taking this Hope Solo business seriously. None of her teammates seemed sure if she’d be flying home on the team plane, and none of them seemed to care too much. She’s definitely persona non grata, and it’s going to take a lot of work for her to regain her teammates’ trust.

    Wow, imagine if she had said something untrue??? This sort of behavior, that of the team, management, and coach, represents all that is bad about this nation. Stifle dissent, punish those who exercise their first amendment rights, demand apologies (as Cheney did from the guy he shot in the face), and suggest that the US will not tolerate any forms of verbal opposition: these are the things that represent the tactics of intimidation through fear and coercion.

    I’m just curious–are we talking anti-inflammatory corticosteroids or those Evil anabolics? Or both? Both! The knees benefited from arthroscopy and (at that time experimental ) a mix of HGH and anabolics to enhance the rebuilding of cartilage and ligamental tissues. I also was treated with massive amounts of prednisone to counter major exposure to the oils of poison oak floating in a CA coastal river during a flood (i was assigned to cut up tree debris threatening a ‘famous’ bridge structure).

    My take on Torres at Yale is that she was in grad school there, yes.

  44. on 30 Sep 2007 at 11:55 am 44. JP Stormcrow said …

    I am saving my B-ball emotion for later. It is about as complicated a last day as I can recall for different scenarios. Right now, SD up 3-0 - I think that is bad for Mets, right? knocks them out of wild card consideration and they must have Phillies lose…

    Am watching current Cleveland Browns thrash old Cleveland Browns (Ravens)24-6 at half. Since I was not livng there at the time, I had no real emotion about the move, and am ambivalent about this game (I usually cheer for whichever has a shot at a decent season), and was happy to cheer for the Ravens during their SuperBowl run (Which was muy entertaining - I loved the way the won, you just wanted their offense off the field so you could see the D go at it. I think Billick shoud have just stuck with Dilfer and ridden what he had as long as it worked.)

    I am also intrigued by the dance of major sports franchises that had two “Browns” teams (St. Louis and Cleveland) doing counter-intuitive eastward moves to Baltimore (and changing/losing their names) while the current St. Louis football team are a franchise that started in Cleveland that also moved east (after a bigger move west.) The only other franchise moves that I know if that went west-> east were Houston Oilers -> Tennessee Titans and Seatle Pilots -> Brewers and Dallas Texans -> KC Chiefs (kinda).

  45. on 30 Sep 2007 at 11:56 am 45. christian h. said …

    Spyder, I gotta disagree about the US goalie thing. You just don’t blast your teammates in public. If you want to say “hey, I think I deserved to stay in” that’s one thing - but saying “I would have made those saves” is out of bounds. (Guess this shows the difference between anarchists and leninists ;)).

    Sven, sorry about the Mets. Now, what would be really cool is if the Mets, Phillies and San Diego loose and Colorado wins. then we have a four-way for two playoff spots (NL East, NL Wildcard). But it looks like San Diego is winning, so that scenario seems to be out.

  46. on 30 Sep 2007 at 11:58 am 46. christian h. said …

    Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis - also West-East. But doesn’t really count, because it involves Canada.

    By the way, what do you guys think - now that the Canadian dollar is about to leave our beloved greenback in the dust, will we get more Canadian franchises?

  47. on 30 Sep 2007 at 12:07 pm 47. JP Stormcrow said …

    I also was treated with massive amounts of prednisone to counter major exposure to the oils of poison oak floating in a CA coastal river during a flood

    My wife who is very sensitive to poison ivy, is always thrilled when she gets prescribed prednisone (probably not “massive amounts”) because it gives her such a lift for a few days - “I’m getting so much done”.

    On the soccer, big discussion over at Unfogged. What she said did come off as a bit pointedly personal (although I am sure she did not intend it that way.), but yes the reaction is extreme - I am wondering if there is a back story there. The coach is particularly annoying. Look, he went for a decision he knew was “high risk” in terms of media and fan attention. I have no problem with that, he undoubtedly has a history of success in following whatever decision process he used. But when it goes cropper (even though it was not the determinative factor in a 4-0 game) - then it’s a good time to go humble and quiet - acknowledge that you understand why Solo was upset, not to lash out and get retributive.

  48. on 30 Sep 2007 at 12:10 pm 48. JP Stormcrow said …

    will we get more Canadian franchises?

    Yes, when they occupy the northern tier of states to establish a buffer zone, between Canada proper and their clearly insane and dangerous neighbors to the south.

  49. on 30 Sep 2007 at 1:22 pm 49. Sven DiMilo said …

    top of the 9th at Shea and oy-those-Mets better freakin hurry up!!!
    Meanwhile, Philadelphia way ahead in the 8th, so it dosn’t look good.
    *sigh*

  50. on 30 Sep 2007 at 1:23 pm 50. Sven DiMilo said …

    I’m so upset I can’t evan spel

  51. on 30 Sep 2007 at 2:00 pm 51. Sven DiMilo said …

    yep. Mets lose, Phils win, no post-season for the Chokers from Flushing. Did I say “oy”? I did?

    So now by my calculations:
    If San Diego wins and Arizona loses, they tie for the NL West division and whichever lost their regular season series becomes the wildcard.

    If SD wins and Arizona wins, Arizona wins the NLW and SD is the NL wildcard.

    If SD loses and Arizona loses (to Colorado), Arizona wins the NLW and SD plays Colorado on Monday to determine the wildcard.

    If SD loses and Arizona wins, then Arizona wins the NLW and SD is the wildcard.

    At this writing, San Diego is down by 6 runs in the bottom of the 7th, and it’s Colorado 1, Arizona 0 in the top of the 7th. Hoo!

    I must say that MLB.com’s Gameday play-by-play feature is my current favorite thing on the ‘tubes. I’m not getting any work done, but still.

  52. on 30 Sep 2007 at 2:02 pm 52. JP Stormcrow said …

    I’m so upset I can’t evan spel

    Thatch so cay. Wee halve beach wreck ignition hear.

  53. on 30 Sep 2007 at 2:03 pm 53. Sven DiMilo said …

    Ooo! Arizona ties it up!
    ok, I’ll shut up now…

  54. on 30 Sep 2007 at 2:20 pm 54. JP Stormcrow said …

    Actually, I am rooting for the Rockies. I’m tired of San Diego (and Arizona too)… f*&% the Sunbelt.

    Saw a bit of Milwaukee & San Diego yesterday - bottom of 9th was great as Tony Gwynn’s son the(forget his name) got 2-out hit against Trevor Hoffman to keep San Diego from clinching a spot.

  55. on 30 Sep 2007 at 2:20 pm 55. christian h. said …

    Sven, so sorry. Arizona won the season series against SD, so they’re in no matter what (I believe). But isn’t it great, two playoff spots determined on the final day of a 162 game season? Take that, NFL! (NB: I’m currently not liking the NFL due to Bears suckage.)

  56. on 30 Sep 2007 at 2:23 pm 56. christian h. said …

    JP, spoken like a true Midwesterner. Any SoCal people present have to excuse us, Winter is coming. Months and months of Winter.

  57. on 30 Sep 2007 at 2:45 pm 57. Sven DiMilo said …

    yeah, let’s go Rockies! (4-1 Colorado, bases loaded, nobody out at the moment!)

    yeah, F#$% the sunbelt!
    And the Bible belt!

    Oh yeah, and the Yankees too!!!!

    Actually, I’m kinda liking the very weird idea of a Bosox-Cubs Series…the magnetic pole would have to reverse or something.

  58. on 30 Sep 2007 at 2:56 pm 58. christian h. said …

    Cubs - Indians all the way, baby!

  59. on 30 Sep 2007 at 3:10 pm 59. Sven DiMilo said …

    Hoo! Colorado squeaks by 4-3. So it’s Padres vs. Rockies tomorrow, yes? shit…I gotta teach.

    yeah, Cleveland-Chicago would be fun too. Maybe just a change in declination in that case.

  60. on 30 Sep 2007 at 4:31 pm 60. Sven DiMillo said …

    …and now the Steelers* have lost too. I need beer.

    *correct pronounciation: “Stillers”

  61. on 30 Sep 2007 at 4:46 pm 61. spyder said …

    I gotta disagree about the US goalie thing. You just don’t blast your teammates in public.

    My first emotional response to this is, Why??? Where does it say we have to obey some mystical precept of loyalty among teammates (backstory possibility: Curry is black, Solo is white)? When did the notions of loyalty supercede the guaranteed rights of the US Constitution. This is no different than whistleblowing in a sense, and we had to pass laws to protect those people (and it seems that even those laws do nothing to protect anyone in Bushco). Every citizen in this nation has the right to speak freely, and stupidly, and offensively; to be punished for that is coercion against rights. We live in a nation that takes people’s jobs away because of stupid things they say. Who is standing up against that sort of fear-based coercive erosion of rights/??

    There used to be seven words you can’t say on TV. Now you can say a couple of those words, but there are another hundred that will get you fired or suspended and cost you and your license a huge fine. What the hell is going on in this country???

    So Arizona plays Chicago, Philly will play either SD or CR. Perhaps the best series of the next two weeks maybe Angels versus Red Sox; two of the better teams in baseball having to face each other early. We shall see.

  62. on 30 Sep 2007 at 4:58 pm 62. Kiera PSI said …

    Sorry, Sven. The Steelers had to go down. They are my ex-Idiot’s favorite team. They will not win, regardless of marching orders from the MOJ (not that the MOJ would want them to win, unless, say, they were playing the Cowboys or 49′ers, and even then it’s debatable).

    Remember…hell hath no fury like a woman scorned (and can’t hold a grudge as well, either).

  63. on 30 Sep 2007 at 5:17 pm 63. christian h. said …

    Freedom of speech is important. And what it means is you’re protected from punishment by the state, not from being frozen out by your teammates. In any event, I also agree a person should not be fired for speaking out, or for blowing a whistle on her employer.

    So if this is Solo’s full-time job (and I don’t know US Soccer well enough to know), I obviously wouldn’t agree with her being fired as in, no longer paid. But that’s different from the question of whether to play her, and when.

    Going on TV and claiming that Scurry blew it and she would have done better (something she obviously could not know) has to make her teammates wonder who she’s going to blame or humiliate next time she’s in goal and they lose a game. That’s not whistle blowing, that’s being a bad loser. I most certainly would refuse to be on a team with her, pure and simple.

    Anyway, I think it is a little overblown to make this out as some kind of oppression, or comparing it to the political repression happening in this country. I really don’t think this would have been handled much differently by any soccer team throughout history.

  64. on 30 Sep 2007 at 6:09 pm 64. Oaktown Girl said …

    Sven, Sven, Sven…
    I have XM Radio which carries Major League baseball. I tuned in after I heard about Glavine giving up 7 runs in the first. So this means I got to hear the Mets repeatedly leave men on base, blowing every possible opportunity for a comeback. And their opportunities for a comeback were actually very, very good. ESPN said that nobody hit the ball hard off Glavine, but still he couldn’t get the outs when he needed them. I think today if I were a devoted Mets fan, I’d probably not be able to crawl into work (or school) tomorrow. It was beyond agonizing, even not being a Mets fan.

    But - fun, fun, fun watching the sudden death playoff game tomorrow between the Rockies and the Padres. Oh wait. Nevermind, I gotta work. It’s probably gonna be a day game. Anyone know when this game’s gonna be yet? I can’t find it on the internets.

    Oh - and may I rant and rail against ESPN? Those idots were so enamored with the possibility of a 4-way tie, on their hour-long Baseball Tonight last night they didn’t even bother to tell the audience what would happen in the event of SEVERAL OTHER MUCH MORE LIKELY scenarios, such as a Mets or Philly loss. Thanks for being so F**king informative, you d**kwads. (Do I sound a little irked?)

    JP (#40) - I stand by the comment I made at the time. It was too early to start calling the Stankees resurgent. They were having a decent little run, but hardly sustained long enough at the time to be called “resurgent”, at least by my very reasonable definition. Calling them “resurgent” so soon also smacked of typical NY elitism and bias, which makes me ill. So yeah, go put yourself in The Trunk most definitely. And stay for a while, you backstabbing Stankee rooter. I’d advise you to redeem yourself in a hurry and start Bringing the Hate.

    Kiera - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the cowboys and the 49ers have not been good enough to be “hate worthy” in a long time. Although the recent cowboy hype (Tony Romo is the second coming of Jesus, don’t cha know) is really starting to make me queasy…

  65. on 30 Sep 2007 at 6:19 pm 65. christian h. said …

    Please don’t mention Tony Romo! Yuck. I feel sick now.

    ESPN used to be a sports channel in the same way MTV used to be a music channel. They’re not as far gone, but well on their way.

  66. on 30 Sep 2007 at 6:52 pm 66. Kiera PSI said …

    The Cowboys have been pitiful since Thanksgiving, 1998 when I put Troy Aikman on the ground every five minutes or so…after I gave the Detroit Lions their victory over the Steelers (courtesy of poor, much maligned, Phil Luckett). But they’re still obnoxious and I couldn’t give them love if my life depended on it.

  67. on 30 Sep 2007 at 7:11 pm 67. Oaktown Girl said …

    Kiera - indeed. Merely not being Hate Worthy in no way implies Love Worthiness.

    OK - I finally found tomorrow’s sudden death game time information by going to the Rockies website (MLB, ESPN, & CBS) still haven’t updated their sites, or if they have, have chosen not to make the info easy to find). It’s at 5:37pm Mountain time, televised on TBS.

    5:37pm Mt time? What the hell time is that? Why can’t they just put everything in Ministry of Justice Standard time? Let’s see, I think Mt. time is one hour ahead of MOJ time. Shit. By the time I get off work, the game will be more than half over, and that’s if I’m lucky enough to get out at 5:30 and not 6:00. I think I’ll have to do Sven’s trick and try to get updates on the computer machine.

    So, who is everyone cheering for/against? Anyone despise either the Rockies or the Padres enough to Bring the Hate?

  68. on 30 Sep 2007 at 7:30 pm 68. christian h. said …

    Hmmm… I think I’m going to go with the underdog, that’s the Rockies. Plus, as a Cubs fan it is my duty to be still pissed off about 1984 (even though I didn’t know what baseball is then).

  69. on 30 Sep 2007 at 7:37 pm 69. christian h. said …

    As far as the game time is concerned: the only thing the TV schedulers care about is that it isn’t too late for the East coast markets. I’m sure the people in Denver (and certainly San Diego) would like it to be an hour later. (Well, to be fair, I guess the teams might like an earlier time to get this behind them.)

  70. on 30 Sep 2007 at 7:41 pm 70. Kiera PSI said …

    Am I reading the standings right? Cleveland WON their division? What is this, a replay of Major League? Did someone queue up Wild Thing on the sound system? (If they did, watch out, that’s my favorite karaoke number - and the men’s favorite for me to do.)

    I think the “Curse of the Kiera” is firmly in place for the Stankees (or more accurately, for Jason Giambi)…even though JG did come perilously close to breaking it this year with his half-baked apology for the “substance” issue. If he’d worded that apology just a little bit differently, or been a little bit more sincere, the curse would have gone “POOF”.

  71. on 30 Sep 2007 at 8:34 pm 71. JP Stormcrow said …

    Am I reading the standings right? Cleveland WON their division? What is this, a replay of Major League?

    Ahem.. Since the realignment into the current divisional structure in the 90s, Cleveland has the 3rd most divisional championships behind the New York Yankees and Atlanta. (I think St. Louis might have the same number, but one of theirs was shared with Houston.)

  72. on 01 Oct 2007 at 6:22 am 72. Kiera PSI said …

    Shows you how much attention I pay until the World Series.

  73. on 01 Oct 2007 at 6:45 am 73. Sven DiMilo said …

    I’ve been a baseball fan long enough that “Let’s go Rockies” makes me feel like I’m rooting for a cartoon squirrel. Still, as a past denizen of Dodger Stadium–and thus a Padres disliker, if not hater (I had too much respect for Tony Gwynn)–I will try it tonight.

    I highly recommend the Gameday thing on MLB.com. It’s actually more informative than either radio or TV, just weirdly silent.

  74. on 01 Oct 2007 at 9:18 am 74. Oaktown Girl said …

    for Jason Giambi)…even though JG did come perilously close to breaking it this year with his half-baked apology for the “substance” issue. If he’d worded that apology just a little bit differently, or been a little bit more sincere, the curse would have gone “POOF”.

    No, no, no. The curse would have to still have to be in place (at least my end of it) for his original High Crime which had nothing to do with steroids: the despicable way in which he left Oakland and (making the 2001 “last year of contract” season about as much fun as going to the dentist for a root canal), and his ungrateful dissing of Oakland A’s fans to ingratiate himself to New York. Totally unforgivable.

  75. on 01 Oct 2007 at 9:27 am 75. Kiera PSI said …

    That’s why I said he’d have had to word it differently. He apologized specifically for the substance issue…if he’d simply apologized for letting down all his fans by his behavior, we would have had a problem.

    Not fair to us, but then Divine Retribution is big on forgiveness.

    But even then…he’d have had to have been sincerely sorry for disappointing his fans…and he was only sincerely sorry he got caught.

  76. on 01 Oct 2007 at 12:32 pm 76. spyder said …

    christian h: Going on TV and claiming that Scurry blew it and she would have done better
    Well that isn’t exactly what she said, only the presumption of its implied contexts really. But regardless, i did say that my reaction to your comment was my emotional one, not my rational one. I still think that this team loyalty issue is being used too much as a smoke screen in our society as a whole (support the troops, support the pResident, support the war) rather than open up the real discourse to substantive rational dissent.

    I think it is a small step actually from issues of team loyalty to the constant branding of anti-war and pro-environment speakers as anti-american, not part of our team, disloyal and unpatriotic fools. Hell Duncan Hunter is calling his stupid bill: Restore Patriotism to University Campuses Act for gawd sakes. Withholding funds because a university is disloyal to the nation seems not so far removed from branding and chastizing an outspoken teammate on an official US-sanctioned national sports team. Gawd help her if she had expressed some anti-war or anti-China rhetoric.

    Solo’s full time job is the US soccer team, as the collapse of women’s professional soccer in the US reframed the need to pay these players to train and practice. Her stats are outstanding, and her instinct for blocking shots has been demonstrated over and over.

    Anyway, not to belabor any points one way or the other, i just think the behavior of her teammates and coach is, for me, suspect and disingenuous.

  77. on 01 Oct 2007 at 5:28 pm 77. Oaktown Girl said …

    5:24pm MOJ time -
    A few people at work (who aren’t sitting right next to the boss’ office) have the sudden death playoff game between Colorado and San Diego on right now in the corner of their computer screens. San Diego was down 3-0 early, but they just hit a grand slam.

  78. on 01 Oct 2007 at 7:45 pm 78. christian h. said …

    …and we are heading to extras. Phillies must be loving this.

  79. on 01 Oct 2007 at 8:42 pm 79. Oaktown Girl said …

    Phillies must be loving this.

    Ha! I hadn’t even thought about that. Top of the 12th…and now we’re going to the bottom of the 12th.

  80. on 01 Oct 2007 at 8:52 pm 80. christian h. said …

    13th, here we come. This is fun! I have to believe the Rockies, batting last, will win this.

  81. on 01 Oct 2007 at 8:56 pm 81. christian h. said …

    Oops. Guess I may have been wrong.

  82. on 01 Oct 2007 at 9:08 pm 82. Oaktown Girl said …

    Down to the (possible) last 3 outs for the Rockies.

  83. on 01 Oct 2007 at 9:10 pm 83. Oaktown Girl said …

    OK - down by 2, Rockies lead off with a double…

  84. on 01 Oct 2007 at 9:13 pm 84. christian h. said …

    Oh my…

  85. on 01 Oct 2007 at 9:14 pm 85. Oaktown Girl said …

    And…another double which scores the run. Rockies down by 1 with no outs.

    And a triple…tying the game.

  86. on 01 Oct 2007 at 9:16 pm 86. christian h. said …

    Giles should not have tried to make that catch - allowed Holliday to go to third with no outs.

  87. on 01 Oct 2007 at 9:18 pm 87. Oaktown Girl said …

    And the Rockies win it on a sacrifice fly and a bang-bang play at the play.

    Oh my, indeed.

  88. on 01 Oct 2007 at 9:18 pm 88. christian h. said …

    Wow. The Rockies just won it on a sacrifice fly, Holliday was hurt sliding into home - they almost threw him out, but Michael-drops-the-ball Barrett couldn’t hold on to the throw.

  89. on 01 Oct 2007 at 9:20 pm 89. christian h. said …

    Replay seems to show Holliday never touched the plate.

  90. on 01 Oct 2007 at 9:21 pm 90. Oaktown Girl said …

    Controversy!
    Looks like the runner never touched home plate, but too late to turn back now. It’s good not to be a San Diego fan right about now.

    G’nite.

  91. on 02 Oct 2007 at 6:47 am 91. Sven DiMilo said …

    Now, see, that was Baseball!

  92. on 02 Oct 2007 at 9:43 am 92. Kiera said …

    By the time I get off work, the game will be more than half over, and that’s if I’m lucky enough to get out at 5:30 and not 6:00

    It’s all the MOJ’s fault that the game went into so MANY extra innings. Between whining that she was going to miss half the game and telling me she wanted the Rockies to win (which meant GREAT expenditures of energy on my part), the game cut into my snuggle time.

    Sigh.

  93. on 02 Oct 2007 at 12:15 pm 93. Oaktown Girl said …

    Now why did you go and expend a bunch of energy on the Rockies? I said I had a mild preference for them over SD.

    If you’ve bled any of your energy away from helping to squash the Stankees, you can just go ahead and Pre-Trunk yourself right now.

  94. on 02 Oct 2007 at 3:48 pm 94. Kiera said …

    No worries, the Stankees are toast.