Awesome Day

Had the most fun evah today! I made my very special, very delicious chili (Kat - did I ever give you my recipe?) and invited a bunch of family and friends over to Gia's house for a Sunday afternoon dinner. It was da bomb, yo!

Many, many beers. Football. Baseball (Mets suck! Whooooooo-hoooooooo!). Lots o' chips and dips. And chili...my chili. The best damn chili on the planet.

I rock.

Gia rocks.

We all fucking rock!

Hope your Sunday was just as fun.

Hope F'ing Solo

I gotta say one of the weirdest sports stories I have ever heard occurred during the semifinals of the Women's World Cup the other day. The US team was cruising through the tournament, and their keeper, Hope Solo (the hottie shown above), had accumulated almost 300 minutes without allowing a goal.

So the US team coach did the obvious. He started her backup, Briana Scurry, in the semifinal game against Brazil and the US team went down 4-0.

Now, Scurry has had unqualified success against the Brazil team in the past. With emphasis on in the past. But there is no way he should have made that decision, not with the way that Solo (what a cool fucking name, by the way) had been playing. Oh, she was also on a mission because she had just recently lost her dad...so she had some impetus to play as well as she had been.

It got really weird after the game though, when Solo talked to the media and called out the US coach on his awful decision. "It was the wrong decision, and anyone who knows anything about the game knows that," Solo said. "There's no doubt in my mind that I would have made those saves."

She then took the time to take out Scurry with some comments as well. "The fact of the matter is that it is not 2004 anymore," Solo said. "It's 2007 and you have to live in the present and you can't live in the past. It does not matter what someone did in an Olympic gold medal game three years ago. Now is what matters and that's what I think."

I don't think I've ever heard an athlete go ballistic like this on such an important and international stage before. Whether she was right in what she said or if she was wrong to do so, it was crazy.

I guess crazy comes in threes. This week we had Milton Bradley go nuts on an umpire (and tear his ACL at the same time), the coach of Oklahoma State go nuts on the media and now this.

God(dess), I love sports!

Brain damage for the masses

The Fall TV season is upon us. God(dess) help us all!

I think I am going to try to pare down my TV viewing as far as I can this season. It leaves me so unfulfilled, and I need to read more anyhows. So I stop using words like "anyhows", ya see.

So this is what I am planning to watch for the upcoming season:

Prison Break - It's really good, even when it seems as if they introduce way too many plot lines and characters in almost every single episode. Frenetic and edgy, it's what TV should be. Fun.

Heroes - but it's going to have to get a lot better. Quickly. There are way too many characters to give a shit about here. Shame, because ten/fifteen years ago I would have given Slyde's right testicle for a TV show about superheroes in the real world. I'm gonna give it 2 or 3 more episodes. So buck the fuck up, Heroes!

NCIS - for those of you who don't know, I have an unhealthy attraction to Ms. Pauley Perrette and this is my only outlet. Forgive me.

Survivor: China - 'natch. I don't think this one will ever get boring with me. Slyde has been trying to get on for years, but they seem to have a quota of just one annoying person from Long Island every season. It's been filled this year by Ashley - the WWE Diva/wrestler.

And that's all I got. Sure, I will probably watch more TV than this in any given week. But it's mostly shows that I don't NEED to watch. Stuff like How I Met Your Mother, Law and Order: SVU and The Office. Oh, and random stuff on The Discovery Channel and The History Channel. All good stuff, but if I miss it...I miss it.

This will all change come January when The Amazing Race and Lost begin, but until then...

Nada

I got nothing.

Check back tomorrow.

Complicated Life

I first saw this on The Green Parrot blog, and I knew I had to make it my own. Or at least post it on my site.

It's a wonderful look at a pre-Katrina French Quarter in New Orleans and the song is pretty damn good too. I didn't know who Clint Maedgen was before seeing this, but I am now a fan.

The bike ride through the historic section o' the Big Easy goes past some of my favorite spots on Decatur and winds up at Preservation Hall. If you've never been or if you've never heard of it, it is one of those place on Earth that magic still exists. I firmly believe that.

Please watch the entire video, and enjoy! - Earl

TAG! I'm it.

So I got tagged by Diva the other day. I'm not the biggest fan of memes, but here goes anyway:

Players must list one fact, word, or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of their first or middle name (I'll just choose Earl).

At the end of your post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag (Nah!).

Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them that they have been tagged, and to read your blog.

If get tagged, please join in on the fun!

OK, here goes….

E - ELECTRIC - as in my personality. It's been shown that a mere smile from me can light up an entire tri-state area. Just walking by me can cause the hair on your arm to stand straight up. Physicists have been studying me for years in hopes of harnessing my charm in an effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I'm doing what I can for the future of humanity. Are you?

A - AFFABLE - Kevin Costner, in the film Wyatt Earp, used this as a type of insult when describing Bill Pullman's character, Ed Masterson. He said that he was too easy-going and likable to be a good sheriff. He said that he needed to be more deliberate. Yeah, this is the guy that made Waterworld, okay? I kinda like being affable.

R - REGAL - My ancestors on my mother's side of my family are descended from Kings in ancient Ireland. A lot of folks can claim the same thing. There were an awful lot of Kings in the old days over there. I'm just saying that most people can tell when first meeting me that there is something special about me. I refer you to the first item on this list as testament. My father's side of the family was a different story. Mostly gamblers, drinkers and tinkers. So
"R" can also stand for RAKISH or REPREHENSIBLE, if you prefer.

L - LOOSE WOMEN - I love 'em. Who doesn't? This is, by no means, an indictment of Gia. I'm not calling her "loose", so to speak. She has lowered her standards to be with me, so that doesn't help her case. I'm talking about your been-on-Jerry-Springer/worked-as-a-stripper kind o' loose woman. They are fun to be around. And they love regal, affable and electric guys. They are the kind of woman who would read a post like this all the way through. Hmm?

And I choose to tag, um, er...no one! Let the insanity end!

But feel free to send me more memes any time. Especially if you are in the mood for smart-ass answers!

Ta ta - Earl

BREAKING NEWS!!!

The University of Notre Dame has decided to change the official school nickname of the football team from the Fighting Irish to the Passive Eunuchs.

The university has also decided to replace the traditional fighting leprechaun mascot with Richard Simmons. It is not known at this time if the school colors will change to pink and white satin or if Jimmy Claussen will be forced to wear short-shorts for the remainder of this year's games.

In other news, Mets' fans can suck my ballz! And Richard Simmon's ballz, for all I care!

Because I don't...

...wanna pull a Kat (thanks for the idea, Liz!). Here's a couple of my favorite comic-strips from Red Meat, including one featuring our good friend Bug-Eyed Earl (the inspiration for my moniker on this blog, fact-fans!).

Enjoy:

You aren't reading...

...MOVIEGRENADE!!!

Or at least you aren't commenting. C'mon kids! Badgerdaddy and I (and in the future, Slyde) would love to hear from y'all. We are just getting started, but we trash the bad films so you don't have to see them.

And if you want some funny and well-written reviews, check out the kids over at jiggscasey.com. Good stuff.

Update: Sorry Liz! Didn't see your comment until just now. The rest of you...get on it!

MVP? Who? What? Where?

A lot of acronyms in my last two posts, eh?

First off, some follow up to my last post about Rick Ankiel's alleged use of HGH in 2004. As ajooja points out "...it wasn't a banned substance, so it's not really that big of a deal. It's not like he's an admitted illegal steroids user like Jason Giambi." This is true, and Slate.com argues that HGH as a performance enhancer is pure myth. So there are two other points of view for ya. Me? I don't buy it. Gia knew some bouncers a few years ago who swore off steroids because HGH took them to new strength levels that steroids never did, even if their bodies weren't getting as big. So who knows?

Now for some fun.

There was an article the other day in Newsday (a local NY/Long Island daily newspaper) advocating both Alex Rodriguez of the NY Yankees and David Wright of the NY Mets as MVPs of their respective leagues. A not-so-surprising take from a hometown paper for its' hometown heroes, if you ask me.

But it got me thinking. Why has there never been a consensus from sportswriters as to exactly what merits an MVP award? Should it go the the player with the most outstanding statistics? Should that include pitchers? Or maybe it should go to the most valuable player out of those teams contending for the playoffs that year.

The writers have been wishy-washy on this subject for years.

Take the case of the NL MVP awards for 1987 and 1988. In '87 Andre Dawson led the league in HRs and RBI with 49 and 137, respectively. He also played for the Chicago Cubs who finished dead last in the NL East that year. Jack Clark of the 1st place St. Louis Cardinals also had a great year at the plate with 35 HR and 106 RBI. He also led the league in On-base percentage and Slugging percentage...two statistics that have become more widely acknowledged by writers since the late 80's. Tim Raines of the 3rd place Montreal Expos also had a great year, including leading the league in runs scored. And Eric Davis of the 2nd place Cincinnati Reds was fantastic with 37 HR, 100 RBI and 50 SB.

So why did the voters grant Dawson the MVP that year? Sure his power and run production numbers were better than the rest of the candidates, but he played for a last place team. It's as if the writers were telling us that it doesn't matter where your team is in the standing, if you have the better numbers you will get the award.

Then 1988 happened. Sure, it was a down offensive year for the entire National League, but Kirk Gibson as MVP? He had really good numbers (25 HR, 76 RBI, 31 SB, 106 Runs) for a 1st place team, but in my opinion there were better candidates for sure. Darryl Strawberry (also playing for a 1st place team) had 39 HR and 101 RBI along with 29 SB. All better or equal to those of Gibson's. And Andres Gallaraga of the 5th place Montreal Expos had a great year with 29 HR and 92 RBI. His batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage were all greater than Gibson's as well.

So why didn't he win the award? A whole year after Dawson's win, the writer's changed their minds again as to what it means to be MVP. Hell, even light-hitting, slick-fielding Ozzie Smith finished 2nd in the balloting for MVP behind Gibson in 1988. So apparently defense counts too! Or they are just making up the rules as they go along and gleefully breaking them whenever they want.

My favorite examples of the writer's indecision on what it takes to be an MVP are the two awards won by Cal Ripken, Jr. In 1983 he won the award for the 1st place Orioles despite better statistical years from Jim Rice (led the league in HR and RBI for the 6th place Sox) and Cecil Cooper. Then in 1991, he had a monster offensive year for the 6th place Orioles and won the award. A couple of guys named Frank Thomas and Cecil Fielder easily could have been seen as the MVP that year for teams that at least contended for the post-season. And either Kirby Puckett of the 1st place Twins or Joe Carter of the 1st place Blue Jays, despite statistically inferior years to Cal's, could have won the award. You know, the way Cal did in 1983.

It seems to be the rule that if a player on a non-contending team has a ridiculous statistical year, they can win the MVP. But in a year without a clear-cut outstanding season from a player, then the award will go to the best player on a contending team regardless of that player's ranking in the statistical categories that the writers normally consider.

So it's a crapshoot. I don't think anyone is going to argue about A-Rod's MVP award this year. Magglio Ordonez has been great, as has Ichiro. But A-Rod has been something special this year. As for the NL award...who knows. David Wright certainly deserves some consideration, but I see at least 5 or 6 other guys who have a shot. It's really going to depend on the last 3 weeks of the season, and it's anyone's game.

Or the baseball writers can just through a dart at a board. Who knows their methods.

HGH and Ankiel

Today's New York Daily News is reporting that Rick Ankiel received shipments of Human Growth Hormone or HGH starting in 2004 and continuing into 2005. Those shipments supposedly ended before Major League Baseball included HGH as a banned substance in 2005. But it has put quite a damper on what had been, in my opinion, the best story to come out of baseball in a year in which Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's most hallowed home run record under a huge cloud of steroids and HGH.

For those of you who don't know the story, Rick Ankiel was the Minor League Player of the Year in 1999 for the Cardinal's organization. He had a more than solid rookie year in 2000, going 11-7 with close to 200 strikeouts and finishing 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting. But in September of that year, he lost the ability to find the plate. I'm talking Nuke LaLoosh at the beginning of Bull Durham. It continued into the post-season, where he walked 11 batters in 4 innings sprinkled in with a shitload of wild pitches. His career as a pitcher was flaming out.

After trying to comeback in 2004 as a pitcher, and failing, he decided to hang up his pitching glove and trade it in for one used by an outfielder. His transition was completed this past August when he was called up as the Cardinal's newest outfielder. And it has been quite a month. Last night he hit 2 home runs and drove in 7 RBI to cap a ridiculous 30 days in the bigs. 9 HR and 29 RBI in just 23 games. That's Ruthian by any one's standards. Babe Ruth, by the way, was also a pretty good pitcher before becoming a pretty good hitter. Just so ya know.

This is tragic stuff folks. I want to root for stories like Ankiel's. It's just such great stuff. People had even started calling him "The Natural" after Robert Redford's famous film character who went from pitcher to home-run king after a tragic incident. Oh, the irony!

Baseball has to find a way to test for this stuff and get it the hell out of our house! I have been scouring the box scores every day since Ankiel first arrived back in the bigs just to see what magic he performed the night before. Now I'll await a statement from him or his dick-wad of an agent, Scott Boras, to find out if he makes some lame excuse or an outright denial. Either way, a small part of my baseball soul died today. Sniff.

Next: Tomorrow I will try to rid myself of the HGH demons by talking about the MVP candidates from NY this year. Maybe it will help. Maybe.