Sports Princess

My 1st Post in Nearly A Year...

2009-04-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

Is simply a link to a favorite blog of mine, Bits & Pieces...
Who made the uniforms for the Washington Nationals?

Many people have wondered for years where the hapless Washington Nationals’ “O” went, but on Friday it was completely missing from the jerseys of Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn.

Early into the game the Nationals discovered the “Natinals” mistake and by the fourth inning Zimmerman and Dunn had changed into correctly spelled jerseys, according to The Associated Press.

The original post is here.

A Welcome Back To The Big Hurt!

2008-04-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Oakland A's resigned (& already played) Frank Thomas today after he was released by the BJ's a couple days ago. I wasn't too excited about this initially. Probably cause I'm always a bit skeptical when someone is let go... I mean, there must be a reason right?

But then, a strange thing happened. One of my roommies & an ex both sent me text messages about the events surrounding this acquisition. So I started thinking maybe this is something I should be excited about. I mean, just because Canada dropped him like a hot potato after only 16 games, doesn’t lessen the fact that he did do good things for the A’s. He was a great influence on the A’s club the last time around, so it must be some kind of karmic delight bringing good news right? Maybe rather than listen to the reports that he was livid at being benched by the Blue Jays more often than not, I should choose to believe that fate has a hand in this. I think he even got the award for the Comeback Player of the Year – but I have zero time to figure out where to look that up. What I did look up was that he had 39 dingers with the A’s. That pleases me, & makes me a tad bit more excited than I was initially.

So thanks boys for lighting a fire under me to think about baseball for a bit. It has brightened my day more than you can possibly realize. I cannot wait to spend some of my upcoming time off relaxing in the sun & watching our boys continue to kick ass. I keep you updated on all my A’s ogling adventures…

In other (Yankee Hating) news – this delighted me to no end!

Ortiz Gets His Head Burned Servely While Trying On A Yankees Hat

2008-04-17T11:23:00.001-07:00

This cracked me up!

Poor Wally!

Why I Won't Be Renting With Avis Anytime Soon

2008-04-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

Hockey (Playoffs!) & A Bit About My A's!

2008-04-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

I've been so very obsessed with my dog & my life lately that I haven't had much inspiration to write about my love of hockey & baseball as I intended when I started this blog. Sorry to my one fan who also loves hockey & to my other fan who loves baseball.

Here's the jist of how I'm feeling about my Ducks right now...

I found that over at one of my favorite hockey blogs - The Battle OF California

As for my A's - they've been great on the road (6 & 2) & they're coming back tonight to battle the Seamen at home. I can't hardly wait for them to win so I get to start bragging to my buddy Sofia up in Washington!

What A Fun Idea!

2008-04-08T16:27:00.000-07:00

This Guy Plays With His Balls A Lil Too Much...

2008-04-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

I'm Alive! But Busy Busy Busy!

2008-04-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately folks! I appreciate the emails of concern, chastising & worrying… But I am alive! I’ve just been busier than a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest! As many of you know, I’m part of a group of people set to be laid of sometime this month so I’ve been interviewing & testing & trying not to freak out too much about what I’m going to do next! Part of me wants to get back into dispatching full time & so those are the kind of jobs I’ve been testing for, but part of me wants to find a way to do something that requires little, if any, thought. And as of today I may just have found that!

I start a bartending job at a fancy golf & country club tomorrow.  Not that bartending doesn’t require any thinking; it’ll just be a different kind of thinking than I’m used to! I’ve spent much of my career focusing on people during their greatest time of need, & this will give me a chance to focus on people during their minor moments of want. I expect it will be a pleasant change in scenery. Not only that, but I lucked into a spot that has a great atmosphere, a great boss & and couple of great former co-workers from our previous lives to work with again, although much differently. It’s so close to my house that I can ride my bike every day too! I’m excited & I’ll keep you posted of how it all comes down! (Did I mention I won’t have to be to work before 10 a.m. very often either? Yay for sleeping in!)

So there’s my #1 excuse. My other excuses are sillier;
• I had to find a new roommate, which I did. Nikkie will be moving in sometime after the 15th of this month & she seems nice & fun & and overall good fit for the household. The sexes will be balanced once again – yes!
• I started a blog that will just be about King… Since he is such a huge part of my life, he needed more dedicated proof! There’s a link on the side to check his page out…
• I had to sell my car & buy a cheaper one. I did that 2 weekends ago now so that’s a huge relief. I brought a brand new car, which came with a cheaper payment, better gas mileage, a better engine & its much bigger inside for King! The backseats not only fold flat, but they fold up again for extra height storage & even come completely out it the car so he has plenty of room to roam around!
• King’s training – he’s 11 months old now & a registered Service Dog in Training! That’s taking much time too, but it’ll be completely worth it when he’s a certified Therapy Dog! (More on that soon at King’s place!)
• And… I hate to say this one. I have very little interest in sports right now. Hockey seems too involved to discuss & no one cares about it anymore; & baseball seems trite. Plus my A’s are in a scary ‘rebuilding’ cycle that’s utterly heartbreaking. And my fantasy teams are taking too much time too! I had to cut back somewhere, but hopefully, being at a golf course all day will pique my interest in all things sporty soon. I may even get to perfect my tan at work!

So – There’s my update – sorry it’s so long! Hope you’re all doing well too - & thank you again for all your concern & support!

Brown Noser Carl...

2008-03-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

Who's On First!

2008-03-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a fantastic visual of the famous dialog...

Billy Crystal Struck Out

2008-03-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

I find that kinda sad.

I'll try to keep everyone interested updated in this dream of his come true, just in case you all don't have access to MLBTV right now...

Found this here, a live blog from the game...

Billy Crystal’s at-bat:

First pitch: Fastball away, he took it.

Second pitch: Fastball, foul down the first-base line.

Third pitch: Fastball inside, took it for a ball.

Foruth pitch: Fastball up, took it for a ball.

Fifth pitch: Swung and missed at a fastball.

Sixth pitch: Swung and missed at a slider.

The crowd gave him a standing ovation and he waved on his way back to the dugout. Hey, he made the pitcher work.

Coming From a Firefighting Family... This Cracked Me Up!

2008-03-04T12:35:00.000-08:00

So funny I had to post!

2008-02-22T13:17:00.000-08:00

If Only Everyone Saw You The Way Your Dog Does...

2008-01-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

King & I near Annadel...

2008-01-17T16:16:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of shots of the King & I from last Sunday:

Point Isabel: A Dog Heaven On Earth

2008-01-15T10:37:00.000-08:00

This weekend King got to go to the ultimate dog park. Seriously - It's the best in North America! We took the hour drive over the bay to check out the place the Great Dane Meet Up Group will be visiting next weekend cause we wanted to see the place & how the little King would react to it. I had no idea what we were getting into! We could have spent the whole day there! It's very easy to get to & once you're out of the parking area, it's completely off leash. There were hundreds of dogs there, but it's on 23 acres so it wasn't crowded. The dogs can run free along a path, in tree lined grassy knolls, or even take a dip right in the bay! (That's where all the silly labs were even though it was pretty cold out!) Anyway, here's some pics of King having a grand time running around, making new bestest friends, & then eventually posing for some cute pics with Mommy.

Look for new pics next week after King meets up with about 30 Great Danes!

Let’s Make a Band:

2008-01-14T10:41:00.000-08:00

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
(you might have to click new random quotes at the bottom)

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

You then take the pic and add your band name
and the album title to it, then post your pic.

Thanks Amy - thanks was kinda fun!

Pics of the puppy King...

2008-01-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

My friend Sofia's dog Niobe is ill right now in Washington with Parvo. While keeping them in my prayers, here's some current pics of the (thankfully) healthy bouncy baby boy...

King already outgrowing his couch:

King playing with his toy (He LOVES stuffed animals, the bigger the better!):

King outside & dying for someone to come play ball with him:

King posing with Santa, who he kinda wanted to eat cause he's dressed in a fur suit (not unlike all his favorite toys!):

King under the Christmas tree lights:

My roommate Kenny getting King to do some tricks:

Alyssa taking King for a spin on her birthday:

More pics soon I promise - I'm getting the New Years Disneyland pics all sorted through...

Nick Swisher Traded to the White Sox... :-(

2008-01-03T12:03:00.001-08:00

Yep it's true. For 3 Triple A-er's no less. At least one of the new kids sounds promising & is fairly cute too! Meet Ryan Sweeney folks...
Let's just pray they have game, & more importantly - heart!
The full article is here...

As you can imagine, I'm sorely disappointed. I think Swish is too:

Former Yankee Arrested For Vehicular Homicide

2007-12-28T10:51:00.000-08:00

Jim Leyritz has been arrested in Broward County, Florida after a crash early his morning. Apparently his drunk ass was driving a Ford SUV & he hit another car, killing a girl inside (unclear still as to whether she was the driver or passenger.)

You probably remember him for his typical Yankeeness in the 90's & for breaking Braves Fans hearts in the '96 series with a dinger.

Check out ESPN for the details...

Graduation Day!

2007-12-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

King graduated from intermediate Puppy School Saturday! It's the 2nd of 4 classes he'll hopefully be mastering & this one was much more intense than beginning puppy. But it also had an agility element to it too so he thought that was pretty fun! He loves going through the tunnel!

The hula hoop he's supposed to jump through was too small for him so they found a big tubey-tire thing for him instead:

Then there's a slalom type pole set up that he gets to step through. He does it fine, actually kinda of strangely. He steps over each pole on the ground like he's a horse going through a minefield! It looks so silly - but totally cute!

Here he is all ready for his graduation pics, & bored, bored, bored now that we wouldn't let him go play more!

So very proud!

Kissin' Cousins...

2007-12-04T16:10:00.000-08:00

King's cousin Maggie is visiting with us for a few weeks & she couldn't possibly be any cuter without actually being King!

For the most part, King is oblivious of her...

...unless she moves at all-then it's play time for them both! They do get along fairly well though, except there seems to be some confusion as to who exactly the loveseat belongs to.

Oh & did I mention that Tigger is totally ticked off?

Decorating for Christmas has been rather interesting this year!

Amazing Christmas Light Displays...

2007-11-29T14:46:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've all seen the fantastic rendition of the Trans Siberian Orchestra's light show than began circling the world a couple of years ago. I did a quick search & found a few more that caught my eye so I'll post them here for your enjoyment. There's some amazing talent out there... Even a kind of interesting on set to the Grease Soundtrack all the way from Down Under!

The Original from Carson William's in Mason, Ohio:

Carson William's 3rd year:

An updated version from Texas:

Carol of the Bells in Tompkinsville, Kentucky:

The Grease one from Australia:

A cool one with The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Angels We Have Heard On High:

This one has an almost Disneyesque feel to it:

Hey - Where's The Sports Talk?

2007-11-19T17:07:00.000-08:00

I know I've been slacking - life does that sometimes & I'm not getting paid as well as most major leaguers for producing at only 30% like they do. I'm not getting paid at all come to think of it, so stop with the nagging emails about how "so much is happening in the sports world & I haven't weighed in on anything" Jeez!

I still don't have time to address everything, but here's what I shot out earlier when an old baseball buddy mentioned in an email that "Barry Bonds is toast":

Barry is beyond toast. He's toast crumbs. If this case goes forward, he'll either be found guilty & go to jail for a long time, or a short time & either way, will be suspended forever by the league when that's over. He'll never play again (unless he makes a Longest Yard-The Baseball Version situation in the pen) which is fortunate, because I can only take so much hate in this sport I love, & I'm completely consumed with hating A-Fraud right now. Barry Bonds doesn't even exist to me.

Of course, if I'm honest, he never really did. I only tried to be a decent Giants fan for friends who liked them - but deep down, I always, always, always knew it would come to this extreme with Bonds. The G's are lucky to have cut their ties with him just in time. Makes me wonder if the Mitchell Report got leaked to them a bit early so they would have time to put some substantial space between them.

I think Frisco has a real chance to make something of themselves now & I truly hope this could be Barry Zito's banner year (although I'm fairly sure that won't come til 2009 at the earliest.) But think about it: What better way is there to flip Bonds the bird than to win it all & rub that ring right in his face?

Bitter? Moi? :-) Not too bad as far as these things go. I'm more upset about Super Marco getting traded from my A's more than anything else. Although our AAA mounds needed attention & this will open up a nice spot for Donnie Murphy.

I swear I can remember being at at least 15 games where Scutaro knocked out a walk-off game clincher, including 1 I wrote about here, but his stats show he only did it 9 times in his career here. I guess I'll have to wait & see how it all works out. I just have this nagging suspicion that Marco won't be as lauded in Canada. He barely makes Ingles words okay, how's he supposed to pull off French!?!

Very Tall Dog Meets Very Small Dog

2007-11-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

Doggy news: The world's tallest pooch meets the smallest. (From J-Walk!)

Despite their radical difference in size, these two dogs have something in common - Gibson the Great Dane and Boo Boo the toy Chihuahua are both world record holders.

Measuring a whopping 107cm, gentle giant Gibson was named tallest dog back in 2004. Joining him in the hall of fame for 2007 is tiny Boo Boo who only measures 10.16cm tall and is smaller than Gibson's head.

New Mime(d) Song!

2007-11-07T10:53:00.001-08:00

Perhaps you remember the mimed version of Torn?

He does this one even better! Enjoy!

In case you missed Torn - Enjoy that one on me too!

The coolest "online catalog" you've seen

2007-11-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

· It takes a few moments to load

· It’s in a language that’s not English

· It’s worth the wait…..

Check it out… whatever it is.

Found at Bits & Pieces!

I Need To Get Out More...

2007-11-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

92% Movie Freak

Get a Cash Advance

How much of a movie freak are you?

This Is Pretty Much What My Darling Tigger Does To Me Every Morning...

2007-11-02T13:37:00.001-07:00

Here's the innocent little angel...

& here's just another funny kitty video - he's trying to catch fish that are trapped under ice...

Pics from Vacation!

2007-10-24T18:13:00.001-07:00

Saw this on 101 on the way to Universal Studios & thought it was pretty fantastic:

Then this was way cool in the CityWalk (kinda of a Downtown Disney outdoor mall place):

This is looking over the lots inside Universal Studio:

Their tour includes some cool (& some dated) special effects demonstrations:

They were working on Ghost Whisperer & Desperate Housewives during the tour:

Playing with shadows:

They totally wanted to put me in a new show:

Had to say hiya to Wildwing:

I'll try to get some more up soon so be patient people! :-)

Red Sox are heading to the Series again!

2007-10-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

I have lots to say about this but minimal time, darn it!

I think this remix of Soulja Boy & Jonathon Papelbon in his underwear & Kevin Youkilis dancing their jigs in celebration say enough for now :-) Silly happy boys!

Home Safe!

2007-10-15T13:56:00.001-07:00

We made it back safely from Anaheim... Although I-5 was a mess, we ended up being the first back on once they reopened it! So I'm here & tired, but I'll get some pics from the trip up soon!

Vacation Time!

2007-10-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

Off to see my sissy & my darling niece... Then to see the Ducks hopefully beat the Bruins in their home opener! Woo-hoo!

Miss me terribly please!

Picture Time!

2007-09-27T16:51:00.000-07:00

We recently had our pictures taken by an actual professional so I thought I'd share...

Enjoy! {Click the pics to biggify}

Barry Bonds Is Leaving San Francisco Giants (Finally?)

2007-09-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

The Giant organization is about to announce that they will not be offering Barry Bonds a contract for 2008 (surprise, surprise, surprise eh?)

Bonds is now saying he’s disappointed & ticked off that he didn’t have more time to ‘say goodbye properly”. He thinks the front office planned this a long time ago & I’d bet he’s right. In all seriousness, what did he think was going to happen? The way I see it, there’s really not much either side has to offer one another now.

I would have said the same thing at the end of his last (injury hampered) season, but with that darned record looming, what choice did the G’s have but to keep him & enjoy all the money that would inevitably flow their way. Knowing that kind of cash would be coming in allowed them to offer the most expensive contract ever for a pitcher, who they said they wanted to specifically keep the media off Bonds’ back – which Zito did by sucking rotten eggs for the first half of the season.

So any thoughts on this out there? He says he’s not going to retire. He wants to try & get a World Series Ring which probably means he’ll be a frickin’ Yankee. Then I’ll get to officially hate him so that makes me happy. J

Even Budweiser Will Not Forget...

2007-09-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

I found video this too late to include in the Patriot Day post, but wow, it's just so touching. Apparently this was aired only once on 2/3/02 during the Super Bowl XXXVI. It's their commercial called Clydesdale Respect.

Although it certainly won't incline me to drink Bud over Newcastle, I do appreciate that such an American icon of a company would take it upon themselves to honor those affected by 9/11.

This Is Cool!

2007-09-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Watch where the bat ends up after he makes contact!

Duck Cougar Fight!

2007-09-17T13:18:00.001-07:00

The U of O Duck wins of course... I love the cover song that accompanies this video too, well, I just love cover songs in general I suppose.

Many folks thought this was staged & I tend to agree. The Duck would have to have some serious moxie to start that stuff at Autzen Stadium. The Duck was suspended for a game afterward though.

Our President At His Finest...

2007-09-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

Pics From The Marin Pet Expo This Weekend...

2007-09-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

King got to go on his first outing in an attempt to socialize him with all kinds of dogs this weekend. The Marin Pet Expo at the Marin Center in San Rafael was crowded with tons of dogs & their people, plus 44 agencies all collaborating for a huge Adopt-A-Thon! Over 175 animals were successfully adopted over the weekend!

Even with all the different types & breeds everyone had out, King was surely the star of the show! So many people we literally tripping over themselves just to meet him that we didn't get much of a chance to look around or enter any of the contests. Plus we spent half the time looking for sunblock cause I was a terrible mommy & forgot to bring some for his adorable lil pink nose!

It was a great day for him though. King was a trooper til the sun took it's toll & he passed out for a nap. He even painted his own pictures for a Non-Profit company called Paws For Love for a fund raising art auction to be held in February. They loved the heart on his coat so much their photographer took pics of him to be their new spokes puppy! I'm sure I'll post more on his success as an artiste soon!

Anyhow, here's a cute shot of him all ready to get the day started:

& this is us out on the pond pier at the Marin Center:

Then we met new friends:

This is Fiaan, he's a gorgeous harlequin dane who's also just a puppy:

His daddy let me take a pic with him & I had a bit of trouble controlling him - & he's only 8 months old & 120lbs! That'll be King in another 3 1/2 months!

Yankee Stadium Proposal Prank...

2007-09-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

Further proof that Yankees Fans Suck & deserve bad things that happen to them! ;->

Actually this is just plain funny... & kinda sad.

How hard would it have been for the prankster to let her in on the idea beforehand?

Thanks to B&P for the find!

Happy(?) Patriot Day

2007-09-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

How are we supposed to be celebrating this holiday? I have my flag out at home of course, but should we be dressing in Red, White & Blue like we're a proud country today? I'm not necessarily proud of the state of our union, more saddened by the reminder of all that shattered for us six years ago. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel so I'll mark the occasion with a short poem & some of the most touching pictures & artwork I've found: Enjoy...

Never forget what we saw

Never forget what we felt

Never forget what we lost

Never forget what to be thankful for now

Never forget what we will always fight for

Never forget what a difference you can make

Oh Happy Day!

2007-09-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, so if you're reading this, you probably know me; thus you know that I can be such a dork! Case in point: Today I am so excited about this! Do you remember this show?

Do you have any idea about how much I love this show??? I can only hope now that one of my friends will make it through the auditions now so I might get to go be an audience member!

Previously in American Gladiators

Another Cool Baseball Thingy...

2007-08-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

Check this out!

Previously in Cool Baseball Thingy's

Michael Vick Sucks...

2007-08-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

I think this is awesome. A woman in Kansas City, got the idea in her head to let her 6 year old Weimaraner and her Great Dane puppy chew up her collection of 22 Michael Vick cards & auction them off on eBay for charity to a local shelter… She made over $7k! How great is this country?

Poor Puppy

2007-08-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but my new puppy, King, had an accident & he's pretty big sick right now. Plus I'm absolutely exhausted from taking care of him & stressing about it so much.

Please keep him in your thoughts & prayers that he'll be better soon. Thanks - A

UPDATE!!! The Puppy King is feeling much, much better now! Thank you for all your kind thoughts & calls about him! Now just how to keep him semi still while he heals...

Welcome to the NFL!

2007-08-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

Today's Fallen Yankee Doesn't Bring Much Of A Smile

2007-08-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

“Holy cow!” 89-year-old HOF’er Phil Rizzuto, died this morning. Although my hatred for the Yanks is through & through, my respect for baseball’s history is always expanding. He was with Evil Empire for 54 years. That’s amazing in & of itself, & he only left briefly to serve his country though the Navy in WWII with DiMaggio & Mantle.

Ted Williams fought to get the 7-time World Series Champ into the HOF, and finally succeeding in 1994. Williams said Rizzuto was the man who made the difference between the Yanks and his Red Sox. He always said, "If we'd had Rizzuto in Boston, we'd have won all those pennants instead of New York."

After Rizzuto couldn’t play anymore, he announced with such color for 40 years & only left after an unfortunate incident where they tried to force him to work through Mickey Mantle funeral. They of course did apologize later (as Georgie Porgie is know for after the fact) & he returned for one last season.

Rizzuto was the oldest living rookie in The Hall & still stated that he didn’t think he records compared to the legends there before him during his induction speech. He was humble & hilarious & I remember his distinct Brooklyn voice & curious but clean sayings. I loved that he’d call various characters “Huckleberry” when you could tell anyone else would be saying a bad word about them. And I loved it even more so when my Grandpa Paul used that term of endearment for me, usually just after telling me to quit blocking his view of the game.

Scooter was a good man, a great friend, and a perfect family man. And he was married to the love of his life Cora, who Joe DiMaggio introduced him to, for more than 64 years. The world of baseball has a heavy heart today & the flag at Cooperstown was lowered to half-staff, a laurel was placed around his plaque, & thousands will tip their cap to him in today’s games.

Here's his voice one last time...

I Must

2007-08-08T11:03:00.001-07:00

Amy @ Mish Mash tagged me, so here ya go…

5 people who will be annoyed you tagged them…
1. Jodie
2. Danae
3. Buster
4. You
5. Your mom

4 things that should go into Room 101 and be removed from the face of the Earth.
1. George Steinbrener & the current Yankee Roster
2. The movie Toys. Worst movie ever made.
3. Tube tops
4. Game 6 in 1986

3 things people do that make you want to shake them violently.
1. Make icky noises or smells in mixed company
2. Cheer for the Yankees
3. Leave

2 things you find yourself moaning about
1. Time
2. Yankees winning a game

1 thing the above answers tell you about yourself
1. I really hate the Yankees...

Question #1: What Were You Doing 10 Years Ago?
Working 2 full time jobs; fighting & beating cancer :-) & playing house with Jeffy - Life seemed actually easier then!

Question #2: List 5 Snacks You Enjoy:
1. Watermelon
2. Grapes
3. Cheetos Puffs
4. Fudge
5. Cherry tomatoes

Question #3: List 5 Songs You Know All The Lyrics To:
1. Yule Shoot Your Eye Out - Fall Out Boy
2. Wicked Game - Chris Isaak
3. Staplegunned - The Spill Canvas
4. Stay or Leave - Dave Mattews
5. Amy Never Misses - A Small Victory

Question #4: List 5 Things You Would Do If You Were A Millionaire:
1. Pay off my parents debts
2. Travel - someplace exotic & warm & do nothing there for an entire month
3. Put prolly half down on a bigger house
4. Finish my degree
5. Have a really fantastic Christmas with all of my family & friends

Question #5: List 5 Bad Habits:
1. Newcastle
2. Not getting enough sleep
3. Letting my nails get icky looking
4. Procrastinating
5. Never making enough time for things I should be doing.

Question #6: List 5 Things You Would Never Wear Again:*
1. Mini skirt
2. Acid washed jeans - even if they came back in style
3. Velcro shoes - unless I hit 90, then I won't have extra time to waste tying shoes
4. A white wedding dress
5. A banana clip

Question #7: List 5 Favorite Toys As A Child:
1. Any board game
2. Lite Brite
3. The Original Nintendo
4. Hula hoop
5. My little sisters

New(er) Pics

2007-08-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

Here's some from the A's game last week...

& I know you're dying to see new ones of the now 54lb. King..

Most Popular Search of the Day - 2

2007-08-06T16:32:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not - the most popular search that lead people to my blog this time was simply Sports Princess! How flattering, that so many people are interesting in getting to know me better! Thank you - I think. Either that or I jut have a bunch of occasional fans who forgot to bookmark my page?

I'll assume the best so what is it you're wanting to know people? Ask & I'll answer... in one shape or form ;-P

Puppy Pre-School Starts This Weekend!

2007-08-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

Anyone have any Puppy Pre-School tips?

Tradegy Among Anaheim Duck Fans...

2007-08-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

From Yahoo! Sports: LOS ANGELES - The Anaheim Ducks cut ties with Dustin Penner on Thursday when the team opted not to match a five-year, $21.25 million offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers for the 24-year-old left winger.

The Ducks will receive picks in the first, second and third rounds of the 2008 draft from Edmonton as compensation.

Penner, who was a restricted free agent, will get a huge raise from the Oilers, earning $4.25 million in each of the next five seasons. He made the NHL minimum of $450,000 last season, when he scored 29 goals for the Stanley Cup champion Ducks.

Anaheim had a week to match Edmonton's offer and waited until Thursday's deadline had passed before announcing it was letting Penner go.

"We don't believe these salaries make sense," Anaheim general manager Brian Burke said on a conference call. "If I believe these salaries don't make sense and I match then I'm just as dumb as the team that extended the offer."

Burke was incensed by the terms and amount of last week's offer, and at the time he had especially harsh words for Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe, saying, "Edmonton has offered a mostly inflated salary for a player, and I think it's an act of desperation for a general manager who is fighting to keep his job."

Burke made it clear that his hard feelings didn't extend to Penner. "Dustin is a good kid and a good person and he played well for us," he said.

The Ducks don't have much room under the salary cap. They are around $5 million below the $50.3 million maximum for next season, although a team is allowed to be over the salary cap by 10 percent until Oct. 1.

Anaheim is still waiting on defenseman Scott Niedermayer and winger Teemu Selanne to decide whether they will retire or play next season. Burke said nothing has changed with their status.

Besides his 29 goals, Penner had 16 assists in his first full NHL season. He had three goals and five assists in 21 postseason games.

Good luck to you Dustin - & thank you for your part in the 2007 Stanley Cup Championship.

UPDATE - You have to read this Rags to Riches story sent to me by Ken

A's Win 7-3 Over the Motor City Kittens..

2007-08-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

I went to the A's game with my old roommate Lyss lastnight & enjoyed myself quite thoroughly. Got perfect (& free) Princess Parking, arrived early (in time for the A's Poker Set giveaway) & even got to stare at Huston's Street's butt as he was warming up (before & during the game) from pretty spiffy seats in the 15th row.

Oh & my boys even managed to pull out a win for me! Which didn't really look to be that easy after Jack Cust dropped a routine fly ball in left on the first play of the whole game. He made it to 3rd then scored... & don't even get me started on the pickle that didn't play out in the 2nd.

Although the front office made no moves as yesterday's trade deadline passed & the team was intact, it seemed like the rookies did the majority of the good work. A 6th inning rally for 4 runs was where I really perked up & momentarily forgot how cold I was... Our fast as heck new catcher Kurt Suzuki tied the game with a 2 ribby single. That sent Verlander packing! & Cust fixed his oopsie to give us the lead with another 2 run single to right. Suzuki had another RBI later & my favoritest, Travis Buck ended the game with a cute lil sliding catch in right.

Haren pitched fantastic (as usual), I love how that boy never disappoints me! Danny allowed the 2 earned runs; 6 hits and only 1 walk with 3 strikeouts in 6 innings to earn his 13th win. This was his 3rd straight outing and & 5th consecutive quality start. He ended July at 4-1 with a 4.10 ERA after 6 starts. He still leads the American League with a 2.44 ERA and is tied for the lead in wins. So I suppose I should be used to his ass-kickey-ness by now, but I love the happy surprises. :-)

Unhappy surprise of the day: The A's released Bobby Kielty. I liked that crazy redhead & he'll definately continue to be missed. He's a 30 y/o switch hitter with a .255 career average, 52 homers, 244 RBIs & 579 major league games. I hope someone good picks him up... I think I heard the Sawx were sniffin?

Huston Street Is Engaged...

2007-07-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry ladies, Oakland Athletics’ Closer Huston Street did in fact recently propose to his lady. On New Year's Eve, he proposed to his girlfriend of 2 1/2 years, Lacey Larsen, while surrounded by roses.

Huston and Lacey met in the summer of 2004. Roses seem to have always been big for them, as for their 1st year anniversary he brought her 365 roses gave them to her saying "One rose for every day you've made my life better."

He proposed to her in his new condo in Texas, making an effort to show her that he felt it was “their” place. Since he likes to do things in his ‘big’ fashion, he took Lacey to dinner where they had two $400 bottles of Gaja Barbaresco. (Huston’s quite the wine aficionado!) Then they took a romantic horse draw carriage ride while he had his buddy Curtis Thigpen, a friend who catches in the BJ’s organization, set up the condo with 1,500 red roses. He proposed with a well rehearsed speech that would make any girl’s heart melt & of course she accepted.
He eagerly brags about Lacey’s vital stats. It took her three years to get a marketing degree from TCU where she maintained a 4.0 grade-point average in her major, and a 3.8 or 3.9, overall. He says "She's a genius, which is really, really annoying, because I lose every argument."

Oh & just for fun, here’s 1,500 roses… just to give you an idea of what she was up against when they arrived home that night!

You asked for it...

2007-07-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

I'm trying something new here... With the blog site stats company I use, I can see what kind of searches brought random people to my site. So from now on, every Friday I'm going to try to address some of the things they're looking for - within reason of course. So standby for the #1 thing searched for & now found on my blog:

Meet The New Man In My Life...

2007-07-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here's the new baby! He's still nameless though so if you have any ideas that'd be cool! He's a baby Great Dane with a white coat with random gray patches. It's call a Porcelain or Blue Harlequin coat. He's got 2 brothers still for sale if you're interested!
Here he is restin'... (he does that a lot cause he's growing so fast!):

& here he is with a Kong chew toy so you can get an idea of how big he is! He's only 8 weeks & already 30 lbs!

Tigger is ticked off:

Moving sucks...

2007-07-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

That's all for now.

Everything you didn't know you need to know

2007-07-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

All in one place...

http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf

As B&P says, way TMI, but interesting stuff!

Just FYI...

2007-06-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

Mingle² -

They'll rate your blog for you too! Just type in your site address & they'll review it & give you a rating like mine:

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

suck (7x) gun (5x) ass (2x) piss (1x)

Apparently I am a Lil Miss Potty Mouth! Sorry folks!

Oakland A’s Turn Their Back on Bradley!

2007-06-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

The A’s told outfielder Milton Bradley to essentially take a hike today, designating him for assignment & giving themselves 10 days to trade or release his cranky butt. He had been hitting pretty well (.292 with 2 dingers & 7 ribby’s) but I think it’s pretty much because he’s such a bitchy baby.

If you know me at all, you know that I wasn’t too happy when he arrived, & although I was happy he was producing fairly well, I always knew it’d be a simple matter of time til he went a lil poopy again. Just 2 days ago, he was asked how he was feeling, since he’s been on the DL for awhile (like half the A’s roster) & he openly complained "I'm healthy and on the bench." He played yesterday & only had 1 walk in 3 AB's. Nothing else to report there.

& I swear I’m not just being judgmental about him. Remember the crap he pulled with he was with the icky Dodgers? He pretty much called Jeff Kent racist, called an ump an "Uncle Tom", once grabbed a bag of baseballs & threw them at another ump after he was ejected, & was suspended multiple times, including a 5 game sentence for an altercation with a fan after someone threw a plastic bottle at him. Not to mention his criminal record! He’s actually even had to serve time for various run in wit traffic coppers, plus there have been domestic violence allegations as well! He’s so not a good guy getting the shaft like he always whines he is.

My favorite was when quit the icky Dodgers. He didn’t even just quit, he threw a huge tantrum, actually took his jersey off, threw it on the field & walked off the field. All over a lil disagreement with an ump. When I saw that it was official that he was a tool. When I heard he was joining the A’s afterward, I shuddered. Imagine him, or anyone really, pulling a ridiculous stunt like that in Oakland. He wouldn’t have made it to the player’s gate. Someone woulda flat out shot him for dishonoring his uni like that. It’s just so un-American! (Of course no one threw a fit that it happened in L.A., it’s pretty much a given that if you play for the icky Dodgers or the MFY’s that you’re going to behave like an asshat.)

I say good riddance to Milton Bradley; no one here liked his game.

Blogthingys!

2007-06-19T15:11:00.001-07:00

My cuz found something fun to distract us from working today so I tried a couple out:

Your Psyche is Yellow

You have a ton of energy - both physical and mental endurance.
You are rational and logical, and you can help almost anyone think clearly.
Optimistic and bright, you also have a secret side that's a little darker.

When you are too yellow: You will do anything to get your way, and no one will be the wiser

When you don't have enough yellow: you lack confidence, drive, and humor

What Color Is Your Psyche?

Ah yes, my dark side... Perhaps one day I shall take you there...
*

Your Linguistic Profile:

80% General American English

10% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

See? Proof I hate the damn Yankees!

*

Your Personality is Very Rare (ENTP)

Your personality type is optimistic, curious, enthusiastic, and open.

Only about 4% of all people have your personality, including 3% of all women and 5% of all men.
You are Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Yep, I pretty much rock!

*

Your Kissing Technique Is: Perfect

Your kissing technique is amazing - and you know it.
You have the confidence to make the first move.
And you always seem to know what kissing style is going to work best.
Sometimes you're passionate, sometimes you're a tease. And you're always amazing!

Are You a Good Kisser?

I even rock at kissing apparently!

*

You Are 100% Lady

No doubt about it, you are a lady with impeccable etiquette
You know how to put others at ease, even if their manners aren't the greatest.

Are You A Lady?

Your Love Life is Like Casablanca

"Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time."

For you, love is never finished. If you've loved someone once, you'll always love them.
You're an old fashioned romantic... even if your relationships don't end up as romantic as you'd like.

Your love style: Traditional and understated

Your Hollywood Ending Will Be: Complicated and ambiguous

What Movie Is Your Love Life Like?

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Gorgeous Herbalist.

Where You Lived: Israel.

How You Died: Hung for treason.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

okey dokey then.

Updates...

2007-06-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

I haven’t had a moment to write about anything going on with me lately so here’s an up to the minute live action type update! Enjoy & please do the same for me if you haven’t in a while…

I just had popcorn for lunch.

I’m wearing open-toed shoes, at work! I’m such a rebel!

My A’s are playing a bit of inter league in Houston & they’re tied @ 3 in the top of the 5th. I love that I get to listen to it since I can’t watch it right now. Plus I get fantastic lil tidbits like that Johnny Gomes from Petaluma had a pretty good outing in Florida today. He had a hit, a run & an RBI – Woo-hoo for the local kid! Ooh! A’s just went up 4-3 & the park is quite quiet in Texas! So cool! Also, Chad Gaudin is pitching for the A’s & his parents are at the game. Which isn’t necessarily a good thing for the A’s cause that tends to jinx them & he’s now got the bases loaded with only 1 out. Yep, gave up a hit, 1 scored. We’re tied 4 & they’ve pulled him for Jay Marshall. Bummer.

I'm seriously still giddy every time I think about my Ducks winning the Stanley Cup. I don't know how long it will be till I believe it. I get like that when I think about my adorable lil car too. I think I love it too much sometimes.

Okay, now to the big news:

I’m moving. Again.

Barf.

But there is a silver lining… I found a great new house that is literally IN my current backyard. We’re going to take the fence down & have the easiest move in the history of the world! I’m thinking I’ll just put a keg in the new house & have a “Help Us Move” party where guests have to take a box or piece of furniture to the new place to fill your cup! (If you wanna come help it’ll prolly start the evening of the 9th of July & continue every evening til we’re done!)

The new house is gorgeous & huge, as was my old house, but the new one has some fantastic upgrades & a bit better use of all the space. It has all Italian tiles for the floors throughout the downstairs & there’s a huge pantry & sliding glass door. My master bath is bigger, brighter & doesn’t have a frickin’ carpeted floor. Whoever thought that carpeting a bathroom floor was a good idea has obviously never showered. Oh & my closet is bigger than some bedrooms & even has a window inside it!

The part I’m most excited about is that the yard is cute & that I’ll be gaining a formal dining room. I’ve never really had one before so I don’t even have a dining room table! (If anyone has a table & at least 6 chairs I’m totally interested in taking it off your hands!) The best part of all this is that it’s a longer-term lease so I’ll finally be a bit settled for a while. I can’t wait!!!

That’s probably enough for now… Your turn!

Still Relishing...

2007-06-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Anaheim Duck Fan

DUCKS WIN THE CUP!!!! So very happy!

2007-06-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

LET'S GO DUCKS!!!

2007-06-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

I'm too excited to even type that my Ducks are in what could possibly be their final game tonight. I'm so proud & happy & dying to gloat! Say it with me now "Let's Go Ducks!"

Google I Spy...

2007-06-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

B&P found these interesting links about the new Google feature... It's fairly cool & absolutely freaky. Enjoy!

Google is spying on kitties!

Google is tracking strip club patrons!

Google knows when you just can't hold it!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

2007-05-29T15:02:00.001-07:00

Well! I'm back! Almost as soon as I got home from Kansas I had to head up to Oregon for a family issue... But I'm back safe & sound & I'll have tons of pics up (soon?)!

How has everyone been!? I'm excited to talk baseball & hockey especially since my beloved Ducks won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup lastnight! Woo-hoo!

Baseball salary vs performance

2007-05-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

What baseball teams are spending their money well, and how does it change over the course of the season? This sketch looks at all 30 Major League Baseball Teams and ranks them on the left according to their day-to-day standings. The lines connect each team to their 2007 salary, listed on the right. A steep blue line means that the team is doing well for its money, which reflects well on the team's General Manager. A steep red line implies that the team is throwing away money. The thickness of the line is proportional to the team's salary relative to the others.

If you click here, it'll take you to the site where you can drag the date at the top to move through the season. The first ten days of the season are ommitted because the rankings to (at least) that point are statistically silly. You can also use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move forward or backward one day.

Thanks to B&P

Heading off to Oz...

2007-05-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

Let's hope I don't see anything even remotely like this!

I'll be checking out Kauffman Field & cheering for the A's as they take on the Royals!

I'm so excited - A ballpark I've never been to before! Woo hoo!

I have no idea what's burning here, but I found this cool shot too! I'm really looking forward to seeing the fountains in the outfield, but not this kind!

Fun Ad...

2007-05-01T14:38:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm partial to being spoiled, but I thought this eBay ad was fairly fantastic...

Happy Hopes...

2007-04-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

I love bridges, (I have no idea why) & I really love the Brooklyn Brigde. & I hate the Yankees, I really, really, really hate the Yankees.

That must be why this post from CopyRanter this morning has me all excited! I so hopeful that the Red Sox can sweep the Spankees once again this weekend, only this time in the house that Ruthie built...

Even though I'll be cheering from the Oakland Collesium this weekend, my heart will be with Boston!

Random Link Day

2007-04-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted for a bit but it's just because I'm so darn busy lately! Lots of baseball & hockey stuff happening this weekend! I have too many things to write about but not much time to do it! I'll leave you with some randomness though:

Alyssa Milano loves baseball & has a fun lil blog about it: Touch 'Em All

This is kinda cool...

This scares me a little bit. And I would like an explanation please.

But this makes me happy again.

Meet my new favorite! (Swoon)

Ducks Win Game 5!

2007-04-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

And take the first playoff series!

Remembering one of the best shows of the 80's

2007-04-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

I was absolutely glued to the TV whenever American Gladiator's came on. I dressed like them at every chance that seemed appropriate (although I can't seem to think of even one of those instances now)... And Malibu was my absolute favorite! He reminded me of a stronger & sexier Kip Winger! Enjoy:

Thanks to The Sports Guy for the link!

A's win but I feel kinda quiet today...

2007-04-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

The A's won again today in a super short shutout against the Angels. That's three in a row & Haren's first win, yet I still find myself with not much to say. So I'll leave it to you all!

Send me a comment or one or two of a sports related memory of your own. Anything you like, whether it's a silly memory of your first kickball game or the sweet green grass of your first stadium. Maybe it's your best goal or the smell of the ice, send 'em to me & share a bit of your sports history if you will...

Super Marco!

2007-04-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of the best games I've been to in a very long time.

The A's got ahead of the Yankees quick when they routed Pettitte in the first. "Swisher led a first-inning charge, nothing new for the A's, as they scored two runs off Pettite right away. Shannon Stewart reached on an error by Jeter, then Swisher smacked a double into the left-field corner to put runners on second and third. Stewart scored on a sac fly by Bobby Kielty, and Swisher came home when Mike Piazza smashed a single off the glove of Cano."

The early error by Jeter alone made my day, & things just got better & better from there. Even after the Spankees took the lead in the 7th it never really felt like we could lose.

Then fate stepped in: "for the ninth time in his four years in Oakland, Scutaro delivered a game-winning hit, hitting a three-run home run off the left-field foul pole with two outs in the ninth inning to give the A's a 5-4 win."

After Super Marco hit that dinger, no one left their seats! The celebrations went on & on! Plus the seats were great for heckling the Yankers, although they had lots of coppers guarding their precious lil egos...

The only crappy part was of the day was that Harden left the game with a tight shoulder & none of the MFY's were actually hurt...

Friday... The 13th!

2007-04-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

So everyone seems to be mentioning something about Friday the 13th. I don’t feel anything particularly different or weird so far though. I did wake up with a headache, but I think that’s just cause I didn’t sleep well, & a couple of Advil seem to have taken care of that so far. I haven’t been looking out for things falling on my head or worrying that the world will end, but I also wouldn’t walk under a ladder or let a black kitty cross my path if that should arise. How ‘bout you?

The last Friday the 13th, in October, BetUs.com actually generated some odds on lucky and unlucky events for the day. These guys also had odds up on whether the world would end on 6/6/06. People were reportedly ‘flooding the site’ to wager on what may or may not happen as a result of the unlucky day. I couldn’t find any evidence of that toady, but here’s what their odds supposedly were:

The World to End: 1,000,000/1
You lose your job: 100/1
Your spouse leaves you: 500/1
You throw out your back: 250/1
You go bankrupt: 500/1
You get a flat tire: 50/1
You break your leg: 100/1
A bird will poop on you: 100/1
You will get sick: 50/1
You will get locked out of your house/apt: 50/1
Your car will get towed: 100/1
You will get a ticket (speeding, parking, etc.): 50/1
You will lose all your hair: 250/1
Your car will get stolen: 100/1
You will place a winning bet at BetUS.com: 1/1 EVEN ODDS
You will hit a Royal Flush at BetUS.com poker site: 250/1
You will find money: 50/1
You will slip on banana peel: 100/1
You will win the lottery: 500/1

Oh & Bits & Pieces found this:

"Friday 13th is unlucky for some. The risk of hospital admission as a result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as 52 percent. Staying at home is recommended."

So far it’s been a rather quiet day at work though, so, so far, so good! I guess I’ll let all of you know about that on Monday?

I just really hope it isn’t an unlucky day for my Ducks tonight. They face the Wild tonight for game 2 of the playoffs & so far they’ve had a rather lucky week. As you may know, Giggy’s been off for a bit dealing with a medical issue with his newborn son Maxime. He & his wife did get good news about his condition yesterday, so hopefully he’ll be back soon & with a light heart. Either way, he’s got a great back up & Ilya Bryzgalov would do a fantastic job if he gets a chance at his second start tonight. I have trust & faith & zero superstitions about this game! GO DUCKS!

Oh & the A’s begins their first series against the MFY’s tonight too. I’ll make at least one of these games so keep your fingers crossed that Igawa, Pavano & Pettitte all get into a gay lil Spankee style love brawl where they all three strain their arms & can’t pitch this weekend. Yankees still suck.

This made me giggle a bit...

2007-04-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

Found @ Bits & Peices!

Ducks Win Game 1!

2007-04-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

Today I'm loving Dustin Penner!

Oh & the Sharkies won the first of their series too... How terrific is that?

Although I don't agree with his veiws, here's a link to The Copyranter's Playoff previews, (Western & Eastern) pretty fun actually.

Music!

2007-04-12T09:20:00.001-07:00

This song is so stuck in my head :-)

Must people take me so literally?

2007-04-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

So Miss Mish Mash informed me that that DorkBloggers are looking for a few good 'Dork Moments' for Friday the Dorkteenth... I just happened to have had one just lastnight:

So, my girlfriends & I have this fun lil habit of referring to our favorites ballplayers as our 'fiancé’s', because, well, we honestly fully intend to marry these sexy super studs someday 'if only'... You know, if only we ever actually met because of course the moment our eyes lock they'll realize there's no other women in the world for them right? My friend Katie is 'engaged' to Huston Street; my roommie Mandy is apparently 'married' to Mr. Timberlake; my roommate Alyssa is 'engaged' to Rich Harden; & I, of course, am 'engaged' to Zito (although I am having quite the imaginary affairs Nick Swisher & Travis Buck!)

Anyway, enough with the background, I'm sure you get it... So lastnight at the bar that I frequent (not exactly often, but enough so the regulars do know me), this one guy that sees me there all the time comes up to me while I was watching the Giant's game. What transpired next I so had coming. My favorite bartendress thought this was pure magic...

Him: "Shouldn't you be at the game?"

Me: "Duh, but I just got off work & besides, my fiancé’s not pitching tonight."

Him: "So it's true, you really are engaged to Zito?"

Me: (choke) "Well, uh, er, um, technically? Oh boy."

Oopsies! I got so embarrassed that I turned red... Now I'm forever known as the

In the meantime...

2007-04-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

The hockey game doesn't start til tonight, so I'm listening to the A's game (they're up 2-0 in the first already with back to back doubles) This is something I did often last season when I was stuck @ work & MLB has completely upgraded they're online offerings. MLB Gameday looks fantastic too if you can't listen & the live updates are accurate & live. (Chavey just doubled too & brought in Piazza, 3-0, 2 on & 2 outs... This. Is. So. Fun!)

UPDATE: Golly that game turned quite ugly. )-; Poor Huston.

GO DUCKS!

2007-04-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

Todd Walker and Mark Ellis were fantastically clutch lastnight & it looks like Ellis is right on track for his banner year!

The G’s picked up their 2nd win last night too, although by the opinions on the patrons of the bar I went to watch it in, you’d think this was August & they were playing under .300. I came in & asked someone if the score was really 5-0 Giants cause I couldn’t quite make out it on the tiny screens they had the game up on (I didn’t say it was a sports bar). Someone responded that that “couldn’t possibly be correct, that the scoreboard must be transposed; the G’s couldn’t possibly be ahead this deep in a game right?”

Not that I haven’t been completely discouraged by the level of my own Giants loyalty, but jeez, it’s only the first week people! I’m trying hard to stay a fan but the truth is that I don’t ‘get’ National League ball like I do American League ball. And the A’s are just plain more fun to watch. They’re young & hot & really enjoy their opportunities. The Giants seem to act more like football players, at war on the gridiron, as George Carlin would say. Not to mention the Green Monster’s transition to a worldwide market. There's exciting stuff in the AL. I wish someone would show me something similar in the NL.

But not just yet please.

Today & hopefully for the next few weeks, I’m focusing on hockey, & on my Ducks particularly. They begin their playoffs with the first series up against the Wild. This has to be one of the best match ups for the playoffs. The Ducks played the Wild 4 times in the regular season & both teams took 2. Only 6 points separate them with my Ducks coming out on top. So long as they can manage to hold Rolston & Gaborik in check they should do just fine! They’ve got new owners, a new look & a new hunger that should keep them as mighty as ever!

Sticking up for Barry Bonds?

2007-03-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we can all agree that I hate the Yankees, correct? So you should never be surprised about me posted trash talk about them, right? But do you also realize that I have never been a big Barry Bonds fan? This of course is something I’ve been actively trying to get over, as I’m a newly sworn Giants girl now. J

Personally, I think the guy acts like a jerk. Not necessarily to teammates & coaches & family & such I guess, considering that those seem to be the only people who ever have anything nice to say about him, & repeat it every time they’re asked as though they truly mean it. But he has been a real booger in the past to those of us who (I deem) really matter, the press, i.e. the fans, & worse, the fans who blog.

Professionally, the guy is a true ballplayer. Just because I think his attitude is crap, doesn’t give me the magical ability to simply ignore his stats. Asterisk *them maybe, but that’s a whole other topic.

But here’s where things get interesting. Here is some history in the making folks, because I am about to defend Barry Bonds. Or at least call Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle a rat bastard for turning his traitor pen upon the truly faithful Bonds fans in the Bay Area. This ‘reporter’ has actually had the audacity to ‘predict’ exactly how Bonds’ season will go by publishing ‘Your Official Barry Bonds Calendar Of The Chase’’ Here’s the highlights, click here if you want the whole thing.

“…already give you the days on which he won't hit record No. 756: April 9 through 17, April 23 through 29, May 10 through 20, May 24, May 28 through June 7, June 14 through 21, June 28, July 2 through 12, July 16 through 22, July 30 through Aug. 5, Aug. 13 through 20, Aug. 30 through Sept. 6, Sept. 13 through 19, and any day after Sept. 26. These dates cover the days in which the Giants either do not play at home, or at all, and you may rest assured that he will not be wasting 756 on people who might boo him.”

“Bonds will at some point in mid-May announce that all is forgiven between him and his good friends in the media and wants to get along with everyone. He will then go 7-for-38, announce he has been too nice to everyone and declare that nothing is forgiven and he needs nobody outside his immediate family (and agent Jeff Borris). He will then hit again.”

“His knees will act up right around July 3, and depending on the All-Star Game voting, he will either be back on the 9th or the 13th. He will also have an undisclosed muscle pull (undisclosed because Major League Baseball now controls all medical information about the players, a development the players will rue in good time) early in August that might cost him the Dodgers and Padres road series, but he will try to come back in time for the softer and gooier Nationals and Pirates.”

“He will play one of the three games in Atlanta Aug. 14-16 upon learning that Aaron will be "out of town." Just as, once he hits 753, Bud Selig will be just as out of town, no matter what town that happens to be at any given moment.”

“He will hit The Homer Sept. 11, at the Big Phone off Arizona's Livan Hernandez. It will be a warm evening, the game will be delayed for 35 minutes while chairs and microphones are set up and everyone associated with the team tries to figure out how to celebrate without looking too effusive, and the video tribute will be properly grainy to give it that historically significant/Bonds On Bonds feel. Barry Zito will monitor all questions to make sure the tone is properly reverential.”

I realize that a seasoned player like Bonds does tend to seem a bit predictable, but even I would stoop this low & pretty much all him out like this. Way to ensure that mid-May, Bonds will want to talk to anyone & everyone but you Ray.

Why A Divorce Is Making Me Smile Today

2007-03-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

Let's hope this is just the beginning of the end...

Top 10 Thursday!!!

2007-03-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

I always giggle at those "Chuck Norris Facts" even though I'm not particulary a fan. I do think it's fantastic that he can laugh at them too though:

Top Gun

2007-03-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I come across certain things that truly bring me back to a time when I was young & all was right with the world. Like an old picture of Val Kilmer:

This isn't one of those things, but it did totally crack me up!

Top Gun On Ice:

Found via CasualSlack

Rocky VI is out on DVD...

2007-03-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a 10 second highlight in case you missed I-V!

Found via B&P

DUI: The Thing To Do?

2007-03-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was arrested Thursday on a drunken driving charge after police said they found him asleep inside his running sport utility vehicle at a stop light. Click here to view the Sheriff’s Booking Report. Undercover officers saw La Russa's SUV sitting partially in an intersection around midnight and not moving despite two green lights, police said. Officers knocked on the window and La Russa did not initially respond. The SUV was in drive and running, with La Russa's foot on the brake, police said. When he woke up, the officers asked him to get out of the SUV. La Russa was cooperative during his arrest, police said. La Russa gave two breath samples and had a blood alcohol content of 0.093 percent, Jupiter police said in a statement. Florida's legal driving limit is 0.08 percent. La Russa declined to comment while he was outside the clubhouse in uniform hours later at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, where he planned to manage a spring training game against the Marlins. La Russa walked onto the field before the game, many fans stood and applauded.

There’s where my problem begins. What are these people applauding for exactly? Credit is to be given to a player or manager when they do something worthy, right? How is it that in today’s society, getting a DUI & still managing to keep your job is applause worthy, or worse yet, simply the norm.

To make matters worse, about 5 minutes after I read a few articles about La Russa, I see that also just lastnight, Vivica A. Fox was busted for a DUI as well! Her career will probably seriously take off now…

So I’m wondering, is going to rehab or being arrested for DUI the ‘thing to do’? Think of all the household names you know that you’ve heard were arrested & felt no sense of surprise whatsoever. Here’s the one’s I came up with:
Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jr., Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Tracy Morgan (twice), Mike Tyson, George Michael, Nick Nolte, & Diana Ross

Now think of the ones you heard about that you were truly shocked to learn of:
Ray Liotta (okay, so maybe he should have been on the previous list), Anneliese van der Pol (the lil girl from That’s So Raven), Rip Torn (he seems only crazy, not drunk & crazy), Haley Joel Osment (when did he even get old enough for a license?), John Michael Montgomery & Mindy McCready (the country stars always shock me), Tracey Gold & Michelle Rodriguez (both seemed so innocent), Lane Garrison (A semi newer actor from Prison Break who’s DUI crash killed a 17 year old boy who was excited to have even met him.)

But back to La Russa. I’ve always had a soft spot for the guy. He’s a ledgend in his own time & responsible for pulling teams together & winning multiple championships. How is this hugely egotistical man going to stay the same leader now? Professional athletes being arrested often ignite harsh public outcry, & those involved have to face such scrutiny afterward. Could you imagine being busted & having to go out & play a nationally televised event the next day! Do these guys feel shame when they see little kids wearing their jerseys who are so disappointment at finding out their hero is a criminal? Or does the remorse only set in after they get traded & their lifestyle is a bit uprooted. I wish I could ask some of the one’s I could remember from the not so recent past who’ve gotten popped:

NHL –
Hurricanes Jeff O’Neill
Sharks - Mark Bell
Panthers Peter Worrell
Blackhawks Captain Alex Zhamnov

NBA –
Magics JJ Redick
Kings Coach Eric Musselman
Suns Stephon Marbury

MLB -
A’s Esteban Loaiza
Marlin’s Dontrelle Willis
BJ’s Gustavo Chacin

NFL -
Titans Steve McNair
Raiders Sebastian Janikowski
Seahawks Jarramy Stevens
Niners Antonio Bryant
& pretty much all of the Cincinatti Bengals –
Marvin Lewis, the coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, has reportedly attempted to stop the dramatic series of player arrests by flashing police mug shots of NFL players who have been arrested and bringing in police to teach a "DUI 101" class to the players. Most of the players arrested were team rookies. Johnathan Joseph was the ninth player to be arrested, while other rookies Odell Thurman, Frostee Rucker, A.J. Nicholson, and Reggie McNeil have been arrested for everything from DUI to domestic violence. After the team's ninth arrest, Jay Leno remarked on his Tonight Show monologue, "Know what the Cincinnati Bengals call sign on bonuses? Bail money." While the Bengals have the largest number of player arrests of any NFL team, a total of 35 NFL players were arrested in 2006 for a wide variety of offenses.

MLS -
Now I don’t know much about soccer (yet), but THERE IS A WEBSITE THAT GIVES ODDS ON THE FUTURE DUI ARREST OF DAVID BECKHAM!!!
Intertops.com, a Caribbean-based sports gambling site, has posted 10 to 1 odds that the former soccer star will get a DUI after he moves to the United States. Beckham is married to former Spice Girl "Posh Spice" (Victoria Beckham), now a clothing designer, and the couple will be moving to the U.S. after David signed a multi-million dollar soccer deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Interops.com has also issues odds (10,000 to 1) that Beckham with divorce "Posh" to marry Paris Hilton in 2007. Hilton recently accepted a plea deal with three years probation for a DUI last September.

I suppose celebrities & sports personalities are truly no different than you & I. I do, in fact, know a few people close to me who’ve had to face this embarrassment & I seriously have no idea how they would have dealt with it being broadcast throughout tarnation. But somehow I sense that because all these persona’s arrests are so widely publicized, everyday people like us seem to become accustomed to thinking this behavior is okay. Now I’m not going to deny that I’ve ever been behind the wheel with a bit of a buzz on, but I certainly wouldn’t expect anyone to encourage my behavior had I been caught. And I try to be a good advocate of sober driving only whenever I can. But I seem to be chastising loved ones constantly after discovering that they’ve done it yet again. And knowing they do (& I have) and doing the job I do makes me feel like a hypocrite. I don’t like feeling like a hypocrite so please, if you’re a friend or fan of mine, don’t put me in that position. And if you can’t seem to control yourself, do the rest of the world a favor & sign up below:

https://www.donatelifecalifornia.org/register/

From Bits & Peices...

2007-03-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

Now Zito needs a new glove

2007-03-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

MLB Rule 1.15
(a) The pitcher’s glove may not, exclusive of piping, be white, gray, nor, in the judgment of an umpire, distracting in any manner.
(b) No pitcher shall attach to his glove any foreign material of a color different from the glove.
(c) The umpire-in-chief shall cause a glove that violates Rules 1.15(a) or 1.15(b) to be removed from the game, either on his own initiative, at the recommendation of another umpire or upon complaint of the opposing manager that the umpire-in-chief agrees has merit.

Sunday a rep from the commissioner's office showed up to take a picture of Barry Zito's glove. Apparently they saw a photo in Sports Illustrated that showed his glove with the laces looking a tad ‘distracting’. The funny thing is that the photo in the magazine is actually of his old leather, the one he’s used for at least the last 2 years with the A’s without a single complaint.

While searching for photos to make up my own mind, I found some through the AP that show his new super pretty one. It’s fairly fancy, & much, much more distracting with it’s tan ties & burgundy smoothness.

Either way, & with either glove, I seriously can imagine how a little issue like laces could ruin a guy’s swing. Then again, I’ve never been at the plate facing a 77 MPH slurve. I’ll let you judge for yourself:

UPDATE: The commish did come down on him about the laces after all & this week they were replaced with new BLACK laces... How the F is that any different I wonder?

I know I'm not a parent, but c'mon people!

2007-03-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'm deep into my bracketology at the moment, & doing exceptionally well so far I might add.

So when I ran into this lil bit of fantasticness from Hart, I could hardly refuse! It's a bracket for the 'best' name of the year. I use the term best as loosely as possible. Some of these parents are just plain mean! Who on earth would purposely give their child a name of Phyre Quickly Burns, or Destinee Hooker?

I have Gertrude Nipple beating out Anite Fiel in the semi's & going up against Vanilla Dong who easily overtook Outerbridge Horsey in their semit's. I predict Vanilla Dong shall take all.

Anyway, I challenge you get your bracket completed & submitted quickly as the final date is the 31st. I have no idea if you'll win anything or not, but it's easy & will completely un-bored you for at least 5 minutes! All you do is fill in the number of the seed that you think is better (read 'a worse name') that the one it's up against & save a copy with your initials after it & email it in. Good luck! & please no one steal the name "Princess Perdue", I'm claiming that one right now just in case I have a miracle daughter turn up!

'Tagged' Part Deux!

2007-03-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

About an hour or so later, I saw that Miss Miss Mash publicly 'tagged' me by name, so I can't refuse her right? (Not that I would...) She wants me to list seven songs I'm into right now, no matter what they are. They must be songs I am presently enjoying:

So I grabbed my iPod & checked out my Top 25 Most Played

1. Staplegunned – The Spill Canvas

2. Amy – River City High

3. Stay Or Leave – Dave Matthews

4. Tangled – Maroon 5

5. Suspension - Mae

6. Wondering Where You Are – Tyrone Wells

7. How To Save A Life – The Fray

God I adore my iPod… How did I ever not have one???

I've been 'tagged'. Twice!

2007-03-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not actually sure what exactly that means but apparently I'm supposed to make a list & post it here & 'tag' other folks?

My baby sister tagged me with the Six Weird Things About Me game. I'm thinking this will be a hard list to create, cause I'm not that weird (am I?) She says she's not weird, just quirky, & that we all are too. Hope my lil list won't be too boring for you. If it is, feel free to send my comments about my weirdness in case I miss something!

Oh & I’m 'tagging' all of you, so you have to play, too. Post your list of Six Weird Things or e-mail it to me so I can call you a weirdo.

So... I'm weird because:

1 - I almost always sneeze in threes. Two cute lil princessy ones followed by a big, ole explosion for the third. Occasionally I can control things a bit & just get away with one lil one & everyone finds it excessively adorable, but not usually.

2 - I can sing a couple songs quite well, but I can't dance to save a life. I absolutely must be intoxicated to get my ass shakin' in anything even remotely resembling a rhythm.

3 - I used to be a tomboy. Anyone who has seen my room might find this kinda hard to believe.

4 - I don't need to wear contacts in my dreams. I've only needed them in real life for about 10 years now & for some reason, my dream-self still has perfect vision & the weird part is that this really perplexes me. I have no idea why I even noticed, let alone why it ticks me off so much.

5 - I hate people doing rude things around me. Why do many people think it's okay to belch (or worse) around other people? When did chivalry completely wither to the point that men think this is a socially acceptable thing to do in mixed company! & for God's sakes, who told the girls of today that it's okay to act just like the grody boys (& sometimes the girls are even worse than the boys!) & at which point did I become the 'weirdo' for finding this behavior unacceptable?

6 - I went to a comic book store & actually bought 5 comics yesterday.

This is extremely weird for me, I haven't done that in YEARS!

So what else is weird about me folks?

Loyalty Test

2007-03-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

So lastnight FSBA was kind enough to air the first baseball game of the year. Now granted, it's only Spring Training & of course it doesn't count, but for me, this was a crucial game. Since declaring my love for the Giants in January, this was my first test of loyalty as they were hosting the A's. In case you were wondering, it's mighty hard to watch your old team beat up on your new team! Kinda like running into you ex & finding out that he's way better off without you. Not that I really had to watch that part much, the game was actually tied the majority of it. And they distracted me for several innings while interviewing my Zito Love since they didn't have him pitch against his former buddies.

Baseball already feels so different as a G's fan. I'm so interested in learning the history of the team that I seriously paid attention to all the public servicey feeling historical accounts of how the Giants came to train in Arizona. Really cool stuff went on way back then. At one point, they actually traded training facilities with the Yankees cause the owner of the G's had a place in Casa Grande!

The next sweetest thing about last night’s broadcast was that they mic'ed up Tim Flannery while he was coaching 3rd base. Now lemme tell ya, this dude gives new depth to the word cool. First of, he used to be a broadcaster so his voice is sexy as hell. Course that might be because he also sings & plays guitar. He brings his acoustic axe on the road & writes songs about baseball. He's recorded 8 CD's already & I need to get a hold of them. (Anyone knows where I can find 'em lemme know!) Anyway, he let us all a bit closer to seeing the other side of baseball with the way he was telling the viewers about what he was thinking as & before things happened. He was talking about who the best base runners have been so far in camp & who he trusts to follow his signs & who doesn't even need to be told. He talked about his teaching style & how he's reaching out to the new kids, trying to help them get their careers off to a great start, regardless of whether they make the team this year or not. He sounded brilliant, & before I say I've found a perfect replacement in my baseball heart for Ron Washington, I won't cause I have the same feeling that he'll be leaving for a bigger gig sooner than later.

Oh & did I mention he's rather easy on the eyes ;->

PS - I was super ticked that the A's won, so I'm giving myself an B+ for my first test since I was totally digging Nicky Swisher's hair & falling in love with the A's new sidewinder.

150 things I have or haven't done...

2007-03-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

I found this at Amy's blog & I copied it right over to here for some editing!

Things in bold are things I've done. You should do it too, just because I said so!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree *granted that was simply holding on for dear life!
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea *a big river actually
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper *nothing too disgusting yet though!
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children/currently raising child
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country *does a horse count?
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild *even though I hate mushrroms!
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (someday...)
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey (I think I've read both..)
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

March Madness

2007-03-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

My Million Dollar Picks...

I think if you click here you can see my brackets, if not, I have no idea how else to convert a pdf file to a pic you can view!

Lucky gaming to you & enjoy!

Happy Friday!

2007-03-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

Enjoy your weekend...

But not too much...

My visual DNA

2007-03-08T14:38:00.001-08:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

My bloggy buddy Amy has an always entertaining menu where I found this little gem! Check out her site if for nothing else to be introduced to her abordable kitten Bogey. You can find them at Mish Mash!