A Welcome Back To The Big Hurt!

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!

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

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!

Who's On First!

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

Billy Crystal Struck Out

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.

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

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

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...

Hey - Where's The Sports Talk?

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!?!

Red Sox are heading to the Series again!

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!

Barry Bonds Is Leaving San Francisco Giants (Finally?)

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

This Is Cool!

Watch where the bat ends up after he makes contact!

Another Cool Baseball Thingy...

Check this out!

Previously in Cool Baseball Thingy's

Baseball salary vs performance

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

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

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!

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!

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.

Must people take me so literally?

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...

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!

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!

DUI: The Thing To Do?

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/