On March Madness

...somehow, I knew that the Arizona State University men would get left out of the NCAA Tournament.

I fully expect them to prove how good they aren't and lose in the NIT.

Good thing that I'll love them anyway.  Go Sun Devils!

Hello everybody!  Back after an extended absence!  But I'm around.

The Wide World Of Sports: The Thrill Of Victory, And The Agony Of Disclosure

Victory!

The grandfather of Kevin Everett, Junior Nico, told 2 On Your Side's Scott Levin Wednesday night that Kevin is planning on returning to Buffalo to walk out on the field for the December 23rd game.

On Tuesday, we learned that Kevin's story is being told by Sports Illustrated.

Via WGRZ Buffalo.

The doctor that probably saved Everett's life is a guy named Dr. Andrew Cappuccino.  He saved him using a bizarre method that involved partial hypothermia.
God, I hope they call that method the Frozen Cappuccino (I'm claiming that, right now) in the future.  They really should.

Now, the agony of disclosure.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens and Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte were the first names to emerge Thursday from the Mitchell report.

ESPN.com reported Brian McNamee, a former trainer for the Yankees and Clemens, told investigators he supplied Clemens and Pettitte with steroids and that information is in the report. The Web site cited an unidentified source close to the trainer.

"After we read the report, we will have something to say," said Randy Hendricks, the agent for Clemens and Pettitte.

The Los Angeles Times reported in 2006 that Clemens and Pettitte were among the players former major league pitcher Jason Grimsley accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a federal agent's affidavit. Clemens and Pettitte have denied the allegations. On Wednesday, Pettitte said "I've not heard a word from anyone" about former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's investigation.

Citing two lawyers familiar with the investigation, The New York Times reported McNamee also provided information about retired first baseman David Segui. On Monday, Segui admitted he used steroids and purchased shipments from former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski.

That's via Yahoo, and that's brilliant.  Brilliant.

And... baseball loses.  Again.  Except for the Colorado Rockies.

Sean Taylor

Can anyone explain the murder of professional football players this year?  First Darrent Williams, then Sean Taylor.  Well, at least in Sean's case, the police have found who they think are the murders and are acting accordingly.

MIAMI (AP) -- Three men charged with murdering Sean Taylor were denied bail Tuesday, a day after thousands of mourners attended the funeral for the Washington Redskins safety.

Charles Wardlow, 18, Jason Mitchell, 19, and Venjah Hunte, 20, all face charges of unpremeditated murder, home invasion with a firearm or another deadly weapon and armed burglary. They will remain in Miami-Dade County jail.

A fourth suspect, Eric Rivera, 17, is being processed at a juvenile detention center in Miami-Dade County, jail officials said. He faces the same charges as the others, and a lawyer said there is a fifth suspect that police are seeking.

Taylor, 24, died Nov. 27, barely 24 hours after he was shot in the bedroom of his home a few miles from where he grew up. Police say he was a victim of a botched burglary by the suspects.

Probable cause affidavits for Mitchell and Rivera said the two confessed to participating in armed burglary. According to the reports, Mitchell and Rivera admitted entering the home and said someone had a gun and shot Taylor, but they didn't identify who. Police and attorneys also have said some of the young men confessed, though they wouldn't elaborate.

Via Yahoo.

I guess that this wouldn't be a bad time to once again bring up Darrent, and mention that it would be nice to find the guys that gunned down the football player in the neighborhood shockingly close to where I live, thanks.  I know it's hard, but for God's sake, they were at a club.  There's must have been a brazillion witnesses.  Seriously, now.

The World Series Is Over

And now, with a quick annoucement that I tried to post three days ago, but it seems that Blogger dropped a post on me:

 

Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox.

But, as today, we have the Rockies Rally, I'm still happy for my team and our fans.  The Colorado Rockies, a team that no one thought would do anything of note, and certainly not reach the World Series, did our city proud.  To the Rox, the loss might be bitter at the moment, but this team has many of the pieces in place.  You, and we, will be back, and soon.  We believe in you!

...next time, improve that batting average in the city.  Also, over week off playing baseball was probably too much.  But, I digress.  You still rock.

You Can Certainly Tell That There's Never Been A World Series In Colorado

Obviously, the Colorado Rockies are rookies when it comes the mad crush of ticket demand generated by the World Series.

DENVER (AP) -- The Colorado Rockies suspended World Series ticket sales Monday after overwhelming demand crashed their computer system.

"Right now we're shutting the system down," club spokesman Jay Alves announced outside Coors Field, drawing boos from fans. "We expect to be online at some point."

"We're as frustrated and disappointed as they are," Alves said.

Alves had said last week that the Rockies were prepared for any computer problems.

On Monday, there were 8.5 million attempts to connect with the computers in the first 90 minutes after sales started, he said, and only several hundred tickets had been sold before the system had to be shut down.

Yahoo!

Were I the person in charge of coming up with the online system used to sell World Series tickets, probably the first thing that I would do is find the largest ticket selling organization that I could, and then mimic their e-commerce solution as fast as possible.  That there were 8.5 million requests/hits in 90 minutes isn't the slightest bit shocking.  The poor Rockies crashed their own site, effectively fashioning their own Denial of Service attack.

As I speak, the streets around Coors Field are closed as hundreds of fans are clamoring the ticket offices looking for tickets.

Ah, I love baseball in October.

Be Bold!

The Colorado Rockies are going to the World Series.

The Colorado Rockies are going to the World Series?!

Yikes!

Ah, yes. Yes, it's sweet indeed.

I'm Not Going To Write About Them

If you watch baseball, you know who the hottest team in the National League right now.  They might be a team that I might find entertaining and interesting to watch.  Unfortunately, I won't be writing about them, because I fear repercussions.  After all, there were repercussions, seemingly, in this case (where the Denver Nuggets were the victims of my curse - this has happened twice) and in this case, where the Arizona State Sun Devils felt my fearful wraith.

 

I refuse to take any chances.

 

Therefore, I'll wait until the playoffs begin.

 

That is all.

 

We are all behind you, and you inspire us.

Tech Boom 2.0: Electric Bugaloo

An interesting theory on Microsoft and Yahoo that I simply could not fathom occurring... until now.

 

May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp.'s plan to buy AQuantive Inc. for $6 billion increases the likelihood that the software maker will also buy Yahoo! Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Anthony Noto said today.

Yahoo would plug a ``strategic hole'' at Microsoft that isn't filled by the purchase of AQuantive, announced today, Noto said in a note to clients. AQuantive, which creates Web ads and measures whether they reach the target audience, doesn't give Microsoft the roughly half a million advertisers required to compete against Google Inc., Noto said.

``We believe the odds of a deal happening over time actually increases,'' New York-based Noto wrote. ``Microsoft is willing to do deals that are a strategic necessity.''

Thank Bloomberg.

 

Obviously, no one learned anything from the 90's.

 

And I would suspect that Yahoo probably does NOT want to be acquired.  That's a fairly clever bunch.  Stay tuned.

 

 

 

They Take The Titans Seriously In Tennessee

Today's interesting news story brought to you by WBAL, via my good friends at Fark .

 

Ravens quarterback Steve McNair has been arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, and charged with owning a vehicle being driven by a drunken driver.

 

Steve McNair was driving dr.... hey!  Wait a minute...

 

Jamie Cartwright, 31, was driving McNair's 2003 Dodge pickup truck, with McNair as a passenger, northbound on Hillsboro Road at Abbott Martin Road at 11:53 p.m. Wednesday when DUI Squad Officer Harold Taylor saw that the truck was traveling 45 mph in a 35 mph zone. Officer Taylor activated his emergency equipment and Cartwright pulled into a strip mall on Hillsboro Road near Crestmoor Drive.

When Taylor approached Cartwright, he detected an obvious odor of alcohol and saw that Cartwright's eyes were red and glassy. Cartwright admitted to drinking at least two beers earlier in the evening. Taylor administered the standard field sobriety tasks to Cartwright, which indicated impairment. Cartwright was taken into custody for DUI and was asked to submit to a breath alcohol test. He refused.

Because McNair owns the truck and was a passenger with Cartwright, he too was charged with DUI. It is illegal in Tennessee for the owner of a vehicle to knowingly permit its operation by a driver under the influence of an intoxicant. Metro police have charged 43 persons, including McNair, for violating that statute since the first of this year.

So.  To be clear, Steve McNair, who may have been drunk, was riding shotgun with a person that may have been drunk, and Steve McNair (the passenger) was charged with a DUI?  Or is it a PUI.  Hm.

 

Clever.

 

 

 

 

Friends, don't let friends drive your car.  Anytime, just to be safe.

 

 

Darrent Williams

As I'm sure that everyone knows by now, Darrent Williams, cornerback for the Denver Broncos, was shot and killed the wee hours of New Years Day.

 

According to Denver Police, Williams was killed in an early morning shooting after someone with a gun pulled up alongside the white Hummer stretch limousine he and wide receiver Javon Walker were riding in and fired multiple shots.

Police say 16 people were in the stretched Hummer at the time of the shooting, including Williams and Walker. Authorities say Walker was not shot.

Via 9news.

 

Here's what you don't know.

1.  The club that the players went to where the altercation began is a mere blocks from my house.  In fact, I've probably been there on past occasions.

2.  My significatant other and I PROBABLY SAW the player's limo a mere two or three hours before the shots.

 

That's just wrong.  This is my neighborhood. 

I won't be going to any more clubs anytime soon.  Maybe ever.

 

 

 

 

Baseball Suc... No, Wait

This is an act of kindness in major league baseball that I simply won't forget.

 

Matt LaChappa hasn't thrown a pitch professionally in 10 years. He is confined to a wheelchair, and constrained by the physical fallout from back-to-back heart attacks.

Yet the Padres continue to pay him as if he were an active player. It might be the noblest thing they do.

From SignOnSanDiego.com.  Found via Fark. 

 

Wait.  There's more.

 

"When he was drafted and he came into the office to sign, I've never seen such a troop of tribal people," Oppenheimer said. "I think he was the first full-blooded American Indian ever drafted."

Oppenheimer assured LaChappa's parents then that they needn't worry about their teenage son because, "I'll take care of him." Three years later, when LaChappa was stricken in the bullpen in Rancho Cucamonga, Oppenheimer proved even better than her word.

Narrowly interpreting a vague promise by then-CEO Larry Lucchino that LaChappa would "always be a Padre," Oppenheimer kept the young player on the club payroll and placed pictures of him on her desk.

"He's my hero," she said yesterday. "He was always up. He had a good personality, a good sense of humor. He was cheerful. It made you feel good to be around him.

Dear Ms. Oppenheimer:

 

Who knows what other things the San Deigo Padres might do, but today, Priscilla Oppenheimer, you win at life.

 

Warmest regards,

Humanity

P.S.:  We hate steroids.  Get them out of baseball, thanks.

 

The Denver Nuggets

A few weeks ago, I met a friend of mine (let's call him lazyj - you might know him from jaxed) at a relatively popular joint downtown for a little dinner.  While talking, the NBA came up, as it always does, and within the NBA, the Denver Nuggets. 

 

My friend's opinion:

 

"The Nuggets have no chance to win the Northwest if Camby gets hurt.  If it gets hurt it's over."

 

Well, Nuggets fans, where is your God now?!

 

DENVER (AP) -- The Denver Nuggets suffered another major setback Wednesday when they learned center Marcus Camby , the NBA's leading rebounder, will be out indefinitely with a broken right pinkie.

Camby will need surgery on the finger, after which a timeline for his return will be set.

Yahoo props.

 

Damn. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I Used To Read Novels...

...unfortunately, I don't take the time to read them like I used to.

 

I do like to read, though - which is why I read, with considerable amusement, TIME's Best 100 Novels.

 

Stunningly, it's not a terrible list.

 

But I've only read twenty-four of them.  That ain't good.  Obviously, I need to join a book club.

Go ASU!

Congratulations to the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team, who, thanks to a leadoff hitter who hit three home runs, just knocked off Nebraska to eliminate them and move to the next round.

Dare I say, go Sun Devils?

Nah. Don't want to curse them, like I did the Denver Nuggets this year in the playoffs. Uf. Oh, that was a tough one.

Politics As Usual

Not really big on political postings (even though I was an poli sci grad from this fine institution - that just advanced to the College World Series over the weekend, beating the defending champ, Cal State Fullerton), but I saw this and had to post it:

 

Senate to Vote on Flag Desecration Constitutional Amendment.

 

Nice to see that the "Damn hippies!" contingent in Washington has so much time on their hands.

 

 

Marcus Camby for Secretary of Defense

Nuggets beat the Spurs, 93-87 .

 

I have said it before, and  I will say it again:

 

THE NUGGETS CAN BEAT THE SPURS. 

 

Last night they proved it.  Sure, it took one of the most dismal 4th quarter shooting performances in recent playoff memory, but the Nuggets won.  Why?  Several reason, not the least of which, though, is free throw shooting.  The Nuggets can hit from the stripe, while the Spurs don't as well.  Simple as that.

 

It's only Game 1.

 

But the Spurs are the least of the Nuggets problems in the Western Conference.  Problem No. 1 is the Phoenix Suns, who usually win even when they don't play well.  This team is Problem No. 2, even without their Michigan connection.