Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Hot Lesbian Action

I used to hate the Braves. Actually I still kinda do. In 1991, suddenly, all of my friends were Braves fans and I, being a Mets fan, found myself insanely jealous and resentful of all the success they got to witness while I watched Vince Coleman and Bobby Bo etc. tear down everything that was supposed to be for the Mets. Chipper's 1999 self-butchering of the team only made me hate them more and Andruw Jones' walk in run in the playoffs against my favorite Met team ever seemingly closed the chambers on all hope of reconciliation. Sometime last year, as I realized the Mets were finally going to win the East, I matured a bit, and decided that maybe these non-division champion Braves weren't so bad. They did have Smoltz, one of the coolest guys ever. They had Andruw, who was kind of the Braves' Manny. And, actually, I came to realize, Chipper wasn't so bad. He was actually kind of a stand up guy in some ways. I'll be the first to point out that the Braves 14 year run was one of the 5-10 most impressive organizational accomplishments in the history of baseball.

I write this as the Braves have just beaten the Phillies 10-6, pulling within three games of the wild card and 4 of the East leading Mets. It will be very difficult for the Braves to make the playoffs this late, involving as it will not only a continued surge but also a monumental collapse by some combination of the Phillies, the Padres, the Rockies, the Mets and/or the Diamondbacks. It could happen. But at this point it may seem a little too late.

Lost in all of this is the fact that the Braves, in some ways (i.e. run differential), have played just about as well as anyone in the NL. Among the powers in the NL, the Braves are 3rd in runs scored (well, second if you give the Rockies a penalty for the Coors effect) and 3rd behind the Cubs and Padres (who play in the pitching equivalent to Coors) in runs allowed. Their run differential, I'm fairly certain, is actually a bit better than the Mets and Phillies. Not so much better that one could suggest that the Braves should actually be four games up on the Mets rather than the other way around, but better to the extent that any reports in the last few weeks preceding the Braves' recent run of the team's imminent collapse were a bit ill informed.

Maybe this won't matter this year, but it could bode well for next year in which, with a good closer, another starter and some luck, the Braves could conceivably and seriously challenge for the title.

You wonder, though, if the window is closing. Chipper is 35. Andruw may or may not be getting old fast (even though he's only 30) and either way, may be gone in a month. Teixeira may or may not be around in '08. Smoltz, though still dominant, is really getting old. And Hudson is not getting any younger. Francouer and McCann are young and exciting. But is Chuck James really anything close to Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz? And if he's not, who is?

Who knows though, maybe the Braves will shock us all, win the East (or the wild card) this year, and begin another run. I hope not.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

a birthday fit for a keene*...

for those interested, i will be celebrating the 29th anniversary of my birth here on october 6th at 7:30. it should be magical.

for the record, i had conceived this party idea months before learning that coke bref would be celebrating his birth in a similar fashion. but i am happy to say that bref assures me it was a magnificent time.


* witty pun credited to mr. andy o'neal.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Munson


As some of you may know, Larry Munson missed his first Georgia game in 42 years on Saturday night. His raspy voice was sorely missed, especially given the game ended so dramatically. He's one of the last of a dying breed. Check out this article about him; it's got a little history and a few of his famous calls.

Anyone else have favorite radio announcers? When I was a kid, I used to love listening to Marty Brennaman call Reds games on WLW in Cincinnati. I've always liked Skip Carey and Pete Van Wieren, too.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

true story...

My roommate told me this story the other day that I just have to share:

One of my roommate’s friends met this girl a long time ago. They became a couple. After being together for quite a while his girlfriend confessed to him that she is a lesbian: “I thought I could have a straight relationship but I guess that’s not what I want…” She left him and he was devastated. He managed to get over her and they stayed friends.

Some time went by and he started dating another girl after being single for quite a while. The relationship became more serious, they became a couple, and he fell in love with her. One night at a birthday party his new girlfriend met his old girlfriend for the first time. Not knowing about their former relationship his new girlfriend told him: “I’ve never had these feelings before, but after meeting her I realized that I might be gay…” …says it and leaves him for his old girlfriend….

Now, girlfriend #1 and girlfriend #2 live together happily somewhere in Berlin and the guy is in therapy.

True story…

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The GillIIZero

the gilbert arenas blog continues to be off the hinges. he just had a new post announcing the release of his new shoe. or perhaps i should say his line of shoes. he's dropping 20 different versions this year, 18 of them "special editions". gil's stirring conclusion:
I’m a trend setter, people. I don’t want other shoe companies to try to jack my style now. My swag is too phenomenal [!]. If any other basketball player out there wants to compete with my shoes, go ahead, we can have a 50 and Kanye right here. We can start it up, baby. I’ll be the bad guy. We can have a sneaker war.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

just a peek.

check out this uplifting story. last sentence puts it over the top.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

ATH representin'

Somebody at All Things Considered thought it would be a good idea to have a contest the see who could come up with the best lyrics for the All Things Considered theme song. A guy from Athens, Steve Ledford, made it into the top 4. I'd even venture to say his submission is the best; I like the pledge drive mention and the vamp at the end. Vote for his lyrics here.

If you click on the "listen" tab, you can hear what they considered lesser quality submissions. I had "I'm killing time between work and dinner" stuck in my head the rest of the ride home. I also liked the "field recording" with harmonica accompaniment.