Enjoy.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Best Louisville game of the year
That's What I'm Talking About!!!!
One quarter of passionate football (all season) is better than none.
One quarter of passionate football (all season) is better than none.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Quick Cam installed
Our review of the X-giving celebration will be forthcoming, but a quick heads-up to say we've got out Quick Cam installed. Here are some pictures to prove it. (Also, the link to the left.)
Friday, November 16, 2007
Bonds and the Ol' Lefthander
Maybe one of the biggest offseason baseball news days EVER yesterday. Scott Boras & A-Rod realized they were playing w/ house money but losing and cut the best deal still on the table. They took a shot at getting someone to overpay like the Rangers did last time & it didn't happen. Presumably, he'll be fine w/ his $275 million payout over the next 10 years, though the contract probably allows another opt-out in 2013 or so. Jake Peavy's unanimous selection as NL Cy Young got very little attention which is a shame. He's only 26 & led the league in wins, ERA, and K's. Impressive.
The first & fourth stories mean the most to Dolberry. (You can decide which is 1st and which is 4th.) Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice ... and Joe Nuxhall died at 79. Bonds made a choice somewhere along the way that the ends justified the means, the winner gets the spoils, & apparently that the net measure of a man's worth can be measured in OBP, RBI, and the almighty home run. Nuxhall appears to have made another choice ... that you can maximize the talents you've been blessed with and yet still live a life that is about more than just one person.
"He’s one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met,” former Reds first baseman Sean Casey said in 2004. “He’s humble. He always thinks of others first. I know he was a great pitcher and he’s done a lot of other things. But I think everything else is second to him being a great human being."
“From the first day I walked on the field at spring training in Tampa, Joe was always there to help with whatever,” Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench said in 2004. “He just oozed Reds baseball.”
"This is a sad day for everyone in the Reds organization. I 'm in shock. I've known Joe my entire life. He did so many great things for so many people. You never heard anyone ever say a bad word about him. We're all going to miss him." - Ken Griffey Jr.
At once, I was at ease. That's what Joe did, be it to a young reporter, a young player or a fan off the street. In his mind, Joe was no better than you are. Me -- in my mind, I would consider myself a success if I were a quarter of the man Joe Nuxhall was. - C. Trent Rosecrans (Cincy Post beat writer)
Can you see any of the above statements ever being said about Barry Bonds? When Bonds gets to his last breaths ... don't you think he'd trade his legacy for Nuxhall's in a heartbeat? This is something I need to be constantly reminded about ... life is not about the stats (dollars earned, size of your TV, amount of turkey eaten) ... it's about what's between the lines of your baseball card.
I'll really miss listening to him.
The first & fourth stories mean the most to Dolberry. (You can decide which is 1st and which is 4th.) Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice ... and Joe Nuxhall died at 79. Bonds made a choice somewhere along the way that the ends justified the means, the winner gets the spoils, & apparently that the net measure of a man's worth can be measured in OBP, RBI, and the almighty home run. Nuxhall appears to have made another choice ... that you can maximize the talents you've been blessed with and yet still live a life that is about more than just one person.
"He’s one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met,” former Reds first baseman Sean Casey said in 2004. “He’s humble. He always thinks of others first. I know he was a great pitcher and he’s done a lot of other things. But I think everything else is second to him being a great human being."
“From the first day I walked on the field at spring training in Tampa, Joe was always there to help with whatever,” Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench said in 2004. “He just oozed Reds baseball.”
"This is a sad day for everyone in the Reds organization. I 'm in shock. I've known Joe my entire life. He did so many great things for so many people. You never heard anyone ever say a bad word about him. We're all going to miss him." - Ken Griffey Jr.
At once, I was at ease. That's what Joe did, be it to a young reporter, a young player or a fan off the street. In his mind, Joe was no better than you are. Me -- in my mind, I would consider myself a success if I were a quarter of the man Joe Nuxhall was. - C. Trent Rosecrans (Cincy Post beat writer)
Can you see any of the above statements ever being said about Barry Bonds? When Bonds gets to his last breaths ... don't you think he'd trade his legacy for Nuxhall's in a heartbeat? This is something I need to be constantly reminded about ... life is not about the stats (dollars earned, size of your TV, amount of turkey eaten) ... it's about what's between the lines of your baseball card.
I'll really miss listening to him.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Why I'm posting more lately ...
One reason ... more T-giving food for me.
I noticed last year during the holidays that many of my conversations w/ assorted family members were shortened because of the advance notice on all-things-Dolberry provided by the blog. As a result, I was able to eat about 15% more than usual because of the less time wasted w/ unfilling small talk. So, w/ T-giving coming up (T minus 10 days), here's some additional Dolberry-related stuff. I will not be repeating these next week. Thank you for your consideration.
Dolberry has been very busy & has not had a chance to follow college football at all this year. I will not be prepared to talk at all about this next week, so there's no sense even bringing individual teams or games up.
I do expect to be able to follow college basketball though. That was really funny that UK lost to Gardiner-Webb. I will gladly entertain any conversations about how a team that lost to UNC by 53 last year could stomp UK at home. That is, as long as we're in line for more food. Not when I'm eating, please.
Work is fine. If you're a Republican, rest assured EPA is doing all that we can to ensure that all those aging hippies and wannabe Socialists don't ruin the American economy through some sort of sensible global climate change action. If you're a Democrat, rest assured EPA is doing all that we can to combat global warming by creating numerous and conflicting groups, divisions, and offices to design and promote sensible climate change action.
Softball is over. We won the championship. Dolberry will talk about this as long as you want. In fact, I'll go ahead and bring our scorebook. We can go at-bat by at-bat through our 15 game regular season and three-game tournament sweep. We can do this while the underlings are doing the dishes.
APD is fine. As far as I know, he will be available for questions. All he eats is bread anyway and he talks w/ his mouth full, so it's not really an issue w/ him.
I'm not on speaking terms w/ our dog, Cherish. I took her out for a run this Saturday over to the Lake. She ran about 0.25 miles than sat down and refused to take another step. Even a step back toward the car. I had to carry the stupid beast all the way back to the car. The beautiful KMD hypothesized that it was her dinner time and that she didn't feel like running as a result. Once home, she was running around like normal. BAD DOG!
The beautiful KMD is more beautiful than ever, but you'll be able to see that yourselves, so there's no sense going on about it.
I like lots of new music and bands, but I do not expect you to be interested in them. Rest assured, Dolberry is NOT interested in any new music, bands, movies, blogs, etc., that you may find interesting.
Dolberry has not followed the NFL much either. Certainly not last week or the first week of the season. No sense discussing.
If you have any other topics you'd like to pre-discuss in advance of the feeding frenzy, go ahead and post a comment. Otherwise, for your own safety, please do not get between me and the turkey. (Not Dad, the edible turkey.)
I noticed last year during the holidays that many of my conversations w/ assorted family members were shortened because of the advance notice on all-things-Dolberry provided by the blog. As a result, I was able to eat about 15% more than usual because of the less time wasted w/ unfilling small talk. So, w/ T-giving coming up (T minus 10 days), here's some additional Dolberry-related stuff. I will not be repeating these next week. Thank you for your consideration.
Dolberry has been very busy & has not had a chance to follow college football at all this year. I will not be prepared to talk at all about this next week, so there's no sense even bringing individual teams or games up.
I do expect to be able to follow college basketball though. That was really funny that UK lost to Gardiner-Webb. I will gladly entertain any conversations about how a team that lost to UNC by 53 last year could stomp UK at home. That is, as long as we're in line for more food. Not when I'm eating, please.
Work is fine. If you're a Republican, rest assured EPA is doing all that we can to ensure that all those aging hippies and wannabe Socialists don't ruin the American economy through some sort of sensible global climate change action. If you're a Democrat, rest assured EPA is doing all that we can to combat global warming by creating numerous and conflicting groups, divisions, and offices to design and promote sensible climate change action.
Softball is over. We won the championship. Dolberry will talk about this as long as you want. In fact, I'll go ahead and bring our scorebook. We can go at-bat by at-bat through our 15 game regular season and three-game tournament sweep. We can do this while the underlings are doing the dishes.
APD is fine. As far as I know, he will be available for questions. All he eats is bread anyway and he talks w/ his mouth full, so it's not really an issue w/ him.
I'm not on speaking terms w/ our dog, Cherish. I took her out for a run this Saturday over to the Lake. She ran about 0.25 miles than sat down and refused to take another step. Even a step back toward the car. I had to carry the stupid beast all the way back to the car. The beautiful KMD hypothesized that it was her dinner time and that she didn't feel like running as a result. Once home, she was running around like normal. BAD DOG!
The beautiful KMD is more beautiful than ever, but you'll be able to see that yourselves, so there's no sense going on about it.
I like lots of new music and bands, but I do not expect you to be interested in them. Rest assured, Dolberry is NOT interested in any new music, bands, movies, blogs, etc., that you may find interesting.
Dolberry has not followed the NFL much either. Certainly not last week or the first week of the season. No sense discussing.
If you have any other topics you'd like to pre-discuss in advance of the feeding frenzy, go ahead and post a comment. Otherwise, for your own safety, please do not get between me and the turkey. (Not Dad, the edible turkey.)
Friday, November 09, 2007
Another genius idea from Dolberry
There's been a lot of speculation about where A-Rod will end up for the 2008 baseball season, especially since the biggest money teams (NYY and BOS) have said they're uninterested. Given that Scott Boras (A-Rod's agent) has apparently indicated that it'll take $350 million just to get him to the negotiating table, the focus has settled on the next tier of big-spending MLB clubs (2007 salaries shown below):
New York Yankees $ 189,639,045
Boston Red Sox $ 143,026,214
New York Mets $ 115,231,663
Los Angeles Angels $ 109,251,333
Chicago White Sox $ 108,671,833
Los Angeles Dodgers $ 108,454,524
Seattle Mariners $ 106,460,833
Chicago Cubs $ 99,670,332
Detroit Tigers $ 95,180,369
Baltimore Orioles $ 93,554,808
The Mets would have to rearrange their infield w/ Wright & Reyes. The White Sox are probably spending as much as Reinsdorf wants to spend. The Cubs are probably hamstrung while trying to sell the club. Doubt Seattle wants A-Rod, Part II. So, it'll probably be one of the L.A. teams or Detroit/Baltimore (or maybe the Giants).
But ... Dolberry encourages some of the smaller-market and traditionally-hapless clubs to think outside the box. They too, can get in on this sweepstakes w/ a little creativity.
The Reds, Royals, Pirates, Devil Rays, Marlins, and Nationals need to band together to sign an A-Rod timeshare. For only ~$60 mil (over 12 years, just 5 mil per year), they can secure the rights to A-Rod for one of the 6 months of the MLB season. ESPN could televise the drawing whereby each team found out what month they were getting that year.
This is in Michael Scott terms a "win win win". These lower teams secure access to a ballplayer they would normally have no chance of getting & the presumably higher attendance / revenue from "A-Rod" home dates (obviously, would require specialty pricing). A-Rod gets the salary he's looking for. And for fans of the Royals, for example, would you rather have Tony Pena and his .284 OBP in your lineup or a 3-time MVP?
There'd need to be some considerations obviously. With the increased travel this would put on A-Rod, we'd probably need to set aside the 1st & last days of each month as personal days. Who gets him in the playoffs shouldn't be an issue because the odds of two of the above six teams making the playoffs are pretty high even w/ a month of A-Rod.
Maybe even more imporantly ... I think this sets up a more realistic framework for how baseball contracts will work in the future. Everything will be a la carte. Everyone is a free agent until the rosters are announced for that days game (e.g., 4 hrs in advance). Say the Yankees have a big series coming up w/ Seattle. It's Labor Day and their 2 games back. They could get Josh Beckett's agent on the phone and work out a deal for a Beckett start (say maybe 8 mil ... 'cause they need this win). Beckett might only have to work 6-7 games a year & still be able to pull down 15-20 million. Players will be independent contractors like pro golfers. Each team will have to have a stable of "everyday'ers" (rookies, lower-salary guys that need the money & will play a Tuesday night game in PNC Park in mid-April) to be ready to fill in when teams don't feel like coughing up the cash (e.g., out of the race, small market, etc.). But even "everyday'ers" would be eligible for free agency after a year or two.
Traditionalists will howl. Dolberry himself will miss the old days, but what-the-hey, it'll still be better than soccer.
New York Yankees $ 189,639,045
Boston Red Sox $ 143,026,214
New York Mets $ 115,231,663
Los Angeles Angels $ 109,251,333
Chicago White Sox $ 108,671,833
Los Angeles Dodgers $ 108,454,524
Seattle Mariners $ 106,460,833
Chicago Cubs $ 99,670,332
Detroit Tigers $ 95,180,369
Baltimore Orioles $ 93,554,808
The Mets would have to rearrange their infield w/ Wright & Reyes. The White Sox are probably spending as much as Reinsdorf wants to spend. The Cubs are probably hamstrung while trying to sell the club. Doubt Seattle wants A-Rod, Part II. So, it'll probably be one of the L.A. teams or Detroit/Baltimore (or maybe the Giants).
But ... Dolberry encourages some of the smaller-market and traditionally-hapless clubs to think outside the box. They too, can get in on this sweepstakes w/ a little creativity.
The Reds, Royals, Pirates, Devil Rays, Marlins, and Nationals need to band together to sign an A-Rod timeshare. For only ~$60 mil (over 12 years, just 5 mil per year), they can secure the rights to A-Rod for one of the 6 months of the MLB season. ESPN could televise the drawing whereby each team found out what month they were getting that year.
This is in Michael Scott terms a "win win win". These lower teams secure access to a ballplayer they would normally have no chance of getting & the presumably higher attendance / revenue from "A-Rod" home dates (obviously, would require specialty pricing). A-Rod gets the salary he's looking for. And for fans of the Royals, for example, would you rather have Tony Pena and his .284 OBP in your lineup or a 3-time MVP?
There'd need to be some considerations obviously. With the increased travel this would put on A-Rod, we'd probably need to set aside the 1st & last days of each month as personal days. Who gets him in the playoffs shouldn't be an issue because the odds of two of the above six teams making the playoffs are pretty high even w/ a month of A-Rod.
Maybe even more imporantly ... I think this sets up a more realistic framework for how baseball contracts will work in the future. Everything will be a la carte. Everyone is a free agent until the rosters are announced for that days game (e.g., 4 hrs in advance). Say the Yankees have a big series coming up w/ Seattle. It's Labor Day and their 2 games back. They could get Josh Beckett's agent on the phone and work out a deal for a Beckett start (say maybe 8 mil ... 'cause they need this win). Beckett might only have to work 6-7 games a year & still be able to pull down 15-20 million. Players will be independent contractors like pro golfers. Each team will have to have a stable of "everyday'ers" (rookies, lower-salary guys that need the money & will play a Tuesday night game in PNC Park in mid-April) to be ready to fill in when teams don't feel like coughing up the cash (e.g., out of the race, small market, etc.). But even "everyday'ers" would be eligible for free agency after a year or two.
Traditionalists will howl. Dolberry himself will miss the old days, but what-the-hey, it'll still be better than soccer.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
No more Sarasota (after 2008)
Sarasota residents voted down a $16 mil bond referendum yesterday that would have kept the Reds in Sarasota for another 30 years. W/o the renovation of Ed Smith Stadium the Reds have said they will host their Spring Training games elsewhere.
There's the usual heated internet argument on the Sarasota Herald Leader page between "snowbirds" bemoaning the loss of their traditional visits to SRQ and those locals who are pleased that there'll be less traffic and "brain-dead" baseball fans. Dolberry agrees w/ both camps, Yes, one does have to be somewhat impaired in the brain dept. to pay $109 /night for rooms in those shabby Tamiami Trail hotels (Knights Inn, Sleep Inn, etc.). And yes, I will also miss greatly going to SRQ in future springs.
People always imply that voters are not smart enough to figure things out, but in this case I think one Sarasotan had the topic nailed.
"Let the Chicago Cubs or whoever they are pay for it themselves," retired Ohio school teacher Susan Slovensky said after voting no.
Dolberry agrees. If the Cubs can pay middle-reliever Scott Eyre $4 mil a year, they can pony up for repairs to Ed Smith Stadium. Even if they do play in AZ ...
And as usual, it is the politicians that have it all wrong. One local city councilman was on TV saying it could be a good thing. That they could raze Ed Smith and build needed youth soccer fields.
Soccer? Soccer?!? Councilman. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency? Soccer! Give me a break! Soccer.
There's the usual heated internet argument on the Sarasota Herald Leader page between "snowbirds" bemoaning the loss of their traditional visits to SRQ and those locals who are pleased that there'll be less traffic and "brain-dead" baseball fans. Dolberry agrees w/ both camps, Yes, one does have to be somewhat impaired in the brain dept. to pay $109 /night for rooms in those shabby Tamiami Trail hotels (Knights Inn, Sleep Inn, etc.). And yes, I will also miss greatly going to SRQ in future springs.
People always imply that voters are not smart enough to figure things out, but in this case I think one Sarasotan had the topic nailed.
"Let the Chicago Cubs or whoever they are pay for it themselves," retired Ohio school teacher Susan Slovensky said after voting no.
Dolberry agrees. If the Cubs can pay middle-reliever Scott Eyre $4 mil a year, they can pony up for repairs to Ed Smith Stadium. Even if they do play in AZ ...
And as usual, it is the politicians that have it all wrong. One local city councilman was on TV saying it could be a good thing. That they could raze Ed Smith and build needed youth soccer fields.
Soccer? Soccer?!? Councilman. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency? Soccer! Give me a break! Soccer.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Weekend Update
We had a great time in Winston-Salem last Friday. We wandered around the Wake Forest campus (small, but neat) a little bit ... telling APD it was his first official college visit. He was most impressed that Arnold Palmer went there. After that we got pizza at a Mellow Mushroom (cool pizza chain). Then we went to the show. Ruth, Relient K, & Switchfoot all rocked. Highlights were (obviously) "Meant to Live" from the Foot & (surprisingly) "Sleigh Ride" by RK. Then we went home.
Saturday & Sunday were less eventful. But fine.
The Canes are up 5-0 vs. the Caps right now. They're looking good for another long trip into the NHL playoffs ... some 6 months from now.
The glorious Billikens won their first exhibition game vs. UMSL. I have to go to a conference in St. Louis next week. (Hey, I just clicked on that link ... they have me listed as an "invited speaker" ... what a hoot.) Anyway, the glorious Billikens play the day before I get there & the day after I leave. Bummer.
The Browns have two marginally tough games next, then 6 really easy ones. They could go 10-6 w/o really trying, which would be pretty funny.
Am excited the Reds signed Dunn. Will be interesting to see if Sarasota voters pass the bond referendum tomorrow to share costs w/ the Reds in fixing up Ed Smith Stadium.
Saturday & Sunday were less eventful. But fine.
The Canes are up 5-0 vs. the Caps right now. They're looking good for another long trip into the NHL playoffs ... some 6 months from now.
The glorious Billikens won their first exhibition game vs. UMSL. I have to go to a conference in St. Louis next week. (Hey, I just clicked on that link ... they have me listed as an "invited speaker" ... what a hoot.) Anyway, the glorious Billikens play the day before I get there & the day after I leave. Bummer.
The Browns have two marginally tough games next, then 6 really easy ones. They could go 10-6 w/o really trying, which would be pretty funny.
Am excited the Reds signed Dunn. Will be interesting to see if Sarasota voters pass the bond referendum tomorrow to share costs w/ the Reds in fixing up Ed Smith Stadium.
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