Is Brian Hanley Gay?

Just askin.'

30 Ballparks I Have Been To

Wrigley Field
PNC Park
Coors Field
Safeco Field
SBC Park
Anaheim Stadium
Dodger Stadium
Jack Murphy Stadium
Royals Stadium
Milwaukee County Stadium
Comerica Park
Riverfront Stadium
Great American Ballpark
Busch Stadium
New Busch Stadium
Fenway Park
Comiskey Park
U.S. Cellular Field
Miller Park
Three Rivers Stadium
Veterans Stadium
Fulton County Stadium
Enron Field
Astrodome
Joe Robbie Stadium
Bank One Ballpark
Skydome
Olympic Stadium
Metrodome
Shea Stadium

Dan Serafini leads Soccer County in Upset Baseball Victory over Hockey Country

Dan Serafini, last seen being banned for using steroids after stops in Japan and the 2007 Rockies expanded September roster, beat Team Canada for Team Italy. Using the loosest rules, the native of California started for Italy and went three innings for a team whose batting coach is Mike Piazza.

Couldn't be bothered to check Italy's roster, but I bet not too many spent any significant time in the country. They beat a pretty good Canadian lineup actually, and a team that played the U.S. real close.

I enjoy the World Baseball Classic, and would love to spend some quality time in a Caribbean ballpark in March 2013, when they do this again.


Knowing that my alter ego, or is it the other way around is still playing makes me really enjoy it. Another great thing, Lee Arthur Smith is the pitching coach for South Africa, who are on the verge of elimination by Mexico as I type.

The End of the 2008 Cubs: An Exercise in Catharsis

I was fearful of the 5 game series all season, and knew that the whole thing could come crashing down in 4 days. I was optimistic, but realistic. The LA team the Cubs played early this year was nothing like the team that went ~16-7 in September, and had dominating pitching from Lowe and Billingsley. The Cubs played their best baseball in June-early August.

Game 1 - I had told people that all it would take is one early HR to deflate the ballpark, and that Dempster, while good/very good all year, was never really dominant. The crowd wasn’t really that hyped at gametime, which may have been because it was 530p, and when Dempster kept walking guys (he wasn’t getting squeezed, he was wild), you knew it was a matter of time. Sho’ nuf, the grand slam ended the game, and the crowd knew it.

Game 2 – I was confident that Zambrano (on long rest) would pitch well, and the 830p start meant a much more lively crowd pre-game. They played Going the Distance from Rocky as Z ended his warmups and went to the dugout, and the crowd was as loud and electric as I can remember at Wrigley. Very positive energy. Z then blew the Dodgers away in the 1st, and in the second gave up a lead off single, then got three straight double play balls. The first was a single that went through shortstop, as Theriot was covering second on a hit and run. Bad break. The next two batters hit routine ground balls that DeRosa and Lee booted. Inexcusable. Then Furcal bunts for a hit. Then Martin hits a ringing double. 5-0, all unearned, but they count. Game over, series over.

Game 3 – I resisted all efforts to get me to a bar to watch, and the Long Haired Filipino Dogwalker and I watched at my house. I told LHFD that if the Cubs don’t take the lead early, they lose. Dodgers get a two-out RBI hit in the first, and it was done for. The body language of the Cubs was awful, like a late-era Knight IU team during an early round loss to Pepperdine.

As far as the offense, I always believed that pitching and defense win in the post-season, as only the good pitchers pitch. The fact that the Cubs didn’t get hits (in any situation) was not surprising, as they faced a good staff that was peeking.

They won most of their games by scoring 5+ runs, and you cannot or should not expect that in the post season. You need to catch the ball and make good pitches on good hitters. The Cubs did neither.

Neither Soriano or anyone else here is catching flack, but I am avoiding coverage, so who knows. He is who he is, and I had no expectations of October greatness from him.

As my brother and I talked about the 2009 Cubs during the end of Game 2, I think Lee is a guy who is expendable. He never expresses a great love of the fan base (sometimes the opposite), has seemed distracted (rightfully so, his daughter is going blind) all year, and spoke openly about the pressure the team felt after Game 3. There was a tangential reference to him going (possibly to San Francisco) in the Tribune’s ‘look ahead’ article I read.

Ah, that felt better. That is the most I talked/wrote about since it happened. Thanks for the catharsis.

(I am looking forward to the expansion IU Hoosier bball team. They could be OK, like .500, and a victory over Illinois, I think, is possible)

More Evidence That the Brewers are Weak Minded

The Brewers' Corey Hart said it was great to escape the boo-birds in Milwaukee and get to a more serene place -- ehhhhh, Philadelphia? "Actually, it felt more like a home game than playing in Miller Park," Hart said. "We didn't hear the boos that we sometimes hear at home. … A guy makes an error, a guy strikes out, and you hear your hometown booing you. It makes you ready to get out of there and go somewhere else for a while. I think we're all looser here."

Todd Rundgren's 'Stood Up'

When I found we could have some brains
I was the first in line, cause we were, like
Dragging our knuckles along the ground

(dragging our knuckles along the ground)

Ever since, I've been convinced that every

Sacred thought is mine, and you were still

Dragging your knuckles along the ground

(dragging your knuckles along the ground)

Cause I think I'm there, dude

(don't get ahead of yourself)

I think I'm there, dude (Already high)

And when they asked us who will lead

I thought it surely must be me

But I stood up too fast(I stood up too fast)

Because as soon as I was boss

The next one in line took my head clean off

Cause I stood up too fast(I stood up too fast)

I was barely in my teens when I decided I was tired

Of always like dragging my knuckles along the ground

(dragging my knuckles along the ground)

So with all due haste I based until I got so freakin wired

Forgot I was dragging my knuckles along the ground

(dragging my knuckles along the ground)

I thought I was there, dude (you'll got ahead of yourself)

I thought I was there, dude

Already high

And when they asked for volunteers

I must have thought they said 'drink beers'

And I stood up too fast(I stood up too fast)

I can imagine things that can't possibly exist

And then I add them to an ever-expanding list

And when I've solved every significant test there is

Then I'll move on no matter how many clues I've missed

It's so easy to be smart but it's a struggle to be wise

You shouldn't be always throwing your weight around

(always throwing your weight around)

It's much better to be humble than to have a big hat size

Or you'll be just begging somebody to take you down

(begging somebody to take you down)

And you'll be nowhere, man (you got ahead of yourself)

And you'll be nowhere, man

Already high

And right before your very eyes

I have ignored my own advice

Cause I stood up too fast

(I stood up too fast)

And nobody has the slightest choice

But to put up with my droning voice

When I stood up too fast

(I stood up too fast)

From Illini Red Shirt to Champaign County Orange Suit?

An arrest warrant has been issued for Illinois basketball player Jamar Smith after prosecutors filed paperwork to revoke his probation for allegedly drinking alcohol.

The 21-year-old Peoria man is serving two years of probation after pleading guilty last year to felony driving under the influence causing great bodily harm. He drove a car into a tree in February 2007, injuring former teammate Brian Carlwell.

Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz says the warrant was issued after police investigated an incident outside a campus bar called Fubar. Details weren't immediately available.

Smith is a junior guard who sat out last season after his guilty plea.
Illinois coach Bruce Weber wasn't immediately available for comment.

He later said, "I run a scummy program, and I cannot even recruit. What do you want from me?"

Too Bad He's Dead...George Carlin

The first two minutes of this clip are the truest words I have ever heard.

Bruce Weber Sucks Cock...Don't Put that on the Internet

Major league whiner, minor league coach, and a man who effectively blew off his mother's death, makes the obvious point that Indiana will struggle because of developments in the program.

Funny Guy Weber told the Peoria Star: The league should be wide open and we can be right in the middle of it. I do know one thing, though. I think Indiana will suck. Don't put that on the Internet."

This is also the same coach that punished Jamar Smith, who left his teammate for dead after a drunken driving accident, by forcing him to redshirt.

What will the NCAA do with IU?

The NCAA will give IU a strong talking to, wag their finger, shake their collective head disappointingly and issue sanctions that will involve everything and anything but the one thing that would effect the NCAA's bottom line: TV and/or Tournament bans.

There is a reason that IU is on CBS a maximum number of times per season, and never get the early morning first round tournament times: TV ratings. That's me being cynical.

IU, for its part, will point a finger at Sampson ,who I suppose is a scumbag, but not more so than the people still at IU who enabled him.

They, and Tom Crean (for completely different yet equally selfish reasons), hope the story goes away and we can then focus on the literal sinkhole that is IU football, which features their version of Mike Davis, a suspended star, and increased capacity for a stadium that is, on its best days, half full.