Payroll Keeps Climbing

The Boss is growing old and impatient, and his Yanks are overdue for another penant. He gave the green light yet again to Brian Cashman to do anything it takes to give the Bombers the biggest edge in the A.L. The Yanks grabbed ex-HR Derby champ Bobby Abreu and solid pitcher Cory Lidle from the Phillies for 4 insignificant minor league prospects. Abreu did come with a hefty price tag, but hopefully his HR power will resurface on his new team. He struggled this year with the Phils, but he's a player. Lidle is not a strong pitcher, but very consistent, hopefully like the Moose. Today, the Yanks added Craig Wilson, who played first and outfield for the Pirates, and will most likely take the Giambino's spot at first, and add some more potency to the offense. Shawn Chacon was traded for Wilson. I must say I'm a little baffled that Cash and Torre are so worried about more offense, especially since Sheff, Matsui, and Cano will be back very soon. Lidle will help, but the pitching is far from dominant, and as everyone knows, pitching wins championships. It should get interesting in the next couple of months.

Durango History on Fire!

It was a sad day in Durango, CO on Saturday, as the locals watched
a historic landmark go up in flames. El Rancho Tavern is a staple
on Main Ave., and the apartments up top claim home
to many of Durango's unique characters.
El Rancho has caused many a headache for the locals, but fortunately the bar
reopened at 8 am for Bloody's and breakfast at The Diner next door.
The cause, and the amount of damage is still unknown, but sources say
things do not look good for the historic landmark, where boxing great
Jack Dempsey once held a fight. Good luck down there.

Mennonite Sandwich

Do you come from the land of Dutch Pennsylvania? Floyd Landis, the successor to Lance Armstrong, apparently tossed his purist, religious upbringing out the window, as he tested positive for performance enhancers. While Lance was accused every year, he never tested positive. Floyd is still not guilty, but things do not look so good for Landis and the victory at the Tour de France. Not that anyone really cares about the sport now that Lance the Poster Boy has left the building, but what sucks is the French finally get to say, I told you so. If it is true, Landis may have experienced his last spandex sensation in Paris. It might be back to no electricity, phones, tv, and anything enjoyable in life; with the exception of some sweet quilts and curtain dresses.

Harold Gets The Axe

Harold Reynolds, the star of Baseball Tonight has been fired by ESPN, but the reason has not been disclosed yet (nor are they required to do so). The rumor mill from Deadspin has heard through their sources that Reynolds had a long history of sexual harassment complaints from the ladies in Bristol. Others claim that he inflated the b.s. trade talk of A-rod during his slumping weekend, and lost it with the front office who were afraid of lawsuits. We'll find out soon enough. It's a shame though, because Harold and Peter Gammons were two of the best commentators on Baseball Tonight Now they're both gone (Gammons will be back eventually). If this means more of Joe Morgan, my mute button will be heavily used.

Flickr Hacks

(Click Image to Enlarge)

For fun with your Flickr photos, check out Flagrant Disregard,

and make all sorts of cool creations with your Flickr photos. If
you don't have Flickr yet, what are you waiting for? By the way,
you can catch this Oscar shoe-in at Sundance next year.

Number 11 for Tiger

Congratulations to Tiger Woods for a solid outing at this years
British Open at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake. In an emotional finish
dedicated to his dad, who recently passed away, Tiger was only
challenged by Chris DeMarco, who would not let up. This Open
marks Tiger's 11th Major, and the number to beat is 18 set by
The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus.

Take a Deep Breath

Okay, as Joe Torre does whenever any Yankee player is in trouble, I was asked to supply words of wisdom. Alex Rodriguez is struggling to say the least. In the field, he is making Chuck Knoblauch look like a gold-glove infielder. A-Rod has made several game-blowing errors this season, and his lack of clutch hitting has made him a booing favorite among Yankee fans. Today, against the Blue Jays he was removed from third base by Torre, and made the DH; in an attempt to rid him of the mental anguish of his throwing problems. Well, A-Rod responded by going 0-4 with 4 strikeouts; one with the bases loaded. Many Yankee fans are worried. I'm not. A-Rod is arguably one of the greatest baseball players ever. His problem is he is too competitive and always wants to do too much. That is the sign of a true champion, but in trying so hard, he is not using his talents naturally. A-Rod will be fine, he just needs to relax, and do what he does best without letting the NYC pressures and the media hype get in his head. July is a good time to go through the meltdown, and he'll be back when it really matters; end of the season. I'm not enjoying this slump, as the Yanks need to start gaining ground on Boston, but they will come around and so will A-Rod. Your welcome, Joe.

Madison Ave. Rejects

This is a pretty funny site I found at Boing Boing-A Directory of Wonderful Things. The site is called Worth 1000, and it is basically a Best Of site for Photoshop tweakers, weird ads, and various multimedia designs. Artistic, but some funny stuff, like this Absolut advertisement, that has been in the Absolut vault for some time, as it was never allowed to go public (at least not in the US). Click on pictures to enlarge. This site is too massive to explain, but there were some funny ads that never made it to mainstream America; and some are pretty obvious as to why. For a good laugh, browse through the endless collections at Worth 1000, and if you want a great blog that is slowly sucking me in, do not bypass Boing Boing, it's full of useless tidbits that you just can't do without.

That's What I'm Talkin' Bout

More Little Things

From Lifehacker, I give you this incredibly simple and unmeaningful piece of computer advice that made me happy. Have you ever tried to find a program from the start menu and look at the mile long list of programs installed on your computer? Ever notice that they are not in alphabetical order and that if you are like me, I usually go up and down several times, thinking that the program disappeared much like my socks in the dryer? Well, while you are simplifying your life, start with the alphabetizing the program list on your start menu. Here's how:

1. Hit the Start menu and click All programs at the bottom
2. Move cursor over any program (Accessories, Itunes....)
3. Right click (or Shift F10 for keyboard shortcut fans)
4. Hit "Sort by Name" and all of your programs are now in alphabetical order

That's it. I know it's not too exciting, but you're lying if that doesn't give you just a little satisfaction.

Creepin' Back...

You know what I'm talkin' about.

P.S. Congrats on #400

Sports Blog of Note

While I hate the logo, Deadspin (sort of a weird ESPN-twist) is a great blog covering more of the social aspects to sports stories; i.e. controversial. They are very quick to make fun of troubled ballers (perhaps, Bonds), or just stories of interest in the sports world. Deadspin is from the Gawker family of blogs responsible for my all time favorite, Lifehacker. For all the sports fanatics, or just those who need to read about the latest arrests of your favorite athletes, you'll find it at Deadspin.

Shakey in Nashville

Neil Young has just released a DVD, Heart of Gold, directed by Jonathan Demme that is not your ordinary music documentary. Neil and a close group of musical friends debut Neil's Prairie Wind album live at the Ryman Auditorium at the Grand Ole Opery. Demme directs this film capturing the soul of Neil and Young's true respect and love for American music. This is a 2-dvd set with the first being the live concert from Nashville with the entire new album and many classic Neil tunes all done acoustically and to perfection. The second disc is the footage of making the movie in which Demme demonstrates his respect for music and film, and his mastery of storytelling. I was amazed at the narrative and sincerity of this project. The tone of this movie is real, and Neil's commitment to the roots of Americana music in Nashville is genuine. Much more than I expected.

It's the Little Things...

Mo' Money

All the baseball 'experts' picked Jenks or Papelbon to close
the All-Star game if it came down to it. Maybe Ozzie isn't as crazy
as everyone thinks, as he knew who the best closer in baseball
really is. Thanks Mariano for sealing up home field advantage
for the Yanks in October.

The Original Pink

The reclusive founder of Pink Floyd somehow made it to the age of 60, before he recently passed away from undisclosed causes. Syd joins the ranks of Keith Richards for those who defy the odds of living into their adult years based on their healthy lifestyles. While Syd did not last too long with Pink Floyd, he was instrumental in creating one of the British powerhouses, so I will pay my respects. Pink Floyd has always scared me, and Syd's influence may have something to do with it. Despite the chills I get just thinking about The Wall, Pink Floyd remains high on my best bands list, and I must give props to their founder.

Hearsay in NYC...

This is a pretty entertaining site, called Overheard in New York,
where people submit conversations heard throughout New York City, on the subways, busses, on the street...Some of the conversations are hilarious, and probably all too common in NYC. For a good laugh, check it out.

It's Even Funnier When You Realize It's Nine A.M.
Drunk Irish woman: What time is it?
Drunk Irish man: Nine o'clock.
Drunk Irish woman: It's early! The bars are open until four here. We still have [pauses to count on her fingers] seven hours!

--uptown 1 train

Vintage Bear

This story cracked me up. A black bear cub in Lake Tahoe was found eating a jalapeno pizza, drank the remains of a Jack and Coke, and an Absolut and tonic from a convertible Buick Skylark. I like his style.

Ouch!

Cleveland 19, NY Yankees 1

July 4, 2006 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E NY Yankees 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 1 Cleveland 4 3 0 0 9 1 2 0 X 19 21 1

This was George Steinbrenner's Birthday Present.

Enjoy Your Freedom!

Marketing 101 Needed

The champagne Cristal, is one of France's best-selling wines. High in quality, bottles sell for $300 in stores to $400-600 in bars. Celebrities fill their bathtubs with Cristal on a regular basis. While the French believe it's the quality of their bubbly, it is the rap industry who put Cristal on the map all over the world. Every other rapper talks about Cris, and every kid from suburbia recognizes the shiny gold bottle. Cristal is one of many brand names whose CEO's should be down on bended knees to the rap industry, thanking them for their success. Well, apparently the French company of Cristal, has pissed off the monster of the rap game, Jay-Z with some comments about not having any power to stop rappers from drinking their fine champagne. Well Jay-Z has banned Cris from the 40/40 club, and others are following suit. It's probably Jay-Z who started the Cris phenomenon, and it looks like it might be him that knocks it out. To the CEO of Cristal: Nobody really cares if your champagne goes good with tilapia, and you should maybe embrace those who have filled your pockets for the past decade or so. You may not see Fat Joe at your next wine club social, but you should be kissing his butt every chance you get.

iPizzle...

This is a pretty humorous article from Wired News explaining many different descriptions of the beloved iPod that have made it into the Urban Slang Dictionary. I was unaware of the nomenclature that has developed over the iPod, but some of the terms definitely apply. I personally suffer from iPod A.D.D., especially when purchasing music from iTunes. This is the anxiety of deciding which song to purchase that is worthy enough to make it to my playlist. It's like going to Blockbuster and walking around hopelessly deciding what movie your in the mood for. As a download junkie and collector of music for my iPod, I thought some of the terms were pretty comical. For those who know who you are, it's time to get hip to the slang.

Worthy Red Sox Fan

For those who follow baseball, Peter Gammons is a class act and he knows his stuff. Gammons had a brain aneurysm earlier this week, but is reportedly doing well. Not sure if he'll return to ESPN anytime soon, but his accurate and thoughtful commentary will be missed. Hopefully this does not mean that Joe Morgan (the worst announcer ever) gets more air time. Best of luck Peter Gammons and get well.