UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

Did Ryan Church really miss third base, costing the Mets the lead in the top half of the 11th?

Did Xavier Paul’s fly ball really fall between LF Angel Pagan and CF Carlos Beltran?

And what the heck was with that throw to the plate???

Cue Yackety Sax!

- So over at The Consumerist about a week ago, I read an article about how Chase was “inviting” certain customers to skip a payment on their credit cards, clearly with the intention to charge interest rates on existing balances.  I told myself, “Gee, I wish Chase would do that with my balance transfer!”

Fast forward to today, and I noticed something peculiar on my Excel spreadsheet made for bills.  According to the spreadsheet, I had already paid off my Chase Freedom card for the month of April (you know, the one that was made better than ever recently, if by better than ever, I mean FUBARed).  I wasn’t sure if that was right, though, so I logged in to my Chase online account.

(I know that a payment is due on a credit card account when there is a figure under the minimum payment due.  In addition, the first thing I check when I log on to my Chase account are the notices on the left hand side of the page.  Once a payment clears, the minimum payment due resets to zero, the notice goes away, and I make a note on my spreadsheet that the account is paid.)

I looked at my Freedom account, noted the minimum payment due was $0, and thought that that was peculiar.  I investigated further, and that’s when I saw the last payment date of April 13.  I knew that that didn’t sound right, so I opened up a PDF copy of my statement, and that’s when I saw the blurb quoted in the Consumerist article above:

You have the flexibility to skip a payment. you must pay past due and overlimit [sic] balances immediately. However, the remaining minimum payment for this month has been reduced to $0. Finance charges will continue to accrue. To reduce your balance, feel free to make a payment.

Thank goodness that my minimum payment of $0 was due on May 21.  It was only a $120 balance, so I suppose it wouldn’t have been a big deal if I missed the payment (even at 24%, that’s about $5 out of my pocket).  Still, that’s a few bucks of mine that Chase nearly got their hands on.

- I had a Status-Now.com rebate that was in rebate limbo from all the way back in November of 2008.  Being the lazy bastard that I am, I waited until a few days ago to inquire about the rebate.  After a brief wait on hold, I was told that the rebate was invalid due to a duplicate submission(?!?).  I couldn’t find my rebate scans, so I told the rep that I would call right back.

I checked Status-Now.com, and sure enough, it appeared that I did file duplicate rebates.  WTF, I thought to myself.  I could’ve sworn that the two rebate entries were different, and without the rebate form, how was I gonna prove it?

It took a bit of, um, URL “engineering,” but I eventually found the proper rebate form.  I called Status-Now right back, gave them the promo code of the rebate, and was stunned to hear what the rep told me.

(paraphrasing) “Sir, that rebate promotion code is for a promotion that hasn’t yet occured.”

…….

Huh?

About a minute later, I finally was able to speak again.  “Come again?” I said.

The rep put me on hold, came back on soon after, and explained that there was “probably” a typo on the rebate form.  She explained that, in the event that the promotion code is incorrect, the system automatically tries to process the rebate under the closest promotion code.

OK.

Long story short, the rep created a new record for me—she had to process it under a promotion that I’ve already done, but she assured me that it would be OK—and that she would expedite the rebate process.

Whew.

Until next time…whenever the hell that is.

Tags: angel pagan, carlos beltran, chase, chase freedom, consumerist, los angeles dodgers, minimum payment, new york mets, rebate error, ryan church, status-now, yackety sax // Add Comment »

You know it’ll take a huge story (or in this case, two!) to get me to blog again.

First things first, though.

Quick-hitters:

- 90 degrees with a RealFeel temp of 95.

I’ve officially turned off my internal “Complain About the Cold Weather” switch and turned on the “Complain About the Hot Weather” one.

- Time Warner strikes again, and I’m not talking about their threats to put usage caps on broadband users.

I called them up about a month ago, asking for ways to reduce my bill.  They offered me HBO and Cinemax for $10/mo—I was paying $15 for HBO alone—which I accepted.  They also offered to drop my Road Runner plan down to the ‘Basic’ level:  1.5Mbps down and 384kbps up.

(Not long ago, RoadRunner raised my speeds to about 8Mbps down/1Mbps up, from 5Mbps down/512k up.)

I couldn’t fathom those speeds, so I kept the RR package I was on.

Two billing statements later…and my bill is almost the same as it was prior to the changes.  You see, apparently, TW raised rates AGAIN in April, coinciding with my attempted rate reduction.

- Once again, Fry’s is coming through for me over a rebate hassle, this time with a pair of AVG rebates handled by the now bankrupt Continental Promotions Group (CPG).

Unfortunately, unlike past instances, Fry’s dragged their feet this time around. Back in January, I emailed Fry’s about two “lost” rebates, totaling $30.  Two days later, I got a reply saying that they needed me to fax in my rebate documentation.  I did so, and got an email soon after saying that they were going to look in to it.

Out of laziness, I didn’t follow up on my rebate resubmission until March.  I sent Fry’s another email, asking about the status of my rebates.  Here was their response:

Thank you for contacting Frys.com.

It was giving to the Rebate department and they will be handling your
paperwork. They should be e-mailing you shortly.

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

I wonder what would have happened if I never bothered to email them.

A month later (again, out of laziness), I still had yet to hear anything about my rebates.  I sent Fry’s another email, asking for an update.  Here was their response:

I do apologize for all the inconvenience this may have caused. We have
done a change in our rebate inquiry department. And your forms have
been misplaced. Again my sincere apologies, if you could please fax
them again and we will expedite them to get you, your refund. So if you
could please fax at the number below.

Needless to say, I was livid.  They lost my rebate documentation, and they couldn’t have told me this earlier?

Naturally, as an a**hole customer, I sent them a hate-filled email, demanding quick resolution to this situation.  Here was their latest reply:

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to assist you with your rebate
inquiry. Please be assured that we are committed to having your rebates
honored. Due to the inconvenience, we will be issuing a check for the
rebate amount of $10.00 and $20.00. You should expect your rebate check
within the next following 4-6 weeks. Again, we apologize for the
inconvenience and thank you in advance for your patience and
understanding.

Usually, Fry’s first response to a rebate resubmission resembles the response above (nice alliteration, eh?).  I should have known that I was going to be in for a fight when I didn’t receive an immediate response from the Fry’s rebate department.

I’ll update this post (I promise!) if/when I get the rebate check(s).

Sure, I understand that eating a pair of rebates because a rebate company went bankrupt sucks, but that doesn’t justify jerking around with a customer.

- So much was going right for the Dodgers so far this season that you knew something was going to happen.  Never in my wildest dreams, however, seeing this headline on Yahoo! Sports this morning:

Dodgers star slugger Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games for a drug violation.

Although the news still hasn’t quite sunk in yet, here are my quick thoughts on the story:

1) AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Now that I got that out of my system…

2) Am I really supposed to believe that Manny used an alleged sexual enhancer?

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the substance is supposed to boost sex drive.

Two sources said Ramirez tested positive for a gonadotropin. Major League baseball’s list of banned substances includes the gonadotropins LH and HCG, which are most commonly used by women as fertility drugs. They also can be used to trigger testosterone production. Testosterone is depleted by steroid use, which can cause sexual dysfunction.

Yeah, right, and Raffy Palmeiro really took a B-12 shot.

EDIT:  Now that I’ve had some time to digest the news, let me add that there is a chance, of course, that Manny really did just mess up, and he wasn’t really juicing.  If it really was just an honest screw up, then good, but can you really blame me for assuming the worst?

3) So what does this mean for the Dodgers this year?  I think they’ll be fine, as long as Manny produces once he’s allowed back on to the field.  In the meantime, you know Hudson and Ethier are going to take huge hits to their production, you know Furcal, Loney, and Martin are going to have to produce, and the thought of Juan Pierre in “Mannywood” has to give Dodger fans flashbacks of…2008…unless prospect OF Xavier Paul immediately starts hitting the cover off the ball.

*shudder*

Here’s a scary thought.  What if Andruw Jones had re-dedicated himself BEFORE he was paid by the Dodgers to go away, and became a semi-productive fourth OF for the Dodgers this season?

I can dream, can’t I?

With the rest of the NL Worst being plain awful, I don’t see the Dodgers losing too much ground in the standings.  Remember, we weren’t too bad last year with three automatic outs in our lineup every game:  Jones, whoever manned SS, and the pitcher’s spot.  As long as Billingsley and Wolf keep pitching well, and we get anything out of the 4 and 5 spot in the rotation, and if the bullpen holds up…

Ok, now I’m nervous.  It is really that outrageous to suggest that the entire Dodgers season might hinge on Chad Billingsley’s leg and Orlando Hudson’s wrist?

Then again, do not discount the possibility of 2008 redux, when the Dodgers acquired Manny in the summer.  When the Dodgers get him back in July, would anybody be surprised if he plays out of his mind down the stretch again?

(Would it also not surprise me if he dogs the rest of the season, accepts the option for next year, and goes “Manny?”  Sigh.)

4) So what does this mean for Manny’s HOF credibility?  Ask me again later.  I still haven’t decided if A-Rod, Bonds, and Clemens are no longer HOF worthy.

Why?  Simply put, do we know exactly when these players were juicing?  Were they HOFers before they started juicing?  Does that even matter?

5) And what does this mean for the rest of the MLB?  Albert Pujols must really be uncomfortable today.  When A-Rod got caught taking steroids in 2003, that just about make everybody skeptical about everyone in an MLB uniform.  How do we know that Pujols, Pedroia, Hamilton, Longoria, etc., never cheated either?  Manny’s suspension is only going to fan those flames even more.  I wonder how many fans got turned off by MLB over the A-Rod roid scandal, and how many more will get turned off over today’s news.

EDIT:  Despite my backtracking above (see the previous edit), I still stand by my statement that this story is going to continue to “fan those flames.”  How can it not?  And what if Manny is lying about the use of this drug?  Then what?

Oh yeah, and props to me for avoiding any Viagra- or Cialis-type jokes!

- Finally, after the Royal Rumble last night at Staples Center, I’m worried over who is going to get suspended for Game 3.

If we’re going by the letter of the law, Derek Fisher is going to get suspended for sure.  Kobe Bryant might, as well, and I’m 50/50 on whether or not Ron Artest will get suspended too.  I’m 50/50 not because I think he deserves to be suspended, but don’t tell me the “Malice at the Palace” incident still isn’t fresh in the minds of the NBA.

I’ll admit that I laughed when Scola, after talking crap to practically the entire 5 on the court for the Lakers, got smacked down by Fisher, the same way that I’m sure that Phoenix Suns fans are still laughing at Raja Bell’s “Ole!” takedown of Kobe in Game 5 of the Suns-Lakers series from a few years back.

Don’t expect me to buy Fisher’s argument that the play looked worse than it was because “because Scola stopped short of where [he] expected him to be.”  We all saw Fisher man-hug his teammates and walk off the court with a huge grin on his face.  And don’t expect Scola to apologize for running into your head with his chest.

As for the Kobe elbow to Artest, the letter of the law says he should be suspended as well; then again, Rajon Rando mistakened Brad Miller’s head for a pinata and, not only did he not get called for a flagrant or get suspended, he was revered by his own coach!  I thought the Kobe elbow was flagrant, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Dwight Howard’s elbow “punch” to Samuel Dalembert’s head.  I do wish there was a better camera angle of the incident, though, than the one showing us only the backs of both players.  It still wouldn’t surprise me if Kobe got suspended for the elbow, however.

EDIT:  Here’s a reverse-angle replay of the elbow.  It looked pretty flagrant to me.)

(Speaking of Rondo, if the league suspends Orlando G Rafer Alston for slapping the back of Celtics G Eddie House’s head—and they should, IMO—that’s just gonna make Rondo’s non-flagrant, non-suspension after Game 5 of the Celtics-Bulls series even more ridiculous.)

So what do I think will happen?  Kobe and Fisher will be suspended for Game 3, and the Lakers will get run right off the floor.  They’ll steal Game 4 in another bloodbath, and the league will agree to line the Staples Center floor with barbed wire and a steel fence in preparation for Game 5.

If ever I wanted a series to go best of 15, this is it!

See ya in three months :P.

Tags: avg, billing, cpg, derek fisher, drug violation, eddie house, frys, hot temperatures, houston rockets, kobe bryant, los angeles dodgers, los angeles lakers, lost submission, luis scola, manny, manny being manny, PEDs, rafer alston, rebate, road runner, ron artest, steroids, time warner // Add Comment »

Yeah, I know I haven’t blogged in forever, and this blog entry may or may not signify the return of my blog.  I haven’t posted in forever for a number of reasons, none of which I will get to in this entry.

However, after watching one of the finer Super Bowls in recent memory—no, it won’t exceed last year’s game, but it was sure a heck of a lot better than the stink-fests of 2006 and 2007—I just had to post my thoughts on the game.

On with it.

- Raise your hand if you thought James Harrison’s 100-yard pick and TD was the nail in the coffin for the Cardinals.

*raises hand*

To call that play ridiculously amazing is an understatement, and the timing of it (end of half, with the Cards at the Steelers’ one yard line, knowing that they were probably going to punch it in AND get the ball to start the second half) screamed absolute “stomach punch,” to borrow a phrase from ESPN’s Bill Simmons.

(During the half time show, Mike Holmgren asked why Warner didn’t throw a better pass, one that had a ~ 0% chance of being picked.  I tend to agree; they had three shots at the end zone.  Why not throw three fades?)

I try not to use superlatives often, but that play might go down as the biggest momentum-shifter in Super Bowl history.  I still couldn’t believe it happened.  It was certainly the most memorable play since…last year, of course.  And to think, the play might still only be a footnote in the history pages of Super Bowl XLIII, because of the events of the fourth quarter!

- MVP Santonio Holmes definitely deserved to win the honors.  I’m glad that Big Ben, freak of nature that he is, did not win the award.  Holmes picked on Cards’ DB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie all game, and of course, Holmes made the two biggest plays of the game on the Steelers’ game winning drive.

- I’ve read that the Cardinals played with somewhat of a “We’re happy to be here” attitude, and I don’t buy that at all.  Never mind the fact that that excuse waters down the Steelers’ record-setting sixth Super Bowl win, but a team doesn’t 1) have a shot at a 14-10 halftime lead with all the momentum in the world AND the ball to start the second half, nor 2) rally from 13 points down to the brink of a Super Bowl, because they played like they were just “happy to be here.”

Kurt Warner played his butt off, Larry Fitzergald was amazing—even if it took a half for his greatness to show up—and Boldin, Breaston, and James (at times) came up with big plays to keep the Cards in the game.  I just hope Warner is remembered more for the 300+ yard passing game and the near-comeback, rather than the disastrous pick-six and the end-of-game fumble (more on the latter later).

- Overall, the game greatly exceeded my expectations.  I picked the Steelers to win handily, 27-13, and I was more than pleased that the game was closer than I anticipated.  However, I have two major gripes about the game:

1) James Harrison’s sick 100-yard pick and return will be remembered for years to come, but why is nobody talking about the sucker punch/forearm shivers combo delivered to the Cards’ Aaron Francisco (warning:  obnoxious music, NSFW language, and ridiculous Steeler myopia…just read the description)?  Michaels and Madden touched upon it during the game, but they were talking more about the fact that the penalty might have been a pre-kick penalty (it wasn’t) than the fact that it was totally classless and completely unnecessary.  Yeah, like Harrison’s MMA-like attack impacted the play in any way.

I haven’t read a single article on any sports web site even mentioning the sucker punch!  Why is this?  Do you see ANY mention of the penalty in this ESPN article?

(And Gene Wojciechowski:  the Steelers won the “right way?”  Really?  Sucker punches included?

Yeah, now I’m just splitting hairs at this point, and I must admit that Mr. Wojciechowski makes one excellent point:  the Steelers should be ahead of the Cowboys for the “America’s Team” moniker.)

How Harrison wasn’t tossed on the spot was mind-boggling, and the apparent sweeping under the rug of the sucker punch is ridiculous.  A fine and a suspension for at least one game next year seems fitting, considering the magnitude of the game.

In my eyes, the play will forever leave a stain on the game, and it’s completely unfair given the events of the epic fourth quarter.

EDIT:  (from Digg) Here’s another blog agreeing with me that Harrison’s play was dirty and warranted an immediate ejection.

2) Also, why was the penultimate play (Warner’s apparent fumble) not reviewed by the officials?  Isn’t this the type of play that the replay system is designed for?

After watching a couple of the replays, I was pretty confident that a challenge would not have reversed the call anyway; although his arm was going forward, he was stripped before he made a throwing motion.  However, are you telling me that the call on the field was so certainly correct that there was no point in, at the very least, looking at it on replay?  What if the head official looked at the replay and saw something that I didn’t see?  What if he saw enough conclusive evidence to overturn the fumble call?

Save your “Well, even if it was overturned, the Cards still needed 45 yards to get in to the end zone!”  That’s not the point of this rant.  If you have a challenge system designed to get questionable calls scrutinized and, if an error has been made, corrected, why would the officials not use it on THAT play?  It makes no sense to me.

Two closing thoughts:

Big Ben is well on his way to the HOF.  You can’t argue against two Super Bowl rings, even if one might have been *cough, cough* “referee-assisted.”

Kurt Warner?  I’m torn.  I love the guy, and even though he’s 1-2 in Super Bowls, consider that he took the St. Lous Rams to the Super Bowl TWICE and the lowly Arizona Cardinals once.  Brett Favre (*gag*) made it to two Super Bowls and went 1-1, and people forget how good the Packers’ defense was in those years.  Arizona’s defense was good in the postseason, but no one’s going to argue that they greatly overachieved, and their defense was nothing compared to the Packers’ D of those years.

I think Warner gets into the HOF, definitely not on the first ballot, but he’ll probably sneak it somewhere down the road.

Tags: 100-yard touchdown, anquan boldin, ben roethlisberger, hall of fame, HOF, interception, james harrison, kurt warner, larry fitzgerald, mvp, santonio holmes, stomach punch, sucker punch, super bowl xliii // 4 Comments »

Go!

- My friends in Morocco, Japan, and Italy, I assure you that Michael Scott is only kidding. You too, Ca-NA-da.

I hope.

- Michael: “My boss is sending me abroad to do a presentation to an international client, and I have always been intrigued by all things international: the women, the pancakes, the “man of mystery.” Michael Scott, star of “Match Game 2008!”

- Jim sure is grinning a lot. I’m certain it is because he’s in charge while Michael is away!

(Uh-huh.)

- Kevin’s butt slap of Jim was the most unfunny thing I’ve ever seen that still caused me to spit water all over my monitor.

And yes, it took me more than a few seconds to figure out what was going to happen in one week. I must be sleepy.

- $50 for per diem? Winnipeg in November??? You’re a brave man, Michael. A brave man, or an idiot. Probably an idiot.

- LOL. Andy and Oscar get to go with Michael…but they don’t get business class seats? Sucks to be them.

- Did Michael get hit by a drink cart, or was he shot?

(This episode is putting me to sleep. It better get better in a hurry!)

- Wait a second…why is Ryan headed back to where Kelly is? Don’t tell me Michael is re-hiring him as a salesman!

Nice one-armed pushups, by the way.

- Raise your hand if you didn’t see Ryan and Kelly doing something right after Kelly’s talking head.

- Michael: “The concierge is the Winnipeg equivalent of a geisha. This is a woman who has been trained in the fine art of fanciness and pleasure, and when you meet one, it is intoxicating. Just what the doctor ordered.” OK.

- Pam: “I have to stay and retake it.” Please, please, please, don’t tell me that this means Pam is going to stay in NY until the end of the season!

(PLEASE!!!)

“That means another twelve weeks.” Well, at least it won’t be a Winter break cliffhanger!

Poor Jim and Pam. Is it just me, or does Jim kinda doesn’t want Pam in NY, and does Pam kinda wants to be back in Scranton?

(Yeah, kinda. And I kinda like ice cream.)

- Michael: “Everybody’s going to end up dying someday, and I think it’s better to die with some people that you like, like Oscar, and Andy, and concierge Marie, than to know that there’s somebody out there that you love that you’re not with.” It’s pretty obvious that this is referring to Holly…but could he be talking about Jan here?

- Oscar: “How can ANYONE stand that woman [Angela]?” Ask Dwight.

- Sign that this episode is boring me to tears: I didn’t even crack a smile at the entire drunk-dialing scene with Andy and Oscar (am I using the term “drunk-dialing” correctly?)

- OK, Dwight explaining why he knew that Pam was going to fail in art school actually made me laugh a bit. Seriously, this episode is awful.

- Andy’s realization that he called Angela while drunk might have saved what might end up being the worst episode of The Office to date.

- I take that back. The text message/breakup between Kelly and Darryl, Darryl’s “It’s cool” response, and a kicking-up-his-heels Darryl walking towards his truck might have saved this episode.

- Andy: “Oh man, she is so pissed. She’s taking us back to first base.” Oscar: “What’s first base with Angela?” Andy: “I get to kiss her forehead.”

- Please allow me to change my opinion again. Michael finally realizing that the business trip was anything but great saved tonight’s episode. Sure, the rant about the shuttle, the flight, and the hotel was classic idiot Michael, but for him to call out David Wallace for sending away Holly was shocking. Yes, it was highly inappropriate, but incredible at the same time! Like I always say, sympathetic Michael is the most entertaining Michael on this show.

- Michael: “…Why have I stayed at Dunder-Mifflin for so long? Certainly not because of the paycheck, because I could be making more money as a doctor, or a professional athlete. I think it’s because they respect me. A boss that will not fire you even though you just tell him off right to his face, over the phone. That’s respect.” Idiot Michael is fun, too.

- Who didn’t expect Jim to see Pam in the parking lot there?

- Pam: “It’s not because of you.” Sure it isn’t.

- Dwight: “You’re back.” LOL, freaking Dwight.

- Ryan: “I…I realized that, for whatever reason, I just couldn’t do better than Kelly.” Stupid, stupid Ryan!

Great way to end an otherwise forgettable episode.

- Time for my review:

“Forgettable” describes this episode nicely. It was way too predictable (Pam’s back? Kelly and Ryan are back together?), and the first fifteen minutes of the episode bordered on completely unwatchable. The last five minutes absolutely saved tonight’s episode. Ryan and Kelly’s second go-around doesn’t interest me in the least (though I’m still laughing a bit at Darryl’s reaction to the break-up), Dwight was woefully underused (Why didn’t the writers send him along on Michael’s trip???), and Pam’s abrupt return to Scranton was, in a word, dumb.

I know I was clamoring for a quick end to the long-distance part of the Jim/Pam relationship, but I was prepared to wait until after the Winter break for resolution. For the writers to bring Pam back to Scranton like that is just plain awful. It’s as if the writers wanted to stretch out their storyline to the winter break, and then immediately realized that they were going to run out of material a few weeks before the Winter break. I could imagine the writers finishing the script the day of the taping, ultimately deciding to bring Pam back to Scranton ASAP. What’s next for them? Are we going to see tensions develop between them? Will Jim try to push Pam back towards the art program again?

So the Andy-Angela relationship is back to “first base,” huh? What happens next with their relationship? I’m surprised that, given how quickly the writers sent Pam back to Scranton, the writers didn’t immediately have Angela dump Andy and profess her love for Dwight! Would anyone have been surprised if Andy’s drunk call caused that to happen? That being said, I hope that the tensions between Angela and Andy, as a result of the drunk call, is a theme that carries throughout the rest of the Andy/Angela/Dwight storyline.

The truly redeeming scene of tonight’s episode, though, had to be Michael’s chewing out of David Wallace. It was great to see Michael pour his heart out, explaining how “sucky” the entire situation was. There’s no way Wallace gets that go without disciplining Michael, right? If not, then what was the point of tonight’s episode? Of course, the show won’t work if he leaves the office, but would a storyline where Michael might really considering leaving Dunder-Mifflin be that outrageous?

Consider this a first-draft of my review of tonight’s episode. I’ll probably watch the episode again later, and hopefully, I’ll have better things to say about it.  Tonight’s episode could not really be that bad, could it?

Right?

As it stands right now, I didn’t see the worst episode of The Office of all time, but I’m thinking “bottom five” for sure.  Extremely disappointing, coming off such a strong episode last week!

Until next time.

Tags: business trip, review, running blog, The Office // Add Comment »

L O N G blog entry today.  I’ll split it into two, with my Office review in part two.

Random thoughts (an HGH-enhanced version of quick hitters):

- A pair of UngsungBlog PSAs, just for my loyal readers (all none of you):

1) Something you should not yell when your bedroom window is wide open: “Why are my pants still on?”

(Hey! I happen to enjoy sleeping in my boxers. Sue me!)

2) When smelling the scent of a candle, it would be a good idea to keep your face, especially your eyes, away from the flame. In fact, the “wafting” technique you might have learned back in high school comes in really handy here.

(I still can’t see straight :P)

- For the love of everything that is right, please stop with the “Oh, MO-JA-VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE” Windows Vista commercials!

I’d do anything for a Wal-Mart commercial right about now.

(”That’s why I go to Wal-Mart.” HILARIOUS!

…..)

- Shot-Online thoughts:

1) These new items are ridiculously misleading. If an item gives you an “additional 1.5x EXP,” doesn’t that suggest that you should get 2.5x the normal EXP (normal EXP + 1.5x more = 2.5x)? Also, if something “enhances” a Mageia, doesn’t that suggest that the item can be used in concert with a Mageia? Alas, neither is the case, which leads me to…

2) Auction House shoppers: if a 250-durability item that gives you 2xEXP (the regular Mageia) costs 10-12 million NG in the Auction House, why the heck would you people pay 12-15 million NG for a 250-durability item that only gives you an “additional 1.5x EXP” (as defined above)???

(Then again, these AH patrons are the same people that aren’t willing to pay 100,000NG for an 18-durability Mag (~6,000NG/hole), but would happily pay 12.5 million NG for a 250-durability Mag (50,000NG/hole)).

- A while back, my sister and I switched from plain old white rice to brown rice. The transition was kinda rough at first—do you blame me?—but ever since I perfected the recipe of brown rice for my rice cooker (a 3:5 rice:water ratio), I’ve been able to eat the stuff just fine.

However, while browsing through the manual of my rice cooker—yes, I do read manuals on occasion—I found out that my rice cooker has a brown rice setting! I am so excited over the discovery that I might go cook a pot of rice now, using the “new” setting, just for kicks!

Yes, tiny, stupid stuff like this amuses me.

- Jets/Pats thoughts: since I’m not a subscriber to NFL Network, I followed the game as best as I could through Yahoo! Sports.

This pains me to admit it, but Favre was absolutely huge in OT, completing an enormous third and 15 pass to TE Dustin Keller. As soon as I saw that completion, I was almost certain that Favre was going to lead the Jets down the field, and that’s exactly what they did.

What I couldn’t believe was the fact that the Pats were down 24-6 in the first place. At least Pats fans can take solace in the fact that Matt Cassel’s numbers—30-51, 400yds, 3 TDs—were awesome. Then again, I don’t know if the Pats want Cassel to have to win games, just like how the Titans love it when Kerry Collins doesn’t have to win games.

The AFC East-leading New York Jets…gag me, please.

- The following is yet another UngsungBlog PSA, yet it’s one that is important enough to get its own section:

ESPN’S TMQ believes in the football gods; I believe in the food gods. At least, I do now, after a hair-raising incident last night. My sister and I went out to grab some ice cream and food. We ended up buying store-brand ice cream, and I opted for some McDonalds food.

(Yeah, I know, but their Angus Chipotle BBQ Burger isn’t half bad!)

Anyway, when we got home, I walked into the kitchen to put the ice cream away. That’s when I felt a harsh scratch on my back, followed less than a second later by something crashing to the floor behind me! I quickly turned around, and realized that the plastic cover of my kitchen light fell, and one of the corners scratched my back on its way to the floor! Thank goodness the cover was plastic and not glass!

I’m still trying to pick up small fragments of the cover today.

Food gods, next time, we’ll buy Dreyers and go to Carl’s Jr, I swear!

Tags: auction house, mageia, mojave, shot-online, ungsungblog psa, windows vista // Add Comment »

My poor blog, how I’ve ignored you over the past few days!

(What can I say? I haven’t had much to talk about lately!)

Quick-hitters:

- It’s been sunny and COLD the last few days.

I miss the heat. I also miss sunlight at 6PM.

And if it’s so cold, why the heck do I really really want some ice cream?

- Small Shot-Online update: I’m still stuck on level 52 (haven’t played much lately), and, due to a bout of complete idiocy, I blew a chance at an easy ONE HUNDRED MILLION NG profit!!!

I don’t wanna talk about it.

One of these days, I will venture onto Cads. One of these days.

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1,500 or so, but I’m sure that the total is closer to $2,000 than $1,500.

That’s what I get for keeping such poor rebate records

- For the first time ever, here’s a tangent to a previous topic topic that deserves its own section!

Tangent: Fry’s/WorldwideRebates.com update: Fry’s customer service sent me this email regarding my “lost” $20 rebate:

Hello Peter, in regards to your Trand Micro rebate in the amount of
$20.00. We have since gotten in contact with the rebate manufacturer in
regards to your denial. Unfortunately after talking with them it seems
as though they are unwilling to help there customers. What we are going
to do for you in this matter is go ahead and give all of your rebate
submission to our home office. They will be issuing you a check shortly.
Please note that this may take up to 2 months. Please feel free to get
back with us in regards to this status. Thank you.

I boldfaced the line above because I thought it looked awfully familiar to me, especially the misuse of the word “there.” Does Fry’s use a form email to respond to rebate complaints? Well, remember my American Telecom rebate rant?

Hello Peter, in regards to your Pay N Talk rebate in the amount of
$25.00. We have since gotten in contact with the rebate manufacturer in
regards to your denial. Unfortunately after talking with them it seems
as though they are unwilling to help there customers. What we are going
to do for you in this matter is go ahead and give all of your rebate
submission to our home office. They will be issuing you a check shortly.
Please note that this may take up to 2 months. Please feel free to get
back with us in regards to this status. Thank you.

That was from an email response sent to me from February 1, 2008! Notice the emphasis in the blog entry linked above!

Once again, kudos to Fry’s!

(EDIT: Just as I finished typing this, I got an email from WorldWideRebates…it appears that they finally got my rebate submission! Should they successfully process my rebate claim, I will contact Fry’s and see if I can get them to not issue me a check. If not, I’ll just destroy it.)

- Fantasy football updates:

I’m riding a three-game winning streak in one league, the third win coming via a 132-88 beatdown of my opponent. It helps that my two RBs, Thomas Jones and Maurice Jones-Drew, combined to score 59 points by themselves. I am now 5-5 in this league, tied for fifth overall, and still a game out of a playoff spot (though I’m trailing badly in the tiebreaker, which is points scored overall.)

In my other league, I won for the sixth straight week. I’m not going to take too much pride in this win, though, as my opponent played three guys on their bye week, and one was on IR. I’m now in first place in this league, and I face the team that I leapfrogged in Week 11. The receivers on this team are really killing me, save for Andre Johnson.

Non-fantasy football thoughts:

- Ask and ye shall receive.  Thank you, T.O., for giving me my lead story of Week 10!  I need not even comment on this (though I will):

“We have to go back to the drawing table and look at the things that made us successful last year, moving me around a little bit, really just making an effort to get the ball in my hands on certain routes,” Owens said Tuesday, during a signing for his new book in Manhattan.

Well, at least he was smart enough to say the word “certain.”  You know, he wouldn’t want to appear to be demanding the ball, or anything like that…

I cannot wait for the upcoming Cowboys-Redskins game.  What will spew out of T.O.’s mouth if the Cowboys happen to lose THAT game???

- As soon as I found out that the Monday Night game was San Francisco at Arizona, I decided that I wasn’t going to watch it.

Boy did I miss out!  What a crazy goal-line “stand” by Arizona!  Of course, I say “stand” because Arizona’s field turf played a huge role on that series, tackling 49ers’ RB Frank Gore on 2nd and goal.  Why was Frank Gore not on the field on the final play of the game?  And why didn’t the 49ers spike the ball on the final play, since it was only 3rd down?

By the way, if Kurt Warner wins his third MVP this season—and personally, I think he’s the front-runner—tying himself with that guy currently on the Jets, that has to be enough to get him in the Hall of Fame, right?  Maybe he doesn’t get in on the first ballot, but he’s gotta get in, right?

- Speaking of the Jets, did you see them running up the score against my hapless Rams?  How sickening!

OK, fine, my Rams horribly stink, and the Jets did not run the score up on them.  However, can we stop giving Favre all the credit for the Jets’ “resurgence,” a 6-3 record against a cupcake schedule, including a LOSS to the RAIDERS?

Kris Jenkins?  Alan Faneca?  Thomas Jones?  Leon Washington?  Eh, forget it; let’s give all the credit to Diva Favre.

(And please stop with the “Oh, if Favre were still a Packer, they wouldn’t be 4-5!  It is not completely Aaron Rodgers’ fault that the Packers are struggling.  That defense of theirs is terrible, and it only got worse with the loss of LB Nick Barnett for the season.)

- Colts fans, begin to send your hate mail!

Is it just me, or are the Colts quickly rounding into that struggling team that, all of a sudden, gets white-hot, and earns the “We don’t want to play THEM!” label?  After back-to-back victories over New England and Pittsburgh (did the Colts really keep the Steelers out of the end zone when Pittsburgh was on the Colts’ 1???), the could-have-been 1-8 Colts could very well be 10-4 going into the final two games of the season.

Of course, they could also get upset by Houston, lose @SD, and then lose one of @CLE, CIN, or DET (shudder…), and miss the playoffs.

- And finally, thank goodness that Jacksonville remembered who they were…as did Detroit.

By the way, would you bet on Detroit going 0-16, or Tennessee going 16-0?  You’d have to be on the latter being more likely, wouldn’t you?

I would…but just barely.

Until next time!

Tags: cadeiger, diva favre, fantasy football, frys, green bay packers, indianapolis colts, kurt warner, mvp, new york jets, nick barnett, rebate-o-meter, shot-online, t.o., worldwiderebates // Add Comment »

On with the running blog!

- Engaged??? WTF???

(LOL!)

- Darryl: “I was there, and that dude is not engaged. I’m not a big believer in therapy, but…I’ll go into my own pocket to cover his copay.” LOL

- Andy: “Big idea! Double wedding! Me, Angela, you, Holly.” Remember this?

Bad, Bad Jim, for not telling the rest of the office about your engagement!

(thinks about it for a second…)

(thinks about it for thirty seconds…)

Smart move, Jim! Seriously, why the heck would he want to tell anyone about their engagement? Why, so Michael can throw them a stupid party? So Dwight could say something wholly inappropriate? So Andy could ask Jim if they could do a double-wedding?

Damn I’m good!

- OMG. Michael is actually calling his mother to tell her that he’s supposedly getting married?

- Michael: “Whenever I’m getting married, you…don’t believe me.” Gee, I wonder why she wouldn’t believe you! Well, at least Michael won’t be spending the rest of the episode trying to perpetuate his lie.

- Jim: “Those reports [the customer evaluations] affect our bonuses, which is kinda great for me…because you wouldn’t know from looking at her, but…Pam’s a gold digger.” 2:44, and we have our first spit-take of the evening.

- Pam: “Hey! (inaudible) New York ain’t free!  Get back to work!” 2:47, and we have our second spit-take of the evening, except that one was much more forceful than the first :P.

(Thanks to my sister for figuring out what Pam said.)

- Pam: “We wanna stay on the phone all day, but the company has a policy against eight-hour personal calls, so we’re not telling anyone.”

- Pam and Jim, at the exact same time: “A sprinkle of cinnamon.” AWWWWWWWWWWW.

- Abrasive and distasteful. That sounds about accurate.

- OK, I can already tell that the “World’s Smallest Bluetooth [Headset]” is going to make this episode awesome.

- Ah, a Jim-Dwight “special” moment. Gee, why is Jim’s head tilted in one direction?

- “Good luck.” “Thanks.” “I didn’t say anything!” “I love you.” “I love you too.” “What do you think I’m saying to you?” “I’m not talking to you.” I’m crying here.

- Dwight: “I’ve caught Jim talking to himself several times today. What a loser! Get a friend, loser!”

- Michael: ” ‘Jim Halpert…is smudge and arrogant.’ ” “And there’s our smudgeness.”

- Jim: “…and if history tells us anything, it’s that you can’t go wrong buying a house you can’t afford.” Ouch! Financial meltdown smack! “Pam doesn’t know about the house, so it’s a…fun surprise.” Oh oh.

And for the record, I am thoroughly enjoying Jim turning on and off his Bluetooth earpiece from time to time.

- Pam: “Maybe it’s because you spent the whole year flirting with the receptionist.” Jim: “Little bit. Worth it.” Gag. And that might explain this past year, but what about the four years prior to this year?

- Micro-gemant? OK.

- OK, I’m seriously crying here over the entire role-play between Dwight and Jim. Last week, I was given Dwight v Andy, and now Dwight v Jim? More, more, more!

Is it too early for me to declare tonight’s episode the best one of the season so far?

- Jim: “The three words I would describe you as [are] aggressive, hostile, and definitely difficult!” LOL!!!!!!!

- Jim: “There is one condition, Michael. You have to fire the salesman that treated me so terribly.” Dwight: “Don’t do it, Michael.” Michael (whispering to Dwight): “It’s a million dollar sale.” Michael’s bosses ought to be so proud.

- There is paranoia, and then there is what Dwight is going through. And I can’t believe Jim actually got into Dwight’s car.

- Gee, who didn’t see what place Andy was going to rent out for the wedding, given Angela’s demands? Did he use TripAdvisor to find the place? And why is Andy acting like renting out Dwight’s B&B is going to be a good thing?

- Kelly: “And maybe if you were a little bit more nice and polite, people wouldn’t give you such bad customer reviews.” OMG. Kelly…made sense???

- Kelly: “Get out of my nook.” Pam: “That’s what she said! That’s what she said!” Awkwardly funny, most definitely.

- OMG. Dwight’s conspiracy theory…was…RIGHT ON??? Even Jim can’t believe it!

(My jaw is still on the floor, five minutes later.)

- Oh oh. Here comes the “wrench.” I wonder if Pam will actually turn off her earpiece.

- Aw crap, he’s being a wrench, of course, but not at all (so it might appear) in the way I expected him to be.

- No, there was nothing at all strange about that final scene with Dwight, Angela, and Andy.

What a fantastic episode, for the second week in a row! We had another wonderful clash—this time between Dwight and Jim—and this time, we got another bit character heavily involved in a storyline.

(Yes, I’m still crying over the Dwight-Jim mock phone call.)

I have to applaud Kelly for being able to nearly pull off such an elaborate scheme (and kudos to Jr. Gumshoe Pam Beesly for finding the clue that incriminated Kelly!). I’m still in utter shock that it Dwight was RIGHT about Kelly being involved in the whole scheme, but does this mean that Dwight really isn’t aggressive, hostile, and difficult?

The final scene, with Dwight presenting Andy and Angela a Schrute Farms wedding arrangement, was a fantastic touch to end the episode (even though the Jim-Pam “shippers” still had a bad taste in their mouths from the previous scene), especially with Angela and Dwight exchanging pleasant smiles at the end. With one major relationship (Michael-Holly) seemingly over, the writers need to place more emphasis, in the immediate future, on the Dwight-Andy-Angela struggle. Also, kudos to the writers for giving Michael just one scene involving his currently-off relationship with Holly.

The episode was great…right up until the nineteen minute mark, where a gigantic-sized monkey wrench finally got thrown into the Jim-Pam relationship. However, as remarked above, it wasn’t close to the type of wrench I expected. Pam’s NY friend…actually made a hell of a lot of sense. Could he be keeping her in NY for a future relationship? That’s possible. For now, though, just think about what what he said, and how right on the mark he is. What good would spending three months in an art program in NY be, if Pam’s going to return to Scranton right after it’s over? Off the top of my head, I can’t think of too many art-related career fields that could be pursued there.

Think back to the restaurant scene of “Employee Transfer.” Remember how Jim vehemently defended Pam’s choice of pursuing an art degree? Now what is Jim to do? If he really believed that Pam is going to be successful, doesn’t he have to echo those sentiments to her? Doesn’t he have to tell her to stay in New York? You could kinda tell, by looking at Jim’s reaction at the very end of the episode, that he knows what’s right for Pam, and that, unfortunately, isn’t what’s right for him. And what does that do to Jim’s plans of buying his parents’ house? Assuming he was buying the house for himself and Pam, and assuming that his parents live somewhere in PA (the latter being not a safe assumption, of course), what’s the point of buying the house now? I wonder if the writers will continue this thread in a future episode.

In any event, this decision that Pam is going to have to make will clearly lead up right to the winter break, if not longer.

Again, this could easily have been, at the very least, a winter-break episode, where Jim would have the next few weeks to decide what he should advise Pam on doing. Couple that with the antics of Jim v Dwight, and I’m almost glad that I watched the past two episodes back-to-back. In fact, both of these episodes could have been run together as a single hour-long episode.

I’ll end my review of this episode with a question, and I hope that anybody that comes across this review and gets to the end takes the time to answer this question: Are you surprised that neither Jim nor Pam, at any moment in that second-to-last scene, did not even think about reaching for his or her earpiece?

Until next time!

Tags: customer survey, review, The Office // Add Comment »

Ugh…I’m two Office episodes behind??? Let’s get to it!

(There’s no sense in me posting a “live” blog for an episode that aired a week ago, so I’m going to format this episode review like the ones from Season 4, where I give you my thoughts, and then end it with a list of favorite moments.)

This episode could easily have been a season finale. It was really that great! Sure, it started off a bit slowly, and I was kinda disappointed that the writers only spent a couple minutes on the Halloween theme—is Jim Halpert allergic to Halloween costumes?—but the rest of the episode MUCH MORE than made up for the beginning.  I might argue that this episode is (so far) the best episode of the season!

Now what is Michael to do, with Holly in New Hampshire? I hope that is not the end of Holly’s character; she grew on me very quickly, and her interactions with Michael were, in my opinion, better than those during the Michael-Jan relationship. Watching Michael acting exponentially more and more pathetic as the episode wore on was awesome, especially with Darryl sitting right beside them. I’m glad that Michael decided NOT to stick around Holly’s new place afterwards. Speaking of Jan, now does Michael try to get back with her? Or has that ship sailed?

(Remember how I commented about how the sad, pathetic, almost-humanized Michael Scott makes this show great? We got a classic example of this in this episode.)

By the way, when I first saw the title of this episode, it actually took me a while to realize who was being transferred…

The whole Andy-Dwight standoff throughout the episode had me laughing my ass off.

(Please, writers, more of this!)

What made their standoff even better was the fact that neither one of them made a play at Angela throughout the episode. Didn’t I say that some of the past episodes have been too relationship-heavy? The entire Dwight-Andy subplot was a welcome change to all that. I actually found myself rooting for Andy at the end, and I was rewarded when Andy pointed out that he would be conducting Dwight’s college interview! Extra points to Andy for impersonating Dwight at the end of the episode, beets and all!

(Seriously, I’m still wiping tears off my face over the interview.)

I will admit that I enjoyed watching Jim’s brothers prank Jim, even when it became obvious that Pam was not amused by the prank. Did they cross the line? Sure, especially with the drawing a picture to pay the check line, but who wasn’t rooting for Jim to leap across the table and pound some sense into one of his brothers? However, we finally got to see Jim and Pam drift closer together (rather than splitting further apart, as was the trend of the past few episodes), and we should thank Jim’s brothers for that. Jim’s approval of Pam’s prank idea, followed by the text message from his brother, should have been extra satisfying to all you Jim-Pam fans. I still smell a severe relationship turn by the winter break, though, one that will seriously put a strain on both of them..

Favorite moments:

• Creed’s Joker costume.
• Kelly: “Stanley! I thought you hated Halloween!” Phyllis: “Shhhh…he wears it so that he can sleep at his desk.” Brilliant!
• Did Andy dress as a kitten (WTF?) to impress Angela, or was that Angela’s idea? And “Dave???”
• Pam: “…and I can’t even take off my hat, because then I’m Hitler.”
• Dwight wearing that Cornell sweater. Real smooth, Dwight.
• “Life is a highway! I wanna ride it ALL NIGHT LONG!” LOL at Darryl singing along as well.
• Watching Jim’s brothers come up with the idea to jokingly (or not) trash Pam was awesome…in a really sad, “Poor Pam!” kind of way. It was also really damn funny.

(What can I say? I’m evil!)

• Can we start a “Stop Michael From Butching Songs” petition?
• Michael: “Did Darryl touch you?” LOL!
• Michael: “…and I’ve dated almost four women…no, in like the last ten years.” Extra points for that sneaky “That’s what she said” at the very end of their conversation.
• Michael: “…I’m going to make this way harder than it needs to be.” Of course you are.
• Michael (again): “Here’s my wish. I want you to meet a great guy, and I want you to be happy.” Awwww. “My wish has come true, incidentally, because you’ve met me, and you are happy.” Clever, Mike.
• One of Jim’s brothers: “Maybe Pam should pay the check by drawing a picture on this napkin.” Ok, that was mean, but damn funny at the same time.
• Michael: “…I’ll go back to Jan, and I hate Jan!” Whoa! Where did that come from???
• Andy: “…looks like I will be conducting your University interview!” OH SNAP!!!
• That entire “interview” with Andy and Dwight might have been the funniest scene of the entire season!
• Text message: “Pam cool. Welcome to the family.” And you just knew Jim would have liked Pam’s prank over his brothers’ prank.
• LOL at Michael “singing” the blues. So pathetic…yet kinda sad at the same time.
• LMFAO at Andy dressed as a farmer!!!
• Dwight: “Cornell.”

Tags: employee transfer, review, The Office // 4 Comments »

Wow, it seems that I have abandoned this blog for quite some time.

I hope I still remember how to do this…assuming I knew how to do this in the first place.

Random thoughts (aka a super sized “Quick hitters”):

- My loyal readers (all none of you) might have realized that I have yet to post a review for last week’s episode of The Office. That might have something to do with the fact that I have yet to watch last week’s episode!

Yes, I’m ashamed of myself…unfortunately, I skipped The Office to play Shot-Online during the bonus EXP days.

- Speaking of Shot-Online, a brief update: after grinding out the game over the weekend, I haven’t played much since. I logged in for several hours, nonetheless, but mostly just to go auction house hunting.

I’m at the point in the game where I should really be playing on Cadeiger. However, I hate the course so much that I’ve been pretty much sticking to Rufus Arena or easier courses for the caddy experience.

I might just quit using this character and start working on one of my other characters.

- It’s been rainy and cold…and yet pretty warm at the same time (???) the last few days.

Can’t the weather gods make up their damn mind?

- We swung by Costco a couple days ago, and somehow managed to only spend $50!

(Well, we really spent $100, but half of that was on a membership renewal.)

Of course, we dropped by VONS right after that and blew $30 on junk food and steaks :P.

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1650 and rising.

(And it’s not even Black Friday yet!)

(EDIT: Haha…I need to add another $210 to that total :P)

Time for a couple customer service-related rants!

(If I’ve ranted about WorldwideRebates.com before, I do apologize.)

- Back in early September, I mailed out four rebates to WorldwideRebates.com. Three of the rebates showed up in their system rather quickly, but the fourth has still yet to show up.

I called the 800# on the rebate form, and once I got to the “We’ll connect you to an operator” prompt, I waited on hold for a couple seconds. That’s when I got a message that said something like “Thanks for calling…all of our operators are busy…please call back.”

*click*

Seriously? I can’t stay on hold? I have to call back, sit through the IVR, connect to an operator, and repeat ad nauseum until I can actually reach a live operator?

Fortunately, Frys.com is going to assist me in this matter.

- Thank you, Fedex. Thank you for not leaving me a Door Tag when you supposedly delivered my package at my doorstep on Thursday. Thank you for not returning my call 48 hours after I called in on the following Monday to inquire about the whereabouts of my package. Thank you for making me wait an additional 48 hours after I called in on the following Thursday to check the status of my case. And thank you for finally telling me, yesterday, that the package was lost and that I should contact the shipper to initiate a claim.

The best part is, I’ve got two more packages coming from Fedex this week! YAY!

*cry*

- Fantasy football updates:

Kyle Orton’s injury didn’t sink me in one league, as I eked out a 66-65 victory to get to 4-5, tied for seventh place. Four teams are only one game ahead of me, at 5-4, meaning I might still have a shot at a playoff spot!

Chad Pennington was available on the waiver wire, so he’ll be my Week 10 QB.

In my other league, a strong effort by Pittsburgh’s D—seven sacks, two picks, a blocked kick, and six points allowed—propelled me to my fifth straight win and a 6-2-1 record, good for tied for second in that league. In fact, the top three teams in the league have now won a combined fourteen games in a row!

Non fantasy-football thoughts:

- Another bad Dallas Cowboys loss, and…NOTHING FROM T.O.??? WTF??? What am I supposed to talk about?

Well, how about the fact that the New York Giants are coping without Jeremy Shockey and Michael Strahan just fine?

Eh, that’s no fun.

- Is it just me, or is Indy rounding into “Team that nobody wants to face” form? Sure, they struggled to get past a Tom Brady-less Patriots team, and yeah, they still don’t have a run game, and yeah, the Colts won the game on a couple boneheaded decisions by the Pats (that timeout called by Belicheck which nullified a first down and that idiotic personal foul penalty on what would have been third and short), and yeah, the Colts needed a 52 yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri, and…

Wait…what was my point?

Yeah, the Colts are finished.

- Minus-2 first half yards? ZERO first downs? Seventy-seven total yards?

Was I watching the Oakland Raiders offense or the Washington State offense against USC? The Raiders should be forced to forfeit their next game just for that abomination.

- So the Titans are now 8-0. Are they for real yet, after being a solid Green Bay Packers team?

Yeah, they’re for real, and they could conceivably be 14-0 going into their final two games (PIT, @IND). They play @CHI (minus Kyle Orton), @JAX (more on them later), NYJ (Brett Favre = Pick Six potential?), @DET, CLE, and @HOU. Which of those teams will Tennessee be underdogs against?

- And finally, didn’t I say last week that JAX @ Cincy was a “trap game”???

And who does JAX play next week? Freaking Detroit! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I’m tired, so that will have to be it for tonight. Until next time!

(Look, Ma! No Diva Favre commentary!)

Tags: bill belicheck, cadeiger, costco, dallas cowboys, fedex, indianapolis colts, new england patriots, oakland raiders, random thoughts, rebate-o-meter, rufus arena, shot-online, tennessee titans, The Office, vons, worldwiderebates // 1 Comment »

Random thoughts:

- Has anyone seen Fall?  Seriously?  Why the hell is it so hot???

I just can’t win…

- Commercials:

1) Any time I see that stupid Sinupret commercials (”I love you more!” “No, I love you more!”), I feel like throwing my remote through my TV.

More WalMart commercials, please!

2) Cheesy cable commercials always bug the hell out of me, but Valley residents have to agree with me that the latest Keyes Woodland Hills commercial jingle (set to “Where in Thumbkin?”) has to rate as one of the dumbest, most obnoxious, cable commercial of all time!

Where is Honda?  Where is Nissan?  Woodland Hills!

(I think I got the line right.  Every time I hear that commercial, my ears start bleeding.)

3) The Guitar Hero:  World Tour commercial.  Enough said.

Now THAT’s a good commercial.

- Latest CVS trip:  bought lots of candy (2 for $3, $1 coupon), and some SoyJoy bars (4 for $4, $3 off 5 coupon, and $4 ECBs).

I will neither confirm nor deny that the candy was purchased for me first, and the Trick-or-Treat’ers second.

Next week, I’ll be buying some Brita pitcher filters which will cost me more than a buck after all my ECBs.  I hope that my favorite cashier isn’t there on that day

- Current rebate-o-meter:  $925, but that doesn’t include the $500 or so that I have not yet entered.

(I’m lazy!)

- Fantasy football updates:

Believe it or not, I actually played Brian Westbrook last week, and believe it or not, I did not hex him!

5-2-1 now (second place), after a blowout victory, and somehow, Rams WR Donnie Avery was available in this league, strengthening my average WR corps (Andre Johnson(!!!), Jerricho Cotchery, Roy Williams, Donald Driver, Lance Moore).

In my other league, I had WR Reggie Wayne, TE Dallas Clark, and a four-point lead over my opponent, who had (gulp!) RB Chris Johnson.  Fortunately for me, Johnson’s garbage-time TD did not hurt me, as Dallas Clark finally showed up in a game.  Now I’m 3-5 in that league, and amazingly, only two games out of a playoff spot.

Non-fantasy football thoughts:

- Let’s start with the big story of the week:  Deanna Favre is hurt over the recent allegations that her husband, Diva Favre, offered ousted Lions’ GM Matt Millen tips against Favre’s former team:

‘Brett does not, in any way, hold a vendetta against his former team…Some incidents, like the locker room pranks appear funny [but they are still untrue]…Others, like the questionable phone calls to other teams, are hurtful, distasteful, and…still untrue as they have been reported.

Because of this, lately, my heart has been so heavy. It is very hard to watch the daily toll this has taken on Brett.

Brett is the same man who has always put his team first, not personal gains or statistics. And, Brett is the same man we know who is filled with great character, strength, goodness and love. Truly, nothing has changed but a uniform.’

1) WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Here’s a kleenex.

2) How can something that is untrue still “appear” funny?

3) Sure, any scrutiny directed at your husband must be hard to take.  However, wasn’t it YOU that pushed your husband to return for another season?

EDIT:  I saw a clip of an E:60 interview with Mrs. Favre—Greta Van Susteren must have been busy—where she denied pushing Favre back into the league.  Maybe you should convince your husband to retire mid-season.  He could always come back in Week 13!

4) That last paragraph makes me LMFAO.  Favre puts his team first?  The same guy that used to throw backbreaking pick after backbreaking pick, and then blaming the personnel around him for his poor play, “put[s] his team first?”  And oh by the way:

*cough* Michael Strahan? *cough*

*cough* The entire drama of the past three offseasons? *cough*

*cough* Declaring that he’s not responsible for the development of Aaron Rodgers? *cough*

Character?  Goodness?  More like selfishness and a swollen ego.

(BTW, I got sick to my stomach over hearing analysts anywhere praise Favre for that fourth-quarter rally against the Chiefs.

1) THEY WERE PLAYING THE CHIEFS!!!!!!!

2) Favre threw three picks in that came, if you don’t recall.  The Jets’ D probably had something to do with keeping Favre in the game, no?

3) Enough with the praise over that pass he threw to Laveranues Coles!  That pass was thrown about two yards behind Coles, and Coles had to adjust to the ball, NOT the other way around!  That pass was so poor that it could easily have been a Pick Six!)

- In lesser news, did you hear that the Tennessee Titans are now 7-0, after a drubbing of the team formerly known as the powerhouse Indianapolis Colts?

That being said, I’m still not sold on the Titans…yet.  Look at some of their past opponents!  KC?  Cincy?  Houston?  An overrated Jags team?  Let’s not put the champagne on ice just yet.  However, looking at their next four games (GB, @Chi, @Jax, NYJ), should they go 3-1 in those games, then we can talk about championship contention.

By the way, does the Pacman Jones trade count as “Ewing Theory” potential?

And even though they are 3-4, I just can’t bury the Colts just yet.  I might after their next four games, though (NE, @Pit, Hou, SD).  I’m thinking a 3-1 record in those four games is the worst the Colts can do if they want to contend for a playoff spot this season.

- Speaking of teams that are for real, is Carolina now on that list?  Not yet, in my opinion, due to the fact that they had to rally against an average Arizona team (and it didn’t help that Arizona’s defenders appear to be allergic to tackling.  Marion Barber a couple weeks ago, and Steve Smith on Sunday?)

- At 3-5, San Diego has to be finished, right?  JAX too, at 3-4.  Washington?  I’m not sold on them being for real yet.  And maybe New England will be OK after all.

And the New York Giants are pretty good.  So is Pitt, that entire fourth quarter notwithstanding.

- The Cowboys eked out a win against Tampa Bay, but not all is well in Dallas, even at 5-3.

And has anyone seen TO?  No comments?

- Can Cincy do it?  Can they go 0-16?  Here’s their remaining schedule.

The final game of the season (KC) scares the heck out of me, but next week’s game (JAX) screams “trap game.”

- Speaking of winless teams, can Detroit do it?  Here’s their remaining schedule, and it looks great!

That “trap game” versus Jacksonville scares me as well.

- And finally…who didn’t enjoy Niners’ coach Mike Singletary’s rant on TE Vernon Davis?

Incredible stuff, all of it deserved, by the way:

‘I told him that he would do a better job for us right now taking a shower and coming back and watching the game than going out on the field,’ Singletary said after the 34-13 loss to Seattle. ‘Simple as that.’

Until next time!

Tags: andre johnson, brian westbrook, dallas clark, deanna favre, diva favre, donnie avery, fantasy football, indianapolis colts, mike singletary, new york bretts, san francisco 49ers, tennessee titans, vernon davis // Add Comment »