UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

- Quick thoughts on the Suns v Spurs series:

• The suspensions to Boris Diaw, Amare Stoudemire, and Robert Horry were correct; in no way were they fair. The rules state that one can’t leave the bench during an altercation, and that’s exactly what the two Suns’ players did. Therefore, the suspensions were properly levied. However, this sets a dangerous precedent; why can’t more teams send out thug players with the sole intention of baiting the stars on another team to get themselves ejected/suspended? Robert Horry could easily have been suspended for the remainder of the series, by the way.
• I’ve seen the video of the foul, and the subsequent actions of Diaw and Stoudemire, and although “rules are rules,” it appeared that the two Suns were running towards Nash to make sure he was OK. Sure, we don’t know what their true intent was–the fact that Stoudemire suggested that he went to the scorer’s table to check back into the game was ludicrous–but it didn’t look like they were going to do anything flagrant.
• The Spurs no longer have a squeaky-clean image, says Yahoo! Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski. I wouldn’t be surprised to see neutral fans rallying against the Spurs as the playoffs continue.

(Slightly off topic: I never believed Bruce Bowen was a dirty player, but after seeing his actions during this series–a knee to Nash’s calf, among others–I can no longer agree with that sentiment).

• Bill Simmons agrees with most others that the decision was correct, but not fair. I love the soccer comparisons!

Long story short, no thanks to a thug move by Robert Horry–a guy who was very classy when he was a Laker, but is also the same guy who once threw a towel at former Suns’ coach Danny Ainge–the Suns v Spurs series has definitely tipped in the favor of the Spurs.

- Brett Favre will skip the Packers’ mandatory minicamp this weekend, and part of the reason is because of his daughter’s upcoming graduation. I guess that’s not a big deal; at least, it wouldn’t be a big deal if his daughter’s graduation was this upcoming weekend! Quoted from the article,

“They were going to have me sit out anyway,” Favre said, in a story that appeared on the paper’s Web site on Tuesday. “To be honest, we have [daughter] Brittany graduating in two weeks. Instead of going up there and not doing anything, I will be better off being at home because of graduation parties and banquets.”

And I thought Roger “It’s not about the money” Clemens was a primadonna. Sounds like there’s going to be tons of partying at the Favre home leading up to the graduation! Better off at home? I think you need to spend more time at home; it’s not too late to announce your retirement! In Favre’s defense, he’s not attending minicamp not because of the frustrations he has with the team:

Favre said the move is not related to his frustration with the team’s unwillingness to complete a trade for wide receiver Randy Moss.

“I am frustrated,” Favre told the paper. “But being frustrated and not going are not related.”

As if anyone in the world, outside Packer nation, is supposed to believe this.

Brett, go away!

- (from Consumerist) Wendy’s topped Zagat’s Fast Food Study in two categories: Top Burger and Top Overall of the “mega-chains.” Here are other results:

Mega-Chains:

Top Food

Wendy’s, Subway, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, KFC

Top Overall

Wendy’s, Subway, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, McDonald’s

Large and Small Chains:

Top Food

Panera Bread Co., Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Quizno’s Sub, Wendy’s

Top Overall

Panera Bread Co., Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Sonic Drive-In, Quizno’s Sub

Chain Restaurants:

Top Food

Outback Steakhouse, Red Robin, Cracker Barrel, Chili’s Grill & Bar, Olive Garden

Top Overall

Outback Steakhouse, Cracker Barrel, Red Robin, Olive Garden, Chili’s Grill & Bar

A few thoughts:

• What the hell are Outback Steakhouse, Chipotle, Pizza Hut, and KFC doing on this list??? Of those four, Chipotle has to be the absolute worst, with KFC and Outback Steakhouse a close second (worst).
• As much as I hate McDonald’s, I’m not surprised to see its inclusion on the list.
• If In-N-Out was a national chain, would it make the list?
• I could go for a Classic Double or a Spicy Chicken Sandwich right about now.

- And finally, a 10-month-old Illinois baby has his very own a gun permit. Apparently, his father applied for a gun permit for his son, not actually expecting to get one (there is no minimum age requirement to obtain a card). My favorite part:

The card lists the baby’s height (2 feet, 3 inches), weight (20 pounds) and has a scribble where the signature should be.

What’s even stranger is that the dad’s father–the baby’s grandfather–bought the kid a Beretta shotgun as a gift! Now that I think about it, why didn’t my dad buy me a gun when I was a toddler? I know I would easily have been the coolest kid in my play group! And no bully would dare mess with the kid with his own shotgun, right? Come to think of it, my nephew’s third birthday is coming up soon…

In all seriousness, WTF? I guess the possession of the gun permit isn’t that bad; it’s not nearly as bad the gift of the shotgun! How the heck does a parent think any of this is a good idea???

Tomorrow is blog entry #100!

by Peter
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Some quick-hitters:

- While standing in line at the Post Office, a creepy woman sat (yeah, sat) next to me in line. As the line moved on, she would slide herself forward, each time nearly kicking my legs with her feet.

- We dropped by Costco today, and somehow, we walked out with a $35 bill!!! All we had in our cart were some bread, some bananas, a box of croissants, a bag of potato chips, and some juice. I expect a call from Costco tomorrow, asking me what’s going on.

- Man, I love this new laptop. Dual-core goodness, 2GB of RAM running in Dual Channel mode, 15.4″ WXGA+ screen (1440×900 resolution), and this thing runs a heck of a lot cooler than my old Inspiron XPS M140. A more thorough review will come in the near future.

(By the way, I noticed my XPS, and now my 6400, has a MediaDirect button. I never did touch the button, until last night, when I learned what the button actually does. With the laptop powered off, hitting the MediaDirect button fires up a Media Center-like application that gives you access to your multimedia files. It also gives you access to an Outlook-type program, as well as a Powerpoint-type program. Neat idea, I must say, but probably not something I’d ever use again.)

- Another day, another fiasco with a company’s customer service. This time, it’s Buy.com. About a week ago, I purchased an item with two rebates advertised. I found out that I could not claim both rebates that same day, so I attempted to cancel my order. The cancellation didn’t go through, and I was forced to accept delivery of the package (I couldn’t refuse it, because USPS left it at my doorstep).

I called Buy.com today, asking them for a refund on my order. They rep I spoke to gave me an RMA number (the RMA number wasn’t correct, as an email I got from Buy.com had a different RMA# from the one given to me), but refused to give me a prepaid shipping label for the return. I demanded one, citing that I only placed the order because of the two advertised rebates. The CSR wouldn’t budge.

The CSR said that she would give me a credit for one of the rebates if I could procure a receipt showing both rebates, which was impossible, as one rebate was pulled at around the same time I completed the order. I asked if a screenshot of the item page would suffice, and the CSR said she would accept it. I found the screenshot, and then asked the CSR where to send the picture. The CSR then backed up, saying that she could only accept the receipt.

She then told me that I had to pack the item up and write the RMA# on the outside of the envelope. She made no mention of what else I needed to do to process the RMA: include the original packing slip, and ship using a trackable shipping service. I only found out about what I needed to do when I got an email from buy.com, confirming my RMA request (that’s also when I found out that the RMA# the CSR gave me was incorrect).

I sent an email to buy.com support, explaining every way the CSR screwed up. I also mentioned that I shouldn’t have had to pay for return shipping on an order for a misadvertised product. Buy.com’s response was classic: they never acknowledged the errors the CSR made, and reiterated that I would not be getting a return shipping label. I angrily fired back, asking the next CSR to please acknowledge the screwup of the phone rep. This was their reply:

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. We work hard to ensure satisfaction. We look forward to helping you with all your shopping needs in the future. We are sorry you had this experience and want you to know we share your concern. Consumer satisfaction is most important to us, and we sincerely regret your recent experience with Buy.com product or promotion.

Gee, thanks!

(Argh…I just realized…I never wrote the RMA# on the package!!!)

I had lots more to say today, but I’m tired. Happy blogging!

by Peter
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