UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

- Hank said it about a week ago, and Amy said it last night. Now it’s my turn: I’m starting to get sick and tired of blogging every day. I really wanted this blog to be a four-to-five times a week blog, consisting of 3-4 shorter entries and a longer weekend commentary.

(I know, I know…why don’t I just quit? Because I wanna win, dammit!)

I think next year–assuming there is a next year–the IMBC should increase the minimum word count to 500 or so, and give every blogger one “pass” (in case s/he should forget to blog one day, or just didn’t feel like blogging that particular day).

Sometimes I wish Hank didn’t reinstate me back into the contest, after that little “technicality”

- Ok, I gotta make a couple quick comments about the latest wrinkle in the Kobe Bryant/Lakers saga, if only because the story is too ridiculous to not talk about for a second straight day. Ripped from SI.com, here is the transcript of that amateur video I referenced in my last blog entry, where Kobe ripped the Lakers and Andrew Bynum:

“Andrew Bynum? What the f—?” Bryant says in disgust. “Are you kidding me? Andrew Bynum? F—ing ship his ass out. Are you kidding me? We’re talking about Jason Kidd. But they didn’t even want to do that. Now we’re here in this f—ed up position.”

Wow. This is something I’d expect to hear from an out-of-control teen on the Maury Povich show, right before it is announced that s/he has been sent to teenage boot camp.

Back when the trade demand was first announced, I had Kobe’s back. I said that I wanted to see Kobe leave with guns blazing:

When Allen Iverson whined his way out of Philly, he did so while insisting that it was best for everyone to go their separate ways. I hope Kobe doesn’t offer the same BS; I want him to demand a trade, pointing fingers at Kupchak on the way out the door!

but never would I have expected this whine-fest! Cursing about the Lakers brass and your young center behind their backs? And what, exactly, is Kobe going to get out of this? What team is going to be interested in taking this baby off the Lakers’ hands?

(Probably fifteen teams or so…)

Talk about completely obliterating all your bridges! Couldn’t Kobe have waited until after he got traded to start taking shots at the Lakers? Randy Sklar, forum panelist on Jim Rome is Burning, made an awesome suggestion today: he said that the Lakers should trade Kobe to the Clippers. A trade to the Clippers accomplishes the following:

1. A Lakers-Clippers swap will keep Kobe in LA, to face the wrath of angry LA fans 43 times a year.
2. Such a trade will send Kobe to another awful team–once the Lakers gut the Clippers for talent in exchange for Kobe–forcing Kobe to eventually whine and cry about another franchise.

Of course, this will never happen, since Kobe has a no-trade clause, and I doubt he’ll go to the Clippers.

What’s really stunning about this whole situation is the fact that he had to spend years to rebuild his image after the rape trial in Colorado, only to obliterate it again! The guy’s image restoration was remarkable; he was labeled one of the NBA’s good guys, he was able to reconcile with Phil Jackson, and he finally seemed to have grown up. And now this? Paris Hilton’s whine in court thought Kobe was acting childish.

I couldn’t say it any better, JT the Brick. The headline and the sub-headline say it all. Kobe, don’t let the door hit you on your way out.

Tomorrow, I swear I will not blog about sports

by Peter
3 Comments »

- I really really want to talk about the whole Kobe Bryant/Lakers situation, especially with the news that there is amateur footage of Kobe ripping the Lakers and Andrew Bynum.

(Tangent: What is it with famous people and “amateur videos?” And when are we going to find amateur footage of a political figure doing something stupid?)

(Tangent #2: Not that I’d care for it, but where’s the amateur footage of Paris Hilton crying in prison?)

Alas, I will try to avoid the subject today (you’re welcome, non-sports fans).

- So I finally beat Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars yesterday. It only took me two months to do it :P.

(And it’s not because I suck at the game, even though I do. I installed it about two months ago, played it for a couple hours, and didn’t get around to it again until only recently.)

I have no idea what’s next on my gaming queue. Hell, I don’t even know if there is a queue to begin with.

- A few days ago, I got a letter from the Domain Registry of America–I refuse to link to their site; you’ll see why soon enough. It was a courtesy “Domain Name Expiration Notice.”

(My domain name expires in November 2008. Close enough, I suppose.)

Check out the first paragraph of the notice:

As a courtesy to domain name holderse, we are sending you this notification of the domain name registration that is due to expire in the next few months. When you switch today to the Domain Registry of America, you can take advantage of our best savings. Your registration for: ungsunghero.com will expire on November 01, 2007. Act today!

Now, all three domains I own were registered via namecheap.com with WHOISGuard protection (basically, it anonymizes the WHOIS information, keeping it away from potential spammers and/or scammers). So how the heck did DRoA get my mailing address? Well, I had initially registered ungsunghero.com via Microsoft’s Office Live Basics Beta, and transferred it to namecheap a month or so later. During that time, DRoA must have harvested my information.

Here’s the great thing about this DRoA letter: they want $30 to transfer and renew my domain with them!!! Compare that to namecheap’s $8.88/yr domain name registration/renewal, and I have to wonder what these guys are smoking. However, if I transfer my domain and renew for five years, it’s only $95!

I’d call these guys an outright scam, but I wouldn’t want this to happen to me (click on the “cease-or-desist” link found in that blog entry.) I’ll let the Google results for “Domain Registry of America scam” speak for themselves.

Here’s an FTC article about the DRoA.

One aside: while reading up about this company via a Google search, I stumbled upon the WHOIS information for techtv.com (now G4tv.com). Please tell me that techtv.com got their domain registration for free in exchange for advertising DRoA on their programming!

- Some Type I diabetic women have avoided taking their insulin shots (seriously endangering their health) in order to lose weight. The process, known as “diabulimia”–named so because the mass exodus of glucose in the blood resembles what happens to someone with bulimia–may cause many of the same problems as uncontrolled diabetes: organ failure, loss of limbs, a coma, etc.. The most chilling statement:

One expert who has studied the phenomenon estimates that 450,000 Type 1 diabetic women in the United States — one-third of the total — have skipped or shortchanged their insulin to lose weight and are risking a coma and an early death.

Wow…scary stuff. It’s sad that these women would rather look good than care about their long-term well being.

That’s it for now. Happy blogging!

by Peter
2 Comments »

Oh man, I got sunburned pretty good yesterday! Where’s my aloe-vera-anti-sunburn lotion?

- I mentioned to Krunk a couple weeks ago about how I only recently–a few years back, maybe–was informed that Froot Loops were spelled with four O’s instead of two. It was during a grocery store trip in college that I realized that “Froot” was spelled as such.

To my surprise, Krunk didn’t realize this at all, until I pointed it out! In fact, he told me early this morning that a couple of his friends weren’t aware of that fact either! LOL!

I’m snacking on some right now, and I forgot how ridiculously sweet these things are!

- So I noticed that FatWallet Cash Back now offers 1% cash back at eBay (1% taken from the final bid price before S&H). I don’t buy much on eBay anymore, but I think that’s pretty cool.

Earlier today, I stumbled upon BigCrumbs.com, another Ebates/FW Cash Back clone, it appears. One thing quickly caught my eye about this place: they offered 36% cash back on eBay purchases!

I looked further, and sure enough, it was too good to be true. BigCrumbs pays back 36% of the seller’s fees for any auction you win. That is just slightly better than FW’s 1% cash back, if you do the math:

• If you buy an item that costs between $0.01 and $25, the seller’s fees will be 5.25% of the final price. By buying through BigCrumbs, you’ll be getting 5.25% * 36% = 1.89% back. On a $25 item, your cash back would be ~$0.47.
• If you buy an item that costs between $25 and $1,000, the seller’s fees will be $1.31 (5.25% of $25) + 3.25% of the excess. For example, a $100 final bid results in seller’s fees of $1.31 + 3.25% of $75 = $3.75, and your cash back would be ~$1.35 (1.35%).
• I won’t bother going into items that are over $1,000, as I’ve never spent more than $150 on a single eBay transaction.

(I know, I know…all this for what will probably amount to be a few cents here and there.)

Anyway, these guys have a pretty decent selection of stores as well, seen here.

I’m going to go ahead and give these guys a try. (Warning: the following may contain a shameless self-promotion!) If you’re going to sign up for this service as well, please sign up using this link.

I’ve got lots more to talk about (surprisingly, not about sports), but I’ll save them for another day.

by Peter
No Comments »

Ok, Hank, I’ll try to go sports-free today

(BTW, “SoS” = “Sick of Sports,” because I’m kinda tired of blogging about this whole LA Lakers ordeal too.)

Oh crap…fifty-five minutes, and I haven’t even started on this blog entry! Let’s hope I make it!

(Being in a food coma, and researching the effects of a bee sting on WebMD.com at the same time can’t help, either.)

- Our Father’s Day BBQ had so much food, we had to refill the BBQ with additional coals! And since we were using Match Light charcoal, we couldn’t have just added the coals as we were cooking. I know some people out there think that Match Light coals are blasphemous, and only original Kingsford charcoal is acceptable. To that, I say shush. It still grills a damn fine piece of cow.

(I should point out, if I hadn’t mentioned it in an earlier blog entry, that my weapon of choice is a Weber 18.5″ One-Touch Silver charcoal grill. We were cooking for six people with big appetites, so I wasn’t that surprised to have to use a second load of charcoal to finish all the cooking.)

We grilled spare ribs, chicken wings, and drumsticks with both a simple marinade–soy sauce, garlic, green onion, and a bit of sugar–as well as some cheapo BBQ sauce. I’m not really a fan of liquid marinades–I prefer dry rubs, and good ol’ kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper over liquids–but you really can’t go wrong with such a simple marinade as soy sauce. And you really can’t go wrong with barbecuing meat; even a steak cooked to the consistency of shoe leather still tastes OK when cooked on a grill.

We also had beef short ribs marinated in teriyaki sauce, beef meatballs, and BBQed corn. Because we had to change the coals once, I ended up in front of the grill for almost three hours, sneaking a bite of meat, salad, or a quick sip of Diet Sierra Mist every now and then.

(Tangent: Diet Sierra Mist is pretty damn good! In fact, there are a number of diet sodas I can drink that taste close enough to the original to satisfy me: diet root bear [diet root beer floats FTW], diet citrus sodas, and Coke Zero, which is tremendous.)

By the time most of the meat was cooked, and we were ready to sit down and eat, we were all stuffed!

We started cooking at around 6PM, and didn’t finish until nearly 9:30. And yeah, we were pretty much eating the whole time; hence the food coma.

I’ve got enough leftovers to last two or three more meals, and I took only about 25% of the leftovers. I can’t wait for next-day BBQ; it tastes almost as good as fresh-off-the-grill meat, IMO.

Sorry, Hank…no pictures :(.

(praying that this blog contains over 300 words)

by Peter
4 Comments »

- Tomorrow is Father’s Day, of course, and we’re celebrating with a BBQ! Ribs, chicken, beef short ribs, two types of sauce, mixed greens, potato salad, and French bread…I can’t wait!

(There’s a 50/50 chance that I will not be able to blog tomorrow, due to the impending food coma.)

- So, the big story of the day involves the circus that is the Los Angeles Lakers and their star player. According to an anonymous report, Kobe met with Dr. Jerry Buss in Spain, and reiterated his request to be traded from the Lakers. According to the source,

Buss wanted to appeal to Bryant, reassuring him that winning remains the team’s focus and that trades take time to engineer, but that Bryant remained concerned about the team’s direction and did not budge from his desire to leave L.A.

The Lakers still do not plan on trading #24, but if he keeps pushing, they may have no choice.

What a disaster for the Lakers! If they break down and decide to trade Kobe, there’s no way that they’ll get close to equal value for the guy. Chad Ford (ESPN Insider subscription required) discussed two possible three-way trade scenarios for the Lakers. Either Gilbert Arenas or Paul Pierce goes to the Lakers, Chicago gives up Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, P.J. Brown, and the #9 pick (only the pick goes to the Lakers; the rest go to the third team involved), and Kobe goes to Chicago.

Setting aside the huge impact that Kobe will have on Chicago, the Lakers aren’t going to get anywhere close to equal value in either trade. Both players are shoot-first guards, neither of which match the explosion and dominance on the offensive end as #24. Also, neither one is a particularly good defender, a characteristic that is often overlooked when people talk about Kobe’s game.

If I was forced to take one of the two, I’d take Arenas. He fills a need (PG), he’s five years younger than Pierce, and I’d argue that he’s a more marketable player than Pierce.

- What might have triggered Kobe to once again demand a trade from the Lakers? Perhaps it’s the Pacers’ insistence that Andrew Bynum AND Lamar Odom be included in any deal for Jermaine O’Neal. In fact, the Pacers want Bynum, Odom, and Kwame Brown for Jermaine O’Neal and Troy Murphy! That trade is absolutely ridiculous, in my opinion; Indy can’t realistically expect the Lakers to give up their two tradeable chips and a big expiring contract, AND take on the mammoth contract that Troy Murphy has.

(Troy Murphy, of course, only got badly overpaid after a pair of double-double seasons, when his Golden State teams were full of players that were allergic to rebounding.)

The Lakers have to give up on a Jermaine O’Neal deal, and try to look elsewhere for help. Meanwhile, the longer they wait to pull a deal, the angrier #24 will get. Boy, what an absolute mess the Lakers are!

(Hey Minnesota, are you sure you don’t want to trade Kevin Garnett?)

by Peter
1 Comment »

- Yes, I have even more Time Warner news to share. No, this time it is actually good news!

Starting 6/19, ESPN-HD and ESPN2-HD will be free HDTV channels, with an HDTV digital cable box rental (which I already have)! Woohoo! Sunday Night Baseball and SportsCenter on HDTV!

Just kidding, of course…at least about the SportsCenter part.

I can’t wait for Monday Night Football on ESPN-HD! Speaking of which, can you believe football season is less than three months away?!? That means one thing, of course: fantasy football season is upon us!

- A Federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that computer RAM can be turned over in a lawsuit, in the fight against the piracy of films. The ruling stemmed over a battle between the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and TorrentSpy, a popular torrent site. One major concern of this decision is the potential for invasion of privacy:

“I think that people’s fears about a potential invasion of privacy are quite warranted,” said Ken Withers, director of judicial education at The Sedona Conference, an independent research group. “The fear is that we’re putting in the hands of private citizens and particularly well-financed corporations the same tools that heretofore were exclusively in the hands of criminal prosecutors, but without the sort of safeguards that criminal prosecutors have to meet, such as applying for search warrants.”

Of course, there’s another glaring issue with this ruling: what good, exactly, will RAM be, in the hands of a prosecutor? Last I checked, data in RAM is lost once your computer is turned off:

But on the technical side, Dean McCarron, principle analyst at Mercury Research, said the judge erred by defining volatile computer memory as “electronically stored information.”

Oops! I saw this article on Slashdot, and there were some really funny comments. One guy said something to the effect of “oh no, once TorrentSpy gives up their RAM, the prosecutors will bust them for unlawful destruction of evidence!”

Oh well, at least the MPAA attorneys seem to be satisfied with the ruling: “‘The courts have long considered computer RAM as “electronically stored information,’ [MPAA lawyer Lauren Nguyen] said.” Also, “to prove that TorrentSpy was making it easier to share files, the studios told Chooljian that it was necessary that they obtain records of user activity. They convinced her that the only way to do this was to obtain the data from RAM.”

I’m guessing the judge and the lawyers meant “Hard Drive” when they said “RAM.”

- I found this article really interesting: there are certain devices that drain much more energy–even when idle–than you think! Of course, most people know that a personal desktop computer is a big culprit of wasted energy; even if a PC draws 100-150W on idle, running said computer 24×7 sure adds up.

Some figures in the article, though, were really astounding: according to the author, a TiVo uses 30W when idle; a Comcast digital set-top box draws 40W; and an audio system uses 47W. This statement summarizes how wasteful of energy we can be, without even knowing it:

Indeed, the Department of Energy estimates that in the average home, 40 percent of all electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. Add that all up, and it equals the annual output of 17 power plants, the government says.

I always thought that most energy was used to power absolute essentials: the refrigerator, lights, the stove top (for those who use electric burners/ovens), and heating/cooling (for those that live in extreme temperatures). I’m so glad our electricity bill is somewhere around $60-80 every two months; my parents’ bill approaches $100-120 per month, but they have electric burners and an electric water heater.

My main desktop computer needs a reboot, anyway. I guess I can go ahead and shut it down.

Next time, I’ll chat about how the Pacers are trying to rip off the Lakers in Jermaine O’Neal trade talks.

by Peter
No Comments »

- I have $125 in Dell Small Business gift certificates to use, assuming they’re stackable, and I have no idea what to buy with them! I do need a new computer–if by “need,” I mean I haven’t had an upgrade since 2003–but I don’t think I’m going to buy one from Dell, unless the deal is very hot.

Maybe I can find a person who needs a new computer, and purchase it on their behalf. Or maybe I should just buy myself a nice toy, and then resell it a couple of months later. Or maybe I should just sell the GCs for 80-90% of face value, and treat myself to a nice dinner at Ruth’s Chris.

Speaking of gift certs, I don’t recall the last time I’ve had this many of them that weren’t given to me as gifts: $30 in Walmart GCs, $30 in Staples GCs, $125 in Dell GCs, and $80 in Symantec/Visa debit cards.

Geez. Did I just complain about having money to spend? I expect Krunk to reply to this post with nothing more than “*rubs fingers*.”

- Congrats to the San Antonio Spurs, for winning their fourth championship in nine years! Cleveland fans, at least you have this going for you: there wasn’t a singular moment that defined this series. I was hoping for this to play out: Cavs down 1 with seconds to go, LeBron drives past Bowen for a dunk to force Game 5, but NO! He hits the back iron on the dunk attempt! Then we could call that play “The Brick,” and put it up there along with the other Cleveland sports heartaches: “The Drive,” “The Shot,” and “The Fumble.”

I suppose we can call this one “The Sweep.” Come on, who expected the Cavs to get swept?

(BTW, what the f**k was with that stupid McDonalds/Filet-O-Fish commercial??? I don’t think I’m going to get any sleep tonight.

Can I sue?)

Tony Parker might have won the MVP, but Tim Duncan was absolutely unstoppable down the stretch. The diving save of a loose ball, the strip of LeBroom (yeah, that one’s going to stick for a while), and that killer offensive board with under two minutes to go probably clinched the game.

(Tangent: Speaking of offensive boards, how about that sequence where the Spurs got four possessions in a row! For the love of rebounding! And how about Fabricio Oberto, of all players, to score on the fourth try, plus the foul?!?)

And where’s the love for Manu Ginobili? How about that killer triple over LeBron? Can we just give all three of them–Duncan, Manu, and Parker–the MVP?

Some other thoughts:

• Robert Horry now has SEVEN (7!!!) rings! Is he trying to fill his other hand?
• I’m sure the boos that came when Parker was announced as the MVP was as much for his performance as the fact that he’s going to marry Eva Longoria in a month.
• What took so long for the NBA to advertise Spurs championship memorabilia? Didn’t they used to run these commercials right after the final buzzer?
• Congrats to Michael Finley, for finally picking up a championship ring.

- The Cavs, despite getting their butts kicked in this series, actually have a very bright future (it helps to have LeBron, doesn’t it?)

They’re probably going to re-sign Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic, which will push them into luxury tax territory.

(Tangent: It’s a shame that Cleveland has so many contracts that expire the year following next year.)

If they can find a taker for the somewhat tradeable Donyell Marshall, or sucker a team into taking the otherwise untradeable Damon Jones or Eric Snow, they could either get immediate veteran help or cap relief for the 08-09 season. Ira Newble’s $3 million contract will come off the book by then as well, as well as David Wesley’s contract.

It wouldn’t really surprise me if the Cavs get back to the NBA Finals next year; they sure have the core to do so, with LeBron, Z, and Gooden on the front line. However, the health of Larry Hughes is going to be a concern–the contract the Cavs gave him is still a head-scratcher–and who knows what Daniel Gibson gives the team in the future? If the Cavs can find a perimeter defender, a true point guard, and/or a consistent shooter, they’ll be in great shape for next season.

I’m in a food coma right now–I BBQ’ed some burgers, and they were damn good–so that’s it for now.

by Peter
2 Comments »

- If you haven’t already, check out Krunk’s commentary on the judge who wants a ton of money over his missing pants that he loved so much, he cried over the loss in court!

Also check out the 19 (!) replies that came in this morning. I’d like to think that my quip:

I hate to imagine what would happen if he had a non-matching pair of socks.

had something to do with the influx in traffic.

- I can’t believe there is controversy regarding Dodgers’ Pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo’s HR last night, and his subsequent bat flip (video link inside). Look, the bat flip didn’t look intentional; so what if he got a bit excited? Not only did he hit his first bomb of his career, but it came at the tail end of a back-to-back-to-back! I mean, it’s not as if he stood at the plate for five seconds, admiring his shot.

That being said, would I be surprised if the Mets retaliated tonight? Not really.

- So the big story in the NBA–other than the crap-fest that is the Finals–is the Jermaine O’Neal to Los Angeles rumor. I talked about this possibility in an earlier blog entry, but now that talks between the teams seem to be heating up, let me delve into this topic in more detail.

I offered this possible trade scenario to Indiana:

How about Jermaine O’Neal, Jamaal Tinsley + assorted garbage for Odom, Brown, Farmar, Evans, and [the 19th pick]?

The salaries are close enough to matching: O’Neal and Tinsley make a combined total of $26 million, and Odom, Brown, Farmar, and Evans make a combined total of about $25 million. The Pacers get a pair of expiring contracts (Brown and Evans), a young PG, and a star with a relatively manageable two years and $28 million left on the deal. The Pacers also get to dump a pair of huge contracts.

(Edit: I had previously mentioned here about trading Jeff Foster for cap relief, which was a really foolish statement. After all, an expiring contract, by itself, provides cap relief at the end of the season. In an earlier blog entry, I said that the Pacers could try to trade Foster’s expiring contract for veteran help; that’s what I should have said in this spot.)

As for the Lakers? They go further into cap hell, pushing all-in with Jermaine, Kobe, Bynum, Tinsley, and a slew of garbage. Even if Radmanovic returns 100%, and Walton is re-signed, the Lakers will still be lacking a consistent shooter, a perimeter defender, and a reliable big off the bench (Chris Mihm?). Not to mention, the trade puts the Lakers at ~$58 million, and that’s not including Walton. We know the Dr. Jerry Buss are adverse to paying the luxury tax, and if we assume the luxury tax threshold next year will be close to this past year’s amount–$65 million or so–that doesn’t leave the Lakers much room to fill out the remainder of their roster. Therefore, I see a 0% chance that this trade will happen.

Some people have suggested “offering” Radmanovic in a package for O’Neal. I think Indy has enough overpaid white guys on their roster (Murphy, Dunleavy Jr.) with totally untradeable contracts. Sure, Odom, Vlad, and the #19 for O’Neal works numbers-wise, but what does Indy get out of the deal? They’ll see zero cap relief for two years! And people are talking as if the #19th pick is some gem. Yes, this year’s draft class is really deep, but the #19th pick is in the Nick Young-Daequan Cook-Josh McRoberts class. Not exactly jaw-dropping talent, would you not agree?

Laker fans are screaming for the team to not trade Odom and Bynum in any deal for O’Neal, and I gotta agree. Paraphrasing Bill Simmons here, you shouldn’t trade two assets (or stars, or a combination) for one asset, unless you’re getting a super-duper star. And no, Jermaine O’Neal does not qualify as a super-duper star.

The only trade that makes any sense for both teams is Odom, Brown, and the #19 for O’Neal and David Harrison. The Lakers get their established post-presence, and young player on the last year of his deal, while the Pacers get an expiring contract and a draft pick. The Lakers would be at $52 million for eight players, and have enough room to re-sign Walton and get some veteran help. Most importantly, they would also keep their one remaining bargaining chip–Bynum–for another possible deal.

Does this get the Lakers to the NBA Championship? No. Does it make them much more competitive? Yes, if O’Neal stays healthy, and if they can get veteran help.

- One more bit of Lakers news: apparently Johnny Buss–son of Dr. Jerry Buss–has mistaken MySpace for reputable news sites such as the AP, Reuters, etc. Johnny, on his MySpace page, had this message for Laker fan:

If you’ve been following the Kobe drama, I want to let you know it’s not really drama — sometimes we all need to make a change in our lives and that’s all it is. Popular or unpopular, when it’s time, it’s time. Good luck Kobe wherever you go!

How old is this guy? Seventeen? I’m surprised he didn’t write up a rap or a poem, or respond with “Bye Bye Kobe LOLZZZZOMGWTFBBQLMFAQ!!!!!!!1111111eleventyoneoneone!!!!”

(That last “word” took me about five minutes to come up with.)

If I were Kobe, this ludicrous message would be enough for me to demand a trade. I always thought MySpace was used for friends to keep in touch with each other, local bands to advertise their music, and for people to deceive others by pretending to be celebrities.

(Then again, I do get most of my news from Digg, Consumerist, etc., instead of CNN, MSNBC, etc.)

By the way, to prove Johnny Buss’ credibility, he was President of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks!

(I’m just sayin’…)

by Peter
No Comments »

Quick-hitters:

- Am I reading the Mets-Dodgers box score wrong, or did the Dodgers hit back-to-back-to-back home runs? And is that the pitcher that hit the third one??? LOL!

(Nice…Fox Sports Net just showed the replay of the trifecta.)

- I told Krunk that I was done with poker, for the rest of the week. Let’s see if I make it to Wednesday…

- I can’t wait for the NBA Finals to end. I am sick and tired of seeing those stupid David Blaine commercials. John Mellencamp thinks David Blaine is seen on TV too much these days.

- Ok, can we stop calling LeBron James “King,” at least until he wins a championship? Heck, if he gets the Cavs back to San Antonio, I’ll let him keep the nickname! The Cavs are now on the brink of elimination, after losing a heartbreaker in Game 3. Was it just me, or did it look like the Spurs were trying to let the Cavs win the game? Talk about wasted opportunities! Manu finished with three points–all on fourth quarter FTs–Tony Parker didn’t shred the Cavs D, and even Tim Duncan was slowed down, and the Cavs still couldn’t pull it out?

(Tangent: Was that not the most unwatchable half of basketball ever? Twenty-seven points in the third quarter, combined? Second-lowest scoring Finals game ever? It looked like somebody greased both rims with Crisco.)

(Tangent #2: During the game, I noticed a bunch of flashing red lights. I thought my TV was on the fritz–Yes! A legitimate excuse to return my TV to Costco! Alas, it seems the fans were wearing these clip-on flashing red LED thingies.)

Some other thoughts:

• Going 3-19 from beyond the arc isn’t going to win you many games.
• Boy, do the Cavs need a PG! Daniel Gibson just isn’t equipped to handle the point. Too bad Larry Hughes is completely untradeable for the next two seasons.
• That was some pretty awful officiating! LeBron got fouled late a couple of times, and no whistle was blown!
• I should have figured the game was over when the Cavs decided to go to Eric Snow (see bullet #2) down the stretch.

Do I dare pick against the Spurs in Game 4? Hell no. Bring out LeBroom!

(Of course, I’ve been wrong in Games 2 and 3; what makes me believe that I’ll be right here?)

- (from Consumerist) A Home Depot employee accused a woman of bringing in an empty bag + receipt, picking up an item listed on the receipt, and then trying to return the item. First of all, the item was packed in that nearly impossible to open plastic, and the woman said that she “just threw all the parts along with the plastic case into the Home Depot bag along with the receipt and went to the return counter.” Pray tell, how did she manage to open the blister packaging, to set up this elaborate scam, inside the store? She must have had some sharp fingernails!

(Never mind the fact that that sounds like an awful lot of work to defraud a company out of a hundred bucks.)

More importantly, I thought Home Depot deemed it illegal for an associate to accuse a customer of shoplifting! I better hear that this kid got fired by HD for his heinous act!

(Also from Consumerist) I’ll leave with this little gem: it will be one year ago tomorrow that this (in)famous AOL cancellation attempt was made by disgruntled customer Vincent Ferrari.

Next time: I gotta talk about the Jermaine O’Neal to LA rumors.

by Peter
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- Not long ago, I noticed the clock in my bathroom stopped ticking. I popped the AA battery out of the clock, and went searching for a new one. It turned out that I didn’t have a spare, so I just popped the battery back into the clock, and noticed it started ticking again. I put the clock back up on the wall, and thought nothing of it.

That was a month ago…the darn thing has worked since. The next time the clock should stop working, remind me to swap the “dead” battery with one from my TV remote control (we all know how long those things go without needing new batteries!).

- Not that I was doubting Amy, but the guy who screamed “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” when it was announced that Paris Hilton was going to have to serve her entire 45-day sentence has been identified as Jake Byrd, real name Anthony Barbieri, of Jimmy Kimmel Live fame.

- I hate poker. I really do. So why do I keep playing? Because I love losing an entire buy-in against the mother of all hands: the dreaded four-deuce.

- A 66-year-old in Iowa City, California, used a set of pocket knives to amputate his leg, in order to free himself from a felled tree. The man “had been cutting trees last Friday when one fell on him. After freeing himself, he cried out for help, and a neighbor passing through this sparsely populated area heard him.” The guy was pinned under the trees for eleven hours!

I remember a similar story, where a guy cut off his arm–pinned under a rock, IIRC–to escape as well. I don’t want to know how the guy pulled this off, but I don’t think I could ever amputate myself, no matter the situation. And how the heck did this guy chop off a limb with a pocket knife? I better get a chain saw, or a machete, or maybe one of those ginsu knives. All I know for sure is, If I had to choose between amputation to save my own life, or certain death, give me death!

- A man who was sentenced to ten years in prison for consensual oral sex he had with a 15-year-old when he was 17 was ordered to be released by a Georgia judge on Monday. The sentence handed down on Genarlow Wilson, which came with mandatory registration in the sex offender registry, was widely criticized by many for being unfit for the crime. Although the judge has requested that the sentence be reduced to aggravated child molestation–a misdemeanor–without having to register as a sex offender, the Georgia Attorney General has filed an appeal. The A.G. argues that “Georgia law does not give a judge authority to reduce or modify the sentence imposed by the trial court.”

I don’t want to hear any of the “rules are rules” arguments; the fact is, the guy had consensual sex, and he did not deserve ten years in prison. Mr A.G., I do hope you get the “expedited” ruling you asked for, and I hope the Georgia Supreme Court rules in favor of Mr. Wilson. Then I hope Mr. Wilson is able to get his life back on track, once he is released.

That’s all I’ve got for today.

by Peter
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