UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

Quick-hitters:

- I’ve got a picture of Dwight Schrute in ASCII taped up to the wall above my computer monitor, and as you might expect, my sister got totally creeped out by it.

LOL.

- It is 11:30PM right now, and my new neighbors’ stupid little mutt is barking like mad, which, in turn, is causing other neighbor dogs to bark along.

Grrrrrr…

- Shot-Online update: Level 47, and the Semi-Pro test is tomorrow.

Hopefully, I do not choke.

*gag*

- As promised, a full review of last’s night premiere of The Office.

Damn funny episode last night, and I love how many potential story lines the writers have set up for the rest of the season. We have, in no particular order: a Michael-Holly-Jan triumvirate, Jim’s odd proposal to Pam, Andy being completely oblivious to the shenanigans of Dwight and Angela, and Ryan’s quest for revenge on Jim.

(Speaking of Ryan…wasn’t he in trouble for fraud? Damn high-priced corporate attorneys!)

You gotta hand it to the writers of the show for using an entire episode to recap the events of the summer. I loved how readily they resolved the fates of both Ryan The Temp, Part Deux, and Toby. Is Toby still an integral character, or perhaps have we seen the last of him? And will Ryan attempt to climb back up the corporate ladder? And what company re-hires an ex-con, even if he is re-hired through a temp agency??? Damn…Michael Scott sure has a lot of pull in that organization!

If there’s one thing unsettling about the premiere, though, it is the fact that Pam’s still in New York. Do I smell a December cliff-hanger where Jim, once again, has to choose between Scranton and New York? (EDIT:  Duh…once again, I forgot that Pam started her three-month stint in NY at the beginning of summer!) I sincerely hope not! And no, leaving Pam with that decision is no better! And oh by the way, who got Ryan’s old job? I can think of a suitable candidate at the Scranton branch…

(Great…is this how Jim is going to end up with the choice between Scranton and New York?)

And has anyone figured out what the importance of that rest stop is?

What should we make of the Michael-Holly-Jan situation? Michael and Holly are TOO similar; they seem to be more like long-lost siblings than a couple! I was also hoping that we would get more than a quick cameo from Jan; we all know that she’s still going to have an integral role in the show. Also, yes, Holly is starting to grow on me, even if she is the female Michael Scott.

(Completely off-topic, but every time I glance up at the ASCII pic of Dwight, I think to myself, “Is his eyes following me around?”)

Oh please, please, please, let Andy do something ridiculous like having the wedding at the office itself! The jokes will literally write themselves! Michael in charge of the whole thing, and Dwight as Andy’s Best Man! Is there anyone that knows anyone on The Office to whom I can pitch this idea?

And Andy is gonna figure out, sooner or later, where Angela and Dwight go every now and then, right?

(Another random thought: someone found my site with a search of “pokerstars on jim’s computer in the office.” LOL.)

Finally, in typical Office fashion, even the bit characters had more-than-brief appearances throughout the premiere: Stanley and Kelly’s attempts to lose weight, Phyllis being forced to walk five miles by Dwight, Oscar hooking up Holly with a date, and (thank goodness!) the end of the “mentally challenged” Kevin storyline.

Until next time!

Tags: annoying dogs, full review, neighbors, season premiere, shot-online, The Office, weight loss by Peter
2 Comments »

What could possibly cause me to offer nothing more than a passing thought about the Dodgers’ clinching of the NL West crown?

The return of The Office, naturally!

(WOOHOO!!!!!!)

Note:  I missed the live airing of this episode, due to the exciting finish in the USC @ Oregon State game.  Does that make me no longer a true fan?

Also, since I missed the live airing, I think I’ll do a running synopsis of the episode.  Here goes!

- Ahhhhh…how I miss the theme song!  Hearing it preceding a rerun just isn’t the same.  And B.J. Novak is still being credited, eh?

- That cheese fountain looks damn tasty…

_ …not anymore, after Andy mentioned wanting “washboard abs” for when Angela sees him naked for the first time.  *gag*

- Dwight:  “Hold it in your mouth if you can’t swallow.”  Our first “That’s what she said” moment of the 08-09 season…except Michael didn’t say it???

(Tangent.)

- 2,336 lbs. with Pam on the scale…2,210 lbs. with Pam off it.  The look on Pam’s face was priceless.  And Kevin’s “You weigh 226 lbs.?” was damn funny.  Yes, Kevin, math IS hard.

- Yoga, huh?

- Michael:  “Did you see Holly’s butt?”  It took three minutes to get to the first inappropriate comment of this episode???  The Office is losing it!

- OMG…Holly (is that her name?) is morphing into the female Michael Scott as we speak!!!

(Tangent:  I’m always leery of new characters being added to an already awesome show.

(Sub-tangent:  Remember the episode of The Simpsons where they teased a new character being on the show?)

So far, it worked with Karen, and who can argue that it’s not working with Andy?  However, I’m not sold on Holly yet…)

- Pam will be gone for three months, huh?

(checks calendar…September…October…November…December…I smell a midseason cliffhanger!)

(EDIT:  Duh…stupid me.  This episode is chronicling everything that happened from June to September.

(checks calendar…June…July…August…September.)

Clever, writers!)

- Dwight:  “We done good in there, half-pint.”  Oh boy…and Angela’s “I have a fiancé I very much like” was VERY convincing.  Uh-huh.

- Is it evil to have wished for Pam to accidentally run over Michael in the parking lot?

(I thought so.)

- Jim:  “…and Pam’s always said she doesn’t want a long engagement.  Something in her past, I guess…something about a guy that used to work here.”  What could he be talking about?

- WTF happened to Meredith’s face???

- Jim:  “…Michael is actually killing it with Holly, and I think I know why!  It’s because Holly is kind of a major dork.”  Understatement of the season, so far.  And no, that rap did nothing to influence my opinion of her.

- Jim:  “I don’t really know Ronnie (sp?), but I have a feeling I will get to know her very well over the next few years, and eventually declare my love for her.”  Who didn’t see that coming?

- LOL @ Kelly Kapour.  “I look a-MA-zing!”

- Jim:  “When Michael told us that Jan was pregnant, he led us to believe that he was the father…by telling us that he was the father.”  I’m ten minutes into this episode, and I don’t recall Jim ever having this many talking heads in one episode!

- Holly:  “He is not an idiot!  He is mentally challenged!”  Literally one second before Holly opened her mouth, I found myself asking, “How much longer are the writers going to play the ‘Holly thinks Kevin is challenged’ storyline?”  And Holly even runs with her tail between her legs like Michael!  They’re perfect for each other!

- Andy just reached the point of desperation…about the same time I admitted that I have an addiction to beef jerky:  years ago.  FOUR non-refundable deposits???

- Dwight:  “Can you turn the girl off?”  I’m not sure if that wasn’t the most unintentionally funny line in Office history, or if it was delivered at face value.

Watching Michael parade around with “Pam,” followed by the talking head, almost made me spit Propel all over my monitor.  “Can you give me back to Jim now, please?”  LMFAO!!!

- So Phyllis is now the head of the Party Planning Committee?  What a way to blackmail Angela!

- Michael:  “What is wrong with these people?  They have no willpower.  I went…I once went 28 years without having sex, and then again for seven years.”  The writers should have had Michael say he went 40 years without having sex…

And what’s with the mustache?

- Jim grabbing Dwight’s shoulders twice…now THAT was AWK-WARD!

- Pam Beesly, Resident Advisor?

- Wow, Michael is taking the news that Holly is dating well.  And I wonder how many takes it took to get the scene where Dwight ruined Michael’s suit right.

- Gee, it looks like Creed has had practice using a scale and a credit card before.

- Holly:  “If we stay fat long enough, we might get a whole month off.”  LOL.

- Creed, after a long-winded talking head about Kelly swallowing a tapeworm:  “That wasn’t a tapeworm.”

- Oh look, the temp is back…as the receptionist???  And Michael hired him through the temp agency again???  AND he grew the mustache because of Ryan’s???

Horribly cheesy, and ridiculously funny!!!  Oh how I’ve missed you, Office.

(FIRE…D guy?  WTF!!!  :P)

- Ryan:  “I’m keeping a list of everyone who wrongs me, so when I’m back on top, they’ll be sorry.” Hmmmm…I wonder who Ryan put on the top of that list.

- Michael:  “You know my seduction method…I like to get in there and get my hands dirty!”

- Ewwwwwwww @ the food rotting in the vending machine.

(And an even bigger “Ewwwwwwwww” at Kelly and Darryl making out near Ryan.)

- Of course…Pam is getting smitten by another guy.  Who didn’t see that coming?

(One of the real concerns I have with this season of The Office is how the writers are going to handle the Jim-Pam relationship.  As integral to the entire series as their relationship is, how much longer can the writers drag out this storyline?)

- Poor Phyllis.  Michael:  “Dwight, I would like you to apologize to this beautiful, beautiful woman for forcing her to walk five miles, which, for her, is basically a death march.”

- Phyllis:  “I wonder what people like about me.  Probably my jugs.”  It’s a damn good thing I didn’t watch this episode live!

- Dwight:  “I’m gonna write you both up for not working.”  Jim:  “I’m gonna write YOU up for not working.”  I wonder who the #2 in the office is…

(Receptionitis15?  And why is there a shortcut to PokerStars on Jim’s computer?  I wonder if he plays there in real life.)

- ASCII art of Dwight?  Oh my.

- Andy:  “Andy Bernard does not lose contests.  He wins them, or he quits them, because they’re unfair.”

- So every locale he booked didn’t phase him.  Every objection Angela had didn’t affect him.  But rejecting Andy’s old a capella group is a “deal breaker?”

- Totally random weight-”loss” thoughts:  1) I wonder if weighing sans clothes is legal.  2) What, no laxatives or ipecac?  3) I wonder how much weight Dwight and Angela have lost just from sexing each other up.

- HE PICKED A MINI-MART TO PROPOSE TO HER???  WHAT THE HELL???

- Michael Scott is an idiot.  Oh wait…we already knew that.  However, he totally redeemed himself with that cheap “You guys are all gigantic losers!”

(I wonder how much rain Jim collected on his clothes, and how much that affected the total weight loss of the group.)

- Hey, Toby.

Best premiere of the five seasons?  Nah.  Damn funny?  Of course.

Full review next time.

Tags: season premiere, The Office, weight loss by Peter
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Quick hitters:

- The Los Angeles Dodgers’ magic number: ONE.

Start engraving that MVP trophy with Manny’s name on it! Sure, the Dodgers are only 28-21 since his acquisition, but do you think the Dodgers win more than 2-3 of those games without him?

And how great was it to see Rafael Furcal and—to a much lesser extent!—Jeff Kent back on the field?

(Somewhat off topic, but why do newspeople insist on raising one finger any time they say the number “one” with emphasis? I’m looking at you, FSN’s Patrick O’Neal!)

- Subject and From: field of an email I received a few days ago:

Walmart.com bought a Walmart.com Gift Card for you!‏

From: Walmart.com bought a Walmart.com Gift Card for you!‏

Spam, right? If I offered you 1:10 odds that this was spam, you’d bet the house on it, right?

Amazingly enough, it was NOT spam! You see, a couple weeks ago, Walmart.com had offered several workout machines for ridiculously low prices. Sure enough, they turned out to be pricing errors, as stated in the “kill mail” email from Walmart that immediately found its way into my trash can.

Good thing Hotmail hadn’t yet emptied my trash when the email containing the GC hit my inbox.

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1,039, but I haven’t yet updated it with over $500 in recent purchases.

- So you might recall that my really cool neighbors recently moved out of their condo. I’ve met two of the three new tenants in that condo; the lone female seems like a nice person, and one of the guys seems to be a grade-A jerk. There’s a third guy there, but I have yet to meet him.

Unfortunately, I have become quite acquainted with the fourth member of that condo: a super-annoying, barks-every-waking-minute dog! Of course, every time the stupid rat dog starts barking, the other dogs near us start barking away as well.

One of the dogs—a serial offender, and one I’ve probably written about before—is now so bad, there have been times where s/he has barked at 3-4AM!!!

Stupid dogs…and their stupid owners.

- Needing to use up some expiring ECBs yesterday, we swung by the Encino CVS. I was hoping to score some more FAECB body wash, deodorant, and some really cheap Propel water. I also needed eye drops, and after picking up all the items above, I went to the checkout counter, where I met my favorite cashier.

After all my coupons and ECBs, my total due was $3.00. As I reached into my wallet to pull out a $20, the cashier started giving me the death stare.

(Oh sh*t…what did I do???)

In her thick accent, she started scolding me! “Three dollars? Usually you hand me a few cents!”

I responded with “It was the darn [Propel] water…too good of a deal!”

She responded “Come on, I know you’ve got a two-dollar-something ECB in that envelope of yours.” Then she almost tossed my change back at me.

As I grabbed my bags, I told her “Does this mean I’m banned from the store now?”

She responded with “You better come back next time and spend a few cents. You’re letting me down!”

I love my CVS.

Better yet, apparently my sister forgot a bag of items, and we didn’t realize this until we got home. Upon realizing this, I instructed her to call the CVS and, to prove that it was her bag of items, I told her to identify what was in it.

She called, and while speaking to a cashier at the front, she could hear another cashier screaming “It’s all my fault! I’m so sorry!!!”

We went back, and as soon as we stepped in, the cashier screamed, “I’m SO SORRY!!! I can’t believe I did that!”

I love my CVS.

- I’m now 1-2 in both of my Fantasy leagues, no thanks in part to the injuries to Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook.

In my “crap” (read:  Carson f**king Palmer) league, I’m 1-2, thanks to Maurice Jones-Drew.  I now face the only winless team in the league, and unfortunately, he’s not 0-3 because he drafted Tom Brady.  Worse for me is the fact that Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Roy Williams are all off next week.

1-3 here I come!

In my other league (read:  Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook), I got drubbed 97-56, so it’s not like those two would have helped much.  I’m now up against a 3-0 team next week.

Fantastic!

Until next time!

Tags: barking dogs, brian westbrook, cool cashiers, cvs, donovan mcnabb, ecbs, encino, fantasy football, gift card, injuries, jerks, los angeles dodgers, magic number, manny ramirez, maurice jones-drew, neighbors, rebate-o-meter, spam, walmart.com by Peter
2 Comments »

Four days between updates? Yikes!

Let’s get to it.

One quick thought about the Dodgers, before I get started…

- If that stolen base, by a PITCHER (the Giants’ Brad Hennessey!!!), who came in as a pinch runner, who stole second because our All-Star catcher—Russell Martin—wasn’t paying attention on the play, costs the Dodgers the National League West crown, I am going to be royally pissed off.

That is all.

- For the love of ***, I am going to flip if I see one of those stupid Mercury Insurance commercials again!!!

(Have you seen these abominations? In one, some douchebag wants to call heads and tails on a coin flip. In other, some woman wants to send a packages to two places. HILARIOUS!

Or not.)

Speaking of dumb commercials, what’s with the new “I’m a PC” commercials??? Seriously, is Microsoft trying to out-douchebag Apple?

- Shot-Online update: I’m now at level 44, thanks to Shot-Online giving us a triple EXP/NG day for apparently forgetting to turn on double EXP/NG on Sunday, along with the daily evening double EXP/NG times. A healthy supply of Mageias doesn’t hurt, either. Seeing as how triple EXP/NG day is going to run until 8pm tomorrow night, and seeing as how I have lots of Mageias left, I could probably get to level 50 by tomorrow :P.

As far as my semi-pro quest is concerned, I was also able to shoot -6 on Gladsheim from the semi-pro tees. That’s fairly reassuring to me, considering that one of my guildmates passed the semi-pro test with the exact same score.

(Tangent: As you might recall, I am a Shot-Online Auction House whore. Well, I’ve moved on from flipping Werdandis, Sagittariuses, and Capricornuses, to eight-figure Mageias! In preparation for the events of the past few days, I’ve been flipping Mageias purchased for at ~ 10-10.5 million for nearly 12 million each!

Well, I should have thought about selling the Mageias during the triple EXP/NG times, because they are now selling for ~ 15 million NG each! Whoops!)

Time for this week’s NFL thoughts:

- Is it bad that I got a lot (and I mean a LOT!) of satisfaction out of watching Brett Favre look completely lost in the NY Bretts’ 48-29 loss against the previously unbeaten San Diego Chargers? I laughed hysterically at every terrible pass, every duck, and every pick he threw, especially the Pick-Six!

I wonder if Diva Favre is re-thinking his decision to play this season. Would it surprise anyone if he retired tomorrow?

- How in the hell did Miami put up 38 points on New England???  Was that Ronnie Brown in the Fins’ backfield, or freaking Jim Brown?

Speaking of lots of points, Atlanta (???) scored 38 against KC, Denver and NO scored a total of 66 points, Seattle put up 37 (well, that one’s not THAT surprising), and of course, there’s the 77 point explosion by the Jets and the Chargers.

Fantasy football dorks, rejoice!

- What a backbreaking loss for the Colts against the Jags on Sunday!  A great rally—including a gutsy bomb on fourth and two—only to be stymied by a bad pass interference penalty and a game-winning 51-yard field goal!

Look at the Colts’ remaining schedule.  Is a 4-7 record before Thanksgiving really that far out of the question?  The Colts have no running game, they can’t protect Manning, their run defense is AWFUL, and Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning don’t seem to be clicking at all.

- If Dallas goes 16-0 this season, how much buzz would THAT generate?  It should generate at least as much as the Patriots did last year, right?  Between Terrible Owens being a model citizen, and the whole circus that is Tony Romo, this team has just as much intrigue as the Spygate-infested Patriots of last year.

I don’t see them going undefeated, though, as they have quite a few tough matchups left.

My head hurts, so I’ll stop here.  Until next time!

Tags: auction house, dallas cowboys, diva favre, i'm a pc, indianapolis colts, mageia, mercury insurance, miami dolphins, nfl, ny bretts, peyton manning, ronnie brown, san diego chargers, semi-pro test, shot-online, stupid commercials, triple exp/ng, undefeated, week three by Peter
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Quick blog entry tonight…my head hurts.

- I had a roto chicken/cheese danish/assorted junk food-in-bulk craving, so we ran off to Costco. We also swung by CVS, where I could only score some FAECB Excedrin medicine.

The Excedrin medicine has caffeine in it, though! Oh well, it might make an interesting pairing with my Advil P.M. pills

At Costco, over in the baked foods section, I was looking for a box of cheese danishes, when I noticed what looked like a new offering. It turns out, though, that Costco now offers their cheese danishes in a six-pack, round metal tray, called a “Danish Pull Apart.”

Pretty cool, I suppose, although it would be cooler if the six-pack of danishes didn’t cost only a buck less—$4.99 versus $5.99—than the original nine-pack.

Even freaking Costco is not immune from the Consumerist-dubbed “Grocery Shrink Ray!” NOOOOOOOOOOO…

(Speaking of higher costs, do you want a sure sign of the apocalypse? Two weeks ago, I swung by one of those Glacier Water machines, stuck five quarters into the coin slot, hit the “5 Gallons” button, and wondered why nothing was coming out of the spout. I took a closer look at the machine, and saw that a gallon was now thirty cents!

Thirty cents??? Back in the early 90s, when I would go, with my dad, to fill up several of those five-gallon bottles, one gallon of filtered water was twenty cents. A few years back, it went up to twenty-five cents, and now thirty? OMFG!!!

And please save your inflation/cost of materials/etc. arguments :P)

I also couldn’t resist a tub of seafood dip, some frozen pizzas, my rotisserie chicken, and a few other necessities (honest!).

Note to self: NEVER, EVER, go back to the Costco on Sepulveda Blvd.!

- Fantasy football updates:

1) No thanks to Carson Palmer (three points), Roy Williams (four points), and no Dallas Clark (1 pt from L.J. Smith of Philly), I am now 0-2 in one league, and DEAD FREAKING LAST (and it’s not even close).

2) No thanks to the aforementioned Roy Williams, as well as Jerricho Cotchery (two points), an injured Justin Fargas (four points), and my opponent having Kurt Warner (26), Greg Jennings (16), and Clinton Portis (21), I’m now 1-1 in this league.

3) My sister joined a Yahoo! League as well, and even though her team is terrible, she’s 1-1.  It helps to face a team with Tom Brady and a still-suspended Steve Smith…

4) Boy am I glad I did not draft Joseph Addai!

Too bad I (auto) drafted Steven Jackson.  Sigh…

That’s it for today.

Tags: cheese danish, costco, cvs, excedrin, fantasy football, glacier water by Peter
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On with it!

- How unfortunate that the great Chargers-Broncos game had to be marred by a terrible call by veteran official/guns of steel owner Ed Hochuli?  We should be talking about Broncos’ coach Mike Shanahan’s decision to go for the win (awesome, for the record, and I’m sure ESPN’S TMQ is going to make mention of Shanahan’s non-chicken decision!).  We should be talking about Darren Sproles and Brandon Marshall and rookie Eddie Royal’s TD and 2pt conversion hauls.

Instead, we’re talking about Ed Hochuli’s blown call, and so will I.

!) Let’s get this one out of the way now:  Hochuli got it wrong.  There’s no way that Cutler’s fumble wasn’t a fumble.  Sure, Hochuli had a bad angle on the play; he was standing behind Cutler, and might have been his angle blocked by Cutler’s left shoulder).  If that were true, though, then why bother blowing the whistle?  Let the play go, and then allow the replay official to demand a review of the play.

2) That being said, why can’t the play be completely reviewed?  Who is going to argue that the Chargers could not have recovered the fumble (and, of course, they actually did!)?  We saw indisputable evidence that the Chargers recovered the fumble, so why can’t the play be completely reversed?

I hope the NFL looks to reverse the “inadvertent whistle” rule, especially in the face of overwhelming evidence like we had here.

3) Charger fans, please stop with the “That call screwed us out of the game!” whining!  Had you guys not gone down 21-3 early in the game, you might not have been in the position to lose on a bad call by a referee.  How about stopping Brandon Marshall?  How about stopping Tony Scheffler?  I know!  How about stopping Eddie Royal ONCE?

What a strange season so far.  San Diego, Jacksonville, and Minnesota are 0-2; Arizona (???), Carolina (!!!), and Buffalo are 2-0; and the Colts should be 0-2.

- Speaking of the Colts, how are they NOT 0-2?  Adrian Peterson ran all over them in Sunday’s game, and yet all Minnesota could manage was five field goals?  You had a chance to bury the Colts early, and all you could muster was five field goals?

Even still, it took a furious rally—a huge reception/lateral, three tries at a TD dive, a fourth quarter TD, a 2pt conversion dive, a GREAT special teams play, and a game-winner by Adam Vinatieri—to pull this one out.

(Tangent:  Why is it that I’ve seen the replay of the Anthony Gonzalez flip to Reggie Wayne twenty times, but I’ve only seen the replay of the fourth-quarter, downed-at-the-one punt by the Colts’ special teams once?  If that punt goes into the end zone, who knows what might have happened?

Then again, who is surprised that a non-SportsCenter-worthy play was, arguably, the key to the game?)

And has anyone seen the Colts’ running game?  Yikes.

- So I guess the great Brett Favre isn’t enough to beat a Tom Brady-less Pats team, and I guess the Pats might be OK after all.  That pick Favre threw looked like vintage Brett Favre, if by “vintage,” I mean 2004-2006 and 2007 NFC Championship Favre.  And Matt Cassel is fitting the role of Trent Dilfer just fine, isn’t he?

Speaking of Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers doesn’t look half-bad, does he?  Granted, his second game came against the Detroit Lions, but still?  Dare I say that Rodgers looks almost better than Favre did last year?  I can’t wait for next Sunday night’s game:  Cowboys at Packers.  Whoa.

Other random thoughts:

- I guess Philly really is that good, even though they lost to the Cowboys tonight.

Speaking of Philly v Dallas…who opened the floodgates to all this scoring?  Philly and Dallas combined for 78 points.  San Diego and Denver combined for 77 points.  Green Bay scored 24 points in five minutes.  Freaking San Francisco and Seattle combined for 63 points!  Was this the NFL in 2008 or Tecmo Super Bowl?

I wonder what the over/under lines are going to look like for next week’s games, especially Dallas at Green Bay?  Sixty points?  Eighty?

- On the other end of that spectrum, I was actually kinda surprised that Pittsburgh and Cleveland managed 16 total points.  I was thinking it was going to be a weird, 9-8 game or something like that :P.

- I guess Kurt Warner’s not done.  Same with Jake Delhomme.  Vince Young might very well be, though.  Carson Palmer looks lost.  Marc Bulger might want to think about early retirement.

- Speaking of the Rams…they look absolutely awful, and as much as I would love to see a team finish 0-16, I can see the Rams backing into a victory against either San Francisco or an injury-ravaged Seattle team.  Kansas City might be able to do it, but they have games against Atlanta and Miami, so I don’t like their chances.  Cincinnati’s offense is too talented to go winless, as is Cleveland’s offense (besides, they play each other twice), and the same can be said for Jacksonville and San Diego.

I guess no one’s going winless this year.

Fantasy football thoughts to come next time.

Tags: aaron rodgers, adrian peterson, brandon marshall, brett favre, darren sproles, denver broncos, ed hochuli, high scoring, indianapolis colts, matt cassel, mike shanahan, san diego chargers, winless teams by Peter
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I’m going to try and post two blog entries tonight.

On with it!

- Believe it or not, I am actually going to get my outstanding rebates in the mailbox two days before the 30 day postmark deadline!  The rebate processors won’t know what hit them!

So…anyone wanna bet on the over/under on how many of the ten rebates I just mailed out will be rejected?

Over 2.5  -110

Under 2.5  -110

Current rebate-o-meter:  $1,110.  Got a few hundred over the past few days, and added a few hundred.

- Shot-Online update:  I’m at level 40, and halfway to level 41.  Mageias really help, even at a hefty cost of ten million NG for 250 charges.

(How can I afford such extravagances?  More on that later…)

As far as my Semi-Pro quest is concerned, I just found out what the requirements really are to achieve Semi-Pro status.  Copied and pasted from the Shot-Online site:

Cut Off Standard
- The top 50% of the X number of players who score 68 or under (stroke play)
(The qualifiers must score under 68 in order to be in the selection process. We then qualify the top 50% of the players who scored 68 or under. For instance, if 100 players got 68 or under, we’d pass 50. If there was a tie for the 50th spot, the player with the lower handicap will get the spot. Getting under 68 does not guarantee a pass.)

Damn.  I knew that one needed a handicap of -4 on Gladsheim in order to take the test, but I was always under the impression that all I needed was a -4 during the test itself to pass.  I gotta shoot better than -4 AND finish in the top 50% of all qualifiers?  Considering that I can’t even shoot -4 now—and I’m playing from the amateur tees!—I don’t see myself passing this test any time soon.

That little tidbit about how one’s handicap is the tiebreaker is a bit comforting, though.  I guess I better lower my HC as well.

By the way, I mentioned in the past that I spend way too much time at the Auction House.  I’m beginning to think that that’s an understatement; I’m probably spending more than half of my Shot-Online time at the AH!

Why, you ask?  Well, it probably has something to do with being able to flip stuff purchased really cheap at a huge profit!  You might recall that I was flipping items like Zodiac Leos a while back…

Case in point:  Zodiac Leo 100s (Pwr +6) generally sell for anywhere from 500,000 to nearly 1,000,000 NG.  In the past few days, I’ve been able to score several Zodiac Leos for less than 600,000, and I’ve been able to flip most of them for a “Buy now” price of 850,000.  After the auction fees, that’s an easy 200,000 NG profit!

Well, since then, I’ve been able to flip million dollar items for pretty nice profits.  Here’s just a sampling of my for-profit sales:

• Werdandis purchased for ~ 2 million NG being sold for anywhere between 2.5-4.5 million NG.
• Sagittarius 500s for ~ 1 million NG in profit each
• Capricornus (yes, that’s how the game spells it) 500s for ~ 2 million NG in profit

Last night alone, I flipped a few seven-figure items for a grand total of about 6 million NG in profit.  I used the money to buy yet another 11 million NG Mageia :P.

Yes, I’m a total Shot-Online dork.  In fact, I’m such a dork, that I actually take notes on the sale prices of certain items, in order to figure out what a good deal really is.

(If only I did that back in my high school, trading-card-dealing days.)

I am having WAY too much fun with this game.

- Those of you that love your food might want to turn away from this story…

On Friday night, I decided to fry up some ribeyes and prepare a potato salad.  Unfortunately, I was a bit short on mayo, and the salad wasn’t thoroughly coated.  On top of that, I completely forgot to add chopped eggs to the salad!

(Oh well…it was still damn tasty :P).

Now, if a bad potato salad is a sin, what would you call an extra-fatty, extra-gristly, extra-chewy piece of ribeye steak?  I’m still crying over the horrible piece of steak I had; there was a huge chunk of fat right in the middle of the cut, as well as several chunks of fat in other locations in the steak!  After trimming away all the fat (never mind the gristle that lined one edge of the steak), the 12oz piece of ribeye I had was cut down to maybe four ounces.

I had to compensate by eating even more under-coated potato salad :P.

My Week Two (Fantasy) Football recap is coming…

Tags: auction house, capricornus, gladsheim, mageia, potato salad, rebate-o-meter, rebates, ribeye, sagittarius, semi-pro, shot-online, werdandi, zodiac leo by Peter
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Boy did it get chilly over the last two days!

Stupid weather girl lied…she said it would be warmer, not colder!

I want summer back =(.

Quick-hitters:

- I now have somewhere along the lines of fifteen rebates that need to go out soon.

(Yes, that includes the ten or so that need to go out by next week.)

- Why do teams continue to pitch to Manny?

Sure, Manny grounded into a double play, struck out on a wicked change, and then hit a towering fly ball in his first three at bats tonight against the Rockies. Come on, Rockies! That’s only going to motivate him to try! RBI single, single to load the bases, and ho-hum…another 2-for-5 day.

I’ll miss you, Manny. Enjoy the Yankee pinstripes next season.

- Better late than never, right?

1) So first Vince Young, allegedly, refused to re-enter a game after injuring his MCL (He only returned after Titans’ coach Jeff Fisher pleaded with him to get back in the game).  Then, after the game, Young went missing.  Later on, we found out that he was at a friend’s house, eating chicken wings.  His mom decided to chime in as well, demanding space for her son.

And now there’s word that he spoke to a therapist about suicide?

I’m not going to pile on the guy, like some people on ESPN; I’ve read enough “You make millions of dollars, you poor baby!” comments to last me ten lifetimes.  All I’ll say is that Young’s MCL injury might be a blessing in disguise; if I were the Titans, I would leave Young in Tennessee to recuperate AND find someone to talk to about his personal issues.

2) I felt a little bit guilty about rooting hard for Chad Pennington to rally against the New York Favres.

(Just a little bit.)

Too bad Chad Pennington remembered who he was, right before throwing that back-breaking pick.

3) I’m so glad everything in the world is back to normal, now that T.O. is once again going after Donovan McNabb.

Thank you, Terrible Owens.

4) I’d worry if I were a Jags’ or Seahawks’ fan.  I’d temper my expectations if I were an Eagles’, Bills’, or Bears’ fan.  Colts’ fans, I wouldn’t worry too much, especially if Jeff Saturday returns next week and is healthy.

And finally, Pats’ fans…

5) Is Matt Cassel going to be the next Tom Brady?  No.  At this point, Pats’ fans better hope Matt Cassel is the next Trent Dilfer, and I mean that with all seriousness.

Remember, it was Trent Dilfer that did not cost the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XXXV.  If Matt Cassel can do that, and the Pats’ defense stays solid throughout the year, then who knows?  Last time I checked, the Pats still had Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Lawrence Maroney, and Bill Belicheck.

(Can you believe this?  A year ago, I would have puked in my mouth at the mere mention of the Pats, and now, I’m actually being sympathetic???

Part of this is because of Diva Favre, by the way.  If the Jets should win the AFC East, I’m going to plaster asterisks all over that title :P).

Maybe more NFL Week 1 thoughts next time, as well as a Shot-Online update, and the worst piece of steak I’ve ever cooked (*cry*).  Until then!

Tags: cold weather, colorado rockies, diva favre, los angeles dodgers, manny ramirez, matt cassel, nfl, rebates, tennessee titans, terrible owens, vince young, week 1 by Peter
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Let’s see if I remember how to do this.

(Week 1 NFL thoughts to come tomorrow…I hope.)

Random thoughts from the past week:

- Stupid commercials I’ve seen lately:

1) These two about high-fructose corn syrup. I was going to attempt a long-winded rant about these commercials, but I’ll let The Consumerist and their readers handle it.

2) “Pasta player-hater!” WTF.

- I have something like ten rebates that need to go out in the next week or so.

Who wants to bet that I won’t send them out until two days before the postmark deadline?

- Eight straight wins, and now nine of ten. A 2.5 game lead over Arizona. Four wins against Arizona aces (Brandon Webb and Dan Haren).

Three thoughts here:

1) Why aren’t teams giving Manny the Barry Bonds treatment? Manny had another HR today, as well as a scoring fly ball. Can we etch his name on the MVP award right now?

2) Speaking of Manny…hey, Jeff Kent, Andre Ethier is Exhibit B of the Manny effect, is he not? He had four more RBI today, including a huge bases-clearing double to give the Dodgers’ bullpen some breathing room.

Don’t rush back, Kent.

3) Derek Lowe just made himself a ton of money over the past few weeks. And who knows how much more money Manny made himself.

- So some of you might be thinking that I was kicking up my heels and celebrating the season-ending torn ACL that Tom Brady suffered.

You’d be wrong, and I will neither confirm nor deny that that eleventy billion replays I’ve seen of the hit that Brady took might have changed my opinion of the injury. Despite what I may have written in the past about the Cheat-riots, nobody deserves a season-ending knee injury, especially on a fluke play in the first quarter of the first game of the season.

And please stop with the “karma’s a b!tch” talk. If anything, the Pats got what was coming to them in last year’s Super Bowl.

I first heard of the injury when I woke up late Sunday morning, fired up my laptop, and saw something about Brady leaving the Chiefs-Pats game early in the first quarter with a knee injury. When I first read that headline, I immediately thought “Oh oh…season ender?” After seeing the replay for the first time, I was about 90% sure he was done for the year.

Was the hit dirty? I don’t think so. It seemed desperate, and definitely unnecessary, but I didn’t think it was dirty at all.

What sickens me about the entire situation is the fact that one could argue that Diva Favre’s Jets team might very well be the favorites in the AFC East. If the Jets win the East (even with Brady’s injury), we might not hear the end of it until after the Super Bowl, even if the Jets lose in the first round of the playoffs! Worse, we might have to suffer through weeks and weeks of “See? The Packers should never have gotten rid of Favre!”

(shudder…)

More NFL thoughts next time…

- My two fantasy football drafts had one thing in common: I somehow missed the first pick of each draft.

Both leagues are Yahoo! standard, ten-team leagues. Unfortunately, I was not able to get twelve players to partake in a BargainShare league. Oh well.

(Note: For some reason, I’m having difficulty getting screenshots of my draft results. As soon as I figure out what is going on, I’ll post the full draft results. For now, I’ll just list my team.)

Team 1 (currently 0-1 and in DEAD FREAKING LAST):

• Round 1, Pick 4: RB Steven Jackson

(Grrrr…I was going to draft Joseph Addai here. I was also considering Tom Brady here, so at least I didn’t do that!)

• Round 2, Pick 17: WR Reggie Wayne

(Peyton Manning better get back into “game-shape” real soon.)

• Round 3: RB Maurice Jones-Drew
• Round 4: QB Carson Palmer

(This is the pick that is going to make or break my team. So far, I’m leaning towards “break.”)

• Round 5: WR Roy Williams

(I was going to take Williams in round 4, and was very happy to see him fall to me in round 5.)

• Round 6: TE Dallas Clark
• Round 7: DST Minnesota

(Don’t ask.)

• Round 8: WR Donald Driver
• Round 9: RB Thomas Jones

(Sleeper! And with the way Steven Jackson and the Rams are playing, he might be a starter soon enough.)

• Round 10: WR Bernard Berrian
• Round 11: WR Reggie Brown
• Round 12: K Phil Dawson

(He has since been dropped.)

• Round 13: RB Kevin Smith (Lions)
• Round 14: WR Drew Bennett

(Rams’ loyalty :P)

• Round 15: QB Jeff Garcia

I could see this team easily finishing 5-9 or something like that. I am not too thrilled with this team, and believe it or not, this was my “casual” draft.

Team 2 (1-0, second place after scoring 111 pts):

• Round 1, Pick 4: RB Brian Westbrook

(I actually wanted Addai here too. I think I’ll live with this pick.)

• Round 2, Pick 17: RB Ryan Grant
• Round 3: WR Andre Johnson
• Round 4: WR Roy Williams
• Round 5: TE Antonio Gates

(Why was I not notified that he still has a foot injury???)

• Round 6: QB Donovan McNabb

(Possibly my best pick of both drafts, if he stays healthy.)

• Round 7: WR Donald Driver
• Round 8: WR Jerricho Cotchery
• Round 9: DST Pittsburgh
• Round 10: RB Selvin Young

(Michael Pittman? Andre Hall? Stupid Mike Shanahan :P)

• Round 11: WR Nate Burleson

(Ouch…torn ACL? Now who is Matt Hasselbeck going to throw to?)

• Round 12: K Phil Dawson

(Dropped.)

• Round 13: RB Justin Fargas
• Round 14: QB Matt Schaub
• Round 15: WR Ronald Curry

If (and that’s a huge IF) my top six stay healthy, this team is going to be a force to reckon with…I think.

Until next time!

Tags: andre ethier, derek lowe, fantasy football, hfcs, high fructose corn syrup, jeff kent, los angeles dodgers, manny ramirez, new england patriots, season ending injury, stupid commercials, tom brady, torn acl by Peter
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Quick-hitters:

- Once again, I have allowed two rebates to go right up to the 30-day postmark deadline.

I guess this is a sign that I better start using MS Outlook or something :P.

- If I hear It’s Not My Time by 3 Doors Down one more time on Sirius Internet Radio, I might have to throw something through my computer screen.

Seriously…enough already!  I almost miss the days where Sirius was (seemingly) contractually obligated to play one Coldplay song on one of its stations at all times.

Contrary to what you might believe, this is not a rant against Coldplay or 3 Doors Down.  It is simply a rant against Sirius.

- So as many of you deal hunters probably know, Amazon has started swinging the ban stick at a number of individuals recently.  Everyone who got banned got this rather vague email:

Hello from Amazon.com.

A careful review of your account indicates you’ve experienced an extraordinary number of incidents with your orders and corresponding shipments.

In the normal course of business, the occasional problem is inevitable. The rate at which such problems have occurred on your account is extraordinary, however, and cannot continue. Effective immediately, your Amazon.com account is closed and you are no longer able to shop in our store.

Please know that any accounts related to yours have also been closed. If you were to open a new account, the same will result and it will also be closed. In the event that you attempt to do so, we will not accept the return of any additional orders, nor will we issue further refunds in connection with any future orders. We appreciate your cooperation in refraining from using our web site.

If you require additional assistance, or have any concerns, feel free to contact us directly at account-appeals@amazon.com.

Please do not contact regular Customer Service again, as they will no longer be able to assist you.

If you read through the thread, apparently Amazon.com CSRs can’t offer a thorough explanation of what “an extraordinary number of incidents” really means, though speculation is that this is referring to a large number of returns and/or price matches.

I understand that Amazon.com has a right to choose who they want to do business with, but they couldn’t offer a warning?  Also, reports are that not only are people unable to even log into their account to check their invoices, but individuals with outstanding gift certificate accounts may be SOL as well!  Furthermore, some individuals with both buyer and seller accounts are getting both locked because of the activity on their buyer account!

I was surprised that it took nearly a week for this story to hit The Consumerist, and I can’t say that I’m surprised by the reactions of the readers there, though I do not agree with what most of them are saying.  Yes, people that open multiple accounts to take advantage of the same promotion multiple times should be banned.  Yes, people that have a ridiculously high return rate—and the number of actual returns, not just the percentage, should also matter!—should be banned.  Nevertheless, shouldn’t these people be warned?  Is that too much to ask for?

For the record, my account has not been banned.  It would not surprise me in the least, though, if I find that email in my inbox in the coming days.

(The statement above is NOT an admission of guilt.)

- Quick thoughts on Monday’s Vols/Bruins’ game:  did somebody replace QB Kevin Craft with Peyton Manning in the second half?  How do you go from a guy throwing passes that a Pop Warner QB wouldn’t throw, to gunslinging passes into tight coverage to rally your team back from not one, but TWO second-half deficits?  How does a team lose both its starting QBs in the preseason, and then lose three senior starters during the game, and yet muster enough to hold off a ranked opponent?

And how must Tennessee be feeling, knowing that the game was lost on a missed chip-shot field goal in OT, minutes after their kicker bombed a 47-yard kick to tie the game in regulation?

Unfortunately for Bruins fans, this game did not end without some controversy (what else is new?).  Did Raymond Carter really get in on that 3-yard TD run?  Also, wasn’t the pass to Ryan Moya that set up the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter an illegal forward pass?

Finally, who knew that the Bruins’ defense would be THIS good?  Sure, Tennessee is no USC or Florida, but the Vols’ offense looked really bad for three quarters against the blitzing Bruins’ D.

- I know we’re only talking about a four-game sample size.  I know two of the four games were played against a really young ( = bad) Padres team.  I know we ran into a pair of struggling aces (the D’Backs’ Webb and Haren).

However, do Dodger fans realize that the Boys in Blue are 4-0 since Jeff “Vin Scully talks too much” Kent went on the DL with a knee injury?

(Tangent:  Yes, Kent is an idiot for saying that Vin Scully talks too much, even if he thinks he’s right.  I realize that he might have been saying it in jest, but it still does not make it OK to slander “some guy” [his words, not mine] like Vinny.)

Sports enthusiasts always talk about chemistry and how important chemistry is to a championship.  The Giants won the Super Bowl last year because Tiki Barker and Jeremy Shockey weren’t around to ruin the team chemistry, people might say.

(I’d argue that the Giants’ D-Line mauled Tom Brady and the Pats’ O-Line).

Could it be said that the Dodgers might actually be better without Jeff Kent?  One would think not, seeing how well Kent has played since the Manny deal (despite what Kent might argue).  Secondly, Kent’s replacement—one Blake DeWitt—does not exactly strike fear into opposing pitchers the way Kent would.

I cannot, with a straight face, say that the Dodgers are definitely better without Kent.  However, if the Dodgers should string together a couple more victories—a 3-1 record to finish the homestand is not exactly a stretch!—I might have to entertain the thought.

And what happens when Kent returns?  What if the Dodgers start losing games again with him back?

Whatever happens, this will be a very intriguing rest of the season in the NL Minor League Division, aka the West.

Tags: 3 doors down, amazon.com, banning accounts, consumerist, it's not my time, jeff kent, kevin craft, knee injury, los angeles dodgers, postmark deadline, rebates, sirius, team chemistry, tennessee volunteers, ucla bruins, vin scully by Peter
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