UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

Entries Tagged as 'News'

Josh Hamilton Is a Freak, And The Brett Favre Saga Is Getting Ludicrous

Argh…my legs are sore as hell!

It took me ten minutes to get from my bed to my bathroom…a total distance of about eight paces

Quick-hitters:

- Has anybody heard that a new movie, called Mamma Mia!, is being released soon? I just saw a commercial of it for the first time today.

(Believe that, and you’ll also believe that I own oceanfront property in Utah.

Oh look…the commercial aired again!

Mamma Mia

There it airs again

My my

How I want to end myself

Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and The Bill Engvall Show think that movie is being seriously overhyped.

- SUPER quick thought on the Elton Brand-LA Clippers situation: the fact that Brand signed with Philly for only four million dollars more per year tells me that either Brand is a backstabbing liar, or the Clippers clearly blew it by throwing Brand an eleventh-hour, lowball deal.

In any case, I wonder if Baron Davis regrets signing his deal with the Clips.

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1,410, and that number will go up once the backorder on a couple things I bought from Frys.com gets lifted.

- If you’re even a slight baseball fan, and you missed out on the Home Run Derby, you missed a great show by Josh Hamilton. What a shame he couldn’t hold on to win, though. The record books will say that Justin Morneau won the Derby, but who could forget the show Hamilton put on? Twenty eight home runs in the first round? That’s just stupid.

If I recall correctly, he had THIRTEEN straight bombs after hitting fifteen in his first eight outs. As great as his first-round performance was, watching the crowd cheer Hamilton on was surreal. Once you factor in the fact that this guy was out of baseball three years ago (due to drugs), the scene becomes even more memorable. Add to it the fact that this is the farewell season of Yankee Stadium, and…you get where I’m going. It almost appeared as if the crowd was completely winded after Hamilton’s run; one could say that Hamilton’s performance was truly breathtaking.

Major League Baseball could change the rules of the Home Run Derby to include all rounds in the final scoring, but it won’t change the fact that we saw one of the finest single-round Derby performances ever. Then again, Bobby Abreu hit 24 in the first round only three years ago; maybe someone will come around and hit 30.

- Brett Favre, you did it. You finally got me to say something about the recent drama surrounding your changing-of-the-mind. Let me start by saying (clears throat…)

YOU HAD TO GO ON FAUX FREAKING NEWS TO AIR OUT YOUR FRUSTRATION AT THE PACKERS???

Were all ESPN interviewers busy? Were Len Pasquerelli and John Clayton on vacation? Couldn’t you have sent another text message to Chris Mortensen? Seriously, Fox News?

That being said, are you freaking kidding me? If you had even a shred of doubt about your retirement, why did you seem so emotionally torn during that infamous press conference? If you really weren’t sure about retirement, couldn’t you have worked something out with the Packers’ organization?

This is easily my favorite part of the interview:

Favre told [On The Record host Greta] Van Susteren that “I worked my butt off two years ago to try to get them to sign Randy Moss.”

Favre added that he offered to give up salary to sign the receiver who ultimately landed with the New England Patriots. Favre said that Thompson publicly denied that the quarterback had lobbied for Moss.

Favre also said that he tried to convince Thompson to re-sign linemen Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle, but the two key contributors signed elsewhere.

In a final instance that riled the quarterback, Favre said that he told Thompson that he should interview Steve Mariucci, an old friend, for the head coaching job after Mike Sherman left. Mike McCarthy was hired instead. “And none of those had anything to do with me retiring once again but, you know, it’s hard for me to trust, you know, this guy when I — either I’m told one thing and everyone else is told another, or he’s telling the public one thing and telling me another,” Favre said, according to the newspaper.

Uh-huh. You brought up all these points, and then mention that none of these factors drove you to wanting out of the Packers’ organization? Right…and a girl telling her boyfriend “I’m not mad!” really isn’t mad.

And what really gets me is the number of Packers’ faithful that want the guy back! This guy put your team in limbo with regards to his playing status for three straight years! Why the hell would you want him back? Sure, he led the team to a 13-3 record last year, but attributing his play with the team’s record would ignore the Packers’ much-improved defense, their rounding-in-to-form receiving corps, and the play of Ryan Grant. Sure, he’s the face of the franchise, but you drafted Aaron Rodgers for a reason, did you not? If Favre returns, and Aaron Rodgers walks at the end of the season, what if Favre were to really retire then? How horrible of a situation would Green Bay be in THEN?

If I’m Ted Thompson, I would not release the guy until the very last minute, and then I would hope he signs with Minnesota or Chicago. Both teams have awful offenses, and I can’t wait for the day for Favre to chew out his new team, citing management for not surrounding him with enough talent to win, and then backstab the team by acting out Act Four of the “Brett Favre Saga.” Sure, Green Bay will have to see him twice, but so what?

Since telling Brett Favre to go away isn’t going to do a damn thing now, I’ll just tell him to please sign with Chicago so he can throw 60 times a game, average three picks, and lead the Bears to a 4-12 record.

(Please?)

The whole story enrages me, and perhaps I will clean up this blog entry at a later date (I looked over it once, and it looked kinda messy.)

Until next time!

Tags: baron davis, brett favre, brett favre saga, elton brand, fox news, green bay packers, greta van susteren, home run derby, josh hamilton, justin morneau, los angeles clippers, mamma mia, on the record, overhyped by Peter
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Scully & Wooden For the Kids At the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live!

So as mentioned in my previous blog entry, I spent the night at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live with two sports icons (hell, world icons!): Vin Scully and “The Wizard of Westwood” John Wooden.

Random thoughts regarding the event:

1) John Wooden is 97 freaking years old, and sharper now than I am. I’d give anything to know as much as he has forgotten in his life.

Naturally, both he and Vin—Vin wheeled Wooden around in a wheelchair—got a huge standing ovation as the event started. Wooden was gracious enough to point to Scully, apparently trying to drum up an ovation for Vin as well. What a great sign of respect!

Did I mention that Wooden is 97?

2) Before the event started, I told my sister to watch for a “smattering” of boos directed towards the moderator of today’s event, Los Angeles Times’ writer T.J. Simers.

When he introduced himself, he got a HUGE chorus of boos. That was pretty damn funny! The P.R. director of the Nokia Theater L.A. Live saved his butt, though, explaining that it was pretty much Simers’ idea to arrange the talk. That drew a huge applause, though I sensed some people were giving him a “yeah, whatever” applause

Personally, I can’t stand T.J. Simers’ column. He comes off as very arrogant, brash, and an all-world jerk (at least Jim Rome conducts great interviews and is funny.) That being said, Simers did an excellent job as moderator, even though I felt that the mood of the room was a bit too light. I almost felt like I was watching a celebrity roast instead of an inspirational chat.

Too many jokes were thrown around, IMO, though the first one Simers cracked—something to the effect of “Let’s bring those two old men out, if they haven’t nodded off already”—was pretty damn funny. Simers picked on Wooden early and often, but the coach was game; he did an excellent job of trading blows with Simers.

Did I mention Wooden is 97?

Between jokes, Simers asked some excellent questions. He asked Scully about Eric Gagne and PEDs—(paraphrasing) “I remember only what I saw on the field”—and he allowed Vin to tell a great story about how he and Jackie Robinson once competed in an ice-skating race. He asked Wooden about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once declaring Wooden’s famous “Pyramid of Success” as “corny,” and asked about Wooden’s secret to long life.

3) Listening to Vin Scully live was just so much more awesome than listening to him on TV or the radio. When Simers asked Scully his first question (I don’t remember it at the moment), Scully immediately gave a typical Scully answer. Rather than a short, simple response, Scully answered the question using the same elegance and prose he has for over 50 years.

Vin Scully is only 80, by the way.

4) There are two moments that stand out from tonight’s show. Wooden’s recount of how he met Nellie (his now deceased wife), how he writes a letter to her on the 21st of every month, and how he still “talks” to her everyday was very touching; my sister remarked that she almost shed a tear. I can’t say that I didn’t either.

(Nell Wooden died in 1985, for the record, and still he’ll write a letter to her every 21st day of each month.)

The other unforgettable moment was not nearly as emotional. When Simers asked Vin if he was going to retire or announce games “until the very end,” most of the crowd screamed “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Scully gave the perfect non-committal response, saying that he would take things day-to-day. That got a roaring applause.

5) I’m not sure if this made it on the live broadcast—Fox Sports Net Prime Ticket aired the show live—but Bill Walton’s little montage about Wooden teaching him and some other freshmen how to put on their shoes and socks was classic. Minutes later, a kid that survived cancer came out to a huge ovation, and Wooden demonstrated that shoes and socks lecture on him. That must have been a thrill of a lifetime for the kid.

Though I will never forget the hour and a half I spent listening to these two life legends speak, I will also not forget the real reason why this talk was set up in the first place: to raise funds and awareness for those afflicted with cancer. My only regret of the night: I wish I had better seats.

If these two legends ever decide to do another talk, I’m there.

Until next time!

Tags: for the kids, john wooden, la live, nokia theatre, tj simers, vin scully, wizard of westwood by Peter
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UBMe, Quick MLB Thoughts, And My (Fantasy) Football Week 7 Thoughts, And The Pats Play With A Chip (of Logic) On Their Shoulders

First of all, prayers go out to everybody affected by the fires here in SoCal, especially those in San Diego County. What’s going on here is eerily reminiscent of the fires of 2003–I was a UCSD student at the time, and one of the fires was burning no more than ten miles south of where we were. I remember waking up that Sunday morning, wondering why I could see bright orange rays of light coming from my window. Although I had a midterm that Tuesday–it was subsequently postponed by a week, as the campus was closed for a couple of days–I remember doing nothing but playing video games all day, just to get my mind off the fires.

When the campus re-opened, I returned to my volunteer position at the Preuss School (a charter school adjacent to UCSD) and I made it a point to ask the students how their families were doing, fully aware that most of the kids lived in areas affected by the fires. Talk about a humbling experience; it made my whining on Sunday look awfully pathetic by comparison.

I noticed that the winds have died down here significantly; hopefully that helps the firefighters out there in controlling these blazes. And as far as the arsonists that caused a couple of these fires are concerned, I think we should use those fire-fighting planes, pick them up by their legs, and drop them head-first into the Pacific Ocean…or an active volcano.

Let’s get on with it.

Quick-hitters:

- Current rebate-o-meter: $3300. That total includes the $150 or so I got in the past few days. Sigh…

- I can’t wait for Halloween!

Well, I can’t wait for the day after Halloween, when Halloween candy is clearanced :D.

- Somebody please remind me to watch the World Series with my TV muted. Between Tim McCarver, John Mellencamp, AT&T (’tis a shame they dumped the name “Cingular”; I can’t call them Crapular any more.), and that XBox 360 commercial with the kids absolutely f**king up Poison’s “Nothin’ But A Good Time,” I’m this close to buying a TiVo.

YAPOR (Yet Another Post Office Rant), BofA Tops The List, FOOD!!!, and Weird Computer Problems

This will be a two-part blog entry, and to satisfy all my loyal readers (all none of you), I’ll split today’s blog into sports- and non-sports entries.

Quick-hitters, part 1:

- The Office is back tonight!!! YAY!!!!!

Sadly, I missed Heroes, but I’ll catch it this weekend. No spoilers, please! I also missed my new favorite show: Law & Order SVU.

- Stupid me. I almost missed a payment on a credit card! It is due 10/2, and I just realized that yesterday. Worse, I won’t be able to get money into my checking account in time to make an e-payment! D’oh!

(Fortunately, I have money in my other checking account to make the payment, but that will require me to mail in a check. You people remember what a personal check looks like, right?)

- Another trip to the PO, and another bit of sheer ridiculousness. Another woman decided to hold up the line, filling out her damn forms. Unlike last time, this woman’s act was FAR worse: she had her back facing the registers, filling out her forms, and preventing others from going ahead of her, even when the clerks called on the next person!

She was acting so ridiculously that I decided to make a drawing of the situation, using my 1337 MS Paint skillz

(Tangent: I don’t have any “skillz,” as the drawing below will indicate.)

I’ll ask again: WHAT PART OF “PLEASE HAVE FORMS READY BEFORE GETTING IN LINE” IS SO FREAKING DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND????????

You should have seen her reaction when one of the clerks demanded that the next customer be helped before her. Damn stupid people…

- Congrats, Bank of Freaking America. You have finally topped my list.

(I can picture Hank thinking, “What could BofA do to top Time Warner?” Read on.)

In need of funds to pay off my credit card (the same one mentioned in the quick-hitters section), I ran off to BofA to withdraw some money from my checking account. I got to the ATM, inserted my ATM card, entered my PIN, punched in the amount of money I needed, and stuck my hand out by the cash dispenser, waiting for my cash.

That’s when the ATM spit out my ATM card, and said something to the effect of “Screw you; you can’t use this card.”

The account will be closed as soon as I get my lazy a$$ to a BofA branch to empty out the account. I would have closed the account over the phone, but apparently I need to empty the account first.

The list now looks like this:

BoFA (the “F” is capitalized for a reason now)
Time Warner
Citibank
CompUSSR
(tie) Parago, USPS, Buy.com, etc.

- I don’t know if you people know this, but I love food. My sister and mom came by this past weekend because their computer was on the fritz, so naturally I ~~asked~~ ~~insisted~~ begged my mom to cook us some food. She made us a huge pot of curry for lunch, and like the spoiled children that we are, we also got a special meal for dinner. I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s made with crepes filled with ground chicken, chopped long beans, peanuts, shredded coconut, and shrimp. You’re supposed to peel off pieces of the crepe, wrap it in a piece of lettuce, and dip it in a sauce.

Abso-freaking-lutely-delicious (sorry, no pics!). I have got to get the recipe for this stuff!

Oh yeah, the curry wasn’t half bad either. It was a bit thin, but who am I to complain?

- As for the computer on the fritz, my sister told me that the computer would turn on, but nothing would display on the monitor, and the hard disk LED would stay a solid red. I took the PSU out of that computer and stuck it in my secondary computer; the system turned on, but the monitor LED was flashing yellow ( = no input). So I figured that the power supply was shot, and figured that the entire system was as well. To test this, I stuck my spare PSU–a cheapy, FAR Raidmax PSU that weighed about as much as a can of soda (seriously!)–into their computer, and as expected, the system turned on, but no display.

I advised my sister on her options–build a brand new one or build a cheap one using some of the parts I had lying around–and she decided on the latter. I installed what used to be my primary computer–a P4 2.4Ghz on an Asus P4PE–into her case, hooked up all her drives, and the system fired up. To my amazement, I didn’t even need to repair Windows XP! I ran a few tests while my sisters were playing Guitar Hero, and handed my sister her newly-working computer. She offered to pay me for the parts, which I gladly accepted.

(Tangent: Was it not cool for me to enjoy beating the snot out of my sisters in Guitar Hero? I know that older siblings love doing that to younger siblings, but I, as the youngest sibling, really enjoyed the beatdown :P. I don’t remember ever talking that much trash after winning at anything before.

me <– can be a bad sport)

I got an IM from my sister that night, telling me that the “new” computer didn’t work! She told me that it had exactly the same symptoms as before! Argh…

Just for kicks, I hooked up the shot PSU to my DOSBox, and amazingly, it worked! I’m beginning to think that the surge strip, or the outlet itself, might be causing all the problems. Or maybe it’s the computer case…in any event, the computer will be back here this weekend. I hope it doesn’t rain; I feel like having a BBQ this weekend.

So now I have a dilemma. The computer left my possession in working condition, so am I allowed to charge my sister for the parts?

Later tonight, part 2 of this blog entry, including my Week 3 (Fantasy) Football thoughts.

by Peter
2 Comments »

Michael Vick Pleads Guilty, Vick Apologizes (What Took So Long?), Re-couping His Signing Bonus?, And What’s Next?

Quick-hitters:

- So I am here in MPK still, helping my dad out with a banquet-style lunch/prayer deal. Think tons of Chinese food, burning incense, candles, and some Hennessey.

(We do something like this four or five times a year, and every time we do this, I get tons of food to take home. W00t!)

- So my sisters’ Guitar Hero addictions are far past the point of “addiction.” It’s gotten to the point where I need to buy a second guitar just so I can play! I’m probably going to pick up this wireless guitar, even though the reviews on Amazon.com aren’t that great. Oh well; if the guitar’s crap, I’ll use the wired one and force whoever is playing along to use the crap guitar.

- Speaking of my PS2…I love being “handy.”

(Handy, of course, describes someone that is good at “fixing” things that weren’t broken in the first place.)

My PS2’s first controller port had a little problem where the controller would not stay secured on the connector; this wasn’t a huge problem when using the analog controller, but it became an issue with Guitar Hero. Play too, um, enthusiastically, and the controller would wiggle out of the connector just enough that it would interrupt the game. I noticed that the problem did not occur with the second controller port, so I grabbed a flashlight to determine the problem.

I discovered that that the PS2 controller ports have a tiny metal “hook” in them; as you push the controller into the controller port, the hook clicks into place on a recess on the controller’s connector, thus securing the controller. I noticed that the metal hook was bent down on the first port. A paper clip and some gentle pressure later, and I was able to pry the hook up and out of the way of the controller port. I attached a controller, heard the click, and patted myself on the back.

(Hey, I gotta give myself some credit every now and then.)

- Michael Vick plead guilty this morning to a federal dogfighting charge, admitting that he was involved in brutally murdering dogs and “supplying money for gambling on the fights,” though he denied actual gambling and profiting from the winnings. Question: why would you bankroll a gambling ring if you did not intend on profiting from it? And what, exactly, is meant by “supplying money”? Did Vick provide the money for the payouts, or did he offer betting credits to bettors to make these bets? In any case, aren’t we splitting hairs here? He was involved, no matter the role, in an illegal gambling ring; never mind the fact that he was also involved in such a disgusting act as dogfighting (which is also a felony, by the way).

Vick finally apologized for his involvement in the illegal dogfighting ring, finally offering an apology to Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank, as well as his Falcons teammates:

“First, I want to apologize, you know, for all the things that — that I’ve done and that I have allowed to happen. I want to personally apologize to commissioner Goodell, Arthur Blank, coach Bobby Petrino, my Atlanta Falcons teammates, you know, for our — for our previous discussions that we had. And I was not honest and forthright in our discussions, and, you know, I was ashamed and totally disappointed in myself to say the least,” Vick said.

I gotta ask: what took so long? Why wait until after the guilty plea to offer his apology? It was pretty clear that Vick was going down the road of a plea bargain weeks ago. Why not attempt to stop the bleeding as soon as possible, as I suggested last week? At least the apology seemed heartfelt; that’ll happen when you’re facing one to five years in prison, at least that much time out of the league (if not the end of his NFL career), AND the possible loss of some to all of the $22 million in signing bonuses he received, much less the $100 million or so left on his contract.

Speaking of his signing bonus money, the only reason why Michael Vick is still an Atlanta Falcon is because he must stay on the Falcons’ roster for owner Arthur Blank to attempt to recover some of the bonus money:

In Atlanta, the Falcons said they would not cut Vick immediately because of salary-cap issues. The team intends to pursue the $22 million in bonus money that he already received in a $130 million contract signed in 2004.

“We cannot tell you today that Michael is cut from the team,” owner Arthur Blank said.

“Cutting him may feel better emotionally for us and many of our fans but it’s not in the long-term best interest of our franchise.”

On ESPN’s First Take (their morning sports talk show), Skip Bayless and a pair of ex-football players debated over whether or not Atlanta should get back the $22 million in bonus funds. Skip argued that Atlanta should be entitled to the money, based on the fact that Vick will not be able to serve the duration of his contract. One of the two ex-players argued that they did not, and I could have sworn that their argument revolved around the fact that Vick could not serve the duration of his contract. If that’s true, what kind of argument is that? Whose damn fault is it that Vick can’t serve the rest of his contract?

In any event, yes, Vick should be forced back to pay, at the very least, a pro-rated fraction of his bonus money. In fact, I wouldn’t have a problem if Atlanta was awarded the entire bonus.

Vick will be sentenced on December 10, and we should know how long the NFL will officially suspend him soon after that. Now, I’m aware that even being associated with illegal gambling, under the NFL’s player conduct policy, could result in a lifetime ban from the NFL. I don’t think this will happen, and I still believe a team would be willing to sign him once he’s eligible to come back into the league, but now I’m not as certain as I once was.

By the way, this is a very interesting article written by Jemele Hill of ESPN. Why is a dogfighting-loving, illegal gambling ring-organizer taking so much flack, but a DUI/murderer and a person involved in a double-murder take take so little flak? Obviously one reason for this is the status of the players involved; Ray Lewis may be a huge star in Baltimore, but he is definitely no Michael Vick in terms of popularity. Is he taking all this flak because we’re a nation of dog lovers? Is it because he’s such a big star? Is it because we condemn illegal gambling? Or is it something else?

We’ll see what happens. Until next time.

by Peter
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A Costco Trip, Yet Another New Toy (This Time, It’s a Necessity), And How To Lose A Million Dollars

Quick-hitters:

- How bored am I this Saturday afternoon? I’m watching Golf in Hi-Def!!!

(Hey, Tiger Woods is kicking butt. That makes it OK, right?)

- I need a new cookware set. I was thinking about buying this cheapy set at Linens ‘n Things for $59.99 - a 25% off coupon (205200000007), - a $10 MIR + a free knife set. I dropped by LNT yesterday, after going to Costco (more on that later), and saw the cookware in person.

It sucked. Talk about thin! Then again, what was I to expect from a ~$30-40 cookware set? It probably would have lasted a year or two at the most, given how often I cook. I also dropped by Macy’s, and found a nice 10-piece Tools of the Trade (sorry, no link) stainless steel/copper bottom set for $79. We were trying to find this 14-piece set, but had no luck. Anyway, I was impressed with the density of the cookware, although I wasn’t a fan of the covers. Too bad the online deal wasn’t available in store.

- So I swung by Costco yesterday, looking for some freaking MexiCoke. To my dismay, they didn’t have any!!!

(me cries)

To soothe my sorrows, I got some cinnamon raisin bagels, cinnamon raisin bread, and a bunch of cream cheese. I also got a big bag of shredded cheese, which I’ll be using to make some more enchiladas (thanks again, Amy!).

Or maybe I should grill up some hamburgers.

Ooooh…I have a couple New York strips in the freezer.

Eh, I feel like chicken rather than beef.

(Wait…I have some chicken that I can barbecue).

- So after a day or two of deliberations, I finally broke down and bought parts for my first brand new computer in four years. As I mentioned in my last blog entry, I could have gone real cheap (in the low $200s), or mid- to high-end ($400+).

Of course, I decided to be smart and compromised. I picked up a much better motherboard (the Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H), a middle-of-the-pack AMD CPU (X2 64 Brisbane 4000+ @ 2.1Ghz), a Maxtor/Seagate rebadged 300+20GB Hard Drive, a PCI IDE controller card (Syba SD-ATA133R; I need it for the two IDE hard drives that I’m keeping from the computer that needs upgrading) and some filler material (a FAR PSU, some blank DVDs, and a FAR AntiVirus program). Total cost? $265.10. All I need now is some extra RAM ($22 each, after rebate) and I’ll be all set.

(Now to figure out how I’m going to afford this new toy :P)

- And finally, here’s one unique way to lose a million dollars. It turns out that a White City, Oregon, woman bought a lottery ticket that won $1 million. Too bad she used the credit card of her then-boyfriend’s dead mother.

Prosecutors said Christina Goodenow, of White City, used a credit card that belonged to her then-boyfriend’s dead mother to buy a winning $1 million Scratch-It ticket in Oct. 2005.

Goodenow asked lottery officials to keep her win quiet, claiming to be a victim of domestic violence. But police learned of the crime about two weeks later, as Goodenow continued to use the stolen credit card.

On Thursday, Jackson County Judge Ray White ruled that the winnings were the proceeds of illegal activity and must be forfeited under Oregon law.
Goodenow pleaded no contest to forgery, cheating and aggravated theft.

Ouch!

Question: You just won a million dollars in a lottery. WTF were you doing still using the stolen credit card?!?!?!?!? And how the heck did the woman get in possession of the stolen credit card in the first place?

By the way, I never knew “cheating” was a crime punishable by prison time.

Ms. Goodenow alleges that the ticket was purchased via cash, and not with the stolen credit card. Good luck proving that. Though I do have to ask–and Krunk brought this up a couple nights ago–how did the judge come to the conclusion that the winning ticket was, undeniably, purchased with the stolen credit card? I could understand if the lottery ticket was like a SuperLotto ticket, but is it even possible to track the purchases of scratch-off tickets?

Anyway, note to self: do not buy lottery tickets with a stolen credit card. Um…

Happy blogging!

by Peter
2 Comments »

Pizza Hurts, Cover Songs, And Dad Leaves Kids In Car to Play Poker

Argh! Brad Penny just hurt himself running down first base! Lowe got hurt a couple days ago, and now this?!?!

We’re screwed! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

- So I lost the flyer to the best non-chain pizza place around me, forcing me to satisfy my pizza cravings with (ugh) a pizza from a chain restaurant. Fortunately (?) for me, Papa John’s had their B1G1 for 99c deal, so I went with a Chicken Alfredo, Spinach, and Tomato Pizza, with a Pepperoni thin crust pizza.

(I like getting lots of extra pizza, so that I can freeze it away and have it on a later date. It comes out quite good, provided you reheat it in the oven, and not the microwave. I also had a Papa John’s gift card, so I figured now would be a good time to use it.)

I was pretty happy with the pizza, but not at first. You see, the two pizzas cost $21.xx before tip!!! Among other things, there is a $1.75 delivery charge!

(I know, I know; if I want to avoid paying a tip + a delivery fee, I should just go pick up the pizzas myself.)

Good thing the pizzas were kinda tasty today. For a chain restaurant, I’ll take kinda tasty any day of the week.

- I am of the opinion that 99% of all song covers are crap. I’d like to go ahead and modify that statement, after visiting this page (from Digg) of the 100 Greatest Cover Songs of All Time.

My statement, regarding song covers, shall now read as follows: 99% of all song covers done in recent times are crap.

(Notice that many of the songs on that list were remade years ago.)

- Finally, do you suppose this guy has a gambling problem? A 36-year-old Florida man is accused of leaving his two kids in his car while he went to play some poker in a nearby race track:

Police arrested Terrence Davis for child neglect after a passerby spotted the children at the St. Johns Greyhound Park.Davis said he left the car running with the air conditioner on while he went inside the track. He said he had only intended to peek inside the park, but got talked into playing a few hands of Texas Hold ‘Em. He told police that he was only inside for about 15 minutes.

Well, at least he left the A/C on! No word on whether or not the guy got his buy-in back, though. It would be pretty cool (for the other players, at least), if the guy wasn’t given his money back, and the casino would just blind him off as the game went on.

Here’s my question, genius: what are you doing leaving your kids unattended in the first place?!? I don’t care if you went in to the race track for sixty seconds! You went in there to take a peek, and you got “talked into playing”? What did the people around you say? “Oh, go ahead and leave your kids in the car. This will only take a few minutes”?

I sincerely hope this guy got his aces cracked by 7-2 offsuit right before he was apprehended.

That’s all I’ve got for now.

by Peter
No Comments »

Women Ripping Off Little Girls, Do You Know Who I Am?

Quick-hitters:

- My very quick thoughts on the NBA scandal involving referee Tom Donaghy and his alleged fixing of games:

Not that we needed it (*cough* Lakers-Kings Game 6 *cough*), but now we apparently have concrete proof that some NBA officials fix games. Of course, we thought that the NBA was the one responsible for fixing, and not individual referees. So what’s the truth? Do refs fix games for their own benefit? Does the NBA make refs fix games for the NBA’s benefit? Or do some fans just imagine that some NBA games are fixed?
Now that we know it happens, how do we know which games were fixed? And how do we know what impact these fixes had on playoff games of the last few years?
So what happens next? How does the NBA recover from this black eye? Can we ever take another playoff game seriously again, without thinking, “Is one of the referees fixing this game?”

It’ll be interesting to see how the NBA proceeds in this entire scandal, and how much the NBA will suffer in terms of popularity (if at all).

- I love watching Man vs Wild. Yeah, I don’t care if it’s slightly embellished, or totally set up. I’m pretty sure there’s still an element of risk and danger running through the Amazon rain forest, or trekking through glaciers on Iceland, set up or not.

Ewww…host Bear Grylls just drank his own piss, clearly desperate for water

- (from Digg) You can file this story in the “Going Straight to Hell” department: two women in Goodyear, AZ, ripped off kids selling lemonade with a bogus $50 bill. The kids were trying to raise money for a trip to San Diego, CA, when one of the women presumably paid for some lemonade with a $50 bill. The girls handed back $38 in chance, apparently thinking they were getting a huge tip. Unfortunately, they only got scammed. Let this be a lesson to the girls: always carry a counterfeit money detector pen.

But seriously, how low do you have to be in your life to scam some little kids out of ~$40? What’s next? Are those ladies going to take up collections outside of a department store for charity, only to pocket the money? Or maybe they’re going to dress up as homeless people to get free meals from homeless shelters. People who scam social security and the welfare system think these two women are going straight to hell.

- (also from Digg) This is easily my favorite story of the day: a United passenger was angry that his flight was cancelled, and he threw a tantrum at the poor travel agent, screaming “I HAVE to be on this flight, and it has to be FIRST CLASS!” The agent apologized, and the irate passenger responded with “Do you have any idea who I am?”

(Tangent: I thought only rich and famous people use the “Do you know who I am?” blast. Oh well, I’m just assuming that this guy isn’t rich or famous.)

The agent, to put it blunty, uber-pwned the moron:

Without hesitating, the gate agent smiled and grabbed her public address microphone. “May I have your attention please?” she began, her voice bellowing through the terminal. ” We have a passenger here at the gate WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to gate 17.”

With the folks behind him laughing in line hysterically, the man glare at the United agent, gritted his teeth and swore “F— you.” Without flinching, she smiled and said, ” I’m sorry sir, but you will have to stand in line for that too.”

Wow…just wow!

Travel agent eleventy-billion, moronic customer PWNED. The guy deserves to have his seat downgraded to the wing of the plane for that outburst.

(Yes, one trillion Stupid Points for that idiot.)

Happy blogging!

Next time: another new toy?

by Peter
2 Comments »

Grocery Store Fun, And How To Deal With Poor Cellular Service

Quick-hitters, Grocery Store edition:

- I really hate leg injuries. I always find myself compensating for the leg injury by stressing out my left leg, and, of course, I end up hurting my left leg as well. It didn’t help that I had to carry a five-gallon bottle of water from the parking lot to my place.

Oh, the humanity! Maybe I can find a wheelchair I can commandeer. Or a Radio Flyer.

(Actually, I’ve always wanted a Radio Flyer, for those trips to Costco. Have I ever mentioned that Costco was evil?)

- In my continuing quest to find the perfect canned tomato sauce to use in my spaghetti sauce recipe, I dumped about four different brands of sauce into my shopping cart.

(Tangent: I realize that “perfect canned tomato sauce” is a probably an oxymoron. You’d be surprised, though; with a few added ingredients, even a crap can of tomato sauce can be made edible. Adding some $1.99 Chuck Shaw white wine–yes, from Trader Joe’s–also helps to add a distinct flavor to otherwise crap sauce.)

Anyway, the problem with some of these crap tomato sauces is that they add corn syrup (!!!!!!). Why on Earth they’d do that is anyone’s guess. I found some decent Hunt’s tomato sauce a few weeks back, and that actually made quite a good sauce; unfortunately, I couldn’t find that exact sauce today.

One of these days, I’m going to find the perfect canned sauce!

- Limes were on sale at three pounds for a dollar, so I got a whole bunch of limes to make limeade. My recipe:

One cup lemon or lime juice (about 4-5 lemons, or closer to 10 limes)
Simple syrup: 1 cup cold water and 3/4-1cup sugar, heated slowly until all the sugar is dissolved
Cold water (6-8 cups will do), ice, and lemon or lime slices, if desired

I’ve got some frozen strawberries in the freezer, and some ice as well. Maybe I’ll make myself a strawberry limeade.

- I saw this article a couple days ago, and am still laughing about it today. What do you do when you’re dissatisfied with your cellular phone service? Commandeer a military vehicle and destroy cell phone towers, of course! No word on whether or not he was let out of his existing contract.

Then again, the article made no mention that the guy even had cell phone service. Maybe he was high, and he was one of those tinfoil-hat wearing conspiracy theorists who think cell phones are a means for the government to spy on citizens. Or maybe he really really hates the Verizon guy.

(Yes, I realize this incident happened in Australia. Sorry, but I don’t know what the mobile phone carriers are there.)

Here’s my question: how the hell did he get a hold of an APC in the first place?!? Did an army soldier leave the keys in the vehicle when he stopped to get some coffee? Did the driver leave the emergency lights on to go into his apartment really quickly, because he forgot something? Or is Australia that dangerous, that people are now buying APCs to protect themselves?

Well done, sir.

by Peter
No Comments »

Some NBA thoughts, MX3200 Review Addendum, Now Parago Sucks, Smart Parking Meters, and Donating Pizza As a Last Meal

Quick-hitters, the NBA version:

- I really want to see Golden State beat Utah and make it to the Western Conference Finals–Utah is now up 2-0 in their best-of-seven series–but after hearing about Derek Fisher’s ten-month old daughter, who recently underwent emergency surgery to treat Retinoblastoma (a cancer of the retina), I can’t help but root for the Jazz. The crowd’s standing ovation to Fisher, when he entered the game for the first time–after flying from New York Presbyterian Hospital earlier that day–was very cool, as well as the reception he got from not only his teammates, but also the Warriors.

Great article by Adrian Wojnarowski, by the way.

- Cleveland’s up 2-0 on the Nets, and I’m not terribly surprised by that. Detroit being up 2-0 on Chicago? I’m a bit surprised by that. Suns-Spurs tied at one game apiece? I hope that series goes seven games!

- An addendum to my Cordless Desktop MX3200 Laser review, the most popular subject (according to Google Analytics) on my blog: One thing I hated about the Logitech SetPoint software–the driver package for Logitech peripherals–is the fact that I had seemingly lost the ability to open/close new tabs in Mozilla Firefox via a click of the mouse wheel. After a few minutes, I discovered that I could open/close tabs using the mouse wheel only if I double-clicked the wheel. I don’t know about you, but I have enough trouble clicking the mouse-wheel one time, especially with a mouse wheel that tilts.

That’s when I stumbled upon this review on Amazon.com! In order to open/close tabs in Firefox with a single click of the mouse wheel, you have to assign the “generic button” option (the default is Universal Scroll, I believe) to the wheel button in the SetPoint software. No other functionality of the mouse wheel seems to be lost with the “generic button” setting.

Of course, you could also not install the SetPoint software

- So my “lost” USPS package was finally delivered to my buyer today! I’m so glad to finally get the transaction over with!

That being said, I am now 0 for 4 with customer service representatives in the last few days. This time, Parago–a rebate processing company that deals with rebates, mainly from Staples, as well as companies as McAfee and Symantec–has screwed me out of $40. Long story short, their CS promised me that I would qualify for a pair of rebates ($20 and $40)with the purchase of an item, and I found out that I could only qualify for one. Also, since I had already opened the item in question, I could not return it, so I was out $40.

I called Staples to witch about Parago’s misleading me, and it only took about five calls for someone to finally offer me some resolution: a $20 concession coupon. He said he was willing to go up to $30, but then reneged on that offer, so I accepted the $20.

By the way, my laptop is still not complete yet. Looks like I will not get it until next week.

- Some cities in the US, such as Pacific Grove, CA, are employing high-tech parking meters in the hopes of reducing costs related to ticketing of vehicles: reduced number of “meter maids” and increased ticket accuracy. These high-tech parking meters employ GPS capability to determine exactly how long a car has been parked in a given spot. Some also have the capability of charging a higher rate for longer parking stays, and some have remote sensors that reset the parking meter when a car leaves the spot. One could imagine the costs of the meters themselves: “‘Today’s meters are little computers,’ said Ross Hubbard, a former Pacific Grove city councilman who advocated for the switch. The city now leases 100 meters for $45,000 per year from Duncan Parking Technologies Inc.”

And I thought cops hiding behind bushes, billboards, and under freeway overpasses were ridiculous. If a person paid for an hour, and only used half of the time, why shouldn’t the next person be allowed to use those minutes? After all, they have already been paid for!

I would love to see figures as to how much extra revenue these new, high-tech parking meters produce. I wonder if those who pushed for the new parking meters took vandalism and maintenance costs into account.

- A Tennessee man requested, for his last meal, that a vegetarian pizza should be given to a homeless person outside the prison in which he was housed. The prison refused, stating that they do not donate to charities. A woman heard about the request, and proceeded to raise $1,200 between herself and her friends to purchase 150 pizzas for Nashville’s Rescue Mission, a shelter that services more than 800 homeless people per night. Even PETA got involved: “The president of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals read a news story about the prison denying the inmate’s last request and ordered 15 veggie pizzas sent to the Rescue Mission Wednesday morning.” I must admit that this is a pretty cool story, and props to all those involved with the donations.

Tags: cordless desktop mx3200 laser, daughter, derek fisher, golden state warriors, homeless, logitech, lost usps package, parago, parking meters, pizza donation, rebates, retinoblastoma, setpoint, staples, tennessee, utah jazz by Peter
1 Comment »

UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

(Fantasy) sports talk, customer service rants and raves, technology, product reviews, random thoughts, and whatever else I feel like talking about.

Entries Tagged as 'News'

Josh Hamilton Is a Freak, And The Brett Favre Saga Is Getting Ludicrous

Scully & Wooden For the Kids At the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live!

UBMe, Quick MLB Thoughts, And My (Fantasy) Football Week 7 Thoughts, And The Pats Play With A Chip (of Logic) On Their Shoulders

YAPOR (Yet Another Post Office Rant), BofA Tops The List, FOOD!!!, and Weird Computer Problems

Michael Vick Pleads Guilty, Vick Apologizes (What Took So Long?), Re-couping His Signing Bonus?, And What’s Next?

A Costco Trip, Yet Another New Toy (This Time, It’s a Necessity), And How To Lose A Million Dollars

Pizza Hurts, Cover Songs, And Dad Leaves Kids In Car to Play Poker

Women Ripping Off Little Girls, Do You Know Who I Am?

Grocery Store Fun, And How To Deal With Poor Cellular Service

Some NBA thoughts, MX3200 Review Addendum, Now Parago Sucks, Smart Parking Meters, and Donating Pizza As a Last Meal

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