UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

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

First things first, though.

Quick-hitters:

- 90 degrees with a RealFeel temp of 95.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for contacting Frys.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1) AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Now that I got that out of my system…

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

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

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

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

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

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

*shudder*

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

I can dream, can’t I?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See ya in three months :P.

Tags: avg, billing, cpg, derek fisher, drug violation, eddie house, frys, hot temperatures, houston rockets, kobe bryant, los angeles dodgers, los angeles lakers, lost submission, luis scola, manny, manny being manny, PEDs, rafer alston, rebate, road runner, ron artest, steroids, time warner by Peter
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Sorry for not blogging for a while.

Quick-hitters:

- Argh.  My back has been killing me all day!

I think it’s time to go see somebody

- Current rebate-o-meter:  $1,290.  I can’t believe I didn’t buy anything over the weekend!

- What a dogfight that game was. The Lakers got off to a fantastic start (shades of LAL-UTA, Game Six, Western Semis), but you knew that the Spurs were going to get back into the game. I just didn’t expect the Spurs to get back into it THAT quickly. The fourth quarter was filled with great drama—Kobe proved that he deserved the MVP, eh?—but too bad it ended with that terrible missed call.

(Phil Jackson had the quote of the year. When asked what changed in the last few minutes of the quarter, when the Spurs made a push to get back in the game, Jackson said, “You want me to be honest with you? The guys with the whistles.” Unfortunately for the NBA, he was right on the money.)

Even if you argue that fouls that occur during the course of the game aren’t going to be called down the stretch, Fisher clearly bumped Barry. Why Barry didn’t jump directly into Fisher, though, is anyone’s guess. If he does that, then we’re probably looking at a 2-2 series going back to LA. Then again, If the refs had called that foul, Barry should have been awarded two shots and not three. As Reggie Miller said, he shied away from the contact, and only after Fisher hit him did Barry go into a shooting motion.

(EDIT: When the Lakers took their final shot, I wondered why the shot clock didn’t reset. I could’ve sworn that Fisher’s shot hit the rim. TNT just showed a replay, and it sure looked like the ball glanced off the rim. That’s TWO terrible calls down the stretch. For the next few hours, we’re going to hear about how the Fisher non-call was a “make up” call. Ugh.)

(EDIT #2: What a class act that Brent Barry is. He could easily have been screaming, “YES that was a foul!” Instead, he took the high road, admitting that that call probably wasn’t going to be made.)

(EDIT #3: Wow. Even Pop insisted that that was not a foul.)

Back to the fourth quarter: the Spurs were colder than the polar ice caps down the stretch (they reminded me of the Kings in the fourth quarter, Game Seven, 2002 WCF), and it sure looked like the Lakers were going to win the game going away.

And then the last minute happened. And then the missed calls happened.

Are the Spurs dead? Not a chance. Can they recover? They’re champs, are they not? Will they come back to win this series? Sorry, I just don’t see the Lakers losing three straight, with two games at home. Maybe if Joey Crawford referees all three of the remaining games…

Next time:  my Memorial Day weekend recap, and eventually, I’ll finish up my covert ops mission story

Tags: brent barry, derek fisher, kobe bryant, los angeles lakers, missed call, referees, san antonio spurs by Peter
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No quick-hitters.  Let’s just get to basketball.

- Raise your hand if you didn’t think that Deron Williams’ last-second shot was good.

Now THAT was a great playoff game.  The Lakers punched Utah in the mouth for three quarters, and the Jazz made their inevitable push by finally draining triples down the stretch.  Leave it to Derek Fisher, an 88% FT shooter, to brick that free throw late, giving the Jazz a shot at the tie.

The story of the game (other than Kobe’s virtual game-clinching 6-0 run, including that dagger trey and the “bank’s open late” and-1), though, had to be the two offensive foul calls on Carlos Boozer.  The one right before halftime was a pretty weak call, and I thought the one in the third quarter was even worse.  Think Utah could have used a not-in-foul-trouble Carlos Boozer down the stretch of the fourth quarter?  I will entertain the argument that Boozer got taken out of four games by foul trouble, and in at least three of them, he drew some pretty weak foul calls.

(That being said, what was Deron Williams complaining about right before halftime, when he obviously fouled Derek Fisher on the left arm?  In fact, I’d argue that he fouled Fisher twice on that shot:  once before the release, and once on the follow-through.)

This begs the question:  did Carlos Boozer do something to deserve the lack of respect he got from the refs?  Did he spill a drink on David Stern at an NBA function?

At least Utah has a bright future ahead of them.  Deron Williams made “The Leap,” and their team will return largely intact next year.

(Like that is supposed to make Jazz fans feel better, I know.)

Speaking of poor officiating, that charge call on Paul Pierce, late in the fourth quarter of Celtics-Cavs, was abysmal.  Instead of Pierce shooting two to potentially trim the Cavs’ lead to three, the Cavs got the ball back.  Matt Harpring getting run over by Pau Gasol in Game Five of Jazz-Lakers thought that call was horrible.

The Ray Allen non-goaltending, on the other hand, was absolutely the correct call.  I always thought that goaltending couldn’t be called if a shot had no chance of going in, and who would argue that a shot hitting the side of the backboard had a chance of going in?  Michael Wilbon insisted that the basket should have counted, but I was happy to hear that I was, indeed, correct.

Anyway, what a pair of Game Sevens we basketball fans have in store in the next few days!

Tomorrow, part 3 of my “covert ops” mission.

Tags: boston celtics, carlos boozer, charging, cleveland cavs, derek fisher, deron williams, fouls, kobe bryant, lebron james, los angeles lakers, paul pierce, utah jazz by Peter
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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
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