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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My poor blog, how I’ve ignored you over the past few days!

(What can I say? I haven’t had much to talk about lately!)

Quick-hitters:

- It’s been sunny and COLD the last few days.

I miss the heat. I also miss sunlight at 6PM.

And if it’s so cold, why the heck do I really really want some ice cream?

- Small Shot-Online update: I’m still stuck on level 52 (haven’t played much lately), and, due to a bout of complete idiocy, I blew a chance at an easy ONE HUNDRED MILLION NG profit!!!

I don’t wanna talk about it.

One of these days, I will venture onto Cads. One of these days.

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1,500 or so, but I’m sure that the total is closer to $2,000 than $1,500.

That’s what I get for keeping such poor rebate records

- For the first time ever, here’s a tangent to a previous topic topic that deserves its own section!

Tangent: Fry’s/WorldwideRebates.com update: Fry’s customer service sent me this email regarding my “lost” $20 rebate:

Hello Peter, in regards to your Trand Micro rebate in the amount of
$20.00. We have since gotten in contact with the rebate manufacturer in
regards to your denial. Unfortunately after talking with them it seems
as though they are unwilling to help there customers. What we are going
to do for you in this matter is go ahead and give all of your rebate
submission to our home office. They will be issuing you a check shortly.
Please note that this may take up to 2 months. Please feel free to get
back with us in regards to this status. Thank you.

I boldfaced the line above because I thought it looked awfully familiar to me, especially the misuse of the word “there.” Does Fry’s use a form email to respond to rebate complaints? Well, remember my American Telecom rebate rant?

Hello Peter, in regards to your Pay N Talk rebate in the amount of
$25.00. We have since gotten in contact with the rebate manufacturer in
regards to your denial. Unfortunately after talking with them it seems
as though they are unwilling to help there customers. What we are going
to do for you in this matter is go ahead and give all of your rebate
submission to our home office. They will be issuing you a check shortly.
Please note that this may take up to 2 months. Please feel free to get
back with us in regards to this status. Thank you.

That was from an email response sent to me from February 1, 2008! Notice the emphasis in the blog entry linked above!

Once again, kudos to Fry’s!

(EDIT: Just as I finished typing this, I got an email from WorldWideRebates…it appears that they finally got my rebate submission! Should they successfully process my rebate claim, I will contact Fry’s and see if I can get them to not issue me a check. If not, I’ll just destroy it.)

- Fantasy football updates:

I’m riding a three-game winning streak in one league, the third win coming via a 132-88 beatdown of my opponent. It helps that my two RBs, Thomas Jones and Maurice Jones-Drew, combined to score 59 points by themselves. I am now 5-5 in this league, tied for fifth overall, and still a game out of a playoff spot (though I’m trailing badly in the tiebreaker, which is points scored overall.)

In my other league, I won for the sixth straight week. I’m not going to take too much pride in this win, though, as my opponent played three guys on their bye week, and one was on IR. I’m now in first place in this league, and I face the team that I leapfrogged in Week 11. The receivers on this team are really killing me, save for Andre Johnson.

Non-fantasy football thoughts:

- Ask and ye shall receive.  Thank you, T.O., for giving me my lead story of Week 10!  I need not even comment on this (though I will):

“We have to go back to the drawing table and look at the things that made us successful last year, moving me around a little bit, really just making an effort to get the ball in my hands on certain routes,” Owens said Tuesday, during a signing for his new book in Manhattan.

Well, at least he was smart enough to say the word “certain.”  You know, he wouldn’t want to appear to be demanding the ball, or anything like that…

I cannot wait for the upcoming Cowboys-Redskins game.  What will spew out of T.O.’s mouth if the Cowboys happen to lose THAT game???

- As soon as I found out that the Monday Night game was San Francisco at Arizona, I decided that I wasn’t going to watch it.

Boy did I miss out!  What a crazy goal-line “stand” by Arizona!  Of course, I say “stand” because Arizona’s field turf played a huge role on that series, tackling 49ers’ RB Frank Gore on 2nd and goal.  Why was Frank Gore not on the field on the final play of the game?  And why didn’t the 49ers spike the ball on the final play, since it was only 3rd down?

By the way, if Kurt Warner wins his third MVP this season—and personally, I think he’s the front-runner—tying himself with that guy currently on the Jets, that has to be enough to get him in the Hall of Fame, right?  Maybe he doesn’t get in on the first ballot, but he’s gotta get in, right?

- Speaking of the Jets, did you see them running up the score against my hapless Rams?  How sickening!

OK, fine, my Rams horribly stink, and the Jets did not run the score up on them.  However, can we stop giving Favre all the credit for the Jets’ “resurgence,” a 6-3 record against a cupcake schedule, including a LOSS to the RAIDERS?

Kris Jenkins?  Alan Faneca?  Thomas Jones?  Leon Washington?  Eh, forget it; let’s give all the credit to Diva Favre.

(And please stop with the “Oh, if Favre were still a Packer, they wouldn’t be 4-5!  It is not completely Aaron Rodgers’ fault that the Packers are struggling.  That defense of theirs is terrible, and it only got worse with the loss of LB Nick Barnett for the season.)

- Colts fans, begin to send your hate mail!

Is it just me, or are the Colts quickly rounding into that struggling team that, all of a sudden, gets white-hot, and earns the “We don’t want to play THEM!” label?  After back-to-back victories over New England and Pittsburgh (did the Colts really keep the Steelers out of the end zone when Pittsburgh was on the Colts’ 1???), the could-have-been 1-8 Colts could very well be 10-4 going into the final two games of the season.

Of course, they could also get upset by Houston, lose @SD, and then lose one of @CLE, CIN, or DET (shudder…), and miss the playoffs.

- And finally, thank goodness that Jacksonville remembered who they were…as did Detroit.

By the way, would you bet on Detroit going 0-16, or Tennessee going 16-0?  You’d have to be on the latter being more likely, wouldn’t you?

I would…but just barely.

Until next time!

Tags: cadeiger, diva favre, fantasy football, frys, green bay packers, indianapolis colts, kurt warner, mvp, new york jets, nick barnett, rebate-o-meter, shot-online, t.o., worldwiderebates by Peter
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I’m going to go sports-free today.

In other words, I’ve got tons to rant (and a little bit of raving) regarding customer service issues.

(Warning: L O N G blog entry today!)

Quick-hitters:

- So I just signed up for a free seven day trial of Sirius Internet Radio.

(I know…I’m WAY late to the party).

So far, I like the idea of commercial free radio, though I was hoping that the stations were COMPLETELY interruption-free (every now and then, the DJs insist on interjecting their thoughts between songs).

You could say that I’m testing out Sirius to try to convince my sister to sign up. With her AAA card, she should be able to get a decent deal on service + a radio, though nothing close to the $0 deal that was posted on SlickDeals recently, which even included a $30 gift card!

- I understand that credit worthiness is as understood as Mars, but I gotta wonder why Discover card is willing to offer me a promotional 0% balance transfer rate for a year, Chase is offering the same—as well as 2.99% for life (and that check is still sitting on my desk just in case)—but Citibank insists that their 0% for 4 months or 7.99% for life offers are worth my time.

Worse, while Discover only offers me this when I log into my online account, and Chase sends me balance transfer checks about once a quarter, Citibank insists on sending me these checks 2-3 times a week. I guess that’s why I bought a Staples MailMate shredder.

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1,049, with at least $200 “cut” (check written, and en route to me.)

Current unfiled-rebate-o-meter: $500 or so

(I’m so lazy.)

- Screw you DHL, and you too, idiot driver! I had a package scheduled for delivery on Wednesday, but I was not available to sign for the package (it was signature required). I got the notice on the door that night, and the next day, my sister was around to sign for the package.

That evening, the driver never came around! I checked the status of the package, and it said that a delivery attempt was made at 2:54pm! Ok…then where’s the second notice, remarking that Friday would have been DHL’s third and final delivery attempt?

I was around all day on Friday, awaiting the package, and around 7:00pm that night, I checked the status of the package again, and it appeared that the package never made it into the hands of the driver! WTF???

I called DHL earlier today, and the rep flatly told me that it was returned to sender. When I asked him why only two delivery attempts were made—by my count, there was only one delivery attempt, but whatever—the rep told me that the first delivery attempt was made on Tuesday.

(WRONG! Look at the status page! And I’m completely ignoring the fact that the package went to the wrong shipping facility on 6/2, a day before the supposed first delivery attempt!)

The rep asked me if I received a notice, and I pointed out that I received one on Wednesday. I then explained that, if the second delivery attempt was made on Wednesday, then why did I not get a notice on Tuesday? In addition, if this was the second delivery attempt, then wouldn’t I have been notified that the next delivery attempt would have been my last?

That’s when the rep dropped this bomb: he said that the driver scanned the package three consecutive days, and that the third scan was done on the sixth.

(If that’s the case, then wouldn’t the first scan have come on the fourth, and not the third as the rep mentioned earlier?)

The rep added that, regardless of what the online tracking says, three scans = three delivery attempts. I pointed out that the driver might have been at my front door once out of the three attempts, and the rep would not budge on his three scans = three delivery attempts argument.

I’m almost 100% convinced that, after Wednesday’s delivery attempt—regardless of which delivery attempt that was—the driver didn’t even try to contact me via the intercom on Thursday, and didn’t even bother to attempt a delivery on Friday. Good thing the package contained nothing of great importance.

I suppose DHL guy still isn’t as bad as the FedEx driver, who really loves to throw packages against my front door. And as much as I think the UPS guy is not at all funny, at least he cares enough to leave me notices every day that he attempts a delivery.

And I don’t want to hear, “Well, if the package was important, then why didn’t you sign the back of the notice?” One, even if I did so, I’m not even sure that the driver made a second or third delivery attempt! How can he leave a package without stopping by my front door? Two, I still live in the complex where an LCD was stolen from my front door, and someone’s boxed up broken tuba (!!!) was stolen from their front door!

Screw you, DHL.

- After all that ranting, I think it’s time to switch gears. I submitted a $30 rebate for Windows Live OneCare, which, according to my records, was mailed out on 5/6/08.

The rebate check showed up in my mailbox today.

(In a world where rebates takes 8-12 weeks, usually from the date of receipt, but sometimes from the date of the end of the promo, or even 30 days after the end of the promo, a rebate that takes four weeks to receive is awesome.)

I checked my email inbox and noticed that I had only gotten notification that the rebate processor got my submission on 5/27 (the email itself arrived 6/3). Thirteen days—nine business days—from receipt to a check? Wow!

Even funnier is the fact that, when I checked out my online rebate status, it says this:

Date received: 05/27/08

Date checked mailed: 06/19/08 (est.)

Estimated check arrival date: 06/29/08

In other words, the rebate processor still thinks the check is only in the processing stages!

Incidentally, Microsoft rebates are handled by Young America, the same company that processes TrendNet rebates (rejection rates = Ray Allen’s free throw shooting percentage; really really high, in other words), Corel and Office Depot rebates (really really slow), and Sony software rebates, which leads me to my last story…

(Young America also used to handle Kaspersky rebates, and while I had no real problems with Kaspersky rebates handled by these guys, many people on SD weren’t so lucky).

- Three days ago, I checked the status of a pair of Sony Vegas Movie Studio 8 rebates at web-rebates.com. One rebate was good to go, but the second rebate had this little remark attached to it:

Submission did not include an original UPC from Movie Studio 8

Now, the UPC was a sticker, which I stuck smack dab on the top edge of the rebate form. Certainly you can see how a moron could miss that, right?

(Unless the piece of invisible tape I used to further stick the UPC to the rebate form yellowed in transit, and thus blocked the UPC from plain sight, I guess…)

Naturally I did what I do best: I sent a hate-filled email to their customer service desk, using the webform found here. This morning, I got this reply:

Dear Mr. Ung,

Thank you for your interest in the Sony rebate offer.

We have reviewed your request and find the UPC was submitted. Your $30.00 rebate has been processed.

Please allow 10-14 days to receive your rebate check.

We apologize for the error and the inconvenience incurred.

It’s good to know that these rebate processors don’t mis-see (:P) UPCs, and then immediately trash the rebate submission afterwards, which begs the question: why don’t they? If a rebate submission is clearly invalid, then why keep them?

Perhaps it has something to do with rebate companies trying adhere to a strict quota of only processing a select percentage of rebates…

(Nah.)

Tags: balance transfer checks, chase, citibank, dhl, discover card, frys, idiot driver, internet radio, microsoft, missing UPC, rebates, return to sender, satellite radio, sirius, tracking, web-rebates, windows live onecare, young america by Peter
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I would have blogged last night, but my head hurt.

Quick-hitter:

- I scored an Antec Earthwatts 380W Power Supply from Newegg a couple of days ago ($34.99 - $30 MIR), and coupled that with the $20 Antec Solo case I bought a few weeks ago, I can finally hook up the CPU/mobo combo Krunk gave me back in December.

(Well, technically, I traded a 6′ HDMI to DVI cable for the combo.)

Whether or not I actually do it is a different story :P.

- I have an update regarding my $25 American Telecom Systems rebate. As with my ZoneAlarm rebate fiasco, I decided to email Fry’s directly to see if they would help me obtain my money. I faxed in my supporting documents on Thursday, and got a reply from Fry’s yesterday:

Thank you for contacting Frys.com.

Hello Peter, in regards to your Pay N Talk rebate in the amount of
$25.00. We have since gotten in contact with the rebate manufacturer in
regards to your denial. Unfortunately after talking with them it seems
as though they are unwilling to help there customers. What we are going
to do for you in this matter is go ahead and give all of your rebate
submission to our home office. They will be issuing you a check shortly.
Please note that this may take up to 2 months. Please feel free to get
back with us in regards to this status. Thank you.

If that doesn’t spell “SCAM,” I don’t know what does.

Props again to Fry’s for bailing me out!

(Then again, I better not count my chickens before they hatch.)

- When I first went to Yahoo! Sports, I saw a little blurb mentioning that former Memphis Grizzlies’ F/C Pau Gasol had been traded. The first thing that came to my head was “So soon? The trading deadline is weeks away!” So you could imagine my immediate shock when I heard that Gasol was traded to the Lakers.

(For those of you hiding under a rock the size of an Egyptian Pyramid, the Lakers traded BS (that’s Big Stiff) Kwame Brown, G Javaris Crittenton, formerly retired G Aaron McKie, first-round picks in 2008 and 2010, and the rights to Marc Gasol (yes, relation; they are brothers). The Lakers got back Gasol and the Grizzlies’ second-round pick in 2010.)

Did the Lakers just trade Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol? Talk about highway robbery! Former Lakers’ GM Jerry West had a hand in the deal, right? What the hell were the Grizzlies thinking? Those were just some of the thoughts that came to me in the five minutes after I heard about the deal. But before my rational self decides to chime in, here is what I love about the deal:

1) The Lakers got a near 20-10 player (20 points + 10 rebounds/game) for the cost of Kwame Brown and essentially first round picks, if you count Crittendon. How often do 20-10 guys get dealt, much less midseason?

(Don’t answer that, Minnesota fans.)

Gotta love it.

2) A year ago, Kobe blasted the Lakers for not being willing to include Andrew Bynum in a deal for Jason Kidd. Some Laker fans blasted the organization for not trading Lamar Odom and Bynum for Jermaine O’Neal. Now we were able to score Pau Gasol without losing either one?

Gotta [expletive] love it!

3) You’d have to assume that those two picks the Lakers will be giving away are going to be in the early-to-mid 20s, at best. More often than not, you get glue guys—solid bench players, marginal starters, etc.—in the mid-20s, not potential superstars. The Lakers’ are already rife with such players: Farmer, Ariza (injured ATM), Vujacic, and Turiaf. Even if Crittenton turns out to be a star, and Marc Gasol becomes a solid role player, you have to like the risk the Lakers are taking.

By the way, where is Crittenton going to play? Don’t the Griz already enough PGs?

I’m definitely loving it.

4) Odom at SF, Gasol at PF, Bynum at C. That’s six very long arms.

Love it!

5) The Lakers have ONE rotation player over the age of 30 (Fisher). ONE!!!

Love it!

Now, please allow my rational side to chime in.

6) Gasol’s owed $50 million through 2010-11. Kobe’s owed $21 million next year. Odom’s owed $14.5 million next year. Andrew Bynum is due for a huge extension after next year. Welcome to salary cap (and luxury tax) hell! And the Lakers could easily compound the problem by dealing Odom in a package for Jason Kidd.

Gotta hate that.

7) Gasol’s not exactly a defensive stalwart, and for all the talk that Lamar Odom is a “natural 3,” I have to cringe at the thought of him guarding quicker, smaller 3s.

Hurry back, Bynum!

Does adding Gasol really push the Lakers past San Antonio, Dallas, and Phoenix? Fans have to be cautiously optimistic.

One other note: what did the Bulls offer Memphis last year that caused Memphis to say no to a Gasol deal? Are you telling me that the Bulls offered less than Kwame, Crittenton, a prospect, and two #1s? Tyrus Thomas, the Bulls’ #9 last year (Joakim Noah), PJ Brown, and a future pick was a less attractive package than what the Lakers offered? Seriously?

- First, there was the original Spygate. A few days ago, we had Sen. Arlen Specter openly question why the NFL was so quick to destroy all Spygate-related tapes (and for the record, why did the NFL do this?). Then we had former Patriots employee Matt Walsh saying that he has tapes that could be “damaging” to the Patriots. Now, there are reports that someone videotaped the St. Louis Rams before Super Bowl in 2002.

The timing for all of this couldn’t be any better…for the Patriots, that is. As if Brady*, Belicheck*, et al.*******, need any more motivation to wax the floor with the New York Giants. Heck, maybe the Pats* paid Walsh to speak out now for the extra motivation. For all we know, maybe they paid off Sen. Specter to do the same!

Do I expect the league to fully investigate the latest accusations against the Pats? Yeah, about as “fully” as they investigated the original Spygate.

By the way, Pats 31, Giants 17. My original prediction was Pats 24, Giants 17, but these latest spying allegations have to be worth, at the very least, an extra touchdown.

Tags: 380w, american telecom, antec, ats, customer service, earthwatts, frys, los angeles lakers, pau gasol, power supply unit, psu, rebate, spygate by Peter
3 Comments »

Quick-hitters:

- Talk about a stroke of luck! On Friday night, I headed out towards the parking lot in preparation to go to MPK for the weekend. Halfway there, I remembered that I didn’t check the mail yet, so I opened my mailbox, grabbed the mail, and started fingering through the contents. I noticed a single rebate check, for $15, which I grabbed immediately. The rest of the mail was thrust in to the back seat of the car, and just left there.

On Sunday night, as we prepared to leave MPK, I opened the back seat of the car, and a little postcard fell out from between the door and the back seat! I immediately noticed the “endorsement required” notation on the back of the card, and when I picked it up, I found out it was a $50 rebate! Whew!

Too bad that’s about the only good rebate-related news I have to report for today (more on that later).

- I spotted this amusing little tidbit on a FatWallet thread last night:

Wouldn’t it be funny if Kevin Hain has trouble getting his severance package and they just send him the same stupid cut and paste email replies he sent us? “Yes, those who properly requested their severance package will
receive theirs.” “Again, there will be no monies provided for those requesting severance packages.”

I’m not sure why I found that to be so funny; it’s not like I have a problem with Mr. Hain or anything.

- So AllRebates, now run by Ohana Companies PlusNet Marketing—the same scammers (yes, scammers) that handle ZoneAlarm and CompUSA rebates—is continuing to jerk around with me regarding my $25 rebate.

(The above was edited on 6/12/08, to reflect that AllRebates.com is run by PlusNet Marketing, which may or may not be affiliated with Ohana Companies.  I’ve edited the references to Ohana Companies for now.)

I got an email in my inbox today, regarding the latest resubmission attempt I made:

In researching your account, we find that your receipt was not included with your submission. In order to process the rebate, please fax a copy of the sales receipt, rebate form and any additional requirements to 1-800-514-8259, Attn. AllRebates Special Services. If you prefer you may mail a copy of the sales receipt, rebate form and any additional requirements to: AllRebates Attn: Special Services, P.O. Box 8340, Wilmington, DE 19803.

So first I didn’t send in a clear copy of my UPC and Proof of Upgrade, and now I didn’t send in a receipt???

I just faxed them a hate-filled letter email with clear copies of my receipt, UPC, and Proof of Upgrade. Yeah, I know I said that my state Attorney General would hear my complaints if AllRebates jerked around with me one more time, but I had some steam to let off :P.

On the other hand, I might just call Amazon.com instead and see if they’re willing to assist me in this matter.

- One other quick rebate rant: a couple months ago, I was foolish enough to buy a FAR American Telecom phone. I’ve checked their rebate status page, and my status has yet to appear online. Worse yet, the phone number on the rebate status page told me to send all rebate inquiries to rebate@atsphone.com.

I sent an email to that address a week ago, and have heard nothing. This sounds like something I better get Fry’s involved with again.

Hopefully my next blog entry will discuss anything other than rebates.

Tags: allrebates, amazon.com, american telecom, compusa, erebates, frys, kevin hain, ohana companies, plusnet marketing, zonealarm by Peter
4 Comments »

Quick-hitters:

- Current rebate-o-meter: approaching $1,500, no thanks to the tax software deals. The number will be dropping, though, as I’m expecting another couple hundred dollars in rebates.

More on rebates later (unfortunately).

- I got a letter from Sallie Mae a couple days ago, with “Important Information” enclosed. Yeah right…right?

Actually, it was a notification that my student roan consolidation interest rate was dropped a full percent for my exceptional payment history! W00t!

Too bad I couldn’t have taken out a $100,000 student loan, just so that I could have invested the excess.

- It’s amazing how well the Ung-hex works at times. Didn’t I just say, a couple days ago, that the Lakers were playing well and Andrew Bynum was a stud?

Laker fans, you may commence sending me your hate mail.

- Here are my NFL Divisional Playoff thoughts:

1) Ryan Grant is a stud. Two fumbles, and then he follows those up with 201 yards and three scores?

(Packers fans, prepare to send me your hate mail next week :P.)

2) I don’t know what’s crazier: Eli Manning actually beating the Cowboys, or the fact that I actually bet on the Giants + 7.5 in the first place!

By the way, enough of the Tony Romo/Jessica Simpson “controversy!” Though I must wonder…will a sportsbook put out future odds on who Romo will be dating in 2008?

And sorry TO, but I’m not buying the whole teary-eyed defense of your QB. Weren’t you the same guy that throws his QBs under the bus?

3) Billy Volek? Michael Turner? Darren Sproles? Seriously? THAT was Tony Dungy’s (likely) swan song? What the hell was that???

By the way, was I the only one who felt that there was an NFL fix going on with the refs in the SD-Indy game? Did you see that horrible pass interference call? How the hell did the Colts NOT win on Sunday?

I suppose it had something to do with Peyton Manning reverting back to his early 2000s self, and the defense playing like sheer crap.

and finally…

4) Should we just go ahead and crown the Patriots* the 2008 NFL Super Bowl Champions*? We might as well give the Super Bowl MVP* trophy to Brady too, while we’re at it.

I can’t wait for the 2008 NFL season.

- I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting in my kitchen lately (sorry, no pics!). What have I been making?

• Won ton soup, twice, both times altering my filling recipe slightly
• Cream cheese wontons (imitation crab meat, cream cheese, green onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper)…remind me next time to make only 3-4 per person *gag*
• Pork burgers; in my defense, I had some unidentified meat in my freezer that looked like ground beef, and it was only when I cooked the meat did I realize that I was using soy sauce-marinated pork instead.

(Tangent: Is there a more frightening phrase than “unidentified meat?” If there is, please let me know.)

• California rolls, sans avocado, sadly. My 99 Ranch had soy wrappers, which were awesome to roll, but very difficult to cut; at least the seaweed wrappers (nori) had perforations on them, which made cutting a heck of a lot easier. I didn’t have medium grain rice, but my long grain Jasmine rice worked quite well. I would have made Philadelphia rolls, but I couldn’t find any smoked salmon.

Pardon the pun, but I wonder what I’m going to cook up this week.

- Finally, I have to talk about a horrible experience with MyRebateOnline.com, the guys that are in charge of processing ZoneAlarm rebates (and probably other stuff). For the records, these guys handle rebates sent to Bensalem, PA.

Background: in both October and November, I bought a copy ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 3 Pack from Frys.com. Each item came with a $40 mail in rebate attached to it, and I made sure that I qualified for both rebates separately (each rebate had a different offer number assigned to it). I had heard nothing from the rebate processor regarding the status of my rebate—usually, rebate processors are supposed to send an email upon receipt of a rebate submission, notifying you of the status of any promotion a buyer attempts to claim—so I decided to give the rebate center a ring and see what was going on with my two rebates.

HUGE MISTAKE.

Unfortunately for me, I got a CSR on seemingly the worst day of her life. I gave her the spelling of my last name (three times!), followed by my zip, and then she asked me for my address. I began spelling out my address, and she cut me off with a terse “I can see address right in front of me. Just confirm it!”

After doing that, the CSR told me that my rebate submission was rejected. Hold on, I said. I pointed out that I had two rebates that I was inquiring about, and wanted to know which of the two rebates was rejected. The CSR, obviously miffed, went on a huge rant:

Look, I don’t have that information in front of me. Our rebate processing deparment [you mean the guy in the cubicle next to you?] says that your rebate has been denied for missing the receipt!

[and here comes the kicker]

(like a parent scolding her kid) WHY DIDN’T YOU SUBMIT THE RECEIPT? WHY DIDN’T YOU MAIL IN THE RECEIPT WITH YORU SUBMISSION?

WHAT. THE. [expletive]. HELL???

Trying to keep my cool, I then asked about what I could do to fix the rebate, even though I had no idea which rebate I was attempting to clear up. The CSR immediately pointed out that I could mail in my receipt (the one that I supposedly didn’t mail in; I did, for the record, and my PDF’ed copy of my rebate submission will back this up), provided that the rebate promotion was still valid!

Naturally, this wasn’t going to happen, as both rebates were valid in October and November, respectively. Even if I assumed that “valid” referred to the rebate postmark dates, most rebates require the postmark date of the rebate submission to be within thirty days of the purchase date.

Nevertheless, I decided that I was going to attempt to resolve the October rebate, even though I wasn’t sure that that rebate was even submitted, much less invalid. Evidently pressing my luck, I asked the CSR one more question: was there some other way I could clear up this matter (fax, perhaps?).

*click*

I know I’ve said this before on this blog, but I’ll say it again.

Listen, ZoneAlarm CSR: I’m sorry that your life is clearly not going in the direction you thought it would. However, you don’t have to take it out on an unsuspecting customer who is just trying to figure out why he hasn’t received his check for promotions from three and four months ago! May I suggest a career change? I might consider giving one of those colleges you see advertised on daytime TV a call.

After shaking off that horrible phone conversation, I decided to go straight to Fry’s.com CS and see if they could help me out. A very nice lady (not just by comparison) answered my call, and asked me to fax in both of my resubmissions directly to Fry’s. She said that I could call back within a week or two to check the status of my complaints.

*crossing fingers*

And yeah, complaints to my state Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau are coming, if Fry’s isn’t able to help me out.

Tags: andrew bynum, bensalem, california rolls, cooking, cream cheese wontons, divisional playoff, frys, important information, internet security suite 3 pack, los angeles lakers, myrebateonline, nfl, pa, pork burgers, rude CSR, sallie mae, won ton soup, zonealarm by Peter
4 Comments »