UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

…will have to wait.

My loyal readers—all none of you—will notice that I haven’t said a word about the Dodgers in some time.

I’m going to break the silence with just one comment.

Adam Wainwright, in his attempts to defend LF Matt Holliday’s horrible gaffe that sparked the Dodgers’ ninth inning, two-out rally, went with this defense:

“That ball got lost in 50,000 white towels shaking in front of Matt’s face,” Wainwright said. “It doesn’t really seem fair that an opposing team should be able to allow their fans to shake white towels when there’s a white baseball flying through the air. How about Dodger Blue towels?”

You’re kidding, right Adam?  Let’s ban white T-shirts next!  And, technically, Matt really only had to deal with 30,000 or so towels.  How could the ones behind him in the pavilions and the seats by the foul pole distract him?

By the way, Adam, the Phillies’ rally towels are white too.

Go Dodgers.

Tags: adam wainwright, los angeles dodgers, matt holliday, st louis cardinals by Peter
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It was 2-0, Colorado, in the top of the first inning when I turned off my TV.  It was 4-3, Colorado, when I turned it back on.  Then I saw Andruw Jones strike out for the fourth time in the game.

(Wait.  That wasn’t Andruw Jones?  That was MANNY RAMIREZ???)

And to think, I thought the Ung-hex was losing its powers.

I read on Yahoo! Sports earlier today that the Dodgers need but one win to not only win the NL West, but to clinch home field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.  And you know what?  As a true Dodger fan, I want them to choke the division crown away!  If they are going to play like absolute crap for the last week of the season, they don’t deserve home field advantage.

One last thought:  how did Colorado only manage two runs in the first inning?

- No, I have not watched yesterday’s episode of The Office.  I know, I know; I should turn in my Office Fan Club card.

- Fantasy Football updates:  I came back to win both league games, and now I’m 2-0 in both leagues.  However, my decision to bench Peyton Manning in Week 2 might prove to be costly.  In league #1, I’m ranked #1 via tiebreaker—total points scored—but I could have had a much larger lead had I not benched Manning.  Oh well.  I’m second in league #2, only because of the tiebreaker.

Fun fact:  I usually handcuff my star running backs in every Fantasy Football draft I do.  I don’t recall ever having to use the handcuff, though.

(For you non-FFB players, handcuffing a running back means to draft his backup, just in case the star gets injured.)

Of course, last week Marion Barber goes down, and Felix Jones slid comfortably into Barber’s spot in my starting lineup.  Then of course, Jones goes down, and fortunately I had a high enough waiver priority to handcuff him with Tashard Choice.

I gotta ask, though.  Who is Tashard Choice’s backup?

I’ve been battling a toothache this past week (that super duper large Mexican funnel cake I shared with my sisters at the Fair last week probably didn’t help), so I’ll leave it at that.  Until next time.

Tags: andruw jones, fantasy football, felix jones, handcuff, handcuff the handcuff, los angeles dodgers, manny ramirez, marion barber, mexican funnel cake, tashard choice, ung-hex by Peter
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Did Ryan Church really miss third base, costing the Mets the lead in the top half of the 11th?

Did Xavier Paul’s fly ball really fall between LF Angel Pagan and CF Carlos Beltran?

And what the heck was with that throw to the plate???

Cue Yackety Sax!

- So over at The Consumerist about a week ago, I read an article about how Chase was “inviting” certain customers to skip a payment on their credit cards, clearly with the intention to charge interest rates on existing balances.  I told myself, “Gee, I wish Chase would do that with my balance transfer!”

Fast forward to today, and I noticed something peculiar on my Excel spreadsheet made for bills.  According to the spreadsheet, I had already paid off my Chase Freedom card for the month of April (you know, the one that was made better than ever recently, if by better than ever, I mean FUBARed).  I wasn’t sure if that was right, though, so I logged in to my Chase online account.

(I know that a payment is due on a credit card account when there is a figure under the minimum payment due.  In addition, the first thing I check when I log on to my Chase account are the notices on the left hand side of the page.  Once a payment clears, the minimum payment due resets to zero, the notice goes away, and I make a note on my spreadsheet that the account is paid.)

I looked at my Freedom account, noted the minimum payment due was $0, and thought that that was peculiar.  I investigated further, and that’s when I saw the last payment date of April 13.  I knew that that didn’t sound right, so I opened up a PDF copy of my statement, and that’s when I saw the blurb quoted in the Consumerist article above:

You have the flexibility to skip a payment. you must pay past due and overlimit [sic] balances immediately. However, the remaining minimum payment for this month has been reduced to $0. Finance charges will continue to accrue. To reduce your balance, feel free to make a payment.

Thank goodness that my minimum payment of $0 was due on May 21.  It was only a $120 balance, so I suppose it wouldn’t have been a big deal if I missed the payment (even at 24%, that’s about $5 out of my pocket).  Still, that’s a few bucks of mine that Chase nearly got their hands on.

- I had a Status-Now.com rebate that was in rebate limbo from all the way back in November of 2008.  Being the lazy bastard that I am, I waited until a few days ago to inquire about the rebate.  After a brief wait on hold, I was told that the rebate was invalid due to a duplicate submission(?!?).  I couldn’t find my rebate scans, so I told the rep that I would call right back.

I checked Status-Now.com, and sure enough, it appeared that I did file duplicate rebates.  WTF, I thought to myself.  I could’ve sworn that the two rebate entries were different, and without the rebate form, how was I gonna prove it?

It took a bit of, um, URL “engineering,” but I eventually found the proper rebate form.  I called Status-Now right back, gave them the promo code of the rebate, and was stunned to hear what the rep told me.

(paraphrasing) “Sir, that rebate promotion code is for a promotion that hasn’t yet occured.”

…….

Huh?

About a minute later, I finally was able to speak again.  “Come again?” I said.

The rep put me on hold, came back on soon after, and explained that there was “probably” a typo on the rebate form.  She explained that, in the event that the promotion code is incorrect, the system automatically tries to process the rebate under the closest promotion code.

OK.

Long story short, the rep created a new record for me—she had to process it under a promotion that I’ve already done, but she assured me that it would be OK—and that she would expedite the rebate process.

Whew.

Until next time…whenever the hell that is.

Tags: angel pagan, carlos beltran, chase, chase freedom, consumerist, los angeles dodgers, minimum payment, new york mets, rebate error, ryan church, status-now, yackety sax by Peter
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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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You might have noticed the way I am now labeling my Office reviews (S05E02 = Season 5, Episode 2, e.g.).

One of these days, I’ll go back and fix all my Office-related blog titles to reflect this change.

(No I won’t :P)

- Here’s all I have to say about Game Two of the Dodgers/Phillies series:

BRETT F**KING MYERS??? THREE FOR THREE, THREE RBI, AND TWO RUNS??? ARE YOU SERIOUS???

(Bye, Manny.)

- I love Costco. My wallet might not, but I love Costco. One of the most underrated aspects of Costco has to be their excellent customer service. Most of the cashiers I’ve encountered at Costco were very friendly to me. Sure, there was the occasional cashier that would half-heartedly say “Bye” to me at the end of my transaction, but this was the exception and not the rule.

However, yesterday I got to deal with the most inconsiderate Costco cashier of all time! Rather than repeat what happened, I’ll let the email I fired off to Costco speak for itself:

Hi,

Let me start by saying that several members of my family are frequent shoppers at Costco Wholesale warehouse locations throughout Southern California, and for the most part, we have had few (if any) customer-service related issues with your stores. Most of the cashiers we have encountered have been genuinely friendly to us, usually offering greetings of “How are you today?” followed by “Have a good day!” at the conclusion of our transactions.

On 10/10/2008, however, I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with cashier [cashier name, register #, store #, city, state, zip, and time]. It appeared that I had lined up right around the time that [name] and two other cashiers decided that it would be more important to converse with each other than to do their jobs. One of the other workers was manning a cash register of his own, and the other was responsible for putting scanned items back in to my cart.

When I lined up, I was not at all greeted by [name]—she didn’t even glance in my general direction! Furthermore, while scanning my purchases, there was at least one moment where she completely stopped what she was doing in order to speak to her coworkers! Each time she did this, I was tempted to say “If you don’t mind, please scan my items, and then you can chat when you’re done with me.”

After I paid for the items, [name] handed me my receipt, again without even making eye contact; apparently she still needed to converse with her coworkers! I felt like filling a complaint right then and there, but I thought better of it.

As I mentioned before, my family frequently shops at Costco, and I do not recall a customer-service related issue as atrocious as the situation discussed above. I sincerely hope I will not have to find another Costco to shop at in the future.

Thank you for your time,

I already got a reply from Costco, saying that my email was forwarded to the local manager.

(I know what some of you might be thinking: why would I waste my time filing a complaint? Cashier jobs are horribly thankless jobs, and most cashiers could care less about their customers! I will not dispute this point; however, like I said earlier, I would not have expected such rude cashiers at Costco. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if something like this happened at VONS, Ralphs, Rite Aid, WalMart, etc., but Costco? Not a chance.)

- Time for my Office review:

My opinion of “Business Ethics” might change if I watch it a few more times, but I just couldn’t really get into the episode. Sure, the whole bit with Jim, Dwight, and Andy was ridiculously funny, but the episode really felt like a chore to get through. As far as “storyline” episodes go, this was one of the least impressive ones.

Thank goodness Jim and Pam immediately announced their engagement! The last thing I needed was a drawn-out, winter break cliffhanger over when they would actually make that announcement. However, when is Pam coming back to Scranton? And what will happen to Ryan when that happens?

Have I mentioned how much I now love Holly’s character? She’s perfect for the show! She’s quirky enough to stand Michael, while, at the same time, you can tell that she wants to do her job well. I like how we got more insight as to why Michael is perfect for running the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin; the process (actually going through the Ethics binder) isn’t nearly as important as the results (getting signatures from the office). Will Michael continue to mold Holly into a female version of himself? Or will Holly continue to butt heads with Michael over office matters?

(Or both?)

So Meredith has sex for discount paper and steak, huh? And Holly wanted her fired??? Give her a promotion! You just knew that Meredith wasn’t going to get punished for her actions, but I thought it was Michael that was going to defend her, not someone at corporate! The writers should continue this storyline throughout the season; maybe we can discover that Dwight traded away some beets for discount paper?

Hopefully next week’s episode will be better.

Tags: brett myers, business ethics, costco, idiot cashier, los angeles dodgers, philadelphia phillies, The Office by Peter
2 Comments »

- I knew we were in a bit of trouble watching Derek Lowe struggle through that fifth inning.

As soon as I saw Chase Utley deposit a Lowe pitch into right field, I knew we were in big trouble.

(Damn you, Rafael Furcal!)

I muttered to myself, “Take him out NOW, Torre!” knowing full well that that would have been an extremely rash decision to do so.

However, what if Torre had come with the hook right then and there?

(For the record, I picked the Phillies to win this series in six games. I don’t see how the Dodgers’ staff is going to slow down the Phillies’ offense over a seven-game series).

I enjoyed doing the “running synopsis” of last week’s Office episode so much that I think I will do that for the rest of the season. Let’s go!

- Bad, Bad Jim, for not telling the rest of the office about your engagement!

(thinks about it for a second…)

(thinks about it for thirty seconds…)

Smart move, Jim! Seriously, why the heck would he want to tell anyone about their engagement? Why, so Michael can throw them a stupid party? So Dwight could say something wholly inappropriate? So Andy could ask Jim if they could do a double-wedding?

(thinks about it some more…)

Dammit Jim! Well, at least the writers decided not to have Jim and Pam hold off their engagement announcement for too long.

- LOL! Nice reactions from the office!

• “I thought you were already engaged!”
• “That was Roy. She was engaged to Roy.”
• “I have a gift for Pam and Roy. Do I have to get another one?”
• “A little close to my engagement there, Tuna. What’s your game here?” Thank you, Andy!
• “She’s not a virgin you know.” Rainn Wilson owes me a new computer monitor.
• And how many times did Michael get to “rehearse” that tackle on Jim? Bob Sanders should be proud.

- Holly: “Pencils down!” Oh, flashbacks of standardized tests! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

- Oh dear…Olivia Newton John’s “Physical”??? “Let’s get ETHICAL, ETHICAL!!!!”

Too bad we couldn’t clearly hear the grunting that occurs during the “Let me hear your body talk!” line.

(If you have no idea what I’m talking about, just think about the song might be about…)

I must admit…I’m really enjoying Holly’s character.

- Michael: “Why are you helping her? You’re not even dating.” Thank you Michael, for waiting only two minutes to say something entirely inappropriate.

“She’s my friend, and ultimately my strategy is to…merge this into a relationship, without her even knowing.”

- Holly: “…there’s been some misconduct at corporate.” Well, I’m glad it only took Dunder-Mifflin a few months to begin resolving THAT.

- “…and that employee has been fired.”

Kevin: “Oh, come on! He’s right there! He was hired! Oooh…check it out! HIRE-D guy!” LOL.

(Please, please, please, do not let Kevin think up of a new nickname for Ryan every week!

(while Ryan is fixing a flat) “Hey, TIRE-D guy!”

(while Ryan downs his eighth cup of coffee) “Hey, WIRE-D” guy!”

Ok, I’ll stop.

- Phyllis: “I thought ‘Very Strongly Agree’ sounded stronger than ‘Totally Agree.’” On what planet???

- Holly: “In fact, spending a half hour at the water cooler during work hours is a form of stealing.” I agree with Kelly. What??? Time theft? Shouldn’t Michael have already been executed for time theft by now???

(Did Kelly just make a good, sensible point regarding smokers and their breaks??? What the heck is going on with this show?)

- I can’t remember the last time Angela glanced at the camera!

- Seriously? Nobody in the office wants to speak up about any ethical questions they might have had to deal with? NOBODY?

- Michael: “When I discovered YouTube, I didn’t work for five days. I did NOTHING.”

(Raise your hand if you did NOT do that. If you’re hand isn’t raised, you’re a damn liar :P)

Seriously, nobody is going to take the bait (that anyone can say anything with complete immunity), right?

(Oscar, NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!)

- Michael (to Dwight): “You are a thief of joy!” Agreed.

- Meredith: “Have you guys ever met Bruce Meyers, the Scranton rep for Hammermill? Well, for the past six years I’ve been sleeping with him in exchange for discounts on our supplies…and Outback Steakhouse gift certificates.” Yes, Jim, “Jackpot!”

- Yeah, Holly, I’d look like that too if I had to work with Michael Scott.

- Meredith: “Nah, I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for the discount paper. There’s not a lot of fruit in those looms.” Gag.

- I’d feel good about myself too, if I got free steak coupons. Then again, I might not, if I had to earn them like that.

(Um, never mind.)

- Jim (stopwatch in hand): “Yawn: four seconds.” “Personal conversation: seventeen seconds.” I want Jim’s job!

- Michael: “Would you care to bang it out over lunch?”

I predict that, in six weeks, Holly will respond to such a statement with a quick and decisive “That’s what HE said!”

- Idiot! Don’t throw the food away!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

- “Business romantic?” Stupid Michael…you should have taken her to a “High class casual” restaurant or something.

- Is it just me, or is Michael making up way more words in this season than in seasons past?

- It took me a while to realize how incredibly funny the scene with Jim, Andy, and Dwight really was. I didn’t catch on even when Jim mentioned Klingons and Wookies!

That one scene might have saved the entire episode. So far, watching this episode has been quite a chore…so much so that I completely missed the mention of Klingons and Wookies the first time around.

Dumbledorf Calrizzien? A ring back to Mordor??? LOL!!!!! No, Andy, that doesn’t sound right indeed.

- Michael: I just don’t want my employees thinking that their jobs depend on performance. I mean, what sort of place is that to call home? And Meredith needs this job. This is her main source of money.”

…………

- Meredith + Chastity Belt = #*$@()$@!*$!!!!!!!

STOP, PLEASE!

(And I did not need to see Dwight peeing into a soda bottle. Did he even clean it before…never mind.)

- Yeah, it must be exhausting to do nothing but watch Dwight work all day.

- That’s TWICE now that Michael has thrown away food for NO GOOD REASON! YOU BASTARD!!!

- Jim: “Nineteen minutes and forty-eight seconds. What were we doing for nineteen minutes and forty-eight seconds?” You mean, not counting the time it took to walk up and down the stairs?

Dwight: “None of your business.”

Jim: “So I guess I can assume that was…PERSONAL?” OH SNAP!!!

Yes, I caught that one immediately.

- Ok, now I absolutely love Holly’s character. The tension in the break room was awesome. I just hope, somewhere down the line, there isn’t a scene where Michael and Holly start ripping off each other’s clothes.

(LET’S GET PHYSICAL!!!

Ugh.)

- GRAY AREA????? WHAT IN THE HELL???

WHAT IN THE HELL??????

Wow, I guess Michael Scott really knows how to run this company.

- Phyllis: “I don’t care what she’s doing, I hope she just keeps doing it.” Oh my.

Full review to come later, but as a preview, let’s just say that I’ll be as optimistic about this episode as I possibly can.

Tags: business ethics, chase utley, derek lowe, los angeles dodgers, philadelphia phillies, rafael furcal, The Office by Peter
1 Comment »

Random Thoughts:

- Never, ever, in a million years, could I have seen the Dodgers sweep away the Cubs in three games!

And Cubs fans, please stop saying that the Cubs choked away the series. The Dodgers beat them, plain and simple.

- The weather here has been crazy lately! Late last week, it was chilly; we’re talking mid-70s with winds. Over the weekend, it was a tad warmer, maybe in the 80s.

Today, it was in the mid-90s, and it’s expected to be even hotter tomorrow! Even stranger, the day after, it is expected to be back in the mid-70s!

WTH???

- Shot-Online Update: I’m a Level 48 semi-pro, and yet I’m too afraid to try Cadeiger :P.

(One quick Shot-Online rant: You morons that are clogging the AH with your one-hit items are freaking annoying.

All of you, please go DIAF.)

- Week Five Fantasy Football Updates:

Going into Monday’s Minnesota v New Orleans tilt, I was trailing by 11 points in one league (with only Minnesota’s defense left), and I was up by 30 points in another league (and facing, gulp, Drew Brees and Adrian Peterson).

Then the punt block/TD happened, and I felt really good about the first league.

Then, inexplicably, New Orleans’ run defense started playing really well, practically shutting down AD to the tune of THREE fantasy points! Brees ended up with 13 points, thanks in part to two lost fumbles, and my opponent in the second league ended up with only 16 of the 30 points required to overtake me.

I figured that I was in big trouble in both leagues, and now I’m 2-3 and 2-2-1, with plenty of Fantasy Football left to play.

Some non-fantasy football thoughts from the past week:

- A win is a win is a win, but T.O. going T.O is still T.O., and I love it:

‘This was a great team win,’ T.O. said. ‘It was frustrating out there, but I kept with it. My teammates stuck with it. … God used me today for his glory. Reality is where glory resides. That’s all I’ve got to say.’

What???

First of all, how is holding off a pathetic, winless Bengals team a “great team win”? Second of all…WHAT???

I can’t wait for T.O. to drop a game-tying TD late in the fourth quarter of game, then proclaiming that the loss as a “bad team loss” while staring in the general direction of Tony Romo.

By the way, how would you like to be 4-1 and be in THIRD place in your division? I have a good feeling that the NFC’s Super Bowl representative will come out of the NFC East.

- Another game, another Ed Hochuli controversy. How his crew blew that obvious facemask penalty is beyond me. But can we stop blaming Hochuli for this one? This was not his call!!!

Look, part of sports is the human aspect of it; officials are going to make mistakes! Yes, that’s what instant replay is for, right? Well, why not allow instant replay to reverse non-calls too? If we do that, then where would we draw the line on what is challenge-able and what is not?

Besides, two missed calls in a five-game stretch is not exactly a compelling sample size to determine if a referee needs to retire. Also, what if the Jay Cutler fumble didn’t result in a Broncos TD? What if Reggie Bush did not fumble following the facemask? I’m not arguing that these outcomes would have made the blown calls right, but I will once again hammer the point that one cannot attribute the result of a SINGLE play to the outcome of a game!

- Where are the pro-Diva Favre Packer fans calling for GM Ted Thompson’s head? Is Aaron Rodgers hiding in a bomb shelter? Is Greta Van Susteren getting ready for a second interview, entitled “I Told You So!” with Favre?

(By the way, Packers fans, your secondary looks TERRIBLE. I just thought I’d throw that opinion out there before you mail out your expletive-laden hate mail to the Packers.)

- I guess Kurt Warner shouldn’t retire just yet.

Poor guy, though, to have to witness his teammate—Anquan Boldin—get seriously hurt because of a poor decision on Warner’s part. I immediately became a fan of the guy, and I still am, and I hope that this is not going to be his final season. I would love to see Warner take a team to the playoffs one more time.

(Fantasy football tangent: the goose-egg I got from Trent Edwards, thankfully, did not ruin me.)

- Sage Rosenfels, congratulations on winning the Colts’ Team MVP award. My goodness!

That was kinda cool, I guess, for you to try to channel your inner John Elway. However, you do realize that this was Week Five of the regular season, right?

And Colts fans, isn’t it amazing that you are two failed second-half rallies away from being 0-4?

- And finally…

My Rams did not lose this week! WOOHOO!!!!!

Tags: chicago cubs, choke, controversy, diva favre, ed hochuli, fantasy football, kurt warner, los angeles dodgers, monday night football, nfl, retirement, sage rosenfels, shot-online, sweep, t.o., weird weather by Peter
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Quick-hitters:

- Boy was it COLD today.  Cold, chilly, windy…can I have summer back?

Oh well…cold weather means I can go have pho again!  Yum!

(And yes, I did have some today.  Gosh I missed that stuff.)

- A new toy arrived at my doorstep a few days ago, delivered by USPS (more on that later):  an LG Shine!

Too bad it was for my sister.

Nevertheless, I ripped open the box, popped the battery into the phone, popped the backplate onto the phone, and then immediately plugged it in.  I hit the power button, and it immediately asked me for a SIM card.

Nooooooooooooo!  A new toy, and I can’t even play with it???

Then I remembered…I used to have an AT&T Prepaid plan.  Would the SIM card work?  I rushed to my desk, dug through my desk drawers, and somehow found the little SIM card buried between some manuals.

I rushed back to the phone, stuck in the SIM card, and it worked!

I played with the phone for about ten seconds, before putting it away :P.

- Current rebate-o-meter:  ~$1300.

With the fall season comes new TV shows, the MLB Playoffs, NFL football (of course!), and the NBA regular season on the horizon.  For me, I like to add “2009 Rebate Deals!” to that list!

Yeah, I’m a rebate degenerate, as well as a gambling degenerate, and a fantasy sports degenerate.

- My USPS carrier has NEVER left a package on my door.

(I’d argue that she never actually knocks, but who knows?)

The package could have been torn apart to reveal a t-shirt inside, and she still wouldn’t have left the package in front of my door.

So you could imagine how absolutely shocked I was to see a USPS Priority Mail box sitting on my front door, containing my sister’s cell phone!!!

(clears throat)

YOU WON’T LEAVE ANY OF MY PACKAGES ON MY FRONT DOOR, EVEN IF I FILL OUT THAT STUPID POSTCARD PERMITTING THIS, BUT YOU DECIDED THAT THIS ONE PACKAGE WAS WORTH LEAVING ON MY DOORSTEP??????????????????????????

(I need a throat lozenge.)

- To my loyal readers (all none of you), I present an UngsungBlog PSA.

If you have attempted to order from Frys.com lately, you might have run into a situation where adding an item to your cart leads you to a webpage asking you to enable cookies.

If you run into that problem, there’s an easy workaround:

1. Copy the seven-digit Frys.com item number.
2. Enter the item number into the search field.
3. When the item shows up, click on the “Buy” button, and the item should show up in your cart.

Hope that helps.

- (Yeah, I should have posted this yesterday.  Shoot me.)

Andre Ethier at first, none out, and the Dodgers played hit and run.  James Loney hit a grounder to short, and oops!  SS Ryan Theriot, running to cover second base, overran the grounder, and stuck his hand out to try to barehand the ball.  It glanced off his hand, trickled into left field, and all of a sudden, it was first and third with none out.

You could just feel Cubs fans fearing the worst.  Even after Matt Kemp struck out looking, you could hear the nervousness in the crowd’s response.  Once Blake Dewitt hit that grounder directly to 2B Mark DeRosa, though, you could almost hear the crowd breathe a heavy sigh of relief.  4-6-3, inning over, right?

Whoops!  DeRosa kicked the ball, and then tried a desperate flip to Theriot.  Loney beat the throw, Ethier scored, and you just had the feeling the the Cubs were in deep trouble (and members of the crowd were probably calling their therapists).  But then, Casey Blake hit a hard grounder to 1B Derrek Lee, and the Cubs had ANOTHER chance to get out of the inning!

So close!  Derrek Lee booted it, everyone was safe, and now the Dodgers had the bases loaded with only one out.  At this point, you almost felt sorry for Cubs fans.  But wait!  Chad Billinsgley was up, and down he goes on strikes!  Two outs now, and Carlos Zambrano only had to get Rafael Furcal out to escape the inning!

Of course, Furcal ends up burning the Cubs by laying down a perfect drag bunt—it would have been terrible, except for the fact that Mark DeRosa was playing on the outfield grass!—and all of a sudden, it was 2-0 Dodgers, and Zambrano had to face Russell Martin.  The rest was history; Martin lined a double into the left-field gap, and the rout was on.  The crowd was ABSOLUTELY DEAD by that point.

I could spend some time explaining how the Cubs aren’t close to being done in this series—Harden could quickly shut down the Dodgers’ roster, and so could Lilly, and then the Dodgers would have to win a Game Five at Chicago, possibly facing Zambrano!—but I’m not going to waste my time.  It seems that Cubs fans are so certain that their team is cursed that Peter Gammons couldn’t convince Cubs fans otherwise, much less a stupid blogger.

One parting topic about this series:  can people stop arguing that the Cubs are choking this series away more than the Dodgers are winning it?  Sure, Ryan Dempster was crazy wild in Game One, but Loney still had to hit a 1-2 pitch into the center field seats, right?  Sure, the Cubs’ infield defense looked like they were using frying pans as gloves, but the Dodgers still had to make contact with Zambrano’s pitching, right?

Sorry, Cubs faithful, but the Dodgers are winning this series 2-0.  However, THEY HAVE NOT YET WON!

(Never mind.)

Other Division Series-related thoughts:

- How are all four DSes 2-0?

- How did Brett Myers (????) draw two walks against C.C. Sabathia?

- How are the Rays doing it?

- How are the Angels not?

One parting thought about the Angels:  as an Angels “hater,” I was mildly amused with watching K-Rod give up the game winning bomb in the Los Angeles Angels nowhere in Los Angeles’ loss to Boston tonight.

Then I realized who hit the game winner.

Damn that unnamed right fielder.

Until next time!

Tags: chicago cubs, cold weather, comedy of errors, cookies, frys.com, lg shine, los angeles dodgers, rebate-o-meter, ungsungblog psa, usps by Peter
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Let’s get right into the topic of the day.

- After watching Cubs’ pitcher Ryan Dempster yield his seventh walk of the day, and then making James Loney look bad on three straight low pitches, I was very upset when I saw Loney swing at another one.

Routine fly ball to center, I thought to myself. Another wasted opportunity—thanks, Andre Ethier—in a game where every run was going to be huge.

That’s when I noticed that TBS’ camera was still panning up, and all of Wrigley Field immediately became silent. Even the winds that make Wrigley Field famous couldn’t knock that shot down.

As I watched Loney’s slam find its way into the bleachers, I had no idea how to react. Cheer, dammit, I kept thinking to myself. For some reason, I felt paralyzed. James Loney hit a grand slam, and you can’t even utter a “YES!”???

Eventually, I had the wherewithal to text my sister the following message: BOOM!!! OUTTA HERE!!!

In a matter of mere moments, the Dodgers erased a 2-0 deficit, and all of a sudden, Cubs fans everywhere are seriously gripping with the possibility that they may have to wait another year for a World Series opportunity.

(Don’t include me in that list, Cubs fans! As far as I am concerned, the series is playing out exactly as I expected it to; I figured that the Dodgers’ best chance to steal a game was Game One, and I just don’t see the Cubs—and Zambrano—losing Game Two. In fact, I actually predicted that the Cubs would win this series in four games, losing Game One in the process.)

Yes, Cubs faithful, many things were going against the Cubbies in this game: Derek Lowe being on top of his game, the euphoria running about in Wrigley, the adrenaline flowing through Ryan Dempster, and that guy named Manny.

(Did you see that lob wedge he hit? What a showoff he is, applying a tiny bit of draw to the shot :P)

However, even after that seventh walk—did Dempster really walk Derek Lowe TWICE????—it looked like Dempster was going to escap. Too bad he hung just one pitch right over the plate, and as the ball was lifted into the sky, you could have heard a pin drop in Wrigley. Even still, Cubs fans…

(clears throat)

IT’S JUST ONE GAME!!! CALM DOWN!!!

Worry not, Cubs fans. Z will lead your team to a win tomorrow.

Seriously, Cubs fans, I sincerely hope the reports that some of you were acting like the series was over were exaggerated. Come on! That’s why the NLDS is a best-of-five, right? That’s why your team earned the home field advantage, right?

(This isn’t helping, is it, Cubs fans?)

Here are some other thoughts on topics in the sports world:

- Oh, Terrible Owens, I expected more out of you than a weak “The media blew it all out of proportion” argument. I’m almost disappointed in your poor effort. Couldn’t you have uttered this phrase while doing some chin-ups, at least?

My favorite part:

“That is not to say nothing about Tony Romo,” Owens said. “I am not going to be able to catch every ball thrown my way. Every pass was not a valid catchable pass.”

Do those two sentences bolded above appear even somewhat contradictory? They sure do to me; after all, who is the one throwing “every pass?”

I can’t wait for T.O. to be traded to another team, just so I can hear what he really thinks about Tony Romo.

- In the wake of Lance Armstrong’s return to competitive racing (a terrible idea, IMO), apparently the French anti-doping agency wants Armstrong to approve the testing of his 1999 Tour de France “B” urine samples, a request that Armstrong has since rejected.

(Here’s why I think Armstrong returning to the sport is such a bad idea: his legacy is intact, speculation aside. He’s has nothing close to a Kirk Radomski (Roger Clemens) or something as damning as a grand jury perjury charge (Bonds) on him. And no, it doesn’t hurt that he’s perceived as a “good guy.”

So what’s the point of coming back? To prove that he did everything legitimately?

If Armstrong comes back and fails, what would the main reason be for his failure: lack of cheating, or simply age?

If Armstrong comes back and succeeds, and doesn’t pass a test, would Armstrong really be perceived as clean, or could there be additional speculation that he is simply “getting over” on drug-testers?)

As much as I admire Armstrong, I gotta ask this question: if he knows he didn’t cheat, then why wouldn’t he approve of the re-test? Wouldn’t declining the test only provide even more speculation that he really did cheat?

I hope I never see the day where Lance Armstrong is proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to be a cheat. At the same time, though, if he is a cheater, I would want to know. Allowing a test on urine samples from 1999 would, in my opinion, be a huge step in proving his innocence.

On the other hand, who knows what state those samples are in? Who knows if those samples are tainted? These are just even more reasons why Armstrong should not bother returning back to a sport that is going to monitor his every action, 24/7, for who knows how long.

Until next time!

Tags: carlos zambrano, chicago cubs, james loney, lance armstrong, los angeles dodgers, manny ramirez, nlds, ryan dempster, tour de france by Peter
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Quick hitters:

- The Los Angeles Dodgers’ magic number: ONE.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stupid dogs…and their stupid owners.

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

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

(Oh sh*t…what did I do???)

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

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

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

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

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

I love my CVS.

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

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

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

I love my CVS.

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

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

1-3 here I come!

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

Fantastic!

Until next time!

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