UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

Boy did it get chilly over the last two days!

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

I want summer back =(.

Quick-hitters:

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

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

- Why do teams continue to pitch to Manny?

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

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

- Better late than never, right?

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

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

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

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

(Just a little bit.)

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

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

Thank you, Terrible Owens.

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

And finally, Pats’ fans…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Random thoughts from the past week:

- Stupid commercials I’ve seen lately:

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

2) “Pasta player-hater!” WTF.

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

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

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

Three thoughts here:

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

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

Don’t rush back, Kent.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(shudder…)

More NFL thoughts next time…

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

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

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

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

• Round 1, Pick 4: RB Steven Jackson

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

• Round 2, Pick 17: WR Reggie Wayne

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

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

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

• Round 5: WR Roy Williams

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

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

(Don’t ask.)

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

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

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

(He has since been dropped.)

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

(Rams’ loyalty :P)

• Round 15: QB Jeff Garcia

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

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

• Round 1, Pick 4: RB Brian Westbrook

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

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

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

• Round 6: QB Donovan McNabb

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

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

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

• Round 11: WR Nate Burleson

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

• Round 12: K Phil Dawson

(Dropped.)

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

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

Until next time!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hello from Amazon.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tags: 3 doors down, amazon.com, banning accounts, consumerist, it's not my time, jeff kent, kevin craft, knee injury, los angeles dodgers, postmark deadline, rebates, sirius, team chemistry, tennessee volunteers, ucla bruins, vin scully by Peter
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My living room thermostat says it’s 86 degrees in here right now.

It’s 12:45AM.

- I swung by CVS for the first time in nearly two weeks, and all I had were ECBs!

(NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!)

The sales this week were pretty crappy, with the exception of some FAECB energy shot-thingy.

(Tangent: Here’s a sampling of some of the crap I’ve purchased at CVS over the last few months, for no other reason than to use/rollover ECBs: flaxseed oil gelcaps, multivitamins, energy shots, bandages, small bottles of pain medication, some immunity booster, loads of TUMS, and even pantiliners!

If a bottle of homeopathic crap ever happens to find its way into my basket, that might be the end of my CVS deal-hunting days…unless the deal is FAECB, and I have a coupon, and the item comes with a money-back guarantee…)

I also picked up some Propel, as well as some “flavored sparkling water.” Quite the disappointing trip, I know, but I had to roll over my ECBs.

- My sister and mom came over today, and we decided to have Korean BBQ for dinner tonight.

Too bad I ruined my appetite with a late lunch of leftover El Pollo Loco chicken, followed by a snack of Kettle Cooked Sea Salt & Vinegar potato chips.

(Drool…)

Usually, we are able to polish off four helpings of meat:  two servings of jumuluck, and two of bulgogi.  Today?  No thanks to my late lunch/snack, we struggled through two and one, respectively.  Service, though, was actually quite good; waiters came only a few seconds after one of us pushed the call button, and we got our food rather quickly.

Good stuff.

- Labor Day is Shot-Online Double EXP/NG day!

(Guess where I’ll be spending most of my Monday :P)

Shot-Online update:  my character is at level 36, and only yesterday did I find out that one needs a -4 handicap on Gladsheim to even attempt the semi-pro test!  All this time, I thought you only had to sign up for the test and shoot a -4 to become a semi-pro.

As it stands, I can’t shoot better than +1 on Gladsheim, and I scored that only playing nine holes!  Sure, I’ll get a bit of extra power, impact, and skill once I get to level 41, but I’ll also be pushed back to the semi-pro tees!  Furthermore, it took me almost a week just to go from level 35 to 36.  How much longer is it going ot take for me to get to 41?  Double EXP day can’t come soon enough!

- And finally…I have to imagine that the LA Dodger bandwagon is near-empty, after that horrific eight-game losing streak.  Seriously, four to Philly, and then three to FREAKING WASHINGTON, and then a blowout against Arizona???

(Good thing we won today, although it helps when Manny Ramirez is single-handedly carrying the team again.)

What’s incredible about that horrible streak is that, if we somehow beat Arizona tomorrow, we’ll be only 2.5 games behind Arizona!  How laughable is that?  Of course, we face Brandon Webb tomorrow, so a win isn’t terribly likely.

Until next time!

Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, cvs, double exp day, ecbs, el pollo loco, kettle cooked chips, korean bbq, los angeles dodgers, losing streak, propel, semi-pro, shot-online by Peter
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It’s hot, and it’s the humid hot, not the dry hot!

Help me.

Quick-hitters:

- To fight off the heat, I am enjoying some canned Thai Tea.

At least, the label says it’s Thai Tea.  It sure tastes like anything but Thai Tea!  Blech!

- It was quite a hallmark day in the world of sports today.

We had the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games.

We had the Little League World Series match, won by the team from Hawaii (no, I did not watch it).

We had the Redeem Team winning gold against Spain.  We had the Men’s Indoor Volleyball team win an emotionally-charged final against Brazil.

(Tangent:  You people can pick Michael Phelps as the most memorable aspect of the Olympics.  Go ahead and pick the opening ceremonies.  Usain Bolt was (pardon the pun…sorta) riveting, and I won’t argue if you think he was the most memorable part of the Olympics.

What is my pick for the most memorable part of the Olympics?  It’s gotta be the Men’s Indoor Volleyball gold medal match against Brazil.  Watching coach Hugh McCutcheon break down after the victory was somewhat hard to watch, considering the ups (a gold medal-winning team) and downs (his father-in-law being killed by some coward) he has experienced over the past two weeks.

Jason Lezak’s running down—or should I say swimming?—of Alain Bernard is a distant second on my list.  Without Lezak’s historic heat, Phelps doesn’t come close to eight golds.)

Anyway, today was a pretty sweet day filled with sporting events.  Too bad the last thing I saw last night was the Dodgers’ bullpen choking away yet another victory!

Yeah, I understand that the Dodgers could have provided more than two runs, and yes, the Dodgers’ offense left many opportunies on the table.  However, a team that is built on solid pitching HAS TO hold a lead, even a one-run lead!

That’s now four blown leads that have led to losses in the past couple of weeks!  Grrrr…

- Back on Friday, while at my desk, I glanced over at the clock on the lower right-hand corner of my screen.  Hovering over the clock, I noticed that Friday’s date was August 22.

For some reason, that date stood out in my head.  Was it my Dad’s birthday?  No; that was on the 16th.  Did I have to be somewhere that day?  I didn’t think so.  What the hell was so important about the 22nd?

Eventually, it hit me; I bought something on July 23rd, and knew that the rebate attached to the item had to be postmarked by the 22nd!

Just to make sure, I called the rebate center (it was 4:10pm when I initiated the call).  About ten minutes later, I was thinking to myself, “These guys are going to keep me on hold until 5pm, to screw me over on the rebate!”  Finally, a guy picked up, and I quickly explained my situation.  He put me on hold (*gulp*), and returned a minute later, saying that the last postmark date was, indeed, the 22nd.

I got to the post office at 4:45, fifteen minutes before the last collection.  Whew.

One of these days, I’m gonna miss a postmark date entirely, and not even realize it until a week or so afterwards.

- Either I am in training for a marathon, or I just couldn’t control my eating today.  We stopped by Olive Garden for lunch—soup and salad for $5.99 FTW—and I ate the following:

(Tangent:  Apparently, it was Plaid Shorts day at Olive Garden.  While waiting for a table to free up, I saw no fewer than seven or eight people—only one lady—wearing plaid shorts.)

• 2.5 bowls of soup (two bowls of the Zuppa Toscana, and a half bowl of Minestrone)
• several (four?) breadsticks
• a huge helping of salad
• and peach-raspberry ice tea; I have no idea how many glasses I ultimately had

As if that wasn’t bad enough, for dinner, I had a HUGE bowl of chicken with rice.  The grapes I had right before dinner didn’t help matters at all.

I should go run a half-marathon now.  It’s the only way I’ll ever burn off all those calories.

- Injuries happen in sports, of course.  However, I don’t recall the last time so many big name players have been hurt in the PRESEASON.  Just look at this list:

• The Giants’ Osi Umenyiora will miss the entire season with a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee.
• The Redskins’ Jason Taylor will miss 10-14 days with a knee sprain.
• Shawne Merriman’s season (and possibly career) might be over because of two torn knee ligaments (though who knows if the injuries were sustained and/or aggravated during the preseason?)
• Summarizing the NFL front page on ESPN.com…Carson Palmer has a broken nose, Brian Dawkins strained his ankle, the Cowboys lost LOG Kyle Kosier for a month, and the Raiders lost two members of their offense for the season.
• And finally, we have learned that Brett Favre is dealing with two twisted ankles, both of which occurred from all the about-faces he had done during the offseason.

(OK…I made the last one up.)

The only logical thing to do, it would seem, would be to shorten the off-season.  And why not?  Teams suffer through injuries over sixteen games in seventeen weeks as it is; it’s only logical to assume that an extra four games will cause more injury.  Also, it can be argued that extra preseason games give players who may not make an NFL roster more chances to deliver a harder hit on a star player, in an attempt to make an impression on all 32 NFL teams.

Why not have a four week, three game preseason, with one bye week for teams to have non-contact drills?  Or what about three weeks, followed by a week-long gap before the regular season?  Or how about three preseason games and one full-contact, intra-team scrimmage?  Scrapping the entire preseason would be too extreme, in my opinion.  On the other hand, reducing the preseason by a game or two might spare some players from the injury bug, saving them for the regular season.

Tags: bullpen, closing ceremonies, deadline, hugh mccutcheon, implosion, injuries, los angeles dodgers, men's volleyball, nfl preseason, olive garden, olympic games, postmark, rebate, shortened off-season, thai tea, zuppa toscana by Peter
3 Comments »

Grrr…another three days gone by without blogging?  WTF?

Random thoughts, a mostly-Olympic variety:

- I was watching the US Men’s Beach Volleyball team of Rogers-Dalhausser play the Brazilian team of Marcio-Fabio…

(Tangent:  How I wish I could just go by “Ung” in my life…)

and man, was the crowd super-annoying!!!  I wasn’t sure if I was watching a beach volleyball match, or a soccer match.

I get it that the crowd can be behind a team, and in most cases, I don’t have a problem with that.  However, can the crowd please save the boisterous chants for between points?  Is that too much to ask for?

Shut up…shutup, shutup, shutup…SHUT UP…SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!

- In a move that should surprise nobody, the International Gymnastics Federation has been asked to look into the ages of the girls women making up the Chinese gymnastics team.  Yes, there is no concrete proof to the contrary, and yes, visual proof isn’t going to suffice, so it appears that no penalties will be assessed on the Chinese team.

All that being said…

WHO REALLY BELIEVES THAT THIS GIRL IS SIXTEEN?

- Briefly, my take on the Greg Maddux trade:  sounds like the deal will not involve anyone of substance (Elbert, McDonald, etc.), though it will cost the Dodgers two low-level draft picks.  I love the deal, especially if Penny can’t give us anything for the remainder of the season.  Maddux allows us to keep Park, Kuo, and Jason Johnson in the bullpen, which is very important considering that the Dodgers must watch Clayton Kershaw’s IP count.

(I haven’t even touched on the mentorship Maddux can offer guys like Kershaw and Billingsley.)

I just hope Maddux can give the Dodgers a quality start to start off a brutal road trip (@PHI, @WAS, @ARI).

- My sister and I went to Souplantation tonight, and apparently it was Couples’ Night.  There was the couple in the other line, directly opposite of us, that couldn’t keep their hands off each other.  Then there was this couple:

Female:  This looks good [looking at the posole soup].

Male (in that whiny voice):  Don’t get that.  It’s a heart attack waiting to happen!  It’s not good for you!

F:  OK.  What about the chili?

M:  That’s so unhealthy.

F:  Ok, I’ll just get the chicken noodle soup.

M: How about the clam chowder?

OK…so a chili advertised as low-fat is less healthy than a soup loaded with heavy cream, bacon, and potatoes?

I felt like pouring a ladle full of hot clam chowder down his throat.

(Yes, I have problems.)

- Current rebate-o-meter:  $1150, though I’m getting royally shafted on at least $55 in rebates.  More on that next time.

- I’m now about a month or so in to my new addiction (Shot-Online) and here’s what I think I think about this game.

1)  Putting in this game is an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE.  I could hit a 20yd putt on Hela in one round, and then five-putt a hole on Sosori.  A good round of putting, and I could probably go -10 on Alfheim.  A bad round, and I could go +5.

(I will neither confirm nor deny that the latter has happened.)

2)  Why didn’t anyone tell me how important it was to keep my Impact attribute at or above my Power attribute?

I’ve since fixed this, and now my Imp = Pwr, and my drives are finally going straight!

(Speaking of straight drives, I just bought a Werdandi driver for my main character from the auction house (more on that later).  +2 to all stats, plus a slower gauge, means I better not hit a drive out of bounds any more!  I just have to get used to the slow gauge, now…)

3) I made mention of this before:

…and about 99% of the players that play Shot-Online are nice guys (this may be completely untrue, but when I think of MMORPGs, I think of ten year olds that must use an obscenity in every sentence spoken, written, or typed).

and now I’m pretty sure that my 99% figure is a low-end estimate.  Left and right, I’m seeing high-level players offer millions of NG (game currency) to beginners, and only now have I been able to help out as well.

It’s pretty cool how grateful some people are, even when given a few thousand NG.  You could imagine how happy I made the one player to who I gave four clubs and some drinks.

4) At certain times of the day, foursome matches are almost impossible to set up!  It seems that, during these times, one of the following happens

• A player joins, waits 1 nanosecond, and then leaves
• Only one player joins one team, while three join the other
• Three people are ready to play, but the fourth (usually the room creator) is nowhere to be found
• The room has a glitch, forcing everybody to leave

5) My main character is now a Level 34 Amateur with a handicap of -6.  My secondary character is a Level 21, but I’ll probably ignore that one for now, as I’m trying to get the former to Semi-Pro status.

And finally (for now)…

6) I think I’m spending almost as much time in the auction house as I am actually playing golf!  Why?  I just can’t resist the temptation of buying a bunch of items at low prices and then flipping them later for anywhere between a decent and a substantial profit!

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

Flipping stuff on the auction house reminds me of my Senior year in high school, where I bought and sold tons of trading cards to the tune of a nice little profit.  Ah…memories!

Until next time!

Tags: annoying chant, annoying couples, chad billingsley, Chinese gymnast, clayton kershaw, fabio, greg maddux, los angeles dodgers, marcio, olympics, phil dalhausser, shot-online, souplantation, todd rogers, underage, werdandi driver by Peter
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So I’ve had quite the horrible last few days.  Idiots galore, topped off by McAfee/Parago rejecting a rebate of mine for $65 for a missing UPC (they said I have to mail in the original UPC…too bad I SENT IT WITH THE ORIGINAL SUBMISSION!!!), and now, there’s an eerie light outside of my window.

Relax, UFO folks, it’s not an alien.  It’s just a bunch of cops, flashlights in hand, probably looking for some suspect hiding in our apartment complex.

Wait a sec…

(me hides under my blanket)

- I got an email from Time Warner yesterday, saying that my latest bill was ready.

Oh great, I thought to myself, how much higher is this month’s bill going to be compared to last month’s?

You could imagine the utter shock and surprise when I opened the email, and saw that my bill actually went DOWN.

(You know…the opposite of UP.)

- It’s not official yet, but apparently the Dodgers are nearing a trade for veteran P Greg Maddux.  No details have been released yet, but speculation is that the Padres have not yet decided on what player(s?) to accept in a deal.  It’s pretty clear that the player will not be anyone on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, because of the fact that such a player would have to clear waivers first before he could be included in a deal (and there’s no way that a team like the Rockies wouldn’t claim that player first, effectively killing the deal).

I just hope McCourt…er…Colletti isn’t throwing in a high prospect or two middling prospects just to get the Padres to pay most of Maddux’s remaining salary.

Full thoughts on this deal will come as soon as the details of the trade are released.

- I was watching women’s beach volleyball—May-Treanor + Walsh versus a Brazilian team—earlier today, when the announcer told us a story of something that happened earlier in the day.  Apparently, the Americans were on the best practice court, when the Brazilian team came by and demanded that the Americans leave the court.  The Americans obliged, though no word on whether or not the Americans cursed the Brazilians under their breath.

So how did the Americans respond? 21-12, 21-14, and to quote Brett Myers, “BOOM…outta here!”

(Tangent:  I’ve used that phrase no less than 50,000 times in the past few weeks, and I expect to use it another 500,000 times before the year is over.  Every Dodger HR or pitcher’s strike out, for example, is greeted by one.  Thank you, Jim Rome.)

But seriously, I gotta ask:  why the hell do people insist on slighting the best in their sports?  Exactly what are you going to accomplish from doing so?

(Right, “Alain”?)

You have crybaby Mark Spitz—GREAT article, by the way—Ian Thorpe, and Alain Bernard dropping jabs on Michael Phelps.  You have Rory Sabbatini and Stephen Ames famously ripping Tiger Woods.  I’m certain people have ripped Lance Armstrong (Jan Ullrich?)and Michael Jordan in the past.  And now we have the Brazilian women’s beach volleyball team allegedly disrespecting the Americans?

Let’s call it the Rory Sabbatini Corollary (in honor of Sabbatini, for this reason):

Sabbatini made waves at the Wachovia Championship in May 2007 when, after leading the field by one stroke after day three and then giving up five strokes to Tiger Woods to lose the tournament on Sunday, he proclaimed that Tiger was “more beatable than ever.” Rory went on to lead the field by one after day three at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August 2007, but ended eight strokes behind Tiger Woods.  (source)

and declare that no athlete, bystander, legend, or team shall never again insult, question the ability of, doubt, disrespect, or do otherwise to annoy, tick off, and/or fuel the fire of the best athletes in the event in question.

(Unless, of course, the athlete wants a swift, “BOOM…outta here!” moment.)

Tags: bad week, beach volleyball, bill, boom...outta here, eerie light, greg maddux, kerri walsh, lance armstrong, los angeles dodgers, mcafee, michael jordan, michael phelps, misty may-treanor, parago, rory sabbatini corollary, san diego padres, tiger woods, time warner by Peter
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Wow.  It’s been a week since I last blogged?!?

Whoops!

I’ve got lots to talk about, but I’ll split it over two or more blog entries.

Random thoughts (aka an extended version of “Quick-hitters”):

- Speaking of not blogging lately, apparently one week of not blogging has absolutely killed my blog traffic statistics.  I got about one-third of the normal hits over the past few days.

- This is a very cool Eddie Izzard fan site, which I found via Google Analytics shortly after I posted my Stripped mini-review.

Check it out!

- How great is it that Diva Favre is no longer the top sports news story out there?

Thank you, Michael Phelps (more on him another time).

(And do we really have to hear about how his arm was fatigued after a practice?  What’s next?  Will we get an article about him being constipated before a preseason game?)

- In succession, I just viewed the following annoying-as-hell commercials:  a McDonald’s commercial advertising their apparently still “New” Southern Chicken sandwich, a Wal-Mart commercial (Do you know what I like about Wal-Mart?), and a really obnoxious Target commerical (You…say…goodbye…and I…say…hello…).

I need a TiVo.

- Current rebate-o-meter:  $1,100.  I received a couple hundred bucks in rebate checks and gift cards in the last week, and, naturally, I added about $200 in unfiled rebates over the weekend.

- Hey Dodger fans, do you realize that your team could easily be on an eleven game winning streak?

Stupid bullpen.  Damn you, Broxton, Kuo, and Park.

And what the hell was Matt Kemp thinking in the Dodgers’ most recent loss, a 4-3 decision against Milwaukee on Saturday?  For those of you that didn’t see the game, Kemp was at first, and Andre Ethier hit a towering drive to center.  Brewers’ CF Mike Cameron missed the ball as it bounced off the base, but Kemp was only able to get to second?!?  Apparently, he went back to first, thinking Cameron caught the ball.  What the hell?  If Kemp were standing at or near second, like he should have been, he ends up at third at the absolute worst, and a Kent sac fly (he lined out to center eventually) ties the game!

Dumb base running, a terrible bullpen, games choked away…I’ve seen this script before.  Oh yeah, I saw it last year.

Other Dodger thoughts:

- Two more bombs by Ethier, including a game winner.  Shouldn’t that all but cement Andruw Jones’ status as a $36 million cheerleader, and seriously shorten Juan Pierre’s playing time?

- I know Manny has only played a few games as a Dodger, but is it too crazy to consider him a possibility as the NL MVP?

(Call me a homer.  Go ahead!)

Isn’t it amazing what happens when this guy tries?  Six HRs, an NL-leading 21 RBI in August, and look what he’s done for Jeff Kent and Andre Ethier!  Ken’t BA has gone up 20 points or so, and Ethier’s raking!  Now, if Manny can rub off on Loney and Martin, look out!

What scares me about the Dodgers is that, despite their very nice run of late, they’re only tied with the D’Backs, and we know that the D’Backs won’t run into too many prolonged losing streaks (not with Webb and Haren on the mound).

Until next time!

Tags: andre ethier, bullpen woes, chan ho park, diva favre, eddie izzard, fan site, hong-chih kuo, jonathan broxton, los angeles dodgers, manny ramirez, matt kemp, nl mvp, stupid commercials by Peter
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It’s hot.

Quick-hitters:

- Is it just me, or do Reduced Fat Oreo cookies taste disgusting compared to the original variety?

Methinks it’s time to do a double-blind experiment.  Any volunteers?

(My experiment will be BYOOs, by the way.)

- It’s that time of the year…FANTASY FOOTBALL TIME!!!

(W00t!)

If anyone is interested in joining the Bargain$hare Fantasy Football league, please let me know.  We have only 2/12 spots filled as of tonight.

- Current rebate-o-meter:  $1,070.

I can’t wait for the 2009 software to come around.

- So I know I said that I didn’t have much interest in the Olympic Games this year, but I couldn’t help but watch the Men’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay, just to see if the Americans could beat the favorites:  the French team.  What really got me interested in the event was the comments of French swimmer, Alain Bernard:  “The Americans? We’re going to smash them.”

Nice try, Alain.  I think he meant to say that new American hero Jason Lezak was going to smash the French with a world-record 50m split time of 46.06 seconds.  Seriously, though, how the hell did Bernard lose what looked like a half body length lead over Lezak with only the final 50m to go?

I hope Michael Phelps plans on sending the guy a fruit basket or something.

(Note:  Despite the blog title, I am not taking credit away from Lezak and the Americans; they won the race.  The French did not choke the race away.  It’s just fun to see the word “French” followed by the word “surrender” :P)

It was a damn shame, though, that I already knew the results of the race prior to air time.  Thanks, Yahoo! Sports and ESPN.com.

- I will interrupt the sports talk to give credit to Staples for a positive customer service experience.

(A POSITIVE customer service experience?  On THIS blog?)

On Sunday, I acquired a Staples coupon that, I later found out, was already redeemed.  I figured that I could place the order that night, find another Staples coupon to use (which I did on Monday), and then call Staples and see if they would manually add the coupon to my order.

Earlier tonight, I called Staples, and after spending about 30 seconds navigating through Staples’ IVR (Interactive Voice Response), I got a live operator.  I quickly explained that I needed to add a coupon code to my order.  The rep asked me for my order number, followed by the coupon code, and a couple seconds later, she explained that I would be seeing a refund of ~ $27 on my VISA in the next couple of days.

Total time of call:  ~1:45.  Nice.

- Finally, I gotta talk about my Dodgers, specifically the two come-from-ahead losses to the Giants.

(clears throat)

WTF?  WTF???  W T F??????

Two ninth-inning, one-run leads…POOF!  Worse yet, two freaking losses to the SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS???  Two losses that should have given us a half-game lead in the West, instead of the 1.5 game deficit we currently face?

And the losses themselves didn’t really hurt.  It was the manner in which we lost both games!  Leadoff hits, booted balls, poor defensive decisions, you name it!  It was almost as if the 2008 Dodgers were trying to replicate their failures of last year.

(EDIT:  Oh my.  Bases loaded, four run lead, ninth inning, and Chase Utley is up.  Gulp…if Broxton can’t close this one, I might have a heart attack.)

(EDIT #2:  Of course…Utley blooped a single into left.  8-6 now, and Ryan Howard is up.  Yikes.)

(EDIT #3:  Whew.  Grounder to the shift in super-shallow right.)

Hurry back, Takashi Saito!

Tags: alain bernard, bargainshare, coupon, customer service, fantasy football, jason lezak, los angeles dodgers, mens 4x100 freestyle relay, michael phelps, olympic games, reduced fat oreos, relief pitching, san francisco giants, staples, takashi saito by Peter
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Sunburns are bad.

They’re really bad when they prevent you from sleeping.

Time to apply some more sunburn lotion.

(AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!)

No quick-hitters tonight.

- I got an email last night from Sprint.com, telling me that my next billing statement was ready to be viewed. I said to myself, “Oh great. I get to call Sprint CS again to get my 10% credit manually added to my account!”

That’s when I saw this:

Total Due by August 20 $31.77

OMG. Sprint added the 10% discount to my account AUTOMAGICALLY??? Whoa!

EDIT: WTF? Just a few minutes ago, I logged on to my Sprint.com account, and saw this:

Last Bill Amount $527.01
Adjustments/Credits $0.00
Recent Payments -$118.00
Total Due $409.01
Pay By August 18

Completely horrified, I clicked on “View latest bill,” and saw the correct amount due: $31.77. I then logged on to My Account through my cell phone, and saw that I owe $536.41, due on August 5!

Sprint’s customer call centers are closed right now, but you better believe that I am going to call them first thing tomorrow morning afternoon.

I love you, Sprint.

(Now, I’m just going to assume that this is an obvious error on Sprint’s end. However, we are talking about Sprint here…)

- Manny Ramirez is a Dodger, and the dividends are already coming in!

(Granted, one of his hits was a check-swing grounder, but still.)

The last time I saw a Dodger crowd THAT energized, we had another future Hall of Famer playing on our team: some guy named Mike Piazza. Geez, did you hear how loud the crowd got when Ramirez made a catch on a routine fly ball? And how about when he got his first hit, nearly taking out D’Backs’ SS Stephen Drew in the process?

I heard that the Dodgers sold somewhere around 10,000 extra tickets for the remaining games against the D’Backs once it was official that the Dodgers traded for Manny. Is anyone surprised by that? Did Frank McCourt not realized that trading for a big name was going to increase ticket sales?

(Sigh…what if the Dodgers had traded for C.C. Sabathia???)

As for the deal itself, I absolutely loved it. When the rumors about Manny coming to LA first circled about, I heard Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp’s names. Had the Dodgers dealt Matt Kemp, I (and a number of Dodger fans, I would imagine) would have been royally pissed. At first, I was sorta OK with giving up Ethier for Manny, but then it quickly became evident that another prospects—LaRoche?—would have been involved in the deal.

Naturally, when I found out that LaRoche was the only key prospect involved, I was filled with glee. Andy LaRoche had virtually zero trade value, thanks to the Dodgers’ terrible mismanagement of his career to date as well as the “emergence” of Blake DeWitt. To flip him and an inconsequential minor league pitcher for two months of a future HOFer, as well as at least one compensatory draft pick, AND the rest of Ramirez’ salary, one has to give some props to Colletti.

(On the other hand, one could argue that Boston REALLY wanted to get rid of Ramirez. I mean, they had to pay the Dodgers to take him, AND trade two of their own prospects, all to get a downgrade in Jason Bay?)

Dodger fans have to be elated by the fact that we know we’ll get two months of the maximum effort Manny; after all, he’s basically playing for one more huge contract. That’s just even more reason to be giddy.

Does Manny guarantee a Dodgers’ NL West victory? Not if they keep scoring one run against Arizona. However, you better believe that I am going to thoroughly enjoy every AB Manny has from here on to the end of the season.

I feel like a kid in a candy store…on Christmas.

Tags: 10% discount, andre ethier, andy laroche, Arizona Diamondbacks, billing errors, blake dewitt, C.C. Sabathia, los angeles dodgers, manny ramirez, matt kemp, sprint by Peter
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