UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

Quick-hitters:

- Awesome. Time Warner just aired a commercial touting their awesome picture quality.

The commercial (and the channel it aired on) was snowy…when there was actually a picture. In fact, my entire High Definition lineup is now out.

You rule, Time Warner!

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1,350. I got some spending cash in the mail today :D.

(I also have $500 in rebates or so that need to be filed by next week. :P)

- During the Dodgers-Reds game earlier tonight, Vin Scully mentioned that STL Cardinals’ 1B Albert Pujols “took out the whole Padres’ battery” tonight.

I thought he meant it figuratively!

- Tim Duncan was nearly unstoppable. Tony Parker played great for three quarters (there’s an APB out on him now; where did he go in the fourth?).

Manu Ginobili? Next question.

As soon as the Spurs got out to their twenty point lead, I couldn’t help but start wondering if the Spurs were just going to sweep the Lakers right out of the playoffs. Duncan was ridiculously efficient (if one can be “ridiculously efficient”), and Tony Parker carved the Lakers up. Most importantly, as TNT analyst Doug Collins pointed out, the Spurs did not have a dry spell in the first half. Really, the Spurs could easily have been up by double figures at the half.

Predictably, thanks to the announcer hex, the Spurs cooled off and the Lakers made their push. Not surprisingly, the push was led by the MVP. Even at the end of the third, when the Spurs still had a seven point lead, I thought the Spurs were in control of the game. Little did I expect the Spurs’ drought to extend into the fourth. Did you see that stat late in the fourth? The Spurs went 5-for-25 with 7 TOs??? The San Antonio Spurs?

As far as the officiating is concerned…next question :P. To say Kobe got away with a few things would be a slight understatement. And didn’t Manu get absolutely mauled on the second to last Spurs’ possession, or are playground scrums perfectly legal now? Speaking of Manu, I’ve never seen so many “What, me?” looks in a single game! Even Michael Finley had that look on one play! Maybe I’m just not watching Spurs’ games closely enough.

Excellent point by Kenny Smith in the postgame show: (paraphrasing) You don’t know how many times you’ll get an exceptional performance by Kobe, but you know the Spurs will bring their game consistently. If we replayed this exact game 100 times, the Spurs probably win 75% of the time.

Tags: kobe bryant, los angeles lakers, manu ginobili, san antonio spurs, tim duncan, time warner, tony parker by Peter
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No quick-hitters.  Let’s just get to basketball.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tags: boston celtics, carlos boozer, charging, cleveland cavs, derek fisher, deron williams, fouls, kobe bryant, lebron james, los angeles lakers, paul pierce, utah jazz by Peter
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I would have blogged last night, but my head hurt.

Quick-hitter:

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

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

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

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

Thank you for contacting Frys.com.

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

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

Props again to Fry’s for bailing me out!

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

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

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

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

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

(Don’t answer that, Minnesota fans.)

Gotta love it.

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

Gotta [expletive] love it!

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

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

I’m definitely loving it.

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

Love it!

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

Love it!

Now, please allow my rational side to chime in.

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

Gotta hate that.

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

Hurry back, Bynum!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More on rebates later (unfortunately).

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

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

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

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

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

- Here are my NFL Divisional Playoff thoughts:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

and finally…

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

I can’t wait for the 2008 NFL season.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HUGE MISTAKE.

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

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

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

[and here comes the kicker]

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

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

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

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

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

*click*

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

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

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

*crossing fingers*

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

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