First to Third

Fin

2011-09-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this by saying there is nothing wrong with being a cheerleader. It's just not for me.

Especially for this team. The Angels have the 4th highest payroll in baseball and they need to be accountable for it. I don't care if the players didn't negotiate their contracts or the Angels added up bad contracts; they need to play every single night.

Front office, you're definitely accountable on this... but I'll get at you at the end of this rant.

There were way too many games that they lost this year to bad, bad teams. I've said it all along, you don't win a division by beating up on bad teams, but you definitely lose it by losing to bad teams.

I'll tell you what, though. The young players stepped up and played their hearts out for this team. Starting with Peter Bourjos. Any time you're replacing an annual gold glove recipient you're going to have pressure on your shoulders.

And the kid stepped up without flinching. Prior to the season I didn't see him playing as well as he did this year. Petey gets an A.

Mike Trout. What can I say. 20.Damn.Years.Old. That's all I can say. And scary, this kid is going to be damn scary in the coming years. He provided a jolt to the team that was so sorely needed and got them back in the race.

It's going to be amazing to watch this kid grow into an all-star.

Which leads us to the rookie of the year. Mark freaking Trumbo. Bourjos' pressure was nothing compared to what was on Trumbo. And he exceeded any expectations to fill the shoes of Kendrys Morales. Hell, plenty of times I saw "Morales, who?!?" on my timeline.

Trumbo was supposed to be the guy that held down first base while Morales got better. Instead, he turned into the heart of the team. Whenever the Angels needed a homerun, his named was uttered by the announcers. When no one wanted to step up, he took the job.

And the pitchers.

Without the grit and guts of Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana and Jerome Williams in rotation these Angels would not have competed. And as bad as the bullpen is, Scott Downs proved to be a reliable arm (which proved me wrong; I hated his contract).

But mainly the starting pitchers kept these Halos afloat. No thanks to Kazmir, who decided to give up on the bigs.

_________________________________________________________________
Bad news bear time.

First, the thing that pisses me off the most.

Vernon freaking Wells. Where's your heart, guy? First year jitters? I better not hear that during the offseason. Don't promise us fans anything, either. We just want to see results.

Get in the cages, shag balls, do some HGH, whatever. Figure it out... because we know we're stuck with your contract. Like any work situation, we know we don't like each other, let's just get the job done.

Mike Scioscia. Ever heard of consistency? For two years running now you've been playing spin the wheel-o-lineup. How about letting your players adjust to their spot in the lineup.

The injury excuse couldn't be used because you had the majority of your guys every night. You're shuffling obviously isn't working, so stop.

And don't take a "we're glad we competed" line from Tony Reagins or Arte Moreno. These guys expected to win the AL West. Don't tell let them tell you any different. They can't say different because they took on a contract from an aging outfielder they didn't need. They can't say different because they paid a lot of money to "revamp" the bullpen.

They can't say because they passed up the chance to bring back Vladimir Guerrero.

Out of all excuses I hear during the offseason, the excuses out of Moreno's and Reagins' mouth won't touch the earwax on the outside of my ear. I don't want to hear it.

With time, this team will be at the point you two expected. And the expectations you created in our minds will be met.

Until then, I'll appreciate the players effort but I won't "ra-ra" them. Not this year. Not for what's expected of them.

I'll see you at the yard.

We Hold the Power

2011-09-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

You hate how you're producing. Hate the way you're being treated. Sick of reading about how horrible you are in the paper. Why stay?

Vernon Wells is human. He has emotions. Let him hear us.

That's what Angel honks have to do to at least try to get Wells to leave. Yell. Email. Post. Tweet at him (@VernonWells10). Make him bag his own groceries. As Herm Edwards put it once, "put your name on it!" Don't be scared, what's he going to do, retweet a negative comment?

Who's going to back him up? Nobody.

Wells has an opt-out clause at the end of this season. And how does a man walk away from $60+ million? By not feeling welcomed.

It's a little mean, yes. But if you truly love your team you'd want to see them alleviated from the handcuffs that Vern's contract has put the Angels in. And yes, it's a little mean since it's not his fault that the Toronto Blue Jays gave him a ridiculous back-loaded contract. And it's especially not his fault that the Angels were stupid enough to trade for said contract.

But he has to have it in the back of his mind that he doesn't deserve this money. He's human.

Guilt is a strong feeling. Guilt from stealing is even stronger. Guilt from stealing while hearing about it from 50,000+ fans is the strongest.

Wells has to have brass stones to walk away from $60 million, but weirder things have happened; never underestimate a human's feelings.

And why not make Arte Moreno smile a little as he is hating himself about having to pay an aging outfielder $20+ million dollars for 3 more years. Let Moreno hear that we have his back. Let him know his general manager has used his last face card in the deck.

Not resigning Darren Oliver hurt. Not resigning Vladimir Guerrero and watching him become an all-star with your rival hurt more. And trading for back-loaded contract of an aging outfielder has hurt the Angels the most.

I didn't even want to bring him up because it stings so bad, but Mike Napoli, a player involved in the Wells trade could be the difference in this AL West chase. With Napoli, the Angels are leading the AL West right now. No doubt in my mind; instead, he's personally killing the Angels.

So please, please let Wells know how you feel. He doesn't care about you, why care about him? Do you think he cares if you made rent this week?

Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy off the field with his work in the community. But his $80+ million contract calls for work in the yard.

He's not the right guy for the job. Baseball fans know it. He knows it.

It's not personal, it's baseball.

Make it easier for all the parties involved. Leave Vernon. Leave. We'll act like it never happened. Just a bad dream.

A very expensive bad dream that helps Moreno realize Tony Reagins needs to go, too... but I'll get into that later.

Phil Jackson and his "Boys"

2011-05-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

"Not this year, Pop. I'm getting too old and busy to keep doing that..."

It always comes at some point in a relationship... the time when what was important no longer is remembered.

That "it" has happened with these Lakers.

Call it lazy, call it tired. But "it" has infected this team.

The 2010-2011 Lakers team we're watching fall apart in front of our eyes has decided they've been on enough trips.

Three straight Finals runs, two of which ended with a Larry O'Brien trophy, and a lot of memories.

Phil Jackson is the father figure of these now men, who he has grown to love. Jackson and his "boys" have gone on fishing trips every year. Sharing mini-battles and laughs ... hitting the highest highs and enduring the lowest lows.

But this year is different. The "boys" are older, now men. These boys don't think the fishing trip is as important.

When Jackson decided to embark on this final journey before the season began, he had a vision of going out with that huge fish on the line. And sharing that final special fish with his boys.

Problem is, the boys forgot these young memories as they've developed into men. These boys, don't remember why they take this fishing trip every year. These boys, are too lazy and too caught up in their own lives to realize what lies ahead. Or should I say, won't lie ahead next year.

Right after the All Star break, Phil had his brand new fishing gear ready for his annual trip with his boys. But these men, who used to be his boys, forgot the importance of the trip. These men, are too busy, too lazy and too short-sighted to see what they're missing.

Yes, Jackson has made some mistakes in these playoffs, but these boys that he has turned into men are supposed to help him cover those mistakes. When the Father falls in the river, these now grown men are supposed to remember all those times he picked them up. And return the favor.

Somewhere between the All Star break and these playoffs, these "men" have forgotten who helped them get where they are today. These "men" are worse than those boys. Because those boys knew who guided them. Those boys wanted to impress their Father. Those boys, were more excited for the annual fishing trip than their leader.

It's been lost. But these men still have the opportunity to become boys again. Time is short, but the highway is still open.

One more time, to save Poppa's favorite annual fishing trip.

Band together, to share the joy of landing Phil's final fish, and send him up a Montana river ... to rest, knowing his men never forgot what it was to be his boys.

2/18/11 - In N Out Battle

2011-02-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

So I guess I was a little late on finding out In N Out doesn't make any burger bigger than 4x4 (four patties/four cheese slices). But I still had some fun discussing it with them.
______________________________________________________

To Whom it May Concern,

Could you please provide a list of In N Out's in the Fullerton (southern California) region other than the location off Harbor Blvd.?

What I am looking for is the locations that are willing to serve me bigger than a 4x4 size. I tried to order a 6x6 yesterday at the Harbor Blvd. location in Fullerton and they informed me that "we don't do that here."

Why not? I have seen pictures on the internet where they do three times that amount. The reason I want to be able to order a 6x6 is because two double doubles don't satisfy me.

I finish those two delicious hamburgers and want more, immediately. Instead of going through all that bread I thought to myself "what easier way than ordering a 6x6?"

Not only am I saving the time it takes to put together three separate hamburgers, I am also saving bread that can be used to feed the ducks.

Please kindly let me know what locations I can order a beautiful 6x6 and I will forever be grateful.

Love your burgers and look forward to handling 6 of the best hamburger patties in one burger.

Thank you,
Jon
______________________________________________________

Dear Mr. Jon Castillo:

Thank you for your e-mail. We recognize customers like you have made us the company we are today, and we sincerely value your comments and interest.

In response to your inquiry, In-N-Out Burger® is firmly committed to maintaining the quality and presentation of the food we serve. It is with this commitment in mind that we have set serving sizes for our burgers, and the largest burger we prepare is a 4x4. However, you are welcomed to order a 4x4 and two cheese patties on the side.

We are sorry for any disappointment and will share your comments with our management team.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us, and for giving us an opportunity to respond. We hope you will consider giving us the continued privilege of serving you in the future.

Sincerely,

Andrea
Customer Service
______________________________________________________

Dear Mr. Jon Castillo:

As a follow up to my previous e-mail, I would like to encourage you to order from our "not-so-secret menu." An easier way to order may be to order your delicious 4x4 and a Flying Dutchman. The Flying Dutchman is similar to our Double-Double but does not have a bun or any condiments. It only has two meat patties with two slices of cheese. This is the same suggestion I made earlier, but I thought it may be easier to order by name.
If you are interested in seeing our "not-so-secret menu", please select our "MENU" option from our website and a hyperlink for our "NOT-SO-SECRET MENU" appears near the bottom of the page, on the right-hand side.
If you are unable to access this information, please call our toll free Customer Service line at (800) 786-1000. We would be happy to provide the information.

Thank you again for contacting us and for providing us an opportunity to respond.
Sincerely,
Andrea
Customer Service
______________________________________________________

Thanks Andrea,

I understand you have a secret menu and I knew of the flying dutchman. Problem is I have this thing about being scared of the Dutch every since they destroyed my world cup team. Later, I had a Dutch friend key my car for no reason at all. Then when I confronted her about it, she sent her mini-doberman pincher on me. Any way, the reason In N Out exists is because people want a quick, delicious meal without having to cook on their own.

Your idea of building my own burger doesnt sound too enticing. Actually, it might work. I think it's called Fuddruckers, where you build your own burger. Funny that I came to that solution all on my own through this reply. guess ill tell all my friends about this... so in summary: 1. In N Out is not a build a burger place and wants you to do it on your own by giving you the tools to do so. 2. America is slowly dying.

Sadly yours,
Jon
______________________________________________________

Dear Mr. Jon Castillo:

Thank you for your e-mail, and for giving us an opportunity to respond.

We respect your feelings and will share your comments with our Executive Management and Company Owners. We hope you will consider allowing us the privilege of serving you in the future.

Sincerely,

Marianne
Customer Service
______________________________________________________

Thanks, Marianne.
When you present my comments to them can you also include the following links that show how happy customers are when you make bigger than 4x4s?

http://www.badmouth.net/in-n-out-the-20x20/
or
http://la.foodblogging.com/2006/01/20/the-75x75/

I want that happiness.

Hungrily yours,
Jon
______________________________________________________

Dear Mr. Jon Castillo:

Thank you for your response. We hope you won't hesitate to contact us if we can ever be of assistance in the future.

Sincerely,

Liz
Customer Service

Emma

2010-08-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

I've been lucky enough to have two Grandmother's in my 29 years on this Earth... Not everyone can say that.

A grandma's love is different than your mother or father's - they're more patient ... they have the missing wisdom of your parents ... and no matter what, you can do no wrong in they eyes.

Both of my grandmothers are special women. But there is one in particular that is undeniably the rock of our family. Hell, she's a rock of a city. My grandma Emma has had cancer for 50-plus years. It's eaten at her body over the time and all the while she quietly goes about her life. Loving us grandkids ... loving her children ... loving her life.

She still works to this day (a majority of the days allow her, but she does have to take it easy from time to time).

The cancer has completely taken over one of her legs. I remember growing up I was scared to look at it because I didn't understand. Now, I look at her leg and am proud to be the grandson of this strong angel. I've never heard her complain, never heard her want to give in.

No matter how much she hurt, she'd get up to make me her delicious dishes when I went over. I needed a place to stay? Her door was wide open ... and I wasn't a burden. I was welcomed and treated like royalty.

It's rather humbling to have her in my life. I have no reason to complain, I don't have cancer eating away everywhere it'd like she does.

At the moment, she's in the hospital ... and my visit to see her is the reason for this post.

For the first time in my time in her life I felt she was tired of the pain... tired of dealing with it. Now, I'm not saying that she's giving up. But there was a calm scared/tired/peace over her.

She'll be 80 a month from tomorrow. And I can't wait to see her on her birthday.

Her quiet smile. Her distinctive "hello." Her quiet strength.

Emma. Four letters, stronger than you or I.

Best Catch Ever -Hiroshi Tanaka is Jealous

2010-08-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

Harry Doyle: [drunk] So, Hiroshi "Kamikaze" Tanaka, recently of the Tokyo Giants, knocks himself cold for the second time this week. Maybe in Japan, that's actually better than catching the ball. Personally, I think he's just trying to get out of the lineup.

Where Has Boxing Gone? Missing Modest Athletes

2010-08-06T18:05:00.000-07:00

I grew up with two main sports in my household growing up: Lakers and Boxing. I was born in 1981 and was blessed to be brought up in a great decade of boxing that continued into the 1990's.

Pops didn't watch much baseball on television and football Sundays were pretty mellow. Friday and Saturday nights were filled with uncles talking crap in the living room, food all over the place, and boxing lighting up the dark scene.

We're now in a Mixed Martial Arts era. I heard an interview today with UFC owner, Dana White, and he laid it out perfectly regarding the state of boxing: people are no longer training to box, they want to do it all. Why train to learn just to box when you can be multi-skilled?

White makes a great point... and he's run a tight ship.

The years of boxing I was blessed to watch growing up caused the downfall we have today. There were super fights that have given boxers their big heads today. The 80's we got to watch Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson's fights, Spinks-Holmes, Leonard-Hearns to name a few. Oscar de la Hoya, Whitaker-Cesar Chavez, Roy Jones Jr., Holyfield, Hopkins, dominated the 90's.

Now, I'm not saying that we don't get super fights in boxing today... but the boxers have taken control. That's why the UFC has been so successful, White decides who fights who and when... the fighters don't decide like in boxing. We don't get to see Mayweather-Pacquiao because FLOYD decides if and when he wants to fight.

The best don't fight the best in boxing. In the UFC, if you've paid your dues you get your shot and the big time fighters can't decide who they fight. The boxing association needs to take control of the sport again if they want to resurrect a dying sport.

And can we please get some heavyweights back in boxing?!?!

Mike Elizalde - Spectral Motion

2010-03-07T16:19:00.000-08:00

I did this interview in June 2008 - Mike Elizalde is a highly respected makeup and creature effects artist, as well as a mechanical and animatronics designer. I did this one right before Hell Boy II came out.

From the outside, it would be hard to imagine that so much magic goes on inside the brown building that houses Spectral Motion, Inc.

However, once inside the building it is apparent that the company that started in 2002 is a premier creature, props, and special makeup effects establishment. Upon entering the building is a creature to the right from Hellboy in the corner, fully enhanced with separate moving tentacles and a complex eye mechanism.

Owners Mike and Mary Elizalde started the company six years ago, prior to the beginning stages of Hellboy. Mike, born in Mazatlán, Mexico, was given the nudge to open the studio with the help of Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro, who he had previously worked with on Blade II.

Spectral Motion, located in Glendale, has plenty of big motion pictures under its belt, working on films like Fantastic Four, X-Men, M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water, Blade Trinity, as well as soon to be released Hellboy II: The Golden Army (July 11).

Mike and his creative team are part of the whole process in creating the props, creatures, and special makeup effects. He talks about working on a character named Wink (named after Selma Blair’s dog) from Hellboy II, an eight-foot creature with a body that weighs over 100 pounds and a head that weighs about 20 pounds. The body suit and animatronic head is just an example of what Mike’s company is able to produce.

For a project like Wink, Spectral Motion first begins with a two-dimensional drawing of the creature. Once the drawing is approved, the creature is made into a maquette, a small-scale model, that is usually two-feet tall in size. The maquette is used so the studio is not committed to something big and able to make changes very easily.

After another approval process with the maquette, the company moves on to the full scale version, whether it be a suit, makeup effect, or whatever they are designing.

Sounds simple enough right? Not entirely. The hours that go into the design are long and hard. Wink, for example, took about seven months to develop entirely, Mike says. And another six months take up the shooting period.

“You’re married to the thing by the time it’s over,” Mike says while laughing.
Spectral Motion does everything from hair to painting the suits that they create. While working on Hellboy, Mike recalls that 60 people were laboring in one workspace for the project.

Taking a walk around Spectral Motion makes one appreciate the art and talent that it takes to create the magic we see on the big screen.

Tell me a little bit about your background...
My family immigrated to the states when I was 5 years old. I grew up around Compton, CA, all around Los Angeles, then I joined the Navy, I was in the Navy for about eight years. And during the second enlistment I was kind of scratching my head going, this isn't what I want to be doing. The first four years were really fun so I re-enlisted for a second hitch, and then I thought, I want to do something creative with my life.

So I got out of the Navy and started doing makeup effects for a living. Came to L.A. … and started working for makeup studios and over the past 20 years I developed my skills as a sculptor, makeup artist, painter, and then the last ten years of my career before we started the shop here I designed animatronics. I built the mechanisms that make the creatures move and I puppeteered on set so my performances were on film and I became a member of the Screen Actors Guild as a result of that. During one of those jobs, I was doing Blade II with Guillermo del Toro, and that’s when I met him, and we connected right away, we were just, "orale, carnal." So all of our communication from that point forward was always in Spanish and we never spoke English to each other after that and we became very good friends and then he offered me Hellboy, to do the work on the first movie, the first Hellboy movie. And that's how we opened this shop, and that was six years ago. So, since then we've been staying pretty busy the whole time and … we just wrapped up shooting Hell Boy II with del Toro. So we just wrapped our work on Hellboy II and we are currently working on a Will Ferrell movie, Land of the Lost, which is based on the TV series with Sid and Marty Krofft. So that's what we are doing right now.

How did the company start?
I used to work as an individual for people like Rick Baker. (He) is very famous, he has gotten like six Academy Awards for his work, and Stan Winston who is another very high profile makeup artist in the industry. I worked for those guys for years doing what I mentioned earlier, designing animatronics.

Just prior to 1994 I wanted to do some entrepreneurial work, so I sculpted some busts, and I sold them as an individual and we were very successful with those, so we needed some sort of umbrella to put that business under. And that is when my wife and I created Spectral Motion as a vehicle to sell these kits to people, so they could assembly them and make them. And then after that, that's when I was working for Del Toro on Blade II, that's when he said, "Hey, why don't you just find yourself a space and we'll do Hellboy and open up a shop." So that's how it started, and that was in 2002. So 2002 is when we actually opened this facility to the first Hellboy movie.

How did you get in special effects, as a kid, were you into monsters?
When I was a kid, my step dad was a huge sci-fi monster fan. So he kind of turned me onto the Universal monsters like Frankenstein, Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man, all of those movies, those are like my favorites when I was a kid. I was really geeked out on the stuff, I would watch one of these movies, Dracula you know, I would go to school and they used to have those newsprint paper that you painted on with the water-based paints. So I used to paint on these papers and I would actually paint the colors that I would need later to paint my face. So I would use yellows and greens, I would make a pallet for myself because I knew I could reconstitute the paint later with water. So I would take that home and put water on the stuff and I would start making my face up, so I've had it in my blood every since I was a kid. It's always been a real strong interest for me.

How many characters did you work on for Hellboy II?
We did probably about 15 characters and many of them were similar to this (points to creature in the corner of the front office) where it's a performer in a suit with animatronics and also makeup effects, like the makeup that Ron Perlman wears as Hellboy. So we did about 15 characters for the movie, and the first movie we did about five, I think. It was quite a bit more work we had to do. Also, we shot the movie in Budapest, Hungary, and we were there for about six months, so it was a big job.

Do you use the comics a lot to create the creatures and effects?
The source material is very important to us, as far as getting the look of the character and what that character is about. It doesn't always happen that way because sometimes the producers of the film want to make something that doesn't really resemble the source material, they want to take it away from the source material. But, generally speaking, that's the main source of our information.

Before we start on a character, like before we started working on Fantastic Four or X-Men, the guys at Marvel sent us stacks of reference material to go through and look at, and try to get the essence of the characters from that material. And with Hellboy, Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy, is very involved from the very beginning of the process and he gives us a lot of input along with Guillermo. Ultimately Guillermo wins the wrestling matches (laughs). There is a lot of respect for the source material there.

What types of challenges did you encounter?
The challenges were really being away from home for so long, I mean that is huge. Just you're pulled out of your roots, and your family, everything. And you're away for six months, after a couple of months you're just thinking, this is never going to end. It really just starts to feel endless. So that was one challenge, the other challenge was that with Ron Perlman I applied his makeup everyday. So my focus was really placed on getting Ron ready as Hellboy everyday, plus supervising all the other 15 characters, so that was a little bit of a challenge.

Fortunately, I have a very capable and talented crew to assist me while I was there and things went as smoothly as they could have gone for such a big job. And those are the things that challenge you, I mean the actual design and creation of the creatures is another big challenge because Guillermo is such a demanding director, he doesn't want anything in his movies that has been seen in other movies. He wants everything to be re-invented and developed specifically for the characters that he is looking for. Nothing is simple (laughs). On one of the designs that he was asking for, everything has a new, complicated assembly of some kind or a new makeup technique that we need to develop and re-invent, so it's all challenging, all of it, the whole thing.

What was one of your favorite characters to work on?
Wink was awesome because it was just so big; it was just so phenomenally large, and yet able to do action sequences where he was fighting Hellboy, throwing the suit around like it didn't weigh anything. And it was a really cool character that had a lot of personality. So Wink was really cool. I also liked the Bag Lady Troll, the one with the little tiny arms ... it was a combination of animatronics and makeup, that’s one of my favorites, I think it looks great on film. And the Angel of Death, I mean every single one of those; it's almost like asking you which of your children is your favorite (laughs). They're all very cool in their own way.

Are some of the creatures combined with computer graphics effects?
Some of them are. Actually, the way that Guillermo splits it up is he'll take a creature in his film and if he wants to add like for instance a tendon that sticks out when a creature is roaring, and then he'll do that little piece digitally, it's just subliminal stuff. And then he'll take that same creature and do something that the guy in that suit can't do, like go flying into a wall, smashing down, crumpling to the ground where you could achieve it with a stunt man in a suit but its much more dynamic if you do it digitally.

How did you get your foot in the door, how did you get into the business?
When I was still in the Navy I found this book about makeup effects and I started reading it and it outlined how to create a three-dimensional prosthetic makeup and it told you which materials to get together. So I got all the materials together, I got a couple of my friends to be guinea pigs and put the makeup on them, took pictures of that and sent that out to different studios here in L.A., just looked them up in the phone book because we didn't have internet back then (laughs).

I did it analog instead of digital, so I sent the pictures out and after I got out of the Navy I got my first job. I went to one studio, I said, "here's my resume, here's my portfolio," and they were like, "yeah, we will start you up right away." So my first job was working on a movie called Arena, very low budget film done by a very low budget shop. But as it turned out, that shop was employing some of the bigger names in the industry back then. So I got to learn from some of the real experts in the business - how to sculpt, how to paint, do that type of stuff and that's how my career got started. I was very lucky to be able to get in that quickly.

Did you have any mentors?
There were several. One of the first people who really took me on and gave me a lot of responsibility was a guy named David Miller and he was the guy who designed the first Freddy Krueger makeup. And then after that Rick Baker was somebody that I really looked up to. Stan Winston, I loved all the work that came out of his shop. So I sort of watched what these guys did and kind of tried to pattern myself a little bit along with what they were doing, and ended up with my own individual formula, like we all do.

I bet you're pretty popular during Halloween...
We try to keep a low profile (laughs).

Estevan Oriol - The Last Laugh

2010-02-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

Piece I did in June of 2008 - it never saw the pages of the magazine I was interning for, Tu Ciudad, due to it folding. Very real person, it was a pleasure meeting Estevan Oriol.

Opening a business often goes deeper than trying to make a dollar, especially in an area that you would not expect to see a fresh new line of clothing.
Upper Playground, Mister Cartoon, and Estevan Oriol celebrated the opening of a four-store retail experience in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles on May 31.
Crowds of people gathered to see what each store had to offer, and many stayed after browsing the stores to take in the surroundings.
The stores, located on 6th Street between South Main Street and South Los Angeles Street, begin with the San Francisco-based Upper Playground line. Inside, Upper Playground t-shirts sporting the designs of guest artists catch shoppers’ eyes, and not too far behind the displays is a special art exhibit in the store, Fifty24LA gallery. Fifty24LA houses the art of designers that collaborate with Upper Playground and other upcoming artists.
Exclusive Los Angeles-inspired designs are plentiful in the store, both for men and women, a must for any proud Angeleno.
Next door to Upper Playground are the connected stores of Mister Cartoon and Estevan Oriol called The Last Laugh. Cartoon’s shop contains an orange airbrushed motorcycle in the front window, and an airbrushed plane and tricycles sit inside.
The Last Laugh logo is creatively placed on the wall using his Lost Angels figurines, his Sidekick, and designer Nikes. For sale in the store are the line of t-shirts, shoes, and more. Guest appearance tattoo artists are expected to make their rounds in Cartoon’s shop, along with the star himself.
Making a right before the old school cash register will lead way to Oriol’s retail space. The black-walled room is decorated with 32 of Oriol’s photos on the wall. Each of the photos on the wall represents the designs of the t-shirts. In a black and white display are the t-shirts using the photos that grace the walls. Shoppers can check out some outstanding Los Angeles photographs, and then wear that art five minutes later, all while a projector plays a documentary featuring Oriol on the front wall.
The fourth store is a revolving retail area for friends and projects. Currently, it houses the works of Roland Sands and Tony Ward.
Oriol said the stores are a way to give back to the public, along with giving friends an opportunity to work despite mistakes in the past. Sitting down in a tattoo chair in Cartoon’s retail space, Oriol talks about an employee he has given a chance to work due to the fact that he just got out of three-year prison term. He points out that the employee would not have been given a shot at a regular retail store due to his tattooed-body or past.
If only the rest of the world took had the mentality of Oriol, there might be less Skid Rows in the cities to be nervous about.
I sat down with Oriol to talk about the store openings, along with what to expect in the near future:

First of all, congratulations on the store opening. Talk about the stores, and how did it all come together?
I’ve been in the clothing business since 1992 and I had a couple little clothing lines back then and my biggest one to this day has been Joker Brand clothing which we started in 1995 and it’s still going strong up until now, 2008. That’s a good 13 year run, which is hard to do if you’re in the fashion business, or clothing game, or street wear lines. We’ve seen a lot of people come and go.
Matt from Upper Playground hit me up to do a line on my t-shirts of my photos a couple years back and I was a little bit hesitant because I didn’t think people would want to buy my pictures on a t-shirt. I had come from people buying my pictures off of art shows, you know, in a gallery environment. But I really didn’t think people would be into buying them on t-shirts, and you know, they showed me that I was wrong. So here we are today the grand opening. We have four spots, a group of us do, [and] we just wanted to come into the community and just do it right. So we got Upper Playground in the first one, and they represent a bunch of artists like Jeremy Fish, David Choe, Sam Flores, me, Hebert Baglione … Ricky Powell.
I had done some things with them (Upper Playground), like I did a documentary with them called The Run Up and then I did a little shirt with them and then it started snowballing to where he (Revelli) said “lets just do a line for you.” So we did a line and it went good, and we ended up doing a couple more seasons and we’re in our fourth season. In his store you will see everybody’s that he works with, their clothes, except for mine. And there is an art gallery in there too.
And then the next store is Cartoon and myself, and it has Cartoon’s tattoo shop line, and then in my section it has my line which has shirts, candles, calendars, playing cards, hoodies, skateboards, just a little bit of everything. Now that I have a store I can grow the line into some other stuff, little knick-knacks you can buy.
The fourth space is a rotating store, like a pop-up store, and today it has Roland Sands, he’s like a master bike builder, he builds crazy Harleys. Just bikes period, he’s just badass. And also Tony Ward, who is like an iconic male model, he used to go out with Madonna; he has been in every campaign you can imagine from Dolce & Gabbana to Calvin Klein. He’s in there displaying his artwork and his clothes that he’s designing. It’s kind of like, to me, it kind of looks like a Mad Max type of line, Thunderdome, it’s kind of crazy. All these people we’re all friends, we just want to do our thing, and then give our friends a place to do whatever they want. Sometimes there will be a client that we’ll work with and they’ll want to do something there, you know like an art show, clothing shop for a month, they might just not want to open up a store, just do it for a month. We just give them that opportunity.

What made you choose the location for the stores?
We’re trying to bring up the community around here. We’re right here on Skid Row, so being on Skid Row, you know you see a lot of shit, you see a lot of poverty, a lot of the homeless problems in L.A., the drug and alcohol problem in L.A. It’s kind of like we wanted to bring something positive and something for hope down here in downtown. You just see all that negativity and all that shit all the time, we’ve been down here since 1996 before all the arty-farty people came in here, we were down here and we’ve seen downtown go through a lot of changes.
We were trying to do this a long time ago, just it wasn’t right for us at that time. Even now, it’s like a little bit nervous feelings about the economy the way it is, and there ain’t nothing around here really. We’re kind of like just hoping to build it up. But we didn’t get this far not taking risks, that’s what we are about, taking risks. We’re sticking to our game plan, like I said, we have been thinking about this for a couple years and we didn’t know the economy was going to take a shit, and everything was going to be messed up but we are sticking to our game plan like we do with everything else, and you see how that has done for us, so we’re cool with it, down to take the chance.

What about the Righteous Kill project, can you talk a little bit about that?
Cartoon was hit up through the e-mail to do a limited edition skateboard, so he took the meeting with them and ended up to where we got an opportunity to do an artistic limited-edition movie poster for the movie Righteous Kill [with] Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. But at the end of the day, man, I was so happy just to be sitting there taking a picture of Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, those dudes I grew up watching all their movies when I was a kid: Deer Hunter, Taxi Driver, Dog Day Afternoon, Cruising, and all those old school movies. And then, that I am there taking pictures of them, that is one of those times where I felt like I made it as an artist. Even at that point we weren’t sure if we were going to get to do the job.
And after they saw what we did with the pictures, and Cartoon drew the logo, and our other friend that works with us, Patrick Martinez, he did the layout. It came out sick, I’m proud of that piece of artwork and I love it. They’re going probably to do kind of like a pop-up store, I don’t know if they’re going to be selling anything there, it’s going to be more like they’re going to be playing the trailer and have some of the artwork on the walls. And I think they might be having some merchandise because we’ve been designing some, but I’m not too sure.

Is the store going to be open seven days a week for the public?
I would like to be open seven days a week because we will just have someone here. I would like to have a place where people could come in and trip out on our stuff, any day. It would be great if we could 24 hours a day, but you know, downtown closes when it gets dark. People get scared, and the tents come out, and people get nervous, everything changes around here when the sun goes down. It’s cool, we have fun, and we love it down here. There are a lot of characters; it always stays fresh over here. We could have copied everybody and went to Fairfax or Melrose, but it is like played out over there. One person goes there, like Supreme went there, and just everybody popped it up. We are just trying to stay over here and stay out of the way, but stay relevant in the game.

And your photographs; are they going to be periodically changed on the walls?
All those photos on the wall are photos of my designs on my t-shirts. So it’s kind of more like a museum of the designs. Some of the designs you don’t know what the picture is, you kind of trip out on it. It is kind of like you have to figure out which picture goes with which shirt, some of them are real obvious but some of them we threw a twist on them. Right now I have 60 designs and only 32 pictures are up there.

—Jon Castillo

Sites: The Last Laugh
Estevan Oriol

The Best Lakers Squad I've Ever Seen

2010-02-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

No one wants to see you fall more than when you're on the top.

That's what the 2000-2001 Lakers had to deal with. The newly-crowned champions had to deal with something the squad hadn't dealt with before: having a bulls-eye on their back every single time on the hardwood floor.

The team didn't know how to deal with the responsibilities and maturity that went along with being a champion. Just because the team won a championship didn't mean they were automatically more mature. What needed to be learned through experience was how to handle the newly acquired power and allure.

This was very well documented in the sudden emergence of the Shaquille O'Neal - Kobe Bryant feud. Both had something they never had and each wanted more, but both had different ideas on how to get it.

I hate to admit this, but I get bored with the regular season (I'm already bored with this season). Give me the playoffs, when and where the Lakers are supposed to be every season. But the regular season was what the fresh-off-a-championship team needed; time to figure out how champions were supposed to prepare and compose themselves on the court on a nightly basis.

This was the greatest Lakers team I saw play. Not because of the regular season, but for what they did in the playoffs. They ended that season on an 8-game winning streak and were the second-seed to the Spurs.

The 2000-2001 Lakers had a great mix of young and old. Horace Grant and Ron Harper, mixed with Derek Fisher and Robert Horry. A defensive-minded role player like Rick Fox, with always savvy Brian Shaw waiting for Phil Jackson's call.

LA didn't have an easy road ahead of themselves either. They faced the Portland Blazers, one year removed from a 7-game series against the same exact squad. After that, they were up against the division rival and upstart Sacramento Kings.

What was beautiful about this Lakers squad was the dominance the team could turn to... Shaq's in foul trouble? Kobe's ready to crossover Doug Christie then posterize Vlade Divac. Kobe missing his shots? Feed the Diesel and run them over.

This team was hungry. They were out for blood.

Then came my favorite series of all-time: the number one-seeded San Antonio Spurs versus the Lakers who were embarrassed in 1999 against them. Let me start on game 2, when any other team would have given up. They were down by double digits, lost their coach, and were away from home. LA had already stolen one, so it would have been understandable to pack it up and go home with a win in the pocket.

Nope, not this squad. This game shows why they are different than others. Resiliency. Bend, do not break. One basket at a time, determination. This team had learned all they needed from Phil during the season, they could take it from there: "we got you coach, take a shower." On the way home with a 2-0 lead.

Yes, home to the embarrassment party. Fisher dropping 3's, Shaq dropping no-look passes, and Foxy fastbreak dunks. These Lakers embarrassed the #1 seeded Spurs by 39 and 29 back at Staples.

After an Allen Iverson step-over, the Lakers dream of a perfect playoff was killed (*dead* when Chick said "good luck Tyronne, I'll send you a card" in regards to guarding Iverson).

But they went back on track to sweep them after the initial loss. 15-1. Four straight sweeps. Yes, I say four straight sweeps because they swept the Sixers after losing game 1.

Los Angeles repeating with an emphatic response to the regular season. Think about it, their 8 straight wins to end the season coupled with the 11-0 start to the playoffs gave them 19 straight in the most important time of the year. 19 straight!

When today's Lakers lose today I lose myself for a second... then I remember this 2000-2001 squad. A regular season to determine how to handle yourself as a champion, then rediscover why you have that feeling: Larry O'Brien was in Staples Center at the end.

Today's Lakers will not go 16-1 this year, but here's hoping they discover what the 2001 champions did: there's a reason why you're a champion, remind the rest of the league.

Ron Artest = a more skilled Rick Fox
Andrew Bynum & Pau Gasol = together might match Shaq's dominance, emphasis on might
Josh Powell = Ho Grant waiting on the bench for his call
Derek Fisher = Ron Harper
Kobe Bryant = an older, wiser, and better, well, Kobe Bryant
Lamar Odom = more skillful Robert Horry, one day he'll appear all of a sudden and win you a game or two.
Shannon Brown = Devean George
Luke Walton = Slava Medvedenko (sorry had to throw my man out like that)

All-Snooze Fest

2010-01-29T22:36:00.000-08:00

At some point in time, all-star games turned from celebrating the accomplishments of athletes in the particular year, to a popularity contest. Reputation matters more than what has been done in the current year of play.

When did all the commissioners of the professional sports leagues come together and determine that the all-star games of their respective sports would all turn to crap? And was there ever a time when all-star games actually worked?

There are flaws in all the systems.

NBA: fan voting has too much influence. NFL: no one wants to play in it. MLB: again, fan voting messes with starting lineups. NHL: fan voting, but I am not going to pretend that I know what I am talking about in regards to hockey.

As we approach the Pro Bowl for the NFL and the NBA's all-star game I try to remember when I really cared about an all-star game. For me, I care more about the preceding events than the actual exhibition games.

David Stern has gone wrong with the NBA in that the fan voting system doesn't work, especially with worldwide voting. Tracy "First Round" McGrady almost got the starting nod for the Western Conference this year, due largely to Chinese fans voting him in because of his allegiance to Yao Ming's Rockets.

But fans aren't the only ones to blame on this one, coaches are guilty too. The reserves are determined by them, and are the coaches are being influenced by reputation more than looking at players' success for the year. I grew up a Lakers fan and I am all for seeing more purple & gold laced sneakers on the hardwood. However, I have to disagree with the selection of Pau Gasol this year. That was purely a reputation call by the coaches.

Chris Kaman is having a solid year and should have been selected. Gasol's reputation coupled with the name of the team on the front of Kaman's jersey didn't allow Caveman to be on this year's squad.

Look, I understand that this happens; there are only a certain amount of roster spots and for the most part coaches and fans get it right. And I don't want to go into a rant about every sport and have a post that takes you 20 minutes to read, but on a quick note about MLB...

Why have a requirement that every team needs a representative? If a team doesn't have a player deserving of an all-star nod than why have them there. Most of the time that particular player given the sympathy bid doesn't even get into the game.

And the fan voting totally messes with this one in that Red Sox and Yankees players are always voted to start due to their huge following (also see: Yankees and Red Sox nations need a life... I kid, but not really).

I don't have the solution nor do I believe that anyone does, each sport is different and the leagues want to sell tickets, jerseys, and TV rights. It gives us something to discuss allowing more attention to be paid to the all-star selections and games.

As a beginning point to a fix, give the votes for the starting rosters to the players in the leagues. Who knows the players better than those that are actually competing against them? Next, give the rights to the reserves voting to the coaches.

Where do the fans come in? This is the fun part: allow us fans to vote for a lineup that plays for a quarter, period or couple innings together. Create our own dream team to play together based on the rosters created by the players & coaches of the leagues, and ensure that the coaches stick with the lineup the whole predetermined time. Finding the most common lineup selected by fans would be tricky for a human, but plug it into a computer system and let it do the work. Hell, the BCS determines the college championship game, it can determine the most wanted lineup to play together.

Cry, cry all we want, we'll still tune in.

Oh, and Allen Iverson for all-star game MVP honors.

Tonight's post was created while listening to Dam Funk's "Toeachizown" album. Go get it.

Fantasy Football Draft

2009-08-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

Last night was draft night... And yes, I was that guy—the one who drafts a player who was drafted three rounds prior. Four times.

I'm surprised I made it through the draft though, booze almost took over. Going to start updating the blog more often, and thought posting my nerd life would be a good kickoff.

Here's my squad:

QBs - Matt Ryan, Kyle Orton
RBs - Adrian Peterson, Pierre Thomas, Cedric Benson, Jerious Norwood
WRs - Steve Smith, Terrell Owens, Hines Ward, Jerricho Cotchery, Mark Clayton, Nate Washington, Jeremy Maclin
TEs - Visanthe Shiancoe, Dustin Keller
K - Nick Folk
DEF - Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts

Can't wait for the season to begin!

Shaq'a'Cav

2009-06-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

It's time for the Shaq-haters to come out of the woodwork (not like they don't already voice their hate). But it's time to start the hating: "He jumps to the best situation" ... "He's too old" ... "He will never win again" ... "He's a bum"

We've heard them all.

I'm one of the biggest Shaq fans on the planet. Followed him while at LSU. Made sure I didn't miss a Magic box score or game (when I could watch them on the West Coast) when he was with Orlando. Dream-come-true when he joined the Lakers. Supported him when he was on the Heat. Still didn't hate on him when he was traded to the Suns. Laughed at his rap last summer.

My opinion will never change about him - he's accomplished too much on the basketball court. Numbers don't lie, and he has put them up.

However, anyone that thinks the trade puts the Cavaliers over the proverbial hump is delusional.

This never works. You don't trade for one piece and expect immediate results. Especially one of Shaq's age. Kareem at 37 - with his game - yes, it works.

Lebron is playing out of his mind right now, but pairing him with an aging Shaq will not give you a ring. Not with Orlando reloading today. And not with the Celtics getting healthy.

This last ditch effort to appease Lebron James will go up in flames. Shaq and Lebron will be giving their exit interviews after the second round next year.

The Celtics would not have won by acquiring Kevin Garnett alone. They needed Ray Allen to complete that team.

Yes, if Shaq was a few years younger I could see them getting the pieces around them within two years to get Cleveland a championship. But after this experiment fails, Shaq will be gone and we will have a summer of questions about where Lebron is heading.

Now, if the Cavs get Rasheed Wallace... then we're telling a different tale.
Mo Williams, Lebron, Insert Name, Sheed, Shaq. I take that team over the Celtics and Magic.

NBA Playoffs 2009

2009-04-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

It has arrived... after the long grind of the NBA season, the NBA playoffs are upon us.

Where ignoring my girlfriend for almost three months happens...

What will happen? Will the Celtics put up a fight without Kevin Garnett? Will the Pistons put up a fight? Will Orlando get to the Eastern Conference Finals? Will Lebron return to the finals? Will Kobe do it without Shaq? Questions, questions, and questions.

The second season which begins at the end of April and concludes in June is upon us.

Here is what First2Third thinks will happen:

Part one - East

Eastern Conference First Round:
The 1-8: Cleveland Cavaliers v. Detroit Pistons-
Are the Pistons that much older? Did they age 20 years overnight? Can they remind themselves of the dogfights they had in the playoffs of recent years? No. Not with the soon-to-be MVP Lebron James in the way. The Pistons don't stand a chance. What was once considered a "team" is now a group of individuals, trying to get theirs.

The Cavaliers are taking this in 5. I'm giving one game to Detroit because Rasheed Wallace is going to have a game where he goes off.

The 2-7: Boston Celtics v. Chicago Bulls
Chicago is playing strong to end the season. But, we're talking about the defending champion *cringe* Boston Celtics. A lot of people are going to doubt the Celtics chances with an ailing and possible no-play Garnett. However, this is still a strong team with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, and some strong inside presence players.

Celtics in 6. One game is going to be won by Eddie House—dude is a streaky shooter and when he's hot, it rains fire. Cue NBA Jam commentator.

The 3-6: Orlando Magic v. Philadelphia 76ers
No Elton Brand equals no chance. I like the 76ers in the next couple of years, but it's Orlando's time now (first and second round). Philly is young and will be exciting to watch in the playoffs in the years to come with Andre Igoudala and Thadeus Young. But it's the defensive player of the year, Dwight Howard, who will have his playoff coming out party.

Magic Skips to their Lou in 5. Shaq, Ron Jeremy's brother won't choke in this round.

The 4-5: Atlanta Hawks v. Miami
The most exciting first round matchup in the East. This series is going back and forth. Both squads will be putting on a show for the world to watch, I'm not going to miss a game of this one. Easy to say, but the difference will be Dwayne Wade. He has taken over a Finals series and will put the Heat on his shoulders for at least two victories.

Heat in 7. I can see Wade making the deciding shot in game 7 like he did in game 1 against the Hornets in 2004.

The Western Conference First Round shortly... laughs and beer break.

True Angel

2009-04-10T17:07:00.001-07:00

RIP Nick Adenhart

You will always be remembered. The Angels up there needed you more than the Angels in Anaheim, and they got a strong Angel in you.

Maybe You Shouldn't Have Opened Your Mouth

2009-04-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Remember Paul Pierce's claim that he was a better player than Kobe over the past summer?

Can the NBA and Boston Celtics (perhaps it's possible in Beantown?) fans see through the BS that was coming out of Pierce's mouth over the summer?

In a time that the Celtics needed more production, Pierce didn't step up his game. For the long stretch that Kevin Garnett was out, Feb. 22 through March 18, Pierce averaged 22.8 points per contest. Think Kobe would let his average dip to that low if Pau Gasol went out?

Kobe Bryant is averaging 27.2PPG to Pierce's 20.3, and doing so at a higher percentage, .465 (compared to Pierce's .453). Maybe Pierce started to taste the double and sometimes triple-team coverage that Bryant faces every game on the hardwood.

Or maybe Pierce was still not fully recovered from his wheelchair-inducing "injury." Or perhaps, we blame it on the media for holding in Pierce in such high regard after his NBA Finals performance. (We've seen that before with Dwayne Wade, although, Flash has risen back to that Finals form).

It's just becoming extremely quiet from the Pierce camp after trying to convince the world he is the best player in the world. Sad thing for Pierce is that he isn't even the third best player in his conference.

It's Not That Bad, Angels Fans

2009-03-23T18:22:00.001-07:00

I admit, I lost a lot of faith in Anaheim's Los Angeles squad once the Angels lost Mark Teixeira to the Yankees and stood by its stance not to sign Manny Ramirez. The team made no major moves to improve an offense that sputtered around and came to a halt for the second consecutive year against the Boston Red Sox.

Sure, they signed Bobby Abreu and Brian Fuentes, but does that make them better than when they had Francisco Rodriguez and Teixeira? Call me crazy, but I say yes.

Tony Reagins is putting his trust in the young farm players who have been raised under the Angels' mottos: work hard, run first to third, and keep the drama out of the clubhouse and dugout. And I like it.

This Angels team doesn't have a superstar who has an ego (K-Rod was a little over the top for my tastes) nor one who doesn't seem out of place (as much as I loved Teixeira, he just never seemed good teammate to be around—someone who is there cheering you on no matter what). Teixeira never sold me on the fact that he wanted to be with the Angels, even during the time he was playing with the team. He was a risky rental, but one the Angels gambled on because they had a 25-year-old Cuban ready to burst onto the baseball scene.

And as sad as it was to see Garrett Anderson, the franchise's most successful player and highly under-appreciated, leave, it was time to give Juan Rivera the at-bats to become the player he is capable of being.

Now look at their clubhouse. Young players eager to prove themselves like Morales, Howie Kendrick, Brandon Wood, Erick Aybar, Sean Rodriguez and Matt Brown. Coupled with quiet superstars like Vladimir Guerrero, Bobby Abreu, and John Lackey. Some will argue they have one of the top pitching staffs in the Majors with the emergence of Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders, and their always strong bullpen. And don't forget Kelvim Escobar is fast on his way to returning to the team, some saying as early as late April.

And most importantly of all, they have players such as Torii Hunter and Lackey who carry a clubhouse presence invaluable to a team.

Anchoring it all is the Angels rock, Howard's TVs finest, Mike Scioscia. There's a reason the Angels locked him up through 2018. He runs a tight ship, and players love his style of play and no-nonsense attitude.

I think this Angels team is exactly that, a team. A group of individual parts coming together to create a baseball atmosphere where they have one common goal. And you can see that in the team's excitement to have Abreu return from his stint in the World Baseball Classic.

I wasn't able to see that when this offseason began. All I saw were dollar signs and heard talks of contracts. And now that the season is a couple weeks away and the winter fog has cleared, it's time for the Angels to return to what they were in 2002: a quiet bunch of baseball players who play loud on the field.

On Opening Day 2009, Scioscia will have a 25-player roster to work with, and he will need all 25 of them to work together to be able to ride down Katella Avenue carrying the 24-inch World Series trophy.

Have Steroids Blues?

2009-02-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

Got baseball blues?

Don't worry, even soccer players of the Premier League are cheating their fans.

I love Keeley Hazell.

And a nut slap.

Hockey Highlight

2009-02-08T08:53:00.001-08:00

Not huge into NHL, but love going to the games and acted like I was a Ducks fan when they won the cup... Anaheim represent.

Zednik Jumps Defender to Score Goal
Doctor Zee - Richard Zednik - of the Florida Panthers.

Have I Been Duped?

2009-02-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

My faith in Major League Baseball is seriously starting to wane. I became disappointed in the sport before the report came out that A-Roid used steroids because of ridiculous signings by the New York Yankees.

Granted, the Yankees are below its salary total from last year and need to sell seats for its new stadium, however, it is frustrating to see a team dominate the free agent pool due to the cash the team has (bitter Los Angeles Angels fan who now hates Mark Teixeira here—okay, that was my mini-vent out of frustration).

I think it is asinine that players show no loyalty these days (this is a tough one to sell because as fans we don't know what goes on behind closed doors, and players also have to consider their future after baseball – something any individual has to look out for). And the hand Manny Ramirez possessed to push for his trade from the Boston Red Sox was ridiculous. Players sign a contract and should play out the duration of it.

And now this. Alex Rodriguez was supposed to be the "natural" one who broke records the "right" way. But no, he too was using performance-enhancing drugs. Why he was the only one named of the 104 players from the 2003 records is beyond me, but they had to bring down our faith in the state of baseball by breaking down the biggest player of this day.

How long have I watched tainted baseball? Which players I grew up watching share the asterisk with A-Rod?

The other 103 players need to be named now that the confidentiality of the 2003 records have been jeopardized.

Where does baseball go from here? And should we now consider Ken Griffey Jr. as the modern king of baseball? And now we know why Babe Ruth's, Hank Aaron's, Bob Gibson's, Sandy Koufax' resumes (among many others) records are even more impressive. I long for the opportunity to grow up watching untainted baseball.

I can't provide a solution for baseball but maybe it should start at the top. Bud Selig has to have known about the positive tests for all the players, yet, he turned his head in favor of sold-out stadiums and a bigger paycheck. Sad, but it is the reality we live in today.

Let us hope that our future generations get to see baseball in it's purist form — without needles, the clear, and money dominating the sport's landscape.

Maybe we should thank Jose Canseco. He didn't lie and has indirectly helped in getting the game cleaned up.

Good luck to all of you, I hope none of your all-time favorite players aren't named soon ... and know I am holding onto what little faith I have left...

It's Coming...

2009-02-04T22:20:00.000-08:00

M.C. - I'd still hit it.

I'm back. Posts are coming.

Check updates on my twitter as well, join and follow: Little Jon Twitter

I Said It Before...

2008-11-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

And I will say it again, Kevin Garnett gets away with too much. Why won't anyone step up and criticize this dude?

Because he is "intense?" Because he is a "warrior?"

Who cares. There are plenty of guys in the league that play their hearts out every night.

Jose Calderon is not a trash-talking kind of player, yet, Garnett decides to disrespectfully get in his face. Calderon is a Spaniard, the only controversial things they do is make Chinese eye gestures. I am glad Calderon talked trash after passing for an assist, however, it would have been sweeter to see him chuck the ball in Garnett's alien-esque face.

One day, when the refs and the NBA stop kissing his ass, Garnett will cost his team a pivotal game due to his "intensity" on the court. And I will be laughing during the whole scene ... sans the snaggle teeth that home-dude rocks.

Kirsten Dunst called, she wants her grill back.

Forget 24 Hour Fitness

2008-08-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

I am using a new gym now ... well, that is if I actually currently went to one. Tomorrow, tomorrow...

I think my neighborhood qualifies ... dude killed in the alley a few months back, tagging on apartment buildings, and babies walking the streets at midnight. But the two produce trucks are spectacular.

Olympics Inspiration

2008-08-25T16:31:00.000-07:00

Did you get inspired by the Olympics? Did the Games make you want to ~~have sex with~~ compete with the world's best? I thought so ... below is a clip on how you can get your end of the summer Games on in your community. The javelin throw is my favorite event.

glumbert - The Urban Olympics

[Source: Glumbert.com]

Also, more of the star of that clip, Remi Gallaird ... he is a big fan of urban sports:

I even You Tube'd him for his other prank clips for your convenience: Gallaird YouTube Clips.

I Am So Proud Of The Kid

2008-08-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

Brian Collins started off with a rough showing. The above clip was from a student-run television newscast in his college days. His "Boom Goes the Dynamite," might possibly be the best catch phrase in all of the sports world. ESPN is jealous that one of their anchors didn't come up with it. Although, I hear Chris Berman is looking to use it in this year's NFL coverage.

Anyway, Collins is all growns up now. He's growns up, and he's growns up, and he's growns up...

He and his dynamite got a gig with KXXV-TV News Channel in the Texas area and "encourages residents to contact him about any story ideas."

Seriously though, good for him. I get offered 10 bucks an hour, get pissed off, and curse myself to sleep for studying journalism at school. Time to drink some beer and take it out on some A's fans.

Softball Guy Thinks You're Ridiculous

2008-08-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

I have never understood flag or touch "football." Neither should be considered football if there is no tackling involved.

Sure, a pigskin is involved and the objective is to score touchdowns, but what is the world's smash-mouth game without laying out an opponent? And the ~~players~~ nerds that play it take it very seriously.

There is this Dim Sum-esque fat boy in my fantasy football league who got bent out of shape when I called him out for playing flag "football." I told him that he shouldn't admit to playing flag football, unless he is talking to a 12-year-old boy, and even then that boy has every right to call him a pussy.

His response? He went on to say that "he wanted to kick my ass ... blah blah blah ... Abercrombie ... he is a real man."

Sure, guy. Keep telling yourself that, your boyfriend might agree with you one day.

Anyway, a south Georgia judge called the cops on a flag footballer player because he claims the "athlete" threatened to hit him.

Lee County Magistrate Judge Jim Thurman was refereeing the game. He claims the player argued with him and threatened him. So, he called police. Thurman claims Hayes tried to hit him, though witnesses told police that's not true.

It doesn't surprise me ... all you have is pussies on a flag football field.

No wonder Jae Kim stood up for his precious flag football.

Softball guy thinks that flag football players are bitches.

They're Starting To Line Up

2008-08-20T00:14:00.000-07:00

It was only a matter of time until someone back in the States declared ~~her love~~ that they wanted a piece of Olympic God Michael Phelps.

And it seems that she didn't waste anytime to get a head start on her competition.

From DeadSpin and Yahoo! Entertainment:

When it comes to Michael Phelps, Lindsay Lohan is apparently willing to postpone this whole lesbian thing. While interviewing Michael's mom Debbie on Monday, Hobbit-like Access Hollywood correspondent Billy Bush received a text message from Lohan, which he proceeded to show Debbie while on the air. Mom's reaction was pretty great.

Lohan's message: "Tell him he's fucking amazing, and I want to meet him."

Debbie's reaction? "OK, Lindsay!!! -- Delete! Delete! Delete!"

Phelps better take as many condoms that will fit in his bag for the Olympic Village Center, he is going to need them back home.

Like I said before, I am hoping to come across a genie in the next week.

My first wish? To be Phelps' penis for a day. Second wish? For Michael to hit all the Hollywood starlets' hot spots all day long.

And my final wish would to start the next day with a Los Angeles ghetto dog in both of my hands.

Official Video of Phelps .01 Victory

2008-08-19T22:37:00.000-07:00

This is the unseen video of second place finisher, Milorad Cavic, from the 100M Butterfly event.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

[Source: Funny or Die.]

The Weekly Lazy Entry

2008-08-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

I am resurrecting it earlier than I wanted to...

I had an article due for the Register today so I didn't get to my regular entries, and before I knew it, all the other bloggers got to the stories that I wanted to cover. And all the posts that I thought would be unique are on the interweb.

Oh well, here is your lazy entry of the week:

Don't trash talk at the Olympics if you can't back it up. Great job keeping a American stereotype alive. [Yahoo!Sports]
College football fan completes a 32-year quest to see all 119 Division 1-A teams. I hate you, Steve. [SportsbyBrooks]
Argentinean Women's soccer team joined Spanish athletes with the slant eye mockery of the Chinese athletes. China got the last laugh by beating them 2-0, racists. [Sky News]
The International Table Tennis Federation wants the women competitors to show a little more skin to attract a bigger audience. Sure, we all want to see women that look like men in more revealing clothing ... yummy. [Yahoo!Sports]
Mike Tyson has a brother in Tajikistan ... a boxer in the Olympics got disqualified for biting his opponent. Bonus points: Evander Holyfield was watching the fight. [SF Gate]
The swimsuits of Spain's synchronized swimmers were banned from competition for embedding lights in them. They can still flash their nipples. [NBCOlympics.com]

A Round of Applause Please...

2008-08-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

Natalie du Toit didn't want to just settle for the Paralympics Games. Despite having a prosthetic leg, the 24-year-old South African competed in the Beijing Olympics in the Marathon 10K swimming event.

The program was made available for the first time, meaning she had a better chance to qualify for the games after failing to compete in the pool events. Open water allowed her to reach her goal of getting to the Games.

She lost her leg in a motorbike accident in 2001, derailing her chances to become a star in the pool.

Unfortunately for du Toit, she did not achieve her goal of finishing in the top five ... she finished 16 out of the field of 25 (a minute and 22 seconds behind), quite a feat to still be very proud of.

Try to catch it on the "live" coverage tonight.

Cubs Better Be Careful

2008-08-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

I hope the Cubbies know what they are doing...

As previously mentioned, the Cubs have a diehard 102-year-old fan that would like to throw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field before his time on Earth has ended.

Well, the man up in years certainly would have thrown the first pitch had he been named at the landmark stadium. Just ask 7-year-old Wrigley Fields.

Jerry and Kathy Fields' son, Wrigley, will throw out the first pitch at the place he was named after. The boy is 7.

Little Wrigley Fields of Lockport will meet his destiny on August 29th at a Cubs' home game against the Philadelphia Phillies when he'll throw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field.

His mother Kathy says she mentioned Wrigley's name in front of a former Cubs official, who promised her Wrigley would get to throw out the first pitch.

If Chicago's favorite baseball team is smart, I would immediately get the old-timer on the phone to set up his first pitch at Wrigley. Karma is a bitch, and you know what bitches can do.

Bitches be acting buck wild.

*Note: picture is not Wrigley Fields, just some cute baby Cubs fan.*

Mussina to Pavano: 'You're A Pansy'

2008-08-18T22:50:00.001-07:00

Carl Pavano signed a $39.95 million, four-year contract with the Yankees prior to the 2005 season. The return? Just 19 appearances and a 5-6 record.

With such a great resume with the Yankees under his belt, it is easy to see why fans have paid little attention to his rehabilitation from elbow surgery. But Yankees' starting pitcher Mike Mussina surely has noticed, and is skeptical that Pavano can pitch with the pinstripes this year.

Mike Mussina said in spring training last year that Pavano must show his teammates he wants to pitch. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said teammates shouldn't be dubious of Pavano in his latest comeback attempt.

Belittled by New York tabloids that call him "American Idle," disparaged by some teammates for his lack of durability, Carl Pavano could return to the New York Yankees this weekend.

New York is deciding whether to pitch Pavano or Phil Hughes this weekend since the pitching staff has been hit hard with injuries. If I am Pavano I would give a rotten performance in a bullpen session and stay in the minors for the rest of the year.

Making that kind of coin away from the New York media and out of the way of ~~teammates~~ doubters. Take it Pavano. Relax, sign with another club next year, and stick it to the Yankees in 2009.

Ah the American way.

[Photo Cred: Allaroundphilly.com]

Jeff Kent Just Got A Whole Lot Cooler

2008-08-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

Someone had to finally say it.

First of all, I am all gung-ho about the history of the sports and its athletes. I especially love sports announcers I grew up listening to and who paid their lives to the games that they loved like Bob Miller, Chick Hearn, and Southern California's voice of baseball, Vin Scully.

I grew up following the Angels and Dodgers but my allegiance was always with the Angels that played so close to my hood. And I always admired Scully's knowledge of the game and his impeccable research of the players, in both leagues. But recently I have thought the dude goes off on tangents that put me to sleep. If I ever need to get some rest I tune into a Dodgers game and let Scully send me on the nap train.

Jeff Kent agrees. In an interview with the LA Times' TJ Simers, Kent said Scully: "talks too much" after the golden voice said that Kent is benefitting by hitting in front of Manny Ramirez.

"I've been here four years and I have never seen Vin Scully down here in the clubhouse," Kent said. "How does Vin Scully know me? How does Vin Scully know Derek Lowe?"

"Everyone says I'm hitting now because some guy says so on TV?" he says, and first time someone has ever called Scully "some guy."

That'a'way Kent. I know it is hard in LA after all the attention went towards Manny, but now you have brought some eyes and ears your way after those comments.

You may not see Scully in the clubhouse, but I also know that we won't see you in the Dodgers outfield seats after those comments. However, Angels fans think you're funny.

Cracker Jack Rings

2008-08-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

I used to hate the New England Patriots because I feared that they would eliminate the Indianapolis Colts like they did every year. That hate and fear turned into respect, because at the end of the day they earned the rings* (maybe with some help).

It seems as of late they are getting soft though. The players were presented with rings to commemorate last year's run, and perfect regular season march to the playoffs.

From the Boston Globe:

Owner Robert Kraft and team president Jonathan Kraft presented the players with rings. On one side of the ring, it reads "16-0 -- perfect season." On the other, it reads "18-1, AFC Championship."

In addition, a banner was made to commemorate the season, and it was unveiled at the ceremony, with Kraft pulling a rope as it came down from the ceiling. It will be displayed at Gillette Stadium, next to the team's Super Bowl banners.

"16-0 -- perfect season" with "18-1, AFC Championship" on the other side? Make up your damn mind as to what you are celebrating. Oh, and by the way, "16-0" is not a perfect season, it is a perfect regular season. Silly losers.

I never get the whole point of celebrating a loss. I don't like seeing division or conference championship banners in stadiums, what is the point. John Wooden laughs at the notion of getting rings after losing in the Super Bowl.

Those rings have as much value as Lindsay Lohan wearing a sobriety band.

For Mr. Papa Phelps

2008-08-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

We have seen her face all over the television screen for the last week ... no, not my darling Alicia Sacramone, but Michael Phelps' mother, Debbie. And although his father was in Greece for the 2004 Games, Fred Phelps was nowhere to be found in Beijing.

But that doesn't mean he was watching Michael's every move in the pool.

From the Baltimore Sun:

Our Sun colleague, Childs Walker, spoke with Fred Phelps this week to request an interview. Fred thought about it, and I think he probably handled the request as well as he could. He declined, saying he didn't want to take away from his son's accomplishments by delving into the family story.

"This is just about Michael," he said. "This is his glory, his time to shine, and I want him to get everything he wants."

Rest assured, while Phelps is in the Beijing pool, his father is paying close attention, cheering from back in Maryland.

"I'm just on pins and needles every time he hits the water," Fred Phelps said.

Here is to a great MerMan who helped produce an incredible athlete. Tom Hanks could have had a child like Michael if he had used his ~~vagina~~ penis on Daryl Hannah.

A Bolt Is Fast

2008-08-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

Usain Bolt is crazy fast. If you didn't catch the Men's 100M event from Beijing I suggest you try to find it online or at YouTube because the dude is amazing. (I would post a video from YouTube, but it will no doubt be down within a couple of hours. Puto NBC.) He made his competition look so bad that he let up with 20 meters to go to celebrate his victory.

And what was with the second and third place runners were celebrating just as much as Bolt did? Actually, they probably celebrated more.

Anyway, an interesting rumor I can across today was posed by Darren Rovell at CNBC stating Bolt may have let up at the end of the race to make money later.

You see, the reason Usain Bolt didn't push through and finish in 9.60 seconds instead of 9.69 is -- as the rumor goes -- because he's smart. He didn't want to kill his gravy train.

So, the conspiracy theory goes, that Bolt knew before the race that he had to win the race and take the gold, but not push it too much, otherwise he'd kill his opportunity at future bonuses.

"I wasn't worried about the world record," Bolt said after the race. "I didn't come here to run a world record. I came here to win."

I couldn't find any number for his agent Norman Peart, so I couldn't follow up there, but I do know that Bolt was presented with a $1.8 million check by his sponsor Digicel when he broke the record in May.

Interesting take on the celebration ... I am buying into that.

The 21-year-old will be competing Tuesday (late Monday night/early Tuesday morning US time) in the 200M semifinal. Lets see if he can best Michael Johnson's World Record time of 19.32 in the event.

USA, USA, USA!

I Want That Job

2008-08-18T17:43:00.001-07:00

The opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics got rave reviews after spectacular dances, fireworks, and singing were on display.

But shortly after people were buzzing about what went down behind the scenes leading up to, and at the ceremonies. Fake fireworks, benching a child songstress for having crooked teeth, downplaying the incident of a dancer getting paralyzed during rehearsal, and even late reporting of deaths during the building process.

One thing that worked out well for the Chinese Government's eyes was the selection of Chinese women for the opening festivities. If a woman wanted any shot to be selected she had to strip down naked and get measured up by body inspectors.

Thousands of young women from colleges and dance academies in Beijing competed for the chance to appear before a huge worldwide audience.

During the selection process, the women were required to strip so teachers judging whether they were qualified could measure their body proportions, The Beijing News said.

The women had to be at least 1.66 metres tall, have a pretty face and possess youthful energy, the report said.

What a gig ... Immediately after clicking the 'publish post' button I am going to begin writing a letter to my local Hooters franchise complaining of the quality of women. In the letter I am going to reference how the Chinese Government are much better at the selection process of women and it would only benefit the business to take on its methods.

Of course, I am patenting the process here in America, so Hooters has to hire me to do the inspections for all the Red, White, and Blue's locations. I remember you, Nicole. I remember how you treated me at the Hollywood Hooters, you will be the first to not meet the specifications.

More Than A Man, Less Than A God

2008-08-18T16:56:00.000-07:00

I know I am a little late on a Michael Phelps entry after he went eight-for-eight in his quest for domination, but it is never too late to praise an unrivaled competitor that represented the United States in the Olympics.

He is the reason I expressed more interest than usual for the Games, and once he started he had me glued to the television. He may have been the fish, but he had me hooked from the beginning. And since he finished off the best Olympic run in the history of mankind, my enthusiasm for the Games has waned.

Phelps had his goal set up and he dedicated all of his time to achieve it. I look forward to one day telling my children about the Olympics in which Phelps tore the competition a new one. There is already a DVD for sale about his run, and I almost picked up my cell phone to buy it after seeing the commercial.

Admit it, you got chills when you watched Phelps during these Games. I watched numerous YouTube videos of his victories, not only to re-watch his excellence, but to hear the people in the background of the homemade videos and their joy in their screaming as they watched him fight for another gold.

I even got chills watching this:

Now I need to look into becoming Phelps' penis for a day. I swear, if he touches Alicia Sacramone he will never be able to get in a pool again.

Smashing Event Isn't What It Used To Be

2008-08-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned last week, the Beijing Olympic athletes are provided with an unlimited amount of johnson covers.

I mean it is the right thing to do, especially when you have the most physically fit human beings all come together in one common area. Those individuals have trained their asses off, and once their events have ended there is no doubt that they want to let loose.

However, it seems as if the unofficial event of boinking is unfashionable at these Games.

Two-thirds of the 100,000 condoms available to competitors at the Beijing Games are sitting unused in the Olympic village’s medical clinic—in stark contrast to previous games.

Organizers ran out of prophylactics at the 2000 Sydney Games, which forced Athens organizers to nearly double the total available to 130,000 four years later.

“Athletes should know about the condoms—it’s a tradition of the Olympic Games,” said Vhao Wyanli, assistant director at the medical clinic inside the Olympic village. “It’s nothing new.”

The 10,500 athletes housed in the Olympic Village have access to the free condoms as part of a campaign on HIV prevention and anti-discrimination.

Of course the condoms were going to be untouched by the Redeem Team, especially this cat.

I guess I understand the athletes reasoning about concentrating on the Games instead of worrying about getting some booty. But damn, with all the fine, hot, bangin' women there, how could you not?

Alicia Sacramone better be saving herself for me.

Breaking News: Joey Chestnut Loses

2008-08-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

Yardbarker editor Dewey Hammond outdid the human garbage disposal Joey Chestnut. As you may know already, Chestnut is No. 1 in the world of competitive eating. ("Chestnut is number one. His stomach is number one. His lips is number one. His throat is number one.")

Apparently, Chestnut is a lightweight in the weight class that is beer chugging. Kobayashi is laughing somewhere right now ... that is until he looks in the mirror at his silly hair. USA, USA, USA!

[Source: Visit Yardbarker network, your favorite athletes blog there.]

This Is Just Mean

2008-08-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

But funny as hell. Aside from Alicia Sacramone being super hot, more evidence has been discovered as to why she fell in the women's group event.

I love you Alicia. I hope one day you realize that I am not stalking you, just looking out for your best interest.

Another Olympic Hot Mama

2008-08-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Naked! Not only do the Olympics bring out individuals athletic abilities, but the dirty laundry comes out as well. I wish the Olympics came every year!

Leaked photos of a member of the Swedish archery team, Sara Boberg, have hit the interweb. Unfortunately for our eyes, she is not at this year's Games.

You can find the photos at WWTDD.com, because it wouldn't be right for me to host them.

Pervert.

This One's For You Gengis Khan

2008-08-15T10:39:00.001-07:00

And for First to Third's favorite Mongolian, Mr. Dorjpalam, also known as "Rags"....

Mongolia has finally tasted gold at the Olympics after Tuvshinbayar Naidan won the 100-kilogram class of judo competition on Thursday.

His victory sent thousands of people into a main square in Ulaanbaatar to celebrate. Politicians spoke. Fireworks exploded. People sang the national anthem.

The long-awaited Olympic gold was a top story Friday to Montsame, Mongolia's national news agency.

"Mongolians are celebrating this remarkable event throughout the country with much happiness," the agency said.

I hope Naidan is not married, because that dude is getting laid like crazy once he gets back home.

Here is to you, Rags ... cheers.

McEnroe Still Has It

2008-08-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

He hasn't lost his touch. John McEnroe, at the tender age of 49, managed to get himself tossed from the over-30s Hall of Fame Champions Cup in Rhode Island on Thursday.

Volatile as ever, McEnroe got tossed from his opening match at the over-30s Hall of Fame Champions Cup on Thursday for a new kind of triple fault: Cursing, arguing with the chair umpire and making an obscene gesture at fans.

While arguing a line call, McEnroe was given a code violation warning for uttering an obscenity. When he kept up his tirade against chair umpire Ray Brodeur, he drew two abuse of official penalties.

As the argument progressed, fans at the International Hall of Fame court started yelling at McEnroe, telling him to resume play. McEnroe responded with his obscene gesture and was thrown out.

And he wasn't even losing, he was leading 6-3, 2-4 before he went apeshit.

I leave you with the best meltdown ever:

Takashi And Scholnick Got To USC

2008-08-14T17:32:00.000-07:00

Looks like USC Head Coach Pete Carroll has more problems besides having an injured starting quarterback in Mark Sanchez.

It appears as if the boys in burgundy pissed off Revenge of the Nerds stars Takashi and Scholnick, because the Trojans have jock itch.

They are victims of an ailment that has swept through the team during training camp, something that coaches refer to as "a skin irritation."
The players call it "jock itch."
As much as 25% of the team has been affected by the apparent run of tinea cruris, kicker David Buehler estimated. The condition seems to have spread by way of new compression shorts, or tights, worn under their football pants.

Sure, "jock itch," huh? Seems to me like Paris Hilton has been making her rounds at the USC facilities.

I wonder how Ogre has taken the outbreak. One tough dude.

"Looks like salad."

Cornfed Award

2008-08-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

In honor of the ladies that are getting all the attention, and to the suggestion of First to Third's best buddy Ramo, Crystl Bustos is the one lady you don't want to mess with not named Alicia Sacramone.

The 5-foot-8 native of Canyon Country, Calif. is part of the US Softball team whom is seeking its fourth consecutive gold medal in the Games. She has two home runs so far. Unfortunately for the US team, it will be the last Olympic competition for the athletes, with the committee deciding that softball will no longer be part of the games following this summer's events.

So far, the American squad is 2-0 in play and had no-hit its competition until falling behind 0-1 to Canada before play was suspended due to weather. Play will continue later Friday (China time).

I saw Bustos play against CSUF as part of the team's Beijing tour prior to the Olympics. She did not due much in the game besides intimidate me while I sat in the press box.

David Ortiz and her should make super babies. That or my buddy Devin, "that fawking broad looks like she could fawking eat me. Oh man, I don't know LJ, I have low standards but I don't know if even I can stoop that low."

Roger Federer Is Slipping

2008-08-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

James Blake slayed the ex-dragon of tennis Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of singles tennis event Olympics on Thursday night. It continued a trend of Federer as of late, unable to break from a yearlong slump. Surprisingly, RogFed hasn't won an Olympic medal in the singles event.

Blake, in his first Olympics at the age of 28, is the only American player to get past the first round of the singles matches.

In other Beijing news, an earlier state media report states that Chinese gymnast He Kexin's real age is 13.

Immediately after the women's group gymnastics event ended my cousin and I were discussing the beauty of Alicia Sacramone, when he suggested that the Chinese "women" were actually 12 years old.

In its report Nov. 3, Xinhua identified He as one of "10 big new stars" who made a splash at China's Cities Games. It gave her age as 13 and reported that she beat Yang Yilin on the uneven bars at those games. In the final, "this little girl" pulled off a difficult release move on the bars known as the Li Na, named for another Chinese gymnast, Xinhua said in the report, which appeared on one of its Web sites, www.hb.xinhuanet.com

The Associated Press found the Xinhua report on the site Thursday morning and saved a copy of the page. Later that afternoon, the Web site was still working but the page was no longer accessible. Sports editors at the state-run news agency would not comment for publication.

If the age reported by Xinhua was correct, that would have meant He was too young to be on the Chinese team that beat the United States on Wednesday and clinched China's first women's team Olympic gold in gymnastics. She is also a favorite for gold in Monday's uneven bars final.

Her birthdate was listed as Jan. 1, 1992 in Olympic reports. So clever of the Chinese, giving her a date of birth on the first day of 1992, making her exactly 16 years old.

I say Alicia beats those girls asses.

Ze Germans Are Mad At Me

2008-08-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

Immediately after I boasted that Ms. Franco was the second hottest olympian I came across four German olympiads who posed for Playboy and have moved a leg up on the "hottest women" of the Olympics.
The not-safe-for-work pictures can be found at this German Playboy site.

The Spoiler translated the information on the women:

Petra Niemann is competing in her third Olympiad, and sailing is her game. “I’ve been working hard with my psychologist,” she told Playboy, as if to suggest this had something to do with sport or being naked.

Kayaker Nicole Reinhardt is one of Germany’s best hopes for gold in Beijing, and is grateful that her sport is about technique, so the “dickere und kräftigere” (”butch”) ladies have nothing on her svelte frame.

Romy Tarangul, just 20-years-old, has sadly been eliminated from the Judo competition already. Tsk.

Katharina Scholz is a field hockey starlet, and also a WAG of ex-national hockey captain Oliver Hentschel. She isn’t the first German from her discipline to pose in the buff for the popular magazine - the hilariously-named Fanny Rinne also did so prior to the Athens Olympiad.

And the best pictures of the ladies can be found at lessclothes.com.

We once hosted a couple of hopeful olympic German soccer players at my old house. One was a goalkeeper who could beat the crap out of me. She took a liking to our swimming pool, especially our diving board. She jumped, jumped, then pow! The diving board broke, following her into the water.

The two were drinkers too, they could outdrink my Pops ... something I didn't think was possible.

Thank you for proving me wrong my German beauties ... I am thankful for your appreciation of nakedness.

Who Wants A Bronze?

2008-08-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

When it comes to the Olympics it is a great accomplishment to stand on the podium at an event finale, isn't it? To be considered as one of the top three competitors in the world in an event is something to be proud of.

Apparently not for Ara Abrahamian. The Swedish wrestler, appalled at his third place finish, decided to throw a hissy fit during the medal ceremony.

Abrahamian threw down his 84kg greco-roman bronze in disgust after his shot at gold was ended by a decision denounced by the Swedish coach as "politics".
Abrahamian took the medal from around his neck during the medal ceremony, stepped from the podium and dropped it in the middle of the mat before storming off.

Stay classy, Ara. Thousands of wrestlers would be proud to be able to stand on the podium. That guy is going to get wasted for the next couple of days.

UPDATE: The baby got stripped of the bronze medal, and no one will be awarded the third-place wrestler in his place. Waaaah.

[Source: Telegraph.co.uk]

Cubbies Fans: The Signs Are There

2008-08-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

First To Third caters to Chicago Cubs fans because the best friend of LJ is a huge Cubs fans, and the Cubs is First To Third's second favorite MLB team.

For those reasons, F-to-T finds hope for the faithful like this one or provides ways to receive good karma.

From Baseball Tonight:

The Cubs did something on Wednesday that they hadn't done in almost forever -- swept a doubleheader on the road, winning each game by at least eight runs. The last time they did that, back in 1908 against the Cardinals (according to Elias), they won a World Series.

Cubs v. Angels, World Series.

Second Hottest Olympian

2008-08-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

There is no way I can disrespect my future baby's mama, Alicia Sacramone, so I am appointing the title of second hottest olympian to Paraguay's Leryn Franco. You can watch her compete in the javelin throw competition which begins on Aug. 19, and make sure you catch her that day because she probably won't get far.

She finished 42nd in the event in Athens. When not playing with long poles, Franco models and competes in pageants. She was runner-up in the 2006 Ms. Paraguay competition.

De La Hoya Is Greedy

2008-08-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

It was supposed to be the best fight in 2008, even topping the Cotto-Margarito fight. It was supposed to be Oscar De La Hoya's last fight. It was supposed to the fight that solidified that Manny Pacquiao was the pound-for-pound best fighter of this decade.

But now IT, the boxing match that would have been the most watched of 2008, may not happen after all.

Negotiations for the fight have broken down and the mega fight that was supposed to take place on Dec. 6 may not be delivered to boxing fans around the world.

Talks reached a stalemate Wednesday when neither De La Hoya nor Pacquiao would budge from the percentage split each wanted.

According to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, De La Hoya was seeking a 70-30 revenue split in his favor while Pacquiao wanted 40 percent of an HBO PPV fight that would likely generate more than $100 million.

"Bob told me today that Manny has declined to the accept the terms," Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com. "I had a nice conversation with Bob. We'll move on and I guess Manny will move on."

De La Hoya needs to realize that he got into boxing to compete against the best, and not make enough money to buy all the fishnet he wants. If this fight does not happen it would be a slap in the face to boxing fans. De La Hoya needs to fight PacMan, for the sake of his reputation as a warrior.

Boxing fans cannot go through another fight like his last, against a inferior opponent in Steve Forbes, who exposed what De La Hoya is all about at this stage of his career: money. There is no way I, or millions of boxing fans, are willing to fork over cash for another bout like that.

Man up De La Hoya, take the 60-40 that PacMan wants and end your career with some dignity instead of leaving all boxing fans with this word in mind: coward.

Weights Are Heavy

2008-08-13T13:56:00.000-07:00

My sister asked me to go to the gym with her yesterday, to which I replied: "no thanks, the Angels game is about to start and they don't serve beer at the gym."

Now I have a new reason not to go, "I like to keep my arms intact."

She Should Have Punched The Chinese

2008-08-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

US women's gymnast Alicia Sacramone is quickly becoming my new favorite person in the Olympics and on planet Earth.

Sure, she blew it when the pressure was on, but this girl could knock out all the baby Chinese gymnasts all by herself. And kudos to her for doing it to a douchebag, AND she's a southpaw!

I'm in love.
*Updated* With gluteus maximus goodness.

Team USA Needs This Broad

2008-08-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Video is NSFW, as it shows a streaker. Girl has some skills.

The Men's US Soccer team was eliminated from the Olympics after losing to Nigeria 2-1. Luckily for the US men, soccer is not popular in the states and their lives will be spared.

Hanks Needs Superman

2008-08-13T00:12:00.000-07:00

Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner has already declared that 2009 will be the year for the Pinstripes.

And even though he made the ~~brilliant~~ stupid prediction, he hasn't written off the Yankees current season.

"I'm not writing off this season," the team's co-chairman said Tuesday. "They're trying hard to win. There's only so much you can do. They're not supermen."

The Yankees are missing starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, who likely will miss the rest of the season because of a foot injury, and Joba Chamberlain, who hopes to return from right rotator cuff tendinitis. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have missed most of the season.

"I think it's very simple, we've been devastated by injuries. No team I've ever seen in baseball has been decimated like this. It would kill any team," Steinbrenner said. "Imagine the Red Sox without [Josh] Beckett and [Jon] Lester. Pitching is 70 percent of the game. Wang won 19 games two straight years. Chamberlain became the most dominating pitcher in baseball. You can't lose two guys like that."

Steinbrenner needs to ease up on his mouth movements. Chamberlain, the most dominating pitcher in baseball? He does know that Joba has not done a thing in baseball except prove he has a dead arm?

Brian Cashman is going to kill Hank.

Steinbrenner can find Superman in Beijing. 11 and counting, suck it, bitter Spitz!

Wrestling Without Clothes Is Fun...

2008-08-12T23:56:00.000-07:00

In two instances:
1. With a member of the opposite sex.
2. When watching two females partake in the activity, in a pool of orbitz soda.

Two Nebraska wrestlers have been kicked off the team after photos of the pair hit the Internet. The photo shoot on Fratmentv.com was discovered by the athletic department and responded by declaring the athletes ineligible "because they violated an NCAA rule that prohibits athletes from appearing in pictures for commercial use."

John Marsh, who operates Fratmentv.com and two related Web sites catering to gay men, said he's spoken with Donahoe and Jordan and that both indicated they want to continue as college wrestlers. He said Donahoe was a "dynamite" wrestler.

"If Nebraska is going to be pigheaded and kick him off unreasonably," Marsh said, "there has to be another wrestling program that's going to want him."

Marsh said most photo and video shoots are done in Los Angeles, where Fratmentv.com is based, but that some are done at other locations. Members of Fratmentv.com pay $24.99 for access to hundreds of images and videos.

What I want to know is who discovered the photos and alerted the athletic department. I am sure other collegiate wrestlers are looking forward to getting on the mat with those two soon.

Olympics - Women's Gymnastics

2008-08-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

One of the most highly-watched event in the Olympics for male audiences, from ages 11 all the way to super pervert 50, is women's gymnastics.

The US women's squad was expected to fend off the Chinese team for the gold medal in the event. Unfortunately, the American ladies choked their lead away and watched the home team receive the gold medals.

As soon as I started watching the "live coverage" (more on that to come) of the event I knew Team USA was going to blow it. I always keep my eye out for the hottest gymnast on the team to see which one is going to blow it for USA. And as soon as I saw Alicia Sacramone's pretty face and continuous smile I knew it: "you're gonna blow it sweetheart."

The hot ones always do in women's gymnastics.

The Americans performed ahead of the Chinese in the final rotation, the floor exercise. After team captain Alicia Sacramone landed her second pass flat on her back, the gold medal was gone. Sacramone knew it, crouching on the steps by the floor, her head buried in her hands, disbelief etched across her face.

Hers wasn’t the only mistake. Shawn Johnson—the reigning all-around and floor world champion—stepped out of bounds on floor. So did Nastia Liukin.

Just look Sacramone, she is too pretty to have that killer instinct.

Oh well, at least she can get loose with unlimited free condoms! Damn, I wish I had a ticket to Beijing just to console her and we'd be doing it safely!

Now to NBC's whole "live coverage" nonsense. Who the hell does Bob Costas and NBC think they are kidding? They do realize it is 2008 and the real "live" results are a click away on the interweb? I hate that they keep going to clips of Michael Phelps and saying "he is 50 minutes from attempting for another gold," when in fact he already won two golds in the span of the telecast. I can't sit around and watch the taped versions so I just hit the Internet and find out the results early to ruin it for everybody else. People go apeshit when you ruin taped footage of sporting events.

My favorite was when a couple of my friends taped a Lakers-Nuggets game in the playoffs because they were too lazy to get ready in time to watch the contest. So I did what any good friend would do, pulled out my cellphone and constantly updated them as to what was happening in real time. I pretended like I stopped once the game got into the fourth quarter and began calling out for shooters to take the jumper. I was God for five minutes, and I liked.

Anyway, Alicia told me to dump my girlfriend because she can't do this.

Coach K Doesn't Show Off

2008-08-12T06:08:00.001-07:00

When Team USA Basketball's Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski was asked about the numerous showboating dunks thrown down in the blowout of China his reply irked a Kansas City Star writer.

“There was no showing off,” he said with an edge in his voice. “You dunk when you have to dunk. They have 7-footers. If you don’t take it hard, Yao would block it. He did block one. … I don’t know your definition of showing off, to me that’s hard basketball. I thought we played very hard. I thought we took it to the basket hard. Don’t confuse hard with showing off.”

He then glared at the person who asked the question, a reporter with an accent. And he said: “Maybe it’s a difference in our languages. Maybe in your language playing hard means showing off.”

Tar Heels fans have to be eating this article up. The journalist goes on to say that Coach K gets "an F in diplomacy." I say who cares, Mr. Posnanski. The American "Redeem Team" is on a mission to dismantle all that stand in their way, feelings hurt or not. It's not like Yao is not used to getting posterized in the NBA:

Coach K and the Redeem Team are did what they are supposed to be do early this morning, beating Angola by 21 points, 97-76. One thing I am took from the game? Kobe needs to stop shooting threes. His shooting is horrible behind the arc in the Games so far.

Up next for the U.S. ballers is Greece on Thursday. Petros Papadakis claims that Greece will beat USA.

Journalism At Its Best

2008-08-12T05:45:00.000-07:00

Interviews like that are the exact reason I want to be a journalist, and why journalists get such a good rep. I've had some awkward interviews where you ask something, get no reply and just move as fast as possible to end the conversation because of the uncomfortable feeling.

Me: Had that play gone a different way the game might have turned out different.
Coach: What are you talking about? We still needed to score to win the game...
Me: *Fake laughing* Thanks for you time, see you tomorrow night.

Really though, the dude is obviously playing a joke on Cassell, but it is very entertaining to know ET doesn't know that.

Cubs Better Do This, Or Else...

2008-08-12T04:48:00.001-07:00

The Chicago Cubs will curse themselves for a guaranteed 100 more years if they do not give in to a loyal 104-year-young fan who wants to throw the first pitch at Wrigley Field, particularly during the playoffs.

Leo Hildebrand, born in 1903, hopes to get his chance this October.

A lifelong Cubs fan, Hildebrand wants to throw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field for a game during the Cubs' expected playoff run. His neighbor and good friend, Henny Kronvold, tried to persuade the Cubs to let Hildebrand pitch last season, but the Cubs politely told her all of the slots were taken, Kronvold said.

"He can't wait much longer," said Arlene Burm, Hildebrand's 69-year-old daughter.

Jason Carr, a Cubs spokesman, said the organization reviews and considers all first-pitch requests.

It is one thing to piss off a goat-keeper who wants to wet his whistle, but to shun a man who has passed the century mark? I would have to console my best friend for the rest of his life because of the curse that would haunt the Cubs forever.

The story goes on:

While Hildebrand remains eager to show the Cubs his stuff, he's got plenty to keep himself occupied.

Once a week, he and his pastor drive around in a black BMW convertible, spreading cheer and hope to parishioners who are too old or too sick to make it to church.

Hildebrand says that's why he's still alive -- because "the Lord up above decided I had more to do."

A lifelong fan and one of God's good-doers? Now you know the Cubbies have to comply to Hildebrand.

[Source: Chicago Sun-Times. Photo: Richard A. Chapman/Sun-Times]

Spain Wants To Fit In

2008-08-12T04:30:00.000-07:00

For those you who have not seen the photo pictured above you can bet China's basketball team is really kicking themselves about blowing a 15-point lead against Spain on Tuesday morning.

Spain's Olympic basketball teams have risked upsetting their Chinese hosts by posing for a pre-Games advert making slit-eyed gestures. The advert for a courier company, which is an official sponsor of the Spanish Basketball Federation, occupied a full page in the sports daily Marca, the country's best-selling newspaper.

The advert features two large photographs, one of the men's basketball team, above, and one of the women's team. Both squads pose in full Olympic kit on a basketball court decorated with a picture of a Chinese dragon. Every single player appears pulling back the skin on either side of their eyes. The advert carries the symbol of the sport's governing body.

No one involved in the advert appears to have considered it inappropriate nor contemplated the manner in which it could be interpreted in China and elsewhere. No offence was intended by the advert, but whether the Chinese see it that way is a different matter and it is likely to provoke more criticism at a delicate time for Spanish sport.

Damn, the Spanish are ruthless. They just blew any chance they had with any Chinese-born females while in Beijing ... unless the chick's initials are B.L., she's easy.

[Source: The Guardian]

Olympics Are Here And So Is Wang Zhi Zhi

2008-08-12T03:28:00.000-07:00

The Olympics started off lukewarm until the U.S. men swimmers humiliated the French ~~swimmers~~ chokers in the pool.

It inspired me to stay up on Sunday night through Monday morning watching rowing, and now am totally consumed in everything Olympics.

Early this morning, two basketball medal hopefuls Spain and China needed overtime to decide their contest. Yao Ming fouled out (of course) and China choked away a 15-point lead in the 85-75 final. Pau Gasol and the Spaniards ruined the triumphant return of ex-Dallas Maverick Wang Zhi Zhi, who looked like the player he never was in the NBA. Wang carried China throughout, hitting jumpers en route to 15 points and even tying the score at 72 apiece to set up overtime.

Gasol, who had 29 points and eight boards, actually showed up during crunch time, and I am sure Kobe really enjoyed watching his Laker teammate come through in an important game. Spain's coach may have seen the NBA Finals because Pau was curiously on the bench with a couple minutes left in regulation, replaced by his younger brother Marc.

I guess all the Lakers needed was an overtime game in the Finals to get an aggressive Pau. Silly Spaniards, the American squad used four quarters to beat China by 31.

Here is to hoping that Wang can don(g) a Clippers jersey again.

And Michael Phelps is a beast in the pool going three-for-three in achieving gold so far. Phoebe Cates was the last reason I watched anything associated with a pool.

Oh, and the Chinese trapeze artists are crazy good at gymnastics ... beating the surprisingly-competitive third place American men squad.

Kevin Garnett: Overrated?

2008-05-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

The past couple of days the idea has been kicked around on whether to put this post up or not.

But it was decided to post it after seeing a glorified picture of Kevin Garnett up on ESPN following the Boston Celtics game 5 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

How was Garnett allowed to even participate in that game? More on that later...

Garnett is in his thirteenth year in the NBA and has treated NBA fans, specifically Minnesota and now Boston with nothing but passion for the game. His heart and talent is unquestioned in that sense.

What is being questioned is his ability to win when the odds are against him ... when the fire is ablaze.

Why does he get a pass? Because he plays like a warrior?
The media rips, and holds other stars accountable for never winning a championship, yet turn their cheek when talking about Garnett.

And really, I do not think he has what it takes to take a team to that "next level."
A great talent he truly is, but he has never taken a team as far as his heart would like ... granted, he only had two opportunities in Minnesota to do so due to the lack of talent around him.

But what has to be recognized is that he shies away when presented with pressure and gets too emotional on the floor, losing his focus in the process.

Garnett is hiding behind something when he does a primal scream on the court. He is making us try to forget that he has not won a ring when he pumps his chest repeatedly with a snarl on his face.

Some superstars keep their calm in a storm. Others fight, claw and lose their cool. Garnett chooses the latter.

Take for example the incident in game 4 of this year's first round:

He does know that he is fighting with Zach Pachulia, right? Why would he throw an elbow after the play was dead? And Garnett started to get "crazy" after being pulled away from the ruckus. For what? To pump up his teammates?

All that did was encourage his actions. And speaking of his actions, how he did not get suspended is beyond me.

Well, I do know how he did not get suspended: his name and reputation.

No way does Ron Artest, Rasheed Wallace, or even Kobe Bryant get away with pushing a referee away that is trying to calm them down.

When he had Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell on the Timberwolves he was the third option when it came to fourth quarter shots. Instead of banging in the paint Garnett was, and is, taking jump shots.

Garnett is not on the level of Bryant, LeBron James, or Karl Malone. And I mentioned Malone for a specific reason, he never won a ring as the model power forward. But Malone could blame #23 from preventing him from getting that ring (and the Detroit Pistons and a bum knee in 2004).

What Malone did do was hit his jumpers and bang in the paint ... along with carrying the team. He was the first option, John Stockton being the second.

Unless Garnett checks his emotions, he will always be a player considered a superstar and with numbers to back it, but one that let his feelings spill too much onto the hardwood - killing the chance for him, and those around him, to get that elusive ring.

And by the way ... it will not be happening with Boston anytime soon.

Arte Moreno - Great Owner

2008-04-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

From my friend Stacey about her experience with Los Angeles Angels Owner Arte Moreno last night:

Well first of all, when he was leaving after the Angel game tonite, of course he signed autographs and took pictures...he's kickass like that. He also told Jason he remembered him from spring training...he gave him a signed ball after one of the games because Jason had waved at him to say hello.

He proceeds to offer the group of us tickets for the game tomorrow...they will be in will-call...they're pretty good seats too!!

Then he asks if we had shirts...it was funny because no one had an Angel shirt on. Someone asked if he was gonna give us shirts. Well, he said we needed to look like real Angel fans so he had the workers open the already closed team store...by then a group of people had gathered around to see what was going on...he let everyone...probably between 30 and 40 people by then...go into the team store and pick out whatever shirt they wanted and gave it to us for FREE. He also threw in hats too! Can you freakin believe that?? It was pretty damn cool...I got pictures because he stood at the register and signed everyone's hat and shirt and took more pictures until the last person got their stuff.

I've always thought he was a nice guy, but that was really an unforgetable experience...so there's my shout-out to Arte Moreno...best owner in baseball...and one hell of a kick-ass Mexican!!

I am sure other owners in professional sports have done things like that, and know they donate to charities, but to hear it first hand from a friend makes me appreciate respect the Angels owner even more than I already do.

Moreno could have easily taken the back door out of the stadium and left the park unnoticed. Instead, he decides to go out in public knowing that Angels fans would recognize him, and treats them to free gear and tickets.

A great man, a great man.

Although, he did raise the light up cups in right field by a dollar. I am just saying ... I guess we all have our imperfections.

Dwight Howard Left One Out...

2008-04-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

Patrick Ewing Jr. had an impressive dunk in last night's State Farm College Slam Dunk Championships.

Dwight Howard better step up his game if Ewing Jr. gets to the NBA.

Just kidding, Howard had the best contest I have seen in years ... perhaps better than Vince Carter, the year that ~~catapulted his career~~ defined his career.

Soccer Players Want To Use Their Hands

2008-04-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

The above video shows why soccer players get a bad rap.

HSV's midfielder David Jarolim has been squeezed with a four-game suspension for the action he performed in the above last Saturday.

Growing up I played soccer against my own blood, Mexicans, and I must admit "ball grabbing" was a tactic that was used by my kind to make the opposition think twice about contesting for the ball.

No wonder Jim Rome hates soccer.

At least I was reminded of the age-old tactic and can use it on Sunday in my soccer league.

Yes, I just admitted to being in a soccer league.

Balls.

Pringle Disappoints Chips Community

2008-04-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

Why bother with the first couple of dates when you can get straight to the point?

Penn State point guard Stuart Pringle saw what he liked in the university library and let it all out for a female he took a liking to last Thursday.

Police said Pringle, the team's point guard, sat behind the victim in the stacks section of the library, attempted to start a conversation with the woman and began masturbating.

Do not be quick to judge Pringle, there might be adult comic books in the stacks section of the library.

Nothing turns the ladies on more than masturbating behind them and whispering sweet nothings.

I have a hard enough time getting myself to use the restroom for the good ol' No. Deuce at school - how the hell did Pringle decide to do this?

I guess I applaud how "ballsy" he got on this one... Spring is indeed in the air.

Other members of the chips community could not be reached for comment.

Marvin Lewis: "Ocho Cinco, Callate!"

2008-04-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

Chad Johnson does not want to play with the Cincinnati Bengals under head coach Marvin Lewis but it does not look like Ocho Cinco has a choice.

Lewis is not hearing that mess and wants Johnson to know that he will play with the Bengals, or no one. Johnson recently said that he would retire if he was not traded.
Lewis goes on to say:

"We've been dealing with this inside for over a year and we'll be prepared to move on," Lewis said. "He has a contract through 2011. If he plays NFL football it will be in Cincinnati, or he has to do what he says and that's retire. That would be a shame. We'll do everything we can to help him out of this and try to restore his image.
"Unfortunately Chad put himself in that situation. A lot of people who really had an affection for him fan-wise and people around the league see him in a different light and that's unfortunate. Some of the things he's gone on record and said one way or the other he's going to have to deal with them one way or the other. ... He's said he's probably going to sit out. I think you've got to own up and do it. Hopefully he'll do what Kobe Bryant did this year. He had a very accomplished season (after his trade demands). The Cincinnati Bengals hold the cards through the 2011 season."

Bravo to Lewis for not backing down from the demands from a spoiled wide receiver. This broken record of pro athletes demanding trades "or else," got old the day it was invented.

Other Bengals' players have not come out against Lewis, so the problem must lie in Johnson's gold grill that does not stop moving.

Let this punk retire, he promised "unbelievable" touchdown celebrations last season only to let the public down.
Pull out your prank HOF jacket, Chad. That is the closest you are going to get to having one of them.

I used to like the dude too.

Dodgers Fans Do Something Angels Fans Can't...

2008-04-02T14:19:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I overlooked what possibilities the Los Angeles Dodgers-Boston Red Sox exhibition game held at the LA Coliseum would bring.

100,000 fans, majority of which would be Dodgers fans, and majority of which would be Mexicans, sitting with obnoxious, snooty Red Sox fans.

I love how the camera man, or someone next to him says: "there is an Angels fan..."

Red Sox fans waltz into Angels Stadium and do as they please whenever they visit. At worst peanuts get thrown at the Red Sox fans.

But not with Dodgers fans ... they will break off Red Sox fans if they feel slighted in even the littlest bit.

I should have attended the game disguised as a Dodgers fan and pointed out every Red Sox fan that said something to my vato hermanos and watched the beauty that ensued.

John McEnroe Thinks You Are Crazy

2008-04-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

The dude wacking himself in the above video is Mikhail Youzhny in a match against Spain's Nicolas Almagro at the Sony Ericsson Open.

Youzhny got upset after giving up a point on an unforced error so he did what any sensible person would do ... knocked some sense into himself.

I love how the Spaniard goes over and laughs at the silliness of the whole mess, but if I were Almagro I would have been pissed that Youzhny got time to think about the match in a break he set up with his head.

Youzhny ended up coming back in the match and winning, and could only imagine what he would have done to himself had he lost.

He probably would have enlisted the help of fellow Russian Maria Sharapova to hit tennis balls at his own set for hours on end.

A Living Legend Retires

2008-03-04T10:27:00.000-08:00

A legend has decided hang up his helmet.

Brett Favre, after playing 17 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, will not be returning for his 18th season.

There are players that transcend the game. They are bigger than the game itself.

Favre was that type of player. On the football field he was less than a god, more than a man.

He is the type of quarterback you think about when you say "franchise quarterback."

The Green Bay Packers were already an team considered to be part of "America's teams," but with Favre in Lambeau for 17 seasons it only raised the mystique of the franchise.

People rooted for Favre when their teams were not in the playoffs. They rooted for Favre to break records. They rooted for Favre because he was a warrior.

He was blue collar. He was America's quarterback. Down to Earth ... a man that we could all see ourselves hanging out with in a local watering hole, at the Home Depot, or at the neighborhood barbeque.

In his last season his energy on the field made him look 24 again, not 38. It was a thing of beauty.

What it did for sports fans was rejuvenate our souls. Watching Favre act young again brought out hope and memories for those who once had those glory days, whether long or short.

It made us believe we could act young again. It reminded us why we play sports in the first place. The joy, the innocence, the passion.

Favre is football. Favre is the NFL. Favre is the Green Bay Packers.

Favre will forever live one.

Some highlights of his career (from Chicago Tribune, via the AP):

Sept. 13, 1992, at Tampa Bay. Favre completes his first NFL pass -- to himself. A deflected pass lands in Favre's hands, and he is tackled for a 7-yard loss. Favre completes eight of 14 passes for 73 yards.

Sept. 20, 1992, vs. Cincinnati at Lambeau Field. Replaces injured starter Don Majkowski in the first quarter, and never looks back. Favre leads two scoring drives in the final eight minutes of the game. His 35-yard touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds remaining gives the Packers a come-from-behind 24-23 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Nov. 15, 1992, vs. Philadelphia in Milwaukee. Despite sustaining a first-degree separation of his left shoulder early in the game, Favre leads the Packers to a come-from-behind 27-24 victory. Reggie White, then a defensive end for the Eagles, would later say the toughness Favre showed was a factor in his decision to sign with Green Bay as a free agent in the offseason.

Jan. 8, 1994, at Detroit. With the Packers trailing 24-21 in the final minute of a Wild Card playoff game, Favre rolls to his left and throws across his body, completing a 40-yard pass to Sterling Sharpe on the other side of the field with 55 seconds remaining to give the Packers a 28-24 victory.

Oct. 31, 1994, at Chicago. Playing with a severely bruised hip in a driving rainstorm at Soldier Field, Favre rushes for a career-high 58 yards -- including a 36-yard touchdown in the second quarter when Favre leaped over a Bears defender -- and leads the Packers to a 33-6 victory.

Dec. 18, 1994, vs. Atlanta in Milwaukee. With the Packers needing a victory to keep their playoff chances alive, Favre's diving 9-yard touchdown run with 14 seconds left gives the Packers a 21-17 victory over the Falcons in the final football game at County Stadium.

Sept. 11, 1995, at Chicago. Favre throws a 99-yard touchdown pass to Robert Brooks -- becoming only the eighth QB in league history to do so -- and the Packers beat the Bears 27-24.

Nov. 12, 1995, vs. Chicago at Lambeau. Playing with a severely sprained left ankle that forced him to the bench in the previous week's game at Minnesota and would eventually require offseason surgery, Favre throws five touchdown passes in a 35-28 victory over the Bears.

Dec. 24, 1995, vs. Pittsburgh at Lambeau. Favre rolls out and is hit hard by three Steelers defenders, forcing the Packers to call timeout and sending Favre to the sidelines coughing up blood. He returns to throw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Mark Chmura on the next play. The Packers' 24-19 victory clinches the division title.

Jan. 6, 1996, at San Francisco. Favre completes 21 of 28 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns as the Packers knock the defending Super Bowl champion 49ers out of the playoffs with a 27-17 victory.

Jan. 4, 1997, vs. San Francisco at Lambeau. Playing in rough weather conditions, Favre completes only 11 of 15 passes for 79 yards, but the Packers roll to a 35-14 playoff victory over the 49ers.

Jan. 12, 1997, vs. Carolina at Lambeau Field. Favre is 19-of-29 for 292 yards in the Packers' NFC Championship game victory over the Panthers, 30-13.

Jan. 26, 1997. In Super Bowl XXXI at the Louisiana Superdome. Favre is 14-of-27 for 246 yards and no interceptions to beat the New England Patriots 35-21 -- the Packers' first championship in 29 years. Favre throws a 54-yard touchdown pass to Andre Rison on his first throw of the game. Later, he throws a Super Bowl-record 81-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman.

Jan. 11, 1998, at San Francisco. Trudging through the mud in sloppy San Francisco, Favre is 16-of-27 for 222 yards and a touchdown as the Packers beat the 49ers 23-10 to advance to the Super Bowl for the second straight season, where they lose to the Denver Broncos 31-24.

Dec. 3, 2001, at Jacksonville. Favre throws for 362 yards and three touchdowns, but wins with his feet. Favre's 6-yard touchdown run with 1:30 remaining -- his first rushing touchdown in three years -- gives the Packers a come-from-behind 28-21 victory.

Nov. 2, 2003, at Minnesota. One game after breaking the thumb on his right hand, Favre throws three touchdowns in a 30-27 victory over the Vikings.

Dec. 22, 2003, at Oakland. Playing on Monday Night Football the day after his father, Irvin, died, Favre is 22-of-30 for 399 yards and four touchdowns as the Packers beat the Oakland Raiders 41-7.

Jan. 4, 2004, at Lambeau. Favre throws for 319 yards to get the Packers to overtime, and Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck -- Favre's former understudy -- proclaims after the coin flip that "We want the ball and we're gonna score!" They don't. Hasselbeck throws an interception that is returned for a touchdown and the Packers win 33-27 in overtime.

Nov. 14, 2004, vs. Minnesota at Lambeau Field. Favre throws four touchdown passes in a game for the 18th time in his career, but the Vikings rally to tie the game with 1:20 remaining. Favre drives the Packers to a last-second field goal and a 34-31 victory.

Dec. 31, 2006, at Chicago. Favre throws for 285 yards and a touchdown a 26-7 victory over the Bears, the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC. Favre gets choked up in a television interview after the game, leading some to believe he had played his final game. But after once again mulling retirement, he decides to return.

Sept. 30, 2007, at Minnesota. Favre throws his record-breaking 421st career touchdown pass to Greg Jennings, breaking Dan Marino's career record in a 23-16 victory.

Oct. 29, 2007 at Denver. Favre throws an 82-yard touchdown to Greg Jennings on the first play from scrimmage in overtime, leading the Packers to a 19-13 victory.

Jan. 12, 2008 vs. Seattle at Lambeau. Favre frolics in heavy snow showers, hitting on three touchdown passes -- and hitting wide receiver Donald Driver with a snowball in a 42-20 Packers playoff romp.

Jan. 20, 2008 vs. New York Giants at Lambeau. Aside from a 90-yard touchdown to wide receiver Donald Driver, Favre generally struggles in subzero temperatures in the NFC Championship game. His interception in overtime sets up the Giants' game-winning field goal, and the Packers lose 23-20.

My favorite moment was the Monday Night Football game in which Favre played the day after his father died.

What a performance with such a heavy heart. I tried to play a soccer game in a YMCA game a week after my father died and I could not concentrate one bit. This was in front of other players and two people watching.

I could only imagine going out on national television in the NFL the day after my father died.

That game was remarkable and I will always remember watching on that Monday evening.

Records he holds as a quarterback:

Most AP NFL MVP awards: 3 (1995, 1996, 1997)
Most consecutive starts by a quarterback (NFL): 253 (275 including playoffs)
Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL) regular season career: 160 (Regular season record: 160-93)
Most career passing touchdowns: 442
Most career passing yards: 61,655
Most career pass completions: 5,377
Most career pass attempts: 8,758
Most career interceptions thrown: 288
Most career games with at least three touchdowns: 63

May be so lucky to be blessed with another Favre in the generations to come...

Belichick Gets A Cover

2008-02-28T17:35:00.001-08:00

If you have ever read First To Third, then you know that the New England Patriots and anything related to them recently are a fun target.

Especially Bill "Emperor Palpatine" Belichick.

The Patriots may not have won the Super Bowl against the New York Football Giants, but Belichick got the honor of donning the front of a magazine cover for an upcoming issue.

The magazine? Spirit, a gay and lesbian magazine.

The Evil Genius, sporting his shiny barber smock in the photo, really isn’t the focus of the Spirt cover story. Sadly. He’s just a prop to illustrate the piece that asks the age-old question: “If one of Boston’s professional athletes announced he was gay would his team and the fans rally around him?”
Spirit Publisher David Zimmerman said they chose Belichick to be their March/April covercoach because “he is, currently, the most recognizable coach in the New England area.”

Palpatine is probably real happy about this. I can just hear his comment now:
"We're gonna worry about this issue at hand. Gonna move past it once the next issue comes out. That's not a question, we are done."

First To Third has no problem with the gay and lesbian community, but just takes any opportunity it can to tease Belichick (not that he even cares what I have to say).

Suck it Belichick. Wait, wait, I don't want to think about that.

UCLA Deserves A Number 1 Seed

2008-02-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

As the NCAA college basketball regular season comes closer to an end I will break down who I think deserves a number 1 seed in the tournament.

Until then, I must say UCLA deserves that distinction, and I will openly say that is a biased opinion because I want to see them play live three miles away at the Honda Center.

I will say it now, the Bruins will make another trip to the Final Four this year in large part to the experience of players like Darren Collison, and the freshman phenom in Kevin Love. But an x-factor is Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook can create his shot just as good as the departed Arron Afflalo, and his intensity on defense is the highest on the Bruins squad. His energy level is the key to the Bruins success, as evidenced in the above video of him sparking his team to a comeback victory over the Oregon Ducks this past weekend.

Dude has some of the best facials this year in NCAA basketball.

Strahan Mulling Retirement

2008-02-26T18:15:00.000-08:00

Michael Strahan says he will make his decision whether or not to retire by mid-April.

Last summer, it appeared Strahan might not be a part of anything with the Giants. He sat out training camp while mulling retirement. He says it was not a money ploy, simply uncertainty whether he still had the desire to play.

He'll go through the same process this year, but promises his decision won't take anywhere near so long. After a vacation in March, Strahan said he will weigh his options and most likely let the team know by mid-April, before the NFL draft, if he is coming back.

Strahan states that money is not an issue now that he has won a championship. Sure Michael, lie through that gap of yours. He also stated that money was not the reason he went back to the Giants last year.

Strahan, you are not fooling anybody. We all know money is very much part of it, especially since you had to pay your ex-wife $15 million in your divorce settlement. That amount was half of his net worth.

Swallow your pride and admit that you need that coin. I would. I would play until a team kicked me off the squad if I had a divorce settlement that cost me that much dollar.

You are a good guy, and always a good interview, so just admit that you are going to come back and make a ton of money that your ex-wife cannot touch.

1986 Dodgers Are The Boogie Bunch

2008-02-26T17:47:00.000-08:00

These dudes make me want to go and purchase a satin jacket on ebay ASAP. Pedro Guerrero and Orel Hershiser own in this video.

Dedicated to my cousin, Grandpa Whiffer, a huge Dodgers fan that likes to go to sleep before 9 p.m.

Side note: I was at a swap a month ago and there was a sports memorabilia vendor there. Written on one of their tables? "Angles suck, Dodgers rule!"

At least Dodgers' fans can spell their own team name right... getting by in this world, one word at a time.

Advertising On NBA Backboards?

2008-02-26T17:01:00.000-08:00

The NBA and Spalding plan to test advertising on backboards during NBA Development League play next year.

Initial plans have the system being tested in the NBA Development League next year. The screens would be used before games and during timeouts, and likely be given to teams to sell as incremental ad inventory. During games, they could be used for enhancements, like showing the last ticks of an expiring 24-second clock or quarter. When not in use, the technology is invisible to players.

I like it. Why not? I especially like the part about the expiring 24-second clock on the backboard. That would allow the player shooting to focus his sight more towards the rim than above the backboard where the clock resides now.

The technology can also be used for the benefit of all levels of basketball.

There are some fascinating applications. Imagine a coach showing the previous night’s game film, or some other scouting footage on the backboard while putting his team through its paces. Home hoopsters could participate in clinics, play their favorite video or mount a small video camera on the backboard, or could play H-O-R-S-E across thousands of miles via Internet hookup.

That backboard would have been sick to have around when Derek Fisher sunk the San Antonio Spurs with his famous 0.4 shot heard around the world. The picture from that shot is already awesome with the lights around the backboard, but imagine it with "0.0" in big red lights on the backboard with the ball in the air.

Back To The Orlando Magic Days

2008-02-26T14:50:00.000-08:00

Tracy McGrady is real happy today after news that his all-star starting center, Yao Ming, will be out for the rest of the season.

McGrady will be taken back to his days with the Orlando Magic and will try to keep the Houston Rockets afloat in the tough Western Conference. I emphasize try because I doubt wonk eye will be able to do that, not like Yao did with McGrady out.

McGrady has shown in the past that he is not the type of player to carry a team, whether it be in the regular season, or if he is talking about the second round of the playoffs before he gets out of the first round.

The Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors both thank you Yao... the Rockets will slip out of the playoffs and open up a spot, allowing both of them to enter the playoffs.

How do you say Mr. Glass in Chinese?

Weekly Lazy Entry

2008-02-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

I guess you can say that the last two weeks have been lazy entries, or you can be politically correct and say there have been no postings in that time.

Fans, I am sorry. Bored souls, sorry that you clicked on here only to find nothing. Haters, I love you.

Anyway, life has been crazy hectic and I am still not caught up, but that is the fun part.

Some of these links are old, but I like to think of them as timeless.

Enjoy, and I promise not to leave you for such a long time again.

- An Oregon high school basketball coach flipped his noodle and assaulted a 17-year-old referee, along with cutting the hand of a female scorekeeper when he slammed his clipboard on it which got him his second technical foul. He set a great example, as angry fans stormed the court as a direct result of his tirade. Stay classy.

- The Jamestown Vikings trashed a hotel because they thought it was owned by the owner of the team;

There has to be some rock stars on that team. I still plan on doing that to an auto shop that busted up my first truck.

- Another day, another Raider arrested. NFL needs its own jail to house all their criminals.

- Former NBA player, and current ESPN "analyst" Jon Barry loves to party away from his wife and children with Jose Cuervo girls.

- Remember I posted the perfectville video that Reebok made for the Miami Dolphins? Well if you disremembered (patent pending, Roger Clemens), it was released after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots and was made in commemoration of the 1972 Dolphins and their perfect season... well here is the version that would have been released had the Patriots not ~~choked~~ lost:

Suck it Belichick.

- Annoying arguing on ESPN reverts to name calling, courtesy of John Salisbury:

Screw USC.

- A nine-year-old girl has been banned from her local tennis club after complaints came from her opposition about her grunts. Her favorite tennis player? Maria "master squealer" Sharapova.

- Erin Andrews has a hot backside, just ask this creepy Milwaukee Brewers fan.

The Panic Button

2008-02-26T10:10:00.000-08:00

Did the Phoenix Suns push the panic button a little too early when they made the trade for Shaquille O'Neal? Growing up a Los Angeles Lakers fan I have become accustomed to teams feeling inferior to the Lakers.

They are the team to beat, every year, no matter what. Anytime a team goes into the Lakers' house they play their very best. Playing in front of Hollywood stars and seeing the championship banners in the rafters can do a funny thing to opposing teams.

The Suns obviously made the Shaq trade in response to the Lakers acquiring Pau Gasol for Stone Hands and a bag of chips.

Is it going to work out for the Suns? Early indications are no. Shaq looked horrible Sunday versus the Detroit Pistons (3-8 from the field, 1-8 from the foul line) but he did get 11 rebounds in the loss. In their win versus the Boston Celtics he had 4 points on 1-5 shooting, while grabbing 14 rebounds.

Shaq is not going to get 15+ shots in a game, probably will not get 10 shots in a game, so the offense is going to have to come from Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash. Stoudemire has looked great with Shaq taking up the paint, but how much of the load can the dude take on?

Five to six minute bursts each quarter for Shaq is probably the best way to go for the Suns. Sad to see a giant fall in front of our eyes.

That is what they are missing with Shawn Marion over in Miami: his versatility to do what they need. Shaq will do a couple things for the Suns: rebound (when he feels like it), take up the paint, get a couple of alley-oop dunks. With Marion they had three-point shooting, rebounding, his driving to the basket, defense on the opposing teams' best player, assists... the list goes on.

Perhaps Mike D'Antoni saw the smile on Phil Jackson's face post-Gasol trade and thought to himself, "I want that."

Patriots' Fans: Stay Classy

2008-02-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

There are times when sports fans get a little delusional following a championship, an unbelievable miracle, or in the worst case, a bad loss/upset.

Such is the case with New England Patriots' fans after the "upset" that was Super Bowl XLII. Had Patriots' fans come to First To Third, they would have anticipated the New York Giants victory.

Some ~~losers/jackasses~~ Pats fans have started a petition in request for the NFL to review the final 1:40 of Super Bowl XLII. The online petition has 19,267 signatures as I type this entry, which I assume more than 3/4 of which are jokes (I hope).

The first entries seem genuine and I feel sorry for the ~~losers~~ fans that seriously believe that there is a conspiracy theory against the Pats. I hope they do not have children and feed this information to them. The children are the future and it is never a good thing to dumb-down our future.

If this actually gets in the hands of Roger Goodell, I hope he makes like Lou Brown and pisses all over it.

Cheaters.

WNBA Is Salivating

2008-02-12T18:08:00.000-08:00

This is Brittney Griner, a 6-foot-7 junior in high school in Texas. She will be attending college at Baylor University, and the WNBA have, or should have, already contacted her about leaving college early for the league.

A regular dunker in the WNBA? If I am the commissioner of the WNBA I am sending a personal trainer to Griner's house to improve vertical so she can posterize everyone in the league by the time she gets there.

Schilling To Spend The Season Eating

2008-02-07T17:35:00.000-08:00

Curt Schilling could be spending much of next season on the bench with shoulder problems according to a report out today.

The Boston Globe and Boston Herald are reporting that Schilling has a shoulder injury that has the right-hander and the club in a dispute over whether he needs surgery and the Red Sox have at least investigated to see if they can void his 2008 contract.

That is bad news for Schilling, even if they cannot void his contract, because his contract has bonuses for keeping his weight down. There is no way the "baconator" keeps the pounds off if he is on the shelf for much of next season.

The one good positive from a possible disabled list destination for Schilling is that we would not hear from him for a while because his mouth will be too full of bacon-wrapped goodies.

That being said, I forgot he has a blog in which he can type and eat at the same time. Dude better get a keyboard endorsement deal if that becomes the case... the grease is going to kill those keyboards.

Bacon.

Shaquille O'Neal To The Suns

2008-02-07T15:13:00.000-08:00

Shaq back to the West on a team other than the Los Angeles Lakers? No, you are kidding me right?

And to the Lakers' fans most hated team in the West right now, the Phoenix Suns.

Many question this trade, as do I. But you never know what is going to happen when you have a motivated Shaq (see Miami Heat title in his second season with them).

What the Suns have essentially done with this trade is give themselves two-and-a-half years to raise a banner in the US Airways Center. Steve Nash is getting older, they traded a young player in Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire cannot do it on his own, Grant is almost over-the-Hill, and O'Neal is running on fumes.

If Shaq can stay healthy then this move is brilliant for the towers of the West, an area that the Suns struggle in (see Suns v. Lakers). Stoudemire and O'Neal on the frontline is a pretty formidable combination.

Of course, this move was made as a reaction to the Lakers acquisition of Pau Gasol in last week's trade. The Suns already struggled against the Lakers this year with big man Andrew Bynum, and now have to worry about covering two seven-footers.

I was hurt when Shaq was traded to Miami following the Lakers 2004 NBA Finals exit at the hands of the Detroit Pistons, and swore that I would support him as a Heat player until he won a championship. But there is NO way that I will be supporting him in a Suns uniform.

If the Lakers and Suns meet in the playoffs look for a very heated matchup between the two squads.

Phil Jackson has already taken a shot at Shaq and his age saying to reporters, "“There are deteriorating returns for a guy who’s 7-foot-1, 300-whatever-he-is.” He did later say that he would be a force again if he could get his playing legs back.

Shaq I am your biggest fan, but seeing you in a Suns uniform is going to make me puke.

Thursday Fight Night

2008-02-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

Best hockey fight I have seen all year.

Jarkko Ruuto v. Darcy Tucker on January 3, 2008, complete with punch count!

Local College Sports News

2008-02-07T14:46:00.000-08:00

I cover baseball, softball, and women's tennis at Cal State Fullerton for the school newspaper (Daily Titan).

Head on over to the Daily Titan on the daily to find my articles, or check them out on here as I will post some on this site...

Softball preview for this year (for a good team):
The Cal State Fullerton softball team enters the 2008 season with high expectations as it starts its season ranked among the nation's best. The Titans open the year ranked 21st in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Coaches Poll and tied for 24th with Texas in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25, following a postseason run into the super regional round last year.

Although the Titans are nationally ranked, they were picked to finish second in the Big West Conference according to votes by the league's coaches. Defending league champion Cal Poly Pomona was picked to finish first in the preseason poll, who were not ranked in the national preseason top 25.

Head Coach Michelle Gromacki said she knows the team will have extra motivation to succeed after by being picked to finish second despite receiving one more first place vote than Cal Poly.

"I think they (the players) take pride in that. I think they are a little bent out of shape that we were picked second in conference, but I think that is probably better," Gromacki said.

This year's squad is returning eight starters from last year, something that may help the seven newcomers adjust to the NCAA play. Gromacki said the returning nucleus is a huge part of this season and will allow the returning players to teach the younger players to act as leaders.

Senior Jessica Doucette, one of the eight returning starters, is the only returning starting pitcher from 2007. She posted a 2.58 ERA while compiling an 8-5 record in the 2007 campaign.

"I have big shoes to fill," Doucette said. "There is nothing else you can do but play hard and keeping working out every day in the bullpen."

Two freshmen pitchers, Arianna Cervantes and Christine Hiner, will join Doucette in the starting rotation for the Titans.

"We got two young pitchers on the mound this year that are definitely going to do some things for us in the circle," Gromacki said. "We are going to need them to hold down the fort. They're going to get the innings."

The schedule for the Titans is a tough one, in that it features games against 12 of the preseason top 25 teams in the nation.

One thing Gromacki said will help the young pitchers is producing runs, something senior starting catcher Kiki Munoz can provide. Munoz led the Titans in both batting average and hits last season, and knows a schedule is just a schedule.

"Our biggest opponent is definitely ourselves. That is how it is, you go out there … you play whoever is out there," Munoz said. "We ended off well last year and we just want to keep [it] consistent. We expect a lot of our team."

The team will be led by three Big West all-conference team selections from a year ago in Munoz, Doucette and junior Lauren Lupinetti.

Fullerton was eliminated last year in the super regional round by the University of Arizona, but became the first Big West school to advance to that round since it was instituted in 2005.

One thing the Titans can take from their first NCAA regional victory since 2005 is experience that the returning players can build on and also pass onto the new members of the team.

"Everyone has a taste of it (super regional round). It's hard to taste when you do not know what the flavor is supposed to be," Gromacki said. "The thing I like the most is that they saw what you can do at the end even though we had a struggle throughout the year."

The Titans open their 2008 season hosting Santa Clara at Anderson Family Field on Friday at 6 p.m.

Weekly Lazy Entry

2008-02-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

Before I lose myself to the weekend, I am dropping the weekly lazy entry on you for this week.

There were a couple of big things going on this week following the Super Bowl... national signing day, debut of Gasol with the Lakers, Shaq going back to the West (more on that later), and two college basketball juggernauts went at it (Duke v. UNC).

Here are First To Third's favorites:

- Looking for the 19-0 Historic Championship Run Patriots book? Well it certainly cannot be found here. The "jinx" book can be found in your neighborhood hobo's fire can.

- The '72 Miami Dolphins threw in one more jab to the 18-1 New England Patriots by creating a "Perfectville" commercial.

- A San Ysidro High School soccer coach choked a Otay High School player in the second half of their game. The incident led to an all-out brawl in which a spectator kicked the choke victim in the face. High school soccer, always dangerous. I got into a fight in our first away game in high school. It was a draw, but word spread to the varsity players that I had kicked the dude's ass; I stuck with that assessment.

- Don't believe that the Patriots cheated in Super Bowl XXXVI? Well a "staff" member knows the truth and is trying to make some cash before the evidence comes out.

- A swimming coach at a high school in Kokomo, Indiana is in police custody on child pornography charges after being accused of hiding a videocamera in the girls' locker room. As if staring at high school girls in swim suits for a living is not creepy enough.

- Sam Cassell wants to join the Boston Celtics, so he introduced himself to Rajon Rondo with a high five... problem is, he missed, badly.

Mr. Knight Takes His Sweater To The Cleaners

2008-02-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

Bob Knight resigned from his head coaching job at Texas Tech yesterday.

The move, made with at least ten games left in the season, leaves his son as the successor of the squad.

"There's a transition that's going to take place here from me to Pat and I've dwelt on this all year long ... how it would be best for him and for the team and for what we can do in the long run to make this the best thing for Texas Tech," Knight told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, which first reported the resignation.

Knight told the newspaper that health concerns did not prompt his decision, but he jokingly added, "I feel better today than I did on Saturday."

He was probably going to retire after the season, but nobody expected him from leaving the school when they still have a chance to make it into March Madness.

I will miss Bob Knight if this is indeed the last we will see of him on the hardwood.

Here are some video gems for you to enjoy, with cussing of course...

Angry motivation speech:

Knight explains the beauty of the word f**k:

Top ten soundbites according ESPN:

"Try to help you young guys in this profession you have chosen that is one or two steps above prostitution." - Knight on journalists. Classic.

Super Upset?

2008-02-04T17:26:00.001-08:00

It happened. Just as First To Third had predicted: the New York Football Giants defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, ending the dream of a perfect season for Tom Brady and Co.

Aside from last year, it was the best Super Bowl that I have ever seen (because the Colts won it in XLI). David defeated Goliath. Ricky Vaughn and the Indians beat the Yankees. The other Manning was able to step out of his brother's shadow to cast his own over the NFL.

Justice was served. The "evil" team did not prevail. Any given Sunday ... one team can defeat any other.

And this Sunday in particular that was entirely true. The Giants ate up all the doubters leading up the big game and used that motivation on the field. Brady was bothered by Justin Tuck and the Giants defensive linemen. They were the MVPs of the game even though Eli was magnificent in the decisive fourth quarter.

Watching Brady get speared during a sack late in the game was exactly what the Giants did to the Pats all day: punched them in the mouth.

But lets talk about the real issue at hand. Will Brady's girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen, make good on her promise that she would run naked in Manhattan if her super boy's team lost.

As of right now it does not look so good for your eyes and mine:

Sure enough, the Patriots were upset, losing 14-17, leading CBS Sports to remind the former Victoria's Secret model about her promise to strip down for the people of Manhattan.

Only problem? Gisele's agent says the supermodel never made such a pledge. "She didn't say it. This is ridiculous," her agent tells PEOPLE. "What's wrong with the world?"

Just like her boyfriend, she is cheating the world.

And what the hell is with Bill Belicheat? Leaving the game early like a sore loser, as did Brady. They make LaDanian Tomlinson look like a good sport.

I cannot believe Belicheat switched up the "hoodie" on us and the rest of the nation for the biggest game of his life. I guarantee the Pats store takes that jacket off their shelves immediately.

If only I had balls and put my money where my mouth was... even my girlfriend's friend had the balls to put up a G on the Giants. And this is me shrinking...

Weekly Lazy Entry

2008-02-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

This week I introduce to you: Lazy Entry.

I find gems to write about throughout the week, but sometimes do not get around to getting them up on the blog. That saddens me. I have bookmarks on the stories and eventually delete the bookmark because they become irrelevant.

Well, the weekly lazy entry will be brought to you with brief descriptions and links to the stories that I found during the week which are funny, insightful, and ridiculous. I know I probably will not get it, but if you are out there let me know what you think about this idea.

Now enjoy:

- Dwayne Wade compared ending the Miami Heat losing streak to losing his virginity. (mp3 link)

- The Boston Globe are so confident that the Patriots are winning Super Bowl XLII, that they already have a book about the Pats perfect season on Amazon.com. Can anyone say jinx? Silly Bostonians. Wicked pissah!

- The Borat "mankini" has been outlawed from rugby matches by New Zealand cops. It is to protect children and families from seeing the hotness of the "mankini." I want to do a romance inside of you, high five!

- A 92-year-old man shot a hole-in-one in Florida on January 10. Pretty impressive. That is not the best part. The dude did it even though he is legally blind. Very impressive. I love old people.

- Howard University has, or soon-to-be had, a perverted and sick head soccer coach. The coach, Joseph Okoh, used the internet to try and pick up a 13-year-old for sexual purposes. Chris Hansen better have a talk with that dude. Gross.

- Andy Pettite is sick of hearing Roger Clemens lie and may rat out his former teammate. Shoot, I would do the same if was a bigger man by admitting the use of HGH and the dude that did it alongside me (allegedly) denied it.

Super Bowl XLII

2008-02-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

The biggest sports holiday is upon us. Gather the finger foods, warm up those barbecues, and start chilling those beers.

I planned to do a full break down on Super Bowl XLII this week, but time was not on my side.

So, I will just throw it out there right now: Giants win 28-24.

What? Are you stupid? Maybe.

The top two teams are in the big game. And the New York Football Giants have caught lightning in a bottle. Eighteen straight wins cannot be denied, but the Giants are hot right now. Clicking on all the cylinders that the New England Patriots are running on.

Bill Belicheat is dangerous when he has plenty of time to prepare, but lets not forget that the Giants had the benefit of playing the Patriots this season.

They know what to expect, and know they cannot make mistakes because the Pats capitalize on them, immediately.

You all know this statement is true: nobody is perfect. Not these Patriots, not this year.

I foresee Peyton Manning and his father getting some camera time with little bro and son Eli after a New York victory... along with an endorsement for Disneyland, of course.

Larry O'Brien Trophy, Say Hello To The Lakers

2008-02-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

I hope the San Antonio Spurs are getting in their last kisses with the Larry O'Brien trophy, because they are not going to see it for a long time after the moves made by Mitch KupfakeGM and the Lakers.

The Lakers traded Mr. Stone Hands himself, Kwame Brown, along with Javaris Crittenton and two first round picks to Memphis for Pau Gasol and a second round pick.

When I first read this all I could think about was Marv Albert. Why Mr. Albert? One word. Sodomy. Sure, Memphis probably made this move to clear cap space for next season and to add young talent, but the Lakers bent the Grizzlies over.

I was embarrassed for Kupchak (for the hundredth time) when he traded away Caron Butler for Stone Hands, but now "Cupcake" has redeemed himself by finding a foolish suitor for Brown.

The head scratching continued with Crittenton's name attached involved. Yes, it made sense for the Lakers with the emergence of Jordan Farmar and solid veteran player in Derek Fisher, but why for the Grizzlies?

They have a rookie point guard in Mike Conley Jr. and young guard Kyle Lowry. Hmm, seems like the same situation in LA for Javaris.

Now to the Lakers smile. Lakers fans around the nation are smiling ear-to-ear today. One, because Kwame is a bum. Two, the Lakers have a starting five that may be better than the Pistons.

Look at the starting five that the Lakers will throw on the floor every night (once Andrew Bynum comes back):
PG - Derek Fisher
SG - Kobe Bryant
SF - Lamar Odom
PF - Pau Gasol
C - Andrew Bynum

And they have one of the league's top bench squads to fall back on. Kobe is not going anywhere. The championship banner will be raised in Los Angeles once again.

Gasol works well with a mid-range jumper and will let Bynum control the paint. Those two will be the LA's version of the "twin towers" that we saw in San Antonio with Tim Duncan and David "I ain't signing an autograph for Shaq" Robinson.

The West's elite and how they match up:

Phoenix - The Suns had problems in the past with the Lakers size, and now the Lakers have added another 7-footer to go along with "beast-in-the-making" Bynum. Lakers sweep the series in the playoffs if they face the Suns.

Dallas - Dirk Nowitzki and any other big man they throw out on the court will not be able to handle the Lakers front line. Oh, the Lakers also have Kobe and LO on their squad? Another sweep in the making.

New Orleans - Young, athletic, and have size. That can explain both the Lakers and Hornets, and the reason why I could see a series with the Hornets going six games. Chris Paul gives teams headaches and would will his team to a couple wins. Tyson Chandler and David West would put up good fights against the new "LA Skyscrapers" (copyright: First To Third), but cannot do it all. Oh, there still is a player named Kobe playing.

San Antonio - Tim Duncan, look into your mirror of the past and see Bynum and Gasol proving to be a younger and better dual big man threat compared to your "twin towers." The Lakers bench along with their starting five would make this series a five-gamer.

One thing that the Lakers may think about doing is moving Lamar Odom. One, because he struggles when he does not get the ball enough. Two, they may look to add a defensive-minded player to help make up for Gasol's average defensive game. Once Bynum comes back Odom may not get the shots he needs in the offense and could defer to Kobe on a full-time basis.

But it might be hard for Kupchak to pull that trigger since we will not see the Lakers with Bynum in the lineup until after the trade deadline.

The Grizzlies just gave the Lakers another "best" for their squad. They now have the best team to go along with best player in the league.

Do you smell that? Yes, it is what you think, the league collectively defecated themselves and David Stern shot a load thinking about the Lakers being back in the NBA Finals.

Chris Berman Is Sensitive

2008-01-31T14:50:00.000-08:00

Chris Berman always seems like a "rumbling bumblin'" nice guy on the air and would be great to have a beer with after a big game.

But do not walk around while filming is going on. The video is not safe for work, unless your co-workers or boss do not mind doo doo language.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but I have at least six entries in the works.

Prince Akeem Saw It Coming

2008-01-22T17:29:00.000-08:00

First To Third may have predicted the New York Giants victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship, but Prince Akeem of Coming To America fame saw it coming back in 1988.

"Most exhilarating!"

Dwight Howard Is A Father

2008-01-22T17:10:00.000-08:00

The fact that Dwight Howard had a baby in November is not the big news I want to write about. Why should I care if he had a child with a former Orlando Magic dancer?

What I like about this story is that she is hot, and makes wacky videos on YouTube such as this one:

I found that video when I searched for her picture on the Interweb. It is eight minutes long, but you can tell she is a freak that Howard could not resist.

Here is the link to her Myspace.

Leandro Barbosa = Crying Game

2008-01-22T16:12:00.000-08:00

Leandro Barbosa got emotional the other day ago while he was in town to play the Los Angeles Lakers.

Barbosa was coaxed into thinking that he had been traded to the New York Knicks before the game.

For those of you who missed the LA/Phoenix game, a funny story about Barbosa. Apparently he received a phone call to his hotel room asking him to come to the front desk and he received “word” from Kerr that he was traded to the Knicks. He immediately went and found assistant coach and mentor Dan D’Antoni who saw how upset Barbosa was and asked him what was wrong. Barbosa responds by saying, “I thought you guys liked me”, and then tells him about the “news”. Dan tells him there is absolutely no truth to the rumor and that the next time he checks into a hotel he should use an alias rather than his real name

Of course the thought of being traded to an Isiah Thomas-led New York Knickerbockers team is no laughing matter. But anytime a Phoenix Sun is seen, or heard whining is indeed a laughing matter.

It is like when I was in eighth grade and I found a beautiful vixen to "date" at the time. After couple weeks of heavy hand-holding, I found out that she liked another guy. My reaction was similar to Barbosa's: "What did I do wrong? How could this have happened?"

Anyway, if you happen to find out a Suns' players alias on the road be sure to tell him Mike D'Antoni hates his guts.

Bud Selig Is Abusive

2008-01-22T15:58:00.000-08:00

This is from a few days back, but we now have video evidence that Bud Selig is abusive towards his wife. The video is from a press conference he held on January 17, 2008 regarding the state of baseball. He is interrupted by his cell phone, and well, just see for yourself...

(Source)

AFC & NFC Championship Games

2008-01-19T09:53:00.001-08:00

Three more games. Two of which will be played this Sunday. Super Bowl XLII is coming.

We had two upsets last week (sort of). The San Diego Chargers defeating the Indianapolis Colts was definitely an upset. And many were surprised that the New York Football Giants were able to defeat Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, Jessica Simpson and the Cowboys.

New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers
Single digit weather. The Frozen Tundra in full effect. Destiny for Brett Favre?

Eli Manning and the Giants have made a improbable run in these playoffs. No one thought Tom Coughlin could get this team as far as they have gone, especially with an inconsistent Eli Manning as their quarterback. But, the team has become a strong unit and are looking to upset the Packers in Lambeau.

I am taking the Giants in this one. Do not get me wrong, in my heart I want Favre to get a ring this year, but I think the Giants have caught lightning in a bottle.

Manning is handling the football like his older brother, their defense is solid, and they are confident in what they are doing. The cold weather may get to Manning in the beginning of the game, but Brandon Jacobs will help Eli by carrying the load.

The Giants defensive front line will be chasing Favre all day, more than the Seahawks did last week. But expect to see them have success in chasing him down.

Hey, if you cannot have the older Manning in the big game, then why not have the younger?

Giants win 27-23.

San Diego Chargers @ New England Patriots
Philip Rivers may be out. LaDanian Tomlinson is banged up. Antonio Gates is probably out.

The Chargers are trusting Billy Volek in this one? Sure, he was able to take out the Indianapolis Colts, but he will be going up against the juggernaut offense of the Patriots.

The Patriots are on a mission and I think the only hope of stopping them is in one of the NFC teams. The Chargers are too beat up despite the talent on their team. I have not watched any of the Patriots games recently because it depresses me to watch them pull out victories week after week.

Patriots win 31-17.

Baby Got Back

2008-01-17T16:44:00.000-08:00

Serena Williams may get all the love when it comes to booty compliments among me, but Venus got recent commentary love from a broadcaster during the Australian Open.

Roger Rasheed, a former coach of Lleyton Hewitt, made some comments about Venus' backside during her match against Yan Zi.

"Take a look at this now. Make or think as you will, ladies, but for me, that's a pretty good sight,'' he told co-commentators Tracy Austin and Nicole Bradtke.

The network will not place any disciplinary action on Rasheed despite numerous complaints.

Here is the video:

I wonder what he would say during one of Serena's matches; she has the real booty of the family. His arms shrug owns after he makes the comment.

Distasteful comments during match play? Yes. The producer should carry the same blame for allowing that replay to air at Rasheed's request.

Being a dude, I think it is funny. But I guess I can be all sensitive and mention that it might be sexist. Might.

The Referee Made Me Do It

2008-01-17T15:46:00.000-08:00

I grew up playing soccer, and I immediately know what you are thinking if you are reading this and live in America. Wuss.

You have seen some of the players. Flopping, complaining, flopping, whining, hot wives, and more flopping.

The funny thing is that the flopping, complaining and whining works in the game.

I found a dude that is taking it to the next level: off the field.

Premier League soccer player Rob Malcolm was recently found in a drunken sleep behind the wheel of his car in the middle of a highway. Who did he blame? A referee from a match that he played the day before.

Malcolm, 27, a Scottish international player, later apologised for the bizarre incident before apparently offering every player's favourite excuse - blaming the ref.

He told fans he was "very upset and frustrated" by official Steve Bratt's handling of a match on Boxing Day, the day before Malcolm was arrested.

Malcolm appeared before magistrates in Chesterfield, Derbyshire charged with driving with excess alcohol.

He blew double the legal limit when he was given the breathalyser.

Another car almost ran into him while he was passed out on the highway.

Hey he was not driving, he was just sleeping. He had this to say: " "I would also like to stress that at the time of the incident, I was not driving my car.

I had pulled over to the side of the road and was sleeping. Once again, I apologise for what has been a major error of judgment."

When he says "pulled over to the side of the road," what he really means is that he had ten scotches and decided the best place to pass out was the middle of the road. Safe right?

And when he says that he "was not driving my car," he means that he drove to that location to pass out and did not pass out while the car was still running.

Ah if life were that easy.

"Yes, I did not do that report boss. And what of it? My old lady pissed me off the night before with her meatloaf. Hey, at least I decided not to do the report on a Friday. We will not have to worry about it until Monday."

I really do not know why many soccer players are injected with wussbag-itis, but the reputation never seems to get away from the 'ballers.

We would not have a Rasheed Wallace in the NBA world if he reacted like Malcolm.