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Friday, March 30, 2007Chuck Klosterman is FunnyChuck Klosterman (one of my all time favorite authors) is writing a weekend blog at the Final Four. It is hilarious reading...but he just wrote something that actually make me laugh out loud. Naturally it is a rip on Joakim Noah, which is quite welcome here at DIA. At this very moment, I assume Joakim Noah is moshing around his hotel room and eating handfuls of glass and yelling at "The View" and hitting a tennis ball between his legs; he is a citizen of the world, but he's also something of a lunatic. This, my friends, is good writing. Go here to read the rest of his reports. Labels: Chuck Klosterman, College Basketball, Joakim Noah Tuesday, March 27, 2007March Madness UpdateI apologize for the lack of posts lately...I am working on opening a new site and that is taking some time. More updates to follow. Anyway...I figure it is time to talk about the tournament since we are down to 4. If you remember my last post on this, I said Kansas was the team the beat. Oops. So let's break down the Final Four Florida vs. UCLA This should be an outstanding game. I am very excited to see if UCLA can play with Florida. I think they can. Their guards (Afflalo and Collison) are as good as any two guards in the country. I think a lot of their success in this game will depend on their main big guy staying out of foul trouble. I can't pronounce his name. But if you have watched any of their games, you know who I am talking about. It's hard to go against Florida in this game though...or the rest of the way. They are so talented everywhere on the court. If they get another monster game out of Humphries, I don't know that they can be beat. I think they have to be the favorites to win it all Georgetown vs. OSU This is going to be a monster game and I am very excited for it. Not just because I am a Buckeye. I am excited to see Oden vs. Hibbert. I am excited to see if Ron Lewis can continue his awesome tournament. I am excited to see the point guard match up between Conley and Sapp. (I give the edge to Conley here...he is too quick. I will be rooting for OSU obviously, but it should be a fun game to watch just for pure basketball reasons. So as it stands I think Florida will win it all...but as you know...I am wrong almost all the time. Labels: College Basketball, March Madness Tuesday, March 20, 2007Griffey in Right Field?Apparently yesterday the Reds announced that Ken Griffey Jr. will be playing in Right Field this year. This is obviously a good move for the team, although I don't think it is as significant as people are making it out to be. The reason is because I doubt he will play 130 games this year anyway. So it's not like big changes are being made. Don't get me wrong, Griffey is one of my all-time favorite players and I don't think he gets the respect he deserves based on his career. That said, he just isn't that good anymore. The Reds will be lucky to get 110 games out of him. Hopefully in those 110 games he can put the bat on the ball more than he did in recent years. I'd take .260/20/70 over 110 games. But like I said, I doubt he will make it that far...even with the switch to RF. Plus, Josh Hamilton is going to hit .400 this year so it won't matter anyway. Labels: Cincinnati Reds, Josh Hamilton, Ken Griffey Jr. Monday, March 19, 2007March Madness UpdateThe first two rounds are over and most of the top teams are still in it. Let's take a look at who could make the run: Florida Florida looks pretty good right now. They had a tough game against Purdue, but they look to have the easiest run to the Final Four. Butler won't even challenge them (too small inside for Horford and Noah). Then they will have to play UNLV or Oregon. I just don't think either team can keep up with them. Kansas Kansas looks almost unstoppable right now. They have incredible speed and can out run anybody. But as we saw in the two Texas games this year, they can also pound it out down low. They have talent deep onto the bench and the players are well rested due to 2 blowouts so far. My only concern with them is if they lose focus for a half and get behind too far UCLA UCLA is a pretty good team, I just don't see them matching up with Kansas. I think Kansas will just wear them down. That should be a really good game if it happens. North Carolina UNC is a good team...I just don't think they have it. Tyler Hansbrough is a solid player, but I can't seem him playing nearly as well once he faces a good big man. So far he hasn't faced any. Georgetown Georgetown is my second pick to win it. They are incredibly efficient on both sides of the ball. They have a monster in the middle (7'2" Hibbert) who really has improved from this time last year. They have a superstar (Jeff Green) who can do pretty much everything. They also have solid players everywhere else on the team. I can easily see them running it. They really struggled against Boston College in the second round, but BC is a very good team. I see them losing to Kansas in the Finals Ohio State OSU is a very good team, but I just don't seem them making the run all the way. They have a tough Tennesee team to play, then they would play (most likely) Texas A&M after that. If they were to get past them, they would have to beat Georgetown in the Final Four. I just don't see all that happening. Although, I would love to see Oden vs. Hibbert! Texas A&M I don't have much to say about them. They are good. I just have no idea which team will show up. Acie Law IV can take over any game though. I just can't see them pulling it off. Memphis Not that good of a team...they have no chance. So that's my rundown before the Sweet Sixteen. I've got Kansas vs. Georgetown for the title as of now. Check back after the next round to see who is left! Labels: College Basketball, March Madness
Update: Walter Reed Today, I got an e-mail from my US House Representative, Jean Schmidt. How exciting!!! She wrote me an e-mail! I soon found out it was just a list-serv that I got onto. Anyway, her letter was about The Walter Reed fiasco. Bascially, she said that it wasn't that big of a deal and that the building was supposed to be demolished. Apparently there is a bill that she supports that will allocate $3.5 billion dollars to veterans health care. This is $3.5 billion MORE dollars. I don't know how much is currently being allocated...my guess is somewhere between $115 and $5 billion. Whenever I hear that more and more mooney is being allocated to something (especially if that something has been a total mess), it makes me wonder if it will help. Based on past experience, no. Rarely does spending more and more and more on anything make it better. Plus...where is the money coming from? Will it come out of thin air?!? Will it come through taxes? Probably not. It probably will come by jsut printing new money...because that's free money!!! Of course, that just increases inflation...but it's hard to tie that back to a particular politician. Anyway...I hope the Walter Reed mess gets figured out...but I doubt the new influx of dollars will make much of a difference. Labels: Government, Walter Reed Friday, March 16, 2007Reds UpdateToday (or maybe yesterday...I don't feel like looking) the Reds made a couple moves. Only two of them were of note though: They sent Homer Bailey and Joey Votto back to the minors to start the season. If you recall, I mentioned that Bailey was going to be the savior of the team and strike out 27 consecutive batters on his way to a perfect game in his first start. I still am holding out hope for that, but after his abysmal spring training (19.64 ERA) it looks like it's a very good idea to keep him back a bit. I think he should probably throw a different pitch besides a high fastball, but that's probably just my baseball inexperience talking. Joey Votto was optioned to AAA Louisville, which is a fine decision as far as I am concerned. It looks like he will be a solid player in the future, but right now the Reds have Scott Hatteberg and Jeff Conine holding down the fort at First Base. Plus, they have about 521 years of baseball experience between the two of them. Some people think Abner Doubleday invented baseball...but it was really Jeff Conine. The only reason he looks so young is because one time when he was on vacation, he stumbled onto some cave...and there was a really old dude in there with cups of water (he called the Chalices though...nerd). Anyway...Jeff was thirsty so he grabbed one and drank it. Then the creepy dude said, "You have chosen wisely...also, I have been spending a lot of time down here alone...and I came up with a really neat game." So I guess it wasn't Jeff Conine who invented baseball as much as it was the creepy guy in the cave filled with chalices. But Conine brought it to the world, so he gets some sort of credit. Umm, where was I? Oh yeah, the Reds. These moves are probably good for the team in the future. Give Bailey sometime to learn another pitch and let Votto keep playing. Pretty standard moves. Expect to see both of them up in the bigs later this year. Labels: Cincinnati Reds, Homer Bailey, Jeff Conine Thursday, March 15, 2007Top 7 - 3.15.07The weekly DIA Top 7 List Seven Things I Like Right Now
Labels: Cincinnati Bengals, Food, Scarlett Johansson, TV Tuesday, March 13, 2007ummmmmm....Check this lady out! I don't really know what to say about that. First of all, I don't know why that girl was even on the floor after the game. Secondly, why was she getting so much camera time. Thirdly, why was Lundquist laughing so much...he should have been calling for help. I have had a number of seizures in my lifetime...and that is a prime example of a grand mal seizure. Lundquist is a jerk for laughing at that poor girl. What? Come on? Really? That's a dude? And he plays for the Gators? He is the star of the team? His name is Joakim? Come on...I don't believe you. First of all, Joakim is just a made up word, that's not a name. You will never convince me that is a dude. Anyway...I hope that lady is OK. Labels: College Basketball, Flordia Gators, Joakim Noah Sunday, March 11, 2007CBS Announcing CrewIs there a worse announcing crew than stupid Jim Nantz and horribly bad Billy Packard? They were announcing the Big Ten Championship game today (nice job bucks!!!) and I almost turned it off they were so bad. First they spent about 3 minutes arguing...yes, arguing...about whether or not the Tournament committee has the time to make last minute changes. It is a legitimate question. They just didn't need to badger each other for 3 minutes while a basketball game is going on. Another theme throughout the game was who would be named the #1 seed overall. They had arguments, made cases, and went generally overboard about. BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!! It makes no difference who the #1 overall seed is. They still have to play a #16 seed and will win. It literally makes no difference. I don't know why they even do it at all...it's stupid. What is worse is having to listen to that blowhard Nantz and the grouch Packard rant at each other for 2 hours. They both need to be removed from announcing duties...put in someone more likable. Even Ron Artest is more likable than these two clowns. Labels: Billy Packard, CBS, College Basketball, Jim Nantz Friday, March 9, 2007Josh Hamilton - ESPNToday there were two columns written about Josh Hamilton and the Reds. Josh Hamilton, for those who don't know, is a baseball player who has been out of the league for 3 years because of a bad drug addiction. The Reds picked him up in the Rule 5 Draft in the off-season. The first column was written by ESPN.com baseball columnist Jayson Stark. It is your classic feel good story. Man is on top of the world, man falls off the edge, man hits rock bottom and realizes he has to turn his life around, man turns his life around. The story talks about his support group and how he made it out from addiction. Impressive. By the way - I am not being sarcastic...there are plenty of people who do not make it out from addiction. Every single one of those stories is a heartbreaker, no matter the circumstances. In this case, we should applaud and root for Josh Hamilton that he continues to turn his life around. We should also applaud that he is willing to talk about the mistakes he has made. He meets with kids and tells them not to do what he did, which is laudable. Now...on the baseball side the story also comments on how well he is playing this spring. I have not had the chance to see any games, but from what I have read he is really lighting it up...apparently he hit a 500 foot homer the other day. {side note - I once hit a ball over 600 feet in one of those virtual video games at Dave & Buster's. I'd like to see Hamilton do that} It's exciting. I hope he makes the team. And that brings us to the second column, written by former Mets GM and ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips. In this column, Phillips congratulates Hamilton for what he is doing...and then proceeds to call out the Reds for potentially putting Hamilton on the roster. Phillips writes: The decision to acquire Hamilton and give him a chance to be a major league player without doing anything to earn it over the past four seasons makes a statement to current Reds major leaguers and especially to the organization's minor league players. This one decision contradicts everything the organization claims is important.To me it sends the signal to the players (and the fans) that they are willing to take a small risk to vastly improve the ball club and win. The reason it is a small risk is because if Hamilton doesn't work out, they can just send him back to Tampa Bay with $50,000. Small price to find someone who could potentially be a superstar. Later Phillips writes: They are told to work hard, stay committed to their careers, make good decisions, be professional, be a good teammate, etc.Isn't this what Hamilton is doing? Yes, he made some bad decisions previously. But isn't he working hard now? Isn't he making good decisions now? From what I hear he is a fine teammate. I just don't understand why you would hang someone forever for some bad decisions. I think Phillips needs to get off his pedestal and check out the view from where normal people live. I do agree with him that Hamilton would not be getting this kind of treatment if he wasn't a 5 tool outfielder. But just because people get unfairly treated poorly, does that mean everyone should get the same bad treatment? That's bad logic. Plus, this isn't a fair world anyway. Different people get different treatment based on their circumstances. Maybe it shouldn't be that way...but it is. If the Reds gave Hamilton back to the D-Rays, it would be a terrible baseball decision. No matter what the "message" is to other minor leaguers. To me, this risk says the Reds might actually be serious about winning. Between this move, signing the top two starters, and Adam Dunn's potential resurgance...I am actually excited for the Reds winning chances this year. Especially in what looks to be a weak NL Central. So kudos to Jayson Stark for his puff piece on Hamilton...at least it made sense. Boo to Steve Phillips for his arrogant rebuttal to Stark. Labels: Baseball, Cincinnati Reds, ESPN, Josh Hamilton Thursday, March 8, 2007Top 7 - 3.8.07The weekly DIA Top 7 List Seven Things I Like Right Now
Labels: Blogs, College Basketball, Music, Scarlett Johansson Tuesday, March 6, 2007Reds UpdateWe are now about a week into spring training, so I figure it's a good time to review what the Reds have done so far.
Labels: Cincinnati Reds, Josh Hamilton Monday, March 5, 2007Gasolineummmm...so I was reading around the internet and I stumbled on this hilarious news story from last year. I was not aware of this until just now, but apparently in New Jersey (and Oregon) it is illegal to pump your own gas. Yes, that's right...against the law. You can read the story here. So as I started to read this I was thinking, "This is just another example of stupid paternalism in the government". Then I read further. Apparently the awesome citizens of New Jersey VOTED for this. The Governor brought up switching to self service and the fine people of New Jersey inundated his office with calls and letters of complaints. It seems these people like the higher gasoline prices that go along with full service. So as I kept reading I laughed more and more. Here is one of my favorite quotes: Then there's the issue of safety. About 8.7 million residents live in the state and many of them, including more than one million senior citizens, have little experience in pumping gas. Assemblyman Francis L. Bodine (R) said this is one reason he's opposed to the idea. Plus, "If I'm dressed up, I don’t want to get out and smell like a gas pump," said Bodine, who represents the Mount Laurel area near Philadelphia.WHAT?!?!? Issue of safety? Are there a lot of safety incidents at gas stations? Have you ever been worried about controlling the pump? Also, he doesn't want to smell like a gas pump. My advice would be not to rub up against the gas pump. Gas stations are pretty well ventilated, I've never been concerned about smelling like gas after I fill up. I bet this idiot doesn't even open his window when he pulls into the station. He probably just holds a piece of paper up and presses it against the window with his demands on it. New Jersey has some sweet Assemblymen! I am amazed at this story. It certainly doesn't help the stereotype of people from Jersey. I don't even know what to say about it...it is so implausible, that I am surprised it is real. I guess Oregon has the same laws, but they are a bunch of hippies. Plus they are on the West Coast and no one realy cares what happens out there anyway. Labels: Government, Humor, New Jersey, News
Comic Strips Are any of you comic fans? Not comic books, but comic strips. I guess everyone likes comics at least a little. My favorite has always been Calvin & Hobbes. I have all the books and actually still read them every once in a while. I think that was probably the funniest one for me as a kid. I am also a big The Far Side fan. I appreciate anyone who can be that funny for so long in only one panel. I admire his brevity. (as you can tell…I’m not so great at brevity). But since Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes) and Gary Larsen (The Far Side) retired the best comic around has got to be Dilbert by Scott Adams. I have a bunch of his books too. I generally get a laugh out of reading a Dilbert comic…especially since I started working. It’s amazing how many things he nails dead on. Actually, it is more sad than anything else. All that means is that the same weird things that happen in my world happen in everyone else’s world. That’s unfortunate. Anyway…I just read some of the books last night and wanted to comment on it. Labels: Calvin and Hobbes, Comics, Dilbert, The Far Side Sunday, March 4, 2007Walter Reed HospitalI hate to keep talking about it...check that...I love to keep talking about it, but does anyone really think that the Uncle Sam knows how to run a successful hospital? Does anyone really think that the US Government would do as good a job providing health care as a private hospital would? I doubt it. In case you don't know what is happening...Walter Reed Hospital has been under heavy criticism for unsavory conditions. Conditions like rats and mold and other lovely things like that. Walter Reed is a hospital for injured soldiers and it is federally run. As you know, I am of the opinion that anything the government can do, private enterprise can do better. (on a side note...I don't actually believe that. For example, I don't think private enterprise should raise an army...but the basic premise is true I suppose) Doing activities like running a non-filthy hospital probably isn't that hard actually...it just depends on your incentives. My guess is that the incentives that are available for the Walter Reed staff aren't very good...this the decrepit conditions. Luckily our Congress is up in arms about this demanding that something be done. I'm sure people will be replace and then replaced by other government employees who have the same incentives. Not much will change in the long run. I'm jaded though...maybe I'm not the person to listen to on governmental issues. I just generally assume that any central government will mess it up, whatever it happens to be. The furor over the hospital will die down and Congress will move on to some other non-important topic to fight over. Like their involvement in Major League Baseball's steroid "controversy". That is a great example of Congress doing the right thing. Heck, even France doesn't get involved in the Tour de France's doping scandals...AND THAT'S FRANCE!!! eh...I just get cranky when I read about stuff like this. Our brave soldiers suffer because some politician wants to keep his job instead of finding out the best possible way to provide care for the solders. This is why I am jaded. Labels: Economics, Government, Privatization, Walter Reed
Free Agency Update We are into the 3rd day of NFL Free Agency. As predicted, the Bengals have not done anything yet. They never do, I guess they feel the defense is good enough as it is. I doubt it. There were a couple significant signings though...most notably to me is Nate Clements signing with the 49ers. I think that is a real interesting signing because it makes me wonder about the 49ers. Are the 49ers actually going to be good? Maybe. Maybe they are actually going to improve for the first time in 10 years. My guess is that this contract had more to do with money though. Clements signed for $80 million over 8 years. That is a wild contract for football. Generally in the NFL those types of huge money deals are reserved for quarterbacks (see Peyton Manning or Carson Palmer's fat deals). To sign a good, although not great, cornerback for that kind of money makes me think they are desperate. I just don't think that was a good deal for the 49ers. Maybe it will work out and he will be the first DB to lead a team to a Super Bowl...but I doubt it. Champ Bailey can't even do that and he is pretty sweet. There were a couple other big deals signed over the weekend...but nothing big by the Bengals. Hopefully soon they do something...ANYTHING!!! Labels: Cincinnati Bengals, NFL, San Francisco 49ers Thursday, March 1, 2007Top 7 - 3.1.07The weekly DIA Top 7 List Seven Things I Like Right Now
Labels: Books, Cincinnati Bengals, Music, Scarlett Johansson, Top 7 List, TV
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