My Goodness

"It’s amazing
With the blink of an eye you finally see the light
It’s amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you’ll be alright"
--Amazing, Aerosmith

Two right fielders in Southern California made headlines for two very different reasons last night. Wow. We'll get the unpleasantness out of the way first.
Milton Bradley pulled a Milton Bradley and threw (returned?) a bottle into the stands after an error gave the Rockies a three-run lead in last night's ballgame. Eric Wedge definitely knew what he was doing when he let the talented outfielder go at the beginning of the season, despite his obvious talent level. He's been pretty good--by his standard--over the last several months, but this is ridiculous. Anger management issues abound. Breaking bats and throwing things after strikeouts, getting ejected from games--it's all become routine, but this has got to be the nail that breaks the camel's coffin. His display was far worse than what Jose Guillen did the other day (another display of idiocy--how an individual can put himself so far ahead of the team in the last week of a pennant race is beyond me), and should warrant a lengthy suspension, if not from the league then definitely from the Dodgers. Aargh. This whole player-fan thing is getting way out of control. Moving on to more pleasant affairs...
For those who had the pleasure of viewing last night's Angel domination, the AL MVP award was pretty much sewn up in Arlington right then and there. Vladi is amazing--I've been saying it all year--and he had just another Vladi game last night. Four hits--all with two outs--two homers and five RBIs, helping the Halos down Texas 8-2 and pull into a tie with the A's for first place in the West. Kelvim Escobar has to be quite thankful for the offensive explosion, considering his run support for most of this season. The Angels have been shut out 10 times all year, and a full five have come in Escobar's starts. That's bad luck, for sure. To finish on Guerrero though: Manny and Ortiz have each other in the lineup. Sheff has Jeter, A-Rod, Bernie, Posada and everyone else. Vlad has had mental Jose Guillen and injured Troy Glaus, then guys like Chone Figgins and now Dallas McPherson giving him protection. To do what he's done (and to be one of the best defensive outfielders in the game) merits this MVP award, no doubt. More award winners later this week.
This Angels scenario brings about yet another reason baseball has assumed its dominance in my sports world: the pennant races. In no other sport will you find two teams tied going into the season's final few days (as the A's and Angels will still likely be as of Friday) and playing each other three successive times with everything on the line. The winner goes to the post-season, the loser goes home. I can't remember an elimination game late in a basketball regular season ever, much less a two or three-game set. It does happen in football, but usually so much depends on other teams (see Green Bay's playoff appearance last year, courtesy of Josh McCown and Nathan Poole) that it's hard to pinpoint one game or series. This is awesome.
Quick soccer note (because I know everyone cares): Wayne Rooney, the 18-year-old English superstar recently purchased by Manchester United for $54 million U.S. dollars, scored a hat trick on his debut yesterday, giving Man U a 6-2 win in European action. Amazing. He's 18, starring on the national team and now scoring hat tricks in Europe for the continent's biggest side. Unfortunately, DirecTV doesn't offer ESPNDeportes, so I was unable to witness said accomplishment ("said" definitely used within the statute of limitations there), but the way it was written looked good enough.
I was scanning a few of these old blogs and realized that I still have yet to conclude the movie list I started forever ago, which is fairly lame of me, for sure. A quick recap of the top ten so far, and then off to No. 2:
10. Young Guns
9. Office Space
8. The Shawshank Redemption
7. The Usual Suspects
6. Scent of a Woman
5. Tombstone
4. Hoosiers
3. Fletch

2. Swingers
Why: Side and I pretty much discovered it before anybody else and quickly spread it to our respective spheres of influence. Because Ransom was sold out, we had a decision to make (and I had just seen Favreau on Leno the night before), so the three of us (number three being Lori Hanson) made the correct choice. I'm not saying it wouldn't have been successful without our efforts, but I'm fairly confident we did play a small part. Trent is maybe the coolest character in a movie ever, but it comes full circle and Mikey ends up the easy-going, confident, cool cat at the end, which makes for tremendous character development. Rewatchability is quite high, especially since there are so many epic scenes from which to choose. It basically started the swing craze of the mid to late-90's and coined numerous phrases that now belong to the popular lexicon--"You're so money" being the chief example. Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau haven't been skinny since this movie, Ron Livingston set himself up for the Office Space role, Alex Desert ("This place is dead anyway") is a cool cat and Heather Graham is Heather Graham. High quality cast, top to bottom (including those House of Pain guys--"Roll up! Roll up, bitch!").
Best Scene: No doubt in my mind it's the NHL 94 scene (played on Genesis, but it's still good enough). The electronic organ gets us into the scene, feeling like we're in Chicago Stadium, watching Roenick and Chelios and the whole crew handle the Great One and the Kings. Trent's smack-talk is awesome ("The Kings are a bitch team," "Yeah, that was against the computer with the offsides off," "It's not even so much me as it is Roenick. He's good," "That was for fanboy number 99 over here")--I could go on and on. The delivery boy treatment is a little awkward, but it can't ruin the momentum created by video game hockey. The fact that I've actually talked to Jeremy Roenick about this scene makes it that much cooler.
Work beckons--I gotta go get the Dodger tape so we can rip on Milton today--so number one will have to wait. This was a good writing day--Bradley, Vladi, Rooney and Swingers. Nice. Oh yeah, Dodger game tonight--definitely gonna throw a bottle at someone, see what happens. Out.

Football is Upon Us

"Today is the greatest
Day I ’ve ever known
Can’t live for tomorrow
Tomorrow’s much too long"
--Today, Smashing Pumpkins

College football started two weeks ago with USC's come-from-behind victory over Va. Tech, the NFL kicked off Thursday night with that thriller in Foxboro (and technically continued yesterday with Tennessee's win over a very bad Dolphins team), but today is the day. This is the true kickoff Sunday: nine games kicking off at 10 this morning, three more at 1:15 and a Sunday night game definitely worth watching (Kansas City at Denver). I'm up early and ready to head up to work and have this thing get going. I mentioned the other day that baseball had surpassed basketball in my love of sports scale, and the anticipation already created by this football season has me fearing a third-place tumble for hoops anytime soon.
Five things to look forward to today (and the rest of the season):
1) Deion in nickel packages, helping defend all the bad Browns receivers, and Jeff Garcia doing his best to make that offense look decent. What's the line on a Kellen Winslow blow-up by week two?
2a) Clinton Portis running the ball as the focal point of Joe Gibbs' new offense, and Mark Brunell getting enough protection to make that offense look good. With Laveranues (yes, that's how he spells it) and Rod Gardner, then Thrash, McCants and Taylor Jacobs, he's got some receiving depth to help that process.
2b) Sean Taylor at the back of that Redskins defense. He was the best player in college football last season, dominating games from the free safety position, and he'll be starting right away. How much can be expected of him early on, and how much will Brad Johnson try to throw over the middle?
3) How much better will the Lions be in year two of the Mooch era? Adding Kevin Jones and Roy Williams was big-time, but only is Charles Rogers stays healthy and if Joey Heisman can do something to improve upon that career 53% completion rate and 29-to-38 TD-to-INT ratio.
4) How long will the happy T.O. last in Philly? As soon as McNabb nails two or three in a row into the dirt at T.O.'s feet, he's going to long for the days of Jeff Garcia. It's a happy marriage now, but we'll see. I'd love to see it work, even though I'm not an Eagles fan, because it could turn into an even more attractive tandem than Daunte-to-Moss or Brees-to-Parker. Speaking of which...
5) Will the Chargers win three games this season? Yeah, the schedule looks easy, but the teams that have San Diego on the schedule are saying the exact same thing. It makes me sad to think that LT could end up being the best running back in the history of the league and maybe never make the playoffs. There isn't much light at the end of this tunnel, though I try to remain optimistic. Here's the problem: Tim Dwight, Eric Parker, Kevin Dyson, Reche Caldwell, Kassim Osgood. Is there a real starting NFL wide receiver in that group? Nope.
Picks for today, real quick-style: Pittsburgh (+4) over old, old Oakland; Washington (+2) over old, old Tampa Bay; Baltimore (+3) over Cleveland; Jacksonville (-3) over Buffalo; Cincinnati (-4.5) over J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets; Detroit (-3) over Chicago; Arizona (-11) over St. Louis--Rams will still win, just not cover; Seattle (-2.5) over the 'Aints; Chargers (+4.5) over Houston; Philly (-9) over the Giants--poor Michael Strahan, that team is so bad; Vikes (-5) over the Cowboys (despite our Madden victory in this contest); Vick & Co. (-3.5) over the bad, bad Niners; KC (+3) over the Broncos on Sunday night.
So yeah, I'm off to work, pretty excited about it. One more, non-NFL related question, one that occurred to me as I was getting the newspaper this morning: Is Jose Cuervo Spanish for Joe Corvo? Mull it over.
Peace.

Padre Pitching...and so much more

"Well an old man said to me
In a voice filled with pain
'Where you going young man?'...
He said 'Boy I was young once,
Yeah I was tough..."
--Old Man and Me, Hootie and the Blowfish

A well-deserved article on David Wells this morning on ESPN.com by Tim Kurkjian, discussing the value of the 41-year-old lefty's presence on this otherwise young staff. Brian Lawrence (28), Adam Eaton (26) and Jake Peavy (23) have benefited endlessly from the old man's wisdom and experience, and the Pads are still in playoff contention as a result of this staff's maturity. Wells himself has gone 10-7 with a 3.57 ERA and never walks anybody, which helps those numbers quite a bit. Lawrence has 13 wins and a 3.82 ERA and Peavy, who is definitely on the verge of becoming a pitching superstar, is 11-5 with a 2.33 ERA. I won't even get into the bullpen (okay, maybe I will), which boasts 35-save Trevor on the back end and Scott Linebrink (2.11 ERA) and Akinori Otsuka (2.12 ERA) in setup roles. As long as Nevin keeps pounding the ball, we'll be in the mix. We just have to find a way to beat the stinking Rockies. Aargh.
Unbelievable NFL opener last night. Wow. I watched the first quarter while finishing up some stuff at work and then caught the final two minutes after bible study. Those two teams could not be more evenly matched. Unfortunately for Indy, the mental block remains, and if the same sqauds meet again in the post-season, it will continue to be an intimidating matchup for Peyton & Co. Last year's co-MVP played a good game, but two HUGE mistakes cost his team that game. Throwing the early pick to Bruschi was big, but getting sacked on third down in the final minute and moving out of Vanderjagt's range was critical. He's on our show next week (along with Archie and Eli), so I suppose we can ask him how you can miss Willie McGinest flying into your face on a dead sprint (high-stepping and everything--Willie Mac is a stud).
Some recent show news that relates to the world of sports. Jason Sehorn was scheduled to guest host our show during the football season. He signed a contract and everything, had been in several times during the summer, and was supposed to make his debut on Tuesday. Didn't happen. Why? Yeah, he signed a free agent contract with those same Rams that he kept out of the NFC Championship Game last year, courtesy of his innocent bystander defense on Steve Smith. Needless to say, our boss was not happy with the situation. The next morning, however, how funny was it to get this on the sportswire, sent to everyone on the show just for fun:

BC-FBN--Rams-Sehorn,0111
Safety fails physical with Rams
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Safety Jason Sehorn failed his physical with the St. Louis Rams on Wednesday, nullifying the free-agent contract he signed the previous night.

Obviously there's more to the story, but the key ingredients have been spelled out. That's really sad. I hope Angie's able to console him. And I actually wonder if we'll take him back after he broke his contract. That's a bad move, bad karma obviously got him.
Reading some trade rumors on Insider yesterday got me thinking about my least favorite NBA players. Peja was rumor number one and he just might be my least favorite. Doug Christie is right up there, Turkoglu, I don't know. A lot of guys go on and off the list as they change teams (Karl Malone) or as their team ceases to be considered a threat to the Lakers (GP circa 2000). A guy that's been on the list since the mid-90's and never really left has now received a boost that has catapulted him into a firm first place position. To replace the departed Vlade Divac (off the list early 90's, strong on the list through the mid-90's and the last few years, now forced to be off since his signing with the Lake Show), the Kings signed free agent center Greg Ostertag from Utah. Wow. Ostertag and the Kings. It's a combination of evil powers that even Al Qaeda would be jealous of. Even though I probably won't be rooting for the Heat this year (maybe just a little bit), I can't wait for Shaq to roll through there--just twice during the season--and punk that guy. I hope Kobe throws down on his crew-cut dome on more than one occasion, and then they can cut away to C-Webb crying about it. Wow, it's the off-season and I'm still getting riled up about Lakers-Kings.
We're short-staffed today, with one dude taking a vacation with his girl to Hawaii and one dude who I honestly think just takes days off to play Madden (he told me on Tuesday that he spent approximately 11 hours playing with his roommate on Labor Day, yes, sunny, beautiful Labor Day), so it'll be another full load. I get very used to my meal schedule (every three hours), so when the workload becomes too impacted, those mealtimes shift far too much for my liking. Yesterday my 12:30 lunch happened at 2 and my 3:30 meal didn't take place until after 6. I suppose there are worse problems in this world.
My final note: A couple guys were talking at the gym today (not to me--my mp3 player makes it so I don't really socialize at the gym) about being successful. The conversation revolved almost exclusively around cars and money, which I suppose is standard fare. My thoughts on the ensuing drive to work (only about two minutes from 24-hour to the lot) revolved around that same term.
I live in a house I love with two dudes I get along with and totally enjoy hanging out with (when they're not in foreign countries). I get paid to do a job I'd do for free, basically in my dream field, and get to work with people I love to be around as well. I have two parents that are geographically close and who love me. I have great relationships with my two brothers and get to see one of them quite a bit (I'd see the other more often if the great Northwest didn't have such a strange hold on him). My friends are an amazing, caring, keep-me-accountable group, spead all over this great nation. I have an awesome bible study group and an incredible church.
I don't think I could ever be more successful than I am today. I guess it's just how the word is defined. Wow am I blessed.

Waiting...

"Waiting for the moon to come and light me up inside
I am waiting for the telephone to tell me I’m alive"
--Daylight Fading, Counting Crows

Technically I'm waiting for my laundry to be done so I can put it in the dryer and then wait for it to get out so I can have sheets to sleep in tonight. Normally I'd start this whole process a bit earlier than 11 p.m., but I was at work until 10:40, so not much I could do about it.
Yes, I did say 10:40. Evidently tomorrow will be a similar hour and Thursday will make these two look like earlybird days, because I have a 6 p.m.-1 a.m. edit session that night. We're doing a show from Boulder on Friday and I'm cutting a "best of Colorado football" piece that's gonna be pretty sweet, but will also take some serious prepping.
On my way home tonight, I remembered one more thing I learned while I was on vacation: I think baseball has supplanted basketball and soccer as my favorite sport. Several major points of evidence have brought me to this conclusion, not the least of which is a long history of baseball-related literary enjoyment, going back as far as I can remember. A small list of the factors involved:

1) Work: Saturday baseball is the most enjoyable job I think I could ever have. If I got to do that five days a week, I would never want or have another job ever. During last fall's playoffs--the greatest post-season in MLB history--I was privileged to work four or five days a week for about a month, and it could not have been more fun. Great games, teams, individual performances. Relaxed atmosphere, fun people. Free food. Approximately 20 minutes of actual work over the course of a game. Oh yeah, and good, free food. Did I mention that already?
2) Books: I can read about any part of the game--any player or team, any era--and it makes for a good time. I read a Joe DiMaggio biography last year, just finished "Moneyball"--yes, Side, I finally read it--and I'm currently working through a Ted Williams biography, several pages a night. I love reading guys like Rob Neyer and P.Gammons online as well, Jayson Stark and Tim Kurkjian also representing.
3) Statistics: I've always loved this element of sports, and it's recently come flooding back full-scale. I can click around ESPN.com's sortable stats for hours, intrigued anything from Jeff Weaver's quality starts (and cheap wins) to Barry Bonds' absurd advantage over everyone in everything quantifiable, and even the situational numbers for Mets rookie David Wright--very obscure, I know. My favorite guy to check on recently has been Ichiro, who is hitting over .460 since the All-Star break, including three more hits tonight (which brought his August total to 56, the most in any month by a major leaguer in over 35 years!!). The slap-happy right-fielder is definitely a one-of-a-kind hitter, swinging at every pitch (he has 148 fewer walks than Bonds at the moment) and ending up halfway down the first-base line before he even makes contact with the ball (possibly a slight exaggeration). He's hitting .371 and is poised to make a run at George Sisler's single-season hit record (257), which was set in 1920. I like stuff like that.
4) Pennant Races: Knowing that the Angels, Rangers, A's and Red Sox feel like they have to win every night is so cool. The Cubs, Padres, Giants (and now even the Astros) feel the same way. Having so many teams with realistic post-season hopes makes for such an exciting September (and for some reason, Fox won't be bringing us any action for the first two weeks of said thrilling month). I catch countless games during BDSSP work days, Baseball Tonight on occasion before I leave, and make sure to grab good games for review each morning before work starts, so I'm able to soak in the full drama of these races.
5) Baseball Tonight: Easily my favorite show on television. Including the one on which I work. It seriously does not get any better than Ravech, HR and P.Gammons. Kurkjian is my next favorite analyst on there, and Dibs and Stark can hang too, but the big three just know how to get it done. Karl runs the show, dominates the highlights and passes it off for occasional analysis with seamless question-and-answer execution. HR loves reacting to the web gems, calling for a play of the year almost every night. And Gammons (who is actually not the dude on your $20 bill) knows more about baseball than anyone alive. Kurkjian might reach that level someday, but for now, big Pete has about 30 years on him. Even if he is a Red Sox homer, I love hearing what he's got to say.
6) My Padres. Last but most definitely not least. They're very much alive in the wild card race (half a game behind Frisco and the Cubbies as of tonight) and can still consider the NL West a winnable race, if the Dodgers (or, more accurately, Adrian Beltre) ever come crashing back to earth. Khalil Greene should be the Rookie of the Year, Brian Lawrence and Jake Peavy are so solid (Adam Eaton not bad either) in the rotation, Trevor is still Trevor (and he's got Akinori Otsuka leading the rest of the very deep bullpen), and, with all due respect to Honus Wagner, Mark Loretta may just be the greatest second baseman in the history of the game. Before you scoff at such a statement, consider the St. Francis grad's .342 average (second in the NL behind ridiculous Bonds), 15 homers and 70 RBIs (behind only Jeff Kent among NL second basemen), and countless clutch hits all season long. He's a baller. And this squad is pumped and ready for the post-season. I still need to get down there for a game, which is stupid considering my stated loyalty and geographic proximity to this ballclub. I've got a couple dates on the calendar, so hopefully something will work itself out soon.

Laundry is almost done--I need to make my bed and get those invaluable four hours of sleep so I can be fully rested for another 15-hour day. Something doesn't sound right in that sentence. That vacation sure seems like it was a long time ago now. Pieces.