New Link

I have put a new link on the left side of the screen to a blog called Brothers at Arms.  This blog is written by three brothers, two Red Sox fans, one a Yankee fan, about the famous rivalry, which obviously crosses even bloodlines.  It is a fun read, frequently updated, and full of interesting, if often biased, opinions.

First Amendment Anyone?

I find it sad that in a country which prides itself on free speech a candidate for president can be attacked, even his ability to be president questioned, as a result of him having known, even befriended, a person with different political beliefs from his own.

Isn't the point of politics, and of free thought, to take into account all backgrounds and all belief systems in an effort to find the best solutions to difficult problems?

Alamo Revisited

I got it wrong, the Suns looked terrible in Game 3, and the Spurs went up 3-0.  But my prediction about the talking heads was right, because now that the Suns won game 4, the boys at ESPN are all saying the Spurs could be in trouble, the series should be 2-2, if the Suns win game 5 they can bring the series back to Phoenix, etc.

Here is my analysis of game 4; The Spurs expected to lose.  I thought the refs would be terrible, because there was no way the NBA and ABC were going to allow this series to be a sweep, but the officiating was OK.  The Spurs seemed to expect the same thing.  Every time a questionable foul was called, Popovich sort of smirked and looked at his assistants, who nodded as if they were expecting it.  Duncan shook his head and smiled, the jogged back downcourt.  I think Brent Barry actually shared a laugh with Manu at one point.  

I'm not worried about the Spurs play, the Suns are too good a team to be swept anyway.  The starters didn't play many minutes, and guys like Horry and Barry got a good run in, which should help us as we go deeper into the playoffs.  

Liriano sent down

And it is about time.  The Twins were stupid to bring him up from the minors as quickly as they did after Tommy John surgery.  He should of been in extended spring training until now, and making rehab starts at Triple A this week and next.  Rushing young starters to the majors is one thing, but rushing them back from major surgery is absurd. 

Game 3

The San Antonio Spurs travel to Phoenix tonight for the third game of their epic first round series.  The game shave been played at a very high level so far, but have meant very little.  A playoff series does not become interesting until somebody loses at home.  

All the Spurs have done thus far is hold serve, and I suspect the Suns will  continue to do the same thing.  All the talking heads will continue to tell you the Suns are in trouble, the series is over, but they are wrong.  The Suns will win tonight, win Sunday, and go back to San Antonio for game 5 with the series tied at two games apiece.  Then all the talking heads will be telling you that the Spurs are in trouble, the series is over, etc.  

Until somebody wins on the road, there is no story.  

The End is Near...

I handed in the final draft of my portfolio this past week, so my Master's degree is almost complete.  There may yet be a few minor changes, but for all intents and purposes, I am done.  Degree in hand, off to New York City.  Now if I can just find a job...

Hacker

I went golfing on Tuesday with some friends.  I had a good time, but wow, is my slice terrible.  I have to literally aim 150 yards to the left of where I actually want the ball to land.  I had old men in golf carts waiting to tee off scared for their lives on several holes.  That part is actually kind of fun...

It is now Italian law that AC Milan wins every match...

I can't believe the Italians elected Berlusconi again.  When you are so powerful that the solution to getting caught breaking the law is changing the law, not only do you need to go, but the whole system needs to be changed.  Have you been to Italy recently?  It is a society in decline, filled with broken systems that are beyond repair.  In France there is a saying:  The French do not do reform, only revolution.  Well, at this point Italy does not do either.

Some people just don't get it...

Hillary Clinton was booed by the crowd at her own campaign event when she tried to make up an absurd comment and then pretend Obama made it and criticize him.  This is a play straight out of the Karl Rove school of politics, and is even more distasteful than her previous actions.  Who can be trusted to answer the phone at 3 AM indeed.  

Delaying the Inevitable?

My beloved Bolton Wanderers won yesterday, 1-0 over West Ham United.  Bolton are still in the relegation zone, 2 points behind Birmingham City and 3 points behind Reading with 4 matches to go.  The Wanderers have given me, as well as thousands of other fans, that most cursed emotion, hope.  

I am frantically looking at the schedule, doing the math based on different scenarios.  Here is what I have come up with.  If we beat Middlesborough Saturday, draw with Tottenham the following week, and then beat Sunderland at the Reebok, that will put us on 36 points.   

Birmingham play Aston Villa in a local derby, and I can't see them getting more than a point from that.  Then they play Liverpool, which should be a comfortable win for the scousers.  Follow that up with a match at Craven Cottage, and hopefully a draw.  Then, Birmingham end with Blackburn at home.  If they win that, they will also end up on 36 points.  But if Birmingham draw or lose, Bolton stay up.  

The other club hovering around the relegation zone is Reading, who currently have 32 points.  They play Arsenal next week, which will be a loss.  And if Bolton win and Birmingham draw, that will drop Reading into 18th.  Then the pressure starts.  I can't see Reading getting more than 2 points from Wigan away and Spurs at home  Reading will be on 34 points going into the last day of the season, when they have the luckiest draw of any team in the league.  Away to Derby.  If Reading win that match, they are on 37 points, and stay in the Premier League for another season.  If they draw or lose, they are going down.

I still expect the worst, relegation for Bolton, but now I am able to hope for the best.

A Fun Night Out

Last night Erin and I went to a place called Jazzmind's in Honolulu.  It is, as you would imagine, a jazz bar.  The band that was playing was called Tempo Valley, and they played an interesting mix of jazz, hip-hop, and R & B.  The drinks were a little pricey, but not as outlandish as you would normally expect in a place like this.  

Presumably, there are tons of jazz bars in New York where the atmosphere, as well as the music, will be as good, or even better than it was last night, but we had a good time anyway.  It figures that with less than 2 months to go we would find something original to do in Honolulu.

Power Grab

I thought Bill Clinton was a good president.  Compared to the past few years, he was an outstanding President, but I digress.  It is sad to see Mr. Clinton sully his legacy in being party to his wife's shameless power grab.  The lying, the slander, the attempt to return to the White House by any means necessary, it is all just so distasteful.  

I agree with Ms. Rodham-Clinton's positions on just about every issue out there, and I will certainly vote for her if she gets the Democratic nomination, but I think there is something to be said for conducting oneself with a degree of class befitting one's position as a United States Senator and possible President.

San Francisco Renaissance

Remarkably, my Giants have won three games in a row.  Everyone knew coming in that our starting rotation would be a strength, probably our only strength, and recent performances have confirmed that.  Lincecum has been outstanding, Sanchez and Correia were very good the past couple days, we all know what Matt Cain can do, and Noah Lowry will be returning to the lineup soon. 

Lowry's return is going to cause problems though.  We can't go with a six man rotation.  Well, we could, but we won't, so someone has to go to either the bullpen or the minors.  Who will it be?  Based on performance, it is quite obvious that Barry Zito is the worst of the six, but there are about 110 million reasons why he won't be going anywhere for the foreseeable future.   That leaves Sanchez and Correia, the least established members of the group.  Sanchez struck out ten in six shutout innings on Wednesday, while Correia went 7 2/3 shutout innings yesterday.  

If it were up to me, I would go with the six man rotation.  We aren't going to make the playoffs this season, so why not try some unorthodox things?  With an extra day of rest, hopefully each pitcher could go deeper into the games, which would mean less stress on the bullpen.

Of course, Bochy will just move Correia to the bullpen, but wouldn't my option be more interesting, as well as more beneficial to the development of all these young pitchers.

Aloha Richard

My dear friend Richard arrived in Honolulu a few weeks ago four months into his world tour. It was great to see the lad. We went camping and hiked the Na Pali coast of Kauai, watched some soccer, drank some tea, and generally had a good time. He is now off to Australia, and we will miss him greatly.

Spurred on

The reason the Suns made the Shaq trade was that they felt they couldn't beat the Spurs and the Lakers in the playoffs without him.  Judging by the two games against the Spurs since the trade, it was a good move.

The Spurs are struggling a bit, especially offensively, and I feel a big reason for it is that they are missing Brent Barry.  He is certainly not a big name, and he doesn't put up huge numbers, but he plays three positions, gives them an extra ball handler, and can still shoot lights out.  There is no way Phoenix plays zone for as long as they did last night if Barry is on the floor.  It was surprising Matt Bonner wasn't given a chance to bust the zone as well.