Cal made the National Championship game

in softball, it's tonight at 8pm on ESPN. I admit, it's not the most riveting athletic event to watch, and the uniforms are unflattering, but it can be impressive to see folks get mown-down by 70MPH fastballs from 45 feet away-- do the math on the reaction time for that one. And a buncha my former students from a gut-level ESPM class I TA'd are on that team.

Go Lady Bears,
RTA

Duuuuuude

Parhamtastic: Come on, dude. You write in your post as if my post about the two scientists was completely serious. Give me some freaking credit here, dude, for knowing 1) the difference between you and Nick Berg; 2) the difference between Iran and Iraq; 3) the absurdity of Bush's defined Axis of Evil, and 4) my propensity to attempt to elicit laughs on this board by posting ostensibly ridiculous posts. Enough.

Axis of whatever

is silly to be sure, but the offer of porn-for-spiders is still on the table.

I actually got the idea from a friend whose brother was in Peace Corps in Kyrgistan (?sp?) and found the singles scene not-so-happening, and had my friend hide cut-out girlie-photos between the pages of books/magazines not likely to be opened by gov't censors and send them to him.

Ironic how Scientist #2 travels so far from CA to experience a 6.0. I've never been within 70 miles of anything larger than 5.0, and I've been here in earthquake central 29 of my 31 yrs.

Anchorman

This shit looks funny.

trade offer

only good in countries where
A) sexual outlets for single men mostly involve Bovids
B) I need to not go to, because I want to live

I'm pretty sure Quilmes lab and house fail test B, I can't really speak to test A, because I am not single, and I've never been there.

for more information go to www.sistani.org

I learned a lot about Islam from the Q&A/Islamic law part of this site. They have "temporary marriage contracts" that can be as short as 1 hour(!) And if your wife demands too much payment for breastfeeding your child, you are allowed to hire a less-expensive wetnurse. The wetnurse, however, should not be ugly, illegitimate, insane or ill-tempered.

good exchange

I got spiders in my lab

If I send them can you send me the porn too.

Dear Scientists #1 and #2,

Did you guys want to collect some spiders for me while you're there? Just pick up anything on a funnel-shaped web, stick it in 95-100% ethanol with a proper field-quality entomological label, and that'll work great. In return, I can send you some porn disguised as "journal articles," and include you on the acknowledgements page in my diss with all the other suckers who collected my specimens. The return address on the porn will say, JUMBOS, Pike Place Market, Stall #43, Seattle, WA 98945. Just don't let the ayatollahs catch you guys catch you guys spankin' it, you can lose a hand that way I hear.

Thanks a million,
RTA Express

Jumbos is in the House

Jumbos has just been trying to get some work done. Quilmes is the Master Poster, despite having THE DISS to finish up before his European Vacation.

I want Parhamtastic to post more often with crazy stories from the center of the vortex. I still can't believe he is over in the middle of War Central looking for salamanders. Is that what he's looking for? I can just imagine the discussion about salamander collecting:

Scientist #1: "Where do you want to go collecting this year?"

Scientist #2: "How 'bout somewhere in the Axis of Evil, where Americans are routinely being kidnapped and beheaded, and where miliant Islamist fundamentalism is running rampant?"

Scientist #1: "Sounds great to me!"

yup

starting to wonder if you guys started a new blog and didn't invite me. hmmmmm. come on people. I know jumbos can't be this busy. The rest of you maybe.

iran earthquake

I wonder where Parham is relative to the earthquake, which was 43miles NE of Tehran?
Give us a signal Parhamtastic.
I heard it was between a 5.5 and 6.2.

cushions are deaf

#1 pick

what should the Magic do with the #1 pick?

I say trade it for a proven player to help out T-Mac (although he may still jet).

I hope the Pistons don't push to get him. Although he'd be a much needed scoring threat, we'd likely lose Rip in the trade.

quiet out there. everyone seems to be taking a blog-cation?

yeah

good luck with that Jumbos.

FC Porto

I have a pair of FC Porto soccer shorts right now, and they are pretty much my only pair of soccer shorts cause my other pair is in Montana, and I bought them last year when I went to a soccer store in Providence, RI, and they were on sale for $5. And now FC Porto wins the Champions League. Coincidence? Hard to say. Very hard to say. My point? The girl who threw out the first pitch at Fenway yesterday (see pic below) speaks Portuguese, since she is Brazilian. Coincidence? That is unclear. In my humble opinion, all these signs are pointing to the distinct possibility that Jumbos may get some action from a hot girl this weekend.

UEFA championships

=BORING

3-0 Porto over Monaco.

Carlos Alberto and Deco had one each and then some other dude.

But it was kind of a sloppy game.

She is some Brazilian supermodel

No surprise there.

As for why she got asked to throw out the first pitch at Fenway, I have no idea.

okay

I'm writing my diss so I'm out of the loop. Who the hell is that girl and why would she want to wear a Red Sox uni. Tigers must be all sold out.

Hmmm...

A's game/fundraiser June 9

Hey y'all,
I am ordering tix for the A's game Wednesday June 9th 7:05 pm. (vs. Reds) Half the proceeds will go to West Contra County schools. I'm getting plaza level ($18) 'cause that's what I can personally afford. I have to get the order in by Friday May 28th, so please let me know via this board if you have a high level of interest. This would not be a commitment, I will just get an estimate of numbers, make the order, and if there are extras, I have a week or so to sell the extras.
At any rate, let me know ASAP.
Joe

shhhhhh-BAP

Smith

is the guy's last name. He's the Samuel L. Jackson of sports commentary-- he only has one volume, loud.

anybody seen the Dave Chapelle show?
Samuel Jackson beer-- "IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK, BITCH!"

Stephen A

I forget his last name but he's one of the studio halftime/postgame guys for espn now. He used to appear on Best damn sports show via video feed. I think he's from Philly or something. did he ever play or is he a through and through sports writer.

What's your guys take on this guy? He seems angry as hell. At first it was refreshing now its old. I can't get Spike Lee out of my head when I see him.

Agreed

Prince's block on Mr. Whiny was the most incredible block I have ever seen. That was awesome.

wow

if you didn't see that Pistons-Pacers game you missed one of the best games I've seen. Really low scoring but the defense was truly incredible. The intensity out there was ridiculous and Tayshaun Prince had the most amazing block I've seen, not to mention it was on the biggest whiner in the league--Reggie the Alien Miller.

I would've been in a terrible mood today and tomorrow if they had lost.

Kerry Collins

major score for Oakland. i'm not sure if it will make me a fan of the team. I do like Collins. he tends to put up large numbers.

also, I agree with Simey that the Niners don't deserve fans since they worry so much about the bottom line and don't work on improving the team at all.

going to oklahoma for herp meetings tomorrow. if I don't seem very excited, that would be an accurate picture. a whole week in Norman OK? ugh.

GO

Pistons

Talk about players I hate-----Reggie Miller. He just has this look you wanna slap off his face.

I predict the Pistons in 6.

Funny Shit

I've only seen Madsen

trying to dance on the float during one of the Lakers' victory parades. This did not do anything to dispel the perception of him as less-than-graceful. And it was always presented in a snarky white-guys-can't/shouldn't-even-try-to dance sort of way, an attitude which ticks me off, 'cause I can and will shake it like a goddamn Polaroid picture ever' so often. Some of which pissedoffness probably came thru in my post-Zeros-post, and had little to do with his actual post.

I looked up madsen's line. It looks like he gets about 12 minutes, 3 pts and 3 rebounds for his career. He's gotten more minutes recently in the playoffs because he's covered for Olowokande, who got benched for, as far as I can tell, sucking.

Pluggers

RTA, I respect your opinion and appreciation of pluggers. You're right that players that work hard shouldn't be disliked just because they maximize their limited natural ability by putting in 110% effort.

But damn, have you watched Madsen play? It is hilarious watching him hustle around the floor and boot bunny layups and scream and yell the most vocally from the bench and all that. Sorry to insult your love of the little hardworking guy, and to insult Madsen, but I just laugh whenever I see him in an NBA game.

Madsen criticism

Why is "has to work hard" to hold onto one's well-paying job a legitimate criticism? There's plenty of Natural Talent dunking on the playgrounds of America that didn't take the steps necessary to earn one of the few paying positions in that field.

There are "pluggers" in every area of life, God love 'em, they deserve credit, not blame.

I'm not going to teach my offspring the value implied there: Do just as well as your "natural talent" will take you, and go no further, especially if it perpetuates whatever stereotypes you find applied to people like yourself.

Most Annoying Player to Watch in the NBA

Mark Madsen, hands down. I hate watching that guy out there on the court. He is the EPITOME of the unathletic, overachieving, hustling, no skill, no creativity, by-the-books, coach's boy.

translating

to me, it seems that Monty's transition will on one hand be even tougher because of Stanford's player profile. Most of his players lack a ton of natural ability and play mostly on intelligence and his system. On the other hand he's so good at getting people to buy into his system that he may be able to get the Warriors to buy into it as well.
He and Rick Carlisle have some similarities

Montgomery

I'm immediately interested in how the Warriors do next year. Montgomery is a great college coach. I hope he translates to the pro level.

Warriors

I'll say it once, I'll say it a thousand times: I think the Warriors would make the playoffs immediately if they were named the Oakland Warriors, rather than the Golden State Warriors. Or the Oakland Anything, for that matter.

Jack Handey

"Whenever someone asks me to define LOVE, I usually think for a minute,
then I spin around and pin the guy's arm behind his back. Now who's
asking the questions?"

Next A's Game For RTA clan

will be June 9th, Wednesday, 7pm. I've requested the fundraising order form to get tix so that half the proceeds will go to West Contra Costa (Richmond, el cerrito, etc) schools, which may not have any sports or libraries next year without some extraordinary fundraising. Am going to rally as many folks as possible, and will handle ticket orders. Let me know if you're interested.

RTA

Going to the A's Tigers tomorrow

Should be fun.
Tiges are back at .500, and they've found some pitching to go with their hitting.
The A's don't look like they have what it takes to make the playoffs this year. Anaheim is too good.

My first game of the year.

Going with the Padian lab. Anyone else gonna be there?

Best Division in baseball?

I heard some sport-talking-guys arguing about this one on TV.
They were either supporting NL Central (only one of 6 teams below .500) or AL East (because Yankees and Boston's rotations are so good).

I would say the AL West is pretty tough-- only Seattle below .500, and they have one of the best records in baseball over the last 4 years. Texas no longer completely sucks either, though I can't explain why.

Other than regional bias, why would such a tough division be discounted in favor of the Cardinals, Astros, and Cubs?

fire bad

more fire trucks Chez Hellbenders last night. I heard the sirens approaching and (innocently) thought they couldn't be coming to MY building since our fire alarms weren't sounding (temporarily forgetting that our alarm has been busted since Sunday's festivities). then as the sirens got closer, I Iook out the window. 'lo and behold, the trucks are pulling up in the street next to my building.

"huh," I think, "must be something going on across the street." though, in hindsight, the faces peering out of windows across the street should have suggested to me that they were looking in MY direction. anyway, the trucks park and I watch the firedudes walk up the sidewalk and then behind my building.

at that point, I decide to put my shoes on and start thinking of what I might need to grab in case a hasty departure is called for (where is the cat? looking out the window at the firetrucks. where is her carrier? right where I left it 3 days ago). next, I stick my head out in the hall and I smell smoke. yoiks! but things are still surprisingly quiet. no running footsteps, pounding on doors, or shouting (hallmarks of previous fire-related activities).

I go down the hall and out the back door to see what is up. some jackass has apparently lit some garbage on fire in the parking area behind my (and Simey's next door) building. the good news was they seem to have just made a small pile instead of lighting the entire overflowing dumpster and associated mountain of cardboard boxes on fire. the bad news is people keep lighting fires in and around my building, and our frigging fire alarms don't work! shit! I am counting the days until I can move out of this dump.

probably

that's just wishful thinking on your part Jumbezeros.

I don't know about canadian girls

but
"Toward and towards (pronounce them either TORD[Z] or tuh-WORD[Z]) are Standard and interchangeable in meaning. American English uses both, but toward more often; British English uses towards more."

Canada

Canadian girls have a healthy and open attitude towards sex, too.

(Is it "towards sex" or "toward sex"? Does anybody know?)

on the other hand

in Canada you could make the national team maybe.

OK

I will stay in the US. Canada is too fucking cold, anyway.

moral highroad

yes, I agree that it would be good on many levels if we could say we are better than the alternative in Iraq and have it be true. these photos have definitely hurt the US in the eyes of the world including, I'm sure, more mainstream Muslims. so I agree with Jumbos points on that. we will never win over the radical edges, but we had a chance with more moderate elements. but only IF the admin cared enough to make the effort (but they don't so we are even more hated than we were a week ago - this agrees with jumbos, right?)

my additional point was that having Rum step down now will not have the same impact it would have if he had done it without all the outcry for it. just like when GW went on Arabic TV stations (2 of them!) and didn't apologize (even though his own people said he should!!) and then apologized the next day to the sheik/king of someplace. too little too late. dragging your heels and having to be forced into doing the right thing is not the same as doing the right thing right away without being told to do it.

fuck

I went to that link that Simey posted. That's one of the most hideous things I've ever seen. I really wish I hadn't gone to the link. To perform the beheading takes more hate than I can fathom, not that I didn't realize Muslim extremists hate us, but wow.

Berg's father surprised me by saying that at least it was quick and he didn't have to suffer through torture. What? I guess there really wasn't much that a father could say.

In Tkatch's email he said that if Rummy knew what happen and didn't bring it to GW's attention than he should share in the culpability and step down. I agree. And I think Rummy did know and is now backing away saying he didn't realize how bad it was and that's why it wasn't brought out before. Basically, he's sidestepping full responsibility by saying he knew but not really.

And I have to agree with Jumbos again. He made a good point on the Tillman allusion but also as he stated before we need allies in this. It's not just whether the extremist are gonna hate us, but whether more rationale more on the fence people are gonna grow to hate us and side against us. The more shit like this that happens the more of them we lose. Whether Rummy should step down, I'm not sure but something drastic needs to happen.

Man I gotta get to Finland.

H*llbenders

I don't agree with H*llbenders that "it doesn't matter whether Rummy steps down or not, cause there will be fanatics and beheadings regardless."

I think that there are certain actions/events that can incite people to take up arms. For example, look at Pat Tillman: he was so traumatized by 9/11 that he joined the Rangers and went off to kill some Al Qaida. That kind of stuff happens all the time...and the type or nature of the action/event needed to incite somebody will vary from person to person. I would bet a lot of money that hundreds of normal Muslims will choose to fight against the US now, based solely on the pictures of abuse and GW's reaction to them. That doesn't seem like too crazy an assumption by me.

Also, you hopefully should all note that I am not saying that the fanatical Muslims are OK or right in anything they do. Of course not. All I'm saying is that I wish the US was actually doing things BETTER than the fanatical Muslims... I really really hate this comparison of abuses in order to justify anything the US does. The US has to take the high road eventually, or else this war (against terrorism, etc.) will go on forever.

I agree with your points Jumbos

and they are well put. Rumsfeld stepping down or being relieved would send a good message. it should have happened. but I also agree with Simey that even if Rummy had done the right thing and fallen on his sword (which would have been completely uncharacteristic for anyone in this admin. which would have added to the impact of it) it wouldn't have made a lick of difference. the groups who hate the US will continue to hate us and will just have other stated reasons for beheading americans and posting it on the web (when I don't think they care about the particular reason of the moment, just that it is an american)

Re-read my original post

Only SIMEY understood what I was saying when I said Rummy should be relieved of duty. I don't think he is "responsible" for the torture of the prisoners. I never said that. Waht I said was a brief synopsis of the following: I think that because the Muslim world knows Rummy is the head of our military (Secretary of Defense), and also because Rummy has been the one to be grilled in front of Congress on international TV about the abuses, the fact that Rummy is being patted on the back despite all the abuses perpretrated by our military can only be interpreted ONE WAY by the world and the (militant fanatical) Muslims: GW doesn't really care about the abuses.

Why is that such a bad thing, especially relative to the beheading? Well, because the thing that everyone is just ignoring or not realizing is that the US is trying (at least figuratively) to show the world (and the Muslim world) that the US way of doing things (freedom of speech, democracy, freedom of religion) is the RIGHT and GOOD and JUST way to organize a country. So anytime that something happens to the contrary (and I would include the abuse pics AND Rummy not being fired), it just destroys the illusion of US purity that the US is banking on as an important method of stemming the rise of militant terrorism in the Middle East. That is obvious. And what follows from this position is that the US cannot claim "an eye for an eye" or play the "Well, the terrorists beheaded an American, so our abuses aren't as bad as that!" game. That will not win over anybody--not liberal Americans, not Europeans, and certainly not the Iraqis that the US desperately needs to help stabilize Iraq. By firing Rummy (although he is not _personally_ responsible) it shows the world and the Muslim world that the US is at least willing to be different than Saddam or any other "evil" leader.

rumsfeld

I agree that him stepping down at this point is pointless, but Bush's lovefest was a bit much too.

the thing I found shocking was when he (rummy) testified last friday, he said that he'd been running around THE DAY BEFORE trying to get hold of the CD with the pictures on it. they've been investigating this incident for months and the photos (at least some) had been all over the web and he still was having a hard time getting a hold of them?

it definitely draws attention to problems within the military hierarchy, while simultaneously giving higher-ups "plausible deniability".


excellent points by Joe T.

it's getting hot in here

I was gonna try

to say something about Rebound Man, but what could I say? Bizarre, kickass story.

Jumbos goes off

I am sooooo fucking mad at the present admin. It is unbelievably obvious that Rummy should be relieved of his post, because GW's support of him ("He's a doing a superb job.") can only be interpreted by the Muslim world in one way: GW (and hence America) doesn't really care at all about the Iraqi prisoner abuse, and all the apologies are merely crocodile tears. This situation is bullshit and ridiculous. The US is _fulfilling_ all descriptions of the arrogant, imperialist, ignorant, abusive military superpower... that the rest of the world has been using to describe the US. It seems that the US can no longer easily lie to itself that this country is the sole bastion of "freedom and democracy" in the world. Those pictures will spawn thousands of anti-US terrorists/fanatics in the next few years, even more than the attack on Iraq has already. The situation is unbelievable. I sincerely wish that I could get Canadian citizenship ASAP. And I'd wager that the Athens Olympics will not be peaceful; something terrorist is unfortunately bound to happen.


Chiefs' story about the guy with the rebounding fetish was hilarious.

I think

we just witnessed Journey's best post ever.

a sign of things to come or an aberration, only time will tell.

More Helen of Troy, in LIVE ACTION

Trailer

Hunky?

Quilmes never ceases to surprise.

Let me just say, with no regard towards anything, that I think that Helen of Troy is so HOT!

p.s. Should that be "towards" or "toward"? Does anybody know for sure? I bet Helen of Troy would know.

good questions RTA

In establishing my religion, I hadn't thought much beyond selection of a deity. of course there should be accessories, what was I thinking!?

the photo is from "Troy" (I believe) and so there are no chicks because they are in pursuit of the chick posted by Zero below.

diverse topics

Orlando looks like a little boy next to that bistec next to him. HE'S HUNKY!;} (my first and last attempt at emoticons, but not my first or last attempt at acting/being bi-curious, perhaps it functions as Totenkopf repellant)



Now onto more macho stuff. The Oakland Tribune apparently has a special ticket deal for one of the games to the Tigers vs. A's games next week. It's 4 tickets, 4 dogs, 4 drinks, 4 bags of chips for $30. It's mid level seating I think. Anyone interested? I'd like to go, but not solo.

Are those Aztec-chieftain-starter-kit necklaces

a sign of the priesthood in H*llbenders new religion?
Or did Orlando have nothing better to do than spend his LOTR paychecks on 3rd world tchotchkes for himself and his friends?

More to the point, why are there no chicks in that picture? If I'm a pretty boy newly minted movie star on a boat, there are chicks on that boat. Hell, I might just make a raft out of the chicks, and forget the boat completely.

Done being sexist and homophobic, for now. RTA

I am thinking of starting my own religion

based on worship of orlando bloom (below, left)



(I was originally going to post this in the interest of equal time after having to look at the Helen of Troy pic. when the topic veered into religion, it still seemed appropriate)

No ahem, Jumbos

blog is like a box 'a chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.
I like religion, when it does good things, like feed people and commission great art works,
just like I like government, when it builds roads and puts bad guys who try to steal/blow up my stuff in jail. I just don't like hypocrisy in either one.

Maybe the Bishop of Honduras can apply for some matching funds from Bush's faith-based-initiatives to match Bora's salary. Then he can distribute it however he wants, to do it evenly, itd be about $0.0001 USD per poor Honduran per month. I bet most of them would rather just have their team qualify for the World Cup.

Ahem

http://www.johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com/

religious countries

Yeah, Ireland is pretty interesting as a religion-dominated country. Our present administration would like to enact laws (and amend the Constitution) to impose their own religious views on this country.

As a Catholic

I can say, my church could do a lot more to curb poverty by letting women achieve equality and control their own reproduction than by redistributing Bora's piddling salary every year from now until the 2nd coming.

When I was living in Ireland, in 1994, divorce was still illegal due to the influence of the Church. Can you even imagine? They did have the "Irish divorce" where a man left his family, left the country, and was never heard from again, but the woman could not remarry or sue for any sort of financial support. Their Divorce Act (1996) allows for divorce, but only if the husband and wife have lived apart for at least four of the preceding five years among other requirements, so it's um, no picnic to get one.

Interesting

Battle between Catholic church and La Seleccion Nacional in Honduras

Helen of Troy

This is the face that launched a thousand ships, according to the upcoming movie "Troy." Not bad, not bad at all. She is a German actress, and supposedly she was always exactly on time for her scenes.

Journey

I would have supported you too, but I couldn't figure out what you meant by "hardward", maybe it was some brother thing I didn't know about it.

JUMBOS' hardware

I check in more often than Chiefs, and I had the same question, briefly.
Then I remembered... it's JUMBOS.
Has JUMBOS ever required a reason to rant about his exploits, whatever their merit, or no matter how much or little anybody else might possibly care?
I would say no, JUMBOS has not.

Chiefs

Chiefs comes in and sincerely asks, "Have I missed some posts?" Hahahahaahaha. Chiefs, you have missed SO MANY posts! Come on! You check the blog maybe once a week!

fire

there was a fire.

apparently a homeless person was sleeping in the electrical/fuse box room (which has a door on that alleyway between our buildings) and somehow set a fire in there.

this is the third springtime in a row that we've had a fire in our building in the middle of the night. 2 years ago someone lit a fire in our laundry room, last spring someone had a fire in their apt, and now this. I was beginning to think we were going to miss having this important spring event. I think this year was notable for having the most firetrucks (4).

ah, what fun to wake up in the middle of the night with fire alarms blaring and the smell of smoke in your apt.

have you seen the burned out car in the Taco Bell parking lot? I guess that is from a few days ago.

blogger

blogger is part of google. they revamped the whole site.

changes

who instituted the blog changes?
I like this format better. It's easier

baseball stats galore

more stats than you can shake a stick at

note in particular Plate Appearances:  "Plate appearances have long sparked controversy as it is a factor used to determine the yearly batting champion. Currently, 3.1 plate appearances per game are required for batting title eligibility."

so Bonds' BBs count towards his plate appearances and wouldn't eliminate him from possible batting title.

QUESTION

Does anyone know how the minimum number of at-bats needed to qualify for the batting title is decided? Is is based on the distribution of at-bats for all players for a season? Is it relative to the player with the most at-bats? Is it possible that Bonds could get so many BBs that he wouldn't get the minimum number of at-bats to qualify?

it's h*llbenders

or perhaps hedoublehockeysticksbenders. I can't decide which is more protective of the delicate sensibilities on this blog.

Molge

thanks for the asterisk, my eyes were almost burned out of my head.

jumbos post

d*mn reruns!

Jumbos Hardware

- many, many many Cal IM championships
- many, many many soccer tourney trophies from when I was young
- EFFL March Madness 2002 Champion, 2003 runner up, 2004 3rd place
- Mud Bowl IV championship, (teamed up with Quilmes), although I think Journey and I ended up buying the pitchers at The Hut that night for some reason.
- many, many many victories over Journey in 1 v 1 basketball, including Nerf Hoops and real basketball
- Cape Cod Amateur Soccer League Champion, Summer 2003
- many, many many drunken hook-ups during and after IB-related parties

Cheers

was completely ruined for me by Kirstie Alley. she's so horrible I didn't even want to shop at Pier 1 when she was doing their ads.

King of Queens

is definitely one of them, but it's not the worst one.
I think it might have come first, and it's the one the others are ripping off.
Though it might be ripping off The Honeymooners itself...

5 Best Sitcoms Ever

MASH
Sanford & Son
All in The Family
Cheers
The Simpsons

king of queens

is one of the "unwatchable shows", I think?

If I had a TV

I would totally watch "Fear Factor", cause they always have incredibly hot women doing stuff that necessitates bikinis.

ER

sucks.
I don't watch it either, but that show just plummetted with the loss of Clooney.

Then Anthony Edwards left, and now Noah Wylie is the only one on it. Is that gimpy grouchy woman still on it. I totally agree there's no one on the damn show that you're interested in.

The Simpsons

has been on for 16 years, and is still going.
If you add up the Star Trek franchises together, you'd have well over 10 years, but that's cheating.
60 minutes has been on a godawfully long time, if you count it as a "show" and not news, though it's somewhere in between.

Re: liking Friends. I liked the jokes. The actors were funny (except Schwimmer, who's just horrible), the ladies always looked nice, the one-liners were often good. I noticed from looking at my "analysis" that the things I hated were the soap-opera-ish ongoing things, because the plotwise they were just so thin, eg Phoebe having triplets (then returning immediately to having a tight bod?)? yikes.

In the end, I'll take a well-written sitcom (there aren't many left, Everybody loves Raymond is alright) over "reality TV" any time.

THE UNWATCHABLE SHOW: the one with the shlubby guy (who usually has an inexplicably hot wife) who's always up to High Jinks. There are about 3 different versions of this show on right now, I can't tell them apart. One even has Jim Belushi on it. Awful.

long shows

I don't think Cosby was that long, unless you include Different World. I could be wrong.

ER has been on a long time. too long in fact. I used to like it but had to stop watching when I realized I didn't really care about any of the characters (not even enough to watch bad things happen to them).

believe it or not, Everybody Loves Raymond (which I DO NOT watch) is in its 9th season and coming back for one more.

Friends

One of many Ross paleontology gaffes--Mesozoic mastodon

And I might criticize Joey for laughing when Ross said Homo sapiens, but I do that too.

With all the critiques I could give, I somehow like the show. And I think it's really very simple. It can be funny at times, if you like juvenile humor like me, and there are hot chicks on it. Fraser is funny, so they tell me, but no hot chicks. Thus, I have not been lured into multiple episodes.

10 years running. What other shows have run that long?
Cheers, Mash, Cosby?, Seinfeld?, Unfortunately not the A-Team

HAHAHAHA

RTA's analysis = Brilliant.

I haven't seen Friends in a while, but the episodes that I have watched always made me wonder how much exactly the AMNH is paying paleontologists these days, and how come Ross has so much free time, and is never away doing field work? And why the fuck Ross never talked abour or even mentioned his research on the show. They make it seem like being an academic paleontologist is equivalent, in the 9-5 put-in-your-hours and go home sense, to being a loan officer or a banker or something.

I watched it.

it was basically the same as every other episode, ever.
Common elements:
Chandler cracked kinda-wise, repeatedly, while being walked on by his woman and other Friends.
Phoebe was odd, and not a significant part of any story line.
Monica was a bitch. Her giant blue shirt, to cover her real-life pregnancy, was a nice touch though.
Rachel looked pretty, but was spineless, predictable, and generally useless.
Ross had girlfriend drama at the airport (2 airports, actually), and was intolerably whiny and morose.
--does his character being about the only academic scientist portrayed on TV trouble anybody here? He does for scientists what GW Bush does for a Yale education.
Joey had trouble parting with evidence of his everlasting suspended adult development.
Then they all drank coffee.

Friends

of course I watched it. and I haven't been watching the show for over a year.

did anyone else watch Friends last night

be honest.

would it have been wrong

to use that ACL injury study to get a high school girlfriend on the pill. . . hmmmmm, if I knew then what I know now.

Questioning Quilmes

Cat Fight!!!

Whoa

if you made the ovulating chicks play on the crappy soccer fields, all hell would break loose.

acl and that time of month

I found an article on the web (google rocks). they did find a spike in acl injuries during one phase (ovulatory, if you must know) of the menstrual cycle, but only in women not taking the pill. women on the pill didn't get more injuries in that phase than in any other.

not too long, but interesting to skim through

acl problems

I knew a couple girls on my HS soccer team who had knee problems and at leastone had to have knee surgery. they claimed it was because they always had to play on poorer quality fields (bumps and holes, etc) than the boys' soccer team.

Jumbos

It's Jumbos, not Josh.

Is that for real?

what Josh said? Is there any mechanism proposed that explains that, like tissue changes associated with the cycle? I know that connective tissue gets looser during pregnancy, to allow the baby to grow. I woncder if it's related.

ACL tears in the ladies

I also read that ACL tears occur at something like 5X the frequency during menstruation. Weird.

Volleyball- hadn't thought of that

it's a good one-- you can be of average or below height and play setter.

What's the knee injury factor for female volleyball players? The ACL situation is brutal for women's soccer and basketball. I read (somewhere) that there are over 10X as many ACL injuries per participant relative to males in those sports. The way the hips are set puts extra pressure on the ligaments or something like that.

Tricky

It's Quilmes.

How does Quilmes read my mind? He knew what I was thinking.

As for sports that are good for kids, soccer is by far the best I think. Not as much pressure as baseball, not as height-centered as basketball, and it keeps you in shape. And it's good for other sports, too: Cal Ripken always says that all the soccer he played through high school was a critical factor in his streak. Seriously. Cause it gave him balance and agility and flexibility and all that shit.

for girls

volleyball.

there are obviously men's teams too, but not as much on the east coast/midwest.

It's fast paced, fun to watch as a parent/fan. Loads of scholarships for colleges.

You mentioned continued play after college/pro, that's a little bit of a problem but there's always the beach for that.

My sister played and I usually don't like watching women's sports as much as mens. But in this case, I think women's volleyball is more fun to watch. And not for the reason you're thinking Jumbos, but at the same time also for those reasons.

yeah, soccer

is one of the obvious ones, that I didn't mention. Good fitness, good opportunities to play at a variety of skill levels and ages, generally low cost.

soccer?

for girls and boys

Best sport for kids?

I've been wondering, as a potential pushy-sports-dad, what people think is the best sport for kids to get into.
All factors are certainly in play-- fitness benefits, potential for scholarships and money, level of competitiveness, cost to Dad, etc.

Despite my biases, football is pretty low on the list, in my experience... injury potential, not for girls, extreme physical requirements. Also, the opportunities for recreational football post-college are pretty limited, Kinney Park notwithstanding.

Leaning toward baseball/softball. Leagues/fields are available in most localities, costs are low, and scholarships exist for both sexes, as well as relatively-more-numerous pro/semipro opportunities, at least for males. As specific skill-based games, actual hard work may take you where pure physical ability may not (unlike, in my opinion, basketball & football).

Golf and tennis seem also reasonable options, and provide opportunity for life-long fitness and recreation, though both can be more pricey than some of the others.

thoughts?

pretty bold

throwing the tennis memory in there. Feldman might have to give us a waterpolo moment to top it.
I too remember watching young Becker (I think he was 17) win, when I was like 11, thinking "hey! I could do something like that! He's young, and I'm young..." when a logical response would have been more like, "shit, I'm about 8 years behind in my tennis lessons"

clearly

journey is his own biggest fan

good stories!

As a sports fan

I like the stories, Journey, especially the one about IM fighting, but what about your best/worst sports moments as a FAN?

bitter bitter sweet in Detroit

that one hurts--The Red Wings Era over

But the Pistons destroy the Nets

I think I would've rather had the Wings win

that was very funny

I don't know if I could make it through the whole movie. I kept flinching and ducking just during the preview. bad memories.

that looks

fuckin sweet.

we're not still using the **** for our swear words right? Yeah, that's pretty weak.

I can't wait for this

movie.

MM's

Damon-crash comment
reminds me that the worst -thing- i've ever seen in a sporting event was (obscure, yeah, but) Napoleon McCallum playing fullback for the Raiders in '94 an MNF game, somebody rolled up on his leg, and the leg rolled with it. It was a similar injury to mine, total knee dislocation, multiple ligaments severed. They showed it in slo-mo and I had to run to my dorm bathroom I got hit with such a wave of nausea. I've read the guy has permanent nerve and vascular damage, after multiple surgeries. Yikes.

best worst

best Patriots winning super bowl (first time slightly edges the second)
honorable mention for Kirk Gibson. I wasn't a fan of the team but I became a huge Gibson fan that year.

worst last fall's Red Sox implosion. maybe because it is more recent than the 86 series when I was younger and more optimistic, maybe because it was against the yanks, anyway that was bad.

truly scary moment: Johnny Damon and Damien Jackson colliding during the league series game. I was at that one and looking through my binoculars while they were all around Damon on the ground. he was positively grey. I thought he might be dead.

best/worst

yeah, I'm not sure of my best. It basically includes a few amazing Stanford basketball victories, and some Detroit sports victories like Isaiah single-handedly taking over the NBA finals vs. the Lakers, and the Red Wings winning with Stevie Y.

My worst is easy.

When Barry Sanders retired from the Lions. That one hurt. It didn't matter if the Lions got their asses kicked every Sunday because at least we always had Barry. You could say we sucked but you could never say anything about Barry except that he was amazing to watch. Then he retired and I think Detroit pretty much felt like we got dumped by our hot girlfriend.

Best/Worst

Worst: Definitely Buckner in '86. I should mention that the Chiefs was a Mets fan back then (he was 11) and cheered when that happened. His hero was Ray "Jesus wanted the Mets to win" Knight. We were in the basement of our house in Orono, Maine, watching the game on a 10" black and white TV that we had borrowed from our Grandma. I still can't believe it. As for the Chiefs, somehow in the last several years he has come around and now loves the Red Sox. But I don't think he should ever be forgiven for cheering for the Mets in '86.

Best: This is tougher, but I did get pretty stoked when France beat Brazil 3-0 in the World Cup Final in '98. Maybe I'll think of another one, but I'm not sure. Everything seems so trivial in light of the Red Sox failures.

Best/Worst

Best--
Cal Ripken's victory lap during game 2162. It was a big deal, I lived in Baltimore at the time, I got pretty caught up in the hype.

Worst-- tie.

1. Watching the Raiders tank -following- the tuck rule call vs the Pats, AFC championship. All they had to do was prevent a TD on that drive, as they basically had all day, and Vinatieri would have been a nonfactor. All the subsequent whining about the call was embarrassing, because the call should not have mattered. Sad, and whiney.

2. Watching Eddie Murray hit his 500th homer on tv, when I had been invited to the game (by a hot chick, but with her parents) but couldn't rendesvous with them and get my ticket due to a cell phone failure. Crap.

Best/worst

Two questions for everybody.

What is everyone's best moment/event as a sports fan (e.g., Kirk Gibson hits the game winning HR for the Dodgers)?

What is everyone's worst moment/event as a sports fan (e.g., Bill Buckner through the legs)?


I'm not sure what my best is but I'm pretty sure about my worst.

funny

I check out the Detroit Free Press on the web everyday to get sports updates and local news. And today there's an article on Detroit being the No. 1 sports city right now. They mention Miami being a possible second with the Marlins and Heat doing reasonably well.

L.A. has no football but yeah, the Angels, Dodgers and Lakers are doing well.