Little Leagues, Major Pressure

I still don't think the Little League World Series should be televised. It obviously places so much pressure on the kids. On the other hand, when it's on, I find it almost impossible to turn off. There is the "Us" vs. "Them" national pride issues (which again puts more pressure on the kids). But I also like watching baseball played full-out the way it's meant to be played even if it's not at the highest skill levels.

And the U.S.A. pulled off the big upset. Although now it doesn't seem to be as a big an upset as it used to be.

Even the win by the Americans was secondary to watching the raw emotions on the faces of both winners and losers. The Japanese kids were extremely gracious in defeat. Shaking hands with and hugging their opponents after the game even as tears rolled down their little faces. That was the true spirit of the game.

Peanuts Forever

Today, Peanuts would have been 18. It's hard to believe that she's been gone for two and a half years already. While not the "Mother of All Schnauzers" (that was Schatzie, my dad's schnauzer), Peanuts was their Queen.

Although it may not be entirely fair to all other schnauzers that they should be compared to the greatness that was Peanuts, there is no shame in falling short of her standard of perfection. Indeed, Westley found it liberating. He knew it was an honor to be able to bask in Peanuts' glorious schnauzerness. So maybe he wasn't as much of a fool as he'd have had us believe. Well, yeah, he was but nonetheless he knew enough to appreciate Peanuts' (relatively) benevolent reign.

Bye Bye Con-Vick

So Michael Vick plans to plead guilty to federal charges of dog fighting and conspiracy. What a surprise. At least now we can put an end to the deluge of "innocent until proven guilty" from the Vick apologists. And it's not "innocent until proven guilty" it's "deemed innocent in the eyes of the law until proven guilty". The court of public opinion can rule long before any judge or jury. Moreover, just because a judge or jury hasn't heard the facts doesn't mean that the accused didn't do it. When you commit a crime, you're guilty even if you're not charged, tried or convicted. It's only in the eyes of the law that you are deemed "not guilty".

In some judical systems is phrased as "not proven guilty" which acknowledges that sometimes while the prosecutor may not have proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, it doesn't mean that the accused is necessarily innocent. O.J. would fit into that category.

But with Vick, such technical legal quandries are moot. He's guilty. He may come back at some later date saying that he only pled guilty because his friends and associates were willing to frame him to cut a better deal but I don't think the public is going to buy that load. He's a scumbag and deserves whatever prison sentence he gets.

I get so sick of talk show hosts criticizing the guys who turn state's evidence. They act like the Goodfellas code is a good thing that shouldn't be violated. That's B.S. Citizens of an honest society should work with law enforcement to bring criminals to justice. Otherwise, the bad guys have the upper hand and the world is worse off because of it. Or we could just turn to vigilante justice which is always fun too!

Anywho, does this mean he should be banned from football for life? Probably not for the dogfighting charges alone. Once he serves his sentence and whatever suspension the NFL imposes, he should be allowed to pursue gainful employment even as a multi-million dollar football player. That is allowed to try. Hopefully, NFL teams will weigh the pros and cons (no pun intended) of hiring and will realize the damage to their franchise's reputation isn't worth it. Moreover, depending on the length of his sentence/suspension who knows if he'll be the same player he once was or even if he'll be a viabile player at the pro level. CFL get ready! Or maybe the Raiders would want him since they probably still won't have their 1st round QB pick this year signed by then.











Right back at you, Mike.

Pro-Life Anne Rice Supports Hillary?!?!

Popular vampire fiction writer Anne Rice has endorsed Democratic candidate for President, Hillary Clinton. Throughout the endorsement, Rice referenced her own Christian faith and strong opposition to abortion. Of course, she added the politically correct caveat that she respected the positions of those who disagree with her. Sure.

Rice went on to comment that: "I am keenly aware that Christians disagree violently on what the Gospels say." Really? While there have been historical occasions of intra-faith warfare over the interpretation of the Gospel, to broadly paint the Christian faith with the brush of jihad does a disservice to those of faith how strive for change peacefully. Certainly, nothing like the Sunni vs. Shiite violence can be currently attributed to Christian scriptural conflict. Do we disagree vehemently? You bet. Violently, I don't think so. The abortion bombing cases are the work of a tiny fringe of the anti-abortion/pro-life movement. Those who claim otherwise have another agenda at work.

And much as she is horrified by abortion, she is not sure that Americans should give up the right to abortion. Huh? To proclaim the sanctity of the unborn and then defend the right to murder said unborn is pure blather. Makes my head hurt.

I'm not denying Rice's faith or convictions. Maybe just her logic. I guess that I was most surprised to even hear that she was a practicing Christian. She even has Ave Maria playing as background music on her site. I expected, I dunno, voodoo or something. Or a lapsed Catholic whose books on the occult belied a vindictive abhorrence of Christianity. Apparently not. But the strength of her convictions has given way to backwards logic in this case.

Dirty Bomber: Guilty

So after winning his fight to be tried, Jose Padilla has been convicted of federal support of terrorism charges. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Kudos to Padilla's legal team.

Some in my office have said, "We'll it's about time after we've been feeding and housing him for all these years." Not to mention the waterboarding.

At least I hope we did. We certainly should now.

Civil Law

Inconceivable

"It's a test is all it is. We didn't lose a game in the standings. How do we react to that? My money is that these kids are going to bounce back just fine. It's all part of the process."
~~ Ned Yost, Milwaukee Brewers manager

"Iceberg? What iceberg?"
~~ Captain Edward John Smith, RMS Titanic

So Bad He Was Good?

Watched parts of a trial yesterday. It was a plaintiff's attorney that I'd never seen before against an attorney against whose firm I have a number of cases. The plaintiff's attorney was awkward and seemingly ill-prepared. He didn't seem to have his questions lined up and planned on just hoping his client could give her story in narrative form. Defense counsel repeatedly objected to the narrative and the judge sustained the objections.

The plaintiff's attorney did have the advantage of the fact that the defendant didn't show up for trial. Allegedly, he was unable to make it in to town from Nebraska or Kansas or Oklaholma or some such state. That always is a good thing for a plaintiff (issues of insurance coverage notwithstanding).

In closing argument, the plaintiff's attorney repeatedly commented that defendant has produced no evidence. Defense counsel repeatedly objected saying that a defendant has no burden of proof and the Court sustained the objection. While I think there is some issue as to whether it is fair commentary to point out a defendant has adduced no evidence, the judge sustained the objections. Moreover, the plaintiff's attorney was so bent on pointing out the lack of defense evidence that he entirely failed to comment on the strengths of his own unrefuted case.

He went on and on about defense counsel claiming there was an X-Files-type conspiracy theories between plaintiff and the plaintiff's doctors. It might have been effective if it wasn't so rambling. Maybe he could have used a tag line like: "The truth isn't out there. It was up there (pointing to the witness stand) from where my client and her doctor testified."

I spoke to another plaintiff's attorney who was watching the closing arguments and he wasn't too impressed with the close. There were times where I found it downright painful to listen to what he was trying to say.

But what do I know? The jury came back with a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $6,500 on a case with around $2,500 in medical bills. More than 2-1/2 times the bills so not bad for a "whiplash" type case. I guess I just don't know if I can be bad enough to get that good of a result.

U.S. Out of Neverland

Not sure if I think this photograph is entirely appropriate given the daily death and destruction afflicted upon the civilian population in Iraq by the so-called "insurgents" (read: terrorists). Nevertheless, it's still pretty funny.

Major League

When the Brewers are losing (which they've been doing far too much of lately), I like to pop in the old Major League DVD. I still haven't been able to spot myself in the stadium shots in old (and now defunct) Milwaukee County Stadium or in the aerial shots over (the also defunct) Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. But it's still a fun movie.

That said, several things about the movie have always bugged me. First of all, the thought that a team would be able to cut their entire roster to bring in cheaper talent never made sense since all major league players have guaranteed contracts. One would think it would be great for the players if the Indians cut them. If they had any talent, they'd catch on elsewhere with a better team for more pay or if they didn't, they'd still get paid until their contract expired.

When Rick Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) got the fake "red tag" in his locker indicating that he'd been cut from the major league roster, he went ballistic on manager, Lou Brown (James Gammon), saying that he'd catch on with another team and stick it up Brown's ass for cutting him. Uh, Ricky...when you get cut from the major league roster because you're not quite ready, you usually get sent to the minors. Not released outright." Duh.

Next, the "problem" of third baseman Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen) being all bat and no glove would have been easy to fix. The Indians are an American League team. He just would have been made a designated hitter. Problem solved.

The speed and lack of conscience with which Lynn Westland (Rene Russo) cheats on her fiancee with Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger) is disturbing. But that might just be a moral issue that I have don't share with the Hollywood crowd.

While I've never been to spring training camp, I'm pretty sure that major league players would not be bunking together like they were at summer basketball camp. Even with the league minimum being a "mere" $68,000 in 1989 (it would go up to $100,000 by 1990 and is $380,000 now), one would think that players such as Dorn and Eddie Harris (Chelcie Ross) who had been in the league for several years - and make considerably more than the minimum - would find their own accomodations even at a Motel 6 rather than barracks style bedding. Maybe minor leaguers and non-roster invitee might do that but veterans? No.

Finally, the "hunch" that led Brown to bring in "Wild Thing" Vaughn to face Clu Haywood (former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Pete Vuckovich) with the game on the line and given Vaughn's inability to keep Haywood from hitting every pitch out of the ballpark is completely absurd. But it makes for good theater.

Of course, that's all nit-picking. It's still a great movie.

Remembering Westley

Today would have been Westley's 17th Birthday. Although I called him the "Supplemental Schnauzer" to Peanuts' greatness, he never let that get him down. He was great in his own goofy way and I miss him.

Rest in Peace, Little Guy.
(1990-2006)

They Grow Up So Fast

I'm pretty sure Elmo isn't looking at the flowers OR the dirt. For those of you slow on the uptake, see below:

Sliding Towards September

Can this team ever hold a lead? Off to a 3-0 lead through 5, the Brewers fall apart in Colorado to get killed 11-4. This after a week of blowing 5 and 6 run leads. Including Sunday's choke job against the Phillies where they gave away a 5 run advantage going into the top of the 9th at home. They haven't recovered from that yet and probably won't.

The Brewers are repeatedly blowing games with a bullpen that is 50/50 at best to get anyone out. Pitcher Matt Wise hasn't recovered from shattering a Cincinnati Red's face two weeks ago. Now he's afraid to pitch inside. When he does occasionally find the plate with a pitch, he throws a batting practice meatball that gets drilled. I thought our bullpen problems were solved when they traded away Grant Balfour (or "Grant Ball Four") and actually got more than a bag of used balls in return. But no, the problems were just beginning.

Yes, the Cubs aren't winning right now either but they're dealing with the injury to Soriano gutting their offense. The Brewers aren't pitching, aren't hitting and the managerial decisions are questionable. At least they're consistent top to bottom. I guess that's something. And we have Youvonni Gallardo pitching tomorrow so maybe we can salvage a game in the series against the Rockies.

8/8/07 Update: Nope, Gallardo wasn't the the stopper today. He got shelled for 11 runs in 2-2/3 innings. His ERA went from #5 in the National League at 2.30 (or thereabouts) to 4.90. Yeech. Oh, and the Brewers lost 19-4.

Dumb "Jock" of the Week

There are dumb comments from athletes and there are dumb comments from athletes. South African golfer Rory Sabbatini drew some attention back in May when he opined that Tiger Woods was "more beatable now than ever." This was after Sabbatini had blown a one stroke lead on Tiger and finished tied for third (Woods finished first).

Then Sunday, Sabbatini starts the final round of the Bridgestone International Tournament tied with Woods. The two are paired for the final round and the results are predictable. Woods shoots 5 under and Sabbatini soiled himself with a plus 4. Sabbatini still managed to finished tied for second which is a remarkable feat but don't try to cast youself as Tiger's rival with ridiculous comments.

The worst thing about the Sabbatini debacle on Sunday (the debacle itself was magnificent) was that on the 18th hole, a spectator called out Sabbatini by asking him if he still thought Woods was beatable. Showing a remarkably thin skin, Sabbatini had the spectator thrown off the course. What a sack. If you tug on Superman's cape, you deserve what you get. Sabbatini was trying to draft off the greatness that is Tiger Woods but ultimately only showed that he too is unfit to carry Tiger's jockstrap (do golfers wear jockstraps?).

Jack Bauer Goes Green

So now the makers of 24 are looking to reduce the carbon footprint the production of the show creates. Blah, blah, blah. Instead of worrying about that, how about trying to reduce the methane released into the environment from a stinkeroo of a season like last year's. Maybe Jack's jumped the shark.

I'm also a little sick of the so-called "inconvenient truth" of global warming in general. It's hip and trendy to be green despite Kermit's protestations otherwise. But this pseudo-science has been declared uncontrovertable even though there was another global calamity about to befall us even within my lifetime. As George Will pointed out in his April 2, 2006 article:

"Science magazine (Dec. 10, 1976) warned of 'extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation.' Science Digest (February 1973) reported that 'the world's climatologists are agreed' that we must 'prepare for the next ice age.' The Christian Science Monitor ('Warning: Earth's Climate is Changing Faster Than Even Experts Expect,' Aug. 27, 1974) reported that glaciers 'have begun to advance,' 'growing seasons in England and Scandinavia are getting shorter' and 'the North Atlantic is cooling down about as fast as an ocean can cool.' Newsweek agreed ('The Cooling World,' April 28, 1975) that meteorologists 'are almost unanimous' that catastrophic famines might result from the global cooling that the New York Times (Sept. 14, 1975) said 'may mark the return to another ice age.' The Times (May 21, 1975) also said 'a major cooling of the climate is widely considered inevitable' now that it is 'well established' that the Northern Hemisphere's climate 'has been getting cooler since about 1950.'"

I remember back in the early 70s worrying that humans would go the way of the dinosaurs. Well, they milked all the research funding they could out of global cooling and then did a 180 to claim that the sky was now falling because of global warming. Sure. And then we'll need money to divert an Astroid from a collision course with earth. Of course, then we can just send Jack Bauer or Bruce Willis up to take care of things.

Another Disappointment from Michael Bay

Went to see the Transformers movie. Not being a big fan of the 1980s animated cartoon series, I was just looking for some exciting action sequences and special effects. There wasn't a whole lot of either. While I didn't expect a Shakespearean plot, the utter lack of a coherent storyline was made more evident by the disjointed action and jarring camera work.

Shia LaBeouf portrays one of the most unlikable protagonists seen on the big screen in some time. His character, Sam Witwicky, starts out as the typical, outsider geek-type but without the innate charm that can endear the character to the audience and, of course, the beautiful girl, Mikaela.

There seems to be no continuity director on this set as when Sam picks up Mikaela early in the 144 minute movie she notes that she lives ten miles away. It appears to be early to mid-afternoon. Along the way there is a short delay as Sam's car (a Transformer, of course) tries to play matchmaker by futzing with the radio and feigning a breakdown. Mikaela should have maced Sam right there. When they finally get to Mikaela's house, it's the middle of the night. Maybe there was a scene (or three) that were edited out to explain the time lapse but we're left to assume that some deep emotional exchanges have led Mikaela to see the depths of Sam's personality. Depths which are completely omitted from the script. Of course, by the end of the movie, Sam has a smokin' car so maybe that's good enough for her.

The Transformers themselves are decent. The special effects were pretty much what I expected. In fact, the best lines of dialogue are saved for the robots who seem more at ease with the clunky, mechanical "plot". Unfortunately, the battle scenes are so frenetic that it's downright headache inducing. You can't really see what is going on and more annoying is that with rare exception, you can't tell which Autobot (good guy Transformer) is fighting with which Decepticon (bad guy Transformer).

Eventually, the government captures Sam and Mikaela because of their association with the alien Autobots. Then in the next scene and without exposition, they've been released and are flying to the Hoover Dam under the protection of the Secretary of Defense. Huh?

Without the nostalgia of having collected or watched Transformers, I was left sorely disappointed in the movie. The only thing that was somewhat interesting was the proto-type Camero that Sam's Autobot transformed into. What surprised me was the fact that GM hadn't released the new Camero for production so as to provide a product tie in to the movie. Goodness knows there isn't enough product placement nowadays.

One and a half stars. The action is good but the plot and love story are enough to make Pearl Harbor look well written and acted.

Buffy-link alert: Tom Lenk (Buffy's "Andrew") plays a nameless computer analyst recruited by the government to do something or other.

Mmmmm, Tasty

Return of the Immortal Game

While on the cruise I watched my sister and nephew play giant chess on the deck of the ship. I was on the deck above calling down moves for my sister to make because I liked to see my nephew suffer.

It had been years since I played. Usually, the only person I could get to play would be my mom, who knew the basic rules but never strategized more than attack, attack, attack. I almost always beat my mom (who also beat my nephew) but when I played my uncles, I got my butt handed to me.

So, I bought myself a small travel chess set and an inexpensive computer program game. At first, I was getting killed since I didn't know how to change the level of the opponent and kept playing the "Chessmaster 9000". Once I figured out how to change my opponent to "Niko, an 8 year old who chases pawns", I was able to fare much better.

Hopefully, once we get the house built, I can get a nice chess table and game set display. I used to have a nice polynesian marble set that my dad bought for me in the 80s but over the years some of the pieces got damaged. I still have the marble board which remains extremely nice but I don't have decent pieces to go with it.

I'm trying to get my nephew to play me correspondence (e-mail) style. Hopefully, he'll have the time to play and his frequent groundings won't disrupt play too much.