Is it too early to talk a NFL football? The Patriots open camp on Friday. Your perspective on this year's team? I think they're definitely a contender; but that secondary worries me, especially now that they didn't sign Ty Law, and they need to get Branch locked up and soon or Brady will only have a rookie WR and TE's to throw to.
You can talk about any team here today that you want. I'd even try to talk college football with you, but it's far from my strong point.
Want to talk about what's shaping up to be the most boring trade deadline year ever in MLB? Want to throw in a prediction on playoff spots now that we're just beyond half way?
Now that the Bruins have their staff straightened out and signed a couple of premier free agents for the first time in forever, is there reason to optimistic at least about the future if not this year?
Nascar's off this weekend but will be back the following weekend for the Brickyard 400, a race that's quickly become the second biggest race of the year. Early predictions or favorites?
So anything sports at all that you'd like to talk about, we can do today.
What's on your mind?
football Patriots New England hockey Nascar Bruins Brickyard NFL trade deadline training camp
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Home Stuff
As many of you know, most of my television diet consists of news, history and sports with an occasional sitcom mixed in. I just thought I'd mention a couple of shows that I've been watching with my wife. First, The 4400 on USA. If you like science fiction, as I do, and thus a structure where anything is possible, you'd like this show. We're in season 3. Essentially the show evolves around 4400 people who had been abducted by "aliens" (though it's turning out it was our future who abducted them) throughout the last 60 years. They all return together at the same time, not having aged a day or knowing they were gone until they came back. As time goes on, every one of them develops a super-human power...the ability to heal with hands, mind read, see the future, etc. It is well done, especially in regard to the fact that you don't know from episode to episode what twist will come next; and unlike a show like 24, thus far they haven't overdone the unexpected in my opinion.
The other show is Treasure Hunters on NBC. It's fashioned after some of the reality shows but it isn't a reality show in that it doesn't get bogged down and revolve around the personal lives of the contestants. It's a show about teams of people traveling the world looking for clues to solve the ultimate puzzle and win the game. I like it for the competition and the fact that it's based around the Revolutionary history of the United States.
Stupid homeowner tricks: My family knows that this stupid house was built halfway down a slope and was never really landscaped. So the water tends to run by the house on it's way down the hill, and not very well most of the time. A sump pump and generator are often all that keeps this place from flooding. Saturday night we had a heavy downpour for a few hours. Luckily we're sitting downstairs in the family room watching a taped episode of the 4400 when we hear this water splashing sound. This is a split-level ranch and it was built so that water was funneled along the house and then passed it. Unfortunately sometimes it doesn't run fast enough and backs up into the drainage pipes of the house plumbing. The water was so heavy it came squirting out of 2 small holes in the drain pipes and onto the basement/laundry room floor at a rate of probably a gallon every 10 minutes. It was a chore to keep up with it, especially now around a very wet and slippery floor.
I soon determined that part of the problem was that water was pooling along the back of the house much faster than it was draining by, which was overflowing the underground drainage that's linked to the sump. So I run up to the garage and get a spade, and in the dark and torential rain I start trenching the pooling water while Shel holds a flashlight. We get absolutely soaked but the pooled water immediately starts to recede. Then I look up at the gutters that I'd recently cleaned and they're clogged again, which is causing rain water to not drain to the low end of the house but to overpour into this pooling water. Here comes the stupid human trick part of the story. Even though I do this all the time, I've never done it in the dark and pouring rain. I grab the 6-foot stepladder, put it on the back deck. Shel holds it secure as she can while I stand on top of it (with flashlight in hand because I can't really see onto the roof without it) and pull myself up onto this slippery roof to clean out the gutters. It's a good thing I'm fearless doing stuff like that or I'd end up breaking my neck, I'm sure.
Nothing particularly positive on the job front either. I'm really close to having to go get two.
4400 television Treasure Hunters home
The other show is Treasure Hunters on NBC. It's fashioned after some of the reality shows but it isn't a reality show in that it doesn't get bogged down and revolve around the personal lives of the contestants. It's a show about teams of people traveling the world looking for clues to solve the ultimate puzzle and win the game. I like it for the competition and the fact that it's based around the Revolutionary history of the United States.
Stupid homeowner tricks: My family knows that this stupid house was built halfway down a slope and was never really landscaped. So the water tends to run by the house on it's way down the hill, and not very well most of the time. A sump pump and generator are often all that keeps this place from flooding. Saturday night we had a heavy downpour for a few hours. Luckily we're sitting downstairs in the family room watching a taped episode of the 4400 when we hear this water splashing sound. This is a split-level ranch and it was built so that water was funneled along the house and then passed it. Unfortunately sometimes it doesn't run fast enough and backs up into the drainage pipes of the house plumbing. The water was so heavy it came squirting out of 2 small holes in the drain pipes and onto the basement/laundry room floor at a rate of probably a gallon every 10 minutes. It was a chore to keep up with it, especially now around a very wet and slippery floor.
I soon determined that part of the problem was that water was pooling along the back of the house much faster than it was draining by, which was overflowing the underground drainage that's linked to the sump. So I run up to the garage and get a spade, and in the dark and torential rain I start trenching the pooling water while Shel holds a flashlight. We get absolutely soaked but the pooled water immediately starts to recede. Then I look up at the gutters that I'd recently cleaned and they're clogged again, which is causing rain water to not drain to the low end of the house but to overpour into this pooling water. Here comes the stupid human trick part of the story. Even though I do this all the time, I've never done it in the dark and pouring rain. I grab the 6-foot stepladder, put it on the back deck. Shel holds it secure as she can while I stand on top of it (with flashlight in hand because I can't really see onto the roof without it) and pull myself up onto this slippery roof to clean out the gutters. It's a good thing I'm fearless doing stuff like that or I'd end up breaking my neck, I'm sure.
Nothing particularly positive on the job front either. I'm really close to having to go get two.
4400 television Treasure Hunters home
Monday, July 24, 2006
Weekend Recap
Let me get a couple of things out of the way first. Tiger Woods won the British Open this weekend, two of those in a row and 3 overall. As he's done in the past, if he's near the top early, you can forget about it. Nice showing by Chris DiMarco, who finished 2nd. He seems to show well in majors but comes up a little short to players with more ability. That makes 11 majors overall for Tiger.
Ricky Craven's ride was a short one at Martinsville in the Busch race Saturday. He started near the back, got spun out and went a lap down; and then he was out of the race and I didn't hear why, if they said why. He finished like 39th in a race won by Kevin Harvick. Oh well.
The Red Sox lost a couple of tough ones to Seattle over the weekend, though a lot of that had to do with the young pitchers they're having to use. These kids have a lot of ability and in the long run it means great things for the future of the Red Sox.
Now to the Nextel Cup race at Pocono. Before I go to far, my friend Robbie at Greetings From America's Finest City has some great race caps on his site. Denny Hamlin won the race and thus swept both races at Ponoco. It's been 5 times at that track. What I'd like to know is whether a rookie has ever swept both races at a track before. He also won both races from the pole in dominating fashion.
What follows are just some observations of things that transpired during the race. Early on Michael Waltrip smacked the wall and didn't bring out a caution. It's gotten so that Nascar waves a yellow flag for almost no reason. So it's quite noticeable when they don't. Kyle Petty was running decent, decent for him, but blew a right front tire and smacked the wall hard, finishing 42nd. Kasey Kahne was good early. He qualified 3rd and was a top 10 car but for the latter 3/4 of the race his car was extremely tight and faded badly. What I don't understand is this (warning, announcer gripe): This is a 2 1/2 mile track, and so it takes quite a number of laps to lap even the backmarkers. At the last restart Kasey's on the lead lap but gets lapped within 10 laps. This is a car that's in the top 10 in points; it was obvious something happened to the car, and yet no mention of it by the announcers! Bobby Labonte in the 43 started around 30th and quickly moved up to be a top 15 car for most of the race. He received a penalty late for speeding on pit road but raced hard and finished 8th. So my weekly kudo goes to my 43 car.
My fantasy race pick was a good one, Brian Vickers, who was solid all day and finished 4th.
Now on to my whipping boy of late, Tony Stewart...he has to be the most self-absorbed driver in recent memory, which makes him a humongous hypocrite. This time? Well, let's do this sort of backwards and refer to his post race interview first. It seems like he says the same thing every time, and the press corps bows at his feet like he's some wise professor. He essentially said regarding his run-in with Clint Bowyer, "If they'd just use some give and take" and some crap about being careful racing around faster cars. Heeeeeey Tony, in both instances in the last two races, the other car involved was the faster car. When Tony talks about give and take, he means the other drivers should give so that he can take and not to expect his heiness to reciprocate.
Clint Bowyer gets a little loose coming off the turn under Tony while he's trying to pass him (something Tony never does apparently); Tony reacts and brushes the wall. He then makes a gesture at Bowyer, turns into Bowyer, which spins Bowyer out and takes Carl Edwards with him. Later in the race Edwards spins Tony on pit road. What I didn't know until after the race was that Edwards said he earlier drove up beside Tony to kind of gesture "what was that all about?" and that Tony flipped him off. Edwards said it was as much the bird as it was being collected in Tony's anger that made Edwards decide to spin Tony. LOL Tony was strong all day. So even though he was penalized a lap for rough driving, he got the lap back and finished 7th. Not so lucky was Edwards...the accident cost him a lap and then he was penalized a lap for rough driving as well and finished 39th. Bowyer also finished a few laps down.
And I forgot an "old man" update. As some of you know, Shadow turned 17 this spring and is showing his age now. He's arthritic in his back hips and a couple of weeks ago his right eye stopped focusing. Within the last few days that eye has gotten cloudy. So he definitely has a cataract in that eye.
Pocono British Open Royal Liverpool Hoylake Nascar Woods Tiger Petty Tony Stewart Nextel Cup Carl Edwards Bowyer DiMarco Labonte Kahne Hamlin
Ricky Craven's ride was a short one at Martinsville in the Busch race Saturday. He started near the back, got spun out and went a lap down; and then he was out of the race and I didn't hear why, if they said why. He finished like 39th in a race won by Kevin Harvick. Oh well.
The Red Sox lost a couple of tough ones to Seattle over the weekend, though a lot of that had to do with the young pitchers they're having to use. These kids have a lot of ability and in the long run it means great things for the future of the Red Sox.
Now to the Nextel Cup race at Pocono. Before I go to far, my friend Robbie at Greetings From America's Finest City has some great race caps on his site. Denny Hamlin won the race and thus swept both races at Ponoco. It's been 5 times at that track. What I'd like to know is whether a rookie has ever swept both races at a track before. He also won both races from the pole in dominating fashion.
What follows are just some observations of things that transpired during the race. Early on Michael Waltrip smacked the wall and didn't bring out a caution. It's gotten so that Nascar waves a yellow flag for almost no reason. So it's quite noticeable when they don't. Kyle Petty was running decent, decent for him, but blew a right front tire and smacked the wall hard, finishing 42nd. Kasey Kahne was good early. He qualified 3rd and was a top 10 car but for the latter 3/4 of the race his car was extremely tight and faded badly. What I don't understand is this (warning, announcer gripe): This is a 2 1/2 mile track, and so it takes quite a number of laps to lap even the backmarkers. At the last restart Kasey's on the lead lap but gets lapped within 10 laps. This is a car that's in the top 10 in points; it was obvious something happened to the car, and yet no mention of it by the announcers! Bobby Labonte in the 43 started around 30th and quickly moved up to be a top 15 car for most of the race. He received a penalty late for speeding on pit road but raced hard and finished 8th. So my weekly kudo goes to my 43 car.
My fantasy race pick was a good one, Brian Vickers, who was solid all day and finished 4th.
Now on to my whipping boy of late, Tony Stewart...he has to be the most self-absorbed driver in recent memory, which makes him a humongous hypocrite. This time? Well, let's do this sort of backwards and refer to his post race interview first. It seems like he says the same thing every time, and the press corps bows at his feet like he's some wise professor. He essentially said regarding his run-in with Clint Bowyer, "If they'd just use some give and take" and some crap about being careful racing around faster cars. Heeeeeey Tony, in both instances in the last two races, the other car involved was the faster car. When Tony talks about give and take, he means the other drivers should give so that he can take and not to expect his heiness to reciprocate.
Clint Bowyer gets a little loose coming off the turn under Tony while he's trying to pass him (something Tony never does apparently); Tony reacts and brushes the wall. He then makes a gesture at Bowyer, turns into Bowyer, which spins Bowyer out and takes Carl Edwards with him. Later in the race Edwards spins Tony on pit road. What I didn't know until after the race was that Edwards said he earlier drove up beside Tony to kind of gesture "what was that all about?" and that Tony flipped him off. Edwards said it was as much the bird as it was being collected in Tony's anger that made Edwards decide to spin Tony. LOL Tony was strong all day. So even though he was penalized a lap for rough driving, he got the lap back and finished 7th. Not so lucky was Edwards...the accident cost him a lap and then he was penalized a lap for rough driving as well and finished 39th. Bowyer also finished a few laps down.
And I forgot an "old man" update. As some of you know, Shadow turned 17 this spring and is showing his age now. He's arthritic in his back hips and a couple of weeks ago his right eye stopped focusing. Within the last few days that eye has gotten cloudy. So he definitely has a cataract in that eye.
Pocono British Open Royal Liverpool Hoylake Nascar Woods Tiger Petty Tony Stewart Nextel Cup Carl Edwards Bowyer DiMarco Labonte Kahne Hamlin
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Craven rides again, etc.
Maine's own Ricky Craven will make his return to Nascar, this time in the Busch Series, at Martinsville Speedway this weekend, if he qualifies in the FitzBradshaw #14 Dodge sponsored by Family Dollar Stores. So I have one of my favorite drivers back for one race and in a Dodge at that. Woo hoo, go Ricky. The last Nascar race that Ricky entered was here at Martinsville in the Craftsman truck series, a race which he won. He also won his first Cup Series race there in 2001.
Petty Enterprises announced that they are extending their relationship with Sue Bee Honey for 3 years. The reason I mention this, other than the fact I'm a Petty fan, is because of one of the potential fan prizes related to this relationship, a street-legal replica of the car Richard won his 200th race in.
I now I recently bashed Tony Stewart but fair is fair. Tony inticed Patty Petty, Kyle's wife and Adam's mother, to come to the track that took Adam's life. While there Tony donated another million dollars to the charity named in Adam's honor, Victory Junction Gang. You can read the rest here on Nascar.com.
I'll be back on tomorrow with updates from the British Open, which is lead at the end of the first day by Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell. Tiger Wood's finished up his day with an eagle on 18. He leads a pack that's just one behind McDowell. A funny quip by announcer Peter Alliss, who is one of the reason I really enjoy watching the British Open...the accent, the slow tempo of his voice and the stories. I wish I wasn't in the middle of reading an email when he started the story because I'd remember it better. Make sure you say it with the accent. He's talking about a local brew favorite that you can get at a local pub, called "Idiot Broth"; that's strong enough that after 3 pints you'll be taking a nap on a local hillock.
The Open Championship British Open Royal Liverpool Hoylake Graeme McDowell Woods Tiger Petty Tony Stewart Ricky Craven Sue Bee Martinsville Peter Alliss Victory Junction Gang
Petty Enterprises announced that they are extending their relationship with Sue Bee Honey for 3 years. The reason I mention this, other than the fact I'm a Petty fan, is because of one of the potential fan prizes related to this relationship, a street-legal replica of the car Richard won his 200th race in.
I now I recently bashed Tony Stewart but fair is fair. Tony inticed Patty Petty, Kyle's wife and Adam's mother, to come to the track that took Adam's life. While there Tony donated another million dollars to the charity named in Adam's honor, Victory Junction Gang. You can read the rest here on Nascar.com.
I'll be back on tomorrow with updates from the British Open, which is lead at the end of the first day by Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell. Tiger Wood's finished up his day with an eagle on 18. He leads a pack that's just one behind McDowell. A funny quip by announcer Peter Alliss, who is one of the reason I really enjoy watching the British Open...the accent, the slow tempo of his voice and the stories. I wish I wasn't in the middle of reading an email when he started the story because I'd remember it better. Make sure you say it with the accent. He's talking about a local brew favorite that you can get at a local pub, called "Idiot Broth"; that's strong enough that after 3 pints you'll be taking a nap on a local hillock.
The Open Championship British Open Royal Liverpool Hoylake Graeme McDowell Woods Tiger Petty Tony Stewart Ricky Craven Sue Bee Martinsville Peter Alliss Victory Junction Gang
Nearby the River Mersey
British Open First Round Update. Sorry this is a little late but I was delayed by Barbara Merrill's visit to Inside Zebster, which I encourage you to read.
I turned on the telly shortly after the broadcast started this morning at 7 to see Phil tied with several others at -4; but as almost always seems the case, he plays poorly when I'm watching. He proceeded to bogey 2 of the next 3 holes, birdied a par 5 and finished at -3. He didn't take full advantage of a good driving day but should be satisfied with a solid start near the top of the leaderboard.
Tiger's on the course now, early in his first round. He lipped out a long birdie putt on number 1 and then missed his 3-footer for par. He currently stands at +1 through 4.
Right now 2 Englishmen (don't get carried away yet, lads) have the clubhouse lead at -5, Greg Owen and Anthony Wall. Ever-steady Jim Furyk is among those in the clubhouse at -4, along with noteables Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and lefty Mike Weir.
This Open is being played at Royal Liverpool, Liverpool being a place Americans are familiar with because of the Beatles. It is the first time The Open Championship has been played here in 39 years.
Trivia question: What is Strawberry Fields?
The Open Championship British Open Royal Liverpool Hoylake Mickelson Woods Tiger Vijay Singh Claret Jug Furyk River+Mersey Beatles Strawberry Fields
I turned on the telly shortly after the broadcast started this morning at 7 to see Phil tied with several others at -4; but as almost always seems the case, he plays poorly when I'm watching. He proceeded to bogey 2 of the next 3 holes, birdied a par 5 and finished at -3. He didn't take full advantage of a good driving day but should be satisfied with a solid start near the top of the leaderboard.
Tiger's on the course now, early in his first round. He lipped out a long birdie putt on number 1 and then missed his 3-footer for par. He currently stands at +1 through 4.
Right now 2 Englishmen (don't get carried away yet, lads) have the clubhouse lead at -5, Greg Owen and Anthony Wall. Ever-steady Jim Furyk is among those in the clubhouse at -4, along with noteables Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and lefty Mike Weir.
This Open is being played at Royal Liverpool, Liverpool being a place Americans are familiar with because of the Beatles. It is the first time The Open Championship has been played here in 39 years.
Trivia question: What is Strawberry Fields?
The Open Championship British Open Royal Liverpool Hoylake Mickelson Woods Tiger Vijay Singh Claret Jug Furyk River+Mersey Beatles Strawberry Fields
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Who will win the British Open?
I'm not sure that I'll be doing a live play-by-play of the British Open here but I do plan on doing some updates about it daily. So check in and I'll let you know what you need to know.
Let's see how many folks I can get to put up a prediction of the winner before things get started tomorrow morning.
Myself, I have to go with Phil Mickelson. I know, nobody's better at snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory, but I'm a Phil fan and that's where my loyalties lie. So despite the fact that I think he's only done well once in The Open, I'm looking for a determined, focused and less foolish Phil to take it.
This year's British Open is being played at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake.
So who you got...the defending champion and best player in the world, Tiger Woods; maybe Vijay Singh; perhaps a relative unknown? So get your prognostication on the record as to who will win the Claret Jug before tomorrow morning. Maybe we can come up with some clever way to reward anyone who picks the winner.
The Open Championship British Open Royal Liverpool Hoylake Mickelson Woods Tiger Vijay Singh Claret Jug
Let's see how many folks I can get to put up a prediction of the winner before things get started tomorrow morning.
Myself, I have to go with Phil Mickelson. I know, nobody's better at snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory, but I'm a Phil fan and that's where my loyalties lie. So despite the fact that I think he's only done well once in The Open, I'm looking for a determined, focused and less foolish Phil to take it.
This year's British Open is being played at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake.
So who you got...the defending champion and best player in the world, Tiger Woods; maybe Vijay Singh; perhaps a relative unknown? So get your prognostication on the record as to who will win the Claret Jug before tomorrow morning. Maybe we can come up with some clever way to reward anyone who picks the winner.
The Open Championship British Open Royal Liverpool Hoylake Mickelson Woods Tiger Vijay Singh Claret Jug
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Patriot Brew Pack, Part 2
Before I go on with the rest, I'd like to point you to Robbie's Reviews on San Diego IPA's and also Speakeasy Prohibition Ale, as well as point out that it's American Beer Month with a good link Beer Town.
If you've been on the Sam Adams brewery tour, make sure you're using your free glass. If you haven't read the first installment of this review, it is two posts below this one.
So let's dig into the George Washington Porter. Mmmmmmmm, toasty! It has a nice roasted flavor that's not too much but with a nice full flavor that covers the whole mouth. In this one the licorice doesn't bother me. It blends in well with the malt. It's not the heaviest nor "harshest" porter I've had, which is great. Unless you absolutely love a strong, strong porter, you tend to have had enough before you're finished. So for me this is just right.
From the back label "George Washington's favorite brew was porter. In fact, he felt so strongly that there should be an American porter he adopted and encouraged a policy of buying only American-brewed beer rather than imported British beer. This policy was part of the Non-Importation Agreement of 1774 drafted by Samuel Adams (there's that name again). Washington signed the agreement at a meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia." One of my favorite things about Samuel Adams brews is the info on the neck, which is helpful to the newbie aficionado as to what's in it and what to taste for. "This dark unfiltered brew is medium-bodied with a deep roasted malt aroma. The molasses and licorice in this brew are authentic to American porters of the Colonial era, as is the more assertive hop finish." Careful pouring it, it's really frothy; and I can smell the molasses as much as anything.
Finally, we get to the fourth and final variety, James Madison Dark Wheat Ale. This is the "lighter" of the four but still very complex and flavorful. You can't come close to seeing through it and has a nice cloudiness when poured. If I have any complaint, it would be that it could be a tad stronger; but it's plenty strong enough for most. So while there's a hint of rye, I'd like a hint more. I saved this one for last thinking I'd like it most, when actually it's the Ginger Honey Ale I like the most and would love to see mass produced. But this dark wheat ale is second. Again, it's nice and flavorful and goes down smooth, no aftertaste that isn't welcomed.
From the back label we get "Many of our Founding Fathers were brewers. But it was James Madison who brewed at a large scale on his Virginia estate -- mostly for daily consumption using local grains such as wheat, barley and rye that were malted and then roasted over wood that was indigenous to the area. How important was beer to daily American life at this time? As president, Madison seriously considered a proposal for a National Brewery. The idea never came to pass. For, as Madison realized, local breweries were already springing up everywhere." And from the bottle neck, "The slight tartness of malted rye balances sweeter roasted malted barley notes of cocoa and toffee in this deep mahogany brew. Hand-smoked malted barley adds a subtle smokey finish common in colonial brewing." Hmmmmm? It's good but it doesn't taste as complicated as the ingredients would suggest because if there's toffee in there, I'd like to taste it. Maybe my smoker's tastebuds aren't differentiating well because it does have a full and complex flavor.
Overall I would highly recommend these, especially if you like trying different types of beer, as in ales and porters, and variations thereof. If you're of the Budweiser crowd, don't bother...we wouldn't want to wake up your tastebuds.
beer Samuel Adams porter brewer George Washington Brewer Patriot Collection Ginger Honey Ale James Madison wheat ale ale rye malt hops
If you've been on the Sam Adams brewery tour, make sure you're using your free glass. If you haven't read the first installment of this review, it is two posts below this one.
So let's dig into the George Washington Porter. Mmmmmmmm, toasty! It has a nice roasted flavor that's not too much but with a nice full flavor that covers the whole mouth. In this one the licorice doesn't bother me. It blends in well with the malt. It's not the heaviest nor "harshest" porter I've had, which is great. Unless you absolutely love a strong, strong porter, you tend to have had enough before you're finished. So for me this is just right.
From the back label "George Washington's favorite brew was porter. In fact, he felt so strongly that there should be an American porter he adopted and encouraged a policy of buying only American-brewed beer rather than imported British beer. This policy was part of the Non-Importation Agreement of 1774 drafted by Samuel Adams (there's that name again). Washington signed the agreement at a meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia." One of my favorite things about Samuel Adams brews is the info on the neck, which is helpful to the newbie aficionado as to what's in it and what to taste for. "This dark unfiltered brew is medium-bodied with a deep roasted malt aroma. The molasses and licorice in this brew are authentic to American porters of the Colonial era, as is the more assertive hop finish." Careful pouring it, it's really frothy; and I can smell the molasses as much as anything.
Finally, we get to the fourth and final variety, James Madison Dark Wheat Ale. This is the "lighter" of the four but still very complex and flavorful. You can't come close to seeing through it and has a nice cloudiness when poured. If I have any complaint, it would be that it could be a tad stronger; but it's plenty strong enough for most. So while there's a hint of rye, I'd like a hint more. I saved this one for last thinking I'd like it most, when actually it's the Ginger Honey Ale I like the most and would love to see mass produced. But this dark wheat ale is second. Again, it's nice and flavorful and goes down smooth, no aftertaste that isn't welcomed.
From the back label we get "Many of our Founding Fathers were brewers. But it was James Madison who brewed at a large scale on his Virginia estate -- mostly for daily consumption using local grains such as wheat, barley and rye that were malted and then roasted over wood that was indigenous to the area. How important was beer to daily American life at this time? As president, Madison seriously considered a proposal for a National Brewery. The idea never came to pass. For, as Madison realized, local breweries were already springing up everywhere." And from the bottle neck, "The slight tartness of malted rye balances sweeter roasted malted barley notes of cocoa and toffee in this deep mahogany brew. Hand-smoked malted barley adds a subtle smokey finish common in colonial brewing." Hmmmmm? It's good but it doesn't taste as complicated as the ingredients would suggest because if there's toffee in there, I'd like to taste it. Maybe my smoker's tastebuds aren't differentiating well because it does have a full and complex flavor.
Overall I would highly recommend these, especially if you like trying different types of beer, as in ales and porters, and variations thereof. If you're of the Budweiser crowd, don't bother...we wouldn't want to wake up your tastebuds.
beer Samuel Adams porter brewer George Washington Brewer Patriot Collection Ginger Honey Ale James Madison wheat ale ale rye malt hops
Monday, July 17, 2006
Why does it always seem to involve Tony Stewart?
Because no one in the history of Nascar has been a better driver, a more courteous and knowledgeable driver than he...just ask him, he'll tell you. I've been sick of his act for some time, and now I'm getting sick of the Nascar reporter pool kneeling at his throne with reverence asking how drivers should drive.
His run-in with Ryan Newman at NHIS Sunday was no different. Don't get me wrong, Ryan comes from that same school as Tony and Kevin Harvick...they've never been wrong. In this instance, however, like so many others involving Tony Stewart, I see Stewart as the culprit. His arrogance gets him into more trouble than any other driver. If he drove with the respect he says he learned from the likes of Mark Martin, he'd have at least half as many DNF's in his career and probably one more championship. His arrogance makes him do things that are not smart.
In this instance Ryan Newman has fresh tires and is much faster than Stewart. Newman is completely along side Stewart going into the turn, and Tony decides to battle him by pinching him down into the turn. Not a smart move at move tracks, definitely not smart at a flat track like NHIS. Around goes Newman taking Stewart with him. If you'd have used your head, Tony, you wouldn't have ended up with like the 4th 30th or worse finish in the last 6 or 7 races.
Since I gave up my September NHIS tickets a couple of years ago and sold my July ones this year, this will be the first year in a long time that I haven't attended a race at NHIS, though I'm thinking I might go to the truck race in September. I love being there in person, of course, but I don't like the traffic. It was a nice change of pace to take this one in on the tube.
By the way, the race was won by Kyle Busch, known as the Shrub. Zebster's favorites didn't fair well, although Kasey Kahne hung in there for 8th. Bobby Labonte came home 23rd and Kyle, always in black at NHIS since the death of Adam there, came home 28th. Unfortunately in my fantasy league Under da Porch, I won't be in first place any longer as my pick for this race was the aforementioned Ryan Newman, who finished 39th! Kudo of the race goes to Dave Blaney in the 22 car, who finished 13th. It seems that's the best finish that car has had this year.
NHIS New Hampshire Stewart Newman Busch Blaney Nascar Kahne Labonte Petty
His run-in with Ryan Newman at NHIS Sunday was no different. Don't get me wrong, Ryan comes from that same school as Tony and Kevin Harvick...they've never been wrong. In this instance, however, like so many others involving Tony Stewart, I see Stewart as the culprit. His arrogance gets him into more trouble than any other driver. If he drove with the respect he says he learned from the likes of Mark Martin, he'd have at least half as many DNF's in his career and probably one more championship. His arrogance makes him do things that are not smart.
In this instance Ryan Newman has fresh tires and is much faster than Stewart. Newman is completely along side Stewart going into the turn, and Tony decides to battle him by pinching him down into the turn. Not a smart move at move tracks, definitely not smart at a flat track like NHIS. Around goes Newman taking Stewart with him. If you'd have used your head, Tony, you wouldn't have ended up with like the 4th 30th or worse finish in the last 6 or 7 races.
Since I gave up my September NHIS tickets a couple of years ago and sold my July ones this year, this will be the first year in a long time that I haven't attended a race at NHIS, though I'm thinking I might go to the truck race in September. I love being there in person, of course, but I don't like the traffic. It was a nice change of pace to take this one in on the tube.
By the way, the race was won by Kyle Busch, known as the Shrub. Zebster's favorites didn't fair well, although Kasey Kahne hung in there for 8th. Bobby Labonte came home 23rd and Kyle, always in black at NHIS since the death of Adam there, came home 28th. Unfortunately in my fantasy league Under da Porch, I won't be in first place any longer as my pick for this race was the aforementioned Ryan Newman, who finished 39th! Kudo of the race goes to Dave Blaney in the 22 car, who finished 13th. It seems that's the best finish that car has had this year.
NHIS New Hampshire Stewart Newman Busch Blaney Nascar Kahne Labonte Petty
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Samuel Adams Brewer Patriot Collection
Sitting here today on a sweltering and muggy Maine summer day watching the news and trying to understand what's going on in the Middle East, I thought this would be the perfect time to crack open the four-pack of Samuel Adams Brewer Patriot Collection. First let me say that this was difficult to find and on sale it cost 10 bucks for four bottles of beer; but as much as I like good craft beer, especially Samuel Adams, I figured I could treat myself and give it a try.
The four varieties in this pack are a Traditional Ginger Honey Ale, which I'm sampling first right now (very much worth the $2.50), based on a recipe used by Thomas Jefferson; a George Washington Porter; James Madison Dark Wheat Ale and 1790 Root Beer Brew.
The Ginger Honey Ale is fantastic. I hope this is just the tip of the iceberg and that the other three varieties are just as good. It goes down very smooth like any good ale should, no aftertaste at all. The hint of lemon peel fits perfectly. This is something you'll have to try for yourself because it is impossible for me to convince you given the ingredients just how good this is, because the ingredients would make you very skeptical that it could taste good. It tastes much better than good. Too bad it's hard to find and $2.50 a bottle. This is what it says about this brew on the bottle: "Ginger beer in the colonies can be traced back to the 1700's. Ginger beer ferments quickly, making it ideal for brewing in the colonists' kitchens. Thomas Jefferson and his wife brewed 15 gallons of beer every two weeks at their Monticello estate. Brewed with fresh lemons and sweetened with honey, ginger beer was perfect for dailing drinking." I concur. Again, nice and smooth...quaffable, as my brother would say. And as is the tradition with Sam Adams, the description around the neck of the bottle reads, "True to its colonial heritage, this effervescent golden brew remains unfiltered. The bright flavors of fresh ginger and lemon zest are balanced by a subtle maltiness and the floral sweetness of wildflower honey." I'm almost to the bottom of the bottle as I write this and wish I had another. This tastes like no other beer or ale I've ever had, yet it's so good it makes me think why didn't this last through the years; why isn't this something we're very familiar with. Perfect for a hot day. Later today, I'll do another.
I decided to try the 1790 Root Beer Brew next as I'm not big on root beer nor licorice. So I suspected I would like this one least, perhaps not like it at all, and didn't want to leave it til last. Well, it's complex to say the least. The first thing you taste is the sassafras, which is fine, but it's immediately overtaken by the licorice...thankfully not overpowering but I don't like licorice at all, and then vanilla. So this one for me is as odd as it sounds when you read the ingredients. On the back of the label it says, "Our forefathers were an innovative people. They quickly learned to brew from the local ingredients available to them. Root beer, for instance, comes from the root bark of the sassafras tree, which is native to Eastern North America. Originally added to tea, it was soon adapted for beer. Root beer was also brewed with wintergreen, another indigenous ingredient that is one of the main flavors in root beer today (I didn't know that). It's not hard to imagine Samuel Adams brewing with these ingredients himself and enjoying this rich beer after a long day of planning a revolution."
And from the words on the neck you'll see why I said this was complex, because it has a lot of ingredients we would find strange in combination. "The intensity of this unfiltered brew is immediately evident with spicy, herbal notes of sassafras, wintergreen and licorice. These are balanced with the sweetness of caramelized sugar, molasses and vanilla." Make no mistake, this is beer and alcoholic, not modern-day root beer. If you like root beer though, you may like this one. I don't much care for it but mostly because I don't like the ingredients.
beer Samuel Adams ale brewer Thomas Jefferson Brewer Patriot Collection Ginger Honey Ale
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Zebster's baked bean recipe
Traditional New England baked beans, none of that crap with the soggy little beans in a tomato or bbq sauce. You can use a crock pot, do it in the oven inside a bean pot; you can even dig a hole in the ground and cook it in there for several days (hardcore and best, but I'm too lazy and impatient). So I use a crock pot. You'll only need about a half hour or so of prep time but you'll need to cook them all day.Ingredients: One pound Jacobs Cattle beans, onion, 1/2 pound salt pork, 1/2 cup of BROWN sugar, 2/3 cup molasses, 1/4 cup of real maple syrup (honey works good too), 3 teaspoons dry mustard, salt and pepper to taste.
I think using the right beans is one of the keys. I prefer Jacobs Cattle or Yellow Eye or the like. You can use pinto beans, I suppose, but see above and don't tell me if you did...it saddens me deeply. Let me amend that. If you want real baked beans, then find the good dry beans I've mentioned. Don't cheat and use canned beans or whatever. If you want it to taste right, like it's supposed to, then you need to start with the right ingredients. There's no point in doing it, otherwise.
You should check the bag of beans because occasionally there's a pebble or a bad bean. Then put them in a large bowl of water and soak them overnight.
In the morning parboil the beans until you can blow the skin off one, about a half hour, which gives you time to get your ingredients together. You'll need some salt pork (no bacon...this isn't breakfast), which you'll need to cut through the rind side about a half inch in a waffle design so it'll fall apart nicely when everything's cooked. Quarter at least one onion and place it in the bottom of the pot. Then drain and add your parboiled beans. Place the salt pork on top. In one pint of boiling water add your molasses, syrup, dry mustard, sugar, salt and pepper. I like mine peppery. I've been known to use Montreal steak pepper. But at least 3 teaspoons of pepper. Pour this over the beans, adding more boiling water, if necessary, to cover the beans...usually an extra half pint to pint. Then cook on low in the crock pot or 300 degrees in the oven for at least 6 hours.
When at all possible serve with red casing hotdogs and brown bread, also often served in Maine with coleslaw. Since you're going to fart like crazy after eating them, plus the cabbage in the cole slaw, you might as well go all out and wash it down with a hearty ale. You won't have any trouble being left alone after that.
And by the way, if I find out that you put ketchup on my beans, I'll hunt you down and shoot you! Ketchup is for hamburgers, meatloaf and bad french fries.
beans baked beans Maine Jacobs Cattle Yellow Eye Zebster salt pork molasses maple syrup brown sugar fart
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
All Star Game ramblings
The American League wins again, thanks to a two-run triple by Michael Young in the top of the 9th inning. Young was named the game's MVP and did so without headbutting anyone. Zebster on Zidane I won't get tired of this American League domination of the Mid-Summer Classic because I remember watching us lose year after year after year. Click here and look at the results from the early '60's to mid '80's, and you'll see what I mean. Even after the Junior Circuit's current unbeaten streak of 10, the National League leads the all-time series by seven games.
The one time each year I allow myself to cheer for Yankee players and they take the collar. Here's hoping they continue to stink. At least you can count on Mariano Rivera, who closed the game out in the 9th for the save. (not that my Sox fared any better and Manny didn't even show up)
Is not Vladimir Guerrero the best bad-ball hitter you've ever seen? After Brad Penny overpowered the first 5 hitters he saw, he made the mistake of leaving a pitch within reach of Guerrero, up around his shoulders, which Vlad deposited into the right field seats.
My favorite part of the game though is when we had some rarely-seen small ball play in the All Star game, and great defense. Vernon Wells throws a pea to home plate to throw out the speedy Alfonso Siriano from 2nd on a base hit by Carlos Beltran, with Beltran going to 2nd on the throw to the plate. Beltran subsequently steals 3rd and scores on the very next pitch, a wild pitch by Halliday...a play which gave the Senior Circuit a lead they would hold on to until Young's heroics in the 9th.
This is a series of plays that Roberto Clemente would've loved. Now there was a ballplayer...a five-tool player with humility and class, one who gave of himself on and off the field, a man who paid the ultimate price when in 1972 his plane crashed while on a humanitarian mission to Nicaragua. Not familiar with Clemente? Then take a look at these stats Official Clemente site Major League Baseball honored Clemente during a break in 5th inning of the game.
All Star Pittsburgh Penny Guerrero Siriano Wells Beltran Michael Young Clemente Nicaragua Rivera American League National League Vlad
The one time each year I allow myself to cheer for Yankee players and they take the collar. Here's hoping they continue to stink. At least you can count on Mariano Rivera, who closed the game out in the 9th for the save. (not that my Sox fared any better and Manny didn't even show up)
Is not Vladimir Guerrero the best bad-ball hitter you've ever seen? After Brad Penny overpowered the first 5 hitters he saw, he made the mistake of leaving a pitch within reach of Guerrero, up around his shoulders, which Vlad deposited into the right field seats.
My favorite part of the game though is when we had some rarely-seen small ball play in the All Star game, and great defense. Vernon Wells throws a pea to home plate to throw out the speedy Alfonso Siriano from 2nd on a base hit by Carlos Beltran, with Beltran going to 2nd on the throw to the plate. Beltran subsequently steals 3rd and scores on the very next pitch, a wild pitch by Halliday...a play which gave the Senior Circuit a lead they would hold on to until Young's heroics in the 9th.
This is a series of plays that Roberto Clemente would've loved. Now there was a ballplayer...a five-tool player with humility and class, one who gave of himself on and off the field, a man who paid the ultimate price when in 1972 his plane crashed while on a humanitarian mission to Nicaragua. Not familiar with Clemente? Then take a look at these stats Official Clemente site Major League Baseball honored Clemente during a break in 5th inning of the game.
All Star Pittsburgh Penny Guerrero Siriano Wells Beltran Michael Young Clemente Nicaragua Rivera American League National League Vlad
Monday, July 10, 2006
Weekend wrap-up
World Cup -- watched most while keeping an eye on the Red Sox v. White Sox marathon. It'd be a whole lot better game without the flopping and diving. Should you really decide a world championship on penalty kicks?
Note to Terry Francona: Never bring in Mike Timlin if it isn't at the beginning of an inning. As great as he's been for the Sox through the years, he almost always seems to get in trouble if brought in in the middle of an inning. Gotta give kudos to Tavarez and Seanez. Isn't that the best those guys have pitched all year. Trot, wake up, it's over!!! I know you're tired but did you have to sleep through 9 at bats? Since Youkilis has been so clutch, I won't give him a hard time about striking out with no one out and a runner at 2nd, but I want to. Oh, and Josh Beckett and his love of the gopher ball. It seems to me when he's in trouble or if he has a top hitter at the plate, he stops "pitching" and starts throwing, which makes his fastball have less movement and he gets the ball up in the strike zone. His stats against good teams are very bad indeed.
What do you think Jeff Gordon's reaction would've been had he been in first and Kenseth second and Kenseth spun him out in the same way? I can tell you. He would've said there were 3 laps to go, plenty of time for Kenseth to get around him clean since he was clearly faster. There was a car to the outside. So he wasn't going to be able to pass then anyway. If he had better car control, this wouldn't have happened, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. But since it was Jeff doing the spinning, it's an unfortunate racing deal and he didn't mean to do it. Bullshit! I'm not saying he intended to spin Kenseth out, but Gordon is considered by most the driver with the best, maybe greatest ever, car control. Yet he somehow managed to run into him from the distance back that he did. His intent was to pull an Earnhardt -- get right up under the guy, get him loose and if you end up tapping him, "oh well, it's not like I meant to." Jeff's always complaining about other drivers' decision making. It's about time he held himself to the same standard. And Nascar needs to start taking a stronger stance on these late-race bump-and-runs for the win. At the very least you should have to try for a lap or 2 before doing it. And in this case the distance back was such that IMO Gordon had time to not hit Kenseth if he wanted to.
Finishes for my favs: Labonte in the 43, 12th; Kahne a very disappointing 23rd, and Kyle another day driving around in the back, 28th. My fantasy race pick, Denny Hamlin, 14th. Kudo of the race, Reed Sorenson, 7th.
Juan Pablo Montoya coming to race in Nascar after winning races in F1? Priceless!
World Cup Italy France penalty kicks diving Red Sox White Sox Francona Boston Nascar Kahne Labonte Montoya Chicago Gordon Kenseth Timlin Beckett
Note to Terry Francona: Never bring in Mike Timlin if it isn't at the beginning of an inning. As great as he's been for the Sox through the years, he almost always seems to get in trouble if brought in in the middle of an inning. Gotta give kudos to Tavarez and Seanez. Isn't that the best those guys have pitched all year. Trot, wake up, it's over!!! I know you're tired but did you have to sleep through 9 at bats? Since Youkilis has been so clutch, I won't give him a hard time about striking out with no one out and a runner at 2nd, but I want to. Oh, and Josh Beckett and his love of the gopher ball. It seems to me when he's in trouble or if he has a top hitter at the plate, he stops "pitching" and starts throwing, which makes his fastball have less movement and he gets the ball up in the strike zone. His stats against good teams are very bad indeed.
What do you think Jeff Gordon's reaction would've been had he been in first and Kenseth second and Kenseth spun him out in the same way? I can tell you. He would've said there were 3 laps to go, plenty of time for Kenseth to get around him clean since he was clearly faster. There was a car to the outside. So he wasn't going to be able to pass then anyway. If he had better car control, this wouldn't have happened, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. But since it was Jeff doing the spinning, it's an unfortunate racing deal and he didn't mean to do it. Bullshit! I'm not saying he intended to spin Kenseth out, but Gordon is considered by most the driver with the best, maybe greatest ever, car control. Yet he somehow managed to run into him from the distance back that he did. His intent was to pull an Earnhardt -- get right up under the guy, get him loose and if you end up tapping him, "oh well, it's not like I meant to." Jeff's always complaining about other drivers' decision making. It's about time he held himself to the same standard. And Nascar needs to start taking a stronger stance on these late-race bump-and-runs for the win. At the very least you should have to try for a lap or 2 before doing it. And in this case the distance back was such that IMO Gordon had time to not hit Kenseth if he wanted to.
Finishes for my favs: Labonte in the 43, 12th; Kahne a very disappointing 23rd, and Kyle another day driving around in the back, 28th. My fantasy race pick, Denny Hamlin, 14th. Kudo of the race, Reed Sorenson, 7th.
Juan Pablo Montoya coming to race in Nascar after winning races in F1? Priceless!
World Cup Italy France penalty kicks diving Red Sox White Sox Francona Boston Nascar Kahne Labonte Montoya Chicago Gordon Kenseth Timlin Beckett
Friday, July 07, 2006
Weekend Sports Preview
Cuz, this pic of my Bruins jersey is the answer to the question I'd asked about who my favorite type of player is. It is posted now because I've been negligent in mentioning that the Bruins signed Don Sweeney to be Director of Player Development. Don Sweeney A great story: Bro and I went to a Bruins game a few years ago at the New Garden. Of course I wore my Sweeney jersey, knowing I'd be the only one. Wrong! Sitting right next to me was a Bruin fan from Ottawa wearing a Don Sweeney road black jersey. He and a friend had driven down to watch the Bruins play the Senators.What could this weekend's matchup between the last two World Series champs, the Red Sox and White Sox, mean? I think it's a good measuring stick for our Sox since the experts feel, and I tend to agree, that the White Sox are the best team in baseball; and if we have aspirations of getting the trophy back, it'll likely mean going through the Pale Hose. We also need to continue to play well because the Yankees are not far enough back for my comfort. We have the rotation lined up for this series. So I'd like to see us take 2 out of 3 and keep the momentum going.
Will anyone be watching the World Cup final on Sunday? Around the Nascar race and the Red Sox game I will. I'm no soccer fan, as you know; but the passion of the fans, the national pride of country-on-country and the fact that this is the biggest tournament in the world played only every four years is why I watch some.
Nascar heads to Chicago this weekend. My boy Kasey Kahne will be driving the same car he's won 4 times with this year. So I'm optimistic about how he'll do, as I am about the continued improvement of the 43, driven by Bobby Labonte. Who do you like this weekend? My fantasy pick is Denny Hamlin. In our fantasy league we can only use each driver once per year. Look for a post race write-up. I'm also going to do one soon about why I dislike the Chase format. I sold my NHIS July tix this year. So I won't be blogging about having been there.
Patriots picked to make it to the Super Bowl but lose to Carolina by the ESPN expert panel. Nice to know folks like that think we'll have another excellent team; but since experts are always wrong, it's nice they didn't pick NE to win. I would like to see the Pats sign Ty Law and shore up that secondary. I still hate the Cowboys but their QB is still a favorite of mine. So here's hoping Drew Bledsoe throws for big numbers. Let's talk some football.
Patriots Red Sox Sweeney Panthers Boston Bruins Ty Law Bledsoe World Cup Nascar Kahne Labonte White Sox
Thursday, July 06, 2006
My Nascar cyber friends
Some background: You might think growing up in Maine is an unlikely place for a 35 year Nascar fan to be from. Well, unlike the rest of New England where the tradition is more open-wheel modifieds, Maine has a stockcar tradition going back at least to my memories of going to Unity Raceway with my dad in the early '70's. I'm not sure how much of a fan he was but he was a tire salesman and had "connections" to race teams. He was at least a casual friend of one of the big names at that time, Pete Silva. I had an uncle who was a Nascar fan, and I remember listening to the races visiting with my cousin, watching the few races that were on TV (Wide World of Sports). Always wanting to be different, everyone around me was a Chevy fan but I kept hearing this guy named Richard Petty in Dodge whipping their butts. Thus the lifelong Mopar and Petty racing loyalties. Then in my teen years my best friend's brother was one of the better local drivers, and we used to go to all the races and help work on the car. His name was Jimmy McGinnis, always drove the A-1; and he was still racing when I took my daughters to Unity a few years ago.I continued to go to races locally, watch and listen to some others; and went to my first race live at Riverside, CA in 1985. (Why not a few years earlier when I was living in the southeast is still a mystery)
Approximately 10 years ago while surfing the internet, looking for Nascar-related articles I stumbled upon a message board about Nascar at CNN/SI's website. That board no longer exists and I'm not even sure the website still exists. But this was a lively board (you can read lively as positive and negative) that was relatively new when I found it. So I was easily able to get into the beginning of conversations and found these people respected and welcomed my thoughts. These were people like me who had followed the sport for years, were passionate and knowledgeable about it; and we all quickly built up friendships there.
An example, even though this was a monitored board, one of the guys might say something a little too harshly about someone else's driver or something; and somehow the ladies on the board ended up relagating us to "under da porch," a metaphor for going to your room or sitting in the corner.
Eventually CNN/SI stopped hosting message boards. After that we moved from board to board for various reasons, always naming it Under da Porch. Well 10 years later there is still a core of us, approximately 10, that are still very active participants on our message board that were there from the beginning and several other loyalists who've joined along the way. We've lost touch with some dear friends (Graybo, Sprayberry, Big Bill and others) through the years; but we've also become very good friends, the rest of us. Various members meet up at races (usually the 600, which I went to in 2004) or sometimes when someone's just driving through.
We are fans of various drivers. Myself? Anyone who drives the 43, Kyle Petty, still hoping Ricky Craven isn't finished and became one of the earliest members of the Kasey Kahne bandwagon. Gotta love that red Dodge with the Ram on the hood!
We've become somewhat of a secret society in that we like to have control over the types of people we interact with and how we interact; but we've decided that we need some new blood, as it were, to liven up our board. We do talk about other things a little, though we try to steer away from things that people always argue about.
So if you're interested in joining us, you can email me for the map and secret password. We won't let just anyone in. We're only interested in people who love Nascar (newbies and oldtimers), who are respectful of others and their opinions, and who want to join us. Many of them read my blogs and I'm hoping they'll add their comments here to fill in what I've left out. They may say that they'd prefer I add the link in here, with the proviso that new folks read our rules and understand there'll be a probationary period.
Nascar Maine message boards Coke 600 Petty Unity Raceway Under da Porch Nextel Cup Nascar fans
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Wow, what a finish. Italy 2, Germany 0
In a game which Germany ouplayed Italy in a scoreless game almost through the end of the second overtime, Fabio Grosso breaks the scoreless tie with an absolutely fabulous shot that bends into the back corner just beyond the fingertips of the outstretched German goalkeeper. Then, as Germany opens it up even more in search of the equalizing goal, Alessandro Del Piero scores a pretty one-on-one breakaway goal just 2 minutes later to seal it.
This is the most enjoyable soccer match (oxy moron) I've seen, especially the wide open overtime periods.
Some background: Germany has never beaten Italy in the World Cup, Italy has never won a World Cup match on penalty kicks.
Italy advances to play the winner of tomorrow's other semi-final match between France and Portugal.
World Cup Italy Germany Grosso Del Piero
Monday, July 03, 2006
Snub or blessing
I've always been conflicted about Major League Baseball's All Star selection system. It's the fans' game and they should vote. Sometimes the fans will surprise you with their insight but at least as often they vote purely based on favorites. Also, the fact that every team needs to be represented has its pros and cons, mostly cons. It's an all star roster and, thus by definition, the roster should be populated with the very best players, which never happens when you have to select someone from say the KC Royals. But someone will always be snubbed (the roster size has increased dramatically in the last few years) and this year is no different.
In this age of haves and have-nots because there is no salary cap, some teams will never be able to compete consistently because they can't afford retain all the great talent they drafted and groomed. The Red Sox and Yankees can afford to retain the players they draft and groom as well as the best of the small market teams' best players. So even though Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett didn't make the All Star roster when they certainly should have, it's not a perfect system and it's about as fair as you can make it. Besides, not having to worry about your two best pitchers getting hurt or overworked in a game that doesn't count is certainly a good thing.
Congratulations to Annika Sorenstam on winning her 3rd US Women's Open, 10th Major title overall. I don't tend to watch much women's golf; but since this is the most important of women's tournaments, the fact that we're witnessing history every time Annika is in contention, the fact that my wife will watch this sport with me, I will pay attention and enjoy it, even though the level of play is still well below that of the men's game. I also think it's great that for the first time in 100 years a professional golf championship was played at Newport Country Club, one of the original USGA member sites and the site of the first US Open. USGA
The Boston Bruins opened up their tight purse strings and signed 3 free agents, most notably in my opinion Zdeno Chara, a big, physical, top flight defenseman. Boston Bruins
Schilling Red Sox Beckett Sorenstam Boston Bruins Annika US Open Newport MLB All Stars Chara
In this age of haves and have-nots because there is no salary cap, some teams will never be able to compete consistently because they can't afford retain all the great talent they drafted and groomed. The Red Sox and Yankees can afford to retain the players they draft and groom as well as the best of the small market teams' best players. So even though Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett didn't make the All Star roster when they certainly should have, it's not a perfect system and it's about as fair as you can make it. Besides, not having to worry about your two best pitchers getting hurt or overworked in a game that doesn't count is certainly a good thing.
Congratulations to Annika Sorenstam on winning her 3rd US Women's Open, 10th Major title overall. I don't tend to watch much women's golf; but since this is the most important of women's tournaments, the fact that we're witnessing history every time Annika is in contention, the fact that my wife will watch this sport with me, I will pay attention and enjoy it, even though the level of play is still well below that of the men's game. I also think it's great that for the first time in 100 years a professional golf championship was played at Newport Country Club, one of the original USGA member sites and the site of the first US Open. USGA
The Boston Bruins opened up their tight purse strings and signed 3 free agents, most notably in my opinion Zdeno Chara, a big, physical, top flight defenseman. Boston Bruins
Schilling Red Sox Beckett Sorenstam Boston Bruins Annika US Open Newport MLB All Stars Chara
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Commercials, not Nascar, on Fox
Thank all things racing that this is the last Fox Nascar telecast of the season. TWO times this race they went away for five minutes of commercials, only to come back for 30 seconds of racing and then back to commercials again. And each new race brings more Visa racebreaks, race recaps and other horseshit interrupting the telecast. I swear they're not showing half the green flag racing that takes place.
Do we get ESPN back next year or the year after?
More crappy luck for the 43. Bobby Labonte has breathed new life into the King's ride and it's been great, but bad luck has turned many good runs into lousy finishes. This time running in the top 5 for most of the 2nd half of the race he's an innocent bystander and finishes in the 40's. Commercials interrupted that too incident as well as everything else worth seeing.
At least bad luck bit Jeff Gordon, someone who until recently never seemed to have any bad luck. He was caught up in a wreck not of his making about 5 laps after Labonte's accident.
Thank goodness for a couple of Shipward IPA's to take the frustration level down a notch.
Not enough beer to soften this rant though. What is the point of waving the caution flag for debris with half a lap to go? That means they don't race to the end but the race results will be determined by where the cars were at the time the caution came out. Nascar has lost control of caution flags this year and last. A car at the back of the back will spin out and immediately get it righted but the caution is already waving.
So this puts the crappy icing on pretty much a boring race, won by Tony Stewart. Not that I want to see the dangerous 43-car packs of recent past, but these current rules take what interest was left out of restrictor plate racing.
Zebster's favorites rundown: Kasey Kahne 25th, Kyle Petty 28th and Bobby Labonte with a DNF. My fantasy league pick, Dale Jr. with a lucky but disappointing 13th.
Kudo of the race: Clint Bowyer, another rookie with a top 10 finish this year.
Point leader: Jimmy Johnson
Nascar Fox Daytona Pepsi 400 Labonte Shipyard IPA Daytona Pepsi 400
Do we get ESPN back next year or the year after?
More crappy luck for the 43. Bobby Labonte has breathed new life into the King's ride and it's been great, but bad luck has turned many good runs into lousy finishes. This time running in the top 5 for most of the 2nd half of the race he's an innocent bystander and finishes in the 40's. Commercials interrupted that too incident as well as everything else worth seeing.
At least bad luck bit Jeff Gordon, someone who until recently never seemed to have any bad luck. He was caught up in a wreck not of his making about 5 laps after Labonte's accident.
Thank goodness for a couple of Shipward IPA's to take the frustration level down a notch.
Not enough beer to soften this rant though. What is the point of waving the caution flag for debris with half a lap to go? That means they don't race to the end but the race results will be determined by where the cars were at the time the caution came out. Nascar has lost control of caution flags this year and last. A car at the back of the back will spin out and immediately get it righted but the caution is already waving.
So this puts the crappy icing on pretty much a boring race, won by Tony Stewart. Not that I want to see the dangerous 43-car packs of recent past, but these current rules take what interest was left out of restrictor plate racing.
Zebster's favorites rundown: Kasey Kahne 25th, Kyle Petty 28th and Bobby Labonte with a DNF. My fantasy league pick, Dale Jr. with a lucky but disappointing 13th.
Kudo of the race: Clint Bowyer, another rookie with a top 10 finish this year.
Point leader: Jimmy Johnson
Nascar Fox Daytona Pepsi 400 Labonte Shipyard IPA Daytona Pepsi 400
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