While I await a response from customer support on a work-related issue, thought I'd dash off a few thoughts on the Patriots season:
--I will never second-guess Bill Belichick again. Remember that sick feeling we had in our stomachs when Tom Brady went down on the second series of the season? As Matt Cassel came out to take snaps, my colleague Mr. McSorley texted me with the message, "The one thing we never wanted to see."
Seriously. The best QB in the NFL was down (and I knew it was bad when he went back to the locker room. There would be no miraculous, uplifting return a la Larry Bird/Paul Pierce.) And this guy, who hadn't taken a snap when it counted since high school, whose main claim to fame was backing up not one, but two Heisman winners at USC, who had spent four years wearing a baseball cap and holding a clipboard instead of a helmet and a football in games, and who had looked, to put it charitably, lousy in preseason . . . THIS was the guy who was going to take the reins of a team that came within 30 seconds of an undefeated season last year?
And the kid pulled it together magnificently. Yes, there were rough spots, which are to be expected when someone basically has to learn on the job. But 11-5? I had visions of 8-8 . . . which, come to think of it, might've been good enough to win the NFC West.
-- Yes, I wanted blood after last year. I wanted no mercy. I thought Brady sitting out the preseason was an effort at sandbagging. I came damn near close to buying a "37-1" t-shirt. But in some ways, this was more satisfying. We were treated to discovering an emerging star in Cassel, reminding us what it was like to watch Brady take over in 2001. With all their injuries, especially on defense (hey, give Cassel credit, but he still did have Moss and Welker to throw to), they still came together nicely. We as fans have really been spoiled, with no tell-tale holes in any unit on the team the past couple years. This year, the secondary was a big question mark, and once Rodney Harrison went down for the season, that was tough to overcome. Losing Tedy Bruschi and having to get Junior Seau off his surfboard and Rosevelt Colvin off from wherever was, in hindsight, probably a push - mainly because of the strong rookie season of Jerod Mayo and the continued solid play of Mike Vrabel.
-- Speaking of defense, someone raised this intriguing possibility: Why not trade Cassel and trade Brady? The resulting draft picks and players could be used to shore up the defense.
As we've learned from the Lawyer Milloy situation in 2003, Belichick recognizes that what makes the team better now is what matters. Yes, I'd love to see Brady finish his career with a Flying Elvis on his helmet. But if the team truly believes in Kevin O'Connell (and from accounts, they seem to) a move like that wouldn't and shouldn't shock folks.
--Part of me wonders if this works out better for Cassel's possible free agency. Leading a team with a decimated defense to a fighting chance of a playoff spot looks good on the resume, perhaps better than if said defense had been run over in a first-round blowout, overshadowing any QB's performance.
--This is not Pats-related, but hey, Brett Favre: 9 picks and 2 TD passes in the final 5 games? That doesn't look good, even on your HoF resume.
--Again, when all is said and done, it was a fun ride. Let's hope it doesn' t end this soon in 2009.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Bruins bandwagon to jump on. . .wearing my new Celtics fleece, no less.
-JDE2
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Ice Storm, Part Deux
We have power at our house once again, after 172 hours and change - more than a week for you math-challenged types.
Here's a few thoughts:
-- Plenty of people still don't have power. Many will go without power on Christmas. But the job the utility companies did getting as many people back online within a week was remarkable.
-- And of course, it may not be over yet: We got about a foot of snow in some spots yesterday and another big storm is forecast for Sunday.
-- My minor bitching aside (and it was minor: You should see our comment boards at unionleader.com . . . even the ones we didn't let through! Hey!), this thought occured to me: We are a bunch of wimps.
Seriously, the myth of the "hardy New Englander" was somewhat demolished this past week, especially after seeing some people upset they were without power . . . for hours.
Somewhere, our Pilgrim ancestors are laughing their buckled shoes and hats and knee breeches off at us. Granted, a major reason they stopped here was because they ran out of beer. In hindsight, don't you think an extra barrel or two of porter or stout would've helped them settle in warmer climes?
Anyway, I've been through the Blizzard of '77, the Blizzard of '78, Hurricane Gloria in '85, "The Perfect Storm" in '91, the "Storm of the Century" in '93, a 39-below air temperature in '93, the Ice Storm in '98, and probably a few other weather phenomena I forgot to mention. I can't remember any storm ever displacing me, until now.
And full disclosure: My in-laws got power back Friday night. So for a week, my wife and I and our two toddlers got to crash there. We had hot meals, hot showers and a warm bed. (Granted, at midweek our 4-year-old son confessed he missed his room. Even a playland like Nana and Pop-Pop's has its limits.) I honestly don't know what we would have done if they didn't get power back. So my criticism can be taken with a grain of salt.
At any rate, I actually saw someone compare the situation here to Katrina. Come on: You may have had to throw away a fridge full of food (in our case, a fridge and stand-up freezer-full, though we were in time to salvage the holiday birds), you may have frozen your tuckus off in your home (38 degrees in my house when power was restored), you may have even gone without a shower for a week . . . or longer (yikes!) . . . but you weren't on the roof of your house, watching water rise, praying for rescue as everything you owned was swept away.
Communication was tough to come by. Funny how that switch to the cable phone system seems a bit short-sighted now. Previously, I remember the phone always working in a power outage. But the way we saved trips back to the house was to call. If voice mail picked up, it was still dark. It got to the point where my wife and I couldn't stand the sound of my voice saying, "Hi! We're not able to come to the phone right now. . . "
Look, was I prepared for this? No. Guilty. And yes, I've made fun of all those folks who crowd the supermarkets before a storm to stock up on things. Sufficiently chastised, especially after a run to grab batteries on Friday, I won't again. And a generator is on the to-do list now, as is looking into a wood stove, something I had in my previous house that worked brilliantly during the 1998 ice storm.
Yes, our ancestors were hardy sorts. But they were lucky to bathe once a year and, ahem, relieved themselves outdoors. I like indoor plumbing and modern conveniences.
So I'm a wimp, too.
So be it.
-JDE2
Here's a few thoughts:
-- Plenty of people still don't have power. Many will go without power on Christmas. But the job the utility companies did getting as many people back online within a week was remarkable.
-- And of course, it may not be over yet: We got about a foot of snow in some spots yesterday and another big storm is forecast for Sunday.
-- My minor bitching aside (and it was minor: You should see our comment boards at unionleader.com . . . even the ones we didn't let through! Hey!), this thought occured to me: We are a bunch of wimps.
Seriously, the myth of the "hardy New Englander" was somewhat demolished this past week, especially after seeing some people upset they were without power . . . for hours.
Somewhere, our Pilgrim ancestors are laughing their buckled shoes and hats and knee breeches off at us. Granted, a major reason they stopped here was because they ran out of beer. In hindsight, don't you think an extra barrel or two of porter or stout would've helped them settle in warmer climes?
Anyway, I've been through the Blizzard of '77, the Blizzard of '78, Hurricane Gloria in '85, "The Perfect Storm" in '91, the "Storm of the Century" in '93, a 39-below air temperature in '93, the Ice Storm in '98, and probably a few other weather phenomena I forgot to mention. I can't remember any storm ever displacing me, until now.
And full disclosure: My in-laws got power back Friday night. So for a week, my wife and I and our two toddlers got to crash there. We had hot meals, hot showers and a warm bed. (Granted, at midweek our 4-year-old son confessed he missed his room. Even a playland like Nana and Pop-Pop's has its limits.) I honestly don't know what we would have done if they didn't get power back. So my criticism can be taken with a grain of salt.
At any rate, I actually saw someone compare the situation here to Katrina. Come on: You may have had to throw away a fridge full of food (in our case, a fridge and stand-up freezer-full, though we were in time to salvage the holiday birds), you may have frozen your tuckus off in your home (38 degrees in my house when power was restored), you may have even gone without a shower for a week . . . or longer (yikes!) . . . but you weren't on the roof of your house, watching water rise, praying for rescue as everything you owned was swept away.
Communication was tough to come by. Funny how that switch to the cable phone system seems a bit short-sighted now. Previously, I remember the phone always working in a power outage. But the way we saved trips back to the house was to call. If voice mail picked up, it was still dark. It got to the point where my wife and I couldn't stand the sound of my voice saying, "Hi! We're not able to come to the phone right now. . . "
Look, was I prepared for this? No. Guilty. And yes, I've made fun of all those folks who crowd the supermarkets before a storm to stock up on things. Sufficiently chastised, especially after a run to grab batteries on Friday, I won't again. And a generator is on the to-do list now, as is looking into a wood stove, something I had in my previous house that worked brilliantly during the 1998 ice storm.
Yes, our ancestors were hardy sorts. But they were lucky to bathe once a year and, ahem, relieved themselves outdoors. I like indoor plumbing and modern conveniences.
So I'm a wimp, too.
So be it.
-JDE2
Thursday, December 18, 2008
This Abe Lincoln/Amish/Living-Off-The-Grid/Little House on the #!@&ing Prairie Life Sucks
We haven't posted in a while, and while I can't speak for Matt, my issue for what will have been a full week now as of midnight tonight is a lack of electricity. I'm writing this from work.
The question everyone has been asking when greeting an acquaintance in Southern NH the last few days isn't, "How are you?" or even, "How's the Christmas shopping going?" Nope, it's been "Got power yet?"
Last Thursday night, a massive ice storm hit the state and region. Those of us whose previous reference to "a bad ice storm" was the one we had in December 1998 were totally unprepared for the scale of this one.
Do the math: In 1998, my previous house was without power for four days. Some 70,000 customers lost power in the state. A staggering 424,000 customers (note the term, as that probably means far more people) were without power a week ago tomorrow after the storm. The fact that the number has gone down to below 70,000 as of this morning is a testament to the hard work of the crews who have come from as far as Ohio and Maryland to help out.
I really can't complain: My in-laws got power restored within a day, and my family and have had a warm place to stay, hot meals and hot showers for the week. And we should get it restored to our house this weekend, weather permitting. Many folks won't have power for Christmas.
Still, it's been a disheartening experiece to pull up to our dark, cold house (39 degrees inside when I checked this morning) and hear the roar of my neighbors' generators still going after a week.
As I post this, the house is going on its 160th hour without electricity. Amazing.
-JDE2
The question everyone has been asking when greeting an acquaintance in Southern NH the last few days isn't, "How are you?" or even, "How's the Christmas shopping going?" Nope, it's been "Got power yet?"
Last Thursday night, a massive ice storm hit the state and region. Those of us whose previous reference to "a bad ice storm" was the one we had in December 1998 were totally unprepared for the scale of this one.
Do the math: In 1998, my previous house was without power for four days. Some 70,000 customers lost power in the state. A staggering 424,000 customers (note the term, as that probably means far more people) were without power a week ago tomorrow after the storm. The fact that the number has gone down to below 70,000 as of this morning is a testament to the hard work of the crews who have come from as far as Ohio and Maryland to help out.
I really can't complain: My in-laws got power restored within a day, and my family and have had a warm place to stay, hot meals and hot showers for the week. And we should get it restored to our house this weekend, weather permitting. Many folks won't have power for Christmas.
Still, it's been a disheartening experiece to pull up to our dark, cold house (39 degrees inside when I checked this morning) and hear the roar of my neighbors' generators still going after a week.
As I post this, the house is going on its 160th hour without electricity. Amazing.
-JDE2
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Historically speaking
For reasons unknown to me, I got to wondering if the Patriots' recent run of brilliance had made them the historic kings of the AFC East. Now, with three Super Bowl wins (the rest of the division has three combined -- Miami with two and the Jets with one) and six Super Bowl appearances (one more than Miami, with five, and two more than Buffalo, with four) that case is probably already made. But I wondered which team has won the most AFC East titles since the AFL-NFL merger.
Turns out New England still has work to do there. Here's the roster:
Miami: 12 (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1992, 1994, 2000)
New England: 11 (1978, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Buffalo: 7 (1980, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995)
New York: 2 (1998, 2002)
Notes on a few other teams: Pittsburgh has won 18 division championships since the merger; San Francisco has 17; Dallas has 16; the Raiders have 12; the Colts have 11; Denver has 10.
-- MJM
Turns out New England still has work to do there. Here's the roster:
Miami: 12 (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1992, 1994, 2000)
New England: 11 (1978, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Buffalo: 7 (1980, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995)
New York: 2 (1998, 2002)
Notes on a few other teams: Pittsburgh has won 18 division championships since the merger; San Francisco has 17; Dallas has 16; the Raiders have 12; the Colts have 11; Denver has 10.
-- MJM
Updated Pats Playoff Odds
New England gutted out a come-from-behind 24-21 win at noisy Seattle today. Meanwhile, San Francisco did the Pats an unexpected favor by beating the J-E-T-S JetsJetsJets, and Miami beat Buffalo in the Bills' second home, Toronto. Eh?
That places all three teams at 8-5 with three games to go. New England is at Oakland, home to Arizona and at Buffalo. New York is home to Buffalo, at Seattle and home to Miami. Miami is home to San Francisco, then at Kansas City and at the Jets. The Pats have the toughest schedule because Arizona, yes, it's true, is a division champion. The Jets have two games at home. Miami has two very winnable games before the season-ending Meadowlands encounter.
The Patriots most likely have to finish ahead of both the Jets and Dolphins as New England is in a tough spot in a tie-breaker with both teams. So the Pats have to win their next three and hope both Miami and the Jets lose one of their final three. They play each other, so one of those two teams is going to lose a game.
So let's play this out: Pats win three, Jets win three. That means the Jets will have beaten Miami, so the Dolphins finish a game behind and out of the picture. The Jets win the division because of a superior record in the division (5-1, as opposed to New England's 4-2).
Pats win three, Dolphins win three. That means the Dolphins will have beaten the Jets, and New York is dropped. You have to go to the fourth tie-breaker to sort this one out. The tie-breakers are:
1. Head-to-head record (that's even at 1-1).
2. Best record in the division (that's even at 4-2).
3. Best record in common games (that's even at 9-5).
4. Best record in conference games. That goes to Miami, which finishes 8-4 in conference under this scenario, while New England finishes 7-5.
Most likely picture to help the Pats? Stumbling Buffalo plays for pride and beats the Jets next week. Then hope the Jets can beat Miami in the season finale. Miami and New York finish 10-6, Pats finish 11-5 (if they run the table) and win the division for the sixth straight year.
Still a lot to happen before this one is settled.
-- MJM
That places all three teams at 8-5 with three games to go. New England is at Oakland, home to Arizona and at Buffalo. New York is home to Buffalo, at Seattle and home to Miami. Miami is home to San Francisco, then at Kansas City and at the Jets. The Pats have the toughest schedule because Arizona, yes, it's true, is a division champion. The Jets have two games at home. Miami has two very winnable games before the season-ending Meadowlands encounter.
The Patriots most likely have to finish ahead of both the Jets and Dolphins as New England is in a tough spot in a tie-breaker with both teams. So the Pats have to win their next three and hope both Miami and the Jets lose one of their final three. They play each other, so one of those two teams is going to lose a game.
So let's play this out: Pats win three, Jets win three. That means the Jets will have beaten Miami, so the Dolphins finish a game behind and out of the picture. The Jets win the division because of a superior record in the division (5-1, as opposed to New England's 4-2).
Pats win three, Dolphins win three. That means the Dolphins will have beaten the Jets, and New York is dropped. You have to go to the fourth tie-breaker to sort this one out. The tie-breakers are:
1. Head-to-head record (that's even at 1-1).
2. Best record in the division (that's even at 4-2).
3. Best record in common games (that's even at 9-5).
4. Best record in conference games. That goes to Miami, which finishes 8-4 in conference under this scenario, while New England finishes 7-5.
Most likely picture to help the Pats? Stumbling Buffalo plays for pride and beats the Jets next week. Then hope the Jets can beat Miami in the season finale. Miami and New York finish 10-6, Pats finish 11-5 (if they run the table) and win the division for the sixth straight year.
Still a lot to happen before this one is settled.
-- MJM
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Pats' Playoff Odds
After today's disgraceful loss to Pittsburgh (not that losing to the Steelers is a disgrace but five turnovers and sloppy play is), the Pats have two realistic shots at the playoffs, but only if they run the table in their four remaining games.
That feat is possible. The Pats next visit Seattle, who's awful, and the Raiders, who are awful. Then they host Arizona, which benefits from a weak division and is a game the Pats should win. The end-of-season matchup is a biggie at Buffalo against a respectable team in a place that's always tough to play. But it's a game that can be won.
But that's not enough. The Pats need help to get in at this point and that help can come in one of two ways:
1. AFC East. The Jets are a game ahead of the Patriots so New England needs Gang Green to lose another game before the season ends. Ah, but it can't be just any game the Jets lose. It has to be a divisional game. That's because in case of a tie, the second NFL tie-breaker in a divisional race (after head-to-head, which is 1-1, so that won't break a deadlock) is record in divisional games. The Pats are 3-2, the Jets 3-1. If the Pats beat Buffalo, which they absolutely have to do to play in January, that'll make New England 4-2. If the Jets win their remaining divisional games, against the Bills and Dolphins (both at home), the Jets win the tie-break with a 5-1 mark. So the Pats need New York to lose an AFC East game to come down to 4-2.
The next tie-breaker is record in common games and that breaks in the Pats' favor, thanks to Denver's win over the NYJ today. The Pats are 6-2 in common games, the Jets 5-3. If the Pats win out (and all four of their remaining games are against common opponents) that mark jumps to 10-2. The Jets could do no better than 8-4 (remember, to get to this tie-break the Jets had to lose a divisional game, which is also a common opponent).
HOWEVER, there's a spanner in the works and its name is Tuna.
If Miami wins its four remaining games, which would include a season-ender against the Jets, the Fins end 11-5. If the Jets win their other three games, that would create a three-way tie between New England, New York and Miami at 11-5. Under that scenario, the first tie-breaker is record against the other two teams. That would be: NE 2-2, Mia 2-2, NYJ 2-2. Second tie-breaker is record within the division. That would be: NE 4-2, Mia 4-2, NYJ 4-2. Third tie-breaker is record in common games: That would be NE 10-2, Mia 10-2, NYJ 8-4. So finally we knock out the Jets. Fourth tie-breaker is record in conference games. That would be: Mia 8-4, NE 7-5.
SO, the plot thickens. The Pats need to win out. They need the Jets and Dolphins to go 3-1 or worse. And they the need Jets to lose to Miami or Buffalo. And if the Jets lose to the Dolphins, the Pats need the Dolphins to lose one of their other games (their remaining opponents are Buffalo, Kansas City and San Francisco).
Ideal scenario for Pats to win the division: Win out, have Jets lose to Buffalo and win the rest of their games, including Miami. That way NE finishes 11-5, NYJ finishes 11-5 and Miami finishes 10-6. And the Pats win the tie-break with the Jets.
Confused? Wait. There's more.
2. Wild Card. Right now the Colts and Ravens are the prime competition for wild card berths. Forget the Colts. They're 8-4, a game better than New England, and they beat the Pats head-t0-head. They'll have to go 2-2 the rest of the way to fall behind New England and that isn't likely. The Colts have two wins in the bag -- their next two games are against the Bengals and Lions and their combined 1-22-1 record. Indy finishes with two toughies -- at Jacksonville and home to Tennessee. But figure the battle-tested Colts can win one of those and finish no worse than 11-5, which is the best the Pats can hope for.
Overcoming the Ravens will be hard, too, and here's why. They sit 8-4, one game better than the Pats. They didn't play head-to-head, so the first tie-breaker between New England and Baltimore is record in conference games. Right now the Pats are 7-5, the Ravens 9-3. So if my run the table theory holds true, the Pats finish 11-5, 9-5 in conference games. The Ravens have to lose their two remaining conference games, home to Pittsburgh and home to Jacksonville, to go 9-5 in conference games. Losing those two would also put Baltimore at no better than 10-6, so an 11-5 Pats team finishes ahead. So, basically, the Pats have to finish ahead of Baltimore. If the Ravens go 11-5, that means they won one of their two conference games and finish with a better conference record and go to the playoffs ahead of the Pats.
Got a headache yet? You could skip trying to absorb it and reach a reasonable conclusion: No playoffs in Foxborough this year. The Super Bowl loser jinx strikes again.
-- MJM
That feat is possible. The Pats next visit Seattle, who's awful, and the Raiders, who are awful. Then they host Arizona, which benefits from a weak division and is a game the Pats should win. The end-of-season matchup is a biggie at Buffalo against a respectable team in a place that's always tough to play. But it's a game that can be won.
But that's not enough. The Pats need help to get in at this point and that help can come in one of two ways:
1. AFC East. The Jets are a game ahead of the Patriots so New England needs Gang Green to lose another game before the season ends. Ah, but it can't be just any game the Jets lose. It has to be a divisional game. That's because in case of a tie, the second NFL tie-breaker in a divisional race (after head-to-head, which is 1-1, so that won't break a deadlock) is record in divisional games. The Pats are 3-2, the Jets 3-1. If the Pats beat Buffalo, which they absolutely have to do to play in January, that'll make New England 4-2. If the Jets win their remaining divisional games, against the Bills and Dolphins (both at home), the Jets win the tie-break with a 5-1 mark. So the Pats need New York to lose an AFC East game to come down to 4-2.
The next tie-breaker is record in common games and that breaks in the Pats' favor, thanks to Denver's win over the NYJ today. The Pats are 6-2 in common games, the Jets 5-3. If the Pats win out (and all four of their remaining games are against common opponents) that mark jumps to 10-2. The Jets could do no better than 8-4 (remember, to get to this tie-break the Jets had to lose a divisional game, which is also a common opponent).
HOWEVER, there's a spanner in the works and its name is Tuna.
If Miami wins its four remaining games, which would include a season-ender against the Jets, the Fins end 11-5. If the Jets win their other three games, that would create a three-way tie between New England, New York and Miami at 11-5. Under that scenario, the first tie-breaker is record against the other two teams. That would be: NE 2-2, Mia 2-2, NYJ 2-2. Second tie-breaker is record within the division. That would be: NE 4-2, Mia 4-2, NYJ 4-2. Third tie-breaker is record in common games: That would be NE 10-2, Mia 10-2, NYJ 8-4. So finally we knock out the Jets. Fourth tie-breaker is record in conference games. That would be: Mia 8-4, NE 7-5.
SO, the plot thickens. The Pats need to win out. They need the Jets and Dolphins to go 3-1 or worse. And they the need Jets to lose to Miami or Buffalo. And if the Jets lose to the Dolphins, the Pats need the Dolphins to lose one of their other games (their remaining opponents are Buffalo, Kansas City and San Francisco).
Ideal scenario for Pats to win the division: Win out, have Jets lose to Buffalo and win the rest of their games, including Miami. That way NE finishes 11-5, NYJ finishes 11-5 and Miami finishes 10-6. And the Pats win the tie-break with the Jets.
Confused? Wait. There's more.
2. Wild Card. Right now the Colts and Ravens are the prime competition for wild card berths. Forget the Colts. They're 8-4, a game better than New England, and they beat the Pats head-t0-head. They'll have to go 2-2 the rest of the way to fall behind New England and that isn't likely. The Colts have two wins in the bag -- their next two games are against the Bengals and Lions and their combined 1-22-1 record. Indy finishes with two toughies -- at Jacksonville and home to Tennessee. But figure the battle-tested Colts can win one of those and finish no worse than 11-5, which is the best the Pats can hope for.
Overcoming the Ravens will be hard, too, and here's why. They sit 8-4, one game better than the Pats. They didn't play head-to-head, so the first tie-breaker between New England and Baltimore is record in conference games. Right now the Pats are 7-5, the Ravens 9-3. So if my run the table theory holds true, the Pats finish 11-5, 9-5 in conference games. The Ravens have to lose their two remaining conference games, home to Pittsburgh and home to Jacksonville, to go 9-5 in conference games. Losing those two would also put Baltimore at no better than 10-6, so an 11-5 Pats team finishes ahead. So, basically, the Pats have to finish ahead of Baltimore. If the Ravens go 11-5, that means they won one of their two conference games and finish with a better conference record and go to the playoffs ahead of the Pats.
Got a headache yet? You could skip trying to absorb it and reach a reasonable conclusion: No playoffs in Foxborough this year. The Super Bowl loser jinx strikes again.
-- MJM
The New Bangalore Union Leader?
An industry we thought couldn't possibly be outsourced is being outsourced:
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: November 29, 2008
PASADENA, Calif.
I visited the future, and it was wearing a bow tie and calling itself “Thomas Edison.”
The newspaper business is not only crumpling up, James Macpherson informed me here, it is probably holding “a one-way ticket to Bangalore.”
Macpherson — bow-tied and white-haired but boyish-looking at 53 — should know. He pioneered “glocal” news — outsourcing Pasadena coverage to India at Pasadena Now, his daily online “newspaperless,” as he likes to call it. Indians are writing about everything from the Pasadena Christmas tree-lighting ceremony to kitchen remodeling to city debates about eliminating plastic shopping bags.
“Everyone has to get ready for what’s inevitable — like King Canute and the tide coming in — and that’s really my message to the industry,” the editor and publisher said. “Many newspapers are dead men walking. They’re going to be replaced by smaller, nimbler, multiple Internet-centric kinds of things such as what I’m pioneering.”
I wondered how long it would be before some guy in Bangalore was writing my column about President Obama.
“In brutal terms,” said Macpherson, whose father was a typesetter, printer and photographer, “it’s going to get to the point where saving the industry may require some people losing their jobs. The newspaper industry is coming to a General Motors moment — except there’s no one to bail them out.” He said it would be “irresponsible” for newspapers not to explore offshoring options.
He said he got the idea to outsource about a year ago, sitting in his Pasadena home, where he puts out Pasadena Now with his wife, Candice Merrill. Macpherson had worked in the ’90s for designers like Richard Tyler and Alan Flusser, and had outsourced some of his clothing manufacturing to Vietnam.
So, he thought, “Where can I get people who can write the word for less?” In a move that sounded so preposterous it became a Stephen Colbert skit, he put an ad on Craigslist for Indian reporters and got a flood of responses.
He fired his seven Pasadena staffers — including five reporters — who were making $600 to $800 a week, and now he and his wife direct six employees all over India on how to write news and features, using telephones, e-mail, press releases, Web harvesting and live video streaming from a cellphone at City Hall.
“I pay per piece, just the way it was in the garment business,” he says. “A thousand words pays $7.50.”
A penny for your thoughts? Now I knew my days were numbered.
I checked in with one of his workers in Mysore City in southern India, 40-year-old G. Sreejayanthi, who puts together Pasadena events listings. She said she had a full-time job in India and didn’t think of herself as a journalist. “I try to do my best, which need not necessarily be correct always,” she wrote back. “Regarding Rose Bowl, my first thought was it was related to some food event but then found that is related to Sports field.”
Macpherson admits you can lose something in the translation — the Pasadena City Council Webcast that the Indian reporters now watch once missed two African-American lawmakers walking out in protest — but says the question is, how significant is it?
At first the reaction to covering Pasadena from 8,000 miles away and 13.5 hours ahead was “absolutely brutal,” Macpherson recalled. Journalism professors keened and Larry Wilson, the public editor at The Pasadena Star-News, called it “nutty.”
But then in October, Dean Singleton, The Associated Press’s chairman and the head of the MediaNews Group — which counts The Pasadena Star-News, The Denver Post and The Detroit News in its stable of 54 daily newspapers — told the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association that his company was looking into outsourcing almost every aspect of publishing, including possibly having one news desk for all of his papers, “maybe even offshore.”
Noting that most preproduction work for MediaNews’s papers in California is already outsourced to India, cutting costs by 65 percent, Singleton advised, “If you need to offshore it, offshore it,” and said after the speech, “In today’s world, whether your desk is down the hall or around the world, from a computer standpoint, it doesn’t matter.”
Macpherson feels “vindicated,” but also “conflicted” about the idea of having an American newspaper industry fueled by Indian labor. “I mean, I am an American too,” he said. “I had two ancestors in the Revolutionary War. My mother was in the Daughters of the American Revolution.”
It’s not easy being a visionary, he said: “I have essentially been five years ahead of the world for a long time, and that’s a horrible address at which to live because people look at you, you know, like you’re nuts.”
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: November 29, 2008
PASADENA, Calif.
I visited the future, and it was wearing a bow tie and calling itself “Thomas Edison.”
The newspaper business is not only crumpling up, James Macpherson informed me here, it is probably holding “a one-way ticket to Bangalore.”
Macpherson — bow-tied and white-haired but boyish-looking at 53 — should know. He pioneered “glocal” news — outsourcing Pasadena coverage to India at Pasadena Now, his daily online “newspaperless,” as he likes to call it. Indians are writing about everything from the Pasadena Christmas tree-lighting ceremony to kitchen remodeling to city debates about eliminating plastic shopping bags.
“Everyone has to get ready for what’s inevitable — like King Canute and the tide coming in — and that’s really my message to the industry,” the editor and publisher said. “Many newspapers are dead men walking. They’re going to be replaced by smaller, nimbler, multiple Internet-centric kinds of things such as what I’m pioneering.”
I wondered how long it would be before some guy in Bangalore was writing my column about President Obama.
“In brutal terms,” said Macpherson, whose father was a typesetter, printer and photographer, “it’s going to get to the point where saving the industry may require some people losing their jobs. The newspaper industry is coming to a General Motors moment — except there’s no one to bail them out.” He said it would be “irresponsible” for newspapers not to explore offshoring options.
He said he got the idea to outsource about a year ago, sitting in his Pasadena home, where he puts out Pasadena Now with his wife, Candice Merrill. Macpherson had worked in the ’90s for designers like Richard Tyler and Alan Flusser, and had outsourced some of his clothing manufacturing to Vietnam.
So, he thought, “Where can I get people who can write the word for less?” In a move that sounded so preposterous it became a Stephen Colbert skit, he put an ad on Craigslist for Indian reporters and got a flood of responses.
He fired his seven Pasadena staffers — including five reporters — who were making $600 to $800 a week, and now he and his wife direct six employees all over India on how to write news and features, using telephones, e-mail, press releases, Web harvesting and live video streaming from a cellphone at City Hall.
“I pay per piece, just the way it was in the garment business,” he says. “A thousand words pays $7.50.”
A penny for your thoughts? Now I knew my days were numbered.
I checked in with one of his workers in Mysore City in southern India, 40-year-old G. Sreejayanthi, who puts together Pasadena events listings. She said she had a full-time job in India and didn’t think of herself as a journalist. “I try to do my best, which need not necessarily be correct always,” she wrote back. “Regarding Rose Bowl, my first thought was it was related to some food event but then found that is related to Sports field.”
Macpherson admits you can lose something in the translation — the Pasadena City Council Webcast that the Indian reporters now watch once missed two African-American lawmakers walking out in protest — but says the question is, how significant is it?
At first the reaction to covering Pasadena from 8,000 miles away and 13.5 hours ahead was “absolutely brutal,” Macpherson recalled. Journalism professors keened and Larry Wilson, the public editor at The Pasadena Star-News, called it “nutty.”
But then in October, Dean Singleton, The Associated Press’s chairman and the head of the MediaNews Group — which counts The Pasadena Star-News, The Denver Post and The Detroit News in its stable of 54 daily newspapers — told the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association that his company was looking into outsourcing almost every aspect of publishing, including possibly having one news desk for all of his papers, “maybe even offshore.”
Noting that most preproduction work for MediaNews’s papers in California is already outsourced to India, cutting costs by 65 percent, Singleton advised, “If you need to offshore it, offshore it,” and said after the speech, “In today’s world, whether your desk is down the hall or around the world, from a computer standpoint, it doesn’t matter.”
Macpherson feels “vindicated,” but also “conflicted” about the idea of having an American newspaper industry fueled by Indian labor. “I mean, I am an American too,” he said. “I had two ancestors in the Revolutionary War. My mother was in the Daughters of the American Revolution.”
It’s not easy being a visionary, he said: “I have essentially been five years ahead of the world for a long time, and that’s a horrible address at which to live because people look at you, you know, like you’re nuts.”
Friday, November 28, 2008
Leave it to a film critic to sort this out
Matt's turned us on to Alan Mutter's "Newsosaur" blog, but this entry from the man who -- with his former rival, the late Gene Siskel -- made a half-hour show of movie reviews possible, is also great reading on the celebrity-obsessed culture we have:
Roger Ebert: Death to film critics! Hail to the CelebCult! (click for link).
-JDE2
Roger Ebert: Death to film critics! Hail to the CelebCult! (click for link).
-JDE2
Number Four, (or Two, if you're in Oshawa)
Any chance I get to mention Robert Gordon Orr isn't a bad thing, unless it's referring to the thieving agent who robbed him (and other players) blind.
Orr's junior league team, the Oshawa Generals, retired his number last night.
Two questions jumped out at me about this story: (1) What took the Generals so freakin' long to retire the number of one of the five greatest players ever? and (2) Is Bobby Orr really 60 YEARS OLD? Wow.
-JDE2
Orr's junior league team, the Oshawa Generals, retired his number last night.
Two questions jumped out at me about this story: (1) What took the Generals so freakin' long to retire the number of one of the five greatest players ever? and (2) Is Bobby Orr really 60 YEARS OLD? Wow.
-JDE2
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Ah, memories. . .
Allow me this diversion from the bad news of the day to something incredibly frivolous: Remember when there were only three broadcast networks?
That's when stuff like "Battle of the Network Stars" aired. The show pitted stars from the three networks in "athletic" competition. I most vividly remember the "Simon Says" battles.
Bill Simmons at ESPN remembers, too. Here's his take on the joy of a recently discovered YouTube video featuring a match race between Robert Conrad and Gabe Kaplan.
-JDE2
That's when stuff like "Battle of the Network Stars" aired. The show pitted stars from the three networks in "athletic" competition. I most vividly remember the "Simon Says" battles.
Bill Simmons at ESPN remembers, too. Here's his take on the joy of a recently discovered YouTube video featuring a match race between Robert Conrad and Gabe Kaplan.
-JDE2
Friday, November 21, 2008
Does This Irritate Anyone Else?
I need a good liberal (I'm counting on you, Maureen!) to explain why this is OK, because it frosts me no end:
Obamas Pick Sidwell School, Ending a Washington Guessing Game
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
WASHINGTON — After a school search that set off weeks of frenzied speculation among parents in the nation’s capital, President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, announced Friday that their two daughters would attend Sidwell Friends School, the pricey and prestigious academy that has educated generations of this city’s elite.
The Quaker-run Sidwell, which was established in 1883, has educated the children of two sitting presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Bill Clinton. And there was an added bonus: grandchildren of Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who are friendly with the Obama girls, attend Sidwell.
The Obama family had considered two other private institutions, Georgetown Day School and Maret School, for their girls, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.
But Sidwell has long been described by some as the Harvard of Washington’s private schools. Its tuition runs as high as $29,442 a year.
“A number of great schools were considered,” said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Obama. “In the end, the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now.”
Now, far be it from me to criticize any parent for sending their kids to a private school because they think it's the best fit for their kids. I send my own children to a Catholic school, at a not inconsiderable cost, because I believe it's the best fit for my kids. I couldn't possibly afford the school the Obama kids are going to, but the president-elect can, so good for him.
What bothers me is when rich liberals like the president-elect engage in windy oratory about the glories of public schools -- and then refuse to send their own kids to them. Of course they made the decision they thought was best for their kids. Any parent would. But many parents can't. And liberals like the president-elect seem to think that's OK. So the rich get richer. Class divides never get bridged and bright DC children who don't happen to be named Obama or Biden or Bush or Rockefeller go to underfunded schools that can't provide the challenge those kids need.
I don't mean to sound too harsh on public schools. I have no objection to them. Hell, I went to them. But the model doesn't work. Wealthy public schools in wealthy communities cater to wealthy families that can afford to offer things that poor public schools in poor communities that cater to poor families can't. Wouldn't we be better off to shake things up, perhaps go to a charter school model? The Irish system intrigues me. The Irish government doesn't run schools -- churches and secular education groups do. The government just pays the bills. The result is smaller schools, more parental involvement, a scholastic identity shaped around values rather than community or class, and higher overall achievement. Rather than gut public schools, I'd like to see them unleashed so they can reach their full potential.
Who knows? Maybe then the Obamas would consider sending their kids to one.
-- MJM
Obamas Pick Sidwell School, Ending a Washington Guessing Game
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
WASHINGTON — After a school search that set off weeks of frenzied speculation among parents in the nation’s capital, President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, announced Friday that their two daughters would attend Sidwell Friends School, the pricey and prestigious academy that has educated generations of this city’s elite.
The Quaker-run Sidwell, which was established in 1883, has educated the children of two sitting presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Bill Clinton. And there was an added bonus: grandchildren of Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who are friendly with the Obama girls, attend Sidwell.
The Obama family had considered two other private institutions, Georgetown Day School and Maret School, for their girls, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.
But Sidwell has long been described by some as the Harvard of Washington’s private schools. Its tuition runs as high as $29,442 a year.
“A number of great schools were considered,” said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Obama. “In the end, the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now.”
Now, far be it from me to criticize any parent for sending their kids to a private school because they think it's the best fit for their kids. I send my own children to a Catholic school, at a not inconsiderable cost, because I believe it's the best fit for my kids. I couldn't possibly afford the school the Obama kids are going to, but the president-elect can, so good for him.
What bothers me is when rich liberals like the president-elect engage in windy oratory about the glories of public schools -- and then refuse to send their own kids to them. Of course they made the decision they thought was best for their kids. Any parent would. But many parents can't. And liberals like the president-elect seem to think that's OK. So the rich get richer. Class divides never get bridged and bright DC children who don't happen to be named Obama or Biden or Bush or Rockefeller go to underfunded schools that can't provide the challenge those kids need.
I don't mean to sound too harsh on public schools. I have no objection to them. Hell, I went to them. But the model doesn't work. Wealthy public schools in wealthy communities cater to wealthy families that can afford to offer things that poor public schools in poor communities that cater to poor families can't. Wouldn't we be better off to shake things up, perhaps go to a charter school model? The Irish system intrigues me. The Irish government doesn't run schools -- churches and secular education groups do. The government just pays the bills. The result is smaller schools, more parental involvement, a scholastic identity shaped around values rather than community or class, and higher overall achievement. Rather than gut public schools, I'd like to see them unleashed so they can reach their full potential.
Who knows? Maybe then the Obamas would consider sending their kids to one.
-- MJM
Thursday, November 20, 2008
How on Earth Could This Be Unexpected?
Story today on jobless claims. Observations after the text:
WASHINGTON – New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to a 16-year high, the Labor Department said Thursday, providing more evidence of a rapidly weakening job market expected to get even worse next year.
The government said new applications for jobless benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 542,000 from a downwardly revised figure of 515,000 in the previous week. That's much higher than Wall Street economists' expectations of 505,000, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
That is also the highest level of claims since July 1992, the department said, when the U.S. economy was coming out of a recession.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, was even worse: it rose to 506,500, the highest in more than 25 years.
In addition, the number of people continuing to claim unemployment insurance rose sharply for the third straight week to more than 4 million, the highest since December 1982, when the economy was in a painful recession.
The financial markets fell on the news. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped about 160 points in morning trading, and broader indexes also fell.
The jobless figures come as the Senate is expected to vote Thursday on legislation that would extend unemployment benefits. The White House said President George W. Bush would quickly sign the bill.
The measure would provide seven additional weeks of payments to those who have exhausted their benefits. Those in states where the unemployment rate is above 6 percent would be eligible for an additional 13 weeks beyond the 26 weeks of regular benefits. Benefit checks average about $300 a week nationwide.
So, the numbers were a surprise to Wall Street analysts? The same baboons who drove Lehman, AIG, Bear Stearns and countless other institution either to liquidation or the arms of a government bailout? Haven't the views of Wall Street's vaunted analysts been thoroughly discredited by now?
The galling thing is that these "analysts" are still pulling down enough coin to choke an elephant while doing a positively Julio Lugo-like job. Meanwhile, good workers everywhere who are strong performers in their professions are looking for work.
It's capitalism gone mad. Markets are supposed to reward success and smarts. Our markets are rewarding failure and boobery. No wonder we're in this fix.
-- MJM
WASHINGTON – New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to a 16-year high, the Labor Department said Thursday, providing more evidence of a rapidly weakening job market expected to get even worse next year.
The government said new applications for jobless benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 542,000 from a downwardly revised figure of 515,000 in the previous week. That's much higher than Wall Street economists' expectations of 505,000, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
That is also the highest level of claims since July 1992, the department said, when the U.S. economy was coming out of a recession.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, was even worse: it rose to 506,500, the highest in more than 25 years.
In addition, the number of people continuing to claim unemployment insurance rose sharply for the third straight week to more than 4 million, the highest since December 1982, when the economy was in a painful recession.
The financial markets fell on the news. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped about 160 points in morning trading, and broader indexes also fell.
The jobless figures come as the Senate is expected to vote Thursday on legislation that would extend unemployment benefits. The White House said President George W. Bush would quickly sign the bill.
The measure would provide seven additional weeks of payments to those who have exhausted their benefits. Those in states where the unemployment rate is above 6 percent would be eligible for an additional 13 weeks beyond the 26 weeks of regular benefits. Benefit checks average about $300 a week nationwide.
So, the numbers were a surprise to Wall Street analysts? The same baboons who drove Lehman, AIG, Bear Stearns and countless other institution either to liquidation or the arms of a government bailout? Haven't the views of Wall Street's vaunted analysts been thoroughly discredited by now?
The galling thing is that these "analysts" are still pulling down enough coin to choke an elephant while doing a positively Julio Lugo-like job. Meanwhile, good workers everywhere who are strong performers in their professions are looking for work.
It's capitalism gone mad. Markets are supposed to reward success and smarts. Our markets are rewarding failure and boobery. No wonder we're in this fix.
-- MJM
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Steven Wright thought for the day
All this talk about the market and retirement accounts has me thinking about my Roth IRA. Actually, I have a David Lee Roth IRA ("Whoa!"). I have to spend all my retirement money on booze, women, and getting the brown M&M's removed from the candy dish.
-JDE2
-JDE2
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thought for the day
Has it occurred to anyone that Matt Cassel, who did a pretty effective impression of Steve Grogan last night in a loss to the Jets (though as Matt McSorley points out, "minus the classic Grogan pick"), has played more this season than the two Heisman winners he backed up at USC . . . combined?
-JDE2
-JDE2
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Those about to get sacked will appreciate it
No joke, last night I was listening to NHPR, and they noted that the segment was (I'm paraphrasing here, but my wife heard this, too) "brought to you by Fidelity Investments, which invites you to check out job opportunities at Fidelity's Web site." (J.D. note: I can't remember the Web site, and I'm too damn lazy to look it up).
Why is this not funny? In case you hadn't heard, click here.
'nuff said.
-JDE2
Why is this not funny? In case you hadn't heard, click here.
'nuff said.
-JDE2
Re: Printed word, HA!
Actually, people do read the printed word, just not as it used to be printed.
OK, that probably didn't make sense. But reading Matt's previous post and our friend Mo's post on WMUR, plus watching 'MUR last night, reminded me of the line of the night at a former co-worker's going-away bash from another newspaper a couple months back.
As we journalists are wont to do, we were commiserating over who's on the slowest-sinking lifeboat in the industry. Then one person blurted out, "Where's WMUR gonna get their news when we (newspapers) go under?"
This was driven home last night when not 1, but 2 stories that were in the early news blocks of the 11 p.m. news were the SAME STORIES WE HAD REPORTED ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY!
Compare:
-This story (click here) was posted on the New Hampshire Union Leader first on Friday morning on its Web site, then an updated version went up on Saturday.
-This story (click here) was posted last night on WMUR's Web site and led their 11 p.m. broadcast.
This story on the UL Web site was posted on Saturday, too, but "NewsNine" reported it last night. (The stories about two previous incidents involving frats at UNH were posted about the same time by both of us, so let's call it a draw.)
I recognize many may question the newsworthiness of these stories, especially with their tabloid bent ("Nude students!" "'Lewd' behavior!"). And Lord knows, WMUR has beaten my paper and other papers on stories -- stories that matter more.
But they illustrate a point: It does stick in my craw that I often feel as if I am watching the front page of my newspaper being read on the evening news. And when it's two or three days later, it pisses me off more.
Look, really, I don't have anything against WMUR. I want to stress that. They have a job to do, and for the most part, they do it well. And let's face it, it's just as easy to bash the print media as it is the broadcast media.
A side note: I interned at 'MUR in another lifetime and have nothing but good things to say about nearly everyone I worked with there, though only two on-air staffers remain from my stint in the early '90s. (and yes, I would say good things about both of them, too. They're pros.).
But I have to wonder where TV news will be without print, not only as an alternative, competitive news source, but also as a source for news, period.
-JDE2
OK, that probably didn't make sense. But reading Matt's previous post and our friend Mo's post on WMUR, plus watching 'MUR last night, reminded me of the line of the night at a former co-worker's going-away bash from another newspaper a couple months back.
As we journalists are wont to do, we were commiserating over who's on the slowest-sinking lifeboat in the industry. Then one person blurted out, "Where's WMUR gonna get their news when we (newspapers) go under?"
This was driven home last night when not 1, but 2 stories that were in the early news blocks of the 11 p.m. news were the SAME STORIES WE HAD REPORTED ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY!
Compare:
-This story (click here) was posted on the New Hampshire Union Leader first on Friday morning on its Web site, then an updated version went up on Saturday.
-This story (click here) was posted last night on WMUR's Web site and led their 11 p.m. broadcast.
This story on the UL Web site was posted on Saturday, too, but "NewsNine" reported it last night. (The stories about two previous incidents involving frats at UNH were posted about the same time by both of us, so let's call it a draw.)
I recognize many may question the newsworthiness of these stories, especially with their tabloid bent ("Nude students!" "'Lewd' behavior!"). And Lord knows, WMUR has beaten my paper and other papers on stories -- stories that matter more.
But they illustrate a point: It does stick in my craw that I often feel as if I am watching the front page of my newspaper being read on the evening news. And when it's two or three days later, it pisses me off more.
Look, really, I don't have anything against WMUR. I want to stress that. They have a job to do, and for the most part, they do it well. And let's face it, it's just as easy to bash the print media as it is the broadcast media.
A side note: I interned at 'MUR in another lifetime and have nothing but good things to say about nearly everyone I worked with there, though only two on-air staffers remain from my stint in the early '90s. (and yes, I would say good things about both of them, too. They're pros.).
But I have to wonder where TV news will be without print, not only as an alternative, competitive news source, but also as a source for news, period.
-JDE2
Monday, November 10, 2008
Doesn't Anyone Read the Printed Word Anymore?
Maybe we newspaper folk can take solace that our magazine brethren are getting hammered, too. http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20081110/time-inc-to-employees-want-to-quit-were-all-ears/
-- MJM
-- MJM
Meet the New Pats, Same as the Old Pats
Don't look now, but the unfortunate Tom Brady injury seems to have reintroduced us to an old friend: the New England Patriots.
It's funny how one high-octane, near-perfect season can shift perceptions. Last year's Pats were not at all reflective of how New England has won games during its now eight-season run among NFL elite. Games in this era of Patriots football followed the script of yesterday's 20-10 win over Buffalo: bend but not break defense, effective though not overpowering running game, efficient passing game, few mistakes and penalties, and suffocating opponents at the end, when games are on the line.
I'm late to the Matt Cassel party but he certainly is looking like Tom Brady 2001, Game Manager Extraordinaire. His job isn't to win games but to make sure they aren't lost. Scrutiny of yesterday's game also shows the team has confidence in No. 16 to let him air the ball out downfield if it believes the chances are there.
In fact, I'll call it right now: the underdog Pats to face the high-flying Giants in Super Bowl XLIII. Wouldn't that just be delicious?
-- MJM
It's funny how one high-octane, near-perfect season can shift perceptions. Last year's Pats were not at all reflective of how New England has won games during its now eight-season run among NFL elite. Games in this era of Patriots football followed the script of yesterday's 20-10 win over Buffalo: bend but not break defense, effective though not overpowering running game, efficient passing game, few mistakes and penalties, and suffocating opponents at the end, when games are on the line.
I'm late to the Matt Cassel party but he certainly is looking like Tom Brady 2001, Game Manager Extraordinaire. His job isn't to win games but to make sure they aren't lost. Scrutiny of yesterday's game also shows the team has confidence in No. 16 to let him air the ball out downfield if it believes the chances are there.
In fact, I'll call it right now: the underdog Pats to face the high-flying Giants in Super Bowl XLIII. Wouldn't that just be delicious?
-- MJM
Preach It, Brother!
Once again, Alan Mutter and his fine "Reflections of a Newsosaur" blog hit it big. http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2008/11/its-time-to-rip-lid-off.html
What he's saying -- that papers have to stop slavishly following every kitchen fire, every inane meeting, every poorly written press release, and have the gumption to find The Big Story and then cover the hell out of it -- has been newsroom water cooler discussion for a while now.
Is anyone listening?
-- MJM
What he's saying -- that papers have to stop slavishly following every kitchen fire, every inane meeting, every poorly written press release, and have the gumption to find The Big Story and then cover the hell out of it -- has been newsroom water cooler discussion for a while now.
Is anyone listening?
-- MJM
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Bad news comes in threes
Someone once said there were two unemployment rates that matter: 100% (employed) and 0% (unemployed). If that's so, lots more people have moved into the 0 column this year: http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/07/news/economy/jobs_october/index.htm?postversion=2008110711
But the proof of the old adage that bad news comes in threes? After being told my services were no longer required last week, my Pops got popped on Wednesday and my father-in-law got the bad news today. Actually, in the final case, it's that his company and job are moving to Texas. He has politely declined to join them. So in December he'll join the rest of us jobless types.
Again I can't complain. My friends at The Union Leader have thrown me a part-time lifeline. Many other folks aren't so lucky. But now, more than ever, I reaaaaaaaaally hope the Obama fever spreading the nation shows itself in a few more jobs created. I can think of three places to start.
-- MJM
But the proof of the old adage that bad news comes in threes? After being told my services were no longer required last week, my Pops got popped on Wednesday and my father-in-law got the bad news today. Actually, in the final case, it's that his company and job are moving to Texas. He has politely declined to join them. So in December he'll join the rest of us jobless types.
Again I can't complain. My friends at The Union Leader have thrown me a part-time lifeline. Many other folks aren't so lucky. But now, more than ever, I reaaaaaaaaally hope the Obama fever spreading the nation shows itself in a few more jobs created. I can think of three places to start.
-- MJM
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Thought for the day
Imagine you were frozen at the turn of the century (21st century, not the 20th). Say, Jan. 1, 2002. And you were thawed out on Wednesday.
Here's what you would have learned happened in that nearly seven-year span:
- The Red Sox have won not one, but TWO World Series. . . and the Yankees haven't won any.
- The Patriots have won three Super Bowls and came within 30 seconds (not to mention one dropped INT and one amazing play) of a fourth and an undefeated season.
- The Celtics acquired two All-Stars/HOF candidates and won Banner No. 17.
- The stock market rallied, then crashed. Again.
- Oh, and we've elected an African-American President. By a huge margin.
Which of these would you have deemed most likely to happen? Least likely to happen? What unbelievable stuff can we add to this list?
Seriously, an African-American President was conceivable, but unlikely even five years ago. And here we are.
-JDE2
Here's what you would have learned happened in that nearly seven-year span:
- The Red Sox have won not one, but TWO World Series. . . and the Yankees haven't won any.
- The Patriots have won three Super Bowls and came within 30 seconds (not to mention one dropped INT and one amazing play) of a fourth and an undefeated season.
- The Celtics acquired two All-Stars/HOF candidates and won Banner No. 17.
- The stock market rallied, then crashed. Again.
- Oh, and we've elected an African-American President. By a huge margin.
Which of these would you have deemed most likely to happen? Least likely to happen? What unbelievable stuff can we add to this list?
Seriously, an African-American President was conceivable, but unlikely even five years ago. And here we are.
-JDE2
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Just do it
I voted today. I know this because I have a little sticker the poll worker gave me that says, "I voted."
Of course, they gave my 23-month-old daughter one as well. To be fair, she was in the booth with me and is the only other person who knows how I filled out my ballot. But I think the historical importance of what she did is lost on her.
Nonetheless, that was what struck me as I went to the polls today: Seeing the number of parents with young children going in there.
Now granted, maybe they didn't have other childcare options. And perhaps my parenting radar is up due to the fact I have kids now. But perhaps they, like my wife and I, grasped the importance and the privilege we have of voting and wanted to show their children.
One of my big gripes in past elections has been voter turnout. Now granted, there have been enough irregularities to raise more than an eyebrow the last two elections.
But at the same time, half of the people in this country consistently don't vote every four years.
Yes, we should bitch - LOUDLY - about those who want to vote and can't.
At the same time, I'm sick of hearing people complain about all the calls they receive (and I live in a big-time battleground state, so I've probably gotten as many, if not more, calls than anybody.). Especially today, where I bet there are a handful of calls already on the home answering machine asking if I needed a ride to the polls.
YOU KNOW WHAT: MAYBE IF PEOPLE TOOK THE F-ING TIME TO GO VOTE, WE WOULDN'T NEED ALL THESE REMINDERS!
Come on. Just go vote. Take it seriously for a change. Be a part of history.
(Editor's note, Nov. 6: Why didn't I end this with: "Go get your sticker." I hate thinking of that two days later.)
-JDE2
Of course, they gave my 23-month-old daughter one as well. To be fair, she was in the booth with me and is the only other person who knows how I filled out my ballot. But I think the historical importance of what she did is lost on her.
Nonetheless, that was what struck me as I went to the polls today: Seeing the number of parents with young children going in there.
Now granted, maybe they didn't have other childcare options. And perhaps my parenting radar is up due to the fact I have kids now. But perhaps they, like my wife and I, grasped the importance and the privilege we have of voting and wanted to show their children.
One of my big gripes in past elections has been voter turnout. Now granted, there have been enough irregularities to raise more than an eyebrow the last two elections.
But at the same time, half of the people in this country consistently don't vote every four years.
Yes, we should bitch - LOUDLY - about those who want to vote and can't.
At the same time, I'm sick of hearing people complain about all the calls they receive (and I live in a big-time battleground state, so I've probably gotten as many, if not more, calls than anybody.). Especially today, where I bet there are a handful of calls already on the home answering machine asking if I needed a ride to the polls.
YOU KNOW WHAT: MAYBE IF PEOPLE TOOK THE F-ING TIME TO GO VOTE, WE WOULDN'T NEED ALL THESE REMINDERS!
Come on. Just go vote. Take it seriously for a change. Be a part of history.
(Editor's note, Nov. 6: Why didn't I end this with: "Go get your sticker." I hate thinking of that two days later.)
-JDE2
Monday, November 3, 2008
RIP MSM
Having earned a living through the mainstream media for the better part of 17 years, its demise is causing me some anxiety. Alan Mutter, a former journalist and now a Silicon Valley CEO, offers his thoughts on the decline of newspapers in his outstanding blog, Reflections of a Newsosaur. His post today on the close of campaign 2008 is insightful. It's at http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2008/11/campaign-08-msms-last-hurrah.html
-- MJM
-- MJM
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Old-time hockey
I love old-time hockey. So I loved last night's offering at the Nouveau Gah-den: http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2008/11/02/feisty_bruins_leave_dallas_seeing_stars/
Hockey's a tough game and there's a reason beyond love of violence for the occasional fight: It's how the players police the game. You cut down on cheap shots, dangerous hits and stickwork when everyone at the rink knows there'll be hell to pay for it. In a way, fights make the game cleaner and flow better, allowing skilled players to shine.
The call to end fighting in hockey sounds to me like asking offensive and defensive linemen to take it easy on each other. But the hard work of the guys in the trenches allows the offensive and defensive skill players to shine.
So let's all go Don Cherry and see a few more fights!!!!!!
-- MJM
PS: In the more good news category, BU 7 Vermont 2. Could the high-flying Terriers top the NCAA pucks poll this week???
Hockey's a tough game and there's a reason beyond love of violence for the occasional fight: It's how the players police the game. You cut down on cheap shots, dangerous hits and stickwork when everyone at the rink knows there'll be hell to pay for it. In a way, fights make the game cleaner and flow better, allowing skilled players to shine.
The call to end fighting in hockey sounds to me like asking offensive and defensive linemen to take it easy on each other. But the hard work of the guys in the trenches allows the offensive and defensive skill players to shine.
So let's all go Don Cherry and see a few more fights!!!!!!
-- MJM
PS: In the more good news category, BU 7 Vermont 2. Could the high-flying Terriers top the NCAA pucks poll this week???
GO MO Part Deux!
I'd like to second Mr. Enright's motion. I've always been in awe of anyone with the guts and determination to run 26.2 miles. We're behind you all the way, Maureen!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
I hate futbol
Let's file this as of interest only to me, and perhaps UL compadres Kris Russell and Rob Percy...
But Arsenal are killing me. Killing. Me. They're killing me. Wednesday, which should have been one of the worst days of my life because of the Really Bad Thing that happened, might have been my worst days because the @#$&! Gunners wee-weed away a two-goal lead in the 89th minute at home against their archrival, Tottenham. Both goals were total giveaways.
Then today the Arse were beaten by Stoke City -- a just-promoted and likely-to-be-relegated side that features one guy whose stock in trade is long throw-ins to the box and 10 guys named Nigel. Guess how Stoke scored both goals? On long throw-in to the box. Friggin. A.
On the bright side, I am an official tactical genius. Today was tournament day for my eldest son's soccer team. This was the day that our team, after having its brains beat in weekly for the better part of two months, could forget that all and finish first in the league with three mini-game wins. As assistant coach for the team, and having watched the bunch all year long, I knew we were in for a long day if we played the way we had been all season. So I proposed a change. Most teams in the division, including us, play with three forwards and two defenders. We scored a total of, like, three goals all season so it's not as if having three forwards was doing us any bloody good. So I proposed we play with three defenders and two forwards and just try to prevent goals and see what that would do.
And wouldn't you know it? We were a totally different team. In our first match, against a team that beat us 10-o last week, we settled in nicely defensively and kept the game under control. Then, wouldn't you know it, on our two forwards' first trip downfield -- GOAL! Our first lead of the season! I think the players were the most stunned, after us coaches. And the other team. But they recovered and won, 3-1. Still, it was our best performance by far.
We kept the new alignment and, wouldn't you know it, in game 2 on our two forwards' first trip downfield -- GOAL! Another 1-0 lead. Then, just before half, the girl who scored our first goal had the ball with a wide-open net in front of her. "That's it!" I thought. "A two-goal lead! This one's ours!" And just as quickly she shanked the shot wide by a foot. I wanted to get down on my knees a la Fred the Bishop in Caddyshack and shout "Oh, rat farts!!!!" but I decided against it. Then, with one of our least experienced players in goal for the second half, I watched as one shot hit the post and three golden chances for the other team glanced wide of the post by, I think, a grand total of 18 inches. Somehow we held on. As we lined up to shake hands, one of our players asked me what the score was. "1-nothing," I told her. Her face lit up.
"We won????!!!!" she said.
"Yes, we won," I said.
"We won????!!!!" she said.
"Yes, we won," I said.
"We won????!!!!" she said.
"Yes, yes! We won!" I told her. I'm not sure I could believe it myself.
In the third game, if we'd won, we'd have had a chance to finish first -- after all the miserable beatings we took this year, we had a chance to be first. That's what you have to love about sport. Every time you get in the game, you have a chance to succeed.
It didn't fall for us. The other team, which finished first, beat us 2-0. But we weren't outplayed by any means. Our kids played great and we had several good chances at goal and just didn't cash in. Oh, well. Our kids left the field feeling good about themselves, which hadn't happened for them all season. Good for you, gang. Great job.
Maybe Arsenal needs my tactical help.
-- MJM
But Arsenal are killing me. Killing. Me. They're killing me. Wednesday, which should have been one of the worst days of my life because of the Really Bad Thing that happened, might have been my worst days because the @#$&! Gunners wee-weed away a two-goal lead in the 89th minute at home against their archrival, Tottenham. Both goals were total giveaways.
Then today the Arse were beaten by Stoke City -- a just-promoted and likely-to-be-relegated side that features one guy whose stock in trade is long throw-ins to the box and 10 guys named Nigel. Guess how Stoke scored both goals? On long throw-in to the box. Friggin. A.
On the bright side, I am an official tactical genius. Today was tournament day for my eldest son's soccer team. This was the day that our team, after having its brains beat in weekly for the better part of two months, could forget that all and finish first in the league with three mini-game wins. As assistant coach for the team, and having watched the bunch all year long, I knew we were in for a long day if we played the way we had been all season. So I proposed a change. Most teams in the division, including us, play with three forwards and two defenders. We scored a total of, like, three goals all season so it's not as if having three forwards was doing us any bloody good. So I proposed we play with three defenders and two forwards and just try to prevent goals and see what that would do.
And wouldn't you know it? We were a totally different team. In our first match, against a team that beat us 10-o last week, we settled in nicely defensively and kept the game under control. Then, wouldn't you know it, on our two forwards' first trip downfield -- GOAL! Our first lead of the season! I think the players were the most stunned, after us coaches. And the other team. But they recovered and won, 3-1. Still, it was our best performance by far.
We kept the new alignment and, wouldn't you know it, in game 2 on our two forwards' first trip downfield -- GOAL! Another 1-0 lead. Then, just before half, the girl who scored our first goal had the ball with a wide-open net in front of her. "That's it!" I thought. "A two-goal lead! This one's ours!" And just as quickly she shanked the shot wide by a foot. I wanted to get down on my knees a la Fred the Bishop in Caddyshack and shout "Oh, rat farts!!!!" but I decided against it. Then, with one of our least experienced players in goal for the second half, I watched as one shot hit the post and three golden chances for the other team glanced wide of the post by, I think, a grand total of 18 inches. Somehow we held on. As we lined up to shake hands, one of our players asked me what the score was. "1-nothing," I told her. Her face lit up.
"We won????!!!!" she said.
"Yes, we won," I said.
"We won????!!!!" she said.
"Yes, we won," I said.
"We won????!!!!" she said.
"Yes, yes! We won!" I told her. I'm not sure I could believe it myself.
In the third game, if we'd won, we'd have had a chance to finish first -- after all the miserable beatings we took this year, we had a chance to be first. That's what you have to love about sport. Every time you get in the game, you have a chance to succeed.
It didn't fall for us. The other team, which finished first, beat us 2-0. But we weren't outplayed by any means. Our kids played great and we had several good chances at goal and just didn't cash in. Oh, well. Our kids left the field feeling good about themselves, which hadn't happened for them all season. Good for you, gang. Great job.
Maybe Arsenal needs my tactical help.
-- MJM
Friday, October 31, 2008
Interesting Week
I'd like to apologize to all my reader (that's you, Mo. Hey!) for my relative silence this week. As you know, a very bad thing happened to me on Wednesday and I've been consumed with that. In retrospect, though, it wasn't so bad. Being fired isn't exactly what I'd recommend as the greatest self-esteem booster but several positives have already come from it. I've found that many people care a lot for me and are willing to help me pick up and move on. At some point in the not-so-distant future, I'll probably have something to say for public consumption.
But I will say this: It's 5:08 p.m. on Halloween. I've spent my day watchig cartoons with my youngest son, going to my eldest two kids' Halloween Parade at school, doing some job-hunt-related stuff and getting ready for trick-or-treat tonight. That sure beats what I went through for the last nine weeks.
-- MJM
But I will say this: It's 5:08 p.m. on Halloween. I've spent my day watchig cartoons with my youngest son, going to my eldest two kids' Halloween Parade at school, doing some job-hunt-related stuff and getting ready for trick-or-treat tonight. That sure beats what I went through for the last nine weeks.
-- MJM
Vote baby vote
Those of you who may remember "Groove is in the Heart" probably have forgotten this little gem from Dee-Lite (Click here for link).
And as for any attempt to match Matt's commentary, I got nothin'. I feel like Wyatt Cenac from the Daily Show on Tuesday night.
-JDE2
And as for any attempt to match Matt's commentary, I got nothin'. I feel like Wyatt Cenac from the Daily Show on Tuesday night.
-JDE2
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
On to even less serious matters
I was trying to come up with a thoughtful, well-written response to Matt's post about unaffiliated voters, but I think I'll stick with what I know.
(Besides, I agree with him. How boring is that?)
By now some of you have probably heard or seen the video clip of Fox's Danyelle Sargent asking Mike Singletary if he called the late Bill Walsh when he got the 49ers job. Of course, that part of the interview wasn't supposed to air. But it got on a satellite somewhere, and then was aired on Mike Francesa's sports show in New York. It has now made the rounds on YouTube.
(An aside: Sargent was also known from her ESPN days. She dropped the f-bomb during a live broadcast.)
Sargent went on the Dan Patrick radio show Tuesday to explain herself. Her explanation that she meant to say something else is certainly believable; how many of us have "misspoken?" And I believe her.
But there are a couple issues here: Let's start with Francesa's patronizing "young lady" comment coming out of the video clip. Hmmm. . . . something tells me, if a male made this mistake, he wouldn't have been held up as a "f-in' idiot," to use one of the kinder descriptions that are being used in the YouTube comments (Speaking of which, I'd love to see the folks leaving the comments do Sargent's job for an hour. 99 percent of them would freeze solid or look even more, ahem, "idiotic.").
Look, I can take or leave sideline reporters. Like all professions, some are good, some not. Sargent hasn't really been around long enough to establish a reputation one way or the other. After all, this was her first sideline assignment. And I think the job of sideline reporter itself has some good parts (sniffing out the story on an injury, for example), and bad parts (is interviewing a coach or player coming off the floor/field really necessary? Even thoughtful, more intelligent ones talk in cliches and never make any worthwhile comments. )
One of my big whin-, er, gripes about broadcast journalism has long been its seeming lack of accountability when compared with print journalism. After all, if there's a screw-up in a newspaper, there are thousands of pieces of evidence of that mistake. However, with YouTube and DVRs, the broadcast media has a level of watchdog that, perhaps ironically, may be unlike anything newspapers have to deal with.
And to use a print journalism analogy, Sargent's error with Singletary was the equivalent of an editor catching a mistake before it reaches the paper. And she started over and asked a different question to do her job.
And when all is said and done, this will blow over. As it should.
- JDE2
(Besides, I agree with him. How boring is that?)
By now some of you have probably heard or seen the video clip of Fox's Danyelle Sargent asking Mike Singletary if he called the late Bill Walsh when he got the 49ers job. Of course, that part of the interview wasn't supposed to air. But it got on a satellite somewhere, and then was aired on Mike Francesa's sports show in New York. It has now made the rounds on YouTube.
(An aside: Sargent was also known from her ESPN days. She dropped the f-bomb during a live broadcast.)
Sargent went on the Dan Patrick radio show Tuesday to explain herself. Her explanation that she meant to say something else is certainly believable; how many of us have "misspoken?" And I believe her.
But there are a couple issues here: Let's start with Francesa's patronizing "young lady" comment coming out of the video clip. Hmmm. . . . something tells me, if a male made this mistake, he wouldn't have been held up as a "f-in' idiot," to use one of the kinder descriptions that are being used in the YouTube comments (Speaking of which, I'd love to see the folks leaving the comments do Sargent's job for an hour. 99 percent of them would freeze solid or look even more, ahem, "idiotic.").
Look, I can take or leave sideline reporters. Like all professions, some are good, some not. Sargent hasn't really been around long enough to establish a reputation one way or the other. After all, this was her first sideline assignment. And I think the job of sideline reporter itself has some good parts (sniffing out the story on an injury, for example), and bad parts (is interviewing a coach or player coming off the floor/field really necessary? Even thoughtful, more intelligent ones talk in cliches and never make any worthwhile comments. )
One of my big whin-, er, gripes about broadcast journalism has long been its seeming lack of accountability when compared with print journalism. After all, if there's a screw-up in a newspaper, there are thousands of pieces of evidence of that mistake. However, with YouTube and DVRs, the broadcast media has a level of watchdog that, perhaps ironically, may be unlike anything newspapers have to deal with.
And to use a print journalism analogy, Sargent's error with Singletary was the equivalent of an editor catching a mistake before it reaches the paper. And she started over and asked a different question to do her job.
And when all is said and done, this will blow over. As it should.
- JDE2
This could really be messy if the Rays come back . . .
From the Las Vegas Review Journal:
"Sports books pay as if Phillies won"
". . . Despite what appeared to happen Monday night in Philadelphia, the Tampa Bay Rays lost Game 5 of the World Series. At least in the view of Nevada sports books, the Phillies won 2-1. . . .
"However, even though the suspended game is scheduled to be completed today, the betting result is final.
According to Nevada gaming rules -- often referred to as "house rules" -- the final score of an official game is determined by reverting to the last completed inning. The Phillies led 2-1 after the fifth."
Yikes. Doesn't Bud Selig know you probably shouldn't piss off Vegas gambling-types?
Click here for the full story.
-JDE2
"Sports books pay as if Phillies won"
". . . Despite what appeared to happen Monday night in Philadelphia, the Tampa Bay Rays lost Game 5 of the World Series. At least in the view of Nevada sports books, the Phillies won 2-1. . . .
"However, even though the suspended game is scheduled to be completed today, the betting result is final.
According to Nevada gaming rules -- often referred to as "house rules" -- the final score of an official game is determined by reverting to the last completed inning. The Phillies led 2-1 after the fifth."
Yikes. Doesn't Bud Selig know you probably shouldn't piss off Vegas gambling-types?
Click here for the full story.
-JDE2
Monday, October 27, 2008
In Defense of the Unafilliated
It's not my schtick to get political but, uh, there is this giant election thingy coming up next week and so this will be my ONE observation on the whole madness.
A couple of times in the past few weeks I have heard disparaged those who don't identify with the Democrats or Republicans. Once was at a pub for an otherwise enjoyable evening watching the Red Sox, when two of my companions -- both ardent Democrats (we were in Massachusetts -- now THERE'S a surprise!!!!) -- were incredulous at the thought that anyone could be unaffiliated. One of them, a generally terrific guy, tried to explain to me how Joe Biden was pro-life -- insert laugh track here -- so I took his rant with a grain of salt, which is how I tend to take most politically-laden rants.
The other was this weekend when the host of "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me" (and as the host of a show on NPR, I think he's contractually obliged to be a Democrat) described the populace "as 45% Democratic, 45% Republican and 10% people who stand outside, looking toward the sky with their mouths open while it rains, and then drown."
Well, by cracky, someone has to stick up for the 10 percenters, and as a proud member of that group, I will do my best.
Here's my reason for being unaffiliated: From where I sit, our two political parties are giant, soul-sucking enterprises that I want absolutely nothing to do with. And those who rise to prominence in the parties tend to: 1. love to talk about themselves and take credit for the sun coming up in the morning; and 2. seek to have you convinced that the other guy/lass eats children for breakfast. Remember kids like that in the schoolyard? We used to hate them, now as grown-ups we elect them.
The operatives of the two parties act in the most appaling ways possible and then ask to be rewarded with the keys to the kingdom. Now, from where you sit, perhaps one party misbehaves more -- maybe even a lot more -- than the other. That's fine. But misbehavior is still misbehavior, and I'm not impressed by any of it.
And people think I'm the strange one???!!!!!
And let's clear one thing up. I'm not unaffiliated because I don't know what I believe. I know perfectly damn well what I believe and neither party stacks up as much of a match for me. Look at a few issues and you tell me which soul-destroying party I should belong to:
Abortion: very pro-life
Immigration: open the borders!
Taxation: progressive -- the rich benefit from the system and I have no problem if they pay more -- within reason. I'm not in favor of punitive taxation. I also think a partial fix for Social Security would be to eliminate the cap on payroll taxes to fund it.
Welfare: I thought Bill Clinton got it right -- provide a safety net but make folks work for it.
War in Iraq: Never liked it, thought Bush administration (Cheney/Rumsfeld in particular) made a huge mess of it. Was never fully convinced of the evidence for going in.
War in Afghanistan: The Taliban had it coming.
Labor: pro-union though I believe the labor movement is misguided and been misleading in its campaign against the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. My in-laws are Colombians and I've visited the country three times. The characterization of the country by anti-agreement forces does not square with my experiences of the country nor, I think, the facts. Besides, we in the hedonistic U.S. have helped destroy that country with our fiendish drug habits. The least we can do is help to foster honest work there. That means you, narcotics users -- you have Colombian blood on your hands. I don't see how turning this agreement down helps ordinary Colombians.
Death penalty: very against it.
Education: in favor of public charter schools and think parents should be given tax credits if they enroll kids in private schools -- seeing as they're saving taxpayers money by not having their kids educated in public schools. We offer government grants to 18-year-olds to attend private colleges and no one seems to mind, so why do we treat first-graders any differently? Can't we make the argument that the first-grader needs the support more? (NB: My two eldest children attend a Catholic school and we pay the full freight -- this means I save my town about $15,000 a year by not asking it to school my kids. I don't mind paying taxes to support public education, so I feel like I'm doing more than my share.)
Health care: The ridiculous hodgepodge "system" we have now has to go. I'm willing to listen to alternatives, but we must find a way to cover all Americans and separate peoples' health coverage from job status. For all its warts, a universal payer system will do that. But, again, I'm open to alternatives.
I could go on and on. But I don't see my beliefs consistently backed by one party. Do you? And I'm OK with that. Last time I checked, I don't have to consult the Republicans or Democrats before I make up my mind.
So, vote for the candidate of your choice next Tuesday. Go out there and try to get others to vote for the candidate of your choice, too, while you're at it. Heck, if you're than invested in it, have a ball. But when someone tells you they're neither a Republican nor a Democrat, consider just for a moment that perhaps they have a good reason for where they stand.
-- MJM
A couple of times in the past few weeks I have heard disparaged those who don't identify with the Democrats or Republicans. Once was at a pub for an otherwise enjoyable evening watching the Red Sox, when two of my companions -- both ardent Democrats (we were in Massachusetts -- now THERE'S a surprise!!!!) -- were incredulous at the thought that anyone could be unaffiliated. One of them, a generally terrific guy, tried to explain to me how Joe Biden was pro-life -- insert laugh track here -- so I took his rant with a grain of salt, which is how I tend to take most politically-laden rants.
The other was this weekend when the host of "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me" (and as the host of a show on NPR, I think he's contractually obliged to be a Democrat) described the populace "as 45% Democratic, 45% Republican and 10% people who stand outside, looking toward the sky with their mouths open while it rains, and then drown."
Well, by cracky, someone has to stick up for the 10 percenters, and as a proud member of that group, I will do my best.
Here's my reason for being unaffiliated: From where I sit, our two political parties are giant, soul-sucking enterprises that I want absolutely nothing to do with. And those who rise to prominence in the parties tend to: 1. love to talk about themselves and take credit for the sun coming up in the morning; and 2. seek to have you convinced that the other guy/lass eats children for breakfast. Remember kids like that in the schoolyard? We used to hate them, now as grown-ups we elect them.
The operatives of the two parties act in the most appaling ways possible and then ask to be rewarded with the keys to the kingdom. Now, from where you sit, perhaps one party misbehaves more -- maybe even a lot more -- than the other. That's fine. But misbehavior is still misbehavior, and I'm not impressed by any of it.
And people think I'm the strange one???!!!!!
And let's clear one thing up. I'm not unaffiliated because I don't know what I believe. I know perfectly damn well what I believe and neither party stacks up as much of a match for me. Look at a few issues and you tell me which soul-destroying party I should belong to:
Abortion: very pro-life
Immigration: open the borders!
Taxation: progressive -- the rich benefit from the system and I have no problem if they pay more -- within reason. I'm not in favor of punitive taxation. I also think a partial fix for Social Security would be to eliminate the cap on payroll taxes to fund it.
Welfare: I thought Bill Clinton got it right -- provide a safety net but make folks work for it.
War in Iraq: Never liked it, thought Bush administration (Cheney/Rumsfeld in particular) made a huge mess of it. Was never fully convinced of the evidence for going in.
War in Afghanistan: The Taliban had it coming.
Labor: pro-union though I believe the labor movement is misguided and been misleading in its campaign against the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. My in-laws are Colombians and I've visited the country three times. The characterization of the country by anti-agreement forces does not square with my experiences of the country nor, I think, the facts. Besides, we in the hedonistic U.S. have helped destroy that country with our fiendish drug habits. The least we can do is help to foster honest work there. That means you, narcotics users -- you have Colombian blood on your hands. I don't see how turning this agreement down helps ordinary Colombians.
Death penalty: very against it.
Education: in favor of public charter schools and think parents should be given tax credits if they enroll kids in private schools -- seeing as they're saving taxpayers money by not having their kids educated in public schools. We offer government grants to 18-year-olds to attend private colleges and no one seems to mind, so why do we treat first-graders any differently? Can't we make the argument that the first-grader needs the support more? (NB: My two eldest children attend a Catholic school and we pay the full freight -- this means I save my town about $15,000 a year by not asking it to school my kids. I don't mind paying taxes to support public education, so I feel like I'm doing more than my share.)
Health care: The ridiculous hodgepodge "system" we have now has to go. I'm willing to listen to alternatives, but we must find a way to cover all Americans and separate peoples' health coverage from job status. For all its warts, a universal payer system will do that. But, again, I'm open to alternatives.
I could go on and on. But I don't see my beliefs consistently backed by one party. Do you? And I'm OK with that. Last time I checked, I don't have to consult the Republicans or Democrats before I make up my mind.
So, vote for the candidate of your choice next Tuesday. Go out there and try to get others to vote for the candidate of your choice, too, while you're at it. Heck, if you're than invested in it, have a ball. But when someone tells you they're neither a Republican nor a Democrat, consider just for a moment that perhaps they have a good reason for where they stand.
-- MJM
Friday, October 24, 2008
Re: Please forgive Mr. Enright
I never said I was a good editor.
And, speaking of nuns, I won't come back until I have redeemed myself.
-JDE2
And, speaking of nuns, I won't come back until I have redeemed myself.
-JDE2
Please forgive Mr. Enright
Editor that he is -- he made a nasty boo-boo in a recent post.
"Matt and I's friend"? What the hell grammar book did you read to come up with that, Sparky? How's about "Matt's friend and mine"? Even "Matt and my friend" would have been better.
And you claim you were taught by nuns. Pshaw!!! I'm rapping your knuckles next time I see you.
-- MJM
"Matt and I's friend"? What the hell grammar book did you read to come up with that, Sparky? How's about "Matt's friend and mine"? Even "Matt and my friend" would have been better.
And you claim you were taught by nuns. Pshaw!!! I'm rapping your knuckles next time I see you.
-- MJM
I did not know that
Fascinating stuff you pick up while having the History channel on for background noise as you do things: Portland, Ore.'s name was decided by a coin toss. The two guys who wanted to name it wanted to do so after their hometowns. Thus, Portland, Maine, beat Boston, Mass.
Speaking of Portland, here's a look at my friend Ben McLeod's 52 IPAs blog (mmmm. . . . beer). Ben, who just moved out to Portland this year, has set a goal of sampling and photographing 52 IPAs this year. Hey, you gotta strive for something. Wish I had his ambitions.
And if nothing else, this blogging has given Matt and I's friend Maureen an outlet for her opinions. Her blog can be found here.
-JDE2
Speaking of Portland, here's a look at my friend Ben McLeod's 52 IPAs blog (mmmm. . . . beer). Ben, who just moved out to Portland this year, has set a goal of sampling and photographing 52 IPAs this year. Hey, you gotta strive for something. Wish I had his ambitions.
And if nothing else, this blogging has given Matt and I's friend Maureen an outlet for her opinions. Her blog can be found here.
-JDE2
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Re: Buckner
Does Rep. Yarmuth not know that Bill Buckner threw out the first pitch at this year's Fenway opener, in one of the nicer (and far more overdue) moments in baseball this or any other year?
How about the fact that Buckner received a deserving, not to mention lengthy, standing O from the Fenway fans when he hustled his butt off to make the team out of spring training in 1990? Less than four freakin' years since the error, and a decade and a half before the 2004 title!
How about the fact that Game 6 was lost long before Mookie Wilson came to bat? Let's start with John McNamara yanking the best pitcher in baseball for a rookie pinch-hitter. McNamara says Roger Clemens asked out, but why did Clemens grab a bat and helmet and was in the on-deck circle when he was pulled? Not in the dugout. The ON-DECK CIRCLE!
How about the fact that Boston fans have buried any animosity toward him or others who committed famous gaffes (Mike Torrez in 1978. Bill Lee in 1975. The list goes on. 2004 atoned for a lot of sins)? And true Red Sox fans are embarassed that Buckner felt he had to move to Idaho or Montana or wherever to escape his notoriety.
How about the fact that Johnny Pesky, still considered the "goat" of the 1946 World Series for allegedly holding a relay throw for too long, is now a beloved elder statesman of the team (since long before the 2004 title) who got to hoist the 2004 championship banner at Fenway? And if Buckner were to come back as, say, a hitting coach, he would be welcome with open arms? Especially if he straightened out Varitek. . . .
The fact of the matter is, ESPN and FOX have gotten far more mileage out of the video of that error (quote Vin Scully with me now: "slow roller down to first . . . . behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight, and the Mets win it!") than the one of Keith Foulke tossing the ball to Doug Mientkiewicz at first for the 2004 title. And even though it's had an 18-year head start, the error will continue to be played more than the putout. Sad but true.
So let's get this straight: Boston does not hate Buckner. The national media thinks it does.
-JDE2
How about the fact that Buckner received a deserving, not to mention lengthy, standing O from the Fenway fans when he hustled his butt off to make the team out of spring training in 1990? Less than four freakin' years since the error, and a decade and a half before the 2004 title!
How about the fact that Game 6 was lost long before Mookie Wilson came to bat? Let's start with John McNamara yanking the best pitcher in baseball for a rookie pinch-hitter. McNamara says Roger Clemens asked out, but why did Clemens grab a bat and helmet and was in the on-deck circle when he was pulled? Not in the dugout. The ON-DECK CIRCLE!
How about the fact that Boston fans have buried any animosity toward him or others who committed famous gaffes (Mike Torrez in 1978. Bill Lee in 1975. The list goes on. 2004 atoned for a lot of sins)? And true Red Sox fans are embarassed that Buckner felt he had to move to Idaho or Montana or wherever to escape his notoriety.
How about the fact that Johnny Pesky, still considered the "goat" of the 1946 World Series for allegedly holding a relay throw for too long, is now a beloved elder statesman of the team (since long before the 2004 title) who got to hoist the 2004 championship banner at Fenway? And if Buckner were to come back as, say, a hitting coach, he would be welcome with open arms? Especially if he straightened out Varitek. . . .
The fact of the matter is, ESPN and FOX have gotten far more mileage out of the video of that error (quote Vin Scully with me now: "slow roller down to first . . . . behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight, and the Mets win it!") than the one of Keith Foulke tossing the ball to Doug Mientkiewicz at first for the 2004 title. And even though it's had an 18-year head start, the error will continue to be played more than the putout. Sad but true.
So let's get this straight: Boston does not hate Buckner. The national media thinks it does.
-JDE2
Remember "Candlepins for Cash"?
I sure do. I loved that show as a young kid back in the '70s. I can even still remember its mega-cheesy local TV theme song. I even used to set up plastic bowling pins in the hallway and play my own games of Candlepins for Cash, with me being both the contestants and the host, Bob Gamere.
Oh, where have you gone, Bob Gamere?
The Boston Globe tells us where today, and it's not pretty.
By Globe Staff
Robert Gamere, the former host of the local TV show "Candlepins for Cash," has been arrested on charges of transporting and possessing child pornography.
Gamere, 69, of Brookline, is charged in a three-count indictment with transporting child pornography videos on two separate dates last year and with possessing child pornography on his home computer, the US attorney's office said in a statement.
Federal agents who executed a search warrant at Gamere's residence also allegedly found printed-out images in a locked drawer in Gamere's bedroom.
Prosecutors said Gamere had sent multiple people emails with child pornography videos attached.
Documents unsealed in federal court today showed that the case began when an undercover agent received an email with a child pornography video attached. The agent was able to determine that the video file had been sent previously by someone with the screen name "GreatGamere." That screen name was subsequently traced to Robert Gamere, prosecutors said in a statement.
Gamere is to be arraigned this afternoon in US District Court. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years on the transportation counts, and a maximum of 10 years on the possession count.
Gamere, a veteran sportscaster who worked at a number of local TV and radio stations, told the Globe a year ago that he was "semi-retired," though he had been doing some announcing at Boston University track meets and was until recently calling horse races at the Brockton Fair.
Gamere said he still got stopped on the street by people who appeared on Candlepins, which ran from 1973 to 1980.
-- MJM
Oh, where have you gone, Bob Gamere?
The Boston Globe tells us where today, and it's not pretty.
By Globe Staff
Robert Gamere, the former host of the local TV show "Candlepins for Cash," has been arrested on charges of transporting and possessing child pornography.
Gamere, 69, of Brookline, is charged in a three-count indictment with transporting child pornography videos on two separate dates last year and with possessing child pornography on his home computer, the US attorney's office said in a statement.
Federal agents who executed a search warrant at Gamere's residence also allegedly found printed-out images in a locked drawer in Gamere's bedroom.
Prosecutors said Gamere had sent multiple people emails with child pornography videos attached.
Documents unsealed in federal court today showed that the case began when an undercover agent received an email with a child pornography video attached. The agent was able to determine that the video file had been sent previously by someone with the screen name "GreatGamere." That screen name was subsequently traced to Robert Gamere, prosecutors said in a statement.
Gamere is to be arraigned this afternoon in US District Court. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years on the transportation counts, and a maximum of 10 years on the possession count.
Gamere, a veteran sportscaster who worked at a number of local TV and radio stations, told the Globe a year ago that he was "semi-retired," though he had been doing some announcing at Boston University track meets and was until recently calling horse races at the Brockton Fair.
Gamere said he still got stopped on the street by people who appeared on Candlepins, which ran from 1973 to 1980.
-- MJM
Leave Bill Buckner Alone!
It's been 22 years and two World Series championships, but poor Bill Buckner still can't catch a break.
The following is from a Bloomberg News Service story about former Fed charman Alan Greenspan's testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform today. SEC chairman Christopher Cox former Treasury Secretary John Snow also tesified. (And, yes, don't be so surprised that the simpleton sports goons know who these three guys are. We have failing 401(k)s too, you know!!!")
"Addressing the trio that oversaw the U.S. financial markets as the housing bubble developed, Representative John Yarmuth, a Democrat from Kentucky, characterized them as "three Bill Buckners,'' referring to the Boston Red Sox first baseman whose fielding error some fans blame for the team's loss in the 1986 World Series."
Enough with the Bill Buckner already!!! Let the man live in peace!!!
-- MJM
The following is from a Bloomberg News Service story about former Fed charman Alan Greenspan's testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform today. SEC chairman Christopher Cox former Treasury Secretary John Snow also tesified. (And, yes, don't be so surprised that the simpleton sports goons know who these three guys are. We have failing 401(k)s too, you know!!!")
"Addressing the trio that oversaw the U.S. financial markets as the housing bubble developed, Representative John Yarmuth, a Democrat from Kentucky, characterized them as "three Bill Buckners,'' referring to the Boston Red Sox first baseman whose fielding error some fans blame for the team's loss in the 1986 World Series."
Enough with the Bill Buckner already!!! Let the man live in peace!!!
-- MJM
Random B's thought
If this keeps up, the Bruins' slogan for the 2008-09 season will be, "Playing for the Point." I know it's early, but c'mon guys. . . .
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Re: Greatest Story Ever
Mike Figueroa? Any relation to former Yankee Ed Figueroa, best known as the "other" 20-game winner on the 1978 Pinstripers?
Don't suppose Joba can blame this on bugs swarming around his head? At least he tips well . . .
-JDE2
Don't suppose Joba can blame this on bugs swarming around his head? At least he tips well . . .
-JDE2
Greatest Story Ever
From today's New York Post: This has all the makings of a classic ... an overhyped, big-headed (in more ways than one), insufferable Yankee pitcher; a pro-Sox insult; several drinks; an automobile; and a strip club. Yankees fans, this is your hope for the future. :) The guy registered a .134 on the Breathalyzer! I don't think John McNamara was that loaded during Game 6 of the '86 World Series!
CLASH: A patron at a Nebraska strip club teased Joba, "Too bad you didn't play for the Red Sox."
By AUSTIN FENNER in Lincoln, Neb., and LEONARD GREENE in New York
Taunts about his team's lousy season prompted Yankee pitcher Joba Chamberlain to storm out of a Nebraska strip joint just before he was busted for alleged drunken driving, associates said yesterday.
The pitcher was spotted tossing back at least two Grey Goose vodka drinks at a friend's watering hole before hitting a topless club, where patrons said he had been enjoying the sights and tipping big - before stomping out early Saturday morning after a customer teased him about the Bombers' poor performance.
"Too bad you didn't play for the Red Sox," the customer said, according to another patron at the club. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be sitting here in a strip club in Nebraska."
The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Chamberlain rose in anger, but several friends intervened before the tiff escalated beyond pushing and shoving.
A furious Chamberlain left, and moments later, cops nabbed him for allegedly speeding in his 2006 BMW 750i. They hauled him off to a detox center after they smelled alcohol on his breath and saw an open container of alcohol on the passenger seat.
Authorities said Chamberlain, who submitted to a Breathalyzer test at the scene, had a blood-alcohol content of .134 at the time of his arrest, nearly double Nebraska's legal limit of .08.
Chamberlain, 23, was scheduled to appear in court Dec. 17 for a citation on suspicion of drunken driving. Lancaster County prosecutors have not decided on formal charges.
Chamberlain continued to lie low yesterday after issuing an apology a day earlier.
What began as a fun Friday night for Chamberlain sank quicker than the injured Yankee's season after he knocked back two vodka and sodas at Dillinger's, said the bar's co-owner, Mike Figueroa.
"He left at 10:30," Figueroa said. "He left early. I talked to him, and he said he would try to make it back."
Joba never did. Instead, he went to ogle women at the Night Before Lounge, a topless joint in downtown Lincoln.
He spent $45 on drinks and tipped $100, sources said.
"He tipped pretty well, and the girls were excited he was here," one customer said.
Yankee brass said they stand behind their pitcher.
"We're behind him 100 percent," said Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees' executive vice president. "He knows he made a mistake. We've always said we're an extended family."
Additional reporting by Johnny Perez and Irene Plagianos
CLASH: A patron at a Nebraska strip club teased Joba, "Too bad you didn't play for the Red Sox."
By AUSTIN FENNER in Lincoln, Neb., and LEONARD GREENE in New York
Taunts about his team's lousy season prompted Yankee pitcher Joba Chamberlain to storm out of a Nebraska strip joint just before he was busted for alleged drunken driving, associates said yesterday.
The pitcher was spotted tossing back at least two Grey Goose vodka drinks at a friend's watering hole before hitting a topless club, where patrons said he had been enjoying the sights and tipping big - before stomping out early Saturday morning after a customer teased him about the Bombers' poor performance.
"Too bad you didn't play for the Red Sox," the customer said, according to another patron at the club. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be sitting here in a strip club in Nebraska."
The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Chamberlain rose in anger, but several friends intervened before the tiff escalated beyond pushing and shoving.
A furious Chamberlain left, and moments later, cops nabbed him for allegedly speeding in his 2006 BMW 750i. They hauled him off to a detox center after they smelled alcohol on his breath and saw an open container of alcohol on the passenger seat.
Authorities said Chamberlain, who submitted to a Breathalyzer test at the scene, had a blood-alcohol content of .134 at the time of his arrest, nearly double Nebraska's legal limit of .08.
Chamberlain, 23, was scheduled to appear in court Dec. 17 for a citation on suspicion of drunken driving. Lancaster County prosecutors have not decided on formal charges.
Chamberlain continued to lie low yesterday after issuing an apology a day earlier.
What began as a fun Friday night for Chamberlain sank quicker than the injured Yankee's season after he knocked back two vodka and sodas at Dillinger's, said the bar's co-owner, Mike Figueroa.
"He left at 10:30," Figueroa said. "He left early. I talked to him, and he said he would try to make it back."
Joba never did. Instead, he went to ogle women at the Night Before Lounge, a topless joint in downtown Lincoln.
He spent $45 on drinks and tipped $100, sources said.
"He tipped pretty well, and the girls were excited he was here," one customer said.
Yankee brass said they stand behind their pitcher.
"We're behind him 100 percent," said Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees' executive vice president. "He knows he made a mistake. We've always said we're an extended family."
Additional reporting by Johnny Perez and Irene Plagianos
Hindsight isn't always 20/20, but it sure beats having your head up your . . .
It's weird how not blogging in the moment can give you a better perspective. Yes, some might call it "hindsight." But seriously. . . .
I'm not mad at Francona like I was Sunday for leaving Varitek in there to hit in the seventh with runners at the corners. I'm not mad at Papi for apparently losing his mojo these last two seasons - an anomaly which I still think is more injury-related than loss-of-Manny related. They fact the Sox even took this to seven games without Lowell, Schilling, and a completely healthy Beckett was a testament to the team's character. Heck rallying from 7 runs down in Game 5 alone was testament to their character.
Yes, the better team won. We can admit that. Joe Maddon had more ammo, and the luxury of using a flame-throwing weapon such as David Price only when he needed to - say, for example, turning the lights out on the ALCS. Francona already was without last year's World Series MVP and one of the best postseason pitchers ever.
And it's easy to disparage the Rays' cowbell-ringing fans. But I look at them with envy. They have been given that rare gift of seeing a young team, almost entirely home-grown, put it together at just the right time. And damn, Game 5 aside, they never folded. The last time we had that was the Pats' first Super Bowl championship run. (The two Sox championships were the product of good deals as much, if not more so, than anything else. Same with the Boys in Green this year.)
Very few sports fans get to see that in this day and age of free agency. I hope they enjoy that.
A couple more thoughts (further proof that I've moved on):
1) Help me out here. I can't decide if Joe Maddon looks more like Spencer Tracy in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" or Elvis Costello.
2) Tampa could join Boston and LA as the only cities with three major sports championships this decade. (Bucs Super Bowl in 2003, and the forgotten Lightning Stanley Cup title in 2004). Tampa a sports power? Who knew?
(And to those, including my cohort on this site, who would include NY in that three-sport title talk, I say the Devils have been, are in and always will be the New Jersey Devils. At least Los Gigantes once played at Yankee Stadium. And the Yankees' last title came in 2000, which is debateable for the start of the decade.)
-JDE2
I'm not mad at Francona like I was Sunday for leaving Varitek in there to hit in the seventh with runners at the corners. I'm not mad at Papi for apparently losing his mojo these last two seasons - an anomaly which I still think is more injury-related than loss-of-Manny related. They fact the Sox even took this to seven games without Lowell, Schilling, and a completely healthy Beckett was a testament to the team's character. Heck rallying from 7 runs down in Game 5 alone was testament to their character.
Yes, the better team won. We can admit that. Joe Maddon had more ammo, and the luxury of using a flame-throwing weapon such as David Price only when he needed to - say, for example, turning the lights out on the ALCS. Francona already was without last year's World Series MVP and one of the best postseason pitchers ever.
And it's easy to disparage the Rays' cowbell-ringing fans. But I look at them with envy. They have been given that rare gift of seeing a young team, almost entirely home-grown, put it together at just the right time. And damn, Game 5 aside, they never folded. The last time we had that was the Pats' first Super Bowl championship run. (The two Sox championships were the product of good deals as much, if not more so, than anything else. Same with the Boys in Green this year.)
Very few sports fans get to see that in this day and age of free agency. I hope they enjoy that.
A couple more thoughts (further proof that I've moved on):
1) Help me out here. I can't decide if Joe Maddon looks more like Spencer Tracy in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" or Elvis Costello.
2) Tampa could join Boston and LA as the only cities with three major sports championships this decade. (Bucs Super Bowl in 2003, and the forgotten Lightning Stanley Cup title in 2004). Tampa a sports power? Who knew?
(And to those, including my cohort on this site, who would include NY in that three-sport title talk, I say the Devils have been, are in and always will be the New Jersey Devils. At least Los Gigantes once played at Yankee Stadium. And the Yankees' last title came in 2000, which is debateable for the start of the decade.)
-JDE2
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Postseason Public Enemy No. 1
So the Rays overcame two very bad days and won the pennant. Good for them. They're a young team on the rise. And they beat Jon Lester twice to win. That makes them deserving right there.
Back here in Red Sox Nation we'll do what we do, which is assign blame. My guess is that most of it will fall on the shoulders of the salami-bat catcher lovingly known as Captain.
Such blame would be misplaced.
You don't expect much production from Jason Varitek. Now, granted, his production in the ALCS looked like the stock market in recent weeks. Grim, grim, grim. But he still offers value even when he's not hitting.
No, the guy who deserves the most blame is perhaps the most beloved and gregarious Red Sox. But in October he uncharacteristically came up really small.
Ladies and gentlemen, Postseason Public Enemy No. 1 is ..... Big Papi, David Ortiz.
Here are the DH's postseason numbers: .186 BA, .327 OBP, .349 SLG, .676 OPS, 1HR, 5 RBI in 11 games and 52 total plate appearances. In all he had just 15 total bases in the postseason.
In the ALCS, he hit .174 -- that's four hits in a seven-game series -- with a .321 OBP, .435 SLG and .756 OPS. His contributions were limited to the homer -- granted, an enormous one, in the Game 5 comeback -- and a Game 6 RBI single when the Sox added an insurance run.
In Game 7, when a big hit was desperately needed, here's what Ortiz -- whose only job, mind you, is to swing the bat -- came up with.
8th inning: 2 on, 1 out, score 3-1 TB. Ortiz grounds into a force play, erasing the runner at 2nd.
6th inning: 1 on, 1 out, score 2-1 TB. Ortiz strikes out on a high fastball out of the strike zone on 3 and 2. The puzzling decision to send Dustin Pedroia on 3-2 -- which smelled of panic -- results in an easy double play and a promising inning erased.
3rd inning: 1 on, 2 out, score 1-0 BOS: Ortiz strikes out with Pedroia, who was hit by a pitch and stole second, in scoring position and a chance to add a vital second run.
1st inning: o on, 1 out, score 1-0 BOS: Ortiz walks to follow Pedroia's home run. What looks like a promising inning is undone by a Youkilis fly out and Drew whiff. This is Big Papi's only Game 7 contribution.
But in three of his four at-bats there were runners on base and not a one of them scored:
Two strikeouts and a slow grounder were all the vaunted Big Papi could muster.
Clearly the entire Sox lineup was poor in Game 7 and credit Matt Garza and the Rays relievers for that. But other players -- Youkilis, Bay, Drew -- had so many key postseason hits that they can be let off the hook somewhat.
Big Papi had a lousy October. When he was needed most, he didn't come through. That is one big, loud reason the World Series is not starting in Boston on Wednesday night.
With all respect to Mark Kotsay, wouldn't a healthy Mike Lowell have made a difference in this series?
-- MJM
Back here in Red Sox Nation we'll do what we do, which is assign blame. My guess is that most of it will fall on the shoulders of the salami-bat catcher lovingly known as Captain.
Such blame would be misplaced.
You don't expect much production from Jason Varitek. Now, granted, his production in the ALCS looked like the stock market in recent weeks. Grim, grim, grim. But he still offers value even when he's not hitting.
No, the guy who deserves the most blame is perhaps the most beloved and gregarious Red Sox. But in October he uncharacteristically came up really small.
Ladies and gentlemen, Postseason Public Enemy No. 1 is ..... Big Papi, David Ortiz.
Here are the DH's postseason numbers: .186 BA, .327 OBP, .349 SLG, .676 OPS, 1HR, 5 RBI in 11 games and 52 total plate appearances. In all he had just 15 total bases in the postseason.
In the ALCS, he hit .174 -- that's four hits in a seven-game series -- with a .321 OBP, .435 SLG and .756 OPS. His contributions were limited to the homer -- granted, an enormous one, in the Game 5 comeback -- and a Game 6 RBI single when the Sox added an insurance run.
In Game 7, when a big hit was desperately needed, here's what Ortiz -- whose only job, mind you, is to swing the bat -- came up with.
8th inning: 2 on, 1 out, score 3-1 TB. Ortiz grounds into a force play, erasing the runner at 2nd.
6th inning: 1 on, 1 out, score 2-1 TB. Ortiz strikes out on a high fastball out of the strike zone on 3 and 2. The puzzling decision to send Dustin Pedroia on 3-2 -- which smelled of panic -- results in an easy double play and a promising inning erased.
3rd inning: 1 on, 2 out, score 1-0 BOS: Ortiz strikes out with Pedroia, who was hit by a pitch and stole second, in scoring position and a chance to add a vital second run.
1st inning: o on, 1 out, score 1-0 BOS: Ortiz walks to follow Pedroia's home run. What looks like a promising inning is undone by a Youkilis fly out and Drew whiff. This is Big Papi's only Game 7 contribution.
But in three of his four at-bats there were runners on base and not a one of them scored:
Two strikeouts and a slow grounder were all the vaunted Big Papi could muster.
Clearly the entire Sox lineup was poor in Game 7 and credit Matt Garza and the Rays relievers for that. But other players -- Youkilis, Bay, Drew -- had so many key postseason hits that they can be let off the hook somewhat.
Big Papi had a lousy October. When he was needed most, he didn't come through. That is one big, loud reason the World Series is not starting in Boston on Wednesday night.
With all respect to Mark Kotsay, wouldn't a healthy Mike Lowell have made a difference in this series?
-- MJM
I Don't Believe in Reality Anymore
They won Game 6. The Red Sox are nine innings away from going down in the books as the greatest clutch team in baseball history.
Seriously -- I'd have wagered on my becoming a captain in a Sicilian crime family before I'd ever think the above words, much less write them.
Then again -- how do you know I'm not a captain in a Sicilian crime family? The mafia doesn't exist, you know...
It got me to thinking that I can decisively say I know one person who was convinced the Sox would come back in game 5, 7-run deficit or no.
He's a Yankee fan.
Heckuva guy, that John DiStaso. He's an ace political reporter for the New Hampshire Union Leader, where I used to labor before the newspaper business started to look like Matt Cassel under a heavy pass rush. The man's entire universe changed during the Glorious Uprising of 2004. Where he once confidently watched his Bombers rule over all and waited patiently for the inevitable Red Sox collapse, he now expects the Red Sox to get the job done no matter what the circumstance. For the past four years, every time the Sox overcame a big deficit, he'd say, "I knew they were going to do that." The man was completely confident that Boston would overcome last year's 3-1 arrears to Cleveland and I'm sure he said the same thing all day Thursday about this year's 3-1 shortfall to Tampa Bay.
But while even the most optimistic citizens of the Nation thought it was over with three innings to play in Game 5, I have no doubt that: 1. Mr. DiStaso sat and waited for the comeback he was certain would come; or. 2. Mr. DiStaso went to bed fully expecting to wake up Friday morning to find the Sox had done what they did.
When even the Yankee fans have confidence in the Red Sox, why shouldn't the rest of us?
-- MJM
Seriously -- I'd have wagered on my becoming a captain in a Sicilian crime family before I'd ever think the above words, much less write them.
Then again -- how do you know I'm not a captain in a Sicilian crime family? The mafia doesn't exist, you know...
It got me to thinking that I can decisively say I know one person who was convinced the Sox would come back in game 5, 7-run deficit or no.
He's a Yankee fan.
Heckuva guy, that John DiStaso. He's an ace political reporter for the New Hampshire Union Leader, where I used to labor before the newspaper business started to look like Matt Cassel under a heavy pass rush. The man's entire universe changed during the Glorious Uprising of 2004. Where he once confidently watched his Bombers rule over all and waited patiently for the inevitable Red Sox collapse, he now expects the Red Sox to get the job done no matter what the circumstance. For the past four years, every time the Sox overcame a big deficit, he'd say, "I knew they were going to do that." The man was completely confident that Boston would overcome last year's 3-1 arrears to Cleveland and I'm sure he said the same thing all day Thursday about this year's 3-1 shortfall to Tampa Bay.
But while even the most optimistic citizens of the Nation thought it was over with three innings to play in Game 5, I have no doubt that: 1. Mr. DiStaso sat and waited for the comeback he was certain would come; or. 2. Mr. DiStaso went to bed fully expecting to wake up Friday morning to find the Sox had done what they did.
When even the Yankee fans have confidence in the Red Sox, why shouldn't the rest of us?
-- MJM
Friday, October 17, 2008
I Still Don't Believe What I Saw 20 Hours Ago
Unlike Matt, I am a Simmons guy. Though more out of envy than anything else. Talk about timing. Here's a link to today's column.
And again, here's a link to the Union Leader's new Boston sports correpsondent, Brian MacPherson, who summarized the postgame comments with this post: Asked and answered: Holy @#&%#@#! edition.
I couldn't agree more.
Unreal. They were dead. And perhaps seeing them do this before made resignation to the inevitable loss easier last night. "They can't do it every year," I said. I wasn't alone.
Only the most naive fans (about which there were at least 25,000-plus in Fenway. A bunch had made like Dodgers fans and left after Papelbon gave up the two runs in the seventh.) still believed.
When Papi homered, hope sprang eternal, but you thought, "those two runs really hurt."
Then Drew homered. And Crisp came through with the game-tying RBI (we'll overlook that he ran into an out on the play. It was nice to see some aggressiveness for a change from the Sox. That and he had the best A-B by a Sox player this postseason, fouling off everything until he got something to hit.)
A former co-worker said when the Sox forced Game 7 against the Yankees in 2004, "If they blow this, I've got a real problem with God." That was what I thought of when Masterson came in for the ninth. God bless his Yul Brenner noggin, this kid may be the MVP of this series for the Sox. He has been so solid, and he got the job done again, granted with a bit of seatbelt-fastening.
And Drew again in the ninth. I'm calling a moratorium on Drew bashing. He can GIDP all he wants the rest of the season, however long it lasts.
Can they win two in the Trop? It's a tall order, considering the house of horrors it was this year. But I'll take my chances with even a wounded Beckett and Lester. That's all they've needed before.
And if it does end this weekend, at least they gave us one hell of a Fenway finale this season.
-JDE2
And again, here's a link to the Union Leader's new Boston sports correpsondent, Brian MacPherson, who summarized the postgame comments with this post: Asked and answered: Holy @#&%#@#! edition.
I couldn't agree more.
Unreal. They were dead. And perhaps seeing them do this before made resignation to the inevitable loss easier last night. "They can't do it every year," I said. I wasn't alone.
Only the most naive fans (about which there were at least 25,000-plus in Fenway. A bunch had made like Dodgers fans and left after Papelbon gave up the two runs in the seventh.) still believed.
When Papi homered, hope sprang eternal, but you thought, "those two runs really hurt."
Then Drew homered. And Crisp came through with the game-tying RBI (we'll overlook that he ran into an out on the play. It was nice to see some aggressiveness for a change from the Sox. That and he had the best A-B by a Sox player this postseason, fouling off everything until he got something to hit.)
A former co-worker said when the Sox forced Game 7 against the Yankees in 2004, "If they blow this, I've got a real problem with God." That was what I thought of when Masterson came in for the ninth. God bless his Yul Brenner noggin, this kid may be the MVP of this series for the Sox. He has been so solid, and he got the job done again, granted with a bit of seatbelt-fastening.
And Drew again in the ninth. I'm calling a moratorium on Drew bashing. He can GIDP all he wants the rest of the season, however long it lasts.
Can they win two in the Trop? It's a tall order, considering the house of horrors it was this year. But I'll take my chances with even a wounded Beckett and Lester. That's all they've needed before.
And if it does end this weekend, at least they gave us one hell of a Fenway finale this season.
-JDE2
The Aftermath
I'm not much of a Bill Simmons guy but his oeuvre today on ESPN.com is a must read.
As for me, I sat in front of the TV with a computer on the blink, unable to blog or do anything else to take my mind off the train wreck happening in front of me.
Then Pedroia singled home the first run and Papi came to the plate. I texted my esteemed colleagues these words: "Watch the Sox go and score 6."
Call me bitter at Manny Delcarmen for turning into Manny Delcarmen at a most inopportune spot. And call me mad at Papelbon for allowing the two guys Delcarmen walked to score by throwing B.J. Upton A BELT-HIGH FREAKING FASTBALL OUT OVER THE PLATE ON 3-2 WITH FIRST BASE OPEN!!!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HOW DUMB CAN YOU BE????!!!!!!! HASN'T UPTON RECORDED AN AGGREGATE 16 LIGHT YEARS WITH HIS BLASTS IN THIS SERIES???!!!!!
So I felt very little joy or emotion as the Sox clawed back. Papi homered. 7-4. "How do you figure these guys?" I thought. Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in. Drew homered. 7-6. Kotsay hits a ball to left-center that Upton doesn't catch. Hell freezes over. Pigs fly. Women mistake me for Brad Pitt. Crazy game. Coco fouls off everything in sight and singles Kotsay home. 7-7.
Can you believe this?
By now I was in emotional limbo. I've seen enough of these games to know the Sox would win. The team that rallies back ALWAYS wins games like that. But I was still too hacked off at the Red Sox for 24 innings of comatose Fenway baseball to warm up to them. Forget cuddling at this point. I needed the big, sloppy, open-mouthed kiss of a finish.
Then Drew doubled home Youk for the game winner and I must have woken the neighbors with my screaming. And, mind you, we have one-acre lots here in Twinsville. My neighbors are a good sand wedge away. Maybe even a 52-degree gap wedge. Hell, some days the way I hit it it's a strong 3-iron. I threw the throw pillow I'd been clutching (that's why they're called throw pillows, right?) and screamed I DON'T BELIEVE THEY DID THAT!! My wife ran downstairs, not knowing if they'd won, they'd lost, or I'd suffered a traumatic brain injury. I think two out of those three apply.
Can someone explain to me, at half past midnight, how one is supposed to sleep after that?
-- MJM
P.S. Wearers of Dodger Blue, I introduce you to the real Manuel Aristides Ramirez. Have fun, gang. Wouldn't want to be in your shoes: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-manny17-2008oct17,0,7358236.story
As for me, I sat in front of the TV with a computer on the blink, unable to blog or do anything else to take my mind off the train wreck happening in front of me.
Then Pedroia singled home the first run and Papi came to the plate. I texted my esteemed colleagues these words: "Watch the Sox go and score 6."
Call me bitter at Manny Delcarmen for turning into Manny Delcarmen at a most inopportune spot. And call me mad at Papelbon for allowing the two guys Delcarmen walked to score by throwing B.J. Upton A BELT-HIGH FREAKING FASTBALL OUT OVER THE PLATE ON 3-2 WITH FIRST BASE OPEN!!!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HOW DUMB CAN YOU BE????!!!!!!! HASN'T UPTON RECORDED AN AGGREGATE 16 LIGHT YEARS WITH HIS BLASTS IN THIS SERIES???!!!!!
So I felt very little joy or emotion as the Sox clawed back. Papi homered. 7-4. "How do you figure these guys?" I thought. Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in. Drew homered. 7-6. Kotsay hits a ball to left-center that Upton doesn't catch. Hell freezes over. Pigs fly. Women mistake me for Brad Pitt. Crazy game. Coco fouls off everything in sight and singles Kotsay home. 7-7.
Can you believe this?
By now I was in emotional limbo. I've seen enough of these games to know the Sox would win. The team that rallies back ALWAYS wins games like that. But I was still too hacked off at the Red Sox for 24 innings of comatose Fenway baseball to warm up to them. Forget cuddling at this point. I needed the big, sloppy, open-mouthed kiss of a finish.
Then Drew doubled home Youk for the game winner and I must have woken the neighbors with my screaming. And, mind you, we have one-acre lots here in Twinsville. My neighbors are a good sand wedge away. Maybe even a 52-degree gap wedge. Hell, some days the way I hit it it's a strong 3-iron. I threw the throw pillow I'd been clutching (that's why they're called throw pillows, right?) and screamed I DON'T BELIEVE THEY DID THAT!! My wife ran downstairs, not knowing if they'd won, they'd lost, or I'd suffered a traumatic brain injury. I think two out of those three apply.
Can someone explain to me, at half past midnight, how one is supposed to sleep after that?
-- MJM
P.S. Wearers of Dodger Blue, I introduce you to the real Manuel Aristides Ramirez. Have fun, gang. Wouldn't want to be in your shoes: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-manny17-2008oct17,0,7358236.story
Never Mind, Take 2
In the words of the late, great Jack Buck, "I DON'T BELIEVE . . . WHAT I JUST SAW!" Wow.
And I've never been happier about being wrong before in my life.
--JDE2
And I've never been happier about being wrong before in my life.
--JDE2
Thursday, October 16, 2008
'Over'? Did You Say, 'Over'?
There are remarkable similarities to last year's ALCS. A gut-wrenching extra-inning loss in Game 2. Blowouts in Games 3 and 4. (Game 4 started by Wakefield, no less). Hmmm. . . .
So I'm calling it: A Kotsay grand slam turns this around.
And I'm going to have to beat Matt to deleting this if it does end tonight.
-JDE2
So I'm calling it: A Kotsay grand slam turns this around.
And I'm going to have to beat Matt to deleting this if it does end tonight.
-JDE2
RE: Sinking Ship Edition
mmmmm . . . . gyroballs. Now I need to go to a sub shop.*
(*Note to potential advertisers: Throw free stuff our way! We're not proud! We'll use your name in this fine experiment here!)
-JDE2
(*Note to potential advertisers: Throw free stuff our way! We're not proud! We'll use your name in this fine experiment here!)
-JDE2
Irish Twins: The Sinking Ship Edition
Proposition:
Which doubled-over-and-gasping-for-air enterprise has a greater chance of pulling a rabbit out of a hat (or someplace else -- hey! Watch it...) and rolling to victory?
1. The 2008 Boston Red Sox
2. McCain/Palin 2008
Thoughts? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?
I'm thinking gyroballs tonight. Lots and lots of gyroballs.
-- MJM
Which doubled-over-and-gasping-for-air enterprise has a greater chance of pulling a rabbit out of a hat (or someplace else -- hey! Watch it...) and rolling to victory?
1. The 2008 Boston Red Sox
2. McCain/Palin 2008
Thoughts? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?
I'm thinking gyroballs tonight. Lots and lots of gyroballs.
-- MJM
Sox in 2008: Function Done?
First of all, this may still be heresy, but here's one guy's take on (gulp) sitting Big Papi tonight against the Rays. And yes, that is the paper I work for.
And allow me to introduce myself. I have been a Red Sox fan all my life. And I've enjoyed this run of success. And if the juggernaut that is the Tampa Bay lineup continues to rake tonight, I keep telling myself it won't be the worst thing.
But still. . . . THIS'LL BE IT FOR A WHILE! THE PATS ARE GOING NOWHERE! THE 2009 BASEBALL SEASON WILL BE UNDER WAY WHEN THE CELTS AND BRUINS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!
Last year, you knew that Schilling and Beckett were capable of shutting down the Indians. This year, Schilling's only public appearances are at McCain rallies. And Beckett really looks hurt. And Lester wasn't exactly the dominant pitcher he was down the stretch in Game 3.
But . . . they've done it before. You never know.
And to those who think Dice-K is, well, a dicey proposition in a deciding game, remember: It was on his shoulders in Game 7 against the Tribe last year. And we all know how that turned out.
-JDE2
And allow me to introduce myself. I have been a Red Sox fan all my life. And I've enjoyed this run of success. And if the juggernaut that is the Tampa Bay lineup continues to rake tonight, I keep telling myself it won't be the worst thing.
But still. . . . THIS'LL BE IT FOR A WHILE! THE PATS ARE GOING NOWHERE! THE 2009 BASEBALL SEASON WILL BE UNDER WAY WHEN THE CELTS AND BRUINS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!
Last year, you knew that Schilling and Beckett were capable of shutting down the Indians. This year, Schilling's only public appearances are at McCain rallies. And Beckett really looks hurt. And Lester wasn't exactly the dominant pitcher he was down the stretch in Game 3.
But . . . they've done it before. You never know.
And to those who think Dice-K is, well, a dicey proposition in a deciding game, remember: It was on his shoulders in Game 7 against the Tribe last year. And we all know how that turned out.
-JDE2
A good start
Just to show you where I'm coming from in this blog, here's a thought that occured to me while watching the British Open:
Chris Evert has been married to men from three different continents. Not just contries. Continents.
And off we go!
-JDE2
Chris Evert has been married to men from three different continents. Not just contries. Continents.
And off we go!
-JDE2
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