Monday, June 29, 2009
Simpsonized
This site had me clicking for at least an hour. It features pop culture characters drawn in the Simpsons animated style, like so:
Much more at the link.
Much more at the link.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wow
A picture of a volcanic eruption, taken from the International Space Station:
More here. (Hat tip: Jonah Goldberg at The Corner)
More here. (Hat tip: Jonah Goldberg at The Corner)
Global Warming
According to Yahoo! Weather at 4:17pm in Cass City:
Partly Cloudy - 90 degrees
"Feels Like" - 96 degrees
Partly Cloudy - 90 degrees
"Feels Like" - 96 degrees
Bumper Music, Vol. 1
This is the first edition of a summer-segment of bumper music that can be heard on the Jim Rome show. I think in this case, Jimmy Kimmel uses this song as well, usually towards the end of his show, heading into the final break.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Hall of Famer
Steve Yzerman selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame today, along with former teammates Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille. There's not much to write about the Captain that hasn't already been written, so I'll just link to one of my last posts on him. So, the only question left is whether Steve Yzerman is the greatest all-time Detroit sports hero, or is there someone (Gordie Howe? Joe Louis?) who would rank ahead of him?
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Don't click the link...
...unless you want to see pure awesomeness. I think I need to take up a new hobby, and I even know where I could pick up some cylinders. (Hat tip: Jonah Goldberg at The Corner)
...Goes Around
Please read the previous post "What Comes Around..." before reading this one.
I knew since June 2008 what teams would be in the baseball district tournament with Cass City. Five teams...and one of them was Harbor Beach. I was also pretty sure,... yup, wait for it...THAT DAN BROWN WAS THE VARSITY BASEBALL COACH FOR HARBOR BEACH.
So, after this situation had happened, I started to come up with plans that were as evilish that I could make them...baseball-wise.
Knowing we would be playing against each other in the regular season, I contemplated running up the score as high as I could. However, knowing we could possibly face each other in the baseball districts (and we might not actually be good enough to run the score up even if we wanted to), why would I want to "even the score" in the regular season only for him to "punk" me in the baseball districts when it really mattered.
In the regular season, we were ahead 10-0 in game 1 and finished 10-3. We lost the second game 3-8.
Life can be funny sometimes, and wouldn't you know it, we drew Harbor Beach in the baseball district semi-finals.
I never told anyone on the team about my "ulterior motives," but I so BADLY wanted to mercy HB in the districts, squeeze the coaches hand, and tell him "don't ever swear at me again!"
Long story short, I lost the coin flip, so we batted first. We scored 4 runs in the first inning like a little leaguer was on the mound. Steffin Bader gave up 2 in the bottom of the 1st to make it 4-2. But, we answered back with 3 more like we were batting off a Tee in the second inning. The next inning was side toss and next thing you know, we are winning 11-2 in the 6th inning. I even stole home on a passed ball to make it 12-2 (which came after a call that Dan Brown argued forever, making my runner return to 3rd base, only to score on the VERY NEXT PITCH after the argument..."The ball don't lie, DAN!")
Final score, 12-2. I now accept your apology.
"MAN'S GAME" DAN!
What comes around, goes around.
I knew since June 2008 what teams would be in the baseball district tournament with Cass City. Five teams...and one of them was Harbor Beach. I was also pretty sure,... yup, wait for it...THAT DAN BROWN WAS THE VARSITY BASEBALL COACH FOR HARBOR BEACH.
So, after this situation had happened, I started to come up with plans that were as evilish that I could make them...baseball-wise.
Knowing we would be playing against each other in the regular season, I contemplated running up the score as high as I could. However, knowing we could possibly face each other in the baseball districts (and we might not actually be good enough to run the score up even if we wanted to), why would I want to "even the score" in the regular season only for him to "punk" me in the baseball districts when it really mattered.
In the regular season, we were ahead 10-0 in game 1 and finished 10-3. We lost the second game 3-8.
Life can be funny sometimes, and wouldn't you know it, we drew Harbor Beach in the baseball district semi-finals.
I never told anyone on the team about my "ulterior motives," but I so BADLY wanted to mercy HB in the districts, squeeze the coaches hand, and tell him "don't ever swear at me again!"
Long story short, I lost the coin flip, so we batted first. We scored 4 runs in the first inning like a little leaguer was on the mound. Steffin Bader gave up 2 in the bottom of the 1st to make it 4-2. But, we answered back with 3 more like we were batting off a Tee in the second inning. The next inning was side toss and next thing you know, we are winning 11-2 in the 6th inning. I even stole home on a passed ball to make it 12-2 (which came after a call that Dan Brown argued forever, making my runner return to 3rd base, only to score on the VERY NEXT PITCH after the argument..."The ball don't lie, DAN!")
Final score, 12-2. I now accept your apology.
"MAN'S GAME" DAN!
What comes around, goes around.
What Comes Around...
I had alluded to this story and finally have time to get back to it. And I'm glad I postponed the story, because it really got good. Better than I was hoping for.
I was refereeing a FRESHMAN boys basketball game on Friday, February 20 at Marlette. I was scheduled to do a freshman/JV doubleheader. It's a pretty good gig. Less than 1 hour of total drive time, 2.5 hours of work, $110. The opposing team was Harbor Beach. Before the game, my partner had mentioned the HB coach was a pretty good basketball official himself and did a lot of Varsity games in the Saginaw area. (I believe that, however I don't know how long ago that was. It's pretty difficult to coach a freshman game and then have time to do anything else after the game, let alone drive to Saginaw in time to ref.)
Let's cut to the chase. HB has the ball at halfcourt after the timeout with :09 seconds remaining. Marlette is winning by 2. HB takes a shot and misses. A HB player gets the rebound at the low block, right in front of me. IN MY JUDGEMENT, he was fouled, but a non-shooting foul. I blew my whistle about a half second before the buzzer went off to end the game. I called "on the floor," meaning he was fouled, but not when shooting. Again, the key here is, in my judgement, when he was fouled, he was NOT attempting a shot. Normally, at the freshman level, this wouldn't be all that bad because the other team probably had committed too many fouls in the half, making this a one-in-one situation for HB. But, HB was not in the bonus situation, so the game just basically ends. The HB coach new Marlette did not have enough team fouls to put HB on the free throw line unless it was a shooting foul. So, he was extremely...
In my 13 years of officiating any sport at any level, to my best recollection, no one has ever swore at me (that I've been able to hear).
Coach: (On the basketball court, following me to the scores table to report the foul)
Not only was he "giving me the business," but so was the Varsity basketball coach:
Varsity Coach: (Sarcastically clapping) "Great call ref. Excellent call."
Oh, and my mom was at the game that night too. She was sitting behind the HB bench, about halfway up the bleachers. However, she never mentioned anything to me about the call. I'm not so sure she even knew this happened.
Like I mentioned before, this was a doubleheader. So, I had to go in the coaches office in the locker room after the game, try to completely forget about what just took place, and the come back out for a much faster, competitive tempo JV game...with more people in the stands.
The ironic thing is, really no one knew I had to work the JV game as well, but the one guy I don't remember ripping on me after the game was the HB JV coach. He must have known there was a good chance I'd be reffing the next game, so why get on my bad side (not that I didn't want to stick it to HB anyway). Side note, HB won the JV game.
That was one of the more mentally challenging nights of officiating I've ever had to deal with. Some of you were with me at the 12-year old State Championship baseball game that I umpired behind homeplate with 2000 people in attendance. That was easy compared to coming out of the locker room for the JV game that night.
Fast forward to boys basketball districts at Cass City, March 9. HB was one of the 5 basketball teams in the district. I had "girls/opponent locker room supervision" duty for the districts. When HB showed up, I immediately recognized all the HB coaches, including Dan Brown, the freshman coach. I didn't know if he would recognize me in regular clothes and glasses 3 weeks later, but I sure hoped he would so I put myself in positions where it would be easy for him to see me next to the wall.
I never knew what I would say had we met again. But I tried to burn a hole through his eyes anytime we made eye contact. I so badly wanted him to know it was me.
Later that night, as the HB team huddled near the locker room waiting to take the floor, Dan Brown approached me. Dan is bald, mid-40's, shorter than me, but looks like he can hold his own. He shook my hand and deeply appologized for what he had said. (He also couldn't help himself from commenting/correcting my positioning on the floor when I refereed.)
I politely "accepted" the apology...
I was refereeing a FRESHMAN boys basketball game on Friday, February 20 at Marlette. I was scheduled to do a freshman/JV doubleheader. It's a pretty good gig. Less than 1 hour of total drive time, 2.5 hours of work, $110. The opposing team was Harbor Beach. Before the game, my partner had mentioned the HB coach was a pretty good basketball official himself and did a lot of Varsity games in the Saginaw area. (I believe that, however I don't know how long ago that was. It's pretty difficult to coach a freshman game and then have time to do anything else after the game, let alone drive to Saginaw in time to ref.)
Let's cut to the chase. HB has the ball at halfcourt after the timeout with :09 seconds remaining. Marlette is winning by 2. HB takes a shot and misses. A HB player gets the rebound at the low block, right in front of me. IN MY JUDGEMENT, he was fouled, but a non-shooting foul. I blew my whistle about a half second before the buzzer went off to end the game. I called "on the floor," meaning he was fouled, but not when shooting. Again, the key here is, in my judgement, when he was fouled, he was NOT attempting a shot. Normally, at the freshman level, this wouldn't be all that bad because the other team probably had committed too many fouls in the half, making this a one-in-one situation for HB. But, HB was not in the bonus situation, so the game just basically ends. The HB coach new Marlette did not have enough team fouls to put HB on the free throw line unless it was a shooting foul. So, he was extremely...
In my 13 years of officiating any sport at any level, to my best recollection, no one has ever swore at me (that I've been able to hear).
Coach: (On the basketball court, following me to the scores table to report the foul)
That is horse bleep. No way! You can't end the game like that! Are you kidding me? That is horse bleep. No way are you going to end the game on that!
Not only was he "giving me the business," but so was the Varsity basketball coach:
Varsity Coach: (Sarcastically clapping) "Great call ref. Excellent call."
Oh, and my mom was at the game that night too. She was sitting behind the HB bench, about halfway up the bleachers. However, she never mentioned anything to me about the call. I'm not so sure she even knew this happened.
Like I mentioned before, this was a doubleheader. So, I had to go in the coaches office in the locker room after the game, try to completely forget about what just took place, and the come back out for a much faster, competitive tempo JV game...with more people in the stands.
The ironic thing is, really no one knew I had to work the JV game as well, but the one guy I don't remember ripping on me after the game was the HB JV coach. He must have known there was a good chance I'd be reffing the next game, so why get on my bad side (not that I didn't want to stick it to HB anyway). Side note, HB won the JV game.
That was one of the more mentally challenging nights of officiating I've ever had to deal with. Some of you were with me at the 12-year old State Championship baseball game that I umpired behind homeplate with 2000 people in attendance. That was easy compared to coming out of the locker room for the JV game that night.
Fast forward to boys basketball districts at Cass City, March 9. HB was one of the 5 basketball teams in the district. I had "girls/opponent locker room supervision" duty for the districts. When HB showed up, I immediately recognized all the HB coaches, including Dan Brown, the freshman coach. I didn't know if he would recognize me in regular clothes and glasses 3 weeks later, but I sure hoped he would so I put myself in positions where it would be easy for him to see me next to the wall.
I never knew what I would say had we met again. But I tried to burn a hole through his eyes anytime we made eye contact. I so badly wanted him to know it was me.
Later that night, as the HB team huddled near the locker room waiting to take the floor, Dan Brown approached me. Dan is bald, mid-40's, shorter than me, but looks like he can hold his own. He shook my hand and deeply appologized for what he had said. (He also couldn't help himself from commenting/correcting my positioning on the floor when I refereed.)
I politely "accepted" the apology...
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
"Expecting you to be able to count to three isn’t unreasonable."
Hilarious take yesterday from Romey on "The Volcanic Milton Bradley."
With Man-Ram on “maternity leave”, we need to venture off to “other parts of the galaxy”. And back on “Planet Milton”, things are getting nice. I’ve been loaded up on the NBA Finals the last few days and wanted to double-back to Cubs’ outfielder Milton Bradley’s “act” last Friday.
As I’m sure you already know, trailing by two runs in the 8th, Milton caught a Joe Mauer fly ball…styled it for a few moments…and then tossed it into the bleachers. Better to toss the ball to the fans, than to slam a water bottle at their feet. Progress! Nice touch, Milton.
Or it would have been had it not been just the second out of the inning with runners on the corners. “Uh-oh!!!”
Of course, as unforgivable an act as that is, Milton’s inevitable reaction to it is worse than the crime itself: “…that’s life. These people have high expectations. I have high expectations for myself. I never made a mistake like that in my life. Sue me.” See, Milton, this is why you’re not misunderstood! Why the world really isn’t out to get you! But you could see how it might be after hearing something like that.
Striking out with the bases loaded in the 9th…that’s life. Forgetting how many outs there are and throwing the ball into the stands is unforgivable! That can’t ever happen! And what do you mean “these people have high expectations”?! Expecting you to be able to count to three isn’t unreasonable. Mix in an umpire indicator, my man! If you’re going to go “bonehead” like that…you better “own it”, “promise it will never happen again” and “just keep moving”.
Bad things, Cubs fans! He’s hitting .220, getting booed, the team is struggling and he’s hooking fans up with two out souvenirs. “Head for the hills, North-siders”, because it’s only a matter of time before “Mt. Milton” erupts.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
This is amazing
According to our bulletin insert "Church Around the World: News of Significance to Christians" June edition:
"Korn Member Becomes a Christian"
Quoting word for word:
"Korn Member Becomes a Christian"
Quoting word for word:
Another member of the heavy metal band Korn has become a Christian and overcome drug addiction. Korn's bassist, Reginald Arvizu, says he was an addict and womanizer who quit drugs cold turkey when his father, a born-again Christian, told him his dying wish was for his son to find God. Arvizu says Jesus Christ and the Bible were his only rehab and that the change in his life is 'an amazing and powerful thing.' A former bandmate, Brian Welch, left Korn after becoming a Christian in 2005. Arvizu has written a book called 'Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery, and Korn.'
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Reunion Update
In case those I forwarded the email to missed it:
THE LOCATION HAS BEEN DETERMINED!!!!
We will meet at Charmont for dinner at 7:00pm. If you plan to attend dinner please let me know. I need to let Charmont know how many of us there will be. Also, they have a buffet that night for $8.99 or we can order from the menu. Please let me know 9by 6/26) which you intend to do so I can give them a heads up. You can either email me on Facebook or email or call my email address/phone number listed below.
After dinner we will head to the tavern for drinks. No need to RSVP if you are just planning on coming to the tavern. Just show up! We will be there!
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
The pen is mightier...
I don't know if I need a pen this tough, but I want one. A "tactical pen" sounds like the kind of thing I need to have. But maybe not at $80.
"Career Change"
Vince Young is talking about making a "career change" if the Titans want him to play behind Kerry Collins. I get that Young is frustrated, even though I can't blame the Titans for considering sticking with Collins since they went 13-3 and Vince had a few issues last year. My beef is all about language. I don't think he wants to make a "career change", more like a job change. What's he going to do, sell used cars in Austin?
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