A Carhartt?

Did anyone else know they did this on Opening Day at Comerica Park?

Thanks

I appreciate the Tigers extending their Opening Day game so I could catch the end, but I'd really prefer a win in 9 innings that I miss to a loss in 11 that I get to watch. Thanks for the effort though.

How big would this be?

According to this story, the U.S. could be sitting on a massive reserve of oil. By massive, I mean in the neighborhood of what's under Saudi Arabia. That's enough oil to make the Middle East almost irrelevant in the near future. Wonder what that would look like? (Hat tip: Michael Ledeen, The Corner)

Forty Minutes

So, is anyone giving MSU a shot against Memphis? Well, besides Bob Wojnowski? This is the kind of game MSU lives for. That doesn't guarantee a win, but it suggest it could be quite a game. Just don't call it an upset. Also, is anyone really rooting for Memphis? Calipari and his team have been bugging me since mid-February, and I barely followed college basketball. Am I alone here?

Viral Marketing...

...can be silly but I like this bit for the upcoming Batman movie The Dark Knight:

More here.

Funny Stuff

A Chinese government official is unhappy with the U.S. State Department about a warning that visitors to the Olympics may be monitored and have "no reasonable expectation of privacy in public or private locations." This shouldn't be surprising, given that you're talking about a totalitarian Communist regime, which aren't historically all that big on privacy rights (check out the film The Lives of Others).

Also interesting, the writer can't help but prove his liberal credentials by noting the "irony" that the U.S. government is warning about the spying tendencies of a totalitarian regime while supporting (gasp!) warrantless wiretapping of terror suspects. Because, obviously they're the same thing. Cough! Cough! Sorry, the choking stench of moral equivalence got to me for a bit there.

Not Working

I found this passage from this article in the Free Press about American Axle amusing:

"...and find a way to stop paying people for not working."

Gosh, there's a concept. Is it any wonder the Big Three, and their suppliers, are in such dire straights?

What's wrong with this?

I was reading about the Lakers game tonight and the name Vlade Divac was referenced. I thought, wow, haven't heard that name in about a decade. So, I decided to click on the profile link. Here is what came up:

Vlade Divac #12 C
Birth Date February 3, 1968
Birth Place Prijepolje, Yugoslavia
Height 7-1
Weight 260 lbs.
Age 38
Pronounced VLAH-day DEE-votz
Position C


Is my math wrong or theirs?

New/Old school

I think on the new style the home jersey's say "Pistons" and the away say "Detroit." It appears the old home/away just said "Pistons." Baseball does the same thing. Away jersey says the town and the home jerseys say the nickname or just the logo.

What's Going On?

I don't get Michigan talk radio here, so can anyone fill me in on what's going on with UM? A football player transferring isn't that unusual, but the statement from lineman Justin Boren isn't your typical playing time related gripe. So what's Rodriguez doing that's upsetting people? Saying the winged helmet now brings out a completely different emotion than pride is kind of a big deal

?

According to Netflix, since I liked Monty Python's Flying Circus and Mean Machine, I might also be interested in Sense and Sensibility. Huh?

Sports Logos

A few weeks ago I was thinking about the Pistons and their team logo from the 80's. Then I remembered that ridiculous marketing stunt they tried in the mid-90's and how Joey D got them back to the original once he started running the show. I like Joey's attitude: The Piston logo is just as untouchable as the Detroit Tiger "D." You just don't mess with it.

Then it dawned on me: What sports logos are "untouchable?" What logos, no matter how bad the team, would you never tweak. A few came to mind:

1. Chicago Bulls
2. Boston Celtics
3. LA Lakers
4. Detroit Tigers
5. Boston Red Sox
6. New York Yankees
7. Detroit Red Wings

Professional Sports Food Per Diem

A few weeks ago I was listening to "The Herd" on ESPN radio on my way to SVSU. The topic of conversation was that the host was going to be traveling over the next few days and ESPN was only going to be paying $48 per day for food. Since he was going to be in Houston, NY, and some other expensive city, his complaint was "how in the world will I be able to eat three meals off of $48 in cities like NY?" That led to his discussion on what NBA and MLB guys get per diem.

MLB gets $84 and the NBA gets $107 per diem for food. Wow. That is unbelievable and I now hate professional athletes even more. Do pro athletes really need to be eating at expensive restaurants for EVERY meal? You would think that $9 million a year contract you have would be able to cover your eating expenses. Let me get this straight: When I see a guy sign a fat contract of $50 million over 5 years, that doesn't include the money he will be paid for food? Ludicrous. I hate you.

Come to think of it, I remember one of the "Big 4" recently restructoring some issues in the players union and it seemed like they were bargining for $3/day for food.

I've actually tried to figure out how much it cost me on a normal day to eat:
Breakfast: 1 bowl of cereal (milk and cereal) ~ $1.25
Lunch: 1 turkey sandwich (2 slices of bread, little mayonnaise, turkey) ~ $1.50
Dinner: Probably on average < $3.00

Grand total: $5.75. Just to be safe, a flat $6.00 for 3 meals/day.

The Lopez...brothers?

For those of you who don't follow Stanford basketball (what's wrong with you), you may not know of these basketball players on the team part of the Sweet 16: Brook and Robin Lopez. They are twin brothers. Yes, brothers.

This quote is from Bill Simmons' blog on ESPN's Page 2:

Now, the reason that we're inherently prejudiced against the Lopez twins is simple: They're charter members of the Lindsay Hunter All-Stars for "Athletes with names that make them sound like hot girls." In other words, because their names make them sound like two smoking-hot juniors at an all-girls prep school, it's impossible to take them seriously as NBA prospects. If their names were Dwight Lopez and Isaac Lopez, you'd feel much better about them in the first round.

Their parents seriously need to be hit in the head with a spade shovel. Brook? Robin? Something tells me they really wanted girls.

WNIT?

Okay, so I just got this email from U of M about the women's basketball team advancing to the 3rd round of the WNIT. Are you serious? At Crisler? Give me 20 tickets right now. This is my dream come true.

What is wrong in our world? WNIT? Does anyone care about the men's NIT? If no one cares about the NIT, who is watching the WNIT? This has got to stop. Are we getting a little tournament happy? Even the coaches don't want to watch this game.

Ticketmaster

Not to keep bring up this sore subject. Have we gotten anywhere on a baseball trip? New York the destination? Mid or late august would be the best for me. Have we checked other ticket options - perhaps Stubhub. Lets get this thing wrapped up.

He Reigns

Star Trek

If you like Star Trek, at least in its '60s incarnation, I've got great news: you can now watch every episode of the original series online here. If Trek isn't your thing, there's also The Twilight Zone and MacGyver.

Serious Threats

Montana is serious about the 2nd amendment. How serious? Well, they've threatened to secede from the union if the Supreme Court rules that the right to bear arms is not an individual right.

See Ya Later

It's not good for my bracket, but seeing Duke knocked out of the tourney just puts a smile on my face.