September 2007 - Posts

Cubs Win NL Central, Mets Fall Out Of First Place
28 September 07 10:09 PM | scoutmom | 1 comment(s)

 Just a quick post here.  Zambrano did it, pitched a great game, Cubs beat the Reds.  San Diego helped itself out in the race by beating the Brewers - and in doing so, helped the Cubs win the NL Central.

And along the way today, the Phillies took over first place from the Mets.  No love lost here for the Mets, as any true Cubs fan knows. 

So, how's your team doing?
 

Filed under: MLB

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Sports
27 September 07 07:24 AM | scoutmom | 2 comment(s)

First you have to wade through the "bad" and the "ugly", but hang with it.  The good at the end makes it all worthwhile.

1.      Michael Vick is an idiot. 

2.      Barry Bonds steroid use (oh, sorry, "alleged" steroid use) has turned him into the "Biggest Loser".

3.      The New York Mets are pulling a '69 Cubs.  Go Phillies!

4.      Somebody has finally knocked some sense into Lovie Smith.  (However Rex STILL doesn't get it.)

5.      Did I already say "Michael Vick is an idiot?  Well he's twice the idiot now with the whole marijuana thing.

6.      It is not possible for there to be a worse division than the NL Central - the first place team loses and still has their magic number drop (Go Cubs) and the second place team loses, then claims "We're in a situation where we no longer control our own destiny."  Huh?

7.      Major League umpire Mike Winters is a total putz!

8.      Milton Bradley (the player, not the board game manufacturer) has learned an important lesson anger management - manage the anger, save the knee!9.      Notre Dame is 0-4 for the first time EVER.  That's just sad.

9.      Notre Dame is 0-4 for the first time EVER.  That's just sad.

10. I remain a curse to the drivers I have selected for my NASCAR Fantasy League.  In the words of Larry the Cable Guy "Lord, I do apologize!"

Despite all this goofiness and idiocy in sports, there are still some good things out there.  One of our local schools, St. Joseph High School, has forfeited the remainder of their football season.  The reason?:  Too many injuries and not enough players to continue safely.  And those players remaining on the varsity team are mainly sophomores.  It's an incredible blow, but at the same time it's good to see someone do something for the right reason - the kids. "We cannot in good conscience put these kids back out there," St. Joseph athletic director Steve Nelson said. "To put them back in the same scenario as when they were getting hurt - we're not going to do it. These kids are our concern first and foremost."Good call, Steve.

Now that's the good side of sports, don't you agree?
 

  

Filed under: NFL, MLB, NASCAR, Sports Roundup, Sports Related, NCAA Sports

As The Engine Revs - Part XXVIII
25 September 07 09:05 AM | scoutmom | 5 comment(s)

In our continuing saga of that thing called "NASCAR"...

Carl Edwards, hoping to be the first driver to win both the Cup and the Busch series, hits a bit of a roadblock along the way.  Although he won the crash filled race at Dover, his car failed the post race inspection.  He still gets to keep his victory, but it's almost a certainty that he will be penalized in some way.

 "The car was found to be too low in the right-rear," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said. "The height exceeded NASCAR's tolerances.

"This is not considered a Car of Tomorrow-type penalty. There's no evidence of manipulation of the integrity of the structure of the car. It's a heights-inspection infraction."

Of course, Edwards is keeping his fingers crossed that it will be discovered that it was some post-race bumping by his teammate Greg Biffle - who finished 2nd - was the cause of the problem.   "The worse case would be 25 points, the right-rear being low -- any engineer or crew chief in the garage will tell you that's the last thing you want," Edwards said. "You want the right-rear to be high.

"The only thing I can think of is at the end of the race, Greg came up and gave me a couple of love taps to say 'good job, good race' and hopefully they find that that bent the tail of the car down a little bit. There are some braces bent under the decklid so hopefully that's what it is."

It cost Kyle Busch 25 and Johnny Sauter 25 points each, and their crew chiefs $25,000 earlier this year when it happened at New Hampshire.  While 25 points may not seem like much, at this point it is critical.  That would drop Edwards in the Nextel Cup standings from fourth to sixth.  Ouch!

Just another note on Dover - only 6 cars finished on the lead lap.  In fact, if there had been one more wreck it was speculated that NOBODY would have been left on the lead lap!  (Wait, I don't think that's possible...)

Race for the Chase Standings as of Dover

                                                 
RANK     DRIVER          POINTS     BEHIND
1            Jeff Gordon          5340      Leader   
2            Tony Stewart       5338         -2   
3            Carl Edwards       5337         -3   
4            Jimmie Johnson   5336         -4   
5            Kyle Busch          5330       -10   
6            Clint Bowyer        5322        -18   
7            Martin Truex Jr.    5294        -46   
8            Jeff Burton           5265        -75   
9            Kevin Harvick       5225       -115   
10          Matt Kenseth       5224       -116   
11          Kurt Busch          5189        -151   
12          Denny Hamlin      5182        -158
    

Filed under: NASCAR

Aye, Mateys, it be Talk Like A Pirate Day 2007
19 September 07 06:00 AM | scoutmom | 5 comment(s)

 

 

Arrrr, ye scurvy dogs!  This be yer chance to talk like a pirate and not have them bilge rats ye call "co-workers" make fun of ye fer once!

So, grab yerself a rum, sharpen up yer hook, slap on a fresh eye patch, and let 'er rip!  Give me yer best "pirate speak"

 

(For those of you who be piratically challenged, here be the link to some official pirate translators:  http://talklikeapirate.com/translator.html)

 
And if ye be a low-down land lubber - that be okay, too, so long as ye be talkin' like a pirate today!!!
 

Filed under: All Things Pirate

Help Search for Fossett from Your Computer
18 September 07 06:39 PM | scoutmom | with no comments

You can join the search for NESA President Steve Fossett by using your computer to study recent satellite images of the area where the adventurer disappeared September 3.

To sign up to help, visit www.mturk.com and follow the instructions and text link near the top of the page. The site requests volunteers age 18 or older. After registering, the Web site will assign you an image of a 278-foot-square section of the 6,000 square miles being searched in Nevada.

After studying the image, you simply click “yes” or “no” as to whether there is any sign of Fossett’s airplane that might warrant further investigation in that section. Anything larger than two or three feet will appear in the image, and instructions and examples help you better determine what you are viewing.  

The flagged images are passed to the search team coordinating the flights over the area.

Filed under: Off Topic

Are You Ready For Some Football...Drama?
18 September 07 08:27 AM | scoutmom | with no comments

I used to think that the most drama occurred around NASCAR, as evidenced by the ongong "As The Engine Revs", but right now, NASCAR has nothing on the NFL.  Take a look at these stories, and let me know if I've missed something:

Tank Johnson a Dallas Cowboy?

On Monday, former Chicago Bear Tank Johnson (he of the dubious night club shooting/illegal weapons fame) said that once his eight-game NFL suspension is up, he expects to play for the Dallas Cowboys.  The Cowboys brought him to Dallas and have him staying in the hotel players use before home games.  I'm here to work some things out. I'm looking here for a fresh start," Johnson said.  Geez, guys, good luck with that!  Last time you picked up one of our rejects it was Allonso Spellman!  Hope this one works out better for you!  They haven't officially signed him yet.  Any team could sign him during the suspension, but he can't work out or have contact with a team until it is over.

Of course, it seems as if the Cowboys might be just a wee bit concerned about Tank's off-field activities.  According to ESPN.com, a high-ranking team source said the team's coaching staff and owner Jerry Jones have had lengthy discussions about the Tankster's off-field problems and his playing ability.  After all, this guy only became a starter after Tom Harris got hurt, so...

Wild Time in Ohio

What was with that Cleveland Browns - Cincinnati Bengals game?  Holy cow!  51-45 and the BROWNS win it?  This is a team people are saying won't even make it to .500 this year.  Of course, giving up 45 points in a game in any other situation would almost certainly guarantee a loss, but not this time.  I expected Carson Palmer to have some problems without Chris Henry, but he's had eight touchdown passes in his first two games.  Unfortunately, his defense probably couldn't have stopped a local high school game last Sunday.  They made Derek Anderson look like every fantasy-leaguer's dream QB.  Sorry guys, this was a once in a lifetime deal, I'm afraid.


Da Coach Speaks to Congress

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, players' union leader Gene Upshaw and Hall of Fame members Mike Ditka and Gale Sayers are appearing in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to provide their views about what some say is shoddy treatment for former players who suffer from various debilitating injuries they received while playing.  Needless to say, there are differing views about the claim that owners are failing to provide properly for the guys who made football what it is.

At a hearing in June before a House subcommittee, former Vikings player Brent Boyd, who suffered a series of concussions, compared the NFL to the tobacco industry, saying, "They lie about the NFL and concussions the same way the tobacco companies lied about tobacco and cancer."  Former players claim there is fraud and corruption.  The team owners say not true, that many former players are now collecting more on disability and pensions than they received in salary compensation when they were active players.  Just hope Iron Mike doesn't throw his wad of gum at a senator!

OJ

Oh, never mind.

Filed under: NFL, Sports Roundup, Sports Related

Is It "Wait Till Next Year" Time Yet?
12 September 07 07:54 AM | scoutmom | with no comments

 It's the top of the 11th inning, your team is in the home stretch of the pennant race, the bases are loaded.  What do you do now?  Well, if you're the Chicago Cubs, you BLOW it!  Yes folks, once again the Cubs are in the midst of their September Swoon.  They not only blew that scoring opportunity, they left a total of 15 runners on base in the 5-4 loss to the Houston Astros.

"We had some opportunities and didn't get it done," Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee said. "That's a tough one to swallow."  Oh, ya think?!

Come on, people!!  I mean, it's not like the Cubs, who have now slipped a game back of the Milwaukee Brewers (again) were playing a real team.  No offense, folks, but there ain't a real team in the National League Central these days.  They are all quite pitiful as usual.  The win last night snapped a five-game losing streak for the Astros, and was just their fifth win in the last 13 games.  I mean, a lot of good Cecil Cooper has done for the Astros since taking over for Phil Garner.

"We continue to play hard, that's all you can ask," Cooper said.  

No, Cecil, it's not.  I think the fans of every one of these teams could ask that for a change, their teams played consistent fundamental baseball.  And that's the big thing here.  There is no consistency at all in the NL Central, other than the fact that you can count on them every single year to underwhelm the opposition and their fans.  I can't even bring myself to use the term "struggling" to describe any one of them because that would imply they are at least trying.

The truly maddening part of all of this is we're so close.  Only a game out of first.  We can still make it, right?  This could be our year.  Sure.  Why not?  It could happen.  Yeah.  All we have to do is...sigh...

Filed under: MLB

Makes You Wonder...
06 September 07 03:42 PM | scoutmom | 4 comment(s)

 - What is the speed of dark?

- When you're sending someone Styrofoam, what do you pack it in?

- Why are there Braille signs on drive-up ATM's?

- If women wear a pair of pants, a pair of glasses, and a pair of
earrings, why don't they wear a pair of bras?

- How come you never hear about gruntled employees?

- What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free?

- After eating, do amphibians have to wait one hour before getting out of the water?

- If white wine goes with fish, do white grapes go with sushi?

- What's another word for synonym?

- If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is
it considered a hostage situation?

- When sign makers go on strike, what is written on their picket signs?

- Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all"?

- Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

- Why are builders afraid to have a 13th floor and planes
don't have a row 13, but book publishers aren't afraid to have a Chapter 11?

- How can there be self-help groups?

- Why do you need a driver's license to buy liquor when you can't drink and drive?

- Why are cigarettes sold in gas stations when smoking is prohibited there?

- If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?

- Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

- Why is it that when you transport something by car, its called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, its called cargo?

- Why do we play in recitals and recite in plays?

- Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?

- Where are Preparations A through G?

- Are there seeing eye humans for blind dogs?

- If knees were backwards, what would chairs look like?

- When you open a new bag of cotton balls, are you supposed to throw the top one away?

- When your pet bird sees you reading the newspaper, does he wonder why you're just sitting there, staring at carpeting?

- What happened to the first 6 "ups"?

- If an orange is orange, why isn't a lime called a green or a lemon called a yellow?

- Why does your nose run, and your feet smell?

- If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

- How much deeper would the ocean be if sponges didn't live there?

- When a man talks dirty to a woman, it's sexual harassment. When a woman talks dirty to a man, it's $9.95 per minute.

Filed under: Off Topic

Official TLAPD Kick-Off
04 September 07 03:53 PM | scoutmom | 3 comment(s)

 

 

Avast!! I've heard from Ol' Chumbucket, and we arrrrrrrrrr to be included in the Talk Like a Pirate Day Calendarrrrrrr!

This be yer chance, mateys!  Now is the time for all of ye to spout yer best pirate-speak!  Show the world that the folks at Steeple Media be more than just a pack o' scurvy dogs! 

For those of you that be needin' some assistance in this matter, you can find a few terms to add into your conversations to make them sound a bit more piratical:  http://www.talklikeapirate.com/howto.html

Here be the address of the "pirate translator":  http://www.talklikeapirate.com/translator.html  or here:  http://www.syddware.com/cgi-bin/pirate.pl  or even here:  http://www.talklikeapirate.com/translatorold.html  

No excuses, mind you.  Speaking like a pirate is not an optional activity.  We have only 15 days left before this international even arrives!!
 

 

 

Filed under: Off Topic, All Things Pirate

Appalachian State is a Force to be Reckoned With
03 September 07 07:53 PM | scoutmom | with no comments

(Before I am attacked by the grammar police, I know the correct way to say it.  "A force with which to be reckoned".  It sounds better this way, so sue me.)

For all the talk about stunning upsets and references to Michigan choking "on a cupcake", Appalachian State is a little bit more than a team from nowhere.  No, Appalachian State is a two-time defending 1-AA national championship team.  They are on top of the world in the second tier of Division I and plan on staying there.

"Why not enjoy where we are?" Chancellor Kenneth Peacock said Sunday, a day after his school became the first 1-AA team to beat a ranked 1-A team.  "At some point it may be the right thing for Appalachian State."  Just not right now.  Even if they wanted to join 1-A, they couldn't do it now.  Western Kentucky is making the move this year to "major" college football, and they will be he last team until at least 2011.  

Athletic director Charlie Cobb see no reason to rush into giving up where they are right now, regularly leading the division and playing in front of sellout crowds at home.  "If we're going to do something we're going to do it the right way.  If you can't do it successfully, you can set yourself back years."  

Right now, the Mountaineers are focused on becoming the first team to win three straight national titles in what has been referred to the Football Championship Subdivision.  They seem to be well on their way.

Filed under: NCAA Sports