January 2008 - Posts

Super Bowl...errr...NFL Championship Game Contest
23 January 08 04:16 PM | scoutmom | 10 comment(s)

 Since I don't want to break any rules, and since I don't have permission to call this a "Super Bowl Contest" from the NFL, I will have to refer to it this as the "Scoutmom's Sports From The Other Side Who Will Win The NFL Championship Game" Contest.

 

That's right!  You have a chance to win a personalized mousepad  (brought to you courtesy of aislin123!)  How do you play?  Well, I'm glad you asked, (wouldn't want to be rude and just TELL you if ya didn't want to know!)

 
All you have to do is guess the winner and the score of the Super...um...you know, the big football game on Sunday, February 3rd.  Just send me an email -- with your predictions in the subject -- no later than 12:00 NOON on Feb. 3rd.  If more than one person submits the same winners/score, the earliest electronic postmark will determine the winner.

In the meantime, why not share what you plan to do the day of the big game!

Good luck, and good guessing!
 

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Too Good Not To Share
16 January 08 04:19 PM | scoutmom | 5 comment(s)

You've seen the personalized M&Ms, right?  No, well, trust me, they're out there.  Now, there's something even better - personalized Dove chocolates!  Your message printed right inside the wrapper.  How can you go wrong, I mean, it's CHOCOLATE! 

 http://www.mydovechocolate.com/home/index.asp

 

 

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The World in Weird
16 January 08 08:37 AM | scoutmom | 4 comment(s)

Well, not all weird.  I did include some "stupid criminal" stories too.  If you have any you've seen that you'd like featured, PM me the info and if possible, a link to the source.

 

Romance Novelist Plagiarism Scandal

Apparently, Cassie Edwards, who writes those trashy romance novels, didn't know you're supposed to give credit to someone when you cut and paste their information and put it in your book.   Not only did she fail to give credit, the guy whose stuff she lifted is a nature writer for Newsweek, Paul Tolme.  Yep, she copied his work about the black-footed ferrets word-for-word and plunked it right into the middle of one of her books.  Duh!!

Better Watch What and WHERE You Eat

Take a truck full of fish processing waste with an open cover, temperatures in the teens and add fifty bald eagles and what do you get?  Birdsicles!  In Kodiak, Alaska, the eagles swarmed into the truck and began gorging themselves on the fish waste.  Mmmmm, tasty!   But they got so dirty, they couldn't fly or clean themselves. Some sank into the mess and were crushed, some froze to death.   To rescue the rest of them, the truck had to be dumped so wildlife officers could retrieve the eagles and treat them to a warm bath with dish soap to clean them up.  Ewwwwww!

Stupid Criminals

Boogity, boogity, boogity!

If you're going to rob a bank, it's probably not a good idea to have an easily identifiable Rusty Wallace NASCAR plate on the front of your car.  Two yahoos in Pennsylvania found that out the hard way, when someone familiar with their car gave a tip to the police.  Oh, and the drywall compound one of them used as a disguise?  Ummm, it was still all over their clothes and the inside of the car.

Watch your step!

Oh, and you might want to watch where you step, too.  Yep, drunk driver in North Carolina crashed his Camaro and fled the scene.  Of course, the yard where he crashed it belonged to a guy with four dogs who hadn't done his poop patrol.  You guessed it.  When Mr. I've Had A Few Too Many got out of his car, he stepped right in a big pile of doggy doo-doo.  Left a trail for the cops to follow, even.   He had someone drive him back to the scene.  When the officer asked him to step out of the vehicle, it was hard to tell which was worse - the smell of alcohol or the "evidence" on his shoes!

You've got to think things through!

When you steal something for ransom - you might want to include the details - like how to pay up.  Guy in Idaho Falls apparently overlooked that tiny little item after he stole video games, a CD player, camera equipment and other items from a woman's truck.  She found one of her videos in her mailbox when she discovered the theft and reported it, but didn't understand it until she sat down to watch the tape.  The video, which was of the recent birth of her child (no comment on that one) had been partially taped over.  By the thief going for the Jesse James look with a handkerchief over his face demanding $3,000 in ransom...and no other info.  "We're not dealing with brain surgeons here," police Lt. Joe Cawley said.

As Ron White says "You can't fix stupid"


 

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More of "Makes You Wanna Say Ugh!"
15 January 08 09:18 AM | scoutmom | 2 comment(s)

I have seen some true groaners in sports headlines this NFL Playoff season.  I'm sure you have seen far more, so please share.  Here are some of my "best of the worst":
 

PACKERS

Fast and Flurriuous
Seattle Snowed Under
ESPN.com

Packers Snowball Giants
AP Sports 

Atari game a new hit with Pack
South Mississippi Sun Herald talking about Packers player Atari Bigby

 

GIANTS

Cold Truth is Giants Will Win
NY Daily News

 

PATRIOTS

Pats' Road Takes Turn
Hartford Courant

 

Bolts Right Out of the Blue
Boston Herald

 

Tom Terrific
Boston.com

 

CHARGERS (although these barely qualify for inclusion!)

Volek Answers the Call in the Clutch
Chargers on to New England After Epic Win

North County Times

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hyperbole Rules in NFL Playoffs
12 January 08 12:42 PM | scoutmom | 3 comment(s)

It has gotten this bad.  Today's playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks is being touted as "The Battle With Seattle".  Puh-lease, give me a break!  It's a playoff game, sure, but sheesh! 

Can the Patriots remain unbeaten?  Can Tony Romo get his mind of Jessica and back in the game?  Can the Colts...oh, never mind!  Of the thousands of words being churned out by sports writers everywhere, how many are actually being read?   All the fans really care about is their team.  The clichés, the clever little titles, the witty repartee - totally extraneous at this point.  There is nothing new to be learned that we don't already know.  Heck, we even have the answer to "will Brett Favre return next year?"

Want another example?  How about this from ESPN.com:  "In the art of deception, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are true geniuses. Expect their magical ways to continue in this weekend's playoff games."  Or SI.com: "Romo's romance could cost Cowboys big vs. Giants."

Give it a rest, guys!  When I want info on the game, let it be "just the facts, ma'am".  Tell me the ranking of the offense and defense.  Give me some straightforward background info on what they've done this season.  And then...just....SHUT UP!!!!




 

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Figure Skating Champ "Bowman the Showman" Found Dead
11 January 08 11:42 AM | scoutmom | 1 comment(s)

Former US figure skating champion Christopher Bowman was found dead of a possible drug overdose at the age of 40.  Bowman, whose nickname came about because of his flair and style on the ice, was pronounced dead at 12:06 PM Friday in a motel in the North Hills section of Los Angeles.  An autopsy is planned for this weekend according to Coroner's Lt. Joe Bale, although additional details on the possible overdose were not available.

"He just passed away in his sleep," Bowman's mother Joyce, told the Detroit Free Press.  "His friend told me that he was fine.  He just went to bed and didn't wake up."

Bowman won the US men's figure skating titles in 1989 and 1992, and was runner-up in 1987 and 1991.   Internationally, he won a silver medal at the 1989 world championships and a bronze in 1990.  In the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics he was a member of the US team and finished seventh and fourth respectively.  He was a former child actor (Little House on the Prairie) and one of the best known skating personalities in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  He had recently begun acting again and has a role in the upcoming Down and Distance with Gary Busey and directed by Brian De Palma.

Brian Boitano, 1988 Olympic champion said of Bowman "If I had to pick the three most talented skaters of all time, I would pick Christopher as one."  He spoke of Bowman's "natural charisma, natural athleticism" saying "he could turn on a crowd in a matter of seconds and seemed so relaxed about it."

Through the years, however, Bowman had his share of problems, battling drugs and undergoing treatment at least twice.  In 1993 he was beaten in a hotel in a run-down neighborhood in Pittsburgh while traveling with the Ice Capades and in November 2004, he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors involving drinking and having a gun.

Bowman leaves behind a daughter.

 

What's Missing?
07 January 08 08:22 AM | scoutmom | 10 comment(s)

Hello?  Anybody home?  (scoutmom taps on the screen to get your attention).  I have an important question for you.

Please bear with me...and read through to the bottom.   

I was going to write about the NCAA BCS Championship Game between THE Ohio State and LSU.  I was going to write about the NFL playoffs Divisional match-ups.  I was going to write about Roger Clemens saying "never...never...never" on 60 Minutes last night when asked about HGH, testosterone and steroid usage.  I've been going to write about a lot of stuff lately, but every time I start, I ask myself "why"? 

Why take the time to give the facts, or an occasional pithy comment about sports?  Okay, so they're not THAT pithy but sometimes they are, right?  Right?  Hello?  Someone?  Anyone?  Bueller??  Dang!

Granted what I write isn't going to win me any recognition or awards.  That's not why I do it.  I started doing this because it was fun and because people seemed to like to comment on what I was writing when I did it over in the forums.  I wanted to do something that would provoke some thought, start a dialogue or maybe bring a smile to your face.   

But when nobody reads it, why do it?  It's kind of like "If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear, does it make a sound?" or "If a husband says something and his wife isn't around to hear, is he still wrong?" Sorry, couldn't resist!

I guess what I'm asking is this:  Is there something you would like to see more (or less) of?  Box scores without the commentary?  Commentary without the box scores?  BLT, hold the mayo? 

Argh, mateys, this be yer chance to let me know what I need to be writin' about! !