Dodgeball rage
Jeff, this is exactly why we shouldn't play dodgeball anymore.
Friday, March 31, 2006
First baseball game of year
So, it might not be the real opening day, but Dan, Jeff, and I went to the "Battle of the Beltway" exhibition game this evening to see the Orioles take on the Nationals. The Orioles won, 9-5. (And, for Dan, the official attendance was 18,442.)
Despite the weak attempt at creating a rivalry, honestly I didn't really anything of the sort. I mean, the teams play in different divisions, so they really don't play each other that often. Besides, there's no history, unlike, say, that between the Yankees and the Red Sox or the Cubs and the Cardinals. Most importantly, as Boswell pointed out today, the teams really should just unite against their common enemy.
And anyway, the real story tonight was how well Kris Benson pitched just one day after his wife filed for divorce.
Final NIT Challenge Update
Last night, South Carolina beat Michigan 76-64, to win the NIT for the second year in a row. So, as promised, here are our final overall bracketmaster standings:
#16 -- Dara
#18 -- Justin
#19 -- Jason
#45 -- Dan
#58 -- Jeff
#59 -- Andy
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Recognition for PH4H
PH4H is listed as a "Sports and Training" blog on DCBlogs.
The blah blah blog is also listed with the general blogs.
More baseball predictions
Not mine, though. While Justin may have posted his own baseball predictions, for the time being, I'm posting King Kaufman's.
American League:
Western Division champions: Oakland A's
Central Division champions: Chicago White Sox
Eastern Division champions: Toronto Blue Jays
Wild card: Los Angeles Angels
American League champions: Oakland A's.
National League:
Western Division champions: Los Angeles Dodgers
Central Division champions: St. Louis Cardinals
Eastern Division champions: New York Mets
Wild card: Atlanta Braves
National League champions: Atlanta Braves
World Series: Atlanta Braves over Oakland A's
I think these picks are notable because, like me, Kaufman picks the Blue Jays to win the American League East, and in the same division, has the Orioles finishing last, or more importantly, behind the Devil Rays. So I'm not entirely crazy.
Blog slogan
My baseball predictions
I just thought you should know my 2006 baseball predictions are up on my blog. You'll need this so you can ridicule me later in the year. I encourage others to post their predictions as well.
Web 2.0
Here's a Slate article that responds to the Newsweek article Steve mentioned yesterday. The last line kind of sums it up for me:
There's an easy way to describe today's online culture of participation without invoking Web 2.0 at all. Just call it the Internet. That way, everyone will know what you mean.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Fifth NIT Challenge Update
Since there were only a couple points remaining as of the fourth update, not much to report. Congratulations to Jason, who wins our contest with 24 points. I took second with 23, Dan placed third with 20, and Justin and Jeff tied for last with 19.
According to bracketmaster, I'm in 10th place overall, Justin's in 13th, and Jason's in 15th. (Dan, Jeff, and Andy trail behind at #45, #58, and #59, respectively.) Contrary to my prior indications, I will post one last time after the South Carolina-Michigan game, so that we can see where we end up in their contest.
I think this should become an annual tradition. Who's with me?
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
PH4H Blog First Post
PH4H Blog
This is very exciting, the first post and all. Hmmm...I should post something non-sports. OK, i read an article in Newsweek today that was really interesting. It refered to Myspace.com, Flickr, Facebook, etc as the Web 2.0. Evidently, Silicon Valley is ready for the second stream of big investments in the Internet. This article says that the Internet is becoming a community and a place where we "live." These new websites facilitate the linkages of all sorts of things in our lives from social networks to the trading of movies. Then the author gets into this metaphor of the Internet as a living breathing organism with connective tissue and everything. I thought the metaphor was a little faulty. Do you agree or disagree? Tell me why. (See this is what I do, I teach and try to provoke a discussion. Except at my high school it can be harder to do this when the little kiddies have not read the book that we are talking about. But I digress and it is my day off tomorrow so I will not talk about work.) Here's the link...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12015774/site/newsweek/
So has anyone tried facebook or flickr? I have not checked those out yet. But the article does mention some stuff I've checked out (youtube.com, myspace, etc)
NFL makes game less interesting
The NFL wants to get rid of one of the best things in football, the end zone celebration -- by regulating it to death. If the proposal is adopted, "The ball still could be spiked, spun on the ground or slam-dunked over the goal post, but nothing else." How boring.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Go Gators!
I know, I'm violating my own recommendation that we start blogging about non-sports related items. But . . . .
According to this ESPN article, the Florida Gators have become the team to beat. At least I was right about one team, since I'm still in last place in the PH4H pick-'em standings. But, if the Gators win, I will advance to third overall.
The only other person who can get any points is Inbal, and she's already in first. But she didn't even pick her alma mater to win -- instead she had Florida losing to UConn in the Final Four. And, despite picking Duke, Caroline gets second place no matter what.
C'mon already!
Doesn't anyone have anything to say about something other than sports? We haven't had a non-sports post in a week.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Fourth NIT Challenge Update
Again, not a lot has changed since the last update. Jason's still in first place with 23 points, I'm in second with 22, and Dan has snuck into third with 20. Jeff and Justin are behind, with 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Since all of the champions are gone, the only issue is possible points remaining. Jason will get one more point if South Carolina beats Louisville. Justin and I will get one more point if Michigan beats Old Dominion. Alas, neither Dan or Jeff can earn any additional points.
Per bracketmaster, I'm in 12th place overall. Justin's closest, at #19. Jason's just two spots behind at #21. Dan, Jeff, and Andy are way out of the running at #42, #57, and #58, respectively.
The next -- and, since none of us will get any points for the finals, the last -- update will be after the semi-final round on Tuesday.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Ponson
It's official. Ponson has pitched well enough this spring to earn a spot in the Cardinals rotation.
Kornheiser nails it
Kornheiser points out it was also Bowden's decision not to get an MRI on Brian Lawrence before signing him. Ladies an gentleman of DC, I believe we have the worst GM in baseball.
Third NIT Challenge Update
Not a lot has changed since the second update. Despite having the fewest correct picks in this round, Jason's still in first place with 21 points, I'm in second with 20, Jeff and Dan are tied with 19 each, and Justin has 16 points. The biggest difference is possible points remaining, since none of our champions are still alive. If everything goes his way, Jason can still earn a maximum of 4 points. Dan, Justin and I can still earn 3, but Jeff can only earn 1 more point.
Because the bracketmaster website has increased point values for each round, their rankings are different. I have the highest ranking in our group, at #20. Because Justin did better in the last two rounds than in the first, he's jumped ahead of Jason, and they're now at #26 and #27, respectively. Dan did extraordinarily well in this round, with 6 correct picks, so he is now ranked #29. Jeff, unfortunately, has fallen back to #38, and Andy is at #61.
The next update will be after the Quarterfinal round ends on Friday.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Nats v. Soriano, as seen by King Kaufman
Kaufman hit the nail on the head. "Chipper Jones is better than you and Jose Vidro's better than Vinnie Castilla. Now get out there."
Although, I seriously disagree with his potshot at Boswell's article.
PH4H Pick'em Update
We've been seeing Justin complain about how badly his picks have done -- and how crappy the Big East played -- and his comments have not just been limited to this blog. Still, there hasn't been any status report on the 1st annual PH4H Pick-'em Challenge . . . until now!
So here are the standings . . .
Caroline is currently in first place, with 180 points, 34 correct picks, and a total possible score of 233. Inbal is right behind that, with 178, 35, and 287, respectively. Justin's currently in third place with 147, 30, and 186.
Despite being in 5th place, Andy has somehow managed to have the fewest correct picks -- 23. But most importantly, the individual with the lowest score is, of course, is me -- with a score of 120 and only 28 correct picks. My total possible score is 219, so I'm not totally out of it yet.
Watch this space next week for the second update. And, go Gators!
As expected
Despite being scheduled to start in left field yesterday, Soriano refused to play there.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Soriano Showdown
Today's Post ran a good article on the Soriano situation. Who knows what will wind up happening, but apparently, he's penciled in to play in left field tonight.
A Catastrophe Waiting to Happen
According to The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore City's Transportation Department sent out the following message the other morning:
"Greenmount Avenue is temporarily closed due to a pending watermain break."
Gotta love tax dollars at work.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Even more tournament goodness
Today's Post asked you to pick the gossip final four.
My picks are Brangelina, Scooter Libby, Jessica Cutler, and the Abramoff scandal. I think that, with all the recent wedding rumors, Brangelina will squeak by Libby, and Abramoff will wipe the floor with Cutler -- since Washingtonienne was so last year. I think I'll have to go with Brangelina for the win, since the fuss over Abramoff seems to be quieting down of late.
What do you think?
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Second NIT Challenge Update
Today, in the concluding game of the first round of the NIT, Maryland was upset by Manhattan. Other winners were Old Dominion, St. Joseph's, Hofstra, Michigan, Notre Dame, Creighton, Miami (FL), Louisville, Clemson, Missouri State, Houston, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Florida State, and South Carolina.
I won this round with 12 correct picks. Jason and Jeff each had 11, Justin had 10, and Dan had 8. (Andy's picks are still unknown.)
Jason is still winning the whole enchilada with 18 points. I have 16, Jeff has 15, Dan has 13, and Justin has 12. On the bracketmaster website, Jason and I are ranked #11 and #16, respectively.
As for the overall winner, Justin and Jeff picked Virginia to win, Andy apparently picked Maryland, and Dan picked Oklahoma State. Since these three teams have already lost, it's going to be hard for them to make up ground. Jason picked Notre Dame to win, and I (predictably) picked Florida State, so we still have a chance.
The next update will be sometime after the second round ends on Tuesday, but hopefully before the quarterfinals start on Wednesday. And, if you missed the first update, it's here.
Friday, March 17, 2006
My St. Patricks Day Idea
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, all traffic lights should be green for the entire day.
Stick a fork in me
Iowa lost and I had them in my finals. And man oh man did Wisconsin look bad. I had them in the Sweet 16.
The Big Ten has looked like crap in general... Ohio State had trouble with Davidson and Indiana almost lost to San Diego State. Even Air Force gave Illinois trouble for a while.
How about that Big East?
People were calling this conference the best conference ever a couple days ago? Now they're 0-3 after 5-seed Syracuse loses to 12-seed Texas A&M (happy, Jason?), 7-seed Marquette loses to 10-seed Alabama, and 10-seed Seton Hall gets CRUSHED by 7-seed Wichita State, of the Missouri Valley Conference, in the most lopsided game of the day not involving a 3 seed or higher.
The way the rest of their conference is playing, Cincinnati better stop whining about being left out.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Aggie Love
Very disappointed in all of you (unless I just missed it on here somehow). No love for my Aggies. First time since 1987 we make the tournament. First time since 1980 we got in without running the table in the Conference tourney. Here's to a 12-5 upset tonite!!!
More tournament goodness?
Better late than never. Vote in the semifinals of the tournament of Presidents.
Take the Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test
Apparently, the results of this test are causing Justin and Debby some sort of distress.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Mascot bracket
I have now created an NCAA bracket to determine who would win if the competition was really a fight to the death between each school's mascots. Feel free to create your own brackets and enter them into the ESPN pool if you want to compare our choices. I won't give away all of my choices, but I have determined that the Northwestern State Demons would win it all. Supernatural kind of wins out, and they had a tough battle along the way against the Duke Blue Devils. Other observations: There are way too many Panthers and Wildcats, and I didn't have a very good method for determining who would win between the UCLA Bruins and the Belmont Bruins. Weakest entry: Syracuse Orange. Close second weakest: Ohio State Buckeyes.
Stadium Video
Here's the video of the architects' plan for the new stadium, which, Boswell warns, may be nothing like how the stadium actually turns out.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
First NIT Challenge Update
In the opening round of the NIT, Manhattan beat FDU, Rutgers beat Penn State, UTEP beat Lipscomb, Delaware State beat Northern Arizona, Stanford beat Virginia, Charlotte beat Georgia Southern, and Butler beat Miami of Ohio. Oh yeah, Akron beat Temple -- but none of us picked Akron.
Accordingly, Jason is currently leading the PH4H NIT pick-em challenge with 7 points. Dan has 5, Dara and Jeff are tied with 4, and Justin has 2. (There is currently a technical problem with Andy's bracket.)
Stay tuned to this space for the next report, which will be sometime after the first round concludes on Saturday.
Stadium Plan
The new stadium plan is now online. It's not a bad design, but it is kind of an unusual hybrid of an old-school stadium and a modern stadium. The Capitol will be visible from the higher seats but not the lower seats. Lots of glass on the exterior, similar to the new convention center, so lots of glass seems to be the go-to architectural style in DC right now. I prefer the old school lots of marble, but then again I'm not a DC taxpayer and I wouldn't have to pay for all that marble.
Redskins
The recent signings by the Redskins don't exactly impress me. Brandon Lloyd is an adequate but not great receiver. Archuleta is solid on defense, but that's not exactly the Skins' problem right now. And Randle El... He's a good receiver but he's never had huge numbers. Then again, given the Super Bowl pass, maybe Randle El could be the QB.....
Monday, March 13, 2006
Béisbol!
Here are what may turn out to be the top baseball stories of 2006.
And, while you're at it, read Boswell's column on why the Nats need an owner. Now.
NIT pick-em challenge?
Since the NIT -- rewarding mediocre play -- is truly in the spirit of PH4H, I've found a way to do a simple pick-em challenge.
If anyone wants to participate, go to this website, click on the Men's NIT, and follow the steps to fill out a bracket. Print it to .pdf, and e-mail it to me by 7pm March 14, since that's when the first game tips off.
Scoring will be simple, 1 point per correct prediction.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Update on PH4H pick-em
So after everyone's input, I've decided to move the free PH4H pick-em league over to CBS Sportsline in order to implement a scoring system that gives points for picking upsets, similar to the ideas that Jeff suggested.
The league name, as usual, is PH4H. The link is: http://ph4h.mayhem.sportsline.com/e, and the group password is: reverse.
And, if you signed up for Yahoo and still want to play, go ahead.
More about the PH4H NCAA Tourney pick-em league
I had two suggestions for modifying the PH4H pick-em league.
Jeff suggested that we implement a scoring system that encourages upsets. You will score bonus points if you pick the underdog -- and the underdog wins. The amount of bonus points depends on the difference between seeds. For example, in first round games, if you pick the 9 seed over the 8 seed and the 9 wins, you get whatever the round score is (1st round, 1 pt, etc.), plus 1 bonus point (9-8). If you pick the 16 seed over the 1 seed and the 16 wins, you get the round score and 15 bonus points (16-1). This encourages the picking of upsets. If you pick the favorite, and the favorite wins, you only get the round's score.
Andy suggested that we also play the Women's tournament.
Tell me what you think.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Another bad break for bubble teams
Indiana beat Wisconsin today, and while I'm disappointed that Wisconsin lost, it makes Indiana's resume look a little better and likely solidifies another spot for the Big Ten in the tourney.
It's not great to be a 'Nole fan today
FSU beat Duke and Miami last week, but loses to Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament?
If they get a bid to the NCAA Tournament, it will be a miracle. Realistically, I'm just hoping that they don't embarass themselves in the NIT.
Maryland's hopes fading
Now that George Washington lost and a second team from the Atlantic Ten will make the tourney, Maryland is on the ropes.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
The Other Barry
As in Marion, or if you like, "Mayor." Today, he was sentenced to three years of probation for tax evasion. The former mayor and current councilmember failed to file returns or report over $500,000 of income from 1999 to 2004, and winds up owing the IRS about $250,000 of unpaid taxes because he was "broke." In his blog, Post columnist Marc Fisher hit the nail on the head -- this is shameful.
Oh yeah, and let's not overlook Barry's other recent legal problems.
Sponsored by . . . Duh.
Instead of buying advertising space, or even buying the naming rights to the stadium, Red Bull took it a step further --it buys the entire team and changes the name.
Psycho Path Voted Nation's Wackiest Street Name
According to The Baltimore Sun, Pyscho Path was voted the nation's wackiest street name in a recent online survey sponsored by Mitsubishi Motors. Other top 10 wacky street names include Divorce Court, the intersection of Clinton and Fidelity, the intersection of Count and Basie, and Farfrompoopen Road (the only road up to Constipation Ridge). What wacky street names can you think of?
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Cox Picks Up MASN
Nationals fans rejoice! According to The Washington Post, Cox Cable has agreed to offer the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) to its 260,000 subscribers in Northern Virginia. Now if Comcast can just get off its soapbox....
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Steroids and Supplements
Is anyone really surprised that Bonds took steroids?
More importantly, is anyone not shocked by baseball's new policy to approve various nutritional supplements and sell them to players?
Play in the PH4H pick-em league for the NCAA tournament!
So, here's the very early invitation to play in the free PH4H pick-em league for the NCAA tournament. The group id is "20268" and the password is "reverse."
Alas, there are no changes to the scoring, but, in true PH4H fashion, both the highest- and lowest- scoring players will be the winners, and other than pride, you will likely win a blog posting about how great you are.
Because of the way Yahoo!'s scoring works, there's really no way to have reverse scoring -- if there is truly reverse or negative scoring, smart people will just pick fifteen and sixteen seeds and score as close to zero as possible. This way, there is ABSOLUTELY no incentive to do that. So, do your best, and either win or lose badly despite your best efforts.
If we can figure it out, there may eventually be some sort of off-book alternative scoring system where people get bonus points for really random picks, lose or gain points for blowouts, and things of that nature. Let us know if you have any ideas on how to set that up.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Cheerleading
Per ESPN, an SIU cheerleader fell during a routine this weekend and broke her neck, but continued to cheer from her stretcher.
Apparenly, people really believe that this actually has something to do with the Salukis winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
More on FSU basketball
Apparently, beating Miami might have cemented the 'Noles Tourney bid.
ESPN's Bracketology seems to think so.
Join the PH4H Fantasy Baseball League!
Come one, come all to the PH4H Fantasy Baseball League! This is a reverse scoring league, where we reward lousy players who play nonetheless- basically you get points for errors, balks, caught stealing, etc. and lose them for homers, hits, wins, and other traditional fantasy categories. This is a free Yahoo baseball league, and the winner gets the coveted prize-to-be-named-later (PTBNL). To join, click the above link; the league ID is 164764, and the password is lessismore. Hope to see many of you in the league!
SIU in, Florida State and Marlyand still trying
Southern Illinois won the Missouri Valley and is in the tournament. By the way, while I'll concede there is some truth to this article, Gary Williams is a whiny little twit.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Jose Guillen, Bobblehead Eligible!
Guillen out three months! Yeah, Soriano better learn to play outfield.
MD Tries to Lure Southwest
According to The Baltimore Sun, the State of Maryland has been trying to convince Southwest Airlines to move its 3,000 person headquarters to the state from its current Dallas, TX location. Apparently an obscure 1970s law prevents Southwest from flying from Dallas' Love Field to any place outside of a 7 state radius, and Texas has refused to overturn this law. Maryland has already built a new wing at BWI Airport for Southwest. If Southwest moved to Maryland, would they have to call themselves Mideast?
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Read all about it!
The Nats may have lost - badly - to Pittsburgh earlier today, but at least we have Boswell's Nationals Newsletter for consolation.
Missouri Valley vs. the ACC
ESPN's Bracketology estimates the Missouri Valley Conference as having 5 teams in the NCAA tournament, including the beloved Southern Illinois University Salukis. This is as many teams as the ACC has in.
The MVC would have MORE teams than the Big 12 or Pac 10.
Aside to Dara: It would be interesting if Florida State were competing with SIU for the last spot in the tournament, although FSU probably cemented their invitation with the win over Duke.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Nats v. Kia
In an exhibition game today, the Nats defeated the Kia Tigers. Guzman went 2-for2.
And yes, they are related to the car.
Kids and Expensive Artwork Don't Always Mix
A 12 year old stuck a piece of chewing gum on a painting worth $1.5 million. I wonder what the piece of gum would fetch on Ebay?
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