You Heard it Here First!

Oh, Dmitri . . . how we'll miss you.

Wait, what's that you say? Dmitri might not be leaving? Well, it certainly sucks for Nick Johnson, but it looks like the fan favorite and frequent triples-hitting threat (I think Dan should buy me a steak dinner!) might be sticking around. I for one welcome this as good news. It'd be no fun to open a new stadium if we didn't want to root for any of the players (because we didn't know who they were, of course). Now, if only the pitchers would stick around a little while.

CORRECTION: Nick Johnson will be fine. Apparently, Young will be moving to left field (I should read the whole article before I post things).

Vote for Mike!

All the cool kids are doing it, so should you!

http://mediabistro.com/articles/poll/000403/

And I just made my second post EVER on the PH4H Blog! Whoo hoo!

PH4H Fundraiser!

For our yet-to-be-scheduled First Annual PH4H Fundraising Banquet/Reception, I think we ought to have celebrity appearences. These people probably shouldn't cost us too much. And some of them aren't very busy these days, either.

Israeli Empanadas

Amy and I just returned from Israel, and on our first night at the kibbutz, we went to the kibbutz cafe with some fellow archaelogical dig participants. We discovered that the kibbutz cafe was actually a non-kosher Argentinian style restaurant specializing in empanadas. So the next time you're in Israel, stop by Kibbutz Revadim (about halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv) for all your empanada bet payoffs!

Bacon Salt

Love bacon, but keep Kosher? Or vegetarian? Or watching your weight?

This could be the product for you.

Bacon Salt.


It's Kosher. It's vegetarian. It has zero calories. And it can make everything taste like bacon.

Simpsonize yourself!

What would you look like as a Simpson?

This is me:




Make your own and post it below, like we did with South Park.

Acting President Cheney

Is it just me or did anyone else read this and think that real life was imitating a major plot point from the last season of 24?

Bathroom Puzzles

Think you understand the way the world really works? Try your luck at this then.

Need I say more?

Now available on a t-shirt or coffee mug:

Sign me up

"The Modernist Society is a celebration of multidisciplinary hedonistic individuals," founder Jason Mojica explains by e-mail. "We mix business with pleasure. We combine brain-stimulating activities with brain-destroying ones. Our evening is for people who are, for all intents and purposes, extraordinary nerds who are just as comfortable quoting Jung as showing a little skin and dancing their ass off."

(I learn something new every day in the local paper.)

Big city vs. small town

Emergency in New York City, where my sister lived until a few months ago: a steam pipe exploding.

Emergency in Brattleboro, Vt., where she lives now: naked people.

Poll Results Are In -- Red Sox to Run Away with It!

Prior to the All-Star break, I think I would have agreed with this statement, but I'm not so sure anymore. The Yanks are now 48-44, have won 5 in a row and sit just 7 back in the AL East. They play something like their first 28 games after the All-Star break against teams that are under .500 for the season, and have 6 games with Boston over the last month or so of the season. It pains me to say it, but I think this one ends up closer than the PH4H experts think, with the Yankees edging closer over July and August before battling it out with Boston down the stretch.

MY PREDICTION: A-Rod far surpasses 500 homeruns (won't be too hard for him to get to 500, but can we say 520 by season's end?) this season and wins the MVP when the Yankees overtake Boston in the AL East and head into the playoffs as the hottest team in baseball.

I think I'm going to vomit . . .

Franco's career continues!

Jason speculated the other day that 48 year old Julio Franco's career may be over....

But it's not. He has signed with the Braves.

Those poor, poor SUV drivers . . .

It wasn't that long ago that animal rights wackos used to spray paint fur coats.

To all that miss those times, I offer you this. Poor guy . . .

What was the #1 song on the day you were born?

Find out here.

Mine totally sucks. It sucks so much that I have never even heard of it before: "Fly, Robin, Fly" by Silver Convention.

Ironic, yet true

In today's Post, Barry Larkin says of the Nationals roster: "All the guys, with the exception of Dmitri, are fairly young." That's right: Young is old, everyone who is not Young is young.

Reason # 62 that I hate Roger Clemens

For starters, let me say that I refuse to bid a fond farewell to a player more than once (see, for instance, Michael Jordan's retirements). Why can't there be more John Elways in the world? Go out on top and then don't make me hear from you again.

No, Roger has to keep coming back for assloads of money that no one has any business in making, and to top it off, he doesn't even deserve it anymore. I don't care about ERA's or strikeouts, but if you're making MORE THAN A MILLION DOLLARS PER GAME, then your teams should fare better than a 12-13 record (10-9 in his starts with Houston last season, and 2-4 with the Yankees this season).

In other news, the Mets have released Julio Franco. At age 48, the man who would never retire (let alone do it more than once) may finally have come to the end of the road.

New poll!

Since I'm bored at work, I decided to create the first (I think) PH4H poll.

With the Nationals about as far back in their division as the Red Sox are ahead in theirs, how long do you think it'll take for the Red Sox to clinch the AL East?

Go vote!

How fast are your reactions?

Play this and find out:

Rodriguez, the "Inevitable" Home Run King

For all those keeping score at home, the other day, I posted this:

http://ph4h.blogspot.com/2007/07/bogus-ultimate-home-run-derby.html

"Furthermore, how do you rank A-Rod so low? He's got 494 homeruns at age 31. Hell, at age 31, Bonds had like 50!!! Not really, but in all seriousness, if A-Rod gets out of New York, with all its distractions, then I think there's a good chance Bonds doesn't stay on top of the career homeruns list for very long. If A-Rod played 6 more seasons until he was 38 or so and averaged 35 homeruns a year (plus the 20 more I'll give him credit for during the rest of this season), he'd finish his career with 724. But if, like Bonds, he doesn't actually start hitting with power until he's 35 . . . well, then I think he finishes his career with like 1000 homeruns!"

Today, ESPN weighed in, stating that "The talk will be about Bonds as long as he hits home runs or, in Selig's best-case scenario, the feds come to the rescue. But eventually Rodriguez will overtake Bonds in national attention and, of course, home runs. It's inevitable . . . Rodriguez already has 494 career homers. Six more and he becomes the youngest player to reach 500."

http://http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2932348&sportCat=mlb

And PH4H Your Pants for the Nationals?

It seems, given the likelihood of the Brewers making the postseason for the first time since they lost to the Cardinals in the 1982 World Series....

Thousands of Brewers are saying they will pee their pants if they make it to the playoffs this year. In fact, they're pledging to do so.

Anti-All Star Team!

PH4Hers,

I'm sorry it took me so long to get this up here, but I can't say I've done a lot of blogging in the world. As my time at works winds down, I may do a little more. For all who have participated in PH4H sports over the years, you should get a kick out of this one. Straight from the Washington Post itself:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/30/AR2007063000729.html

The Anti-All Star team. Those players who the Post would pick for PH4H.

PH4H Betting Rules

In an older thread (http://ph4h.blogspot.com/2006/04/ph4h-betting-manifesto.html), Dara kindly posted the rules of the road for PH4H Betting. I'd like to say that there was a new incarnation of a PH4H bet last week, where in lieu of an empanada or a steak dinner, I offered Dan just a steak if Carlos Zambrano no-hit the Nationals (turned out to be a very short-lived bet, but oh well). Upon realizing that I offered only a steak, Dara and Justin quickly tossed in side dishes for Dan's steak dinner.

I believe that these sorts of bets should be deemed Collective Unilateral Bets, whereby groups of people offer items that together make up the entire bet. As PH4H is all about charity and the homeless (and, of course, empanadas), it's only proper that we save each other money with collective betting.

Bogus "Ultimate Home Run Derby"

So ESPN is running this poll to see who wins their "Ultimate Home Run Derby." You can vote here: http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/listranker?id=722. Now, since I have nothing better to do, I went ahead and voted and was very disturbed by the results.

At this point, the voters have returned this list:

1. Babe Ruth
2. Ken Griffey Jr.
3. Hank Aaron
4. Barry Bonds
5. Mark McGwire
6. Mickey Mantle
7. Alex Rodriguez
8. Willie Mays

Are you kidding me? Willy Mays at #8? The man hit 660 homeruns, after spending the first couple years of his career in the Negro Leagues and after losing another year and a half to serve in the Army in '52 and '53. What's more is he was never on the juice.

Furthermore, how do you rank A-Rod so low? He's got 494 homeruns at age 31. Hell, at age 31, Bonds had like 50!!! Not really, but in all seriousness, if A-Rod gets out of New York, with all its distractions, then I think there's a good chance Bonds doesn't stay on top of the career homeruns list for very long. If A-Rod played 6 more seasons until he was 38 or so and averaged 35 homeruns a year (plus the 20 more I'll give him credit for during the rest of this season), he'd finish his career with 724. But if, like Bonds, he doesn't actually start hitting with power until he's 35 . . . well, then I think he finishes his career with like 1000 homeruns!

Best Baseball Memories Ever!

Sitting at the Cubs game, I mean Nationals game, the other night, we started making a list of cool things we've experienced in baseball, and a wonderful trip down memory lane ensued. After getting a suggestion that I make a top 10 list and deciding that I am incapable of coming up with 10 things, I offer instead my top baseball memory.

Just for the record, a close second has to be Randy Johnson basically blowing up a bird with a fastball. My favorite though was when Robin Ventura got his butt whooped by Nolan Ryan. It's bad enough to get hit by a pitch, but to charge the mound and then have the pitcher leave you bloody and beaten, that's just gotta be demoralizing.

Pure eloquence

Jim Bowden couldn't have said this any better, regarding Colome's injury: "It's a serious situation," Bowden said. "We pray for his buttocks and his family." That's in today's Post.

A True PH4H All Star

Brian Fuentes, an actual All Star, has been demoted from the Rockies closer position after blowing 4 straight saves. The All Star game might be a little awkward for him.