Ooooohhhh, I loves me some in control of the situation Ben, as he is here from Meet Kevin Johnson. I guess that's one way to get your daughter's boyfriend out of the way......
Screencap via Michael Emerson.net (thanks Edith!)
Friday, April 4, 2008
Friday Benjamin Linus blogging
Ooooohhhh, I loves me some in control of the situation Ben, as he is here from Meet Kevin Johnson. I guess that's one way to get your daughter's boyfriend out of the way......
Screencap via Michael Emerson.net (thanks Edith!)
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Life begins anew: baseball edition
I love this time of year in the American sports calendar. The death marches that are the NBA and NHL seasons are winding down in preparation for the playoffs (go Canucks!), college basketball is all Elite 8 > Final 4 > Final, the golf majors are about to get underway and best of all, baseball gets going.
I've been a baseball fan since around the age of seven; I was living in the Bay Area at the time and Willie Mays ruled. Being an Air Force brat, I didn't form a strong attachment for a team due to moving so often, but after seeing Nolan Ryan pitch from the fifth row at Yankee Stadium, I was a California Angels fan. I had harbored hopes of being a major league pitcher, but alas, genetics conspired against me. As a 13-year old, I didn't really know all that much about the history of the Angels and if I had, I might have not set myself up for so much future heartache. Still, the Angels were "my team" and when my Dad retired from the Air Force and we moved to Los Angeles, I finally had a chance to see them in person, at the old Big A. NOTE: Yes, yes, I know they're officially called The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but that's totally effing lame, so I call them the California or Anaheim Angels.
Ah, the pennant race of 1979. I'll never forget the atmosphere and sheer excitement of seeing my hero, Nolan Ryan, win a crucial game in the pennant race. My friends and I had smoked a ton of hash and drank a case of beer before the game and we were fired up, to say the least.
Fast forward a few weeks, and the Angels are in the playoffs for the first time in their history, against the Orioles, who didn't suck goat balls back then. My pal Rod and I had tickets to Game 4. The Big A was a construction site, the disastrous move of the Rams imminent, the transformation of the Big A in to a giant, cavernous, soulless multi-purpose stadium underway. This was the year of the "Yes We Can!" chant and the fans were raucous, despite the Orioles 3-0 lead. The Angels loaded the bases, had a then-lust object, Jimmy Anderson at the plate --I had a weakness for geeky shortstops who could barely hit their weight-- and when he hit a rocket down the third-base line, the place erupted....until Doug DeCinces made a great diving stab, stepped on third and threw to first to complete the double play. I've never seen a crowd go from pandemonium to stunned silence quicker. My friends know better than to mention the 1982, 1986 and 1995 seasons around me.
So, here we are in 2008, the Angels the favorites to win the American League West. If last night's season opener against the Minnesota Twins --mmmm, Justin Morneau, mmmmm-- in the soon-to-be-gone HomerDome is any indication, it's going to be another season of "great pitching, weak offense". *sigh* It's a long season and one thing I've learned in my 41 years of being a baseball fan is to not get too excited when things are going well and not get down when times are tough. If the talent is there --and the Angels have it-- they'll find a way to win.
Update (4/1/08): a perfect example of why it's best not to hit the panic button too quickly when it comes to baseball (in my case, the Angels' hitting): the Angels won 9-1 tonight.
I've been a baseball fan since around the age of seven; I was living in the Bay Area at the time and Willie Mays ruled. Being an Air Force brat, I didn't form a strong attachment for a team due to moving so often, but after seeing Nolan Ryan pitch from the fifth row at Yankee Stadium, I was a California Angels fan. I had harbored hopes of being a major league pitcher, but alas, genetics conspired against me. As a 13-year old, I didn't really know all that much about the history of the Angels and if I had, I might have not set myself up for so much future heartache. Still, the Angels were "my team" and when my Dad retired from the Air Force and we moved to Los Angeles, I finally had a chance to see them in person, at the old Big A. NOTE: Yes, yes, I know they're officially called The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but that's totally effing lame, so I call them the California or Anaheim Angels.
Ah, the pennant race of 1979. I'll never forget the atmosphere and sheer excitement of seeing my hero, Nolan Ryan, win a crucial game in the pennant race. My friends and I had smoked a ton of hash and drank a case of beer before the game and we were fired up, to say the least.
Fast forward a few weeks, and the Angels are in the playoffs for the first time in their history, against the Orioles, who didn't suck goat balls back then. My pal Rod and I had tickets to Game 4. The Big A was a construction site, the disastrous move of the Rams imminent, the transformation of the Big A in to a giant, cavernous, soulless multi-purpose stadium underway. This was the year of the "Yes We Can!" chant and the fans were raucous, despite the Orioles 3-0 lead. The Angels loaded the bases, had a then-lust object, Jimmy Anderson at the plate --I had a weakness for geeky shortstops who could barely hit their weight-- and when he hit a rocket down the third-base line, the place erupted....until Doug DeCinces made a great diving stab, stepped on third and threw to first to complete the double play. I've never seen a crowd go from pandemonium to stunned silence quicker. My friends know better than to mention the 1982, 1986 and 1995 seasons around me.
So, here we are in 2008, the Angels the favorites to win the American League West. If last night's season opener against the Minnesota Twins --mmmm, Justin Morneau, mmmmm-- in the soon-to-be-gone HomerDome is any indication, it's going to be another season of "great pitching, weak offense". *sigh* It's a long season and one thing I've learned in my 41 years of being a baseball fan is to not get too excited when things are going well and not get down when times are tough. If the talent is there --and the Angels have it-- they'll find a way to win.
Update (4/1/08): a perfect example of why it's best not to hit the panic button too quickly when it comes to baseball (in my case, the Angels' hitting): the Angels won 9-1 tonight.
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