Is the "Cowgirl" on the clock?

I am sure Tim will be all over this but the internet's favorite cowgirl, fresh off her Maxim spread and SI On Campus column, is going to be featured in next month's edition (May 2006) of Playboy.

Not everyone shares Tim's enthusiasm for her though. It's funny but this past weekend I found out that some guy decided that Hansel was his nemesis even though he had never met him. I thought it was odd that someone would (could?) declare someone their nemesis even though the other person has no idea that they exist but I can't help but think that Tim might just have found his after reading that guy's post.

Count me among those who never thought the internets would remain abuzz for as long as it has for everything Jenn Sterger. I had her pegged for 14:59 about a week after she became an internet celeb (is that C or D list btw?) but I guess the moral of the story is never underestimate fake boobs. Ever.

Filed in: culture media sports sex

Amsterdam

REDACTED

Filed in: awesome travel

Add another rider to the QB carousel

The Professor is reporting that the Bears and Brian Griese have come to terms on a 5 year deal.

This could be a good signing assuming the financials aren't outrageous but I doubt they are. Griese was 5-1 before he blew his knee out last year and probably won't cost the Bears anywhere near the money that it is going take to land Drew Brees and his injured shoulder. The real question is whether the Bears let him compete for the starting job with Grossman next year in camp. While I like Grossman a lot and think he still could be a quality QB in this league, I do not think he has earned the right not to be challenged for his position. It will be interesting to see the verbiage used when Griese is presented to the media.

Filed in: sports bears nfl

(Pre)season of Discontent

I had a long post with stats and links but another tab decided to crash Firefox and I lost everything because I didn't save it. GRRRR. Anyway, the Cubs have really pissed me off lately and I just want to get this off my chest before the weekend.

My feelings about a potential Todd Walker trade for Luis Matos? Sickening. I've been living with blinders for the past week or so (read: finals) and I've been a bit behind on sports news and rumors but apparently this deal almost went through were it not for Baltimore getting greedy (they're the clear winner in this deal) and asking the Cubs for some cash to offset Walker's contract. WHAT!?!

The Cubs were willing to trade a dependable bat for what? A guy who most likely will loose his job to Corey Patterson if he stays in Baltimore, hits lefties worse than Jacque Jones, and will almost certainly take at bats away from Matt Murton who has done well this spring and replace him at 2B with Jerry Harriston Jr. or Nefi MF'ing Perez. This is supposedly all because the Cubs feel Walker doesn't turn the double play as well as Nefi or Harriston. Did I blackout and wake up in Crazytown?

Here is a comparison of each player's career fielding and hitting stats:

Cubs 2B Fielding Comparison (Career)

Player	Field%	lgField%	RangeFactor	lgRangeFactor^
Walker	.981	.981	.437	.429
Perez	.988	.981	.457	.434
Harriston Jr.	.980	.981	.497	.438

^- off due to numbers of games played in different leagues

Cubs 2B Batting Comparison (Career)

Player	BA	OBP	SLG	RC/27*
Walker	.290	.348	.441	5.53
Perez	.270	.301	.380	4.01
Harriston Jr.	.261	.334	.371	3.98
Matos	.260	.316	.379	3.99

*- Runs created per 27 outs. See here for further explanation.

I threw Matos into the batting comparison, not to depress you, but to illustrate how dumb this is. The Cubs would be giving up the 1.5 more runs Walker is worth over Perez and Harriston Jr. for marginally better fielding at second base and adding what amounts to another bat with the same below average numbers to the bench. So instead of having three second basemen with one above average bat in the field and two subpar bats on the bench, the Cubs will have 2 second basemen with 1 subpar bat in the field and 2 subpar bats on the bench.

(Insert slow clap here)

Genius guys, real genius.

Filed in: sports mlb cubs

Friday High Fives (03/17/06)

This week's five items, ideas, and individuals that I am thankful for, appreciate, or admire.

St. Patricks Day
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHH! Let the bad judgement and questionable morals flow. Yes, today is for amateurs but I like to think of it more as a Pro-Am. The grizzled veterans can spend the day sharing tips and leading those less experienced degenerates to the next level. HINT: it requires just the right mix of Guinness and Jameson that, if mixed incorrectly, could lead to disasterous results.

Being Done With Finals
The Sofa King just ran the gauntlet with the Sofa Kingdom having to have a wall replaced in the bathroom, Em-dina's birthday, the South Side Irish Parade, some deadlines at work and a 15 page term paper and take home final to complete over the last week or so. As of 2:30am this morning I am done with finals and my class for the winter quarter and I could not be happier.

Team USA Getting Bounced from the WBC
I really can say that I hate the WBC because that would mean I would have to care about it but I do care about is not having players from the Cubs get hurt. DLee had a near scare and I don't even want to think about the possibility of losing Big Z for even a little time this season especially given the current situation.

Bears not over paying for free agents
$31 Million over 6 years for 35 catches last year and 7 career receiving touchdowns does not make sense no matter how much you desire a playmaker in the return game. Randall-El, Adam Archuletta, and Eddie Drummond would be nice additions to the squad but certainly are not the types of players you agressively go after and possibly over pay a little for. The Bears have done very well in the draft over the past few years solidifying the defense. Now hopefully we can enjoy similar success on the other side of the ball.

Hooters Buffalo Shrimp
One of my top 5 favorite foods period. Delicious. I am a firm believer that these are the reason "everybody is getting happy at Hooters."

Filed in: fridayhighfives

Friday High Fives (03/10/06)

This week's five items, ideas, and individuals that I am thankful for, appreciate, or admire.

Top Chef
It was bound to happen. TV Producers have finally come up with a reality TV show that realyl appeals to me. I just caught a repeat of the new Bravo show Top Chef last night and I am hooked. I am not really sure if it has been done before with other reality shows but I like the fact that two of the judges (Gail and Tom) are blogging along with the episodes and, from their first entries, look like they are going to be giving some serious commentary rather than just mailing it in with puff piece. After one episode it is tough to pick a winner but I think it is going to come down to Tiffani (who for some reason they decided to include that she was a bisexual on her bio page. huh?) and Harold with Harold winning it all. I think Tiffani has that desperation or urgency about her that will drive her to the finals but I think Harold's skill and talent are too much for her.

Big Ten Tournament
So glad the Big Ten finally wised up a few years ago and instituted the tourney. It adds that extra level of excitement and drama late in the season for fans and dollars in the pockets of the athletic departments so it was a win-win for everyone. Possibly the most important ramification of the Big Ten tournament is that a school who has a strong showing in the tournament can either firm up a NCAA bid or improve upon their seed.

South Side Irish Parade
A free-for-all debacle every year on the south side that is too fun to be missed. Last year I had two seperate instances where I legitimately feared for my life. It is also one of the few times of the year where if you stood at the corner of 111th and Western you could see every single south side stereotype all at once. Chicagoist has some good parade tips from last year that are worth checking out.

Carl "The Dinosaur Hunter" Everett
Thank you for reminding us that you are a bitter, crazy bastard. Even though I am not a Sox fan I appreciated the fact that you are batshit crazy and loved all the little things you did like talking about how important Jesus is in your life while wearing a "Pop Them Thangs!" shirt during a TV interview last post season. Your brand of crazy will be missed here in Chicago.

Birthdays
Celebrated my friend Ben's birthday last weekend and Em-dina's is coming up this weekend. I've always enjoyed celebrating birthday's and it is not just because it is an excuse to do 20 shots and not have to say your sorry. I like birthdays because they are like mini-holidays for whomever is celebrating and a reason to honor or show appreciation for those that are close to you.

Filed in: fridayhighfives

Karma is a bitch.

Kirby Puckett beat the hell out of his wife in public, was a gigantic philanderer, committed lewd acts in public, and sexually assaulted a woman in a bathroom at a restaurant.

Great baseball player? Yes. Great man? Definitely not.

Filed in: sports culture society

Quickies - The "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" Edition

I wasn't the only one who thought Three 6 Mafia thanking Jesus during their acceptance speech was funny.

A cool idea that I wished I thought of.

I can't remember the last time I've been more excited for a summer movie release. Start the countdown now.

Filed in: quickies

MPAA and AMPAS you're pathetic

The lame remarks about piracy in Jon Stewart's opening monologue and the continuous pumping of the "see it on the big screen the way God intended" message through out the Oscar broadcast was incredibly pathetic (though Stewart's follow up jokes about actresses not being able to afford enough dress material to cover their breasts were funny). The remarks were awkward, seemed to come out of left field and didn't fit anywhere in the context of the night. Instead of whining about decreased box office receipts during the biggest night in Hollywood the time would have been better spent having the host or presenter read you guys the points laid out in these articles.

Filed in: movies pathetic duh

Friday High Fives (03/03/06)

This week's five items, ideas, and individuals that I am thankful for, appreciate, or admire.

Nike Air Jordan XXI Commercial
Great music to compliment a neat concept of amatuer athletes immatating some of MJ's classic moments and moves. When it comes to branding and advertising Nike stands alone.

USB Thumbdrives
These are somewhat ubiquitous now and I've always kinda laughed them off as not being anything other than a toy but count me among the converts now. It is nice to always have portable storage for quick file transfers, being able to have your bookmarks and config files on hand when you need it and especially for being able to work on homework on multiple systems when ever you have a spare moment.

The Bears Salary Cap Management
The Bears, as an organization, have taken a lot of heat over the years for various mistakes and bungled moves but watching the labor dispute unfold this past week as the free agency period opens I think it is only fair to give them credit for something they have done well. The Bears have always managed the salary cap well and have never had to dismantle the team, cut players they really wanted to keep, or been in a position where they couldn't address a need because of a lack of cap space. It is unfortunate that the one thing the management could pat themselves on the back for could be rendered meaningless if the NFL ends up going to an uncapped year in 2007.

Safari Bookshelf
My work has an enterprise license for access to O'Reilly's Safari Bookshelf that gives you access to a ton of books online from many different publishers. I am not a big fan of reading entire books online but it is an invaluable resource.

Sleep
I haven't had much of it this week and it certainly makes me thankful for it when I am able to get it and appreciate it after I've done it.

Filed in: fridayhighfives

Inspirational Photo for Friturdays

Daniel Gibson literally shows us what it means to "rock out with your cock out". Check out Deadspin for the bigger pic.

Filed in: funny weekend sports oops

Quickies - The "Top SeKret" Edition

Cool design of a paper notebook with an integrated pencil holder. I just made that sound much more complicated than it is. I like to think that it is my years of working in the tech industry that allows me to do that.

I really dig this Modest Mouse semi-cover/reimaging of Sleepwalk by Santo and Johnny called Sleepwalkin'.

Filed in: quickies

Recommended: Blog Tools for Tunes

Blogdigger is a media search engine focusing on, amazingly enough, blogs. The site finds all the media posted by bloggers and combined with the playtagger you can sample the mp3 right in the page. This is a really good way to find rare tracks and live performances of some of your favorite artists.

Podbop is a really neat website that has podcasts of bands that have upcoming shows in your area. Here is the Chicago page and it's feed.

Both are highly recommended.

Filed in: blogs mp3 music cool recommended