Blog O’ Obscurity

I’ve been watching the Olympic trials this week and I’m once again disappointed that only the major competitions get any air time.  Am I wrong or aren’t there some equestrian competitions?  I know for sure that there are archery competitions and I’ve seen nothing of that.  If they don’t televise these things, how am I going to become current on the important aspects of the competitions — like the equestrian clothing or the newest wrist bands for archers?

I really think the Olympics is more about making money than about bragging rights like it used to be.  You can tell by the fact that we’re still sending “pros” to play in the basketball competition even though they only won a bronze last time around.  Apparently someone thinks that the dregs of the NBA (the only NBA players willing to go) are better than the best college players.

Oh well, I’ve always thought that getting gold time after time leaves no room for improvement.  At least now we have room for improvement. I just hope we don’t end up with MORE room for improvement.

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Saturday was the big day.  That’s right, my son was in the Pinewood Derby.  He started out strong, winning his first 2 heats but then things went downhill (full on pun intended).  Apparently the suspense was too much for my youngest and I had to take her for a VERY long walk.  By the time we got back, it was pretty much over with the boy taking 4th place and advancing to District on April 19th.

I’ll let you know how that goes.

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Being in a fantasy baseball league of any kind requires that you be able to keep on top of baseball current events especially as they relate to the players on your team. Who’s injured and needs to be dumped? Who can you trade to improve your team? Is that player in a short slump or is it time for you to get them off the team? All this and more needs to be addressed if you are hoping to be the winner in your league. Baseball teams have many people who put their minds together to come up with the answers to these questions, but in a fanatasy baseball league you have only yourself to rely on and for most of us that would require too much time.

That’s why so many people use computer programs like the Fantasy Sports Prophet’s Fantasy Baseball software to help them. This particular program uses modeling to produce player rankings, artificial intelligence to help with your season’s roster management and allows you access from anywhere via the web. You can drink a beer at the bar (or sip coffee at Starbucks if you prefer) while tending to your team.

Of course if you’re not interested getting the pool of money that so many leagues offer to the winner, go it alone. If you enjoy the inevitable taunts of the person you let win, pass this by. But if you want the bragging rights and everything that goes with it, consider using this tool. Enter code BMC200 at the checkout for the $10 off special.

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I think golfing may be the most technical sport out there. You’ve got your scientifically engineered golf clubs and your aerodynamic golf balls with a specific number of dimples. You’ve got the perfect swing as determined by a computer watching you through the lens of a high speed camera able to catch even the slightest quiver of the club during the swing. You’ve got your tees and your cleats and your gloves.

Tell me, in basketball do they film your layup, zoom in on your shooting hand and graph the tomography of your follow through? I think not.

They may care how many stitches are on a baseball, but they don’t check to see if the line created by the stitch is just the right parabola.

And football is obviously not very scientific - get ball, put ball in end zone, hit people on way to end zone, dance.

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Everybody has heard about the incident on the ice Sunday. Zednik had his carotid artery cut upon in a freak accident. Actually, it was the second of its kind - an almost repeat of a 1989 incident when another player’s carotid was cut by an ice skate.

Apparently, this heart stopping story wasn’t enough for someone in the media. The author of one article I read on the matter said that this was just “inches from his jugular”. Very true but then anything in your neck is just inches from your jugular. It seems like the story would have been good enough for even the most jaded and bloodthirsty among us, there was no need to add the histrionics of saying it was “inches from his jugular”. It was just “inches” from his brain and heart as well.

This is something that you can add to a boring, less heart stopping story like, “He had a sore throat. The throat is just inches from the jugular.” This story just didn’t need it.

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Are you planning a get away to New York and hoping to see a show while you are there? You can get Broadway theater tickets from the premium online ticket source before you head out and not have to wait in a ticket line when you get there. TickCo Premium Seating has premium seating Broadway theater tickets for Young Frankenstein, wicked and more. They have Broadway theatre tickets for all theater locations.

But what if you are more interested in a trip to Las Vegas to see a show there? This is still the ticket place you want because they have those seats too. They also have tickets for NASCAR, concert tickets (Hannah Montana anyone?) and sporting event tickets. Basically, if you want to go see something that needs a ticket to get in, TickCo Premium Seating is your ‘ticket’ to a ticket (great pun, huh?)

What if there is absolutely nothing happening that you are interested in seeing or watching right now? Sign up for their e-mail newsletter and they will keep you informed of events as they are announced. (Don’t worry that it will come with alot of spam because they don’t share their e-mail list with others.)

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Every time I make it out to the beaches of Southern California, I can’t help but notice all the people walking, running, or rolling along the sidewalk. There are lots of people at the beach, but it seems like most of the natives walk, bike, or skate down the wide sidewalk in front of the row of houses closest to the beach. And if those people cruising down the boulevard are riding a bike, chances are that it’s one of those two wheel cruisers.

The mens’ beach cruisers are the bicycle version of the chopper. With thick tires and wide handlebars they create a unique look for a two-wheeler for cruising along the beach or down the street of any city or town in the country. The options available on these cruiser bikes are the same as any other style of bike with one speed and multi speed models. The coolest looking models are without a doubt the lowriders and choppers. There are even beach cruisers for kids.

My next bike is definitely going to be a cruiser mostly because it has a cool look and a relaxed feel. I’m not going to be racing anywhere in a hurry, but I will be cruising there.

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Ever since the Suns lost the coin flip all those years ago, they have never had a true, top-quality center. They’ve also never won the championship.

Hopefully the addition of the Diesel, the Suns can climb the mountain that they’ve been so close to for the past couple of years.

It’s a long shot for sure, but you can’t expect different results unless you change what you’re doing.

Sir Charles couldn’t do it, and this is by far the biggest name that we’ve had since the Round Mound was here. Hopefully Shaq brings more than his name.

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The superest bowl of them all is about ready to begin and I’m at least reasonable hopeful.

I have this tendency to cheer for the underdog and then get upset when they lose. Even when I cheer for the favorite, they somehow end up losing. (Just look at the Cowboys in the playoffs the past couple of years.)

So I’m hoping that the Giants can pull off the upset to end all upsets this year and put the stinkin’ Patriots in the losing column for once this year.

I wouldn’t bet on the Giants, but let’s hope all goes well.

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The Super Bowl is just around the corner so now’s the time to decide who you’re going to root for.  Will it be the Packers or will it be … um…  I’ve forgotten - exactly who is it that the Packers will be beating this year?

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