"Yankees fans love carnage — they are the kinds of people who use cheat codes in their video games. So, watching them writhe in pain while losing to the Royals was priceless. "

-Joe Posnanski, Kansas City Star

Owned?

Now, I am enjoying the decline of Randy Johnson as much as the next guy who likes to see the Yankees waste money, but I think the commentators for tonight's Yanqs / Sox game have gone a little overboard. They more or less pronounced his career dead when he gave up two runs in the first inning, both on a home run by Manny. The point is not that the Big Unit is not on the way down- he certainly is. The point is that giving up a homer to Manny right now, especially one to left field in Fenway, just can't be a litmus test for your prowess as a pitcher.

Listening to Jon Miller describe the Giants defense today was fun. "I wonder if the ball is a little too slippery for the Giants to handle..." BLB didn't play, though, so it wasn't really a game. Best nickname on the Giants: "P. Happy." End of discussion.

The photo is grainy, because it took some zooming and cropping, but please notice the man on this baseball-themed boat, which was in McCovey Cove the other night, dressed up as Babe Ruth.

"You only have eight responsibilities during a baseball game: Take your hat off for the National Anthem; don't take your shirt off; don't bring your baseball glove if you're over 13; don't wear a jersey with your own name on it; don't run onto the field; don't reach into the field of play to grab a pop-up or ground ball if it could adversely affect your team; don't boo one of your own players unless it's absolutely warranted; and don't throw up. That's it. Everything else is up to you. "
- Bill Simmons

Today's silly seminary email phrase is:
"IF YOU PARKED YOUR VEHICLE IN OUR PARKING LOT, PLEASE PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER MOVING YOUR CAR."

I handed in 3 papers and gave a presentation yesterday- feeling pretty good about all of it, too. One more paper to write next week, but I've already researched it, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal.

In response to the NU hazing scandal, I'd like to say that I am tired of hearing jocks defend hazing. The absolute worst argument for it is that the victims, "had a choice- they could have walked out." Right, so you're a freshman at college and your scholarship is contingent on being a member of the soccer team (so quitting has serious repercussions), who would certainly exclude you for the next four years if you walked out, but you have a choice. Since when do we let students (also scholarship athletes) force other students to make that kind of choice? This is one of the stupidest debates alive. If your team can't pull together and play some soccer (not that the NU team has been anything but mediocre) without hazing the freshmen, hang up your cleats.

Thanks to Justin for this one...

Just a nice thing to see.

You gotta read it from the left coast

The headline on the Post article read "Episcopalians reject gay candidates." All I'm saying is that it could have read, "Episcopalians elect strong ally of gay rights."

Jason Whitlock's column from the Kansas City Star presents an interesting perspective on the Duke Lacrosse Team situation.
The more the public gets involved, the more tragic this gets.

Time to read until my eyes fall out. It's interesting stuff (to a nerd like me), so it could be a lot worse. It could be for a math class.
Anyway, tomorrow night is the follies, which is seminary speak for a really geeky talent show / bunch of skits where we make fun of ourselves. Preferring not to show off my inability to be funny on command, I signed up with a friend to play a couple of songs. It'll be my first Bay Area performance- sure to be a classic. I think we'll be pretty good, actually.
There's also a brewing contest as part of the evening, and another friend and I have entered a mocha stout in that one that ought to at the very least be unique among the entries. It also means that I will have a beer or two in me by the time I get up to play, which will probably help.

I think the mere existence of this site explains why the internet is without a doubt one of the best things humanity, with our under-utilized brains and opposable thumbs, has managed to fashion.
Note that I will not be subscribing to the service, but it's great to know that it's there.

I have, however, bookmarked this one. I used to sit up late in my bedroom as a kid, with headphones plugged in, trying to pull random sporting event broadcasts off of the AM dial. I'd love coming across a minor league game from another city. From Greensboro, I could listen to stations as far away as Saint Louis, San Antonio, and Montreal. The fact that I can now listen to any minor league game for free is just beautiful.

I shouldn't be writing this.

I have 50 pages of writing to crank out for the end of the semester. Two of my topics- the theology and biblical exegesis behind Messianic Judaism and Messianism in Paul, at least overlap some (by design), so I can conserve research. The semester ends on the 18th, and one of my papers isn't due until the 25th, so there's time, but there's also a lot of research to do.

Is a protest meant to change the mind of your opponents, or just to fire up your movement? I'm not sure how the impressive demonstrations against immigration legislation will be received by conservatives. In terms of sheer principle, I think it probably will fuel their fire, and contribute to many of the stereotypes they love to perpetuate. On the other hand, the sheer inconvenience caused by the boycott hopefully cannot be ignored.
I was glad to see more folks waving American flags in the rallies. The SF Chronicle nicely pointed out as the protests ramped up a few weeks ago that waving a Mexican flag at a protest does not exactly say "You need me in the US, and I want to be in the US." It was a nice public service announcement from a thoroughly liberal publication. The US / Mexican flag ratio appeared to be about 4:1 yesterday, which I think is about right.
In case you hadn't figured it out, I analyze protests based solely on the effectiveness of their statement, and how they'll play in the media. Venting of anger and expression of pride are key components, as well, I'll happily admit. I've simply seen too many poorly executed protests that ultimately didn't make a statement. I don't think yesterday was one of those.

Last night, during the 6th inning of the Sawks-Yanqs game I realized something. Johnny Damon plays for New York now. I didn't catch it until the 230th time the announcers pointed it out. I appreciate their persistence. In other news, apparently there was a ballgame played in Fenway Park last night. I wonder how that went...