Kites

I took this one at Cesar Chavez Park here in Berkeley last weekend.

Funny how easy it is to regard losing in a championship game as a let-down. A team puts together the best season in the history of the program, reaches uncharted waters in the College World Series, and loses in a close deciding game. Great season, nothing to be ashamed of, right? Not if you're the local sports media. The News and Observer chose the asshat headline of the year for their article on game 3 of the College World Series, which we all need to remember was played by young men between the ages of 18 and 22; college kids.

For sure, that was a stomach punch loss for the Tar Heels last night. Absolutely agonizing. Bryan Steed should not be the scapegoat, though. A terrible baserunning error killed a potential rally earlier in the game, UNC hitters chased a lot of bad breaking balls, and most crucially, Oregon State played much better defense than a college team can be expected to play for these two games. Let's not forget that Carolina was up 5-0 in game 2, with Mike "Are you kidding me?" Patrick proclaiming the game to be all but over (this in the 4th inning; Mike is an idiot), when some atrocious defense gave OSU a chance to mount a rally. OSU made the plays, and they won. Jonah Nickerson did a hell of a job getting outs when he needed to, even without his good stuff. Hell of a run, Heels.

N&O Headline writers, meet me here.

Pics from the Parents

My parents and my sister were in town last week. Here's some pictures from the week (out of the 142 that Mom took). This layout would look cooler, but I got a little tired of messing with the blogger interface.

World Cup Shocker

So it turns out the American team really wasn't very good at soccer. Huh.

Haiku

Driving while impaired.
Unbelievable, baby!
Anyone surprised?

Larry Bowa yelled at Corey Patterson for stealing second and third with the Orioles up 10-4 on the Yanquis the other night, telling him to "play the game right."

Since we have seen the Yanqs come back from 9 down to win a game this season, what part of Patterson's steals was bad form? If a team is supposed to stop trying to score once they hold a commanding lead, when is A-Rod going to hit his home runs? If Patterson can steal two bases off of the revered Scott Erickson / Kelly Stinnett battery, why wouldn't he?

Larry Bowa, welcome to the cockpunch list.

This site is cooler than you are.

Be sure to tell people that they don't get it. Look at mine. You don't get it, do you? I am a sensitive artist.

http://jacksonpollock.org/

Whiskey again

So today's whiskey that I like a lot is George Dickel No. 12. This is easily one of my favorites, for several reasons. Here goes.

1. Nothing gets a better reaction than asking a friend if they want a sip of your Dickel.
2. It might be the smoothest American whiskey. It's certainly the smoothest one I've tried.
3. Dickel is a Tennessee Whiskey, but unlike Jack Daniels No. 7, it's good. Unlike Gentleman Jack, I can afford to buy it regularly (under 20 bucks a bottle). Dickel No. 8 is a bit cheaper, but not quite as good- it's basically just a younger version of the 12, and is 80 proof, as opposed to the 90 proof No. 12.. It's a value judgment
   
4. The bottle is pretty classy looking.
5. It tastes great.

What's the deal with all the numbers, you ask? Not much. 12 and 8 just weren't copyrighted.

The American League All-Star Team, if voting stopped yesterday:
C- Jason Varitek - BOS
1B- David Ortiz - BOS
2b- Robinson Cano - NYY
3B- Alex Rodriguez - NYY
SS- Derek Jeter - NYY
OF- Manny Ramirez - BOS
OF- Vladimir Guerrero - LAA
OF- Johnny Damon - NYY

I can't decide if I should just not bother watching the game, or if I should root for the National League. No Tigers, no White Sox (both teams have better records than NY and BOS, and one of those teams also happens to be the World Series Champion). This roster omits the top two hitters in the AL, as well as the HR leader. At least we'll have Big Papi holding down the defense at 1B, since he can't DH. Also, I will take Ichiro Suzuki over Johnny Damon in my outfield anyday. Jeter, for once, has earned his spot, though a case can always be made for Tejada, currently second in voting. But Mark Grudzielanek, in KC, is a more deserving second baseman than Cano.