What town was Slap Shot filmed in?

Tsk, Tsk, Dan Patrick do your homework. He had Steve Carlson (a.k.a. Steve Hanson) on his radio show yesterday. Patrick asks, “What city was that shot in?” Come on, I know I’m a homer but Slap Shot has reached enough of a cult following that most big time media types should know about Johnstown and the War Memorial. That being said it was a great interview, complete with audio clips from the movie. I’m sure there is an archive section on the ESPN Radio website where you can hear the complete interview. If so, take a listen, there’s some interesting stuff there.

The Pittsburgh Hardhats of the revamped ABA announced today they will play their home games at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Ten bucks says this franchise won’t last more than one year. It won’t be without my support, I’ll go and check it out. Just as I did with the Piranhas (CBA). If I was old enough I would have gone to see the Condors back in the day. The red, white, and blue ball is enough to get me to go!

Tracy McGrady is now a Houston Rocket (I guess he’s going for most teams played for before his 30th birthday!) He’ll be teamed up with Yao Ming in what will probably be the most dominant one-two combo since the likelihood of Shaq and Kobe coming back together is slim to none. T-Mac is tough to figure out, he didn’t want to play in Vince Carter’s shadow in Toronto but he was tired of carrying the team in Orlando. What’s that saying about cake and eating it as well? I sensed the beginning of the end of T-Mac’s time in O-town when they traded away Mike Miller; they were good friends and played well together.

The 2004 World Series of Poker will start on ESPN on July 6. THANK GOD! Not because I’m really excited to watch it, but that I’m tired of seeing replays of the ’03 tourney. Hey, I betcha that Moneymaker guy wins it all! I don’t know what to make of the whole poker on TV craze. On one hand I do owe TV coverage for my knowledge of the basics of No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em. (I’m sure I could have picked up a book and got this same knowledge.) On the other hand (puns intended) I just can’t watch it over and over and over again.

Al Unser, Jr. is announcing his retirement from auto racing today. I sure hope people will remember “Little Al” as I do, a champion. In recent years he became an uncompetitive driver mired in personal problems. I’ll remember him in the classic red and white Marlboro Penske car.

Champ Cars will make their yearly pilgrimage to the airport at Cleveland. I really miss going to this race, haven’t made it since they changed it to the Fourth of July weekend (which is always taken with family commitments). Sebastien Bourdais is the defending champion of the race. Boy, open wheel racing needs something to happen. Aside from Paul Tracy, all the big names are in the IRL. Sorry, I don’t care how close the finishes have been, open-wheeled race cars only on oval tracks is BORING. There needs to be a single sanctioned circuit with ovals, road and street courses. F1 once a year in the US just isn’t cutting it either. And it won’t until there is an American driver in the circuit. From all accounts there were plenty of seats available at Indy this year. That’s unfathomable with the star power in F1 that that race doesn’t sell out.
If you’re in Johnstown on Friday, July 9 stop in at the War Memorial from 11:00AM to 1:30PM. The Stanley Cup will be on display thanks to Westmont native, and former Chiefs employee, Dana Heinze. He’s the assistant equipment manager with the Lightning.

I brought myself to watch Method and Red on Fox last night. I guess I felt I couldn’t make fun of a show without first watching it. Guess what, I was wrong, I really didn’t need to! I just don’t understand how this garbage got on the air. I can’t imagine back in the day Ice Cube and Dr. Dre doing a sitcom on network TV for cryin’ out loud. Every stereotype you can imagine is prominent too. It will only be a matter of time before my boy Aaron McGrudder who writes/draws “The Boondocks”, the most funny comic strip in newspapers today, to poke fun at this crap. He’s busy with all the political things going on in our world so it might be missed and that will be too bad. I don’t think this show will last to the end of July.

Also on TV: After watching the first two episodes of Nip/Tuck’s second season I just can’t see why anyone would want to get plastic surgery for cosmetic reasons only. That’s some nasty stuff.

Howard Stern is back on the air in the ‘Burgh, much to the chagrin of the followers of the popular B93.7 morning show which basically got the boot.

It looks like the Fed is going to raise interest rates for the first time in four years. Mortgage rates will be going back up shortly so lock in low now while you can.
(Yeah, that’s kind of lame for the business blitz but not much is going on today worthy of being blogged. Stocks are down based on the Fed news that’s about all).

Bye bye.

Not Quite an Inside-the-Park Home Run but good enough!

I read this morning where Somerset’s football coach resigned. That program is a mess and it’s a shame. Sure they got to the playoffs this past year, but come on, that was on a 4-5 regular season record. Don’t get me started on too many teams making playoffs these days, that’s a topic for another day. It has to be a challenge to try and build a program at a school district with such turmoil; there have been three teachers’ strikes in four years. Even Frank Krevetski struck out at Somerset. A district that big really should have an established program and it seems to always just hover around mediocrity. An average 2002 JHS squad beat Somerset 41-0. A Class AAA school has got to be more competitive in football than that. I’ll be curious to see how their school board picks to be Jim Foster’s successor. However, I’d like to see the teachers get their contract first.

The stupidity of the powers that be in the City of Johnstown is back and better than ever. I read where a game was suspended because of darkness… …at the POINT STADIUM! Hmmm, here’s an idea: TURN ON THE LIGHTS GENIOUS!

Just as I was ready to throw something at my TV last night after what seemed like the millionth bad base running mistake, the ball was going out of play and Jack Wilson was scoring the winning run. I can’t think Mac would have been too happy with Jack if he gets nailed at third, which he should have. A win is a win.

This is the first installment of the Business Blitz in which I’ll comment on one or two stories I’ve read in the business world. It only makes sense since that’s my field of study; I have to keep it real right? I’ve mentioned it before but it’s worth noting again; page one writing in the Wall Street Journal is some of the best stuff out there. There is a great piece on a family feud brewing (pun intended) at Molson. Apparently two cousins have been battling for control over the company for some time now and the board is divided. And as many good articles do, another seemingly good business book is discovered: The Molsons: Their Lives and Times by Karen Molson. That definitely sounds like an interesting read. Grab a copy of the WSJ today and take a look, good piece.

USA Today has a story today about Cadillac marketing right-hand vehicles in Great Britain. I’m not really sure if that is a good thing or bad thing for GM. They need to be in the UK if they want to be successful in Europe but at what cost?

Talk to you all later.

Rainy Monday Morning

The East spanked the West 39-13 in the 4th Annual PSFCA East-West All Star game, which was held at Altoona’s Mansion Park. Unfortunately (for me at least), the East continues their dominance over the West. Had it not been for Darelle Revis’ masterful performance for Aliquippa in the AA PIAA final, the East would have swept the West. With many of the summer all star games in the books, the only one of any importance left is the Big 33, which will take place in July.

Well, 2 major sports drafts have taken place since the last time I’ve blogged. I’ll start with the NBA. I put on the draft coverage on ESPN and watched the crawl and was like “who ARE most of these guys?” Even some of the few college players that went in the first round, aside from Okafor, I wasn’t too familiar with. The NBA draft has become the high school/Euro draft. Look, I love college basketball and I know that from the amount of it that I watch I see good players. I just don’t know what some of these scouts see in these guys. Lebron James only comes once in a great while. Emeka Okafor is a great player for the Charlotte Bobcats to build their franchise around. Orlando will regret passing him up. I know, I know, I’m the guy that said ‘Bron would be a flop. I’ve already said I was wrong on that one, but this Howard kid is no Lebron James. Also, tell me how you take Sebastian Telfair over Jameer Nelson? I’m a big proponent of the 20-year-old rule that Commissioner Stern wants, but I can’t see any court letting that happen. The association needs to take a long hard look at the NBDL. They need to expand that thing in two phases. The first phase should work like the NFL Europe works with the NFL; the second phase will see every team having a “farm team” so to speak. That way you can develop these Europeans and high schoolers.

The NHL also held their draft over the weekend. Although the point may be moot since the likelihood of the NHL even having a season in 2004-05 is low. The Penguins got the guy they’ve wanted all along, Russian forward Evgeni Malkin.

Who else was shocked to see the Pirates on the winning side of a 1-0 game? That shocked me more than yesterday’s walloping. A team will give you the blowout every now and then no matter how bad they are. But the low scoring games are harder to win. Finally a good pitching performance isn’t wasted. By the way, if you don’t think that Oliver Perez is the star of the current Bucs pitching staff you’re sadly mistaken. That Brian Giles trade looks better and better each time Perez takes the mound.

Congrads to the San Jose Sabercats for winning the Arena Bowl over the weekend. I have to say, I LOVE Arena Football. I think rather than every 15 years or so someone trying and failing with a spring league (WFL, USFL, XFL, etc) we should just embrace the indoor game. NFL has been doing an outstanding job with the coverage as well. Also, if you miss the games broadcasted, you can check out Fox Sports Net’s excellent program “AFL Weekly” at 3:30 on Mondays (and sporadically throughout the week repeated). I’d rather watch AFL than the NFLE. I miss Johnstown not having a low-level arena team. The Jackals/J-Dogs were fun to watch. Also, congratulations to Meyersdale native Matt Kinsinger, a member of the SaberCats, for winning a championship ring.

Jeff Gordon won the first of Nascar’s Nextel Cup Series’ two road course races yesterday in dominating fashion. Sonoma is one of the few places that the #24 car gets booed at (Indy being the other). Big surprise of the week; Tony Stewart was picking a fight with somebody after the race. Boy has this guy’s act gotten old or what? I equate what is happening now in racing with baseball and the brush back pitch. Twenty years ago, pitchers like Bob Gibson throw at batters, it was part of the game and no one had a problem with it. Now, a guy gets a pitch thrown behind him and he’s ready to fight. Same thing with stock car racing; I guarantee if you go back twenty years you won’t see nearly as many after race altercations between drivers. It’s nonsense and it should stop. Maybe Nascar should make Stewart an example and suspend him the rest of the season. They need to come up with a rule similar to how the NHL banished bench-clearing brawls. The penalties need to be so stiff that it just won’t happen again.

A much more serious incident occurred at a NHRA drag race event over the weekend as Darrell Russell, a top-fuel driver, lost his life in a crash. Thoughts and prayers out to the family.

Time for the Coulter Count: I’m disappointed in a meager three usages of the word liberal (or liberals). Although it’s a fantastic “column” bashing Bill Clinton’s book. Wow! Who didn’t see that one coming?

I actually started the book last night, just read the first chapter though. I think the major complaint from reviews I’ve read is that it’s just too wordy and long-winded. I would think that would be the case with a book nearly 1,000 pages. But hey, War and Peace is a classic right?

And yes, I did finish “The Da Vinci Code” and it is a book definitely worthy of the hype. It would make a fantastic film, if done correctly. If that happens though, don’t sell yourself short, read the book.

Have you ever heard of a hotel bar being closed on Saturday night? Me neither!

...got mad hits like I was Rod Carew

The Pirates won for a change last night, finally having some success in the state of Texas! Jason Kendall, a notorious singles hitter, cracked the game open with his first career grand slam. OK, so it was a cheapy as anything hit to left field at Minute Maid Park but hey, I’ll take it. The broadcast team was a bit on the melodrama, talkin’ ‘bout some “reminded me of Carlton Fisk in the ’75 series!” Come on! Just because a home run hits the foul pole doesn’t give it legendary status. Anyway, if you watch the replay, Kendall is just watching, the fans behind home plate were trying to sway it foul with some reverse mojo. Anyway, a win is a win.

I mentioned earlier this week that the NBA Draft is tonight. I just can’t get excited about this thing. Emeka Okafor and Dwight Howard are slated 1-2 by most so-called experts. This Howard kid doesn’t come in with half the hype that Lebron did, I think it’s a bad pick, shades of Kwame Brown for me. But then again, I’m the same guy that said Lebron would be a flop, I’m still eating humble pie on that one.

In somewhat of a surprise move, Sto-Rox three-sport star Adam Dimichele has decided to opt out of his letter of intent to play football at Penn State and will try his luck at college baseball. It’s tough to say which sport he’s best at because he played so well in all three. Unlike Neil Walker, yes he was a good athlete and fine football player but everyone knew his bread would be buttered in baseball. Not that he couldn’t have gotten offers to play football at a Division I school, but Dimichele would have been a better prospect. It’s somewhat of a risky move this late in the game but there doesn’t seem to be any static from Penn State, they claim they’ll do what’s best for him.

I read where the USA Today will be raising its price to 75 cents in early September. Fine by me, I can’t recall the last time I purchased the print edition. I prefer to look at it free online! One paper that I am really surprised that I could view online was the Wall Street Journal. I used to love getting the print edition, I’d know just where in the paper everything was that I liked to look at. Now, I pay a measly seven bucks a month and view it daily online. You’d spend nearly four times that much buying the print version everyday at the newsstand.

Program alert: Michael Moore will be Jon Stewart’s guest tonight on The Daily Show. There’s no one that’s going to stop on Comedy Central around 11 tonight and mistake it for Fox News Channel, that’s for sure!!!

I know cop dramas and reality shows are a dime a dozen, but if you haven’t watched “The First 48” on A&E, give it a try tonight at 10. It’s a really neat show which focuses on why the first 48 hours are so crucial in a homicide investigation. The cool thing about the show is that they don’t always come out on top, many times the case is still pending with very few leads after the first 48 hours have elapsed.

Apparently the returning champion on Jeopardy has won 15 or 16 times and has amassed winnings in the neighborhood of half a million dollars! I wonder if the show is second guessing its change to there being no limit as to how many times you can come back, I believe the old standard was five days.

TGIT, cause it’s Friday for me! See ya’ll on Monday, have a great weekend!

Hump Diggy

The Nascar Nextel Cup Series visits Sonoma this weekend for one if its two forays into the wonderful world of road racing. Yes, God forbid they’ll be asked to turn right, shift gears, use their brakes, you know, normal driving activity! I’m sure someone will have something to complain about. Regulars like Jeff and Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace are road course pros. You also get specialists like Boris Said and Ron Fellows but all in all, most of these guys can’t handle the demands of this type of racing. Unfortunately with the ever-growing nature of the Nascar schedule, the Sonoma and Watkins Glen races will probably become victims to attrition in five to ten years.

Man, there is absolutely NO buzz about this year’s NBA Draft which takes place tomorrow. Last year was the year of Lebron and although there was little drama, there was much hype. The Akron Beacon-Journal’s Terry Pluto wrote today that he feels the Cavs should draft St. Joe’s point guard extraordinaire Jameer Nelson. I don’t know, I kind of like the offense running through ‘Bron but that’s just me. The real buzz is two-fold, what’s going to happen to the Lakers and what’s up with this T-Mac deal?

So Mary-Kate Olsen has an eating disorder. This comes as no surprise to anyone who has seen her in the past year. Why this is breaking news is beyond me? What’s next, am I going to see a headline that reads “Kirstie Alley may have gained some weight in the past 15 years”? Maybe someone will ask, “what affect will this have on the presidential election”?!

Picked up “My Life” yesterday. Great deal at Target, it’s only $21 versus suggested retail of $35, haven’t seen it advertised any cheaper anywhere else. It is one thick book! I’m sure it’s good too; just have to finish “The Da Vinci Code” first. At the current rate, it won’t take long. I’d love to get my copy autographed but I don’t think the book signing tour is making a stop in the ‘Burgh.

Until we meet again, parting is such sweet sorrow!

Not Tue(sday) Much Going On Today

If you’re in Johnstown this week be kind to the bikers you’ll most likely see. Thunder in the Valley is upon the region. The main difference this year is that you will see, much to my dismay, helmetless riders. Pennsylvania repealed its helmet law last year. I used to cringe when I would visit Ohio and see bikers not wearing a helmet. Now, I can cringe everyday on the roads in Pennsylvania. Why would you NOT want to wear a helmet?

Speaking of oddities in Pennsylvania legislation; look, I understand the pros and cons of gambling but how do you not want slots here in Pa. Especially here in the western part of the state which Pittsburgh’s financial problems so prominent. Go to Wheeling Downs or Mountaineer Park in West Virginia and you’ll see plenty of Pennsylvania license plates. I’m sure you’ll see the same thing at Dover Downs in Delaware, just people from the Philadelphia area traveling across state lines. I guess proponents are just fine with that money leaving our state and being spent in another.

As for the horse game, look at Dover; the quality of racing there was no better than any other lower level harness track before slots. Now with the revenue from slots, bigger purses are offered for races and the quality of the racing has gotten better. Who doesn’t think the same could be done at The Meadows. Look, I’m a big Dave Palone fan, I don’t think anyone is more competitive, but it’s pretty boring watching him win seven or eight races a night. Face it, there are very few tracks around the country that can be successful on racing alone (The Big M comes to mind). Any advantage that a track’s management can get is fine by me.

How about Martina Navratilova winning a Wimbledon singles match at age 47 yesterday?!

If Kobe Bryant beats his rape charges I’d love to see him in New York as a Knick. I don’t know why, I’m not a particular fan of his but I do like the Knicks (not as much as my Sixers!) and they are in bad need of some star quality. The biggest star at MSG the past few years has been courtside… …Spike Lee! And the double endorsement from Nike wouldn’t hurt Kobe’s wallet either.

My videogame playing goes in spurts, I’m either hot or cold. Currently I’m piping hot as I cannot put down my Game Boy Advance. I’ve been playing Need For Speed Underground and it’s a great game. I can only imagine how cool it would be on PC or PS2. The fun part is winning races and unlocking the cars you can’t access right away. I’m currently in a souped up Volkswagen Golf GTI. The Need for Speed series has always been addicting for me, a few years back I couldn’t stop playing Hot Pursuit for PS1.

Go out and pick up a copy of “My Life” today!

FINALLY Monday post

Well, the PIAA spring season is FINALLY over! Congrads to all six champs. The eastern schools won bragging rights, as they were 4-2 on Friday. Here are the results:
Baseball AAA: Chambersburg 12, Peters Township 5
Baseball AA: Northeastern York 6, Huntingdon 3
Baseball A: Neshannock 8, Muncy 4
Softball AAA: Shaler 3, Chambersburg 2
Softball AA: Mifflinburg 3, Bald Eagle Area 0
Softball A: Blue Ridge 2, Sto-Rox 0

Props to Peters Township, down 11-1 after 5 innings they scraped back to score 4 in the top half of the sixth thus avoiding the 10-run rule which would be most embarrassing in a state final.

The North won the Ken Lantzy game 7-0 in the lowest scoring game since they beat the South 6-0 back in 1991. Someone please tell me how an all-star game in which the rules are changed to encourage MORE passing can be so low scoring? That’s like putting Bayern Munich and Manchester United in a match with no goalkeepers and getting a scoreless draw!!! I’m just upset that Sponsky beat Arcurio again in a low scoring game.

Pirates got swept by the Mariners this weekend. All you need to know is M’s pitcher Jamie Moyer had a 2 RBI single Friday night (yes, the Pirates lost by one run that night!) The 41-year-old hadn’t had an RBI since the late 80s! Par for the course for the Bucs this year.

Will somebody tell me how Dick Vitale found his way into the Fox Sports Pittsburgh booth during yesterday’s broadcast? This guy is the Cyril Wecht of sports, has he found a camera or microphone that he doesn’t like?!

Congrads to Ken Griffey Jr. who FINALLY got his 500th home run yesterday. Did it on Father’s Day with Ken, Sr. in attendance. The only thing sweeter would have been getting in Cincy but he had his chances! Those critics who don’t find him worthy of hall of fame status are out of their mind.

Watched another ho hum Ferrari one-two finish in yesterday’s US Grand Prix. Two bright spots: BAR Honda’s Takuma Sato became the first Japanese driver since 1990 to be on the podium. I really like this guy, he’s not afraid to race. Also, I was glad to hear that Ralf Schumacher was OK after what looked like a violent crash yesterday on the fastest stretch on any F1 course. Was it just me, or did it take FOREVER for a safety crew to get to his car?

I FINALLY got to start reading The Da Vinci Code over the weekend and I’m upset I didn’t start earlier because I couldn’t put it down. I guess all the hype is true on this one.

Have you heard? Bill Clinton has a book coming out tomorrow!

First full week of blogging comes to an end!

Good luck to all the west teams in today’s PIAA baseball and softball finals. Here’s hoping the west is well represented in squads that bring home the gold.

Congrads to Pine-Richland’s Neil Walker, he signed his contract yesterday and is on his way to Bradenton. He took batting practice at PNC yesterday and is getting just under $2 million as a signing bonus. Not bad for a young buck just graduating high school.

Buccos won last night, taking two of three from Anaheim. Amazingly, the Pirate pitching staff held Vladimir Guerruero RBI-less in the three-game series. And a good performance from Kris Benson, how ‘bout that! There are many double standards when it comes to athletes and race and looking at Benson you see one of them. When a player shows no emotion and they’re black they are considered lazy and indifferent. Tracy McGrady comes to mind. HOWEVA, when Benson shows the same characteristics he’s considered “stoic” and “cool”. Just my thoughts.

The genius legend of Pitt football coach Walt Harris continues. In a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this morning, it is brought to my attention that the Pitt kickers only go to Heinz Field once or twice a week to kick. The rest of the time what are they doing? Holding the chains and sideline markers during drills at the South Side Complex! Are you kidding me?! I would want my kicker at that stadium every minute he could be there. Heinz Field is a terrible kicker’s field, especially the opened end. Why not have your kicker getting as many reps as he can on the game field.

Watch Akron’s football program this year. Former Pitt offensive coordinator J.D. Brookhart is taking over the reins there. We all know that the terminology “offensive coordinator” at Fuhrer Harris’ staff means nothing. Brookhart will get to make decisions and game plan. Maybe Pitt will have the Zips on the schedule and another MAC team can beat a Walt Harris “coached” team. We all remember Toledo last year right? Now that I think of it, that was just a situation of the players not playing the way they are coached to play! That line is my favorite Walt Harris line, hopefully his reign of terror will be over soon.

If you’re looking to donate some money to charity check out www.billygaines.org. It’s a charitable organization set up in memory of late Pitt WR Billy Gaines.

I see where Arkansas and Texas on ESPN tonight. I love the College World Series and the PING of the aluminum bat. The players play with so much passion and emotion; things that are definitely absent in MLB. I can still remember former Pirate Warren Morris hitting the walk off home run to give LSU the crown. Although his pro career never quite panned out, he’ll always have that great memory of single handedly winning his school a national championship.

I just heard on ESPN Radio where Emmitt Smith is the Cardinals starting running back as of right now. Gee, and I thought Denny Green wanted to win and turn around the program at Arizona!

I was watching Deborah Norville and Scarborough Country last night on MSNBC. Apparently, as expected, there is public outcry against Michael Moore’s upcoming film “Fahrenheit 9/11”. Conservative movements are calling for theaters to not show it and basically just making a big deal out this. The movie opens next Friday and is getting all sorts of free publicity. It’s not as if Moore needs the help, the film did win at Cannes. It’s like they say, “any publicity is good publicity”!!!

Have a great weekend, see you Monday!

Chinese food makes me drop a Sid Deuce

It was a pretty rainy day in Johnstown yesterday from what my mother tells me. She called me on her cell phone from her car as she was trapped there until the rain slowed down. You know, I was never one to wait in the car, I’d rather get back in my house after getting a little wet but that’s just me.

As preparation for the Ken Lantzy classic continues I realize that Bishop Carroll’s Craig Sponsky is the coach for the North squad. He should be right at home; this is one game where you actually can recruit! Seriously, I really hoped the South wins so that Coach Arcurio can get a little bit of revenge for that horribly officiated game against BC this past year. I think this is the year that JHS finally will be Bishop Carroll. Besides, the game will be at Trojan Stadium and should get a big crowd. Actually, an early guess at the Trojans’ schedule shows a nice home schedule with BC, Forest Hills and McCort again (although that will be an “away” game if the Point is not ready).

I ran across a pretty nice article on the Blairsville Dispatch’s website yesterday. The Dispatch is owned by the Tribune-Review, so you can easily access the site from www.pittsburghlive.com. It’s a nice piece from about a month ago that chronicles Frank Krevetski’s career. I think I never cared for him because during my playing days, he was Bishop McCort’s coach and you all know how I feel about Catholic schools (especially McCort!) Plus, he was the first coach there to beat JHS (did it TWICE to boot, I was there for one of them as a player, not fun at all). His seven years there are just a blip on the radar screen of his career. He spent 22 years at United (’69-’88 and ’96-‘97) and four seasons at Somerset (’98-’01). He’ll be entering his third year as an unpaid offensive assistant back at United. The head coach is one of his former quarterbacks. One thing that I thought was classy, in this day and age of large egos at the top, he admitted he was wrong for going to Somerset. There are so few coaches that admit their mistakes these days, I just found this refreshing.

The rain held off last night and Jose Mesa did the same to the Angels. They did make it interesting (too much for my taste) but that’s OK. Pirates win and I got my Phil Garner figurine!

The amount of media coverage the Pitt Panthers men’s basketball team has gotten that past few years has been tremendous and deservedly so. However, don’t sleep on the job that Danny Nee is doing at crosstown Duquense. I truthfully think that program, as well as the Atlantic 10 conference as a whole, is on the rise. Quick trivia: Which program has a member on the World Champion Detroit Pistons? Answer: Duquesne’s Mike James plays on the Pistons.

Today brings the second installment of the “Coulter Count”. Ann’s latest “column” appears on Yahoo today and features the word liberal or liberals seven times. That’s 1.6 below her previous average. She better pick it up if she expects to get that Pulitzer.

Set your VCR for 60 Minutes Sunday, full hour interview with Bill Clinton. Exposes his thoughts of the right-wing conspiracy, should be good stuff.

Peace out.

(Don't worry, you have to be in my circle of friends to get today's title! Don't rack your brain too much!)

Check-CH-Check the Weblog Out!!!

Well, the PIAA finals are all set. Peters Township ended Kiski Area’s dream season yesterday, beating them 10-2.

The annual Ken Lantzy All Star football game will take place this Saturday night at Windber Stadium. I was a little bitter when the Point lost the game, but I’ll be the first to admit that Windber is a far better place to view a football game. Johnstown High is well represented, as Bob Arcurio is the South head coach. He has Greg Gardill, Tony Penna, Jr. and Brian Wright from the Trojan staff assisting him. As far as players, the Somerset Daily American has the rosters published on their website this morning. They are listing four Trojans: Rick Sisco, Jeff Schellhammer, Greg Nash and Antonio Martin. However, the Tribune-Democrat’s website has reported that Schellhammer has a previous commitment and won’t be able to play. If you’re in the J-town area and not doing anything Saturday night, go out and support the guys.

The rain held off last night and the Pirates blew one again. Torres comes in to pitch the top of the ninth with a tie score and gives up two runs. I know it’s not a save situation, but did Mesa fall out of favor with Mac this quickly after Saturday’s meltdown? I think Mesa has been one of the lone bright spots as far as pitching is concerned and quite frankly, he was due for a poor performance.

Sports talk in the ‘burgh has been all over firing Mac or David Littlefield or both. Look, I’ll be the first to admit I thought that Mac was a bad hire as manager and he does get some of the blame. I can’t see firing the GM yet, he’s too new. I still think Cam Bonifay got somewhat of a raw deal, I guess you’re only as good as your last deal… …Derek Bell. The answer lies with the owner and you can’t fire him. He’s the one, along with the other small market teams, that agreed to this set-up that guarantees they’ll never be competitive.

Let me be the millionth person to congratulate Larry Brown for winning his first NBA title. I’m also ecstatic that the Lakers got their butts handed to them. Hey Stephen A. Smith, IT’S OVA!!!! HOWEVA, I am so freakin’ sick of people making these Kobe/MJ comparisons. I am no cheerleader for Jordan; you want that call Ahmad Rashad or David Aldridge. But he would have NEVER let one of his Bulls teams get spanked like this.

You don’t think Pittsburgh has some redneck in it? Well, it was just announced this morning that we’re going to host the Bassmasters tournament. ‘Nuff said.

I read today that the ECHL is dumping the stupid one-game playoff between the fourth and fifth place team. This set-up caused the Chiefs season to end early this year. I know, I know, Reading then upset Wheeling but they really didn’t belong in the playoffs to begin with. The league is re-aligning the conferences and divisions and they lost Cincinnati’s franchise (folded) so there is no need for the play in game. I don’t think it was needed before. Remember the old NHL set up with the Conferences (Wales and Campbell) and Divisions (Patrick, Adams, Norris and Smythe). When the Colorado Rockies moved to New Jersey and became the Devils they were placed in the Patrick Division which gave it six teams, while ever other division had five. In the other three divisions one team didn’t make the playoffs, but in the Patrick, two teams went home. There was absolutely nothing wrong that set-up. Oh well, it is the ECHL and they’re still doing that crappy shootout which I hate.

Hope you all picked up “To the 5 Boroughs” yesterday. It’s on point. At Best Buy they have the little sticker with the price and what they categorize the music as. I find it ironic that they choose Rock-Alternative when in reality it’s all hip hop. No instrumentals or Sabotage-like rock songs. I know some of my right wing peeps won’t like some of the lyrics on “It Takes Time to Build” and “We Got The” but all in all, it’s pretty tight.

The liner notes are neat because they have the full lyrics but there are editor’s notes and footnotes throughout them and the sketch drawings of New York are really cool too. The emotionally charged “An Open Letter to NYC” touched me, I can only imagine how a native New Yorker takes it.

And the metaphoric rhymes are at their best, two of my favorites: from “Hey F**k You” ‘I’ve got billions and billions of rhymes to flex/’cause I’ve got more rhymes than Carl Sagan’s got turtlenecks’ [complete with Carl Sagan voice!] and from “Shazam” ‘I splash on beats like sauce on spaghetti/putting MCs out of business like they’re Crazy Eddie.’

Fox debuts “Method and Red” tonight. Remember when it wasn’t cool for hip hop stars to “sell out”. It seems like it’s cool these days. I can’t see this piece of garbage lasting more than a month. How did they pitch that one to Fox? “Did you see ‘How High’? Well this show will pretty much be that movie in half hour segments.”

How long will it take for Boondocks to make fun of this program? I know he poked fun at the Eve show earlier this year. That is the funniest comic strip going on these days. Check out today’s strip to see what I mean.

I’m off to PNC Park, holler at ya later.

Greetings from beautiful, rainy Pittsburgh... ...or Seattle East!

Hopefully after today, the PIAA finals will be set for baseball and softball. All the games were completed yesterday except the AAA west final in baseball between Kiski Area and Peters Township. Chambersburg is awaiting the winner of that one. The other finals are set and they are as follows:
Baseball AA: Northeastern York vs. Huntingdon
Baseball A: Muncy vs. Neshannock
Softball AAA: Chambersburg vs. Shaler
Softball AA: Mifflinburg vs. Bald Eagle Area
Softball A: Blue Ridge vs. Sto-Rox

The baseball games will be at Commerce Bank Park in Harrisburg, the softball games at Robb Field at Shippensburg University. They’ll also be televised by the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) throughout the weekend. This link gives the schedule: http://www.pcntv.com/6_14_04.htm

You know, I’ve come full circle on interleague play. When it first debuted I hated it. Then as the matchups got interesting (Cubs/White Sox, Mets/Yankees) I paid attention. Now, I want to do away with it. Does anyone really care about an A’s/Pirates series? Or how about Rockies/Yankees? Or how about ANY American League team against the Marlins or Expos? I guess I’ve done a John Kerry flip-flop huh? You know, because a Democrat isn’t allowed to change their mind, unlike a certain former president that will go nameless (George H.W. Bush)… “read my lips…”

I’m glad to add Pokey Reese to the long list of Pirates that have done better for themselves after leaving Pittsburgh. Jason Schmidt, Jon Leiber, Esteban Loaiza, Aramis Ramirez, Reggie Sanders, etc, etc. Maybe Kris Benson will finally win that Cy Young award that Peter Gammons said he would years back,…. AS A YANKEE!!!

There’s good news and bad news with the Pirates yesterday. Good news is they didn’t lose, bad news is they didn’t play! It appears as they will get rained out yet again tonight as it is very gloomy looking outside at this hour in the ‘burg.

Congrads to Jim Thome who hit his 400th career home run last night against the Reds. I always thought he was the prime candidate to hit a ball in the river at PNC. Not Darryl Ward for goodness sake!!!

Tim Couch’s playing time days are over, signing to be Brett Favre’s backup is like being that dude that Lou Gehrig took his place, 2000 games later…

I’m short but sweet today, see you tomorrow.

Monday Morning Blues

Weather permitting; the PIAA baseball and softball semifinals will take place today. In baseball there is a WPIAL representative guaranteed for the A and AAA baseball finals. The Western final in A is Neshannock and Carmichaels, in AAA Peters Township will take on Kiski Area. In AA, the Western representative will either be from the WPIAL (Riverside) or District 6 (Huntingdon). In softball Western finals, Sto-Rox (WPIAL) will take on Smethport (District 9) in A. Sto-Rox continues to be in my mind the top small-school all-around sports program in the state. Just this year, they reached the WPIAL final in football, won the PIAA final in Boys’ Basketball, their baseball team made it to the PIAA quarterfinals and the softball team is in the state semifinals. No WPIAL representative from the AA bracket, as the Western final is Northwestern (District 10-Erie Area) against Bald Eagle Area (District 6). Finally in AAA, Shaler (WPIAL) will take on Bellefonte (District 6). Good luck to all the District 6 and WPIAL teams going for PIAA gold.

I bet the Pirates are glad their recent road trip is over. After getting whupped by the A’s yesterday in Oakland, they dropped to 11 games under .500! Wasn’t it just two weeks ago that they swept the Cubs at PNC Park in a dramatic doubleheader? That walk-off grand slam and walk-off extra inning home run must have maxed them out for the season.

I was in Baltimore this past weekend for a friend’s bachelor party. Part of the festivities was taking in an Orioles game at Camden Yards. A beautiful ballpark no doubt, but my favorite is still PNC. We have Baltimore to thank for starting the retro styling, fan-friendly stadia. All the cold, heartless cement bowl, hard Astroturf fields are pretty much extinct. Even the remaining parks with turf have pretty much switched over to the FieldTurf type surface that looks and acts more like grass.

The Giants were in Baltimore for an interleague series and I’ll say that I stood and clapped each time Barry Bonds came up. One word that I try not to use is “hate” in the context of “don’t be a hater”. However, there was pure hatin’ going on at Camden Yards Saturday. The Balco thing hasn’t helped Barry out, but this has been going on everywhere pretty much since he left Pittsburgh. Barry isn’t my favorite player, and I’ll be the first to admit that part of my standing and clapping was just to incite fans (all I heard was some quiet muttering late in the game). The cats in front of me sat with their hands in their laps when Bonds came up to bat, but had the nerve to stand and clap when Bonds went opposite field to hit his 675th home run. 675!!! Willie Stargell is a legend in Pittsburgh and he retired with 475. That’s 200 more home runs than a hall of famer that played 20 plus years in the big leagues.

Rafael Palmeiro hit two home runs, the second of which puts him ahead of Mickey Mantle on the all-time home run list. Yet still, there are people who think him unworthy of the hall of fame.

Have I mentioned how great I think it is that the Pistons are on the verge of dumping the almighty Lakers in the NBA finals? I’ll personally volunteer to feed loudmouth Stephen A. Smith humble pie on the air.

Last week I poked fun at ultra-conservative “columnist” Ann Coulter and her inability to write a column without using the word “liberal”. Well, I did some research and have some numbers to back up my claim. This will be the first installment of the “Coulter Count”. In the last five columns that were featured on the Yahoo Op-Ed page, she has used the word 43 times. That’s an average of 8.6 times per column! Her high was 11, low 6. I’m setting an over-under at 9 for your entertainment purposes (it’s only exhibition, not competition, as always… please no wagering). I can only imagine what one of her “books” is like. I’ll be going to the library for any of that stuff though.

The funny thing is Lake Superior State University puts out an annual Banished Words List. Back in 1995, they had this about the word “liberal”
“Liberal – Columnist Bob Cudmore of The Record in Albany, NY, recently wrote: ‘Banish liberal or at least have it declared an obscenity, which is what the word had become. It’s probably better today to be called a Marxist, a Commie, a pinko, a fellow-traveler or a useful idiot…If liberal was deemed obscene by academics and dictionary-makers, maybe conservative talk show hosts, callers, commentators and politicians would be less likely to use the word…Perhaps then, instead of deploring an idea as liberal, conservative speakers would have to explain why they are against it.’”

Got to listen to two CDs from a recent large purchase from Columbia House. It was a great deal, they sent me a letter to cancel and re-subscribe, I got 12 free and then 1 for 6.95 and two more free with no shipping. 15 CDs for under $50. I’ve got some that the plastic isn’t even off, I’ll try to pass on reviews when I see fit. Two of them you should pick up are Jet’s “Get Born” and Maroon 5’s “Songs About Jane”. Listened to them multiple times to and fro Baltimore this weekend and both are recommended.

Pick up the Chappelle’s Show season one DVD set if you get a chance, the extras and bloopers on the second disc. Some of the stuff that got left on the cutting room floor is pretty funny.

I can’t wait until Family Guy comes back to the air (early ’05 I think). This is the first case of a show being brought back to life because of DVD sales. If you don’t have the DVDs you can still catch the show every night at 11:30 on Cartoon Network. I know Leno and Letterman rule the late night circuit but watch this show if you missed it during its too short run on Fox.

Get to Best Buy tomorrow and pick up “To the Five Boroughs”. Only $9.99.

TGIF!!!

Mother nature messed with yesterday's quarterfinal schedule for the PIAA baseball and softball playoffs. 11 games around the state were cancelled or suspended due to rainy weather yesterday. In the games that did get in, Bellefonte's softball team beat Baldwin 1-0 and will take on Shaler Monday. In AAA baseball, Peters Township beat District 6 Indian Valley 9-7 and will face Kiski Area Monday. Kiski continued its dream season by beating North Allegheny 9-4. The postponed games will be made up today and tomorrow, so the semifinals will still go on as scheduled for Monday.

Mario Lemieux basically told local politicians to shove off yesterday during a press conference at his annual charity golf tournament. I don't blame him, the Pirates and Steelers got there new parks, why can't the Pens? In case you've forgotten, Mario is part of the last professional championship that was brought to this so-called "City of Champions". Let's face, the Mellon Arena in an antiquated piece of crap. Don't believe me? I implore you to go to Cleveland and take in a Cavs game at the Gund Arena; your opinion will change very quickly.

Then I see Ron Cook's column today in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette basically blaming 9/11 for not having a new arena in Pittsburgh. Give me a break! Honestly, is 9/11 going to be the end all excuse for everything bad that happens until like 2011? I sure hope not, it will be like post-1977 Johnstown, where everything wrong was blamed on the flood.

I really wish that a plan could be devised that could fit an NHL approved rink in the Peterson Events Center. Then Mario could strike up an agreement with the University of Pittsburgh and basically tell the city, county and state to blow off. I know it would be a scheduling nightmare between the Pens and Pitt's Men's and Women's hoops squads, but it is food for thought.

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Ray Charles yesterday. "America the Beautiful" is truly his song. Just thinking of him singing that song gives me goose bumps. He was a master of many different styles of music and a true patriotic person. Patriotic in a pre-9/11 sense, when EVERYONE was allowed to patriotic. You know, when you could disagree with your country's policies, leaders, etc. and still love your country. Conservatives nowadays would have you think they're mutually exclusive. They feel they have the monopoly on being patriotic and Christian. You can’t disagree with anything President Bush says or does or you’re committing treason. I'd like to proudly proclaim that I believe in God, love my country and am a liberal. Yes, it's possible.

Furthermore, I’m tired of hearing about the liberal media bias; it’s been a lovefest on all the network news broadcasts about Reagan. I think Reagan is getting a very fair shake right now. Out of respect many democrats are saying kind things and I see nothing wrong with that. He wasn’t my favorite president but it could have been worse (like, his Vice President’s forgetful term). Leave it too the blond blowhard Ann Coulter to be critical in latest column that can be seen on Yahoo. I’d actually love to challenge her in person to write a column without using the word “liberal”.

I’d like to think we live in a society that thinks it’s OK to celebrate someone’s strengths, regardless of their political affiliation, upon their passing. We’ll see what happens when Jimmy Carter dies. Yes, his presidency was troubled but I think he’s done more than enough to make up for that in the years that have followed. We shall see.

Will SNL’s Robert Smigel make a new Ex-Presidents cartoon in memory of Reagan and add Clinton to the crew now?

I can’t WAIT until Fahrenheit 9/11 comes out.

Have a good weekend, I’m out like Seacrest.

Just my thoughts

I finished watching the JHS highlight tape yesterday. I pretty much stand by my comments yesterday. I'd give it a 7 1/2 out of 10. It was nice to see footage from the Central, Indian Valley and Huntingdon games. My favorite graphic came during footage from the Bishop Carroll game. "Domination except on the scoreboard". We held our own against the A state runner-up and were pretty much ripped off by some poor officiating.


Good luck to the remaining teams from District 6 in the PIAA quarterfinals of baseball and softball. All games will be played today and the following teams are still alive:
Baseball-Huntingdon and Bellefonte (AA) and Indian Valley (AAA)
Softball-Bald Eagle Area (AA) and Bellefonte (AAA)

On 5/26/04 the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ran a piece about the starting of a football program at Seton Hill College. This got me to thinking, if Seton Hill can have football, why not Pitt-Johnstown? UPJ is the biggest of all of Pitt's branch campuses, they have a ton of land (including practice fields that Pitt's football team used to use when they had their camp there, before the South Side Complex was built) and for game purposes they could use a variety of fields in the area. Richland's is practically on campus. Vo-Tech has been sitting idle since they disbanded their athletics programs a few years ago. Forest Hills, Windber and a remodeled Point Stadium could all be options. You'd have minimal maintenance, namely skinnier field goal posts, a play clock and a different set of hashmarks. There is definitely enough of a local talent pool to be competitive on a Division 2 or 3 level for sure.

Larry Bird's recent comments during an interview with Jim Gray somewhat confuse me. First he says the NBA needs more white superstars, then he says he was offended when a white guy was sent out to guard him. ??? You know, as a child of the 80s I have fond memories of the Lakers/Celtics rivalry. However, I always thought I was pressured to like Boston because they had white guys. I never cared much for Bird. Actually, I thought McHale, Parrish and DJ were the glue that held those teams together. I'm not saying Bird had no game, that performance in that 3-point contest where he didn't even take his warmups off was classic. It was either Isiah or Rodman that made the comment about Bird being slightly overrated because of his whiteness and I think there is some truth to that. I feel the same way about Duke, I hate Duke and don't tell me I have to like them because they got white guys on their squad.

Fact of the matter is, race is irrelevant to the true fan. Look at Pitt basketball for instance. This past year, one white guy got significant playing time. Quite frankly I could have done without Yuri Demitrius' minutes (I've never seen a guy pass up so many open shots). That being said, look around at the attendance at the Peterson Events Center, I would bet that 95% of the kids wearing those "Oakland Zoo" t-shirts are white. You root for your home team regardless.

I've had a couple of days now to digest Bill Parcells' "Jap" comment and two things come to mind. First, it shows how irrelevant Asian-Americans' feelings are in our society. Had he dropped a derogatory comment about blacks or Jews he'd have been fired. I read just this morning where CNBC fired the WWE wrestler Bradshaw because he made a Hitler like gesture at a match in Munich. Secondly, it continues to prove that every time a celebrity prefaces their comments with "no offense" or "no disrespect" that is EXACTLY what they're going to do.

Actually, Tuna's got his hands full with Antonio Bryant's meltdown of the month. Honestly, who didn't see this coming, this guy was a ticking timebomb during his days at Pitt. Truthfully though, he has a point, he shouldn't be the third WR behind that waste of skin Keyshawn Johnson. (Oh, I forgot, he has a superbowl ring so he's a God)

Does anyone have a logical explanation as to why Baseball Tonight and ESPN Radio's Rob Dibble seems to hate Ken Griffey Jr. so much. In the past few weeks as Griffey has been counting down to his milestone 500th home run, Dibble has been blasting him stating he's an "average player". Not sure how a guy that dominated the 90s is now only average. Dan Patrick has brought on expert after expert to debate this point with Dibble but he's stuck to his guns. Dibble was long retired before Griffey got to Cincy. When Dan Patrick defends Griffey, Dibble cites him as a "homer" and then when all else fails the meathead comes out with this gem (that he always uses when he's pushed against the wall) "how many major league games have you played in?" This is the nonsense that Howard Cosell was talking about over 20 years ago with his "jockocracy" comments. Dibbs blasted Griffey last season when he hurt himself diving after a ball in centerfield, saying it was too early in the season to do that. Now he says he can't stay in shape and that is why he's always hurt! Excuse me, but Griffey doesn't appear to look any different in his uniform than he did during his days in Seattle. It's a shame when what seems like a personal agenda gets in the way of critical analysis.

Going a step further on yesterday's comments about Reagan on a coin or bill, there is precedent. The US Mint put JFK on the half dollar and this was probably an easy decision since Ben Franklin was already on the $100 bill. So, where there are multiple likenesses get rid of one. One of my friends suggested Reagan on the $2. Yeah, it's an irrelevant bill in the scheme of things but Jefferson is already on the nickel. Just a thought!

And finally today, I read where Lea Fastow of the Enron debacle will be going to jail on July 12. She was hoping to serve in a minimum-security "Club Fed" type of place, unfortunately for her she'll serve her year in a maximum-security federal prison in downtown Houston. Hopefully the hard time will get her into shape. I've always looked at her and thought she'd be really pretty if she dropped like 40 or 50 pounds. She was probably quite the looker in her younger years.

Does anyone really think this hard line approach to corporate criminals is going to make a difference? These guys will do their time and get back on their feet. Michael Miliken (of 80s junk bond fame) and Bruce McNall (former LA Kings owner that was indicted on bank fraud) are two examples of life after prison turning out OK.

Until we meet again...

Movies, Books, Music and Video Games... ...and some high school sports too!!!

I finally got a chance to put in the 2003 highlight tape of JHS football that I purchased from Heck's a few weeks ago. My first impression: It's not bad, but it's not great either. There are some good action shots, but also some sideline stuff with benchwarmers and cheerleaders that I could do without. The music choices aren't bad, but there are some real amateur looking on-screen graphics. I only got through the highlights of the first three games, probably because the opening sequence is entirely too long. Also, I guess I'm spoiled by years of viewing NFL Films programming and hearing the late John Facenda and now Harry Kalas! There is a funny piece after the Forest Hills game where an injured player on crutches is stomping on the newspaper piece that had all the local sportswriters picking FH to beat us! Another nice thing is there is some sideline in huddle shots where you can hear coaching going on, I never noticed cameras that close on the sidelines during time-out. More to come, as I will finish watching the video soon.

I was glad to see the Pirates draft Pine-Richland's Neil Walker in the first round of the MLB draft Monday. Something tells me he'll be converted to 3B or 1B though. Not sure if that's a good idea, I mean J.R. House has been the catcher of the future for what seems an eternity. Lord knows I'm counting the days that Jason Kendall is no longer in town. Walker's father played in the majors and that leads me to my next point, does anyone else think there is a tad bit of nepotism when it comes to ex-ballplayers' sons being drafted? I read a story on the Tribune Democrat's website today about Pete Vuckovich, Jr. being drafted in the 48th round. I am the only one that didn't even realize this kid was playing college baseball? I know that Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. and even the afore mentioned Kendall have probably outplayed their fathers' legacies, but I have to think for every one of those guys, there are like 10 Pete Rose Jrs.

There aren't too many artists that I would go to the store to pick up their CD on release date but there will be one next week. "To the Five Boroughs" by the Beastie Boys will drop on 6/15 and if the rest of the album is anything like "CH-Check it Out" I'll be a happy camper. I've read mixed reviews, but movie and music critics... ...don't get me started! So other offerings I highly recommend are N.E.R.D.'s "Fly or Die" (blows "In Search of" out of the water) and Mark Ronson's "Here Comes the Fuzz". Funkmaster Flex and DJ Clue seem to have the Mixtape genre on lockdown, but Ronson's CD is tight and star-studded (Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Q-Tip, Anthony Hamilton and Sean Paul to name a few).

I'm an avid reader but for whatever reason I can't get myself motivated to read Dan Brown's wildly popular Da Vinci Code. Will someone please give me a reason to start reading this so I can stop staring at the cover of it?!

Do any other Game Boy Advance owners think that while the re-release of some of Nintendo's classic games from the NES system (Super Mario, Donkey Kong and Excitebike to name a few) with retro packaging is cool, charging $15-20 for is a total rip-off? Especially when Namco, Konami et al have release single cartridges with multiple games on them at the same price. Oh well, I'll probably still buy the Super Mario one; my all-time favorite non-sports video game.

And finally, with the death of President Reagan there has been talk of his likeness being put on either the dime or $10 bill. That's all well and good, but is there some kind of protocol as to removing the person already on said currency. Obviously, the US Government thought enough of Roosevelt and Hamilton in the first place so why should their legacies be lessened because someone else kicked it?

That's all for now, see you tomorrow.

Welcome

I wanted to welcome everyone to the Trojan Nation Weblog. There will be a daily posting (hopefully) and anything of relevance to talk about. Things will be slow since the summer is upon us, but I'm hoping when the fall comes back around, we'll be in full swing.