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March 31, 2005
Photo of the Day - Gorilla
Bronx Zoo, 2002. The gorillas spent as much time watching the people outside their habitant as the people did watching them. The gorillas really seemed fascinated by what they were seeing. Or maybe they were just bored.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)
The Michael Waltrip Version of Q&A Questions Never to Be Asked
So I just got to thinking about the Michael Waltrip version of the wildly inappropriate questions for a fan Q&A. First and foremost would be "So that photo - real or fake?" "How do you really feel about the crew chief/crew switch?" "How do you really feel about not having the roof hatches anymore?" "So that day when I saw you at the Dover race what were you so preoccupied about?" "What's the real reason why Slugger Labbe resigned as your crew chief and why did he leave DEI?" "How did you really feel when DEI released Steve Park?" "What's the real story about the ultimatum DEI gave you and how are they really treating you?" "Why did you once almost get in a fistfight with Terry LaBonte after a race?" "How often do you cruise the internet reading what fans say about you?" "Which of your fellow drivers do you dislike?" "Do you really think Kasey Kahne is cute?" "Have you ever been tempted to bust out with one of these kind of wildly inappropriate questions during Inside Nextel Cup or Trackside?" (Oh, wait he often does that!) "That soul patch - why?" "The Todd Bodine incident - stuck throttle my rear end - how often do you retaliate (or try to) against another driver like that?" And of course any number of questions along the lines of "Is X, Y, or Z true?"
Posted by silverdsl at 09:06 PM | Comments (0)
Steve Park Fan Q&A
So Steve Park has been doing a neat thing on his site in that periodically he takes questions that have been emailed by his fans and answers them. It's always interesting to read his answers and the fans who get their questions answered really get a thrill out of it. He will be doing another round of Q&A next week. So I'm trying to think of a question to ask and unfortunately all the questions I can think of thus far are either completely inappropriate or he would never answer (or answer honestly). Stuff like "Why the heck hasn't Orleans Racing been able to find a primary sponsor for your truck yet?" "What's the real story behind the dismissal of that female GM that Orleans had for about a month last year?" "If a driver came out of the closet, what would the reaction in the garage area really be?" "How accepting are the drivers in the Truck Series really of the female drivers?" "Say, do you know what happened to Bobby Hamilton's wife who mysteriously disappeared?" "Could a driver really lose a sponsor or get released for getting a divorce?" "How do you really feel about those pesky little morality clauses?" "What do the drivers really do with all the stuff that fans give them?" "What's the real story behind your release from DEI?" "What's your relationship with Richard Childress like now?" "Did you really say what I was told you said over the radio when you won at Fontana, who is "us," and how mad was she at you later?" "Which of your fellow drivers do you dislike?" or in relation to the burning discussion on one message board, "Do some of you really go commando during races?" and "Is it true that all you drivers have fertility problems due to all that heat 'down there' during the races?" And there's a whole host of questions along the lines of "So is X, Y or Z true?" Boy, do I have one or two things I would love to get confirmed or denied! Hee, hee, hee. But I'll have to think of something good to ask that is appropriate, though not as amusing.
What I'm actually going to ask is probably something like "How long do drivers hold grudges against their fellow drivers for incidents on the track" and "How hard it is to (or how do you) keep your emotions in check after an incident on the track?"
Posted by silverdsl at 08:23 PM | Comments (0)
Yankees Make Ill Child's Wish Come True
Here's a nice story about how a kid from Connecticut with leukemia got to spend time at Spring Training with the Yankees during spring training through Make-a-Wish. Obviously the time with the Yankees was a highlight for him but it sounds like Make-a-Wish and his family really went all out to make sure the entire trip was wonderful. I always like hearing stories like this about how athletes and celebrities take the time to make someone's day a little brighter, particularly when it's a child who is dealing with a life-threatening illness.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:41 PM | Comments (0)
Terri Schiavo Passes Away
13 Days After Feeding Tube Removed
I'm not going to get into the right or wrongs of this situation as I decided when I put this blog together that I would not be dicussing politics or religion in this space for the most part. So since this case is both politically and religiously charged and in general touches on a lot of issues very sensitive to a lot of people I will keep my specific thoughts about all of this to myself. I will just say may she rest in peace.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)
March 30, 2005
Johnny Damon Admits to Cheating on His Wife in New Book
Johnny's Ex-Wife Not Too Happy
It's pretty much a fact of life that athletes cheat on their significant others. While there is no doubt that there are some who are faithful, it is almost part of the culture of being an athlete that they cheat. There are constantly women (and probably some men too) throwing themselves at these guys and it's probably quite a feeling of power to know that for many of them they can have any woman they want. So they take advantage. And often there isn't anyone who is willing to tell them that their behavior isn't such a good idea. In fact, there are people around who enable that behavior. Of course none of this behavior is ideal but the reality is that it happens and frequently. Any woman who gets involved with an athlete has to be extremely strong because they will have to be able to put up with things that I certainly couldn't.
Which brings us to one Johnny Damon, centerfielder for the Boston Red Sox. He has a new book coming out which is essentially an autobiography. In his book he discusses how he cheated on his first wife any number of times, including immediately following the birth of his twins. Between the book and one of the article above Damon and his ex-wife point the finger as to who is to blame for the problems in their marriage but it's clear that Damon was not mature enough or ready to be married at age 19. From the cheating itself to saying that he wanted to have a good time and not have to "pick out furniture." Well, having a house and other adult responsibilities does tend to come with getting married and having kids. If Damon's attitudes haven't changed I have some doubts about how long his new marriage is going to last.
What's incredible to me is that Damon is even detailing all of this in his book. First of all, how widespread cheating is among baseball players is one of those dirty little secrets that every knows but no one talks about. So that someone is opening up about it in a book is surprising. In addition, Damon really comes off as a real jerk, particularly as it relates to cheating after his wife has just given birth. Sometimes people get trapped in a bad marriage or there are other circumstances that lead to people cheating - life definitely isn't perfect and people find themselves in situations that aren't ideal. But after his wife has just given birth to twins? That just really makes him look bad, particularly since it's obvious that there was no "agreement" between himself and his wife or that he was in a long-time relationship with another woman. Not that any of that makes it right but at least then you could understand his thinking a bit. But running out to cheat with a random stranger when his wife has just given birth really doesn't reflect well on him. So I can't imagine why he would think that it's a good idea to discuss all of these things in such detail in his book. While there are plenty of fans like myself who accept that the players aren't perfect, there are many fans who will think less of him once they hear about this.
But beyond that I can't understand why Damon is so open about discussing all of this given that his children are still relatively young. Why air his dirty laundry like that knowing that it could impact his kids? But in his haste to write the book, Damon didn't give much thought to his kids and how they would feel to have the entire world know that their father cheated on their mother. His ex-wife claims that she's thinking about their children but if that's the case why is she giving such a detailed interview to the Herald, spilling even more dirt about the failed marriage? It just seems like the details of the failed Damon marriage were better left under wraps.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:25 PM | Comments (0)
Trapped in Water Holes Canyon
Rescued After Four to Eight Days
Apparently an injured man was trapped for days in Water Holes Canyon, a slot canyon in Arizona until he was rescued by personnel from the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and the Grand Canyon National Park in a major rescue operation. According to the man he was hiking cross-country when he was robbed of his backpack and decided to walk off road to prevent being robbed again. Somehow at night he got disoriented and began climbing down unknowingly into the canyon and fell which resulted in some broken bones. He said he was trapped for sixteen days until some hikers heard his calls for help but when he was treated doctors said it was more likely four to eight days. Regardless of how long he actually was in the canyon he's lucky that the hikers heard his calls for help.
Slot canyons, while beautiful are often dangerous. Aside from the possibility of falls, there is always the danger of flash floods. So great care has to be used by hikers or photographers looking for some great photos, whenever they are exploring slot canyons. As this man found out help isn't always immediately available either if something were to go wrong.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:14 PM | Comments (0)
Dale Junior: DEI Needs to Make Changes
Dale Junior says that DEI didn't adjust well enough to new tires and changes to the spoilers on the cars among other issues and must make some changes if he and Michael Waltrip are to be able to be competitive with the other teams. Junior says, "You've got to hire some people, steal some people and get rid of the dead weight." Well, tell us something we don't know Junior. DEI used to be one of the elite organizations who often seemed to have an edge on everyone else. But now after losing some key personnel to other teams and apparently not being able to adjust well to some of the new rules changes they are behind many of the teams - Hendrick and Roush for sure.
It's a bit disheartening that Junior even has to say this. An organization like DEI should make it a priority to make sure they have the top people working for them to ensure that they are always competitive and no one should have to point that out to them. Yet it appears that this wasn't done. Which was pretty obvious based on Slugger Labbe's comments after he left DEI for Evernham. At the time he said he didn't like what he saw going on at DEI or the direction they were headed in. Apparently he was correct in his observations.
Another interesting quote from this article is by Michael Waltrip: "This is where I'd love to be forever. Quite honestly, last fall I don't know if I could have said that or not. I just wasn't having any fun and things weren't going right." Of course he wants to stay at DEI. Regardless of the problems they are experiencing now he is still driving the best car of his career and he is more high-profile because of his ride at DEI than he might be elsewhere. But his statement about his unhappiness last fall - that he wasn't having any fun and that he was unhappy was very obvious when we spent the day as Michael's guest at the race in Dover. I don't know if he thought he was hiding it or he didn't care whether we saw but as much as we had an absolutely awesome time he was clearly preoccupied, seemed worn out and his body language was that of someone who was not happy with something, though at the time I had no idea what was going on. Now looking back with all that's been said and done since some of the reasons are much more apparent.
At the time of the Dover race Slugger Labbe was still his crew chief but I imagine the writing was on the wall with what was going to happen there and more than likely there were probably other things going on that were weighing on Michael. It couldn't have been easy to finish the season the way Michael did, losing his long-time crew chief and then with more turmoil. With last Fall in mind, I'd like to see Michael be happy and do well this season and not have to be miserable like he was then.
Back to the overall issues at DEI, I think it's still a bit of an open question as to whether or not they will successfully be able to right the ship and give Junior and Michael both the competitive cars they need to win races. It's still very early in the season so it's certainly not too late but so far the signs aren't that great. If Junior, who is and always will be DEI's priority, has been having this many issues, I just don't think that bodes well for the rest of the organization. If the top team struggles that just tends to trickle down. Especially since the top team is usually the one to get the best of all the resources both in terms of personnel and equipment. So if they can't even provide that to Junior, I'm not so sure they will be able to do that for Michael, Martin Truex, Jr. or Paul Menard.
It's possible that this is the beginning of some sort of decline for DEI. At one time I thought it would be impossible for that to happen given Junior's status not just at DEI itself but in Nascar. I assumed that Junior would always be at the top of the points and that DEI would do whatever it takes to make sure of that. But some of the moves that DEI has made have really perplexed me. Maybe there were some signs in the past given their treatment of Steve Park that there were some problems in the organization but lately I'm getting the feeling that the issues that DEI have to overcome are more widespread than I once would have thought. DEI may still turn things around completely this season. It's entirely possible, particularly since there are plenty of races left. But overall I think they need to take a good look at the entire organization and make some changes as Junior indicated.
In reference to Junior specifically, it will definitely be interested to see how things play out. What happens if Junior continues to struggle? What happens if Junior doesn't make the Chase for the Championship? What happens if to everyone's surprise Junior finishes behind Michael in the points? That would certainly put DEI in a bind. Junior has made his share of mistakes as well, most notably the crash with Brian Vickers. But the best teams can overcome some mistakes. The question is can the #8 team and more importantly since it effects Michael as well, can DEI overcome their issues? The jury's still out on that one.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)
Berrier Suspension Upheld
Will Have to Sit Out Next Three Races
Todd Berrier's suspension and the other penalities assessed against Kevin Harvick and RCR for cheating were upheld by the National Stock Car Racing Commission. I think this is completely the correct decision and I would have been shocked if it was reduced. Not only was this completely premeditated cheating but Berrier admitted to it after the fact and showed absolutely no remorse. Nascar had to come down on him hard to send a message that his actions were unacceptable and apparently the commission agreed.
What's amazing to me is that some Harvick fans are saying things like "Guess Childress (RCR's owner) didn't pay off the commission like Hendrick did." Well, the two Hendrick teams didn't have crew chiefs who blatantly admitted that they were trying to cheat. From day one the Hendrick teams maintained that the issues with their cars occured during the race and apparently they were able to convince the commission of that. To imply that there was some sort of payoff when zero evidence of that exists is really ridiculous. I just can't believe that there were some people who actually thought that the commission would let Berrier off the hook when it was so clear cut, by his own admission, that he was cheating.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:49 AM | Comments (0)
American Idol Dreadful Last Night
Perhaps dreadful is an exaggeration but I thought that the performances last night on American Idol were vastly underwhelming and extremely bland and boring. At this stage of the contest, when these are supossed to be the best of out of thousands of people who auditioned the contenstants should be blowing viewers away each week. Instead we get dull song choices and unmemorable performances.
The only performance that sticks with me is Bo Bice's performance of a Black Crowes song. And frankly he didn't sing it very well. The only reason his performance stands out a little more than the others is because he had the most stage presence. That probably is because he performed in a rock band before auditioning for American Idol. I have no idea who is going to get voted off tonight because I think all of them could be voted off on the basis of last night's performances.
Simon Cowell keeps making references to how the performances remind him of something he'd hear at a wedding. Well, I was recently at a wedding where there were many musicians and the performances that I heard that day completely blew away anything that anyone on American Idol has done this season and probably seasons past as well.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)
Medical Advisor for Baseball Exaggerated Credentials
Dr. Elliott Pellman, Major League Baseball's medical advisor, recently testified in front of Congress about MLB's steroid policy. Pellman didn't come off well at times when it turned out that he wasn't familar with certain aspects of the policy that he was praising. As it turns out Pellman also wasn't aware of certain "errors" in his resume and cover letters that he's been sending to various places, including Congress, that exaggerate his credentials. Or so he says. Pellman blames the errors on others like his secretary but it seems with that many "errors" and exaggerations that something more may be at play.
Particularly when one considers that Pellman has tried to claim that he has a medical degree from the State University of Stony Brook when in reality he went to medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico, where the standards for admission are much lower than they are in the United States. Ultimately he received a medical degree from the New York State Education Department after a one-year residency at SUNY Stony Brook. So Pellman did attend Stony Brook but according to a spokesman there didn't receive his medical degree there. That's troubling because it seems to indicate that Pellman was trying to cover up where his medical degree actually came from.
Pellman may still be a fine doctor. He is probably the medical advisor for MLB and is team doctor for the Jets and the Islanders for a reason. But still it raises some questions and sets off some warning bells when so many discrepancies come to light. It's to be expected that there be a mistake or two - everyone makes mistakes. But so many "errors" seems a bit suspicious.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)
San Francisco Giants Look to Power Stadium by Solar Power
Hope to Complete Solarization by 2007
Thanks to a sponsorship by Sharp Solar, a unit of Sharp Electronics that sells equipment related to solar power, the stadium has installed some solar panels. Right now the solar panels don't produce much electricity considering how much juice a stadium needs to operate but the Giants would like to have the stadium completely powered by solar power by 2007's All-Star Game. From what it sounds like Sharp Solar is going to spend millions to outfit the stadium with solar power and all sorts of equipment which they will then be able to use to generate not only the electricity to power the stadium but also a ton a publicity, given that this would be the first stadium powered by solar energy. Seems like a smart move on the part of Sharp Solar because the media attention, which has already begun, could be worth as much as the millions they are spending on the equipment.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Pit Crew Member at Work
Dover, Del. September, 2004. One of the members of Michael Waltrip's old pit crew at work on a tire that came off the car after a pit stop. I hope that someday I'm lucky enough again to get up close and take some more photos like this at a race.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:04 AM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2005
Not Much To Say...
Just one of those days that thus far I don't have much to comment on. Though I might have something to say after I'm done watching American Idol - so far the performances have been underwhelming to say the least.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)
March 28, 2005
Photo of the Day - From Grandma's House
So yesterday Jim and I stopped by my grandmother's house to take a few things to remember her and my grandfather by since they both passed away about a year ago. The house just sold a couple of weeks ago so it will be completely cleared out very soon. I took a few things including her rocking chair, a stained glass box (that I can't help but think that my Mom and I once gave her as a present but I don't quite remember) and a pocket watch and selective service card from 1944 that was my grandfather's. I was tempted to also take this wacky lamp, a part of which is pictured here, but it's huge and it would just sit in storage somewhere. It's just that was a very distinctive thing in her house.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:40 PM | Comments (0)
Splash!
A creek! Michael Waltrip fell off a rock this weekend into a creek while he was reaching for some balls! Oh, that just sounded bad and reminded me of a certain story. But it was apparently at the golf course and he was trying to get some golf balls or so he said on Inside Nextel Cup. After I made sure that he didn't break his neck, I think I would have laughed my ass off if I was there to see him tumble into the creek. I'm laughing just picturing it in my head. I bet everyone else who saw was hysterical and made fun of him about it for the rest of the day. Poor guy!
Posted by silverdsl at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)
Steve Park a No-Show on Inside Nextel Cup
So Steve Park was supossed to be a Hot Seat guest tonight on Inside Nextel Cup and he never showed, with no explanation or anything. Michael Waltrip even tried to call him and got no response. This isn't the first time there's been something like this either. Last year he was supossed to have been a guest on Trackside and that never happened with Steve saying he was never confirmed as a guest, even though it had been announced. Then there was the piece on Nascar Nation that was supossed to show him at his house in Florida that mysteriously never happened. Then it's also been said that this is the second time that he's been a no-show on Inside Nextel Cup, though I have to wonder if there is some confusion between that show and Trackside. In any event not showing just really doesn't reflect well on him, there is no way of sugar coating that unless something dire happened, which I really hope isn't the case. I have to wonder if Speed is going to think twice about having him on their shows if this keeps happening.
I just really hope everything is okay with Steve. Because I'm really surprised that he just wouldn't show up without any explanation to the filming of a show that his close friend is on. That just seems really strange to me, particularly since I can't imagine that Michael and Steve didn't talk prior to the show. Michael did try to cover for Steve saying that maybe he was caught in traffic so I'm assuming that he was just as much in the dark as anyone else about where Steve was. I just don't get it because the one person in all of this who I'd think Steve would care about not disappointing is Michael.
Steve's public relations person should be making sure that everything is straight with his appearances, media and otherwise, as well as all aspects of his schedule. It is usually the PR person's responsibility to get the drivers to appearances and everywhere else they have to go on time, particularly anything that involves the media. What makes it problematic for Steve is that his PR person is in Las Vegas and Steve lives in Florida and spends time in North Carolina. Then you throw in that Steve Park Motorsports is involved in some things then confusion may reign. If there is any communication problems anywhere between any of these folks it really needs to be straightened out because ultimately Steve is the one who it reflects badly on.
But not showing for appearances is very definitely not a good thing. It makes a terrible impression even if the excuse is a good one. And if there's not a good excuse, well that just comes off terribly. Someone on SPC brought up the issue of how it looks to a potential sponsor and I think they are right on target with that. I think that Steve would represent any sponsor well but what is a potential sponsor to think when they see him not showing up to all these media appearances? Sponsors want their drivers to get as much air time as possible but if they don't show up for interview, particularly on the Nascar related show with the highest audience other than a race in INC, well, that's just not going to thrill any potential sponsors. And there is no doubt that Orleans is still looking for a primary sponsor for that #62 truck.
I can't help but be reminded of what happened with the Las Vegas trip. That was also a no-show of a sort though the circumstances were different. It certainly didn't reflect well on Steve, though the travel agent may be very much to blame in that situation. Still, he didn't show some place where he was committed to be much like these media appearances he keeps missing. When we talked to Steve in Vegas, he said that he didn't want to do the trip in the first place but was talked into it. So I wonder if a similar thing is happening here in that he doesn't want to do these appearances and also gets talked into it. I wonder if Steve doesn't really want to make these media appearances given that he blames the media for some of his problems in the garage area after his accident but says yes anyway.
But that doesn't explain why he doesn't show up. Drivers are often not fully in control of their schedules and are often told what they have to do rather than are asked if they want to do something. So many times they end up doing things they might not want to do. Brooke told me about something that Michael doesn't enjoy doing, yet he does it on a regular basis. Elliott Sadler's former PR person made a comment in my presence about something that Elliott doesn't enjoy doing yet he also does that kind of thing all the time with a big smile on his face. So it would seem that Steve, just like all the other drivers who do things that grate on them, would simply just show and make the best of it.
It's just a complete puzzle to me. Someone who is as devoted to his fans as Steve is, who seems to care so much about not disappointing people, who truly seems to feel bad when he lets people down, it's just bizarre that he doesn't follow through on these things. Maybe it's all on the shoulders of his PR person or Steve Park Motorsports. But I can't help but think of another explanation that comes to mind and wonder...
Posted by silverdsl at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)
Barry Zito the Photographer
Oakland A's pitcher Barry Zito is also a photographer and he shot a series of photos for Sports Illustrated during Spring Training. I thought his photos were really interesting. The best was the second one of one of his teammates powdering himself before a game - just a funny shot but also one that speaks to the realities of some of the preparations that the players go through to get ready for a game. I also liked the shot that Zito took as he was signing autographs for fans. He wrote captions for each of the photos and for that one he talked about how it can be overwhelming sometimes to be surrounded by all those fans. That photo definitely shows why that might be. All the photos are great though and really show a bit of spring training that fans don't often see.
I've always been fascinated with the idea of what athletes might take pictures of if they were given cameras. Photos always give a peek into someone's world and with the athletes it would be no different. Kodak is a sponsor in Nascar and I'd love to see them distribute cameras to drivers, crew members, owners and Nascar officials for a week to see what everyone would take photos of. Some people might take pictures of their families, some might take photos of their pets, some beautiful women or attrative men, some might capture the events around them. I think it would be really interesting and I wish I knew someone who I could pitch the idea to because I'd also love to work on that project and turn it into a book. It would be interesting to do it with baseball too, perhaps give a bunch of Yankees cameras and see what they might come up with. Zito certainly came up with some really good shots.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)
Gambling and Nascar
Increasingly more and more people are gambling on Nascar races, which is a sign of the sport's increasing popularity. But as more and more people gamble on races, Nascar may be forced to one day address some sticky issues as it relates to gambling.
A while back I discussed in this space the issue of gambling as it relates specifically to Brendan Gaughan, who made a comment which indicated that he may gamble on himself now that he's back in the Truck Series. My feeling is that even though Brendan is a great person, who is most likely as honest as they come, it's not a wise idea to bet on one's self or any of the races that he's involved with for that matter. At the time Brendan made the comment about betting on himself he indicated that no one from Nascar had expressed to him that his actions were problematic which is in direct contrast to the above article which says that Brendan was called in for an informal chat with Nascar's higher ups when he was still in Cup who said that gambling falls under the umbrella of "actions detrimental to the sport." There's no way of knowing for sure whether or not that chat actually took place but I can understand why Nascar might have wanted to clarify a few things with Brendan if they did indeed talk with him. While I don't have a problem with gambling in general, when it comes specifically to those who are involved with the sport I think great care needs to be taken as it relates to gambling so that there is no appearance of impropriety.
While it's very true about the difficulty in fixing a race as reflected in the comments by Humpty Wheeler in the above article, there is still the possibility that individuals might be tempted to do or not do certain things to try to ensure certain outcomes if it might benefit them financially due to a particular wager. A huge amount of money changes hands and while I'd like to think that everyone in Nascar is honest and upstanding, the reality is that there probably are people who might do dishonest things. Even if no one would even consider doing anything dishonest, innocent behaviors can sometimes take on a different interpretation to those on the outside looking in and it might be hard to go back and prove that there was no intent after the fact. Which is why I think that Nascar needs a written rule relating to gambling on races to guide the competitors and teams.
Nascar is constantly talking about how they are a family sport. With that in mind it's a little suprising that they don't have a rule in place since many think that gambling is not a family activity. Personally, I think adults should have the freedom to do as they choose for the most part, even if it means making bad decisions or getting themselves in trouble. But Nascar and the sponsors often don't see it that way. Drivers have morality clauses in their contracts which can get them released for all sorts of misbehavior. In addition, they put pressure on drivers who don't toe the party line to get with the program as Brendan found out. Given how conservative many of the attitudes in Nascar are one might think that gambling would be something that they might take a hardline stance on. If not for the money, that is.
Really it isn't all that surprising that there is no written rule son gambling considering that at least three different casinos sponsor cars or trucks, the International Speedway Corporation, a company owned by the France family, the same people who run Nascar, have had talks with an Indian tribe to build a track and casino in Washington state and a casino sponsors several races. So as long as there is the potential for Nascar to benefit from the casinos and gambling they will probably be hesitant to officially enact a rule about gambling. Because such a rule might upset current or future sponsors or business partners. That's unfortunate because I think that it leaves open the possibility, perhaps an unlikely one, of a competitor or team and Nascar getting themselves into a messy situation.
Given the possiblity of Nascar's chat with Brendan and that they denied an off-shore gambling sports book, Sportsbook.com, from sponsoring a Busch car it does seem to indicate that they have given some thought to this issue. Nascar's spokesman mentions in the article that all the gambling related sponsors that Nascar or the teams have worked with thus far are more than just gaming establishements, in that they all are also hotels and entertainment facilities. So that probably represents the distinction as to where Nascar draws the line. Even though every single one of these places probably makes the majority of their money from gambling, as long as Nascar can point to the other activities at these places, they have a little wiggle room. Nascar is probably just hoping that down the road they will never face any sort of gambling related scandal to force them to address this issue head on. But in general I think it's better to be proactive, which may be what Nascar is trying to do if they are having behind the scenes informal chats about "conduct detrimental" with some folks.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)
Baltimore Orioles Not Pleased with Ponson's Legal Troubles
Ponson Dropped to #4 in Rotation
Partially in response to Sidney Ponson's continuing legal troubles he has been dropped to the #4 slot in the Orioles rotation. Apparently they feel that he should have worked harder both on and off the field, and particularly to avoid the trouble that he's gotten himself into this off-season. Often all is forgiven for a player by their team as it relates to problems off the field as long as they are productive on it. But as long as Ponson has been an Oriole it's been thought that he's suffered from a lack of focus and desire so I don't think the O's are going to do him any favors. Particularly since he's only pitched eight innings in spring training so the O's probably aren't sure what they might get out of him during the regular season.
What's amazing to me is that Ponson never bothered to mention his DUI arrest to the team. Did he think he'd be able to hide it forever? Then when it does come to light via an article in a local paper, rather than showing the slightest bit of remorse, he accuses the media of digging around in his personal life. Well, if he didn't want the media to report on his DUI, he shouldn't have gotten behind the wheel after he had (allegedly) been drinking. And if he didn't want to get in trouble about it he should have been upfront with the O's and told them right away that he had been arrested. It's definitely not the media's fault that he is unable to keep himself out of trouble and it's definitely not their fault that his team isn't thinking of him too highly right now.
When Nascar's Scott Wimmer got arrested for DUI, fleeing the scene of an accident and whatever else he was charged with he didn't blame the media for making an issue of it. And I'm sure he wasn't happy with how much the media focused on what he did. But he was remorseful, talked about how he had learned a lesson and about how he would try to be an example to others, particularly young people about why drinking and driving is wrong. Granted plenty of that is because he had no choice but to say and do those things but Ponson could learn a few things from Wimmer.
People make mistakes but one has to be able to deal with the consequences head on and learn from them. Trying to hide his DUI arrest just spreaks volumes about Ponson and a lot of it isn't good. I think Ponson's attitude stinks and I wouldn't be surprised to see him encounter further trouble both on the field and off by season's end. It's too bad really because he apparently has a lot of talent but all the talent in the world doesn't matter if he can't get past some of these other issues.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:06 PM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Ogunquit Buoy
Lone Buoy, Off the Ogunquit, Maine coast. I took a bunch of photos like this on our boat ride from Perkins Cove to the Nubble Lighthouse. Each lobster fisherman is assigned a different unique color scheme which is registered with the state. They also each have particular areas where they can set their traps and they are extremely territorial. Apparently it's not unusual for there to be incidents between lobstermen who think that someone is encroaching on their territory.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2005
Help Raise Money For ALS, Help Keep NYYFans.com Alive
NYYFans.com Fundraiser for "Curt's Pitch"
I hope that anyone who visits this blog from NYYFans.com or anyone who wants to donate money to a good cause will consider joining us at NYYFans.com in raising money to fight ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) by making donations to "Curt's Pitch." For the past ten years Curt Schilling, otherwise known as gehrig38 on NYYFans and Sons of Sam Horn among other places, has raised money for research and to treat those striken with ALS though "Curt's Pitch." So it came to pass that for every donation that a user at NYYFans makes to "Curt's Pitch," Schilling, now with the Boston Red Sox, will match that donation with one out of his own pocket to "Curt's Pitch" as well as a second matching donation to NYYFans.com to help us pay our bills and keep our site alive. So not only can you help fight ALS and help keep NYYFans.com alive, but you can also take money right out of Schilling's pocket as well!
The above link has details for anyone who wants to donate money. What's cool about this is that in spite of the heated rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox and the fact that many Yankee fans don't like Schilling because of that, everyone is willing to put aside their personal feelings to work together to raise money for a very good cause. Schilling should be commended for his committment to this cause. While there are many players who donate their time and money to charity, Schilling is one of the most dedicated and that is impressive.
Thus far our total for this fundraiser is over $1,900, which is outstanding. We will keep this going until Schilling makes his first regular season major league start, which should be sometime in mid-April. I'm hoping by that time we will have raised a few thousand more to help fight ALS.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2005
Brendan Gaughan on New Qualifying Procedures and Sponsorship Woes
New Qualifying Process Will Hurt Nascar
Brendan Gaughan thinks that the new qualifying procedures will hurt Nascar for years to come and while I agree with him that it hurts independant teams and that it not a good thing I can't agree that the new qualifying procedures are going to hurt Nascar for years to come. First of all, independent teams are going to struggle regardless of what the qualifying procedures are. There is no way of getting around that because the way the sport is right now independent teams just can't compete with the multi-team organizations with resources and revenue that the small, single-car teams just don't have access to. They can go back to the old way of qualifying and there will still be independent teams who will not make the race, struggle to get and keep sponsorship and struggle to run well in races.
Beyond that Brendan believes that sponsors will not sponsor teams any more for full seasons and he connects that back to the new qualifying procedures because some teams will not be guaranteed making all the races so sponsors might not be as likely to put up the money for an entire season. I think the problem is that teams are asking for so much money for a full season primary sponsorship, perhaps as much as $15 million or more for the big teams. As costs rise teams are forced to ask for more money and with the economy being what it is, the amount of sponsors who can spend the big money is becoming more limited. It's not going to matter what the qualifying rules are if sponsors just don't have millions available to spend as freely as they once did.
For the most part Brendan is correct that sponsors are going to be more willing to be an associate sponsor on a team that is guaranteed to make a race than a full sponsor on a team that might have to go home. However, that would be the case regardless of what the qualifying rules are. Independent teams have always struggled to succeed in recent years. Naturally sponsors would rather be associated with teams that will bring them the most visility and chance of winning and the reality is that comes for the most part with the bigger, multi-car teams.
There's also one problem with Brendan's theory that sponsors want to be associated with teams that are guaranteed to make all the races over independent teams. The truck he owns through Orleans Racing, the #62 driven by Steve Park, is guaranteed to make all the races (by owner points at first and then later by staying in the top 35 in points) yet doesn't have a full-time sponsor. Meanwhile you have smaller, independant teams with primary, full season sponsors. When Nascar went to the new qualifying system one of their arguments is that it would help teams get and keep sponsorships because sponsors that spend a lot of money with big teams as primary sponsors won't have to worry that their team could get sent home, which is what happened with Scott Riggs and Kyle Petty last season. Well, apparently the new qualifying rule hasn't helped the #62. As I've mentioned before in this blog, it's actually a huge mystery to me why that truck has no primary sponsor and only a few associate sponsors.
Brendan also discusses how Robby Gordon had to get four different primary sponsors, each for a certain amount of races, for his independent team. I don't see this as a problem. Had Robby held out for a primary sponsor willing to pay him for a full season's sponsorship at the price he wanted he probably would still be looking. But by breaking up the season, he was able to attract four big name sponsors who are probably each paying him a decent amount of money to sponsor him in those races. Yes, he has struggled to make races and the new qualifying rules have hurt him. But I think what has hurt Robby the most is that he's been having so many problems with the engines that he's been getting from Menard's. For teams to succeed, regardless of who they are or who they are associated with, they just need to be flexible and adjust to new ways of doing business and getting sponsors. That is what Robby did and I don't see that as a negative.
What bothered me last season in particular with qualifying is that there were teams who were showing up for races, using the provisional system to get into races and then were slow as molasses or dropped out of the race after a limited amount of races. Sometimes they knowingly entered races with the knowledge that they wouldn't make it through an entire race. James Finch once didn't even bring a pit crew to a Cup race because he had no intention of keeping his car out there to pit the first time. That shouldn't be happening and I'm glad that the rules were changed to cut down on situations like that by eliminating the provisionals.
I'm also glad that time plays more of a role in qualifying at least in the case of the teams outside the top 35 in points. In the best case scenario Nascar would change the rules even further and make so that no teams get a pass into the race and it's all about the 42 fastest cars. That will probably never happen but at least this way the final spots outside the top 35 are decided on speed. It stinks for the teams outside the top 35 who are faster than those inside the top 35 and get bumped but at least speed is a factor to some degree.
For an independent team it's a vicious circle. To be competitive and get good results they need the money to pay for top engineers, crew members and equipment. But to get that money from sponsors they need to get good results and show that they are competitive. Brendan is right that the independent teams are dying out, partially because of that quandry those teams find themselves in. But I think the issue is far more complicated than new qualifying rules and speaks to some overall economic problems in Nascar. I have no idea how Nascar can really address the situation either without making some massive changes to the sport. The bottom line I think is that operating a competitive race team has gotten so expensive that there aren't all that many organizations who can do it or that many sponsors who can support those organizations. Even the multi-team organizations seem to struggle with making all their teams competitive. So until Nascar looks at reducing the costs associated with the sport, and in a big, meaningful way, not just a few rule changes here or there, then the independent teams may always struggle, regardless of what happens at qualifying.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2005
Photo of the Day - Valley of Fire State Park
Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada. January, 2005. The cool thing about Valley of Fire State Park is how all the rock formations were so unique. Erosion has shaped them in so many different ways. I think I could spend days there photographing. And the same rock formation would look completely different from all different angles and at different times of day as the light changes. Also different seasons would bring some interesting changes. It probably doesn't snow there often but if it ever does that might make for really cool shots. After a rain storm would make for different photos than when it hadn't rained for a long time. And so on and so on. I just wish I actually lived near there so I could go and take photos in all these different scenarios.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)
Longer Pre-Race Show More Popular?
Neil Goldberg, the producer of Nascar on FOX, says "Most fans seem to like the longer pre-race show format," said Goldberg. "Last year with commercials and race start times, the half-hour format seemed a bit short. I think that you will find most of the pre-race shows will run between 40 and 50 minutes before on track opening ceremonies commence. For most this seems to be a good fit." I say nonsense. I haven't heard one person say they like the longer pre-race yet. Perhaps there are some people, some where who love all the pre-race filler but universally, at least online, almost everyone seems to think that the expanded pre-race is a waste of time.
I don't think I've heard anything in the pre-race show for a long time that is breaking news or of much significance. Sure, sometimes they do an interesting interview or one of the commentators shares a viewpoint that I hadn't thought of before. But for the most part, though they do review some news, the pre-race contains a lot of fluff. With the 40-50 minutes of pre-race by the time the race actually starts sometimes viewers are sitting in front of the TV for almost an hour and a half before the race actually starts. That's a waste of time in my opinion. Give me a half hour pre-race which includes the on track opening ceremonies and then start the race. That's what I'm there to watch - the race. Not meaningless interviews where no hard questions are asked or a bunch of talking heads. I sure don't care about the driver's answers to stupid questions like "Blondes or Brunettes" or who the latest winner of FOX's sexiest driver poll is (a blog entry might be forthcoming on that particular subject because that poll bugs me). Unfortunately based on what Goldberg is saying it appears that they have no intention of making any changes to the pre-race show any time in the near future.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:09 PM | Comments (0)
Ponson Involved in Yet Another Fight
Ponson Can't Stay Out of Trouble
Not long after eleven days in jail in his native Aruba for a fight, Baltimore Orioles pitcher Sidney Ponson was involved in another altercation, this time at a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. Apparently an intoxicated person in the restaurant came up to him and started with him and Ponson had to defend himself. Of course it's not Ponson's fault that someone tried to pick a fight with him but it's amazing how trouble always seems to find him... like the previously undisclosed DUI arrest back in January, also in Fort Lauderdale.
And now there is a second Orioles pitcher, Eric DuBose, who has been arrested for drunk driving. I'm not familar with DuBose in the least so I have no idea if he was slated to make the majors this season with the team or not but it seems like there might be a slight problem that the Orioles have to address if two of their starting pitchers have been arrested for drunk driving during spring training. Players are going to get themselves into trouble from time to time no matter what the teams do to try and discourage it. But with all the money the players have - even the scrubs in the majors are paid a minimum salary that is a lot higher than what the average person makes - there should be no problem paying cab fare. So perhaps the Orioles need to remind their players about the dangers of drunk driving and hand them some numbers for some local cab or limo companies.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)
"Ray" - Awesome Movie!
Tonight Jim and I watched "Ray," the movie about Ray Charles which starred Jamie Foxx. It was such a good movie! Jamie Foxx was absolutely incredible as Ray Charles. He just had such a sense of Ray Charles and he really made the character come to life which made him very deserving of the Oscar he won for this role. The rest of the cast was excellent as well.
Ray Charles was far from a perfect person and this movie certainly didn't shy away from showing that. From his drug use to his womanizing to how he didn't always treat those close to him well all he time it was all there. I'm sure there are some who might not be thrilled with those aspects of the movie but the reality is that even gifted musicians who become world-famous have flaws. Musicians face many temptations on the road and apparently Charles indulged in many of them. It's a wonder that his wife never left him, or at least not that the movie showed. Of course what went on back in the 50's and 60's on the road continues to this day. And not just with musicians either.
I really wasn't familar with the lifestory of Ray Charles before watching this movie so I'm not sure how accurate everything was but assuming it didn't deviate too much from actual events in his life it really showed what kind of man he was. In some ways he was a man to be admired in that he achieved so much and insisted on being so independant in spite of being blind. But of course some of the ways that he didn't treat the people around him well aren't to be admired. So much that happened to him was influenced and was reflected in his music. After watching this movie I am definitely going to have to check out some of his music on Rhapsody. I was surprised by how many of his songs I recognized.
I also wasn't all that much of a fan of Jamie Foxx prior to this movie. I was mostly familar with him from his appearances on "In Living Color" and I guess I thought of him as mostly a comedic actor. Well, apparently he is capable of so much more. This performance truly was exceptional and I hope that he gets more roles like this which allow him to show his skills as a dramatic actor.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)
Cheating and the Truck Series Most Popular Driver Poll
So the assumption is that the Johnny Benson fans are cheating to have such a big lead in the TruckSeries.com Most Popular Driver Award poll. Last season Steve Park won this award by almost the same amount that Johnny is ahead by now. Was Steve's win only because his fans cheated? If the answer is no then it's possible that Johnny's fans aren't cheating. If the answer is yes then I guess more than likely Johnny's fans are cheating. I only know what I did last year and that was to vote for Steve fairly but there was at least one incident involving cheating (and I assume that more than a few driver's fans probably figured out the same cheat) which led to the poll having to be restarted. My assumption was that after the poll was restarted there was no cheating and all the drivers got votes fair and square within the rules. I sure hope that I was correct in thinking that because I would hate it for Steve's sake if even after the poll was restarted there was some funny business with the voting.
For the sake of fairness it should be mentioned that there is a direct link to the poll on Benson's fan club site, he has a very dedicated and organized fan club and Benson enjoys a lot of visiblity due to his appearances on Inside Nextel Cup so it is entirely possible that there are just a lot of people voting for him. Particularly when you think that if you have just 50 people voting twice a day (once at home and at work) his numbers can go up by as much as 100 votes a day. I don't think that's out of the realm of possibility considering that much of the fan voting is being organized through his fan club which surely has more than 50 people. It's quite possible that they have done email reminders or included a reminder to vote in a newsletter if they send one. If I recall correctly that is something that is included in emails I've seen from Michael Waltrip's fan club and that kind of prodding is probably one reason why he is always so high in the Cup series Most Popular Driver poll.
There most certainly is a cheat, because Jim told me how that would be possible. I didn't ask him for details on how to actually do it, I would never do and I would never share with anyone else how to cheat the system. But it is certainly possible that someone else with a background in computers like Jim figured out the cheat. I really hope that's not what's happening because as I discussed here because this is a way for fans to show their support of their driver. And as I mentioned previously internet polls aren't taken seriously by many people so the more cheating that goes on in these polls, the less people are willing to pay attention to the results.
Which is a real shame in the case of the TruckSeries.com Most Popular Driver poll given that Steve won it last season and Travis Kvapil won it two years previously. So the more that people float the idea that the driver who is ahead is only there because their fans are cheating, the more it takes away from the value of this award. Because already there are a significant amount of people who don't think much of this award considering the past problems with it and futher accusations of cheating only reaffirms in those people's minds that this award is simply a measure of who can cheat best rather than it is a real honor.
So what is the solution particularly if there is in fact some cheating going on? There isn't a great one really. TruckSeries.com has tried to come up with the most secure way possible to run this poll to prevent a lot of cheating, by tracking votes by IP and only allowing one vote per unique IP in a 24 hour period. If the Benson fans or anyone else are in fact cheating and that is discovered by TruckSeries.com I wonder if they will even bother with this award in the future? Surely they've got to be monitoring what's going on given the past problems and if there is cheating it will most likely be discoverd. And it's got to be discouraging to put all this effort into trying to keep things as clean as possible and find out that people are still looking for a way around the rules.
In the case of Steve Park what would really help is if there were a banner on his own website and the Orleans Racing site to encourage people to vote. Because right now if fans don't visit Steve Park Central or TruckSeries.com they wouldn't see any reminders to vote, if they even know voting is open in the first place. Beyond that voting as often as possible within the rules and encouraging others to do the same is the only other thing to do. In the end fans really only have control over their own actions.
Posted by silverdsl at 06:34 PM | Comments (0)
Third Watch Not Renewed For Seventh Season
I'm totally not surprised considering how the sixth season has gone but apparently NBC opted not to renew Third Watch for a seventh season. Most of the characters have been written in such a way where I didn't see where it was possible for most of them to continue on the show in a viable way and overall the writing and plotlines have been pretty dreadful this season. On top of that the show is currently not airing so NBC could air a different show on Friday nights and will only return on April 9. Shows that a network is behind air on a much more consistant basis so they can get and keep an audience.
Really the biggest blow to this show was when Jason Wiles announced he was leaving. While there are many other actors and actresses on the show, many of whom have roles just as big as Wiles, his character, Bosco, has always been one of the most popular. With Eddie Cibrian and other long-time members of the cast also gone it would have been almost impossible to recover.
My big question is how this show will wrap up. The final episode, "End of Tour" is scheduled for May 6 and I wouldn't be surprised to see the deaths of some of the characters, including Bosco. While many others liked the direction Third Watch was going in this season, I think Jim and I both wished they had ended it sooner so we could have remembered it the way it used to be instead of the way it is now, which in our opinions is a pale imitation of the show it used to be.
Posted by silverdsl at 06:15 PM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2005
A Major Oil Refinery Explosion and No One Cares?
Texas Refinery Explosion Kills 14
Perhaps to say that no one cares is an exaggeration since surely in Texas they care very much. But I was surprised that the explosion at the BP plant in Texas that killed 14 wasn't a lead story either last night or this morning on the news. Aside from the fact that it was a massive explosion that killed 14 people and injured more than 100 others, gas prices could go up slightly due to how much gas is produced at that plant since the explosion could have an impact on their other operations there. So it would seem that it would be a fairly major story. Yet last night the only reason I knew it happened was because of a story on Yahoo since the TV news, at least while I was watching, didn't cover it. Oh, Fox gave plenty of attention to the American Idol fiasco at the top of the news, but nothing about this massive explosion. And this morning "Good Day New York" said nothing about it.
Even on CNN this morning there was a good ten minutes of coverage about Terry Schiavo before they even got to talking about the explosion and when they did it was the briefest of reports like it was no big deal. Obviously the Schiavo case is a major story with a great deal of emotions on both sides but doesn't the deaths of 14 people in a huge explosion merit more than 30 seconds of coverage? Perhaps instead of rehashing the same interviews with the same people in relation to the Schiavo case, they could have spent a little more time discussing what happened at the plant, why it happened and how it might effect gas prices, especially since the rising gas prices are on a lot of people's minds right now.
But thanks to the internet I'm able to find out more about this story via the above Yahoo article and later I will take a look at the site for the local papers in Texas that will surely have more expanded coverage.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:18 AM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2005
Photo of the Day - Ocean Grove
Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Waves crashing onto the shore in Ocean Grove. I haven't been back since I went to Ocean Grove with Jim and his family a few years ago but it was really nice in Ocean Grove. We had a good time just relaxing and hanging out at the inn but I also really enjoyed taking pictures on the beach there. Maybe someday we'll go back.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:13 PM | Comments (0)
Quote of the Day - Oscar Wilde
"I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
That quote amuses me. It's so true though. We can all resist everything except that which tempts us.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
Roger Clemens Offers Reward For Safe Return of Hummer
Who Leaves Their Hummer Unlocked?
To commemorate his 300th win former Yankee Roger Clemens was given an orange Hummer by the team. Clemens had been allowing his son, Koby, to drive it to school but today it was stolen from outside the high school when Koby left it unlocked. In addition to being worth anywhere between $50,000-$100,000, the Hummer surely had quite a bit of sentimental value for Clemens. As such Clemens is offering a $10,000 reward for its return. One could ask why a 17 or 18 year old is being allowed to drive such an expensive car in the first place but I imagine that with how much money the Clemens family has all they drive is fancy cars so a teenager driving a Hummer might not be anything out of the ordinary for them.
What strikes me is leaving the car unlocked. Perhaps there isn't as much car theft in that part of Texas as there is in this area and everyone makes mistakes but when one is driving their father's extremely expensive car that he got for winning 300 games it would seem to me that some extra care should be taken to make sure nothing happens to it. But maybe Koby just figured they could buy a new one if anything happened to it.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
Hendrick Suspensions Lifted On Appeal
Loss of Points, Fines Will Stand
Apparently Chad Knaus and Alan Gustafson made very compelling arguments to the appeals committee because both of them had their suspensions lifted and were instead placed on probation for 90 days. However, the points losses and the fine will stand. I think this is pretty fair. Initially I felt that Nascar was correct in punishing these teams severely but upon hearing more about what the teams were claiming might have happened to their cars I softened my position considerably. There is no way of ever fully knowing whether there was intent behind what went on with the #48 and the #5 but publically they did make a good case for how what they were penalized for could have happened during the race, at least in the case of the #48. So to me upon further review it seemed excessive to suspend Knaus and Gustafson because it was making a judgement call about intent. Unlike the case of Todd Berrier who outright admitted to cheating and was completely unapologetic and defiant about it.
What gets me is all the outrage about these penalties being reduced. Some of the complaints are how unfair it is or that it's favoritism. Unfair to who? What would be unfair is if Knaus and Gustafson had to sit out two weeks, which would damage their teams chances in the races, when they didn't intentionally do anything wrong. I also don't see how the committee is showing favoritism. It's not like DEI or Roush was also caught for similar post-race violations with similar penalties at the same time and lost their appeals while Hendrick won theirs. In addition, while the fines aren't any big deal to people who make as much as these folks do, the loss of points, particularly to the drivers is still a very big deal. 25 points could turn out to be very costly at the end of the year in a close Chase for the Championship.
On the other hand with the Todd Berrier situation I would be disappointed if the appeals panel reduced his suspension. Berrier admitted that he was cheating and basically said that his only mistake was in getting caught. I think that there should be some room in the rules for crew chiefs to be creative and I expect every team to try and push the line to see if they can get an advantage over the other teams. But blatant cheating can't be tolerated. Otherwise you suddenly have teams trying to get by with all sorts of tricks and you may as well throw the rule book out, though that might not be such a bad thing in some cases. So my guess is that his suspension will stand on appeal which will probably create even more outrage.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)
American Idol Re-Do
Someone made a pretty big goof-up on last night's American Idol in that some of the phone numbers for viewers to call to vote for their favorite contestants got mixed up. So tonight the show will re-air with the correct numbers and some additional new live material. Then the results show will air tomorrow night. The problem that AI now has is that it could be hard to get people to tune in, watch the entire show again and then vote again. So that's probably why they are adding in the new live segments to try and get people to watch.
I watched last night and while most of the performers have good voices, overall they mostly gave pretty forgettable performances. The two standouts were Nikko Smith who was outstanding and Mikalah Gordon who was dreadful. Otherwise, there wasn't anything too special about any of the other performances. Stage presence and taking risks is definitely something that these folks need to work on. I'm partial to Bo Bice, Anwar Robinson (who is from New Jersey), and Nadia Turner, though I also like Nikko Smith. But I think overall they all need to step it up.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)
Artists Create Protraits of Those Killed in Iraq and Afghanistan
An interesting exhibit opens today at Arlington National Cemetary which features portraits by various artists of 1,327 of the more than 1,6000 soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Annette Polan, head of the Corcoran College of Art and Design's painting department, was moved to call upon artists she knew to create the exhibit after seeing all the photos of all the fallen soldiers in the newspaper one day. Each of the portraits are 6x8 inches and while many are simply color portraits, some of the artists used media other than paint such as clay or photo manipulation. Once the exhibit closes the portraits will be given to each of the soldier's families.
I don't live close enough to go see this exhibit but if I did I would. One reason for doing the exhibit was to show how each soldier who died was an individual and seeing those portraits gives a more human face to what has often become just a statistic. The only time more attention is paid to who particular soldiers were as people is when they are from a media outlet's local area, otherwise they become just one more soldier in a listing of how many lost their lives on a given day.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:14 AM | Comments (0)
March 22, 2005
Photo of the Day - Bailey
Bailey the pug. :)
Posted by silverdsl at 11:51 PM | Comments (0)
Barry Bonds May Miss Entire Season
A defiant Barry Bonds gave a press conference during which he mentioned 14 times how tired he was and indicated not only might he miss all of the 2005 season, but it is possible that he might retire. From the article: "You wanted me to jump off the bridge, I finally have jumped. You wanted to bring me down, you've finally brought me and my family down. Finally done it. From everybody, all of you. So now go pick a different person. I'm done. Do the best I can, that's about it." When asked if there was something specific he was talking about, Bonds said, "Inner hurt, physical, mentally. Done. I'm mentally drained. I'm tired of my kids crying. Tired."
Bonds may want to blame the media for his problems but the reality is that he has brought all of it on himself. He got involved with Balco, he more than likely choose to use performance enhancers and now he has to deal with the consequences. It's unfortunate that he is injured but he's going to have to deal with the rehab from that as well. That isn't the media's fault either. I just can't find myself feeling too sorry for Bonds in any way shape or form. I'm almost hoping that he will be facing federal charges for prejury as the Balco proceedings continue to move along.
You don't see Jason Giambi threatening to retire or blaming the media, though at times I'm sure he's tempted to lash out at them. It's hard to believe but in a lot of people's eyes Giambi is starting to look better and better as compared to others who most likely used performance enhancers such as Bonds and McGwire.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:26 PM | Comments (0)
Boston Globe: MIT Publication Forced to Retract Two Stories
Anonymous Source Can't Be Found
Apparently a technology publication at MIT ran two stories about Hewlett-Packard by a New York Times freelancer on their website last year which were based on anonymous quotes. After they received a call from HP, they retracted the stories because they could not verify the accuracy of the quotes and an investigation could not find anyone at HP that matched the source, who was supossedly an employee. Nor were they found in the membership rolls of the professional organizations they supossedly belonged to. So it appears that both articles were completely false.
These two paragraphs interest me the most from the article:
"Robert Zelnick, chairman of the department of journalism at Boston University, said Technology Review practiced ''very questionable journalism" by running a harshly critical article about HP based entirely on the words of a single anonymous source. ''I think that it is riding a scrawny horse much too fast and much too far," Zelnick said.
He also said a retraction is not enough; Technology Review should find out whether G.S. really exists. ''In this case simply saying we cannot vouch for the story . . . is an unsatisfactory end to it," Zelnick said. ''If the story was worth doing in the first place, it's worth following through."
I can't help but think of the Boston Globe/Boston.com's own problem in relation to their Boston Dirt Dogs site which I discussed a few times in this blog. BDD had an item which everyone knew was false because it was based on a source that didn't exist and the story wasn't taken down until after Nomar Garciaparra spoke out about it. And there hasn't been one word said publically that I know of by the Boston Globe or Boston.com to address the situation and reassure their readers that they care about journalistic ethics or accuracy in their stories. Zelnick said that the MIT publication shouldn't have just retracted the story but gone further. BDD didn't even publically retract the story - it simply disappeared from the site so the Globe/Boston.com did even less than the MIT publication. I think the Globe and Boston.com should consider themselves very lucky that one of their competitors like the Boston Herald didn't pick up on that story and write an article along the lines of this article about the MIT publication.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
March 21, 2005
Photo of the Day - Perkins Cove
Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine. July, 2004. Well, I came across two batches of photos from Ogunquit from last summer. So now I have a new group of photos to use for photo of the day that I had pretty much forgotten about. This is a shot of the harbor in Perkins Cove in Ogunquit. Perkins Cove is a small little village that is part of Ogunquit that has all sorts of restaurants and stores. One end of Marginal Way ends in Perkins Cove too. All the boat tours in Ogunquit also leave from Perkins Cove.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)
Truck Accident Near the Hoover Dam
From the National Parks Service Morning Report: On March 15th, Hoover Dam police asked rangers to provide medical and technical assistance at the scene of a serious accident. A dump truck had gone off Portal Road and 100 feet down a steep embankment and the driver was trapped inside. At the request of Hoover Dam officers, the NPS took over command of the incident. Primary and secondary safety lines were established, making it possible for several rescuers to access the area and remove the driver from the truck. Advance life support was administered prior to the patient being packaged and hauled up the cliff. Waiting rescue personnel received the victim and transported him to an air ambulance, where he was flown to a trauma center in Las Vegas. This was a joint operation that included Hoover Dam PD, the National Park Service, Boulder City Fire Department and Mercy Air.
When Jim and I drove to the Hoover Dam I was struck by how high some of the cliff were near some of the roads and how difficult it might be to deal with any kind of accident. Well, last week exactly what I was thinking about happened as detailed above. My guess is that this dumptruck might be associated with the nearby Hoover Dam Bypass which is a massive construction project nearby which is building a bypass to eleviate some of the traffic, particularly truck traffic, over the Hoover Dam.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:50 PM | Comments (0)
Rob Thomas to Release Album as DualDisc To Combat Illegal Downloads
A DualDisc features music on one side and on the other side DVD content. So side one is just like any regular CD and side two features visual content such as perhaps concert or documentary footage, more than likely material that can't be found elsewhere. Though a few other artists have released separate versions of their albums in this format, Rob Thomas will be the first major label artist to have his album only released as a DualDisc. Part of the motivation Thomas says is to encourage people to buy the album rather than illegally download it. The thought being that if there is desirable content on the DVD portion of the disc that can't be obtained through downloading a lot of people will choose to spend the money on it. I think this is a smart approach. There is no way of completely eliminating the problem of illegal downloading. But if fans of an artist feel like they will be missing out on something by downloading they will actually go out to the store to buy the album. It's all about making things enticing to the consumer.
I think Thomas also has some wise words for some of his peers: "But you can't just complain that people are downloading music and not do anything." There are quite a few artists out there who will complain about illegal downloading but never work with their record companies to find some ways to encourage more people to actually buy the albums.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)
Todd Helton: "I Have Never Used Steroids"
Threatens to Sue Over Comments Made on ESPN Radio
Former Colorado Rockies broadcaster Wayne Hagin made some very unfortunate remarks recently on ESPN Radio in which he said that Don Baylor told him that Todd Helton was a steroid user. Baylor says that all he discussed with Hagin was Helton's use of creatine which he discontinued in his rookie year and Helton says that he never used steroids period. Given the current climate, of course Helton is very angry that he was linked to the use of steroids. There are some who probably heard Hagin's remarks who will probably never hear Helton's denials or Hagin's further remarks which backtracked from what he had said previously. So in their minds Helton will always be thought of as a steroid user.
I think if Helton does end up suing over Hagin's remarks he won't be the only one, public sentiment being what it is. Mark McGwire has taken a huge hit in the public eye after his testimony in front of Congress and no one even knows for sure whether or not he really did use steroids. The only problem for Helton and other players is that proving libel or slander is very hard to do. Helton's lawyer would probably have to prove that Hagin knew that what Baylor said was false or probably false and reported it anyway. So I'm not sure how far Helton or any other player who chooses to sue will get.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:49 PM | Comments (0)
Jeter: '98 Team Best Ever
Jeter Refuses to Let World Distract Him
Johnette Howard's column from yesterday's Newsday on Derek Jeter was a pretty interesting one. I particularly enjoyed Jeter's comments on the 1998 Yankees team: "I think I played on the best team ever -- our '98 team -- and if you go from position to position on that team, talentwise, there's no comparison to this one. But that '98 team was the best team. It may not have been the best collection of players, but you still have to play on the field," Jeter said. This comment was made in reference to a reporter asking whether the 2005 team was the best ever in spite of having not yet played a single regular season game.
There is no question in my mind that Jeter is entirely correct about the 1998 team. There was something so special and amazing about that team, which I think I've talked about in this blog before, in spite of not being comprised of the best player at every position. Somehow they all fit together so well and every player played to the best of their abilities to such a degree that they sailed through both the regular season and the post-season. As time goes by I think what that team did gets more and more impressive, particularly as the Yankees more and more turn into an All-Star team. It really shows that even assembling the top players at every position is no guarantee of anything. I doubt there will be a repeat of what the 1998 team did for quite some time.
Not to say that the 2005 isn't a very talented team in their own right. They surely are and they certainly should be capable of getting back to the post-season if everything goes right. But there is no way of knowing before the regular season starts if they will play as well as they look on paper. It could turn out that they rival the 1998 team or they could crash and burn. Personally, I think it's likely that they will be a very good team that will be playing once more in October, but I don't know if we'll be talking about them in terms of best ever when looking back once the season is complete.
Some of Howard's observations on Jeter were intriguing too. Such as "Increasingly, Jeter doesn't say much of anything that's revealing. You have to infer what he really feels through his pauses and shrugs. Or what he doesn't say." I find it troubling that the Captain of the team chooses to remain silent and say so little on so many subjects. Yet many admire this quality in Jeter and believe that it shows that he doesn't allow himself to be effected or distracted by anything happening around him. Personally, I'd like to know more about what Jeter thinks, particularly as team Captain, about a variety of things related to the game. It's a puzzle to me as to how Jeter can get away with giving such bland and uninteresting comments to the media though since this is always the way it's been I guess everyone is used to it and comes to expect it from him. If he were a different player instead of Derek Jeter I suspect he would get ripped for it.
Given the lack of player-fan interaction in baseball, the only way that fans get to hear their favorite player's thoughts is via the media. So it's unfortunate that Jeter chooses not to share much of himself because essentially he's choosing not to share much of himself with his fans. That's not to say that Jeter should reveal deeply personal thoughts to the media but I don't think it's too much to expect that he give some opinions with substance on his team or the games they play.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:25 PM | Comments (0)
Carl Edwards Wins Twice; Michael Waltrip Finishes 7th Twice and Other Thoughts
There were two highlights of this weekend's Busch and Cup races for me. The first was Carl Edwards and his enthusiasm upon winning both the Busch and Cup races in Atlanta. I get nervous when Edwards does his back flips because I keep thinking that he's going to one day make a misstep and injure himself but it is amazing to see him do it - he really gets quite some air on those flips! It was really great to see him in Victory Lane for both races. After watching Edwards in the truck series last season and make some Cup starts I had a really good feeling about what his season was going to be like in 2005. But I have to admit that in spite of how good I thought he was going to do I never imagined that he'd win so soon in Cup. That is just outstanding for him. I really think he has a very bright future ahead of him not just on the track but off the track as well. He seems like a really good guy who is as enthusiastic about his encounters with his fans and others as he is about racing. I hope that he never loses that enthusiasm though being in Nascar can wear on even the best of them.
The other highlight this weekend was that Michael Waltrip finished 7th in both the Busch and Cup races. His car wasn't looking too good at the beginning of the Busch race but he hung in there and by the end of the race he was moving up through the field to finally finish 7th. That's great considering that things looked a little bleak to begin with. Not to mention it was the Aaron's 312 so it was important to get a good finish for the Aaron's car for the sponsor. Mission accomplished. In the Cup race Michael's car appeared to be fairly strong all day. What was so great is that he started all the way back in 37th and moved up to the front pretty quickly. Once he got up there I don't think Michael spent too much time out of the top 15 or the top 10 for most of the day. That is awesome and if he can do that on a regular basis there will be no worries about finishing well in the points this season.
Michael's teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. didn't fare as well in yesterday's race. He finished 24th two laps down on a track where he had won last season. There's a lot of speculation as to why Junior appears to be struggling this season and much of the blame seems to be placed on the big switch that DEI did during the off-season. Well, I think it's still a little to early to see exactly how that is going to shake out. For one thing some of the problems that Junior has had have been a result of some mistakes he's made such as the wreck with Brian Vickers and yesterday's two penalities for speeding. Those things have nothing to do with the switch but they have been costly. Then there was all the blown tires in California - I don't see that as a result of the switch either. Sometimes things are going to happen that no one can anticipate. I think the key is what happens when Junior has a few races where there are no mechanical problems or wrecks and doesn't make any mistakes of his own. That's when we'll be able to see how well the cars are set-up for him and how he can race with the cars he's given. I think there are a few tracks coming up that he's traditionally good at so that will probably give some better clues as to how the season is going to go for him.
What I really hated to see in yesterday's race was the big wreck on lap one which put so many cars out of the race, or extensively damaged them. I can't even beging to imagine the frustration for those drivers that they can't even complete one lap before they find that their day is over. An incident can happen at any time but it would really be nice if these guys could get at least once around the track without wrecking. I'm still not too sure of exactly what happened either. Casey Mears spinning seems to have set everything off but the details seem a little unclear.
For Jeff Gordon who was pretty high in the points that wreck wasn't too costly but for Bobby LaBonte who is suffering through a horrible streak of bad luck, it was the last thing he needed. Starting with the sixth race of the season only the top 35 drivers in this year's points will be locked into the races from that point forward so those out of the top 35 will have to race in on speed during qualifying. Odds are LaBonte will always have a car good enough to make the race but sometimes things happen so that adds an extra amount of pressure that LaBonte doesn't need. Hopefully his luck turns around soon.
Overall, I thought it was a pretty decent weekend of racing.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)
March 20, 2005
Quote of the Day - Dr. Seuss
I've always been fond of quotes. Sometimes just a sentance or two can say so much so clearly. Usually far better than I can given how wordy I usually tend to be. So I was thinking that from time to time I would throw up a quote of the day that caught my eye. I'm not sure it will be as frequent as my Photos of the Day but then again there are a lot of quotes that I'm fond of!
So to kick things off I'll start with a good quote by Dr. Seuss that I came across a few weeks ago: "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." That is definitely an important lesson for children, who is probably who Seuss meant those words for originally, given that children often struggle with concerns about what their peers think. But that pressure to conform certainly doesn't end when one grows up. So those are words of wisdom for everyone, young and old, that contain a lot of truth.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Ogunquit
Ogunquit, Maine, July, 2004. I think I posted at least one other photo a while back that I took this particular morning in Ogunquit. I woke up at sunrise to take pictures and I found that it was an extreme low tide so the water had gone quite a ways out. The patterns in the sand that the water had left as it retreated were fascinating, particularly as the light from the rising sun shone on it. So I took a bunch of photos. Perhaps I will make this week's theme for Photo of the Day photos that I took that morning.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:17 PM | Comments (0)
Exhausting Weekend...
This weekend has been absolutely exhausting. I had to work 7 a.m. - 10 p.m. on Friday and 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday. Then I took the train out to Jim's on Saturday night and this morning we woke up early to go to a wedding. The wedding was wonderful but it was an all-day thing so by the time I got home I could barely think I was so tired.
So a couple of times I started to do blog posts on various things and didn't get far because I couldn't get my thoughts organized well enough to blog about anything of significance. But hopefully after a good night's sleep tomorrow I will be back to being as wordy and opinionated as usual. ;)
Posted by silverdsl at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2005
Awesome and Exciting Finish to the Truck Race in Atlanta!!!!!!
Ok, the race didn't go so well for Steve Park but wow, what a finish to the race! That was just outstanding! Thanks to a late caution it was a two-lap shootout to the end. Ron Hornaday was leading with Bobby LaBonte in second and they battled like crazy to the finish! It was so close at the end that Hornaday finished just .008 seconds ahead of LaBonte! Absolutely amazing! That's racing the way it should be with beating and banging, drivers going all out and exciting racing that you can't take your eyes away from.
After Steve was out of the race I was hoping that Ricky Craven or Johnny Benson would end up in Victory Lane but I'll definitely take Ron Hornaday since he's in a truck owned by Kevin Harvick. I've got to say that Kevin and Delana are doing an outstanding job with Kevin Harvick, Inc. It's still early in the season but already their Busch car has been in Victory Lane and now so has their truck.
I have to say it again - great, great finish to the truck race! Anyone who turned it off or left the track before the end really missed something awesome! I wish the racing was always this good in all three series!
Posted by silverdsl at 11:16 PM | Comments (0)
Bad Night for Orleans Racing
Well, Atlanta was really not good for the folks at Orleans Racing. Brendan Gaughan didn't make the race, in the truck that actually has a primary sponsor. His crew chief had to leave to go home to be with his girlfriend whose father passed away. And then on lap 26 of the race the engine of the #62 blew. Just really a bad, bad day/night for these guys. As they pointed out on XM it really stinks for them that they hauled themselves and all their stuff out to Atlanta from Las Vegas only to have one car not make the race and the other be out so early.
I was in the car driving home when Steve's motor blew and I heard him give an interview on XM. The signal cut out mid-interview but it came back in time for me to hear him say "I'm just disappointed." Yeah, I'll say - last race a winner, on top of the world for three weeks and then everything goes to pieces (literally for the engine) this week. He was first last race, this week he's 34th. That can't be a good feeling at all. Yet another problem he's experienced that is completely out of his hands - nothing the driver can do when the engine falls apart. Steve dropped out of the top ten in points which really stinks too.
I really thought that the momentum from the last race would carry over to Atlanta and they'd have a streak of great races. Just like Steve said, it's disappointing that it appears that's not to be. I thought that bad luck was over and done with for Steve. I really was feeling confident that Steve was going to be a force to reckon with this season. That may still very well be the case, but it appears there was some bad karma in the air in Atlanta. Hmm...
And unfortunately the next race isn't until April 9 in Martinsville so there's a couple of weeks to brood about what happened with a bunch of off-time instead of immediately being able to concentrate on the next race being just a week away. Hopefully in Martinsville things will go better for both Steve and Brendan. I'd really like to see Steve compete for the championship this season so hopefully the engine expiring will just be a freak thing.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2005
Busy for a While...
Blog entries may be pretty infrequent until Sunday night since I have a major event at work which will be taking up all my time tomorrow and Saturday. It's too bad I vowed to not talk about work related things in this blog because surely there will be some interesting stories from that. Then on Sunday I'm going to the wedding of a good friend of mine. I'm hoping to get to watch some of the truck race tomorrow night though and hopefully it will be a good race for Steve and I'll blog about that.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - David Cone
October, 2000. American League Division Series. David Cone walking in before the game. The problem with all these hearings on steroids is that it really makes you wonder, even more than previously, which players are using performance enhancers. I'm quite sure there are plenty of Yankees who are or once did use performance enhancers. Cone is now retired but he was once my favorite baseball player. As a pitcher it's less likely that he used steroids than a hitter, but you almost have to suspect everyone after hearing all the talk about performance enhancers.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:16 PM | Comments (0)
More on the Congressional Hearings
I didn't think it was possible for Major League Baseball or the Player's Union to look any worse as it relates to the issue of performance enhancers but I was proven wrong tonight. The members of congress taking part in today's hearing absolutely skewered Major League Baseball and the Player's Union. It would be impossible to summarize all the ways in which they made MLB look foolish but I was absolutely amazed by how horribly they came off, particularly Bud Selig and Rob Manfred.
It was very obvious that more than a few members of the committee looking into steroids were more than a little upset with MLB and their approach towards steroids. Rep. Lynch from North Carolina really cut to the chase pretty well when after all the panel members agreed that using steriods is cheating, Rep. Lynch wondered why then MLB and the player's union weren't willing to have a zero tolerance policy. In essence he said they would tolerate cheating by giving players multiple chances, perhaps as many as five positive drug tests, before a player was banned.
The members of congress picked up on the issue of the punishment for a positive drug test being either a suspension or fine at the commissioner's discretion. There was some talk of a clerical error, then talk that the language would be removed to state that it would always be a suspension. But the important thing to note is that any changes to the policy have to be negotiated and then approved by all the players. So any changes to this policy won't be immediate, if they happen at all. It should also be noted that this policy, while it is being enforced, still isn't approved by all the teams as of yet.
Bud Selig and the rest of the panel were questioned extensively about what they knew about steroid use, when, and what they did about it. Selig claims he knew nothing about any kind of a problem with possible steroid use by players until 1998. But that's impossible to believe. First of all, as multiple members of congress noted there were articles in major newspapers about potential use of sterioids by players prior to 1998. In addition, MLB was contacted by the FBI and told that the names of several players came up in connection with an investigation they were conducting into steroids. I find it hard to believe that information from that conversation, no matter how casual it might have been was never passed on to Selig.
Overall, I thought these hearings were fascinating and quite compelling particularly the final panel. There was a pretty clear message sent today by congress - MLB must strengthen their policy on performance enhancers (not just steroids) and act now to address the problem of the use of performance enhancers by players otherwise Congress is fully prepared to step in. It will be very interesting to see what happens, especially considering the potential for the player's union to resist a zero tolerance policy on performance enhancers, particularly one that might include amphetamines.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)
Congressional Hearings on Steroids So Far...
It's not over yet but so far the congressional hearings into steroid use in major league baseball has a lot more teeth than I thought that it would. Of course it's unlikely that much will come out of this and I still don't anticipate any bombshells about steroid use but it's been pretty riveting so far. Particularly as it relates to Mark McGwire.
Prior to these hearings McGwire emphatically denied every using steroids. But after hearing him today if he's not guilty of steroid use he sure is doing a great job of sounding like it. He's envoked his fifth amendment rights to not incriminate himself and he's evaded some of the questions. McGwire was directly asked if the use of steroids is cheating and he said "That's not for me to deterimine." Same answer when asked if records should stand for those players caught using steroids. Then he keeps talking about not wanting to talk about the past.
But most damning in my opinion is his opening statement when he started crying. In the panel prior to the player's panel two parents of kids who committed suicide spoke. Those deaths were possibly related to their use of steroids with the implication being that they were just doing as their role models have done. McGwire truly cares for kids, that is obvious based on his considerable charitable efforts in that area and I believe if he did in fact use steroids that hearing that particular testimony was very difficult for him. Which may be why he started crying. Those tears, possibly of regret, really indicates to me that any statements McGwire said previously about not having used steroids were probably complete untruths.
Today is really a sad day for baseball because all the excitement and amazement of the great homerun battle of 1998 between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, all the good will and everything else is crumbling to pieces.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)
Public Relations is More than Just Publicity
Some who read my blog might know that I used to work full-time in public relations and I still dabble in it to this day. Which is one reason why I often discuss media related issues in this blog and why I pay special attention to the ways in which different organizations and people promote and publicize themselves, and why any all all PR related issues interest me. So I came across a PR-related blog upon which I found an interesting interview with Howard Rubenstein, a PR legend, and founder of Rubenstein Associates.
One thing that Rubenstein touched upon is that Public Relations is much more than just getting publicity for a client. This is very true. Of course the larger the operation the more specilized the role that each person is going to have. But often in public relations it's a lot more than just getting press coverage for your client. It's also crisis management, image management, problem solving, community/customer relations, event planning and any number of other tasks as needed. Rubenstein also mentioned that the general public has no idea what public relations is all about and I think that's very true. Countless times I've heard someone question why a public relations person does one thing or another because they don't think it's part of that person's job. But in reality a PR person has a lot more to concern themselves with than just making sure that their client gets good coverage in the press. Getting the client's message out and how they are perceived are things that take more than just writing press releases and pitching stories to reporters. Not to mention all the things that fall on some PR people, particularly those with high-profile clients, such as to maintain that person's schedule, be their "gatekeeper," worry about security issues and so much more.
Public Relations people are often the face and the spokespeople for their company or their client. So often customers or members of the community will contact a public relations person with a problem, question or complaint. I can't tell you how many times we had a call directed to us that seemingly should have gone to another department but we still made every effort to get the person the information they were looking for, help solve their problem or direct them to someone who could. It's impossible to make everyone happy or solve everyone's problems but the more people who you can help, the more it benefits the client because that's a happy customer, community member or fan who feels that they are valued by the client.
But sometimes I think public relations people take the people that they are trying to get their message out to for granted, assuming that they will always buy tickets, always purchase merchandise, always use their client's services, always write stories about clients, etc... So sometimes they feel as if they don't really need to address the concerns or inquiries of the "nobodies." I'm definitely a "nobody" and I've gotten the feeling more than once both from PR people and from some of their clients that it doesn't matter if they ignore me or others like me. Well, I'm noone of significance and I know few people of significance but a "nobody" can sometimes know a "somebody" and that's one reason why it's important to handle every person as much as possible as if everyone were equally "somebodies." You never know when the person that you blew off could be someone that you will need to get your message out to or could be someone who could help you in the future. Not to mention if you make a bad enough impression it can reflect on your client and suddenly you've got people who don't think too highly of your client or want to spend money on their services. That is certainly true of me that I am much more willing to spend my money with the people, organizations or in the stores where I feel valued.
I guess my point, if there is one, is that PR people need to do things the "right" way and it's much more than just simple media relations as Rubenstein mentioned. Everything goes hand in hand. My former boss, Michael DeLuise, now at Dowling College, did things the "right" way and I learned a tremendous amount from him. Brooke Hondros at Michael Waltrip Racing seems to approach things in a very similar manner to Mike and she is outstanding at what she does. Those are just two public relations professionals that I know that are very good at what they do and it shows but there are many more out there that I don't know. I hope that those who do things the "right" way will continue to do things that way, in the face of the increasing numbers of PR professionals who don't seem to recognize the importance of doing things that way. In the short-term doing things the "wrong" way may work for a while but in the long-term it can end up damaging the client.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)
Interesting Column in Slate on Anonymous Sources
Anonymous Sources Should Be Used With Care
Jack Shafer writes in Slate about why he doesn't like anonymous sources and I would tend to agree that they can be very damaging, particularly if editors and reporters don't have strict guidelines about using material from those sources. USA Today has extremely strict guidelines, which can be seen in Shafer's column, and this is a very good thing. I wish other large publications would also follow guidelines like that.
The problem with anonymous sources is that they often have some sort of agenda they are trying to push. If the source knows that they won't be identified in the story they will speak a lot more openly. Which is good in a whistle-blower type situation where someone might fear reprisals for speaking out. But it can also encourage someone to feed a reporter half-truths or complete misinformation. Most media outlets will suppliment statements from anonymous sources with information from those people who are willing to go on the record, either to dispute or confirm what the source might say. But the damage is often still done, pro or con, because often readers or viewers assume that if a media outlet is reporting it then it absolutely must be true. That's why it's very important for media outlets to be careful about checking for accuracy and to have strict guidelines about the use of information from anonymous sources.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2005
Robby the Showgirl
(From Robby Gordon.com)
Why do I get the feeling that Robby had a lot more fun hanging out with the Harrah's showgirls than on the track? Unfortunately for the third time in three races, the engine on Robby's car blew putting him out of the race in Las Vegas after just 57 laps. Robby's not one of my favorite drivers but he's an underdog and I always like to see the underdogs do well. But if he doesn't find a way to solve the engine woes that his team has been experiencing his foray as the owner of his own team isn't going to work out too well. Robby can race, he's got a surprisingly large amount of strong sponsors and he's very fan-friendly. But none of that matters if he's not going to have a car that can last the entire race.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:13 PM | Comments (0)
Editors Suspended at Student Newspaper For Publishing Photo of Exotic Dancer
Exotic Dancer Embarassed After Exotic Dancing
Two editors from the University of Calgary's student newspaper were suspended without pay for running a photo of an exotic dancer in no more than chain mail, who had appeared at a Student Union event on sexual awareness. Apparently the problem was not that they ran the photo but they did so without putting it in the proper context. In the accompanying article they did not discuss why the photo might be controversial nor did they ask some hard questions about why an exotic dancer was hired for this kind of event.
But what's more interesting to me in this story is that it turns out that this exotic dancer who is Miss Nude Canada 2005 is a philosophy student on campus and she now says that due to humiliation of having her photo in the student newspaper she will have to finish her studies by correspondance because she can't face her fellow students in person. I don't get that. First of all, why would she agree to appear in her exotic dancer persona, Honey Houston, at an event on campus if her fellow students seeing her like that would be so humiliating? And if she's Miss Nude Canada it seems to me that more than one or two people might be looking at her with even less on than the chain mail, and surely a few of them might be her fellow students, or her professors for that matter. Of course I'm sure she didn't expect to see her photo in the student newspaper and I'm sure that was jarring but it still seems to me that if she didn't want any of her fellow students to know that she was an exotic dancer she shouldn't have agreed to appear in that role at an event on campus.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Nubble Lighthouse
Nubble Lighthouse, York, Maine. I really, really, really want to go back to Maine. I don't know if it will be possible this summer but it's just so beautiful there. The Nubble Lighthouse is one of the most photographed, painted and portrayed lighthouses of any of them and I certainly added to that with how many photos I took of it!
Posted by silverdsl at 12:21 AM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2005
Marty Smith: Nascar Too Hard on Knaus
Smith: Penalty to Knaus Too Harsh
Marty Smith of Nascar.com wrote a good opinion piece today which has some very valid points about how Nascar's penalty to Chad Knaus, crew chief of Jimmie Johnson's #48, is excessive. In fact Smith feels that the penalty is "perposterous." Smith goes on to detail an explanation, from Jimmie Johnson, about how the car passed pre-race inspection and due to a issue with a wedge bolt, the problem that they were penalized for was caused accidentally during the race, not that Knaus or the team were intentionally trying to cheat. Smith is on the right track in saying that Nascar should punish cheats but only after making sure that a team was actually cheating, which perhaps the #48 team was not doing.
All of this may be entirely correct but I can't help but wonder if the tone of Smith's article would still be one of outrage at an injustice if Jimmie Johnson wasn't involved. You see Johnson is one of the drivers that Smith is good friends with and I can't help but wonder if that effected the way this piece was written. In this entry a number of months ago I touched upon this topic, but it highlights why reporters have to be extremely careful when it comes to friendships, especially close friendships, with the subjects that they are writing about.
Smith may be the most objective reporter in Nascar, but his friendship with Johnson and other drivers puts him in a position where it raises questions about how those friendships influence what he's writing about. Such as did Johnson call him to ask him to write this piece as a favor to try to sway how people feel about the punishment given to Knaus and the team? Or did Smith include certain information or leave out other information that would portray Johnson and the team in the best light possible? Or would Smith still feel the punishment to Knaus was so ridiculous if a driver he wasn't friends with was involved? I happen to like Smith a lot and I think he's a good writer who often has some very good points about current events in Nascar. So I'd like to think that he tries to be as unbiased as possible. But is he really when it comes to his friends?
Posted by silverdsl at 11:42 PM | Comments (0)
Truckseries.com Most Popular Driver Award
Yesterday the voting for the Truckseries.com Most Popular Driver Award kicked off. This is an internet poll to determine who the fan's choice as most popular driver in the Truck Series is and the winner recieves a leather jacket. The Truckseries.com MPD award is not to be confused with the Truck Series Most Popular Driver award which is voted on by the drivers themselves and given out at the end of the year awards banquet. The one voted on by the drivers is of course quite an honor for a driver to win, given that it means that they are held in extremely high regard by their peers, though of course any driver would be thrilled to be most popular among the fans as well.
In any event, in early voting at Truckseries.com it appears that there will be a heated battle once again between Johnny Benson and Steve Park, with Ricky Craven also getting plenty of votes. Steve won last year but I don't think he's going to walk away with this award quite as easily as he did last season. My suspicion is that some people will cast votes against Steve Park rather than for a particular favorite driver.
Last season there was a bit of a mess in relation to the voting in this poll as there was some funny business in relation to the voting. So the entire contest had to be restarted with stricter rules in place for voting. Which have been continued this season to prevent fraudulant voting. However, as with any internet poll, where there's a will there's a way and odds are that people who are motivated enough will find ways to try to ensure their desired outcome. The Cup Series Most Popular Driver Award is very easy to "cheat" given that people can sign up with a limitless amount of e-mails to vote for the driver they want to win and there are plenty of people who take advantage of that. Sometimes these polls become very important to those who take part and they feel that their viewpoint, driver, player, opinion, etc... must win. It's almost as if some take these polls very personally.
Which is why internet polls are viewed as completely inaccurate and useless. In fact the National Council on Public Polls had the following to say among other things: "Unscientific pseudo-polls are widespread and sometimes entertaining, if always quite meaningless." Which is a shame in the case of something like a Most Popular Driver Award because it is a way for fans to show their support for their favorite drivers. So what is the solution? If as many people as possible vote within the rules and don't try to find any ways to cheat the system when voting in these polls it might help towards giving them some legitamacy.
Posted by silverdsl at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)
Nascar Says: Cheating is Bad!
Knaus, Gustafson, Berrier Suspended
Nascar was none too pleased when they discovered three cases of apparent cheating this weekend. I think did the right thing in handing down harsh punishments in all three cases. I have no doubt that most, if not all, the teams try to push the rules and get away with as much as they can. But all three of these violations, particularly the rigged fuel cell on Harvick's car, seemed pretty serious. If Nascar wants to try to discourage cheating as much as possible they have to make the penalties for doing so really be a deterrant and the loss of driver points and the suspension of crew chiefs really does send a message.
Todd Berrier's actions really bother me the most. First of all, the way that the fuel cell was rigged was a blatant, premeditated, attempt at cheating. Not just tweaking something here or there but figuring out a way to make it seem like the car was full of gas for qualifying when it wasn't. His attitude afterwards really stunk too in that instead of showing any kind of remorse he said that if Kevin had been just a bit slower they wouldn't have gotten caught. That may be true but perhaps it would have been wise to act like he understood what he did was a no-no. I can't figure out why they were cheating anyway. It was obvious based on Kevin's fine finish on Sunday that they had a great car. So all of Kevin's hard work during that race to get a 5th place finish is wasted as he was penalized 25 points.
Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch finished one-two in the race and both failed post-race inspections. That's really a shame for both drivers, who probably had no idea that either one of their crew chiefs were pulling some funny business. Now Johnson's win and Busch's second place finish at his hometown track, no easy feat for a rookie, are tainted. Some feel that the win should be taken away from Johnson but I don't think I agree with that. Regardless of what was done to his car Johnson still had to race his way up front. He lost driver points so it's not like he, or Kyle Busch for that matter, are getting off unscathed.
What I'd like to know is how many others in each of their respective organizations knew of what these crew chiefs were doing. More than likely for their own good the drivers would be kept in the dark but surely there were others who knew. Particularly in the case of the rigged fuel cell because I doubt Berrier would have just installed that himself.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:34 PM | Comments (0)
Why Did Mario Vazquez Quit American Idol?
And the even bigger question: Why do so many people care? That a contestant on American Idol quit just after he made it into the finals is big news. So big that it's one of the lead stories on CNN. There is no question that American Idol has a huge viewership but is this really one of the top news stories of the day? I guess it's just a slow news day but it seems like there much be much more important things happening in the world than whatever is going on with Mario Vazquez.
That Vazquez won't reveal the exact reason he quit gives the story an air of mystery and has led to many speculating on the reasons why so I guess that's garnered it some extra attention. But it almost feels like a publicity stunt to me. Both AI and Vazquez have something to benefit from doing something like this. AI drives up ratings for tonight's show because every will want to know what happened to Vazquez. And Vazquez has kick-started his career without having to be bound by all the contracts that the AI contestants are forced to sign.
I do watch American Idol, though I'm far from a die-hard viewer, but I think I'm in the minority in that the specific details of why Vazquez quit don't really interest me. I'm more intrigued by Nikko Smith who is taking Vazquez's place, as Smith is the son of former baseball player Ozzie Smith.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
March 14, 2005
New Jersey To Pass Smoking Ban?
New Jersey is trying to pass a ban on smoking at indoor public places including restaurtants, office and casinos. I'd love to see this happen as a non-smoker because I'm tired of coughing up a lung and coming back from going out smelling like smoke. But with the inclusion of casinos in this measure it will probably never pass because the casinos in Atlantic City are sure to spend mega-bucks on lobbying to ensure an outcome favorable to them out of fear that a ban on smoking will hurt revenue. Meanwhile bar and restaurant owners in New York City have said that though they initially feared that they would lose a lot of revenue from a similar ban there, it doesn't seem to have hurt their profits all that much. Which makes sense because wsmokers really don't have much choice but to deal with the ban unless they want to travel much further than a lot of people probably want to find a bar or restaurant they can smoke in.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:23 PM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Flowers
Longwood Gardens, PA, 2001. I thought these flowers were neat when I was photographing them because they reminded me of flames. I didn't have all that much time when I was taking shots at that point but I would have liked to have taken a few more shots of these flowers to see if I could have gotten them any more abstract and flame-like by taking shots from various perspectives.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
Is There Something Wrong With Me...
...because after watching Inside Nextel Cup tonight I found myself liking Kyle Busch a little? He was the hot seat guest on tonight's show and he was actually personable, funny and likable. He came across a lot better than his brother Kurt usually does and he wasn't afraid to jump into the conversations between the regulars on INC. Kyle may still be a jerk but at least for an hour he seemed pretty tolerable.
Overall, INC is a lot better in the longer format. Everything is so much more relaxed because the panel doesn't feel like they have to shove everything into a hour. Nothing is rushed anymore and they can spend time discussing whatever they want. Which leads to a lot more humorous conversations as they go off on tangents.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)
Mariano Rivera to Sit Out a Few Days With Elbow Bursitis
Well, this just isn't good, especially considering how bursitis can be a recurrent problem. Right now everyone is saying this isn't a serious problem and that Mariano will be ready for opening day but I really hate to hear about any kind of injury to him, regardless of how minor it might be. Mariano is absolutely essential to the Yankees chances for success in 2005, particularly since there isn't really a good option as a replacement closer should Mariano have to miss any extended time. And the Yankees must, must, must have him, or another dominating closer, in the post-season. So I hope that Mariano's elbow pains really aren't very serious.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:09 PM | Comments (0)
Thanks to Mr. or Ms. X
Sometimes I think it's dishearting for fans in all sports because it's easy to feel like what you do to support a team, driver, player, etc... doesn't get noticed if you aren't as vocal or pushy as some other fans are. How many times have baseball fans been at the stadium and seen the same person who you know is a dealer just looking to sell the autographs they get shove other fans, usually kids, out of the way to get a player's signature? Or the fans who mob drivers in the garage area for an autograph when they are just trying to get back to their haulers after the driver's meeting? Or the fans who camp out in front of their favorite player's house? Or the fans that otherwise invade their favorite player's personal space? Or any other kind of similar inappropriate behavior. I think sometimes it seems like those fans are the ones who get a lot of attention and notice, and not always for good reasons.
But let me just say that I think it's safe to say that the fans who do behave appropriately and are nice, just because it's the right thing to do not because you're looking for anything out of it, are also noticed and appreciated. I was emailing with someone this morning who said something that really made my day and while I don't think it would be appropriate to share the email or the details, it put a smile on my face. I'm sure this person doesn't even think that what they said was any big deal but it made me feel good.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)
March 13, 2005
New York Daily News Investigative Report Links McGwire, Canseco to FBI Probe of Steroids
FBI Confirms Informing MLB About Steroids
Mark McGwire has been denying that he ever used steroids but it appears that his denials may have been lies. The New York Daily News has an article in today's paper in which some FBI informants gave them information in the course of a major investigation that Mark McGwire did use steroids on many occassions. It's possible that the informants were lying but I think it looks pretty bad for McGwire considering now there are multiple sources saying that he used performance enhancers, on top of the already existing rumors and whispers. Suddenly getting into the Hall of Fame might have gotten harder for him.
The second, companion article confirms what Major League Baseball had initially tried to deny - that the FBI approached some in MLB with information about players and steroid use. It's pathetic how Selig has denied that he and MLB had no knowledge what-so-ever about players using steroids until fairly recently when it's getting increasingly obvious that they knew what was going on and decided to ignore it. How can fans possibly trust anything that Selig says when it's starting to look like he's been lying about quite a bit of what he's been saying about the performance enhancers issue?
But Selig is in good company because I think there's a lot of lying going on in relation to this problem.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:47 PM | Comments (0)
Jeremy Giambi Admits He Used Steroids
Jeremy Giambi has nothing to lose, at least as far as his baseball career is concerned, as he's only in minor league camp for the Chicago White Sox and doesn't have to worry about his team voiding his contract. So he's choosen to admit that he did in fact use steroids. He apologized for it, said he made a mistake that he regrets and wants to move on. As opposed to some of the other players who have benefits from steroids, the use of performance enhancers did absolutely nothing for Jeremy's career as he has never been more than a bench player. So perhaps in his case he truly does regret using steroids and having to deal with what he's going through now in terms of having to testify in the Balco proceedings. But I'm not sure too many of the other guys who used performance enhancers really regret it considering Jason Giambi won a couple of MVP awards and Bonds has had a steller career, both most likely given a boost via the use of steroids.
I do have to give Jeremy credit for having the courage to speak out openly about his use of steroids. Yes, he doesn't have much to lose but it still takes courage to talk about the use of performance enhancers when fans take a pretty dim view of players who use. I also think it's a good thing that he's saying that they should reach out to teenagers and educate them on the dangers of the use of performance enhancers. Since he has first-hand knowledge of using steroids he's in the perfect position to educate those teenagers.
I also think that this doesn't look good for Gary Sheffield and Barry Bonds. Granted the Giambi brothers are obviously related so it's not surprising that they would both admit to their use of performance enhancers but the more Balco boys that say that they used the harder it becomes to believe that Sheffield and Bonds had no idea what they were using.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)
Kim Crosby's Team Buys Their Way into Busch Race
From Jayski's: Fuller/Crosby switch numbers: For Saturday's Busch race in Las Vegas, #24-Kim Crosby and #7-Jeff Fuller have swapped out numbers. Fuller more than likely will make the field on time while Crosby needs the help of the #7's provisionals to boost her way into what will be her first race of the 2005 season.(BGNRacing.com)(3-11-2005)
This is completely within the rules but because they had a slow as molasses car with no hope of qualifying for yesterday's Busch race on time Kim Crosby's team switched numbers with Jeff Fuller's team, who had provisionals. Of course not only was this a numbers switch but money switched hands to make this happen. So essentially Crosby's team was buying their way into this race. Ironically Fuller's team, without their provisionals to fall back on, didn't make it in and had to go home. In addition, there were other teams, including Michael Waltrip's, who hauled themselves and their equipment out to Las Vegas who didn't make the race either. This in spite of the fact that every single one of them was faster than Crosby. Every team is going to try to manipulate the rules to their advantage and I can't really fault Crosby's team for doing what they felt they needed to do to get into the race when other teams have done the same thing, but I think this loophole is incredibly unfair to the teams that are faster and can get in on time.
I think doing things this was is really not a good idea for a female driver. Crosby already faces increased scrutiny and challenges because she is a female. This is a reality for any female or minority driver; there are many who are resistant to their presence. Unfortunately for her the team buying their way into a race will be remembered a lot longer for her than it might for other drivers. And it just looks bad for her because it gives the appearance that she can't make it in any other way. There are a few threads on various fan sites dedicated to this topic and while other drivers buying their way in or switching numbers has been discussed before I don't remember it getting quite this much attention. In the short-term Crosby got in and she ran some (slow) laps before suffering mechanical problems and then wrecking but in the long-term it might hurt her more than help. Her team would have been better off spending the money they used on buying their way into this race into trying to improve the car.
I would love to see there be more female and minority drivers, and team members, in Nascar on all three levels. But I think it needs to be done the right way. Female and minority drivers should probably be extremely careful as to what teams they hook up with. Male drivers have it hard enough when they race for lousy teams to overcome the perception that they are the problem not the car, it will be even harder for someone who is already facing an uphill battle. Of course there are fewer teams who are probably willing to go with a female driver because of the way they are perceived to being with. So it's a double-edged sword - does a female driver take any opportunity that comes their way or do they wait for the right one that will offer them the best chance of advancing their career, even if there's no guarentee it will come their way?
Posted by silverdsl at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)
Playing Catch-Up....
Until today it's been a pretty busy weekend for Jim and I. Yesterday we went down to South Jersey to meet with a photographer for our wedding and we absolutely loved the guy so we booked him. He's got a great eye, great style and he will photograph the wedding exactly the way we want - take great photos without getting in the way. He also makes a huge effort to be on-top of the latest technology and based on what he was telling us his approach in terms of doing photography and putting together albums is constantly evolving as things change. He can be found on the web at
J Elberson Photography and he showed us plenty of other weddings and other projects he's photographed that weren't on his website.
We also went out last night with our friends Gail and Steve. Often we find ourselves going out in Montclair and last night was no different. We went to a Thai restaurant which was very good and then to Rascals, a comedy club, where we saw three comics, including headliner Chas Elstner. I didn't think any of them were all that funny but the middle guy, whose name I can't quite recall (Joe Anthony?) was probably the best.
So there were any number of things that caught my interest this weekend that I didn't get to blog about sooner that hopefully I will get to sooner or later...
Posted by silverdsl at 02:53 PM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2005
No Penalty for Brad Parrott
Nascar: It's A-OK With Us to Knee Someone in the Groin!
Jimmy Spencer punches Kurt Busch in the face and gets penalized by Nascar for it. But Brad Parrott knees Robby Gordon in the groin and Nascar does nothing? Ridiculous. As far as I'm concerned one member of the garage area striking another member of the garage area in any way is completely inappropriate and shouldn't be tolerated. Particularly during the pre-race driver's introductions which is essentially a time to put on a show for the fans. That is a time when everyone on pit road should be on their best behavior. Instead Nascar had decided to send the message that in some cases it's okay to settle disputes physically instead of having a reasonable discussion about it.
Maybe the problem is that the victim is Robby Gordon. Not that he's completely innocent himself since he grabbed Parrott after he was kneed, but by all reports he was just defending himself. Gordon is far from popular in the garage area and perhaps Nascar didn't feel like they really had to take action in an incident that involved a driver that many think deserve a knee to the groin. Well, I say regardless of who the victim is something should be done about it.
I've seen speculation elsewhere that Nascar didn't hand out any penalities because they just wanted to sweep this under the rug so any funny business with the engine change to Carl Edward's car didn't come to light. I have to say that it makes a lot of sense. It's possible that a mistake was made and Nascar did not apply the rules consistantly to Edwards as opposed to Gordon. So I could see why they would want to say that this isn't a big deal and impose no penalties so none of the participants would spout off, possibly saying something to make Nascar look bad and potentially forcing them to address the engine change mess head on.
Well, Nascar is looking pretty bad right now regardless. You just can't have competitors or their teams going after each other physically. I'd like to know what's going to happen the next time there's a fight between team members and punches (or knees) are thrown? Will Nascar look the other way like they did here? Perhaps if the victim is an unpopular driver or they are afraid of what else might come to light they will.
Gee, I guess when I was in the garage area at Dover I could have kneed a driver in the groin and got away with it? Somehow I think that's extremely unlikely. I would have been thrown out, banned from the garage area forever and possibly be facing charges. Yet Parrott gets away with it. Unbelievable.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:27 PM | Comments (0)
Tight Security Planned at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Some Fans to Be Randomly Screened With Handheld Metal Detector
It's always good to hear about security precautions at tracks. LVMS has been inspecting motorcoaches and other vechicles entering the infield with bomb-sniffing dogs, coolers are banned, bags will be searched and some fans will be screened with a handheld metal detector. I'd like to see a day when all fans are screened with a metal detector not just random fans. Perhaps time contraints would make that difficult to do with all fans entering the stands but certainly everyone who goes into the garage area, at least those people without hard cards, should be subject to a once over by a metal detector and a bag search. None of this happened when I went into the garage area at Dover but it should have in my opinion.
While I hope that there will never be any incidents of violence at any of the races either in the stands or in the garage area, in this day and age, I think it pays to be cautious. Especially considering how much close interaction fans have with the drivers. Look no further than the Dimebag Darrell shooting or even that brawl between fans and players during the NBA game last year for reasons why security is extremely important. The majority of fans have a healthy outlook on the sport and are just going to have some fun but there are always going to be some people who might take things too far and I think it's better to be safe than sorry.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)
Look Who Has a By-line on Boston.com
Reporting From Spring Training
At other news organizations going with a story without making sure it's accurate and then lying about the source would bring heavy reprimands. But at Boston.com apparently it leads to writing stories about spring training and being featured on the main site. It really boggles the mind. How am I supossed to trust Boston.com as a news source when their reporters are apparently not held to very high standards?
At least the completely false story about Nomar Garciaparra has been removed finally from the BDD site. It's unfortunate that it was only removed after Nomar had to say something publically, even though it was known by BDD and Boston.com well before that the story was false.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2005
Photo of the Day - Michael Waltrip
Las Vegas, NV. January, 2005. Here's Michael Waltrip at a signing in conjunction with Operation Marathon. With the races in Las Vegas this weekend and word that Michael is going to present Kyle Petty with a check for the money he raised for the Victory Junction Gang Camp through all the events for Operation Marathon it seemed appropriate to make Michael the photo of the day. I'm hoping that a photo or some video of Michael presenting the check will show up somewhere.
I can only imagine what kind of hijinx the drivers and their crews are getting into in Vegas. Probably some late nights and lots of partying and gambling. Not to mention some good eats. I've heard that Hootie and the Blowfish will be performing and/or appearing at the Silverton Casino as part of the grand opening for the lounge named after them but details seem pretty sketchy about it, in spite of that online flyer I saw. But if they actually will be at the Silverton this weekend I would guess that Michael will probably also be there. Just guessing that Hootie and co. will be at the race on Sunday, maybe even Saturday too if they really are in LV this weekend.
I'm hoping lady luck will shine on Michael this weekend and that he'll get a great finish in the race on Sunday.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)
Digital Music Works International Signs Headrush
The band Headrush, whose lead singer, Waymon Boone, used to be the lead singer of Splender, has signed with Digital Music Works International and will have an album coming out on June 21. What DMI does is promote and distribute albums exclusively in digital form via online music stores. Which makes a lot of sense for a band like Headrush. They can get their music out there and make it available a lot faster and cheaper than if they tried to hook up with a major label. I'm really looking forward to hearing what this album sounds like. Waymon has a great voice, writes awesome lyrics, is very creative and from back in the day when I saw him perform often with the Hidden Persuaders/Splender is an all-around cool guy.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)
Wirelessly Transmitting Photos as They Are Shot
Canon has come out with a wireless file transmitter that apparently allows photographers to transmit photos either locally to a laptop or other computer or over longer distances via the internet. I'm not sure of all the technical details which can be found in the article above but this sounds like something that could be really useful for sports photographers and other photojournalists working on tight deadlines. Instead of having to run cards back to photo rooms at events to be downloaded and sent, if I'm understanding correctly, images can be send directly from the camera to the photo room as they're shot or even over the internet back to editors at the photographer's home publication. I'm sometimes already amazed by how fast images from games and events show up, it appears that it could get even faster with this device.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Cape Porpoise
Cape Porpoise, Maine, July 3, 2004. Another place that I would love to go back to. Cape Porpoise is a tiny fishing village just outside of Kennebunkport in Maine. There's a great restaurant right on the dock that Jim, me and his mother went to when we were there. Definitely a very awesome meal. There was an extreme low tide when we were there and the waitress told us that she had never seen the tide be so low or so high when it came back in. It was quite a sight to see though it's not apparent in this photo. But overall Cape Porpoise is a very relaxing place to be because it's so quiet. I think that most tourists pass it right over in their haste to explore Kennebunkport which is fine by me, and I'm sure for those that live there, because it means that it will stay quiet.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:15 AM | Comments (0)
March 09, 2005
Will There Be Any Punishments...
...handed down by Nascar for the Robby Gordon/Brad Parrott incident this past weekend? Often penalities and punishments are released on Wednesdays yet there was not one peep heard from the sanctioning bodies' offices in Daytona today. Now it's possible that they will announce something tomorrow but to my ears the silence is deafening. It's quite possible that the incident didn't happen the way it's been reported and it's been exaggerated in the media but if that's the case something still needs to be said to indicate what really went down. Because right now the story is that at driver introductions there was a confrontation which turned physical. Seems to me if Parrott really did knee Gordon in the groin that's grounds for some sort of punishment. If that's not what happened he deserves to have his name cleared because there are many who aren't thinking too highly of him for that move he alledgedly pulled on Gordon. Either way I can't imagine how they could possible ignore what happened.
Posted by silverdsl at 07:06 PM | Comments (0)
Yes, This is My Blog
I'm not sure everyone has noticed but this is my blog. Now some are wondering - isn't that obvious? I'm not sure that it is. Not only is this my blog, but it's my website on a domain that I own and it's hosted on a server that my fiancee owns. So that gives me a lot of freedom in terms of what I can do here. Now I make every effort not to deliberately offend or hurt someone's feelings and to present my opinions as respectfully as possible. But I don't hold back when it comes to blogging about what interests me or when it comes to expressing my opinions. And why should I anyway? There's nothing wrong with me or someone else expressing their opinions, even if it goes against the grain of what a lot of people might think on a particular issue. Differences of opinion and different ways of viewing the world are a good thing - if everyone agreed on every subject the world would be a very boring place.
While it's great that there are people who are interested in what I have to say, I'm putting this blog together for myself, because I enjoy doing it. So I'm not about to cater to what anyone else wants to read or not read in my blog. And I most certainly don't expect that everyone should agree with what I have to say either. While I can't have the comments section in each entry enabled due to the spamming issue, there is a link up top where anyone is free to get in touch with me to share their thoughts, pro or con, about something that I might blog about. No one is being forced to read here either. My blog might not be for everyone and I'm fine with that. But I do have the right to have this blog and within the limits I set for myself, discuss anything I want.
Posted by silverdsl at 06:30 PM | Comments (0)
Newsweek to Change Policy After Controversy Over Cover Illustration of Martha Stewart
Photo/Illustration Credits Will Go on Cover
Unlike a certain other media outlet, Newsweek has responded quickly to last week's controversy that many felt misled readers. Newsweek ran a photo illustration of Martha Stewart on their cover but did not label it as such so some readers probably had the impression that somehow Stewart had been released from prison early to do a photo shoot. However, the reality was that Newsweek pasted Stewart's head on another woman's body. Realizing how bad it reflected on a news publication to not clearly label content properly so that it's clear to readers the reality of what they are seeing or reading, Newsweek both apologized to its readers and announced a new policy. Credits for all photos and photo illustrations used for covers will be included on the cover, instead of being buried on the table of contents page as had been the standard previously. That way it will be clearer to readers whether an image is an actual photo or something that was created by the magazine. It's very important for news outlets to have the trust of their viewers/listeners/readers, otherwise their audience will turn elsewhere for their news to sources they feel are more believable or accurate.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:32 PM | Comments (0)
Giambi, Schilling, Sosa, Thomas, Others Called to Testify to Congress on Steroids
So Congress is going to be conducting hearings into the steroids issue as it relates to Major League Baseball and they plan on asking a number of current or former players to testify, issuing subpoenas if necessary to compel them to show up. Those players are Jason Giambi, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Frank Thomas, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa and Curt Schilling. In addition, they plan on inviting Commissioner Bud Selig, player's union head Donald Fehr, MLB higher-up Sandy Alderson and Padres GM Kevin Towers.
Of course there is a very significant name missing from that list and that's Barry Bonds. Sure, Jason Giambi is the only Balco-boy to actually admit to using steroids but none of the other players called to testify, other than Canseco, have admitted to using. So why wasn't Bonds asked? Or Sheffield for that matter? Once again Giambi is going to be made the poster boy for the steroids problem, in spite of the fact that the is hardly the only guilty one. And once again, other than what ever Canseco spouts off about, more than likely Giambi will be the only one to even partially admit to anything, thus probably getting him into more trouble with the Yankees and the fans.
In the end nothing of significance will probably come out of this as is unfortunately often the case with these hearings. I'd like to think that testifying in front of Congress would prompt some of these folks to actually speak openly and honestly about the performance enhancers problem but I doubt that it's going to happen. Instead there will likely be more double-talk and denials.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:44 AM | Comments (0)
Postive Words for Michael Waltrip from the Track Smack Bunch
Usually most folks, other than his fans, are down on Michael Waltrip's abilities as a driver. However, in today's "Track Smack" on nascar.com I was pleasantly surprised to see that the TS boys spoke pretty highly of Michael, his chances for success this season and his ability both as a driver and to keep his job in the #15. Often people are predicting doom and gloom for Michael in 2005 and beyond so it's always a good thing to see others that believe in him. The TS guys are often the first to point out a driver's flaws but they really spoke pretty well of Michael.
Marty Smith said, "Michael has a lot to offer. He's a better driver than people give him credit for, and he's a walking commercial." It's very true on all of those counts. More important than what a good spokesperson he is for his sponsors is that he really can drive that race car a lot better than many think. And not just at plate tracks. Michael's second place finish at Charlotte and fourth place finish at Somona last season is testament to that. Of course wins are most important but sometimes I think that in their haste to "prove" that Michael is undeserving of his ride, many ignore the fine finishes that he's gotten on non-plate tracks. Not to mention as the TS group mentioned, often Michael is a victim of bad luck completely not of his doing and that has ruined many of his good runs.
In the TS article it's noted that Michael would dearly love to get a win at a non-plate race this season and certainly before he retires. I'd really like to see that for him very much too. He is very definitely capable of it. Might shut a few people up too if he did get that non-plate win. I have a good feeling that's it's going to happen this season but we'll see. Before the engine failures the past two races Michael was on his way to decent finishes in both races so if he can keep that up, build on it and has the proper support from DEI he'll be in good shape.
It should be noted that the TS bunch even had good words for Kyle Petty, saying that if he had the car to do it that it would be possible for him to win again or even get into the Chase for the Championship. Most feel that Kyle should just hang it up immediately so I'm glad to read that are some who feel differently. I've always thought that on the Cup level to get there and stay there, a certain level of talent must be present and that while there are always going to be some drivers who are better than others, often the difference is in the cars that their organizations provide them.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)
March 08, 2005
Photo of the Day - Bernie Williams
Press Gate, August 8, 2002. Yankee Stadium. I post this photo of Bernie Williams that I took three years ago after a game against the Kansas City Royals because I just got to thinking about how I hadn't heard much from Spring Training about Bernie. He's definitely nearing the end of his career and as such his numbers are in a decline. It's sad to think about Bernie not being in pinstripes considering how much a key part of some great Yankees teams he's been. But Bernie is not done yet and I'm curious as to what kind of season he's going to have this year. While Bernie has never been one of my favorites like Tino or Mussina, I've always liked him and I'd like to see him be a solid contributor for the Yankees in 2005.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:57 PM | Comments (0)
I Wanna Rock!
I wanna rock! (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)
I want to rock (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)
Turn it down you say,
Well all I got to say to you is time again I say, "No!"
No! No, No, No, No, No!
Tell me not to play
Well, all I got to say to you when you tell me not to play,
I say, "No!"
No! No, No, No, No, No!
So, if you ask me why I like the way I play it
There's only one thing I can say to you
I wanna rock! (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)
I want to rock (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)
There's a feelin' that
I get from nothin' else and there ain't nothin' in the world
That makes me go!
Go! Go, go, go, go, go!
Turn the power up
I've waited for so long so I could hear my favorite song so,
Let's go!
Go! Go, go, go, go, go!
When it's like this I feel the music shootin' through me
There's nothin' else that I would rather do
I wanna rock! (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)
I want to rock (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)
Now, it's on! Great song - totally cheesy lyrics but that song is full of so much energy. I was totally into glam/hard rock in the 80's and early 90's. So this song brings back a lot of memories for me. I might have to go put on some Poison now.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:12 PM | Comments (0)
Still More on BDD
Well, if there was any doubt that the Nomar refuses a ring story was 100% bogus the following exhange was heard on ESPN as reported by Bostonsportsmedia.com: (note: normally I wouldn't cut and paste so heavily from another site but I feel it's important to get the word out that the Nomar story is completely false.)
Rick Sutcliffe: That article written in a Boston newspaper about Nomar not wanting the ring, that was total bogus. The lady later admitted that Nomar said he would absolutely take that ring, with pride, he was really upset that that story got out, and we just want to clarify that for everyone, that Nomar is going to take that ring, with pride…(onto a few seconds of Cubs discussion)
Gary Thorne: We thank Nomar for calling and letting us know about it. (play by play action) This is so great, I’m so happy the hear that.
Sutcliffe: (talking about what type of guy Nomar is, standup, etc. Doesn’t make sense for Nomar not to take the ring.)
We’re glad to be able to get the true story out, because we all read it. We all read what was written
Thorne: That’s the kind of stuff I mean… unless, I don’t know how it could be an accident, but if it wasn’t, then I hope that person who wrote it is fired. That’s inexcusable, that’s absolutely inexcusable.
Yes, it most certainly is inexcusable yet thus far Boston.com has not addressed this issue in any way, shape or form that I can tell. I'm wondering if now that this has attracted Nomar's attention if they will still be able to turn a blind eye to it?
I understand that SS is trying to use the excuse that he was set-up as a way to wiggle out of trouble. He most surely was set-up and it's shady that someone would deliberately try to decieve him. But on the other hand, that doesn't excuse him for failing to follow some basic guidelines that all journalists are expected to follow. And yes, SS is a journalist or at the least there is an impression that he is given how many folks look to him as a news source, that his title at boston.com is "sports producer," that his site isn't labeled as a blog, that he's sent by boston.com to cover spring training for them, etc...
In the long run Boston.com/The Boston Globe would be better off addressing this in some way now. Even if it's just to more accurately label the the site as a blog, like they do with the other blogs on their site. Because if they don't they may find themselves in even more hot water down the road if BDD is allowed to continue to operate in this manner. I can only hope that behind-the-scenes this matter was somehow addressed though given how many are questioning their credibility after this I would think that Boston.com/The Globe might want to say something pubically as well.
Besides Bostonsportsmedia.com who have continued to cover this story for good reason, there are a few others discussing it as well: SouthCoastToday.com, A Large Regular and New Media Musings.
Posted by silverdsl at 06:32 PM | Comments (0)
Academy Award Winner Teresa Wright Dies at 86
Starred in "Pride of the Yankees"
I feel pretty sad hearing that Teresa Wright passed away. I met her twice at events through work and she was an incredibly sweet and nice woman. She was known for winning an Academy Award in 1941 for "Mrs. Miniver," but also for having appeared in "The Little Foxes," the Alfred Hitchcock film, "Shadow of a Doubt," "The Men" with Marlon Brando and as Lou Gehrig's wife in "The Pride of the Yankees."
Late in life, Ms. Wright became a die-hard Yankee fan and she enjoyed going to games when she could. I remember being at a game when they honored her on the field for her role in "The Pride of the Yankees." I also remember how one of our events took place during the 2000 post-season and Ms. Wright left the dinner early so she could go back to the hotel to watch the final game of the 2000 World Series which the Yankees won. The next day she told me how excited she had been and that she had called the Yankees offices to congratulate them.
The above article discusses how Ms. Wright refused to allow herself to be exploited by the movie studios. She wouldn't pose for "cheesecake" photos and declined to do some publicity for one of her movies even though she was fired as a result. You have to admire someone who stood up for what they believed in, especially in those days when it was far less acceptable for women to speak their minds.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)
March 07, 2005
Photo of the Day - Valley of Fire State Park
Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, January, 2005. I wish I was back in Las Vegas! I've been hearing a lot of talk about Las Vegas the past week or so because Nascar comes to Las Vegas this weekend. Already some of the drivers are there going out and partying. If I were there aside from pigging out in all the yummy restaurants and going to any Nascar related events, I'd go spend lots of time in Valley of Fire State Park taking photos of all these neat-o rock formations. I'd like to either go there at sunrise or be there for sunset when the light would probably make these formations look even cooler.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:56 PM | Comments (0)
CBGB's to Close?
CBGB's has been a New York City landmark since 1973 for live music. Any number of major bands either played there or got their start there including Blondie and The Ramones. But since 2001 CBGB's managment has been involved in a dispute over unpaid rent with the owner of the building, an organization that runs a homeless shelter. Apparently CBGB's thought that they had paid most of the back rent only to be presented with another bill for an additional $76,000. There seems to also be some other dispute over improvements to the space as well.
I've been to CBGB's a bunch of times though not recently. Most of the time it was to see the Hidden Persauders/Splender, though I saw a few other bands there as well. There is no doubt that, at least when I was there last, CBGB's isn't exactly the nicest place in the world to see a band. It's run down and it's not in the greatest neighborhood. But it is a place filled with a ton of musical history. So many bands have played on that stage and so many fans have been there to see awesome music. It would really be a shame for it to close so I hope this dispute can somehow be resolved.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)
Nascar to Investigate Robby Gordon/Brad Parrott Altercation
Is It Too Much to Ask To Expect Adults to Act Like Adults?
Just prior to driver's introductions yesterday before the Busch race in Mexico there was some sort of altercation between Robby Gordon and Carl Edwards' crew chief, Brad Parrott. Apparently the dispute started when the two exchanged words because Gordon had to go to the back of the field because of an engine change but Edwards, in spite of having crashed his primary car and also making an engine change, didn't. After that Gordon and some others claim that Parrott kneed Gordon in the groin and it was on from there only broken up when Edwards and some others intervened. I have no idea what exactly is true or not other than there was some sort of incident but I find it pretty disturbing that this happened.
I hate to see any of these guys fighting but the reality is that tempers will flare from time to time, words will be exhanged and sometimes things are going to get physical. However, the place for it is definitely not during driver's introductions. I would be more understanding if after the race there was an incident because of something that happened during the race but I think pre-race is a time to put on a show for the fans and fighting looks pretty bad. If they absolutely had to go at it, find a hauler or another private place to "discuss" things. But don't do it when the focus should be on the fans.
If it's true that Brad Parrott kneed Gordon in the groin I hope Nascar takes action against him. That's pretty inexcusable regardless of what Gordon might have said to him. Of course if Gordon got physical first then of course he needs to be punished as well. Even if he didn't strike the first blow maybe Gordon still needs to be reprimanded. I just think that if there really was a physical altercation that a message needs to be sent that this was not an appropriate time, place or way to handle their differences.
Posted by silverdsl at 01:19 PM | Comments (0)
Wild Speculation Regarding Steve Park's Wind Tunnel Appearance
I label this as wild speculation because I have absolutely nothing to back up any of this up and it may be completely inaccuate. But I was thinking a little more about last night's Wind Tunnel interview with Steve Park and how off it seemed. And I got to thinking about how often Steve has blamed the media for many of the problems he experienced regarding how he was percieved in the garage area. He's even made some remarks of that nature recently. So I can't help but wonder if the Wind Tunnel folks were trying to send a message to Steve and others that they and the rest of the media aren't to blame for what he went through. That(they might think that since) he was the one who wrecked, that he made a mistake with the steering wheel, hence everything he's gone through is on his shoulders, not the media's. It's that steering wheel question that really sticks with me - why ask that four years later when it doesn't really matter? I'm probably totally wrong and it's just a matter of an interview gone bad with no intent there but I can't help but wonder.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)
March 06, 2005
Steve Park on Wind Tunnel
Maybe it's because I'm already in a bad mood but I thought Steve Park's appearance on Wind Tunnel was a bit of a downer. I really didn't think it would be possible considering how awesome his win was last week and how happy he's been since but somehow Wind Tunnel managed. The problem was how much of a focus there was on Steve's accident in 2001 during which he suffered the brain injury that caused him to miss time and derailed his career. Of course the injury is part of who Steve is and was a life-altering injury in many ways so there will probably not be many interviews or articles that don't at least touch on this subject. But Dave Despain and the other host of Wind Tunnel very much made that the focus of the entire interview. I would expect the accident to be discussed but four years later I think there are other subjects to cover in more depth such as the truck series, his team, more on the win, etc...
Perhaps the message was supossed to be one about how much Steve has overcome and that's true. But showing footage of the wreck even more than footage of him winning, asking Steve to discuss the gory details of how the wreck happened, if he thought his career was over when he was trying to come back from the injury and any number of other wreck-related questions just seemed excessive to me. It's no wonder that Steve looked so serious as soon as they went to him to start the interview - perhaps he knew what he was in for. He barely smiled once this entire interview and that's really a shame considering how happy this win made him.
In addition, Wind Tunnel asked for viewers to send in emails and call in with questions for Steve. Yet they used only one email and one phone call. I guess using more would have interferred with rehashing the accident in as much detail as they seemed to want to do. Couldn't they have gone over the win, the celebration in Victory Lane and everything else in as much detail? Sure, some of that stuff was discussed, as well as how Steve ended up with Orleans Racing and how great they are to him, but it was like they had been saving up all these questions for all these years to ask him and they weren't going to let him go until he answered them all. Steve's interview with Claire B. Lang on XM last week touched on some accident-related issues but the majority of it was a celebration of his win and about how bright the future is for him. I don't want to see puff piece interviews that don't discuss anything weighty but I did expect something a little more like the XM interview, certainly more upbeat.
I'm sure Steve is used to talking about the wreck but it still can't be easy to rehash some of this stuff. Especially when it comes to having to say that perhaps the wreck happened because he make a mistake with the steering wheel or how he was an outcast in the garage area because of what everyone thought about him - I'm sorry but that has to bring up a whole host of feelings that are better left in the past. Especially when there's so much good stuff to focus on in the present and future. Steve made a comment about how what happened at DEI with the #1 team when he returned "really hurt my heart." Well, it really hurt my heart to see this interview.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)
March 04, 2005
Going Away....
Jim and I are headed to up-state New York to his mother's house for a birthday celebration for his grandmother so I probably won't be able to do too many, if any, blog entries from up there. But hopefully I'll come back with some pics to post for "Photo of the Day."
And for anyone reading from NYYFans, yes, we will still be monitoring the forum from upstate so better behave! ;)
Posted by silverdsl at 04:36 PM | Comments (0)
Apparently Fake Story About Nomar Garciappara Mentioned on ESPN
In this entry about Boston Dirt Dogs, I spoke briefly about how important journalistic ethics and responsibility are. That an apparently completely made up story about Nomar Garciapparra which makes him look very bad has just been repeated as fact on an ESPN broadcast of a spring training game makes it even clearer how important that is. The fake item remains on the BDD without any kind of modification or clarification so anyone reading will believe that it's true. Which apparently some people in the mainstream media were in fact doing.
The problem is that given the association with Boston.com/The Boston Globe the assumption is that BDD is being held to the same standards as the rest of the site and the print paper when it's very clear that isn't happening. This situation needs to be addressed if Boston.com/The Boston Globe wants to keep any shread of credibility. Because if they allow a page on their site, which many think is a news source, to feature items not checked for accuracy, to remain after major questions about it's truth are raised and allow the writer of said item to outright lie about his source, that's a major problem.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:36 PM | Comments (0)
Cashman Claims He Never Had Enough to Confront Any Player About Steroid Use
From the article: ". . . I haven't been faced with having someone down in this clubhouse I've heard rumblings strong enough to have that discussion with," Cashman said. "Not on steroids. I've been there on cocaine, I've been there on alcohol-related problems. And I've acted on those. If I've heard some rumors from several sources strong enough, I'll act on it. Not once (with steroids). Never."
Nonsense. He had two players in his clubhouse, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, who were called to testify in front of a grand jury exploring whether Balco distributed steroids to athletes and he didn't have enough evidence to confront any of his players about steroid use? That's an absolutely ridiculous statement. Testimony in front of a grand jury proves nothing about whether or not a player has used steroids or not, but it most certainly should have raised a red flag in his mind. If that wouldn't prompt a chat with the players in question, then what would? Did Cashman need to see a syringe in someone's locker? I find it extremely hard to believe that Cashman heard nothing about some of his players and steroid use. Kevin Towers admitted that he suspected some of his players were using and did nothing and John Schuerholz admitted that he confronted players about possible steroid use. But Cashman knew nothing? I think it's more like he chose to know nothing.
And what of the admission that he's confronted players about suspected cocaine or alcohol problems? What was the evidence there before he had a discussion with them? I highly doubt that someone came to him with a vial of cocaine or photos of a player drunk off their ass the night before they had to pitch. I would expect that he heard rumors or talk that certain players were up to no good and he took it seriously enough that he felt he had to act on it. Well, then why wouldn't he think that two players called before the Balco grand jury was something serious enough that he should look into it? Of course no player is going to admit to steroid use but it sends a message.
But I think that's a message that Cashman didn't want to send. Like his close friend, Kevin Towers, Cashman probably understood that the Yankees keeping their heads buried in the sand would benefit everyone. After all, players who could hit more home runs and reap the other benefits from the use of performance enhancers helped the team to win and brought more fans to the stadium, thus making more of a profit for the Yankees. Now I'm not claiming that Cashman had definitive proof that there were players on the team using performance enhancers. But I think that there were plenty of reasons why he wouldn't be too motivated to pay much attention to or act on the rumors that he surely did hear. Like that big rumor about two of his players testifying in front of the Balco grand jury.
The fallout from Balco is ugly and it's sure to get uglier.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:04 PM | Comments (0)
28,000 Show Up to Racefest Block Party in Fontana
Racefest Block Party Big Success
Last week prior to the race weekend at California Speedway, there was a huge Racefest in downtown Fontana which featured appearances by 26 different drivers from Cup, Busch and the Truck series, as well as live music, food and Nascar related vendors. So 28,000 people showed up. 28,000! The organizer of the event said that for some drivers he saw people lined up 1,000 deep.
I can't even imagine how a turnout like that is even manageable for the drivers, the people working the event or the fans themselves. How do you get all those people through a driver's line in the time alloted without the driver having to be there all night? I guess it's a matter of rushing each person through as quickly as possible and that doesn't sound like any fun for anyone. Not for the fans who value every second that they spend in the presence of their favorite drivers or for those drivers who like to take a little extra time with each fan to interact with them if possible. I can't even imagine how tiring it is to have to sign all those autographs, pose for all those photos (if that was allowed), and have very similar brief conversations over and over again. Of course it must have made these drivers feel great that there was such a huge turnout of people who came to see them but it just sounds like it might not be as enjoyable as a smaller appearance. Even when there's hundred of people, I think it would be better than thousands.
With appearances that big inevitably there are going to be people who go away unhappy, particularly if they get shut out of getting their favorite driver's autograph. Apparently Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also made an appearance but it was only for contest winners and Make-A-Wish people, but perhaps was publicized otherwise. "It's very disappointing because he's supposed to be outside where everybody can see him. Most of the people came to see him," said (Sarah)Murray. "I waited for so long and now my chance is gone. Maybe next time, who knows?" That's something which is very unfortunate if people are given the impression that certain drivers will be somewhere and be accessible and aren't. Organizers of these kinds of events should make sure they are as upfront as possible, because while it may work in the short term to get people there by using Junior's name, if they mislead fans it may hurt them in the long term because people will be unwilling to go back in the future.
I have to wonder if it's ever going to reach a point where large events like this with multiple drivers are impossible because of the huge fan turnout. The Yankees used to have a fan fest which had to be discontinued because the fan turnout was just so massive that it became impossible to deal with. As Nascar grows in popularity I think that is one of the challenges that they are going to face - keeping the drivers accessible.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
Unusual Life Forms Found in Atlantic
In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a team of scientists discovered a field of thermal vents around which there were all sorts of strange sea life in the form of translucent shrimp and crabs as well as tapeworms that can grow as long as eight feet. This field has been nicknamed the Lost City and was discovered by accident in 2000 when the group of scientists were studying something else nearby. It reminds me of how the Australian archeologists were working in a tomb in Egypt and purely by accident discovered a previously unknown tomb with a beaded mummy inside. Sometimes the most amazing things are hidden away, just waiting for someone to stumble upon them.
The lead researcher, Deborah S. Kelley, who explored the Lost City said that the discovery shows "how little we know about the ocean." Considering how vast oceans are there are probably any number of other features and sealife that remain undiscovered. In general there is probably much about the world around us that is still unknown.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)
March 03, 2005
Boston Dirt Dogs
I'm not going to comment too much on the details of the Boston Dirt Dogs fiasco but any baseball fans who consider the website Boston Dirt Dogs a legitamite source of news about the Boston Red Sox should read the March 2nd and 3rd entries at bostonsportsmedia.com . And why might you ask do I not want to comment on the specifics of the BDD situation? Because I would risk getting unending nasty emails from someone whose initials are "SS," which is what this person has done to many, many others who have been the slightest bit critical. With just the little bit that I've written here I probably am already at risk.
But in general, journalistic ethics and journalistic responsibility are extremely important issues. Particularly in light of a number of major scandals, including one at The New York Times, a Boston Globe affiliated company, in relation to reporters who made up stories, sources and didn't fact-check. There will always be errors but a media outlet has a responsiblity to try to be as accurate and factually correct as possible. And that responsiblity extends to every employee who writes for and represents their company.
ETA: And if it's true as reported on SoSH that one "SS" told a user who was trying to organize a campaign to increase closed captioning for hearing impaired fans that he would sabatage said campaign because he didn't like a comment that person said about BDD on SoSH, nevermind that this user was for the most part until that comment a huge BDD supporter, that is just horrible and inappropriate to say the least.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:20 PM | Comments (0)
March 02, 2005
Photo of the Day - Ocean Grove at Sunrise
Ocean Grove, New Jersey, 2002. Nothing like waves crashing to shore on the beach at sunrise.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)
Spring Training Injuries Already
So Randy Johnson has a strained calf, Jorge Posada has a stiff neck and Gary Sheffield has shoulder pain which is a lingering side effect from his off-season shoulder surgery. So far it's been said that all of these aches and pains are no big deal but the Yankees are well-known for down-playing and hiding injuries. So I always find it hard to know how serious a player's injury really is.
Sheffield played in pain last season and put up exceptional numbers so I'm not all that concerned with his shoulder. More than likely unless something really bad happens with his shoulder he will play though any pain he might feel. It's been said that Posada's stiff neck was caused by sleeping on it wrong and if that's the case (and not because he got in a fight or something) it should clear up in a day or two. Randy Johnson's calf on the other hand concerns me. More than likely he'll be fine and he's got plenty of time to heal since it's only a few days into spring training. But any leg (or arm) injury to a 41-year old pitcher has got to be cause for a slight bit of concern.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)
Steve Park on RCR - "It Was a Mistake"
Today Steve Park was interviewed by Claire B. Lang on "Dialed In" on XM. It was absolutely outstanding to hear how happy he was! To hear him say that he's spent the whole week with a huge smile on his face just made me smile too! Most of the interview Steve talked about his vacation in California, his big win and also about having to prove himself after his injury in 2001.
What was most interesting in that interview was Steve's comments about RCR. He briefly mentioned DEI, how the team was picked apart when he came back so it was hard for them to get anything done. But then he said that filling in for Jeff Green at RCR was "a mistake on my part." He then said that unless you win and run up front you're criticized and then followed with "you don't get that at Orleans - they give him a complete vote of confidence that he could win." So my impression was that he was implying that at RCR they didn't have full confidence in him and perhaps that was vocalized to him. Which falls in line with what I suspected previously. He's also made other comments recently about RCR and how the #30 got lesser equipment and resources than what was given to the #29 so my sense is that there is some lingering bitterness over his experience at RCR.
Which wouldn't suprise me because it seemed as if he went over there as a favor to Richard Childress, who he had previously been somewhat friendly with. So it could not have felt good to not get support from his friend's organization, especially considering the connection to Dale Earnhardt, who Steve thought of as a second father. There is no doubt that being at RCR in that lousy car really damaged Steve's career in that many felt that the poor results were his fault, when Jeff Gordon probably couldn't have done any better in that car as it was in 2003. I suspect that being in the #30 on top of his struggles in the #1 did some damage to his confidence level too.
Steve says that he never doubted himself but I couldn't imagine him ever admitting in an interview that he did doubt himself. But very freqently others will talk about his confidence level as if it were an issue with him and that wouldn't suprise me. I don't see how anyone could go through what he did and not have some doubts. But now there definitely shouldn't be any worries about his confidence in himself because that win last week had to do him a world of good. Being at Orleans where they believe him him without question is very good for him too. So I think Steve is going to really set the truck series on fire in 2005.
The other thing about Steve's comments about RCR is that he is speaking his mind in a way that he hadn't previously. I guess that comes from being in a situation where he doesn't have to worry as much about saying the wrong thing and potentially losing his ride. Now I have no doubt that he will and still has to be careful not to offend anyone like all the drivers, but Steve is speaking his mind in a way that I don't remember him doing for quite some time. And I think that is a very good thing. Brendan Gaughan also speaks his mind and I like that too. It's very important to me personally to say what I think and I wish that the drivers in Nascar had more freedom to do so without repercussions. But it's a very good thing to Steve be more candid, even if it ruffles a few feathers.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:41 PM | Comments (0)
Kerry Earnhardt Out After Two Races?
From Jayski's (in part): Hmiel reurns to the #15 at Atlanta; Testing news: Kerry Earnhardt’s name was still above the door, but it was Shane Hmiel testing the No. 15 Billy Ballew Chevrolet Wednesday at Atlanta Motor Speedway...He will be taking over for Earnhardt, who will not be racing at Atlanta because of lack of sponsorship. Albertson’s parted ways with the team this week. “Kerry is a great guy,” Ballew said. “It takes lots of money to keep these operations running, and because of lack of sponsorship we were unable to run Kerry in the Atlanta race.”
This one is a bit of a puzzle. Due to a lack of a sponsor Kerry Earnhardt is out of the #15 truck for at least Atlanta. But that lack of a sponsor isn't preventing Shane Hmeil from taking over. I can only assume that they have to pay Kerry more base salary than they would have to pay Shane and that's why Kerry had to step out until they find another sponsor. Unless of course they are actually parting ways with Kerry. His first two race weekends have been a bit messy so I guess it's possible that Bellow, or the sponsor they just lost, didn't have the money to keep having to put wrecked trucks back together. But two races seems like a way too short of a time to give up on someone, especially since they won a pole at Daytona. I do wonder why the sponsor left though. Seems like anything connected to the Earnhardt name would bring a lot of attention so it seems odd that they would drop their sponsorship of his team so suddenly.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:35 PM | Comments (0)
Newsweek Uses Fake Martha Stewart "Photo" on Cover
What is Newsweek thinking? It's one thing to touch up a photo in Photoshop but the use of photo illustrations which are basically fake photos needs to be done only when extremely necessary and should always be labeled clearly so as not to confuse readers. However, Newsweek decided that with Martha Stewart not being available for a photo shoot for obvious reasons, they would fake a photo shoot. So they took Martha's head and stuck it on the body of a model that they used on the front cover with the headline, "Martha's Last Laugh." There is nothing on the cover to indicate that this is a photo illustration not a real photo and I'm quite sure that many readers will think that somehow Martha got out to do a photo shoot.
A news organization has a responsibility not to mislead their audience. And it seems to me that is exactly what Newsweek did here.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:24 PM | Comments (0)
Archeologists Discover Extremely Well-Preserved Mummy
I thought this was pretty interesting. While working in a tomb in Egypt, an Australian team of Archeologists moved some statues and discovered a hidden door. Inside they found three coffins, each containing a mummy, including one that was covered in beads. Apparently most of the mummys previously discovered from the time period that those are from are missing most of their beadwork but presumably because of how well-hidden this tomb was, the beadwork on this one is complete. This team of archeologists must have been beside themselves when they made this discovery. I would guess that every archeologist dreams of making a big find that uncovers something significant like this.
I wonder how much else is hidden and waiting to be discovered? Kind of cool to think about what else might be under the sand in Egypt or elsewhere just waiting for an archeologist to look in the right place.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)
Amateur Cybersleuths Fascinated by BTK Killer
Just as there are people who are intrigued by every other unsolved mystery and how they might be able to break the case when the authories haven't been able to, the BTK killer long fascinated many on the internet. There were websites, blogs and message boards where people posted and exchanged theories and potential clues. In fact, some of the theories were so on target that some on these websites recieved visits from the police who were interested in how they knew so much. Apparently the authorities discovered evidence that Dennis Rader, the man arrested as the BTK killer, visited at least one website about himself so there is some speculation that he might have been posting right along with some of the amateur detectives on some of the message boards. That's creepy!
It's interesting because I've used the internet as a tool on many occasions to find information, though never about anything like this. And it's really amazing sometimes how much you can find through a Google search. It's incredible how much information is out there and if you can follow "clues" so-to-speak you can really discover a lot. This quote sums things up nicely, "Amateurs who care about things can now put their ideas into play or challenge the experts," said Lee Rainie, director of the Washington-based Pew Internet and American Life Project. "That's one of the biggest things the Internet has done." Of course the one thing to be careful of is that not everything on the internet is accurate or current, but when used correctly the internet is a great resource for information and research.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
Photo of the Day - Cool Clouds
Clouds over Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, NV. January, 2005. Sunny, cloudy, sunny, cloudy, rainy, sunny. The weather just couldn't make up it's mind when we were in Red Rock Canyon. I wish it had been sunny the whole time, especially since it was a little chilly when it was cloudy, but the mixed conditions meant that I could take this shot of the clouds at one point. The clouds seem so swirly and my eye was drawn to the sky to take this photo.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:27 AM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2005
XM Raises Monthly Rates
On the heels of learning that the Nascar channels will be moving from XM to Sirius in 2007, I just discovered that XM is raising it's monthly fees to $12.95 a month. I shouldn't be surprised because Sirius already charges that much and XM has to pay for that huge baseball deal somehow. But still it's a bit off-putting. Of course $13 a month still isn't much either, especially considering how many channels I get. I could always pay up front for a year and still get the $9.99 a month fee as long as I do it before April 1. It's just that for two XM devices, that's works out to a lot of money up front. I do have a discount for the second XM device but I bet the price for that one jumped too. The one good thing is that the monthly fees will now include access to XM's music channels via the internet, something which users used to have to pay an additional $4 a month for.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:01 PM | Comments (0)
Gary Sheffield - Is He Ever Happy?
Gary Sheffield is angry and he wants everyone to know... that what's making him angry is the perception that he's angry all the time. He also wants people to know that he feels underappreciated by everyone other than the fans, including by his own team. He's apparently also upset about his contract, the one that he negotiated himself with George Steinbrenner, though he refused to address that directly.
I think this is very telling: (when asked if he felt appreciated by his own team) Sheffield said, "I don't get that from the team. I don't know what their feelings are. I get it more from fans more than anything else. All around New York, wherever I go, people appreciate my style of play." I read that as Sheffield saying that if the Yankees really appreciated him as they should they would be willing to renegotiate his contract and compensate him more for his services. There is no doubt that Sheffield had an outstanding season last year and he might have been the Yankees MVP. But renegotiate his contract? Very few teams do that, regardless of how well a player performs. So what exactly does he expect? Especially since he negotiated and signed the contract himself.
Sheffield also talks about how he's never discussed among the most elite players in the game. Sheffield is an excellent player but is he one of the top players in the game? I'm not so sure about that. I don't think he's a player on the level of Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriquez or Manny Ramirez. Those are the elite players in the game. Perhaps Sheffield is on the second tier but it's unlikely that he's going to be mentioned alongside of A-Rod. For most players that would be fine. Not that they don't want to be one of the elite; every player does and will work as hard as they can to get to that level. But I think that most players are aware of what their own abilities are and where they fall in the player rankings.
It's comical how Sheffield complains about perceptions that he is angry all the time. Well, perhaps if he spent a little less time complaining about everything from the way he's perceived to his own teammates then the media and the fans wouldn't think he's sour all the time. But no one should be surprised by any of this. Throughout his career Sheffield has always complained about everything and dissatisfaction with his contract has been a familiar rant. So I anticipate that Sheffield will not stop complaining (in anger) about the ways that he feels slighted.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)