"J.D" has been keeping me abreast on the latest news regarding minor league baseball returning to Richmond. You may recall the Atlanta Braves moved their AAA team from Richmond to suburban Atlanta, leaving Richmond without a team. Lately, there has been talk of building a new stadium in the Richmond area in hopes of bringing a AA team to the area. This article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch is the latest news as of Saturday. Some of the potential ownership groups have the names of baseball legends attached to them, Ripken and Ryan.
My hope is Richmond will get a AA team and that the Nationals will have the team as their AA affiliate. I have jokingly told my friends any new team in Richmond should be called the Richmond Grays in homage to both the Negro Leagues and Richmond's historical significance. And, I think the team mascot should be an African-American Conferderate Army officer. Yes, I know that mascot would be offensive to everyone, that's why I said was joking. Of course, a friend of mine pointed out to me Clayton Bigsby may have already set a precedent for the mascot. If you're wondering who Clayton Bigsby is, you can watch part 1 of the "Frontline" profile of him here and part 2 here.
Friday's Washington Times had profiles of the two young baseball players who are considered the saviors of the mid-Atlantic's two major league clubs. Of course, pitching prospect Steven Strasburg hasn't even been drafted by the Nationals yet. The piece features some interesting thoughts by Tony Gwynn, the Hall of Famer, who now coaches Strasburg at San Diego State. (Virginia gave Strasburg his first loss of the year in the NCAA baseball playoffs Friday night. The AP story on the game is here.) Meanwhile in Baltimore, catcher Matt Wieters was called up from AAA by the Orioles Friday and was immediately made the O's starting catcher. The Times piece details the excitement in Baltimore.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Friday Frolics, Volume 15: George Brett Is Sick and Tired of Listening To It
It seems baseball legened George Brett had a few pops at a celebrity golf tournament a couple of weeks back. Then, someone asked him the wrong question about K.C. Royals manager Trey Hillman. By the way, kudos to the Youtube poster who set up a home video camera in front of his TV to capture this nugget for all to see.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Midweek Time Killers
Many of you may have seen last year's HBO Real Sports story about Lenny Dykstra. The story told of Dykstra's financial genius and how he had turned his investment in a car wash into a financial empire. This lengthy ESPN.com piece by Mike Fish follows up on the Real Sports story, but casts Dykstra in a far different light.
A couple of weeks back, I saw the The Washington City Paper had a cover story entitled "Screw U" about sex, or a supposed lack thereof, on campus at Catholic University. I thought to myself "that oughta be interesting". Well, I was disappointed. The article detailed how the student code prohibited most every sex act. But, guess what? The University is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. Would that surprise you? The piece goes on to say the anti-sex rules aren't really enforced. So, in the end, you have to wonder what was the point of piece. I would have found an article on the rules at Bob Jones University much more interesting.
WTEM radio, owned by Dan Snyder, did not renew the contracts of ex-Redskin Brian Mitchell and the hair spray kid, Al Koken. Maybe Mitchell's contract was not renewed because of his heated on air discussion with Clinton Portis last fall. ("CP's pockets is straight" was a classic line although I still have no idea what to hell it means.) Back in Feb., "J.D.", "Vern", "Vern's" son, "D", and I went to the Mason-Madison basketball game at JMU. Prior to the game, Al Koken, who was doing play by play of the game, was in the men's room primping and making sure each hair was glued in place. I made an offer to "D" of $10 if we would go over and mess up Koken's hair. "D", who is 10, was up for it, but "Vern" wasn't. I would have laughed my a** off if "D" would have pulled the stunt. It wouldn't have been hard for "D" considering Koken and "D" are about the same height. Anway, a Washington City Paper blub about Mitchell and Koken's departures is here.
A couple of weeks back, I saw the The Washington City Paper had a cover story entitled "Screw U" about sex, or a supposed lack thereof, on campus at Catholic University. I thought to myself "that oughta be interesting". Well, I was disappointed. The article detailed how the student code prohibited most every sex act. But, guess what? The University is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. Would that surprise you? The piece goes on to say the anti-sex rules aren't really enforced. So, in the end, you have to wonder what was the point of piece. I would have found an article on the rules at Bob Jones University much more interesting.
WTEM radio, owned by Dan Snyder, did not renew the contracts of ex-Redskin Brian Mitchell and the hair spray kid, Al Koken. Maybe Mitchell's contract was not renewed because of his heated on air discussion with Clinton Portis last fall. ("CP's pockets is straight" was a classic line although I still have no idea what to hell it means.) Back in Feb., "J.D.", "Vern", "Vern's" son, "D", and I went to the Mason-Madison basketball game at JMU. Prior to the game, Al Koken, who was doing play by play of the game, was in the men's room primping and making sure each hair was glued in place. I made an offer to "D" of $10 if we would go over and mess up Koken's hair. "D", who is 10, was up for it, but "Vern" wasn't. I would have laughed my a** off if "D" would have pulled the stunt. It wouldn't have been hard for "D" considering Koken and "D" are about the same height. Anway, a Washington City Paper blub about Mitchell and Koken's departures is here.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Quickies
First up, it seems that now that my friend Steve Tuttle has been ragged on a bit on CMT's website because of his Newsweek piece criticizing modern country music, he has been paying attention to CMT.com. Steve sent me this blurb on Nashville's premiere bluegrass club, the Station Inn, opening a barbecue joint.
Last week, Shedd's Spot's Richmond correspondent, "J.D.", sent me this AP piece about a man being shot in a Waffle House after complaining about his food. While searching for more info on the shooting, I came accross a whole slew of info on late night happenings at Waffle Houses, including this security camera video of a late night brawl.
"J.D." also sent in this piece about an attempt, and the related documentary, to get the Kinks to reunite.
Finally, my friend "Vern" was headed home from church a couple of weeks back when he saw Kenny Powers, or at least a damn fine Powers impersonator, in the church parking lot. Good to see KP may be trying to change his ways. He was on his way into church when Vern's wife snapped this picture
Last week, Shedd's Spot's Richmond correspondent, "J.D.", sent me this AP piece about a man being shot in a Waffle House after complaining about his food. While searching for more info on the shooting, I came accross a whole slew of info on late night happenings at Waffle Houses, including this security camera video of a late night brawl.
"J.D." also sent in this piece about an attempt, and the related documentary, to get the Kinks to reunite.
Finally, my friend "Vern" was headed home from church a couple of weeks back when he saw Kenny Powers, or at least a damn fine Powers impersonator, in the church parking lot. Good to see KP may be trying to change his ways. He was on his way into church when Vern's wife snapped this picture
Monday, May 25, 2009
Months Later, Another Musical Oddity
Back in January, I posted an entry entitled "A Musical Oddity" about hearing the Yayhoos' version of ABBA's "Dancing Queen" on Hillbilly Jim's Moonshine Matinee show on XM radio. Since then, I've heard several more odd things on XM, but none as odd (and bad) as the Oak Ridge Boys' cover of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" I heard earlier today.
When I got home I immediately Googled "Oak Ridge Boys Boom Boom" hoping beyond hope this was something the Oak Ridge Boys recorded years ago and that whomever the DJ was today on Outlaw Country was playing the cut as a joke. Unfortunately, the Google search led me to a May 19th Washington Post review of the Oak Ridge Boys latest CD. It seems the Oak Ridge Boys are trying to revitalize their career with a CD of songs orginally from other genres, including songs originally recorded by Neil Young and the White Stripes.
Back in the 1990s, Johnny Cash's career had fallen to the level of fading country legend. Cash was then approached by American Recordings owner Rick Rubin about a recording contract. Rubin had the idea of having Cash come into the studio with just his guitar and letting Cash record whatever he wanted. Cash ended up recording a collection of songs that became his comeback CD, American Recordings. The CD consisted of songs written by songwriters such as Nick Lowe, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Cash himself. Cash went on to record several more CDs for American before his death, all of which were critically acclaimed.
Since Cash had his success by stepping away from the country music industry cookie cutter, several older acts, including Loretta Lynn, have made similar moves hoping to jump start their careers. This latest Oak Ridge Boys CD seems to be their attempt at a jump start. Unfortunately, for the Oak Ridge Boys (and us), they do not have the one quality that made Cash's stint at American a success, the ability to make any song their own. During Cash's stint at American, he could make the listener forget there ever were orginal version of the songs he covered. I doubt the Oak Ridge Boys would ever be able to do that.
My advice to the Oak Ridge is to follow the lead of acts such as Carl Smith and the Statler Brothers. Those acts retired with dignity after realizing the country music world wasn't what it was when their careers were at their zeniths. I doubt that anyone would have wanted to hear Carl Smith or the Statler Brothers cover something like "Livin' la Vida Loca", which I'll venture to guess may be on the Oak Ridge Boys next CD.
When I got home I immediately Googled "Oak Ridge Boys Boom Boom" hoping beyond hope this was something the Oak Ridge Boys recorded years ago and that whomever the DJ was today on Outlaw Country was playing the cut as a joke. Unfortunately, the Google search led me to a May 19th Washington Post review of the Oak Ridge Boys latest CD. It seems the Oak Ridge Boys are trying to revitalize their career with a CD of songs orginally from other genres, including songs originally recorded by Neil Young and the White Stripes.
Back in the 1990s, Johnny Cash's career had fallen to the level of fading country legend. Cash was then approached by American Recordings owner Rick Rubin about a recording contract. Rubin had the idea of having Cash come into the studio with just his guitar and letting Cash record whatever he wanted. Cash ended up recording a collection of songs that became his comeback CD, American Recordings. The CD consisted of songs written by songwriters such as Nick Lowe, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Cash himself. Cash went on to record several more CDs for American before his death, all of which were critically acclaimed.
Since Cash had his success by stepping away from the country music industry cookie cutter, several older acts, including Loretta Lynn, have made similar moves hoping to jump start their careers. This latest Oak Ridge Boys CD seems to be their attempt at a jump start. Unfortunately, for the Oak Ridge Boys (and us), they do not have the one quality that made Cash's stint at American a success, the ability to make any song their own. During Cash's stint at American, he could make the listener forget there ever were orginal version of the songs he covered. I doubt the Oak Ridge Boys would ever be able to do that.
My advice to the Oak Ridge is to follow the lead of acts such as Carl Smith and the Statler Brothers. Those acts retired with dignity after realizing the country music world wasn't what it was when their careers were at their zeniths. I doubt that anyone would have wanted to hear Carl Smith or the Statler Brothers cover something like "Livin' la Vida Loca", which I'll venture to guess may be on the Oak Ridge Boys next CD.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Friday Frolics, Volume 14: Cleveland Tourism Videos
OK, these might be old news to some of you, but I'm tired and I got hit in the head by a softball last night. So, the Shedd's Spot research department (me) is moving a little slow today.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Midweek Time Killers...Old School Baseball Style
(No, that is not the blogger known as Shedd in the picture to the right.)Every year about this time, the Baltimore Orioles visit the District for a series the Nationals promote as "The Battle of the Beltways". Honestly, it's more like the "Contests of the Cellar Dwellers", but the series usually draws well and the fans seem to have a good time. When the Nationals were still playing at RFK, some friends and I would always take in the Sunday game of the series after a couple of hours of tailgating. On one of those Sundays, my friend "Drycleaner Chris" and I were approached by the weekend sports anchor for local channel 9. She wanted to interview Chris and me for a story examining the Nationals-Orioles rivalry. Weekend anchor girl was your typical nice bodied TV blonde type, so, in our buzzedness, we readily agreed to step in front of camera. Chris BS'd his way through what seemed to be a five minute answer, then I babbled for a while, hoping my drunkedness wouldn't show up on video. (Believe me, I have a face and a voice made for blogging, so if I would have been sober, there's no way I would have let myself go on camera.) Soon, interview time was over and we headed into the game. When I got home that evening, I set my DVR to record channel 9's late night sports show and then readily forgot about the entire incident.
A few weeks later, I was visiting my parents in West Va. when my mom told me a friend of hers had seen me on TV. I'm sure I had a puzzled look on my face, because I had totally forgotten the interview. (15 beers or so on the day of an interview will do that to a guy.) My mom went on to tell me her friend said it looked like I was "at a ball game or something". Then it dawned on me what she was talking about. I was truly expecting the next words to come out of my mom's mouth to be her friend said "and he looked like he was three sheets to the wind". But, I got lucky. Once I got back home, I watched the story on my DVR. My minutes of babbling was edited down to about 20 seconds for the story. And, geez did I look like a** in my drunkedness.
In honor of this weekend's "Contests of the Cellar Dwellers", we'll take a look back at some old school baseball items from the Washington and Baltimore areas. (I refuse to lump the two cities into one geographic region because the two cities could not be more different.)
First, there's the best ever of the buzzed baseball fans, Baltimore's Wild Bill Hagy. This Washington Times piece was written by Dick Heller shortly after Hagy's death in August 2007. But, even more interesting is this 1979 Evening Magazine story on Hagy.
Lastly, is this NationalsPride.com review of Stephen J. Walker's 1999 book A Whole New Ballgame. The book details the Washington Senators 1969 season, their first under the leadership of Ted Williams. Although everyone remembers the Senators as perennial losers, they actually had a record of 86-76 in 1969. Personally, my lone memory of the Senators was going to a game at the age of four with my dad and grandfather in 1971, the Senators final year in D.C., and spilling orange soda all over myself and being hot and sticky the rest of the day. I guess it could have been worse, I could have a memory of a loss.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Quickies
Last week, Delaware governor Jack Markell signed legislation legalizing sports betting in Delaware. Now, it's up to the Delaware Supreme Court to work through the myriad of legal issues to determine exactly how the sports betting system will work in the state. Meanwhile, both the NFL and NCAA are unhappy and, as mentioned in a previous post, the NCAA is threatening to prohibit all colleges located in Delaware from hosting any NCAA playoff/tournament games. The latest on the situation is covered in detail in this Philadelphia Inquirer piece.
For a while Saturday, I thought I'd post my official Preakness preview and prediction. But, after providing you readers with some poor picks based on sound handicapping for the Kentucky Derby, I thought better of it. And, it's a good thing I did. My advice was going to be "don't make the sucker bet by putting your money on Rachel Alexandra." From what I've read, the close finish between Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird has temporarily piqued America's interest in the Sport of Kings. Unfortunately, in Maryland, the lack purse money because of a lack of slot machines has damaged the overall racing scene. And, the ban on taking your own booze into the infield at Pimlico caused a substantial drop in attendance at this year's Preakness. This article from Saturday's Washington Post and this one from Sunday examine the two issues. In this column, Andrew Beyer proposes his solution to the Maryland's racing industry woes.
I wanted to find one good gambling song on Youtube to make this an all gambling Quickies post. But, I couldn't find a performance clip of any of the songs I was thinking of, Merle Haggard's "Kentucky Gambler", "Blackjack" by Albert Collins, or Mike Ness' version of "Gamblin' Man". Unfortunately, my search on "Gamblin' Man" found this awful, and I mean really awful, clip of a Hager Brothers appearance on Hee Haw.
For a while Saturday, I thought I'd post my official Preakness preview and prediction. But, after providing you readers with some poor picks based on sound handicapping for the Kentucky Derby, I thought better of it. And, it's a good thing I did. My advice was going to be "don't make the sucker bet by putting your money on Rachel Alexandra." From what I've read, the close finish between Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird has temporarily piqued America's interest in the Sport of Kings. Unfortunately, in Maryland, the lack purse money because of a lack of slot machines has damaged the overall racing scene. And, the ban on taking your own booze into the infield at Pimlico caused a substantial drop in attendance at this year's Preakness. This article from Saturday's Washington Post and this one from Sunday examine the two issues. In this column, Andrew Beyer proposes his solution to the Maryland's racing industry woes.
I wanted to find one good gambling song on Youtube to make this an all gambling Quickies post. But, I couldn't find a performance clip of any of the songs I was thinking of, Merle Haggard's "Kentucky Gambler", "Blackjack" by Albert Collins, or Mike Ness' version of "Gamblin' Man". Unfortunately, my search on "Gamblin' Man" found this awful, and I mean really awful, clip of a Hager Brothers appearance on Hee Haw.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Friday Frolics, Volume 13: Kinky Freidman Sings...
Here's Kinky Freidman singing "They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore" from his banned from the airwaves 1975 appearance on Austin City Limits. Please beware that, although there aren't a lot of obscenities in this clip, this song is VERY politically incorrect.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Midweek Time Killers...D.C. Sports Style
First off, The Washington Times' Dan Daly thinks tonight's Game 7 between the Capitals and Penguins is destined to be among the greatest sporting events ever held in the D.C. area. You can read his list here and then form your own opinion on it. Personally, I disagree with the event at the top of his list, George Mason's defeat or UConn in the 2006 NCAA Eastern Region Final, and it pains me to say that. The game was great, but its long term impact on the area was nowhere near the game I would have at the top of the list, the Redskins defeat of the Dallas Cowboys at RFK in the NFC Championship game after the 1982 season. Although, George Allen had started Redskins mania in the 70s, that January 1983 game cemented the Redskins as the sports institution in the National Capital Area. Only now, with Dan Snyder's mismanagement of the team, is the lustre wearing off the Redskins. (On a personal note, I would like to nominate as an honorable mention, the Wakefield High School boys basketball team's 61-56 defeat of Grant Hill's South Lakes team in the 1990 Northern Region (Va.) final.)
In this 1994 column, the dean of Washington sportswriters, the late Shirley Povich, remembers, 70 years later, the Washington Senators' 1924 World Series win.
Finally, you can relive the highlights of the Washington Bullets game seven win over the Seattle Supersonics in the 1978 NBA Champiosnhip and watch some post game interviews in the following clips. By the way, the Big E was THE MAN.
In this 1994 column, the dean of Washington sportswriters, the late Shirley Povich, remembers, 70 years later, the Washington Senators' 1924 World Series win.
Finally, you can relive the highlights of the Washington Bullets game seven win over the Seattle Supersonics in the 1978 NBA Champiosnhip and watch some post game interviews in the following clips. By the way, the Big E was THE MAN.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Stephen Bruton - He Was the Guy Behind the Guys
Singer-songwriter-producer-guitarist Stephen Bruton died Saturday, May 9th at age 60 from throat cancer. Most of you have probably never heard of him. But, you have definitely heard of the artists he has supplied songs for, played guitar for, or for whom he produced records. The list is lengthy, but includes Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, Delbert McClinton, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jimmy Buffett, and Alejandro Escovedo. This Counrty Standard Time piece details Bruton's career much better than I can.
I remember Stephen Bruton as being part of one of those "oh, I get it" moments in my life. The moment, or more precisely, night, happened Thursday, April 28, 1994. My friends "Vern", "J.D." and I were in New Orleans for our first Jazz Fest. We spent the day at the actual festival at the Fairgrounds where we each drank well into double digit beers. Sometime that evening, we got back to the condo where we were staying in the French Quarter, regrouped (aka took a nap), and headed to Jimmy's to see Delbert McClinton.
Stephen Bruton was the opener for Delbert McClinton that night and none of us had ever heard of him. I vividly remember turning to "Vern" and "J.D" as Bruton was taking the stage and saying "this guy is going to be really good or he's going to suck". Needless to say, Bruton didn't suck. Bruton mostly performed songs from his debut solo CD What It Is. Not too long into his set, Bruton did his song "Big Top Hat" which includes the line "You can kiss my a** 'til my hat pops off". That's when I started to realize that, although I got to see a variety of bands at the Fairgrounds during the day, the club shows at night were really what Jazz Fest was all about to me. Bruton played a great set before turning the stage over to Delbert McClinton around midnight. Delbert came on and, to the best of my memory, played until after 3:00 a.m. Delbert was incredible. To this day, I consider that concert to be one of top 10 concerts I've ever seen. In fact, a poster from that concert still hangs in my dining room. So, while the music industry will remember Stephen Bruton for his work behind the scenes, I'll remember him for being front and center on stage, introducing me to the night scene of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
______________________________________
You can see Stephen Bruton performing "Too Many Memories", one of his more mellow compositions here.
I remember Stephen Bruton as being part of one of those "oh, I get it" moments in my life. The moment, or more precisely, night, happened Thursday, April 28, 1994. My friends "Vern", "J.D." and I were in New Orleans for our first Jazz Fest. We spent the day at the actual festival at the Fairgrounds where we each drank well into double digit beers. Sometime that evening, we got back to the condo where we were staying in the French Quarter, regrouped (aka took a nap), and headed to Jimmy's to see Delbert McClinton.
Stephen Bruton was the opener for Delbert McClinton that night and none of us had ever heard of him. I vividly remember turning to "Vern" and "J.D" as Bruton was taking the stage and saying "this guy is going to be really good or he's going to suck". Needless to say, Bruton didn't suck. Bruton mostly performed songs from his debut solo CD What It Is. Not too long into his set, Bruton did his song "Big Top Hat" which includes the line "You can kiss my a** 'til my hat pops off". That's when I started to realize that, although I got to see a variety of bands at the Fairgrounds during the day, the club shows at night were really what Jazz Fest was all about to me. Bruton played a great set before turning the stage over to Delbert McClinton around midnight. Delbert came on and, to the best of my memory, played until after 3:00 a.m. Delbert was incredible. To this day, I consider that concert to be one of top 10 concerts I've ever seen. In fact, a poster from that concert still hangs in my dining room. So, while the music industry will remember Stephen Bruton for his work behind the scenes, I'll remember him for being front and center on stage, introducing me to the night scene of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
______________________________________
You can see Stephen Bruton performing "Too Many Memories", one of his more mellow compositions here.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Shedd's Spot 100th Post
It's been a little over four months since I set this blog up and posted my first entry. That entry, celebrating the end of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd's tenure as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was inspired by my visit to West Virginia over the holidays. During that trip, it seemed every turn I took led me to something named after Byrd, who is one of the all time kings of pork barrel spending.
Since then, I've tried to be informative and funny while trying not to take myself too seriously. There have been quite a few posts on the Washington Nationals, a few lamenting the days of old here in the D.C. area, and a lot of posts on music.
Not surprisingly, two of the most read posts were ones picked up by other blogs or websites. "Frank Goes Nuts" was picked up the L.A. Angels fan blog Three Days of Cryin' while "Music News from Elvis Costello and Bill Kirchen" was linked to by the website Elvis Costello Fans. Another widely read post was "The Godfather Winds Up the Crowd at Wolf Trap" about Chuck Brown's April appearance at the Barns of Wolf Trap.
A post that has been suprisingly popular is the Friday Frolics post featuring Junior Samples. It has made its way around the world wide web a few times via email. Who knew there were that many Junior Samples fans out there?
One thing I have noticed is that if you mention the NCAA in a post, someone with that organzation is going to read it. Every mention of the NCAA here on Shedd's Spot has garnered at least one hit from a PC (or Blackberry) on the NCAA's network.
I want to thank a few folks for their help so far...Tadcranky for his blogging tips, same for "M.K. in Portand and "J.D." in Richmond for his topic suggestions. Most of all, thanks to all of you for reading, even the reader who called me a "big p*ssy fair weather fan" in an anonymous comment on my post "With Eight Tickets You Get a Haynesworth" that criticized the Washington Redskins for signing Albert Haynesworth. As long as y'all keep reading, I'll keep posting.
Since then, I've tried to be informative and funny while trying not to take myself too seriously. There have been quite a few posts on the Washington Nationals, a few lamenting the days of old here in the D.C. area, and a lot of posts on music.
Not surprisingly, two of the most read posts were ones picked up by other blogs or websites. "Frank Goes Nuts" was picked up the L.A. Angels fan blog Three Days of Cryin' while "Music News from Elvis Costello and Bill Kirchen" was linked to by the website Elvis Costello Fans. Another widely read post was "The Godfather Winds Up the Crowd at Wolf Trap" about Chuck Brown's April appearance at the Barns of Wolf Trap.
A post that has been suprisingly popular is the Friday Frolics post featuring Junior Samples. It has made its way around the world wide web a few times via email. Who knew there were that many Junior Samples fans out there?
One thing I have noticed is that if you mention the NCAA in a post, someone with that organzation is going to read it. Every mention of the NCAA here on Shedd's Spot has garnered at least one hit from a PC (or Blackberry) on the NCAA's network.
I want to thank a few folks for their help so far...Tadcranky for his blogging tips, same for "M.K. in Portand and "J.D." in Richmond for his topic suggestions. Most of all, thanks to all of you for reading, even the reader who called me a "big p*ssy fair weather fan" in an anonymous comment on my post "With Eight Tickets You Get a Haynesworth" that criticized the Washington Redskins for signing Albert Haynesworth. As long as y'all keep reading, I'll keep posting.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Quickies
This week's Quickies post is a day early in order to make room for a special Shedd's Spot post on Monday.
Sports Illustrated recently ran this piece listing the five best and worst owners in each of the four major professional sports. Not surprisingly, two local owners, Dan Snyder and Ted Lerner, made the worst lists for their respective sports. All regular readers know how I feel about Redskins owner Dan Snyder. How anyone whose only football playing experience is smear the queer as a child (and I'm guessing he was the queer) can have a big enough ego to think he can be the end all when it comes to player personnel deccision is beyond me. As to Lerner, I'm still drinking the Kool-Aid and believing the Nationals will turn it around in the next couple of seasons. Ted Lerner's biggest mistake, and it was a HUGE one, was keeping Jim Bowden as general manager when Lerner took ownership of the team in 2006.
Regular readers may remember a post a few weeks back mentioning the state of Delaware was consdering legalizing a form of sports betting. The orginal bill died, but a revised version passed the state's lethe Clock"gislature last week. Here is a story on the updated legislation. By the way, the NCAA is still opposed to the bill.
55 years ago today (May 10, 1954), "Rock Around the Clock" was released by Bill Haley & His Comets. "Rock Around the Clock" is considered to be the first rock and roll song to make #1 on the pop charts, although it did not make #1 until 1955, after its inclusion in the movie Blackboard Jungle. Haley died of natural causes in 1981, but there are several stories of very bizarre behavior in his final days. Haley's life and death was the subject of Dave Alvin's song "Haley's Comet" which was released on Alvin's 1991 CD Blue Boulevard.
Sports Illustrated recently ran this piece listing the five best and worst owners in each of the four major professional sports. Not surprisingly, two local owners, Dan Snyder and Ted Lerner, made the worst lists for their respective sports. All regular readers know how I feel about Redskins owner Dan Snyder. How anyone whose only football playing experience is smear the queer as a child (and I'm guessing he was the queer) can have a big enough ego to think he can be the end all when it comes to player personnel deccision is beyond me. As to Lerner, I'm still drinking the Kool-Aid and believing the Nationals will turn it around in the next couple of seasons. Ted Lerner's biggest mistake, and it was a HUGE one, was keeping Jim Bowden as general manager when Lerner took ownership of the team in 2006.
Regular readers may remember a post a few weeks back mentioning the state of Delaware was consdering legalizing a form of sports betting. The orginal bill died, but a revised version passed the state's lethe Clock"gislature last week. Here is a story on the updated legislation. By the way, the NCAA is still opposed to the bill.
55 years ago today (May 10, 1954), "Rock Around the Clock" was released by Bill Haley & His Comets. "Rock Around the Clock" is considered to be the first rock and roll song to make #1 on the pop charts, although it did not make #1 until 1955, after its inclusion in the movie Blackboard Jungle. Haley died of natural causes in 1981, but there are several stories of very bizarre behavior in his final days. Haley's life and death was the subject of Dave Alvin's song "Haley's Comet" which was released on Alvin's 1991 CD Blue Boulevard.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Hitting Streaks: Ryan Zimmerman & Dom DiMaggio
At the time of this writing, Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is riding a 26 game hitting streak. Everyone knows the record for the longest hitting streak in baseball history is Joe DiMaggio's 56 game streak during the 1941 season. But few people remember Joe's younger brother Dom had a 34 game hitting streak while playing for the Boston Red Sox in 1949. The streak, was in effect, ended when Joe DiMaggio caught a sinking liner off Dom's bat in the eigth inning of a game against Joe's New York Yankees. Dom's 34 game streak is still a Boston Red Sox team record.
Dom DiMaggio, who played for the Red Sox for 11 seasons and who was a seven time all star, passed away last week. An MLB.com story on DiMaggio can be read here.
Back to the present and Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman's hitting streak is just one piece of what should be an All-Star season for the third baseman. As of today, he is batting .339 with 5 HR's and 20 RBI in 121 AB. The Nationals finally put their money where their mouth is earlier this month when they inked Zimmerman to a 5 year/$45 million contract. The Nationals had been calling Zimmerman "the face of the franchise" since shortly after drafting him in 2005.
Dom DiMaggio, who played for the Red Sox for 11 seasons and who was a seven time all star, passed away last week. An MLB.com story on DiMaggio can be read here.
Back to the present and Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman's hitting streak is just one piece of what should be an All-Star season for the third baseman. As of today, he is batting .339 with 5 HR's and 20 RBI in 121 AB. The Nationals finally put their money where their mouth is earlier this month when they inked Zimmerman to a 5 year/$45 million contract. The Nationals had been calling Zimmerman "the face of the franchise" since shortly after drafting him in 2005.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday Frolics, Volume 12: What's in a (Porn Movie) Name?
I laugh everytime I see the Family Guy scene where Brian wins a Woody Award for his skills directing adult films. During the scene, there's mention of an adult film entitled Add Mama to the Train. Of course, the adult film industry has a long history of spoofing the titles of real, non-porn films. This website, funnytitles.com, is a great list of those spoofed titles. Although there are some titles spoofing the Harry Potter series, none of them revolve around the character name I would have used, Harry Twotter.
All of this, of course, leads us back to this classic scene from Clerks.(Um..not for office enjoyment...)
All of this, of course, leads us back to this classic scene from Clerks.(Um..not for office enjoyment...)
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Friday Night Frolics
Every week, I post something here I hope you readers will find funny under the heading "Friday Frolics". If you haven't figured it out by now, I "borrowed" that name for the series of posts. The name comes from a radio show that aired on radio station WSM in Nashville from 1948 to 1958. The Friday Night Frolics was a spinoff of the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry had been airing on Saturday nights since 1925 and was at the height of its popularity when the WSM management decided to begin Frolics as a spinoff to the Opry. The show aired for 10 years from WSM's Studio C before moving to the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Opry, in 1958 and being renamed The Friday Night Opry.
Here's Carl Smith, one of the biggest country stars of that era, singing "Are You Teasing Me?". The song was written by two other country legends, the Louvin Brothers. By the way, Carl Smith was June Carter's first husband and he is the father of Carlene Carter.
Here's Carl Smith, one of the biggest country stars of that era, singing "Are You Teasing Me?". The song was written by two other country legends, the Louvin Brothers. By the way, Carl Smith was June Carter's first husband and he is the father of Carlene Carter.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
In the Coming Weeks on Shedd's Spot..
There are plenty of post topics floating around my desk here at the Shedd's Spot home office. In the coming days & weeks, I hope to have posts on several recent CD releases including the re-release of the BoDeans' Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, Scott Miller's For Crying Out Loud and the various artist Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm. Add to that, some commentary on the early season performance of the Nationals (and Nationals Park), a flashback or two, and whatever else crosses my mind, and I have quite a bit of blogging to do.
Midweek Time Killers...Country Style
In case of time flying by, it seems like it was just yesterday when I first read this Eddie Dean piece about bluegrass fiddler & country DJ/historian Eddie Stubbs in The Washington City Paper. When I checked the City Paper website, it shocked me to find the story was first published in 1996.
Also from The Washington City Paper is this Christopher Flores story on D.C. bluegrass pioneer Buzz Busby from 2000.
Finally, this story about Gary Stewart has been emailed to me by a couple of different friends over the past year. It's an interesting look into the career of a singer who was once considered the "next big thing" in country music in 1970s only to fall prey to drugs and paranoia.
Also from The Washington City Paper is this Christopher Flores story on D.C. bluegrass pioneer Buzz Busby from 2000.
Finally, this story about Gary Stewart has been emailed to me by a couple of different friends over the past year. It's an interesting look into the career of a singer who was once considered the "next big thing" in country music in 1970s only to fall prey to drugs and paranoia.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Quickies
As I was heading home from the grocery store over the weekend, I happened upon some tech talk show on the radio. The subject of that segment on the show was, coincidentally, the development of GPS-like systems for grocery store customers. It seems some folks accross the pond are developing such a system to assist the elderly. You can read about it here.
Shedd's Spot's Richmond correspondent, "J.D.", sent in this little nugget.
On this day (May 4th) in 1979, Margaret Thatcher became the U.K.'s first female Prime Minister. That fact reminded me of the scene from Coupling where Sally finds out Maggie Thatcher had some supporters who were gay. You can see the scene here. That scene leads to this scence where Jeff tells the world how easy gay men have it when it comes to romance.
Shedd's Spot's Richmond correspondent, "J.D.", sent in this little nugget.
On this day (May 4th) in 1979, Margaret Thatcher became the U.K.'s first female Prime Minister. That fact reminded me of the scene from Coupling where Sally finds out Maggie Thatcher had some supporters who were gay. You can see the scene here. That scene leads to this scence where Jeff tells the world how easy gay men have it when it comes to romance.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
The Official Shedd's Spot Kentucky Derby Prediction
Folks who know me, know I like to gamble a little. Fortunately, I live in a part of the country where casino gambling isn't readily available. That, combined with the crack down a few years back on gamblers' abilities to fund offshore accounts, really stopped me from pissing a lot of money away. But, instead of sending thank you notes to Congress and the members of the state legislatures in Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia, I'm going to give in to my gambling urge today and use my long abandoned Youbet.com account to satisfy the urge.
Post time for today's 135th Kentucky Derby is 6:24. A live cut in on TV a little while ago showed wet and rainy conditions in Louisville. Those conditions, combined with two other factors, one old and one relatively new, make handicapping the Derby more of a crapshoot than ever.
Let's take a brief look at each of these three factors, beginning with the weather. A lot of people don't like to be out in the rain and mud, and some horses feel that way too. Seeing the majority of the horses in the Derby began their racing careers in California of Florida, very few of the entrants have any experience racing in wet conditions. This includes favorites I Want Revenge, Dunkirk, and Pioneer of the Nile. You just cannot predict how a horse will run his first time in the mud. On the other hand, Friesan Fire won the Louisiana Derby on a sloppy track and Papa Clem finished 2nd in the same race.
The relatively new factor that muddles handicapping the Derby is change of racing surfaces in states such as Calilfornia. At Churchill Downs, site of the Derby, the racing surface is still dirt. But, in Cailifornia, tracks have replaced their dirt surfaces with synthetic ones in an attempt to prevent horse injuries. Many of the prep races leading up to the Derby are held in Califiornia and many of the entrants have raced most, if not all, of their careers on synthetic surfaces. The morning line favorite, I Want Revenge, seems to have made a successful switch to dirt by winning the Wood Memorial and Gotham Stakes in New York after beginning his career on the synthetic tracks in Cailifornia. But, from what I've read, this seems to be an exception to the norm.
The traditonal factor that complicates handicapping the Derby is the large field. 20 horses will enter the starting gate today. With that many horses in the race, it's easy for even the best of horses to get pinned back in the field or on the rail. One stroke of bad luck heading for the first turn and your horse may be done.
With all that said, it's probably just as easy to throw a dart at the Kentucky Derby program and pick a winner instead of reading the program. But, I've actually put some thought into my prediction, so here goes....
It would be VERY easy to go with morning line favorite, I Want Revenge, based on based on his speed figures and two prep wins at Aqueduct which proved he could make the transition from synthetic surfaces to dirt. But at morning line odds of 3-1, that seems like too much of a sucker bet in wet conditions against against 19 other horses. Plus, if you follow Andrew Beyer, you know the horses he picks to win the Derby NEVER win and he is all over I Want Revenge.
Pioneer of the Nile, at a morning line of 4-1, has already won over a million dollars in his young career, but all but $40,000 of those winnings, came on synthetic surfaces. (BTW, the other $40K came on turf.) He has started six times on synthetic surfaces and twice on turf.
Dunkirk, at a morning line of 4-1, has the highest past speed figure of any horse in the race, but has very little experience having raced only three times. Also, Dunkirk did not race as a two year old and no horse without 2 YO experience has won the Derby in years.
Freisan Fire , at a morning line of 5-1, looks to be a solid pick here because he has won the Louisiana Derby in wet conditions and has raced exclusively on dirt. But, one thing about Friesan Fire concerns me. He has not raced since winning the La. Derby on March 14th.
So, where does that leave me, you ask? I'm going to look for value in today's race. And, I think that value comes in the form of Papa Clem, who is 20-1 in the morning line odds. Papa Clem won the Arkansas Derby his last time out on April 11th with a good speed number. Prior to that, he finished 2nd to Friesan Fire in the slop of the Louisiana Derby. In Feb., he finished ahead of I Want Revenge in a race at Santa Anita.
The official Shedd's Spot prediction:
1) Papa Clem
2) Friesan Fire
3) I Want Revenge
4) Dunkirk
Happy gambling.
***************
In the few minutes since I finalized this post, favorite I Want Revenge was scratched from the race!!!! Here is Shedd's Spot's revised prediction:
1) Papa Clem
2) Friesan Fire
3) Dunkirk
4) West Side Bernie (morning line odds of 30-1)
Post time for today's 135th Kentucky Derby is 6:24. A live cut in on TV a little while ago showed wet and rainy conditions in Louisville. Those conditions, combined with two other factors, one old and one relatively new, make handicapping the Derby more of a crapshoot than ever.
Let's take a brief look at each of these three factors, beginning with the weather. A lot of people don't like to be out in the rain and mud, and some horses feel that way too. Seeing the majority of the horses in the Derby began their racing careers in California of Florida, very few of the entrants have any experience racing in wet conditions. This includes favorites I Want Revenge, Dunkirk, and Pioneer of the Nile. You just cannot predict how a horse will run his first time in the mud. On the other hand, Friesan Fire won the Louisiana Derby on a sloppy track and Papa Clem finished 2nd in the same race.
The relatively new factor that muddles handicapping the Derby is change of racing surfaces in states such as Calilfornia. At Churchill Downs, site of the Derby, the racing surface is still dirt. But, in Cailifornia, tracks have replaced their dirt surfaces with synthetic ones in an attempt to prevent horse injuries. Many of the prep races leading up to the Derby are held in Califiornia and many of the entrants have raced most, if not all, of their careers on synthetic surfaces. The morning line favorite, I Want Revenge, seems to have made a successful switch to dirt by winning the Wood Memorial and Gotham Stakes in New York after beginning his career on the synthetic tracks in Cailifornia. But, from what I've read, this seems to be an exception to the norm.
The traditonal factor that complicates handicapping the Derby is the large field. 20 horses will enter the starting gate today. With that many horses in the race, it's easy for even the best of horses to get pinned back in the field or on the rail. One stroke of bad luck heading for the first turn and your horse may be done.
With all that said, it's probably just as easy to throw a dart at the Kentucky Derby program and pick a winner instead of reading the program. But, I've actually put some thought into my prediction, so here goes....
It would be VERY easy to go with morning line favorite, I Want Revenge, based on based on his speed figures and two prep wins at Aqueduct which proved he could make the transition from synthetic surfaces to dirt. But at morning line odds of 3-1, that seems like too much of a sucker bet in wet conditions against against 19 other horses. Plus, if you follow Andrew Beyer, you know the horses he picks to win the Derby NEVER win and he is all over I Want Revenge.
Pioneer of the Nile, at a morning line of 4-1, has already won over a million dollars in his young career, but all but $40,000 of those winnings, came on synthetic surfaces. (BTW, the other $40K came on turf.) He has started six times on synthetic surfaces and twice on turf.
Dunkirk, at a morning line of 4-1, has the highest past speed figure of any horse in the race, but has very little experience having raced only three times. Also, Dunkirk did not race as a two year old and no horse without 2 YO experience has won the Derby in years.
Freisan Fire , at a morning line of 5-1, looks to be a solid pick here because he has won the Louisiana Derby in wet conditions and has raced exclusively on dirt. But, one thing about Friesan Fire concerns me. He has not raced since winning the La. Derby on March 14th.
So, where does that leave me, you ask? I'm going to look for value in today's race. And, I think that value comes in the form of Papa Clem, who is 20-1 in the morning line odds. Papa Clem won the Arkansas Derby his last time out on April 11th with a good speed number. Prior to that, he finished 2nd to Friesan Fire in the slop of the Louisiana Derby. In Feb., he finished ahead of I Want Revenge in a race at Santa Anita.
The official Shedd's Spot prediction:
1) Papa Clem
2) Friesan Fire
3) I Want Revenge
4) Dunkirk
Happy gambling.
***************
In the few minutes since I finalized this post, favorite I Want Revenge was scratched from the race!!!! Here is Shedd's Spot's revised prediction:
1) Papa Clem
2) Friesan Fire
3) Dunkirk
4) West Side Bernie (morning line odds of 30-1)
Friday, May 1, 2009
Friday Frolics, Volume 11: The World According to Stewie
Supposedly, this Family Guy scene was banned from being aired. But, who knows. Beware of two f-words being used, the f-bomb and "fart".
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