What you know about that?

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. My computer was on the DL for a few days and I’ve been busier then the Cubs bullpen catcher. Here come five random thoughts:

1--Other then watching to see if Carlos Zambrano will throw a no-hitter, I see no reason to follow the Cubs anymore in 2006. Every day they find some new way to lose. One day the bullpen breaks down like the Bluesmobile. The next day Dusty, who I have declared the leader who makes the worst deacons since Rufus T. Firefly drove Freedonia to bankruptcy in ‘Duck Soup’, will leave a pitcher in too long and they will let up multiple grand slams. Then yesterday Ronny Cedeno throws the ball five feet to the right of Michael Barrett when there was a play at the plate. It’s almost like they enjoy torturing fans. Bears training camp starts in five days…five days…five days.

2--The one thing the Cubs have going for them, other then Big Z, is that it’s a sellers market with the trade deadline coming quickly. Players like Todd Walker, Scott Wiliamson, and Greg Maddux should be able to get the Cubs some major league talent from the 15-plus teams still in the playoff chase. Some rumors I have heard include Williamson heading across town to the White Sox, who need a right arm in their ‘pen with the injuries to Dustin Hermenson and the release of Cliff Polite, Walker going to Toronto, who would like to add a left handed bat, and Maddux maybe going back to the home of Ludacris and JD where the players (and the Braves) play. Lets hope we do better then Dontrelle Willis for Antonio Alfonseca or Jon Garland for Matt Karchner.

3--Fortunately for me, Cubs baseball isn’t the only sports-related dish on the menu. I recently picked up ‘NCAA Football 2007’ for my newly acquired XBOX 360 as well as my annual ‘Sporting News’ college football preview and I now officially have college football fever. Here’s a sneak preview of my season predictions: (complete preview in a few weeks)
Most Overrated Team-- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Most Underrated Team-- California Golden Bears
Best Player (Not Heimen winner)-- Calvin Johnson (WR, Georgia Tech)
2007 National Champion-- You are just going to have to wait and see.

4--You got to love Tiger Woods’ killer heart. It’s a must. After all the crap he took for not making the cup at the US Open and for being on a gasp four-major losing streak, he comes out and dominates the British Open in a way only Tiger can do. Some will stay that the tournament hasn’t been won yet, that there’s still others in contention, still 18 holes for Tiger to pull a Phil. Trust me, Tiger’s not letting this one go. He’s just playing too well and is too determined to not be the one holding up the trophy on Sunday afternoon.

5--So it’s up to Coach K to determine the twelve best players in the country to make up the Olympic team. Did Team USA really have to spend all that money just to end up with a gold medal? Of course not. Here’s a look at how the 12-man roster should look, as well as a set of players who could fill in if necessary:
Guards--D. Wade, C. Paul, G. Arenas, K.Bryant, K. Hinrich
Forwards--K. Garnett, E. Brand, D. Howard, L. James, A. Morrison
Centers-- J. O’Neal, T. Duncan
*Emergency Players--C. Bosh, P. Pierce, R. Hamilton

This squad would dominate international competition, because they can all pretty much play multiple positions. You could use a four guard, one big man lineup like D-Wade, CP-3, Kobe, Hinrich and KG and just run. Or an O’Neal, Brand, Howard, LeBron and Arenas lineup where you play half-court and you have G.A. and LB23 just slash and dump off to the bigs. So Coach K, how about you spend the summer looking for the next JJ and let me take over the Red, White and Blue. I’ll send you a picture of us on the gold medal podium from Beijing.


VENDING UPDATE

I can’t remember the last time I gave a vending update, so I’ll just give details on the games since the All-Star break. The Mets series was interesting to say the least. All three games were played in temperatures north of 90 degrees, which makes it a challenge. Another strange thing about that series was the times of the games. Each day the first pitch was about two hours behind the last. Friday’s game began at 1:20, Saturday’s at 3:05 and Sunday at 5:05. Of course this always has to do with TV, because on Sat. they have to start late in order to not interfere with the FOX National Broadest, and on Sun. they had to start early for a night game because ESPN was showing the ESPY’s at 9. Strange stuff. Anyways, I did well all weekend by selling jumbo dogs on Friday and Sunday and bottled water on Saturday. My average was about $140, which isn’t too bad. After the first place Mets left town, the lowly Astros came calling. It was still blazing hot, but since Tuesday and Wednesday’s games were at night (7:05 starting time, meaning four consecutive games of the start time moving back two hours) it wasn’t too bad. Wednesday pitted Roger Clemens versus Greg Maddux, a match up of the only two active 300-game winners. And Thursday was American Girl Doll day at Wrigley, meaning a lot of kids and not a lot of tips. My average for those three games was $120, which is not so good. There now out of town for six days before a season-long 11 game homestand.

I also vended at the closing ceremony of the Gay Games at Wrigley this afternoon, which provided me an extra $145 and a memory full of odd experiences. Here’s just five of the many strange stuff I saw and heard:
1-The electric guitar, heavy bass, disco version of the National Anthem.
2- A man wearing a ‘I shaved my balls for this’ sleeveless t-shirt.
3- The shirts they were selling outdoors that looked like the sign on Clark and Addison except it read ‘Welcome to Wrigley Field: Home of the Worlds Largest Gay Bar’ and underneath that ‘The Very Friendly Confines
4-At least 150 beach balls flying around
5- The comedian who declared that boxing had to have been created by gay people because the sport involves, ‘Two topless men, wearing satin shorts, fighting over a belt and a purse.’ I couldn’t tell if I should laugh at the idea or that he was adding to homosexual stereotypes.