TNH Reoccupied

Due to President Obama's offer to stimulate the economy, the Norwood House was repurchased by its original members hoping to somehow claim the $8000. Michael Hanley, Cincinnati resident, was quoted as saying "TNH holds a very special meaning to all of us. Hopefully we can come back together and recreate TNH into what it once was." Hanley hopes that the publishing of this article will bring publicity and interest back to TNH. He also added that long time member Ian Robert Frank was found on a moth-riddled cot, sleeping in the garage of TNH, as he desperately tried to hold onto the original mission of the house. Good luck to everyone.

All Time Coolest Nine

Gentlemen,

"The 9 players I'd Love To Walk Out of the Cornfield"

1B: Hank Greenberg (Oi!)
2B: Rogers "The Rajah" Hornsby
SS: "The Flying Dutchman", H0nus Wagner
3B: Heinie Groh (Did you just say...?)
LF: Ted Williams (not Dave's uncle)
CF: Ty Cobb (so that he'd have to play next to...)
RF: Roberto Clemente
P: Christy "Big Six" Matthewson
C: Tim McCarver (only because I wish he was no longer living...or at least broadcasting)

What's your's?

New Favorite Red?

Watch this kid leg it out to first after walk and I think you'll be just as charmed as I was.

Dateline: Cincinnati, Ohio
NORWOOD HOUSE FORECLOSURE

- In a move that surprised no one, the Norwood House slipped into foreclosure late last night. Most neighbors were not shocked that the once impressive home has fallen into such disrepair. A local man spoke out on the subject:

"I mean...there was one guy who kept coming around...you know, trying to keep it going. But eventually even he just left. Kinda sad, really"

A local real estate agent said:

"It's a classic example of the bursting of the blogging bubble. People in 2007 got so excited but just over extended themselves. They said they'd post every day. Then it became every week. Now...well. Look for yourself."

The Norwood House will go up for auction later this week. An opening offer of $5 has been proferred by local recluse Boo Radley. He declined to comment.

According to unnamed sources, a family of possums has taken up residence in the game room. I call the big one "Bitey".

Futbol?

Anyone up for it? Either Atlanta or Baltimore?

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=630912&sec=us&&cc=5901

Wish Me Luck

Follow my antics on Twitter: @badanes

Fulfilling a lifetime wish, I will be spending the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tourney in Vegas.

Reds W-L for 2009?

Go ahead, take a stab.

Last year they were 74-88 (Flip guessed 85-77, Mikey guessed 86-76,...also guessed a Cubs WS victory)

I say 80-82 for this year. Allllmost there, but not quite.

ps. Will someone else post something!!!??? I'm lonely.

Hardball Geek-Out

Hey boys,

With spring training under way, I again ask my baseball gurus to enlighten me about a subject I am woefully under-informed about: Batting order.

Beyond the obvious (batting a fast lead-off hitter) I don't understand why a manager pays so much attention to who bats when. Is it good statisical baseball, or is it all about massaging your hitter's ego?

I came across a super nerdy article(http://www.retrosheet.org/Research/RuaneT/lineup_art.htm) that concludes:

"...batting orders matter even less than people have believed. You would think that with such complicated forces at work here, some truly bizarre lineups might have been more efficient than the obvious ones used throughout the years, but if they exist, the methods described in this article didn't find them...There are lots of instances of very different lineups producing almost identical results. But if the normal lineups do almost as well as these creative ones, is there any percentage in straying from conventional wisdom? I don't think so. And I guess that's the real conclusion of this article: since all but the most pathologically weird lineups produce just about the same number of runs, I might be inclined to select the lineup that makes the most intuitive sense to the players and fans. Simply put, it's not worth all the fuss you'd cause trying to be clever with lineups."

Please explain.

The secret's out...

From Paul Daugherty's Blog:

"Speaking of radio, Terrific and Irrelevant Friday Night Topic this week is Best Burger in Town... Someplace called Terry's Turf Club on Eastern Avenue is getting rave reviews. The former Maisonette chef runs it, evidently. Really? I like J. Alexander's, with QUATMANS not far behind. I find the much-loved Zips to be overrated. We'll talk."

One wonders...does he get frizzled onions too?

Yet again...

I find myself (once more) very impressed with the Sports reporting in the New York Times.

Check it out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15Battier-t.html?em

Dave, I thought of you about a million times while reading this. I think you, Phil, and Flip should start a Sports Data consulting agency.

Best Sports Theme?

This question was prompted by the following video, as referenced by Bill Simmons this week:



Which then sent me on a hunt for the BEST SPORTS THEME of all time. Of course each of us has our favorites; some for sentimental value, others for sheer camp (see below)



While I do love the March Madness Theme (especially that incredible electric guitar slide at the beginning) I have to say my favorite is the old NFL on CBS Theme:



This thing would get stuck in my head until Thursday night (when the bridge from that stupid theme from "Friends" would take over until Sunday again).

Feel free to post your own, but it must be accompanied by the relevant video.

Dear Hoot (comma)

Who did you dance with during Square Dance Night at Camp Kern in sixth grade?

Come on...admit it...you remember...we're all friends here...

ps. Does anyone also remember that thing in the cafeteria, where they measured how much food your table threw away at the end of the meal? At first I thought they were just really environmentally conscious. Now I think they we're just a bunch of squeezing, grasping, covetous, old misers clinging to every precious drop of bug juice (which coincidentally, Senator, is what A-Rod thought he was drinking in '03).

Uh oh.

Danny Graves got traded for flicking off the crowd, so I'm not sure what the southern Ohio response to cruising around the Dominican Republic with a gun in your car is. Slap on the wrist? I'd say the average Reds fan probably has a gun in their car anyway, if not a full-on gun rack.

Since this was not shot in the U.S. (presumably) there's not really any legality issues, right? I wouldn't be surprised if he had a clause in his contract which stated "Do not appear in any Spanish language rap video teases" and, perhaps more importantly "do not fiddle with any firearms, especially with your pitching hand." Though to his credit, he only actually touches the gun with his left hand.

Can we start this season, already? I'm dying to see us flounder around fourth place for 6 months before finally dying.

Super Bowl Lines

Conference Results:

Philadelphia (Mike, Dav, Matt)
ARIZONA (Ian, Flip, Chris, Eric)

PITTSBURGH (Mike, Ian, Chris, Eric)
Baltimore (Dav, Flip, Matt)


Massive Props to Ian for picking the overs in both games also... thus making him 4-0 this week.

Current Standings:
7-3: Ian, Eric
6-4: CMart
4-6: Dav, Mike, Flip
1-7: Phil
1-9: Matt

Pittsburgh (-7) Arizona 46.5 in Tampa, FL

Ian and Eric tied for the playoff lead. I will ask each of you to pick the game, but also the O/U just as a tiebreak. If your picks completely matchup, I will ask that you each pick the specific margin of victory and closer wins.


Sidenote: Dav just booked his airline tix to his brother in law's bachelor party in Vegas. Going for the first and second rounds of the NCAA tourney. All gambling advise will be taken and played. Duke pays at 9-1 right now to win it all... good play? Also will be placing futures bets for MLB and NBA.

Beaten, Bloodied T.J. Houshmandzadeh Hoping Obama Closes Gitmo Soon

These people are geniuses.

On Sunday the questioning sessions began again, culminating in interrogators informing him that his team had beaten the Kansas City Chiefs 16-6 and subjecting Houshmandzadeh to a "celebratory" Gatoradeboarding.

Happy Inauguration

Division Round Results - Conference Championship Lines

Winners:
baltimore U
arizona U
philadelphia U
PITTSBURGH O

This Week:
4-0: Eon
3-1: Eric
2-2: Dav, CMart
1-3: Flip, Hankles, Phil, Ham,

Playoff Standings:
5-3: Ian, Eric
4-4: Dav, CMart
3-5: Mike, Flip
1-7: Phil, Matt

philadelphia (-3) ARIZONA 47.5
PITTSBURGH (-5.5) baltimore 33.5

It is with a heavy heart...

That I note Greg Vaughn did not receive a single vote for Hall of Fame induction.

Moment of silence, please. So much potential. And yet, I feel like we hardly knew him, or, really, cared.

Good night, sweet ridiculous prince, and may all of the home runs in your dreams be soft liners into the first deck in left field.

Charlotte Panthers Football: Success Amidst Apathy

How should a city with an elite football team behave in the week leading up to a home playoff game? I asked myself this question after Dave tasked me with writing a column about the state of Charlotte on the eve of their home playoff game. On the surface it looks like Charlotte is a great football town. The Panthers are undefeated at home, have a great stadium, and getting a ticket is nearly impossible. But looks are deceiving.

In normal cities a successful football team drowns every other sport out. I have lived in Cincinnati, Indianapolis (kind of) and Washington DC, and in all 3 cities when the football teams were good, the city went crazy. In Peyton’s hey-day of the early 2000’s you would have thought there was a dress code in Indiana, everyone was Colt crazy. Cincinnati went from a joke to an offensive powerhouse in 2 years and the city transformed back into the Jungle (heck we got Bootsy Collins to do the Who-Dey chant). And if you live and listen to the media in DC you would think the Redskins are the greatest team in the history of football, not to mention their 90,000 seat stadium is sold out for the next 500 years. But Charlotte is not a normal city.

Charlotte is an incredibly apathetic pro sports city. Charlotte is an ACC basketball and an SEC football town, the pro teams take a back seat. If Duke played Carolina at the same time as the Panthers’ game this weekend I honestly think more people would watch the hoops game. And while the Bobcats are horrible, they shouldn’t have to run ‘Star Wars Attack of the Clones’ the cartoon night to try and entice people to come to the games. Honestly free hot dog and dippin’ dots night at George Mason vs William and Mary last year was better attended.

The lead 3 stories on the terrible morning sports shows this morning were UNC losing to BC, Stephan Curry’s potential in the Duke vs. Davidson game tonight, and Mathew Stafford and Knowshawn Moreno leaving Georgia. The first Panthers story was about Thunder and Lightning’s potential (Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams) vs. the Arizona Defense and if Warner can handle the Panthers D. While both of those stories are good, the Junkies would have had this entire week dedicated to Redskins stories, and I would have known Clinton Portis’ shoe size and eating habits by now.

So the question is, why? Why does a team this successful at home have such a small media following? How can a pro team take a back seat to colleges hundreds of miles away? I have no idea. Maybe it is because Charlotte is such a young city. Maybe it is because the Panthers are relatively young franchise. Maybe it is because Charlotte has been burned by a pro team before, I’m looking at you Grandmama. Maybe it is because most people here are from somewhere else (there is actually a Buffalo Bills Bar here; I don’t think there are any of those in Buffalo). Maybe it is because of Charlotte’s southern city made up of transported Yankees identity crisis. But whatever it is, it makes for an incredibly anti-climactic playoff buzz, and I am in serious playoff buzz withdrawal. I never thought I would miss the John Riggins Show.

First Round Results - Week Two Lines

WINNERS:
ARIZONA O
SAN DIEGO U
baltimore U
philly U

Standings:
2-2 : Dav, Eric, Mike, Flip, ChrisM
1-3 : Ian
0-4 : Phil, Matt

TENNESSEE (-3) baltimore 34.5
CAROLINA (-9.5) arizona 48.5

NY GIANTS (-4.5) philadelphia 40.5
PITTSBURGH (-6) san diego 38.5