Wednesday, November 30, 2005
missing the point

KeepManny.com hopes to convince slugger to stay
Espn.com

Red Sox fan Jeffrey M. Guinee, who launched the Web site, explained his motivation in an interview with the Boston Herald.

"Because of the media there's this undertone that Manny's not wanted here," Guinee told the Herald. "But we think that if the masses were heard it wouldn't even be close. It would be like 10-1 to keep Manny."

It doesn't take much to realize that I'm a huge Red Sox fan. Growing up in Cambridge (a quick jaunt across the river from Fenway) you can't help but know what's going on during baseball season. These days, I may be living a little farther away (ahem), but I'm hooked, so I do what it takes to stay up on the news. I know as well as anyone that Manny Ramirez is a very talented (and above average) major league baseball player. He's served us well during his tenure with the Boston Red Sox, and in spite of the occasional headaches, only a fool would wish him out of town right now. He and David Ortiz are the heart of an already potent lineup, providing protection that allow them to see the pitches Bonds can only dream about. But that's not the point. The point is that Manny being Manny, if he is not happy, and does not want to play in Boston

I don't think he doubts that (most) of Red Sox Nation loves his contributions to the team, but he says he wants his privacy. A website petition isn't going to keep him out of the Boston spotlight, isn't going to give him a chance to go out in public without getting hounded, and basically isn't going to address the issues he's raised. It's a nice gesture, but that's all it is, a gesture. Now it's time to sit back, hold our breath and see how all this plays out. With a little luck we'll see him out there "being Manny" come spring training.

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Thursday, November 24, 2005
happy thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving! As you settle in to enjoy food, family/friends, and football, take a minute to think about how lucky you are to have woken up this morning, to have a place to call home, people in your life who actually care, etc. It's easy to take those things for granted.


image © Mark Parisi

quote of the day, thanksgiving edition:
The worst moment for an atheist comes when he is really thankful and has no one to thank. --unknown
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Tuesday, November 15, 2005
quote of the day
"I don't want to lay this all on Duke, but Duke has a wonderful situation," Williams said of the Tar Heels' hated, albeit respected, rival. "Duke has four or five upperclassmen who have done it and now have five freshmen who can really play." --Roy Williams, head coach, UNC [link]
what an honor! now if the boys can just live up to the praise...
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Monday, November 14, 2005
now do you get it?
Today's football game features the top-ranked Whiteys against the second-place Darkies, who got tarred and feathered the last time the two teams faced off..."Whitey means all-powerful, superior, masters of the game," one fan said. "It has nothing to do with racism, slavery or bilking American Indians out of Manhattan for $24 worth of beads." [washington post]
did it really have to take this long for offensive mascot names derived from native americans to be banned? i know the ruling came out this summer, but in case you still don't get it, take a gander at at the rest of the article...

thanks melissa
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the Dalai Lama @ neuroscience
This past Saturday, amid tight security, the Dalai Lama was to address the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington. For months now, a group of Chinese scientists has protested the Dalai Lama's attendance at the meeting, saying it was inappropriate for a religious leader to attend a scientific meeting.

His weekend agenda was to discuss how scientists can design studies to see whether and how mental exercise can alter the brain in positive ways. His prepared speech also included a discussion of ethics and morality in the pursuit of knowledge. [newsday]
dang, the first time in the last 4 years that I DIDN'T go to sfn (society for neuroscience annual meeting), i miss out on hearing the Dalai Lama speak. that's like missing out on the Pope or something.

Dalai Lama with Pope John Paul in a file photo taken in 1990. Photo courtesy of Tibet Museum, DIIR. [link]
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Saturday, November 12, 2005
just call her Ms. President



For the first time in modern African history, an African nation (Liberia) has officially elected a female president. For all the talk about how "backwards" things are over there, why is it that we have not yet seen the same thing in America? Clearly it's a very complicated issue, but I still don't think the American public is willing to vote a woman into the oval office in the near future.





The NY Times

According to the article,
...in recent years, African women have gained power and visibility. In 2004 a Kenyan environmentalist, Wangari Muta Maathai, won the Nobel Peace Prize, while Nigeria's finance minister and feared corruption fighter, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has emerged as one of that country's most respected officials.

Women have also made gains at the ballot box. The prime minister of Mozambique, Luísa Dias Diogo, is widely seen as a likely future president. In Rwanda, there is a greater proportion of women serving in Parliament than in any other nation; they occupy nearly half the seats.

Indeed, Africa leads the developing world in the percentage of women in legislative positions, at about 16 percent, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an organization of parliamentary bodies worldwide.

While President Johnson-Sirleaf (pictured below, on left) certainly faces a lot of challenges leading the war ravaged country, she has already won one great battle (beating a popular soccer star by a landslide), and has surely earned the right to lead her people.

Chris Hondros/Getty Images
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Friday, November 11, 2005
it's great to be a (blue) devil


It's that time of year again, and the Blue Devils have kicked off the season in style. For just the third time in preseason poll history (and the first time for Duke) the same school has topped the charts in both men's and women's basketball. While that's great, it's just a start. Let's hope they can pull a UConn and bring home the elusive double title. The field is tough on both sides, but for the first time in four years they have true depth, and a good mix of experience and youth. Add a dash of luck and you'll really see just how "Crazie" we can get!

(i know it's just a preseason throwaway matchup, but it's not often you see an 87 point margin of victory in a college matchup!)

p.s. i went to look for some good shots of the ladies, and saw shots like the one below (featuring Sr. Mistie Williams) on the individual roster pages. C'mon....this is a BASKETBALL team. I want to see some action shots!

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Wednesday, November 09, 2005
oops! - TAR8: unplugged
If you didn't already know, CBS's gimmick for version 8 of The Amazing Race was to make it a special family edition, with teams of four family members competing for the million dollar prize. I've only actually watched one episode of the show (and found it too boring to want to waste my time watching), but I have to confess that it piqued my interest enough to make me read the weekly episode recaps. This morning I did the usual and read through the episode recap first.

The Godlewskis won, and the Paolos finally self-destructed (yawn). Eh. I didn't like them much anyway. The next step is always to check out the teams page, since it's hard to keep track of who's who if you don't actually watch the show. I looked at the page for a bit, only to do a double-take. Do you see what I see?


Still don't see it? Here, maybe this will help:


Looks like someone screwed up. If you notice, in episode 8 the Bransen family is still in the race! I guess we don't have to spend a week guessing who will be out next. I wonder how long it will take CBS to pick up on it?

update: looks like CBS fixed the problem. Thanks to jared, the slip-up even made reality blurred! [high five]
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Tuesday, November 08, 2005
quote of the day

Terrell Owens, Uncensored

"At the end of the day, I don't have to worry about what people think of me, whether they hate me or not. People hated on Jesus. They threw stones at him and tried to kill him, so how can I complain or worry about what people think?"
-- Owens to Miami Herald, July, 2005 [more]
i can't believe he actually went there.
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sporting roundup
i've been super busy lately so i'm sorry if anyone's been feeling neglected. it's been a rough week for the teams i've been pulling for. let's recap:
  • then #3 va tech is taken to school by acc rival and then #5 miami, losing 7-27. so much for the chance of having an acc team make the rose bowl. barring some sort of miracle usc will face texas in the Rose bowl. Oh well, maybe next year. at least the greatly heralded Vick is only a junior so if he decides to return they could have the elusive undefeated season next year and a chance at a national championship. perhaps ESPN's Pat Forde should have held off on the glowing comparisons he made to his older, more famous, brother.

  • celtics blow a 4th quarter 12 point lead to lose to the bobcats 105-107 in overtime

  • bulls put up a valiant effort down the stretch but end up losing to nets 99-100 (yes, i'm a bulls fan. gotta pull for my former dukies and kirk hinrich. he's really grown on me since that day when i learned he has fantasy value)

  • larry brown and the new york knicks. 'nuff said (you'd think i'd learn my lesson with them!)

  • in spite of the return of tedy bruschi last week, pats lose 21-40 against peyton manning and the colts. i think this one hurt the most because i guess i had to know it was only a matter of time before Peyton played like, well, Peyton Manning.
In other news, TO has pretty much written his ticket out of Philadelphia. The Eagles have suspended him (without pay) for the 4 game max, and then plan to deactivate him (basically paying him 1 million to stay home for the rest of the season). in this day and age it says a lot if you get management mad enough at you that they'd rather eat that kind of money, than put up with your antics any longer. who will be next to take on this head case?


so yeah, it's been a rough week. don't forget that the red sox got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual world series champions, and that they've already lost gm Theo Epstein due to what has to have been some dumb moves by the upper level management. looking at the bright side, the NE Revolution have advanced to the MLS Cup and will face the LA Galaxy, in a rematch of the 2002 final. Let's hope they can pull out the "V" this time and bring home the first championship in franchise history. It's about time Boston had something else to celebrate.

MLS cup 2005, Sunday November 13, 3:30pm. The game will be shown on ABC so check it out. Go Revs!



p.s. i know how people like pictures, so here are two more for you. please note that i didn't take any of them so don't sue me. i present, the losers of the week: TO and Marcus Vick (which i hate to include, cause i like his game)



yes boys, you screwed up.

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Tuesday, November 01, 2005
in shock

the 2006 baseball season is gonna feel very long at this rate...if it wasn't bad enough for the Sox to get knocked out in the first round this year, now Theo's gone, Manny reportedly wants out (again), and Damon may be soon to follow. the Epstein announcement was especially shocking, since it had already been reported that a 4 year deal had been made, and the announcement was just a formality. i doubt anyone will be able to live up to the expectations established under Epstein's tenure. Good luck Theo, we'll miss you (although we'll never forgive you if you ever decide to work for the evil empire).

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