Matthew

King of the Hill. I've become addicted to Adult Swim.

Just when you think people in baseball can't get any dumber, something like this comes up. MLBPA wants charitable clauses out ESPN.com news services The MLB Players' Association has filed a grievance on behalf of players who have a provision in their contracts under which they agree to make a donation through his club to a charitable organization, MLBPA chief operating officer Gene Orza told ESPN's Karl Ravech. The rest of the story...

And she wrote that in her early twenties, no one should write like that so young. It's an amazing book with a lot of unforgettable scenes an images. I'd only read a few of her stories before reading Wise Blood. After reading that one, I'll be reading all of her works. Just have to decompress first. Know what you mean, her books always scare the hell out me also. Where the idea came from that O'Connor writes comedy, I don't know. I've never been to the south, so I have this warped view of the south being like what I read in Faulkner & O'Connor.

And she wrote that in her early twenties, no one should write like that so young. It's an amazing book with a lot of unforgettable scenes an images.

I've listened and watched to this about a thousand times this week. Great for for the blues.

Texas A&M vs. UConn. Another bad game, Erik can't be liking what he sees. Is it just me, or are UConn's jerseys very ugly, like some sixth grader made them up on his computer for a class assignment? yuck.

"We came here to play music, not to trade punches!" Ya gotta love Jersey....

UCLA is getting a beat down right now... UCLA is really, really, really, getting hammered today. The game was over after five minutes. One good thing about the college, it's only 40 minutes instead of 48.

Listening to Dick's Picks 31 (8/6/74), and is it ever a wild one, and that disk four is complete killer; Eyes Of The World>Playing In The Band>Scarlet Begonias>Playing In The Band>Uncle John's Band. I would have loved to heard where Eyes Of The World would have gone if the crowd didn't get out of control, even so, it's still one of the best ever.

UCLA is getting a beat down right now...

Dang! The Villanova vs. UCLA game is physical...

Robot Chicken. Man, there is really some twisted stuff on this.

Dinners, Dives, & Drive-ins. I always find this program very enjoyable, and very hunger inducing.

UCLA was lucky to escape with a win, that's for sure. Glad the Washington teams won, it would be nice if Gonzaga had a nice run, or the U of Washington, since their football team was the worst in its history. It looks like there is about 6-8 teams that could win it all, that elite eight is going to be one tough round.

Bill Evans Trio: Consecration. Disk Three. I know that Turn Out The Stars is supposed to be the cat's meow, but I prefer the Consecration/The Last Waltz sets, Evans seems much more relaxed here.

Everytime I think about Bard, I remember Craig Hansen - upper 90s fastball, filthy slider, and in the end, no control, no clue, Calvin Schiraldi face when the going got tough, shipped out to Pittsburgh in the deal for Bay. Plus this kid began his pro career as a starter and was an unmitigated disaster, with 73 walks in 75 innings or something like that. And yet he's really turned it around, and he reaches that velocity with such apparent ease. I can't see how he makes the club out of spring training even though he looks very good so far, but I expect he'll get called up by July or so. Given Papelbon's salary demands, I do believe that they regard Bard as the long-term closer, as it seems likely Papelbon won't give up any free agency years even if he does sign a deal, and he wants to "set the market" when he does reach free agency. The only thing missing in this is Scott Boras and I'd expect that Papelbon will sign with him soon enough. If Bard continues to develop, I could very easily see Papelbon be allowed to walk in a couple of years and Bard takes over as closer. Could be a real lights-out situation for Boston: 8th. Bard. 9th. Papelbon. Though, to have two hard throwers back-to-back is not good out of a bullpen. Maybe Bard in the 7th, and curve ball specialist in the 8th., then finish with Papelbon.

Bill Jenkins has this tidbit: The Red Sox have a young right-hander, Daniel Bard, who has hit 100 mph on radar guns in college (North Carolina), the minor leagues and now in the Boston camp. This is a very deep pitching staff, but the Sox have to a consider a reliever who, in the words of one veteran scout, has "the best fastball I've ever seen. For one inning, he's unhittable. It takes off at 100 mph. You're not going to hit it." BTW: Jenkins (yes, the son of Gordon) is the best sportswriter in America, IMHO The Three Dot Lounge

Auschwitz: A New History by Laurence Rees. A look at the history of the Auschwitz concentration camp, and how it was run. A depressing account that shows how the German authorities worked hard to improve the method of killing people. According to the book, 1.1 million were killed in its four and a half year existence. Some heartbreaking stories (of course), and other stories that make you wonder about how people can be so evil. A challenging read.

Just for you Yankee fans.

Mine arrived in the mail today, in great shape.

Pudge is having a great WBC, so his stock is up right now. Probably be good over a season, could play 120 games as catcher and be decent. I would have thought he'd wind up in the AL though, good catcher and could DH if needed. Speaking of the WBC, I see where Matt Lindstrom (he of nailing a Dutch batter after giving up a homerun fame) and Ryan Braun have left the USA team because of injuries. I'm starting to lean toward the "having no WBC" camp, just too early to have games that are supposed to be meaningful.

It will be interesting to see if Boston extends Jason Bay's contract. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that the Red Sox want long term, he's a decent player, but i would not be surprised if they let him go at the end of the season and look for a big right-handed bat in the free agent market after the season. Maybe even trade him during the season.

Young Frankenstein. "Werewolf?" "There wolf!"

!!Happy Birthday!!

Dustin Pedroia out with a strained oblique. Hope it's not serious.