Well, the MIB birthday week is in full swing and, as predicted, I've sunk to a level of debauchary where few have been before. Last night MIB and I were going to just hang out and have a few drinks and save the partying for tonight. Yeah right. We randomly bumped into Bowens and one of her work buddies, drank until one, went to Iowa til two, drank at our apartment until the girls left at three, and then went to the boats. And no, there were no Treat sightings. However, I won seven hundred bucks, reopened the bar at 6 AM, and finally stumbled into daylight at 9. How I did all that on a goddamn Tuesday is anyone's guess. Well, I gotta take a shower as Rick wants to go out before 9 and GA Hill is joining in the monstrosity that is the MIB's birthday. You can all visit me in the hospital tomorrow, flowers are most appreciated. (I don't know how much longer I can live like this.)
Posting from the 9th circle of hell,
Big "on the liver transplant list" Boi

have all the bloggers gone?

work sucks.

Well Heavy Soulers the sun came up this morning and as you can tell from me posting (I know some of you were worried about me...appreciated) I didn't commit suicide after yesterday's Husker heartbreaker. What a roller coaster ride it was, but sometimes the agony of defeat is a process in the journey to higher things. We all remember the pain of the '93 football loss to FSU that cost TO his title...but look what happened shortly there after. Boys expect similar things from the baseball program. That loss sucked last night and I would like to see Jeff Larish tested for roids before I admit defeat...but we'll rise again.
Yesterday might go down as one of the greatest CWS days ever at the 'Blatte (Baylor coming back from a 7-0 deficit to win 8-7, are you serious?) but unfortunately the trail of Husker tears was a part of it. So many questions could be made and fingers could be pointed:
-Micro Manage Mike...NPgage and I discussed this at length after the loss to Florida. Some of his decisions this week were questionable at best, no doubt...BUT let's not forget this Mike's first CWS as well...He's been money all year. He'll learn just like the players will.
-Where-o-where did our All-Americans go? Ledbetter and Gordon for the most part slumped when it mattered the most...which in some ways makes what we did even that more amazing.
-Brett Jensen pitching 3.1 innings...huh? The kid has been amazing this year but never has he thrown that long...I put this one on Childress as much as I do MA though...speaking of that you may have just saw the end of Childress as a Husker...OU and our best bud $Bill at aTm both want him.
-the list of questions could go on, but it all goes back to bullet point #1...MA probably over managed...he'll learn for next time.

To finish, here's my plea. If you aren't yet on the Husker Baseball bandwagon, hop on now...we are the baseball powerhouse of the north...Wichita St. who???? This is a program that is going to build tradition, not just a one year wonder. Titles will be won and trophy cases will continue to fill, come join the excitement. Buy season tickets, its the best purchase I made all year...for anyone that does, Tailgate beer is on me for the first big home series next year. And finally clear your calendars for the last week in May next year, we're road tripping to Oklahoma City for the Big XII tourney.

One last note for anyone that is still bashing the players and coaches today...
-NU was picked in 5th - 6th by the coaches and media in the Big XII preseason poll, this team overachieved.

What a year, can't wait for the fall...and i'm not talking Husker football, that's when we will get to see the newcomers in the Red-White series.

Old 311 kicks ass. I just happened to listen to Grassroots this morning at work....so good.

to Heavy Soul contributor (or very infrequent contributor) WD40 who is giving his virginity away to a lovely lady on Saturday night after his wedding (even though they have been living in sin for 2 years, I'm sure nothing has happened).

Pour out a little liquor.

You should all do yourselves a favor and watch "The Life Aquatic." The movie is fantastic, Bill Murray is great in it, and Willem Defoe, playing the effeminate german, is hilarious. Plus the soundtrack is mostly David Bowie songs -- played accoustically in Portuguese of course. Sarah and I have watched the movie like a bazillion times in the recent weeks and I think it gets better and funnier each time we watch it. I have actually not seen "the Royal Tenenbaums" but after enjoying Aquatic so much I might have to check it out.

Apparently, the trade mill is in full, uh, rotation. Anyways, check this action!!

The NY Post, ESPN Radio, and XM Radio are all reporting that the Cubs may be close to a deal that would put Gary Sheffield in a Cubs' uniform. Rumors are swirling around as to whom the Cubs would give the Yankees in return and how much of Sheffield’s contract the Cubs would be responsible for. Although nothing is for certain, Corey Patterson or Jason Dubois have been mentioned as possibly being involved as well as Cubs pitcher Sergio Mitre. This morning on the MLB Homeplate program on XM radio, Larry Bowa, and Buck Martinez went so as far as to say that the Yankees and the Cubs were working on a deal that would send Gary Sheffield to Chicago. They mentioned none of the other players in the deal, but they expected it to go down within the week. That is a pretty bold statement and it would be a pretty interesting to see what Sheffield could do in a Cubs' uniform.

GARY SHEFFIELD FOR COREY PATTERSON OR JASON DUBOIS?????!!!!!!????? Good God, I'll pay for the plane tickets! I'll buy Sheff and CP their new uniforms, for God's sake!! Get this done, Hendry!!!!

1st Todd Tulane
2nd Ryan Tennessee
3rd Sam Nebraska
4th Gage Arizona State
5th Mike Oregon State
6th Rick Baylor
7th TJ Florida
8th Jeff Texas

So I'm looking at CNN.com this morning, and one of their top Entertainment headlines was:

"Report: Paris Hilton to Retire in 2 Years"

My head is spinning. What is Paris Hilton exactly retiring from? Being invited to parties? Doing painfully bad TV shows? Releasing night-vision sex tapes? RETIRING??? Her family is worth eleventy-billion dollars, and she's marrying some prince or some shit.

I didn't know you could retire from being famous...for absolutely no redeeming qualities except being rich.

The scary thing about this is that there are people who actually care about this story--like the people of Newsweek! That magazine is really on a roll, huh?

What is wrong with people in this country?? I am watching CNN right now, with a live feed outside the courthouse in which Michael Jackson was tried. People are going completely crazy. They are hugging, crying, jumping up and down, and throwing confetti. What the fuck?

This is easily one of the weirdest moments I have ever seen in my life. What is there to celebrate here? That the prosecution sucked? That Michael only KIND OF molested this one particular kid? I mean, what is going on here?

We live in one weird fucking country.

EDIT: By the way, he was found innocent on all counts--that probably makes this post make more sense, huh?

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/13/cockfight.arrest.ap/index.html

This is interesting. The law enforcement officials killed the fighting cocks. Now, I thought the whole premise of cockfighting being illegal was that is was inhumane for the chickens. But I feel like they'd be better off in the ring than dead.

I just hope Little Jerry Seinfeld made it out okay.

the White Stripes have put out another excellent album. While not as rocking nor complete as some of their past works, Get Behind Me Satan, is a pretty salty album. Personal favorites include: Forever For Her (Is Over For Me), Little Ghost, and I Ain't That Lonely Yet. The work Jack White did with Loretta Lynn is obvious, but you can't say that you didn't hear parts of the country twang on every previous album.

Big Boi says that they sound too simple for him. Not enough instruments. This comes from Green Day's biggest fan and the proud listener of LFO, Insane Clown Posse, and the German uber-group Tic Tac Toe.

It's true Jack White's voice is not his prettiest instrument, but it is his most intriguing. The addition of more piano and marimba add some spice to the usual electric guitar/basic drum combo.

In a shocking turn of events, our friend Dr. Dickhead, has let us all down. Last night he promised a few of us, myself included, an after hours extravaganza full of first year med students looking for a little first hand research into male STDs. What a liar. After countless unanswered calls, I proceeded to his residence to further investigate. All I got was The Rod. And nothing against The, but I was looking for some faces with fewer sideburns. Guess Dr. Dickhead will now burn in hell.

For reality TV, I'm not sure what does...



http://thebuzz.com/rrs-linksandguests.html

Scroll down to the "Tommy Lee Wal-Mart Commercial."

by another NFL player. Taken off the Sports Guy's "Quote of the Day:"

"I hate him. Everybody says I'm supposed to be polite when I talk to you all, but I hate him. He talks too much, he doesn't make sense, he's fat, he's sloppy, he acts like he's the best thing since sliced bread. He's ugly, he stinks, his mouth stinks, his breath stinks, and basically his soul stinks, too. Not too many people have personalities like that and survive in life. I don't know how he does it." -- Panthers DT Kris Jenkins on Warren Sapp

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/09/bush.patriot.ap/index.html

A few quick comments.....

1. Who is really winning? assuming that we're fighting for freedom, and most notably our own freedom b/c we are a selfish country, and I've got absolutely no problem with that. I gotta get mine before you get yours...

2. My favorite Bush political tactic is employed here. When something is a piece of crap, have it passed on a temporary basis, because people will not vote for it as a full law. Then, when it's up for renewal, push it through. Cross reference: tax cuts.

If you haven't looked at this yet, take a look before reading on: http://whowilldietoday.blogspot.com/

Now then. OH MY GOD! Hey, I just broke another commandment! Now I'm going to hell. Yeah!
No, seriously. Who the hell are these people setting the standards by which I have to live my life? I was trying to find an e-mail link just so I could send them a message that clued them in on the fact that Jesus did not write the Bible. Actually, some random dudes wrote the Gospels about 75 years after the tragic death of JC. Now don't get me wrong, but if I wanted to get a first hand account of World War II, I would read a book written by someone right around, oh I don't know, 1945. Not some account written now by some WWII vet's younger buddy who got all of his information from word of mouth. I love the fact that these Jesus freaks put all their faith in a book written by normal men. I don't want to offend anyone, but it seems totally irresponsible to me to accept every word in a book written by people 2000 years ago. Not to mention that the book itself is filled with so many irreconciable disparities. So the same God that loves all of us unconditionally was willing to bring down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, kill the first born of every Egyptian family, and asked his first prophet (Abraham) to kill his own son and then pulled the "I was just joking" move. Not to mention the story of Job. God makes a deal with Satan (catch that, God's making deals with the devil), where Satan can inflict as much damage and pestilence as he wants on Job and his family, and it culminates in Job's whole family being dead, his crops and wealth all gone, and he finally questions his faith. Granted God gives everything back in the end, but does that story really gel with the unconditional love God that the new testament preaches. Ok, some say that God changed between the era of the Jews and the Christians. But how can an omnipresent being, who exists throughout space and time, change? Don't get me wrong, I do believe in God. But to accept somebody else's ideas at face value because they've been written down over two millenia by somebody who couldn't even rival this blog in brain power is absolutely ludicrous to me. I know somebody is going to not appreciate this post, and I'm sorry if I've offended anyone. I just want everyone to think about their belief system and not succumb to blind faith without questioning where those ideas came from. If belief was never questioned then the Earth would still be flat, the center of the universe, and created about 11,000 years ago with human beings living at the same time as dinosaurs.

Stoney is calling the Cubs game on ESPN right now...it actually makes me slightly sad to hear him calling a Cubs game, knowing it is just for ESPN. Anyways, here was this exchange:

"So Hollandsworth stays at second, and that will bring up the pitcher."

Stone: "Now, Mitre is a very good hitting pitcher. Watch for him to pull something here."

And Mitre promptly pulls a RBI double down the third-base line. Unbelievable.

Not only that, but after a Neifi at-bat, Patterson gets up and hits a single to get Mitre in...then steals second! You know, what Patterson is supposed to do? And he actually did it!

Cubs up 2-0, Bottom of the Fourth.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/08/dean.gop.ap/index.html
This guy is great. Oh, and by the way before certain posters freak out. I would be happy to say that I agree the Republican party is pretty much White and Christian.

So I just finished (last night) with my first ever duty on a jury. Now there are probably a million other things I could've and should've been doing, especially during my last week at the Sandbox, but it truly was a good experience. Luckily, my jury selection and trial only lasted a combined 2 days. Had it been more like a month, I probably would have a different opinion.

This was actually a very interesting case. It was 2 felony counts of terroristic threats, which we the jury found not-guilty. While I'm not going into further details, the thought of the charges are a little scary. Basically it was an accusation against this person with no evidence or witnesses. The scary part is something like this could happen to anyone. One persons word against another. Anyone can call the cops and make up some ass backwords story about someone else resulting in an arrest.

Does the justice system work? In this case, I would have to say yes. 2 felony counts is pretty damn serious. To prove that this man was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt was just something that the state couldn't do, and we as the jurors, in the end, recognized that fact.

If any of you blog readers are interested to hear further details on this case, email me & I'll fill you in.

I just have to laugh at this--John Kerry, who was the "intellectual choice" in last year's presidential election versus George "dumb-ass hick" W. Bush, had part of his Navy records released this week. Well, here were their cumulative grade scores while at Yale:

Bush: 77
Kerry: 76

Bush wins again. God, that's funny.

Granted, I'm not a huge NBA fan. However, I am pledging to not watch a minute of the Pistons vs. Spurs series.

However, the pledge can be broken if anyone can give me a compelling reason to watch...

I think everyone would have the knee-jerk reaction of saying Randy Johnson, which wouldn't be too far off. He is clearly not the guy he was just last year, let alone the most intimidating pitcher of the last 10 years. However, I would have to argue:

Carlos Beltran.

The guy has started real slowly. Now, I know know if this is his M.O., but here are his numbers so far this year:

.291 BA 7 HR 28 RBI 25 Runs 1 (!) SB

Compare that to the most frustrating player on the planet, Corey Patterson:

.266 BA 10 HR 20 RBI 30 Runs 7 SB

Now, Beltran has superior numbers (I use the word superior loosely here, but still). However, let's do some salary comparison:

Beltran: $11,571,429
Patterson: $2,800,000

Defensively, I would say they're about the same. The reason I point this out is because Cub fans (such as myself) bitched and moaned about not being more aggresive towards getting Beltran. Well, at this point, I'm pretty pleased with just having Patterson out there. Granted, having Burnitz in left, Patterson in right, and Beltran in center would have been a hell of a lot cooler (thanks, Sammy!), but still.

Anyways, I just thought this was interesting.

Some cool stuff coming out tomorrow:

--Coldplay, "X Y" (I am REALLY excited about this one...love the new single)

--The White Stripes, "Get Behind Me Devil" (I happen to think The White Stripes are a Charter Member of the "Bands that inexplicably get tons of love from critics for no apparent reason" Group, but I know people who read this little blog like them...for some reason)

--"Stripes" Deluxe Edition DVD

--"A Long Day Down," by Nick Hornby.

--Common, "BE." (This has been out for a couple of weeks now, but you know I have to throw this in, right??)

1. I dismissed everyone who said that rooting for Texas in my CWS pool was going to be hard, but it's cheering for the Germans in the Normandy Invasion.

2. The 'Skers need to add a few more reserved seats if they are going to keep drawing these kinds of crowds.

3. More 'Skers: I was skeptical about how easy they would get through this regional but that was a great performace all weekend. Job well done. Chamberlain is shaky at best, though, and Miami will beat him on Friday only to be rescued by Dorn on Sat., setting up a great Sunday matinee.

4. I've never seen the Longest Yard, but it did fall under my policy of criticizing everything Big Boi says on here. Actually, I bet it is still crap. Nevermind.

5. Apparently I need to find a new hosewater partner due to silence on the end of my line from a certain Chicagoan.

6. Meagan Rama is in town tonite, for those in the area who are interested.

If you are not reading the Paul Shirley Blog you are depriving yourself of pure comedy.
http://aol.nba.com/suns/news/shirley_playoff_blog.html

Not 6, Sambuca. 7. 5.5 games back from St. Louis. 1 game back from the Wild Card. Glendo pitching the complete game shutout, giving up four little singles. D-Lee going 3-3 (8-8 last two games with 2 or 3 walks), raising his average to .389!!!

I am just happy because this team is finally (finally!) becoming enjoyable to watch. They actually look like:
A. They're having fun.
B. They actually give a shit.

Big difference from last season and the first month and a half of this season.

That's it, though--I need to get the duece out of this hellhole.

Good god, this guy is the sole reason for the recent rapid hair loss i have been incurring. How do you go from saving 30 games in 3 consecutive years for the F'ing Brewers to blowing 33% of your chances with the Braves??????? It's mind boggling and its time for Bobby Cox and John Schuerholz to send him packing. If they don't Mazzone is going to throw his back out from the double time on his bobbing back and forth.
This is 3rd time this year that he has blown a 3-run lead. It's one thing to blow a one-run lead save here and there, but blowing 3 run leads is NOT exceptable in the Braves organization.
Look at these #'s....i just puked on myself.
Record: 1-5
ERA: 7.29
Opp. BA: .302
21 Inn. pitched
Walks: 19
Runs: 17
Hits: 26

For god's sake, send him to Richmond or to the Cubs, I don't care which....Just get him as far away from Atlanta as possible.

On how long it will be before the blog gets the next Cubs update? I'm surprised we haven't already seen anything about their 6th game in a row, along with Travis Lee having another great night...time will only tell. If it's not on here before noon, I'll be vastly disappointed.

the already slow pace of posting on this blog is about to grind to a halt.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15475117-17001,00.html

Tonight, I went to go see The Longest Yard...by myself. (I know, I know. The fat kid doesn't have any friends and has to go to movies by himself. Ha, Ha.) I was a big fan of the original and was actually kind of skeptical about the Adam Sandler remake. I thought it was going to be all Sandler's nyuk, nyuk stuff without any of the drama that made the original a really good movie. I had no reason to be worried. This might be one of the only remakes (besides Ocean's Eleven) that I actually found to be better than the original. Sandler's great, Chris Rock's great, god awful wrestlers like Goldberg and Stone Cold are actually good, and even fricking NELLY is good. Not to mention great cameos by Dan Patrick, Jim Rome, and a bunch of the original actors. They stayed pretty true to the original and everything that was changed made it better, for the most part. Its funny without being over the top and all of the dramatic moments are still there. Anyway, if you get a chance, go see it (preferably not by yourself cause then you couldn't make fun of me).

I know I'm posting this on Thursday, but there aren't many contributors to this site that work past 5, so I feel safe.

This website is going to help get you through another Friday at the coal mine.

www.zacharyallen.com

I found the following things increased my enjoyment of the website.

1. The video for the Planet Hollywood shows under the music section.
2. Thinking what the NBA players would think if they knew they were on this website in the gallery.
3. Sending him fan e-mail asking him to perform in Chicago. And when you submit the mail, the maximum age in the drop down box is 31. We're safe for now, but watch out.
4. Thinking about how crazy this kids mom must be.
5. Having a co-worker walk in while viewing the website, and trying to explain that it really is just a joke.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs are looking at right around the All-Star break for Prior's return:

"Dusty Baker said before Wednesday's game that the swelling in Mark Prior's elbow has receded enough for the Cubs to believe Prior can return by the All-Star break in mid-July.'I'm hoping before,' Baker said. 'As soon as the swelling has subsided, he can start throwing again and get his arm strength back. It just depends. Usually when there's swelling, that last bit of swelling is tough to get out.'"

That's incredible. People were just talking about him possibly being shut down for the rest of the season! Pretty amazing how fast a six-game winning streak will make someone's arm feel better.

Dusty also said in the article that he "hopes" Nomar will be back around then, too. Again, this is suprising stuff. But then again, with Dusty throwing Holy Water on these injuries, it shouldn't be too suprising.

So recently, and I mean within the past year, Amigo's took another shot at this whole fast food breakfast thing. They tried it once about 4 years ago, and it fizzled out. But this time, they mean business. You're probably thinking in your head right now: "Wait a second, the same Amigo's that I've never ate at both a. Sober, and b. before midnight?" Well, yes, this is the same one, and now, Breakfast is their best meal of the day.

It's actually quite amazing, they have what you'd expect, a wide variety of Breakfast burritos, but they also have traditional breakfast items, such as bacon & eggs. But I'll start with the burritos, which are truly fabulous.

First of all, get this through your head, Amigo's took this breakfast thing very seriously, no messing around. They have several different kinds of breakfast burritos, all contain egg, cheese, sauce, and meat of choice. Among the meats are Carne Asada (steak), Barbacoa (shredded beef), Carnitas (pork), Bacon, Chorizo (mexican sausage) and regular sausage. This guy has hit for the cycle of burritos, I had to, how else could I tell you which one is the best? But I can tell you that hands down, the Carne Asada = www.thebomb.com. Barbacoa is a close second, but the Carne is just succulent as could be. If you want to play it safe, the bacon is a popular choice as well. If you are like me, and want to hit for the cycle, definitely make the Carnitas your last choice, it's okay, but lacks the saucy goodness of the others.

But like I said before, we're not just talking about Breakfast Burritos. Another Sandbox favorite is something we call "Between the Sheets." If you're not in the mood for the burrito, this is a good stand by. It's just biscuits & gravy, but between the b & g is an egg cooked to order, which is just awesome. If you want to get real crazy, have them sprinkle bacon on top, but I've always been content with just the play Sheets combo.

Another surprisingly delicious item are the buttermilk pancakes. Going rate is currently $0.79 per flap jack, and they are NICE sized too, not those crappy McD's cakes. They literally melt in your mouth. 2 of them and you're good to go. Another popular item is their skillets, which I hear are nothing short of spectacular, but I'm so pleased with the other items, that I've yet to venture onto that avenue.

Finally, the greatest thing about Amigo's breakfast is the prices. Burritos typically go for $1.50 for bacon or sausage, $2 for Steak, beef or pork, or this week, everything is 2 for 1...needless to say the Sandbox is flying through the burritos this week. Between the sheets runs for $2, and 2 flapjacks are less than that, basically you're going away satisfied for right around $2. What a deal.

So I must say, the next time you're in Lincoln during the morning hours, especially if you're hung over, check out your local Amigos. They're basically on every corner in the star city, and they'll blow your mind.

Let me see if I have this straight: Mark Prior's replacement is John Koronka--a career minor leaguer, who this year had a losing record and a 4+ ERA in Iowa. Aramis Ramirez doesn't start because his ankle is sore--insert Enrique Wilson (batting second!). Todd Hollandsworth starts. Michael Barrett goes 0-4. Corey Patterson goes 1-5. And the Cubs win 9-5???? How is this possible, you ask?

First of all, we were "Nutty for Neifi" tonight--4 for 5 and just a triple from the cycle!

However, the real story, yet again: Derrek Lee. 5 for 5, a home run, and four RBI's. For those of you keeping score at home, that brings his season totals to:

.380 BA 17 HR 50 RBI

I would like to point out that these numbers are as of June 1st. JUNE 1ST!! He is currently the Triple Crown leader...for the National AND American Leagues. He is roughly on pace to hit 54 home runs and 160 RBI. And the .380 average? I mean, this is seriously some Barry Bonds shit. His on-base percentage is over .480! His slugging in the mid .700's! To sum up his offense, take a look at this:

Category Rank (NL)
BA 1st
RBI 1st
OBP 1st
OPS 1st
HR 1st
Runs 2nd
SLG 1st
Total Bases (1st or 2nd, couldn't find that updated stat tonight)

It is honestly amazing to get to watch this guy play for my team night in and night out. And as I posted before, now that Aramis is finally starting to knock the crap out of the ball, the Cubs' offense is really starting to look dangerous. Along with Ryan Dempster shutting it down at the end of the game, let's take this 6-game win streak into "Whale's Vagina" and kick the crap out of the Padres.

MIB and I enjoyed an absolute pitching gem last night between the Cubs and Dodgers. Both teams were one-hit by the starters, Carlos Zambrano and Brad Penny. Luckily, and uncharacteristically, the Cubs' bullpen and late-inning hitting came through in the end, to win a 2-1 game in the 10th.

Zambrano probably should have had a no-hitter. The one hit was a garbage bloop into left field, where not one, not two, but THREE Cubs (DuBois, Perez, and Patterson) misplayed what should have been an absolute routine play. This is Z's second one-hitter in the past two weeks or so, yet it was his first win in SEVEN starts.

However, this put the Cubs two games over .500, and extended their winning streak to five. It also moved them within 6.5 games of the first-place Cardinals, and only 3 games back of the Wild Card. The offense is coming around, and the bullpen is too--particularly Ryan Dempster, who just may have found himself a permanent home. He has been pretty filthy--last night, he had one base runner because he hit someone (in the head!), but that batter never advanced second. Two nights ago, he gave up a home run, but it was hardly even a save situation. He has saved six straight.

Another glaring positive: Aramis Ramirez's bat is coming around. He has raised his batting average over 40 points in less than a week, and has sharply raised his home run and RBI totals in that span, as well. With him and Derek Lee going, all of a sudden, you have one of the top 2 or 3 top of the lineups in the NL. I mean, who do you pitch to? I see some BIG numbers coming out of those two the rest of the year.