“Our guys played hard, but the American team made a huge strategic blunder by playing against a team that was much, much better.”
Day: June 12, 2006
Why I root for America (but hate our TV coverage)
My thoughts exactly from ‘Burque Babble:
First [on ESPN2], the U.S. national anthem is played. Tight shots of all the nervous American players. Then….then…then…we go to commercials. The Czech national anthem doesn’t hit U.S. air.
I switch to Univision and of course they have the Czech national anthem. I stick with Univision the rest of the game.
Packing light
San Francisco Chronicle Travel Editor John Flinn had a number of articles yesterday on how to pack and travel light. Good stuff.
The evil empire
NewMexiKen lived through The Sopranos without cable, but Deadwood, which returned last night on HBO, pushed me to the brink. I need HBO and I need it now.
So I called my dealer, Comcast. They had sent me an advertisment for cable at “$25 off per month for 16 months!” Sounded good.
“But sir, you have to be an existing dish customer. This is a ‘Dump the Dish’ marketing campaign.”
“But it doesn’t specifically say that,” I reply.
“But that’s what we intended,” I hear back. “It’s a “Dump the Dish” campaign.”
The supervisor who eventually came on the line (not unlike Ernestine for those who remember Lily Tomlin’s telephone operator) pointed out that the mailer does say “Some restrictions may apply.” And so they do.
I’m going to buy a dish.
Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Sixty-seven years ago today.
Back row: Honus Wagner, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie, George Sisler, Walter Johnson.
Seated: Eddie Collins, Babe Ruth, Connie Mack, and Cy Young.
Ty Cobb is missing from the photo; he had missed a train and arrived late.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was officially dedicated in colorful ceremony on June 12, 1939. The game’s four ranking executives of the period — [Kenesaw M.] Landis, [Ford] Frick, [William] Harridge and William G. Bramham, President of the National Association — participated in the ribbon-cutting. Of the 25 immortals who had been elected to the Hall of Fame up to that point, 11 were still living; and all of them journeyed to Cooperstown to attend the centennial celebration. A baseball postage stamp commemorating the occasion was placed on sale that day at the Cooperstown post office, with Postmaster General James A. Farley presiding.
Check out the Babe’s socks. He was into the low-cut sock look long before anyone else.
Best conversation of the day, so far
Woman: Who do you think would win a fight between Ann Coulter and Maureen Dowd?
Man: A fight?
Woman: Yeah, you know, a death match.
Man: I’m gonna go with Ann Coulter.
Woman: You think? They both wear long, spikey heels. They could put each other’s eyes out pretty fast.
Man: But Ann Coulter would be like, “Rock on, I’m in a death cage!” And Maureen Dowd would be like, “Wait, what am I doing in a death cage?”
–Alt.Coffee, Avenue A
Anne Frank
… should have been 77 years old today.
Twelve years ago today
… someone killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
NewMexiKen
… is getting tired of politics, sports and Ron Howard’s brother. I’m thinking of making the site into something more like this.