Remembrance

Ben Walker of The Associated Press recalls the Mercy Bowl, a fundraiser in support of the families affected by a tragic plane disaster involving the Cal Poly football team. (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, to be more specific.)

All my best to everyone.

Comments

[milkshakeballa]

1.  MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!!!!! AND TO YOU JON!!!

[68elcamino427]

2.  Jon - Thanks again for the finest site on the planet!

Peace and love to all ...

and for those so inclined, Dodger love!

[DBrim]

3.  Bob's survey from the last post: B

Hope everyone has a good holiday.

[berkowit28]

4.  Yesterday I had nothing to do for a few hours, nothing I found interesting on TV, so I decided to play back the one game I had saved on the DVR from the season: July 20, pre-Manny. I have no idea why I didn't save at least one Manny game - much more fun. But July 20 was a come-back game, which I always like.

Dodgers at Arizona, last game of a 3-game series. If they won, they'd tie for first with DBacks - something they had had for just one day after the first game of the series. If they lost - 2 games back. In the first inning, Lowe was poor and let Arizona go ahead by 3 runs. From then on it was tedious, as Webb held the Dodgers to nothing (a couple hits in the 4th), and Lowe improved to hold the D'backs as well - they got no hits after the 2nd until a triple and another run in the 6th.

So it was 4-0 Arizona and gloomy. Dodgers picked up a run in the 7th as Loney scored off a DeWitt groundout (DeWitt playing 3rd - this was pre-Casey Blake by a few days). Webb was tiring, Dodgers got a couple of walks in the 8th before Kent GIDP. Meanwhile Troncoso, who came in in the 7th, was striking out 5 D-backs.

Then the D-backs took out Webb and brought in Lyon in the 9th. Entirely due to that change, the Dodgers got 6 hits, 5 runs, from Nomar double, Loney, LaRoche (10 days to go for him), Kemp double, Ethier triple, Martin, and even a Jones RBI along the way, before Kent flied out again (1-5). Dodgers 6-4. Then Broxton held Arizona to 1 run. Dodgers win 6-5. Dodgers tie for first.

For most of the game I had to hold to the fact that I must have saved it for a reason. It was really pretty dull - like so many games at that time. Still, the general mediocre level of NL West and a certain persistence and fortitude of the less-than-great Dodgers in the first two thirds of the season meant that they kept pace with Arizona after they started going downhill in the middle of the season, and were in place to move ahead when they got Manny 10 days later. But if I ever watch this game again, I think I'll do an edited replay and skip from 1st inning to 8th. a good reminder of how a lot of games go - until that last inning - and how the tension of not knowing how it's going to turn out and the desire to have the team you root for win keeps you watching during the season. There aren't too many classics to really want to watch again and again after they're over. But I do also have 9/18/2006 saved - that one's another matter.

[I Love LA]

5.  Merry Christmas guys.

[mintxcore]

6.  Every female in my family got "Mammia Mia" on DVD today. I have a feeling it will be on loop. Everyone have a very ABBA xmas (because if I have to....). :D

[DBrim]

7.  6 - It's still weird to see Pierce Brosnan in a role that's that far from Bond.

[Bob Timmermann]

8.  No one here ever saw an episode of "Remington Steele?"

[Ranma]

9.  With apologies to Hollywood Joe (62 from last post), it looks like Boras and Teixeira left some scraps on the negotiating table after all:

Anyway, just one more note on Mark Teixeira: I've heard from a reliable source that the first baseman turned down about $5 million more from the Nationals to sign with the Yankees. And the Nats would have gone higher, but were never given the chance. Teixeira jumped at Brian Cashman's first offer.

I guess it wasn't ALL about the money - just mostly about it. Being on a contender every year also brings a certain appeal.

http://tinyurl.com/9poqdv

While Tex's spurning of the Red Sox may also have something to do with Boston's tactics in pursuit of him during the 1998 MLB Draft:

After high school, Teixeira was offered a $1.5 million bonus from the Red Sox as they considered targeting him in the first round of draft. Teixeira passed and what followed left a bitter taste in the first baseman's mouth.

From Shpigel's article in today's Times: "I have a very cynical approach towards the draft," Teixeira told Baseball America in 2006. "I was naïve. It was my first realization to the business in baseball. The Red Sox told everybody that I wouldn't sign, and when it got to a late enough round, they said, 'Let's take a flier on him.' So they spoiled me for everyone else."

After being drafted by the Red Sox in the ninth round, Teixeira chose to attend Georgia Tech and went on to be drafted by the Texas Rangers as the fifth overall pick in the 2001 draft.

http://tinyurl.com/9dzy3k

[berkowit28]

10.  John Sickels is eliciting opinions on Dodgers prospects at http://www.minorleagueball.com/ .

[berkowit28]

11.  I guess that should be "soliciting".

[Dodgers49]

12.  Baseball and cable a union with history

>> When the New Year rings in, with it the MLB Network will bring an all-Major League Baseball channel into 50 million homes, making it the largest network debut in cable history by more than 20 million homes. <<

## "We're not trying to be about any one game or any one team," Petitti says. "We're going to be telling the story of the entire league in one given night. The idea is to be able to give fans a taste of everything." ##

http://tinyurl.com/72nyal

[Bob Timmermann]

13.  RIP, Eartha Kitt.

[Disabled List]

14.  4 Wow, we have a coincidence today. For absolutely no reason in particular, I also watched the one Dodger game from 2008 I have saved on my DVR: the last three innings of Game 3 of the NLDS against the Cubs.

And instead of basking in the glow and warm memories of the best Dodger postseason moment of my adult lifetime, I again fumed at how lousy TBS's broadcast was.

[oshea2002]

15.  Merry Christmas everyone!

[Gen3Blue]

16.  FOX seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. Not satisfied with destroying the organization, they seem to have tied up any lucrative local media (TV) income till at least 2012, thereby crippling themselves in some ways as well. Oh well, Logan's young team will ease us through this, and by then it should be old hat setting up a system that lets LA compete with large market teams, not that I'm sure I'll be happy with this

[Dodgers49]

17.  Diamond Leung gives an update on Camille Johnston, the Dodgers' former senior vice president of communications:

Ex-Dodgers exec doing well

http://tinyurl.com/8n66ps

[Dodger Jack]

18.  6. Arggh! I consider "Momma Mia" to be perhaps the most insipid movie ever made. Saw it on a commercial airline flight and just couldn't take it. I would confess to kidnapping the Lindburgh baby, anything, to avoid watching it again. ABBA has produced some of the schmalsiest, worst music of all time. The combination is horrifying. If you turned "My Best Friend's Wedding" into a musical, it might be as bad. Close call.

I feel for you, bro.

[Alex41592]

19.  What a tremendous game for the Lakers.

[dzzrtRatt]

20.  Merry Christmas everyone!

[D4P]

21.  Of the 25 games the Celtics have played on Christmas, zero have been at home.

[underdog]

22.  Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays everyone!

Merry Christmas to you, you wonderful old Building and Loan!

Be well, safe and happy, and may we receive Manny in our stockings belatedly.

[Marty]

23.  Merry Xmas everyone.

[Gen3Blue]

24.  FMC must be having a Gene Wilder special tonight, because I have seen two of my all time favorite scenes. In " Young Frakenstien", Wilder and the Monster(Boyle), dancing to "Putting on the Ritz" and Richard Prior trying to teach Wilder to act like a "jive black man" in "Silver Streak". What a night.

[scareduck]

25.  Sorry for the blatant blogwhoring, but this is of such vital urgency I hope you all agree with me that it's merited:

http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2008/12/jeanne-zelasko-wants-in-dodgers-tv.html

[Gen3Blue]

26.  Yes, that is urgent. No---No--please.

[kinbote]

27.  No offense to anyone or anything, but discussions of whether or not to re-sign Manny do not need to include consideration of Lambo.

[trainwreck]

28.  Wow, talk about your ads having bad timing. Not much in the holiday spirit.

Anyways, Merry Christmas to all!

And BoB, I am a C. Open gifts with mom and grandma on Eve and then on Christmas Day open gifts with my mom's huge extended family.

[Who Is Karim Garcia]

29.  The "This is Sportscenter" special on ESPN tonight was simply awesome. It was a complete walk down memory lane and I'd been hoping they'd do a show like this for a while.

My Top 5 ESPN commercials...

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iVrFc7OlXs&eurl=http://www.sportable.com/2007/04/30/top-ten-espn-commercials/&feature=player_embedded

2. Jose Reyes teaching Van Pelt and Ravech how to dance

3. Ravech, Kenny Mayne and Gheorge Muresan dancing for no reason.

4. "Cherokee, I HAVE a watch"

5. ESPN draft a kid out of High School - "Jimmy Key? what's he? 45?"

[CanuckDodger]

30.  27 -- True, as long as we are talking about a deal that is less than four years, and I think everyone agrees there is no chance the Dodgers offer more than three years, if even that.

[bhsportsguy]

31.  Do we have another Ken Rosenthal here?

http://tinyurl.com/6wzbk9

[Ken Arneson]

32.  28 Well, that was distasteful. For now, I have removed all ads from the site.

[LoneStar7]

33.  29 the steve irwin one was one of my all time favorites....RIP

[bhsportsguy]

34.  Would you take Green Bay to beat Detroit this Sunday to win $300K?

http://tinyurl.com/7d8cox

[bhsportsguy]

35.  Bob, I hope you are not on the sunny side of the Rose Bowl on January 1st.

Projected temp - 75 and sunny.

[Bob Timmermann]

36.  I'm not going to the Rose Bowl game after all. The seats offered were the opposite of good seats. They were really bad seats, in the end zone and very low.

[scareduck]

37.  29 - I had not seen #1. That made my day.

[Ken Noe]

38.  29 Still my favorite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhYxLd8O9lA

[Bob Timmermann]

39.  As I will head out to work soon, I will get to see my Prius light up it's "cold weather indicator light."

It goes on when the temperature is 37 or lower. It is designed to tell the driver that it is cold outside.

I am not sure that this is something I need an indicator light for.

[D4P]

40.  According to FanGraphs, Andruw Jones was worth negative $1.6 million last season.

[ToyCannon]

41.  38
"Follow me to freedom" is my favorite Steiner line ever.

[Daniel Zappala]

42.  39 What we really need is an indicator that tells when there is black ice ahead.

[Ken Noe]

43.  40 One of my gifts yesterday was an Andruw Jones figure. My wife manipulated the arms so that he's clearly striking out.

41 Mine too.

[Jacob Burch]

44.  Received a handmade scarf from the lady in Colts/Dodgers blue and white. She has received the 'keeper' label for probably the 12th time.

Working on today just seems weird. Bike has not come in, but I'm hoping I get a call today so I can bask in its glory.

[DaDoughboy]

45.  43.
That is a great gift.

Mine got me the Cesar Izturis, Paul Lo Duca, and Tommy Lasorda bobbleheads (I'm trying to complete my set..and have a looong way to go). I have to say, the Izturis bobblehead looks terrible..but I love it.

[MC Safety]

46.  Gotta love injury time equalizers. There's not a worse feeling in all of sport.

Arsenal fans have got to be gutted after today's debacle.

[natepurcell]

47.  Anyone know when the new Zoom Kobe IV's come out? I really want to splurge and get a pair.

[Andrew Shimmin]

48.  I think I'd be surprised by this headline even if it were the Sun. But the Times of London? Or is there some obscure, Limey sense of the word that I don't know about? Happy Boxing Day.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5400016.ece

[Andrew Shimmin]

49.  "[T]hey are slated to release on January 17, 2008 while a white version will drop later."

http://www.kicksonfire.com/2008/11/21/nike-zoom-kobe-4/

[natepurcell]

50.  49

Well I can't wait that long.

[D4P]

51.  I once bought a pair of Magic Johnson shoes (Converse or Reebok?).

They sucked.

[Marty]

52.  I spend big money on MBT shoes now because of back problems.

[DaDoughboy]

53.  51.
They were Converse..and yes, they did suck.

[scareduck]

54.  51 - I have a very simple though incomplete test for whether athletic shoes suck.

All Nikes suck.

It amazes me, frankly, how any company can make a product that does NOT come in proper sizes (in two dimensions, width and length) that can have the outsized reputation they do and yet produce something so thoroughly, demonstrably awful compared to their competition. New Balance and Mizuno both make far superior shoes and yet there are probably three times the number of Nike shoes on the shelf at any given store selling athletic shoes, and something like five times the number of Mizuno shoes.

[scareduck]

55.  39 - just a guess, but my suspicion is that means the car won't do certain things on battery power.

[D4P]

56.  Andruw's negative $1.6 million pales in comparison to Neifi!'s negative $9 million in 2002, though, to be fair, Andruw only played part of the season. Had he been healthy, he'd likely have been worth less (not to mention worthless).

[kinbote]

57.  I wonder if we'll ever see another duo like Andruw & Sweeney last year . . .

[Mind Revolution]

58.  56

So does that mean we should have paid Jones $1.6 million to NOT be on our team last year?

[D4P]

59.  58
I think so, to the extent that FanGraphs's Value stat accurately measures a player's value.

[kinbote]

60.  When Arizona released Russ Ortiz in the middle of the 2006 season, they still owed him $22 million. At the time, that amount of sunk money was believed to be a record.

Currently, the Dodgers owe Andruw Jones $22.1 million.

[silverwidow]

61.  Does anyone know when Sickels will release the Dodger Top 20 list? There's a thread over at minorleagueball.com right now discussing the prospects.

[kinbote]

62.  61 He's doing Yankees next then the Dodgers. We'll probably see it by Sunday.

[Dave60]

63.  55 I believe the light has nothing to do with car function, but solely indicates potential road conditions. This first time it lit up for me, I began my drive in a 50 degree temperature and headed up into the Sierra where the temperature dropped as low as 4 degrees. I appreciated the light warning me when to start being aware that road moisture might be more slick than expected. Of course, if I was smart, I could have just checked the air temperature reading, but a little extra help is often appreciated.

[berkowit28]

64.  61 Like he says there - after he releases the Yankees list. Recently it's been at the rate of almost a team per day, but it's hardly unusual that Christmas might hold things up a day or two. I'd expect the Yankees tomorrow, and the Dodgers a day or two after that.

[trainwreck]

65.  Olney seems to think Penny will sign with Red Sox soon.

[Gagne55]

66.  57 Daryl Ward and Jason Romano

[trainwreck]

67.  Jeanne Zelasko as the new play-by-play announcer?

Bleh.

[sporky]

68.  25 , 67

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[silverwidow]

69.  Sickels' Yankees list just came out.

[Big Game]

70.  Shoes, much like comedy, are subjective.

[ToyCannon]

71.  Whatever happens with Jeanne I'm impressed how she turned a minor part in a San Diego sports talk into the Baseball Hub Person for Fox.

She is a little to impressed with Mr. Kennedy and his stories but nothing wrong with being blind to a friends shortcomings.

[Bob Timmermann]

72.  The people at BTF react to Jeanne Zelasko in a manner that is embarrassing even by BTF standards.

[D4P]

73.  72
Friday night: Motor City Bowl and a Swanson's...?

[Bob Timmermann]

74.  Neither. I don't like Swanson's anyway.

[D4P]

75.  Neither

I'm intrigued...

[KG16]

76.  71 - I tend to note a tinge of sarcasm when Jeanne turns to Kennedy about his days as a manager, not quite as blatant as it is around here, but still, it's there.

Or I'm just projecting.

[Bumsrap]

77.  39, 55 My GM car has temperature and direction indicators on the rear view mirror and lately I have learned that it shows ice instead of the temperature, and sometimes beeps and flashes ice when it thinks I am on ice. Love to know how it knows that as it has nothing to do with temperature. I can drive when the temp shows 4 and it is wet outside and still it knows there is no ice.

[Bumsrap]

78.  77 I can't seem to type well when sitting sideways to my keyboard but I am comfortable and refuse to move.

[Sam DC]

79.  OMG if you have DC Comcast put it on to see the replay of the goal Ovechkin just scored.

Breakaway, slides the puck through the defender's wickets than picks it back up to shoot as he's collapsing . .

[brookster1967]

80.  The Giants have signed the Big Unit to a one year deal. I am disappointed we missed out, especially for only a one year deal. No report on the terms.

http://tinyurl.com/7zlt2j

[trainwreck]

81.  80
Lame.

Could have been a Dodger or an Athletic. Both would have probably been better options.

[Ken Noe]

82.  And so once again, Unit decides that he doesn't want to be a Dodger. Something tells me that Andy Pettitte is around the corner.

[Bumsrap]

83.  I heard on XM 175 Radio that Dunn and Baltimore are dancing with each other.

Now that the Giants have the Unit, will they trade Cain for Fielder?

[Marty]

84.  I'm sitting in a bar at the Riviera in Vegas. You can drink for "free" if you play video poker, so I put $10 in. Hit 4 aces and won $200. Not a bad start.

[Gen3Blue]

85.  55 Ah-- I think you have a mind attuned to marketing, which makes an SUV or watching prime time TV a good thing somehow.

[Gen3Blue]

86.  84 Wish I was there. If it wasn't your first five minutes I would say--"walk away"!

[natepurcell]

87.  82

Would have been swell for one year...

There is no doubt in my mind that Colletti is going to sign a veteran SP and RJ was the one I preferred the most.

[dzzrtRatt]

88.  RJ is 45. Last season was probably a wonderful coda to a career that's over. I don't think he'll make a major contribution to the Giants' glorious history.

Let's get Pettitte.

[D4P]

89.  MLB.com's Chris Haft heard from a baseball source that the deal guarantees the Big Unit $8MM in 2009 and includes performance bonuses that could reach $2.5MM and award bonuses that could reach another $2.5MM.

Too rich for Dodger blood these days, I guess.

[Rolex]

90.  Pettitte sucks, Wolf for 3/25M sounds about right, get r done Flanders!

[Gen3Blue]

91.  90 Come'on. How about 1 for 9mil. Or use journeymen and farm guys.

[das411]

92.  Is anybody else still trying to figure out who Tom Meagher meant by "Davis" when he was talking about young 1Bmen and Teixiera in the last thread?

and is it weird that the Big Unit will start next season in his sixth different uniform?

[Sam DC]

93.  So, people take a lot of different meetings in my office, and they are all put on a central calendar that only one person can edit. And a lot of times people schedule meetings for other people to bring them in on issues or to fob off annoying people or whatever.

I will be out the beginning of next week. But before I left today I managed to get the gatekeeper to put a meeting for my friend/boss on for Tuesday -- he's scheduled to meet at 2:00 pm in his office with Brianna Banks.

Now, he's not likely to know who that is (I wouldn't either but for this place!), and the system won't show who put the meeting on, and the gatekeeper is also out next week, so I'm guessing he'll need to ask around the office quite a bit as he tries to figure out who's coming in to meet and what he needs to do to get prepped.

[kinbote]

94.  92 Chris Davis. Monster Rangers' prospect who hit 17 dingers in half a season. Some have projected him to hit 35 this year [duh].

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=448801

[MSarg29]

95.  93 Nice move

[eusmus]

96.  Nice to see the Celtics unable to break 90 against the vaunted Warriors D.

[Tripon]

97.  Its going to be odd to see somebody going into the hall of fame as a D'Back.

[Brendan]

98.  93

I recall that Dodger Thoughts After Dark thread. Is she going to discuss asparagus and its effects on her industry?

You have to give us an update after the meeting if you can.

[LoneStar7]

99.  I'd be astounded if you all haven't already heard of him, butting stances guy is incredible. He impersonates past and present stances from every major lead team. He was featured on Dodgers Live as well.

some of my favorites
Dodgers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S2DO5_zujU&feature=channel
red sox
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m0cyvfvMK0&feature=channel
mariners
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hIXkxxYx_A&feature=related

[LoneStar7]

100.  sorry for no tiny urls