Sox Fest Part 1

I attended my first and last SoxFest over the weekend. Thanks to a friend of a friend who works in the Sox front office, I got free tickets. I would never have paid for such an event.

The fest was creepy....really creepy. Lonely old women shuffling about aimlessly with stuffed animals in Sox jerseys, looking for autographs. Truly an Auto Show-type crowd. And the hotel smelled like ass.

There is a difference between 'fans' and 'fanatics'. Fans follow the game. Fanatics are adults who wait 10 hours in line for an autograph on their stuffed animal.

Upon arrival friday, I walked into one of the seminars just in time to hear Scott Reifert pushing his blog. The discussion was very narrow, and centered on his blog - which is just a PR vehicle for the team. It would've been nice if he could've expanded the discussion into non-traditional media, etc... He tried to make himself sound hip which, compared to the likes of Ed Farmer, I guess isn't so tough to do...

The fans weren't much better, and were asking the stupidest questions. One genius was trying to do the math on the number of seats lost in the renovation. He didn't make his point very clearly, but I guess it had something to do with ticket availbility, and that if there were more seats, then maybe he could get a ticket. Another fan presented Reifert and crew with his ideas for stadium renovations. But the biggest kook of them all was the woman who complained that the Sox didn't reward their loyal fans with post-season ticket availability. Reifert and did a good and accurate job of noting that the post season is really an MLB event, and the Sox really don't get many tickets - often the Sox have to beg borrow and steal from other teams and corporate sponsors just to meet past obligations. If I understood the discussion correctly, the Sox aren't even offering up post season tickets to people who are now buying FULL season ticket plans. Their comment was simply "You're too late." OK, back to the crazy woman. Her crack pot idea was to have the team install some kind of "frequent fan" attendance program, issuing cards, installing scanning machines, etc..., then, a fan who is "loyal" in her agruement, demonatrating that loyality by attending games, would be able to purchase post-season tickets. Talk about a day late and a dollar short! Lady, the Sox have MULTIPLE season ticket packages for all budgets that allow you to do just that (or used to, anyways). What an idiot. Frequent fan program. Fuck off!

Despite his reputation for being a salty dog, and God's gift to humanity, I never really had an opinion one way or the other on Ed Farmer - he calls a good game and more likely to crack a joke about his playing days than glorify them. ... until I heard him speak friday night. Whenever he couldn't think of something to say, when his wit failed him, he'd promptly end his thought/sentence with ".. your world champion Chicago White Sox" and the crowd, predictibally, went nuts. Farmer was pandering at best.. and it got worse. When the subject of John Rooney's departure came up, Farmer aggeressively barked "He quit!"... twice. From people close to the negoitations, I heard that while Rooney was calling the Score's bluff and holding out for more money, Farmer may have stabbed Rooney in the back by cutting a deal with the Score. Who knows if its true. But knowing Farmer's reputation, I wouldn't doubt it. One more thing on Farmer, he's definately got a face for radio.

I'm not quite sure Chris Singleton fully understands what he's gotten himself into. But what the fuck do I know? I'm on the outside lookin in, so I could definately be wrong on this as well. Either way - good luck Chris.

Saw Konerko - with his hottie wife - trying to make his way thru the crowd. It must be surreal for him to see som many people wearing his jersey. Sounds like Thome is hell bent on winning.

I tried to attend the pitching seminar with Brandon McCarthy, but unless you were standing right next to a speaker, you couldn't hear a fuckin word - there was just too much noise down in that basement.

As the fest wound down, I headed up to the bar. I saw the SoxTalk gathering - the site administrator's wife is a dead ringer for Elizabeth Berkley- but didn't bother to introduce myself.

Around 10 pm, I saw Bill Melton working the bar. Ozzie Jr. was there as well. A side note on Ozzie Jr - I hear people within the orginization speak very highly of him.

I think some of the players weren't in the bar because they were downstairs in a roped off section - Jermaine Dye's birthday party. They players probably also wanted to avoid the dorks with face paint and the creepy fanatics with stuffed animals lurking on the fringes, seeking an autograph (or 5).

I did meet Ron Kittle who was shilling for his 1) baseball bat benchs 2) his book. He was just a super nice guy who was taking time to talk to everyone.

The garage sale is a pretty good deal - they do it up right. I'm not much on bats, but the helmets were fairly priced. The jerseys were also a steal - I saw some official, non-game used, non-numerical jersey for $75 - about half of the retail price. They also sell all kinds of cool left over adornments from park, like ads and press passes and World Series tickets. Plus, the money goes to charity, so its for a good cause. Believe it or not, I heard people were looking for Man Soo Lee jerseys.

Some of the criticisims I've heard of the Fest - too crowded, no maps - are justified. That said, I didn't experience any issues. But I don't think I'd go back.

HNT #2

HNT 2

Hot Stove League - Around the horn

Photo stolen from the AP

There has been some baseball news out there. the East Coast media is tripping all over itself to report on all things Theo, now that the young Mr. Epstein has rejoined the Red Sox. The players seems to go out of their way to speak well about him. And you can't argue with the guys track record. But the way the media is covering the story, you'd think the Red Sox won the Series last year. reminder - WORLD FUCKING CHAMPION CHICAGO WHITE SOX!

Frank Thomas has signed a one-year deal with the Oakland A's. Sweet revenge for Frank if he comes back to beat on the Sox this year.

Baltimore is now the official home of every unwanted castoff in major league baseball. Kris Benson, and all that comes with him, was traded to the O's last week for a pair of minor leaguers. This would normally not make the news, as Benson is a 31-year old sore arm bonus baby with a lifetime 57-61 record, and an ERA of 4.25. However, everyone is interested in his "sexy" but nutty wife Anna, who took the opportunity at the press conference to model a jersey and expouse her usual verbal bullshit. But any reason to post a picture... she is nice to look at... but the pretty ones are always - ALWAYS - fucking insane!

U-S-A A-OK

Amorica

If you're reading this, you probably already know that Sox manager Ozzie Guillen became an American citizen last week. In the days since, he hasn't moved off the couch, gained 175 pounds, and is watching the Jerry Springer Show nonstop. He's also lost the Ricky Ricardo accent and now sounds more like Jethro Bodean.

Welcome to the club, Ozzie.

HNT #1

HNT #1

I know today is saturday, not thurday. Give me a break, its been a long week.

I wanted to make this post for Half Naked Thursday, but the program I use to publish pictures to this site crapped out on me thursday morning. I got it re-installed today.

So I'm going to be participating in Half-Naked Thursday each week, but with a twist. Instead of posting half-naked pictures of myself, I'm going to pictures of others. Over the past year, there have been 2-3 sites that I visit almost daily in my effort to steal these sexy pictures. Since I probably collect about 5 shots per week, but publish less than once a week, its created a huge backlog of high quality erotic photos. Thus, in an effort to relieve some of this backlog, HNT.

And maybe- just maybe - if there is enough of an interested from my female fans (both of them), I can get the MILF to take some HN shots of yours truly. I know that most people come to this site seeking the latest in White Sox news, and are probably mostly dudes, so I'll be sure to give you plenty of warning. Rest assured, this site will stay PG-rated.

Hello, Joe. Say its so!

swing batter

The Sox have made the smart move and re-signed my favorite regular player for the past two seasons - Joe Crede. One year at $2.675 mil. A bargin in my book. For more than a year I had to listen to fans and media alike drone on about how awful Crede was, how he couldn't hit, blah blah blah. Say what you will, the guy hit .252 with 22 homers. Oh, and in case you didn't notice, a lot of those hits were super fuckin CLUTCH. On top of that, he is among the best defensive hot corner men in the game today. Crede rocks hard balls!

And he's only going to get better in 2006.

The reason why was summed up by The Cheat over at South Side Sox:

"Crede's swing used to be long-and-loopy, where he often dropped his back shoulder far too much. This led directly to all those weak pop-ups. The new swing, with his hands high and minimal leg kick, keeps his back shoulder from dipping and his back straighter at impact. His swing is more level, and he should make better contact. This means not only should the balls that he puts in play go for hits more often than before, but he should put more balls in play than before also. All of this should lead to a higher average, that would make his poor walk rate bearable. Hopefully the new swing will lead to more consistency too."

First I Look At The Hair

hair

The first thing I notice about a woman is her face, but her hair is a close second. I have a thing for long hair, though I like short hair on some women as well. Long hair just seems, I dunno, so feminie.

The MILF's hair is wonderfully dark and silky and thick, and its really getting long - about halfway down her back.

Last night, post shower, she jumped into bed and flashed me that smile. But I wanted to play around a bit...

"Are you going to sleep?" I asked.
"Maybe. I'll do it if you want to."
"I always want to. But I want you to be into it too, or I don't want to."
"Yeah, I'm up for it, just not an all-nighter."

With that clothes were removed and 15 minutes of bliss ensued. Mostly, I was playing with, burying my face in, that deep, dark soft and sexy hair.

Bad News For Baseball Nerds

After reading this, it really makes me want to fuckin kill every lawyer on the planet.

Hibernation

I'm moving into my post-holiday hibernation mode - lots of reading and movies. Its just a slow time for me.

Saw Havoc last night. Is there nothing as naughty/sexy as a nude Anne Hathaway hoovering coke? What a crappy film.

Going to watch the Jimmy Cliff classic The Harder They Come at some point this weekend. I haven't since this flick since the college daze.

Da Bears on sunday. Not sure of my plans, but I'll be watching... along with the whole city. Only the 2nd home playoff game in the past decade. Growing up in the 80s, I remember a time when this happened every year. Its exciting because unlike the game in 2001, they have a chance to win this one.

Technically, I have the day off on monday. But I'm going into work anyways just because its so damn busy. Plus, I can take an extra day of vacation in its place. Maybe sometime in July, when the warm sunshine returns to Chicago's southside.

Not much left to do in the meantime but drink some beer.

Beyond slow

No news to report on the southside or on the White Sox. This has got to be the slowest time of the year. I'm busy at work, for whatever that's worth.

Breaking The Slump

b is for baseball

About this time of year - every year - I get a jones for baseball. Since no cable operator has the sense to televise winter league games from the tropics, I'm pretty much stuck reading books. Last year it was A Day In The Bleachers and The Summer Game. This winter I chose a book by my favorite baseball author - Charles Alexander.

I had the good fortune to study under Alexander as a wide-eyed (well, not exactly) freshman at Ohio University in his Baseball History class. While the title of the course may suggest otherwise, I can tell you the class was no cake walk. I worked my ass off (well, as much as you can work in Athens in springtime, which ain't much) and as a huge, well-read baseball fan, I got a B.

Alexander has also authored one of the best books of any genre I've ever read - the biography of Ty Cobb. He's also written baseball books on John McGraw and Rogers Hornsby, plus a definative history of the sport (Our Game). I've never read any of his other, non-baseball books, (Holding the Line; The Eisenhower Era 1952-1961 and Nationalism In American Thought 1930-1945 among them), but would like to someday... if I ever have the time.

So I've picked up Breaking The Slump; Baseball In The Depression Era. So far, its a good fun read that makes me long for old time baseball - Grover Alexander, Kiki Cuyler and Tony Lazzari... But seventy pages in and already the book is a little labored as a chronological history, though Alexander infuses it with just enough wit to keep it interesting (just like he did in class back in old Bentley Hall). Read one decent review here.

As another sure sign of spring, I treated myself to a (very) early birthday gift and picked up a fungo jersey from my good pals at Ebbets Field Flannels. Sign up for their email list and get in on the big warehouse sale coming up at the end of this month.

Back to more Country Boys on PBS.

White Sox Notes

This blog is about the White Sox, right? Well, sometimes... I just realized I haven't provided any Sox news updates since Garland's signing. There hasn't been much news, but here it is:

--Sox agreed to terms with recently-acquiried utility infielder Rob Mackowiak. He'll get $5.3 mil over 2-years with a club option for 2008. Pretty good deal for both sides...
--Pitchers and catchers report to spring training February 17.
--I've been trying to get some info on Sox prospects who are playing winter league ball, but haven't had a lot of luck. Some these sites/teams don't seem to be current. I'll still try to provide a comprehensive report soon, but in the meantime, check out this article on Owens and Haeger's work in Venezuela.
--Single game tickets go on sale January 27. Like last season, I'll be relying on friends with the Twins and US Cell (the company, not the park) to hook me up with a game or two. Looking at the schedule, There are only 6 half-priced monday games. Weather-premitting, I'll be at the game May 22 vs Oakland. I also have a 'friend of a friend' who apparently has some sweet season tickets right behind the Sox dugout. I'm going to try to purchase 2-3 games off him, including two weekday maitnees - thursday May 4 vs Seattle and thursday August 17 vs KC. I'm not even going to try to go after any of the popular games - I just refuse to pay... even after winning a World Series... its just too much money.

A Rough Day On The Southside

Rougher than usual.

First came the news of the death of Lou Rawls. A truly great voice. When I think of great soul singers, Lou Rawls is the first name that pops into my head. He was a Chicago native who had grown up on the south side with Sam Cooke, but eveuentually made quite a name for himself as well.

Second was the huge fire at the Pilgrim Baptist Church at 33rd and Indiana. The fire was the biggest I've ever seen. I was more than 3 and 1/2 miles away and, thanks to being in the tallest building in the SW Loop, had a clear view. The flames were HUGE. I see fires all over the city out my windows once or twice a year, but this one was far and away the biggest. The chruch was built around 1890 and was a landmark, and an anchor of the Bronzeville neighborhood. It was also a Louis Sullivan design. Luckily, no one was injuired.

Wet

Wet

As I was climbing off the MILF last night after a fuck session, she said something to the effect of "That was messy."
Me: "Yeah, what's up with that?"
Her: " I don't know what it is, but at this time of the month I just get so wet."

I can confirm that. She wasn't squirting, but was certainly gushing.

Save money in 2006!

.. by saving time.

If you're like me, and read a lot of blogs, then you should check out Bloglines. Its basically a blog search engine, but also allows you organize your blogs in one neat space.

Island Dreamin Part II: Tropicalia

mm mmmm m mm

After work, I hiked up to the MCA (tuesdays are free admission) to see the Tropicalia exhibit, which closes January 8. Modern art is the most arbitrary of all arts, and its tough to place a lot of it in a historical perspective. The Tropicalia movement, for example, happened less than 40 years ago, so its impossible to completely gauge the influence - its still happening. Maybe that's the point. So, I'm not sure what I anticipated I'd get out of it other than a warm feeling for soccer, sun and samba.

The exhibit is small. By far the best part for me was interactive music installation by +2. Basically, you open the door on a small wooden box mounted to the wall to hear some techno beat. There are about 10 boxes, so the idea, I guess, is to open multiple doors and mix beats. Inside the boxes, however, are tiny video screens that displayed random images of Brazil. The photos were excellent and probably could have an exhibit of their own.

Island Dreamin Part I: "Hole in my straw hat..."

a "...Two tires on my jeep flat..."

While Club Dread was a forgettable movie, the Coconut Pete character played so perfectly by Bill Paxton is something not to be missed. I recently downloaded the songs from the film and Paxton does to Jimmy Buffett what Spinal Tap did to metal. Hilarious, and a must for anyone who hates Buffett and his lame Parrothead fans.

Songs here.

Game Theory

I've been doing some reading of John Nash's Game theory. Interesting stuff by the 1994 Nobel laurate that anyone who watches sports (or playes video games) should read and be familiar with. It will blow your mind.

Basically, he stats what seems obvious: "the outcome for each participant or 'player' depends on the actions of all. If you are a player in such a game, when choosing your course of action or 'strategy' you must take into account the choices of others. But in thinking about their choices, you must recognize that they are thinking about yours, and in turn trying to take into account your thinking about their thinking, and so on."

Its more than that, but that is what I got out of it, anyways.

And away we go

Over the next few days, I plan to make some posts that will cover a variety of topics, mostly not related to the Sox, sex, or the Southside.

Sunday night. Always the weekend wrap for me, especially when I was in college, but really always... As a fitting end to the holidays, I'm watching the Comcast re-broadcast of the Sox World Series Victory Parade, remembering what an unbelievable celebration it was, and the warm October sun on my face. It happened. It really happened.Unless you grew up as a baseball fan in Chicago (or maybe, Boston) you just don't understand what its like to expend so much emotional energy over the years on these teams, only have them tear your heart to shreds, again and again and again... Kudos to Comcast for this great holiday present - I watched (and recorded) 11 of the 12 post-season games, and loved watching every moment again. Man, I can't wait for opening day!

Back to work tomorrow.

End of the year. My pal Vince over at The Blast Furnace had some nice end of the year lists. I'm not sure I have as much to say... but here goes:

Books I read in 2005 (that I can remember):
1) Studs Lonigan Trilogy (actually, that's 3 books - almost done) by James Farrell
2) Hard Times by Charles Dickers
3) A Day In the Bleachers by Arnold Hano
4) My Baseball Diary by James Farrell
5) Moneyball by Michael Lewis
6) Best American Short Stories of 2004
7) Stealing First In A 2-Team Town by Richard Lindberg
8) Unimaginable Zero Summer by Leslie Stella
9) Legacy of Love by Arun Gandhi
10)The Summer Game by Roger Angell

Movies I saw in the theater in 2005:
1) Madagascar
that's it, I think. Thanks, Netflix!

Best new TV shows I watched in 2005:
1) Deadliest Catch (Discovery)
2) Bound For Glory (ESPN 2)
3) The Other Winfrey Show (Public Access)
4) Glamore Productions Presents Star Performers Showcase (Public Access)

CDs I stole in 2005:
1) Not many since my iTunes is still down. so...

CDs I bought in 2005:
1) Haydn's Symphonies 95-99
2) Life Aquatic Soundtrack
3) Coldplay's X&Y (I know, I know...)

Hip and cool new music I heard in 2005:
1) Common
2) MC Quake
3) 10 da Childish
4) Fourtet
5) Bill Evans (well, it was new to me, anyways)

Some sad deaths in 2005:
1) Saul Bellow
2) Chico Carrasquel
3) Chris Whitley

Some great restaurants I ate at in 2005:
1) Venice Cafe
2) Greektown Gyros
3) Stir Crazy (I order off the menu - Pad Thai!)
4) Braxton

Some good things I drank:
1) Special Export (of course)
2) Clos Normand cider
3) Corner Creek whiskey
4) my fav jug wine

Fun events for me in 2005 (That I can tell you about):
1) sex with the MILF
2) beach vacation in St. Joe's, Michigan
3) Sox parade

Books that I began to read in 2005 and need to finish in 2006:
1) Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
2) Napoleon by Alan Schom
3) American Notes by Charles Dickens
4) The Worldly Philosophers by Robert Heilbroner
5) Good Morning, America by Carl Sandberg

Other books on my reading list for 2006:
1) Breaking the Slump by Charles Alexander
2) Walden by Thoreau
3) Eugenie Grandet by Balzac
4) The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (do those last two make me sound smart? I'm not, really)
5) Best American Short Stories of 2005

Sporting events I am looking forwad to in 2006:
1) football playoffs (Bears have a shot this year)
2)Winter Olympics (I'm such a nerd)
3) Spring training
4) The baseball season (duh!)
5) World Cup soccer

I looked over my resoluitions for 2005 which I posted here. For some of these, I was not successful. I'll try again this year. I have made efforts to improve my health, get my finances in order, write more outside this blog. I'm still not where I want to be, but I'm definately headed in the right direction. I accomplish many of many 2005 goals, however.

So for 2006:
1) continue to eat healthy. More smoothies. Colon and liver fasts. Stick to 1 drink/day.
2) Lift and run regularily.
3) Softball again (maybe 2-3 teams this year).
4) focus on continued high quality sexual experiences, worry less about quanitity.
5) eliminate the last bit of credit card debt
6) continue to stick to the budget
7) continue to write for fun and, more importantly, PROFIT.

And thanks again for stopping by to read.

Berghoff Part II - City News RIP

One more unique Chicago institution gone:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060101/en_nm/media_citynews_dc