i can't ignore the chiefs any longer

The Chiefs roster has gone through quite a bit of changes from the 2003 team that went 13-3. It's time to look at the depth chart.

QB
Goodbye Trent Green, he put up hall of fame numbers for a few seasons, even if he won't get a sniff of Canton. I really wish him the best in Miami, and I'm glad the Chiefs/Dolphins are only playing in the preseason. That said, I wish that he hadn't started in the playoffs because he wasn't nearly as comfortable back there as Huard at the end of 06. Huard was great last year, but that doesn't guarantee anything for 07, and I'm curious if Brodie Croyle could be a future star.

RB
Larry Johnson. As long as his legs don't fall off, this position is pretty solid. Bennett proved he's a reliable backup and they drafted Kolby Smith out of Louisville too.

O-LINE
Before last season, Roaf retired and now this offseason Shields is hanging up the cleats. The Chief's offensive success throughout the late 90's/early 00's could be credited to their O-line, and now it's in question.

TE
Although Gonzalez feels like he's been a star forever, he's only 31, hasn't slowed down and just signed a 5-year extension. Dunn and Wilson are solid other options.

WR
Eddie Kennison is 34 and in his last two seasons, set personal best for yards in a season. Samie Parker is okay too but they still don't have a standout wideout. Will it be their #1 pick from this year, Dwayne Bowe?

D-LINE
Should be good, anchored on the outside with Hali and Allen, with new draft picks that will hopefully get some playing time in the middle.

LB
Derrick Johnson is money. Donnie Edwards returns to the Chiefs, that's good news. Between Fox, Bell and newcomer Napoleon Harris, I have high hopes for the Chiefs defense.

DB
Surtain and Law are old, but hopefully can stay solid for a couple more seasons.

ST
Why did they let Tynes go? It's hard to find a good kicker. I know nothing about their new draft pick Medlock, but he's got some medium-large shoes to fill. Colquitt is money too. A good punter is a nice bonus thing to have. And of course, Dante is no longer returning kicks but hopefully some of our young receivers can make something happen.


I'm more optimistic now that I was, but the biggest question mark is on the offensive line. After that, can Huard repeat his 06 success? Will the defense be as good as I think they can be? Will the draft choices at WR and K come through? The early look says this is likely an 8-8 team.

I was inspired by this video via Deadspin. You don't have to watch the whole thing, just skim a little and go to the last minute, to see what it's like when I watch a big Chiefs game.

Softball 2007: Game Three

Well, last week was a rain out while I was away in New York, so I didn't up missing a game. Our last game was a 12-7 loss against the two-time defending champion, where we outscored them 4-2 in the 3 full innings I played. This week we were going up against a winless team that we beat 20-6 when we met last year. Needless to say, we were expecting a big win.

In fact, we had 17 people show up, taking batting practice, before anyone from their team arrived at the field. We even waited 10 minutes after the scheduled game time for them to get a full roster.

We were the visiting team and I was the starting pitcher, meaning I would be up to bat for 4 innings, and pitching for 3 innings. Oh and we'd be starting at 1-1 count since it was a late start. I assumed this meant that I would be able to get a lot of strikeouts, since a third strike foul is an out.


Batting Stats for Game Three:
1st AB: walk
2nd AB: FC

Average: 0.000
Slugging: 0.000
OBP: .500
0 rbi

Pitching Stats for Game Three:
3 IP
0 earned runs
0 K
0 BB

ERA: 0.00 and the win

Batting Stats on the Season:
3/6: 2 singles, 1 double, 2 runs scored, 1 walk, 0 rbi.
Average: .500
Slugging: .666
OBP: .571

Pitching Stats on the Season:
11 innings pitched
8 earned runs
2 K
0 BB

ERA: 5.09
2-0 record

They weren't that great of a team, and they almost beat us. I pitched 3 shutout innings and didn't allow that many hits either. The first walk was a great play because there was a girl behind me in the lineup. To prevent intentional walks to guys in order to get girls out, the rules state that any walk to a guy who precedes a girl, is awarded two bases, and the girl behind him goes to first. So it's the equivalent of two singles, without the risk of any outs.

(Later on in the game, with a 3-1 count one of our guys who preceded a girl, chased a pitch far out of the zone, and flew out. If he had laid off that pitch, it would have been much wiser.)

My second time up, I wanted to swing. On the first pitch with the 1-1 count, I fouled a big fly ball down the right field line. Now the count was 1-2 and I knew I had to make contact. I ended up grounding it back to the pitcher, who got the out at 2nd. But that meant I was still on first. The next play was a grounder to shortstop, and I was running so hard to 2nd that I couldn't stop, and I ran through to 3rd. I was called safe at 2nd, but they were able to regroup and throw me out a very close play at 3rd base -- yes, I was tagged before my hand touched the base. I was really mad that I grounded into a fielder's choice and also got tagged on the basepaths. But I left the game with a 2-0 lead, on a very windy day, without allowing any walks.

The pitcher for our 2nd half was pretty good, but she allowed either 3 or 4 walks. She gave up 2 runs in the 4th, but that was partly due to an E9.

In the top of the 6th with two outs, one of out batters hit a infield pop-up. Our runner from 2nd starting running for home, knowing there was two outs. Right after the ball was hit, a huge gust of wind started blowing towards home, and the 3rd baseman dropped the ball. That run would prove crucial.

Our pitcher took the mound in the bottom of the 7th, with a 4-2 lead. I was dying to come in for the save attempt, and was thinking about how cool it would be to record the win and get the save (yes I know that's impossible in MLB).

Anyways, they got some base runners on, and they added a run. The situation was now 4-3, runners on first and second with no outs. Everyone was really nervous, and we couldn't imagine losing to this team, especially after playing so well in our first two games. The ball was hit sharply to our shortstop, who tagged the runner moving from 2nd, and then flipped the ball to 2nd base. It was a close call, but the ump called the runner out, making it a key double play in the last inning. The next batter up grounded to the shortstop again, who made the routine play to first for the win.

It felt really good to win, but I wish that I could have been out there. Knowing that they didn't get anything going against me, I feel like perhaps I could have thrown a complete game shutout.

Team Record: 2-1

seriously though, about the nba finals

Here's what I said on May 21st:

Well, looking forward I think it's going to be:
Spurs in 5
Pistons in 6

Excuse me while I barf on my keyboard.

I'm back. Unless the Jazz magically have a run in them, or LeBron becomes LEBRON, I'm officially over the 07 playoffs.

Well LEBRON did just that, and I'm on board until the Spurs get a 3-0 or 3-1 lead in the series. I was dead right about the Spurs and dead wrong about the Pistons. As for the Finals prediction, it's going to be Spurs in...

Six.

Too much coaching.
Too much Duncan.
Too little help from Cavs teammates.

But if I'm wrong, and LEBRON is wearing a ring in 2 weeks, I'll be smiling. And I'll be a witness.

i can't wait for the nba finals and stanley cup playoffs to start

I remember it clearly, the summer of 2002. Here's a recap:

May 18, 2002: Game 1: Avalanche-Red Wings; Game 1: Lakers-Kings
May 20, 2002: Game 2: Avalanche-Red Wings (OT); Game 2: Lakers-Kings
May 22, 2002: Game 3: Red Wings-Avalanche (OT)
May 24, 2002: Game 3: Kings-Lakers
May 25, 2002: Game 4: Red Wings-Avalanche
May 26, 2002: Game 4: Kings-Lakers
May 27, 2002: Game 5: Avalanche-Red Wings (OT)
May 28, 2002: Game 5: Lakers-Kings
May 29, 2002: Game 6: Red Wings-Avalanche
May 31, 2002: Game 6: Kings-Lakers; Game 7: Avalanche-Red Wings
June 2, 2002: Game 7: Lakers-Kings (OT)

That was incredible. And it forever cemented the idea in me, that the NHL Playoffs and NBA playoffs should be regarded as a dual force, with games ideally being played on alternating nights, creating one of the best times of the year for sports.

But it never really happened. The NHL had a lockout and now I can't even watch a playoff game, even if I wanted to.

hoagie central now in HD

Starting today, all fonts will now be in high definition.

If you are not seeing fonts in HD, make sure you have isntalled the appropriate plug-ins. You can do so here. If that doesn't work, please call your service provider.

i'm still mad at myself

I was making a nice big dinner after arriving home starving...I had 2 frozen fish filets (that's one serving) in the oven, and some pasta on the stove. I was excited because I haven't had that much pasta lately and I was going to try Newman's Own Italian Sausage pasta sauce. I'm a huge fan of his sauces, and this was going to be my first taste of a meat variety.

So I got the sauce on the stove, and I like to add fresh spices to everything, so I started with grinding some sea salt, grinding fresh black pepper and then I grabbed the garlic powder. And I even checked to make sure there wasn't any garlic in the sauce, so I wouldn't make it too garlicky. But there wasn't so I added a bunch. And then I realized that I didn't grab the garlic at all. I grabbed the cinnamon-sugar.

I ate it anyways, and it tasted okay, but clearly not what it was supposed to taste like. I'm still not over it, almost 24 hours later.

this is the moliest dvd i've ever seen

Luckily, I've got Blockbuster online so I can rent them for practically nothing. I just hope they send all 3 discs close together...I'd hate to have the moliest cliffhanger.

critical mass/critical mess

So here's the deal: There's a worldwide organization, with a sizable following in Chicago, called Critical Mass. On the last Friday of every month, they get together in a group and ride bicycles through city. They are pro-bike, and to a varying extent depending on the rider, anti-car.

The issue is that when they ride, they form a pack, miles long, that takes over the street and rolls through intersections, taking about 10-15 minutes to clear an intersection. Meanwhile, all of the other traffic, cars and pedestrians, trying to cross the street can't go even when they have the green light or walk signs.

Even if it's not declared as their primary objective, the direct result of their ride is creating massive gridlock on city streets. And it's not just passenger cars, it stops buses, delivery vans, and earth-loving pedestrians as well. They also claim to be promoting bicycling as a form of green transportation, but are causing more fuel to be burnt as thousands of cars are idling in stopped traffic.

I understand cyclists want to ride their bikes, and that's fine, but even when you form a group, is it too much to ask, to stop at the red lights? Just because we're not riding a bike doesn't make us evil, and it doesn't mean that everyone should lose 15 minutes of their Friday night stuck waiting in traffic.

What is especially irritating is how they respond to people honking trying to get through. They yell "Happy Friday" as if they are just innocent, peace loving cyclists and everyone should get along. You're not innocent. Bikes have to obey traffic laws just as much as cars, and they're purposefully running red lights, about 10 in a row. You caused this massive gridlock and want to pretend like it's just awesome.

And I'm not anti-bike. I fully support Bike the Drive where they shut down Lake Shore Drive on a pre-determined Sunday morning. I think we need to get bike lanes next to the sidewalk instead of next to the parking lane. But please don't take my time away from me.

stirring national anthem

From "On Frozen Blog" via Deadspin, comes a reminder of how a national anthem should be sung: Game 4, Stanley Cup Finals, in Ottawa.

adventures in chefery

Perhaps inspired by Iron Chef America, I made a new dish and new cocktail, served independently.

First in the afternoon, I made a Paloma.

It's a perfect drink for summer:

• 2 oz. of tequila (silver 100% agave, of course) I used 1800 brand
• juice from a lime
• grapefruit soda (diet squirt - no calories)
  

It was the first cocktail I'd had in months, and it was delicious. It reminded me of Mexico. If there was any day that I deserved one, it's after running a 5k. The only calories are from the tequila, and I think it's only about 60/ounce...so the cocktail had less calories than a coke.

Then around dinner, I made a Yukon Gold Mashed Potato Duo: Garlic and Chipotle

The secret is in the potato. The Yukon Golds have a buttery, yellow texture that is perfect for mashing easily, without even needed any additional milk or cream. Just boiled cubes, then seasoned, then infused half with butter and garlic, and the other half with chipotle tabasco. The flavors complimented each other and was a successful plate.

what the world eats

a photo essay from Time

I normally don't just link to other things, but this was too interesting to pass up.

Monday Morning Dose of Arrested Development

another 5k

Today I ran another 5k at home on my treadmill. I finished with a time of 36:55. It's funny how hard something seems when you've never done it before--it seems impossible even. And yet after you do it once, the 2nd time just feels natural.

Previous 5k times:
5.15.07 -- 37:15

lolrocky part two

lolrocky

I wish someone would explain this to me...