Wednesday, March 31, 2004
A Quite Decent Baseball Video Game
Finding a good baseball video game for Playstation 2 has been a nightmare. Triple Play 2002 was pretty good. MLB 2004 was an absolute nightmare--I think I lost every game 8-0. I could not score for the life of me, and I never figured out why.
But I picked up MVP Baseball 2004, the one with Albert Pujols on the cover, and I think it's damn good. The glaring flaw is that Barry Bonds, as a result of his not signing into the MLBPA group licensing agreement, is not in the game. I had forgotten about that, and I was stunned to see in the lineup that the Giants' starting left fielder was...Jon Dowd. I thought, isn't that the guy who wrote about Pete Rose? Needless to say, this Dowd character was given an immediate demotion to Fresno, and I headed to the "create player" feature. And looky here! The created player model that appears when you first start looks like...Barry Bonds, complete with long pants over the shoes. Nice. I entered his name, gave him 100% abilities in pretty much every category, and brought him to the team. And when Bonds stepped up to the plate, the announcer--Duane Kuiper--says his name. "Bonds comes to the plate." Nice sidestep, EA Sports.
Oh, and the Giants roster when you first start out has that same Duane Kuiper, and Mike Krukow, the two announcers in the game. Kuip's the second baseman and Kruk's one of the putchers, just like they were in real life for the Giants, like 20 years ago. Needless to say: Demotion.
So my season is underway, and coming off Brett Tomko's sparkling 5-hit, 8-strikeout shutout of the Padres, I am 2-3 on the year. I'm just getting my bearings on the "Pro" level, the second lowest of four. When I get better and start to kill the computer I'll switch up to "All-Star" or whatever the next level is.
It's a great game. Realistic player movements and a nice replay feature. It's worth the $49.99. Here's an about.com review of the game.
But I picked up MVP Baseball 2004, the one with Albert Pujols on the cover, and I think it's damn good. The glaring flaw is that Barry Bonds, as a result of his not signing into the MLBPA group licensing agreement, is not in the game. I had forgotten about that, and I was stunned to see in the lineup that the Giants' starting left fielder was...Jon Dowd. I thought, isn't that the guy who wrote about Pete Rose? Needless to say, this Dowd character was given an immediate demotion to Fresno, and I headed to the "create player" feature. And looky here! The created player model that appears when you first start looks like...Barry Bonds, complete with long pants over the shoes. Nice. I entered his name, gave him 100% abilities in pretty much every category, and brought him to the team. And when Bonds stepped up to the plate, the announcer--Duane Kuiper--says his name. "Bonds comes to the plate." Nice sidestep, EA Sports.
Oh, and the Giants roster when you first start out has that same Duane Kuiper, and Mike Krukow, the two announcers in the game. Kuip's the second baseman and Kruk's one of the putchers, just like they were in real life for the Giants, like 20 years ago. Needless to say: Demotion.
So my season is underway, and coming off Brett Tomko's sparkling 5-hit, 8-strikeout shutout of the Padres, I am 2-3 on the year. I'm just getting my bearings on the "Pro" level, the second lowest of four. When I get better and start to kill the computer I'll switch up to "All-Star" or whatever the next level is.
It's a great game. Realistic player movements and a nice replay feature. It's worth the $49.99. Here's an about.com review of the game.
Monday, March 29, 2004
Dream Job: Blogger
What an exciting opportunity it has been, to have my dream job: To be a blogger, and get paid for it. And I haven't even done any work in almost three weeks!
What? I don't get paid for this? Awwww, that's crap-a-zoidal.
Okay, so the Dream Job is actually ESPN SportsCenter anchor. And congrats to Mike Hall, who, despite being America's choice to get booted the first night, defeated a tough (and quite similar) Aaron Levine, a shaggy Zachariah Selwyn, and a peppy and occasionally attractive Maggie Haskins to win the coveted year's work in Hartford last night on the ESPN reality show.
I have two beefs:
During the play-by-play segment, Mike was given the video clip of Kirk Gibson's home run to narrate. Not do highlights of, but call as though he were seeing it for the first time. My question is this: Why on earth was he given props for talking the entire time Gibson was rounding the bases? The truly great play-by-play man would have made a quick comment after the ball left the yard for the game-winner, and then...
...shut the hell up.
No play-by-play man should EVER think anything he had to say in a situation like that could tell more of a story than could the visual of Gibson's trotting around the bases with two bad legs, the Dodgers celebration at home plate, the thundering throng cheering wildly, the A's leaving the field dejectedly. Vin Scully knew that. His call was "High fly ball into right field, she is gone!!!!" and then nothing for at least a minute.
Of course, it's tough on its own to call a play you have seen over and over as though it were the first time you'd seen it and had no idea what had happened. Not to mention as an amateur with a million people watching.
Mike beats out Aaron in the final two, and then it's off two the chair for trivia questions which would determine his salary. They start him off at $70K a year then add $5k for each question he gets right (and would have subtracted $10K if he had gotten one wrong and ended it there).
So the first two questions were gimmes: Who won last year's NBA championship, and who did Roger Clemens throw the bat at? That's an easy extra ten grand a year.
The third question, though, was, just simply, wrong. As read by Stuart Scott, the question was, "What was the last Major League Baseball stadium to install lights for night games?" Mike quickly responded, "Wrigley Field," and Stuart Scott told him he was right. But Mike was not right. Wrigley Field installed its lights for the 1988 season. The San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies had brand new stadiums built and completed for THIS season. So the answer should have been either San Diego's Petco Park or Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, whichever one actually had its lights installed more recently. If the folks at ESPN had been truly devilish, they would have subtracted $10,000 for Mike's salary, given him a Simpsons-eqsue "HAAA haaa!" and immediately taken away his Swingline stapler.
As it was, they let "Wrigley Field" stand, and then they asked him what color sweater does Tiger Woods typically wear on the last day of a golf tournament (red) and then how many Grand Slam titles does Andre Agassi have (eight), at which point Mike had to stop at $95,000 a year. Not bad. That's, like, fifty low-end high-def widescreen TVs. I could deal.
As it is, I do this for free. For you.
What? I don't get paid for this? Awwww, that's crap-a-zoidal.
Okay, so the Dream Job is actually ESPN SportsCenter anchor. And congrats to Mike Hall, who, despite being America's choice to get booted the first night, defeated a tough (and quite similar) Aaron Levine, a shaggy Zachariah Selwyn, and a peppy and occasionally attractive Maggie Haskins to win the coveted year's work in Hartford last night on the ESPN reality show.
I have two beefs:
During the play-by-play segment, Mike was given the video clip of Kirk Gibson's home run to narrate. Not do highlights of, but call as though he were seeing it for the first time. My question is this: Why on earth was he given props for talking the entire time Gibson was rounding the bases? The truly great play-by-play man would have made a quick comment after the ball left the yard for the game-winner, and then...
...shut the hell up.
No play-by-play man should EVER think anything he had to say in a situation like that could tell more of a story than could the visual of Gibson's trotting around the bases with two bad legs, the Dodgers celebration at home plate, the thundering throng cheering wildly, the A's leaving the field dejectedly. Vin Scully knew that. His call was "High fly ball into right field, she is gone!!!!" and then nothing for at least a minute.
Of course, it's tough on its own to call a play you have seen over and over as though it were the first time you'd seen it and had no idea what had happened. Not to mention as an amateur with a million people watching.
Mike beats out Aaron in the final two, and then it's off two the chair for trivia questions which would determine his salary. They start him off at $70K a year then add $5k for each question he gets right (and would have subtracted $10K if he had gotten one wrong and ended it there).
So the first two questions were gimmes: Who won last year's NBA championship, and who did Roger Clemens throw the bat at? That's an easy extra ten grand a year.
The third question, though, was, just simply, wrong. As read by Stuart Scott, the question was, "What was the last Major League Baseball stadium to install lights for night games?" Mike quickly responded, "Wrigley Field," and Stuart Scott told him he was right. But Mike was not right. Wrigley Field installed its lights for the 1988 season. The San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies had brand new stadiums built and completed for THIS season. So the answer should have been either San Diego's Petco Park or Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, whichever one actually had its lights installed more recently. If the folks at ESPN had been truly devilish, they would have subtracted $10,000 for Mike's salary, given him a Simpsons-eqsue "HAAA haaa!" and immediately taken away his Swingline stapler.
As it was, they let "Wrigley Field" stand, and then they asked him what color sweater does Tiger Woods typically wear on the last day of a golf tournament (red) and then how many Grand Slam titles does Andre Agassi have (eight), at which point Mike had to stop at $95,000 a year. Not bad. That's, like, fifty low-end high-def widescreen TVs. I could deal.
As it is, I do this for free. For you.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Todd Bertuzzi, Eh?
What can you really say? It's disgusting what happened, and it's unfortunate, and the league's got to do something about it.
Todd Bertuzzi, February 21, 2000, referring to Boston's Marty McSorley's cheap shot on Vancouver's Donald BrashearI agree, Todd. If I'm Gary Bettman, you sit on the sidelines until Steve Moore comes back and plays hockey again. Then, you wait another full 365 days after that. Christ, you could have paralyzedMoore, for cryin' out loud, and for what? Because his elbow scraped Mats Naslund's shoulder a couple months back?
Thursday, March 4, 2004
Owens Is Gone
Terrell Owens has been traded to Baltimore for a second-round pick in this year's draft.
That's all they got? Hey, as long as we take Jim Druckenmiller's younger brother.
Garcia and Owens gone? So what's on the horizon. Is the future Brandon Lloyd?
That's all they got? Hey, as long as we take Jim Druckenmiller's younger brother.
Garcia and Owens gone? So what's on the horizon. Is the future Brandon Lloyd?
My Sentiments
Nice piece by Ralph Wiley of ESPN's Page 2, on the mistreatment of Superman.
It's On Again
Eight minutes until the Giants face the Cubs on ESPN....
Okay there. Here we are, and there's Felipe Alou, giving a thumbs-up sign to someone in a video clip. I agree. The appearance of Major League Baseball every spring is indeed a Two-Thumbs-Up™ situation ("Two Thumbs Up!" is indeed a registered trademark of Ebert & Roeper, or Siskel & Ebert, or Peaches & Herb, or Sacco & Vanzetti. One of those guys.) Seems like it hasn't been long enough since Josh Beckett tagged Jorge Posada to end the 2003 World Series, but then again, I am not complaining.
Looks like it's raining in Arizona, but knowing the weather down there, I am positive the rain is boiling.
We get to take our first look at the Giants starting lineup, which for today is...
2B DurhamAs Bob Uecker says in Major League, you can get a sense of how a season will go by the first at-bat. And Durham has just walked. And as Snow co the plate, we see Barry take the on-deck circle. That's a sight to behold this March 4, 2004.
1B Snow
LF King Kong
3B Alfonzo
CF Tucker (Wilkommen!)
C Pierzynski (Bienvenue!)
RF Grissom
SS Perez
P Rueter
So Snow just singled, and here he comes, and the fans have their flash cameras ready. Barry went 45/90/.341 last year. He has a chance to make it 1/3/1.000 with this at-bat...
Topped grounder to the pitcher. But he did advance the runners in this crucial first inning of this crucial Spring Training opening game.
Smallball! Edgardo just knocked in Ray with a grounder to second. 1-0 Gigantes. If nothing else, a good start to the 2004 season....
Also, as this game progresses I am noticing a man dressed in a full Cubs uniform in the stands directly behind home plate. I thought he might have been a coach with a radar gun checking out his pitchers. Looks like it's just a fan, trying to cheer his team to victory. I both think it's weird and kind of like it.
Wednesday, March 3, 2004
Quick Word About The Steroid Issue
I am sick and tired of people accusing others of wrongdoing when they have NO EVIDENCE. Andy Van Slyke gets on the radio yesterday and says Barry Bonds is "unequivocally" using steroids, and compares him to a bank robber.
Fuck you, Slyke. If you've got evidence, bring it. But what you said was nothing but hearsay and it appears right now that you're just jealous of Bonds' success. Are you still kicking it in the majors? Nope. You're rotting in the Dumpster. I don't mind if you want to bring forth some actual evidence, but until you do, just shut up and have a seat in the stands, punk-ass. You're just like a woman who falsely cries rape because you know the sentiment is on your side. Something tells me you have a lot of baggage from your days as Bonds' teammate in Pittsburgh.
And by the way, Slykey, it's easy for a guy who's 37 or 38 to peak statistically if there are 25 new bad pitchers in the game due to expansion.
Very few of the people tossing smack Bonds' way have ever seen him actually act like the jackass the folks in the media make him out to be. The only time I've seen him act like one was during the World Series in 2002, when, during player intorductions, he didn't go down the line of his teammates and shake their hands while being introduced. That's it. Other people may have different experiences, but that's mine. If the media didn't write about him being a jackass, I'd never have known he was (allegedly) one.
Again, if you've got evidence, go ahead and bring it. Until then, I don't care. And then, only maybe.
Fuck you, Slyke. If you've got evidence, bring it. But what you said was nothing but hearsay and it appears right now that you're just jealous of Bonds' success. Are you still kicking it in the majors? Nope. You're rotting in the Dumpster. I don't mind if you want to bring forth some actual evidence, but until you do, just shut up and have a seat in the stands, punk-ass. You're just like a woman who falsely cries rape because you know the sentiment is on your side. Something tells me you have a lot of baggage from your days as Bonds' teammate in Pittsburgh.
And by the way, Slykey, it's easy for a guy who's 37 or 38 to peak statistically if there are 25 new bad pitchers in the game due to expansion.
Very few of the people tossing smack Bonds' way have ever seen him actually act like the jackass the folks in the media make him out to be. The only time I've seen him act like one was during the World Series in 2002, when, during player intorductions, he didn't go down the line of his teammates and shake their hands while being introduced. That's it. Other people may have different experiences, but that's mine. If the media didn't write about him being a jackass, I'd never have known he was (allegedly) one.
Again, if you've got evidence, go ahead and bring it. Until then, I don't care. And then, only maybe.
Tuesday, March 2, 2004
What do I do now? The 49ers have released Jeff Garcia, leaving me with just one nagging question: What the hell am I going to do with my Jeff Garcia #5 Niners jersey?
And so long, Marge. You sure were an odd bird.
And so long, Marge. You sure were an odd bird.
Monday, March 1, 2004
Random Oscar Notes & Comments
Memo to the Academy: If Billy Crystal backs out next year, two words for you: Jack and Will. Black and Ferrell's "You're Boring" music send-off song was one of the funniest things I've ever seen on an Oscar show. Imagine that spread over an entire four hours. (Runners-up: Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller.)
Benicio del Toro looked eerily like Michael Jackson last night.
I'm not a Sting fan at all. Without The Police, he's a musical wasteland. And usually the songs Sting gets nominated for are absolute clunkers. This time, though, his song, "You Will Be My Ain True Love" from Cold Mountain, kicked ass. A very haunting song which I thought felt perfect in the context of the film, which is what the category is allegedly all about. All of the songs kicked ass, actually, except for the Annie Lennox tune from Lord of the Rings. And in keeping with the Oscar Song category, that's the one that won. Uggghh. Does LOTR really have to win everything?
And thanks, Academy, for trotting out Phil Collins, whose song "You'll Be In My Heart" from that Tarzan movie a few years back beat out such gems as Aimee Mann's and the South Park song. I did not need that.
Two years ago, Julia Roberts drew attention to herself in a horrendous fashion when announcing the Best Actor winner. This year, though, when Adrien Brody did it--referring to last year's surprise kiss on Halle Berry by saying he's on a restraining order and then refreshing his mouth with a burst of Binaca just before reading Charlize Theron's name--it was kind of funny. I guess you just have to put context around the whole thing. Julia told us before reading Denzel Washington's name that she loves her life. Great, Julia. I love it when you're not on the stage.
I want to see "The Triplets of Belleville" now.
Speaking of triplets, I think the pregnant Marcia Gay Harden, from the looks of her size, is going to give birth soon to dozen-uplets.
I'm on the fence with the tribute to dead movie people. On the one hand, it can be very emotional, the outpouring of applause when someone who was well-respected and well-liked in Hollywood appears on the screen (the eruption of applause and cheers for Walter Matthau's image a couple of years back comes to mind)...but then we get those people who receive no applause whatsoever. I can't imagine what it's like to be a family member of those people when they hear the silence.
Liv Tyler (or was that Lisa Loeb?): Please whisper quieter. We can still hear you introduce the nominees.
Best Picture nominee that least belonged but did: Seabiscuit. The fact that it's about a horse that beat long odds does not mean the film has to be good. A movie is not what it's about but how it is about what it's about. (Nominee that most belonged but didn't: In America.)
The Academy Got It Right Dept.: Cold Mountain did not deserve a Best Picture nod, and I'm happy to see the Academy not reward it with one. Keisha Castle-Hughes, Djimon Hounsou and Samantha Morton's nominations, and Charlize Theron's win also were right on.
Wow: An Academy Awards show featuring wins by Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, and the extent of the political commentary between them was, "What we know, besides there being no WMDs..."? Very nice, gentlemen, you kept under control and were very gracious. In the end, the classiest way to go.
Next year, a sigh of relief: No Lord of the Rings accolades to sit through. I always felt Elijah Wood was a very gifted young performer. Now, if I never see him again, it will be too soon.
Nevertheless, I'd like to thank everyone from New Zealand, without whom this blog would not be possible.
Benicio del Toro looked eerily like Michael Jackson last night.
I'm not a Sting fan at all. Without The Police, he's a musical wasteland. And usually the songs Sting gets nominated for are absolute clunkers. This time, though, his song, "You Will Be My Ain True Love" from Cold Mountain, kicked ass. A very haunting song which I thought felt perfect in the context of the film, which is what the category is allegedly all about. All of the songs kicked ass, actually, except for the Annie Lennox tune from Lord of the Rings. And in keeping with the Oscar Song category, that's the one that won. Uggghh. Does LOTR really have to win everything?
And thanks, Academy, for trotting out Phil Collins, whose song "You'll Be In My Heart" from that Tarzan movie a few years back beat out such gems as Aimee Mann's and the South Park song. I did not need that.
Two years ago, Julia Roberts drew attention to herself in a horrendous fashion when announcing the Best Actor winner. This year, though, when Adrien Brody did it--referring to last year's surprise kiss on Halle Berry by saying he's on a restraining order and then refreshing his mouth with a burst of Binaca just before reading Charlize Theron's name--it was kind of funny. I guess you just have to put context around the whole thing. Julia told us before reading Denzel Washington's name that she loves her life. Great, Julia. I love it when you're not on the stage.
I want to see "The Triplets of Belleville" now.
Speaking of triplets, I think the pregnant Marcia Gay Harden, from the looks of her size, is going to give birth soon to dozen-uplets.
I'm on the fence with the tribute to dead movie people. On the one hand, it can be very emotional, the outpouring of applause when someone who was well-respected and well-liked in Hollywood appears on the screen (the eruption of applause and cheers for Walter Matthau's image a couple of years back comes to mind)...but then we get those people who receive no applause whatsoever. I can't imagine what it's like to be a family member of those people when they hear the silence.
Liv Tyler (or was that Lisa Loeb?): Please whisper quieter. We can still hear you introduce the nominees.
Best Picture nominee that least belonged but did: Seabiscuit. The fact that it's about a horse that beat long odds does not mean the film has to be good. A movie is not what it's about but how it is about what it's about. (Nominee that most belonged but didn't: In America.)
The Academy Got It Right Dept.: Cold Mountain did not deserve a Best Picture nod, and I'm happy to see the Academy not reward it with one. Keisha Castle-Hughes, Djimon Hounsou and Samantha Morton's nominations, and Charlize Theron's win also were right on.
Wow: An Academy Awards show featuring wins by Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, and the extent of the political commentary between them was, "What we know, besides there being no WMDs..."? Very nice, gentlemen, you kept under control and were very gracious. In the end, the classiest way to go.
Next year, a sigh of relief: No Lord of the Rings accolades to sit through. I always felt Elijah Wood was a very gifted young performer. Now, if I never see him again, it will be too soon.
Nevertheless, I'd like to thank everyone from New Zealand, without whom this blog would not be possible.
