SwampLog 3.0

We Are All Made of All-Stars

While getting ready for tonight's NYE shindig at No Frills Grill, I came across this ESPN note, crowing that the NHL will hold its next All-Star Game in Dallas, at the American Airlines Center.

I was damned lucky to get to go to the MLB All-Star Game when it came to town in 1995, and it was an experience I'll not soon forget. Joe DiMaggio threw out the first pitch. PA Guru Chuck Morgan played a snippet from Phil Collins' "I Don't Care Anymore" when Hideo Nomo left the mound ("No mo'... no mo'. No mo'... no mo'."). Muhammed Ali was handing out autographed Nation of Islam brochures on the main concourse.

Here's hoping that such a collision of scenes repeats itself in February 2007.

Batteries Included

I wasn't kidding when I told the sex bot that the Texas Rangers' Hot Stove moves were getting me excited. And reading the projected rotations for the AL West, from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, along with the pitchers' 2005 ERA and career win totals, only made my baseball pants explode:

Texas (219-183, 3.97): Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Adam Eaton, Kameron Loe, Juan Dominguez.
Oakland (256-202, 4.08): Barry Zito, Rich Harden, Esteban Loaiza, Danny Haren, Joe Blanton.
Los Angeles (305-243, 4.10): Bartolo Colon, John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Kelvim Escobar, Hector Carrasco.
Seattle (378-291, 4.14): Jamie Moyer, Jarrod Washburn, Joel Pineiro, Felix Hernandez, Gil Meche.

I want to give the trades and acquisitions time, of course. I know there's a big difference between what a pitcher does at any other park, and the ballpark in Arlington. But you can't fault Jon Daniels for working his ass off to give the Rangers a fighting chance in 2006.

Oi! Oi! Oi!

Tonight, Marty and I watched the Arsenal v. Chelsea football match.  We TiVoed the PPV game, since it aired live at 10:00 am our time, and we were in no mood to wake up that early.  Once the Cowboys debacle ran to its inevitable nasty conclusion, we cued up the match. 

Marty has been following Arsenal for a while now, and I decided to root for Chelsea since I had no real affection for either team.  (I followed Manchester United for a while, but lost interest in the last couple of years.)  Before we started the match, I put up a barricade I got as a birthday gift between us, since hooliganism was bound to break out.

The match was a 2-0 rout, as Chelsea was simply too strong for the Arsenal squad.  Even still, we both had a riotous time.  We'll definitely grab more games down the stretch, and if any readers are in to Premier League football, you're invited.  Bring beer.

Update: Photographic evidence of nerdity.  Click to enlarge, yo.

Confluence

If you want to meet Dallas-area sports commentators, apparently the place to go is the Tom Thumb in Coppell. While on a service call this week, in a 30-minute span, I saw George Dunham, Tim Cowlishaw and Pat Summerall heading through checkout lines.

I'm guessing Matt Mosely was at the Tom Thumb in South Dallas at the same time.

Beelzeboras

Great story in the Dallas Morning News on baseball überagent Scott Boras. He's been called every bad name in the dictionary -- in a few episodes of the Hot Corner, I called him the Baseball Antichrist, and that was when I was feeling kind.

When we interviewed agent Billy Martin, Jr., he told us Boras isn't despised in the agent community, but that Boras makes everyone else work that much harder. This article tells why, and it's a fascinating read.

Kind of like seeing how Satan prepares to steal souls.

Havin' A Party

A note for Texas Rangers fans: the release party for the 2006 Bound Edition of the Newberg Report is this Monday night (December 5) at the Dallas Quadrangle (Uptown) Tin Star restaurant.  If you want to pick up the perfect gift for the Rangers fan who thinks he has everything, and have that copy of the book signed by top Rangers pitching prospect Thomas Diamond, and third base farmhand Johnny Whittleman, this is the place to do it.  You can also hob-nob with Will Carroll, top gun for Baseball Prospectus.

The event starts at 6:00 pm, with Tin Star's full menu available all night.  (I highly recommend the Chicken Club gourmet tacos -- scrumptious!)  Also, with the Winter Meetings going on just a few miles away, you may be the first to know of an earth-shattering deal with the Rangers -- Carroll will keep his phone attached to the side of his head, trust me.

For a complete breakdown of this year's Bound Edition contents, head to the NewbergReport.com book page.

Home Stretch

I just cracked 40,000 words on my book.  10,000 more to write before next Thursday, to beat the NaNoWriMo challenge.

I actually think the book will be a bit longer -- around 60,000 words or so, to make the story complete.

The hard part is writing about things in my life that I'm not terribly proud of, or still affect me thinking about them.  I've got a good device for dealing with 'em, and I think readers will get a clearer picture of why things turned out the way they did.

I'm a bit behind on where I thought I would be, due to my yearly work on the Newberg Report Bound Edition.  This year's book is now available for pre-sale, and as always, I highly encourage any Rangers fan to pick up a copy.  They also make wonderful gifts for the "hard-to-buy-for" baseball fan on your gift list.

Word To My Homies

Todd Wills of the Dallas Morning News is reporting that the Texas Rangers have all but finalized a trade with the Florida Marlins, getting Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell for John Danks and Hank Blalock.

Grrr. Not happy.

Out-Fucking-Standing!

One of the mainstays of Devinukah used to be going to a Texas Rangers game on July 3. That tradition has been keelhauled in recent years, since the Rangers have been out of town playing in places that aren't Arlington. This angered Your Future Benevolent Ruler greatly.

Well, the rumbling and shaking pillars of heaven have made their mark, since the Rangers are playing against Toronto in Arlington on July 3, 2006. It's a 7:05 first pitch, but that's just fine. Day baseball in July in Texas is akin to corporal punishment.

A Night In Section O

Marty and I took in a Cats game at LaGrave Field last night.  It's a rarity when both of us can get out to a game together, and even though the Cats lost it was a fun night.

Camera phones generally suck, but sometimes they can come in handy.