Friday Random Thoughts
1. Every time I see a rumor saying that the Red Sox are pursuing Paul Konerko a little piece of me dies on the inside. Maybe not all of me, just a piece of my liver. Paul Konerko would be one of the worst signings in recent memory for this franchise. Don’t get me wrong, Konerko is a good baseball player but he isn’t going to be nearly worth the money it would take to get him here. The Paul Konerko frenzy reminds me of when Larry Brown won the Superbowl MVP award with the Cowboys and got a gigantic contract because of that one game. Sure, Konerko is a more proven player than Brown but Konerko’s stock is ultra inflated right now because of his post season performance.. As a side note, if the Red Sox are willing to spent unlimited amounts of money on free agents in the future than disregard this email, but I don’t think that’s the case.
2. The Stool was dealt it’s most humiliating blow yesterday by Ed Berliner of CN8. El Presidente was scheduled to make our 2nd appearance on Sports Pulse on Wednesday, November 16th. (As a side note Jamie Chisholm and I killed on our maiden appearance. It was gold Jerry Gold.) Anyway, I received an email from Ed yesterday saying that he had to reschedule our next appearance. Naturally I was curious who bumped us so I asked him who took our spot. And I’m embarrassed to report that it was the New England Revolution players. It’s a sad day at the Stool when soccer players are more important than us. Maybe we’re not making nearly as much progress as I thought. I mean how can we be taken seriously in this market as long as the Revolution is viewed as a better draw than us?
3. Thank you to everybody who went to Trivia Night on Wednesday at Game On. I’ll admit that it was the first time I’ve ever played trivia and I thought it was great. Hopefully everybody had a good time. I can promise that this night is going to get better every single week. I know that Budweiser is going to get involved with prizes and stuff so that should be cool. The goal is to make this a huge night. We are doing it every Wednesday Night and want to fill the joint. So if you didn’t make it last time we’ll look to see you next week.
4. Umm, was I the only one surprised by the fact that Larry Lucchino seemed totally unapologetic for the fact that he ran Theo Epstein out of town? Now I understand that Lucchino probably hates Theo like poison and doesn’t ever want to speak to him again, but I thought he’d be a bit smarter when dealing with the media. Regardless if Lucchino thinks this situation is his fault he’s got to realize that every single Red Sox fan hates his guts right now. Instead of complaining like a little girl about the way the media portrayed him, he should have taken the high road like John Henry did which was telling everybody to blame him for the debacle. Instead Lucchino expressed disappointment with how he was portrayed by the media after Epstein’s exit. “I was disappointed by it and it struck me that some of the media coverage was very misleading and inaccurate,” Lucchino said. “But it is part of the job, the business we have chosen.
“But it is part of the job, the business we have chosen”? And if he dies he dies.
4. According to the Inside Track , Drew McCourt, son of Frank and Jamie McCourt who own the L.A. Dodgers, is dating Hollywood hellcat Shannen Doherty! McCourt, 23, who moved from Boston to La-La with his family when they took possession of Derek Lowe’s new team last year, McCourt reportedly met the 34-year-old ex-“Charmed” charmer at some Hollywood soiree and was instantly smitten. “I can’t see Frank and Jamie being too thrilled about this,” said one McCourt pal. Shannen is a handful. The actress has been the toast of the tabloids since her days as Brenda Walsh on “Beverly Hills 90210.” She married her first hubby, tanman George Hamilton’s wild child Ashley Hamilton, in her bathrobe after a whirlwind, two-week romance. She’s since called it “The worst mistake of my life.” One of her ex-fiances sought court-ordered protection from her, claiming she pulled a gun on him and threatened to have him pummeled to a pulp. Her “90210” co-stars launched the “Dump Brenda” campaign that eventually got her fired from the teen series in 1994 and she was cut out of the season finale because she couldn’t come to an agreement with Aaron Spelling & Co
The only reason I included this random thought is because I got a kick out of the fact that Brenda Walsh’s cast mates on 90210 launched the “Dump Brenda” campaign. That’s great stuff and worth the price of admission right there. As a side note I saw a fat chick wearing a “Donna Martin Graduates” t shirt yesterday and I laughed out loud when I saw it. I defy somebody to come up with a better Tshirt slogan than that.
5. I just want to remind me that we have daily content besides random thoughts on our website. I can’t tell if people ever realize it’s there. We’ve been doing power polls on a weekly basis and Jerry Thorton writes a great Patriots column entitled “Knee Jerk Reactions” which I highly recommend. That can be found in our daily articles section.
6. SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Mike Tyson was questioned by police early Thursday after a television cameraman accused the former heavyweight champion of assaulting him outside a nightclub. Carlos Eduardo da Silva, a cameraman with the Brazilian television network SBT, told police Tyson pushed him and threw his camera to the ground outside the club, then removed a videotape and put it in his pocket. Police said Tyson acknowledged damaging the camera but denied pushing Silva. He was later released. The former champion has been in trouble in and out of the ring for much of his adult life. Tyson has served time for rape, bitten Evander Holyfield's ear, tried to break another fighter's arm and threatened to eat the children of former champion Lennox Lewis.
I feel like Mike Tyson’s life is turning into a bizarre version of Where’s Waldo. One second he is getting in trouble in Argentina for operating a water ski too close to shore, then he’s on the Jimmy Kimmel show singing the monster mash and then he’s assaulting a cameraman in Brazil. You just never know when and where he’ll pop up next. As a side note I don’t think it’s fair to put rape, biting Evander Holyfield’s ear, trying to break the white buffalo’s arm and the threat to eat Lennox Lewis’s children in the same sentence. I don’t think Iron Mike would have eaten Lennox’s kids had the opportunity presented itself to him.
7. I think somebody already emailed me about the Steve Phillips simulated GM press conferences that ESPN is doing on Sportscenter, but I’d be remiss not to emphasize just how stupid these things are. Hopefully somebody ends up getting fired because of it.
Reader Email
Email #1
El Pres, that was one of the best random thoughts/emails in months. The break-up email was great, gonna pass that on. On one end we have the disgust at the Manning commercial....on the other hand we have the FSU chicks. Thanks for throwing that in there too. I don't have HBO, but have the Curb DVDs, I'm disappointed in the decline, and I agree with you on that last Seinfeld season. You can always pick one of those episodes because the four of them are doing something really crazy- like when Elaine was drunk 3 times in the India episode. It was kind of funny, but completely out of character. I'm sure many people will tell you this, but Montana had 4 not five rings. Marino is a douche; I will never forget him yelling at teammates after every INT or incomplete pass. Nothing was the great Marino's fault. It amazes me, 3 rings in 4 years, and people still don't get it. Even if we lose in the post season, can anyone doubt that they will come back stronger than ever in 2006 as they did after a disappointing 2002? Never bet against Belichick and Brady, period.
Matt, Dallas
Tom Brady will retire with at least 5 Superbowl rings. Mark it down.
Email #2
I don't know about you, but I thoroughly enjoy those "Big Man Dance Off" NFL commercials that play sometimes. That is all.
Mike Stone - #24
Yeah, I actually like those commercials too. But the fact that Richard Seymour is always hurt kind of ruins them for me. I don’t like watching him dance when he’s not on the field.
Email #3
Czar,
All though I agree that this season of Curb is not one of the best ever, I think it has got incrementally funnier since the first episode, leading up to the Kamikaze Bingo one which I thought was the funniest of the season.
I hate to invoke a cheesy sports analogy, but Curb on a bad day is better than 99% of the rest of TV on their best day.
~ ICRat97
Oh, I didn’t think Kamikaze Bingo was that great. But I agree that Curb is still much better than 99% of the junk out there. But for me Arrested Development has passed it.
Email #4
Absolutely the funniest thing that I ever read in the Stool. The best part of this that went unmentioned by Brian was "Also, thanks for getting my stuff together, although I think my sunglasses are still at your house, if you could keep your eyes peeled for them that would be great." Are you kidding me???? If I were Brian, I would have fallen over in my chair reading that in a fit of laughter. That’s the whole reason she emailed him, that materialistic whore. All the rest is her nonsense to get the sunglasses back, TRUST ME. She is hoping that he at least gives her the chance to come over so they can "talk". She is then going to get her glasses and then start some fight and leave. Brian nails it, her world must "revolve around blow dryers, golden retrievers, Prada Bags and Jelly Beans." Brian, if your reading, email her back and tell her that you do want to talk, let her do what she does ...down there....and then hand her the broken sunglasses after she is finished. As she looks at you with complete disgust, hand her a $5 bill and say, "thanks for your time, now leave." Being a married man I must live vicariously through these situations, so pardon me for wanting this story to not end yet.
Mike - Boston
My favorite part was the end of it where he says “PS – I cc’d 100 people on this email.” It’s devastating in its simplicity.
Email #5
El Prez,
I was watching "Around the Horn" and "Pardon the Interruption" on ESPN last night, and on both shows they addressed the "Brady calling out his teammates" issue. Uh, what? I heard the Brady interview on EEI yesterday morning, and he didn't call out anybody. He just said it was his job as a leader on the team to help motivate them when things are going bad in a game, i.e. the water bottle throwing. That's calling out your teammates? That idiot Jay Marriotti on "Around the Horn" said that Brady must have really pissed off Tedy Bruchi because he doesn't need motivating from anyone.
What??? This is just another example of the tabloid ESPN media team making a story out of nothing. And they brought up the issue right after discussing T.O., like they were somehow connected. I'm hating ESPN more and more every day.
-Bostonbob
First of all Around the Horn is a joke and I wouldn’t advise watching that show under any circumstance. But Brady did exactly what a born leader has to do and that is he said everybody including himself has to step it up.
Email #6
Hey Prez,
That email you printed has already made its rounds.
I'm afraid you've been fooled by another spam chain mail. By the way, if you don't send this letter to 100 people within 20 minutes, your genitals will shrink to the size of Jason Giambi's.
Dan K.
Really? The guy who sent me that email said it was from a friend of his.
Email #7
I don't know why I do this to myself....watching the Bruins. It's painfully frustrating, but it's what I've come to expect. How many more 2-goal leads can they blow?? After a great effort by Thornton, you still knew the game didn't feel safe. The end of that 3rd period against Philly was almost too predictable. Granted, Forsberg's tape-to-tape pass to Pitkanen was gorgeous...it all ties back to the bigger picture - which is that the Bruins are, and have been a consistently mediocre team for the better part of 10 years now. The players, although likeable, just cannot compete for a Stanley Cup. I know it sounds like a broken record. But, being a hardcore Bruins fan, I just can't take this anymore. The management just doesn't know how to put together a winning team. I know I'm Joe Schmo off the streets of Boston, but I swear I know more about putting together a hockey team than O'Connell and company. Even if Zhamnov comes back, he's not gonna make a difference. Scatchard, Fitzgerald, Isbister, Leahy, and all the other newcomers I like as players....but you just can't take them seriously as a contender. They need speed, skill and fire. Enough with the blue-collar grinders. It's like if the Sox had a team full of Gabe Kaplers. I love Gabe Kapler...but you can't win a championship with a roster full of Gabe Kaplers. You need more skill. You need more explosiveness. You need more talent. You need to get rid of Hal Gill the skating giraffe and the whole stigma of big, slow defenseman. Didn't we learn our lesson against the Canadians in that playoff series a couple years ago? 3rd line checking players can only get you so far. That Habs team was far less talented than the Bruins, but they skated circles around us...and that's why they won. I could go on for hours...I'm losing my mind. You can't fault the players - they are what they are...a group of 23 hard-working guys that just aren't that talented. It's the management that I question. They have their heads up their asses. What's worse is they don't know how to capitalize on a big hockey market like Boston. Do you know a B's tix sales rep called me in September trying to sell me a 10-game pack? You know how much it was? $790. $790!!!! This is how you win back fans after slapping us in the face with the lockout??!!?? You've got to be shitting me. Consciously, I HATE rooting for the Bruins....but I can't stop myself from watching and evaluating their games. Please help me
Embarrassed to be a Boston Bruins fan,
Alf
I’d be lying if I said I’ve watched more than 10 minutes of hockey this season.
Email #8
I just wanted to say Congratulations to Chris Carpender for winning the Cy Young. I have never seen a more dominating June/July than Carpender had this season. Maybe next year they'll play the World Series in the middle of the summer when Carpender is at his best. If I were the Cards GM, my first priority this off-season would be to sign a front line starter who can win in the postseason to compliment Chris "Mr. July" Carpender.
-Legend
Actually he’s a perfect fit in St. Louis because their fans don’t really seem to care if they win or lose in the playoffs. They just cheer for everything and everybody.