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BigHurtUW
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Name: Big
Birthday: 1/28/1984
Gender: Male
Interests: My passions are God, family, friends, theology, apologetics, philosophy, poetry, writing, reading, teaching, coaching, music, football, ultimate, baseball and lastly, but certainly not least, spending time with Alyssa
Expertise: If I have an expertise, it is in constant inadequacy
Occupation: Student
Message: message meEmail: email me
AIM:  bighurt319
Member Since:
3/6/2004
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| The NFL is dealing with players' off-the-field issues, including Michael Vick's dogfighting indictment, PacMan Jones' issues, Chris Henry's issues, and Tank Johnson's issues.
The NBA is dealing with possibly the biggest, most devastating scandal since the 1919 World Series - an official potentially altering the outcomes of games that YOU attended, so he could win some money.
MLB is still dealing with rampant steroids issues in the midst of Barry Bonds usurping Hank Aaron's career home run record, thanks in part to a big name in steroids (he invented "the Clear") accusing him and Gary Sheffield of being rampant users.
College Football just finished dealing with Oklahoma, who vacated all their wins from the 2005 season, including a bowl win against Oregon, because their players were getting paid for not working, simply because they were football players.
College Basketball is really just a second-tier sport now, since any moderately good player leaves after a year and even decent players leave after two. At least they're in college, though, right?
Professional Cycling just had one of its worst days ever, as an entire racing team - and the favorite to win the tour - was kicked out for blood doping. And, of course, there are rampant suspicions about the current leader, as well.
Even the WWE is enduring harsh criticism after Chris Benoit's autopsy came back positive for extremely high levels of testosterone.
Is it just me, or does that seem to be a lot of bad stuff all at once in the sports world (and that's only what I could think of off the top of my head)? I love being involved in sports because they let me get excited about greatness, but also because when my team loses, it's not the end of the world. Sports is a pleasant distraction from the 'real' every-day news about war, poverty, famine, suffering, and general evil in the world. When all that crap starts to show up in sports as much as in the real world, I get nervous, because I don't see anywhere else to turn. There's no respite from reality. I guess the next step is either high school sports (which are getting iffy themselves) or to simply live in the virtual sports world. And neither of those is as much fun as, say, a sunny Autumn Saturday in the stands at Husky Stadium.
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| UPDATE: http://www.kirotv.com/video/13637518/index.html is a security video from the theater. KIRO had a short story on the moron last night. I have to say, he must know the place at least somewhat well if he's running around in a back hallway that nobody sees...
If you hear about an explosion at an Olympia movie theater tomorrow, remember this: I was there.
And I am SO cheesed off right now.
I was just reaching the climax of one of the most amazing movies to hit the big screen since Star Wars at like 1:30 in the morning, and some immature, juvenile, imbecilic, idiotic, moronic, EVIL punk kid lit a firework, ran out the emergency exit, and his stupid prank cost me the best part of TRANSFORMERS. I kid you not. The movie is amazing. You should all see it. I have been waiting in eager anticipation for this cultural phenomenon for over a year now, and this idiot kid ruined it for me. I sincerely hope he is caught and sentenced to 200 years in prison for ruining 200 peoples' lives. Ugh...
That said...I say again: GO SEE TRANSFORMERS. NOW. SEE IT TWICE. SEE IT THREE TIMES. YOU WILL STILL WET YOUR PANTS, FRONT AND BACK. IT IS THAT AMAZING. I have never been so amazed. It's grap hically beyond compare. It's an incredible adaptation of a piece of my childhood. It's funny. It's sad. It's exciting. It's dramatic. And I designed and printed a tshirt just for this event:
 Now I have to go see it again at 9:30 in the morning, just so I can see the ending. Sucks to be me - basically a free screening...
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| I've got a lot on my plate at the moment that I'll talk about another time, but a couple things I wanted to say.
First, I was looking through some old posts and realized that my NFL draft prognostications were worth looking at, if only to increase my humility.
1. "The Philadelphia
Eagles will do everything they can to trade up in the draft and take Brady
Quinn with the first pick."
Well, I think we all know how that worked out. Quinn went 22 to the Browns...
2. "Arizona just
drafted Leinart, Oakland (Andrew
Walter) and Houston (David Carr) all claim to be set at the position."
Hey, at least I got the Arizona one right. But Oakland (JaMarcus Russell) and Houston (Matt Schaub) went with new quarterbacks not named Brady.
3. "Tampa Bay
seems to be content with Chris Simms (when he's healthy) and Cleveland
seems to like Charlie Frye."
Another double negative, and a big one at that. Tampa Bay brought in Jeff Garcia from Philly and Cleveland obviously didn't like Frye that much - they drafted Quinn.
4. "That leaves Detroit
as the only crappy team who might want a QB, and they're bound to win one or
two more games before the year's over (plus, they'll just draft a WR with their
first pick anyway...cause that's just what Millen does)."
"With the second pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions select, from Georgia Tech, Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson." Music to my ears. Hilarious that they did it again. A good pick in most people's eyes, but still hilarious. Poor Detroit fans: first the World Series E-fest, now this.
Total Score: 2/7=.286 Well, that's a respectable batting average...
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Topic 2 for the evening: My Annual All-Star Balloting Bonanza
Time to tell you who to vote in for every position and why.
A couple of notes, first.
1. Third base should be the easiest position to call this year - A-Rod and Miggy are far and away the best players at their positions (statistically, anyway). But Miggy is trailing David Wright in the voting.
2. I tended to lean in favor of the Sabermetric stats (especially Runs Created) when there was a close call. That's why a few of the names might seem out of the blue. I really think Runs Created is the most reliable baseball stat out there.
3. Face it: Bonds is having a decent year. Couple that with a lack of stellar NL outfielders, and you've got Bonds making the home crowd happy come All-Star Weekend.
4. Please vote for Matt Holliday. The guy got shafted last year, is having another fantastic season, and still can't get anyone to vote for him. Andruw Jones is hitting .197 and has more votes than Holliday. Alfonso Soriano has half the RBIs of Holliday, and is slated to be in the starting lineup. COME ON PEOPLE!!!
AL:
C - Victor Martinez, CLE - A budding star behind the plate: .313, 14 HR, 62 RBI
1B - Justin Morneau, MIN - .278, 20 HR, 57 RBI, and a pat on the back for the MVP last year
2B - Brian Roberts, BAL - Not a lot of stellar AL 2B's: .324, .411 OBP, 24 SB
3B - Alex Rodriguez, NYY - No-brainer here...even if he is a Yankee, he's sick: .333, 28 HR, 77 RBI, 72 R, 9 SB, and some solid D at third. That's called 5 tools, folks.
SS - Carlos Guillen, DET - Gets the nod over Jeter (boo Yankees): .324, 12 HR, 55 RBI,
OF - Magglio Ordonez, DET - By far the hottest guy in the bigs right now: .381, 13 HR, 68 RBI, 64 R
OF - Vladimir Guerrero, LAA - Still filthy at the dish: .325, 14 HR, 69 RBI
OF - Ichiro, SEA - A hometown pick (better than that traitor Sizemore): .364, 53 R, 37 RBI, 22 SB, 110 H
NL:
C - Russell Martin, LAD - This kid is a phenom: .293, 8 HR, 49 RBI, 13 SB
1B - Prince Fielder, MIL - Boy has been downright FILTHY at the plate: .283, 27 HR, 62 RBI,
2B - Chase Utley, PHI - Another All-Star year for this stud: .320, 12 HR, 58 RBI, 52 R
3B - Miguel Cabrera, FLA - Easily the top NL 3B: .330, 17 HR, 54 RBI
SS - Jose Reyes, NYM - He's so good it's scary (H. Ramirez a close 2nd): .319, .401 OBP, 38(!) SB
OF - Matt Holliday, COL - Seems like a no-brainer, but he's 6th in voting: .355, 13 HR, 59 RBI, 27 2B
OF - Barry Bonds, SFG - I cringe as I write this, but he's been pretty good: .293, 15 HR, 35 RBI, 75(!) BB
OF - Ken Griffey, Jr., CIN - A nice relief after that last one; go Junior: .290, 21 HR, 46 RBI
So there you have it. Vote for Holliday. Show Griffey some love. And let's have ourselves a high-flying, death-defying, stupefying All-Star Game.
Seacrest out.
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| had to post this...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/ncaa/06/19/schedules.top25/index.html?cnn=yes
They missed the alternative possibility, though: that the Dawgs could blow some brains out by winning a few games. I'm looking at two - the Boise State game (BSU lost its starting QB and its 4 best receivers) and the Ohio State game (OSU lost a Heisman quarterback in Troy Smith, a top-10 receiver/returner in Ginn, a stud receiver in Gonzalez, a 1300 yard rusher in Pittman, and 4 of their top 10 tacklers). Given the teams that they are facing and that those teams are going to be breaking in a lot of new shoes, I think there's a fairly realistic chance that we can pull of one of those upsets and 'shock the world.'
And, of course, we're going to beat the University of Stinkin Cheaters and we all know WSU will live up to their school motto: "Just Coug It."
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| Jeez...exactly a month since my last update. I wanted to share a cool experience. I came home the other day to find a small envelope/package for me from the Annenberg Public Policy Center. Being the inquisitive person I am, I had to open it. Inside was a letter, a small brochure, and a book, entitled unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation. The letter said that they sent me the complimentary copy of unSpun basically so I can consider using their materials in my classroom. Of course, because it looked interesting and, more importantly, because it was free, I decided to read it.
I have to say, it's really a good book. It's actually put out by the creator of factcheck.org, which is a consumer advocate website (check it out). The basic concept of the book is to explain what 'spin' is, how to recognize it, and ways to get around it. The whole premise is that 'spin' - the art of twisting the truth (or using straight-up deception) - is in every aspect of American life, from product positioning to politics, and can be incredibly powerful. I particularly enjoyed the book because it is really applied critical thinking, which is my current thesis topic. Written as a series of vignettes and bits of advice, I found unSpun very easy to read and very interesting. Long story short, you should definitely think about reading it. I'm even considering using it in my classes.
Of course, I know this is exactly why they sent me the book - so I'd recommend it. But it worked. Their brilliant marketing ploy - sending an English teacher a free book - worked like a charm. Now I just hope they do it again...
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