I did it about 10-12 years ago, it just takes a few minutes.

Hey, I can give bone marrow! I just can't give blood. I should look into joining the registry even though I can't make this day.

Fine match tonight. Serena has had four match points but not closed it out. She is serving for the match now, up 5-4, 30-15, in set two.

I say tonight, but of course I again have no clue if this happened hours ago. But she's through to the finals.

I seem to recall much mocking of Serena a few threads ago . . .

The Serena match was live, as will be the upcoming Clijsters match

Edward Abbey's "The Monkey Wrench Gang" is being made into a movie.

I don't know what the average opinion is of Abbey among Utahans in general or Mormons specifically. Perhaps the estimable Professor Zappala can help me out?

It's being filmed in New Mexico, not Utah :-(

I always mix that up with Ecotopia.

For no good reason.

Ernest Callenbach? Is that right?

Yes.

Closure on the zombie Orville Redenbacher Puppet, CGI, or creepy makeup artistry question. It was brought to you by the same people who were responsible for Gollum. Which makes perfect sense.

http://tinyurl.com/39tcyq

What's gonna be left for you Andrew?

Gosh he sounds just exactly like James Mason as Humbert Humbert.

There will always be new mysteries of little consequence. It's the joy of having broad but shallow interests.

Funny meditation on Tony Womack, Frank Robinson, and the Time 2006 Person of the Year.

http://tinyurl.com/2qnyaz

14 That was darn good. I think when I come up for another gig, I'm going to put "Time's Person of the Year" on my resume.

Yes, I'm going to steal that joke.

An article on Tommy Lasorda in The Acorn (via BTF's Primer)

http://tinyurl.com/2t7xgq

I'm glad Serena made it to the finals. She's pretty much the only player tough enough to beat Sharapova.

For some reason, I can see Sharapova's dominance motivating the Williams sisters to make comebacks. I've never cared much for the sisters, but at this point, they may be the only players with the strength and mental fortitude (esp. Serena) to compete.

Help me Venus and Serena, you're my only hope.

Why do you want Sharapova to lose so much?

Because I can't stand her. If her last name were "Costanza", I would call her "Cantstandja"

20 But Sharapova is a hot babe.

No. No she's not.

Watching "All the President's Men on AMC right now.

Question - Did Watergate have more of an influence on how the public views politics or the press (media)?

23
Politics far more than the press were influenced by the Watergate scandal. The movie influenced the view of the press more.

During the Watergate scandal, I barely knew about Woodward and Bernstein.

Of course, I was 8 years old when Nixon resigned.

23 You may really enjoy this transcript.

(You may also dislike some of the people in the roundtable, but it's still very good).

http://tinyurl.com/3ycmwa

I will only add that Watergate changed the press's view of itself as much as anything, particularly the generations that followed Woodward and Bernstein.

I suggest that the "resigned" that means "signed once again" continue to be spelled "resigned", while the "resigned" that means "quit" be spelled "rezigned".

Jim Callis on Lincecum vs. Kershaw (He'd pick Lincecum)

I don't project Lincecum as a reliever. He may wind up as a closer, but he has the stuff to start. I like his sheer stuff better than Kershaw's, especially the breaking ball, hence my rankings.

27
Noah Webster and Ben Franklin would endorse your idea.

In their time, they might have even indorsed it.

27- Motion tabled till one and a half billion Chinese people are polled on the matter.

30
Alternatively, we can just try to look at the context of the sentence in question. I know it's a bold idea. But daring times need daring men.

31- Splitter.

As someone who used to look through a lot of documents, the scene with Redford looking through phonebooks to find Ken Dahlberg brings back memories of dusty warehouses in the Valley.

Me too. Dusty Warehouses was a hell of a ball player. Damn shame about the arm injury.

I thought it was re-signed (signing once again) and then resigned (quit).

FJM just torched the Bob Klapisch article that Jon brought up today (the glammer article). Three posts in two days is a new FJM offseason record.

"Resign" meaning "to quit" is older and comes from the Latin "resignare" and literally means "to give back the seal of office."

"Re-sign" is much newer (19th century) and means to "sign again."

In general "re-" means "to do again" but not always.

For example, there is "refer", but no "fer". "Return" doesn't mean to "turn again". "Record" doesn't mean "cord again", but it does mean to "go back and write down what happened in the past."

I will now retire to bed. I'm tired.

I always wish they would make it resigned and re-signed. It especially gets confusing when it's used for headlines that only say "Ned Colletti Resigns". Does it mean once his contract was up that he was signed again or that he decided to just step down?

Always wish? My tense was not so good right now.

Motion tabled till one and a half billion Chinese people are polled on the matter

Or we can just consult their very respectful spokesperson on their behalf...

Just a brief mention on the bone marrow registry.
"Race and ethnicity are known to play a major role in donor recruitment drives, as members of the same ethnic group are more likely to have matching genes, including the genes for HLA."

What they really need are people of Asian and Afro-American descent. If you type out to be Caucasian it would be extremely rare that they would not be able to find a donor match. Not saying it would be a waste of time to sign up just saying that if you are Asian or Black your chances of helping are much greater if you take the time to sign up. Bone Marrow typing is a bizarre deal and is totally different then blood types.

41 I remember the great trouble that Rod Carew's daughter had in finding a bone marrow donor, especially with her diverse racial background.

Unfortunately, she passed away.

40. I thought we were moving on?
vr, Xei

A thumbs up to Nomar and Mia. Finally a positive story is reported on an athelete.
vr, Xei

Manny Acta buys a sport coat. Really, it's worth the 40 seconds it'll take you to read it.

http://tinyurl.com/2pfrhq

6 As far as I can tell, the average Utahn would not know much about The Monkey Wrench Gang or even heard of it. My father-in-law knows more about it than the average person because he used it when he taught classes on environmental history in the west.

Monkey Wrench Gang was a book that my best friend in college recommended to me, but that I still didn't end up finishing. Am I the only one who wasn't taken with it?

If there were not a Greg Brock, I would not know that Edward Abbey existed.

42
Even if she had found a donor her chances were slim. The bone marrow transplant process is quite an ordeal especially for a child as they are basically cut off from the world for months and while the doctors may tout optimistic statistics, in my world it has been a false hope followed with a grim reality. I'm zero for 3 in my involvement with children who've had Leukemia and one of those passed after getting the bone marrow transplant. Still the children fight hard and long and there is really no possible reason that every healthy American who is eligible to donate is not donating blood and platelets on a regular basis other then ignorance of the importance. The % of Americans who donate is pathetically small mainly because the information is not disseminated. I'm not on a high horse as I was 40 before I became a regular donor which I attribute to ignorance and self indulgance.

45 Manny Acta is going to be a megasuperduperstar in this town if he can get this team to win a few games. That's a huge if, especially when he proclaims Nook Logan his starting CF.

There is a golfer playing at the Buick Invitational that is currently 8-under through 7 holes, with 6 birdies and an eagle. Scorecard looks like this:

3-3-2-3-3-3-3

28 Is Lincecum two syllables or three? Linns-coom or Lin-suh-coom? Is the accent on the first syllable in both cases? coom or come?

51 - If one were to look up "courage" in the Oxford English Dictionary, one might very well come upon the photo of these two gladiators. They approach the final hole in the shadow of the great emancipator, deadlocked at eight strokes on the happy side of par. Soon, one man will emerge triumphant. He will drink naught but champagne, while his opponent tastes bitter defeat in this oft cruel game

52 And irrespective of how Tim pronounces it, what is the correct pronunciation?

53 why you are the blogmaster and we, the mere comment posters. I bow in your general direction, perhaps northeast.

55 - It's clear I plagarized that, right?

This is the most stirring display of gallantry and sportsmanship since Mountbatten gave India back to the Punjabs.

56
I still use Lisa's zen koans when I play miniature golf.

Brandt Snedeker (the afore-mentioned golfer) just missed a 10-footer for eagle on his tenth hole that would have taken him to 11-under through 10. As it is, he's 10-under through 10.

I checked and it was Brent Snedeker who is off to the fast start at Torrey Pines.

I was late AND wrong.

Urrrgh!!

Lots of gems in that episode.

"One o'clock. Still just a potato."

http://www.snpp.com/episodes/7F08.html

61
Sit down and shut up.

59 - I'm excited!

64
Me too!

How Michael Scott and Jon Weisman really feel about us minions.

"I don't want somebody sucking up to me because they think I'm going to help their career [or their blogs]. I want them sucking up to me because they genuinely love me."

66 - SO TRUE!

The real news at the golf tournament is that David Duval is 3 under.

Contest: Name the year in which Tiger Woods' first child shoots below par in an 18-hole course.

Winner gets one 2007 dollar plus interest compounded annually at 5.5 percent until the event happens.

Ladies and gentleman, Bill Ladson, Nationals beat writer for mlb.com:

"Look, I'm not a stat geek, and some bloggers talk about OPS and that stuff, but when I cover teams, stats are important, but heart is the most important. Jamey Carroll isn't Ryan Zimmerman in terms of talent but he has the heart of a winner."

69 Are we talking regulation par 72 course. I will say the summer of 2014 just after he or she turns 7.

Dodgers are safe from Joey Eischen, by the way. He and Sheff will be rolling together in the Motor City. (minor league deal).

http://tinyurl.com/ysr9b4

70 - But who had the heart like a wheel?

"Look, I'm not a wordsmith, and some writers talk about adverbs and that stuff, but when I read books, words are important, but heart is the most important. Jon Weisman isn't John Updike in terms of talent but he has the heart of a winner."

71 - Sure, regulation par-72 sounds good.

70 Did Zimmerman fail to answer a question last year?

I do think this, all beat writers are going to like guys who sit and talk with them before, after, in the lobby, etc. and probably that is usually the so-called guys with heart. They also tend to be the lower paid guys and even though they are still making a pretty good buck, they probably don't have an entourage or a publicist hanging around them.

Other than that, that is a pretty stupid thing to say.

73 Shirley Muldowney?

Yes. We would have also accepted Bonnie Bedelia. Or her sister, Amelia.

Unless the heart beats inside the chest of an Eckstein it adds nothing to the winning algorithm.

ESPN's John Shea thinks we have can end our World Series drought.

http://tinyurl.com/28rh6k

Of course, he picks the Cubs as third team next in line.

67 Just saying what we all knew already.

I believe that back in the '90s when Jon did standup in NYC, his apartment manager once said of Jon after he was told that Jon wore a fur coat, "It's all about, me, me, me. Please, look at me! I am so pretty! Love me! Want me!"

Any more Snedeker updates before lunch?

78 Seems more like a "my favorite world series sleepers" list than an actual ranking. Even with all their young talent, I don't think the Marlins (or anyone else on the list for that mattr) are better than the Twins, Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Cardinals, or A's.

I think the Marlins are really dangerous. I think the Mets, Cardinals, and A's all got worse.

The Marlins are dangerous for sure, but they're relying on young players at just about every position which can be quite risky.

80
I've been away from the computer for a while. Snedeker has made 5 straight pars and is now 10-under through 15.

Looks like the Yankees are sending a delegation to China next week in hopes of setting up a baseball academy in the Middle Kingdom.

The number of baseball diamonds I saw on my last trip to China = 0. I stayed at their Olympic training village while I was in Beijing and saw where Yao Ming trained, their volleyball teams etc..., trained. Not an overly impressive facility. The most interesting part was how their three artificial soccer fields doubled as a golf driving range. vr, Xei

Snedeker needs a double-eagle on his final hole to shoot 59.

Excerpts from "Dodgers wind up with pitching glut," USA Today. Not a whole lot noteworthy, just nuances--

Collettiisms:==

-----"When you can add somebody to your top half, be it your order, your staff, your bullpen, you can have everybody else slide down one spot and give them a better chance to succeed," Colletti says in explaining his pursuit of Schmidt. "One of the quotes yet to be said in the history of baseball is, 'We've got more than enough pitching.' "

-----"You can win a lot of games by stealing a base, by going first to third, going first to home once in a while, second to home. That's a lot tougher to handle than station-to-station."

-----"With the arrival of Pierre and his 58 stolen bases, the Dodgers are considering moving Furcal to third in the lineup and having catcher Russell Martin hit between them. We've got the luxury of two big leadoff hitters there, and whatever we do, I'm sure both guys will be hitting in the first inning," manager Grady Little says. "In what order, I don't know."

-----"In L.A. there's not a rebuilding period or a grace period," Colletti says. "The bar's always set very high. "So we have to be able to blend (young and older players), because we don't want a team that's made up of all veterans, especially when you have as many good young players as we have."

"If the Dodgers are intent on manufacturing runs, they could use a better on-base percentage from Juan Pierre than the .330 mark he had last season."

On Bills, rated LA's #2 prospect in article: "Billingsley projects as the Dodgers' fourth or fifth starter in 2007, though the team has so much pitching depth that Ng said it's not certain he'll start the season in the majors."

On Kuo, rated #5: "Hong-Chih Kuo, left-handed pitcher: The Dodgers love how far Kuo has come in a short time, overcoming two elbow-ligament-replacement surgeries and posting a 3.06 ERA in September.Kuo, 25, opened the season in the bullpen, went down to the minors to get stretched out and came back as a starter, doing some of his best work out of the rotation. The native of Taiwan pitched in 46 minor league games before making his big-league debut in 2005 and "needs to trust his stuff," according to Ng, but the club is high on his potential."

May have excerpted about half the story. Whatever.

http://tinyurl.com/37btty

83
I just really like their pitching depth. I think they need some more offense, but I am expecting better power seasons from Hermida and Cabrera.

85. Xei, is air pollution in Beijing as bad as some stories indicate? Is it seen as a problem for the Olympics? Thx.

89
Not Xei, but Vishal was living there and he said it was terrible. All your mucus is dark black he said.

But Xeifrank can tell you all about air quality in Ventura County.

91
Is that the first time you've spoken since 63...?

92
Some of us have jobs.

93
How conveeeeenient...

89,90. The air quality in Beijing is just awful. No place I have ever been to compares. The best comparison/analogy I could make is to imagine there being a large brush fire 10 miles or so from where you live with the wind blowing the smoke and ash in your direction. Beijing and most cities in China smell like a campfire. When I first exited the airport, it smelled like I was standing near a campfire. The sky was gray and hazy and I figured it would burn off later in the day, but it never did. I never once saw the blue sky in the 10 days I was in Beijing. All my pictures from Tiananmen, Summer Palace, Great Wall and Forbidden City all look hazy. It is going to be a huge problem for the Olympics, unless they shut down all the factories, ban all cars, crop field burning etc... for quite a long time. So I guess it could be half-way cleared up, but it doesn't seem too practical. It's such a shame that such a beautiful place, so rich in history and steeped in tradition has such terrible pollutants. Atleast everything you buy there is a great bargain in terms of US dollars. vr, Xei

93

Child: "Mister, can you help me look up the lyrics to every Aly and AJ song ever written?"

Bob: "Scram!"

91. In 85 Xei said he'd visited Beijing, so maybe he can compare its air quality with Ventura County...with an edge to Ventura County, I hope...

96. I take it you have a 'tween daughter too.

97 typed about the same time Xei was writing 95. I done good.

Did someone here say he didn't think Sharapova was a babe?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/2006_swimsuit/athletes/

BHsportsguy is looking like the clear favorite to win the contest.

98
Correct.

I haven't heard from Bob yet. Must be busy shooing off some middrif-baring, gum-smacking pre-teens.

Beijing has pretty poor air quality, but from my personal experience South America is generally worse. Cuba, in particular, is horrible.

95
Sounds eerily similar to the Stage III summers in Los Angeles in the early 70s...

101

Okay, I'll bite. I'll say 2017. I'm betting that she'll be a girl who learns to shop before she learns to putt.

Um, did the comment links momentarily Think Blue?

105 - Now we got ourselves a horserace!

I'm going with never. The odds are high that she will be a spoiled brat and never take the time to become good at anything.

56 ...plagiarize... yes, I was giving proper respect for coming up with the reference.

108 So if you win, you can't collect until after the kid dies, likely long after we all do.

70 I have the heart of winner too, but I can't hit a good curveball. Or a 90+ fastball either. But I'm a heck of a baserunner.

104 I can still clearly remember the burning sensation in the trachea when would start breathing hard while playing as kids.

110
Ahh, the 1970s and smog and living in the Valley.

It brings tears to my eyes.

And wheezing to my lungs.

I grew up in Monrovia in the 60s and 70s. Monrovia is at the base of the San Gabriels and I can remember not seeing the mountains for entire summers.

107 I'll guess 2022. I just like all the twos.

Looks like DJ finally signed with the Red Sox

Hmmm...doing a catalog update for classic Tbird parts, I ran across a William Werth in
Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Wonder if he's related to Jayson?