Monday, April 08, 2013

Happy Squirrel Week!

As @teegrec reminds us, today begins the third annual DC Squirrel Week. The following video offers Washington Post columnist John Kelly's explanation of the celebration. For the record, smarmy interviewer Brook Silva-Braga is on the list. Gonna be a shame when he finds his car filled with acorns.

The Richmond Flying Squirrels celebrated in appropriate fashion, coming back to knock of the New Britain Rock Cats, 3-2, last night to take their season-opening series.

And finally, this:


75 comments:

rob said...

men's league soccer game at 9:00 tonight. i may yet succeed in not watching any of the final four. miffed.

Geoff said...

So...rough weekend... I was out offering free bibles to pre-teen girls like I do every weekend, and some crazy bitch came by and called the police on me.

rob said...

gonna be hard to top that comment this week. way to set the bar, geoff. most of us haven't even stretched yet.

Geoff said...

Thanks. I'll be here all week. Try the veal.

Mark said...

Geoff is just pumped for the Masters. The twinkling piano and Jim Nantz whispering in his ear really get him going.

Geoff said...

Its a tradition unlike any other...except for all the other golf tournaments.

rootsminer said...

The Masters: ultimate couch nap television.

Shlara said...

Gheorghies--I want to call your attention to Fox's HuffPo piece today about the hypocrisy of the NCAA. I think you will like it:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/domonique-foxworth/mike-rice-fired_b_3032566.html

rob said...

the ncaa as we know it will cease to exist within 10 years. i'm more certain of this than i am the rise of rugby as the nfl's successor. we'll see separate governing bodies for football, basketball, and olympic sports, and players at the division 1 level in the former two will be allowed to receive monetary compensation. hear me now, believe me later.

rob said...

one of the people that works for me just used 'golly gee willikers' in context, and completely without irony. minnesotans are a nice lot.

Jerry said...

The question for me is what are the alternatives that are better than what exists now? There are a lot of good things about college sports at all levels: players, coaches, students, alumni, and general sports fans.

Jerry said...

And I think most people would agree that college sports are generally pretty good to the coaches, students, alumni, and general sports fans (unless we want to make the funding argument for the non-sports-fan student). So really we're talking about the players.

But even for the players, college sports are absolutely tremendous in almost all cases. For 95%+ of the players, they're getting scholarships to play sports that they love, even when there's no real market for the services that they're providing. Is playing tennis or soccer at whatever school producing $30-50K? Usually not, but they're getting compensated.

And they're doing something they love. Is it a lot of "work"? Yeah, of course it is. But there are millions of people who put in "work" to improve themselves in athletic endeavors, whether it's basketball, general fitness, triathlons, golf.

There's a reason why these guys and girls are crying when their seasons are over. Crying. In public, sometimes on national TV. They love it. It's great. Playing sports, being on a team, competing. In some cases on a massive stage. It's awesome.

How many of us would pay good money just to run out of the tunnel with the team before a football game at Florida or Alabama or Ohio State, let alone play in the games? How many college athletes - both famous and anonymous - think of their sporting memories as some of the best times of their lives?

It's not perfect. But once people start taking it apart, there's a real risk that it won't get put back together properly and that we'll be losing out on a of really good things.

rob said...

college sports isn't going anywhere, just the way in which it's organized. football and basketball are massive businesses masquerading as amateur sports. some of that facade will get ripped away for those sports at the highest levels. i don't really think it'll have much meaningful impact on how we view the games or how the players feel about their efforts - they'll just receive a more equitable share of the economic value they create. realistically, we're talking about 50 football programs and 100 or so hoops programs. Everyone else reorganizes below that.

Geoff said...

Yes robert, we must make sure we aggressively intervene and redistribute the wealth. That's what America is all about.

rob said...

just so i'm clear, you're arguing for artificial restraints on market activity?

rob said...

as for me, i'm making a prediction, not offering an opinion. if it were up to me, syracuse and georgetown would be legal mandated to be in the same league.

Jerry said...

I think you're massively underestimating the amount of complexity both in the existing system and in the development of any proposed "solution". It's not a static situation. If one thing is changed, other things will change in response. Will they change enough to harm the sport? I don't know, but it's possible.

And I haven't really heard many realistic solutions to these problems. Pay everybody? The same amount? How much? How does that affect other sports programs? Which schools? How does it impact Title 9? What if you pay somebody who ends up smoking weed or stealing a car? What if it's just a guy who doesn't practice hard? Do you get your money back?

The only solution I've heard that sounds somewhat workable is for schools/boosters to be allowed to pay their players any amount for any sport. This would work, but it might be unseemly. It would minimize the amount of oversight and bureaucracy and it would leave budgetary issues up to the schools. It would also create a $$ arms race that would bother people. But it would solve the problem of getting money into the hands of the players and it would create a very high level of transparency in recruiting.

Of course eventually it would probably lead to calls for a salary cap...and then who knows...

Geoff said...

And here rob goes with his mandates now...

rob said...

mandates tend to lead to gay marriage. so yeah, they're awesome.

Clarence said...

They should put Bud Selig in charge of this transition. He'd figure out a way to make everyone 100% equally incensed AND get pictures of Spider-Man on all NCAA basketballs.

Dave said...

a lot going one here! i've got to stop doing stuff and spend more time reading gheorghe.

Geoff said...

Of all the major sports commissioners right now, couldn't you make a pretty strong case that Selig has done the best job over the last 5-10 years?

Clarence said...

Also, Gerry and Jeff, it's Squirrel Week. Please don't badger the Squirrel during Squirrel Week. He doesn't gopher that.

Jerry said...

Clearly anybody with that kind of pun output deserves to be paid. End this injustice immediately.

I also like how you swapped the first letter of our names. What I like even more is the feeling of disappointment when you thought, "wow I could've swapping these letters for years and I just thought of it now?"

Clarence said...

If you love intraleague play, the expansion of playoff teams, and the Dodgers in turmoil, Bud has been your guy for the last 5 years. Also, if you hate the Mets and therefore want the Wilpons owning the team, you love how Bud Selig's friendship with Fred Wilpon allowed Wilpon to stay put even though he's pretty much a known participant in the Madoff crimes.

And Selig's body of work from 1992 until now is considered inept and two days late at best, blatantly corrupt and self-serving at worst. He's a Pi Lam and an idiot.

Clarence said...

Yeah, Jeff and Gerry should have happened years ago.

They would be alter egos, of course, with Gerry being the pompous preppy guy with the Brooks Brothers handkerchief and bangable wife and Jeff being the dirty bachelor math guy that went a decade without a girlfriend and that Good Will Hunting was about.

rob said...

whoa, whoa, whoa. that crosses a line, clarence. jerry/jeff's not dirty.

zman said...

So Gerry is straight?

Clarence said...

Compared to Gerry, he is!!

And I just basically called him a genius with that Good Will Hunting comment. Geniuses are dirty.

Clarence said...

Jeff and Gerry are both straight, duh.

zman said...

Like Bert and Ernie.

Danimal said...

I'd like to see a Clarence/Bud Selig introduction when Clarence is in "Hi Gheorghies" mode.

Geoff said...

Sorry, I missed a lot. Was out handing out bibles again.

rob said...

can't go to that well but so often, jeph.

Clarence said...

The well of Bibles is always replenished. You can go to it as often as you like.

Oh, but you cannot eat the shellfish in the well. Or lie down with another man. Or screw a dog or a lion.

And also, the well was built in seven days. Stop saying it was slowly built and evolved over time.

Jerry said...

Is this Dewey's plan to steal bibles from hotels and sell them on eBay?

Disclaimer, since we're talking religion: Dewey never had that plan. But it's believable.

rob said...

little known fact: in addition to lebron james, i have also 'interviewed' bud selig (and herb kohl - the two of them were fraternity brothers at the university of wisconsin). my 'interview' with selig/kohl took place when i was employed as a professional frat guy and was conducted entirely via correspondence. this was before the age of email, so i typed up a bunch of questions and mailed them. it was as cool as it sounds.

Danimal said...

Could have used the mojo machine.

Clarence said...

Maggie Thatcher, The Iron Lady, died today. It is not currently known if this will delay the theatrical opening of "Iron Man 3." Iron Man was unavailable for comment.

Thatcher was predeceased by Lou Gehrig and is survived by Cal Ripken, Jr; Bruce Dickinson; Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri; Samuel Beam; Arthur Digby Sellers; Evonne Goolagong; and, of course, Tony Stark.

Music at the memorial service will feature "In the Garden of Eden" by I. Ron Butterfly and songs from Neil Young's "Live Rust" album.

Geoff said...

And Clarence is apparently back huffing paint again.

zman said...

You forgot about GFK. C'mon, act like you give a shit.

zman said...

Also dead: Annette Funicello.

Mark said...

Big day at Gheorghe.

Here's my contribution:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1207193/7/index.htm

Hardly an obscure magazine so I'm sure some of you have read it. I just got around to it this weekend.

And I apologize to Jerry, Clarence and Marls if they don't already know the story.

Clarence said...

I didn't know the story, but thanks, Mark. Sort of.

TR said...

Thoroughly enjoying today's discourse from my beachfront condo on Sanibel Island. Vacation > work.

My 5 y/o had to drop a duece badly when we were in the ocean at 6 PM, 10 minutes from a john. I told home to drop shorts and let it go. He then proceeded to drop a Three Musketeers bar. It was enormous. I was impressed. And a little bit embarrassed. But mostly impressed. A log dropper is emerging in the family.

TR said...

9:23 start time is brutal.

Rumor from somebody allegedly in the know is that Pitino has hair plugs.

Mr KQ said...

Ollie lighting it up for Mich.

Mark said...

Sanibel Island, eh? I love that place. Haven't been in about 10 years but I remember being ridiculously relaxing and laid back.

Oh yeah...Spike!!!

TR said...

You are right, Mark. White sand, calm seas, shells, pool, lots of grouper and cocktails. And kid camp.

rob said...

something's wrong with my scorecenter app. it says spike albrecht has 17 first half points.

zman said...

It's 10:36 and the second half didn't start yet. I'm too old for this.

TR said...

If Michigan wins, he will make the sex a lot with women in Ann Arbor. Quite a start.

rob said...

i'm watching basketball!

and that story, mark. damn.

TR said...

Zman - maybe one day you will have a shorter commute and a late game won't matter so much.

zman said...

Maybe.

zman said...

Draper did all these Benz ads from Hawaii. True story.

rob said...

so the officials got the 'let them play' memo, then?

TR said...

Amazing that Chuck Liddell can still monetize his dented legacy. Dude's career collapsed at the moment he became a minor celebrity.

rob said...

serch just tweeted that 3rd bass is reuniting for the 25th anniversary of the cactus album.

Clarence said...

For whom are the Gheorghies pulling in this game?

rob said...

beilein

rob said...

my wife, though, has fallen for the kevin ware story and is pulling for the wrong side. but at least she's into hoops.

zman said...

Louisville. Michigan fans are insufferable.

Wu-Tang is reuniting for the 20th anniversary of Enter the Wu-Tang.

zman said...

Trey Burke really has the waves goin' tonight.

Shlara said...

This game kinda makes up for all of the boring blow-outs the last few weeks.

And I don't have a preference on who wins--I can find reasons to like either team. I'm just getting REALLY nervous for both of them--the loser of this game will be HEART-BROKEN.

Clarence said...

Looked at the schedule to see who's coming to the Portsmouth amphitheater, the bet venue in the area.

Sat June 15:
LL Cool J
Public Enemy
Ice Cube
De La Soul

Had no idea any of these cats were still on the road.

zman said...

LL just released a song with brad Paisley titled "accidental racist." Apparently it's bad.

I might have to make a road trip mould be my last shot to see PE live.

zman said...

Mould = could

rob said...

bob mould is worth a road trip

zman said...

I thank god for sending me the F train.

Clarence said...

Z, same show hits NYC on 6/20.

Shlara said...

y'all, I feel bad for those Michigan kids and Coach B. Such a great game, too bad someone had to lose. They should have played best of 7 or best of 5.

rootsminer said...

Damn good game, even on my pitiful lil tv.

And TR, were Pitino's plugs supposed to be a shocking revelation?

Shlara said...

so the MVP of the Final Four is the guy from Mason. Can we count that as a CAA win?

Mr KQ said...

Hope Siva and his Dad are ready for a call from Lennay Kekua.