About That Spam Filter

Dear Yahoo!:

I think that your spam filter software is broken and in need of repair. I say this because an awful lot of spam has been coming through and into my regular mail today, and it's bugging me.

It's bugging me because I don't need Viagra. I already know my credit score, and I've been keeping track of it on my own for years. I like all of those lotteries that I'm supposedly winning, but I gave up on actually collecting for the UK and the Dutch lotteries years ago. And if you're going to let the job offers through, would you please make sure that they're legit job offers.

Thanks.

So Roy, Just What Is The Problem, Exactly?

Now maybe it's just me -- and it probably is -- but when I read that Roy Oswalt left his start last Friday do a problem with his hamstring, which he said that wasn't serious, but which the team instead sent him to Houston to be checked out, I start to get a little suspicious. Then when I read that today he received an injection in his back to deal with a bulging disc he's been having problems with, with no mention of how this affects his hamstring, I start to see even more red flags.

He's supposedly okay and will make his next spring start on Wednesday. And he's still supposedly set to make his start on Opening Day next week Monday against San Francisco's Tim Lincecum. Which is good because, without Oswalt, the bad Astros rotation becomes an awful Astros rotation.

Still, what I'm curious about is, if he's having problem with his hamstring, then why is he receiving a shot for his back.

Like I said, it's probably just me.

Dear Mack Rhoades: Just Say No

I'm hoping to expand on this in the mothership next week, but until then...

The Chron is reporting that the two primary candidates to take over for Tom Penders as the head coach of the University of Houston men's basketball program are Billy Gillispie and Tim Floyd. Each man has some issues associated with him -- Gillispie clashed with Kentucky alumni and boosters and has had some problems with alcohol consumption. Floyd's had some issues with the NCAA. But both men have won with every school they've coached -- each has taken three different teams to the NCAA Tournament. And each has a connection with UTEP, where UH Athletic Director Mack Rhoades was an assistant AD -- Rhoades was one of the people responsible for hiring Gillispie at UTEP.

I'm not here to talk about Gillispie. I'm here to talk about Floyd. And Mack, if you're reading. Just say no to Tim Floyd.

Floyd's an attractive candidate for the job. If he would consider it. He's coached in the NBA. He was an assistant to Don Haskins at UTEP. He's been a head coach at the University of Idaho, the University of New Orleans, Iowa State, and USC. He took New Orleans, Iowa State, and USC to the NCAA Tournament. But there's trouble attached to Floyd. The type of trouble you don't want associated with a program trying to rebuild.

The NCAA's been investigating Floyd for his actions in recruiting O.J. Mayo -- he supposedly, and improperly, gave money to a booster who was an advisor to Mayo. In trying to dodge punishment from the NCAA, USC has vacated its 21 wins from the 2007-08 season, and it declared itself ineligible for postseason play this season. Rumors are swirling that Floyd is going to be cleared of wrongdoing by the NCAA, but you just know the NCAA spotlight will follow Floyd, and being under the NCAA spotlight is not something an athletic program should aspire to achieve.

Then there's my big problem. I can't see how Floyd has really built any programs. He has won where ever he has gone, but since then, all of the schools have just sort of faded away. It just doesn't seem worth it to hire a coach who will while he's here, but is known for bolting for other jobs, then having your program fade away, again, to nothingness. A nothingness which would probably be spotlighted even more because of the NCAA hanging around and flipping under every rock.

So Mack, just say no to Tim Floyd.

Dear Richard Justice: Go F*** Yourself

So I just read the latest "masterpiece" from Richard Justice. This one on just how awful and mediocre Tom Penders was as coach of the Houston Cougars. And he repeats some of the same crap I've been reading over the season. Juco players. Lack of local talent. No signature wins. Sorry attendance. Blah. Blah. Blah.

Some of what he writes is accurate, but...

Where the fuck has this asshole been all season?

I've seen him around the University of Houston basketball program just once -- yesterday, when Penders announced his resignation. He didn't attend any of the home games. I mean, I was at all of the home games, and I sure as hell didn't see the prick. In fact, I rarely ever see this asshole up at the University of Houston. I saw him exactly once during the media luncheons for football season -- the week after the Cougars beat Oklahoma State and were preparing to play Texas Tech. (In fairness, right after that, I landed a temp job and didn't attend anymore of the luncheons, but the only actual football game he could condescend to attend was the Texas Tech game).

You don't have to be present to comment on a team -- I don't have access to the Astros, after all. But the only time this asshole ever speaks about school is to mock it. Sure, Houston's not the mighty University of Texas (we don't have the budget to pay for players, for instance.) But seriously, if you have total access to a program, and Dick Justice does have total access to every sport in Houston, then perhaps the prick should bother to show himself every now and then before throwing his ignorant opinions about.

Or if not that, maybe he should just get back to kissing Drayton McLane's ass full-time.

Just Some Updates On Nothingness

So I thought I kind of owed all of you a blog post. So this is it...

Okay, I've actually got nothing to say. I'm sitting in Hooters, watching ESPN and the girls in the tight orange shorts, and I'm taking advantage of the free wifi. I just wrote a story for the mothership that will post tomorrow -- Aeros fans might, or might not, like it. Same for the players. I'm doing a little research at the moment on the teams playing in the NCAA South Regional on Friday and Sunday because, well, I'm credentialed to be covering the tournament, and I want to discuss something besides Baylor's turnaround story, Duke's inability to win big games, and how St. Mary's feels as a huge underdog.

No luck, yet, on the job front. I've got my updated resumes out to my recruiters, but I've yet to hear from any of them about anything. I've yet to hear anything from them, except for responses about them being on vacation. So I'm doing little things. I'm cleaning my apartment, setting up lunches with friends, and trying to drum up some business -- if you live in Texas, and you need a simple will and power of attorney and living wills done, then send me note and we'll work out a deal.

I've spent most of the past two days, however, dealing with things at the University of Houston as head basketball coach Tom Penders was fired resigned yesterday, just days after the team lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. You can read my stories here, here, and here -- please, read.

Otherwise, there's not much else going on in my life. I owe the IRS a lot of money, and I desperately make some money quick so that I'm not homeless and/or bankrupt by May. But I'm doing everything I can to get work. I'm networking. I'm getting the resumes out. I'm trying to pull in favors. Meanwhile, I'll just keep on trying to find someway to stay busy.

So later. I'm going to see if I can track down Sandra Bullock's contact info. I think she could use a nice guy like me in her life.

Dead End Street

Well, I'm an unemployed loser, yet again. So I thought a song would be appropriate. I've been big on The Beatles lately. And I've been listening non-stop to side two of Abbey Road because it's impossible to be in a sad mood when listening to side two of Abbey Road, but I there's a song from The Kinks which I think really fits the mood.

So here's The Kinks and "Dead End Street."



And no, I don't know if this means I'm going to start blogging more. I really need to catch up on some sleep at the moment.

Some Random Sunday Observations.

Time for a little Sunday blogging...

My friend David asked me today why it is that I haven't been blogging more. Of course, he asks me this as I'm taking him on a one-day walking tour of Amsterdam. I haven't blogged the past couple of days because I've been traveling. Then I've been working. And I've been writing for the mothership. It's hard to find the time.

I'm in Amsterdam for the weekend. I go home Monday morning. Maybe I shouldn't have made this trip. That's ulitmately for others to decided. I'm having to miss two days on the temp job, after all. But the temp job was supposed to be over in February, and I made these plans in January. When you're working temp jobs, it's kind of hard to make travel plans because you never know for sure when the job will end, or when a new one will begin. So you can't wait for off time. You have to guess and take chances. I did, and I was burned.

Then again, I was/am going nuts on the temp job. The asses who sit behind me refuse to use their inside voices, so they just spend the entire day talking at the top of their lungs about utter nonsense. The sports expert of that group was even getting his sports facts wrong. And I spent much of last week working 15 hour days. And the week before that, I did 12 hour days along with handling the college baseball games at Minute Maid Park. So my mind is shot. I needed a break, no matter how quick.

Did it work? We'll find out starting Tuesday. If I still have a job then.

*************
Here's another plea for some airline kindness, my fellow passengers. Please don't use the seat in front of you as your leverage to get into and out of your seat. As hard as it may be to believe, there is usually someone in that seat, and that someone doesn't like having his seat turned into a rocking chair everytime you get up to go to the restroom, talk to your wife in another row, or just rummage through your luggage in the overhead bin.

Also, people, it's disgusting as it is that you walk around an airplane in your bare feet. Do you have any idea of what it is you're exposing yourself to? But aside from that, please don't stick your feet on the onrest of the seat in front of you, or on the top of the seat in front of you. Some of us don't want to be subjected to your damn feet. In fact, bare feet, or not, keep your damn feet off of the seat in front of you.

*************
How about my Houston Cougars. One of the reasons I chose this weekend was that -- not only did I think the temp job would be over -- but that I thought the UH basketball season would be over. I covered the games for the mothership, and the team had been disappointing, and I just didn't think there was anyway they would advance to the NCAA Tournament. So of course I go out of town and they go on a roll. Luckily, I brought my computer, and thanks to the gigantic internet fee the hotel is hitting me with, I was able to write a story for the mothership on the team.

Speaking of the internet fee, thank you flying spaghetti monster for the internet because, it's through the magic of the internet, that I was able to listen to you Saturday's UH/UTEP C-USA championship game. That's right, I'm such a loser that I was in my hotel room in Amsterdam Saturday evening listening to Tom Franklin's radio call of the game.

And speaking of Tom Franklin, make sure you read my UH tournament posts in the mothership because, even though I'm not traveling with the team, Franklin is sending me notes about each game. So of course, I'm including those Tom Franklin observations in my story. That's inside info you might not get anywhere else.

*************
So while I'm showing my friend around Amsterdam, we get to discussing music which leads to The Beatles which leads to the unanimous conclusion that Abbey Road is the greatest Beatles' album ever. I have decided that I will not listen to anyone who disagrees with that basic fact.

*************
And for those of you wondering, my one-day walking tour of Amsterdam, starting at the central train station, is a walk up Damrak, then a cut through the shopping streets until we reach the Museum District. He wanted to see the Van Gogh Museum, so we went there. From there, we went to the Heineken Experience, then we walked back through the shopping district, had lunch over by the Amerian Book Center, then walked over to the Red Light District, and from there went to Anne Frank's House, then back to the train station.

I like Amsterdam, but I come here over other places because it's relatively cheap compared to some other places in Europe. I wish, however, that there were nonstop flights from Houston to Copenhagen, because that's one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived, and I would really like to visit more. Then again, I might be completely broke in a couple of weeks, so it won't matter.

And I'm done, for now. I've got to pack because I've got an early flight home.

25 Random Thoughts From The Houston College Classic

I've been out at Minute Maid Park covering the 10th edition of the Houston College Classic for the mothership this weekend. Six college baseball teams playing nine games, each playing three games in three days. This year's teams are the Houston Cougars, the Rice Owls, Texas Longhorns, TCU Horned Frogs, Missouri Tigers, and Texas Tech Red Raiders. The baseball, for the most part, has been good.

Since it's been about a week since I've blogged anything, I thought I would throw out one of my random observation things. This time, 25 Random Things observed at the Houston College Classic.

1. The weather was great, especially Saturday which saw a bright blue sky and a temp in the mid-60s for most of the two afternoon games. But the press box is under an overhang, and in shadow, so there was no sun on us. And damn, it got cold. Especially during the Saturday night game between Rice and Texas Tech.

2. There's nothing better than being at a game and hearing Spoon's "The Underdog" suddenly blast over the speakers. "The Underdog" is one of those perfect songs that one never tires of hearing. I just never expected to hear it at a baseball game.

3. That damn Taylor Swift "Romeo and Juliet" over whatever it's called song just gets more damn annoying every time I hear it. And I've heard it a lot at the park this weekend.

4. Is it really necessary to play the National Anthem before every single game. There's about an hour between games. Do people really forget what country they're in in that short of a time span?

5. There's nothing stranger than standing on the MMP field, next to the visiting team dugout, waiting for Rice to emerge from a the clubhouse and a severe tongue lashing about bad base running. This is after Rice just won a game. But just about every light in the park was turned off as we waited, and they were watering down the dirt and dragging the field.

6. I forget how much I miss hearing PA guy Bob Ford's voice during games. He's got a great voice that is just meant for doing PA.

7. Why is it, that no matter what game I attend, the Texas fans are the most obnoxious.

8. There's no cheering in the press box. Yet there were some Rice fans who were able to get in who thought that rule didn't apply to them, and they insisted on sitting next to me. Which bugged the hell out of me.

9. The Astros are still a month away from the season. That's got to be the reason that I actually saw some open green space on the outfield walls. I don't think it'll be that way come the Astros season, though.

10. There's nothing the media likes more than free food. Yet Uncle Drayton charges five dollars per meal. But somehow he still gets great press from the media. Is he paying them directly or something?

11. Even then, the press box ran out of food before the third game on Saturday night. Luckily, the concession stand prices are still as expensive as ever. A small personal pizza with just pepperoni was eight bucks.

12. At the games, Astros marketing has been running spots on the DiamondVision trying to get people to buy season tickets. I've seen spots focusing on Wandy Rodriguez, Jeff Fulchino, and Brian Moehler. I don't know, but if I wanted to get people excited about the season and purchasing tickets, I'd be doing spots on Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence.

13. UT's Connor Rowe played the MMP center field like a veteran. He made plays on Tal's Hill and against the fence in L/CF. He played it as well as I've seen Jim Edmonds and Michael Bourn play it.

14. For some reason, they played The Who's "Who Are You?" when a home run was hit. I've got my score card. I know who hit the home run.

15. I love baseball.

16. But there's just something wrong about hearing a "ping" when an aluminum bat makes contact.

17. I was able to get more than two sentences out of Cougars manager Rayner Noble when I asked him a question after Saturday's 1-0 win over Texas. Yes, that is quite an accomplishment.

18. I'm amazed at the number of Longhorn fans wearing Roger Clemens jerseys. It's almost like they worship the guy.

19. And I wondered through the merchandise store. It's nice to see that Drayton is still pimping Bagwell and Biggio merchandise more than his current players. How about putting a few Pence or Bourn jerseys/T-shirts down there Drayton.

20. This year the Astros are celebrating the 45th anniversary of the team being named the Astros. If they spent as much time signing draft picks as they did coming up with ways to find an anniversary to market, the minor league system might be better.

21. Did I mention how annoying Longhorn fans are?

22. Pitching this weekend, for the most part, was good. I'm not going to see that when the Astros get started.

23. The base running, for the most part, was awful. I probably will see lots of that this season.

24. The quote of the weekend, for why the colleges like playing in this series comes from UT coach Augie Garrido, the winningest coach in college baseball history:

"I feel like, first of all, it’s such a thrill for the players to be able to play in this stadium and on this field. They’ve been on this field a thousand times, but it’s been in the stands, and on a television set. Their dreams are to play major league baseball, and that’s a big thing for them to be able to play here."

25. Damn, I love baseball.

I'm Going The Distance

Thanks to Chuck, I hear Cake's "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" every week -- that's the song they play as part of the opening credit sequence. But listening to my iPod on shuffle today, I stumbled across a Cake song I haven't heard in ages, and it's their first hit, "The Distance."

So enjoy.