I have not formulated an opinion on the whole Global Warming controversy. I'm not convinced that "it's the real thing (Al Gore)" and I'm not convinced that it's the next "killer bee's are coming (remember in the '70's?)." However, this is one of the best letters to the editor that I have seen in a long time. From today's Star Tribune:
Global Warming - Flawed Science
It's a bit puzzling that Tuesday's fire-and-brimstone editorial ("Global warming: It's here, it will get worse"), replete with detailed predictions for the expected effects from global warming years and decades from now, is based to a great extent on the same science and technology that we have seen to be at times incapable of accurately predicting local conditions just hours into the future.
MYRON PAPIZ, ST. LOUIS PARK
Good night,
Jeff
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The Playoffs!
One of my favorite sporting events is the NHL playoffs. Playing a team in a best of seven series builds bitterness, hatred, rage and all of those other healthy emotions. It also builds rivalries. Some of my fondest memories of youth were of watching the North Stars play the hated Chicago Goonhawks year after year in the post season. There was nothing like watching Bobby Smith, Neal Broten and the boys taken on Al Secord, Dennis Savard and Company. Win or lose, you knew it was going to be a war. I lost touch with the NHL for a few years after the North Stars left Minnesota for the hockey hotbed of Texas (Norm still sucks!). I never really missed the NHL until that time each spring when the playoffs were slated to begin. Then, hockey depression set in. Minnesota eventually was awarded the Wild, and one of my first thoughts was "I can hardly wait until they are in the playoffs!"
Well, as it does with most expansions teams, it took a couple of years for the Wild to qualify for postseason play. I caught playoff fever once again, however, in 2003 when the Minnesota Wild surprised the NHL by upsetting Colorado and Vancouver. They eventually bowed out against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks of Los Angeles, or whatever they happened to be called back then. It was a nice run.
Now, it just so happens that the #7 seed Wild have drawn the #2 seed Anaheim Ducks (no longer Mighty?) again for the first round of the playoffs this year. It's not exactly North Stars - Blackhawks, but it should be an interesting series. This will mark the 4th playoff series out of 4 in Wild history in which they play a team from the Pacific time zone. This means that away games start at 9:30 Central, which is nearly this 40-year old's bedtime. I'll be watching until the end, however, meaning all games are virtually guaranteed to go into double overtime. This also means zombie time at work the next day. I much prefer "happy zombie" after a win rather than "enraged zombie" after a triple overtime 2 AM loss. THE CHECK likes "happy zombie" too.
Well, as it does with most expansions teams, it took a couple of years for the Wild to qualify for postseason play. I caught playoff fever once again, however, in 2003 when the Minnesota Wild surprised the NHL by upsetting Colorado and Vancouver. They eventually bowed out against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks of Los Angeles, or whatever they happened to be called back then. It was a nice run.
Now, it just so happens that the #7 seed Wild have drawn the #2 seed Anaheim Ducks (no longer Mighty?) again for the first round of the playoffs this year. It's not exactly North Stars - Blackhawks, but it should be an interesting series. This will mark the 4th playoff series out of 4 in Wild history in which they play a team from the Pacific time zone. This means that away games start at 9:30 Central, which is nearly this 40-year old's bedtime. I'll be watching until the end, however, meaning all games are virtually guaranteed to go into double overtime. This also means zombie time at work the next day. I much prefer "happy zombie" after a win rather than "enraged zombie" after a triple overtime 2 AM loss. THE CHECK likes "happy zombie" too.
Anyway, there will be no predictions from me. I already tried that with Gophers hockey and the Twins and failed miserably. (Gilby - how about you? You seen to have "the touch.") I believe the Wild-Ducks series will be physical and low-scoring, meaning overtime games are a real possibility. As always, the series will probably be determined by goaltending and "lucky bounces."
Go Wild - and bring on the coffee!
Jeff
Monday, April 9, 2007
The (Really) Big Guy Pitches tonight!
It all starts tonight! The Twins debut of Sidney Ponson vs. the Hated Yankees!
Tune in later for an updated linescore. Here's my prediction:
5 1/3 IP, 9 hits, 5 ER, 5 K's, 6 BB, 1 HB. And....a WIN, baby!
UPDATE (7:49pm): Well, how did Sidney do? Here are the actual totals:
5 2/3 IP, 10 hits, 8 ER, 2 K's, 3 BB, 0 HB. And......the Twins are losing 8 - 1. Forget about that win I predicted. I thought the Twins would score a little more against The Evil Empire's rookie pitcher. I don't feel too bad about this one, however, folks. One or two more of these starts, and the Twins will call up Garza, Perkins or Slowey - one of their pitchers a little more deserving to be on the squad than Ponson.
Go Twins!
Jeff
Saturday, April 7, 2007
The Yarn Harlot
If you are reading this post, there is a 95% chance that you did not know that there are knitting celebrities. The other 5% of you realize this, and probably got to this blog through a link on my wife's blog, The Kilted Cafe (see Links to Love). My wife, you see, happens to work for The Yarnery on Grand Avenue in St. Paul and is quite the knitter. She has knitted some pretty sweet felted slippers for the entire family, which I happen to be wearing right now as I type this. (I am wearing slippers in April, by the way, because the temperatures outside are more like mid-January. As Joe Soucheray would say, "more proof of global warming.") Anyway, my wife has been working hard to bring a knitting celebrity to St. Paul. She hit the jackpot by signing up Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, THE YARN HARLOT, in for an appearance. Pearl-McPhee is the Mick Jagger of knitting (and a successful author), you see, so she's quite a catch.
My wife worked quite hard, with the other members of The Yarnery, to plan the event. She served as Event Coordinator. There was a lot of fretting and gnashing of teeth during the preparations. Creating and maintaining the sign up list (400 strong!) and the waiting list were a lot of laughs for my wife. Apparently, some people were a little bummed when the list of 400 was full, and their hopes to "just show up" were dashed. (By the way, The Police are playing a concert at the Xcel Energy Center on July 3rd. I plan on "just showing up" for this. Do you think there will be a problem getting in? If there is, I am going to be pissed.) Anyway, the Big Day came on April 4th, and the event went off without a hitch. THE YARN HARLOT showed up, everyone got a seat due to some cancellations, Oh Canada was sung by the crowd, and autographs were signed. All of my wife's hard work paid off.
The event was so big, in fact, that THE YARN HARLOT appeared on Kare 11 and Cities 97. The Star Tribune sent in a reporter to cover the whole thing and get some quotes. And who was interviewed? My wife! Here is her quote from the story:
The Yarnery, a Grand Avenue mainstay for 22 (which is incorrect, by the way) years, has knitting classes every night and had to place 60 yarners on a waiting list for Pearl-McPhee's appearance. The store's event coordinator, Maura Thompson, said a surge of interest in knitting began "four or five years ago, not long after 9/11, although we're not sure how much of a factor that was." The day of the gathering, the store was packed from midday on.
"A lot of people made this a knitters' day off," said Thompson. "For us, it's like if George Clooney was going to be on 'Prairie Home Companion.'
Clooney? What does he have to do with knitting? Now, my wife is the one in the family with the smarts and good memory. But every time we see a movie with George Clooney she gets this glazed, euphoric look on her face and I have to explain the whole plot to her once the flick is over. It seems, you see, that she doesn't seem to pay as much attention to the details of the plot when Clooney is involved. Oh well. You know, I'll probably be interviewed on the day that the new Twins ballpark opens, and I've already got my quote down. It will sound something like this:
Star Tribune, April 12th, 2010:
The crowd didn't seem to mind the temperatures in the low 50's for the first outdoor Twins game in Minnesota since 1981. Jeff Thompson of St. Paul had this to say from the standing room section in left field: "This new ballpark is outstanding, and I'm glad it finally was built. The whole process nearly killed me back in 2007, you know. The only thing that would make this day better is if Halle Berry was sitting right next to me."
And there you go. Halle Berry. You heard the quote here first, three years before it will occur. Actually, all joking aside, I am quite proud of my wife for her efforts in planning THE YARN HARLOT event and had no doubts that it would go off without a hitch. She is definitely "the brains" of the family, and I think she has a future in Marketing or Events Coordination if she so chooses. Super job Maura!
Peace,
Jeff
My wife worked quite hard, with the other members of The Yarnery, to plan the event. She served as Event Coordinator. There was a lot of fretting and gnashing of teeth during the preparations. Creating and maintaining the sign up list (400 strong!) and the waiting list were a lot of laughs for my wife. Apparently, some people were a little bummed when the list of 400 was full, and their hopes to "just show up" were dashed. (By the way, The Police are playing a concert at the Xcel Energy Center on July 3rd. I plan on "just showing up" for this. Do you think there will be a problem getting in? If there is, I am going to be pissed.) Anyway, the Big Day came on April 4th, and the event went off without a hitch. THE YARN HARLOT showed up, everyone got a seat due to some cancellations, Oh Canada was sung by the crowd, and autographs were signed. All of my wife's hard work paid off.
The event was so big, in fact, that THE YARN HARLOT appeared on Kare 11 and Cities 97. The Star Tribune sent in a reporter to cover the whole thing and get some quotes. And who was interviewed? My wife! Here is her quote from the story:
The Yarnery, a Grand Avenue mainstay for 22 (which is incorrect, by the way) years, has knitting classes every night and had to place 60 yarners on a waiting list for Pearl-McPhee's appearance. The store's event coordinator, Maura Thompson, said a surge of interest in knitting began "four or five years ago, not long after 9/11, although we're not sure how much of a factor that was." The day of the gathering, the store was packed from midday on.
"A lot of people made this a knitters' day off," said Thompson. "For us, it's like if George Clooney was going to be on 'Prairie Home Companion.'
Clooney? What does he have to do with knitting? Now, my wife is the one in the family with the smarts and good memory. But every time we see a movie with George Clooney she gets this glazed, euphoric look on her face and I have to explain the whole plot to her once the flick is over. It seems, you see, that she doesn't seem to pay as much attention to the details of the plot when Clooney is involved. Oh well. You know, I'll probably be interviewed on the day that the new Twins ballpark opens, and I've already got my quote down. It will sound something like this:
Star Tribune, April 12th, 2010:
The crowd didn't seem to mind the temperatures in the low 50's for the first outdoor Twins game in Minnesota since 1981. Jeff Thompson of St. Paul had this to say from the standing room section in left field: "This new ballpark is outstanding, and I'm glad it finally was built. The whole process nearly killed me back in 2007, you know. The only thing that would make this day better is if Halle Berry was sitting right next to me."
And there you go. Halle Berry. You heard the quote here first, three years before it will occur. Actually, all joking aside, I am quite proud of my wife for her efforts in planning THE YARN HARLOT event and had no doubts that it would go off without a hitch. She is definitely "the brains" of the family, and I think she has a future in Marketing or Events Coordination if she so chooses. Super job Maura!
Peace,
Jeff
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
No Green Eggs & Ham. Egg Beaters and Tofu Burgers Maybe
As I have written in the past, I believe we live in an increasingly humorless society in which there exists a growing portion of the population that is just itching to be offended. Offended by almost anything, it seems, just to have a chance to bitch and moan and "be heard."
Now, 2007 happens to be the 50th anniversary of the Dr. Seuss classic "The Cat In The Hat." I came across an excellent editorial by writer Peter Mandel in the Star Tribune today explaining why this particular book never could be written in the year 2007. As we all know, if "The Cat In the Hat" would have been written this year, somebody out there would have been offended. And I'm not even going to bring up "Green Eggs and Ham."
It's a quick read, pretty funny, and 100% true. Please take a look and let me know (as always) what you think.
http://www.startribune.com/562/story/1098548.html
Peace.
Jeff
Now, 2007 happens to be the 50th anniversary of the Dr. Seuss classic "The Cat In The Hat." I came across an excellent editorial by writer Peter Mandel in the Star Tribune today explaining why this particular book never could be written in the year 2007. As we all know, if "The Cat In the Hat" would have been written this year, somebody out there would have been offended. And I'm not even going to bring up "Green Eggs and Ham."
It's a quick read, pretty funny, and 100% true. Please take a look and let me know (as always) what you think.
http://www.startribune.com/562/story/1098548.html
Peace.
Jeff
Monday, April 2, 2007
2007 Prediction - Wild Card
By the way, here is my prediction for the AL Central this year:
Detroit: 98-64
Minnesota: 91-71 (Wild Card)
Cleveland: 88-74
Chicago: 86-76
Kansas City: 74-88
Detroit has too much starting pitching for the Twins and the rest of the AL Central this year. All in all, the AL Central has become one of the best divisions in baseball. It'll be a great race.
The rest of MLB? I have no idea, because I haven't paid that much attention. Let me know what you think. Jase - Brewers??
Jeff
Detroit: 98-64
Minnesota: 91-71 (Wild Card)
Cleveland: 88-74
Chicago: 86-76
Kansas City: 74-88
Detroit has too much starting pitching for the Twins and the rest of the AL Central this year. All in all, the AL Central has become one of the best divisions in baseball. It'll be a great race.
The rest of MLB? I have no idea, because I haven't paid that much attention. Let me know what you think. Jase - Brewers??
Jeff
Sunday, April 1, 2007
So Long To The Voice of Summer
On the eve of Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season (a blessed day in my world), it was announced that long-time Minnesota Twins radio broadcaster Herb Carneal passed away of congestive heart-failure at age 83. There was actually an article this very morning stating that Herb wanted to broadcast the Twins opener against Baltimore on Monday, but he wasn't feeling up to the task. His plans, however, were to get back in the broadcast booth as soon as he felt up to it. That is why his death took so many by surprise. Mr. Carneal had been broadcasting Twins games since 1962, only their second year in existence.
Baseball is the only sport that I enjoy listening to on the radio as much as attending or watching on TV. A baseball game on the radio "in the background" is part of Americana. I remember growing up playing tennis ball baseball (TBBB) in the Trinity Lutheran parking lot with Jase, Jon, Al, Jim, Pedo, Cub, etc., listening to Twins games on the radio "in the background" whenever possible. Eau Claire is 80 miles from the Twin Cities, so we often had to listen to WCCO through static. I remember listening to Carneal while playing ball one day in 1984, and he was talking about a new rookie on the Twins by the name of "Kirby Puckett." Kirby Puckett sounded like a tall white guy to me. Turns out I was wrong about that. I also vividly remember Carneal's call on Willie McGee's ground ball to Gary Gaetti and throw to Kent Hrbek to seal the 1987 World Series. I have many, many fond memories of growing up in Eau Claire, driving around in shitty cars like The Batmobile, Radical Red Ramblin' Road Rat, and The French Ride of Luxury (LeBaron), all tuned in to the crackle of 'CCO listening to Carneal broadcast the Twins. Then, I moved to The Cities and WCCO and Carneal came in loud and clear. It was a little strange at first.
Herb Carneal was a consummate professional, and a calming voice for the Twins fans in the Upper Midwest. Perfect for the grand old game of baseball. Today, on WCCO, I listened as many former players, fans and co-workers explained how Carneal was not only a great baseball announcer, but a wonderful man with almost no ego. I never knew him personally, but he certainly kept me entertained over the past few decades and increased my knowledge of baseball. He certainly had an impact on my life. Hopefully, in that Big Baseball Field in the Sky, there's a game being played right now that needs an announcer. I can just hear Bob Casey announcing Kirby Puckett coming to bat, and Herb Carneal's call: "...And there's a long fly ball to center field....."
R.I.P Herb Carneal.
Jeff
Baseball is the only sport that I enjoy listening to on the radio as much as attending or watching on TV. A baseball game on the radio "in the background" is part of Americana. I remember growing up playing tennis ball baseball (TBBB) in the Trinity Lutheran parking lot with Jase, Jon, Al, Jim, Pedo, Cub, etc., listening to Twins games on the radio "in the background" whenever possible. Eau Claire is 80 miles from the Twin Cities, so we often had to listen to WCCO through static. I remember listening to Carneal while playing ball one day in 1984, and he was talking about a new rookie on the Twins by the name of "Kirby Puckett." Kirby Puckett sounded like a tall white guy to me. Turns out I was wrong about that. I also vividly remember Carneal's call on Willie McGee's ground ball to Gary Gaetti and throw to Kent Hrbek to seal the 1987 World Series. I have many, many fond memories of growing up in Eau Claire, driving around in shitty cars like The Batmobile, Radical Red Ramblin' Road Rat, and The French Ride of Luxury (LeBaron), all tuned in to the crackle of 'CCO listening to Carneal broadcast the Twins. Then, I moved to The Cities and WCCO and Carneal came in loud and clear. It was a little strange at first.
Herb Carneal was a consummate professional, and a calming voice for the Twins fans in the Upper Midwest. Perfect for the grand old game of baseball. Today, on WCCO, I listened as many former players, fans and co-workers explained how Carneal was not only a great baseball announcer, but a wonderful man with almost no ego. I never knew him personally, but he certainly kept me entertained over the past few decades and increased my knowledge of baseball. He certainly had an impact on my life. Hopefully, in that Big Baseball Field in the Sky, there's a game being played right now that needs an announcer. I can just hear Bob Casey announcing Kirby Puckett coming to bat, and Herb Carneal's call: "...And there's a long fly ball to center field....."
R.I.P Herb Carneal.
Jeff
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