Blogzilla

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

DATELINE: APRIL 2008
The comedy would never cease with Hillary Clinton in the White House, and Barack Obama (Osama Obama, as Ted Kennedy likes to call him when giving speeches while in a drunken stupor) is downright scary. They are both progressive socialists looking to usher in a new new-deal. Imagine how fast either one would flush America down the toilet. We'd be living in the mighty U.S.S.A. Thankfully we've got John McCain. Oh wait, he'll do the same thing? Shoot! At least we had 8 good years under George Bush. Oh wait, he's done the same thing? Shoot! I'll give you that he was right on Iraq and tax cuts, but the way Iraq was 'secured' was sketchy at best and the Gov't will always find new ways to get our money.
But hey, the Baseball season is underway, and that is something to get excited about. The Yankees have returned virtually the same lineup. A little more expensive, but much healthier. They've got a new skipper, who guided the team to yet another opening day victory. Plus, there isn't any talk of Roger Clemens or anyone else coming to save the day. Joe Girardi is going to get the fire in the belly stirred up in his team and they are going to go with what brought them to the dance, win or lose. Here's to another ring to close out the final season in Yankee Stadium, and another ring in 2009 to cap off the first year in the House that Jeter built, with a little help from some guy named Mariano Rivera, and the King of Kings Alex Rodriguez!
GO YANKEES!

Tuesday, April 4, 2006

THE WEST COAST MASSACRE
So, the baseball season is underway. Die-hard Yankee fans surely stayed up late to watch last night's opener in Oakland. Some fans, like myself, probably stayed up as long as they could keep their eyes open; long enough to know all was good in Yankee land. At least for the first night, the season was going as it should. Those who just couldn't stayp awoke this morning to learn of the massacre that was. I can hear the chants everywhere as Yankee fans proclaim their new favorite player. Barry Zito!, Barry Zito!, Barry Zito! It started out will for Zito with some nasty looking stuff, but then it all fell apart. His shortest game ever was capped off in the second inning by an A-Rod grand Slam. Zito was tagged for 7 runs. For the A's, predicted by many to make the playoffs, it only got worse from there. Hideki Matsui homered on opening night for the 2nd straight year, and the Yankees got 8 more runs. 15-2 was the final in this blowout. After being tormented last season by the perennial basement teams of Tampa Bay and Kansas City, perhaps the Bronx Bombers have found their new favorite team to beat on.
Before I sign off, allow me to injerject a quick dose of reality. If the whole season could be just like last night, all would be right. However, Randy Johnson can't pitch every night. It remains to be seen what the rest of the starting rotation will be able to do. I do think they will do better than many are predicting. I think the Yankees were correct in not trying another experiment with high priced starters; opting instead to beef up the bull pen. When all is said and done I believe, as I always do, that they will be contending for the championship. It's time for Moose, Giambi, Matsui, A-Rod, Randy and all the guys brought in to continue the Yankees domination to finally get their World Series rings.
GO YANKEES!

Tuesday, Mar. 14, 2006

MARCH MADNESS & THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
So, as the WBC progresses we have learned that the U.S. should have put away the arrogance and gotten more focused for their second game. They managed to score 6 runs, but allowe Canada to score 8. They needed a young, easily dominated South Africa team to advance to the second round. I'm not jumping on the "Americans are lazy" bandwagon; those who think that the U.S. players see this as a warmup to the regular season. The game against Japan is evidence that they are in it to win. If they bow out early, many will say, "see, other teams were in it to win, but the U.S. didn't care". If they make it to the finals and even win some will say, "see, they were supposed to beat the rest of the world and did", others will say, "see, it was rigged to give them the chance to win it all". See the aforementioned game against Japan. Is it possible that the teams, with a couple exceptions, are populated by the best players in the world who play a full major league season in the United States? Could the playing field be fairly even? Perish the thought. Did the Yankees lose to the Angels in the first round of the playoffs, and did the White Sox defy everyone and kick tail all the way to the title? That can't even be relevant to this discussion.

On to the big dance. Did anyone see the NEC conference championship game between Monmouth and Fairleigh Dickinson? If ever there was a reason not to foul the other team to prevent a 3 point attempt to tie, that was it! In just a few seconds the whole thing blew up in the face of FDU and their dreams crumbled. Maybe the once heard nickname of "Fairleigh Ridiculous" is appropriate here.
GO DUKE!

Sunday, Dec. 4, 2005

WHAT A PRESENT!!!
So, My Yankees didn't go all the way. At least Boston bowed out first. I won't dump all the blame on A-Rod. There's plenty to go elsewhere. It was a mistake to pitch Randy Johnson in game 3, and there were plenty of guys who had blunders in the field or dismal plate appearances prior to A-Rod's final trip to plate.

On to better things. It's almost Christmas, and what could be better than the gift of the Duke Virginia Tech game? Oh my that was awesome. Championship atmosphere; and it's only December 4th!
V Tech got the gift of a rare defensive lapse by Duke at the end, and they were poised enough to capitalize and get a tip in to take the lead. But, it just wasn't meant to be. The officials checked the video and set the game clock at 1.6 seconds. Enough time for a miracle. No Laettner or Hill to save them this time. It was Sean Dockery's turn to be a hero and legend. He corralled the baseball pass, dribbled once, and launched a three from inside the half court line. First, a bounce on the rim that appeared to give V Tech the game, and then the crushing drop through the net. The Cameron Crazies stormed the court. Perhaps they will remain #1, but with a question mark. Or, perhaps they should be #1 with a bullet because, like a Duke team of recent memory, they found a way to do the miraculous. Go Duke!

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005

AWWWWW-YEEEAAAHHH!
Are you buckled in for the wild ride? It's coming down to the wire and the Yankees are only a half game out of first place. They could get that half game back later in the week on Boston's day off. Tonight could be the night they take over first place! As I write this, Boston is trying to make a statement by putting a whooping on Tampa Bay. However, the Yankees are in the Bronx and opening up a can themselves on Baltimore. And how about those Indians? They could be 1 1/2 game out after tonight. It's very possible now that the White Sox could be bumped to the wild card race and the AL East loser could be sitting out this postseason. Go Yanks!!!

Friday, July 15, 2005

BUCKLE UP BOYS AND GIRLS!
The Yankees and Red Sox are at each other for four games! The Yankees were horrible the first month. Everyone was saying "don't write them off, don't write them off". Then they got hot and everyone was saying, "see I told you so". They won 10 in a row, and then proceeded to go on a long streak where they just couldn't quite figure it out. They were over 500, under 500, back over. Up and down they went. As they began to get things figured out and get hot again, many people were beginning to say, "write them off, they don't have a chance". It's amazing to me that people are still saying that, yet they climbed to within 2.5 games of first place before the All-star break. After winning the first game against Boston, they are just 1.5 games out, and only a couple games away from the wild card lead! Although, as I write this, they have given up 8 runs against the Sox. That's not a sign that they are no longer hot and going into a slump. It's a sign of one thing. They have an immediate need for starting pitching. Two guys they were counting on for this series are not available. So, they are looking at possibly a split. I guarantee this: Jeter and the boys will take over first place very soon, and it's going to be a barn burner down the stretch! I LIVE FOR THIS!

Sunday, May 22, 2005

SHUT THE BORDERS...and the PA Turnpike!
Anybody watch the latest season of 24 on Fox? If you don't think there are terror cells like the Araz family, or leaders like Habib Marwan living in this country or trying to get here, you're living in dream land. They can get in easy enough across our porous borders. This is one area where George Bush has dropped the ball. If liberals hate Bush, and just want control of the Whitehouse, why don;t they go after him on this? They are stuck on this one. If they go after him, then would appear to be supporting closed borders, something a large portion of their voting base is against. They would also be accusing Bush of dropping the ball in one aspect of the war on terror, which they also do not support.

So, what about the PA turnpike? For every person that hands you a ticket or collects your money, it takes approximately 8 to 10 people crossing the full length of the turnpike in one day to pay their salary and benefits for a full shift. This is simplified, but if you multiply the number of people using it everyday times the increased fares the turnpike now collects, and factor the number of trucks that pay an even higher rate, that's a lof ot money. Where is it all going? Ever notice how crappy many stretches of road are? Why aren't there 3 lanes all the way across or separate lanes for trucks? Nothing against big rigs, but in NJ they have a highway that is closed to trucks, is often 3 or 4 lanes wide and is generally in pristine condition. What a nice, smooth ride. Fix the Turnpike or give us our money back!

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

Just one more quick rant on the debacle that is mass transit in Pennsylvania. Gov. Spendell has propsed to divert millions of Federal dollars for the highways to the mass transit systems in Philly and Pittsburgh to keep them running as is for awhile and avoid a fare increase. He is urging the legislature to continue working on a long term package to keep mass transit going, and yes, avoid a fare hike. Of course, taxpayers who don't use the system will be footing the bill. Why is it that people who use mass transit are the only ones entitled to a cheap ride. Why did commuters who use the PA turnpkike have to absorb an almost double increase in tolls? Why do those that drive to work have to absorb an increase in the state gas tax? Don't we have the right to a cheap ride? "Tax and Spend, 14 cents Eddie" is taxing PA into oblivion. I will always disagree with those who think the answer is to redistribute wealth to the less fortunate, while benefiting from votes if they keep the money flowing. The answer is to throw off the shackles of abusive taxation and help the less fortunate better themselves for the long term and quit being dependent on Gov't and everyone else.

And, what's up with the new EMS tax? Why do we need a new tax to pay for something that existing taxes should have already been paying for? Why is it that a hard look at the budget and cost cutting is never an option? What is going to happen when mass amounts of people put their homes up for sale and make plans to bless a better state with their presence? What will happen when mass amounts of people are crossing state lines to get cheaper fuel? Pennsylvania is headed for economic disaster.

Sunday, February 20, 2005

Politics is an agonizing subject, and one to be avoided as much as possible. But, I must rant about two hot topics in the state of PA that make my head explode.

First is a proposed law to make all gas stations full service. I like going to NJ where the gas is cheaper and someone pumps it for you, but I also like the convenience and speed of do it yourself. The complaint of the lawmaker behind the bill is that gas prices are too high. That is a ruse! The bill doesn't address any aspects of the problem: state taxes and price gouging to name a few. Instead it proposes to take the high prices we are already paying and force gas companies to divert some of the profits to create jobs pumping gas, washing windshields, and checking fluids. What it really would do is give gas companies an excuse to raise prices even higher! 'Nuff said.

Second is the failing mass transit systems in big cities. Theyt don't turn a profit and are asking the state Gov't to bail them out. Current proposals would just pile the burden on the backs of taxpayers who don't use the systems. I don't want to pay higher taxes to bail out a system I don't use, so people that do use it can continue to get a cheap bus ride. The systems can be profitable! They can raise fares, sell advertising on buses, consolidate or cancel failing routes, and ask companies that employ bus riders to kick in to help cover the cost. And they can learn to operate like all private companies. TURN A PROFIT AND BE SELF SUPPORTING OR GO OUT OF BUSINESS.

Bottom Line: Leave me and my money alone, or the State's economy is going to go down the crapper!