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After watching Star Wars - Episode II - Attack of the Clones with my gang on Thursday, Emily and I set out on a quest to watch the whole Star Wars saga this weekend.
Friday, we watched Episode IV - A New Hope after dinner.
Saturday, we watched Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back after returning from the Ren Faire.
Sunday, before visiting Em's grandpa, we watched Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.
Today, we watched Episode I - The Phantom Menance and Episode II (again).
That's a lot of Star Wars, but it was also a lot of fun.
Due to some New York media tabloidery (if that's not a word, it is now), there's been some discussion recently about what would happen if a male pro athlete came out as being gay.
I, for one, think that the player who eventually does so - and it eventually must happen - will be in a class with Jackie Robinson.
What do you think?
Good News of the Day: Shawn Green, my favorite baseball player, had one of the best games in the history of baseball today.
Shawn went 6 for 6, with a single, double, 4 homeruns, 7 RBI, 6 runs scored, and 19 total bases as the Dodgers destroyed the Brewers.
Shawn broke a 48 year old record for total bases in a game, tied a modern major league record with 6 runs scored, and tied the major league record for home runs in a game, being the 14th player in history to hit four in a game.
Talk about breaking out of a slump!!
Bad News of the Day: Due to condo association regulations, my parents were forced this week to give up the dog they got only this weekend. According to regulations, it turns out you can't have a dog bigger than 30 lbs. Their dog would have grown to 80 to 90 pounds. They returned the dog to the breeder they got him from.
Damn Irvine. Damn.
Tonight, the Angels won and the Seattle Mariners lost to bring the Angels within 2.5 games of first in the AL West. Exciting!!
Even better was that the M's were shut out on just four hits and a walk by a pitcher I had acquired for my DC Dragons Strato team earlier in the day, Joe Kennedy.
Shawn Green hit two home runs today to bring his season total to five. Boy, I sure hope that means he's gettin' his groove back.
In other news, no goin' to the Angels game tonight for me. No interest in the crowd. Ah well, another day...
Another Monday, another softball game. We lost 10-4 (I believe) and I went 0-2. While I obviously didn't help with my bat, that I only got 2 AB shows what the whole offense was doing.
Next week is a bye for the holiday.
In other news, some of us miiiiiiiight go to the Angels-Royals game tomorrow.
My parents bought a dog this weekend! It's cute. His name is Harry O (and no, I don't know the story behind the name yet).
Last night, I went to my first ever game at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers lost 3-1. The distressing part, however, was that Shawn Green did not play. From espn.com:
One day after saying he wouldn't sit slumping right fielder Shawn Green, Dodgers manager Jim Tracy did just that. Green, who set a franchise record with 49 homers last season, has only three this season -- and none in his last 89 at-bats. He is fighting an 0-for-18 slump and has gone five straight games without hitting the ball out of the infield.
I had amazing seats in the RF Pavalion. I had a great view of all the action, especially Vladimer Guerrero and... ugh... Marquis Grissom.
One nifty thing about the seats was that Em and I were right next to and overlooking the Expos bullpen. We were right parallel with the bullpen plates, and I can't begin to describe how fast those relievers were throwing. You don't get nearly the impression when elsewhere in the stands or on TV, but seeing those fastballs, I was amazed anyone ever makes contact.
Classic stadium, great seats, good experience.... but I still can't believe I missed Shawn. That sucked. It's only the third game he's missed in his time with the Dodgers. He missed one game last year for Yom Kippur, one about a week ago after being hit in his left hand by a pitch, and last night due to a slump.
Damn. DAMN.
Emily's plane lands in under an hour. Woo hoo!!
Tonight was the first official game of Adam's work softball team, so it's time for another Gary Softball Update.
The team: We lost 23-8. Ow.
Me: I went 1 for 1, with a walk, sac fly, and RBI. My league stats are now .750 avg, .667 obp, 1.000 slg, and 1.667 ops. I played left field and did a pretty good job. Ryan's gonna start callin' me "Chuckles," however, for a fly ball I juggled before making the catch.
BTW - Now I understand how OBP can be lower than your avg... Sac flies don't figure into your average, but do drag down your OBP. Very odd...
This is very odd. The ESPN 2 Monday night baseball game (Arizona at Pittsburgh) is currenty in rain delay. So, to fill the space, they've got the Cubs-Cards game on.
The wierd thing is, it's getting piped in from the Cardinals local cable affiliate... Fox Sports Net. So, on the top of the screen is the FSN graphics, and on the bottom of the screen is the ESPN Bottom Line, or scrolling scores and such.
Bizarre...
VS 
???
I've mentioned the Sacramento River Cats on this site a few times recently, as I'm a huge baseball fan that will soon be moving to Sac. The River Cats are the Oakland A's AAA team.
Well, I just ran across a team they should play, but is unfortunately only the Tampa Bay Devil Rays A team:
The Charleston Riverdogs.
Amusingly, the websites are www.rivercats.com and www.riverdogs.com.
Silly...
Wow. WOW.
Of all the Angels games to miss. Tonight, they beat the Chicago White Sox by a wopping 19-0.
Yup.
19.
To zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
The Angels are on a tear!!
Go Angels!!
God damn the LA Lakers.
Due to their playoff game, the Angels scheduled broadcast, the first in a week and a half, and even listed on their schedule magnet and on espn.com's game listing, was pre-empted. I'd been looking forward to watching the Angels all day.
Here's the kicker: The Lakers local broadcast is screwing the Angels while TNT is showing the Lakers nationally. So let me get this straight - a second way to watch the Lakers is more important than the Angels? Greeeeeeeat.... if hearing Chick Hearn is THAT important, turn to TNT, mute it, and turn on Chick's radio cast.
God damn the LA Lakers.
Oh no!! From espn.com:
RF Shawn Green missed the May 9 game because of swelling and soreness in his left hand, the Los Angeles Daily News reported on May 10. Green was hit in the hand by Tom Glavine on May 7. X-rays taken on his hand were negative. Green returned to the starting lineup on May 10.
Damn!! I just noticed his hand was all bandaged watching the game against the Marlins. No Iron Man again...
This is just sad:
Pete Rose Jr. released by Reds AA club.
Rose Jr. is 32. He has no business being in baseball as a player at this stage. Can't he just give up? How long is he going to ride his name?
Just got back this evening from the Angels game, where they beat the Tigers 7-6. It was an awesome game, and the first time in four games this season I've gone to Edision and seen the Angels win.
Further, the Angels are now in sole position of second place in the AL West and have a winning (17-16) record. Sweet!
One downside: The Angels drew only 15,003 fans this game. When I went the Sacramento River Cats game Saturday (admittedly, it was a fireworks night), they drew 14,329. The Angels barely outdrew a AAA club... geez. Come on, Orange County! Support your Angels!!
Final post of the night... really.
I played my first softball game for Adam's work team tonight. It was a qualifying game, meaning we get placed in a certain difficulty league based on our performance. Well, we lost 10-6, so we probably will be in the lower league.
I'm pretty happy with my performance, however. 2 for 3, with a double and an RBI. Good start to the season!! In my last league, I only had 3 RBI and 2 doubles all season.
This is cool, in an "I'm a baseball geek" sort of way.
Rob Neyer, of ESPN.com, has the Pythagorean Standings on his page. I won't bother explaining the details, but the idea of the Pythagorean Record is that you go by runs scored and allowed to figure the games a team ought to have won. According to this formula, the Anaheim Angels would be second in the AL West, 3 Games Back of the Seattle Mariners.
Cool!!
Well, last night I returned from a wonderful weekend in Sacramento, visiting my girlfriend Emily. On Saturday, we took a walk around the Sac State campus, where I found the offices of my MPPA program, went by the bookstore, and generally just poked around.
Then, in the evening we went to a Sacramento River Cats game. We got to see the Cats win 5-0 over the New Orleans Zephyrs, followed by a nifty free fireworks show.
Sunday, we saw the blockbuster movie Spider-Man. I quite enjoyed the movie. It was a great adaption of the comic book, and the visual effects were "Amazing."
I've told most anyone who knows me and reads this web page, but here's some big news:
I've been accepted and will be attending the Masters in Public Policy and Administration Program at California State University, Sacramento.
I'm very excited about this opportunity. As I've mentioned, there are three chief reasons this is a Good Thing (tm). In no particular order:
1 - I get to move in with my girlfriend Emily, who has been in Sac since last June working as a genetic counselor.
2 - I get to really start in my field of choice, as this program prepares students for a career in government and public service.
3 - I get to quit my current job. Most of you know how I feel about my current job.
So, while this Southern California man will be headed up north in a few months, it'll be the beginning of some really wonderful things for me.
I'm very excited.