Eric Estrada Gets Tasered

Can you beat this? I think not.

Eric Estrada, in his failed attempt at a "comeback" in this new show on CBS called Armed and Famous earlier this year which lasted all of five episodes (Estrada only in 2 of them), decided to get tasered in episode one. Listen to his description of what after effects he noticed.

What I want to know is where is Larry Wilcox?

New Homerun Record Holder!

Barry Bonds has done it. He is the new homerun champion....

.....and no one cares.

Of any record in sports, this is at the top of the list. Networks should have broken into programming to air each at bat leading up to it. Bonds should have been on every national morning show talking about the long trek leading to the record. How he was thinking of his dad every step of the way. He should be bombarded with questions with what it feels like to have hit more homeruns than any baseball player in major league baseball's illustrious history. A parade in his honor should be in the works at the end of the season. Kids should be playing ball in their backyards mimicking his swing imagining that they were the ones who were circling the bases on Wednesday night in San Diego at Petco Park at 11:51 E.S.T.

Instead, a cloud of suspicion hovers over this and many of his offensive feats like a perpetual fog.

Let me first begin here: Before I sat down to write this entry, I made a point not to incorporate the words "steroids" or "performance enhancing drugs" at any time aside from this sentence mentioning that I wouldn't do it. So to keep with the promise I made five minutes ago, the "s word" remains off limits.

I don't need to use those words to describe the feeling that I along with other baseball fans are experiencing right now. Whether your a baseball purist or a baseball progressive (whatever you call the opposite of purist), its real tough to get on board with this event that should have "feel good" written all over it. This should make Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's chase back in '98 seem like a typical day. Instead, the word "suspicion" is the adjective that encapsulates this achievement. That speaks volumes.

Trust me, I want to embrace this. I really do. I'm the first one to say that the players are not the only ones at fault in this era of "larger" than life players. Team Management, front offices, the players' union, the media and major league baseball from the commissioner on down are equally guilty of looking the other way. Everyone was making tons of money (in the billions according to some estimates), the game was flourishing after the '94 strike, Ripken just broke the consecutive games record and attendance was up. Hell, baseball couldn't have been better back then.

Here we are around ten years later. The homerun record was just broken and its just an afterthought in the media. What a travesty.

I am here to strip away the emotion of it all. Let's look at the history of all 756 homeruns in a vacuum without speculation.

3 Inside the park homers

10 game ending homers

11 grand slams

36 ballparks homered in

71 multi-homer games

157 homers hit at home in San Francisco

375 homers at home, 380 homers away

447 pitchers homered against

Scatter diagram of Bonds' 2006 homers:

Didn't that feel better?

More Nathan bday pics from my sister

Birthday Pics

...A few weeks late but here nonetheless.

Dead or Alive?

Don't ask me why this happened at work but the subject of washed up television actors and actresses came up. Guess whose name came up? Yep. Charlotte Rae--you know Mrs. Garrett from The Facts of Life. Never mind that she hasn't been on TV in more than 20 years, we all thought she was dead. Is she still alive?

We checked the site http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com/ and sure enough, she's still vertical. She's only 81...thought she was more like 93. Maybe she's hanging out with Conrad Bain.

In Memoriam

John E. Sabol
July 1, 1987

- Its hard to believe its been 20 years since his passing -

Picture with Ann
Circa 1985

My Summer Wishlist

Since child number two is on the way late this fall, time will become more of a scarce commodity than it is now with a two year old flying around the house with a washable marker in one hand and a pretzel in the other.

Back in early 2005 prior to my son's birth, I made a wish list of things I wanted to do before I became a parent. You know, basic activities like reading 10 books or install an attic ladder or wire the upstairs bedrooms with cable. I actually did all of those. Scary thought isn't it?

This summer, my list is not as outrageous as my first one back in '05 but as with most of my projects, the list is a tall order considering my lack of disposable hours in the day. Here we go:

1. Finish installing the basketball hoop in the driveway.

Even my wife wants this done yesterday. Its been an ongoing event since early May. The quikrete is in the garage. I think this is going to suck.

2. Reinforce the poles on the deck.

Sounds like an engineer is needed here. Nope. Just time to cut a bunch of 4X4 wedges and screw them into the deck. Where is Bob Vila? Does he still have that Saturday morning show?

3. Transfer all of the video I took of my son over the last two years onto my hard drive, edit it and make a DVD.

Um. If my past history of procrastination is any indication, this won't come anywhere close to happening. Okay, maybe dumping the video on the computer is a more realistic goal as long as my two year old doesn't sneak into the computer room and hit the reset button on the computer tower.

4. Finish reading three books. A baseball statistic book, a book on the origins of the Vietnam War by the late David Halberstam and a book on the origins of language.

...Sounds like a evening full of fun, I know. Don't laugh. This is more time consuming than it seems on the surface for three reasons. One, I'm not the fastest reader. Two, these books aren't considered "quick reads". Three, now that I am working a early morning shift, I might have 15 minutes before bed to hammer out a few pages. At this rate, these books will collect more dust in the den than on my nightstand.

5. Watch these movies.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Transformers
The Bourne Ultimatum
Oceans 13
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Live Free or Die Hard
Evan Almighty
Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Shrek the Third

A few of these came out a few years ago. I realize that. Anyway, look for a synopsis as I finish each of these.


On a semi-unrelated note, the first still photo of the new Indiana Jones movie is out. It tells us absolutely nothing.

Baby News

We are having a GIRL!

Pictures to prove this coming later...

Rosie, Go Away!

Does it get more annoying than this?

Rosie O'Donnell is finding yet more ways to get her mug in the headlines even though she basically has no job. Frankly, I don't know what is worse. The fact that Rosie is so ridiculously annoying or that networks deem it necessary to report on her selfrightrous verbal tirades. Evidentally REAL news that is worth reporting isn't as "sexy" as Rosie opening her huge piehole. Excuse that oxymoron.

There isn't much worse than people who need attention or like to hear themselves talk ALL OF THE TIME. We all know individuals like this. Rosie is one of those people. She just can't seem to keep her piehole shut. Her days on The View are long gone and now, reports are surfacing that she would love the opportunity to host The Price Is Right. What tops it all is Bob Barker actually endorses her! What the hell is going on here?

Look, she has her opinions about the war in Iraq, guns, movies, television, food & whatever. That's fine. I could care less about her political viewpoints. This isn't about her opinions, its about her flapping her gums, period.

Rosie, here's a piece of advice. If you want to run your mouth, do it in the privacy of your own home. If you decide not to heed my recommendation, remember this Rosie when you speak:

No one cares.

Father's Day

Father's Day is still a bit awkward for me because I still think of Father's Day as a day where we all chipped in as kids and bought my dad a few ties, a cigar and took him either out for breakfast or tried to make it ourselves. I still remember when he tried to choke down our "version" of pancakes which consisted of too much of every ingredient listed on the box with a few renegade cheerios thrown in for good measure. Those days are coming for me soon enough.

Now that its early afternoon on this special Sunday, truth be told, the aura of Father's Day is just now sinking in. I'm not one for wanting people to give me special treatment even if it is a day for fathers but its easy to just give into the spirit of the day and relish in the fact that I AM A FATHER and not everyone has this luxury that so many of us take for granted myself included. Just a few minutes ago, my son called me from the other room:

"Da, da?"

It was right at that moment that I realized I am not only a father but there is a bond there that is strong and getting increasingly stronger each and every day. The more I think about it, Father's Day is a time where I see myself exploring those times where the silence of an expression or an embrace speaks a library full. And afterward, I'll take several steps back and you can bet I'll be awestruck by the complex connection that my child (soon to be children) have created together.