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Brown family will lead the way at Whangamata Triathlon
Press Release – Triathlon New Zealand
www.triathlon.org.nz or www.triseries.co.nz
Once again Whangamata on the Coromandel Peninsula will see in the New Year with the running of an iconic triathlon event when the Contact Tri Series comes to the popular holiday town on January 3rd.
The long running and popular triathlon has been a part of the national Contact Tri Series now for 5 years, brining some of the country's best to town alongside the beginners, age groupers and kids enjoying a taste of a triathlon, many for the first time.
Event Director Kate Blood says the atmosphere at Whangamata is always a little different to others around the country.
"There is a relaxed feel about this event, due in no small part to the time of the year but also because of the venue. To swim, bike and run in one of New Zealand's most popular holiday spots is something special. The support from the crowds of holidaymakers is special and we often have many first timers or beginners giving the sport a go with mountain bikes, rugby shorts and singlet's often the order of the day instead of the lycra and racing bikes."
That is not to say the elites won't be in town, they too enjoy a holiday and many spend time on the Coromandel over the New Year and enjoy racing at Whangamata, either as individuals or in teams.
Ironman legend Cameron Brown is a former winner and long been a supporter of the event and will take part again, this time racing alongside son Josh in the Contact 3:9:3 while other son Braeden takes part in a team in the Sprint distance race.
"I love the race and venue, it's a true kiwi holiday spot and when the sun is out it's an incredible spot. The course is a tough one with the surf in the swim, some good hills on the bike and a soft sand run to end it all.
"Josh wanted to do the 3:9:3 but wanted Dad to do it with him so it was an easy choice and I'll swim with him, bike and hopefully be there at the end for a sprint finish! Braeden will do the sprint distance race in a team doing the bike leg with his cousin and mate."
Does this suggest a passing of the baton is happening anytime soon in the Brown family?
"I'm not giving up my day job just yet! Hopefully I can share all my secrets with them and give them some of my knowledge I've learned after twenty five years in the sport.
"I have the Port of Tauranga Half on January 5th then the Auckland 70.3 on January 20th and then Ironman New Zealand on March 3rd so I will be busy through summer training and racing but I love it, I couldn't imagine going through summer not training for these events."
If the Brown family is an inspiration in any way or perhaps the stunning surroundings, the Contact Tri Series offers race distances for all who wish to shake off the effects of Christmas and the New Year, with the 3:9:3 (300m swim, 9km bike, 3km run) a popular choice for those with a New Year resolution to live up to, or at least begin aiming up at!
Entries are still being taken online at www.triseries.co.nz
Contact Tri Series
Thursday 3rd January
Registration 7:00am to 8:00am
Sprint Men 7:45am Women 7:48am
Trophy (standard) Men 8:30am, Women 8:33am Teams 8:35am
Contact 3:9:3 Men 10:45am, Women 10:47am, Teams 10:49am
Kids 1:2:1 registration Williamson Park 11.00am to 11.30am
Contact 1:2:1 Boys 12.00pm, Girls 12.10pm
Prize giving 12:45pm
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz
Original url


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A 1995 interview with Steve Jobs thought to be lost will be released in select theaters next week.
Magnolia Pictures produced, "Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview," for Apple fan boys and girls who can't get enough of the departed tech icon.
Journalist Robert Cringely interviewed the Apple co-founder in 1995 for a series he was working on called "The Triumph of the Nerds," which was a look at the history of the personal computer.
For years, the majority of the interview was believed to have been lost but it was found on a VHS tape in the director's garage.
Cringely appeared on NBC's Press Here shortly after the video was found. You can see that interview below.
Jobs was the CEO of NeXT computers at the time of the interview and in the movie he talks about his legacy and his philosophies on success.
After its theatrical release, Magnolia plans to sell the interview on DVD later this summer.

subset: commoncrawl


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I was disappointed to miss Richard Ford's appearance here last night. He signed my copy of Independence Day in June '96 at the old Davis-Kidd in Nashville, and we had a brief but engaging conversation about teaching and living. Oh well. Oh Canada.
So I did the next best thing, and hunted up his recent appearances on YouTube. There are a few. I'm impressed by Ford's seemingly effortless ability in Q-&-A sessions to call up just the right illustrative quotation.
I'm also impressed by Ford's commitment to always finding something, in even the bleakest of stories, to affirm and assent to.
Q. Would you say you are a positive writer who explores existential failures in your books?
I feel that's exactly what I am – an optimist, who believes with Sartre, that to write about the darker possible things is an act of optimism. But what I'm looking for is drama, which occurs when people are at a loss, and not succeeding. I try to find a vocabulary which makes those things expressible. In the process of making those expressible to a readership, it becomes an act of optimism, because it imagines a future in which these things will be understood, and be mediated in some way. Writing for me is always an act of optimism. I probably wouldn't do it otherwise, no matter how dark things are. CSM
He discourages young writers from setting out to make a career of it, unless they just can't help themselves. Every author he knows, successful or not, works "like a dog." (Strange expression: my dogs actually have it pretty easy.) But that's because they want to, are driven to, are unable to settle for any other vocation.
But, he wonders, if you've made that commitment why would you settle for less than the best in terms of your own output? Why would you be content merely to cobble competent sentences rather than try to craft something truly great and enduring?
It's obvious, as a review noted recently, that Ford takes extreme care in the production of each of his sentences. ("I estimate my success by how the words sing to me.") Sorry I didn't get to see him doing that live and in person last night. Next time.
Ford in the great white north… Road trip…Explain nothing in public… Ford on living… fiction's business


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While wandering the aisles at Michaels today I found a 4-pack of 3" square canvas, stretched onto tiny wood frames and already primed! They were $4.99 but with the 40% coupon it was a total steal. Btw if you don't have the apps for both Michaels and Hobby Lobby, stop everything you're doing and download them. Back to the DIY!
Foam brush
I printed my photos on a color laserjet, at 4" square. This will give you enough room to wrap your photos around the sides of the canvas. You could also paint the edges if you don't want to wrap them. Remember, if you're going to wrap the edges, be sure you center your images with that in mind.
They dry pretty quickly. I absolutely love them, and wish I had bought a few more packages of the canvas!
I will definitely be doing this project again!
I decided to hang mine with a ribbon (just staple the ribbon along the back and make a loop at the top. Easy peasy! :)


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RIO DE JANEIRO - On the last day of the United Nations Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, virtually every national government and dictatorship on Earth signed an agreement dubbed "The Future We Want." The "We," of course, did not include regular citizens — it was mostly a coalition UN functionaries, dictators, tax-funded environmentalist organizations, and Big Business bosses seeking to profit at taxpayer expense.
The final document agreed to on June 22 was a far cry from sweeping deals like the UN's "Agenda 21" reached at the original Earth Summit two decades ago — especially because not much concrete progress was made in advancing the global body's vision outlined in the months before the conference. But while the latest UN agreement does not officially create new, legally binding commitments on signatories, it does mandate an "intergovernmental process" under the UN to figure out the best way to extract the world's wealth for use in achieving ill-defined "sustainability" goals.
Most of the real action and progress actually happened on the sidelines as the UN amassed a stunning half a trillion dollars in commitments for the "sustainability" agenda from governments and Big Business — the largest value of pledges ever raised at an international environment summit. But the final document still offers some insight. Concerned analysts, for example, noted that the document reiterates support for numerous controversial principles including attacks on national sovereignty, private-property rights, and what remains of the free market.
One of the biggest developments to emerge from the Rio+20 agreement — barely noticed by the world press — is that poverty has now officially displaced environmentalism as the chief driver behind the UN agenda. Other key points included the adoption of a reference to "Mother Earth" in the text, as well as numerous calls for more money in UN coffers and more authority in global agencies.
Another crucial element of the text was the alleged need to "educate" the youth — critics called it proposed brainwashing — for the UN's vision of "sustainable development." If progress is made on capturing the minds of the youth for the global agenda, its proponents hope, the conference will have been a success for its organizers and supporters seeking to advance UN schemes.
Also important: world governments all reaffirmed that they would be "guided" by the principles of the UN while working for "good governance" at the international level, complete with strengthened and more expensive UN institutions. Indeed, the document was filled with references to shifting power and resources toward global entities.
Moving forward with the implementation of Agenda 21 and past treaties – including more than a few which openly represent serious threats to property rights, liberty, and national sovereignty – was emphasized as well. Meanwhile, increased government involvement in resource allocation appeared multiple times, including recognition that "fundamental changes in the way societies consume and produce are indispensable for achieving global sustainable development."
Finally, contraception and terminology widely understood to mean universal access to legal abortion were also incorporated into the document – especially because of an obsession among Rio+20 participants with reducing the human population. But according to critics, real environmental problems and real poverty will only get worse; at least if the UN agreement offers any sense of the future to come.
The New American reviewed the 50-page document and highlighted some key excerpts that patriots, liberty activists, and constitutionalist readers would probably find particularly alarming. Here is the list, along with a few comments where necessary to provide context:
• "We reaffirm that we continue to be guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and with full respect for international law and its principles."
• "We recognize that fundamental changes in the way societies consume and produce are indispensable for achieving global sustainable development."
• "We acknowledge that democracy, good governance and the rule of law, at the national and international levels, as well as an enabling environment are essential for sustainable development, including sustained and inclusive economic growth, social development, environmental protection and the eradication of poverty and hunger. We reaffirm that to achieve our sustainable development goals, we need institutions at all levels that are effective, transparent, accountable and democratic.
• "In this regard, we recognize the need for a global strategy on youth and employment building on the work of the International Labour Organization (ILO)."
• "We recognize the central role of the United Nations in advancing the sustainable development agenda. We acknowledge as well, in this regard, the contributions of other relevant international organizations, including international financial institutions (IFIs) and multilateral development banks and stress the importance of cooperation among them and with the United Nations, within their respective mandates, recognizing their role in mobilizing resources for sustainable development."
• "We acknowledge the vital importance of an inclusive, transparent, reformed and strengthened, and effective multilateral system in order to better address the urgent global challenges of sustainable development today, recognizing the universality and central role of the United Nations, and reaffirming our commitment to promote and strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the United Nations system."
• "We reaffirm the role and authority of the General Assembly on global matters of concern to the international community, as set out in the Charter."
• "We reaffirm the need to strengthen international environmental governance within the context of the institutional framework for sustainable development."
• "We recognize the importance of international, regional and national financial mechanisms including those accessible to sub-national and local authorities to implement sustainable development programs and call for their strengthening and implementation."
• "We are committed to strengthening the role of the United Nations Environment Programme as the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, that promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and that serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. ... In this regard, we invite the United Nations General Assembly, in its 67th Session, to adopt a Resolution strengthening and upgrading UNEP." The document then calls for "secure" and "increased financial resources" for the agency to, among other schemes, help countries create more bureaucracy.
• "We support the leadership role of the World Health Organization as the directing and coordinating authority on international health work."
• "We recognize that oceans, seas and coastal areas form an integrated and essential component of the Earth's ecosystem and are critical to sustaining it and that international law, as reflected in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), provides the legal framework for the conservation and the sustainable use of the oceans and their resources." The UNCLOS, of course, has never been ratified by the U.S. Senate as required by the Constitution. However, there is a big push underway to finally get it through
• "We recognize the importance of UNCLOS to advancing sustainable development and its near universal adoption by States, and in this regard we urge all its Parties to fully implement their obligations under the Convention."
• "We recognize that the United Nations Forum on Forests, with its universal membership and comprehensive mandate, plays a vital role in addressing forest-related issues in a holistic and integrated manner, and promoting international policy coordination and cooperation to achieve sustainable forest management."
Despite the general downplaying of global-warming hysteria following a stunning implosion of the alleged "science" behind it, some language on the subject still made it into the final text. The agreement claimed, for example, that "climate change" linked to human emissions of carbon dioxide was leading to "extreme weather," "sea level rise," and other supposed problems:
• "We underscore that the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response, with a view to accelerating the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions." The document also claimed, based on demonstrably false computer models, that reducing CO2 would somehow help keep the alleged temperature increase below 2C
• "We call on all countries to prioritize sustainable development in the allocation of resources in accordance with national priorities and needs, and we recognize the crucial importance of enhancing financial support from all sources for sustainable development for all countries, in particular developing countries."
• "We also emphasize that increasing the financial contributions to the United Nations development system is key to achieving the internationally agreed development goals.
• "We stress the need for adequate funding for the operational activities of the United Nations development system as well as the need to make funding more predictable, effective and efficient as part of wider efforts to mobilize new, additional and predictable resources to achieve the objectives that we have set forth in this Declaration."
• "We note that efforts to achieve sustainable development have been reflected in regional, national and sub-national policies and plans, and that governments have strengthened their commitment to sustainable development since the adoption of Agenda 21 through legislation and institutions, and the development and implementation of international, regional and sub-regional agreements and commitments."
• "We recognize that effective governance at local, sub-national, national, regional and global levels representing the voices and interests of all is critical for advancing sustainable development," it said calling for "strengthening" the various regimes
• "We recognize that an improved and more effective institutional framework for sustainable development at the international level should be consistent with Rio Principles, build on Agenda 21," it noted, promising to use the UN to "assist" countries in foisting the controversial schemes on their populations
• "We encourage the enhancement of the UN regional commissions and their sub-regional offices in their respective capacities to support Member States in implementing sustainable development.
• "We underscore the need to ensure long-term political commitment to sustainable development ... we encourage all countries to undertake the necessary actions and measures to achieve sustainable development."
• "Social protection systems that address and reduce inequality and social exclusion are essential for eradicating poverty," the agreement said, bizarrely implying that big-government programs would somehow be able to address problems like poverty largely resulting from big government and socialism
• "We recognize that partnerships among cities and communities play an important role in promoting sustainable development. In this regard, we stress the need to strengthen existing cooperation mechanisms or platforms, partnership arrangements and other implementation tools to advance the coordinated implementation of the UN Habitat Agenda with active involvement of all relevant UN entities and with the overall aim of achieving sustainable urban development. We further recognize the continuing need for adequate and predictable financial contributions to the UN Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation so as to ensure timely, effective and concrete global implementation of the Habitat Agenda."
- For readers who may not be aware, the UN Habitat I Conference Report states in its preamble that land "cannot be treated as an ordinary asset, controlled by individuals and subject to the pressures and inefficiencies of the market. Private land ownership is also a principal instrument of accumulation and concentration of wealth and therefore contributes to social injustice; if unchecked, it may become a major obstacle in the planning and implementation of development schemes. The provision of decent dwellings and healthy conditions for the people can only be achieved if land is used in the interests of society as a whole. Public control of land use is therefore indispensable...."
- Further on in the UN Habitat report, it claims: "Public ownership or effective control of land in the public interest is the single most important means of...achieving a more equitable distribution of the benefits of development whilst assuring that environmental impacts are considered. Land is a scarce resource whose management should be subject to public surveillance or control in the interest of the nation;... Governments must maintain full jurisdiction and exercise complete sovereignty over such land with a view to freely planning development of human settlements...; Public ownership of land … is justified in so far as it is exercised in favour of the common good."
• "We emphasize the need for the provision of universal access to reproductive health, including family planning and sexual health and the integration of reproductive health in national strategies and programs," the document states, using language widely known to refer to abortion, sterilization, and other controversial issues
• "We reaffirm our commitment to gender equality and to protect the rights of women, men and youth to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including access to sexual and reproductive health."
• "We recognize that the younger generations are the custodians of the future," it notes. "We therefore resolve to improve the capacity of our education systems to prepare people to pursue sustainable development, including through enhanced teacher training, the development of curricula around sustainability, the development of training programs that prepare students for careers in fields related to sustainability."
(For more information about Rio+20, click here.)
Related articles:
Communist UN Rio+20 Summit Boss Announces Global Deals, Press Applauds
Lord Monckton Blasts UN Global Agenda; Expresses Optimism
Critics of Sustainability Hysteria Slam UN's Anti-liberty Rio+20 Agenda
Exclusive: UN Bars Civil Society Groups' Final Speech at Rio+20
Before Rio+20, Ted Turner Says Ban Plastic, Use UN to Slash Population
Science Group: UN Rio+20 Summit Must Reduce Global Population
Media Hypes UN Fear-mongering Before Rio+20 Sustainability Summit
UN Report for Rio+20 Outlines Top-down "Green" World Order
UN Seeks New Powers to Remake World at Rio Sustainability Summit
UN Bosses Secretly Plot Global Govt Through "Green Economy" for Rio+20
Ambitious UN Sustainability Conference in Rio to Avoid Climate Talk
Alabama Adopts First Official State Ban on UN Agenda 21
Rockefellers Fund Global-warming Protests as Earth Cools
IPCC Researchers Admit Global Warming Fraud
Global-warming Alarmism Dying a Slow Death
Photo: Left to right, UN General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al Nasser, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's Secretary of the Conference Luis Figueiredo Machado, and Rio+20 Secretary-General Sha Zukang attend the closing ceremony of the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, June 22, 2012: AP Images


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When I was in college, my dorm was just down the street from a small, unassuming pizza joint. My friend recommended it to me, and on a whim, I decided to go late one night. It was a small, unassuming storefront that could only hold the first five people in line inside the front door. The line spilled out onto the street, thirty people strong. I shot my friend a skeptic look, suggesting we just go somewhere that didn't include such a stiff wait time. He insisted, and so we shivered in line and inched closer to the smells emanating from the kitchen.
On the inside, one sees a small refrigerator filled with soda, a Bud Light tap, and a mannequin leg that led up to a lampshade, dimly lighting the interior of the restaurant. Above this odd lamp was a mildly disturbing portrait of the Kennedy Brothers. Once I was able to tear my eyes away from the Kennedys' oddly large teeth, I finally saw the reason we had waited in line for so long.
At Artichoke on 14th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues, the pizza comes at $4 a slice. While this is a little steep, you will instantly see why you paid so much. Huge slices fill your to-go box (as there is no in-house dining), and when you step back out into the cold and take your first bite, you suddenly feel as if you don't need your winter jacket.
With choices between Artichoke (so cheesy its almost illegal), and my personal favorite Margharita (crunchy and zesty, exactly how this slice should taste), and Crab (a meat you don't see often on a pizza, but should definitely try), its really hard to go wrong.
These slices are so filling and satisfying that whenever I have guests in the city, this is undoubtedly the place I take them for dinner. If you are game to brave the cold and the line, you will be rewarded for the absolute best (or at least my particular favorite) pizza in New York City.
328 E 14th St.
New York, NY 10003


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We all look for some entertainment in our lives after getting bored of the hectic schedule. Therefore, people buy TVs, get Internet services and things that can provide them non-stop entertainment. However, you also need to focus on the decoration of these things to enjoy getting entertainment in the beautifully-embellished place. Try these diy entertainment center ideas. The wooden racks in the center of living room always look great. You simply need to make a large portion in the center for fixing the LED TV. This can enhance the beauty
Day: December 17, 2016
Distinctive Yet Superb Diy Headboard Ideas To Make A Bed More Appealing
These days, the headboards are higher in trend. Most of the beds are available with the fixed headboards. From the wooden headboards to the cushion style, the headboards are becoming necessary to be fixed with the beds. If you want to create a headboard by yourself, you need to rely on these diy headboard ideas. Don't throw the old wooden or bamboo sticks in the garbage. These are ideal to become your bed's beautiful headboard. You may have to hire a carpenter for fixing the stick properly with bed but
These Diy Decoration Ideas Using Wine Cork Are Enough To Leave You Jaw Dropped
What you mostly do with the wine corks? Definitely, they go to the trash bin as many of us consider such corks useless. But do you know how much useful are these? A little creativity and paying attention to their various uses can transform the corks by showing their best use. Take a look of the superlative diy decoration ideas using wine cork. Wall hanging wall decoration: You simply need to paste all the corks on the wooden plank or wooden board. Fix the nail by using hammer with each
Diy Mailbox Ideas With The Stunningly Unique Style
The mailboxes always grab attention of every visitor when they enters into the house. Therefore, it is necessary to create the appealing mailboxes with the proper security as well. It is quite simple to develop mailboxes at home. All you need to do is to be more innovative and imaginative. These diy mailbox ideas would give you goals to create variety of things at home with no hassle. Have a look at these ideas. You can use the used tin boxes to turn into the useful mailbox. It is quite
3 Secret Economical Ideas Of Diy Pet Beds
Many of the pet lovers want to leave no stone unturned to keep their little animal babies in proper comfort. Therefore, they buy expensive and comfortable houses for pets apart from feeding them well. Follow these superb ideas for creating amazing beds for pets at home. You'll definitely love to try your hands on these ideas. The old drawers mostly seem to be of no use. You can turn the old drawers in a creative way by transforming into the diy pet beds. Add some amazing stuff in it. Adorn
Enjoy Some More Convenience Through Diy Murphy Bed
Before saying anything else, you need to know what murphy beds are. The beds built for more convenience and adding further space to the rooms are said to be as the murphy beds. These beds are turned into the cupboard-like form when you fold it and close by fixing with the wall. The diy murphy bed is one of the best choices for the small apartments. Whenever you want to relax or sleep, you can open the door and drag it for opening the whole bed. Isn't it great? Unlike
Diy Wine Rack Designs With The Unique And Trendy Styles
The wine racks are considered as important part of furniture for those who consume it in large amount. These racks are considered as ideal not only for storing but also decorating the wine bottles. There are plenty of ways to develop the beautiful wine racks by yourself. You simply need to be a bit creative for it. Have a look at these unique diy wine rack designs to get some great ideas for decorating your home in a better way. The racks with horizontal shape look superbly outstanding. This is
Some Unbelievable 20-minute Diy Centerpieces For Everyone
If you're one of those who spend large sum of your income in buying decoration stuff, you are living in dark. Be more creative and innovative by making the beautiful centerpieces at home. This is so easier beyond your expectations. Have a look at some wonderful diy centerpieces you'll love to make without any hassle. Don't throw the old mason jars in the trash. You can reuse them in a perfect manner. Do you remember the pencil holders that we used to transform from these jars? You should try to
Amazingly Imaginative Diy Patio Furniture Decoration Tips
Decorating the furniture of patio has equal importance like embellishing the entire indoor area of the house. The patios require same attention that we give to the other spaces of homes. Therefore, you need to rely on some unique ideas for adorning the patios in the most eye-grabbing way. Here are some diy patio furniture decoration tips. First of all, try to avoid using furniture or décor items of light shades in the region with more humidity. People who live in places with hotter climate throughout the year should rely
Ideas Of Homemade Diy Calendar You'll Always Love To Try
Despite the use of high-tech gadgets, there are many people who still love to use traditional calendars to stay updated with the time. This is the actual and best way to be aware of the dates. There are variety of ways to create the diy calendar. You should definitely try these ways out for making the best calendars. Take a cardboard and paste the colored paper over it. You can also paint it or draw beautiful patterns as well. Cut the small pieces of different colorful papers. Paste these pieces


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Cold temps and a sudden weekend shower of snow flurried may have put a damper on the Brush softball squads' homecoming bout with top-ranked Strasburg, but the season must go on and for the Diggers, that means setting their sights on the upcoming 3A Regional softball tournament slated for Saturday, October 13.
After suffering two losses on the road last week, including a 17-3 loss in Eaton and being downed 20-11 at the home of Platte Valley, the Lady Diggers enter into the tourney with a 5-13 overall and 2-9 3A District Three record. Brush will enter the tournament, set to take place in Broomfield on the Holy Family High School field, at a ranking of 22 and will ignite action with a game versus the Holy Family host squad, who sits on a 15-3 record with a tourney rank of 3. 18-0 Burlington takes the No. 1 seed berth, 18-1 Rocky Ford comes in No. 2 and 15-4 Valley sits at No. 4.
The winner of the Brush vs. Holy Family game will move to take on the champion of Lamar (10) vs. Fort Lupton (15) for the title of regional champions. The format includes a single elimination array and the six regional champions that are named at tourney's end are guaranteed to receive a seed of No. 1- No. 6 for the state tournament.
Brush will take on Holy Family at 10:00 am that Saturday, with the following game three set for 2:30 pm.
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SAN DIEGO (AP) Wide receiver Eddie Royal, safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Donald Butler are among the inactives for the San Diego Chargers against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Also inactive are wide receiver Michael Spurlock, tight end Dante Rosario, defensive tackle Aubrayo Franklin and linebacker Jarret Johnson.
Demorrio Williams is expected to start for Butler, Cam Thomas for Aubrayo Franklin and rookie Melvin Ingram for Johnson.
Inactive for the Bengals are wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, cornerback Jason Allen, safety George Iloka, defensive tackles Devon Still and Brandon Thompson, wide receiver Armon Binns and tight end Richard Quinn.
Marvin Jones was expected to start for Sanu. In other lineup changes, Trevor Robinson was expected to start at center for Jeff Faine, Robert Geathers at left defensive end for Carlos Dunlap and Chris Crocker at strong safety for Nate Clements.


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A Paris court slapped designer John Galliano with a suspended fine of 6,000 Euro ($8,400) for making anti-Semitic insults.
The conviction comes on the first day of fashion week in New York City, nearly seven months after the former Christian Dior designer was arrested for making the racist remarks on the eve of fashion week in Paris. He is also ordered to pay a symbolic one Euro to one of the plaintiffs in the case, The Associated Press reports.
Galliano, who was not present at the conviction, was given no jail time and will not have to pay the fee-- it will just go on his criminal record. In France, conviction of insult based on one's origin or creed carries a maximum penalty of six months' jail time and a fine up to $32,000 (22,500 Euro).
The judge said the court found Galliano had "sufficient awareness of his act despite his addiction and his fragile state," according to The Associated Press. The court also took the fashion giant's apology into account and noted the "values of tolerance" in his work.
The fashion world was shocked when video of the British designer drunkenly lashing out at a couple in a Paris cafe on February 24. After a second accuser came forward about another incident of verbal abuse, LVMH (the parent company of both Dior and Galliano's own label) sacked their head designer, sighting "its policy of zero tolerance towards any anti-Semitic or racist words or behavior." A succesor has yet to be named.
Galliano's lawyers argued that the designer was "ill" and struggling with an addiction to alcohol, Valium, and sleeping pills, when he made the comments. He checked into rehab shortly after the incident and reportedly told the court: "I can see that this whole affair has caused a lot of upset and sadness. I apologize because that man you see up there is not John Galliano ... I cannot answer for that man because I don't know him."
As for Galliano's future in fashion, LVMH chief Bernard Arnault has made it clear that the designer will not be returning to LVMH. Galliano has not, however, been blacklisted from the world of fashion: He was featured quite prominently in Vogue's spread on Kate Moss's wedding (he designed her gown), which would seem a positive indicator for him to make a return in some capacity in the years to come.
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
Selected Reading: The New York Times, CNN, E! Online


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17-year-old shot, killed in Washington Park
A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed Monday afternoon in Milwaukee's Washington Park, according to the Milwaukee Police Department.
The victim, his girlfriend and his girlfriend's 3-year-old brother were enjoying a nice day in Washington Park when a gunman walked up and opened fire.
"It's like a bad dream that I just want to wake up from. It's like a nightmare. It's not even a dream," said Michelle Davis, the girlfriend's mother, said.
Davis' daughter witnessed the man she loved get shot at point-blank range. Daniel Gardner, 17, was like a son to Davis. He had been living with them for the past several months.
"He was just full of life. I don't know why anyone would want to take his life at such a young age," Davis said.
Police said Gardner was shot about 2:30 p.m. His girlfriend said a man neither one of them knew walked up and opened fire while her brother was in a stroller.
"He didn't do nothing to nobody. He was a role model for kids. I have younger kids that looked up to him," Davis said.
Police said the shooting "appears to be targeted, not random."
No one else was hurt.
Police said they do have evidence that will assist them in finding the shooter, who is not in custody.
"He was always happy. Him and my daughter was talking about getting married," Davis said. "I want whoever done this to be found, arrested and put underneath the jail."
"I am committed along with residents, community partners and neighbors to not let this tragedy deter us from the positive energy and many great things happening at the park and in the community," Milwaukee Common Council President Willie Hines said in a written statement.


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"Microgrid Modeling Using the Stochasting Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM)." 2012. LBNL-5937E..
"Modeling of Plug-in Electric Vehicles' Interactions with a Sustainable Community Grid in the Azores." 2012 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, August 12-17, 2012 2012. LBNL-81767..
"Multi-building microgrids for a distributed energy future in Portugal." International Conference on Applied Energy, ICAE 2012 2012. LBNL-81766..
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"Analysis of electric vehicle interconnection with commercial building microgrids." UCLA Smart Grid Thought Leadership Forum April 6, 2011. Los Angeles, CA: LBNL, 2011. LBNL-4559E..
"Application of the Software as a Service Model to the Control of Complex Building Systems." ECEEE Summer Study, June 6-11, 2011. Belambra Presqu'île de Giens, France: LBNL, 2011. LBNL-4860E..
"Applications of Optimal Building Energy System Selection and Operation." Microgen'II: Second International Conference of Microgeneration and Related Technologies, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, 4-6 Apr 2011. Glasgow, Scotland 4-6 Apr 2011: LBNL, 2011. LBNL-4764E..
"CERTS Microgrid Laboratory Test Bed." IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery 26.1 (2011). LBNL-3553E ..
Distributed Energy Resource Optimization Using a Software as Service (SaaS) Approach at the University of California, Davis Campus. Berkeley: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2011. LBNL-4285E..
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"The First Step for Implementing a Stochastic based Energy Management System at Campus Pinkafeld." E-nova International Congress, November 24-25, 2011. University of Applied Science Campus Pinkafeld, Pinkafeld, Austria, 2011..
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Category: Dailies
After four years at MLB.com, I'm hanging up my jersey and tipping my cybercap for the last time here on GotMilb, as I move on to greener fields … but wanted to bid a fond farewell to the few, the proud, the faithful readers I had and to thank you (all four of you) for the comments, compliments and questions along the way!
I've spent the last 25 years solely as a journalist, and now will be moving over to the "baseball" side of things, as Special Assistant for New Media and Player Development for Opening Day Partners, a company which designs, owns and operates Minor League ballparks and teams. I know if you check out some of the clubs I'll be working with there will be a lot of familiar names!
I am incredibly excited about this latest chapter of my baseball life and hope you will follow along with me (first blog entry there forthcoming shortly).
Thanks to everyone who has made my time here enjoyable and memorable.
Please keep in touch!!! I am still on Twitter at LisaWinstonBB!!!
Everyone has a holy grail or two. The item — or items — that elude them, tantalize them, tease them. Maybe it's something huge like a valuable antique baseball card, or an original seat from Yankee Stadium.
Maybe it's something innocuous but elusive, something from their childhood.
But whatever it is, you're always on the lookout for it, scanning eBay, keeping a peripheral eye on the shelves at your local supermarket or grocery store, finding yourself pulled into those "antique markets/4,678 dealers under one roof!" places you may drive by one day while on the road.
My "holy grail" list is reasonably small and eclectic (hey, just like me!).
But the latest addition to it is this:
That's right. I want an Operation Panda T-shirt (no, not the whole group of guys, just the shirt). I want to wear it in my home office (a fancy name for the crappy Staples desk and Dell laptop where I spend the bulk of my time) and remember how everyone in my 2009 online fantasy league laughed (sure it was online but I HEARD THEM LAUGH) when I chose Pablo Sandoval with my second overall pick in the draft.
I am not jumping on the Pablo Sandoval bandwagon, by the way. I've been following the big huggy bear's career since he was a 19-year-old infielder who appeared in the first Minor League All-Stars Futures Game I ever covered, in Pittsburgh in 2006. (Though this picture was from his 2008 Futures appearance in NYC). I kept following as he moved back behind the plate to his favorite position, catcher, and helped lead one of the best Minor League rotations to great heights in the California League in 2008, catching up with him briefly during the Carolina-California League All-Star Game in Myrtle Beach (below, with his San Jose pitcher Jesse English) before his ascent to the big leagues that September.
I admired his bubbly sense of humor and his pride in his brand new metal-mouth full of braces that he flashed in January 2009 at last year's Rookie Career Development Program. And when I heard he'd gotten a bad-bounce groundball in the mouth the following spring, the first thing I thought was "Oh no, his braces!!!!!!"
But the Panda T-shirt is not the only item on my holy grail list (though it is the only one that is baseball-related).
Last night I managed to hit the payload while heading home from dinner with relatives in New Jersey, as we swung into the parking lot of a Shop Rite on Route 1 and cleaned them out of all of the Snapple Mint Iced Tea:
Other items I am always looking for:
The original Clairol Herbal Essence shampoo. I don't mean any of that new "Herbal EssenceS" crap that comes in every color and nasty fruity scent. We're talking the real green here, the oddly shaped bottle with the emerald gold that smelled like spring. I saw it on eBay for like $40. $40 for a bottle of 10-year-old shampoo???
Also on the lookout for Coconut Yoo Hoo. The only place I ever saw it was at a gas station convenience store in Clearwater, Florida, right at the end of the Courtney Campbell Causeway. My sister and I would stop there for six-packs of Coconut Yoo Hoo and bingo lottery tickets. Rumor has it that the product was bought out by this other company that calls it Koko Blanco but I can't find that anywhere either.
One item that was long on my list but now is apparently available on eBay for a reasonably affordable price ($65 per bottle … hey, once upon a time you could only find it for $500 a pop) is my "signature scent" perfume, Andiamo by Borghese. To this day I will run into people I knew when I was in my 20s or even teens who will hug me and say "you still smell like you." I'm down to my last four bottles of the precious and may eventually have to go back to eBay to stock up my stash but I hold out hope that at some point in the meantime, the folks at Borghese will bring it back, even for a limited time, so I can not only buy the bottles but also the bubble bath and body lotions that use to be part of the gift set!
So what are YOUR Holy Grail items? Share them here, you never know who may have one just lying around that they might want to share!!! (And if anyone happens to have a bottle of Herbal Essence at the back of their closer, you know where to find me!!!)
I am constantly reminded by my computer-savvy daughter, my music producer husband, my online editors and the poor folks at Comcast customer service who have to listen to me implode about how "the thing" isn't working, what an utter technological moron I am.
But every so often even I will come across an "app" that I recognize as so brilliant and simple that I wonder how it wasn't thought of earlier.
Parents, scouts, amateur coaches from all across the globe, meet your new best friend: GameChanger, the brainchild of Ted Sullivan.
In a nutshell, GameChanger, a new free iPhone application, does for amateur baseball from Little League to colleges what MLB's GameDay does for pro ball.
It brings you, in real time, every pitch, every play, every run of a game. And you don't have to be computer-savvy to use it, either!
This week, Sullivan and his business partner Kiril Savino will be in Dallas, Texas, for the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) convention's trade show, introducing amateur baseball coaches from all over the country to GameChanger in what will be it's official launch.
I have a strong suspicion this will be the start of something very big.
GameChanger is a free application for users that allows them to input "real time" scoring of any baseball/softball game into his or her iPhone. Each play is then beamed immediately to the GameChanger website with the box score constantly updated and real-time play available.
While an iPhone is required by whoever is doing the input (and these days, really, who other than me doesn't have one?), it's not required to follow along. Fans can keep track on the web at the GameChanger site or the individual teams' sites (if they have them) or just on their own cel phones.
This is, needless to say, huge news for any mom or dad who has had to miss one of their kids' baseball or softball games because of work commitments, meetings, illness, or any other number of conflicts that come up in everyday life.
And for youth athletes' relatives that don't live close enough to come cheer them on.
And for the booster clubs of schools and even colleges across the country who want to keep tabs on their Lions and Tigers and Bears (oh my!)
In addition, local online news outlets, ranging from established dailies and weeklies to the ever-more-popular trend of websites devoted to local amateur sports for a given region, will also have the opportunity to add real-time widgets from GameChanger.
This is particularly notable in this sad era where sports journalism is being downsized by economic woes, with one of the first casualties being the coverage of local sports.
The idea for GameChanger came to Sullivan as he read a New York Times article about a company called WePlay, an online platform for youth-based sports teams (not limited to baseball).
"It was sort of a Facebook tailored to families of kids playing youth sports," Sullivan explained.
The concept intrigued Sullivan, but he also had a vision of focusing more specifically on baseball and what was really needed for the thousands upon thousands of people across the country that were involved in all that sport's amateur levels.
"To have lots of data and interesting content on a team or player's page, it takes a lot of effort to get it there," he explained. "And to expect youth coaches to come home after every game and enter commentary is just expecting too much. So I started thinking that if we could capture the data in real time and deliver it instantaneously to a platform, it could be an interesting business venture.
I'm not terribly surprised that something this innovative and baseball-fan-and-family-friendly would have been developed by Sullivan. I've known him and his older brother, Brendan, for more than a decade thanks to my own history covering Minor League Baseball and living in the Washington, D.C. area.
The two, both former Minor League pitchers and D.C. natives, co-founded Headfirst Baseball as an off-season business where they gave private pitching and hitting lessons to local kids. In the intervening decade it has become the biggest youth sports program in the D.C. area and continues to grow.
While Stanford-grad and former San Diego Padres minor league closer Brendan is heading up Headfirst now, Ted, a Duke University product, forged out on his own in 2000 after his two years in the Cleveland Indians system, eventually getting his MBA in 2006 from Harvard Business School.
Through Headfirst, Sullivan has done his share of coaching amateur baseball from Little League on up so he knows first-hand the challenges of finding the parent who will sit there and score any given game while also cheering on his/her kids (had to get the "her" in there since I've been in their folding chair).
"I thought it wouldn't be too long before somebody who was scoring a game with their scorebook and pencil would take out their iPhone to do something slick and sophisticated, and then say, 'why am I using a paper and pencil to do this when I have an iPhone?'" Sullivan said. "So I thought if we could put this together and capture the time sensitivity of it, with zero marginal cost of capturing that data, there could be an enormous audience across the country that would want it."
The 18 months since Sullivan first got the glimmer of the GameChanger concept has been a busy period (and not just because he's also getting married in two weeks). As luck would have it, though, he found two perfect partners for the venture in Savino, whom Sullivan calls "a ninja when it comes to software development," and Calvin Kuo, who spent seven years in computer programming at MLB.com, who is handling the front-end web interface design for GameChanger.
Sullivan's background is more in marketing, so he admitted he was surprised to discover just how complicated the creation of the program would be.
"I could do zero from a technical perspective," he said. "I understood mobile apps, I had worked in business development and I understood what happened behind the scenes, but I couldn't write one line of the code."
He has made sure, though, that would not be the case for the users of GameChanger.
Knowing that different parents or fans might be drafted to score a team's game on any given night, it was crucial that learning how to input the GameChanger data be as simple as possible.
"If we had to hold people's hands through teaching it, it would never succeed, because we need to grow virally and get it out there fast," he said. "So what we spent most of our time on was figuring out how to make this incredibly simple and I think we've achieved it. We've been testing it for six months and I watch people who aren't even iPhone users pick it up in two minutes."
Sullivan knows that the fan base he is targeting is devoted but scattered into small clusters. Little League teams might each have 20 parents (and a few tech-savvy grandparents) who want to follow along from home. High Schools
, a few hundred fans, friends and family members. Small colleges, such as Division III powerhouse Amherst College which has already expressed interest in working with GameChanger (and full disclosure is my own alma mater) a few thousand.
So one of the challenges for GameChanger will be for it to spread via word-of-mouth (or computer keyboard).
"We've gotten great reactions from the people using it but for something like this to spread, the product is going to have to market itself," he said. "The person using the product, the scorer who doesn't have to add up and enter all the stats after the game, the fan or parent who can consume the data at another sibling's game or while stuck in the office, all of them have to be telling their friends about this for us to be successful."
Getting the word out to the grassroots of the game will be Sullivan and company's quest in the coming months, especially as the winter begins to melt away and diamonds across the country start turning green again.
Some folks have already stumbled across it prior to any official launch simply by browsing the iPhone "app store." As of Jan. 1, over 300 people had already signed up for GameChanger.
Of course, like any work in progress, the technology continues to be tweaked.
"Software development is a constant cycle of build, test, refine, build, test, refine, which is never ending," Sullivan said.
The big rollout is planned for this spring, when baseball games start getting played not just in California and Texas and Florida but in all 50 states.
Speaking for myself, I would have loved to have had access to GameChanger years ago when my daughter was playing Little League baseball. I was often the one chosen to keep score (I will say my hand-written scorebooks are masterpieces).
But in her last year of organized ball, the only girl in the league that year, she played for a team led by "Coach Larry" (I don't think he ever knew my name, referring to me simply as "Danasmom").
"Coach Larry," unlike any other coach she had over the years who were pretty laidback and of the "let the kids have fun" school, was very vehement that the scorebook be a little more detailed than you would usually find in Little League. He insisted I count pitches thrown by every OPPOSING pitcher (hello, these were 9-10-year-olds) so that he'd know which pitchers' arms were burnt out before he chose players for his summer All-Star travel team.
"Coach Larry" would have loved GameChanger. But you, gentle readers, can have it now. Ain't modern technology grand?
You can find out more about GameChanger at http://www.gamechanger.io or via iPhone's app store.
We all like to set goals for our selves and of course Jan. 1 tends to be the best time to do so. Sometimes we dump those resolutions by, oh, Jan. 5. Other times we actually exceed our greatest hopes … for example, I am willing to bet that Oakland Athletics relief prospect Paul Smyth (pictured above) had no idea on Jan. 1, 2009, that he'd not only sign with the As but would spend more than two months closing out games in the Minors without ever giving up a run in his pro debut!
So the main one I have made is to spend more time here at Got MiLB in 2010 … of course, it isn't a great sign that it has taken me until January 3 rather than, say, 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1 to start fulfilling this one, but it's a start …
And, hopefully, I will try to make things more interactive so that you as readers might take a few minutes to chime in with your thoughts and opinions!!!
Anyway, I am going to kick things off this morning by sharing a few words about the 2009 MiLBY Awards.
Now honestly, I wasn't even sure this was the official title for the awards. When we started giving them out a few years ago, it was simply the term we had lovingly and affectionately bestowed "in house" on the MiLB (Minor League Baseball) end-of-year award winners. And there are an impressive group of them, may I add …
Each year for the last few years we (and I won't name names so that the voting cabal can remain SOMEWHAT anonymous) spend an inordinate amount of time (no joke) voting for the top hitter, starting pitcher, relief pitcher, team and single-game achievement at (deep breath) short-season , Class A (that would be Midwest/South Atlantic League), Advanced A (Cali, Carolina and Florida State Leagues), Double-A, Triple-A AND the overall winner.
Trust me, we don't take this voting thing lightly. I bet we spend more time poring over the stats than most BBWAA folks do with the Hall of Fame ballots (for one thing, there are a lot more players to consider). Then we send in our picks, and usually a bulk of the winners can be chosen in that fashion with a sizeable if not unanimous chunk of the votes. But there are always a few where we need to hash it out, narrow down the names and revote, and occasionally even lobby for our picks.
Sometimes, the overall winner will also be a single-level winner. But often it's someone who doesn't qualify for one of the regular level awards because he's moved up through his system … cases in point this year, both our Starting Pitcher of the Year, Chisox ace Daniel Hudson, and Reliever of the Year, San Francisco's Dan Runzler (pictured below right), started their years at Class A and each pitched at FOUR LEVELS of the Minors and then had GREAT big league debuts as well!!!! That is unbelievably rare, and for two guys to do it? Wow).
On the other hand, our Hitter of the Year, Oakland Athletics first baseman and slugging prospect Chris Carter (below, clearly watching one of his 28 homers fly out of the park), spent most of the season at Double-A Midland, so was not only our Double-A winner but also our Overall Hitter.
We rolled out the stories over the course of the last week of the 2009 calendar year. And since this is often a time when people are spending time with their families, or watching College Football bowl games, or on vacations, it is possible you may have missed them … our biggie, the Hitters of the Year, ran on January 1.
So my first good deed of the 2010 year is to share the link to THE MILBY PAGE here for you so if you missed it you can go and check out the winners and read their individual stories.
And there are some good ones so please don't just read the overall winners (though they are great too) … one of my favorite stories of the 2009 Draft was that of Kansas closer Smyth, who Oakland picked up with a 35th round pick on the final day of the event. Partly because he had a valid passport, he was shipped right to Vancouver where he became the team's closer. Normally you won't hear a whole lot about a senior sign in the 35th round, but when they manage to not give up a run ALL YEAR between a short-season club and a Class A team, a span of more than 35 innings, well, you're going to hear about them. Those 0.00 ERAs don't come around every day and neither do guys like Paul Smyth. Remember the name …
So I hope you have all been having a great winter break and are as ready as I am for the "hot stove" season to start cooling off with the approach of the real deal, pitchers and catchers reporting in just a matter of weeks!
Needless to say, we'll try to keep you updated and interested on the prospect side of the coin, with the annual pre-season Top 50 Prospects package coming up soon, as well as the Top 100 Prospects to watch for fantasy baseball purposes on tap and, of course, our own 10 Players to Watch packages coming for all 30 organizations being prepared even as I write this.
Oh, and my other resolution? To learn some of the technical ins and outs of this blogging thing a little better. Until then, hope you don't mind TWO pictures of Paul Smyth (and am I the only person who thinks he looks like a young Danny Graves???).
In the meantime, tonight or tomorrow I'll be back to share with you a story about a project developed by an old baseball friend of mine that I think may revolutionize how people watch and follow amateur baseball … from Little League through the college ranks. Intrigued? Keep an eye on this space!
How often do you forge one of your life's most important relationships with someone who got your name off the men's room wall?
I know that if you're a baseball fan and happened to stumble onto this blog post, you're going to probably stumble off just as quickly because I'm not analyzing the prospects that the Toronto Blue Jays might be getting in this looming blockbuster deal with Seattle and Philadelphia (though from the names I'm hearing, they are great ones).
Or you'll be bummed that I am not prognosticating which of the 150-plus free agents will be going where and what effect that will have on their team's 2010 hopes, the state of baseball in general and global warming.
Or you'll be disappointed because I'm not logging on to provide the earlier-promised recap of the recent Winter Meetings in Indianapolis (an appallingly bad internet connection at our hotel kept me from being able to give you guys "real time" blog). And by this time, you've probably read all there is to read about THAT event, via umpteen blogs, twitters, Facebook entries and every other form of social media.
Instead I'm here to write about Bill Koenig.
And I can pretty much guarantee that if Bill were still with us in body (I know he's here in spirit), he would definitely NOT have a Twitter account or Facebook page.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the way-too-early passing of a great writer, a great mentor, a great friend and a great person. And while I know I may often be given to overstatement, I bring to you as confirmation this column written about him 10 years ago by another great writer-mentor-friend-person, Paul White, who is very definitely NOT given to overstatement.
The original Minor League Editor at what was once Baseball Weekly and once the absolute go-to paper for all things baseball — and ONLY things baseball — Bill had moved down to DC from Rochester, where he was the long-time Red Wings beat writer, when BBW launched in 1991.
I was, at the time, the beat writer at the Potomac News (it has a new name now) covering the Class A Prince William Cannons (then the Yankees, now the Potomac Nationals), in my third year covering the club. I'd moved down to the area from New York City, thinking that I'd parlay being a Minor League beat writer into one day covering the Yankees or Mets.
It took approximately one season for me to fall so madly in love with the Minors that any aspirations of ever "moving up" to the big leagues evaporated into the muggy northern Virginia summer night's air. I've been lucky enough (well, so far, anyway) to somehow cobble out something of a living covering the Minor Leagues and only the Minor Leagues pretty much full-time since then.
I would not have been so lucky had Bill Koenig not happened to enjoy attending Cannons games on a regular basis.
The team would (I learned second-hand) print out my articles and post them over the urinals in the men's room (they did not do this in the ladies' room). So Bill got to know my byline and my writing quite well.
It might seem obvious that we would meet at the park. However neither of us were really "press box" kinds of people. Both of us preferred to sit in the stands, in his case in the upper rows of the bleachers and in my case down behind home plate with the scouts and players' wives and girlfriends (often with baby in tow if I couldn't find a sitter).
Who knows if our paths would have crossed at all had we not bumped into one another one evening while picking up press notes.
I introduced myself and his response, as Paul White notes in his column, was "I know who you are, I read your articles on the men's room walls." We watched that night's game together and he convinced me to send a resume and clips to Paul, then the editor-in-chief, in case there might be an opening. I was reluctant because I figured the paper, the first of its kind, probably had a complete storage room filled top to bottom with applications from every baseball writer in the country.
Truth is, I wasn't far off. But Bill invited me to lunch, gave me a tour of the office, introduced me to Paul and the staff and miracle of miracles, a few months later a job DID open up and by May 1992 I was a member of the Baseball Weekly staff. I know Bill's input had something to do with it.
I started as an agate-slinger, editing box scores and other notes. I also helped Bill compile the weekly Minor League notes (back in those days we actually called every single Minor League team every week to get player notes and highlights from them) and even wrote occasional Minor League features for his section.
Though I was moved onto the Major League side for much of 1993-1994, as one of the columnists/feature writers, my heart remained firmly on the Minor League side. In August 1994, when the big strike tore apart much of baseball and ruined my beloved Montreal Expos' shot at the World Series title, the paper underwent a massive staff reorganization.
Bill was promoted to senior feature writer and I was reassigned to his former position of Minor League editor (In five words: The Job Of My Dreams).
By being given free rein to write about anything and everything, Bill's writing became even more widely read by the general baseball fan rather than just those who flipped to the Minor League section rather than past it.
For the next five years, the hundreds of thousands of Baseball Weekly readers got to enjoy the remarkable prose and insight and wisdom of one of the true great baseball scribes.
And for those five years, I had the pleasure and privilege to sit next to him and try to soak it in — I would often stop my own work to listen to him conduct phone interviews. He was the master at making them conversational and informative and eliciting information and stories that you know 99 percent of reporters would never get.
But even more than being a brilliant writer and mentor, Bill was a wonderful friend. Paul's story is right on target (of course) in that it's almost impossible to describe Bill's smile, his laugh, his sense of humor. He could be snarky (before snarky was even a word, which it apparently still isn't according to my auto-correct) with the best of them.
And while he was always the ultimate gentleman, he could also tell a few definitely-NOT-for-publication stories that make me giggle to this day when I remember them (and no, I'm not repeating them here). Some may have sounded like urban legends to most but as far as I was concerned, if Bill told them, they had to be true.
My favorite "Bill as a friend" story. One thing he loved as much as baseball was college basketball. One wintry weekend he had tickets to a game where my favorite college team, UMass, was playing at George Washington. An unexpected blizzard found me without a babysitter at the last minute and unable to join him as planned, so I watched the game on TV from home, devastated at not being able to go and root for my guys, especially my favorite UMass player, Dana Dingle.
Now to understand Bill, you have to realize this is a guy who despite his passion for the game, would never resort to "fandom" or get an autograph or anything like that in about a million years. But that day, for some reason I can't recall but had to do with a
charity being run by then-GW coach Mike Jarvis, all the fans received 8-x-11 sheets of yellow paper with the No. 3 on them — which happened to be Dingle's uniform number.
And when I got to my office the next Monday morning, there on my desk was a yellow sheet of paper with the No. 3 and the note: "To Lisa: Dana Dingle, #3."
Bill had actually taken the sheet, gone down to the floor after the game and gotten me Dana Dingle's autograph. Need I tell you it is something I cherish to this day, both the autograph itself and the appreciation of what it meant for Bill to do that for me.
Oh, and did I mention he was a helluva a drummer? I seem to recall his big number was "Topsy Part II." I know everyone who had the pleasure of attending his wedding to his soul mate, Marlene, will remember one of the highlights of the evening being when he sat in on the drums.
10 years ago today, at 50 years old, Bill's huge heart gave out. Honestly, all these years later, there's not a day that goes by that there isn't something that makes me think of him … a Steely Dan song (I went to my first Steely Dan concert with him at Merriweather Post Pavilion), reading the name of one of his old favorite players with the Orioles or Rochester, a laugh that sounds like his.
Tomorrow will mark the 28th anniversary of the passing of my mother, also at a ridiculously young age, and I will mourn her and miss her then as I do every day.
But today I am thinking about Bill.
That seemed to be the appropriate header as I sit here at National Airport (sorry, people, I still refuse to call it Reagan!) waiting for my flight to Indianapolis for the Winter Meetings. I admit I am inordinately excited.
I know there have been people who have been like "Indianapolis? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?" (that last "seriously" is for my fellow "Grey's Anatomy" fans, with a special shoutout for agent Billy Martin Jr. who had the cojones last year to not only spot THE CHIEF in Vegas but to actually get him to pose for a picture … I have been kicking myself for the last year for not doing the same. Warning right now: If Sandra Oh or my idol Chandra Wilson happen to be in Indianapolis this week, I have my digital camera ready!!!)
Anyway, you may ask, "Why would you be excited about Indianapolis, more so than, say, Las Vegas or Disney World or Nashville?" (the locations of the last three WMs and, with Disney World, the next one as well)?
Well, here's the thing. If I were going on vacation or taking my family or heading on some dreaded work-related convention where I couldn't stand my job or my co-workers and just wanted to have good distractions, then Vegas or Disney World would be great options. And if I didn't care about a) having to walk approximately 5 miles a day and b) finding my co-workers for drinks every night, then I guess Nashville would be more palatable.
But for me, the Winter Meetings are all about seeing people and catching up with old friends and colleagues and connecting with folks that, at least in this year's case, I have not seen in a year (not since last year in Vegas) … so the ideal location for the Winter Meetings is: a locale where the hotels are all connected to the convention center (trade show site) and each other, and, as an added bonus in this case, a MALL with NORDSTROM'S and a MAC counter (yeah, I may be in the minority of Winter Meetings attendees who care about the latter).
So Indianapolis is awesome. Two great hotels with great lobby bars, all connected to the convention center via skywalk so we don't have to count on The Weather Channel 24/7. There will only be one or two central locations where we can pretty much depend on being able to find anyone we need/want to see and connect with at any time (three if you count the press room I guess).
No unnecessary distractions like casinos and fancy clubs and Donny and Marie, or Mickey and Minnie, or Dolly and Her Girls. Just baseball people, a captive audience, my milieu.
So, barring unforeseen delays, Indianapolis here I come … and of course I will keep what readers I still may have posted along the way! (Yeah, Rule 5 thoughts upcoming in the next day or two … some REALLY interesting names on the list of availables!!!! What about you guys? Who do you think your team should take in the Rule 5???)
WELCOME TO THE OFF-SEASON … oh … wait …
Once I flip that desk calendar page from October to November, it usually means I am in the midst of the kickoff (sorry for the football reference) to my off-season flurry of activity … you know the drill, right?
Organization reviews, end-of-year awards, looking ahead to the fun stuff like the Winter Meetings (this year in Indianapolis which I'm especially excited about since there will be a captive audience, unlike Las Vegas or Disney World), the RULE 5 DRAFT (in caps for me, the biggest Rule 5 Draft geek in existence), and then the inevitable "countdown to pitchers and catchers reporting."
This year, however, it's been a little different, in case you haven't noticed. Because for some odd reason, there is still this whole World Series thing going on. Not that the two teams involved have such big devoted fanbases that anyone is paying attention. I'm sure most fans would rather read about the Minors anyway …
November Fool's!
Seriously, though, folks. Though I have no idea exactly WHEN they will be coming your way, suffice to say that our "org reviews" WILL be coming to a computer screen near you soon and in the meantime my colleague Jonathan and I are hard at work cobbling them together …
Now, I'm not giving away any big trade secrets or saying anything I haven't said before when I confess … I am in the huge minority in that I don't like writing Top 10 or Top 20 lists (I know most people LOVE these rankings lists: writing them, reading them, debating them). I really don't. I think in many cases comparing, say, a raw and gifted 18-year-old shortstop with huge upside who may or may not make the given adjustments in the next few years to a big-league ready outfielder with solid tools, a proven track record and a good shot at a Major League job this spring is apples and oranges. Delicious apples, yummy oranges. But how do I pick one over the other for that 10th spot on a list? Both have value. And whoever I leave off, well, they probably deserved to be on a list. Which is why I hate lists. It's the mommy in me. I feel like I should just keep giving out accolades until I run out of them. (BTW I am not using a specific team's 10-11 here … these are just made-up examples).
Anyway, we WILL have post-season Top 10 lists anyway (because I don't make the rules, I just follow them sometimes) … we'll have our pre-season Top 10s AND our post-season Top 10s so we can pat ourselves on the back or poke fun at ourselves or whatever … we'll have our pre-season Hitter and Pitcher of the Year picks for each organization AND our post-season picks (you can look forward to seeing where we were right and where we went woefully wrong) … AND we'll have organization overviews, in-depth looks at each organization's 2009 draft, etc.
We will have them soon. Promise.
But you ALSO need to keep an eye on this space here (and on Jonathan's blog as well) for a series we're going to run that will give us the opportunity to share some news and notes on OTHER guys who didn't make "The List" but either were final cuts, merited consideration, or simply deserve some sort of nod for great numbers or accomplishments.
That way, when you're reading the original articles and want to post under reader comments "Hey, what about Joe Schlabotnik?" hopefully you can come over here to the blog and see that indeed I DID consider Joe Schlabotnik and while he didn't make the Top 10, come read more about him over here. Consolation prize, perhaps, but better than nothing.
I want to call it "But Wait, There's More!" … I'll see if Jonathan likes that idea. Or unless someone else has a better idea.
Anyway, just wanted to chime in with this … now I'll get back to my voluminous pile of manila folders and lists.
Yes, I'm still here. I won't make excuses or explanations for the absence but will hopefully be back and posting again …
This story inspired me to chime in, especially as we're right in the middle of pre-draft-mania and the tournaments leading up to the College World Series. (Wish I could be in Chapel Hill this weekend for the super regional between host North Carolina and East Carolina … I could call it the Aunt Bowl in honor of my daughter, whose aunt on one side lives right outside of Chapel Hill and whose late aunt on the other was an esteemed professor at ECU before she passed away in 2006).
Anyway, the story linked is about a high school playoff game in Minnesota where both starting pitchers threw more than 200 pitches. Sounds impossible to fathom in this world of pitch counts where an outing of more than 100 pitches borders on abuse.
But it brought back memories of the first college post-season series I ever covered as a sportswriter, the first time I went on the road, the first time I felt a part of baseball writers' press box camaraderie, and the week I realized yes, this is what I want to do.
The year was 1988. The place, Beehive Field in New Britain, Connecticut.
The event: The ECAC (East Coast Athletic Conference) tournament, the winner of which would move on to the Northeast Regional tournament, which would also be held at beautiful (not) Beehive.
I was there to cover the Fordham Rams, the MAAC champions.
Although the paper for which I was working covered Fordham regularly during both football and basketball season, it pretty much ignored all college baseball teams. But the Rams were really good, even with the loss of their 1987 ace Pete Harnisch, who had been a first-round pick by Baltimore in the previous year's First Year Player Draft.
Perhaps their best player was a freshman outfielder named Ray Montgomery who had a school record 21-game hitting streak and earned Co-MAAC Player of the Year honors. He went on to play in the big leagues and is probably too busy this week to read this blog entry since he's the Assistant Scouting Director for the Milwaukee Brewers (but I bet he'd remember the game). (Here he is with MLB Network star Matt Vasgersian at a Triple-A All-Star Game back when they were both up-and-coming future stars).
So since I wanted to be a baseball writer and was getting basically NO opportunity to do at that time at that job, and since Fordham really deserved someone covering them through the post-season, I volunteered to become their beat writer on my own time and my own dime. I guess the price was right because they let me do it.
Also in the tournament were Hartford, featuring slugging third baseman Jeff Bagwell (the scouting report on him was pitch him inside), Maine with a freshman outfield sensation named Mark Sweeney, LeMoyne (their ace was a kid named Peter Hoy who made it briefly to the big leagues), C.W. Post and Fairleigh Dickinson University, aka FDU and aka a big rival of Fordham.
I was all eager beaver reporter armed with my scorebook and about 82 pens (some things never change), assiduously writing down not just every play made but every pitch thrown.
It was the Rams' second game of the tournament and their first against FDU where that habit almost caused carpal tunnel syndrome.
On paper, it was just your typical garden-variety 14-inning game (the Rams would go on to play a 19-inning game against Clemson in the first round of the Northeast Regionals later that week), which Fordham lost, 6-5 (they would come back to beat FDU the next day by the same score).
Neither team had lost yet in the double-elimination tournament so while the stakes were high, they weren't THAT high.
Fairleigh Dickinson sent its ace to the mound, a sophomore right-hander named Mike Mongiello who was their conference's Player of the Year that year. And he pitched like an ace for nine innings.
When he came out for the 10th inning, the reporters all glanced at each other in surprise.
When he came out for the 11th inning, I counted my record of all the pitches he'd thrown. I don't remember the total at that point but it was really high.
In the 12th inning, the "official" pitch count for Mongiello, who was still in there, was relayed up to the press box from the FDU dugout and let's just say it was significantly lower than the number indicated in my scorebook. And while I may have MISSED a few pitches, I certainly hadn't ADDED 20.
Mongiello remained in the game for the 13th and 14th innings and finally came away with the complete-game win in an absolutely masterful and gutsy performance.
FDU's official pitch count for him was 215 pitches. That is what I wrote in my story. My scorebook showed 250 pitches. That didn't include warmups between innings and may have missed a few full-count foul balls.
Mongiello went on to be drafted in the seventh round of 1989 by the Chicago White Sox and enjoyed a seven-year Minor League career with them, getting as far as Triple-A and posting a 3.64 ERA.
Our paths crossed in the Minors a few years later and of course I had to go over and introduce myself and tell him that I had been there for that amazing game.
Apparently he must have told some of his teammates about it and no one believed him, or at least thought he was exaggerating. I was able to not only confirm the epic outing, but add that in fact his own telling of it with a pitch count of 215 wasn't giving himself enough credit.
He obviously had no hard feelings about the workload either, because he spent some time later on at FDU as their assistant pitching coach. I'm guessing, though, that he never left one of his pitchers in to throw 250 pitches.
Opening Day (or as many of us say OPENING DAY!!!!) is here in the Majors, and Opening Day (or OPENING DAYS because for some reason the Eastern League is starting a day early) is almost here in the Minors …
So Episode 7 of BASEBALL HONEYMOON brings you two awesome season previews for the price of one, as in … well, as our blog says,
"the same low, low price of….of ..ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! FREE! GRATIS, BABY!"
For those of you, like me, who can't get enough of USA Today/Sports Weekly baseball guru PAUL WHITE talking baseball, the first half of the show is for you as he (and we) talk about our picks to win each division and each league's "big" awards (MVP, CY and Rookie of the Year).
The second half … well, let's put it this way … if you are one of the hundreds of people who have told me over the past year or two how much you miss the good old days when JONATHAN MAYO and I did our regular hour-long show "Around the Minors," consider this sort of a reunion show. It's not an hour (well, not quite) but we'll share our pre-season predictions for Minor League Player and Pitcher of the year …
Team Netherlands was the talk of the World Baseball Classic.
19-year-old pitcher Juancarlos Sulbaran was the talk of Team Netherlands. And yes, it's spelled "Juancarlos," one word.
I don't know about the rest of you, but watching this guy pitch in the game against Puerto Rico was one of the highlights of that tournament for me. I already knew a lot of the veteran players and coaches (hi Bam Bam! Hola Sir Eugene!) but was unfamiliar with Sulbaran.
However, since I was working on the Cincinnati Reds organization preview at the time, I definitely took notice. In fact, I think I looked like one of those cartoon characters whose eyes pop out of their head (lovely image, no?).
Sure, he finished the tournament with the highest ERA of any of the 13 pitchers on that impressive Dutch staff, allowing three runs total in 2 2/3 innings over two appearances.
But you can't expect a teenager who has yet to make his pro debut to dazzle while facing Major League stars.
Or can you?
Sulbaran, Cincinnati's 30th round pick in 2008, made quite a World Baseball Classic debut when he came out of the bullpen in the sixth inning against Puerto Rico in a first-round game.
Inheriting men on first and third with two outs and a 1-0 lead, the first batter he faced was Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, a free agent who was showcasing his hitting skills.
Sulbaran struck out Rodriguez on three pitches.
"When I came out of the bullpen I didn't know I was going to face him, I just knew that there were men on first and third and everyone in the stands was screaming," he recalled. "Then I saw him standing there so I just focused on my catcher and didn't think about anything else."
One inning later, after loading the bases on a double, a single and a hit batter, he got out of the jam by getting Carlos Beltran to ground out to end the inning.
So who is this kid anyway?
The Curacao-born Sulbaran was impressive enough in his home country in his teens that teams began approaching him to turn pro. But his dad, Jorge, had other ideas.
"I was 16, before my junior year in high school, and my dad didn't feel I was ready to go and play and live by myself," Sulbaran explained. "So instead we moved to Florida so I could finish high school there and then get drafted."
The Sulbaran family moved to the Miami area in 2006, where he attended American Heritage High School, a team that featured such talented classmates as first baseman Eric Hosmer, the third pick overall last spring by Kansas City, and catcher Adrian Nieto, the Nationals' fifth-round selection.
Sulbaran, honored as the Miami-area pitcher of the year for 2008, fell to the 30th round due to his commitment to the University of Florida but the Reds eventually signed him with a $500,000 bonus, a record for that round.
Not that Sulbaran was idle that summer. Having caught the eye of the Dutch Olympic team's coaches during an earlier international tournament when he limited the opposing club from Cuba to one hit over seven innings, he was invited to join the squad and pitched for Team Netherlands in Beijing.
In the Olympics, he once again faced Cuba, this time a slightly older and more experienced squad, allowing two earned runs over 4 2/3 innings in a loss to that squad.
And that showing pretty much wrapped up his invitation to join the World Baseball Classic squad where, once again, he was the youngest member of the team , three weeks younger than fellow pitching phenom Dennis Neuman of the Red Sox.
While both experiences were rewarding in their own ways, Sulbaran thinks the World Baseball Classic may have been more educational.
"In the Olympics, there were fewer professional players and they weren't at as high a level as the players in the World Baseball Classic," he said. "Pitching there, any mistake you made, you pay for it."
Sulbaran, whose repertoire includes a hard sinker, a good curveball and a changeup, remains in Reds camp in Sarasota nursing a blister which will likely push his pro debut back a bit longer, until he can go six or seven innings.
He can't wait till he can get out there and officially start his pro career, expected to be at Class A Dayton, but don't think that facing Midwest League batters will change his game plan.
"It doesn't matter who you're facing, if I make a mistake they'll hit me the same way," he said. "So I just have to focus on keeping my pitches down and staying ahead in the count, whether I'm facing a rookie or a Hall of Famer."
Our "Beyond the Boxscore" interview was shorter than usual because of technical issues (don't you hate excuses like that) and also because I couldn't ask him some of the usual questions about his minor league career thus far, but I am really hoping to get the chance to cross paths with him this season, watch him pitch again, and do a more in depth interview.
MLB: Of what accomplishment, on or off the field, in your life are you the proudest?
Juancarlos Sulbaran: Finishing high school. In Curacao, everyone leaves school when they're 15 and never finishes high school. Now that I've graduated, I'm really glad that my dad made that decision for me.
MLB: What do you think you'd be doing now if you weren't playing baseball?
JCS: Probably working with my dad for his contracting company.
MLB: Everyone has a "hidden talent." What's yours?
JCS: I have soccer skills.
MLB: Do you have other hobbies or creative outlets aside from baseball?
JCS: I like watching movies, playing soccer, and just hanging out with my friends.
MLB: Complete this sentence: It would surprise people to know that I…
JCS: Don't like pitching that much! I was a first baseman and third baseman. And for me, baseball was always more about how to get on base, steal a base, slide, get dirty and make diving catches. But I'm learning more about pitching now.
MLB: Who is the most unusual character you've met in your pro baseball career?
JCS: (Dutch teammate pitcher) Sidney Ponson. Whateer he says, whatever he does, it always makes you laugh.
MLB: If you were commissioner for a day, which one rule would you change?
JCS: Let all the pitchers hit!


text:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee State football team will have a pair of former players competing in the NFL Combine which will take place in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium from February 22-25.
A.C. Leonard and Kadeem Edwards will try to improve their draft stock by impressing scouts and coaches in the nationally televised event.
Leonard earned All-American honors from the Associated Press for the second-straight year despite battling injuries for most of the season. The junior caught 34 passes for 441 yards and five touchdowns for the Tigers who finished second in the OVC and earned an at-large berth to the FCS Playoffs (the team's first berth since 1999). He declared for the NFL Draft despite having one year of eligibility remaining.
Edwards, who was one of two OVC players to compete in the Senior Bowl this season (along with Garoppolo) was the top offensive lineman for the Tigers who finished the season 10-4 overall, 6-2 and second place in the OVC and earned an at-large berth to the FCS Playoffs (where they topped Butler in the first round). Edwards helped block for Tim Broughton who rushed for 1,146 yards (25th-most nationally) and six touchdowns and for a quarterback duo that combined for 26 passes touchdowns and also four interceptions in 14 games. He was named to four FCS All-American teams following the season.


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