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Die a Stranger: An Alex McKnight Novel (edition 2012)
by Steve Hamilton
Work details
Die a Stranger by Steve Hamilton
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Steve Hamilton is just getting better and better at his craft even as he chooses to go beyond just the "mystery" story and focus and the lives of the main characters in his stories. This book sees Alex McKnight, reluctant private eye, searching high and low for his friend Vinnie LeBlanc, who has disappeared under suspicious circumstances involving his cousin, Buck and a botched drug deal that caused a few deaths. Out of the blue, Vinnie's long lost father Lou appears, and both of the searchers form a bond while traveling across the Great Lakes territory following thin lead after thin lead. On the way, Alex learns a lot about Lou, Vinnie's father and how he came to be estranged from the family, as well as how far a father's love will go to save a son, as well as his own sense of family and loss.
Being from Michigan, these books are even more interesting. I remember visiting some of the places that Steve Hamilton writes about, so could really picture the scenes. Die a Stranger was suspenseful from beginning to end and certainly an enjoyable read.
AUTHOR: Hamilton, Steve
TITLE: Die a Stranger
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS Crime Fiction/ 2012 / St. Martin's / 277 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE: #9 Alex McKnight
CHARACTERS Alex McKnight / private detective
FIRST LINES On a clear warm night in June, a small airplane is flying low over Lake Huron.
COMMENTS: Steve Hamilton is another "sure thing" for me -- great book! Alex's best friend Vinnie Le Blanc goes missing along w/ Buck Carrick. Vinnie's mother recently passed and he has been acting strange… A small Canadian plane has delivered weed to small airport and leaves behind several dead… Buck was the only one left alive. Alex is assisted by Lou LeBlanc, Vinnie's father who has been the guest of Nevada's penitentiary system for the last 2 decades. Riveting read.
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
What seems to be an extended road trip around Michigan explodes into action in the last third of this new Alex McKnight novel. Steve Hamilton does an excellent job .
I won this from the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.
It took awhile for me to really get into this book. It was slow for about the first 80 pages and then it started getting pretty interesting. The last 100 pages though really grabbed me and it became very difficult for me to put the book down. I liked the way the story unfolded and even though the ending wasn't totally happy, it was very fitting and left me satisfied. I will have to look for other books in this Alex McKnight series by this author.
Through his emotionally intelligent characterizations, McKnight transforms what could have been a mundane plot into a sensitive exploration of tragedy and redemption.
References to this work on external resources.
Wikipedia in English
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0312640218, Hardcover)
Late one night, a plane lands on a deserted airstrip. Five dead bodies are found there the next morning.
(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:12:39 -0400)
"A plane lands in a deserted Upper Peninsula airstrip one night, and five dead bodies are found the next morning. The evidence suggests that not only are these murders the beginning of something bigger, but that Alex McKnight's friend Vinnie may be part of it. Alex knows he needs to find him before it's too late. Vinnie LeBlanc is an Ojibwa tribal member, a blackjack dealer at the Bay Mills Casino, and he just might be Alex's best friend. He's certainly come through for Alex more than once in the past, so when he goes missing, Alex can't help but be worried. There's a deadly crime war creeping into the Upper Peninsula, leaving bodies in its wake, and Alex never would have expected that his friend could be involved. But when a mysterious stranger arrives in town also looking for Vinnie, Alex will soon find out that the stakes are higher than he ever could have imagined. After his award-winning The Lock Artist and the New York Times bestseller Misery Bay, Hamilton kicks things up to the next level with this outstanding new novel in the beloved Alex McKnight series"--… (more)
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|Insane Clown Poppy
Cultural references
- The episode title is a parody of the hip hop group Insane Clown Posse (as is Krusty's line to "get down with the clown," which, in Insane Clown Posse culture means, "to be a fan of the Insane Clown Posse.")
- Krusty's walk through the desert storm is from The French Lieutenant's Woman.
- In addition, Krusty when doing his USO Comedy Tour was seen holding a golf club, referring to a trademark of real life USO comedian Bob Hope, where he often has a golf club with him on the stage during his sketches, where he always makes a swing whenever his jokes are well-received.
- Stephen King tells Marge that he's working on a biography of Benjamin Franklin where Franklin uses electricity to "torture small animals and green mountain men." The latter is a reference to the Green Mountain Boys, a militia organization led by Ethan Allen which fought in the American Revolutionary War.
- Coincidentally, the relationship of Krusty and Sophie reflects on the animated Christmas special, Olive the Other Reindeer because Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Krusty) also voices the postman in the special and Drew Barrymore (the voice of Sophie) also voices the titular character, Olive. Also, the special was created by Matt Groening himself, the creator of the Simpsons, who also did a sound bit as an elf for the special.
- During the poker game, Homer starts to sing the chorus to the The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Fat Tony then threateningly tells him not to sing it.
- When Krusty stops Erin from assassinating Saddam and she retaliates by strangling him, she is mysteriously wearing red shoes. This may not be a goof, but wearing such bright red shoes in the situation, defeats the purpose of having camouflage.
- When Krusty goes to give Fat Tony Sophie's violin, the case has a sticker on it with her name, but when Krusty and Homer go to steal it back, the case is stickerless. Fat Tony could have torn it off after he takes it.
- Stephen King somehow knew Marge's name, despite Marge not telling him who she was. She could've told him in a previous book fair.
- Former Saturday Night Live cast member Jay Mohr is credited for voicing Christopher Walken. Mohr, during his short stint on SNL in the mid-1990s, was known for his Christopher Walken impression.
- This is the second episode to feature Lisa's birthday.
- This episode originally had Homer, instead of Krusty, discovering that he had another daughter.
- Tom Wolfe appears in this episode in his signature white suit, Wolfe would later appear in season 18 Moe'N'A Lisa.


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A delighted Lewis Hamilton produced a near-flawless performance on Sunday and then dedicated his spectacular victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to his mother on her birthday.
Hamilton, recovered from the worst lows of a rollercoaster year, took full advantage of the early retirement of double world champion Sebastian Vettel to win with comfortable aplomb.
Driving his McLaren with measured assurance and great speed, the 26-year-old Englishman dominated from the second corner of the opening lap to the finish as he claimed his third win of a troubled season and 17th of his career.
Afterwards, he dedicated his victory to his mother Carmen who had flown to Abu Dhabi to support her son and celebrate her birthday.
It was his first win in eight races and Vettel's first absence from the points this year. It was the first time in 19 races that a Red Bull driver had not been on the podium.
"It's my mum's birthday this weekend," he said. "And it's great to be able to win while she is here. I feel fantastic. It's one of my best races. I said that to myself as I slowed down.
"Being able to hold one of the best drivers in the world [Fernando Alonso] is something that is tough to do. I was looking after tyres and managing the gap. The team did a great job with the stops."
Hamilton started second, but took the lead within a few hundred metres when 24-year-old German Vettel's Red Bull suffered a puncture to his right-rear tyre and forced him to swerve off the Yas Marina circuit.
Vettel said: "At the exit of the first corner, everything seemed fine, but when I turned in I tried to catch the car, but I couldn't do it any more and I spun off.
"On the way back I damaged the suspension badly. I don't know what happened. We lost pressure all of a sudden out of the exit of Turn One. I don't why..."
Hamilton streaked by and took a lead he relinquished only twice briefly during the pit-stops as he delivered one of the most accomplished performances of his 89 races in Formula One.
It also banished his self-confessed misery at feeling trapped "in a dark place" after splitting with his long-term girlfriend and fiancee Nicole Scherzinger last month.
Two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso came home second for Ferrari, wiping away some of the memories of a nightmare race in 2010 when his title challenge was wrecked by strategic mistakes.
Alonso said: "It was fantastic for me. I had a very good start and the first lap fighting with Jenson. Then we found ourselves second and we were three to five seconds behind Lewis.
Briton Jenson Button in the second McLaren fought through to finish third ahead of Vettel's Red Bull team-mate Australian Mark Webber and fifth-placed Brazilian Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari.
German Nico Rosberg led compatriot and Mercedes team-mate seven-time champion Michael Schumacher home in sixth and seventh places with another German Adrian Sutil finishing eighth ahead of his Force India team-mate rookie Briton Paul Di Resta.
"A mega-job, mega, as always," said Hamilton on team radio at the end. "I want to dedicate this one to my mum on her birthday and it is great having her here this weekend. Thanks for coming out here."
Starting from a record-equalling 14th pole position of the season, Vettel made a clean start when the lights went out and pulled clear of Hamilton and into the lead. The field behind him rushed unscathed into racing order behind him.
Having won both previous Grands Prix held at the Yas Marina circuit, it looked like business as usual for the 24-year-old German, but only for a few hundred metres as a puncture pitched him out of control and off the circuit as he turned into Turn Two.
The right rear tyre of Vettel's Red Bull machine deflated rapidly and, although he was able to recover and nurse the car back to the pits, it signalled the end and his first retirement in more than a year since the Korean Grand Prix of 2010.
McLaren team chief Martin Whitmarsh said: "I am thrilled for the team, for Lewis, for everyone. We knew we could win the race, Fernando is a phenomenal competitor but Lewis controlled the race and controlled the gap."


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Where do I start?
With the two most exciting sporting events I have witnessed live?
With the fact that in the early 90's I was a season ticket holder for the Golden State Warriors for three years. It just so happened that the Warriors had Billy Owens, Mitch Richmond, Chris Mullin and a chunk of great young stars that made it look like Golden State would be the team of the decade going forward?
With the fact that bad management and coaching destroyed that team for the next 20-plus years so that in frustration I gave up my tix and vowed never to watch or attend another game?
With Stephen Curry and his mates?
Ok, so I started, and indeed I have to admit baseball and football have always been my first loves, hoops being at best marginal. But in 1993, my friend Mark Berenberg (a serious hoops aficionado) talked me into a quarter share of Golden State tickets for the coming season.
It was great. I knew the Warriors were not that strong at the time, but I knew they had Run TMC (Tim Hardaway, Richmond and Mullin) and were a sellout every game. I also knew the team traded Richmond for top pick Billy Owens in 1991, breaking up the high-scoring troika, but adding a big power forward to the team would push the team towards a championship.
After adding Chris Webber, with Mark, and our friend Richard Kweller, we bought in, and 1993 seemed too promising to believe when the Warriors swapped Penny Hardaway and three future first rounders (sigh) for the rights to the big (6'10") Michigan sophomore who, when drafted, did not like playing center.
However, the Warriors beat the seemingly invincible Knicks, and later the Orlando Magic, who featured Shaquille O'Neal.
That game with Orlando was easily the most exciting and intense sporting event I have ever seen, and that includes a lot of baseball games, featuring a perfect game, a pair of All-Star games and a bunch of post-season affairs. I saw Willie McCovey's final hit, Rickey Henderson break the stolen base record and Dallas Braden's perfect game.
But, nothing matches the final ten minutes of that game. Actually, it was the final minute, which stretched into ten minutes, and saw the Warriors, down by five, return to win after Shaq fouled out and Latrell Sprewell blocked the final shot (that almost looked like goaltending).
The fans inside the Oakland Coliseum were on their feet the entire time, screaming and stomping such that it felt the mezzanine level of the Arena was moving with each bounce, shot, and pass.
However, after that the wheels fell off. P.J. Carlesimo was hired. Sprewell choked him. Owens never panned out. Mullin and Webber and Richmond were traded. And, it just seemed unconscionable to me to keep watching such awful mismanagement, so I swore off basketball in person and on TV. Period.
I stayed away, faithfully, at least till a guitar lesson in the middle of last year when Steve (that would be Steve Gibson, my teacher) told me I really had to check out Stephen Curry.
It was not until the final game against Cleveland was starting up last June, principle sort of went out the window, at least for a game. That is till the other night, for in the discipline of blocking basketball from my psyche, it has not occurred to me to look till it was noted the other day that Golden State was on the verge of going 16-0.
So I watched, kind of in amazement. Maybe this team is as good as the one I discarded could have been? Maybe better, but certainly Steve was right when he said Curry was good. So is the entire team.
I guess what I am saying is, when I said, "I would never watch you again, Golden State, I did not really mean never, and I am back, if you will have me?"
By the way, the second most exciting sporting event I ever attended was a high school championship basketball game that pretty much ended the same way as the Warriors and Magic.
As the winter meetings approach, the big league teams have already been busy trading parts and tinkering with rosters, so let's take this nice little pre-Thanksgiving lull to take a look at the Hot Stove (where maybe the stuffing is warming) and think about the impact.
Leonys Martin (to the Mariners from the Rangers): Seattle is trying to retrofit a bit to a younger lineup after going in that direction and then being waylaid in the wake of the Robinson Cano signing. Martin, who has pop and speed, and fell flat in Texas last year, should benefit from a new start, and the Northwest could be a nice place to start. Martin looked like an AL verson of Starling Marte until last year. A new scene might bring some of that back.
Aaron Hicks (to the Yankees from the Twins): Interesting acquisition for a team sitting on Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner and Carlos Beltran, among others, ready to chase flies. I am guessing Hicks winds up getting the playing time while Gardner or Ellsbury is swapped, and Beltran plays 87 games.
Craig Kimbrel (to the Red Sox from the Padres): Arguably the best closer goes to the team seemingly most obsessed with finding a closer, Kimbrel should be a fine addition in Boston. However, the cost was two very fine prospects in outfielder Manuel Margot and shortstop Javier Guerra, both of whom should figure in the Friars 2016 mix. Kimbrel will be a top AL closer as well in a deal that does help both teams, it seems.
Francisco Rodriguez (to the Tigers from the Brewers): Detroit's search for a closer has been much more futile than that of the Red Sox. K-Rod turns 34 next year and has been pretty steady over the past 14 years, so this could steady the slot until someone home grown appears in the Motor City. Expect 30 saves and remember, he is easier to watch than Fernando Rodney.
Jose Pirela (to Padres from Yankees): For young (18) but untested Ronald Herrera, the Pads now have more infield possiblities than just about anyone, and some of those involved (Jedd Gyorko, Cory Spangenberg, among others) could evolve into a solid infield. The question for Pirela is where can he see daylight.
Jonathan Villar (from the Astros to the Brewers): Villar, with 42 big league swipes, is sort of the American League's Dee Gordon, with good numbers as a minor leaguer (.261 average, .337 OBP and 252 steals).
Erick Aybar/Andrelton Simmons (Angels to Braves and vice versa): Everyone knows how much I like Aybar, who is consistent (.276-6-55 with 19 steals over 162-game career mean) and, well, Simmons is a defensive whiz who has a little pop (17 homers in 2012) but not much else (.666 career OPS). The Angels are good at scoring runs, so the pressure should be off both guys to do their thing. I like this both ways.
Cameron Maybin (Braves to Tigers): Maybin is so tempting but still never puts it all together. But, he is now on a team with Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez, so much like Simmons, he will need to just settle in, play some defense and get on base, letting his mates drive him in. He is still just 28, so time to step into those peak years at the right place and time.
Jesse Chavez (A's to Blue Jays): Chavez did everything that was asked of him in Oakland, and filled the gaps, but whether anyone likes it or not, he is not a 200-inning starter. He is great as a spot starter, fill-in and long pitcher but gives the impression he is more than that. Liam Hendriks (whom Oakland got in exchange) has a lot more upside. Chavez will not remain in the Jays rotation, no matter how much we like him or want him to.
I always kind of crack up when my friends suggest that with the baseball season over, with the fall comes some down time. Surely, there is football to distract me from the respite suggested. But, those of us in the industry know that the span between now and the crazy culmination of travel and drafts that accompany spring training and the start of the season is not long.
Aside from writing profiles (if you ever want to prep for a draft or auction, try writing a few hundred!), this is the time of year that articles and projections and analysis and mock drafts with comments are all coordinated and sent off for publication. So far, I have participated in a couple.
Since we are essentially four months from the chaos of March, there have been surprises in the mocks I have witnessed. So, in order to whet your appetite a bit, as well as get your brain moving for the spring, here are indeed some of the surprises.
Carlos Correa (SS, Astros): Correa was a top five pick in both mocks, which makes him the hottest rookie I can remember. (Yes, Mike Trout did make a splash, jumping to being a top pick in 2013, but remember he lost some luster with a rugged first show in the Show in 2011). Such is the path of a 21-year-old shortstop with an .857 OPS. I guess we better get used to it.
Charlie Blackmon (OF, Rockies): Two mocks, and in both Blackmon was grabbed in the second round. Huh? It was Rotowire's Derek Van Riper who pointed out the .797 OPS with 31 doubles, 43 swipes, 17 homers, and 93 runs that make Blackmon pretty good across the board. Seems like he is getting better, too.
Kris Bryant (3B, Cubs): Not a big surprise, but Bryant is now more sought after than Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. Not sure if that makes sense just yet, but for sure he is a first rounder thus far.
Kyle Schwarber (OF/C, Cubs): Qualifying at backstop boosts Schwarber some, but he was grabbed by the third round in both leagues, ahead of picks like Brandon Crawford (20 homers at short is not bad) even though steals are not out there in Schwarber's crystal ball. I do love the guy, and have no issue with this in a way, though I would like to see a full season before I can figure out whether Schwarber is Matt Stairs or Adam Dunn (neither meant as an insult at all).
Miguel Sano (DH, Twins): Again, taken in the second round in both mocks, which is a lot of stock and upside faith to put on a kid with just 80 games under his belt, but what can you say?
Mookie Betts (OF, Red Sox): If Betts and his .291-18-77-21 line warrants a first-round selection, suddenly Blackmon, maybe a round later with equal power and extra steals, seems to be a steal.
Xander Bogaerts (SS, Red Sox): 196 hits last year, and nowhere to go but up, in theory. Bogaerts did slip to the third round. But again, that is a nice jump from last year.
Brian Dozier (2B, Twins): Dozier was a third-round pick last year in at least one mock, and repeated that with his return to mid-20's homers out of the keystone slot. Call me doubtful, but that looks like drafting out of scarcity to me, but reality is reality.
George Springer (OF, Astros): With Springer, as with just about everyone listed above not surnamed Dozier or Blackmon, a lot of stock in drafting early on is rooted in upside.
Since no wave of prospects like those who emerged in 2015 has ever occurred in baseball with the volume of last season, it is hard to assess which of these young guns will earn their draft price. They all could, but my guess is some will fall, suffering the Sophomore Jinx.
However, if you are indeed looking for some bargains as you begin to think about drafting in the spring, nominating the young guns early might leave some solid cheap vets for you to feast upon.
For the 15th year, I find myself in Phoenix participating in the BaseballHQ First Pitch at the Arizona Fall League for a long weekend's worth of seminars, fall baseball, and even some golf this year. But the best part is seeing dear friends, most of whom have grown up in and around the fantasy industry that has now taken hold of our culture.
It is pretty amazing to me, and I suspect to all of us. But here we are, and yesterday, for the 12th time, the participants of the XFL assembled to draft our 2016 teams.
The XFL has a $260 salary cap, allows for 15 keepers, and to compensate for the nebulous nature of rosters at the end of the season, we hold a 17-round expansion draft within a week of the season beginning. At that time, we can acquire prospects, who if retained have an initial $1 salary that increases by $3 a season indefinitely. As examples, I have Yoenis Cespedes at $13, now in his fifth year, and Matt Kemp at $31, in his 11th.
That combination of constraints makes for some interesting auctions, with generally strange and expensive runs of backstops, and peculiarities that found both Jhonny Peralta and Pablo Sandoval costing just a buck as part of the end game.
A few weeks back, I did list my keepers in prepping for the draft, but since I now have a team, here are the results. Note the bold F indicates the player was frozen, and I left the comments made in the earlier article.
Robinson Chirinos ($4, C): Hit ten homers over 273 at-bats last year, and I was keenly aware just how goofy the catcher costs can go, so I was happy to break the ice for my team, nominate Chirinos early, get him cheap, and move along.
Jason Castro ($13, C): Castro wound up being the last good everyday backstop, forcing my backstopless mates to pony up almost as much for the pleasure of Chris Iannetta.
Ryan Zimmerman ($13, 1B): I wanted Adrian Gonzalez, but $42 was more than I cared to spend, so I adjusted and grabbed Zimmerman, hoping he is settled at first and maybe healthy for the first time. And, Zimmerman did hit .311-11-39 over the second half, so maybe that mojo is back for the 30-year-old.
Jedd Gyorko ($10F, 2B): At value, but Gyorko salvaged a lot with his strong second half (.259-13-43) and since he qualifies at both second and short, it's worth the power gamble for a guy who could bang 30 big flies.
Kyle Seager ($21F, 3B): Pretty steady power source at third. Close to value, but still can squeeze a few bucks profit, and Seager might still have a monster year in his bat.
Marcus Semien ($4F, SS): Cheap gamble for a little speed and some power. Will look to kick his totals up next year.
Rob Refsnyder ($4F, MI): Another prospect gamble, but like Semien, Gyorko and several others on my team, their salaries only increase $3 a year as they were drafted as minor league prospects and promoted through the league.
Nick Castellanos ($10F, CI): Another former prospect, Castellanos is like a lot of the players on this list: great minor league numbers, lots of potential, but I need it realized, ideally this year.
Matt Kemp ($31F, OF): Again, close to value, but there have been big years in Kemp's stick, and he has certainly been very hot the second half of recent seasons. Kemp was another guy whose salary advanced to the tune of $3 a year and I am just not ready to let go yet (maybe that is the problem?).
Yoenis Cespedes ($13F, OF): Another salary control, if Cespedes can come close to his 2015 numbers, he will be a bargain and a half.
Gerardo Parra ($1, OF): Don't ask me. I hadn't planned on getting Parra. In fact, I nominated him for a buck and heard crickets. I don't expect another .291-14-51 season with 14 steals, but for a buck, I suspect Parra will give me a profit.
Jacoby Ellsbury ($10, OF): Don't ask me, redux. I needed speed, and Ellsbury was nominated for a buck, so I bumped it to $10. I hoped maybe I could grab Ellsbury for $15, but again, crickets with Ellsbury falling to me for $10. And, with the die cast, there were a few mumbles of "damn, I should have bid more."
Alex Rios ($5, OF): My last player acquired. If I can get 450 at-bats, that will be good for the price.
Prince Fielder ($26, UT): Almost as much of a shock as Ellsbury and Parra, after A-Gone went for $42, I just figured Fielder was too much to imagine. That was one reason I went for Zimmerman, who was nominated a lot earlier than the Prince. But, I guess money was tight later in the draft, and that Utility slots had been mostly populated, and that combo allowed me to grab Fielder at a more than modest price. My team's struggles in this very difficult league have been well- documented over the past few years, but if I have a ticket out of the cellar this year, the bargain prices I got for Fielder, Parra and Ellsbury will be the ticket.
Zack Greinke ($32F, P): Easy to justify based upon his 2015. At least I have an ace going into the draft.
Marco Estrada ($6F, P): A cheap endgame pick last year, Estrada certainly showed his stuff. The question is can it carry into 2016? I hope so.
Hector Santiago ($7F, P): Pretty much the same as Estrada, but younger.
Edinson Volquez ($9, P): I have always liked Volquez' stuff (I scored him at ATT his rookie season) and he has been pretty good for the last two years. Now 31, and a cog of a championship team, I am guessing Volquez is going to have a fine season as an experienced veteran.
Brandon Finnegan ($3, P): I couldn't freeze Finnegan, but I was happy to get him back. A hard-thrower and part of the Johnny Cueto trade spoils, Finnegan will go right into the Reds rotation barring something goofy. I think the first-round pick in 2014 is going to be really good.
Rubby De La Rosa ($1, P): Last pitcher, had a buck, deep draft, worth a gamble. With 14 future picks in March (I froze three minor leaguers in Hunter Renfroe, Billy McKinney and Aaron Blair), I can probably cover a few of the above slots as necessary.
Diane and I spent last weekend with the rest of the family at our Soda Springs house, taking in our last chance at the Tahoe-area weather before the cold--and hopefully rain and snow--pelt us this coming winter.
As noted before, the house has no TV (we do have a couple of flat screens and a store of DVDs), nor do our cell phones work, although we do have Internet so we can work and track ball scores and other important aspects of the digital age.
I was sitting at the dining room table when the e-mail from the MidWest Strat-O-Matic league came in, announcing the final season standings, and lo-and-behold, my Berkeley Liberators grabbed the second National League Wild Card spot, meaning I got to face my friend Steve Belmont's Tempe d'Mets squad.
2015 has been a rugged year for my season-long and keeper teams. I finished near or at the bottom in Tout Wars, LABR, and the XFL, and my Scoresheet team completely melted down for the first time in the six years I have played in the Murphy League.
But, in Strat, the sim league that lets us play out last year's totals in a head-to-head fashion this year, the Liberators squeaked 94 wins to grab the second Wild Card spot in a 30-team format that plays the same schedule and basic schedule and guidelines of Major League Baseball (save some standard usage rules).
Needless to say, a 30-team league is very tough with the only time I have made the post-season previously being in 2008 when Jason Grey's team brushed me aside on the way to a title. From 2009-2011, the Liberators won 263 games (no playoffs, though), but then the team began getting old, so I gutted them and began the rebuild process which was indeed brutal for the next years until now.
So, when I read the e-mail that I did make the playoffs, I was not only excited, but blurted it out to the bulk of family members who really had no clue what I was talking about. (They know I am in the Fantasy industry, but as for what I do, I might as well be a rocket scientist for NASA.)
I do think the XFL offers up the toughest competition within any league in which I play, but Strat-O-Matic, which I started playing in 1977, is my favorite.
Strat, for me, is a lot like listening to baseball on the radio, which is something I grew up with in a less enlightened electronic age than we have now. And, listening on the radio is still something I really love because a good announcer (the Bay Area is truly blessed there) will paint such a vivid picture that as listeners, we can truly visualize what is being conveyed in real time, making our imaginations as powerful, if not moreso, than watching a game on the tube.
When a Strat game is played out, the hitter does indeed step into the box, and we roll the dice, which is analogous to the pitch being delivered. That is followed by the results of the dice roll, which is tantamount to the batter swinging the bat, and then we move to the respective pitcher's/hitter's card, which tells us if the ball was fielded or booted or hit out of the yard or any of the million possibilities that lead to the final disposition of the play.
So, just like on the radio, I could see it tTuesday when my Marcell Ozuna clubbed a Garrett Richards pitch deep into the PetCo night, only to have the ball snagged by Justin Upton as Steve and I duked it out in my mind's eye just as clearly as if the late Bill King was calling the action.
While Strat is indeed my favorite of all formats, I do get the same kick and feel from playing in Tout Wars and the XFL and all the other formats of baseball simulations I have been playing since I got my very first Cadaco game in the early 1960's.
I do love baseball, and I do love playing games. I do love figuring things out as well, and I like running things, meaning pretending to be a Major League GM, assembling a squad for the long or short term, and then outwitting my league mates is so perfect that it is why I play.
I do love daily games too, mind you, but the bottom line is I don't play for money, and the incentive for me in any contest is that I want to win (though I try not to be obsessive about it) and the incentive to not finishing last is just that: I never want to be last in anything.
But, as fantasy sports grab attention and have become so mainstream, now causing issues concerning fine lines between gambling and skill, and what is better, daily or season long, the truth is for me the game and the play transcend all of that. Much like watching Game 1 of the World Series the other night told all of us why we watch and follow the goofy and wonderful game of baseball.
Steve and I did play our game out against the backdrop of the epic Tuesday contest between the Royals and the Mets, and in the end, my Liberators could not muster enough offense to whip Richards and d'Mets, and we lost 3-1.
It was tough, but I don't care, for I made the post-season and successfully rebuilt my team into a winner, outsmarting at least 22 other teams in the MidWest League.
Next week, I draft my XFL team for next year, and in a few months the spring cycles of leagues start all over again.
I cannot wait, because like I said, I love baseball and I love playing sim games. And THAT is the bottom line for me.
The success of my failure in the XpertsFantasyLeague is becoming legendary.
Years of teeth-gnashing, and attempting to strategize into a winning team against the toughest across-the-board players in the fantasy universe (IMHO) is no easy task.
To tell the truth, the format--mixed, 5x5, 15 teams, 40-man rosters, 15 freezes, $260 cap--is one in which I excelled enough in the early 90's to give me the confidence to get into this industry in the first place. And, in a league where Yu Darvish was drafted a year before he was signed by the Rangers, there is no hiding anyone from anyone.
Clearly, building via the Minors is the way to go, as the 2015 winner, Steve Moyer, was able to pull Carlos Correa and Kris Bryant out of his reserves at an aggregate cost of $2 (they will be a cumulative $8 next year) and win by 17 points. The strong past winners, however, have all built from this basic formula, and after spending close to two seasons house keeping, grabbing prospects and low-priced deals for stars, my team moved to sixth place in 2014, and I felt I was ready to really make a charge at the title.
Tell it to David Wright, Kenley Jansen, Leonys Martin, Yan Gomes and the various injury-prone under achievers I managed to acquire, finishing with 26 points, my worst finish anywhere ever (and only 103 points behind the leader).
The XFL holds its auction at First Pitch Arizona, making the whole affair essentially the first draft of the next year (for most of us anyway, rumor has it Lord Z just finished an NFBC draft that started the day after the regular season ended). This timing makes projecting who will be starting, in the Minors, on the DL, or on another planet in March mere speculation.
A few years back, I made a dump trade for Francisco Liriano when he first came up, and was happy to freeze the young flame thrower for $10 according to the rules of 2006. Then, after I announced the freeze, Liriano and the Twins announced that their lefty would be missing the entire 2007 season after arm surgery. Or worse, Peter Kreutzer and Alex Patton froze Oscar Taveras for $4 going into 2015, and as we all know, Oscar unfortunately had his career cut short.
Aside from those roster risks, there is also the difficulty of playing against the likes of Patton and Kreutzer and Moyer, Ron Shandler, Greg Ambrosius, and my mates Todd Zola and Brian Walton, among others.
So, following a miserable showing, I do need to rebuild, but I similarly managed to salvage some decent bargains in a league with a somewhat shallow reserve pool, but one that can only be accessed monthly during one free agent draft.
So, who did I keep, and why?
Jedd Gyorko ($10, 2B): At value, but Gyorko salvaged a lot with his strong second half (.259-13-43) and since he qualifies at both second and short, worth the power gamble for a guy who could bang 30 big flies.
Kyle Seager ($21, 3B): Pretty steady power source at third. Close to value, but still can squeeze a few bucks profit, and Seager might still have a monster year in his bat.
Marcus Semien ($4, SS): Cheap gamble for a little speed and some power. Will look to kick his totals up next year.
Rob Refsnyder ($4, MI): Another prospect gamble, but like Semien, Gyorko and several others on my team, their salaries only increase $3 a year as they were drafted as minor league prospects, and promoted through the league.
Nick Castellanos ($10, CI): Another former prospect, Castellanos is like a lot of the players on this list: great minor league numbers, lots of potential, but I need it realized, ideally this year.
Matt Kemp ($31, OF): Again, close to value, but there have been big years in Kemp's stick, and he has certainly been very hot the second half of recent seasons. Kemp was another guy whose salary advanced to the tune of $3 a year and I am just not ready to let go yet (maybe that is the problem?).
Yoenis Cespedes ($13, OF): Another salary control, if Cespedes can come close to his 2015 numbers, he will be a bargain and a half.
Zack Greinke ($32, P): Easy to justify based upon his 2015. At least I have an ace going into the draft.
Marco Estrada ($6, P): A cheap end draft play last year, Estrada certainly showed his stuff. The question is can it carry into 2016? I hope so.
Hector Santiago ($7, P): Pretty much the same as Estrada, but younger.
That gives me $115 for some speed and power and relief to fill things out, but that is easier said than done.
In the Minors, I still have:
So, as with any league and season, I go in with optimism. We shall see, however, in the toughest Rotisserie league in which I play.
Baseball is a beautiful game. It is pretty to watch, whether we are viewing Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner going at it for eight innings without allowing a run, or Bud Norris and Jeremy Guthrie just lasting two each, and getting pulled with the score locked at eight apiece.
It is a game that takes our breath away when played well, and forces a Homer Simpsonesque "Doh" with a slapped forehead when we see a miscue. But, one of the beauties of the game is that it is indeed the same game, whether played by six-year-olds in T-Ball, or the for now defending Champion Giants, across the bay from me at ATT Park.
I do remember going to watch my friends George and Julie's son Zach--then around six--play in a game once. Julie knew I wrote for the same paper as she at the time (USAT) and that I scored games, but she cautioned me as we approached the stands, advising that the skill of play in the Lafayette fields of green was not like that where the Giants roam.
I told Julie I knew this, but as noted above: baseball wherever played and among the game's wonders is that at every level, you can see something equally brilliant, or bonehead.
Julie sort of nodded but I suspect she did not necessarily agree. Sure enough, as we sat down a kid hit a seed to first base, where there was a runner. The first baseman stuck out his mitt and the ball found it, the first sacker stepped on first, and poof, an unassisted double play in T-Ball.
On the other hand, Wednesday night gave us a Toronto/Texas game that I will never forget. Ever. There were miscues coupled with luck, both good and bad (though I challenge you to name just one aspect of your life that didn't involve said luck), and the baseball gods of the highest order, observing the scene and meting out justice appropriately.
I sent a bunch of Tweets out about just how much crazy fun the whole thing was, and mostly got pushback about the sloppy and terrible play. I do understand wanting to see perfect play, especially at the Major League level during the playoffs.
But, let's face it, we are watching human beings, and well, human beings tend to be imperfect. As in baseball, which specifically has a category known as "errors", suggesting perfection is as elusive in baseball as just about every other aspect of life.
And, the truth is, the craziness of the Choo/Martin blocked run-scoring toss back was nutso territory previously unencountered by the bulk of us during regular play, let alone the playoffs. And, the three straight errors the Rangers made right after (four in the inning total, if you count the pop Rougned Odor could not track down) pushed the inning into the Twilight Zone, with Jose Bautista's home run/bat flip moving the game towards some kind of 2001-type transmogrification. (Note, we do need to remember that Willie Davis did indeed commit three errors in one inning in 1966.)
I have indeed seen and tracked a lot of games at this point in my life, but I have never seen anything quite like Wednesday, including a 53-minute half inning with just four runs scored. It was fantastic, and high drama and good fun most of us can relate to rather than a Max Scherzer no-no.
It did seem to me, though, that there was a large contingent of fans who were particularly dour and condescending regarding that crazy silly inning, which is too bad, because the chances are indeed that none of us will again see the likes of the Jays and Rangers game the other night. As time passes, I suspect hindsight will prove the game to be much more a funny nostalgic piece of trivia than anything that will make too many folks other than maybe the Rangers involved too skittish.
The game did remind me, though, of my favorite pieces of insanity that I ever witnessed on the ball field. Mind you, these were all live, and professional, though I do remember some killer local amateur plays, like the unassisted double play in Zach Anderson's game, or my friend Jeanne Schuman's and Bill Pollock's daughter Zoe running down a fly ball in left center field during a Berkeley High playoff game in Willie Mays/Vic Wertz fashion.
Anyway, just to keep the levity as we move into the Championship series, I thought I would list my five favorite plays I have seen in person. Note that I have seen three no-hitters, and scored one perfect game (Dallas Braden's) and saw Rickey Henderson break Lou Brock's stolen base record along with some other great stuff. But, these are my all-time favorite plays. And, I apologize in advance for being a bit long-winded this time, but if you love the game, I think it will be worth the read.
July 22, 1999: The New York Penn League, and I am watching Auburn playing St. Catharines. With the Stompers losing 5-4 in the top of the seventh, Victor Morales hit a ball with one out that shortstop Donaldo Mendez booted. Morales got greedy and made an ill-advised attempt to take second. He would have been out, dead to rights, but a funky throw and fumbled catch allowed Morales to safely touch the bag even after over-sliding. So, his team is down by one, and he is in scoring position. with the three and four hitters due up. Undaunted by the benevolence of the baseball gods, Morales inexplicably took off with the first pitch, trying to steal third, and this time third sacker Luis Dominguez applied the tag. St. Catharines lost.
November 1, 2001: At the Arizona Fall League, Yankees hopeful third sacker Drew Henson made an across-the-body Brooks Robinson-type spear of a screaming bouncer before it passed the hot corner, stepping across the bag into foul territory. It was an incredible snare, and Henson set, and threw to first. Unfortunately, Henson's arm had also been that of Michigan's collegiate QB, and that is what took over as Henson did not only throw over the first baseman's outstretched glove, and the stands. The ball sailed over the fence and park too, landing somewhere in the parking lot. Henson made three errors that game, walked once, struck out twice, and hit a double.
August 23, 2011: With Pablo Sandoval on third and Aubrey Huff on first, in the bottom of the sixth, leading the Giants 4-0, San Diego's Jesus Guzman cleanly picked a hard bounder hit by lefty Brandon Belt. Guzman was playing back, and off the bag, and the Panda took off from third with contact, but then slowed a quarter of the way as he saw Guzman pick the ball. Pablo danced, staring Guzman down, while everyone in the pressbox was mumbling "tag the fucking bag." But, Guzman did not take his eyes off Pablo, who kept edging to the plate until Jesus could no longer take it. Pablo broke for the dish, and Guzman uncorked a rocket to catcher Nick Hundley. Unfortunately, the throw went into the dugout, allowing Huff to score and Belt to park his heels at second. Meaning zero outs were recorded, the batter went to second, and two runs scored.
August 29, 2001: In what may be the wildest scoring game I ever saw (Diane and I saw a pretty good one at the old Yankee Stadium in its last year, when Johnny Damon went 5-for-5), the Cardinals beat the Padres 16-14 following a nine-run second inning. I remember the night at old Busch Stadium well. A full moon seemed to be rising under the arch from where I sat as Gerry Pagano, the bass trombonist of the St. Louis Symphony, played a lovely solo National Anthem. which set the tone for such a memorable evening that featured a 4-for-5 night from Ryan Klesko that included two homers and two doubles that were almost big flies. There were a ton of crazy things in the game, but the best was following a bunt single in the bottom of the fifth by Edgar Renteria, Eli Marrero hit a line drive single to right, moving Renteria up a base. With none out, St. Louis invoked a double steal with a pair of strikes on Bobby Bonilla, who threw his bat at the ball and sent the club flying towards third sacker Phil Nevin, who sidestepped the bat and in the process the throw from catcher Ben Davis. Both the bat and ball landed sort of together in left and Reneria scored on the E2 (error charged to Davis, not Nevin, though the throw wasn't so bad, rather Nevin abandoned post) with both bat and ball landing at the feet of a puzzled Rickey Henderson, who looked up and spied Marrero now chugging to to the plate and let go of a more than errant throw, meaning two runs. The call--or lack of--of interference regarding the projection of the bat forced the Padres to make a protest to no avail. By the way, the pitchers, Chuck McElroy and Jose Nunez, struck out the side that inning, meaning without the errant bat the two runs likely would not have scored as there were only five batters that frame.
September 27, 2008: At ATT, with one out in the sixth inning, Pablo Sandoval singled, and Bengie Molina followed, hitting a shot off the top of the right field wall. Bengie hit it hard, and was not fleet afoot, so he was held to a single, with Sandoval moving to third. With the Giants trailing 5-3, Bruce Bochy sent Emmanuel Burriss in to pinch run for Molina, but just before the next pitch, Bochy called time. He got the ball Molina had hit, noticed there was a green splotch, and asked the umpires to look again, suggesting the green meant the ball hit the copper at the top of the wall, and if that was so, it was a home run. The umps looked, and sure enough, Molina was granted a homer in what was the first overturn of a hit to a homer after the invocation of the instant replay use for such calls. Molina got a homer and two RBI, but Burriss, who was announced and on the field, got the run scored. When Burriss finished rounding the bases and trotted into the dugout, Bengie said "nice hit" to him.
It was kind of hard to believe, watching MSNBC's "All In" Wednesday when the lead to the story in the next segment was last week's Draft Kings/FanDuel miscue where it was revealed that employees of those two companies have access to data not privy to the public when playing DFS contests.
It made me think of 1988, when I played in my first local league, and then of 1993 when John Benson hired me to write in and edit his annuals (it is where I met Steve Moyer, in fact), three years before I went live on the Web with CREATiVESPORTS.
As we largely know, those were the days of the "USA Today" posting weekly team and individual statistics on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and shortly thereafter one could expect his or her league's weekly standings.
In '96 I did launch the site that merged with Mastersball a number of years back, and that got me the notice of a real pioneer in the industry, Rick Wolf, for Rick hired me to be the first minor league and fantasy analyst for the fledgling CBS Sportsline (my boss back then was another name known to all, that of Scott Engel).
It was good fun in those early days; a tight and small community that bonded during the .com boom, but just before blogging and tweeting and Facebook became the norm. In those days, we did bear the scorn of fans and the industries--primarily baseball and football--that we loved and modeled, who said we destroyed fan loyalty and were just a bunch of geeks who embraced the clear brilliance of Daniel Okrent's Rotisserie model, and ran with it.
AL-only and NL-only expanded to mixed leagues, then to ultra leagues, and now to daily contests, showing the game has certainly evolved in the 27 years I have been part of the wave.
And, now as we all know, being a fantasy geek is among the coolest things one can be on earth, and there are commercials for games and especially DraftKings and Fanduel on the tube, all the time.
Everyone plays fantasy something. There are shows on all over the place, and when you think about our virtual universe, it kind of makes sense. It also proved that as counter-intuitive as broadcasting games over the radio in the 30's, and on TV in the 50's, that rather than limit the focus of fans who listened to, or played games, the fan base actually grew.
Fantasy has grown such that every major sport now owns a chunk of some kind of game, show, vendor, or some combination thereof, and that means there is a lot of money involved in all of this.
And, that means potential problems in a lot of ways as witnessed by last week's fracas.
In the wake of the initial charges, and pending investigation, it is easy to be judgmental and act superior, just as it is easy to get uber-defensive about both the problem (privileged access to information for employees) and the subtext (is it gambling or not, and save five of our 48 contiguous United States, the answer is "no, it is not gambling").
The truth is we can all have a myriad of ideas and theories and opinions on the above, but to me the reality is they don't really matter. What does, is that the eccentric little industry that Wolf, and Engel, and Greg Ambrosius, Ron Shandler, John Hunt and so many others (and amazingly me included) started to push publicly 27 years ago has indeed made it as a powerhouse game and market, and what that means is, like it or not, those of us who play and provide games and content for fantasy have to act like objective grown-ups about this, and work as much as we can with the powers that be to keep the games we love to play as straightforward and above board as our local league would be.
If you think this "scandal" has let you and the industry down, remember that the bulk of the crazy growth that has put fantasy commercials on a visibility par with those of car insurance and Viagra, has really just been over the past four-to-five years, and that, to quote Yegraf (Alec Guinness), about the post-WWII technological advance in the Soviet Union in Dr. Zhivago, "we have come very far very fast."
For some reason, within all of this, I think of cell phones and their ridiculous impact and intrusion into our lives as analagous to fantasy's suddenly loony explosion into the mainstream.
In 1988--the year of my first league--think of what kind of cell phone you owned? Probably none, but then the first few giant clunky ones that came in a sort of plastic looking shoe box were produced. The phones did start getting smaller, but then there were reports and studies that the phones might be emitting radiation and causing brain damage to the users holding the receiver near their heads.
So rules and policies and procedures and guidelines emerged, but nothing like the fallout from the 2006 accident in which a Utah youth, while texting and driving, ran into a pair of nuclear scientists, killing both (see the book A Deadly Wandering, by Matt Richter for information on this and other like cases), for that was the start of the rules and laws and campaigns around texting and driving.
Now, I am not trying to say that texting and playing fantasy are the same, nor is the death of a pair of innocent scientists comparable to cutting corners to win a Sunday fantasy contest. But, note as well it took almost 20 years within the growth of the cell industry for texting while driving to simply become a campaign, something we all think now should have been built in from the start.
I am suggesting that there are not always said rules and guidelines to govern new and burgeoning industries because we are largely unable to foresee potential fall out until it hits. And, for the fantasy sports industry, now is this big public test of endurance and viability.
I do realize the investigations that are now taking place are working at a level far beyond that of meager site operators like me, let alone luminaries like Greg and Rick, but, it is similarly true that all politics really are local, whether we choose to admit it or not: rather, it is whether or not we choose to engage as individuals. That means supporting our products with integrity, being open and honest, and maybe even contacting our Congressmen/women and Senators, letting them know that we support reasonable patrolling of the fantasy game.
It doesn't matter whether you think in terms of games of skill, or hate daily, or mixed leagues or Strat-O-Matic (though that is so hard for me to understand): the issue is, if you like to play sports simulation games, and want to keep the industry growing and alive, rather than bitching, or questioning, or saying "I told you so," how about working at making fantasy, which for now is as legit a concern as there is, work so we can continue to play in the broad daylight, away from the cloaked shadows and basements of nerdom.
Either that, or in the words of Larry (fantasyhead Robert Wuhl) as noted in the great "Bull Durham," it might be time to find a job at Sears selling major home appliances.
Patience has not come easily to me in this life.
I was pushed ahead two grades when I was in grade school (in addition to having a late October birthday), meaning I was always two-plus years younger than all my classmates. And, no matter how I may have been able to compete intellectually with those older and wiser, emotionally I was still just that much behind.
As we know, the subtleties of age dissipate with said commodity: that is, as we get older, the gap of understanding and experience between years doesn't matter so much. However, the difference between being eight and ten as far as the sophistication of worldliness is huge: so unlike that say, between being 48 and 50 years of age.
I like to think I have slowed down over the years. I attribute a lot of my ability to quell the reactive portion of my nature to my late son, Joey, who endured some serious birth anomalies, and a limited existence of external abilities. Joey couldn't walk or talk, and was in diapers and a wheel chair for all of his 22 seasons, but the reality was you could only go as fast as Joey as in you will only go as fast as your slowest component can go.
If we were ready to go out, and Joey had a sysout in his diaper, everything stopped until that was handled. Those of you who have dealt with babies know exactly what I am talking about, the difference being Joey's body stayed in the perpetual baby state for all of his life.
What this did, however, was force me to slow down, and take a deep breath, take a look around, and not necessarily react to things in life.
As in not dumping Mark Trumbo for David DeJesus earlier this year when the Mariners acquired the slumping slugger, allowing another owner to "assume the risk."
OK, laugh if you will. Sure, there are other more important aspects of my life that Joey, and the patience he dragged in his slipstream provided, but, one of the sweet byproducts of this learning was to make me more patient with my players and teams and rosters in fantasy games.
Sure, I do fall victim to that urge we get when our closer gives up eight runs with two out in the ninth, not just blowing a save, but our collective WHIP and ERA in the process.
But, thanks to Joey, I can hang onto the likes of Mark Trumbo, as the season and a few games usually are not so much to stir my desire to cut players from my teams.
Obviously, while this is good in some ways, being active over the first few weeks of a season--baseball and football, anyway--but, especially in football, it is so hard to get a feel for who is going to do what after just three games.
For example, I find myself the owner of Derek Carr, Amari Cooper, Carlos Hyde and Matt Jones, in some form of every league in which I play and for the most part, I have been unable to play any of them at the right time, let alone know they will pick it up as the season goes forth.
I know these guys are probably all future stars, but for now I have them mostly supporting the likes of Doug Martin and Marshawn Lynch, both of whom are similarly iffy these days.
I look and see all the transactions my football league mates make, and other than little tweaks like dumping Mohamed Sanu for Eric Ebron wherever I could, I feel better just letting the guys I have see what they can do.
I do remember that last year I drafted Tre Mason around the 19th round of my Kathy League Gifford draft, but he did little those first weeks and it was bye week and I dumped him. In the end, my team was lousy and I dropped Mason, whom I would have been able to freeze in the 16th round this year.
So, this year, I am trying to remember what I learned from Joey. Take a breath.
The fact that Trumbo has posted a .266-13-41 line for my $82 in FAAB doesn't really help. But, it doesn't hurt, either.
We have all been there.
This past week, after Derek Carr's horrible opener, I sat the Raiders QB, along with Amari Cooper and also left Matt Jones on my bench in no less than three leagues.
It wasn't a whim thing. Carr was maybe hurt, and he was going against the usually tough Ravens defense, so if his game was hampered, so would be Cooper's, I thought. So I went Nick Foles and Anquan Boldin, which wasn't so bad, but collectively they weren't equal to either Carr or Jones, making Boldin more of a creme brulee than gravy.
I have had this happen regularly in DFS baseball this year, with some periods of 10 days where Cory Spangenberg jumps out at me and I play him and he gets ten points, or the converse ten days where I cannot pick a winner even if that means taking Paul Goldschmidt when he is starting against Jeremy Guthrie.
Don't get me wrong: I am very clear that there is a basic skill needed to be successful at fantasy games. You do have to know the players and the weather and the teams and the parks if you want to be successful for any protracted period.
But, for those head banging moments when I do the most research--like Max Scherzer over Miami in Washington--and make what appears to be a pretty good play that runs amok, all I can think of is I might as well just throw darts at a dartboard for my picks. And, that always reminds me of this great scene and clip from the wonderful, "Young Frankenstein."
And, I am not suggesting what Inspector Kemp does with his darts was the right thing, but it does get exasperating sometimes when our concerted effort to make a rational choice is completely usurped by some combination of lack of reason that stumbled onto luck at the right time (what else explains the Fish beating Scherzer).
Of course, it doesn't help that a week later, Jones suddenly becomes a "must start former sleeper darling" who then gets shut down by a feisty Giants defense.
But, like I said: I know we have all been there, and it is part of the games we love and play. In fact, that "chance" factor is indeed a lot of what not only makes life interesting, but it touches us everywhere.
Was it some chance by which you met your partner or landed your job? We have three dogs, all rescues, all of whom just happened to be at the right time and place for us to notice and grab them. Was that luck, or a supreme being, or the force, or kind of one of those situations like baseball, where if you concentrate and make the best moves you can consistently, you will win 55% of the time, and if you can do that, you will be good.
I like to think of it as putting yourself in the position of taking advantage of luck when it comes your way, for if one is prepared, chances are he or she will be able to assess and handle the situation, be it romance or a Nelson Cruz dinger, appropriately.
I do have a team sports analogy of sorts that I do like to contextualize in determining the difference between a good team and a bad team.
If we think in terms of baseball, and the error, it works like this: A good team is more likely to take advantage of an error made by the opposing team, and less likely to be victimized by their own miscue more often than a poor team. Maybe this only means 10-15 times a year such a situation comes up, but it is enough to put the Royals in the postseason, and leave the White Sox practicing for 2016 on the south side.
I saw Theo Epstein mention that there have been talks around expanding the MLB Wild Card match-up from a single game to a best-of-three series.
Now, before I wax philosophical and political and bore half of you into reading something that you don't think has anything to do with baseball or football, let alone sports, let me say I totally dig Theo. Aside from being a guitar player, Theo "fixed" the Red Sox, and Theo will have "fixed" the Cubs within a few years, something no one else could do for 100 years.
Second, I LOVE the Wild Card game and adding that team to the mix. It opens so much more in terms of opportunity, and equally important risk, and that fosters rebuilding for conservative teams and going for it as it applies to contenders, promoting or trading and making the second half so much more interesting and exciting.
In fact, I have no issue with expanding it to a series rather than a sudden death game in theory.
But, the real underlying principle for this expansion is building TV revenues by adding potentially four more games of playoff play, and that means viewers and related prime time ad money.
To be clear, I am not against money either, although I sometimes wonder just how much is enough? And, where does a season that used to be done by October 15 and now could move into the second week of November draw the line?
I am not trying to be a cranky old man by invoking that there were no playoffs when I first watched baseball, although the entire face and configuration of the leagues and standings and teams has transmogrified over the 55 years since the game grabbed my attention.
Things change. This I understand and accept. And, in order to survive, we must evolve with the rest of the planet, whether that means using Twitter, or separating your recyclables, or wearing a seat belt, or whatever isn't the way it used to be.
Does that mean more is good? And, though there is clearly a TV market to drive a few more games, should dollars always drive what we see?
But, another argument in favor of expanding the Wild Card is that after the grind of the season, one game should not be the decision point, and while I get this perspective, that sort of logic is fueled by the very frenzied idea that does not allow our culture to accept losing gracefully.
To apply to baseball, it is tough to lose a season to one game, to maybe one bad pitch or one bad hop within that one game, but if you extrapolate baseball and numbers and innings and pitches and at-bats, at some point every season boils down to one of those happenstances.
This is actually true of a bad bounce in football, a funky roll on the carpet in golf, or even how one might meet their future partner. There is always an element of luck or coincidence in just about every endeavor of life. The challenge is adjusting to the results.
So, while there is an argument that says one Wild Card game should not be decisive after the 162-game grind of the season, again, let's draw a line somewhere. Otherwise, we might as well expand the schedule to 200 games, or the Series back to best of nine, please.


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Nash the Black Iris
Nash the Black Iris is a story that most of us Jordanians can relate to.
Born as a Black Iris, a flower exclusive to the harsh deserts of Jordan, Nash had very little in his life growing up but it didn't stop him from becoming a national icon for youngsters.
One day, a young Nash was bored and feeling down on his luck stumbled across a small desert town school and watched in amazement as he saw children playing. Balls were being thrown, hit, kicked and caught. Nash had never seen anything like this before and he was hooked.
The kids were laughing and smiling, running as fast as their legs could take them. Nash was spotted by the kids and invited to join in: his life was never the same again!
For once in his life he felt friendship, and part of a team.
The school welcome Nash with open arms and sport helped him become one of the most popular pupils. He wasn't the best at sport but his enthusiasm was infectious.
Sometime later, the school was invited to attend a sports day at Al Hussein Sports City, organised by the Jordan Olympic Committee and Nash was nominated captain. It was the biggest honour.
At the event, Nash cheered and encouraged his teammates from the sidelines, celebrating their victories whilst consoling the opposition in defeat. He caught the eye of a Jordan Olympic Committee official who presented Nash with the winners' shield on behalf of his school, and then offered him the chance to become their ambassador for the Kingdom's young.
With the Jordan Olympic Committee struggling to communicate with the next generation, the official saw Nash as the perfect messenger.
From this day on, Nash has an important role to ensure that sport, and the values of sport, reach every single child in the Kingdom. He will help to spread the beautiful message far and wide through a number of initiatives. Look out soon for The Adventures of Nash.
There is a well known saying that if you don't get kids interested in sport by the age of eight then you have lost them, well, it seems that the Jordan Olympic Committee has selected the perfect ambassador to reach out to millions.
And don't forget the important message that Nash tells all children to pledge in order to become a member of his club:
Nash says that win or lose you should:
- show RESPECT to all
- always play FAIR
- TRY your best
- be HEALTHY
- have FUN
To watch Nash's Photos and videos : Click here


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Plustore Fitness Activity Tracker Wristband, Waterproof Bluetooth Bracelet
Regular price
|Multiple functions: Support movement tracking, sleep monitor, sedentary remind, multiple movement mode. Waterproof design£ºYou can wear it freely to washing face, taking a bath or swimming, don't need to worry about it Data synchronization: It can count steps directly without cell phone. The data can sync to your smart devices or APP, after connecting your phoneFor sports: GPS movement locus record: distance, duration, total calories consumption and historical records, share your trajectory Count steps: the bracelet can be used alone to records your steps an ...
On Jul-19-16 at 01:23:18 PDT, seller added the following information:


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0.55 acres in Wilkinson County, Mississippi
Status: Active
County: Wilkinson
Area: Wilkinson County
Approximately 0.65 acre(s)
Waterfront property
Lot features: Cleared Lot, Mobile Home All Allowed
Lot size is between 1/2 and 1 acre
Topography: Mostly Level,Flood Plain,Lake
Utilities present: Electricity Available, Public Water Available, Septic Tank Allowed
Parcel Access: County Road, Unpaved
Lot Description
Some Trees
Water/Lake Front
Type of Fence
Road Frontage Desc
Flood Plain
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Contact Agent
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Edna J. Murray
Paul Green and Associates
301 Hwy 61 South
Natchez, 39120
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NOTE: The information contained herein is provided as general information only and has been obtained from sources deemed reliable. It is provided without any guaranty, warranty or representation, expressed or implied, made by Lands of America, or any related entity, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information. The information is presented subject to errors, omissions, change of price or conditions, prior sale or withdrawal without notice. Prospective purchasers should make their own investigations, projections and conclusions concerning the information.


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UserZoom is User ExperienceTalk to our product experts
At UserZoom, User Experience Testing Is What We Do
We don't only promote this to our customers, but we also engrain usability testing practices deep into our product and design culture. This is because UserZoom started out as an idea by usability practitioners to make user research and usability testing easier for everyone.
Customer focused
Laser focus on building partnerships with our customers and users, and their feedback leads the way to creating delight and real business outcomes from user experience.
Persona focused
As the value of usability testing is proven through hard ROI, more personas are getting involved. UserZoom defines and optimizes user experiences based on each individual persona's needs.
Design thinking
With a focus on the enterprise, we leverage a framework to solve our users' problems at the speed and scale that they need.
Integrated product and design
Integrated teams result in fast definition, validation, and agile execution with R&D.
Usability testing leads the way
Continuous focus on achieving higher standards in UX through testing, improving, and testing again. Rinse and Repeat.


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Honolulu Slip and Fall Accidents Lawyer
Falls account for more than 8 million emergency room visits every year, accounting as one of the leading causes of hospital visits in the United States. Of these, roughly 1 million are slip or trip and fall injuries. Many of these falls result in injuries like fractures and broken bones, including many that involve the knees, hips or ankles, brain injuries or can even be fatal. If you have suffered a slip and fall accident, contact the premier Honolulu Slip and Fall Accidents Lawyer, Dennis W. Potts to see if your case merits a personal injury lawsuit.
Damages awarded for injuries due to slips or trips and falls vary, depending on the cause and severity of the accident and the age of the victim.
Proving Negligence in a Slip and Fall Case
If you have been injured in a slip or trip and fall accident, you may be wondering if you are eligible to receive compensation for medical bills or lost income. When the fall is a result of someone else's negligence, that is behavior where that person fails to exercise reasonable care, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries. You
For example, if a business owner noticed that the floor in his or hers business establishment was cracked or uneven, but did not make an effort to repair them or post a warning sign, he or she may be considered negligent if a person sustains an injury as a result of those. Honolulu Personal Injury Attorney, Dennis W. Potts look at the merits of your case and help you get started.
Proving negligence, however, is not that easy. Fault is a concept that must be determined by a number of factors. For example, a Honolulu court may consider:
- Whether the dangerous condition on the owner's premises was dangerous?
- Whether the owner was aware of the dangerous condition?
- Whether the owner took timely action to repair or remove the dangerous condition?
- Did the plaintiff act in a way that may have contributed to his or her own injury?
- Does the plaintiff have adequate documentation of injury, and does he or she have supporting physicians' reports?
Hawai'i is a comparative-negligence state. Comparative negligence assigns a percentage of blame to both the plaintiff and the defendant. If the plaintiff is found to be more than 50% at fault, he or she is ineligible to receive compensation.
If the plaintiff is found to be less than 50% liable, compensation will be adjusted by that percentage. For example, if the total damages amount to $10,000, and the plaintiff is found to be 20% at fault for his or her own injury, he or she will only receive the remaining amount (80% or $8,000) from the defendant. This allows the plaintiff to receive compensation to help with medical bills and lost wages, even if both parties are found to be negligent.
Experienced Honolulu Slip and Fall Accidents Lawyer
If you have been injured in a slip or trip and fall accident, seek competent representation as soon as possible. The state of Hawai'i allows plaintiffs to file suit within two (2) years of the accident, but the sooner you acquire representation from an experienced Honolulu Slip and Fall Accidents Attorney, the sooner we can start to work on your case.
An attorney can help you collect and organize all necessary documentation to substantiate your case. To speak to a personal injury attorney with over 40 years of trial experience, contact the Law Office of Dennis W. Potts today at (808) 537-4575.


text: Jellis Vaes is a 24 year old international travel and adventure photographer. At the age of 18 he left his home and over the next 3 years traveled around the world. On that journey he mastered his photography skills while traveling through numerous types of landscapes in all kinds of weather and conditions. Through the lens of his camera he learned to notice the minute details of life and how everything changes, evolves and transforms around us. With an eye for detail - on life and the amazing planet we inhabit, he is able to capture that world, and draw people into the exact moment and place captured by the lens. He has worked with and helped various companies across the globe bringing their heart and soul to life through his pictures.


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Community Health Systems
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Full Time
AR, Fort Smith – Sparks Regional Medical Center
West AR – 2nd largest city in the state
Sparks Regional Medical Center, a 492 bed facility, in Arkansas' second largest city, is seeking a BC/BE ENT physician for an employed position.
•Office space is available
o4 exam rooms
o2 procedure rooms
o2 allergy rooms
oActive allergy clinic
oActive Video Stroboscopy Voice Clinic
•Call is anticipated to be no more than 10 days per month
•2 block days in the OR
•Full time anesthesia coverage is provided
•Sparks Regional Medical Center has a residency program through University of Arkansas Medical School
Named True West Magazine's top "True West Town" for 2013, Fort Smith, AR offers historic sites and a scenic riverfront downtown, not to mention thriving retail and culinary treasures. The Fort Smith Region is as diverse and modern as it is beautiful and historic.
•Beautiful scenery - nestled on the Arkansas River and between the Ozark and Boston Mountains.
•Affordable living – consistently ranked among the lowest five in the nation & named the most affordable city by Kiplinger.com in 2010.
•Leader in manufacturing and home to Baldor, Mars, Petcare, Kraft-Planters, & Gerber.
•Local airport with daily flights to Dallas & Atlanta
Our hospital, Sparks Regional Medical Center, has proudly served the community since 1887. Over the past 3 years they have received numerous awards including
•Gold Plus Certification from American Heart & Stroke Associations
•Best Regional Hospital – US News & World Report 2012
•Only local Accredited Chest Pain Center
The new Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine is slated to open in Ft. Smith in the fall of 2016. This complex is projected to have an annual financial impact to the region of $100 million, and will help address the future need for primary care physicians for the local area and across the nation.
Offering a strong recruitment package which may include:
•Base salary & productivity incentives
•Full employee benefits
•Sign On and/or Commencement Bonuses
•CME, Relocation, License expenses
•Possible stipend for the remainder of training
•And medical education loan repayment assistance
Visit Sparks Regional Medical Center: www.sparkshealth.com ; www.sparksvanburen.com ; www.sparksphysicians.com
Visit Ft. Smith, AR: http://www.fortsmithar.gov/ & http://www.fortsmith.org/
Sorry, this is NOT an opportunity for Search Firm recruiters. Thank you.


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Contact Us | Find MASN | Programming Schedule
School's always in session! Bring an apple and check out Roch's new classroom.
O's Insider: No one delves deeper into the O's organization than Steve Melewski.
Nationals Pastime: For the latest news directly from the Nats clubhouse, follow Mark Zuckerman.
Byron Kerr: Byron covers the Nats from every angle and on every level.
Here is the Nationals' lineup for Thursday's series finale against the Rockies. I'll update this with Colorado's lineup when I have it:
Morgan 8
Guzman 9
Harris 7
Dunn 3
Pudge 2
Kennedy 4
Desmond 6
Gonzalez 5
Hernandez 1
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Template:Infobox hotel The American Colony Hotel is a luxury hotel located in a historic building in East Jerusalem which previously housed the utopian American-Swedish community known as the American Colony.
The building was originally owned by Rabbah Daoud Amin Effendi al-Husseini, who lived there with his harem of four wives. Soon after his fourth marriage, al-Husseini died. In 1895, the building was sold to a group of messianic Christians who arrived in Jerusalem in 1881 and set up a commune. Their leader was Horatio Spafford, a lawyer from Chicago and his wife, Anna. In 1896, the Americans were joined by two groups of Swedish settlers. [1] This Christian utopian society became known as the American Colony. [2]
In 1902, a Jaffa hotelier named Ustinov (grandfather of the British actor Peter Ustinov) was looking for a place to put up guests visiting Jerusalem and asked the Spaffords to accommodate them. Soon after, the building was turned into a hotel.[3]
Today the American Colony Hotel calls itself an oasis of neutrality in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.[4]It is still owned by descendants of the Spaffords. A grandson, Horatio Vester, was the manager until he retired in 1980. [5] His wife, Valentine, lived in the hotel until her death in June 2008. [6] Since 1980, the hotel has been run by a Swiss company. The effendi's original bedroom is called "Room One." In 1995, Peter Ustinov visited the hotel and planted a palm tree in the courtyard. [3]
Famous guests
The American Colony Hotel, on the "seamline" between east and west Jerusalem, is the preferred hotel of many diplomats, politicians and foreign correspondents. [2]Its famous guests include Leon Uris, Lawrence of Arabia, Bob Dylan, Tony Blair, Philip Roth, Eric Frattini and John le Carré. Carre wrote one of his books at the hotel and Frattini, include information over the hotel in his last book fiction, 'The Laberynth of Water' [2]
- ↑ Street People, Helga Dudman, Carta, Jerusalem, 1982, pp. 83-104.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Englishwoman who ran an oasis in the heart of the conflict - Haaretz - Israel News
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Saudi Aramco World : Hotels With a History
- ↑ Jerusalem Hotels | American Colony Hotel Jerusalem | Introduction
- ↑ Unusual hotels of the world http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/HotelDetails.aspx?HotelID=339&sender=search&keyword=&location=&budget=&type=
- ↑ Valentine Vester, owner of famed American Colony hotel in J'lem, dies at 96 - Haaretz - Israel News
See also
External links
Coordinates: 31°47′22.88″N 35°13′45.76″E / 31.7896889°N 35.2293778°Emk:Американски хотел


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slakephoto Photographer
Matthew7792Model Male Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US
Mayhem # 2596490
About MeI am just trying to have fun with it all, I'm up for almost any type of photography and would just love to get out there. Most of my photos on my profile I did myself, so sorry for the lack of professional photos. I've been told I can take direction well and am fun to work with, I have my piercings but I can take them out if needed easily. If you have any questions feel free to ask!
Have you worked with Matthew7792? Add Credits for Matthew7792! >>
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Mike Ross Pix Photographer
sinmarc Photographer
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Michel G M Photographer
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UK Immigration Law
Have UK Immigration Law Questions? Get Answers Now.
You will have to declare any criminal convictions you have on the application form for your leave to enter even if you manage to get a work permit license first. The Home Office will take these into account however they will look at the specifics of the conviction including how long ago it was and whether you have had any convictions since. It's not an automatic bar to getting a work permit however it will be taken into consideration.
I hope this answers your question in which case please Accept. If you require anything further, please ask.


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2.84 acre - Fulshear, TX
2.84 acres on FM 359 in the City of Fulshear, TX.. The tract has utilities and is zoned Downtown District. The property has 309.15 feet of frontage on FM 359, north boundary is 820.46 feet, south boundary is 606.87 feet and the east boundary is 156.09 feet. The property has a level terrain and is not in the flood plain.
From the intersection of FM 1093 and FM 359 in downtown Fulshear, proceed north toward Brookshire one-half mile and the property is on the right.
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George Gayle
George Gayle Properties
7007 Hunt Lane
Fulshear, TX 77441
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NOTE: The information contained herein is provided as general information only and has been obtained from sources deemed reliable. It is provided without any guaranty, warranty or representation, expressed or implied, made by Lands of America, or any related entity, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information. The information is presented subject to errors, omissions, change of price or conditions, prior sale or withdrawal without notice. Prospective purchasers should make their own investigations, projections and conclusions concerning the information.


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THE decadence on Madison Avenue doesn't stop with the clothing. Sant Ambroeus, a pasticceria and cafe that has been open near 78th Street for 15 years, also purveys the luxuries of Italy, in an understated, Giorgio Armani kind of way.
Consider a simple dish like prosciutto crudo con mozzarella, which appears as a special but can be ordered anytime. The plate comes half covered with pink ruffles of prosciutto, which taste sweet and nutty, with a flicker of salt.
The other half is laden with thick slabs of mozzarella, made fresh in house every morning. The cheese is coated with a slick of deep green olive oil, icing each creamy bite. Even the basil leaf, stuck like a flower into the center of the dish, is fragrant and full-flavored.
The prosciutto comes from San Daniele del Friuli in the western Alps of Italy, and is less salty than the more common prosciutto from Parma. The olive oil is bottled by Lungarotti, a winemaker in Umbria. ''The Tuscans make the better wine and the people of Umbria make the better olive oil,'' explained Paolo Della Puppa, who has managed Sant Ambroeus since it opened.
Four ingredients are all there is. ''When you use the best ingredients and use them fresh, you don't have to do much work,'' Mr. Della Puppa said. Simple and beautiful it is, but at Madison Avenue prices: $14.50 for lunch, $12.50 for dinner. AMANDA HESSERContinue reading the main story


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|Ross Gardler <rgard...@apache.org>
|Re: Broken links on website
|Fri, 01 Jul 2005 08:21:18 GMT
Ross Gardler wrote: > Addi wrote: > >> All of the whiteboard plugin links on the website are not found: >> >> The requested URL >> /pluginDocs/plugins_0_70/org.apache.forrest.plugin.view was not found >> on this server. >> >> Regular plugin links seem OK. > > > Hmmm... you are right. I could have sworn I'd deployed them all, clearly > not. Actually there is a bug in the deployment of whiteboard docs and I clearly wasn't watching carefully when I deployed the files. I can't fix this right now, I'll raise an issue and get to it soon, if noone else does in the meantime. Ross
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Schools & Programs to meet YOUR needs
Early Intervention Schools – Educational and counseling services for students from elementary through high school. Our schools offer the common core curriculum as well as special education programs. Students are referred from their sending school/district liaison. Attendance is mirrored to a typical school day and for a minimum of 5 weeks. Standard review periods are held to determine whether student is prepared for transition to district school or to remain enrolled for additional assistance with behavior and academic growth.
TAP (Twilight Academy Program) – is designed to provide a structure and individualized program to assist high school students with the accelerated acquisition of credits towards graduation. Students can achieve a maximum of two credits per school year, attending TAP during after school hours from 2:30PM to 5:30PM. The goal for students during their tenure is to continue with their academic instruction in order to graduate with their age-appropriate senior class.
Alternative To Suspension – is a program designed to work with students during their suspension days. Successful completion of their school day at the designated sight will help students to understand the importance of appropriate decision making. Students who do not attend or do not successfully fulfill the school day(s) will receive the suspension.
Student Support – A behavior support program providing students strategies and interventions needed to address their behavioral and academic challenges. Maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses will aid in students' ability to pro-actively exhibit a positive attitude and willingness to succeed in their educational and behavioral goals. AFOF staff work within the district school building to provide support and behavioral intervention.
Take Time – An in-school support to provide students additional resources with academics, and social/emotional skills development. AFOF Take Time staff will work with district-school staff on special projects to enhance the productivity of positive pro-active incentives; as well as service designated students needing additional supports for reaching optimal success. Family intervention, staff support, and student success are the driving force behind the Take Time Program.
RCubed – An in-school alternative providing students an opportunity to Reset their decision making process to Reflect appropriate choices in order for them to Return to their traditional classroom. Providing middle and high school students the chance to Reset, Reflect, Return will offer the needed incentive to complete their high school education and hopefully a smooth transition into college.
Journey – works with students in the redirection of behavior. This short term program targets students in middle school that are starting to exhibit behavior that may lead to chronic behavior and classroom disruption. The program is three weeks in duration and is designed to provide academic instruction, improve motivation and attitude. The students participate in an intensive counseling program that offers resources for them to make more appropriate choices. Academic work is provided by the sending school and the goal is for the student to complete the program and return to their district school with additional insight and knowledge to complete their education successfully.
Homework Club – is an after school program offering students an academic assistance session one to two evenings per week. Students receive homework help and remedial instruction as well as guidance with their school reports and projects. High school students have the opportunity to participate in SAT/PSAT preparation, resume writing, interview techniques, and assistance in searching for the college of their choice.
TOOLS (Teaching Others Optimum Learning Strategies) –
This 6-session workshop provides follow-up for families and children to improve communication, anger management, self-esteem, motivation, and family interaction. The goal is for children and parents to participate in activities and sessions to help them to be productive, and that the family is provided resources that will help the family unit to work together as a group and develop a tool chest of alternative strategies. At the final session, families receive their resource 'tool chest' that they have been building for 6 sessions to include handouts and information pertinent to each night's topic as well as contact information for important services.


text: Washington Tsunami Warning Siren Hodgepodge in Oregon To Be Standardized Oregon is pushing its coastal counties to standardize the sound of tsunami warning sirens. Washington state has already done so. Correspondent Tom Banse reports. Oregon's Emergency Management Office uses the words "mish mash" to describe the current array of tsunami warning sounds. Seaside, Oregon for example has used a steady siren wail during evacuation drills. Irrigators fed up with state over increased water rights Columbia and Snake River irrigators have run out of patience with the state of Washington's slow work to increase irrigated acreage that was agreed to in 2006, according to Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association leaders. If the state will not support efforts to allow irrigators to use some of the water freed up by conservation efforts, irrigators will no longer be willing to support the state's other conservation projects, said Darryll Olsen, a consultant to the irrigators association, during a meeting with the Herald editorial board. Experts Question Hanford's Waste Treatment Plant, Now That Yucca Mountain Is Not An Option RICHLAND, Wash. - The Obama Administration says it plans to appoint a blue ribbon panel soon to determine the fate of the nation's radioactive waste. For years now the waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation has been destined for a deep hole in Nevada's Yucca Mountain. But as he promised in his campaign, President Obama stripped funding for Yucca. Now, Hanford officials are wondering where all the high-level waste in Washington State will go. Richland Correspondent Anna King reports. Washington Man Stands Trial For Buying Bear Gall Bladders Today in northeastern Washington, state attorneys will try a man accused of buying gall bladders that were taken from bears. Authorities say the organs are popular items on the black market. The practice of buying and selling bear parts is illegal in Washington, as Inland Northwest Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports. Watchdog Says Feds Shouldn't Draw More Water Out of Columbia River A watchdog group is crying foul on the federal government's plan to pump more water out of the Columbia River in Eastern Washington. The government plans to build a massive pipeline near Moses Lake with federal stimulus money. Richland Correspondent Anna King explains. At issue is the federal government's plan to build a massive pipeline near Moses Lake to pull more water out of the Columbia River to help irrigate crops. Rachael Paschael Osborn with the group Center for Environmental Law & Policy says she became concerned with the pipeline when she realized how large it was. Pages« first ‹ previous … 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62


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Modern Poems on the Bible: An Anthology
A collection of some of the most imaginative and engaging responses to the Bible written in this century. Guided by the classic rabbinic genre of Midrash Curzon chooses masterpieces of 20th. Century poetry and places them beside the biblical passages that were their inspiration.
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