Philip Spooner

This is a video, just under 4:00 in length, that doesn't need much of an introduction, or much commenting after.

It's a video meant to be watched and processed, hopefully by many, to show how sometimes, the most important point of view--that of the people--is all we really need.

There's no fancy words here, no expensive educations, no pandering, and no mud-slinging.

There's no hidden agenda--just the simple point of view of a man, a father, a veteran, delivered with conviction from the heart.

So take 4:00 out of your day and watch this.

It'll only make you a better person.




More soon.

JS

Christmas In October

For us Apple whores, the note above usually results in a fluttering of the heart, because it means new toys are on their way to the Apple online store.

The "yellow sticky" went up this morning and the heart flutters were worth it, because today was damn near Christmas in October.

Rumors have been floating around for weeks now--updates to the iMac, MacBook, Mac mini, and the Mighty Mouse.

But as anybody who's waiting to buy their iTablet can tell you, rumors have an evil way of, well, not being true all of the time. Let's see how it all panned out.

First up:





Those would be shots of the new iMac, which now comes in 21.5" and 27" inch flavors. 27" goddamn inches. Wow. Check out Apple's in-depth look as well as Gizmodo's.

Next up:





A newly-designed MacBook. Updated screen, updated trackpad, updated enclosure, amongst other features. Check out Apple's in-depth look as well as Gizmodo's.

Batting third, my personal favorite:





A mouse that can only be described as sexy, although Apple thought better of it and called it the Magic Mouse. After reading about it and watching the videos, I'd describe it as a cross between a mouse and a trackpad (right on pace with the rumors, of course). I absolutely will be ordering one the first minute that I can. Check out Apple's in-depth look as well as Gizmodo's.

And last, but certainly not least:



An updated Mac mini. Check out Apple's in-depth look as well as Gizmodo's.

--

So what have we learned here?

Apple is damn bad at keeping secrets, that's for sure.

But really, how could you contain something like this?

Also, it's important to note that I only scratched the surface here in terms of what's new in each product. I also didn't meantion the new Apple Remote, as well as the upgrades made to the Time Capsule and Airport Extreme.

Now, the question becomes: how do I possibly stop myself from buying one of each?

If only my credit cards could post a sticky on themselves that read: "Be back soon."


More soon.

JS

Not The Only One

Ken Davidoff touched on something in today's Baseball Insider column that I need to put out there for all to see.

I've been defending the sometimes-douche pictured above since Day 1. He let me down at times, and then he really let me down when he admitted he was a juicer.

I still stuck with him because that's what we do as sports fans, and he's finally paying me back for the support.

That's all well and good, but I need more vindication.

Everybody has made a huge deal about how A-Rod hit in the playoffs from 2004-2007. There's no doubt that he struggled. From Davidoff's column:

Look at it this way: From 2004 ALCS Game 5 through 2007 ALDS Game 4, A-Rod put up a .314 on-base percentage and .214 slugging percentage. Pretty difficult to win when your best hitter hits like that, right? You betcha.

Couldn't agree more.

Here's where it gets a bit foggy for me:

But how did the Yankees' starting pitchers perform in the same period? In 16 starts, the Yankees' starters allowed 54 earned runs in 75.1 innings pitched, for a 6.45 ERA. It's awfully difficult to get much done when your starters are routinely putting you in such big holes.

54 runs in 75 innings? That's not just a "big hole," that's failure on a monumental level. But were there any graphics from TBS/FOX about it every time a Yankee pitcher started an inning?

No.

Were there boos raining down from the Yankee Stadium crowds?

No.

Newspaper back covers devoted?

Sometimes, but not nearly as much.

Up until recently, A-Rod struggled in the playoffs. There's no way around it.

Just don't tell me he was the only one.


More soon.

JS

I'm Being Told It's For Sale

I'm always hesitant to jump on the bandwagon for causes.

Once you do, you're lumped in with whoever else is on board, and as we all know, the world is full of idiots, which means that there's a good chance people will think that I'm an idiot, a notion I fight long and hard every day to disprove.

But I watched a video today, and it got me thinking, and by the end, I was convinced.

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Anybody who knows me knows I went through an intense energy drink phase. I liked 'em cold, I liked 'em big, and I liked 'em often. Fruit juice added, extra vitamins added, artificial coloring--it didn't matter. My pee stank, I got the shakes, and I was awake for a longer portion of the day.

What could be bad?

Costco carried two types--Red Bull and Monster. Red Bull was more expensive and contained less, um, energy than Monster, so Monster it was.

And I was faithful to Monster until I finally realized that sucking down 54 grams of sugar per sitting probably wasn't the best idea.

Now, I've relaxed--literally and figuratively. I'll get a sugar-free Red Bull from time-to-time, but otherwise, I'm sticking to coffee.

So what does this have to do with Rock Art Brewery?

It has to do with a letter, a Cease and Desist order, actually, that Rock Art Brewery's founder, Matt Nadeau, received from Monster's lawyers.

Monster wanted Rock Art Brewery to stop selling one of it's beers--The Vermonster--because people "would be confused with the two products."

Nadeau sent back a response saying he understood the issue and would give up the rights to "The Vermonster" in the energy drink category--certainly a fair agreement--since he didn't operate in the energy drink world, nor Monster in the alcoholic beverage world.

But then, Monster said, "Thanks, but no thanks."

Nadeau was told:

The energy drink category was never the concern to my client; it is that my client would now like to enter the alcoholic beverage market.

And so the battle began.

Nadeau has been told by numerous trademark lawyers that Monster doesn't have a case here, that it is clearly a "nuisance lawsuit."

But they advised that he give up and just change the name, because in the end, Rock Art Brewery would lose.

Monster has the ability (read: money) to drag the case out in court for so long that Rock Art Brewery will have to tap out eventually. We're talking about a company with nine employees--and that's counting the founder and his wife.

So as far as I can tell, there's three options: give money to Rock Art Brewery, or don't give money to Monster, or both, which is my plan.

And while you're at it, watch this video put together by Nadeau:



My favorite quote:

We're going to continue this for as long as we can. I'm a man of principles and its principles at stake, its liberty at stake, its justice that's at stake, and I'm being told it's for sale. I don't buy it.

I couldn't agree more.

Anybody--and I don't care if you're a liberal or a conservative or a Democrat or a Republican--should be mad as hell about this.

It's time to take a stand.

Time to jump on a bandwagon.

For once, I'm taking the bait.

(Just one thing--if you're an idiot, please, don't jump with me.)

(Thanks.)


More soon.

JS

The Men You Watch Every Sunday

There was an NFL commercial a while back--I think it was about Sprint’s partnership--and it featured a wife making promises to the camera while her husband eagerly looked on behind her. She said something to the effect of:

I promise to watch football all day Sunday.

And on Monday nights.

And sometimes on Thursday, or Saturday, depending on the time of year.

And I love this commercial because it captured the spirit of what so many NFL fans go through. During football season, our moods are defined by what our team did that week. We watch games even when we’ve got no real rooting interest in either team because--

It’s football.

It’s what would happen if ballet and Nascar had a child. It takes place from September to February each year and then that’s it. Sixteen games, a few more if we're lucky, and so we enjoy them while we can.

But is this all coming at a price--for the people involved?

Because what we’re finding out lately is that it is.

While sixteen games may not seem like a lot, when combined with practices and college games and college practices and high school games and high school practices, the hits add up.

And they've been taking their toll for quite some time now.

--

There's a new piece by Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker that should be read by any person who considers themselves a football fan:

Offensive Play: How Different Are Dogfighting and Football?

It’s a shade under 8,000 words, brilliantly constructed, and raises questions about morality and the future of a sport that is loved by many but is undeniably destructive to the people who play it.

And as for the comparison to dogfighting--well, you’ll see for yourself just how many parallels can be drawn.

Like many of the people in the article, I’m not sure how to deal with the reality that NFL players are far too likely to have their brains pounded to mush as a result of playing the sport that they love--and that this process will begin long before they’ve signed their first professional contract.

What I do know is that reading this article is a first step.

And if you’re an NFL fan, you should take it too.

You owe it to the men you watch every Sunday.

And Monday night.

And Thursday, or Saturday, depending on the time of year.


More soon.

JS

Dead-On-Balls Accurate

On September 2nd, with 30 games left, I posted my prediction for how the Yankees would finish out the remainder of their season. Here's what I wrote:

-1 w/ Baltimore: W
-4 w/ Toronto: W,W,L,L
-4 w/ Tampa Bay: W,W,L,L
-3 w/ Baltimore: W,W,L
-1 w/ Los Angeles: W
-2 w/ Toronto: W,W
-3 w/ Seattle: W,W,L
-3 w/ Los Angeles: W,L,L
-3 w/ Boston: W,L,L
-3 w/ Kansas City: W,W,W
-3 w/ Tampa Bay: W,W,L

Going into tonight's game, the Yankees are 84-48. If they stay on track with what I've laid out here--19-11--they will finish the season at a super impressive 103-59.

Now, as the Yankees sit back tonight and watch the Tigers and Twins play a one-game playoff to decide who will fly into NY to play Game 1 of the ALDS tomorrow at The Stadium, I wanted to go back and see how I did.

I didn't predict game-by-game since I didn't know the pitching match ups, so 'Correct' or 'Incorrect' refers to the series as a whole compared to how I picked it. The first set of brackets is how it affected the prediction overall (I was incorrect in my pick of a sweep over Kansas City so they lost a game, but I was also incorrect in my pick of two losses to Tampa Bay, in which they picked up two games), and in the second set of brackets is how the series actually played out. Here we go:

-1 w/ Baltimore: W
Correct (W)

-4 w/ Toronto: W,W,L,L
Correct (W,L,W,L)

-4 w/ Tampa Bay: W,W,L,L
Incorrect (+2) (W,W,W,W)

-3 w/ Baltimore: W,W,L
Incorrect (-1) (L,L,W)

-1 w/ Los Angeles: W
Correct (W)

-2 w/ Toronto: W,W
Incorrect (-1) (L,W)

-3 w/ Seattle: W,W,L
Incorrect (-1) (L,W,L)

-3 w/ Los Angeles: W,L,L
Incorrect (+1) (L,W,W)

(It's worth pointing out here that the Yankees clinched a playoff spot in the second win of that series. At the end of the series, with a record of 97-56, they were still on track for my 103-59 prediction with 9 to play.)

-3 w/ Boston: W,L,L
Incorrect (+2) (W,W,W)

(With the sweep against an uninterested Sox team, they reached 100 wins and clinched the division. I was now an overall +2 over my prediction. I figured this series would be more important for the Sox than it was.)

-3 w/ Kansas City: W,W,W
Incorrect (-1) (W,W,L)

(Clinching the division helped me here, as the Yankees played mostly subs/kids in these three games, understandably so.)

-3 w/ Tampa Bay: W,W,L
Incorrect (-1) (L,L,W)

(I'm a genius! Actually, I was really nervous going into this series. I wanted to be right about 103 wins, but I didn't really want the Yankees to go into the playoffs on a losing note. While opening with the two losses helped me out in my prediction, it was tough to watch. Kudos to A-Rod for getting to 30/100 in an injury-shortened season and giving a positive ending.)

So. I was right on the money. Dead-on-balls accurate, if you will.

3 series were correct and 8 were incorrect, but at the same time, that's counting three as incorrect because they won more than I predicted. I assumed the Angels would continue their dominance in LA and that the Red Sox and Rays would be playing harder at those points.

But still--103 and 59. Hard to believe (or is it?) from a team that managed only 89 wins last year and didn't even sniff the playoffs.

Now we wait and see who they'll play. I think the Tigers will win tonight, but I'd rather play the Twins. Joe Mauer is a beast, no doubt about it, and they've got some other offensive talent (although nobody better than Cabrera/Granderson), but with no Morneau, and nobody on their pitching staff even in the same league as a Justin Verlander, I think the Twinkies would be a better match-up.

Then again, the Yankees only lost once the entire season to both of these teams combined, so I feel pretty good about it either way.

My prediction? Yankes play the Tigers and beat them in 4. I'm thinking we'll see a big offensive series out of A-Rod and Tex, an extremely well-pitched game from Burnett, and an over/under of 5 for stolen bases by Gardner, and I'm taking the over.

Also, I see the Red Sox beating the Angels in 5, setting up another Yanks/Sox October pairing.

And as if that's not enough, here's a gift to myself, and you:



Starting at the 1:28 mark, specifically.

More soon.

JS