Posted on August 28, 2008 by rantingmark
With their playoff hopes already on life support, the Yankees came out with another feeble effort AT HOME no less, mustering a whopping 3 runs off the venerable (ha ha) Boston Red Sox triumvirate of Paul Byrd (waiver pickup and Kelsey Grammar lookalike), Manny Delcarmen and the ancient Mike Timlin. The Yankees bullpen sparkled as well, allowing 7 runs in 3 1/3 innings, turning a 4-2 deficit into a laugher that they lost 11-3 putting them 7 games behind the Red Sox for the AL wild card spot. After Tuesday’s 7-3 loss, RantingMark though maybe the Yankees would come out with some fire. Looks like they thought their season was dead before this series with the Red Sox even started. I guess if a team counts on wins from Carl Pavano they have already put up the white flag, huh?
Yes, the Yankees have had difficult injuries but a team with $200 million+ payroll should be able to overcome injuries. Yankee co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner’s assessment of the team was brutally honest and accurate, ”The bottom line is, they sucked.” Joe Girardi’s account, “It’s not for lack of effort,” makes one wonder if he was watching the Yankees game or something else last night. Maybe he was thinking of his son’s little league game. While RantingMark was always a big Joe Torre supporter, he’d have to admit that he thought bringing some new blood might help the team. Looks like he was wrong. Girardi’s Spring Training regime did nothing to get off to a faster start or prevent injuries. The team looks dead. With nothing to show for the season and Girardi’s cavalier attitude, RantingMark thinks Girardi’s days are numbered. The way they are playing, the Yankees will not only miss the playoffs, but could do so by more than 10 games.
Yankees fans can take comfort in the fact that the Mets will more than likely play just well enough to not make the playoffs again. Unfortuntely Mets fans will probably blame Willie Randolph for this year’s September swoon too. They will probably blame him for the lousy parking at Shea, the bad food, overpriced beer and high gas prices as well.
Turning out lights
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/08/28/turning_out_lights/
Hank has harsh words for Yankees after blowout
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spboss285819401aug28,0,269104.story
Filed under: baseball, yankees | Tagged: baseball, red sox, yankees | 4 Comments »
Posted on August 25, 2008 by rantingmark
There is now scientific evidence proving that cigarette smokers have lower IQ’s than their non-smoking counterparts. OK, maybe that hasn’t been proven but RantingMark would bet some serious coin that it is true.
Why is it that 99% of all smokers feel it is ok to just flick their cigarettes anywhere they please as if it isn’t garbage? There are two trash cans outside of my office building where the puffers hang out. These are there specifically for the smokers. You know… the garbage cans with the sand on top to put lit cigarettes out with. There are about 100 butts around each of them each day and maybe 10 inside the garbage can itself. They do the same with matches. Can you imagine eating lunch and throwing your cups and bag on the floor next to the garbage can? Finished your bottle of water. Just chuck it wherever? Blew your nose? I hear used tissues make good fertilizer. OK, some people do just that… they must be smokers.
Twice while RantingMark was cruising in his convertible, minding his own business and probably kicking it to some Weezer or Radiohead, lit cigarettes thrown out of cars in front of him landed IN HIS CAR. RantingMark caught up to the first cigarette chucker who’s best retort was “it was just a cigarette”. RantingMark felt like whipping a cell phone at the idiot but thought better of it.
Maybe one of you smokers out there can explain to RantingMark why it is ok to just drop your used cigarettes anywhere you feel like it as if they don’t exist. Why can’t you dispose of your trash like normal people? I’d love to know.
UPDATE: OK, apparently there is some evidence to suggest smoking lowers one’s IQ. Check it out:
http://psychologists.blogspot.com/2006/09/does-smoking-cigarettes-cause-drop-in.html
Filed under: stupid people | Tagged: cigarettes, smoking | 3 Comments »
Posted on August 20, 2008 by rantingmark
Usain Bolt of Jamaica left everyone behind, blasting to a world record 19.30 time in the 200m Olympic finals. Bolt was able to narrowly best Michael Johnson’s 12 year record of 19.32 by two-hundredths of a second pulling away from the field almost immediately. Bolt becomes the ninth man to win both the 100m and 200m races in a single Olympics and the first since Carl Lewis back in 1984. Bolt also became the first man to set records in both events in the same games. Neither Jesse Owens nor Carl Lewis were able to pull a record double off in their day.
Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles took silver (19.82) followed by Shawn Crawford (19.96) from the US for bronze. American Walter Dix placed just out of the medal hunt with a fourth place finish (19.98). Wallace Spearmon of the US appeared to place third, but was DQ’ed for a lane infringement.
RantingMark says there is no question this guy is the fastest man in the world!
UPDATE: Churandy Martina was DQ’ed for a lane violation as well meaning that 2004 200m gold medal winner Shawn Crawford stepped up to silver and Walter Dix earned his second bronze medal of the games.
Filed under: olympics | Tagged: bolt, olympics, summer olympics, usain bolt | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 20, 2008 by rantingmark
Does George Lucas really need more money? I cannot come up with a single different reason why he would put out such an awful movie other than to squeeze a few more bucks out of the once glorious Star Wars franchise. This movie was so bad it made me yearn for the Star Wars Holiday special and Ewok Adventure (okay, not quite). Even the pack of kids sitting behind RantingMark were bored to death asking if they could play video games instead of watching the movie. I did not like this movie. I am not one of those people who hated Episodes I – III either. OK, Episode II did make me cringe quite a bit. The Clone Wars makes episode II seem like Gone With The Wind.
The story takes place in a galaxy far, far away… during the Clone Wars where the Separatists and Republic battle it out. Jabba the Hut plays a key role as his son Rotta the Huttlet is kidnapped. Anakin and his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano must rescue the Huttlet so that the Republic can sign a treaty with Jabba to open up the space lanes in the outer rim. Yes, even the plot is lame.
The animation is ok. John Williams sat this one out. So did everyone else from the real movies other than Christopher Lee (Count Dooku), Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu, who has about 2 lines) and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO). Anakin Skywalker somehow manages to come off even more hollow than in Episodes I and II. Overall the voices weren’t terrible. James Arnold Taylor did a credible job replicating Ewan MacGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. Dialogue was worse than in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The future Dark Vader actually calls Jaba’s son ”Stinky” on numerous occassions as does Ahsoka. Jabba actually refers to him as his “Pumpkin Muffin”. Yikes. RantingMark won’t bore you with the rest of the awful dialog, but there is more.
I was five years old when I first witnessed the magic of Episode IV: Star Wars. Maybe if I were still five I could have tolerated this movie. Perhaps it was meant to be geared to a younger audience. Given very few of the main players were involved, maybe this movie shouldn’t be taken so seriously. I don’t know. It had Lucas’ name and the words “Star Wars” attached to it. What I do know was that I kept checking my watch in hopes that the borefest would soon end. If you really must see this, wait for the DVD or better yet cable. It isn’t worth your money.
Filed under: movies | Tagged: clone wars, movie review, movies, star wars | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 19, 2008 by rantingmark
Looks like Mad Dog Chris Russo made it official and is on his way to Sirius. His new show will start on September 15th on Sirius channel 123. The Mad Dog Sports show will run weekdays from 2pm to 7pm. That was fast huh? Looks like a lot of sports freaks are going to hit Best Buy and Circuit City to get their Sirius radios…
http://www.sirius.com/siriussportscentral
While he swore on the lives of his children that he didn’t have anything set, I guess he was pretty close.
RantingMark wishes Mad Dog the best of luck. I am sure the show will be interesting and entertaining. Personally RantingMark can’t stand Sirius. I had it pre-installed in one of my cars, got a free six month trial and tried calling FOUR TIMES to continue the service after the trial expired only to be put on hold for 20-30 minutes each time. I AM NOT KIDDING. Four times. On hold at least 20 minutes each time. I gave up. I miss Howard Stern (I catch him when I rent cars once in a while while on business) but I can live without him and I can definitely live without Sirius and their awful service.
Filed under: Chris Russo | Tagged: Add new tag, Chris Russo, Mad Dog, mad dog chris russo, sirius | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 18, 2008 by rantingmark
Did you catch Usain Bolt in the 100m Olympic Finals? Bolt blasted to Olympic gold with a world record setting 9.69 time, obiterating the field even while letting up with about 10 strides to go. He might have been able to get into the 9.5’s had he went full blast the whole way. Can’t wait to catch him in the 200m and see if he can make a run at Michael Johnson’s insane 19.32 second run at the 1996 Olympics which in my opinion is still the greatest run of all time. Bolt brought the jolt back into the 100m race and the 200m is his “better” event. Should be fun. Congrats to American Walter Dix for grabbing the Bronze.
So Michael Phelps did it and won eight gold medals in a single Olympics. Congratulations to him and to his teammates that helped him acheive that goal. Extra special thanks goes to Jason Lezak who in the 4×100 freestyle relay caught outspoken and world record holding Frenchman Alain Bernard on the final leg despite being almost a full body length behind.
A little lost in the Michael Phelps story was the Gold medal success of other US swimmers. Here’s the rundown:
Natalie Coughlin (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze) – 6 medals
Ryan Lochte (2 Gold, 2 Bronze) – 4 medals
Aaron Peirsol (2 Gold, 1 Silver) – 3 medals
Matt Grevers (2 Gold, 1 Siver) – 3 medals
Jason Lezak (2 Gold, 1 Bronze) – 3 medals
Rebecca Soni (1 Gold, 2 Silver) – 3 medals
Garet Weber-Gale (2 Gold) – 2 medals
Peter Vanderkaay (1 Gold, 1 Bronze) – 2 medals
Special shout out to Dara Torres who at 41 years old won 3 Silver medals missing gold by .01 seconds in the 50m freestyle.
THE RANT
I am sick and tired of the American media over-hyping US Athletes setting unfairly high expectations. I realize they need to create excitement to ensure people watch all events, pump the ratings and generate more ad dollars but some of the headlines I’ve seen regarding Katie Hoff have been brutal. She was dubbed the female Michael Phelps (by the media) and because she only delivered a silver and 2 bronzes she’s a failure. I’d like to see some of the writers bashing her try to win 3 Olympic medals… Yes maybe her schedule was a bit overzealous but if she qualfied for the races what’s the problem? Natalie Coughlin won 6 medals but you hardly hear her name mentioned… I watched American cyclist Taylor Phinney yesterday and watching the pre-race promo you thought this guy was a favorite for gold. As an 18 year old and relative newbie to the sport, the story should have been how impressive it was for him to reach the final round and ultimately finish 7th. Instead, the race was a bit of a letdown though one of the commentators did explain that he did great to get as far as he did and will be one to watch down the road.
What do you think of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games?
Filed under: olympics | Tagged: michael phelps, olympics, summer olympics, usain bolt | 1 Comment »
Posted on August 15, 2008 by rantingmark
That seems to be the most popular rumor surrounding the popular but sometimes annoying former WFAN co-host of Mike and the Mad Dog. Russo somewhat unexpectedly bolted WFAN yesterday for a yet to be determined new gig. Apparently there had been more tension than Mike Francesa and the Mad Dog let on and both felt it was time for a change.
So far today’s program (Francesa on the FAN) has been mostly a love fest with one listener actually starting to cry (yes really) when reminiscing about the program. It will be interesting how the new Francesa show turns out and where Russo actually ends up going. Love him or hate him, Russo helped make the show entertaining and it will never be the same. He sometimes hurt your ears when he spoke and he was a certified Yankee hater but his take on the New York sports scene was interesting nonetheless.
What do you think?
Filed under: Chris Russo | Tagged: Chris Russo, Mad Dog, Mike Francesa, sirius, WFAN | 4 Comments »
