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Good morning, and happy Hump Day! I'm going to be honest. Last night, I just did not have the energy to think. I wanted so much to come up with a really good posting for you today, but just nothing really popped into my head. At least, there was nothing major that popped into my head. Sure, there were a few little ideas that did pop into my head, and some of those will be the basis for what you will be reading today (if you choose to continue). Those of you who frequent BrentNet (Where today he continues a series by analyzing the 1997 NBA Draft) know that he has a topic and then usually follows it up with a "Dot...Dot...Dot..." section. That's what today will be for the site.
But before we get started, I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to participate in my Demographic Survey. I am very curious as to the ages and whereabouts of the people who are reading this site. I would love to get an e-mail from someone in every state and any other countries. I would also like to know how frequently you read the site and how you came to it. I have already received response from some very intriguing people and had some great discussion with a few others as well. So, check out the Survey here, and then e-mail me. Thank you!
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I
watched
Napolean Dynamite this weekend. The MTV product is
actually a strange movie. It is almost hard to explain. It isn't
a blatantly comical movie at all. It is just the story of the
ultimate nerd that most high schools have. Napolean is awkwardly
built, awkward in communicating, seems to have a chip on his
shoulder and really doesn't have any friends until Pedro moves
to town. He lives with his brother Kip who is equally awkward
and continually bragging out his internet girlfriend. Their
uncle comes to live with them because their grandma is in the
hospital. He's weird too, one of those guys who thinks that if
his high school football coach would have played him in the 4th
quarter, he would still be playing in the NFL. It is a
situational comedy, and you have to really respect the job that
Jon Heder
did making us care about this character despite little to like.
I think it's a fun movie that you have to be in the right mood
to watch. There are just a lot of great quotes throughout the
movie. For instance, "You know, there's like a butt-load of
gangs at this school. This one gang kept wanting me to join
because I'm pretty good with a bowstaff," or during a kickball
game, someone asks Napolean if he wet the bed last night.
Napolean replies, "Hey, Don, did you take a dump in the bed last
night?" Good stuff! -
Speaking of... I mentioned last week that I got a puppy for Christmas. First, I should thank all of you who have e-mailed me your hints and suggestions for puppy care and training! Well, I've had "Abby" for two and a half weeks now. My main concern right now is getting her to go to the bathroom outside. She has been doing great the last few days, going to the door whenever she needs to go outside. Well, yesterday morning, I took her out at about 4:15 am and then again at about 7:00 a.m. At that point, instead of putting her back in her kennel, I let her lay in bed with me. I mean, I was only going to lay there for another 20 or 30 minutes anyway. Well, about 7:30 I got up and went in to the shower. Eight minutes later, I came out of my bathroom and saw a couple of "presents" on my bed, on the blanket. Now I know how parents must feel at times. Their kids do wrong, and you have to be stern and look upset while inside you are trying your hardest not to laugh at the situation. That's how I felt yesterday morning. Ah, the trials and tribulations of parenthood!
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Raise your hand if you would like to see USC play against Auburn next weekend? OK, I agree. USC would throttle Auburn. Maybe the better game would be Oklahoma against Auburn for 2nd place.
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I
finally watched
Dodgeball this past weekend as well. I had heard that it
wasn't as great as I would have thought. And, after watching it
myself, I would agree. Don't get me wrong, it is good and has a
lot of very funny parts. The kid from
Ed (Justin
Long) is hilarious in whatever role he is in, and that
is again the case in this movie.
Ben Stiller
had his moments, but I really prefer him as a bumbling idiot
than this ultra-arrogant character. Minneapolis native
Vince Vaughn
is so frequently the bad guy, but I really liked his character
and thought he was good. And anything with
Christine Taylor
in it has to be good. (By the way, how lucky is Ben Stiller
for getting to marry her!?) And the movie's last scene is
nothing short of inspirational! -
The Hall of Fame vote was announced today. Wade Boggs was the obvious 1st ballot electee and he garnered about 92% of the vote. After not including him on my ballot a year ago, I added Ryne Sandberg to my list of players I would vote for if I had a vote. This year, with 76% of the vote, Sandberg will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July.
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Bruce Sutter got 66.7% of the vote, but can he get up to the necessary 75% in his final three years on the ballot? Jim Rice is at 59.5%. Rich "Goose" Gossage increased about 15% to 55% of the vote. I think that the voters are starting to realize just how incredible he was, and maybe even realizing that he was better than Sutter! Andre Dawson was the only other with over 50% of the vote.
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Our guy, Bert Blyleven, received just about 41% of the vote, up about 5% from last year. It is still amazing to me that 3 out of every 5 voters does not think that Blyleven deserves a Hall of Fame vote. I continue to read people talk about certain things that Jack Morris or other pitchers have done that mean they should be elected and just keep thinking of what a Blyleven supporter could come back with, and the answer is plenty! Fact is, I still have never heard or read a good reason for him not being elected!
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Besides Boggs, Willie McGee was the only first-year ballot guy who will remain on the ballot. He received 26 votes, or exactly the 5% necessary to get to be voted on again next year!
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ESPN.com's Page 2 writer Bill Simmons wrote a great article called Hall of Fame Ballot Soap-Box in which he discusses the players on the ballot. It is quite comical, especially on players who have been in trouble, like Otis Nixon!
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Rank the Jennifers: Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Love Hewitt or Jennifer Lopez? E-mail me.
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Did you happen to watch the Minnesota Timberwolves lose 122-115 to the 27-4 Phoenix Suns? What an entertaining game. And how good are the Suns? With Steve Nash leading the way, they have a starting lineup that is as stacked as any in the league. Nash had 12 of his 16 assists in the first half. Amare Stoudmire is incredible in just his third season out of high school. He had 34 points on 15 of 19 shooting before his ejection halfway through the 4th quarter. Shawn Marion has long been one of the top 6-8 all-around players in the NBA. He had 28 points and 8 rebounds. Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson are incredible talents. However, their Achilles heal may be their depth because after the starting five, there is not much depth. Casey Jacobson can shoot, and Bo Outlaw plays hard, but that's about it.
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Kevin Garnett was incredible last night. He set a Timberwolves record last night by scoring 47 points (eclipsing 44 point games by Tony Campbell and Wally Szczerbiak). He did it on 19-28 from the field and 9-11 from the line. He also grabbed 17 rebounds. He just took over the game on both ends of the court. He is clearly the best player in the NBA and in the world. I don't even think it can be debated any more. Sam Cassell had 24 points and 9 assists, a very good game, which makes it interesting that he did not play the last six minutes of the game as Troy Hudson was in the lineup. Wally Szczerbiak added 20 points on 7-10 from the field and 3-6 from behind the arc. I think Wally just gets it and finally understands and accepts his role. I will continue to argue that the team is better when Latrell Sprewell is in the game.
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I am frequently asked about how the Wolves are just 16-13 with all the talent they have. I honestly am starting to believe that they just have too much talent. More and more, I would like to see a trade of two players for one star. Something like Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell to the Nets for Jason Kidd. I know that it wouldn't work logistically but then other players could be added to make it work. The Wolves just have too many good options.
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Also, this team plays very little defense. Cassell and Hudson play none.
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One thing I would like to see is for Kevin Garnett to absolutely go off on his team now. He is too nice, too unselfish and too much about team. That is not a bad thing, but right now, what this team needs is to get laid into by their superstar. If Kevin Garnett talks, you have to listen and maybe that is the spark this team needs to get it turned around.
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Seriously, how good is NBC's The Biggest Loser. Yeah, my man Maurice is gone now, but what a great show! And tonight is the premiere on NBC of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Model Search. Viewers can determine which model wanna-be will be in the next swimsuit issue!
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VIKINGS PREDICTIONS - This weekend, the Vikings will win 34-31 on a last second field goal. The following week, they will beat the Owens-less Eagles because of a controversial call. The Eagles did not throw the red flag on a deep touchdown pass to Randy Moss where had it been reviewed, it would have shown that Moss was out of bounds. And finally, in the NFC Championship Game, the Vikings will get behind and it will look like the favored Falcons will head to the Super Bowl, the Vikings will get a late touchdown and get the ball back. Morten Anderson will kick a 37 yard field goal to win the game for the Vikings. How do those predictions sound? Crazy?! Yeah, I know, but how perfect would that be, especially Morten Anderson helping the Vikings to the Super Bowl this time against the Falcons?
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The Cardinals middle infield could be David Eckstein and Roberto Alomar. That's quite a drop-off offensively and defensively from Edgar Renterria and Tony Womack!
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Stick and Ball Guy wrote a great article on Sunday asking a question that I have wondered for years... Why is this a Vikings town? I certainly can't answer that. Why do the Vikings continue to sell out games despite what they do every single season? Why is it that the Twins have won three straight AL Central titles and can't even get 2 million fans to a game? I think you'll enjoy SBG's article!
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The Twins signed 2B Brent Abernathy who was a member of Team USA's Gold Medal Club in 2000 to a minor league contract. After a decent rookie season with the Devil Rays, Abernathy has done pretty much nothing since then, either at the major league or AAA level. They also signed RHP Pat Strange who is 24 and used to be a prospect for the Mets, but he's not doing well either and likely just provides depth for Rochester.
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Why do I live in Northern Minnesota? Seriously, as I'm typing this, it is approaching 30 degrees BELOW zero. It seems as though this winter it has either been extremely cold or if it is above zero, we get a lot of snow. Over the past weekend, we got 16 inches of snow. I believe it because I had to shovel my driveway, twice! So yeah, if any of you know of any job openings in warmer climates, please consider me!!!
And that's probably enough dots, huh? I hope you've enjoyed. E-mail me any thoughts you may have. Thanks and have a great day!