SYP Says

All-Star Game 2008--VOTE for Giambi aka the Moustache!

It's been tough being a Yankees fan the last several years. I've stopped watching until after the All-Stars because lately we've been basically terrible until after the season mid-point.

I've decided to enjoy the All-Stars this year though and want as many NYY players on the team as possible, especially because this is the 79th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the last to be played in the current Yankee Stadium.

This year's final fan vote is all position players. I'm obviously going for Giambi because he is a Yankee and I can't get over his '70s porn star moustache. It takes guts to sport that around town, plus it's being credited for an improvement in his play. Go IAMBIG!

Hurry -- the Final Vote ends Thursday, July 10 at 5 p.m. ET. VOTE NOW (but only if you're a Yankees fan).

Note: Thanks to Zell's Pinstripe Blog for the Giambi pic.

Joe Torre in Costume?

This is just wrong. I wish I could say this was a picture from Halloween. :(

My First Rodeo

Sing along and tap your feet to Kenny Chesney's anthem "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." Smell popcorn, hay and manure. Watch women in tight jeans and big hair juggling bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade and little kids in cowboy outfits. You've just been transported to Saturday night at The Biggest Little Rodeo in the West in Central Point, Oregon. YEEHAW!

First, a confession. I actually like the rodeo. I even watch it on TV from time to time. I *even* have a couple of favorites. Fred Whitfield, for ex, and the now retired Cash & Rope Myers (because with those names, what else would they be but steer wrestlers).

And admittedly this isn't just any old local event. The Wild Rogue Pro Rodeo attracts internationally renowned cowboys eager to qualify for the national finals in Las Vegas which is televised for 10 days in December on ESPN.

OTOH, I typically try to avoid situations in which I'm told "Miss, NO ONE leaves before the bulls ride" and the announcer calls Berkeley, CA "the cesspool of liberalism" (especially since Ashland is basically Berkeley in Oregon).

Don't get me wrong. I did have a good time last weekend, but after one night at the rodeo, I think I've gotten my fill for a while of waving American flags (excuse me, "Old Glory"), patriotic hyperbole, and Coor's Lite. Next time I have the urge for a little bull riding, I'll turn on VS., put on a little NPR and sip a Negroni.

For more rodeo pix from the event on Oct 12-14, click here.

Watch the video of "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy."

Get the lyrics to "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." (Believe me, you won't be disappointed.)

Guitar Center Sale to Bain, Yankees Choke, No Tyra...

This was a rollercoaster of a week for me.

* The Yankees choked after fighting hard all season to get into the playoffs. What a bummer. Alas, no post-season Yanks/Red Sox match-up. I really thought this was our comeback year.

* The purchase of Guitar Center by Boston-based private investment firm Bain Capital finally closed. Glad that's finally over. I have to say it was interesting going through that process. It was stressful, hectic, and I'm sure I don't know the half of it. Anyway, we'll see what it ends up really meaning. I think it's the right direction for where we need to go.

* I saw my first coyote loping on the highway. Very cool.

* My DVR croaked for an unknown reason and didn't record one of my all-time guilty pleasures. Congratulations--You're still in the running towards becoming America's Next Top Hanger, I mean Model!

All these are lame excuses for why I missed putting up this week's Best Song. I'll be back on Monday when I'm over the trauma.

Yankees TV

I think I'm in heaven. I finally gave in and subscribed to MLB's online subscription service and boy am I kicking myself for not doing this earlier. Since this is regular season play only (plus archives, etc), with the 5-day risk-free trial, I can watch the last several games of the season for only $7.95 before the Yanks are in the post-season on TBS in a couple of weeks (I hope!). Totally worth it.

Out here in Ashland, Oregon, The New York Yankees games aren't on TV much and when they are, the utterly moronic duo of Tim McCarver and Joe Buck always seems to be announcing. When I was in NYC, I actually listened to Yankees games on the radio with the TV on mute to avoid having to listen to them. Yes, that's how bad they really are.

There is a real reason btw why Tim McCarver has such a high "annoying" factor at AmIAnnoying.com. His penchant for saying something completely wrong, inane, or obvious has resulted in sites such as I Hate Tim McCarver. Didn't realize how much I missed the YES network, Bobby Murcer, and Michael Kay until I moved here! It sure is nice to see them all again now that I've got MLB TV.

So, I'm drinking my Sun morning coffee, writing this blog, and watching the start of the Yankees vs Blue Jays. All I need is a decent bagel. Like I said before--heaven.

Fenway Shmenway

So what that I wasted 12 hours of this weekend watching the Red Sox sweep my beloved Yankees in Fenway for the first time in 17 years. And just how is it that with the league's highest payroll, our pitching stinks so much??? It is a mystery to me, but say it with me, people: It's only April...

I went over to the Yanksfan vs Soxfan blog where I read this post which made me feel a little better because I was thinking the exact same thing:

at least our closer does not make a stupid face everytime he looks in. The sox had to make history to beat the yanks, they can't do it every time.

Posted by: SOXH8ER | Sunday, April 22, 2007 at 11:47 PM

OK...just let me get through the week and then we'll see you darn Red Sox in Yankee stadium.

Guitar Center Retreat

Guitar Center has a yearly corporate retreat for eligible employees. Last year, I had worked at GC less than 2 months before I attended, so I knew very few of the hundreds of guys who were there. Besides the all-night jam rooms, one of the long-standing retreat traditions is softball. It's a required event and considering the number of people in management now, just organizing it must be a feat.

As a child, I played teeball poorly (that damn tee was always getting in the way) and I was no star at softball either. I was usually placed in left field where I spent the majority of games humming, daydreaming, and every once in a while mustering up enough energy to yell "hey batter, batter, batter." I was marginally better at soccer which I played for a couple of years; my field hockey career OTOH was cut short when a monster of a girl landed her stick right into my gut. I've always been much better at individual sports like tennis, hiking, skiing, and more adventurous activities (I'm dying to learn how to hang glide!). Team sports...not so much.

When I found out I had to play softball, I was imagining a game or two at the most. Little did I know that this was the big leagues. Yes, I know, the fact that "winning" is one of Guitar Center's 7 core values should have been a tip-off.

I ended up playing from 4 in the afternoon to 1 in the morning. That's right--9 hours of almost continuous softball. My coach was Dave Weiderman who is in charge of the Hollywood Rockwalk. This guy was serious. A softball nazi. No drinking anything but water and almost no eating allowed...no nuthin' to come between us and the ball. People were diving left and right like we were in the World Series and the ambulance came to treat the injured (apparently also a yearly event). After all that, what do you know--we ended up winning the championship. I even got on first base. (It was the cheers of "pigtail power" from the sidelines that inspired me.)

This trophy's the proof. When I told my mom, I'm pretty sure she thought I was lying. Tomorrow, I'm off to this year's retreat. Wish me luck!

Yankees vs Red Sox (no contest)

Opening day. I groaned when I heard Carl Pavano would be the starter, and he didn't exactly impress today, but it worked out in the end. Recorded the game and watched The Yanks beat Tampa Bay 9-5 when I got home from work. Happy to say that not only did A-Rod score, but Boston lost their opener. (Keep it up, Schilling!) No Bernie Williams--he was missing from Opening Day for the first time since 1991. 161 games to go...

Typepad highlighted a great blog recently called Yanksfan vs Soxfan. Love it.

Go Yanks!! :)