Quick sports rundown

Lots going on these days in sports...

Here are some random thoughts.

- Tour de France suspensions...what a shame. Top 2 favorites to win the Tour de France have been banned this year for a doping scandal. No Armstrong, no Basso, no Ullrich...no interest for the casual fan.
- World Cup...The USA wasted 2 hours of my morning sleep. Bah. That said, it's still real interesting too watch a well paid game...only if it's the World Cup though. MLS on TV...just doesn't have the rah-rah factor.
- NBA Draft...Nets grab Marcus Williams (awesome!) and Josh Boone (intriguing). Marcus Williams was a potential lottery pick, that slid all the way down to the Nets at 22. Josh Boone...well, he kinda was subpar his junior year in college, but what he brings to the table is exactly what the Nets need from a big man...athletic, shot blocker. If the Nets can just find an outside shooter, there could be some chaos in the East.
-Baseball...This could be the first year in a long time that the AL East doesn't get the Wild Card. With a 4 game deficit, Steinbrenner could very well throw out his hands off approach this year...the next month could be quite interesting for the Yankees...in a bad way, if they don't start reeling in the Sox.
-On TV the other day, Trick Shot Bowling. Not nearly as interesting as trick shot pool because the participants run the same trick out over and over. Tricks ranged from the lame looking, one step approach, to the much more difficult looking towel wrapped bowling ball toss. (where you put a bowling ball in a towel, crane-style, and then you sling the ball down, and open the towel at the right time to launch the ball down the lane. I believe this trick was made more difficult by putting a chair out in the lane as a tunnel). Anyway, with a bit more variety, this could get quite interesting.

Donuts...SO EXPENSIVE!

I went to a Dunkin Donuts today...corner of Kissena Blvd and Horace Harding Expy in Flushing. I remember when they used to sell a donut for $0.40 some odd cents. And a dozen donuts used to be $3.99.

A few years ago, I noted to myself, while in Oahu, that the donuts are darn expensive out there. Something like $0.72 back in 2002.

However, to my surprise donuts are even more expensive today! $0.83 is what it cost me for a chocolate glazed donut. Agh! A dozen would have been $7.00.

Before you know it, we'll be breaking the $1.00 mark on a measly donut.

Has the cost of a business really doubled in 15 years? Egads.

Get ready to dust off those bongos

Are you one of those video gamers that loves Mario Kart?
Are you also one of those video gamers that thought Donkey Konga was cool?

Well, it's time to merge!

Coming to a store near you by the end of the year...

DK Bongo Blast!

234!

With MC bailing on bowling, that wasn't about to stop me. Convinced MR and JE to go bowling and despite falling onto the waiting list, we still got in 3 games.

I'm so psyched we waited.

All-time high!



Might possibly be the first game ever where I marked every frame.

234!

Three game series: 234, 146, 162 (big file)

Re-birth of sports

So lately, I've been undergoing a rebirth on sports I used to play a lot.

It all started with Ping Pong. Haven't quite gotten back to my previous skill level. I think it's the mental game at this point, but that was fun.

Then recently, the tennis urge has reawakened. After struggling to find my form over the last couple weeks, I think I found a breakthrough moment last week while getting pounded by WS. The trick, I found out, to hitting a tennis ball accurately is to look the ball into your racquet. I guess I was doing too much peripheral vision hitting (with my focus on my opponent instead of the ball). I wonder if the same strategy should be used in ping pong.

And finally, bowling. Thanks to MC, I've now gone bowling two straight weeks. It's good to see that I'm as erratic as ever. Maybe I'll be like DM and keep a running log.

Last week, it was 120, 165, 156 => 147 average.

This week, 144, 124, 164 => 144 average.

I've always told people my average was 150. For now I'll have to contend that 6 games is too small of a sample size. Besides, I blame the balls I've used for my poor performance. In week 1, I used "Scotty". 14-15 lb ball. OK finger spacing...but just not quite right. This past week, I used a nameless ball, perhaps called Black Beauty. I think only a 13 lb ball. Finger spacing was a bit too close. And the middle finger was closer than the ring finger. This ball wasn't so good. I bet a better ball would have done the job.

Til next week.

Shaken, not stirred

Have you ever found yourself shaking your OJ, only to have someone (WS) point out that your OJ is Pulp Free, so why the heck would you stir?

Well, apparently, there's more to OJ than pulp.

Take a look at the attached picture.

Shake for that Fresh Squeeze taste! Yeah, that's right WS. You've been missing out on some good taste.