pitchleague

will probably record the game while I continue to watch hoops.

I think you misunderstood what I meant. I completely understand (and expected) Plesac to be on the episode because he is a Brewer homer thru-and-thru on that network. My complaint was because there was no John Hart, they had to go to Plesac to break down the Brewers farm system. I enjoyed getting the former-GM point-of-view on each team's prospects but instead we got Plesac breaking them down. It was just kind of a letdown.

I'll be honest, I finally got to the Brewer episode tonight (thank you, tivo!) and, compared to the other 14 cactus league episodes, the Brewers episode was the worst, on production values alone. 1. With the exception of Braun's interview (and the look-ins with Hazel Mae), every other player interview was conducted at the crack of dawn (literally 7:30-8:00 am AZ time) and, thus, appeared very, very dark. Compared to every other team's players being interviewed between mid-to-late morning hours (and some in the afternoon after games were played) it just looked bad. 2. All the on-field action was shown with them on the Maryville main stadium field. None was shown on the practice fields (except for the stock footage of Greinke throwing on February 18th and the pitcher's bunting drill with Marcum at the plate.) I really expected to see a lot more drills being worked on on the back fields like every other team's 30 in 30 show. 3. All this on-field action was shown WAY too dark for the 10:30 am shown on the scoreboard in one scene. They closed the iris on the cameras or something because it gave the impression that Maryvale was some dark gloomy place compared to the other Phoenix spring training complexes shown with bright sunshine. The shots of Weeks and Fielder hitting in the cage looked very non-HD because of this and, compared to the other broadcasts, looked like something produced by WMLW. 4. Where the heck was John Hart? Every other team had a former-General Manager's prospective on the team and it's prospects (especially the prospects.) Who'd the Brewers get? Dan Plesac. Puh--lease. Overall, this was a disappointment. I've watched all of the episodes thus far (minus a couple this week due to other activities, but they're on the tivo and will be watched) and I looked forward to this one the most and left the room going, "what the heck happened?"

I think it should be the HCS (Hoops Championship Series). Then, you've got the Sugar Hoop Game, the Orange Hoop Game, the Fiesta Hoop Game, and the Grand Daddy of 'em All, the Rose Hoop Game, played every year at UCLA.

it's only arrogant if you don't back it up. Braun does. However, there's the little devil sitting on my shoulder right now saying, "Yeah, just great. Just watch he's going to hit about 13 HR this year and hit .265 because he bulked up too much. Not to mention he'll probably miss 1-2 months of action with some muscle injury." I'd like to punch that little devil in the face.

I thought Travon Hughes wasn't on the team anymore. That was a poor poor poor final possession to end the game. Wow. Pathetic. Way to kill my Friday night Spring Break buzz.

This is the first year that the tickets won't be coming to our house. We changed the address to my mother-in-law's home, since they use the tickets. It was always exciting to have the tickets in my hand every year, just to look at them, smell them, and read all the info, even if I wasn't going to use a single one of them. I'm going to miss that.

yeah, exactly. If this is the worst that it gets for him this year then that's fine with me. Still, a pretty dumb way to do it. On MLB Tonight, Rosenthal was on the phone and said he plays hoops all the time in the off-season. Supposedly went up for a rebound, landed awkwardly and fell on his side. Tough break.

Woo hoo! The Luther College Norse defeat Condordia University 68-61 and move on to the 2nd round of the NCAA Division III Tournament!!!!! Only to get annihilated by UW-Stevens Point on Saturday. Well, that's likely, at least. Sorry, so jealous of all you UW folks and UW-M folks and Marquette folks that get to use this thread to strike a pose and strut your stuff. It's about time that I got to celebrate ANYTHING about my alma mater.

I'm attempting to watch every one of them this year. Why? I don't really know. Call it a quest. A quest for fun.

"Debbie Downers?" I never said that I have a problem with people having a good time. I said I have a problem with people having a good time and forcing it on others that don't particularly want it raining on their own parade. Believe me, if you could guarantee all the food and drink that I want and a guaranteed designated driver, I'd be all over that. But not on Opening Day. It's too special for me to waste by drinking myself stupid before I even get into the ballpark. Anyways, hope you like the chesse dip idea, if you use it. The breakfast idea is also a fantastic one, although I don't drink bloody marys (can't stand tomato juice.)

following along on GameDay, looks like Carlos Gomez completely got in the pitcher's head, getting an errant pickoff throw at first, stealing third base, then scoring on a wild pitch. I'd like to see more of that this season.

what's not bugging me? I have a prep period from 1:00-2:00 so I can fire up the MLB Audio and listen to Ueck and Cory! YES!

well, I went 9-15. My wife went 10-14. So I owe her dinner. Drat. First time I've lost in several years.

sounds like fun. But, alas, this is also reason #1 why I don't attend Opening Day anymore. Yes, you could argue that it's because I live in AZ, but if I was up there I'd be going all the time--except Opening Day. Those rare times that I get to Miller Park to catch a game, I understand that there are going to be groups similar to yours that are, primarily, just there to get drunk. I can live with that. But on Opening Day, just about every group is like that and it just takes away the fun from those that think Opening Day is a like a sacred event--something that should be savored all winter and when it gets here, you almost feel like crying as a new season is born. When the party crowd completely outnumbers the baseball crowd, it's not very fun for those trying to watch the game. I would hope that you have already checked out this thread for snack ideas. I would also suggest a cheesy sausage dip that I make often: Recipe 1 lb. Monterry Jack, cubed 1 to 1 1/2 lb. ground sausage, any kind (pork and italian works well) 1 small onion, finely diced 1-2 tomatoes, finely diced 1 small-medium tub of sour cream Brown the meat. Throw everything into a crock pot for about 2 hours, stirring every 20-30 minutes, until cheese is all melted. Serve with tortilla chips. I hope you have fun and be safe. Sorry for the soapbox paragraph at the beginning of this post. At least you can tailgate and do something like that in Milwaukee. I've attended several Opening Days in Phoenix and it's a "party" but very subdued, since there is no tailgating and if you want to drink you have to pay up at a downtown PHX restaurant beforehand or do it in the ballpark.

just a bit off the beaten path, but my alma mater, Luther College, won the IIAC tournament last night to give them their first DIII NCAA Tournament bid since 1983-84. I spend five years of my life working as student manager and working my way up to student assistant coach for that team. I never thought I'd see the day that they got enough quality players to make it to the Little Big Dance.

Oh, wow. Never thought about Telly trying to interview him. Or Craig. Greinke might lose it. Isn't there a Greinke bobblehead day, too? What if Zach completely loses patience with the fans that want the bobble autographed or something? There had to have been a Greinke bobblehead day when he was with the Royals, right? Oh, wait. I think I read somewhere that Milwaukee is about one of the only places in the majors that still has regular bobblehead days. Almost like Milwaukee is the only place where the fad hasn't died. /soapbox On topic, the guy sounds great; a breath of fresh air. I hope he enjoys a lot of success and that fans respect his issues/his disease and don't make him absolutely hate Milwaukee. When I am in Phoenix this summer for the games, if I see him on the field, I will respect his wishes and leave him alone, unless he approaches me.

what was with the "clicking" sound just before and after each of those Kendall quotes? It almost sounds edited. When the reporter talks you hear little to no background noise ("hiss" or "buzz") but when Kendall talks, there's tons of it. If this is truly legit, well, then I think it's pretty funny that Jason butted in.

and . . . the West Michigan White Caps don't do anything to help with the midwest stereotype of overweight people who will eat anything. That said, some of those are just so tempting that you have to try each one once if you go to a lot of their games. Wow, color me impressed. They get a standing O from me for extraordinary effort. Note that I didn't see any prices for these items.

how did he break it? Shouldn't have been from a foul tip already, right? Kind of surprising that he did something like that before games are even being played.

yeah, DHonks, us too. Of course, today was our "furlough" day, so I got to spend it at home and running errands.

I laughed more at the 2 minute intro than the whole episode of "The Office" tonight. Not much else needs to be said, but I continue to love this show.

pretty nice deal for the Brewers and for Rickie. Glad this ordeal is over, too. Seems like just a week ago that I was reading here that things weren't looking too good.

hmm, I actually kind of like the font used on the back of the jerseys for the player names. It's different than everybody else. The numbers, too. Otherwise, yeah, I could see a darker version of the logo, I guess.

I'm currently contemplating renewal of my Extra Innings package on Directv vs. signing up for MLB.TV which can be streamed through my LG Blu-Ray player, which has the MLB.TV app. Seems like the MLB.tv would be cheaper, although currently I run the blu-ray apps through the wireless network, which works fine for netflix but I guess would not do so well with live broadcasts. The player does have a LAN port but I'd have to run it through power line adapters rather than stringing ethernet cord 40 feet across the house.