Middle Buffalo

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Jul 11, 2008 -> 09:34 AM) We played fast pitch Whiffle ball. Whiffle ball required a large garbage can that was flat on one side ( like the toters that we use today ). The purpose of this was to provide a strikezone. Becoming a master of nicking the handle up and in which was unhittable was the hallmark of a Cy Whiffleball ace. The ball was the one that had holes all over, no using the one that was solid on one side and had holes on the other. The skinny yellow whiffle ball bat was the only approved version. The big fat bat was like using steroids. Right field, just like our beloved whitesox, was out unless you were left handed. The base paths were probably what 20 feet away. You could circle the bases in short order. Throwing and hitting the garbage can was considered the same as throwing to the catcher. If it hit, before you touched home you were out. http://www.wiffle.com/about_rules.htm A few of my friends from college set up a whiffle ball field on a vacant lot that one of them owned. It's downstate - Olney, Illinois. Every year, they have a tournament. I used to have a link to their home page bookmarked, but I lost it. Here's a story. http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=6...mp;nav=3w6obkLh Basically, Jimi's gramps owned a parcel of land with plans of opening a business on it. He never did, and grandma used to refer to it as the "White Elephant." My friends asked if they could use it for whiffle, and they went about developing the land. It's pretty cool. Left field has the field house as the homerun wall/scoreboard, and the rest of the outfield has one of those orange plastic construction fences. You pitch to a cutout (similar to the garbage can) strike zone. They have one small set of bleachers. Like the poster earlier, we would play all day, then barbecue, drink, and hit the bars all weekend. I'll try to get a link to their site next week. Pics are always better.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jul 11, 2008 -> 08:42 AM) I think the expression was supposed to be "All-eee All-eee All in free" ... but it got corrupted to Ocean free and Oxen free where I grew up because kids just said things like that when they weren't sure what to say. From wikipedia,olly olly oxen free is a phrase used in children's games, which is generally used to indicate that people who are hiding (in a game of hide and seek, for example) can safely come out into the open. Origin The exact origin of the phrase is unknown, but etymologists suspect it is the childish corruption of the phrase "All Ye, All Ye All Come Free!" shouted by the British and American forces to the natives as they liberated France in World War II Use The phrase can also be used to coordinate hidden players in the game "kick the can", where a group of children hide within a given radius and a "seeker" is left to guard a can filled with rocks. The seeker has to try to find the "hiders" without allowing them to sneak in and kick the can. In many areas the phrase used is "Ally Ally In Come Free" which is a way to tell all hidden that is time to start the game of trying to get in to the can without being caught. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olly_olly_oxen_free It's nice to think of the British and American forces taking the time out to play kick the can during WWII.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jul 11, 2008 -> 06:24 AM) "Olly Olly Oxen Free!!!!!!" Again, no sense whatsoever. Did we yell that when everyone got back safe? We also said this, but I can't remember why. "Olly olly oxen, free free free!" I guess it was a way to tell people who couldn't be found in hide n' seek that the seeker was giving up, and we'd be starting again. Also, home base was gool, but we pronounced it "glue." We also used to play ding dong ditch, and to make it harder, we would line up seven or eight people at doors and all ring at the same time. Then we'd all run the same direction, so the last person would be running past all 8 of the houses that had been DDD'd. We had a guy chase us for several blocks with a broom. The combination of fear and laughter was exhilirating. And you can bet that guy became our favorite target from then on.

I took my check and headed out and bought some hardwood flooring. Didn't cover the cost completely, but it helps. Now, I just need to learn how to do an install.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jul 8, 2008 -> 05:04 PM) Sometimes it isnt lack of originality on the parents part as much as it is honoring other family members, carrying on a first name in the family, etc. Besides, i have seen some truly horrid "original" names. Im glad my parents didnt mess around and start pasting letters together or combining their own first names. My kids' class roster is full of "original" names or even more "original" spelling of common names. Every year, my wife and I look forward to getting the list and looking at the names on the list. My daughter has a friend named Alexis, but it's spelled Alexyz. X-Y-Z!???? I'm an other as well.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jul 7, 2008 -> 07:29 AM) I feel bad for both of them really. They were the premier child actors in the 80's, everything they touched turned to gold. Now they couldnt get a serious acting gig if their lives depended on it. Of course their drug habits helped drive them into the gutter too, but it still is too bad. There have been plenty of major actors that have had bad drug habits and continued to work Corey Feldman is actually a good actor, too. Haim not so much.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jun 9, 2008 -> 07:35 PM) I pretty much agree with that. The new film was every bit as predictable as Last Crusade, and the ending was weak, but I guess since I expected so little from the new on I was pleasantly surprised it wasn't gawdawful. Finally saved up enough money to take my kids to see Indy 4. Way better than I expected. I'm not a huge fan of the series, but this was more along the lines of the first one than either 2 or 3. It didn't go out of its way to be super cute with references to the earlier pics. One of the worst sequence in movie history is the beginning oF Indy 3 when Lucas shows the origin of Indy getting the hat, the fear of snakes, etc. He did the exact same thing in the Star Wars prequels. Complete crap.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jul 4, 2008 -> 01:21 PM) They got the podcast of those segments on espnradio1000.com. He was on July 2nd. Fun listen. It's also on iTunes. Pretty good conversation, but it's funny to listen to North and McNeil call each other friends when it's clear from the tone of the interview that there's bad blood between them. McNeil blames North for blowing up the original line-up of the Score by wanting his own morning show. North denied this. I think I recall this being the story at the time the changes took place. Anyway, worth listening to for any fan of the early days of the Score.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jul 5, 2008 -> 11:44 AM) Ya, I checked that out. It would be pretty dumb not to get it online. Ill probably go check them out in person and then order it. Most stores do price matching now. Does this not apply to internet vs. store prices? I have no idea. Anyone ever tried this?

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jul 2, 2008 -> 08:46 AM) Normally I laugh at all of your posts. But this is quite disturbing. Well, just know that your response made me laugh.

I was hoping for photos when I clicked on this thread.

Ditto to the above statements. I've always liked the bullet-points style of writing. Good luck on your trip up the coast. It's one I'd like to make someday.

I was listening to an old Tony Kornheiser podcast, and he was talking about this clip from YouTube from the Animals - The story of Bo Diddley. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhuEV17YZes

Got serious with the workouts and an all tomato diet this week and dropped 4 lbs. Mankini here I come!

Dan McNeil was talking about moving to mornings on a recent podcast that I heard. Harry said that it couldn't be done at ESPN because Mike & Mike were signed through 2010 or so. Is it possible that McNeil will be moving to the Score? I don't know what his contract situation is, though.

QUOTE (Controlled Chaos @ Jun 24, 2008 -> 08:14 AM) Anderson's defense saves hits...and in turn saves runs. I know it's not as sexy as the towering solo homerun has become, but the net result is the same. Why is it so hard to comprehend? If he had 4 or 5 more solo dingers...many of the fans calling for his head now...would be happy and that's pretty f***in sad. Most Sox fans are much more knowledgeable than that. They don't need ESPN highlights to show their player to prove his worth. It's nice to have BP and the like, to reinforce what my eyes already tell me, but I don't necessarily need it...some of you clearly do. Brian gets incredible jumps on the ball. He starts moving with the crack of the bat, not the flight of the ball. He is the PERFECT 4th outfielder for this team and he is the perfect guy to be playing when you lose some offensive pop, because he can save that 1 run that may be your demise. Is it sexy when he gets to that ball in the gap and catches it standing up? Not really. Is it sexy when he saves a base hit because he can afford to play shallow with his jumps. Nope. Is it sexy when he holds someone to a single when it should easily be a double...nah... but so what....sexy is over rated...Most of the time it's just an unneeded visual stimulus. Do I need the lingerie model to walk in with her lingerie on or do I just need her to fricken walk in?? Nobody is content with his current hitting, but he has shown potential, and he isn't exactly in the most ideal situation to up ones stats. On top of the sporadic AB's, I think he has his most trouble when he is trying to accomplish something specific. Be it get a guy in, move a runner over, or be the hero. When his mental approach changes he suffers and it's more a matter of him trying too hard instead of staying relaxed. Most young players go through it...hell a lot of veteran players go through it. BA is progressing fine...his head is on straight and he has the tools....giving up on him now....would be brilliantly stoopid. Totally agree with this very sexy post.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 08:27 PM) And as a person, Kobe is a much bigger douchebag than Carmelo. Quite an endorsement for Carmelo.

The only guy that I don't like on this team is Carmelo. It has more to do with him as a person than his play. I'm not sure how much Kidd has left, either. Kobe Bryant LeBron James Dwyane Wade Carmelo Anthony Jason Kidd Tayshaun Prince Carlos Boozer Chris Bosh Dwight Howard Chris Paul Michael Redd Deron Williams Story. http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug...p&type=lgns

The most amazing thing about Sox vs. Cubs argument that always gets missed nationally is the idea that Chicago has ALWAYS been a Cubs town. Here's the attendance figures from the 80's. http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/attendance.htm CHI Wrigley Field 1980 1,206,776 1981 565,637 1982 1,249,278 1983 1,479,717 1984 2,107,655 1985 2,161,534 1986 1,859,102 1987 2,035,130 1988 2,089,034 1989 2,491,942 Total 17,245,805 Comiskey Park I 1980 1,200,365 1981 946,561 1982 1,567,787 1983 2,132,821 1984 2,136,988 1985 1,669,888 1986 1,424,313 1987 1,208,060 1988 1,115,749 1989 1,045,651 Total 14,448,183 There's really not a huge difference - especially considering that the Sox were not very good in the late 80s and the "perfect storm" had already begon for the Cubs. Cub's attendance in the 70's was 13,636,723 vs 11,053,371 for the Sox. In the 60's it was 8,796,707 for the Cubs vs 10,830,432 for the Sox. In the 50's it was 8,796,707 for the Cubs vs 11,296,258 for the Sox. I do recall (I believe) that the NL used to only count actual attendance, while the AL counted ticket sales (both leagues do it this way now), but I don't remember when the policies for reporting attendance changed. Either way, the large disparity in attendance is a result of what I would call the perfect storm for the Cubs. Tribune ownership, neighborhood revitalization, WGN being the Cubs broadcast station when the Cubs won in 1984 (while the Sox were buried on UHF and pay services), the explosion of cable tv in the early-mid 80's making the Cubs a national team, and Harry Caray moving to the Cubs. I get so tired of hearing how loyal Cub fans are. They have many good fans, but the reality is that their attendance gets a huge bump from the fact that people want to go to the stadium to see the stadium. Hell, even noted sox fan Gregory Pratt had "fun" at Wrigley. The neighborhood has changed so that it's a destination for young people whether there's a Cub game or not. The bars around the stadium a filled a year, not just when the Cubs play. Cub fans will always make it a point to bring up attendance when arguing with Sox fans about their teams. Always. They will claim that the Sox are irrelevant to Cub fans, but all you have to do is watch the interleague games and see how hyped up the fans are for these series. Way bigger than Cubs vs Cardinals.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 11:29 AM) But none that had Crede's potential. It's a lot easier to be patient with somebody who has Crede's minor league background than BA's. My point in comparing Anderson to Crede is that we need to have patience with young players who struggle. Now is the perfect opportunity (with Konerko on the DL) to give Anderson some meaningful, consistent playing time. He's not hurting us defensively, and isn't killing us offensively. Sadly, on any given day, he has one of the top 6 averages in our line-up. Let's see what he can do with two weeks of at bats. If he plays well, he can get 3 or 4 starts a week in center while we rest Dye, Swisher, Quentin and Konerko the rest of the way.

Anderson looks terrible much of the time at the plate. So did Crede when he first came up. Anderson needs big league at bats, and now is the perfect time to give him the playing time.

QUOTE (Middle Buffalo @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 09:09 PM) I'm too lazy to change my sig, but I'm going the wrong way right now. up 4lbs, and I'm heading to Chicago this week. It could get ugly for the Buffalo. Hello, Rock Bottom. I didn't weigh myself right away, but I gained at least two pounds on my trip. I know I gained more, but I exercised some discipline when I came home. Not as bad as I thought, considering that in ten days I ate Winston's Irish sausage four times for breakfast (and brought 4lbs of it back with me on the plane), Palermo's twice, Giordano's once, Zacatacos burrito once, on a sidetrip to U of I (my wife hadn't been back for 10 years and we had a free day) I went to La Bamba and polished off a super burrito, part of a chicken torta and a steak taco. I also had many beers at Cork & Kerry, a brat and a few beers at the Cell on the night they beat Colorado, and all you can eat buffet dinners twice. Incidently, buffets, I've found, are the best places to bring young kids to eat. They can eat what they want without waiting for the food - which is the killer with kids at restaurants. They only thing that saved me from really packing on weight was that the menu above is really all that I ate. No snacks in between meals. I was so full, that I never even made it to White Castle, and that's usually one of the first places I go. I'll just get some at the super market to satisfy that craving. Now I'm back on track.

I'm too lazy to change my sig, but I'm going the wrong way right now. up 4lbs, and I'm heading to Chicago this week. It could get ugly for the Buffalo. Hello, Rock Bottom.

I had my wife, 8 yr old son, 6 yr old daughter, and 4 year old son watch and count. Only the 4 yr old and I are genius level counters. Not surprised by my wife, but very disappointed in the other kids. They may not be mine afterall.

QUOTE (Controlled Chaos @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 10:26 AM) So the question to those that noticed it? Did you get the count on # of passes correct or did you stop counting when you saw it? I counted it correctly, and I can't believe people weren't able to see it. Let me be the first to call me a genius. Pretty cool.