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Thursday, January 31, 2013

2013 Cleveland Indians to be on both AM and FM, Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus in the booth

1/29/13, "Indians to remain on WTAM as flagship, adds WMMS as FM station," foxsportsohio.com

"The Cleveland Indians and Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Cleveland today announced a new agreement for WTAM 1100 AM to remain the “Flagship Home of the Cleveland Indians” through 2017.  Additionally, WMMS 100.7 will become the FM home of the Indians.
 
As part of the new agreement, WTAM 1100 AM will air all regular season games and WMMS 100.7 FM will simulcast the majority of Cleveland Indians games. Clear Channel Cleveland will also air 15 live Spring Training games and will continue to distribute Tribe games to the entire Indians Radio Network, which consists of 26 stations across Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.
 
“The Cleveland Indians are proud and excited to continue our 15-year partnership with Clear Channel Media and Entertainment,” said Cleveland Indians President MARK SHAPIRO.  “We are fortunate that this partnership continues our consistent broadcast on WTAM while expanding our radio presence to a new FM audience through WMMS.”
 
“We are thrilled to extend our relationship with the Cleveland Indians,” said GARY MINCER, Market President of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Cleveland. “Our partnership with the Indians allows fans from all over the region to follow Indians baseball.  Go Tribe!”
 
JIM ROSENHAUS TO REMAIN IN RADIO BOOTH PARTNERING WITH TOM HAMILTON
 
The Cleveland Indians also reached a multi-year deal with JIM ROSENHAUS to continue partnering with “Voice of the Indians” TOM HAMILTON in the Indians radio booth.  Jim will begin his seventh season in 2013 as part of the Indians radio broadcast team and his second season broadcasting every game.
 
Jim has spent the past six seasons as the host of Indians Warm Up on the Indians Radio Network and performed engineer/producer duties from 2007-2011.  Rosenhaus joined the Indians prior to the 2007 season after spending 11 years as the play-by-play voice of the Indians AAA affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons.  Jim started his professional baseball broadcasting career with the Indians Single-A affiliate in Kinston, NC. In addition to his baseball broadcasting work, Rosenhaus spent 11 years broadcasting the University at Buffalo men’s basketball team.
 
In 2011, Jim was inducted into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame, along with former Indians and Bisons catcher Tony Pena." via NY Radio Message Board
 

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Evil New England fishermen regulated out of business by federal government

1/31/13, "New England fishermen: Industry facing ruin after regulators approve cuts in cod catch limits," AP via Washington Post, Portsmouth, N.H.

"Minutes after New England fishery managers took a vote that cast doubt on the historic industry’s future, the prospects most clear to Gloucester fishermen Paul Vitale were his own.

I’m bankrupt. That’s it,” said the 40-year-old father of three. “I’m all done. The boat’s going up for sale.”

The New England Fishery Management Council on Wednesday approved a year-to-year cut of 77 percent on the Gulf of Maine cod limit and 61 percent for Georges Bank cod.

The cuts come on top of a slew of other reductions, ranging from 10 to 71 percent, on the catch of other bottom-dwelling groundfish species, such as haddock and flounder.

Fishermen say now they’re staring at industry collapse because they’ve been left with far too few fish for most boats to make a living.

“We are headed down the wrong course here, of exterminating the inshore fleet, for no good reason,” said David Goethel, a New Hampshire fisherman and council member.

The cuts, in effect May 1, are expected to be backed by federal managers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA’s top federal fisheries regulator, John Bullard, acknowledged the reductions will be devastating. But he said the fish stocks are struggling and the industry’s steady, excruciating decline must be reversed.

“The first thing we have to do is put denial behind us,” he said.

The cuts hit an industry that was crucial to the nation’s early economy and remains imbued with the risk and romance of man versus nature — depicted in the famous “Man at the Wheel” statue in Gloucester of a fisherman facing the sea.

The new low limits reduce the cod catch to just a fraction of what it once was
and prevent fishermen from landing enough of the plentiful species, such as haddock and pollock. That’s because fishermen can’t pull up the healthier groundfish without catching too much of the cod that swim among them.
An economic analysis by the council projected that the cuts would reduce overall groundfish revenues by 33 percent, from about $90 million in 2011 to about $60 million in 2013.

But fishermen said the projection is far too optimistic.

“It’s fantasy. ... I mean, I’d rather go to Disney World. I’ve got a better chance of meeting Peter Pan,” said Goethel, who predicted the entire New Hamsphire fleet would be eliminated.

Fishermen have consistently disputed the accuracy of the science that drives regulation and that indicates the stocks are in bad shape. And they noted the industry has generally fished at or below levels recommended by science in recent years, but the advice has proven wrong.

I’ve done everything they told me to do, and all of the sudden I come up here to a meeting today, and they’re going to send me in a coffin out of this place,” said New Bedford fisherman Carlos Rafael, who said he may have to sideline half his fleet of 20 groundfish boats."...via Mark Levin show

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A fisherman who went to Harvard and voted for Obama (see 3rd and 4th parags. fr. end) begs for his help via full page newspaper ad. (He doesn't get it):

9/22/11, "Death of an Industry: The President's Impoverishment of America's Fishermen," American Thinker, Mike Johnson

"While Obama vacationed on Martha's Vineyard last year, "the fishermen of New England ran a full-page ad in the Vineyard Gazette titled "Mr. President, We Need Your Help." The fishermen came to the Vineyard in their boats and paraded in the harbor to emphasize their plight. The American Thinker ran a piece on the events. 

The ad was in the form of a letter from Russell Sherman, the captain of the fishing vessel Lady Jane out of Gloucester, MA. The letter was well-written, elegant in its simplicity and comprehensive in its content, befitting Captain Sherman's Harvard education. It read in part:

"My business is only one of hundreds facing extinction. While there will be a small handful of "winners" under these new rules [Catch Shares] [eff. 5/1/10], the vast majority of us will be losers. And when we "losers" are forced out, jobs will be lost, coastal communities gutted, and crucial commercial fishing infrastructure gone forever. ...

Mr. President, we desperately need your leadership."... 

How much help did the fishermen get from the president? None! Nada! Not even an acknowledgement of their efforts. Not even a receipt from the White House for the copy of the letter they sent directly to the president by "Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested."... 

The heavy-handed regulatory management continues, as shown by a recent independent review by Preston Pate. Fishing jobs are gone; NOAA jobs are not. The number of regulators and observers assigned to each fisherman has increased dramatically. Needless to say, this is not the help the fishermen were seeking. 

The lawsuit brought by the fishermen based on NOAA exceeding their mandate in imposing catch shares has been rejected based on NOAA having the authority to do just about whatever they please. See Dr. Briand Rothschild's "Fish, the Intent of Congress, and Jobs" and the related American Thinker piece. 

Catch allocations, the key to successful fishing under catch shares, remain extremely low because of the government's uncertainty in its science. See the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Institute (MFI) study report....

Fishing as a way of life has endured for four centuries along the coast of New England. Turning the fisheries into a commodities-based enterprise is tantamount to
  • the destruction of the fishing community and its culture."
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8/23/10, "Fishermen aim Vineyard protest at Obama," Gloucester Times, Richard Gaines

"Leaders of the recreational and commercial fishing industry are planning a boat protest against federal policies Thursday outside the harbor of Vineyard Haven on Martha's Vineyard, where President Obama and his family are summer vacationing.

The protest is being organized after a bipartisan, bicameral coalition of federal lawmakers — including the core of the President's Congressional base on banking and health care issues — have given up hope of working productively with Obama's top appointee for oceans and fisheries, Jane Lubchenco, who heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Boats from Gloucester and New Bedford, the hub ports of New England, Point Judith, R.I., and New York and New Jersey are expected, according to Tina Jackson, president of the American Alliance of Fishermen....

"Since her appointment to head the NOAA by President Obama, Lubchenco, who had been an officer of the Environmental Defense Fund and a leader of the Pew Oceans Commission, has pushed to convert the fisheries into commodities markets under a management system known as catch shares. 

In a statement to the Times soon after her confirmation by the Senate, Lubchenco's office said her goal was 
  • to see a "significant fraction of the vessels ...
With the stocks rebuilding strongly, fishermen wonder at the need to reduce the size of the work force."... 
 --------------------------------------------------

12/23/10, "NOAA's catch shares fisheries debacle," American Thinker, Mike Johnson

"Catch shares are transferable or tradable. The fear amongst fishermen is that the transferable catch shares can be sold to anybody, including big corporations or other governments.

The effect will be the elimination of the small-business fisherman and the creation of blue-collar serfs in the crews of massive fishing factories. Catch shares has other warts as well -- see for example the Ecotrust Canada piece, "A Cautionary Tale About ITQ Fisheries.""...

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7/1/2010, "Audit cites wide fund abuse by NOAA cops," Gloucester Times, by Richard Gaines 

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8/26/10, Boats near Vineyard Haven for Obama protest, ap photo (sorry don't have link right now, will try and find it. I copied it in 2010 and didn't save the link at the time.)


8/26/10, Fishing boats near Vineyard Haven. "Local fishermen protest regulations during Obama's Vineyard visit," NECN, A. Palumbo, New Bedford, Mass.

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7/13/10,"Lawyer cites ethics issues with NOAA counsel funds," Gloucester Times, R. Gaines




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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Andrew Zimbalist is currently a paid consutant to MLB, has been such on and off for some years

1/29/13, "Important Disclosure on Zimbalist's Rays-to-Tampa Argument: He's Paid by MLB," shadowofthestadium.blogspot.com

"Last week, the Tampa Bay Times posted a Q and A on the Rays Stadium Saga with leading sports economist Andrew Zimbalist.  I questioned a few of his statements, such as:
  • Downtown Tampa is the hub of regional business (Westshore has more office space);
  • St. Pete should offer the Rays a buy-out;
  • MLB could contract the Rays if no new stadium is built.
Then, after the Rays essentially echoed many of Zimbalist's sentiments on Thursday, I made a discovery:

Andrew Zimbalist is currently paid as an MLB consultant.

Zimbalist confirmed in an email he has worked off-and-on for the league over the years (including now).  He said he has also worked for the player's association, various teams, and numerous municipalities, but never directly for the Rays.

This isn't to question the validity of what Zimbalist was saying; merely to point out his relationship with MLB.  It's an important disclosure that was omitted from the Times article; especially significant given the "MLB has lost faith in Tampa" statements made just days later.

Below is a statement provided by the Tampa Bay Times:

"In response to a Times inquiry today, Smith College professor Andrew Zimbalist confirmed Monday that he is a consultant for Major League Baseball. He declined to discuss whether he is on a retainer or works on a project-by-project basis. One of his most recent projects was economic modeling to change baseball’s revenue sharing system. He said he has no current projects for Major League Baseball.
 
Zimbalist has written numerous books on baseball economics and has consulted on various sides of contentious baseball issues over the years. He helped the U.S. Justice Department draft a bill to partially lift baseball’s anti-trust exemption. He has represented the players’ union in contract negotiations with baseball, consulted for the city of Minneapolis in fighting baseball’s threat to eliminate the Minnesota Twins and helped Tampa’s Frank Morsani, a would-be owner, sue Major League Baseball. 


The Times did not know of any ongoing relationship between Zimbalist and Major League Baseball when it published an interview with him on Jan. 21. If we had, we would have disclosed that to our readers. Zimbalist said nobody within baseball asked him to make the comments published in that article."" via BTF

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BTF commenter to above article:

"7. Nasty Nate Posted: January 30, 2013 at 10:22 AM

...and my only interest was in finding a workable solution for the benefit of all fans and residents in the Tampa Bay area...
I wonder which specific problem(s) a solution is being sought for?

What are the problems that need solving?


I can think of a couple

(1) The owners aren't making as much money as they want.
(2) The game experience is pretty bad for the fans because of the low quality of the park.
(3) The team may leave the region (not just St. Pete itself).
(4) The team wants to break or amend its lease but is not having success.

If the most pressing issues are #1 and #4, then it shouldn't be framed as some public problem that everyone needs to join together to solve."
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Monday, January 28, 2013

Jason Mattera asks Mayor Bloomberg about armed guards he has that he'd deny others, then asks Bloomberg if he'd like a sip of his soda

1/28/13, "Journalist Accosted By Security Over Mayor Bloomberg Gun Control Question," Jason Mattera asks Mayor Bloomberg about his armed bodyguards, a privilege he'd deny others. Bloomberg says he'll "get back to him" on that. Takes place 1/18/13 at Mayors Conference in DC.

Then Mattera asks Bloomberg if he'd like a sip of his soda. 






via Howie Carr show

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Sunday, January 27, 2013

Collectivist California bureaucrat miffed his state will lose Sacramento Kings team to Washington state which has lower taxes











 
1/26/13, "California lawmaker threatening Microsoft over … loss of Sacramento Kings?" Hot Air, Morrissey

"Last weekend, Phil Mickelson threatened to move out of California over the onerous tax hikes imposed by Jerry Brown and the Democratic supermajority in Sacramento.  Mickelson later apologized for his outburst, although I’m not sure why; he has just as much right to complain as anyone else....

As it turns out, Mickelson’s not the only sports entity looking at a Golden Gate exit.  Forbes noted that one big beneficiary of Brown’s tax hike on high-end earners could be Seattle, which has been without a basketball team since 2008.  Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer heads up a group bidding to purchase the Kings, who play in California’s capital Sacramento, and taxes are certainly part of that puzzle:...

"On Monday morning, the Seattle Times reported that a Seattle group helmed by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer agreed to purchase the Sacramento Kings. Pending approval from the NBA Board of Governors, the team would move to Seattle and play its first season as the SuperSonics this fall....

"From this perspective, a move from California to Washington State is a no-brainer. The marginal personal-income tax rate for wealthy Californians – a category under which professional ballplayers almost certainly fall – is a whopping 13.3 percent. Washington, on the other hand, levies no personal income tax on any of its residents. Whether a member of the SuperSonics organization is shooting free-throws or taking tickets, he gets to keep more of his earned income."...

How has California reacted to this example of free-market economics?  Have they decided to lower taxes and broaden the tax base to make the business environment more inviting?  Perhaps reduced the red tape that turns every expansion into a years-long project, which only takes weeks in other states? Not exactly.  No, they’ve decided to go the “nice business ya have there — wouldn’t want anything to happen to it” route."...

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1/24/13, "The Sacramento Kings' Departure From Hypertaxed California Signals Return Of The Seattle SuperSonics," Forbes, Rex Sinquefield, via Free Republic

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California was there for the taking, doors open, cash register open, natural resources defenseless, given away or sold to white collar thugs:

12/23/12, "Pot farms wreaking havoc on Northern California environment," LA Times, Joe Mozingo
 
""I started talking to this guy, and he says he used to be an Earth First! tree-sitter, saving the trees," Bauer said. "I told him everything he was doing here negates everything he did as an environmentalist."...


















"Wildlife technician Aaron Pole surveys a forest trashed by growers. Carbofuran, an insecticide lethal to humans in small doses, is found regularly at large-scale pot farms. Also flowing into the watershed are rodenticides, fungicides, diesel fuel and other pollutants (Genaro Molina, Los Angeles Times / November 15, 2012)".
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12/15/10, "Two Californias," Victor Davis Hanson
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Spring, 2010, "The Beholden State-How public sector unions broke California," City Journal, Steve Malanga. license plate image via Free Republic

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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Global warming believer at Davos says those listening to Derek Jeter on the topic were more concerned about his ankle

1/26/13, "Derek Jeter Should Stick to Baseball: Challenges at Davos," Ian Bremmer, Huffington Post

"There have been a lot of publicity stunts to bring attention to climate change. But surely the only thing less effective than global climate summits is having Derek Jeter tackle the issue. As he's speaking, the only pressing question on anyone's mind is the status of that left ankle and whether he'll be ready for Opening Day."...(scroll down) (Article is written by global warming believer present at Davos.) via Tom Nelson

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Ed. note: Someone back in the US wondered if Derek Jeter advocates eliminating night games to save on electricity that he thinks causes global warming. Has Jeter asked the Yankees to remove some stadium seats and eliminate parking since driving automobiles is said by AGW believers to cause planetary damage?

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Internet TV viewing cutting into broadcast and cable-Miami Herald

1/26/13, "Watching TV on web is disrupting cable, broadcast worlds," Miami Herald, Glenn Garvin

"When Barnett and 5,000 or so others gather Monday for the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) convention at the Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach, there will be plenty of sweaty foreheads, some acquisitive smiles and — perhaps most numerous — blank looks of confusion. Not since cable turned the old three-channel TV universe on its head in the late 1970s has the industry been in such a state of disoriented befuddlement.

New technologies that give viewers more say in what they watch, where they watch and how much they pay for it are great for consumers. But they’re inducing a collective nervous breakdown among industry executives, who have to figure out new ways to make money in a business facing serious threats to its traditional sources of revenue — advertising and cable-TV subscriptions....

The industry last year was blindsided by everything from a leap in the use of TiVo and other digital video-recording devices that pushed Nielsen ratings down as much as 50 percent to a new device called the Hopper that allows viewers to instantly zap by commercials.

But the biggest tremors came from the Internet, which is threatening to remake television as thoroughly as it already has the newspaper and music industries, by letting viewers bypass cable to watch shows online.

There was explosive growth in what the industry calls over-the-top or OTT, little boxes that sell for as little as $50 or so and allow viewers access to hundreds of streaming-video Internet television channels from their TVs. Apple and Roku, who make the most popular OTT players, have sold about five million apiece. But other companies like Amazon, Google and Western Electric are pushing into the market, and industry analysts say Intel, the world’s largest semi-conductor chip manufacturer, is also poised to leap into the OTT business.

Another major OTT force: video-game consoles like Xbox and PlayStation, which can also be used to watch streaming Internet video. “They may be doing more business than anybody,” says Andy Tarzon, founding partner of the media research company TDG. “Xbox is the leading viewer for Netflix content.” It will, soon enough, have its own content; parent company Microsoft late last year hired senior CBS programming executive Nancy Tellem, who helped develop Friends and ER, to direct an on-line TV operation.

• The use of programming services that deliver television program via the Internet is mushrooming, with Netflix, YouTube, Amazon and other big names — even Walmart — setting up or expanding operations. “More than anything, that’s gotten everybody’s attention,” says Terence Gray, a longtime network producer who now runs the New York Television Festival. “When you see YouTube’s $100 million investment in programming, or what Amazon’s studios did last year, or Microsoft hiring Nancy Tellem, this is no longer a conversation. This is being done.”

Hulu, a website that offers shows from NBC, ABC and Fox, doubled its subscribers last year while increasing its revenue 65 percent. Meanwhile, many of the online services are starting to make their own shows: Hulu debuted 10 of its own programs last year and Netflix has five in production, including House of Cards, a political thriller starring Kevin Spacey that debuts next week.

Attacking cable from a different direction, Aero TV uses tiny but powerful antennas to capture broadcast signals from the air, records them, then reroutes them into a viewer’s computer or OTT player to be watched whenever he wants. Because Aero pays nothing to the broadcasters (a practice being challenged in court) it can offer its service for as little as $8 a month. Last year’s start-up in New York City was so successful that Aero is expanding to 22 more cities — including Miami — this year.

Senior television executives caution against any expectation that their industry is about to embark on an instant makeover, and the numbers bear them out. Hulu’s three million subscribers are about one-seventh the number of viewers who watch NCIS each week on CBS, and its $700 million in annual revenues is tip money compared the $3.4 billion CBS generated in a single fiscal quarter last year. “This is going to be an evolution, not a revolution,” says Bruce David Klein, president of the independent production company Atlas Media.

But the technological advances in Internet television come at a time when customer grumbling over escalating cable prices has grown to a roar and a younger generation of viewers more comfortable with computers than TVs is starting to set up its own households. The new alignment of attitudes is already taking a toll.

Subscriptions to cable and satellite television peaked in 2010 and have fallen five percentage points since then, the research company TDG reported late last year. Meanwhile, consumer satisfaction with cable service, which had held steady for years between 65 and 70 percent, dropped 10 percentage points.

“The most interesting part of that report, to me, was that it said a lot of the people without cable are not ‘cord-cutters’ but cord-never-havers,” says Jim Flynn, president of Massachusetts-based Overlook TV. “We employ some of those people at my company. They’re in their early 20s, just out of college, and for them, paying $100 or $200 a month for cable TV is just not an option. And they don’t feel bad about it. They’re part of this millennial generation who are perfectly happy getting all their video over the Internet.”:...via Free Republic

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/26/v-fullstory/3201660/watching-tv-on-web-is-disrupting.html#storylink=cpy




Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/26/v-fullstory/3201660/watching-tv-on-web-is-disrupting.html#storylink=cpy


Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/26/v-fullstory/3201660/watching-tv-on-web-is-disrupting.html#storylink=cpy

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David Mamet explains the 2nd amendment

1/29/13, "Gun Laws and the Fools of Chelm†," "The individual is not only best qualified to provide his own personal defense, he is the only one qualified to do so." by David Mamet, Daily Beast

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Friday, January 25, 2013

Yankee Hot Stove event Feb. 4, 2013 will benefit Yankee radio producer Carlos Silva who has cancer

1/24/13, "New York Yankees Hot Stove Season Preview with Mariano Rivera, Mark Teixeira, Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman," newyork.cbslocal.com

"Net Proceeds From This Event Will Go To Support The Family of Yankees Radio Engineer/Producer Carlos Silva Who Is Currently Battling Esophageal And Stomach Cancer."

"Join New York Yankees radio broadcasters John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on Monday, February 4, 2013, at Hard Rock Cafe New York in Times Square, as they host a live “Hot Stove” question and answer forum previewing the Yankees upcoming 2013 season. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, manager Joe Girardi, and Mariano Rivera will take part in the forum with a VIP meet and greet beforehand.  Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will join the group for the “Hot Stove” session. Net proceeds from this event will go to support the Carlos Silva family though the SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund." via mention on Joe and Evan show on WFAN during Brian Cashman interview leading up to 12 noon today, 1/25/13.

 

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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Ice-encrusted Chicago building engulfed in flames again

1/24/13, "Chicago fire in ice-encrusted warehouse resumes," BBC

"A warehouse in the US city of Chicago, which was encrusted with ice after firefighters apparently extinguished a blaze on Wednesday, is again on fire.

Reports said the fire had engulfed the whole building for a second time.

Water used to put out the initial fire had frozen in the extreme cold, leaving a thick crust of ice.

Fire officials say the structure should be pulled down, as it has already partly collapsed and the weight of the ice would have made it more unstable.

Temperatures in the city are currently falling to -7C (19F) at night.

The cold has also hampered efforts to put out the fire. About 170 firefighters battled it from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning, their hoses and hydrants freezing.

It is not clear what caused either of the fires, but the warehouse is said to be full of old timber."

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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Documentary, 'Ballplayer: Pelotero' looks at baseball training camps in the Dominican Republic

1/23/13, "Take a rare look inside baseball in the Dominican Republic," Tallahassee.com, Mark Hinson

"The Dominican Republic is not a wealthy nation. It share its island space in the Caribbean with its neighbor, Haiti, one of the poorest countries on Earth.

Over the years, the Dominican Republic has been exploited by everyone from Christopher Columbus to the United States. Now, here in the 21st century, it appears it is Major League Baseball’s turn to screw over the Dominican Republic.

The revealing documentary “Ballplayer: Pelotero” takes an intimate look inside the baseball training camps in the island nation. The camps, which are run by well-monied teams from the United States, are where future baseball stars are churned out like race horses in Kentucky. The horses are probably treated with more respect, though.

Ballplayer,” which is being shown this weekend by the Tallahassee Film Society, follows two top recruits.

Miguel Angel Sano is a cocky, talented athlete who is practically guaranteed to be snatched up by an American team as soon as he turns 16. He has been groomed in the camp system since he was 12.
The handsome, more serious, fatherless Juan Carlos Batista has to work a little harder but his fluid swing is hard to deny and makes scouts take notice. Sano and Batista are champing at the bit to sign up for seven-figure deals and save their families from poverty.

The age 16 is important, though, at least to Major League Baseball. The pro teams are sticklers when it comes to that age being precise once signing day arrives on July 2 (which is called the Dominican Christmas). The pressure has caused some prospects in the past to fudge or fib about their ages. Older players, who are 18 or 19, try to pass for 16, and so forth.Sano and Batista, just as they are about to sign, get snared by the age regulation.

Sano is put through a battery of medical tests (blood, bone, DNA, you name it) to prove his age is really 16. Batista is also caught up in the age game after his father, who has been dead for nearly a decade, apparently wrote down the wrong birthday date on school records by mistake.

Why do Major League Baseball teams care so much about the birthday rule? Quick answer: By casting suspicion on a young prospect, they can negotiate for a lower signing price on the contract.

The Dominican players are hired for much, much less than their American counterparts. In other words, they are second-class players.

Major League Baseball declined to take part in “Ballplayer: Pelotero,” so the viewer never gets to hear its side of the story. That’s a gaping hole in the documentary.

Still, “Ballplayer” is a rare trip inside a world that most casual sports fan don’t even know exists."














"Miguel Angel Sano, who lives in poverty in the Dominican Republic, is a shoo-in prospect to sign with a Major League team in 'Ballplayer: Pelotero.' If he can prove he really is 16. / Strand Releasing"

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Derek Jeter says no matter if excess US human CO2 emissions cause global warming or not, something should be done. Update: Rush Limbaugh asks if Jeter wants to eliminate night games which use extra electricity which he claims causes global warming

Update, Fri., 1/25/13, On his show today, Rush Limbaugh noted Derek Jeter's concern about global warming, wondered if Jeter would like to cancel night games since they use so much planet-killing electricity.
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1/23/13, "High-flying, mansion-dwelling, fleet-of-luxury-car-owning Derek Jeter takes a fossil-fueled trip to Switzerland, then suggests that fossil fuels cause bad weather," Tom Nelson

"Jeter concerned about climate change
DAVOS, Switzerland -- As global political and business leaders gather here for the World Economic Forum this week, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter hopes climate change is addressed.

"I was in New York for Hurricane Sandy," Jeter told The Dispatch this morning, following a private function in Davos, Switzerland. Jeter is here for the Forum this week with Pepsi [a product containing up to 4 bottles of unpressurized "global warming pollution" (CO2) per bottle?] .

"It's just something that's gotten so much attention," Jeter said of climate change. "Regardless of how you feel about it, it's something that needs to be addressed because we're seeing more and more natural disasters each year, it seems like. Something has to be causing it."
Derek Jeter biography, net worth, quotes, wiki, assets, cars, homes and more
Derek Jeter leads a very luxurious lifestyle & owns luxury cars & a big mansion. He owns a 7 million USD 30000 square foot mansion in Tampa, Florida. His fleet of luxury cars includes Mercedes & Porsches.
How Much Carbon Dioxide is in a Bottle of Soda?
The cola in your bottle is pressurized to about two atmospheres of pressure and if you could get ALL of the CO2 out of the cola it would fill a volume about four times the volume of the cola itself."
1/23/13, "Jeter concerned about climate change," Columbus Dispatch, by Joe Vardon



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Derek Jeter at World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in connection with Pepsi, Gatorade

1/23/13, "Davos 2013: Jamie Dimon, Russia, Derek Jeter, more," USA Today, Kim Hjelmgaard

"The World Economic Forum in Davos runs January 23-27."

"In what may be a Davos first, this year's event sees the arrival of a Major League Baseball star with the rumored presence of Derek Jeter.

Both Reuters and Fox Business were reporting that the Yankees legend will be a guest Wednesday at a luncheon sponsored by Pepsi, which owns Gatorade. Jeter endorses Gatorade. See the logic?"...via Zero Hedge

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Second citation:

1/23/13, "Davos Day 1: Dimon’s Cuff Links, Schwarzman’s Tone and Swag," NY Times Dealbook, William Alden

"The day was full of celebrity-spotting. In addition to the bold-face names in attendance (including Charlize Theron, Derek Jeter and the writer Paulo Coelho) some big financial heavyweights roamed the Congress Hall in Davos."...

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The living hell Barbara Boxer has made of California

12/23/12, "Pot farms wreaking havoc on Northern California environment," LA Times, Joe Mozingo

""I started talking to this guy, and he says he used to be an Earth First! tree-sitter, saving the trees," Bauer said. "I told him everything he was doing here negates everything he did as an environmentalist."...
 "Wildlife technician Aaron Pole surveys a forest trashed by growers. Carbofuran, an insecticide lethal to humans in small doses, is found regularly at large-scale pot farms. Also flowing into the watershed are rodenticides, fungicides, diesel fuel and other pollutants (Genaro Molina, Los Angeles Times / November 15, 2012)".

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The clutch gene exists and Jack Morris is proof of it, existence of 'clutch' is dividing line for baseball thinkers-MLB.com, Lyle Spencer

1/22/13, "The clutch gene exists, and Morris is proof of it," MLB.com, Lyle Spencer

"A few hours before Game 3 of the 2012 World Series in Detroit, Giants manager Bruce Bochy was asked if his team’s extraordinary ability to elevate its performance level in October was evidence of the existence of the clutch gene.

“Well,” Bochy began, weighing the question with characteristic restraint, I agree in the fact there are clutch players. I'm not just talking about our club -- I think [it exists] throughout baseball, whether it's a pitcher or a position player.  Some seem to be better players in a critical part of the game. You need a hit, some guys have a knack for getting a big hit.

“Our guys have done a better job the second half. If you look at the first half, we had a tough time at times with men on base, even putting the ball in play, but they've done a better job the second half. In fact, they've done a tremendous job.

I disagree with those who don't think there are clutch players and players who are better players when something good has to happen for their team to win a game. I think your great players, for the most part, are those types of players. They seem to play better when the club needs them. The higher the stakes, the more they do elevate their game -- hitters, pitchers alike.”

On the strength of timely hitting, pitching and defense, the Giants completed a sweep of the Tigers, lifting Bochy to his second World Series title in three years.

Soon a familiar debate, framed around a Hall of Fame election process that yielded no inductees, was raging again.

Nowhere do New Age thinkers and Old School lifers collide more harshly than in the realm of clutch performance. Although it is an essential element of any Old Schooler’s view, it generally doesn’t exist among New Age advocates who make reference to something identified as "random variance." And even if it does exist, they claim it is impossible to accurately measure clutch performance given the relatively small sample sizes.

If this is where the rubber meets the road in the clash of the two schools of thought, the fellow standing in the middle of the intersection is Jack Morris.

The debate long has been focused on clutch hitting, with relatively little attention paid to clutch pitching. Bill James, the acknowledged godfather of stats, has adopted what amounts to an agnostic approach on the subject.

“I take no position whatsoever about whether clutch hitting exists or does not exist,” James once said. “I simply don’t have any idea.

“There is so much clutch ability in Major League baseball that it is difficult to identify and quantify. Major League baseball players are a very select group. Even the worst Major Leaguers are among the most elite baseball players in the world. The difference in ability between the best and the worst big leaguers is not that great.”

James, at turns, has been somewhat critical of his disciples in the numbers community for the stridence of their anti-clutch stances.

Morris is the model of the pitcher who rises to meet the highest challenges. And although this endears him to those who live inside the game, the analytics movement isn’t nearly as impressed, claiming he is no more qualified for enshrinement in Cooperstown than a number of pitchers who fell off the ballot long ago.

A durable craftsman who racked up 254 career wins in 18 Major League seasons, Morris has seen his Hall of Fame candidacy routinely quashed by the numbers fraternity pointing to his 3.90 lifetime ERA.

No man has earned induction with an ERA that high -- but none of those immortalized pitchers spent an entire career in the American League in the ERA-inflating designated-hitter era,
as Morris did.

It is not known how heavily, if at all, this anti-Morris analytics campaign factored into the voters’ thinking in the 2013 election. But he once again fell short of the 75 percent requirement in the balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Attracting 67.7 percent of the vote -- a rise of only one percent after a jump of 13.2 percent in 2012 -- Morris was left facing the likelihood of falling short in 2014, his final year on the writers ballot. Only Craig Biggio drew more votes (three), but Morris’ prospects are dimmed by the appearance on the next ballot of Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine.

Morris’ best shot at Cooperstown now might rest with the Veterans Committee. For those who played both with and against him, Morris’ inability to break through the Hall of Fame gate is perplexing. They point to his remarkable durability and reliability as well as his October brilliance....

D-backs manager Kirk Gibson, no stranger to clutch hits and Morris’ teammate in Detroit, is an impassioned supporter of the pitcher’s Hall of Fame candidacy....

October, in part, defined Morris, but he also delivered in September during stretch runs. His 3.26 ERA in 102 career games in September and October was his best of any months.

Although the postseason is, indeed, a relatively small sample size, some of the greatest pitchers of the past 70 years -- notably Whitey Ford, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Mariano Rivera -- would not be as revered without their October resumes."...

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Sunday, January 20, 2013

Washington Nationals payroll near $140 million with Soriano signing

1/16/13, "Washington Nationals payroll near $140 million with Soriano signing," Washington Post, Adam Kilgore

"Owner Ted Lerner, one person familiar with the negotiations said, was heavily involved in bringing Soriano to Washington. Soriano is a client of high-profile agent Scott Boras, whom the Nationals have worked with to sign Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth and Stephen Strasburg, among others, to lucrative deals.

The deal shows the desire the Nationals, especially 87-year-old owner Lerner, have to win a World Series now, one year after their wrenching loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series. 


with the express intent of preventing another pivotal, late-game meltdown. 

The Yankees, Soriano’s team in 2012, gave him a one-year qualifying offer, which means the Nationals will forfeit their first-round pick — No. 31 overall — and the bonus pool money attached to the selection.

Soriano’s addition bolsters the back of their bullpen, which already includes incumbent closer Drew Storen and 2011 all-star set-up man Tyler Clippard, who saved 32 games last year. It could also allow the Nationals to trade a reliever from their deep relief corps. 

Soriano will presumably enter the 2013 season as the clear-cut top choice at closer, but there will still be save chances for Storen. Manager Davey Johnson believes in using an “A” and “B” closer in order to keep his best relievers healthy over a 162-win season. As the odds-on favorites to win the World Series, the Nationals should have ample save opportunities and plenty reason to keep their closer(s) fresh. Still, Storen and Clippard may have to adjust to lesser roles after dominating late-inning situations when healthy the past two seasons."

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Saturday, January 19, 2013

Happy Birthday Phil Everly



"The Everly Brothers (Don and Phil, born Isaac Donald Everly, February 1, 1937, and Phillip Everly, January 19, 1939) are country-influenced rock and roll performers,
known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing. The brothers are the most successful U.S. rock and roll duo on the Hot 100. Their greatest period came between 1957 and 1965.

Their first Cadence single, "Bye Bye Love", had been rejected by 30 other acts (including Elvis Presley)[citation needed], but the Everlys saw potential in the song. Their recording of "Bye Bye Love" reached #2 on the pop charts behind Presley's "Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear", hitting #1 on the Country and the R&B charts. The song, written by the husband and wife Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, became the Everly Brothers' first million-seller.

By 1962, the Everly Brothers had earned $35 million dollars from record sales. They became stalwarts of the Cadence label. Working with the Bryants, the duo had hits in the United States and the United Kingdom, the biggest being "Wake Up Little Susie", "All I Have to Do Is Dream", "Bird Dog" and "Problems", all penned by the Bryants. The Everlys also found success as songwriters, especially with Don's "('Til) I Kissed You", which hit #4 on the US pop charts."...narrative from You Tube. via Powerline blog

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Adam Kennedy opens Kennedy Baseball Development facility, still a free agent looking to play

1/18/13, "Smith: Adam Kennedy is a rookie in a whole other ballgame," OC Register, Marcia C. Smith

"Former Angels and Dodgers infielder Adam Kennedy just opened the Kennedy Baseball Development facility on Jan. 7, 2013, in Anaheim."

"Kennedy has teamed with his baseball-coaching brother, Bryan, and personal trainer Dave Constant to open a 12,600 square-foot ballplayer factory/fantasyland on North Kraemer Boulevard....

His cell phone, sitting screen up on the coffee table, hasn't rung, hummed or chimed in about 90 seconds. It's always nearby, this free-agent anxious to hear whether a team wants a lefty batter with a .272 career average and the defensive versatility to play second as well as corner infield and outfield positions.

About his playing future, Kennedy, who spent last season coming off the bench for the Dodgers, said, "I have no idea.""...

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Ed. note: The NY Times some years ago published batting average leaders on the sports page. For a very long time, Adam Kennedy was the name at the top.

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9 San Francisco Giants on World Baseball Classic rosters of 5 countries

1/17/13, "Bevy of Giants named to various World Baseball Classic rosters," SF Examiner

"The World Baseball Classic will have a Giants feel to it. Nine Giants, spread across several countries, were named to preliminary rosters on Thursday.

Giants pitchers Jeremy Affeldt and Ryan Vogelsong are among 27 players on the U.S. roster, while Venezuela listed Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro, third baseman Pablo Sandoval and reliever Jose Mijares on its initial roster. Puerto Rico will feature outfielder Angel Pagan and left-handed reliever Javier Lopez, while right-handers Santiago Casilla (Dominican Republic) and Sergio Romo (Mexico) also were on rosters.

The A’s had one player on the preliminary roster, as left-hander Pedro Figueroa will play for the Dominican Republic.

Other key players on the U.S. roster were the Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun, the Miami Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton, the New York Yankees’ Mark Teixeira and the New York Mets’ David Wright.

The WBC semifinals and final will be held at AT&T Park at March 17-19.

Sandoval in hospital: Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval is in a Venezuelan hospital with abdominal pain. CSN Bay Area reported that Sandoval has been hospitalized since Wednesday with colitis, but is expected back on the field soon with his winter league team in Magallanes. Sandoval’s brother, Michael, initially tweeted that Pablo was hospitalized with an unspecified abdominal pain.

Soon to hear Lyon roar? CSN Bay Area reported the Giants are in hot pursuit of reliever Brandon Lyon. Lyon spent the 2012 season with the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays, where he went 4-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 61 innings.

A’s agree to terms with Jaso, Smith: The A’s agreed to one-year contracts with catcher John Jaso, who was acquired Wednesday in a three-way trade from the Seattle Mariners, and outfielder Seth Smith, avoiding arbitration with both players. Terms of both contracts were not immediately known."

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Ed. note: Bright white background behind part of this post was put there illegally by a hacker. 


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Friday, January 18, 2013

K/BB better measure of pitcher platoon skills than AVG/OBP/SLG-Sheehan

1/17/13, "Stat Sunday – Platoons," Joe Sheehan, WGNtv.com

"The following post appeared in 2012 as part of WGN’s Stats Sunday series. Thanks to Joe Sheehan for this article."

"Earlier this season, not long after Mariano Rivera’s season-ending knee injury, I was watching Rafael Soriano struggle to close out a Yankees win. Soriano wasn’t scuffling because he doesn’t have “closer mentality,” but rather, because he was facing a run of left-handed batters, and he isn’t that effective against them. I sent out a Tweet to that effect and was inundated with responses by fans with access to Baseball-Reference.com.

“NO!” they cried, “Soriano is better against lefties this year.”

Well, they were technically correct. At the time, Soriano had allowed a very high OPS (OBP + SLG) to right-handed batters, and even today, he has a “backwards” platoon split:  642 OPS allowed to righties, 595 to lefties. However, there’s more to a pitcher’s abilities than 200 plate appearances in the current season — and more to his skills than OPS splits.

Because of the small samples in single-season splits for relief pitchers, you need to look at multiple years in determining what any player’s true platoon split is. Soriano, in his career, has allowed

a .171/.232/.284 line to righties — he owns them —

and a .230/.305/.384 line to lefties.

Those career stats are much more in line with what you’d expect from a hard-throwing right-handed reliever with a nasty slider.

Look deeper into Soriano’s 2012 line, and you’ll see that he’s actually wiping out righties this year, too. He’s struck out 24% of the right-handed batters he’s faced, with a 19/4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Against lefties? a 26% strikeout rate, but a less impressive 29/10 K/BB (unintentional walks, only).

Those numbers, strikeout rate and K/BB, are the clearest indication of a pitcher’s platoon skills. The OBP and SLG numbers can be influenced by a pitcher’s batting average against on balls in play, which isn’t a skill that splits along platoon lines. Soriano has allowed a .339 BABIP to righties this year, and just .260 to lefties, for no reason other than that can happen in a handful of at-bats. The fans who were yelling at me about Soriano being “better” against lefties weren’t looking at strikeouts and walks, and they weren’t looking at the pitcher’s career — and they were reaching the wrong conclusion.

This is a small point, but it’s important if you’re going to evaluate tactical decisions by managers or pickups by GMs. One of my favorite examples is from a few years back; the Red Sox had a left-handed reliever who dealt from the first-base side of the mound and threw a lot of sweeping sliders out of the reach of lefty batters. In 2007, though, he allowed a .359 BABIP to lefties, which led to an 805 OPS allowed to them…despite a strong 22% strikeout rate and an 18/7 K/BB. When the same thing happened in 2009 — a .500 BABIP allowed to lefties!–

the team gave up on the southpaw.

A year later, Javier Lopez landed in the Giants’ bullpen and was part of the group that allowed just three runs in September and shut down the favored Phillies and Rangers in October on their way to the World Series title.

In three years since the Red Sox let Lopez go, he’s struck out 28% of the lefties he’s faced and posted a 71/25 K/BB, while holding lefties to a .173 batting average.

The Lopez story is an example of why you can’t just look at stats to make sense of a pitcher’s platoon splits. Pitchers can influence their effectiveness on hitters from one side of the plate or another with arm angle and repertoire. Soriano comes from three-quarters, throws a hard fastball and sharp slider; watch him for three innings and you can see how lefties would be much more comfortable against him. Lopez slings the ball from the side, so left-handed batters can’t find the ball but righties get a great look. There is no reason why lefties should hit .293 against him, as they did in 2007, other than, “sometimes the balls fall in.”

Loosely speaking, the closer a pitcher is to pitching over the top from 12 o’clock — the smaller his platoon split should be. The more a pitcher works up and down in the strike zone, with 12-to-6 curves, change-ups and splitters, as opposed to with pitches that work across the plate like down-and-away curveballs and hard sliders, the smaller his platoon split should be. Pitchers who rely heavily on cutters, like Rivera or the White Sox’ John Danks, are prone to reverse platoon splits, because their pitches work away from opposite-side hitters and into same-side ones.

In determining what a pitcher’s true platoon abilities are, you want to start with what he looks like, then what his weapons are. From there, go to his strikeout and walk rates, rather than his AVG/OBP/SLG, because those numbers are more reliable indicators of skill and less influenced, even in small samples, by luck. Look beyond the current season, especially for relief pitchers, who face just a few hundred batters in a given year.  With this mix of information, you’ll reach the right conclusions — sometimes more often than the managers do!"

 "Joe Sheehan is a contributor to Sports Illustrated, SI.com and the NBC Sports Network."...

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Thursday, January 17, 2013

2013 ESPN Sunday Night Baseball schedule announced

1/15/13, "ESPN Sunday Night Baseball announced, to feature Yankees twice, Mets once," Star-Ledger, Jeff Bradley

"The schedule for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball was announced today and will feature the Yankees twice and the Mets once in 2013.

The Yankees will host the Baltimore Orioles on April 14 in a rematch of their American League Division Series and will also be shown when they play the Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 21. The Mets' one appearance on Sunday Night Baseball will be on May 26, when they host the Atlanta Braves.

Here is the entire schedule:
  •  Mar. 31 Texas Rangers at Houston Astros
  • April 7 Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers *
  • April 14 Baltimore Orioles at Yankees
  • April 21 St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies
  • April 28 Atlanta Braves at Detroit Tigers
  • May 5 Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants
  • May 12 Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox
  • May 19 Detroit Tigers at Texas Rangers
  • May 26 Atlanta Braves at Mets
  • July 14 St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs
  • July 21 Yankees at Boston Red Sox"
*ESPN 2

"Sunday Night Baseball game selections for June and July 7th and July 28th will be made three weeks in advance, while selections for August and September games will be made two weeks in advance."

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Alex Rodriguez gives thumbs up after surgery

1/17/13, "Despite A-Rod’s sunny outlook, future in doubt," NY Post, Ken Davidoff








"Hip-hip hooray: Alex Rodriguez flashes a thumbs-up after undergoing “successful” surgery to repair a torn labrum and his left hip yesterday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan." photo Facebook, Alex Rodriguez

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Girardi credits listening to Cubs games on his Dad's car radio for getting him hooked on baseball

1/14/13, "Yankees manager Girardi a big hit at local fundraiser," newstimes, (Ct.) R. Gregory

"I used to ride with my dad and listen to Cubs games in the car," Girardi recalled. "He was a salesman and he would take me with him -- I don't know how he ever sold anything with me with him, but he did. And that's how I fell in love with the game."...

"Education and friendships are so important," said Girardi, who grew up in Illinois, earned an engineering degree from Northwestern and set aside what would've been a successful career as an engineer to play minor-league ball. "My education opened up so many doors for me. It opened up doors for me to baseball because I got a scholarship. It opened up doors for me to be a manager, to be a broadcaster, and to do the things that I really love to do."

He grew up rooting for the Chicago Cubs -- the club with which he first made it to the big leagues. Girardi played 14 seasons in the majors (1989-2003). He won World Series titles in three of his four seasons with the Yankees. He landed his first managerial job with the Florida Marlins in 2006 and was named National League Manager of the Year. He took the helm of the Yankees in 2008 and guided them to a World Series victory in 2009."...

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Ed. note: Please excuse white bars defacing this post. They were put there illegally by my longtime hackers. This is getting to be a badge of honor for me. Someone has put a great deal of effort into trying to shut me up.

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Yankees to face Army at West Pt. Mar. 30, first Yankee-Army marchup featured Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig

1/17/13, "Army to host Yankees in exhibition game at West Point," dailyfreeman.com

"The New York Yankees will play an exhibition game against Army on March 30 at West Point’s Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field as they head north from spring training in Florida.

The game is scheduled for 2 p.m., with ticket information available in late February at www.goarmysports.com.

“It’s a tremendous honor for our organization to play at West Point, which is one of our country’s most historically significant institutions,” Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement.  “The Yankees have always held the nation’s servicemen and servicewomen in the highest regard.

“Playing in this game is our way of showing appreciation for their valor and the sacrifices made by all members of the United States armed forces.”

It will be the second preseason game outside of Florida for the Yankees this spring.

The other will be a March 29 contest against the Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

This isn’t the first visit to the U.S. Military Academy for the Yankees.

The Yankees have faced Army 21 times at West Point from 1927-76. The first of those games, featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, was called after one and a half innings because of rain.

In 1982, principal owner George Steinbrenner held two days of workouts indoors at West Point when conditions were too snowy for outdoor workouts at Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Stadium has been the site for many Army football games through the years, most recently a 27-12 loss to Rutgers on Nov. 12, 2011 at the new Stadium. 

The first Army game at the new Yankee Stadium was a 27-3 loss to Notre Dame on Nov. 20, 2010 in the 50th meeting between the two schools.

That game was the first Black Knights game at a home stadium of the Yankees since 1987. Army is scheduled to play Boston College at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 8, 2014.

Army played 38 times at old Yankee Stadium, going 14-19-5 against all opponents with wins over the Irish in 1944 and 1945 when the Cadets won the first two of their three consecutive national championships."...

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