2BS Blog - This is it.

Fantasy Teams were given to you by randomly picking a card from a stack.

I don’t know about you. But gas here is already 3 dollars a gallon. I bet it goes up even more..
I’m riding my bike from now on.

Experts: $4 a gallon gas coming soon
Pricing analysts say consumers can expect even higher prices at the pump.
August 31, 2005: 12:46 PM EDT
By Grace Wong, CNN/Money staff writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – Consumers can expect retail gas prices to rise to $4 a gallon soon but whether they stay there depends on the long-term damage to oil facilities from Hurricane Katrina, oil and gas analysts said Wednesday.

“There’s no question gas will hit $4 a gallon,” Ben Brockwell, director of pricing at the Oil Price Information Service, said. “The question is how high will it go and how long will it last?”

OPIS tracks wholesale and retail oil prices and provides pricing information for AAA’s daily reports on fuel prices.

Brockwell said with gasoline prices now exceeding $3 a gallon before even reaching the wholesale level, it “doesn’t take a genius” to expect retail prices to hit $4 a gallon soon.

“Consumers haven’t seen the worst of it yet,” Brockwell said.

He expects consumers in the Southeast and Northeast to be pinched first, following the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast region.

Katrina pressures gas supplies
Katrina forced operators to close more than a tenth of the country’s refining capacity and a quarter of its oil production, which sent gasoline prices surging.

Two major pipelines that supply gasoline to key terminals and distribution centers along the Eastern U.S. were shut down due to power outages caused by the storm. (Video of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman discussing U.S. plans to tap strategic oil reserve to help refiners—4:16. Click here to watch).

Colonial Pipeline said it hopes to be back in partial operation soon, while the date of Plantation Pipeline’s restart is not clear. Each day the pipelines are closed, supplies get backlogged and distribution centers must rely on reserves.

“With this kind of hiccup in refinery capacity, in stretched markets like California, you could see over $4 a gallon in gas,” Evan Smith, an analyst at U.S. Global Investors, told CNN/Money.

While it’s still too early to fully assess the damage caused by Katrina, efforts to build up inventories of crude oil, natural gas and other products like gasoline will be set back by the storm, according to Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at Global Insight.

In a research note, Behravesh laid out a worst-case scenario that puts average prices for regular unleaded gasoline at about $3.50 a gallon for the next four to six months.

“The impact on consumer spending in such a scenario would be very dramatic, cutting the growth rate by as much as 3 percent and pushing real GDP growth in the fourth quarter closer to zero,” he wrote.

In a best-case scenario, he forecast retail pump prices to peak at $3 a gallon for a couple of months, but then fall back to around $2.50 by year-end.

The nationwide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded hit a fresh high of $2.619 Wednesday, according to AAA, the largest U.S. motorist organization, formerly known as the American Automobile Association.

Average gasoline prices have gained 40 percent in the last year.

Prices for crude oil are also up sharply and are currently hovering near record highs just under $70 a barrel.

42 Home Runs (#1 in league, 3 above Derek Lee and Arod)

102 Runs Batted In (4th in league)

Water is good, Mudd is bad (to drink). If you think about it. In the end it’s the same.

Well Sage is all set. Home now. All stiched up. Now we just have to make her stop licking it.

Sage gets to go and have her ovaries’s tied up tomorrow. It’s an overnight trip for her so you know what that means… Party time for Sara and Brian and Nutmeg.

Image Gallery
1526 files in 63 albums and 8 categories with 3 comments viewed 7279 times

There are new pics of Sage and Nutmeg… and more…

Francoeur to test the SI jinx
By David O’Brien | Tuesday, August 23, 2005, 03:55 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

For better or worse, Jeff Francoeur is a Sports Illustrated cover boy.

He’s on the cover of this week’s issue that hits newstands Wednesday or Thursday, depending where you live. The cover can be viewed, at least from what I’m told, late this afternoon at SI’s website.

I’m only kidding when I say “for better or worse.” Well, half-kidding. As most of you know, some believe there’s an SI cover jinx, since the number of teams and individuals who’ve been sent reeling toward slumps, losses in big games, or injuries, after appearing on the magazine’s cover is rather alarming.

But, hey, what’s a silly so-called jinx to a kid who’s gone from hitting .275 at Double-A to hitting .362 with 10 homers and 30 RBIs in his first 35 games in the majors — all in under two months? Defying odds is nothing new for the dude with the 1930s-sounding baseball nickname, “Frenchy.”

The phenom from Lilburn and Parkview High can’t get much bigger or generate much more buzz than he has since arriving in the bigs. You’ll all be glad to know it really doesn’t seem to have changed him, and he’s still the same goofball with the unpretentious demeanor and ever-present smile. Let’s hope that never changes.

As for his performance, he’s 0-for-6 with four strikeouts in his past two games, but that’s on the heels of back-to-back three-hit games against San Diego. So I don’t know. Each time I think he might be starting what I figured to be an inevitable 1-for-20 or 2-for-25 or something like that, he bounces back with a two-hit or three-RBI game or makes a sensational throw to nail a guy at the plate. So we’ll see.

As for the Braves, last night’s 4-2 win was huge for two reasons: Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson. The Braves are going to need both of them to be at their best, I believe, to help carry the team down the stretch and into the postseason. And last night, they both were. Chipper looked like the 1999 MVP all over again, and Hudson looked like the pitcher who won more games than any other in the AL over the past five seasons with Oakland.

Here are a few pictures from my trip to NYC a few weekends ago.

For the rest of the pics…. Click Here

So I haven’t “typed” to you in too long.. People probably think that something is wrong or I fell into a dark hole or something. Well, sorry to upset you by that.. I have not fallen into any dark hole nor got my hands all chopped off in some freak accident or some shit. I’ve just been lazy. Actually theres a word for it.. Madden. Yeah, the new Madden came out early last week and I pretty much played it nonstop until this very second. Well, that and I did probably 25+ fantasy football drafts last week.. Yeah, issues.. There’s a lot of things going on that I haven’t discussed. That’s okay I’ll save those for another time..

What brought me here tonight was just a little rant that I wanted to just get off my chest for the time being and pump out there into cyberspace for the internet junkies to chew on and the horseless spews to spew on… or whatever it is that they do with their internet chew.

Okay. I’m just sick of people being assholes. I was going to limit this to just the fat dirty slobs that eat at the pondo and how they are too freakin cheap to leave a tip after I bust my ass for them, but.. I’ve decided to expand. WEll. Maybe not expand, cause this is the realm I deal with every day. And I’m not even pissed off actually. What I hate is when people mark their comment cards that everything was excellent except the attentiveness of the server who ends up getting just a “good”. Did they not see me busting my ass for them? Some nights I really get run around. Usually it pays off and theres more than 2 bucks on the table when they leave. Other times, they are just insensitive. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m real good at my job. I usually get tipped quite well I’d think (depends on the person, of which this topic came to mind).. but I always take care of requests right away, I’m quick as hell with refills, I prebus not stop to “get dishes out of the way” or “clear some room” or whatever I say at the time. Like everyone else I am sure, occasionally there are lapses where a Mountain Dew wasn’t refilled for 3 minutes or I didn’t know the lady wanted lemon for her ice tea or whatever.. Sometimes you’re wrapping up another persons meal or meals for that matter and during this time another table sits down, etc.. I’ve gotten much quicker with this but it has burned me before. Okay, back stepping.. Some people piss me off that’s all.. I usually always get Excellents on my comment card when they are filled out.. But I was going to say something about little things that piss me off, but wanted to first say.. that I do really really like my job (can’t say love because im a professional bitch).. but I like what I do. I enjoy the people I work with. I like to think that I brighten their day because people are always really happy to see me and see that they get to work with me. I’ve gotten to know many of them pretty well and hope to get to know them even better the longer I manage to not go crazy doing this… There’s nobody I don’t like or can’t stand to work with or am just uncomfortable around… but every now and then something just pisses me off.. Like for instance.. A large part of my job revolves around retrieving dirty dishes and bringing them to the dishwashing place where I scrape them off if need be and then you know, place them in a stack. So because of that and at times when I am getting a meal ready for delivery I am bound to get crap all over my hands.. or maybe not all over, but on them.. I have to wash and use paper towel to get them dry and ready for the next action.. All of us have to do this often. I should do it even more than I do.. but.. So anyway.. the paper towels run out and it throws me off. I get pissed about it. I tell the dishwashers (who are all freakin AWESOME by the way—I should devote an entire post to Marvin some day and will—) but it’s like their responsibility to keep that shit full. I say, we need more paper towel. 20 minutes later, and however many million wash offs.. I go to get the PT.. Nothing.. have to dip around a few people to get to the other one (there are like a million PT dispensers.. but the main one is super importante).. like tonight—finally I say to Brent (a manager—and also only the managers have the key to open the dispenser, which is stupid).. but I say, we need more Paper Towels.. So, (and i see this becoming even worse of an issue for my compulsive ass now that I am just exploding with it).. but so finally.. It’s opened.. Brent must have just opened and left it.. 20 minutes later, still no new roll.. I think, okay.. forget it. I go back and put it in. It just pisses me off. I know that they were just as busy as we were. But come on, that’s pretty important and it doesn’t take that long to do.

Oh well.. So what did I basically just say?

1) Ive been playing Madden and drafting thousands of fantasy football teams and thats why i havent posted much
2) Some people are assholes
3) I have fun at my job. People like me and I score big.
4) I’ve got to have my paper towel fix.

Marcus drives in the game winning run in the bottom of the 12th. Braves win! Braves win! Braaaaaaves win! Braves increase their lead in the NL East to 6 Games. Andruw hits homer 36 and 37. Smoltz pitches a gem. Giants rally in the ninth. Francouer hits another homer. EXCITING!

Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz works against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning in Atlanta.

Atlanta Braves’ Andruw Jones, left, is congratulated by Marcus Giles after Jones knocked in Giles with a two-run homer during the sixth inning.

Atlanta Braves’ Marcus Giles follows through on his 12-inning game-winning hit.

Atlanta Braves’ Marcus Giles celebrates with teammates after driving in the winning run against the San Francisco Giants in the 12th inning. The Braves won 5-4.

Atlanta Braves’ Wilson Betemit scores the game-winning run in the 12th inning on a hit by Marcus Giles as San Francisco Giants catcher Yamid Haad misses the throw.

all photos- (AP Photo/John Amis)

East W L PCT GB HOME ROAD EAST CENT WEST AL L10 STRK
Atlanta 66 48 .579 – 37-15 29-33 29-20 22-11 8-9 7-8 6-4 W2 Philadelphia 60 54 .526 6.0 36-25 24-29 20-26 17-15 16-5 7-8 6-4 W2 Florida 59 54 .522 6.5 31-24 28-30 23-25 15-15 11-9 10-5 5-5 W2 Washington 59 54 .522 6.5 34-22 25-32 19-23 17-15 11-10 12-6 4-6 L1 New York 58 55 .513 7.5 36-23 22-32 25-22 17-17 11-6 5-10 6-4 W1

p.s. Mets in last place.

If you are interested in taking part in the 20th Anniversary Season of Smith Family Fantasy Football, inquire within.

There were over 50 people last night in line at GameStop at midnight. I was one of them.

Madden game released at midnight
By Darren Rovell ESPN.com

The start of the NFL season might be a month away, but for thousands of sports video game fanatics across the country, Tuesday is Opening Day.

Tuesday marks the nationwide launch of Madden ‘06, the 16th edition of the game that features the voice and image of former Oakland Raiders coach and current broadcaster John Madden. The game has grossed more than $1.5 billion in sales for its producer, Electronic Arts, selling more than 43 million copies over the years.

It will be available at selected retailers at midnight ET.

This year, EA faces less competition than ever in the football video game marketplace.

A fierce pricing war last year with Take-Two Interactive, the company that produced the ESPN NFL 2K5 Football game, forced EA officials to reduce the game’s price to $29.99, a reduction of $20. EA reacted aggressively in December, signing an exclusive five-year agreement with the NFL and its players, reportedly worth $400 million, that made Madden the only licensed game on the market.

Without the license, only one company, Midway Games, has decided to produce a game this year.

Soon after striking the NFL deal, EA added another exclusive by stripping the ESPN name from Take-Two, negotiating a 15-year deal to use the ESPN name and graphics in its games. How much Electronic Arts will be able to use the ESPN brand name in future Madden games is still unclear. Last month, the company signed Madden to a contract extension, but the 69-year-old announcer will be leaving the ABC/ESPN family after this season to broadcast “Sunday Night Football” on NBC.

In recent years, the Madden game has received plenty of attention because of the so-called cover curse. In 2003, cover athlete Michael Vick broke his leg just one day after the game hit the shelves. He played in only five games that season. The year before, St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk—who had five straight 1,000-yard seasons—injured his ankle after appearing on the cover. He ran for 953 yards that season and hasn’t hit the 1,000-yard mark since.

Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb is this year’s cover subject. “I’m just not worried about it,” McNabb told ESPN.com in June. With little threat of competition, and plenty of licensing fees for Electronic Arts to pay off, the price of this year’s game will return to $49.99.

I’m home now.

I somehow managed to catch a cold here in NYC which pretty much stinks. I went from sleeping thursday night on Vassili’s couch in the extreme heat and sweating all night to the next night sleeping in extreme cold and freezing at Colleen’s Fordham apartment. But whatever. Hopefully the plane ride won’t completely suck because of this head cold. (In all previous examples, it has).
My dad and Colleen are out getting the rental SUV so we can load up all of her gear into that. He’s going to drive it back to Holley, NY with her stuff. My flight out of JFK is at 4pm so I have to leave here and hop on the subway around 1ish. My mom and sister’s flight doesn’t leave until 8 so they will have some time to kill in between.
All in all I had a great time and will be posting some pictures when I return home. I’ll be home by 8 something tonight. Then it’s back to the daily grind for me.
Later for now.

About 5pm Head to Midland/Bay City/Saginaw airport.
7pm – Depart MBS en route to DTW
8pm – Depart DTW en route to JFK
11pm – Arrive at JFK and make way to A Train
12pm – Depart Subway Station on Washington Ave in Brooklyn and get greeted by my good pal Vassili
12:01pm – Go up on Vas’s rooftop

Friday (unscheduled events)
-Wake up
-Breakfast with Vas
-Take off to find Colleen in Manhattan
8pm – or so Bob Jones arrives
-Find grub
-Party all night long
5am – Watch Falcons/Colts game from Japan

Saturday
7am – Parents arrive
-Fun, fun fun

Sunday
-Fun, fun, fun
4pm – Depart JFK
8pm – Arrive at MBS
9pm – Arrive Home

Last night I had the most fun ever.

Through work I volunteered for to help out at this “National Night Out” our company (LaBelle) sponsored. There were groups of people from each restaurant/hotel that they owned. I was one of them. Anyway..

So it was this completely free event that anyone in the town could go to and enjoy. They had clowns, face painting, fire trucks, cop cars, free food including hot dogs, sloppy joes, pizza, and tons and tons of grape and fruit punch sodapop free at no charge. There must have been thousands of people that went. They had some live performances including this high school dance group that couldn’t dance in rhythm if their lives depended on it. I didn’t stay for the half hour live music or the showing of the movie “The Incredibles”. Anyway.

My job was by far the best. Me and Josh from work were positioned at the Dunk Tank where we helped little kids dunk 5 or 6 rotating cops over and over and over again. It was the best.

The basic setup was 3 balls, a dunk tank, and a police officer.

We had a line originally but it ended up getting moved farther and farther up.

Each little kid that didn’t hit the target got to run up any way and press it (or get help pressing it) and dunk whoever was sitting on the dunk seat at the time. Over and over and over again. It was the greatest. We totally made their day over and over and over again. There were several kids that went multiple times. I had perma grin. The line was really long. It was great.

The interesting fact of the night is this: The percentage of times that a kid threw the ball and hit the target and caused the police officer to get dunked was pretty even between the smaller kids and the bigger kids who could throw harder. Some kids threw really good and some couldn’t hit the side of a barn.

It was great to play with them and get tons of high fives and just have a freaking grand old time.

I’ll be in NYC from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon.

I think subconsciously I am always posting to this blog.. But the problem is I’m not really posting to it.. It’s just thoughts.