The SoapBoxers

It’s that time of year again…..BIG BROTHER IS ON (CBS Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays)!! This year started off with a bang as it’s different from any other season of BB. Typically the houseguests are “introduced” to each other by meeting for the first time outside the BB house. That was the case this season, except there were only 8 houseguests when typically there are 14 (and houseguests are not allowed to speak to each other until they are INSIDE) the house .

If you’re selected to be on BB, there’s an excellent chance you know how the game works, so each of the houseguests KNEW something was up when there was only 8. Not long after they went into the house in groups of 2, Julie (BB’s host) announced that the 8 current players would be playing in pairs, and they needed to select their partner. Keep in mind that the houseguests had JUST met, so they really knew nothing about each other. After picking partners, there was a ring on the doorbell. In comes Rachel and Brendon (engaged), from last season. The new houseguests seemed star struck, but it wasn’t long before 2 other groups came in – Evel Dick and his daughter Danielle, and the couple Jeff and Jordan.

It didn’t take long for alliances to form, as the new contestants had already formed an alliance, and the veterans who were introduced later quickly vowed to stick together. The first head of household competition was held on the first night of the season, and the veterans made their presence known with Rachel and Brendon winning the first competition (she hung on to a giant banana longer than anybody else….yes, a giant banana). This gave the veterans control over who would be going home first……but another wrench was soon thrown into the game. For the first 4 weeks, if your partner is voted out of the house (1 person goes home each week), you automatically receive a “golden ticket”, which automatically gives you safety to make it to the top 10. You can’t be selected for elimination, but you also can’t participate in any of the household contests (head of household, veto competition, etc).

So, while you and your partner are up for elimination, you really are voting for your person to go home because that grants you safety to get to the top 10. Probably not a huge deal to the newbies, but it could get a little interesting for the veterans. There is an elimination tonight (Thursday), and a team of new guests is up for elimination – Keith and Porsche. Both are assuming they’ll be safe and think for sure the other is going to be voted out. Keith has been much more vocal throughout the game. The veterans want to keep Porsche, and originally all of the newbies wanted to keep Keith, but some are starting to question his moves.

PREDICTION: I think Keith will be going home, as his antics may have done just enough to scare his alliance. The veterans think they can convince Porsche to vote however they want her to for the next few weeks, so I think they’ll do just enough to keep her around.

Anybody else have thoughts? Am I way off on my prediction?

Stay tuned for the next couple of days to see a post on each of the teams on Big Brother and my thoughts on each.

I recent bought a Kindle.  As some of you know, I’ve long been a proponent of printed books and have resisted to urge to jump to e-readers.  Why the change of heart?

• The battery life issue is not as much of a concern as I would have thought.  I was under the false impression that battery life would be measured in hours or maybe a day or two.  In actuality, battery life is measured in weeks.
• Although I feel that a lot of the eBooks are priced too high in comparison to the corresponding printed version, there’s one genre where this isn’t true: public domain works.  You can download the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Verne and countless others for free!
• It’s not just an e-reader.  Until recently, I wasn’t aware of the fact that the Kindles have a built-in web browser.  I’m told that this is clunky but functional.  That’s fine for me.  I don’t own a smart phone, so it will be nice to have a book that doubles as a web browser when I’m, stuck in a waiting room for hours.  If you have a 3G version, you get free access to the internet when you’re traveling.  Amazon does reserve the right to charge for “excessive use”, which does make some sense – I’m sure they’re paying a pretty penny to have this service provided to Kindle users.  On the other hand, it makes it easier for people to buy more books.
• Not only can you borrow Kindle books from your friends, you’ll soon be able to check them out from the library, too.  In the near future, Amazon will be working with Overdrive to deploy this functionality.  The Nook (a Kindle competitor) currently allows checkouts from libraries.

I’ve been slowly coming around to the idea of buying a Kindle for the last few months.  I told myself that I’d wait until I’d earned enough money from my web endeavors to pay for one – at the time, this would have taken quite a while.

Recently, however, this changes.  I lined up a freelance gig that will bring in a bit of money.  At that point, I started looking around at Kindles.

Shortly thereafter, a friend mentioned that he had a Kindle that he was looking to sell.  It was a Kindle 2 (the current model is a 3), but had built in 3G (only available in the pricier versions of the Kindle 3.  We struck a deal, and the K2 should be arriving before long.

The Open Championship originated in Scotland in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club.  The first playing of the  tournament was restricted to professionals, (mainly who were caddies, greenskeepers, clubmakers or ballmakers by trade)  and attracted a field of eight who played three rounds of Prestwick’s twelve-hole course in a single day. The winning score of 174, was shot by Willie Park Sr. who beat Old Tom Morris by two strokes. The following year the tournament was opened to amateurs; eight of them joined ten professionals in the field to make a huge field of 18, and the Open Championship was on its way.

Prestwick Golf Club administered The British Open from 1860 to 1870. In 1871, it agreed to organize it jointly with The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and Honourable Company of Edinbourough Golfers based out of Musselbourough – preclude to Muirfiled one of the best of all Scottish Courses. The event was lengthened to  72 holes, four rounds of what was by then the standard complement of 18 holes. In the same year the prize fund reached £100.

In 1894 the Open was the first one held outside Scotland, at the Royal St Georges Golf Club in England. Because of an increasing number of entrants, a cut was introduced after two rounds in 1898. In 1920 full responsibility for The Open Championship was handed over to The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

The Open returns to Royal St Georges this year after a long layoff.  In today’s age of golf there are only a small number of courses that typically host the Open Championship on a rotation basis.  These courses do not change very often.  The tournament was last played here in 2003 when virtual unknown, Ben Curtis, took home the Claret Jug.

Fast forward to 2011.  Tiger Woods in sidelined with knee, ankle and some would argue, brain issues.  Phil Mickelson, one of the most gifted golfers of our time, and lock to be in the World Golf Hall of Fame has never really contended in an Open.

Rory McIlroy who has lead at the 54 hole point of each of the last majors blew chances last year at St Andrews, then in the PGA, earlier this year at Augusta, and now has a United States Open to his credit.  He is the overwhelming favorite at Ladbrokes – the prominent British Betting house as a Tigeresque 7-2 betting favorite.

The Open has a history of two things. 1) Great players across the history of golf usually have a win in this championship to their credit and  2) there are just as many if not more “one hit wonders”  golfers that win this major and really are never heard from again.

So this weekend, set your clocks early, tune into ESPN, and catch Renton Laidlaw announcing Match 42 on the tee in his high pitched voice that is often imitated, but never duplicated.

Watch quirky holes, bad bounces, lucky bounces, horrible lies, strong winds, maybe even rain, and weather that can change faster than it does where I live in Nebraska.

The Open is golf at its finest.  Golf as it was meant to be played – over sand dunes, humps and hollows -not on overwatered and perfectly manicured greens, fairways, bunkers and tee boxes.
My pick this week – Matt Kuchar…it is about time he won something big in terms of a tournament.

Until next time, enjoy your haggis, neeps and tots!

This year, many people are choosing to not take a vacation. This decision is based on economic or perceived economic concerns. The price of gasoline is high, but no higher than last year. The job market is tight, but no tighter than last year. The cost of traveling, food, lodging and points of interest have not gone up appreciatively, so why the reluctance to go on vacation?

There are several reasons. Since the economy is stagnant, many people are more stressed. They feel that they cannot be away from a job they have without jeopardizing that job. This cycle is of course self inflicted pain. A vacation is exactly what you need when you are under a lot of stress. People are concerned that the economy will not start growing for a long time, so they want to save as much as possible. This may be true, but drastically changing your spending/saving habits just means when the economy does start growing again, you are going to spend yourself into a hole. As with anything in life, moderation is the best path. Then there are the people who feel guilty about taking a vacation. Either they know someone who is unemployed or think that you might know someone who is and should share the distress.

The biggest influences seem to be external. The continuous bombardment of news stories about how bad things are combined with the political advertisements blaming all of the woes of the world on various office holders provides a background of economic despair.

The dry truth is that the United States and most of the World are currently in a trough of economic stagnation. Economics is a cyclical beast with admittedly some influence from political decisions. We can only be sure that things will change, but we cannot be sure of what direction the change will take. When a large portion of a society drops into a “save at all costs” mode, we have seen that a prolonged period of slow growth results. When a society goes on a spending binge, we see dramatic fluctuations in the economy. That is about the extent of the “sure” things in economics.

So when considering vacation plans, be moderate in your decisions. If you situation requires that you do something different this year, then by all means make an adjustment. If you have an opportunity for momentary extravagance, then why not do it? Even if you just do something locally, to get away from you routine, the benefits will out weigh the costs. I recommend something, anything really, to break the stress and live life.

Going into play on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in a tie for second place in their division, just one game behind the Brewers.

The last time the Pirates wrapped up a winning season, I was starting my senior year of high school.  The year was 1992.  George Bush (the elder) was president.  Jeffrey Dahmer had recently been sent away to prison, the original Dream Team was romping to victory in Barcelona,  and Hurricane Andrew had just smashed into Florida.  In other words, it has been a long time.

The fall of the Pirates has been due in large part to running the team on the cheap – pocketing revenue sharing money from teams like the Yankees and Red Sox without any attempt to use the money to field a competitive team.  The modus operandi for the Pirates has been to trade away talented players before they become too expensive to hang onto, and to sacrifice quality for affordability in their top draft picks.  For a team with a championship history – the team of Honus Wagner, Pie Traynor, and Roberto Clemente – it’s a sad state of affairs.

The Pirates hired Clint Hurdle as their manager in the off-eason.  Hurdle had struggled through several losing season with the Rockies before breaking through and winning the pennant with the 2007 club.  He was fired after a terrible start in 2009 and replaced with Jim Tracy – who led a dramatic turnaround that led the Rockies back to the playoffs.  The irony?  Tracy was fired by the Pirates in 2007 after a failed stint with the team – and the Pirates managerial job is now held by the man who was fired in Colorado to make room for Tracy!  Although I do think the firing of Hurdle was justified (things had just run their course), I do have respect for him as a manager, and am pleased to see him doing well.

There are a lot of “feel-good” stories with Pittsburgh.  Joel Hanrahan (an Iowa kid) was beginning to run out of opportunities before being installed as the closer in Pittsburgh.  Hanrahan is 26 for 26 in save opportunities with a 1.34 ERA.  Jeff Karstens has shaved nearly 2 runs off his career ERA and stands at 2.55.  Kevin Correia posted a 5.40 ERA last year for San Diego – even with the benefit of an extremely pitcher-friendly Petco Park.  This year, he’s making a run at a 20 win season, standing at 11-6 with a 3.74 ERA (he has decisions in 17 of his 18 starts, which is nothing short of amazing). (Note: all stats are through Thursday).  I’m nominating Correia as my dark horse candidate for the Cy Young award.  If he manages to win 20 games – for the PIRATES – how can you fail to give him the award?

Around the diamond

Derek Jeter returned to the Yankees lineup after his stint on the DL and once again is closing in on 3000 hits (if he had a two hit game after we went to the presses Friday night, then he’s already reached the milestone). 

It’s often noted that Jeter will be the first Yankee to reach 3000 hits.  This is interesting, but it really doesn’t add anything to the accomplishment.  Would Jeter’s achievement be diminished if he played for a team which already had some guys with 3000 hits in their career (the Pirates, for example)?  Of course not.  Neither, then, does the fact that he’ll be the first Yankee with 3000 hits add to the accomplishment.  If anything, it points out a bit of an oddity in baseball.  With all the superstars that have worn pinstripes, you’d think at least one of them would have racked up 3000 hits for the Yankees.  Had he stayed healthy, Lou Gehrig surely would have joined the 3000 hit club 70 years ago.  In recent decades, the Yankees have tended to acquire stars rather than develop them – and it’s almost impossible to have 3000 hits for a team unless you play nearly your entire career with them.

Albert Pujols returned to the Cardinals lineup on Wednesday night – a month ahead of schedule.  I discussed the issue with a friend of my who is a huge Cardinals fan.  He was in agreement that it would have made more sense to shut Pujols down until after the All Star break to make completely sure he’s healthy.  The benefit from a few extra games before the break isn’t worth the risk of aggravating the injury by trying to come back too early.  However, I’ll assume that the medical staff for the team knows that they are doing.

The All Star game is on Tuesday.  I absolutely love the All Star game.  I’m not much of a fan of the home run derby (too artificial) but love seeing the biggest stars in the game in the field.  I definitely agree with the sportswriters who would like to see the rosters trimmed a bit – and also agree that not every single player needs to get into the game.

Go National League!

Darren Wieters felt the butterflies in his stomach. The 39 year old had been working toward this moment for his entire career. It was the final game of the season, and Wieters had entered the game with 2994 career hits. The sports world was resigned to the fact that Wieters would have to come back one more year to enter the 3000 hit club.

Wieters privately wondered if his body could take another year of abuse. His left knee would need to be scoped in the off-season, and the shoulder needed the cortisone shots more frequently in recent years. Another regimen of off-season workouts, just to stay in shape for a handful of hits next year. That did not sound like much fun at all – but it was the price of greatness.

Wieters had left off the game with a single. Another single in the third, a double in the fifth, a double in the sixth, and yet another single in the eighth had put him on the cusp of history. He had five hits in five at bats, pushing his career hits total to 2999 – the brink of immortality.

Wieters watched Sean Graham line out hard to the third baseman for the first out of the inning. Wieters collected himself, took a deep breath, and took the short walk toward the batter’s box.

“Go get ’em, Dee Dub” yelled Graham. Wieters nodded absently, lost in his thoughts.

The flashbulbs around the park lit up the darkness. Every fan in the stands knew the importance of this moment. Just one more hit would stamp Wieters’ ticket to the Hall of Fame. Any hit would do – an infield single or a home run – it didn’t make a difference. Another hit would also give Wieters a rare six hit game – and make him the first to ever reach the 3000 hit plateau with a six hit game.

The opposition, however, was not going to simply roll over. Especially not in a tie game. The Dragons pitching coach jogged out to the mound and signaled for a lefty to come in to face Wieters.

Wieters took some unhappy practice swings – annoyed not only by the prospect of an unfavorable lefty-lefty match-up, but also with the delay in the action.

Finally, the southpaw finished his warm-up pitches and toed the rubber. Wieters dug in at the plate. Wieters knew that this guy would try to get him to expand his strike zone, so he watched the mid-90s fastball go – barely missing the plate.

The next pitch got more of the plate than the pitcher had planned, and Wieters drove the ball toward deep center field. The crowd roared when they realized that the ball was going to fall in for a hit. Wieters felt the presence of first base under his feet – his #3000! He never broke his stride and raced toward second. As he neared the bag, the third base coach was giving him the stop sign, but Wieters knew he could beat the throw. He kicked it into high gear and roared toward third base. He would become only the second player to enter the 3000 hit club with a triple!

He lost his footing as he approached third base. He stumbled, then fell – but his momentum was still propelling him toward the bag. He reached for the base. Yes – his hand was in before the tag!

“OUT!” roared the ump.

Wieters jump up in protest. The blind bat had missed the call. A piece of history, and he had just blown the call. Wieters was fuming and gave the the man in blue a piece of his mind.

“Yer outta here” yelled Blue when he finally lose patience with Weiters, ejecting the future Hall of Famer from his final game. Wieters shared a few more choice words before retreated toward the dugout. As he approached, Sean Graham tossed him a ball. Wieters grabbed it angrily and hurled it into the stands. He grabbed a bat and began a vicious assault on the water cooler.

It took Darren Wieters a moment to realize that Graham has tossed him the ball from his 3000th hit – and that in his anger he had discarded it like a piece of trash.

I make no secret of the fact that I’m a big fan of crime writer Lawrence Block.  I’ve profiled him in one article and placed him atop my baker’s dozen list of favorite authors.  He has written novels, short stories, and even writes a monthly column in a philately magazine.  Additionally, he has written books for other authors – books that have been instrumental in my own writing.

Just as importantly, he is FUN.  His web site is a departure from the sterile sites you see elsewhere.  If you look carefully, you can see that he is actually selling books on the site (autographed), but the sales seem to take a back seat to the newsletter and other general chatter.  Really, you get the feeling that you are “in the know”.  Even the bookselling sounds like a quaint operation involving one guy shoving each book into a box and hand-printing the address.

Block is 73 years old, and is showing no signs of slowing down.  He recently released a new Matthew Scudder novel, A Drop of The Hard Stuff.  September will see the release of Getting Off: A Novel of Sex & Violence (I have no idea what that might be about) with Block writing under the pseudonym Jill Emerson.

I don’t have the details of Block’s financial status (that would be a bit stalker-ish), but with millions of sales under his belt, I suspect that he doesn’t need to postpone grocery shopping until his Social Security check arrives.  He’s past the customary retirement age, and it would be perfectly understandable if he decided to ride off into the sunset and simply quit writing.  But he hasn’t – he continues to write (although it’s been a damn long time since the last Bernie novel).

Several months ago, I found the septuagenarian on Facebook.  Unlike some authors, who only say something when they’re trying to sell you their new book (or get you to see the movie based on their book), Block interacts with his fans – from the “Rabbit, rabbit” for good luck on the first of every month to the daily affirmations for writers.  In between, he shares interesting insights, stories, and photos (he’s also a world traveler).  He actually – GASP – responds when people comment on his status.  He interacts with his Facebook friends as if they are, well … his friends.  Yes, he does occasionally link to items for sale – but in his typically self-deprecating manner.

He is also a man who embraces technology.  Recently, he has been bombing the landscape with Kindle versions of his short stories.  Brilliant, really, because who can argue that 99 cents is too high a price?  With the relatively low amount of work that goes into preparing an electronic edition, it’s easy to cost-justify the time spent – and it allows fan to get their grubby little paws (er, Kindles) on stories that haven’t been published in many years.

When block turned 73 back on on June 24, he celebrated bu jumping onto Twitter.  More recently, he launched his own blog (smartly opting for WordPress, the same software that powers The Soap Boxers).  What’s next – FourSquare 🙂

All in all, it seems like Lawrence Block is having a great time playing with all the new technology and having a grand time chatting with all his fans.  You want to know a great way to build loyalty in your fan base?  Interact with them as if there were peers – exactly what Block does.

I happen to have a signed copy of a Lawrence Block book.  No, I haven’t been lucky enough to meet him at a signing, nor did I buy one from his site.  While at a chain retail store that sells new and used books, I saw a copy of One Night Stands and Lost Weekends on the bargain shelf for $2.  I already had a copy, but was with a friend of mine who had never read any of Block’s work.  I grabbed the book and intended to present it as a gift.  On the way back to the office, I was flipping to the table of contents (don’t worry – I was a passenger) to tell my friend how many stories were included in my collection.  Imagine my surprise when I found myself in possession of an autographed copy.

I kept the autographed book and bought my friend a nice copy of Enough Rope – which is a far longer collection, anyway.  I’d call that a win-win situation.

As we enter the time of year when we’ll hear presidential debate after debate and advertisement after advertisement I began to reflect on some of the values that I expect from my candidate. As I reflected, one particular value hit me very hard. Four years ago this same idea was “sort of” on my radar but I didn’t feel very strongly about it. As with most of us, our experiences in life provide us perspective. As we grow older we develop sometimes those perspectives change based on the very experiences that we have.

I often say that as we grow older in life we tend to think more conservatively. That doesn’t mean that all of us will become conservatives, but without a doubt I would think that most people will move a little more conservative with age. The last few years I moved a little more conservative on one particular issue; this issue won’t sit well with many people either. That issue is related to gay marriage; specifically, it’s gay couples having or adopting children.

I still could care less if the Squirrel and Zarberg want to get hitched and do the nasty all day. I could care less if that means they declare themselves a couple for tax purposes, for the benefit of insurance. I’m still fairly neutral in that view as long as I don’t have to watch them making out. I still think it’s a sin and I still don’t approve of it but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand the desire of a gay couple to declare their devotion to one particular person.

Here is where I draw a firm line in the sand. Gay/Lesbian/Homosexual couples should not parent children whether they have been adopted or birthed through insemination. A few years ago I didn’t view this as much of an issue. Let me explain why I have changed my opinion.

I work with a gay female that is in a committed, long term (married now) relationship with another female. They have two beautiful children. Both children were carried and birthed by my friend’s spouse. The father is the same for both children and Mom was artificially inseminated. The kids are 100% brother and sister in every way having the same Mom and Dad. They are blessed to have two very caring and loving Mom’s. The Mom that I work with is one of the most loving individuals that I know. She cherishes her children to a point that is rivaled by few. I know she would do anything for her kids and loves each of them more than life itself. Her spouse also loves their children more than many parents love their children, but I don’t know her very well. They provide for the kids very well and are raising them wonderfully.

Ok Squeaky, this sounds like it’s going well. What’s the problem?

The problem really origin blows up outside the home. Kids are horrible to each other, you know that. If kids can find something odd about another child, they exploit it. Most of the time its petty stuff like, “Kosmo has a green shirt on today so he’s bad”, “Kosmo has cooties” or “Don’t play with Kosmo today because he farted in class…again”. You know, stuff that passes in a moment or two.

These two kids however are in hell a great deal of the time. “Martin has two moms…eeeeew” “Squeaky is going to be gay because he has two Moms.” “Don’t invite Crunchy to the sleepover because she has two moms so you know she’s going to try and kiss you”. This has been going on for a couple years and it isn’t slowing down.

The kids can’t ride the bus any longer. The kids can’t hang around after school any longer. The kids have to get taken to school and picked up by one of their moms so they don’t get picked on. The whole family is deeply troubled by this and they’re all in psychotherapy trying to deal with it. You tell me, what 7 year old child should need a shrink? Do you think for a minute that this was a thought in the mind of the parents when they decided to have these two kids? Of course not, obviously the kids’ moms never intended for any of that to happen. What parent would?

This doesn’t mean that they aren’t good parents. This family lives in a small town of 50,000 people and everybody knows everybody’s business. There is no escaping for these kids. Certainly as they grow older it will get better, but we’re talking years from now, and at what price? The oldest is 12 and she is still going through hell. She went on a date with a boy a few months ago and the boy’s parents flipped when they found out that she had two moms. Then one of the moms found out that the boy was black and she flipped too. There is no winning.

I’m not trying to say that gay people are bad. If anything this story should show just the opposite. They’re just like everyone else, they can be great, kind, loving, caring people OR they can be a total jack ass. Being gay doesn’t make someone good OR bad. Being gay doesn’t mean that a person is a good or bad parent either. What I’m saying is that being a gay parent does set up your children for a lot of grief, turmoil and many years of hell.

As we go to the polls, as we listen to and watch debates this year, I’m not asking you to change your mind. I’m not pushing for No Gay Marriage or anything like that. I’m not trying to deprive anyone of their rights. I’m just saying, we all need to grow up and not think about immediate gratification. Think about the long term impact of the decisions that we make. Think about how your decisions impact others; not just with gays being parents but with everything: Unions, taxes, abortions, green/clean energy, buying American produced goods, annexation of that little farm down the road, approving the bond fund, raising the sales tax, eliminating the senior exemption, changing the drinking age, immigration requirements, and minimum wage. I could go on and on.

I’m not saying that the conservative thought is the correct one every time (even though it is), but we really need to be responsible and think deeply about what you’re voting for/against. Everything we vote on has impacts beyond the main subject you are looking at. Think about it thoroughly, consider the impact and make your decision wisely. Don’t just live life in the moment.

I’ll stop down off my soap box now.

Squeaky…

Last week, I gave an overall review of the Road to the Show (RTTS) option from MLB 11 The Show. I discussed making myself a closing pitcher and what my current status was. Since then, I’ve decided to go a different route. Being a closing pitcher just wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be, so I re-created myself as a starting pitcher. I gotta say, this is the way to go! This week, I’ll talk more about specific skill points.

There are several different categories to train for as a pitcher (and as a position player/batter, but I’ll focus on pitcher). When you create your pitcher, you can pick 3 pitch types that you want to be able to throw. I picked 4 seam fastball, sweeping curve, and sinker. Once you create your pitches, you’ll have 3 training areas for each pitch – velocity, control, and movement. I like to focus more on power to get my fastball velocity up to the mid to high 90’s, so I quickly maxed out my fastball velocity at 99 (of course, like I mentioned in part 1, you have to earn training points by meeting goals during each game you play).

You also have other areas to train in – Stamina/durability, mechanics, pitching clutch, BB/9, H/9, K/9, and HR/9. Training on each specific pitch will also increase your attributes in these other areas. For example, if you increase your velocity on any of the pitches, that also will “train you” in the K/9 category. Working on your control for any specific pitch will also increase your BB/9, and increasing movement for each pitch will also increase your HR/9 attribute.

Working on your stamina, mechanics, and pitching clutch is also very important. You’ll find that you don’t have much stamina to start with, and you’ll quickly decline throughout the game. Assigning quite a few points to work on your stamina is a very good idea, especially in the beginning. I also found increasing my velocity on each pitch was very beneficial as well.
Throughout the season, you’ll also have various training assignments. You can skip them, or you can simply do them. I would HIGHLY recommend doing the training. It’s a very easy way to increase specific attributes, and they only take a few minutes to complete.

Also, keep an eye on the “Advancement Goals” screen (from the main menu in RTTS). This will typically consist of 4 items – 2 attributes that you need to increase over a specified period of time, and 2 goals that are stats related (i.e. Only allow 10 hits over the next 2 weeks, etc). PAY ATTENTION TO THESE GOALS. Even if you’re not performing the greatest but you achieve these goals consistently, it will pay off. If you perform great but don’t achieve the goals, you’ll notice the difference.
All in all, it’s a fantastic game and one of the best game modes available. If you haven’t played and enjoy the game of baseball, pick up a copy…you will not be disappointed!

My favorite event of the Summer, the Annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Championship was held yesterday. Joey Chestnut made it 5 in a row downing 62 Hot Dogs and Buns in 10 minutes of time. His nearest competitor – Patrick Bertoletti – set a personal best with 53 dogs consumed. This event also was the first appearance by three competitors from China that were flown in to participate. (Nathan’s coincidentally is opening up a number of chain stores in China, so it strictly is a marketing ploy to be sure)

Meanwhile in the world of competitive eating, controversy still reigns supreme. Across town at another locale, 230 Fifth Avenue – namely a rooftop bar in mid-town Manhattan, six-time champ Takeru Kobayashi downed a record 69 hot dogs to become the unofficial winner of this year’s annual Nathan’s hot dog eating competition.

The establishment broadcasted the sanctioned Nathan’s Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Competition in real-time on ESPN. Kobayashi went up against the competitors on the big screen in a sort of “simulcast eating event” and beat the competitors in the official competition by 7 dogs.

Questions immediately were raised. Are these the same size Hot Dogs at are at Nathan’s? Did the proximity to the boardwalk on Coney Island and the sheer volume of spectators make the conditions more hot and humid versus the high rise, breezier and cooler conditions in which Kobayshi quote “competed” ? Would Chestnut have kicked it into another gear had he had his sights on Kobayashi immediately to his left or right?

Last year in protest, Kobayashi was arrested at the Nathan’s event after he climbed over a barrier and stormed the stage of the Nathan’s contest. He was protesting the fact that he was unable to come to an agreement contractually with the powers that oversee the world of competitive eating. (Which by the way according to an ESPN poll is not a sport….80% of the voters indicated it is cool to watch but not considered a sport)

Catching wind that there may be a simultaneous off site event featuring Kobayashi, MLE (Major League Eating ) president Richard Shea said earlier this week that his organization wouldn’t recognize Kobayashi’s achievement if he wins. “It’s a farce,” said Shea. “He’s not banned, he’s just mad he lost three years in a row.”

Kobayashi claims he has no hard feelings for the MLE. He just doesn’t want to sign a contract that restricts him.

Steven Greenberg, the owner of the bar where Kobayashi “unofficially” broke the record indicated Kobayashi was paid for his hot dog eating appearance but said it wasn’t an endorsement or promotional fee and wouldn’t disclose the amount.

Will this ever be settled? Will cooler heads prevail and we get to see once again Kobayashi versus Chestnut? Perhaps at the Nebraska State Fair?

Maybe they could battle in some sort of neutral food other than hot dogs? A few ideas…Pickled Eggs, Chocolate Ice Cream, Funnel Cakes, or my personal favorite (and yes someone does have a world record for this) Mayonnaise.

A new twist for 2011 – This year for the first time ever, the women got an event of their own and did not compete directly against the men. Sonya Thomas aka, the Black Widow downed forty dogs to take the first official Woman’s’ Title , a check for Ten Grand, and the now coveted Pink Belt.

The winner of the “Real “ Event gets a smooth $10,000 and more importantly the coveted Mustard Belt awarded to the winner of the Nathan’s Competition. For Chestnut he needs to clear out some more wall space.

Somehow I think that Aaron Rodgers with his “Championship Belt “ move on the football field would look better sporting one of the Mustard colored belts that would match the Packer Green just fine….but I digress….

Until Next time…Stay Classy at the unlimited buffet nights!