Friday, April 15, 2005

Baseball Tidbits

USA Today's Hal Bodley chats with President Bush about baseball
  • Hal Bodley


  • The Cubs Dusty Baker preaches to reporters
  • Jay Mariotti
  • Happy McBirthday

    Today is the 50th birthday of McDonald's . . . even though the cheapskates did not offer the public any deal, such as maybe 50 cent cheeseburgs or 50 cent fries, here are some interesting facts about this American institution:

    - Ray Kroc may have been the founder McDonald's, but he wasn't alone in hatching his idea of fast food burgers . . . Richard and Maurice McDonald were pioneers of McDonald's and the quick service restaurant industry . . . Kroc was the founder of McDonald's Corporation . . . Richard and Maurice McDonald converted their barbecue drive-in with car hops into the world's first McDonald's limited-menu, self-service, drive-in in 1948, in San Bernardino, California . . . in 1954, Ray Kroc was granted exclusive U.S. franchising rights by the brothers . . . he opened his first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois in April 1955

    - McDonald's first mascot was not Ronald McDonald -- it was "Speedee" a smiling chef with a hamburger head

    - Willard Scott was the first Ronald McDonald

    - In 1955 a hamburger cost 15 cents and fries were 10 cents

    - The famous Big Mac was introduced in 1968 by Jim Delligatti, one of Ray Kroc's earliest franchisees, who by the late 1960s operated a dozen stores in Pittsburgh

    Wednesday, April 13, 2005

    Odds on the next Pope

    Now that March Madness is over and you have a couple of dollars burning in your pocket -- you don't have to wait until the Kentucky Derby on May 7th . . . the hottest betting going on right now is on who is going to be the next Pope . . . the BBC ran a story about all the betting taking place on who is going to be the next Pope (see link below)
  • BBC - Odds on the Pope

  • CURRENT ODDS

    A realiable source has provided me with the current odds in Antigua . . . as of this morning, Dionigi Tettamanzi is the favorite -- a $10 bet would get you $20 . . . here are the frontrunners:

    Tettamanzi (Italy) - $10 to win $20

    Francis Arinze (Nigeria) - 10/30

    Oscar Rodriguez Maradiago (Honduras) - 10/50

    Joseph Ratzinger (Germany) - 10/50

    Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino (Cuba) - 10/100

    Also, if you still have a few more bucks and want to bet on what will be the name of the next Pope, here are your odds on that:

    Benedict - 10/30

    John - 10/30

    John Paul - 10/50

    Pius - 10/60

    Andrew - 10/100

    The odds on the next Pope being over 70 years old is high - you have to place $30 just to win $10 . . .

    Get to your piggy banks and let the betting begin!!

    Health Minute - The top killers in men and women

    The leading cause of death in women are as follows:
    1. Heart disease - most people think cancer is the top killer in women - NOT!
    2. Cancer
    3. Stroke
    4. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) - example - bronchitis, emphysema
    5. Alzheimer's disease
    6. Diabetes
    7. Accidents

    The leading cause of death in men are as follows:
    1. Heart disease
    2. Cancer
    3. Accidents
    4. Stroke
    5. COPD
    6. Diabetes
    7. Influenza and pneumonia

    Tuesday, April 12, 2005

    Clinton finds a friend

    Interesting column about Bill Clinton and the Bush Boys - Boston Globe

    The Kings get their Rings - Boston Globe

    Yankees show class - N.Y. Daily News

    Kids cuss too much - Washington Post

    A look back at Tiger's run -
    Washington Post

    Sunday, April 10, 2005

    One week complete

    Here are some thoughts after one week of baseball:

    On the Indians
    - Aaron Boone may be a steal for the Tribe . . . he played well in the field and is hitting at the plate . . . general manager Mark Shapiro did well by signing the injured Boone last August
    - he may never be an All-Star, but Casey Blake is just a plain ole simple baseball player . . . this guy can play any position . . . offensively, he is a solid hitter
    - the Tribe propoganda team (aka Cleveland media) built up shortstop Jhonny (yes it is spelled that way) Peralta during spring training . . . he was supposed to be the next Barry Larkin . . . through four games played, Peralta has committed four errors . . . it's funny how the Cleveland media failed to mention that Peralta is a liability in the field
    - the Indians better hope that Dave Riske and Arthur Rhodes can close games because Bob Wickman will not make it through the entire season as a closer

    By the way, whatever happened to John Rocker? . . .

    On the Yankees
    - from day one I have stated that the Yankees made a mistake by signing pitcher Jaret Wright . . . Wright had one good season -- and that was last year in the National League . . . 1 good season!!! . . . Wright is a headcase who couldn't handle the pressure when the Indians fans got on his case -- what is he going to do when the New York fans start on him? . . .
    - the Yankees Mariano Rivera better get ready to hear the chant "Who's your daddy" during his next appearance at Fenway Park . . . the Red Sox have gotten into the head of the greatest closer of all time
    - Bernie Williams is in the last year of his contract with the team . . . he has gotten off to a terrible start batting .063 and has stranded runners in scoring position often

    Other nuggets
    - Tampa Bay's Jorge Cantu had three homers during the week . . . I say he won't finish with 20 on the year . . .
    - are the Angels officially the Los Angeles Angels???? . . . I lost track . . .

    Series of the Week
    Yankees @ Red Sox - the Yankees head into Fenway on Monday after beating the World Champs 2 out 3 last week . . . on Monday the Sox players get their World Series rings and raise the championship banner . . . the Yankees players should sit in the dugout and watch the ceremony to refresh their memories after choking last October . . . here are the possible pitching match-ups

    Monday - Mussina vs. Wakefield - Yankees win
    Wednesday - Wright vs. Arroyo - Red Sox win
    Thursday - Johnson vs. Schilling - Yankees win

    Prediction - Yankees will take 2 of the 3 games