Wednesday: OctoberFest; choose the least-crummy pickup line
GET SERIOUS: My son used to mispronounce the World Series as the “World Serious,” and as mispronunciations go, that’s a fairly fitting one. Nitty-gritty time for the Tigers and Giants, who open the fall classic at 8 p.m. tonight on WFXR.
ARMS RACE: Either Tim Lincecum or Madison Bumgarner will be pitching out of the bullpen for the Giants in this series. Think about that for a second. How many times do you see a three-time league strikeout leader and two-time Cy Young winner pitching out of the pen? Bumgarner, meanwhile, went 16-11 this year and struck out 191 men for the second straight year. That’s some rotation depth, y’all.
HOW-EV-AH: Top-of-the rotation edge clearly goes to the Tigers, who will send a fully rested Justin Verlander to the hill tonight against Barry Zito. The Tigers are an 8-to-5 favorite to win tonight, and are similar odds to win the series.
JUNIOR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been “medically cleared for all NASCAR-related activity.” That includes selling merchandise (that was for you, Crooked Road). In all seriousness, big win for Martinsville Speedway, which always seems like it’s filled with 70 percent Little E fans on race day.
HOKIES: Bye week? What bye week? Andy never rests, you guys. Check out his detailed look at the Virginia Tech offense here.
CRAZY TRAIN: The Marlins fire Ozzie Guillen. What a mess that season was from the start.
SPEAKING OF DISASTERS: Bobby Valentine implies that David Ortiz quit on the Red Sox. See today’s Name That Tune for a full summary of the Bobby V situation.
BARNSTORMING? A new study suggests an NBA team could move to Virginia as soon as next year, with its permanent home in Virginia Beach ready by 2015. In the interim, the team would play in arenas around the state. I don’t think the players would dig that too much, but it would be a really cool way to build a commonwealth-wide fan base for the team.
SIMPLIFY: Geno Auriemma says the way to make women’s basketball popular is to lower the rims. “What makes fans not want to watch women’s basketball is that some of the players can’t shoot and they miss layups and that forces the game to slow down,” Auriemma said, according to the Hartford Courant. “How do help improve that? Lower the rim [from 10 feet]. Do you think the average fan knows that the net is lower in women’s volleyball than men’s volleyball? It’s about seven inches shorter, so the women have the chance for the same kind of success at the net [as the men].”
ODDS AND ENDS: Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson (concussion) will return this week against Oklahoma…Oregon and Ohio State agree to two-game series beginning in 2020…Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee will miss the rest of the season, per ESPN…Central Florida wins its appeal of its postseason ban and will be eligible for a bowl game this season…Officials move the 2014 BCS title game up a day, to a Monday, to help facilitate fan travel and perhaps draw better ratings…Don’t forget to make your Fearless Forecasters picks if you’re into that sort of thing.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Please choose the least-crummy pickup line of the following:
A) Is there an airport nearby, or is that my heart taking off?
B) Are you busy tonight at around 3 a.m.?
C) If I could rearrange the alphabet, I’d put “U” and “I” together.
D) I hope you know CPR, ’cause you’re taking my breath away.
E) The only thing your eyes haven’t told me is your name.
NAME THAT TUNE
Last night we talked of old times
Families and home towns
We wondered if we’d both agree
On where we’d settle down
And I told her that we’d cross that bridge
Whenever it arrived
Now through the flames I see her
Standin’ on the other side…
October 24, 2012 - 8:19 AM
Dale Jr is back, just in time for Martinsville! The real shame of it is that Tums is the sponsor for this race and not Goodies.
An NBA team in Virginia Beach would not mean that much to me since Charlotte is so much closer. It would be good for the state so that is a positive. Disagree about lowering the rim for the women. I think if a change needs to be made it should be made to the ball first. A slightly smaller lighter ball would do the same thing as lowering the rim. Which is basically the same thing we have done in rec leagues in Roanoke County and scoring has nearly doubled for the girls. The difference in the balls was only 1inch and a few ounces but it made a world of difference.
Pick up lines on a sport blog? Wow. Just wow.
Here’s one where I was making fun of the ACC replay official- “Hey, girl, you want to come up here and play with the replay monitor? I have pork and beer. You are hot, so why not?” Let see how the ACC would have liked that.
Since you want to have pick up lines, I have one myself.
“Babe, you are so hot, I passed out from the heat.”
No NBA team is coming to the 757, especially the current Sacramento Kings. Why leave for an identical situation? Talk about fading into obscurity. Pure fantasy.
Let’s look beyond the headlines. There is currently no discussion of public financing of an arena. Gee, we ALL know how much pro sports team owners LOVE to pay for their own facilities. Yeah, that happens all the time.
Next, the VaBeach ‘study’ determined that they could expect 16K average attendance in the 18.5K capacity arena yet to be built. That kind of attendance would put them in the top 20 of NBA attendance. A team that had to move to make money would be THAT well received?
They’d do this after having the team wander around the state playing in college arenas for two years. Umm, okay. Let’s name all the arenas in Va that exceed 10K capacity. Two. The only college arena that holds 10K is Charlottesville. Then you’ve got the antique Scope in Norfolk at 12.6K
Can anybody in SW Va actually be honest in saying they’d travel to VaBeach on an monthly basis to see an NBA team? Even an annual basis? Even more than 2-3 times in your life?
I know the VaBeach council is trying to hype up some interest to draw business, etc. but the NBA thing is fantasy.
They’re all pretty crummy…in all honesty.
I was reading about the starting rotation for the Giants last night, and I’m very, very surprised that Bochy is only starting Matt Cain once…though their pitching depth truly is phenominal. The Tigers could, if need be, pitch Verlander 3 times, and Scherzer twice…and it’s not like Fister or Sanchez are slouches either. It is a puzzling move to me, and Lincecum is definitely back in the bullpen, though, that makes sense given that he has been lights out from there, but shaky as a starter. If the Tigers win tonight, I’ll take them in 5 or 6. If the Giants win tonight, I say it goes 7 and is totally up for grabs. It will be a great series…GO TIGERS!!
To paraphrase a scene from Band of Brothers: David Ortiz didn’t quit on the Red Sox, Bobby Valentine. He just quit on you.
As for the NBA team to VAB…I was reading about that a while back. It sounds like a great idea, but I don’t see it becoming reality. I’m very familiar with that area (lived there from 1985-2000), and I don;t think it has the corporate money to support a team. Even combining the Richmond market, I think it’s still weak. A lot of government/military money, much of which is up in the air as defense spending and priorities are re-shuffled. There’s definitely a large-enough population base, but it’s very spread out. Plus, the geo-political squabbles famous in that region usually doom the opportunity to lure a franchise…but Comcast-Spectator’s involvement gives the whole deal a lot more weight and potential than past rumors…both pushed by George Schinn. We’ll see. I’m not an NBA fan that much, but a franchise in that area I would follow…and I’d try to catch a game or two when I’d be down there, since I still have family in the 757.
One thing that complicates the potential for an NBA move is this:
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Final-OKs-given-for-Seattle-arena-deal-3949354.php
They have been trying to get a team back since the Sonics moved to OKC, and rumors are that the Kings would go there first, since they aren’t happy with Sacramento. If that happens, I don’t really see a different NBA franchise looking to move in a hurry. And if the ownership for the Kings doesn’t change from the Maloof’s, I’d say VAB would do better by passing, they’re notoriously horrible franchise owners.
Rory McIlroy is going to sign with Nike for $250 mil over ten years. More than Tiger, just to put the exclamation point on it. Not a Rory v. Tiger thing, as much as a 23 yr old v. 36 yr old thing. Tiger is ‘only’ making $20 mil a year, so don’t weep for him, LOL.
Anyway, this evidently will kick in January, once his Titleist contract & his Oakley apparel contract end.
OJ brings up another solid point on the phony ‘NBA is coming to VaBeach!’ rumor currently being spread by the VaBeach city council. A significant amount of NBA season tickets are sold corporately, not to individuals. The 757 doesn’t have the corporate involvement necessary. How many individuals are going to be willing to spend over $3K for a pair of semi-decent season tickets to the NBA? Plus extravagant parking plus extravagant concessions?
Pickup lines?
You must be a parking ticket because you have fine written all over you.
No idea on the song.
AMc, I know you’re a wet blanket about them, but how about some comments on the infamous red hot dogs? When is that coming? It’s Martinsville week, baby!
Don’t wimp out. You could do one on them tomorrow, and one on Dodge’s Fried Chicken on Friday. That would be way more interesting than the Holiday Inn Lounge pickup lines…
Auriemma might be on to something. Am aware of difference in the net in volleyball and maybe that would help women’s BB. I once saw a VT women’s game before the men played and the difference is huge. Obviously there is the size difference but the tempo of the men’s game is much faster and crisper. I would say one way to increase the popularity of women’s BB would be to have them wear skimpy outfits as the women do in beach volleyball but that would be chauvinistic and I refuse to go there…
cr, for arenas there’s a few somewhat decent choices…
The Richmond Coliseum holds about 12,000 for a hoops game. The Norfolk Scope holds just over 10,000 for hoops, and the Hampton Coliseum holds just under 10,000 for basketball. The Roanoke Civic Center can seat about 9800 for hoops.
On the collegiate side, the JPJ holds about 15,000, Cassell holds just shy of 10,000, the Ted (at ODU) holds 9500, the Patriot Center (GMU) holds 10,000. The smaller college arenas are for Richmond U (9200), VCU (7500), and JMU (7100).
They’d probably want to stick with the larger metro areas as much as possible, but still, since there’s only 3 that hold over 10,000…it seems like a bush league sort of thing to do.
I do not begrudge anyone who likes the Martinsville hotdog. I just cannot share their enthusiasm, that’s all. Learned my lesson.
Throwing in my thoughts on the NBA franchise coming to Virginia. I simply do not see it happening, with reasons outlined by OJ and CR, and on top of it, I doubt that Virginians are huge professional basketball fans. For example, how long did the NBA-DL team lasted in Roanoke? Exactly.
I haven’t watched a lot of NBA since the Bulls-Jazz finals, and those players in that day were hard core. They don’t takes nothing from players, but gives a whole lot back. The rivalry between Malone and Rodman were among some of the best. Now, we have too much, “We are good friends, but we compete hard on the court.” I don’t dig that.
Osu gets Oregon and we get ECU. I know we have a home and home with OSU but other than that not a lot to get excited a out the next 8 years, As a season ticket holder I wonder if the cost is worth it. How do you get recruits excited? We have a series with ECU! They are pirates ya know! Like Johnny Depp!
Expanding some more on my thoughts on Virginia attracting a NBA franchise.
There’s already two “major” markets, the D.C. metro area and the outlying suburbs areas, and Charlotte. I also think with how crappy both franchises are, there’s a general apathy amongst the fans of both team. While Virginia has a potential major market in Richmond, Virginia Beach, Hamptons, and the outlying areas, I just think that many Virginians are tuned out.
Also, I think the NBA is not as popular as it once was, unless we are talking about L.A., New York, and possibly Oklahoma City.
I also think there are more options for entertainment dollars, especially in Virginia Beach with a professional UFL team, and there’s the Washington Redskins that is attracting a lot of attention due to the popularity of RG3.
Worst pick up line: If your left leg was Thanksgiving and your right leg Christmas, can I visit you between the holidays?
And that’s a Garth Brooks song….not sure of the title,though.
Yeah, can’t see that line working too well, HokieGal. I think E is the least crummy of the blog options. Bob H’s isn’t bad, either.
Garth Brooks it is. Title still up for grabs. I figured Rock On would last a while yesterday and it got nailed 10 times before 10 a.m. Figured this would be nailed by 9 a.m. Shows what I know about this Blog Crowd.
Why do I get a feeling someone’s used that on you, HokieGal. All I really need to know is did he get the slap he deserved?
How about, “That’s a beautiful dress, it would look great crumpled on the floor next to my bed.”
Trevor, the other issue for a pro team down there is travel. ORF is a horrible airport, and very expensive to fly in and out of…I drove 3 hours to RDU and saved $500 on a round-trip to STL. That is a hindrance for out-of-town folks coming in for sure. The other is the highway network there…it’s not like it’s on the way to somewhere else…it’s basically at the dead-end of I-64, Route 60, Route 460, and Route 58. The only viable route for moving large quantities of traffic is I-64, and crossing the HRBT or MMMBT during the rush hour to make a game? KILLER! On a good day, it is a breeze. Bad day? Hope you packed a novel…you might finish it before you reach your destination…
That right there eliminates the Richmond and Peninsula populations as viable supporters for ticket sales, so really, you’re having to rely solely on south Hampton Roads…Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and the outlying counties in Virginia and NC. It’s really not a market conducive to success, because if they place the area by the VAB Convention Center at the oceanfront, it’s a good 30-45 minute drive for most folks, even from the airport…again, during rush hour…and the I-64/264 interchange is one of the worst choke points for traffic down there because of how they finagled the HOV lanes into it…it reduces the travel lanes for almost every direction and bottles traffic up pretty good, even in off-peak times.
There are no other substantially viable routes getting to the proposed location. Virginia Beach Blvd/laskin Road (Route 58) is littered with traffic signals and already moves a galactic s-ton of traffic as it is. Plus, aside from the really horrid Hampton Roads Transit bus lines, there’s no means of moving large numbers of people presently that is not by car. There is a referendum on extending The Tide light rail line from the Norfolk/VAB line at Newtown to the oceanfront, but the city residents have been pretty adament in their opposition to the project…which didn’t deter Norfolk from pursuing in, and constructing it entirely within the city and stopping it at their eastern border with VAB.
It’s a pipe dream. The region has a fair bit of minor league franchises and ODU, and the crowds for those events are rarely full as it is. The last big hoax on bringing a franchise was to build the SportsPlex…under the guise of luring an MLS franchise there. It seats a whopping 6000, expandable to 17000. It hosted some minor and women’s soccer teams, that either folded or moved games to smaller venues. It currently hosts the Destroyers of the UFL…and to boost the seating they used recycled bleachers from the 2022 US Open golf tourny. Seriously.
Yeah, they’re major market…
Crummiest pickup line? “Figured this would be nailed by 9 a.m.”
I have to agree with Aaron, those red Jesse Jones hot dogs are pretty disgusting. I’ve eaten them, probably will on Sunday, just because. It is kind of like going to the fair. There is something about cotton candy, funnel cake and Krispy Kreme burgers that you just can’t pass up. You know it’ll hurt you and won’t be very good, but you do it anyway.
The real meal for Martinsville is picked up on the way in, from Dodge’s Store – best damn fried chicken in the world. Any time I am driving that way, I’ll just stop and get something. For those going, I suggest a couple legs, couples breasts and some Busch. A guaranteed good time.
I share the NBA sentiments of pretty much everybody else – if that Richmond/Tidewater crowd want to support it, fine, but Charlotte is much easier from SWVa. Heck, going to DC is easier, if one is inclined to waste money on an NBA game.
Looking forward to the World Serious, for sure. Just saw that Detroit has had a couple of games during the layoff, to keep them in sync, since 5 of the last 6 losers of the Serious have been the team with the longer layoff.
Interesting note on the Tigers, Rick. Speaking of which, covering the Red Sox this year, I finally learned something I’ve always wanted to know: what, exactly, a “simulated game” is. Doubt anybody’s interested.
Full concurrence on the Dodge’s chicken. I’ve never had the full pieces, just the strips, but they’re outstanding.
I have lost all respect for Warren Moon. I’m fine with him wanting to do defend Cam Newton, but to suggest that the criticism of Cam has an racism undertone just rubs me the wrong way. Moon doesn’t like that some people compare Cam to JaMarcus Russell, and complain it’s because Russell was black. Then in the same breath, he says that Cam should be compared to Jay Cutler, and that’s where I want to stop him. I have never seen Cam shoving a lineman out of his way when a snap went back, but I have seen Cam sulking on the bench with towel on his head, and his demeanor during the press conference after they lost on Sunday just rubs me the wrong way. Cam is acting like a spoiled, whining, and overpaid quarterback who has yet to shown why he’s the #1 draft pick. I don’t care if he set all sort of records last year, if he can’t lead the team by being the franchinse quarterback, nobody is going to give a damn.
FTR, I don’t even like Jay Culter. I even tweeted that Jay Cutler is an overgrown Honey Boo Boo who has a diva in him. Folks cricitizes Culter all the time. What about Mark Sanchez? He’s getting some heat from Jets’ fans who are actually wanting Tebow to start over him.
I’m sorry, Mr. Moon, but your claim of racism is flat out wrong, and frankly, extremely unprofessional.
Maybe Warren Moon is trying to be the next Bomani Jones.
Pro basketball not coming here. For starters, you have 8 communities close by that can’t agree on anything. Transportation sucks. Hate to mention this but the demographic that the NBA attracts is not a majority in this area. Last successful pro team in the area was the Virginia Squires and they had Dr. J as a draw. The UFL cancelled the rest of their schedule for the fall saying we’ll continue in the spring, wink-wink. The Sportsplex was built as the Olympic training area for field hockey with the hope of attracting a pro soccer venue. It’s lost money every year it’s been open. Nice facility, just not a desirable draw. We have a lot of population here but it is spread over a wide area and is just not conducive to attracting fans on a regular basis. The Admirals do well in Hockey but they only draw about 3000-6000 fans a game depending on their record. Thats about what any pro team would draw here. Colleges here do well but your only talking max 9500 a game for a good game and 5000 for so-so game. On top of that you have 6 colleges vying for fans in a 25 mile radius.It’s just not here. The population is too spread out and too diverse with too many recreational options to sustain a pro team. Pipe dream.
Nobody has ever pretended the Jesse Jones dogs are haute cuisine. But if we’re going to dissect Hardee’s burger offerings, let’s be honest. It’s not even a sidestep to Jesse Jones hot dogs.
One is a gross concoction guaranteed to make your lower tract explode within an hour. The other is a bright red hot dog covered with chili & yellow mustard. At least the dogs are cheap and ready in less than five minutes.
Warren Moon is viewing Cam through his own lens. In his day the black QB was doubted based on race. Don’t see evidence of that today.
The NBA is not coming to Virginia. They would put a team in Brooklyn first. Oh…..
Well they tried the travelling around thing years ago with the Squires, didn’t they? I know the ABA tried it in Carolina, too. Conisidering everything you need a show to attract attendees: great athlete on a losing team or simply a winning team. If these conditions existed in their current city would a team move? I doubt relocation will work in a state that has so many other options, an absolutely dominant NCAA tradition and a geographical spread to the population.
They hired Ozzie for the wrong reasons. Period.
Since all of those lines were in my “arsenal of cool” when I was single (like age 16) no wonder I got nowhere.
So how about: “Baby, I got better dope than Lance Armstong. Love to climb your mountains.”
The long layoff really hurt Detroit in 2006…because they swept Oakland while the Cardinals went 7 with the Mets. I hope they learned from that, because they lost Game 1, won Game 2, and then lost the next 3…looking pretty flat. Verlander lost both of his starts that year in the WS…so I know he’s looking for redemption. Until this year, he was not the same pitcher in the post season as the regular season. But sitting as long as they did, even with simulated games and practice, can sap the momentum of a hot team, while someone like the Giants, riding high on winning 6 straight elimination games in 2 series, can maintain the momentum with just a single day off between the NLCS and WS.
OJ either lives out this way or his research on travel to Norfolk/VA Beach is impressive. He’s nailed the issue on the head. The folks in VA Beach seem to be operating on the “Field of Dreams” business model; build it and they will come. But folks on this side of the tunnels are not going to go to VA Beach on a Tuesday night and fight the traffic in the tunnels. On a good day, it’s 1:45 from downtown Richmond to the Beach. Heck, die hard Tech fans won’t drive from Roanoke to Balcksburg on a weeknight for a basketball game. D.C. is not much further from Richmond tha VA Beach and I don’t know of many folks who drive from here to see the Wizards. The same would happen to the Kings. Nevertheless, I agree with everyone that it’s not likely to happen anyway.
Verlander, rested an ready to pitch 3 games, if necessary. My money of on the Tigers. My kids are torn because they’ve seen Belt and Crawford play here in Richmond. Either way, there is a Virginia connection to both teams this year, which hightens my interest in watching.
I’ve gone to Martinsville the past 6 years and never stopped at Dodge’s chicken; I usually hit Bojangles in Rocky Mount. But based on the recommendations here, I may shake up the routine a bit to check this out.
Also, I agree on the hot dogs…I’ll have at least one on Sunday even though they’re overhyped.
My favorite part of the fall Martinsville race is the cheap merchandise as drivers leave sponsors or teams just a few races from now. I usually take a $10 bill and see how much I end up with…a few years ago, I scored several $1 hats, although the usual mark-down is $3…
On a totally different note, several of my old college buddies will be upset to learn that the NY Islanders are moving to Brooklyn in 2 years (assuming there is a league at that point).
Agree with Trevor on Warren Moon. You can’t have a leader like Cam Newton is supposed to be covering their head with towels when things go bad. Rally the guys get them fired up whatever you have to do. Many athletic quarterbacks regardless of race don’t develop the ability to stay in the pocket and read a defense and make a throw on a timing route. Too often these athletic quarterbacks come out of college having set the world on fire throwing on the run and looking spectacular on a broken play. Then they get to the NFL can’t read defenses and can’t make the passes you need to be an NFL quarterback. It was never about race it has always been about not developing all the skills they need at a lower level.
I heard through Twitter, via Norm Wood, that Billy Hite was on the ACC football coaches teleconference instead of Beamer. That just seem so strange since Hite is in an administrator role, and if Frank decided not to attend, the question is, why wasn’t Shane doing it? That is not sitting well with some Hokies fans.
Regarding women’s basketball. The rim height difference would have to be more than 7 inches. Calculate the average jumping height difference with arm extended for men and women. That difference is sure to be more than 7 inches. Probably more like 18 inches. And of course the women are still way slower than men. Gotta do something though cause the women’s game is unwatchable at the average college.
Surprised no one mentioned the Virginia Squires in all the talk about the VA NBA ruse. The NBA hated when the Hawks used Alexander Coliseum at GA Tech for a year, so I don’t see much chance of these “substandard” arenas being used. . 10000 seats won’t do it, either.
Also agree wholeheartedly with the analysis of the Maloof brothers. If they could drive away the rabid Sacto fans, imagine what would happen with lukewarm VA Beach fans. Plus, market like Jacksonville. How’s
THAT working out?
Pickup line from Eddie money song: If I said you have a beautiful body would you hold it against me?”
Three teams have swept to WS and faced a team which played 7 games in other LCS. All three have lost WS.
Garth Brooks, Burning Bridges. He was the man, a singing track star!
Here we go again. You can’t criticize a black quarterback or you’re a racist.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl–hall-of-fame-qb-says-criticism-of-cam-newton-s-demeanor-is-valid–though-he-believes-race-is-a-factor.html
Never mind Cam Newton’s petulant finger-pointing after his failed performance, you have to shut up about him. Same goes for turnover machine Michael Vick. I love VT, but Vick has been vastly overrated, not very successful, yet remarkably free of criticism. If he were a white QB, they’d be trying to drum him out of town like they are Matt Cassel.
People talk about liberal PC bias in the media, but may not be aware that same bias extends to the sports media. Rush Limbaugh was fired by ESPN, not for criticizing black quarterback Donovan McNabb, but for commenting on others’ criticism of him.
Trev, why would Shane be the go-to replacement for Frank in a press conference? Why not Bud or Stinespring? Please don’t throw out the ‘Associate Head Coach’ card, because that is a joke. Well, except for the slap in the face it delivered to the loyal staff that had been with Frank for years when he decided to bring his biological son onto the staff.
Shane needs to be on the practice field beside Lane trying to figure out how to subtract two from four. RBs that is. It’s easy to coach an All American to success when all you have to do is say, ‘Stay in the game…’ It actually takes knowledge to determine how to grade players and their skill sets.
Far too many are already genuflecting to Shane as The Answer, when he seems to have proven nothing more than Stinespring proved in his first two seasons.
Well, CR, you pretty much answered your own question based soley on the title.
I have been hearing rumors, unverified rumor mind you, that there are some frictions amongst the staff since Shane was hired. I wouldn’t be the least surprised if it was true. Also, been hearing words that the players are not getting along, and maybe that’s why we are seeing crappy product on the field.
Again, those are just unverified rumors that has been filtered by the BS from the head coach.