Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Sports, Business, & Beverage

Heat - After several days of mid-fall weather, the temperatures in Holly Springs returned to their typical August "scorched Earth" triple-digit heat indexes and shirt-drenching humidity. Once-green lush lawns shriveled up and launched into survival mode. So here's to half-dead yards and maxed-out utility bills...

Hottest team in baseball (how's that for a segway) - Los Angeles Dodgers. Their current streak is 17 of 18 games. Best streak since moving to LA from Brooklyn. Amazing turnaround after their previous losing streak. GM Ned Colletti worked the phones and pulled off several trades that paid immediate dividends. Love the pickup of Greg Maddux. Has pitched several gems and provided a plethora of experience to pass on to the young guys on the staff. Could see him becoming a top pitching coach when he retires. With several of their young prospects blossoming, it'll be a tough decision whether to re-sign Nomar Garciaparra. He's been a real sparkplug for the offense and could win the Comeback Player of the Year, but with his history of oft-plaguing injuries and impending asking price, will Colletti sign him to a long term deal? Personally I don't think so, but I wish Nomar all the best - unless he signs with the Giants or the Yankees.

Sports Illustrated vs. ESPN - I don't know about anyone else out there, but I find myself using ESPN.com less than ever. How many times are the articles you want to read "insider" articles? In other words you are not able to read them unless you pay for them. SI.com on the otherhand has virtually every article available to the public. I'm also getting very tired of the constant "shtick" on ESPN. Not every highlight must be emphasized by a creative “slang”-a-dama-ding-dong. I've often wondered why, at times, the play cannot speak for itself. Why must the reports insist on being entertainers instead of broadcasters? The over-advertisement for the ESPN empire has grown old as well. Don't get me wrong, it can be entertaining, but when seeking news and regular columns I’m “allowed” to read free of charge, I prefer SI.com. Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback is one of the most insightful, informative, and yes, entertaining columns in the sports universe.

AOL – Who didn’t see their demise coming? Long considered the Big Blue Triangle a la Bermuda Triangle of the internet world, it was a great starting point for beginning websurfers. It was the driver’s ed of the world wide web. But once you knew what you were doing and gained a little confidence, you quickly abandoned the vehicle with the extra brake on the passenger side. The problem for AOL, the execs and suits didn’t understand that until their subscriber rated dropped like a rock. While cable users jumped onto high speed servers like RoadRunner, AOL kept pushing their CD mailers and “you’ve got mail” routine. They didn’t change and thus went the way of the dinosaur.

Cuba – Don’t know how much longer El Presidente Castro has left, or for that matter his “younger” brother who looks close to a dirt nap too, but don’t you get the feeling businesses are just frothing at the bit for Castro and Communism to kick the bucket? I wonder how many businesses out there already have plans and cash in place ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. Between cigars, tourism, and Fortune 500s – just think of the tax incentives – I estimate close to a billion dollars worth of investment will flood the island. It’ll be America’s playground for several years. The boon in their cigar market alone, simply from reputation, will be staggering to watch (and enjoy). As far as tourism is concerned, with the current state of air travel and monetary exchange rates for the dollar in Europe, doesn’t the sound of a cruise from Miami to Cuba seem awfully tempting?

Coffee – Recently partook of a bag of the Starbucks Yukon blend.
Dark, strong, and a great taste. Very pricey too but worth the occasional treat. For the Mrs. and me it was while vacationing in Wrightsville Beach, NC. Returned to our norm at home but broke out the remnants of the Yukon Blend once or twice a week. Killed off the bag last night. Amazed to see even our usual 8 O’clock brand creeping up in price. With the number of countries growing coffee and its establishment as a newfound cash crop, I had hoped the price would start to fall. On the contrary, coffee seems to be more popular than ever. Part of me wonders if there is a correlation between the rise in coffee sales and the banning of cigarette smoking in most buildings and eateries. We humans do need our vices, don't we?

D-Generation X – How great to see the reuniting of The Showstopper and Triple H on WWE. Pretty funny new logo too. Don’t know how long the storyline will last, but I hope it’s for several more months. The male soap opera that is professional wrestling is at a peak of entertainment for its fans right now. Great to see Batista finally return to the ring too.

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