Whatever Wednesday/Tumbleweed Thursday

I've been thinking of having a new semi-series that comes out once a week. It doesn't serve a huge purpose, mostly just to keep the blog updated as the year turns, I head back to school and the baseball season winds down (no, I won't stop blogging, there just won't be as much to blog about). The series will probably come out on Wednesdays and Thursdays and will contain basically anything, both sports and non-sports related.

So, without further ado, here's your first Tumbleweed Thursday, fresh from Panera, where I'm stuck for 2-3 hours every day this week (Barry Svrluga-style).

Baseball Links of the Day
Check out the on-going list of players who have reportedly passed through waivers on MLBTradeRumors.com (continuously updated).

Also, if you have time and want to feel like you should feel sorry for someone (without actually feeling bad for them), read yet another article about Mike Bacsik. My favorite quote: "One of the things I think about is, do the Nationals not want me there because I'm popular there because of that?" [Bacsik] said. No, Mike, it's because you suck. You suck so much your name should be Mike Bacsuck. I do like the Nats' idea of having him retire and host the pre-game show, though. He and Robert Fick would make an awesome broadcasting tag-team (and, although I was never a fan of him on the field, Paulie was semi-amusing in the booth as well, when he wasn't divulging Ryan Zimmerman's top secret injury status).

Hockey Links of the Day
Check out all of these Capitals concept jerseys from NHL Tournament of Logos (now Icethetics). I'm quite partial to this one as a 3rd jersey. The Caps need to find a way to add the Best Secondary Logo in the NHL to the front of a dark blue sweater.

Football Links of the Day
Florida State QB Christian Ponder finished his undergrad degree in 2 years, and is now enrolled in the Graduate program at FSU. I know, I know it is FSU, but it's gotta be hard graduating in 2 years (including summers) anywhere. I don't even want to graduate in 4! Ponder's only game experience in his short career came last year in Blacksburg, where he didn't totally embarrass himself, going 8-18 with 105 yards, and 1 TD while rushing for 51 yards on 5 carries. Oh wait. He's the guy whose miscues (2 INT and a fumble) directly accounted for the Hokies' last 12 points (INT returned for TD, fumble set up a FG and INT set up the Hokies to drive to the 1, where FSU stopped them on downs and subsequently allowed a safety. Sorry, Christian, but I'm an FSU hater. Quit your stupid chant and maybe I'll stop hating.

I (finally) added Chris Cooley's blog to the sidebar. Every post is somewhere from 7-12 on a 10-point scale of hilarity, but this one really sticks out and actually made me laugh out loud in The Barry Svrluga House of Bread.

And if anyone's into MMORPG's (I have no idea what that stands for), here is a fun game to check out: Goal Line Blitz. Basically it's a free game where you create your own player and as time goes on, you develop them into a better player. Your player usually starts on a CPU team, but will be offered contracts by human-controlled teams generally before your player's first season ends. That's the best I can describe the game. As time goes on, you can accumulate "flex points" and either create more players, "own" a team or buy custom equipment. If you don't want to wait to accumulate "flex points" you can either buy them or invite people to join the game, as I'm doing now.

Try this Product
I (semi)recently won a contest where I received two flavors of Pop'rs. Pop'rs are essentially awesome-tasting, good-for-you Pop Rocks that you sprinkle on foods. They're mostly marketed toward families (so moms can get their kids to eat their veggies), but with my two flavors (Cocoa and Taco), I can add both flavor and nutritional value to my ice cream and Ramen noodles. They're really worth trying out. Go to Pop'rs.com and order some or stalk the "Eat Your Veggies" blog for similar giveaways to the one I won my Pop'rs in. To borrow the catchphrase from Pringles: Once You Pop'r...well nevermind.

24
For those of you who, like me, are in completely 24 withdrawal there is good news. A 2-hour "prequel" movie to the show's 7th season will be shown on Sunday, November 23. The movie, entitled "24: Exile" will bridge the gap between season 6, which ended last summer, and season 7, which was pushed back an entire year because of the writer's strike.

Random Updates
Since my interview with 2008 Nationals draft pick Chris Curran a week ago, he's caught fire, hitting .419 (13/31) with 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 12 R, 6 RBI, 5 BB/4 K and 1/2 SB over 7 games (including 3 straight 2-run, 2-hit games. We're proud of you, Chris! Keep up the good work!

It's been a while since I mentioned Brian Conley, my first cousin once-removed (I think), who was a 2008 draft pick and is an outfielder in the Orioles organization. He's at .258/.364/.400 through 34 games in the GCL.

One last Link of the Day
Here's a post I found on StumbleUpon, entited "How much is inside cookie dough ice cream?" The post is pretty funny and not too long, so be sure to check it out. If you have Firefox or Internet Explorer and don't have StumbleUpon, get it. Now.