Roger McDowell should be fired.

I don't care if he's a good pitching coach or not, he's a lousy human being.

http://tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=364060

"The altercation at AT&T Park in San Francisco took place last Saturday during batting practice. Justin Quinn was in the stands with his wife and nine-year-old twin daughters when he noticed McDowell hectoring three men and asking them, "Are you guys a homo couple or a threesome?"
After the coach made crude sexual gestures with his hips and a bat, Quinn said he shouted, "Hey there are kids out here." According to Quinn, McDowell said kids don't belong at a baseball park, picked up a bat, walked up to Quinn and asked him, "How much are your teeth worth?"
Quinn said he felt threatened and was unsure whether McDowell intended to hit him.
"My kids are in panic mode ... they're like grabbing onto me," Quinn said Wednesday during a news conference at the office of prominent Los Angeles lawyer Gloria Allred. "I'm talking to him, trying to calm him down and the kids are screaming."
Some parents who were in the stands with their children began to boo at McDowell and came down to retrieve their kids. Quinn said eventually McDowell walked away.

"I am deeply sorry that I responded to the heckling fans in San Francisco," McDowell said in a statement, his only public comment on the matter. "I apologize to everyone for my actions.""

That's got to be the worst apology in history. Roger can go and join up with John Rocker and Rob Dibble (and many others) in the baseball asshole club.

JERK

Mark Langston is looking.....very weird.

That's not a hair do Mark, it's a hair don't.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day thirty.

Day 30 – Your favorite horror film of all time:

Night of the Living Dead

There could be no other.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day twenty-nine.

Day 29 – Your least favorite horror film of all time:

The Hand

  Jon Lansdale is a comic book artist who loses his right hand in a car accident. The hand was not found at the scene of the accident, but it soon returns by itself to follow Jon around, and murder those who anger him.

 

Horror is a genre that has a ton of bad and low budget movies, so choosing just one is quite difficult. In this case the star and director should have been able to come up with something pretty good, yet this is really an awful movie. Apparently Michael Caine took the role so that he could put a down payment on a new garage he was building.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day twenty-eight.

Day 28 – Your favorite horror film that no one’s ever heard of:

The Stuff

Weird yummy goo erupts from the earth and is discovered by a couple of miners. They taste it and decide to market it because it tastes so good. The American public literally eats up the new dessert sensation now known as the Stuff but, unfortunately, it takes over the brains of those who eat it, turning them into zombie-like creatures.

 

Obviously it's not really  a movie that no one has ever heard of, but in a genre like this it's pretty hard to hide any film.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day twenty-seven.

Day 27 – Your favorite guilty pleasure:

Reign of Fire

Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey star.

A brood of fire-breathing dragons emerges from the earth and begins setting fire to everything, establishing dominance over the planet.

This is really a terrible movie, yet I really enjoyed it. Clearly my brain wasn't functioning at the time, which is the key to enjoying this movie. Don't think, just watch.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day twenty-six.

Day 26 – Your favorite horror film to watch as a child:

Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell

I didn't really see a lot of horror movies until I became a teen and we finally got a VCR. I haunted the horror section at 'Flickers Video', one of the only video stores anywhere near where I lived. That section was my real introduction to horror, but I distinctly remember seeing Devil Dog on TV when I was a lot younger. I definitely need to see this one again.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day twenty-four. The 30 day Horror challenge. Day twenty-five.

Day 24 – Horror film in which you prefer the edited version over the director’s cut:

Pass.

Day 25 – A horror film that you used to hate, but now like:

Pass.

I so rarely go to see movies in a theatre that anything I see tends to be the "Director's" or "Unrated" cut. And if I don't like a movie, it's pretty unlikely I'll ever go back and watch it again.

For your trouble, here's a pretty butterfly.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day twenty-three.

Day 23 – Your favorite made for TV horror film:

The Night Stalker & The Night Strangler

The Night Stalker started life as a pair of TV movies, before going on to becoming a short-lived but excellent series (and inspiration for The X-Files).

 

 

 

Some of the highlights of it's 20 episode run are as follows:

 

Vampires
Stranglers
Voodoo Zombies
Aliens
Werewolves
Spontaneous Combustion
Devil Worship
Indian Legends
Cajun Boogeymen
Matchemonedo
Flesh Eating Hindu Demon
Homicidal Robot
Murderous Ape Man
Witch
Headless Biker
Succubus
Aztecs
Ghostly Knight
Helen of Troy
Killer Reptile

 

 

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day twenty-two.

Day 22 – Your favorite horror themed TV show:

The X-Files

Some of the better horror episodes, courtesy of this site.

Season 1: The Jersey Devil
Season 2: The Host (1st picture)
Season 3: Syzygy
Season 4: Home (2nd picture)
Season 5: Chinga
Season 6: Terms of Endearment
Season 7: Hungry
Season 8: Patience
Season 9: Hellbound

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day twenty-one.

Day 21 – Your favorite medical horror film:

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Sure, it's not a classic horror film. I'll give you that.

But it has an evil monster.

At least one scene of torture.

A bunch of crazy people being drugged into a zombie like state.

And the hero has a sharp object inserted into his brain, and is later murdered.

Plus it's set in a freaking mental hospital, which must be a horrible place to be. 

So yeah, to me this is a horror movie.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day twenty.

Day 20 – Your favorite horror film involving a killer animal:

Jaws 3 in 3-D

I saw this when I was 12, so it's stuck with me ever since. There's nothing quite as exciting as seeing a severed limb float past your face when you're 12.

Random musings about golf. Masters 2011.

Yeah, I'm a golf fan as well as a baseball one. I used to play a lot of golf, but my back problems put an end to that. I don't watch it on tv nearly as much as I used to, but the Masters is a can't miss.

I'm willing to bet that 100% of the idiots who insist on calling Tiger Woods 'Eldrick' also believe that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and is the anti-christ. (Tiger officially changed his name YEARS ago people. He is no longer Eldrick).

I watched the BBC's coverage (thank you streamers), and they weren't impressed with Tiger's post-round interview with Bill Macatee. He was awfully surly.

Really one of the best final rounds I've ever seen. And even with Schwartzel finishing at -14, many guys are going to look back and regret some missed opportunites.

Tiger: the 3 putt at 12. Failure to birdie 13. Missing the short eagle at 15. Those 3 alone put him at -13. Had he posted that, it would have been really hard for anyone to catch him. T4 at the Masters doesn't really prove he's "back", as he did the same last year. Tiger can make the top 10 at Augusta in his sleep.

Adam Scott:  Failed to birdie 13 & 15. He made great puts at 15 & 17, but they should have been for birdies.

Jason Day. Missed a short birdie at 14, then failed to birdie 15. He finished strong with birdies on the last 2, but he was unable to overcome the misses and the bogeys on 1 & 7.

Luke Donald. Double bogey on 12, bogey on 17. He also bogeyed 7. Great shot on 18, and then a great chip-in for the birdie, but take away the mistakes, and that might have been a lot more important.

Rory. Poor Rory. Hitting a tee shot like the one on 10 was such a shock to his system that he immediately panicked. He wasn't smart or experienced enough to "take his medicine", as Payne Stewart used to say, and simply play for a 5.  Hitting the wood for the 3rd shot was a terrible choice. He should have laid it up short of the green, and relied on his short  game for an up and down for 5. After making 7, I was amazed that he even had decent birdie opportunities on the next 2 holes. I wasn't surprised that he stick-handled the putts. Missing the short one on the 1st was a bad way to begin.

Watching Schwartzel after he made the putt on 18 was great. The BBC coverage stayed on him as he went to the side of the green to wait for Choi to putt out, and it was fantastic to watch the emotions as he realized what he had just done. Just a great finish.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day nineteen.

Day 19 – Your favorite horror film involving the powers of Hell or Satanism:

The Omen (Original)

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day eighteen.

Day 18 – Your favorite foreign horror film (outside of your country of origin):

Martyrs

A truly difficult film to watch, and unforgettable if you do.

 

If you haven't seen it, make sure you track down the best version of this, as there are multiple DVD releases, some of which cut out a lot of the "good stuff".

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day seventeen.

Day 17 – Your favorite horror film remake:

Willard

Fred Willard?

Willard Scott?

Jerry Willard?

No....WILLARD! Although had Fred Willard played Willard it might have been interesting.

Crispin Glover is one Hellion of an actor.

"Willard! There are rats in the basement!"

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day sixteen.

Day 16 – Your favorite childhood themed horror film:

Orphan

 

 

This movie was a surprise. I didn't expect much from it at all, based on who loaned it to me, but it was well done and creepy.

A little Vera Farmiga didn't hurt.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day fifteen.

Day 15 – Your favorite horror film involving serial killers:

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

 

As much as I love American Psycho, I laugh far too much at it to consider it a horror movie. This on the other hand, is flat out nasty. If it came out that Michael Rooker had become a serial killer prior to this movie, it wouldn't surprise me at all.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day fourteen.

Day 14 – Your favorite zombie film:

28 Days Later 

&

28 Weeks Later

A post-apocalyptic zombie movie and it's amazing sequel. With the great news that 28 Months Later is scheduled for 2013, this franchise has followed George Romero's path while breaking new ground.

And for some reason I really enjoyed Robert Carlyle getting infected.

 

And yes, I know they're not really zombies, so these aren't really zombie movies. I just don't care.

TSN Top 10 double plays.

TSN Top 10 double plays

These guys come up with the best Top 10's ever.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day thirteen.

Day 13 – Your favorite horror comedy:

Shaun of the Dead

Really a brilliant movie.  If you liked this, check out the UK TV show called 'Spaced', as it stars and was created by the same people.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day twelve.

Day 12 – Your favorite horror film involving the occult:

The Wicker Man (Original)

A brilliant film with stunning performances by Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward. Please don't waste your time with the Nic Cage remake. It's completely awful.

When called in to investigate an anonymous tip about a missing child, mainland police sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) is treated as an outsider, and the ominous Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) has the inside advantage. As the repressed policeman is taunted by the island's sensuous atmosphere, his investigation leads to increasingly disturbing implications.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day eleven.

Day 11 – Your favorite science fiction horror film:

Event Horizon

A very underrated movie, in my opinion. If the reviews made you miss it, give it a chance now and you may be impressed.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day ten.

Your favorite psychological horror film:

Bad Boy Bubby

This is a seriously fucked up movie. If you haven't seen it, try watching it with headphones on for sound. Reason? They filmed the movie with only the character of Bubby being miked, so everything you hear is essentially as if you were him.

 

"Bubby has spent his entire life locked in his mother´s disturbingly bleak flat. He is thirty-five years old and has never gone outside, his mother has sex with him and occasionally tortures him and she wears a gas mask when she leaves so Bubby believes the atmosphere outside the flat is poisonous. When his absent alcoholic father returns Bubby struggles to cope and his mother´s lies begin to fall apart. Eventually Bubby has to leave the flat and make his way in the strange world outside but his limited intellect and complete lack of social skills make things hard in this surreal and darkly comic film. There are some very extreme scenes in this and much unpleasantness but there is also optimism and hope. This is original and provocative film making and it is easy to see why it has become a cult classic."

(review from eathorror.com)

Ballparks I've seen.

I was thinking about what I'd do if I won a ton of cash, and one thing would be to try and hit every MLB stadium for at least one game.

I've been to 3 stadiums, but only one of them is still in use.

The first was the Kingdome in Seattle. Went there twice. Saw Griffey hit a shot off Eckersley the 1st time, and got Cal Ripken Jr to sign a ball the 2nd time. Sadly I have to admit to not having made the trip to Safeco, despite it only being 300 miles.

My second stadium was the Astrodome in Houston. The only thing I remember about the game was getting the chance to catch a frisbee, and then try to throw it back at the mascot so he could catch it or something. Naturally instead of doing that, I tried to take his head off with it. I got booed.

And number three was the Skydome in Toronto. I got a picture with BJ Birdy, the Jays mascot. Don't remember anything else.

Somewhere I have the ticket stubs, I'll have to dig them out and check the games on baseball reference.

I did also see an exhibition game at BC Place Stadium here in Vancouver, between the Jays and the Brewers. That was back when there was a lot of talk about Vancouver getting a team.

The 30 day Horror challenge. Day nine.

Day 09 – Your favorite exploitation / grind house type film:

From Dusk 'til Dawn

 

Just good cheezy fun.