83 thoughts on “November 20, 2011: Titles”

    1. A man's corporation has just gone under, and although he made a ton of money, he blew a lot of it on hobbies like photography, guitar, collections, etc. Now that he's out of that job he's trying to turn some of his junk into a new job. He stumbles upon a career as a photographer, although he still tends to spend money on things he doesn't need and will never use.

        1. Or perhaps, "Poor Focus" or something along the lines of the fact that he can't seem to focus on his priorities.

            1. Yep, we're on the right track here. That seems startlingly obvious now. I must have cycled through twenty camera terms without looking at that one. Poor focus, indeed.

              I think the answer might just be "Focus," actually.

        1. Any chance he's got some adult children that have recently moved away?
          Full House, Empty Nest
          or
          Empty Nest, Full House

        1. I was trying to find a way to fit "Sign Field" to the Spooky's synopsis, but gave up.

          Hey, there's like a 18 albums entitled Chicago, at least three entitled Seal, probably a dozen songs called "Dancing in the Dark", and at least two each entitled "Kokomo" and "Pacific Coast Highway". so re-using the name of a TV show should be possible. There were even two series called "E.R." starring George Clooney. Surely there can be a second "Full House". Change his new profession from photography to professional poker player, and it really fits.

      5. For some reason, this synopsis reminded Moss of a quote attributed to Tug McGraw. Supposedly he was asked what he was going to do with his signing bonus or some other chunk of money. His response was something to the effect of:

        "I'm going to spend half of it on booze and women, and then I'll probably blow the rest."

        Classic stuff!

    2. I actually came up with the first slogan used by the Washington Nationals when moved to DC from Montreal. Of course, my professor promptly handed it to the team, and I was promptly forgotten (higher ed FTW!).

    1. Thomas played for the A's in 2006 only. The Twins played in Oakland for five games only: June 1-4 and Oct 6 (game 3 of the ALDS).

      June 4 is a possibility. In the second inning, Thomas doubled to lead off the inning and then was singled home by the next batter (line drive to CF-RF). He was replaced by a PH the next time he came up, so that sounds like there was a play at the plate.

      Game 3 is the other possibility. 5th inning: Thomas singled to RF, moved to third on a double to LF, and was thrown out at the plate on a Groundout to Short.

      I'd favor the second one. I seem to remember that being an overcast day, and it looks like Mauer's got the ball beore Thomas is there. Also, June 4 was a Sunday, and my guess is that one or both teams would be more likely to wear and alternate uniform.

      1. Thomas played 40 games for the A's in 2008 as well. He was on the A's for three games at home against the Twins:

        April 24: Scores in the 1st inning from 3B on linedrive to short LF, reaches on error and is erased in GIDP, 5-3 GB, F4, 2 walks

        August 28: F4, doubles and scores from 3B on GIDP, F7, K

        August 29: F9, single and score on HR, single stranded at 1B, K.

        I suppose it could be the play in the 1st on April 24th, but as it stands I favor AMRs conclusion. Unless we could nail down the uniforms or something.

        Edit: Nevermind. Reddog caught on April 24th.

      2. It definitely looks like the throw was coming from the left side of the field based on Mauer's positioning. Either that, or the throw beat Thomas by about 40 feet (which is definitely a possibility).

    2. It's Game 3. See picture #10 in the slideshow on this page.
      Photo by Brad Mangin.

      Happy I got the chance to do one of these.
      Other clues: outfield bunting looks like something that would only be there for opening day, holidays, and the playoffs. Mauer's wearing long sleeves, which makes me think April or October. Oakland bullpen is also wearing jackets. The stands are full, which is something that would only be there for opening day, holidays, and the playoffs.

          2. Or, y'know, they could be pleasantly surprised with the subtlety and depth of the writing and quality of the acting that they forget all about the bait-and-switch in using an adult film star's name.

            Or, in the form of IMDB, call it The Kelly Wells (II) Variety Hour.

                    2. Man, what a call on that one. I had like none of those shirts. My favorite one along those lines has a big number 68 across the chest with the caption of, "you do me, and I'll owe you one". The brosef wearing this shirt is pounding the floor and wearing a white gamecocks visor.

                    3. That makes two of us with none of those shirts. I had a section in one notebook where I tried to come up with really bad versions of the popular T-Shirts of the day, but they mostly came out violent takes on "No Fear" and "And 1":

                      Thinking takes time.
                      Don't think.
                      Just shoot.
                      No Fear

  6. May not get to say it the rest of the year. Your Minnesota Wild are in 1st place. Of the entire NHL.

    1. And they could not have better timing. Vikings and Twins suck and Timberwolves may not even play this year. If there ever was a time to capture the attention of the state, it is now.

      1. And how about those Vikings? I didn't watch any but the last two minutes, but it appears it went exactly as I'd expect.

              1. This is all just terrific. At least Leslie Frazier shouldn't have to deal with the stress and pressure of being a head coach next year.

            2. The Colts were eliminated from their division today, Vikings last week.
              One more win for Cincy or loss for Indy and Indy is the first team completely eliminated (rather than right now, where a huge pileup at 6-10 would create a chaotic tiebreaker in which they could come through).
              Still working on the Vikings...

              1. I think the Colts are still alive, but I believe they could be eliminated today.

                The most wins they can have are 6, and there are already 3 teams in the AFC with seven, so at most two more teams can be allowed to win seven (or more games). But the Jets, Pats, Bills, Chargers, Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos, and Titans all play each other so many times in the remaining game that at least two of them are guaranteed to have seven or more wins. I think that they will be eliminated if two of the Titans (down 3-20 to Atlanta in the second half), Chargers (tied with the Bears at 17 in the second half), or Chiefs (playing the Patriots tomorrow night) win, definitely if the Titans and one of those other two win, too many different scenarios with TEN losing and SD and KC winning for me to be sure I've got them all covered.

                1. Also, the 49ers have got to be very close to clinching their division, but St. Louis beating Seattle this afternoon would help with that, and that doesn't look like it's happening. Crazy, SF is 5 games ahead of every team in its division, having only played one game against those miserable teams. If Green Bay loses a game, SF may challenge them for HFA. (Though the games not in their division are at Baltimore and vs Pittsburgh, so maybe not.)

          2. Wait, no, that was last week. For some reason, I thought there were 18 games a season. Goodell's got me imagining his dreams are real.

            I've got to see what it'll take to get them eliminated from the playoffs. I see that Indianapolis is virtually there.
            (I'm not going to run all the scenarios where Cincinnati and Indianapolis and one or more other teams are all tied for 6th-best record in the AFC with a 6-10 record [and 5-7 conference record], because, although Cincy's beaten Indy, in a three-way-or-more tie, there may be other stupid tiebreakers.)

            You know how they have those NBA trade simulators? They should do that for the NFL playoffs. Basically, use a simple ranking to automatically pick future games (favored team wins), then allow the user to change some to upsets to see if which teams could advance. Hey sean (and any other programmers in the WGOM), this sounds like something you could sell to ESPN.com or something like that. (If this actually would make someone money, my only request would be that I have free access to it if it ends up behind a paywall.)

            Much like the BCS, I care so little about the actual competitions, but I love figuring out the late-season eliminations and playoff seeding, which is like a puzzle. I remember like 6 years ago when the Chiefs were a WildCard, I had looked at all of the eight relevant games to determine who got that last spot and for the Chiefs to make it, seven had to go their way (and one was irrelevant). And all seven happened!

            1. The year Nate Poole made that ludicrous 4th and 21(?) catch against the Vikings, something like five things all had to happen for the Vikings to miss the playoffs, and they all did. I love that stuff too, even when it's my team getting burned.

              2. even better, the Vikings losing was the final thing that needed to happen, so the announcers knew the final pass was playoffs or bust

    1. Seriously. I wasn't under the impression that abstract artists needed to be mentored by a master painter. I'm working on my application.

  8. I have about 15 emails with resumes and cover letters ready to go out. When would you say is the best time to send them? Now, so that they're there for the recipient in the morning? Or does that run the risk of it getting lost in the shuffle? Sometime tomorrow morning or afternoon?

    1. I would send them out right away. There's the risk of getting lost in the shuffle no matter when you send them, but if they're good enough, they'll get noticed.

  11. I'm spending too much time on this, but as I have I might as well share it.

    The Vikings cannot be eliminated on Thursday, though a Detroit win will eliminate the Vikings from second place in the division (and thus the top wild-card spot). Then, either a win on Sunday by the Bears or a loss by the Vikings will lock the Vikings into last-place in the division, which will eliminate them from the playoffs.

    Actually, elimination comes with either a Vikings loss, or a Lions win AND a Bears win, or a Vikings tie and a Lions tie (or win) and a Bears tie (or win).

    If the Vikings lose and the Bears and Lions win, the Bears and Lions are guaranteed no worse than an 8-8 record, while the Vikings can do no better than an 8-8 record.

    So consider if the Vikings lose. For them to be tied with the Bears, the Bears would have to lose out, including to the Vikings, which will split the season series 1-1. Then they would both have 2-4 divisional records, but the Vikings would have a 5-7 conference records, while the Bears would have a 6-6 conference record. For the Vikings to be tied with the Lions, the Lions would have to lose out, splitting the season series 1-1. Then both teams would have 2-4 divisional records, and both would have 5-7 conference records. But among non-division common opponents: ATL, CAR, NO, TAM, DEN, KC, OAK, SD, the Vikings would be 3-5, while the Lions would be 4-4.

    If the Lions and Bears win this week and at least one loses out, and the Vikings win out, there will be a tie at 8-8. If the Lions end up 8-8 after beating Green Bay, they will have a 3-3 division record while the best the Vikings can do is 2-4. If the Bears are end up 8-8 after this week's Oakland game, they will have a 2-4 division record and a 6-6 conference record, as would the Vikings at 8-8. However, the Bears would be 5-3 vs the common opponents, while the Vikings would be only 4-4.

    The Bears game is a late-afternoon game, so for the Vikings to be the first team eliminated, their game would have to finish their loss before the following noon games end:
    Indianapolis loses to Carolina.
    Carolina loses to Indianapolis (If Detroit wins on Thursday)
    Cincinnati beats Cleveland (eliminating Indy)
    St. Louis loses to Arizona.
    So, Vikings: lose quickly.

    I'm not entirely sure if Carolina would be eliminated by a Detroit win and a loss to Indy, as there may be some tiebreakers that could go their way at 7-9 if there's enough other teams tied at that point. The Vikings have clarity because if they lose tiebreakers to both the Lions and Bears, they're stuck in fourth in the North and thus and can't be the wildcard.

  12. Phillies traded for Ty Wigginton, which probably means they are no longer interested in signing Cuddyer. Somehow I doubted they were going to pay him what he wanted to be a utility guy, even with Ryan Howard out for a while to start the season.

    1. Good. That improves the chances of him coming back to Minnesota, which would be fine with me as long as the price is right.

      1. which would be fine with me as long as the price is right.

        I feel the same way. I felt the same way about Punto as well. For the right price, Cuddy can be valuable to the ballclub. It's all about return on investment and having reasonable expectations (which also factor into price). As for concerns some may have about his role as a club house leader or the way the media works him, that's easy enough to avoid.

        1. honestly, i'm hoping another team will save minnesota from themselves. while i wouldn't mind having cuddy back, i just can't see the twins signing him again without overpaying.

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