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I read this “column” about USA basketball from Eric Neel today and my immediate response, in the words of The Wolf from Pulp Fiction:

Well, let’s not start sucking each other’s dicks quite yet.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m bullish on Team USA’s chances with Kobe on the team. He’s the one player that could transform the attitude and commitment of the other players to properly defend and share the ball. He is, as they say in the industry, a game-changer (as an aside, the ‘92 dream team had at least six such players) and he has that competitive streak that elevates everyone else around him.

But even if Kobe decides to play in the Olympics, it’s still no sure thing. Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the like aren’t exactly Spain or Italy. Let’s not get crazy, people…

Does it make me a bad person to get some sick satisfaction out of reading articles about the impending drop in housing prices? This is (of course) after years of being essentially told (by parents, family, friends, and experts) that:

1. “Buying real estate is the obvious “no-brainer” way to “invest” your money,” and
2. “Deciding to rent is akin to taking all of your money out of the bank in $1 bills, putting it in a large barrel, dousing it with octane 93 gasoline, and setting it on fire [, you Moron].”

I understand that buying a house is not like buying a car; I’m not an idiot. But it’s also not like putting your money in an ultra high-speed savings account and watching it balloon like a chia pet. I’m tired of people telling me that it is. There’s no such thing.

Interesting thought. I was driving to work today when Gary Radnich, on KNBR, made the statement that, “Tiger Woods is the greatest athlete in the history of sports.”

I paused for a millisecond, considered the idea, and then didn’t bat an eyelash.

That’s where we are now with Tiger. We’ve reached the point where it’s no longer absurd to bring it up. It’s undeniable that he’s in the conversation and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would vehemently argue against him.

If he’s not the greatest, he’s definitely on the short list.

Spacious, comfortable seats. USB and power outlets. In-flight Internet connection. 30 movies to choose from. Video games. Pay for food and beverages at your seat. As Wired says…

Virgin America: Like a Multimillion-Dollar IPod. That flies

… that it’s:

1) Still gambling
2) Capable of leaving us dumbfounded
3) Not a game for the weak of heart

If you can’t laugh off hands like this, go play chess or dominoes .

flickr photo

… and then there are stories that really warm the heart, like Rick Ankiel’s (re-)debut tonight. Maybe I’m being over-dramatic, but Ankiel’s home run tonight in his major league debut as an outfielder gave me a slight tinge and smile, even as I read the brief headline in my start page.

For those of you that don’t remember (or maybe didn’t see it), Ankiel was the object of public laughter and then, subsequently, horror and humiliation years ago as every baseball fan watched him completely implode on the world’s largest stage.

In 2000, after a promising rookie season, Ankiel was pitching in the playoffs when he started having some control issues. And then suddenly, he was firing pitch after pitch to the backstop. 7 yards outside. 10 feet over the catcher’s head. 5 feet behind the batter. Bouncing fastballs 6 feet short of the plate. It went on and it was funny and then frightening to watch.

It started to become apparent that this wasn’t just a physical tweak in his delivery, but a psychology tweak in his ticker. He was benched and then sent down to the minors after continual disaster during Spring Training the next season. It was sad and, frankly, a bit scary.

Years later, here he is back in the Majors as a power-hitting outfielder no less, after completely reinventing himself. And in his first game up? Nothing much except a three-run homer and a win:

The drive merited a standing ovation and a curtain call for the once-troubled left-hander, who walked away from a pitching career in frustration more than two years ago. Manager Tony La Russa was misty-eyed at his postgame news conference and compared Ankiel’s return with Adam Wainwright striking out the Tigers’ Brandon Inge for the final out in the World Series.

“Short of winning the World Series, it’s the happiest I’ve seen our club,” La Russa said. “I’m fighting my butt off to keep it together.

In a week when baseball’s most storied record was passed by (at best) a sour man who cheated right along with his contemporaries, it’s great to see a truly heartwarming and all-positive story.

Congratulations, Rick Ankiel. We (baseball fans) were all rooting for you…

A contemporary series on the various inhabitants of my current house, developed by my roommate bridget.

The New York Times just put out an article about the Silicon Valley. In short, it’s talking about how I should (apparently) feel really depressed. Some quotes:

“You’re nobody here at $10 million,” Mr. Kremen said earnestly over a glass of pinot noir

Or how about:

“I ask myself all the time,” Ms. Baranski confessed, “why I do this.”

I’m not sure what the point of the article, but I think it’s been lost on me. I hope that I never get to the point in my life where I’m working hard at my job because everyone else around me has MORE money (which is how the whole area is painted in the article).