betED.com - The View from the Couch - by Gavin McDougald!
July 26th, 2006 - Hot Doggies
Since the time of ancient Egypt, July past the end of August has been known as the "dog days" of summer. The term was derived from Sirius (the Dog Star ? usually the brightest star that can be seen in the northern hemisphere) being hidden by the brightness of the Sun during this time of the year. To the Egyptians, its mysterious absence from view became associated with these long, hot days that are the sultriest period of summer. You probably didn?t notice Sirius being gone ?cause, unlike those Egypt types, you?ve got a TV to watch instead of the sky. Recently Sirius has made a comeback in kids pop-culture. In the Harry Potter book series, the character Sirius Black takes his name from the star. Author JK Rowling knows about the star?s history because Sirius, Harry?s godfather, is a shape shifter who can change himself into a large black dog.
Except for astronomers, Egyptologists and uber-nerd Potter-maniacs, these ?dog days? refers to hot dogs. As in, let?s eat some! There is no place where more hot dogs are being eaten than in Major League Baseball parks. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (Motto: Believe us, you don?t want to know what?s in them) says that 24.2 million hotdogs are eaten by MLB fans in stadiums across North America during the dog days. To put that into perspective, laid end to end that number of dogs would stretch from Dodger Stadium to Camden Yards.
Therefore, in honor of all that food being crammed down so many gullets over the next little while, here?s a few of questions to ponder while we?re all digesting in the ?dog days.?
1st. How come the National League sucks so bad?
The AL is 290-204 over the past two seasons in interleague play. The AL has won the past nine All-Star games not decided by a tie (Remember 2002?), and is now 15-3 since 1988. Sure, that?s just an exhibition, but with home-field advantage secured by All-Star Game victories, the AL has swept the past two World Series. So, why is the AL so all-powerful and mighty? For whatever reason, right now American League teams dominate in star power. You could pick out maybe half dozen sure-fire Hall of Famers on this year?s AL All-Star starting roster. On the NL?s there was Albert Pujols, and that?s it.
2nd. Can the Braves recover all the way from their disastrous start and make it to their 14th straight post-season?
Well, if god has anything to say about it, yes! ?Faith Days with the Braves? starts this week with Atlanta holding post-game concerts and prayer meetings for their more faithful fans. For those who are looking to less lofty heights, considering being so far behind the Mets, a stronger bullpen will make a wild-card birth still a possibility.
3rd. Who, if anyone, bet on the Tigers?
At the start of the season, on betED.com, Detroit were 100-1 long-shots. Now they are the second favorite to win the World Series behind the New York Mets. It?s all in the pitching. Going into this week, the Tigers staff led the majors with a 3.54 ERA, a full run better than the AL average of 4.54. The next closest team in the majors, co-ink-dink-aly, those same New York Mets, had a 4.03 team ERA.
4th. What stupid thing will Ozzie Guillen say next?
?Cause you know its coming. Ordered to attend sensitivity classes by MLB commissioner Bud Selig after Guillen called Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti ?a fag,? it doesn?t look like he learned much. Guillen said after the first 2-hour session. "Don't waste your time telling me how to behave; I'm not going to do that.?
Oh goodie!
5th. The Yankees or the Red Sox?
Since the American League Central is so strong, for the first time since 2002 it looks like the Wild Card will not come out of the American League East. That will leave New York and Boston trying to beat each other?s brains out trying to get on top of the toughest division in baseball. So, while they do that, how about ?dem Blue Jays? With the top of the rotation finally getting healthy (Halliday, Burnett, Chacin) and with one more acquisition for the fifth slot, the Jays could have the best starting pitching in the division. Now, if only they could stop fighting in the clubhouse.
6th. Who is going where? Or nowhere?
On July 31st, it?s the annual non-waiver trade deadline, and players will be on the move. Or perhaps they won?t. It all depends on what happens in the next few days because right now, there are more teams still in contention for the post-season than in recent memory. Ten American League teams and thirteen National League still have a postseason shot, so the pool of available players is very shallow. Only the true bottom feeders will be making moves, and since they are bottom feeders in the first place, the picking won?t be that great. However, a few dropped games here and there over the next few days and you could see teams go from buyers to sellers, rapidly.
Finally, since this is all about hot dogs, what about Barry?
Barry Bonds turned 42 on Monday just 34 home runs short of Hammerin? Hanks all-time record. Somehow, I suspect that wasn?t the figure on his mind as he was filling his ample head with cake. Rather, I think it was on Greg Anderson, his old trainer, who is apparently prepared to take one for team Bonds and suffer prison rather than give Barry up. Served with a subpoena ordering him to report to a grand jury this Thursday, he could be ordered to sit in prison for the entire year of its term, and possibly another six months if the grand jury is extended. If Anderson enters prison, he might not be out until January 2008. Anderson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, says Anderson won't talk, no matter how much time he faces.
With that reprieve, Bonds is now saying he wants to go on with his major-league career in 2007, in San Francisco or elsewhere. That means this prolonged Barry Bonds saga, that is sucking some of the life out of what has otherwise been a spectacular year in baseball, will go on.
And perhaps on into next years ?dog days? as well.
Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch
July 26th, 2006 - Hot Doggies
Since the time of ancient Egypt, July past the end of August has been known as the "dog days" of summer. The term was derived from Sirius (the Dog Star ? usually the brightest star that can be seen in the northern hemisphere) being hidden by the brightness of the Sun during this time of the year. To the Egyptians, its mysterious absence from view became associated with these long, hot days that are the sultriest period of summer. You probably didn?t notice Sirius being gone ?cause, unlike those Egypt types, you?ve got a TV to watch instead of the sky. Recently Sirius has made a comeback in kids pop-culture. In the Harry Potter book series, the character Sirius Black takes his name from the star. Author JK Rowling knows about the star?s history because Sirius, Harry?s godfather, is a shape shifter who can change himself into a large black dog.
Except for astronomers, Egyptologists and uber-nerd Potter-maniacs, these ?dog days? refers to hot dogs. As in, let?s eat some! There is no place where more hot dogs are being eaten than in Major League Baseball parks. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (Motto: Believe us, you don?t want to know what?s in them) says that 24.2 million hotdogs are eaten by MLB fans in stadiums across North America during the dog days. To put that into perspective, laid end to end that number of dogs would stretch from Dodger Stadium to Camden Yards.
Therefore, in honor of all that food being crammed down so many gullets over the next little while, here?s a few of questions to ponder while we?re all digesting in the ?dog days.?
1st. How come the National League sucks so bad?
The AL is 290-204 over the past two seasons in interleague play. The AL has won the past nine All-Star games not decided by a tie (Remember 2002?), and is now 15-3 since 1988. Sure, that?s just an exhibition, but with home-field advantage secured by All-Star Game victories, the AL has swept the past two World Series. So, why is the AL so all-powerful and mighty? For whatever reason, right now American League teams dominate in star power. You could pick out maybe half dozen sure-fire Hall of Famers on this year?s AL All-Star starting roster. On the NL?s there was Albert Pujols, and that?s it.
2nd. Can the Braves recover all the way from their disastrous start and make it to their 14th straight post-season?
Well, if god has anything to say about it, yes! ?Faith Days with the Braves? starts this week with Atlanta holding post-game concerts and prayer meetings for their more faithful fans. For those who are looking to less lofty heights, considering being so far behind the Mets, a stronger bullpen will make a wild-card birth still a possibility.
3rd. Who, if anyone, bet on the Tigers?
At the start of the season, on betED.com, Detroit were 100-1 long-shots. Now they are the second favorite to win the World Series behind the New York Mets. It?s all in the pitching. Going into this week, the Tigers staff led the majors with a 3.54 ERA, a full run better than the AL average of 4.54. The next closest team in the majors, co-ink-dink-aly, those same New York Mets, had a 4.03 team ERA.
4th. What stupid thing will Ozzie Guillen say next?
?Cause you know its coming. Ordered to attend sensitivity classes by MLB commissioner Bud Selig after Guillen called Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti ?a fag,? it doesn?t look like he learned much. Guillen said after the first 2-hour session. "Don't waste your time telling me how to behave; I'm not going to do that.?
Oh goodie!
5th. The Yankees or the Red Sox?
Since the American League Central is so strong, for the first time since 2002 it looks like the Wild Card will not come out of the American League East. That will leave New York and Boston trying to beat each other?s brains out trying to get on top of the toughest division in baseball. So, while they do that, how about ?dem Blue Jays? With the top of the rotation finally getting healthy (Halliday, Burnett, Chacin) and with one more acquisition for the fifth slot, the Jays could have the best starting pitching in the division. Now, if only they could stop fighting in the clubhouse.
6th. Who is going where? Or nowhere?
On July 31st, it?s the annual non-waiver trade deadline, and players will be on the move. Or perhaps they won?t. It all depends on what happens in the next few days because right now, there are more teams still in contention for the post-season than in recent memory. Ten American League teams and thirteen National League still have a postseason shot, so the pool of available players is very shallow. Only the true bottom feeders will be making moves, and since they are bottom feeders in the first place, the picking won?t be that great. However, a few dropped games here and there over the next few days and you could see teams go from buyers to sellers, rapidly.
Finally, since this is all about hot dogs, what about Barry?
Barry Bonds turned 42 on Monday just 34 home runs short of Hammerin? Hanks all-time record. Somehow, I suspect that wasn?t the figure on his mind as he was filling his ample head with cake. Rather, I think it was on Greg Anderson, his old trainer, who is apparently prepared to take one for team Bonds and suffer prison rather than give Barry up. Served with a subpoena ordering him to report to a grand jury this Thursday, he could be ordered to sit in prison for the entire year of its term, and possibly another six months if the grand jury is extended. If Anderson enters prison, he might not be out until January 2008. Anderson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, says Anderson won't talk, no matter how much time he faces.
With that reprieve, Bonds is now saying he wants to go on with his major-league career in 2007, in San Francisco or elsewhere. That means this prolonged Barry Bonds saga, that is sucking some of the life out of what has otherwise been a spectacular year in baseball, will go on.
And perhaps on into next years ?dog days? as well.
Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch
