Focused on Don Larsen

We're off!

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Editor's note:  These were written before the series started.

It's playoff time in baseball and here's how we see the post season shaking out:

NATIONAL LEAGUE

(1) Philadelphia Phillies over (3) Cincinnati Reds in 4.

Way too much pitching and experience on the Phillies' side.  Dusty Baker and the excitement of the first home playoff game in 15 years will be good for one win for the boys from the Queen City.

(2) San Francisco Giants over (4) Atlanta Braves in 4.

Giants are playing too good a brand of baseball to falter here.  Bobby Cox'll get a win somewhere here but his team is limping and the "win one for the Gipper" vibe is not really there.  Most of the youngsters on this team have only played for Bobby for a year or two.

Phillies over Giants in the NLCS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

(3) Texas Rangers over (1) Tampa Bay Rays in 5.

The Rangers are simply better.  After Price, Tampa has nothing on the hill.  Cliff Lee is superhuman in the post season.  Tampa's fan base sucks and that will nullify the home field advantage in Game 5. 

(2) Minnesota Twins over (4) New York Yankees in 5.

The Empire is vulnerable.  We wouldn't bet actual money against them but for the purposes of this blog, we go Twins.

Twins over Rangers in the ALCS

WORLD SERIES

Phillies over Twins in 6

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Item:

Here's some food for thought.

In 2006, the most-recent year data is available for, 25.8% of all female deaths in the United States were the result of a horrible, largely-preventable disease.  Think about that -- over one in every 4 women who died succumbed to this, by far the leading killer of women.

Proper diet, regular checkups and education could eliminate the deaths exponentially.  If detected early and treated properly, this killer is often stopped in its tracks.

This killer is, of course, heart disease. 

Yes.  Heart disease.  Not breast cancer.

So as you wear your pink for the sixth "Breast Cancer Awareness Month" of 2010, realize that the women you love are far more likely to die from heart disease than breast cancer.

Too bad Komen has a better ad agency than the American Heart Association.

Then again, Don Draper always was a boob man.



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Fare thee well, Tony, we'll see you on the Other Side. Save us a charriot.

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In all playoff seasons, we like to make not only our predictions but also who our heart wants to win.  And several things factor in, after we get past our beloved Phillies.  There's style of play, organizational quality, deservedness of fan base and random likes and dislikes of a personal nature, as the heart is wont to play that way.  So here's what we can live with in terms of World Series winners in 2k10, in order of palatability:

Phillies - Need we elaborate?
Rangers - We live here and our friends like them. 
Twins - Solid organization that consistently does more with less.  Great fan base.
Giants - Getting into the "meh" section but passionate fans and good pitching, even if he looks like him.
Reds - 15 years since a playoff berth and fans still passionate.
Rays - The worst fan base in professional sports.  It's not even close.
Braves - The second-worst fan base in baseball and a division rival.
Yankees - Need we elaborate?
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Quote of the Week: “Pretty good pickup." --Philadelphia Phillies' Ryan Howard, on pitcher Roy Halladay, after the latter had thrown the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history.   Halladay was obtained in an offseason trade with Toronto.

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Internet Video of the Week:

Here.

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Ridiculous Story That Actually Appeared in a Publication of the Week:

Here.

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Idiot Criminal of the Week: Julie Bailey of La Crosse, WI. Here's why.

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Vintage Album Review of the Week:

Chicago

17 

1984 

Stay the Night - (3:49)*
We Can Stop the Hurtin' - (4:11)
Hard Habit to Break - (4:44)*
Only You - (3:53)
Remember the Feeling - (4:28)
Along Comes a Woman - (4:14)*
You're the Inspiration  - (3:49)*
Pleaase Hold On - (3:41)
Prima Donna - (4:33)
Once in a Lifetime - (4:11)
* - singles

The success of 1982's 16 was a blessing and a curse for Chicago.  The album brought them out of the wilderness and back to the Billboard charts, but at the cost of their ensemble jazz roots.  The album brought Bill Champlain into the group and started the band's association with David Foster.  Both would have a profound effect on the follow up, 17.

With 17, Chicago completed the transformation from a nameless, faceless band with no real "leader" to Peter Cetera's band.  A couple of factors were at play here.  First and foremost, the adult contemporary leanings of new producer David Foster were a perfect match for Cetera.  This is most strongly realized on the album -- and the band's -- biggest hit, You're the Inspiration, as classic a David Foster-produced song as any ever recorded.  His and Cetera's signature sound was also prevalent on the Cetera/Champlain-penned Remember the Feeling. Not coincidentally, these are the very songs ardent, old-school Chicago fans detest.

But there is no arguing with result.  This was the best-selling album Chicago ever released.  The other reason Cetera became more the front man for the band was that entity that changed the game for everyone in the '80's -- MTV.  With solid videos for all four singles, including one of the decade's best, in Along Comes a Woman, Cetera was locked and loaded as the face of Chicago.  So of course, he promptly left the group after this album and tour.

The instrumentation on this album is excellent.  The band maintains its tight professional, if not necesarilly impassioned sound and there are no miscues.  Foster nailed the production and got precisely the sound he was aiming for.  For good or bad, this is the definitive Cicago album for more fans than not.

Aside from the singles, we really liked Only You and Please Hold On, the latter of which was co-authored by Lionel Richie.

This was the first concert we ever went to.  Loverboy opened for them.  The set opened with Stay the Night and I went nuts.  I was with my big sister.  Oh, joy.  But that's what this album is -- simple family fun.  Nothing that will scare the kids but also nothing that was particularly groundbreaking either.  That being said, this album has aged exceptionally well -- it is exactly what it was over two decades ago.

When we listened to this the other day, after many years, we found ourself singing along with most of the words, lost for a bit in our youth.  It was a pleasant reminder.

Music: 3 (of 5)
Lyrics: 3 (of 5)
Authorship: 4 (of 4)
Production: 3 (of 3)
Packaging: 2 (of 2)
First Blush: 2 (of 2)
Aging: 3 (of 3)
Videos: 1 (of 1)
Total: 21 Stars: 4.2 (of 5)

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Parting shots: If you walk into an NFL locker room wearing this, expect inapropriate comments.  If you don't want to hear them, wear pants that fit you...The Patriots trade their best receiver mid-season, for a draft pick?  There is more to this.  Failed drug test, domestic dispute or negatives with Randy Moss and a nine year old boy will be surfacing.  Soon...So Larry Wilcox is going to jail.  Will Ponch be the arresting officer?...The NBA season and midterm elections are coming!!!!

And with that, we bid you adieu.

Until next time,
Keep the Faith