Bye Bye Bobblehead!

Barry Bonds is whining again. This time he’s complaining about the fact that the San Francisco Giants let him go. He said that the Giants would have already won a World Series championship if he was the team owner. He also said that San Francisco fans are his “family,” yet I have seen the man snub fans on several occasions with my own two eyes. If they’re his family, it’s a dysfunctional one.
The fact is that releasing Barry Bonds when they did was a very astute move by the Giants. With his bloated salary, huge head and enormous ego, Bonds had become a major liability in the City by the Bay.
Many of my friends who used to be big Barry supporters will now admit that it was time for him to hit the road. He will be more valuable to an American League team anyway – somewhere he can play Designated Hitter. Bonds needs a fresh start in a new city where the fans aren’t accustomed to his antics yet.
This appeared today on www.cbssportsline.com
The 43-year-old home run king heard a long list of his accomplishments read during a special speaking forum Wednesday night hosted by the Commonwealth Club, then was asked by KGO Radio host Ray Taliaferro if he had really reached all those feats.
Fourteen All-Star game selections. A record seven NL MVPs. Eight Gold Glove awards.
"I did, and then I got fired," Bonds told a group of about 450 people in the audience. "Shame on me, huh?"
Bonds, who broke Hank Aaron's home run record with No. 756 on Aug. 7, was told last month by Giants owner Peter Magowan he would not be brought back for a 16th season in San Francisco.
Bonds, dressed in a dark suit jacket and tie, entered to a roaring standing ovation and repeatedly drew loud applause from an adoring crowd through the nearly 90-minute forum. They chanted, "Barry! Barry!" One person hollered, "We love you." Others took pictures on cell phone cameras or sported shirts with Bonds' No. 25.
Yes, this was a glorified pep rally in a swanky downtown San Francisco hotel featuring five ovations and two of those standing -- for a star baseball player who didn't even stick around when his team paid tribute to him with a video presentation during the final home game of the season. Outside the ballroom where he spoke, Game 1 of the World Series between the Red Sox and Rockies at Fenway Park showed on a TV.
"I don't have fans in San Francisco -- this is my family," said Bonds, who used to bounce around the clubhouse at Candlestick Park as a boy while hanging out with his late father, Bobby, and Hall of Fame godfather Willie Mays.
When Taliaferro asked about Bonds' many splash-hit home runs, the slugger replied, "They call it McCovey Cove, but I've rewritten it a little bit."
That part of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field arcade of the Giants' waterfront ballpark is named for Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.
Bonds, who just completed his 22nd major league season, has 762 career home runs. Taliaferro read select questions from members of an audience that included actor Danny Glover, one asking Bonds whether he would play for $5 million and bat fifth for San Francisco if that were an option for 2008.
"I told Peter Magowan, 'If I'm a part-time player, I'm still better than your full-time player, and it's a wise idea to keep me,' " Bonds said.” We still have time. Things might change."
Bonds also said that if he were running the franchise, the Giants would have won a World Series by now. They fell five outs short in 2002, and one thing the slugger is still missing on his remarkable resume is a championship ring.

Meat the Biggest Burger in the World

A Pennsylvania restaurant put a 15-pound burger on its menu, claiming that it is the largest burger available anywhere.

Dennis Liegey, the owner of Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, 120 northeast of Pittsburgh, said the "Beer Barrel Belly Buster" weighs in with 10 pounds of meat molded into a 20-inch patty on a specially baked, 17-inch bun.

The balance of the weight comes from 25 slices of cheese, one small barbell, a head of lettuce, three tomatoes, an anvil, two onions, plus copious quantities of mayo, ketchup, relish, mustard, and peppers. For fifty cents extra, you can also get an after dinner mint.

Any two people who can eat it within a three-hour sitting get it for free. For everyone else, it costs $30. Ambulance fees and stomach pumping procedures are available at a small additional charge.

"We've been running a burger challenge since 1991," said Liegey. "It started out with two- and three-pound patties, and went to a six-pounder in 1998 with five pounds of toppings."
When eating the burger, most people look like a full-sized anaconda consuming a small deer.

“The best way to battle this burger is to swallow it whole and let it break down in your digestive tract,” eating consultant Munchy Belcher said.

“I haven’t taken on this burger yet, but you can be sure I will. As soon as I have a decent bowel movement, I’ll be ready for this beast” Belcher explained. “I just finished a Cornish game hen-eating contest this weekend, so I’m a little overstuffed right now. Does anyone have a Rolaids?”

Over the years Liegey said he has sold more than 10,500 of the two- and three-pounders, and 853 of the six-pounders. That’s over 26,000 lbs. of hamburgers, or almost 80 Rosie O’Donnells.
Liegey has kept careful count of how many diners have finished each offering: 256 ate the whole two-pounder and 39 finished three-pounders. And last February, one person, a 100-pound female college student, Kate Stelnick, from Princeton, New Jersey, ate the entire six-pounder. (The burger with toppings represented 11 percent of her body weight.) She hasn’t eaten anything since.

The 15-pound burger can feed a family of 10, according to Liegey. He has sold two so far to teams of two people, and neither team did much more than put a dent in it.
(Thanks for CNN.com and AOL.com for portions of this article. Some of the material here has been fictionalized for your amusement.)

Who Wants to Go Camping?

If you're looking for camping gear, there's a great web site that sells everything you'll ever need to hit the Great Outdoors in style and luxury. www.shop4campinggear.com has it all -- from camping furniture, chef stoves, sleeping bags, tents, backpacks, hydration packs, sport trailers, cookware, first aid emergency kits -- they have a huge selection! And everything they carry is offered at great prices. When it's time to go camping, give them a call. And then hit the hiking trails and campsites and have a wild time!

Take a cut at Hydroxycut

Hydroxycut is an effective weight loss supplement that can help you achieve great results when combined with your diet and exercise weight loss program. I know some people who have really had some significant success losing weight with hydroxycut. As with everything you put in yout body, always check something out thoroughly before putting it into your body. But, this sounds like it might be a winner.

Real Estate in No. California is Out of Control. Maybe It's Time to Consider ARIZONA!!

Everyone in Northern California is talking about Arizona real estate. And there is a very good reason why. It’s affordable! Homes in the Bay Area have skyrocketed to the point where no one can afford to buy a house here. And to top it off – they just announced recently that rentals are going up, especially in places like SF and Silicon Valley. It’s just crazy. So, a lot of folks are making the move to Arizona – where it’s less crowded, the air is cleaner and it hardly ever rains. Whether you’re talking about Phoenix, or Tempe, or Tucson, or even Scottsdale – maybe now is the time for you to start considering Arizona real estate!

DeGeneres Caught in Canine Adoption Caper

Why do people get so weird and militant when it comes to their pets? This is a ridiculous situation that has escalated into a really volatile one, polarizing dog owners and pitting a celebrity against the entire pet adoption industry.

In case you haven't heard, comedienne/talk show host Ellen DeGeneres adopted a dog from an adpotion agency. When the mutt didn't work out for her, she gave it to a friend. When the adoption agency found out about it, they were uspset, claiming that Ellen had no right to give away the pooch and had violated their rules. So, they went to the new dog owner's house and retrieved the dog.

I can see this issue from both sides. On one hand, I think the adoption agency is being way too heavy-handed. Ellen is obviously a dog lover and I don’t believe that she would give this mutt to anyone who couldn’t provide a good home for the dog. To send the police into someone’s home to retrieve a dog is just crazy.

On the other hand, rules are rules. Adoption agencies have to be careful where adopted dogs go. Part of their job is to make sure these animals are given to responsible people who will provide a safe environment for them.

Most adoption organizations are run by volunteers, so these people are obviously passionate about what they do. But, like anyone else, they can get carried away when it involves pets.

I have experienced this first-hand. When I tried to adopt a dog from the Humane Society, they questioned me for close to an hour. And I was working there as a volunteer at the time. I got so fed up at one point, during the interrogation that I said to them – “What do you care what I do with the dog? You’re just going to kill it?”

One of the things these adoption groups have to be wary of is what’s called “Batchers.” I call them bastards.

“Batchers” are unscrupulous idiots who adopt dogs and then sell them to testing laboratories. They usually target individuals who advertise that they want to give their dog away, and then go to their house and con them into thinking that they’ll provide a good home for the dog. Then, they sell it for a tidy profit so that labs can do these cruel tests on them and eventually destroy them. Some of these “Batchers” have been known to bring children with them, so that they can pose as a family in need of a pet.

That’s why you should always give your dog to a rescue or adoption agency is you have to give the animal away. They will spend the time to make sure that it goes to a good home.

Associated Press published this online yesterday:
Ellen DeGeneres' doggie dilemma took a nasty turn, with the operator of the animal rescue organization that took the pooch away saying she has been deluged with threatening e-mails and phone calls.

The calls got so bad that Marina Batkis said she had to close her business and stay home Wednesday, a day after DeGeneres broadcast a tearful, televised plea for the dog to be returned to her hairdresser and the woman's daughters.

"My life is being threatened. This is horrible," a tearful Batkis said outside her home.
B
atkis and Vanessa Chekroun co-own Mutts and Moms, the nonprofit dog-rescue organization that gave the dog to DeGeneres and her partner, actress Portia de Rossi.

"They have gotten thousands of e-mails," attorney Keith Fink told the television program "Inside Edition." "Most of them are hate e-mails threatening them with lynchings, bombings of their home."

One recording "Inside Edition" played had a male voice saying, "You Nazi, scum-sucking pigs. You're gonna pay dearly for stealing this dog from those little girls."

The twisted dog tale began last month when DeGeneres and de Rossi adopted a cute, black Brussels Griffon mix terrier named Iggy. When Iggy was not able to get along with DeGeneres' cats, the couple gave the dog to DeGeneres' hairdresser.

That, Batkis pointed out, violated a written agreement de Rossi signed in which she agreed to return the dog to Mutts and Moms if the adoption did not work out.

DeGeneres acknowledged she erred but said her hairdresser and her family should not be punished.

"This is so insane," a calmer DeGeneres said on her talk show Wednesday. "It's just the dog needs to go to the family."

Batkis has refused to back down.

"If Ellen wants to place dogs and decide what's a good home, then she should start her own rescue group," she told "Inside Edition." "But I'm the one doing this and I know what I'm doing."

Meanwhile, the dispute has become a hot topic on news and talk shows.

"There's got to be some sort of rational compromise," ABC's Diane Sawyer said on "Good Morning America."

My Interview with Ed Mayer, the Other "Mr. Cub"

Ed Mayer played for the Chicago Cubs for two years, in 1957 and 1958. A San Francisco native and a Lowell High School graduate, he won the MVP award in a high-school all-star game played at Seals Stadium and received the trophy from none other than Babe Ruth himself. Mayer made his pitching debut against the New York Giants and gave up two home runs – one to Willie Mays and the other to Hank Sauer. They were the only dingers he would ever surrender. After playing for the University of California, Mayer played in the minors with the Cardinals, Red Sox and Cubs, with stops in C, B, A, AA, AAA, Mexico and Cuba before making it to the major leagues. After his baseball career came to and end, Mayer worked for 25 years as a teacher. He currently lives in San Anselmo, California and enjoys playing the piano, traveling throughout the world and designing crossword puzzles. (This interview took place on July 24, 2007)

A UFO sighting in the minor leagues: “This is a great incident, and don’t think I’m crazy, because I am not crazy, believe me, and it’s been verified by so many people. We were in Class B ball, or C ball, in Georgia in either ’54 or ’55, I forget which. And it’s a night game, and I’m in the third base dugout. And we’re just watching a guy on the other team warming up. And, all of a sudden, this round disc comes over the stadium – silent, about 200 feet up maybe, spinning slowly, red, white and blue lights. And I said to the guy next to me – do you see what I see? He said, “Yeah! Holy cow! What is it?” We were just enthralled looking at it, and it stayed there silently for about 10 or 15 seconds, looking down, obviously – because they were right above the pitcher’s mound. And then all of a sudden, it went out of sight in about 3 seconds. With no sound, just pfffft…just like that! And right now today, we don’t have the capability of doing what that thing did. That was a UFO. It was absolutely unbelievable. In fact, after it happened, I even went over to the left field corner and asked somebody, “Did you see that?” and they said “Yeah.” Then, I went over to the right field corner and asked somebody else, and they said, “Yeah.” It was for sure. So, I am a believer now. That made me a believer.”

A HR to Willie Mays: “I gave up just two home runs in my career – to Willie Mays and Hank Sauer, both in my very first game against the Giants. And when they hit them, I said to myself – that’s it; nobody else is going to hit a home run off me. And nobody did. I remember the Mays home run like it was yesterday. It was the first inning and I got the first two guys out and Mays stepped up to the plate. I said to myself, I know who Willie Mays is, I’ve heard of him, but so what? So, I threw the ball, and he hit a line drive which I thought would either be caught by the center fielder or hit the wall, but it went straight up into the stands – a rope. The guy’s a great hitter. The best hitter I ever played against, that’s for sure. Frank Robinson, Stan Musial – they were good. But, Mays is the best I ever saw.”

Racism in the minor leagues: “We were going through Georgia on a bus, and we pulled over to get some gas. I was in the low minors – “A” ball. So the whole team gets out of the bus, and we walk up to a Coke machine. We line up, and everyone was getting sodas, and Earl Wilson, one of our black players, was in line right in front of me, just waiting his turn. He went to put his nickel in – it was a nickel back then – and the gas station attendant came out and pointed a gun at Wilson, and said, “No n—r is going to buy a Coke out of my machine.” And Wilson wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, because he was from San Diego. And I sure wasn’t used to it being from San Francisco. I mean, we had black players in high school and we never thought about it. It was never a big deal. And so I grabbed Wilson by the shoulders, and I turned him around and pushed him back on that bus. I told him that I would buy him the Coke. And I bought two Cokes and gave him one. The sad thing is that that guy with the rifle probably could have gotten away with shooting him and then said that he had done something to him, because that’s what was going on down in the South back then. I saw racism a lot in baseball, even against me, because I’m Jewish. When I was at spring training with the Cubs, I was told that I couldn’t go into a place called the Olympic Club in Phoenix, because I was Jewish. They told me I couldn’t go in there. In AAA, when I was with Omaha in 1956, a fan yelled a bunch of racist stuff at me while I was pitching, calling me “Jew Boy” and things like that.”

When the game was pure: “I played in an era when nobody was taking anything. I never saw one pill or anything. Never saw anyone ever taking any pills. The players looked normal back then. You look at Ernie Banks. You look at Stan Musial – any of the old guys – they looked normal. Their arms and their bodies looked normal. Not all beefed up like they are today, like Sammy Sosa. There’s no doubt these guys are doing something. It’s bad for baseball, because it’s illegal, it’s no good, it’s not fair and I believe that when Bonds breaks the record it will be tainted. It’s a shame. No one was cheating when I played. I never looked at anyone back then and thought, ‘Wow, he looks different.’”

The Return Phone Call: When Did It Die?

Why don’t people call each other back anymore? What is the psychology behind not returning phone calls? Do you have a group of friends in your life who will NEVER call you back no matter what? The sad fact is that most of us do.

Not returning phone calls has become an integral part of our society – a trademark of our times. And with all of the new technologies out there -- like VOIP, e-mail and text messaging -- people have more ways than ever to not get back to you. And I believe that it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

In an attempt to analyze this phenomenon, I have talked to a wide range of people about the subject. I have discussed it with those individuals who make a point of returning phone calls religiously, and I have talked at length (not on the phone, of course) to folks who have made the activity of not returning calls into an art form.

This is what I have learned. Most people tell me that the anonymous nature of a phone call or phone message makes it very easy to disregard. Their attitude is, “If the caller wants to speak to me that badly, they’ll call back.”

Many other individuals think that they are on the phone too much as it is and will only return those calls that they believe are absolutely necessary to reply to.

“I spend an inordinate amount of time on the telephone and I just don’t have time to call everyone back,” one person explained.

“A lot of people call me for no reason,” another person stated. “They’re bored and like to blab on the phone. I hate it when people say that they’re calling just to see how I’m doing. I’m doing fine, thank you. When I die, someone will contact you. That’s why they have obituaries in the newspaper.”

Other people say that they fall into a mode of not calling certain people back, while at the same time looking forward to responding quickly to others people’s calls.

“Some of my friends are easy to talk to on the phone, while others are boring and waste my time,” one source said. “If you can’t keep the conversation interesting and upbeat, don’t call me.”
“
I have a group of friends who call me all the time to complain about every little thing,” one source exclaimed. “They want to talk about how their wife or husband or kids or boss is making their lives miserable. Hey, I have my own problems, okay? If I want to be depressed, I’ll watch soap operas. Spare me!”

With these individuals, it has to do with the quality and substance of the conversation. So, if you give “bad phone”, so to speak, you can be sure that these people will not be calling you back anytime soon.

When it comes to business, people have an entirely different theory about returning phone calls. If a salesman calls them, for instance, they will almost never call them back.

“It’s their job to get a hold of me,” one source said. “If they’re selling something, they had better adapt to my schedule.”

Other people disagree with that theory. One very successful business owner told me that he returns every single phone call he receives, as a rule. It’s very unprofessional to do otherwise, he said.
“I have made some awesome contacts and profited greatly by returning every phone call I get. If someone takes the time to call me, no matter who it is, I feel getting back to them is the right thing to do. So many people in the business world do not return calls that you can stand out by returning them. The caller will appreciate it and try to reciprocate any way they can. If nothing else, you have made a friend in the business world. And we can all use more friends.”

After looking at this topic from several different angles, I have come to the conclusion that you should not take it personally if someone does not return your phone calls. It does not mean they don’t want to talk to you, at least not in all cases. And if you work on your phone skills and become more pleasurable to talk to, you’ll find that more of your friends will call you back.

I wish I could have done a more thorough study of this subject, but most of the people I called to interview never got back to me.

Cufflinks Are Back in a BIG WAY!!

There’s a great web site called http://www.cuff-daddy.com/. They have more cufflinks than you could ever imagine. Cufflinks are very cool and are making a big comeback. They make a great groomsmen gift. http://www.cuff-daddy.com/ has more than just cufflinks too – they sell key chains, fancy pens, money clips, wallets, cufflink boxes, ties – they even have cufflinks for women. Their site is really cool. They have a lot of great gift ideas and even have an article that explains how to wear cufflinks.

World Series Time: I Love It!

It’s almost World Series time! This is the most exciting time of the entire baseball season. After 162 games, the playoffs and the championship series, the moment every baseball fan is anticipating is almost upon us. Whenever I think about the World Series, I think about 1988, when Kirk Gibson hit a HR against the Oakland A’s with two outs in the ninth inning. What an incredible thrill that was!! We already know that the exciting young upstart Colorado Rockies will be playing in the World Series. They’ll be going up against the yet-to-be-determined AL Champs, either the Boston Red Sox or the Cleveland Indians. Have you thought about where you might be buying your world series tickets? The Fall Classic is almost here.