Another Long Week Begins
I don’t know why but it feels worse to do nothing during the week than it does on a weekend. And that shouldn’t be since all these days are the same now. I’ve got a few Zoom meetings to get through. Workout for an hour or so.
After that? Same old shit…..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I’m actually retiring at the end of June. I’ve been wondering why over the last few weeks . . . .
post of the day! Ok, now what do I do?
So younger people get a chance…
It’s so hard to get old without a cause
I don’t want to perish like a fading horse
Youth’s like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever
So many adventures given up today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams swinging out of the blue
Oh let it come true
Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever
Forever, and ever?
Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever
Forever, and ever?
Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever
Forever young
Nice, Alphaville pull!
Those dumb Krauts coulda used “hoss” instead of “horse” to get the first couplet a little closer to a rhyme.
Yup, zoom meetings from noon onward. I’m finding that I do more work after 8PM.
one thing I’ve learned about exercising: If I don’t do it before noon I don’t do it….
Same way. Today, I screwed up my back doing reverse tricep extensions with my adjustable barbells set at 45 lbs. Getting old.
I screwed up my back trying to get vertical this morning.
Self concocted trivia question:
Two players who came up with the S.F. Giants hit 25 or more HRs in a season for 5 different teams.
Can you name the players and the 5 teams?
Hint:
2 of their 25+ HR seasons came for the same team…
one of them is Jack Clark he was my first guess.
my next guess was Chili Davis but he fell just short.
Jack Clark is one…
I’m worried the 2nd one is gonna be someone from the 60’s, your wheelhouse but my kryptonite
this was such a great fight. I miss these boxing days
A lot of people thought Hagler was robbed. I don’t think he ever fought again….
Blade must have some strong feelings about this
I remember that day. It was a Monday and I went to Yankees home opener.
Froze my ass off.
They had a dignified pregame ceremony for the 40th anniversary of Jackie Robinson.
Very unlike the overdone, commercialized, ridiculous public apology it’s turned into…
Hilarious Loo…I just wrote below thought it was a Monday night…thanks for the confirmation…
Those fights in the 80’s were great. Didn’t Hagler go on to become an action film star in Italy or something like that?
Yeah Dirt, it was boxing’s last great era.
Not sure what became of MMH but he’s one of the few that retired and stuck to it…
2nd one is Kingman. Boom! I think this is the first trivia game at the Flap I actually won. Woo hoo!!!!!!
Great guess, but Kong only accomplished the feat for 4 clubs…
motherfuck. Back to drawing board.
before I got to Kingman I guessed Gary Matthews and was surprised to see how pedestrian his stats were when I looked them up
A friend of mine for almost 50 years has 3 grown sons and says that he doesn’t think they had anything close to the fun we had. I don’t necessarily agree. They may have had a lot more fun than he heard about…
We had way more fun as teenagers and in college…that cannot be argued!!!
Bobby Bonds?
Giants, Yankees, Angels, Rangers, Indians
Nailed it!
Was just about to text you about stickball but I thought you might be sleeping.
Love how you’re improvising new games. Just like a kid.
How was your stroke?
Rusty. I have had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands in the last 7 months and am still recovering—but I’m getting there.
The playgrounds and schoolyards here are all padlocked…
Sorry to hear dog…tough on the yanking the chain if you know what I mean or is that what lead to surgery??? 🤣
James that’s funny I had thought same thing. I could retire go on SS and not have to deal with work and driving. But without library access and sports on TV days drag on. Lot of people I would miss seeing and talking to though and isolation isn’t healthy. If travel comes back then it’s different.
talked to someone yesterday who had to cancel spring training trip and one to Alberta.
classic hubris on my part. I thought of King Kong, quickly scanned his stats and began over celebrating without more closely fact checking. Then Diggity comes calmly in and destroys my soul.
I don’t remember the details, but there was some incident or argument in lower Manhattan during the 2016 N.Y. Flapalooza. I wasn’t present for it, but the best part of the story was SanDog calmly sunning himself by Grant’s Tomb while it played out. Or do I have it wrong?
Love that you even texted me to say don’t bother as you had taken it down already!
You even got the teams in their proper sequence.
That is major Bonds knowledge…
That was luck. But, he is my avatar and all time favorite Giant.
I met him waking into the 1989 All Star Game. He was alone and not super friendly at first, but warmed up a bit after my friends and I kept peppering him with questions.
bobby bonds used to hangout at the clubhouse at Bay Meadows all the time. Him and Tom Rathman were the two main famous local sports heroes that I gambled right next to on a near daily basis.
If memory serves, Blade and Chi couldn’t agree on when and where to eat and this was after other debates such as whether or not to go to the top of the Freedom Tower. It was hot as hell and I was done with it and found a solitary folding chair near Hamilton’s grave to find my happy place. Map Dawg (my son Trev) was the go between both parties brokering a peace deal.
Somewhere in there we decided to take the Staten Island Ferry and I remember having a great conversation with Blade while taking in the Manhattan skyline—yet still a bit disturbed by the Coast Guard Zodiac with a mounted machine gun following us.
That is awesome!
So great being able to picture the whole silly thing…
I think it was 90+ and humid as all hell that week…
arguing about where to eat, lqtm
I don’t recall the exact details, but this sounds familiar. I think we settled on a Subway to grab a bite. I don’t recall much debate about going to the top of Freedom Tower.
And yes, Dawg, I recall Trevor brokering the peace. The ferry ride to Staten Island was cool. And agree on the Coast Guard zodiac shadowing us…with 50 cal machine gun on the bow.
Regardless, that was an awesome trip. One that I will cherish the rest of my days. It was so cool to meet you all during that trip.
And my first leg out of Sacramento catching a connection in Charlotte, I ran into MadBum and his wife in the airport, and got a picture of me with Bum.
Your MadBum story is the highlight for me…me almost getting killed by that batting practice foul ball with my kid at Fenway by our old muscle bound OF Cheesy Mac was the other and of course the Chia Blade quick meet-up for a drink…
It was a great trip Chi. So glad we made it happen. Your meeting with Bum was a great start to the festivities.
We did not make it up the Freedom Tower that day, but Trev and I did get back another day and made it happen before our trip was over.
Hope NYC rebounds and comes out of this. Company has 3 great mgrs. I’d love to see again. One is Mets and Knicks fan, others Yanks fans. First time I saw him he was trying to get Melo to come there. Next time Melo was being run out of town.
Minus the fortuitous folding chair…
Diggity if you wouldn’t mind, what eating establishments were these two Flap vets arguing over? Like, which ones were so polarizing that a fight broke out?
And how heated did it get before your teenage son intervened?
If I’d been at the NYC gathering, it would have been a 3-way argument. The food itinerary for any trip is set in advance.
All wrong and there was little or no argument. Frankly, it had little or zero to do with what to eat . . . It had EVERYTHING to do with the heat and lines into other places. I indicated that I was going to Subway because that is the ONLY fast food that goes into Blade’s stomach and essentially, Trevor and Chi (eventually?) followed. Equally important, Subway was not busy and had AC. Trevor and Chi could have gone anywhere, but I had already decided that for me, I was eating at Subway.
I was exhausted and much more exhausted later, as I wasn’t looking forward to going back to our Bronx hotel room to pick up the baseball tickets. My bad thinking we would be able to relax at the hotel and than go to the baseball game. Time got away from us, especially after the ferry ride and it wasn’t Chi’s responsibility to get the tickets, as I was holding them. Consequently, I missed out on meeting Loo and Mac at Finnerty’s . . . only meeting them later at the Stadium.
Yeah, that was a major bummer about the tix. The initial meetup was me with SanDawg and Chi at Finnerty’s, but it was so damn crowded in there we moved next door to Professor Thom’s, where Loo eventually joined us.
Ah yes, The Ticket Incident. I forgot about that. That did kind of put a cloud over everything along with the intense heat.
Hagler was robbed, particularly by one judge’s scorecard (Geura sp?), which was so far out of line with the other two judges. I really respected Leonard’s talent, but really disliked his “goody two shoes” personality. By the by, Hearns got robbed in 1989 too. Hearns beat the shit out of Leonard and Leonard even admitted that he lost years later.
Loved it when the “hands of stone” finally kicked his PC ass.
And another meeting of Flap minds…see below Blade…we could be brothers.
Glad to hear you are voting for Biden.
How did the Flav haircut go??? I have been out of the Flap loop after arriving Wed morn at SFO. 3 awesome days of weather at least to start my trip. Got out for a couple of hikes but fairly stuck in the house with this rain on the coast…
this is what I got. I got a little overwhelmed with the choices and there were at least 2 I tried to get but they were sold out. Would appreciate feedback from those who know if these will work or not. They arrive April 11.
https://www.amazon.com/xtava-Cordless-Electric-Trimmer-Clippers/dp/B07Y2F8DP1
Should do the job. Luckily I grabbed a cut the first day working from home 2 weeks ago…should be good for at least a month I hope…
Flying cross country during a national pandemic. Typical Trump supporter. 😉
Yessiree. By choosing to come in with a 10 pm flight only about 20 passengers. If I waited the next day would have been forced to connect through Chicago or Denver. Houston taking a hit sorry to hear. My home county in Virginia very fortunately only 150 cases with zero deaths and probably about 200k residents. So my kids and wife so far been safe but my wife has a home patient care job part-time where she goes to people’s homes for care…
Hagler was completely robbed!!! We did that fight (if I recall it was on a Monday night which was odd in itself) at the fraternity house with a number of kegs and was a blast. Most of the pansies in the house were rooting for Sugar Ray. I always hated the pretty boys in life…Flodgers and their gay-ass blue colors…Laettner and Duke, the pretty boy wrestlers. I always loved the bad guys…Hackman!!!
Now I will say that I thought Hagler was going to completely murder Leonard so was surprised he fought as well as he did and especially early on. And I think Blade is exactly right that it was one highly suspicious judge. Hagler was interviewed after the fight and asked what happened? His one word response said it all: “Vegas!”
Peter, read Leonard’s book – where he admits he attempted to make a good impression during the last 30 seconds of each round, launching a flurry of punches and making sure it occurred right in front of the scorers’ table. In his autobiography, he admits to throwing “as many flurries as possible in hopes of leaving the judges with a positive impression that might help me secure the round.” In interviews before the fight, Leonard said on more than one occasion that he was going to steal rounds and win over the crowd.
Couple that with the one judge being so far off in scoring the fight, compared to the other 2 judges, it’s no surprise that he stole the fight from Marvin.
Good report. It was frustrating watching that outcome and then all the Leonard supporters in the house celebrating the “win” when it was so obvious to the handful of us Hagler supporters that the fix seemed to be in.
Blade, meant to say this earlier–good to hear from you. did you find place you liked to relocate from Colorado yet? seeing talk of your travels to NYC reminds of your old blog which was fantastic mix of pics and informative recommendations. New Zealand, SE Asia, Istanbul…wonderful stuff.
Sure hope travel rebounds safely enough it becomes possible for some of us here spread around the world as we are to be able to meet up again.
I missed Blade’s Istanbul story. Where my mom is from…
Enough posts about my Turkey and Istanbul visit to suffice I think. Enjoy!
https://aroundtheworldwithblade.wordpress.com/category/turkey-march-24th-through-april-7th-2013/
these are fantastic photos and reads. Just went back there to look it up for GH, will go back to revisit.
Merci
Willie, we will DEFINITELY meet up again. This Covid-19 stuff rarely “rents” my brain. I avoid the news, except that which assists me in protecting myself.
I went to Thailand in late December and early January with 2 buddies (also, got in a motorcycle accident while there. Just road rash mostly). In mid February, I went to the Big Island, Hawaii, with 3 friends and although, it was a vacation, I was also looking at homes to possibly purchase. Ended up looking at more than 15 and put bids on 2, but both owners thought they were too low ball . . . Now, that we are in recession, they might change their mind. LOL. Seriously though, Hawaii was a joke compared to what California was already doing regarding the Covid-19 virus. All restaurants, hotels, and tourist attractions were open. In fact, they didn’t begin to shelter in place until early last week.
So, back to California – my rental lease is up at the end of April. I will load some clothes, laptop, etc., into my Jeep and take the 2 day drive (with a stop in St. George, Utah overnight) to Sunnyvale, where my parents live. After resting a week, I will look seriously at buying a home in the Placerville, Pollock Pines, Grizzly Flats area. I don’t want anything to do with heat, so will not settle for Sacramento. Concurrent with that, I will re-investigate Hawaii if I strike out in Cali.
Willie, I hope you are well and equally important, your family is doing well. Same goes for other Flappers here too.
Doesn’t Chi live in Placerville?
Someone here does.
I wouldn’t know where to look for it on a map…
mm thx. guy who comes into store a lot was stationed in Hawaii. Trying to convince his wife who is Kaiser nurse (probably zero issue finding a job) to leave bay area for Kauai where they vacationed. Mostly he is sick of south bay (Morgan Hill) traffic and congestion.
Yes Loo. I have been asking him for advice about the Placerville area. Years ago, I use to go camping in Pollock Pines. I love the elevation – about 2000 feet in Placerville and 3800 hundred in Pollock Pines and Grizzly Flats. You have snow, but no where near the amounts at my Colorado mountain home (8500 feet) I had before buying my Lakewood condo. In other words, no moving snow from point A to point B.
Placerville,Pollock Pines,Grizzly Flat áreas are real nice Blade. Isn’t Chi from the Placerville area? I use to know someone in Placerville, neat town like reminds me of all those gold rush towns like Sutter Creek, Jackson etc.
Pollock Pines has a nice size lake I recall Jenkinson?i use to check out.But it was Pollock Pines when I knew I had a few more miles on hwy50 for the turnoff for icehouse rd and 3 Great Lakes for camping 🏕 at.Icehouse Lake,Union Valley Lake,and Loon Lake great fishing, hiking, just nice 👍 places to get away too..
Hagler’s loss to Leonard was the 3rd of his career.
You would have to be an absolute authority on “Marvelous” to know the other two.
I looked them up and don’t remember either one…
Dunno. Stumped, mostly because I do know they were unknowns and happened I believe before he really got good and didn’t lose, until of course, facing Leonard, which if I recall correctly, disgusted him so much, that he retired.
You can find the 2 losses in early 1976.
The note on the last fight says he retired because Leonard refused to give him a rematch…
http://www.marvelousmarvin.com/fightRecord.php
I should have known about Monroe. He was a really good fighter, who actually beat Hagler very bad, but Hagler more than made up for that in 2 return matches. Basically, he wasn’t heard from again, until of course, his great nephew, Willie Monroe Jr. took up the sport and he was very good if I recall correctly.
Would definitely not have a clue. Duran was not same weight class if I have any memory.
Decisioned him as a post “No Mas” middleweight in Nov. ’83.
No recollection again. It’s on the list above.
My memory is pretty shot. Mac texts me some funny stuff when he fact checks my many gaffes.
I can’t even remember who won the Super Bowl…
When you type Placerville, CA into Google maps, the first thing that comes up is a photo of some kinda multi-colored goat…
If you look close enough, you will notice a poster for the Placer County Fair in Roseville hanging in Tony Soprano’s office at the Bada Bing. I always wanted to know the importance, if any, of its placement.
Ironically, Placerville is located in El Dorado county. Chi would know more about the history, but I think its nickname of “Hangtown” was due to a reputation of hanging people.
Frontier vigilante “justice,” which was rather swift. Same-day trial and execution. You simply did NOT steal another man’s horse.
Al Kaline gone at 85…
When I “worshiped” ball players, he was probably my #2 after Mays, especially, after his heroics in the 1968, game 5 World Series, where he hit a 2 run single in the 7th and the Tigers took the lead from the Cards. This was a defining turning point in the Tigers comeback World Series championship.
RIP Al.
Al Kaline was “Mr.Tiger” spent his whole career with Detroit just another HOF legend I closely followed in the 60’s! Was the youngest player in the AL to win a batting title at age 20,pretty remarkable feat with all the great talent back then!
RIP AL
With all due respect to the departed, prepare to be underwhelmed:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kalinal01.shtml
Solid player for 2 decades, but nothing to get excited about especially after age 26…
holy shit. So this dude was just a longevity guy. Imagine how he would have been remembered if he had juiced up his 30’s like Barry did.
Kaline coulda used a boost to get him into man-territory.
look at this. It’s obscene. Look what he did when he was 39!
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml
And what the hell was this guy on starting at age 35?
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spahnwa01.shtml
remarkable guy still doing well into his 40s. 1963 yikes 20 complete games low ERA. Comes off as kind of odd guy in some books but had incredible career. How old was he in famous Marichal duel that Mays finally ended?
The last 2 homers hit off Spahn were off the bat of………………..John Boca- belllllllllaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!
My cult hero John Bocabellllllllaaaa!
“Honor Blackman, the actress best known for playing the Bond girl Pussy Galore, has died aged 94.
Blackman, who became a household name in the 1960s as Cathy Gale in The Avengers and had a career spanning eight decades, died of natural causes.”
When my sister was around 16 (making me around 14), she had a Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus t-shirt. One time she was heading out the door wearing it and my Father said no fuckin’ way, girl, get back in here and change that shirt….
One of the best lines ever in Goldfinger:
Honor Blackman:My name is Pussy Galore
James Bond:I must be dreaming
flav those last 2 years at age 41/42 Bonds hit 54 HRs in 700 ABs. OPS was .999 and 1.045 slugging .545 and up.
247 BBs vs. 105 Ks. He could still hit then, and Selig screwed him over and got owners colluding against him.