The wonders of craigslist

After I graduated from college in the spring of 2005 I moved over to the Seattle area. Prior to the move I returned home to Nampa, Idaho to spend some time with my family before beginning my life in the 'real world.' I also gave my car to my youngest brother and took my grandma's '92 light blue Tauras sedan (blue rampage) since she was no longer able to drive. This car wasn't the greatest of rides but it was sufficient to get me to and from work and wherever else I needed to go. The car lasted the rest of the summer and into the fall with no problems. That same fall my roommate referred me to his company, Countrywide, and I accepted the position and started at the end of October. You know what this means? Car pool time. We would alternate days of driving to and from and work. Needless to day we were both pretty excited about spending half as much on gas and cutting down on the commute time as we could take advantage of the carpool lane.

Come Thanksgiving and things are going well. I have returned from training and I fly home to Idaho to spend the holiday at home. Friday after Thanksgiving I get a phone call from my roommate and the first thing he says is 'has bad news.' I try to remain calm and him to explain. Turns out my roommate, Dan is his name, had to go to work that day. When he went out to his car he realized he parked on a hill and wa low on gas so it wouldn't start. Fortunately he had my keys as he drove my car home from the airport. He preceeded to explain that on his way to work he noticed quite a bit of white smoke coming out from under the hood. He said he had to stop at the last light before the office and was completely engulfed in a cloud of white smoke. He managed to pull into the parking garage and got a ride from his parents after work. So I return to work on Monday and have my car towed to the shop where I learn that I have a busted head gasket. I'm no car expert but even I can understand that replacing this is going to cost more than the car is worth. Nice to know you blue rampage. Now I need to search for a new vehicle.

As I explained before I work at the same office as my roommate so I'm not in dire straights. A couple months go by and I haven't found a deal I can afford yet. Then out of the blue one of Dan's buddies from high school stops by and mentions that his parents are looking to sell a gold '91 Acura Integra LS. I told him I was interested and later that week he drove the car over. We took it out for a spin. I noticed the car seemed to run fine and found out the asking price was very low, $800. When we returned to our apartment I decided to buy it. I gave him $800 cash and he signed the title. So begins my era with the golden goose.

Nearly two years go by before I upgrade and get a newer car. I stuck with an Acura because in that two years I didn't experience any car trouble even as I passed 210,000 miles. So now it was time to try and sell my car. I posted an add on craigslist on a Monday morning and put $1000 as my asking price. I got a couple calls from semi-interested buyers along with a couple of emails that morning. Then about noon a guy calls me who is really interested. It turns out he's willing to come out that afternoon. Since the car has been sitting in my driveway for about 5 months because I have a serious problem with procrastination I decide to go get it washed/vacuumed. I grab the keys out of the drawer and head outside to the vehicle. I unlock the door, climb in, and sit down. Not only do I notice some mold beginning to grow on the steering but to make things worse, the battery is completely dead. In a rush I go buy a new battery, install it, take the car to the gas station for a wash/vacuum and return home to find the paperwork before my potential buyer, Mike, arrives. I'm still searching for the title when he pulls up with his 'mechanic' friend. I hand over the keys and the two begin to inspect the golden goose. We take it for a drive around the block and when we get back Mike asks me if it's OK if him and his friend talk privately for a second. I say 'no problem' and begin to walk towards my front door and they walk across the street to converse. I notice when they're done as they head back towards me. We meet at the car and Mike asks if I would take $800 cash for it. I pretend to ponder his offer and after a few seconds agree to the deal. I invite them inside as I have to continue searching for the title. I offer them a seat in our living room and resume my search in my room. After a couple minutes I found what I was looking for and returned to see that Mike has the cash sitting on the coffee table. This time it was my turn to sign off on the title, which I did and after a quick, cash-counting job I handed over the keys, wished these gentlemen well, and sent them on their way. After I shut the door I turned around and thought to myself, "Wow, that was easy. What a wonder that craigslist things is."

NBA officials

The latest allegations unveiled by Tim "Lord, I was born a gamblin' man" Donaghy come at a very peculiar time. First, the NBA finals are in full swing and second, the officiating in the first two games has been under a great deal of scrutiny by the media, the fans, and even Phil Jackson. Donaghy's recent statements alleged that the NBA "played favorites" in hiring officials, favored star players in order to please fans and boost TV ratings, and most importantly, that NBA officials were encouraged by the league to favor particular teams on given nights in order to extend playoff series to seven games. Granted Donaghy is not the most credible of sources but there seems to be some evidence to support his accusations; most notably the disparity in free throw attempts from the Lakers-Kings series in 2002. Just think to yourself for a second, what if this is true? Would you be surprised?

I've never been a big supporter of the NBA because I've always been skeptical about the purity of the game. I've had to take a bunch of crap from my friends and colleagues over the years because of my conspiracy theorist ways but I've stuck to my guns. I've always had this feeling that something was up with the way that some of these games were officiated. As you can imagine I was delighted when I saw the "breaking news" flash across my television screen. As the report unfolded I was shocked initially but then I thought to myself, "finally." My only wish now is that these allegations can be supported with some evidence and more importantly by someone with an ounce of credibility left.

To take a detour for a second, I have always been a Sonics 'fan.' And by fan I mean someone who sometimes watches their games on TV and sometimes in person. Although I mainly go in person because I'm more interested in the team the Sonics are playing. Lately us Sonics folk have had to put up with a lot of BS from David Stern. Now there's a guy that I've never liked, trusted, or understood why he has the job he does. My observations of this douche in general and in the current Sonics situation leads me to believe he cares about four things: money, television ratings, the image of the players, and $$$. (I have this conspiracy theory that Stern is going to secretly profit from the Sonics relocation. Why else would he not seem to give a sh*t that a franchise is in the process of being stolen from a city? But that's another looming post pending the upcoming court hearing.) Here's my point, Donaghy's allegations state a couple of things, that games were altered by officials in order to please fans in the form of ratings and ticket sales, and that playoff games were fixed to extend series to seven games. Both of these things lead to what? see below....



lots and lots of $$$, dough, cash, mula, whatever you want to call it. dollar dollar bill y'all (thanks Wu-Tang)

I wasn't pleased when I saw Stern's response either. He (obviously) denied everything with the arrogant, sh*t-eating, smirk he usually has on his face. He preceeded to call Donaghy's allegations "baseless." I whole-heartedly disagree. How can they be "baseless" when the Lakers shot 27 foul shots in the FOURTH QUARTER alone and both Vlade Divac and Scot Pollard fouled out while Shaq did not? hmmmm....does someone want to see a game seven? This is one example of many that involve a huge discrepency in fouls between teams. How does one explain it when it happens in the playoffs? I'm not saying Donaghy's correct because he's had "honesty and credibility issues from the get-go." But there may be a at least a spark in these new statements. An investigation conducted by an outside party to determine where or noth there's any fire to go along with this smoke everyone thinks he's blowing need to happen. I hope to God there is some truth to this and it's uncovered by a reliable source. I can't wait for the moment when I get to see the look on Stern's face change. When he realizes his 'public image' has crumbled right before his very eyes. Where does one go at this point? Whom does one turn to when something like this happens? I'm sure he'll always be welcome at Roger Clemens' home.

Accountable and Seattle Baseball

accountable -
intransitive verb1: to furnish a justifying analysis or explanation — used with for - couldn't account for the loss.

The word of the day is accountable. I will touch more on this word later but first, let's talk Seattle baseball.

The Seattle Mariners fired their hitting coach, Jeff Pentland, http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3433835, on Monday morning in the wake of another one-run defeat that cost the team another series. This one came against the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox, whom the Mariners had taken 2 of 3 from about two weeks ago. The Mariners rank either last or second to last (thanks Royals) in nearly every major offensive category which prompted the firing of their hitting coach. Clearly some changes needed to be made to the ballclub as they have lost nearly 2 out every 3 games they've played over the first two months of the season. Not going to cut it and I understand that. But is it really the hitting coaches' fault?

The general manager, Bill Bavasi, supported the change saying that a "different voice" might help some of the hitters turn things around and begin to produce offensively. He went on to say, "It's all about results," Bavasi said. "That's probably the biggest thing. We felt that this crew had underperformed for a long period of time. This isn't new."
Bavasi also added, "Jeff has an excellent and proven track record, and those of us who have worked with him are well aware he knows hitting," Bavasi said. "Unfortunately, we have consistently, and for an extended period, underperformed at the plate and we are hopeful that a different voice might help the situation."

Exactly. Ever since he became the GM in 2004 nearly every Mariners hitter HE has acquired has underperformed which begs the question, at what point should the GM be held accountable? More blame should be placed on the individual that continues to sign players who don't perform at the level that they're capable of, they're expected to, and at a level that deems them worthy of the contract they've signed (Richie Sexson is making 15.5 million dollars this year.) Also if you knew this wasn't a 'new' problem and 'this crew had underperformed for a long period of time' why haven't there been any major personnel changes? The only moves that have been made to the offense are the release of Brad Wilkerson (don't get me started on you Brad) and the call-up of Wladimir Balentien (we'll leave out Clement because he's been sent back down). If this group has been so poor for so long why are so many of them still on the team? and worse still playing?

Raul Ibazez understands the situation. "This team hasn't been performing at the level that we're capable of performing," outfielder Raul Ibanez said. "I hold myself accountable for my share of that load. It means it's time for all of us to pick it up. It's been time."

Raul also used the word of the day (Hooray!!!), accountable. Raul has been around the game for some time, (unfortunately his legs and arm are evidence of that) and he knows the offense needs to improve. He's been on some bad teams before (the Royals) and know the players need to be held accountable for their performance however superb or poor it is. I'm not sure the GM shares similar feelings. This move seems more like an attempt to temporarily divert some of the pressure away from himself. Whether or not that pressure is permanently diverted remains to be seen. That depends on the response the new hitting coach, Lee Elia, receives from the M's lackluster lineup. If things don't drastically improve maybe the team needs a 'new voice' at GM.