sabugo

You're saying he wasn't vacationing for the past three seasons? Dear Alex, you didn't get caught when everyone and their mother knew you were cheating. What goes around, comes around. Seems like in 2014 we won't have one of those akward moments where we actually have to root for A-Rod (Ryan Dempster how could you do that to us?!)

Much as I might dislike Selig and think in all fairness that MLB has had it out for A-Rod from the beginning...good riddance!

Don't feel bad Y4L, in Europe hardly anybody ever heard of any baseball greats. Eusébio was really someone apart. He would applaud goalkeepers when they made great saves and even pat them on the back after scoring, almost as if he were apologizing for making them look bad. Who would do something of that sort today? The entire city of Lisbon said goodbye to him today. A lot of people came out to pay their respects and he got his wish with one last lap around the stadium where supporters of all clubs including our biggest rivals gave him one last applause. 'When I die, I would like one last lap around the stadium. This is where people really made me feel special and appreciated' he said. His statue was draped in Benfica scarves and other clubs' as well. Someone fittingly put a crown on its head.

Soccer, or football, is a foreign and strange, pointless and boring sport for most of the American people, much in the same way baseball is to us Europeans. Nevertheless, there is something I absolutley need to write about today. It so happens that my dad worked for the biggest football club in Portugal, and one of the biggest in Europe, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, the 'Encarnados' or 'Reds' (sometimes I have to remind myself to hate the Red Sox just because they wear red). For 42 years my old man worked for the team, 32 of those as the football team doctor. He won many championships and cups during that period and I can only say that growing up I spent more time in the stadium (the old Estadio da Luz with a capacity for 120,000) than at home or school. At one point growing up I actually played for the the club's youth squads. In fact one very famous soccer played, Miguel Veloso - whose dad was the senior team captain, was cut from the team during preseason and I wasn't! Which brings me to today, one of the saddest days I've had in quite some time. Today I've lost a hero, an idol and a true example as a human being. I woke up to the news that Eusébio, my country and club's most iconic figure had passed away at 71. The man was an absolute force on the field, scoring more than 700 goals in his career. A great football player nowadays finishes a career with 250 to 300 goals scored. Off the field he was loved by everyone due to his humble behaviour. He never tried to be the 'big man' unless it served a purpose, but I'll get to that soon. He arrived in Portugal with 17 years old, coming from Mozambique which at the time was one of the portuguese colonies. He learned to play soccer with no shoes, on the streets of the Mafalala neighbourhood in the capital city Lourenço Marques (now Maputo). Benfica and our rivals, Sporting, had a quite interesting dispute as to who would sign this young phonom back in 1960. It was enough drama for a movie, involving kidnapping accusations and all! After he got to pracitce with the team he turned to another young man who would also become a star and asked: 'Who's getting benched? I'm gonna have to play...' He wasn't being cocky. He was that good and that confident. Once he was in, he never left. During his career he was ofthen a target for vicious defenders and a victim of racism by those who woudln't accept defeat. He suffered a number of knee injuries which today would have ended every professional athlete's career. He had 6 surgeries on his left ACL and MCL and 1 on his right. Time and again he would take the field just days after such surgeries because the prize money for the team appearance was doubled whenever he was on the field, and he just wanted his teamates to make more money. They used to call him 'our extra allowance'. Can you imagine playing only days after major knee surgery? (in the 1960's no less!) Big man Eusébio, always looking out for the little ones. As a kid I was hanging around my dad's office one time and Eusébio who was long retired was there too. I tell you, you didn't have to be a doctor or look at x-rays to see how messed up those knees were. My dad also lived in Mozambique for a long time and he shared some of those memories with Eusébio. They had this connection going back to their days in Africa, which made me very proud. Whether it was food, places they visited and lived in or even how both never quite got used to say 'Maputo' and kept saying 'Lourenço Marques to this day. Eusébio was the first football player in history to have signature cleats. The 'Puma King' were the first on the market, in the 1960's. Yeah, the man's nickname here in Portugal was 'King' in english and all. He was also referred as the 'Pantera Negra' or 'Black Panther', a nickname he earned during the 1966 World Cup in England. During that World Cup, Portugal was losing 0-3 vs. North Korea. Then Eusébio shows up, scores 4 goals, assists on the 5th and we win 5-3. After retiring he was on the Benfica staff for many years as assistant coach or team embassador, as well as for the national team. Whenever Benfica had do travel to eastern bloc countries there were problems going through customs. During the cold war days, borders and customs were usually tough. That's when Eusébio would pose for photographs and chat up the man in charge. It was the difference between staying 6 hours filling unnecessary paperwork or 30 minutes of photos and autographs. I've written a lot more than I originally intended and there is so much more to write...My wife is now staring at me because I said this would only take 5 minutes... I'm sad, I really am. It's not everyday you lose a hero. Anybody notice my hersey number on the MVPMods team? Number 10. Guess where that came from!

I'm glad it's out there. And I'm glad Jon Stewart uses it in some of his bits. That's the only use I find for that show. That being said, I'm a couple of days behind, but since I dislike Christmas: Happy Festivus!

I still remember when NLSC first started, run by Tim and Lutz. That was way over a decade ago. Man, I'm getting old!

@dennisjames: Watching your screenshots, two things come to mind: 1) Poor Spike Lee. And while we're at it, poor John Starks. 2) Poor Rik Smits, who got abused in every possible way by Shaq.

Unlike a lot of people, I don't think Yankee Stadium was his problem. Sorry Phil, but if you leave pitches in the middle of the plate with no movement at all, you will get bombed pretty much anywhere. He might see a decrease in HR allowed because Target Field is more spacious, but he'll still suck as a starter. He won't ever dominate as a starter as much as he did when he was a reliever. Not without a decent offspeed pitch. Not by trying new pitches and then scrapping them without properly mastering them. Also, his head might have something to do with his innefectivity. Time and again he placed two pitches on the corners and then tossed a meatball waiting to be destroyed. If that's not mental, I don't know what is! In conclusion, dear mr. Hughes, this is how baseball goes: Leave pitches in the middle of the plate, sh*t gets broken. And that's all. What's really getting under my nerves are the trade rumours surrounding Gardner. I'm perfectly fine with an outfield composed by Gardner in left, Ellsbury in centerfield and Beltran in right, alternating the DH spot with Soriano. Ellsbury is basically a slightly better Gardner. A little more speed, a little better batting average and that's pretty much it. Why the Yankees felt the need to go out and get a player that's similar to the one outfielder they already had - who by the way, was the only outfielder who produced according to expectations last season - is beyond me. Gardner for Sandoval???? Hell no! The Yankees have no need for an overweight 3rd baseman who pouts, and whose body is breaking down. We have A-Rod for that, save for the weight. Gardner for Price? That's another story, and we can only dream. As for Cano, Safeco is a great place for your bat to go and die. Just ask Jesus Montero, Smoak, Morse, Jason Bay - oh the list is long... And they're already calling him Pujols 2.0 I see a crash and burn here. And a lot faster than expected too. And good luck to you on your computer chair quest. There isn't a measure unit big enough to quantify how much I've grown to dislike Christmas. For one thing, everything is more expensive because 'it's Christmas!'. I absolutely loathe the fake happyness on everybody's face. And completely despise the obligation of buying gifts. I really don't mind going out with the mrs. and if she sees something she likes and I can afford it, no problem. I prefer to buy her something when she's not expecting it. It's that much better for me, and the look on her face is also something I like to see. Christmas...God, let's just get it over with! If everyone in the PD knows Earl Sampson (they have to, how can they not?!), why the hell do they keep hauling him in?! Something's not right with that story. Like you, I have the feeling there is something missing there. As for Cristiano Ronaldo, I could write a book on his passion for himself. He might be a dumbass, but he's my country's dumbass Then again, how would each one of us be if you'd left your family to play soccer at age 12, then have the other kids make fun of your accent and how poor you were, and as soon as you turn 15 have everybody around you tell you that you're going to be the greatest soccer player ever. And then you turn 20 and people tell you that you are the greatest soccer player ever. That should be enought to screw anyone's mind. He's pretty sane by superstar soccer player standards, and by all accounts an extremely hard worker, who keeps honing his craft despite being one of the two top players in the world.

When he was in Detroit he didn't try to hit a homer every time. First, because with Detroit's park he knew he probably coudln't. Second, he hadn't yet believed is own hype. I woudln't say he was a totally different player, but he sure was different. For a guy who's supposed to have great speed, he stole a surprisingly low number of bases while with the Yankees, save for 2011. He was always strikeout prone, but with the Yankees it just got ridiculous. At times you just knew he was going for the HR and instead ended up with a K. Last season he was very unlucky. I mean, two trips to the DL because of broken bones on HBP in one season, come on! If his asking price wasn't so high, the Yankees should have probably kept him. As for Cano, I can understand what he's feeling and I can see the interviews, sooner or later: "Been here for 9 years, hitting above .300 and playing well. I want to get paid. Yankees holding out on me, then go out and spend all that money for McCann (the Yankees actually needed a catcher) and Ellsbury (not a real need IMO)." He might even throw Granderson in the conversation just to show that he's a good teamate and that they both got screwed. And Beltran...meh...Should have gotten him 9 years ago, and that's all I have to say. Is there like an age-minimum for people to play for the Yankees? I can almost imagine this conversation between Cashman and a very good player who's soon to become a FA: "Sorry Mr. Trout, no can do. You're only 25 and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to healthy to play for us. Go run into some walls, get beaned in the head, go break some bones and in 10 years we'll talk. Go on now, just go and be productive for someone else. Come back when your hair is turning gray and your hips set off airport alarms."

I saw a lot of that in Berlin, Germany, too. People voluntarily chose not to 'erase' the memories. Some things should never be forgotten. Also in Dresden, Germany as well, my dad tells me they have pictures of the city burning after the allied saturation bombings (some of which occurred as a punishment after the war was over), in the most unexpected places, such as public toilets, auto shops and some other places where otherwise you woudln't expect to see such pictures.

I didn't read your last update but I just had to come here and let it be heard: For the money he was asking, bye bye Cano! Enjoy the rain, the overpriced coffee and watching re-runs of "The Killing". It was nice knowing you. The Yankees already gave two large contracts this offseason who may not turn out so well in the end, in addition to the ones they already have. I was actually hoping he'd stay, just on the fact that I don't think he's as lazy as Y4L does, but that's way too much money! Does anybody else think that Jay-Z was actually hoping the Mariners wouldn't pay? As for Granderson, somebody should have told him that it's allright to hit a single from time to time. We all understood that you can put them over the short porch in right field, you just didn't have to try to do that EVERY TIME! I believe he could have been way more productive if he was better managed by the Yankees (not just by Binder Joe, who I happen to like quite a bit). Like we've seen in the past 3-4 years, home runs are important but they're not everything.

That's pretty funny Jay! Tottenham's real life manager is actually portuguese. That being said, I'm not his biggest fan, he used to coach for a team I truly hate. And because I know you guys in America like to make fun of european soccer, let me just help you with that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMpxZDS1gSI

The difference between men and women: http://vivas.fi/what-is-the-difference-between-women-and-men-2/

Thank you.

Me vs. Phones So, I have mentioned before that I dislike all these new smartphones and things like that. I also believe I have mentioned here that I have a phone, which I bought used 6 years ago. One time I dropped it and cracked it's screen, so instead of buying a new phone, I just found an online store that sells screens, and just like that I kept the old phone working. Which brings me to last week, when the Mrs. was made aware of this great new promotion by our cell-phone provider which allowed us to buy one of those shiny new brilliant excellent marvelous smartphones at a great discount if we used our 'client points'. (Don't know if there is such a thing in the US, but here you accumulate points by paying your phone bills, buying a new phone, etc, etc). There were only enough points in our account for one new phone at a discount and we had to borrow my brother-in-law's points. No problem, apparently. So, thinking all this could be done online, there we go and spend some hours trying to do it through the provider's website. No go. Next day, we go to the store, where we learn that we can in fact borrow another person's points, if we change our accounts to his name. We also learn that the promotion is the equivalent of 10 dollars more if the phone is bought on the store, instead of online. By now I'm starting to get just a tiny bit frustrated, but OK. We end up getting one phone - for her - because the borrowing of the points will take another day or so, and this way I can do it online and save those 10 dollars. After two days, when the damned points are finally placed in the account, we order my phone online. They then call us to set a date for delivery. Thursday, anytime from 9am to 1pm. Allright, cool. I'm a bit busy right now, but I can spare those 4 hours. It's for a good reason, I keep telling myself. So, meanwhile, I'm getting a little fed-up of this running around. The Mrs. using her brand new shiny phone like there's no tomorrow is a little unnerving too. I swear to God, on monday she went to the toilet, and 40 minutes later I went to find her there, playing with her new phone. I was worried something bad might have happened, and there she was, using some new app that will forever change our lives! Moving on, it is now thursday, 12:30am. I tell her: 'I bet my toes that they're not going to show up...' - 'How could you know that?' 1.05 pm, OK, now I'm officially angry. I'm running late to teach a class, there's a bunch of errands I could have taken care of this morning and I sat like an idiot waiting for a phone. And then comes the call: 'Um...uh...We're on our way now...right? Allright?' 'The hell you are! You may take that freaking thing and shove it up, way way up where the sun don't shine and see if it still rings!' That last bit might have been a little too much on my part, but I just kept thinking about how I held up my end of this deal and they didn't. Other than the 4 valuable hours of my time, all the other running around...Man! Adopting a baby in China might be easier than buying that phone! So, I happily stayed with my old, crappy, beat-up phone, which amazingly does most of what this new piece of crap does. It cost me around 80 dollars 6 years ago. Talk about a bargain! Best thing is, the battery still lasts me 2-3 days, easily. And I use it quite a bit. Just yesterday my brother-in-law was telling me about all the cool features on his phone, and then tells me the battery won't last half a day. Why in the hell would you have a phone with all those things if you won't ever be able to use it because the battery is always dead? It's like buying an 18-wheeler to drive around in New York city, just doesn't make sense. Sorry for the long text, I really needed to write this... I really, really, really hate these idiosyncrasies with new technologies. And I really, really, really love my old phone. PS: I've grown to dislike christmas more and more each year for the same reasons. I thought I was the only one.

I've been away from this post for some time now. I've missed reading it. On the matter of the cop in uniform scaring some kids, it makes me think: Why would kids be afraid of cops? Aren't they supposed to be the good guys? The guy you look for if you get lost? Are they Al Capone's kids or something? In Portugal we have a saying: When you don't want something to get done, name a commitee. That seems to be true all over the world. I feel for that german guy. Women are more or less the same all over the world, and I'm sure 'the time you left me behind' will come up in the future and not always to point out how much fun it was. I hope those differences, unlike poor Paul Hogan's, can be reconcilable (does this word exist??) My dear and beloved mrs is a bit clumsy. Since I'm an athlete in a combat sport, I often get bumps and bruises and stuff like that. And she always manages to accidentally hit me where it hurts. It might be on my toe or my sore neck or whatever, she will hurt me 'by accident' she says. (over the years I've doubted this statement many times...) Then there was this one time when she had a terrible headache and I accidentally turned and elbowed her right on the face (I swear it was an accident). It was a hard elbow, one of those that ehco through the house. Still can't bring that up as a 'funny story'. Women... I'm done talking about A-Rod. Every other day there is some brand new absurdity regarding his life, his doctors, his drugs, his lawyers fighting MLB lawyers, etc. It's just too much. And on top of that, the SOB has been the single most expensive singles hitter in the majors for the past 3 years. (Guess I wasn't done afterall) I've missed Yankees baseball, but since there really isn't any where I live, I'll watch whatever I can find. And now let's all root for the Cardinals, just because they're playing - as Y4L brilliantly put it - 'You-know-who'. I may not know that much about baseball, but I do know this: If the Yankees are not going to use their minor league system, they might as well just not have one, and save the money for something else. Not that I have anything againts Jayson Nix, but if a farm system can't produce a player who can play some defense and hit over .200 then why bother? Stars can't be 'produced', they are born and then correctly polished in the minors or not. But role players can be produced and turned into valuable contributors. Just look at the Cardinals and the Rays. For me, this is where the Yankees have been lacking for years. I don't mind if they go out and outspend other teams for a player that can not be produced in-house. We're lacking something, let's go get it, whether it is an ace pitcher, a leadoff hitter, a slugger, doesn't matter. There is no excuse however for having to go out and spend money on a guy like Nix, no matter how little money it is. I always wonder why the Yankees have great prospects in the low minors, and by the time they've reached AA or AAA, all their potential is gone. I know Y4L isn't Cano's greatest fan, but I recently read something that made sense to me: Would you rather have a 'lazy' Cano who plays 160 games a year, or a 'dive-for-every-ball' guy like Utley who is always injured? I think if the price is right (which it won't be) the Yankees should bring him back. Have a great week everybody!

This post is one of the reasons I'm saving for a PS3.

Just want to point out that it's niceto read that Phil Hughes is not of much importance. Just made me feel good.

I only know this because the guy played for the Yankees: - It's Luis Polonia instead of Louis. Still, everything looks great.

It's the eye of the tiger!!!

If you create a player, name him Rizzuto and move him to the Yankees, he should automatically wear #10, right? So, if you change the name of that same player, while he is on the Yankees roster, to something else (in this case Chambliss) the game automatically changes his number?

Yeah, the Mrs. is going to kill me...

Roger Maris' #9 was retired on July 21, 1984. And you're making me want to buy a ps3...

I don't own the game, but is Rizzuto present in it? Maybe in some classic team or something? If Rizzuto appears in the game, maybe you can't assign #10 because it is 'locked'.